1.   At a late afternoon briefing Wednesday, Defense Secretary William S. Cohen said all NATO planes returned safely to their bases after the intitial wave of strikes.

2.   At a late afternoon briefing, Pearce, the chief crash investigator, added grim new details to the final minutes of the tragic flight.

3.   At the regular afternoon briefing, press secretary Mike McCurry deflected many of the questions.

4.   At an afternoon briefing, Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani praised the sanitation workers and said he expected no problems for commuters Monday morning.

5.   The Foreign Ministry spokesman, Shen Guofang, said at an afternoon briefing that earlier discussions with the United States over establishing a hotline had been terminated.

6.   The FBI declined to comment on the Cole connection during a late afternoon briefing for reporters Saturday.

7.   French leader Jacques Chirac also canceled an afternoon briefing in an adjacent press center because metal detectors at security checks were no longer operable.

8.   He was expected to outline the new French African policy at an afternoon briefing for members of Parliament.

9.   Three distribution centers could open to the public as soon as Tuesday, Witt said at an afternoon briefing.