November 16, 1995

Two teen-agers from Montclair received stiff prison terms yesterday for the shooting and carjacking of a 65-year-old woman last March. Hassan Cousins, 18, was sentenced to 34 years in prison and Earl Bethel, 19, to 30 years. The two pleaded guilty to shooting Sheila Gillespie in a carjacking in her driveway in West Caldwell. She lost sight in one eye.

Prime Minister Viktor S. Chernomyrdin cherishes his stodgy, button-down reputation. He is not young, he is not funky, and he most definitely does not "rock the house." And that is why it was a bit surprising that Mr. Chernomyrdin's campaign hired the American rapper Hammer to enliven the image of Our Home Is Russia, the centrist political party.

The public opinion polls have turned against them, the constant assaults on their party's Medicare proposals have raised alarms back home, much of the Government is shut down and the Democrats, suddenly, no longer look so humbled. But within the fervent core of the Republican revolution, among the 73 freshmen sent to the House of Representatives just a year ago, this is no time for faint hearts. "Forget popularity," declared Representative Zach Wamp of Tennessee. "This is a gut check for what we're doing here."

Joey Novick, a professional standup comedian who was elected to the Flemington Town Council 18 months ago, gave a seminar on political humor yesterday at the state League of Municipalities convention. A sample one-liner, according to the A.P.: "When Will Rogers said he never met a man he didn't like, he wasn't in politics." Mr. Novick did note the relationship between humor and political success. Presidents Kennedy and Reagan were funny, he said, but President Ford and Vice President Quayle were not.

Territory Snags Balkan Talks