AND THAT'S THE WAY IT IS

Connie Chung says she was caught off-guard when she heard the news on Sunday: Dan Rather, "The CBS Evening News's former solo act," would appear Monday night without her. Chung's abrupt removal as co-anchor of the once-vaunted newscastends an uneasy two-year partnership during which viewership plunged. (She turned down a demotion to weekend anchor.) Now, with equally grim prospects for her weekly news magazine, "Eye to Eye with Connie Chung," she's looking to get out. "I'm asking for a mutually agreeable separation," she said. "I'm hopeful." At the end of Monday's broadcast, Rather said he wished Chung "Good luck and God speed."