February 10, 2002

Interview with Allison K Schieffelin, former convertible-bond sales representative at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter who has filed sex discrimination suit against brokerage firm; Schieffelin says she was fired in October after complaining she had been denied additional pay and promotion she had earned; photos (M)

Jochem Uytdehaage of Netherlands wins gold medal in 5,000 meters in long-track speed skating, setting world record of 6 minutes 14.66 seconds; Derek Parra of United States wins silver, and Jens Boden of Germany is bronze medalist; photos; chart compares lap times of Parra and Uytdehaage (M)

Article discusses intense pressure for high ratings for 2002 Winter Games; NBC is optimistic following excellent rating for opening ceremony, which tops broadcast of Nagano ceremony by 49 percent; network tries to entice more viewers with live programming and smart scheduling; photo (M)

Political gamesmanship in Pres Bush's proposed federal budget discussed, as well as politically inspired decisions such as NASA's shift of high-wage space shuttle work from California, which Bush lost, to Florida, where he won by hair; photo; most intense struggle is between politics of 2004 and elections of 2002, which are of most immediate interest to members of Congress; Bush's fellow Republicans suggest president would not have proposed so many cuts in domestic spending if he were on ballot this year (M)

Poultry industry greatly reduces antibiotics fed to healthy chickens, bowing to demands of public health and consumer groups; Tyson Foods, Perdue Farms and Foster Farms say they are voluntarily taking most or all antibiotics out of what they feed healthy chickens; antibiotics have been justified as means of preventing infection in chickens as well as enhancing growth; opponents say this strategy has contributed to public health problem: growing resistance to antibiotics of disease-causing bacteria in humans; critics welcome overall decrease in antibiotic use in poultry industry, but note there is no way for consumer to know whether chickens have been treated with antibiotics; see need for monitoring by federal government; photo (M)