NOTEBOOK

By DANIEL EISENBERG, TAM GRAY, ANITA HAMILTON, NADYA LABI, JAMIE MALANOWSKI, ELIZABETH RUDULPH, ALAIN SANDERS, JOEL STEIN AND STEVE WULF

WINNERS & LOSERS

BOUNCING BACK AND BEING BOUNCED

[WINNERS]

JOHN SWEENEY This working man's no stiff. AFL-CIO honcho pulls fast one to get Congress to pull fast-track bill

TARIQ AZIZ His boss is a nutter, but smooth-talking envoy has survived purges and a thousand talk shows

BILL MURRAY Offers money-back guarantee to those who don't like his movie

[& LOSERS]

MARV ALBERT Too much, too soon. P.R. campaign makes Marv seem even dorkier. Baldness pill also put in limbo

KOFI ANNAN A cool hand in his first crisis, but the U.S. won't cough up his U.N. dues. That's gratitude for you

JERRY SEINFELD Sorry, Jer--we love ya, but new season is, well, yadda-yadda...

U-2, THE PLANE--STILL THE RIGHT STUFF

No wonder Saddam Hussein wants to shoot 'em down. Even the most modern flyby satellites can't compete with this old aerial war-horse, which can skirt space 13 or more miles above the earth, peer at bad guys for eight hours or longer, plus take the most detailed photos. A U-2 primer:

ORIGIN: Developed at the CIA's behest during the cold war to spy on the Soviet Union, the plane was created by Lockheed's famed Skunk Works unit (nicknamed after the "Skonk Works" in Al Capp's comic strip, Li'l Abner).The aircraft made its first flight in August 1955.

MISSION: High-altitude voyeurism. The reconnaissance plane collects multisensor photo, electro-optic, infrared and radar imagery--day or night and in all kinds of weather. It's been used to peek at everyone from Khrushchev to Castro to Ho Chi Minh, left. Among its more benign photo ops: floods, volcanoes and crops.

LATEST VERSION: The current aircraft is 40% larger than the original U-2. The single-seat, single-engine, glider-like plane has a length of 63 ft. and a wingspan of 103 ft. Each plane costs an estimated $34 million, and 36 are on active duty.

NOMENCLATURE: The government originally said it was a weather-reconnaissance aircraft and labeled the plane U for utility. U.S. pilots call it the Dragon Lady. The Soviets dubbed the planes the black ladies of espionage. (No, the band, bottom, didn't take its name from the plane; band members just liked the sound of it.)

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES: Limited. There are only about 60 U-2 pilots, and just 39% of applicants get the job. Home base: Beale A.F.B. in California.

WORKING ENVIRONMENT: Near outer space. The U-2 can fly above 70,000 feet. Its cruising speed is a relatively slow 430 m.p.h., which can make it vulnerable (seven have been shot down), and its range is more than 4,000 miles. Dress code for pilots: a full-pressure astronaut-like suit when flying. They breathe 100% oxygen and wear UCDs--urinary-collection devices--for obvious reasons.

WEAK POINT: Rube Goldberg-like take-offs and landings, utilizing a flimsy bicycle landing-gear arrangement. Pogo outriggers support the wings and drop away when the plane lifts off. On landing, "it's like riding a bike off the back end of a flatbed truck at 70 m.p.h.," says U-2 pilot Major Jeff Jungemann. As the plane descends, another pilot races behind it in a Chevy Camaro, radioing to the plane's pilot his distance to the runway.

MOST FAMOUS MOMENT: May Day 1960, below, when Francis Gary Powers' U-2 was shot down by the Soviet Union. The incident ignited a cold war crisis.

MOST IMPORTANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Classified.

HEALTH REPORT

THE GOOD NEWS

HALCION DAYS A new independent study says the sleeping pill Halcion is safe and effective when used as recommended. But taking it longer or at higher dosages merits study of possible side effects like amnesia

BREAKING THE WAVES Those prone to motion sickness who used a scopolamine patch will be relieved to know an improved version is on the market and can help prevent nausea during or after surgery

GOT MILK? Teens may get more than mustaches from drinking it. In adolescent girls, drinking more milk increased bone mineral density and strength, possibly guarding against fractures

Sources: Institute of Medicine; Novartis; University of Sheffield, Britain

THE BAD NEWS

TURN UP THE VOLUME Bill Clinton isn't the only boomer who needs a hearing aid. The average age of Americans with tinnitus, ringing in the ears, which is a sign of hearing loss, is down to 39

HOLD THE POISSON Pregnant women should go easy on the fish course. A study suggests that too much methylmercury, which most people get by eating fish, can have a negative and subtle impact on a child's intellectual functioning

DIET DRAG It's not just dieters showing symptoms of heart trouble. Now the FDA wants anyone who has taken Redux or fenfluramine, alone or with another drug, to see a doctor

Sources: American Tinnitus Association; Neurotoxicology and Teratology; Dept. of Health & Human Services

WANT ADS

YOU WANT TO BE A...CLINICAL INFORMATICS MANAGER?

What with new technology and the changing marketplace, titles aren't so simple anymore. Mount Sinai Medical Center recently advertised the above job

WHAT IT IS: Someone who is responsible for implementing systems for "accessing clinical information and ensuring data integrity." In other words, keeping things straight

NUMBERS

$135: How much Louise Woodward made each week as an au pair

$249: Price of the cheapest room at the Hyatt Hotel where she stayed upon her release

$500,000: How much the EF Au Pair Agency paid for her defense

1,000,000: Estimated number of women stalked in the past year

370,000: Estimated number of men stalked in the past year

23%: Percentage of stalkers who were complete strangers to their victim

485: Days the FBI spent investigating the TWA Flight 800 crash

7,000: Witnesses the FBI interviewed

2: Pages in the FBI final report to the victims' families

$2 million: How much Victor and Sally Ganz spent on art over 50 years

$206.5 million: How much their collection fetched last week at Christie's

Sources: Associated Press (1), Center for Policy Research (2)