March 13, 2004

Vanderbilt University defeats Mississippi State University, 74-70, to advance to Southeastern Conference tournamnet semifinals (M)

Law enforcement and transit authorities move to bolster security on passenger rail lines around US, particularly in crowded Northeast corridors; some officials warn that rail and subway systems remain particularly vulnerable to terrorist attacks like ones in Madrid; say Madrid bombings underscore fact that rail security has lagged woefully behind aviation improvements since 9/11 attacks; Democrats in Congress propose $500 million commitment for rail security to help narrow gap; US security o fficials say that while they have no specific intelligence about imminent attacks in US, Al Qaeda has made clear that it considers commuter trains and subway systems to be vulnerable (M)

US officials say that four men arrested in connection with killing of Fern L Holland and Robert J Zangis, American civilians working for US occupation authority, were apparently members of new 70,000-member US-trained Iraqi police force; fifth man seized in killings was former member of police force under Saddam Hussein, while sixth man was civilian; killings occurred on road near Shiite holy city of Karbala; slayings have shocked Americans, who face possibility that men to whom they turn f or cooperation in fighting insurgency may include insurgent infiltrators or those paid to do their work (M)

William C Rhoden Sports of The Times column discusses Atlantic Coast Conference, which will undergo makeover this year in transition from basketball-dominated conference to football-centric conference (M)

China has nearly insatiable demand for industrial junk from US; sales of scrap metal to China have surged, with effects that are ricocheting across US economy; prices are soaring not just for scrap, but metals in general; China in 2003 became first country to import over $1 billion of American scrap; much of material being used to build China's skyscrapers, factories and telecommunications systems--along with many of products it exports--is derived from scrap; American scrap dealers, industry of 1,200 mainly mom-and-pop operations, are sharing in boom times; American companies that depend on scrap are scrounging; copper and steel industry trade groups are drawing up petitions that would ask government to temporarily limit scrap exports; graphs; photos (M)