By MELISSA AUGUST, BRUCE CRUMLEY, CHARLOTTE FALTERMAYER, JANICE HOROWITZ, LINA LOFARO, BELINDA LUSCOMBE, MICHAEL QUINN AND JEFFREY RESSNER

WINNERS & LOSERS

THE RACE FOR DOLE'S RUNNING MATE

[WINNERS]

GENERAL COLIN POWELL The pick Bill fears, the man Bob wants. But the price may be too high: Buchanan's troops

JOHN ENGLER OF MICHIGAN The Governor, a fav with conservatives, is on the short list; so endorse Dole already

ELIZABETH DOLE Hubby: "We could shut down the Vice President's mansion and save taxpayers' money"

[& LOSERS]

JACK KEMP The mad dash to shore up Forbes and the flat tax flattens all his Veep aspirations

CHRISTIE WHITMAN OF NEW JERSEY The Governor would close the gender gap, but there is the token question, Can she be President?

PETE WILSON OF CALIFORNIA Tough on immigrants, tough on spending and tough on polls; he's too unpopular at home

MY PATRIARCH CAN BEAT YOUR PATRIARCH

The most serious religious schism in centuries is pitting the Orthodox Church of Russia against the Patriarchate of Constantinople, historically the most honored see of the Orthodox Church. The locus of the fight is tiny: jurisdiction over 54 Orthodox clerics in Estonia, a mostly Lutheran country once part of the Soviet Union. But the ramifications may be global.

BARTHOLOMEW --Patriarch of Constantinople --Headquarters in Istanbul --Position: In February, Bartholomew decreed that the Orthodox Church in Estonia was autonomous rather than under the authority of the Russian church, as it had been historically. It would therefore fall under Constantinople's jurisdiction. --Allies: The Estonian government and the church in Finland. While most of the other national churches will do their best to remain neutral, Constantinople may be able to count on Romania, Albania and affiliated congregations for moral support.

ALEXI II --Patriarch of Russia --Headquarters in Moscow --Position: Soon after Bartholomew's decision, Alexi, who was raised in Estonia, "suspended communion" between the Russian church and that of Constantinople, declaring, "Christ's seamless robe is again being torn apart." --Allies: At least 100 million strong, his church has about half the Eastern Orthodox members in the world, and may draw in Greece and Serbia. And if Russian nationalists come to power after elections in June, the church's religious claim on Estonia may become part of a thrust to recover territory belonging to the old Soviet Union.Maybe It's The Hood

THE STATE OF RUSSELL COUNTY ACCORDING TO BOB DOLE

"I come from Russell, Kansas. There's not much money there, but the people are rich in many other ways...We know that the help of a neighbor is preferable to that of a bureaucrat. And we know that wealth is created by free individuals with their smarts and their sweat. Government programs can only spend it."*

Population: 7,594 Size: 869 sq. mi. Total Personal Income: $155.91 million This included, among other things: Social Security: $16.5 million Medicare: $7.9 million Food Stamps: $388,692

The county also received: USDA covservation subsidies: $2.8 million Federal farm subsidies: $2.3 million USDA disaster assistance: $233,322

All figures 1994 *Dole's response to the State of the Union address Source: Environmental Working Group, NPA Data Services, Inc., USDA RUNWAY ROBBERY

The fashion houses of Paris are throwing a major hissy fit. They are the masters of fashion. And yet anyone with an Internet account can now get the latest in haute couture almost as soon as the models sway down the narrow catwalks--minus the champagne, neodisco music, and oohs and ahs from the audience. Photos of collections are being uploaded into the World Wide Web just hours after shows end (one site is First View: http://www.firstview.com) As a result, cheap knockoff artists can get an even quicker head start on designers in the race to retail stores--a race Paris is already losing. "This cannot continue," declares Marie-Louise de Clermont Tonnerre of Chanel. "We will do everything we must to protect our creations." The houses recently filed a lawsuit to ban uploads and seek jail time for offenders, arguing that footage and photos of their lines are the designers' property and cannot be distributed without consent. It's more than a bit quixotic. Says De Clermont Tonnerre: "All we can do is let them know that if we catch [the pirates], it will cost them dearly."

HEALTH REPORT

THE GOOD NEWS

--Talk about a pick-me-up. Data on 87,000 female nurses ages 34 to 60 show that women who drink two or more cups of coffee a day are two-thirds less likely to commit suicide than those who abstain. The finding comes as a surprise: coffee lovers tend to drink alcohol, smoke and have lots of what they perceive to be stress--all factors thought to be associated with a high suicide risk.

--Trying to kick the habit? People using nicotine patches who are able to refrain completely from smoking during the first week of trying have the best chance of quitting permanently, according to a British study.

--At altitudes of about 10,000 ft. and higher, mountain climbers run the risk of developing a serious condition in which their lungs fill with water. Now scientists in Switzerland report that inhaling an extremely diluted dose of nitric oxide gas--about the amount present in Los Angeles smog--can help treat the problem.

THE BAD NEWS

--It may be time to toss the beta carotene pills. In the second slam this year, scientists who studied 1,800 people over a decade found that daily supplements do nothing to lower the chances of dying from cancer or cardiovascular disease. Still, eating fruits and vegetables rich in the nutrient appears to reduce the risk of disease; researchers now suspect that this is owing to an overall healthy diet and not to beta carotene.

--Pollen and mold levels are soaring because of this winter's wacky weather, which yielded unusually warm temperatures in California, New Mexico, Texas and Arizona. In fact, the allergy season in those states is making an appearance about three weeks early.

--In 99.8% of cases, fetal-monitor readings--which are supposed to detect early signs of brain damage to the fetus--are sending false alarms. Consequently, say researchers, women are often rushed into unnecessary caesareans.

Sources--GOOD NEWS: Journal of the American Medical Association; British Journal of General Practice; New England Journal of Medicine BAD NEWS: Journal of the American Medical Association; Multidata, Inc.; New England Journal of Medicine LOCAL HEROES

KATHY SCUTCHFIELD, 47, and DANA CAPPIELLO, 36; SAN MATEO, CALIF.; Until There's a Cure Foundation Since 1993, the two have sold memorial bracelets, raising more than $750,000 for AIDS research and care. Last week's report on youth and HIV by the Clinton Administration's Office of National AIDS Policy was funded in part by $100,000 from the women. "The White House focus," Cappiello says, "is a really good step in addressing the needs of young people."

SAMUEL BRANTLEY, 39; LONG BEACH, CALIF.; Artist A homeless Army veteran, he volunteers time to teach sculpture to gang members and abused children. Influenced by Warhol and Picasso, Brantley began using coat-hanger wire to create angels and other mythical beings after his paints and brushes were stolen. He regards his sculpture as a metaphor for life and his students: "I don't see these images until I use a bending and molding force, accepting all the imperfections with the perfections." 55 YEARS AGO IN TIME

WORDS OF WISDOM?

Though he didn't have a cure-all flat-tax proposal, Henry Ford was another millionaire who had an answer for everything. Some of his convictions: "'If you will study the history of almost any criminal, you will find he is an inveterate cigaret [sic] smoker...I do nothing because it gives me pleasure...Most of the ailments of people come from eating too much...Salt is one of the best things for the teeth. And also for the hair...I do not believe in charity...There is something sacred about wages...Reading can become a dope habit...To say it plainly, the great majority of women who work do so in order to buy fancy clothes...A man learns something even by being hanged.'" --March 17, 1941

--By Melissa August, Bruce Crumley, Charlotte Faltermayer, Janice Horowitz, Lina Lofaro, Belinda Luscombe, Michael Quinn and Jeffrey Ressner