NOTEBOOK

By KATHLEEN ADAMS, JEFFREY H. BIRNBAUM, CHARLOTTE FALTERMAYER, JANICE M. HOROWITZ, LINA LOFARO, TYLER MARONEY, BRIAN REID AND ALAIN L. SANDERS

WINNERS & LOSERS THE MATTER OF TV CHATTER

[WINNERS]

ROSIE O'DONNELL Sans dirt and melodrama, her debut talk-variety show scores with critics, soars in ratings

KATHIE LEE GIFFORD Lengthy pleas and support from pals make her the poster girl for the antisweatshop crusade

TED KOPPEL Talk of a possible departure from ABC is likely to fuel sales of his new book about Nightline

[& LOSERS]

MONTEL WILLIAMS A harassment suit claims he groped employees and conducted meetings in his skivvies

TOM SNYDER Letterman reveals off-camera to Larry King that he's not so sure about his follow-up act

PHIL DONAHUE The dean of daytime talk finally gets to Di, but just to dance; he'd already folded his show

PAT: FIGHT OR FLIGHT?

Bob Dole may be forced to choose between yielding some speaking time at the Republican National Convention to Pat Buchanan or watching Buchanan bolt the party to run at the top of an independent ticket. At least that's what Buchanan would have him believe. Three weeks ago, conservative organizer Howard Phillips courted Buchanan during a four-hour dinner to join his U.S. Taxpayers Party, and Buchanan seemed only slightly interested. But Buchanan aides are giving that option a much closer look since Dole began watering down the G.O.P.'s antiabortion plank. Phillips tells TIME he was contacted last week by a senior Buchanan aide who expressed concern that the Taxpayers Party was not trying to get on the ballot in Indiana, Georgia and Michigan, states important to an independent Buchanan run. So Phillips is raising money to get on those ballots--and dunning Buchanan backers for the purpose. Officially, Buchanan spokesman Greg Mueller says Buchanan is going to San Diego as a Republican to fight for the pro-life plank and other issues. At the same time, Buchanan is angry he hasn't been given time to speak at the convention--or even been invited to attend. So, Mueller adds pointedly, "we have never closed the door on a third-party run." And if Buchanan decides to accept the Taxpayers Party nomination, he won't have far to go. Its convention is also in San Diego, same week.

A BURNING ISSUE

Each year the National Trust for Historic Preservation prepares a new list of "America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places." These are threatened by neglect, demolition or insensitive public policy. This time, however, the trust is adding a 12th: black churches of the South, more than 30 of which have been ravaged by arsonists since January 1995. Others on the just-released list include:

1. WENTWORTH-BY-THE-SEA HOTEL, NEW CASTLE, NEW HAMPSHIRE The site of negotiations that officially ended the Russo- Japanese War of 1904-05

2. SOTTERLEY PLANTATION, HOLLYWOOD, MARYLAND A colonial port of entry; inadequate funding may eliminate educational activities run on the premises

3. ADOBE CHURCHES OF NEW MEXICO The largest assemblage of publicly used earthen buildings in the U.S.

4. KNIGHT FOUNDRY, SUTTER CREEK, CALIFORNIA The last operating water-powered foundry/machine shop closed in '95

MAIL MAULERS

Last week the Postal Sevice and the Humane Society sponsored Dog-Bite Prevention Week and highlighted top danger zones for carriers. (Of the estimated 4.7 people bitten last year, children were usually the victims.)

Letter carriers bitten in ficsal year 1995

Houston 117 Santa Ana, Calif. 101 San Jose, Calif. 75 Chicago 75 San Antonio, Texas 72

Source: U.S. Postal Service, Humane Society of the U.S.

HEALTH REPORT

THE GOOD NEWS

--Fish oil may be effective to treat CROHN'S DISEASE, the chronic inflammatory-bowel condition. More than half of patients in remission from the disease were spared a relapse by taking fish-oil capsules. They used a new slow-release form that lessened the oil's typical side effects, such as fishy body odor.

--While HANGOVERS no doubt feel lousy, they do not appear to effect work performance, finds a small study of company managers--even if the work requires complex decision making.

--Diabetics have low chromium levels. Now reports on people in China suggest that high-dose chromium supplements may help normalize glucose and insulin levels in patients with Type 2 DIABETES, the most common form of the illness.

THE BAD NEWS

--The worst worry for teenage girls may be worry itself. Anxious girls seem to grow up to be as much as two inches shorter than nonanxious ones, a study suggests. ANXIETY may somehow inhibit the body's production of growth hormone.

--Nearly 600,000 women worldwide die each year in PREGNANCY AND CHILDBIRTH, one-fifth more than previously estimated, finds the first comprehensive study in a decade. For each woman who dies, 30 others suffer serious pregnancy-related illnesses.

--Being too fat--or too thin--can be a risk for ARTHRITIS. Obese men raise their chances of developing arthritis by 70%; underweight men by 40%. Very thin women face no greater than normal risk, but heavy ones appear 50% more likely to get it. Sources--GOOD NEWS: New England Journal of Medicine; Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research; American Diabetes Association BAD NEWS: Pediatrics; UNICEF; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

LOCAL HEROES

JOSEPH FEMIANI, 57; MCMURRAY, PENNSYLVANIA; electric-company owner Abused as a boy, he vowed to make a difference one day. In 1992 he developed the Watchful Shepherd, a home-monitoring device for victims of child abuse. The push of a button puts kids in direct touch with youth counselors and summons police to the scene. In the past 2 1/2 years, WS has protected more than 200 children in his state. There are now plans for global expansion. Says Femiani: "The children are no longer alone."

LAWRENCE LERITZ, 43; NEW YORK CITY; actor Leritz, in conjunction with Hollywood Supports, has led the "Day of Compassion" project, winning commitments from local, cable and network producers to gear one day's programming toward aids-related topics. On June 21, more than 100 talk shows, daytime dramas and news programs will contain segments or story lines, like the aids charity ball on General Hospital, to promote hiv awareness. Says Leritz: "This is a very upbeat message focused on people living with AIDS."

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

ELIZABETH ECKFORD, 54, LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS; homemaker Back in 1957, under a court-ordered integration, she was one of nine blacks to attend the all-white Central High School in Little Rock. Eckford attempted to enter the school alone, but was jeered by white students and blocked by the Arkansas National Guard. It was a seminal incident in U.S. history. Eventually she and the eight other black students would be escorted in by 101st Airborne paratroopers. Today Eckford is the mother of two boys and resides in the same house she lived in during the trials of Central High. Last week she was at the University of Maryland to see a video on the episode submitted to the school's National History Day competition. Three students from a Kansas school had persuaded her to talk about her experiences. Says Eckford: "I have encountered people who just don't understand the emotional cost that it entails."