January 26, 1995

President Clinton faced hard questions about his stands on political contributions and raising the minimum wage. Page A19.

Taking a big step toward broader competition in New York State's local telephone market, the Nynex Corporation reached an agreement yesterday that would enable a rival to offer a full range of competing services. The agreement with the MFS Communications Company could serve as a model for companies in other parts of the country. It addresses two of the most intractable financial disputes that have made it difficult for new entrants to take on established telephone companies.

The United States has run into surprising resistance in negotiations here intended to extend a treaty that has limited the spread of nuclear weapons for a quarter of a century. Leading arms experts say that influential nonnuclear nations may muster enough votes to block a permanent extension of the treaty against the spread of nuclear weapons, which was signed in 1968 and put into effect two years later. Many attribute the flagging support partly to a lack of leadership on the issue from the Clinton Administration.

Sun Microsystems Inc. and Visa Interactive are expected to announce on Thursday that the credit-card company has adopted Sun's computer hardware for a range of home banking services now being planned for the nation's banks. Sun Microsystems, the Mountain View, Calif., maker of computer work stations, has achieved a headstart in a market that is predicted to grow to more than $1 billion by the end of the decade, analysts said.

FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS, OUTSIDERS PAY Urban parents are increasingly being sought out by suburban public school systems that have decided to take in children from outside their district and charge them tuition in an effort to raise money. School administrators say the programs have become increasingly important as state and Federal aid to local schools declines and budgets tighten. A1. NEW YORK CITY SUSPECT IN CAR-THEFT RING IS SLAIN A suspect in a car-theft ring -- arrested recently with his sister and brother-in-law, both New York City police officers, and his father, a retired officer -- was shot to death as he sat in his car outside a pool hall on Staten Island, the police said. Minutes later, a New Jersey man whose red sports car matched the description of a vehicle seen speeding from the scene was arrested. B3.