May 4, 2002

City and state officials seem to have settled on crucial components of future of site known as ground zero; most officials say publicly that slate for Lower Manhattan is still blank, ready for best and most creative ideas about how to fill gaping hole in financial district's heart; they stress that any final decisions about rebuilding will be made jointly by Lower Manhattan Development Corp, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and offices of Gov George E Pataki and Mayor Michael R Bloomberg; still, planners are going ahead with plans for revamping of Lower Manhattan's tranportation system, complete with extensive underground concourse that will house retail stores, and few if any of plans mention either idea of replicating twin towers or of excluding commercial office buildings from site; map; photos (M)

Farda Amiga wins Kentucky Oaks, known as fillies' run for the lillies, pre-Kentucky Derby tradition for Louisville natives; photos (M)

George Vecsey Sports of The Times column discusses instant celebrity of New Jersey Nets after winning thrilling Game 5 of first-round playoff series against Indiana Pacers, which brought playoff series victory to team for first time in 18 years; photo (M)

Mortgage lenders have significantly reduced rate of foreclosures, instead altering schedule of loan payments in hope that drop in borrowers' income would turn out to be relatively brief; Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, government-created companies, have driven much of change; now, as economy continues to show signs of recovery, lenders' bet seems to be paying off; mortgage delinquencies have begun to fall, suggesting that many homeowners are getting back on their feet; lenders can thus avoid staggering losses that their newfound flexibility could have caused if economy had deteriorated further; analysts say decline in foreclosure rate has helped solidify progress that many struggling urban neighborhoods have made in recent years; photo; graphs (M)

West Virginia is generously sprinkled with public works named for its senior senator, Robert C Byrd; economically stressed state has advanced handsomely into modern era of government infrastructure and employment as its favorite son has amassed 50 years of clout in Washington; Byrd seems to relish being known at home as Prince of Pork; West Virginians display shared pride at his annual helpings from federal pork barrel, but not everyone believes state's many Byrd name signs are happenstance; list of some of more than 30 existing and pending federal projects named after Byrd; map; photos (M)

South Korea, long in Japan's shadow, is blazing new trail for Asian economic development; by encouraging consumers to spend freely on credit, throwing its doors open to foreign investment and introducing American-style freedom to fail, South Korea has pout itself back on track as one of Asia's fastest-growing and most diversified economies; with Seoul's main stock market index nearly doubling since September, foreigners now account for 38 percent of share ownership and two-thirds of daily trades; South Korea has attracted $52 billion in new investment from overseas since 1998, more than double what it pulled in during previous four decades; graph; photo (M)

Seattle Mariners defeat New York Yankees, 6-2; photos (M)

Wood Memorial winner Buddha comes up lame overnight and is scratched from Kentucky Derby on day of race; trainer James Bond will not make Derby debut; photo (M)

Labor Dept reports unemployment rate in April was 6 percent, highest in almost eight years; economists caution that jump in unemployment rate, from 5.7 percent, may have exaggerated economy's problems; companies added total of 41,000 jobs to their payrolls in April, but hiring of temporary workers is responsible for entire increase; technological advances are allowing businesses to increase production in recent months without adding permanent employees; many economists feel job market is showing tentative signs of turning around from recession; cite fact that manufacturers, hardest hit by downturn, cut 19,000 jobs in April, smallest reduction since late 2000; graph (M)

New York City Finance Department begins issuing penalties in scandal in which federal prosecutors say many of city's property tax assessors took bribes to illegally slash tax bills for some of Manhattan's most valuable real estate; raises annual tax bills by combined $19 million for owners of 296 office buildings and hotels that prosecutors say benefited from scheme; no owners have been implicated in scandal and many have expressed shock that tax consultant Albert Schussler appears to be central to racketeering charges (M)

Jury finds former New York City police officer Joseph Gray, who struck pregnant woman and her family with his minivan after day of drinking, guilty of second-degree manslaughter; sentencing is set for May 23; photos (M)

Northrop Grumman is planning to hold talks with top executives of TRW about negotiating friendly takeover deal after Northrop's $6.7 billion hostile bid is rejected by TRW shareholders; TRW chairman Philip A Odeen comments; photo (M)a