July 23, 1994

President Clinton and Hillary Rodham Clinton appealed to the Senate majority leader on Thursday to stand firm for the idea of health insurance for all Americans, rather than make concessions before debate begins, two leading Democrats said today. The Clintons came away from the Thursday meeting encouraged to believe that Senator George J. Mitchell of Maine, the majority leader, would do as they urged, said the two Democrats, who have been closely involved in developing health care legislation.

The New Jersey Education Department said today that it was prepared to take control of Newark's troubled schools. It issued a damning report that portrays the district as badly mismanaged by officials who sit aloof in comfortable offices while students struggle through badly taught classes in filthy buildings and ultimately fail in great numbers. Officials of the Newark district, the state's largest, have 20 days to respond to an order from Education Commissioner Leo F. Klagholz that requires them to demonstrate in court why there should be no takeover. Newark officials vowed again today to resist state control, meaning the long, complicated process of takeover could drag on for another year.

Murder Trial in Jordan A Jordanian man accused of strangling his wife in New Jersey, then fleeing to Jordan with his children, will be tried in Jordan and could face execution, an official said. Page 21. New Whitewater Revelations A Treasury lawyer said she had told Secretary Bentsen of talks between White House and Treasury officials about the Whitewater case. Page 9. Citadel Told to Admit Woman A Federal judge ordered South Carolina's military college to break its 152-year-old all-male tradition and admit a 19-year-old woman. Page 6.

For a decade, it survived design flaws, political miscalculations and years of litigation. But in the end the collapse last week of a plan to build a huge office and retail center at the site of the New York Coliseum was brought about by two overriding forces: the dramatic changes in New York City's economy and the weight of years of bitter negotiations that left the parties mired in mistrust and inflexibility. The demise of the project, which Mortimer B. Zuckerman, the developer and publisher, had intended to call Columbus Center, has left a trail of recrimination, with Mr. Zuckerman and the owner of the site, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, blaming each other for the debacle.

The nation's auto makers, historically obsessed with offering the freshest shapes and the most advanced gadgets, are increasingly shifting their attention to something older: the booming used-car market, estimated at twice the size of the new-car market in the United States. For shoppers, the change will mean more well-maintained, low-mileage, recent-vintage cars that are laden with accessories.