The Week September 4-10

By Leslie Dickstein, Kathleen J. Hayden, Lina Lofaro, Steve Mitra, Lawrence Mondi, Jeffery C. Rubin, Alain L. Sanders and Sidney Urquhart

NATION

More Drumbeats

Preparing to make good on Secretary of State Warren Christopher's threat that the Haitian military government's "days are definitely numbered," the Pentagon said a fleet of giant cargo ships and an aircraft carrier crammed with helicopters would soon be bound for the waters off the Haitian coast. The Defense Department also announced that the total U.S. troop participation in an invasion of Haiti would be around 20,000 -- higher than previous estimates.

U.S.-Cuba: Hopeful Signs?

$ The U.S. and Cuba reached an agreement that would halt the Cuban exodus, permit at least 20,000 Cubans to enter the U.S. legally each year and allow for the repatriation of "those Cuban refugees who have recently left and wish to return."

A Deadly Dive

A USAir Boeing 737, en route from Chicago to Palm Beach, Florida, via Pittsburgh, went into a fatal nose dive just a few minutes before landing at the Pittsburgh airport. All 132 people aboard perished in the crash, the reasons for which were not clear. The crew's frantic last words -- "Oh God Traffic emergency!" -- indicated trouble but were not specific. Investigators are hoping that flight data from the plane's black box will provide further clues.

Friendly-Fire Charges

The Air Force brought 26 charges of negligent homicide and two charges of dereliction of duty against the senior F-15 pilot involved in the downing of two U.S. Army helicopters over northern Iraq last April. Also charged with dereliction of duty were five members of an AWACs radar-plane crew. Twenty-six people died in the tragedy.

Tailhook Whistle Blower Settles

Paula Coughlin, a former Navy lieutenant who claimed she was sexually assaulted at a 1991 convention of Navy flyers, settled for an undisclosed amount with the convention's sponsor, the Tailhook Association. Earlier in the week, a Nevada judge had ruled that a Pentagon report on the scandal was not reliable enough to be used as evidence.

Meanwhile, at the FAA

A male employee of the Federal Aviation Administration said he was grabbed, groped and ridiculed by female co-workers during a 1992 cultural-diversity training session. Air-traffic controller Douglas P. Hartman filed a $300,000 suit against the Transportation Department, claiming the agency had ignored his earlier complaints. "It was ugly. I was shocked. I was stunned," said Hartman. The FAA is dropping any sensitivity workshops that it believes could lead to future harassment lawsuits.

White House: Under Renovation

After 12 relaxing days on Martha's Vineyard, the First Family returned to Washington -- but not to their customary quarters. As workmen rushed to complete repairs on the White House's antiquated heating and ventilation systems -- including some "minimum asbestos removal" -- President and Mrs. Clinton settled into Blair House, the government guesthouse across the street.

Travel Office Back in the News

Dismissed 16 months ago for poor management during the famed White House travel-office flap, the office's former head, Billy Dale, is now the target of a federal-embezzlement probe. From 1988 to 1991, Dale, a Bush appointee, deposited $55,000 the travel office had received from news organizations into his own bank account. The Justice Department's public-integrity section has been looking into whether Dale took any of this money for his personal use. Dale denies any impropriety.

Dan vs. Murphy, Round 2

Speaking in San Francisco, possible presidential aspirant Dan Quayle sounded a familiar note as he returned to one of his pet themes: how Murphy Brown's out- of-wedlock baby epitomizes the disintegration of the American family. "What I was talking about then, and what I am talking about today, is the importance of fathers," said the former Veep. "Raising children is not just the mother's responsibility." President Clinton sounded the same no-longer- controversial theme a day later in a speech to the National Baptist Convention in New Orleans.

A Decision in L.A.

Prosecutors in the O.J. Simpson case announced that they would not seek the death penalty if Simpson is convicted of first-degree murder. The district attorney's office gave no reason for the decision but said public feelings about the death penalty played no role in it.

An Inside Job at Tiffany

Two armed robbers removed more than $1 million worth of jewelry from New York City's venerable Tiffany & Co. Investigators said the robbers seemed to be familiar with the store's guard schedules and its placement of intercoms and video cameras. Five suspects were arrested Saturday. A sixth suspect, with most of the loot, later turned himself in.

WORLD

Rabin Outlines Golan Pullout

Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin gave a timetable for a partial withdrawal from the Golan Heights, captured from Syria in 1967, in return for peace with its neighbor. Israel proposes a three-year "testing period" of normal relations with Syria, including the establishment of embassies in each other's capitals, after a "very slight" pullback that, "if possible," would not involve dismantling any Jewish settlements. Syria responded without enthusiasm to the proposal; it has always demanded the total withdrawal of all Israeli forces from the Golan Heights.

Abortion: Topic No. 1 in Cairo

Despite the Vatican's fervent opposition to language relating to abortion, the majority of the United Nations population conferees meeting in Cairo managed to reach a consensus on a 113-page program of action for slowing world- population growth. The final draft, to be approved by delegates this week, includes a huge increase in global population-control spending, from about $5 billion currently to $17 billion by the year 2000.

N. Ireland Tensions Ease a Bit

The British government announced that security in Northern Ireland would be slightly reduced in response to the Irish Republican Army's week-old cease- fire. I.R.A. political chief Gerry Adams shook hands with Irish Prime Minister Albert Reynolds on the steps of Dublin's Government Buildings, and the two leaders said they were "totally and absolutely committed to democratic and peaceful methods" of solving the province's political problems. A meeting between hard-line Protestant leader Ian Paisley and British Prime Minister John Major did not fare as well: Paisley was ejected from No. 10 Downing Street almost immediately after he refused to say that he believed Major's government had made no secret deals with the I.R.A.

Nigerian Assumes Total Power

One day after thousands of oil workers ended their strike to protest the arrest of opposition leader Moshood Abiola, Nigeria's military leader General Sani Abacha declared absolute power, issuing decrees placing his military government above the country's courts and allowing detention of people for up to three months without charges. Abiola, widely believed to have won the annulled 1993 presidential election, awaits trial on treason charges.

Monitoring Serbia's Word

Western diplomats reported a breakthrough agreement with Serbia over the stationing of international civilian monitors along its border with Bosnia, raising the possibility that the U.N. may ease some of its less important sanctions against Serbia. The monitors' mission would be to help ensure that Serbia is keeping its word on the military embargo it has imposed against its Bosnian Serb allies as a result of their refusal to sign on to the latest peace plan.

Pope Cancels Sarajevo Visit

Earlier in the week, Pope John Paul II canceled a planned one-day visit to Sarajevo, hours after Bosnian Serb artillery rounds pounded the besieged Bosnian capital. Citing concerns for the safety of the tens of thousands expected to gather to hear him celebrate Mass, the Pontiff said he hoped to visit Sarajevo "as soon as circumstances permit."

BUSINESS

Mexican Financier Accused

The Mexican government issued an arrest warrant for Carlos Cabal Peniche, head of Mexico's fifth-largest banking group and one of the country's largest produce exporters. As the government seized control of the group, Mexican Finance Minister Pedro Aspe accused Cabal of funneling up to $700 million from his bank to himself. He is thought to have fled the country.

Changing the Guard at Ford

A great-grandson of company founder Henry Ford, William Clay Ford Jr., was named to succeed his father as chairman of the finance committee of Ford Motor Co. The new position, controlling the firm's purse strings, is widely seen as a springboard to eventual chairmanship of the world's second-largest automaker.

SCIENCE

Fingerprinting Whales

Using molecular genetics tests similar to those used in crime investigations, researchers discovered that several samples of whale meat for sale in Japan came from illegally hunted species, including fin and humpback. The report in the current Science found that only 8 of 17 samples were genetically consistent with those from legal catches.

SPORT

Baseball Strike Goes On

A week that began with hopes for settling the month-long baseball strike ended with those hopes dashed. Owners rejected a proposal from the players that addressed revenue sharing but not the salary cap the owners have insisted upon. Though Friday was the owners' self-imposed deadline for calling off the season altogether, acting commissioner Bud Selig delayed a decision.

Fox Buys N.H.L. Rights

Fresh from its startling snatch of N.F.C. football broadcasts, maverick network Fox skated away with the not-previously-in-high-demand rights to National Hockey League games for a reported $155 million over five years. The deal was personally negotiated by Rupert Murdoch, chairman of Fox's parent News Corp.