People

By Michele Orecklin

WASN'T A TIME COVER ENOUGH?

The last time a major rock star visited a Republican President in hopes of influencing policy, little happened. In 1970 Elvis Presley dropped in on Richard Nixon, angling to become a federal agent to fight the drug war; the President gave the narcotic-addled Presley an honorary badge and sent him on his way. When Bono visited PRESIDENT BUSH last week, the U2 singer proved considerably more effective, and coherent. Bono lobbied Bush to increase money to fight AIDS in Africa and assist impoverished countries. Later that day Bush pledged $5 billion in foreign aid to poor nations that improve their records on human rights and create open markets. Bono later admitted proudly, "I'm not a cheap date."

IN FACT, SIZE DOES MATTER

Vogue editor Anna Wintour emphasizes that the magazine's April "Shape Issue" is devoted to women of all sizes. This may raise skepticism among readers of the tony monthly, where rail-thin models have long been de rigueur. But there, for the first time in Vogue, is the "plus size" model KATE DILLON. The idea sprang from the success of an issue last year featuring women of various ages. "We're trying to show women there are clothes for them within the Vogue world whether they are curvy, tall or short," says Wintour. The short part might strike a chord with Dillon's photo-shoot companion, model DAVID SANDERCOTT, but as Wintour points out, "He's in great shape."

MAKING THEIR OWN ENEMIES LIST

So far, there have been no allegations of dirty tricks, but Richard Nixon's two daughters have become estranged and are battling each other over how to run the library and foundation dedicated to the President. Since her father's death eight years ago, JULIE NIXON EISENHOWER, right, in 1972, has argued that the Nixon Foundation should be ruled by an independent board of directors, according to an article in the Los Angeles Times. TRICIA NIXON COX believes the board should be controlled by the family. The dispute came to a head over a gift from Nixon confidant Bebe Rebozo, who left roughly $12 million to the library when he died in 1998, with the provision that the money be used in ways approved by both daughters. As they cannot agree on how the money should be spent, the matter has gone to court and the money remains undisbursed. Where are Haldeman and Ehrlichman when you need them?

LOST AND FINALLY FOUND

In 1984 National Geographic photographer Steve McCurry spent five minutes with SHARBAT GULA. He spent the next 17 years trying to find her again. The first meeting took place when McCurry visited an Afghan refugee camp in Pakistan and took the 12-year-old orphan's picture. He didn't learn her name, only that her parents had been killed by Soviet bombs. The picture appeared on the magazine's cover and, according to the editors, became the most recognized photograph in the publication's history. In subsequent visits to the region, McCurry tried in vain to locate her again. In January he returned to the refugee camp, and this time someone recognized Gula's picture and took her to meet McCurry. She now lives in Afghanistan with her husband and their three children. For the past decade, she has covered her face with a burka. When she lifted the garment for McCurry, he felt certain she was the girl from his photograph, a suspicion confirmed by technology that compared the irises in the 1984 picture to those in one taken in January. She will appear on the April cover of National Geographic.

BUSINESS GETS PERSONAL

In his two decades at GE, JACK WELCH was widely considered one of the country's savviest businessmen. His prenuptial agreement, however, is unlikely to impress even a first-year M.B.A. student. The prenup expired after 10 years; his marriage to wife JANE WELCH lasted 13. Jane, 49, filed for divorce last week after Jack, 66, was caught in a rather public exchange of assets with SUZY WETLAUFER, above, former editor of the Harvard Business Review--an affair that began after Wetlaufer, 42, interviewed Jack for an article. Now Jane is free to pursue half the earnings her husband amassed during their marriage. (He is estimated to be worth between $700 million and $900 million.) Contracts may not be his strength, but Welch has proved he's still a formidable negotiator. Though many on the HBR staff lobbied for Wetlaufer to be fired for not acting quickly enough to pull her story on Welch after they became involved, she will stay on as an editor at large, a deal the Wall Street Journal reports she negotiated with the coaching of Welch and a legal team he recruited. All this maneuvering has probably left him little time for leisure reading. When Welch does find a minute, he may be interested in catching up on the Wetlaufer canon. In 1992 she wrote a novel titled Judgment Call, based on her experiences as a reporter at the Miami Herald. In the book, a young reporter has an affair with a teenage hit man at the behest of a drug lord. Of even more interest may be a 1999 article Wetlaufer wrote for HBR containing a hypothetical case study in which a married CEO's louche ways with female employees end up in the gossip columns and cause trouble for his board of directors. In the article, Wetlaufer expressed little tolerance for her fictional philanderer. Fortunately, the real-life scenario is different: Welch is already retired.

THIS JUST IN: SHE'S OUT

Perhaps it's time for ANDREA THOMPSON to consult a career counselor. Two years ago, she quit her job on NYPD Blue and left acting behind to become a broadcast journalist. After a stint as a reporter at a TV station in New Mexico, she headed to CNN amid much controversy over the blurring of lines between news and entertainment, and some now infamous photos taken of Thompson when she was acting in films that could have got her busted by Detective Sipowicz. Now, after seven months of toiling as an anchor for the network's Headline News, she's decided to switch paths again, saying, "It is time for me to make a change in my daily professional life." CNN stressed that Thompson was not forced out. But colleagues speculated that the hours were longer than she anticipated, that reading the TelePrompTer bored her and that she wanted to spend more time with her 9-year-old son.

NOT SO SIMILAR AFTER ALL

In a feat few grownups have cared to accomplish, the nominating committee of the Daytime Emmy Awards has learned how to tell the difference between twins MARY-KATE and ASHLEY OLSEN, 15. Last week only Mary-Kate was nominated for an acting award for So Little Time, the TV show on the ABC Family network in which they both star. Apparently Mary-Kate's portrayal of the spontaneous Riley Carlson resonated more deeply than Ashley's depiction of the overachieving Chloe Carlson. In addition to the TV show, the two collaborate on a self-titled clothing line, a self-titled magazine and self-titled videos. They also equally split the millions generated by these endeavors, though it may be time for Mary-Kate to renegotiate their contracts.