December 7, 2004
JOBS-DATA DISTORTIONS FRUSTRATE EASY COMPARISONS
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amBACK in the 1970s, Western economists would chuckle at the way the Soviet Union compiled its economic statistics. Without fail, for instance, the Kremlin would announce record annual wheat crops...
57TH ST. IS LOOKING EMPTIER; 57TH ST. IS LOOKING EMPTIER
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amEVEN in the retail wonderland of Midtown, prime store sites sometimes fall empty. The exit of snooty jeweler David Webb Inc. from 445 Park Ave. has left a third prime...
AD SPENDING TO TOP $280B
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amMadison Avenue - hold on to your hat. In a year without an Olympics or a presidential election, U.S. ad spending is expected to climb 6.4 percent and outpace economic...
EX-BLOOMIE'S TYCOON IS NOT A HAPPY CAMPEAU
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amDisgraced tycoon Robert Campeau just wanted his dutiful wife to hide his assets until his financial woes eased. She kept them, all right. Now she has him on a very...
CROWN PAYS $4.5M TO PUBLISH TENET BOOK
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amAfter nearly two months of meetings, discussions and deliberations, former CIA Director George Tenet has chosen a publisher for his book. Crown has bought world print and audio rights to...
CUTS AT LAZARD PRE-IPO
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amAs he prepares to take the world's biggest privately held investment bank public, Lazard Chief Executive Bruce Wasserstein is showing bankers the door. According to sources familiar with the situation,...
DJER IS SURPRISE PICK FOR BUSINESS WEEK EDITOR
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amBusiness Week gave a jolt to insiders when it tapped Steve Adler, 49, a top Wall Street Journal lieutenant, to take the editor-in-chief job at the McGraw-Hill Cos. flagship magazine....
DOLLAR DAYS - EUROPEANS TO FLOOD NYC FOR H'DAY BARGAINS
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amNew York City tourism brass are expecting the weak dollar to attract a flood of 200,000 additional international tourists to the Big Apple in the final few months of the...
PRIEST-DIRECTOR SAW 'PROPER' OVITZ FIRING
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amFather Leo O'Donovan, a Walt Disney Co. director and Jesuit priest, testified that he believed CEO Michael Eisner had the "proper authority" to boot Michael Ovitz from the company. O'Donovan,...
H'WOOD WOMEN GAIN CLOUT
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amHollywood's female power players have more clout than ever. The Hollywood Reporter's new list of entertainment's most influential women shows that top players are chairwomen and presidents, not merely executives...
A NEW ENDEAVOR; TALENT AGENCY LOOKING FOR MERGER PARTNER
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amOne of Hollywood's top talent brokers is looking to broker a deal of its own. The Endeavor Agency - which reps the likes of Jennifer Garner, Ben Affleck, Michael Moore...
GLOWING PERFORMANCES FROM A 'GEM' OF A CAST
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amGEM OF THE OCEAN 1/2 (two and one half stars) At the Walter Kerr Theatre, 219 W. 48th St.; (212) 239-6200. PLAYING a 287-year-old African-American matriarch - that's right, 287...
BIG MACTO BIG D ; AD MAN IN MCENROE'S SLOT
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amDONNY Deutsch doesn't want to be compared to John McEnroe, the man he's replacing on CNBC. "I think our shows are apples and oranges," Deutsch says. "I think the reason...
'JEOPARDY!' KEN'S TRIVIAL PURSUIT
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amHERE'S your chance to beat "Jeopardy!" whiz Ken Jennings - in the comfort of your own living room. University Games is developing a new board game, "Can You Beat Ken?"...
'DREW' STAR'S LATE SPOT
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amFORMER "Drew Carey Show" co-star Craig Ferguson will be named the new host of "Late Late Show" on CBS, The Post has learned. "Late Late Show," which airs at 12:35...
WHEN TIME ISN'T ON YOUR SIDE, YOU CAN ALWAYS TURN TO ... NEW YORK'S FASTEST
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amNEW Yorkers may have many gifts, but patience isn't one of them - especially this time of year, when the streets and the stores are clogged with cranky people hoping...
STARR REPORT
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amSome room to Groh David Groh, best remem bered as Rhoda's (Valerie Harper) husband, Joe Ge rard, in "Rhoda," will do something on tomorrow's "Law & Order" that not many...
'O.C.' GIRLS KISS
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amMISCHA Barton's love lorn character on "The O.C.," Marissa Cooper, is slated for a lesbian love scene later this season, according to reports. The girl-girl love scene is usually a...
HER $8M RETURN - MARTHA GETS NEW DAILY SHOW - IS JANE TOAST?
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amMARTHA Stewart is preparing for a TV comeback that will pay her up to $8 million a year, industry sources say. NBC is racing to put the final touches on...
OUT COLD
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amON my way home from skiing, the guy sitting next to me on the airplane chatted away, as seat-mates on airplanes sometimes do. It was somewhere over Nebraska that he...
FEAR STALKS 'BURBS - 'SNATCHER' HYSTERIA
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amThey're every suburban parent's worst nightmare - a pair of black-clad ghouls in a swamp-green SUV who stalk suburban towns in search of innocent children. Cops say the terrifying couple...
MORE CATHOLIC SCHOOLS AT RI$K
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amThe head of Catholic education in Brooklyn and Queens has warned that subsidies to elementary schools this year could be more than double what was budgeted - meaning more schools...
WEIRD BUT TRUE
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amThe roof of a Cincinnati church collapsed onto the pews and pulpit - just 90 minutes after the last of Sunday's worshippers left. "God must be telling us it's time...
J.LO'S SLIP IS SHOWING; DROPS IN RANKS OF BIG $TARS
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amJ.Lo is as low as she can go and still remain on the list of Hollywood's top-earning actresses. The turkey-prone star of "Jersey Girl" and "Gigli" was bumped into 10th...
SHELLY: PROBE GOV'S $5M ADS
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amALBANY - The state's top Democrat yesterday called for an official probe of the use of $5 million in taxpayer funds for national TV commercials featuring Gov. Pataki. "Elected officials...
'EASE DRUG LAWS'; DA WANTS REFORM
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amManhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau is urging state lawmakers to begin overhauling the Rockefeller drug laws as they return to Albany this week. Morgenthau's proposed reforms - the most detailed...
PELOSI'S PASS ON WITNESS ; 'WE DON'T NEED HER'
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amIn an unexpected move yesterday, Danny Pelosi's lawyers cut their defense case short - saying they're confident the prosecution hasn't proven he killed millionaire Ted Ammon. Attorney Gerald Shargel yesterday...
AL QAEDA THUGS LED SAUDI RAID
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amThe Saudi wing of al Qaeda claimed responsibility for an attack yesterday on the heavily fortified U.S. consulate in the Saudi city of Jeddah in which at least nine people...
DUBYA: A RUTHLESS, ELEGANT PRESIDENT
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amFOR years now, liberals and leftists have been unable to decide whether they dislike George W. Bush because they think he's a doofus or because they think he's evil. So...
TEEN-IUSES SPLIT 50G TECH PRIZE
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amA high-school junior from Queens and her research partner accomplished in five months what doctors have never been able to do - develop a new process for regenerating human tissue....
SHEIK WARNED OF U.S. TERROR
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amA Yemeni sheik with ties to Osama bin Laden threatened that his arrest for funneling millions to terrorists would "bring storms to . . . America," new court documents show....
NYPD DAILY BLOTTER
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amMANHATTAN *** A 14-year-old mugger was arrested for beating a woman in her Upper East Side building because she only had $3 for him to steal, police sources said yesterday....
WEB STEROID-RX DOC FINED
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amALBANY - A Long Island doctor who wrote steroid and human-growth hormone prescriptions for an offshore Internet company was fined $10,000 yesterday, The Post has learned. Dr. Lawrence Kessler of...
'SLAYER'S' WITNESS ADMITS LIE
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amA Long Island man convicted of butchering his parents saw his chances of a new trial dwindle yesterday when a witness who claimed he had exculpatory new evidence admitted he...
CITY'S LOGO MOTIVE IS BIG-BUCK SALES
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amNew Yorkers will soon be able to go to sleep with the Fire Department and wake up with the Sanitation Department. Blankets, sheets and pillowcases will be sold with official...
CABBY DRIVES OFF WITH BABY
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amA mother taking her infant son to a doctor's appointment got the fright of her life yesterday when her taxi took off with the baby while she retrieved a stroller...
CITY WEIGHS 'EARLY COLLEGE'
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amPlans are under way to open three "early-college" high schools on City University campuses next year, allowing students to graduate with a diploma and two years of free college credits,...
TURKEY-TOSS VICTIM'S REHAB A 'NIGHTMARE': SIS
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amTurkey-toss victim Victoria Ruvolo continues to recover from the horrific prank that nearly killed her - but the gutsy Long Island woman remains in terrible pain and faces months, possibly...
GOING FROM BLOOD BROTHERS TO BROTHER RAT
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amTHEY weren't born brothers, but on a freezing Christmas Eve in 1988, they suddenly became blood brothers. It was in a Brooklyn basement, according to federal sources, where the men...
JENNINGS IN FOTO $HOCK
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amEmbattled City Councilman Allan Jennings has cost taxpayers $6,500 as a result of a deal he made - and then reneged on - with a Queens photographer, The Post has...
'HIT MAN' A DRUGGY NUT - BLAKE'S LAWYER SLAMSBIZARRE ACCUSER
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amLOS ANGELES - A key prosecution witness in the murder case against actor Robert Blake recently spent time in a mental ward after suffering a drug-induced breakdown, lawyers revealed yesterday....
WENDY'S HOLDING THE TOMATOE$ ON BURGERS
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amWendy's used to wonder "Where's the beef?" - but now the fast food chain's customers are asking "Where's the tomato?" Because of a nationwide tomato shortage, the burger chain is...
THE DUNCE CAPO ; PETER NOT A SMART GODFATHER: TURNCOAT
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amPeter Gotti gets no respect - not even from his closest subordinates. A mob turncoat said yesterday he rejected a top post in the Gambino crime family because he had...
'TWIN' WIN FOR LARRY; $1B INSURANCE BOOST
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amGround Zero developer Larry Silverstein won a crucial court victory yesterday when a jury agreed that the 9/11 terror strikes on the World Trade Center were two attacks - boosting...
PULL PLUG ON MSG ELECTRIC DEAL: POLS
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amMadison Square Garden's electricity subsidy - worth $1 million a year and charged to every New Yorker's utility bill - is one more reason to end a decades-old sweetheart deal...
BRAWLING STUDENTS SHUT L.I. SCHOOL
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amA lunch-hour brawl involving more than 200 students forced officials to close a Long Island school yesterday - and to keep it closed today. The melee started in a crammed...
MTA LOSES ITS BID FOR A TAX HIKE
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amThe MTA's bid to close a $16 billion budget shortfall by hiking several taxes is DOA, a top state legislator said yesterday. "We don't have tax increases on our agenda...
$100M FLAME THROWER ; BEER-BRAWL BRAVEST SUES FDNY OVER CHAIR SMASH
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amA firefighter who was nearly killed in a New Year's Eve firehouse brawl sued the FDNY for $100 million yesterday, blaming negligent supervision for the chain of events that allowed...
STATE'S LOWEST-PAID WORKERS TO GET RAISE
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amALBANY - The state's minimum wage will go up next month for the first time in five years, after lawmakers yesterday overrode Gov. Pataki's veto of the increase. The Republican-controlled...
JUILLIARD-SLAY SUSPECT RAGES ; 'I'M INNOCENT,' HE SAYS, THEN BLOWS UP AT FOTOG
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amThe prime suspect in the murder of Juilliard student Sarah Fox angrily denied yesterday that he killed her - repeatedly protesting his innocence as he raged at reporters and photographers....
'DRAG RACE' RAGE; SURVIVOR BLASTS DEATH-CRASH DRIVER
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amA woman seriously hurt in a head-on crash that killed one man and severely injured her 4-year- old daughter claims the other driver was drag-racing when the accident occurred. Cops...
AT LAST: 1,182 DAYS AFTER 9/11, HEROES TO GET THEIR MEDALS
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - The hero cops and firefighters who gave their lives on 9/11 will finally receive special presidential medals, under legislation approved by Congress last night. Authorization for 414 posthumous...
TURKEY GAL RECOVERY A 'NIGHTMARE'
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amTurkey-toss victim Victoria Ruvolo continues to recover from the horrific prank that nearly killed her - but the gutsy Long Island woman remains in terrible pain and faces months, possibly...
BLAKE-CASE 'CRACKPOT'
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amLOS ANGELES - A key prosecution witness in the murder case against actor Robert Blake recently spent time in a mental ward after suffering a drug-induced breakdown, lawyers claimed yesterday....
MIKE: PARTY ON! HAILS INDEPENDENCE AMID OUTRAGE
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amThumbing his nose at critics, Mayor Bloomberg last night roundly praised the Independence Party and said it is growing at the expense of the floundering Republican and Democratic parties because...
GAME'S BEAUTY BUOYS BOEHEIM
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amJim Boeheim still isn't tired of this process, the one that begins every October and ends each March, or in the best of years, early April. Boeheim didn't get into...
HOLDOUT OK WITH INTEL BILL
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - The sweeping intelligence reform sought by President Bush cleared a major hurdle yesterday after a leading Republican opponent said he would back a compromise plan. Rep. Duncan Hunter,...
N.Y. KID KING OF CHESS; YOUNGEST SINCE BOBBY
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amMove over, Bobby Fischer - there's a new chess prodigy in town. Hikaru Nakamura, 16, of White Plains, yesterday became the youngest U.S. chess champion since Fischer did it in...
KOBE FACING SEXXX QUIZ
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amLawyers for the Colorado woman who accused Kobe Bryant of rape want to grill the NBA superstar today - in graphic detail - about his sexual habits. And next month,...
PELOSI'S PASS ON WITNESS: 'WE DON'T NEED HER'
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amIn an unexpected move yesterday, Danny Pelosi's lawyers cut their defense case short - saying they're confident the prosecution hasn't proven he killed millionaire Ted Ammon. Attorney Gerald Shargel yesterday...
$100M FLAME THROWER - BEER-BRAWL BRAVEST SUES FDNY OVER CHAIR SMASH
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amA firefighter nearly killed in a New Year's Eve station house brawl sued the department for $100million yesterday, blaming negligent supervision for the chain of events that allowed a drunken...
CLASSROOM EXTRA - TWINS - TWICE THE FUN
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amWith Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, Bush daughters, Jenna and Barbara, and now actress Julia Roberts' new additions, twins are headline news. Read all about these special siblings. No, you're not...
GIANT REPORT CARD: A RERUN OF 2003
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amQUARTERBACKS Eli Manning really got nothing accom plished (12 of 25, 113 yards) and actu ally inflated numbers with garbage-time 48-yard completion. Is there a fast-forward but ton around somewhere?...
JET REPORT CARD: SMOOTH SAILING
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amQUARTERBACKS Chad Pennington (20-27, 155 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT, 97.0 rating) is back from his three-game rehab. His only sin was an un derthrown INT. RUNNING BACKS Curtis Martin...
TAFT WANTS TITLE BEFORE HE LEAVES
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amThere were times when Chris Taft was at Xaverian when he looked like the dominant player everyone expected him to be, the kind of player who could take over a...
CHANGES NOT GONNA COME
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amGIANT NOTES This is the time in a season when everyone calls for lineup changes. The Giants are in free-fall, losers of five consecutive games, and the only move Tom...
FROSH DUNSTON IS RAM-TOUGH
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amBryant Dunston Jr. first realized the significance of his decision when Bryant Dunston Sr. pulled him aside 18 months ago. By choosing to attend Fordham, Dunston Sr. said, his son,...
BERTH DAY PLANS ; PLAYOFFS ON JETS' HORIZON
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amThat flicker of light at the end of the regular-season tunnel for the Jets is a playoff spot, now much more visible than at any time this season. The 9-3...
NO REST FOR DONNIE 'D'
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amHERE is the word from Herm Edwards on the day he found out he won't be able to unleash his wounded predator, John Abraham, on Big Ben Roethlisberger and the...
COLLATERAL DAMAGE ; ABRAHAM WEEK-TO-WEEK WITH KNEE SPRAIN
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amJET NOTES The Jets will be without defensive end John Abraham for at least this week and perhaps longer depending on how his sprained right knee heals. According to Herman...
'ROIDS ALL THE RAGE AT UNION'S CONFAB: HEAT'S ON FOR DRUG REFORM ; SELIG: GOV'T CAN STEP IN
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amPHOENIX - Normally, the Major League Baseball Players Association's executive board meetings gather about as much attention as a Brewer-Pirate game. Safe to say this time is a little different....
XAVERIAN STAR SIGNS WITH PITT
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amLevance Fields was aware that many college basketball fans in the city hoped that he would pick St. John's and become another piece to the program's resurgence. "There was a...
LEIT'S OUT ON AL'S MET DAYS
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amAl Leiter's tenure with the Mets will officially end at midnight, when the club declines to offer him arbitration. That's when a new era in Flushing will truly begin. Leiter,...
WILLIAMS ON HOT STREAK
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amNET NOTES Add a little of a lot and it can make a big difference. Like a little better conditioning, a little better understanding of the offense, a little better...
GROWING PAINS ; ON-JOB TRAINING GOOD FOR ELI, BAD FOR JINTS
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amTom Coughlin was concerned enough about Eli Manning's emotional state that Sunday night, following another futile performance by the rookie quarterback, the veteran head coach approached Manning in the locker...
FRATELLO FEELS NO ILL WILL
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amKNICK NOTES MEMPHIS - There are no sour grapes for new Grizzlies coach Mike Fratello. He thinks Knicks president Isiah Thomas made a good choice when he hired Lenny Wilkens...
GIAMBI: I WANT TO STAY - BUT YANKEES STILL EYEING OTHER 1BS
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amFive days after his grand jury testimony leaked out, steroid-scandalized Jason Giambi yesterday spoke out for the first time - through his agent, anyway. The Yankees' disgraced slugger said he...
HOU NO GO AGAIN
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amMEMPHIS - The babying of Allan Houston continued yesterday. Suddenly now, it's Isiah Thomas' decision to keep the All-Star guard sidelined another two games in the latest strange twist to...
KIDD: MY JOB IS TO WIN ; BUT HIS TEAM HAS NEW LOOK
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amThe fire of Kenyon Martin is in Denver. The backcourt complement of Kerry Kittles is in Los Angeles. The experience of Lucious Harris is in Cleveland. The record of the...
STAR POWER NEEDED
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amWITHOUT Kenyon Martin and Kerry Kittles, the ship already has sailed, after lowering a leaky lifeboat as a replacement. But Jason Kidd, as contractually obligated, reported back to the dock...
SHINING A-SPUR-ATIONS
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amLOST in the reams of replays of players running into the stands are the San Antonio Spurs running away in the standings. Lookity, lookity, NBA holiday shoppers, the Alamo Alliance...
WITH RANDY TALKS STALLED, BOMBERS EYE PLANS B, C...
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amThe Yankees still covet Randy Johnson, and nobody will be shocked if The Big Unit landed in pinstripes. But the Yankees have other oars in the water, too. It could...
RJ HANDS DEFENSE TO KIDD
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amNET NOTES Richard Jefferson knew Jason Kidd's defensive reputation. And he knew the refs knew it, too. So he wanted Kidd to cover Vince Carter's attempt to tie at the...
FORDHAM HITS REAL LOW POINT
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amHoly Cross 53Fordham 39 With five minutes left in the game, Fordham basketball coach Dereck Whittenburg winced again. This time, he leaned back in his chair and, to cover the...
COMEBACK KIDD
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amWITHOUT Kenyon Martin and Kerry Kittles, the ship already has sailed, a leaky lifeboat in its place. But Jason Kidd, as contractually obligated, reported back to the dock last night...
MANY HAPPY RETURNS - JASON SPARKS NETS
December 7, 2004 | 5:00amNets 88 Raptors 86 The start of the game suggested that Jason Kidd was back for the Nets. The end of the game confirmed it. Kidd, in his first appearance...