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

e chairmanship reflects widespread concern that Gibbons lacks Rostenkowski 's de

al-making skills . He also is more a specialist in trade than health care . If R

ostenkowski leaves , the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee would recommen

d a chairman to the Democratic Caucus . If the ranking member gets the nod , he 

would be entitled to a separate up or down vote before any alternative was consi

dered , Foley said . ( End optional trim ) Sources close to the negotiations bet

ween Rostenkowski 's lawyers and U.S. . Attorney Eric H . Holder Jr. indicated t

hat the matter will not be resolved until next week . Holder reportedly was pres

sing for a decision on the plea agreement by Tuesday . The U.S. attorney 's offi

ce has been investigating Rostenkowski for alleged misue of office and campaign 

accounts , including the possibility that he improperly received money from the 

House Post Office , hired employees who did no work and made improper furniture 

and gift purchases from his office funds . A plea agreement would enable him to 

avoid the humiliation of a public trial and the prospect of conviction and a len

gthy prison sentence . The chief barrier to an agreement , sources said , has be

en the wording of any charge to which Rostenkowski would plead guilty . The prec

ise description of the charge would be crucial in determining the punishment tha

t U.S. . District Judge Norma H. Johnson could mete out under the federal senten

cing guidelines . The guidelines require judges to explain in writing any depart

ure they make from the sentences outlined for various crimes . The sentences are

 affected by such factors as the amount of money involved , whether the defendan

t abused a position of public trust and whether he has accepted responsibility f

or his actions . In a fraud conviction involving a loss of more than $ 200,000 ,

 for example , the guidelines call for a sentence of 15 to 21 months for a defen

dant with no prior criminal history . If the loss is between $ 70,000 and $ 120,

000 , the sentence would range from 10 to 16 months . In a fraud conviction invo

lving an abuse of a position of public or private trust , the guidelines call fo

r increasing the incarceration . In a $ 70,000-plus fraud , for example , the se

ntence would rise to 15 to 21 months . The guidelines also provide for decreasin

g the sentence if the defendant `` clearly demonstrates acceptance of responsibi

lity for his offense . '' Rostenkowski 's lawyer , Robert S. Bennett , has been 

trying to persuade prosecutors to agree to a charge under which Johnson , who ha

s a reputation for tough sentencing , could impose punishment of less than a yea

r in jail , according to a source familiar with the negotiations .

 WASHINGTON On what many believed could be Rep. Dan Rostenkowski 's last day of 

presiding as chairman over his beloved House Ways and Means Committee , the scen

e was like a death watch for a wounded king . Grim-faced aides moved about the c

ommittee room quietly . The likely successor , Sam M. Gibbons , D-Fla. , stayed 

close to the rostrum as though he might have to take over any minute . No one wa

nted to talk aloud about what was on everyone 's mind . Every so often , Rostenk

owski , D-Ill. , would glance over at the bank of more than a dozen photographer

s he knew were there only to capture his misery as he contemplates a possible in

dictment on ethics charges or his resignation from Congress . The color would dr

ain from his ruddy , expressive face . `` It was awful , awful , '' said Rep. Be

njamin L. Cardin , D-Md. , who serves on the committee . `` Somebody said it mus

t have been like Jackie Kennedy 's apartment when people came to visit the day b

efore she died . '' Clearly , there was that same sense Wednesday of losing some

one larger than life . This big , gruff , intimidating man , who inspires both s

trong loyalty and respect bordering on fear , defines what it means to be a powe

r in Congress . Of the dozen House and Senate leaders who met with President Cli

nton Wednesday to assess the status of his health reform legislation , Rostenkow

ski had been expected to be Clinton 's most valuable ally . The congressman 's s

kill at brokering deals often using old-time tactics like threats and rewards , 

in pursuit of high-sounding public policy like tax reform is unmatched among his

 colleagues . Clinton values Rostenkowski 's skills so highly that he took the p

olitically risky step of campaigning for the Ways and Means Committee chairman w

hen it appeared Rostenkowski might lose his primary race for re-election in Marc

h . But sometime within a few days , and almost certainly before Congress return

s from its Memorial Day recess , Rostenkowski and his lawyers are expected to re

ach a decision that will take him out of the action . Rostenkowski may accept a 

plea bargain that would force him to give up his chairmanship , probably leave C

ongress and possibly serve a prison sentence . Or he will be indicted and be for

ced out of his chairmanship , at least temporarily , by House rules . In any cas

e , Rostenkowski 's colleagues have already started preparing to carry on withou

t him . `` Nobody in Congress is indispensable , '' House Speaker Thomas S. Fole

y , observed last week . Hillary Rodham Clinton made clear Wednesday that the Wh

ite House is adjusting to Rostenkowski 's imminent departure from the health ref

orm process . `` It would be an obstacle Congress would have to figure out how t

o overcome , '' Mrs. Clinton told reporters . `` It would be a great loss to Con

gress , but health care reform and the need for it is bigger than any one person

 in this country . '' Rostenkowski , 66 , is among the last of his kind . The pr

oduct of Chicago Democratic machine politics , he came to Washington 36 years ag

o as the agent of Mayor Richard J. Daley and rose to become the confidant of pre

sidents . After more than 20 years of aiming for the House speakership , Rostenk

owski got off the leadership ladder in 1981 to take over the tax-writing Ways an

d Means Committee . It is probably Congress ' most powerful panel and is a prime

 target of big-spending lobbyists . The chairman is not a particularly high-livi

ng man , but he has enjoyed the fringe benefits of his job : rich meals and reso

rt vacations at the expense of lobbyists . He is a regular at Morton 's Steakhou

se in Washington , where lobbyists pick up his tab . The Palm restaurant in Chic

ago has a special table for him . It may have be Rostenkowski 's adherence to th

e old way of politics that led him into trouble . The U.S. attorney 's office in

 Washington conducted an exhaustive probe of his financial dealings for two year

s after allegations that surfaced in a probe of the House Post Office . Former H

ouse Postmaster Robert Rota pleaded guilty last year to a scheme in which he fun

neled tens of thousands of dollars in cash to members of Congress . He implicate

d Rostenkowski in the scheme . Although Rostenkowski steadfastly denied any wron

gdoing , the federal inquiry widened to cover virtually all his activities durin

g his entire service in Congress . According to published reports , federal pros

ecutors are ready to seek an indictment that would include charges that Rostenko

wski put ghost employees on his Chicago payroll and used taxpayer money to buy i

tems for personal and campaign use at the House office supply store . ( Optional

 add end ) Earlier this year , Rostenkowski reimbursed the government $ 82,095 f

or the supply store items . But he insists there was no intentional wrongdoing .

 Among the issues said to be keeping Rostenkowski awake at night is whether to p

ut longtime aides through what could be a lengthy and expensive trial to prove h

is innocence . But friends say they suspect that the U.S. attorney for Washingto

n , Eric Holder Jr. , a Clinton appointee , may not be able to offer Rostenkowsk

i an attractive enough plea bargain to forestall such a trial . Any sign of favo

ritism would look as if Clinton were trying to cut Rostenkowski a break .

 WASHINGTON Scientists said Wednesday that for the first time they have found co

nvincing evidence for the existence of a super-massive black hole in a nearby ga

laxy , one of astronomy 's most sought-after prey in recent years . Using NASA '

s recently refurbished Hubble Space Telescope , the research team was able to ph

otograph a whirlpool of hot gas spinning around the galactic center where the bl

ack hole is believed to lurk . By analyzing the light waves from the gas disk , 

the researchers were able to determine how fast it is moving about 1.2 million m

ph and estimate the size of the object that might be causing it to spin so furio

usly . They concluded that at the core of the galaxy there is a black hole with 

the mass of at least 2 billion suns compressed to the size of our solar system .

 `` We were all walking a foot off the ground for three weeks after we realized 

what we had found , '' said Holland Ford of the Space Telescope Science Institut

e in Baltimore . The existence of black holes , probably the weirdest objects in

 the universe , confirms a prediction of Einstein 's general theory of relativit

y . They are dense , extremely compact objects whose gravitational pull is so st

rong that nothing , not even light waves , can escape . The only way to `` see '

' a black hole is to infer its presence by studying how it influences visible ma

tter nearby . Ford had predicted there should be a spinning gas disk at the cent

er of the galaxy in question called M-87 and that studying such a disk might off

er clues to the existence of a black hole . As early as 1917 , ground-based phot

os of the galaxy , located about 50 million light years away , had shown evidenc

e of unusual activity at the core of M-87 . Astronomers have since identified a 

brilliant jet of electrons spiraling out from the center of the galaxy at nearly

 the speed of light . Initial Hubble images taken prior to last December 's shut

tle mission to correct the telescope 's flawed optics were not good enough to sh

ow the postulated disk of gas . But photos taken in February with Hubble 's new 

camera not only revealed the gas disk but also showed that it was surprisingly w

ell-ordered , according to Ford . That meant that another Hubble instrument coul

d do good measurements on the light waves being emitted from discrete regions on

 the spiral-like disk as it spun . By studying how those light waves are compres

sed or expanded depending on whether the disk material is moving toward Earth or

 away from it astronomers can estimate how fast the disk is spinning . Combined 

with an estimate on the radius of the central region of the galaxy taken from th

e Hubble photos astronomers can calculate the mass of the galactic core . If the

 calculated mass is sufficiently large compared to the radius , astronomers argu

e , the object in question must be a black hole . The hole at the center of M-87

 is estimated to be about as far across as our solar system large , but not out 

of line with the expected size of a black hole containing 2 billion or more sola

r masses . `` If it 's not a black hole , it 's something stranger , '' astronom

er Bruce Margon of the University of Washington said during a NASA briefing on t

he new results . Daniel Weedman , director of the National Aeronautics and Space

 Administration 's astrophysics division and a previous skeptic about the existe

nce of supermassive black holes , said he found the new evidence convincing . ``

 Yes , I think this is definitive , '' Weedman said . ( Optional add end ) Astro

nomer Douglas Richstone of the University of Michigan , in a telephone interview

 , called the evidence `` pretty convincing '' and said it is a part of a chain 

of evidence on the existence of supermassive black holes that has been building 

during the past decade . Astronomers already had come to accept the existence of

 smaller black holes associated with the collapse of dying stars several times l

arger than our sun . `` The evidence for black holes of a few solar masses is ve

ry strong , '' Margon said . But astronomers have been particularly interested i

n the possibility of massive black holes at the core of galaxies , since they co

uld provide the `` engine '' to explain some of the most energetic events in the

 universe . Some astronomers have suggested that black holes may exist at the co

re of virtually every galaxy , including our own Milky Way . The Hubble 's abili

ty to look more closely at the central regions of galaxies should help astronome

rs learn more about the origin of supermassive black holes , Weedman said . He s

aid theorists still do not really understand how such objects form and how they 

behave . He cited the paradox at M-87 , where a black hole presumably is sucking

 huge amounts of material toward it while at the same time a jet of electrons is

 spiraling outward .

 BALTIMORE The sound of silence that 's all residents of a once-quiet suburban M

aryland townhouse court crave . But when they 'll get their wish is still up in 

the air literally . The burglar alarm on a house whose owner is traveling in Ind

onesia has been whoop-whoop-whooping around the clock since last Saturday , and 

it 's driving people nuts . `` It 's gone off before , but only for 20 minutes o

r so , then it stops , '' said Joan Sheppard , one of the neighbors . Sheppard s

aid the man installed the burglar alarm himself , and she complained that it has

 annoyed her from time to time for the five years she has lived there but never 

for such a prolonged period . This time was different . The alarm awakened her a

t 12:30 a.m. Saturday. A half-hour later , an accident nearby shut off power to 

the area and the alarm stopped briefly . `` I said , ` Thank God , ' but then it

 came back and it hasn't shut up since , '' Sheppard said . `` If we go in the b

ack room and close everything in front , it 's not as loud . '' The owner left a

 message on his office answering machine that he would not return until Memorial

 Day . However , a friend said the man was notified of the problem and was air-f

reighting keys to another friend to shut off the alarm . Some neighbors along th

e tree-shaded street have changed their bedrooms to escape the noise . Others ar

e simply enduring the torment . In any case , residents say the homeowner is in 

for a lot of grief when he returns . Some neighbors have detailed their grievanc

es in a note taped to his storm door . Baltimore County police say they have no 

authority to break into the house to silence the alarm , and the electric compan

y says it can't shut off power to the house because it might damage appliances .

 Distributed by the Los Angeles Times-Washington Post News Service .

 WASHINGTON The regents of the Smithsonian Institution Wednesday selected Ira Mi

chael Heyman , a lawyer and former chancellor of the University of California , 

Berkeley , as its 10th chief executive and the first non-scientist to lead the m

useum and research complex . `` We considered Mike to be a generalist whose rang

e of skills matches the Smithsonian 's needs and interests , '' said Barber Cona

ble , the regent who headed the search committee after Heyman stepped down and p

ut his own name into consideration . Citing a long list of attributes including 

leadership of a complex institution , successful fund-raising and deft maneuveri

ng in a highly charged political environment , Conable said , `` He is an open p

erson , has no hidden agendas. . . . He has the ability to come back after hard 

knocks apparently Berkeley is a place where occasionally hard knocks are adminis

tered . '' Heyman , who is now counselor to Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt , s

tood by Conable at an afternoon press conference and smiled guardedly at the lit

any of praise . `` I see the Smithsonian as a big , rollicking , dynamic , tough

 , interesting , intellectual institution , '' he said . But he added that takin

g the $ 200,000-a-year position at this critical transition time brought `` daun

ting challenges . '' `` We have a resource problem that is significant , both a 

public and private resource problem , '' said Heyman . The Smithsonian is a $ 45

8 million-a-year operation , which receives a direct federal appropriation of $ 

342 million and must make up the rest through endowments and private donations .

 Heyman compared the Smithsonian 's situation to the one he faced at Berkeley in

 1980 when he became chancellor . `` California was in economic doldrums , '' he

 said . `` Things turned around luckily in two ways . The public fist enlarged s

lightly . We learned how to raise money , and we raised an awful lot and it was 

the saving grace . '' Under his tenure there was a threefold growth in private d

onations . The new secretary , who takes over in September , replaces Robert McC

 . Adams , an anthropologist who served for the last decade . The Smithsonian 's

 enterprises include the National Air & Space Museum , the most visited museum i

n the country , the National Museum of Natural History , which has 120 million a

rtifacts , and the National Zoo , which has an estimated 3 million visitors a ye

ar . Heyman 's election came after a scheduled May 9 vote was postponed when Vic

e President Gore , a regent , said he wanted to be present . He was in South Afr

ica at the time . Though the request was accepted as a matter of protocol , his 

move sparked conversation that he disagreed with the choice of the search commit

tee , particularly that Heyman is a non-scientist . The other leading contender 

was Thomas Lovejoy , the Smithsonian 's assistant secretary for environment and 

external affairs , who is a friend of Gore 's and a prominent tropical biologist

 . At the regents session , Conable said , there had been `` earnest , open and 

civil discussion '' on several topics , including the choice of a non-scientist 

. He would say only that Gore had joined that discussion . Gore would not commen

t . `` The Smithsonian has not abandoned its tradition of scientific leadership 

, '' said Conable , praising Heyman 's stewardship of the prestigious scientific

 undertakings at Berkeley . Heyman said , `` We will continue to interrelate the

 research mission and the exhibition mission . '' In its pursuit of new revenue 

streams , Heyman said , the Smithsonian has to strike `` the right balance betwe

en raising money from the private sector and not giving away one 's soul . '' Be

sides its public funds , its other support comes from an endowment of the foundi

ng benefactor , James Smithson , private donations and revenues from the Smithso

nian magazine , museum shops and other revenue-generating businesses and contrac

ts . Heyman last year helped form a panel of citizens who raise funds for the Sm

ithsonian .

 WASHINGTON The federal government late Wednesday reached a $ 12.1 million settl

ement with Arizona Gov. J. Fife Symington and other directors of two savings and

 loans whose failures cost taxpayers more than $ 1 billion . Symington , a Repub

lican running for a second term this year , has for three years been battling th

e Resolution Trust Corp. 's allegations that he misused his position as a direct

or of Southwest Savings and Loan Association in Phoenix . The RTC sued Symington

 and other directors in 1991 for $ 200 million . In a statement released by his 

office , Symington said he is `` delighted that this issue has finally been reso

lved . '' He said he made no personal financial payment nor any admission of wro

ngdoing as part of the settlement . Stephen Katsanos , a spokesman for the RTC ,

 said the entire $ 12.1 million settlement will come from the estate of the late

 Daniel K. Ludwig , owner of Southwest and a second S&L , American Savings of Ut

ah . Defendants in RTC civil settlements do not customarily admit or deny wrongd

oing , Katsanos said . The agency determined that Symington `` does not have wea

lth '' and decided not to pursue him further , he said . Ludwig , a shipping mag

nate believed to have been one of the richest people in the world , personally i

ndemnified the S&L directors against lawsuits . RTC officials said Ludwig appare

ntly gave away much of his money before he died in August 1992 , and his estate 

was worth less than the RTC had hoped . Symington also is a target of a criminal

 investigation into activities at Southwest , according to sources , who said a 

federal grand jury this spring subpoenaed his records . The RTC contended that S

ymington breached his duties as a director by failing to disclose the true cost 

and his actual interest in a large downtown project Southwest funded . The agenc

y contended that the upscale hotel-office project ended up costing Southwest mor

e than $ 38 million . Symington has dubbed the RTC 's case against him and the o

ther Southwest directors a `` witch hunt . '' He said the RTC was simply looking

 for someone to blame for the nation 's S&L mess . There were a total of 16 dire

ctors and other parties involved in Wednesday 's settlement . Symington has said

 his project and Southwest Savings were both victims of a crash in the once-boom

ing Arizona real estate market . The RTC said Symington took $ 8 million in fees

 from Southwest and a Japanese bank that helped finance the project . Symington 

argued that he put $ 1.5 million of his own money into the project and personall

y guaranteed million in loans from the Japanese bank .

 WASHINGTON A judge Wednesday threw out a drunk-driving charge against Marlene R

amallo , citing scant evidence that she was intoxicated when police saw her driv

ing in Georgetown with a gentleman friend sprawled on the hood of her Jaguar con

vertible , clinging to the door frame . `` I feel happy , '' said Ramallo , who 

is 41 , or 37 , or 39 , depending on which legal documents you look up . She als

o used to be known as Marlene Chalmers Cooke and , despite her self-declared nam

e change , is still more or less the wife of billionaire Jack Kent Cooke , the 8

1-year-old owner of the Washington Redskins . `` I had a wonderful judge , a won