NEWS AT THE FRONT

Koppel the Kidder: Impish is not a word that leaps to mind when one thinks of Ted Koppel. But apparently the ABC newsman does have a mischievous streak. After CBS anchor Dan Rather joined the trail-blazing Koppel in Baghdad last week, the two shared a desk at the U.S. Embassy there. Newsweek reports that Koppel left a scrawled note on the desk with the name of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, a place and a time, suggesting Koppel had landed an exclusive interview. He hadn’t.