April 26, 2004

Greenwich, Conn, considers banning sledding and other activities on town property after Nicholas Stroumbakis is awarded $6.3 million for injuries received while sledding on Sleigh Hill; Stroumbakis contended that town created public nuisance by failing to maintain drainage ditch; broke two legs and was out of work five months; photo (M)

Iraqis and American military offer conflicting accounts of roadside bombing of American Humvee in Baghdad that killed one soldier, and its aftermath; after dead soldier is evacuated, Humvee is set on fire and children rush out to celebrate attack; American soldiers begin shooting at rooftop snipers and at least one Iraqi teen-ager is killed in cross-fire; Iraqi witnesses claim five children were killed by American soldiers, but make no mention of gunmen firing from rooftops; several Iraqis say children had been incited to jump around burning Humvee by cameraman for Al Arabiya, Arab news channel which American officials blame for stoking anti-Americanism among viewers around Arab world; station denies charge; contradictory versions of what happened are revealing about thickening fog of this war; many Western reporters are mostly ensconced in hotels and houses protected by huge concrete blast walls, because of recent wave of kidnappings and killings of foreigners; photo (M)

Hundreds of thousands of abortion rights supporters rally in Washington, DC, protesting policies of Bush administration and its conservative allies and vowing to fight back in Nov election; organizers of first large-scale abortion rights demonstration in capital in 12 years claim more than million people participated; speaker after speaker accuses Pres Bush and his allies in Congress of trying to impose ideological agenda on abortion and family planning programs, both at home and abroad; many leading Democrats and backers of Sen John Kerry attend march and address crowds; Sen Hillary Rodham Clinton notes that no such march was necessary during her husband's administration, when government respected rights of women; Bush administration officials claim Bush's policies are solidly in mainstream of American public opinion; he opposes abortion except in cases of rape or incest, or to save life of woman, but says country is not ready for outright ban on abortion; photos (M)

Metropolitan Transportation Authority prepares to take over seven private bus lines that run in parts of Bronx, Queens and Brooklyn on July 1; will replace 1,200 aging buses with new ones at cost of $322 million; hopes to make routes more efficient and provide better service; increase in rush-hour fare from $1.50 to $2.00 is offset by MetroCard discounts and free transfers to buses and subways; Jerome Cooper, chairman of four of seven of private lines affected, says he will not sell bus facilities to MTA, but will look for private developers to take over sites; photo (M)

New York Giants must now address number of issues, including holes at spots like middle linebacker, likely heated debates about cost of drafting quarterback Eli Manning and what his presence will do to incumbent quarterback Kerry Collins (M)