September 26, 2001

EMI PLUNGES 35% ON WARNING

The wrath of Mario Monti is taking its toll. EMI, the British music giant, which twice fell victim to the European Commission competition czar's merger ax, lost a third of...

PROFITS HIT SKIDS - 3RD-QUARTER PICTURE IS LOOKING UGLIER

Earnings look set to continue their freefall, making 2001 the worst calendar year for profits since 1982. Corporations that took huge hits to the bottom line in the first half...

CEO EXITS HUNGRY MINDS

THE chairman & CEO of the popular "For Dummies" series has been given his walking papers in the wake of John Wiley & Sons' $180 million acquisition of the company....

THOMSON REBUILDING - STAFFERS NOW WORKING THROUGHOUT METRO AREA

Eric Etheart watched dozens of people jump from the Twin Towers. The next day he was back at work for Thomson Financial. An employee in the First Call division of...

GM HITS THE BRAKES - ENDING OUTPUT OF CAMARO, FIREBIRD

America's last muscle cars are going to flab with the halt in production of the Chevrolet Camaro and Pontiac Firebird. For more than three decades, the low-slung cars were a...

UBS BANKER STOLE $70M FROM CLIENTS: FEDS

Hanspeter Walder, a 43-year private banker at UBS, was arrested Monday night on charges that he stole approximately $70 million from his clients' accounts. U.S. Attorney Mary Joe White on...

EXCITE IS SACKING 500 MORE WORKERS

The slow demolition of Excite@Home resumed yesterday, as the ill-starred Internet service said it will can 500 more workers in the next three months, leaving it with 1,350. As part...

POSTAL SERVICE PLANNING BIG RATE HIKE

The postal service plans to hike the cost of a stamp to 37 cents and sock commercial mailers with other increases that could wipe out lots of catalogs, magazines and...

SAFE DESIGN NOW PRIORITY; SAFETY IS PARAMOUNT AFTER DISASTER

THE trade center disaster has galvanized developers, architects and engineers looking for ways to create safer and better buildings. "Good design doesn't take more money or time, but, again, the...

ANALYSTS NO LONGER FACE A 'PITT BULL'

The Securities and Exchange Commission's new top cop, Harvey Pitt, yesterday lobbed responsibility for checking analyst bias back into the securities industries' welcome arms. The SEC chairman called off his...

ZIFF TAPS EX-ABC HONCHO FOR TOP SPOT

Financially ailing Ziff Davis Media went outside the publishing world and hired a former ABC bigwig to try to lead the high-tech publishing giant back to fiscal health. Robert Callahan...

TIME TO TAKE CHEAP GOOD RED WINE 101

WITH thrifty but thirsty college students back in class, The Grapevine offers this course - Cheap Good Red Wine 101. Without much effort, you should be able to find a...

COST OF A TV WAR GOES UP - CASH IS REAL ISSUE IN COVERING A LONG WAR

WHILE the U.S. government prepares for a new kind of war, news organizations are wondering how they are going to pay for covering a conflict on several continents at the...

DREAMS HAMMERED - VH1 SHOW PLAYS SICK JOKE ON ROCK BAND

A NEW York hard-rock band thought they were getting a shot at stardom on a new VH1 program - only to be hoodwinked into a "Candid Camera"-type reality show. Now...

CHEFS COOK UP RELIEF

IT'S rare that four-star cooks and the city's emergency workers cross paths - save for the occasional kitchen fire. But over the past two weeks, some of the city's top...

ON SAFARI: NEW YORK 'SURVIVORS'

THREE New Yorkers are among the 16 contestants announced yesterday for "Survivor 3," which debuts Oct. 11 and unfolds in the African nation of Kenya. Frank Garrison, 43, a telephone...

'TREKKIE' IS SO TRICKY - NEW SERIES WARPS BACK TO 2151

"Enterprise" [ ] Tonight on UPN at 8 -------- THANK God I've never been a Trekkie, but for reasons I can't explain, it has been a condition which has afflicted...

STARR REPORT

WTC video tribute serves as inspiration Ch. 4's video tribute to the Sept. 11 tragedy, "We Shall Overcome," has taken on a life of its own. The tribute, constantly updated...

TAKING A SHORT CUT TO ISLAMABAD

WHAT a difference a war makes. MSNBC reporter Ashleigh Banfield - heretofore, a blonde - showed up on air yesterday from Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, with her hair dyed...

55 WALL: STILL THERE!

55 WALL [ 1/2] REGENT WALL STREET HOTEL, 55 WALL ST. (212) 699-5555 ---- THEY'RE rolling out a new fall menu this week at 55 Wall, in the Regent Wall...

WITHOUT RESERVATION - NEW YORKERS SHOULD DINE OUT AGAIN TO KEEP OUR CITY ALIVE AND BUZZING

'IT's the first time I've ever been happy that I couldn't get a reservation at two restaurants," a friend told me the other day. The booked-up places were Tao and...

COULD THIS BE THE END OF BILL MAHER?

CONSERVATIVE columnist Arianna Huffington says "Politically Incorrect" could get yanked off the air by ABC because of recent comments by host Bill Maher that upset advertisers and network affiliates. Huffington...

B'WAY UNION TURNS OFF 'THE MUSIC MAN'

BROADWAY'S most powerful union has told the "The Music Man" to take a hike. The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), which last week granted 25 percent across-the-board salary...

WHAT'S OPEN

THESE eateries near the World Trade Center are open for business: * Bayard's (1 Hanover Square, between Pearl and Stone streets; [212] 514-9454). Lunch is a private club; dinner is...

DOWN, BUT NOT OUT - EATERIES BITE BACK FROM BEHIND POLICE LINES

RESTAURANTS are open downtown, now where are the customers? "It's been very rough, actually. It's the worst business Bayard's has ever had in its history," said owner Peter Poulakakos of...

MIKE: 'WE'LL TAKE N.Y. FORWARD'

Media mogul Mike Bloomberg held a low-key celebration at his campaign headquarters last night after he clobbered Herman Badillo in the Republican mayoral primary. "We're gonna take New York forward,"...

TRUCE TALKS ARE SET FOR GAZA TODAY

JERUSALEM - Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres agreed to hold a long-delayed meeting today to discuss implementing a Mideast cease-fire. The agreement for the sit-down...

GREEN-FERRER RUNOFF LOOMS - DEM TIEBREAKER WILL BE OCT. 11

In a mayoral primary overshadowed by the terrorist attack on the city, Democratic rivals Mark Green and Fernando Ferrer this morning were headed to a runoff in 15 days. With...

TALIBAN WITHOUT A FRIEND IN THE WORLD

WASHINGTON - Afghanistan's Taliban rulers were isolated from the world yesterday after Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, cut diplomatic relations. That isolation is a diplomatic boon for President Bush...

COSBY JOINS SEINFELD BENEFIT

Comedy king Bill Cosby will trade gags with Jerry Seinfeld to help New York laugh again at a special Twin Towers charity show. "It's time to live again, and laughing...

LAURA HAILS TEACHERS

First Lady Laura Bush yesterday saluted city public-school educators and volunteers, saying they are needed now more than ever in light of the World Trade Center tragedy. "Our lives have...

HOWARD STERN FANS EMPTY THEIR POCKETS

Howard Stern has put his shock-jock strength behind the World Trade Center relief effort, getting his legions of fans to donate more than $1.5 million so far to the Twin...

IT'S A GOOD BET BETSY FACES RUNOFF

Former Parks Commissioner Betsy Gotbaum held a narrow lead in the seven-way Democratic primary for public advocate, preliminary results showed late last night. Four candidates in the race remained in...

FINAL CALL FOR THE FAA

SEN. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) gave a clarion call yesterday that will make the unfriendly skies a little more united. It's about bloody time. "I think the federal government should take...

TEACHERS RECEIVE ANTI-BIAS GUIDE

The teachers union unveiled an anti-bias curriculum to instruct students not to scapegoat Muslim and Arab students for the World Trade Center terrorist attacks. Meanwhile, the Board of Education took...

GREEN-FERRER RUNOFF LOOMS - DEMS IN VIRTUAL TIE: EXIT POLL

In a primary yesterday that was almost completely overshadowed by the terrorist attack on the city, Democratic rivals Mark Green and Fernando Ferrer appeared headed to a runoff in 15...

COURT TO MARLA'S HARASSER: SHOO OFF!

Foot-fetish publicist Chuck Jones' 10-year obsession with Marla Maples has switched from shoes to suits - and a panel of appellate judges wants him to cut it out. Jones must...

BULLS PULL IT OUT - WALL ST. ROLLER COASTER ENDS UP ON A HIGH

Bulls and bears duked it out for control of Wall Street yesterday, with the bulls winning a small victory by the time the closing bell rang. But it was not...

NON-FLIERS MAY 'DRIVE' TOURISM RECOVERY

Hard-hit tourism hot spots from Atlantic City to quaint Vermont are hoping for a mini-miracle economic comeback in coming months - aided by those who won't fly, but will instead...

FEDS: MAN LIED ABOUT MERCHANT'S TERROR TALK

A Brooklyn man was charged yesterday with framing a Middle Eastern store manager by telling the FBI the merchant threatened, "I can't wait for you Americans to blow up and...

NO BAIL FOR RAPE SUSPECT

Brooklyn's alleged "Greenpoint Rapist" was held without bail yesterday after being arraigned on a laundry list of counts, including attempted murder and rape, in connection with a string of attacks...

VOTE GOES SMOOTHLY DESPITE THE TURMOIL

The postponed primary went off without major glitches yesterday despite a record number of candidates, a bedridden elections chief and elections headquarters that had been shuttered for days after the...

A SILVER LINING FOR HIZZONER

ALBANY - Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver yesterday opened the door slightly to permitting Mayor Giuliani to run for re-election, saying for the first time that he'd at least consider such...

BIN LADEN KIN SEEK JEWISH P.R. HELP

Osama bin Laden's family is trying to recruit a Jewish public-relations expert and lawyer in New York to avoid a backlash against its business empire. New York political strategist Steven...

1,500 GIS HIT GROUND NEAR AFGHANISTAN

Some 1,500 American ground troops have arrived in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan and more than 8,000 Marines are on their way to the region as the United States prepares military action...

TEEN IS A FOOT SOLDIER IN DEMOCRACY'S ARMY

NINETEEN-year-old John Harris still has his right arm, even though two thugs put a 9mm bullet through it two months ago. The unprovoked attack added to the lack of faith...

GROUND-ZERO VOTERS SENDING MESSAGE

Voters who cast ballots near ground zero yesterday said that going to the polls in the wake of the attacks on New York was a show of civic pride -...

NOW P.C. MEANS CENSORSHIP

YESTERDAY, I wrote about a display at a Palestinian university where visitors are: * Directed to step on an American flag; * Shown a celebratory re-enactment of the Sbarro suicide...

U.S. TARGETS CHEM SITE - TERRORIST BASE, DRUG FACTORIES ON THE HIT LIST

WASHINGTON - An al Qaeda terror camp, where scientists may be working on chemical weapons, and the Taliban's heroin production facilities will be among the first targets hit when the...

A NEW THREAT TO AMERICANS & JEWS - OSAMA HENCHMAN TRIED TO BUY A 727 BEFORE THE ATTACKS

Osama bin Laden's terrorist group warned the United States again yesterday that it will retaliate if attacked, declaring, "Wherever there are Americans and Jews, they will be targeted." But President...

BUSH URGING AFGHANS TO OVERTHROW LEADERS

WASHINGTON - President Bush yesterday called on Afghans opposed to the Taliban to join the United States in its battle against Osama bin Laden - as the terrorist's military chief...

TURNOUT COULD BE RECORD LOW

They put up American flags, but they didn't come out to vote. New York's voter turnout appeared to sink to a historic low yesterday - weighed down by lousy weather,...

TOWER'S FACADE TOPPLED

There were more tears in lower Manhattan yesterday as rescue workers carefully pulled down the last large fragment of the once mighty Twin Towers. Hundreds gathered around the perimeter of...

APPLE ROADBLOCK - HAZARDOUS-MATERIALS ALERT SNARLS TRAFFIC

A "clear and present danger" of a new terror attack - possibly involving explosives, deadly chemicals or biological weapons - has brought a security clampdown on cars and trucks headed...

NEW THREAT TO JEWS AND AMERICANS - W. BIDS TO ENLIST AFGHAN REBELS; WALL ST. BULLS BEAT BEARS AGAIN; SAUDIS CUT TIES TO TALIBAN

Osama bin Laden's terror group yesterday issued another fiery warning to the Western world: "Wherever there are Americans and Jews, they will be targeted." But President Bush brushed aside the...

A GRIM FINALITY FOR LOVED ONES - NOW THEY CAN START FILING FOR DEATH BENEFITS

Families seeking closure for loved ones lost in the World Trade Center can begin the sad process of applying for death certificates today. Two weeks and one day after terrorists...

JERSEY MALL WAS HIJACKERS' HAUNT - FIEND SHOPPED FOR PHONE TWO DAYS BEFORE ATTACK

New evidence emerged yesterday that critical aspects of the worst terror attack in the country's history were planned in northern New Jersey - where 13 of the hijackers had their...

OSAMA'S FAX COULD BE HIS FATAL SLIP

WASHINGTON - If Osama bin Laden really sent the hate-spewing fax calling for a jihad against "the American crusade forces," it just might help the United States track him to...

RIVALS SPLIT ALONG ETHNIC LINES

Creating the possibility of a racially polarized runoff, a majority of black and Latino voters backed Fernando Ferrer in yesterday's primary, while Mark Green pulled in half the Jewish vote...

IT'S NOW OR NEVER - THE REAL MAYORAL QUESTION: WILL RUDY FIGHT FOR IT?

SO now what? Part One of the most surreal primary in New York history is over, and the results are precisely what they would have been two weeks ago. Now...

WINNERS & LOSERS

The apparent outcome of yesterday's primary was great news for the movers and shakers behind the campaigns of Mark Green and Fernando Ferrer, but not the backers of Peter Vallone...

RUDY WOULD BE A SHOO-IN: POLL - VOTERS SAY HE'D BE CHOICE FOR MAYOR IF HE COULD RUN AGAIN

Mayor Giuliani would coast to a third term in November - assuming he can overcome several major obstacles to get on the ballot, according to a survey of voters leaving...

GREEN'S NOT WORRIED? HE'D BETTER BE

WILL someone please remove all sharp objects from the reach of Mark Green? The voters have spoken. Mark Green and Fernando Ferrer appear to have survived to face each other...

RESCUE-FERRY CAPTAIN SACKED

Ron McComiskey, who has captained vessels around New York Harbor for 20 years, knew just where to go when the World Trade Center was attacked - straight to the scene...

HUNGRY VICTORS SET TO BATTLE FOR LEFTOVER ENDORSEMENTS

To the victors go the endorsements. Now that Public Advocate Mark Green and Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer have scratched their way to an apparent run-off, the race is on...

THE SMART MONEY'S ON GREEN IN TWO-MAN RACE

ANALYSIS Bet on Mark Green. The public advocate appears headed for an Oct. 11 runoff against Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer to determine the Democratic nominee for mayor in November....

THOMPSON WINS BID FOR COMPTROLLER

William Thompson, a former Board of Education president, this morning won the race for comptroller over City Council Finance Chairman Herbert Berman, preliminary results showed. With 42 percent of the...

NO PAPER CHASE FOR TRADE CENTER FIRMS

When the World Trade Center crumbled, tens of thousands of documents billowed into the air, littering the city as far away as Brooklyn. So how important are those tons of...

U.S. TARGETS CHEM SITE - AL QAEDA TERROR BASE ON HIT LIST

WASHINGTON - An al Qaeda terror camp where scientists are believed to be working on chemical weapons, as well as the Taliban's heroin-production facilities, will be among the first targets...

20 SUSPECTS HAD HAZ-MAT LICENSES - USED FAKE ID TO GET PERMITS, FEDS SAY

Some 20 people arrested since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks are accused of using bogus documents to get licenses for hauling hazardous materials, federal officials said. Attorney General John Ashcroft...

COMPTROLLER A WAR TO THE END - CLASH DIVIDES BROOKLYN DEMS

The race for comptroller was a neck-and-neck battle yesterday between former Board of Education President William Thompson and City Council Finance Chairman Herbert Berman. Exit polls at mid-afternoon gave Thompson...

HAZARDOUS-MATERIAL CHECKPOINTS SNARL TRAFFIC

An unprecedented security net was thrown up around Manhattan yesterday just hours before officials disclosed that 20 people detained since the Sept. 11 attacks are accused of trying to fraudulently...

BLOOMBERG BREEZING TO NOV. RACE

Media mogul Mike Bloomberg was clobbering rival Herman Badillo in the Republican mayoral primary yesterday, according to exit polls. The early results from an Edison Media Research exit poll of...

JORDAN TO NBA: AIR WE GO AGAIN - MICHAEL RETURNS AS WIZARD OF AHHHS

The Third Coming is official. Michael Jordan is returning to the NBA to play for the Wizards. The final hurdle, a dispute over licensing rights for his likeness in a...

ANGLERS GO BACK TO WORK

THE people who lined the 69th Street Pier in Brooklyn Sunday had taken Mayor Giuliani's advice; they were getting on with their lives. New Yorkers with fishing poles in their...

HE'S BACK, BUT NBA DOESN'T NEED HIM

IF you're scoring at home, Michael Jordan now leads Lazarus by two. The moral of this story (the operative word: His Airness, as it turns out, is as tormented as...

IF NEEDED, PLAYOFF'S AT SHEA

MONTREAL - Major League Baseball is starting to believe. Yesterday, the Mets won both their coin flips with the Braves and Phillies, meaning if a one-game playoff involving the Mets...

GIANT TASK: PLAY BETTER

NO ONE can put a quota on emotion, and many among the Giants will carry the scars of the past few weeks with them longer than it takes their physical...

BIG BLUE'S TRIBUTE TO BE SIMPLE, DIGNIFIED

Plans have not yet been finalized for the ceremony Sunday prior to the Giants game against the Saints, which will be the first NFL football game to be played at...

JET AIDE SEES SON RISING IN THE WEST

Whether it'll be three hours of fun or angst won't truly be known until sometime after midnight Monday, when the Jets-49ers game is over. Whatever the final result, though, Rubin...

EXPECT 4 TO 7 FOR BIG M CUP

A field of four to seven older horses is expected when entries are drawn today for Friday night's Grade 2, $500,000 Meadowlands Cup, the meet's premier race that serves as...

METROS ARE HOPIN' FOR HOME COOKIN'

With tonight's game being their first at home since the World Trade Center disaster, the MetroStars know their crowd won't be as large or as loud as usual. Still, they're...

METS LOOK TO CREATE EMOTION AT THE COMATOSE BIG O

MONTREAL - Nothing about Olympic Stadium feels, smells or sounds like a ballpark. The grass is fake. The repetitious sound of a strange horn gives it more of a carnival...

CLINCHER IS GENUINE FLAG NIGHT

Devil Rays 4 - Yankees 0 It was one of the most meaningful nights ever at Yankee Stadium. And it had nothing to do with a meaningless result. On a...

KNICKS: AIR WILL REFRESH NBA

The moment Jeff Van Gundy learned in July the Knicks would host the Wizards on opening night at the Garden, he knew Michael Jordan was coming back. After Jordan finally...

BERARD, GLEN HAVE ACCORD

While Bryan Berard continues to sort out his insurance-related issues, Glen Sather for the first time last night acknowledged that the Rangers do have a tryout agreement with the 24-year-...

V QUESTIONS YANKS' INTENT

MET NOTES MONTREAL - If the Yankees meant to take a shot over the Mets' visible contributions to the World Trade Center relief effort, then Bobby Valentine is insulted. "That's...

ROBINSON STILL WAITS ON TORRE

YANKEE NOTES Frank Robinson was in the Yankees' clubhouse yesterday afternoon, so it was odd to hear he hadn't talked with manager Joe Torre. But Robinson, MLB's vice president of...

CLOCK'S RUNNING ON BRODEUR

Devils 6 - Rangers 1 The first talks have occurred, but that was the only encouragement Martin Brodeur received that the Devils will raise their salary ceiling to keep him...

LOW WARNS: STAY AWAY FROM LINDROS

In Eric Lindros' first game as a Ranger, a young Devil hopeful named Mike Jefferson tried to throw a high elbow at No. 88. In his second game, a veteran...

JUST WHEN METS NEED IT MOST, APPIER GOES THE DISTANCE

MONTREAL - Johnny Franco's left elbow was shot full of cortisone. The confidence of weary closer Armando Benitez was shot full of memories of Sunday's ninth inning. The Mets needed...

DREAM ON, MET FANS - KEVIN'S GEM KINDLES HOPE

Mets 2 - Expos 0 MONTREAL - Probability caught up to the Mets on Sunday, when the Braves dealt them a crushing loss at Shea. Probability, though, doesn't watch the...

YANKS GO ON, BUT ANY PARTY WILL BE MUTED

ONLY two weeks have passed, even if it seems like two years. Our struggles to return to normal remain hampered by a lack of understanding of what normal now is...

YANKEES NEED FINE-TUNING FOR PLAYOFFS

Penciling in the Yankees for postseason play is a lot like writing Rudy in for mayor. Go ahead and do it. But questions still remain. In the Bombers' case, a...

PUBLIC SQUABBLE? NOT HERE

MONTREAL - Bobby Valentine wasn't searching for controversy. A reporter asked if Valentine heard about the Yankees' plan to keep their Sept. 11 donations private, not wanting publicity. Valentine hadn't....

JORDAN TO NBA: AIR WE GO AGAIN - RETURNS AS A WIZ KID

The Third Coming is official. Michael Jordan is returning to the NBA to play for the Wizards. The final hurdle, a dispute over licensing rights for his likeness in a...

AMAZINGLY, STILL ALIVE - METS GET BOOST AS THEY HEAD TO CANADA

MONTREAL - Right before Mets loaded the team bus at 7:45 p.m. Monday from Shea, the Marlins put up a run against the Braves. After taking the bus to La...

O'NEILL MAKING PROGRESS

YANKEE NOTES There was good news for Paul O'Neill yesterday - he could stand on his toes. The Yankee right fielder, who has missed the last eight games with a...