January 20, 2004
TELEMARKETERS CAN NOW TELL HOW ANGRY YOU ARE
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amThe next time you hear one of those "this call may be recorded for quality assurance purposes," that won't be all they're checking. Using voice analysis, telemarketers and customer-service centers...
SHAKE-UP AT SAKS: NEW CEO WORKING REDESIGN OF FIFTH AVE. RETAILER
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amFred Wilson, the new chief executive of Saks Fifth Avenue, has launched a strategic review of the company that could include significant management changes, people with knowledge of his plans...
WHAT'S IN A NAME? DON'T ASK MICROSOFT
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amA Canadian teenager has caused a row - er, roe, or maybe Rowe - over a homonym. The high school senior, Mike Rowe, registered the cheeky Internet domain name, MikeRoweSoft.com....
LANDLORD ADVOCATE SHELDON KATZ DEAD AT 69
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amLong-time building-owner advocate and activist, Sheldon Katz, died Sunday at his retirement home in Scottsdale, Ariz. After a long battle with Lou Gehrig's Disease. Katz, 69, was chairman of the...
BLOCKING BLACK ; HOLLINGER HOPES TO STOP EX-CHIEF'S SALE OF STAKE
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amHollinger International set an emergency board meeting for today to figure out how to block Conrad Black's plan to sell his controlling stake in the company, according to sources familiar...
PWC MOVING IN AT 300 MADISON
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amONE of the city's long- hoped-for deals has finally been done. PricewaterhouseCoopers just signed a jumbo 30-year sublease from CIBC worth nearly $2 billion at 300 Madison Ave. - consolidating...
EU BLAMES BUSH FOR ITS LOW EXPORTS
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amPresident Bush's economic rescue may be helping Americans, but it's clubbing Europeans and igniting a new trade war. The world's shaky trade cease-fire moved closer to collapse following a report...
PARMALAT INQUIRY SPREADS TO BANKERS
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amArrests in the Parmalat fraud and looting scandal are spreading to bankers and accountants - while Italy's politicians heap blame on each other. A banker, Franco Gorreri, who served on...
WHAT THE PRESIDENT DIDN'T WANT TO HEAR FROM PAUL O'NEILL
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amSO, President Bush didn't listen when Paul O'Neill was Treasury Secretary and wanted to talk about the horrible things a tax cut would do to the federal budget. The president...
HE'S NOT KIDDING KUTCHER'S FLICK IS A REAL HORROR
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amPARK CITY, Utah - "It's definitely not for kids," warned teeny- bopper idol Ashton Kutcher of his dark new supernatural thriller, "The Butterfly Effect," which opens Friday and premiered over...
FIRST LOOK: OPEN FOR SEX
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amAMERICA'S first museum of sex probably should have opened in Los Angeles, which was always a bit less hung up about, er, relations, than we vaguely puritanical Easterners. As of...
FEVER PITCH ; THOSE FREE VACATIONS COME WITH A PRICE, BARBARA HOFFMAN DISCOVERS ON A WEEKEND IN THE BERKSHIRES
January 20, 2004 | 5:00am(IM)PERFECT WEEKEND'CONGRATULATIONS!" cried the voice over the phone. "You've won a trip to the Berkshires!" I started to hang up, but my husband Bruce explained: He and our son, Sam,...
CURRENTS: ROUGH LIFE
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amSOMETIMES, less really is more. The concept is new to Celebrity Cruises, whose floating hotels carry up to 1,950 passengers. Last week, the line announced it has acquired a 100-passenger...
GRAND OL' GRANNY
January 20, 2004 | 5:00am* LORRIE MORGAN "Show Me How" ½ Image Music Group After making a dozen albums, country music's prettiest grandma, Lorrie Morgan, has found a near-perfect balance of pop music, fiddles...
BAFTA'S HOT FOR 'COLD'
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amENGLISH director Anthony Minghella's Civil War drama "Cold Mountain" dominated this year's nominations from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) - Britain's equivalent of the Oscars -...
TRUMP'S OTHER TROUBLEMAKER
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amWHAT you see is what you get with Omarosa - another of the breakout stars of "The Apprentice," who gave teammate Ereka a severe tongue-lashing on last week's episode. "There...
ROTTEN APPLE FOR 'IDOL' TALENT
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amWHAT in the world has happened to New York's vaunted reputation for talent? On last night's premiere of the third edition of Fox's "American Idol," tart-tongued judge Simon Cowell made...
STARR REPORT
January 20, 2004 | 5:00am'Pyramid' peeve Donny Osmond is angry - and that's saying a lot of the usually sunny "Pyramid" host. Osmond is steamed at Viacom for taking "Pyramid" off its stations in...
GRUMPY OLD MAN: HOW DOES LARRY DAVID GET AWAY WITH IT?
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amDO you find the following funny or not funny? 1) A wife who gives her husband permission to cheat as an anniversary present. 2) A blind man who breaks up...
MODEL FOR A DAY: LEARNING WHEN TO SMILE AND HOW TO STRUT MY STUFF
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amMODELING is a pain in the neck - especially when the founder of Ford models yanks your hair. "Turn around," 81-year-old Eileen Ford ordered. "Pick your neck up!" Ford -...
PIECES OF WORK: PAIR OF 'APPRENTICE' BREAKOUT STARS BICKER THEIR WAY TO THE TOP
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amHE'S argumentative, he's reckless, and he's fallen asleep on the job - literally. But "The Apprentice" contestant Sam Solovey has squeaked by to survive the first two episodes of the...
PR BY THE TIMES; GRAY LADY SHILLS FOR A PARTNER
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amIF Dan Okrent, the Times' new "public editor," wants to show what he's made of, he'll make the paper's continued craven coverage of its real-estate partner Topic A in 2004....
FAMILY'S TORMENT; DESPERATE HUNT FOR SON'S KILLERS
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amMark O'Brien believes that somewhere there is somebody who knows who killed his son. Burke O'Brien, 25, was murdered a year ago after two muggers stole $12 from him and...
L.I. MAN DIES IN GARAGE FIRE
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amA Long Island man died in a blaze in his garage yesterday after a rescue attempt by volunteer firemen failed to save him. The quick-spreading blaze erupted at 7:50 a.m....
DUBYA'S NEW VAPORWARE
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amFOR a week now, sober and serious analysts of government spending have been screaming and yelling about George Bush's proposal to return men to the moon by 2015 and for...
WEIRD BUT TRUE
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amThe dog show must go on - just not on the carpet. The Muncie Kennel Club of Indiana has pulled its annual dog show out of the Horizon Convention Center...
DEM POL SEEKS 2 JOBS AT ONCE
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amCity Councilman Charles Barron announced yesterday that he intends to run for two offices at the same time in 2005 - mayor and re-election to his Brooklyn council seat -...
HEVESI TO GOV: RETIRE BUDGET-BLUNDER PENSION PLAN
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amALBANY - State Comptroller Alan Hevesi tossed a $1 billion monkey wrench into Gov. Pataki's proposed state budget yesterday, saying the governor's plan to slash pension costs is unconstitutional. Hevesi,...
PUPPY LOVE MAKES KIDS TOP DOGS
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amMan's best friend also turns out to be a kid's best friend. Children who have dogs are better behaved, have more motivation and get higher grades in school, a new...
SINGING NUNS PRAY FOR MOVIE MIRACLE
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amAT LEAST one Hollywood production has adopted a heavenly habit. It belongs to the choir of the Daughters of St. Paul, Staten Island, and they're currently enjoying a starring role...
FIGHT PARKING TICKETS ONLINE
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amDrivers can finally let their fingers do the walking when it comes to fighting a parking ticket. Starting today, a new commercial service will allow motorists to challenge a summons...
FLEEING CAR THIEF RUNS DOWN BOY AND GRANDMA: COPS
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amA man in a stolen car mowed down a boy and his grandmother on a Bronx sidewalk yesterday as he was chased by cops, police said. The child suffered head...
MANO A MANOLO; FASHION FANS BATTLE COLD & EACH OTHER FOR BARGAIN BLAHNIKS
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amBargain-hunting fashionistas yesterday braved the frigid temps - and a few claws - for the annual winter sale of the world's hottest shoes. The line of mostly well-coifed and fur-clad...
CHURCHILL'S PARROT STILL SQUAWKING AT 104
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amWinston Churchill may be long gone, but his beloved pet parrot is still going strong at 104 years old - and spends his days cheerfully spewing out curses at the...
U.S. SEEKS U.N.'S AID
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - The United States moved to head off a dangerous showdown with leaders of Iraq's Shiite Muslim majority yesterday - asking the United Nations to help save its plans...
BRUISED BRAINIAC; SCIENTIST HAWKING SHOWS SIGNS OF ABUSE
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amCops have launched an investigation into a series of mysterious assaults on crippled astrophysicist Stephen Hawking. The probe reportedly began after the author of the best seller "A Brief History...
ICE-PLUNGE DEATH EYED AS SUICIDE
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amStill-shaken witnesses to the gruesome drowning of a mystery man in an icy Prospect Park Lake said yesterday it appeared that the victim may have intentionally killed himself. The new...
HEVESI TO GOV: RETIRE PENSION-DELAY PLAN
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amALBANY - State Comptroller Alan Hevesi tossed a $1 billion monkey wrench into Gov. Pataki's proposed state budget yesterday, saying the governor's plan to slash pension costs is unconstitutional. Hevesi,...
3 COPS GRAB BRIDGE 'JUMPER'
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amThree cops became heroes before they even made it to work yesterday - stopping a 23-year-old woman from leaping to her death off the Brooklyn Bridge, authorities said. Police Officer...
RUDY IS PREZ'S PITCHMAN
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amIn case anyone forgot, Republicans also voted in Iowa yesterday - and former Mayor Rudy Giuliani was there to make the case for re-electing President Bush, who was unopposed on...
A FAMILY'S PORTRAIT OF GRIEF ; CHEERLEADER MOURNED
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amThey came by the hundreds yesterday - tearful teenagers, grief-stricken neighbors and family - to remember Lauren Elizabeth Crossan, the popular New Jersey cheerleader who fell to her death from...
MIKE: SMOKE OUT CIG-TAX DODGERS
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amALBANY - New Yorkers can earn cash rewards for ratting out bodegas, groceries and individuals selling bootlegged cigarettes if a bill supported by Mayor Bloomberg wins approval. Under the bill,...
KOBE FOULS OUT WITH MCDONALD'S
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amMcDonald's isn't "lovin' it" with Kobe Bryant anymore. The global fast-food chain has not renewed the NBA star's endorsement contract, marking the third commercial deal the L.A. Lakers guard has...
POLS, WIDOW RECALL MLK ON HIS DAY
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amMayor Bloomberg yesterday attended five observances of Martin Luther King Day to ask New Yorkers for continued support of his overhaul of the city school system. "Today there is another...
TRASH-TRUCK HORROR; WOMAN DECAPITATED AT B'KLYN CROSSWALK
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amA garbage truck smashed into an elderly woman in the middle of a Brooklyn crosswalk yesterday, decapitating her, cops said. Witnesses watched in horror as the victim was dragged beneath...
L.I. TEEN KILLED IN SKI MISHAP
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amA Long Island teenager was killed in an accident on an upstate ski slope when she slammed into a tree, authorities said yesterday. Nicole Biondo, 17, of Hauppauge, was killed...
CHILL OUT - WE'RE IN THE DEEP FREEZE FOR A WEEK
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amMother Nature continues to serenade the city with "I Only Have Ice for You" - and she has no plans to stop her taunting tune anytime soon. With temperatures hovering...
KIN: HIT-RUN WAS MURDER; SAME CAR STRUCK TWICE: MOM
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amThe tearful mom of a teenage girl who died after being run over twice on a Queens street insisted yesterday her daughter was intentionally targeted - and revealed that the...
NYPD DAILY BLOTTER
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amManhattan Twenty people were arrested yesterday when they converged on the U.S. Mission to the United Nations and blocked the entrance during an Iraq-war protest, police said. The demonstration, organized...
PATS: WE'RE NOT DONE ; WINNING SUPER BOWL CLUB'S 'ULTIMATE GOAL'
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amFOXBORO - The mood in the Patriots' locker room Sunday night after they dispatched the Colts 24-14 to advance to their second Super Bowl in three years and third in...
CHINATOWN VICTIM A 'BYSTANDER'
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amA 27-year-old man who was shot in a wild Chinatown gun battle that left one man dead told cops yesterday he was an innocent bystander who got caught in the...
NEW ENGLAND MAY LAY DOWN FINANCIAL LAW WITH TY
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amThe notion may seem absurd, but it's possible cornerback Ty Law played his last home game as a Patriot on Sunday despite the fact that he had three interceptions. Law...
$AVAGE SCHOOL HALLS; 600 SUITS OVER CLASS VIOLENCE
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amMore than 600 alleged victims of school violence have filed legal claims and lawsuits against the city totaling hundreds of millions of dollars since 2001, The Post has learned. The...
'SALT CAUSED SHOCK'
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amEast Village residents say a chemical compound used to melt snow on sidewalks could have boosted the corrosion of Con Ed cables that caused Friday's electrocution of Jodie Lane. The...
MARTHA'S GOT A 'FIGHTING CHANCE' AT TRIAL: POLL
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amMartha Stewart got some good news yesterday - a poll found only 27 percent of Americans would find her guilty of obstruction of justice if they served on her jury....
CATS UNCANNY CLONES OF THEIR SUPER RIVALS
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amStrange how this all works. Two years ago, the Patriots were everybody's underdogs, upstarts who were supposed to be a nice opponent to the high-flying Rams in the Super Bowl,...
KERRY-ING WEIGHT: MASS. SEN. UP IN IOWA
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amDES MOINES, Iowa - John Kerry moved into an early lead in the Iowa caucuses last night, with John Edwards and Howard Dean battling for second place, according to a...
DOC HELD IN WIFE SLAY; STAGED SUV CRASH AS COVER-UP: COPS
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amA brilliant New Jersey doctor has been charged with beating his beautiful young wife to death and then sending her SUV - with her body slumped behind the wheel -...
STICKUP BACKFIRES; SUBWAY 'VICTIM' KILLS HIS MUGGER
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amAn illegal alien who was once jailed for robbery turned the tables on two thugs who tried to stick him up on the subway early yesterday - shooting one of...
COPS SAVE SUICIDAL SONGBIRD
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amThree cops became instant heroes before they even made it to work yesterday - stopping a 23- year-old woman despondent over a broken heart and failing singing career from leaping...
DOC HELD IN WIFE SLAY: STAGED SUV CRASH AS COVER-UP: COPS
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amA brilliant New Jersey doctor has been charged with beating his beautiful young wife to death and then sending her SUV - with her body slumped behind the wheel -...
HOWARD'S ANGER NOW A LIABILITY
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amANALYSIS DES MOINES, Iowa - The Democratic 2004 race now is all about who can beat President Bush - and that's why John Kerry won the Iowa caucuses with John...
DISASTER FOR DEAN IN IOWA ; IN 'CRAZY' RANT AS KERRY WINS
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amIn an Iowa meltdown, Howard Dean got socked with a disastrous third-place finish last night, as John Kerry pulled off a stunning political comeback to win the first-in-the-nation Democratic contest...
PLAYTIME'S OVER: LEGAL TEAM TELLS JACKO TO CUT THE HIGH JINKS
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amTHE freak show has been canceled. Following Michael Jackson's disastrous courtroom performance Friday - he showed up late for his arraignment, moonwalked for screaming fans atop an SUV and threw...
MCD'S AXES KOBE
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amMcDonald's isn't "lovin' it" with Kobe Bryant anymore. The global fast-food chain has not renewed the NBA star's endorsement contract, marking the third commercial deal the Los Angeles Lakers guard...
MARTHA'S BRINGING PERSONAL STYLE TO TRIAL
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amMartha Stewart plans to "be herself" when she arrives at Manhattan federal court today after putting the finishing touches on a legal defense she hopes will save her from prison....
U.S. SEEKS U.N. AID: SHIITE PROTESTS ENDANGER VOTE PLAN
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - The United States moved to head off a dangerous showdown with leaders of Iraq's Shiite Muslim majority yesterday - asking the United Nations to help save its plans...
DISASTER FOR DEAN IN IOWA: KERRY WINS CAUCUS, GEPHARDT PULLS OUT
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amDES MOINES - John Kerry pulled off a stunning political comeback last night and won the Iowa caucuses - while one-time front-runner Howard Dean sunk to a distant third place,...
DR. DEATH: STAGES CRASH AFTER KILLING WIFE: POLICE
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amA brilliant New Jersey doctor has been charged with beating his beautiful young wife to death and then sending her SUV - with her body slumped behind the wheel -...
QUICK ACTION ROLLS
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amQuick Action, who faded to fourth last out after setting the pace as the 4-5 favorite in the Maria's Mon Stakes at the Big A, made amends yesterday at 6-1,...
ST. RAY'S FALLS IN OT
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amBrian Laing hit a game-tying shot with 20 seconds to go in regulation to force overtime, but the St. Raymond's senior wasn't able to knock down a last-second attempt off...
NO DISRESPECT HERE
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amFOXBORO - I respect the Patriots. I fear the Patriots. I think the Patriots are the most entertaining, well-disciplined, best-coached team I've ever seen in my life. I think Bill...
BLUESHIRTS TAKE THE HOLIDAY OFF
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amBruins 5Rangers 2 BOSTON - It's difficult to overstate just how poorly the Rangers played here in yesterday afternoon's 5-2 loss to the Bruins, how thoroughly they were beaten in...
FUNNY HOW A WIN SMOOTHES FEELINGS
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amIslanders 5Senators 2 For the second day in a row, Garth Snow pounded Oleg Kvasha with his fist. But yesterday it was in celebration of Kvasha's third-period goal in a...
STEPH, KNICKS HAVE FINISH FIT FOR A KING ; MARBURY'S MLK DAY MAGIC DERAILS RAPTORS
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amKnicks 90Raptors 79 Before Stephon Marbury set the Garden ablaze with a ferocious individual performance yesterday during a Martin Luther King Day matinee, Isiah Thomas was asked if the Knicks...
BATTLE FOR THE BOTTOM
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - They weren't just great games. They were epic games. They were electric and intense. They were blood and guts. They gave a conference legitimacy and defined an era...
ISIAH'S TEAM STILL WORK IN PROGRESS
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amKNICK NOTES While Knicks fans are flying high this morning, team president Isiah Thomas isn't satisfied. And more than likely, he isn't done dealing - or at least looking for...
STEPH, THOMAS POTENT PAIRING
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amKurt Thomas looked lonely all day, which is just the way he likes it on the court. "He's a pick-and-pop guy," Stephon Marbury said after the Knicks' 90-79 MLK Day...
NETS MUST END SLIDE SHOWS
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amIt's too short to be a trend, but it's long enough to trouble head coach Byron Scott. And the Nets need to fix it as they embark on one of...
PACERS GETTING THE POINT
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amBACK-TO-BACK victo ries over the Spurs in Indy and the Nets in New Jersey - as well as yesterday's road kill in Atlanta - leave little doubt the 32-11 Pacers...
YANKEES EYE BURKETT
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amIn their attempts to find an insurance starter, the Yankees have expressed interest in former Red Sox righthander John Burkett. The 39-year-old free agent went 12-9 with a 5.15 ERA...
HUSKIES AVOID HUGE PITT-FALL
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amUConn 68Pitt 65 HARTFORD - For 10 months, Connecticut had lived with the sting of last winter's Big East tournament loss to Pittsburgh, stewed with that defeat stuck in their...
FINALLY, A GARDEN SHOW WORTH WATCHING
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amEight games and five wins into the Stephon Marbury Era, the ayes have it a winner. There were 19,308 sets of eyes in a raucous Garden caucus yesterday which, regardless...
OKAFOR KNOWS WHAT HE'S DOING
January 20, 2004 | 5:00amHARTFORD - At a time when the Big East is being cannibalized by the ACC for profit margins, and athletes are making headlines for all the wrong reasons, there is...