August 2, 2001

HOLDERS MAY TOSS SUNTRUST BID

IT'S desperation time at SunTrust Corp. The bank's executives are being forced to personally lobby institutional investors this week to either vote against the merger of Wachovia and First Union...

GANGSTA GARMENTOS FASHION NEW DISTRICT

There's a new "Gangsta Garment Center" in town. Urban gear designed by rappers Puffy Combs, Snoop Dogg and Jay Z have been so successful that they're busting out with new...

REEBOK'S A LOCK; NIKE, CHAMPION BOOTED IN NBA DEAL

Nike and Champion have been thrown out of the game. The National Basketball Association has chosen Reebok as its new exclusive supplier of on-court apparel - shutting out Nike and...

UBS OUT, POLITICS IN FOR MARRON

Donald Marron, chief architect of the successful merger of Swiss banking giant UBS and PaineWebber, is leaving Wall Street to pursue his political dreams. Joseph Grano, chief executive of UBS...

AOL BELTS CNBC EXILES RIVAL TO CH. 64 IN FAVOR OF CNNFN

AOL Time Warner finally gave CNBC the shaft big-time yesterday, booting the dominant financial news network to Channel 64 on its New York City cable system. AOL apparently has grown...

MISPELAERE TO DESIGN FOR GENNY

Prada's Patrizio Bertelli is already making changes at Genny, though the ink is barely dry on his contract to buy the company. Late yesterday, Prada was hammering out last-minute details...

IT'S MEEKER'S TURN - AMAZON, EBAY HOLDERS TAKING AIM WITH A SUIT

Mary - you're up next. Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co.'s star Internet analyst is in even more hot water. A class action suit on behalf of Amazon and eBay...

CONGRESS LIKELY TO POLICE ANALYSTS

If Wall Street can't police itself when it comes to analysts' conflicts of interest, Congress may have to do it, say sources on Capital Hill. While legislation by lawmakers was...

WHITNEY NEAR $50M+ ARISTA DEAL

Whitney Houston is expected to renew her contract with Arista Records in a deal valued well above $50 million, The Post has learned. Insiders at the label say the ink...

MARRON EXITS UBS TO PURSUE POLITICS

Donald Marron, chief architect of the successful merger of Swiss banking giant UBS and PaineWebber, is leaving Wall Street to pursue his political dreams. Joseph Grano, chief executive of UBS...

FAT LADY SET TO SING 'SPRINGER: THE OPERA'

'THE Jerry Springer Show" is going to be turned into an opera. Honest. "They say the opera isn't over until the fat lady sings - maybe we can provide them...

'BRO' TOO HOT FOR 8 O'CLOCK

CBS is booting the increasingly raunchy "Big Brother 2" back one hour starting next week. The move from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. is based solely on the show's sexual...

TNT'S 'JAMES DEAN' IS NOT JUST ANOTHER MYTH FLICK, BUT A BREAKNECK TALE OF . . . LIFE IN THE FAST LANE

James Dean Sunday night at 8 p.m. on TNT 1/2 IT felt like the '50s to me. Viewers old enough to remember the decade might refute this, but the cars,...

THE CHANDRA EFFECT BOOSTS CABLE NEWS

CABLE news channel execs are reluctant to admit it - but the tabloid twists of the Chandra Levy case have turned into a ratings bonanza. The ratings for CNN, Fox...

STUDENT SELLS LIFE FOR 4G ON THE WEB

HOW much is a life worth? To find out, John Freyer, a 28-year-old grad student at the University of Iowa, put all of his possessions for sale on the Web.He...

MARIAH MOM MADE FRANTIC CALL TO 911

MARIAH CAREY'S distraught mom made a desperate 911 call last week, tearfully pleading for medical help for her troubled pop-diva daughter, who was then rushed to a hospital. Carey spokeswoman...

ECLECTIC ELECTRICITY FROM DEF

*MOS DEF *PETE YORN ----- THEY wouldn't let Jack Johnson on board/said this ship don't haul no coal/fare-thee-well Titanic/fare-thee-well" is a line from an old hippie folk tune about drugs,...

'I WAS A CHIPPENDALES DANCER': : POST REPORTER'S EVENING OF THE NAKED AND THE DREAD

WITH cocoa butter all over my body, I stood in cuffs, collar and leather pants, my chest shaved, looking pudgy and scared. After three weeks of training, the big night...

ONCE & FUTURE SWING: OLD FAVES, NEW RAVES CELEBRATE MTV'S 20TH BIRTHDAY

ROCK dinosaurs mingled with pop pups at last night's star-studded blowout to celebrate MTV's 20th anniversary at New York City's Hammerstein Ballroom.Blast-from-the-past musicians who normally would be relegated to "Behind...

GANTLET OF GRIEF - BOARD OF ED PUTS NEW TEACHERS THROUGH HELL

LAST November, an experienced public-school teacher - I'll call her Jane, to protect her from retribution - made what she now regards as perhaps the worst professional mistake of her...

COP FREE IN DWI DEATH: OUTRAGE AT SUSPECT'S 5G BAIL

A city police sergeant accused of driving drunk on Long Island was arraigned yesterday on charges of vehicular manslaughter in the deaths of two young men. NYPD Sgt. William Miley...

HEARTBREAK FOR LIZZIE AS HER MOM DIES AT 58

Lizzie Grubman was dealt another staggering blow yesterday when she lost her mother to ovarian cancer. Yvette Grubman, 58, died at New York Hospital early yesterday after a three-week battle...

STRIP-CLUB TEAM SET TO MAKE DEAL

The Gold Club racketeering trial in Atlanta screeched to a halt yesterday as prosecutors and defense lawyers reached a tentative deal that could have five of seven defendants pleading guilty...

JUMBO AIR RAGE - CRAMPED GIANT'S TANTRUM FORCES EMERGENCY LANDING

A Georgia strongman on his way from Atlanta to Scotland to compete in the Highland Games forced an emergency landing in Halifax, Nova Scotia, when he allegedly threatened to blow...

NEW YORK POST FROM AUG. 2, 1876

"The new structure which is to be known as the New York Aquarium is now nearly finished, and the tanks are in course of construction for the reception of the...

BACKSTREET BOY A.J. PROLONGING HIS REHAB

Troubled Backstreet Boy A.J. McLean has extended his stay in rehab after being told he needs more treatment for booze addiction and depression. The hunky pop star, 23, entered a...

MEAL'S A 'GREASE AND DESIST' ORDER

Call the cardiologists. Save Irwin Rose's organs for science. The menu he lived on for eight years would have doomed a tyrannosaurus in a day. Rose got to enjoy his...

DOCTORS TURN STEM CELLS TO HEART TISSUE

Scientists have grown heart cells in the lab for the first time - raising hopes the technique will be able to regenerate heart tissue ravaged by disease. A research team...

ISRAEL NIXES U.S. SLAY RAP

JERUSALEM - Thousands of Palestinian mourners chanted "Revenge, revenge!" and "Death to Israel" yesterday as they buried eight people killed in an airstrike - but Israel rejected U.S. criticism. The...

FREED RFK JR. RETURNS TO SCENE OF THE CRIME

Robert Kennedy Jr. and labor leader Dennis Rivera walked out of federal prison yesterday - but immediately returned to Vieques to urge more protests against bombing exercises. "Civil disobedience has...

TV MONOPOLY HAS VIEWERS ALL BOXED IN

THE people at Time Warner, who are about to scramble our cable lineups, must have scrambled brains. How else can you explain their boneheaded decision to move the dreadful Bravo...

ESTROGEN TIED TO LUNG CANCER: STUDY

Women smokers may have a higher risk of lung cancer than men because of the female sex hormone estrogen, a new study says. A research team at the University of...

WALL ST. SECRETARY MAY HAVE 'ERASED' $1M

Anamarie Giambrone, the secretary who allegedly used erasable ink to rip off a fortune from her boss, may have stolen a cool million dollars from the Wall Street honcho before...

RUDY: PARK RIGHT OR LOSE DIPLO-PLATES

Diplomats won't be able to thumb their noses at the city's parking rules much longer. Mayor Giuliani announced an "unprecedented" deal yesterday with the State Department to deny new or...

FEDS PROBE 'TORCH' DONORS

WASHINGTON - The FBI yesterday started investigating allegations that Sen. Robert Torricelli took $62,000 in campaign contributions from a New Jersey businessman who used straw donors. Josh Krantz, 45, who...

TALK ABOUT HITTING THE NAIL ON THE HEAD!

A Texas carpenter miraculously survived when a co-worker's 3-inch nail bored into his head - missing half a dozen vital areas by an eighth of an inch. Now the X-ray...

WHAT'S BETTER, HOMES OR GARDENS?: RUDY: HOMELESS SHUT OUT BY COMMUNITY GREEN THUMBS

Mayor Giuliani yesterday blamed garden-crazy New Yorkers who turn city lots into flowering pots for shutting out homeless families from affordable housing. Responding to reports that homelessness is on the...

BRIDE-TO-BE LEAVES GOWN IN CAB

Dorit Meyer was so excited to see hubby-to-be James Cashin on Tuesday night, she left her wedding dress in the taxi. Now the frantic couple is scrambling to retrieve the...

CITY GRABS GUNS - WEAPON SEIZURES BY NYPD WAY UP

The guns of August were on display yesterday at City Hall. Dozens of makes and models were piled high in a display of the Police Department's success in ridding the...

SAUSAGE HERMIT'S DEALS WERE BALONEY

Legendary fashion designer Oleg Cassini says he spoke to sausage-and-egg hermit Irwin Rose at least once a week - mostly about deals that turned out to be figments of the...

DELI-SLAY SUSPECTS MAY CHEAT MURDER 1

As the father of one Carnegie Deli massacre victim calls for the death penalty for the defendants, Manhattan prosecutors believe there isn't enough evidence to get a "murder one" indictment...

JUDGE TOSSES 'AA CONFESSION' SLAY CONVICTION

A federal judge yesterday overturned the double-homicide conviction of a man sent to jail on the word of fellow Alcoholics Anonymous members, saying the testimony should have never been admissible....

PIAZZA'S PLAYING HARDBALL WITH 6-YEAR-OLD FAN

SHAME on Mike Piazza. The $13 million slugger won't give a 6-year-old fan her ball back. On July 13, Piazza hit his 300th career home run out of Shea Stadium...

HE'S SWEET ON DOPE

Manhattan federal Judge Robert Sweet has raised eyebrows in the past for his stance on drugs: that they should be legalized and the drug war abandoned. Sweet gave a speech...

NEEDLE SUIT STICKS CITY: EXCHANGE-PLAN JUNKIES SAY BUSTS WERE ILLEGAL

Thousands of drug abusers could join a lawsuit against the city for arresting people registered in clean-needle exchange programs, a lawyer for one of the addicts said yesterday. The lawyer,...

LEVY RIPS FUND PLAN

Schools Chancellor Harold Levy blasted Gov. Pataki and lawmakers yesterday for a "bare-bones" spending plan that will force cuts in schools programs. "Higher standards without adequate funding is not going...

D.A. TATTOOS 'RACISTS' IN DAY-LABOR BEATINGS

A Long Island man's hateful motive for brutally beating two Mexican day laborers is spelled out all over his body in skinhead and swastika tattoos, a prosecutor charged yesterday at...

'KENNEDY' BACKS OUT OF ILL. RACE

William Kennedy Smith - the nephew of Sen. Ted Kennedy who beat a sensational rape charge 10 years ago - has shot down his plans to run for Congress in...

MARIAH'S MOM MADE DESPERATE CALL TO 911

Mariah Carey's distraught mother made a desperate call to 911 last week, tearfully pleading for medical help for her troubled pop-diva daughter, who was then rushed to the hospital. Carey...

ACTIVISTS SPLIT ON PLAN TO DREDGE THE HUDSON

The EPA's decision to steam ahead with a massive cleanup of the Hudson River was cheered by green groups yesterday but left some local activists furious. "This is a great...

'SOPRANO' CAPO SANG TO MOB PALS: FEDS

A reputed mob capo who beat a cop-killing rap a decade ago was busted yesterday for allegedly telling high-ranking New Jersey hoods about their imminent arrests by federal prosecutors. Frederico...

CONDIT FINDS CRUCIAL DAY FORGETTABLE

WASHINGTON - During his last interview with investigators, Rep. Gary Condit was unable to recall all of his activities on the day Chandra Levy disappeared, The Post has learned. Law-enforcement...

BUSH REACHES DEAL WITH GOPER TO LIMIT PATIENTS'-RIGHTS LAWSUITS

WASHINGTON - President Bush claimed a major political win last night as he cut a deal for a patients' bill of rights that will limit megabucks medical lawsuits - although...

BUSH ADDS MCCAIN TO BUDDY LIST

ONE of President Bush's new best friends suddenly is . . . Republican rival Sen. John McCain. White House press secretary Ari Fleischer praised McCain for his "very helpful role"...

MIKE: LET'S GET RID OF THE GRAFFITI SHUTTERS

Republican mayoral hopeful Mike Bloomberg said yesterday he wants to get rid of graffiti-covered metal shutters on storefronts that make neighborhoods "look like a war zone." The media mogul said...

'SOPRANO' CAPO SANG TO MOB FRIENDS: FEDS

A reputed mob capo who beat a cop-killing rap a decade ago was busted yesterday for allegedly telling New Jersey hoods about their imminent arrests by federal prosecutors. Frederico "Fritzy"...

FINAL, DESPERATE IRISH PEACE PLAN

Britain and Ireland unveiled their make-or-break proposals for Northern Ireland yesterday, warning that the province's peace process was hanging in the balance. The plan addresses major Catholic demands - including...

VIRUS' SMALL 'NET RESULT

Code Red wormed its way into more than 150,000 computers yesterday - but the virus-like infection failed to cripple the Internet and appeared to be slowing down. Experts had feared...

4 SAFE IN SEA SAVE BY NYPD

Three men and a boy were rescued by the NYPD yesterday after their boat capsized off New Jersey. David Lilly, 46, his 10-year-old son, Jeremy, and two friends were tossed...

HUBBY LO$ES CAUSE 'CELEB'

Being a soap opera star doesn't necessarily make you a celebrity, a Manhattan judge said yesterday as she denied the ex-husband of actress Lesli Kay payments based on the cash...

20 YEARS OF STARS MARK MTV'S B'DAY: GOLDEN OLDIES JOINTODAYS SIZZLING ACTS

Stars from MTV's past and present glittered in Midtown last night to help the music channel celebrate its 20th birthday. More than 1,000 screaming fans massed outside the Hammerstein Ballroom...

LEVY RIPS STATE $CHOOL PLAN

Schools Chancellor Harold Levy blasted Gov. Pataki and lawmakers yesterday for a "bare-bones" spending plan that will force cuts in schools programs. "Higher standards without adequate funding is not going...

SWAB THE DECKS AND YOUR HANDS

The Navy has a new slogan: All hands on deck - all clean hands, that is! That's because Navy brass have dramatically cut the number of illnesses among the rank-and-file...

FEDS PROBE 'BOGUS' TORCH DONORS

WASHINGTON - The FBI yesterday started investigating allegations that Sen. Robert Torricelli took $62,000 in campaign contributions from a New Jersey businessman who used straw donors. Josh Krantz, 45, who...

GET THAT DRESS TO THE CHURCH ON TIME!

Dorit Meyer was so excited to see fiancé James Cashin on Tuesday night, she left her wedding dress in the taxi. Meyer, 34, and Cashin, 44, of Ditmas Park, are...

FINAL, DESPERATE IRISH PEACE PLAN UNVEILED

Britain and Ireland unveiled their make-or-break proposals for Northern Ireland yesterday, warning that the province's peace process was hanging in the balance. The plan addresses major Catholic demands - including...

CUBANS RESCUED OFF FLORIDA COAST

The Coast Guard and a passing freighter rescued 22 people when a boat being used to smuggle Cuban migrants capsized off Florida yesterday - but one man died and as...

HIV-NEEDLE FEAR FOR SANIT WORKER

A Long Island sanitation worker was stuck with a used hypodermic needle - part of a pile of illegally dumped medical waste he was picking up , authorities said. The...

THIS ROCK 'N' ROLL REUNION COVERED IT ALL

BIG revolutions usually start with simple notions. The idea that the founders of MTV had 20 years ago was to put faces on music. Last night at the Hammerstein Ballroom,...

DRUGGIES STICK CITY WITH SUIT

Thousands of drug abusers could join a lawsuit against the city for arresting people registered in clean-needle exchange programs, a lawyer for one of the addicts said yesterday. The lawyer,...

BLOOMBERG: LOSE THOSE GRAFFITI STORE SHUTTERS

Republican mayoral hopeful Mike Bloomberg yesterday said he wants to get rid of graffiti-covered metal shutters on storefronts that make neighborhoods "look like a war zone." The media mogul said...

BIG BAMBU BAGS WIN AT THE SPA

SARATOGA SPRINGS - In last summer's seven-furlong Test Stakes here, Big Bambu almost pulled off a shocker at 28-1, running on the lead through gut-wrenching splits (:21.4, :44, 1:09.1) before...

HR BINGE POWERS BOMBERS

What others call gluttony, the Yankees call sensibility. Last night's 9-7 victory over Texas was - pardon the pun - a sterling example. Whether it's the home runs they slug,...

ROCKET EYES SATURDAY TAKEOFF

Barring the unforeseen, Roger Clemens will start Saturday. Clemens threw for at least 12 minutes in his bullpen session yesterday, and while he fought fatigue, he felt no discomfort in...

LATEST SAVE IS ; MO MILESTONE

With heavy-hitting Texas scoring two runs in each of the fifth, sixth and seventh innings last night - turning what had once been a seemingly insurmountable seven-run Yankee lead into...

KIKI: TODD WILL HELP KENYON

Todd MacCulloch would fit in well with the Nets. And Kenyon Martin would fit in even better if MacCulloch arrives. That's the sentiment of former All-Star Kiki Vandeweghe, who nearly...

LUXURY 'GIFTS' KEEP JOE GOING

WHEN he is good and ready for it, George Steinbrenner will take two hours away from his new network and stadium and get around to an extension for the manager...

BENNY KNOWS HE'S ON SPOT

MET NOTES HOUSTON - Benny Agbayani isn't stupid. He knows Matt Lawton, the newest Met, is going to play every day in right field. This leaves Agbayani, Jay Payton, Tsuyoshi...

DUTROWS SAVOR BIG START AT SPA

SARATOGA SPRINGS - It was a bang-up first week at the Old Spa for the Dutrow boys, Richard Jr. and Anthony, sons of the late master horseman Dick Dutrow, and...

AT STUNNED GIANTS' CAMP, TALK OF TRAGEDY DOMINATES THE DAY

ALBANY - As Michael Strahan and Ron Stone got down into their stances at Giants' training camp yesterday, waiting for the ball to be snapped for another play, they found...

DREAM'S HEADING NORTH TO TORONTO

The Dream is heading north of the border. The Rockets yesterday agreed to a sign-and-trade with the Raptors that will ship Hakeem Olajuwon to the Raptors for a No. 1...

NEW JET HATCHETTE FLORRED BY PAL'S DEATH

Matthew Hatchette was on his way out to the Jets' practice field at Hofstra shortly before 8:30 a.m. yesterday when he was told about the death of a close friend....

NEW MET POSITION: LEFT OUT ; BENNY WORRIED BUT PAYTON ISN'T

HOUSTON - Benny Agbayani admits to worrying. Jay Payton does not. But both know that with Matt Lawton's arrival, their playing time will likely be reduced. "I think I'm going...

DOCS STAY ON ALERT VS. HEAT STROKE

Dr. Elliot Pellman, chairman of the Jets' medical department, also serves as president of the NFL Physician's Society and attends every Jet practice. Those credentials make him as much an...

'IT MAKES YOU THINK' ; STRINGER'S DEATH JOLTS H.S. GRIDDERS, COACHES

If a professional athlete can overwork himself so severely that he gets heat stroke despite an abundance of coaches and medical personnel on hand, what does that say about players...

NEW FEARS HIT PARENTS OF GRID KIDS: HOT-WEATHER SAFETY NOW HOT TOPIC OF CONVERSATION

Karen Tucker has plenty of concerns about her son, Jyles, playing football. She worries about him breaking his leg. She worries about him becoming paralyzed. But the Dover, N.J., resident...

GAME MUST COME CLEAN

JUST about a month ago, a boxer named Beethavean Scottland died after suffering a fairly routine knockout loss on the deck of the USS Intrepid. Predictably, Scottland's death was followed...

GARNES' ANKLE - JUST A SPRAIN

GIANT NOTES ALBANY - The first live drill of training camp arrived yesterday morning and contained the first semblance of a real injury when safety Sam Garnes went down with...

SHOULDER COULD KO FERGUSON FOR YEAR

JET NOTES Three days into training camp practice and Herman Edwards is facing his first dose of adversity. There's a realistic - and alarming - chance that starting nose tackle...

METS' AMAZIN' 10TH KOS 'STROS

10 INNINGS Mets 8 Astros 2 HOUSTON - With two thirds of the Mets' schedule completed and a record of 49-59, the final stage of this season is about next...

LAWTON TAKIN' IT FROM TOP

MET NOTES HOUSTON - When Matt Lawton was acquired from the Twins, everyone said he was a tremendous leadoff hitter. But in his first game, he batted second. Last night...

ROCKET ON TRACK FOR SATURDAY TAKEOFF

YANKEE NOTES It's too easy to joke that all systems are go. But barring any catastrophe, Roger Clemens will be on the hill for the Yankees on Saturday. Clemens threw...

JUSTICE DUE FOR YANKS

David Justice wore another collar in Norwich yesterday. After a second hitless outing, he's not exactly tearing up the Eastern League. "[Justice is] not trying to lead that league in...

RED-HOT O'NEILL BACK IN SWING OF THINGS

For Paul O'Neill, hitting is as much about his head as his bat; as much about his emotions and his confidence as his mechanics and swing. Judging from the offensive...