RUSSIAWhat’s Wrong With Yeltsin?
Since his re-election in the summer of 1996, Boris Yeltsin’s health has not allowed him to work for more than a few weeks at a time. What’s really wrong with the Russian president? Yeltsin’s latest hospitalizations (Feb. 27 and Jan. 17) were for bleeding stomach ulcers. The cause: probably chronic alcohol consumption, says Prof. Brian Pentecost, a British heart expert (but not a part of Yeltsin’s medical team). The problem is almost certainly aggravated by the aspirin routinely given to heart-bypass patients to reduce the risk of blood clots. Other factors: stress and a weakened immune system. Doctors agree that Yeltsin’s ulcer problem is unlikely to directly affect his heart. But they say the heart surgery and weakened immune system have left him vulnerable to respiratory diseases, notably influenza and pneumonia. Pentecost suggests Yeltsin may also suffer from what he describes as “heart failure,” a progressive malfunction of the heart muscle. This can cause a buildup of fluid in the lungs, and a shortage of blood supply to the rest of the body, resulting in difficulty with walking, talking and concentration. Yeltsin’s doctors say the condition of his heart is “normal.”
CAMPAIGN 2000No Favorite Son
Dan Quayle moved to Arizona in 1996 from his native state of Indiana, in part to broaden his political base for a White House bid in 2000. But Arizona already has a favorite son in the race for the GOP nomination: Sen. John McCain, who is trouncing Quayle in state polls. Now Quayle’s had some setbacks in Indiana, too. A recent GOP straw poll in his former home county showed him trailing George W. Bush and Elizabeth Dole. Two top state pols, once Quayle allies, have defected to Bush, and a third declined a spot on Quayle’s team. Quayle plans to launch his presidential drive from Indiana in April.
MOVIESGet a Seat at the ‘Cool’ Table
Still wondering how to be popular in high school? The latest spate of teen movies offers plenty of advice to fulfill your dork-turned-beauty fantasies. The class of ‘99’s adolescent heroine is a mousy dweeb with no makeup and all the wrong clothes who successfully crosses over into the “in” crowd. But it’s so four years ago! In 1995, “Clueless” turned a plain Jane into a guy-catching cutie. This year’s movies follow the formula with new names and a slightly different twist.
Clueless The sitch: Cher (Alicia Silverstone) rids Tai (Brittany Murphy) of flannel shirt and bad hair, with help from pop-music-infused makeup and shopping montage. Motive: Cher wants to “use her popularity for a good cause.” Conflict: Ungrateful Tai calls Cher “a virgin who can’t drive.” Resolution: They make up, and everyone gets a guy. JawbreakerThe sitch: Social reject Fern (Judy Evans Greer) knows cool clique murdered one of their own. Solution: To keep her quiet, they make her one of them. Blond hair, platform shoes and a seat at their table in the cafeteria does the trick. She becomes more popular than they! Girls’-room showdown: Fern’s makers remind her who’s boss. She’s All ThatThe sitch: “Just like Julia Roberts in ‘Pretty Woman’ except for that whole hooker thing.” Sort of. Just-dumped BMOC accepts bet to turn mousy art-class nobody Laney (Rachel Leigh Cook) into prom queen. The makeover: Eyebrows plucked, glasses chucked. The result: She gets the guy, plus self- esteem. Never Been KissedThe sitch: Never-been-dorkier reporter Josie (Drew Barrymore) poses as high-school student. Key advice: “All you need is one person to think you’re cool, and you’re in!” Cafeteria moment: Brother Rob (David Arquette) wins coleslaw-scarfing contest, sealing Josie’s fate as cool’s kin. Result: Prom queen gets guy, wears cute dresses.
I Still Conditionally Love This Game, Sort Of
With his airness departed and lockout bitterness lingering, the new NBA season gets mixed reviews: attendance is slightly down, TV ratings slightly up. It couldn’t hurt to get Michael back–even as an owner. Below, the collected buzz on post-Jordan pro hoops:
Oh, No, You Again? We’re stuck with perennial runners-up (Utah, Indy) who think they’ve earned their turn on top-the Bob Doles of b-ball.
Yellow’s Your Color, Dennis! It’s fun to watch old faves (Pippen, Rodman) in new contexts. At last we see if Scottie’s an impact player-or just MJ’s caddie.
A League of Their Own The torch passes to Allen Iverson and the other exciting punks. It’s about time.
It’s Fantastically Bad! Shooting percentage plummets, games get ugly. What we’ve learned: practice matters, and lockouts make you fat (yes, you, Shawn Kemp).
Out With the Old It’s a whole new league, ‘cuz the title’s up for grabs-Portland? the Sixers???
NBA Who? It’s March Madness, baby! NCAAs have great team play, kids who care. Good luck in your pool, unless your pool’s mine.
SWEATSHOPSNotre Dame Says No
Kathie Lee Gifford isn’t the only one with sweatshop problems. The latest battleground: college-logo products like hats and T shirts. The United Students Against Sweatshops campaign is pushing a code of conduct for companies that make logoed stuff. A big sticking point is verification. Last week Notre Dame said it will start independ- ent, random checks of factories in the next few months. But factory addresses will remain secret for now. Says a leader of the university activist group, “If it’s done secretly, we won’t believe it.”
IN DISGUISETimes Restaurant Critic Wigs Out!
Ruth Reichl says all restaurant critics aim for anonymity. But the soon-to-be-former New York Times foodie goes all out. To see how hoi polloi are treated, Reichl dines in disguise. On March 31 she leaves to edit Gourmet magazine, and the alter egos go into retirement. She modeled two for peri.
‘Chloe’ Persona: Needs a martini. Worn to: “You name it, I’ve probably worn this there.” Family thinks: Chloe is 10-year-old son’s favorite.
‘Betty’ Persona: “Wearing this, I turn picky.” Worn to: Le Cirque 2000; Peacock Alley, at the Waldorf. Family thinks: Husband won’t appear in public with Betty.
BOOKSConjuring the World of the Past
Europeans in A.D. 1000 got by without a lot. They didn’t have buttons, or sugar, or Arabic numerals. They played chess with a weak queen, say Robert Lacey and Danny Danziger in “The Year 1000.” But the denizens of A.D. 1000 seem no more alien than the citizens Judy Crichton describes in “America 1900,” who believed in Manifest Destiny and had fallen in love with the automobile. The year of the first successful Wright brothers flight also saw the Springville mine disaster and the death of Casey Jones. The challenge for both societies: constant change.
WRITERSCrying Wolfe
With Atlanta burnt, Tom Wolfe is on to his new project, about academia. The author and social critic takes up residence soon at Stanford, and some on the California campus are concerned. Fretted the student newspaper: “What will he find out about us?”
TRANSITIONJudge in a Landmark Case
Appointed by President Nixon in 1970, Justice Harry A. Blackmun transformed, over his 24 years on the Supreme Court, from a no-nonsense conservative to the court’s most liberal member. The judge, who died last week at the age of 90, knew he’d be forever linked to his most famous decision: his 1973 opinion in Roe v. Wade, establishing the right to an abortion.
From early hits like “Wishin’ and Hopin’,” Dusty Springfield grew into one of the most profound song interpreters of the ’60s. Her specialty was wasted love, conveyed in her lame tones and epic vulnerability. “Son of a Preacher Man,” from her 1969 album “Dusty in Memphis,” combined the snaky rhythms of soul with the lush romance of orchestral pop. She died of breast cancer last week at 59, days before her March 15 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Evan Thomas 2d, an editor at HarperCollins and W.W. Norton, is dead at 78. After writing his own war memoir in 1945, Thomas went on to edit such notable volumes as John F. Kennedy’s “Profiles in Courage.”
