February 23, 2002

Semifinal matches played in Olympic hockey tournament; United States defeats Russia, 3-2; Canada defeats Belarus, 7-1; US and Canada will play for gold medal; photos (M)

Northrop Grumman Corp announces unsolicited $5.9 billion stock offer for TRW Corp in hope of becoming nation's leading satellite and missile contractor as military spending rises in reponse to terrorist threats; Northrop's chairman Kent Kresa says his company is most interested in TRW's space and information technology operations; adds he would sell automotive assets of TRW, which account for almost two-thirds of company's revenue; chart; photos (M)

Clyde Haberman column on murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl holds in newpaper's editorials on Pearl word 'hero' was avoided because that word would have embarrassed him, as it would most journalists and others whose work sometimes involves physical peril (M)l

Janica Kostelic of Croatia wins giant slalom, setting new standard by winning four medals in one Winter Olympics, and tying Jean-Claude Killy of France and Toni Sailer of Austria as only Alpine skiers to win three gold medals in one Winter Olympics; Sweden's Anja Paerson wins silver and Sonja Nef of Switzerland takes bronze; photos (M)

America's major record companies, which successfully sued to shut down online music-swapping service Napster, suffer serious setback as Federal Judge Marilyn Patel allows Napster to seek evidence that record companies colluded to monopolize digital music market; Patel writes that if Napster shows record labels were involved in illegal collusion, it could invalidate their lawsuit; decision is potential turnaround in case that has helped define how copyrighted material is distributed over Internet, who will profit from such distribution, and whether and how much consumers will pay; Napster says it is pleased by decision (M)

Funeral industry leaders and regulators say misfeasance at Georgia crematory is far from isolated incident; say multibillion-dollar business is subject to spotty supervision, patchwork of incomplete state laws and clientele disinclined to look too closely into details of loved one's burial or cremation; says industry is susceptible to unscrupulous or negligent business practices as result; problem of oversight is particularly acute for crematories, which have grown in popularity in recent years as less expensive and, to some, more meaningful way to part with deceased than burial; it is now used in 25 percent of deaths, up from 5 percent 30 years ago; laws and regulations are slow to catch up with its rising popularity; 10 states have no crematory regulation, some states do not directly inspect crematories, and some inspect, but only infrequently; actions of Tri-State Crematory in Georgia, where hundreds of bodies were discovered in nearby woods, were made possible by law that exempts from licensing and inspection crematories that do not deal directly with public; photo (M)

Researchers trying to explain why World Trade Center's south tower fell first, though struck second, focus on new calculations showing passenger jet that hit south tower was flying much faster than other hijacked plane; speed of two planes at impact has been painstakingly estimated using mix of video, radar and even recorded sounds of planes passing overhead; two sets of estimates, by government and private scientists, show that United Airlines plane, which struck south tower, was moving so fast that it was at risk of breaking up in midair as it made final turn toward tower; in addition to speed of planes, other factors causing south tower to fall first include combination of structural damage and fires; south tower was also hit at lower point, meaning there was more weight bearing down on damaged floors; difference in towers' survival times translated into difference in amount of time tenants and rescue personnel had to get out; south tower fell within 56 minutes and north tower fell after 102 minutes; graph (L)

RECORD GOLD -- Janica Kostelic won the giant slalom to tie the Alpine mark for gold medals (three) and set another for total medals (four) at a Winter Olympics. PAGE D1 PROTESTS CONTINUE -- Russian officials asked that a second gold medal be awarded to Irina Slutskaya in women's figure skating, but the protest was denied. PAGE D1

Article explains judging in women's figure skating; chart details judges' marks at various points in competition (M)

Chief suspect in Daniel Pearl case, Ahmed Omar Sheikh, tells investigators that Pearl was killed in late Jan as part of plot that was to have included attack on United States Consulate in Karachi; Sheikh's claims are among clues being weighed by American and Pakistani authorities still pursuing others thought to be involved in Pearl's killing; his gruesome beheading was recorded on videotape made available to American investigators in Karachi by Pakistani journalist who covers Islamic militants; American officials praise Pakistan for its aggressive pursuit of Pearl's killers, and Pres Pervez Musharraf vows that killing would not deter him and his government from acting against terrorists; Pearl was reporter for Wall Street Journal; photo (M)

Argentine government says it cannot carry out economic changes that International Monetary Fund and other creditors are demanding unless it receives fresh money from abroad first, but foreign lenders say they cannot advance country any new money until after it has shown some results; US Treasury Sec Paul H O'Neill saye he sees Argentina's problems as largely self-inflicted, born of borrowing too freely to finance consumption rather than investment, speech to US Chamber of Commerce; photo of Pres Eduardo Duhald with Production Min Jose Ignacio de Mendiguren announcing new economic measures (M)

The Northrop Grumman Corporation announced an unsolicited $5.9 billion stock offer for the TRW Corporation in the hope of becoming the nation's leading satellite and missile contractor. Analysts and industry executives said Northrop, like its rivals Lockheed Martin and Boeing, was preparing for coming years when more taxpayers' dollars are expected to be sent to military contractors as the nation combats terrorist threats in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks.