January 23, 1999

BEAR STEARNS IN SETTLEMENT TALKS WITH D.A.

Bear Stearns has reportedly offered $1 millionto settle a case brought by the Manhattan District Attorney's office charging that Bear Stearns knew that the now-defunct brokerage house A. R. Baron,...

MICROSOFT EXEC ON; THE HOT SEAT

WASHINGTON, D.C. - A top Microsoft executive flatly denied he once threatened to cut off rival Netscape's "air supply," last night - setting the stage for a huge confrontation with...

SICK TRANSIT 'GLORIA'

This makes John Cassavetes' 1980 film look like 'Citizen Kane' WHEN the studio decides to release a movie without critics' screenings, you know that they know that they've got a...

REV. AL GIVES SOSA'S CRITICS AN EARFUL

The flap over baseball great Sammy Sosa's snub of Congress of Racial Equality organizers continued to snowball yesterday, with black and Dominican leaders calling for an apology to the slugger....

HEVESI CAN'T BEAT THE SYSTEM ; LOSING FIGHT ON MAYORAL-SUCCESSION RULES

IT'S Mark Green 2, Alan Hevesi 0 in the behind-the-scenes battle to succeed Mayor Giuliani. Sources said Hevesi traveled to Albany last month with his top political aide, Jack Chartier,...

COPS TRACK A PAIR OF SERIAL RAPISTS

BRONX SUSPECT One killing, 3 rapes, robberies. The hulking Upper West Side rapist has struck again - this time on the Upper East Side - and a 7-month-old rape, robbery...

POLL: RACE VS. RUDY WOULD BE A SLUGFEST

A U.S. Senate race between First Lady Hillary Clinton and Mayor Giuliani would be "a battle to the death," the results of a new poll suggest. New Yorkers are deeply...

MRS. CLINTON PLANS TO KEEP 'EM GUESSING

First Lady has "not tried to end the speculation about her [Senate] candidacy."SEN. CHARLES SCHUMERHillary Clinton told Sen. Charles Schumer she's going to keep 'em guessing about any Senate aspirations...

YUSUF'S DAD: SOMEDAY I COULD FORGIVE KILLING

A day after an emotional face-to-face meeting, the father of murdered black teen Yusuf Hawkins says he may one day forgive one of the men involved in his son's murder...

COP ON TRIAL IN BIAS BEATING ; ACCUSED OF HOLDING CROWD AT BAY DURING L.I. ATTACK

An ex-NYPD cop went on trial yesterday on charges of holding a gun on the victims' friends while an acquaintance beat a young black man into a coma - "like...

DUSTIN WINS $1.5M LAWSUIT

An "ecstatic" Dustin Hoffman won a $1.5 million court award yesterday against a magazine that published a computer-altered photo of him in an evening gown. Federal Judge Dickran Tevrizian said...

SHOCK AT THE TOP IN JORDAN

JERUSALEM - Mideast politics were shaken yesterday when King Hussein suddenly changed Jordan's line of succession and a key Israeli Cabinet member appeared about to challenge his boss for prime...

GOV MAY LAUNCH PROBE OF SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION

Blue-ribbon commission could also look at Board of Ed. Gov. Pataki is considering a full-scale investigation of the long-troubled School Construction Authority and possibly the Board of Education itself, The...

WHERE WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION PROLIFERATE

About a dozen countries have or are seeking to acquire biological weapons like anthrax and about two dozen have or are seeking chemical weapons such as mustard gas or nerve...

POPE WELCOMED IN MEXICO

As he winged his way to Mexico yesterday, a smiling Pope John Paul II said he still has the desire to travel and one day hopes to visit Russia and...

CREDITORS TO SNAP THE PADLOCK DOWN ON CALDOR CHAIN

Impatient creditors have pulled the plug on bankrupt Caldor Corp. The discount retailer said yesterday it's going out of business, closing 145 stores, including five in New York City. It...

RUDY SAYS GO SLOW ON PLAN TO SEIZE CARS IN DWI CASES ; WANTS ANY LEGAL KINKS IRONED OUT

Mayor Giuliani yesterday took a step back from Police Commissioner Howard Safir's get-tough plan to confiscate the cars of people who have been arrested for drunken driving. "Right now, the...

STATE LINE MEANS DOOM FOR TRANSPLANT PATIENTS

Patients over 18 waited 513 days for heart transplants in New York and only 93 days in northern New Jersey.WASHINGTON - If you live in New York City and need...

THAT CREAK YOU HEAR IS A ROTTEN BOARD

I F GOV. Pataki really wants to make a difference at the Board of Education, he'll borrow a couple of those pinpoint-precision cruise missiles that the U.S. Navy periodically lobs...

FOOD BASKET FULL OF WOE FOR $ DAD PERELMAN

Billionaire makeup magnate Ron Perelman - who claimed this week in court that he fed his daughter on $3 a day - has some other food and money headaches on...

METS LOVERS ARE TRULY 'IN TENT' ON GETTING TICKETS

Dozens of true blue-and-orange Mets fans - fortified with food, extra clothing and even a tent - lined up outside Shea Stadium yesterday to be sure they could get tickets...

MANY RETAILERS HAVE HAD TROUBLE IN STORE

Caldor joins an ever-growing list of discount retailers that have gone belly up. The list includes Alexander's, Gimbels, Orbach's, Korvettes, W.T. Grant, S.S. Kresge, S. Klein, Mays - and, of...

BOY BUTCHER'S LAST-MINUTE APPEAL FAILS

Convicted baby-faced butcher Christopher Vasquez lost an 11th-hour attempt to overturn his trial yesterday - meaning he'll be sentenced for manslaughter Monday morning. Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Michael Corriero angrily...

BYRD RIPS PREZ, THEN ; PUSHES FOR DISMISSAL ; HE'S SURE VOTES AREN'T THERE FOR A CONVICTION

''I believe that [Clinton] has weakened the already fragile public trust that has been placed in his care."SEN. ROBERT BYRD (D-W.VA.)WASHINGTON - The senator the White House feared most stunned...

PREZ SOUNDS ALARM ON MODERN TERROR ; WANTS $2.8B TO FIGHT BIO AND CYBER THREATS

WASHINGTON - President Clinton called yesterday for a push to stop terrorists armed with new tools of destruction straight out of best-selling thrillers. "The enemies of peace realize they cannot...

SOME FAN FAVORITES SAVED BY THE SYSTEM

Family members aren't the only ones who benefit from organ transplants, which keep their loved ones around a little longer. Fans of celebs in the world of entertainment and sports...

FINALLY THE END OF SEXGATE IS IN SIGHT

ANALYSIS WASHINGTON - At long last, the Sexgate endgame is finally here. Which means now the senators start their hard bargaining over whether to whack President Clinton with a tough...

RODMAN WARMS TO HOOP DREAMS

Basketball bad-boy Dennis Rodman is looking forward to playing again - but says he's no longer interested in the Knicks. Appearing on "The Tonight Show" last night amid reports that...

CHINATOWN BANQUET RAISES 50G FOR PARALYZED GYMNAST

More than 800 Chinese-Americans attended a banquet last night in honor of Sang Lan and raised more than $50,000 for the Chinese gymnast who was injured in last summer's Goodwill...

UNDEFEATED STEWART HAS NO ILLUSIONS

Upon joining Mike Milbury's assistant staff over the summer, Bill Stewart signed a two-year deal at about $140,000 per. When he got his promotion Thursday to replace Milbury as the...

PUNCHLESS RANGERS ON OUTSIDE LOOKING IN

"We don't feel overwhelmed, we don't feel what we're going through is insurmount-able."BRIAN LEETCH At approximately this same time last year, the Rangers were facing a crisis of spirit. They...

QUARTEY: I'LL KO 'CHICKEN' OSCAR

"I'm going to break all of his bones, like a chicken ... I'm going to beat him like my son."IKE QUARTEY Ike Quartey thinks Oscar De La Hoya is "a...

CAL: D CAN'T BE A MINUS

Last season, as an offensive team, the Nets were among the best in the league. No team in the East scored more. Few teams anywhere were more exciting or entertaining....

CASSELL ALREADY TIRED OF PRACTICE

NET NOTES Sam Cassell cramped up yesterday in practice. He was thankful for the pain. Cassell, the Nets' point guard, got to take a few minutes off to ice and...

LAMORIELLO SETS OUT TO SOLVE CUP PUZZLE

In the end, it's his opinion about the Devils that counts, and Lou Lamoriello still thinks his team could contend for the Stanley Cup. Lamoriello is headed to Tampa tonight...

EX-BOMBER DUNCAN INKS MINOR METS PACT

"I talked to GM Steve Phillips and he said they had Luis Lopez and Craig Paquette. If I have to compete against those two guys, there is no problem."MARIANO DUNCAN...

SPEED HAS 'LICENSE' TO STEAL

AS we saw last weekend, when Aqueduct's inner dirt track gets wet it turns into the Indianapolis Speedway. Horses that go to the front early in the slop stay there...

MCILVAINE'S ROLE: BEAST OF THE EAST

Jim McIlvaine is back where he belongs. In the East. "In the West, all the centers were mobile, centers who could shoot jumpers," offered Sam Cassell, who played in Houston,...

THE REAL SPREE, PLEASE STAND UP

LATRELL Sprewell said over and over again yesterday that he was grateful the Knicks had given him the opportunity to show the world "the real Latrell." The "real Latrell," according...

SPREE: I'M A GOODFELLA ; NEW KNICK INSISTS HE 'JUST HAD A BAD DAY'

"I'm sorry. I made a mistake, I think we all make mistakes in life. I've paid the price for my mistake. I'm definitely sorry for what happened and I'm asking...

VAN: EWING WILL REST WHEN HE KNEEDS IT

KNICK NOTES Fourteen times in this bizarre 50-game season the Knicks will play games on back-to-back nights. Three times the Knicks will play three games in three nights. There is...