December 16, 2000

WORKER FALLS FROM HP PLANE

A Hewlett-Packard employee jumped or was sucked out of a company plane after a door opened in mid-flight over California. The computer maker said it was "deeply concerned" and trying...

GETAFREEGIFT.COM WRAPPING UP WEB SITE

There's no such thing as a free gift. That's because Getafreegift!com has closed down - despite efforts to spice things up by substituting an exclamation point for the more pedestrian...

SOUNDS OF THE SEASON

It's hard to be a grinch in this city. We have the biggest tree and the brightest lights, plus the music to go with them. The city that never sleeps...

'DUDE,' TAKE OFF THE E

THE talented folk who cut the trailer for "Dude, Where's My Car?" deserve congratulations for their skill - and blame for perpetrating a fraud on the moviegoing public. The trailer...

OH, WHAT FUN IT IS TO SING AT JINGLE BALL

THERE are few concert franchises in music that have had both the longevity and star power of Z-100's annual Jingle Ball - which shook up Madison Square Garden Thursday night....

LOPEZ'S LAVISH BRIT ENTOURAGE

Jennifer Lopez doesn't pack lightly. The curvy straight-out-of-The-Bronx pop queen brought a massive entourage to London, taking over 10 BBC dressing rooms before lip-synching two songs on the British show...

ITALY-BASHER ARRIVES FOR POPE VISIT

Austria's right-wing leader Joerg Haider arrived in Rome yesterday to see Pope John Paul II just as the Italian government blasted him for his latest controversial remarks. Haider criticized Italy...

U.S. PUSHES FOR NEW MIDEAST SUMMIT

JERUSALEM - The United States is exploring the possibility of yet another Mideast summit - next week in Washington, the State Department said yesterday. Officials in Washington said the talks...

FINDING A REAL ONE-OF-A-KIND GIFT

SEEKING a singular sensation - a gift that's one of a kind? Get crafty. Nothing says "distinctive" better than something that's made by hand. Toy stores may stock rocking horses,...

SEN. PAT ON ELECTION: HEY, NO ONE GOT HURT!

WASHINGTON - After 24 years in the Senate, Daniel Patrick Moynihan has just about seen it all - so even a 36-day election spillover is something to be taken in...

CUBA REACHES OUT AND CUTS U.S. PHONE TIES

Cuban officials cut direct phone lines between the United States and the communist island yesterday - but it didn't hang up callers. AT&T and Sprint routed calls to and from...

OUSTED ELECTIONS WORKER QUITS BID FOR FINANCE JOB

A BOARD of Elections worker who was forced to resign after being implicated in a forgery scheme used his political connections to try to land a job in the Giuliani...

COP KILLED IN '88 BUST FINALLY GETS HIS SHIELD

The NYPD fulfilled Joseph Galapo's dream of getting promoted to detective yesterday - 12 years after he was killed in the line of duty. In a ceremony with Galapo's family...

RUDY'S READY TO WIND DOWN CANCER CARE

An upbeat Mayor Giuliani said yesterday he is wrapping up his intensive prostate-cancer treatment - and in two months expects to be back to his old bad-boy self. "I'm going...

PBA TALKS HIT IMPASSE AS STATE GETS PLEA TO STEP IN

The Patrolmen's Benevolent Association has declared an impasse after seven months of talks with the city - a move that could put the dispute before state arbitrators for the first...

GREED IS KILLING BASEBALL

MONDAY'S signings of Alex Rodriguez and Manny Ramirez to the tune of a combined $412 million added yet another seam into the all-but-sealed lockout at the close of next season's...

'COUNT' ON IT: FERGIE LOVES BALDING BEAU

Feisty Sarah Ferguson has publicly declared she is "united in love" with her older, still-married Italian count beau - squelching speculation she and ex-hubby Prince Andrew are mulling reconciliation. A...

FREED U.S. 'SPY' TELLS OF HIS ORDEAL IN RUSSIAN JAIL

Freed American businessman Edmond Pope said yesterday he kept a diary and exercised to try and keep himself from succumbing to "mental anguish" during his 253-day incarceration in a Moscow...

BOOM IN BUSTS FOR CRIME-STOPPER KERIK

There's no stopping crimebusting NYPD Commish Bernard Kerik. A day after breaking up a domestic fight involving a box cutter near One Police Plaza, the city's top cop made another...

DEMS CANCEL, SO GOP'S 'INN' AT INAUGURAL

What if they gave a party and lots of guests canceled? That's exactly what happened to Washington hotels after George W. Bush finally won his election battle with Al Gore....

NYPD ADDING 700 GUARDS TO MAKE SCHOOLS SAFER

The NYPD will hire 700 new school security officers next year. School safety chief Raymond Diaz said the recruits will increase patrols by more than 100 agents - and immediately...

MADONNA 'ROARING' INTO WEDDING WITH '20S GEAR

The Material Mom plans to don a bit of old-fashioned elegance for her holiday nuptials to Guy Ritchie - an exquisite 1920s platinum crucifix and matching bracelet. The giddy newlyweds-to-be...

COLIN ROLLIN' INTO BUSH'S STATE DEPT. PREZ-ELECT TO FILL 1ST SLOT TODAY IN CABINET

President-elect Bush laughs yesterday at the Texas Governor's Mansion with Sen. John Breaux (D-La.), who has declined a Cabinet seat despite Dubya's effort to make bipartisan choices.APIn one of the...

N.Y. SCOUTS REBEL AGAINST NAY-TO-GAYS RULE

Local Boy Scouts councils yesterday rebelled against their national group's anti-gay policy, asking for a "timely review" of standards that wound up getting the Scouts booted out of Big Apple...

HERO OF GULF WAR ROSE FROM HUMBLE BX. ROOTS

Gen. Colin Powell's parents - a seamstress and a shipping clerk - expected him "to do better than they had done." In the time since he grew up in the...

PRINCIPALS UNION BOSS HANGS ON

The head of the 5,800-member principals union narrowly won re-election yesterday after a bitter campaign in which she was accused of giving away tenure rights in the latest labor contract....

FED BUDGET PRESCRIBES BIG DO$E TO CITY HOSPS

WASHINGTON - New York hospitals are big winners in the federal budget belatedly approved by Congress yesterday. Amtrak was the big loser. The bill includes $35 billion over five years...

FLOCKHART FAINTS ON 'ALLY' SET

Exhausted.Actress Calista Flockhart fainted on the set of her show, "Ally McBeal," and was hospitalized for dehydration and exhaustion, her publicist said yesterday. The 36-year-old waif collapsed on the show's...

IT TAKES $8M TO LAND HILL AS AN AUTHOR

Senator-elect Hillary Rodham Clinton became the $8 million woman last night - after striking an eyebrow-raising book deal second only to the pope's. Publishing giant Simon & Schuster came in...

ENRAGED EX GUNS DOWN LOVE DUO ON STREET: COPS

An enraged domestic-violence counselor shot dead his former girlfriend's new beau on a packed Midtown street yesterday, then pumped a bullet into his ex-lover's head as she lay pleading on...

DOC IMPOSTOR IS A TEEN: COPS

A Doogie Howser wannabe posed as a doctor and gave orders to nurses over the phone at a Virginia hospital, authorities said yesterday. The 17-year-old somehow got hold of a...

GOMEZ BATTLIN' SOPHOMORE SLIP

The sophomore is slumping, and it's not likely to improve while the reigning Rookie of the Year skates on the fourth line. This situation bears watching. Scott Gomez seems uncomfortable,...

ISLES HOPE LAWRENCE CAN DELIVER THIS TIME

Mark Lawrence is not a savior for this sinking Islanders team. Recalled from Chicago of the IHL this week to make up for the loss of leading scorer Brad Isbister...

LOW MAKES CHANGES FOR THE BETTER

ANAHEIM - Casting changes are nothing new in Hollywood. So in keeping with his surroundings, coach Ron Low shuffled his lines during the 5-5 tie with the Kings Thursday at...

OF RICE AND MEN : JEFF NOT LETTING GLEN GO FOURTH

Knick coach Jeff Van Gundy has turned Glen Rice's role in the fourth quarter into that of a 3-point specialist who comes in for the final seconds with his team...

ANOTHER AWARD FOR PINCAY

Laffit Pincay Jr. has been voted the first two-time winner of the Big Sport of Turfdom, it was announced by Bob Curran Jr., the president of the Turf Publicists of...

BIG BLUE'S SEASON ALL ON THE LINE

It was the question in every Giant fan's mind before this season started. Big Blue, already one of the worst rushing teams in the NFL, had scraped together an offensive...

DO-IT-ALL TIKI SHOWS HIS WORTH

GIANT NOTES Tiki Barber has done it all in his tenure with the Giants: Rusher, receiver, special-teams ace, radio host, etc. Add philosopher to the list. When the Pro Bowl...

NETS TAKE GIANT 'STEP'

ATLANTA - The Nets saw something they liked immediately from Vladimir Stepania in his first practice. "The first shot he took, he made," said Kenyon Martin. Stepania, a 7-foot-1 center...

MORE THAN STORM'S PRIDE ON LINE

This is not a must game for St. John's or Hofstra. But this could be a pivotal game in both team's seasons. Should St. John's (4-4) lose today, it will...

HOWARD HAS JETS' FOCUS COULD WRECK PLAYOFF HOPES

As they invade Giants Stadium tomorrow to try sabotaging the Jets' playoff dreams the Lions bring with them a not-so-secret weapon by the name of Desmond Howard. Al Groh is...

METS THINK DAVID'S WELLS WORTH WAIT

Make no mistake, the Mets plan to dig in and wait for the Blue Jays to deal David Wells. "I still think we are in on the deals we were...

TUPA NOT ON TOP OF HIS GAME

JET NOTES Three weeks ago, Tom Tupa was sitting atop the AFC in punting average, seemingly poised to go to the Pro Bowl for the second consecutive season. Two games...

RICE KOS JFK, GETS OAK HILL

Rice60JFK57 For the past week, Rice's players had been talking about one thing with their fellow students. "Everyone kept asking them about Oak Hill," coach Maurice Hicks said. "That's all...

VIRGINIA POWER BLOWS BY GAELS

Oak Hill61Iona Prep30 Everyone should have Steve Smith's problems. "I don't think our third-string did a good job of finishing the game," said Smith, the coach of Oak Hill Academy...

ROOKIE BREATHES LIFE INTO ISLES' LAZY ATTACK

The Islanders, losers of three straight going into the game, needed a spark. Jason Krog, brought up this week from Springfield of the AHL, needed to find a place for...

DEV'S VICTORY IS HAB-IT FORMING

Style points, the dominating Devils weren't sweating. They prefer the two they put in the standings. In a season that has had almost as much rough as smooth, the Stanley...

COMPLETE DISGRACE - VG EXPLODES AS 'ME'FIRST' KNICKS HIT ROCK BOTTOM

It wasn't the Knicks' horrendous shooting. It was their horrendous, me-first attitude. So said a seething Jeff Van Gundy in a sweeping condemnation on the suddenly impotent Knicks follow ing...

STARKS GIVES MSG CROWD VINTAGE SHOW

Utah's John Starks kept hitting those long-range bombs like the old days, making weird hand gestures to the Garden crowd after each make. It's been a long, hard road for...

SPRAINED KNEE MAY IDLE LJ FOR ONE TO TWO WEEKS

Larry Johnson's MRI yesterday revealed a Grade I sprain of the MCL in his right knee. While LJ gave no timetable in his return, it appears he'll miss a few...