The Week October 9-15

By Kathleen Adams, Melissa August, Christine Gorman, Lina Lofaro, Lawrence Mondi, Michael Quinn and Alain L. Sanders

NATION

Clinton Begins Campaign '94

With polls indicating voter support for congressional Democratic candidates to be at a historic low -- and the Governors aren't doing much better -- President Clinton ventured out of the White House to begin stumping for his party's revival. At a rally at a Ford assembly plant in Dearborn, Michigan, the President unfurled the aggressive political message he intends to press in the month ahead: Democrats propose "a covenant for the future" that will offer more jobs, a lower deficit and better education while Republicans would return to the "trickle-down" policies of the past. Republicans scoffed at the President's political blitz, happily exploiting the distance that vulnerable Democrats around the country seem to be creating between themselves and the President.

Virginia Is for Brawlers

Virginia G.O.P. Senate candidate Oliver North set in motion a series of political skirmishes when he attacked President Clinton -- whom he characterized as "not my Commander-in-Chief" -- for weakening the American military to the point of being unable to stop Saddam Hussein in Kuwait. Though North later claimed he had been misinterpreted, Vice President Al Gore lost no time in striking back at the former Iran-contra colonel, condemning his remarks as "despicable" and "unpatriotic." To which, in turn, Senate Republican leader Bob Dole felt compelled to retort,"Cheap shot."

Troubles at the CIA

The CIA revealed that two senior officials had decided to leave the agency rather than accept demotions ordered by Director R. James Woolsey. The two men -- John MacGaffin, the No. 2 man in the agency's clandestine branch, and Frank Anderson, the head of Near East operations -- ran afoul of Woolsey for giving an award to one of the CIA officials whom Woolsey had criticized just last month for the agency's failure to detect mole Aldrich Ames. Congressional overseers expressed concern that the incident might suggest that Woolsey faces problems of insubordination.

Now, a Cisneros Investigation

The Justice Department announced it was beginning a preliminary inquiry into how much money Housing Secretary Henry Cisneros paid to a former mistress and whether he had been fully candid about the payments in pre-nomination statements to the FBI. The move could lead to the appointment of an independent counsel. Cisneros said that under the strict standards of federal ethics law, the Justice Department had no other choice than to open a probe, but he reiterated his contention that the investigation would uncover no wrongdoing.

The Simpson Case

Procedural tussling continued to dominate center stage of the Simpson murder trial. Judge Lance Ito chided the prosecution for having taken too long to submit key pieces of evidence for DNA testing and threatened to suppress the test results. Ito also declined to pursue the matter of erroneous news leaks, declaring that those leaks were so widely discredited they have not hurt Simpson's defense. Meanwhile, the slow and laborious face-to-face questioning of prospective jurors got under way, out of range of TV cameras and radio mikes per the judge's orders.

Gay-Rights Ruling

In a major victory for gay Coloradans, the state's supreme court struck down a controversial 1992 voter-approved initiative that would have barred local governments from passing laws protecting homosexuals against discrimination. By a 6-to-1 vote, the panel ruled that the measure -- which had prompted a national boycott of the state by civil rights and other groups -- violates the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The state said it would appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Uncle Sam's Computer Glitch

Because of an inflexible and bureaucratic acquisition process, the Federal Government is wasting huge chunks of the $25 billion it spends annually for computers by purchasing and maintaining machines that are incompatible, obsolete or inappropriate for its tasks. Among the many examples highlighted in a Republican report from the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee: various agency systems that cannot communicate with each other, and old IRS computers that have let billions in delinquent taxes slip through their keypads.

WORLD

Haiti: A President Returns

Jean-Bertrand Aristide returned to Haiti on Saturday after three years in exile. He told thousands of jubilant Haitians that "the sun of democracy has risen to never set." Fears about possible military-sponsored violence had been eased earlier in the week when former military chief Lieut. General Raoul Cedras and his top deputy, Brigadier General Philippe Biamby, left Haiti for Panama. As part of a deal for his departure, the U.S. put down a $60,000 deposit to rent one of Cedras' luxury villas for at least a year. It refused to pick up the tab for two more residences, including a beach house.

Saddam Retreats

In the face of a rapid deployment of American force in the Persian Gulf, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein ordered a retreat of the well-equipped Republican Guard divisions that had been menacing the Kuwaiti border. The pullback was not complete, however, and the U.S. announced it would deploy a total of 36,000 ground troops to the Gulf and began to search for a permanent solution to Iraqi aggression against Kuwait.

Bloody End to a Kidnapping

A grim challenge to the Israeli-Palestinian peace accords ended in bloodshed with the death of hostage Nahshon Waxman, a 19-year-old Israeli soldier who was being held by members of the radical Palestinian group Hamas. Waxman, another Israeli soldier and three of the captors were killed during a rescue attempt by Israeli commandos, which came an hour before the expiration of the militants' original deadline for sparing Waxman's life. Under pressure from both Israel and the U.S., P.L.O. chairman Yasser Arafat's security forces had arrested some 300 alleged Hamas activists in the Gaza Strip in a vain attempt to find the kidnappers, who, it turned out, were in the West Bank instead. Hamas had demanded the release of the group's spiritual leader and 200 other jailed prisoners.

Not a Peaceful Peace Prize

On the same day Waxman's kidnapping ended in death, Arafat, Israel's Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres were named recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize. The award was not without controversy. Committee member Kare Kristiansen of Norway resigned, saying Arafat's past "was tainted with violence, terrorism and bloodshed."

Nuclear Breakthrough?

After months of threats and confrontation, the U.S. and North Korea seemed closer to an agreement for overseeing Pyongyang's nuclear capabilities. Under the proposed accord, North Korea would reportedly freeze its nuclear-weapons program, allow for regular international inspections of its facilities and abide by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The U.S. in return would help Pyongyang meet its energy needs with coal and fuel oil and eventually help arrange for the construction of nuclear power plants worth billions of dollars.

One Answer, More Questions

Ending an international manhunt, Swiss officials investigating the deaths of 53 members of the Order of the Solar Temple identified the remains of the cult's leader, Luc Jouret, among the dead. Nevertheless, the motive behind what officials now believe was mass murder, followed by mass suicide, remains a mystery. They suspect that the Prophet of Doom may have indeed believed the end of the world was near.

THE ARTS & MEDIA

Hollywood Earthquake

Three of the biggest names in show business sent tremors rolling through the movie industry when they announced they were pooling their creative and financial resources in order to form their own studio. The trio: Jeffrey Katzenberg, the recently spurned Walt Disney Co. executive who is widely credited with revitalizing that studio's animation division; Steven Spielberg, history's most successful director; and David Geffen, the record-industry mogul. The new firm was rumored to be interested in helping a management-led buyout of an existing competitor -- most likely MCA's Universal -- in order to get a quick start.

MacNeil's Hour Passes

Come next October, PBS's venerable MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour will become, simply, The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer. Co-anchor Robert MacNeil announced he would retire next year after 20 years for budgetary as well as personal reasons.