December 22, 1999
LITTLE BOOKS BIO OF ROOKIE PHENOM - GETS $500G; FILM OPTIONED
December 22, 1999 | 5:00amSIX months ago, 35-year-old Jim Morris was teaching physics and coaching baseball in a small West Texas high school. Three months later, he made his Major League Baseball debut as...
MORT'S REDSKINS STAKE ADDED TO SELLOFF
December 22, 1999 | 5:00amDaily News owner Mort Zuckerman is on a selling spree. Just weeks after unloading The Atlantic Monthly -- and a day after reports surfaced that he wants to get rid...
PUFF IS HUFFIN' FOR BIG .COM IPO IN 2001; EXCLUSIVE
December 22, 1999 | 5:00amPuff Daddy's expanding Internet empire -- Notorious.com -- is looking to reel in $7.5 million in start-up capital and is heading toward an IPO, The Post has learned. The team...
SPORTS GREATS DRIVE FOR THE 'NET
December 22, 1999 | 5:00amWould you buy an Ab-Roller from Michael Jordan? How about a stepper-climber or a Sydney 2000 Olympics lapel pin if Wayne Gretzky was making the pitch? Well, CBS honcho Mel...
A.G. SPITZER NAILS STOCK SCAMMERS
December 22, 1999 | 5:00amTwo boiler room brokerages have been forced to cough up $2 million in penalties for operating a stock scam that promised huge returns on bogus securities, Attorney General Eliot Spitzer...
FED LEAVES RATES STEADY; MAINTAINS NEUTRAL BIAS
December 22, 1999 | 5:00amFederal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan delivered an early Christmas present to the American public yesterday by choosing not to hike interest rates. Instead, the Fed's Open Market Policy Committee left...
BOWIE'S SFX APPEAL - TAKES A STAKE IN ROCKER'S WEB CO.
December 22, 1999 | 5:00amSFX Entertainment is dancing with David Bowie's UltraStar Internet Services. The live entertainment promoter, producer and venue operator has taken a minority stake in the glam rocker's Internet company, which...
RALPH: NASDAQ 5,000 BY END OF 2000
December 22, 1999 | 5:00amRalph Acampora, the raging bull of Wall Street, said yesterday the Nasdaq composite index could hit 5,000 by the end of next year. That would mean the technology-packed average would...
WORKERS SHARE $6.45B POT OF GOLDMAN
December 22, 1999 | 5:00amWhile Internet billionaires are grabbing all the headlines for their enormous payouts, don't shed a tear for traditional Wall Streeters. The 15,000 employees at Goldman Sachs received an average of...
TOUGH TO PLOW THROUGH ENDLESS 'SNOW'
December 22, 1999 | 5:00am'SNOW Falling on Cedars," a lumbering adaptation of David Guterson's best seller directed by Scott Hicks ("Shine"), is the year's most beautiful movie -- and surely one of the dullest....
STONE DROPS THE BALL
December 22, 1999 | 5:00amOLIVER Stone tackles pro football in "Any Given Sunday," a testosterone- and cliché-fueled epic that will have some hoping for sudden death as it stumbles toward the three-hour mark. This...
A THREE-STAR SALUTE TO PERSHING SQUARE
December 22, 1999 | 5:00am'YOU don't hear the traffic now," the night manager at Pershing Square chuckles, "but sometimes, when the music's off -- boom, boom." Boom, boom: onward marches the glorious reclamation of...
A SOUND SLEEPER IN HELL'S KITCHEN
December 22, 1999 | 5:00am'DON'T bring us our food!" commanded the couple at the next table. (Late for a curtain call perhaps?) It's the kind of talk you won't often hear at Trattoria Del...
MAKING PEACE WITH WAR
December 22, 1999 | 5:00amWHY is it that there are at least half a dozen great war movies, yet there hasn't been an impressive war play since Shakespeare's "Henry V"? Is it the scope...
THE 'WEST' OF US - IT'S FAR FROM TAWDRY REALITY -- WHICH IS WHY WE LOVE IT
December 22, 1999 | 5:00amTHE White House will be closed tonight. No, not Bill Clifton's soiled-up White House but the real White House, the one where Martin Sheen lives. NBC is substituting for "The...
A NOVEL KIND OF DIRECTOR
December 22, 1999 | 5:00amANTHONY Minghella is the high priest of literate schmaltz -- and, in Hollywood, that's a compliment. He's proven to be an expert at making books sexy on screen, but in...
FINDING THE PULL OF PUSHKIN
December 22, 1999 | 5:00am'ONEGIN" luxuriates in the beauty of its early 19th-century Russian setting, starting with the opening slow-motion shot of horses pulling a sled across a snow-laden landscape. But unlike many costume...
H.S. KILLER TAPE MAY AIR BY JANUARY
December 22, 1999 | 5:00amTHE chilling home videotapes in which Columbine killers Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold lay out their plan to kill hundreds of people may air on TV as soon as January,...
7-UP'S BOWL AD RULED OUT OF BOUNDS
December 22, 1999 | 5:00amABC's refusal to air a controversial 7-Up commercial during the Super Bowl has done what $2 million probably could not -- get the soft drink talked about. In the 30-second...
MICHAEL J. FOX QUITTING FILM FOR FAMILY
December 22, 1999 | 5:00amMICHAEL J. Fox, riding high with the success of his first film role in three years as the voice of the titular mouse in "Stuart Little," has no plans to...
DEATH TOLL IN VENEZUELA FLOODS COULD HIT 30,000
December 22, 1999 | 5:00amVenezuela's leaders -- still reeling from last week's horrendous flash floods and mudslides -- say the death toll from the calamity could reach 30,000. "There are, unfortunately, thousands of people...
HANDCUFFING THE POLICE - POLITICIANS' 'GUIDELINES' MAY LEAVE COPS HELPLESS TO DO THEIR JOB
December 22, 1999 | 5:00amIT'S hard enough being a cop these days, what with the shame that Justin Volpe brought on the law-enforcement community with his now-admitted brutal torture and sodomy of Abner Louima....
KHADAFY TO U.S.: BE AFRAID -- BE VERY AFRAID
December 22, 1999 | 5:00amWASHINGTON -- Libyan strongman Moammar Khadafy yesterday warned Americans to brace for a terrorist attack, saying the United States "is hated" around the world. "America is right to expect hostile...
FAMILY REUNITED AFTER SHELTER OUSTER
December 22, 1999 | 5:00amLittle Billy Engesser got both of his special Christmas wishes -- he and his younger brother were reunited with their homeless mother, and his family will soon move into a...
TRAVESTY OF JUSTICE WILL AT LAST BE REVEALED
December 22, 1999 | 5:00amIN THE case of Oliver Jovanovic, the wheels of justice turned with the speed of molasses -- but yesterday things sped up. For the last 16 months, I have been...
HOW LADY LIBERTY GOT OFF ON THE WRONG FOOT
December 22, 1999 | 5:00amJuly 4th may be the holiday most associated with the Statue of Liberty, but The Lady with the Lamp actually offers an important cautionary tale for Christmastime. After all, the...
GHOUL ROBS DYING HIT-RUN VICTIM, 73
December 22, 1999 | 5:00amA heartless bandit robbed a dying 73-year-old Brooklyn woman after she was struck by a hit-and-run van, a witness said yesterday. As Helen Jonus lay dying on Coney Island Avenue,...
HILLARY: MOVING DIALLO COPS' TRIAL IS 'UNFORTUNATE'
December 22, 1999 | 5:00amHillary Rodham Clinton yesterday called transfer of the Amadou Diallo trial to Albany "unfortunate," and said she hopes justice will prevail. "I think it's unfortunate that the trial, apparently for...
FEDS: WALL ST. EXEC A PORN LOSER
December 22, 1999 | 5:00amIn a case that could rock Wall Street -- and give a new meaning to "insider trading" -- the one-time head of an investment bank was busted yesterday for passing...
WATCH OUT! SHARON STONE IN AWARD FLAP
December 22, 1999 | 5:00amA Hollywood film company's basic instinct backfired when it sent Golden Globe voters luxury watches just days before they nominated Sharon Stone for a top award. The Hollywood Foreign Press...
DECISION'S THE TALK OF COLUMBIA AND BARNARD
December 22, 1999 | 5:00amAn appeals-court decision overturning the conviction of former Columbia grad student Oliver Jovanovic for raping a Barnard student he met online had both campuses buzzing yesterday. "I don't think the...
GRAFT ISN'T FOREIGN TO THIS PACK OF JOURNALISTS
December 22, 1999 | 5:00amIT'S hard not to laugh when the head of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association talks about refusing gifts to protect "the integrity" of the Golden Globes. For years, the organization...
RUDY TO HONE ANTI-PORN RULE IN WAKE OF COURT RULING
December 22, 1999 | 5:00amThe Giuliani administration will rewrite the city's anti-porn codes after a court ruled that adult video stores could not be shut down simply because nobody buys the non-porn tapes they...
RUDY & ANDY TRADE BARBS ON HOMELESS
December 22, 1999 | 5:00amMayor Giuliani and federal Housing Secretary Andrew Cuomo began a megabucks political war yesterday -- each charging the other with using homeless funds for political patronage. The finger-pointing began when...
BING CROSBY'S SECRET LIFE - FBI DOCUMENTS REVEAL SINGER'S TIES TO MOB
December 22, 1999 | 5:00amTHERE may have been more to the bigger-than-life friendship between Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra than just broads and tossin' back the booze. Like Sinatra, Crosby had a thing for...
RUDY DONOR LINKED TO RUSSIAN MOB
December 22, 1999 | 5:00amA wealthy commodities trader who gave thousands of dollars to Mayor Giuliani's mayoral campaigns and landed a post on the city's Economic Development Corp. was linked yesterday to alleged Russian...
MYSTERY CORPSE FOUND ON L.I.
December 22, 1999 | 5:00amPolice on Long Island, acting on a tip, have unearthed the body of a handicapped woman they believe was murdered and secretly buried during the fall of 1983. The mysterious...
RAFT KID WON'T SPEND NOEL WITH FIDEL
December 22, 1999 | 5:00amSix-year-old Cuban refugee Elian Gonzalez will get to enjoy an American Christmas no matter what immigration authorities decide tomorrow when they review his case, federal officials told The Post. "What...
RAPE SHIELD LAWS COULD BE HARMED: JUDGE
December 22, 1999 | 5:00amThe decision to allow "inflammatory" e-mail messages in the Oliver Jovanovic cybersex case could "turn the clock back to the days" when sexual predators blamed their victims, one of the...
CREW'S CREW SAYS LAWYER'S OK
December 22, 1999 | 5:00amTwo Board of Ed members yesterday defended Chancellor Rudy Crew's hiring of a lawyer to negotiate a contract extension, even though hasn't been asked -- so far -- to stay...
YOU GOTTA BE GAME, BOY, TO DO ANYTHING FOR THIS
December 22, 1999 | 5:00amThe Savvy Shopper reveals tips and trends for gift-buying in what has shaped up as the biggest holiday season of the '90s.YOUR chances of finding a Game Boy Color unit...
'CYBERFIEND' SEX CONVICTION TOSSED - JURY SHOULD'VE SEEN EROTIC E-MAIL: JUDGES
December 22, 1999 | 5:00amA panel of state judges threw out the 1998 conviction of accused cybersex fiend Oliver Jovanovic yesterday -- ordering a retrial that would let new jurors see the sex-drenched e-mails...
MTA CAPITAL PLAN DIES IN ALBANY
December 22, 1999 | 5:00amThe state Senate yesterday derailed the MTA's $16.5 billion five-year capital plan that calls for 1,130 new subway cars and a start on a Second Avenue mini-subway. Republican Sen. Dean...
COPS FUME OVER LOUSY VIDEO OF 6TH AVE. RAPIST - ATM TAPE NOT CHANGED IN FIVE YEARS
December 22, 1999 | 5:00amA bank surveillance camera caught the image of the rapist/robber who attacked a TV producer in Midtown yesterday -- but the grainy picture is from tape that hasn't been changed...
RUSSIA: WE HAVE CHECHEN REBELS ON THE RUN
December 22, 1999 | 5:00amRussian troops battled an estimated 500 Chechen rebels in mountain gorges yesterday in what could be the decisive stage of the three-month military campaign against the independence-minded province. "We are...
POLICE: DRIVER FLEEING COPS KILLS 4-YEAR-OLD
December 22, 1999 | 5:00amLittle Amy Aqeel was eagerly looking forward to Christmas because her mother had bought her a new holiday dress. But the bubbly 4-year-old Yonkers girl will never get the chance...
FEDS BOOST WARNINGS FOR Y2K TERROR ATTACK
December 22, 1999 | 5:00amFour government agencies yesterday issued a wave of new warnings and security measures to guard against possible Y2K terror attacks on Americans worldwide. *The Federal Aviation Administration ordered additional bomb-sniffing...
TIMES SQUARE ARREST IN CLINTON THREAT
December 22, 1999 | 5:00amA Westchester man was arrested in Times Square yesterday on charges of making a threat against President Clinton. John Marsh, 23, of Bronxville, was pulled over at 5:50 p.m. at...
SUSPECT CHARGED IN BASEBALL BAT-ATTACK
December 22, 1999 | 5:00amA 19-year-old suspect was arrested early today in the brutal beating of a 12-year-old honor student, who is fighting for his life in a Queens Hospital. Ahmed Nezzamuddin was charged...
WHITE HOUSE HOSTED LIBRARY $ PITCH
December 22, 1999 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - President Clinton is once again using the White House to help raise money - but this time, it's for his $125 million presidential library, not for fellow Democrats....
FAMILY PRAYS AT BEATEN BOY'S BEDSIDE
December 22, 1999 | 5:00amThe family of a 12-year-old Queens boy beaten senseless with baseball bats kept vigil at his hospital bedside yesterday - praying for him to regain consciousness. "I tried to speak...
HALLE BERRY TO WED JAZZ MAN
December 22, 1999 | 5:00amIt's Halle and farewell to one of the sexiest bachelorettes in Hollywood. Actress Halle Berry is engaged to hunky jazz musician Eric Benet, according to "Entertainment Tonight." Benet popped the...
SHORTCUTS ARE MAKING LEARNING A LOT EASIER
December 22, 1999 | 5:00amSNOWBLADES, skiboards, mini-snowblades -- whatever you call them, they are in vogue and they are enhancing the learning to ski and ride experience. Actually, these sliding implements are a cross...
SANTA WATCH IS TEAM EFFORT
December 22, 1999 | 5:00amOn Christmas Eve, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will help the North American Aerospace Defense Command track Santa Claus. NOAA will maintain a satellite watch of the North Pole...
BIG BLUE BERTH ISN'T FINAL GOAL
December 22, 1999 | 5:00amAT times like this, the quest is everything, all-consuming, relentless, single-minded. Making the playoffs for the Giants will be a grand success. Missing out on the playoffs will be a...
MINNY HISTORY BETWEEN THESE TWO FOES
December 22, 1999 | 5:00amGIANT NOTES The Giants can keep their playoff hopes alive Sunday by beating the Vikings, the team that knocked them out of the playoffs in 1997. In that infamous game,...
JEFF'S BIG SECRET - COACH MUM ON WHETHER HE'LL KEEP 'JUMBO' LINEUP
December 22, 1999 | 5:00amThe Knicks and their new "jumbo" lineup, as coach Jeff Van Gundy is wryly calling his long-hyped but newly unveiled starting five, are just a Patrick Ewing mid-range jumper away...
MIRER SITTING LIKE A PRO - FORGOTTEN QB WON'T ROCK BOAT
December 22, 1999 | 5:00amIF you give him nothing else, give Rick Mirer this: He's remained a good soldier throughout yet another bitterly disappointing NFL season in his curiously empty career. It's not that...
ZEILE NOT ENOUGH - EDMONDS DEAL GOOD NEXT MOVE FOR METS
December 22, 1999 | 5:00amTHE Phillies needed to take a glimpse at their future superstar, which meant the veteran third baseman had to step aside, move across the diamond, play with a bigger mitt....
CENTER OUTDUELS WADLEIGH
December 22, 1999 | 5:00amMan. Center 79 Wadleigh 66 A relatively uneventful game nearly got ugly yesterday during the final moments of Manhattan Center's 79-66 victory over Wadleigh yesterday. Several scuffles broke out as...
HOOSIERS, GUYTON SHOCK TAR HEELS
December 22, 1999 | 5:00amIt took the hot shooting of A.J. Guyton and the hot temper of Bobby Knight for Indiana to overcome cool North Carolina 82-73 last night in the first game of...
NORTHERN EXPOSURE - COLD NETS SUFFER TORONTO TROUNCING
December 22, 1999 | 5:00amRaptors 116 Nets 87 TORONTO -- OK, we're going to stress the positive elements from the Nets' point of view about last night's game with the Raptors. They still get...
EDGE OF KNIGHT REMAINS A SOAP OPERA
December 22, 1999 | 5:00amHE IS as much of the show as the players themselves. When the Indiana Hoosiers are in the building, you keep one eye on the court and the other on...
BLUESHIRTS BEASTLY VS. EAST
December 22, 1999 | 5:00amSabres 3 Rangers 1 If conference-only play ever comes up for a vote before the Board of Governors, rest assured that the Rangers will be casting their ballot against it....
BUTCH GOES BONKERS - RIPS LACKLUSTER ISLES
December 22, 1999 | 5:00amPenguins 4 Islanders 0 Throughout this battered season, after all the pulverizing losses and the few surprising triumphs, Butch Goring has always pointed proudly to the Islanders' energetic effort. Then...
A SCARLET KNIGHT-MARE
December 22, 1999 | 5:00amRutgers' budding basketball team has been hungry for respect. But last night the Scarlet Knights melted under the glare of the national spotlight and wilted under the pressure of the...
PILON A ROCK ON RANGER DEFENSE
December 22, 1999 | 5:00amIn his first game as a Ranger, just seven hours after being notified that he'd been claimed off waivers from the Islanders and less than two hours after arriving at...
LUONGO'S GOTTA EARN IT - WEEKES WILL GET CHANCES
December 22, 1999 | 5:00amThey traded their No. 1 goaltender to Vancouver Sunday, but the Islanders would have you believe the move won't necessarily increase the playing time of 20-year old rookie Roberto Luongo....
NETS FINALLY POINTED NORTH - THINGS LOOKING UP FOR CASEY & CO.
December 22, 1999 | 5:00amTORONTO - It is safe to say the circumstances, outlook and team are different from the last time the Nets played here. It also is safe to say Cindy Crawford...
JIMMY V WOULD BE PROUD
December 22, 1999 | 5:00amWhen millions of college basketball fans across the country tuned into ESPN last night to watch the Jimmy V Classic, they saw powerhouses North Carolina, Indiana and Florida all in...