January 18, 2003

MAKE OR BREAK TIME: EARN OR BE EATEN

It's a good thing Monday is a market holiday, because traders will have to rest up for what is expected to be a volatile week. Earnings reporting season steps into...

STOCKS ROCKED : DOW TUMBLES 111 FOR FIRST DOWN WEEK IN THREE

Consumer confidence slipped to a new low and corporate profits remain poor - a recipe for a plunging stock market. Sure enough, stocks fell yesterday. The Dow Jones industrial average...

BIGGS IS NEXT STRATEGIST TO GO

Barton Biggs is the latest market strategist to head for the hills. The 70-year-old guru, who will retire after 30 years at Morgan Stanley, plans to run a hedge fund....

DR. LAURA BREAKS SILENCE OVER MURDERED MOM'S TORTURED LIFE

A TYPEWRITER came between Dr. Laura Schlessinger and her late mother - causing an "astonishing" lifelong rift that never healed, the celebrity shrink says. Schlessinger's mother, Yolanda Schlessinger, was found...

STONES' THROW TO HISTORY : UP-CLOSE HBO BROADCAST WILL RECORD ROCK OF AGES

THE ROLLING STONESMadison Square Garden. On HBO tonight at 9. DEFYING rock 'n' roll wisdom nearly as old as the band itself, the Rolling Stones gave the sold-out house at...

SPITTING IMAGE: BLONDE LOOKALIKE GETS MARTHA ROLE

LOS ANGELES - NBC has tabbed Cybill Shepherd to play Martha Stewart in its TV flick about the domestic diva. "Martha Inc.: The Martha Stewart Story" is based on the...

TAKE THE C TRAIN : A TASTE OF HISTORY AND WAFFLES IN HARLEM

Have you heard of Harlem? Perhaps you've read a poem by Langston Hughes, or seen "Showtime at the Apollo" on TV. Then again, maybe you just want to get a...

THE JOYS OF YIDDISH

Funny, but we never knew Harry Potter had a Hanukkah adventure - or, for that matter, that The Beatles went on a "Mazldiker" Mystery Tour. They didn't, of course -...

WALLYWORLD

Baby, it's cold outside - but you'd never know it ensconced in the hallucinogenic Hawaiian theme bar, Waikiki Wally's. Subtlety is a dirty word at this East Village bar/restaurant, recently...

FREE FOR ALL

Sing for King Tomorrow's Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Concert honors the civil rights leader at an afternoon performance featuring choral works, spoken-word acts and instrumentals. The commemoration is sponsored...

DINNER PARTY CHEAT SHEET

Dinner Party Cheat Sheet declares today "Do You Know Where Your Bubonic Plague Is? Day." BOOB-ONIC Texas authorities said last week that 25 vials - which held bubonic plague -...

THAT '70S SHOW: SEDUCTIVE SOUL POWER LIGHTS UP BEACON

There is no sonic aphrodisiac like '70s soul. From the effervescent vibe of the Chicago sound to the orchestral lushness of the Philly sound, the music has become synonymous with...

WEIRD BUT TRUE

They will not be cowed. More that 300 locals in Limoges, France, protested in support of a farmer who was ordered to pay $32,000 in damages to a newcomer neighbor...

CATHOLICS WON'T AID L.I. DIOCESE

A grass-roots group of Long Island Catholics has withdrawn an offer to help the Diocese of Rockville Centre raise money because Bishop William Murphy has rejected their demand that the...

BABY ON BOARD : MOM DELIVERS INFANT IN SUV

A Long Island woman made a special delivery on a freezing highway Thursday night - when she gave birth to a baby boy in her family's SUV. "I was screaming...

SABBATH TERRORISTS KILL MAN, WOUND CHILD

JERUSALEM - Two Palestinian gunmen opened fire inside a West Bank Israeli's home last night, killing one man and wounding his 5-year-old daughter. But one of the gunmen was quickly...

MIKE CASTS DRAG 'NET : TAXED CITY SUING OVER CYBER-SMOKES

Mayor Bloomberg has launched a new attack in his war on smoking, hitting cigarette pirates with federal racketeering charges. City lawyers charge out-of-state operators have devised a "massive tax-evasion scheme"...

RUSTY ROBBER RETURNS WITH LESS THAN A BANG

This bank robber just couldn't do anything right. After holding up the Union Bank and Trust in Caroline County, Va., and stuffing several thousand dollars into his pockets, the masked...

MIKE'S HIRE POWER THAWING JOB FREEZE

THE hiring freeze imposed by Mayor Bloomberg a couple of months ago didn't apply to one of his showpiece projects. The 41 new hires at the non-emergency "311" center -...

HIGH-TECH SHIPS WEIGH ANCHOR FOR THE GULF

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Navy is quietly assembling one of the largest and most technologically advanced armadas in history in the Persian Gulf this month for possible war against Iraq....

HUNG JURY SENDS CASE TO ROUND 4

An accused murderer whose first trial was a mistrial, and who then had a conviction reversed on appeal, saw his third trial end in a hung jury yesterday - but...

MAYOR: SO WHAT IF I'M RICH?

Call him Mayor Mike - just don't describe Mayor Bloomberg as the "billionaire mayor." He doesn't like it. "It's annoying to me that people even use it," the mayor said...

DEAL LETS CITY BOOT HOMELESS

An independent panel will be allowed to eject homeless families from shelters if they reject adequate housing, according to a deal struck yesterday. "Today's agreement is the dawn of a...

JUDGE SPRINGS WELLS PUNCHER

In an unusual move, a Manhattan judge set bail yesterday for the man who sucker-punched Yankees pitcher David Wells. Rocco Graziosa, 28, of Yonkers, should walk out of Rikers Island...

TWU WORKERS BICKER OVER CONTRACT

Bitter bickering within the Transport Workers Union over the approval of their contract could cost members everything they won at the negotiating table, union insiders fear. Bus and subway workers...

U.S. SET TO BLOW LID OFF OF IRAQ LIES

WASHINGTON - Secretary of State Colin Powell said yesterday the United States will make a "persuasive case" by the end of the month that Iraq hasn't cooperated with weapons inspectors...

NO DEAL, $UNY, SAYS SILVER

ALBANY - Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver won't even consider a whopping $1,400 tuition increase requested yesterday by the State University, his spokesman said. "This is an outrageously high increase they...

NYPD DAILY BLOTTER

MANHATTAN A gang of thugs spewed anti-Hispanic insults at a teenager and pummeled him on a subway train in Upper Manhattan, police said yesterday. The assault occurred Thursday about 3:30...

POLS RAIL AT MTA

City Council members blasted the MTA yesterday for "misleading" straphangers about its projected budget gap just as it prepares to raise fares to as much as $2. "The gap isn't...

SATURDAY SCHOOL BELLS RING

Get ready for school - on Saturdays. Hundreds of schools across the city are launching weekend and after-school programs to make up for lost instructional time caused by the World...

BRONX COKE BUST TAKES 1,500 LBS. OFF STREET

Agents caught three Bronx drug smugglers with more than three-quarters of a ton of cocaine after they were spotted acting suspiciously on a street in the Throgs Neck section, authorities...

NEW STUDY SATISFIES WOMEN'S VIEW OF SEX

This story should be read with the song "Why Can't A Woman Be More Like A Man" playing quietly in the background. A new Kinsey report has figured out why...

DEADLY ROAD TRIP : 3 YALE STUDENTS DIE RETURNING FROM N.Y.

Three Yale students heading back to school in New Haven, Conn., from a trip to New York City died yesterday morning when an SUV packed with fraternity brothers slammed into...

A BITE OUT OF CRIME

A new police crackdown in targeted "hot spots" has slashed crime nearly in half since it was launched just two weeks ago, Mayor Bloomberg announced yesterday. The initiative, dubbed Operation...

NEW YORK'S FINEST HEROES SHOW THEIR 'MEDAL'

Three New York City cops yesterday received the Medal of Honor - the NYPD's highest award - for acts of heroism during the Sept. 11 terror attacks. Police Officer Judith...

N.Y. RAP WAR RAGES : HAIL OF BULLETS SLAMS MIDTOWN MUSIC OFFICE

The bloody rap war involving hip-hop phenom 50 Cent escalated when his manager's Midtown office was ravaged in a hail of gunfire - an attack investigators say could be linked...

POST EXCLUSIVE: PRISON BREAKS - JAIL FIRM HELPED DEMS: FED REPORT

ALBANY - A secret federal report alleges that a half-dozen prominent New York Democrats - including Mario Cuomo, David Dinkins and the Rev. Al Sharpton - received campaign help from...

MISSING GAL'S HUBBY TOOK OUT 250G POLICY

The husband of a missing pregnant woman took out a $250,000 insurance policy on her and is suspected of having an affair, it was reported yesterday. Scott Peterson is now...

MARTHA SCANDAL HEATING UP

Federal investigators have "sufficient information" to charge Martha Stewart, but are waiting for a Justice Department probe to be completed, a new report says. The Securities and Exchange Commission informed...

SUPREME-LY BLITZED

Here's one video Diana Ross doesn't want you to see. Cops yesterday released footage of the 58-year-old drink-plagued diva flunking every single sobriety test they gave her. The grainy 42-minute...

COLD ENOUGH FOR YOU?

New Yorkers are getting the cold shoulder from Mother Nature this weekend as the temperatures drop lower than the city's seen in several years. Overnight temperatures were expected to drop...

SEN. JOE JUMPS OUT IN DEM POLL

Sen. Joseph Lieberman is the early front-runner - by nearly 2-to-1 - in a crowded field of Democratic presidential hopefuls for 2004, a new national poll found. Lieberman, the party's...

LACI MYSTERY DEEPENS AS COPS FIND 250G DEATH POLICY, 'GIRLFRIEND'

The husband of a missing pregnant woman took out a $250,000 insurance policy on her and is suspected of having an affair, it was reported yesterday. Scott Peterson is now...

SCHOOL BELLS TO RING ON SATURDAYS

Get ready for school - on Saturdays. Hundreds of schools across the city are launching weekend and after-school programs to make for up lost instructional time caused by the World...

SEN. JOE JUMPS IN DEM POLL

Sen. Joseph Lieberman is the early front-runner - by nearly 2-to-1 - in a crowded field of Democratic presidential hopefuls for 2004, a new national poll found. Lieberman, the party's...

OL' MESS MILESTONES KEEP ON COMING

Forty-two years ago today, Mark Messier was born. Twenty-four years ago, he began his NHL career. With these numbers in mind, Messier's teammates' eyes grew large yesterday as they dropped...

BUCS COME TO PASS : QB JOHNSON NEEDS TO STAR VS. EAGLES

There are more sensible ways to make a living than trying to throw all day against the Eagles' secondary, but in order for Brad Johnson and the Buccaneers to hurdle...

RAIDERS GLAD GRUDEN'S GONE

OAKLAND - Chucky has left the Bay Area. Gone is the TV-camera-hogging, sour-beer-faced Jon Gruden as Raiders coach. Here is the stone-faced, almost anonymous, former offensive line coach Bill Callahan...

WOODSON WARY OF TITAN'S TOUGHNESS

OAKLAND - Titans quarterback Steve McNair thrives on pain, which makes him the most dangerous element for the Raiders to deal with in tomorrow's AFC Championship Game. "He's a tough...

FASSEL SHOPS FOR QB COACH

The Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., is usually a hotbed of coaching interviews and networking, and this year, with many staffs out of work, is no different. The Giants need...

LOVE THAT KVASHA

Is there a more lovable player on the Islander roster than Oleg Kvasha? He has been mercilessly booed at the Coliseum, but when things appear ready to turn around and...

LUCIOUS OK WITH BENCH GIG

It would be easy for Lucious Harris to complain about being shifted back to the bench. After all, the Net guard was averaging 16 points as a starter. He was...

NETS PLAY WAIT-AND-SEE ON ROGERS

Nobody's sure how long Rodney Rogers is going to be out, so the Nets are preparing for life either way. "This is one of those situations again where it gives...

FROSH JITTERS DOG INGRAM

Elijah Ingram has been here before - a struggling newcomer, wanting so much to make an impact that the harder he tried to make it happen, the further away from...

BUSINESS AS USUAL FOR UCONN

HARTFORD - Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma has tried to avoid talking about his team's record winning streak; his Lady Huskies have focused on the basketball at hand, not their hand...

'STORM' BREWING AT BIG A

When the Eagles host the Bucs tomorrow in frigid Veterans Stadium, they won't be the only team this weekend with a big home-field advantage. At the Big A today, trainer...

NO EXCUSES FOR HEALTHY EAGLES

The Eagles last night pronounced themselves healthy and ready to beat the Buccaneers in tomorrow's NFC Championship Game and advance to their first Super Bowl since the 1980 season. "I...

CHRIST THE KING DUO JUST TWO GOOD FOR MOLLOY

Japhet McNeil and backcourt mate Mitchell Beauford didn't need to prove anything to themselves this year. But they knew other people thought differently. "We always thought we were the best...

ROBERTS COULD BE BIG SAVIOR

AUBURN HILLS - Before the Knicks failed to use their $4.5M injury exception by Dec. 3, Don Chaney lamented, "I wish there was a 7-footer out there who could play."...

NIEU'S 500TH IS A BIG ONE

Devils 2Hurricanes 1 RALEIGH - This Golden Goal was 25 karat. Time warped as Joe Nieuwendyk showed the Hurricanes and everyone else that he can still fly, scoring a 500th...

ROGERS' INJURY NOT SERIOUS, BUT HE'S OUT

The good news is that Rodney Rogers' injury isn't as serious as originally feared. The bad news is there's no guarantee he'll be back for the start of the Nets'...

NETS SHOW NO MERCY

Nets 88Raptors 77 Games like this really aren't fair. Not when you have the Raptors dressing only eight players, none of whom is Vince Carter. Not when you have the...

KNICK NIGHTMARE : UGLY LOSS MAKES PLAYOFFS SEEM PIPE DREAM

Pistons 99 Knicks 82 AUBURN HILLS - Allan Houston's recently stated goal of having the Knicks reach the .500 mark by Feb. 9's All-Star break never looked more laughable than...

MARTY MOVING TO TOP SHELF

RALEIGH - The All-Star votes don't come, the Vezina Trophy has yet to arrive, but Martin Brodeur is establishing himself as the game's pre-eminent goaltender. Now he's moving past his...

'STARS' IN HIS EYES: HOUSTON EYEING SPOT AS RESERVE

AUBURN HILLS - Allan Houston is averaging a career-high 22 points - 14th-best in the NBA. He leads the league in free-throw percentage at 92.8 percent. He is 15th in...

ROBERTS IN KNICK FUTURE?

KNICK NOTES AUBURN HILLS - In early December, days before the Knicks wasted their $4.5M injury exception, coach Don Chaney lamented, "I wish there was a 7-footer out there who...