April 2, 2004

FACTORIES' ORDERS HIT 2-DECADE HIGH MARK

The jobs recovery is finally taking a better turn, with factories humming in recent weeks at the strongest pace since Ronald Reagan was president. The Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing...

SNOOZE IN CHAOS - GOODWIN TOSSED, CEO DRASNER BACK IN PICTURE

Mort Zuckerman's struggling Daily News descended more deeply into chaos yesterday as its Executive Editor, Michael Goodwin, was sent packing. At the same time, the paper's long-absent Chief Executive Officer,...

SHINING FUTURE FOR SUNNY D

Juice-maker Sunny Delight has found a new home in the stable of the buyout whiz who made a killing on Snapple. Procter & Gamble has sold Sunny Delight to buyout...

DAYLIGHT-SAVING TIME MEANS YOU WORK 30% LESS

New Yorkers will "spring ahead" this Sunday, but workplace experts say they'll fall back Monday morning. By robbing workers of an hour of sleep, daylight-saving time cuts productivity by 30...

GOTTI-FULLER GIRLFIGHT RATTLES AMERICAN MEDIA STAFF

VICTORIA Gotti, daughter of the late Godfather John Gotti, had a row with her American Media bosses that was so furious that a rumor had swept through the media world...

NYSE'S REED IS STAYING; SO IS BOARD OF DIRECTORS

John Reed isn't going anywhere - and neither are the other board members at the New York Stock Exchange. After months of saying he would rather return to retirement than...

CHEESY DANISH

THE PRINCE & ME (one star) Something's rotten in Denmark. Running time: 110 minutes. Rated PG (mild vulgarity). At the Empire, the New York Twin, the Battery Park City, others....

COWABUNGLE! DISNEY 'TOON A FLOP

HOME ON THE RANGE (two stars) Quite a few discouraging words. Running time: 76 minutes. Rated PG (mildly vulgar humor). At the Empire, Loews 84th Street, the Harlem USA, others....

A COMEDY WITH KICK FROM HONG KONG

SHAOLIN SOCCER 1/2 (two and one half stars) Kung-fu fighting.In Cantonese, with English subtitles. Running time: 87 minutes. Rated PG-13 (mild violence). At the Sunshine, Houston Street and Second Avenue....

ROCK SOLID BATTLE

WALKING TALL 1/2 (two and one half stars) Extra-violent vigilante remake. Running time: 86 minutes. Rated PG-13 (brutal violence). At the 1st & 62nd, 34th Street, Union Square, others. IN...

ABT COMPANY TAKES BABY STEPS

ABT STUDIO COMPANY The Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth Ave., between 18th and 19th streets; (212) 242-0800. Season runs through Sunday. BASEBALL clubs have their farm teams, and many dance companies...

THERE'S NO 'BEAUTY' IN KEVIN SPACEY'S LATEST

THE UNITED STATES OF LELAND (one star) American woozy. Running time: 104 minutes. Rated R (profanity, drugs). At the Lincoln Square and the Loews Village. KEVIN Spacey has only a...

STARR REPORT

Vintage Scotch Ch. 11's Lynne White better get the camera out for this one - it's definitely something her co-workers are going to want to see (or, then again, maybe...

ENGAGING 'SARAH' BREAKS UP

SARAH, SARAH At the Manhattan Theatre Club, 131 W. 55th St. Through June 6. Citytix, (212) 581-1212. FAMILY - it's the theme of many plays lately, from "Well" to "From...

TRIVIAL INTERRUPTIONS TAINT PUBLIC'S 'WELL'

WELL At the Public Theater, 425 Lafayette St., at Astor Place. Telecharge, (212) 239-6200. FAMILY is at the root of theater. Think Shakespeare, O'Neill . . . and Lisa Kron,...

TOSSING THE BULL ON AMY; KATRINA SPILLS DIRT ON 'APPRENTICE' TRIANGLE

MEOW! Now it's catty Katrina Campins who's scratching back at her colleagues from "The Apprentice." Campins claimed on WPLJ's "Scott & Todd" show yesterday that her arch-rival, Amy Henry, slept...

GREED EXPECTATIONS

SLY FOX (three stars) The Ethel Barrymore Theater, 243 W. 47th St.; (212) 239-6200. PLAYWRIGHT Larry Gelbart is no mere sly fox - he's also an extraordinarily smart cookie. Just...

CAUSE FOR ALARM ; FAKE ID HELPS OLD ROCKERS SCORE

SCORE one for the old guys. The Alarm, a Welsh band often compared to U2, formed in 1981 and disbanded 11 years later, and has just pulled a fast one...

JUST FOR THE 'HELL' OF IT - LOVE AND LAUGHS REDEEM PREDICTABLE COMIC BOOK FLICK

HELLBOY * * ½ (two and one half stars) Big-hearted but derivative supernatural adventure. Running time: 118 minutes. Rated PG-13 (violence). At the E-Walk, the Astor Plaza, the Union Square,...

EDGY COMEDY TROUPE SEES 'LIGHT' IN BROOKLYN

THEY have seen the neo-future - and it is Brooklyn. Chicago's speed-of-light sketch-comedy troupe, The Neo-Futurists, has landed in Park Slope, in a restored 19th-century bathhouse - the Brooklyn Lyceum....

ROZ READY FOR NEW ROOST

NEWLY minted Ch. 2 anchor Roz Abrams says she left her longtime perch at Ch. 7 for one particular reason. "I was really looking for a challenge," Abrams told The...

SUPERSEMI - DUKE-UCONN IS MAIN EVENT - BUT TITLE'S NO SURE THING

* Saturday Final Four 6:07 p.m. & 8:47 p.m., CBS * Monday, NCAA championship 9:21 p.m., CBS While the NCAA championship will be officially decided Monday night, many think the...

EYE ON THE PRIZE ; 'CAROLINE' PULITZER PROSPECTS POOR, SAY INSIDERS

THE Pulitzer Prize chasers who are backing "Caroline, or Change" may be in for a big disappointment on Monday. That's the day this year's winners will be announced, and word...

TRACY IN LINE FOR SIDELINE - CBS EYES WOLFSON FOR COLLEGE GIG

CBS is strongly considering Tracy Wolfson for its lead college-football sideline position. Wolfson, a native of New City, N.Y., is among three main candidates, along with Heather Cox and Dwayne...

5 QUESTIONS FOR BOB COSTAS

This week, The Post's Andrew Marchand spoke with Bob Costas. The 52-year-old Costas has been a professional broadcaster for 31 years. His HBO show, On the Record, begins a new...

POOR BOY TROY AXED FROM 'APPRENTICE'

TROY McClain, the country boy from Montana, was "fired" by Donald Trump on last night's "The Apprentice." That leaves only Kwame Jackson, Bill Rancic, Amy Henry and Nick Warnock remaining...

NEWBORN LEFT IN B'KLYN CHURCH

A Brooklyn priest made a shocking discovery yesterday - a newborn abandoned in a church. The baby, tucked in a backpack, was found shortly after 1 p.m. in the vestibule...

HOOP STAR'S BRO HELD IN MURDER BID

The brother of city high-school hoops phenom Sebastian Telfair is being held on attempted-murder charges stemming from a shooting outside a Coney Island housing project, the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office...

A FOND 'SEE YOU LATER, TATER GRATER'

Any way you slice it, Angelo Ramos can never be called small fry. That's because the veteran chef at the '21' club has prepared more than 335,000 orders of french...

'NET SICKOS PAVE WAY TO SUICIDE

PROZAC-PUMPED Marjorie Alexander, 43, had been obsessively probing the Internet on the best ways to commit suicide. It happened earlier this week before she made the ultimate decision for the...

HANDYMAN FACES AMMON CHARGES

The Long Island handyman arrested yesterday in the 2001 murder of millionaire Ted Ammon has been charged with helping suspect Danny Pelosi commit the crime, as well as cover it...

FIREBOMBER GETS 4 YRS.

A firebomb-tossing teenage bigot who burned down a Mexican immigrant family's Farmingville home was slapped yesterday with a prison term of up to four years. Scott Soucek, 16, admitted he...

HUNT DOWN THE 'JACKALS' ; U.S. VOW: WE'LL MAKE EVERYONE IN THAT MOB PAY

WASHINGTON - The top American in Iraq yesterday vowed to hunt down the vile "ghouls" and "human jackals" responsible for the shocking atrocities against four American workers in Fallujah as...

WEIRD BUT TRUE

Parents are freaking out at rumors that gangs of marauding lesbians are terrorizing girls at a Flint, Mich., school - and educators are desperately trying to set them, uh, straight....

LAUGHING KILLER GETS 15 YRS.

A judge yesterday slapped a 15-year sentence on a teen who fired a gun on a Bed-Stuy street, missed his target - and killed a woman in her apartment. Judge...

BROOKLYN BABY LEFT AT CHURCH

A priest in a Brooklyn church made a shocking discovery yesterday - a newborn baby left abandoned in the vestibule with its umbilical court still attached. The child, tucked in...

TEEN PUMMELS MOM: POLICE

A teenager has been charged with brutally kicking, stomping and beating his helpless mother with a baseball bat - and leaving her on the kitchen floor of their Brooklyn home...

THIEF: COPS STOLE MY 'SEXY' TAPE

A Queens scammer, sentenced yesterday to up to eight years in prison, is fuming that a home video "of a personal nature with his wife" disappeared while in the hands...

BIG APPLE FIRE DEATHS PLUMMET

Almost 30 percent fewer people died in New York fires during the first quarter of this year than in the same period last year, according to figures released yesterday by...

CON INDICTED IN TEACHER'S HIT-RUN DEATH

A career con who allegedly killed a beloved teacher in a hit-and-run crash while cruising around in a stolen Jeep was indicted yesterday on charges that could net him 35...

ELEX PANEL HANDS 79G MORE TO AL

WASHINGTON - The Federal Election Commission yesterday gave the Rev. Al Sharpton an additional $79,000 in public matching funds despite serious questions about his campaign's finances and the objections of...

'SOPRANOS' ALLEY CATS

Here's a scene that would definitely make Tony Soprano shake in fear. It's luscious Lorraine Bracco and adorable Edie Falco, who play the mob boss' shrink and estranged wife, sharing...

COMMUTER TECHNOLOGY; NEW STATION ASSISTANTS TO HELP STRAPHANGERS

Station agents will be trained to think outside the booth and placed near turnstiles at 10 subway stops as part of a pilot program aimed at helping straphangers navigate the...

POLL SACKS JETS; 60% OPPOSE TAX $$ FOR W. SIDE STADIUM

A proposed West Side stadium for the Jets and the 2012 Olympics gets a Bronx cheer from most New Yorkers, who don't want the stadium built with any taxpayer money,...

MIKE GETS HIGH MARKS FOR 3RD-GRADE PROMOTION PLAN

Two-thirds of New Yorkers back Mayor Bloomberg's controversial plan to end social promotion in the third grade, a new poll released yesterday shows. The Quinnipiac University survey found that support...

TOT-SLAY AGONY; SIBLING SURVIVORS STILL SCREAM IN DESPAIR

Two traumatized Brooklyn kids who narrowly survived the execution-style killing of their 2-year-old brother spent the night screaming for him, devastated family members said yesterday. "They were crying, 'Where's D'Mani?...

SHARON: BE AFRAID, YASSER, BE VERY AFRAID

JERUSALEM - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon made tough new threats against Yasser Arafat yesterday in a series of interviews. Sharon, who ordered last week's assassination of Hamas chief Sheik...

MISTRIAL FUROR; JAYSON LAWYERS: PROSECUTORS HID EVIDENCE

SOMERVILLE, N.J. - Jayson Williams' lawyers complained yesterday that prosecutors had failed to disclose evidence to them - and suggested they may call for a mistrial or dismissal of charges...

WILLS & HIS SKI-BUNNY HONEY; CO-ED THE QUEEN OF HIS HEART

Here's Prince William - and the stunning brunette co-ed who's melted his heart. She's Kate Middleton, a 21-year-old college student who's been dating the dashing royal, also 21, for the...

WAITING 'SUITS' FERRY VICTIM FINE

A Staten Island Ferry crash victim who cannot return to work because of his injuries said he's happy to put his lawsuit on the back burner if it will help...

NETS ARENA POLL

Three-quarters of New Yorkers like the idea of building a new arena for the Nets in Downtown Brooklyn as long as it's done without taxpayer money, a Quinnipiac University poll...

DON'S VICIOUS FINAL MESSAGE; LASHED OUT AT GAL'S GAB

Hours before she took her life, tragic mob moll Marjorie Alexander got a nasty phone call from her lover, Peter Gotti - who ripped her for being too public about...

COURTHOUSE GUN JOKE A REAL MISFIRE

A court officer accidentally fired a gun inside Brooklyn Supreme Court - because the off-duty parole officer who brought it to the courthouse insisted it was a lighter that only...

TEACH PLAIN LOOPY; 'HUNG UP' ANOTHER KID

A Brooklyn music teacher accused of hanging a 5-year-old boy from his belt loop was charged yesterday with pulling the bizarre stunt on a second kindergartner. And sources said Jason...

JUDGE DONNA'S RULES FOR BEATING THE RAP

HERE'S a helpful hint for all you budding criminals and garden-variety miscreants: Are you anxious to walk away from the mess you've created? Unwilling to do one minute of time?...

'LESBIAN BARBIE' KID TAKES CITY FOR BIG DOLL-ARS

The city yesterday agreed to pay $35,000 to a Queens girl who was kicked out of her junior-high class for wearing a T-shirt that said, "Barbie is a lesbian." Natalie...

PERV SAILOR IN KID-SEX VIDEO BUST

A pedophile sailor suspected of videotaping himself while molesting an 8-year-old girl and three teens was nabbed by the feds yesterday. Omar Recalde, 32, of Queens, was held without bail...

JUDGE BLASTS NYPD; WHISTLEBLOWER SHAMED

A Manhattan judge yesterday slammed the NYPD for its "pitiful" and "shameful treatment" of a police officer who blew the whistle on dirty cops, saying the department subjected him to...

OFF SCOTCH-FREE; BX. JURY CLEARS JUDGE IN DWI

A black Manhattan judge was found not guilty of DWI yesterday in an weeklong trial that included bombshell allegations of racist treatment by cops. Judge Donna Mills, 50, shot up...

THE ABORTION WARS: STUCK IN THE MIDDLE

THE Enemies of the Embryo and Friends of the Fetus - locked in vicious combat these long 30 years - just finished their latest bloody battle. This week, abortion foes...

NIGHTMARE RAID - OLD COUPLE ROCKED AS COPS HIT WRONG APT.

An 84-year-old Brooklyn man says he and his wife - who uses a walker - were terrorized by cops who invaded the wrong apartment looking for a drug dealer. As...

'SEXY' TAPE CAPER - COPS TOOK MY VIDEO: THIEF

A Queens computer scammer, sentenced yesterday to up to eight years in prison, is fuming that a home video "of a personal nature with his wife" disappeared while in the...

GUN SCARE SPURS SCAN PUSH AT HS

Frightened staffers and students at Beach Channel HS in the Rockaways yesterday demanded more frequent weapons checks after a thug slipped a gun into the building on Wednesday. School safety...

EX RIPS MARTHA JUROR

The ex-girlfriend of the Martha Stewart juror who said her conviction was "a victory for the little guy" says he's a woman hater who shouldn't be judging anybody. "He used...

UFT RE-ELECTS WEINGARTEN

Randi Weingarten was overwhelmingly re-elected president of the United Federation of Teachers yesterday, getting 89 percent of the vote. Weingarten coasted to a fourth, three-year term after working out a...

BUSH HAD ANTI-QAEDAPLAN ON 9/4

Excerpts of a top-secret document detailing possible military options against al Qaeda and the Taliban - planned prior to Sept. 11, 2001 - were released by the White House yesterday....

TEARFUL KIN HAIL CIVILIAN HEROES

The brother of an American civilian killed in Iraq says the fiends who ambushed him and dragged his burned and mutilated body through the street took the life of "the...

GOP RIPS KERRY'S 'CRIMINAL' CASH

WASHINGTON - A federal complaint filed by top Republicans accuses John Kerry's campaign and several Democratic-leaning groups of engaging in an "unprecedented criminal enterprise." The papers, filed with the Federal...

BUSH INKS LACI LAW - KILLING FETUS NOW A FEDERAL CRIME

The emotional family of pregnant murder victim Laci Peterson joined President Bush at the White House yesterday as he signed into a law a fetus-rights bill dubbed "Laci and Connor's...

GANGSTER GOTTI GAGA OVER HIS LITTLE MARGIE

They thought of themselves simply as "Pete and Marge," best friends and lovers who did everything together. They went bowling together daily, played tennis almost as often, did stretches side...

J.P. PARISE PROUD OF HIS LITTLE DEVIL

Dad laughs when he hears 19-year-old Zach Parise has two 350G signing bonuses coming. "When I turned pro, I had a five-game tryout," J.P. Parise recalled of his start with...

IT'S TIME TO SPRING INTO ACTION

IT'S been a typical start to spring and the saltwater fishing season, with codfishing out east, flounder action to the west and a whole lot of rain in between. Prior...

VAZQUEZ GETTIN' IN LAST WORK

YANKEE NOTES TAMPA - Javier Vazquez doesn't regret being absent from the trip to Japan. In fact, Vazquez is confident that he's prepared himself well by remaining in Florida. In...

SHOCKEY HAS NO PROBLEMS WITH COUGHLIN

Those who anticipate Jeremy Shockey and Tom Coughlin blending together like oil and water probably don't know Shockey very well. "I like discipline, I like doing things right," Shockey, the...

DOHERTY FIRST TO THE LINE FOR STORM JOB

SAN ANTONIO - Matt Doherty is the first candidate to formally interview for the St. John's coaching job, The Post has learned. Sources told The Post that Doherty met yesterday...

LONG WEIGHT FOR AMERICAN STAR - EUROPEANS INVADE BOXING'S BIG DIVISION

THIS TIME next month Vitali Klitschko could be the WBC heavyweight champion, and his brother Wladimir could hold the WBO title. Two brothers sharing a piece of the heavyweight title...

RANGERS SALUTE MAGICAL MESSIER

With Mark Messier's career probably over, the Rangers looked back yesterday on what is most likely Messier's final game of his 25-year-old career. Messier didn't attend practice yesterday and isn't...

SWEETNEY WARY OF DEKE'S RETURN

KNICK NOTES What else does rookie Michael Sweetney have to prove? With Dikembe Mutombo ready to make his return tonight against the Nets, a domino effect could affect Sweetney's minutes,...

PLAYOFF TUNNEL VISION - KNICKS SNEAK PEEK AT FIRST-ROUND FOE

Tonight is the rehearsal. Tim Thomas, Jersey guy, is hoping to make another trip to his home state for Game 1 of the NBA playoffs first round later this month....

KIDD: BEWARE OF FOOL'S GOLD

The Nets have a simple message for the Knicks and any other team licking its chops in hopes of facing them in the playoffs. Be careful what you wish for....

K-MART BACK IN REHAB

NET NOTES Another day, another MRI. But no new damage. Kenyon Martin, the morning after he cut short his return from a left knee tendinitis-caused absence, was examined by specialists...

WOLVERINES ON CLEAN-UP DETAIL

While most programs as storied as Michigan might look at the possibility of an NIT title with disdain, that's hardly the case this year. These Wolverines will take whatever postseason...

BEATEN KNIGHTS LOOK TO FUTURE

NIT FINAL Michigan 62 Rutgers 55 Sure, Rutgers had a nice run to the NIT championship game and Quincy Douby played a large role in getting the team there. But...

RAP-CITY IN TORONTO COACH LIKELY TO FOLLOW GRUNWALD OUT DOOR

THE only certainty regarding the lottery-leaning Raptors is Vince Carter and his mom are safe; they'll be back next season. Your guess is as good as mine re: everyone else....

IT'S THE MONEY, STUPID - YANKS' TRIP TO JAPAN ISN'T ABOUT GOODWILL

TWO GAMES into the season and Yankees announcers already are speaking to us as if they're point men for a cult. Following the Yanks' win in Tokyo, Wednesday, John Sterling,...

REAL MARCH RIVALS - DUKE, UCONN SET FOR CLASSIC

SAN ANTONIO - A rivalry could be born tomorrow night in the Alamo Dome. Duke and Connecticut meet in one of the Final Four national semifinal games. They have not...

BALDWIN, HEILMAN DEMOTED

PORT ST. LUCIE - Two down, and two more to go. With the fourth and fifth starters' races heading to a photo finish, the Mets began narrowing the list yesterday....

REYES BACK IN SWING - BUT HAMMY'S STILL A CONCERN AFTER WORKOUT

PORT ST. LUCIE - There couldn't have been a bigger discrepancy between the two sessions. Not for Jose Reyes. On Wednesday, the Mets' 20-year-old wunderkind had to cut short his...

REYES WORRIES METS

Orioles 4 Mets 1 PORT ST. LUCIE - At this point, Jose Reyes is experiencing a daily pendulum of emotions regarding his health. And as he goes from near-tears to...

DUQUETTE EYES BRADLEY DEAL

MET NOTES PORT ST. LUCIE - The Mets plan to explore the idea of acquiring combustible Cleveland center-fielder Milton Bradley, whom the Indians are aggressively trying to trade. It will...

THERE'S A NEW TRICK UP FRANCO'S SLEEVE

PORT ST. LUCIE - If George Steinbrenner released one of his infamous "Tommy Tune" statements about John Franco it would read something like this: "You can teach an old dog...

LEIBER: YK START IN JAPAN AN 'HONOR'

TAMPA - According to Jon Lieber, the Yankees' jet lag should wear off by tomorrow - if his teammates followed instructions on when to sleep and when to stay awake....

A RAY OF HOPE - BERNIE SAYS HE'S ON SCHEDULE FOR RETURN VS. TAMPA

TAMPA -Bernie Williams thinks he'll be ready to play Tuesday night. Williams, held back from the recent Japan trip so he could recover from his Feb. 26 appendectomy, said yesterday...

GIAMBI HOLDS CARDS - JASON'S KNEE KEY TO JOE'S LINEUP

TAMPA -Hot hitters will move up and cold bats slide down. That's a baseball fact of life. However, the shape of Jason Giambi's left knee will play a big part...

DUKE VS. UCONN / OKLAHOMA STATE VS. GEORGIA TECH

DUKE 31-5 VS CONNECTICUT 31-6 POWER FORWARD: Duke's Luol Deng vs UConn's Josh Boone - Deng is emerging as this year's Carmelo Anthony, the super freshman who's taking his game...