July 23, 2002
I WANT THE PRESIDENT TO CERTIFY THE GOVT'S BOOKS
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amPRESIDENT Bush, the chief executive officer of the U.S. of A., had his chance last Friday to lead by example on the issue of business ethics and honest accounting. And...
MAKING MOST OF LEASE - L'OREAL SIGNS THE YEAR'S BIGGEST RENEWAL CONTRACT
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amLEASE renewals aren't as sexy as brand new ones, but here's one with star quality. In a moribund midtown market, cosmetics giant L'Oreal just signed the biggest deal so far...
GEORGE EDITOR IS READER'S VP
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amFrank Lalli, the former top editor of George and Money, has landed at Reader's Digest Association as a vice president, new development, charged with spinning off new magazines, TV and...
ROCK CENTER LANDS FACONNABLE
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amRockefeller Center is replacing Sephora with French retailer Faconnable. The top secret, long-term deal for 21,000 square feet at 630 Fifth Ave. was completed last week, The Post has learned....
SEPHORA WIELDS AX - MASS LAYOFFS, STORE CLOSINGS TO SAVE CASH
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amThe closing of Sephora's glamourous 630 Fifth Avenue store in Rockefeller Center by the end of August is just the tip of its cost-clipping schemes to push the LVMH division...
MERRILL FAST-FORWARDS O'NEAL'S CEO PROMOTION
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amMerrill Lynch & Co., stepping up its succession plan, gave President E. Stanley O'Neal the nod to replace David Komansky as CEO in December. The nation's biggest retail brokerage announced...
ROSIE GOES TO WAR VS. G+J BOSSES
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amTensions between the ex-talk show host Rosie O'Donnell and the corporate backers of Rosie the magazine at Gruner + Jahr USA are apparently at the boiling point. Yesterday, Rosie O'Donnell...
HAPPILY EBBERS AFTER - EX-WORLDCOM CHIEF COULD WALK AWAY WITH $500M
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amBernie Ebbers could walk away from the WorldCom mess with $500 million in his pockets - if Uncle Sam doesn't throw him in jail and take it all. The flamboyant...
JETBLUE GETTING BIGGER QNS. DIGS
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amLow-fare JetBlue Airways is close to flying into one of the highest-rent office towers in Queens - but will still get a bargain. Sources tell The Post the airline is...
MUSIC UNDER THE STARS
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amThe truly devoted start staking out their places at 7 a.m., but there's always enough lawn for all when the New York Philharmonic plays the parks. This summer's free concerts...
WAIFS 'SINK' IN HARMONY
July 23, 2002 | 4:00am* THE WAIFS "Sink or Swim" [] Jarrah/BMG In a summer dominated by big names, the Waifs - a rap 'n' ready team from Australia - dish up a U.S....
HAPPY HIRSCH
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amFIRST time we met, I was a twentysomething reporter and he was Judd Hirsch - riding high on "Taxi" reruns and raves for "I'm Not Rappaport." On stage he played...
STRATFORD 4'S STRATOSPHERIC NOISE-POP AT MERCURY
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amSOME of Stratford 4's less noise-pop songs may sound a bit Brit-twee-ish, but the group actually hails from San Francisco. On its debut album, "The Revolt Against Tired Noises," the...
NEWSY DOOZY
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amPBS snared a leading 41 news and documentary Emmy nominations yesterday - crushing the broadcast network news organizations and cable channels. The next biggest winner was CBS (26 nominations) followed...
STARR REPORT
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amForman morphs back into 4-man Ch. 7 news director Dan Forman is jumping back to Ch. 4 - continuing the recent merry-go-round of local news directors moving to rivals. Forman,...
CBS TURNS BLIND EYE TO 'BIG BROTHER' NYC HOUSEMATE'S DRUNK DRIVE BUST - SHE'S BIG TROUBLE
July 23, 2002 | 4:00am'BIG Brother 3" contestant Chiara Berti has joined the show's Hall of Shame. Berti was arrested for drunk driving and driving without a license last May, it was revealed yesterday...
POP JUDGES WON'T STAY 'IDOL'
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amPASADENA, Calif. - "American Idol" judges Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson said yesterday they're eager to return for the show's second go-round - despite their vitriolic, weekly clashes with fellow...
OK, WHO'S THE BRIDE?
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amIT doesn't premiere until September, but I couldn't wait that long to tell you about a new reality-TV series called "Gay Weddings." The eight-part, four-night series - running two episodes...
TRAVELER'S UPDATE
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amIn dragon Dragon Boat Racing, which dates to ancient China, comes alive in the Oakland/San Francisco Estuary Aug. 10-11. With 20 people paddling, one of these bus-long, multicolored boats can...
ANGEL OF DEBT: DAMSEL IN DISTRESS SEEKS $20K BAILOUT FROM STRANGERS
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amA BROOKLYN beauty addict who maxed out five credit cards is betting on the Internet for a bailout. Regular binges on La Prairie, Prada and pedicures added up to $20,000...
'83 DRUG TAPE STARS REV. AL
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amThe Rev. Al Sharpton discusses a major coke deal with an undercover federal agent on a 19-year-old video that will be aired tonight. On the tape, Sharpton nods and says,...
DNA NAILS RAPIST: COPS
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amAn imprisoned sex offender was charged with two counts of rape yesterday, thanks to a DNA, match, police said. Cartlon Evans, 25, was arrested by the Manhattan Special Victims Squad...
BX. HOME INVADERS CAUGHT ON VIDEO
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amPolice in The Bronx released a security video yesterday which they hope will help catch five suspects who shot one man and bound two children as they ransacked an apartment...
MIKE: DISNEY WOULD MAKE IT PHONY IS.
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amYou'd have to be on Pluto to think that the city is going to turn Coney Island into Disneyland, Mayor Bloomberg said yesterday. Responding to a report that Disney is...
COP'S FATAL FALL 'FREAK ACCIDENT'
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amNYPD Sgt. Edward J. Maier's fatal fall from a highway overpass in East Fishkill was a "freak accident," said State Police lead investigator Joe Todaro yesterday. Maier, 33, fell 40...
ARGENTINA COULD FIND ITSELF ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE WAR ON TERRORISM
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amWASHINGTON - Argentina could find itself on the wrong side of the war on terrorism if allegations are proven that Iran bribed a former president of the Latin American nation...
FIERY DEATH FLIGHT - FIREFIGHTER PLANE EXPLODES IN MIDAIR
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amThese photos show the tragic moment when an air tanker - sent to battle the still-raging forest fire in Colorado - exploded and broke apart in midair. The disaster, which...
N.Y. 'IMPROVES' WITH THIRD-WOR$T CAR-INSURE RATES
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amALBANY - New Jersey drivers are still paying the most expensive auto-insurance rates in the country - while New York's ranking has dropped from second to third highest, a new...
LT. GOV STARTS 'PLEDGE' DRIVE
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amALBANY - Lt. Gov. Mary Donohue, eyeing a Conservative Party primary, has launched a "crusade" to put "under God" back in the Pledge of Allegiance. Donohue, in a letter to...
BECOMING MARK GREEN - BETSY TAKES TO CITY HALL STEPS TO BERATE MAYOR ON CRIME
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amPublic Advocate Betsy Gotbaum yesterday called on Mayor Bloomberg and law-enforcement agencies to do more to combat the recent rising number of rapes in the city. "The trend that rape...
PRESIDENT BUSH OPTIMISTIC
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amWASHINGTON - President Bush yesterday predicted jittery investors will come back to the market because values are rising - then hastily added: "I'm not a stock picker." "They're going to...
CAUGHT-ON-TAPE HELL NANNY JAILED
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amA monster nanny who was caught on tape sexually abusing and attempting to smother a 2-year- old Long Island boy was sentenced to four years in prison yesterday in Suffolk...
DOWNTOWN'S DEMAND: REBUILD OUR BUSINESSES
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amTHE view from downtown is remarkably bold - a far cry from the fear and wimpishness that's overtaken all the talk from Ground Zero planners over what to do about...
KY. DERBY WINNER'S ARAB OWNER DIES
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amPrince Ahmed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, who became the first Arab ever to win American horse racing's greatest prize when his colt War Emblem captured this year's Kentucky Derby,...
LINDH'S JUDGE MAY HEAR DAD OF SLAIN AGENT
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amWASHINGTON - The father of slain CIA agent Johnny "Mike" Spann asked a judge yesterday for permission to speak at the sentencing of American Taliban John Walker Lindh. Spann's father,...
BETSY GOTBAUM'S PRESS CONFERENCE ON CITY HALL STEPS
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amIt's no more Ms. Nice Gal for Betsy Gotbaum. The public advocate, who's kept a low profile in her first six months in office, staged a press conference on the...
SAMANTHA SLAY MAY BE CAPITAL CASE
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amCalifornia prosecutors yesterday set the stage for seeking the death penalty against the man accused of kidnapping, sexually assaulting and murdering 5-year-old Samantha Runnion. It will be at least two...
YOUR 401(K) IN 401 CHAOS: STOX LOSE ANOTHER $300B
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amMore than $300 billion vanished from stock funds and 401(k) retirement nest eggs yesterday as the stock market continued to plunge. Gloom over corporate corruption and the bankruptcy of long-distance...
YANKS RIP MOB CLAIM OF FIXED BALLGAMES
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amThe Yankees are crying foul over the claims of an ex-mob boss that top players threw games in the late 1970s to wipe out their heavy gambling debts. The charges...
SEX-CHANGE WOMAN IS STRANGLED IN B'KLYN HOME
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amA woman who recently underwent the final sex-change operation that turned her into a female was found strangled in her Brooklyn apartment yesterday. Paola Matos, 31, was discovered by her...
BUSH MISSES 'IRREPLACEABLE' AIDE KAREN
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amWASHINGTON - Before Karen Hughes left her post as President Bush's top aide and alter ego, the president's chief of staff fretted aloud that the cost of her loss "will...
NEW RECRUITS BOOST POLICE ACADEMY RANKS
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amThe NYPD added 565 recruits to its latest academy class, bringing the total number of cadets past 2,500, it was announced yesterday. Over the last three weeks, the recruits joined...
DAD GUILTY OF STARVE-SLAY
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amA Manhattan jury yesterday quickly convicted a man of murder for helping to slowly starve to death his 4-year-old daughter - a gruesome Washington Heights killing that withered the frail...
'DEATH' CREEK KILLS AGAIN
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amA Queens man who drowned in a treacherous Catskills creek was the second New Yorker to die in as many months in the watery graveyard known to locals as "Death...
'CRIME' DOES PAY - SALES OF IVERSON GARB SHOOT UP SINCE ARREST
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amHe's so bad, he's good - for business. Basketball bad boy Allen Iverson's recent run-in with the law has been a boon for sales of his line of Reebok athletic...
COPS: JUDGE UNDERCOVER RULING PUTS US IN PERIL
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amThe city's undercover cops are seething at a Manhattan judge who is trying to force three of their brethren to give up what is, next to their guns, perhaps their...
TELEMARKETER NAILS 'HOME ALONE' MOM
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amA Suffolk County woman was charged yesterday with leaving her two young children home alone - a discovery made when a telemarketer called the house. Emelis Whitehead, 31, of Central...
WE MCCALLED IT - SCHUMER TAPS CARL
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amPicking sides in a hard-fought Democratic battle, Sen. Chuck Schumer yesterday made one of the biggest endorsements in the governor's race - backing Carl McCall over his party rival, Andrew...
BUILDER COULD GET BOOT - PA: WE MAY REDEVELOP WTC WITHOUT LEASEHOLDER LARRY
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amChanging priorities for rebuilding Ground Zero could lead to canceling the property lease held by Larry Silverstein - creating an opening for other developers to enter the project, Port Authority...
THE FEDERAL JUDGE IN THE ZACARIAS MOUSSAOUI TERROR CASE OPENED THE DOOR TO A GUILTY PLEA
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amThe federal judge in the Zacarias Moussaoui terror case opened the door to a guilty plea by the alleged "20th hijacker" by saying yesterday that she sees no sign that...
GOOD IS BAD, BAD IS GOOD AND WORSE IS BETTER
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amTHE agent has landed a first-round NBA draft pick, a kid - a young man - so talented that he can't miss. In addition to negotiating for him a lucrative...
SHEIK LIVED BY THE SWORD - FAMILY VISIT SEALED TERROR FIEND'S DOOM
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amSlippery Sheik Salah Shehada spent years eluding intensely frustrated Israeli manhunters - until he finally surfaced for a home visit with his wife and kids. This morning's bombing of the...
CREEK'S 'DEATH ROW' CLAIMS ANOTHER NYER
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amA Queens man who drowned in a treacherous Catskills creek was the second New Yorker to die in as many months in the watery graveyard known to locals as "Death...
ISRAELI JET'S MISSILES KILL THE HATED 'BIN LADEN OF HAMAS'
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amJERUSALEM - Israel's public enemy No. 1 - dubbed "the bin Laden of the Hamas" because of his role as the bloodthirsty pioneer of its homicide-bombing campaign - was killed...
SALES OF IVERSON GARB SHOOT UP SINCE ARREST
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amHe's so bad, it's good for business. Basketball bad boy Allen Iverson's recent run-in with the law has been a boon for sales of his line of Reebok athletic shoes...
BOTH SIDES GAGGED
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amA Philadelphia judge yesterday put a gag order on prosecutors and defense lawyers for Allen Iverson, the NBA star accused of terrorizing two men. Judge James DeLeon's order bars lawyers...
'TORCH' TESTIFIES: GIFTS? WHAT GIFTS?
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amWASHINGTON - Sen. Robert Torricelli (D-N.J.) testified yesterday before the Senate ethics committee and claimed he never took gifts from former fund-raising pal David Chang. The committee, which questioned Torricelli...
MIKE RIPS POLS OVER BUS FUSS
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amIn his harshest attack on the City Council since taking office, Mayor Bloomberg charged yesterday that trying to guarantee jobs for striking bus drivers in Queens was pandering "for votes...
MORE POWER TO THEM, MIKE SAYS OF CON ED
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amMayor Bloomberg yesterday praised Con Ed's performance during Saturday's eight-hour blackout, as the utility geared up for heavy power consumption during a spell of swampy weather. "It's a shame the...
BUILDER COULD GET BOOT: PA: WE MAY REDEVELOP WTC WITHOUT LEASEHOLDER LARRY
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amChanging priorities for rebuilding Ground Zero could lead to canceling the property lease held by Larry Silverstein - creating an opening for other developers to enter the massive project, a...
MOUSSAOUI WANTS TO PLEAD GUILTY
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amWASHINGTON - The federal judge in the Zacarias Moussaoui terror case said yesterday she still sees no sign that the accused "20th hijacker" is insane. The judge's statement could clear...
STARTING TO GET A LITTLE WILD - RED-HOT METS SPANK 'SPOS, GAIN GROUND IN PLAYOFF RACE
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amLast night the Mets opened a pivotal homestand - a 13-game stay at Shea that will go a long way toward deciding whether their season is a stirring rally or...
AUDITING THE OPEN BOOK
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amGULLANE, Scotland - As the emotions from a frenetic final round have calmed and a quiet sense of normalcy returns to this sleepy East Lothian village where Muirfield sits, you'll...
HOUSTON HEDGES ON SPREE RETURN
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amOne day after their season ended three months ago, Allan Houston called Latrell Sprewell "a cornerstone" and said "He has to be here." Yesterday, Houston was less emphatic. Despite their...
GIANTS MOVING LUKE TO THE LEFT
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amWhat was to be the key battle of training camp - who plays left tackle for the Giants - has already been decided well before tomorrow's reporting date at the...
CLARK BACK IN KNICK PICTURE
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amWhile Knicks GM Scott Layden met in a Salt Lake City coffee shop with Michael Doleac Sunday, another free agent has popped back on his radar screen - Keon Clark...
MO TROUBLE FOR YANKS - MUSCLE STRAIN COULD LAND HIM ON DL
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amCLEVELAND - Everybody in the Yankee organization has their fingers firmly crossed they get to see Mariano Rivera bounce out of a bullpen before Friday. Because if Rivera's balky right...
STEINBRENNER RESERVES JUDGMENT ON WEAVER
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amCLEVELAND - Jeff "Way Back" Weaver hasn't worked his way into George Steinbrenner's doghouse yet. Although the right-hander has been hit hard in all three starts since being acquired in...
A SPLENDID DAY FOR THE SPLINTER - FANS FLOCK TO FENWAY FOR FAREWELL TO WILLIAMS
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amBOSTON - Inside, they were walking around the warning track, paying respects to a frozen legend, dropping flowers under the gigantic No. 9 Red Sox jersey pinned to the outfield...
TRACHSEL TOSSES SOLID START IN RETURN FROM DL
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amMET NOTES In his return from the DL, Steve Trachsel threw five solid innings, giving up three hits and two runs in the Mets 5-2 win over Montreal. He walked...
NETS TALK TO CHILDS ABOUT SUB POINT JOB
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amThe job description calls for about 10 minutes a game, but the applicant must be prepared to step in for heavy duty in the event of the unthinkable - an...
BOSS PUTS IN CALL FOR CONNORS
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amYANKEE NOTES CLEVELAND - Concerned about his pitching staff, George Steinbrenner is toying with the idea of sending for organizational pitching guru Billy Connors to assist Yankees' bullpen coach Rich...
BEANTOWN CALLS TIME & REVISITS A LEGEND
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amBOSTON - Peter Gammons, the conscience of baseball in New England for all these decades, interviewed one dignitary after another from chairs in front of home plate as 25,000 spectators...
LEITER: STOPPAGE DATE'S NOT ON THE LEVEL
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amWhen Al Leiter heard yesterday that the Players Association had set a strike date of Sept. 16, he was positive it wasn't true. "[Union president] Don [Fehr] doesn't operate like...
LIBERTY END DROUGHT VS. ROCKERS IN ROUT
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amLiberty 73 - Rockers 52 Maybe Richie Adubato knew what the Liberty would do against a Cleveland Rockers team they hadn't beaten since Aug. 8, 2000. Maybe he had a...
CARD STACKED IN AMAZIN'S FAVOR
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amTHERE are 10 weeks left in this season, unless Don Fehr and Bud Selig decide otherwise. It means the Mets have to roughly make up a game in the standings...
VAUGHN RUNS METS INTO WIN COLUMN
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amWhen the Mets traded for Mo Vaughn during the offseason, they hoped to get the fearsome slugger that dominated the American League throughout much of the 1990s. What they didn't...
TRACHSEL SLIDES BACK INTO ACTION VS. EXPOS
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amMET NOTES Steve Trachsel was activated from the 15-day DL yesterday and started last night against Montreal. The Mets optioned right-handed prospect Jae Weong Seo to Norfolk to make room...
LEITER SAYS A STOPPAGE WOULD 'STINK'
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amWhen Al Leiter heard the news yesterday that the Players Association had set a strike date of Sept. 16, he was positive it wasn't true. "[Union president] Don [Fehr] doesn't...
TRYING TO ANSWER CALL OF THE WILD - AMAZIN'S FEEL PLAYOFF SPOT STILL IN THE CARDS
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amLast night against Montreal the Mets embarked on a 13-game homestand that will go a long way toward deciding whether their season is a stirring rally or bitter disappointment. GM...
BELIEVE IT OR NOT, TIME ON METS' SIDE
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amIN the mind, the baseball season has gotten shorter. We have been Steinbrenner-ized over the past 30 years due to a certain principal owner emphasizing every game. The Yankees have...
LIBERTY LEANING ON DO-IT-ALL VJ
July 23, 2002 | 4:00amYou've got Tari Phillips as the inside warrior, Teresa Weatherspoon as the floor general and Becky Hammon as the long-range bomber. Hey, for the most part, the Liberty's roles are...