December 10, 1999

Article in occasional series Life After Welfare, examining various facets of program in Wisconsin to end welfare, profiles Milwaukee caseworker Michael Steinborn; 18 months agom, Steinborn was unemployed jack of building trades, down on his luck and in need of job himself; improbably enough, he is now one of system's most attentive caseworkers; in practice, most poor people see their caseworkers as distant, or even antagonistic, enforcers of unpopular new rules; yet with little formal preparation outside his own street-smart past, Steinborn, white man whose clients are mostly black women, has shown knack for earning their trust; photos (L)

When 12 jurors returned their decision in wrongful death trial in Memphis, they became first jury to hold someone responsible for playing role in assassination of Rev Dr Martin Luther King Jr on April 4, 1968; but with key players dead, with confessions recanted and altered, and with vast conspiracy alleged but not proved, verdict in civil trial of Loyd Jowers seems unlikely, ultimately, to untangle knot of fact and theory surrounding one of century's most traumatic events; jury in Memphis declares Jowers liable in King's death for purportedly hiring now-dead Memphis police officer, as part of vast conspiracy, to kill King; it also finds that unnamed others, including government agencies, had been involved, in effect accepting plaintiffs' contention that James Earl Ray was innocent, despite his guilty plea (M)

Article on celebrity festivities opening revival of Kiss Me Kate; excitement of opening nights on Broadway, past and present, described; photos (M)

Auto Escape Hammer, for people who fear being smothered by air bags or trapped in cars, described; photo; National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is dubious about usefulness (S)

Scientists at Brown University say they have found tantalizing evidence that northern lowlands of Mars once bore a wide ocean that had waves, hidden depths and long beaches; findings, reported in today's issue of journal Science, are hailed as making best case yet for existence of a sea on primordial Mars; report is made by six-member team at Brown led by James W Head III, planetary geologist; map (M)