New York City-based Men 'n Sync, synchronized figure skating team, is one of about 500 competitive teams in country, but is nation's only all-male squad; photos (M)

All Together Now, Gentlemen

Pope John Paul II hovered near death on Friday. The Vatican announced that his breathing had become shallow and some organs had begun to fail.     ''This evening or this night, Christ opens the door to the pope,'' Bishop Angelo Comastri, the vicar of the Vatican, told the tens of thousands of faithful who converged on St. Peter's Square.  

As His Church Prays, Weakened Pope Nears Death

Metropolitan Life Insurance Company sells MetLife Building on Park Avenue (NYC) for record $1.72 billion to Tishman Speyer Properties; photo (M)

MetLife Sells Second Tower in a Week

How did a pint-size car named Smart manage to make DaimlerChrysler look, well, dumb?     On Friday, the company announced that it would drastically scale back its troubled Smart division, eliminating two models and cutting 700 employees, at a cost of up to 1.2 billion euros ($1.55 billion).  

DaimlerChrysler to Scale Back Mini-Car Unit

May contract for crude oil on New York Mercantile Exchange rises $1.87, and settles at record $57.27 a barrel after reaching $57.70 in earlier trading; gasoline futures in New York trading also rise, closing up 7 cents, to $1.73 a gallon; prices have risen 10 percent in last three days; oil markets continue to be rocked by tightness in global production and concerns over rising demand; photo (M)

3.4% Surge Pushes Oil Above $57

Idea of making hybrid cars that have option of being plugged in is supported by diverse group of interests, from neoconservatives who support greater fuel efficiency to utilities salivating at change to supplant oil with electricity; conventional hybrid electric cars will slow growth rate of oil imports only marginally, at best, with amount depending on how many hybrids are sold; to actually stop growth of oil imports and potentially even reduce consumption, automakers have focused on developing cars powered by hydrogen fuel cells; fuel cells would require complete reinvention of automobile and nation's gas stations, and technology to put them on road is still long way from fruition; photos (M)

Hybrid-Car Tinkerers Scoff at No-Plug-In Rule

Labor Department reports unemployment rate declined to 5.2 percent in March from 5.4 percent in February; nation added about 110,000 jobs in March, about half number that Wall Street analysts predicted; report suggests continuation of unusually slow job recovery that has been under way over last two years; hourly wages and average weekly earnings climbed 2.6 percent over last year, while consumer prices rose 3 percent; Institute for Supply Management says its index of manufacturing activity edged down slightly in March but remained above level that points to expanding activity; University of Michigan's monthly index of consumer confidence declined slightly, to 92.6 in March from 94.1 in February (M)

Pace of Job Creation Slows Markedly

 Lions Gate Said to Consider Bid for British TV Company  Lions Gate Entertainment, the large independent film studio, is considering making an unsolicited bid worth more than $1 billion for HIT Entertainment, the British television company behind programs like ''Barney'' and ''Bob the Builder,'' according to executives close to the company.  

BUSINESS DIGEST

Selena Roberts Sports of The Times column contends that Boston Red Sox rivalry with New York Yankees is muted now that both rosters feature aging players (M)

The Yankees and the Red Sox Are Old Rivals. Maybe Too Old.

Defense Department's shift away from basic research is alarming computer scientists and electrical engineers, who warn that there will be long-term consequences for nation's economy; they are accusing Pentagon of reining in Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency that has played crucial role in fostering America's lead in computer and communications technologies; university researchers have started quietly challenging agency's new approach; assert that agency has shifted a lot more work in recent years to military contractors, adopted focus on short-term projects while cutting support for basic research, classified formerly open projects as secret and placed new restrictions on sharing information; agency officials acknowledge for first time shift in focus; reveal that within relatively steady budget for computer science research that rose slightly from $546 million in 2001 to $583 million last year, portion going to university research has fallen from $214 million to $123 million; transformation at agency has been led by Anthony J Tether; Leonard Kleinrock and Deborah Estrin of UCLA comment on changes; graphs; photos (M)

Pentagon Redirects Its Research Dollars

Daylight saving time resumes at 2 a.m. tomorrow. Clocks are set ahead one hour.

A Reminder

From St. Peter's Square in Rome to the churches that remained open into the night in Warsaw to the pews of Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago, millions of Roman Catholics interrupted their routine yesterday to stand vigil and offer prayers for Pope John Paul II.    Leslie Martin, 35, had not been to Mass since her mother died of lung cancer five years ago but came to Holy Name just before noon to offer perhaps a final prayer for the only pope she had ever known, the man whose picture hung next to that of Jesus in the Catholic schools of her youth.  

Global Flock Braces for the Loss of Its Shepherd

The end of a papacy sets in motion both a highly ritualized, centuries-old tradition and a deeply human one -- politicking and coalition building.    Governance of the religion of more than a billion people across the globe enters a state of suspended animation. Oversight goes into the hands of the College of Cardinals, which takes charge of the transition but is barred from making any major decisions or changing the rules of succession.  

Papal Transition: Traditional Path Sharply Defined

New York City Democratic mayoral aspirant Fernando Ferrer says his remarks about 1999 police shooting of Amadou Diallo were 'careless'; stops short of apologizing, but backs away from comments that seemed to side with police (M)

Ferrer Offers Explanation of Remarks in Diallo Case

New Jersey Nets defeat New York Knicks, 93-91; photos (M)

Nets Slide Past Knicks, Nearing Playoff Spot

Metropolitan Transportation Authority explains that decision to accept New York Jets bid for land on Manhattan's West Side (NYC) came with promise of subway line extension in mind; extension is part of Jets' plan to build stadium; opponents of decision say plan does not force city to cover expected cost overruns; photos (M)

M.T.A. Links Stadium Bid to Rail Extension

New York Mets players get to know what manager Willie Randolph expects from them during spring training, which is coming to close; photos (M)

The Mets Are Starting to Reflect Randolph's Aggressive Approach

New York Yankees pitcher Kevin Brown leaves exhibition game with back soreness; photo (M)

Tightness for Brown as Yankees Head North

 Oil Prices Rise and Pace of Job Creation Slows  Oil prices jumped to a record, prompted by concerns over the level of gasoline stockpiles in the United States. In addition, a Labor Department report showed that the pace of job creation was slowing.   BUSINESS DAY, PAGE C1    Cuts in Computer Research  The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency at the Pentagon, which has long underwritten open-ended research by computer scientists, is sharply cutting such spending at universities in favor of financing more classified work, researchers say.   BUSINESS DAY, PAGE C1    Join Iraqi Army, Sunnis Told  In a striking turnaround, 64 Sunni Arab clerics in Iraq, including some hard-line figures who fiercely oppose the American presence there, urged their fellow Sunnis to join the Iraqi Army and the police force.   PAGE A5    MetLife Building Is Sold  The MetLife Building, a signature skyscraper on the Manhattan skyline and the glittering gateway to Park Avenue above Grand Central Terminal, has been sold for a record $1.72 billion.   PAGE B3    THIS WEEKEND    T: Design  From a Paris apartment bathed in artificial light to a sun-filled Manhattan aerie, The New York Times Style Magazine explores light as the ultimate luxury.

INSIDE

Coaches have become face of college powerhouse basketball teams over years, with coaches of this year's men's NCAA Final Four teams as no exception; Louisville University is led by Rick Pitino, Illinois University by Bruce Weber, Michigan State University by Tom Izzo and North Carolina University by Roy Williams; photos (M)

As the Curtain Goes Up, the Players Are Not the Thing

Dan Barry About New York column holds that big increases in rent are forcing small businesses out by raising rents to astronomical levels; photos (M)

Rents Soar. Stores Close. Life Goes on, a Little Poorer.

President Robert G. Mugabe's party routed its opponents in parliamentary elections, nearly complete returns showed Friday, dashing forecasts of an opposition surge and solidifying the president's 25-year grip on Zimbabwe politics.    The lopsided outcome cast fresh doubts on the strength and strategy of the opposition, as well as the fairness of the vote. Mr. Mugabe's opponents, who lost elections in 2000 and 2002 that were widely condemned as rigged, again charged fraud in Thursday's election.   

Mugabe's Party Wins Majority in Zimbabwe

An article in Business Day on Thursday about compulsory cable television fees in some planned communities and housing developments misspelled the surname of a homeowner who pays for cable as well as satellite television. He is Steve Santer, not Santos.    

Corrections

North Carolina University and player Rashad McCants prepare to face Michigan State University in men's NCAA tournament semifinal; photo (M)

McCants Prefers to Let His Play Do the Talking

Queens (NYC) high school girl Sequoia Thomas is fatally shot by man she was arguing with in street (M)

Argument Near School Ends in Death of Girl, 17

Lillian O'Donnell was an American crime novelist notable for being one of the first to introduce a female police officer as the lead character in a book series.

Lillian O'Donnell, American crime novelist (born 1926)

Lillian_O'Donnell

Pope John Paul II was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until his death in 2005.

April 2, 2005

Headlines from April 2, 2005

All Together Now, Gentlemen

As His Church Prays, Weakened Pope Nears Death

MetLife Sells Second Tower in a Week

DaimlerChrysler to Scale Back Mini-Car Unit

3.4% Surge Pushes Oil Above $57

Billboard 200

The Massacre

Now 18

In Between Dreams

American Idiot

The Documentary

Notable Deaths

Historical Context for April 2, 2005