April 3, 2001

Ongoing special report, Blues, on failure of New York City Police Department to diversify ranks with more blacks in frontline positions, one of its most important personnel objectives; difficulties in integrating ranks are tied to larger social forces, including competition for finite population of qualified black men from private business, but to blacks in uniform one of department's deepest problems is department itself; wide variety of black officers and detectives say department has struggled with integration in part because of bungled recruiting efforts, insecure commitment and promotion rules that leave few black men at top; say problems are compounded by type of aggressive policing that led to shooting of Amadou Diallo in 1999 that tends to cement its poor reputation among young blacks it most hopes to recruit; aggressive tactics, heralded by Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and police officials as prime factor in city's crime decline, have eroded morale and enthusiasm of what is perhaps greatest asset in diversity recruiting efforts, namely, black officers; photos (L)

Food and Drug Administration investigation of dozen food companies has found that in spite of strict labeling laws, as many as 25 percent of manufacturers fail to list common ingredients that can cause potentially fatal allergic reactions; says mislabeling poses threat to roughly seven million Americans who suffer from food allergies and who rely on product's packaging to keep them safe; FDA enlisted support of state regulators in Minnesota and Wisconsin to undertake series of inspections at food plants over last two years, trying to grasp extent of problem and correct it at source; graph (M)

Senate, 59-41, approves McCain-Feingold campaign-finance reform bill; caps fierce six-year effort by Republican Sen John McCain and Democratic colleague Sen Russell D Feingold to ban large, unrestricted, soft-money political contributions that reached record of nearly $500 million in last election; 12 Republicans join 47 Democrats in supporting it; 3 Democrats join 38 Republicans in opposing it; McCain thanks supporters; Sen Mitch McConnell, chief opponent of legislation, says Senate is weakening national political parties and putting candidates at mercy of outside interest groups; bill goes to House, where it faces uncertain future; its provisions reviewed; photos; charts (M)

The uncertainty over the region's economy is also playing out in Albany and Trenton, where contrasting forecasts are influencing the debate over how New York and New Jersey spend their tax revenues. In Albany, where new projections showed the state with a record $2.7 billion surplus, Gov. George E. Pataki warned that the good times won't last, and said the state should be salting money away to hedge against an economic downturn. And in Trenton, fiscal analysts said that the decline of the stock market could cause a $1 billion shortfall in next year's budget. Articles, Page B5.

Swisscom, Switzerland's largest telecommunications company, concludes $2.6 billion deal linking its mobile phone unit and Vodafone Group of Britain; Vodafone has taken 25 percent stake in Swisscom Mobile (S)