July 26, 2002
OXFORD COUGHS UP 250G TO SEC
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amInsurer Oxford Health Plans conducted surgery on its own books, pumping up revenue by $81 million to create an impression of rosy financial health, the feds charged. And while the...
ALWALEED WON'T BUY U.S. SHARES
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amSaudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal has soured on U.S. stocks. The royal multi-billionaire - known for his ability to buy stocks at bargain prices before they rise - said he's...
PFIZER SCOURS MIDTOWN FOR HEADQUARTERS TOWER
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amPfizer, Viagra's maker and the world's largest drug company, has a prescription for a new city headquarters of around 2 million square feet. For several months, it has been prowling...
SPOOKED INVESTORS SEND MARTS LOWER
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amIt was back to normal on Wall Street - stocks finished in the red. Just a day after the biggest rally in 15 years, share prices turned back down again...
$10B+ FOOD FIGHT FOR HERSHEY
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amHershey Foods Co. has put itself on the block, in a move that could spur a $10 billion-plus food fight for the country's biggest chocolate maker. Kraft Foods Inc. and...
M. MILKEN'S LEAPFROG IPO JUMPS 22%
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amFormer junk-bond king, Michael Milken, still has the golden touch when it comes to deals - even in a bear market. An initial public offering from LeapFrog, Inc. - for...
STREET AWAITING WORLDCOM CHARGES
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amIn a strange twist reflecting bizarre times, the notion that scandal-scarred WorldCom execs could be indicted by federal prosecutors soon actually has investors cheering. "It would be good news for...
$19M MORE LEAKS FROM MARTHA'S POT
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amOh, woe is Martha. The domestic diva's stock continued its downward spiral yesterday. Shares in Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia dropped 65 cents, or 7 percent, to $8.40, their lowest close...
TURNING THE PAGE ON TINA
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amJUST as in the putschs of yesteryear's Communist Russia, Harvey Weinstein, the pinguid chairman of Miramax Films, is moving quickly to wipe away all the traces of Tina Brown, the...
AOL IN FREEFALL - TURNER, LEVIN, CASE, PITTMAN LOSE BILLIONS
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amThe stock collapse of AOL Time Warner yesterday is dragging a virtual who's who of media moguls into pikersville. A growing accounting scandal sent shares of the world's largest media...
PLANT'S ZIPPY & ZEPPY
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amROBERT PLANT ---------- IF there was any doubt that Robert Plant has come to terms with the legacy of Led Zeppelin, look no further than his solo gig at the...
AMAZING GRACIE, THE D-IT-Z GIRL
July 26, 2002 | 4:00am"Biography:Gracie Allen" Tonight at 8 on A&E ½ SEE if this makes you laugh: Gracie Allen is sitting on a couch being interviewed. The interviewer asks, "Where were you born?"...
POWERS SHORTAGE
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amAUSTIN POWERS IN GOLDMEMBER [1/2] Uneven, self-conscious but often hilarious spoof. Running time: 89 minutes. Rated PG-13 (coarse sexual and toilet humor). At the Loews Village, the Empire, the Kips...
WILCO, WARTS & ALL
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amI AM TRYING TO BREAK YOUR HEART [1/2] A treat for Wilco fans. Running time: 92 minutes. Not rated (language). At Cinema Village, 12th Street, between University Place and Fifth...
FURRIFIC FOR KIDS
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amTHE COUNTRY BEARS [] (for kids); [] (for adults) Harmless fun. Running time: 88 minutes. Rated G. At the Empire, the Orpheum, the Chelsea, others. ---------- THE under-5 set should...
ALTERED EGO - EVANS SUPPLIES THE BIOPIC'S JUICE
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amTHE KID STAYS IN THE PICTURE [] A life lived large. Running time: 91 minutes. Rated R (language and some brief violent and sexual images). At the Lincoln Plaza, Broadway...
HIT MAN COMEDY IS NO HIT
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amWHO IS CLETIS TOUT? [] A poor man's "Get Shorty." Running time: 93 minutes. Rated R (profanity, violence, sexuality). At the Empire, the Angelika and the Sutton. ----------- THE good...
RISKS, BUT NO PAYOFF
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amLAN YU [] Sweet and sour gay romance. In Mandarin, with English subtitles. Running time: 86 minutes. Not rated (full-frontal male nudity, profanity). At the Quad, 13th Street, between Fifth...
FUN, FAMILIAR PLOT IN MODERN 'TIMES'
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amHAPPY TIMES [1/2] Bittersweet urban comedy. In Mandarin with English subtitles. Running time: 106 minutes. Rated PG (nothing objectionable). At the Quad and the Lincoln Plaza. ---------- ARDENT fans of...
BEST OF MERCE IN 'MOTION'
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amMERCE CUNNINGHAM Lincoln Center Festival 2002. The New York State Theater, Lincoln Center. Season runs through tomorrow; (212) 721-6500. ----------- IT was as much a commemoration and celebration as a...
GREAT RAPPORT RULES IN 'RAPPAPORT' REVIVAL
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amI'M NOT RAPPAPORT []The Booth Theater, 222 W. 45th St.; (212) 239-6200. ---------- YOU can pepper holes into Herb Gardner's "I'm Not Rappaport" with the ease of a machine-gun aimed...
A HELLUVA JOB ABOUT LIVING HELL
July 26, 2002 | 4:00am"Our America" Sunday at 8, Showtime ½ IN 1994, a producer at a radio station in Chicago finally got his wish. His dream was to put microphones into the hands...
AWARD-WINNING SUPERSTAR, A.K.A. . . . CAPTAIN POTATO
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amIF Nashville has a reluctant superstar, Kathy Mattea is it. The 43-year-old singer owns a pair of Grammys and a heap of awards from the Country Music Association and Academy...
RAY TO GO? CREATOR THREATENS TO END THE LOVE STORY
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amTHE creator of 'Everybody Loves Raymond," one of TV's most popular sitcoms, is threatening to fold the show. "You mine for gold as long as you can, but when we're...
STARR REPORT
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amHour gang: 'WB11' adds to morning slot Add another hour to "The WB11 Morning News" - which will air from 6 to 9 a.m. beginning in September. All of the...
DINNER WITH LIZA; SHE'S GOT A GEST LIST FOR EAST SIDE 'OSBOURNES'
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amWEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. - The weirdest attempt yet to clone the success of "The Osbournes" was confirmed yesterday: Liza Minnelli and her new husband, David Gest, will bring cameras into...
THE SPRAY-DUCERS - JOHN WATERS' MUSICAL THE NEXT B'WAY SMASH
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amSOARING daily ticket sales. Preview audiences climbing the walls with delight. Theater and media insiders tripping over themselves to secure VIP seats for relatives and friends. The signs are unmistakable:...
'SOPRANOS' KID: BOSS SCARED ME
July 26, 2002 | 4:00am'SOPRANOS" son Robert Iler (AJ Soprano) says he was more scared of show creator David Chase than he was of star James "Tony Soprano" Gandolfini when he was arrested last...
WTC FAMILIES RECORD TRIBUTE IN SONG
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amA group of 9/11 victims' relatives who've pledged to make their voices heard are using a new method - songs. A handful of family members lent their voices to two...
TENANT-VANISH LANDLORD PAROLED
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amA former Lower East Side landlord who had been questioned in the mysterious disappearance of two tenants five years ago has won parole on unrelated tax- and credit-card-fraud charges. Robert...
WEIRD BUT TRUE
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amA husband and wife in Nevada face drunken-driving charges - after being stopped at the exact same time in separate cars. Elko County sheriff's deputy Sean Murphy says the wife's...
HE TEACHES IMPORTANCE OF ROOTS
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amKids in the South Bronx have a green-fingered teacher to thank for their love of plants, trees and nature. Ever since "Give a Damn," the only program that gave inner-city...
JAVITS CENTER EYES EXPANSION PLANNERS
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amEXCLUSIVE ALBANY - The board of the Jacob Javits Convention Center has quietly moved to hire a consultant to help with a possible major expansion of the facility, The Post...
MIKE ISSUES PATRIOTIC CHALLENGE TO NYSE
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amMayor Bloomberg put the screws to the New York Stock Exchange yesterday, suggesting its leaders would be un-American if they moved part of their operation to Westchester. "I think you...
'SNATCHERS' SNATCHED: PHILLY DUO RAN FOR IT AFTER GIRL'S ESCAPE
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amThe two monsters who snatched a 7-year-old girl - who miraculously escaped their clutches by gnawing through duct tape - were captured in Philadelphia yesterday, cops said. Suspects James Burns,...
BOASTS OF THE GEEZER GOODFELLA
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amSitting in his prison cell, ailing mobster Sam "Fat Man" Cagnina was certain that his murder-for-hire plan to whack a Bronx car dealer was pure genius, secretly recorded tapes reveal....
SIGNATURE DRIVE GETS CUOMO ON THE BALLOT
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amALBANY - Andrew Cuomo easily qualified for the Sept. 10 Democratic primary for governor yesterday, filing some 100,000 signatures with the state Board of Elections. Cuomo, who will face state...
'GREEN'LIGHTED - INS LETTING BRIT WIDOW STAY IN U.S.
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amA British woman whose heroic husband was killed in the Sept. 11 terror attacks was given a gift from America yesterday - her green card and permanent residency. Deena Gilbey,...
TAUBMAN'S BIDDER END - SOTHEBY'S BIG PRISON-BOUND AS APPEAL IS NIXED
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amConvicted Sotheby's price-fixer Alfred Taubman has consigned himself to becoming a multi-millionaire inmate next week after his appeal was thrown out yesterday. The 78-year-old patriarch promised to surrender to prison...
GREEN ALIVE FOR '05: PLOTS COMEBACK AS MAYOR OR ATT'Y GENERAL
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amSTILL stinging from his upset loss in the mayor's race, Mark Green is thinking hard about running for City Hall again in 2005 or state attorney general in 2006. Green...
SARAH & MATT DESERT THE VILLAGE PEOPLE
July 26, 2002 | 4:00am"Sex and the City" star Sarah Jessica Parker and her husband Matthew Broderick are on the move - from Greenwich Village to TriBeCa. A source told The Post the pregnant...
CORPORATE CHAOS CAN DAMAGE DEMS, TOO
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amANY Democrats dreaming that the corporate greed scandal is a political slam-dunk need only look at North Carolina - where it's slamming Bill Clinton's White House chief of staff over...
MOUSSAOUI FLIP-FLOPS ON GUILTY PLEA
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amALEXANDRIA, Va. - Zacarias Moussaoui changed his mind in court yesterday and claimed he's not guilty of planning to take part in the Sept. 11 attacks - but his admissions...
HAMPTONS HELLIONS: TOWN MAY BID TO SHUT NIGHTMARE NIGHTSPOTS
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amSouthampton is getting tough on its boisterous nightclubs. Barely a year after p.r. princess Lizzie Grubman ran down 16 people outside one of the town's clubs, town fathers have commissioned...
IT GNAWS AT ME WHEN THE FEDS DEAL WITH RATS
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amIN SEPARATE federal cases in courtrooms mere feet from each other, two indescribable lowlifes - who collectively admitted to 23 murders - were revealed as rats yesterday. On the 11th...
SPITZER PROBES FULANI: EYES FRINGE POL'S CHARITIES AFTER POST STORY
July 26, 2002 | 4:00am-- EXCLUSIVE -- State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer is probing the nonprofit charities supported by Independence Party power-player Lenora Fulani, The Post has learned. Spitzer's action follows a Post report...
HOMELESS HOTEL HELL
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amAFTER years of successful efforts to clean up the Times Square area - with Hell's Kitchen even changing into Clinton - blight is back. And something needs to be done...
TROOPING INTO PENN STA.: NATIONAL GUARD TO PLUG[[ COP GAP
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amNational Guard troops will patrol Penn Station beginning Sunday, to make up for a shortage in Amtrak cops, sources told The Post. A half-dozen Guard members will be assigned to...
COCAINE KILLED WHO ROCKER: CORONER
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amJohn Entwistle, the 57-year-old bass player for British rock band The Who, died from a heart attack triggered by cocaine, a coroner said yesterday. Officials in Las Vegas ruled the...
DA: I WON'T LET NARCS BE NAMED
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amBrooklyn's district attorney said yesterday he'd rather dismiss a drug prosecution than endanger undercover narcotics cops by making them give their names in public. Saying he was "outraged" by Manhattan...
LOW MARKS: APPROVED DESIGNS WERE REJECTED
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amEXCLUSIVE Two of the six World Trade Center site plans unveiled last week were included over the strenuous objections of key planning officials and had been voted down by a...
CAN TUNA-EATING IF PREGNANT: STUDY
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amScientists yesterday warned pregnant women to cut their consumption of canned tuna fish, and recommended that the FDA issue stricter warnings about the mercury-tainted product. An estimated 60,000 women nationwide...
WAKSAL LOSING CHANCE TO COP PLEA
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amImClone founder Sam Waksal still hasn't cut a plea deal with the feds on insider-trading charges - even though investigators are telling him his 28-year-old daughter is in danger of...
BEING A GUY MAKES YOU DIE
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amBrace yourselves, guys - doctors say that simply being a man is bad for your health. A study by the University of Michigan shows men take more risks than women...
QNS. LIPO QUACK BUSTED: POLICE
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amA phony Queens doctor was busted yesterday after he performed liposuction on a woman without any anesthesia, police said. The NYPD Major Case Squad arrested Claudio Marquez, 44, as he...
'BARETTA' TOT TIFF: CUSTODY RULING PUTS BLAKE'S KID IN HOUSE WITH SLAY-PLOT SUSPECT
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amLOS ANGELES - The 2-year-old daughter of Robert Blake and Bonny Lee Bakley is going to live with a man who allegedly conspired to kill her mom, the girl's aunt...
DEADLY SHOOTOUT ON WHEELS
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amA car involved in a shootout careened into a row of parked cars in Harlem yesterday, sending two people to the hospital and damaging 16 vehicles, police said. Police said...
YASSER'S GOONS KILL RABBI, WARN OF HITS TO COME
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amJERUSALEM - Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement claimed responsibility for yesterday's slaying of a prominent rabbi in the West Bank, and threatened to assassinate several Israeli leaders in retaliation for the...
HYNES: I'D LET PERPS FREE RATHER THAN NAME NARCS
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amBrooklyn's district attorney said yesterday he'd rather dismiss a drug prosecution than endanger undercover narcotics cops by making them give their names in public. Saying he was "outraged" by Manhattan...
COPS HUNT DICE-SLAY SUSPECT
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amBrooklyn police are looking for an "extremely dangerous" suspect in the slaying of a teenager who was killed after a dispute over a craps game turned violent. Bethel Jones, 23,...
MAN ALIVE! GUYS ARE MORE LIKELY TO DIE - OF EVERYTHING
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amBrace yourselves, guys - doctors say that simply being a man is bad for your health. A study by the University of Michigan shows men take more risks than women...
MIKE: PUT STOCK IN CITY: DECLARES NYSE WILL STAY IF IT'S PATRIOTIC
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amMayor Bloomberg put the screws to the New York Stock Exchange yesterday, suggesting its leaders would be un-American if they moved part of their operation to Westchester. "I think you...
SWEEP CHARITY: JANITOR IN PUBLIC RADIO CARD SCAM
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amA multistate identity-theft ring has tapped into the donor rolls at public radio station WNYC after they were stolen by a janitor there, authorities revealed yesterday. The popular National Public...
SUMMER HEAT TAKES TOLL ON FISHING SCENE
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amTHE dog days of summer have taken a bite out of some types of fishing so it looks as if fluke, porgies and sea bass could be your best bets...
TRIPLE THREAT: NO HUSTLE - RUNNING HARD FROM THE BOX ANCIENT HISTORY
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amEVEN from his home in Sarasota, Fla., three seasons removed from Mets' telecasts, Tim McCarver's prescience as a Met analyst is eerie. So it should've come as no surprise that...
CLARKE BOUND FOR MIAMI
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amHe's had trouble staying in one place for the past few years and now former Lincoln basketball standout Karron Clarke has yet another destination. Clarke, who went by the name...
FONZ ON DECK FOR DOUGH - CASH-OR-TRASH DECISIONS ON THREE STARTING PITCHERS
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amTruth be told, Edgardo Alfonzo was first in line for a contract this spring. He didn't end up getting a well-deserved extension before staff ace Al Leiter, but there are...
NEW LOOK FOR JET 'D'
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amA year ago, poor Ted Cottrell was besieged on a daily basis . . . and it was only training camp. As often as the temperature reached 90, it seemed,...
MICHAEL NOT STRAYING - SACK KING NO LONGER TALKING ABOUT BOLTING
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amALBANY - On March 16, Michael Strahan stated his relationship with the Giants would soon be over. "This season is going to be my last one here," he said. Yesterday,...
'CLONES BUILDING A CONFIDENCE MAN
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amLosing confidence in your abilities is tough in most walks of life. Losing confidence in yourself while climbing your way to "The Show" can be devastating. Consider Brooklyn Cyclone first...
LADIES QUICK TO RIP SLOW GREENS
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amNone of the players was happy with the conditions of the greens in the Big Apple Classic yesterday at Wykagyl Country Club. Normally, smooth, fast and most of all consistent,...
LEFTY GUTHRIE STILL SERVING DONUTS DAILY
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amBefore Wednesday's game, Bobby Valentine lavished Mark Guthrie with praise. Among other things, Valentine said, "I'm not only impressed with the results, I'm impressed with the person." Once again, Guthrie...
BARBER, STRAHAN REUNION WAS REAL DUD
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amGIANT NOTES ALBANY - At least no one was kept waiting. Tiki Barber yesterday on the second play of the first practice of training camp had the ball and right...
WHYWHYWHY HAS THE ANSWER
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amSARATOGA SPRINGS - In a former life, trainer Patrick Biancone of France was known for training top-class, distance-loving turf horses like All Along, champion in both Europe and North American...
MARSHALL, YEO SHARE APPLE LEAD
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amThe LPGA is all about marketing these days, it's latest endeavor to highlight what commissioner Ty Votaw calls the five points of celebrity: performance, passion, relevance, approachability and appearance. Concerned...
POST-ALL-STAR STATS SPIN OUT OF CONTROL
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amYANKEE NOTES ST. PETERSBURG - The backbone of the most recent Yankee dynasty needs a chiropractor. The big picture may look ducky for the Yankees, who open a three-game series...
YANKEE STAFF FACES DISARMING DILEMMA - MO LIKELY HEADED TO THE DL AGAIN
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amST. PETERSBURG - Seven and one-half hours after a syringe loaded with cortisone invaded his bothersome right shoulder, the look in Mariano Rivera's liquid brown eyes told you the needle...
BABY BOMBER PEN FINALLY HOLDS ON
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amS.I. Yanks 5 - Cyclones 4 The Brooklyn Cyclones lost all their fundamental baseball senses when they crossed the Verrazano Bridge on their way into Staten Island last night. The...
BAILEY, MOTT TRY 'SHOW' IN SPA'S BARUCH
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amSARATOGA SPRINGS - Year in, year out, the one constant here at the "graveyard of champions" is that trainer Bill Mott and jockey Jerry Bailey dominate grass racing, especially in...
YANKEE STAFF FACES DISARMING DILEMMA: MO LIKELY HEADED TO THE DL AGAIN
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amST. PETERSBURG - Seven and one-half hours after a syringe loaded with cortisone invaded his bothersome right shoulder, the look in Mariano Rivera's liquid brown eyes told you the needle...
5 QUESTIONS FOR MARTY LYONS
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amThis week, The Post's Andrew Marchand caught up with new Jets radio analyst Marty Lyons. Now 45, Lyons retired as a defensive lineman in 1991 after a 12-year career with...
HBO 'KNOCKS' FOR COWBOYS: A HARD LOOK AT 'AMERICA'S TEAM'
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amDue to coach Herman Edwards' friendship with NFL Films president Steve Sabol, the Jets were among the teams considered for HBO's "Hard Knocks," which is the ultimate fly-on-the wall sports...
MARCHAND'S MATCHUP OF THE WEEK
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amDerek Jeter vs. Mike Piazza With the Media The best aspect of Mike Piazza's personality is his lack of pretentiousness. The Mets catcher will talk with big-time columnists from big-time...
A-ROD COMES UP SHORT: JETER'S RINGS MAKE HIM THE SHORTSTOP KING
July 26, 2002 | 4:00amDerek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez are baseball's version of Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain. Jeter has all the championship rings and the Russell-like knack for doing the little something in...