THE WEEK
By KATHLEEN ADAMS, NICK CATOGGIO, BELINDA LUSCOMBE, LAWRENCE MONDI, MICHAEL QUINN, JEFFERY C. RUBIN, ALAIN L. SANDERS AND ELAINE SHANNON
NATION
"MEND IT, BUT DON'T END IT"
After months of seeming to waffle on the issue, President Clinton came down squarely on the side of affirmative action. Declaring that "affirmative action has been good for America," the President vowed to maintain the federal policy because when done right, "it is flexible, it is fair, and it works." Top Republicans were unimpressed and said they would continue to push for a complete scrapping of the policy.
"END IT, YOU CAN'T MEND IT" One of those Republicans did more than just talk. California Governor and presidential aspirant Pete Wilson used his position as head of the University of California board of regents to help steer a measure ending affirmative-action policies at the huge and prestigious nine-campus institution. Demonstrators, including the Rev. Jesse Jackson, protested the decision.
THE SMITH MURDER TRIAL
It took a jury less than three hours on Saturday to find Susan Smith guilty on two counts of murder in the drowning deaths of her two sons last year. The trial lasted but five days. Now the same jury, which could have found Smith guilty of involuntary manslaughter, must decide whether to sentence the South Carolina mother to life in prison or the electric chair.
THE WHITEWATER HEARINGS
Headed by New York's Alfonse D'Amato, a special Senate committee launched yet another investigation into the Clintons' Whitewater financial dealings, a probe Republicans hope will prove politically bruising to the Administration. The initial focus of the hearings -- the handling of documents in deputy counsel Vincent Foster's office by White House aides after Foster's suicide -- broke little new ground. On Saturday the Clintons gave depositions on Whitewater for the second time to independent counsel Kenneth Starr.
FINALLY, A SPENDING-CUT DEAL
Ending weeks of arduous renegotiation, the Senate gave final approval to a $16.3 billion package of spending cuts from the current budget, which President Clinton had vetoed last month. The measure restores funds to key Clinton-backed social programs, and the President will now sign it.
A CONTRACT CLAUSE CRUMPLED
Senate Democrats blocked a sweeping G.O.P. overhaul of the nation's health, safety and environmental laws that seeks to curtail the rulemaking powers of agencies and expand the ability of businesses to challenge regulations. Majority leader Bob Dole failed to muster enough votes to cut off debate, forcing him to shelve the key G.O.P. Contract measure.
SPEAKING OF CONTRACTS
In his weekly radio address, President Clinton chided House Speaker Newt Gingrich for dragging his heels on their agreed-upon commitment to create a nonpartisan panel on political reform. Clinton named John Gardner, the Republican founder of Common Cause, and historian Doris Kearns Goodwin as consultants for such a commission. A Gingrich spokesman called Clinton's remarks a "cheap shot."
THE WACO HEARINGS
House hearings into the 1993 federal assault against the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas, produced partisan sparks and riveting, emotional testimony. Republicans accused federal agents of having bungled the operation. Under harsh questioning, former Treasury Secretary Lloyd Bentsen said he had no advance knowledge of the raid and played no role in the decision to use tear gas to end the standoff. Democrats accused Republicans of having let the National Rifle Association influence key aspects of the committee investigation. Dramatic testimony also came from a teenager who described how sect leader David Koresh sexually molested her when she was 10.
TOUGH BLOWS FOR O.J. DEFENSE
The Simpson defense team ran into some heavy battering -- from its own witnesses. Among the damaging testimony and evidence elicited by prosecutors: a doctor who said that although Simpson was physically infirm, he would have been fit enough to commit the murders; an O.J. workout videotape made shortly before the murders in which he jokes about punching "the wife"; and a police photographer who said bloody socks never showed up in a tape he made of O.J.'s bedroom because they had already been collected by police.
DEADLY HEAT
A week of stifling temperatures in the nation's middle and Eastern sections exacted a shocking toll: some 800 heat-related deaths nationwide. In Chicago alone, more than 450 residents died.
WORLD
THE UNENDING ADVANCE
As horror stories emerged about the rape, robbery and murder of refugees from the overrun "safe area" of Srebrenica, Bosnian Serbs surrounded the town of Zepa, another U.N. safe haven. Western allies met in London at week's end, threatening a substantial and decisive response -- including air strikes -- if the Serbs moved against Gorazde, the last Muslim enclave in eastern Bosnia. But the allies also fretted about the serious risks involved in opposing the Serbs.
A JAPANESE APOLOGY
Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama apologized to the estimated 200,000 women forced into prostitution by Japanese armed forces during World War II. The government also appointed a group he hopes will collect at least $22.7 million to compensate the comfort women, of whom about 1,000 are believed to survive.
BUSINESS
BEAR ESSENTIALS
An optimistic economic prognosis from Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan prompted a bullish stock market to nose-dive. Wednesday's sell-off further weakened a market reeling from announcements of lowered profit expectations by Microsoft Corp. and Intel Corp. The technology-rich NASDAQ composite index sustained a massive 35.66 one-day loss, its largest point-drop since October 1987; it recovered almost 10 points by the close on Friday.
AN EYE FOR CBS
Westinghouse Electric Corp. chairman Michael Jordan looked to boost his Group W broadcasting division last week by pursuing a $5 billion merger with CBS Inc., sources said. Representatives reportedly met on Friday morning to begin negotiating terms for a forthcoming offer, which would create the largest TV-station group in the country, reaching more than 32% of all TV homes. Chemical Banking Corp. and J.P. Morgan & Co. each has committed $1 billion in loans to Westinghouse's bid.
PAPER TIGERS
The Kimberly-Clark Corp. opened the door to European expansion and served competitive notice to rival Procter & Gamble Co. when it announced that it will acquire the Scott Paper Co. for roughly $6.8 billion in stock. The merged company will be the world's largest manufacturer of tissue paper, enjoying annual revenue of $11 billion; Procter said it will raise antitrust objections in both the U.S. and Europe.
DRUGS BY LOTTERY
Merck & Co. will provide free Crixivan, an experimental AIDS medicine, to 1,400 people in the later stages of the disease. Recipients will be selected by a special lottery within the U.S. Last month Hoffman-La Roche Inc. created 2,280 slots for a similar lottery to receive the AIDS drug Invirase.
ATTENTION: DEFICIT
The U.S. trade deficit reached a record $11.43 billion in May. Export growth in merchandise and a $300 million decrease in auto imports were offset in part by crude oil imports, which rose to their highest level in more than four years. The deficit was more than $1 billion higher than some economists expected. SPORTS
BACK AT NO. 1
Absent from the tennis scene since a crazed fan stabbed her in 1993, Monica Seles will return with a share of the world's No. 1 ranking, the Women's Tennis Association said on Thursday. Seles will split the top spot with Steffi Graf for at least the first six tournaments that she plays; Graf will be top-seeded at the upcoming U.S. Open for tournament-draw purposes.
CAUGHT STEALING
Baseball Hall of Famers Willie McCovey and Duke Snider face prison and fines as high as $250,000 for failing to report income from baseball memorabilia shows. McCovey pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion, while Snider admitted conspiracy to defraud the government by filing a false tax return.
--By Kathleen Adams, Nick Catoggio, Belinda Luscombe, Lawrence Mondi, Michael Quinn, Jeffery C. Rubin, Alain L. Sanders and Elaine Shannon