December 16, 2004
GREENSPAN IS BAFFLED BY ECONOMIC STATS ON INFLATION
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amALAN Greenspan raised interest rates again this week, but he didn't do it for the reasons you think. Right now the nation's economy is, at best, growing only moderately by...
DIESEL STEAMS AHEAD IN SOHO
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amMulticultural cutting-edge retailer, Diesel, will open the city's third full-service store in SoHo, near one of its specialty shops. Real-estate sources say it will take over the former Helena Rubenstein...
IN THE MONEY - MIRAMAX: STUDIO'S PROFITABLE, DISNEY DISAGREES
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amDon't necessarily believe what you're hearing about Miramax's profitability from the folks at Disney. Miramax posted a healthy profit in its latest fiscal year, top Miramax exec Bob Weinstein told...
'GRAND THEFT' STEALS VIDEO AWARDS
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amSmash video-game hit "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" drove away with the game of the year award at the second annual Video Game Awards, the so-called Oscars of the $10...
AQUADOODLE GOES TO TOWN THIS XMAS
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amMove over, Elmo. The Aquadoodle, a toy that lets kids draw on a mat with "ink" that evaporates, is turning out to be one of the surprise hits of the...
EDIT STAFF AT NEWS ON NOTICE
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amDaily News owner Mort Zuckerman was expected to start mailing voluntary buyout proposals to all 370 editorial employees at the slumping paper. "It is going out across the board," said...
-IT'S ABOUT TIME - SHARES HIT 52-WK. HIGH AFTER DEALS WITH FEDS (M)-MORE TIME WOES - AFTER SETTLEMENT WITH FEDS, NOW COME CIVIL SUITS (S, LCF)
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amWall Street is cheering Time Warner's $510 million settlement to make two federal probes go away - while lawyers for angry investors are drooling over it. In one massive deal...
DEAL A HANGUP FOR NASCAR-NEXTEL
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amIt's still the NASCAR Nextel Cup - but for how long? The ink has yet to dry on the planned merger of Sprint Corp. and Nextel Communications Inc. and already...
SHOCK FOR SHAREHOLDERS
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amCon Ed shareholders will pay if the utility fails to annually check its equipment for stray voltage and other safety problems, the state Public Service Commission ordered yesterday. The utility...
WAL-MART PURGE CLOAKED IN MYSTERY
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amWal-Mart Stores said yesterday that it fired seven employees - three of whom were senior executives - for breaking company rules. Mona Williams, a Wal-Mart spokeswoman, citing privacy issues, declined...
STARR REPORT
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amDowney flakeout CBS will retain a portion of Robert Downey Jr.'s wacky comments regarding inductee Elton John when the network's annual "Kennedy Center Honors" broadcast airs this Tuesday (9 p.m./Ch....
CHART-TOPPER IS LUDACRIS
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amLUDACRIS hooked his second No. 1 slot on the Billboard 200 with "The Red Light District." The Atlanta-based rapper/actor's follow-up to "Chicken -N-Beer" sold 322,000 copies its first week on...
'SIDEWAYS' NODS
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amTHE wine-soaked road comedy "Sideways" gained further momentum in the Oscar race yesterday, dominating the Critics' Choice Awards with eight nominations. "Sideways," which led nods for the Golden Globes earlier...
GREEK COMEDY - WHAT YOU MISSED ON THE OLYMPIC OPENER
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amQUESTION: When is a naked man not a naked man? Answer: When 1) the naked man isn't naked on TV and 2) when the naked man is wearing a green,...
PAIR OF ACES - BATTLE OF THE SEXES FOR 'APPRENTICE 2' FINALE
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amTONIGHT "The Ap prentice 2" will all come down to brainy blonde Jennifer Massey versus the super soldier Kelly Perdew. When cameras go off after tonight's live telecast one will...
'HELLRAISER' PINS TALE ON TV SERIES
December 16, 2004 | 5:00am'HELLRAISER," Clive Barker's classic cult horror movie series, is being turned into a TV series. "It's in the early development phase," a spokesman for one of the producers, Blueprint, told...
YOU'VE GOT NEIGHBORS! WHO ARE THE PEOPLE NEXT DOOR? NEW SITE LETS YOU MEET THEM ONLINE FIRST
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amBROOKE Kaiser really wants to meet the neighbors in her West Harlem apartment building, but she'd never think to knock on someone's door. "I've lived in two buildings that were...
'RUNWAY' TO YOUR CLOSET
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amTHE trip from the "Runway" to reality couldn't have happened any faster. The winning dress on last night's "Project Runway" - Bravo's hit reality show about a gaggle of fashion...
'DIAMONDS' ARE FOR NEVER - FAKE ENGAGEMENT RING MAKES A BRILLIANT GUY-REPELLENT
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amNEXT time you see a pretty girl with a giant diamond engagement ring, consider this: She might be wearing it just to scare you away. I wear a flawless, 4-carat,...
HEBREW HO-HO-HO HITS 'O.C.'
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amFrank Costanza, meet Seth Cohen. Young Seth (Adam Brody on "The O.C.") has come up with the most innovative holiday celebration on TV since Frank (Jerry Stiller) introduced the world...
WEIRD BUT TRUE
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amCops bagged a suspect in 24 armed robberies after linking him to a can of beer. A witness to one home invasion in the Columbus, Ohio, area told police that...
IRON MIKE DOES HIS TIME
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amMike Tyson came out of a Brooklyn court like a winner yesterday after reporting he'd done more than 100 hours of community service over a fight with two fans -...
FOOD BOARD'S MEA GULP-A
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amTrustees of the troubled James Beard Foundation took some of the heat yesterday for lax rules that allowed its ex-president to allegedly cook the books by up to $1 million....
APPLE IN FAN $LAM - LOUTS FACE FINE, JAIL
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amNext time a sports fans spits or throws beer at a player, the city could dampen their ardor with stiff fines and even jail sentences. City Councilman Peter Vallone Jr....
INSURER SLASHES AUTO RATES
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amALBANY - Auto-insurance giant GEICO is giving its customers an early holiday gift - an average 6 percent reduction in rates for 2005. With close to 1 million customers, GEICO...
AERIE MARY BLASTED - CO-OP: SHE HAS VENDETTA
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amMary Tyler Moore has been pecking at her co-op board and neighbors for evicting the renowned hawks from her posh Fifth Avenue building - but yesterday they crowed back, accusing...
TEACHER LIED ABOUT 'SLAP'
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amAn assistant principal and a teacher at a Harlem elementary school are facing more than a slap on the wrist for lying about a slap on the face. School investigators...
SHRINE BLAST KILLS 8 IRAQIS
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amA bomb exploded at an Iraqi shrine yesterday, killing eight people, wounding 32 others and casting a pall on the first day of campaigning in the country's crucial January elections....
CHESS KIDS HAVE 'MATE' IN W.
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - The national championship chess team from Brooklyn's Edward R. Murrow HS met with President Bush at the White House yesterday and got some advice. The president "told them...
NYPD DAILY BLOTTER
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amQUEENS (lcf) * Two men were shot on a Forest Hills street last night during a robbery attempt gone awry, police sources said. The men, 35 and 45, were behind...
GOTTI'S STAND-UP GAL - WIDOW SCOFFS AT TAPES
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amVICTORIA GOTTI, wife of late mob boss John Gotti, broke her silence yesterday over her husband's withering rampage against her on FBI videotapes. And her message was: In death, John...
KOJO IN A PHONE TANGLE - OIL-FOR-FOOD PROBERS FIND FISHY CALLS TO U.N.
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - The son of U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan made phone calls to U.N. headquarters in Manhattan and billed them as business expenses to a company that won a contract...
ISRAELI POL PUSHES NEW SUMMIT
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amIsrael's foreign minister pushed the Mideast peace initiative further yesterday, proposing a summit with post-Arafat Palestinians and saying Syria's overtures should be taken seriously. Silvan Shalom called for reconvening the...
ODB WAS KILLED BY AN O.D.
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amRapper Ol' Dirty Bastard died of a drug overdose - a lethal mix of a prescription painkiller and cocaine, his longtime favored narcotic. The rapper, born Russell Jones, died of...
TRAGIC 911 FIRE GOOF - CALLER GIVES WRONG ADDRESS AS MA DIES
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amA panic-stricken neighbor who called 911 to report a raging Queens apartment blaze gave the dispatcher the wrong address yesterday, delaying firefighters' response to a blaze that killed a woman...
SUBURBAN COUNTIES BLOW CHANCE TO HALT MTA HIKES
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amThree MTA board members from suburban counties - all of whom have ties to Gov. Pataki - will swing today's vote in favor of a fare and toll hike. The...
HEAT ON PALS OF PELOSI - DA EYES SLAY RAPS
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amConvicted killer Danny Pelosi may have had accomplices who could be tried for the murder of Ted Ammon, prosecutors said yesterday. Jurors said they believed Pelosi's girlfriend, Tracey Riebenfeld. She...
GUARD CLEARED IN SHOOTING
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amA city correction officer held back tears yesterday after a Queens jury cleared him of charges he recklessly shot at a fellow motorist after an altercation on the Grand Central...
KIN MOURN TRAGIC SUBWAY WORKER
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amInvestigators yesterday probed the death of a transit worker who was killed by a B train, as family and friends said Harold Dozier was always concerned about safety and dedicated...
THAT'S RICH: MARC DENIES ROLE IN SADDAM'S SCAM
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - Billionaire Marc Rich denied yesterday that he engaged in any illegal activity in the U.N. Oil for Food program. The oil and commodities trader, who still lives in...
JUDGE TO BIRDBRAIN: STAY AWAY FROM ZAHN BROOD
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amA homeless hawk can return to his posh digs, but his biggest fan won't be able to get anywhere near him, after a judge ordered accused harasser Lincoln Karim to...
JOCKEY 'WEIGHT' SCANDAL - COPS RAID TRACKS
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amState Police again raided the scandal-plagued New York Racing Association yesterday - this time probing more serious allegations that overweight jockeys were secretly allowed to ride. About a dozen state...
CITY BUDGET DEFICIT IS SHRINKING
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amThe city's massive budget deficit just got a little smaller, thanks in part to soaring property values and better-than-expected profits from Wall Street, a new report shows. Mayor Bloomberg had...
FREDDY WHUPPING MAYOR MIKE: POLL
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amWith virtually no campaigning, Fernando Ferrer has expanded his lead over Mayor Bloomberg from 4 to 12 points in the past three months, according to a poll released yesterday. The...
15 YRS. TO AX TEACH - HARASS-RAP EDUCATOR COLLECTED 700G PAY
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amA high-school chemistry teacher who was paid $700,000 over 15 years while in district office "rubber rooms" awaiting the resolution of various disciplinary charges has finally been fired. Elihu McMahon,...
FOOD VENDORS BATTLE FINE HIKES
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amThere's a battle brewing at City Hall over whether the Bloomberg administration can raise fines against food vendors and other small mom-and-pop businesses. When vendors get a ticket, they can...
METS GET TAGGED WITH BIAS LAWSUIT
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amThe human-resources director for the New York Mets has pitched a federal lawsuit at the team, saying the team discriminated against minorities and sent a clear message to women: Your...
TENANTS SLAM 'HELLHOLE' LANDLORD
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amAngry tenants at a rotting Bronx apartment house - filled with "rats as big as cats" - said their landlord had taken advantage of the city's labyrinthine judicial system for...
DOC WIFE DEAD IN COP-CAR TRAGEDY - CRUISER RAMS FAMILY'S AUTO IN QUEENS
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amAn Upper East Side woman was killed and her doctor husband was in critical condition yesterday after their vehicle - with their 18-year-old son at the wheel - was hit...
DEM BOOSTS NUMBER GAME
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amBungalow 8 is one of the hottest clubs in town, but would it be so chic if it became Bungalow 515 W. 27th St.? A bill proposed by West Side...
THE CHILLING DAY BERNIE STALKED REGAN'S SON ON HIGHWAY: BIZ PAL
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amWAS Bernard Kerik a stalker? As the illicit romance between former top cop Kerik and publishing titan Judith Regan went down the drain in late 2002, the jilted Kerik snapped,...
HIT-RUN HORROR IN BROOKLYN
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amA 44-year-old Brooklyn woman was killed yesterday afternoon after she was struck by two hit-run drivers. Joann Ceglecki was crossing West Fourth Street at Kings Highway in Bensonhurst about 1:20...
LIZA JUDGE KEEPS CASE HUSH-HUSH
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amThe judge presiding over a chauffeur's sexual-assault case against Liza Minnelli is hearing the case behind closed doors. Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Barbara Kapnick heard arguments in her robing room...
SCANDAL WAKE-UP CALL FOR GIULIANI
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amTHE exploding Bernard Kerik mess is raising questions about whether Rudy Giuliani Inc. is ready for the kind of prime time that he'd face in a 2008 presidential race. Even...
GIFFORD 'SEX' AIDE RESIGNS
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amThe City Council was embroiled in yet another sex scandal yesterday, as allegations of improper behavior forced a top aide to Council Speaker Gifford Miller to abruptly resign. At least...
CAPO TOO CRIPPLED TO KILL: DOC
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amPeter Gotti's co-defendant claimed to officials he was "totally disabled" and couldn't work - right after he went to Arizona to allegedly hunt down and kill mob turncoat Salvatore "Sammy...
'MOB-PAYING' CONSTRUCTION BIGS BUSTED
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amThe feds busted five top New York City contractors yesterday for allegedly paying off mobbed-up union officials to ensure labor peace at job sites. The contractors made payoffs to officers...
COP KILLS GUNMAN - FIRES BACK AFTER GETTING HIT TWICE IN BX. SHOOTOUT
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amAn undercover narcotics detective shot and killed a man who wounded him in a fierce gunfight inside a Bronx apartment building, police and witnesses said yesterday. The detective - Romeo...
KERIK MOB PROBE - DA SEEKING LINK TO WISEGUY CONTRACTOR
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amThe Bronx District Attorney's Office said yesterday it will investigate allegations that former NYPD top cop Bernard Kerik used a mob-connected contractor to renovate an apartment he purchased. Bronx DA...
'RACIAL' IRE AT COUNCIL HEARING
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amAngry charges of racism erupted yesterday during a City Council discussion on whether to support the proposed expansion of the United Nations. Councilman Simcha Felder (D-Brooklyn) introduced a resolution calling...
GOTTI SEEKS XMAS RELEASE FOR $10M
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amJohn "Junior" Gotti wants to go home for Christmas and is willing to put up $10 million to do so. Gotti is at the Metropolitan Correction Center on charges of...
THRUWAY EYES 25% TOLL HIKE
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amALBANY -Drivers along the state Thruway may soon be asked to pay 25 percent more for tolls. The state Thruway Authority board is scheduled to give preliminary approval today to...
-JOCKEY 'WEIGHT' SCANDAL - COPS RAID TRACKS (S)-TRACKS RAIDED IN JOCKEY 'WEIGHT' SCANDAL (LCF)
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amState Police again raided the scandal-plagued New York Racing Association yesterday, this time probing more serious allegations - that overweight jockeys were secretly allowed to ride. About a dozen state...
SHOT COP A HERO - SLAYS THUG AFTER GETTING HIT TWICE IN BX. GUNFIGHT
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amAn undercover narcotics detective shot and killed a man who wounded him in a fierce gunfight in a Bronx apartment building, police and witnesses said yesterday. The detective - Romeo...
'SLAY' PAIR IN CELL-SEX SHOCK
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amThe city Correction Department is investigating whether correction officers set up romantic rendezvous in a Brooklyn courthouse for a pair of Bloods gang members on trial for separate murders, The...
MIRACLE ON 45TH ST. - MAN SLAMMED BY VAN - AND LIVES
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amA Queens man miraculously survived being run down and trapped under the wheels of a van on a busy Midtown street yesterday. Every pedestrian's nightmare became a reality for Frank...
L.I. TOT STABBED DURING ROBBERY
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amA 3-year-old Long Island girl was apparently stabbed by robbers last night after being snatched from her mother during a home invasion, police said. The toddler, whose name was withheld,...
CLASSROOM EXTRA - THE ONE-STOP SHOP
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amRight now, you're probably running around buying gifts for family and friends. Imagine what it would have been like 150 years ago -- before New York introduced the country to...
ISIAH'S MENU NEEDS D-SERT
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amAFTER more than a decade of sellouts, empty seats appeared at the Garden for a Knick team that was not merely bad, but boring. So Isiah Thomas started moving thick...
DEAD END - KNICKS BLOW IT IN FINAL SECONDS
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amPistons 94 - Knicks 93 There will be nights in the Jamal Crawford Era when the Knicks live and die with his sometimes erratic, sometimes spectacular shot-making. Last night the...
ALLAN: I'M READY FOR MORE TIME
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amKNICK NOTES Allan Houston heard boos at the Garden last night. But the fans were booing because they were upset with Lenny Wilkens' decision to take Houston out for Tim...
BIG BEN DOESN'T FEEL SORRY FOR ELI
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amGIANT NOTES There wasn't even the perfunctory, "Yeah, I feel for him," sentiment out of Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger yesterday when the rookie sensation was asked if he had any...
STEELERS GLAD IT'S ELI - FARRIOR: BACKUP WARNER'S 'BETTER'
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amThere is no secret what the Steelers want to do Saturday when they take aim at the semblance of an offense the Giants put on the field. They want to...
BETTMAN & ROBBIN' - COMMISH PLAN FLEECES STAR PLAYERS, TOP TEAMS
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amEVEN in its transparency, Gary Bettman's attempt to splinter the union with his adjusted salary rollback scheme is revealing of the philosophy he would impose not merely on the players...
MOSS CAN'T CATCH BREAK - SANTANA STRUGGLES WITH JETS OFFENSE
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amThe Jets' struggling offense is beginning to produce varying amounts of frustration inside their usually unified locker room. Earlier in the week, running back LaMont Jordan showed the first cracks...
CHAD'S SHOULDER A SORE SPOT
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amJET NOTES Three regular-season games remain. The Jets likely need two wins out of those three to secure a playoff berth, beginning with Sunday's must-win home game against the Seahawks....
KIDD'S PINING TO PLAY MORE
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amJason Kidd is back on the court, slowly working his way back into form from offseason knee surgery. But the fact that he's no longer in street clothes during games...
MCDYESS: I WAS NO SAVIOR
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amKNICK NOTES Antonio McDyess says he resented being called the Knick savior during his injury-wracked stint that saw him dress just 18 games in two seasons. McDyess, signed to a...
MIG IS BACK IN THE SADDLE
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amJockey Rich Migliore, recovered from fractured wrist suffered in starting-gate mishap last October, returned to saddle yesterday for first time since Breeders' Cup, finishing fourth on Shorty Knudtson in seventh...
'ZONA CALLS YANKS ON UNIT
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amFor the second time in three days yesterday the Yankees and Diamondbacks had a brief and non-productive discussion about Randy Johnson coming to The Bronx. And while the talk didn't...
ASTROS UP ANTE TO KEEP BELTRAN
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amYANKEE NOTES While the Yankees remain the favorite to eventually land Carlos Beltran, the Astros aren't going to let the jewel of the free agent class leave Houston without making...
NBA'S GOING INTERNATIONAL
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amTwenty years into his reign over the NBA, David Stern's vision for pro basketball keeps growing. And by the time he hits his silver anniversary as the league's commissioner, he...
HOUSTON'S KNEE STILL SORE POINT
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amThree games into his comeback, Allan Houston had soreness in his left knee. Lenny Wilkens sat him out the second half Tuesday in New Jersey, saying he wanted to be...
JUST CALL HIM MR. MET-INEZ - PEDRO PASSES PHYSICAL, JOINS AMAZIN'S TODAY
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amThe waiting is over, and so is the pursuit. Pedro Martinez is officially a Met. Martinez passed his physical yesterday, and with it, his new four-year, $54 million contract is...
NOW, A WORD FROM THE FRANCHISE ...
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amTHIS was early on a Sunday morning, back in May of 2003, and Tom Seaver was sitting in the first-base dugout at Milwaukee's Miller Park talking about pitching. You don't...
AMAZIN'S STILL LOOKIN' FOR OFFENSE
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amHere's the thing about the addition of Pedro Martinez - it doesn't exactly guarantee a title overnight. "We lost a lot of games last year," Met GM Omar Minaya said...
KNICKS BLOW IT IN FINAL SECONDS
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amPistons 94 - Knicks 93 There will be many nights in the Jamal Crawford Era the Knicks will live and die with his sometimes erratic, sometimes spectacular shotmaking. Last night...
NEXT, OMAR EYES BATS
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amHere's the thing about the addition of Pedro Martinez - it doesn't exactly guarantee a title overnight. "We lost a lot of games last year," Met GM Omar Minaya said....
MCDYESS: I WAS NO SURVIVOR
December 16, 2004 | 5:00amKNICK NOTES Antonio McDyess says he resented being called the Knick savior during his injury-wracked stint that saw him dress just 18 games in two seasons. McDyess, signed to a...