A Seattle broadcaster contends that his local congressman, U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.)--the congressman at the center of a controversy over the illegal taping and distribution of a December phone call involving Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and several colleagues--might have done this before.

A man comes to the door of Sandra Cano's south Atlanta home; he's a neighbor in this poor, mostly minority community. This Hispanic man has gotten a ticket, he explains in Spanish. He asks Mrs. Cano if she would talk to the court for him. Her hands and schedule are full this morning; she is talking to a reporter and taking care of two grandchildren. Still, she tells the man not to worry, she'll speak for him. "I'm the neighborhood helper," Mrs. Cano explains. "My Spanish is better than their English, so sometimes they need me to be their voice."

From New York

From Madison, Wis.

The people accusing firefighter and pastor Ron Greer of intolerance began gathering at his Madison, Wis., church, Trinity Evangelical Fellowship, by about 3 p.m. A group of homosexual activists and their sympathizers from the University of Wisconsin at Madison turned out in force, with coats and gloves and signs and bullhorns. The police officers who stood by looking put-upon did little to diminish the party atmosphere of the protest.

The intersection at the corner of 110th St. and Second Ave. in East Harlem is a busy one. The light changes, and a line of panel vans, cabs, and sedans creeps through the intersection. Three eighth graders from St. Ann's School wait for a battered and belligerent City Taxi to rattle past the corner before they step from the curb. This far uptown (north), Manhattan's buildings no longer block the sun quite so much, so the dirty slush that lines the gutters is beginning to melt and spread into puddles.

The pink cotton jacket can't be doing much to ward off the winter winds, and this New York City night is getting colder fast. But the hooker who waits at 125th Street and Park Avenue doesn't seem to notice. She wears fishnet hose and cracked boots, and scans passing cars for encouragement. She also listlessly propositions a few passers-by: &quotHow 'bout a date, lover?"