August 3, 2004
HOW COMMERCE DEPT. MADE THE RECESSION DISAPPEAR
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amTHE U.S. Commerce Depart ment said "abracadabra" and made the 2001 recession disappear. While everyone last Friday was focusing on the freshly released estimate of the nation's gross domestic product...
YANKEE PANKY! BOMBERS IN TALKS TO MERGE NET' WITH SOX CHANNEL
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amThe Yankees and Red Sox are mortal enemies on the field - but they may wind up in business together by merging their lucrative sports networks, The Post has learned....
KIDS JUST SAY 'NO' TO DUDS, BUY COOL GADGETS INSTEAD
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amGadgets from cell phones to iPods are eating up a greater share of back-to-school spending, leaving some apparel retailers vulnerable during the second-biggest shopping season of the year. Apparel is...
'SEABISCUIT' SCRIBE MAKES HAY; ED. UNHORSED
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amRecent events at the newly consolidated Random House/Ballantine indicate that the venerable publisher both giveth and taketh away. Yesterday, "Little Random" announced that its editor in chief, Jonathan Karp, had...
NEW LEASE DEAL AT TERROR TOWER
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amIN the latest big law firm expansion, Kirkland & Ellis just signed a complex deal to extend its lease by 15 years and add about 70,000 square feet to the...
NEW, SOUPED-UP FAMILY MAGAZINE TO DEBUT
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amThe American Magazine started with a lot of hype in 2003 only to shut down in early 2004. Now the magazine is combining with the authors behind the mega-bestselling "Chicken...
OIL PRICES SOAR - TERROR JITTERS SPARK SPECULATION IN MARKETS
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amThe world's oil wells strained to keep pumping their biggest flows in 25 years as prices hit yet another terrorist-incited high near $44 a barrel yesterday. Terrorist jitters are feeding...
HELLO, KITTIE: A HEAVY METAL HAIR-EM
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amYOU might expect cutesy, bubble gum pop tunes from a band named Kittie, but these four women don't purr - they growl. The quartet of twentysomethings from London, Ontario -...
'SNL' OFFERS CLINTON A GIG
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amLIVE from New York, it's . . . Bill Clinton? NBC has approached the ex-president about hosting "Saturday Night Live" this season -and Clinton will reportedly decide on the offer...
CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF KID SIS 'ASHLEE'
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amASHLEE Simpson wraps her eight-episode MTV series tomorrow - and could return for a second go-round. Jessica Simpson's kid sister turned out to be a revelation for MTV, with "Ashlee...
STARR REPORT
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amDealing 'em in Mega-popular Dave Chap pelle will, indeed, return to Comedy Central for two more seasons of "Chappelle's Show" - much to the relief of the network's executives. The...
'PLAY' GROUP - 'THE BACHELORETTE' MEETS HIP-HOP - BUT DOESN'T HIT IT OFF
August 3, 2004 | 4:00am"The Player" Tonight at 9 on UPN (four cheeses) LACTOSE-intolerance warning: "The Player," UPN's new reality show, is so cheesy that all you need is macaroni for a complete dinner....
'COLLATERAL' DAMAGE - CRUISE'S GOOD GUY IMAGE TAKES A HIT IN KILLER ROLE
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amTOM Cruise is about to find out whether crime pays. Hollywood's golden boy has built a 25-year career on playing action heroes and romantic leads, saving the day and getting...
LAZY RIVER - ON A MISSION TO FIND PEACE AND QUIET WITHIN TWO HOURS OF MANHATTAN, DAVID LANDSEL SETTLES ON THE SECRET TOWNS OF THE LOWER DELAWARE
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amMONSOON-like rains are not the best ingredient for a relaxing weekend. But driving down River Road in Pennsylvania's Bucks County at the close of a particularly vicious deluge - one...
CLOSE TO HOME - NOT UP FOR ROLLING ON THE DELAWARE RIVER? MAKE A BREAK FOR MORE STRESS-FREE WEEKENDS
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amGREENWICH, CONN. It was just a suburb - and what a suburb - until a luxe hotel opened last year. Now, it's a destination. Window shop on pristine Greenwich Avenue...
THUGS SHOOT 2 ON B'KLYN STREET
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amKharisi Bonner had her heart set on a visit to Montreal next week - but a spray of bullets derailed the 12-year-old's travel plans. She and another Brooklyn resident, José...
MACAQUE ATTACK; MONKEY BITES BOY, 2,IN B'KLYN SUPERMARKET
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amA foul-tempered monkey meant business inside a Brooklyn supermarket - attacking a 2-year-old toddler who was there with his grandmother, police said yesterday. "Grandma, it hurts! It hurts!" Helene Romano...
BIGOTS AND BOMBS; KILLING IRAQI CHRISTIANS
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amEVERY country and culture has its bigots. The test of a civilization's quality is whether or not it indulges them: Are bigots regarded as dangerous members of a lunatic fringe,...
NYPD DAILY BLOTTER
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amTHE BRONX ((( A Morris Heights woman was clinging to life after another woman viciously stabbed her, authorities said yesterday. The 37-year-old victim, whose name was withheld, was about a...
WEIRD BUT TRUE
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amBeantown has a surefire way to make driving a more pleasant experience - happy faces. Officials in Boston just approved special license plates with the famous "smiley face" design to...
KERRY'S SIS WORKS FOR (AND AGAINST) BUSH
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amShe spends her days at work involved with the Bush administration's foreign policy, and her nights and weekends attacking it on behalf of her brother - Democratic presidential candidate John...
FLEEING BACKERS MAY FOUL UP NET PLAN
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amIncoming New Jersey Nets owner Bruce Ratner has been dealt a setback in his quest to buy the team, after several backers suddenly pulled out, The Post has learned. The...
PAKISTAN PULLS ITS WEIGHT IN RAIDS
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amWASHINGTON - The arrest in Pakistan of an al Qaeda computer whiz privy to "veins" of information about new terror plots underscored Pakistan's evolving role in the war on terror....
WALL ST.'S FEARLESS TRADERS
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amTraders at the New York Stock Exchange yesterday defied the terror warnings and went about their business - the business of making money "I worked too hard to get to...
TEEN DATE SHOCK; SEX = VIOLENCE: STUDY
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amNearly one in every five sexually active teen girls say they've been hit, slapped or beaten up by a date in the past year, an alarming new study reveals. Just...
30,000 GET JOBS AMID GOV'S HIRE 'FREEZE'
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amALBANY - A "strict" hiring freeze imposed by the Pataki administration has been anything but - as the state has filled 30,000 open jobs since 2001, figures show. Among the...
NYPD COPS ISLAND HOP
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amThe startling flow of New York City cops to suburban departments continued yesterday as Nassau County swore in 59 ex-city officers at a ceremony in Garden City. Former NYPD members...
SPY CZAR OK'D ; BUSH ACTS ON 9/11 REPORT, CREATES POST
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amWASHINGTON - President Bush yesterday endorsed a sweeping reform of America's intelligence agencies by creating a powerful new counterterrorism czar, but not giving the job Cabinet-level status. Responding to the...
LAURA AND TWINS VISIT THREATENED CITI BLOCK
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amFirst Lady Laura Bush and her twin daughters paid a surprise visit to the Citigroup Center yesterday, joining Mayor Bloomberg and Gov. Pataki to cheer on employees who ignored the...
STATE BUDGET WILL SET RECORD FOR TARDINESS
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amALBANY - New York will set a new record for fiscal dysfunction tomorrow when it passes the mark for the latest state budget in history. State lawmakers yesterday ensured the...
TWO SHOT IN B'KLYN
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amLittle 12-year-old Kharisi Bonner had her heart set on a visit to Montreal next week - but a spray of bullets derailed her travel plans. She and another local, Jose...
ROBBER HITS TIMES SQ. POST OFFICE
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amA note-passing bandit yesterday stole more than $2,000 from the post office in Times Square, where the surveillance cameras were not working, law-enforcement officials said. Just a day after Homeland...
LEAD LAW WILL COST CITY $104M
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amDespite Mayor Bloomberg's staunch opposition to the new lead poisoning prevention law - which he once called unenforceable - all city agencies have begun enforcement actions they say will cost...
TEARS FOR BRITT; SINGERS BREAK DOWN AT FUNERAL
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amBAYVILLE, N.J. - The choir struggled to say goodbye to its angel. Murdered teen Brittney Gregory was laid to rest yesterday in a ceremony so emotional, it appeared the honor...
'SPIDEY' BURGLAR A 'CEREAL' CROOK: VICTIM
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amHow did the notorious "Spider-Man" burglar get the strength to lug 90 pounds of camera equipment out of West Side window and down five stories of scaffolding? By eating a...
MTA EARMARKS MONEY
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amThe MTA has earmarked $495 million toward "enhancing security readiness" in an effort to protect the region's vast rail network, officials said yesterday. The allocation is part of the Metropolitan...
LORI HUBBY BUSTED - POLICE: WE HAVE HIS SLAY WEAPON
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amThe lying hubby of missing Utah mom-to-be Lori Hacking was arrested for her murder yesterday. Confident Salt Lake City cops said they not only know where Mark Hacking killed his...
BUILDING PLOT AN INSIDE JOB - FEDS SUSPECT [[HV17]]'MOLE' WORKERS
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amInvestigators suspect terrorist moles worked at the Citigroup and Prudential buildings to case the skyscrapers as potential targets of car or truck bombs, The Post has learned. And now federal...
VERDICT IS BREAK OF DON; MASSINO FINED $10M
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amThere go his restaurants, and his house - and maybe even his mom's house and his sun-kissed Florida properties. The federal jury that last week whacked mob boss Joseph Massino...
HEART ATTACK KILLS HERO COP
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amA city cop collapsed and died in front of his wife and infant daughter just hours after he helped capture one of two vicious gunmen who invaded a Manhattan apartment,...
MS. SUBWAYS RIDES AGAIN ; HOW YOUCAN ENTER NEW CONTEST
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amThe New York Post is putting the pizzazz back into your daily commute with the triumphant return of Miss Subways - now rechristened Ms. Subways. One lucky New York City...
KVETCHIN' IN THE KITCHEN ; EATERIES COMPLAIN OF DELAYED DELIVERIES
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amManhattan grocery stores and restaurants experienced big delays getting food deliveries yesterday after trucks were rerouted and searched because of increased terror fears yesterday. "Nothing came in this morning. The...
NEW POLLS SHOW SCANT KERRY-OVER
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amWASHINGTON - Two new polls yesterday showed John Kerry getting a paltry single-digit boost following the Democratic convention. A CBS poll found Kerry with a 1-point gain over President Bush...
LIBERTY FUND BOSS MUST QUIT: SENATORS
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amTwo congressional leaders yesterday called for the resignation of the CEO of the Statue of Liberty Island Foundation after a probe into its alleged mishandling of funds, questionable fund-raising practices...
SCHOLAR HID STOLEN ARTIFACTS'
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amA Middle East scholar who claims he was protecting priceless Iraqi artifacts when he tried to sneak them through Kennedy Airport went on trial yesterday on smuggling charges and allegations...
CITY HALL SALUTES JAMAICA
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amSupermodel Naomi Campbell was among New Yorkers of Jamaican descent honored at a boisterous celebration of the island nation's independence at City Hall last night. Campbell, 34, who has worked...
ONE FOR THE BOOK
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amRetired four-star Gen. Tommy Franks last night said his new memoir will help remind Americans why they should be proud of their country. Autographing copies of his book, "American Soldier,"...
SCHOLAR ON TRIAL AS ARTIFACTS SMUGGLER
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amHe wrote the book on rebuilding Iraq. But yesterday, a noted Middle East author was accused in a Brooklyn court of smuggling priceless Iraqi artifacts through Kennedy Airport, pillaging the...
LORI'S HUBBY BUSTED; CHARGED WITH SLAY
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amThe lying hubby of missing Utah mom-to-be Lori Hacking was arrested and charged with her murder yesterday. Salt Lake City cops said they not only know where Mark Hacking killed...
ASTRO-NUT DAD ROGER; CLEMENS EJECTED FROM SON'S GAME
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amRoger Clemens is putting the ass in Astro. "The Rocket" was reportedly tossed from his 10-year-old son's baseball game over the weekend for harassing an umpire. The former Yankee, now...
THUGS SHOOT 2 IN B'KLYN
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amLittle 12-year-old Kharisi Bonner had her heart set on a visit to Montreal next week - but a spray of bullets derailed her travel plans. She and another resident, Jose...
BUILDING PLOT AN INSIDE JOB ; FEDS SUSPECT 'MOLE' WORKERS
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amInvestigators suspect terrorist moles worked at the Citigroup and Prudential buildings to case the skyscrapers as potential targets of car or truck bombs, The Post has learned. And now federal...
BEAU IN VICIOUS ATTACK; HACKS GAL PAL: COPS
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amA jealous man attacked his girlfriend with a machete - chopping off "a bunch of fingers" - after finding her at a Bronx motel, police said. After allegedly hacking up...
VERDICT IS BREAK OF DON - MASSINO FINED $10M
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amThere go his restaurants, and his house - and maybe even his mom's house and his sun-kissed Florida properties. The federal jury that last week whacked mob boss Joseph Massino...
BLACKOUT LOOMS TODAY FOR METS FANS
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amMets fans who subscribe to Time Warner Cable likely won't get to watch their team play today. There was no end in sight yesterday to the dispute between Time Warner...
ASTRO-NUT DAD - CLEMENS EJECTED FROM SON'S GAME
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amRoger Clemens is putting the ass in Astro. "The Rocket" was reportedly tossed from his 9-year-old son's baseball game over the weekend for blasting an umpire. The former New York...
CAR CLUE IN PELOSI SLAY TRIAL
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amA pal of accused murderer Danny Pelosi took a car belonging to victim Ted Ammon to be washed hours after the millionaire's brutal killing in his East Hampton mansion, prosecutors...
FOR BABY BOMBERS, IT'S TWO PAINFUL
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amThey hoped last week would signal an end to nights like these. They hoped their five-game win streak, the one that pulled the Staten Island Yankees within 10 games of...
THE HEAT'S ON HACKETT
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amPaul Hackett is the only coach on the Jets staff who has a middle name unprintable in family newspapers. Not only is Hackett's middle name unsuitable for print, it, too,...
JEFFERSON WANTS TO STAY IN SWAMP
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amRichard Jefferson wants to remain a Net, his agent said. And since the Nets want to retain Jefferson in light of recent public relation and roster disasters, this should be...
TYSON HAS SURGERY ON WOUNDED KNEE
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amMike Tyson underwent surgery on his left knee last night to repair an injury that shocked doctors to learn he had boxed with it for nearly four rounds in his...
'SONG' SWEET IN LAKE GEORGE
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amSARATOGA SPRINGS - It's not often you get 6-1 on Jerry Bailey over the grass at the Old Spa, especially on an in-form horse like Seducer's Song, trained by turf...
STARS TURN OUT FOR JOE'S CAUSE
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amLet there be little doubt: In New York City sports circles, Joe Torre is the unquestioned pied piper. When the Yankee manager calls, his friends come running. Yesterday, they teed...
FANS SHUT OUT AGAIN ; CABLE SPAT'S PUTTING DOLLARS BEFORE SENSE
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amLETus not rush to judgment, suckers. With the Cablevision versus Time-Warner dispute now in its third day, there has been some sentiment that T-W is wearing the white hat because...
KNICKS OPEN AGAINST SPREE
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amThe Knicks will have their toughness tested right away as they open their season against Latrell Sprewell, Kevin Garnett and the Western Conference powerhouse Timberwolves on Wednesday, Nov. 3, at...
WRIGHT IS LOOKING FOR SOME GLOVE
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amMET NOTES MILWAUKEE - So much for the theory that hitting was supposed to be David Wright's toughest big-league adjustment. It's only been 11 games, but so far Wright's biggest...
KURT IN CONTROL ; WARNER LOOKS SHARP
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amALBANY - New team, new home, new surroundings, new teammates, new offense, new plays, all heaped on Kurt Warner, who admitted he felt "a little bit like a rookie again"...
EL DUQUE SOLIDIFIES MOUND ROLE
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amYANKEE NOTES By navigating through danger despite a high pitch count on Sunday, Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez showed the Yankees that the hamstring tightness that forced his exit last Tuesday...
SMOOTH ELI PROVES HE CAN CARRY TUNE
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amGIANT NOTES ALBANY - It's still early, but thus far, Eli Manning has made a favorable impression on the field and yesterday, he was a hit in the cafeteria as...
LIVERPOOL ENDS SEASON TODAY VS. ROMA
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amWith 18 League titles and seven League Cups, Liverpool - not Manchester United - is the most successful British club ever. But after last year's humbling campaign extended a 14-year-drought...
HERM'S ALL SET TO KICK IT UP A NOTCH
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amJET NOTES The Jets are seven practices into training camp and Herman Edwards said yesterday he's now ready to turn up the heat. "The next few practices, the next few...
MO GIVES GOD ALL THE CREDIT
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amMariano Rivera said he felt sad to see Jose Contreras shipped to Chicago. He hopes, though, that the pitcher coming to The Bronx in return, a man he met at...
MOUND MENTOR ; NEW METS PITCHERS IN PETERSON'S HANDS
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amMILWAUKEE - Sure, there's pressure on Kris Benson and Victor Zambrano. But of everybody involved with the Mets' two controversial trades this past weekend, perhaps nobody is under more pressure...
PARTY'S OVER FOR SMARTY - AILING CHAMP IS RETIRED TO STUD
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amSo long, Smarty Jones. The feel-good saga of the blue-collar colt who went from "Smarty Who?" to become a national hero in his quixotic quest for the Triple Crown, came...
HERE COMES OLERUD - YANKS CLOSE TO FILLING 1B HOLE
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amEven if his bat has slowed, John Olerud can help the Yankees simply by his presence. And team officials hope he will be at Yankee Stadium beginning tonight against Oakland....
PARRISH RE-UPS WITH ISLANDERS
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amThe Islanders yesterday announced the re-signing of Mark Parrish, a Group II restricted free agent, to a one-year deal. As they did last summer, the Isles have been announcing completed...
METS: OUR HANDS TIED IN DISPUTE
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amDave Howard, the Mets' Executive VP of Business Operations, released a statement early last night regarding the negotiations between MSG Network and Time-Warner Cable. It read as follows: "We are...
HERE COMES OLERUD: YANKS ARE SET TO FILL 1B HOLE
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amEven if his bat has slowed, John Olerud can help the Yankees simply by his presence. Maybe as early as tonight against Oakland at the Stadium. Olerud, a onetime Met...
WRIGHT LOOKING FOR GLOVE
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amMET NOTES MILWAUKEE - So much for the theory that hitting was supposed to be David Wright's toughest big-league adjustment. It's only been 11 games, but so far Wright's biggest...
BABY BOMBERS SUFFER RELAPSE
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amNew Jersey 10S.I. Yanks 5 They hoped last week would signal an end to nights like these. They hoped their five-game win streak, the one that pulled the Staten Island...
CRAWFORD KNICK DEAL IS AT HAND
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amBull combo guard Jamal Crawford could become a Knick as soon as today, as Chicago GM John Paxson has made a counter-offer that Knick president Isiah Thomas is expected to...
ANTOINE HEADING TO HAWKS
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amCall it win one, lose one for the Knicks. While Jamal Crawford is expected to join the Knicks as soon as today in a trade with the Bulls, it looks...
KIDD-TO-MAVS STILL ON BACK BURNER
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amSo what would the Nets want back from Dallas for Jason Kidd? Believe one thing: It won't include a collection of five players whose most redeeming quality is helping to...
K-MART ON V-DAY
August 3, 2004 | 4:00amAttention K-Mart fans: Sunday, Feb. 13, is Kenyon Martin's date to touch down in the Meadowlands against the Nets. Martin and the Nuggets' lone in-season appearance at his old Nets...