May 6, 1994

The Inkatha Freedom Party of Mangosuthu G. Buthelezi appeared tonight to have won a decisive victory over Nelson Mandela's African National Congress in the Zulu province, confounding the pundits who had written Mr. Buthelezi's political obituary. The apparently insurmountable lead that appeared tonight in a nearly complete tally by the Independent Electoral Commission was tainted by allegations of widespread fraud, including internal memos from commission monitors who argued that the provincial count should be invalidated. African National Congress officials in the region warned that many of their supporters, regarding the outcome as spurious, would refuse to accept it.

The toughest question in the health care debate is whether to require employers to buy insurance for their workers. But if members of Congress could overcome their fears of being accused of junketeering and actually visit Hawaii, they would find compelling evidence about how such a system actually works, and they would not have to rely on a range of absolute, if uninformed, opinion.

Israeli-P.L.O. Accord: Is It a Happy Ending? The screenplay called for a happy ending, two old enemies reconciled at last. But by the time the Israeli-P.L.O. accord was signed, there were few illusions left about the state of relations. News analysis, page A14. Hard Choices Loom on Haiti If sanctions fails to dislodge Haiti's military leaders, the United Statesmay face the choice of using force or admitting refugees. Page A10. Fight Over Custodians' Deal Mayor Giuliani said he "could not possibly approve" a contract deal with school custodians that the Chancellor hailed the day before. Page B1.

FORGET Bill Gates, never mind Leslie Wexner; no name in American history connotes money like Rockefeller. Public enough to have a consistently high profile, private enough to have an aura of mystery that never entirely disappears, this family has symbolized American wealth for most of the 20th century. So it should not be at all surprising that the public opening of Kykuit, the Rockefeller family estate at Pocantico Hills, N.Y., has been greeted with an interest more or less akin to that surrounding the start of public tours of Buckingham Palace. Historic Hudson Valley, the nonprofit organization (and Rockefeller creation) that is managing the tours of Kykuit (rhymes with high cut), reports that May and June visits were largely sold out, as were most summer weekends, long before the first tour group passed through Kykuit's iron gates the day before yesterday.

HELICOPTER CRASHES NEAR LINCOLN TUNNEL A small, low-flying helicopter heading toward Manhattan with a flying instructor and his student snagged a power line, cartwheeled in midair and crashed in flames on a busy elevated-highway approach to the Lincoln Tunnel in New Jersey, killing the two people on board. A1. Suddenly, a glowing orange-yellow ball hung over one entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel. B4. BOMB PLOT NOT ISOLATED, U.S. WILL ARGUE Prosecutors will argue in their upcoming case against Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman that terrorist acts dating back to 1991 were all part of a single, overall conspiracy led by the cleric to punish the United States for its support of Israel and Egypt, according to court papers. A1. NEW YORK CITY IMPROVING ECONOMY DELAYS FARE INCREASE Subway and bus fares will remain at $1.25 at least until July 1995, six months later than previously planned, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced, citing higher revenues from the improving economy. B2. PLAN FOR AIDS UNIT REVERSED, GROUPS SAY The Giuliani administration, facing a political storm over its plans to shrink or eliminate the Division of AIDS Services, has decided to look for ways to keep the agency intact, AIDS- and homeless-service organizations said after meeting with administration officials. B3. WOMAN ENTERS FIRE DEPARTMENT HISTORY Twelve years ago Rochelle Jones was among the first women to join the Fire Department -- and to face the hostility of male colleagues. Now the women have cause to celebrate. Ms. Jones was promoted to lieutenant, becoming the highest ranking female officer in the department's 129-year history. B3. STRANGLING IS SUSPECTED IN S.I. DEATH A lawyer for the family of a Staten Island man who died in police custody last week said a doctor hired by the family to perform an autopsy suspects that the man was strangled. B3. 4 ACQUITTED OF EXTORTING CONTRACTORS A jury in Brooklyn acquitted four black and Hispanic construction workers charged with extorting money and jobs from construction firms. A fifth was convicted on two counts. B3. A jury awarded $41 million to the family of a woman who sued the Health and Hospitals Corporation and Emergency Medical Services over her death. B7. REGION WOODS SEARCHED FOR MISSING GIRL Hundreds of volunteers from Hasidic communities in Brooklyn and upstate New York went to Connecticut's most rural corner to help the police and local firefighters search for a 14-year-old Brooklyn girl who disappeared during a stop on a school field trip. B5. DISMANTLING SUPERVISION OF COLLEGES An advisory panel of New Jersey college and university presidents gave Gov. Christine Todd Whitman the political tool to dismantle the Department of Higher Education. If the plan becomes law, as expected, it will make New Jersey one of the few states in the nation to free its public colleges and universities from almost all state supervision. B5. The Connecticut Senate will open a special session to act on budget, tax and other bills. B5. Joel Rifkin's defense contended he was driven to kill by whispered voices from within. B6.