News Currents

POLITICS In Houston, Texas state Sen. Craig Washington defeated City Councilor Anthony Hall Saturday in a special election for the congressional seat of Rep. Mickey Leland, who died in a plane crash in Ethiopia. Both candidates were Democrats. A Pentagon report to be released yesterday charges that Congress wastes millions of dollars in defense spending by loading the defense budget with special projects for constituents and imposing excessive restraints on spending programs. JUSTICE

In Miami, Hispanic policeman William Lozano made several appearances Saturday seeking support and funds to appeal his conviction on manslaughter charges in the deaths of two blacks last January. The incident and trial have raised tensions between the black and Hispanic communities. Two Navy radar operators, Petty Officers 3rd Class Charles Schoof and John Haeger, were arrested Saturday in Norfolk, Va., on charges they conspired to commit espionage for the Soviet Union, the Navy said. The FBI said Saturday that Ra'ul Silvio Vivas, an Argentinian suspected of laundering more than $1 billion in drug profits through Los Angeles jewelry stores for Colombian drug traffickers, has been extradited from Uruguay to the US. Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis Saturday signed into law a bill banning the sale or possession of military assault weapons in Boston.

ASIA AND AFRICA

National security advisor Brent Scowcroft and Deputy Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger went to China over the weekend in an effort to shore up bilateral relations (see Page 3). The Philippines military launched a broad manhunt yesterday for officers involved in the coup attempt against President Corazon Aquino. Muslim radicals in India are threatening to kill the kidnapped daughter of the new Home Minister, Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, unless five Kashmiri extremists are freed. French paratroops landed on the island of Mayotte south of the Comoros Islands Saturday, but France denied it is preparing to assault mercenaries who have seized control of the Comoros.

LATIN AMERICA

Diplomatic maneuvering intensified as Central American presidents began a summit meeting yesterday in San Jos'e, Costa Rica. Salvadoran President Alfredo Cristiani was expected to ask his colleagues to press Salvadoran leftist rebels to return to peace negotiations. Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega Saavedra said his country will bar contra rebels based in Honduras from returning home under a regional peace plan after Dec. 31.

SCIENCE AND ENVIRONMENT

The delayed maiden flight of a commercial Titan 3 rocket has been postponed until Dec. 20 because of already-booked military tracking facilities. The Titan launch will follow the launch of an Air Force Delta 2 rocket, which was scheduled for yesterday, one or two launches of Trident submarine missiles, and the launch of the space shuttle Columbia around Dec. 18.