February 27, 2001

Dave Anderson Sports of The Times column notes that as Patrick Ewing returns to Garden with Seattle SuperSonics, he is still surrounded by questions concerning his 15 seasons as Knicks' center; photo (M)

Pres Bush, in address to Congress and in budget plan, will propose to pay off $2 trillion of national debt over next decade, leaving $1.2 trillion, despite years of bipartisan consensus on goal of total elimination in about ten years; political and economic repercussions could be substantial, affecting both battle over tax cuts and spending and longer-range problems like dire financial outlook for Social Security; Bush will also announce commission to make recommendations on Social Security; White House says position reflects fact that portion of debt is in form of bonds that are not easily redeemable; Republicans generally are less convinced that debt reduction is any more potent than tax cuts as economic benefit; Democrats respond that administration exaggerates scale of bond problem, undermining key pillar of economic success (M)

Workers at World Trade Center in lower Manhattan discuss complex following its sale by Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to Vornado Realty Trust for $3.25 billion; photo (M)

South Korea's economic revival appears to be bogged down amid questions about government's commitment to changing way business is done; recent data confirm that economy is slowing even though growth is expected to increase this year by annual pace of at least 4 percent (M)

Federal appeals court judges pelt lawyers representing Justice Department and 19 states with skeptical questions about Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson's ruling that Microsoft violated Sherman Antitrust Act by trying to leverage its monopoly in operating system market to gain control of new areas; majority also appears to question finding that company violated law by tying Internet Explorer Web browser to Windows; appeals court is expected by most experts to reverse some of Jackson's decision, but perhaps not enough to erode order to split company in two; judges, who show they have intensely scrutinized voluminous record, also ask tough technical questions of Microsoft lawyers; photo (M)