The Department of Housing and Urban Development is examining an unusual $6 billion deal made last year by Freddie Mac to fulfill its federal requirements on loans for affordable housing.    In the transaction, Freddie Mac agreed to guarantee and securitize, or turn into bonds, about 8,000 mortgages on small apartment buildings, loans made by Washington Mutual, the sixth-largest American bank.   

$6 Billion Loan Deal by Freddie Mac Examined by U.S.

 Campaign Ads Questioned  Senator John Kerry's ads are so closely complemented by those of two liberal groups that Republicans accused the Democrats of trying to evade campaign laws.   PAGE A10    States Act on Harm to Fetus  Many state legislatures are moving much faster than Congress in debating and passing measures meant to protect the rights of fetuses.   PAGE A9

INSIDE

NCAA tournament advances and whittles down field of competitors from 65 to eight; ticket prices for Round of Eight will be much higher than prices for earlier games in tournament; diagram (M)

As Brackets Shrink, The Black Market Booms for Tickets

Corner in Park Slope, Brooklyn, where airplane crash destroyed brownstone in 1960 is still ugly scar in neighborhood, holding only unfinished shell of small apartment building that owner Dolly Williams hopes to complete this year; photos (M)

Healing a Gash Among the Brownstones; Park Slope Struggles to Crowd Out Ghosts of 1960 Disaster

Duke University defeats Illinois University, 72-62, to advance to NCAA tournament Round of 8; photo (M)

Top-Seeded Duke Keeps Defending Reputation

About New York column on Motor Vehicle Department's rejection of Noah Lamy's request for license plate reading DUMPBUSH, because it could be viewed by others as offensive; custom plates unit does not object to more upbeat, positive political expressions (M)

About New York; DUMPBUSH? Don't Try It On a Plate

Escalating turmoil in jury room appears to bring six-month trial of former Tyco International executives L Dennis Kozlowski and Mark H Swartz to verge of collapse after several unusual events, including hand gesture from one juror in open court that seemed to signal her support for defense; jury sends note to State Supreme Court Justice Michael J Obus describing its deliberations as 'irreparably compromised'; Obus denies defense motion for mistrial; case appears to be at impasse because of one juror who is holding out for acquittal on all 32 criminal charges against Kozlowski and Swartz, who are accused of stealing $170 million from Tyco by hiding details of their pay package from board and pilfering $430 million by selling Tyco shares after artificially pumping up their price; Justice Obus photo (M)

Increasing Turmoil on Jury Threatens Tyco Trial

Up to 16 people, including US marine, are killed in series of gun battles as guerrilla violence sweeps Sunni-dominated areas north and west of Baghdad in latest show of strength by insurgency; ABC News cameraman Bourhan Mohammed is among Iraqis killed; witness says he was shot by US troops when he stepped into middle of skirmish; US officers say they are close to defeating insurgency led by members of Saddam Hussein's fallen government and are dealing with smaller number of foreign-led Islamic terrorists; Falluja, epicenter of anti-American resistance, remains far from being under control; photo (M)

Up to 16 Die in Gun Battles in Sunni Areas of Iraq

Political Memo on Gov George Pataki and Mayor Michael Bloomberg dividing up pieces of Manhattan where each will pursue own redevelopment vision, far West Side for Bloomberg and Lower Manhattan for Pataki; photo; mayor believes expansion of Javits convention center and new football stadium will lead to revitalization of forgotten neighborhood in West 30's from Ninth Avenue to Hudson River; Pataki believes planning for World Trade Center site will focus international attention on city and, by proxy, himself as continuous governmental link since Sept 11 attacks (M)

Political Memo; The West Side's Yours, Ground Zero Mine

Senate Democrats, turning up heat in their feud with Pres Bush over judicial nominations, vow to block all new federal court appointments unless White House promises to stop installing judges while Congress is in recess; are retaliating against Bush for his recent decisions to bypass confirmation process and place Charles W Pickering Sr and William H Pryor Jr on federal appellate bench; Sen Tom Daschle says Democrats will cooperate in confirmation of federal judges, but only if White House does not abuse process (M)

DEMOCRATS ISSUE THREAT TO BLOCK COURT NOMINEES

Republican Congressional leaders will seek to declassify past Congressional testimony from Richard A Clarke, Pres Bush's former counterterrorism chief, in effort to demonstrate that former aide had lied about Bush's record; Senate majority leader Bill Frist condemns Clarke for accusing Bush administration, in his new book Against All Enemies: Inside the White House's War on Terror, of ignoring Al Qaeda threat before Sept 11; Sec of State Colin L Powell stands behind Clarke's expertise in counterterrorism; Frist and Clarke photos (M)

LEADERS OF G.O.P. TRY TO DISCREDIT A CRITIC OF BUSH

Seeking a strategy that skirts the widening influence of Wal-Mart Stores in the grocery business, Albertsons said yesterday that it would spend $2.47 billion to buy the New England-based Shaw's chain of supermarkets from its British parent, J Sainsbury.     The deal, a buyout of the holding company that owns Shaw's using a combination of cash, stock and debt, will give Albertsons a presence for the first time in densely populated New England. It will add 202 stores, bringing its total to about 2,500 stores, and sales will increase to about $42 billion. Sales at Shaw's, which is ranked first or second in revenue in most of its markets, totaled $4.6 billion last year.  

Albertsons Buying Shaw's, New England Grocery Chain

New York City's 911 emergency line goes down for about two hours in parts of Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island; officials blame problem at Verizon; photo (M)

911 System Shuts Down In 3 Boroughs

At first glance, this modest town of aging textile mills set by a river in a bowl of hills seems an unlikely link in a chain of commerce that stretches from the pastures of Inner Mongolia to the designer boutiques of New York, Paris and London.    Yet, for many decades, Hawick and other places in the Scottish Borders region have traced the fortunes of one of the great alchemies of the luxury goods market: the transformation of the soft underfleece of a breed of Asian goat into cashmere scarves and sweaters, twin sets and V-necks bearing labels like Ralph Lauren or Chanel.  

Cashmere Moves On, And Scotland Feels a Chill

Connecticut Gov John Rowland says nearly two miles of Interstate 95 will be closed for one to two weeks and require millions of dollars in repairs after fiery truck crash that buckled part of overpass in Bridgeport; no one was seriously hurt in accident; map; diagram; photos (M)

Bumper to Bumper, Travelers Ride Out An I-95 Nightmare

New York Knicks defeat Toronto Raptors, 108-101; photo (M)

An Injured Houston Inspires the Knicks

 Turmoil in Tyco Jury Room Seems to Put Case in Doubt  Turmoil in the jury room seemed to bring the Tyco International case to the verge of collapse, but rather than grant defense motions for a mistrial, the judge sent jurors home for the weekend and asked them to come back ready to try again on Monday morning.    The jury's note to the judge earlier in the day, describing their deliberations as ''irreparably compromised,'' seemed to make it increasingly unlikely that the jury could continue debating the 32 criminal charges against Tyco's former chief executive, L. Dennis Kozlowski, and Tyco's former chief financial officer, Mark H. Swartz. [Page A1.]

BUSINESS DIGEST

The Food and Drug Administration approved the first H.I.V. test that uses saliva rather than blood and delivers results in 20 minutes. Public health officials hope it will encourage wider testing. About 25 percent of Americans carrying the virus do not know that they are infected, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates.  

Faster, Simpler Test Approved for H.I.V.

Eight Pakistani soldiers who were taken hostage by militants in Pakistan's tribal areas have been executed in latest sign that effort by government to flush foreign militants from region has gone awry; thousands of people have fled their homes in tribal areas, and resentment against army is prompting fears that violence could spread beyond South Waziristan; Pres Pervez Musharraf is under increasing pressure to resolve standoff; Pakistani officials confirm that voice on recent broadcast tape is that of Ayman al-Zawahiri, Al Qaeda's second in command; map (M)

8 HOSTAGES KILLED IN PAKISTAN SIEGE

New York Yankees arrive in Japan with outfielder Hideki Matsui, who is major celebrity in Japan, to play regular season opener against Tampa Bay Devil Rays; photos (M)

Yanks Debark in Japan on Matsui's Red Carpet

An increasing number of new-car buyers are finding themselves owing more than their trade-ins are worth.     In the car industry, this phenomenon is known as the upside-down car loan, and it has escalated during the car-lending spree of the last three years. While automakers are enticing customers that have good credit histories with no-interest loans, they have also been offering six- and seven-year loans to customers who want to keep their monthly payments down.   

Owing More On an Auto Than It's Worth As a Trade-In

Tulip tree nicknamed Queens Giant towers in relative obscurity in Alley Pond Park in Queens, close to shopping and Long Island Expressway; photo; 134-foot-tall tree may be 450 years old, which makes it tallest, oldest living thing in New York City, and worthy of more protection than tree enthusiasts say it gets; photo of Frank W Hammelbacher, regular visitor, in tree's hollow (S)

In Obscurity, The Tallest And Oldest New Yorker

Xavier University defeats Texas University, 79-71, to advance to NCAA tournament Round of 8; photos (M)

Lifted Again By Guards, Xavier Ousts No. 3 Texas

Correction of March 26 picture caption with article about diversity of cultures along Coney Island Avenue in Brooklyn regarding one store mentioned

Corrections

Two Bronx subway stations close for major renovations; photo (S)

Riders on No. 4 Subway Line Rerouted by Station Upgrades

Robert Merle, French author (born 1909)

Robert_Merle

HMS Scylla (F71) was a Leander-class frigate of the Royal Navy (RN). She was built at Devonport Royal Dockyard, the last RN frigate to be built there as of 2025. Scylla was commissioned in 1970, taken out of service in 1993 in accordance with Options for Change, and sunk as an artificial reef in 2004 off Whitsand Bay, Cornwall.

HMS Scylla, a decommissioned Leander-class frigate, is sunk as an artificial reef off Cornwall, the first of its kind in Europe.

March 27, 2004

Headlines from March 27, 2004

$6 Billion Loan Deal by Freddie Mac Examined by U.S.

INSIDE

As Brackets Shrink, The Black Market Booms for Tickets

Healing a Gash Among the Brownstones; Park Slope Struggles to Crowd Out Ghosts of 1960 Disaster

Top-Seeded Duke Keeps Defending Reputation

Billboard 200

Feels Like Home

Bad Boy's 10th Anniversary... The Hits

In This Skin

Fallen

When The Sun Goes Down

Notable Deaths

Historical Events

Historical Context for March 27, 2004