March 27, 2002

RUKEYSER HOLDS TALKS WITH CNBC

Watch out Lou Dobbs. TV's other Wall Street whiz, Lou Rukeyser, appears to be headed to cable. Rukeyser, the higher-rated-but-less-talked-about financial news anchor, is in talks to jump to CNBC....

DOW UP 71 FOLLOWING 4 DOWN DAYS

Consumer confidence soared in March, setting the stage for a nice stock market rally yesterday. The Conference Board's consumer confidence index, after a small dip in February, surged in March...

TWO LUXE MALLS IN FLA. SMACKDOWN

Call it the battle of the malls. Bal Harbour, the world famous luxury mall in Miami Beach, Florida, has lost a little of its exclusivity thanks to a nearby rival...

$1.7B TRASH HEAP - WASTE MANAGEMENT INFLATED PROFITS: SEC

Garbage giant Waste Management's founder and his top aides were charged yesterday with cooking the books to inflate profits by $1.7 billion. The Securities and Exchange Commission accused the former...

MIDTOWN DEALS BACK ON TRACK

THE building sales market is in tumult - but things are getting better on some fronts. The sale of 450 Lexington Avenue by Royal Dutch to Marvin Davis, spearheaded by...

FULLER'S LOSING SOME OF US

LONG hours are already starting to burn out some of the staff at Bonnie Fuller's Us Weekly. Sources say she's been losing key staffers at the pace of one per...

LAST-DITCH MOVE - BERARDINO'S EXIT IS BID TO SAVE ARTHUR ANDERSON

Joseph Berardino's exit as CEO of criminally-indicted accounting firm Arthur Andersen was seen as a last-ditch attempt to get the Justice Department to drop its charges and allow the firm...

WHAT FACES SELL MAGAZINES? JENNIFER IS HOT, DREW'S NOT

What sells and doesn't sell on a magazine cover is something that keeps editors up nights because it often determines their fate. Many times it's all guesswork and alchemy. But...

POP IN FOR PASSOVER

THE options for kosher dining in the city are expanding, but finding a restaurant that conforms to the strict dietary laws of Passover can be a challenge. Many places simply...

NO MORE ARABIAN NIGHTS

IN the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, the fate of Drew Nieporent and Robert De Niro's Middle Eastern restaurant, Layla, has remained in question. A short time after the disaster,...

DEATH-ROW DRAMA OF A DOOMED KILLER

SHOT IN THE HEART [] Life and death of Gary Gilmore. Running time: 98 minutes. Not rated (violence). At the Film Forum, Houston Street, between Sixth Avenue and Varick Street....

CAN THIS GAL TAME RUSSELL?

SHE'S appeared by his side at every major event this year - the Golden Globes, the BAFTAs and, on Sunday, Russell Crowe escorted her down Oscar's red carpet for the...

'FRANNY' RETREADS OLD TRIP

FRANNY'S WAYAt the Atlantic Theater, 336 W. 20th St. Through April 14. Call TeleCharge (212) 239-6200. ------------ RICHARD Nelson's "Franny's Way," which he directed himself, is the dramatic equivalent of...

A STALE 'SMELL'

THE SMELL OF THE KILL []At the Helen Hayes Theatre, 240 W. 44th St. (212) 944-9450. ----------- WHAT do you call a situation comedy that has only one situation and...

SOMETHING WONDEE-FULL

Wondee Siam II [ 1/2] 813 Ninth Ave. (between 53rd & 54th streets); (917) 286-1726 ------------- NO wonder Thai food is so popular - it's the extrovert of cuisines. Where...

JEWISH JOKES ARE FUNNIER THAN THIS

"Wednesday 9:30 (8:30 Central)" [0 stars] Tonight at 9:30 on Ch. 7 ------- JUST when you think things can't get worse, along comes "Wednesday 9:30 (8:30 Central)," a sitcom that's...

BY GEORGE, HE'S WORTH HOLDING

"George Lopez" [ 1/2] Tonight at 8:30 on Ch. 7 -------- AT last, a mid-season replacement show that deserves to stay on beyond the first commercial break. "George Lopez" stars...

FINE FOOTE AFOOT

THE CARPETBAGGER'S CHILDRENAt the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theatre, 150 W. 65 St. Call TeleCharge (212) 239-6200. ---------- 'THE Carpetbagger's Children," by Horton Foote, is a small masterpiece in which three...

'BACHELOR'S' ELIGIBLE

THE critics murdered the new reality show "The Bachelor" - which means only one thing, of course: the show had terrific ratings in its debut Monday night. Nearly 10 million...

HARVEY, WE'RE NOT IN 'CHICAGO' ANYMORE

THE splashy, full-page ad in last Sunday's New York Times featured sexy chorus girls, scantily clad in black slips. The copy, in red and black, read: "Sex. Lies. Scandal." Was...

NET NIXES FLIX MIX

SMARTING from the lowest ratings in Oscar history, ABC officials yesterday were quietly blaming a dull year at the movies. While some Hollywood types were pointing to the record length...

JULIA: STILL IN CONTROL OF 'ELLIE' - '(NBC CHIEF) JEFF ZUCKER HAS EVERY INTENTION OF DOING EVERYTHING HE CAN TO GIVE THE SHOW ROOM TO GROW'

JULIA Louis-Dreyfus says she's in control of her show, "Watching Ellie," but the question is: How long? "Well, I haven't had to fend them off," she said of her overseers...

'WANNA HEAR OUR SPECIALS? - NEW YORK'S WAITERS FROM HELL

AFTER Mayor Mike gets his arms around the city's boondoggled school system, let's hope he gets around to educating restaurant workers. Too many of them today apparently trained for their...

HOP TO IT!

EASTER and bunnies go hand in paw, and while it might be tempting to bring home the real thing, experts warn against adopting live rabbits for the wrong reasons. Luckily,...

THIS MAMA'S BOY FACES A CASE AS BIZARRE AS HIS LIFE

POOR Mama Popadich was on the phone. She'd heard nothing. Knew nothing. Violet Popadich hadn't a clue until I called that her son Ronald, jobless, sexless and jailed in New...

GRAND JURORS WILL GRILL 3 TOP CONDIT STAFFERS

WASHINGTON - Three of Rep. Gary Condit's top aides will join their boss on a federal grand jury hot seat as prosecutors pursue charges the disgraced California pol misused his...

$42M BASEBALLER REAPS FARM AID

The taxpayers have struck out again. Former Met pitcher Kevin Appier, in the middle of a $42 million, four-year contract, is collecting farm subsidies for a 270-acre spread he owns...

U.S. FIRMS HIT WITH $1.4T 'SLAVERY' SUITS

African-Americans filed three landmark class-action lawsuits yesterday, demanding corporate America pay an estimated $1.4 trillion in damages for engaging in the slave trade generations ago. The identical suits, filed in...

CITY DRIVERS AUTO TRY OUT THIS WHEEE! LITTLE CAR

IT LOOKS like a toy poodle, but it drives like a bulldog. And it's a car that even Mayor Bloomberg could love. It's the Mini Cooper - a retooled version...

PATAKI LOCKS UP SUPPORT OF PRISON-GUARD UNION

ALBANY - The union representing the state's prison guards yesterday endorsed Gov. Pataki, even as he has proposed thinning their ranks. The 26,000-member New York State Correctional Officers and Police...

BEYOND A DROUGHT - EMERGENCY H2O MEASURES IN EFFECT MON.

Decrying nature's stinginess with rain in recent months, Mayor Bloomberg yesterday declared the city's first drought emergency since 1989. The "stage one" alert that takes effect Monday requires industrial and...

DRIVER WHO HIT FIREFIGHTERS WAS DUI: COPS

The woman who plowed through a barrier and killed a Long Island firefighter - the father of three young children - was high on drugs and alcohol, police said yesterday....

'LIBERTY BOND' FOUNDATION FOR APT. COMPLEX

Officials at Battery Park City say Liberty Zone bonds created after Sept. 11 could help spur the development of seven new residential buildings with up to 3,000 apartments at the...

'NO SOCKS' DA HAD NO CASE: JURY

Nicky "No Socks" Facciolo is now Nicky "No Evidence" Facciolo. The reputed Luchese crime family associate, the main suspect in the 1990 shooting death of a devout Muslim father of...

NO BLUES SINGING HERE

If Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake are sad over their recent bust-up, they're sure not showing it. The sexy pop tart was all smiles as she arrived at the London...

GANG BOSS NAILED IN EX-COP'S SLAY

A Queens man was the head of a brutal gang responsible for the murder of a retired NYPD detective during one robbery, and the attempted murder of a jeweler during...

'TWEED'-OFF MUSEUM BOSS CALLING IT QUITS

The longtime head of the Museum of the City of New York quit suddenly yesterday, a week after Mayor Bloomberg killed plans to give the museum a lavish new home...

MCCALL ORDERED AUDIT OF BIG-BUCKS DONOR'S BIZ FOE

State Comptroller Carl McCall launched an audit of a botched deal between state transit officials and a real-estate developer after the mogul donated $50,000 to McCall's campaign war chest, The...

PARENTS IRATE THAT 'MOLEST' TEACHER WAS ALLOWED BACK

Parents at a Harlem middle school said yesterday they were shocked that a school aide, accused of sexual abuse four years ago, returned to the school to allegedly prey on...

SIBLINGS ARE NO CLASS ACT

School authorities are cracking down on alleged wrongdoing by the Blakes - brother and sister, that is. Ivanhoe Blake, the director of pupil personnel in Brooklyn's District 19, was removed...

TOP COURT UPHOLDS 'DRUG-DEAL' EVICTIONS IN PUBLIC HOUSING

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously yesterday that public housing tenants can be evicted for drug use by relatives and guests - a decision that could mean a...

ANDERSEN CEO CLOSES BOOKS ON CAREER AT ACCOUNTING FIRM

On the same day Arthur Andersen's chief executive called it quits, restive employees took to the streets of New York to complain a federal indictment of the accounting firm may...

PAIR NABBED AS KID 'FLASHERS'

A disgraced ex-cop and a registered sex offender were busted in Queens for a series of incidents where they flashed schoolchildren, authorities said. Bienvenido Rodriguez, 31 - who resigned from...

JUDGE MUST FIGHT BRIBE CHARGE WITHOUT PAYCHECK

An accused Brooklyn bribe-judge has lost his bid to keep the paychecks rolling, even as his lawyer took shots at the government's whistle-blower yesterday - labeling him an "accomplice" in...

'ROAD RAGE' SICKO DRILLED BY GRAND JURY

A Manhattan grand jury has thrown the book at accused Midtown terror-spree driver Ronald Popadich - pummeling the New Jersey man with 70 criminal counts, including murder and assault charges....

SUSPECT NABBED IN 1984 SLAY

It started as a routine check into a false lead on a cold case - but after five years of dogged digging, a veteran homicide detective was finally able to...

ANDY NOW A CONVERT TO BILL ON PRIEST SEX

Gubernatorial hopeful Andrew Cuomo yesterday flip-flopped, saying he now supports legislation forcing clergy to report child molesters to civil authorities. Cuomo's cave-in contrasts with his comment of last week that...

'LOT' OF ANGER AT GROUND ZERO - WEARY WORKERS MAY LOSE TENT TO PARKING AREA

Nobody would call the area around Ground Zero paradise - but officials at Battery Park City want to pave a corner of it and put up a parking lot. That...

BUSH OKS 9/11 JOBLESS BOO$T

WASHINGTON - President Bush yesterday signed into law a bill giving an extra 13 weeks of unemployment benefits to certain people who lost their jobs on Sept. 11 and who...

TOT-SEIZE DAD EYED IN SLAY BID

The man accused of fatally shooting a wedding guest in New Jersey Sunday tried to kill a second person there, but missed, authorities said yesterday. Hai Kim "Vincent" Nguyen, 25,...

ARREST IN '84 SLAY - TIRELESS COP CRACKS L.I. GIRL'S SEX-DROWN

It started as a routine check into a false lead on a cold case - but after five years of dogged digging, a veteran homicide detective was finally able to...

A TRICKLE AT THE TUNNEL

The Holland Tunnel reopened early last night to Manhattan-bound traffic on a limited scale. Only three eastbound entrance lanes - the ones farthest from a nagging fire that caused the...

BUBBA PUSHES TAX CREDIT FOR POOR

Former President Bill Clinton was talking taxes at the Rheedlen Centers for Children and Families in Harlem yesterday, urging the working poor to file for the earned-income tax credit. Afterward,...

POLS PUSH AHEAD ON KID-SEX ABUSE BILL

Politicians climbed aboard the bandwagon to force clergy to report child sex-abuse claims to authorities yesterday, as the state Senate passed a bill on the controversial issue. "It's important and...

N.J. WANTS B'KLYN TOT-SIEGE DAD ON SLAY CHARGE

New Jersey officials will move to extradite a murder suspect who held his 3-year-old son hostage in his Brooklyn home on Monday in a desperate bid to escape capture. Vincent...

DOCS DIAGNOSING 'SLEEPING RAPISTS'

Scientists have identified a bizarre disorder that causes people to commit violent sexual acts in their sleep - and not remember them in the morning. So-called "sleep sex" - rape-like...

CHUCK: WHAT'S NEXT FOR ME NOW?

CHUCK SCHWARZ said simply yesterday: "What are they going to do to me next?" Only Alan Vinegrad, the federal prosecutor run amok, knows the answer. Outrage has been committed by...

SHARPTON VS. MOLINARI IN BATTLE OVER SCHWARZ

A war of words broke out yesterday between the Rev. Al Sharpton and former Staten Island Borough President Guy Molinari in the wake of the perjury indictment against former cop...

YES SAYS NO TO NEW PITCH BY CABLEVISION

With Opening Day only five days away, Cablevision has thrown a curve ball to the Yankees, offering to lift the blackout of their games - as long as the Bombers...

'SAMMY BULL' GETS RATTED OUT

Salvatore "Sammy Bull" Gravano chickened out of testifying at his pre-sentencing hearing yesterday after a mob wannabe ratted him out for hatching murder plots - and planning to form his...

CITY UNDER MENTAL STRESS - CALLS TO HEALTH DEPARTMENT HOT LINE DOUBLE

A larger number of New Yorkers have suffered mental-health problems since the Sept. 11 terror attacks, and calls to the city's help line have doubled in recent months, the city's...

GUNMAN SLAYS 2 PEACEKEEPERS - KILLER WORE UNIFORM OF PALESTINIAN COP

JERUSALEM - Two unarmed international observers were killed by a Palestinian gunman - possibly a police officer - in a West Bank ambush yesterday, a wounded survivor of the attack...

JEWS ARE MINDFUL OF VIOLENCE AT PASSOVER

The Middle East violence is weighing heavily on the minds of Jews as they begin the holiday of Passover at sundown tonight. The eight-day festival marks the exodus of the...

U.S. DUO MAY HAVE BEEN ON 'MARTYR' MISSION

The FBI believes two American-Arab men flew from New York to Israel to commit a terror attack, but were caught with a martyrdom farewell message at the airport and turned...

MAGIC SHOOTS FOR NEW JOB: L.A. MAYOR

Mayor Magic? Basketball legend Earvin "Magic" Johnson is mulling a run for mayor of Los Angeles - the same city where he led his team to five NBA titles -...

SEX-CLUB PIX MAY EXPOSE 3 COPS

Probers are trying to find out whether any of New York's Finest belonged to a notorious after-hours sex club, after photos of three men - with the letters NYPD on...

GREENE CAN'T CATCH ON AS JORGE'S BACKUP

TAMPA - Multiple Yankee pitchers went to team brass and lobbied for Todd Greene to be Jorge Posada's backup at catcher. Greene was the known commodity, having spent four months...

NETS' PLAYOFF TIX ON SALE SATURDAY

NET NOTES ATLANTA - Maybe you haven't heard this in some time, but the following is not a fantasy: Nets playoff tickets go on sale Saturday at 10 a.m. Tickets...

GAMECOCKS CUT DOWN 'CUSE

NIT SEMIFINALS: S. Carolina 66 - Syracuse 59 Aaron Lucas wasn't prepared to go through his fourth losing season at South Carolina. "After you lose enough times, you don't think...

BUILDING BLOCKS OF SUCCESS - METROS FEELING ADDED CONFIDENCE

If you were able to look past the offensive fireworks the MetroStars provided in the second half of Saturday's 3-1 opening- night victory, you may have noticed an unbelievably talented,...

COCKY POSTELL: I'M A STAR ON THE RISE

DETROIT - It's a good thing riding the pine the past two years has not humbled Lavor Postell, who believes he's got the game to be an all-star. With Allan...

COAXING WOMEN OUTDOORS WITH 'WILD TURKEY' CALL

Brenda Valentine, known as the "First Lady of Hunting," has joined U.S. Olympic gold medalist Nancy Johnson and country music entertainer Irlene Mandrell as a national spokeswoman for the National...

WHITE, VENTURA TRY TO MAKE OPENING DAY

TAMPA - While Rondell White believes he has enough time to swing his way into Joe Torre's Opening Day lineup Monday, Robin Ventura is confident he will be able to...

INJURIES CLOUD PATH OF HEALTH BOMBERS - DR. TORRE MUST PREVENT WEAR

TAMPA - Rondell White headed toward the trainers room yesterday afternoon as Robin Ventura, his ankle freshly wrapped in white bandage, moved delicately to the clubhouse. The casual crossing reiterated...

REYES: A GAME TO REMEMBER

PORT ST. LUCIE - A hard rain is falling. A lightning bolt fires the sky. Two seconds later, at the very instant Jose Reyes walks through the minor league clubhouse...

BIG CHANCE FOR ISLES TO NARROW POINT GAP

The Islanders have responded. Last Saturday, they lost to Ottawa in a performance so odious it led to a closed-door meeting. They easily could have fallen out of the playoff...

QUINCY SOURS ON HOFSTRA

People have been telling Quincy Douby all year long that he was too good for Hofstra - and apparently, he believed them. Unfortunately, he has yet to mention this to...

KANSAS-MARYLAND SEMI SHOWDOWN HAS FEEL OF FINAL

ATLANTA - Often we don't learn from history. Even recent history. In 1999 the winner of the Duke-Michigan State semifinal was prematurely ordained the national championship. Connecticut upset Duke, 77-74....

KNIGHT'S MIND NOT ON IU

So, what has Bob Knight's reaction been to watching his former school reach the Final Four? "I haven't even seen them play," the Texas Tech head coach said. "The only...

RICHTER OUT FOR SEASON

"It's ridiculous, just ridiculous, that I'm standing here today for this kind of an announcement," Mike Richter was saying at Rye yesterday. "Kind of incredible, actually." Kind of incredible that...

YES, FANS, YOU LOSE (AGAIN!) - NO ONE TO ROOT FOR IN CABLE TV WAR

IMAGINE a war between Iran and Iraq. Or a knife fight between Charles Manson and O.J. Simpson. Let's say it's pistols at 20 paces between P. Diddy and Suge Knight....

K-MART'S BAN PROVING TO BE NO BARGAIN

ATLANTA - Hawks' All-Star forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim, the intended target of Kenyon Martin's sixth flagrant foul-garnering elbow Sunday, agrees with Martin on one aspect of the incident - he did...

GIANTS NEED NEW KICKER TO FILL ANDERSON'S SHOES

Experience was never a problem at place-kicker last season for the Giants, as 41-year old Morten Andersen manned the position and did quite well. The Giants won't have Andersen to...

TONED-DOWN VAUGHN STILL SWINGS AWAY

MET NOTES PORT ST. LUCIE - Mo Vaughn didn't need profanity to make his point yesterday. Even when Troy Percival's name came up, no four-letter bombs were dropped. "I had...

WAGNER PUTS ON SHOW FOR SCOUTS

NIT SEMIFINALS: Memphis 78 - Temple 77 There were Knick scouts in the Garden last night to watch Dajuan Wagner. They were here to see if the Memphis freshman could...

NO FIGHT IN SICKLY NETS - HAWKS SLAM AILING KIDD & CO.

Hawks 103 - Nets 77 ATLANTA - Finally, the Nets did something right in the second quarter. They defended the Hawks to the final tick of the shot clock. So,...

NO DEFENSE FOR ASTACIO - BUMBLING METS COMMIT FOUR ERRORS

Dodgers 7 - Mets 1 PORT ST. LUCIE - Mayor Bloomberg throws out the season's first pitch on Monday, and the Mets have four meaningless games left to look sharp....

CORTISONE GIVES ABLE KANE SHOT IN THE ARM

MET NOTES PORT ST. LUCIE - Kane Davis bit the bullet and took the needle. Davis, a right-hander vying for a spot on the Opening Day roster, finally decided to...

BOEHEIM'S GLAD TO BE HERE

It is the deprived little brother, no doubt. It is ignored and everyone wants to avoid it before it starts. This is the plight of the NIT compared to the...

NIT CROWN LOOKS SHINY TO BOEHEIM

It is the deprived little brother, no doubt. It is ignored and everyone wants to avoid it before it starts. This is the plight of the NIT compared to the...

VAUGHN STILL SWINGING AWAY

PPORT ST. LUCIE - Mo Vaughn's profanity-laced diatribe against Angels closer Troy Percival and some other former teammates sent a clear warning on Monday: Don't mess with the Hit Dog....

KIDD'S NEXT GOAL: EASTERN SUPREMACY

NET NOTES ATLANTA - When the season started for the Nets, the goal was to make the playoffs. Done. But when it happened and the Nets clinched a spot through...

K-MART'S BAN NO BARGAIN - HARD FOULS TOO COSTLY FOR NETS

ATLANTA - Shareef Abdur-Rahim, the intended target for Kenyon Martin's sixth flagrant foul-garnering elbow, agrees with Martin on one aspect of the incident - he did not get popped in...

FEHR'S WARNING TO YANKS: PREPARE FOR THE WORST

YANKEE NOTES TAMPA - Donald Fehr wasted no words when he offered his opinion about baseball commissioner Bud Selig's no-lockout, no-implementation pledge yesterday that said the owners won't lock out...