February 22, 2002

BRUCE CASTS HIS NET: LAZARD BOSS SEEKS TO HIRE MSDW STAR

Bruce Wasserstein, Lazard's new chief executive, is trying desperately to reel in one of Morgan Stanley's top dealmakers as he looks to reinvigorate the erstwhile mergers powerhouse and imprint his...

BUBBLE YUM BEAUTY SNAPS TO LIFE

Now there are products good enough to chew. Bubble Yum is targeting the highly lucrative teen and 'tween consumers, licensing its name to Lotta Luv LLC to create a collection...

SULZBERGER PUNCHES OUT AT TIMES, FINALLY

At 76, Arthur "Punch" Sulzberger is ending an era as the figurehead of The New York Times and going into retirement. Sulzberger, patriarch of the newspaper dynasty and publisher of...

WAKSAL PAYS $500G TO IMCLONE OVER TRADES

Sam Waksal, the beleaguered CEO of ImClone Systems, isn't admitting guilt or anything, but he did just pay $486,051.61 to the company after realizing that some of his recent trades...

NASDAQ SKIDS TO 4-MO. LOW

Scared sellers unloaded stocks late in the day, driving the Nasdaq to lows unseen since Oct. 31, while blue chips lost half of Tuesday's gains. Trading in blue chips had...

'ROSIE' ROWDY EXPOSES HERSELF ON TV

A woman in the audience of yesterday's "Rosie O'Donnell Show" flashed her breasts on live TV. The young woman, who was not identified, stood up and opened her shirt just...

EBERT CANCER SURGERY

TV movie critic Roger Ebert has cancer. Ebert, 59, will have surgery today in Chicago to have a cancerous growth removed from his thyroid. Ironically, he made the announcement Wednesday...

DEAD DOC STALKING

DRAGONFLY 1/2 Sappy, mechanical tripe.Running time: 97 minutes. Rated PG-13 (mildly creepy mpire, the 84th Street, others. HOLLYWOOD movies are rarely as contemptuous of the audience as "Dragonfly," with its...

BRIT 'LONGEST YARD' MEETS 'FULL MONTY'

MEAN MACHINE The most needless remake since "Rollerball."Running time: 100 minutes. Rated R (violence, profanity, sex). At the Empire, the Union Square, the Cinema 1, others. 'MEAN Machine" accomplishes a...

WHEN IRANIAN IMMIGRANTS DIDN'T FIT IN HERE

MARYAM 1/2 Iranians face bias in New Jersey.Running time: 87 minutes. Not rated (violence). At the Angelika, Houston and Mercer streets. 'MARYAM" is a well-meaning but flawed drama about the...

PLENTY OF BARK BUT LITTLE BITE

HOW TO KILL YOUR NEIGHBOR'S DOG A wordy wisp of a comedy.Running time: 107 minutes. Rated R (for language). At Village East Cinemas, Murray Hill Cinemas. SHAKESPEAREAN actor Kenneth Branagh...

DOES NOT COMPUTE

REVOLUTION OS 1/2I AM 100 percent behind the computer rebels who created the Linux operating system to fight Bill Gates' Microsoft monopoly. But I couldn't get into this documentary about...

STRITCH WEAVES B'WAY MAGIC

ELAINE STRITCH AT LIBERTYAt the Neil Simon Theater, 250 W. 52nd St., (212) 757-8646. SO formidable is Elaine Stritch - in appearance, voice and vibes - that she's the kind...

STARR REPORT

Oxygen gets programming 'Makeover' Oxygen will debut a new series, "The Life Makeover Project with Cheryl Richardson," April 21 at 6 p.m. In the series, "life coach" Cheryl Richardson, an...

BLOODY MARY ; THE LATEST HIGGINS CLARK MURDER MYSTERY TAKES PLACE ON THE RADIO

"You Belong To Me" Sunday at 9 p.m. on Pax 3 knives WOMEN are disappearing and the only thing that links them is that they all seem to have not-very-expensive...

FILMMAKER: 'RAW DEAL' GETTING ONE

THE producer of an extremely graphic documentary about an alleged rape at a Florida frat house is shopping for a new distributor after a war of words with the original...

A DELHI DELIGHT

MONSOON WEDDING Exhilarating ensemble piece from India.In English, Punjabi and Hindi with English subtitles. Running Time: 114 mins. Rated R (adult themes, language). At the Paris and the Sunshine Cinema....

CAN'T SEE THE FOREST FOR THE TREES

THE CHERRYORCHARD 1/2 Badly directed Chekhov.Running time: 137 minutes. Unrated (adult themes). At the Quad, the Sutton. IT'S often said, probably with some justice, that Chekhov is a difficult playwright...

ON A WINGER & A PRAYER

BIG BAD LOVE Terms of alienation.Running time: 111 minutes. Rated R (violence, profanity, sex). At the Sunshine, Houston Street and First Avenue. THANK you, Arliss Howard, for persuading your wife,...

OH, YOU KID! HORNS LOCK OVER ALBEE'S MAN-GOAT LOVE STORY

NOTE to the Goat: Call your agent (Old MacDonald?) and your union (the ASPCA?) - your job's on the line.There's a big debate raging backstage at "The Goat or Who...

ORGAN GRINDER ; BORN-AGAIN DAVID CROSBY JUST GLAD TO BE HERE

DAVID Crosby should probably be dead now, but this much-loved musician is still very much part of contemporary music, thanks to a donor liver he got seven years ago to...

HEY, IT'S NEWS 4 N.Y.- SO WHY'S IT COMING FROM UTAH?

IF you think it's odd for a New York TV station to start its 11 o'clock news with the words, "Live from Salt Lake City!" join the club. That's how...

SHE'S DAMNED GOOD: TRAGIC AALIYAH SPARKLES IN CHEESY VAMPIRE TALE

QUEEN OF THE DAMNED ½ Undemanding cheesy fun. Running time: 95 minutes. Rated R (moderately gory violence). At the E-Walk, the Union Square, the Harlem USA, others. AALIYAH rules as...

SKILLFUL SCRIBE PUT HIS LIFE INTO NEWS ADVENTURE

A music lover who played the electric bluegrass fiddle, an extraordinary journalist who could write hard-hitting news or offbeat features, Daniel Pearl was many things to many people. But to...

9/11 KIN RIP RUDY BA$H FOR THE GOP

National Republicans aim to raise over $5.5 million at a "Salute to America's Heroes" fund-raiser in March - and some relatives of Sept. 11 victims are livid. Former Mayor Rudy...

THE TIMES IS RIGHT ; LANDLORD LAWSUIT THREATENS PROJECT N.Y.C. NEEDS

WHAT, a column on this page supporting The New York Times? You bet, now that the Times' plan to build a grand new headquarters is threatened by a bunch of...

THE WILL TO LIVE : WTC BURN VICTIM'S STORY OF BRAVERY

Donovan Cowan - painfully burned over half his body - willed himself to walk down 84 flights of stairs during the World Trade Center attack. "I kept saying, 'only 60...

LYING'S GREAT, SAYS LIZZIE PAL

Tara Reid - expected to be a key witness in the Lizzie Grubman assault trial - says she has no problem telling lies. The sexy blond actress, who was with...

SHARON PLANS TO 'WALL OUT' TERRORISTS

JERUSALEM - Israel will create "buffer zones" to shield itself from Palestinian terrorists, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said last night. Sharon said the creation of "security separation" was necessary to...

A DEMENTED RECOVERY PLAN

THE Lower Manhattan Development Corp., assigned the profoundly difficult task of overseeing the reconstruction of the area around Ground Zero, has been taking its own sweet time getting itself set...

TITANIC WATCH ON THE BLOCK

A gold watch that stopped ticking the moment it hit the icy waters of the Atlantic when the Titanic sank is expected to fetch up to $40,000 at auction. The...

BLOOMY BACKS LOW BAIL FOR 'KID MOLEST' CANTOR

Mayor Bloomberg yesterday defended the relatively low bail set for Congregation Emanu-El cantor Howard Nevison, charged in horrifying sexual assaults on his young nephew. Nevison, 62, was sprung late Wednesday...

PORN PUSHER HAS 'SCREW' LOOSE WITH TRIAL BLOW-UP

The harassment trial of Al Goldstein turned from profane to contemptible yesterday when the porn baron was handcuffed for a bizarre outburst in court. While he was being cross-examined by...

PROSECUTORS EYE JAYSON HOUSE MAP

Prosecutors probing the fatal shooting of a limo driver at ex-NBA star Jayson Williams' home are looking at the mansion's floor plan, The Post has learned. That map, taken from...

U.S.-EDUCATED SCHOLARS AMONG GITMO GANG

GUANTANAMO BAY. THE Islamic fighters being detained at Camp X-Ray represent a surprising mix of personalities and backgrounds - from graduates of some of America's most prestigious universities to a...

CITY DEMANDS BIDDER END OF 9/11 SALE

Mayor Bloomberg's top lawyer yesterday said the eBay online auction site could be slapped with a lawsuit if it continues the "morally repugnant" sale of Sept. 11 items. But eBay...

DONOHUE INSISTS SHE'LL STAY ON PATAKI'S TICKET

ALBANY - Lt. Gov. Mary Donohue "most likely" will seek re-election with Gov. Pataki despite indications he wants her off his ticket, a spokeswoman said yesterday. "It's much ado about...

IT'S CLASS WARFARE, UPPER EAST SIDE-STYLE

TO UNDERSTAND what's happening on the Upper East Side, think of JPMorgan Chase Bank as the Montgomery, Ala., bus company of the 1950s. And chicken vendor John Dragonas is a...

ARIEL TACKLES CRISIS WITH FORCE AND FINESSE

JERUSALEM. PRIME Minister Ariel Sharon spent most of yesterday at his farm in the northern Negev Desert, working on a nationally televised speech - a rarity in Israel. But his...

JUDGE RULES CONS NEED THEIR SPACE

A federal judge's order that the city separate inmates' beds by 6 feet could cost the city more than $10 million - and the city's jail boss is hopping mad...

REBUILD BIGS TAP FAMILIES FOR MEMORIAL

Officials at the agency charged with rebuilding Ground Zero yesterday promised that victims' families will play a heavy role in deciding on a temporary memorial to those who lost their...

OUTRAGE AT JEWISH MUSEUM'S 'NAZI' ADS

Menachem Rosensaft hit the roof yesterday when he opened a brochure that had arrived in his mail and found himself staring at a picture of Josef Mengele, the Nazi death-camp...

HARD TIME FOR GROUND ZERO CROOK

A ghoul who posed as a firefighter so he could steal pricey watches from a Ground Zero store on the day after the Twin Towers terror attacks bought himself some...

WAKE UP, JUDGE! DON'T FREE THIS COP KILLER

LUIS Lopez Jr., a law clerk, looks in the mirror and sees his father. "All I know is they are talking about a reprieve for the guy who killed my...

TW CABLE POISED TO SAY YES TO YANKS

As the new Yankee channel struggles to get onto Cablevision, it has apparently found a home on Time Warner in New York City. The Yankee Entertainment & Sports channel is...

KIN SUE FOR $4M IN BUS TUMBLE

A ride on a city bus cost an elderly wheelchair-bound woman her life, her family charges in a $4 million lawsuit. In papers filed in Manhattan state Supreme Court, Lillian...

DOC AND DA NEAR DEAL IN 'GAS THERAPY' DEATH CASE

Prosecutors are close to hammering out a deal with a doctor whose "gas therapy" treatment killed a female patient last year, The Post has learned. The Manhattan district attorney's office...

MIKE ENDORSES TAXI-FARE HIKE

Get ready to dig deeper for cab fare. Mayor Bloomberg yesterday endorsed a fare hike for the taxi industry, saying it's the only way to attract more drivers into the...

TYSON PROSECUTORS THROW IN TOWEL

Mike Tyson dodged another courtroom TKO last night after Las Vegas prosecutors decided not to charge the former heavyweight champ in two separate sex-assault cases. "It's simply unclear whether the...

BUSH BRO JEB MADE 7G ON ENRON DEAL

Presidential brother Jeb Bush invested in an Enron partnership in 1995 and turned a tiny profit, it was revealed yesterday. The Florida governor's $91,000 investment in Enron Liquids is the...

GREENS 'REPAY' MARIO & ANDY

Three months after former Gov. Mario Cuomo endorsed Mark Green for mayor, Green's wealthy brother donated $20,000 to the campaign coffers of Cuomo's son, The Post has learned. Real-estate mogul...

12 FEARED DEAD IN U.S. COPTER CRASH - TERROR-WAR CRAFT HITS SEA IN PHILIPPINES

A U.S. Army helicopter that had ferried troops in a counterterrorism exercise crashed into the sea in the southern Philippines early today, apparently killing all 12 Americans on board. No...

CHINA'S 'FAITH' UNSHAKEN BY BUSH

President Bush pressed China for more religious freedom yesterday - but Chinese President Jiang Zemin insisted that his people are free to worship and that any Catholic bishops put in...

SHARON BARES HIS PLANS TO 'WALL OUT' TERRORISTS

JERUSALEM - Israel will create "buffer zones" to shield itself from Palestinian terrorists, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said last night. Sharon said the creation of "security separation" was necessary to...

DRIVE-BY SLAYING ON LONG ISLAND

One person was killed and another hospitalized in a drive-by shooting last night on Long Island. Nassau County cops say the double shooting occurred at about 6:30 p.m. in front...

A PART-TIME MAYOR?

WHY did the press barrage Mayor Bloomberg with questions about where he'd vanished to for three days over the long President's Day weekend? Take a look at his answer: "My...

'NAZI' GUARD LOSES CITIZENSHIP

WASHINGTON - John Demjanjuk, the 81-year-old retired Cleveland auto worker accused of being a guard at a Nazi death camp, was stripped of his U.S. citizenship by a federal judge...

AUCTION GOES TO WASTE AS DUNG ARTIST CHIPS IN

Now that New York City has put the great elephant-dung art controversy behind it, another doo-doo enhanced painting by the same artist has emerged. But this time, the Brooklyn Museum...

HERO DELIVERS FOR LIVER KID

SALT LAKE CITY - Eleven-year-old David John McNamara got the phone call of his young life - live from the Winter Olympics - from an athlete with whom he shares...

SICK KIDS CAN USE A LAUGH

Laughter is the best medicine when it comes to helping sick children coping with pain, new research suggests. The study found laughing made ill kids relax, which had a major...

A FARE OF THE HEART FOR MIKE: ENDORSES RATE HIKE TO PUT MORE TAXIS ON STREETS

Get ready to dig deeper for cab fare. Mayor Bloomberg for the first time yesterday endorsed a fare hike for the taxi industry, saying it's the only way to attract...

THE BLOOMOMETER: POST READERS BACK BLOOMY

Most New Yorkers don't care that Mayor Bloomberg leaves town without informing the public, according to a Post Web survey. Just 29 percent of the roughly 2,000 who responded to...

MURDERED: PEARL'S THROAT SLIT BY ABDUCTORS IN VIDEO

Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl was killed by his Muslim extremist kidnappers in Pakistan, the State Department confirmed last night - after the FBI received a chilling videotape showing...

ALOMAR SHINES AMONG STARS

PORT ST. LUCIE - Nelson Doubleday looked to his right and saw sun-soakers lining the chain-link fence that separates the public from the players. He looked to his left for...

RUSSIANS: WE'LL BOLT: SAY THEY'RE VICTIMS OF BAD OFFICIATING

SALT LAKE CITY - The Russians dropped a bombshell only hours before Michelle Kwan was due to skate for gold last night, threatening to boycott the rest of the Olympics...

DESIGNATED FOR STARDOM ; JOHNSON HITS STRIDE AS YANK

TAMPA - Four spring trainings ago, Nick Johnson's locker for his first big league camp was next to the Legends Field clubhouse entrance. Sitting on a stool, the soft-spoken Johnson's...

MAVERICKS STOLE GOLDEN NUGGET FROM KNICKS

The NBA trading deadline neared yesterday with the Blazers and Mavericks in a cosmic bidding war for Raef LaFrentz and the Nuggets sufficiently unsure what to do. At the last...

CABLEVISION GUILTY OF DISH-ORDERLY CONDUCT

JOE Illuzzi, mild-mannered Post news-side editor, jumped from his City Room chair and got in my face. Joe lives on Long Island. He's a baseball fan. Not that he had...

NO SECOND THOUGHTS FOR HENSON

TAMPA - Drew Henson was part of another backfield yesterday. This time, though, there were not more than 100,000 fans cheering and the company he kept was distinctly third-string. Inside...

LIFE BOILED DOWN TO FOUR MINUTES ; KWAN AND COHEN HANDLE THE PRESSURE DIFFERENTLY

SALT LAKE CITY - For even a seasoned campaigner like Michelle Kwan, there is no pressure in the world of skating comparable to the free skate of an Olympic program....

BURNITZ PLAYS IT COOL ; RETURNS TO METS MATURE SLUGGER

PORT ST. LUCIE - Jeromy Burnitz began his second Mets stint with an earache, but it had nothing to do with memories of Dallas Green's incessant yelling. The former Brewers...

JUDGES HOOKED ON MICHELLE'S GRACE

SALT LAKE CITY - All the way across, they showed Michelle Kwan the love on Tuesday night. In presentation, the judges all put up 5.9, which means for elegance and...

GIAMBI DUELS WITH RIVERA

YANKEE NOTES TAMPA - Having been fed nasty cutters by Mariano Rivera, Jason Giambi stood in the Legends Field batting cage and informed Rivera of a new development. "I was...

MESS MAY BE OUT FOR SEASON

The Rangers may very well have to go the remainder of the season without Mark Messier. While still clinging to hope that ultra-sound treatment and rehab would provide sufficient relief...

VAN HORN WAS ROOTING FOR NO NET DEALS

WASHINGTON -- Keith Van Horn joined the ranks of Jason Kidd and Kenyon Martin as Nets who were firmly rooting against making any deals before last night's trading deadline. Van...

BORDER BITTERNESS ; U.S.-CANADA A GRUDGE MATCH FOR GOLD

SALT LAKE CITY - The mind games began four years before last night's women's gold medal hockey match. It was in 1998 in Nagano that Team USA shocked Canada, 3-1,...

NWTF TO HONOR N.Y.C.'S BRAVEST

WHETHER at home or abroad, many outstanding American heroes have risked their lives to protect our country. At the 26th Annual National Wild Turkey Federation Convention and Sport Show, several...

LINDROS SHRUGS OFF BENCHING

SALT LAKE CITY - Eric Lindros is not hurt, except maybe his feelings. After missing the final seven minutes of Monday's tie against the Czech Republic with a shoulder bruise,...

U.S. HEROES LINK UP WITH VIDEO E-MAILS

SALT LAKE CITY - The real heroes, U.S. servicemen in Afghanistan, have been trading video e-mails with American Olympic heroes. Downhill skier Picabo Street sent a video e-mail to Major...

DO-NOTHING KNICKS PLAY DEAD-LINE

CHICAGO - Don Chaney's face looked as if it had aged 10 years after Wednesday's latest disaster at United Center. The usually unflappable coach became angered when a reporter asked...

DOUBLEDAY BULLISH

MET NOTES PORT ST. LUCIE - The sky was high, the sun was bright and Nelson Doubleday was in a good mood. The Met co-owner appeared on the field for...

JETS GET THEIR MAN AS FABINI RE-UPS

Just days after losing their starting right tackle Ryan Young to the NFL expansion draft, the Jets yesterday locked up Jason Fabini, their starting left tackle, to a five-year, $18...

NUGGETS DEAL WITH DALLAS ; CRAFTY CUBAN OUTBID BLAZERS TO NAB LAFRENTZ

The NBA trading deadline ended yesterday with the Blazers and Mavericks in a bidding war for Raef LaFrentz and the Nuggets sufficiently unsure what to do. But while those three...

FOR KNICKS, IT'S NO DEAL; LAYDEN WANTED IN ON MAV-NUGGET BLOCKBUSTER

Knicks GM Scott Layden sounded tired and dejected and, according to an NBA source, felt "used." Dallas and Denver hooked up yesterday and Layden was left out in the cold...

VG DOESN'T WANT REBUILDING JOB

Jeff Van Gundy discussed his coaching future for the first time yesterday, saying he wouldn't take an NBA job that required rebuilding. "There's no such thing as rebuilding because they...

BLAST FROM THE PAST: RUSSIAN THREATS SPICE UP BATTLE WITH U.S.

SALT LAKE CITY - Twenty-two years to the day of the most humiliating sporting defeat in Soviet history, those nostalgic members of the old Party are trying to mark the...

KIDD'S STELLAR NIGHT TAKES AIR OUT OF WIZARDS

Nets 93Wizards 82 WASHINGTON - The plot leading up to this game was Michael's Revenge. Michael Jordan would remember the 44-point blowout, the worst beating of his pro career, that...

NETS LOSE ACHIN' TODD

NET NOTES WASHINGTON - Obviously, Todd MacCulloch's foot felt better than it actually was. And now the Nets' starting center will be out for several games at least. MacCulloch, who...

GOLDEN DREAM DIES: U.S. RALLY FALLS SHORT IN FINAL

Canada 3 USA 2 SALT LAKE CITY - Now the USA women's hockey team knows the pain Team Canada felt four years ago. They know the heartache. They know the...

CANADIANS GOT NO HELP FROM REF

SALT LAKE CITY - The Canadian women's hockey team had to overcome a lot of adversity - including an American referee - in winning the gold medal, 3-2, over the...

FOR KWAN, A DREAM DEFERRED, AGAIN

SALT LAKE CITY - Again it was Michelle Kwan's turn to win, just like it was in Nagano, when Tara Lipinski shot like love off Cupid's bow and nailed the...

GREAT NECK GIRL GOES FOR BROKE & HITS JACKPOT

New York native Sarah Hughes pulled a stunning upset to capture the Olympic gold medal for women's figure skating last night - icing the odds-on favorite, Michelle Kwan, for first...

RUSSIANS: GIVE IRINA GOLD, TOO

The Russian boycott controversy will explode today after a senior official wrote a scathing protest of Sarah Hughes' skating victory last night - and demanded that silver medalist Irina Slutskaya...

KENYON AWAITS AIR RAID

NET NOTES WASHINGTON - The Nets played the Wizards last night. So naturally, everyone wanted to speak with Kenyon Martin beforehand. Martin is the Net who always draws the short...