News Digest September 12-18

By Christopher John Farley, Michael D. Lemonick, Erik Meers, Michael Quinn, Sophfronia Scott Gregory, Sidney Urquhart

NATION

Selling Clinton's Programs

It was the week of big pitches from the White House. Basking in the afterglow of the South Lawn signing of the Middle East peace agreement, the Clinton Administration launched the sales job on its health-care plan and rolled out three former Presidents -- Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter and George Bush -- to endorse the North American Free Trade Agreement. In a meeting with small- business owners, Clinton promised flexibility on some important elements of his health plan, especially on proposals that might harm small businesses. Earlier, House and Senate Republicans unveiled their own plan, which would not compel employers to cover workers and, they promised, would not require new taxes or insurance-premium caps.

The Fugitive

A kind of anti-Vietnam War veteran came home last week. Katherine Ann Power, a college radical, had eluded authorities for 23 years after taking part in a bank robbery in which a Boston police officer was killed. For much of that time she lived as Alice Metzinger, a wife, mother and restaurant owner in Corvallis, Oregon. Power turned herself in to Boston police.

Goodbye, We Must Not Run

Two Senators, David Durenberger (R., Minn.) and Dennis DeConcini (D., Ariz.), separately announced they would not run for re-election next year. Both have been tainted by scandal: Durenberger faces trial in January on fraud charges, and DeConcini was rebuked by the Senate ethics committee in 1991 for accepting campaign contributions from savings and loan huckster Charles Keating. They join three other Senators and 12 House members who will not run for re- election.

This Week's Tourist Homicide

Just one week after the killing of a German tourist, Florida residents were stunned by the murder of a British visitor, the ninth foreign tourist to be killed in that state in the past year. At a highway rest stop outside Tallahassee, Gary Colley, 34, was shot to death and his female companion wounded by attackers who demanded money. Two teenagers, one just 13, have been arrested. A third is being sought.

Vidor Revisited

Determined to integrate a defiantly all-white housing project in a mostly white Texas burg, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Henry Cisneros ordered the federal seizure of Vidor Village, a public housing facility in the town of Vidor, and fired the heads of the local housing authority. Under court order to desegregate, the facility accepted nine black residents last spring, but all have left because of racial harassment. Cisneros, once mayor of San Antonio, Texas, promised that 10 to 12 new black families will soon arrive in Vidor.

An Opening to Vietnam

President Clinton relaxed the ban on trade with Vietnam in order to allow U.S. firms to bid on development projects there. He stopped short of eliminating the embargo on most dealings, however, saying that Hanoi is not yet fully cooperating in the search for MIAS.

Truly Hell-Bent?

As Southern Baptists would have it, the road to hell goes straight through Alabama. The Southern Baptists Convention estimated in a detailed county-by- county chart that 46.1% of people in the state are not born again and so risk not reaching heaven. Some Alabamians consigned to the flames were angered by the news. Said Martin King of the Home Mission Board, which compiled the study: "All we know is that as we understand the doctrine of salvation, a lot of people are lost."

WORLD

Arafat to Rabin: Shake, Pal

After decades of loathing between their peoples, the Prime Minister of Israel and the head of the Palestine Liberation Organization met in a ceremony on the White House lawn, attended by world leaders, diplomats and four U.S. Presidents. The two men witnessed the signing of an agreement on limited Palestinian self-rule, beginning in the Israeli-occupied Gaza Strip and the West Bank town of Jericho. Then, in a gesture that seemed remarkable even under the circumstances, they shook hands.

Israeli-P.L.O. Fallout

The repercussions of the Israel-P.L.O. agreement spread quickly throughout the region. On his way home from the signing ceremony, Israel's Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin stopped off in Morocco for an unprecedented meeting with King Hassan II; diplomatic relations may follow. Jordan and Israel signed an agreement laying out the framework for their own peace discussions. But Rabin lambasted Syria for allowing anti-Israel guerrillas to continue to operate in southern Lebanon. Meanwhile, in the Gaza Strip three Israeli soldiers were ambushed and killed and a Palestinian blew himself up in a botched attack on an Israeli police station.

Battling in Georgia

Georgian leader Eduard Shevardnadze was under fire on all sides. Only after he threatened to resign did parliament give him emergency powers to quash armed rebellions. Last weekend he was besieged by Abkhazian separatists battling to gain control of their capital.

Bosnian Truces

A thin ray of hope for peace glowed as Bosnia's beleaguered Muslims signed separate cease-fire agreements with Croatia and with the Bosnian Serbs. If the truces hold, all three parties may soon be signing a peace accord that would partition the former Yugoslav republic into a confederation of three ethnic zones. The agreement, if ratified, would allow any of the three enclaves to withdraw from the confederation after two years.

Chinese Dissidents Freed

One of China's most famous political prisoners has been Wei Jingsheng, who was jailed in 1979 for advocating democracy and opposing Deng Xiaoping. Last week Beijing authorities suddenly saw fit to release him, six months before his sentence was to end -- and just before the International Olympic Committee was to decide on a host city for the 2000 Olympic Games. Beijing is an anxious contender. For good measure, the government also released Wu Xuecan, an imprisoned newspaper editor who had supported the 1989 pro-democracy movement, and Zhai Weimin, a student leader.

BUSINESS

A Deal in Detroit

Twenty-four hours after their old contract expired, the United Automobile Workers and Ford agreed on a new three-year pact under which Ford's 96,000 U.A.W. workers will still enjoy health care fully paid by the company, a major sticking point. The pact will provide a model for negotiations at General Motors and Chrysler.

The Economy: Looking Up?

Washington released two economic reports that might -- just might -- mean good news: the trade deficit shrank 14% from June to July, and in August industrial production rose 0.2%.

Chasing Mickey

Universal Studios Florida announced a $3 billion expansion of its Orlando theme park, 12 miles from Walt Disney World. The new venture will feature a Jurassic Park ride and other Spielbergian creations.

SCIENCE

You'd Be Extinct Too

For some time scientists have been moving toward the view that the extinction of the dinosaurs occurred after a giant comet or meteor struck the earth, filling the air with dust that shut out the sunlight for months. Now the theory is looking even better: a crater off the coast of Yucatan, known to be the right age (65 million years old) but thought to be too small to have been made by such a cosmic collision, has been discovered to be 185 miles across, not 110 as previously believed. The heavenly object that carved it out was plenty big enough to have done the job.

Why the Titanic Sank

Everyone knows the Titanic sank because an iceberg cut a huge gash in its side. But everybody's wrong, says a group of naval architects and marine engineers. Extensive sea-bottom photos of the ship show no gash. The real problem was the ship's steel plating, which was inherently brittle, say the experts -- even a small impact could have caused major cracks. The Titanic's sister ships, the Olympic and the Britannic, made from the same steel, are known to have suffered such cracks.

MEDIA & THE ARTS

That's Entertainment

Viacom Inc., which owns MTV and other show businesses, announced a planned $8.2 billion acquisition of Paramount Communications. But at week's end two other TV titans -- QVC chairman Barry Diller and Turner Broadcasting -- were reportedly considering their own, separate bids for Paramount.

Stolen Paintings Recovered

Belgian police recovered two priceless works of art, Vermeer's Lady and a Maid Servant and Goya's Portrait of Dona Antonia Zarate. In one of the largest art heists of recent years, the paintings were stolen seven years ago from Russborough House, the Dublin-area home of the late Sir Alfred Beit, a private , collector. Three Irishmen and a Yugoslav were caught near Antwerp transporting the paintings, along with six other stolen works, in two rented cars.

Marilyn Mementos Missing

Who can forget her gauzy white skirt billowing over a subway-grating updraft in The Seven Year Itch? Alas, New York police confirmed the outfit is missing and presumed stolen from a Manhattan warehouse. Also gone: some letters written by the actress to her acting coach, Lee Strasberg.

Marlene Mementos Purchased

At a negotiated sale in New York, the city of Berlin bought up actress Marlene Dietrich's 100,000 possessions for $5 million. The vast collection includes the uniform she wore while entertaining U.S. troops and at least 10 steamer trunks. Dietrich, who died last year, left Berlin in the early 1930s but in 1990 asked to be buried there. The city plans to display the artifacts in a new film museum.