The Week July 31 -August 6

By Philip Elmer-DeWitt, Christopher John Farley, Lina Lofaro, Michael Quinn, Jeffery C. Rubin, Alain L. Sanders and Sarah Van Boven

NATION

Health-Care Maneuvers

While President Clinton attempted to turn up the heat on Congress with aggressive health-care campaigning, Senate majority leader George Mitchell finally put his cards on the table and released his much anticipated compromise bill. Mitchell proposed to cover 95% of Americans by the year 2000 through a combination of voluntary measures, insurance reforms and federal subsidies -- with an employer mandate only as a last resort. The Mitchell blueprint, embraced by Clinton, was immediately blasted by Republicans for doing too much and by Democratic liberals for doing too little. House Democratic leaders fretted that the watered-down package might undercut their own more ambitious proposal.

The Whitewater Hearings

Congressional hearings on Whitewater got nasty. As a series of White House and Treasury Department officials testified before committees in both the House and Senate, Republicans -- and some Democrats -- zeroed in on Deputy Treasury Secretary Roger Altman, claiming he had been less than forthcoming about the department's contacts with the White House over an investigation into the failed S&L at the center of Whitewater. Former White House counsel Bernard Nussbaum was blasted for urging Altman not to recuse himself from overseeing ( the investigation.

A New Whitewater Prosecutor

In a surprise move on Friday, a special three-member judicial panel charged with administering the newly re-enacted independent-counsel law appointed Kenneth Starr, the Bush Administration's Solicitor General, to replace Robert Fiske as the special Whitewater prosecutor. The court said its decision was no reflection on Fiske's capabilities or integrity but stemmed from the need to maintain "the appearance of independence." In the law's absence, Fiske was specially appointed by Attorney General Janet Reno earlier this year.

Abortion Wars

In the wake of angry demands by abortion-rights groups for greater protection following the July 29 double murder at a clinic in Pensacola, Florida, the Justice Department mobilized an interagency task force to investigate antiabortion terrorist acts and deployed squads of U.S. marshals to stand guard at clinics around the country.

Smoking Out Nicotine

Cigarettes came one puff closer to being regulated by the Federal Government when an advisory panel to the Food and Drug Administration concluded that the nicotine they deliver can be addictive.

Racial Gerrymandering

A North Carolina federal court upheld a 160-mile-long, serpentine-shaped congressional district designed to ensure a majority black electorate. In a headline-grabbing voting-rights opinion, the Supreme Court last year ordered that the district be re-examined. The latest decision, coming on the heels of a contrary Louisiana federal ruling that struck down another black district, virtually assures that the practice of racial gerrymandering will be reviewed by the high court once again.

WORLD

NATO Jets Hit Bosnian Serbs

American jets flying a NATO mission attacked Bosnian Serb targets near Sarajevo after a group of Bosnian Serbs broke into a U.N. compound and stole heavy weapons that were placed under U.N. control in February. The Bosnian Serbs' raid came one day after Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic cut economic and political ties to punish the Bosnian Serbs for their third rejection of a Western-brokered peace settlement. Although he has been their primary sponsor in the 28-month war, Milosevic appears to be fearful that continuing to support the Bosnian Serbs would lead to tightened trade sanctions against Serbia, thus weakening his grip on power.

U.N. Okays Haiti Invasion

The U.N. Security Council in effect sanctioned an invasion of Haiti by the U.S. and its allies to force out its military leaders. With the country under a defiant "state of siege," de facto President Emile Jonassaint said, "The battle of Haiti is being prepared. We shall fight it with all our strength."

Castro Threat: I'll Free Cubans

Angered by a massive anti-government demonstration on the Havana waterfront, Cuban President Fidel Castro warned that unless the U.S. stops offering asylum to fleeing Cubans, he will allow the free departure of those who want to leave the country. That could trigger a repeat of the 1980 Mariel exodus, which saw some 125,000 Cubans arrive in Florida within a few months, overwhelming U.S. officials. Said Castro: "We cannot continue to guard the coasts of the U.S."

Feminist Author Out on Bail

Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasrin briefly emerged from two months in hiding that began when the government issued a warrant for her arrest following protests by Muslim fundamentalists who had placed a $5,000 bounty on her head. Nasrin, they claim, recommended that the Koran be "revised thoroughly," a statement she denies making. The heavily guarded feminist appeared in a court in Dhaka, the capital, to face charges that she outraged Muslims by defaming their faith. After she was freed on $250 bail and quickly returned to seclusion, thousands of demonstrators marched through Dhaka's streets shouting "Death to Taslima Nasrin!"

Devil's Dilemma in Rwanda

The mass of Rwandans returning home from Zaire slowed to less than 800 daily as the refugees pondered an unappealing choice: remain in the squalid, disease-ridden camps or return to Rwanda, where, Hutus claimed, vengeance at the hands of the victorious rebels awaited them. Even a few U.N. officials hesitated to advise repatriation of the mainly Hutu dispossessed, saying there may be insufficient guarantee of their safety.

Nigerians Strike Against Junta

The 5 million-member National Labor Congress joined oil workers in Nigeria for two days in their month-old strike to try to topple the country's military government. Five people died in the unrest, including two marchers shot when police fired on a peaceful crowd.

Arafat Wants Jerusalem Talks

Stung by the Israel-Jordan peace agreement, which acknowledges Jordan's "special role" as custodian of Jerusalem's Muslim holy sites, P.L.O. < Chairman Yasser Arafat said talks on the city's future should begin immediately. Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin refused and reaffirmed his position that Jerusalem must remain united under Israeli sovereignty.

Israeli Jets Bomb Lebanon

An evening raid by Israeli fighter-bombers on a Muslim village in southern Lebanon killed 10 civilians and wounded 15 more. The Israeli army later apologized for what it said was an error.

BUSINESS

Pharmaceutical Consolidation

American Home Products made a surprise $8.5 billion bid for American Cyanamid, as the global pharmaceutical industry continued its breakneck pace of consolidation in the face of impending health reform. The proposed hostile takeover would be one of the largest in recent history.

One Trade War Avoided

The Canadian government averted a possible trade war with the U.S. this week by agreeing to slash annual wheat exports to 1.5 million metric tons. The wheat pact fulfilled Clinton's pre-NAFTA promises to grain-growing states that he would challenge alleged Canadian subsidies of the industry.

QVC Deal Sealed

The board of cable network QVC this week officially accepted the sweetened $46-a-share buyout offer from Comcast and Liberty Media that sabotaged last month's heralded merger with CBS.

SCIENCE

Drug Scare

Doctors worked overtime trying to calm the nerves of panicky epilepsy patients after the Food and Drug Administration announced that a popular new drug had been linked to two fatal cases of aplastic anemia. Researchers say that the odds of contracting the rare form of anemia are about 1 in 5,000 and that the drug, called Felbatol, could still prove to be the best choice for some patients.

SPORT

Strike Looms Closer

Failure by baseball owners to make a $7.8 million payment to the players' pension fund heightened tension between labor and management as baseball's Aug. 12 strike date neared.