November 2, 1994

The Central Intelligence Agency's nine-year hunt for Aldrich H. Ames, the convicted spy for Moscow, was led astray by the false scents of Soviet deception as well as the C.I.A.'s own ineptitude, a Senate committee said today. In a damning 116-page report, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence offered a wealth of new details on the most devastating case of treachery in the intelligence agency's history. It described a series of wrong turns, blind alleys and dead ends the investigation followed from 1985, when Mr. Ames first sold secrets to the Soviet Union, until this February, when the C.I.A. career officer was arrested.

First went the 40 hounds, then the 65 men, women and children on horseback and finally a dozen automobiles -- the spectators, many of them old fox hunters themselves. By mid-morning on this opening meet of the Essex Fox Hounds hunt, conditions seemed splendid for most any human pursuit -- sunny and dry, leaves falling in a shimmering shower of gold and magenta. But the aficionados here in Somerset County were not so sure. "I'm afraid it's a no-scent day," William Read murmured at 10:24 as he squinted into a sun that was lifting higher in the cloudless sky. "Too warm."

The Economy Two economic reports revived fears of accelerating inflation. The National Association of Purchasing Management said its index rose sharply, while the Commerce Department said construction spending surged 1.6 percent in September. [ Page D1. ]

Reversing his position that he would debate Gov. Mario M. Cuomo in a one-on-one session only, State Senator George E. Pataki, the Republican candidate for governor, said yesterday that he had agreed to a three-way debate with Mr. Cuomo and B. Thomas Golisano, the Independence Fusion candidate. Mr. Cuomo promptly declined to attend the Sunday afternoon debate on WNBC-TV, citing his longstanding insistence that he would attend debates only if all six gubernatorial candidates were invited. Mr. Golisano said he would attend if invited.

The Times Mirror Company said yesterday that the publisher of Newsday had resigned "as a result of differences in business philosophy" with the company's senior management. The move was surprising because it was evident that the publisher, Robert M. Johnson, 49, had not planned to leave the Long Island and New York City newspaper, and there had been no public signs of differences over business approach.