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<p>Despite the looming terror threat, the NYPD plans to have 10 percent fewer uniformed cops than last year assigned Thursday's July Fourth East River fireworks extravaganza, The Post has learned.</p> <p>About 2,400 uniformed officers are assigned to the Macy's fireworks show, officials say.</p>

Samba kings win World Cup; Ronaldo leads Brazil to gold Associated Press YOKOHAMA, Japan -- The sensational "Three Rs" vs. the unshakable Big O. The World Cup final between Brazil and Germany pitted probably the most talented offensive force in years -- Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho -- against the top goalkeeper in the world, Oliver Kahn. And the Brazilians prevailed as Ronaldo scored twice in a 2-0 win today.

A group of Muslims from Arab-Israeli villages in the Galilee have launched the first Orthodox Muslim movement in the region to oppose Muslim militancy and extremism. Calling themselves The Prophetic Tradition Helpers Association (PTHA), the goals of the 10-member group founded this month include providing a platform for moderation and nonviolence, and educating Muslims about how extremists are misinterpreting Orthodox Islam. "We have watched the situation deteriorate at the hands of extremists," says Khalid Abu Ras of Ilut, near Nazareth, an Arabic schoolteacher and founding member. "We are unhappy that they talk in the name of Islam and we think...

The IDF today arrested 27 Palestinians in two ambulances suspected of trying to use the vehicles to get from Ramallah to the Gaza Strip. Military sources said some of the suspects were Gaza residents suspected of involvement in terror attacks against Israelis. The ambulances were in Ramallah when they were stopped, the Itim news agency says. It is the latest of a series of instances in recent months, in which the IDF has found ambulances being used for non-medical purposes.

California Governor Gray Davis Gay Pride Celebrations 2002 I am pleased to welcome all who have gathered throughout Californa for this year's Gay Pride Celebrations. I commend the organizers of this year's events for their hard work and ongoing support of California's diverse communities. The tragedy of September 11 has reminded us of the price of intolerance and the true blessings of freedom. The victims and heroes of America's tragedy were brothers and sisters of every race, creed, religion and sexual orientation. They embodied the American ideals: liberty, humanity, unity and diversity. Gay Pride events are a celebration of those...

Promises for a 24/7 downtown? We won't count the number of times we've heard politicians talk about that concept. Still, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton may come the closest to delivering, and we're not talking about her package of six bills from a year ago that she said would help upstate New York's economy. The former first lady caused quite a stir along Delaware Avenue last week when she decided to walk - not be driven - from the University at Buffalo's Jacobs Executive Development Center, the former Butler mansion, to the Mansion at Delaware and Edward Street. "The whole time,...

Huge Gay Pride Parade Set For San Francisco Sunday 1 Million People Expected To Attend POSTED: 11:51 a.m. PDT June 29, 2002 SAN FRANCISCO -- A million people are expected to squeeze into San Francisco Sunday for the annual Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Parade. The procession gets under way at 10:30 a.m. at Market and Beale, led as usual by the San Francisco Women's Motorcycle Contingent, popularly known as Dykes on Bikes. Sir Ian McKellen, who starred in "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" and "Gods and Monsters," and actress Sharon Gless will serve...

Homebuilder charged with Endangered Species Act violations OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) A developer who wanted to build 3,200 homes in Pittsburg has been charged with violating the Endangered Species Act. West Coast Homebuilders Inc. of Concord was charged in U.S. District Court in Oakland Friday with two counts of violating the act after authorities said a department of Fish and Game warden found a dead California red-legged frog on the site last year. Prosecutors say Albert Seeno Jr. owner of the company ordered his workers to fill in ponds that were home to the endangered frog. The frog is believed...

<p>On the eve of our great national birthday party and in the aftermath of September 11, when millions of us turned to God and prayed for forgiveness of individual and corporate sins and asked for His protection against future attacks, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco has inflicted on this nation what many will conclude is a greater injury than that caused by the terrorists.</p>

Dog meat hot among Korea and China's trendy youngAnimal-rights activists say it is a food fad fuelled in part by a desire to rebel against Western criticismBy Ng Hui Hui CANINE cuisine is becoming a fad among the young in South Korea and China, much to the dismay of animal-rights activists. The cruelty in the handling of dogs during their slaughter has raised the ire of animal-rights activists. Strung by their necks, the dogs are beaten to death. Restaurant owners and dog-meat watchers confirm that youngsters are now taking dog meat as part of their regular diet - much like...

(New York-AP) -- Governor George Pataki says the site where the World Trade Center towers once stood would be preserved as a memorial to those who died there. He called ground zero ``hallowed ground'' yesterday, telling a gathering of relatives of victims of the terrorist attacks that, ``We will never build where the towers stood.''Several hundred family members who attended a memorial ceremony at the Javits Center in Manhattan gave the governor a standing ovation after his remarks.Pataki did not make a statement about how large a memorial should be. Some family members have said they do not want any...

Madrid, June 30: A leading Spanish newspaper reported on Sunday that Mohamed Atta, suspected mastermind of the September 11 attacks, held a "summit" with other alleged conspirators in Spain last summer to plan the suicide flights. El Pais said a second pilot who crashed a plane into the World Trade Center, Marwan al Shehhi, may also have been at the meeting in July last year in the Spanish coastal town of Tarragona. The newspaper said its story was based on a confidential 700-page report which Spanish authorities had handed to the FBI. "Tracking for 10 months by more than a...

The Talk Shows Sunday, June 30, 2002 Guests to be interviewed today on major television network talk shows:FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): Secretary of State Colin L. Powell and Lynne Cheney.FACE THE NATION (CBS): Secretary of State Colin L. Powell.MEET THE PRESS (NBC): Nasser Kidwa, Palestinian representative to the United Nations, and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice.THIS WEEK (ABC): Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Harvey L. Pitt, New York Stock Exchange Chairman Richard A. Grasso and Secretary of State Colin L. Powell.LATE EDITION (CNN): Senior Israeli adviser Dore Gold; chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat; Sens. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.),...

Summit conferences of the G-8 are a lot more fun than they used to be. Not so long ago, they were nothing more than extended cocktail parties for the rich, predictable leaders of rich, predictable nations. But in recent years, anti-globalization protesters have given these conclaves a sense of drama and even danger. Last week in Alberta, the Canadians kept the demonstrators miles away. There was excitement, however, courtesy of a revolutionary named President Bush. At Alberta, Bush tossed a Molotov cocktail at conventional Middle East diplomacy by announcing that there would be no Palestinian state until the Palestinians dumped...

Question is this: Why not challenge the basis that schools are an arm of the government? It seems that each court takes for granted that the government (in the form of public schools) can't force kids to recite the pledge, pray, etc) - but these are local/State community based schools. What right does the court have in directing actions and behaviors? Teachers aren't Congressmen. Or better yet, if the government is caught between a rock and a hard place --- why not challenge the Constitutionality of public schools period. A school receiving ANY instructions whatsoever from the Federal/State government -...

CBS insider Bernard Goldberg in his book “Bias” compared the “media elite” to the “old Soviet Union” dictators as well as to Mafia bosses. The “News Mafia” as Goldberg calls the media recently let its “reporters” know that the regime will not allow dissidence against it’s ally the gay movement. The recent crack down on dissenters is national, international and regional. Sam Donaldson and Cokie Roberts shouted George Will down on ABC's "This Week" because he tried to report that the vast majority of priest sexual abusers are homosexuals. NewMax editor Phil Brennan said, “After three or four attempts to...

The SADC NGO Council has called for a constitutional review in Zimbabwe to ensure good governance. The Council is the umbrella body of NGO's in Southern Africa. Concluding their two- day meeting in Johannesburg which focussed on issues relating to the region, the council committed itself to engaging with the regimes that still ignore the will of the people. With Africa in the spotlight this week after the G8 summit in Canada, the SADC council of non-governmental organisations did not mince its words regarding Zimbabwe, a country seen by many as the litmus test for Africa's development programme Nepad. The...

<p>Financial experts say there were no red flags in WorldCom's financial statements that would have tipped off investors to its massive fraud.</p> <p>After it acquired MCI, the company maintained dual order-booking and billing systems, which employees used to book the same sale twice. WorldCom fired three top salespeople who allegedly generated $3 million in unearned commissions.</p>

KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) - Calling them "dangerous religious terrorists," the Pakistani government made a public appeal Sunday for help in finding Osama bin Laden, his top aide and 16 other al-Qaida members. The appeal, made in a news release carried in at least one Urdu-language newspaper, did not say if authorities believe bin Laden or the others are in Pakistan. The statement features photographs of bin Laden and 17 others including his chief deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri. It urges people not to support jihad, or Islamic holy war, if it includes terrorist acts. "Those who kill innocent Pakistani people are the...

The president noted that some inhabitants of wealthy areas of Caracas, alarmed by fears of fresh violence, were rushing to buy weapons and organizing self-defense groups. "Don't let yourselves be exploited by the gun sellers and the dogs of war," Chavez said. CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - President Hugo Chavez urged Venezuelans on Saturday to stop arming themselves for a civil war, and he invited his foes to try to vote him out of office in a referendum next year. Addressing a huge rally of his supporters in Caracas, the left-wing former paratrooper went out of his way to try...