News In Brief

suit against market columnist drops one of the charges

Charges against a former Wall Street Journal reporter accused of using his stock market column for illegal profit have been narrowed to drop an earlier claim that he breached his duty to readers.

R. Foster Winans, who wrote the influential ''Heard on the Street'' column, will still be tried on charges of criminal conspiracy and securities, mail and wire fraud, based on the misappropriation of confidential information from the Journal.