NEWS LITE : NBC ASKING TESH TO GO TO SYDNEY.

John Tesh, who was scorned for his gushy commentary during Olympic gymnastics competition last summer, has been asked by NBC to return for the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, according to TV Guide.

Tesh, who rose to prominence as co-anchor of the syndicated ``Entertainment Tonight'' series, said he has no regrets about his work in Atlanta. ``But that's just the way I am,'' he said in the March 1 issue of the magazine.

Tesh, whose career focus is on his work as a pianist and composer, is preparing for the March premiere of ``The Avalon Concert'' on PBS. His 1995 ``Live at Red Rocks'' program, broke previous PBS pledge drive records.

Exiled king to visit Romania homeland

Romania's exiled King Michael, celebrating the restoration of his Romanian citizenship after nearly 50 years, plans a six-day visit to his homeland later this week.

Michael, 74, and his wife, Anne, who live in the Swiss village of Versoix near Geneva, will arrive Friday in Bucharest for the largely ceremonial trip, according to a statement issued by his office.

Michael was forced to abdicate in 1947 when the Communists, backed by Soviet troops, seized power. His citizenship was revoked the following year.

Announcing that all those born in Romania had a constitutional right to be Romanian, the government of President Emil Constantinescu on Friday gave Michael back his citizenship.

Tens of thousands of Romanians greeted Michael when he made a brief visit in 1992, although there is little popular support for a return to the monarchy.

Survivor of Titanic to sail the Atlantic

One of the last remaining survivors of the Titanic plans to cross the Atlantic this year - 85 years after the liner struck an iceberg and sank.

Millvina Dean was just 9 weeks old when the Titanic - then the world's biggest ocean liner - went down on April 14-15, 1912, on its way from the southern English port of Southampton to New York.

One thousand five hundred people were killed, including Dean's father. About 700 crew members and passengers escaped on lifeboats as the vessel broke up and sank 560 miles off Newfoundland.

Dean survived after being put into a sack and handed to a sailor who got her on board lifeboat No. 13.

She plans to sail across the Atlantic on the Queen Elizabeth 2 luxury liner this year.

``I have never been on a big liner (as an adult). I love the sea,'' Dean said Sunday, shortly after she visited a Titanic exhibition in the central English town of Dudley.

``I never had any emotions about the Titanic. I was too young, for one thing. I didn't know my father, and my mother never spoke about it.''

Dean, one of only seven living survivors, does not want the Titanic's wreck lifted from the sea bed.

``I don't want them to raise it. I think the other survivors would say exactly the same. That would be horrible,'' she said.

MWD entry places 4th in water-tasting contest

Dubuque, Iowa, topped 40 water samples from 16 states Saturday to win the municipal division at the ``Toast to the Tap: International Water Tasting and Competition.''

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which billed itself as the largest purveyor of treated water in the world, placed fourth. Another California entry, Desert Hot Springs, came in second.

Last year's winner, Atlantic City, N.J., failed to score in the top five.

In the noncarbonated water category, Sweet Springs Natural Mountain Water of Gap Mills, W.Va., and Mountain Valley Spring Water of Hot Springs, Ark., tied for first in a field of 34.

Calistoga Sparkling Mineral Water of Napa Valley, Calif., topped the eight entries in the sparkling water category.

Like wine tasting, judges rate the water based on appearance, odor, flavor, mouth feel and aftertaste. Unlike wine tasting, it is the water without taste or smell that wins bragging rights.

The competition takes place at the Festival of the Waters in Berkeley Springs, W.Va., which George Washington helped found in 1776 as one of the country's first spas.

`Cheers' script reappears

An autographed ``Cheers'' script mysteriously stolen during a masked charity ball turned up just as mysteriously on the steps of a church.

The script, snatched from a Handel & Haydn Society gala benefit and auction, was left outside St. Joseph's Church in Malden, Mass., last week.

``All you can say is that somebody had a change of heart in the matter,'' the Rev. Robert Fountain said. ``I'm just happy that there is a happy ending to it.''

The stolen script of the last ``Cheers'' episode was autographed by cast members of the sitcom set in Boston. It was donated by actor George Wendt, who played beer-guzzling Norm on the show.

After drawing a high bid of $1,000, it was stolen from the Four Seasons Hotel Feb. 15 during the Handel & Haydn Society's $250-a-plate Carnival of Venice gala, where attendees wore Venetian masks.

Its return was as surprising as its theft.

``Someone rang the doorbell at 7:30 and left the script in a manila envelope at the door,'' Fountain said.

(1) Lion-hearted pooch

Steve Serbati's harlequin Great Dane, Tyler, received the Outstanding Survivor Award at Sunday's convention of the Ohio Veterinary Medical Association. Tyler wears braces to walk.

Associated Press

(2) Tesh

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