December 14, 1996

Pres Clinton fills more top posts; nominates William M Daley as Commerce Secretary, Rep Bill Richardson as chief delegate to United Nations, Charlene Barshefsky as Trade Representative and Gene Sperling to head National Economic Council; Clinton says Atty Gen Janet Reno will stay on for second term, as will Donna E Shalala, Secretary of Health and Human Services, and Carol M Browner, Administrator of Environmental Protection Agency; Lawrence H Summers is given seat on Economic Council; of major economic posts, only Labor Secretary still remains open; photos (M)

Pres Clinton emotionally defends his veto last spring of bill that would have banned a kind of late-term abortion; says he would have signed bill, which prohibits third-trimester abortions unless woman's life is threatened, if Congress had agreed to add another exception, to preserve woman's health; says bill would have forced women with dangerous pregnancies to carry to term and not be able to bear another child again; Clinton says he decided to veto measure after speaking with several women who faced such a decision (M)

Israeli Government decision to restore large subsidies for Jewish settlements in West Bank prompts warnings of confrontation from Palestinians and fears from politicians on both sides that drive to peace is crumbling; Israeli Cabinet acts as settlers and other right-wing Israelis demand that drive-by shooting of Jewish settler and her son be avenged by expansion of settlements; several Katyusha rockets are fired from southern Lebanon into Israel, first cross-border shelling since Israeli raid into Lebanon last April ended with agreement not to strike at civilian areas on either side (M)

National Transportation Safety Board says it has identified fuel-system-pipe problem on Boeing 747's that can ignite explosions like one that occurred aboard TWA Flight 800 last July; issues urgent recommendation that airlines be required to take steps to address problem; safety board has not concluded that was cause of TWA crash, but problem has become leading culprit in minds of safety board's investigators; board also recommends finding ways to hold down temperatures in the tank, which would reduce chances that vapors could accumulate in explosive concentrations; drawings (M)

Rwandans Won't Go Home Tanzania gave up, at least temporarily, on trying to get refugees to go back to Rwanda, returning them instead to their camps. Page 6. Brady Law Assessed Enforcement of the Brady gun-control law recently led to an arrest in Maine that also exposed flaws in the system. Page 8. Fast Boat Taking All Bets A small startup company in the Sheepshead Bay section of Brooklyn is offering to take gamblers on a speedy cruise to nowhere. Page 27. Clemens Spurns Yankees New York, despite offering more money, lost out to Toronto, which signed longtime Boston pitcher Roger Clemens. SportsSaturday, page 31.