Notebook

By Tam Gray, Jodie Morse, Michele Orecklin, Jeffrey Ressner and Jessica Yadegaran

WINNERS & LOSERS

[WINNERS]

KATIE COURIC NBC pays up to re-up Today anchor for four years. Holds her own against sex symbol Matt Lauer

BILL GATES Round 1 to the technogeek; Justice-crats can't bury web browser on Windows 98

SAMMY SOSA Hits 19th homer this month and slugs 61-year-old record

[& LOSERS]

SUSAN MOLINARI Dumped by CBS after nine months as anchor. Pregnant again, maybe she can go back to politics

KEN STARR Supremes rule Vince Foster's notes still protected; no posthumous peeking

KIT CULKIN Macaulay weds, but Dad's not invited. Maybe next time

HOW DO THEY COME UP WITH THIS STUFF?

Wealthy? Retired? Unfulfilled? Do what the famous do and dig deep into the unknown for that first novel.

Toss by Boomer Esiason: Esiason was a quarterback for 14 years and is currently a host on Monday Night Football. His first novel (with Lowell Cauffiel) is a thriller featuring a rookie quarterback whose life is turned upside down when a former QB is murdered.

Mackerel by Moonlight by William F. Weld: The ex-Governor of Massachusetts and former federal prosecutor spins a suspenseful and allegedly hilarious yarn about a former assistant U.S. attorney who joins a white-shoe Boston law firm. With political aspirations ignited, he runs for the Senate but is menaced by a scandal from his past.

Ulterior Motive by Daniel Oran: A former program manager at Microsoft (he invented the Start button for Windows 95), Oran tells the tale of Jonathan Goodman, project manager at "giant Seattle-based computer firm" Megasoft. Goodman stumbles onto a conspiracy after a colleague and Megasoft's billionaire owner are murdered.

ADVERTISING AS WE KNOW IT

AND NOW, A FAKE ORGASM FROM OUR SPONSOR After seeing Clairol's Herbal Essences equate washing one's hair to good sex and Capcom's Street Fighter Alpha 2 hint at masturbation, are you ready for the next step--the sexual climax of a car? Below, excerpts from the storyboard of a Suzuki Grand Vitara ad filmed last week by HKM Productions:

--The car wash seduces the Grand Vitara. --Vehicle is massaged by soapy lather and gentle brushes. --Rear angle of [car]. We see water explode off sheet metal. --Interior shot..we see water drops dancing down the windshield. --The dryer caresses the windshield. --The Grand Vitara emerges from the car wash. --From inside, we see the towel boy waiting in awe. --Reverse angle as Grand Vitara emerges. The badge glistens.

CAMPAIGN 2000

WHEN THE CAT'S AWAY It's time to make presidential hay. With the Chief in China, this could be the week for the Veep to score bonus points for Campaign 2000.

DAY GORE'S SCHEDULE RATING MONDAY Tour of Florida's fire damage [Full eagle] TUESDAY Environmental funding announcements in capital [1/4 eagle] WEDNESDAY Social Security forum in Rhode Island [3/4 eagle] FRIDAY Town hall education meeting in Louisiana [1/2 eagle]

NUMBERS

67 Number of counties in the state of Florida

1 Number of counties not currently affected by fires

10,800 Number of U.S. baby boomers who turn 50 each day

$69.98 Price per ticket for A Day in the Garden concert, to be held in August at the site of the original Woodstock

10% Senior-citizen discount Thursdays at Woodstock's Tavern on the Stream

$42,000 Estimated value of 500 Beanie Babies stolen last week from a mall in New Jersey

1 Number of Beanie Babies per passenger per car that U.S. Customs officials allow into the U.S. from Canada, where the toys are plentiful

264,000 Number of metric tons of U.S. chicken feet exported to China last year

191 Number of KFC franchises in China last year

Sources: Orlando Sentinel, Christian Science Monitor, L.A. Times, Reuters, USA Poultry and Egg Export Council, Wall Street Journal