March 9, 1985

President Reagan has authorized American negotiators to explore an accord with the Soviet Union in which the Russians could have an advantage in strategic missiles in return for allowing the United States to keep its advantage in long-range bombers, his national security adviser said today. Discussing the instructions given to the negotiating team, which left for Geneva today, the security adviser, Robert C. McFarlane, said, ''I have to say I have never seen instructions that provided any negotiators with greater latitude for serious give-and-take.'' But Mr. McFarlane indicated that the flexibility lay primarily in seeking curbs in two of the three sets of negotiations that will begin next week - on strategic weapons and on medium- range nuclear forces. No Curbs on 'Star Wars' In the third area, covering the Administration's plans for research into strategic defensive weapons, popularly known as ''Star Wars,'' Mr. McFarlane said the instructions did not permit negotiation of any curbs.

Pausing frequently to contain his emotions, William Shawn, the editor of The New Yorker for 32 years, told his fellow staff members yesterday that ''we were not asked for our approval, and we did not give our approval'' to the decision to sell the magazine to S. I. Newhouse. ''The editorial staff was not a party to these negotiations,'' he told a large group of writers, editors and artists assembled in a hallway at the magazine's offices at 25 West 43d Street. ''Nor were the views of the editorial staff solicited during these negotiations.'' After making the brief statement, which brought tears to many eyes, Mr. Shawn quickly returned to his office. The tone of regret in his statement was widely shared by many in the corridor, and underscored a general belief that the sale was a betrayal of the 77-year- old Mr. Shawn, a legendary figure in the literary world, by the magazine's board of directors.

Carlos Silva had almost no customers today at the Gila Auto Supply. Ray Ewing, a retired copper miner, could not cross the border to get his usual $2 haircut in neighboring Naco in the Mexican state of Sonora, and the Rev. John Ellitson had to cancel his Thursday night prayer meeting at the Mexican Baptist Church over the border. These are some of the small victims of the latest round of tension along the porous United States-Mexico line. Last Saturday night the United States Customs Service abruptly shut down nine small and remote border crossings from Texas to California, saying drug traffickers had threatened to kidnap or harm customs workers.

The Shawmut Bank of Boston, the third-largest bank in Massachusetts, disclosed today that it had failed to report some international cash transactions and had improperly exempted some of its customers from Federal currency-reporting regulations. In a statement, the Shawmut Bank said it had discovered the errors last month after the Bank of Boston pleaded guilty to failing to report $1.2 billion in cash transfers with Swiss banks and was fined $500,000, a record amount. The Bank of Boston has since also said that it improperly exempted businesses of a local organized crime family from the currency-reporting rules. In its statement, the Shawmut Bank said it had failed to report $162 million in cash transfers since 1980 with seven foreign banks, including banks in Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Canada and Switzerland. The statement said 27 customers, including schools, churches, hospitals, airlines and commercial companies, had been improperly placed on the bank's list of concerns exempted from the reporting rules. The bank would not identify them except to say they were longtime clients.

The White House criticized the Republican- controlled Senate Budget Committee today, saying it was ''marching in the wrong direction'' by agreeing to cut the military budget while sparing domestic programs. If the committee does not make an about-face, said Larry Speakes, the White House spokesman, President Reagan ''is prepared to go to the people in order to carry our message forward.'' The committee moved this week to reduce the President's 1986 military budget by almost $11 billion and then refused to endorse many of Mr. Reagan's proposals to cut nonmilitary spending or eliminate programs. Goal Would Be Unmet By Thursday night, when the committee recessed until next week, Democrats and several Republicans on the committee were moving toward approving an across-the-board freeze on spending that would fall short of Senate Republican goals for reducing the budget deficit. While about $11.3 billion in projected nonmilitary spending was cut, the committee rejected about $21.1 billion of further reductions offered by its chairman, Senator Pete V. Domenici, Republican of New Mexico.