November 17, 2001

Funeral service held, Belle Harbor, Queens, for Kathie Lawler and her son Christopher, who were killed when American Airlines flight 587 crashed into their home shortly after takeoff from Kennedy International Airport; photo (M)

New Jersey Department of Labor reports that employment in state rose by 15,400 jobs in October; reports than many of new jobs are result of lower Manhattan corporations relocating to New Jersey after September 11 terrorist attack on World Trade Center (M)

China's entry into World Trade Organization means it must create standard commercial laws, move of key importance to foreign investors; Foreign Trade Ministry has pledged to publish hundreds of new laws on virtually every aspect of commerce; says it will not enforce any unpublished laws; analysts predict local officials will still try to impose own rules on foreign companies, including some that are likely to violate WTO rules and even countermand central government; Amway's experiences trying to sell products in China in face of changing laws noted; photos (M)

Linda J Wachner is fired without severance as chief executive of Warnaco Group; she was once among highest-paid, best-known businesswomen in nation; she transformed company into clothing powerhouse, but then refused to relinquish control even as empire collapsed in bankruptcy earlier this year; investors who long agitated for her removal say abrasive style that helped win her place in executive suite also eventually helped sink company; say she alienated talented staff and important business partners; say she insisted on high compensation even when sales began to sink and questions emerged about her acounting; Wachner, in interview, puts positive spin on her departure without addressing specific criticisms; Warnaco filed for Chapter 11 protection in June; photo (M)

There was the time in 1987 that he fired a shotgun at the tracks of the No. 7 train in Midtown. Afterward, doctors said he had schizophrenia. Then there was the time last year, when he groped a passenger on a subway car. He ended up in a mental hospital again. It seemed to have become a sad pattern of Jackson Roman's life: brushes with the law, followed by short hospitalizations to treat his debilitating mental illness. On Thursday, Mr. Roman was on the street again and back in the subway, about to begin the cycle again, the police said. In a crime that recalled several high-profile cases in recent years and echoed a recurring New York nightmare, Mr. Roman, the police said, pushed a woman into the path of the No. 6 subway train as it pulled into Grand Central Terminal.