April 24, 1989

LEAD: Seven of the eight youths charged in the beating and gang rape of a jogger in Central Park have made incriminating statements about their involvement in the attack, a prosecutor said at their arraignment yesterday.

LEAD: At a time when public concern over the use of pesticides is rising, agricultural biotechnology companies are working on a way to reduce the use of chemical sprays by genetically modifying crops to make them resistant to insects.

LEAD: The Bush Administration plans to ask for less money for an anti-missile shield than President Reagan sought and wants to delay production of the Stealth bomber as part of a range of retrenchments intended to cut military spending, Administration officials said today.

LEAD: The Senate Intelligence Committee last year turned down a covert plan approved by President Reagan that called for an American-supported coup of dissident military officers to oust Panama's leader, Gen. Manuel Antonio Noriega, Government officials said today.

LEAD: The American Revolution was raging when the New York State Legislature banished a magistrate named Parker Wickham for aiding the British and seized his land, including this pristine 445-acre island in the Great Peconic Bay.