May 17, 1999

STREET SHOULD LEARN THAT IN WASHINGTON, THE NUMBERS DO LIE

INTEREST rates on government bonds jumped to nearly 6 percent on Friday. And stock prices plunged. This column has been saying for a while that rising oil prices, and especially...

ABC: ANOTHER BIG CUT - NETWORK SLASHES RAISES, PERKS IN LATEST ROUND

Fancy lunches and pay raises are getting slashed to pieces in a new round of cost-cutting at ABC - but Barbara Walters and Ted Koppel don't have to worry. Both...

PRESCRIPTION FOR MERGER SUITS HEALTHEON, WEBMD

Marriage plans are expected to be formally announced today for Healtheon and WebMD, two pioneers of the Internet health care industry, say sources familiar with the situation. But nobody knows...

TV TICKER

'Shop' talk ''CBS This Morning'' begins its ''Body Shop'' series tomorrow, a four-part report by medical correspondent Dr. Dave Hnida on replacing injured or diseased body parts. Tomorrow, Hnida interviews...

BALLOTS OVER B'WAY: POLITICKING HEATS UP FOR TONY RIVALS

THE candidates are doing dog-and-pony shows. Their flacks are spinning the press. Phone banks have been set up. Ad wars have broken out. And everybody's quietly counting heads. A political...

ABT'S ABLE CAST DELIVERS SUPERB PERFORMANCES

DANCE REVIEW IN the complex art of selling classic ballet, variety is the spice of repertory. Kevin McKenzie's American Ballet Theater, which tonight enters the fourth week of its eight-week...

MEET THE SAMPLE SALE SHOPPERS

WANT to score a $3,700 Fendi baguette bag for $50? Or a Ghost evening dress that retails for $800 for $30? Well, I could tell you how and where, but...

A CHANGE IN THE 'LAW': WOLF'S 'SEX CRIMES' MORPHS INTO 'SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT'

The title of Dick Wolf's highly anticipated spinoff to "Law & Order" was apparently too hot to handle for NBC and has now been changed. The show was originally called...

BODY HEAT: IT TAKES A BIG (BALD) GUY TO STEP INTO TV'S RING AS JESSE VENTURA

You can take the wrestler out of the ring, but you can't take the showman out of the governor. At least that's what makers of "The Jesse Ventura Story" -...

DANA'S PALS: PLATO'S RETREAT INTO DRUG ABUSE INEVITABLE

DANA Plato will get more publicity this week than at any time since "Diff'rent Strokes" ended its run in 1986. And so will a bunch of former child stars who...

ATTACK OF THE KILLER POODLES

Caesar cut chickens open and lookedinside for guidance; George Patakicalls up Arthur Finkelstein. The effect'sthe same: Policy plays second fiddle to perception, and to expedience. THE United States of America...

GOV COY ON NEXT WEEK'S 'MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT'

GOV. PATAKI, plans a "major political announcement" next Monday, and he's summoned top state Republicans to Manhattan for the event, The Post has learned. Leading Republicans predicted yesterday that Pataki...

DOC'S HAD A CHOKE-HOLD ON FAME

AND to think, he wanted to call it "sub-diaphragmatic pressure." That's the uncatchy name Dr. Henry Heimlich originally chose to describe a new method for saving choking victims that, thanks...

LIAM AND LUCAS RIP 'FAN-DOM MENACE'

George Lucas and Liam Neeson have come out swinging against the rabid "Star Wars" fans who've dedicated their lives to the epic sci-fi series. "It's only a movie. People should...

BILL LETTING BULLY DECIDE WHEN HE LEAVES SCHOOLYARD

SEN. John McCain put a severe chill on history yesterday when he said "this will be the great shame" of the administration. The Republican from Arizona was, of course, talking...

LITTLETON HS SLEUTHS LOG ON

Investigators probing the Littleton school massacre pored over computer records yesterday to determine whether six people close to the teen gunmen knew of their diabolical plans. Jefferson County Sheriff's Department...

PRINCE HAS HAD HIS PHIL OF THE PRESS

The hot-tempered husband of Queen Elizabeth exploded yesterday in an outburst at the press. Prince Philip told The Sunday Telegraph of London he feels like a ''refugee husband'' to the...

BORIS PUSHES HIS PICK FOR RUSSIAN PM

Embattled Russian President Boris Yeltsin - who barely escaped impeachment over the weekend - faced a new battle today as he stumped for his choice for prime minister. Yeltsin breathed...

38,000 TAKE STEPS VS. AIDS

AIDS patient Candido Gonzalez has watched his mother, uncle and two cousins die of the disease, and if it weren't for the annual AIDS Walk, which was held yesterday, he...

WE'RE GOING TO 'GET THIS DONE' TODAY, BRUNO VOWS

ALBANY - Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, rejecting claims that repeal of the commuter tax will hurt New York City, plans to hold the vote this afternoon. "We expect to...

APPLE AGAIN SAFEST BIG CITY IN U.S.

New York City is the safest large city in the United States for a fourth year in a row, new FBI figures show. Preliminary statistics from the Justice Department show...

DODI'S DAD PROBED IN SPY CASE; BILLIONAIRE HAD DATA THAT ENDED UP ON 'NET

Britain's secret service - which Mohamed al-Fayed believes killed his son, Dodi, and Princess Diana - is probing the billionaire tycoon for allegedly leaking confidential information about its spies. MI6...

CHARITY CHIEF'S PAL MAY GET $1M:HIS CUT OF BRONX PAPER-MILL PROJECT

A longtime ally of a Bronx housing-agency chief whose troubles The Post revealed yesterday stands to make a $1 million consulting fee from a project involving the non-profit agency, sources...

RUDY FIRES BACK AT SPITZER

Mayor Giuliani hit back at Attorney General Eliot Spitzer yesterday in the battle over police stop-and-frisk practices - but said the city would comply with Spitzer's demands for documents. "The...

DOCS: BILL'S LIES ARE PLAIN AS NOSE ON HIS FACE

A new study shows that your nose really does grow when you lie - and that President Clinton is living proof that the claim is true. In a nod to...

U.S. TO FREE 2 SERB POWS: 'WE'RE JUST WORKING OUT THE DETAILS NOW'

WASHINGTON - Two Serbian soldiers held by the United States will be released, a Pentagon official said yesterday. The POWs are being held at a U.S. military base in Germany,...

BIBI HAS HIS BACK TO THE WALL; RIVAL HAS BIG LEAD ON EVE OF VOTE

Front-running Labor Party candidate Ehud Barak goes head to head against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Israeli election today - after all minor party candidates quit the race. Trailing...

SCALPERS' TICKET PRICES PLUMMET

''Star Wars'' fever may be cooling down. Prices for scalpers' tickets to the film's premiere on Wednesday dropped dramatically over the weekend. On the Yahoo! and eBay auction sites, seats...

RUDY RIPS COMMUTER-TAX FLIP-FLOP; SAYS BILL ON TRACK UNTIL POLITICAL 'GAME' BEGAN

State lawmakers racing to repeal the city's commuter tax asked for the city's OK to renew the levy just two weeks ago, Mayor Giuliani said yesterday. Giuliani and Comptroller Carl...

TV STAR IN CAR-SMASH DRUG BUST

Andy Dick, star of the troubled sitcom ''NewsRadio,'' was charged with drug possession after he fled the scene of a traffic accident, cops said yesterday. Dick was arrested by Los...

COP MOONLIGHTS BATTLING BADDIES FROM BEYOND

THE first thing Ralph Sarchie saw was the mattresses - in the living room. The next was the evil spirit. Make that evil spirits. They seemed to be everywhere in...

KNICK-OF-TIME HEART-STOPPER ICES THE HEAT

Ecstatic Knick fans erupted yesterday after their hard-luck team pulled off a dramatic upset over their hated rivals, the Miami Heat. The Knicks beat Miami, 78-77, on a heart-stopping, last-second...

COMMANDO TACTICS PAY OFF FOR BARAK AGAIN

LABOR Party leader Ehud Barak goes into today's elections favored to beat Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, thanks to a campaign that drew heavily on the kinds of commando tactics he...

PARENTS FLUNK TEACHERS

A column exposing teachers who can barely read or write drew calls yesterday for higher standards among educators. "There's a lack of evaluation in the whole system. It doesn't happen,"...

BULLET MEANT FOR BEAU KILLS TEEN

A 17-year-old East Harlem girl was shot to death yesterday by a man aiming for her boyfriend, police said. Samantha Stallwell, the mother of a year-old baby, died after being...

GREAT DEBATE ON CHARISMATIC

BALTIMORE - Fresh off his unexpected but impressive victory in Saturday's Preakness, Charismatic finds himself in the curious position of being on the verge of accomplishing a great feat without...

LUKAS HOPING 3'S A CROWN

"I don't know about the Derby or Preakness, Bob, but I'll tell you one thing. We've got a Belmont horse." D. WAYNE LUKASTO OWNER BOB LEWIS,ON CHARISMATIC BALTIMORE - Trainer...

ISLANDERS LOSE OUT IN LOTTERY

The lottery gods rained yesterday on the Islanders, who will pick fifth in the June 26th draft in Boston. The Isles, who entered the lottery as the fourth seed, dropped...

INITIAL RESPONSE TO LJ IS DISGRACE

IT TOOK exactly four days for the combined efforts of sports and the media to promote and popularize an act that should've been condemned from the start. It took just...

WINGS TUMBLE DOWNHILL

GAME 5 Avalanche 3 Red Wings 0 DENVER - They are the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions, so it is of course extremely unfair to suggest that the Red Wings...

AMAZIN' CURE: VAUGHN

PHILADELPHIA - The Mets need another starting pitcher. Every armchair general manager worth his remote control is aware of that. Every talk-show caller with speed dial can tell you as...

GIRARDI PLAYS BIG ROLE IN SMALL WAY

IN A soap-opera montage before yesterday's game, Don Zimmer told the media to go ask Joe Torre when he was coming back, Torre refused to even meet with reporters to...

REMATCHES ARE ON TAP AT BELMONT

PREAKNESS NOTES BALTIMORE - The first four finishers in the Preakness - Triple Crown hopeful Charismatic, Menifee, Badge and Stephen Got Even - all are headed to the June 5...

MET FRANCO FEELS LIKE DOOR-MATT

PHILADELPHIA - If Matt Franco could do it, he would take three of the runs charged to Orel Hershiser and add them to some kind of left fielder's ERA (earned...

ANDY, CHILI, HEADS-UP 'D' STOP SLIDE

The Yankees finally stopped the bleeding of a five-game losing streak thanks to Joe Girardi's defense, Chili Davis' power and Andy Pettitte's pitching. With the Bombers struggling through their worst...

IT SEAMS ANDY'S BACK ON TRACK

It was almost just like old times at the Stadium yesterday. Perhaps yesterday was a sign of better things to come for Andy Pettitte, but no one is getting too...

AMAZIN' INVASION AT THE VET

PHILADELPHIA - The man wears a home team cap, but he is unwelcome in this section of right field at Veterans Stadium. Finally, he realizes it's OK to come clean....

ZIM SAYS NO-TELL JOE HAS DATE

YANKEE NOTES Joe Torre is expected to begin managing the Yankees again either Thursday in Boston or Friday in Chicago, according to a person familiar with his thinking. But Torre...

AMAZIN'S POUND VET MOUND

MET NOTES PHILADELPHIA - Met pitchers were talking yesterday about the mound at Veterans Stadium as if it were part of the Himalayan Mountain range. They say it was built...

TURNOVER TIM TAKES LOSS HARD(AWAY)

MIAMI - Miami's Heat were looking for a potential knockout with a little more than two-and-a-half minutes to go. Tim Hardaway was coming down the middle and he flung a...

HEART OF A CHAMPION HEROIC PATRICK HAS NEVER BEEN BETTER

"I've always been a big fan of his courage and he just showed it today."JEFF VAN GUNDY ON PATRICK EWING MIAMI - One minute to go, Knicks down one, Patrick...

HEAT SUFFER BITTER PAIN :AGONIZING DEFEAT DAZES MIAMI

MIAMI - The Knicks had just found new life in the form of a turnover. But the Heat still had the lead, if only by one point. And they still...

PORTER THINKS KNICKS GOT CRITICAL BREAK

MIAMI - Terry Porter admits he must see the videotape to be absolutely certain. But following Miami's gut-wrenching 78-77 defeat yesterday, he was pretty sure that the ball went out...

PEBO'S GUY KING OF KINGSTON

Pebo's Guy, the co-starting highweight, made his seasonal debut a winning one by defeating Adcat by a nose in the $57,000 Kingston Handicap for New York-breds on the turf yesterday...

TALE OF TOUGHNESS HOUSTON & KNICKS HANG TOUGH

MIAMI - The play is simply called "Triangle Down," as basic a play as there is from midcourt when a team is attempting to inbound the ball. The Knicks have...

KNICK THRILLER A 'HOU'-DUNIT: ALLAN'S FG WITH 0.8 LEFT ICES HEAT

GAME 5 Knicks 78 Heat 77 MIAMI - The way Allan Houston looked at it, he was blessed. And that was before The Shot, The Bounce, The Win. The guard...

RILEY: HURTS HELLUVA LOT MORE THAN LAST YEAR

MIAMI - He was a four-year fixture in New York. And during his tenure there, Pat Riley taught the city and a team that was molded into the tough guy...

LATRELL STEALS SHOW LATE STEAL SETS UP HOUSTON'S GAME-WINNER

MIAMI - Latrell Sprewell thought he would be attempting the game-winning shot for the Knicks until Heat defender Terry Porter got his hand on the ball and knocked it out...

CHILDS' BRAVE EFFORT GIVES KNICKS A LEG UP

MIAMI - The ice pack on Chris Childs' right thigh was so large that Childs looked like he was Patrick Ewing's little brother. Mimicking Ewing's heroic effort, Childs played through...

JEFF GIVES REF EARFUL AT END

MIAMI - Jeff Van Gundy was still coaching after the Knicks won. Van Gundy was upset with referee Eddie F. Rush because with :00.8 seconds left Terry Porter was able...

CHECKETTS: STILL NO GUARANTEES

MIAMI - The Knicks won a game and a series yesterday, but Garden guru Dave Checketts wasn't prepared to say that Jeff Van Gundy has won a new life as...

HIGH-FLYING HAWKS NEXT FOR KNICKS

MIAMI - Bring on whoever. That was the Knicks' battle cry after their thrilling 78-77 clinching win over the Heat yesterday at Miami Arena. It turns out that their opponent...

HEART OF A CHAMPION ; HEROIC PATRICK HAS NEVER BEEN BETTER

MIAMI - One minute to go, Knicks down one, Patrick Ewing backed down Alonzo Mourning in the lane, turned and ... Missed. Of course, Ewing missed. It's the story of...

EWING HURTS HIS RIBCAGE

PLAYOFF NOTES MIAMI - Patrick Ewing was heroic yesterday, but he is slowly falling apart. He came up with another serious injury in the third quarter to go along with...

ALONZO WANTS TO STAND PAT

"I don't want to see change. I like these guys."ALONZO MOURNING MIAMI - If Allan Houston's buzzer-beater yesterday didn't kill the Heat as Alonzo Mourning has known them through his...