November 19, 2002
HERE'S MY PLAN TO SAVE THE U.S. ECONOMY
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amTHE economy still stinks. And Washington doesn't have a clue how to make it smell any better. So since I'm feeling particularly generous today (although a bit cranky), I will...
FRENCH RESISTANCE : VIVENDI'S BOARD FRETS ABOUT DILLER'S GROWING ROLE
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amThe French are feeling left out. When news leaked last week that Barry Diller had taken an expanded role overseeing Vivendi's U.S. entertainment assets, a number of French board members...
BANKRUPTCY STILL LOOMING FOR AOL
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amUAL Corp., parent of troubled United Airlines, is doing everything possible to avoid bankruptcy - but Wall Street remains convinced that fate is inescapable. Just yesterday, pilots in United's union...
OBSERVER'S BUILDING IS UP FOR SALE
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amArthur Carter, owner of the perennially money-losing New York Observer, has once again quietly put a "for sale" sign on the paper's Upper East Side headquarters. In 1999, prospects paraded...
2 SPAS EXHALE IN CHIC LOCALES
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amMANHATTAN is getting two big new day spas in ultra-prime locations. Annbeth Eschbach's Exhale Mind Body Spa just signed long-term leases to open the first of 20 swank "mind/body" facilities...
STRATEGY UPSET : STREET'S GURUS FEAR FOR JOBS AS LAYOFFS GROW
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amWall Street's best-known cheerleaders are afraid they'll be tossed completely out of the money game. Investment gurus at top brokerages have become the market's latest endangered species, falling one by...
WARNACO STIFFS WACHNER IN EXIT PACKAGE
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amLinda Wachner's relationship with Warnaco is winding down with a whimper. The former president and CEO of the bankrupt maker of jeans and lingerie has accepted a settlement that's downright...
HELMSLEY IS LOSER IN SUITS
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amYears of legal battles that once pitted Leona Helmsley against her late husband's partner will end Wednesday when the management and leasing of five buildings moves from Helmsley-Spear to the...
WRITERS HIT IN WALLET BY CONDÉ CUTS
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amPayments from Advance Publications seem to be slowing down as publishing mogul S.I. Newhouse Jr. prepares to fire at least 250 people working in Condé Nast's New York City headquarters....
LAZARD BULLISH ON MEDIA
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amMedia bankers are playing the musical chairs game. The latest seats to be filled are at Lazard, which yesterday snagged three veteran media bankers from Merrill Lynch & Co. in...
RUDY WANTS WORLDCOM : CREDITOR MOVES TO SET UP FORMER MAYOR AS CHAIRMAN
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amRudy Giuliani's making his debut in the world of tycoons by claiming the chairman's seat at a company mired in the world's biggest bankruptcy. The former mayor is being offered...
WEIDERS TO 'SPOT' BUYER: FOUNDERS MAY RETAIN MINORITY STAKE IN MAG EMPIRE
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amIn a new wrinkle in the red hot auction to buy Weider Publications, the Weider family that owns the seven-title company is willing to keep a minority stake in any...
MEET YOUR MATE
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amSINGLES Travel International will ring in the new year on Nassau during a cruise aboard Royal Caribbean's Sovereign of the Seas. The four-night voyage on the 2,852 passenger ship departs...
STARR REPORT
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amMorris back on 'SNL'; Quinn gets 'Tough' It was nice to see Garrett Morris back on "Saturday Night Live" last weekend. Morris, who appeared in an "Astronaut Jones" sketch with...
THE TWAIN SHALL MEET
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amSHANIA TWAIN "Up!" ½ Mercury Nashville Trying to be everything to everybody almost always backfires in a mess that pleases no one - but not so for Shania Twain's latest,...
STEVE EARLE SINGS THE 'BLUES' AT THE BEACON
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amPOLITICALLY incorrect rocker Steve Earle's latest album, "Jerusalem," hit the national spotlight because of his song, "John Walker's Blues," written from the point of view of the "American Taliban" fighter...
LISA PACKS HER BAG; 'VIEW' STAR TELLS BABS: I'M OFF TO SEE THE WORLD WITH NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amLISA Ling is leaving ABC's "The View" after three years to host "National Geographic Explorer" on MSNBC. Barbara Walters made the announcement on yesterday's show (11 a.m./Ch. 7). Ling's last...
LIZA AND HER HOUSE GEST GO AFTER VH1
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amLIZA Minnelli and hubby David Gest are launching a media blitz against VH1 - which cancelled their reality show,"Liza & David," before it ever hit the air. Minnelli and Gest...
LIVE! MAYHEM IN THE A.M.
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amNEW York is finally the star of its own show. And I'm not talking about some sitcom like "Friends" either. I'm talking about the actual, gritty city - specifically, its...
SUBWAY STAFF LACK TRAINING ON TERROR
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amEXCLUSIVE Despite repeated requests, subway workers have gotten no training in what to do if the transit system is hit by a chemical or biological attack, union leaders charged yesterday....
CARTOON 'CLONE' FOR 'STAR WARS'
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amThe next big "Star Wars" is going to be a cartoon. Cable's Cartoon Network has reportedly signed a deal with "Star Wars" creator George Lucas to produce a series of...
ANTISMOKERS GET PHYSICAL
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amTHE anti-smoking climate in the city is getting so fanatical, indignant non-smokers are taking the fight to the streets. Literally. I was nearing a busy intersection at 47th and Sixth...
BRUNO VS. BLOOMBERG ; GEARING UP FOR BATTLE OVER COMMUTER TAX
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amState Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno yesterday stood by his vow to block a plan to impose a mammoth new tax on New York City commuters, even as Mayor Bloomberg...
BUSH WANTED TO BE LIBERATOR, NOT CONQUEROR
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amPresident Bush made humanitarian issues a key part of last year's campaign against the Taliban because the United States needed to be seen not as a conqueror, but a liberator....
'NET-SEX JURY JUNKED ; 'GUILTY!' SHOUT SPURS MISTRIAL IN L.I. 'KIDNAP'
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amThe Long Island trial of accused S&M kidnapper James Warren ended in a mistrial yesterday - an hour after it started - because the jurors discussed a man who shouted,...
WEIRD BUT TRUE
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amA drunken baby sitter with five kids in her car was busted after she passed out and one of the children used a cell phone to call cops, authorities said....
BLOOMBERG WANTS ANOTHER FOUR
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amJust 10 months into his mayoralty, Mike Bloomberg says he's enjoying his job so much that he wants to run for another four-year term. At a ribbon-cutting for the newly...
EL AL HIJACKER HAD '9/11' PLAN
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amJERUSALEM - An Israeli Arab who tried to hijack an El Al jet told investigators he planned to fly it into a skyscraper in Tel Aviv to duplicate the Sept....
BLIX NIX QUICK FIX
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amTHE most important man in the world at the moment is a 74-year-old Swedish diplomat named Hans Blix. According to United Nations Resolution 1441, Blix will be responsible for telling...
MAYOR & COUNCIL IN UGLY SCHOOL DUEL
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amTensions between Mayor Bloomberg and the City Council erupted into a nasty schoolyard scrap yesterday, with council members flunking the Department of Education's policy on school choice - and the...
FEDS WIN APPEAL TO EASE SPYING
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - Attorney General John Ashcroft yesterday beefed up the effort to eavesdrop on foreign agents after a court approved broad new powers for the Justice Department in the terror...
MIKE BLASTS TEACHER UNION ; VOWS IT WILL NO LONGER 'RUN THE SCHOOL SYSTEM'
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amMayor Bloomberg took a swipe at the United Federation of Teachers yesterday, saying he's working "slowly" to reduce the influence of the powerful union. "We have a teachers union that...
SEN. DEMS MAY MOVE UP HILL
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - Some top Democrats are crafting a plan to have Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton step into the Senate's leadership as early as January, dramatically boosting her profile while allowing...
STOP THESE JOKERS FROM DESECRATING SACRED MEMORIES
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amTO HEAR Marcia Mahaffey tell it, she's the most exhaustive writer since Leo Tolstoy penned "War and Peace." "These cards tell a story, one that has not yet been fully...
'TRICK'Y TAPE CAPER ; PHONY FED USED FAKE ID TO SNAG HOOKER VIDEOS: COPS
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amA Manhattan man has been charged with posing as a federal agent working for Attorney General John Ashcroft's deputy so he could steal evidence against a Midtown prostitution ring, The...
'STUNT MEN' SMASHED FRAUD ; FEDS STAGED CRASHES TO BUST INSURE SCAM
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amTwo FBI agents got behind the wheel to stage auto collisions in Manhattan as part of an undercover operation to infiltrate a Russian insurance rip-off ring, court papers say. The...
SUPERINTENDENTS STUDY
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amThe Bloomberg administration is conducting a study on how local school superintendents are using their office space - a move that some officials fear could lead to consolidation or elimination...
CARDS THAT TRADE ON THE TRAGIC HEROES OF 9/11 ARE A HARD SELL
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amCONTROVERSIAL new trading cards honoring "Heroes of The World Trade Center" are ready for store shelves, but their publisher is still scrambling to find retailers to sell them. Publisher Kingsley...
KEEP GRINNIN', ROCCO, YOUR TIME IN SPOTLIGHT IS 'SHORT'
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amTELL me, sports fans - why is this man smiling? Rocco Graziosa, a squat man with a fleshy neck that seems unacquainted with his too-tight suit collar, grinned like a...
PROPOSED RAIL LINK A WASTE OF TIME
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amA proposal to create a multibillion-dollar link between the Long Island Rail Road and lower Manhattan would save little or no time for suburban commuters, according to studies by the...
STRUCK HIM OUT ; WELLS' OLD DUST-UPS 'TOSSED'
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amThe bad-boy reputation of burly Bronx Bomber David Wells won't be a big issue in a trial of the man accused of punching him, after a judge scaled back the...
CONNOR TRIES TO FEND OFF COUP
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amALBANY - In a last-ditch attempt to beat back a challenge for his job today, state Senate Minority Leader Martin Connor has ordered a secret-ballot vote of his members, The...
CITY PROBES 'ORGANIC' LABEL FRAUD
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amMislabeled-meat maven Helen Burgess' Healthy Pleasures is being investigated by the city's Department of Consumer Affairs for repackaging conventional beef as "organic" and "natural." The probe comes after yesterday's Post...
U.N. DROPS IN ON DEFIANT IRAQ ; MISSION STARTS AS OUR JETS RETURN FIRE
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - U.N. weapons inspectors went back to Baghdad for the first time in four years yesterday, on a mission that could lead to a new Gulf War - as...
SRI LANKAN NABBED ON AIRPLANE
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amA Sri Lankan man was nabbed yesterday as he tried to bring a concealed meat cleaver aboard a Miami jet bound for New York, cops said. A security guard noticed...
END OF LINE FOR BX. EXPRESS BUS
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amSome 15,000 Bronx commuters will be left stranded starting next year because the company that runs express buses to Manhattan says it will halt its daily service, officials said yesterday....
POOR PIERCE WORKS BERRY HARD FOR HIS $20M
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amHe gets $20 million - and the girl? Ah, life can't get better than this. That's what hunky actor Pierce Brosnan must be thinking as he and luscious "Die Another...
BUSH FINALLY WINS CIVIL-RIGHTS FIGHT
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - The Supreme Court yesterday handed President Bush a victory in his battle with the U.S. Civil Rights Commission. The high court ended the yearlong dispute over Bush's attempt...
TV TIPSTER DROPS DIME ON 'WANTED' MAN
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amA knife-wielding rapist was arrested after a tipster recognized him on "America's Most Wanted, police said yesterday. Stephan Peppacino, 48, was profiled Sunday night on the Fox show in connection...
NYPD DAILY BLOTTER
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amMANhATTAN Police are seeking the public's help in finding a gun-toting thief they say stole $7,000 from a Midtown cafeteria. The robbery occurred Thursday at 4:30 p.m. at a seventh-floor...
MULTIPLE BIRTHS-DAY FOR SEPTS
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amIt's a happy birthday seven times over in the McCaughey household in Carlisle, Iowa, as the second set of septuplets ever born alive turns 5 years old today. Alexis, Brandon,...
'LIAR!' FIRESTORM ; FDNY RALLY HITS WRITER'S 'LOOT' CLAIM
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amHundreds of furious firefighters chanting, "Liar! Liar!" stormed the downtown book-signing of the controversial author whose work accused some Bravest of looting Ground Zero on 9/11. Still in their firefighting...
JFK JETBLUE IN SMOKE SCARE
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amA JetBlue aircraft bound for Las Vegas returned to Kennedy Airport last night after pilots smelled smoke in the cockpit, airport and airline officials said. The plane, an Airbus A320,...
JOGGER PROSECUTOR JOINS LATEST PROBE
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amA controversial former sex-crimes prosecutor has joined forces with some top NYPD brass examining evidence in the reopened Central Park jogger case, The Post has learned. Linda Fairstein, who headed...
POLS SET TO OK 'PROPERTY' HIKE
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amThe City Council is expected to approve a 15 to 20 percent hike in the property tax, sources said yesterday. The vote will come before the end of next week....
NEED FOR RAIL LINK DEBATED
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amA proposal to create a multibillion-dollar link between the Long Island Rail Road and lower Manhattan would save little or no time for suburban commuters, according to studies by the...
NAZIS TRIED FOR SPEED-IER SOLDIERS
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amNazi scientists were on the verge of creating a powerful version of the drug speed that would have turned German soldiers into unstoppable fighting machines, according to a new report....
GUYS 'PERFORM' IN THE BEDROOM
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amWomen sometimes fake it - but now comes word that men can be just as devious in the bedroom. A survey of 2,500 British men reveals that 23 percent have...
BRAVEST TURN BLOWTORCH ON SEPT. 11 BOOK AUTHOR
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amHundreds of furious firefighters chanting "Liar! Liar!" last night stormed the downtown book-signing of the controversial author who accused some Bravest of looting Ground Zero on 9/11. Still in their...
COMIC RELIEF: PAULA WINS HER KIDS BACK
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amComedian Paula Poundstone - who lost custody of her adopted kids more than a year ago amid charges of endangerment - is set to get them back. L.A. Judge Bernard...
LUCAS PLANS CARTOON 'CLONE' OF 'STAR WARS'
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amThe next big "Star Wars" is going to be a cartoon. Cable's Cartoon Network has reportedly signed a deal with "Star Wars" creator George Lucas to produce a series of...
SAVED BY BUZZER: KNICKS NEARLY BLOW 32-POINT LEAD, HANG ON TO WIN
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amKnicks 94 Pistons 91 Not even the choking Knicks could blow all of a 32-point lead. But they tried. Oh, how the Knicks tried. Even on a night the Knicks...
GIANTS REPORT CARD: ANOTHER UGLY ONE
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amQUARTERBACKSWet football was not easy to throw, but not as slippery as Kerry Collins (22 for 46, 211 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs) made it look. Some beauties, but several...
JET REPORT CARD: THE BEAT GOES ON
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amQUARTERBACKSChad Pennington (21-of-26, 229 yards, 4 TDs, 1 INT) spread the ball around and was as accurate as ever. His leadership on the go-ahead drive was the key to the...
BLUESHIRTS SURE BREAKOUT'S NEAR
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amDespite playing better on their reasonably successful road trip that saw the Rangers go 2-2, they are still searching for answers. But though the problems that have continued to plague...
GIANT KEY: FOCUS
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amYou knew he would bring up the names, and he did. Jim Fassel yesterday recounted the tales of Kurt Warner and Tom Brady. Two quarterbacks thrust into seemingly hopeless situations...
CHAD'S PREDICTION NOT SO SILLY NOW
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amThe Jets were 1-4 and headed for who-knows-where? and the young quarterback stood in front of his locker insisting that the season was not over. "This is not over," Chad...
DEVILS GEAR FOR SABRES
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amThe Devils, who split back-to-back games with Montreal last week, play the first of three straight home games when they host the Sabres tonight at the Meadowlands. In second place...
BOBER COULD BE LOST FOR SEASON
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amGIANT NOTES Just when it looked as if the Giants finally came out of a game relatively injury-free, the elastic sleeve yesterday worn on the left arm of center Chris...
HERM: NEED TO HOME IN
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amJET NOTES The Jets have shown uncanny success on the road under Herman Edwards. Sunday's victory in Detroit gave the Jets a 10-3 regular-season record on the road under their...
SCHUERHOLZ: BRAVES NOT OUT OF GLAVINE CHASE
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amEven after the Braves officially acquired Mike Hampton yesterday, the Mets were concerned Tom Glavine may yet return to Atlanta. Their fears are not unfounded. Atlanta general manager John Schuerholz...
PICKING UP THE PACERS
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amWHILE the NBA awaits de-feet of Shaquille O'Neal and de-feat of the Dallas Maverick, the 8-1 Indiana Pacers are quietly roaming below the radar. Winners of seven straight, the most...
SCOTT HOPES NETS GO STEADY
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amON a slow Monday night, with 10,000 Meadowlands arena seats looking emptier than Marcus Camby's resolve to leave the Knicks behind, the big news was that Byron Scott expects more...
NUGGETS NO MATCH FOR HOT-SHOT NETS
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amNets 99Nuggets 79 This was a night to reminisce for the Nets and their fans. Yes, memories of the passing of Yinka Dare, the hustle of Joe Barry Carroll, the...
STOUDAMIRE UP FOR GRABS
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amKNICK NOTES Portland point guard Damon Stoudamire is as available as ever. Stoudamire, in whom the Knicks have shown interest, has been taken out of the starting lineup. The Blazers...
POOR CHANEY STILL STUCK ON SLOW BOAT TO NOWHERE
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amIT DIDN'T seem possible. Didn't seem real. Yet here Don Chaney was at the end of the fourth quarter last night, his hands blotched with blue ink, squeezing the padding...
CAMBY COUNTING DAYS UNTIL RETURN TO GARDEN
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amNET NOTES Sounding very bitter while insisting he's not bitter in the least, ex-Knick Marcus Camby last night admitted he has Jan. 22 circled on his calendar - the day...
POOR CHANEY STUCK ON SLOW BOAT TO NOWHERE
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amWHEN Don Chaney looks at the Pistons, he sees a team and a coach on the same exact page at the same exact moment. He sees a coach, Rick Carlisle,...
KNICKS HOPE SPREE CAN BE FIRE STARTER
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amWhy did Don Chaney wait until last night before putting Latrell Sprewell back into the starting lineup? The obvious theory is that Sprewell's one-game benching was one last slap for...
ONLY TIME WILL TELL FOR DIKEMBE
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amIF YOU reject the idea that the Nets dwelled on Keith Van Horn's negatives and can block some time for Richard Jefferson to grow into a new role, then Dikembe...
KERRY'S SURE HANDS KEEP NETS ON BALL
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amKerry Kittles is content to do stuff that doesn't get noticed for the Nets. Oh, you can't help but see him streaking in to finish breakaways with his near-frightening speed....
STOUDAMIRE EVEN MORE AVAILABLE
November 19, 2002 | 5:00amKNICK NOTES Portland point guard Damon Stoudamire may be more available than ever. Stoudamire, in whom the Knicks have shown some interest, has now been taken out of the starting...