New York ? Antiwar activists marched again Saturday in dozens of cities, marshaling well more than 100,000 in Manhattan and sometimes trading insults with backers of the U.S.-led war on Iraq. War backers rallied too, often by the thousands, with American flags and chants of “USA!”

In Chicago, some of about 800 troop supporters came within 20 feet of a small group of antiwar activists outside a federal building. As the protesters shouted “killers, killers, killers,” a military backer yelled back “idiots, idiots, idiots.” Later, about 500 antiwar protesters marched around the same building.

Carrying peace signs and wearing costumes, demonstrators in New York spanned 30 blocks as they marched down Broadway toward Washington Square Park. Unofficial police estimates put the crowd at more than 125,000; United for Peace and Justice, the march organizers, estimated the crowd at more than 250,000.

“I believe if you really want to show ‘shock and awe,’ you should show love and justice,” said marcher Bob Edgar, an officer at the National Council of Churches.

Carol Laverne wore a pair of angel’s wings and carried a sign saying “Thou shall not kill.” Susan Sonz and her 9-year-old son, Ruben, came to the march from their home near the World Trade Center ground zero site. The boy carried a sign saying, “Ground Zero kids against the war.”

“We don’t want to see more innocent people die,” Sonz said.

Some celebrities joined in, including actors Roy Scheider, Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee, and singer Patti Smith.

“We support the troops, but we do not support the president,” said Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., a Korean War veteran.

Signs of strife

About 2,000 police were assigned to the rally, including undercover officers with beeper-sized radiation detectors and other counterterrorism measures.

After the permit for the march expired at 4 p.m., several hundred protesters refused officers’ orders to clear the area, and some scuffled with police. Hundreds of police in riot gear and officers on horseback pulled one protester after another out of the crowd and placed them in a police truck.

Supporters of the troops fighting the war with Iraq packed the steps of the Minnesota State Capitol waving signs and flags. An estimated 15,000 people rallied Saturday in St. Paul, Minn. Rallies in the support of the war occurred across the country.

Police said 74 people were arrested. Protesters said police used pepper spray, and police said 14 officers were getting medical treatment after being sprayed with an unknown substance.

Tens of thousands protested in San Francisco after two days of antiwar rallies in which about 2,200 were arrested.

San Francisco police on Friday vowed to be more aggressive in controlling the crowds, but the latest demonstration was largely peaceful at the outset.

“Families are coming out, kids are coming out. In deference to that, we want to keep this a positive experience,” said organizer Mario Santos of International ANSWER. “There’s no point to civil disobedience. It’s Saturday. Everything’s closed.”

In Hollywood, war protesters marched down Sunset Boulevard, complaining that news coverage is slanted. One sign showed a photo of an Iraqi mother with a wounded child and said, “Collateral damage has a face.”

In Washington, several hundred protesters, chanting “No blood for oil,” strode through the streets and rallied in front of the White House. Their pink and orange signs read “No war against Iraq” and “Money for unemployment, not war.”

Sixteen protesters were arrested on trespassing charges when they refused to leave Iowa’s National Guard headquarters, in Johnston. One of them, Carolyn Uhlenhake Walker, an elementary school teacher, declared, “I’m a patriot, and I’m offended by people that say we don’t love our country.”

Support for troops

In Reno, Nev., about 200 pro-military demonstrators crashed a smaller antiwar protest, drowning out peace hymns with chants of “USA” and “Support our troops.”

More than 5,000 backers of the American military demonstrated at a baseball stadium in Millington, Tenn., home to a military base. Ricky Hunt held a poster with an 8-by-10 photograph of a young Marine he knows in Iraq. He also slung a Marine Corps flag over his shoulder.

“We’re really tired of all the protesters. I don’t understand them. I think they ought to remember where they got their freedom,” Hunt said.

An estimated 15,000 pro-military demonstrators crammed shoulder-to-shoulder, prayed, and sang patriotic songs in Auburn, Ind. Similar numbers massed in St. Paul, Minn.

In Lansing, Mich., war supporters rallied at the state Capitol with American flags. Patriotic music rang out, and the crowd of hundreds chanted “USA.” Similar rallies attracted thousands in Jefferson City, Mo.; Charleston, S.C.; Bear, Del.; and Raleigh, N.C.