July 30, 2002

A PRO GIVE WALL STREET'S CROOKS SOME SOUND TIPS

FRED Graunneri is a real crook. I'm not being insulting. Fred has made his living as a crook, pulling all sorts of financial scams - yeah, including some involving stock...

DIET VANILLA COKE ON TAP

Vanilla Coke is going light. Coca-Cola Co. will follow up its launch of Vanilla Coke with a diet version to be introduced to consumers early this fall. The company's full...

G+J EXEC'S FATE MAY BE TIED TO ELVIS TRIBUTE MAG

Can Elvis save Dan Brewster? Once Bertelsmann chairman Thomas Middelhoff left the building last weekend, most observers began thinking that Brewster, the head of Bertelsmann U.S. magazine group Gruner +...

IT'S BOTTOMS-UP AS DOW SURGES - 447-PT. GAIN REFLECTS VIEW THAT WORST IS OVER

U.S. stocks were off to the races yesterday, with the Dow leaping to its third-best one-day point gain ever. On renewed optimism that corporate profits will be strong and the...

SANDY: I DID NOT KNOW ABOUT DEALS

Citigroup chief Sandy Weill is telling Congress he wasn't aware that his bank's off-shore shell company was being used by Enron to hide debts. Weill yesterday provided an affidavit to...

DEJA VU! MARKET ACTING JUST LIKE 1974

Wall Street pros are confidently calling the bottom of the 2002 market - based on what happened in 1974. That's the last time U.S. stocks were in a long-term bear...

THREE-RING CIRQUE-US - TRUMP, SULTAN AND CHURCH EMBROILED IN CAFE DISPUTE

THE Palace Hotel, site of a running legal war between the Sultan of Brunei and the Archdiocese of New York, might soon get its al fresco Le Cirque back. The...

SENATE: MERRILL LYNCHED BY E-MAIL - FIRM WON BIZ AFTER ANTI-ENRON ANALYST QUIT

It looks like Merrill Lynch is about to be sunk by its staffers' e-mails again. Newly released documents from a Senate investigation show Merrill bowed to pressure from former energy...

CONGRESS PROBES $28M 'BARGE' SCHEME

Merrill Lynch is on the hot seat before lawmakers today. And its executives will have a lot to explain about a deal between Merrill and Enron that congressional investigators say...

POWERING UP FOR NO. 4

AUSTIN Powers may be coming back for an encore to "Goldmember," despite earlier promises by Mike Myers that this would be the last mission for the shagadelic Brit spy. "We...

WHERE TO FIND BRUCE

IT'S Springsteen fever!With his new album "The Rising" hitting shelves today - his first in 18 years with the E Street Band - the Boss will be popping up all...

GERALDO'S GIFT FOR OSAMA

GERALDO Rivera has a message for Osama bin Laden. "I've got a New York City fire department hat that I want to put on the head of [Osama bin Laden's]...

2 MORE HOUSE PESTS

HERE we go again - there's more trouble for some "Big Brother 3" contestants. Court TV Website thesmokinggun.com has revealed that Southern belle Amy Crews, 24, was arrested for drunk...

MONEY FAIR SHOWS OFF PRETTY PENNY

QUICK: whose picture is on a $100,000 bill? If you don't have one in your wallet, find out at the World's Fair of Money this week at the Marriott Marquis...

E! STRIP TEASE - ANNA NICOLE GETS NAKED BUT CENSORS ARE WAITING

FORMER playmate Anna Nicole Smith has no problem getting naked on her new show - but E! producers are still trying to figure out if they can show it. The...

GRIM JOB OF GRINDING SPORTS INTO LAUGHS

IF you don't get the jokes on "Mohr Sports," then you're obviously not a sports junkie. Who else but a rabid sports fan would howl at jokes about L.A. Clipper...

STARR REPORT

Goldberg 'Squares' off, disses 'Hollywood' Whoopi Goldberg took some parting shots at "Hollywood Squares" on yesterday's "Live with Regis & Kelly." Goldberg, who was an executive producer and the "center...

WOODY'S PROPS A BIG HIT

HIS "Hollywood Ending" may have been a flop, but Woody Allen's a hit in Amesbury, Mass. A gallery in the small town has sold off tens of thousands of props...

TRAVELER'S UPDATE

Owe, Canada See Canada for less than $500 per person, including round-trip airfare and three nights lodging. United Airlines has reduced airfares from New York to Toronto and Montreal, with...

SCANDINAVIAN SOUND TUNES IN NEW YORK

WHAT, with the Hives, the International Noise Conspiracy, the Soundtrack of Our Lives and Hellacopters, Scandinavian bands may just take over the world. And here's another. Norway's Cato Salsa Experience...

ISRAEL ORCHESTRA TOUR CANCELED AMID TERROR FEAR

JERUSALEM - The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra said yesterday it is canceling a U.S. concert tour next month because American organizers can't insure the performances against terrorism. "We did not cancel...

REVEALED: BIG-BUCKS EMPIRE OF NONPROFIT POWER PAIR

MEET New York's least-known power couple. Assemblyman Vito Lopez and city Planning Commissioner Angela Battaglia sit atop a massive network of government-subsidized social-service and housing agencies in impoverished Bushwick, Brooklyn....

ASSEMBLYMAN VITO LOPEZ IS CURRENTLY AT THE CENTER OF A HOUSING BATTLE

Assemblyman Vito Lopez is currently at the center of a housing battle in Williamsburg that has pitted the Hasidic developers of the former Schaefer Brewery site against local Latinos. "There's...

OSAMA'S SON RISES IN THE FAMILY BIZ

WASHINGTON - Osama bin Laden's son Saad has been placed on the Pentagon's hit list of most-wanted terrorists after new intelligence identified him as an emerging power within al Qaeda,...

WHAT'S AN OLD GANGSTER TO DO TO TAKE HIS MIND OFF HIS NEXT MURDEROUS PLOT

What's an old gangster to do to take his mind off his next murderous plot while doing time in the slammer? Think about food - and Martha Stewart's latest tips....

LIFE IN PRISON SHOULD MEAN LIFE IN PRISON

THE mantra heard with the repetition of "Rain Man" comes from those against the death penalty - give them a life sentence instead, and they'll rot in prison. But killers...

WEIRD BUT TRUE

A California shock jock was suspended after advising listeners on the best way to kidnap and kill kids. After hearing about the 7-year-old Philadelphia girl who escaped her captors by...

JOB ONE: SPEAK THE GRIM TRUTH

JOEL Klein, out of Bensonhurst, Cambridge and Bill Clinton's Department of Justice, is Mayor Mike's pick for the public schools - and darned if his resume doesn't resonate. Columbia, Harvard...

GO BYE-BYE: TELETUBBIES SET SCRAPPED

Workers have begun dismantling the show's 6-acre studio set near Stratford-upon-Avon in England, according to the Gloucestershire Echo. The studio site, upon which Dipsy, Tinky Winky, Laa Laa and Po...

'ABUSE' GROUP BLASTS BISHOP

Brooklyn Bishop Thomas Daily has violated the U.S. Catholic bishops' zero-tolerance policy against priests accused of sex abuse, an advocacy group charged yesterday. Daily is one of 10 bishops and...

THE GOOD NEWS BEARS

THE Dow Jones Industrial Average has surged more than 11 percent in the past week. This might be just an upward blip in a continuing downward trend. Or maybe the...

CAPO'S 'RAT' SON COST HIM BIG BUCKS

Gambino capo Gregory DePalma, accused of trying to whack a Bronx car dealer who allegedly stopped paying him $2,500 a week, should know why his cut of the green dried...

FUN CITY: TIMES SQ. BASH TO KICK OFF NEW NFL SEASON

The city is planning to host a massive Times Square party starring superstar rock band U2 to kick off the NFL season, The Post has learned. Sources said Deputy Mayor...

ANDY TO ENLIST BIG DADDY MARIO IN GOV CAMPAIGN

EXCLUSIVE ALBANY - Andrew Cuomo's gubernatorial campaign is about to roll out a "secret weapon" - his famous father, former Gov. Mario Cuomo, The Post has learned. The elder Cuomo...

'THIS ISN'T JUSTICE' - VICTIM'S KIN FUME AS DWI COP'S PLEA NETS JUST 1 TO 3 YRS.

A one-time rising star in the NYPD yesterday agreed to serve one to three years in prison for killing a construction worker while driving drunk on the Throgs Neck Bridge...

COPS: GIRL VANISHES AS MOM LOAFS

A Bronx mother was arrested yesterday after her 9-year-old daughter vanished at a Manhattan street fair - and the woman went home without contacting cops, police said. But the Bronx...

DOW WOW! MARTS THRILL TO A MAGICAL MONDAY

The Monday market curse has been lifted. After four straight weeks opened with losses, investors yesterday cast off their bearish mood and went on a buying binge. The Dow Jones...

JUDGE THROWS AWAY KEY FOR CARNEGIE KILLERS AS SURVIVORS GET VENGEANCE

The ice-blooded murderers behind last year's Carnegie Deli Massacre were slammed with 120-year prison sentences yesterday at an emotional hearing in which one victim's father raged, "Why did you kill...

LIFE-OF-THE-PARTY HILL A THRILL FOR FELLOW DEMS

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton stole the show at a New York gabfest of 2004 Democratic presidential wannabes yesterday with a passionate defense of her husband's policies and a sharp attack...

STREET WHERE DIALLO DIED NAMED FOR HIM

A one-block stretch of Wheeler Avenue in The Bronx where cops shot and killed Amadou Diallo on Feb. 4, 1999, was renamed in his honor yesterday. Mayor Bloomberg signed a...

BLOOMY TAPS A TRUST-BUSTER - SHOCK AS LEGAL EAGLE IS NAMED CHANCELLOR

Mayor Bloomberg unexpectedly tapped a famous trust-busting lawyer with little classroom experience as his new schools chancellor yesterday - shocking the education community. Bloomberg named Joel Klein, the Justice Department...

TOWN WILL BE TOAST ALL WEEK

I'll bake Manhattan! That's the word from Mother Nature as temperatures in the Big Apple rocket into the high 90s for the second straight day today. There's a chance of...

IVERSON-FAN JUDGE NIXES FELONY RAP

A Philadelphia judge who admitted he's a huge fan of hometown hoops hero Allen Iverson tossed out all of the felony charges against the star - after one witness said...

JURY IS OUT ON WHETHER HE'S A MAN WITH A PLAN

MAYOR BLOOMBERG is betting that a super lawyer with little experience in education can turn around the New York City schools system. But neither he nor new Chancellor Joel Klein...

TRASH TRUCK KILLS WOMAN

A community activist who helped raise millions of dollars for local causes died yesterday in a gruesome accident when a 15-ton garbage truck crushed her beneath its wheels yesterday at...

CITY KID'S FAST RISE TO THE HEAD OF THE CLASS

It was the New York City schools that inspired Joel Klein. Now he has a chance to return the favor. It was at William Cullen Bryant HS in Queens that...

SUPERMODEL CLAUDIA'S A 'LITTLE BRIT' PREGNANT

Uber-catwalker Claudia Schiffer is about to take a baby step - she's pregnant, her rep confirmed yesterday. The model and her newlywed British film-producer hubby, Matthew Vaughn (right), are "absolutely...

COURT BIG'S ED CREDENTIALS ON TRIAL

Stunned by Mayor Bloomberg's selection of Joel Klein - a mystery in education circles - some experts praised the new chancellor, some predicted difficult months ahead for him, and others...

AUSTIN TELLS FIRM TO BEHAVE, BABY

Buoyed by his victory over "Goldmember," Austin Powers took aim at his next enemy yesterday - a toy seller that allegedly has reneged on a deal involving some of the...

MISSING GIRL FOUND SAFE IN BX. PARK

A scared and sobbing 9- year-old girl who vanished Sunday night after returning home from a Manhattan music fair with her mom was found safe yesterday after spending the night...

PLANNERS MAY SEEK NEW IDEAS FOR WTC

Planners overseeing the reconstruction of Ground Zero may expand the pool of architects and designers amid widespread criticism of the first six proposals for the site, sources said yesterday. Details...

CONDIT: 'SCREW' CONNIE CHUNG AND REST OF THE MEDIA

Rep. Gary Condit claims the media wanted him to say he "did" slain intern Chandra Levy, and compares newscaster Connie Chung to Russian President Vladimir Putin in an angry, defiant...

TERROR DUO TARGETED WATER: REPORT

Two suspected al Qaeda terrorists who were arrested last week by federal officials were planning to poison the country's water supplies, it was reported last night. One of the suspects,...

CAR HITS TOT, 3, IN B'KLYN

A 3-year-old boy was clinging to life yesterday after he was hit by a car on his Brooklyn street. Cops say the toddler squirmed out of his father's arms and...

VICIOUS ROBBERS STAB N.J. WOMAN AT HARLEM SUBWAY

A New Jersey woman was stabbed in the stomach early yesterday as she fought off a pair of robbers on the steps of a subway station, police said. Carmen Tejada,...

OSAMA SON RISES IN THE FAMILY BIZ

WASHINGTON - Osama bin Laden's son Saad has been placed on the Pentagon's hit list of most-wanted terrorists after new intelligence identified him as an emerging power within al Qaeda,...

ISRAEL ORCHESTRA FORCED TO CANCEL

JERUSALEM - The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra said yesterday it is canceling a U.S. concert tour next month because American organizers can't insure the performances against terrorism. "We did not cancel...

'FAT MAN' FEASTED ON MARTHA'S TIPS

What's an old gangster to do to take his mind off his next murderous plot while doing time in the slammer? Think about food - and Martha Stewart's latest tips....

'THIS ISN'T JUSTICE' : DWI COP'S PLEA ANGERS BRIDGE VICTIM'S FAMILY

A one-time rising star in the NYPD yesterday agreed to serve one to three years in prison for killing a construction worker while driving drunk on the Throgs Neck Bridge...

IVERSON SCORES: GUN RAP DROPPED

A Philadelphia judge who admitted he's a huge fan of hometown hoops hero Allen Iverson tossed out all of the felony charges against the star after one witness said he...

GARBAGE TRUCK CRUSHES WOMAN

A Brooklyn woman died yesterday in a gruesome accident when a 35,000-pound private garbage truck smashed into her and crushed her beneath its wheels yesterday at a busy Chelsea intersection....

FEHR WILL MEET WITH BOMBERS TOMORROW

ARLINGTON - Donald Fehr will address the Yankee players tomorrow afternoon in the visiting clubhouse at The Ballpark in Arlington. Fehr is on a tour of all the clubs briefing...

DUQUE MAKES PITCH - LOOKS CERTAIN TO STAY IN YANK ROTATION AFTER SOLID WIN OVER TEXAS

ARLINGTON - A translator wasn't needed to understand the message Orlando Hernandez sent from the mound here at The Ballpark last night. It filled what passed for a mild Texas...

IN A HOLDING PATTERN - TORRE TAKES TIME DETERMINING ROCKET'S RETURN

ARLINGTON - Yesterday was supposed to be the day and wasn't. Now, today is the day the Yankees say they will decide Roger Clemens' immediate future. The plan was for...

CURTIS' GOAL: JET FOR LIFE - MARTIN HAS NO INTENTION OF LEAVING GANG GREEN

Bill Parcells brought immediate respectability to the Jets with one stunning and significant personnel move: Signing Patriots running back Curtis Martin in 1998. That singular transaction began to make the...

BREW CREW BAFFLED BY SLUMPING BURNITZ

MET NOTES The Brewers shipped Jeromy Burnitz to the Mets in the winter, but even their organization had no idea he'd respond with the worst season of his career. "We...

LOWER EXPECTATIONS - GIANT 'D' LINE HAPPY WITHOUT HYPE

ALBANY - He woke up one day and decided enough was enough. He was tired of his long, flowing dreadlocks flying into his face, so he cut them off. Kenny...

KEYS TO UNLOCK AN AMAZIN' FALL

For the Mets, October baseball has become less of a hallucination and more of a tangible dream. At the same time, it's a little early to drape Shea Stadium with...

HOT FRANKEL STRIKES AGAIN IN SPA STAKES

SARATOGA SPRINGS - If it's not one, it's the other. Often, it's both. Trainer Bobby Frankel and jockey Jerry Bailey dominated the stakes schedule opening week at the Old Spa,...

NBA GOVERNORS OK INSTANT REPLAY

It's still very much a work in progress but the NBA's Board of Governors yesterday approved "by an overwhelming majority" the use of instant replay on a limited basis for...

TWICE THE THRILL AT MSG CANCER CLASSIC

In response to a judge's decision on Friday to uphold a new NCAA rule that prohibits college basketball teams from entering more than two exempt tournaments in a four-year period,...

TEMPERS FLARE IN MIDDAY SUN

GIANT NOTES ALBANY - A rise in temperature ushered in a rise in intensity and ferocity at Giants training camp yesterday, as the afternoon practice was filled with fights, altercations,...

LOVE LETTER - FAMERS' PLEA TO BUD & FEHR: SAVE SEASON WITH MEDIATOR

The very nature of the threatened baseball strike is a slap to the face of the history of the game and the men who paved the way for today's millionaire...

NO BAD BLOOD BETWEEN BOMBERS, RIVERA

YANKEE NOTES ARLINGTON - Derek Jeter says Ruben Rivera's swiping his glove in spring training is a dead issue. Joe Torre was glad to see Rivera rebound from being released...

HERM MAKES SURE WATER FLOWS FREELY

JET NOTES With the heat index rising above 100 degrees on the field for the Jets' two training-camp practices yesterday, Herman Edwards conceded that coaches "are real nervous" about pushing...

FINALLY, GIANTS INK SHOCKEY

ALBANY - From the moment they traded up one spot and selected Jeremy Shockey with the 14th pick in the NFL Draft, the Giants believed they had significantly upgraded their...

ROCKET'S WARMING UP: COULD RETURN FROM DL AS SOON AS THURSDAY

YANKEE NOTES ARLINGTON - Roger Clemens was slated to throw in the left field bullpen here at The Ballpark yesterday afternoon. After he was done, Mel Stottlemyre and Joe Torre...

SHRUGGING OFF PAIN: BERNIE'S BEGINNING TO BATTLE BACK FROM SHOULDER PROBLEMS

ARLINGTON - When Bernie Williams received three cortisone shots in both of his shoulders on April 16, the switch-hitting center fielder predicted the lack of strength in the shoulders would...

HERM MAKES SURE WATER'S ON TAP

JET NOTES With the heat index rising above 100 degrees on the practice field for the Jets' two training-camp practices yesterday, Herman Edwards conceded that coaches like himself "are real...