June 19, 2000

SLEIGHT OF HAND WITH INFLATION STATS

REMEMBER that show on Fox where the anonymous magician stands in the shadows and reveals how tricks are done. Well, that's what I am going to do now. Here's how...

MARKETWATCH, FT IN JOINT EURO SITE

Despite growing challenges for content-only Web sites, CBS's investment site MarketWatch is launching a European effort today co-branded with London's Financial Times. FTMarketWatch.com is aimed at the private investor in...

PEGASUS: YES, YES NANETTE ; WANTS TO ADD DESIGNER TO GROWING COLLECTION

Hungry Pegasus Apparel Group is turning its attention to another hot young designer - Nanette Lepore. "We have had conversations with Nanette as well as many other people," a Pegasus...

VIVENDI TO VOTE ON SEAGRAM PURCHASE

Vivendi is likely to announce acquisitions of Seagram and Canal Plus as early as tomorrow, after boards of the three companies meet today. A press conference is scheduled for tomorrow....

ALEXANDER'S SPIRE SITE ; FIRST LOOK FOR VORNADO'S LONG-AWAITED PLAN

It's the news skyline-watchers have been waiting for: Vornado Realty Trust's new East Side tower will soar higher than 75 stories, tall enough to perhaps trump The Donald's new World...

LOU WON'T WALK ON THE MILD SIDE

LOU Reed's show at the Beacon Theatre tonight will be incredible. Just ask him. "The tour couldn't be better," says the 58-year-old guitarist who's the original "Rock 'n' Roll Animal."...

SUMMER SHARES NOT SHARED ALIKE ; A SEASON OF REAL LIFE ON 'FIRE ISLAND'

"Fire Island" Tonight at 10 on Bravo 1/2 SHARING a summer house - whether you're straight, gay or in between - usually involves the same cast of characters. There's the...

SAG TO AD-FILMING PROS: FOUL!

APLOS ANGELES - Tiger just won't do it, but Kurt Warner will. Actors striking against advertisers have held a steady line by keeping their own members from shooting commercials -...

CYBILL THE VENUS TO HOST 'MARS'?

CYBILL Shepherd is on the fast track to host "Men are From Mars, Women are From Venus" this fall, insiders say. Nothing is official, but sources say the irreverent Shepherd...

THE STARR REPORT

Leeza 'Extra' special Now that Leeza Gibbons has been named host of "Extra," replacing Maureen O'Boyle this fall, the real story can be told. Gibbons accepted the job in principle...

HIS PET PROJECT: SAVING CITY'S LOST LIZARDS

OK, SO maybe Robert Shapiro doesn't have 500 snakes and iguanas in the back room of his T-shirt-printing shop on East Fourth Street. And maybe he's not, as some have...

L.I. GRANDMA BIDS TO MAKE GOP HISTORY IN CONGRESS

Long Islander Joan Johnson is confident she's going to win her first congressional race this fall - taking over Rick Lazio's seat to become the first Republican African-American woman in...

OPPONENT-RESEARCHERS HANDLE ALL THE DIRTY WORK

WASHINGTON - They call themselves the "Men of Zeal" - even though two of the seven are women - and they all work 100 hours a week to zap the...

AIRLINE CREWS FLYING THE UNFRIENDLY SKIES - PASSENGERS ARE BECOMING A LOT MORE TURBULENT

Air rage has put the fear of flying into a growing number of the nation's airline crews. Consider this: A 250-pound passenger goes berserk aboard an Alaska Airlines flight to...

WORST CASES OF CABIN FEVER

Here are the accounts of six recent incidents of air rage, from federal and local authorities:Feb. 10: An Ohio man shocked the passengers and crew of a US Airways flight...

RAGE RESISTANCE: SURVIVAL TIPS

What should you do if you're on an airliner with a wacko? Here are some suggestions from Terry Riley, a psychologist and travel-security expert, for passengers concerned about air rage:...

LET'S TOAST THE BRIGHT FUTURES OF FOSTER KIDS

IT WAS a typical downtown kind of evening, bustling with bold-faced names and those soon to be. People recognizable by first name only, and those destined one day to be...

GOV & RICK COMPETE FOR GOP SPOTLIGHT

GOV. PATAKI and U.S. Senate candidate Rick Lazio - normally close political allies - are on a collision course when it comes to the GOP's national convention in Philadelphia. Republican...

IT'S NO SECRET: OUR SECURITY'S A JOKE

IF I were rich enough to own a Picasso, I would go the extra yard and buy a copying machine. No, I wouldn't dare copy the great master. The machine...

WALESA RETURNS TO POLITICAL ARENA

Former Polish President Lech Walesa announced yesterday he's running for president once again, despite the fact most of his political support has disappeared. "It will not be easy to defeat...

18TH SUSPECT NABBED IN PARK RAMPAGE

The number of arrests in the Central Park wilding spree rose to 18 yesterday after a Queens youth turned himself in to police. Cops also spent the weekend poring over...

NORTH KOREA RIPS U.S. OVER TROOPS IN SOUTH

Only days after meeting for a peace summit with its southern neighbor, North Korea yesterday accused the United States of increasing the danger of war on the Korean peninsula. The...

SONGS OF JOY HAIL CITY'S ARCHBISHOP

New Yorkers welcomed Edward Egan with open arms, music and celebration yesterday - and said they believe their new religious leader is ready to take on the city's diverse Catholic...

ASSAD'S SON ALMOST PREZ

Bashar Assad was elected secretary-general by Syria's ruling Baath Party yesterday and is expected to be formally nominated president within days, succeeding his father, Hafez Assad. Yesterday's election took place...

BEARS ROAM W'CHESTER

A small bear wandered into Peekskill yesterday and spent four hours in the city before being rounded up by local authorities. Police arrived on the scene and followed it as...

PSYCH CRITICS NOT LAUGHING AT CARREY'S NEW COMEDY

Mental-health advocates are blasting the new Jim Carrey movie "Me, Myself & Irene" because the flick scores laughs at the expense of a deranged lead character. In the movie, set...

ENERGY SEC'Y SHRUGS OFF NUCLEAR REACTIONS

WASHINGTON - Energy czar Bill Richardson said yesterday that he "can take the heat," as he refused fresh calls for his resignation in the wake of the Los Alamos nuclear-security...

NEW SKIPPER OF GORE'S SHIP FIRES AT BUSH

WASHINGTON - Vice President Al Gore's brash new campaign chairman hit the airwaves yesterday, throwing punches at Gov. George W. Bush even as he vowed not to "go negative." William...

EGAN MEETS NEW FLOCK - VOWS TO SERVE APPLE WITH HEART AND SOUL

An exuberant Archbishop Edward Egan officially became shepherd to the New York Archdiocese's 2.4 million Catholics yesterday and said he's "captivated by the wonder and goodness" of the Big Apple....

LA GUARDIA CONTROLLERS STAYED MUM ON NEAR-MISS: REPORT

A US Airways jetliner and a corporate turboprop almost collided on intersecting runways at La Guardia last week - and air-traffic controllers failed to report the near-miss, it was reported...

KID'S SUBWAY HORROR - BOY, 4, DRAGGED ALONG PLATFORM

A 4-year-old French tourist yesterday miraculously escaped with only minor injuries after his leg got caught in a subway car door and he was dragged "like a rag doll" 240...

BRITS FIND 58 ILLEGAL ALIENS DEAD IN TRUCK

The bodies of 58 immigrants being smuggled into Britain were found in the back of a truck in the Port of Dover, authorities said early today. Only two people were...

CONGRESS TO WEIGH BILL ON CELL-PHONE REGULATION

The federal government would set and enforce quality standards for cell-phone service under legislation to be introduced in Congress this week. Rep. Anthony D. Weiner (D-Brooklyn/Queens) said the law would...

HEART ATTACK KILLS HACK AFTER HE WAS HIT BY PASSENGER

An immigrant cabdriver, who worked seven days a week to realize his dream of bringing his family to the United States, died yesterday after a passenger punched him in the...

WESTCHESTER BEAR DIDN'T SIT IN THE WOODS

It was a wild day in Westchester yesterday. A small bear wandered into Peekskill and spent four hours in the city before being rounded up by local authorities. The curious...

LATEST SUSPECT LIFTS NUMBER OF ARRESTS IN PARK ATTACKS TO 18

The number of arrests in the Central Park wilding spree rose to 18 yesterday after a Queens youth turned himself in to police. Cops also spent the weekend poring over...

MIRACLE BOY OK AFTER SUBWAY DRAGGING

A 4-year-old French tourist yesterday miraculously escaped with only minor injuries after his leg got caught in a subway car door and he was dragged "like a rag doll" 240...

PSYCH CRITICS NOT LAUGHING AT CARREY COMEDY

Mental-health advocates are blasting the new Jim Carrey movie "Me, Myself & Irene" because the flick scores laughs at the expense of a deranged lead character. In the movie, set...

CARDIAC KILLS CABBY SOCKED BY PASSENGER

An immigrant cabdriver, who worked seven days a week to realize his dream of bringing his family to the United States, died yesterday after a passenger punched him in the...

MIKAEL SWEEPS PAST LECONTE

It's gotta be the shoes. Mikael Pernfors captured the $100,000 LastMinuteTravel.com Masters Championship yesterday at Wollman Rink in Central Park, sailing past France's Henri Leconte, 6-2, 6-2. Wearing red, women's...

WHITE SOX: WE'RE FOR REAL

The White Sox are young and fearless and brash. They also have the best record in baseball. And they are not afraid to tell you they are the team to...

HAWKS WANT NETS' JORDAN

Nets' president Rod Thorn concedes that the field of candidates for the team's coaching position has increased as interest in the job grows. But the field could be dwindling by...

CHI-SOCKED BOMBERS SEEK REVIVAL IN BOSTON

After absorbing a humiliating 17-4 loss to the White Sox yesterday, the Yankees' lone, lame consolation is that they begin a three-game series in Boston today just one-half game behind...

AIN'T THAT A SHANE? OSCAR MAY RETIRE

LOS ANGELES - Jack Mosley's Father's Day gift arrived a few minutes into yesterday morning when his son Shane's hand was raised in victory over Oscar De La Hoya in...

RICKEY HELMET TALE JUST A JOKE

MET NOTES MILWAUKEE - The Rickey Henderson-John Olerud helmet story is a good one, except for one little fact. It's not true. When Henderson was released in the middle of...

COLUMBUS RETURN LIKELY FOR WESTBROOK

YANKEE NOTES With the bullpen drained because of the recent injury to Roger Clemens and short outings by Jake Westbrook and Orlando Hernandez, the Yankees will likely send Westbrook back...

TIGER'S REACHED RARE AIR ; WOODS GETS JORDAN-TYPE TREATMENT

TIGER Woods has reached that stage where there's nothing you can write or say to describe his game. All that's left is poetry, but it's hard to write poetry on...

GAVIOLA RUNS STREAK TO FOUR

Gaviola extended her winning streak to four yesterday as she drew off to win the Grade 3 $111,300 Sands Point Stakes by 41/4 lengths over Shopping for Love at Belmont....

CASHMAN: 'RIGHT NOW, WE STINK'

AT 3:36 p.m. yesterday, Jorge Posada lashed a double to the left-center field gap. Third base coach Willie Randolph saw the ball dribble to the wall and waved Chris Turner...

'UNREAL' REED RIGHTS HIMSELF

Mets 7 Brewers 3 MILWAUKEE - It was April 29 in Colorado. The Mets defeated the Rockies 13-6 behind Rick Reed, who improved to 3-0. His ERA was 2.21. Reed...

TIGER LEAVES NO DOUBT, HE'S GREATEST

PEBBLE BEACH - You can stop the search. The next Michael Jordan has been found. The next great athlete of our time is no longer to be named later. It...

ELS, MIGUEL TOP 'OTHERS'

OPEN NOTES PEBBLE BEACH - Ernie Els and Miguel Jimenez won the other ournament yesterday, finishing tied for second place behind Tiger Woods at the 100th U.S. Open. "Finishing second...

IT'S RUTHLESS VS. TOOTHLESS

PEBBLE BEACH - Aside from one significant player - albeit, No. 1 in the world - golf's biggest guns quietly went "pop" all week. While Tiger Woods was dissecting Pebble...

FALDO FEELS GOOD ABOUT SIXTH PLACE

PEBBLE BEACH - The way things have been going for Nick Faldo lately, a top-10 finish at the U.S. Open almost felt as good as a win. Faldo shot an...

TOO-GOOD TIGER IN RECORD ROMP: WONDROUS WOODS STUNS OPEN FIELD WITH 15-SHOT WIN

PEBBLE BEACH - Tiger Woods and a 10-shot lead entering yesterday's final round of the 100th U.S. Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links was like a night of professional wrestling:...

LIBERTY HOLDS OFF RISING SOL

Liberty 58 Sol 52 The Liberty looked ready to run the Miami Sol out of Madison Square Garden last night, going up by as many as 18 points in the...

SENIORS TO TRY AGAIN

OPEN NOTES PEBBLE BEACH - Though Jack Nicklaus called this the last U.S. Open of his Hall of Fame career, other Senior Tour stars vowed yesterday to make another run...

LIBERTY NEED A TURNAROUND

It might be just eight games into the season, but Teresa Weatherspoon has seen enough. "We have to have a sense of urgency," Weatherspoon said before the Liberty took on...