LEAD: The Ford Motor Company said today that it had developed a catalytic converter that does not use platinum, but it declined to identify the new catalyst used in the anti-pollution device.

Ford's Catalytic Converter Eliminates Use of Platinum

LEAD: Larry Davis was sentenced yesterday to 5 to 15 years in prison for illegal weapons possession at the end of a tumultuous day of high drama in and around the Bronx County Courthouse.

Larry Davis Gets 5 to 15 Years For Conviction on Weapons

LEAD: Fatigued and increasingly despairing of finding survivors, hundreds of foreign rescue workers have begun withdrawing from northwest Armenia's earthquake zone to make way for Soviet demolition teams.

As Hope Dies, Quake Rescuers Pull Out

WEEKENDER GUIDE

LEAD:  Delicate Weapons Balance  Picking an Energy Secretary has emerged as one of the most sensitive appointments facing President-elect Bush. News analysis, page A24.  The Inflation Debate  The Federal Reserve's decision on interest rates will go a long way toward setting the stage for more growth or a recession.

INSIDE

BUSINESS DIGEST

LEAD: The State Legislature today made takeovers of New York corporations much more difficult by allowing companies to issue shareholder rights plans most commonly known as ''poison pills.''

New York Acts to Allow 'Poison Pills'

LEAD: The major umbrella organization of American Jews said yesterday that it would not fight the decision of the Reagan Administration to enter into talks with the Palestine Liberation Organization.

Major Jewish Group In U.S. Backs Shultz

LEAD: The United States said today that when it begins its dialogue with the Palestine Liberation Organization it will discuss arrangements for opening peace talks on the Middle East.

U.S. SETS AGENDA FOR ITS DIALOGUE WITH PALESTINIANS

LEAD: President-elect Bush has chosen Representative Jack F. Kemp of upstate New York, a proponent of the aggressive use of public-private partnerships to rebuild inner cities, as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Bush transition officials and other Republicans said today.

Bush Is Reported to Select Kemp To Head the Housing Department

LEAD: The chief executive of Waterman S.A., Francine Gomez, is about to resign from the pen company that has been part of her family for three generations because she sharply disagrees with the Gillette Company's marketing plans.

Waterman Rift: A Tearful Farewell

LEAD: With the press of a button, Richard Foster can make the world spin faster. Or slower. Or in reverse. Or back and forth. ''People ask me to do it all the time,'' he says.

Our Towns; This Homeowner Thinks R.P.M.'s, Not Square Feet

LEAD: Members of a school board systematically turned a Bronx district into an enterprise for patronage and profit by trading jobs for political favors, seeking payoffs, putting relatives on the payroll and allowing school supplies to be looted, according to board members, school workers and secret records obtained by The New York Times.

Patronage and Profit in Schools: A Tale of a Bronx District Board

LEAD: The mother of a 5-year-old girl and the mother's companion were charged yesterday with second-degree murder after the child, who was found beaten, sexually abused and near death in the couple's Brooklyn apartment, died Wednesday night at a hospital.

Mother Seized In Slaying Of 5-Year-Old

LEAD: An inquiry into accusations of lavish spending on perquisites and pensions at Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield, New York State's largest health insurance company, has found no evidence of wrongdoing by the company's officers, the board of directors said yesterday.

One Inquiry Absolves Empire Blue Cross

LEAD: The drums were beating more loudly than usual this week, mostly on Wall Street, for higher interest rates to head off inflation. At the same time, the Federal Reserve's top officials were meeting in Washington to decide whether the inflation threat was exaggerated or real.

The Inflation Debate

LEAD: For the first time, the Reagan Administration has agreed that taxpayers' money is needed to deal with the savings and loan crisis, industry officials close to the Administration said today.

Tax Money to Aid Savings Banks Is Seen as Item in Reagan Budget

LEAD: DURING this holiday season, collectors trying to visit their favorite antiques shops may find empty stores. Many dealers have changed their addresses from downtown to uptown, from the Upper East Side to midtown. They have left warehouses for lofts, hotel suites for galleries.

Some Antiques Stores With New Addresses

LEAD: It was early afternoon on Wednesday, and Sweden's secret efforts to get Yasir Arafat to meet American conditions for a dialogue with the United States had reached the critical point.

The Secret Effort on Arafat: Go-Betweens Seize Moment

LEAD: FOR music lovers, Christmas is an especially bountiful time, not only because the city's churches and concert halls are hives of almost incessant musical activity, but also because the season has a musical literature all its own. With one major exception - Handel's ''Messiah,'' which was composed as an Easter work and is performed on that holiday, too - most of the music we hear at this time of the year goes back on the shelf in January, not to be heard again until December.

Music for Rejoicing Greatly

LEAD: The State Legislature today approved a measure creating a new school construction authority for New York City, relieving the growing pressure on the Legislature to respond to the city's school crisis.

Legislature Votes New York City School Construction Agency

LEAD: In an attempt to curb inflationary pressures, West Germany's central bank raised an important interest rate today and announced plans to curb money supply growth next year.

Bonn Lifts Key Rate Half-Point

LEAD: On a recent Monday night in the North End of the city, a couple getting ready for bed were surprised by a man who had just left the apartment next door in a rage over a drug dispute. A struggle followed, and the intruder was killed with his own knife.

As Drug Trade Rises in Hartford, So Does Violent Crime

LEAD: When the Bank of New York Corporation finally succeeded in acquiring the Irving Trust Company after a bitter, yearlong struggle, many Irving executives and directors questioned whether enough good will existed to insure a smooth integration of the two banks.

An Uneven Transition For Irving

LEAD: The City University School of Law, an academically troubled institution that won national acclaim for its innovative curriculum when it opened in 1982, is one of four campuses being considered for closing because of state budget pressures, education officials and legislative aides said yesterday.

Albany Selects The 4 Campuses It Plans to Close

Mats Julian Hummels is a German former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. Known for his well-timed tackles, accurate long passes from the back, aerial ability and strength, he is regarded as one of the best defenders of his generation.

Mats Hummels, German footballer

Mats_Hummels

Anna Popplewell is an English actress. She began acting with minor roles in television films and, notably, the drama films Mansfield Park (1999) and Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003). Her breakthrough role was Susan Pevensie in the fantasy film series The Chronicles of Narnia (2005–2010), which grossed over $1.5 billion worldwide and earned her a number of awards.

Anna Popplewell, English actress

Anna_Popplewell

Alexey Viktorovich Shved is a Russian professional basketball player who plays for Zenit Saint Petersburg of the VTB United League. Standing at 1.98 m, he plays at both the shooting guard and point guard positions.

December 16, 1988

Headlines from December 16, 1988

Ford's Catalytic Converter Eliminates Use of Platinum

Larry Davis Gets 5 to 15 Years For Conviction on Weapons

As Hope Dies, Quake Rescuers Pull Out

WEEKENDER GUIDE

INSIDE

Billboard 200

Rattle And Hum (Soundtrack)

Giving You The Best That I Got

Cocktail

Appetite For Destruction

New Jersey

Notable Births

Historical Context for December 16, 1988