August 25, 2000

STILL THINK BANKS ARE SAFE? LOOK AT THIS LAWSUIT

ARE the rich really treated better than you and me? Not always. Let's say you were born in 1929 and were lucky enough to have a generous grandmother who put...

WHAT WHITE KNIGHT? - APBNEWS' RESCUER CHANGES MIND, PULLS BID

APBnews got some more bad news yesterday. Teetering on the brink of extinction, the company discovered that SafetyTips.com had pulled its nearly $1 million bid. Stunned newsmen running the true-crime...

WENNER PICKS ROSE TO PUBLISH US WEEKLY

Jann Wenner has tapped Vicci Lasdon Rose - a print veteran with a dollop of recent Internet experience - to be the new publisher of Us Weekly. She's currently the...

MUSIC MAN ON THE RECORD - CLIVE DAVIS LAUNCHES 'J' LABEL WITH BMG

Clive struck his deal. Arista Records founder Clive Davis is calling his new venture J Records. As The Post first reported, J Records will be 50-percent owned by Arista's owner,...

VERIZON'S $5B IPO PLAN - WIRELESS SPINOFF COULD BE BIGGEST OFFERING EVER

Verizon will cut the cord on its Wireless baby this fall - and make some $5 billion in the process. Verizon and Vodaphone are taking public their 60/40 joint venture,...

'SURVIVOR' RICHARD IS 'SNAKE' IN BOOK DEAL

Richard Hatch, winner and "Survivor" snake, may be applying his cunning island tactics to the literary world. Even before he could reveal that he was the winner of the $1...

'SURVIVOR' WINNER GETS BOOK AGENT

Is Richard Hatch, winner and "Survivor" snake, ready to apply his cunning island tactics to the literary world? Even before he could reveal that he was the winner of the...

A WINNER FOR WESLEY - THERE'S ACTION GALORE IN SNIPES' 'WAR'

AS one character aptly describes this story, it's "reality mixed with fiction, mixed with illusion - mixed with guys in dire need of psychiatric care." At its best, this slickly...

PATHOS IN A DIM-LIT POOL HALL

ROB Nilsson's low-budget drama "Chalk" is unremittingly dark, both in its murky, nearly lightless cinematography and in its raw, edgy subject matter. Things start off leisurely, with Nilsson introducing the...

'LOVE & SEX' MIXED

THERE are some enjoyably sharp, close-to-the-bone observations in "Love & Sex," the latest in a series of unusually sophisticated Generation-X romantic comedies ("High Fidelity," "The Tao of Steve") that put...

ELASTICA FRONTWOMAN FRISCHMANN BOUNCES BACK

ALMOST as quickly as Brit punk/pop band Elastica sprang to the top of the charts in the mid-'90s, the three-girls-and-a-boy quartet fronted by former architecture student Justine Frischmann disappeared. But...

A GEM FROM 'JAM'

GRUNGE survivors Pearl Jam made greatness out of simplicity at Jones Beach Wednesday night, in the first concert of a three-show gig that concludes tonight.There was artistry and attention to...

SOME THINGS TO CHEER FOR

ESSENTIALLY a feature-length commercial for both the growing sport of competitive cheerleading and ESPN2 - the network that carries the principal cheerleading competitions - "Bring It On" is yet another...

IT'S CANE MUTINY AS ANCIENT MOBSTERS REBEL IN 'THE CREW'

WITH "The Crew" - "Space Cowboys" crossed with "Tough Guys" (the Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas vehicle of 1986) - the mob-comedy and grumpy-old-guy genres may have reached the end of...

WILL ROBIN STRIKE A CHORD AS LIBERACE?

ROBIN Williams is toying with the idea of wrapping his natural flamboyance in rhinestones, gold lame and furs to portray flashy ivory-tickler Liberace in a new biopic. "Liberace," which was...

GIRL MEETS GIRL IN SEXY FIRST 'DARIA' MOVIE

FANS of the cult cartoon hit "Daria" are in for a shock when MTV premiers a TV movie version of the Beavis-and-Butthead spinoff that includes some lesbian hi-jinx. The new...

THE STARR REPORT

It's all business as CNBC inks digs deal Here's your first look at CNBC's new headquarters, which will be located on 22 acres in Englewood Cliffs, N.J. The new HQ...

NEW YORK DIRECTOR SAYS SHE'LL PROVE THAT LONDON HAS . . . NO LOCK ON 'PASSION'

THE New York Post, the New York Times, Variety and just about every newspaper in Britain have hailed the Donmar Warehouse's revival of Peter Nichols' "Passion Play," now on the...

BRAD NEARLY STIRS LONDON RIOT

London cops threatened to arrest heartthrob Brad Pitt at the premiere of his new film when he got up close and personal with teenybopper fans - nearly sparking a stampede....

BX. MAN DIES IN RUSSIAN ROULETTE

A 22-year-old Bronx man shot and killed himself playing Russian roulette, police said yesterday. Inside his Wakefield apartment early Wednesday evening, Marlon Johnson asked his girlfriend if she wanted to...

SPITZER: CON ED'S 'CURRENT' RATE UNJUST

State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer came out swinging against Con Ed yesterday - urging that the utility no longer be allowed to pass along its cost increases. And with energy...

WE'LL NEED A MONTH TO DIG OUT: VERIZON

Verizon Communications estimates it will take a month to deal with 230,000 requests for phone repairs and orders for new service that went unfilled during its 18-day strike. Employees of...

MOM CHARGED IN DITCHING OF 3-YEAR-OLD

The Brooklyn mom accused of abandoning her 3-year-old girl in Coney Island was ordered held in lieu of $15,000 bail yesterday - and faces as much as four years in...

AN AMERICAN KURSK? - CUTBACKS PLAYED A ROLE IN RUSSIA'S TRAGEDY - AND U.S. FORCES ARE INCREASINGLY OVERSTRESSED

MAXIM Rvanin and 117 shipmates died in the Barents Sea two weeks or so ago. The circumstances are not now fully understood; perhaps they never will be. Among the artifacts...

COPS: MOM FORCED KID INTO CYBERPORN

A Louisiana woman tried to turn her 11-year-old daughter into an Internet porn star - doping the child and training her to perform sex shows for cyber-pedophiles, authorities said yesterday....

O.J.'S PERFECT ATTENDANCE - AS DAD, HE GETS AN A ON FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

CORAL GABLES, Fla. HIS notorious past aside, gridiron great O.J. Simpson made all the right moves yesterday in the game called fatherhood. Simpson put his kids in a prestigious school...

ANIMAL ACTIVISTS NEED TO BE CURBED

TAKING a shot at Mary Tyler Moore would be like arguing against sunshine. The spunky young woman I grew up with more years ago than I'd admit at gunpoint turned...

CRAZED MAN WAS FLIGHT ATTENDANT'S 'DATE FROM HELL'

A Manhattan man was arrested yesterday after three flight attendants said he terrorized them in their apartment when one of them refused to go out with him on a date....

NO DEBATING THAT GORE'S WILLING

WASHINGTON - How desperate is Al Gore to debate George W. Bush? The Democratic nominee has agreed to take part in a debate sponsored by Judicial Watch, a conservative watchdog...

IN MY BOOK, RICH THE RAT WINDS UP WEIGH AHEAD

I DON'T care if Rich is evil. I don't care if he's manipulative. I don't care that he quit high school, and still managed to go to West Point. Hell,...

NYERS SUPPORT VOUCHERS: POLL

About three-quarters of city residents familiar with school vouchers support sending kids to the school of their choice, a new poll has found. And support is highest among non-whites and...

LAZIO PITCHES $776B TAX-CUT MEASURE

BUFFALO - Rick Lazio rolled out a $776 billion tax-cutting plan yesterday that would allow workers to deduct Social Security taxes - a change that would save the average New...

GOP DARES BILL TO KILL REPEAL OF 'DEATH TAX'

WASHINGTON - Congressional Republicans yesterday set up another election-year tax showdown - sending President Clinton a bill that would end the so-called "death tax." Clinton has repeatedly vowed he would...

U.S. AIDS GULF JET PROBE - SEARCH FOR PAPERS OF DEAD DIPLO

A team of U.S. investigators flew to Bahrain yesterday to help determine why an airliner plunged into the Persian Gulf, killing all 143 aboard, including an American diplomatic courier. Seth...

JET DODGES HIT-&-RUNWAY DISASTER AT NEWARK AIRPORT

A maintenance worker at Newark Airport got the scare of his life yesterday - the sight of a Boeing 757 coming in for a landing on the very runway where...

PATAKI PASSES LAW PROHIBITING PIGEON POISON

ALBANY - A year after vetoing a bill to outlaw pigeon poison in large cities, Gov. Pataki relented and signed the measure into law yesterday. Animal-rights groups hailed the reversal....

STIFFER FINES FOR SLOBS ON THE SUBWAY

ALBANY - Better watch where you throw that garbage next time you're on the subway. A new law will dramatically increase the fines for littering in the system, said Caroline...

AL 'BOUNCING' BACK ALL OVER THE PLACE

WASHINGTON - Al Gore's still bouncing along. New post-Democratic convention polls show Gore catching up with GOP presidential rival George W. Bush in battleground Michigan, pulling way ahead in New...

ED. BOARD GETS EXTRA TIME TO FIND TEACHERS

Schools Chancellor Harold Levy will get a year's breathing room before he must find certified teachers for all the city's 94 failing schools under a court settlement reached yesterday. The...

BUSH USES LA. FAMILY AS PROPS IN TAX-PLAN DEFENSE

WASHINGTON - George W. Bush trotted out a real-life teacher and his family yesterday to try to prove his big-bucks tax cut plan really does help the little guy. "We...

'SURVIVOR' RATES A RECORD - 52 MILLION VIEWERS TUNED IN

"Survivor" did a lot better than surviving. The ratings for the finale of the smash CBS reality show surpassed even the most optimistic predictions, becoming the highest-rated summer program in...

RED TAPE KILLING KID - CANCER BOY DENIED TREATMENT BECAUSE OF FDA BUREAUCRACY

IN THE hallway on the 10th floor of Beth Israel Hospital North, Mickey and Minnie Mouse prance, stuffed animals smile and paintings of handsome zebras line the walls. Inside the...

GIULIANI MIGHT SUE PETA FOR 'MILKING' HIS IMAGE

Mayor Giuliani last night threatened to sue animal-rights activists for drafting him in their bid to cow the country's dairy farmers. Virginia-based People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals raised...

SOBER-MINDED MAYOR MULLING FEST BOOZE BAN

Mayor Giuliani said last night he's thinking about an outright ban on liquor sales at all outdoor events, including street fairs. He spoke only hours after one of his aides...

OBSCURE DEM IS HILL'S PRIMARY CONCERN

WHILE Hillary Rodham Clinton is ducking questions about whether she'll debate her little-known foe in the Democratic primary, her campaign staff is quietly polling statewide to determine his strength. Although...

FANS DEFLATED AFTER LIBERTY LOSS

We have a problem - Houston. The Comets clipped the ladies Liberty in Game 1 of the best-of-three WNBA finals at the Garden last night - and now New York's...

HOW RUSSIA TREATED BITTER SUB RELATIVE - SEDATED HER WITH INJECTION

Shocking TV footage made by a Russian station shows a medic sneaking up on the grieving mother of a Kursk submariner and knocking her out with an injection after she...

MADMAN SLAYS 2 KIDS WITH A PITCHFORK - THREE SIBLINGS FLEE FROM CALIF. PSYCHO

A naked madman who "hated children" broke into an isolated California farmhouse and brutalized five kids, slaying two of them with a pitchfork before cops stormed the house and shot...

WIFE-SLAY SUSPECT HELD IN W'CHESTER

Westchester cops last night were holding a man suspected of strangling his wife in Minnesota, burying her body in Tennessee and telling New York friends she died of a brain...

BOOZE LIMIT MAY DRY UP SAN GENNARO CHARITIES

Organizers of next month's San Gennaro Festival are grimly predicting a huge drop in charitable contributions from this year's event because the city has slashed its liquor permits in half....

PATAKI PROHIBITS PIGEON-POISONING

ALBANY - A year after vetoing a bill to outlaw anti-pigeon poison in large cities, Gov. Pataki relented and signed the measure into law yesterday. Animal rights groups hailed the...

FORCED SEDATION OF KURSK MOTHER ECHOES KGB DAYS

Controversy is brewing over television footage that shows a medic giving an injection to the grieving mother of a Kursk submariner after she raged at a top Russian minister. The...

HOOP FANS IN SWEET LAND OF LIBERTY

New Yorkers have some basketball worth cheering about - and it's got nothing to do with a guy named Patrick Ewing and a team called the Knicks. The other Big...

NAKED LUNATIC MURDERS 2 KIDS WITH PITCHFORK

A naked madman who "hated children" burst into an isolated California farmhouse and brutalized five kids, slaying two of them with a pitchfork before cops broke in and shot him...

GAYS HAIL GUY WHO SHATTERED THE MYTH

Millionaire Survivor Richard Hatch - America's newest homosexual TV star - is being hailed today as stereotype-buster by many in the gay community. "I think [his win] breaks down the...

IN MY BOOK, RICH THE RAT IS WEIGH AHEAD

I DON'T care if Rich is evil. I don't care if he's manipulative. I don't care that he quit high school, and still managed to go to West Point. Hell,...

'SURVIVOR' RATES A RECORD - AT LEAST 52 MILLION VIEWERS TUNED IN

"Survivor" did a lot better than surviving. The ratings for the finale of the smash CBS reality show surpassed even the most optimistic predictions, becoming the highest rated summer program...

AIRPORT WORKER DODGES NEWARK HIT-AND-RUNWAY

A maintenance worker at Newark Airport got the scare of his life yesterday - the sight of a 757 jetliner coming in for a landing on the very runway he...

PETA STEALS RUDY'S IMAGE TO 'MILK' CONSUMER FEARS

Animal-rights activists have drafted an unwilling Mayor Giuliani in their bid to cow the country's dairy farmers. The Virginia-based People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals raised hackles all over...

'HERITAGE,' 'PLEASURE' IN SUPER SHOWDOWN

SARATOGA SPRINGS - There have been a couple of championship matches already this summer at the Old Spa. In the Whitney, Lemon Drop Kid dusted a stellar field that included...

HELTON'S PURSUIT OF RARE AIR NOT QUITE FAIR

QUIZ: Three teams currently have five pitchers on their rosters (DL included) who have won at least 100 career games. Name them (answer below). * Todd Helton may indeed bat...

FROM CURSE TO KARMA?

THESE days the Red Sox have Pedro Martinez, a sense of magic and veteran starting pitching on the way. All three are fragile propositions. So we are probably going to...

THINGS START TO SIZZLE

AS the summer winds down, veteran anglers look forward to what should be the best time of the year, the post-Labor Day bonanza. The coming weeks will offer some of...

DOWN THE JOHN - PATRICK NEVER HAD CHANCE ONCE THOMPSON GOT HOLD OF HIM

IT really doesn't matter if Patrick Ewing remains with the Knicks another two days or another two years. Outside of his uniform and his renegotiated salaries, he never really was...

WHAT, US WORRY?! - JINTS DON'T CARE IF THEY FINISH PRESEASON WINLESS

They both learned the ways of the league in Buffalo, where pre-season games were treated as glorified practices, dressed in full pads, surrounded by paying customers and feeling no discernible...

GUYS, LOOK WHAT I FOUND

YANKEE NOTES Mariano Rivera ended up flat on his back, but when he saw the ball was in his glove and he was able to sit up, he smiled. Rivera...

BIG BLUE'S SKIPPER JUMPS SHIP TO XFL

GIANT NOTES Less than two weeks before the start of the season, the Giants yesterday experienced a shakeup in their coaching staff when Jim Skipper, their assistant head coach and...

NINEPINS UPSETS CAMPANILE

SARATOGA SPRINGS - Campanile, bidding to become the first horse to sweep both of Saratoga's stakes for steeplechasers in consecutive years, fell 3 ½ lengths short yesterday, finishing second to...

NINE SURVIVORS CLASH IN MIDSUMMER DERBY

SARATOGA SPRINGS - Welcome to the 131st Travers Stakes, thoroughbred racing's version of "Survivor." With Kentucky Derby winner Fusaichi Pegasus, Preakness winner Red Bullet, Jim Dandy winner Graeme Hall and...

PLENTY OF TRAVERS TALK ON TAP

There will be plenty of coverage tomorrow of the Grade 1, $1 million Travers Stakes prior to the beginning of the live card, with a special first race post time...

BRISBY FEELING SUPER IN GREEN

JET NOTES The Jets needed a big wide receiver who was willing to work cheap. Vincent Brisby wanted a team that would give him major playing time and had a...

REJUVENATED JUMBO WILL ONLY MISS ONE

The NFL had suspended Jumbo Elliott for a pair of games for his role in bar room brawl last summer, but the Jets' left tackle didn't think he should miss...

ON SECOND THOUGHT, KNICKS SAY WE LOVE EW; KNICKS SAY NEVER MIND

NEVER mind. Those were the hilarious words from the Knicks yesterday, concerning the Patrick Ewing trade to Seattle. The deal is dead and so is the Knicks' credibility, as if...

BIG UNIT'S LITTLE NEMESIS - MCEWING IS THORN IN JOHNSON'S SIDE

It's a tired slingshot reference waiting to happen. Joe McEwing against Randy Johnson. Tonight's featured matchup to start this Mets vs. Diamondbacks weekend showdown. McEwing is 6-for-17 (.353) against Johnson...

FONZIE'S HOPING HE'LL BE BACK TONIGHT

MET NOTES Edgardo Alfonzo's injuries have been like an annoying girlfriend. There was the strained hip and the slightly pulled groin and, the latest, a stiff neck. Nag, nag, nag....

TEST OF CHAMPIONS - BOMBERS BRACE FOR GRUELING LATE-SEASON SKED

THEY straddled in. Those who arrived early almost uniformly did so to receive some type of medical attention. There are two training tables in the back room of the Yankee...

THE USUAL SUSPECTS - GLENALLEN, ANDY KEEP YANKS ROLLIN'

Yankees 8 - Rangers 7 They are an unlikely duo, joined only in the Yankees' collective awe at their eye-popping statistics. In an 8-7 victory over the Rangers yesterday, pitcher...

EWING'S COMING BACK - TRADE OPTIONS LOOK BLEAK AS SONIC DEAL DIES

One more year. After trade talks with Seattle for Vin Baker abruptly ended yesterday, Knicks GM Scott Layden proclaimed Patrick Ewing will more than likely play another season for the...

REGGIE SAYS WNBA RICHES ARE 'SLAM DUNK'

LIBERTY NOTES Reggie Miller believes the day will come when WNBA start jumping into the million-dollar salary level. But not until they begin jumping like the NBA stars. Miller, who...

SEEMS LIKE OLD TIMES

GAME 1Comets 59 - Liberty 52 The Liberty understood the importance of winning last night at the Garden. Even the ever-optimistic Teresa Weatherspoon had said that Game 1 of the...

PATRICK'S COMING BACK - THAT'S WHAT GM THINKS AFTER SONIC DEAL FINALLY DIES

One more year. After trade talks with Seattle for Vin Baker officially died yesterday morning, Knicks GM Scott Layden proclaimed it is more than likely Patrick Ewing will play this...

ADUBATO IS LADIES' MAN - AFTER COACHING THE BOYS, RICHIE'S MADE SMOOTH TRANSITION TO WNBA

When he was named the Liberty's head coach in December, 1998, Richie Adubato was not exactly familiar with women's basketball. A long-time NBA coach, Adubato had seen just two WNBA...