St. Louis Post-Dispatch from St. Louis, Missouri • Page 21

ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH NEWS THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17, 1998 www, postnet.com A2 ST LOUB AT 900 North Tucker Blvd. St. Louis, 63101-1099 Today's Index Business CI Get Out 16 Classified Fl Nation A13 Commentary B7 Editorials B6 Sports Dl Everyday Gl Television G6 Metro Bl World A14 National Archives again reveals bizarre, unique with Americana exhibit Robot spacecraft closes in on asteroid; it will enter orbit soon Information gathered could help save Earth from disastrous collision someday The Associated Press WASHINGTON For the first time, a robot spacecraft is set to rocket into the orbit of an asteroid to dip within nine miles of its dusty surface. Eventually, scientists might land the craft to test ways to save the Earth from killer asteroids.

The Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous spacecraft, or NEAR, is in good shape and on target for a Jan. 10 rendezvous and orbit of a 25-mile-long chunk of rock known as Eros, officials said Wednesday. A series of rocket firings starting on Sunday will send the small spacecraft into an orbit of Eros to complete a journey of almost three years, said Robert W. Farquhar, a Johns Hopkins University scientist and the NEAR mission manager. "This is the most critical phase of the mission the rendezvous phase," said Farquhar.

"We should have a very exciting three weeks coming up. I just hope they aren't too exciting. NEAR will spend almost a year orbiting down to within nine miles of the surface of Eros, a fast-moving, giant space rock millions of miles from Earth. The craft will use six instruments to probe the asteroid and determine its chemistry, mineral content, mass and density. After the craft has completed 99 percent of its science goals, Farquhar said, "We'll become a little more adventurous." The craft may be lowered until it skims within 390 feet of the surface.

The asteroid's gravity may be so low "we should be able to actually hover," the researcher said. If that goes well, he said, "It should be possible to land softly and then go back up again. We want to sort of test the waters." Science is driving the mission, but Carl Pilcher of NASA said any information gathered could one day help save Earth from a disastrous collision with some other asteroid. "From time to time, these things hit Earth," Pilcher said. Most such collisions are small and harmless, but if a big one hits, "all hell breaks loose." A A 1 --r: 0 Ik 314-340-8000 or 800-365-0820- Switchboard hours: M-F 8 a.m.

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Weekend, Sunday-only subscriptions receive bonus delivery of Dec. 25, 1998 and Jan. 1 1999 editions. Lotteries MULTISTATE GAMES Tuesday's Big Game Winning numbers 07-18-36-38-41 Big Money Ball 24 Tuesday's Big Money winners: 5 Big Money ball winners 0 ($8 million jackpot) Wednesday's Powerball game Winning numbers NA Powerball NA Wednesday's Powerball jackpot was estimated at 8 million. Friday's Big Game jackpot is estimated at $10 million MISSOURI The Associated Press WASHINGTON Lee Harvey Oswald's arrest warrant.

Elvis Presley's letter to President Richard Nixon volunteering to be a federal agent. George Washington's nomination of Thomas Jefferson to be the first secretary of state. Susan B. Anthony's indictment for trying to vote. These and other pieces of American history are part of a new exhibition unveiled Wednesday in the rotunda of the National Archives the fourth in a series called American Originals." And uniquely American they are.

The exhibit includes the journal of the Second Continental Congress, from July 4, 1776. On the wall above, a quote from the journal, "We mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor." Elvis Presley arrived unannounced at the White House gates one day in December 1971 to see Nixon and give him a letter volunteering to become a "Federal Agent at Large" offering knowledge of his "in depth study of Drug abuse and Communist Brainwashing techniques." Nixon agreed to see Presley, and the picture of Presley in a crushed velvet jacket and sideburns to his chin arm-in-arm with Nixon remains one of the most requested from the archives, says Stacey Bred-hoff, curator of "American Originals." "American Originals" was set up to make people aware of all that the National Archives has to offer more than just the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. "People came in here and didn't know there was anything else," said Bredhoff. The exhibit ranges from the historically monumental, such as Alexander Graham Bell's patent application for the telephone, to the wacky an original "wanted poster for Butch Cassi- THE ASSOCIATED PRESS A letter from Elvis Presley to then-President Richard Nixon offering to be a federal agent is part of the "American Originals" exhibit at the National Archives. dy and the Sundance Kid.

because they too are a part "You want these quirky of the historical record," things, like the Elvis letter, said Bredhoff. Compiled By Harry Levins Post-Dispatch Senior Writer Daily Pick-3 game Wednesday's winning number .587. I -v Vv 1 JllUl DEE and DAVIS: Long-lasting love took work sheet for "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band." McCartney says the sheet was stolen. Zimet's take on McCartney: "As a musician, he's a genius.

As a human being, he's beneath contempt A judge in Virginia has tossed out an inva-sion-of-privacy suit against crime novelist Patricia Corn-well. Kin of two murder victims had accused her of using real-life autopsy reports in "All That Remains Radio's righteous Laura Schlessinger has dropped her suit over those nudie photos on the Web. Last month, a judge said in effect that the horse was already out of the barn Parting shot Developer Donald Trump has put $20 million into a new modeling agency set to open in Manhattan next month. On hearing the news, Hollywood's Leonardo DiCaprio gushed to The Donald: "Wow one-stop date shopping. What a concept!" On this date: On Dec.

17, 1925, a court-martial convicted Col. Billy Mitchell, an early proponent of American air power, of insubordination. Daily Pick-4 game Wednesday's winning number 1831- Wednesday's Show Me 5 game Winning numbers 04-07-18-21-22- Wednesday's Lotto game Winning numbers 08-10-12-13-25-43 Lotto winners: Players matching six numbers NA ($1. 6 million jackpot) Second Prize winners: Five numbers matched NA (Each will get na). Third Prize winners: Four numbers matched NA (Each will get na).

ILLINOIS Wednesday's Pick-3 game Midday drawing 505 Evening drawing NA Wednesday's Pick-4 game Midday drawing 5498 Evening drawing NA Wednesday's Little Lotto game Winning numbers NA Tuesday's Little Lotto game Winning numbers 01-03-04-13-22 Tuesday's Little Lotto winners: Players matching five numbers 3 200,000 for each -winner) Second Prize winners: Four numbers matched 330 (Each will get $182. 50) Third Prize winners: Three numbers matched 8,452 (Each will get $5.00) I flu shots are recommended despite risk of nerve disease The Associated Press BOSTON Flu shots taken by millions of Americans each year slightly increase the risk of contracting a rare nerve disease, but that chance is so slim that vaccination is still a good idea, a new study found. Of every million people who receive influenza vaccines, only one to two people contract Guillain-Barre syndrome, researchers say. That would mean roughly 60 to 70 cases of the disease would be likely to arise this year from the flu shot. By comparison, about 20,000 people die in the United States each year of influenza.

"We say very clearly that it's a small risk," said Tamar Lasky, lead author of the study in today's New England Journal of Medicine. That low risk makes the argument in favor of getting vaccinated more compelling, said Lasky, who is affiliated with the University of Maryland School of Medicine. And in light of the study's findings, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continues to encourage people to receive the vaccine. Until now, only the type of vaccine given for the swine flu strain of influenza in the 1970s was clearly linked to Guillain-Barre, a disease that can damage the nerves, cause weakness in the limbs and, in some cases, produce paralysis. Between 60 million and 70 million Americans will be vaccinated for the current strain of flu this year, the disease control agency estimates.

Doctors recommend the vaccine especially for people older than 65 and anyone with acute health problems, such as heart disease, lung disease or diabetes. Of the thousands of people who die each year of influenza, 90 percent are older than 65. Although most patients make a full recovery from Guillain-Barre after a few months, symptoms can persist in 15 to 20 percent of patients. The study, performed in collaboration with the disease control agency, examined 180 of 273 adult cases of Guillain-Barre reported in Illinois, Maryland, North Carolina and Washington state during the 1992-1993 and 1993-1994 flu seasons. Temper, temper! At a Manhattan gig last week, Bette Midler had to wait and wait and wait for a tardy Cher, whose set featured lip-syncing.

When The Divine One finally got on stage, she snapped, "I sing live. I don't need tracks. I'm a star. I'm not someone who used to be a star and is try-ing to become famous again." Ouch! You can scratch Smash Mouth off LeAnn Rimes' list of favorites. At a recent rock concert, Rimes sat up front, anticipating an appearance with the band.

But when she took to the stage, Mouth lead singer Steve Harwell told security guards to tow her off. Then he spat a mouthful of water at her Fusion and fission Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis have celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. It wasn't always easy, says Dee. "To arrive at love," she says, "is like working on a double doctorate Things look shaky for All Saints now that the quartet's Nicole Ap-pleton says she's wearying of the grind Celebrity docket Beatle Paul McCartney has unleashed his lawyers on one Gary Zimet of Washing-tonville, N.Y., current possessor of the original lyric 1. MCCARTNEY: Legal action i Wednesday's Lotto game Winning numbers Happy birthday: Actress Milla Jovovich 23 Country's Sharon White 45 Comic Eugene Levy 52 Penthouse's Bob Guccione 68 Columnist William Satire 69 NA- CORNWELL: Court victory i Wednesday's Illinois Lotto jackpot was estimated at $7 million.

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