RINGMASTER NEWT HEADS NORTH

Newt Gingrich's "moose-watching" trip to New Hampshire has ballooned into a media circus that rivals the O.J. Simpson trial. About 200 reporters trailed the House Speaker as he made his way north on Friday for four days of fundraisers, stump speeches and assorted group encounters. Gingrich said today that while he will not rule out the possibility of entering next year's New Hampshire primary, he has no plans to do so. At the same time, he joked before the trek, his information is spotty: "I don't know when the Republican primaries are, although I understand they will occur."