A prep course for the month-long World Cup soccer tournament, a worldwide pheno

 a news conference at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn . Ken , who plays wi

th two rottweilers at home , was visiting a friend 's home in Brooklyn Thursday 

when he went to pet a dog owned by a tenant in the building . `` The dog jumped 

on me . He started biting on my neck , '' Ken said Friday. `` .. . Then I kicked

 him in the neck . Then I went in the house for ice . '' Ken was bitten severely

 on the neck not far from the jugular vein , on his right ear and chin , officia

ls said . Dr. David Feldman , who performed plastic surgery on Ken at Maimonides

 , said it was the worst bite he 'd ever seen . `` If that dog had been on him a

 little longer , it could have been a lot worse , a lot worse , '' he said . Ken

 was quiet but proud Friday . Other kids who hadn't studied tae kwon do `` would

 have kicked him but not gotten him off , '' he said . His father , Port Authori

ty Police Sgt. Kenneth Yeglinski , was relieved . `` My wife and I , we cried ga

llons , asking God for help , '' he said . The dog is being held by the ASPCA an

d will be examined . City Health Department spokesman Steve Matthews said there 

could be a ruling that the dog be muzzled , trained or destroyed . Ken 's father

 said that while his initial , emotional reaction was `` to go shoot the dog mys

elf , '' now he 's not so sure . He 's just glad to have his son . The tae kwon 

do , he said , `` saved his life , absolutely . ''

 WASHINGTON The nation 's unemployment rate in May continued to drop virtually a

cross the board , the government reported Friday for men and women , blacks and 

whites , adults and teen-agers . For everyone , that is , except black teen-gers

 . Among black teen-agers looking for jobs , 40 percent can't find them , the La

bor Department said in its monthly survey , up from 32 percent rate in January .

 By contrast , joblessness for white teenagers has been declining , dropping to 

15 percent last month . For the 740,000 black teenagers who have either graduate

d from high school or dropped out of school , the news is equally bleak : Only 3

3 percent have either full- or part-time jobs . For white teen-agers , the compa

rable figure is 60 percent . Experts Friday warned that persistently high levels

 of unemployment are leading to a growing alienation of black youth from the lar

ger economy , aggravating other social problems . `` I think it should be pretty

 obvious that if these kids don't get a foothold in the legitimate economy , we 

can expect a fair number of them to turn to hustling of some kind , '' said Rona

ld Mincy , an expert on youth employment at the Ford Foundation . Economists off

er several standard explanations for high rates of joblessness among black youth

 . Most of the new jobs being created , they argue , call for higher levels of s

kill and education than most non-college graduates can offer . Most of the new j

obs also are being created at firms located in suburbs far from the inner cities

 where many African American families live . Experts also say that because black

 youths come from neighborhoods where rates of adult employment are low , they a

re less likely to take advantage of the sort of informal networking through whic

h people learn about jobs and get hired . But Jared Bernstein , a labor economis

t with the Economic Policy Institute in Washington , said various studies show t

hese factors do not fully explain the widening job gap between black and white t

een-agers . Like Joshua Denbow , 18 , he suspects that various forms of discrimi

nation also play a role . Denbow , a 1993 graduate of Ballou Senior High here , 

recalled trying to apply for a job at a mall , when a manager turned away from h

im . `` I saw him give out an application to another teen-ager , '' he said . ``

 I approached the store and he turned his sign over to closed . Ten minutes late

r , when I walked back past it , it was open . '' `` Because we 're young , blac

k teen-agers , they think we sell drugs , '' Denbow said . Brandee Baggatts , 16

 , an 11th-grade student at Dunbar , has applied at numerous stores , including 

Footlocker , the Gap and Fashion Bug . Most of the places never called her and t

hose who did said they weren't hiring . As bad as the job situation is for Brand

ee , however , it 's worse for her male friends , she said , because of the ster

eotypes many employers hold about black teen-agers . `` They think about all the

 killings , but not every black boy is bad . We have some good ones , '' Brandee

 said . `` They just don't want to hire them because they are afraid of us . '' 

Much the same point was made by sociologist Elijah Anderson of the University of

 Pennsylvania , whose book , `` Streetwise , '' is based on three years spent ha

nging around a corner in a black neighborhood in Chicago . Anderson said that wh

ile most kids from such neighborhoods want to enter the economic mainstream , th

ey often adopt some of the `` emblems '' of an what he calls the `` oppositional

 culture '' certain dress , mannerisms and ways of speech . `` White society has

 little ability to distinguish between the decent and the street kids , '' Ander

son said . `` As a result , discrimination has remained a persistent part of the

 culture of the workplace . '' But even when they dress neatly and speak well , 

black teen-agers can be at a disadvantage . Margaret Simms , an economist with t

he Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies in Washington , cited tests t

hat used teen-agers with similar resumes , wearing similar clothes and coached t

o say the same things . White job applicants , she said , were chosen disproport

ionately over the black applicants . Simms and other analysts said that because 

black teen-agers and their friends have such trouble getting jobs , many become 

discouraged and simply stop looking . The Labor Department survey for May showed

 that only 36 percent of black teen-agers were active participants in the labor 

market , compared with 57 percent of white teen-agers .

 WASHINGTON The Federal Aviation Administration ordered Friday a broad-scale ret

reat from one of the most ambitious computer modernization projects undertaken b

y the U.S. government . FAA Administrator David Hinson said the agency will canc

el outright two components of the modernization of the nation 's air traffic con

trol system . He has ordered an intensive 90-day review of a third key component

 . Deputy Administrator Linda Daschle said the government will save `` hundreds 

of millions of dollars '' as a result of the decisions , which also will mean th

e loss of an undetermined number of jobs at the former IBM Federal Systems unit 

in Montgomery County , Md. , now owned by Loral Corp. . This allows companies su

ch as BDM International Inc. , Hughes , Unisys and Raytheon to win portions of a

 contract still expected to run and valued in excess of $ 5 billion by the time 

it is completed after the year 2000 . The overall FAA project , called the Advan

ced Automation System , was supposed to provide air traffic controllers with sta

te-of-the-art computers , systems and workstations that would tie the vast array

 of radars , satellites and communications facilities that help guide thousands 

of flights across the country . Many current computer facilities date to the 196

0s . `` The fact that it is a smaller program is not discouraging to Loral . It 

will turn out to be a better program , '' said Loral Chairman and chief executiv

e Bernard L. Schwartz . Schwartz says Loral is assessing the number of jobs that

 will be affected and expects an answer within the next two weeks . `` We owe it

 to our people and to subcontractors to come out with as quick an answer as poss

ible , '' he said . Hinson said the remaining $ 2 billion software program desig

ned to give air traffic controllers sophisticated new workstations will be revie

wed by an expert team from the Lincoln Laboratories and Carnegie-Mellon Institut

e working together with FAA and Loral experts . Hinson said he ordered this revi

ew because he was confronted with conflicting opinions about the program 's feas

ibility and wanted a third viewpoint . The FAA has already spent $ 1 billion ; i

f the program is scrapped , that money will be lost . An earlier study for the F

AA by the Center for Naval Analysis found the software design being used by IBM 

( now Loral ) `` seriously flawed '' and riddled with errors , a position Loral 

disputes . Schwartz said in an interview Friday that Hinson 's announcement `` d

emonstrates the FAA 's determination to proceed with this important modification

 program . It validates the overall conceptual approach subject to the fact that

 the software does what it is supposed to do . '' Of the new study , Schwartz sa

id , `` If I were he , I would do the same . '' Some of Friday 's steps could pr

olong the automation project since some of it is to be put out for a new `` comp

etition '' among prospective contractors , often a time-consuming process . The 

initial program , which dates to the early 1980s , was in deep trouble when the 

Clinton administration took office . But officials insisted it could be salvaged

 . A broad review ordered by Hinson and Transportation Secretary Federico Pena i

nitially questioned the premise and said that if it could be completed at all , 

the cost would escalate by almost $ 2.2 billion from Bush administration estimat

es . Friday , with the FAA facing a five-year budget freeze , they acknowledged 

even that may not be possible and embarked on the new , streamlined strategy . I

n addition to the review of the Loral software program , Hinson canceled : -- A 

major computer program that would have linked segments of the nationwide system 

, speeding up the integration and flow of information . Its price : $ 1 billion 

. -- A similar program to consolidate computer activities in areas of very heavy

 air traffic , with a projected cost of $ 654 million . Also , a program to mode

rnize the equipment in airport towers was slashed to cover about 70 of the busie

st airports from the 150 envisioned initially . That program was to have cost ab

out $ 447 million . A sub-set of the remaining disputed Loral program the replac

ement with electronic data of paper strips controllers use to track each flight 

also is being cancelled . Its cost was put in the hundreds of millions of dollar

s and it was opposed by air traffic controllers . Not all of the money in these 

canceled or reduced programs will be saved since some of the roles they were des

igned to do will remain functional . Instead of relying on Loral to do them , ho

wever , they will be open for new bidding or Loral will be directed to turn to o

ff-the-shelf technologies . FAA officials declined to put a price on these parts

 of the project .

 WASHINGTON The Clinton administration began consultations Friday with key U.S. 

allies on imposing punitive sanctions against North Korea , but officials said t

he plan initially calls for only mild restrictions , to avoid pushing Pyongyang 

into further isolation . Robert L. Gallucci , assistant secretary of state for p

olitical-military affairs , met separately in Washington with South Korean and J

apanese officials in preparation for a broader conference involving all three al

lies Saturday . . At the same time , senior administration policy-makers traveli

ng with President Clinton in Europe conferred privately with British , French an

d German counterparts . They also telephoned Chinese officials , whose support i

s considered crucial for approval of a sanctions resolution . Clinton himself ca

lled South Korean President Kim Young Sam , who agreed on the broad American str

ategy . The president also phoned Russian President Boris N . Yeltsin , rejectin

g a new Russian proposal to convene an international conference to discuss the s

tandoff over North Korea 's nuclear program . The flurry of activity marked the 

start of what is expected to be a complex effort to build a coalition in favor o

f some sort of sanctions by the middle of next week , officials hope , when the 

U.N. . Security Council is scheduled to take up the issue . Hans Blix , director

-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency , briefed Security Council me

mbers on his agency 's conclusion that Pyongyang has made it all but impossible 

for inspectors to determine whether it has diverted spent fuel to make nuclear w

eapons . Meanwhile , North Korea appealed for a new round of talks with the Unit

ed States . But it was rebuffed by the administration , which repeated its inten

tion to pursue imposition of sanctions instead . Pyongyang also test-fired anoth

er anti-ship missile . There were some initial signs that China might be easing 

its longstanding opposition to U.N. sanctions against North Korea possibly a res

ult of Clinton 's decision last week to continue special trade preferences for B

eijing . Both American and foreign officials indicated that the discussions invo

lving the Japanese and South Koreans were preliminary and did not result in deci

sions . `` It 's really too early at this point , '' one insider said . But Wash

ington-based diplomats said the administration is considering the possibility of

 pushing for relatively modest sanctions at first to avoid provoking Pyongyang i

nto withdrawing from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty , which governs reacto

r inspections . If Pyongyang still does not yield , the allies then would press 

for a freeze on North Korea 's financial transactions , and , finally , for a cu

toff of oil and food supplies the most drastic step in the proposed sanctions ar

senal . ( Optional add end ) One concession that Washington wants Pyongyang to m

ake immediately is to allow international inspectors to take samplings and measu

rements at its two major radioactive waste sites an alternative to analyzing spe

nt fuel rods in its reactor , which already has been emptied . All sides concede

d that pushing a sanctions resolution through the Security Council is likely to 

be difficult . Even Japan , which opposes North Korea 's nuclear program , said 

it wants the United Nations to issue another warning before invoking sanctions .

 Han Seung Soo , South Korea 's ambassador to the United States , said in a tele

phone interview that the contents of the allies ' proposed sanctions resolution 

could vary widely , `` depending upon the reactions from China and Russia . '' `

` China has repeatedly said they prefer dialogue , '' he said . `` Unless we are

 assured that they will abstain from a Security Council resolution , it would be

 very difficult '' to pass a formal proposal , even for gradual imposition of sa

nctions . Gallucci told reporters that the United States would `` not be intimid

ated '' by Pyongyang 's continual warnings that it would regard any imposition o

f sanctions as an act of war .

 One of only two low-level nuclear waste dumps in the nation will close to most 

outsiders at the end of June , a move that will leave 31 states with no sanction

ed disposal site . The decision by the South Carolina legislature to limit acces

s to their facility at Barnwell will mean that hospitals , biomedical companies 

and other industries in states that use radioactive materials must store their o

wn nuclear waste . South Carolina officials gave no reason for their decision to

 limit access to the Barnwell dump to eight southeastern states , Alabama , Flor

ida , Georgia , Mississippi , North Carolina , South Carolina , Tennessee and Vi

rginia . Closure of the South Carolina dump means that `` 65 percent of all radi

oactive waste in the nation will have to be stored at the point of generation , 

'' said Holmes Brown , a spokesman for the Low-level Waste Forum , an organizati

on of state officials who work on nuclear waste issues . In California alone , a

bout 100,00 cubic feet of contaminated waste are produced each year . Many of th

e facilities that are now forced to store their own radioactive waste are in pop

ulated areas . `` Hospitals and biotech companies completely surrounded by resid

ential neighborhoods certainly aren't the best places to be storing this stuff ,

 '' said Donald Womeldorf , director of the Southwestern Low-level Radioactive W

aste Commision , which represents four states California , Arizona , North Dakot

a and South Dakota . ( Begin optional trim ) The perils of keeping nuclear waste

 on site , instead of burying it in a licensed dump was underscored by the Jan. 

17 Los Angeles earthquake , which damaged storage facilities at three hospitals 

, according to Cathleen Kaufman , head of radiation management for the Los Angel

es County Department of Health Services . There were no reports of contamination

 after the earthquake . But at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles , the 

loss of storage space because of earthquake damage may put a crimp in medical re

search . `` I have put researchers on notice that after the first of the year th

ey may find the use of radioactive materials restricted , '' said Donna Early , 

the hospital 's director of radiation and environmental safety . ( End optional 

trim ) Apart from the South Carolina facility , a dump in Richland , Wash. is th

e only facility in the country that accepts low-level waste . The Washington dum

p , however , serves only 11 western states , Alaska , Colorado , Hawaii , Idaho

 , Montana , Nevada , New Mexico , Oregon , Utah , Washington and Wyoming . The 

two dumps are classified as `` low level '' to distinguish them from facilities 

designed to accept spent fuel rods and other debris from nuclear power plants co

ntaminated with highly toxic , long-lasting substances , such as plutonium that 

can remain dangerous for many thousands of years . But even `` low-level '' dump

s can accept some long-lasting radioactive materials . ( Optional add end ) Unde

r a 1980 law , several states assumed responsibility from the federal government

 for disposing of low-level nuclear waste . Regional compacts were formed with t

he idea that each would be served by existing dumps in Nevada , South Carolina a

nd Washington or by one of four new ones that were supposed to be in operation b

y now . Until the new dumps opened , the three states with existing dumps agreed

 to accept waste from states outside their compacts . Those arrangements , howev

er , were not popular with public officials in the those states , who feared the

y would become permanent repositories for the nation 's nuclear waste . Nevada s

ubsequently closed to all users . Closing the South Carolina dump will increase 

the pressure on California to build the proposed Ward Valley disposal facility i

n the eastern Mojave desert , a controversial project currently tied up in litig

ation and the focus of bitter opposition for a decade by anti-nuclear and enviro

nmental organizations .

 MEXICO CITY A lone gunman assassinated presidential candidate Luis Donaldo Colo

sio in March , according to the special prosecutor 's latest theory , which was 

roundly rejected by human rights activists , opposition politicians and citizens

 on Friday . Late Thursday , special prosecutor Miguel Montes Garcia sharply bac

ked away from the government 's previously described view that a conspiracy was 

responsible for the death of Colosio , who was widely expected to be the next pr

esident of Mexico . `` Recent investigations .. . strengthen the theory that the

 murder was committed by one man alone : Mario Aburto Martinez , '' Montes said 

in a statement . It came three days after a special commission to investigate th

e assassination disbanded because the panel 's five members said they could not 

gain access to needed information . A Mexican congressional committee , created 

to investigate the crime , has made similar complaints . According to surveys , 

many Mexicans believe the government is covering up a high-level conspiracy to a

ssassinate Colosio . In his statement , Montes denied rumors that Aburto , who h

as been imprisoned while he awaits trial on charges connected with the assassina

tion , is not the same suspect who was originally arrested . He also denied asse

rtions that the one-inch difference in the size of the two bulletholes in Colosi

o 's body indicates that the wounds were made by bullets of different calibers .

 Montes did not say where Aburto obtained the gun he allegedly used in the assas

sination . He also did not discuss whether Aburto belonged to a political group 

, as relatives and friends have indicated . Nor did he mention a motive . Montes

 ' spokesman denied that the prosecutor 's statement signaled the end of an inve

stigation that has embarrassed the government and overshadowed the presidential 

campaign . Even so , the latest development in the inquiry met with wide skeptic

ism . ( Begin optional trim ) `` It 's a joke , '' said Sergio Aguayo , chairman

 of the independent Mexican Human Rights Academy in the capital . `` It is unacc

eptable , a public relations game . They play with us all the time . That 's the

 problem with a totalitarian regime . '' Pedro Chavez , a 27-year-old news vendo

r , chalked up Montes ' statement to pressure . `` The government and the people

 want an answer before the ( Aug. 21 presidential ) elections , '' he said . `` 

Still , the majority of the public says it is a conspiracy , and this will make 

the public more demanding than ever of a satisfactory answer . They have to get 

to the bottom of this . It 's not as simple as just going back to the original t

heory . '' But Baja California Gov. Ernesto Ruffo Appel said the probe indeed ap

peared to have returned to square one , telling reporters Friday in Tijuana : ``

 It seems that the information is concentrating on a scenario that existed in th

e first days of the investigation . The scenario is the same one that there was 

two months ago . '' ( End optional trim ) Immediately after Colosio 's March 23 

killing at a campaign rally in a working-class Tijuana neighborhood , police had

 portrayed the assassination as the act of a disturbed young man . But investiga