First phase of new campus of Bronx Preparatory Charter School is set to open in fall to serve 350 middle-school students; construction of second phase, high school building and combination gymnasium and community center, will begin in summer; school director, Kristin Kearns Jordan, says $18 million has already been raised for $19 million project; photo (M)l

POSTINGS: At Third Avenue and East 172nd Street; Charter School Rises in Bronx On Hill of Gifts

New York Yankees defeat Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 5-3 (M)

Despite A Gem, No Bows From Brown

National surveys and interviews with corporate recruiters, administrators and students find that thorough preparation for careers after college is shaping up as a defining characteristic of class of 2004 at institutions big and small, public and private, around country; this spring's graduates are among first of what many call 'millennial generation'--students born since 1982, who have come of age in 21st century; experts say their strategic, pragmatic approach to entering work force speaks of coming wave of adults bent on enternig mainstream--and staying there; examples cited; photos (L)

'04 Graduates Learned Lesson In Practicality

Liberty Bonds' Yield: a New Downtown

James Cobb reviews Nissan 350Z roadster convertible (S)

What's New Under the Sun This Summer; Nissan 350Z Roadster

Gustavo Kuerten defeats Roger Federer at French Open; photo (M)

Another Feat On the Clay For Kuerten

China is on course to age faster than any major country in history, as its median age soars from about 32 in 2004 to at least 44 in 2040; United Nations figures show that China will mature more in next generation than Europe has over past century; it will have to grapple with same age-related fiscal, social and productivity challenges of countries with several times its per capita income; put another way, China will get old before it gets rich; graphs; photos (M)

The World: China's Time Bomb; The Most Populous Nation Faces a Population Crisis

Quiet On the Set

Minnesota Timberwolves defeat Los Angeles Lakers, 98-96; Lakers lead Western Conference final series, 3-2; photos (M)

Timberwolves Get Garnett's Point to Survive

Automakers are facing lawsuits contending that design of SUV's and pickups make them particularly dangerous to people in cars; not only are SUV's and pickups heavier than passenger cars, but they ride higher off ground and often do not engage most crash-resistant parts of cars, overriding their bumpers or, even worse, smashing their front ends directly into heads of people in cars in side impacts; lower-priced cars to not have side air bags that protect people's heads, cause for suits against their manufacturers; government estimates that equipping all cars with side air bags with head protection would save 700 to 1,000 lives a year; federal regulators propose new tests that would make that a requirement, but changes are not due until end of decade; photos; graphs (L)

Lawsuits: This Year's Model

Army report complete last fall shows that hundreds of Iraqi prisoners were held in Abu Ghraib prison for prolonged periods despite lack of evidence that they posed security threat to American forces; unpublished report, by Maj Gen Donald J Ryder, reflects what other senior Army officers have described as deep concern among some American officers and officials in Iraq over refusal of top American commanders in Baghdad to authorize release of so-called security prisoners; some of those prisoners were held for interrogation at Abu Ghraib in cellblock that became site of worst abuses at prison; photo (L)

Scant Evidence Cited in Long Detention of Iraqis

Article on ruckus raised over what some consider racist remark that socialite Princess Michael of Kent yelled at five well-connected black New Yorkers dining at Da Silvano restaurant; photo (M)

The Princess Diatribes

Michelle Krebs comments on this season's convertibles; photos; table (S)

What's New Under the Sun This Summer

Article on slow process of finding successor to Motion Picture Association of America chairman Jack Valenti, who announced in March his plans to retire; says leading candidates are Victoria Clarke, Dan Glickman and Pat Mitchell; Valenti comments; entertainment issues facing incoming chairman discussed; photos (M)

Hollywood's Biggest Casting Problem

Companies craving public recognition and customers are vying for rights to name arenas and stadiums after themselves; in fast-growing marketplace, more than half the arenas and stadiums in professional baseball, football, basketball and hockey now bear corporate names; in latest deal, Ameriquest Mortgage Co is paying Texas Rangers $75 million over 30 years to rename their stadium Ameriquest Field; there are 66 such naming-rights deals with total contract value of $3.6 billion, up from three deals worth $25 million in 1988; but market for naming rights reflects undulations of American business; bankruptcies, mergers, stock market tumble and accounting scandals have resulted in fair degree of confusion and re-renaming; photos; chart (L)

At (Your Name Here) Arena, Money Talks

Federal Reserve Board is expected to raise interest rates in coming months, but very gradually; board members are desperate to avoid repeat of 1994, when aggressive rate increases of three percentage points over year helped precipitate financial trauma; investment strategist James W Paulsen saysFed's timid approach could backfire, creating kind of spike in rates that central bank hopes to avoid; he says given how indebted American consumers are, sudden sharp rise in rates could have broad and damaging implications across economy; notes that when bondholders are afraid, they sell bonds, pushing up interest rates, whatever Fed says or does; says spike would expose borrowers to considerably higher costs as rates rise; graph (M)

Will the Fed's Slow-Mo Approach Backfire?

Federation of New York Housing Cooperatives and Condominiums to hold educational seminar for co-op shareholders, condo unit owners and their board members, New York City (S)

POSTINGS: Seminar on Co-op and Condo Issues; Boards, Unions, Costs and Laws

Gunmen open fire on three complexes used largely by Americans and other foreigners in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province and seize large group of hostages, bringing terrorist atttacks that have plagued country for past year into heart of its oil-producing region; official Saudi Press Agency quotes Crown Prince Abdullah, country's de facto ruler, as saying that 10 Saudis and expatriates had been killed; but sporadic gunfire continues into night in Khobar, town on Persian Gulf where attacks occured, and reports remain confused; photo; maps (L)

AT LEAST 10 DEAD

Bush administration, whose members once prided themselves on never contradicting one another in public, has been riven by conflicting pronouncements on Iraq; senior officials keep missing opportunities to keep their signals straight, prompting cases of vicious backbiting that one official says 'make us sound like Democrats'; drawing; photo (M)

The Nation: Off Message; Discipline Takes a Break at the White House

Article on Friars Club, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary on June 14 by rededicating its elegant English Renaissance town house on 55th Street off Fifth Avenue and publishing its official biography; club's abbot Alan King, few weeks before he died last month at age 76, commented on club's heritage, bridge between burlesque and modern comedy and need to keep club and comedy alive; club president Freddie Roman and other comedians comment; photos (L)

Comedy Central

Indianapolis Motor Speedway president Tony George is trying to boost viewership and interest in Indy 500 auto race, which has waned considerably over past couple decades since racing split into IRL and CART leagues; photos (M)

Restarting Its Engine, Indy Tries to Restore Its Reputation

Expanded and redesigned New York Times Real Estate section to make its debut next weekendl

Editors' Note; Starting Next Weekend: An Expanded Section

Michelle Krebs reviews Mercedes-Benz CLK500 convertible; photo (S)

What's New Under the Sun This Summer; Mercedes-Benz CLK500

Andrew Sullivan reviews book Father Joe: The Man Who Saved My Soul by Tony Hendra; drawing; photo (M)

The Saint and the Satirist

Four American soldiers were killed in action in southern Afghanistan, the scene of recent clashes between American and suspected Taliban forces. Page 14.

May 30, 2004

Headlines from May 30, 2004

POSTINGS: At Third Avenue and East 172nd Street; Charter School Rises in Bronx On Hill of Gifts

Despite A Gem, No Bows From Brown

'04 Graduates Learned Lesson In Practicality

Liberty Bonds' Yield: a New Downtown

What's New Under the Sun This Summer; Nissan 350Z Roadster

Billboard 200

Confessions

Here For The Party

Living Legends

D12 World

The Reason

Historical Context for May 30, 2004