June 7, 2005

Marcel T Thomas, chief executive of GE Aviation Materials who is black, has sued GE for racial discrimination; Thomas, who has been promoted three times since he joined company in 2001 and has base salary of $205,000, says recent low job evaluation and negligible compensation increase is result of racial discrimination; says racism is pervasive at GE and is seeking to have suit certified as class action; GE insists suit is specious, and notes that it has seven black officers, up from four in 2001, and that 2 of its 11 businesses, accounting for $28 billion in combined revenue, are run by blacks; suit offers example of how people can look at same numbers and draw opposing conclusions; show that no matter how race-neutral its policies, not company can be certain that it has rooted out racism, particularly in locations far from where policies are set; offers powerful illustration that employees who feel wronged will not be satisfied by diversity programs or statistics showing that others in their group are progressing; photos (M)

Pistons Oust Heat and Will Defend Title Against Spurs Shaquille O'Neal, above, scored 27 points for the Miami Heat, but the Detroit Pistons prevailed in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals, setting up a showdown with the San Antonio Spurs in the N.B.A. finals. SPORTSTUESDAY, PAGE D1 More Personal Data Lost In one of the largest breaches of personal information to date, CitiFinancial, the consumer finance unit of Citigroup, announced that a box of computer tapes containing data on 3.9 million customers was lost by the United Parcel Service last month. BUSINESS DAY, PAGE C1 A Shot Across the Bow Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton castigated President Bush and Congressional Republicans as mad with power and self-righteousness, and said the news media had been timid in its criticism. PAGE B1 The Killer at the Beach Rip currents take more lives in an average year in the United States than other natural hazards like tornadoes, hurricanes and earthquakes. Only recently have researchers begun to measure the currents more precisely. SCIENCE TIMES, PAGE F1 Give That Roach a License To improve robotic navigation, one University of California researcher has literally harnessed the power, grace and adroitness of the Madagascan hissing cockroach, strapping it onto a modified computer trackball that sits atop a three-wheeled aluminum cart. SCIENCE TIMES, PAGE F1 It's Over in Washington State Rejecting claims that fraud and illegal votes had wrongly placed a Democrat as governor, a judge in Washington State dismissed a Republican lawsuit that sought to overturn the election of Gov. Christine Gregoire. The Republican candidate said he would not appeal. PAGE A16

News Analysis: death of West Side stadium underscores excruciatingly difficult process that almost every ambitious civic project in New York City faces from inception; city had reputation for pulling off daunting municipal projects until fiscal crisis of 1970's, when city lost most of its fiscal autonomy to state; since then, will of City Hall has often been thwarted by desires of lawmakers in Albany, who control public financing for most large projects in city; photos (M)

A surveillance video shows that the partner of a police officer who was shot three times during a car stop last week in Brooklyn ran away and, for several minutes, failed to help the wounded officer, a police official said yesterday. The actions of the partner, Officer Gilberto T. Marrero, are under investigation by the Police Department's Firearms Discharge Review Board as part of its routine inquiry into the shooting, said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation is still under way.

ON the train to Belmont Park, there to toss some of the missus' money away, it occurred to us that the country must be in worse shape than many Americans realized. Hollywood, at any rate, seems to believe so. Two years ago, as the United States marched off to war in Iraq, the film ''Seabiscuit'' emerged to make us feel better. That was the story of a runty racehorse who defied the experts and the odds to show Depression-scarred America that underdogs can win, no matter how bleak their prospects.

Moore County, NC, is made up of booming towns that are mostly white and impoverished areas that are almost all black; area has been made rich by golf; United States Open will be held at Pinehurst, one of county's 43 courses; developers rush to provide 'resort quality' amenities in newest subdivisions, while some neighborhoods are without sewers, police service, garbage pickup or even, in some cases, piped water; residents of three black neighborhoods near Pinehurst, and their advocates, are making concerted effort for first time to win more services, holding news conferences and giving tours; County Comr Michael Holden says residents' request for services puts county in 'delicate situation' in part because of competing demands for resources; photo; map (M)

New Jersey students will soon say goodbye to soda and other lunchtime junk foods under a new school nutrition policy announced Monday by Acting Gov. Richard J. Codey. The policy, which will take effect on Sept. 1, 2007, will apply to all public schools and private schools that provide federally financed meals and cover students from pre-kindergarten to high school. New Jersey is the latest of a handful of states to limit or ban foods considered minimally nutritious.

IN Paris, it's a resplendent summer evening in 2012, and the giddy haute couture crowd is racing like Champagne bubbles up the steps of Stade de France for the opening ceremony of the Summer Games. In Pottersville, it's another humid day on Manhattan's West Side as sodden shoppers exit the gray cinderblock facade of a Super Wal-Mart built over the railroad yards despite public protests over the excessive red glow of ''Super'' that has left the neighborhood with the eerie tint of a darkroom.

Apple Computer decides to shift Macintosh microprocessor business to Intel Corp, longtime rival, after more than decade with IBM; chief Steven P Jobs says company will begin incorporating Intel chips in some Macintosh computers beginning next year and largely complete changeover by 2008, address to Apple Computer's Worldwide Developers Conference, San Francisco; Apple will offer new version of its operating system for transition, Macintosh OS X Tiger, that will run on both IBM and Intel chips; immediate challenge will be to persuade Apple customers to continue to buy Mac computers based on IBM's PowerPC chip while they wait for Intel version to arrive; photo of Jobs with Intel's chief Paul S Otellini (M)

CitiFinancial, consumer finance subsidiary of Citigroup, says box of computer tapes containing information on 3.9 million customers was lost on May 2 by United Parcel Service, while in transit to credit reporting agency Experian in Allen, Tex from Weehawken, NJ; Citigroup says tapes have not been seen since; says there is no indication that tape were stolen or that any data on them has been compromised; photo (M)

Many illegal immigrants from Mexico are 'renting' Social Security numbers from legal immigrants; transactions are beneficial to both; legal immigrants are able to pad their earnings by letting illegal immigrants work under their name and number, enhancing their own unemployment and pension benefits and often charging fee; illegal immigrants get legal identity that allows them to work in United States; deals generate cash in other ways; illegal immigrant workers usually earn so little they are owed income tax refund at end of year; typically, illegal immigrant 'working the numbers' will pay real owner by sharing tax refund; process has one big drawback; Social Security sends hundreds of thousands of letters to employers for W-2 earning statements with names or numbers that do not match its records; these letters can provoke firing of offending worker; photo (M)

Supreme Court, in 6-to-3 decision, upholds power of Congress to prohibit and prosecute possession and use of marijuana for medical purposes, even in 11 states that permit it; majority bases its decision on power of Congress to regulate interstate commerce; those voting to uphold federal authority include Justices Anthony M Kennedy and Antonin M Scalia, who over past decade have voted with majority in series of decisions curbing Congressional power and elevating role of states within federal system; this decision overturns 2003 ruling by federal appeals court that shielded California's Compassionate Use Act, medical-marijuana initiative adopted by state's voters nine years ago, from reach of federal drug enforcement; decision is not necessarily last word on medical marijuana from courts or other branches of government; under terms of opinion, appeals court will now consider other challenges to application of federal drug law; advocates for medical marijuana emphasize that state laws remain in effect, and that prospect of federal enforcement is fairly remote; photos (M)