August 3, 1991

Armed with Israel's conditional agreement to a Middle East peace conference, Secretary of State James A. Baker 3d today sought to convince the Palestinians, the last party yet to agree, that even if they accepted Israel's terms they still stood to gain the most from the process. Mr. Baker first met for four hours with three prominent Palestinians in Jerusalem, then flew to the Jordanian capital, Amman, for talks with King Hussein. Under the American plan, the Palestinians would take part in the first stage of the peace conference in a delegation with Jordan.

Budgets for nuclear weapons will shrink with the ending of the cold war and the conclusion of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, but "nuclear competence," a very expensive commodity, remains essential to the nation's defense, say directors of the laboratories that design America's nuclear weapons. Conserving that competence, which consists of specialized laboratories and equipment as well as a cadre of scientific specialists in nuclear weapons technology, now costs some $3 billion a year, not counting the cost of manufacturing the weapons themselves.

U.S. Repeats Threat to Iraq The Bush Administration repeated its threat to use military force to destroy Iraq's nuclear program, and the Senate declared its support. Page 4. Up to 80 Die in Yugoslavia Croatian forces have suffered another serious defeat, with reports that as many as 80 policemen and national guardsmen were killed. Page 3. New Health-Care Legislation A leading House chairman offered a bill that would essentially set price controls on health services and lower Medicare eligibility to age 60. Page 6. Man Loses 10 Adoptees A judge ordered that 10 adopted children be taken from a man who won national acclaim for taking in troubled youngsters. Page 21. Top Dinkins Aide Resigns Victor A. Kovner, New York City's Corporation Counsel and a close adviser to the Mayor, is leaving to return to private practice. Page 21. Egalite on the Paris Metro First-class subway tickets have been eliminated from the Paris Metro, doing away with a long-established class distinction. Page 2.

As all of California watches and waits, the Board of Equalization has been spending these summer days in tense meetings, deliberating on complex questions that will affect the pocketbook of everyone in the state: Are chocolate chips a snack or a food? Shall regular marshmallows be taxed differently from miniature marshmallows? And, most perplexing, just what is a Ninja Turtle Snack Pie?

After months of argument among four Federal agencies and the White House, the Bush Administration has proposed rules intended to open millions of acres of low-lying forests, prairie, bottom lands and other environmentally sensitive areas to development, a White House official said today. The proposed rules are to be published within two weeks for public comment, and to be effective they would have to survive Congressional review and a likely challenge from environmental groups.