August 3, 2002

DOUBLE-DIP DREAD - STOCKS SOCKED BY FEARS OF DEEPER RECESSION

Low. Lower. Lowest? Stocks plunged again yesterday on fears the U.S. economy is not recovering at all. Instead, many Wall Street pros believe the U.S. will have a "double-dip" recession...

MOUSE STOCK DOWN BY 9%

The House of Mouse stock was shaken to a seven-year low as investors struggled to digest Walt Disney Co.'s lousy profit outlook and a warning that its stellar credit rating...

MARTHA WANTS HER PRIVACY & STOCK SHOOTS UP 10.4%

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia rose in a down market on news that the domestic diva could be taking the company private. Stewart has reportedly been meeting with bankers to discuss...

COPS DRAW BLUE LINE TO GUARD TV IMAGE

THE NYPD is guarding its image like a lion - refusing to grant rights to TV projects that may portray New York City cops in a bad light. And unlike...

E FOR EXCELLENT: BRUCE ROCKS DAVE

THE Boss blasted David Letterman's ratings through the roof this week. Bruce Springsteen's appearance on Thursday's "Late Show with David Letterman" handed the show its best Thursday-night ratings since last...

GOODBYE KISS? - 'FRASIER' STAR HINTS: THE SHOW'S OVER

ET tu, Kelsey?"Frasier" star Kelsey Grammer says he's pondering the end of his sitcom - and that it's "coming to a natural conclusion." "Frasier," in which Grammer plays Seattle radio...

FRINGE BENEFITS - NEW YORK'S BIGGEST FESTIVALS FEATURE LOTS OF STUFF FOR KIDS

Summer is the season of festivals - and no festival is complete without a little something for the kids. This being New York, make that lots of things for the...

SPY KIDS TELL ALL! - WHAT HAPPENED WHEN THE CAMERAS WERE ON - AND OFF

Spider hand-climbers that scale large buildings and nanotechnology watches that do everything but tell time. R.A.L.P.H. - an insect-like robot you can put in your pocket - and, believe it...

DINNER PARTY CHEAT SHEET

China is considering blocking publication of Dinner Party Cheat Sheet because there are too many Jewish references. DPCS asks the country to reconsider or it will have a talk with...

LATIN OUT LOUD

Two Latino festivals this weekend offer a world-class selection of theater, dance, music and film - displaying the depth and diversity of a proud people. The Queens Theatre in the...

JUST A MATTER OF 'TRUST'

It's not often that someone in the Meatpacking District says "Trust me" - and you do. But the Bar Belles have found that it's worth the leap of faith if...

A LITTLE KNIGHT-LIFE

Hop into the car and escape into the mystical woods of 16th-century England, as the New York Renaissance Faire begins its 25th anniversary celebration this weekend. Sixty-five acres of Sterling...

CRUSTACEAN ELATION

Remember the scene in "Annie Hall" when the lobsters busted loose in the beach house kitchen? It shows how much simpler meal-making is when we don't have to personally kill...

BUS DRIVER HIT WITH RAPE RAP

A city bus driver was arrested for sexually assaulting a 28-year-old woman nearly a month ago in The Bronx, cops said yesterday. Augustine Guerrero, 33, was charged with rape in...

BETSY PALS: MIKE'S A GENDER OFFENDER

GENDER has entered the increasingly testy debate between Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum and Mayor Bloomberg. At a press conference this week to denounce Bloomberg's attempt to cut the public advocate...

WEIRD BUT TRUE

According to an Indian scientist, the American-led war in Afghanistan has not only been clobbering Taliban and al Qaeda forces, but the weather system in parts of Southeast Asia as...

KIDNAP GIRLS: WE TRIED TO KILL FIEND

LANCASTER, Calif. - The two California teenage girls who were abducted Thursday tried to kill their kidnapper by stabbing him and hitting him on the head with a whiskey bottle,...

MIKE RIPS BIZ WELFARE

Mayor Bloomberg said yesterday he's not a fan of corporate tax breaks - even though his firm sought a $14 million incentive last year - as he dismissed threats by...

POL'S TROUBLES DOUBLING - ELECTION BIG: 'NO DOUBT' HE VOTED 2 TIMES - TWICE

A high-level Board of Elections official yesterday said "it's clear" that Conservative Party politician Daniel Mahony illegally voted twice, as the Manhattan DA's office moved forward with its probe. The...

LIBRARIAN LITERALLY GOES THE EXTRA MILE

When Lydia Kugel read about The Post's Community Liberty Medal, she immediately thought of nominating co-worker Helen Limarzi. Limarzi, 55, a Mahopac resident, is the literacy coordinator and job information...

WORLDCOM SCUTTLES BOAT BASH

WorldCom execs in New York yesterday abruptly bailed out of next week's luxury booze cruise for top sales staffers - leaving the family-owned party-ship business high and dry with more...

EXPLOSIVE DISCOVERY - ISRAELIS RAID CAFETERIA-BOMB LAB

The Israeli army yesterday found traces of the explosives that blew up the Hebrew University cafeteria during a raid on hidden weapons labs in Nablus' infamous casbah, authorities said. The...

BUBBAGATE REBATE - CLINTON-SCANDAL PLAYERS ASK FEDS TO PAY LAW BILLS

WASHINGTON - More than 30 players in the Clinton scandals are seeking a taxpayer bailout to pay millions of dollars they ran up in lawyers' bills, court papers show. The...

FEDS CONVINCED OF 9/11 HIJACKER'S LINK TO IRAQ

The White House now believes that hijack ringleader Mohamed Atta met with an Iraqi agent five months before the Sept. 11 attacks - which could help it win support for...

JEWS APPLAUD 'DEFENDER BILL'

Jewish leaders hailed ex-President Bill Clinton yesterday for saying that he would grab a rifle and fight and die for Israel if Iraq attacked the Jewish state. "Any time a...

HILL IN WTC $$ TUSSLE - WHITE HOUSE NIXES HER PLAN FOR HEALTH TESTS

WASHINGTON - President Bush's refusal yesterday to quickly approve funding for monitoring the health of Ground Zero workers could lead to another showdown with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. Bush still...

IT'LL BE VINEGRAD VS. SCHWARZ, PART 4

Charles Schwarz will face a familiar adversary next month as outgoing U.S. Attorney Alan Vinegrad has decided to personally prosecute the ex-cop's fourth trial - set to begin weeks after...

MOB-SLAY JURY ALL TIED UP

Wheelchair-riding mobsters Gregory DePalma and Sam "Fat Man" Cagnina got a boost yesterday when a Manhattan jury told the judge it was strongly divided over whether they tried to kill...

DNA CRACKS '99 SLAY - JILTED EX JAILED IN MYSTERY OF VANISHED QNS. STUDENT

Nearly three years after beautiful, dark-haired law student Samiya Haqiqi vanished on a trip home from school, police have arrested her spurned boyfriend on murder charges - even though her...

'VULTURE' BROKER FACING NEW HEAT

The Securities and Exchange Commission is going to launch an investigation into a British brokerage house found guilty of poaching a top broker from rival Cantor Fitzgerald after the Sept....

BUSHED PREZ IS OFF ON LONG VACATION

WASHINGTON - President Bush yesterday got a head start on a month-long vacation - and he looks as if he needs it. After nearly 11 months of fighting the war...

JUROR TIRADE SPURS SLAY MISTRIAL

Bedlam broke out last night in the Manhattan murder trial of a girl gangster when a lone holdout juror screamed curses and threatened suicide after four days of deliberations. "F---...

CITY EYES LAND SWAP - PA TAKES AIRPORTS, APPLE GETS WTC SITE

City Hall is strongly considering offering the Port Authority a land-swap deal that would put the city in full control of Ground Zero, The Post has learned. The trade would...

LEASEHOLDER'S BILL TO INSURERS: $8.2B

It will cost about $8.2 billion to replace most of the World Trade Center and cover business losses, experts hired by developer Larry Silverstein said. Subtracting payments already received from...

BIRTHDAY SUIT - MARTHA HITS 61 AND IS SUED BY SHAREHOLDER

Happy birthday, Martha Stewart - you're getting slapped with a class-action lawsuit. Conrad Hahn has filed suit against the diva of domesticity (right), charging her involvement in the ImClone scandal...

MAFIA SNITCH WENT LOONY

A hotheaded Mafia turncoat who avenged his father's mysterious murder by helping nail numerous high-powered mobsters is so berserk he's no good as a witness, prosecutors said in a bombshell...

BOXING BIG SUES TYSON

A top boxing official who says he "suffered permanent physical and psychological injuries" after getting caught in the middle of a brawl between Mike Tyson and heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis...

KIDNAP GIRLS TRIED TO KILL FIEND

LANCASTER, Calif. - The two California teenage girls who were abducted Thursday tried to kill their kidnapper by stabbing him and hitting him on the head with a whiskey bottle,...

LIFESAVER FOR KIDNAP GIRLS

LANCASTER, Calif. - An eagle-eyed animal-control officer played a key role in saving the lives of two kidnapped girls by spotting the abductor's getaway car from more than a half...

OUR PORKY PLANET - EARTH'S GIRTH IS GROWING

The Earth is battling midriff bulge. Since 1998, the planet has become fatter around the middle and flatter at the poles, scientists say. But before you begin to fear a...

MIKE EYES LAND SWAP - PA TO GET AIRPORTS, CITY TAKES WTC SITE

City Hall is strongly considering offering the Port Authority a land-swap deal that would put the city in full control of Ground Zero, The Post has learned. The trade would...

BOXING BIG SUES OVER TYSON MELEE

Talk about wrong place, wrong time - a top boxing official says he "suffered permanent physical and psychological injuries" after getting caught in the middle of a brawl between Mike...

MIKE RIPS CORPORATE WELFARE

Mayor Bloomberg said yesterday he's not a fan of corporate tax breaks - even though his firm sought a $14 million incentive last year - as he dismissed threats by...

JINT JOYCE A TIKI LITE

ALBANY - Close your eyes and listen to Delvin Joyce, and darned if he doesn't sound a whole lot like Tiki Barber. "Really?" Joyce said, laughing. "I've had some people...

CALL FAME GAME A FRIENDLY MATCH

GIANT NOTES ALBANY - It is not as if they choreograph every move they plan to make on Monday night, but plenty of advance planning has transpired between the Giants...

VIN FEELING JUST SUPER - GIVES THUMBS UP TO TITLE CHANCES

Vinny Testaverde returned to Jet practice yesterday feeling not only better about his sprained right thumb and pronouncing himself fit to play in the preseason opener Thursday in Pittsburgh -...

NEW STANCE, SAME OLD IRWIN

It's golf, and Senior golf at that. It's not supposed to feel good. Hale Irwin is hoping he can lock up this tournament with his successful new stance - before...

BAILEY'S SLUMP CONTINUES

SARATOGA SPRINGS - Stop the presses! Jerry Bailey did not win the stakes feature yesterday at the Old Spa. In fact, the slumping Sultan of Saratoga (0-for-his-last 13) finished a...

KAREEM WILTS UNDER BRUTAL HEAT

JET NOTES Kareem McKenzie, slated to start at right tackle, was forced to leave yesterday's morning practice after feeling effects from the 90-plus- degree heat. Coach Herman Edwards said the...

DIFFICULT DECISION - TORRE'S CHOICE: WEAVER OR EL DUQUE TO PEN

ANAHEIM - Jeff Weaver came off the canvas Thursday night when he easily delivered the best start of his five as a Yankee. But was it good enough to keep...

FAVORITES SHOULD ROLL IN SARATOGA STAKES

SARATOGA SPRINGS - Put away the shovels for another day. Neither Street Cry, the 4-5 program choice in the Grade 1, $750,000 Whitney Handicap, nor Mayakovsky, 4-5 in the Grade...

ANDY DANDY AGAIN - ACES ANGELS TO END YANKS' 2-GAME SKID

ANAHEIM - He missed seven weeks with a balky elbow, and when he returned Andy Pettitte believed he had to throw gas to catch up. Not only was Pettitte stepping...

'D'ORO' HEADS A DANDY FIELD

SARATOGA SPRINGS - Medaglia d'Oro, a battle-hardened veteran of the Triple Crown wars, heads a field of nine 3-year-olds prepping for the Aug. 24 Travers in tomorrow's Grade 2, $500,000...

BAFFERT TO DONATE HALF OF FEE

SARATOGA SPRINGS - The day after it was revealed that trainer Bob Baffert was being paid a $50,000 personal-appearance fee to run Kentucky Derby winner War Emblem in tomorrow's $1...

'HALL,' 'SNAPSHOT' LEAD HAMBO FIELD

Andover Hall, last year's 2-year-old colt champ, has been installed as the 2-1 morning-line favorite in the $1 million Hambletonian. But the race's 77th edition, which will go off this...

CHILDS PLEDGES TO BE A SPARKPLUG

LA-born and -bred Chris Childs is happy to be back "home" in New Jersey, and he's ready to make his mark on the Nets. He will not let them rest....

GREAT GONZO KEEPS 'ZONA ROLLING ALONG

No matter how many 400-foot blasts Luis Gonzalez hits, the Arizona all-star will be best remembered in New York for a bases-loaded bloop single off Yankee closer Mariano Rivera. It...

TOP PICK KAZMIR DAZZLES IN WORKOUT

MET NOTES Scott Kazmir, the Mets' No. 1 draft pick, agreed to terms yesterday and worked out in the Met bullpen at Shea in front of team personnel and media....

ROCKET TAKES SHOT IN FOOT

YANKEE NOTES ANAHEIM - With Roger Clemens' right groin injury healed, the pitcher attacked a bothersome problem on the top of his right foot yesterday when he allowed noted foot...

IT'S TIMO'S TIME - PEREZ CENTER OF ATTENTION AS METS RACE FOR PLAYOFFS

Bobby Valentine likes all his players, but there are few he'll defend more vigorously than Timo Perez. When it comes to questions about the diminutive Dominican, Valentine has been known...

LIBS' WHITMORE SHOWS RESOLVE

Liberty 66 - Sol 54 When Tamika Whitmore's long, emotionally grueling day had ended - after she had helped lead her team to a 66-54 win over the Sol and...

ROGER'S FOOT GETS SHOT OF CORTISONE

YANKEE NOTES ANAHEIM - With his right groin problem healed, Yankees pitcher Roger Clemens attacked a bothersome nerve problem on the top of his right foot yesterday when he received...

METS' NO. 1 PICK SHOWS HIS STUFF

MET NOTES Scott Kazmir, the Mets' No. 1 draft pick, agreed to terms yesterday and worked out in the Met bullpen at Shea in front of team personnel and media....

TRYING TIME FOR LIBS' WHITMORE

With a heavy heart, Tamika Whitmore was expected to be in uniform last night at the Garden, as the Liberty played the Sol. The power forward, a legitimate candidate to...