January 6, 1988

LEAD: International

LEAD: Presidential contenders in both parties are bringing in reinforcements for their final political offensives before Iowa's important caucuses on Feb. 8.

LEAD: Less than two weeks before the presidential election scheduled by Haiti's army-dominated Government, the four leading candidates have carried out their threat to call a boycott and the field is dominated by seven former associates of the deposed Duvalier dictatorship.

LEAD: Bolstered by a strengthening dollar and by takeover speculation in the drug sector, the stock market moved higher again yesterday, although its sharp early gains were eaten away by late-afternoon profit taking.

LEAD: The General Motors Corporation showed off its technological visions of the future yesterday, even though some of its high-tech efforts have been less than wildly popular with consumers.

LEAD: A second flaw in the redesigned shuttle booster rocket has been discovered by engineers from the space agency and Morton Thiokol Inc. Their further examination of last month's test firing showed that hot gases reached an O ring seal in a critical rocket joint.

LEAD: Robert F. Wagner Jr., his authority as president of New York City's Board of Education imperiled, resolved a sensitive political stalemate over the choice of a new schools chancellor last week with a threat to resign, city and education officials said yesterday.

LEAD: From Maine to California, from Detroit to New Orleans, Governor Cuomo traveled the country 27 times last year, mostly to sound the impassioned theme that has become his trademark: Ronald Reagan is wrong. More money and programs are needed to help the poor and others who do not share in the American dream.

LEAD: ASK a few friends whether they prefer yams or sweet potatoes and you'll get quite an earful. Of course yams are better, they'll tell you. They're richer, moister, smoother and sweeter. It's a fact, they'll say, that the paler sweet potatoes just can't compare. They know, because they've tried them both in a variety of ways: mashed, souffled, candied and just plain roasted.

LEAD: Carl C. Icahn, the Wall Street financier who is the largest Texaco shareholder, has made good his promise to offer an alternative to the company's plan to emerge from Federal bankruptcy protection.

LEAD: C. Edward Acker's days as chairman and chief executive of the Pan Am Corporation appear numbered.

LEAD: Exposure to radon, the odorless radioactive gas that seeps into buildings from underground rocks, appears to be responsible for about 13,000 lung cancer deaths annually, according to new data compiled by the National Academy of Sciences.