December 4, 1995

This state may be known for automobiles, soul music and Big Ten football, but it also has an impressive record as a political mirror: For decades, the vote for President in Michigan has been nearly identical to that of the entire nation. That is why politicians are taking special note of a small renaissance for President Clinton here. After two years of slipping and sliding, Mr. Clinton is enjoying newfound popularity in the state, according to interviews with politicians, academics and voters as well as the latest opinion polls. In a whimsical sign of the President's rising acceptability, a bumper sticker spotted near here proclaimed, "Clinton! At Least He Cares," instead of the more familiar, "Impeach Clinton."

Two hours into the medical treatment that was cleansing her blood, Sue Ellen Coffin screamed, pulled at her hair and vomited. Pandemonium spread at the Albuquerque Kidney Center as Mrs. Coffin's screams were followed by those of five other people in intense, unexpected pain. The nurses on duty shut off the kidney dialysis machines hooked up to the six people. Most of the patients recovered. But Mrs. Coffin died within six hours.

Some politicians in Camden County have been wondering if the Board of Freeholders is on top of the county's $227 million budget. Today, two Republican Assemblymen, Lee A. Solomon and John A. Rocco, who represent Camden, will ask the Assembly's State and Local Government Committee to approve a resolution calling for a state audit of the county's performance. The State Department of Community Affairs favors the audit but needs the county's approval, said Bob Friant, a spokesman for the department.

Scrambling to pass a sweeping telecommunications bill before Christmas, members of a House-Senate conference committee will try to find compromises this week on issues ranging from media conglomerates to smut in cyberspace. "This week is deal-making time," said Representative Rick White, Republican of Washington. "The leadership of both houses has said we have a very short window of opportunity."

Tom Gullikson was fighting tears from behind a microphone, and it was impossible not to flash back to a spotlighted tennis court in Melbourne, Australia, 11 months earlier when Pete Sampras was the one crying. "It's been such an emotional year for both of us," Sampras said today after winning the Davis Cup for the United States with a 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) victory over Russia's Yevgeny Kafelnikov. "For Tom and I to have to deal with this situation in a public arena has not been easy."