November 14, 1997

105th Congress ends its first session on Nov 13; ill will, stalemate and destruction of session's closing weeks point to return to sharp partisanship next year; outer wings of each party, after weeks of working together, got fed up with cooperation and blocked votes on several measures; two parties blame each other for mood change; factions in each party are growing dissatisfied with look-alike politics that have emerged from Pres Clinton's embrace of so many Republican issues; Democrats and Republicans are again seeking to highlight their differences as midterm elections of 1998 loom; photo (M)

On-the-spot expulsions at US borders are one result of new law that gives immigration agents sweeping powers to exclude non-citizens summarily, powers that previously belonged only to judges; aliens have no access to legal help and, in most cases, law permits no appeal; these broad powers have become another test of America's tolerence for immigrants; new procedures are part of last year's comprehensive immigration reform, which was pushed through Congress with intent to control illegal immigration and reclaim control of US borders; critics say that in hands of thousands of individual agents with minimal training, families are being separated, individuals' ability to work is being restricted and lives are being disrupted without warning and in some cases without cause; photos of Velia Hernandez de Sherwood and Charlotte Rose Leaming, Mexican and Canadian who have been barred from entering US (M)

Scientists have found that powerful drug combinations being taken by many people infected with AIDS virus do not eliminate it from the body, but neither does virus develop resistance to drugs in people who follow strict schedule of medicine; three teams, working independently, have identified same set of immune system cells as important hiding place for HIV virus, which becomes dormant but retains potential to turn active again and infect new cells; findings mean that people who benefit from combination therapy cannot safely discontinue their strict schedule of medications in foreseeable future and might need to stick with costly regimen as long as they live; Drs Robert Siliciano, Douglas Richman and Anthony Fauci are leaders of three studies (M)

Boeing Co's ambitious plan to more than double its monthly jet output, to 43 planes from 18, has spun out of control; in early October, overwhelmed by part shortages and other foul-ups, Boeing temporarily halted production of 747 as well as smaller 737; few weeks later, Boeing posted $1.6 billion third-quarter charge and its first operating loss in 28 years; problems will cost another $1 billion next year; Boeing shares have slipped more than 8 percent since early October; company has been deluged with shareholder lawsuits asserting that top executives deliberately soft-pedaled problems to prop up Boeing's share price before $16.3 billion acquisition of McDonnell Douglas Corp in August; graphs; photo (L)

Rebellion in Congo that ended in spring was conducted largely out of sight of rest of the world; when it was over in May, victor, Laurent Kabila, presented himself to Congolese as liberator who had ousted corrupt dictator, Mobutu Sese Seko; evidence has emerged suggesting that Kabila and Rwandans who backed him were also fighting war of revenge, one intertwined with ethnic conflicts between Hutu and Tutsi groups that have tormented region; not single body has been unearthed by United Nations investigators, but they have been able to gather chilling accounts of mass killings that leave little doubt that Kabila's forces committed atrocities as they marched across Congo, then called Zaire; map; photo (M)