November 29, 2004

LETTER TO SANTA - WALL ST. WANTS MORE JOBS, BOFFO SHOPPING SEASON

Wall Street is hoping to get its annual gift of a Christmas rally from busier-than-usual shopping and prospects of more new jobs. But a mixed bag of Black Friday results...

'CAILLOU' DEATH ACCIDENTAL

A Montreal coroner says the minivan crash that killed the 17-year-old actor who was the voice of popular children's cartoon character Caillou was likely an accident. The recently released corner's...

CBS MAKES WISH LIST FOR ANCHOR

CBS is reportedly wooing "Today" show host Matt Lauer and "Meet the Press" moderator Tim Russert to replace Dan Rather as CBS news anchor. Newsweek magazine reports today that CBS...

MAD 'DOG' RATINGS

A dog show is threatening to upset one of our biggest holiday habits - football on Thanksgiving. "The National Dog Show" - which has been on TV for just three...

DVD KICKS 'MATRIX' - CRITICS' COMMENTS RIP SCI-FI FLICKS

CRITICS weren't big fans of "The Matrix" movies - and they speak their mind freely on the new 10-disc DVD "The Ultimate Matrix Collection." The eccentric Wachowski brothers, who directed...

STARR REPORT

The fir's flying . . . Ch. 4 airs the annual "Christmas in Rockefeller Center" shindig tomorrow (7-9 p.m.) with Al Roker and Nancy O'Dell hosting - and Tony Bennett,...

OPRAH, CRUISE HOST NOBEL SHOW

OPRAH Winfrey - who rarely appears on TV shows other than her own - and Tom Cruise - who rarely appears on TV at all - will co-host this year's...

WARNING: END SEEMS NEAR FOR 'JEOPARDY' KEN

THE rumors that game-show phenom Ken Jennings' remarkable run is headed for "Final Jeopardy" are in high gear. Jennings, who's been on "Jeopardy!" since last June, has amassed over $2.4...

'OFFICE' BOY

HERE'S a sneak peek at the smarmy, slicked-back boss who will star in the much-anticipated American version of "The Office." Based on the award-winning British comedy starring Ricky Gervais (below),...

STRAW MAN - DARRYL BLAMES BASEBALL FOR DRUG ABUSE, MAKES VOW NEVER TO RETURN

WHAT'S Darryl Strawberry's plan for staying clean and sober? Steer clear of baseball. In a documentary premiering this week on Spike TV, the troubled former Met and Yankee slams the...

JUST SCORE THIS DEBACLE E-10

THIS is how the official scorer in baseball would have scored it yesterday: E-10. Eli Manning, with oldest brother Cooper and parents Archie and Olivia watching Eagles 27, Giants 6...

PUTTIN' ON THE RICH - GET RESPECTED, NOT NEGLECTED ON MADISON AVE.; DRESS TO IMPRESS

I'VE always kept up with the latest trends - from crimped hair to bomber jackets to fluorescent rain boots. And I know I am a savvy shopper. Yet my confidence...

JACKO TEAM DEMANDS DOCS' DOCS

SANTA MARIA, Calif. - Michael Jackson's defense wants to attack his accusers from head to toe, demanding sweeping access to health records from the family at the center of molestation...

LANDLORD ON TRIAL IN TENANT HITS

Meet the man prosecutors say is the landlord from hell. Juan Basagoitia, the 49-year-old owner of a three-story Queens building, wanted two tenants out of a rent-controlled apartment so badly,...

BESIEGED PATAKI EYES REFORM

GOV. PATAKI, under increasing attack for weak leadership and a lack of interest in state government, may soon launch his own campaign to "reform" the state, The Post has learned....

L.I. COPS GET FOREIGN AID - EL SALVADOR, SUFFOLK GANG UP ON THUGS

An escalating turf war between feuding Latino gangs on Long Island has prompted Suffolk County authorities to reach out to El Salvadoran police for their expertise on MS-13, the bloodiest...

POL'S 'POISON' PUZZLE

One stunning mystery in the battle over Ukraine's future is whether pro-Western reform leader Viktor Yushchenko was poisoned in September - and, if not, what horrible illness ravaged his face...

WEIRD BUT TRUE

The busiest shopping day of the year turned out to be a sticky affair in Lafayette, La., when vandals glued the locks on dozens of the town's biggest retailers. Hundreds...

POLS CLOSE IN ON DEAL FOR $1.4B JAVITS EXPANSION

A deal paving the way for a $1.4 billion expansion of the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center may be OK'd as early as next week, according to published reports. Legislation...

'TREASURE' CHEST GROWS; 'ALEXANDER' CONQUERED

Audiences continue to treasure "National Treasure" - keeping the Nicolas Cage heist flick No. 1 at the box office over the weekend, while deeming "Alexander" not too great. "Treasure," about...

MAYOR UPBEAT ON CITY HOME BUILDING

The city is on track to build thousands of housing units for New Yorkers who are being priced out of the city's booming neighborhoods, Mayor Bloomberg said yesterday. "We are...

SCHUMER SOUNDS AIR-CARGO ALARM

The majority of cargo riding on commercial planes passes through airport security without actually being screened, Sen. Charles Schumer warned yesterday. New security procedures drafted by the Transportation Security Administration...

NYPD DAILY BLOTTER

BROOKLYN * A Queens man was arrested for attacking his girlfriend while trashing her Bedford-Stuyvesant apartment, authorities said yesterday. The violence began at 10:30 a.m. Thanksgiving Day, when Tyler Johnson,...

CONGRESS EYES U.N. FUND CUT

WASHINGTON - Congress is likely to move to reduce U.S. funding of the United Nations if leaders at Turtle Bay don't come clean and institute major reforms in the wake...

GUY GETS 2 MONTHS OF JAIL CREDIT FOR 'FREE'

The two months Guy Velella spent outside jail on conditional release counts toward his sentence - meaning the disgraced former state senator could be out of jail as early as...

PEPPER-SPRAY TOYS 'R' US 'DESERTED'

Customers of the Times Square Toys 'R' Us yesterday said the flagship store lacked its normal Christmas bustle, one day after pepper spray forced the evacuation of some 3,000 customers....

WE SLAUGHTERED 17: GOONS

Iraq's most feared terror group yesterday claimed responsibility for slaughtering nearly two dozen members of Iraq's security forces in Mosul. The statement was posted on an Islamist Web site in...

LUGAR SLAMS UKRAINE VOTE

The man sent by President Bush to monitor Ukraine's disputed presidential election yesterday called for a new vote because of "wholesale fraud and abuse." Sen. Richard Lugar's call came as...

FLICKS THROW CLOONEY FOR LO$$

Starring in movies is a lot more lucrative than investing in them for George Clooney. Clooney tells Time that he and director Steven Soderbergh "are massively in the hole" to...

SANTA CLAUS LANES EASE MIDTOWN TRAFFIC

Midtown traffic may have taken a turn for the best this holiday season. The city has set aside express lanes along portions of Fifth and Sixth avenues starting today in...

SHOPPERS IN CHARGE - CREDIT-CARD USE IS SKYROCKETING

Consumers gorged on cranberry sauce and credit cards over the weekend, pulling out the plastic in record numbers to spend nearly $23 billion nationwide on holiday gifts and goods, analysts...

JULIA NOW A MOM, TWO - TWINS BORN MONTH EARLY

The stork arrived more than a month early for Julia Roberts, who gave birth to twins yesterday. The Oscar- winning star and hubby Danny Moder named the new arrivals, a...

JORDAN HEIR STRIPPED OF HIS TITLE

King Abdullah of Jordan stripped his half-brother of the title of crown prince and heir to the throne last night - altering the dying wish of their late father, King...

WEATHER LEAVES TRAVELERS HOLI-DAZED

Heavy rains and strong winds wreaked havoc on holiday travel and shopping yesterday as New Yorkers filled the roads and the skies on one of the busiest travel days in...

INTEL-REFORM BILL PUTS GIS AT RISK: POL

One of the top Republicans blocking the 9/11 intelligence-reform bill yesterday said he's doing it because it's a "life or death" matter that could mean more troops killed. House Armed...

NBC SPORTS BIG HURT IN KILLER PLANE CRASH

NBC Sports chief Dick Ebersol was seriously injured yesterday when his charter jet crashed in a snowstorm while taking off from an airport in a Colorado skiing mecca - killing...

BIGS HELP S.I. KIDS GO '4TH'

Parents who want a better shot at getting their failing third-grader into fourth grade might want to consider moving - to Staten Island. Third-graders there who flunked last year were...

ANIMAL HOSP AIDS WALKING WOUNDED

A veterinarian technician took a lifesaving break from her usual pet patients at the Animal Medical Center to shelter the victims of yesterday's bus crash on the FDR Drive. Vet...

NABE CASH CRISIS - AID FUNDS AT RISK

If the state Legislature doesn't act quickly, more than 150 neighborhood associations will lose their lifeblood funding. Gov. Pataki originally left funding for Neighborhood Preservation Programs/Rural Preservation Programs out of...

BATTLE OF THE BLING - AMEX JEWELRY SUIT

The pretend princess who racked up a $950,000 American Express bill wants some credit - for the engagement ring she apparently bought herself. In papers filed in Manhattan Supreme Court,...

BERSERK IN B'KLYN - MAN KILLS EX NEAR KIDS: COPS

A berserk ex-beau yesterday fatally stabbed his former girlfriend in front of their baby girl and three other kids - then brutally knifed the victim's new boyfriend and a female...

CHICKEN SNIT - FAST-FOOD BOSSES ACCUSED IN SEX SUIT

A famed Latin American chicken chain hailed by Mayor Bloomberg for creating new jobs when it opened two locations in the city this year has been hit with a class-action...

CUNY LAW'S BETTER BAR TAB

City University Law School graduates have raised the bar on the state bar exam. After two years of dismal performances on the high-stakes test, CUNY Law School grads ratcheted up...

JACKO TEAM WANTS DOCS' DOCS

SANTA MARIA, Calif. - Michael Jackson's defense wants to attack his accusers from head to toe, demanding sweeping access to health records from the family at the center of molestation...

CHICKEN SHOP ON GRIDDLE - SUIT SAYS WOMEN TREATED LIKE 'SEX SLAVES'

A famed Latin American chicken chain hailed by Mayor Bloomberg for creating new jobs when it opened two locations in the city this year has been hit with a class-action...

QUICK BUST IN MURDER

A Manhattan man, accused of fatally shooting another man yesterday, was grabbed by fast-acting cops just minutes after he fled the scene, police said. The suspect, Anthony Torrecilla, 22, got...

AL GOLDSTEIN BOOKED AS SHOPLIFTER

Penniless pornographer Al Goldstein has "screwed" up his life some more - after being caught shoplifting books from a Barnes & Nobles yesterday, police said. And they weren't even dirty...

STEM-CELL GAL'S 'MIRACLE' STEPS

A South Korean woman - paralyzed for 20 years - is reportedly walking again, thanks to treatment with stem cells harvested from umbilical-cord blood. Hwang Mi-Soon, 37, walked for the...

MICHAEL'S HERO BIG BRO A ONE-MAN 'AIR' FORCE

He's Air Jordan - of the hero kind. James Jordan, the parachute-jumping older brother of hoops legend Michael Jordan, headed for Iraq yesterday after winning a battle with the Army...

UPPER WEST SIDE MAN DIES IN ELEVATOR TRAGEDY

A retired teacher, with less than an hour to catch a Caribbean cruise, yesterday tried to save time by taking the freight elevator of his Upper West Side building -...

LANDLORD ON TRIAL IN ATTACK ON 2 TENANTS

Meet the man prosecutors say is the landlord from hell. Juan Basagoitia, the 49-year-old owner of a three-story Queens building, wanted two tenants out of a rent-controlled apartment so badly,...

ESPN'S 'P' STANDS FOR 'PUNKS'

IT'S all a dark comedy, Disney's Inferno. ESPN executive VP Mark Shapiro last week scolded NBA studio host John Saunders and his on-air mates for going too far, after the...

'THUNDER' ROARS IN HIGHWEIGHT

Thunder Touch finished first by 1 1/4 lengths under Rafael Bejarano, then withstood a stewards' inquiry and claim of foul by Javier Castellano, rider of runner-up Papua, to win yesterday's...

WINNING PUTS SMILE ON CRAWFORD'S FACE

Jamal Crawford isn't about to rock the boat, and he said that when Allan Houston returns to the Knicks' lineup - which could happen later this week - he'll be...

WILLIE: I'D LOVE TO HAVE PEDRO

With an offer from the Mets reportedly forthcoming, Pedro Martinez received the next best thing yesterday: a glowing endorsement from Willie Randolph. The new Mets manager praised Martinez to the...

NETS NEED CHANGE OF 'PLAN'

PORTLAND - Zoran Planinic said he knew change was coming. And he knew it would involve him. He was right on both counts. But the Nets' second-year point guard insisted...

VARYING VIEWS OF NETS' DROUGHT

NET NOTES PORTLAND - When the Nets went into last night's game here, it was 19 days since their previous victory. Some held different perspectives on it. "A long time...

EAGLES SWAMP SHAKY MANNING - ELI OVERMATCHED IN MISTAKE-FILLED SECOND START

Forget that spark Tom Coughlin was searching for when he inserted Eli Manning into the lineup. Yesterday's Giants performance against the high-flying Eagles produced no sizzle but plenty of fizzle,...

BOLLINGER PROVIDES BACKUP POWER

JET NOTES TEMPE - Brooks Bollinger yesterday showed what he displayed while making plays in college at Wisconsin - he showed some moxie when he was forced into action after...

GIANTS ARE HOT TO TROTTER

About the only fight the Giants showed yesterday in the second half of their 27-6 loss to the Eagles came on a sideline altercation that Tom Coughlin called "a dumb...

TIKI TOUGHS IT OUT

GIANT NOTES The very first time he touched the ball, Tiki Barber gained six yards, was tackled by Sheldon Brown and came away with a lacerated left knee that he...

QUINCY'S DEEP PASS IS OASIS IN DESERT

TEMPE - For three weeks, the Jets had waited for a moment just like this, one where they could finally break free from the shackles and the handcuffs of a...

EAST CHAMP EAGLES EYEING SUPER PRIZE

Philadelphia is a city filled with landmarks, and the Eagles' 27-6 rout of the Giants had plenty of them. The Eagles sealed their fourth straight NFC East title, and joined...

EAGLE 'D' COULD FEEL ELI'S FEAR

The Eagles are blitz-happy to a fault, but playing inexperienced rookie Eli Manning made their directive that much clearer. Send bodies. Hit him early. Hit him often. In Jeremiah Trotter's...

TURNOVERS GO STALE

GOTTA hand it to the Eagles, who took the 10-finger discount to the NFC East title yesterday. They intercepted Eli Manning twice, didn't drop a potential catch or nary a...

GANG GREEN AVOIDS DESERT DISASTER - SCRAPPY WIN OVER CARDS KEEPS JETS IN PLAYOFF CHASE

Jets 13 - Cardinals 3 TEMPE - You wanted adversity, you got adversity. Three plays into yesterday's must-win game against the Cardinals at Sun Devil Stadium, the Jets, who entered...

GANG GREEN MAKES PLAYS THAT MATTER

TEMPE - You can live with the occasional scuffling, if you must, diving into the muck with lesser teams, trudging off the field and issuing clever sound bites like, "They...

JETS LEARN LESSON IN DESERT SURVIVAL - VICTORY OVER CARDS AIDS WILD-CARD CHASE

TEMPE - You wanted adversity, you got adversity. Three plays into yesterday's must-win game against the Cardinals, the Jets, who entered the game in an offensive funk, were down to...

BOLLINGER'S UNFLAPPABLE IN RELIEF

TEMPE - Brooks Bollinger had been playing this game in his head for weeks, months, years. Still, all of the day-dreaming could never truly prepare him for the fire drill...

MOSS BLOSSOMING INTO GAME-BREAKER

TEMPE - The throwback jersey of choice for the flight home was a blue-and-gold number, No. 13 on both front and back, with "MARINO" written across the back. Maybe Santana...

ELLIS, JETS CLOSE

JET NOTES TEMPE - Jet defensive end Shaun Ellis sat in front of his locker after yesterday's win over the Cardinals wearing a distinct look of satisfaction. Ellis had three...

NETS ON ROAD TO RUIN - SUFFER 9TH STRAIGHT LOSS

Blazers 83 - Nets 71 PORTLAND - For 74 glorious seconds, all was right with the Nets. That wonderful 1:14 erased thoughts of losing streaks, inept offense and all that...

'ZO: NOT HERE TO CARRY CLUB

NET NOTES PORTLAND - The record is 2-11. The starting backcourt is in the infirmary. The Nets are a mess. But it's no time to panic, said Alonzo Mourning. "I...

THE POST'S TOP 25

Rank (prev) TEAM RESULT NEXT 1 USC (10-0) beat Notre Dame 41-10 vs. UCLA (1) Matt Leinart makes his Heisman push with five TDs. 2 Oklahoma (11-0) Idle vs. Colorado...