LEAD: The Politburo of East Germany's Communist Party yesterday proposed discussions with ''other political forces'' about the country's future.

East German Leaders Seek Talks With Foes

LEAD: In a televised address on Thanksgiving eve, the President lauded Mikhail S. Gorbachev and promised ''no surprises'' for the allies at the summit meeting next month. Page A12.

Bush Hails the 'New Europe'

LEAD: Attorney General Dick Thornburgh today barred the disclosure of classified information in the Iran-contra trial of a former Central Intelligence Agency official in a move that could lead to the dismissal of charges.

Use of Secret Data Barred in Trial; Iran-Contra Prosecution Imperiled

LEAD: SURE, it is hard work, this daylong ritual of basting and stuffing and slicing and dicing. But look at it from another perspective.

On This Day, All the Boards Are Groaning

LEAD: Angry at having to wait in a long bank line? Here's $5 to ease the pain. Second thoughts about that shiny new car? Take it back to the showroom, no questions asked.

Building Good Will Through Guarantees

Business Digest

LEAD: With their small canvas tote bags, James Jackson and his family might be mistaken for travelers headed home for Thanksgiving, three more faces among the tens of thousands passing through O'Hare Airport here on one of the busiest travel days of the year.

Homeless Find Shelter in the Bustle at O'Hare

LEAD: ''Our proposal asks for an increased investment in the welfare of the poor at a time when all levels of government are tightening their respective belts. This investment in the future of our neighbors, their children and our communities should be a high priority.''

Metro Matters; For H.R.A. Chief, A Sigh of Relief After Hard Years

LEAD: The two sides in a pivotal abortion case before the United States Supreme Court agreed today to settle it out of court.

Illinois Case on Abortion Settled Prior to Supreme Court Hearing

LEAD: ''Does anyone here have a Bible?'' the Korean minister called out at the church social last Sunday.

For Immigrants, a Four-Language Church

LEAD: The Nynex Corporation and telephone workers tentatively agreed on a contract yesterday that would end a bitter 16-week strike. The workers were scheduled to return to their jobs on Dec. 4.

Nynex Agrees With Strikers On a Contract

LEAD: The new Lebanese President, Rene Moawad, was assassinated today when a huge bomb blew up his car. He died after only 17 days in office.

PEACE EFFORTS ARE SET BACK

LEAD: More than 250,000 Czechoslovaks who gathered in Wenceslas Square for a sixth consecutive day of protest shouted ''Resign! Resign!'' today when speakers called for the country's hard-line Communist leaders to step down.

250,000 Czechs, Hailing Dubcek, Urge Ouster of Hard-Line Leaders

LEAD: Every weekend, thousands of people stroll down West Broadway into SoHo, a former industrial district that is a magnet for the chic and the would-be chic. They pass famous art galleries like Mary Boone and Leo Castelli; they pass bustling restaurants like I Tre Merli, where black-clad women grasp their focaccia with red-painted fingernails.

Gray Is Showing in SoHo's Punk Look

LEAD: President Bush said today that he had dispatched commandos to San Salvador after rebel forces seized a hotel where American military advisers were staying. He boasted of helping to rescue the hostages in an operation that was launched without seeking approval from the President of El Salvador.

BUSH CLAIMS ROLE IN HOSTAGE RESCUE IN SALVADOR HOTEL

LEAD: Perhaps more than in any year since 1974, when a severe recession started before Thanksgiving, the success of the Christmas shopping season that begins tomorrow is uncertain. But for bargain-hunting shoppers, opportunities may abound.

Retailers Are Wary Of Season

LEAD: A team of South African lawyers said today that they had corroborated some of the assertions made by a convicted murderer who said he served with a police assassination squad that killed and terrorized opponents of apartheid.

South African Bolstered in Claim He Belonged to Police 'Hit Squad'

LEAD: The stakes are mounting each day, but I. A. Long has yet to show any sign of sweaty palms.

A 'Prime Mover' in U.S. Banking

LEAD: Leaders of the pilots' union at Eastern Airlines voted yesterday to end the union's nearly nine-month-long walkout, but the machinists' union vowed to continue its strike.

Eastern's Pilot Union Ends Strike

LEAD: Today is Thanksgiving. Here are holiday schedules.  NEW YORK  Parade: Begins at 9 A.M. at 77th Street and Central Park West and heads to Columbus Circle and down Broadway to 34th Street and Seventh Avenue.  Government offices: All closed.  Post office: Special delivery and Express Mail delivery only.

Holiday Today

LEAD: Ten months ago, a New York appeals court voted to uphold the indictment of Senator Manfred Ohrenstein, the State Senate Democratic minority leader, but the ruling has been held up because of an unusually long delay in writing the majority opinion, officials of the appeals court said last night.

Delayed Court Opinion Stalls Ohrenstein Case

LEAD: Prices of Treasury securities moved higher yesterday after the Federal Reserve Board signaled market participants that it might have sanctioned another modest drop in interest rates.

Treasuries Up on Sign of Fed Easing

LEAD: Citing collusive bidding and other restrictive practices, the Bush Administration said today that Japan continued to restrict American bidders unfairly from its $300 billion-a-year construction market, but it ruled out retaliation at this time.

U.S. Rules Out Retaliation In Japan Construction Cases

LEAD: EVER since Jacob's ladder, the staircase has symbolized spiritual ascent. In architecture, the notion of a stairway to paradise has inspired everything from the Spanish steps in Rome to the Great Wall of China.

Stairs That Go Beyond the Ordinary

LEAD:  Eastern Pilots End Walkout  Ending a walkout of nearly nine months, Eastern pilots said they would return to work unconditionally; the machinists, however, will continue their strike. Page D1.  Night Launching of Shuttle  The space shuttle Discovery roared aloft with a secret military payload in a nighttime launching that officials said was a sign of growing confidence in the shuttle program.

November 23, 1989

Headlines from November 23, 1989

East German Leaders Seek Talks With Foes

Bush Hails the 'New Europe'

Use of Secret Data Barred in Trial; Iran-Contra Prosecution Imperiled

On This Day, All the Boards Are Groaning

Building Good Will Through Guarantees

Billboard 200

Girl You Know It's True

Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814

Storm Front

Steel Wheels

Forever Your Girl

Historical Context for November 23, 1989