NATION IN BRIEF : WASHINGTON, D.C. : Signs Indicate North May Have to Testify

Ex-Marine Oliver North spent a second day in court sparring with prosecutors in an effort to avoid testifying in the Iran-Contra trial of his ex-boss, retired Rear Adm. John Poindexter. Judge Harold Greene, who has scheduled Poindexter’s trial to open Jan. 22, did not rule on whether North will be required to appear, but exchanges in court suggested North would be compelled to testify. Of Poindexter’s nationally televised testimony to a congressional committee, North said: “He was the only one of all the witnesses at the hearing who didn’t hang Ollie North out to dry.” North says his perceptions of the secret arms-and-aid scandal were influenced by Poindexter’s July, 1987, testimony.