NOTEBOOK

By KATHLEEN ADAMS, CHARLOTTE FALTERMAYER, JANICE M. HOROWITZ, BELINDA LUSCOMBE, MICHAEL QUINN, JEFFERY C. RUBIN AND ALAIN L. SANDERS

WINNERS & LOSERS

IN THE REALM OF THE SPIRIT

[WINNERS]

JESUS On covers of the three major newsweeklies at once. The feat ties him with Magic Johnson.

MOSES Epidemiologist posits plausible theory for every single one of the 10 plagues of Egypt

L. RON HUBBARD Superstar acolyte John Travolta to film sci-fi pulp penned by founder of Scientology

[LOSERS]

WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN Scopes trial creationist getting his lumps again in hit Broadway revival of Inherit the Wind

HINDUS IN INDIA Angst over the plight of those sacred creatures, cows, in land of former colonial rulers

CONSERVATIVE CHURCHES IRS urged by watchdog group to revoke tax-exempt status if they stray into partisan politics

HEALTH REPORT

THE GOOD NEWS

--It's teatime. Men who drink more than 4.7 cups of black tea a day may reduce their RISK OF STROKE 69% compared with those who drink less than 2.6 cups, a Dutch report indicates. Tea is rich in flavonoids, vitamin-like compounds that appear to make platelets less prone to clotting.

--Here's a shot in the arm for CANCER THERAPY. A vaccine shown to eradicate tumors in rats is soon to be tested in humans. Genetically engineered cells in the vaccine dismantle a kind of biological disguise that cancer cells generally use to thwart the immune system.

--Research shows that up to 80% of IMPOTENT MEN who inject themselves in the penis with the drug Caverject can soon afterward achieve and maintain an erection. One possible side effect: half the men reported some penile pain.

THE BAD NEWS

--The RATE OF PREGNANCY among U.S. girls ages 15 to 19 rose to 95.9 per 1,000 in 1990, up 9% from a decade earlier. The U.S. has the highest rate among developed countries, even though all teens report similar rates of sexual experience.

--The doctor's office is hardly the place to chill out, but early reports suggest that 1 of 4 patients whose BLOOD PRESSURE is normal in a medical setting exhibits elevated readings in daily life. Some patients may require 24-hour home monitoring.

--Although a Pap smear can detect abnormal cells before they turn malignant, 50% of women diagnosed with CERVICAL CANCER never had the test, a federal panel finds. The cancer is linked to the human papilloma virus; multiple sex partners and early sexual activity increase the risk of contracting it.

Sources--GOOD NEWS: Journal of the American Medical Association; Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences; New England Journal of Medicine BAD NEWS: Journal of the American Medical Association; American Psychosomatic Society meeting; National Institute of Health GIVING BOUTROS THE BOOT

Boutros Boutros-Ghali, 73, is spreading the word that he just might run for another five-year term as U.N. Secretary-General this fall. The headstrong diplomat's adroit dispensation of U.N. patronage could make him formidable, and he would probably be supported by President Hosni Mubarak of his native Egypt and French President Jacques Chirac. That prospect rattles members of the Clinton Administration, since Bob Dole gets applause by pillorying Boutros-Ghali as an architect of Clinton's foreign policy. The Administration does not yet have an alternative, but may try to dissuade Boutros-Ghali by threatening to exercise the U.S. veto. Who else might be in the running? A safe option would be a veteran diplomat, such as Kofi Annan of Ghana, head of U.N. peacekeeping operations, or Sadako Ogata of Japan, U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. Another choice: South Africa's Richard Goldstone, who is stepping down as prosecutor of the U.N. war-crimes tribunal. But the U.N. may for the first time risk selecting someone with the stature of a head of state or government, such as Czech President Vaclav Havel, Irish President Mary Robinson or Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

LIZZY GARDINER, 29; SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA. 1995 OSCAR FOR BEST COSTUMES

Gardiner took power dressing to a new level when she accepted her Academy Award in a dress she'd made of credit cards because she was broke. Resourcefuness like that quickly garnered her offers for big-budget films. "America rolled out the red carpet for me," says Gardiner. "I'm very grateful." Nevertheless, this year, while her dress was attending a fund-raiser in Portland, Oregon, Gardiner watched the Oscar ceremony from her home in Bondi, Australia. Why did she go back? Seeing a stuntwoman she'd just been talking to decapitated on a set didn't help. Ultimately, though, her reasons were patriotic. "I want to see the film industry progress here," she says. "Even if it means I'll have trouble paying rent." Gardiner may work on another picture with Stephan Elliott, the director of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. And she still considers offers from Hollywood, some of whose amenities she says she misses. Such as? "Valet parking."

57 YEARS AGO IN TIME

A MODEL FOR HILLARY

"Six years ago the tall, restless character who moved into the White House with Franklin Roosevelt was viewed by large portions of the U.S. public with some degree of derision if not alarm. They caricatured her, joked about her, called her 'Eleanor Everywhere.' They couldn't believe that any one woman could sincerely embrace the multiplicity of interests ... Today enough people have met Mrs. Roosevelt, talked with her ... checked up on her, to accept her for what she is: the prodigious niece of prodigious, ubiquitous, omnivorous Roosevelt I. Everything she says, everything she does, is genuinely and transparently motivated. Sophisticates who used to scoff now listen to her. They read with measurable respect her books, magazine articles, daily column." --April 17, 1939