November 29, 2001
CABLE RULES DECISION WILL SPUR MEDIA DEALS
THINGS are so bad for Wall Street deal makers these days they are sharing muffins for breakfast. That's why investment bankers, as well as a few media honchos, are desperately...
LVMH PULLING TAG HEUER OUT OF SOHO
The latest retailer to be hurt by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks is LVMH division TAG Heuer, which was scheduled to open its first SoHo shop. Now, sources say its...
. . . AS IT SHUTTERS SEPHORA IN JAPAN
Sephora is closing its stores in Japan, a move that analysts believe is the first step in unloading the unprofitable beauty retailer. The company is blaming the closures on the...
MOTTOLA'S KATONAH ESTATE GOES FOR $17.5M
SONY Music Entertainment chief Tommy Mottola has sold one of his two country estates in Westchester County to advertising giant Peter Arnell. Sources say the low-profile deal between the high-profile...
ALL RUN FROM ENRON - FAILED MERGER, LIKELY BANKRUPTCY TANK MARTS
The markets tumbled in a domino effect yesterday after Dynegy backed out of its $23 billion deal to acquire financially-troubled Enron. The abandoned merger probably means Enron will have to...
COVERING HIS ASS-ETS - BERTELSMANN BOSS SAYS NO SCHMIDT AFTER BIG MISSTEPS
Bertelsmann Chairman Thomas Middelhoff restructured his e-commerce unit yesterday in an apparent admission of defeat - and now faces a rising tide of criticism from those who say his strategy...
TIME TO SHUTTER FAMILY LIFE, ON, ASIA WEEK
AOL Time Warner insiders said the company is about to fold three more magazines in its Time Inc. magazine wing: Family Life, Asia Week and tech title On Magazine, previously...
PLAYBOY MARKETS DOLLS FOR GROWNUPS
A Playboy centerfold doll that's billed as the most anatomically detailed toy ever sold hits shelves this week around the U.S. The 16-inch tall doll is totally nude and comes...
SAYING YES TO THE SPORE WAR - FAILED JEANS LABEL SELLS ANTHRAX KITS
The former makers of Yes jeans are back - making anthrax-protection kits. The company, doing business since earlier this month as BioSecure Corp., has entered into an agreement to buy...
NEW SUN NEWSROOM
Conrad Black and other financial investors who are thinking of launching a new daily, called the New York Sun, are also looking at renting the office space where the New...
TED ATTACKS JERRY - WISHES HE'D BEEN ABLE TO FIRE LEVIN
After years of seething privately, Ted Turner came out swinging at Jerry Levin - saying the Time Warner boss stabbed him in the back. Turner said his worst mistake was...
WHAT'S THE NEXT OLD THING?
CAROL Burnett's CBS reunion special drew an astounding 30 million viewers Monday night - and since Tuesday morning the networks have been scrambling to find "the next old thing." "ABC...
CREED IN LEAD
'WEATHERED," Creed's follow-up to its tremendously successfully "Human Clay," stormed the album sales charts, selling 887,200 copies its first week out, according to retail-tracker Soundscan. The rock band's new album,...
BALLET GETS CRACKING
THE NUTCRACKERNew York City Ballet at New York State Theater, Lincoln Center, (212) 870-5570. Season runs through Feb. 4. ------- WINTER seems to be holding off, but if you want...
YES, I CRIED...
"Brian's Song" [ ] Sunday at 7 on ABC/Ch. 7 ----- THE true test of the new "Brian's Song" is: Will it make you cry like the old one did?...
CLOCK TICKING FOR FISTFUL OF PLAYS
YOU have a little more than a month to catch a batch of Broadway shows that are pulling up stakes around the start of the new year. The Tony Award-winning...
STARR REPORT
'BB' king: Get ready for third installment There could be a "Big Brother 3" coming down the pike, based on CBS chief Les Moonves' comments yesterday during a conference call....
TOM CHASES AFGHAN DAN - ANCHORS WANT TO MEET THE MARINES
'NBC Nightly News" anchor Tom Brokaw is the latest TV big shot looking for a plane ride into Afghanistan. Brokaw, 61, who is still in New York, joins Dan Rather...
WINDOW DRESSING - HOLIDAY DISPLAYS REFLECT THE HEART OF THE CITY
SO much has changed since Sept. 11 - yet they're still doing windows. Once again, the biggest stores in town have put their best panes forward. But amid the traditional...
GOLDEN-THROATED CHARLOTTE SPEWS VENOM AT FDNY
She may have the "voice of an angel" but teen singing sensation Charlotte Church has a bit of a devilish attitude. The 15-year-old Brit was not exactly kind to New...
PUBLIC DEBATE DUE ON COUNCIL SPEAKER
In an unprecedented move, a group of freshmen City Council members is holding a public debate to screen candidates for the powerful speaker's job, The Post has learned. The debate...
CATHOLIC SCHOOL STRIKE IS IMMINENT
The union representing teachers at 10 Catholic high schools vows to go on strike as early as today - barring divine intervention. The 400-member Lay Faculty Association and the Archdiocese...
ART RAT DEDE NOW 'SOCIALLY TOXIC'
DIANA "DeDe" Brooks is running into more traffic than the Long Island Expressway. Brooks, who has pleaded guilty to price-fixing between Sotheby's and Christie's auction houses, has learned that greed...
HOLLAND TUNNEL EASES SOLO BAN
Beginning today, the ban on driver-only vehicles entering Manhattan via the Holland Tunnel will be limited to 6 a.m. to 10 a.m., putting it in sync with most other tunnels...
EAST SIDE HS WINS OK OVER PARENT PROTEST
The Board of Education voted yesterday to move ahead with a new high school on the Upper East Side, despite the objections of some parents who want to bar enrollment...
GAZA BLOODSHED GREETS U.S. ENVOY
JERUSALEM - Special U.S. envoy Anthony Zinni got another pledge from PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat to work toward peace yesterday - even as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was exploding in new...
MAYOR DEFENDS ME IN BODY MIXUP
Saying it was inevitable given the enormous death toll at the Twin Towers, Mayor Giuliani yesterday defended a mixup by the city Medical Examiner's Office that led to a firefighter...
MEMO TO LEFTY WHINERS: SHUT UP, ALREADY
THE squabble over military tribunals is giving me a headache. Thousands of our countrymen were slaughtered in their workplace. Our nation is at war. Yet from the yelps emitted from...
PARENTS PLEAD NOT GUILTY IN KID SLAY
Facing life in prison, the Staten Island couple accused of brutally killing their 3-year-old daughter because she soiled her pants pleaded not guilty to murder yesterday. Julie Herrnkind - who...
TRAFFIC CRACKDOWN YIELDS FEWER DWIS
The NYPD's effort to slam the brakes on traffic accidents and drunk-driving incidents is yielding results, new statistics show. Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik has made accident reduction a priority and...
IT DOESN'T FIGURE - THE MATH CLEARS TAUBMAN: EXPERT
Business practices at Sotheby's were "completely inconsistent" with a collusion scheme during the time Chairman Alfred Taubman was allegedly orchestrating the plot with Christie's, a financial expert testified yesterday. The...
BUSH PUSHES POLS FOR ECONOMIC STIMULUS
WASHINGTON - President Bush yesterday urged Congress to approve an economic stimulus plan to give the economy a jolt - and didn't rule out a special one-month payroll tax holiday....
DAD RIPS INTO 'BURN ALIVE' MOB KILLER
A heartbroken father lashed out at a gangster who dodged a life sentence yesterday by admitting to violent crimes that included burning the bodies of two shooting victims - one...
MIKE'S GRACIE TO BE FOR THE 'INN' CROWD
Mike Bloomberg plans to turn Gracie Mansion into Gracie Hotel. The mayor-elect will remain in his plush Upper East Side townhouse when he takes over City Hall - but he's...
'CEREAL' CRIMINALS CAUGHT IN SWEEP
The U.S. terrorist dragnet has uncovered the latest threat to an American icon - thieves with a big appetite for Kellogg's corn flakes. It is not known whether Osama bin...
'NET PROBE SMASHES KID-PORN PERV RING
A worldwide kiddie-porn dragnet organized by British detectives snared more than a hundred Internet child predators from London to Tokyo yesterday, authorities announced. Dubbed "Operation Landmark," the 10-month probe targeted...
PROM MOM'S SLAIN BABY 'FORGOTTEN'
Prom mom Melissa Drexler remained holed up in her modest suburban New Jersey home yesterday, but her exhausted dad ventured out - and insists the baby-killing nightmare is "a forgotten...
LAWSUITS COST CITY $459M LAST YEAR
The city shelled out a record $459 million to settle lawsuits last year, Comptroller Alan Hevesi said yesterday. The comptroller's Annual Claims Report found payouts jumped 10.5 percent from the...
2 NABBED IN CHARITY SCAM
Authorities busted two men for allegedly selling illegally copied CDs and falsely claiming the profits would go to World Trade Center relief efforts. Police arrested Jian Shuang Ye, 19, and...
A MATTER OF WHAT'S FARE - CABBIES WANT 25% INCREASE IN RATES
A major yellow-cab industry group is asking for a nearly 25 percent fare hike - and looks likely to get at least some increase. "The fare increase is long overdue,...
DON'T PUT ANYTHING PAST SOCIOPATH SADDAM
THE question is whether Saddam Hussein gets reckless. Iraq's dictator, after all, is a sociopathic thug who used poison gas on his own people. That makes it hard for President...
RAPE-SLAY DEFENSE: OLD LADY AND I WERE LOVERS
The 81-year-old woman's death was beyond brutal. Cops found her half-clothed and doubled over the edge of her bathtub. She had been raped, sodomized and strangled with the leash of...
FALLEN SON THE PICTURE OF COURAGE
The family of Brian Sweeney yesterday buried the hero firefighter who "wanted to be the best because he was the best" after their prayers were heard and his body was...
BERLIN: WE'VE GOT WTC-PLOT BANKER
German authorities arrested a Moroccan man yesterday with close ties to the Sept. 11 suicide hijackers, saying he controlled a bank account that funneled "large sums" of money to the...
L.I. MAN MOLESTED GAL PALS KID, 9: COPS
A 46-year-old Long Island man was arrested and charged with sexually molesting the 9-year-old daughter of a former girlfriend, police said. Eugenio Soto, of Freeport, was charged with sexual abuse...
A CALL TO ALMS - PUSHY PANHANDLERS BACK IN FORCE
Panhandlers, from the polite to the combative, are turning up in greater numbers on city street corners and subway cars - playing to captive audiences and frightened tourists. Among the...
LANDLORD LIED AGAINST ARAB: FEDS
A Brooklyn landlord who said she wanted to get back at an Arab tenant with a "nasty" and "cocky" attitude admitted she lied when she reported suspicions that the man...
TALIBAN ARE OUT OF TOUCH - U.S. AIRSTRIKES HAVE CUT OFF ALL COMMUNICATION
WASHINGTON - Taliban and al-Qaeda leaders are losing control of the few areas in Afghanistan not conquered by U.S.-backed rebel forces because their communications links to troops in the field...
FEDS PIN ATM CYBERSCAM ON RUSSIAN MOB BROTHERS
The Secret Service has busted a Russian mobster - and is searching for his ringleader brother - in battling a gang of cyberthieves who raked in $1.5 million by hitting...
FORD FLOORBOARD MIGHT CAUSE TAXI FIRES
A rash of mysterious cab fires in the city may be due to a flaw in the Ford Crown Victoria model, according to a Queens cab fleet official. Crown Victorias...
HERO SNARES THUG WHO SHOT BOSS: COPS
A brave Queens pawnshop employee and two good Samaritans captured a gunman after he shot the shop's owner during a brazen robbery attempt, cops said yesterday. The employee, who only...
[[BD+BANK-TERROR SUSPECT NAILED - STAKEOUT NETS NOTE-PASSER IN WEEKLONG B'KLYN SPREE
An undercover cop posing as a bank customer yesterday nabbed a suspected serial bank robber allegedly responsible for a terrifying, weeklong spree that hit a total of six Brooklyn facilities,...
BLOOMY TO GIVE STERN HEAVE-HO
Parks Commissioner Henry Stern, the court jester of the Giuliani administration who won kudos for managing the city's green spaces, won't be asked to stay on by Mayor-elect Mike Bloomberg,...
PATAKI WILL UNVEIL WTC PANEL TODAY
The city-state commission that will play a major role in rebuilding the region around ground zero will be announced today. The long-awaited Lower Manhattan Redevelopment Corp., with six state appointees...
U.S. BUYS ENOUGH 'POX DOSES FOR ALL
The United States yesterday awarded a $428 million contract to a British firm for 155 million doses of smallpox vaccine. The contract with Acambis Inc. will bring the nation's smallpox...
AMEX 'COPS' AN ATTITUDE - RUDY RIPS CREDIT-CARD GIANT'S HQ DEMANDS
Mayor Giuliani yesterday accused officials at American Express of demanding a string of "unrealistic" security measures from the NYPD - including K-9 units and cops on horseback. The mayor revealed...
NOW IT'S CHRISTMASTIME
The Rockefeller Plaza Christmas tree, aglow with 30,000 red, white and blue lights, came to sparkling life last night - transformed, like so many events since Sept. 11, into a...
CITY STRIPPED BARE-ALL BUS, SAYS LAWSUIT
The city has taken it off - taken it all off - the Voyeur Bus, court papers charge. In a $20 million lawsuit filed in Manhattan state Supreme Court, the...
HULKING KILLER GETS 25 YRS. TO LIFE
A state judge yesterday sentenced a 275-pound man, convicted of killing a man half his size during a botched Coney Island robbery, to 25 years to life in prison -...
DEAF PICKIN' UP GOOD VIBRATIONS
Scientists have discovered the secret of why deaf people - like Beethoven - are able to compose and perform music. The deaf sense musical vibrations in the part of the...
ANCIENT CHINESE RX STOPS CANCER: DOCS
An ancient Chinese remedy may effectively combat cancer, scientists say. Researchers from the University of Washington have found that artemisinin, a chemical from the wormwood plant, effectively zaps breast-cancer cells....
CITY STRIPPED BARE-ALL BUS: SUIT
The city has taken it off - taken it all off - the Voyeur Bus, court papers charge. In a $20 million lawsuit filed in Manhattan state Supreme Court, the...
THIEF LIFTS 16G FROM AL-FAYED
A thief walked off with a nice chunk of pocket change - $16,000 - from multimillionaire Mohamed al-Fayed's posh Pierre hotel crash pad, sources said. The swank Fifth Avenue hostelry...
MIKE'S TERM WILL LACK STERN HAND
Parks Commissioner Henry Stern, the court jester of the Giuliani administration, won't be asked to stay on by Mayor-elect Mike Bloomberg, sources have told The Post. That means that Stern's...
BACK ON THE LEVEL - KNICKS REACH .500 WITH 3RD WIN IN ROW
Knicks 105 - Hawks 100 ATLANTA - The Hawks' Jacque Vaughn slapped the ball away from Kurt Thomas in the low post, it sailed into the air - and inadvertently...
MJ SHOWS HE CAN STILL CUT IT . . .
Wizards 94 - Sixers 87 PHILADELPHIA - One night after blasting teammates for a lack of effort, Michael Jordan showed them how to win instead of telling them how to...
CAMBY SURVIVES ROUND 2
KNICK NOTES ATLANTA - The most famous left foot in New York City felt fine for its second test of the season. The foot, of course, is attached to Marcus...
FRASER MAY PICK STORM
Amityville HS's star center Jason Fraser will announce the college he will attend this morning and it might be St. John's and not Villanova, as previously thought. According to a...
JAYSON TO COP: I'M SORRY
Former Net Jayson Williams claimed yesterday that his early morning arrest last week for pushing a police officer was a misunderstanding for which he apologized. "If I did push that...
ROOKIE ARMSTRONG TAKES ONE BIG STEP FOR NET-KIND
Byron Scott may decide to tell Brandon Armstrong he's through for the season. No more minutes, rook. Come to practice, work, then sit on the bench forever. See, when Scott...
UNITED THEY SKATE
THEY aren't playing well enough, not even close. But that's all the more reason to be impressed with the 14-9-2-1 record the Rangers take into tonight's Garden match against the...
ARMSTEAD PLANNING TO FINISH UP STRONG
The Giants called it a strained calf and hamstring, but Jessie Armstead says he's been playing the past four games with a torn right hamstring. "What person do you know...
ISLES' JONSSON KEPT THE FAITH
MIKE Milbury traded everybody. Guys he couldn't sign and guys he had insisted would be fine went out the door in a single-file line while Kenny Jonsson kept sentry on...
BELATED BERNIE RUFFLED MATES' FEATHERS IN GAME 6
YANKEE NOTES Several of his teammates were upset and Joe Torre felt strongly enough to talk to Bernie Williams about being late for Game 6 of the World Series against...
ISLANDERS LOSE THEIR 'HAMMER'
It's not getting any easier for these first-place Islanders. The latest obstacle Peter Laviolette's team (15-5-3-1) will have to overcome is the left knee sprain sustained by defenseman Roman Hamrlik...
LEHMAN IS HAUNTED BY TITLE LOSS
Three years later, Carmine Colasanto is still haunted. "I have nightmares to this day about it," the Lehman coach said, referring to the last time his Lions played for the...
COX MORE OF A GAMER THAN GLENN
JET NOTES In what's becoming an almost comical scenario in New England, it looks as if Patriots' linebacker Bryan Cox has a better chance of playing in Sunday's game against...
LAWTON WARY ABOUT FUTURE WITH METS
When Opening Day 2002 arrives, Matt Lawton doesn't expect to be a Met. "I think I'm going to be traded, if you want my opinion," Lawton told The Post from...
THEY'RE NOT PAT-HETIC ANYMORE - JETS RESPECT NEW ENGLAND TURNAROUND
Beware of the Patriots. This is a message by which the Jets are living as they prepare for Sunday's AFC East showdown at Giants Stadium with their rivals from up...
OQUENDO RESCUES "DOUBLE TROUBLE"
"Double Trouble" was in big trouble last weekend. The first boxing card at the Jacob K. Javits Center, scheduled for Saturday night, was in dire straits when heavyweight Wladimir Klitschko...
YANKEES DENY OFFER TO SMOLTZ
The Yankees have talked to John Smoltz' representatives and are intrigued about adding the hard-throwing right-hander to the back end of their rotation. However, according to a club source, a...
OSCAR, ARUM SET FOR ROUND 2
Looks as if Bob Arum won't have to give back Oscar De La Hoya's gold medal after all. Turns out De La Hoya can drop into Arum's office and pick...
YOGI TO JASON: YOU'LL LOVE NY
Jason Giambi didn't hear from the Yankees yesterday. However, the stud free-agent first baseman was still digesting the recruiting pitch delivered by Hall of Fame catcher Yogi Berra. With George...
CHANGES LOOM UNLESS DEVILS TURN IT AROUND
Trade or fire: Lou Lamoriello must choose between right or wrong, hard or easy, accepting responsibility or blaming the innocent. The demi-dynasty that didn't is dying, withering on an old,...
MCGRADY HAS DREAMS OF PINSTRIPES: AGENT
Jason Giambi isn't the only Arn Tellem client the Yankees have their eye on. Asked last night if the Yankees are interested in any of his other clients, Tellem said,...
...BUT JORDAN MUST CHANGE HIS BALL-HOGGIN' WAYS
PHILADELPHIA - The coach, hand-picked by Michael Jordan, won't dare tell him. The teammates, alternately awed and cowered by the legend, won't let him know. None of the people around...
MIKE SHOWS ALLEN HE CAN STILL CUT IT . . .
PHILADELPHIA - One night after griping that his teammates didn't know how to win and fell short in the effort department, Michael Jordan helped them win despite again shooting too...
JORDAN MUST CHANGE HIS HOGGIN' WAYS
PHILADELPHIA - The coach, hand-picked by Michael Jordan, won't dare tell him. The teammates, cowed by the legend, won't let him know. None of the people around Jordan will tell...
HOUSTON, VG DIFFER ON REVIVAL
KNICK NOTES ATLANTA - Allan Houston and Jeff Van Gundy are having another disagreement, but this time it's regarding a positive cause. Van Gundy credits Houston's recent energetic defense for...
MAKING HIS MARC - CAMBY OK, AIMS FOR REPEAT PERFORMANCE
ATLANTA - The most famous foot in New York felt fine hours before its next test last night against the Hawks. Marcus Camby, who made his Knick season debut at...