What was going on when I was born?

A weary and depleted Congress ended its 1985 session this evening after failing to approve a three-year, $74 billion deficit-reducing package. Fewer than two-thirds of the Senate and apparently far less than half the House members were present for the end of the 99th Congress's first session, the longest of the Reagan Administration's tenure. The last action was an extension of the cigarette tax of 16 cents a pack through March 14. The Senate adjourned at 6:28 P.M., followed by the House at 6:40.

The State Department said today that Israel had dismantled the unit that directed the activities of Jonathan Jay Pollard, a United States Navy analyst accused of stealing hundreds of pages of classified documents. In a statement this afternoon, the State Department said it was satisfied that a team of American officials dispatched to Israel to investigate the case had received ''full cooperation.'' It also said Israel had returned all of the documents obtained ''in an unauthorized manner.'' The American team left Israel today after a week of discussions conducted under unusual secrecy.

The White House appeared today to modify its policy on polygraph, or lie detector, tests for Government officials in an effort to satisfy the concerns of Secretary of State George P. Shultz. After a meeting between President Reagan and Mr. Shultz this afternoon, the President indicated that the Secretary's fears of widespread use of the tests had been resolved. A senior State Department official said tonight that Mr. Shultz now believed that he and the President basically agreed that polygraph tests should be limited to cases of suspected espionage. Last week the White House indicated that thousands of Government employees with access to sensitive information would be subject to the tests.

A fire today swept through the upper floors of Fauchon, the renowned luxury food store, killing the owner and her daughter and injuring at least 11 people. A spokesman said the store, which has been damaged by radicals in the past as a symbol of inequality and privilege, would open as usual Saturday for the rest of the Christmas and New Year shopping season. The fire occurred eight years after Fauchon was gutted by fire, on Dec. 19, 1977, when a bomb exploded outside the store's well-stocked windows at 28 Place de la Madeleine. The windows traditionally contain the finest and most expensive display of wines, foods and exotic fruits in France.

A Brooklyn contractor was convicted of reckless endangerment yesterday for his role in the late-night demolition of four buildings on West 44th Street in January. Acting Justice Alfred H. Kleiman of State Supreme Court in Manhattan also found the contractor, Eddie Garofalo, and his demolition company, Mitron Associates of Brooklyn, guilty of performing the work without a demolition permit. City officials charged that the work had taken place while there were active gas and electric connections to the buildings. In handing down his decision in the two-week trial without a jury, Justice Kleiman urged the State Legislature and the city to strengthen the penalties against those who do not obtain permits that are required ''for the protection of the public.''

The Government said today that the economy appears to be growing at the tepid pace of 3.2 percent from October through December and 2.4 percent for the whole year, the smallest gain since 1982. The annual figure, while subject to change, shows that the economy has grown about as much as most private economists have been forecasting and significantly less than the 3.9 percent that the Administration predicted at the start of this year. The Commerce Department's report also estimated that inflation, based on the gross national product, is increasing at a 3.7 percent rate in the current quarter, well above the 2.7 percent rate of the third quarter. Consumer Prices Up 0.6 Percent This was consistent with the sharp rise of six-tenths of 1 percent in the Consumer Price Index in November that was reported today by the Labor Department. [Page 33.] Economists and Administration officials said the fourth-quarter ''flash'' estimate for the gross national product suggested little change in the course of the economy's growth as it enters 1986.

Senator Edward M. Kennedy decided to remove himself from the 1988 Democratic Presidential race because he believed he could not win the election and because he wanted to clear the field for the next generation of Kennedys, according to political associates. These associates, who are familiar with the circumstances surrounding the decision, said Mr. Kennedy concluded this fall that he might be able to win the Democratic nomination, but that his political liabilities would probably mean defeat in the election. Linked to this gloomy political assessment was the feeling of the 53-year-old Massachusetts Senator that speculation about his national campaign plans could complicate the efforts of younger members of the Kennedy family to start political careers for themselves. Hart Seen as Top Candidate Whatever the reasons for Mr. Kennedy's unexpected announcement - it was the fourth time in 13 years that he had removed himself from Presidential politics - his decision is likely to have major implications for the 1988 Presidential field. The initial reaction among Democrats was that Senator Gary Hart of Colorado has now become the leading candidate for the nomination, which some see as a mixed blessing, in a contest with a younger generation of centrist candidates.

The Soviet Union has provided SA-5 long-range ground-to-air missiles to Libya that would pose a threat to aircraft in disputed areas of the Mediterranean, the State Department said today. A longstanding dispute between the United States and Libya over Libyan territorial claims in the Mediterranean has led to serious clashes in recent years. Washington maintains that Libya can claim only a three-mile territorial limit; Libya claims 12 miles except in the area of the Gulf of Sidra, where it says its territorial limits run 12 miles north of a line drawn across the mouth of the Gulf.

With a .357 Magnum revolver in his shoulder-holster and a shotgun on his desk, Edgard Rivera sat in front of two television monitors watching clients enter his weapons store. ''The security situation has got out of hand,'' he said. ''Our sales are three times higher than last year. People are having to arm themselves because the police can't protect them.''

Nigeria has foiled a plot to depose its four-month-old military Government, and many military officers have been arrested, the Defense Minister said today. Three army generals and several senior air force officers were among those seized for plotting against the Government of Maj. Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, high-ranking military sources said. The coup attempt was still being plotted when the arrests were made, the sources said.

The head of the Ethiopian Government's famine relief program, Dawit Wolde Georgis, yesterday denied reports that he was seeking asylum in the United States. In a telephone interview, Mr. Dawit said he was ''on vacation'' in the United States, but declined to say whether he planned to return to Ethiopia. On Thursday, the State Department denied that Mr. Dawit had asked for refuge, but a highly placed source in Washington said the Ethiopian official had made it known that he intended to stay in the United States.

Nine people identified as South African refugees were shot and killed early today when raiders, said to have come from South Africa, attacked two homes in Maseru, the capital of neighboring Lesotho. In Cape Town, South Africa's highest security body, the State Security Council, warned the country's neighbors that ''all the peoples of southern Africa will pay a heavy price'' if they permit insurgents to use their territory for attacks on South Africa. The council, which groups senior, political, police and military figures, is headed by President P. W. Botha.