July 30, 2005

Majority Leader as Odd Man Out In challenging President Bush's stem cell policy, Senator Bill Frist, the majority leader, angered conservatives. Mr. Frist, center rear, watched yesterday as Mr. Bush signed a bill that seeks to reduce medical errors. PAGE A11 Suicide Bomber in Iraq Attacks Army Recruits A suicide bomber wearing a vest laden with explosives blew himself up outside an army recruitment center in a remote northern village on the Syrian border, an official with the Iraqi Interior Ministry said. The official said the attack killed 26 people and wounded at least 30, though American military officials put the casualty figures far lower, with 10 dead and 21 wounded. Meanwhile, a special tribunal questioned Saddam Hussein about his government's suppression of an uprising by southern Shiites in 1991. PAGE A9 Bolton Battle Continues Despite new criticism from a group of senators, an official said President Bush was likely to appoint John R. Bolton as United Nations ambassador next week. PAGE A9 Transit Searches Yield Little The results of a week of random searches of New York commuters: one fireworks arrest, no legal challenges and, according to the authorities, minimal resistance. PAGE B1 THIS WEEKEND A Rebirth for Music Videos They may have lost their home base on MTV, but music videos are showing up all over. And they are no longer merely promotional tools, but are expected, in many cases, to return a profit. ARTS & LEISURE Teachers in the Making Many teachers' colleges have taken the high road, emphasizing theory over practical training. But then comes the real world. Also, how law schools manipulate rankings. EDUCATION LIFE Real Estate on the Couch Brokers see it all the time: the buyers who look at hundreds of places and never buy. Why? For various reasons -- possibly going back -- to their childhoods they are afraid to commit. REAL ESTATE Viva los Mets How Omar Minaya, the Mets' general manager, is helping make the American game a Latin game, with a little help from a guy named Pedro. MAGAZINE

As Tiger Woods watched his golf ball disappear into the cup time and again Friday, he peeked beneath his cap at the thousands of spectators who followed him on his four-mile walk. Even for a player inured to a large and raucous crowd, Woods could not ignore the noise on this day -- the fan who called him Woody, the one who said he was a babe, or the one who pleaded for a 59 at Warwick Hills Golf and Country Club.

Sweeping auto safety initiatives make a transportation bill passed by Congress on Friday the most comprehensive legislation of its kind in years. As part of the bill, Congress is ordering the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to impose a number of more stringent safety measures, including the first performance standards aimed at decreasing the likelihood of a rollover, a particularly deadly kind of accident that claims more than 10,000 American lives annually. Currently, the agency conducts rollover testing but the results are only used to determine star ratings on cars and light trucks for consumer information.

The Senate agreed to shield gun manufacturers and dealers from liability lawsuits on Friday, as Congress broke for a monthlong recess after sending President Bush energy and transportation bills that had been years in the making. Long sought by the gun lobby, the Senate measure -- approved 65 to 31 -- would prohibit lawsuits against gun makers and distributors for misuse of their products during the commission of a crime. Senate supporters said the plan was needed to protect the domestic firearms industry from a rash of lawsuits that threatened its economic future.

While many major league teams are trying to acquire a middle reliever or move a fringe prospect before the nonwaiver trading deadline Sunday, the Mets are pursuing one All-Star slugger after another. Since negotiations stalled with the Texas Rangers for second baseman Alfonso Soriano, the Mets are considering an even more prolific player. They spent much of Friday talking with the Boston Red Sox about left fielder Manny Ramirez, according to a baseball executive with knowledge of the discussions who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he feared jeopardizing a potential deal.