Pharmaceutical giants SmithKline Beecham PLC and Glaxo Wellcome PLC, Britain, are near agreement on $80.7 billion merger that will create world's largest drug maker; stumbling block was cleared in large part in early Dec when Jan Leschly, chief executive of SmithKline, who had been seen as largely responsible for management stalemate, announced plans to retire in April (M)

Merger Talks By SmithKline And Glaxo

Supreme Court agrees to decide constitutionality of Nebraska law banning 'partial-birth' abortion; case is first on abortion added to docket in eight years, and election-year ruling this summer could have impact on fractious politics of abortion; broadly-written Nebraska law, lacking exception to protect mother's health, was struck down by lower court that also ruled against similar laws in Iowa and Arkansas (M)

JUSTICES TO RULE ON LAW THAT BANS ABORTION METHOD

Editors' Note on Magazine article about education and poverty

WHAT NO SCHOOL CAN DO

John Tierney The Big City column assesses Rudolph Giuliani's ranking in pantheon of New York City's mayors (M)

The Big City; The Greatest? Give Mayor A Mirror

Price of oil tops $28 a barrel after OPEC committee recommends extending current production cuts beyond March's expiration date; surge pushes price to his highest level since Persian Gulf War nine years ago; in New York, February delivery price closes at $28.02 a barrel, up $1.33; graph on crude oil prices (M)

Oil Price Tops $28 a Barrel On Tough Talk Out of OPEC

Dearth of snow in New York City area this winterupsets rhythms of urban life and natural world, depriving trees of snow cover and children of sledding opportunities; photos; graph; arrival of bit of old winter, white dusting and cold temperatures, finally gives radio and television announcers chance at some exciting moments, however fleeting (M)

Winter in New York: Something's Missing; Absence of Snow Upsets Rhythms Of Urban Life and Natural World

Michael Jordan is negotiating with Washington Wizards' majority owner, Abe Pollin, in effort to take over struggling franchise's basketball operations; photo (M)

N.B.A. Hopes for the Debut Of Jordan the Executive

Russia issues national security strategy that underscores darkening view of West by inveighing against expansionist Europe and US, and contemplates use of nuclear weapons in war 'if all other means of resolving' crisis are exhausted; revised language, approved by Acting Pres Vladimir Putin, is subtle stiffening of 1997 strategy allowing nuclear arms only for threat to national 'existence'; document calls Russian military's readiness 'critically low' and warns social stability is at risk because population is being stratified into 'thin layer' and rest of people with scant means; sees terrorism as serious internal threat and national security endangered by brain drain; Col Valery Manilov of defense ministry says strategy should not be blown out of proportion, that Moscow remains interested in neighborly cooperation with West (M)

Harder Nuclear Arms Policy Is Now Official Kremlin Line

Article on South Korea's plans to develop space rocket noted

South Korea Pursues A Space-Age Future

Deaths in New York City in first week of 2000 are sharply higher than in same week last year, suggesting that many dying people held onto life out of desire to see in new century; researchers have long believed that people are able to postone their deaths to get to major event, such as family wedding; 1,791 people died in city in first week of year, 50.8 percent more than those who died in same week last year, and 46 percent more than those who died in last week of 1999; graphs (M)

Rise in Death Rate After New Year Is Tied to the Will to See 2000

Supreme Court decision to hear case on Boy Scouts' exclusion of gays from leadership noted (S)

Gay Scout Leaders

Article on upcoming National Football Conference playoff game between Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Washington Redskins notes that Tampa Bay has best defense in conference and Washington has second best offense in league; photos (M)

Redskins and Buccaneers Will Not Rely on Gimmicks

Article on upcoming American Football Conference playoff game between Jacksonville Jaguars and Miami Dolphins; photo (M)

Jaguars Planning Conservative Game Against Redskins

 Medicare Boon for New York  Hospitals in New York and seven other states will be spared cuts of $2.1 billion in Medicare payments over the next five years.   PAGE B2    Age Factor in Breast Cancer  Women under 45 who have lumpectomies for breast cancer are more likely than older women to have the disease come back.   PAGE A14

INSIDE

Supreme Court agrees to decide whether Boy Scouts have constitutional right to exclude gay youths and adults from positions of leadership; organization is appealing New Jersey Supreme Court's ruling in suit by James Dale, who was dismissed as troop leader; photo; court ruled unanimously that Scouts are not private organization but 'public accommodation' bound by civil rights law against discrimination (M)

Supreme Court To Review Ban On Gay Scout

Selena Roberts Sports of The Times column on memorial service for Bobby Phills, Charlottte Hornets guard who was killed when he crashed his Porsche while drag racing against teammate David Wesley; photo (M)

Sports of The Times; A Child's Last Recognition, and a Soulful Search for Limits

South Africa, in an effort to dispel myths about the country and attract tourists, has turned to Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide with an $18 million promotional campaign aimed at major nations such as United States, Britain, Germany and France; campaign's emphasis is on enjoying South Africa's exotic outdoor attractions and urbanity rather than experiencing the opening of door to new multiracial democracy; in the US, where travel has jumped almost 25 percent from 1997, to 166,000 trips in 1998, ad effort will focus on New York, Miami and Los Angeles; photos (M)

Tourism Diamond in the Rough; South Africa's Beauty and Its Beasts Are the Draw

Bill Bradley, who casts himself as Democratic party's truth-teller in Presidential race, has style that can be curt and uncommunicative, sometimes ignoring questions he considers silly or intrusive, and displaying sarcasm and condescension in encounters with Vice Pres Gore; supporters say traits go along with being new kind of politician: more honest, thoughtful and trustworthy; critics warn he runs risk of being viewed as little more than surly; Bradley's efforts to balance rough-hewn ways with folksy humor related (M)

Bradley's Appeal Competes With a Frequently Gruff Side

David D Glass, who expanded Wal-Mart Stores from rural discounter to worldwide powerhouse, announces he will step down immediately as chief executive and president, but will stay on for at least year as chairman of the executive committee of the board; he will be succeeded by his long-trusted lieutenant and chief operating officer, H Lee Scott Jr; photos of both men (M)

Wal-Mart's Chief Steps Down; Trusted Lieutenant Is Successor

Investing in stock market for long term, strategy that has made most sense and most money for people over the years, falls victim to fast-and-furious pace on Wall Street; investors in 1999 held stocks for just over eight months on average, well short of two years typical decade ago; average holding period on hottest Nasdaq issues was five months; trading frenzy also affects staid mutual fund world, with investors holding funds for less than four months on average; graph;heavy trading extends across board, from big institutions to individuals plotting strategy on line, and figures confirm that rapid-fire trading mentality of small group of hyperactive day traders is seeping into overall market; analysts note that such trading is speculating, not investing, and is neither tax efficient nor cost efficient, given higher transaction costs (M)

Investing's Longtime Best Bet Is Being Trampled by the Bulls

Simmering feud between Westchester County, New York, and Greenwich, just over border in Connecticut, is inflamed by Greenwich's decision to close tiny lane near Westchester County Airport that has been shortcut between highways; closing following mutual animosity over Greenwich homeowners' efforts to redirect air traffic; photo; maps (M)

On Greenwich-Westchester Border, New Plan Inflames an Old Battle

 Americans Are No Longer Investing for the Long Term  Investing in the stock market for the long term, the strategy that has made the most sense and the most money for people over the years, is all but dead.    Last year, investors held stocks for just over eight months on average, well short of the two years that was typical a decade ago. Among Nasdaq stocks, the average holding period was five months. The trading frenzy has even infected the staid mutual fund world: investors are holding funds for less than four years on average, while a decade ago, investors held mutual funds for 11 years. [Page A1.]

BUSINESS DIGEST

Profile of Steven A Ballmer, who begins his first day as Microsoft Corp's chief executive, succeeding his best friend, William H Gates; Ballmer photo (M)

Microsoft's Chief Settles Into His Best Friend's Old Job

Article on New York Rangers defenseman Rich Pilon notes that he was recently acquired on waivers from New York Islanders (M)

Pilon Finds Comfort Zone With Rangers

correction of Jan 12 photo caption with article about Met Opera's The Great Gatsby; singer was Dwayne Croft

Corrections

Triston Ray Casas is an American professional baseball first baseman for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). The Red Sox selected him in the first round of the 2018 MLB draft and he made his MLB debut in 2022. Casas was a member of the United States national baseball team at the 2020 Summer Olympics, which won the silver medal.

Triston Casas, American baseball player

Triston_Casas

Georges-Henri Lévesque was a Canadian Dominican priest and sociologist and a liberal figure during the conservative Duplessis era in Quebec.

January 15, 2000

Headlines from January 15, 2000

Merger Talks By SmithKline And Glaxo

JUSTICES TO RULE ON LAW THAT BANS ABORTION METHOD

WHAT NO SCHOOL CAN DO

The Big City; The Greatest? Give Mayor A Mirror

Oil Price Tops $28 a Barrel On Tough Talk Out of OPEC

Billboard 200

Vol. 3... Life And Times Of S. Carter

...And Then There Was X

All The Way...A Decade Of Song

Christina Aguilera

Dr. Dre -- 2001

Notable Births

Notable Deaths

Historical Context for January 15, 2000