January 11, 2004

PENSION PERIL LOOMING: U.S.

This past week, the head of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation - the government agency that insures the pensions of millions of Americans - announced he will be leaving in...

THE SUNDANCE KING; BOOK SHOWS 'RISE' OF INDIE FILM: ART TO $$

The romanticized world of the indie film industry isn't all that romantic anymore. The perception of independent film - long seen as driven by artistic vision rather than profit -...

U.S. AIR IS SHOPPING ITS SHUTTLE

The daily commute for hundreds of New York businesspeople - the U.S. Airways shuttle service to Boston and Washington, D.C. - may be going on the block. Sources say U.S....

BULL'S EYE

All in the family We've had two presidents with the same name, so why not two Wall Street powerhouse trading firms? On Jan. 2, Performance Capital Group changed its name...

STEVE IRWIN: NO FRIEND TO ANIMALS

JUST because Animal Planet ostensibly represents the best interests of animals and animal-lovers doesn't protect the network from the modern, commercial TV formula: Its biggest star is also its most...

DIVIDE AND CONQUER

It'll be a long time before you'll see a movie as visually adventurous as Julie Talen's "Pretend." The New York director uses elaborate split-screen editing to tell the story of...

ALLERGY 911! WHEN YOUR BELOVED CAN'T DEAL WITH CATS

Anne Schlitt faces a very painful decision: her cats or her man. The Manhattan based editor, who owns two cats, is moving to Maine to live with her boyfriend. Unfortunately,...

BOOK FLIGHT ON 'AIRLINE' ; A&E SERIES ABOUT SKY TRAVEL FULL OF BAGGAGE

WHILE some reality shows can justly be accused of not seeming real enough, the opposite is also possible. Some reality shows can actually be too real. As a prime example,...

WHERE TO EAT AFTER ... THE DIANE ARBUS EXHIBIT

A look into the working methods of one of the country's most intriguing shutterbugs can be found at "Diane Arbus: Family Albums," now at the Grey Art Gallery at New...

STARR REPORT

Ozzy scotches offer Sharon Osbourne returns to tomorrow's "Sharon Osbourne Show" (1 p.m./Ch. 11) with an update on husband Ozzy Osbourne's condition - revealing Ozzy almost had his arm amputated...

EIGHT DATES LATER, ALONE AT LAST

Was there any point in returning to New York hoping Daniel might be my boyfriend, when I already knew he wasn't The One? Christmas and New Year's have come and...

SIZE 12 SYNDROME: NAVIGATING NEW YORK CAN BE TOUGH FOR THE AVERAGE WOMAN

Meet New York City's invisible woman. She's attractive, successful, personable - and she wears a size 12. Yoga teacher Marisa Sullivan, a fit 39-year-old who wears a size 10, says...

SHOPAHOLIC: I DARE YOU: CAN DESIGNER LAUREN MOFFATT PUT TOGETHER A GREAT LOOK FOR ONLY $100?

Fashion designer Lauren Moffatt really knows how to rough it. When she launched her line five years ago, the Philadelphia-born graphic artist lived with her then-boyfriend - and business partner...

THE WEDDING PLANNERS: THE TOP JOB FOR 21ST CENTURY GALS: FINDING - AND KEEPING - A HUSBAND

She's savvy, chic, well-educated - and hellbent on a successful marriage. New York's "new wife" is determined to get married in her twenties to a good provider. She plans to...

NAME GAMES: HOW TO TELL THE STILLS, THE THRILLS AND THE KILLS APART

They are three of the hot new bands of 2004 - but how to differentiate among the Thrills, the Kills and the Stills? All are beloved by critics. All are...

HIGH NOTES & LOW NOTES

Happy 2004!: Ryan Adams has taken the Courtney Love route and left a cuss-filled voice mail for Chicago Sun-Times rock critic Jim Derogatis, who immediately posted it for the world...

POLS PROBE POWER DEAL

Two state Assembly members plan to launch hearings this month into a controversial power plant set to be built in Astoria, The Post has learned. Paul Tonko (D-Schenectady), who chairs...

TAXPAYERS PICK UP TAB FOR 'FLIGHT-DELAYED' POL

CITY Councilman Allan Jennings enjoyed two extra nights at taxpayer expense in the sunny Caribbean by claiming a "delayed flight" made it impossible for him to return from a legislative...

NYPD DAILY BLOTTER

An elderly Toronto couple foiled a home intruder by using their bare hands and a tea kettle. The boiling-mad couple pummeled Douglas Halversen, 28, and repeatedly socked him in the...

NEW IOWA VOTER

DES MOINES, Iowa - Move over, Britney - now that Little White Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas is playing politics. An Illinois woman went to Vegas for a quickie drive-through...

G.I. BURIES BELOVED; HOME IN BRONX FROM IRAQ FOR SLAIN WIFE'S FUNERAL

A brave GI whose wife died when a firebug burned down her relatives' home laid his "only love" to rest in a solemn funeral at a Bronx church yesterday morning....

CHARLES MAY FACE PROBERS

British police probing Princess Diana's fatal car crash may have to question Prince Charles and top British secret-service bigwigs thanks to a letter written by the lonely princess shortly before...

COPS DIG UP 'MONSTER' MOM'S KID

"Joey Hope," the newborn infant dumped in a garbage bag behind a restaurant three years ago, was exhumed yesterday as prosecutors prepared a second set of infanticide charges against his...

O'NEILL: WAR VS. SADDAM SET PRE-9/11

The White House - led by a "blind" and inattentive President Bush - began planning for the invasion of Iraq and the future of its oil reserves within days of...

W.'S WIDE WEB MAY ZAP DEAN E-MACHINE

DES MOINES, Iowa - The buzz says Democratic front-runner Howard Dean is king of the Internet - but in some ways, President Bush has trumped Dean at his own game....

FIREFIGHTER UNDER KNIFE

The firefighter critically injured when he was smashed in the face with a chair by a colleague during a New Year's Eve firehouse brawl underwent four hours of grueling reconstructive...

BOMBING THREAT DIVERTS SMALL JET

A bomb threat yesterday forced a small jet from La Guardia Airport to be diverted to Dulles International Airport near D.C., officials said. American Eagle Flight 4959 was diverted after...

NYPD SHIFTS 'IMPACT' OF CRIME BLITZ

EXCLUSIVE The NYPD is making a significant shift in the NYPD's Operation Impact - the highly successful, year-old project that floods high-crime zones with extra cops, The Post has learned....

WMD GAS SHELLS DUG UP IN IRAQ

Danish troops in southern Iraq have unearthed a stash of weapons they believe contains poisonous blister gas - an illegal and vicious substance designed to weaken troops with painful rashes....

BRITS SLAY IRAQ ROWDIES

British troops and Iraqi policemen killed at least five people in southern Iraq yesterday after opening fire on a stone-throwing mob protesting the lack of jobs. Iraqi police believed they...

BLOODY REUNION ; DAD SNATCHES HIS TOT AFTER KILLING GUARDIAN: COPS

A jealous father scuttled a family reunion with his 5-year-old daughter and her mother yesterday by fatally shooting the mom's new boyfriend on a Queens street, police said. After the...

STORM FALLS FLAT ; ST. JOHN'S SHOWS LITTLE VS. SURGING SETON HALL

Seton Hall 71 St. John's 54 "You get beat on a few plays and your energy level is not the same for a couple of minutes."ST. JOHN'S COACH KEVIN CLARK...

RAVING, SHAVING QAEDA BUSTED

British cops busted a would-be suicide bomber with al Qaeda links who had made initial preparations to carry out an attack, it was reported today. The Algerian asylum-seeker had shaved...

BLOODY REUNION; DAD NABBED AFTER SLAYING EX'S NEW BEAU: COPS

A man who shot and killed his ex-girlfriend's beau in a fit of rage and then fled with their 5-year-old daughter was captured last night in a Manhattan subway station...

INVESTIGATORS SCOPING OUT MANHATTAN-BROOKLYN LINK

FBI and state investigators are looking into possible links between judicial corruption charges in Brooklyn and Manhattan, sources close to the cases said. Federal agents are teaming up with the...

NEARLY ASUNDER; NEWLYWEDS' VINTAGE CADDY CRASHES ON WAY TO RECEPTION

A newlywed Long Island couple survived what could have been a wedding day horror yesterday when the classic Cadillac whisking them from the church to their reception lost control and...

NO-SHOW JAILBIRDS GETTING FREE RIDE ON COMMUNITY SERVICE

State inmates in work programs get paid for community service they don't perform and may be getting sprung from prison early based on hours they didn't work, The Post has...

SICKENED BY STATION CURSE: TERRIFYING CASE OF FACE PALSY - CASE STUDY #1

When Fernando Camacho, a 34-year old firefighter with Engine 76, woke up with half his face paralyzed in early 2002, he thought he'd had a stroke. He went to the...

SICKENED BY STATION CURSE: CRIPPLING MIGRAINES - CASE STUDY #2

In 1997, just a few months after transferring out of Harlem's 24th police precinct, where he had worked for nine years, Officer Rocco Farella, 43, began experiencing crippling migraines and...

FALTERING FRONT-RUNNER GROWLS: I'M IN A DOGFIGHT

DES MOINES, Iowa - Democratic front-runner Howard Dean yesterday said he's in "a dogfight" after the latest poll gave him a tiny lead for the Jan. 19 Iowa caucuses. Dean...

HIT-RUN DRIVER KILLS MAN ON PARK AVENUE

A man on his way home from a Manhattan party was smashed by an SUV early this morning and dragged a block before his mangled body fell dead to the...

$75 PER VICTIM; RECALLING A FAMOUS FIRE

Triangle: The Fire That Changed America by David Von Drehle, Atlantic Monthly Press, 340 pages, $25 ON March 25, 1911, a flash fire on two floors of the Triangle Shirtwaist...

SICKENED BY STATION CURSE: CANCER COSTS EX-COP HIS HEARING IN ONE EAR - CASE STUDY #3

It was during a police softball game in Queens in 1993 when Officer Bob Reimertz, 45, first started feeling dizzy. By January of the next year, he was on the...

RARE BELL'S PALSY CLUSTER

A New York-based Bell's palsy expert says clusters of the illness are extremely rare. "That's pretty unusual," said Peter Constantino of St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center, regarding the cluster of cases...

UNHAPPY MEAL; DRAB NEW DIET FARE AT MCD'S

Call it the McDonald's Diet. No longer will health-conscious fast-food lovers have to order two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame-seed bun, scrape off all...

STATE OF INSECURITY ; 'EMPIRE' ENTRANCES WIDE OPEN

EXCLUSIVE The Empire State Building has stopped screening visitors at its entrances, leaving tourists and some tenants worried because it remains a tempting target for terrorists. These days, visitors to...

PETE ROSE'S CRIME? HE'S JACKIE MASON'S EVIL TWIN

Too bad the people around Pete Rose refused to allow me to interview him last week. I couldn't have knocked him around worse than the baseball writers did. Who knew...

JAYSON BATTLE BEGINS

Ex-NBA star Jayson Williams begins hearing from potential jurors Tuesday for his trial on manslaughter and coverup charges in the shotgun killing of a limo driver, a case that could...

FBI'S 'BENCH' PRESS; JUDGE TRIO PROBED FOR DIRTY DEALS

The FBI is probing powerful Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Marylin Diamond and two colleagues on the bench - Justices Shirley Kornreich and Judith Gische - for allegedly doling out judicial...

TRYING TO GET AN EDUCATION AMID PRISON ATMOSPHERE AT 'HELL HIGH'

MAYOR Bloomberg last week launched an action plan to crack down on crime and disorder in the city's public schools following a outcry from teachers, students and parents - with...

'SIGN' DIDN'T COME EASY

George Harrison's autograph on his former doctor's guitar indicates he was in a state of great duress, a noted signature expert said. Arlyn I. Imberman, author of the book "Signature...

CHARLES MAY FACE DI-CRASH PROBERS

British police probing Princess Diana's fatal car crash may have to question Prince Charles and top British secret-service bigwigs thanks to a letter written by the lonely princess shortly before...

FLOCKHART-FREE FORD PLAYS THE FIELD

Harrison Ford celebrated his just-announced divorce from screenwriter Melissa Mathison by drinking and dancing the night away in a seedy Mexican bar. But rail-thin "Ally McBeal" star Calista Flockhart, who's...

DEM RIVALS FLAIL AWAY AS FRONT-RUNNER FALTERS

DES MOINES, Iowa - The Democratic presidential race was a political free-fire zone yesterday as rivals attacked each other in all directions after the latest poll showed Howard Dean with...

INDY-FENSIBLE OFFENSE ; AFC TEAMS MAKE THEIR POINTS

KANSAS CITY - Lovers of defensive football should not watch today's AFC divisional playoff game between the Chiefs and Colts. With two of the league's most productive quarterbacks operating two...

NO CHAMPIONS OFF ICE ; DEVILS CAN BLAME THEMSELVES FOR OBSCURITY

THEY are the champions, all right, champions of obscurity. Honestly now, has there ever been another elite pro sports team to play under the anonymity that cloaks the Devils in...

NFL ON ABC: PRETTY IN PUNK

IT'S no longer a question what ESPN/ABC is trying to do. The Disney network's sports department has increasingly been trying to lure young viewers through the most desperate and often...

BAITFISH NEED PROTECTING, TOO

PROTECTING baitfish is almost as important as protecting gamefish. Without fish to prey on, there would not be an abundance of striped bass, as well as bluefish and other marine...

FOR PATS, TITANS: SAME COLD STORY ; TENNESSEE'S TOUGHNESS TESTED

FOXBORO - If the Titans believed nothing would ever again feel as cold as time running out one yard short in a Super Bowl, it turns out they had another...

BIRDS GET PACK TO BUSINESS

PHILADELPHIA - There's an unspoken truth surrounding the Eagles. "I think no one really says it, but everyone knows," offensive tackle Tra Thomas said. "We've been here before." They sure...

BIG CHILL SHUTS BIG A AGAIN

Live racing at the Big A was canceled again yesterday because of the arctic cold front that brought the Northeast to a standstill. Racing was halted Friday after the fourth...

TRADE TALK DOESN'T FAZE DOLEAC

Although Michael Doleac insists he doesn't read the sports pages, he's up to speed on all rumors concerning his involvement in possible trades. "I've heard different things from my mom,"...

DON'T COUNT ME OUT; FORGOTTEN FRANK VOWS RETURN TO CHANEY'S LINEUP

When the Knicks were rolling along on a four-game winning streak, the key player wasn't Isiah Thomas, but the new starting point guard. Remember him? Frank Williams. Since Williams hurt...

FOR PATS, TITANTS: 2-MAN TANDEM PLAYING SUPER

FOXBORO - Antowain Smith and Kevin Faulk are symbols of the Patriots' unselfish, team-first chemistry. Entering last night's AFC divisional playoff game against the Titans at Gillette Stadium, the Patriots'...

RIDING ON THE 'E TRAIN' ; LINDROS' PLAY BOOSTS BLUESHIRTS

THE parent company hawks high-definition TV while the subsidiary on the ice presents a product that from one day to the next defies definition. Yesterday was better, the preparedness, execution...

NOT ENOUGH OF ANYTHING ; APATHETIC ISLES DIG TOO DEEP A HOLE

Rangers 3Islanders 2 What a shame for the Islanders it was yesterday that only a handful of them managed the emotion, intensity and fearlessness necessary to grind it out with...

WHEW! KIDD SHAKES OFF BAD FINGER

For the Nets this season, the only normalcy has been the abnormal. The Nets have faced injury, relocation issues, controversy, shouting matches, a coach facing the firing squad, the dissolution...

LAYDEN MUFFED DEAL FOR WARD

KNICK NOTES It's difficult to defend former Knicks GM Scott Layden, especially with a revelation in yesterday's San Antonio Express stating the Spurs were desperate for Charlie Ward two years...

MET VLAD HOPES FADIN' SLEEPER CLUB GETS THE INSIDE TRACK

The Mets are not out of the Vladimir Guerrero sweepstakes just yet. But word yesterday was that their hopes of landing the free-agent superstar might be fading away. It was...

DON'T WAIT FOR WALLACE

DON'T expect to get a whiff of Rashweed Wallace at the Garden any time soon, at least not camouflaged in an orange and blue uniform. Portland yesterday rejected the Knicks'...

SOLOMON THE SAVIOR ; NEW COACH PUTS BONNIES ON TRACK

THE coach of my alma mater is on the telephone, and he is talking about responsibility, and about accountability, and about the things that make college sports the way they're...

CIDE LOOKS GOOD AS EVER

Hometown hero Funny Cide, who last year became the first New York-bred to win the Kentucky Derby, looked better than ever yesterday at Gulfstream Park, winning his 4-year-old debut by...

CAUGHT BY SURPRISE ; PANTHERS STUN RAMS WITH OT TD

TWO OVERTIMESPanthers 29Rams 23 ST. LOUIS - The way it ended was so sudden, so shocking, it was as if someone had clicked a mute button, instantly silencing 66,168 true...

CHANEY GETS BAND-AID WIN ; BUT DOC WOULD BE PERFECT CURE FOR KNICKS

WHEN Isiah Thomas fires Don Chaney, he must replace him with Doc Rivers. Let's not kid ourselves: the Knicks' 94-88 victory last night over the Bucks was nothing more than...

GUERRERO SNUBS METS: VLADIMIR SET TO SIGN WITH MYSTERY TEAM

You can wake up now, Mets fans. The dream is over. Vladimir Guerrero won't be playing his home games at Shea Stadium anytime soon. The Mets are officially out of...

THERE'S NOTHING TO IT

Devils 1Leafs 0 TORONTO - It's the guaranteed method of keeping skids short: The Devils have followed nearly half their losses this season with shutouts. The defending champs have fallen...

CAUGHT BY SURPRISE ; PANTHERS BLOW LEAD, STUN RAMS ON SMITH'S OT TD

TWO OVERTIMES Panthers 29 Rams 23 ST. LOUIS - The whole time the ball was in the air, Steve Smith could only think of one thing: Don't drop it. Don't...

PATIENT ISIAH KEEPS FAITH IN CHANEY

New Knick boss Isiah Thomas preached patience before last night's win over the Bucks - something he has shown little of since taking over. Thomas lowered expectations on the team's...

CRASH-LANDING GIVES KEITH SCARE

KNICK NOTES Keith Van Horn took an MRI at Beth Israel last night to see if his right knee suffered ligament damage. Van Horn landed awkwardly on the knee early...

ONE SMALL STEPH KNICKS WIN 1ST OF MARBURY ERA

Knicks 94 Bucks 88 The "Fire Chaney" chants of Thursday were replaced by cries of "De-fense" and "Let's go Knicks!" Don Chaney's club showed up last night in time to...

COLD COMFORT FOR MCNAIR

FOXBORO - If the Ti tans believed nothing again would ever again feel as cold as time running out one yard short in a Super Bowl, it turns out they...

BRRRRRAVO! PATS OUTLAST TITANS: VINATIERI BOOTS 46-YARD WINNER

Patriots 17Titans 14 FOXBORO - The temperature at game time was 4 degrees with a wind-chill of 10 below zero, marking the coldest game in Patriots' history and the NFL's...

THE INSIDERS: THE POST TAKES YOU BEHIND THE LOCKER-ROOM DOORS

Tiger talks tough: Tells Maxim: 'There are guys on tour I can't stand' Maxim continues to be the place for hot-blooded sports. Its February edition, which hits newsstands Jan. 20,...

TIME TO OUT-FOX RAMS: COACH HAS PANTHERS BELIEVING

ST. LOUIS - John Fox has been in the middle of the blur for so long, he's had a hard time understanding how remarkable a job he's really done with...

DON'T COUNT ME OUT: FORGOTTEN FRANK VOWS RETURN TO CHANEY'S LINEUP

When the Knicks were rolling along on a four-game winning streak, the key player wasn't Isiah Thomas, but the new starting point guard. Remember him? Frank Williams. Since Williams hurt...

SCOTT STILL TOO SICK

TORONTO - The Devils are reduced to praying their flu-ridden captain will be able to play on his own "Scott Stevens Day" next Saturday. The Eastern Conference's top vote-getting All-Star...