September 25, 1995

A Boston man has gone to court to fight a minority admissions policy that kept his daughter, who is white, from attending what is considered the city's best public high school. The issues in the case are reverberating nationally as a backlash against affirmative action policies rewrites part of the nation's political agenda.

A Mass Killing in France After slaying his mother, stepfather and half-brother, a teen-age boy calmly opened fire on a town square in southern France, killing nine others and then himself. Page A3. Unusual Abortion Lawsuit A Nebraska couple, prevented from obtaining an abortion for their daughter, are suing the boyfriend's family and officials. Page A8. Mayor Won't Play Favorites Mayor Giuliani won't commit himself to Leon Goldstein as schools head, but Brooklyn's borough president can only bid him well. Page B3. Jury Considers Terror Case The jury in the Manhattan terror conspiracy case spent a first full day of deliberations reviewing testimony on two lesser defendants. Page B6. U.S. Loses One, Wins One The U.S. golfers lost the Ryder Cup to Europe, while the American tennis team beat Sweden in the Davis Cup semifinals. Pages C1 and C7.

Down to her last dollar, Linda Edwards bet it on the slot machine and felt sick to her stomach as it vanished, like the $75,000 that had gone before. Since the riverboat casino opened here four years ago, Ms. Edwards, a 46-year-old factory worker, has squandered her retirement account, taken out three loans and borrowed to the hilt against two credit cards. "It takes hold of you," said Ms. Edwards, who has a teen-age daughter at home. "I had thoughts of suicide." Gambling, the fastest-growing industry in America, has spread like prairie fire across Iowa, a state that did not even have a lottery until 1985 and now has 10 big casinos, not counting the horse track in Altoona and the dog track in Council Bluffs, both of which have 24-hour slot machines.

On July 15, the sky fell on a large swatch of the Adirondack Park -- almost literally. A 20-mile-wide wave of thundering black clouds and hurricane gusts roared from the west. In a few minutes, the freak storm steamrolled a Rhode Island-sized triangle of the vast mosaic of wilderness and private land, focusing its power on the Five Ponds Wilderness Area south of this hamlet. Microbursts like great fists of air punched down forests and houses, killing four campers and a motorist.

In one of the most spectacular comebacks in the history of the event, Europe won the 31st Ryder Cup today, defeating the United States by 14 1/2-13 1/2 and taking the cup back for the first time since 1989. It was a stunning victory, one that was, in the end, the best result for Europe, for the game and for the competition and the worst result for United States Captain Lanny Wadkins and his highly favored team. The Europeans, trailing by 9-7 when the day began, stormed back across the Oak Hill Country Club course, winning 7 of the 12 singles matches and tying 1. Just twice in the history of the competition -- in 1949 and 1957 -- had a team come back to win the cup after trailing by 2 points going into the final day, and this was only the second time the United States had lost on home soil.

The 14-car motorcade that raced through the narrow streets of this rural village today, blocking traffic and forcing cars off the road, signaled the arrival of a foreign dignitary. And in this case, the lanky and slightly rumpled man who alighted from the black limousine was indeed a chief of state, namely New York's Gov. George E. Pataki. Wearing a blue blazer and white pants and looking like a candidate primed for the campaign trail, Mr. Pataki beamed broadly as he strode toward a whitewashed 17th-century church for morning mass, shaking hands and greeting parishioners in his halting Hungarian.

While the New York-based generals who are fighting to conclude the merger of Time Warner and the Turner Broadcasting System continued to train their guns on enemies within and without, the company's highest-ranking officers in Hollywood were celebrating this weekend. "A terrific fit," said Robert Daly, the co-chairman and chief executive at Warner Brothers, and the more outgoing of Hollywood's most successful business partnership. Terry Semel, his co-chairman, said, "These companies complement each other on a worldwide basis and, ultimately, it's a very positive purchase for the shareholders of both companies."

The 22 Bagel Cafe and Pizzeria has been a popular lunchtime destination for Somerville High School students since it opened last year. But its co-owners, Al Padkowsky and Elaine Vitale, say they have been forced to take action as a result of escalating rowdiness by some of the teen-agers.

Lorraine Clark stared at the wicker basket that held the answer to her fate. Would hers be one of the names pulled from it? Inches behind her, Richard O'Brien put his arm around his wife, Jackie, and tilted his head forward to listen. Name after name was being called. Where was his? In a meeting room at Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament, Father Frank McNulty fished another slip of paper from the basket. "Tina Corona," the pastor called. "Hot dog!" Mrs. Corona shouted as she clapped her hands, giggled, and then slowly turned teary at her good fortune. She would be among the audience in Giants Stadium on Oct. 5 for a Mass celebrated by Pope John Paul II.

Many members of the Giants met for lunch at a Houlihan's restaurant on Friday and none other than Lawrence Taylor picked up the tab. But the team's inspiration for what was an incredible performance today against New Orleans probably did not come from having nachos with a former player. It may have come from a higher plane -- perhaps from the dreams of George Henshaw, the offensive coordinator. Last Monday, Henshaw dreamed that the Giants would score 30 points against the Saints. Now that may not make the prophesy hall of fame, but considering how the team had only scored one offensive touchdown in the first three games of the season, it was a pretty interesting vision. And considering that the backup quarterback Tommy Maddox had a dream similar to Henshaw's, well, someone had better call "Unsolved Mysteries."

Corporate America can't seem to make up its mind these days: is it better to put companies together or pull them apart? The two opposing schools of thought were on display as never before last week. In the largest voluntary corporate breakup in history, the AT&T Corporation announced on Wednesday that it was splitting into three companies and dropping out of the personal computer business. Then on Friday, in the latest big media merger, Time Warner Inc. agreed to acquire the Turner Broadcasting System.

If Leon M. Goldstein, the head of Kingsborough Community College, is selected as New York City's next schools chancellor, the real winner in the battle over the job may be his political champion, the Brooklyn Borough President, Howard Golden. A vote for Goldstein would mean the Board would not have conformed to the initial goals of Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, who wanted a captain of industry, or the board's president, Carol Gresser, who wanted an educator for the job. Metro Matters, page B3.