February 10, 2000

M'SOFT DIVES, TAKES MARKETS DOWN, TOO

The prospect of new legal woes for Microsoft and a big bout of profit-taking sent the markets spiralling downward yesterday with all the major indices posting big losses. Microsoft shares...

INSIDER RAIDING BUST ; DEUTSCHE TRADER PLANTED COMPUTER 'TIME BOMB'

A former trader at Deutsche Morgan Grenfell was indicted yesterday for planting an electronic "time bomb" in the firm's computers to cause $1 million worth of trading losses. The defendent,...

UPI ON BRINK OF SALE TO 'NET COMPANY

United Press International, the venerable but battered news service, is said to be on the brink of a deal to sell itself to an undisclosed, cash-rich Internet company. Earlier talks...

HUNTING HARRY POTTER ; WARNER BROS. CHASING WEB SITES USING NAME

The Harry Potter police are out in full force. Warner Brothers Studio, the company that owns the film rights to two Harry Potter books, is clamping down on the use...

MORRIS TALKS POLITICS ON 'NET

Political pundit Dick Morris is moving from the TV screen to the PC monitor. Morris will be a regular guest on Pseudo.com's new political channel, pseudopolitics.com and this spring will...

THE COMEBACK KITTY ; PUMA'S CLAWING ITS WAY UP AS NIKE SLIPS

While Nike stock plunged for a second day on earnings worries, smaller rival Puma went the other way -- it jumped 7 percent, after the German athletic wear maker said...

TIPS FOR SAVING ON AUTO INSURANCE

MY mailbox has been filled lately with all kinds of offers and deals to save 15% or more on my auto insurance by answering the letter with a phone call....

AN UNLUCKY 'SEVENTH'

Dance Review FRANK Sinatra used to sing that love was better the second time around. That's quite often true of ballet as well. Ballets sometimes look better on a second...

BEHIND THE SCENES

It's Fashion Week Fall 2000 - and the modeling world, racked with accusations of pimping and drug abuse, is at an all-time low. Is it really as corrupt as its...

OSCAR WATCH

Today The Post offers predictions for Best Actor Oscar nominations, which will be announced on Tuesday. DENZEL Washington still looks like the man to beat for the Best Actor Oscar...

BREATH OF FRESH 'EYRE'

THEATER REVIEW THE most stimulating and dazzling theater in town right now is a skeletal, emotional and psychologically brilliant stage adaptation of Charlotte Bronte's "Jane Eyre" at the Brooklyn Academy...

THE STARR REPORT

'Incorrect' marriage? ABC's "Politically Incorrect" is looking to air a gay marriage between two men on live TV. Sources say "PI" has contacted the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation,...

FLEISS SUES E! CHANNEL

FORMER Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss is suing E! Entertainment Television for slander, claiming the network falsely labeled her a snitch. The suit, filed this week in Los Angeles, alleges that...

ONCE AGAIN, REVIVALS REIGN AMONG SEASON'S . . . BROADWAY BOUND

ON Broadway this spring, everything relatively old is a new again.Having pretty much exhausted the supply of classic old plays and musicals, play-it-safe producers are now resurrecting shows that haven't...

'SOPRANOS' OFF-KEY? ; YES -- BUT NEXT FEW EPISODES WILL SING A FAMILIAR TUNE AGAIN

JUST four episodes into its second season, "The Sopranos" is suffering from a hype hangover. That's what happens to a series after it becomes the object of one of the...

MARC GOES MAINSTREAM BUT ON HIS OWN TERMS

CONCERT REVIEW VOCAL passion, stage charisma and raw excitement were Marc Anthony's calling cards at his headlining Madison Square Garden debut last night. The show was not only important because...

U.S. GIVES 'NEW' AUSTRIA A CHANCE: VIENNA PLEDGES TOLERANCE

The Clinton administration softened its criticism of Austria's new far-right government yesterday after receiving assurances it will protect democratic values and confront its Nazi past. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright,...

IRAQ: ALLIED BOMBS KILL

U.S. and British warplanes bombed southern Iraq yesterday, killing three Iraqis and wounding eight others, Iraq's state-run television reported. Quoting an unnamed Iraqi Air Defense Force spokesman, the report said...

JUDGE: NYPD 'PROMOTIONS' ARE A 'GUISE'

A judge yesterday blocked the NYPD from promoting cops to the rank of detective specialist because, he said, the move is "a guise" to avoid negotiating raises with the police...

TEACHER'S AIDE IN KID-SEX SCANDAL

A Brooklyn teacher's assistant was fired yesterday after he was charged with having sex with a 13-year-old student, authorities sources said. The victim, who sources said is 8½ months pregnant,...

MICHAEL KORS IS KING

Michael Kors turned out a stylish valentine to both the Upper East Side socialites who are his biggest fans and The city of New York. To a frenetic remix of...

SECOND PETA ATTACK DISTURBS RUNWAY SHOW

No, that wasn't hand-painted fabric that designer Michael Kors was sporting as he took his runway bows after his show. His suit was splattered with Vegan Hip-Whip - a tofu...

TA MUST DRY, DRY AGAIN AT CITY'S LEAKIEST STATION

EXCLUSIVE Mystery leaks are turning one of the city's historic subway stations into a drippy, slippery mess -- although the Transit Authority has spent four years and more than $20...

WHEN REPUBLICANS FALL OUT ; ELEPHANT FEUDS MAY JUST SEND HILLARY TO THE SENATE

THE first lady of the United States of America magically morphed into HILLARY! during last Sunday afternoon's high-profile campaign kick-off, wholly oblivious to the irony of a Clinton announcing a...

DRUG MIGHT STOP E. COLI

Canadian researchers are zeroing in on a drug that works like a molecular police force in the human body -- preventing a deadly strain of E. coli bacteria from gaining...

BILL IN SORRY STATE OVER IRISH BAR CRACK

WASHINGTON -- President Clinton put his foot in his mouth again yesterday, urging the Irish to "belly up to the bar" in the peace process -- just months after comparing...

DEFENSES TO USE IN WAR OF THE NERDS

The computer geeks' war on the world's biggest Web sites left a battlefield littered with innocent victims -- hundreds of "civilians" whose PCs were hijacked and put out of business....

NEWSMAN SURE HIS STAR IS RISING

When newsman Milton Allimadi decided to print his own paper, he wasn't totally prepared for the life of a business executive. Instead of being under a get-that-story deadline and then...

MCCAIN'S APPEAL IS NOT UNREAL

THE joke in the campaign press corps is that any reporter who gets aboard John McCain's magical mystery tour bus gets a cup of grape Kool-aid to drink at the...

SCRAP STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS IN RAPES: GOV

The statute of limitations should be lifted for rapes in New York so high-tech DNA evidence can be used to solve old cases, Gov. Pataki said yesterday. "The law imposes...

VALLONE: CITY WILL GET OFF THE POT ON PUBLIC TOILETS

Relief may finally be in sight for toilet-desperate New Yorkers -- really. After a decade of broken promises and unrealized proposals, City Council Speaker Peter Vallone said yesterday he's tired...

CYBER-BRATS WREAK HAVOC BY JAMMING UP THE LINES

High-tech hooligans who jam up Web sites do their dirty work by stealing a forgotten tool once used by the scientists who first built the Internet. What the techno-thugs are...

O'CONNOR BIDDING 'THANKS AND GOODBYE' AT VATICAN

John Cardinal O'Connor will say "thanks and goodbye" at the Vatican today as his expected retirement draws near. The cardinal, who's on a three-day trip to Rome, will meet with...

FEDS DRAG 'NET FOR E-THUGS: VANDALS ADD E*TRADE & ZDNET TO CONQUESTS

The FBI has rushed into the effort to electronically track down hackers who yesterday continued their assault on cyberspace by shutting down some of the Internet's most popular sites. Even...

COMPTROLLER: RUDY IS UNDERMINING ME

City Comptroller Alan Hevesi accused Mayor Giuliani yesterday of trying to strip most of his power in revenge for killing three welfare-to-work contracts. "The mayor is certainly creating the impression...

RIGHT RIPS COLLEGES' EXPLICIT PLAY

A play with a shockingly sexual title is drawing heat from conservatives who say it's too tasteless for public colleges. "The Vagina Monologues," a collection of explicit, first-person accounts of...

ROSY BARGAINS $TEM FROM SHOPPING AROUND

You can find a sweetheart deal on Valentine's Day roses for your honey if you shop around, a Cupid-friendly survey says. The Department of Consumer Affairs sampling of 49 florists...

BIG RAP-WORLD TURNOUT DUE FOR BIG PUN WAKE

Thousands of mourners -- and heightened security -- are expected today at the wake of Latin rapper Big Pun, the mountain-sized hip-hop superstar who died Monday, apparently of heart failure....

A 'HURRICANE' COUNTERPUNCH

Lawyers for Rubin "Hurricane" Carter yesterday angrily rejected charges that the controversial movie about the boxer's life makes a hero out of a cold-blooded killer. They declared that any careful...

HILL GIVES RUDY HOLY HELL OVER RELIGION ATTACK

First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton yesterday attacked Mayor Giuliani for sending out a fund-raising letter claiming she has a "hostility toward America's religious traditions." Launching her strongest assault yet on...

AD BATTLE MAY KEEP DEMS FROM N.Y. DEBATE

WASHINGTON -- Veep Al Gore and Bill Bradley yesterday each claimed to have the best ideas for improving education -- but it's unclear if they'll ever actually debate the issue...

JESSE WRESTLES WITH IDEA OF LEAVING REFORM

WASHINGTON -- Jesse Ventura, the big-mouth ex-wrestler and current Minnesota governor, may abandon the national Reform Party because it is mired in chaos. His spokesman, John Wodele, said Ventura scheduled...

PUNISHMENT DOESN'T FIT HIS CRIME OF IGNORANCE

POOR John Rocker. You read that right: Poor John Rocker. He may be a backwoods ignoramus, but he doesn't deserve what he's getting: the harshest penalty ever slapped on a...

NEW YORKERS HURL INSULTS AT ROCKER

Loose-lipped lefty John Rocker got a Bronx cheer when he returned to the Big Apple yesterday to appeal his suspension for racist rants against New Yorkers. Workers at a Midtown...

DWIS COULD HURT ELIAN UNCLE'S BID TO GAIN CUSTODY

Elian Gonzalez's great-uncle's two drunken-driving convictions raise serious questions about his fitness to care for the 6-year-old Cuban refugee, legal experts said yesterday. The uncle, Lazaro Gonzalez, a Florida resident...

REEBOK RAN WITH HAIDER ; DID 'RIGHT' BY AUSTRIAN IN '94

The Austrian subsidiary of sportswear giant Reebok helped fund a video promoting Freedom Party leader Joerg Haider at a crucial time in his far-right party's rise to power. The company...

70TH PCT. 'BLUE WALL' BUILT ON FOUNDATION OF DECEIT

WHILE the integrity of police-torture victim Abner Louima is in question, perhaps it's time to look at the integrity of the cops who circled the crime scene that night. The...

MCCAIN WOWS D'AMATO ; BUSH BACKER: RIVAL'S 'FIRE' HARD TO PUT OUT

Ex-Sen. Alfonse D'Amato -- who has endorsed George W. Bush for president -- yesterday said Republican rival John McCain has started a "prairie fire" that could burn Bush away. "It's...

PATIENT WISHES 'ZORRO' WEREN'T CHARGED

The obstetrician dubbed "Dr. Zorro" for carving his initials into a patient's belly was formally charged yesterday with the bizarre attack -- despite his victim's contention that a criminal case...

DIALLO COPS GET BURNED BY 'DEFENSE' WITNESS

PBA pair leaned on me: Louima whistle-blower / Page 22"I didn't want to speak to y'all [defense attorneys]."SCHRRIE ELLIOTALBANY-- The star civilian witness for four cops accused of murdering Amadou...

SAD FAREWELL TO FIRE KID & GRANDPARENTS

More than 400 mourners bid an emotional farewell last night to two doting grandparents and a 4-year-old "you couldn't help but love." At the funeral service at Gilmore's Funeral Home...

PBA DUO LEANED ON ME: LOUIMA WHISTLE-BLOWER

The cop who blew the whistle in the Abner Louima torture case claims two police-union delegates -- including the attacker's brother -- pressured him to keep quiet about the assault....

REPORTER'S FACE RED IN KIMES MAKEUP SCAM

Grifter Sante Kimes -- currently awaiting trial on murder charges -- got into more trouble yesterday for apparently conning a reporter out of some makeup. The makeup mixup happened at...

PALS DOUBT VIDEOTAPE OF MAN MISSING IN CHECHNYA

A video that was aired on Russian TV yesterday allegedly shows a Radio Liberty reporter alive in Chechen hands, but his colleagues questioned the tape's authenticity and fear he might...

JET 'HIJACK' DRAMA ENDS

Hijackers today freed all of their hostages from an Afghan airliner parked on a London runway, ending a 4-day-old crisis that British police now reportedly believe was a ploy to...

MCILVAINE BECOMING CENTER OF ATTENTION

PHILADELPHIA - The math and logic leave a little something to be desired. "Our mission now is to win two out of three," explained Don Casey, whose Nets brought a...

DEVILS HELL-BENT ON KEEPING STREAK ALIVE

This domination of the Rangers has become such a matter of Devil pride that heart overruled head. Instead of going gung-ho for the free point in overtime, the Devils played...

LEETCH TO THE RESCUE: AS INJURIES MOUNT, CAPTAIN RETURNS TO RANGER LINEUP

This is more than a matter of pride for the Rangers. This is a matter of survival in a playoff race that has turned into a three-month sprint to the...

SETON HOLL-OWAY :SHAHEEN'S REVIVAL AT HEART OF PIRATES' SUCCESS

It was an uneasy match at first, a philosophical tug-of-war that threatened to pull apart the team. It's taken three seasons to reconcile Seton Hall point guard Shaheen Holloway's creative...

GRAHAM CAP-SIZED BY GIANTS ; QB CUT FOR NIXING PAYCUT

He has the highest winning percentage of any Giants quarterback since Phil Simms, yet Kent Graham never was afforded the luxury of job security. That fact of life came flying...

COMMISH HITS 1ST AT ROCKER HEARING

It took Bud Selig six hours yesterday to tell arbitrator Shyam Das why he suspended foul-mouthed Braves reliever John Rocker for 73 days and why the ban should stick despite...

SCOTTISH HALO ON FOUNTAIN FENCE

Paul Rizzo, trainer of the New York-bred Scottish Halo, said he'll make a decision this week on whether the colt by Jolie's Halo will start his 3-year-old campaign in the...

VALENZUELA: I SLIPPED

Jockey Pat Valenzuela, whose latest comeback from years of drug abuse suffered a crushing blow Saturday when he tested positive for amphetamines in California, shouldered the blame yesterday and told...

ISLES SUFFERING EMPTY NEST SYNDROME

Years before this current mess, before the Coliseum lease debacle, the sale-of-the-team predicament, player salary dumping, behind the scenes political maneuvering, a last place record and organized fan protests, the...

HEY, DUMMY, TAKE CHIPPER'S CUE

SUNDAY night, in mid-town Manhattan, Chipper Jones was booed and hooted once more as "Lar-ry, Lar-ry" as he accepted his NL MVP award. Before we all got to know John...

BIG MAC DESERVES TO BE ROCKED, TOO

OK, POP quiz: Who is the author of the famous saying, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me?" Well, I don't know either, but...

CHREBET: NOTHING HAPPENED

The Jersey Shore cops may call it disorderly conduct, but to Wayne Chrebet, spending a half-hour in a police station in the wee hours of Sunday morning was "a bonding...

PAL: ERICK ASSUMING HE'LL LOSE HIS APPEAL

Erick Barkley of St. John's is resigned to the fact that he will not play again until Tuesday night's game at Boston College, a close friend of the star point...

ATLANTA COALITION ON WARPATH OVER ROCKER

Jim Marks, the deputy director of an Atlanta AIDS organization and a Braves season ticket-holder with seven friends for nearly 10 years, paid his own way to be at the...

UPBEAT CAMBY STARTS LONG ROAD BACK

MILWAUKEE -- Marcus Camby said last night that he'd be "definitely disappointed" if his mild knee strain kept him out longer than a month. Camby began his rehab from arthroscopic...

LANG COMES BACK; TURKCAN CUT LOOSE

KNICK NOTES MILWAUKEE -- The Knicks finally parted ways with disgrunted forward Mirsad Turkcan, waiving him before last night's 109-103 victory over the Bucks. The Knicks had tried to trade...

STEPH'S BRAINLOCK PUTS NETS IN SHOCK

Sixers 92 Nets 90 PHILADELPHIA -- You thought you'd seen it all, huh? Believe it, you hadn't. Not even the players had seen anything like this one. Losing on a...

DEVILS LEAVE NO DOUBT ; UNBEATEN IN 19 VS. BLUESHIRTS

Devils 4 Rangers 1 For the first time since their latest playoff debacle, the league-leading, Ranger-killing Devils are making believers again. The evidence, even to the fool-them-thrice skeptics, is as...

RANGER MOTTO NOW MUST BE KEEP THE EIGHTH

THE Rangers visited the Meadowlands last night and while they could not come away with their first regular-season victory over the Devils in 1,124 days, we most certainly did come...

MAGNIFICENT SEVEN: SHORTHANDED KNICKS RALLY FROM 19 DOWN TO STUN MILWAUKEE

Knicks 109 Bucks 103 MILWAUKEE -- The rotation featured seven guys. One of them, their All-Star, played with a bad limp. Faced with a 19-point, late-second-quarter deficit, the Knicks could've...

DEVILS CAN'T BE CERTAIN HEX WILL WORK IN PLAYOFFS

HERE is the irony: For the first time in three seasons, the Rangers can stand the sight of themselves in a mirror. But unluckily, it has more cracks than a...

HALL SHOWS HEAVY METTLE: PIRATES TOP RUTGERS IN OT THRILLER

Seton Hall 65 Rutgers 63 This rapidly intensifying rivalry has had its share of wacky finishes and weird memories; but rarely, if ever, has a Seton Hall-Rutgers game ended in...