January 15, 2003
ARISTA SIGNS SONY'S DUPRI
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amHip-hop music executive Jermaine Dupri signed an exclusive production deal with BMG's Arista label yesterday. Dupri, who is dating Janet Jackson, left Sony's Columbia Records label in December, but a...
WARM MEL-COME - AOL TW IS WOOING KARMAZIN FOR TOP SPOT
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amAOL Time Warner is in hot and heavy talks to bring Viacom's Mel Karmazin into the executive suite, The Post has learned. Representatives of the struggling communications company are aggressively...
EX-DATEK PARTNER CITRON FINED $22.5M BY SEC
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amOnetime hot-shot day trader Jeffrey Citron, 32, got slapped with a $22.5 million fine by the Securities and Exchange Commission for committing fraud on the Nasdaq from 1993 to 2001....
ON THE ROAD WITH BUBBA - EX-PREZ TEES OFF WITH HEARST POOBAHS AT ARIZ. RETREAT
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amHEARST Magazines is normally the lowest-profile company in the media biz, but it appears that company president Cathie Black is trying to crank up the volume - even while she...
GE JACK-HAMMERED - SINCE WELCH LEFT, COMPANY CAN'T CATCH A BREAK
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amThe Jack Welch jinx on General Electric is spreading from the bottom line to the picket line. Ever since the iron-fisted chief of GE retired 16 months ago, the giant...
DANGEROUS MAGIC ACT COULD LEAVE MILLER BEER FEELING FLAT
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amMiller Lite hopes its newest celebrity endorser for the brew won't drop in for a quick one. Houdini-styled magician Criss Angel is staging a dangerous stunt tonight to kick off...
SNOOPS GET NEW ROUTE TO DIRTY 'DEEDS'
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amIF you look on the city's Finance Department Web site this afternoon, you should be able to look up the new tentative assessed value for your house, building or condominium....
KICKS UPSTAIRS
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amTHE UPSTAIRS AT '21' [ 1/2] 21 W. 52ND ST. (212) 265-1900 ----- 'YOU don't usually find white truffles with chicken," we say to the waiter between mouthfuls of the...
STARR REPORT
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amLow(e)down on Chad - hanging in Philly Chad Lowe is down in Philadelphia, shooting an episode for the CBS drama "Hack" (starring David Morse). In the episode, Lowe will play...
DUCHESS OF CORK - WINE DIVA'S GRAPE-FUL TIPS
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amTHEY call her the Wine Diva, but as Christine Ansbacher prepares to open a bottle of champagne, she looks more like the Bubbly Samurai. In her elegant Upper East Side...
'CLOSE' LOOK AT UNSETTLING WAR
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amTHE SETTLERS/ CLOSE, CLOSED, CLOSURE []Total running time: 104 minutes. Not rated (wartime violence). At Film Forum, Houston Street, west of Sixth Avenue. ----- THERE is no shortage of news...
WELL BREAD
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amIT might sound obvious, but somewhere in the Top 10 comfort foods, you'll find toast. Warm and crisp, fragrant with yeast, and simple as can be, it touches a basic...
ON THE HUNT FOR A CASA
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amNOW that chef Douglas Rodriguez has been left without a pot to peel in, he's looking for a new place in Manhattan - and is also in talks to return...
'DRUM' ROLL, PLEASE - PRODUCERS BUY TIME FOR AILING MUSICAL
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amTHERE'S more intrigue surrounding the fate of "Flower Drum Song" than you're likely to find in the back alleys of Shanghai. Last week, Rodgers & Hammerstein's rice-queen musical appeared to...
MANHATTAN CABBIE WINS SPANISH VERSION OF 'IDOL'
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amA singing cab driver from Washington Heights emerged victorious last night in an hysterically popular Spanish-language TV reality show that has captivated Hispanics across the country. Miguel Angel Guzman of...
HOLD THE MOONSHINE - 'HILLBILLIES' LOOKS SHAKEY
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amCBS seems to be quietly backing away from plans to air a reality version of "The Beverly Hillbillies." Though no decision has been made, the network's top executive told reporters...
PIZZA AS IT OTTO BE
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amOTTO (Oh-toe) means eight. "Our first inclination was to call it eight pigs," says Mario Batali, but no one could pronounce the Italian word for pigs. So it's Otto Enoteca...
JOE: THE VERDICT
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amHE SAYS... It stinks and the women are fools BLAME it on the women. They're responsible for the runaway success of these asinine dating shows. If they would simply stop...
I'M A CELEB - AND I'M GOING DOWN UNDER
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amSTUTTERING John, meet Melissa Rivers. Howard Stern's sidekick and the E! host are among the celebs who will appear in "I'm a Celebrity - Get Me Out of Here!" a...
INDEPENDENTS' DAYS : FOR ALL ITS GLITZ, SUNDANCE MEANS MOVIES
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amWHAT drives marquee stars like Morgan Freeman, Kirsten Dunst, Holly Hunter and Billy Bob Thornton to work for peanuts in sub-zero temperatures making a little indie film with a first-time...
SOB CANARY TELLS COURT HOW HE GOT SHOT IN HEAD
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amThe tough-talking mob turncoat Michael "Cookie" D'Urso wept on the witness stand yesterday as he testified about a 1994 ambush that left a bullet in his head and a cousin...
PALESTINIANS BEAT ISRAEL TRAVEL BAN BY TV LINK
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amJERUSALEM - Palestinian leaders foiled an Israeli travel ban by participating in an international conference in London via video link yesterday, using the forum to urge an end to homicide...
SHARON HANGS ON - WHY SCANDAL WON'T STICK
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amIT'S beginning to look like the best thing that could have happened to Ariel Sharon was being abruptly yanked off the air right in the middle of a live broadcast...
WEIRD BUT TRUE
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amSecurity officials evacuated Tampa International Airport after eagle-eyed baggage screeners spotted a "very, very suspicious" object inside a bag. The police bomb squad rushed to the scene and used a...
KENNEDY BAGS 'HISTORIC' $1M
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amCaroline Kennedy yesterday snagged $1 million in contributions from the History Channel to improve the teaching of history in city schools. It's the first major partnership arranged by Kennedy since...
U.N. INSPECTORS UNCOVERED "WEAPONS-RELATED MATERIAL" INSIDE IRAQ
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - U.N. inspectors uncovered "weapons-related material" inside Iraq, chief inspector Hans Blix said yesterday. The inspectors are trying to determine whether the material is linked to chemical, biological or...
WHEN REPUBLICANS GO SOFT ON CRIME ...
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amHAS the war on crime been definitively won? You might draw that conclusion when you see a Republican mayoralty in New York City actively considering police layoffs, as Michael Bloomberg...
BEATING THE NYPD BLUE$: COPS WON'T BE CUT, COUNCIL BOSS SAYS
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amThe threat of layoffs at the NYPD all but vanished yesterday when City Council Speaker Gifford Miller declared them "unnecessary." "I think that layoffs are unnecessary and also undesirable and...
CLOSING TOKEN BOOTHS A CRIME: UNION
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amShutting down nearly 200 token booths across the city will endanger the safety of riders and cause subway crime to soar, transit workers said yesterday. "We can prevent crime. There...
POL'S CONFESSION - GREEN: I GOT FREE RIDES, TOO
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amALBANY - A powerful Brooklyn lawmaker admitted yesterday that he received free transportation from the same company whose gifts to former Assemblywoman Gloria Davis were considered bribes. Veteran Democratic Assemblyman...
'LIMO' FIRM STEERED TOO MUCH $$ TO CAMPAIGNS
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amALBANY - Correctional Services Corp., the company being probed for giving free rides to lawmakers, violated state campaign-contribution limits last year, official records show. State Board of Elections records obtained...
BELLIGERENT, LEWD AL COPS PLEA
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amPorcine porn publisher Al Goldstein pleaded guilty to stalking and harassing his third ex-wife yesterday, but that didn't stop him from taking another swipe at her after court. "I won't...
CITY COUNCIL SPEAKER GIFFORD MILLER RAISED $1 MILLION FOR 2005 CAMPAIGN
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amCity Council Speaker Gifford Miller raked in $700,000 for his 2005 campaign committee in just six months - raising his total haul to more than $1 million so far, aides...
POLS DEMAND NEW NYPD PARKS BUREAU
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amSeveral City Council members joined an advocacy group yesterday to demand more police resources for city parks, in the wake of four attacks on women since October. The group called...
CALL FOR HOV ON 'TAP' BRIDGE
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amTraffic congestion on the Tappan Zee Bridge could be eased if bus and HOV lanes are expanded over the three-mile span, a transit advocacy group said yesterday. "They need to...
JOAN GETS LAST LAUGH
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amLoudmouth laugh queen Joan Rivers will not face criminal charges for her temper tantrum in an Upper East Side car-rental agency - despite allegedly nailing a clerk in the eye...
FEDS ARE 'PARTIAL' TO N.Y. SCHOOL GRADING
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amALBANY - New York state is getting a break under the Bush administration's nationwide school grading plan: Its schools will be able to count kids who score as low as...
L.I. KID-LURE FIEND ON THE LOOSE
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amNassau police are looking for a man who tried to lure a 12-year-old girl into his car with candy outside Wisdom Lane Middle School in Levittown last Wednesday. The dark-skinned...
POTI PRACTICING FOR LEAD ROLE
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amDuring the extended absence of defenseman Brian Leetch, who has missed nearly two months with a knee injury, Tom Poti has had the opportunity to become acquainted with the leadership...
'SATAN' BIKER BUSTED OVER DRUG LAB
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amA 300-pound biker, who leads a gang known as "Satan's Soldiers," is facing a hellish future after being nabbed manufacturing drugs in a clandestine lab near a school in The...
11-DIGIT DIALING STARTS FEB. 1
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amALBANY - Beginning Feb. 1, New York City residents will have to dial 11 digits for all local calls. The Federal Communications Commission requires that callers dial 1, the area...
HILL GOES TO WAR - DEMS GIVE CLINTON TOP SPOT ON SENATE MILITARY COMMITTEE
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - Get used to seeing Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton delivering rousing speeches to troops, grilling President Bush's Pentagon chiefs and deciding which countries are allies or enemies. Clinton was...
WELLS STRUCK OUT - REGRETS NOT HITTING ATTACKER
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amYANKEE pitcher David Wells has one regret about the morning he got sucker-punched by a puny bully in a Manhattan diner. "It sucked that I didn't get to hit him...
SONS' SHOE IS FITTING MEMORIAL TO JAM MASTER JAY
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amSlain rap pioneer Jam Master Jay's sons have co-designed a sneaker for Adidas that features a sketch of the Run DMC DJ, The Post has learned. The sneakers will be...
BROTHER HOOD - PETER GOTTI BLAMED FOR JOHN'S CRIMES, DEFENSE ARGUES AS TRIAL OPENS
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amPeter Gotti went on trial yesterday for allegedly stepping into his late brother John's shoes and running the Gambino crime family. Prosecutors say Gotti raked in heaps of cash thanks...
BUSH TIRED OF IRAQI 'GAMES'
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - A fed-up President Bush yesterday warned that "time is running out" for Saddam Hussein to give up his weapons of mass murder - and this is his last...
U.S. TO SADDAM: PROVE IT
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - To skeptics who say there's no proof that Saddam Hussein still has weapons of mass destruction, senior Bush aides have a simple answer - if he really wanted...
MAN KILLED IN S.I. STORE FIRE
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amA billowing inferno engulfed a Staten Island thrift shop yesterday, killing one man and injuring eight others, authorities said. Nearly 200 firefighters battled the blaze at 225 Broad St. in...
LEONA'S 'BATTY' RAGE - 'GAY' ABUSE AS BAD AS A BEATING: AXED WORKER
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amGetting yelled at by Leona Helmsley is like getting "beat up with a baseball bat," an ex-employee testified yesterday. "I was so happy in this job, and it all just...
PREZ HINTS AT NORTH KOREA DEAL
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - President Bush yesterday offered his strongest hint yet that North Korea could get rewarded with "energy and food" if it steps back from the brink and stops threatening...
N.J. GETS BULK OF FERRY FUNDS
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amNew York and New Jersey will get $54.8 million to fund five Hudson River ferry projects as part of the federal government's post-9/11 aid to the city, the Department of...
MIKE HANGS UP ON CELL BAN
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amMayor Bloomberg yesterday vetoed a bill banning cell phones in theaters, claiming New Yorkers have their own way of dealing with the irksome problem. "We are not a shy city,"...
NEW CLUES IN HUNT FOR LOWER EAST SIDE SLAYER
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amCops are hunting for a man wearing a dark knit ski cap in the senseless slaying of a young banker on the Lower East Side. A witness told cops he...
BEWARE THE LETHAL TOXIN RICIN, FINEST ARE WARNED
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amNew York cops are on the lookout for the deadly toxin ricin. The NYPD has sent out a "terrorism awareness bulletin" warning law-enforcement officers that the lethal toxin can cause...
UNDERCOVER COP TRIGGERS GANG BUSTS
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amHe calls himself "Joshua" and posed as a shady businessman, but he was really an undercover NYPD detective who helped smash three gangs in a Brooklyn housing project. Working undercover...
COP KILLS SELF IN GUN TRAGEDY
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amA 25-year-old rookie police officer shot himself to death yesterday - apparently by accident - while handling a brand-new weapon, police said. The cop, who joined the NYPD last July,...
KMART KOS STORES IN QNS., B'KLYN
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amKmart will close 326 stores - including two in New York City and three on Long Island - and cut up to 35,000 jobs as it works to emerge from...
LUCIANO'S BUNDLE OF JOY & SORROW
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amAn expected double dose of joy turned to tears for tenor titan Luciano Pavarotti yesterday when his girlfriend lost one of the twins she was carrying. The premature baby, a...
LADY HOOPS COACH NABBED IN 'RAPE' OF TEENAGE BOY
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amA female basketball coach had a torrid affair with a 15-year-old male student after the pair met in a program aimed at keeping teens out of trouble, authorities said yesterday....
'HERO' FEUD OVER 9/11 MEMORIAL
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amThe question of whether to distinguish between uniformed rescuers and civilians who died at the World Trade Center emerged yesterday as a central issue at a hearing on how to...
TOO 'DUMB' TO KIDNAP - SUSPECTS COULDN'T DO IT: KIN
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amDevon Harris (above) "don't have the intelligence" to pull off the kidnapping of Ed Lampert (top left), says his mom. Harris allegedly conspired with Renaldo Rose (inset). Two New Haven...
GREAT PRETENDER ARRESTED IN LUXURY-AUTO SCAM: DA
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amA Queens man posing as a fire hero burned dozens of people with bogus promises to sell them luxury cars from a city parking pound, authorities said yesterday. Fake FDNY...
MURDEROUS 'VAMPIRE' VENGEANCE
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amA middle-aged Oregon lonely-heart obsessed with the bodice-ripping vampire TV show "Dark Shadows" shot his would-be fiancée to death in a Times Square hotel yesterday after he realized she had...
'89 SLAY CRACKED AT LAST
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amKiller panhandler Frank Barnes was last seen in 1989, walking along West 114th Street, carrying a knife and drenched in the blood of a young man who'd fatally refused to...
CUNY CAMPAIGNS TO EASE CASH CRUNCH
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amCity University officials have launched a campaign to help students apply for financial aid and soften the blow of potential tuition hikes later this year. CUNY Chancellor Matthew Goldstein's office...
SELF-INFLICTED GUNSHOT KILLS COP
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amBlood and horror filled the locker room at a Greenwich Village police station yesterday after a rookie cop shot himself to death with his own gun, cops said. The officer,...
TOO 'DUMB' TO KIDNAP : SUSPECTS COULDN'T DO IT: KIN
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amTwo New Haven drug dealers couldn't possibly cook up a plot to kidnap a megarich financier because one is a crackhead who's not smart enough and the other a "petty,...
CLOSING TOKEN BOOTHS WOULD BE A CRIME: TRANSIT UNION
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amShutting down nearly 200 token booths across the city will endanger the safety of riders and cause subway crime to soar, transit workers charged yesterday. "We can prevent crime. There...
ARETHA FACES FIRE SUBPOENA
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amInvestigators are closing in on an arson suspect in the October fire that destroyed singer Aretha Franklin's Michigan mansion, and may subpoena the reticent Queen of Soul to answer questions...
NYPD DAILY BLOTTER
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amTHE BRONX A female basketball coach was charged with third degree rape for having sex with a 15-year-old student in Van Cortlandt Park, according to Special Schools Investigator Richard Condon....
MIKE HANGS UP ON THEATER CELL-PHONE BAN PLAN
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amMayor Bloomberg yesterday vetoed a bill banning cell phones in theaters, claiming New Yorkers have their own way of dealing with the irksome problem. "We are not a shy city,"...
PETE RIPS SMUT FIENDS : WHO STAR POSTS WEB LETTER AGAINST KID PORN
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amRock legend Pete Townshend remained in seclusion at his London mansion yesterday following his kiddie-porn bust - while an impassioned letter he wrote, denouncing the easy availability of the sickening...
ISLES: REFS BE-DEVILIN' US
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amThe Islanders absorbed a crushing blow in Monday's 4-3 overtime loss in Washington when they learned that ironman defenseman Adrian Aucoin had strained his groin late in the game, an...
SANTA BEARS BIG PICK 6 GIFT
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amThe biggest revolution in sports during the late years of the 20th century wasn't the wildcard team in baseball, or instant-replay review in football, or the salary cap in basketball....
MARK CANNIZZARO FINAL JETS REPORT CARD
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amQUARTERBACKSChad Pennington (275-of-399, 68.9 percent, 3,120 yards, 22 TDs, 6 INTs, 104.2 rating) was a revelation. If Vinny Testaverde (54-83, 65.1 percent, 499 yards, 3 TDs, 3 INTs, 78.3 rating)...
MOUNT SNOW IS REALLY LIVING UP TO ITS NAME
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amIT'S been close to a decade since northeast ski areas have enjoyed such great conditions through the start of the season, and according to the folks at Mount Snow in...
MATSUI RECEIVES HERO'S WELCOME: FRENZY OVER GODZILLA GRIPS THE BIG APPLE
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amEVERY breathless guy with a microphone and a tape recorder wanted "just a few minutes of time." My time. Every harried woman with a press badge and a pencil wanted...
JETS CHANGE TUNE ON 'SAME OLD' SONG
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amTHE day after the Jets' season ended short of their lofty goal Sunday in Oakland, Herman Edwards, for some reason, found it necessary to defend his team as not being...
RON WON'T RUN AWAY ; DAYNE DENIES TRADE REQUEST
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amDoes Ron Dayne want out, or not? It sure seemed like he did when his new agent, Terry Lavenstein, on Monday faxed a letter to Giants general manager Ernie Accorsi...
NOTHING GUARANTEED ; PREDICTING WIN OVER BULLS NOW TOO RISKY FOR KNICKS
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amIt fell short of Joe Namath's bravado, but Don Chaney's confident prediction for round two of Knicks-Bulls still makes for compelling theater. In case you missed it, prior to Monday...
MATSUI RECEIVES HERO'S WELCOME: YANKS THROW SLUGGER COMING OUT PARTY
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amDuring what the Yankees described as the biggest press conference in their 100-year history, Japanese outfielder Hideki Matsui was introduced to nearly 500 members of the worldwide media yesterday afternoon...
WILLIAMS DENIES WINDY CITY TRADE TALK
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amKNICK NOTES Don't get excited, Knick fans - Jay Williams has not asked for a trade out of Chicago. Williams, the Bulls' rookie point guard and a Plainfield, N.J., native,...
BUCS WANT TO END COLD STREAK IN PHILLY
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amPHILADELPHIA - On a cold day in Hell, the Buccaneers say they will beat the Eagles to go to the Super Bowl. They have been frozen over here more times...
TITANS ON GIANT ROLL
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amKevin Carter knows when the Titans truly believed in themselves, believed they could fully recover from their 1-4 start, believed they could make the playoffs and contend for a berth...
VAN HORN EXPECTING NO TROUBLE
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amNET NOTES Byron Scott said he'd greet Keith Van Horn with a handshake and a hello before tonight's game with the 76ers at First Union Center. It's still uncertain whether...
LAWYERS SWAP BARBS IN REYNOLDS RAP
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amThe lawyer for Rachel Seager, the St. John's coed who allegedly suffered a dislocated left kneecap in an altercation with basketball player Grady Reynolds, engaged in a bitter exchange yesterday...
SCOTT PONDERS IVERSON ANSWER
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amThe task the Nets' top three guards face tonight in Philadelphia may be their roughest of the season. Guarding Allen Iverson, possibly the best, certainly the gutsiest player in NBA,...
STORM MISSED ON 'NOVA STAR
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amVillanova's Jason Fraser has the gift of gab. He also knows when not to speak. The former Amityville High School star will lead the Wildcats (9-5, 2-0 in the Big...
RAVENS COOK RICE
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amH.S. HOOPSSt. Ray's 68Rice 62 It seemed pretty clear before this season began: There were Rice and St. Raymond's in the CHSAA, and then everyone else. Right now, however, it...
KNICKS BOUNCE BACK ; HANDLE BULLS AT GARDEN
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amKnicks 98Bulls 86 After seven tries, the Knicks finally found the formula for winning the second leg of a back-to-back: Harass like demons on defense. Get balanced scoring. Play the...
PIRATES HAMMER HOYAS, END SKID
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amSeton Hall 68G'town 54 Seton Hall went into last night's game against Georgetown facing the prospects of a daunting team, a 10-game Big East losing streak and its worst in-league...
HARD TIMES AT THE HALL
January 15, 2003 | 5:00amSeton Hall went into last night's Meadowlands game against Georgetown trying to snap a nine-game Big East losing streak. The Pirates also were trying to avoid their worst league start...