Monday, Dec. 06, 1999

Notebook

By Harriet Barovick, Val Castronovo, Matthew Cooper, Mitch Frank, Daniel Levy, Michele Orecklin, Alice Park, Desa Philadelphia, Hope Reeves and Owen Thomas

WINNERS & LOSERS

[WINNERS]

JOHN MCCAIN New TIME poll has him ahead in N.H., though trouble looms in the South. Calling all vets!

RICHARD SCRUGGS Attorney-hero of The Insider has new target: HMOs. But should lawyers set national policy?

TOM COUGHLIN Jaguars coach has defense worthy of '85 Bears. Who says expansion teams always lose?

[& LOSERS]

BORIS YELTSIN Ill again, and Chechnya's looking like Afghanistan. So despised he could seek Reform Party nod

SHERMAN HELMSLEY Movin' on down: '70s Jeffersons star files for bankruptcy. Next: Charlie's Angels with tax lien?

THE MILITARY Study: 75% of minority soldiers feel racism. Still, better integrated than rest of U.S.