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IT WAS A SNACK ATTACK

In the post-Sept. 11 era, it may be reassuring to look up and see police helicopters flying about. But in Albuquerque, N.M., a cop and his pilot seem to have put theirs to an unauthorized use - and now they must explain themselves. Disciplinary action appears likely, too. If you haven't heard, they homed in on a Krispy Kreme doughnut outlet about 1 a.m. last Thursday, landing in an adjacent vacant lot and lifting off again with a dozen of the shop's freshest. Said a spokesman for the force: "I don't know how they decided that was a good idea." Hold on, retorted a shop employee, "Cops have to eat, too."

British Prime Minister Tony Blair is winning so many points among Americans for his support of the US counterterrorism campaign that almost half of the respondents - 41 percent - to a poll conducted for London's Sunday Telegraph newspaper said they'd vote for him if he could run for president.

No word yet on whether Fortune magazine is planning to retire the trophy, but for the fourth year in a row it has chosen Carleton (Carly) Fiorina as the most powerful woman in American business. In 1998, when its list of the 50 leading businesswomen first appeared, Fiorina headed Lucent Technologies' Global Service Provider unit. Only her address has changed since then: to chief executive officer of computer giant Hewlett-Packard. The top 10 of Fortune's latest list of the most powerful women in American business, from the Oct. 15 issue:

1. Carly Fiorina, Hewlett-Packard

2. Meg Whitman, eBay

3. Oprah Winfrey, Harpo Entertainment Group

4. Andrea Jung, Avon Products

5. Marce Fuller, Mirant Corp. (formerly Southern Energy)

6. Anne Mulcahy, Xerox

7. Karen Katen, Pfizer Inc.

8. Pat Woertz, Chevron

9. Betsy Holden, Kraft Foods

10. Indra Nooyi, PepsiCo