August 22, 2006

THERE MAY BE ANOTHER SURPRISE IN EMPLOYMENT NUMBERS

NOW that everyone is convinced interest rates won't be rising, there might be a twist to the story line. It's so clear the economy is slowing that even the Federal...

AOL AXES TECH EXECS OVER SNAFU

America Online fired a top executive yesterday who was responsible for the massive data debacle that led to the release of information on more than a half million members. AOL...

NYMEX TO SLASH ITS WORK FORCE BEFORE IPO

The New York Mercantile Exchange - the world's largest energy market - wants to cut up to a quarter of its work force as part of plan to slash expenses...

GREEN GIANT TAKES SHAPE

IF the biggest news in Midtown remains Douglas Durst's fast-rising One Bryant Park, the second biggest is across the street, where all eyes are on Equity Office Properties' 1095 Sixth...

NEW SLATE TURNS BLANK FOR FRANK

Frank Quattrone, the one-time king of Silicon Valley, is almost free to trade after spending close to three years in a pitched legal battle with the government. In a stunning...

STYLE RACKET - TOP PROS SHOW FASHION; ALONG WITH FOREHANDS

Judging from the players, the promos and the fashion press, style is just as important as a killer serve at this year's U.S. Open. Plenty of players have strutted the...

DRESSING DOWN - FUND PUSHES TO SHAKE UP WARNACO

The Barington Group, an activist hedge fund that has shaken up companies such as Steve Madden and Nautica, has turned its sights on The Warnaco Group and is pushing for...

JENNINGS LEAVES SAKS

Saks Fifth Avenue is finally back to its slender self. After operating with what critics called a crowded executive suite, SFA yesterday announced the resignation of Andrew Jennings, its president....

RAINY DAY FOR WEATHER MAN

CRAIG Allen, the long-time Ch. 2 weekend weatherman, has been bumped off the station, according to reports. Allen - who will remain on the radio for WCBS-AM - had been...

POST-TONY PLANNING AT HBO

PAUL Giamatti will play John Adams, and James Gandolfini will play Ernest Hemingway as HBO begins to prepare for a time after "The Sopranos" and "Deadwood" are off the air....

THE JETS FALL, THE JINTS ROLL IN 'BOWL'

THE Giants win the Super Bowl! OK, not really, but that's what happened in a hands-off, simulated football game run in EA Sports' new "Madden NFL 07." In honor of...

PICK POCKET - MEREDITH LOOKING FOR LOOSE CHANGE

Just what are Meredith Vieira and Matt Lauer trying to tell us about their on-air relationship? This is the new, official "Today" portrait of the earlymorning co-hosts, released late last...

'9021'-OH NO - SHANNEN DOHERTY AS RELATIONSHIP COUNSELOR-THAT'S NO JOKE

LET's be honest. Why would anyone bother taking relationship advice from a person who's never socked a spouse, or in this case, allegedly tried to run one over? Exactly! That's...

ALL EYES ON 'SNL' - AGAIN - AUDITIONS NEXT WEEK

WHAT's going on behind the scenes at "Saturday Night Live" this month may be more dramatic than anything you'll see on the two prime-time shows starting this fall based on...

CUOMO RISES WITH 'GMA'

CHRIS Cuomo is the new Maria Shriver. The youngest member of the Cuomo political dynasty has been named the news anchor of ABC's "Good Morning America." He takes over for...

ROLLIN' IN THE 'ISLE' - A BUDGET-CONSCIOUS SUSANNAH CAHALAN LEARNS HOW 'TO AUTUMN' IN MARTHA'S VINEYARD

NOTORIOUSLY uppah-class Martha's Vineyard is hiding something from you. On the island of pink shirts and popped collars - where media A-listers and hotshot politicians famously keep a whopping 75...

LAST CALL - 4 END-OF-SUMMER BLASTS.

TAKE A DIP Lake George, N.Y. An erstwhile battlefield (making cameos in both the French and Indian War and the American Revolution), the "Queen of the American Lakes" is a...

STUD FINDER - 20 QUESTIONS TELL YOU IF HE'S THE ONE; TAKE THE QUIZ INSIDE!; PUTTING HIM TO THE TEST

ALLISON Castillo has dated some gems. One ex-boyfriend still owes her $3,000. Another guy, after a wild night, said her flirty e-mails made him uncomfortable. And another one, two weeks...

TRANSLASEAN - SEAN PAUL DECIPHERS HIS HIT-MAKING JAMAICAN SLANG

SEAN Paul - Jamaican dancehall royalty - is bringing his famous Kingston beats to Madison Square Garden with Mariah Carey tomorrow night. But while you'll find clubs from Chelsea to...

'INN' THE KNOW - KILLER DEALS FOR SEPTEMBER

THE CHARLOTTE INN Now $350-$950 a night, drops post-Labor Day to $295-$850. Located in Edgartown, the inn reeks of old money. Edwardian furniture and 19-century artwork define the place. Breakfast...

TEEN CHOICES: SEX, DRUGS, BAD ROCK

KEVIN Federline's television debut performance may have been cringe-worthy, but it certainly wasn't the most offensive thing about Sunday night's "Teen Choice Awards." Hyper-sexualized innuendo, references to prostitution, pimps and...

ARENA FOES TRY ECO WRECKO

Opponents of megadeveloper Bruce Ratner's bid to build 16 skyscrapers and an NBA arena in Downtown Brooklyn are planning a full-court press tomorrow to bring the $4.2 billion plan back...

NOW RATNER FACES BOOT

Foes of Brooklyn's proposed NBA arena have complained for years that the wrecking ball would knock Prospect Heights residents out of their homes - but now one opponent has the...

KARR'S BEDTIME STORY HAD EVIL TWIST - WOMAN CLAIMS HE ADMITTED ALL IN 2001

John Mark Karr confessed five years ago to killing JonBenet Ramsey - saying he lured the 6-year-old girl to her brutal death after listening to mom Patsy Ramsey tell the...

FALSE PROPHETS OF THE '06 VOTE

'Republican slaughter? Don't be so sure.' THERE'S a growing sense among political insiders that Republicans will get blown out of the water in November. GOP politicians have met waves of...

CITY TOUTS FREE PSAT

The city Education Department will offer free PSAT exams to 150,000 public-school sophomores and juniors this fall, officials said yesterday. The $1.2 million initiative is aimed at boosting the number...

MIKE FOR 'CLUBLAND'

The Giuliani administration's decision to flood Chelsea and the Meatpacking District with bars and clubs was the right thing to do, Mayor Bloomberg said yesterday. The Post has reported in...

PEACE TROOPS NOW: W. - PUSHES ALLIES ON LEB

WASHINGTON - An international peacekeeping force is urgently needed in Lebanon, President Bush said yesterday, as he announced a $230 million aid package for the war-ravaged country. Bush said an...

PARKING-PERK JERKS

Privileged parkers are creating a safety hazard in the shadow of City Hall, brazenly leaving their vehicles in off-limits no-stopping zones on a major thoroughfare leading to and from the...

COUNCIL'S POLICY A HARD CELL

The City Council isn't going to rein in lawmakers who have sky-high cellphone bills, but will continue to allocate a single pot of money for all office expenses, officials said...

BUSH'S VOW ON IRAQ: NO DEFEAT, NO SURRENDER

WASHINGTON - President Bush yesterday vowed the United States will not give up in Iraq "so long as I'm the president" and said advocates of a troop pullout do not...

ITSY BETSY JOB - ADVOCATE'S SCHEDULE IS MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING

She's the public advocate who's almost never seen in public. The first six months of Betsy Gotbaum's second term were a whirlwind of private lunches, dinners and strategy meetings with...

ISRAELIS BLOW AWAY 3 HEZ MEN: REPORT

JERUSALEM - Israeli paratroopers killed three Hezbollah guerrillas yesterday in one of the worst incidents in Lebanon since a truce began eight days ago, Arab media reported. The shooting occurred...

GOT-A-LOT GOTBAUM IS ROLLING IN DOUGH

Except for billionaire Mayor Bloomberg, Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum is the wealthiest of the city's top officials, according to financial-disclosure records that became available yesterday. The mayor's fabulous wealth has...

BLACKOUT HEAT ON MAYOR

Mayor Bloomberg chose not to send extra firefighters to Queens during the 10-day blackout, even though he said he was doing everything he could to keep people safe, critics charged...

SICKO HAD DREAMS OF DABBLING IN DAY CARE

Just a few years before he was busted on child-porn charges, confessed JonBenet Ramsey killer John Mark Karr said he wanted to open a day-care center so he could baby-sit...

EYE ON CANCER 'ZONES' - PROBE CLUSTERS: POL

Long Island Congressman Tim Bishop yesterday pressed the House leadership to push through a bill that would provide more than $150 million to detect environmental causes of breast cancer. The...

FORD GETS HIS TICKER FIXED UP

WASHINGTON - Former President Gerald Ford was resting comfortably yesterday after receiving a pacemaker at the Mayo Clinic to "enhance his heart's performance," his spokeswoman said. The 93-year-old ex-president was...

NUKE CRISIS AT BOILING POINT - IRAN SLAMS DOOR ON U.N. INSPECTORS

Iran sharply raised the ante in its nuclear showdown with the rest of the world yesterday - by banning U.N. arms inspectors at its top-secret underground facility. Tehran's unprecedented stiff-arm...

RULE OF MA FOR JOYRIDER

A 260-pound woman who stole a 16-foot-long construction truck and led cops on a drunken, predawn chase through lower Manhattan last March has been exiled to her mother's house in...

SWINDLER IN 'SORRY' STATE

A coldhearted con man - who made a career of bilking elderly homeowners by posing as a city inspector - offered a flimsy apology to his victims yesterday before being...

CURSE OF S.I. 'BAMBINO' - LI'L LEAGUE BIGS RAP KID & COACH

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. - Little League officials yesterday cried foul at the off-base conduct of a Staten Island player and his coach and threatened to boot both from the ongoing World...

BROOKLYN MAN FOUND SHOT DEAD

An elderly man facing gun-possession charges was found dead in his Brooklyn apartment with a single bullet in the back of his head, cops said yesterday. Relatives called authorities Sunday...

INSIDE THE PLOT VS. SLIWA - RAT: JR. WANTED HIM BASHED, NOT SHOT

A mob turncoat who 'fessed up to driving a stolen cab used to kidnap Curtis Sliwa recounted the chilling order from John "Junior" Gotti to send the radio host to...

TERROR TIGERS IN ARMS BUST

More than a dozen members of a Sri Lankan terror group were busted for trying to buy weapons including anti-aircraft missiles from a black-market dealer and attempting to bribe U.S....

NYPD DAILY BLOTTER

MANHATTAN * Police believe this man shot dead a 19-year-old man in Washington Heights last week, sources said. Cops are searching for Juan Anderson (above), 23, who is described as...

RANGEL STANDS UP FOR ANDY

Harlem Rep. Charles Rangel threw his weight behind state attorney general front-runner Andrew Cuomo - all but calling on rival Mark Green to bow out and saying Democrats need to...

RHYMES 'CRIMES' - BRONX 'VICTIM' RAPS

The Bronx teen allegedly busted up by Busta Rhymes said the irascible rapper kicked him in the face and tossed his sneakers down the street before leaving him in a...

HIT-&-RUN WIDOW'S TV SHOCK

The wife of the Canarsie man mowed down by a hit-and-run driver Sunday learned her husband was dead by seeing the aftermath of the gruesome accident on TV, sources said...

THREE ADDED TO HEAT-WAVE TOLL

The death toll from this month's blazing heat wave has now hit 36. Three more deaths - those of a 46 year-old Bronx man and an 82-year-old woman and 47-year-old...

DWI TEEN IN DEATH CRASH

A Westchester high-school student, who allegedly was driving drunk and speeding, died and two teenage buddies were injured yesterday when their car careened out of control, smacked into a guardrail...

GOP LICKING CHOPS OVER HILLARY: RUDY

Potential GOP presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani yesterday said Republican voters want Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton to be the Democratic candidate "so they can vote against her." "Hillary probably has the...

HILL PREZ RUN WOULD RECHARGE GOP: RUDY

Potential GOP presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani yesterday said Republican voters want Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton to be the Democratic candidate "so they can vote against her." "Hillary probably has the...

TALE OF BUSTA'S 'CRIMES'

The Bronx teen allegedly busted up by Busta Rhymes said the irascible rapper kicked him in the face and tossed his sneakers down the street before leaving him in a...

BOOT JOE: DEM GROUP

A group of Connecticut Democrats is pushing to have Sen. Joe Lieberman dumped from the rolls of the party's voters in New Haven because of his run as an independent...

YANK SON MAKES A 'POP' FLY - MET PICK SHOVES HIS BOMBER DAD: COPS

The baseball-playing son of former Yankee slugger Jesse Barfield got his first hit since being drafted by the Mets last spring - he knocked his father down a flight of...

MAN NABBED FOR SLAY IN '76 - WHEN HE WAS 13

A man has been arrested for a 30-year-old New Jersey slaying committed when he was just 13, authorities said yesterday. Thomas Atkinson, 43, of The Bronx, faces murder charges for...

BILKER'S SORRY STATE

A coldhearted con man who made a career of bilking elderly homeowners by posing as a city inspector offered a flimsy apology to his victims yesterday before being sentenced to...

KT'S KID BUSTED - GOPER SUSPENDS RUN

Embattled GOP Senate hopeful Kathleen Troia "KT" McFarland took another nasty public spill yesterday - she put her campaign on hold after her daughter was charged with going on a...

'HIPSTER' BANK ROBBERS ARE CROOKED SIBS: COPS

A pair of hipster-looking bank bandits - who turned out to be a brother-sister robbery team - were busted yesterday for three heists in Manhattan, sources said. Joe Kirby, 23,...

THE 5TH ANNUAL LIBERTY MEDAL AWARDS - TIP YOUR HATS TO HEROES

There are men, women and young people all over our town who lead lives of quiet humility - all the while improving the lives of those around them. And if...

YANK SON MAKES A 'POP' FLY - MET PICK SHOVES HIS BOMBER DAD DOWN STAIRCASE: POLICE

The baseball-playing son of former Yankee slugger Jesse Barfield got his first hit since being drafted by the Mets last spring - he knocked his father down a flight of...

DEM FACTION: SACK JOE

A group of Connecticut Democrats is pushing to have Sen. Joe Lieberman dumped from the rolls of the party's voters in New Haven because of his run as an independent...

JET-GIANT SUPER BOWL - 'MADDEN' MATCHUP A REAL 'RUSH'

The Giants win the Super Bowl! OK, not really, but that's what happened in a hands-off, simulated football game run in EA Sports' new "Madden NFL 07." In honor of...

KT'S RACE ON HOLD AMID KID'S ARREST

SARATOGA SPRINGS - Embattled GOP Senate hopeful Kathleen Troia "KT" McFarland took another nasty public spill yesterday - she suspended her campaign after her teenage daughter was busted for allegedly...

TOM'S TERRIFIC - SOURCE: TEST SAYS GLAV CAN RETURN IN WEEK

Tom Glavine will be taking the mound again. A source told The Post last night that the Mets' All-Star left-hander - feared done for the season, maybe even for his...

DUTROW STRIKES 'GOLD'

SARATOGA SPRINGS - Track was fast, turf good; first, fourth races taken off grass. In $70,000 Union Avenue at six furlongs for fillies and mares, Sweet Sweet ran much-improved race...

MICHELETTI EYES MSG JOB

MSG Network has settled on Joe Micheletti as its top choice to be its Rangers TV analyst, The Post has learned. If final negotiations end smoothly, then Micheletti will replace...

WIN, OR GO HOME - STATEN ISLAND ON THE BRINK AT LLWS

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. - Staten Island's Frank Smith wants the ball in today's do-or-die Little League World Series game against Phoenix. Smith hopes manager Nick Doscher allows him to pitch in...

KARSTENS TO START VS. MARINERS

YANKEE NOTES BOSTON - Jeff Karstens didn't have to open his mouth to let you know what he was feeling. The 23-year-old right-hander was informed yesterday by manager Joe Torre...

BOBBY SOX IT TO 'EM - BOSTON COULD USE ABREU'S BIG BAT

BOSTON - The furor over the Red Sox's inactivity at the trading deadline has been raging here as Red Sox Nation watched its team get swept in five games by...

PLENTY OF REASONS TO FEAR THE BRONX

BOSTON - The season's first 4 ½ months passed in a peaceful blur, and always the conversation seemed to revolve around somebody else: The Tigers. The White Sox. The Red...

YANKS SHOVE SOX INTO BOX - BOMBERS' FLYIN' HIGH AFTER FIVE-GAME SWEEP

BOSTON - The Red Sox have another accessory to go with those 2004 World Series rings: 2006 AL East toe tags to identify their bodies in the morgue. Any hope...

BOSOX BATTLING SWEEP-INDUCED NIGHTMARE

BOSTON - When the carnage was finally over, as the ragged Red Sox left for the West Coast a season-worst 6 ½ games behind the Yankees, David Ortiz summed it...

THE DREAM TEAM

BOSTON - Joe Torre thanked his players as they departed the field at Fenway Park yesterday afternoon and made the rounds in the clubhouse, as well. He even took the...

LEFT FIELD OF DREAMS - OF SPOT GROWING BUMPER CROP OF SURPRISES

LIKE the Yankees with Melky Cabrera, a host of teams is enjoying success from out of left field. Literally. No position has offered more surprises. Alfonso Soriano moved from second...

CORY STORY HAS HAPPY ENDING

BOSTON - Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle may have been the most well rested man at Fenway Park yesterday. Lidle had missed the Yankees' first three marathon games with the Red...

WAITING GAME - TESTS WILL TELL IF GLAVINE CAN RETAKE MOUND

Tom Glavine won't know if he can pitch again this season until he gets the result of tests on his left shoulder. The Mets' All-Star left-hander is slated to be...

TOUGH LOSS HITS WELLS EXTRA HARD

BOSTON - David Wells momentarily put his glove to his mouth and contemplated the standing ovation. Terry Francona had just removed him against his will and was satisfied that the...

GIONTA MIGHT BOYCOTT CAMP

Loyal. Not loony. Don't count on Brian Gionta to attend Devils training camp without a contract, invited by Lou Lamoriello or not. The Devils' goal-scoring record-setter is pondering not reporting...

ALEX GETS MITTS ON NEW GLOVE

BOSTON - Maybe it's the glove. Alex Rodriguez broke out new leather yesterday against the Red Sox and it helped him make two stellar stops in the Yankees' 2-1 victory...

BUM KNEE SLOWS CASTRO'S RETURN

MET NOTES Ramon Castro has been on the disabled list with a sore left rib cage. He's also now developed an ailing left knee. The Mets' backup catcher was slated...

SPLITTIN' TIME

America's best ballers are in Japan at the World Championships on a mission to prove that Team USA will again be the world's best. As Team USA answers its global...

RYDERS ON THE STORM - VERPLANK, CINK COMPLETE AMERICAN TEAM LOOKING TO END DROUGHT

MEDINAH, Ill. - Saying he wanted a team of "tough, strong guys that will never give up," Tom Lehman yesterday added Scott Verplank and Stewart Cink to the U.S. Ryder...

CHAD RETURNS, SHAKES RUST WITH A LOT OF REPS

JET NOTES Chad Pennington returned to practice yesterday after leaving the team to be with his father, Elwood, who was hospitalized in Tennessee last week. "I'm glad to be back,"...

WORKING MAN - ELI'S HABITS COULD BRING BREAKTHROUGH SEASON

ALBANY - The Giants chart every one of the hundreds of Eli Manning passes and break down the success or failure of each throw into one of four quadrants on...

BETTING ON BARLOW - MANGINI NOT WORRIED ABOUT NEW RB'S BACKGROUND

He may have had problems with teammates and coaches while he was in San Francisco, but the notion that Kevan Barlow is a bad guy, someone who won't fit into...

COUGHLIN SAYS HE GETS BAD RAP AS BAD GUY

GIANT NOTES ALBANY - Tom Coughlin does not like the characterization of himself as a coach who doesn't care to forge relationships with his players, although he admits the chain...

WEIRD BUT TRUE

Randy Bailey wanted fast food, and when he didn't get it fast enough at the Burger King three blocks from his St. Paul, Minn., home, he allegedly smashed the drive-through...

Get armed & ready for draft

With the NFL season fast approaching, fantasy nuts are going nuts - gauging players worth, formulating draft projections, gameplanning draftroom strategy.The Fantasy Tracker is here to streamline the process for...