June 30, 2004

Retired school official James Wright, who managed finances of William Floyd School District on Long Island, is charged with stealing $750,000 from district by writing checks to himself and authorizing them with his own signature; prosecutors believe more than $1 million was taken from school and are examining records of those who did business with district; photo (M)

Supreme Court, 5-4, uphold lower court's 1999 order blocking enforcement of law that imposes big fines on commercial Internet sites that make pornography available to children until law's constitutionality is resolved; Justice Anthony M Kennedy's majority opinion says government must show in Federal court trial why voluntary use of filters would not work as well as law's criminal penalties; leaves open possibility that law might ultimately be upheld (M)

Airline labor leaders and company executives face agonizing choice of waiting or leaping; waiting means biding time to see what happens at United Airlines, which failed to win federal loan guarantees and must try to persuade its workers to accept substantial new cuts in wages and benefits so it can attract lenders willing to finance its emergence from bankruptcy protection; any major cuts in labor costs at airline, where workers have already accepted reductions worth $2.5 billion each year, will put pressure on executives of rival carriers to get similar savings; analysts say uncertainties and brutal competition in industry make leaping attractive; competitors may try to reach cost-cutting deals quickly with their own unions without waiting for developments at United, to put themselves in better shape to absorb high jet fuel prices that have ruined industry's prospects for profitable 2004; danger for airlines is that deals made in haste may lock in labor costs that proved to be higher than what desperate United can ultimately get from its workers, leaving rivals either having to swallow competitive disadvantage or to go back to bargaining table yet again, asking for contract amendments; photos (M)

Powell to Press Sudanese To Ease Way for Aid Secretary of State Colin L. Powell traveled to Sudan and said he would press for faster delivery of aid to the Darfur region, where a million people have been displaced by conflicts in the area. PAGE A3 Yankees Blossom in June Gary Sheffield drove in four runs as the Yankees won, 11-3, in their first game against Boston since losing six of seven to the Red Sox in April. SPORTSWEDNESDAY, PAGE D1

Federal Reserve Board's expected interest rate increase is expected to ease pressure on other central bankers throughout world; Federal Reserve move would narrow gap in interest rates between US and 12 nations using euro currency, and could stabilize dollar and take steam out of euro, one of Europe's more frustrating recent economic problems; Bank of Japan and other Asian central banks are not expected to raise rates; Chinese officials may balk at following Federal Reserve's move with their own; Bank of England may feel no need to follow Fed because it raised rates in November and February; photos (M)