NOTEBOOK

By CHARLOTTE FALTERMAYER, JENNIFER GREENSTEIN, JANICE M. HOROWITZ, LINA LOFARO, BELINDA LUSCOMBE, JEFFERY C. RUBIN AND ALAIN L. SANDERS

WINNERS & LOSERS AS THE REST OF THE WORLD TURNS

[WINNERS]

ABDALA BUCARAM Ecuador's President draws thousands as he dances and belts out tunes from his new CD

NELSON MANDELA First of big-screen documentaries on him has filmmakers vying to be best at telling his tale

SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC Only opposition candidate who stood a chance of defeating him drops out of Yugoslav race

[& LOSERS]

QUEEN ELIZABETH II Returns from two-month holiday in Scotland to fresh soap-operatic bouts with Fergie and Di

NECMETTIN ERBAKAN Turkish Premier flouts West to visit Libya only to get verbal assault from Muammar Gaddafi

PRESIDENT SUHARTO OF INDONESIA Nobel is given to key dissidents of East Timor, which he annexed in 1976

HEALTH REPORT

THE GOOD NEWS

--Though researchers are not sure why, African Americans over age 65 who DRINK MODERATELY--up to four glasses of alcohol a week--seem to have greater memory recall and ability to process information than those who never touch liquor.

--Just a year ago, a short-acting form of the controversial BLOOD-PRESSURE drug nifedipine was found to raise the risk of early death in elderly patients. Now a longer-acting variety is shown to increase their longevity.

--Scientists have developed the first simple test for detecting MAD-COW DISEASE in animals and the equivalent form of the incurable disorder in humans. Until now, a diagnosis required a risky brain biopsy--or an autopsy.

THE BAD NEWS

--It's true: smoke does get in your eyes. A pack or more a day of cigarettes can double a smoker's odds of developing macular degeneration, a disease of the retina that can lead to blindness. SMOKING depletes the body of vital nutrients that may protect eyes from the disease.

--Sounds farfetched, but advanced PERIODONTAL DISEASE may increase an expectant mother's risk of giving birth prematurely. The gum disease is an infection. In fighting it off, the body produces chemicals that may set off contractions.

--A controversial review of previous data finds that an ABORTION may slightly raise a woman's risk of breast cancer. Early in pregnancy, breast cells grow rapidly, but by the third trimester, hormones kick in to tame them. Researchers suspect that after an abortion, the breast is left with cells that could grow out of control--and become cancerous.

Sources--GOOD NEWS: Journal of the American Geriatrics Society; Journal of Hypertension; New England Journal of Medicine BAD NEWS: Journal of the American Medical Association; Journal of Periodontology; Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health

LOCAL HEROES

FRED HEINRICH, LOS ANGELES; founder, Inner-City Filmmakers

As owner of a film-editing company for almost 20 years, Heinrich noted a lack of minority job applicants. Shortly after the 1992 race riots, he started ICF, a summer training-and-mentoring program that helps minority high school graduates break into the behind-the-scenes crafts of Hollywood. Of the 85 students who have completed the program, 31 have landed studio jobs. Says Heinrich: "Talent, if stimulated in the right way, will blossom."

WARREN GRAN,63; JOE SULTAN, 43; NEW YORK CITY; architects

Working with New York State and nonprofit groups, the two men have developed a promising design manual--now circulating nationwide--for building small, affordable efficiency units for the mentally ill homeless. The concept is "low tech, low budget," says Gran, but it uses "materials, colors and space to create a pleasing, comfortable, noninstitutional environment." Residents living in New York City prototypes give them thumbs-up.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

LINDY CHAMBERLAIN CREIGHTON, 48; SEATTLE, WASHINGTON Center of sensational murder case

In 1980, during a family camping trip to Ayers Rock in the Northern Territory of Australia, Lindy Chamberlain reported seeing her nine-week-old baby Azaria taken by a dingo, a wild Australian dog. The baby's body was never recovered. Based upon bloodstains on the baby's jumpsuit, expert witnesses concluded Chamberlain had cut her child's throat with scissors. Vilified by the press, she was convicted of murder, her husband named an accessory. In 1986 the child's jacket was found, providing evidence that led to their exoneration. Their saga was turned into the 1988 movie A Cry in the Dark, with Meryl Streep playing Chamberlain. She divorced her husband, and is now married to American Rick Creighton. The couple run a publishing company specializing in health books. Closure eludes her; a coroner's inquiry last year could not provide a definitive cause for Azaria's death. But, says she, "you must channel your anger into positive energy and use it to work for you."

45 YEARS AGO IN TIME

Political Carnivore

He was one of Washington's dirtiest tricksters and gave his name to an era of witch hunts: "[Joseph] McCarthy's idea of a meal is steak, very well done. 'Cremate it,' he tells the waiter. He almost always has steak for dinner, often for breakfast...He keeps irregular hours, gets up late, goes to bed usually long after midnight. A favorite McCarthy recreation is poker, but many find playing with him too nerve-racking...In seven-card stud, McCarthy will raise, raise again and then again without even bothering to look at his hole cards. Said one opponent: 'You get to the point where you don't care what McCarthy's got in the hole--all you know is that it's too costly to stay in the game.'" --Oct. 22, 1951