NOTEBOOK
By KATHLEEN ADAMS, BRUCE CRUMLEY, TAMMERLIN DRUMMOND, JANICE HOROWITZ, NADYA LABI, LINA LOFARO, EMILY MITCHELL, MEGAN RUTHERFORD AND ALAIN SANDERS
WINNERS & LOSERS
THE UPS AND DOWNS OF CENSORSHIP
[WINNERS]
EVITA Defying their Vice President's plea to boycott, Argentines flock to First Lady's resurrection on film
DIEHARD MARYLAND REBELS A federal judge lifts the state's ban on license plates that fly the Confederate battle flag
MILOS FORMAN Though pressed to strip Larry Flynt ads from France, the director wins Berlin's top-film honor
[& LOSERS]
THE VATICAN The church condemns ads that shock, titillate and tempt--but will Calvin Klein listen?
TOM COBURN Republican Congressman loudly chastises nudity and violence in Schindler's List
F.D.R. MEMORIAL COMMISSION Disabled protesters once again denounce monument depicting the President sans wheelchair
TROUBLE IN PAGEANT LAND
Following the JonBenet Ramsey murder, Ted Cohen, editor of the International Directory of Pageants, the bible of pageant publications, circulated a letter to beauty-pageant officials stating that he would be drafting a proposed code of ethics for the industry. He might not be the best man for the job. Metro Dade police have told TIME that they have received at least 50 complaints alleging that Cohen, a former Florida state representative, made improper sexual advances to minors dating back to 1972. In 1992, after being charged with one count of sexual battery, one count of false imprisonment and two counts of lewd and lascivious conduct, Cohen accepted a plea agreement and was given 15 years' probation, which "prohibits his association with minor children for any purposes." A judicial hearing on whether he has violated his probation, scheduled for last Friday, was postponed. Cohen is asking the judge to reduce restrictions on his ability to leave the state without the court's permission. His probation officer says he has not done anything to violate the terms of the agreement. Neither Cohen nor his lawyer has returned calls from TIME.
HEALTH REPORT
THE GOOD NEWS
--America wakes up to MORNING-AFTER PILLS. The FDA has okayed the use of megadoses of ordinary birth-control pills, taken within 72 hours of sex, to prevent pregnancy. The regimen, which is 75% effective, is already widely used in Europe.
--A breath of life for "blue babies." Some NEWBORNS have trouble breathing because blood vessels in their lungs don't expand properly. But now doctors find that inhaling nitric oxide can help. In half the infants studied, tiny quantities of the gas restored breathing within minutes--with no harmful side effects.
--AIDS DEATHS are down for the first time since the epidemic began. In the first six months of 1996, the number of deaths fell 12%, to 22,000, from 24,900 in the same period a year earlier.
THE BAD NEWS
--Bones of contention. Postmenopausal women with strong, healthy bones may be three times as likely to develop BREAST CANCER as their peers with frailer frames. What's the connection? Dense bones may be associated with high levels of estrogen--a hormone linked to breast cancer.
--Another downside to being outsized. Obesity for women may be the leading risk factor for developing BLOOD CLOTS in the lungs. In a major study, overweight women had triple the normal risk of lung clots.
--Parents, hear this. The latest figures show that during the 1980s, repeat EAR INFECTIONS among preschoolers shot up 44%. Partly to blame: more kids were in day-care centers, where germs are easily passed around.
Sources--GOOD NEWS: Food and Drug Administration; New England Journal of Medicine; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. BAD NEWS: New England Journal of Medicine; Journal of the American Medical Association; Pediatrics
LES HOMMES FATALS (Or, 24 Million Frenchwomen Can't Be Wrong)
No wonder the French government wants to limit the number of American exports seen in la Belle France. A new survey shows that the men Frenchwomen find sexiest are Hollywood's actors. Not one Frenchman made it into the top five:
1. Kevin Costner
2. Paul Newman
3. Mel Gibson
4. Tom Cruise
5. Harrison Ford
Source: Paris Match
LOCAL HEROES
BILL BULGER, 53; HOPATCONG, NEW JERSEY; elevator mechanic In 1989, Bulger's mother nearly died in a car crash in Florida, and Bulger experienced first-hand the generosity of a Ronald McDonald House near the hospital. Every year since then, he undertakes a marathon charity swim in a local lake in support of Ronald McDonald and other charities. Last year his 22-hour dunk raised $9,937. This year he's aiming for 30 hours--and even more cash. Says he: "It makes me feel good."
R. DAVID SMITH, 44; SAN DIEGO; founder of Stunts-Ability
As a child, Smith was taunted by playmates because he was born without a left forearm. In his early 20s, he won an acting scholarship for disabled persons sponsored by Paramount, which led to a career as a stunt man. Four years ago, he began training disabled persons to perform stunts and helping them get gigs on TV shows. He tells new amputees: "You're going to feel better about yourself than before your accident. I'm living proof."
11 YEARS AGO IN TIME
Selling Access
In the 1980s, former government officials were under fire for cashing in on connections: "Ronald Reagan may have come to Washington to pare down the size of the Federal Government, but many of his former top aides have quit to profit off Big Government as influence peddlers...Foreign governments are particularly eager to retain savvy Washington insiders to guide them through the bureaucratic and congressional maze and polish their sometimes unsavory images in the U.S....'I'll tell you what we're selling,' says lobbyist Frank Mankiewicz. 'The returned phone call'...There is, and has long been, a strong whiff of scam about the influence-peddling business." --March 3, 1986
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
FRANCIS CRICK, 80; CALIFORNIA; AND JAMES WATSON, 68; NEW YORK; Nobel prizewinners in medicine
Last week Scottish scientists may have cloned a sheep using DNA, but it was Crick and Watson who first introduced us to DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid. Crick, a Brit, was an inveterate scientific tinkerer as a boy. Watson, a Chicago native, won his degrees in zoology. In 1953 both were researchers at Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge, England, where they identified the double-helix structure of DNA, the molecular substance that makes possible the transmission of inherited characteristics. In 1976 Crick joined the Salk Institute and geared his energies toward exploring the workings of the brain, including short- and long-term memory and the phenomenon of dreams. Watson's interest in genes has not diminished. The former Harvard professor continues to pursue genetic research as the president of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and is a past director of the Human Genome Project.