May 19, 2000

MORE RATE HIKES COMING - 1.5% MORE

EVEN those who are paid-to-be-optimistic must now fully understand the scope of the Federal Reserve's problem. Interest rates will need to go much higher in the coming months if this...

UPN, NBC SHARE WRESTLING RING

Hoping to score points with sports fanatics, UPN has grabbed a piece of the World Wrestling Federation's XFL "smash mouth" football - sharing the broadcast rights with NBC. Starting in...

BOO-HOO! ONLINE SHAKEOUT HITS

The resounding thuds of Boo.com and Digital Entertainment Network hitting the floor are the best evidence yet that the long-awaited .com shakeout has arrived with a vengeance. The e-tailer and...

RCN LANDS IN MIDTOWN AT OLD RANDOM HOUSE SPACE

RCN Corporation has wired itself into a large block of Midtown office space. The Princeton, N.J.-based national Internet-service provider and cable-television company has inked a deal to take a total...

ICI, NUL JOIN TO ENCOURAGE BLACKS TO INVEST

WASHINGTON - Upset that African-Americans have been left behind during the great bull market of the past decade, the National Urban League is teaming up with the mutual-fund industry to...

BUT MORE ONLINE SHOPPING SITES ARE ON THE WAY

Boo.com was done in partly by its cutting-edge technology, which slowed its Web site and sometimes brought it to a halt. But its founders' vision of an online shopping experience...

BLOCKBUSTING 'BEAUTY'; FIGHT KEEPS OSCAR FILM OFF SHELVES

Attention Blockbuster Video customers! If you're looking for the just-released, Academy Award-winning "American Beauty" video, you may have a problem. It could be hidden behind select store counters. The reason:...

NO BIG CHIEF FOR TIME; LEVIN REJECTS SUPER-EDITOR AFTER AOL MERGER

There will be no uber-editor in charge of all editorial content when Time Warner merges into America Online. At least that's the word according to Time Warner Chairman Gerald Levin,...

OPRAH'S 'O' NAME CLAIMED BY FETISHIST

Oprah Winfrey may have to fight for the big "O" name on her new magazine. A small German publisher of a lifestyle fetish title that uses topless models claims he...

STARR POWER: RINGO DRUMS UP BUSINESS FOR HIS LATEST TOUR

ON Aug. 18, 1962, everything changed for Richard Starkey. The man who the world would come to know as Ringo Starr drummed his first live gig with the his new...

IT'S 'DINO'-MITE!

DINOSAUR Disney's $200 million animated epic is a visual breakthrough in realistic computer animation that should delight kids - and adults, at least for the first half-hour. After a stunning...

MAN-HATING 'MOTION' TOO GLUM TO BE MOVING

LUMINOUS MOTIONA 10-year-old (Eric Lloyd) resorts to killing when his mom (Deborah Kara Unger) settles down, threatening what he considers their idyllic nomadic existence. Film has its moments, but overall...

TAKE THE MONEY & WALK

SMALL TIME CROOKS 1/2 Woody Allen goes lowbrow - with disappointing results - as a dimwitted, geriatric bank robber who teams up with his sarcastic manicurist wife (Tracey Ullman) with...

TORTURE KING ON PINS & NEEDLES ; FIRE, GLASS, NAILS, ALL IN A DAY'S WORK

HE swallows swords, eats fire, jumps barefoot on broken glass. He's even been known to lie down on a bed of nails while a car rolls over him. Hey, it's...

IT'LL HAVE YOU ROLLING

ROAD TRIP Cheerfully crude, well-cast and frequently uproarious campus comedy about three male students who travel cross-country to retrieve a sexually incriminating videotape. Directed by Todd Phillips.Running time: 91 minutes....

SUMMERSTAGE OPENS JUNE 13 WITH INDIGO GIRLS

CENTRAL Park SummerStage opens its 15th season with a touch of the Lilith Fair. The Indigo Girls will bring their folksy harmonies to SummerStage with an opening night benefit slated...

JUDGE JUDY OKS RUDY

JUDGE Judy has passed judgement on Mayor Giuliani's complicated personal life - saying President Clinton's extramarital affair with Monica Lewinsky was far worse than the relationship the mayor admits having...

BEATLE'S WIFE IS SUCH A DULL LIFE

"The LindaMcCartney Story" Sunday at 9 p.m. WHAT becomes a legend most? No, a not mink - a TV movie. Once upon a time before there were TV movies, they...

'THE LARAMIE' A PROJECT WELL WORTH UNDERTAKING

THE LARAMIE PROJECT Union Square Theatre, 100 E. 17th St., between Park Avenue South and Irving Place, (212) 239-6200.IT builds slowly, starting with a bunch of New York actors who...

A 'WONDERFUL' IDEA ; BROADWAY EYES 'TOWN'

PLANS are afoot to bring the Encores! concert version of Leonard Bernstein's "Wonderful Town" to Broadway next season.The critics went wild for the concert, which ran for just four performances...

THE STARR REPORT

Fox first with 'Elian'? The Fox Family Channel is rushing to film a biopic called "The Elian Gonzalez Story" by September, Variety reports. The cable channel hopes to beat CBS,...

A FEST-SELLER AT CANNES: FASHION

CANNES, France - Fashion trumped film last night at the Cannes Film Festival when fans packed a star-studded Cinema Against AIDS 2000 event - a sexy runway show with Victoria's...

COUNCIL OKS CONTROVERSIAL QNS. SCHOOL

The City Council gave the green light yesterday to building a 900-seat school - instead of a Staples store favored by neighbors - on the site of a former supermarket...

DISABLED MAN SUES FOR $18M OVER FIRING

A longtime bank employee who was shot and paralyzed in a holdup has filed an $18 million lawsuit against his former bosses for allegedly firing him because he was disabled....

MARC ANTHON'Y IN KID-SUPPORT BATTLE

Salsa sensation Marc Anthony and his lawyer haggled with the star's former girlfriend over the millionaire's net worth yesterday during a Queens child-support hearing at which she asked him to...

PUBLICITY IS MAKING RUDY SICK: SAYS IT'S AFFECTING DECISION ON CANCER

Mayor Giuliani yesterday said the torrent of publicity about the side effects of prostate-cancer treatment has made it tougher for him to decide how to battle the disease - and...

MALNOURISHED PALSY GIRL FOUND DEAD IN BRONX

A 5-year-old girl with cerebral palsy who weighed just 17 pounds was found dead in her filthy Bronx apartment by cops - who said she suffered from starvation and dehydration....

ANGRY LEVY SWEATS THE LITTLE THINGS AT HIS OLD JUNIOR HIGH

A sweaty and thirsty Harold Levy threw a fit on Day 1 as school chancellor when he discovered a water fountain was broken at the junior high school he attended...

ISRAEL BOMB THREAT SPARKS ARAB ANGER

JERUSALEM - Palestinian officials yesterday demanded the court-martial of an Israeli general after The Post disclosed that he threatened to bomb the West Bank office of Yasser Arafat. "This is...

SIERRA LEONE MOVES TO FREE CAPTIVES

With the dreaded rebel chief in custody, Sierra Leone's government is working to free hundreds of U.N. captives held by the insurgents. Justice Minister Solomon Berewa said it was unclear...

L.I. JUDGE ON PSYCH WATCH AFTER STABBING WIFE: COPS

A Long Island judge stabbed his wife twice in the back with a kitchen knife during an argument yesterday, police said. Cops went to the New Hyde Park house of...

JAGGER MOURNS FOR MOM EVA

The gentle, tea-drinking mom who gave the world rock-'n'-roll wild man Mick Jagger is dead. Eva Jagger, 87, died yesterday at a London hospital where she was being treated for...

DEM COUP PLOTTERS GET A SILVER BULLET - BRAGMAN ALLIES LOSE TOP POSTS

Heads continued to roll at the Capitol yesterday as Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver feverishly fought a hard-driving effort to oust him. Silver, the state's most powerful Democrat, fired two Assembly...

FEDS DRAGGING ME INTO HUBBY'S TAX CASE: PIRRO

Westchester County DA Jeanine Pirro yesterday said federal prosecutors are doing every thing they can to bring up her name in their tax-evasion case against her husband. "The federal government...

7 BEG OFF CLINTON DISBARMENT PANEL

WASHINGTON - Seven members of an Arkansas lawyer-review committee have removed themselves from President Clinton's disbarment case - citing conflicts of interest, the panel's director said yesterday. The exodus leaves...

FAREWELL TO A BUDDY WHO DIED WITH INK IN HIS VEINS

News item: Longtime Post reporter George C. Carpozi Jr. was mourned at the Greek Orthodox Church of the Assumption in Port Jefferson, L.I., yesterday and buried at Calverton National Cemetery.THE...

JUDGE OKS $18M BAIL FOR GOTTI SON-IN-LAW

A Brooklyn federal judge approved a mammoth $18 million bail package for Gotti son-in-law Carmine Agnello yesterday - but prosecutors promptly vowed to appeal it. Federal Magistrate Robert Levy OK'd...

ROSIE DOES NUMBER ON B'WAY - INSIDERS SAY LONG-WINDED ROUTINE COULD RUIN TONYS

ROSIE O'DONNELL is giving the producers of this year's Tony-nominated musicals a panic attack. The outspoken host of the Tony telecast has concocted an opening number that is so long,...

CLINT: TAKE TIME ON LAW FOR DISABLED

WASHINGTON - Tough-guy actor Clint Eastwood, fed up after being sued for running a hotel unfriendly to people with disabilities, yesterday asked Congress to change the law. "It's really not...

ANIMAL FANS WANT HERO LAB CHIMPS TO RETIRE IN STYLE

WASHINGTON - Ape-lovers yesterday urged Congress to create a home for retired laboratory chimps who've been drugged, diseased and cut open - and now live in metal cages in the...

ANOTHER SLEEPLESS NIGHT FOR CHILD-WELFARE CZAR

NICHOLAS Scoppetta hasn't slept through the night in four years. Thursday morning, as usual, Scoppetta jerked awake at 3:30 a.m. The man in charge of protecting this city's vulnerable children...

IT'S NOT A WHODUNIT - IT'S A 'WHEREISIT'

Despite a guilty verdict in the murder trial of Sante and Kenneth Kimes, the big question is still unsolved -where is the body of 82-year-old wealthy widow Irene Silverman. The...

COPS BAG LOUDMOUTH BANK ROBBERS

Two would-be bank robbers were nabbed as they tried to pull a heist yesterday after a customer overheard them blabbing about their plans and ran for help, police said. Eric...

HOT LOVERS' SPAT LANDS TONYA IN THE COOLER

Disgraced ice queen Tonya Harding was sentenced to three days in jail yesterday for slugging her boyfriend and throwing a hubcap at his head. The former figure skating champ pleaded...

RATS! RUDY'S RESTAURANTS SNARED IN WEB

Some of Mayor Giuliani's favorite restaurants don't pass muster on the new Health Department Web site that lists inspection records for 18,000 eateries. But the owners complained they aren't getting...

NO BODY OF EVIDENCE MAKES VERDICT A FIRST

The conviction of Sante and Kenneth Kimes - for a murder with no corpse, and no direct evidence - is a criminal-justice first. Only five times in state history have...

KNICKS CAN'T GET STARTED AFTER FREAK LANDING

The Knicks flew home yesterday from a heartbreaking playoff loss in Miami, only to see some of their cars get slam-dunked by engine thrust from their private jet. It was...

POISON PENS SEAL THEIR FATE: JURORS

Murder, she wrote. And wrote, and wrote some more. Sante Kimes and son Kenneth filled 14 notebooks with what one juror called "plotting and planning." This seemingly compulsive urge to...

L.I. SHOP DRESSES NEEDY CINDERELLAS FOR PROM

A charity is playing fairy godmother to hundreds of underprivileged Cinderellas on Long Island and in the city - by giving them free tailored gowns, as well as shoes, jewelry...

S.I. TOT DIES AFTER FALLING FIVE STORIES

An 18-month-old boy plunged five stories to his death from the fire escape of a Staten Island housing project yesterday, police said. Ibrahaim Hafiz climbed onto the fire escape through...

NEW TV AD PORTRAYS KINDER, GENTLER HILL

Hillary Rodham Clinton yesterday jumped back on the Senate campaign trail, unveiling a new "warm and fuzzy" TV ad - and avoiding any mention of potential GOP rival Mayor Giuliani....

'NEW' RUDY DAZZLES WIT AND WARMTH MAKE HIM MORE FORMIDABLE

Last night in his appearance at the 92nd Street Y, Rudy Giuliani put to rest the notion floated over the past week that somebody else might make a better Republican...

AGAIN HE LEAVES NERVOUS GOP CLUELESS

AFTER watching Mayor Giuliani's town-hall meeting on MSNBC last night, Republican leaders are surely staring at their watches and nervously reaching for the Maalox. With the state GOP convention just...

FREEH'S '96 RENO MEMO BARED

WASHINGTON - FBI Director Louis Freeh wrote a red-flag memo years ago, suggesting a top Justice Department official was being pressured to kill a probe into Democratic fund-raising to save...

TOUGH ROAD FOR HIZZONER, WHICHEVER ONE HE TAKES

No matter which of two likely treatments - surgery or radiation - the mayor chooses for his prostate cancer, there'll be side effects that could put a crimp in his...

'NEW' RUDY IS SORRY ABOUT DORISMOND - WISHES HE 'COULD DO IT OVER AGAIN'

A "new" Mayor Giuliani - changed by his prostrate-cancer - last night apologized for the first time for his handling of the Patrick Dorismond shooting, and said he's made no...

B'KLYN BOY'S DEATH RULED STARVATION ; CORONER: FEB. 'VIRUS' DIAGNOSIS WRONG

A 10-year-old Brooklyn boy, who originally was believed to have been killed by a virus, died of starvation and dehydration, the medical examiner's office ruled yesterday. David Jones was taken...

MOTHER-SON GRIFTERS GUILTY OF MURDER - JURY CONVICTS DESPITE LACK OF WIDOW'S CORPSE

Mother-and-son grifters Sante and Kenneth Kimes were convicted yesterday in the 1998 swindle-murder of an elderly Upper East Side millionairess whose body has never been found. Jurors deliberated four days...

MAN LEFT PARALYZED BY COP GETS $92M

A Brooklyn man paralyzed by an off-duty cop's bullet five years ago won $92 million in damages yesterday - double the original judgment in the case, which was overturned at...

BLACK-EYED SUSAN SET TO GO AT PIMLICO TODAY

BALTIMORE - What a difference a year makes. ln 1999, the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at Pimlico showcased champion Silverbulletday, who romped wire to wire in stakes-record time....

FIVE VYING FOR VENEZIA AWARD

Voting for the Mike Venezia Memorial Award is underway and will continue until May 21. The Venezia Award was established in 1989 to honor the jockey who best exemplifies sportsmanship...

KNICKS LOOK LIKE BOARD STIFFS

He is never adverse to breaking down the game to its most intricate components, but this was no time for a detailed analysis. His team cannot secure the ball off...

KNICKS' MISSING PIECES ; HOUSTON VOWS HE'LL GET GOING

He promises. For those wondering whether Allan Houston tonight is going to rise to the near-stardom that he flirted with a year ago, or else once again drift away from...

ZEILE'S SEASON BACK IN SWING

Todd Zeile's 1997 experience in the second biggest market, Los Angeles, prepared the slow starter for New York. This season, Zeile took a month to hit his first home run...

PAYTON'S PLACE ON THE BENCH

MET NOTES Jay Payton is not in Bobby Valentine's doghouse, the manager said, but the outfielder probably won't be in his lineup card as often as he's been in recent...

ROBBY'S NOT LOOKING AHEAD: COACH WON'T TALK ABOUT CONTRACT

The Devils' coach, seven weeks into his tenure, isn't sure he'd have accepted the job if Lou Lamoriello's decision to fire Robbie Ftorek had come in midseason, instead of with...

ON THE EVE OF SELF-DESTRUCTION: DEVILS MUST STOP BEATING THEMSELVES WITH LAZY 'D'

THEY have lost three times in the playoffs, three times in their last eight games, actually, and after each defeat Larry Robinson pretty much said the same thing - the...

LANGKOW'S LEFT HOME

Already weakened by the absence of Eric Lindros, the Flyers were without their first-line center last night, as well. Recuperating from the concussion he suffered in Game 2 Tuesday, Daymond...

BRODEUR A REAL SAVIOR

THE Devils last night came home, where Marty Brodeur roams. Not that he doesn't on the road, too, but home teams generally forecheck while road teams dump. The goalie who...

BICKERBOCKERS WILTING IN HEAT: REAL TRUTH'S FACING VG'S TROOPS

THE mirror never lies. The Knicks, for all their talent, depth and swagger, must look in it tonight before Game 6 at the Garden and mouth these words: "We have...

JARVIS' WIZ DEAL SHOULD BE DONE OVER WEEKEND

The St. John's players walked into the basketball office and spoke to the assistant coaches. The recruits called or received calls. The question "Is it done?" didn't have to be...

DON'T BET AGAINST HIM ; 'PEGASUS' TOO TOUGH TO TOP

BALTIMORE - There's an old saying in horse racing: "If you didn't go to the wedding, don't go to the funeral." Translated to tomorrow's 125th Preakness Stakes at Pimlico: "Why...

BICKERBOCKERS WILTING IN HEAT: IT'S DO-OR-DIE TONIGHT FOR INFIGHTING KNICKS

As Patrick Ewing left the Purchase gym yesterday, he had only one word for reporters: "Peace," Ewing said, as he held up two fingers in the traditional sign. Ewing needn't...

JETER METER HITS 15: DEREK HEADS TO TAMPA AND STINT ON 15-DAY DL

Derek Jeter didn't land on the disabled list yesterday. He also didn't take off with the slumping Yankees as they flew to Cleveland, where they open a three-game series against...

KNICKS' MISSING PIECES:CAMBY'S INJURIES ARE TAKING TOLL

It's been a season of bumps and bruises for Marcus Camby. But everyone eventually felt he'd turn it around in the playoffs and become the dynamo that drove the Knicks...

WRIGHT THE FAVORITE TO FILL JARVIS' SHOES

The summer of 1998 seemed to last forever at St. John's. Less than two months after Fran Fraschilla led the Red Storm to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in five...

'FUSAICHI' GOES TO SCHOOL

BALTIMORE - Fusaichi Pegasus, who'll be saddled in the indoor paddock under the Pimlico grandstand for tomorrow's Preakness rather than on the grass course with most of the other horses,...

TRAILING KNICKS FACING LONG ODDS

KNICK NOTES Latrell Sprewell says Knicks must have an us-against-the-world attitude tonight against Heat. Latrell Sprewell says the Knicks must get an us-against-the-world mentality tonight for Game 6. Allan Houston...

HEF'S FAIRY-TAIL FINISH ; BROOKLYN-BORN OWNER/BREEDER EYES A SHOCKER

BALTIMORE - Unlike the real Hugh Hefner, the horse that bears his name will need more than Viagra to score in the Preakness. But that hasn't stopped his owner/breeder, Eddie...

ACTION IS BIGGER & BETTER

THE fishing season is in full swing, and from the reports coming in, now is the time to be casting a line to one of the many species that have...

HEAT SECOND THAT EMOTION ; OFFENSIVE BOARDS KEY TO THE SERIES

YOU can dissect all the subplots you want surrounding this latest renewal of the Knicks-Heat blood feud: the grit and savvy of Dan Majerle and Tim Hardaway; the frequent disappearances...

RILEY TO REFS:: DON'T LISTEN TO VG'S WHINE

Consider it a pre-emptive strike to ward off a lopsided free throw count tonight in Game 6. Jeff Van Gundy did what coaches are supposed to do and wondered aloud...

HEAT DETERMINED TO RETURN FAVOR: WANT TO END SERIES IN GARDEN

The image is irrevocably burned into the Heat's psyche. They are seconds from celebration and exorcising a demon when Allan Houston gets through the defense and shoots. The ball tantalizes...

HARDAWAY GETS POINT

HEAT NOTES Through injury and circumstance, the Heat point guard situation has developed into a two-headed monster in this series. Tim Hardaway starts, goes as long as he can and...

BOXING WON'T COME CLEAN UNTIL IT FINDS A COMMISH

YA say ya want a revolution? Frankly, I'm growing a bit weary with all the investigations, indictments and other hopeful signs of genuine boxing reform. The same old bad guys...

'PEGASUS' CAN CRASH & BURN

BALTIMORE - The 125th running of the Preakness Stakes tomorrow might be one of the great races of the modern era if it showcases a Triple Crown winner, but as...

TINY TIM'S MIRACLE RECOVERY: HOW DID HARDAWAY'SANKLE HEAL SO QUICKLY?

IN 11 previous quarters to the third quadrant of Game 5, Tim Hardaway's various injuries had limited him to 10 points. Then, all of a sudden, he emerges from the...

REY HOPES BAT HAS COME ALIVE

The numbers and the results are hardly impressive. But Rey Ordonez, coming off a 2-for-4 night Wednesday, had managed to hit the ball hard in five straight at-bats. That's not...

NETS' TICKET PRICES ARE STAYING PUT

Nets fans, who have seen ticket prices soar more than 42 percent over the last three seasons while the team has toiled in sub-mediocrity, got a bit of good news...

SATHER TALK NO LONGER CHEAP

If the Rangers intend to talk further with Glen Sather, it's going to cost them simply for the privilege of doing so. Edmonton's Board of Directors held an emergency meeting...

PAYTON'S PLACE IS NOW ON BENCH

Jay Payton is not in Bobby Valentine's doghouse, the manager said, but the outfielder probably won't be in his lineup card as often as he's been. After a three-week period...

JONES TAKES CRAM COURSE

MET NOTES After finding out that last night's game was rained out, righty Bobby Jones felt like he was back at Fresno High School. "It's like studying for a test,...

FOR DEVS, IT'S SKILL OR BE KILLED: MOGILNY AND THE LIKEHAVE TO PROVIDE EDGE

ALEXANDER Mogilny was alone in front waiting for Claude Lemieux to get him the puck. There were just over seven minutes to go in the second period, the Devils were...

BACK-TO-BACK BREAKDOWNS

GAME 3 Flyers 4 Devils 2 They must develop a taste for pain, promptly. It's gut-check time for the Devils, and if they don't find more by tomorrow, they'll be...

HOT ARMS CARRY COLD YANK BATS

Just because the Yankees awoke from a deep hitting funk by scoring nine runs Wednesday night doesn't mean The Bombers are all the way out of a team-wide slump. A...

RAMSAY'S JUGGLING PAYS OFF

With the clever maneuvers of a three-card monte dealer, Flyers coach Craig Ramsay helped his club overcome the absence of first-line center Daymond Langkow in Game 3 of the Eastern...

SHAKY MARTY ON THIN ICE

THERE'S a puck there somewhere. In Marty Brodeur's feet, rolling up his arm. Now, all he has to do is find it. On the first shift last night, Chris Therien...