March 13, 1987

LEAD: THE first thing to be said about the retrospective exhibition of drawings by Roy Lichtenstein at the Museum of Modern Art is that very few people had a clear idea either of how large it might be or of what might be in it.

LEAD: There is lots of money to be made hauling trash, if you can just find a cheap place to dump it. Landfills around New York City are piled high, and as they fill, dumping prices go up.

LEAD: A Federal district judge today dismissed two lawsuits brought by Lieut. Col. Oliver L. North and authorized the special prosecutor in the Iran arms case to continue his investigation.

LEAD: The Economy

LEAD: President Reagan's chief legal adviser today depicted scenes of chaos in the White House in recent months and said he had been prevented from looking into the Iran affair for several weeks after its disclosure last November.

LEAD: On their last night alive, Lisa and Cheryl Burress turned to their closest friends.

LEAD: A House Ways and Means subcommittee today unanimously approved a toned-down trade bill that would require the President to retaliate against unfair trade practices.

LEAD: With its framed news clippings and memorabilia, Abel Malvestiti's basement is a virtual shrine to tango, his living room a side altar.

LEAD: A Metropolitan Transportation Authority committee recommended yesterday in a majority report that a transit police officer face departmental perjury charges in connection with the 1983 death of Michael Stewart. The panel also suggested changes in procedures for investigating charges of police misconduct.

LEAD: THE theme of obsession - of individuals struggling to transcend psychic, political and esthetic cul-de-sacs - runs like a dark, charging current through many of the 20 feature films in the 16th annual New Directors/New Films series that begins this evening at the Museum of Modern Art.

LEAD: The United States proposed in Geneva today elaborate verification measures that the Reagan Administration will insist the Soviet Union agree to before signing any treaty removing American and Soviet intermediate-range nuclear missiles from Europe.

LEAD: Robert Y. Empie, who was suspended Tuesday from his post as Oklahoma's bank commissioner, plans to fight in the state courts to regain his job.