April 19, 2003

ALL IN THE FAMILY ; FIRMS OF FRONT-RUNNING TARGETS ON NYSE BOARD

The New York Stock Exchange may find it a little bit tricky investigating "front-running" by floor traders. Three members of the NYSE board of directors are executives at the very...

ECONOMIC WOES MAY PUT W. IN BUSH LEAGUE FOR '04 VOTE

It'll be up to Wall Street next week to start spawning a post-war economy that will spare President Bush a fate like his father suffered. Analysts - and even Bush...

AMR CLIPS EXECS' WINGS

After a revolt by American Airlines employees, who took big pay cuts to save the airline, the carrier canceled its controversial bonuses for top executives during the financial crisis. The...

GAS PAINS FOR BRAZIL AIRLINE EMPLOYEES

Employees at Brazil's largest airline, Varig, are giving up their entire paychecks in order to buy enough jet fuel to keep flying. Varig must pay about $1.78 million a day...

NEW $$$ CHAMP ON 'JEOPARDY'

THERE'S a new all-time "Jeopardy!" money champion. Brian Weikle, a Target Stores exec from Minnesota, became the top-dollar guy this week - winning nearly $150,000 on "Jeopardy!" to set a...

DINNER PARTY CHEAT SHEET

Dinner Party Cheat Sheet has no intention of inviting "Big Lurch" to its table. RAP SHEET The mother of a L.A. murder victim, whose lung was bitten into by an...

DESCENT INTO THE INFERNO

Tired of moody, shoe-gazing rock bands playing derivative schlock and acting like you're lucky to share air with them? Well, you won't find any of that attitude at the World/Inferno...

GREEN PARTY:GREENPOINT STEPS OUT OF THE SHADOW OF WILLIAMSBURG

Poor Greenpoint. It's got a serious case of Jan Brady syndrome - it's always Williamsburg, Williamsburg, Williamsburg. But with its soaring rents and steady flow of new, trendy restaurants, Williamsburg...

THE WHEEL WORLD: BEHOLD, BLADERS AND BOARDERS, A FREE SKATING OASIS

If you're downtown, and you find yourself strolling on the far West Side, the sight of it might surprise you - a big skate park teeming with high rollers by...

WHERE TO PLAY, EVERY DAY : YOUR SPRING-BREAK PLANNER

Spring is in full swing - even if the weather doesn't always show it - and so is spring break. By now, you just may be getting tired of your...

GOT PRINCE, NEED PROM DRESS

Pining for that red silk ABS dress for prom night - but there's just no money for it? Operation Fairy Dust to your rescue. Evening gowns, accessories and all the...

CHEF IN IRISH STEW ; 'ART THIEF' RESTAURATEUR LETS FEDS SEND HIM TO DUBLIN JAIL

A celebrity Irish chef who'd hoped to be the toast of New York has hung up his apron for prison stripes - having agreed to go back to the Emerald...

PATAKI TAKES GLOVES OFF IN BUDGET BRAWL

ALBANY - Gov. Pataki fired a major shot across the Legislature's bow yesterday, vetoing a measure that would have given lawmakers more time to raise taxes and hike spending. State...

THUG-HUNTERS BAG ANOTHER BA'ATH BIG

WASHINGTON - A senior member of Iraq's brutal Ba'ath Party was taken into custody by U.S. forces yesterday, the latest member of Saddam Hussein's inner circle to be "discarded" from...

WEIRD BUT TRUE

The swans in Central Park aren't the only ones dying. More than 100 living on a lake in Oakland, Calif., have died unnatural deaths in the past two years. But...

'GOOD SHAM' THUG MUGGING ELDERLY

Police are searching for a "cowardly, cold and callous" Bronx thief who posed as a good Samaritan and preyed on the elderly with a gun and a foot-long knife. Police...

GIS FIND $700M TREASURE CHEST ; U.S. BILLS TURN UP IN ABANDONED HOMES

TWO Army sergeants looking for a chainsaw to cut down a tree next door to their headquarters in Baghdad stumbled upon a king's ransom today. They found a slew of...

HE'S A KUNG FOOL: MARTIAL-ARTS EXPERT

The man suspected in a fatal stabbing of a bar bouncer would have strayed from the ancient principles of the Filipino fighting style Kali if he chose to use a...

CLUB-DRUG BUST SNARES L.I. COP

An undercover drug operation stunned Suffolk County cops after they spotted a colleague pushing two vials of the date rape drug ketamine - known on the street as Special K....

ISRAEL TRIES NEW PEACE GESTURES

JERUSALEM - Israel is ready to take "confidence-building" steps - including some troop pullbacks and freeing Palestinian prisoners - once the first Palestinian prime minister takes office, which is likely...

NYPD DAILY BLOTTER

Queens A teenager was busted yesterday for stabbing another teen whom he believed stole a Play Station game from his friend's residence during a burglary, authorities said. On Wednesday, Darious...

DEM DEAN IN POSTWAR PREZ-POLL SLIP

Anti-war Democratic 2004 presidential wannabe Howard Dean has lost some momentum in the key early state of New Hampshire now that the Iraq war is over and widely seen as...

SMUGGLE RING LURES N. KOREA DEFECTORS

A private network has stepped into the worsening North Korea crisis by trying to get top Pyongyang nuclear scientists and other officials to defect, sources said yesterday. But there were...

FED FUNDS FOR FREE B'KLYN FERRY DRY UP

If you've been enjoying the free ferry service between Brooklyn and Manhattan, your ride has been sunk - at least for now. The city has notified commuters that the service,...

VIDEO STAR SADDAM IS DEAD: DIPLO

Yet another surreal mystery video of Saddam Hussein surfaced yesterday - but a veteran Iraqi diplomat said Saddam must be dead. "I know his character - he must have been...

2 NABBED IN MURDER OF WOMAN N.J. COP

New Jersey authorities were questioning two suspects yesterday in the cold-blooded slaying of a police officer and hunting a third in connection with the brutal shooting that left a second...

N.Y. BIGS IN FAREWELL TO LEFRAK

Master builder Samuel LeFrak, who died Wednesday at age 85, was remembered yesterday at Temple Emanu-El as a big man who served up big handshakes and big hugs - and...

CIG-SLAY SUSPECT ARRESTED

An unemployed computer technician - a student of a lethal Filipino martial art - was charged yesterday in the smoking-ban stabbing death of East Village bouncer Dana "Shazam" Blake. Isaias...

SUSPECT A KUNG FOOL: EXPERT

The man suspected in a fatal stabbing of a bar bouncer would have strayed from the ancient principles of the Filipino fighting style Kali if he chose to use a...

MARTIAL ARTS MAN CHARGED: KNIFED CLUB BOUNCER IN BRAWL: COPS

An unemployed computer technician - a student of a lethal Filipino martial art - was charged yesterday in the smoking-ban stabbing death of East Village bouncer Dana "Shazam" Blake. Isaias...

PHONY 'GOOD SAM' MUGGING THE ELDERLY

Police are searching for a "cowardly, cold and callous" Bronx thief who posed as a Good Samaritan and preyed on the elderly with a gun and a foot-long knife. Police...

MOURNFUL KIN OVERCOME WITH GRIEF

Queens minister Anthony Blake collapsed on his brother Dana "Shazam" Blake's open casket as the funeral for the East Village bouncer was about to get under way yesterday. Sobbing and...

HOW DNA CRACKED THE CASE

"Advanced science" helped a team of experts identify the headless torso that washed ashore this week as that of Laci Peterson, officials said yesterday. Investigators said they tested DNA samples...

THANK HEAVEN FOR EASTER 'SUN'DAY

Get out your Easter bonnet - tomorrow is expected to be a glorious day to celebrate the highest holy day on the Christian calendar. Billions of Christians around the world...

MTA'S BOOTH ACHE

Forty-five subway station booths will shut down in July - part of 62 slated for closure by the end of the year - and those stations will get new gates...

MIKE EYES OUTSIDE-$$ CURB ON COUNCIL

The commission appointed by Mayor Bloomberg to push nonpartisan elections is also considering restricting or eliminating outside income for City Council members, The Post has learned. Sources said the Charter...

ANOTHER PROPERTY HIT? MAYBE

THE Bloomberg administration has preserved the option of raising property taxes - again - if that's the only way to avert financial collapse. Fiscal monitors say the city has used...

KNOCKOUT PINCH : CLARK'S HOMERKAYOSMARLINS

Mets 6Marlins 3 It was 40 degrees at Shea last night, and since Tony Clark wasn't playing, he did what he could to stay warm. He flipped balls back and...

'FLAG' STREAK ENDS WITH COMELY DEFEAT

There's an old saying in horse racing: "Sooner or later, they all get beat." One rare exception was the great filly Personal Ensign, who retired undefeated after 13 starts, but...

STARS SHOOT TO TAKE OFF VS. GALAXY

If at first you don't succeed, well, you know the rest. After falling to Columbus 1-0 last Saturday night, the Metro- Stars take on Carlos Ruiz and the Los Angeles...

ROCKET'S ON A ROLL ; BEATS TWINS FOR CAREER VICTORY NO. 296

Yankees 11Twins 4 MINNEAPOLIS - Torii Hunter saw Roger Clemens holding court in a hallway outside the Yankees' clubhouse last night and paid homage to the Hall of Fame lock...

BACK IN THE SWING : PIAZZA'S SLUMP IS GOING ... GOING ...

When hitters are struggling, their managers will often defend them by saying that one hit can turn it around. It can be a towering homer. A sharply lined single. Sometimes...

CONTRERAS FACES TRIP TO MINORS

YANKEE NOTES MINNEAPOLIS - Jose Contreras has resigned himself to the fact that he will soon be a Triple-A pitcher. "Even though I am a reliever, I can't say relieving...

CONTRERAS MAY GET TRIP TO MINORS

YANKEE NOTES MINNEAPOLIS - Jose Contreras could be the highest-paid pitcher in Triple-A by tomorrow. If Andy Pettitte doesn't experience a problem tonight with the left ankle twist that forced...

ERR APPARENT: DEREK'S FILL-IN NOT D-LIVERING

MINNEAPOLIS - The Yankees started last night with a 12-3 ledger and atop the AL East, so their few raw spots weren't killing them. However, when it comes to Erick...

296 AND COUNTING : CLEMENS BAFFLES TWINS TO CLOSE ON NO. 300

Yankees 11 Twins 4 MINNEAPOLIS - Four more victories and Roger Clemens can advance his case for being labeled the best pitcher ever. Watching Clemens growl through the Twins last...

CONTRERAS IN MINOR JEOPARDY

YANKEE NOTES MINNEAPOLIS - Jose Contreras could become the highest-paid pitcher in Triple-A today. The Yankees had the reliever slated to be an emergency starter for Andy Pettitte if the...

TIME FOR RODNEY TO REGAIN RESPECT

THE NETS have to know they are good enough to run the table in the Junior Varsity Tournament. They have to. For all the potholes they've endured across the endless...

THE MATCHUPS

Experience counts. So the Nets can win the Eastern Conference again. "The main reason is they've been there before," Hornets coach Paul Silas said. "I like them because of their...

KNOCKOUT PINCH

Mets 6 Marlins 3 It was 40 degrees at Shea last night, and since Tony Clark wasn't playing, he did what he could to stay warm. He flipped balls back...

MUTOMBO IN MOURNING: DIKEMBE READY TO OPEN PLAYOFFS DESPITE TRAGEDY

For Dikembe Mutombo, these NBA playoffs are about more than playing basketball. Yes, the game is Mutombo's livelihood. But for the Nets' veteran center, playing it will be therapy. Each...

PAYTON: KIDD GREW UP ON PLAYGROUNDS

NET NOTES It's one thing to play basketball in a gym. It's quite another to play in a park where basketball isn't life and death but something far more important....

DOC: KNICKS MADE BAD ROLL OF DYESS: SAYS ANTONIO LIKELY GIMPY BEFORE TRADE

A former Mets orthopedist compared Antonio McDyess' situation to Grant Hill's and told The Post the Knicks' franchise player was likely damaged goods when they obtained him last June. Hill's...

MILBURY SEEKING ANSWERS

Islanders GM Mike Milbury set out on his quest yesterday for answers. Because after a second consecutive first-round playoff ouster and after the Islanders failed to live up to many...

DEVS' 'D' LINE DOIN' IT ALL

The previous time the Devils won a playoff series, their No. 1 line was the "A" Line. Now it's the "D" Line. Role reversal simply means double duty with the...

ACHILLES FREAKS FLOYD

MET NOTES Cliff Floyd admitted last night that he's growing concerned by his right Achilles tendinitis. "I'm worried a little bit," he said. "It affects everything. I've just got to...

FLOYD'S HEEL IS HURTING

MET NOTES As if the Mets needed any bad news, Cliff Floyd is growing concerned by his right Achilles tendinitis. "I'm worried a little bit," he said. "It affects everything....

COLUMBIA HIRES COACH

Sick of wallowing in the Ivy League cellar, Columbia University yesterday tapped one of the nation's top recruiters as its next men's basketball coach. Joe Jones, a Ronkonkoma (L.I.) native...