June 5, 2000

1ST-PRINTING RECORD FOR 4TH 'POTTER'

AN avalanche of books - more than 3.8 million first-run copies - will be released to bookstores by Scholastic Inc. when the fourth in the red-hot Harry Potter series of...

INVESTORS WANTED: CALL INDIVIDUAL INVESTOR

Jonathan Steinberg's Individual Investor is in danger of going belly-up in the next few months. Steinberg, the son of Wall Street financier Saul Steinberg and husband of CNBC Money Honey...

RATE HIKES? NOTHING HAS CHANGED

SORRY, but the Federal Reserve will still raise interest rates. Wall Street cheered loudly Friday when the number of new jobs created in May rose less than it had expected....

THOMSON FINANCIAL MOVING TO 195 B'WAY

Thomson Financial Services is set to consolidate its multiple Big Apple locations in as much as 356,000 square-feet of space at 195 Broadway, The Post has learned. Thomson, currently in...

N.Y.'S POWER BLOCK ; MOTTOLA MOVING IN NEXT TO DONATELLA & EDGAR JR.

Music mogul Tommy Mottola has dropped some $25 million for a mansion on the Upper East Side's hottest power block - and his neighbor, just 40 feet away, is none...

HIP-FLOP MUSICAL

ECHO PARK: THEHIP-HOP MUSICALDirected by Kelly D. Scott. Written by Kelly D. Scott and Sean Couch. Starring Kurtis Blow, Grandmaster Caz and Derrik Keyes. At the Apollo Theater. IF the...

'FAT'? TRY SLIM PICKINGS ; BOOK OFFERS TIPS ON 'CAMOUFLAGE CHIC'

IF there's one question that strikes terror in the heart of every male, it's "Does this make me look fat?" When asked this by his significant other, a guy knows...

GREAT CONTRITE WAY: STEWART TELLS POST HOW SORRY HE IS

PATRICK Stewart turns 60 next month, but the much-ballyhooed events of the past few weeks have left him feeling more like a naughty schoolboy. The star of "The Ride Down...

THE STARR REPORT

A shining 'Beacon' Montel Williams was honored this past weekend with the "Beacon Award" from the New York State Psychological Association (NYSPA) during their annual convention at the Crowne Plaza...

REALITY BYTES 'FINGER' FANATIC

A contestant who lost the fastest-finger round on an episode of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" got on the show by practicing on a computer program he wrote. But...

POLITICAL TRUTH THAT MAKES MEN MOAN

"An American Daughter" Tonight at 9 on Lifetime (if you're a woman and if you're not) RIGHT off you know that anything written by Wendy Wasserstein won't stink. And this...

WEB LETS VICTIMS' KIN TRACK CONVICTS

It was only a rumor - but for Lucy Mercado, the slightest suggestion that her 10-year-old son's killer had gotten out of prison was reason to panic. "Please, help me!"...

LAZIO PAID 'DIRTY TRICKS' CONSULTANT

A CONSULTANT accused of "dirty tricks" against Mayor Giuliani's U.S. Senate campaign was on Rep. Rick Lazio's payroll, even as Lazio's spokeswoman denied it, official records show. The Post disclosed...

36 NABBED AT BX. COCKFIGHT

Bronx cops busted three dozen people early yesterday in what officials described as one of the biggest raids ever on an illegal cockfight. The 36 - including alleged ringleader Corcino...

DI DEATH-CRASH FOTOG IN GRISLY MYSTERY DEATH

A top paparazzo who was probed in the death of Princess Diana has been found dead - horribly burned - in mysterious circumstances in the remote woods of southern France....

SQUEEZE THE JUICE ON PERJURY RAP

LONG before attorney Robert Shapiro allegedly destroyed O.J. Simpson's litany of lies, truth threatened him like a knife at his throat. And that is why Gil Garcetti, the very ambitious...

SINGERS' TALE OF WHOA - HORSE CAPER LANDS KENNY CHESNEY AND TIM MCGRAW IN STIR

Two country-music superstars - including the hunky hubby of singer Faith Hill - were locked in the pokey after one stole a police horse and the other attacked sheriff's deputies...

BUCHANAN: BOTH SHOULD DECLARE THEIR INDEPENDENCE

Presidential candidate Pat Buchanan insisted yesterday that today's Independence Party endorsement could be crucial in deciding the outcome of New York's neck-and-neck Senate race. Buchanan said Hillary Rodham Clinton and...

AL SKIPS HIS DATE WITH 'SLUM' TENANTS

WASHINGTON - Vice President Al Gore didn't keep his promise to visit an embattled tenant in Tennessee last night - but the woman says that's OK, he's still invited for...

BOB HOPE IS FEELING UP TO PAR AGAIN

Ailing comedy legend Bob Hope was feeling so much better yesterday that his family set up a miniature putting green in his hospital room so he can practice his swing....

TONY EXPECTED TO KISS 'KATE'

It was shaping up to be a darn hot night for "Kiss Me Kate," which was favored to win Best Musical Revival and was nominated for 11 other prizes at...

TITO DRAWS A FULL HOUSE AT TRIBUTE

They loved the Mambo King. Thousands of New Yorkers filled the street outside an Upper West Side chapel yesterday to pay their final respects to Latin music legend Tito Puente....

LOCKERBIE DEFECTOR IS GRILLED BY FEDS

The CIA spent the weekend grilling an Iranian defector claiming to have proof that Iran plotted the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, it was reported yesterday....

U.S. HEALTH RANKING IS POSITIVELY ANEMIC

The Japanese have the best prospects for long and healthy lives, but Americans - who spend the most money on health care in the world - lag far behind, a...

BILLBOARD TRUCKS ARE HELL ON WHEELS

TO MY growing list of pet peeves - people who don't let you out of the subway before rushing on, real-estate brokers, and male drivers who think they can woo...

RICK & HILL PUT FRIENDLY FACE ON AWKWARD PARADE MEET

Hillary Rodham Clinton and Rick Lazio yesterday set aside the attacks that have marked their campaigns, making friendly small talk at the Salute to Israel Parade, where they came face-to-face...

LOCAL HEROES RELIVE D-DAY HELL

It was D-Day for America and doomsday for Hitler. The invasion of Normandy, 56 years ago tomorrow, launched the final countdown to the liberation of Europe. For the men who...

DREAM TEAM BOMBSHELL A REAL NIGHTMARE FOR O.J.

The lawyer for Nicole Brown Simpson's family says F. Lee Bailey's bombshell admission that O.J. Simpson flunked a lie-detector test proves once and for all that the shamed athlete is...

HERO COPS PULL FLEEING DUO OUT OF BLAZING CAR

A pair of Brooklyn cops responding to a robbery call ended up risking their lives to save two of the alleged muggers - whose car crashed and burned as they...

CLINTON AND PUTIN FAIL TO REACH A DEAL ON STAR WARS

WASHINGTON - President Clinton and Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday abandoned talks on a Star Wars missile-defense system but instead inked a deal to burn and bury 68 tons of...

OUR LOCAL HEROES RELIVE D-DAY HELL

It was D-Day for America and doomsday for Hitler. The invasion of Normandy, 56 years ago tomorrow, launched the final countdown to the liberation of Europe. For the men who...

SAMARITAN NABS SUBWAY PUSHER

A good Samaritan saved a life yesterday - thwarting a crazed man's attempt to hurl a young woman in front of a coming subway train, police said. A 24-year-old woman...

GUERRILLA WAR TOLL RISING IN KASHMIR AS MORE DIE

Fourteen people, including six civilians and three Indian policemen, were killed over the weekend in the latest guerrilla attacks in Kashmir, authorities said. Two more Indian policemen were wounded yesterday...

DIVERS SEARCHING FOR NAZI SECRETS

A top diving team begins searching for Nazi gold in an Austrian lake today. The Maryland-based Oceaneering Company - which counts diving for the Titanic wreck among its missions -...

'SEX SLAVES' LEFT SULKIN' IN BRUNEI - PLAYMATE: PRINCE'S ONLY TORTURE WAS BOREDOM

THE SULTAN of Brunei may have officially pardoned his skirt-chasing brother, Prince Jefri, for allegedly bilking billions from the family's $40 billion fortune - but the playboy prince's party is...

SUBWAY SAMARITAN COLLARS SHOVE SUSPECT

A good Samaritan yesterday saved a woman from a crazed man who tried to hurl her in front of an oncoming subway train, police said. "He's a hero," said token-booth...

BABYSITTER CHARGED AFTER NEAR DROWNING

A 30-year-old Bronx man was charged last night with reckless endangerment after a 14-month-old girl he was watching nearly drowned in a bathtub. The child, whose name was not released,...

VOTERS MAKE 'CONTACT' WITH SHEER INNOVATION

By naming "Contact" best musical last night, the Tony Award voters proved they are not out-of-touch fuddy-duddies who put antiquated rules ahead of creative innovation. "Contact," the Tony voters declared...

TONY HAS 5 KISSES FOR 'KATE' THE GREAT

"Kiss Me Kate" was too darn hot for the competition last night, walking off with the most Tony Awards - including best musical revival - and helping its director, Michael...

PLAYBOY 'WRANGLER' IS HUNTING FOR BARE - PINUP POOH-BAH EXPOSES LOTS OF FAMOUS LADIES

SOON, every man on the planet will be able to see more of remorseful bride Darva Conger than her husband saw during their entire honeymoon. Even better - they won't...

GENTLEMEN PREFER BLOND PUNDITS ; CHANNEL SURFERS PAUSE FOR TALKING TOWHEADS

WASHINGTON - The plethora of nightly political shout shows have quietly confirmed what many suspected all along: Blondes make for better TV. Producers - keenly aware of the visual allure...

THOMAS' RETURN UP IN AIR

There were times when he seemed somewhat of an outsider, existing out on the periphery of Jeff Van Gundy's trust and precious playing rotation. And now, with the season over...

ALLAN READY FOR ANYTHING

He once thought he was going to be part of a dynamic duo, he and Grant Hill, leading the Pistons back to the glory days, but his staying power in...

THEY NEEDED THAT ; BOMBERS BOUNCE BACK FROM DEBACLE

Yankees 7 Braves 6 ATLANTA - Sitting in the Yankees' third-base dugout as yesterday morning turned into afternoon and a light drizzle fell on Turner Field, Joe Torre was asked...

PEGASUS IS KO'D BY FOOT INJURY

As if the Belmont Stakes needed any more bad news, Kentucky Derby hero Fusaichi Pegasus - the heavy early favorite - was scratched from the race yesterday after gashing his...

THE BIG FELLA'S GOIN' NOWHERE ; LAYDEN: PATRICK WON'T BE TRADED

Scott Layden, the Knicks' low-key GM, usually keeps his feelings to himself. But yesterday, with the pressure now squarely on him for the first time since being hired last August,...

STARS TO REUNITE NIEUWENDYK LINE

IRVING - Saturday night's tornado missed here by 80 miles, but that didn't keep a gust of great news from hitting down on the Stars' practice facility yesterday. After sitting...

THERE'S NO STAMPEDE TO RUN

The foot injury that knocked Fusaichi Pegasus out of Saturday's Belmont Stakes could increase the size of the field, but as of yesterday afternoon no new horses were coming out...

NETS MULL PROPER USE OF TOP PICK

Before the Nets had the No. 1 pick - and before Rod Thorn changed his address from Olympic Tower, Fifth Ave., to Champion Center, East Rutherford - there were some...

THIS IMMATURE IDIOT MAY NEVER GROW UP ; ROCKER HASN'T LEARNED A THING

ATLANTA - The most disturbing element involving John Rocker yesterday at Turner Field was not his verbally assailing a reporter, it was that 40,000-plus cheered him enthusiastically for a second...

D-RAYS SLAP METS SILLY: TAMPA BAY TIMBER TAGS JONES, PEN

D-Rays 15 Mets 5 Fred McGriff rapped out his 2,000th hit. Tampa Bay starter Estaban Yan homered on the first pitch he saw in his big-league career. And by far...

NHL PULLS PR BLUNDER

DALLAS - The Stars are talking about finding a higher "gear" for tonight's game, about digging down deeper, about playing with more commitment, about sacrificing mind and body in order...

BIG TROUBLE IF EWING STAYS AND SPREE GOES

IF you are a Knick fan, you'd better start worrying. There were some bad signs yesterday coming out of Purchase College. Out of the parking lot at Purchase, that is....

'STAG' SETS SIGHTS ON BROOKLYN

Running Stag, the Massachusetts Handicap champ, departed Suffolk Downs at 10:15 a.m. yesterday morning bound for Belmont Park. "He's come out of the race great," said trainer Phil Mitchell, speaking...

SORE FOREARM NAGGING CHUCK

YANKEE NOTES ATLANTA - Yes, Joe Torre wanted to win yesterday's game very badly. But he didn't use Wilson Delgado as a defensive replacement for Chuck Knoblauch in the ninth...

MCGRIFF HAS MILESTONE WEEKEND AT SHEA

MET NOTES Talk about a milestone weekend. Tampa Bay first baseman Fred McGriff not only hit his 400th home run Friday, but yesterday he stroked his 2,000th career hit, a...

YANKEES SAY ROCKER'S MOUTH WILL BURY HIM

ATLANTA - Informed of John Rocker's latest act of boorish behavior, some Yankees simply shook their heads yesterday. How much more can Rocker do to put himself in a very...

STERLING'S WORK A REAL ME-STERPIECE

IF John Sterling weren't so comically ridiculous, he'd be insulting. Saturday, early in the Yanks-Braves radiocast, Sterling scolded the local media for what he considered to be exaggerated stories about...

LJ CLOSE TO CALL ON SURGERY

KNICK NOTES Larry Johnson has long avoided the knife. But yesterday he said he is leaning toward minor back surgery, possibly in the next few weeks, to alleviate the discomfort...

FOR DEVILS, SEASON OF SURPRISE

DALLAS -They strain, they hem, they haw. And the Devils do not deny that they are surprised that this is the year, of the last four, when they might win...

METS STILL NEED ANOTHER STARTER

THIS is how an organization going all out for a specific need advertises that need: By acting is if it does not exist. It's getting increasingly difficult for the Mets...

DEVILS ON THE ALERT ; BATTLING LOOK-AHEAD TEMPTATION

DALLAS - It's big, shiny, glorious and right there, two victories away. The Devils' dangerous temptation to look ahead - and by just the smallest margin -at the Stanley Cup...

CAMBY POINTS TO INJURIES AS KNICKS' FINAL OBSTACLE

Marcus Camby believes if you eliminate the injuries to himself and some of his teammates, the Knicks would be heading West this week for the Finals. "If we had a...

JERSEY ASSEMBLY LINE KEEPS ROLLING AT STARS

DALLAS - They keep coming and coming, up through the Devils' system and right at the Stars, an assembly line of bodies that never runs out and never wears down....

OFF HIS ROCKER AGAIN

ATLANTA - Well, the idea of a repentant John Rocker can be flushed. In an expletive-filled diatribe before yesterday's Yankees-Braves game, Rocker verbally accosted the Sports Illustrated reporter who wrote...

SHANE'S GLOVE WINS RAVES

ATLANTA - Shane Spencer has fought his way from the depths of the Yankees' minor-league system with his bat. Every time the Yankees were ready to cast Spencer aside, somebody...

CALL CLIPPERS COMEBACK KIDS ; XAVERIAN MAKES LIONS PAY FOR ERROR IN SIXTH

CHSAA / 2ND ROUND Xaverian 5 Farrell 4 Xaverian trailed Monsignor Farrell 4-2 in the bottom of the sixth of their second-round CHSAA intersectional playoff game yesterday. Did the Clippers...