August 28, 1994

The Clinton Administration announced today that it would open limited talks with Cuba on immigration matters in the hope of defusing the refugee crisis. Along with bad weather, which again today apparently lowered the number of Cubans taking to boats or rafts to flee, the agreement to hold talks gave the Administration its first reason to hope that the flood of refugees, which began early this month, might be brought under control.

Don Tyson, the chairman of Tyson Foods and America's chicken king, had the flushed look of a kid caught sneaking a peek at an X-rated videotape. Two other company executives also appeared mildly embarrassed to be discovered huddled around a television at the sleek headquarters building, where Andy Warhol competes for wall space with mounted marlins. "Oh, uh, we're just watching a commercial for, uh, Butterball turkeys," muttered Mr. Tyson as one of the other men reached quickly to shut off the television. "Gotta be going anyway."

THE doorbell rings. Through the peephole you see a youngish white man, hands in pockets, head down. He is very thin. He is dressed neatly but casually; running shoes, khakis, a Polo shirt, a baseball cap. He is a stranger, but familiar; he looks like someone you see on the street every day.

When thousands of Cubans rioted against Government security forces here early this month, they shouted slogans against President Fidel Castro. They also hurled rocks at hotels where dollar-paying foreign tourists were staying and at stores that sell goods only for dollars. "You work, and you earn 100 pesos a month, and you can't afford to live in this country," said Jose Bolano Rodriguez, whose stepdaughter was arrested in the riot that prompted Mr. Castro to let people escape freely in rafts.

WHEN you look at Oldsmobile's slick new Aurora, it's hard to believe that only a couple of years ago there were mutterings inside General Motors about killing off the Olds division. And when you think about Oldsmobile's history, the whole notion is even more preposterous. Olds, of course, is one of America's oldest car nameplates, established in 1897 and flourishing long before it came into the G.M. fold in 1908.