April 5, 2003
3RD AVE. TOWER COULD FETCH $300M
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amParamount Group is quietly selling a Third Avenue trophy office tower, which could fetch some $300 million in a deal. The 595,000-square-foot, 36-story tower, which is 97-percent leased, is being...
VIVENDI ENTERS ARBITRATION WITH MESSIER
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amVivendi has entered arbitration with Messier in an attempt to resolve several issues, including his demand that he receive a severance package. A spokesperson for Vivendi confirmed the company began...
REGULATORS: DEUTSCHE MAY FACE FRAUD CHARGES
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amCalifornia regulators investigating Deutsche Bank's research have two words for the firm: "watch out." After discovering Thursday night that the bank had failed to produce critical evidence in the investigation,...
GETTING MESSIER : EX-VIVENDI BOSS LIKELY FACES NEW INQUIRY: EXPERTS
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amJean-Marie Messier, the disgraced former chief of Vivendi, could face insider trading charges stemming from recent allegations he lied about when he sold company stock, securities lawyers say. This week...
FAST COMPANY GETS NEW ED.
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amGruner + Jahr USA picked a star from Business Week to be its new editor-in-chief of Fast Company and hopefully bring the struggling business title back from the brink. John...
OH, SHOOT! 'BACHELOR' BABE'S GUN SECRET OUT
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amA WOMAN vying to marry an heir to the Firestone tire fortune on ABC's "The Bachelor" was nabbed three years ago on a gun charge. Christina Sztanko, a 24-year-old realtor...
MOVIE IN HELL CELL OF 9/11 MONSTERS
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amBRITAIN'S Channel 4 is preparing to air a drama about the Sept. 11 attacks - told from the point-of-view of the hijackers."The Hamburg Cell" is based on the eight Hamburg,...
KELLY'S A MAN ; ARE YOU READY FOR 'LIVE WITH REGIS & ANDY'?
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amANDY Beckman, a 22-year-old student from Indiana, will co-host "Live with Regis & Kelly" for a day after winning the show's "American Co-Host Search" yesterday. But Kateri DeMartino, who came...
FEET FIRST
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amGirls can have the coolest feet at the park or beach with skandalz, bracelets for the toes and feet. Available at skandalz.com, they sell for $12.99. Also big this spring:...
ROLL OVER, PICASSO!
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amWhy wait for tomorrow when you can see the art world's newest stars today? This year's New York-area winners of the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards are already hanging on...
WIZARDS FROM OZ
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amGood news for animal lovers: There'll be no exploding dogs in "Thwak," the new show by Australia's Umbilical Brothers. Never mind that it was an imaginary dog that imploded: So...
COLOR THEIR WORLD: THIS SPRING, KIDS' CLOTHES COME IN EVERY SHADE OF SORBET
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amAfter a long, cold winter, this spring's fashions are all about color. Greens, pinks and corals will be the bright pastels for T-shirts, capris and shorts for girls, and hot...
WEIRD BUT TRUE
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amItalian customs officials have confiscated a $1.5 million nativity scene sent from Peru to Rome. The reason: the manger and all the figures were carved out of blocks of pure...
GOLDIE HITS GOLD IN APT. TUSSLE
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amGoldie Hawn can keep her Benjamins private, an appeals court has ruled. The bubbly blonde doesn't have to pay a dime to a real estate broker who was trying to...
NYPD DAILY BLOTTER
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amBrooklyn Three men fatally shot a teenager after pistol-whipping a woman in Brownsville, police said yesterday. At 8:45 p.m. Thursday, the assailants forced their way into an apartment at 61...
JUDGE BOOTS DWI KILLER FROM 'HOOD
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amA Brooklyn man, who killed a 17-year-old neighbor while driving drunk, copped a plea yesterday that will have him serve just six months in jail - but force him to...
WTC BOMBER TO STAY CAGED
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amThe terror mastermind behind the 1993 World Trade Center bombing can spend the rest of his life rotting behind bars, a federal appeals court ruled yesterday. Ramzi Yousef and his...
IRAQ-WAR LINK TO TRAGIC BROOKLYN ARSON VICTIM
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amThe brother of a teenage girl who was one of four victims of a Brooklyn arson blaze is a Navy sailor serving in the Iraq war - and the family...
'WILLFUL NEGLECT' ; JURY NAILS VEGAN 'STARVE' PARENTS
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amA Queens vegan couple were convicted yesterday of nearly starving their infant child to death - depriving her of breast or soy milk and feeding her a concoction of fruits,...
BLOOMY: I'LL WIN A 2ND TERM
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amDefying polls that show his popularity is in the cellar, Mayor Bloomberg said he's certain to win a second term in 2005. "I'm going to get re-elected," the mayor declared...
'SURVIVOR' BETTORS HAD INSIDE DOPE: BOOKIE
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amA pair of CBS employees with inside information on the network's hit reality show "Survivor" used that knowledge to place winning bets on an Internet gambling site, according to the...
GIS CHARGING INTO BAGHDAD ; TANKS HIT THE STREETS SADDAM ON THE BRINK
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amU.S. forces stormed across the Baghdad city line for the first time early this morning in what is expected to be the final and most difficult stage of Operation Iraqi...
MAYOR RIPS 'RIDICULOUS' UNION OFFERS
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amMayor Bloomberg yesterday ridiculed proposals put forward by municipal unions to avert layoffs, saying they were "ridiculous" and "just verbiage." Teachers union leader Randi Weingarten questioned whether Bloomberg was "trying...
BUTT BAN DRAGGING SUPPLIERS WAY DOWN
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amNo butts about it. Bar and restaurant supply owners are fuming over Mayor Bloomberg's tough new smoking ban, saying it's a drag on business. Richard Desatnick, owner of Paragon Restaurant...
GOV MAULS MIKE ; LASHES OUT ON SECURITY AID SHARING
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amGov. Pataki sharply criticized Mayor Bloomberg yesterday for challenging his efforts to gain greater control over federal anti-terrorism funds earmarked for New York City. "I don't understand why he would...
GIS FIND SECRET CHEM STASH ; POISONS, POWDERS TURN UP
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amU.S. forces across Iraq found dramatic new evidence of Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction yesterday - poison-gas agents in a river, suspicious powder, and a training center for nuclear...
THIS ISN'T CAMELOT ; EVEN JFK SCION GETS BACKGROUND CHECK
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amWORKING for the city isn't easy, even if you're Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg. Sources said the daughter of President John F. Kennedy wasn't asked to submit to the standard city backround...
CLASH OF GOP TITANS OVER A $HRINKING PIE
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amNew York's two most important political figures are clearly feeling the heat. Gov. Pataki's unprecedented attack on Mayor Bloomberg yesterday came at the end of his worst week in office:...
TROOPS LAY GROUNDWORK TO TAKE BAGHDAD
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - U.S. military forces surrounding Baghdad began squeezing the life out of Saddam Hussein's regime yesterday - seizing control of key highways out of the city, routing another division...
IRAQI EXILES STAND BY BUSH
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - President Bush met with a group of Iraqi exiles yesterday and promised them "nothing will stop us" in attaining freedom and democracy in post-war Iraq. "It's important for...
AS AN ACTOR, HE'S A LOUSY POLITICIAN
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amHEY, Saddam, where was the passion? That's what the role called for as the Iraqi dictator put on a bit of televised street theater yesterday in Baghdad to prove he's...
COLUMNIST KELLY KILLED ; DROWNS WITH GI IN HUMVEE CRASH NEAR BAGHDAD
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amWar correspondent Michael Kelly, on assignment in Iraq for The Atlantic Monthly, yesterday became the first American journalist killed in the conflict. Officials believe that Kelly and a soldier drowned...
PRISON LIFE AGREES WITH CAPTURED FOES
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amOn the Euphrates, 12 miles from BaghdadLIFE would appear to be pretty good for the Iraqis captured this week in the fierce battle for control of a key four-lane bridge...
CRASH MIRACLE; PLANE TEEN SURVIVES AS N.Y. DEVELOPER DAD DIES
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amThe daughter of one of New York's wealthiest real estate heirs miraculously walked away from a fiery plane crash that killed her parents and four others yesterday morning in Massachusetts....
MIKE'S PANEL MOVES TO AX 8 FIREHOUSES
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amThe heat is on. The city's blue-ribbon panel voted to close eight firehouses, The Post has learned. Now it's up to Mayor Bloomberg to decide whether to go ahead with...
MOUSSAOUI JUDGE BLASTS SECRECY
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amThe judge overseeing the trial of alleged "20th hijacker" Zacarias Moussaoui said yesterday she is "disturbed" the government may not be able to prosecute the case in open court given...
BUSH OKS FORCED SARS QUARANTINE
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amPresident Bush issued an executive order yesterday allowing the forced quarantine of Americans stricken with the deadly respiratory illness from Asia known as SARS. The drastic order permits Health and...
SO, IS THIS THE REAL SADDAM? ; MYSTERY MUSTACHE MAN ON 'VICTORY' STROLL IN WEIRD VID
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - Saddam Hussein - or a lookalike - happily bounced a baby and basked in the adoration of a small crowd as he strolled down Baghdad streets in a...
KOOK TAKES COP HOSTAGE IN STATION-HOUSE DRAMA
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amA knife-wielding maniac held a rookie cop hostage for 15 terrifying minutes inside a Brooklyn station house last night, police said. The drama unfolded around 5 p.m. when George Dembry,...
ONLY WOMAN KIA AMONG 8 AMBUSHED GIS
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amThe war in Iraq claimed its first and only female casuality when it was revealed that Private Lori Piestewa was among the eight bodies U.S. forces recovered when they rescued...
THE RASHOMON WAR: RUMSFELD'S TALE, AND HIS CRITICS'
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amThe classic Japanese film "Rashomon" relates the same incident from several points of view. Each successive narrator's perspective on events is jarringly different - yet each version of the tale...
BLOOMBERG'S PANEL VOTES TO AX 8 FIREHOUSES
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amThe heat is on. The city's blue-ribbon panel voted to close eight firehouses, The Post has learned. Now it's up to Mayor Bloomberg to decide whether to go ahead with...
IRAQ-WAR LINK TO TRAGIC B'KLYN TEEN
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amThe brother of a teenage girl who was one of four victims of a Flatbush arson blaze is a U.S. Navy sailor serving in the Iraq war - and the...
MIKE BLASTS 'RIDICULOUS' UNION OFFERS
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amMayor Bloomberg yesterday ridiculed proposals put forward by municipal unions to avert layoffs, saying they were "ridiculous" and "just verbiage." Teachers union leader Randi Weingarten reacted in kind, questioning whether...
RUSSIAN RAT PREDICTS PAIN FOR U.S.
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - A former Russian general who gave military advice to Iraq on the eve of the war claimed yesterday that Saddam Hussein's forces are strong and the allied forces...
EAGER LOCALS HUNGRY TO TASTE LIBERTY
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amIn Al Aziziyah JUDGING by this village's reaction to the arrival of American troops, there will be dancing in the streets throughout Iraq when Saddam Hussein is toppled. And there...
U.S. CONCEDES HE DIDN'T DIE OPENING NIGHT
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - U.S. officials said for the first time they believe Saddam Hussein survived a March 19 missile strike after he appeared on TV yesterday boasting about the shootdown of...
'SADDAM' HITS THE STREETS: * TV TAPE SHOWS HIM ALIVE *THOUSANDS FLEE BAGHDAD
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amSaddam Hussein appeared on TV yesterday - convincing U.S. officials he is probably alive - and he (or one of his doubles) was later shown strolling through a Baghdad neighborhood...
JESSICA HAS BULLET WOUNDS: KIN
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amThe family of Jessica Lynch yesterday confirmed that the former POW had suffered bullet and shrapnel wounds when she was captured by Iraqi troops. Lynch cousin Dan Little told reporters...
JINTS NEAR DEALS WITH LEVENS, HOLLIS
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amAdding Dorsey Levens does not necessarily mean that Ron Dayne is soon to be an ex-Giant. But it sure doesn't help his job security. Adding Mike Hollis, though, is sure...
JASON TAKES CHARGE: STEPS UP AS NETS THROTTLE HEAT
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amNets 99Heat 83 Kenyon Martin and Lucious Harris sat in street clothes for a third straight game. Richard Jefferson was high-energy again, but fouls seemed to intervene every time he...
STRAINED DEVILS HAVE A LOT ON THEIR MINDS
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amThere was more than a hint of concern in the voice of the Devils' most-used forward. John Madden sounded as if he'd noticed the Devils hadn't been a powerhouse lately,...
COACHES NEVER FOUR-GET
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amNEW ORLEANS - For Jim Boeheim, the oldest Final Four memory is San Diego, 1975, a young assistant stepping off an airplane into the kind of brilliant sunshine that made...
TOUGH TESTS ON TAP ; IN THE BIG EASY ; FORD IS TEXAS' DRIVING FORCE
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amNEW ORLEANS - The group of assistant coaches from the top college-basketball programs in the country were huddled together in the bleachers at FDU's Rothman Center scrutinizing the elite high-school...
DUANY DAD STAYS HERE TO SEE SON
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amFINAL FOUR NOTEBOOK NEW ORELANS - A lot of players will have personal cheering sections at the Louisiana Superdome tonight, but none will have traveled farther to watch their son...
IVEY EYES ANTHONY
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amNEW ORLEANS - Syracuse is going to have its hands full trying to stop Texas guard T.J. Ford in tonight's NCAA Tournament semifinal game in the Louisiana Superdome. The Longhorns...
BETTING THE DERBY PREPS
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amWith the Kentucky Derby just four weeks away, push is coming to shove as the nation's top 3-year-olds try to earn their tickets to Louisville with big efforts in the...
BLUESHIRTS' SEASON AN $80 MILLION MESS
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amJim Dolan is kidding himself if he believes this team could have succeeded in the playoffs had it just gotten in. LAST night, the Rangers only suffered the mathemati cal...
KNICKS STILL FIGHTING: HOUSTON'S OT BUCKET KEEPS CHANEY'S GANG BREATHING
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amOVERTIME Knicks 94 Jazz 92 SALT LAKE CITY - The Knicks still face mathematical playoff elimination tonight at the Staples Center against the Clippers, but at least they are going...
WAIT & SEE ON JETER ; GETTING 2ND OPINION MONDAY
April 5, 2003 | 5:00am"When I feel good enough to play, I will play."DEREK JETER ST. PETERSBURG - The Yankees' medical staff has suggested to Derek Jeter that he doesn't need surgery to fix...
MO MAKING FAST RECOVERY FROM INJURY
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amYANKEE NOTES ST. PETERSBURG - One half of the Yankees' disabled bullpen is making progress. Mariano Rivera's strained right groin is healing to the point where the All-Star closer will...
BACKCOURT 'POINTED' IN RIGHT DIRECTION
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amKNICK NOTES SALT LAKE CITY - When Mark Jackson was traded over the summer, the Knicks lost their starting point guard. And though Jackson has had a fine season in...
ISLES HOPING DEVS DO WHAT THEY COULDN'T
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amWith their season on the line, the Islanders sat on the operating table last night, desperate for their playoff picture to be sewed up before some true hockey hemorrhaging began....
FRENCH PASTRY ON MENU ; KNICK GM LAYDEN STILL HAS HANKERING FOR WEIS
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amSALT LAKE CITY - With Milos Vujanic falling off their radar screen for next season, Knicks GM Scott Layden brought up a dirty name from the past yesterday, another European...
PROGNOSIS FOR DEREK: WAIT & SEE
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amST. PETERSBURG - The Yankees' medical staff has suggested to Derek Jeter that he doesn't need surgery to fix his dislocated left shoulder. The club can only hope Dr. James...
CABLEVISION FREEZES OUT FANS
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amYet one more indignity perpetrated by Cablevision: This afternoon's Thrashers-Islanders game - which would have been a huge game for both the Isles and Rangers had the Blueshirts not lost...
YANKEES ROUT RAYS ; FIVE-HR ATTACK BACKS BOOMER
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amYankees 12Devil Rays 2 ST. PETERSBURG - Perhaps it will change when the Yankees play a team with a pulse. Until then, they continue to punish the slop thrown at...
WILSON'S PERFORMANCE HELPS DAVID CATCH ON
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amMET NOTES Vance Wilson doesn't need to bat cleanup to be a competent fill-in for Mike Piazza. Not only did Wilson catch David Cone's five-inning masterpiece last night against the...
IT'S QUIET 'CLINCHER' FOR IDLE ISLANDERS
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amSo what if the Islanders clinched a playoff berth while sitting in their various living rooms last night watching TV? The way things have gone for them lately, the Isles...
CONE ICES EXPOS ; 5 SHUTOUT INNINGS IN COMEBACK
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amMets 4Expos 0 On a night that wasn't fit to walk the dog, the Mets trotted out a 40-year-old self-described "old warhorse." And for all the self-deprecation David Cone has...
IT HAPPENS EVERY SPRING ; LISTLESS RANGERS OUT OF PLAYOFFS 6TH STRAIGHT TIME
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amDevils 2Rangers 1 They can talk about the injuries to Mike Richter and Brian Leetch and Pavel Bure all they want, and they can talk about what might have been...
DEVILS CHERISH 'SPECIAL' ACCOMPLISHMENT
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amThey probably enjoyed this one more than any of their previous four. Certifying this as a comeback season, the Devils have fought off sunset, last night reclaiming the Atlantic Division...
LAYDEN STILL HAS FRENCH PASTRY WEIS ON MENU
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amKNICK NOTES SALT LAKE CITY - With Milos Vujanic falling off their radar screen for next season, Knicks GM Scott Layden brought up an unlikely name from the past yesterday,...
DOLAN: PRICES WON'T GO UP
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amJim Dolan is putting his money where his faith is. Minutes after endorsing Glen Sather in the wake of the Rangers' failure to qualify for the playoffs for a franchise...
BIG SWING, SLOW START FOR FLOYD
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amMET NOTES A combination of things has contributed to Cliff Floyd's 1-for-11 start, but consider this: the Mets had won one game up until last night, and Floyd had the...
CONE COMES BACK: 'OLD WARHORSE' RETURNS TO SHEA
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amWhen David Cone signed with the Mets in mid-February, he described the decision as an "old warhorse" giving it one last shot. Now that Cone has completed his longshot comeback,...
THRILLED TO BE HERE: BLUESHIRTS KNOW THEY'RE LUCKY JUST TO BE BREATHING
April 5, 2003 | 5:00am"But there is a way. And that's why I feel we're very fortunate. Maybe the stars are aligned in our favor, I don't know. Whatever the cliches, I believe them...
HOUSTON'S OT BUCKET KEEPS CHANEY'S GANG BREATHING
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amOVERTIME Knicks 94 Jazz 92 SALT LAKE CITY - The Knicks still face mathematical playoff elimination tonight at the Staples Center, but at least they are going down fighting. Despite...
LET'S RUN THE TABLE: NETS OUT TO SWEEP REMAINING SEVEN
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amThe goal is to win the East. And it can be done. But one thing must be done: Run the table. The Nets need to close their season with seven...
LEVENS ADDITION CLOUDS DAYNE'S JINT FUTURE
April 5, 2003 | 5:00amAdding Dorsey Levens, as the Giants did yesterday, does not necessarily mean that Ron Dayne is soon to be an ex-Giant, but it surely doesn't help his job security. The...