News In Brief

Vice-president preparing to release data on his taxes

Vice-President George Bush, trying to avoid prolonged questioning about his finances such as Geraldine Ferraro faced, is preparing to disclose ''essential information'' of his tax returns for the past three years.

In an abrupt reversal after steadfastly refusing to release his taxes, Mr. Bush directed his attorney Wednesday to begin preparing the information for release - probably sometime next week. Bush, who puts his net worth at $2.1 million, is the only major candidate for president or vice-president who has not released his taxes.