The Week December 11 -17

By Kathleen Adams, Lina Lofaro, Lawrence Mondi, Alice Park, Jeffery C. Rubin, Alain L. Sanders and Sidney Urquhart

NATION

The Potomac Tax Shuffle

Trying to reposition himself in postelection Washington, President Clinton went on national television to espouse a "Middle Class Bill of Rights" consisting mainly of -- surprise! -- tax and spending cuts. Seeking to differentiate his program from tax and spending cuts advocated by Republicans, the President explained that his were aimed at producing "a leaner, not a meaner, government." The Administration's tax cuts would favor middle-income Americans with children and would include new higher-education deductions. The as-yet-unspecified spending cuts would target, among other agencies, the Departments of Transportation, Energy and Housing.

More White House Potshots

In the third violent breach of presidential security in as many months, somebody fired four to six shots at the back of the White House early Saturday morning. The 9-mm bullets -- one of which was found on the first-floor balcony -- appeared to come from a handgun fired from somewhere south of the mansion. Clinton was asleep upstairs at the time.

Mission: Impossible

Acknowledging the political impossibility of its task, the bipartisan presidential commission charged with figuring out how to reform taxation and reduce the growth of federal entitlements ended its 10 months of study with no agreement and no plan of action. The commission, headed by Senators Bob Kerrey and John Danforth, had been set up as part of the 1993 budget agreement.

A Whitewater Breather

In a rare show of accommodation on Whitewater matters, incoming Senate Banking chairman Alfonse D'Amato said he would indefinitely defer Senate hearings into the tangled financial affair in order to avoid stepping on the toes of independent counsel Kenneth Starr. But the New York Republican predicted that the hearings, when they do resume, will probably stretch into the 1996 election season.

Bye, Bye, Dee Dee

White House Press Secretary Dee Dee Myers, the first woman to hold the post, announced that she would leave at year's end. The move was widely anticipated.

Unabom Strikes Again

After a mail bomb killed Thomas Mosser, a prominent New York City advertising executive, federal investigators began dusting off old files and scouring the country for traces of the so-called Unabom suspect -- a notorious serial bomber with an apparent grudge against technology who in 15 attacks over the past 16 years has killed two and injured 23.

Another American Eagle Falls

An American Eagle commuter plane crashed on its approach to Raleigh-Durham International Airport in rainy and foggy weather, killing 15 of the 20 people aboard. The fatal accident was the second in two months for the shaken airline. Trying to allay mounting passenger fears, Transportation Secretary Federico Pena announced that approval of toughened safety standards for commuter flights would be speeded up, but the Federal Aviation Administration said it could take a year to put the new rules in place.

More Bad Airline News

American Eagle halted service in parts of the Midwest and East after pilots asked for more training to handle flying in icy weather. Kiwi International Air Lines temporarily suspended its flights because of an FAA probe into its pilot-training records. And in New York, the FBI was investigating a recent series of vandalism incidents involving several Tower Air jumbo jets.

WORLD

Chechnya Quagmire?

It is Moscow's biggest military intervention since the ill-fated 1979 invasion of Afghanistan. As many as 40,000 Russian troops, supported by tanks and helicopters, poured into the rebellious Muslim region of Chechnya, setting off a political crisis in Moscow. Russian President Boris Yeltsin,who, with stunningly poor timing, had checked into a hospital for minor surgery on his nose, released a statement calling for a political solution, as some of his most loyal supporters denounced the invasion. Heeding the call of the flamboyant Chechen leader Dzhokhar Dudayev to fight on until the Russian invaders "die of fear and horror," the rebels retaliated fiercely. On Saturday Russian troops were poised reluctantly outside the Chechen capital of Grozny even as Dudayev dangled talks with Moscow. Officially, 16 Russian soldiers have died. Other reports, however, have the figure as high as 70. At week's end the Kremlin threatened a missile attack on Grozny if the Chechens refused to disarm.

Al Gore's Visit Eclipsed

Two high-level American officials, Vice President Al Gore and Defense Secretary William Perry, flew to Moscow seeking to ease tensions between the U.S. and Russia over the Bosnian conflict and the proposed expansion of nato. Their visit, however, was overshadowed by events in Chechnya. Not that the mission was a total loss: Vice President and Tipper Gore were photographed dancing around a Christmas tree with children at a Moscow shopping center.

Bosnia: Calling Jimmy Carter

Responding to an invitation from Bosnian-Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, diplomatic free-lancer Jimmy Carter headed for the former Yugoslavia as a "private" mediator. Karadzic had offered half a dozen promises as an inducement for the peace mission, including free passage for U.N. relief convoys, the release of all captured peacekeepers and the reopening of Sarajevo airport for humanitarian flights. NATO, the U.N. and Washington were skeptical of the Serb initiatives. However, the White House believes the Carter trip may be useful, and the State Department briefed the former President on Bosnia. Said a senior official: "If the trip eases tensions and helps create the climate for negotiations and a cease-fire, we won't quibble."

Korea: U.S. Chopper Down

North Korea claimed to have shot down a U.S. helicopter and was holding two American crewmen after the chopper crossed the demilitarized zone. The Pentagon said that the unarmed helicopter was on a routine training mission when it wandered into North Korean airspace by mistake.

Sweden Joins "Europe"

The Swedish Parliament approved membership in the European Union by a vote of 278 to 36.

A New PM for Ireland

Centrist John Bruton, a wealthy farm owner, became Prime Minister of Ireland at the head of a minority coalition government. He replaces Albert Reynolds, who was forced to resign in November over his handling of the extradition of a convicted pedophile priest.

Haile Selassie Strangled?

In the most sweeping war-crimes trial since the end of World War II, an Ethiopian court charged 67 former members of the military government, led by Lieut. Colonel Mengistu Haile Mariam, with murdering Emperor Haile Selassie. "He was so strangled on Aug. 26, 1975, in his bed most cruelly," stated the court report. At least 20 of the defendants are in hiding or exile; seven others are believed to have died.

BUSINESS

Pink Slip for Pentium

IBM suspended sales of its personal computers that use Intel's much maligned Pentium chip. Intel had argued that a flaw in the chip revealed in November might trigger a mathematical error once in every 27,000 years of normal use. But IBM said that errors could slip into common calculations as well -- as frequently as once every 24 days.

After Bankruptcy

Seeking to regain its balance and minimize losses, California's bankrupt Orange County began the delicate task of selling off the holdings of its troubled investment fund. Meanwhile, the Securities and Exchange Commission, apparently widening its probe of the nation's largest municipal bankruptcy, subpoenaed the records of top county officials.

Amtrak Steps on the Brakes

Trying to negotiate the curve around a sea of red ink, Amtrak announced that ^ it would cancel more than a fifth of its service throughout the nation and trim 5,500 employees.

Microsoft Buys Vatican -- Not

Software giant Microsoft denied rumors that it had acquired the Roman Catholic Church -- and exclusive electronic rights to the Bible -- in exchange for an unspecified number of shares of Microsoft common stock. The story had been making the rounds of the Internet in the form of a bogus Associated Press wire dispatch.

SCIENCE

Prehistoric Tree, Anyone?

Dinosaurs may no longer be around, but the trees that some of them munched on have survived, thanks to the unchanging rain forests. Rangers enjoying a weekend hike in a damp, secluded area of Australia's Wollemi National Park stumbled on a grove of pine trees -- some as old as 150 years and as large as 130 ft. tall and 10 ft. around -- of a species believed extinct. Scientists had thought the trees, whose knobby bark resembles chocolate sauce on the boil, vanished during the Cretaceous period, more than 65 million years ago.

Prozac Didn't Make Him Do It

After 47 days of testimony, a Kentucky jury rejected the claim that the widely prescribed antidepressant drug Prozac triggered the 1989 shooting spree of unemployed printer Joseph Wesbecker at a plant in Louisville. Survivors and families of victims of the rampage -- Wesbecker killed or wounded 20 people with an AK-47 and later took his own life -- had sued Prozac's manufacturer, Eli Lilly, arguing that the company knew some people became agitated during clinical tests of the drug. Lilly lawyers insisted that no scientific evidence exists to link Prozac and violent behavior.

THE ARTS & MEDIA

Oscar Preview?

The darkly comic film Pulp Fiction cleaned up with four awards from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association: best film, director and screenplay (Quentin Tarantino) and best actor (John Travolta). Robert Redford's Quiz Show was voted best picture by the New York Film Critics Circle.

SPORT

Baseball 1995?

Major-league baseball owners voted to declare an impasse and implement a salary cap -- the first step on the road to a 1995 season played by scab major leaguers -- if there is no settlement in the sport's four-month-old strike by Dec. 22.