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

a live lobster and twisted off its claws as it writhed . A wincing Couric quickl

y turned away . `` I can't look . Hurry ! '' But fine cuisine can't be hurried .

 The chef then selected a large knife and , as Couric cringed , sliced the still

-moving lobster in half . `` Oh , what a way to go , '' Couric said fliply . The

n the chef took the upper half of the still-moving lobster and began sauteing it

 in the pan . `` Oh , it 's still moving , '' Couric said , then wittily joked :

 `` can't you give him sleeping pills or something before you cut him up ? '' Af

ter the mirth subsided , it was time to add wine and tomato sauce in preparation

 for cooking the lobster for 10 to 12 minutes . Couric : `` And we 'll be back i

n a moment to hear some music from the Boston Pops . '' Bon appetit . -0- THE WO

RD : Although he does some goofy things from time to time , Phil Donahue at leas

t can be counted on , usually , to be an effective devil 's advocate . On Monday

 's episode of `` Donahue , '' though , he was overwhelmed and rendered inept by

 controversial Nation of Islam lecturer Khalid Abdul Muhammad . Muhammad , a dis

ciple and suspended aide of National of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan , was the h

our 's only guest . The invective-spewing verbal barrage by him and his boistero

us followers , who were packed into the front of the studio , targeted all white

s in general , all Jews in particular . Donahue and a few doddering audience mem

bers made some feeble attempts at rebuttal , but were no match for the relentles

s assault , and Donahue , in particular , ultimately appeared to give up . Thus 

, he did not challenge repeated broad claims that Muhammad 's assertions about h

istorical Jewish oppression of blacks were endorsed by `` Jewish scholars . '' R

ushing through the audience with his mike , he did not challenge a man who insis

ted that the Bible calls Jews `` the synagogue of Satan . '' He did not quiz a m

an who urged Allah to `` remove all white folks from the planet Earth . '' Can y

ou imagine Donahue not asking a loony white guy what he meant by urging God to e

rase all blacks ? Or Donahue letting Ku Klux Klan members slander blacks virtual

ly at will ? It wouldn't happen .

 Spontaneous panic attacks , once thought to be the physical manifestation of in

ner angst , may instead be triggered by a glitch in the body 's respiratory syst

em , according to a new study . `` It is not anxiety or fear at all , '' said Dr

. Donald Klein , professor of psychiatry at Columbia University College of Physi

cians and Surgeons . `` Panic attacks result from a physiological abnormality ''

 in which the body 's natural suffocation alarm is falsely tripped . That alarm 

, Klein said , is located in the carotid body , an area in the neck that acts li

ke a sensor to measure the amount of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood . It

 normally goes off , he explained , only when levels of the two chemicals are dr

amatically altered for instance , when you 're being smothered . However , Klein

 said that people who tend to suffer panic attacks appear for an as-yet unknown 

reason to be more sensitive than others to even a tiny fluctuation in the amount

 of carbon dioxide in their bodies . This , he theorizes , can prompt the caroti

d to send a false signal to the brain , causing it to shut down the respiratory 

system . And the shutdown , in turn , prompts classic `` panic attack '' symptom

s : shortness of breath or smothering sensations ; dizziness , unsteadiness , or

 faintness ; an accelerated heart rate or palpitations ; trembling ; hot or cold

 flashes ; and nausea . Klein 's theory , which is backed by intriguing data gat

hered by him and his colleagues at the New York State Psychiatric Institute , co

uld alter the concept of these frightening attacks , leading to novel treatments

 that prompt a drop in carbon dioxide in the body , experts say . This might inc

lude progesterone , a natural hormone , and Diamox , a drug used for glaucoma . 

The findings are to be reported this week during the American Psychiatric Associ

ation 's annual meeting in Philadelphia . About 1.2 million Americans experience

 spontaneous panic attacks , which experts previously thought were triggered by 

inner fears or , as Sigmund Freud explained it , threatening impulses . But Klei

n , boldly marking new territory in the disease , says , `` That 's a mistake . 

'' He said that since the 1950s he has listened to patient after patient complai

n of panic attacks that left them gasping for breath , and feeling that they wer

e going to die . `` It was an overwhelming experience of shortness of breath ver

ging on smothering , '' the psychiatrist said . Those descriptions caused him to

 suspect that panic patients were suffering a respiratory dysfunction , rather t

han a psychological one . If the theory holds up , experts say , it could help e

xplain why these attacks don't seem to occur any more frequently during frighten

ing and stressful times as when they are relaxed , even sleeping . Dr. Thomas Uh

de , chairman of psychiatry and behavioral neurosciences at Wayne State Universi

ty and an expert on panic disorders , believes Klein is `` on to something , '' 

adding , `` We will be testing his ideas . '' Additionally , Klein said he and h

is colleagues are in the midst of gathering more scientific proof to back these 

ideas . The theory was built on recent studies , also carried out at Columbia , 

showing that lactate and carbon dioxide can trigger a panic attack in people pro

ne to the condition , and does nothing to others without such attacks . Lactate 

is a substance that is normally produced in the body from pyruvate , which allow

s the body to continue to oxidize glucose even when it 's running low on oxygen 

. Humans don't normally breathe in carbon dioxide , but it is a gas found in tin

y amounts in the lungs about 5 percent . Interestingly , more than half of panic

 patients say they frequently hyperventilate , which helps them to avoid a panic

 attack , Klein said , by blowing off carbon dioxide . Further evidence that the

 suffocation alarm may be tripped comes from a higher than normal percent of peo

ple with panic attacks among those with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease an

d asthma . They have obvious respiratory difficulties . Klein says that his coll

eagues have also done some work to suggest that women in childbirth almost never

 experience an attack . During labor , when women often hyperventilate , carbon 

dioxide is at its lowest level , Klein said . ( Begin optional trim ) However , 

the most interesting evidence of the existence of a `` suffocation alarm '' come

s from a group of children with congenital central hypoventilation syndrome , re

ferred to as Ondine 's Curse . These children have a rare disease that affects o

ne in 100,000 people . It is named after the mythological water nymph whose fath

er turned her lover 's every minute , involuntary movement into a voluntary act 

. The Ondine children can't breathe when asleep , and thus many die soon after b

irth . The few survivors the oldest ones are in their teens have been kept alive

 through radio-frequency coils implanted in their phrenic nerves that stimulate 

contraction of the diaphragm every five seconds during sleep . These children , 

according to studies conducted by Klein and Dr. Debra Weese-Mayer of Rush Presby

terian-St. Lukes Medical Center in Chicago , lack a suffocation alarm reflex . T

heir studies have shown that these children can be bathed in carbon dioxide and 

it does not stimulate respiration . They have no feeling of suffocation even whe

n they are running low on oxygen and turning blue . What 's more , these childre

n rarely express fear or anxiety over their dreadful and life-threatening illnes

s , counter to studies that have shown a high degree of anxiety among children w

ith chronic medical conditions . ( End optional trim ) Klein also looked at situ

ations where people were actually suffocating , finding it in studies of people 

attempting to commit suicide using exhaust fumes in their garage . Carbon monoxi

de , the gas that is put out in car exhaust fumes , binds hemoglobin and prevent

s it from carrying oxygen throughout the body . Ironically , it is a painless wa

y to die , Klein explains , because carbon monoxide inhibits activity in the car

otid , the possible seat of the body 's suffocation center . Klein suspects that

 carbon monoxide could be acting as an anti-panic agent . This idea will be test

ed soon at the psychiatric institute . Klein and his colleagues will be collecti

ng panic patients for a study using carbon dioxide , which has been shown to tri

gger these attacks in these people , and small amounts of carbon monoxide . If c

arbon monoxide is an anti-panic substance , as Klein suspects , it should block 

the attack . `` That carbon monoxide might actually block panic would be really 

peculiar , '' said Klein , who turns his back on conventional theories because t

hey liken panic attacks to the utmost in fear . `` Fear almost never produces an

 intense smothering response , '' he said . `` We are excited about the work , '

' said Dr. Jack Gorman , a professor of psychiatry at Columbia and scientific di

rector of the Phobia , Stress and Anxiety Disorders Clinic at Long Island Jewish

-Hillside Medical Center . Gorman , an expert on panic conditions , has been wor

king with David Anderson of the National Institute on Aging on a computerized bo

dysuit that can be used to measure the depth and rate of breathing during a pani

c attack . Such a monitor could help determine whether patients are suffering fr

om a respiratory defect .

 HOLLYWOOD A few months ago , the special-effects-laden action-comedy `` The Mas

k '' might have been considered a bona fide summer sleeper . But now the New Lin

e Cinema film starring a green-faced Jim Carrey has developed such buzz in Holly

wood that it is projected to be one of the summer 's hits . `` Speed , '' starri

ng Keanu Reeves as a SWAT cop trying to save a careening busload of passengers ,

 also might have been considered a summer sleeper earlier this year . Now advanc

e screenings have created positive word of mouth for the 20th Century Fox film ,

 leaving some to question whether the term `` sleeper '' applies anymore . The r

eal fun in Hollywood these days is predicting what movies without big expectatio

ns will become box-office hits , along the lines of last summer 's surprise hits

 , `` Free Willy '' and `` Sleepless in Seattle . '' If you listen to the studio

 publicity departments , you might believe anything other than their biggest sum

mer films are potential sleepers . Two baseball movies are now being hyped as su

mmer sleepers : `` Angels in the Outfield '' with Danny Glover from Walt Disney/

Caravan and `` Little Big League '' with Jason Robards from Columbia . Another t

outed sleeper is `` The Shadow , '' a Universal film about the caped crime-fight

er of radio lore , starring Alec Baldwin ( `` Who knows what evil lurks in the h

earts of men ? The Shadow knows '' ) . But there are those who argue that all th

is talk about summer sleepers is often designed by studios to start an undercurr

ent of hype for certain films . `` They want you to believe that we made it for 

$ 80 million , but it 's a sleeper , '' said entertainment attorney David Colden

 , adding sarcastically : `` Yeah .. . ' ' John Krier , president of Exhibitor R

elations Inc. , a motion picture research company , is another who believes that

 when you look across the landscape of films this summer , most really don't qua

lify as sleeper candidates . How can `` Angels in the Outfield '' be considered 

a sleeper , Krier asked , when `` exhibitors are expecting big things from it ? 

'' And he doesn't see how anyone can still say that `` Speed '' is a summer slee

per , no matter what Fox executives might say . `` A sleeper is something that i

s unheralded and then pops up all of a sudden , '' Krier said . It has a low to 

moderate budget , no big stars , usually opens small , but benefits from good wo

rd of mouth and has `` legs , '' is either critically praised or trashed , has n

o heavy advance promotion by the studio , does more at the box office than is in

itially expected , and is usually not given the most advantageous playing time .

 ( Begin optional trim ) Some current examples , Krier said , would be `` Ace Ve

ntura : Pet Detective , '' which came out of nowhere with comedian Carrey earlie

r this year to gross $ 70 million , and `` Four Weddings and a Funeral , '' whic

h has grossed $ 34 million . `` The Mask '' was a sleeper , he said , until exhi

bitors viewed the trailer at the ShoWest exhibitors ' convention in Las Vegas ea

rlier this year and loved it . Now , it would be a shock if it didn't succeed . 

A film does not necessarily have to be devoid of stars to be considered a sleepe

r . Take `` Sleepless in Seattle , '' which last year grossed $ 126 million for 

TriStar Pictures . `` It was a movie which had a fairly well-known cast with Tom

 Hanks and Meg Ryan and , given its cost and the subject matter , would normally

 be expected to do about $ 20- $ 40 million at the box office , '' said one sour

ce . `` Therefore , given the expectations the film industry had for that movie 

, it could be called a sleeper . '' ( End optional trim ) So , what are the real

 potential sleepers this summer ? If `` Andre '' a film about a 9-year-old girl 

and a lovable seal makes a big splash at the box office for Paramount Pictures ,

 it would be a bona fide sleeper , just as the killer-whale movie `` Free Willy 

'' was for Warners when it grossed $ 77 million . They might also include `` Pul

p Fiction , '' the Quentin Tarantino paean to criminals starring John Travolta a

nd Uma Thurman , which on Monday won the Golden Palm award at Cannes ; the super

-hero adventure comedy `` Blankman '' starring Damon Wayans ; and , `` Airheads 

, '' a tale of an unknown band that takes a radio station hostage to get some ai

rplay . ( Optional add end ) Or perhaps `` Fear of a Black Hat , '' a comedy rap

 version of `` This Is Spinal Tap '' from the Samuel Goldwyn Co. will be the rea

l summer sleeper . A parody of a fictitious rap group called N.W.H. , it has tes

ted well with middle-age , white male audiences , which could provide it the cro

ssover needed to become a financial hit . Or maybe it will be an Andrew Bergman 

movie from Castle Rock Entertainment called `` It Could Happen to You '' ( Nicol

as Cage , Bridget Fonda ) , a little romantic film that some say hits all the ri

ght notes . Bergman 's `` Honeymoon in Vegas '' in 1992 , after all , while not 

really a sleeper , nevertheless became a big hit with audiences . But would a co

medy like `` In the Army Now '' starring Pauly Shore be considered a sleeper if 

it did well ? Not necessarily , say some industry experts . To become a true sle

eper , `` In the Army Now '' would have to gross a lot more than $ 30 million , 

because Pauly Shore movies usually pull in that amount , said one source . If it

 makes $ 100 million , on the other hand , it would be a true sleeper .

 WASHINGTON One was the perfect hostess who charmed the world and redefined the 

title of first lady with her style , elegance and dignity . The other , a driven

 professional who wins admiration with her eloquence , intellect and unflinching

 determination , is revolutionizing the role of presidential spouse . Three deca

des separate the reigns of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Hillary Rodham Clinton

 , and no two women better illustrate the sea change in public perception of the

 `` ideal woman . '' `` It 's a very different image , '' said Brenda Castro , 5

0 , one of hundreds of longtime Jackie admirers who assembled at Arlington Natio

nal Cemetery Monday to bid her farewell . `` Jackie 's from an era of grace and 

elegance , when women were supposed to be charming hostesses and adoring wives .

 Hillary is from a different era . She 's from an era when you should get an edu

cation and go out and make change and be very verbal about it . '' But both wome

n stand apart from other first ladies because they epitomize Jackie for the 1960

s and Hillary for the 1990s what a woman `` should be . '' As she waited for the

 motorcade carrying Jackie Kennedy Onassis ' body , Jenifer Lucas , 48 , of Arli

ngton , Va. , said the difference between the two first ladies reflected the ama

zing metamorphosis American women have made in recent years . As a young woman i

n the early 1960s in Topeka , Kan. , she said , she aspired to be like Jackie Ke

nnedy . `` She epitomized so much of what girls of our age were brought up to th

ink we should be , '' Lucas said . But now , as an attorney for the Federal Ener

gy Regulatory Commission , she looks to Hillary Clinton as a role model . `` We 

grew up in a time when women were expected to be educated but not have careers ,

 '' she said . `` You were supposed to be a supportive wife , a gracious hostess

 and a good mother . That was Jackie . Now women are expected to have successful

 careers . That 's Hillary . '' Castro , Lucas and other women gathered along th

e avenue leading to the cemetery recalled the impact Jackie Kennedy had on Ameri

can women of all ages , ethnic backgrounds and economic classes , starting with 

the 1960 presidential campaign . She showed them that a woman could be a support

ive wife and mother , dazzle people with her looks and still have an identity of

 her own . `` I remember voting for her , '' Castro said enthusiastically , maki

ng it clear that in her view , casting a vote for JFK was casting a vote for Jac

kie as well . `` It was John and Jackie , not just John . '' Not until the Clint

ons started campaigning did Castro again feel that she was supporting a couple a

nd not just a candidate . With her pillbox hats , command of foreign languages a

nd dashing , accomplished husband , Jackie was the standard of a successful woma

n in the early 1960s . `` Hillary does that now for people my age and younger be

cause she speaks on the issues we care about , '' Castro said . `` But she 's a 

totally different woman , and we admire different things in her . She 's intelli

gent , forceful without being aggressive , focused , directed , accomplished . '

' In Hillary Clinton 's unprecedented 66-minute news conference in April , she p

resented herself as a `` transitional '' first lady . Dressed in pink to highlig

ht her traditional femininity , she expertly defended her role in making unusual

ly successful investments for her family . Doris Kearns Goodwin , the author of 

`` The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys , '' argues that Jackie Kennedy was also a t

ransitional first lady . Although she was praised for being ladylike and having 

unrivaled fashion sense , she helped in her own way to open the door for the wom

en 's movement . `` There was an independence in the way she approached the firs

t ladyship , '' Goodwin said . `` Even though she was doing traditional feminine

 interests art , culture and fashion she was independent in how she pursued them

 . She was a symbol of the coming independence of women to do as they like . '' 

Goodwin stressed that it was much easier in the 1960s , when the media spotlight

 did not shine so relentlessly , for a first lady to become a public idol . Peop

le saw Jackie when she wanted to be seen , and they hardly ever heard her speak 

. To most Americans , she was the silent , dignified image that she projected on

 television screens and in the newspapers . ( Begin optional trim ) `` Some of J

ackie 's majesty depended on her mystery , '' Goodwin said . `` I 'm not sure th

at kind of political celebrity can exist today . We know so much more today abou

t everyone . '' Jackie Kennedy , for instance , was never pressed by reporters a

bout her husband 's infidelities . But Hillary Clinton had to face such question

s before and after her husband came to office . ( End optional trim ) Hillary Cl

inton , who has described herself as a very private person , clearly envies the 

distance Jackie Kennedy was able to create between her family and the press . Th

e morning after Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis died , Hillary Clinton told CNN how g

rateful she was for conversations that the two first ladies had had about `` how

 she had managed so well to carve out the space and privacy that children need t

o grow into what they have a right to become . '' To be a role model in the 1990

s , Goodwin said , takes a woman like Hillary Clinton , who can dazzle the Senat

e with her intellect rather than her wardrobe . `` What Hillary has going for he

r is a whole generation of women trying to do what she 's doing balancing a care

er and a family life . '' ( Begin optional trim ) If the Jackie Kennedy the worl

d knew in the 1960s was in the White House today , `` she would not have a conne

ction to young women of today 's generation the way Hillary does , '' she added 

. Paul Costello , deputy press secretary for former first lady Rosalynn Carter ,

 said the two first ladies are also exceptional among the women who have held th

at title because they changed the job description for the spouse of a president 

. `` Every first lady since Jackie Kennedy has been judged by the standard of st

yle and elegance that she set in the White House , '' Costello said . `` Every f

irst lady post-Hillary will be judged by her standard of substance . '' ( End op

tional trim ) But not everyone agrees that Hillary Clinton represents the ideal 

woman of the 1990s . `` The way a first lady would more accurately reflect the e

volution of the role of a woman would be to leave the White House every day and 

go to a job that is not dependent on her husband , '' said Sheila Tate , press s

ecretary first to Nancy Reagan and then to George Bush 's successful 1988 presid

ential campaign . `` Hillary Clinton 's role is really no different from any oth

er first lady 's because she has borrowed her husband 's power . Very few women