Felicia Lee Coping column on Amira Hernandez's search for God in Bedford Park section of Bronx, NYC; Hernandez, college graduate volunteering with nonprofit group called Part of the Solution, is somewhat disillusioned by rampant poverty but grateful to people she has tried to help; drawing (M)

Doing God's Work Where Hope Is Rare

Article discusses New York Knickerbockers Patrick Ewing as aging, aloof superstar on the decline following loss to Indiana Pacers in Eastern Conference Finals; other players complain that team was held back and stylistically cramped with Ewing in the game; trade rumors abound although he has right of refusal in contract; photo (M)

Aging, Injured and Unappreciated

Novelist Ernesto Quinonez article, recalling childhood memories of El Congo Real, botanica in New York City's Spanish Harlem, returns to neighborhood to track down old legend about dark man who asked Black Gods of Santeria to grant his wish for a white baby; photos (L)

The White Baby

 Gore Ally as Target  The new president of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America has given Al Gore a fund-raising advantage and given the Republicans a ready campaign target.   PAGE 30

INSIDE

The problem of 'rogue democracies' has emerged as the world has become more democratic; rogue democracies go astray through aggression against neighbors, cruelty to citizens or backtracking on promise that democracy will foster liberty and equality; established democracies find it difficult to recognize this new type of rogue and are uncertain how to respond to them, but there is growing understanding that elections alone do not guarantee democracy; photos (M)

The World: A Different Kind of Rogue; When Democracy Runs Off the Rails

Atlanta Braves defeat New York Yankees, 11-7, in interleague play; photo (M)

Marquee Matchup Turns Into Slugfest as Yankees Fall to Braves

Opinion polls indicate privacy is emerging as hot new issue; people are worried about more than just personal privacy from snoops and eavesdroppers; they are suspicious of companies that have access to their financial and medical records; they fear thieves may cash in on their financial data; they dislike idea that their movements and activities are being tracked on the Internet; both political parties lay claim to issue, but challenge for politicians is to harness worries over privacy to win votes; drawing (M)

Ideas & Trends: Rear Window; What Are You Afraid Of? A Hidden Issue Emerges

Intersection of law and technology in Microsoft antitrust case will test Supreme Court justices competence in arcana of computers and the Internet; most antitrust experts and students of the court believe justices are up to the challenge; they point out that court frequently deals with cases requiring substantial specialized knowledge across many fields; they note justices received special briefings on Internet in preparation for its first Internet case three years ago; institutionally, the court has been a latecomer to the Internet, having launched its first Web site just two months ago; Microsoft case may come directly to court or after review by Appeals Court; drawing (M)

Microsoft Will Test Justices' Prowess

Article on Bronx Youth Court, where teenagers arrested for misdemeanors and minor felonies are judged by jury of their peers; juveniles, all first-time defendants, are referred by probation officer or judge as alternative to prosecution in New York City's overtaxed Family Court system; photo (M)

Youth Court Of True Peers Judges Firmly

Cathy Horyn Critic's Notebook article finds television program Sex and the City to be a less than compelling look at city life but says apparel selected for show is reasonably accurate reflection of hip New York fashion; photos (M)

How Hip? Undressing Those Trendy 'City' Girls

American Institute of Architects' New York chapter has chosen Andrew Berman in design contest to design its new headquarters; plans drive to raise $1.2 million for ground floor construction; will work on two lower floors later; photos (M)

POSTINGS: Winner of Architectural Competition Is Chosen; Design for A.I.A. Chapter's New Home

Vincent de Paul O'Brien article on his affinity for roses; describes construction of seven formal beds at his home in Brentwood, Long Island, and offers pruning and growing tips; photos (M)

Rose Is a Rose Is a Job Is a Joy

City Planning Commission chairman Joseph B Rose's proposal for thorough revision of New York City zoning faces high hurdles, with opposition building; Mayor Rudolph W Giuliani's administration reportedly debates key aspects; plan would impose height limits for first time in neighborhoods citywide, effectively restrict transfer of development rights, eliminate bonuses for plazas at new apartment towers, create review panel that could recommend waiving restrictions and eliminate complex zoning formulas; real estate industry leaders and nonprofit groups that fear limits on their ability to transfer development rights oppose plan; map; drawing; photos (M)

Battle Lines Drawn on New Zoning Plan

Regis Philbin had a fashion makeover for his television program Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, and there are signs that his new style is spreading; Regis collection of monochromatic shirts and ties is being introduced at Macy's but even before the licensing deal was struck, Macy's and other department stores were busy creating a craze; photo (M)

Who Wants To Be A Style Icon?

Honda Insight, first hybrid car to be sold in United States, gets 70 miles per gallon on highway and has sold more than 1,100 since going on sale in December, with expectations for higher sales than anticipated; California Air Resources Board may relax mandate that 10 percent of all vehicles sold in state must give off no emissions or extremely low emissions but environmentalists worry that auto industry will try to substitute hybrids for true zero-emission vehicles; electric vehicles have limited battery range but hybrids use batteries only to supplement gas engine and can be charged automatically, eliminating time necessary to recharge electric cars; photo (M)

BEHIND THE WHEEL/Honda Insight; High-Mileage, High-Stakes Hybrid

Pres Clinton arrives in Moscow in final Russian visit; meets with new Pres Vladimir V Putin in Kremlin, where both discuss full range of issues, including search for compromise on antimissile defense at three-hour working dinner; encounter is described as businesslike, congenial and easygoing; major issues facing both leaders and some planned highlights of Clinton's visit discussed; photo (M)

CLINTON AND PUTIN MEET AT KREMLIN WITH WIDE AGENDA

New Jersey Devils defeat Dallas Stars in Game 3 of Stanley Cup Finals, 2-1; Devils lead series 2-1; photo (M)

Advantage, Devils

Article compares hybrid gas-electric cars with battery-electric cars using criteria measured at 12th running of alternative-vehicle race, American Tour de Sol, where cars are ranked by energy efficiency and contribution to global warming; race shows that cars are improving in aspects such as range, reliability and handling, that hybrids had better fuel economy than electrics, but emitted more gases believed to cause climate change; Honda Insight is overall winner with high fuel economy but global warming potential is double that of second-place finisher, General Motors EV1 electric car, and better than most cars in use today; hybrids technology is second-best from greenhouse-gas standpoint, but costs less and travels farther than battery-powered cars (M)

Balancing Hybrids vs. Electrics on the Environmental Scale

Thousands of people still work at Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, 14 years after accident killed 28 people outright with high radiation doses and touched off still accelerating epidemic of thyroid cancers among children who live downwind of plant; government of Pres Leonid Kuchma says last operating reactor will be closed before end of year, beginning new chapter in life of power station whose radioactive wastes and debris must be guarded for decades, if not centuries to prevent further poisoning of environment; planned shutdown poses problems for tens of thousands of Ukrainians who depend on plant for jobs and power, and will worsen already acute energy crisis; raises questions about who will pay for what needs to be done; since 1986, Chernobyl's endgame has been unceasing recriminations among Ukraine, US and world's six other wealthiest industrial nations over financing for major decommissioning projects and replacement of Chernobyl's electrical output; map; photo (M)

Living in the Shadow of Chernobyl's Reactors

First article in series, How Race is Lived in America, examining racial relations which still ignites political debates two generations after end of legal discrimination and is being defined less by political action than by daily experiences; examines interactions between blacks and whites in sphere of religion; focuses on Assembly of God Tabernacle, Pentecostal church in Decatur, Ga, where blacks make up almost half of congregation; Tabernacle is rare religious institution in nation where 90 percent of all congregations are at least 80 percent one race; blacks and whites mix freely and almost all aspects of church are thoroughly integrated, but even so it remains deeply conservative socially and theologically and its life is still driven by race in countless ways; photos (L)

Shared Prayers, Mixed Blessings

Harold Bloom article on reading Michael Crichton's Timeline on a hand-held computer holds that the intimacy one has with a book does not seem possible on a screen; photo (M)

On First Looking Into Gates's Crichton

Craig McCaw's Teledesic, futuristic plan to build network of satellites for voice and data communications, has already been scaled back to 288 satellites from the 840 satellites planned when project was launched, in 1994; start of service has been postponed from 2001 to 2005; outlook for attracting new investors appears doubtful in wake of Iridium phone system's bankruptcy, problems at other satellite ventures and advances of land-based competitors; in April, McCaw and his backers put up $1.2 billion to take control of bankrupt ICO Global Communications, a smaller satellite venture, which McCaw says will be steppingstone to Teledesic, but which doubters say may provide rationale for scaling back Teledesic into a more marketable venture; photos, charts, diagram (L)

Can Craig McCaw Keep His Vision Of Teledesic From Crashing?

Nation's biggest food companies face marketing quandry in debate over genetically altered crops, which environmentalists say are potentially dangerous, but which Food and Drug Administration deems entirely safe; though nearly all publicly support biotechnology, growing number are quietly limiting its use in response to public concern; still many say biotechnology crops are so pervasive that it would be prohibitively expensive, and in some cases nearly impossible, to eliminate them entirely; photos (M)

Modified Foods Put Companies In a Quandary

Article on collaboration by Mikhail Baryshnikov, traditional Russian ballet superstar, and Yvonne Rainer, American avant-garde dancer, for upcoming series by Baryshnikov's White Oak Dance Project at Brooklyn Academy of Music; photos (M)

An Improbable Pair on a Quest Into the Past

Market Watch column notes many companies make practice of obfuscation in their financial statements, but finds IBM's annual report is one of the most complicated; notes just under one third of the 30 percent growth in operating income IBM reported in 1999 came from employee pension fund; strong stock market and shift to cash-balance pension plan produced $799 gain; accounting rules let companies post such gains as income, but money cannot be spent for anything but pensions; pension fund growth accounted for 6.7 percent of company's operating income in 1999, up form 1.8 percent in 1996; such details are typically buried in financial statements; graph (M)

June 4, 2000

Headlines from June 4, 2000

Doing God's Work Where Hope Is Rare

Aging, Injured and Unappreciated

The White Baby

INSIDE

The World: A Different Kind of Rogue; When Democracy Runs Off the Rails

Billboard 200

Oops!...I Did It Again

Binaural

I Got That Work

No Strings Attached

Whitney: The Greatest Hits

Historical Context for June 4, 2000