October 22, 2000

Military violence remains part of daily routine of Grozny, Chechnya, months after Russia declared conclusion of the military phase of 'counterterrorist' operation; city is caught between a war that Russians cannot end and a peace that cannot take hold until a new Chechen leadership emerges to tame or supplant the warlords and 'bandits' whom Moscow is determined to crush; 150,000 people who have returned to live in Grozny complain that they live in repressive conditions of undeclared martial law, subjected to random searches, arrests, extortion and intimidation at more than 100 checkpoints; about 7,000 Russian troops are stationed in city, choking movement of people and basic foodstuffs; photo (M)

Bob Morris article on new movie, Almost Famous, lightly fictionalized account of Cameron Crowe's stint as writer for Rolling Stone magazine; recalls similar experience; drawing (M)

Four college-age founders of fledgling high technology companies, each of whom is still a student, talk about entrepeneurial urge as expressed by their generation; Mykolas Rambus, Jeffrey Gut, Greg Y Tseng and Alastair Rampell, all between 19 and 21 years of age, are simultaneously undergraduate students and senior business executives; photos (M)

Article on Mercedes-Benz of Manhattan's new print ad campaign featuring dewey young girls; photo (M)

Class-action lawsuits filed in Nashville charge that General Motors Acceptance Corp and Nissan Motor Acceptance Corp participated in lending arrangements with car dealers that have resulted in blacks paying higher finance charges than whites on dealer-arranged loans for buying cars; companies say that statistical studies on which plaintiffs rely are profoundly flawed and that interest rates paid on loans are result of private negotiations between consumers and car dealers, who are solely responsible for any discrimination; Justice Department argues that companies should be held responsible if dealers who originate their car loans are violating federal; photo (M)