March 24, 2001

DESOLE: I'D SELL GUCCI TO PPR AT 'RIGHT PRICE'

There could be an end in sight to the luxury market's version of the Hatfields and McCoys. Gucci Group NV's management reportedly would support a takeover bid from Pinault-Printemps-Redoute SA...

BRESSLER'S EXIT IS A BLOW TO LEVIN

Jerry Levin could be inches nearer to being pushed off his perch at AOL Time Warner, following the abrupt departure of one of his top lieutenants, Richard Bressler. Bressler, 43,...

IT'S THUMBS-UP FOR CARMAN IN ROCK'S GREAT ARENA

CARMAN SKEPTICS will call it a miracle, but Christian rock icon Carman packed Madison Square Garden to the rafters for a free concert on Thursday. If you thought Carman was...

KIDS TAKE THE DANCE FLOOR

If you've ever wondered what a "Meshugana Dance" looks like, Kids Dance would love to show you. They'll even throw in some "Apple Pie." You can catch the troupe perform...

FUN WITH GUMBY!

There's something green and flexible and cute at the Brooklyn Children's Museum: Gumby. And he's there to promote reading. With the new exhibit, "Adventures Into Books: Gumby's World," kids can...

SINGLE MOM NIC TACKLES HER 'SCARY' ROLE

Nicole Kidman says she's afraid of being a single mother now that she and Tom Cruise have split up. "It's amazing the way my life has twisted and turned," says...

SHARON TO RIP VIOLENCE PROBERS

JERUSALEM - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon meets tomorrow with a U.S.-led committee probing six months of Palestinian-Israeli violence - and will tell members their group shouldn't exist. Sharon will tell...

VALLONE BIDS TO INCREASE CO-OP/CONDO TAX REBATES

City Council Speaker Peter Vallone, who also is a Democratic candidate for mayor, next week will propose boosting tax rebates for co-op and condominium owners, The Post has learned. Under...

PA TELLS RIDERS, DRIVERS: TAKE A HIKE

Drivers and PATH train passengers will have to shell out more to cross the Hudson as of early tomorrow as the Port Authority's first toll hikes in a decade go...

'CYBERTHIEF' HAD CREDIT INFO ON HUNDREDS: DA

Brooklyn busboy Abraham Abdallah, accused of cyberscamming hundreds on the Forbes 400 list, also had credit-card information on more than 500 people across the country, a prosecutor said yesterday. Meanwhile,...

GET YOUR BABIES BUFF WITH 'TELETUBBIES' VIDEO

Move over Richard Simmons and Suzanne Somers - here come the Teletubbies! The chubby quartet - criticized this week for encouraging kids to be fat - have decided to shed...

BUSH CALLS FOR END TO SPY FOR A SPY WITH RUSSIA

WASHINGTON - The U.S.-Russian tit-for-tat diplomat booting appears to be over, and President Bush said yesterday he's ready to resume normal relations with the former Soviet nation. Officials in the...

CONEY IS. SITE CHOSEN FOR JACKIE & PEE WEE

Jackie Robinson and Pee Wee Reese have finally found a home. Ending an 18-month search, Mayor Giuliani said yesterday the statue of the two former Brooklyn Dodger greats will stand...

'DYNO GYNO' JAILED AS FLIGHT RISK

Convicted fraudster Niels Lauersen - the celebrity doctor known as the "Dyno Gyno" - was ordered held without bail yesterday after prosecutors said he might flee the country while awaiting...

BILINGUAL-ED STUDENTS ARE QUITTING AT A GROWING RATE

ALBANY - Immigrants learning English in city schools are dropping out at nearly double the rate they were two years ago - far surpassing the overall student dropout rate, The...

WOMAN'S KIN SUES OVER BANK-VAULT SUFFOCATION

The family of a woman who suffocated inside a Financial District vault filed suit against the building's owners yesterday for failing to prevent a "completely unnecessary tragedy." In papers filed...

COMBS WAS 'ROUGH' DADDY TV HOST SAYS RAP BIG'S PALS BEAT HIM UP

Sean "Puffy" Combs, who beat the rap on gun and bribery charges just eight days ago, has been slapped with a lawsuit by a Detroit cable-TV host over an alleged...

JEWISH GROUP TOOK RICH'S 100G BEFORE PUSHING PARDON

WASHINGTON - Anti-Defamation League Director Abraham Foxman admitted he sought a presidential pardon for Marc Rich a month after his group accepted a $100,000 donation from the billionaire financier. Foxman,...

CYBERSCARE CLOSES W'CHESTER SCHOOLS

A high-tech hunt was on yesterday for the cyberchatter who made a threat about "a lot of bodies" at a high school in a tony Westchester hamlet, leading nervous officials...

POLS HUDDLE TO CORRAL 'MAD COW'

The state Assembly will put the threat of "mad cow" disease under the microscope at a hearing next Thursday. "We want to make sure that the meat we have on...

MISTRIAL FOR GIRL IN LIVERY KILLING

The trial of a teenage girl charged with the cold-blooded killing of a livery cab driver ended in a hung jury yesterday over questions about her chilling, matter-of-fact videotaped confession....

FINE PRINT PUSHES BUBBA'S OFFICE BILL PAST 350G

A deal for Bill Clinton's new Harlem office could be signed soon, and it likely will cost taxpayers a whopping $350,000 a year - much more than had been previously...

BUSH BACKS FASTER TAX AX :CALLS FOR QUICKER CUTS, HEDGES ON PLAN'S SIZE

WASHINGTON - President Bush said yesterday he wants to speed up his tax cut and "put money into people's pockets" now - a move that could win over skeptics in...

ASHCROFT: VIDEO GAMES INCITE VIOLENCE

"Attorney General John Ashcroft yesterday blamed violent entertainment for school shootings as police revealed the teen gunman in the latest case had targeted his vice principal. Commenting on Thursday's shooting...

SAGGING ECONOMY PUTS DEMS ON BOARD

WASHINGTON - It's the economy, stupid. President Bush is suddenly sitting pretty as both Democrats and Republicans are racing to beat each other at the slash-the-taxes-now game - to see...

POLES APART ON PRIVATIZING : 2 PROBLEM SCHOOLS, 2 DIFFERENT SOLUTIONS

Though two public schools that are candidates for privatization seem nearly identical in their laundry list of problems, parents and kids at each are in opposite corners in the bitter...

FARMERS WEEP FOR 'STOLEN' VT. FLOCK

A Vermont couple wept yesterday as federal agents in bulletproof vests seized the second flock of sheep suspected of carrying deadly "mad cow" disease. In tears, Larry and Linda Faillace...

SUICIDE DAD TRIED TO KILL HIS KIDS: COPS

Troubled Queens dad Juan Arequipa used cyanide to kill himself and seriously injure his daughter, cops said yesterday. Arequipa, 49, an out-of-work jeweler with marital problems, served up what he...

D.C. COLUMNIST EVANS, 79, DIES

Former syndicated columnist Rowland Evans, who appeared in The Post with longtime colleague Robert Novak, died yesterday of cancer in Washington, D.C. He was 79. Evans, born in Whitemarsh, Pa.,...

B'KLYN ED. BOARD REPLACEMENT NAMED

Brooklyn Borough President Howard Golden has named his chief of staff, Gregory Brooks, to replace Bill Thompson as his representative on the Board of Education, sources said yesterday. Thompson, the...

2 HEROIC RESCUES STOP SUICIDE BIDS

Two good Samaritans teamed up to help rescue a despondent 14-year-old boy who jumped into the East River last night - several hours before cops rescued another man poised to...

PATAKI SINGS PRAISES OF TAKEOVER OPTION

Gov. Pataki yesterday boosted Schools Chancellor Harold Levy's plan to privatize management of five of the city's worst schools. Pataki said it was the "right thing" to give parents the...

YULE DUEL: SUIT SAYS MARIAH STOLE TUNES

Pop princess Mariah Carey was sued yesterday by a veteran songwriter who claims she's a music-biz Grinch who stole his Christmas music album. Veteran musician Vernon Minow filed the lawsuit...

U.S. HOPES RIDING WITH CAPTAIN STEVE, APTITUDE IN DUBAI

When the first Dubai World Cup was run at spanking-new Nad Al Sheba racecourse back in 1996, the Gulf War was still fresh in people's minds. Americans had come to...

BOMBERS OFFER HENSON $18.5M

PORT CHARLOTTE - The Yankees are prepared to buy out what they believe would be one year of arbitration with Drew Henson, who they are hoping will agree to a...

CHUCK'S THROW ON LINE, BUT . . .

PORT CHARLOTTE - Chuck Knoblauch wasn't perfect yesterday when the converted second baseman played left field for the first time in a Yankee uniform. Yet, the Yankees aren't asking Knoblauch...

SID SHOWS THERE'S LIFE LEFT IN ARM

PORT CHARLOTTE - The middle-aged man taking in the sun from the steel bleachers heard the announcement. Even so, he wondered if his ears deceived him. His mouth dropped. His...

DUQUE DOUBTFUL FOR FIRST START

PORT CHARLOTTE - The chances of Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez, still suffering from a sore elbow, being ready for his first start of the season aren't dead, but they are...

GUY WHIZ, HEBERT NAMED TO START

The question originally was posed at Wednesday morning's Meadowlands skate by Martin Brodeur. "How is it that I'm Marty Broder' but he's Gee Ay-bear?," the Devils' netminder, pronouncing the names...

DE LA HOYA WON'T NEED EXCUSE THIS TIME AROUND : GATTI'S SPIRIT WILLING, BUT FLESH IS TOO WEAK

LAS VEGAS - Add another excuse to the Oscar De La Hoya litany, this one to explain away his loss to Shane Mosley last June: "It was that damn oyster...

BIG BLUE MACHINE'S IN GEAR :COACH K'S GOT DUKE CLICKIN' ON ALL CYLINDERS

PHILADELPHIA - As soon as the brackets were filled in and the pairings for the NCAA Tournament were made official, Shane Battier went to work, studying the matchups, trying to...

PLAYING WITH HOUSE MONEY PRATT'S STOCK HIGH AS INSURANCE POLICY

VERO BEACH - Todd Pratt doesn't bluff. He's not interested in negotiating position, in leverage or in an upper-hand. He is interested in the Mets. They believed in him and...

FIVE IN RUNNING FOR DISTAFF HONORS

A quality field of five was entered for today's 47th running of the Grade 2 $175,000-added Distaff Breeders' Cup. The seven-furlong event is the eighth race on the live Aqueduct...

STANFORD ATTITUDE NOW TURNING MEAN

ANAHEIM - It's tough enough on the rest of the NCAA World that the Stanford players are smarter and stronger than everyone else, but here, just a few miles from...

DEVILS NOTCH NO. 13, BRACE FOR PENGUINS

Devils4 Canucks0 They've earned this streak showdown, these Devils. Now they must earn a final run at the record by colliding with the owners - proud stars like Mario Lemieux...

KENYON: I STILL DESERVE TO BE ROOKIE OF YEAR

Less than 12 hours after fracturing the same right leg bone that was so horribly broken last year, Kenyon Martin was talking about his future and his belief that he...

ORDONEZ' SHOULDER A SORE SPOT THIS WEEKEND

VERO BEACH - Rey Ordonez didn't make the bus trip from St. Lucie last night and he expects to miss this weekend's games as well. Ordonez thinks his right shoulder...

NOT READY TO ABDICATE :SPARTANS LOOK LIKE CHAMPS IN DISMANTLING GONZAGA

SOUTH Mich. St.77 Gonzaga62 ATLANTA - They aren't the smooth, sweet-shooting Spartans of a year ago but the defending NCAA champions remain the college basketball version of the monsters of...

SPREE STILL SPINS 'WEB'

Sure, it is nearly a given that Latrell Sprewell will hear all sorts of vitriol from the Golden State crowd Monday night for his second return to Oakland. But what...

KNICKS FEEL NETS-MERIZED : GO WEST LIMPING, CONFUSED

Nets95 Knicks86 So who's the cursed team now? Just when the Knicks were hitting their stride and gearing up to do serious damage out West, last night happened. Jeff Van...

CTK STUNNED BY BERGTRAUM

GLENS FALLS - On the door of the Murry Bergtraum locker room yesterday was a sign that read "Mary Bergtraum." That was just one symbol of how the PSAL Girls...

ST. RAY DOES JUST ENOUGH TO GAIN FINAL

GLENS FALLS - St. Raymond's coach Gary DeCesare had a simple explanation for his team's subdued reaction after winning its semifinal matchup against Long Island Lutheran last night. "How many...

'ZONA ZAPS SCRAPPY REBS : HOT 'CATS WIN 9TH STRAIGHT

MIDWEST Arizona66 Ole Miss56 SAN ANTONIO - The book on Arizona's Wildcats has been that they're the pretty boys of college basketball, more glitter than guts. The Wildcat critics claim...

OWLS GET TO HOOT AFTER FLOGGING PENN STATE

SOUTH Temple84 Penn St.72 ATLANTA - The bad news for Penn State was that the loudest cheer the Nittany Lions could muster came with 15 minutes left in the first...

WILLIAMS POWERS ILLINI PAST KANSAS

MIDWEST Illinois 80 Kansas 64 SAN ANTONIO - A day after admitting they'd been both complacent and overwhelmed in last year's second-round NCAA loss, Illinois looked neither last night. Facing...

VBK MAKING MOST OF LUCKY STREAK

Every day, the new Devil/old goalie thanks his stars. The heat was on John Vanbiesbrouck again last night as the Devils sought a 13th straight victory, facing the Canucks at...

WEBBER STILL ON SPREE'S MIND : REMAINS HOPEFUL CHRIS HAS BIG APPLE PLANS

Sure, it is nearly a given that Latrell Sprewell will hear all sorts of vitriol from the Golden State crowd Monday night for his second return to Oakland. But what...

OTHELLA GETS HIS FIRST KNICK START

KNICK NOTES Larry Johnson continued his "Spring Break", Glen Rice continued the plan of rest his sore left foot until further notice, and Marcus Camby got added to the wounded...

A ZONE OF THEIR OWN: TEMPLE TRYIN' TO RIDE MORPHIN' 'MATCHUP' ALL THE WAY TO MINNY

SOUTH ATLANTA - The Nittany Lions had seen Temple's matchup zone before. Or had they? "I realize that people have a strategic approach," said Temple guard Quincy Wadley. "But we...

ONE THING ABOUT OWLS: THEY'RE ALWAYS IN A ZONE

ATLANTA - The Nittany Lions had seen Temple's matchup zone before. Or had they? "I realize that people have a strategic approach," said Temple guard Quincy Wadley. "But we have...

FRIENDS OF THE COURT: PEORIA TRIO BRINGS FAMILY FEELING TO ILLINI

MIDWEST SAN ANTONIO - They are not so much teammates as family, related not by blood, but by the sweat and tears they've left on countless basketball courts. Many people...

PEORIA TRIO BRINGS FAMILY FEELING TO ILLINI

SAN ANTONIO - They are not so much teammates as family, related not by blood, but by the sweat and tears they've left on countless basketball courts. Many people couldn't...