The New York Times

U.S. AND CHINA - At their first high-level encounter since the bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade, the U.S. and China depicted their relationship as improved and announced that President Clinton would meet the Chinese leader Jiang Zemin in September.

TAX-CUT PLAN - The Clinton administration said it would not accept a compromise $500-billion tax-cut plan proposed by a group of Senate Democrats, virtually assuring that the debate over how to spend the projected budget surplus would not be settled quickly or easily.

MOROCCO - Marching through streets thronged by hundreds of thousands of mourners, President Clinton and President Jacques Chirac of France led an assemblage of dozens of kings and princes, presidents and prime ministers for the burial of King Hassan II of Morocco Sunday.

AGING POPULATION - Measures to help with the cost of long-term care for the elderly and disabled through tax credits and deductions are being advanced by both parties in Congress.

ANGOLA -Huambo, Angola, is a city under siege and starvation is beginning to set in. Rebel forces have taken back about 70 percent of this country, flushing a million Angolans off the land and into the cities, where aid organizations try to dole out food to the most needy.

SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION - More than 10 years and $9 billion after the State Legislature established the authority to build and repair city schools, it has fallen far short of the original goal. School construction over the last decade has largely been in turmoil.

DROUGHT - From Virginia to Massachusetts, extending as far west as Ohio, a stagnant high-pressure system stubbornly lurking over the southeastern United States has caused a dearth of rain this summer. The arid weather follows almost a year of low precipitation.

ARMSTRONG - Aglow in the yellow jersey of the champion, Lance Armstrong completed the final leg of his long journey to Paris Sunday, winning the Tour de France 33 months after cancer threatened his life and appeared likely to end his cycling career.

UNIONS - Labor unions realize that they cannot afford to be shut out of the glamorous, powerful high-tech industry. But persuading technology workers to join unions will not be easy. Their long hours are offset by plenty of perks.

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