March 20, 2002

GLORIA JEANS JOINS JONES

Gloria Vanderbilt's swan is landing in a new pond. The poor little rich girl's jeans company has been bought by apparel giant Jones Apparel Group, Inc. in a deal worth...

ANDERSEN TO AX UP TO 6,000 AS IT BATTLES FEDS

Arthur Andersen looks set to slash its staff by 20 to 25 percent as the scandal-scarred firm challenges a criminal indictment As many as 6,000 staffers nationally could get pink...

RATE HIKE RESERVED - FED LEAVES OPTIONS OPEN FOR SUMMER

Alan Greenspan's Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged yesterday, but its policy committee set the stage for a rate hike later this year by saying U.S. economic weakness is over....

SEVENTEEN-ERS GET SPA, SALON

Seventeen - the most popular teen magazine - is now a new spa for teens. The magazine that has licensed merchandise ranging from hair products to a series of books...

GAMBLERS BET $652M FOR MERGER

Wall Street thinks Carly Fiona may win her fight to buy Compaq, and it placed bets of more than $652 million on her yesterday. Although stock gamblers won't know for...

RDA DEAL WEIGHS IN AT $760M

THE biggest magazine acquisition in nearly four years now has an official price: $760 million. Tom Ryder, the chairman and CEO of Readers Digest Association (RDA), is moving rapidly to...

PARAMOUNT WINS BERGDORF SITE

THROUGHOUT the last few days, real estate sources were counting down the dissed wanna buyers of 745 Fifth Ave. that offered $250 million or less. But then the big timbers...

THE SUN WILL RISE ON NEWSSTANDS APRIL 16

The New York Sun, a new city daily that is resurrecting a name that last appeared on newsstands in 1950, will hit on Tuesday, April 16. The new paper will...

LUTÈCE ON THE ROCKS

LUTÈCE [ 1/2] 249 E. 50TH ST. (212) 752-2225 --------- ONE recent rainy night at Lutéce, the restaurant that first brought great French cooking to town without the snoots, we...

STARR REPORT

'Green' Kelly propels 'Live' into history Kelly Ripa called in sick to "Live with Regis & Kelly" yesterday - thereby ensuring her place in the show's 14-year syndicated history. With...

BEST SUPPORTING COOKIES

IF there was an Oscar for best cookie presentation, it would have to go to Eleni's Best Picture Gift Tin ($50). The Chelsea Market shop has baked clever frosted cookies...

SAVING 'GRACE' - ROUNDLY PANNED, THE SHOW GOES ON

ONE week after its opening was soundly trashed by the critics, off-Broadway's "Surviving Grace" is somehow, well, surviving. This, even after playwright Trish Vradenburg's previous incarnation of the show, "The...

SING FOR YOUR SEDER

IS it OK to sing disco tunes at the table? Passover guests might not be able to resist when the matzo makes its entrance on a new plate. Our Name...

MUCH ADO ABOUT EXILE

THE KINGS OF THE KILBURN HIGH ROADAt the Irish Arts Center, 553 W. 51st St. Call SmartTix, (212) 206-1525. --------- IN "The Kings of the Kilburn High Road," playwright Jimmy...

(FOOD) FOR THOUGHT

MAKE room for another potentially hip eatery. Opening early next month on the Lower East Side (or East Village, whichever sounds cooler) will be industry (food). (Yes, the lower case...

LUCY WOULD'VE HATED THIS IDEA - HER DAUGHTER WANTS MOM'S ASHES MOVED FROM L.A. TO A CEMETERY IN UPSTATE N.Y.

MOVING Lucille Ball's remains from Los Angeles to the upstate New York town where she was born is an idea she wouldn't have loved. That's what some former co-workers on...

CABLE STEALS 'TODAY' FANS

FANS of the "Today" show who have switched loyalties in recent months are turning to cable news -and not ABC's "Good Morning America." According to a new study by Manhattan-based...

THE DOGS OF SUMMER - FRANKLY, MY DEAR, IT'S A BASEBALL NO-BRAINER

NOTHING goes better with baseball than hot dogs, and those dogs are having their day at the American Museum of Natural History on Central Park West, where the Food Court...

JOGGER IN 1989 PARK RAPE TELLS OF NEW JOY

The young jogger who was raped, beaten and left for dead in Central Park 13 years ago has emerged from silence to say she's "very happy" and even wishes her...

ACCUSED REV 'THE BEST,' SAY FORMER PARISH BOYS

Some men who knew the Rev. Joseph Byrns when they were boys cannot believe allegations that the "cool" Catholic priest molested two young brothers years ago. "I never saw any...

MORE HEROES' REMAINS FOUND

The remains of two more firefighters were recovered yesterday at Ground Zero. The Fire Department has identified the remains of 156 firefighters killed at the World Trade Center in the...

FEDS WANT 9/11 VICTIMS TO TESTIFY

Prosecutors will interview 3,700 victims of the Sept. 11 attacks to find 30 to testify in the death-penalty trial of alleged "20th hijacker" Zacarias Moussaoui, a victims-group leader said yesterday....

BROTHERS, 3 AND 4, DIE IN L.I. BLAZE

Two young boys were killed and their 8-month- old sister was fighting for her life last night, after a fire raged through their Long Island home, officials said. Their mother,...

HS MUSIC TEACHER'S MIS'CONDUCT'

A veteran music teacher was yanked from a Queens high school after being accused of improper conduct toward a student, authorities said yesterday. Anthony Paraskezoutoulas was removed from Bayside HS...

ROB RAP FOR RAPE SUSPECT

The alleged gun-toting rapist of two Manhattan women may have been on a terror spree - he was charged yesterday with robbing a third woman the same week. The new...

COPS SICK AFTER INTENSE TRAINING

Twelve officers suffered significant muscle-tissue breakdown during a rigorous training course for the elite NYPD Street Crime Unit, officials said last night. The condition, known as "rhabdomyolysis," causes abnormally high...

TEEN CONVICTED IN SLAY OF BOY, 12

A Brooklyn judge issued a verdict of manslaughter yesterday in the October 2000 stabbing of 12-year- old Anthony Haynes outside Canarsie HS that police and prosecutors had characterized as a...

'LET'S ROLL' ON MEMORIAL, SAYS WIDOW

WASHINGTON - The widow of Sept. 11 hero Todd Beamer - who said "let's roll" as he and fellow doomed passengers' revolted against the hijackers - yesterday joined the push...

TERROR.NET: AL QAEDA USED WEB IN HIGH-TECH CAVES

WASHINGTON - The al Qaeda forces routed in a recent bloody battle were so well organized, they used the Internet and laptop computers to communicate as they dashed from cave...

NAACP BOYCOTT HAS ANDY IN A 'STATE' OF CONFUSION

It may not be the Watergate scandal - but a Westin hotel in Greenville, S.C., was at the center of a dispute yesterday in the governor's race. At issue was...

WEIRD BUT TRUE

The $17,000 artificial limb of a talented golfer known as the "One-Armed Bandit" has been swiped by a heartless thief in Texas. Larry Alford's custom-made golfing arm was in his...

JUDGE GIVES DOWNEY HIGH MARKS IN REHAB

INDIO, Calif. - A judge gave Robert Downey Jr. rave reviews yesterday for his efforts to kick drugs, as the troubled actor took a major step toward completing court-ordered rehab....

AMMON'S MR. FIX-IT DENIES DWI

Bad-boy electrician Danny Pelosi intends to tell a Long Island court he is not guilty of driving drunk in slain millionaire Ted Ammon's BMW a month before the murder -...

RED-FACED INS COMMISH WILL GET TOUGH WITH FOREIGN STUDENTS

WASHINGTON - Federal immigration Commissioner James Ziglar said yesterday he plans to crack down on foreign tourists who take classes while awaiting student visas. Ziglar said he's responding to the...

'HOMELESS' CITY MUSEUM TO RETURN $10M

The Museum of the City of New York plans to return $10 million in donations raised for a move to the Tweed Courthouse now that Mayor Bloomberg has killed the...

POLS $TATE CASE VS. MIKE'S SCHOOL PLAN

Mayor Bloomberg said yesterday his campaign to gain control of city schools has created an unprecedented "groundswell" of support - but he faced stiffening opposition in Albany. The state Legislature's...

NO WITNESS VS. 'NO SOCKS,' DA ADMITS

The trial of Nicholas "Nicky No Socks" Facciolo got under way yesterday - with the prosecutor admitting he has no witnesses to the 1990 shooting at the Brooklyn Terminal Market....

KILLER-DOG CASE GOES TO THE JURY

LOS ANGELES - A prosecutor told jurors yesterday to remember the final, terror-filled moments of a dog-mauling victim, as they weigh the fate of the animals' two criminally accused owners....

RIVERA: PATAKI'S MY MAN FOR GOV

Powerful labor leader Dennis Rivera and Gov. Pataki formally joined forces yesterday - eight years after they were bitter enemies on the campaign trail. Rivera said his endorsement was driven...

CHUCKING SCHUMER - HILLARY STEPS OUT FROM HIS SHADOW

WASHINGTON - After deferring to Sen. Charles Schumer for more than a year, Sen. Hillary Clinton is stepping out on her own - "flying solo," as those close to her...

STATE PROBES 9 MORE LIVER DEATHS AT HOSP

The state Health Department is now investigating nine more deaths of liver patients at Mount Sinai Medical Center - bringing the total to 14, officials said yesterday. "There's a growing...

WE HAVE BONANNOS - FEDS SLAP CRIME FAMILY'S 'CONSIGLIERE' & PALS

The feds hammered more than a dozen Bonanno crime-family members with a slew of racketeering charges yesterday in the most extensive crackdown since undercover agent "Donnie Brasco" infiltrated the family...

RADIO-RAUNCH MAN IN R-RATED DIVORCE

And you thought his radio show was raunchy. Anthony Cumia of "Opie & Anthony" fame settled his divorce case against estranged wife Jennifer Cumia yesterday, but not before talking about...

ANOTHER STUDENT IS STABBED AT B'KLYN HS

A 17-year-old student snuck a knife into a violence-prone high-security Brooklyn high school yesterday and stabbed a student he had been feuding with, police said. Nadell Cox, an 11th- grader,...

MOMS DUEL OVER SLAY ALIBI

The mother of a convicted killer yesterday threw a wrench in the defense case of a Queens man accused of killing a Chinese-food deliveryman, saying the defendant's mom told her...

YANK-HUNGRY FANS GIVE YES DEAL BRONX CHEER

The Yankees launched their new 24-hour cable network to a limited audience yesterday - but fans at a famous Bombers hangouts in the shadow of the House that Ruth Built...

MYSTERY PANEL SETS POLICY ON SEX CASES

THE names of the board members are secret - top secret. Yet this mysterious panel of powerful New Yorkers is responsible for shaping, and sometimes dictating, the policies of the...

CALLS LINK 3RD MAN TO TERROR TWOSOME

A Middle Eastern man is being detained in New York after investigators found phone records showing he made calls to a suspicious number also called by hijackers Mohamed Atta and...

ROD'S SON FACES MORE LEGAL MUSIC

Hey Mr. Parole Officer - do you think I'm guilty? That was the song Sean Stewart - the bad-boy son of rocker Rod Stewart - could have been singing as...

'PRODUCERS' GETS A FRESH NEW LOOK FOR SPRINGTIME

It may have come a day early - but yesterday was the start of springtime for Henry Goodman and Steven Weber in the Broadway smash "The Producers." The British actor...

BUSH PUSHES TAX CUTS FOR SMALL BIZ

WASHINGTON - President Bush yesterday called for a new round of business-tax cuts to boost the economy - after his treasury secretary blasted the entire tax code as "an abomination."...

METRO-NORTH RIDER LEAPS TO DEATH

A man jumped through the window of a moving Metro-North train near Rye yesterday - killing himself and snarling rush-hour traffic for thousands of passengers as far down the line...

TEARS FOR 'NICEST GUY' - 'BURGLAR' GRILLED IN STABBING OF B'KLYN RABBINICAL STUDENT

Funeral services were held last night for a slain Brooklyn yeshiva student as cops questioned a man scheduled to go on trial next month for allegedly burglarizing the scholar's home,...

PERV ALARM FOR QUEENS KIDS

Police in Queens are on the lookout for a pair of sexual predators who flashed a group of schoolgirls and tried to lure two young boys into a car in...

HOCKEY HORROR - B'DAY GIRL KILLED BY PUCK AT NHL GAME

An Ohio girl who would have turned 14 today died after being slammed in the head by a flying hockey puck at an NHL game that was an early birthday...

SUICIDE BOMBER KILLS 4, INJURES 28, ON ISRAEL BUS

JERUSALEM - A suicide bomber killed at least four people and wounded 28 others on a bus in northern Israel today - just hours after the United States and Israel...

2 KIDS DIE, BABY HURT, IN FIRE

Two children were killed and an 8-month-old baby was fighting for her life last night after a raging fire tore through the second floor of a Long Island house, officials...

D.A. SUMS UP VICTIM'S ANGUISH IN DOG-MAUL

LOS ANGELES - A prosecutor told jurors yesterday to remember the final, terror-filled moments of a dog-mauling victim, as they weigh the fate of the animals' two criminally accused owners....

WITNESSES AGAINST TERROR - WANTED: 9/11 VICTIMS TO TESTIFY

Prosecutors will interview 3,700 victims of the Sept. 11 attacks to find 30 to testify in the death-penalty trial of alleged "20th hijacker" Zacarias Moussaoui, a victims-group leader said yesterday....

ROB RAP ON RAPE-SPREE SUSPECT

The alleged gun-toting rapist of two Manhattan women may have been on a terror spree - he was charged yesterday with robbing a third woman the same week. The new...

BUSH PUSHES SMALL-BIZ TAX CUTS

WASHINGTON - President Bush yesterday called for a new round of business-tax cuts to boost the economy - after his treasury secretary blasted the entire tax code as "an abomination."...

TEEN-FAN HORROR - B'DAY GIRL KILLED BY PUCK AT NHL GAME

An Ohio girl who would have turned 14 today died after being slammed in the head by a flying hockey puck at an NHL game that was an early birthday...

SUICIDE BOMBER KILLS 3, INJURES 28, ON ISRAEL BUS

JERUSALEM - A suicide bomber killed at least three people and wounded 28 others on a bus in northern Israel today - just hours after the United States and Israel...

CHENEY IN MAJOR NEW CEASE-FIRE OFFER TO ARAFAT

JERUSALEM - In a coordinated move, the United States and Israel yesterday offered Yasser Arafat two major incentives to help end 18 months of Mideast violence. Vice President Dick Cheney,...

'HOMELESS' MUSEUM TO RETURN $10M TO DONORS

The Museum of the City of New York plans to return $10 million in donations raised for a move to the Tweed Courthouse now that Mayor Bloomberg has killed the...

DAY ONE DOWNER - UNINSPIRED RANGERS WASTE BURE'S DEBUT

Canucks 3 - Rangers 1 The Rangers played as if they were shaken rather than stirred by the pair of dramatic trades the organization pulled in the 24 hours prior...

MURRAY'S SHOT TICKS OFF NETS

Cavs 100 - Nets 97 CLEVELAND - The clock showed just five-tenths of a second, basketball in fractions. The Nets had just tied on a seeming miracle shot by Keith...

BAD BREAK KOS HARRIS INDEFINITELY

NET NOTES CLEVELAND - Aside from a virus here and a slight sprain there, the Nets have been relatively healthy. Relatively. Well, now sixth-man guard Lucious Harris is out for...

CONSTANT SPRING PAINS BRING FLOOD OF ANXIETY - BERNIE'S PROBLEM WITH LEFT SHOULDER NAGGING YANKEES

Yankees 5 - Reds 3 TAMPA - It wasn't serious enough to keep him out of last night's lineup. And he insists in three or four days a left shoulder...

GOOD MOVES, BUT CLOCK'S RUNNING OUT

UNLIKE the number of chances the Rangers have already had to save their season, Pavel Bure only got one to make a first impression. He slapped his first Ranger goal...

NO GRISLY END FOR KNICKS - THIS TIME, MEMPHIS DOES 4-QUARTER FADE

MEMPHIS - These type of nights didn't come enough this season, when Allan Houston and Latrell Sprewell rise up on the road in the fourth quarter, quiet a loud arena...

WEATHERED MEDALIST IS BACK ON HIS SKIS

Less than a year after he nearly died in a skiing accident, Bill Johnson returned to competition during an old-timers' event at the U.S. Alpine Championships last Saturday, at Squaw...

VAN GUNDY LAUDS NEW DON DEAL

KNICK NOTES MEMPHIS - Jeff Van Gundy called the Knicks' decision to give Don Chaney a one-year contract extension "a great move." Working for TNT as a studio analyst, Chaney's...

TERPS HAPPY PRIDE DIDN'T SWAY NICHOLAS

On Sunday night, while Juan Dixon became Maryland's all-time leading scorer with more than 2,100 points, his teammate, junior Drew Nicholas of Hempstead, scored the 645th point of his career....

WITH BERTH FADING, ISLES BOUNCE BACK TO PICK UP A POINT

TORONTO - The point the Islanders took here last night, though they lost the game 3-2 in overtime, is nothing short of huge. Every point - with 14 games left...

TOUGH BREAK FOR LUCIOUS

CLEVELAND - Without question, one of the most important elements behind the Nets' success this season has been the health factor. Yes, they've missed Todd MacCulloch over the past month...

MINAYA COMES ALIVE IN DEAD-END JOB

PORT ST. LUCIE - You could buy his entire roster for the price of Mike Piazza, Mo Vaughn, Robbie Alomar and a sack of baseballs. He works in a city...

OH, BABY! BURNITZ SHOWS POP, RETURNS WITH BOOM

MET NOTES PORT ST. LUCIE - Jeromy Burnitz missed seven games due to the birth of his second child. In the last game he played before he flew home to...

M-STARS SCOPING SUCCESS

After stringing together consecutive playoff berths, the MetroStars are poised to make this season something special. "We have had some ups and downs in the past two years, but this...

FREAKNIK FIGHT FOR LI STUDENT

Aneudi Santos is not the first college student to get into a fight during spring break, but at least he's getting paid for it. While other kids are partying from...

YES! CABLEVISION HAS LOTS TO LEARN

TAMPA - The YES network made its debut from Legends Field last night when the Yankees and Reds met in an otherwise uneventful spring-training game. Still, the birth of the...

FRANCO FEELS FAR FROM READY AFTER TOSSING FIRST BP

Expos 4 - Mets 2 PORT ST. LUCIE - Steve Phillips says he never bets against John Franco. Bobby Valentine says he hasn't ever considered Franco for his Opening Day...

AND THE LAUREUS NOMINEES ARE . . .

The Hollywood lights beamed on 12 of the greatest athletes in the world as they sat on the dais at the New York Athletic Club press conference. The room was...

DEAL FOR POTI IS FINAL PIECE OF THE PUZZLE

He may not have the name of a Pavel Bure, but if Tom Poti has the game the defenseman's legion of admirers believe, his acquisition will be just as significant...

DEVILS DEAL ARNOTT FOR NIEUWENDYK

CHICAGO - Perhaps it was better when he was still Do Little Lou. Make no mistake, though: This franchise-shaker means Lou Lamoriello is chasing a Stanley Cup from 17th place...

YES, BOSS STARTING TO WORRY ... A LITTLE

TAMPA - Ninety minutes before the Yankees' debut on YES last night, George Steinbrenner sat in Joe Torre's office autographing baseballs. Admitting he was excited about the television venture, the...

NETS GET TICKED OFF - MURRAY'S SHOT LIFTS CAVS WITH .5 SECONDS LEFT

Cavs 100 - Nets 97 CLEVELAND - The clock showed just five-tenths of a second, basketball in fractions. The Nets had just tied on a seeming miracle shot by Keith...

MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION

UNLIKE the number of chances the Rangers have already had to help save their season, Pavel Bure only got one to make a first impression. He slapped his first Ranger...

KEENAN: N.Y. WILL LOVE BURE - SATHER MOVES BRING EXCITEMENT BACK TO BROADWAY

TAKE it from a guy who has had two close windows into Pavel Bure's soul: He will wash them when necessary. "I never had a problem with the way he...

VAN'S 'D' HAS SCOTT GUSHING

NET NOTES CLEVELAND - If one game can ignite a turnaround for a player - and the Nets believe a single game can - then maybe Keith Van Horn has...

POTI THE FINAL PIECE - RANGERS TRADE YORK FOR TOP DEFENSEMAN IN 2ND MEGA-DEAL

He may not have the name of a Pavel Bure, but if Tom Poti has the game the defenseman's legion of admirers believe, his acquisition will be just as significant...

NO GRISLY END FOR KNICKS - THIS TIME, MEMPHIS DOES 4TH-QUARTER FADE

Knicks 101 - Grizzlies 92 MEMPHIS - The Knicks visited this delta city where the blues were born and, for one night, at least, escaped their own fourth-quarter blues. The...

POSTELL'S IN LINE FOR MORE MINS.

KNICK NOTES MEMPHIS - Knick coach Don Chaney says he plans to give Lavor Postell an April audition to find out what the second-year swingman from St. John's can do....

MARCUS - CAL'S MADE PRO-GRESS

KNICK NOTES MEMPHIS - Marcus Camby thinks that University of Memphis coach John Calipari, if given another shot at the NBA, would fare better than he did in his last...

'POST' TIME NEAR - LAVOR'S IN LINE FOR HIKE IN MINS.

MEMPHIS - Knick coach Don Chaney said he plans to give Lavor Postell an April audition to find out what the second-year swingman from St. John's can do. If the...

DEVILS DEAL ARNOTT FORNIEUWENDYK

CHICAGO - Perhaps it was better when he was still Do Little Lou. Make no mistake, though, this franchise-shaker means Lou Lamoriello is chasing a Stanley Cup from 17th place...

POTI, DARIUS GONE, SO ISLES SETTLE FOR VAN IMPE

TORONTO - They didn't get Darius Kasparaitis. Or Tom Poti. But the Islanders did bolster their defense in trading yesterday for defenseman Darren Van Impe, sending a fifth-round pick in...