December 20, 2000

Pres Clinton will issue sweeping new rules to protect privacy of medical records by requiring doctors and hospitals to get consent from patients before disclosing health information; rules, which are a response to advances in technology that have permitted people to pilfer and diseminate health care data with a few clicks of a computer mouse, are hailed by privacy advocates; insurance companaies and employers declare support for privacy in principle, but complain that rules are burdensome and bureaucratic and will increase costs (M)

Schools Chancellor Harold O Levy releases new details of his plan to overhaul New York City's 26-year-old bilingual education program, proposing that schools be required to move students with limited English skills into mainstream English classes within three years; also proposes changing so-called exit test to make it easier for students to leave bilingual programs after three years and urges giving parents right, after three years, to withdraw their children from bilingual programs entirely (M)

Comment on chefs who toil in shadow of the big star names; cites Didier Elena, chef de cuisine who is running the show day in and day out at Alain Ducasse at the Essex House; photos (L)

Comment on challenges of cracking black walnuts; photo; drawings (L)

Federal Reserve says it is shifting its sights from fighting inflation to steering the economy away from a possible recession, emphasizing in blunt language a number of problems that could derail the decade-long expansion; leaves interest rates unchanged but makes clear it is ready to cut rates if slowdown that has become increasingly evident in recent weeks appears to be developing into a full-fledged downturn; among problems cited by Fed are drag on demand and profits from rising energy prices, eroding consumer confidence, reports of substantial shortfalls in sales and earnings and stress in some segments of financial markets; Alan Greenspan, chairman, and colleagues apparently recognize possibility that they may have raised rates too much over last year and a half and may have to do an abrupt about-face to avert a stall that would drive up unemployment and sink the stock market; photo (M)