The Week August 7-13

By Melissa August, Robertson Barrett, Leslie Dickstein, Christine Gorman, Michael Quinn, Jeffery C. Rubin, Alain L. Sanders and Sarah Van Boven

NATION

Crime Bill Is Shot Down

It was a stunning defeat for the Clinton Administration and Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives: the lower chamber refused to consider, by a vote of 225 to 210, the compromise $33.3 billion crime bill its negotiators had painstakingly worked out with the Senate last month. The bill -- which would have authorized money for more police and prisons, banned certain assault-style weapons and enacted a federal "three-strikes-you're-out" sentencing provision -- was defeated on a procedural vote by an unusual coalition of N.R.A.-backed gun-control opponents, Republicans who said the measure contained too much social spending, and black lawmakers critical of its expanded capital-punishment sections. President Clinton vowed to keep fighting for the bill, as House leaders sought a way to remarshal their forces.

Health-Care Maneuvers

After months of wending its way through congressional committees, health-care reform finally moved to the center stage of the Senate floor, with no one certain of the outcome. As formal debate began on his compromise bill, Senate majority leader George Mitchell told his colleagues, "We will undertake no more important task in this Congress" than to seek "the well-being and peace of mind that Americans should have with respect to their health care."

A New White House Counsel

President Clinton picked Washington federal appeals court Judge Abner Mikva as his new White House counsel; the former Illinois Congressman will succeed temporary troubleshooter Lloyd Cutler in October.

Another Independent Counsel

The Clinton Administration got what it needed least: the beginnings of another probe by a special prosecutor. Attorney General Janet Reno asked a Washington federal appeals court to appoint an independent counsel to investigate allegations that Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy improperly accepted travel and entertainment gifts from Tyson Foods, Inc., the Arkansas poultry firm with ties to the Clintons. Espy denied any wrongdoing.

Starr Takes Charge

Independent counsel Kenneth Starr formally took over the Whitewater investigation from Robert Fiske amid growing complaints from prominent Democrats that the well-connected Republican and former Bush Administration Solicitor General might be too partisan for the post.

Democratic Shuffle

Facing the possibility of a bleak electoral season this fall, the Democratic Party rejiggered its team of top players, gently easing out national chairman David Wilhelm. Though Wilhelm will remain on the job until after the November elections, former California Representative Tony Coelho, a once powerful insider in the House, is being brought in to mastermind party strategy.

The "Stealth" Building

How deeply buried are some of the books for the nation's spy budget? Apparently deep enough to prompt an unprecedented public spat between the Senate Intelligence Committee and the National Reconnaissance Office, the nation's supersecret spy-satellite agency. After the panel blasted the agency for having "never effectively disclosed to our committee" the ballooning $300 million-plus costs of its new headquarters near Washington, agency officials appeared before the committee to apologize and promise not to do it again.

Another Exxon Valdez Verdict

After 23 days of deliberations, a federal jury awarded more than 10,000 Alaska fishermen nearly $287 million in damages for the losses they suffered as a result of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill. In the next phase of the case, the jury will consider punitive damages.

WORLD

Korean Nuke Breakthrough

The U.S. and North Korea agreed to reduce -- if only slightly -- nuclear tensions on the Korean peninsula, with Pyongyang promising to continue the freeze of its nuclear program and to remain a member of the nuclear nonproliferation treaty in return for Washington's pledge to help North Korea switch to safer nuclear technology less easily converted to weapons-making. The two sides also said they were prepared to establish diplomatic links for the first time since Korea was split in 1945.

Bosnian Muslims Rout Rebels

In the most important victory of its 28-month-long war, the Muslim-led Bosnian army routed a rebel group that had been trying to make a separate peace with aggressor Serbs in the country's northwest. By closing a troublesome second front, the victory enables the Bosnians to concentrate their fight against the Serbs. Meanwhile, growing pressure from Congress forced President Clinton to announce that he would ask the U.N. to drop its arms embargo against the Bosnian Muslims if the Bosnian Serbs refuse to accept peace conditions by Oct. 15.

Jordan, Israel Open Border

Plucking the first fruits of their newly declared peace, Jordan and Israel opened a new border crossing for tourists and established telephone links. Although the frontier opening was for foreigners only, officials said Israelis and Jordanians would be able to cross soon.

Palestinian Talks Accelerated

Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin met with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and announced that talks on expanding self-rule in the West Bank would be stepped up. Earlier, P.L.O. Foreign Minister Farouk Kaddoumi created a stir by reportedly suggesting Israel should be destroyed. Arafat distanced himself from the remark, which Kaddoumi later denied having made.

U.S.-Cuban Immigration Spat

Cuban leader Fidel Castro accused the U.S. of covering up the alleged murder of a Cuban military officer and repeated his charge that the U.S. encourages Cubans to flee their country. In the past three weeks, four Cuban vessels have been hijacked to Florida, and in one case, Castro alleges, a Cuban naval lieutenant was shot and killed. Attorney General Janet Reno said the U.S. would act to prevent American citizens from helping Cubans escape; since Thursday, U.S. Customs officials have seized one speedboat and the Coast Guard has intercepted two other boats on suspicion of smuggling refugees to Florida.

Zairean Soldiers Stoned

Hundreds of Zaireans turned against members of the Zairean army accused of killing a Goma money changer after arguing over the spoils of looted shipments of relief supplies. Pelting troops with stones, the demonstrators shouted, "Throw the soldiers out!" Meanwhile, the new Rwandan government announced it would support an international war-crimes tribunal to try cases of genocide, and requested the presence of foreign observers while the country reconstructs.

Feminist Flees to Sweden

Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasrin briefly emerged from hiding for the second time in as many weeks in order to flee from her homeland to Sweden, where she immediately went back into hiding. Muslim fundamentalists put a $5,000 bounty on her head after a newspaper quoted Nasrin as calling for a revision of the Koran; she says she was misquoted.

Soviet Coup Plotter Acquitted

General Valentin Varennikov, a former Soviet Deputy Defense Minister, was acquitted of charges that he helped try to overthrow the government of Mikhail Gorbachev in August 1991. Varennikov was the only one of 12 defendants to refuse an amnesty offered by the Russian parliament earlier this year. The state prosecutor in the trial claimed that Gorbachev may actually have encouraged the plotters by not opposing them vigorously enough, a conclusion Gorbachev called "absurd."

Mexican Left Meets in Chiapas

Eight months after they launched a bloody uprising against Mexico's ruling government, members of the rebel Zapatista National Liberation Army and thousands of sympathizers warned that they will launch a campaign of "civil resistance" if Sunday's presidential elections are perceived to be fraudulent. Polls showed Ernesto Zedillo of the incumbent Institutional Revolutionary Party with a 27-point lead over his rivals.

BUSINESS

Disney on Demand

Walt Disney Co. announced a joint venture with three Baby Bell phone companies that will eventually provide "movies on demand, interactive home shopping, educational programs, games, travel assistance and more" to 50 million customers in 19 states. The new venture, which reverses a well-publicized reluctance by Disney CEO Michael Eisner to enter the information superhighway, also includes plans for a "video navigator," heralded as the TV Guide of the 500-channel future.

Fed Chair Questions Data Use

Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan warned Congress that traditional statistics like the consumer price index may be less accurate a forecast of inflation than signals from financial and commodity markets. His testimony before a House subcommittee shed some light on reasons why the Federal Reserve has raised interest rates four times in 1994; the board is widely expected to hike rates for the fifth time when it meets again this week.

SCIENCE

AIDS: No News Is Bad News

There were no reports of any breakthroughs in the fight against AIDS at the 10th annual international conference on the disease, held this year in Yokohama, Japan. One approach, which received some attention and may be tried next year, would use the tools of genetic engineering to alter newborns' immune systems so they can fight off the infection. For the most part, however, new ideas were few and far between. Conference organizers decided to stop holding the meeting annually, and will instead gather together every other year.

SPORT

Baseball Strikes Out

As the lights dimmed at the Oakland Coliseum in the early hours of Aug. 12, so did the hopes of baseball fans nationwide for a last-minute solution to the sport's labor problems. After Seattle's 8-1 rout of the Athletics, players began their long-anticipated strike -- the eighth work stoppage since 1972. Unless players and owners, with the help of federal mediators, can resolve issues such as a salary cap, a remarkable -- and potentially historic -- season may be over.