February 17, 2003

CITI TO CUT AGAIN - CORPORATE, BANKING JOBS IN CROSS-HAIRS

Citigroup plans to dismiss as many as 450 employees within its global corporate and investment bank - the latest indication that the downturn on Wall Street is showing no signs...

EVAN & TRISTA HAVE HOLLYWOOD DREAMS, BUT PROS SAY . . . DON'T QUIT YOUR DAY JOB

THIS week, Evan "Joe Millionaire" Marriott and Trista "The Bachelorette" Rehn are getting more ink than Ben Affleck and J.Lo combined. But they'd better enjoy their 15 minutes - like...

WEIGHT & SEE - ACTRESS TOUCHY ABOUT RETOUCH

'IT'S a bloody lot of old crap." That's how Kate Winslet dismisses the media obsession about her weight - sparked most recently by that extensively airbrushed image on the cover...

STARR REPORT

He keeps on truckin' to $1 million prize It's taken a little longer than its prime- time cousin, but the daytime version of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," hosted...

JOE MILLION' VERSUS MICHAEL JAX - DON'T PANIC! ADAM HAS YOUR GUIDE TO CATCHING JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING

TONIGHT'S viewing quandary comes down to this: Michael Jackson vs. Michael Jackson vs. "Joe Millionaire" - with a little "Everybody Loves Raymond" thrown in. It is the most jam-packed night...

MINISKIRTS TO THE MAX

With the barely-there skirt the big news for fall, there's one question on every stylish New Yorker's mind these days: Do you dare go mini? "It's going to be tricky,"...

POL 'CROOK BOOK' MAY BE BRIBE FIRM'S $MOKING GUN

THE Florida-based company at the center of the Legislature's bribery scandal kept a "petty-cash book" documenting payments for state lawmakers, The Post has learned. The book, which one investigator called...

CUNY TO RAISE THE BAR FOR LAW

The City University's Law School has approved a plan to tighten up its admission and grading policies after a staggering 50 percent of its students flunked the state bar exam...

APT. MOLD BECOMES A $OAR POINT

New York state residents are on the run - fleeing their fungus-infested buildings and tripling the number of mold-related insurance claims in the past year alone. Mold-related insurance claims in...

CHUCK WARNS OF GAS PAIN$

With gas prices in New York reaching unprecedented heights, Sen. Charles Schumer yesterday called on Washington to come to consumers' aid by keeping "a careful eye" on oil companies. "I...

STREET TOILET PLAN HITS A BAD CLOG

Like his three predecessors, Mayor Bloomberg came into office promising to add a vital amenity - street toilets - to the city's landscape. And, like the three mayors before him,...

REPORT HELPS SCREENERS LOOK SHARP

A free, private newsletter is helping to keep baggage handlers, luggage screeners and Transportation Security Administration officials up to date on the latest security issues. The Homeland Security Report, compiled...

U.S. PROTESTS MAKE SADDAM PROUD

THIS time last week I was up to my armpits in European weasels prancing down the Champs-Elysees in Paris. On Saturday a subspecies was out in force in New York,...

WEIRD BUT TRUE

The most-married woman in Ohio is hoping the 10th time is the charm. Connie Post - who has seen more wedding dresses than Bride magazine - is ready to head...

CODE ORANGE IS FADING FAST - 'YELLOW' LIKELY AFTER BOMB TIP 'DIDN'T PAN OUT'

Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said yesterday the terrorism threat level will likely be lowered from the high-risk Code Orange in the coming days. Speaking on the Sunday TV talk...

HOW MEMORY PLAYS TRICKS

Remember when you were a kid and saw Bugs Bunny at Disneyland? More than 30 percent of people in a recent psychological study said they did, although Bugs has never...

FRENCH PREZ OFFERS BUSH SURRENDER TIPS

French President Jacques Chirac warned that a U.S. invasion of Iraq would only inflame terrorism by giving rise to "little bin Ladens" - and also offered President Bush "friendly advice"...

NYPD ESTIMATED SATURDAY'S ANTI-WAR RALLY COST THE CITY APPROXIMATELY $5 MILLION

The NYPD estimated Saturday's anti-war rally cost the city approximately $5 million in overtime. As security remained heightened throughout the city, more than 5,000 cops patrolled the event as protesters...

NYERS HAVE THE WHITE ATTITUDE

New Yorkers are reveling in the prospect that the snowfall will continue to blanket our area all day today - and plan to ski, drink and cuddle to keep away...

RICE WARNS AGAINST A 'HITLER' MISTAKE

WASHINGTON - National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice yesterday urged the United Nations to get tough with Baghdad - saying "appeasement" is no more likely to work with Saddam Hussein than...

PATAKI'S NO. 2 PUTS KIBOSH ON GOV RACE

ALBANY - Lt. Gov. Mary Donohue is taking herself out of the running to succeed Gov. Pataki, just as three relatively unknown individuals have emerged, The Post has learned. A...

IT'S A BURY, BURY BIG SNOWSTORM - 'ONCE-A-DECADE' DUMPING HITS CITY

A massive blizzard wreaked havoc as it crawled up the East Coast yesterday and threatened to blanket New York City with up to a foot-and-a-half of snow by tonight. Heavy...

CELL-PHONE TICKETS RING UP BIG BUCKS FOR APPLE

ALBANY - New York City cops handed out 43,530 tickets last year to drivers caught clutching cell phones in their hands, The Post has learned. And at $100 a pop,...

EX-BLOOD RUNS WITH A NEW 'GANG' TO HONOR SLAIN BEAU

A reformed street-gang member has traded in her colors for fatigues, hoping to serve her country in the Persian Gulf to honor the memory of an ex-boyfriend, gunned down in...

POLICE ACADEMY GRADUATES IN A CLASS BY THEMSELVES

The most recent class of NYPD rookies includes a cadre of well-educated cops who gave up safer - and sometimes more lucrative - professional careers to pound a beat. Many...

'ROAD' WARRIOR - KEROUAC KIN: I WAS CHEATED OUT OF MILLION-$$ ESTATE

If truth is stranger than fiction, the current-events portion of Jack Kerouac's legacy may become a best seller - and nephew Paul Blake may be the man to write it....

STATE'S RED TAPE GETS APPLICANTS STUCK ON THE MONEY TRAIL

Federal agencies aren't the only ones holding billions of dollars in unclaimed money. States are guarding their own stashes, too - until the rightful owners ask for their dollars back....

FORGOTTEN CASH - $12.5B GOES UNCLAIMED IN FEDERAL COFFERS

Federal agencies are holding at least $12.5 billion of unclaimed money - and that could be just the tip of the iceberg. "In tough economic times like these, that's a...

BLAST KILLS 6 HAMAS GOONS

Six members of Hamas were killed yesterday by a booby-trapped device in Gaza City, one day after a land mine placed by the terror group killed four crewmen in an...

NYPD DAILY BLOTTER

MANHATTAN * The bomb squad answered a call inside Grand Central Station at 9:45 p.m. on Saturday after an emotionally disturbed man said he had a bomb. Emergency Service cops...

DAY CARE TOT SLOTS START AT 0 & YOUNGER

There is such a shortage of day-care programs for infants and toddlers under 3 years old in many areas of the city that the push for available spaces begins in...

'LUCKY' GAL TO LEARN EVAN'S NO MILLIONAIRE

Tonight's the night! After two nerve-wracking weeks of waiting, America will see "Joe Millionaire" pick saucy Sarah or zesty Zora - then watch the winner's jaw drop to the floor...

DISCOUNT TOLL GOAL - RIDER GROUP LIKES HIKE AT PEAK HOURS

A bigger-than-planned rush-hour toll hike on bridges and tunnels run by the MTA could cut traffic and pave the way for driver-friendly off-peak discounts, a consumer advocacy group says. The...

NEVER AGAIN - RICE: DON'T MAKE 'HITLER' MISTAKE WITH SADDAM; RICE RIPS U.N.'S 'APPEASE' SLEAZE

WASHINGTON - National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice yesterday urged the United Nations to get tough with Baghdad - saying "appeasement" is no more likely to work with Saddam Hussein than...

HOW MEMORY PLAYS TRICKS ON YOU

Remember when you were a kid and saw Bugs Bunny at Disneyland? More than 30 percent of people in a recent psychological study said they did - even though Bugs...

MULE SOLVES ONE PUZZLE

MET NOTES PORT ST. LUCIE - There were two mysteries surrounding Pedro Astacio last season. One mystery was how the Mets right-hander was originally tagged with the nickname of "Mula"...

EX-MATES TORTURE ISLES

The Islanders have allowed four goals in their last two games and every one of them came off the stick of one of their former players. Vladimir Orszagh and Andreas...

FLOYD TO METS: LOWELL & BEHOLD - NEW MET GOES FISHIN' FOR MARLIN

PORT ST. LUCIE - Cliff Floyd thought he might sneak in under the radar by reporting two days early, but he immediately established his presence at Mets' camp yesterday. Looking...

THIS IS NO WAY TO GRAB A TITLE

THE Nets will remember this game, and this week, and this stretch of lousy basketball that has interrupted their merry march toward the spring. For now, it's easiest to shrug...

REVENGE IS SWEET FOR KEITH AND DERRICK

Call it the revenge of the former 44's. That would be Keith Van Horn and Derrick Coleman, two Sixer teammates who each wore No. 44 with the Nets. And in...

BURE READY TO RETURN

KANATA, Ont. - Want a definition of desperate times? How about the Ranger$ being the baseball equivalent of four games out of a playoff spot with 21 games to go,...

ACHING O'NEAL SITS OUT

KNICK NOTES LOS ANGELES - The Knicks got a wonderful surprise 10 minutes before tipoff at Staples Center last night - Shaquille O'Neal was out of commission. O'Neal complained that...

REYES IS READY FOR THE WORLD

PORT ST. LUCIE - I have seen the future of National League All-Star shortstops and his name is Jose Reyes. At 9:35 yesterday morning on a sun-splashed Florida day, the...

'LUCK' IS ALL GOOD IN YOUTH

As the horses loaded into the gate for last Saturday's mile-and-a-sixteenth Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park, the race appeared so wide open the crowd made Ten Cents a...

JOHNNIES IN DISARRAY

On the cover of the St. John's 1998-99 media guide is a picture of new coach Mike Jarvis surrounded by players wearing hard hats and standing on a construction vehicle,...

NO BUICK BLASPHEMY ALLOWED - CBS WON'T TELL YOU TRUTH ABOUT TIGER

HERE'S the difference between TV and newspapers: If you covered the weekend's Buick Invitational for a newspaper, you might have been inclined - maybe, even obligated - to note at...

THIS FORMER TRACK STAR A TRUE AMERICAN HERO

We too often use phrases like "life-and-death" to describe sports events, too cheaply use "hero" to describe athletes. Then along comes someone like Louis Zamperini - who served as the...

NET FUNK CONTINUES - SIXERS SWAMP JERSEY AS ANOTHER WIN SLIPS AWAY

Sixers 90 - Nets 83 They point to missed shots. They point to lack of energy. They point to getting the stuffing knocked out of them inside and underneath. At...

CHILDS' PLAY LEAVES AJ OUT OF SCOTT'S ROTATION

NET NOTES For the present, Chris Childs is in and Anthony Johnson is out of Byron Scott's rotation. And Johnson admits he is "very disappointed" - stopping short of being...

LET THE CHAOS BEGIN - EXPECT FIREWORKS AS YANKEE CAMP GEARS UP TODAY

TAMPA - It will never reach the madness level that surrounded the George, Billy and Reggie Yankee teams of the late 1970s. But today has a chance to provide the...

GOODEN: METS SHOULD RETIRE MY NUMBER

YANKEE NOTES TAMPA - Dwight Gooden is honored that David Cone is wearing No. 16 in his comeback effort with the Mets. Yet, Gooden would like to see the day...

ST. JOHN'S CUFFE COURTING TROUBLE

St. John's coach Mike Jarvis met yesterday with Kyle Cuffe to determine the junior forward's future with the team. Afterwards, St. John's released a statement saying that Cuffe will not...

MATSUI AND ME

TAMPA - Now I know how Derek Jeter feels. So many questions, too little time. I mean, how am I supposed to fill this space with knowledge and entertainment, and...

BOMBERS WILL OPEN 2004 IN JAPAN

TAMPA - The Yankees and Hideki Matsui will open the 2004 regular season in Japan, a Major League Baseball source told The Post. "The Yankees are going," the source said....

AS PURR USUAL - ON-THE-MEND TIGER OUTDUELS PHIL IN TRIUMPHANT RETURN

LA JOLLA, Calif. - The atmosphere was electrically-charged, the stuff major championships are usually made of, the stuff true sports junkies crave. When Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson made their...

GUTTY GAELS OUTLAST JASPERS IN 2 OTS

In last Thursday's loss - a defeat that left Iona coach Jeff Ruland miserable and sleepless - three of the Gaels' four freshman starters found themselves benched for poor discipline...

MICKELSON LEARNS FROM LATEST LOSS

BUICK NOTES LA JOLLA, Calif. - Phil Mickelson walked away from his latest disappointing loss to Tiger Woods feeling good about himself yesterday despite failing to close the gap on...

HOT ELS MAY BE WOODS' ONLY THREAT

LA JOLLA, Calif. - Bring on Ernie Els. Maybe he can raise Tiger Woods' blood pressure, put a scare into the world's best player or at least make Woods sweat...

HOUSTON POURS IN 53 AS KNICKS KO LAKERS

LOS ANGELES - Allan Houston was playing like $100 million bucks, Shaquille O'Neal was back in the trainer's room nursing toe and knee ailments and Kobe Bryant needed to put...

PHIL 'LEARNS' FROM LOSS

BUICK NOTEBOOK LA JOLLA, Calif. - Phil Mickelson walked away from his latest disappointing loss to Tiger Woods feeling good about himself yesterday. "I actually learned a couple things out...

SHAQ'S A LATE SCRATCH DUE TO TOE, KNEE WOES

LOS ANGELES - The Knicks got a wonderful surprise 10 minutes before tip-off at Staples Center last night - Shaquille O'Neal would not be playing. Before the game, Shaq complained...

DEAL WITH PORTLAND POSSIBLE

KNICK NOTES LOS ANGELES - The buzz around the league is every team is looking to slash future payroll to ensure either a reduced luxury tax or a payroll below...

SERVING UP TREYS - KNICKS GUNNING STRONG, BUT FALTERING ON DEFENSE

LOS ANGELES - The only thing hurting worse than Shaquille O'Neal's toe is the Knicks' defense. And the only thing hotter than the pain in O'Neal's foot is the Knicks'...

WEATHER SHUTS BIG A

The worst winter to hit New York in years put a double-whammy on the Big A yesterday, closing down live racing after the first race because of the bitter cold...