April 24, 1998

James Earl Ray dies at Columbia Nashville Memorial Hospital while serving 99-year sentence for assassination of Rev Dr Martin Luther King Jr; he was 70; Ray had been treated for liver disease for last two years; Tennessee Correction Dept attributes his death to that illness and kidney failure; Ray pleaded guilty to King assassination in March 1969; he maintained for next three decades that he had been 'set up,' and used as decoy by conspirators who included mystery man he knew only as Raoul; Ray's quest to stand trial gained momentum in last year of his life, with members of King family saying they believed in his innocence; photos (M)

Allan Kozinn article on fine operatic performances that are available to New Yorkers, without paying high prices at Met; suggests some first-class, fully staged productions at Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music and Mannes College of Music, where audiences may hear young singers on cusp of professional careers; notes some famous singers who have come out of these schools; also recommends smaller companies, such as Dicapo Opera and Amato Opera, which perform in intimate houses; photos; several singers comment (M)

Comment on desperate lengths to which some avid diners will go to secure table reservations at hot New York City restaurants; restaurant-goers will lie, cheat and steal to get a table; examples cited; drawings (M)

Many employers, for first time since 1992, are facing double-digit increases in cost of their health insurance next year--highest inflation rate since majority of employees moved into managed care; insurers are seeking increases for 1999 that are far above this year's, when most premiums rose in single digits after four years of stability; critics of managed care say magnitude of increases undercuts basic appeal behind managed care: savings from lower costs; 85 percent of American employees were enrolled in managed-care plans in 1997; benefits consultants estimate that increases will average about 7 percent nationally, or five times current 1.4 percent consumer inflation rate; Kaiser Permanente is seeking 12 percent increase from large employers in California (M)

Caryn James reviews NBC television miniseries Merlin, with Sam Neill as wizard of Camelot and Martin Short as gnome called Frik; photos (S)