October 30, 1999

Can mothers and fathers be held responsible for the murderous actions of their children? Some families of victims say yes and are taking their cases to court. A report by Lisa Belkin in The Times Magazine.

Toshiba Corp will spend about $1 billion to settle class-action lawsuit by two people charging company, world's largest maker of laptop computers, with selling five million defective machines in US since 1987; surprise settlement covers virtually all owners of Toshiba notebook computers bought in US; will entitle them to coupons for purchases of Toshiba computer products and, in some cases, cash payments worth as much as several hundred million dollars; size of overall settlement is $2.1 billiuon, but company says ultimate cost will probably be lower since not all customers will claim rewards (M)

Plan by Mexican government to crack down on illegal car imports by requiring deposits of up to $800 from travelers driving cars with American license plates into Mexico provokes dismay from critics, who say it could force hundreds of thousands of tourists to cancel trips; under plan, deposit will rise from current $11 to $400 for US-registered car manufactured before 1994, $600 for cars made from 1994 to 1998 and $800 for 1999 or later model; deposit, refunded on car's return to US, applies only to cars driven beyond 15-mile border zone; because used cars often cost less than half as much in US as in Mexico, 1.5 million used cars are illegally circulating in Mexico City without Mexican license plates; illegal vehicles are often used by criminals, and because owners pay no taxes, it represents serious drain on government revenues; plan will take effect on December 1, and will allow payment by credit card; photo (M)

Memorial service held, Orlando, Fla, for golfer Payne Stewart, one of six people who died in plane crash; scene at service described; photo (M)

Pres Clinton kicks off intense debate over how to protect privacy of medical records by unveiling new rules to safeguard such information; says new standards represent unprecedented step toward putting Americans back in control of own medical records; under proposed rules, patients would gain new federal right to inspect, copy and suggest corrections in medical records that have been kept or transmitted electronically; administration estimates compliance will cost health-care industry $3.8 billion over five years, but insurance industry says cost would be 10 times amount; health insurance plans object, in particular, to provision making them responsible for privacy lapses by companies that collaborate in patient care; doctors say new rules are inadequate and could actually erode some protections patients now have; federal officials estimate it will cost doctors, hospitals and health maintenance organizations more than $400 million to issue notices informing patients of privacy rights, as required by rules; predict thousands of patients will try to correct medical records, and that health-care industry will spend more than $2 billion dealing with requests over next five years; photo (M)