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================================================================================


                                  UNITED STATES

                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

                             WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549


                                    FORM 8-K

                                 CURRENT REPORT


     Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934


                         Date of Report: April 29, 2002
                        (Date of earliest event reported)




                           VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS INC.
             (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)




<Table>
<S>                              <C>                        <C>
           Delaware                      1-8606                         23-2259884
(State or other jurisdiction of  (Commission File Number)   (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)
        incorporation)


   1095 Avenue of the Americas,
   New York, New York                                                     10036
   (Address of principal executive offices)                             (Zip Code)
</Table>



       Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (212) 395-2121



                                 Not applicable
          (Former name or former address, if changed since last report)



================================================================================


<PAGE>

Item 5.  Other Events.

Attached as an exhibit is a press release issued by Verizon Communications Inc.
on April 29, 2002.

Item 7.  Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(c)      Exhibits.

         99     Press release dated April 29, 2002, issued by Verizon
                Communications Inc.




                                    SIGNATURE

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.



                                                 Verizon Communications Inc.
                                           ------------------------------------
                                                        (Registrant)


Date:            April 29, 2002                   /s/ Lawrence R. Whitman
          ------------------------------   ------------------------------------
                                           Lawrence R. Whitman
                                           Senior Vice President and Controller

<PAGE>

                                  EXHIBIT INDEX

<Table>
<Caption>
Exhibit
Number       Description
--------     -----------
<S>          <C>
99           Press release dated April 29, 2002, issued by Verizon
             Communications Inc.
</Table>


</TEXT>
</DOCUMENT>
<DOCUMENT>
<TYPE>EX-99
<SEQUENCE>3
<FILENAME>d96391ex99.txt
<DESCRIPTION>PRESS RELEASE DATED APRIL 29, 2002
<TEXT>
<PAGE>
                                                                     EXHIBIT 99



NEWS RELEASE


                                                                  [VERIZON LOGO]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                       CONTACT:
APRIL 29, 2002                              PETER THONIS
                                            212-395-2355
                                            peter.thonis@verizon.com


                 VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
                 ANNOUNCES PLANS TO RETIRE BEFORE YEAR-END 2002

                    VICE CHAIRMAN AND CFO FREDERIC V. SALERNO
          HELPED TO BUILD VERIZON; 37 YEARS IN KEY LEADERSHIP POSITIONS


         NEW YORK - Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Vice Chairman and
Chief Financial Officer Frederic V. Salerno today announced his intention to
retire from the company later this year, following a 37-year career in key
leadership roles at Verizon and its predecessor companies. Verizon expects to
name a successor shortly.

         "I wanted to let the Verizon Board of Directors know of my intentions
well in advance," Salerno said. "Now that the integration of GTE and Bell
Atlantic into Verizon is complete and Chuck Lee has accelerated transition plans
to make Ivan Seidenberg sole CEO, I believe this is the logical time to indicate
my plans.

          "Verizon is fortunate to have a wealth of financial and operational
talent, enabling the company to steer itself through periods of growth as well
as challenge," he added. "I am fully


<PAGE>
Verizon News Release, page 2


confident that this management team's capabilities will shine in the months and
years ahead, and I am proud to have been a part of it."

         Seidenberg said, "Fred's financial integrity and knowledge of the
business have set the standard for the industry. He's been much more than a
strong CFO. He's been a key strategist and architect of our current position,
and has contributed to the strength of our company in countless ways. He's also
been a personal friend and partner to me over many, many years. We will miss
him, but are grateful that he has agreed to help provide a seamless transition
to new financial leadership."

         Verizon Chairman Chuck Lee said, "For the last four years, Ivan and I
have worked diligently to create and launch Verizon. Fred Salerno has been
integral to the success of this massive undertaking. As a former CFO myself, I
can say that, by any standard, Fred has been a world-class financial officer for
our company."

         Salerno, 58, will work over the next several months with Seidenberg to
ensure a smooth transition to a new CFO. Following his departure, Salerno plans
to devote more of his time to other business interests, nonprofit activities and
his family.

         Since the completion of the Bell Atlantic/GTE merger in June 2000,
Salerno has helped to lead Verizon's successful efforts to integrate the two
companies and generate more than $2 billion in merger expense synergies.

         Prior to the Bell Atlantic/GTE merger, Salerno was senior executive
vice president and chief financial officer of Bell Atlantic. He was a member of
the Office of the Chairman, with responsibility for the company's strategic
planning efforts, business development and finance. He also had oversight of the
company's portfolio of international wireline investments.


<PAGE>
Verizon News Release, page 3


         Salerno served as a lead negotiator in Bell Atlantic's merger with GTE,
the 1997 merger of Bell Atlantic and NYNEX, and the combination of the U.S.
wireless assets of Bell Atlantic and Vodafone into the country's largest
wireless provider, Verizon Wireless. He also directed the successful efforts to
realize the annual expense savings, capital efficiencies and revenue gains from
the merger of NYNEX and Bell Atlantic.

         Prior to his appointment as Bell Atlantic's Chief Financial Officer,
Salerno was vice chairman-finance and business development at NYNEX, a position
he assumed in 1994. Salerno had served as vice chairman of NYNEX and
president-Worldwide Services since March 1991.

         A native New Yorker, Salerno joined New York Telephone in 1965 and was
elected vice president in 1983, when he directed the divestiture of the company
from the Bell System. In 1985, he was promoted to executive vice president and
chief operating officer of New England Telephone. In 1987, Salerno was appointed
president and chief executive officer of New York Telephone.

         Salerno is a member of the boards of AVNET, Inc.; Bear Stearns Company,
Inc.; Viacom, Inc., and Manhattan College.

         An active participant in support of community and educational issues,
Salerno in 1988 was named chairman of New York's Temporary State Commission on
the Distribution of State Aid to Local School Districts by Gov. Mario Cuomo. In
1990, Cuomo appointed him chairman of the board of trustees of the State
University of New York, and he served in that capacity until February 1996.
Salerno is president of the Inner-City Scholarship Fund and has served as
chairman of the Archdiocese of New York's Partnership for Quality Education
Campaign. In September 1999, the National Italian American Foundation gave him
its Special Achievement Award for Humanitarian Service.


<PAGE>
Verizon News Release, page 4


         In 1997, New York Gov. George Pataki appointed Salerno to serve on the
state's International Business Development Council.

         Salerno is a member of the American Association of the Sovereign
Military Order of the Knights of Malta, an international relief organization
with permanent observer status in the United Nations.

         He received a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering from
Manhattan College and a master of business administration degree from Adelphi
University.

         Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) is one of the world's leading
providers of communications services. Verizon companies are the largest
providers of wireline and wireless communications in the United States, with
133.8 million access line equivalents and approximately 29.6 million wireless
customers. Verizon is also the largest directory publisher in the world. With
more than $67 billion in annual revenues and nearly 248,000 employees, Verizon's
global presence extends to more than 40 countries in the Americas, Europe, Asia
and the Pacific. For more information on Verizon, visit www.verizon.com.


                                      ####

ON THE INTERNET: Verizon news releases, executive speeches, biographies, media
contacts and other information are available at Verizon's News Center on the
World Wide Web at www.verizon.com/news. To receive news releases by e-mail,
visit the News Center and register for personalized automatic delivery of
Verizon news releases.


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