THE WEEK

By KATHLEEN ADAMS, CHRISTINE GORMAN, LINA LOFARO, MICHAEL QUINN, ALAIN L. SANDERS AND SIDNEY URQUHART

NATION

State of the Union

President Clinton delivered an 81-min. State of the Union address-a record breaker in terms of long-windedness. In general, the speech seemed to be better received by the public, according to polls, than it was by pundits, who accused the President of splitting too many differences. Among the principles the President espoused, and which Republicans said he had co-opted from them: smaller government, lower taxes, a balanced budget, a line-item veto, welfare reform and a crackdown on illegal aliens.

Back to Work

The ritualistic hospitality accorded the President quickly evaporated following his address, as Capitol Hill returned to the nitty-gritty of governance. Republicans and some Democrats let it be known that they were prepared to repeal the recently enacted ban on assault weapons, the President's threat of a veto notwithstanding. And a growing bipartisan chorus continued voicing dissatisfaction with the President's $40 billion emergency-loan-guarantee package for Mexico, which many characterized as a bailout for wealthy investors. The President, meanwhile, indicated that he would wait and sound out his staunch Republican foes before proposing a specific increase in the minimum wage.

Yes on Balanced Budget

Joined by many Democrats, including some liberals, the Republican majority in the House of Representatives approved a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution by a vote of 300 to 132, comfortably exceeding the two-thirds majority needed. The measure, which is stripped of a controversial provision that would have required a three-fifths majority vote for future tax increases, now goes to the Senate, where it faces a more uncertain fate. The Senate, meanwhile, approved by a bipartisan vote of 86 to 10 a bill restricting the power of Congress to impose unfunded mandates upon the states.

The Simpson Case

The extraordinary O.J. Simpson murder trial ground to a halt, as prosecution objections and vitriolic exchanges between opposing attorneys interrupted opening arguments and sent Judge Lance Ito scurrying to his chambers to sort things out. The disruption occurred when prosecutors accused defense attorneys of telling the jury about witnesses and witness statements they had not disclosed to prosecutors, a possible violation of California law. "Appalling," "disgusting" and "trial by ambush," charged the prosecution. Nonsense, countered Simpson's attorneys, admitting to a few inadvertent mistakes and blasting the prosecution for baldly trying to "shut up" the defense. Before the halt, both sides had received generally high marks from observers for the persuasiveness of their opening statements.

Discrimination Ruling

Should an employer be allowed to derail an employee's discrimination suit by unearthing evidence of past misconduct that would have independently justified the firing of the worker? No, said a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court, ruling that discrimination suits are too important to be thrown out of court by after-the-fact fault finding; but past misconduct may be used to limit the remedy available to the worker by, for example, excluding the possibility of reinstatement.

Ronald Brown Targeted

Reacting to Republican accusations of possible tax or financial-disclosure irregularities, the Justice Department and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation said they would review a series of financial transactions involving Commerce Secretary Ronald Brown. Brown denied having committed any improprieties, while his lawyer blamed "partisan politics at its worst" for the fuss.

The Really Slick Willie

With a new 41-to-39 edge over Democrats, Republicans in the California state assembly should have been able to oust veteran Democratic speaker Willie Brown and install one of their own. But no. First, one G.O.P. member defected to Brown's camp, creating a 40-to-40 deadlock in the chamber. Then Brown engineered a vote to disqualify another G.O.P. member, who had won a special election to the state senate; unable to vote on his own qualifications, the challenged Republican was ousted by a party-line vote of 40 to 39. Et voile: Brown was quickly returned to the speakership by the same 40-to-39 majority.

The Battle for Baby Richard

Reigniting a furor over the finality of adoptions and the rights of biological parents, the Illinois Supreme Court decided for the second time in a year that 3-1/2-year-old Baby Richard should be taken from his adoptive parents and returned to his biological father Otakar Kirchner. Kirchner, who has never met his son, began fighting for custody shortly after the baby's birth. He has since married the mother who put the baby up for adoption and who initially led him to believe the baby had died. U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens has rejected a request to stay the Illinois ruling; the adoptive parents may appeal to another Justice or to the entire court.

Barney Who?

House majority leader Dick Armey swears it was a slip of the tongue when he called Massachusetts Democrat Barney Frank-who is openly gay-"Barney Fag" in an interview. Armey corrected himself immediately and later apologized. Frank granted that it was an accident, but a suspicious one. "There are a lot of ways to mispronounce my name," he said. "That is the least common."

WORLD

Earthquake Recriminations

The Japanese government's torpid response to the Jan. 17 catastrophe in Kobe (5,090 dead, 29 still missing and some 300,000 homeless) has led to intense criticism of Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama-even from members of his own Socialist Party. Offers of assistance from 60 countries, the U.N. and the World Health Organization poured in. Some were subject to endless bureaucratic wrangling. Examples: foreign doctors rebuffed at first because they did not have Japanese licenses; Swiss sniffer dogs threatened with quarantine by the Agriculture Ministry. However, conditions in the stricken port city are improving, with 18,600 emergency-housing units under way, thousands of workmen busily laying new telephone and electric cables and, most cheering of all, the reopening of Kobe's schools.

Middle East: Another Bombing

A Palestinian suicide bombing in the heart of Israel took the lives of 21 Israelis and wounded 64 others, sending waves of shock and fury through the country and threatening to derail the fragile peace process once and for all. Even the normally dovish Israeli President Ezer Weizman joined in the outcry, declaring that talks with the P.L.O. should be suspended. Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin held firm, however, saying "There is no alternative." Some Cabinet members talked of erecting a fence, policed by border guards and dogs, to keep Palestinians from the West Bank from entering Israel.

A Pilgrimage to Auschwitz

Jews from all over the world journeyed to Poland to attend a ceremony marking the 50th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the Nazis' most infamous death-camp complex. The solemn occasion was marred by bitter disagreements between Jewish groups and the Polish government over the degree of Jewish participation in the program.

Bosnian Cease-Fire Still Shaky

In Bosnia the New Year's cease-fire brokered by former President Jimmy Carter seemed more elastic than ever. Renewed fighting broke out in the northwestern Bihac enclave, as rebel Muslims and Serbs from neighboring Croatia battled Bosnian government forces. The violence came just as the new British commander of the U.N. troops in Bosnia, Lieut. General Rupert Smith, arrived in Sarajevo to take up his yearlong tour of duty.

BUSINESS

Coming Soon: Another Hike?

Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan gave strong hints that he would put through another rise in short-term interest rates. The Fed has raised rates six times since last February.

THe ARTS & MEDIA

The O.J. Bookshelf

O.J. Simpson's I Want to Tell You (first printing: 500,000 copies) finally hit the stores after weeks of titillating secrecy. The book is the accused murderer's first attempt to respond to the charges against him and answer the more than 300,000 letters he claims he has received. Sample quote: "How could anybody say I could kill this woman? . Don't they understand that I'd jump in front of a bullet for Nicole?"

-By Kathleen Adams, Christine Gorman, Lina Lofaro, Michael Quinn, Alain L. Sanders and Sidney Urquhart