February 3, 2004
DON'T GET CAUGHT UP IN THE JOBS NUMBERS GAME THIS WEEK
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amTHIS is a very dangerous week for the stock market. Stocks yesterday had their typically strong Monday rally before fading at the end of the day. As I've been documenting...
RELATED MAKES A SALE TO REIT GIANT ARCHSTONE-SMITH
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amNYSE-traded Archstone-Smith, the giant Englewood, Colo.-based REIT specializing in residential buildings, is buying only its second Manhattan property - and for what might be a record price for a rental...
SUPER SHOWDOWN - AOL SEEKING REFUND AFTER HALFTIME SURPRISE TWIST
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amAfter paying for a halftime show and getting a peep show, AOL wants its money back, tit for tat. The Super Bowl was supposed to be AOL's chance to shine...
BMG PUTS DAVIS BACK ON TOP
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amClive Davis is back on top. As The Post reported two weeks ago, Davis, the music legend credited with discovering such talents as Whitney Houston and Santana, is taking on...
APPLE'S AD, OFFERINGS OUT OF ITUNE
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amLooks like Apple Computer's advertising department and music service need to get in tune. The latest commercials for the iPod digital-music player feature the song "Channel Surfing," by a DJ...
TIME NATIONAL EDITOR QUITS FOR MUSEUM JOB
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amTime magazine managing editor Jim Kelly didn't have far to look when he found that his national editor Richard Stengel was quitting - in a presidential election year - to...
LUCIANO OUT AT MERRILL - ALLY OF OUSTED EXECS LEAVES BROKERAGE BOARD
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amLongtime Merrill Lynch director and former Schering-Plough CEO Robert Luciano was pressured to retire from the Wall Street giant's board, sources close to the situation told the Post. Luciano was...
VIRUS ENFORCER URGES MAX PENALTY FOR MYDOOM WRITER
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amThe writer of MyDoom, the most widely spread Internet virus in history, should face a tough sentence to deter other would-be hackers, an attorney who prosecuted computer crimes said yesterday....
TOP STUDIO EXEC TO HITTHE ROAD
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amMichael De Luca, the head of production at DreamWorks SKG, is on his way out, The Post has learned. De Luca is leaving DreamWorks - the movie studio founded by...
KOZ WITNESS COOPERMAN MAY BE TARGET OF PROBE
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amIn a get-even slap, indicted tycoon Dennis Kozlowski says hedge fund boss Leon Cooperman - who testified against him - may himself be a target of an oil-bribes probe. Cooperman,...
SHOPPING 'TOONS - DREAMWORKS PONDERS ANIMATION UNIT SPINOFF
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amDreamWorks SKG is stepping up efforts to spin off its animation unit, which has produced such hits as "Shrek" and "Chicken Run," The Post has learned. The company, formed in...
PACKING THEM IN - BROKERS FLOCK TO HEAR NYSE'S E-TRADING PLAN
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amAt the most packed meeting members can remember, New York Stock Exchange CEO John Thain explained how and why he wanted to add more electronic trading to the market, said...
IT'S PANAMA MANIA - TAMARA BECKWITH GOES BEYOND THE CANAL ZONE
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amTHREE days into our leisurely Caribbean cruise, a stranger with a shaved head and dark reflective sunglasses clambered aboard our ship and calmly seized control of the vessel. For the...
TRIPLE THREAT - GRAMMY'S OTHER NEW ARTIST NOMINEES
February 3, 2004 | 5:00am50 CENT may have the inside track on the Grammy Award, but these contenders are enjoying the bubble of fame a Best New Artist nomination brings:SEAN PAUL Any aficionado of...
10 WAYS TO CUT 10 YEARS - MAKEUP: THE NEW PLASTIC SURGERY
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amPLASTIC surgery became a little less attractive recently when 54-year-old author Olivia Goldsmith died of complications after undergoing a "neck lift." Luckily, knives and needles aren't the only ways to...
CAMERAS OUT AT BLAKE TRIAL
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amTV legal legend Fred Graham implored a judge yesterday to allow TV cameras into Robert Blake's murder trial, but the judge said they would be too distracting for witnesses. "I...
OPRAH'S BIG BASH - THE PARTY YOU WEREN'T INVITED TO
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amA twinkling universe of A-list stars turned out to help Oprah Winfrey celebrate her 50th birthday last weekend in a fabulous West Coast megabash. Just days after Winfrey celebrated her...
GIRLS, TEST YOUR 'GAYDAR'
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amFOX has put new twists on two tried-and-true reality series ideas: the makeover show and the dating contest. On a series called "The Swan," 18 female contestants get plastic surgery...
TWO CURTAINS COMING DOWN
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amTHE producers of "Gypsy" announced yesterday that the show will play its final performance on Feb. 28 - a victim, they said, of a particularly brutal winter. Also posting its...
BULLETS OVER BROADWAY - GRAMMY'S BEST NEW ARTISTS ARE ANYTHING BUT NEW
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amHE'S a trash-talking gangsta with a rap sheet. She's a stunning songbird with a Tony Award. So come Sunday night, who's going to win the Grammy for Best New Artist,...
STARR REPORT
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amUSA's 'Monk' magic "Monk" continues to pull big numbers on USA - bigger numbers, in fact, than it's pulling on the broadcast side over on ABC. Last Friday's episode of...
GIDDY VISA GIRL GETS HER WINGS
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amREMEMBER that excitable checkout girl from the Visa commercial with "Frasier" star Jane Leeves? She's back - just like we told you she'd be. Christina Chambers, 34, who made a...
BOMBING FREEDOM - TERRORISTS TARGET THE KURDS
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amTHE bombings in northern Iraq on Sunday attacked more than the two main Kurdish political parties. The blasts, which killed more than 60 civilians and wounded hundreds, were targeted at...
WEIRD BUT TRUE
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amCouples who eat lots of fruit feel friskier in the bedroom. A survey by Cape, a fruit company, found that men and women alike are more ready for sex after...
P. DIDDY'S DRIVER SUIT DONE DEAL
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amHe rapped his hit "Mo' Money, Mo' Problems" with Nelly during Sunday's Super Bowl halftime show, but now Sean "P. Diddy" Combs has less money - and at least one...
SPITZER FUELS FRONT-RUNNER'S FIRE
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amALBANY - State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer endorsed John Kerry yesterday, calling the Massachusetts senator "the man to take back the White House from President Bush." Spitzer, the nation's best-known...
HEADLESS, HANDLESS L.I. CORPSE ID'D AS PROSTITUTE
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amPolice have identified a headless and handless body dumped on Long Island last year as a 20-year-old prostitute. She was Jessica Taylor, who plied her trade in Manhattan before she...
NYPD DAILY BLOTTER
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amBROOKLYN * An East New York man choked a woman and punched her daughter during a heated argument in his home, authorities said yesterday. Gary Mikula, 43, beat and pushed...
SADDAM'S THREAT - WHAT KAY GETS WRONG - AND RIGHT
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amON June 1, 2002, George W. Bush laid down the case for a new approach to foreign policy in the post-9/11 era. "If we wait for threats to fully materialize,...
'84 SEX-SLAY TRIAL: EX-NEIGHBOR ACCUSED IN ATROCITY AGAINST GIRL, 11
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amNearly two decades after an 11-year-old Long Island girl was found molested and drowned in a creek near her home, a former family pal went on trial for her murder...
COUNTRY STAR'S GUN-BUST PLEA
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amA country and western singer-songwriter who was busted at a Long Island airport with a loaded gun in his carry-on bag pleaded not guilty yesterday to charges of criminal weapons...
'PRODUCERS' COULD BE WURST SHOW IN GERMANY
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amIt may be "Springtime for Hitler" in Germany. Mel Brooks is mulling the possibility of having "The Producers" goosestep its way into the Fatherland later this year. The creator of...
ARIEL SHOCKS SETTLERS - PLAN TO RELOCATE GAZA JEWS IGNITES FUROR
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amJERUSALEM - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon stunned supporters yesterday when he told them he would uproot virtually all Jewish settlements inside the Gaza Strip. Sharon, a longtime champion of...
GOV: IT'S ALL DEMS' FAULT
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amSuspected East Side rapist Kevin White would have been behind bars instead of terrorizing the city if Assembly Democrats had approved a bill to toughen penalties for "serial" misdemeanor offenders,...
GOV HOSTING 500G ARNIE FUND-RAISER
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amALBANY - Gov. Pataki will host a Feb. 24 Manhattan fund-raising dinner for California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, with the price of admission "suggested" at a staggering $500,000. Republican Pataki, one...
GOV FENDS OFF QUERIES ON GUARD
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amALBANY - Gov. Pataki yesterday repeatedly ducked questions about why a top security aide took the Fifth Amendment. Pataki, in a brief encounter with reporters, refused to answer several questions...
NO INJURIES AS LIRR DERAILS AT JAMAICA
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amA Long Island Rail Road train jumped the tracks yesterday as it pulled out of Jamaica Station, officials said. The last two cars of the empty 12-car train derailed around...
BOWL'S TV RATINGS ARE SUPER
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amSunday night's Super Bowl attracted 89.6 million viewers - making the game the most watched program on any network since 1998, according to Nielsen Media Research. Roughly 143 million viewers...
INJURED FIRE HERO GETTING BETTER
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amHero firefighter Joe Lennon was on the mend yesterday and welcoming support from family, friends and fellow firefighters who streamed in to visit him in his hospital room. Lennon, 35,...
MIKE HINTS AT RUDY AS CONVENTION KEYNOTE SPEAKER
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amThe keynote speaker at the Republican presidential convention has yet to be selected, but Mayor Bloomberg hinted yesterday that it's going to be Rudy Giuliani. "For those of you that...
HS KIDS CAN SKIP 'SNOW' REGENTS
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amALBANY - Thousands of seniors in Big Apple schools will not be forced to take Regents exams - postponed last week because of snow - in order to graduate, state...
DONORS' $$ PAYS REV. AL
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - The Rev. Al Sharpton paid himself $31,243 from his nearly broke presidential campaign and he's owed another $105,800 in unspecified reimbursement expenses, according to his latest campaign-finance report....
'DRUG THUG DID IT' - ACCUSED WIFE-KILLER FINGERS PAL
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amA Queens woman was gunned down by one of her newlywed husband's associates because she stiffed him on a drug deal, the husband testified yesterday, enraging the victim's family. Billy...
SOBBING AFTER 'SEX' - TEARS AS FEMME-FATALE FOURSOME PUTS SERIES TO BED
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amSarah Jessica Parker burst into sobs yesterday as her six years of great "Sex" came to an end. The actress broke down during a cast and crew wrap-up after she...
VICTIM BLASTS KILLER PILLS
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amBETHESDA, Md. - It's a miracle that Mark Taylor was able to stand up before a government panel yesterday and tell them about the dangers of anti-depressant drugs and children....
CUSTOMS AGENT ARRESTED
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amA U.S. Customs agent was charged yesterday with obstructing a federal probe into a Korean couple suspected of smuggling two young women into the country to force them into prostitution....
E. SIDE FIEND'S TORTURE
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amAlleged Upper East Side sex predator Kevin White saved his worst brutalities for his male victims, including a vicious violation during which he told one man he was going to...
SCHOOL'S A JEWEL - NEW HS IS HARLEM'S FIRST IN 50 YEARS
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amStudents at the Thurgood Marshall Academy in Harlem were overjoyed yesterday - their first day in their spanking new six-story school building, the first new school built in the neighborhood...
FORECAST IS UP FUR GRABS
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amOld Man Winter is here to stay for awhile - that is, if you believe that peerless prognosticator, Punxsutawney Phil. The nation's official Groundhog Day, um, groundhog, came out of...
RITES SET FOR COP WHO DIED CHASING PERP
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amA private funeral Mass will be held Thursday for the city cop who died of an apparent heart attack while pursuing an illegal vendor in SoHo, his brother said yesterday....
THIS WASN'T A BLINDSIDE TACKLE, FANS
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amEVERYONE'S disgusted by Sunday's halftime? They're sickened by the latest pop- cultural national TV ambush? Enough is enough? If that's the case, then a good on ya, both, Janet and...
MAN GUILTY OF CONNING EX-KNICK
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amLOS ANGELES - A California man pleaded guilty to ripping off veteran pro basketball player Mark Jackson in a scam that cost the former Knick and St. John's star more...
YOU KNOW IT'S A CIRCUS WHEN ROSIE THE CLOWN SHOWS UP
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amWAKE me when they bring in the unicorns. Yesterday, the stars realigned over the federal courthouse. And this normally sober and sterile swatch of downtown transformed into Planet Martha, New...
COP TESTIFIES IN SHOOTING SUIT
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amA Staten Island cop facing a $60 million lawsuit for wrongfully shooting and paralyzing a suspect testified yesterday that the man was facing him with a gun when he shot...
BX. DANGER SCHOOL GETS NEW CHIEF
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amA staff shakeup has taken place at one of the 12 schools Mayor Bloomberg identified as the most dangerous. A new principal was installed at IS 222 in The Bronx...
KERRY COULD CLEAN UP IN SEVEN-STATE SHOWDOWN
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amDemocratic front-runner John Kerry is the big favorite in today's seven-state showdown and the only real question is whether he'll win big enough to make him the all-but-certain presidential nominee....
BX. 'SUPER'MAN - SURVIVES BRIDGE LEAP AFTER LOSING BOWL BET
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amA man despondent over losing a bet on the Super Bowl jumped from the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge Sunday night - and survived the 10-story leap after landing on grassy ground padded...
DUO CAUGHT IN BOOBY TRAP - JUSTIN AND JANET FACE GRAMMY BAN
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amCBS is moving to bounce Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake from next Sunday's Grammy Awards amid the national uproar following their X-rated, prime-time Super Bowl stunt. Sources told The Post...
'WHERE IS SAM?' - WAKSAL AIDE TELLS OF 'HARSH' MARTHA'S FRANTIC CALL
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amA "hurried and harsh" Martha Stewart called the office of her buddy, ImClone founder Sam Waksal, moments after she sold her ImClone stock and abruptly told his assistant, "Get Sam,"...
UNION-SCAM $ANTA TESTIFIES
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amOfficials of an elevator-workers union collected generous cuts from a multimillion phantom-job scheme, including Christmas cards stuffed with cash, a longtime union honcho alleged yesterday. Anthony DeGennaro told jurors in...
'ROID RAP FOR BRAVEST BEEFCAKE
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amA hottie Bravest who moonlights as a raunchy nude stripper has been tossed on desk duty after being busted for steroid possession, authorities said yesterday. Rodney St. Cloud, Mr. April...
ENQUIRER KILLED OUR MARRIAGE: GEST
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amLiza Minnelli's estranged husband, David Gest, claims her alleged boozing and brawling didn't end their marriage - the National Enquirer did. Gest, 50, says his not-quite-better half pulled the plug...
AOL MAY DEMAND REFUND FOR PEEP SHOW
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amAfter paying for a halftime show - and instead getting a peep show - AOL may demand some of its money back. The Super Bowl was supposed to be AOL's...
IN HOTTIE WATER - STEROID RAP FOR FDNY STRIPPER
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amA hottie Bravest who moonlights as a raunchy nude stripper has been put on desk duty after being busted for steroid possession, authorities said yesterday. Rodney St. Cloud, the muscle-bound...
COMPUTERS, VIDEOS IN JACKO HAUL
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amLOS ANGELES - Sheriff's deputies seized computers, videotapes, letters and other documents when they raided Michael Jackson's Neverland ranch on Nov. 18, according to documents unsealed yesterday. The massive search...
COP TESTIFIES IN SHOOT SUIT
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amA Staten Island cop, fighting a $60 million lawsuit for wrongfully shooting and paralyzing a suspect, testified yesterday that the man was facing him with a gun when he shot...
-BUSH'S BUDGET BOOSTS APPLE'S DEFENSE AGAINST TERROR (M, S)-BUSH BUDGET BOOSTS APPLE (LCF)
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - President Bush's proposed budget would give New York City a big boost in counterterror spending and smaller increases for education and other programs, officials said yesterday. In terrorism...
-CITY'S ONLINE EWAY TO SETTLE LAWSUITS (M, S)-CITY WILL USE NEW ONLINE EWAY TO SETTLE LAWSUITS (LCF)
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amPeople suing the city will soon be able to reach settlements in the ultimate frontier of haggling - cyberspace. City Comptroller William Thompson announced yesterday that he's signed a two-year...
CLASSROOM EXTRA: FIVE DAYS OF TERROR
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amThe Civil War draft sparked one of the worst riots in history. Read about five days of violence that terrorized New York's African-American citizens. President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation went...
JAKE'S NO FLUKE - DELHOMME DIDN'T WILT IN HEAT OF SUPER SPOTLIGHT
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amHOUSTON - Late Sunday night, Jake Delhomme was fielding his last question from reporters in the bowels of Reliant Stadium. Nearby, several Patriots were waxing poetically with brilliant smiles about...
FRANKLY, NETS SUPER
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amNEW ORLEANS - It has taken just four games under coach Lawrence Frank for the Nets to rewrite the team record books. With an utterly scintillating second half - one...
ULTIMATE TEST FOR DEVILS' 'D'
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amScrooge meets Trump, and something has to give. When the Devils play host to the Senators this evening at the Meadowlands, one of the stingiest defenses since they put in...
PLAYING PAT HAND - CHAMPS HOLD ALL RIGHT CARDS FOR FUTURE
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amHOUSTON - Mere minutes had passed following the Patriots' electrifying 32-29 win over the Panthers in Super Bowl XXXVIII Sunday night when their offensive coordinator, Charlie Weis, sitting breathless in...
BOEHEIM STILL LOVES HUSKIES
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amHARTFORD - It should have been the best of summers for Syracuse forward Hakim Warrick. He got to show off his national championship ring. His blocked shot of a Michael...
SATHER HAS NO ANSWERS
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amThis was the message on the locker room grease board that greeted those Ranger players who reported to the Garden for yesterday's optional (what else?) morning skate:Critics raked in rows...
KENYON 'STAR' GAZING - HOPING COACHES GIVE HIM THE NOD
February 3, 2004 | 5:00am"I didn't know 600,000 people like me." -KENYON MARTIN ON ALL-STAR VOTING NEW ORLEANS - Kenyon Martin does not want to get his hopes up - but yes, he really...
NFL VOWS TO CLEAN UP HALFTIME SHOW
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amSUPER BOWL CONFIDENTIAL HOUSTON - There are many exotic bets involved with the Super Bowl. Here's a sure thing for Super Bowl XXXIX in Jacksonville: The halftime show will be...
U.S. STAR'S READY TO GO THE DISTANCE
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amThroughout America's prolonged distance-running drought, track fans have pined for a U.S. runner capable of beating the dominant African runners, able to help return stateside distance-running to its bygone heyday....
'NEW' BELICHICK A SUPER ROLE MODEL FOR COUGHLIN
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amHOUSTON - If even a fraction of what we've heard about Tom Coughlin is true, then he has already digested every frame of every play of every Giants game from...
HENSON MAKES SNAP DECISION
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amIt's official - Drew Henson's baseball days are over. The Yankees' minor league third baseman has called an audible on his baseball career, agreeing in principle to settle his final...
ISIAH HAS MORE MOVES IN MIND
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amKNICK NOTES Most GMs look at the Knick roster and say it's among the best in the East. Isiah Thomas never warmed to the idea. Though he's loving the climb...
SUPER PATS REVEL IN SECOND CROWN - CONSISTENCY IS SECRET TO CHAMPS' SUCCESS
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amHOUSTON - Finally, the secret behind the success of the Patriots is revealed. These guys love the process. "A lot of players I've come across, they like to be football...
GARDEN GRUDGE MATCH - REVENGE IN AIR IN ISIAH-BIRD SHOWDOWN
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amA still-bitter Knick boss Isiah Thomas shot down Larry Bird's contention that the two of them couldn't work together in Indiana, saying Larry Legend falsely accused him of lacking communication...
TROUBLED GRIFFIN JAILED IN HOUSTON
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amNET NOTES NEW ORLEANS - The never-ending saga of Eddie Griffin, the forward the Nets gambled on to improve their bench, took another twist yesterday when he was jailed in...
MAGIC GM COULD GET 'WHACKED' ANY TIME
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amWHEN Orlando was awarded an expansion franchise in the late '80s, its driving force was Pat Williams, celebrated for his promotional/personnel ingenuity as GM of the Bulls and 76ers. Upon...
ISLES OUT TO EXTEND HOME HEX
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amIt's not quite the days of Fort Neverlose, but the Islanders have made Nassau Coliseum a rough place to invade this season. As they play host to the Canucks tonight,...
EXPLORERS RULE BRONX
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amColumbus 73 - Wings 51 Elvis Lora came into this season as Columbus' best player, but he knew he would need help if the Explorers were going to make a...
K-MART HOPING FOR ALL-STAR CALL
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amNET NOTES NEW ORLEANS - Kenyon Martin does not want to get his hopes up. But, yes, he really wants to be an All-Star. And he feels he deserves it....
HUSKIES MOTOR PAST SYRACUSE
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amUConn 84 - Syracuse 56 HARTFORD - One of the Connecticut crazies held up a sign that read, "Vitale Saw His Shadow, Six Weeks 'Til Madness." Then the Huskies made...
HOLIK COW: A VICTORY! - TWO GOALS HELP BLUESHIRTS BREATHE EASIER
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amRangers 4 - Canucks 3 It remains to be seen whether last night's 4-3 Garden victory over the Canucks will be remembered as the beginning of a Ranger renaissance or...
GRIFFIN IS JAILED IN TEXAS
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amNEW ORLEANS - The never-ending saga of Eddie Griffin, the forward the Nets gambled on to improve their bench, took another twist yesterday when he was jailed in Houston after...
FRANKLY, NETS SUPER - SIX IN DOUBLE-FIGURES MAKE FOR EASY WIN
February 3, 2004 | 5:00amNets 91 - Hornets 70 NEW ORLEANS - It has taken Lawrence Frank four games with the Nets to rewrite the team record books. With an utterly scintillating second half...