THE WEEK

By KATHLEEN ADAMS, CHRISTINE GORMAN, LINA LOFARO, MICHAEL QUINN, SRIBALA SUBRAMANIAN AND SIDNEY URQUHART

NATION

The Contract: Half Done?

Celebrating their first 50 days in power, House Republicans circulated self-congratulatory buttons that read KEEPING PROMISES. Ten House subcommittees slashed some $17.5 billion from domestic and foreign programs. Among the victims: the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which could lose $47 million from next year's $305 million budget, and the Energy Department, with $80 million trimmed from solar-energy and environmental-cleanup projects. The G.O.P. lawmakers also presented a plan, which outraged Democrats, to take $2 billion from day care, school lunches and other long-standing social-welfare initiatives and convert the money to block grants for states to set up their own programs. Aiming at perhaps the widest target of all-bureaucrats-the full House voted 276-146 to freeze thousands of environmental, health and safety regulations, including rules on everything from meat inspection to nuclear-waste disposal.

Here We Go Again

One full year before the 1996 primary season, nine (count 'em) G.O.P. presidential wannabes bundled off to New Hampshire to strut their stuff at a fund raiser. Led by a schmoozy Bob Dole ("I'm a little more realistic, a little more relaxed"), the group, which included Texas Senator Phil Gramm, former Education Secretary Lamar Alexander, Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter, California Congressman Robert Dornan, Conservative commentator Pat Buchanan, Indiana Senator Richard Lugar, former Labor Secretary Lynn Martin and ex-State Department official Alan Keyes, took turns bashing Bill Clinton and trying to distinguish themselves from one another.

More Questions for Foster

Surgeon General nominee Dr. Henry Foster staved off claims that he knew about a controversial experiment that gave placebos, rather than antibiotics, to black men with syphilis. Foster reportedly was an officer of a local medical board that was briefed on the federal project in 1969; he said he had no recollection of attending that meeting and first heard of-and criticized-the project in 1972, the year it ended. The Washington Post, however, cited a doctor who recalls seeing Foster at the 1969 briefing.

Affirmative-Action Review

With a broad range of affirmative-action programs-some of them in place for more than three decades-under fierce attack by the Republicans, President Clinton put his finger to the wind and ordered "an intense, urgent" review to determine which ones work and which ones could be abandoned. One G.O.P. presidential candidate, Phil Gramm, has vowed to end certain major set-aside programs on-he hopes-his first day in office.

In Trouble Again

One of Ronald Reagan's most contentious Cabinet members, James Watt, was served with a 25-count perjury indictment by the independent counsel investigating corruption at the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Watt, a former Interior Secretary, had served as a HUD consultant after leaving the Administration. He denied all charges, saying, "I am trusting God that justice can arise and will prevail."

A Widow Once More

Three days after she was elected chairwoman of the N.A.A.C.P., Myrlie Evers-Williams, widow of civil rights activist Medgar Evers, rushed home from Washington to be with her critically ill husband Walter Williams, a retired longshoreman. He died the next day of cancer.

A Win for Hinckley's Victims

John Hinckley, the man who tried to kill President Reagan in 1981, has signed over to the three men who were wounded along with the President most of the proceeds (up to $2.9 million) he could earn from the sale of his life story. The deal also includes Hinckley's "intellectual property"-such as letters, songs and his "innermost thoughts and feelings" about actress Jodie Foster.

O.J.: Tantrums and Theatrics

During cross-examinations, O.J. Simpson's defense team hammered away at alleged police ineptitude, forcing one of the detectives in charge of the murder investigation to admit several lapses in evidence gathering. Tempers flared as prosecutor Christopher Darden interrupted Judge Lance Ito during a sidebar conference about defense lawyer Johnnie Cochran's line of questioning. An extraordinary scene ensued as Judge Ito demanded that Darden apologize, under threat of a contempt citation. A visibly agitated Darden held up the trial for minutes before finally knuckling under and saying he was sorry. At week's end, after a full day's hearing, Judge Ito agreed to interrupt the prosecution's case so that the defense might call a witness of its own: Rosa Lopez, a maid who lived next door to Simpson and is said to be able to support his alibi. The court ruled she was at risk of fleeing the country.

Accused Killer Also a Victim

The stepfather of the South Carolina woman accused of drowning her two sons admitted to sexually molesting her seven years ago. According to court records unsealed last week, Beverly Russell Jr., a stock broker, tax consultant and state official of the Christian Coalition, admitted to fondling Susan Smith's breasts and placing her hand on his genitals when she was 16 years old. Smith's lawyer did not say whether the revelations would become part of the defense strategy.

WORLD

Mexico: Thanks, Sort Of

A $20 billion contribution from the U.S. was the centerpiece of a new rescue plan designed to ease Mexico's financial troubles. For its part, Mexico will have to abide by an austerity plan that, to the dismay of most Mexicans, will give the U.S. unprecedented say over the country's economic policies. One of the Mexican government's first attempts to steady its buoyant economy was a move to raise interest rates to nearly 50%. The Mexican stock market reacted with a sharp drop of nearly 5%.

Diplomatic Fiasco

A transatlantic diplomatic row erupted when France asked five Americans to leave the country on the grounds that they had carried out political and economic espionage and attempted to bribe French officials. The U.S. called the allegations unwarranted, and a White House spokesman speculated that the disclosure was timed to provide a distraction from a wiretapping scandal that has plagued presidential front runner Edouard Balladur.

Irish Breakthrough

After four years of secret negotiations, the British and Irish governments unveiled a "framework" document that could provide a foundation for the talks over Northern Ireland. Political leaders of the majority Protestants in the North, who favor the continuation of British rule, have denounced the accord, accusing the British government of capitulating to the Irish Republican Army.

Haitian Military Purge

In a move that virtually wiped out the Haitian military's top brass, President Jean-Bertrand Aristide fired all four of the country's generals, including the army chief and 39 other senior officers. The head of the interim police force was also removed from his post. With this latest purge, Aristide has whittled down the 7,000-man Haitian army to a force of less than 1,500.

Algeria Losing Its Grip

Algerian security forces killed at least 81 Islamic militants and 15 other inmates while crushing a prison revolt. Prisoners had killed four guards. One radical Islamic group threatened to retaliate by ending the holy month of Ramadan with "fire and flame." The militants, who are seeking to overthrow the country's secular government, stepped up violent attacks in recent days, escalating the civil war that began three years ago.

A New Force

A U.N. peace plan for Afghanistan is being redrafted in order to take into account the ascendancy of a new Islamic student group called the Taliban, which has wrested power from the mujahedin (rebel Muslim tribesmen) in the southwestern region and ended the three-year siege of Kabul. Two weeks ago, the Taliban won a dramatic victory over the forces of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, one of the most powerful rebel leaders.

BUSINESS

Smoking Suits

One week after a federal judge granted class-action status to an antitobacco lawsuit originally brought by three smokers and a smoker's widow, cigarette manufacturers suffered a second legal setback. The State of Florida announced it would file a landmark $1.43 billion lawsuit against 17 cigarette makers in an attempt to recoup the medical expenses the state incurs each year because of smoking-related illnesses.

Greenspan Talks, Dow Listens

Alan Greenspan, chairman of the Federal Reserve, told Congress there was evidence that the economy "may finally be slowing" and indicated that the Fed might even cut interest rates if there was a continued decline. As Greenspan spoke, the bond market rallied: the following day, the Dow hit the 4000 mark for the first time.

SCIENCE

Oxygen on Jupiter's Moon

Astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope have found evidence of oxygen in the atmosphere of Jupiter's moon Europa, making Europa only the fourth solar-system body known to have oxygen in its air. (The others are Earth, Venus and Mars.)

SPORT

A Stunning Revelation

The greatest diver ever, four-time Olympic gold medalist Greg Louganis, has AIDS. In an interview with ABC's 20/20, Louganis said he tested HIV-positive eight years ago, before the 1988 Olympic Summer Games in Seoul. Louganis remembered "being paralyzed with fear" when, during a preliminary round, he gashed his head on the diving board and bled into the pool. An Olympic Committee doctor, unaware of Louganis' condition and not wearing protective rubber gloves, quickly stitched up the wound so he could continue competing.

Teamsters Try to Help

In a show of solidarity with the major league players, the Teamsters Union said it would not deliver beer, hot dogs or any other refreshments to ball parks. "Anyone who crosses a picket line is a scab," said union president Ron Carey. The action would affect 23 of the nation's 26 stadiums.

--By Kathleen Adams, Christine Gorman, Lina Lofaro, Michael Quinn, Sribala Subramanian and Sidney Urquhart