April 18, 1992

Encouraged by a series of upbeat statistics in the last few days, Alan Greenspan, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, said today that the economy grew at an annual rate of 2 percent in the January-March quarter. That is an unusually specific projection for Mr. Greenspan and is more optimistic than his previous statements. Such a growth rate would make the quarter the best since the comparable 1989 period, during which President Bush was inaugurated.

New Attacks by Serbs Threaten U.S. Aid Plan Serbian militias seized a town 30 miles from Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnias and Herzegovina, raising new security concerns for an American airlift of humanitarian aid that is scheduled to start today.

New York's state legislators have a re-election rate of 98 percent, the nation's highest for state lawmakers. But now two of the underpinnings of this incumbency success, the way districts are drawn and the way the election law is written, are the focus of a showdown between the Governor and the Legislature. The battle seems likely to dominate the second half of this year's legislative session, and the outcome will shape politics in the state for years.

Near the heart of the Old City, at the intersection of two ancient stone passages, there was traffic gridlock this morning. Good Friday processions of French and Maronite Catholic pilgrims carrying large wooden crosses had collided with Arabs and tourists coming from the opposite direction. Suddenly, no one was moving, and everyone was shoving. "Whatever you do, don't shout 'fire,' " said Edie Pettis, a student from Grand Rapids, Mich., who was flattened against a wall as Israeli police officers in blue baseball caps and flak jackets waded into the tangled crush of bodies, to clear a path for the pilgrims.

They entered the House eager and reform-minded in the wake of Watergate. Now many have been caught up in the bank affair. Page 8.