Ann Powers reviews Robert Smith and the band Cure performing at Jones Beach Amphitheater; photo (M)

The Cure, Still Able To Alter The Weather

 Derailment Cause Sought  Investigators were focusing on a switch as the possible cause of the derailment of a subway train in Brooklyn on Tuesday.  PAGE B1

INSIDE

Article in series How Race is Lived in America focuses on how Cane River Creole National Historical Park, Natchitoches, La, deals with issue of slavery; contrasts wishes of Betty Hertzog, descended from slave-owning family that built plantation, that Park Service not dwell on slavery too much, with efforts of a black Park Service ranger, Carla Cowles, to introduce tourists to slaves' stories and restore old slave cabins on plantation; photos (L)

Reaping What Was Sown On the Old Plantation; A Landowner Tells Her Family's Truth. A Park Ranger Wants a Broader Truth.

Peter H Lewis (State of the Art) article discusses software known as snoopware, that records everything that shows up on a computer screen; says one example of such software is Spector, $49.95 Windows program from SpectorSoft; company says software was originally designed to allow parents to spy on their children to make sure they were not visiting inappropriate Web sites; says that in short time software has been on market, parents have not turned out to be main customers; instead, according to SpectorSoft, program has found an enthusiastic audience among tens of thousands of suspicious spouses, distrustful bosses and private investigators (L)

Spy Software Puts Home PC's Under Surveillance

Political Memo column discusses uphill battle faced by Republican Senate cadidate in New York Repr Rick A Lazio in receiving support of gay and lesbian voters, even in his own party (M)

Political Memo; For Lazio, an Uphill Route for Gay Support

Joyce Purnick Metro Matters column notes that New York State Legislature goes into closing session, day-plus of frenzied deal-making that will end with some bills approved, some rejected and some ignored; contends that measure's passage is complicated, particularly in election year (M)

Metro Matters; Deciding Vote In Albany: Self-Interest

Ira Berkow Sports of The Times column discusses success of Chicago White Sox so far this season; photo (M)

South Side Gets to Strut In Chicago

Ben Brantley reviews Royal Shakespeare Co's Macbeth at Long Wharf Theater in New Haven; production is directed by Gregory Doran, and cast is led by Antony Sher and Harriet Walter; photos (M)

Fierce Kindred Spirits, Burning for a Throne

 Big Insurer to Compensate Blacks Who Paid Too Much  After decades of paying higher premiums for life insurance than white customers, nearly five million black customers and their families nationwide are going to be compensated in a settlement reached with American General, one of the nation's biggest insurers.    The company said that it was making restitution of $206 million, mainly to the black customers and their heirs who, until as recently as April, paid as much as 33 percent more than white customers for small policies intended to cover burial expenses. [Page A1.]

BUSINESS DIGEST

Dozens of dot-com companies across country are unloading employees in effort to make a profit; layoffs signal end to unbounded optimism of some dot-com employees who flocked to start-ups in hopes of developing sudden wealth, but who now say they are approaching new job offers with more caution; very stock market that once held keys to new wealth may now be equally responsible not just for lowered expectations, but for lost jobs; analysts say reversal of fortune for many companies, and their employees, can be traced in part to stock market turmoil on April 14; when Nasdaq plunged that day, investors signaled they no longer would finance dot-coms that sought to grow at all costs, ignoring at least temporarily, concept that successful businesses take in more than they spend; Laura Schmidt, who has been laid off from ThirdAge Media, comments; graphs (M)

www.layoffs.com; Internet Work Force Has Its First Brush With Downsizing

Anna Kisselgoff reviews Miriam Mahdivianni's Appalachia Waltz, final entry in New York City Ballet's Diamond Project; photo (M)

Dips, Slides and High Kicks, Updated in a Rural Setting

Many airline industry analysts believe that if United Airlines-US Airways merger is approved, other big carriers will follow, leaving three giants airlines in control of most of the market; UAL Corp chief executive James E Goodwin and US Airways chairman Stephen M Wolf have faced hostile Congress at several hearings over UAL's proposed $4.3 billion purchase of US Airways; at issue is whether airline industry, generation after 1978 deregulation law prompted wave of industry consolidation, will best serve consumers if it is allowed to become even more concentrated; United-US Airways deal would create giant carrier that would carry one quarter of nation's air traffic; proposal has set off frenzy of merger talks that many are convinced could reduce country's six largest carriers to three mega-airlines; that prospect alarms consumer advocates and lawmakers who already complain that there is too little competition; chart; photo (M)

A New Math: Fewer Airlines + Higher Profits = More Competition

Three years after New York City brought managed care to its jails and gave St Barnabas Hospital in Bronx set fee to care for roughly 17,000 inmates at Rikers Island jail complex and Manhattan Detention Center, initiative has been quietly abandoned; problems besetting project discussed (M)

City Dropping Managed Care For Its Jails After Disputes

Vice Pres Al Gore's presidential campaign, worried that voters will blame Gore and Clinton administration for gasoline price surge, seeks to paint Gov George W Bush, former oil company executive, as tool of oil interests it says are gouging consumers; Sen Tom Harkin, speaking for Gore campaign, charges Bush gets 'all his money' from oil companies; says he wants oil executives to testify before Congress; Bush and Congressional Republicans blame price rise on Clinton administration; Bush, who had been reluctant to discuss issue publicly, joins Gore in endorsing Federal Trade Commission probe (M)

PRICE OF GASOLINE EMERGES AS ISSUE IN BUSH-GORE RACE

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries decided to increase oil production limits by about 708,000 barrels a day, or 2.5 percent, beginning on July 1. The increase is slightly higher than expected, but analysts said it remained too modest to bring down gasoline prices that have reached more than $2 a gallon in some parts of the United States.  Business Day, Page C1.  

OPEC Raising Supply

Boston Red Sox defeat New York Yankees, 9-7; photo (M)

Botched in Boston: Yanks' Relievers Give None

NYC transit officials say that B train that derailed in downtown Brooklyn, injuring 95 passengers, was traveling along route it did not usually take and was crossing back to its own tracks when its third car jumped off rails; say that it could be several weeks before they can determine what caused accidents; state transportation safety investigators and National Transportation Safety Board are focusing on switch south of DeKalb Avenue station; photo (M)

Officials Focus on Subway Switch as Cause of Derailment

Bill McEwen, former truck driver who acquired Amiga Inc's assets earlier this month, releases new software kit for programmers writting applications for new version of Amiga operating system; applications will run on new Amiga computer that is expected to be on market by end of the year; like old Amigas, new one promises fast-booting system and good graphics; computer has spent years in limbo, being shunted from one company to another; photo of McEwen; chart profiling company from 1987 to present (L)

The Return of a Desktop Cult Classic (No, Not the Mac); Long Revered for Its Powerful Graphics and Lean Operating System, the Amiga Is Re-emerging From the Margins

WorldCom Inc, faced with mounting opposition from regulators to its $115 billion deal to acquire Sprint Communications, is considering selling broad swath of Sprint's operations, including Sprint's entire long-distance unit; negotiations continue between company and Justice Department, which is reviewing deal's antitrust implications in US; Mario Monti, head of European Commission's competition ministry, appears inclined to block deal over concern that combined company would have too much control over world's long-distance telephone market as well as stranglehold on Internet traffic in Europe; even though deal involves two American companies, European Commission has power to block it; Justice Department is mainly concerned about power combined Sprint-WorldCom would hold over long-distance telephone business in US (M)

A Scramble To Salvage A Phone Deal

Philadelphia Phillies defeat New York Mets, 10-5; photo (M)

Burrell, a Rookie, Uses Power to Help Phillies Win Again

Footlights column reports on Cincinnati Opera new season, an exhibition of Shaker drawings at Hancock Shaker Village in Pittsfield, Mass, the start of 68th season of Jacob's Pillow Dance Fetival and the new headquarters of Yeshiva University Museum; photos (M)

FOOTLIGHTS

House hunters across the country are suffering from battle fatique brought on by highest real estate prices in history; competition in hottest markets, like Silicon Valley, Dallas and Manhattan, is intense enough to ignite bidding wars; home shoppers are venting their rage on sellers and brokers, and even going to therapists to deal with their frustration; brokers and therapists agree that those who yell loudest are usually those with most money; photos (M)

Foiled Home Buyers Take to the Couch

The House Ways and Means Committee approved a Republican plan last night to offer prescription drug benefits to everyone on Medicare,  through federal subsidies to private insurance companies to encourage them to offer policies for drugs. A Democratic effort to have the government itself offer a standard package of drug benefits was rejected.  Article, Page A24.  

Drug Plan Advances

OPEC ministers in Vienna decide to increase their production limits by about 708,000 barrels a day, or 2.5 percent, beginning July 1; increase is slightly higher than had been expected; analysts say it remains too modest to bring down gasoline prices that have reached more than $2 a gallon in some parts of US; oil ministers go out of their way to place much of blame for high gasoline prices on regulations and refining problems in US as well as extremely high gasoline taxes across much of Europe; crude oil prices on New York Mercantile Exchange jumps about 2 percent, or 72 cents, to $31.37 a barrel; chart on new OPEC quotas; graph; photo (M)

OPEC Agrees to 2.5% Increase in Output

American General insurance company agrees to make restitution of $206 million, mainly to black customers in five Southern states and their heirs who, until as recently as April, paid up to 33 percent more than white customers for small life insurance policies intended to cover burial expenses; will also pay fines of $7.5 million to state regulators and give $2 million to National Association for Advancement of Colored People; Bill Nelson, Florida insurance commissioner, who along with private class-action lawyers negotiated deal on behalf of all 50 states, deplores long history of bias; photo (M)

Insurer Agrees It Overcharged Black Clients

Wuhan Airlines Flight 343 was a domestic scheduled passenger flight between Enshi Airport and Wuhan Wangjiadun Airport, both in Hubei province, Central China. On 22 June 2000, the Wuhan Airlines Xian Y-7, registration B-3479, flying the route crashed after encountering an area of adverse weather; the aircraft was struck by lightning and encountered windshear.

Wuhan Airlines Flight 343 is struck by lightning and crashes into Wuhan's Hanyang District, killing 49 people.

June 22, 2000

Headlines from June 22, 2000

The Cure, Still Able To Alter The Weather

INSIDE

Reaping What Was Sown On the Old Plantation; A Landowner Tells Her Family's Truth. A Park Ranger Wants a Broader Truth.

Spy Software Puts Home PC's Under Surveillance

Political Memo; For Lazio, an Uphill Route for Gay Support

Billboard 200

The Marshall Mathers LP

Oops!...I Did It Again

The History Of Rock

No Strings Attached

Mad Season

Historical Events

Historical Context for June 22, 2000