Article discusses how presence of Confederate battle flag above South Carolina's State Capitol in Columbia has reverberated into world of Olympic distance running; US women's marathon trials are scheduled to take place in Columbia on Feb 26; photo (M)

Running Into Controversy

Former Bank of New York vice pres Lucy Edwards and her husband, Peter Berlin, plead guilty in Federal District Court, Manhattan, to helping group of small but politically connected Russian banks create elaborate money laundering scheme that moved over $7 billion out of Russia through American bank; say they were paid nearly $2 million for their services; say scheme allowed Russian bankers to conduct illegal banking activities in US that circumvented scrutiny of federal banking regulators and law enforcement officials (M)

Banker and Husband Tell Of Role in Laundering Case

George Vecsey Sports of The Times column discusses New York Knickerbockers guard Charlie Ward suffering fractured finger; discusses how his being sidelined for month will impact team; photo (M)

Sports of The Times; Ward's Injury Swings Mood For Knicks

The South Carolina primary is no longer a sure thing for front-runners or a fire wall against insurgents. A new generation of voters is conservative, but it is not predictable, or necessarily Republican. This new political culture could help Senator John McCain on Saturday.    Article, Page A25.

A Fire Wall Weakens

New York Citywide antidrug crackdown that was spurred by higher crime figures has swamped court system over last two weekends, bringing record number of arraignments to Manhattan courts one night and leading to complaints by Legal Aid Society that hundreds of suspects were detained illegally for more than 24 hours; jump in arrests stems from Operation Condoor, $20 million anti-drug crackdown announced by Police Department last month to counter increase in city's homicide rate last year; court officials say that they are addressing problem and will be adding judges, court-appointed defense lawyers and court workers this weekend (M)

Drug Arrests Overloading Court System

Senator Bob Kerrey, who has announced his decision not to run for re-election, says he will become president of New School University when he leaves office; photo (M)

Senaor Kerrey Accepts Presidency of New School

Peter H Lewis (State of the Art) column discusses how computer hackers secretly programmed computers of innocent PC users to attack prominent Internet sites like Yahoo and Amazon.com; notes there are software tools available, some free, to reduce likelihood that hackers will break into your home computer, infect it and turn it into vehicle to attack other sites (M)

How Not To Be A Zombie

Relationship between Vice Pres Al Gore and Hillary Rodham Clinton, both of whom would like to ride Pres Clinton's legacy while they distance themselves from his darker moments, has become complicated work in progress; it is tussle between two ambitious and not particularly close public figures trying to stake out space on same limited stage, picking and choosing from pieces of Pres Clinton's record as they try in their own ways, to succeed him (M)

Gore and Mrs. Clinton Keeping A Wary Distance as Candidates

Sotheby's in London sells a painting as a work of Andrea del Sarto for $1.1 million without disclosing that John Shearman, the leading expert on del Sarto, wrote it to say that he believed that while part of painting was by del Sarto, a larger part was probably done by an assistant; says it asked Shearman if it could include his letter in the catalog but never heard back from him; maintains work is entirely by del Sarto; painting was found in attic of an Episcopal church in West Newbury, Mass; was sold to three London dealers, including Patrick Matthiesen, who learned of existence of Shearman's letter before the sale; photo (M)

An Old Master Sold at Auction Raises Doubts; Sotheby's Did Not Report Concerns About Authenticity

Berlin Film Festival, struggling for new identity 10 years after the fall of Berlin Wall, straddles Hollywood and the rest of the world in its 50th anniversary edition; presents scores of smaller movies from around the world, but also a half-dozen big-budget American movies that have already been released in US and are merely using festival as springboard for European distribution; photo (M)

Europeans Celebrate Their Freedom to Dwell in Hollywood's Shadow

US Treasury's plan to reduce debt is roiling financial markets and raising prospect of far-reaching, unintended effects on economy and investors; economists say one immediate effect of shrinking debt market is to make it tougher for Federal Reserve Board to cool economy because as it raises short-term interest rates, long-term rates are not raising in tandem; debt securities that remain in shrinking market are expected to be much more prone to wild swings in price and thereby riskier for investors; corporations will probably issue more debt to fill public demand for bonds, creating debt burden that could make it much more difficult for nation to shake off downtown in economy (Market Place column) (M)

THE MARKETS: Market Place; Shrinking Treasury Debt Creates Uncertain World

Thomas Hand, metalworker and former sculptor, is sought after in New York for the welding, curing and polish of steel, which has become the material of choice for many architects and designers; works out of studio in TriBeCa; photos (M)

Hard Work, Being a Man Of Steel

 Clinton Offers Aid on Oil Bills  President Clinton pledged more money to help Northeastern residents pay the rising cost of heating oil, but he acknowledged that might not be enough to get poor families through the winter.   PAGE A20    Labor Switch on Immigrants  Changing its position, the executive council of the A.F.L.-C.I.O. called for blanket amnesty for illegal immigrants and an end to most sanctions against employers who hire them.   PAGE A26

INSIDE

More and more toys at annual trade show are relying on some form of technology; trend appears to be breathing life into toys whose sales might otherwise have trailed off; Toy Manufacturers of America chairman Peter Eio says most surprising new category to reflect influence of technology is in infant and preschool segment, noting that sales of such toys grew 7 percent last year; child-development experts are concerned that many of newer electronic toys have effectively eliminated need to interact with another person, either a too-busy parent or another child, and may short-circuit child's social and intellectual development; defenders of new products counter such claims; graph; photos of some new electronic toys (M)

The Road to Toyland Is Paved With Chips; Technology Takes Over the Nursery

Rumors are rampant that some European automakers are in merger talks; shares of PSA Peugeot Citroen again rise on rumors that French automaker is in talks with DaimlerChrysler; rumors follow persistent speculation about Daimler's seeking to acquire automobile business of Fiat; last weekend, British and German newspapers speculated that Volkswagen might take over Rover, ailing British subsidiary of BMW; many analysts say more mergers are inevitable because manufacturers are under pressure to keep prices down and roll out new models faster than ever; Peugeot denies it is in merger talks (M)

The Gossip of Europe: Talk About Mergers Surrounds Automakers

Turning Pixels Into Panache**Article discusses Nasdaq's new sign on Conde Nast Building in Times Square; sign, designed by Spectracolor Communications, costs $37 million and relies on maze of minicircuitry for procession of colorful images on 90-by-120-foot screen; photo (M)

Turning Pixels Into Panache

 Hewlett-Packard Earnings Beat Analysts' Estimates  Hewlett-Packard reported first-quarter earnings that exceeded Wall Street estimates by two cents, excluding costs associated with the spinoff of Agilent Technologies, which operates a test and measurement equipment business and reports separately today.  

BUSINESS DIGEST

Ascendancy of e-mail opens new arena to delicate diplomacy of relationships, leading couples to consider whether they should share e-mail accounts; JoAnn Magdoff, psychotherapist in Manhattan, says e-mail shared account 'raises issues of how far you want to go in terms of disclosure'; Magdoff says common mistake couples make is assuming e-mail is like older forms of communication; notes home e-mail affords much less privacy than, say, home telephone; Lynn Harris, who dispenses relationship on Web site, says people who maintain their own accounts should not make password-sharing another intimacy test in a relationship; photo (M)

Love, Honor, Cherish. But Reveal My Password?e

Footlights column reports on exhibition of Sumerian artifacts at Cleveland Museum of Art, program of music and reading celebrating Emily Dickinson at Alice Tully Hall, a Voices of Jazz program at Pace Downtown Theater and the discovery of a 2,500-year-old sarcophagus amid Giza's pyramids that is believed to be that of the ancient Egyptian god Osiris (M)

FOOTLIGHTS

Fox Television broadcasts two-hour special, Who Wants to Marry a Multimillionaire, featuring parade of would-be brides competing to be chosen by multimillionaire, Rick Rockwell, and culminating in wedding presided over by Nevada judge; show's audience grew from 10 million viewers in its first half-hour to 22.8 million in final half-hour; ratings will probably place it among week's top five or six shows; show draws over third of all women younger than 35 watching TV on Feb 15; bride chosen is Darva Conger, 34-year-old nurse from Santa Monica, Calif; photo (M)

Lights, Camera, Marriage and Big Ratings

Joyce Purnick Metro Matters column discusses NYS Sup Court Justice Joseph C Teresi's telling jury that defense and prosecution had agreed that jury should consider less serious charges than murder in trial of four police officers in shooting death of Amadou Diallo (M)

Metro Matters; Murder Trial But Not a Case For Murder

Article discusses scene at New York Yankees spring training site on first day of workouts (M)

Yankees Come to Work Early, Hoping They Get to Stay Late

Paul G Allen, co-founder of Microsoft Corp, says his company, Vulcan Ventures Inc, is buying The Sporting News, country's oldest sporting magazine, from Times Mirror Co; executives involved in talks say Vulcan agreed to pay $100 million for magazine and its other properties, which include sports-licensing venture, line of annual preview magazines, book publishing and Web site affiliated with magazine; acquisition is part of Allen's strategy to develop relationships with consumers on Internet through magazine sites; Vulcan executive adds that company is exploring other magazine options; Times Mirror Magazines chief financial officer-chairman Efrem Zimbalist 3d comments on sale (M)

Times Mirror Is Selling Sporting News

Drawings, blueprints, protoypes and other elements of the creative process left by American designers are disappearing for lack of interest by museum and other institutions that might preserve them; many experts warn that such archives contain intellectual underpinnings and context of design and should be a source of inspiration to future generations; photos (M)

America's Design Legacy . . . . . . Going, Going, Going

John Pareles reviews concert by Beck at Radio City Music Hall; photo (M)

February 17, 2000

Headlines from February 17, 2000

Running Into Controversy

Banker and Husband Tell Of Role in Laundering Case

Sports of The Times; Ward's Injury Swings Mood For Knicks

A Fire Wall Weakens

Drug Arrests Overloading Court System

Billboard 200

Voodoo

Supernatural

Dr. Dre -- 2001

All The Way...A Decade Of Song

Christina Aguilera

Historical Context for February 17, 2000