January 28, 1998

Pres Clinton steps up pressure on Iraq, sending senior officials to consult with allies in Europe and Middle East and warning Pres Saddam Hussein, in State of Union address, that his defiance of United Nations arms inspections cannot continue; notes Hussein's past use of weapons of mass destruction and cites determination to deny him capacity to use them again; holds Congress is united on issue; weighs sending Defense Sec William S Cohen to Persian Gulf to seek backing for military strike; is sending State Sec Madeleine K Albright to Europe to confer with British, French and Russian counterparts on Iraq; Britian leads talks on new Security Council resolution to give Hussein another chance to back down; Russians seek way to avoid military strike (L)

Profile of Brian Stokes Mitchell, singer-actor whose standout performance in Broadway musical Ragtime has made him an overnight sensation; photo (M)

Construction crane working on Queensboro Bridge slams into Manhattan-bound car of Roosevelt Island tramway; accident, in which 11 people were slightly injured, was third in four months involving construction at bridge; one worker was killed in September; Roosevelt Island officials say tramway will be shut down for at least one week; law encorcement officials say that preliminary indications are that accident was result of actions by crane's operator; drawing; photo (M)

Analysis of Pres Clinton's State of the Union address; message, originally designed to re-energize his Presidency with call to use any budget surpluses to shore up Social Security, seeks to muffle drumbeat of charges about his involvement with Monica S Lewinsky without mentioning scandal; dwells only on substance (M)

David Gonzalez About New York column discusses La Guardia Theater Ensemble, troupe of students and alumni at La Guardia Community College; Professor Phil Lerman, founder of ensemble, says his experience in directing plays has put to lie many of misconceptions of two-year colleges and their students (M)