May 7, 2003

Statistical analysis of 1,425 patients suspected of having SARS who were admitted to Hong Kong hospitals from Feb 20 to Apr 15 suggests death rate from SARS could be up to 55 percent in people 60 and older and 13.2 percent in younger people, for overall rate of 19.9 percent, far higher than health officials had thought; unless numbers fall drastically, SARS would be among infectious diseases with highest death rates; difficulty of calculating mortality rates for newly emerging diseases noted; photo (M)

Harvey Araton Sports of The Times column discusses future of San Antonio Spurs player David Robinson, who will retire after this season to work as fulltime fund-raiser at faith-based private school he helped found; photos (M)

Japan's NTT DoCoMo, which is due to report earnings on April 8, has written off bulk of its overseas losses, released many new products and finished building most of its new mobile phone network, known as FOMA; president Keiji Tachikawa has steered company back to being dominant cellphone company in Japan; photo (M)

Fed Holds Rates Steady The Federal Reserve held short-term interest rates steady, but it signaled that it stood ready to cut rates if the economy did not quickly recover from its recent weakness. BUSINESS DAY, PAGE C1 On the Trail of Pocahontas Virginia archaeologists think they have found the site of the large village where the Indian princess Pocahontas lived in the early 17th century, when she is said to have saved Captain John Smith. PAGE A22

Interview with news photographer Nancy McGirr, who founded art photography program for poor Guatemalan children in 1991; program, which has expanded into Honduras, aims to give children skills and confidence whether or not they become photographers; photos (M)