July 8, 2000

United Nations-sponsored study finds that while a simple drug regimen can stop many mothers with HIV from infecting their children during pregnancy and childbirth, the protection does not last for as long as experts had hoped and that the therapy appears to leave children vulnerable to infection from breast milk; finding safe alternatives to breast-feeding is daunting challenge in Africa, where overwhelming majority of women breast-feed their infants for long periods; findings are certain to renew often bitter controversy over breast-feeding (M)

Clinton administration's hopes for moving forward with national missile defense system are dealt setback when missile fired from Marshall Islands in Pacific fails to hit a mock warhead launched 4,300 miles away in California; test failure is certain to reinforce calls in Congress that decision on whether to move forward with a national missile defense program should be left next president (M)

Clyde Haberman NYC column notes that Gov Rudolph W Giuliani has bitterly complained about press probing into his personal matters; recalls it was Giuliani himself who disclosed his cancer, who announced his separation from his wife, and who showed off his new 'very good friend,' Judith Nathan; says Giuliani responded to report that his father was an ex-con by saying details of his father's life died with him 19 years ago; recalls Giuliani did not extend same consideration to Patrick Dorismond, who was shot to death by police officer; says Giuliani released Dorismond's old juvenile court records to blacken Dorismond's reputation after his death (M)

New York's Family Court engages in an especially daunting exercise in balancing interests as it confronts cases in which Administration for Children's Services seeks to remove children from their homes because one of their parents has been physically abused by the other; Judge Clark V Richardson, who handles such cases in Bronx, says it usually means that children can be taken from a mother on ground that she is failing to protect them from danger, even though she may have done nothing wrong or negligent and simply lacks financial or emotional resources to leave an abusive partner; cases reflect an unintended consequence of new understanding of how a child can be scarred by seeing one parent beat the other and of how domestic violence can sometimes be part of a package of dysfunction at home, a red flag for egregious forms of child abuse and neglect; women's advocates who are challenging agency in court argue that overzealous application of the law punishes the victim and discourages a battered spouse from taking action against the abuser; photo (M)

Chinese government backs Linux operating system in effort to prevent country from becoming overly dependent on Microsoft Corp's Windows operating system; some Chinese warn that secret holes in Microsoft's computer code might allow US government access to Chinese networks or even enable it, in time of war, to shut those networks down; Microsoft says such fears are nonsense; Linux source code, unlike Microsoft's, is open for all to see and is freely distributed, and this touch of communist ideal appeals to China's Marxist leaders (M)

In the dying light, the prayers for the missing woman poured out of the hilltop church near Montego Bay, two hours' drive from this beach resort town. Frederick and Mary Ann Kirschhoch stood up beneath whirring fans. The Moravian congregation was asking God for the safe return of the couple's daughter, Claudia, 29, a travel editor for Frommer's who vanished from Negril around May 27.

New York Yankees pitcher Orlando Hernandez is healthy again and pitches complete game against New York Mets, giving bullpen much-needed rest before doubleheader; photo (M)

Southeast Asia's economies are growing again, while its stock markets continue to shrink; foreign investors have sold Southeast Asian stocks and currencies for much of year, helping to make several of region's markets among worst performing in world; analysts and fund managers say region remains dangerous place to invest because of political instability, corruption and lack of technical sophistication; graph (M)

The Democratic Party released a draft of its platform that strongly reflects the centrist views of Vice President Al Gore.

Frederick and Mary Ann Kirschhoch travel to beach resort in Negril, Jamaica, seeking clues about their missing daughter, Claudia, who was last seen there on May 27; this is their second visit in three weeks; investigations by police, Federal Bureau of Investigation and private detective hired by resort are coming up empty; Jamaican newspapers, radio stations and television programs are running reports on disappearance, and parents have offered reward for information; photos; map (M)

Economic boom in Ireland encourages an influx of newcomers seeking employment and refuge from politically unstable, war-ravaged areas of Africa and Europe; government is pursuing a policy of dispersing asylum seekers around the country, even to rural areas ill equipped to handle them and less prepared to welcome them, and it bars them from working while their cases are being considered; program stirs up stew of feelings in little towns like Birr, where many people are uncomfortable with newcomers but also mindful of the long history of the Irish seeking a better life abroad; photo; map (M)

William C Rhoden Sports of The Times column discusses Pete Sampras's attitude toward tennis, comparing him to Davis Cup captain John McEnroe; McEnroe's focus is Davis Cup team play and winning for country, Sampras's focus is on individual victory and neither understands other's point of view; photo (M)