St. Louis Post-Dispatch from St. Louis, Missouri • Page 1

Blues beat LA 8-3 (m St. Louis takes 1-0 series lead, di of WAV- sm Vol. 120, No. 114 1998 FlUDAY, 24, 1 998 6 1 14 I I Tl CS 1 ca Tl tJ Pope is aiming, nidi i Vatican oMirais Boy infected with AIDS responds to drugs Father pleads not guilty to first-degree assault Mother is expected to ask for privacy "America will never have the benefit of Mr. Ray's trial, which would have produced new revelations about the assassination." i 1 1 i "About the only thing I can say is I believe the history books will accurately record that James Earl Ray was the killer of Dr.

King." if "We strongly believe there is enough information that if a thorough job is done we can all hope and pray that the truth one day will emerge." By Monte Reel And Michele munz Of the Post-Dispatch The condition of a 7-year-old boy who was allegedly injected with HlV-contaminated blood by his father has improved significantly since he was diagnosed in 1996, one of his nurses said Thursday. In the last 18 months, the boy has responded well to a multidrug cocktail that includes a protease inhibitor used to combat AIDS, the nurse said. The boy leads something close to a normal life. King assassin goes to grave proclaiming his innocence "If not for (protease inhibitors) and a couple ail IT" it other medications, he'd be dead now," said the nurse. "As it is, he has some liver problems, and he's almost completely deaf." The nurse, who works at St Louis Chil 1 A Brian T.

Stewart APRIL 4, 1968: People near the body of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. point to a nearby rooftop following the assassination of the 39-year-old civil rights leader at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tenn. KMEN EUMOUT POST-DISPATCH Archbishop Justin F.

Rigali says he learned in a telephone call at 6 a.m. Thursday that Pope John Paul II will arrive here on Jan. 26. 1 John Paul II may celebrate Mass in Dome 600,000 visitors are expected APRIL 9, 1968: Coretta Scott King attends the funeral of her husband with her daughter Bernice. Although the Justice Department is reviewing the assassination, the King family is pressing Attorney General Janet Reno to create a federal investigative commission with the power to subpoena witnesses, grant immunity and file charges against suspected conspirators.

FROM POST-DISPATCH STAFF AND NEWS SERVICE REPORTS NASHVILLE, Tenn. James Earl Ray the drifter and petty criminal who confessed to changing American history by putting a rifle bullet through the neck of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. died Thursday.

He was 70. Ray was born in Alton and spent much of his early years in the St Louis region. He died at a hospital in Nashville of kidney failure and complications from liver disease while serving a prison sentence for the 1968 slaying of the civil rights leader. Ray's death frustrated civil rights leaders who fear they may never learn the truth about the King assassination. "America will never have the benefit of Mr.

Ray's trial, which would have produced new revelations about the assassination," said King's widow, Coretta Scott King. Ray's fingerprints were all over a rifle recovered in Memphis, on April 4, 1968 the day King was slain as he stood on a motel balcony. Two months later, police captured Ray in London. After pleading guilty of the murder, he got a 99-year sentence in Tennessee. But within days, he recanted his confession and insisted he had been set up.

Over the years, conspiracy theories about the assassination waxed and waned. In 1991, in his autobiography, Ray blamed the FBI. At various other times, the plot was alleged to have originated with the Mafia, with Army intelligence, with the Ku Klux Klan even with a band of right-wing businessmen in the St Louis area offering a $50,000 bounty for the murder of King. Coretta Scott King and her son Dexter have said they believe Ray was innocent. Some other civil rights leaders, including the Rev.

Jesse Jackson, have not gone that far, instead saying that they believe Ray took part in the assassination but that he did not act alone. The Rev. Hosea Williams, a former King lieutenant, called Ray's death "the epitome of an American crucifixion." "Anyone with an ounce of brains who has done any studying or research on this case knows James Earl Ray was used by the federal government," he said. See Ray, Page A19 1 dfFtllllll Il.l I dren's Hospital, asked to remain anonymous. Today, the boy's mother is expected to hold a news conference at 2 p.m.

in an effort to secure cooperation from the local and national news media and to try "to take control of the situation," said Maggie Lipman, of the St. Charles County Victims of Crime Assistance. "She'll be pleading for the right to go on with her life, for her children and for her son," said Lipman, who will act as a family spokeswoman. Because her boy has full-blown AIDS, the woman wants to spend most of her time with him, instead of with reporters and news crews, Lipman said. She will read a prepared statement but will ask Lipman to answer questions.

Since the first-degree assault charge was filed Wednesday against the woman's ex-boyfriend Brian T. Stewart, 31, from Columbia, 111. law enforcement officials and local news media have received inquiries from national talk shows, news shows and morning shows. Stewart was arraigned in a secured courtroom off the jail Thursday morning. He kept his eyes toward the front of the courtroom, expressionless, and pleaded not guilty, never glancing at news media packing the courtroom.

Authorities say Stewart injected his 11 -month-old son with the virus Feb. 6, 1992, when the boy was at St. Joseph Hospital-West in Lake Saint Louis, being treated for respiratory problems. Witnesses saw Stewart walking into the boy's hospital room with a lab coat draped over his arm, investigators say. After the visit, the boy got sicker.

Within two hours, he was transported to Cardinal Glen-non Children's Hospital. The boy was in and out of hospitals over the next four years with various illnesses. See Blood, Page A9 2 alliances formed by 4 big airlines could rule U.S. routes from news Services WASHINGTON Four of the nation's largest airlines will form two separate domestic alliances that stop short of actual mergers but will in effect consolidate the industry into a handful of dominant carriers. American Airlines and US Airways said late Thursday that they had agreed on a broad new marketing relationship that will eventually treat their respective routes as a single airline.

United Airlines and Delta Air Lines were scheduled to hold a news conference today in New York to announce a similar alliance. Continental and Northwest Airlines reported a similar link earlier this year, sparking the new actions by their competitors. The Northwest-Continental alliance, which includes a $500 million equity purchase by Northwest, is now pending before the Transportation Department. The two other alliances do See Airlines, Page A16 By Patricia Rice Post-Dispatch Religion Writer It's official. Pope John Paul II will come to St.

Louis on Tuesday, Jan. 26, for at least a day and perhaps two. A jubilant Archbishop Justin Rigali got the news Thursday from Rome. No details are final, but Rigali said: "The pope always wants to see as many people as possible." The pope often asks to see young, old and infirm people. This traveling pope has been seen by more people than any other person in history.

One plan is to have the pope celebrate Mass at the Trans World Dome and televise it on Jumbotron huge television screens at Buseh Stadium and perhaps even Kiel Center. Before the Mass, the pope would probably drive through Busch or Kiel or both, insiders say. With chairs on playing fields, about 145,000 people could be accommodated at the three sites. The dome normally can seat 70,000. Busch holds about 50,000, and Kiel, about 21,000.

"We've got a hold on all three places right now," said St Louis Mayor Clarence Harmon, who attended a press conference with the archbishop Thursday afternoon at the Catholic Center, See Pope, PageA7 I A I rirn Tn, MARCH 27, 1997: King's son Dexter extends his hand after meeting with Ray. Coretta Scott King and Dexter have said they believe that Ray was innocent. I The Senate passes an I education savings bill In Other News 1 Weather Today: Mostly sunny. High 78. Clouds increasing tonight.

Low 55. Saturday: Chance of showers. High 75. I. 4y I One of three Eureka police officers has con-I fessed to having sex with a 15-year-old Explor that would help working and poor families meet school expenses and, if necessary, find alternatives to substandard public schools.

The bill also would ban national standardized testing and would convert some federal school programs to grants. A12 er, police said. Two of the officers turned themselves in Wednesday. A third officer surrendered Thursday. All three are free on bond.

CI Other weather, PageC22 2m Dolly and her lamb Susan McDougal Holocaust tribute I The Marquette Building tower has been sold to I a New York firm. The nearly vacant building School children will be converted into apartments and retail stores. A 360-car parking garage will replace the Marquette's annex. The firm, Tahl-Propp, plans to spend about $15 million to rehab the tower. C12 E1HM Canada's Jean Chretien all'M'M Wi be the first Canadian prime minister to visit Cuba in years.

He is facing intense pressure to prove that meeting with Fidel Castro can produce meaningful advances in human rights and political freedom. A13 Dolly, the cloned sheep, has given birth. Bonnie was born April 13 in a normal delivery after Dolly mated naturally with a Welsh mountain ram last year. Read more Susan McDougal again refused to answer questions before the Whitewater grand jury on the Clintons' finances. She risks going back to jail for contempt, about these stories Traffic and pedestrians stopped in Israel in tribute to Holocaust victims.

The nation stood still momentarily to mourn the 6 million Jews killed and to honor those who built the Jewish nation 50 years ago. on Page AS I Traffic accidents and homicide are among the I leading causes of work-related deaths. http:www.stlnet.com II However, the study by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention found an overall decline in the number of job-related deaths. C12 --Obituaries, Cll Movies, E9 Classified, Fl Editorials, C20 Jean Chretien.