November 18, 2004
VORNADO MAKES BUNDLE ON SEARS
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amCAN you believe Vornado's luck? The real-estate investment trust recently bought an options position that equaled 4.3 percent of Sears, Roebuck shares - and announced that it had done so...
VIVENDI'S MUSIC IS ON A TEAR
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amFrench conglomerate Vivendi's decision last year not to sell its music division is paying off in a big way. Universal Music, the world's largest music company, will post an industry-record...
PILGRIM FUND'S FOUNDERS FINED $160M
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amThe founders of the Pilgrim Baxter & Associates money-management firm agreed yesterday to personally fork over $160 million to settle charges they allowed a friend to secretly market-time trades of...
AMEX AXES WATCHDOG
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amThe chief watchdog for trading scams at the American Stock Exchange has been relieved of his job after being targeted in a federal probe of suspicious options trading. The American...
HARD ROCK CAFE LANDS WWE SPOT
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amThe Hard Rock Cafe has wrestled itself a spot in Times Square most recently held down by World Wrestling Entertainment in the historic building where bobby soxers once swooned to...
LAMPERT'S BIG BARGAIN SCORE
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amEdward Lampert, the hedge fund manager with ambitions to reshape the retailing landscape, is worth a few more millions, thanks to a deal, announced yesterday, in which Kmart Holding Corporation...
ANIMATED DRAMA - EISNER PAID UP TO KEEP OVITZ QUIET
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amGEORGETOWN, Del. - Walt Disney Co. CEO Michael Eisner was warned that ex-president Michael Ovitz, who was in the midst of being pushed out of the company, was a "caged...
MERGER MAY BE LAND RUSH
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amEdward Lampert, the guiding force behind Kmart's acquisition of Sears, took steps yesterday to dampen speculation that his real interest in Sears was in the value of its real estate....
BLUME GIVEN LIFETIME HONOR AT BOOK AWARDS
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amA special lifetime achievement award - the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters - went to young adult author, Judy Blume, for her body of work at the National...
PLENTY OF STURM UND DRAG AT BAM
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amPINA BAUSCH'S TANZTHEATER WUPPERTALThe Brooklyn Academy of Music, Howard Gilman Opera House, 30 Lafayette Ave., Brooklyn, (718) 636-4100. Through Sunday. GERMAN choreographer Pina Bausch, uncrowned queen of the theatrical avant-garde,...
REMAKIN' WHOOPI
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amWHOOPI[] (Three stars)At the Lyceum Theatre, 149 W. 45th St., (212) 239-6200. TWENTY years ago, a young and unknown comedian with the unlikely name of Whoopi Goldberg stormed Broadway, vastly...
BLOOMIES WINDOWS ARE 'OPERA' GLASSES
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amNOW opening on Lexington Avenue: "Phantom of the Opera." Of course, the Broadway show is still going strong, but Bloomingdale's is getting in on the act, with its holiday windows...
FCC RUSHES TO REVIEW 'MNF' COMPLAINTS
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amTHE Federal Communi cations Commission yesterday reviewed complaints about ABC's steamy "Desperate Housewives" skit before "Monday Night Football." "I think it's very disappointing," agency chief Michael Powell said. "I wonder...
THE OSCARS DISSES DOCS
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amOSCAR has snubbed Jonathan Caouette's autobiographical "Tarnation," one of the year's most critically acclaimed documentaries. Another surprising omission from the short list of 12 eligible documentaries released yesterday by the...
OUTLAW REMOTE - YOUR RIGHT TO FAST-FORWARD THREATENED
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amCONGRESS is considering a law that could one day make it illegal to fast-forward through the commercials. The provision is buried in an controversial copyright bill meant to keep people...
LIGHT IN THE SANDALS - COLIN'S BI ALEXANDER KISSES BOYS, KICKS UP A SANDSTORM; KISSES OF DEATH AT BOX OFFICE?
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amIS Oliver Stone's $150 million epic "Alexander" too gay for mainstream audiences? Stone, who previously stirred controversy with "JFK" and "Natural Born Killers," is on the hot seat again with...
STAR WARS WITH THE FISHERS
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amWhat questions would you ask your aged father if, when you were growing up with him (and often without him), he had been the biggest pop star of his time?...
RADIO DAZE - GET PLUGGED IN
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amWHILE new cars increasingly come with satellite radios, you don't have to drive to tune in. Most of the dozens of "plug-and-play" devices designed to attach to car-stereo systems can...
APPLES MAY HALT ALZHEIMER'S
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amYou've heard it a million times before, but now you can really believe it - an apple a day really does keep the doctor away. A new study has concluded...
WEIRD BUT TRUE
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amCaffeine lovers in Antioch, Ohio, were excited when they heard that a new coffee shop was coming to town - until they found out that it was called the Bad...
MTA TO DERAIL TRAIN DISCOUNT
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amNot another fare hike! Straphangers who ride commuter lines within city limits for the discounted price of $2.50 on weekends could end up shelling out as much as 50 cents...
A KID'S RAGE IN SEA OF GRIEF
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amSOMETIMES, it takes a child to speak the truth. "Dear Daddy, I love you," began a note from 9-year-old Alyssa Gaviglia, read aloud by her mother, as the words floated...
COLIN WOULD BE POWELL-FUL CANDIDATE: GOV
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amGov. Pataki said yesterday Colin Powell would make a great New York senator should he decide to run against Hillary Clinton in 2006, but the governor wouldn't rule out taking...
PELOSI USED STUN GUN: CON
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amA hulking jailhouse snitch testified yesterday that Danny Pelosi confessed to using a stun gun to kill Ted Ammon. Pelosi "told me he used a Taser gun. He told me...
NYPD DAILY BLOTTER
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amBROOKLYN * A 15-year-old boy was busted last night for shooting at housing cops as they arrested a drug suspect in Bushwick, police said. The teen was in front of...
SEXUAL FORE'SPRAY' FOR GALS
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amBefore we have sex, let us spray. That could become the battle cry in the bedroom, thanks to a spray-on contraceptive for women now in development. Female volunteers in Australia...
GIFFORD TO NIX JETS STADIUM
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amCity Council Speaker Gifford Miller will announce his opposition today to a new Jets stadium on the West Side if it means the city would have to borrow to pay...
MARRIAGE IS SUDDENLY NO JOKE IN CANADA
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amA Web site that urges Canadians to "marry an American" and give a haven to liberals fleeing "four more years of cowboy conservatism" began as a joke, but it's attracting...
SHOT COP HAILS NEW TRIAL
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amA cop shot by the alleged gunman whose indictment was tossed out by Judge Laura Blackburne said yesterday he's looking forward to his day in court now that an appellate...
EX-PARTNER: CALL HIM JACK-OWE
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amA former member of Michael Jackson's inner circle calls the pop star a booze- and drug-dependent deadbeat who owes him $3 million in loans the King of Pop used to...
MOM HEARS SON'S SLAYING
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amA 19-year-old man was shot dead by thugs inside his Bronx home as his horrified mother listened helplessly from another room, cops said yesterday. The gunman broke down the front...
MIKE BIDS TO END SCHOOL CHESS STALEMATE
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amMayor Bloomberg yesterday urged the principal of a Brooklyn middle school and education officials to iron out a fund-raising snafu that could keep the school's top-notch chess team from being...
POLS GIVE HUSH-HUSH OK FOR U.N. EXPANSION
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amALBANY - State lawmakers have quietly agreed on a bill that would allow the United Nations to begin planning a controversial major renovation and expansion of its Manhattan headquarters, The...
SLASH KILLED DREAM - TEARY TESTIMONY
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amIt wasn't telling jurors about the knife slicing into her neck that brought tears to her eyes. It wasn't even testifying about not being able to move her arms and...
FEDS BID FOR DEATH IN SLAY OF S.I. COPS
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amA federal grand jury has begun hearing evidence in last year's coldblooded slaying of two undercover detectives on Staten Island - which could lead to the death penalty for the...
STAB TEEN IN BLOODY BROOKLYN ESCAPE
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amA Brooklyn teenager was badly stabbed during a street argument yesterday - then managed to drive away from his attackers, only to crash into three cars and crawl from the...
'CLYDE' CHARGED IN 2ND BANK JOB
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amThe male half of a Bonnie-and-Clyde stick-up team who led cops on a wild car chase after robbing an Upper East Side bank Tuesday has been charged with another heist,...
GIRLS' DATE HATE - MEANER THAN BOYS: STUDY
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amTeenagers often abuse each other while dating - with girls likely to be verbally meaner than boys, according to new research on Long Island. A study of teen students conducted...
GOV INKS 'SANIT-HEART' BILL
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amGov. Pataki, over the objections of Mayor Bloomberg, has signed a bill making it easier for sanitation workers to claim that heart problems they suffer are related to the job....
MIKE'S BOO$T FOR GAYS
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amPartners of gay city workers could soon be eligible to receive pension benefits under a proposal being pushed by Mayor Bloomberg. In a statement yesterday, the mayor is asking that...
HOW BILL FAILS TO AD-DRESS THE TRUTH ... AND WHAT HIS LIBRARY REALLY SHOULD DISPLAY
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amNO BLUE dress, no hug, no cigar. Welcome to the sanitized "scandal" exhibit at Bill Clinton's $165 million presidential library, which officially opens today in Little Rock. Blink during a...
SADDAM'S FRANC-ENSTEIN - FRENCH BANK EYED IN SCAM
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amA French bank may have repeatedly violated U.S. money-laundering laws, letting Saddam Hussein rip off the multibillion-dollar U.N. oil-for-food program, a House investigator said yesterday. Rep. Henry Hyde (R-Ill.), chairman...
THUG'S 'SPONGEBOB' LOB
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amA man accused of kidnapping his estranged wife at gunpoint in September stunned a courtroom yesterday when he insisted the judge resembled Nickelodeon cartoon character SpongeBob SquarePants. "It's him," Miguel...
LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT FOR SHEFF & HIS DREAM GIRL (LCF)
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amDeLeon Richards was the answer to Gary Sheffield's prayers. On a cold February day in 1998, the big-league slugger got down on his knees in a Midtown hotel and begged...
GOV WANTS TO CAN JAIL-RELEASE PANEL
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amJust days before former state Sen. Guy Velella learns if he will get sent back to jail, Gov. Pataki for the first time said the panel that will decide his...
POLICE BUST TOP PROFITEER AT WTC SITE
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amCops busted a major supplier of unauthorized Sept. 11 memorabilia for illegally hawking his tacky goods at Ground Zero - but they could only slap him with a handful of...
JA RULE MANAGER ON LAUNDER RAP
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amThe feds continued to turn up the heat on embattled Murder Inc. yesterday, accusing the manager of the label's top star Ja Rule of laundering more than $1 million in...
DIVA'S $33M PAYDAY - MARTHA 'CELLS' HIGH
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amMartha Stewart swept out several offices in the morning, ate her prison lunch - and spent the afternoon in her cell earning $32.7 million from a Wall Street windfall. Stewart's...
H'WOOD ENDING - COPS GIVE 'MOVIE' CAR THIEVES BUM STEER
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amCops yesterday slammed the brakes on an elaborate underworld auto-theft ring that modeled its sleazy operations on the Hollywood flick "Gone in Sixty Seconds." Undercover cops, using a Queens garage...
100G OF ECSTASY IN DWI CAR - 2 MONTHS LATER
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amTwo months after a Manhattan motorist was arrested for DWI, cops executed a search warrant on his impounded car and discovered more than 4,500 ecstasy tablets worth $100,000 in a...
'SEINFELD' REUNION IS A DV-DELIGHT
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amJerry Seinfeld was master of his own domain once again as he joined his former sitcom pals Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Michael Richards last night to toast the DVD release of...
TERROR-$$ CASES PUT IN DOUBT
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amThe disgruntled FBI informant who set himself on fire in front of the White House this week may have jeopardized several prosecutions that grew out of a sweeping investigation into...
YANKEE HUBBY WAS HER ANGEL IN THE OUTFIELD
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amDeLeon Sheffield's mother says her daughter is blessed to have Yankee slugger Gary Sheffield - because he dug his spikes into a thug who threatened to release videos of his...
TURKEY TOSS NEARLY KILLS DRIVER
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amA gang of twisted teens cruising around Long Island tossed a 20-pound turkey at a car in a "deranged act" that left the driver fighting for her life. The tragic...
TRAFFIC TRAGEDY IN VILLAGE
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amA young woman was seriously hurt yesterday when a pickup truck backed into her as she crossed a Greenwich Village street. Cops said the victim was carrying no identification. A...
CATCH THIS 'BURB PERV
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amWestchester cops yesterday released this sketch of a man they say tried to lure five kids into his minivan in Rye and nearby Greenwich, Conn. Two of the attempts occurred...
WIFE'S MOM LAUDS GARY - FIGHTING TO DEFEND HER HONOR
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amYankee slugger Gary Sheffield hit a home run for his family as he gallantly supported his wife against a blackmailer who threatened to destroy her with humiliating sex tapes, the...
APPLE A DAY MAY HALT ALZHEIMER'S
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amA new study says apples contain strong antioxidants that fight cell damage - a discovery that boosts a theory that the risk of Alzheimer's and similar diseases may be reduced...
A FLIGHT WEDDING - CANADA NUPS NO JOKE
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amA Web site that urges Canadians to "marry an American" and give a haven to liberals fleeing "four more years of cowboy conservatism" began as a joke, but it's attracting...
CABINET DOOR STILL REVOLVING
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - Another round of musical chairs in the Cabinet played out at the White House yesterday - and the tunes aren't expected to stop anytime soon. Bush tapped longtime...
GARY SINGS GOD'S PRAISES FOR WIFE
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amDeLeon Richards was the answer to Gary Sheffield's prayers. On a cold February day in 1998, the big-league slugger got down on his knees in a Midtown hotel and begged...
EGYPTIAN SOLDIERS KILLED IN BORDER MISHAP: ISRAEL
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amJERUSALEM - The Israeli army accidentally killed three Egyptian soldiers along the border between Gaza and Egypt this morning, military sources said. A tank crew, mistaking the Egyptians for Palestinian...
THE LATE, GREAT PENN STATION
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amNew York's old Penn Station was one of the most beautiful buildings in the world. Here's a brief history of its life and untimely death. Before airplanes became the preferred...
FRANCE STRUGGLES TO DENY 'POISONOUS' ARAFAT RUMOR
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amJERUSALEM - France yesterday insisted Yasser Arafat did not die of poisoning as it tried to control a wave of conspiracy theories sweeping the Mideast in the wake of the...
GAME FOR ANYTHING
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amThe International Olympic Committee got its first look at New York's bid for the 2012 Summer Games yesterday - as a detailed plan that includes visions of a dramatically transformed...
PIGSKIN PROFIT
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amMICHIGAN at OHIO STATE1 p.m. Ch. 7Line: Michigan -5 1/2. Angle: This was the season Minnesota, Purdue or Wisconsin was going to win Big Ten. Once again it comes down...
HERM CLAIMS JETS 'WILL BE READY TO PLAY'
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amIt's been a rough couple of days for the Jets, most particularly for Herman Edwards, their leader. So as the Jets, losers of three of their past four games and...
AGENTS BACK NHLPA PLAN
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amIf there was ever any doubt that the NHLPA had the full support of its players' agents in the ongoing labor dispute with the league, that notion was put to...
YANK FANS SAY 'NO!' TO PEDRO - POLL: ALMOST 3 OUT OF 4 AGAINST IT
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amThe people have spoken, and nearly three out of four want the Yankees to avoid adopting a Red-headed stepchild, Pedro Martinez. According to yesterday's nypost.com Internet poll, 72.3 percent of...
ORANGE CRUSH HITS GARDEN
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amThe way Hakim Warrick tells it, Jim Boeheim was a lot of fun to be around in the summer of 2003. "He was always smiling, joking around," said Warrick. "You...
HELP'S ON WAY FOR NETS - JASON SET TO REV IT UP A NOTCH
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amNET NOTES Hang on, Nets. Help is coming. Eventually. Jason Kidd, who was expected to meet with his doctor again yesterday, is in the process of expanding his workouts to...
KURT: FOR RELIEF, COUNT ME OUT
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amGIANT NOTES What appears certain is that Kurt Warner will not campaign for another shot at the starting quarterback job that was taken away from him and handed to Eli...
HERM GIVES HISTORY LESSON
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amJET NOTES With his team still smarting from Sunday's loss to the Ravens, Herman Edwards was quick to point out yesterday how his teams have rebounded from previous devastating losses....
FORMER BOMBERS SPLIT ON MARTINEZ
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amYankees great Graig Nettles wonders whether Pedro Martinez, Public Enemy No. 1 in The Bronx, would be right at home in the hot corner of the baseball world. "Obviously he's...
BENSON, METS CLOSE - FREE-AGENT RIGHTY MAY GET PACT TODAY
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amIt may be taking longer than expected, but any delays have not diminished Kris Benson's desire to finalize a deal with the Mets. "Right now I want to see if...
VG RIPS KNICKS FOR AXING COACH
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amHOUSTON - On the eve of hosting the Knicks, Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy questioned whether Isiah Thomas trusts Lenny Wilkens and ripped Knick management for making fired assistant Dick...
BOSS PASSES PEDRO TO GM - TOLD TO FOLLOW UP WITH CASHMAN
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amAt the end of Tuesday afternoon's ballyhooed meeting between George Steinbrenner and Pedro Martinez, The Boss told Martinez's people to contact Yankees general manager Brian Cashman if they'd like to...
MUSSINA WANTS TO AVOID BIG CHANGES
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amLast winter, Mike Mussina anxiously watched the Yankees overhaul their pitching rotation. Mussina was very impressed that the club managed 101 wins with a retooled staff, but he doesn't want...
S.O.S. FOR NETS - 'ZO SAYS COLLINS NEEDS TO BOOST SCORING OUTPUT
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amJason Collins has been a near-perfect blue-collar Everyman since arriving on the Nets' doorstep in the 2001 draft. He is a terrific help defender. He takes charges. He's a positional...
PUT BLAME ON ME, TIM THOMAS SAYS
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amKNICK NOTES HOUSTON - Bring it on. So says struggling Tim Thomas, who's willing to accept the blame for the Knicks' 2-4 start. Thomas has been horrendous in five of...
SOX EXECS FLY TO SEE PEDRO - BOSS HANDS OFF TO CASHMAN
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amAt the end of Tuesday afternoon's ballyhooed meeting between George Steinbrenner and Pedro Martinez, The Boss told Martinez's people to contact GM Brian Cashman if they'd like to follow up,...
RAY ALLEN: WHAT'S WITH NETS? - SONIC QUESTIONS THE CLUB'S DIRECTION
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amNET NOTES When Kenyon Martin left the Nets for Denver, Seattle's Ray Allen's immediate thought was the Nuggets are going to be good. Then came his second thought. "I went,...
SONICS WEATHER ALLEN'S OFF NIGHT
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amNot quite a banner evening for Ray Allen. The Sonic guard Allen hit just about every shot he took the past week, but suddenly froze last night in a 79-68...
NETS GET LICKED WITH UGLY SHTICK
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amSonics 79 - Nets 68 Games like these are why coaches don't carry firearms. You play good defense, hold an offensive, blistering team under 80 points. And 70 points for...
JASON HAS GOAL: DECEMBER RETURN
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amNET NOTES Hang on, Nets, help is coming. Jason Kidd, battling back from knee surgery, is hopeful for a December return after he ups his workouts to six times weekly,...
BIG BROTHER WILL BE WATCHING ... AND WORRYING
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amWhen his little brother Eli takes the field Sunday for his first NFL start, Peyton Manning knows he'll be feeling proud, excited and, most of all, protective. "When I watch...
PASSING THE TORCH - ELI TAKES REINS AT PRACTICE AS WARNER FADES TO BLUE
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amSunday is the dawn of a new day for the Giants, but for at least one respected member of the franchise, seeing the quarterback torch passed to Eli Manning won't...
'GETS BY BUCKNER!'
November 18, 2004 | 5:00am'86 METS NEVER SAY DIE This is what you search for your whole life if you're a sports fan, if you've given your heart to the whims of games. One...
WIDE RIGHT!
November 18, 2004 | 5:00amGIANTS WIN SUPER BOWL XXV AS NORWOOD MISSES What could Wellington Mara have been thinking on that magical night in Tampa, Jan. 27, 1991, with four seconds remaining in Super...