HAITI . . . A U.S. ULTIMATUM, PLUS COMMERCIALS

The Clinton Administration said it would invade Haiti if the military rulers don't "step down" by the end of the year. "We don't expect the military regime to be there six months from now," U.S. Haiti adviser Bill Gray said. At one point in an interview with ABC News, Gray upped the ante: "The coup leaders will not be allowed to stay in power." In the meantime, the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince bought radio air time on local stations to broadcast messages in local Creole warning fleeing Haitians: "If you take a new boat, one thing is certain: You won't get to the United States." As of yesterday, refugees are being shipped to Panama, rather than being processed at Guantanamo Bay for possible passage to the U.S. The policy change hasn't gone over well with backers of exiled Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who threatened today to challenge it in court.parpar