February 17, 1997

Bitter dispute between American Airlines and its pilots union stems from growing use of small jets in air travel, where they are replacing turboprop planes on flights that have not usually attracted enough passengers to be served by larger jetliners; American wants to use small jets--also known as regional jets or commuter jets--in its American Eagle subsidiary as it shifts to more point-to-point service, and it insists that they be flown by nonunionized pilots; unionized pilots fear for their jobs (M)

Alarms are raised about the frequency of hysterectomies in America, where 1 in 3 women has her uterus removed by the age of 60, compared with 1 in 6 in Italy and 1 in 18 in France; critics say doctors, out of laziness and greed, take out the uterus at least sign of trouble and do not offer women any alternatives; say women not only run risks of surgery but also are also deprived of an organ that is important to their physical, mental and sexual well-being after menopause; strongly oppose the common removal of ovaries along with the uterus; those in the field respond that women decide on hysterectomies only after rejecting alternatives and after their symptoms become incapacitating; graph (M)

Removing trustees of Adelphi University is latest instance of assertiveness by New York State Board of Regents, which in last 16 months has also taken such action as seizing control of poorly performing schools and imposing rigorous graduation requirements for all students; Gov George E Pataki, who had proposed abolishing the board, has begun to support some of its efforts; board's new toughness is propelled by new members and its new chancellor, Carl T Hayden (M)

Tara Lipinski captures American figure-skating championship in Nashville, but her victory raises a number of cautionary questions about young girls who achieve fame and potential for great financial reward in such sports as figure skating, gymnastics and tennis; most immediate question is whether she can withstand the kind of pressures that may have affected performance of Michelle Kwan, 1996 champion who fell twice during her program; photos (M)

David E Sanger analysis of Clinton Administration's growing reliance on World Trade Organization as a tool of foreign policy, not just on issues like insuring free markets and fair enforcement of trade rules abroad but also on political matters, which is what is ultimately at stake in US efforts to bar China from WTO until it dismantles its huge state-owned enterprises (M)