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

ional Aeronautics and Space Administration officials Wednesday called the discov

ery Hubble 's `` most significant so far , '' and among NASA 's most important e

ver . As big as 2 billion to 3 billion suns packed into a region as wide as our 

solar system , the huge black hole lurks at the core of the M87 galaxy , one of 

1,000 galaxies clustered in the constellation Virgo . `` If it isn't a black hol

e , then I don't know what it is , '' said Johns Hopkins University astronomer H

olland Ford , a co-investigator on the project . Ford has pursued the discovery 

since 1979 . When conclusive data arrived May 5 at the Space Telescope Science I

nstitute in Baltimore , he said , `` we were all walking about a foot off the gr

ound. .. . It 's finally a lot of fun . '' First theorized 30 years ago , black 

holes are believed to form from the collapsed atomic rubble of stars , dust and 

gas . Since no light or other signals escapes from their gravitational grip , th

ey disclose nothing directly of their nature . And until Hubble was repaired in 

December , no telescope has been able to see deep enough into any galaxy to disc

lose what might lie near its core . The presence of the black hole in M87 was fi

nally indicated by the speed of hot gas swirling in toward the galaxy 's center 

, accelerating like suds into a bathtub drain . Hubble 's instruments clocked th

e gas 60 light years from the center at 1 million mph fast enough to cross the U

nited States in seven seconds . ( A light year is the distance light travels in 

one year , or about 5.9 trillion miles . Sixty light years is about four times t

he distance from the Earth to the nearest star , Alpha Centauri . ) ( Begin opti

onal trim ) Nothing but the gravitational attraction of something at M87 's core

 with a mass of 2 billion to 3 billion suns could prevent matter at that speed f

rom flying off in all directions . The only candidate within the confines of tod

ay 's physics that meets that description , the scientists said , is a super-mas

sive black hole . `` This is a tremendous breakthrough , '' said Dr. Daniel Weed

man , NASA 's director of astrophysics . A longtime black hole skeptic , he is n

ow a convert . `` I do believe there is a supermassive black hole at the center 

of ( M87 ) , '' he said . Weedman called the black hole discovery Hubble 's `` m

ost significant so far , ( and ) very close to the top of ( NASA 's ) most signi

ficant discoveries . '' Proof of the existence of black holes at the cores of ga

laxies was one of the primary goals established for the Hubble telescope at its 

launch in April 1990 . But its mirror flaw delayed the observations until this y

ear . ( End optional trim ) Last February , barely 30 days after the Hubble tele

scope resumed gathering scientific data , it took its first picture of the core 

of M87 . To astronomers ' astonishment , it disclosed a surprisingly well-ordere

d , spiraling `` pancake '' of hot gas just what they needed to measure its spee

d . On May 5 , they got their first speed measurements from Hubble 's Faint Obje

ct Spectrograph . Gas on one side of the spiral was rushing toward Earth at 1 mi

llion mph ; gas on the other side was rushing away at the same speed . `` We nai

led it . We knew we had it , '' said Richard J . Harms , the spectrograph 's pri

ncipal investigator . Hubble scientists will now continue their pursuit . They w

ill peer deeper into M87 for more data on the black hole there , and into other 

galaxies to see whether they , too , have black holes at their centers . ( Begin

 optional trim ) Astrophysicists don't know how super-massive black holes are cr

eated , or whether they are a cause or effect of giant galaxies like M87 . They 

may form from the merger of smaller black holes . Although the oldest stars in M

87 are nearly as old as the universe itself 12 to 15 billion years Harms said th

e age of M87 's black hole is unknown . Its internal structure , if it has any ,

 can never be known because no light or anything else can ever emerge to reveal 

it . One structure they can see is a giant , braided jet of hot gas that is spew

ing from near the center of M87 at right angles to the spiral of infalling gas .

 The fast-moving jet is believed to be debris from the destruction of stars ente

ring the black hole . ( End optional trim ) The black hole 's ultimate fate is u

nknown . It could eventually consume the entire M87 galaxy , and even other gala

xies that blunder within range . `` Earth is in no immediate danger , '' quipped

 University of Washington astronomer Bruce Margon , who helped designed the Fain

t Object Spectrograph . While M87 's black hole `` has an infinite appetite , ''

 said Harms , `` it can't hunt . ''

 UNITED NATIONS U.N. Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali Wednesday called th

e international response to Rwanda 's ethnic bloodletting a `` failure '' and a 

`` scandal '' for which the United Nations and leading countries in the West and

 Africa share responsibility . `` It is genocide which has been committed . More

 than 200,000 people have been killed , and the world is still discussing what o

ught to be done , '' Boutros-Ghali said . `` It is a scandal . I am the first on

e to say it , and I am ready to repeat it . '' Boutros-Ghali vented his frustrat

ion at a news conference after pleading for weeks to Western and African governm

ents for soldiers and equipment to provide a 5,500-troop peacekeeping force for 

the central African nation that since April 6 has been reduced to bloody chaos b

y a civil war and by tribal conflict . The Rwandan crisis , and the unwillingnes

s in world capitals to dispatch troops to help resolve it , have highlighted a b

road retreat from activism through the United Nations extending well beyond the 

United States after ambitious , costly and criticized U.N. operations in Somalia

 and Bosnia . In that vein , Boutros-Ghali 's comments illustrated the differenc

e between his view of the United Nations as a political first-aid agency that mu

st rush to help ailing nations , and the Clinton administration 's new concept t

hat a long list of safety conditions must be in place before the United Nations 

should intervene . The United Nations has received commitments from just three c

ountries Ghana , Ethiopia and Senegal for a total of 2,100 troops for a Rwanda p

eacekeeping force . The Security Council voted May 16 to set up the force , but 

the United States cast some doubt on the mission by insisting that the council r

eview the decision before the bulk of the troops are deployed . Boutros-Ghali at

tributed the lax response to `` fatigue '' among U.N. member states , which are 

already supporting 17 peacekeeping operations . Many major donor countries are f

acing economic difficulties , he said , and `` public opinion is not helping the

 different governments . '' The U.N. secretary general turned to the Organizatio

n of African Unity for help , but the regional bloc was unable to mobilize a col

lective response . Many African governments are plagued by economic hardships an

d political strife . Boutros-Ghali said he also hopes to receive troop commitmen

ts from Egypt , Zimbabwe and Nigeria . But U.N. officials said these troops do n

ot have the minimum weapons and equipment they need , and it remains unclear how

 they will travel to and within Rwanda . Boutros-Ghali said he met in South Afri

ca earlier this month with six heads of state attending President Nelson Mandela

 's inauguration . `` I begged them to send troops. . . . Unfortunately-let me s

ay with great humility-I failed , '' he said . After talks in South Africa with 

Vice President Gore , Boutros-Ghali reached a compromise with the United States 

over the peacekeepers ' purpose . They will be deployed in Kigali , the Rwandan 

capital , as Boutros-Ghali had insisted , and in border areas outside Rwanda to 

protect and feed refugees , as the United States proposed . `` The mandate is li

mited , '' Boutros-Ghali said , adding that the peacekeepers , when they get to 

Rwanda , will try to `` contain the deterioration '' and serve and reinforce the

 position of U.N. negotiators trying to secure a cease-fire . The secretary gene

ral pleaded for the world not to be put off by the lack of success in some U.N. 

missions . The United Nations , he said , `` is like going to the hospital . You

 can't say , I don't want to take this case . There is a moral responsibility . 

'' The Clinton administration , in policy guidelines published early this month 

, insisted that a cease-fire must be in place and that troops and resources must

 already have been pledged for a peacekeeping mission before the United States w

ould support it . At a special session in Geneva Wednesday , the U.N. Commission

 on Human Rights appointed a law professor from Ivory Coast , Rene Degni Segui ,

 to investigate the `` root causes and responsibilities for the atrocities '' in

 Rwanda and ordered him to report his findings to Boutros-Ghali within a month .

 ANNAPOLIS , Md. . As both hands gripped his gleaming U.S. . Naval Academy diplo

ma Wednesday , Christopher Paul Slattery leaped off the stadium stage with a yel

p of glee and high-fives for fellow graduates . For Slattery and 867 other acade

my graduates at the U.S. Navy Marine Corps Memorial Stadium , it was a day of bo

th joy and relief joy at surviving the school 's brutal academic and physical re

gimen and relief at the prospect of putting behind them 17 months of scandal and

 tragedy . `` This is what we 've all looked forward to for about 1,200 days , '

' said Slattery , a computer science major from Essex Junction , Vt. . `` As a c

lass , we 've put it behind us . It 's been dealt with thoroughly , and the thin

k the whole school learned a lot from it . '' Since the middle of their junior y

ear , Slattery and his classmates have felt the glare of international media att

ention in the wake of the worst cheating scandal in the school 's 149-year histo

ry . When it ended , 88 classmates had been found guilty of participating in the

 theft , distribution and sale of an electrical engineering exam in December 199

2 . Twenty-four midshipmen were expelled , and 64 received lesser punishments-in

cluding late graduation . Little mention was made of the Class of 1994 's tribul

ations at the commencement , held on a sticky-hot day that forced many of the 23

,500 people in the stadium to use programs and paper hats to shield themselves f

rom the sun . At the beginning of his speech , President Clinton forgave graduat

es who had broken academy rules , but he stressed that his forgiveness encompass

ed only minor offenses and did not include cheating . Later , he briefly mention

ed the cheating incident and urged graduates to move beyond it . `` You have my 

confidence , '' he said . `` You have America 's confidence . '' A smiling Clint

on later shook the hand of every graduate as the men and women filed onto the st

age for nearly an hour to receive their diplomas . Beyond the cheating scandal ,

 this graduating class has been rocked by tragedy . Last December , an academy g

raduate fatally shot his former fiancee and her boyfriend who both also attended

 the academy before killing himself at the U.S. . Naval Amphibious Base in Coron

ado , Calif. . Less than a week later , three midshipmen died when a car in whic

h they were passengers slammed into a fallen tree near Annapolis . The weight of

 those six deaths and the spectre of the scandal couldn't be fully shaken by gra

duates , many of whom had friends who were either expelled or faced late graduat

ions and other punishments for their roles in the incident . Slattery said he wa

s a friend of Max Lane , a football player who was expelled for his part in the 

scandal . Lane , an offensive lineman , was selected in the National Football Le

ague draft last April . `` As much as it hurts not to have some friends here , t

he honor code is really important to what this academy is all about , '' Slatter

y said . Karen Heine , of Crofton , Md. , said she has gotten used to frequent q

uestions from friends and acquaintances about the scandal . Yet Heine , who has 

dreamed since childhood of graduating from the academy , said the cloud over her

 class would not taint her memories . Heine , a systems engineering major who is

 the highest ranking woman in her class , said she too knows people who were inv

olved in the incident , but feels `` detached . I don't feel angry at them . Eve

ryone makes mistakes , and people pay the consequences of their mistakes . ''

 WASHINGTON Despite prior claims by Pentagon officials that there were no Iraqi 

chemical weapons near the Persian Gulf war battlefields , a senior U.S. military

-intelligence official testified before Congress Wednesday that U.S. troops cond

ucted operations near an Iraqi chemical-weapons storage site . During a Senate B

anking Committee hearing on the causes of health problems suffered by veterans o

f the war , Undersecretary of Defense Edwin Dorn echoed past statements by other

 senior Pentagon officials , including Deputy Defense Secretary John Deutch , an

d said that `` no chemical or biological weapons were found in the Kuwait theate

r of operations .. . among the tons of live and spent munitions recovered follow

ing the war . '' But in subsequent testimony Wednesday , Dr. John Kriese , chief

 officer for ground forces at the Defense Intelligence Agency , said Dorn 's sta

tement should have been removed from his prepared statement because a stockpile 

of Iraqi chemical weapons was indeed discovered near an area where U.S. troops w

ere located . Specifically , Kriese said the Iraqi chemical-weapons depot was ne

ar the Kuwaiti border , across a desert river , within 17 miles of U.S. position

s . The revelation came as the committee 's chairman , Sen. Donald Riegle Jr. , 

D-Mich. , released a 160-page report concluding that compelling anecdotal eviden

ce exists showing that U.S. and allied troops were exposed to harmful levels of 

chemical and possibly biological contaminants during the Persian Gulf war . The 

report also said that several years before the war , the U.S. government shipped

 materials to Iraq that its leader , Saddam Hussein , used to develop chemical w

eapons . Chemical weapons appear to have been used on allied troops , many of wh

om subsequently developed multiple health problems collectively known as Persian

 Gulf War syndrome , Riegle said . Riegle Wednesday called for the Pentagon to f

ully disclose all it knows about the use of chemical and biological weapons duri

ng the war . He estimated that `` tens of thousands '' of the nearly 700,000 gul

f war vets are suffering symptoms of the syndrome , including thousands of perso

nnel still on active duty . What 's more , there 's a `` strong possibility '' t

hat the syndrome has been transferred by the vets to their spouses and children 

, Riegle said , adding that some of the veterans appear to be sick because of th

e aftereffects of nerve-gas vaccines administered by the military . ( Begin opti

onal trim ) People who say they are afflicted with the syndrome have experienced

 a variety of ills including muscle spasms , joint pain , gastrointenstinal prob

lems , chronic flu-like symptoms , respiratory difficulties , gynecological infe

ctions , bleeding gums , rashes and vomiting . Dorn , Kriese and Dr. Theodore Pr

ociv , assistant secretary of defense for chemical/biological matters , testifie

d that they have not ruled out the possibility that U.S. troops were harmed by c

hemical or biological weapons in Iraq . Dorn also released a joint letter signed

 by Secretary of Defense William Perry and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman John S

halikashvili and dated Wednesday promising that all those affected would receive

 medical treatment . ( End optional trim ) Still , the officials said they have 

found no concrete evidence suporting Riegle 's contention that the Iraqis probab

ly used chemical or biological weapons in the war or that plumes of contaminated

 smoke and fallout from chemical production facilities bombed by the allies waft

ed over U.S. positions , poisoning U.S. troops . Dorn also said the Pentagon kno

ws of only about 2,000 people `` for whom a clear diagnosis continues to elude p

hysicians . ''

 Final count on the fall schedule changes 22 hours of new programs , including l

5 dramas , 13 situation comedies and one newsmagazine . NBC is replacing seven h

ours , Fox six , CBS five and ABC four . All but Fox , which airs just 15 hours 

a week , carry 22 hours of primetime a week . -0- Angela Lansbury is recuperatin

g at home after undergoing hip replacement surgery at Century City Hospital last

 week , just a couple of days after she completed taping of `` Murder , She Wrot

e '' for the season . Network spokesman Dennis Brown said the 68-year-old series

 star `` has had some problem with ( the hip ) but not to the extent that it imp

inged on her work . She knew that if she was going to deal with it this was the 

time to do it , the minute she went on hiatus '' . . . The actress will convales

ce at her Los Angeles home for a few weeks before traveling to her summer home i

n Ireland . A network spokeswoman said Wednesday she 's `` doing fine '' and is 

expected back on the set when production on the series resumes in August . . -0-

 Jay Leno told the NBC affiliate meeting in Los Angeles earlier this week that h

e 's getting a new set out in Burbank . He said the `` Tonight Show 's '' recent

 trip to New York opened his eyes . `` For the last two years , I 've been doing

 another show . I 've been doing Johnny 's ( Carson 's ) show . There was someth

ing missing from the show , but I never knew what it was '' . In New York , he u

sed a temporary set built in the `` Saturday Night Live '' studio that packed a 

smaller audience into a tighter space . `` The audience was half the size , but 

there was more energy , '' he told the executives . -0- Julie Moran , the host o

f ABC 's `` Wide World of Sports , '' has picked up a day job , signing with `` 

Entertainment Tonight '' as a New York-based correspondent and substitute anchor

 for Mary Hart , John Tesh , Leeza Gibbons and Bob Goen . She makes her ET hosti

ng debut Thursday night as she sits in for Mary for the next three weeknight bro

adcasts , concluding Monday night .

 With the North American Free Trade Agreement now in effect , the annual meeting

 of U.S. and Mexican border state governors will begin in Phoenix Thursday with 

a strong undercurrent of competition , unlike the neighborly atmosphere of past 

gatherings . The Border Governor 's Conference begins as member states on both s

ides of the Rio Grande River are competing for billions of dollars in funds to f

inance a host of proposed NAFTA-related transportation and environmental project

s . Those projects to be funded by the U.S. government and the World Bank transl

ate into jobs and economic benefits that politicians everywhere lust after . Alt

hough the governors of California , Arizona , New Mexico and Texas and their six

 Mexican counterparts are accentuating their fraternity , their staff members ad

mit the leaders intend to size up the competition for projects that range from a

 sewage treatment plant in San Diego , telecommunications links in Nogales , Ari

z. , and interstate highway funds in Laredo , Texas . `` The battle will be who 

gets the money and who has the best proposals , '' said Rudy Fernandez , directo

r of California-Mexico affairs in the state 's Trade and Commerce Agency . Calif

ornia may already have a competitive disadvantage , at least in generating coope

ration from Mexican governors . That 's because Gov. Pete Wilson 's use of illeg

al immigration as a political issue has offended many Mexicans as well as Mexica

n-Americans , observers said . Wilson is scheduled to attend the conference . To

 fully maximize NAFTA-related business , the states have to build the infrastruc

ture roads , bridges , sewers , environmental controls , border checkpoints and 

communications links to make themselves attractive to business . A big chunk of 

the federal aid targeted by the states was created by NAFTA itself . To get the 

trade bill past environmental interests in Congress , the U.S and Mexican govern

ments agreed to fund billions of dollars in environmental projects funneled thro

ugh a new North American Development Bank , or NADBank , headquartered in San An

tonio . Making the decisions on which environmental projects to fund will be the

 new Border Environmental Cooperation Commission based in El Paso , Texas , also

 created by a side deal to NAFTA , which will be responsible for evaluating and 

prioritizing environmental project proposals . ( Optional add end ) Although Tex

as got most of the NAFTA bureaucracy and some jobs when it snared the headquarte

rs offices of NADBank , BECC and three other NAFTA-related agencies , the projec

t dollars are still very much up for grabs . On the Mexican side of the `` front

era , '' the six border states are positioning themselves for the competition fo

r up to $ 5 billion in loans that the World Bank will make available for border 

infrastructure and environmental projects over the next several years , Among th

e major NAFTA-related projects under discussion in Mexico is a new deep water po

rt in Guaymas , located in the Mexican state of Sonora about 250 miles south of 

the Arizona border city of Nogales . Because the port would stimulate its border

 traffic , Arizona officials strongly support the project and are cooperating wi

th Mexican officials in its planning .

 WASHINGTON President Clinton made the rounds of Capitol Hill Wednesday to promo

te his health care agenda , offering a spoonful of conciliatory honey to Republi

can senators whose support he hopes to win , and following it with a dash of com

bative vinegar to stiffen the resolve of Democratic House members . Clinton , ac

companied by a phalanx of top administration officials , held the series of clos

ed meetings as a sendoff for Congress as it prepares to adjourn for its Memorial