The Week October 23-29

By Philip Elmer-DeWitt, Christine Gorman, Lina Lofaro, Michael Quinn, Jeffery C. Rubin, Alain L. Sanders and Sidney Urquhart

NATION

Gunfire at the White House

A man pulled out a semiautomatic rifle on the Pennsylvania Avenue sidewalk north of the White House, put the weapon to the fence and fired 20 to 30 shots at the presidential residence. One bullet pierced the White House press briefing room. Bill Clinton, just back from a trip to the Middle East, was in the White House at the time watching football, and was unharmed. Onlookers subdued the gunman before Secret Service agents took him into custody. Early Saturday evening authorities identified the suspect as Francisco Martin Duran, 26, of Colorado; no motive was provided.

The Politics of Desertion

New York City Republican Mayor Rudolph Giuliani set off one of the more spectacular political bombshells of this election season by publicly endorsing one of the biggest Democratic pols targeted by the G.O.P.: New York Governor Mario Cuomo. Giuliani, who was blasted by party leaders for his insubordination, may have gambled his political career on the endorsement. He said his decision to pass over Republican challenger George Pataki came after asking himself, "Who has the best chance in the next four years of successfully fighting for ((the city's)) interests?" Pataki is closely allied with Giuliani's Republican foe, New York Senator Alfonse D'Amato.

The Politics of Immigration

California Governor Pete Wilson took his anti-immigration re-election strategy one step further by suggesting that in order to thwart illegal aliens, state residents should be required to present official identity cards to get a job, go to school or obtain nonemergency health care. His Democratic opponent, Kathleen Brown, promptly called it a "Big Brother" proposal. Meantime, Senate G.O.P. candidate Michael Huffington -- another strong anti- immigrationist -- acknowledged that he had employed an illegal-alien nanny for five years.

The Politics of Brawl

Massachusetts voters were treated to the equivalent of a barroom brawl as Democratic Senator Ted Kennedy and Republican challenger Mitt Romney duked it out over abortion, health care and crime in televised debates. In one particularly nasty exchange, during which Romney suggested that Kennedy had profited from a sweetheart real estate deal, Kennedy jabbed, "Mr. Romney, the Kennedys are not in public service to make money. We have paid too high a price."

The Politics of North

Even as Oliver North, the G.O.P. candidate for Senator from Virginia, continued to hammer away at Democratic incumbent Charles Robb's extramarital indiscretions, voters were reminded of ghosts in North's own closet. North paraded former Iran-contra players Edwin Meese and Elliott Abrams to vouch for his integrity. Meanwhile, Nancy Reagan publicly called North a liar.

Race-Based Scholarships

In a decision with national implications, a federal appeals court struck down a special scholarship program set up for blacks by the University of Maryland as an inappropriate remedy for past discrimination there. The ruling challenges the Clinton Administration policy of favoring such minority scholarships to promote diversity on college campuses. The university said it would appeal.

Lexington Rumbles

After police shot and killed a black man in the course of an arrest in Lexington, Kentucky, an angry crowd of black protesters took to downtown streets to overturn cars and pelt police and passersby with rocks and bottles. A quick show of force by police in riot gear contained the disturbance. Authorities later announced an fbi investigation into the shooting.

Terror in the Countryside

In rural Union County, South Carolina, Susan Smith said a gunman seized her car at a traffic light, kicked her out after a few miles and then drove away with her sons, ages three and 14 months, strapped inside. As Smith's estranged husband aired teary appeals for help, authorities of the shaken community sent out a nationwide alert for a suspect and the children. Various alleged sightings led police nowhere.

A Population Milestone

For the first time in U.S. history, the number of inmates behind prison bars topped the million mark in June, hitting 1,012,851 -- more than double the total of a decade ago. The two states with the greatest number of prisoners: California with 124,813 and Texas with 100,136.

WORLD

Israel, Jordan Declare Peace

Ending 46 years of enmity, the leaders of Israel and Jordan signed a peace treaty, witnessed by President Clinton. Jordan's Prime Minister Abdul-Salam al-Majali and Israel's Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin signed the treaty, which settles long-standing territory disputes and pledges cooperation in trade and tourism.

Bomb Kills 55 in Sri Lanka

A suspected suicide bomber in Sri Lanka killed at least 55 people, including the leading opposition candidate for President, at a political rally in the outskirts of the capital, Colombo. Gamini Dissanayake, head of the United National Party, was killed along with several other party leaders; more than 200 people were injured. Police said the attack was similar to suicide bombings carried out by ethnic Tamil separatists.

Major Alleges Blackmail

British Prime Minister John Major told Parliament that he was the target of a blackmail attempt by the owner of Harrods, the London department store. Major said Mohamed Al Fayed had attempted through an intermediary to seek a meeting with him to obtain the withdrawal or revision of a government report critical of Harrods. Major, who said the intermediary threatened that Al Fayed would release allegations of wrongdoing within Major's party if he did not cooperate, declined further communication with the emissary. Al Fayed, meanwhile, denied he had sent anyone to influence the Prime Minister.

Serbs Routed

Bosnian government forces scored one of their most important military victories to date against the Bosnian Serbs with a surprise attack that pushed the Serbs from strategic positions surrounding Bihac in northwestern Bosnia. On Saturday government forces surrounded the village of Bosanska Krupa, trapping hundreds of Serb soldiers. The Bosnians captured 100 sq. mi. of territory as well as several tanks and mortars, forcing some 10,000 Bosnian Serbs to flee.

Siberian Pipeline Spews Oil

A massive oil spill from a poorly maintained pipeline in Russian Siberia threatened the fragile permafrost and endangered rivers and drinking water, raising specters of the Exxon Valdez disaster. The spill occurred after the failure of earthen dikes built to contain a lake of oil from several pipeline ruptures in July, August and September.

Biehl's Murderers Sentenced

Three black South African men convicted of killing American graduate student Amy Biehl were sentenced to 18 years in prison. Biehl, who was stabbed and stoned to death in a black township outside Cape Town in August 1993, was killed "for one reason only, namely because she had white skin," said the judge.

BUSINESS

Further into Future-World

Sprint Corp. and three major cable operators will join forces to form a nationwide telecommunications company. Sprint will pool its financing with Comcast Corp., Cox Enterprises Inc. and Tele-Communications Inc. in efforts to bid for FCC licenses. In the long term, the merger will encourage innovations in interactive TV.

Saudi Deal in Limbo

What President Clinton once called "a gold-medal win for America's businesses and workers" has hit a snag. Saudi Arabia's plan to purchase $6 billion worth of U.S. aircraft from the Boeing Co. and the McDonnell Douglas Corp. has been delayed because of a lack of financing. As a result, Boeing is considering cutting production of its jets, and McDonnell Douglas may explore the possibility of finding new buyers for planes already in production.

Massive Securities Crunch

Prudential Securities Inc. was charged with large-scale fraud for misleading more than 100,000 investors in the sale of risky limited energy partnerships in the mid-1980s. The firm, which did admit to criminal wrongdoing, will be indicted only if it violates its three-year probation. Prudential will pay almost $700 million in fines, surpassing the 1988 penalty paid by Drexel Burnham Lambert for fraud.

SCIENCE

8 Billion Years Young

The latest measurements from the Hubble Space Telescope could mean the universe is not as old as astronomers have believed. By carefully analyzing data from a galaxy 56 million light-years away, scientists have determined that some 8 billion to 12 billion years have passed since the birth of the cosmos. The only trouble is, that means some stars -- reliably thought to have been burning for 16 billion years -- are older than the universe itself. Either researchers are wrong about those stars or the Big Bang theory may be a bust.

Fermat's Latest Last Proof

When mathematician Andrew Wiles of Princeton University announced almost two years ago that he had solved the 350-year-old riddle of Fermat's Last Theorem, the news was trumpeted around the world. But a gap in the equations soon became apparent. After 18 months and the help of former student Richard Taylor of Cambridge University in England, Wiles has plugged the hole and announced a revision. The proof is so complicated, however, that it may be several weeks before mathematicians can be certain that this time he has it right.

SPORTS

Field of Excellence

The baseball season may have been a wash, but postseason award recipients had much to be proud of. Greg Maddux of the Atlanta Braves made history when he received a third consecutive National League Cy Young Award. David Cone of the Kansas City Royals won the pitching honor in the American League. Frank Thomas of the Chicago White Sox won a second consecutive American League MVP Award, the first person to do so since Roger Maris. Jeff Bagwell of the Houston Astros captured the same in the National League with a unanimous vote.