March 5, 2002

BEEN DOWN SO LONG, IT ONLY LOOKS LIKE UP

AT 8:30 a.m. on Friday, Wall Street will start worrying again about the economy. As you already know, these past few weeks have been a period of newfound economic euphoria...

VERIZON PULLS PLUG : 10,000 MORE JOB CUTS ARE LIKELY

Verizon Communications co-chief exec Ivan Seidenberg said he would ratchet up cost-cutting efforts at the nation's biggest local telephone company - including a flurry of pink slips - to the...

IS IT THE REAL THING? OPTIMISM FUELS DOW'S 2ND TRIPLE-DIGIT GAIN

Stocks rocketed higher yesterday, fueled by the perception the U.S. economy is recovering much faster than anyone expected. The Dow Jones industrial average shot up 217.96 to 10,586.82, its highest...

EMI GETS NEW HOME: RECORD BIZ PLANNING MOVE TO FLATIRON AREA

THE letters carved into the top of 150 Fifth Ave., at 20th Street, have read "MBC" since 1888. But soon, they might read "EMI." In a win-win deal for the...

FLORSHEIM FILES FOR BANKRUPTCY

Say goodbye to famed footwear store Florsheim. The new owners - headed by the grandson of founder Milton Florsheim - plan on shuttering the shops and concentrating on the wholesale...

REPORT: MARTHA, HOME DEPOT HOLD TALKS

Martha Stewart hinted for the first time yesterday that her relationship with Kmart is not such a good thing. At the same time, the domestic diva is reported to be...

NORTHROP CEO TO CLASH OVER TRW

The battle to win billions in defense dollars is heating up. Kent Kresa, chairman and CEO of big defense contractor Northrop Grumman, may have been rebuffed in his $11.4 billion...

FULLER MAY HAVE HER FILL AFTER ONLY 1 YR. WITH WENNER

Meredith Corp. said it still plans to press ahead with its test of a new magazine called Living Room in late summer - even though launch editor Bonnie Fuller bailed...

'MOULIN' PRODUCES SURPRISE

THE Producers Guild of America has thrown a twist into the Oscar race, picking "Moulin Rouge" as the winner of its best picture award. It was a shocker, with the...

ABORIGINAL ORIGINALS

AUSTRALIAN Aboriginal art has been popular in the international art world for decades, with individual pieces fetching up to $800,000 and featuring prominently in major galleries in Asia and Europe....

DON'T MYTH IT!

METAMORPHOSESCircle in the Square, 1633 Broadway, at 50th Street, (212) 239-6200. IT looks like a wading pool, apparently shallow and with a gangplank built round it.This is Daniel Ostling's startling...

TIPPECANOE & TYLER, TOO! ONE PLANTATION, TWO PRESIDENTS & A GINKGO TREE

SHERWOOD Forest, the Virginia plantation near the banks of the James River that once belonged to John Tyler, 10th president of the United States, is an unusual place. As visitors...

TRAVELER'S UPDATE

Grossology 101 Yuck. The Space Center in Houston has dared to go where no museum has gone before. "Grossology," the center's newest attraction, explores all of the human body's more...

MAKE YOUR TELEMARK! THE SPORT IS WEANING DOWNHILL SLAVES FROM THE NEED FOR SPEED AT BEAVER CREEK, COLO.

THERE are many reasons why guys of a certain age suddenly take up a new sport: vanity, a mid-life crisis, the desire to wow women. In the case of John...

'LILIES' GROWS ON YOU

NATALIEIMBRUGLIA "White Lilies Island" RCA On her second disc, recorded more than five years after the first, Australia's answer to Sheryl Crow dishes out a diverse mix of layered pop...

STARR REPORT

Scotto, Ryan sign new deals with Ch. 5Rosanna Scotto and Jim Ryan have signed new deals with Ch. 5. Scotto has inked a new, three-year deal to continue co-anchoring Ch....

IF THE SHOE FITS, PLAY IT

TALK about sole music.You've heard the performers in Times Square banging on cans. Well, here's a musician who performs truly amazing, uh, feets. "They're shoes mounted upside down onto a...

WHERE THEY ARE NOW

THE last time Vanity Fair rounded up a posse of up-and-coming stars was the Hollywood Class of 2000. With a few exceptions, most of have gone on to only middling...

FAIREST OF ALL ; 9 ACTRESSES MAKE VANITY'S LIST

FROM Kelly Bundy to Vanity Fair cover girl - lucky Christina Applegate. Her spot on the magazine's new faces-to-watch issue says she's no longer the small-screen dumb blonde from the...

ANCHOR OVERBOARD

ANGELA Rae is leaving Ch. 2 after just 18 months on the job. Rae, who co-anchors Ch. 2's 11 p.m. newscast with Ernie Anastos, is rejoining the CBS station in...

TWO NEW SERIES MAY NOT BE FOR YOU; SO REFRESHING

"As If" Tonight at 9 on Ch. 9 "Random Years" Tonight at 9:30 on Ch. 9 1/2 WHAT'S in the water over at UPN? Suddenly, the CBS-owned mini-network seems to...

TARGET DISNEY; THE ABC BIG SHOTS WHO WILL HAVE TO TAKE DAVE'S HEAT

THE old warning "Be careful what you wish for - you just may get it" could have special meaning to the ABC execs who are pursuing David Letterman. Letterman is...

FROM 'TIME MACHINE' TO ROWING MACHINE

AT 19, Samantha Mumba has accomplished more than most teenagers could dream of. A huge celebrity in her native Dublin, she's becoming a familiar face here, too. Not only is...

NYPD CAPT. TO JURY: I'M INNOCENT OF DRUG RIP-OFF

A high-ranking cop took the witness stand yesterday to vehemently deny charges he stole drug money - only to see prosecutors paint him as a free-wheeling gambler who racked up...

DASCHLE'S FIRST SHOT ; HIS PARTISANSHIP IS SHINING THROUGH

SENATE Majority Leader Tom Daschle is an intelligent man, a very astute politician and a very partisan Democrat. He possesses a quality of thoughtfulness that has helped make him both...

APPLE GIVES SARAH 'LUTZ' TO DO

As her schoolmates in Great Neck began their first classes of the week yesterday, 16- year-old Sarah Hughes was getting American commerce rolling - ringing the opening bell at the...

9/11 SCAMMER IS SENT TO THE SLAMMER

A fake firefighter who played on the heartstrings of a single mother after the Sept. 11 tragedy was sentenced yesterday to one to three years behind bars. Jerome Brandl, 34,...

DOC'S GRISLY TESTIMONY AT DOG-MAUL MURDER TRIAL

Seventy-seven vicious dog bites and scratches killed a Long Island native, who was fatally mauled by two crazed canines last year, a medical examiner testified in Los Angeles yesterday. Dog...

JAYSON OFFERS CONDOLENCES TO FAMILY OF SLAIN LIMO DRIVER

Former Net star Jayson Williams finally offered sympathy to the family of a limo driver he allegedly killed Feb. 14 - but stopped short yesterday of apologizing for the shotgun...

COURT BOOSTS CUSTODY FOR ABUSED MOMS

A Brooklyn federal judge has ruled that the Administration for Children's Services harms kids when it removes them from the homes of domestic-violence victims - and is threatening legal action...

CYBER BAN FOR COLLEGE MUSLIMS

A Muslim student group at Ohio State University that sent out a call for an anti-American holy war has been removed from the Big Ten school's Internet server, officials said...

GI JUGGERNAUT WILL LEAVE NO ROOM FOR ESCAPE THIS TIME

ANALYSIS WASHINGTON - The Pentagon decided to commit the largest U.S. ground force of the Afghan war to the battle of Gardez to avoid a repeat of earlier disasters in...

HOMELAND INSECURITY

THE "war on terror" has so far been a dazzling success - abroad. At home, it remains a joke. For an idea of the fundamental unseriousness and inadequacy of the...

FDNY TRIO TO BE FLAG SLEUTHS

The patriotic firefighters who hoisted Old Glory over Ground Zero in a now-famous photograph will pore through a stack of yacht pictures, seeking to identify the source of their famous...

AMMON-CASE CAR SEIZED ; MIGHT HAVE LINK TO SLAY WIDOW'S NEW GUY

Homicide detectives have impounded a car they believe was driven by the boyfriend of the estranged wife of murdered millionaire Ted Ammon on the weekend he was killed, The Post...

WRITE AND WRONG - EDITOR RIPPED FOR ROMANCE WITH GE BIG

The editor at the Harvard Business Review is in hot water after admitting to colleagues she had a romance with a married business titan she interviewed - former GE boss...

RUDY'S PAL IN POLL VAULT OVER W. PICK

WASHINGTON - Ex-Mayor Rudy Giuliani's pal will beat President Bush's guy in California today when Republicans pick their nominee for governor - if polls are any guide. Former Los Angeles...

GIANTS IN MIX FOR SKINS' LB

The Giants and Jets may compete for the services of Redskins linebacker Shawn Barber, an unrestricted free agent who could move into the starting lineup for either team. Barber pays...

VOTERS DECIDE CONDIT'S FATE TODAY

MODESTO, Calif. - It's looking grim for Rep. Gary Condit as the six-term congressmen faces the test of his political life in today's Democratic primary. Supporters of his chief rival,...

POLS VOTE TO RAI$E NEWSSTAND CAP

Struggling newsstand owners got a break yesterday when a City Council committee voted to allow them to sell more costly items. Under current law, newsstands can't sell anything that costs...

IT'S A 'DAME' SHAME! ; APPLE ONLY 23RD IN LIST OF LADY-FRIENDLY CITIES

New York, New York, it's a wonderful town - but nowhere near the best of cities for women to live in, according to Ladies' Home Journal. The magazine's April issue...

COUNCIL MULLS LOOPHOLE IN TERM LIMITS

Plans are in the works in the City Council to throw out term limits as they currently exist, The Post has learned. Because of a glitch in the city's term-limits...

NEW YORK A DATING DESERT? NO, IT'S FLOCK-O'-FELLAS CENTER!

YOU "ladies" have got to get out more! Do you believe the venerable mag Ladies' Home Journal has ranked New York behind 161 other cities when it comes to meeting...

BIG BLUE TO START '02 ON A THURSDAY NIGHT

The Giants will be a part of NFL history when for the first time in the 83-year history of the league the season will start on a weekday night. The...

RED STORM'S HATTEN GETS ALL-BIG EAST NOD

The good news for St. John's is that junior guard Marcus Hatten has been voted to the Big East first team by the league coaches. The bad news is that...

MERIT HIKES FOR PRINCIPALS

Schools Chancellor Harold Levy for the first time will reward 1,368 principals and other administrators with $13.5 million in merit pay for boosting student performance, the supervisors' union said yesterday....

GROUP HELPS GOLDEN OLDIE FOLD TENT

BENSALEM, Pa. - Golden Tent, a 13-year-old veteran of New York racing who ran 118 times in a career that began when the first George Bush was president, will race...

REV. AL COMES CALLING ; LOBBIES AT CITY HALL TO BAR LOUIMA COPS

After eight years of exile from the city's halls of power, the Rev. Al Sharpton made the rounds yesterday, pressuring officials not to give back jobs to the ex-cops whose...

OFF COURSE, TIGER NEEDS SOME WORK

One day after he nearly stopped an unnerved Ernie Els in his tracks at Doral, Tiger Woods' presence froze hundreds of bystanders on Broadway yesterday. Woods, who came within a...

CHANGE OF COMP PLANS WOULD BE BIG BOO$T TO 9/11 FAMILIES

Relatives of those killed in the Sept. 11 attacks could expect more money from the government under a series of changes planned to the federal victims compensation fund. The proposed...

PATAKI'S REVENUE NEWS IS BAD NEWS FOR BUDGET

ALBANY - Gov. Pataki had more bad news for Mayor Bloomberg and legislative leaders yesterday, saying the state's fiscal picture may be $500 million worse then expected. Pataki announced that...

BOY, 6, DEFIES BURNS TO PLAY HERO IN BLAZE THAT WIPES OUT FAMILY

A 6-year-old hero, badly burned in a Brooklyn fire yesterday that claimed his mother and two siblings, saved his neighbors' lives by running downstairs to alert them, despite his critical...

N.Y. POLS RIP NUKE-THREAT SECRECY

New York's top elected officials fumed yesterday that they should have been told of the threat of a nuclear attack on the city, discovered by federal agents last fall. "That...

7 HEROES DIE IN CHOPPER ATTACKS - TRAGIC TOLL MAKES IT WORST DAY OF WAR

WASHINGTON - Seven American servicemen were killed yesterday when two helicopters ferrying troops to a ferocious battle in eastern Afghanistan were attacked in the worst day for U.S. forces of...

HERO GRABS PISTOL FROM WIFE'S PURSE AND GUNS DOWN TERRORIST

JERUSALEM - When the bullets started flying at the Seafood Market disco in Tel Aviv, shoe salesman William Hazan's first instinct was to duck under a table. His second was...

TAPE OFFERS HEROISM BUT LITTLE THAT'S NEW

WHILE some viewers will no doubt be glued to their TV sets this Sunday for the much-ballyhooed CBS documentary "9/11," others might wonder what can be gained by viewing a...

CBS DEFENDS '9/11' ; NETWORK: TIME IS RIGHT FOR WTC DOCUMENTARY

CBS officials insisted last night it's not too soon to air a two-hour documentary containing explicit footage shot in the lobby of the World Trade Center's north tower moments before...

AMY SET TO SUE AS PAROLE BOARD KOS BOXING BID

Long Island Lolita Amy Fisher may sue the state parole board for putting the kibosh on her upcoming televised boxing match against scandalized skating queen Tonya Harding. Fisher, now a...

ISRAELI STRIKES KILL 17 AS SHARON TALKS 'WAR'

JERUSALEM - Israeli reprisal raids killed at least 17 Palestinians yesterday, including the wife and three children of a Hamas commander, as Prime Minister Ariel Sharon declared, "We are in...

FALLEN SOLDIER LOVED HIS JOB AND COUNTRY

Chief Warrant Officer Stanley L. Harriman - the first casualty in the new U.S. assault in Afghanistan - died doing the job he loved, serving the country he loved. "He...

HORROR AT ISRAELI DISCO ; SUICIDE ATTACKER KILLS 3 IN RAMPAGE

JERUSALEM - A new day of terror dawned on Israel today, with a Palestinian blitz that killed at least five people and injured scores of others. One Israeli was killed...

COMPUTER FIX CAUSES GLITCH RESULTING IN NIX OF LOTTERY TIX

ALBANY - Two-hundred unlucky lottery vendors were still unable to sell tickets yesterday because of computer problems that shut down their machines over the weekend. Thousands of vendors experienced similar...

HIGH COURT ORDERS VA. TO TAKE OUR GARBAGE

WASHINGTON -New Yorkers can keep shipping their trash out of state to the landfills of Virginia, the U.S. Supreme Court said yesterday. The decision was a setback for Virginia, which...

SCAMMER IN SLAMMER: THIEVING 9/11 FAKER GETS 1 TO 3 YEARS

A fake firefighter who played on the heartstrings of a single mother after the Sept. 11 tragedy was sentenced yesterday to one to three years behind bars for defrauding the...

AMMON-CASE CAR SEIZED: MIGHT HAVE LINK TO SLAY WIDOW'S NEW GUY

Homicide detectives have impounded a car they believe was driven by the boyfriend of the estranged wife of murdered millionaire Ted Ammon on the weekend he was killed, The Post...

'SPHERE' AND LIGHT BEAMS HONOR SEPT. 11 ANNIVERSARY

The city is planning a moving tribute to Sept. 11 victims next week on the six-month anniversary of the terror attacks - including the unveiling of two temporary memorials. "We'll...

B'KLYN BOY, 6, SAVES NEIGHBORS; FIRE KILLS 4

A heroic 6-year-old Brooklyn boy, badly burned in a fire yesterday that claimed his mother and two siblings, saved his neighbors' lives by running downstairs to alert them despite his...

FIERCE VENGEANCE: ISRAELI ATTACKS KILL 17 AS SHARON TALKS 'WAR'

JERUSALEM - Israeli reprisal raids killed at least 17 Palestinians yesterday, including the wife and three children of a Hamas commander, as Prime Minister Ariel Sharon declared, "We are in...

MUBARAK SUMMIT BID NIXED BY ARIEL

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, on the eve of his first meeting with President Bush, said yesterday he is pushing his own Mideast peace initiative - but got a cool reception...

REV. AL BIDS TO BAR FREED LOUIMA COPS

After eight years of exile from the city's halls of power, the Rev. Al Sharpton made the rounds yesterday, pressuring officials not to give back jobs to the ex-cops whose...

HILL WON'T ENDORSE EITHER DEM IN GOV RACE

With Andrew Cuomo by her side, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton yesterday said she won't make an endorsement in the Democratic gubernatorial primary race between Cuomo and Comptroller Carl McCall. "I...

LEVY GIVES PRINCIPALS $13M IN 'MERIT' DEAL

Schools Chancellor Harold Levy for the first time will reward 1,368 principals and other administrators with $13.5 million in merit pay for boosting student performance, the supervisors union said yesterday....

POLS FURIOUS THEY WERE IN DARK ON NUKE THREAT

New York's top elected officials fumed yesterday that they should have been told of the threat of a nuclear attack on the city discovered by federal agents last fall. "That...

PUNCHLESS DEVILS COME UP EMPTY AGAIN

Avalanche 2 Devils 0 DENVER - They bemoaned the goal that didn't count, this Devil team that didn't score any that did. At the end of the night, they had...

NOBODY UNDER GUN FOR KNICK MESS

TODAY, we can officially lay to rest the fallacy that New York is a tough place to work, especially if your work is play. We can use as Exhibit A...

HOW MO GOT HIS MENACE BACK

PORT ST. LUCIE - What has returned first for Mo Vaughn is the menace; the glaring, hulking, intimidating presence this huge man radiates at the plate. Even in spring training...

NETS THROW ROOKIES INTO BREACH VS. SHAQ

The way Byron Scott figures it, he might as well switch his playbook for the bible tonight. At least when it comes to stopping - heck, slowing down - Shaquille...

E-ASY DOES IT FOR DREW AT FRIGID FLA. HOT CORNER

YANKEE NOTES TAMPA - They adore his power potential and the fact that he has performed in front of 100,000 people and national television audiences while quarterbacking Michigan. Yet another...

STORM'S CHANCES NEED 'BIG' BOOST

Back in early January, after St. John's had knocked off Miami 71-60, coach Mike Jarvis was asked if his 11-3 Red Storm deserved to be ranked. Jarvis said he didn't...

NO DIET FOR WELLS' CONFIDENCE

TAMPA - A spring training tradition officially died yesterday, a sad, sad day in baseball history. Once upon a time, ballplayers flocked to Florida to sweat away the fat built...

FRANCO'S STATUS PUTS BULLPEN IN A STATE OF FLUX

MET NOTES PORT ST. LUCIE - The Mets had bullpen questions even before John Franco's setback. If their team captain isn't ready on Opening Day, the relief corps may really...

KOBE-REGGIE CLASH SHOWS NBA INJUSTICE

PITIFULLY, I'm here to report, justice took last weekend off; at least the kind administered by Stu Jurisprudence, though swayed by policy maker David Stern. What else are we to...

COME AGAIN? CHANEY GETTING NEW PACT!

Not only isn't Cablevision's James Dolan ready to fire Don Chaney today - stunningly, he's ready to give him a one-year contract extension. Welcome to the wacky world of the...

MR. OCTOBER: GIAMBI HAS LOTS TO PROVE

TAMPA - Nobody understands the expectations of New York better than Reggie Jackson, who thrived under the never-ending glow of the white-hot spotlight. So, as Jackson stepped into Yankees' camp...

A PAIN IN THE NECK ; JETER, JASON HEAD YANK TRIAGE UNIT

Twins 7Yankees 3 TAMPA - Welcome to Camp X-ray. Derek Jeter and Ramiro Mendoza underwent MRIs yesterday for neck problems that were negative and Jason Giambi was taken out against...

IT'S GRAPEFRUIT WAR!; JORDAN: VALENTINE ORDERED BEANBALL

Dodgers 9Mets 4 PORT ST. LUCIE - When Brian Jordan was with the Braves, he was as deadly to the Mets as Darth Vader was to Obi-Wan Kenobi, Brutus was...

RICHTER'S A GONER, IF ...

Flames 5Rangers 3 If the price is right, Glen Sather is willing to deal Mike Richter regardless of the Rangers' position in the standings at the March 19 trade deadline,...

ISLES PEN-NED IN

Penguins 4Islanders 2 There is only disgrace in losing to the worst team in the division. The Islanders have managed to do that twice in three games, dropping two glaring...

INJURY BUG BITES JETER, GIAMBI AND MENDOZA

TAMPA - Welcome to Camp X-ray. Derek Jeter and Ramiro Mendoza underwent MRIs yesterday for neck problems that were negative and Jason Giambi was taken out against the Twins when...

TALK TO ME IN OCTOBER : JAX: MVP GIAMBI HAS MUCH TO PROVE

Twins 7 Yankees 3 TAMPA - Nobody understands the expectations of New York better than Reggie Jackson, who thrived under the never-ending glow of the white-hot spotlight. So, as Jackson...

SPARK FOR ISLES A MILLER'S TALE

Kip Miller's just happy to be here. On Jan. 15, Miller held the dubious honor of being the AHL's leading scorer. But no one wants to be the best minor-league...

CHANEY NEARS END OF LINE

As the end nears for Don Chaney, there is a list of reasons why he considers this head coaching job the toughest he's ever had. "The pressure to win, the...

SURGERY KOS TURNER'S SEASON

DENVER - The Devils' well-deserved reputation for minimizing injuries has likely cost them an important player for the playoffs. Hard-hitting winger Turner Stevenson, who initially tore a right knee ligament...

WIN OR LOSE, MIKE'S ON BLOCK

If the price is right, Glen Sather is willing to deal Mike Richter regardless of the Rangers' position in the standings at the March 19 trade deadline, an NHL general...