December 20, 1986

Vice President Bush, suggesting that Vice Adm. John M. Poindexter and Lieut. Col. Oliver L. North should waive their constitutional right against self-incrimination, today called on the two former White House officials to ''tell us the truth'' about their roles in the Iran arms controversy. Mr. Bush did not explicitly ask Admiral Poindexter and Colonel North to stop invoking their Fifth Amendment protections. But he said both men, former officials of the National Security Council staff, should ''make a great sacrifice'' by answering the questions of panels investigating the controversy. ''The country cannot wait any longer,'' he said.

In a reversal of policy, the Defense Department is asserting its right to play a major role in a proposed space station because of a potential need to use it for ''Star Wars'' research, Government officials said yesterday. The decision threatened to jeopardize delicate negotiations to arrange broad international cooperation in the project. Western Europe, Japan and Canada have agreed in principle to provide financial support for the $8 billion station, but the Pentagon has now asked the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to postpone further talks with foreign participants that had been scheduled in mid-January. The Defense Department's action marked a further assertion of military influence over the civilian space program, especially since the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger. Pentagon officials said a new ''defense space policy,'' expected soon, would encourage greater emphasis on manned military space operations, in part to conduct experiments for the space-based missile defense program, formally the Strategic Defense Initiative.

The White House said today that it would request funds to design a method for deploying large MX nuclear missiles on railroad cars and to develop a smaller nuclear missile. In an unexpected move, it said the number of missiles to be sought would depend on progress in arms negotiations with the Soviet Union. The announcement reopened a political dispute that has been going on for years over nuclear missiles and how to protect them from attack. Funds for developing the smaller 37,000-pound, single-warhead missile, informally dubbed Midgetman, and for basing the 10-warhead MX, which weighs nearly 200,000 pounds, would require Congressional approval.

'Twas Game Six of the Series when out of the sky, Flew Sergio's parachute, a Met banner held high. His goal was to spur our home team to success, Burst Beantown's balloon claiming Sox were the best.

Stock Volume at a Record A record 244 million shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange - 85 million in the final minute at the ''triple witching hour.''