July 8, 1996

It was, at the time, the most expensive campaign Kansas had ever seen, and may still rank as the ugliest. It began with insinuations of corruption and incompetence, and soon escalated to accusations of slander and sleazy campaigning. It featured, quite literally, a round of televised mudslinging. And it ended with a last-minute barrage of leaflets distributed anonymously.

The Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta represent the most ambitious civilian telecommunications and technology experiment since the space program -- and like a mission to the moon, it is a high-risk venture. More than 15,000 athletes and coaches, two million spectators in Atlanta and three billion television viewers around the world will be depending on the complex technological infrastructure of the Games.

On a brisk May afternoon last year, a frantic Argentine man carrying a stack of papers and videotapes knocked on the doors of several American newspaper offices here. "I'm a spy, and I think they're going to kill me, so I want you to know what has happened," were the first words out of his mouth.

She did fine in the evening gown and casual wear segments, but Meghan Rainone really impressed the pageant judges in the talent show, where her hands told a touching parable about a handicapped puppy. Ms. Rainone is deaf, and she returned home last night from Portland, Ore., as the new Miss Deaf America. The 19-year-old, 5-foot-2 college student was tops in a field of 32 young women at Friday night's pageant, sponsored by the National Association of the Deaf. She won a $3,000 scholarship, which she plans to apply to her studies in criminal justice at the Rochester Institute of Technology.

Facing videocameras in the White House Map Room, President Clinton gave a deposition in the trial of two bankers charged with making illegal donations to his 1990 campaign for Arkansas Governor. The taping was his second in two cases brought by the Whitewater prosecutor. Article, page A11.