NEW YORK -- A design consisting of two reflecting pools and a paved stone field has been chosen for the World Trade Center memorial after an eight-month international competition that drew more than 5,000 entries, Associated Press has learned. The Reflecting Absence memorial, created by city designer Michael Arad, was chosen by a 13-member jury of artists, architects and civic and cultural leaders after months of deliberation.

The decision was to be announced yesterday by the Lower Manhattan Development Corp., the agency overseeing the rebuilding of the site, a source familiar with the process said.