May 2, 2001

THE DAY THE MEGA-MUSIC MERGER DIED

The EMI-BMG merger finally died yesterday - leaving top executives at both companies battered and bruised. The mega-music merger was supposed to deliver more than $300 million in cost savings...

HEY BUDDY, GOT A DIME FOR INSIDE?

Desperate times call for desperate measures. Inside.com, still struggling to attract subscriptions, yesterday resorted to asking readers how much they would be willing to pay to read up on the...

BLOOMBERG INKS DEAL FOR NEW HQ WITH VORNADO

After 3 ½ years of fits, redesigns and broken-down talks, Bloomberg LP and Vornado Realty Trust finally inked a deal at 5 a.m. yesterday, clearing the way for Vornado's $650...

NASDAQ PAYS ZARB $6M BONUS

The Internet bubble has burst, but there are multi-million dollar bonuses at the Nasdaq - especially if you work there. Chairman Frank Zarb was awarded a $6 million bonus on...

COUNTESS JOINS THE RANKS OF DOT-BOMBS

First she was duped into saying nasty things about the Royal Family by a reporter dressed as an Arab sheik; now her dreams of dot-com riches have disappeared. Prince Edward's...

DOW NEARS 3-MONTH HIGH - RATE-CUT HOPES BOOST MARTS

Optimism reigned on Wall Street, sending stocks soaring into the stratosphere to their highest levels in nearly three months. Faith that the Federal Reserve Bank will come through with yet...

AIRBORNE'S NEW HANGAR TO BE YALE BLDG.

AIRBORNE Express is flying into a full floor of the former Yale Building at 460 12th Ave. The structure sits just to the north of - and is owned by...

NOW PRICE IS RIGHT - BUT JAY WALKER'S PREMATURE SALE COST HIM $90M

Four months after Priceline.com founder Jay Walker gave up the reins of his company, it has made a remarkable turnaround, climbing a whopping 521 percent for investors. But the recovery...

BRADY BOOK TARGETS NRA

ANTI-GUN advocate Sarah Brady, the wife of former White House press secretary Jim Brady, is working on her memoir. "It will be done in a matter of months and published...

SEC CAVES, SETTLES IN THE OAKFORD CASE

On the eve of trial, the last and final defendants in the notorious Oakford trading-for-profits case have settled with the SEC, The Post has learned. The settlement brings to a...

GM SAYS 'YES' TO FURTHER SKY GLOBAL TALKS

General Motors cleared the way yesterday for further talks with News Corporation over combining its Hughes Electronics unit with the media giant's Sky Global Networks worldwide satellite venture. After reviewing...

THE STARR REPORT

'IE' cuts claim crusading Craig Investigative reporter Craig Rivera was one of several people (and the only on-air talent) let go from "Inside Edition" this past Monday in a cost-cutting...

AFTER 12 WEEKS IN THE AUSSIE OUTBACK... PRAY FOR THE 'SURVIVORS'

HERE'S my prayer: Oh, God! If you save me from ever having to see any of the relentlessly self-promoting contestants from "Survivor: The Australian Outback" after tomorrow (which is about...

BOAST OF THE TOWN

TOWN [ 1/2] 15 W. 56TH ST. (212) 582-4445 --------- BOLD, beautiful and buzzing, month-old Town is abnormally wonderful. But it is also abnormally normal - a miracle amid the...

EATERY CHEF'S GOT THE WHOLE WORLD IN HIS HANDS

EATERY [ 1/2] 798 NINTH AVE. (AT 53RD STREET) (212) 765-7080 -------------- AS the lights are dimmed at Eatery, candles come out and the noise level goes up. The spare...

HATS OFF TO 'HEDLEY'

KING HEDLEY II []Virginia Theatre, 245 W. 52nd St. (212) 329-6200. ------------ BLOOD seeps through August Wilson's plays - as ritual, sacrifice, honor and as inheritance.And blood stains the very...

A PARTY & FILM FOR $25

THE Gen Art Film Festival is the hippest movie fest in town - every evening ticket comes with an invite to a party at a nightclub like Centro-Fly, Light, Pressure...

IS DREAMWORKS' 'SHREK' DISNEY'S NIGHTMARE?

THE Mouse House seems to have its ears out of joint over an animated feature from rival DreamWorks that pokes fun at some of its most cherished characters. Five affiliates...

STOP WHINING AND JUST WATCH

PEOPLE who don't like "Survivor" must not be too crazy about kids or dogs either. Like small children and puppies, "Survivor" is enormously easy to like. The game is simple...

NOT AMUSED - RATINGS FOR 'WEAKEST LINK' TAKE A SHARP AND UNEXPECTED DROP

'WEAKEST Link" took a drastic ratings dive this past Monday - just two weeks after premiering to huge and promising numbers. Ratings for Monday's episode of "Weakest Link" were down...

BATALI MAY DO QUEENS

THE James Beard Awards drew a stellar crowd worthy of Tinseltown at the Marriott Marquis last Monday. Overheard at the ball: * Mario Batali, who later threw the after-party at...

SORRY, REBA, I GO WITH TONY FLOW

I was pushing for Reba McEntire to host this year's Tony Awards.My esteemed friend and colleague Cindy Adams was pushing for Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick, the stars of "The...

'PRODUCERS' TIX TRICKS - DESPERATE BRIBE OFFERS AND TALES OF WOE TO SEE BROOKS' HIT

SOME have offered sexual favors. Others promise cases of booze.Some claim to be long-lost relatives or close friends of Mel Brooks or Nathan Lane or Matthew Broderick - or all...

BROOKS MAKES A RUN FOR IT

THAT juggernaught of a musical - Mel Brooks' "The Producers" - racked up 14 Drama Desk nominations yesterday, including Outstanding Musical. It will square off against "The Full Monty" and...

A FOUR-STAR NIGHT - ROMANO AMONG TOP CHEFS AT THE BEARD AWARDS

THE 2001 James Beard Foundation Awards dished out some big wins for New York restaurants Bouley Bakery, Alain Ducasse and the Russian Tea Room. But no prize was sweeter than...

WHY PLUG R-RATED MOVIES TO KIDS?

NEARLY a third of all movies advertised during network TV's "family hour" are inappropriate for children. The conservative Parents Television Council says that of 959 movies advertised during the "family...

RUSH-HOUR CROWD SEES SUICIDE LEAP

A suicide leaper startled afternoon commuters in the heart of downtown Flushing yesterday, bouncing off a packed bus before landing in the middle of Main Street, police said. At about...

ORTHODOX JEWS NOT WELCOME?

After nearly a year of bitter and emotional controversy, the former council president of the town of Tenafly, N.J., has finally answered the $64,000 question: He and his colleagues won't...

'COP CHARITY' ROBBED DONORS BLIND: POLICE

A callous con man used a phony police charity to swindle hundreds of thousands of dollars from New Yorkers who thought they were helping missing and exploited children, authorities said....

SUIT: GIRL WALLOPED BY A COP

A seventh-grade girl is suing the city and the NYPD for $15 million, saying she needed 13 stitches after a Brooklyn cop punched her in the face. Lawyers for Cicely...

SHE'S STILL HAUNTED BY SISTER'S DEATH AT 17

Niki Taylor's fame and fortune has been marred by a terrible family tragedy that haunts her every single day: the heartbreaking death of her kid sister. Krissy Taylor was a...

JETS MIGHT FLY IF CITY WON'T PLAY BALL(PARK)

JETS owner Woody Johnson has given at least a cursory thought to moving his team to Los Angeles, sources close to the billionaire say. Johnson is looking to California while...

MILLIONAIRE ASTRO: SPACE THE PLACE TO BE

The heavens may replace the Hamptons as the playground for the rich and famous if moonstruck space tourist Dennis Tito has his way. The 60-year-old California financier - brushing off...

YOU CAN THANK NYPD BLUES FOR MAKING APPLE A 'GOOD NEWS' CITY

THE man with the unpronounceable name and all-white wardrobe trotted through Midtown yesterday morning - his "NYC" T-shirt marking him like a neon sign. "Tourist," someone whispered. A decade ago,...

DRIVER NABBED IN CORDERO TRAGEDY

Famed jockey Angel Cordero Jr. bitterly lashed out yesterday at the Long Island motorist busted for allegedly running down Cordero's wife and leaving her to die on a dark road....

FERRER RETURNS 'MOB LINKED' CAMPAIGN CASH

Mayoral candidate Fernando Ferrer took $14,250 in donations from executives of three companies with checkered pasts - including two partners of John Gotti's mobster son-in-law. After inquiries from The Post...

HOLY SMOKE! LET'S JUST RAISE THE MONEY

THEIR fathers were the fighting Irish, their mothers waited for husbands who were charging with fixed bayonets in foreign lands and their kids were altar boys who would dive into...

SHARPTON, 2 POLS BUSTED ON VIEQUES

WASHINGTON - The Rev. Al Sharpton was arrested on the Puerto Rican island of Vieques yesterday as military bombing practices ended along with several days of tense protests that plagued...

WHAT THE DEAL MEANS FOR YOU

The tax-cut deal is just a framework. It sets the overall amount, and now lawmakers will bargain over the breakdown. Here's a look at how that breakdown could work out,...

BALLY TRAINER BEATS BROOKLYN RAPE RAP

A Bally Total Fitness salesman and trainer was exonerated by a Brooklyn grand jury of charges that he raped an 18-year-old woman at the fitness giant's Flatbush gym. Craig Brown,...

KIN MAKE N.Y. PLEA FOR HEZBOLLAH CAPTIVES

Four Israeli men, desperate for the release of relatives kidnapped by the terrorist group Hezbollah last year, pleaded yesterday for help from Mayor Giuliani and U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Three...

HILL WON'T TOAST YANKS WITH BUSH

WASHINGTON. HILLARY won't be in the lineup Friday when the Yankees visit the White House. Clinton, who claims to be a Yankee fan, says she's going to skip President Bush's...

CAR-INSURE HIKE MAY HIT 85%

ALBANY - New York's high-risk drivers could find themselves facing another high-octane auto-insurance hike next year, The Post has learned. In an April memorandum, the company that oversees the state's...

RUDY DENIES AIDING VALLONE TO DERAIL HEVESI

Mayor Giuliani yesterday stood with City Council Speaker Peter Vallone to urge the release of captured Israelis, but he insisted the event wasn't meant to boost Vallone's mayoral campaign. "I'm...

MODEL NIKI IN HORROR CRASH

Tragedy-scarred supermodel Niki Taylor was battling for her life last night with severe liver damage - after the car in which she was riding crashed as the driver tried to...

DAD WAS GONE WITH THE WIND - JUDY LEWIS THOUGHT SHE WAS ADOPTED BY LORETTA YOUNG, BUT SHE WAS HER BIOLOGICAL DAUGHTER - BY CLARK GABLE

IT WAS the most salacious rumor in Hollywood - but Judy Lewis was kept in the dark. For more than 30 years, the California woman believed she was the adopted...

GOP AND BUSH BROKER $1.35T TAX PACT

Republicans in Congress cut a deal yesterday to give President Bush at least $1.35 trillion in tax cuts - and GOP sources predicted they'll ultimately push the total cut closer...

FINAL BELL FOR 3 SCHOOLS - EGAN'S SHUTTERS STIR $HUDDERS

Edward Cardinal Egan's sacrifice of three cash-strapped parochial schools yesterday is striking fear at nearly 100 other Catholic schools that are running deficits. "I'm very concerned about the future of...

CAVALCADE OF CANDIDATES AS FREEH QUITS FBI

WASHINGTON - A host of names are popping up as possible replacements for FBI boss Louis Freeh, who surprised President Bush by saying he's quitting next month. They include ex-Montana...

KKK FIEND CONVICTED IN '63 CHURCH BLAST

A predominantly white jury yesterday took just 2 ½ hours to convict ex-Ku Klux Klansman Thomas Blanton Jr. of murder in the notorious 1963 bombing of an Alabama church that...

RUDY ART ALLY BLASTS 'CENSORSHIP'

A member of Mayor Giuliani's own Advisory Commission on Cultural Affairs said last night that he wouldn't join the mayor's controversial "decency" panel because he doesn't "believe in censorship." Appearing...

GIULIANI'S BOOZE BAN BEGINS, 'FAIR' OR NOT

Hey, New York! This Bud's NOT for you. Mayor Giuliani launched his new ban on booze at street festivals yesterday - using his power to put the rule into effect...

MURDERED LIKE HIS FATHER - SETTLER AMBUSHED ON ISRAEL'S ROAD OF TEARS

A Jewish settler was fatally ambushed yesterday on the same West Bank road where his father was gunned down three months ago. The latest violence, which included the slaying of...

CAP-ITAL IDEA: ARMY BANS CHINA BERETS

WASHINGTON - In a clear slap at China, the Pentagon yesterday banned Chinese-made berets for the Army. The move came amid chilly relations as a U.S. team of experts boards...

DIALLO DOOR PIECE UP FOR SALE ON EBAY

What's left of the door of Amadou Diallo's building belongs in the Smithsonian, says Jared November - but, failing that, he's hoping it will fetch $41,000 in an eBay auction....

FEDS: BIN LADEN CEO OF TERROR INC.

Millionaire fugitive Osama bin Laden is the CEO of a far-flung "business" whose goal is a holy war to kill Americans, prosecutors said in closing arguments of the embassy-terror trial....

U.S. TO CHECK SPY PLANE TODAY

WASHINGTON - A U.S. team will board the downed Navy spy plane today to find out just how much of the aircraft, and its secrets, were destroyed when it crash-landed...

TOP COURT SHOWS LAWYER 'FINE' TIME

ALBANY - The state's top court has had enough of one lawyer. John Bell sought for years to avoid paying a decades-old law-school loan by tying up the matter in...

GAY LATINO TO LEAD ACLU

A Bronx-born official of the Ford Foundation yesterday was named the first Hispanic and first openly gay man to head the American Civil Liberties Union. Anthony Romero, 35, said he...

'BABY BULL' CORRALLED ON 2ND INDICTMENT

The threat of 20 years in prison could not keep the son of "Sammy Bull" Gravano out of the "ecstasy"-distribution business in Arizona, a Brooklyn federal grand jury charged yesterday....

STOOGES ARTIST IS $LAPPED

Moe, Larry and Curly won a round in court - and they didn't have to poke anybody in the eye. The California Supreme Court ruled that an artist cannot depict...

MURDERED LIKE HIS FATHER: SETTLER AMBUSHED ON ISRAEL'S ROAD OF TEARS

A Jewish settler was fatally ambushed yesterday on the same West Bank road where his father was gunned down three months ago. The latest violence, which included the slaying of...

OKLAHOMA GOV IN LINE TO HEAD FBI

WASHINGTON - Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating was among those being mentioned yesterday as a possible replacement for FBI boss Louis Freeh, who surprised President Bush by saying he's quiting next...

GIRL, 13, SUES CITY OVER COP DUST-UP

A seventh-grade girl is suing the city and the NYPD for $15 million, saying she needed 13 stitches after a Brooklyn cop punched her in the face. Lawyers for Cicely...

THE NEW YORK POST FROM MAY 2, 1939

"Gehrig's Streak Broken at 2,130 - After All These Years, The Day Has Come," read The Post's headline over a story that said: "Lou Gehrig today missed his first major-league...

PUERTO RICAN BIGS PROMISE PARADE WILL BE MILD, NOT WILD

Organizers of the Puerto Rican Day Parade vowed yesterday that there won't be a repeat of the wild Central Park sex-assault spree that marred last year's event. Working with the...

W. WANTS STAR WARS SIT-DOWN WITH PUTIN

President Bush said yesterday he wants to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin to "look him in the eye" and convince him that a "Son of Star Wars" missile-defense system won't...

ROBIN'S SIMPLY GRAND - VENTURA SLAM SEALS DEAL OVER ASTROS

Astro manager Larry Dierker didn't think it was a tough choice. In fact, the alternative didn't even wander into his mind. No disrespect to Robin Ventura, but if the options...

MOOSE-TERPIECE THEATRE

Yankees 4 Twins 0 MINNEAPOLIS - Roger Clemens offered his right hand to Mike Mussina and the handshake led to a quick embrace. Small talk followed and then Clemens vanished...

GONZALEZ DOES OK IN BIG-LEAGUE DEBUT

Dicky Gonzalez was up to the challenge last night in his major league debut. That's the good news for the Mets. The bad news is the nicknames "Tricky Dicky" and...

WHITE'S PLACED BACK ON DL

MET NOTES When reliever Rick White woke up yesterday, he thought his career might be over. His right shoulder hurt so bad, he couldn't pour a cup of coffee. He...

BERNIE BATS 2ND IN LINEUP SHAKEUP

YANKEE NOTES MINNEAPOLIS - Bernie Williams' at-bat in the ninth inning told Joe Torre that his center fielder might be on the way out of a deep funk. And it...

ONCE AGAIN, HE'S THE SULTAN OF SLAM

YOU have to be really loaded to load first base with Mike Piazza in order to pitch to Robin Ventura. You gotta be as drunk as the bases to pitch...

'WIND' BLOWS HOT AND COLD

LOUISVILLE - Two years ago a colt named Charismatic, out of the mare Bali Babe, shocked the Kentucky Derby at 31-1, then won the Preakness before finishing third on a...

IT'S 'RUM' AND A CHASER IN WORKOUT

LOUISVILLE - Jamaican Rum, the stretch-running gray who rallied for third in the San Felipe two races back and second in the Arkansas Derby last out, breezed five furlongs in...

WARD: CONGAREE THE ONE TO BEAT

LOUISVILLE - One of America's best-known trainers threw the Kentucky Derby betting market for a loop yesterday when he boldly predicted that hot favorite Point Given will be eating dust...

RAPS' BACKS AGAINST WALL ONCE AGAIN

TORONTO - There is an undercurrent of frustration coursing around the Raptors. After waiting an entire year for a playoff rematch with the Knicks, they got it and now are...

FIVE HONORED BY HALL

LOUISVILLE - Trainer Dick Mandella and jockey Earlie Fires, along with horses Holy Bull, Paseana and Maskette, have been elected to the Racing Hall of Fame, it was announced yesterday...

OAKLEY TO VINCE: BE A MAN

RAPTOR NOTES TORONTO - The Raptors have tried to shield Vince Carter from the daily media bashing he receives. But there is one assault they seem powerless to stop: the...

HOUSTON SAYS PRIME TIME IS HIS TIME

KNICK NOTES TORONTO - As he struggled across the final two months of the regular season, Allan Houston always knew it would be different in the playoffs. Houston is a...

VENTURA JUMPS BACK INTO SWING

Being the humble guy he is, Robin Ventura wouldn't concede that his mere presence helped the Mets win a game the other night. The third baseman, who missed six starts...

KNICKS EAGER TO CLOSE THE DEAL: NO CHOKE! SPREE IS VG'S BEST ALLY

TORONTO - Knick fans might not have noticed with all that's going on, but they're witness to the greatest transformation in sports history. Latrell Sprewell has gone from Coach Choker...

KNIKCS EAGER TO CLOSE THE DEAL: JEFF TROOP HAS TO KO VINCE & CO. TONIGHT

TORONTO - The Knicks can't leave Canada tonight without the Raptors' scalp. They can't allow Vince Carter off the mat. The Knicks must put Carter out of his misery and...

CAMBY'S BACK AND READY TO GET IT ON

TORONTO - The smile has been back for two days. Now the Knicks pray the game is back tonight when they take on the Raptors in Game 4 of their...

IT'S ALL IN THE FAMILY

The biggest question about the Kentucky Derby is, "who can get the distance?" Here's a glance at the pedigrees of top contenders in Saturday's Run for the Roses to see...

LF PROTECTION PROGRAM ; TWINS, MLB CRACK DOWN ON METRODOME BOTTLE CHUCK-ERS

MINNEAPOLIS - Short of being unable to dip Chuck Knoblauch's body in a vat of Kevlar, Major League Baseball took very serious steps to protect the Yankees' left fielder from...

CHATTY JAX BECOMING TEAM'S VOCAL POINT

TORONTO - Mark Jackson had to feel his way around the Knick locker room at first. He wasn't going to launch himself as a team leader in his second stint...

DEVILS TAKING BLUES' PICK

TORONTO - The Devils yesterday protected themselves while awaiting a league ruling, choosing to take the Blues' first-round pick in the June draft outright as part of their compensation for...

OT CAROM PUTS DEVILS IN CONTROL

GAME 3/ OT: Devils 3 - Leafs 2 TORONTO - They admit to being lucky to be leading this series. Now the Devils want to make that fortune pay off....

IT ALL STARTS WITH STEVENS

TORONTO - The years that the Devils lost early when everyone expected them to, if not win the Stanley Cup, then at least compete on a meaningful basis for the...

DEVILS KNOW ROAD TO SUCCESS

TORONTO - On the other hand, you could look at it this way: Despite having played just one strong regulation-time period out of six in the Eastern semis, the Devils...

EVERYTHING FROM APPIER TO Z - CAGEY KEVIN'S VIDEO PREPARATION GIVES HIM LEG UP

Everyone inside the clubhouse has noticed Kevin Appier's detailed approach to pitching. He likes to know everything about his opponent. So entering his start tonight against the Astros, Appier has...

INJURIES PUT METS IN WORLD OF TROUBLE

DON'T worry about Al Leiter, because he's not worried at all. Absolutely, unequivocally, probably, he is going to be fine. He thinks. "Well, yeah I've never had elbow problems per...

NO TIME TO HEAL FOR ARNOTT, CUJO

TORONTO - The only time for either injury to heal is after a quick series, or at the beginning of an early summer. It appears only the latter option will...

DEVILS OPT TO TAKE BLUES' TOP PICK

TORONTO - The Devils yesterday protected themselves while awaiting a league ruling, choosing to take the Blues' first-round pick in the June draft outright as part of their compensation for...

MUFFETT ENJOYS LIFE AT THE TOP

So you think it's easy being a national champion? "It's kind of overwhelming," said Notre Dame women's basketball coach Muffett McGraw. "I can't go anywhere without makeup. You've got to...

MOUNTAINEERS ARE NO ONE-MAN TEAM

H.S. BASEBALL Mt. St. Michael 10 Fordham Prep 7 With all the hype surrounding star catcher Collin Mahoney, it's easy to look at Mount St. Michael as a one-man gang....

M'STARS' BESKOVIC FEELS RIGHT AT HOME

When most people think of places where soccer players develop, The Bronx doesn't usually come to mind. The MetroStars, though, have some homegrown spice sitting on their bench in the...