July 29, 2000

Napster Stays in Business Until Its Appeal Is Heard Napster won a last minute reprieve when two federal judges decided the Internet music-swapping service could continue to operate. The move stayed an injunction, which will last until an appeals court panel makes a ruling. PAGE C1

Clyde Haberman NYC column on grand jury's conclusion that police detective Anthony Vasquez committed no crime in shooting death of Patrick Dorismond; explains that grand jury's mission is to assess facts, not assuage public anger; adds that Mayor Rudolph Giuliani might have done well to bite his tongue on case, and let system prove on its own that it can work (S)

Kansas school board Republican primary election gets attention of state's highest-ranking officeholders, prompts some Democrats to switch party affiliation to be able to vote, and has candidates raising tens of thousands of dollars, some from out of state; frenzy is upshot of vote last August by Kansas Board of Education, which removed evolution as explanation for origin of species from state's science curriculum; conservative Republicans who favor new science standards are being challenged by moderate Republicans who oppose them and who are expected to try to overturn standards if elected; photos (M)

US economy exhibits surprising robustness, growing at 5.2 percent annual rate during second quarter, Commerce Department reports; slowdown in economic growth had been widely expected; investment in business, increased federal spending and manufacturing of consumer merchandise sustained economic growth; demand by consumers, however, weakened; chart (M)

Opening of Arctic to commercial navigation, result of global warming, could bring biggest change in American shipping routes since Panama Canal opened in 1914, situation that concerns environmentalists and native Americans who rely on polar sea for basic items; over all, late summer icecap of North Pole has shrunk 6 percent over last 20 years, and average thickness of Arctic icecap has thinned 42 percent since 1950's; some scientists say that if these trends continue, polar icecap, which covers 80 percent of Arctic Ocean at its September minimum, could vanish every summer within next 50 years; even now, shipping lines are finalizing plans to send freighters with reinforced hulls steaming in summer months through Northeast Passage; photos; map (M)