Coutts

AUCKLAND, New Zealand -- With the stakes rapidly narrowing down to triumph or survival, the America's Cup racing was abandoned here today for the third time for lack of stable winds on the notoriously fickle Hauraki Gulf. The postponement of Race 4 leaves Team New Zealand, with a faster boat and more experienced crew, still poised for victory with a 3-0 lead over the Italians in the first-to-five competition. With Kiwi skipper Russell Coutts enjoying dominance in every dimension of the races -- boat design, sailing skills and start-box tactics -- Italian skipper Francesco de Angelis is in danger of humiliation.

AUCKLAND, New Zealand -- The third race for the America's Cup between Team New Zealand and the Italians was postponed today for lack of wind, provoking suspicion of home-team favoritism. The Italians objected to the second postponement in a week, feeling it prevented them using the light air to narrow the Kiwis' 2-0 lead in the best-of-nine competition. "We are a little unhappy we didn't start the race today. We felt that the conditions were good enough," said Matteo Plazzi, the Italian navigator.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has given temporary approval for the use of tungsten-iron and tungsten-polymer shot during the 1998-1999 waterfowl hunting seasons.Tungsten-iron shot was approved for use last season, and the temporary approval has been extended for this season.Tungsten-polymer, a new shot material, was submitted for approval this year.Tests on both shot types have shown they pose little risk to waterfowl that ingest spent shot.Lead shot was phased out earlier this decade because it was found to be toxic to ducks and geese that ingest it while feeding.

Below are insider transactions of 1,000 shares or more for publicly held companies based in Maryland or having substantial operations here. Insiders are officers, directors or owners of 10 percent or more of a corporation's stock.Becton, Dickinson & Co.Gary M. Cohen, vice president, exercised an option for 2,072 shares of common at $8.64 each Dec. 18 and now directly and indirectly holds 24,957 common.Legg Mason Inc.Raymond A. Mason, chairman, purchased 3,599 shares of common at $30.03 each Dec. 30 and now directly and indirectly holds 1,462,279 common.

The Baltimore Waterfront Festival will open today, and feature an oyster-slurping contest, Cajun zydeco music, a 30-foot girdle and a bicycle-powered dragon racing a beaver through the streets of downtown Baltimore.More than 100,000 people are expected to pack the Inner Harbor through Sunday to feast on crab cakes, Caribbean jerk chicken, gyros and dozens of other foods.Among those not gorging themselves are 11 sailors with an Annapolis team competing in a series of races near Fort McHenry that begin today and will offer a preview of some of the best skippers in next year's America's Cup.The Prime Outlets crew was jogging yesterday around Fells Point wearing foul weather gear and thermal jackets in the hot sun in an attempt to lose 60 pounds so they could qualify for the first Chesapeake Grand Prix race.

These are uneasy times for workers at Martin Marietta Corp.'s Middle River plant.The company said yesterday that it expects to lay off some workers, probably fewer than 100, in coming weeks, followed by more layoffs next year. Martin blamed a decline in commercial aircraft orders.News of the layoffs come as workers are already nervous about the impact of the proposed merger between Martin Marietta and Lockheed Corp., a consolidation that some fear could mean the final chapter in the Middle River plant's storied 65-year history.

The Crystal MethodVegas (Outpost 30003)Like the Chemical Brothers, the Crystal Method's greatest genius isn't rhythmic but textural. In other words, it's not the beats that make "Vegas" worth visiting, but the way those beats are played out. Master mixers Scott Kirkland and Ken Jordan have tweaked the components in their electronic arsenal for maximum sonic impact, so the synth sounds are thick and chewy, the drums carry more punch than Holyfield, while...

AUCKLAND, New Zealand -- Team New Zealand tightened its grip on the 30th America's Cup today, scoring its third straight win over the Italians in the first-to-five competition and winning a hero's welcome from its home crowd. New Zealand is within two races of repeating the 5-0 whitewashing it administered to U.S. skipper Dennis Conner in San Diego to win the Cup five years ago and of becoming the first non-Americans in the race's 149-year history to defend the title. "We just managed to get ahead," said Kiwi tactician Brad Butterworth, a longtime sailing partner of winning skipper Russell Coutts.

Dennis Conner was in Annapolis on Wednesday evening to give something back to yachting, the sport that has carried him from training sessions in a lapstrake dinghy to world-class competitions such as the Whitbread Round the World Race and the America's Cup.While on the deck of the Annapolis Yacht Club, where later he would preside over a program to benefit the club's junior sailing program, Conner recounted something of his beginnings in sailing, his triumphs...