A prep course for the month-long World Cup soccer tournament, a worldwide pheno

ngeles , professor and adviser to the family . Mancillas talked Tuesday with the

 family of Mario Aburto Martinez at the office of their lawyer two days after Ab

urto 's mother and five other relatives crossed the border illegally from Tijuan

a and requested political asylum , alleging that they had been harassed and thre

atened . Aburto , a 23-year-old factory worker charged with gunning down Colosio

 at a Tijuana campaign rally , said he was friends with a man identified as a se

curity guard for Colosio , Mancillas said . Mario Aburto told his father , Ruben

 , in January that the guard was going to introduce him to an `` important perso

n , '' an agent in Mexico 's Interior Ministry , at a meeting in a Tijuana gymna

sium , Mancillas said . The two security agents have been the focus of intense i

nvestigation and speculation because of their mysterious actions at the assassin

ation scene ; the Interior Ministry agent was even arrested as he ran from the s

cene with a bloodstained shirt . But neither has been charged . The revelations 

by Aburto 's family appear significant because there have been few developments 

and many conspiracy theories since the arrests of Aburto and three alleged accom

plices , volunteer security guards at the rally . But the new account comes afte

r weeks in which the family 's statements to the news media have changed several

 times , causing Mexican officials and others to privately question their credib

ility . The family 's representatives , however , said Ruben Aburto and other re

latives in Los Angeles had been reluctant to speak until now because they feared

 retaliation against the family members in Tijuana . `` He 's been very scared ,

 '' Mancillas said of the father . `` He believed they could kill his family in 

Tijuana . He 's very afraid of retaliation . '' Ruben Aburto and the accused ass

assin 's brothers are willing to meet with Mexican investigators to disclose wha

t they know about the assassination and about Aburto 's actions in the preceding

 months , said the family 's lawyer , Peter Schey of the Center for Human Rights

 and Constitutional Law in Los Angeles . Schey said Mexican investigators made c

ontact with the Aburtos in Los Angeles about 10 days ago , using an FBI agent as

 a go-between . `` The family wants the truth of the assassination to come out ,

 '' Schey said . `` The family is willing to accept the truth . '' ( Optional ad

d end ) Before talking to investigators , however , the Aburtos want the Mexican

 government to let Ruben Aburto visit his imprisoned son in Mexico City and also

 permit visits by attorneys from the United States and a doctor selected by the 

family , Schey said . Aburto 's mother and other family members in Tijuana alrea

dy have been questioned by Mexican police . The six relatives have been released

 while they seek political asylum or temporary residence based on humanitarian g

rounds . In the past month , the family has been followed , frightened by a seri

es of attempted break-ins and had the windows of their house shattered by gunfir

e , Schey said Tuesday . U.S. immigration officials say that the case will recei

ve no special treatment . They said diplomatic sensitivities a political asylum 

case would force U.S. authorities to pass judgment on Mexico 's handling of the 

Colosio case are not an issue . The statements connecting Aburto to other figure

s in the case provide the strongest potential evidence of a conspiracy in a secr

etive , much-criticized investigation . The special prosecutor has yet to explai

n the motives and masterminds behind the alleged plot , basing the case largely 

on videotapes of the assassination and on the confession of Aburto , who insists

 that the alleged accomplices were not involved . In various statements to repor

ters , however , Aburto 's father has said his son went to a shadowy political m

eeting in March with two of the accused accomplices , former Baja police officer

s who worked in the volunteer security team provided by Colosio 's political par

ty . The two are charged with obstructing Colosio 's military bodyguards , enabl

ing the gunman to advance through a crowd and shoot the candidate at point-blank

 range . Tuesday 's revelations are particularly sensitive because they incrimin

ate two other agents initially named as suspects whose roles have never been ful

ly explained .

 WASHINGTON With all five congressional committees working on health care legisl

ation now certain to miss their self-imposed Memorial Day deadline for producing

 bills , President Clinton will go to Capitol Hill Wednesday evening to prod the

m to finish their work . Until Tuesday , it appeared that at least one of the pa

nels the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee stood a chance of passing a 

bill to overhaul the United States ' health care system before Congress adjourns

 for the weeklong recess . However , Chairman Edward M. Kennedy , D-Mass. , anno

unced late in the day that it would be `` unwise '' to rush to meet that deadlin

e . He blamed at least part of the delay on `` unforeseen events '' an apparent 

reference to the death and funeral of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis . `` But there 

is also a larger sense that in this situation , haste right now would make waste

 , '' Kennedy said . `` The more time we spend , the more progress we are making

 . It would be foolish to jeopardize further cooperation by forcing too many dec

isions prematurely . '' Indeed , Kennedy has been more successful than expected 

in winning GOP votes for various aspects of his bill . All but two Republicans j

oined Democrats Tuesday in beating back efforts to weaken his proposals for expa

nsion of coverage for long-term care . Yet despite Kennedy 's optimistic stance 

, the fact remains that , in varying degrees , all five committees two in the Se

nate , and three in the House have bogged down over the most fundamental choices

 . The toughest issue involves finding a way to reach the president 's most basi

c goal of assuring that every American and legal resident of this country has he

alth coverage . Clinton 's proposal to require all employers to provide coverage

 has proven to be the most controversial element of his bill , with opponents co

ntending that the additional cost would cause the smallest and weakest firms to 

fire workers or shut down altogether . Clinton and his allies thought they had m

ade a breakthrough last week , when Sen. John B . Breaux , D-La. , previously on

e of the most influential opponents of the so-called `` employer mandate , '' ha

d said he would support a modified version that exempted the smallest companies 

. However , Breaux said Tuesday he is not finding much support for that approach

 , particularly from Republicans . Now , Breaux said , he is testing sentiment f

or a proposal under which employer mandates would be put into force only if comp

anies did not expand coverage on their own under a reformed health care system .

 Meanwhile , in what appears to be the most dramatic effort to date to bridge pa

rty lines on the issue , Senate Finance Committee Chairman Daniel Patrick Moynih

an , D-N.Y. , and Sen. Bob Packwood , R-Ore. , the committee 's ranking Republic

an , will work together in drafting the initial version of a health care bill to

 be presented to their committee after the Memorial Day break , Packwood said . 

Bipartisanship is more of a necessity on the Finance Committee than anywhere els

e in Congress . Democrats command an 11-9 majority there and it is an even more 

fragile party front , given the fact that the Democrats on the committee include

 several conservatives such as Breaux . There seems to be a growing sense in Con

gress that some sort of breakthrough must happen and happen soon to preserve any

 chance of sweeping legislation this year . Otherwise , lawmakers might pass onl

y a set of marginal changes in the current system . That is why some were viewin

g Clinton 's visit with particular interest , despite efforts by both the White 

House and Democratic leaders to downplay its significance . ( Optional add end )

 Some suggested he might use the trip to Capitol Hill as an opportunity to put f

orward new proposals that might elicit support from Republicans and more conserv

ative Democrats . Others , however , said that would be precisely the wrong tact

ic . Instead , they said , Clinton should stand firm behind his bill , and allay

 fears particularly in the House that he ultimately will be forced into giving u

p on the most difficult parts of his plan . `` Members are concerned about what 

the president 's bottom line is . They need to hear it from the president direct

ly , '' said Rep. Henry A . Waxman , D-Calif . `` He needs to spell out his mini

mum requirements for health reform. .. . If we do meet them , we need to be sure

 the rug isn't going to be pulled out from us later . ''

 WASHINGTON In a surprise announcement , WETA President Sharon Percy Rockefeller

 Tuesday said she is resigning immediately for health reasons . Rockefeller , wh

o also has served as chief executive officer of the public broadcasting station 

here since 1989 , stressed in a letter to board chairman Daniel K. Mayers that `

` the sole reason for my resignation is that , most unfortunately , I have not b

een able to regain my health and energy since my 1993 accident . '' However , sh

e intends to return to the station in the fall , albeit in a changed role , and 

to remain on the board , she wrote . On May 13 , 1993 , Rockefeller suffered thr

ee broken ribs and a punctured lung when the car in which she was riding was for

ced off Rock Creek Parkway during a severe thunderstorm . She returned to the st

ation after two months but , according to associates , has often refused to redu

ce her workload , although the need for her to do so was painfully evident . The

 decision to step down `` is the most difficult decision of my life ; I do it wi

th a lot of sadness and regret , '' she told a reporter Tuesday . `` I was never

 able to come back from ( the accident ) even though I kept trying and trying . 

Eventually , it took a big toll the doctors say I have to rest . '' She is alrea

dy looking forward to her fall return `` in a new position . I hope to help WETA

 with programming , community outreach and fund-raising , as well as with the na

tional public broadcasting institutions . '' The WETA board holds its regularly 

scheduled meeting today and is expected to appoint a search committee to seek Ro

ckefeller 's replacement . Neil Mahrer , executive vice president and chief oper

ating officer , will continue to manage the daily operations . In her letter to 

Mayers , Rockefeller said the station `` deserves and must have a president who 

possesses the physical stamina to meet the challenges which lie ahead . '' In hi

s reply , the chairman said , `` Most of all , Sharon , we want you to take care

 of yourself . Your recovery .. . has been impaired by the prodigious effort you

 have expended on WETA 's behalf . Only those who have worked with you can appre

ciate the energy and hours you have devoted to WETA on a sustained basis over ma

ny years . '' Rockefeller , 49 , is married to Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV , D-W

.Va . They have four children . She has held several major public broadcasting a

ppointments , including board memberships at both the Public Broadcasting Servic

e and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting ( which she served as chairman ) .

 She was on the board of the West Virginia Educational Broadcasting Authority fo

r 15 years . Richard W. Carlson , president of the Corporation for Public Broadc

asting , said , `` Sharon Rockefeller represents the heart and soul of public br

oadcasting . She 's always been there for us . And I know that she willn't be ab

le to stay away for long . '' -0- It 's been quite a couple of weeks for ABC New

s president Roone Arledge . He recently turned down an offer from Rupert Murdoch

 to take a major corporate job at Fox Broadcasting ( reportedly the chairman 's 

job now held by Lucie Salhany ) and on Saturday he married his girlfriend of the

 past couple of years , Gigi Shaw , in a small family ceremony at his Southampto

n estate . It was the third marriage for the 62-year-old Arledge . His four chil

dren and her daughter were in attendance . Fox Broadcasting leans heavily on new

 dramas in the 1994-95 primetime schedule announced Tuesday , introducing five o

f the long-form shows and two situation comedies . Missing from next fall 's lin

eup will be `` In Living Color , '' `` Brisco County Jr. , '' `` South Central ,

 '' `` Herman 's Head '' and `` Sinbad . ''

 MEXICO CITY Just 10 days after taking office , Mexico 's new attorney general T

uesday announced a radical reorganization of the Federal Judicial Police , start

ing with the firing of five top commanders and the elimination of special detail

s within the force . The actions were taken , according to a statement from Atto

rney General Humberto Benitez 's office , `` to make the force more efficient an

d to avoid illegal activities . '' Mexican police at all levels have come under 

increasing pressure in the past year to restore public order in the wake of the 

unsolved assassinations of a Roman Catholic cardinal , the leading presidential 

candidate and the Tijuana police chief , in addition to a wave of kidnappings an

d audacious gun battles between rival narcotics gangs . Benitez cracked down esp

ecially hard on the department in charge of investigations , eliminating it and 

firing its five commanders .

 NEW YORK An outraged federal judge Tuesday sentenced each of four men convicted

 in the World Trade Center bombing to 240 years in prison a life term calculated

 by adding the life expectancy of each of the six people killed in the blast , p

lus 30 years for two other counts . U.S. . District Judge Kevin Duffy , who angr

ily addressed the defendants after overseeing the 5-month trial , called the fou

r `` cowards '' for planting a bomb during the lunch hour of Feb. 26 , 1993 , in

 an effort to `` terrorize the people of the United States . '' In sentencing th

e four Muslim defendants , Duffy 's toughest words were to the most-educated of 

the group , Nidal Ayyad , a 26-year-old chemist who helped get chemicals and arr

ange for vehicles . Ayyad , who dismissed the court as not being as important as

 the teachings of the Koran , said to the judge : `` You only rule over this lif

e . You are not going to change what God has dictated . '' `` You are the bigges

t hypocrite in the room , '' Duffy responded after Ayyad sat down . `` Clearly y

ou are the most culpable. .. . God gave you brains .. . and what you have done i

s turn your life into a total lie . `` You talk about the Koran , '' Duffy conti

nued , as Ayyad , dressed in a brown one-piece prison uniform , stared straight 

ahead . `` You have shamed it. .. . You violated the laws not only of man but of

 God . '' Although some of the conspirators shouted angrily at the jury after th

eir conviction on March 4 , Tuesday was the first time they had spoken at length

 in the courtroom . All four have said they are innocent , and their attorneys h

ave said they plan to appeal . In Tuesday 's speeches , halted every few seconds

 for translation from Arabic into English , only one of the men talked about the

 horror of the crime Ahmad Ajaj , a 28-year-old Palestinian who was in prison on

 a false passport conviction when the bomb exploded . Ajaj stood for almost thre

e hours , telling stories about torture and killing in the Middle East and blami

ng the United States for `` terrorism '' that included the country 's treatment 

of American Indians and blacks and the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki . Ajaj

 , the jury decided , was the one who masterminded the technical parts of making

 the trade center bomb even while he was in prison . Mohammed Salameh , 26 , the

 Palestinian immigrant who rented a yellow Ryder van and was captured when he tr

ied to get his deposit refunded , said he would `` not beg for mercy '' from the

 court . After Salameh shouted remarks to the court , Duffy said that if Salameh

 and his `` cohorts '' had placed the bomb in a different place , it could have 

knocked one of the towers down onto another . Or , he said , cyanide gas could h

ave been sucked into the air ducts , killing thousands . Mahmud Abouhalima , 34 

, of Woodbridge , N.J. , told of being tortured by Egyptian police who captured 

him when he fled to Egypt after the bombing and turned him over the U.S. authori

ties . He blamed the media for `` a very effective negative role '' in focusing 

public opinion , including the jurors ' . He criticized jurors for sleeping thro

ugh testimony , and he complained that prison guards had not given him prayer be

ads and rugs . `` You 're a convicted felon , '' Duffy said , as he began Abouha

lima 's sentencing . `` You 're not some guy on vacation . '' Before the four we

re sentenced , Ed Smith , whose pregnant wife was killed in the blast , read an 

appeal to the judge that the four would be `` held in custody for the duration o

f their days on this Earth . '' Smith said that after the explosion , he began c

alling his wife Monica 's office . `` There was no answer , and there would neve

r be an answer . '' As people wept silently in the courtroom , Smith told of buy

ing baby furniture , of his despair at knowing his wife would not ever be able t

o hold her son in her arms . `` All this because .. . four men wanted to terrori

ze the United States , '' he said .

 WASHINGTON Four federal agencies are examining allegations that the Air Force s

old useless fighter cockpit displays by a California defense contractor whose bo

ard members at the time included William Perry , now secretary of defense , and 

two other top Pentagon officials . Under scrutiny is a 1987-91 contract between 

the Air Force and Scientific Applications International Corp. , based in San Die

go . During those four years , its high-powered board of directors included Perr

y ; John Deutch , now the deputy secretary of defense , and Anita Jones , the ne

w director of defense research and engineering . After inquiries by Newsday , th

e three Clinton administration officials recused themselves from control over th

e Pentagon portion of the SAIC probe . The company paid a total of almost $ 900,

000 in severance payments to Perry , Deutch and Jones when they left the company

 to join the Pentagon in 1993 . The investigation involves Air Force payment of 

$ 9.2 million , primarily for F-15 fighter cockpit displays that SAIC made parti

ally from tiny Japanese television screens that cost only $ 650 each . An estima

ted 20 cockpit indicators that were supposed to show whether the plane was climb

ing or diving were made from color liquid crystal displays , or LCDs . None of t

he 20 cockpit LCDs ever worked properly . While SAIC charges to the Air Force ar

e one facet of the investigation , court records and subsequent depositions obta

ined by federal officials indicated that the investigation may hinge on SAIC pro

mises that the cockpit displays could become operable if the Air Force paid an a

dditional $ 320,000 for work on the project in 1991 . Former SAIC employees cont

end the company knew at the time that the displays could not be fixed , federal 

investigators said . Despite SAIC 's failures with LCDs for cockpit displays , t

he LCD technology has become a top priority for the Clinton administration 's De

fense Department . The Justice Department , two Pentagon investigative agencies 

and the U.S. . Attorney 's office in San Diego have seized two truckloads of doc

uments relating to SAIC executives and board members . SAIC President Lorenz Kul

l denied allegations of fraud made by company whistleblowers . `` I think that w

as a bum rap , '' Kull said of the allegations of the former employees . Perry ,

 Deutch and Jones refused Newsday 's repeated requests to be interviewed about t

heir possible involvement with the contract . But in a Pentagon statement to New

sday issued in their behalf , the three recused themselves from the SAIC investi

gation . `` If the report comes to their offices for action , they will ask the 

secretary of the Army to review it on their behalf , '' the Pentagon said . Kath

leen deLaski , the Pentagon spokeswoman , said the decision to have Army Secreta

ry Togo West oversee the issue was taken after Newsday inquiries . Interviews in

 San Diego and Washington provided a glimpse inside the often secret world of de

fense companies that employ influential politicians , retired military officers 

and scientists who at one time or another pass through the Pentagon 's revolving

 door . When Perry , Deutch and Jones left the company for the Pentagon , SAIC p

aid them $ 891,763 in severance fees . The payments , particularly to Perry and 

Jones , were surprisingly high but reflected SAIC 's repurchase of privately hel

d company stock issued to officials over seven years of service as directors Acc

ording to disclosure statements filed with the Senate Armed Services Committee ,

 Perry was entitled to fees and stock from SAIC worth $ 354,474 ; Deutch , $ 456

,591 ; and Jones , $ 80,698 . Agents of the Air Force Office of Special Investig

ations and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service took part in a federal rai

d on five SAIC buildings last Feb. 15 . In an interview , Kull , the SAIC presid

ent , said that Perry , Deutch and Jones were not involved in the contract , whi

ch was a relatively small part of the company 's $ 1.2 billion-a-year operation 

. The Pentagon statement on the investigation made the same point . `` Dr. Perry

 , Mr. Deutch and Dr. Jones did not have any personal involvement relative to th

e Air Force contract during their service on the SAIC board , '' the statement s

aid . Whistleblower allegations led to the sweep by the U.S. . Attorney 's offic

e in San Diego . With search warrants , federal agents entered the offices of Ku

ll , board Chairman J.R. Beyster , as well as the legal counsel and company offi