September 19, 2002

BIG BANK TRYING TO WRIGGLE FREE OF ITS PROBLEMS

LATELY J.P. Morgan Chase never seems to disappoint investors who are expecting to be disappointed. This week's fiasco: Surprise! J.P. Morgan has a lot more bad loans to the depressed...

ROSIE MAG FOLDS - G + J SUIT FOR MILLIONS

After months of bickering over editorial control, Rosie O'Donnell pulled the plug on her namesake magazine yesterday. In a bizarre morning appearance at the Rosie editorial offices, O'Donnell gave her...

MERRILL LYNCH OUSTS 2 ENRON-TAINTED EXECUTIVES

Merrill Lynch fired two top executives - Thomas Davis and Schuyler Tilney - as a result of an internal investigation into the brokerage's role in the demise of Enron. Davis...

FULL FRONTAL FASHION GETS NATIONAL EXPOSURE

Metro TV's "Full Frontal Fashion" is going national. The show, which features all fashion, all the time, is being picked up by WE . . . Women's Entertainment Network to...

THEY'RE HOT, INFLUENTIAL AND UNDER 37

Technology has made young men influential. Most of the businessmen topping Details magazine's "50 Most Influential Men Under 37" list come from the high-tech sector. Topping the list is Dan...

MCGRAW HILL MULLS SELLING TOWER STAKE

Powerhouse publisher McGraw Hill may be getting out of the real estate business by selling its stake in its namesake office tower at 1221 Ave. of the Americas. The company...

FOOT LOCKER STEPS ON NIKE'S TOES

Slam! Foot Locker is taking Nike to the mat over the retail prices of its shoes. And the athletic shoe and apparel giant's sales may be affected negatively by Foot...

TROUBLE AT THE TOP - J.P. MORGAN CHIEF IS ON SHAKY GROUND

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. chief exec William Harrison's days at the helm of the troubled banking giant could be numbered. Some Wall Streeters are again predicting the ouster of...

TOMMY CALLS TUNE OF $45M - MOTTOLA LISTS SPLASHY E. SIDE PAD WITH MARBLE LOBBY, BEAUTY SALON

SONY Music chief Tommy Mottola has got a new No. 1 seller - or at least he hopes so. The entertainment titan and his Latina pop princess wife, Thalia, are...

CONGRESS CLOSING IN ON QWEST

Lawmakers say the noose around Qwest Communications is tightening. Qwest officials have denied to investigators that they had any involvement in sham trades with Global Crossing, but congressional sources say...

STARR REPORT

Johnny's brave battle with emphysema Johnny Carson is suffering from "deadly" emphysema - and has become a virtual recluse aboard his luxury yacht. The National Enquirer is reporting that Carson...

ROOKIES ROCK - FIRST TIMERS TOP THE EMMYS LINEUP IN NEW FACES OF 2002

AFTER years of seeing the same old faces - Dennis Franz, Kelsey Grammer, etc. - take home the Emmy, Sunday night's list of nominees isdominated by first timers. Among the...

STILL SWEET, BUT MORE SPICE

EXPECT the unexpected at Sweet Rhythm, the new jazz, reggae, salsa, samba, whatever club, opening tonight in the Village. Formerly Sweet Basil's, the legendary jazz club that closed in April...

DIAMOND NO 'SOLITARY MAN,' SAY FANS

NEIL DIAMOND ------- LIKE the red, red wine in his famous song, Neil Diamond has gotten better with age. At the Nassau Coliseum Tuesday, the Brooklyn boy who made good...

WHERE THE CHART IS

THE Dixie Chicks can still call the top of the charts "Home" as their album reigns the top 200 Album Sales chart for the third straight week. The country trio...

THE OTHER BALD GUY SCORES TOO

TONY Soprano isn't the only TV bald guy having a good week."Dr. Phil," the new syndicated talk show hosted by "Oprah" shrink Phil McGraw, scored terrific numbers in its Monday...

CAPITAL GAINS

Nirvana - or at least a piece of it - has a new owner. After a frenzied online auction in which bids climbed to $40 million, the owners of late...

'FUNNY' FUND

SO many Fannys, so little time. On Sept. 23, 16 of Broadway's brightest faces - Bebe Neuwirth, Ricki Lake, Sutton Foster, Kristin Chenoweth and Whoopi Goldberg among them - will...

PLAY, LADY, PLAY - MUSIC FEST SHOWS OFF FEMALE TALENT

SHE'S a little-known East Village rapper with big style - and a huge name to live up to. If you haven't checked out Princess Superstar, venture to Williamsburg where she'll...

NOT FOR NOTHING, JERRY DOES DAVE;

PSST. The biggest trick-or-treat this Halloween is likely to be Jerry Seinfeld performing new stand-up material on David Letterman's "Late Show." Seinfeld is booked to appear on Oct. 31, and...

PAULA'S ON THE STREET (DID ANYONE NOTICE?)

FEW passersby seemed to notice yesterday as CNN tiptoed into its new Sixth Avenue studio. The new street-level newsroom on the southwest corner of 51st Street is the new home...

PUFFED FOR 'DRAGON' : RALPH FIENNES BULKS UP TO MONSTER SIZE

CHECK out that brawny back with the menacing tattoo: Believe it or not, it belongs to Ralph Fiennes. Yes, the slightly built Englishman of such genteel period pieces as "The...

SPIES 'KNEW' OF PLOT: PROBER

U.S. spooks knew in 1998 that terrorists wanted to fly an explosives-packed jet into the World Trade Center - but the threat didn't seem credible, a congressional investigator said yesterday....

FOUR COPS BUSTED AS DRUG PUSHERS

Four cops have been busted in Suffolk County on charges of dealing illegal drugs, including methamphetamine, cocaine and steroids, authorities said last night. They're an NYPD sergeant with 13 years...

'MIRACLE' CURE A WALKING NIGHTMARE

A Queens stroke victim who sought a miracle cure for her walking problem at a Brooklyn church had to have her leg amputated as a result of the slash-and-burn treatment...

WEIRD BUT TRUE

Thieves literally got the boot in upstate New York - they stole an 18-foot, 300-pound Fiberglas boot off the roof of Country Bob's bar. "I can't figure out for the...

RIKERS OFFICER HELPED SAVE NURSES FROM WATERY GRAVE

It was a freezing morning last February when two nurses working on Rikers Island mistakenly backed their car into the East River and were trapped in the sinking vehicle in...

BETTER FOOD CAN BRIGHTEN MOOD

Eating the right foods helps ward off mental problems, British researchers say. In a survey of 200 people, 88 percent reported that changing their diet to include better foods improved...

WANTED: RATIONAL PLANNING DOWNTOWN

WITH 47 days left before Election Day, people who fear for downtown's future are praying for a way to make the time go faster. Real-estate insiders believe that only with...

UPSTATE BILLIONAIRE TOM GOLISANO - WHO HAS VOWED TO CUT TAXES IF ELECTED GOVERNOR - YESTERDAY RAISED THE POSSIBILITY THAT HE MAY HAVE TO RAISE TAXES

ALBANY - Upstate billionaire Tom Golisano - who has vowed to cut taxes if elected governor - yesterday raised the possibility that he may have to raise taxes to solve...

25-YEAR PRISON LEASE FOR APT.-ENVY KILLER

A homeless man who murdered a Manhattan resident for his apartment has been given a place to live rent-free for the next 25 years - prison. That's the sentence State...

SICK 9/11 ART YANKED

BYE-BYE, brutal art. By the time you read this, That Sculpture should be gone from the concourse at Rockefeller Center. And I'm glad if I've helped speed up its disappearance....

WHY DEMS ARE PUSHING FOR QUICK IRAQ-ATTACK VOTE

IRAQ is starting to cut in this fall's campaign for control of Congress - and insiders say that's why Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle did a quick switcheroo and decided...

WHERE THERE'S NO SMOKE, THERE'S IRE

BOXING guru Burt Sugar said, "Smoking a cigar is the best fun you can have without taking your clothes off." Top attorney Raoul Felder put it like this: "It's more...

RANKS OF APPLE MUSLIMS SURGE

Muslims make up the city's third largest religious group, trailing only Roman Catholics and Jews, according to a new census of U.S. religions. There are about 177,000 practicing Muslims in...

CARL'S CLINTON CARD - DRAWS ACE FUND-RAISER BILL TO FATTEN WAR CHEST

Lending a Midas touch to Carl McCall's campaign, former President Clinton will be meeting with McCall in Harlem tomorrow to help him close a $20 million fund-raising gap in his...

DRUG BUST A REALLY BIG SHOE: FEDS

More than two-dozen members of an alleged drug ring that used specially designed shoes to smuggle massive amounts of heroin through airports are cooling their heels in prison - most...

BLASS ACT: DOG GETS 100G FROM $70M ESTATE

Late fashion designer Bill Blass bequeathed the bulk of his $70 million fortune to friends, family and organizations close to his heart - but he kept a cool $100,000 aside...

PATAKI APPLAUDS DIVERSITY IN GOV RACE

Gov. Pataki yesterday did something unusual on the campaign trail - he went out of his way to praise the opposing team, saying it's a good thing for New York...

SHOE BIG MADDEN TOES LINE IN PRISON

Shamed shoe sultan Steve Madden stepped lively into a federal prison yesterday to begin serving 3 ½ years in the slammer for being a heel in a sleazy stock scam....

PEEK INSIDE THE ROOM OF DOOM - APT. WHERE TIMES SQ. KILLER SPENT FINAL DAYS

John Harrison's disheveled New Jersey bachelor pad shows a life that was falling apart at the seams. On the kitchen counter was a loaf of bread green with mold. On...

WIDOW DENIES HUBBY WAS HAVING AFFAIR

"My husband was not involved in a love triangle." Those are the angry words of Doreen LaBianca, whose husband, Vincent, died at the hands of insurance executive John Harrison on...

FBI FEARS NEW DEADLY HIJACKING

Al Qaeda may be planning another airline hijacking with Muslim terrorists from Chechnya armed with liquid explosives, The Post has learned. Osama bin Laden's underlings have been planning such a...

SWILL NEWS FOR 'DRUNK' DRIVERS

New York cops could be forced to hand back cars confiscated from drunken-driving suspects because federal appeal judges ruled yesterday that former Mayor Rudy Giuliani's hard-line DWI policy violated motorists'...

SEPARATE BUT EQUAL MIRACLES

Meet America's miracle twins. These amazing photos of Maria Teresa Quiej-Alvarez and her sister Maria de Jesus reveal just how far the gutsy 1-year-olds have come since their surgery. The...

IMITATORS JUST PEEL A 'BANANA'

NOTE to Banana Republic: Watch your back. With seemingly few ideas left of their own, designers showing here at Day 2 of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week - established sportswear companies like...

'SLEEPER' E-MAIL'S CHILLING 'VISION'

An alleged member of an upstate New York al Qaeda sleeper cell e-mailed an accused co-conspirator in July about a "Big Meal" that "no one will able to bear" -...

DESIGN STARS APPLY - 400 ARCHITECTS EYE WTC PROJECT

An all-star lineup of architects from around the world were vying yesterday to put their stamp on Ground Zero as officials began combing through mailbags of applications. Well-known architects who...

PRISONER ESCAPES FROM COURT

Police searched for a missing prisoner around the 80 Centre St. courthouse last night as cops and court officers blamed each other for his disappearance. Nelson Santiago, 34, of Bushwick,...

ANGRY 'HIT' PARADE AT B'KLYN SCHOOL

A teacher at a Brooklyn elementary school was accused of hitting an 11-year-old student yesterday, after which the boy's father punched the teacher, said cops - who arrested both men....

SCHWAB SON BULLIED CLUB BOUNCER: DA

The son of discount brokerage pioneer Charles Schwab might want to invest in some patience - prosecutors charge he attacked a doorman at a Chelsea nightspot early yesterday because the...

'HARRY' SUIT A SHAM: JUDGE

Harry Potter is free to tackle his next broomstick-riding adventure after defeating his latest enemy: a scheming Pennsylvania author who tried to take credit for inventing "Muggles." The author's predatory...

'MIRACLE' CURE WAS WALKING NIGHTMARE

A Queens stroke victim who sought a miracle cure for her walking problem at a Brooklyn church had to have her leg amputated as a result of the slash-and-burn treatment...

IMITATORS JUST PEEL A 'BANANA' : OUT-OF-IDEA FASHION BIGS HAVE DESIGNS ON THE 'REPUBLIC' LOOK

NOTE to Banana Republic: Watch your back. With seemingly few ideas left of their own, designers showing at day two of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week - including established sportswear companies like...

JUDGE HAS SWILL NEWS FOR 'DRUNK' DRIVERS

New York cops could be forced to hand back cars confiscated from drunken-driving suspects because federal appeal judges ruled yesterday that former Mayor Rudy Giuliani's hardline DWI policy violated motorists'...

SCHWAB SON BULL-IES BOUNCER: DA

The son of discount brokerage pioneer Charles Schwab might want to invest in some patience - prosecutors charge he attacked a doorman at a Chelsea nightspot early yesterday because he...

PROSECUTOR: 'SLEEPERS' GOT TO MEET BIN LADEN

Before heading to an Afghan terror training camp, alleged members of an al Qaeda sleeper cell in upstate New York were "told they were going to meet the 'most wanted'"...

FBI FEARS ANOTHER AL QAEDA HIJACKING

Al Qaeda may be planning another airline hijacking with Muslim terrorists from Chechnya armed with liquid explosives, The Post has learned. Osama bin Laden's underlings have been planning such a...

SPECIAL OPS TO LEAD THE CHARGE

WASHINGTON - The Pentagon is planning to transfer control of the war on terrorism to the elite Special Operations Command whose secret warriors will be assigned to covert "snatch and...

DRESSED TO KILL ON DAY TERROR RETURNS TO ISRAEL

Israel found itself under attack again yesterday - at a bus stop where a homicide bomber blew himself up, and on a fashion runway in Beirut, where a shocking, blood-splattered...

TRACHS, MIKE HR KO CUBS

In August, the Mets were embarrassed; in October they'll be absent, and for most of the year they were just plain disappointed. But they're hoping to end with a strong...

CAN'T TOUCH TECH TANDEM - SUGGS, JONES READY FOR A&M

Virginia Tech's breathtaking running back tandem of Lee Suggs and Kevin Jones, a.k.a. "The Untouchables," are too young to remember the last time college football saw a backfield of this...

A GIANT SHORTCOMING - SPREAD FORMATION COULD BE ANSWER TO RED ZONE WOES

Here is a possible vision of the near future: It's third-and-1, but instead of cramming the line of scrimmage, loading the field with tight ends and going for the muscular...

HOT HERM READS JETS THE RIOT ACT - FIST-POUNDING DIATRIBE SENDS CLEAR MESSAGE

Jets players sat pie-eyed at first as their usually good-natured head coach stood before them in the auditorium yesterday morning speaking in emboldened tones and sounding a lot more like...

DILFER TARGET FOR REVENGE

GIANT NOTES The Giants on Sunday face one of the greatest winners in the NFL the past three years. They also face one of the most highly criticized quarterbacks during...

ROOKIE SWEDE IMPRESSING ISLES

LAKE PLACID - The last time the Islanders had a Calder Trophy winner as rookie of the year, Bryan Berard was flying up and down the ice in 1996-97. This...

RIVERA MAY TAKE MOUND IN MOTOWN

YANKEE NOTES ST. PETERSBURG - The smile on his face said it all. "I feel real good," Mariano Rivera said yesterday after an extensive session of treatment and exercise in...

DOLPHIN LB WATCHING MAWAE

JET NOTES As usual in this Jets-Dolphins rivalry, one of the fun subplots to watch will be Jets center Kevin Mawae against Dolphins linebacker Zach Thomas. "He shuts down linebackers,...

BOOMER, BERNIE DOWN AND OUT

ST. PETERSBURG - Tuesday night, Joe Torre had a feeling he might not have David Wells for last night's start against the Devil Rays at Tropicana Field. But it wasn't...

TOP-PICK THOMAS ALLEGEDLY BEAT GIRLFRIEND

Two days after the Jets took a beating from the Patriots, the team's newest star allegedly dished out a beating of his own to his girlfriend - as she was...

JEFF WEAVES HIS MAGIC OVER RAYS

Yankees 7 - Devil Rays 1 ST. PETERSBURG - How deep is the Yankees' rotation? So rich that a pitcher who dominated last night at Tropicana Field and would be...

PEDRO & SOSA TEAM UP TO HELP FLT. 587 FAMILIES

MET NOTES Gov. Pataki was at Shea before the Mets' 2-1 win over Chicago last night, working with pitcher Pedro Astacio and Cubs slugger Sammy Sosa to promote an upcoming...

FISH LB HOPING TO GET BEST OF MAWAE

JET NOTES As usual in this Jets-Dolphins rivalry, one of the fun subplots to watch will be Jets center Kevin Mawae against Dolphins linebacker Zach Thomas. "He shuts down linebackers,...

BURNITZ MYSTERY TO SELF

Jeromy Burnitz is tired of trying to analyze his recent hot streak, and his season-long slump. The right fielder is tired of pretending he has all the answers about where...

ASTACIO, SOSA TEAM UP FOR FLIGHT 587 FAMILIES

MET NOTES Governor Pataki was at Shea before last night's game against the Chicago, working with Met pitcher Pedro Astacio and Cubs slugger Sammy Sosa to promote an upcoming telethon...

MO'S RETURN NOT A SAVE TOO SOON

ST. PETERSBURG - Mariano Rivera will throw off a mound today and if nothing barks in his right shoulder he could be game-ready by tomorrow or Sunday in Detroit. After...

SORIANO CLOSING IN ON HISTORY

Tuesday night wasn't a complete downer for the Yankees. Alfonso Soriano went 5-for-5 with his 39th homer and is one dinger away from joining the exclusive 40-40 club. "I want...