The Week February 20-26

By Jonathan Abbey, Christopher John Farley, Christine Gorman, Lina Lofaro, Michael Quinn, Jeffery C. Rubin, Sidney Urquhart

NATION

A Mole Unmasked

A mid-level officer in the CIA's Soviet counterintelligence section was arrested and charged with spying for Moscow beginning in the mid-1980s. Prosecutors suspect that Aldrich Hazen Ames and his Colombian-born wife passed on information that, among other things, betrayed at least 10 Soviet nationals, some of whom were apparently executed in Moscow as spies for the U.S. Ames' attorney says he will fight the charges and warned of a prolonged and very public trial that might betray agency secrets. In Congress the case drew angry calls for the suspension of U.S. aid to Russia. The Clinton Administration was anxious to avoid a return to cold war acrimony but bowed to political pressure and sent packing the man believed to be Russia's top intelligence officer in Washington.

Verdict on the Death Penalty

In a dramatic dissent from the Supreme Court's refusal to hear an appeal for a stay of execution, Harry Blackmun, the court's most senior Justice, authored a highly personal repudiation of the death penalty, which he had long upheld. "From this day forward, I no longer shall tinker with the machinery of death," wrote Blackmun.

Finally ... a Deputy for Reno

Attorney General Janet Reno has nominated Jamie Gorelick to be her Deputy Attorney General. As the Pentagon's top lawyer, Gorelick has won praise for her managerial skills and deft handling of such volatile issues as the retirement of Tailhook-tainted Admiral Frank Kelso. Her predecessor, Philip Heymann, resigned in January, citing bad "chemistry" with Reno.

Another No on Health Care

The Administration got some unwelcome news on health care from the American Association of Retired Persons. The White House had lobbied for an endorsement of its plan, but instead the board of the 33 million-member AARP said the Clinton bill "falls short in a number of ways"; however, the group also declined to endorse any competing plans. On another front, the AFL-CIO announced that it would soon be releasing a substantial part of a planned $3 million ad campaign on behalf of the President's proposals.

Whitewater: Drip, Drip, Drip ...

Special counsel Robert Fiske announced the hiring of eight lawyers to assist him in the Whitewater investigation, including one who will focus on the events surrounding the suicide of deputy White House counsel Vincent Foster. Meanwhile Roger Altman, acting head of the Resolution Trust Corporation, which is looking into the failure of a savings and loan owned by the Clintons' Whitewater business partner, admitted that he had briefed senior White House officials on the matter in January. Republicans in Congress were quick to accuse the White House of trying to manipulate the investigation. Altman expressed regret over the briefing and withdrew from the investigation.

Acquittal in Waco

A federal jury in Texas acquitted 11 members of the Branch Davidian religious cult of murder and conspiracy to murder, convicting five of voluntary manslaughter and two on weapons charges. The case grew out of last year's raid on the cult's compound, which left four federal agents dead.

Courtroom Roundup

Jury deliberations began in the case of the alleged World Trade Center bombers in New York City. And in Florida, a judge barred Michael Griffin, accused of gunning down an abortion provider in front of a Pensacola clinic, from using an insanity defense. Griffin's lawyer contends that his client's mind was unbalanced after long exposure to antiabortion films and videos.

Calling Michael Crichton

In a bizarre incident, a dying cancer patient undergoing emergency treatment in a Riverside, California, hospital was suspected of emitting toxic fumes that caused six doctors and nurses to become violently ill. Witnesses said the patient's blood contained mysterious white and yellow crystals that reeked of ammonia, and that her body had a peculiar "film." Pending an autopsy report, experts were stumped for an explanation.

WORLD

A Massacre, then Mayhem

An American-born Jewish settler burst into a mosque in Hebron, in the occupied West Bank, and opened fire with an assault rifle, mowing down dozens of Muslims as they knelt in prayer. The assailant was then beaten to adeath. Israeli authorities said some 40 Palestinians died; a score more were killed by the army and more than 250 wounded in widespread rioting that followed throughout the occupied territories and in Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin vowed that the incident would not derail the peace process. Insisting that the rampage was the work of a lone "lunatic" -- though some victims say more than one gunman was involved -- Rabin phoned P.L.O. chairman Yasser Arafat with an apology: "I am ashamed as an Israeli that such a horrible incident took place here." Arafat called for disarming Israel's West Bank settlers.

Sarajevo's Uneasy Cease-Fire

With Bosnian Serb forces near Sarajevo obeying the spirit if not the letter of the NATO ultimatum, Sarajevans continued to emerge warily from their mortar- pounded hideouts into a still uneasy peace. But a new phase of sniping has reportedly started, with gunmen using silencers to avoid detection by U.N. peacekeepers.

A Separate Peace

Croats and Muslims fighting elsewhere in Bosnia agreed to halt hostilities. Negotiating under U.N. auspices in the Croatian capital of Zagreb, representatives of the warring factions agreed to place heavy weapons along front lines under U.N. control, as in Sarajevo, by noon on March 7. Meanwhile, in a major policy shift, Croatian President Franjo Tudjman said he would accept the idea of a Croat-Muslim state within Bosnia.

Russian Plotters Get Amnesty

In a major setback for Russian President Boris Yeltsin, the State Duma, or lower house of parliament, granted amnesty to the hard-liners who occupied the parliament building in Moscow in October as well as to the leaders of the failed 1991 coup against then President Mikhail Gorbachev. Yeltsin had no | power to veto the resolution, which quickly freed from prison some of his arch-enemies, including former parliament speaker Ruslan Khasbulatov and former Vice President Alexander Rutskoi. Yeltsin's first speech to the new parliament, with a call for "more justice, more safety, more confidence," was unenthusiastically received by many lawmakers.

De Klerk Stoned

Near daily battles between opposing political groups resulted in at least three deaths last week as the country prepared for the April 26-28 elections. Even President F.W. de Klerk was not immune: during a speech in a mixed-race township, he was hit on the back of the head by a stone. Unhurt, he was quickly hustled away by security guards.

In the Name of Paul Hill

Accompanied by a bevy of Kennedys, Paul Hill appeared in a court in Belfast, Northern Ireland, to appeal his 1975 life sentence for the murder of a former British soldier. (Hill has been freed pending the legal outcome.) One of the so-called Guildford Four, Hill served 15 years in prison after being wrongly convicted of an I.R.A. pub bombing -- a story told in the film In the Name of the Father. He is married to Courtney Kennedy, Robert's daughter.

Mexican Rebels Make Gains

Negotiations opened between the Mexican government and members of the rebel Zapatista National Liberation Army in the state of Chiapas. Both sides have already made concessions: the rebels have agreed to confine the talks to local issues, and the government's liaison has said a settlement to the uprising, begun on New Year's Day, would require "strengthening the institutions of the republic ... and a new treatment for indigenous communities all over the country."

BUSINESS

Cut Now, Pay Later?

In possibly welcome news for the country's 57 million cable-television subscribers, the Federal Communications Commission ordered cable rates cut an average of 7%. This decrease comes after last year's mandated 10% cut, which, due to the vagaries of regulation, had the effect of actually raising rates in many communities.

No Bell Atlantic-TCI Wedding

Citing the FCC cable ruling, Bell Atlantic and Tele-Communications Inc. canceled their plans to join forces in what would have been the world's largest merger and a breakthrough in the race to build the allegedly coming "electronic superhighway." Dispute over price also played a role in aborting the deal, which was valued at up to $33 billion.

THE OLYMPICS

Soap-Opera Finale

Ukrainian teenager Oksana Baiul left Lillehammer with a gold medal in women's figure skating, after surviving a collision during practice that left her with a bruised spine and three stitches in her shin. Nancy Kerrigan, clubbing victim, went home with a silver ... and doubtless a fistful of new endorsement offers. Her bitter rival, Tonya Harding, flubbed the technical portion of the competition, aborted her first pass at the long performance, complaining of a badly tied lace, and finished eighth. She returns to face legal problems.

Triumphs

A fifth gold, in the 1,000-m race, made speed skater Bonnie Blair the most bemedaled competitor in U.S. women's Olympic history. After seven Olympic failures, Blair's fellow skater Dan Jansen set a world record in the 1,000-m race and got to carry the American flag in Sunday's closing ceremony. Norway's hometown boy, speed skater Johann Olav Koss, became the first athlete ever to win three golds with world-record times in one Games. Vreni Schneider of Switzerland won the women's slalom, becoming the first woman to win three Alpine gold medals. She did it in 1:56.01, earning her fifth career medal.

Disappointments

A mere bronze medal for British dancers Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean infuriated many of their fans, who felt their smooth Fred-and-Ginger routine should have cut more ice with the judges. Italian slalom star Alberto ("La Bomba") Tomba disqualified himself by skiing off the course in his second giant-slalom run. He later complained of a stress headache.