April 15, 2003

POLL: STARS' POLITICS COULD BRING BOYCOTTS

About one-third of Americans say they would boycott a celebrity's work if they disagreed with the star's political statements, according to polling data that will be released today by VH1....

AMERICAN PILOTS TO VOTE TODAY

After evading last-minute turbulence from pilots, American Airlines moved a step closer to winning approval from employees today to cut their paychecks by $1.8 billion and avoid bankruptcy. The cash-crunched...

PLAYING FOR KEEPS - FAO SCHWARZ RUNNING OUT OF TIME FOR FINANCING

The future of FAO Schwarz hung in the balance yesterday after the store's parent said it had lost part of the financial backing it needs to exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy....

SONY MUSIC TAPS IENNER

Music biz veteran Donnie Ienner was promoted to president of Sony Music U.S. yesterday, in the latest move by new chairman and CEO Andrew Lack. Ienner had previously been chairman...

APPLE GETS BRUISED IN ARAB-ISRAEL FIGHT

Apple Computer is sidestepping a sticky question of whether it's breaking U.S. law. The problem came up yesterday when reports surfaced in the Middle East that Apple is purging Israeli-made...

APPLE GETS SLICED BY BAHRAIN BOYCOTT

Apple Computer is side-stepping a sticky question of whether it's breaking U.S. law. The problem came up yesterday when reports surfaced in the Middle East that Apple is purging Israeli-made...

KMART SET TO EXIT BANKRUPTCY

Kmart Corp. is expected to win court approval today for a plan that would allow it to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings by the end of the month, ending...

DOWNTOWN DOUBLES UP - WATER STREET DEALS SHRINK DISTRICT'S VACANCY RATE

TWO deals made within an hour of one another have eaten up about 600,000 square feet of available office space downtown and pushed the battered district's vacancy rate below 13...

SUIT BLASTS EXECS OVER AOL MERGE

A new lawsuit over AOL Time Warner's merger debacle accuses Chairman Steve Case and other top brass of using "tricks, contrivances and bogus transactions" to pull off an alleged insider...

UBS TO SPLIT RESEARCH UNIT

UBS Warburg is restructuring its research division in an effort to remove conflicts of interest. The Swiss firm will create a new issue group to work closely with investment bankers,...

ROUND 2: THE IPOS - BANKS FACE FURTHER PROBES ON ALLOCATION PRACTICES

Wall Street's most powerful firms are getting ready to duke it out again with federal regulators, this time over how investment banks managed initial public offerings. As a global research...

RADAR MAKES A GRADE: B FOR BUZZ

Radar's off to a good start, but has a long way to go. The mag is hip, sexy and snarky as hell, but plenty falls flat. In some ways, it's...

WASHINGTON NEEDS TO STOP BEING FISCALLY IRRESPONSIBLE

OVER the past year, foreigners have taken $214 billion worth of their assets out of the United States. That figure is proving to be extremely troubling to the Federal Reserve,...

STARR REPORT

Basket case: Phil's message to Dave David Letterman has been razzing "Dr. Phil" McGraw for a while now, but it's obvious there's genuine good feeling between the two. When Letterman...

PARTIES ON WHEELS

FANS of things on four wheels will probably be at the New York International Auto Show, kicking off at the Javits Center on Friday. But that's kids' stuff compared to...

PLAYFUL, PARED-DOWN BARD AS YOU'LL 'LIKE IT'

AS YOU LIKE IT At the Public Theater, 425 Lafayette St. Call Telecharge 212-239-6200. ----- THERE is a school of Shakespeare that I call "parking lot." Performed summers in New...

SHAZAM TO SLAM

THE Shazam, four guys with flying-shag sensibilities, have created the perfect spring anthem: "Rockin' and Rollin' [with my] Rock 'n' Roll Rock 'n' Roller," a rollicking silly rock tune from...

JULIA STOPS THAT SILLY CLOCK

"Watching Ellie" [] Tonight at 9:30 on NBC/Ch. 4 ----- LET us now praise the "spit-take," a comedy classic about as subtle as a pie in the face. A spit-take...

MARCHING HOME - QUIETLY, THE FIRST WAVE OF BIG-NAME TV REPORTERS FLEW OUT OF KUWAIT OVER THE WEEKEND, TRADING THEIR EMBEDS FOR REAL BEDS

WITH Baghdad in coalition hands, the mission now for many of the high-profile embedded TV reporters is to come home. "The first part of the story was getting to Baghdad,"...

YOU GO, GIRLS

'ALL My Children" is going to feature the first ever lesbian kiss on daytime TV, just as The Post reported last month. Daytime TV viewers are considered to be among...

LIFETIME BEGINS MONTHLY MAG

HERE'S the first look at Lifetime, the new monthly women's magazine spun off from cable's Lifetime network. "We knew women love Lifetime TV because stories of real women touch them,"...

FINALLY, MAC IS BACK IN TOWN

* FLEETWOOD MAC "Say You Will" [] Reprise Records When Fleetwood Mac released the legendary "Rumours" album in 1977, even they didn't know that they had perfected the soft-rock formula...

MASTERS MISSES TIGER WOODS

RATINGS for the Masters were off 9 percent from last year, according to overnight numbers released by Nielsen. CBS' two-day coverage averaged an 8.0 rating, compared to 8.8 last year,...

MOMA VIDEOS

You don't see many music videos on MTV and VH1, but you can catch some of the best, courtesy of MoMA Film at the Gramercy. for the next three Thursdays,...

COPS SAVE EAST RIVER BOY AND RESCUERS

Police divers yesterday pulled a 5-year-old Queens boy out of the frigid East River - along with two good Samaritans who nearly drowned trying to rescue the child. Jonathan Flores...

BODY IN BAY MAY BE LACI

Police are investigating whether a badly decomposed body that washed up yesterday at a park on the shore of San Francisco Bay is that of Laci Peterson, the pregnant woman...

BEYONCÉ SUED BY HER AGENCY

A talent agency says it's been shagged by "Austin Powers" fox Beyoncé Knowles - and not in a good way. The Wilhemina Artist agency has filed suit against the booty-licious...

THE KEY DECISIONS - TURNING POINTS OF A BRILLIANT CAMPAIGN

PLANS don't win wars. Soldiers do. But good plans and sound decisions aid the fighters in the field enormously, easing success and saving lives. In the course of this war,...

WEIRD BUT TRUE

A Minnesota community has erected a memorial for a turkey named Mr. Gobbles after the bird was mowed down by a car. For months, the beloved fowl sat perched at...

LOOTING & LIES

BAGHDAD THE most surreal experience of the war has been to watch the good-natured Baghdadi crowds streaming out of government office buildings carrying air conditioners and furniture, waving at passing...

PERV-PRIEST VICTIMS SUE DIOCESE FOR $1B

Thirty-four men sued Long Island's Catholic diocese for more than $1 billion yesterday, saying church leaders did little or nothing to stop priests who sexually abused them as children. "Our...

SYRIA IS 'NEXT'

THE question on everybody's lips yesterday was: Is Syria next? The answer: Syria is indeed next: It will be the next Arab country to change radically. That doesn't mean American...

U.S. WARNINGS GET 'SYRIA'OUS - MILITARY ACTION NOT RULED OUT

WASHINGTON - The United States ratcheted up threats against Syria yesterday, warning the regime to stop making "bad choices" such as seeking doomsday weapons, supporting terrorists and helping Saddam Hussein's...

NYPD DAILY BLOTTER

QUEENS * An absent-minded thief left behind his wallet and ID after breaking into several cars at an East Elmhurst hotel, a police source said yesterday. On Sunday, a Brooklyn...

CAPO & SON ARE COOKED BOOKIES

A powerful father-and-son duo of Queens mobsters decided not to gamble on a trial, and instead admitted guilt in running a $30 million-a-year sports-betting ring yesterday. Both Ronald "One Arm"...

COURT ORDEAL FOR MACY'S RAPE VICTIM

A Manhattan woman took the stand yesterday to tearfully confront the man prosecutors say raped her five years ago in the Herald Square Macy's - telling him, "It's you, isn't...

ARAFAT RIFT WITH OWN PM BLOCKS PEACE PLAN

JERUSALEM - Yasser Arafat is blocking appointments made by his new prime minister - throwing the latest U.S.-backed peace plan into turmoil. Arafat is fighting his hand-picked premier, Mahmoud Abbas,...

HIZZONER'S DISHONORABLE CONDUCT

SOME in Brooklyn want to know: Was Mayor Bloomberg issuing a threat to the unruly firefighters of Engine Co. 204? Or a promise? In a sneaky move that took firemen...

SILVER'S RE'TORT': CONFLICT, SCHMONFLICT!

ALBANY - Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver yesterday angrily denied his ties to a top civil liability law firm represent a conflict of interest as the state debates tort reform. Breaking...

MARSHALL'S 'SUPREME' HONOR

The U.S. Court House on Foley Square was renamed the Thurgood Marshall Court House in honor of the first black Supreme Court Justice during an afternoon ceremony yesterday. Virtually all...

BUSTS BAG $75M IN DRUGS

Queens detectives yesterday announced the seizure of narcotics worth more than $75 million in the takedowns of two high-level drug rings - including one lab where heroin-encrusted furniture was ground...

HARVARD STUDENT CHARGED IN SLAY

A Harvard graduate student who aspired to go to a New York law school next year instead faces time in jail after being charged with brutally stabbing to death an...

REGENT COOL TO 65 PASSING GRADE

An influential member of the state Board of Regents said yesterday he opposes a planned increase of the passing grade on high-school graduation exams to 65, after seeing the results...

HMOS' HUGE HIKES CAN MAKE RATE-PAYERS $ICK

ALBANY - HMO premiums in New York City have skyrocketed this year, with double-digit hikes that have boosted costs by hundreds and even thousands of dollars a policy, The Post...

CLINIC SCAMMERS AVOID PRISON SENTENCE

A pair of crooked medical clinic operators who pleaded guilty to bilking insurance companies out of $1.75 million by doctoring bills skated by with no jail time in exchange for...

SEX-SLAVE DIARIES - DUNGEON VICTIMS HAD TO KEEP LOG

SYRACUSE - The sex slavemaster who kept four women chained in a dungeon forced his victims to keep a calendar logging when they'd been raped, when they'd showered and when...

BLOODS-SOAKED - GANG LORD GETS 50 YRS. FOR THUG LIFE

The founder of the Bloods street gang was whacked with a 50-year prison sentence yesterday after prosecutors told a federal judge the ruthless warlord was "a crime wave unto himself."...

HURRY-UP PATAKI PLAYS PASSOVER PARTY-POOPER

ALBANY - Gov. Pataki yesterday demanded state lawmakers shorten their Easter-Passover vacation plans to make progress on fruitless budget talks - touching off a religious tiff with the Assembly speaker,...

9/11 KIN: PAYOUT BIG CHEATS US

The special master of the Sept. 11 Victim Compensation Fund was accused of "shortchanging" victims' families by backing away from his own confidential study that predicted payouts of as much...

AFTER-SCHOOL DAZE - TUTORING PROGRAMS WOULD BE CLOBBERED

Mayor Bloomberg's "doomsday" budget plan would wipe out hundreds of after-school programs and lay off 1,400 school aides, sources said yesterday. The proposal also would slash the number of students...

N.J. PRIEST IN KID-PORN BUST

A New Jersey Catholic priest was caught on tape viewing child pornography on his office computer at the hospital where he served as head chaplain, the Bergen County prosecutors office...

SADDAM 'SPY' NABBED HERE

The feds yesterday busted the son of a former Iraqi diplomat on charges he secretly worked with Saddam Hussein's spies in the United States - including an agent sent to...

AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAMS & 1,400 STAFFERS ON CHOPPING BLOCK

Mayor Bloomberg's "doomsday" budget plan would wipe out hundreds of after-school programs and lay off 1,400 school aides, sources said yesterday. The proposal also would slash the number of students...

NOT-SO-TOUGH TIKRIT FALLS IN MARINES' LAST BATTLE

WASHINGTON - Call it Operation Mop-Up. The Pentagon yesterday declared that the major combat phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom is over after U.S. Marines took control of Saddam Hussein's last...

ALBANY WARS ARE ALWAYS BAD NEWS FOR CITY

ALBANY - Whether it was Mayor Bloomberg or Mayor Giuliani, Mayor Dinkins or Mayor Koch, all recent mayors have seen their best-laid budget plans fall victim - to a greater...

HIZZONER'S DISHONORABLY SNEAKY CONDUCT

SOME in Brooklyn want to know: Was Mayor Bloomberg issuing a threat to the unruly firefighters of Engine Co. 204? Or a promise? In a sneaky move that took firemen...

CHOPPING $PREE TARGETS COPS - 1,300 FACE AX IN MIKE'S PLAN FOR 'DOOMSDAY'

Mayor Bloomberg today will unveil $1 billion in possible budget cuts touching on every aspect of city life - including chopping the NYPD by 1,360 cops - if state lawmakers...

NIGHTCLUBS AND BAR OWNERS ARE AGAIN ASKING THE BLOOMBERG ADMINISTRATION TO ALLOW THEM TO PAY FOR NYPD COPS

Nightclubs and bar owners are again asking the Bloomberg administration to allow them to pay for NYPD cops to patrol outside their establishments. The latest call for a "paid detail...

11 MOBILE CHEM LABS UNCOVERED

U.S. troops yesterday discovered 11 mobile labs, which could be used for making weapons of mass destruction, buried near an ammo plant in southern Iraq, military officials said. The labs...

SIBLINGS FREED IN BOUNCER CIG SLAY

Three suspects in the stabbing death of a nightclub bouncer - who may have ordered one of them to snuff out a cigarette to comply with the new anti-smoking law...

BODY COULD BE LACI - WASHES UP NEAR BABY IN PARK OFF FRISCO BAY

Police are investigating whether a badly decomposed body that washed up yesterday at a park on the shore of San Francisco Bay is that of Laci Peterson, the pregnant woman...

MOTHER NABBED IN SLAY OF GIRL

A Connecticut mother was charged with murder yesterday after telling cops she shot her 7-year-old daughter because she could no longer cope with the child's learning disability, police said. First-grader...

WHITE COLLAR CIG-SLAY ARRESTS

A stockbroker and his medical student brother were slapped with assault and weapons charges yesterday for allegedly stabbing to death a nightclub bouncer who ordered them to snuff out a...

RIVALS JOIN REHAB CONFAB

Plans for a U.S.-led administration of postwar Iraq face an initial test today when American officials and divided Iraqi factions meet in the southern city of Nasiriyah. The meeting will...

HELL ON WHEELS? GIS FIND MOBILE BIO LABS

U.S. troops yesterday discovered 11 mobile labs that could be used for making weapons of mass destruction buried near an ammo plant in southern Iraq, military officials said. The labs...

POW SHOSHANA LOOKS OK: MOM

A female Army soldier freed from captivity in Iraq faces surgery but is otherwise in good shape, her joyous parents said yesterday. "She's OK," said Eunice Johnson, mother of Spc....

TIKRIT FALLS IN WAR'S LAST BATTLE

WASHINGTON - Call it Operation Mop-Up. The Pentagon yesterday declared that the major combat phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom is over after U.S. Marines took control of Saddam's Hussein's last...

HARRIED MOM KILLS HER LITTLE GIRL: COPS

A Connecticut mother was charged with murder yesterday after telling cops she shot her 7-year-old daughter because she could no longer cope with the child's learning disability, police said. First-grader...

MOM KILLS KID: COPS - COULDN'T COPE WITH 'DISABLED' GIRL, 7

A Connecticut mother was charged with murder yesterday after telling cops she shot her 7-year-old daughter because she could no longer cope with the child's learning disability, police said. First-grader...

CHOPPING $PREE TARGETS COPS - 1,300 FACE AX IN MIKE'S 'DOOMSDAY' PLAN

Mayor Bloomberg today will unveil $1 billion in possible budget cuts touching on every aspect of city life - including chopping the NYPD by 1,360 cops if state lawmakers don't...

ALBANY BUDGET HUDDLE TURNS INTO FINGER-POINTING FIASCO

ALBANY - Gov. Pataki cancelled vital budget talks with state lawmakers yesterday after becoming frustrated by their unrelenting and sky-high spending demands - and a refusal to say how they...

MORGY CALLS FOR 'PUBLIC SAFETY TAX'

Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau weighed in on the budget crisis yesterday, calling for a new payroll tax dedicated to funding the city's public-safety agencies. The new public safety tax...

NEWFOUND PATIENCE PAYS OFF FOR MONDESI

Raul Mondesi hasn't been the most disciplined hitter over the past week - or even the past two years. But last night, he stepped into the batter's box with a...

OTB PONDERS EASTER ACTION

The New York City Off-Track Betting Corporation will decide later this week if it will open Easter Sunday after going against the New York State Racing & Wagering Board's wishes...

HOUSTON, WARD TACKLE TORAH

KNICK NOTES WASHINGTON - Charlie Ward and Allan Houston, both devout Christians, have been learning to read Hebrew since last summer. The irony is tangible as Ward and Houston were...

STORM FACE TURBULENT TIMES

WHAT'S a St. John's fan to think? Last week, forward Eric King and guard Tristan Smith asked for, and received, their releases from St. John's for the purpose of transferring....

NICK'S MOVING OFF PLATE HAS AVERAGE MOVING UP

NICK Johnson holds his hands apart, demonstrating a distance of about four inches. He shrugs acknowledging it is not much, about the length of the brim on his Yankee cap....

MASTER-FUL PERFORMANCES

AUGUSTA - Mike Weir, 2003 Masters champion, wasn't the only winner at Augusta National. Playing the tournament of his life to date and having a 42 regular green jacket slipped...

DEVS WARY OF 3-0 LEAD

BOSTON - It has been 28 years, and even old Devils are too young to remember the last time. It has been so long since an 0-3 comeback was spotted...

SETTING A SHAKY PACE

SUBJECT: What's Indy- Pendently Wrong With The Pacers? Went to dinner with a successful head coach several weeks ago. One topic of conversation was losing and how everyone handles it...

BULLDOG VISITS GIANTS

With the NFL Draft less than two weeks away, the Giants are busy putting their value board together and today will play host to Johnathan Sullivan of Georgia, one of...

THIS IS REALLY SNOW WAY TO WIN

FROM the middle of the third period on, it was just a matter of time. For a long while, it had hung heavily on the hands of Patrick Lalime and...

KNICKS AIR IT OUT VS. MJ - JORDAN'S HOME FINALE A LOSS

Knicks 93 - Wizards 79 WASHINGTON - The final ovation was long and loud, but this is not how Michael Jordan fans wanted to see His Airness go out -...

ISLANDERS FALL IN 2ND OT

GAME 3, 2 OT: Senators 3 - Isles 2 That famous video montage of the greatest moments in Islanders history was played before the first overtime began at the Coliseum...

NETS' STINKER ENDS HOPE FOR NO. 1 SEED

Hornets 87 - Nets 74 Bye, bye No. 1 seed. And if they give a couple more performances like the wretched garbage that polluted the Meadowlands last night, the Nets...

NO DIKEMBE CREATED BIG VOID

NET NOTES If there ever was a need for Dikembe Mutombo, it was last night. But the Nets were without their tallest player, who was out due to "personal reasons"...

IT'S GONE-ZILLA! - MATSUI'S MONSTER HR LIFTS YANKEES

Yankees 10 - Blue Jays 9 Everybody keeps saying that this Yankee team is all about pitching. But maybe, just maybe, this team is all about Hideki Matsui. Matsui's three-run...

KNICKS TO EXTEND CHANEY DEAL

Don Chaney won't be heading into next season a lame-duck. The Knicks are finalizing another contract extension for Chaney, possibly as much as two years. Chaney was given a one-year...

HAMMOND STAYS COOL, CLOSES DEAL

YANKEE NOTES When Chris Hammond entered the ninth inning last night, there were runners on first and third with nobody out and the Yankees clinging to a 10-8 lead. The...

ALMONTE KEEPING SUB JOB

YANKEE NOTES Erick Almonte is struggling and Enrique Wilson started at shortstop last night. But don't read anything into that. Joe Torre insisted yesterday that Almonte - who's 2-for-15 on...

VAUGHN'S LEFT KNEE DRAINED

MET NOTES SAN JUAN - Mo Vaughn had his left knee drained of 50 ccs of fluid before yesterday's 5-3 loss to Montreal. Vaughn, who left Sunday's game with inflammation...

IT'S TIME FOR CONTRERAS TO HEAD TO COLUMBUS

THE other import is not doing all right for the Yankees. If anyone is reminding folks of Hideki Irabu, it is Jose Contreras, not Hideki Matsui. While Matsui is hitting...

HAMMOND: I'LL SHAKE THIS FUNK

YANKEE NOTES Maybe it's not fair to expect Chris Hammond to be Mike Stanton. But the Yanks' new lefty set-up man certainly has had his difficulties this season, especially against,...

BLUE JAYS CONCERNED OVER SARS OUTBREAK

The SARS outbreak that has spread fear from the Far East to North America has spread concern among Blue Jay players, too, as nearly 300 cases of the potentially deadly...

NO SHORT STORY - TORRE: ALMONTE WILL GET BULK OF TIME WITH DEREK OUT

Erick Almonte may be struggling and Enrique Wilson may have gotten the start at shortstop last night, but don't read anything into it. Almonte, who is just 2-for-15 on the...

REYES OF HOPE BETTER COME SOON

SAN JUAN - The Mets keep insisting it's early, but it's getting late, just like their swings. This weekend journey to Puerto Rico proved they are the NL East's Island...

SWEPT OUT TO SEA - METS LOSE 6TH STRAIGHT AS MONTREAL COMPLETES SAN JUAN SHELLACKING

SAN JUAN - In the Mets' clubhouse last night, players were still professing utter confidence and blind faith in the team's ability to climb out of a six-foot ditch. But...

PIAZZA'S WOES MIRROR TEAM'S

SAN JUAN - There was a smile back on the face of Mike Piazza yesterday during batting practice. How long it lasts is anyone's guess. In all his time with...

SWEPT OUT TO SEA - AMAZIN'S DUSTED BY EXPOS IN SAN JUAN

Expos 5 - Mets 3 SAN JUAN - In a shaky bullpen, David Weathers had been the Mets' most dependable reliever this season. Yesterday, it was his turn to share...

NOTHIN'S BRUIN IN BOSTON

BOSTON - They're not even talking a good game up here, let alone playing one. Maybe the Bruins think they're working hard enough, maybe they think they're competing at an...

MIKE AS GM: I'M AVERAGE

WASHINGTON - Michael Jordan is expected to become the full-time Wizards GM after Wednesday night's season finale in Philly. And he candidly admitted he so far hasn't done nearly as...

PLAYING WELL ENOUGH TO LOSE

THE SENATORS didn't show for Game 1. The Islanders politely declined an invitation to take control of the series in Game 2. Last night, in the spirit of renewed Canadian-American...

SNOW PADDING HIS REPUTATION

A GOALIE needs huge shoulders this time of the year. And take it from Glen Sather, Garth Snow is just the man for the job. The Rangers president, general manager,...

NEIL HAS ISLES FIGHTIN' MAD - SENATORS' TOUGH GUY AVOIDS SUSPENSION

The Islanders have gotten to know Ottawa battering ram Chris Neil pretty well in the first two games of this best-of-seven series that's becoming more brutal with every shift. Neil...

ROGERS COULD BE 'A' HUGE FACTOR

Rodney Rogers says when the Nets are playing their "A"-plus game, they are pretty close to unbeatable. And for the Nets to play that "A"-plus game, they must have Rodney...

NOW, DIVISION TITLE'S NOT ENOUGH

NET NOTES The Atlantic Division was just one victory away for the Nets last night. Ho-hum. See how things have changed around the Nets? Face it, a division title was...