March 1, 2003

AOL NAMES TW EXEC CFO

AOL Time Warner plucked another Time Warner veteran for a top position at its beleagured online unit yesterday. The company appointed Stephen Swad as chief financial officer of AOL. Swad,...

AMR DOWNDRAFT: CHAP. 11 FEARS GROW AS S&P CUTS CREDIT RATING

American Airlines led the troubled airlines industry into more dangerous turbulence yesterday over new fears it might file for bankruptcy. The world's largest airline got its credit rating knocked down...

CASH-BLEEDING RED HERRING IS FLAT-LINED

After a 10-year run, the pioneer in New Economy magazines - Red Herring - is dead. Magazine staffers received the grim news at about 2 p.m. yesterday. The magazine is...

IT'S OK TO BE A BUSEYBODY

MEMO to Adam de la Pena, who's following around his idol Gary Busey for a new reality show - be careful what you wish for. The untitled half-hour show, airing...

WELL HELLO, GIRLFRIEND; AISHA TYLER TALKS HER WAY INTO A ROSS VERSUS JOEY LOVE TRIANGLE

'TALK Soup" has done it again - launching one of its hosts into the entertainment stratosphere. This time it's Aisha Tyler, the ex-"Talk Soup" host who's snagged a coveted role...

DINNER PARTY CHEAT SHEET

Dinner Party Cheat Sheet is despondent this week - the GaultMillau humor guide heartlessly chopped two points from its ranking. RATHER SAD The White House felt rejected by CBS television...

WITH WAR DRUMS BEATING, OLD PROTEST SONGS ARE REBORN

Songs of another antiwar movement will ring in Joe's Pub tonight, as folk, rock and blues musicians from across the generations perform "Songs of Protest: The Vietnam Songbook." Legendary protest...

DRINKIN' CONTINENTAL

Marion Nagy is unfortunately no longer with us, but the gorgeously kitsch bar/restaurant she opened on the Bowery in 1950 is still going strong - and getting stronger. Marion's Continental...

MARDI ANIMALS: HAVE A CARNAL CARNIVALE AT THESE BIG-EASY THEMED BARS

If you're in a Mardi Gras mood and fantasizing about French Quarter flashing, but can't make it down south, you can still score some beads on Bourbon Street. Well, Bourbon...

DEF BECOMES HER: WHEN A JEWISH GIRL GOES HIP-HOP, HOLLYWOOD KNOCKS

Just two years ago, Vanessa Hidary was performing her self-produced solo show in the lobby of the off-off-Broadway Labyrinth Theater. Now, three theater seasons later, "Culture Bandit" - a mix...

FREE FOR ALL

Year of the ? It's now officially the Year of the Ram, no Sheep, er, Goat (it's referred to by all those names). The four-week Chinese New Year celebration ends...

SCENES FROM REEL LIFE: SEE TOP KIDS' FLICKS FROM ALL AROUND THE WORLD

A girl who loves horses, a cat who turns into a woman - and dinosaurs who won't hit the hay. Those are just a few of the more intriguing subjects...

'SNOW WHITE' AND THE SEVEN MORPHS

He's seven - count 'em - seven dwarfs in one. Not only that, but in this "Snow White," Adam Bampton-Smith plays the prince, the huntsman and the palace guards, too....

L.I. BURGLAR A REAL 'DUD'

A burglar is in a jail jumpsuit today because she foolishly returned to the scene of the crime - to retrieve a coat she left behind, Long Island cops said...

MONEYBAGS MAYOR: FORGET MY FAT WALLET

He's one of the wealthiest people on the planet, but Mayor Bloomberg yesterday practically begged New Yorkers to stop thinking about his bulging bank account. "I wish people wouldn't focus...

TRICOLOR FALLS BY THE WAYSIDE HERE

A French hotel chain - trying to weasel out of a backlash over Iraq - has stopped flying the nation's flag in front of two New York properties - a...

POL WANTS INDOOR-FIREWORKS LAW

ALBANY - A week after a Rhode Island club fire killed 97 people, a top Assembly official vowed to introduce legislation in New York setting statewide standards for the indoor...

MIKE TEMPERING PARENT TANTRUMS

Lose your temper at your kid's Little League game and you could wind up in an anger management class. Mayor Bloomberg yesterday signed a bill allowing youth sports groups to...

NYPD DAILY BLOTTER

Queens A partial human torso found on a Rockaway street in December is that of a man who was murdered, the medical examiner said yesterday. Cops responded to an anonymous...

WEIRD BUT TRUE

His relationship with his girlfriend went down in flames - and so did he. Enraged at the break-up, Ulysses David doused his station wagon with a flammable liquid and crashed...

APOLOGY FOR ABUSED LADY INMATE

A petite 24-year-old mom who was sexually assaulted by a 300-pound, 6-foot-plus correction officer while being held at a Brooklyn jail for "ecstasy" smuggling got a break - and an...

FEUD OVER VID-PERV WRIST-SLAP

ALBANY - A top Democrat in the state Assembly said yesterday he wants to toughen penalties against video voyeurs - but blamed a Long Island pervert's recent slap-on-the-wrist sentence on...

MIKE YANKS CARS OF 'FREE-WHEELING' BUREAUCRATS

THE free ride is over for hundreds of city officials. The Bloomberg administration has yanked 720 vehicles from high-ranking officials in 28 agencies. Most of the vehicles were used for...

WEST SIDE LANDING ; JETS' DREAM STADIUM A TAILGATER'S NIGHTMARE

The New York Jets yesterday unveiled their blueprint for a $1.2 billion retractable-domed football stadium on Manhattan's West Side - but don't expect to have a tailgate party there. Jets...

FIRE HEROES SAVE DAD WITH BABE IN ARMS

A blaze engulfed a five-story apartment building in smoke yesterday in Manhattan's Flatiron District, injuring four residents and four firefighters. Flames were seen shooting from the rear of the second...

PRO-CHOICE SPITZER BOWS OUT OF ST. PAT'S BASH

Attorney General Eliot Spitzer yesterday withdrew from a prominent Irish-American St. Patrick's dinner after coming under fire for his views on abortion. A spokesman for the pro-choice Spitzer said his...

CHEAP FOAM & 97 DEAD

The owners of The Station nightclub installed $575 worth of highly flammable, low-grade packing foam on the walls of their doomed Rhode Island music spot some three years before last...

TAIL OF THE TAPE: COURT LOPS OFF SHOW-DOG LAWSUIT

Chopping off a dog's tail may be "cruel," but it's not necessarily illegal, a divided state appeals court ruled yesterday. The Appellate Division made the determination when it threw out...

BOOKIES DRAW BATTLE LINES

The approaching war with Iraq is turning thousands of armchair generals into gamblers. Offshore Internet bookmakers yesterday reported a huge surge of interest among gamblers in the U.S. military showdown...

LAST VIDEO SHOW ; RECOVERED TAPE SHOWS JOVIAL CREW IN RE-ENTRY

A videotape made by the Columbia shuttle astronauts in their final minutes of life was released by NASA yesterday - showing them unaware of the disaster awaiting them as the...

COMMISH KELLY: I'LL CLEAR UP OUR INS MESS

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said yesterday the NYPD will develop a policy on how cops should deal with criminal suspects who are believed to be illegal aliens. "We want to...

BX. FIEND GETS LIFE FOR 'HIT' SLAY OF EX

A Bronx man, denounced by his former girlfriend's family as "abominable," was sentenced yesterday to 18 years to life in prison for hiring a hit man to kill her. Fermin...

KLEIN PUTS $QUEEZE ON DISTRICT BIGS

Schools Chancellor Joel Klein has barred superintendents from making office purchases of more than $5,000 and stopped overnight trips and conferences in a bid to fight the city's fiscal crisis....

DEATH-DEFYING ACT ; DRIVER WALKS AWAY FROM HORRIFIC PLUNGE AND CRASH

Michael Person's SUV flipped over the guardrail on an elevated highway, rocketed 170 feet through the air and came to a smash-landing 30 feet below in a packed hospital parking...

BUSH ZINGS SADDAM'S ROCKET LIES

WASHINGTON - The White House said yesterday it's not enough for Iraq to pledge to destroy its Al Samoud 2 missiles and that full disarmament is still the only way...

HIJACKERS' REMAINS REMOVED

The remains of two hijackers that have been identified by DNA testing from the World Trade Center rubble have been separated from those of the still-unidentified victims of the 9/11...

NYPD NAMES DETECTIVE BOSS

George Brown, the NYPD's head of counter-terrorism, was formally named chief of detectives yesterday at a promotion ceremony for nearly a dozen top commanders and a handful of detectives. Also...

NEW CLAIM OF IRAQ-QAEDA TIE

A Manhattan federal judge heard yesterday how Iraq had trained Islamic terrorists at a secret camp where simulated hijackings were carried out. Lawyers for families of two Sept. 11 victims...

'FRUGAL' MIKE BOOST$ AIDE ; HIKES DEPUTY'S PAY TO 195G AMID BUDGET WOES

Mayor Bloomberg has quietly doled out a 16 percent raise to his top deputy to boost his salary to $194,999, The Post has learned. That's just $1 less than the...

RAPE SUSPECT IN 'HIT MAN' PLOT

A jailed Bronx man was slapped with murder conspiracy charges yesterday for allegedly trying to hire a hit man to kill a mother and her two children, whom he's accused...

MCD'S SUIT BEARS FRUIT

McDonald's is selling apples with its Big Macs after being sued by burger-munching New York kids who blame the Golden Arches for making them fat. New menus offering bags of...

KIN SUE FOR $10M IN BARGE BLAST

The family of a 24-year-old barge worker killed in last week's horrific barge explosion on Staten Island wasted no time filing a whopping $10 million lawsuit at the Long Island...

ON-LINE BOOKIES DRAW BATTLE LINES

WASHINGTON - The approaching war with Iraq is turning thousands of armchair generals into armchair gamblers. Offshore Internet bookmakers yesterday reported a huge surge of interest among gamblers in the...

SPREWELL SAVES WIN IN DOUBLE OT

DOUBLE OVERTIMEKnicks 118Magic 110 By the way, they played a basketball game at Madison Square Garden last night. And on Patrick Ewing night, the Knicks delivered. In a game they...

MAGIC LEARNED LOTS FROM PAT

"Pat was a true professional, a first-class guy, a guy that you just look at him and appreciate him and the type of guy that he is. I appreciate the...

ELIAS JUST KEEPS SHUFFLING ALONG

One of Al Arbour's old Islander confidants claimed "Radar" threw the dynasty into annual February chaos - and nosedive - by breaking up his best combos. Come March, it'd be...

'QUIET MAN' NO MORE ; TITLE BOUT TURNS RUIZ COCKY

LAS VEGAS - John Ruiz's nickname is the Quiet Man. It says so on his website, and is evidenced by his laid-back demeanor. Problem is, boxing is not a business...

BYRON & JASON SHOOT DOWN RIFT

The Nets denied published reports of a rift between coach Byron Scott and franchise player Jason Kidd. Some of the reactions were vehement, others surprised, and some just plain comical,...

HATTEN HOPES TO DUKE IT OUT

Marcus Hatten is guardedly optimistic that he'll play in St. John's showdown tomorrow at the Garden vs. Duke. Hatten suffered a severe left thigh bruise in the Red Storm's loss...

YANKS HOLD BOOK TALK WITH DAVE

CLEARWATER - Even though they haven't read David Wells' controversial new book, Yankee manager Joe Torre and GM Brian Cashman felt compelled to talk to the pitcher-turned-author prior to yesterday's...

'HE WAS SO GENUINE'

AT THE BEGINNING, three years out of Georgetown, three years after Patrick Ewing tumbled out of the NBA's first draft lottery, he made a point of shaking hands with every...

GIANTS TARGETING PHILLY STARS DOUGLAS, MITCHELL

The Giants are going after it in a big way. Pass-rushing defensive end Hugh Douglas of the Eagles is coming for a visit on Wednesday. Philadelphia's record-breaking return man, Brian...

KNICKS SAY THANK EW ; CEREMONY PUTS NO. 33 IN RAFTERS

Patrick Ewing and LeBron James now have something in common, besides the obvious. Last night, the Knicks were set to present Ewing with a brand-new Hummer, the expensive SUV that...

BOOMER'S AUTHORED HIS OWN BX. EXIT

CLEARWATER - The Yankees tried to laugh off David Wells' latest distraction, his tell-all book, "Perfect I'm Not." That's a credit to the professional personality of the Yankees, and their...

MARIANO DINGS UP HIS CAR

YANKEE NOTES CLEARWATER - Mariano Rivera was involved in an auto accident near Legends Field in Tampa yesterday morning and was issued a traffic summons for failing to yield while...

BATTERED RICHTER IS FEELING LEFT OUT

Mike Richter is seriously hurting. No, not from the post-concussion syndrome that brought his season to an end last Nov. 5, but from loneliness. The Rangers all-time winningest goaltender is...

SKINS SWIPE JETS' THOMAS

One day after Jets' management sounded pessimistic about re-signing Randy Thomas, they lost their starting right guard of the last four years to free agency. The Redskins wasted little time...

VA-VA-VAUGHN! JAWS DROP OVER MO'S MOONSHOT

Mets 7Cardinals 3 JUPITER - Mo Vaughn admits that Brett Tomko's fastball would've eaten him up last season. Vaughn hit his share of tape-measure blasts in 2002, but he says...

HOT STREAK AT HOME ON LINE FOR ISLANDERS

It started with a visit by these same Sabres, this five-game home unbeaten streak that is clearing the Islanders' path to a second straight playoff season. With the Sabres bankrupt...

CONE'S COMEBACK LOOKING BETTER

MET NOTES JUPITER - David Cone said he's "right on the brink" of game action after a 75-pitch side session yesterday morning. Cone's curve looked sharp, his fastball stayed down...

VAN GUNDY: KNICKS ON 'RIGHT TRACK'

KNICK NOTES When Jeff Van Gundy coached the Knicks, he shied away from making bold predictions. But now as a TNT commentator, Van Gundy laid out a bombshell Knick prediction...

EWING JR. LOOKS UP TO DAD

Patrick Ewing Jr. knows better than anyone that his father is a good coach. The 18-year-old Ewing is a senior at National Christian Academy in Maryland and is being recruited...

CTK 'D' KEEPS TAFT IN CHECK

Bob Oliva has been coaching basketball for a long time with his share of championships, but it doesn't take a hoops genius to figure out how to beat Xaverian. "When...

'I ALWAYS WILL BE A KNICK'

THE PICTURES danced across the video board, one memory bleeding into the next, an avalanche of color and sound speeding by as quickly as a basketball career. One moment, you...

KNICKS SAY 'THANK EW' ; GARDEN ROCKS AS '33' RAISED TO ROOF

They called Patrick Ewing "a warrior" throughout his brilliant 15-year Knick stint. And last night, as Ewing's "33" banner rose slowly to the Garden's pinwheeled ceiling at 9:42 p.m., the...

TODAY'S SANTA ANITA 'CAP LOOKS LIKE ONE FOR THE AGED

In an age when too many good horses are retired to the breeding shed before their time is due, it's refreshing to note that the seven horses lined up for...