January 8, 1994

After a week of speculation about how he might pull together the money to win Paramount Communications Inc. in a fierce bidding war, Sumner M. Redstone, the chairman of Viacom Inc., submitted an offer yesterday that on the surface seemed stunning. Trying desperately to beat a rival bid from QVC Network Inc., Viacom offered $105 a share in cash for 50.1 percent of Paramount's stock, with the rest to be purchased with Viacom stock. And in a companion move, he said Viacom would merge with the Blockbuster Entertainment Corporation, the giant video-rental company that has backed his bid for Paramount, in an exchange of stock worth $8.4 billion.

A barge carrying more than 1.5 million gallons of heavy fuel oil struck a coral reef off the coast today and began spilling its pungent cargo along the city's premier resort beaches. The 750,000-gallon spill, occurring at the height of the winter tourist season, spread across a mile and a half of turquoise coastline -- roughly half the length of the San Juan beachfront. Currents moved the oil and its overpowering stench westward, toward the walled colonial city of Old San Juan, and eastward, toward the Condado and Ocean Park tourist sections, where most of the city's luxury hotels are situated.

In what gay rights advocates considered a setback, a Federal Appeals Court decided to reconsider a ruling that had struck down the military's ban on homosexuals. Conservative judges on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit wiped out a decision by three of their liberal colleagues and ordered the case reheard. Article, page 7.

It wasn't the week to end all weeks, weather-wise. But snow, sleet, rain and more snow made it seem that way to many New Yorkers. Page 25.

Gov. Mario M. Cuomo announced this evening that he would run this year for a fourth term, saying he wanted the chance to help New York rebound from a recession that has sapped both the state's economic vitality and his own popularity. Lieut. Gov. Stan Lundine, who was Mr. Cuomo's running mate in 1986 and 1990, will run again at Mr. Cuomo's side, the Governor said in a statement.