August 30, 1999

ON THE NEWSSTAND

WITHOUT a major news event on which to hang their covers in the final days of August, the weeklies are indulging in their pet stories - some of them literally....

PUFFY GOES CYBER - RAP STAR BUILDS SITE THAT'S ALL ABOUT THE BENJAMIN$; EXCLUSIVE

Rap music mogul Sean "Puffy" Combs is set to launch his entertainment empire into cyberspace, The Post has learned. Industry sources say Combs is building an umbrella site encompassing all...

MOB CANARY WILL CHANGE ATLANTIC CITY CASINOS' TUNE

ATLANTIC City will soon be under attack. Earlier this year I wrote several small items in this column about a federal investigation that appeared to be under way that was...

TV TICKER

Broken hearts "ER" star Eriq LaSalle has been left at the altar, more or less, according to the supermarket tabloid, Globe. Invitations to their Sept. 4 wedding were already mailed...

GRAF OWED IT TO FANS TO MAKE OPEN HER CLOSER

STEFFI Graf came to Flushing Meadows Saturday for Arthur Ashe Kids Day. USTA and WTA officials expected her to take part in the festivities and let the fans honor her....

B'WAY CATCHES 'FEVER'

IT has a million-dollar title, a score that defined an era, hefty advance ticket sales and a producer with an unfailing instinct for what the public wants. Can anything stop...

CARBO - FAD BACKLASH: EXPERTS DISPUTE THE LATEST SUGAR-CUTTING CRAZE

Celeb fitness trainer Kathy Kaehler wants nothing to do with her client Jennifer Aniston's bony new body. The actress reportedly lost 15 pounds after drastically reducing the carbohydrates in her...

TICKED OFF AT 'TINGLE': TEACHER BACKLASH AGAINST MESSAGE

THE back-to-school timing of the release of "Teaching Mrs. Tingle," a black comedy about teenagers kidnapping and torturing their teacher, has outraged the nation's leading education group and sparked a...

SAY HOWDY ONCE AGAIN TO DOODY'S THEME

HOW much do you think you'd have to pay for the rights to the best-known kids' show theme song of all time? Try virtually nothing. That's about what it cost...

'PARKERS' AT COLLEGE COULD DO BETA

IN a twist straight out of "The Twilight Zone," "Moesha's" mother-daughter sister act of Nikki and Kim Parker finished high school, enrolled in college and got their own sitcom all...

FLASHBACK FASHION

Recycling isn't just for bottles anymore. Stylish models like Kate Moss and Amber Valletta are constantly seen decked out in vintage designer duds that are older than they are. But...

WHAT'S RUDY WAITING FOR? THE ANSWER IS . . .; EXCLUSIVE

STATE Republicans say Mayor Giuliani will declare his candidacy for U.S. Senate in late September or early to mid-October, several weeks later than originally expected. Top Republicans, who say there's...

NOTE OF DIS-CORD HAS A FAMILIAR STRING

LIKE the artist Christo, nature-lover Cy Adler has a sweeping vision for turning New York's physical environment into a piece of art that could change the way we think about...

CHARLES BLASTED FOR SHUNNING DI'S GRAVE

A storm of controversy swirled around Prince Charles last night as it was revealed that he has never visited Diana's grave to pay his respects. While Prince William and Prince...

THERE'S NO END TO RENO'S BLOODY INCOMPETENCE

DAVID KORESH, the virus of undeniable evil and madness absent in his voice, was talking as if relating a walk in the park. "I have a bullet wound in my...

CAR THIEF PAYS WITH HIS LIFE - FLIPS SUV FLEEING FROM BROOKLYN LOT

A car thief was killed yesterday when he lost control of an SUV that spun around three times and flipped over only four blocks from where he had stolen it,...

QUEEN PLANS TO BUTT IN ON BUTLER'S BOOK

Buckingham Palace - reeling from the news that one of Princess Diana's lovers is penning a steamy book about their affair - is gearing up to stop yet another kiss-and-tell...

AMUSEMENT PARKS' FATAL ATTRACTIONS

In just six days, four thrill-seekers - two of them kids - have been hurled to their deaths. The tragic weekend roller-coaster accident that killed a mother and her 8-year-old...

MONICA GETS OUT & ABOUT

While her ex-boyfriend was hobnobbing in the Hamptons, Monica Lewinsky was spied heading out of her brand-new digs in Greenwich Village. Monica couldn't have looked more casual as she stepped...

DENNIS A CURRENT EVENT ON L.I.

Dennis the Menace threw a curve at surf-seeking New Yorkers yesterday as the pesky hurricane's winds forced officials to ban swimming at several Long Island beaches. Lifeguards took their posts...

UPSTATERS TO HILL: THIS IS NOT LAKE CAMPAIGN

SKANEATELES - Residents of this upscale village in the Finger Lakes region braced for the Clintons' arrival today and said they hope the first couple will spend the week here...

FALN'ERS WHO'D BE PARDONED TAPED TALKING VIOLENCE

Some of the 16 FALN prisoners offered clemency by President Clinton have vowed to return to violence once they are freed, according to tapes made by the U.S. Bureau of...

BILL'S AIDE DENIES FEDS IGNORED SCANDAL BANK

Clinton administration officials deny that they looked the other way as Moscow mafiosi laundered billions through the Bank of New York - and say nobody should be surprised at reports...

TEACHERS ORDER SAFETY CHECK

The city's teachers union will field a team of inspectors this week to make sure kids won't be risking their lives when they return to school. Inspections by the United...

CHUCK WANTS 'INDEPENDENT' LOOK AT WACO FIASCO

Sen. Chuck Schumer yesterday said it's time for an "independent outside investigation" of the lethal blaze at Waco, in light of the revelation that the FBI used incendiary tear gas...

WOMAN SAYS FORMER JET GASTINEAU BURNED HER

Former Jet great Mark Gastineau was busted yesterday for the second time in two months - this time for allegedly grinding out a lighted cigarette on a woman's arm. The...

WITH DODGER SUPPORT, STATUE WON'T BE A BUST

The Dodgers are "very interested" in a push to erect a life-size sculpture of Brooklyn baseball legends Pee Wee Reese and Jackie Robinson standing united against racist taunts, a team...

YOU'RE STILL WINNERS, BOYS! - TOMS RIVER TURNS OUT TO WELCOME ITS GALLANT LOSERS

TOMS RIVER, N.J. - They lost on the field, but the local Little League team returned home yesterday to a hero's welcome, with fans mobbing them with autograph requests -...

2 DEAD, 1 CRITICAL IN N.J. PLANE CRASH

Two people died and a man was critically injured last night when their light plane crashed on takeoff from an airport in northwestern New Jersey. The four-seat Cessna hit a...

HILL PILES UP MOUNTAIN OF MONEY IN L.I. CASH BASH

EAST HAMPTON, L.I. - The vacationing first family wrapped up its weekend fund-raising extravaganza yesterday with a megabucks bash at a private home to help fuel Hillary Rodham Clinton's likely...

NFL BIGS WINKED AT DRUG ABUSE: REPORT

NFL executives looked the other way when players flunked drug tests four years ago in a secret deal with the players' union, it was reported today. The report, on the...

TRAVERS 'KID' MAY ECLIPSE CHARISMATIC

SARATOGA SPRINGS - Lemon Drop Kid, winner of Saturday's $1 million Travers before a record crowd of 51,371, "came back from the race beautifully," trainer Scotty Schulhofer said yesterday. "It...

WILLIAMS COULD BE BACK QUICKLY

GIANT NOTES There was no definitive word yesterday regarding the severity of the knee injury to indispensible center Brian Williams, but Jim Fassel said there is "a little indication it...

BIG BLUE 'D' TAKES A MELLOW OUTLOOK

"Everybody out there knows we made mistakes ... We'll get another chance."JESSIE ARMSTEAD It is a word that can almost never be used to describe Jessie Armstead's energy level once...

SUDDENLY, JETS SOARING: BIG WIN INSPIRES PARCELLS

That Sept. 12 season opener against the Patriots is now well within sight, meaning the pressure is beginning to mount on the Jets, who are favored in Las Vegas to...

LATE NIGHT WITH ANDRE AGASSI OPENS UNDER LIGHTS

Andre Agassi stepped on the Arthur Ashe Stadium court yesterday, immediately ripping off his shirt to reveal what Brooke is missing - rippling muscles bursting around his chest, shoulders and...

TUNA STILL HAS SOME CONCERNS

JET NOTES Despite the victory, the Jets' 16-10 win over the Giants Saturday night left Bill Parcells with several concerns. Parcells' complaints about the game centered around his team's inability...

SEATTLE LEAVES TOWN THOROUGHLY M-BARRASSED

The two teams from the Little League World Series were invited to Yankee Stadium yesterday. Hopefully the kids from Phenix City, Ala., and Osaka, Japan, left before the game started....

RUNNING STAG FLIES TO WIN

SARATOGA SPRINGS - Running Stag, who's earned enough frequent-flier miles this year to send trainer Phil Mitchell and his wife round-trip first-class from London to Hawaii, made his most recent...

SAMPRAS HARDLY IN TIP-TOP SHAPE

OPEN NOTES All those betting on Pete Sampras to make history at this year's U.S. Open know this: Sampras stopped short his practice session yesterday at Arthur Ashe Stadium, hitting...

FAN SPEWS BIG-TIME TURNOFF

WHAT used to be an occasional reality has become an around-the-clock one, and one that threatens to alienate habit-formed FAN listeners by the thousands. Since the Mets, a month ago,...

REBUILT MIAMI RAISING 'CANE

Miami 23 Ohio State 12 They're b-a-a-a-ck. The Miami Hurricanes, the former bad boys of college football who dominated their sport for a decade before being sacked by the NCAA,...

BLAZING BERNIE PROVES HIS WORTH

After this series, even if Ken Griffey Jr. would permit himself to grace centerfield for the Yankees, the team probably would say, "No thanks." It has long been assumed that...

BOSS' 'DREAM' COMES THROUGH

Yankees owner George Steinbrenner enjoyed the day at the track as he watched his homebred Dream Supreme, a two-year-old filly by Seeking The Gold out of Spinning World, equal a...

ZIM BACK WITH TEAM

This just isn't Don Zimmer's year. The Yankee bench coach returned to the dugout yesterday after spending two nights in the hospital with a minor heart ailment - what he...

BUTCH'S TEAM NO TURKEY

THE BIO on Butch Davis in the Miami Hurricane media guide sounds more like someone running for the Nobel Peace Prize than a major college football coach. Instead of highlighting...

YANK PATIENCE PAYS FOR ANDY & RICKY

THIS victory would not have been possible for the Yankees earlier this season. Not in this way. Not with Andy Pettitte persevering without his best stuff and Ricky Ledee serving...

AMAZIN'S SNAKEBIT

PHOENIX - Their ace was wild, their signature defense messier than a leaky pen, their middle relief rotten. The way the Mets played in last night's 8-4 loss to the...

DESERT DOWNER: D-BACKS CONTINUE MASTERY OF METS

PHOENIX - Like high-school students visiting colleges, the Mets are on a little six-day, two-city tour to determine which team they would rather play in the postseason, if they make...

BIZARRE MOVE MAKES MIKE ACCIDENTAL CATCHER

PHOENIX - Poor Mike Piazza can't even get a proper night off. The Met catcher had a sore shoulder - nothing too serious he said - and needed a day...