January 25, 1994

In a sharp change of tone, the Clinton Administration's top specialist on Russia, testifying on Capitol Hill, sternly warned today that the Government of President Boris N. Yeltsin must press full speed ahead with economic reforms or risk an inflation rate high enough to "topple governments, sometimes with the ugliest and most dangerous of results." Applying undisguised pressure on Russia after a Cabinet shuffle in Moscow that left foes of swift economic change in charge, Strobe Talbott, the Deputy Secretary of State-designate, told a Senate subcommittee that "gradual reform is a prescription for hyperinflation and economic collapse."

Hillary Rodham Clinton passed through town two months ago campaigning on behalf of health care reform, but "Libby" and "Louise" are on the airwaves now, courtesy of the latest advertising campaign of the Health Insurance Association of America. Interested in health care reform but worried about the Clinton plan, the two appealing actresses share their fears again and again with the television viewers of Georgia.

Reading and math tests given to New York City schoolchildren last May show a widening split between middle-class and poor schools, according to school-by-school scores released yesterday by the Board of Education. While scores were up slightly from the year before for the city, some of the poorest and lowest-performing districts showed considerable decline. And even where there were improvements, the scores lagged below the levels of two years before.

After searching unsuccessfully outside the Pentagon, President Clinton today nominated William J. Perry, the Deputy Defense Secretary, for the department's top post, choosing a candidate who had expressed initial reluctance to take the job. Mr. Perry is Mr. Clinton's second announced choice to succeed Defense Secretary Les Aspin, who was forced to submit his resignation last month. The President's first nominee, Bobby Ray Inman, a retired admiral and intelligence chief, abruptly announced last week that he did not want the job.

Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani said yesterday that the community policing program that was a hallmark of the Dinkins administration must be redefined toward fighting crime and away from putting neighborhoods in touch with social services. Mr. Giuliani made his remarks on a day in which the New York City Police Department released a series of internal memorandums that highlighted a range of problems with community policing. The memos, some dating back to last winter, showed that some officers were faking reports that showed how often they walked their beats and that there had been a large percentage of disillusioned officers transferring out of the program. [ Page B2. ]