On this day
Revisit the news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.
In 2000, the world population was approximately 6,171,702,993 people[†]
2000Odessa A'zion, American actress[†]
Odessa Zion Segall Adlon, often known as Odessa A'zion, is an American actress. On television, she is known for her roles in the CBS series Fam (2019) and the Netflix series Grand Army (2020). Her films include Hellraiser (2022), The Inhabitant (2022), Sitting in Bars with Cake (2023), Fresh Kills (2024), and Until Dawn (2025)
2000Ismail Mahomed, South African lawyer and jurist, 17th Chief Justice of South Africa (born 1931)[†]
Ismail Mahomed SCOB SC was a South African lawyer and jurist who served as the first non-white Chief Justice of South Africa from January 1997 until his death in June 2000. He was also the Chief Justice of Namibia from 1992 to 1999 and the inaugural Deputy President of the Constitutional Court of South Africa from 1995 to 1996.
Indiana Pacers defeat Los Angeles Lakers, 120-87, in Game 5 of National Basketball Association Finals; Lakers lead series 3-2; photo (M)
Senate approves, 87-0, bill allowing consumer and businesses to sign contracts online and know that e-signature is just as binding as one in ink; law giving electronic signatures legal weight of paper signatures will enable consumers to sign legally enforceable contracts for health insurance, bank loans and brokerage accounts over Internet, around the clock and with no delay; financial institutions and insurance firms will save billions of dollars by eliminating paperwork and storing records electronically; bill allows consumers to choose whether to do business on paper or on-line; consumer advocates fear new frauds; Margot Saunders of Consumer Law Center warns that consumers will be left to 'prove a negative' if their signatures are forged (M)
Article recounts violence that erupted during New York City's Puerto Rican Day Parade as mobs of young men assaulted women in and around Central Park; reviews controversy over police response, noting that while officers wrote hundreds of citations for public drinking, there was widespread feeling among people at scene that gross misconduct went virtually ignored; photos; Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and police officials strongly disagree, even as growing number of witnesses say officers failed again and again to provide even mild response to obvious disorder and lawlessness, or to specific complaints by women; Sharon Brown, 52-year-old Texas teacher who was one of four tourists accosted near Metropolitan Museum, asks if it is 'normal to just turn the city over to those kinds of people'; most serious assaults took place near Central Park South, where officers witnesses say police had clear view of mobs that attacked and stripped women, includine one who ran naked to police scooter; Rita Berlin describes pushing through drunken crowds to get to work that afternoon, saying it was worst day she has ever seen in New York (L)
Two sons who tried to follow their fathers' career paths will spend Father's Day in prison; fathers are John J Gotti, convicted boss of Gambino crime family, and Carmine J Persico, imprisoned leader of Colombo family; Gotti, 59, and Persico, 66, have been accused by prosecutors of being heads of nation's largest and deadlist Mafia families; their sons, John A Gotti, 36, and Alphonse T Persico, 46, are also behind prison walls, mainly as a consequence of their fathers' criminal empires; photos (L)
Harvey Araton Sport of The Times column discusses throwing problems of New York Yankees second baseman Chuck Knoblauch; photo (M)
New York Times Magazine article on Haitian boat refugees noted; photo
Senate Unanimously Passes Electronic-Signature Bill The Senate voted unanimously to approve a bill that catapults electronic commerce to a new level by allowing consumers and businesses to sign contracts online and know that their e-signature is just as binding as one in ink. The bill has been passed by the House and now goes to President Clinton, who said that he would sign it into law.
Alan Edelstein, former producer of Michael Moore's cable program The Awful Truth, on Bravo, who was fired, turns tables on Moore, using Moore's own technique of showing up unannounced with TV camera, demanding to know why he was let go; Moore used such a technique in film Roger & Me, about GM chmn Roger Smith; Moore files complaint with New York City police dept, accusing Edelstein of malicious prosecution and trespassing, and Edelstein files suit against Moore, alleging malicious prosecution (M)
UN certifies that Israel has withdrawn from southern Lebanon8
Article on problems that Chuck Knoblauch, New York Yankees second baseman, is having with throwing; Knoblauch left game in frustration after his inability to make simple throws to first base resulted in three errors; sports psychologists surmise that action he has instinctively performed thousands of timesis suddenly object of conscious thought, leading to obsession that takes over body, producing strange results; Rick Wolff and Dr Daniel Wegner explain what baseball axiom summarizes as 'thinking is stinking' (M)
New York Yankees second baseman Chuck Knoblauch returns to team following dismal fielding performance against Chicago White Sox in which he committed three errors; he took several days off but says he still feels uncomfortable and acknowledges that he will seek some kind of treatment to address persistent problem (M)