January 22, 1994

The nation's cable television companies have drafted a plan to create a new rating system for violent programming, along with independent monitors to grade them with regular report cards. The four broadcast networks appear likely to accept part of the plan. The cable industry plan, which has not been made final, also endorses the introduction of a device that would allow cable subscribers to block automatically programs that are rated violent. Cable companies would also adopt a number of voluntary guidelines, like restricting shows with graphic material to late-night hours when children are less likely to be watching.

In a verdict that highlighted the plight and rights of abused women, a jury today found Lorena L. Bobbitt not guilty of all criminal charges, concluding that she was temporarily insane last June when she cut off her husband's penis with a kitchen knife. When the jury of seven women and five men announced its decision, acquitting Mrs. Bobbitt of malicious wounding -- an offense for which she could have been imprisoned for 20 years -- a gasp went up among her supporters in the courtroom.

Clinton Narrows Choices President Clinton has narrowed his search to fill two top jobs. Senior officials said he is focusing on the Deputy Secretary of Defense to move up to the top spot and will ask a Boston lawyer to be civil rights chief at the Justice Department. Page 6. Court to Hear Abortion Case The Supreme Court agreed to decide if judicial orders keeping protesters away from abortion clinics violate the right of free speech. Page 6. Chairwoman Sills? Beverly Sills is expected to be nominated to head the board of directors of Lincoln Center, sources close to the board said. Page 11. China Opens Up to Banks China allowed U.S. and other foreign banks to expand into some cities now closed to them and to accept deposits in Chinese currency. Page 37.

The National Guard began erecting tent cities for earthquake victims today as jittery public officials promised other relief efforts for angry residents waiting in long lines to apply for aid. The tumultuous opening of the Federal relief centers on Thursday prompted officials to dispatch National Guardsmen in riot gear today to patrol the lines that snaked through parks, fields and streets outside the centers.

In his first two weeks in office, Police Commissioner William J. Bratton has personally evicted a panhandler from a subway car, read the riot act to a precinct under scrutiny for corruption and gone to Harlem to make an impassioned speech about civil rights. For the next nine months, he has more ambitious plans. By April, he wants to have put new strategies in place on running the department. By July, he intends to have markedly improved departmental morale. By September, he wants to have restored the public's confidence in the police and reduced the fear of crime in the streets.