June 2, 2005
HELPING THE PREZ EXPLAIN
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amPRESIDENT Bush has been having difficulty lately getting people to understand his position on two major issues: stem-cell research and the viability of the Social Security system. And I'd like...
VORNADO BUYS MAD. AVE. GEM
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amOne of Manhattan's poshest residential rental buildings has just been sold to a major New York City developer. Vornado Realty Trust announced yesterday that it has signed an agreement to...
WAL-MART BLASTED FOR RULE-BREAKING
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amWal-Mart is under attack from all sides as it heads into tomorrow's annual meeting. Shareholders owning more than $545 million in stock chided the retailer's board yesterday for allowing the...
THAI'D TOGETHER - TRUMP SEALS $1.8B DEAL ON PRIME CONDOS
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amDonald Trump ironed out the details of his blockbuster $1.8 billion sale of Trump Place as he was hosting the Miss Universe pageant in Thailand earlier last week, real estate...
OIL CAPS MARKET GAINS AS CASH FLEES EU
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amWall Street rallied as global cash fleeing Europe took refuge in stocks and bonds here - but oil speculators put the brakes on the rally and pushed up oil to...
TALE OF TAPES HURTS SIHPOL
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amTed Sihpol met his worst enemy in court yesterday: Himself. Time and again jurors heard phone calls between the former Bank of America broker and Canary Capital in which Sihpol...
NYSE STALLS BEFORE CLOSE
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amThe New York Stock Exchange ran out of gas 12 minutes before crossing the finish line at yesterday's session - wiping out untold billions in unfinished trades. The NYSE breakdown...
BUSH'S QUICK PICK - TAPS PRO-BIZ COX TO LEAD SEC AFTER DONALDSON QUITS
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amJust hours after Securities and Exchange Commission chief William Donaldson announced he was stepping down, the White House was moving to nominate California Congressman Christopher Cox as head of the...
SEC CHIEF OUT - REFORMER DONALDSON STEPS ASIDE; HEIR NOT APPARENT
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amSecurities and Exchange Commission chief William Donaldson, who oversaw some of the most sweeping reforms in the agency's history, stepped aside yesterday as the Bush administration begins the process of...
SEC CHIEF OUT - REFORMER DONALDSON MAKES WAY FOR NEW BLOOD
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amSecurities and Exchange Commission chief William Donaldson, who oversaw some of the most sweeping reforms in the agency's history, stepped aside yesterday as the Bush administration begins the process of...
DOG DAYS NO MORE - FASHION AD PUSH PLANNED FOR AUGUST
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amFor some fashionistas, August is the new September. Increasingly, clothing retailers and luxury brands are breaking their fall advertising campaigns in the fashion glossies a month earlier instead of waiting...
MOB MARCH
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amTHE long-awaited sixth season of "The Sopranos" will premiere in March 2006 - almost two years after the finale of last season. HBO began running promos revealing the March '06...
IT'S NOT A GOOD 'NIGHT'
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amSO what has Elaine May done for us lately? Since that dazzling start to her career in quick-witted partnership with Mike Nichols half-a-century ago, May's trajectory has been uncertain. Her...
GIRLS SUMMER - 'QUEER EYE' TAMES SOX CAVEMAN
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amTHE Boston Red Sox are out of the closet. "Who said gay was bad? I am now gay!" slugger Kevin Millar proudly declares on "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy."...
AUDIOSLAVE BREAKS OUT
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amBOOSTED by the hit single "Be Yourself," Audioslave raged into the No. 1 slot on Billboard's Top 200 Album chart with its sophomore disc, "Out of Exile." The album sold...
'DANCING' FOOLS - LAME HAS-BEENS HAVING A BALLROOM
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amIF watching a pack of D-list celebrities dance competitively is just what you've been praying for, then last night's "Dancing With the Stars," is definitely the answer to your prayers....
SNOTTY HOTTIES - WORLD'S MOST VICIOUS DATING SITE ONLY FOR PERFECT AND POWERFUL
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amGET ready for the most exclusive dating Web site yet: beautifulpeople.net. Set to launch in the United States this summer, the dating/networking site will cater to what its founders call...
CHECK MATE
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amPERHAPS it's not so bad when beautiful people only want to date other beautiful people. People with a vastly more attractive partner have a 50 percent chance of losing them,...
STARR REPORT
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amDave's DVD delivers Dave Chappelle is still AWOL from Comedy Central - but that hasn't stopped his fans from scooping up his TV show on DVD. "Chappelle's Show: Season 2...
SONGS THAT MAKE YOU SAY 'EWWW'
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amIN the old days, Coldplay listeners could hear a ballad like "Yellow" and imagine what lovely lady the "stars that shine" twinkled for. Then lead singer Chris Martin married Gwyneth...
'TODAY' RISING
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amDESPITE all the anti-Katie hoopla and "Good Morning America" good cheer, it appears "Today" is padding its ratings lead over its rival again. Tuesday, "Today" was watched by about 900,000...
MARCH OF THE MOBSTERS - 'SOPRANOS' SETS DATE FOR RETURN - AT LAST
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amTHE long-awaited sixth season of "The Sopranos" will premiere in March 2006 - almost two years after the finale of last season. HBO began running promos revealing the March '06...
'BREINDEL' AWARD TO ROSETT
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amWriter Claudia Rosett's coverage of the U.N. oil-for-food scandal was honored with the seventh annual Eric Breindel Award for Excellence in Journalism last night at the New-York Historical Society. The...
SCOPPETTA GETS QUICK RESPONSE
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amFire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta said yesterday that response times have dropped since he warned firefighters not to stop at red lights. The citywide response time decreased by two seconds -...
U.N. STAFFER OIL 'CANNED'
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amWASHINGTON - U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan yesterday fired the first U.N. staff member in the Iraq oil-for-food scandal, charging he engaged in "serious misconduct." Joseph Stephanides, a U.N. bureaucrat from...
ARIEL, ABBAS SET SUMMIT
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amJERUSALEM - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his Palestinian counterpart, Mahmoud Abbas, will meet this month for the first time since declaring a truce, and will try to reach...
JERSEY GOV SCRUM - WHO'LL FACE CASH-COW CORZINE?
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amWITH just five days to go before next Tuesday's New Jersey gubernatorial primaries, an astounding 54 percent of Republican voters say they either are still undecided - or have settled...
WEIRD BUT TRUE
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amEric and Jacque Scholl thought things were getting weird when their house in Tulsa, Okla., started buzzing. They investigated to find more than 20,000 bees in huge hives beneath the...
ACCOUNTANT STOLE 80G: COPS
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amA former accountant for an exclusive Long Island country club has been arrested and charged with grand larceny - for writing himself a check for almost $80,000 after he had...
ACCUSER'S DIFFERENT SLATER TALE: CO-WORKER
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amThe woman allegedly groped by Christian Slater is telling a far tamer tale to her co-workers at a drug-treatment center, a fellow staffer said yesterday. The 52-year-old woman told cops...
SCHUMER SLAMS SAUDIS
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amWASHINGTON - Saudi Arabia was under fire yesterday following a report that the desert kingdom is exporting nearly half the terrorists carrying out homicide bombings in Iraq. Sen. Charles Schumer...
KOFI AXES OIL BIG - BID 'RIGGER' FIRST TO GO IN SCANDAL
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amWASHINGTON - U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan yesterday fired the first U.N. staff member in the Iraq oil-for-food scandal, charging he engaged in "serious misconduct." Joseph Stephanides, a U.N. bureaucrat from...
LOHAN'S PAPARAZZI TERROR
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amLindsay Lohan escaped Princess Diana's tragic fate when a sleazy paparazzo chased her $300,000 Mercedes and smashed into it on purpose - apparently to get a photo, cops said yesterday....
FERRARO: FREDDY'S MY GUY AT CITY HALL
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amFormer vice-presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro yesterday endorsed Fernando Ferrer, stressing their South Bronx roots, long friendship and agreement on key issues. "We both grew up in the South Bronx," said...
PALS: FEDS WAY OFF 'BASS' - DON'T BUY JAZZMAN'S TERROR RAP
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amMeet the Shah of Harlem. That's how bassist and terror suspect Tarik Shah is known at St. Nick's Pub, the Harlem jazz club where he has appeared twice a week...
DIS'CREDIT'ED COP - USED UNDERCOVER ID IN 60G SCAM: DA
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amA Long Island detective allegedly took his undercover assignment a little too far - he used his secret identity to defraud creditors, authorities said. Veteran Nassau County Detective Rodolfo Barrio,...
NYPD DAILY BLOTTER
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amMANHATTAN * Cops yesterday released photos of two men (above) who allegedly bound two workers with tape and robbed them at gunpoint in a Lower East Side video store. On...
NIXON KNEW OF FELT TIPS
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amJust two months after the Watergate break-in, the Nixon White House already knew that Mark Felt was leaking information to reporters - because Nixon had his own spy in the...
SCHOOLKIDS' TEST SCORES ZOOMING
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amRoughly 5,600 city fifth- graders could be held back this year under the expansion of Mayor Bloomberg's strict promotion policy, according to test scores released yesterday - but kids across...
ANIMAL HOUSE - SKINS, HEADS, CARCASSES IN 'WIFE BEATER' HOME
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amA Long Island man accused of chaining up and beating his wife as two leopards crouched in a nearby room had created a zoological horror show at his home, authorities...
35G THEFT AT MIDTOWN NEWSSTAND
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amMore than $35,000 in cash and merchandise was stolen from a Midtown newsstand over the holiday weekend, store workers and police sources said yesterday. Master Sumon, who works at the...
'ASSAULT & PEPPER' GUILTY PLEA
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amSome attackers pepper their victims with insults. Anthony Costa insulted his victim with a pepper mill. Yesterday in Newark federal court, Costa admitted that he used a large pepper mill...
BRUNO'S 'PRIVATE' PLAN FOR STADIUM
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amDays before the crucial vote on the proposed West Side stadium, Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno yesterday raised a new issue about the project: He'd like to see private investors...
MODEL IN TUG-O'-LOVE SUES SHRINK
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amFormer model Bridget Marks has filed suit against the man she holds responsible for her losing custody of her kids - a court-appointed psychiatrist. In papers filed in Manhattan Supreme...
MIDEAST SUMMIT - SHARON AND ABBAS TO MEET
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amJERUSALEM - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his Palestinian counterpart, Mahmoud Abbas, will meet this month for the first time since declaring a truce, and will try to reach...
RAGE AT 9/11 'GAME' - MARKETED FOR KIDS
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amDisgusted Brooklyn residents were up in arms over a video game that turns the horrifying events of 9/11 into child's play. A hand-held video holy war, called "Laden vs. USA,"...
SORE AT 'THROAT' - ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN SLAM HIM AS 'SPY'
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amWASHINGTON - Richard Nixon's former lieutenants yesterday blasted "Deep Throat" W. Mark Felt for spilling Watergate secrets to the press - instead of taking them to a grand jury. Felt's...
KILLER KID KIN TRUCE - MA WELCOME AT RITES
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amThe mother of the 9-year-old Brooklyn girl who stabbed her best friend in the heart is "welcome" to attend Saturday's funeral for the slain youngster, devastated relatives told The Post....
COOKIE'S REVENGE - GUILTY VERDICT IN SEX ATTACK STOPPED BY DOG
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amA Manhattan jury took a bite out of career thug Tito Rodriguez yesterday, finding him guilty on all counts for beating and trying to rape a woman in Central Park...
TV MAN'S HAZZARD-OUS DUTY
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amMeet the New Yorker with the world's easiest and best-paying job. Christopher Nelson is getting $100,000 a year to sit in his East Village apartment and watch reruns of "The...
B'KLYN COP SHOT - SUSPECT FOUND DEAD IN SUICIDE: COMMISH
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amA cop trying to make a drug bust was shot three times in Brooklyn last night after he pulled over a man who opened fire without warning, police said. The...
MIKE HONORS 42 BRAVEST
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amMayor Bloomberg honored 42 firefighters at City Hall yesterday for putting "their lives on the line to protect the rest of us." Top honors at the FDNY's annual Medal Day...
BRONX BUS RUNS OVER TOT'S LEG
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amA 2-year-old girl suffered a broken leg yesterday when she was hit by a city bus in The Bronx. The girl had just stepped off the corner of 196th Street...
ICE 'N' EASY: RUDY AIDS HOCKEY BID
June 2, 2005 | 4:00am"America's Mayor" wants to save Canada's game. Rudy Giuliani is working to form a new hockey league, the Toronto Star reported yesterday - the same day the National Hockey League's...
SLAY KID'S MOM WELCOME AT FUNERAL
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amThe mother of the 9-year-old Brooklyn girl who stabbed her best friend in the heart is "welcome" to attend Saturday's funeral for the slain youngster, devastated relatives told The Post....
FEDS WAY OFF 'BASS' IN TERROR CASE: PALS
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amMeet the Shah of Harlem. That's how bassist and terror suspect Tarik Shah is known at St. Nick's Pub, the Harlem jazz club where he has appeared twice a week...
WRITER HONORED - 'BREINDEL' AWARD TO ROSETT
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amWriter Claudia Rosett's coverage of the U.N. oil-for-food scandal was honored with the seventh annual Eric Breindel Award for Excellence in Journalism last night at the New-York Historical Society. The...
RISING FORTUNES - BAKER, SEAMSTRESS SNARE LOTTERY $2M
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amA Queens baker got just the dough she needed when she scratched off a winning $2 million lottery ticket. Alpine James, 60, a union-grievance representative - and part-time professional zucchini-bread...
SHARON AND ABBAS SET JUNE 21 SUMMIT
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amJERUSALEM - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his Palestinian counterpart, Mahmoud Abbas, will meet this month for the first time since declaring a truce, and will try to reach...
KOFI AXES FIRST 'RIGGER' IN OIL SCANDAL
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amWASHINGTON - U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan yesterday fired the first U.N. staff member in the Iraq oil-for-food scandal, charging he engaged in "serious misconduct." Joseph Stephanides, a U.N. bureaucrat from...
SCAFFOLD DEATH PLUNGE - PAINTER FALLS 4 FLOORS IN B'KLYN
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amA man plummeted to his death yesterday when a hook holding a scaffold against a Brooklyn building snapped, police and witnesses said. A colleague survived by first frantically hanging on...
TEENS SHOT AT B'KLYN PLAYGROUND
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amGunfire at a Brooklyn playground yesterday left two teenagers wounded and sent young kids running for cover, police said. The shots rang out at about 4:30 p.m. in the playground...
B'KLYN COP SHOT - SUSPECT FOUND DEAD IN 'SUICIDE'
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amA cop trying to make a drug bust in Brooklyn was shot three times last night after he pulled over a man who opened fire without warning, police said. The...
NEW HOCKEY LEAGUE IS GIULIANI'S LATEST GOAL
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amAmerica's Mayor wants to save Canada's game. Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani and a top Canadian diplomat are working to form a new hockey league, the Toronto Star reported yesterday -...
SICKO ANIMAL HOUSE - CRUELTY IN L.I. HOME
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amA Long Island man accused of chaining and beating his wife as two leopards crouched nearby had created a zoological horror show at his home, authorities revealed yesterday. In the...
A POWERFUL LITTLE FLOWER
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amFiorello La Guardia was one of the greatest and most beloved mayors New York ever had. Nicknamed the "Little Flower," he was no shrinking violet. Here's the story of this...
JACKO JITTERY AS WRAP-UP BEGINS
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amMichael Jackson is apparently "nervous" about what the future holds for him as his kid-sex trial draws to an end, a spokeswoman said. "I think he is nervous," said Raymone...
SCOPPETTA GETS FAST RESPONSE
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amFire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta said yesterday that response times have dropped since he warned firefighters not to stop at red lights. The citywide response time decreased by two seconds -...
METS KO COTTO-BELTRAN PHOTO
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amPuerto Rico boxing star Miguel Cotto had hoped to promote his debut at the Garden on June 11 by arranging a photo opportunity with Mets outfielder Carlos Beltran at an...
VINCE BECOMES A DADDY
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amThe Nets' extended family increased by one yesterday. Vince Carter and his wife, Ellen, became parents for the first time with the birth of daughter Kai Michelle, who checked in...
BECKHAM SEES THE DRAW OF THE GOOD OL' U.$. OF A.
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amBit by bit, David Beckham is planting roots in America . . . like a money tree putting down roots in fertile soil. And while soccer players have struggled to...
UNC PG PITCHIN' TO STEER KNICK 'O'
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amNorth Carolina point guard Raymond Felton is ready to run the Knicks. "Stephon [Marbury] is a scoring guard," Felton said after working out for Isiah Thomas and other Knick officials...
ONLY SMALL THAW IN NHL ICE-JAM
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amWhile an atmosphere of inevitability hovers over the ongoing negotiations between the NHL and the players union, that does not mean an announcement of an agreement to end the lockout...
SJU MUST WAIT ON NCAA
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amSt. John's will have to wait at least until August for the NCAA Committee on Infractions to review the pending case against the Red Storm basketball program, The Post has...
BOOS PRICE BELTRAN PAYS
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amTHE NEW CENTER of the Mets' universe went an understandable 0-for-4 in his first game back Monday night after missing eight with a bad quad. And Carlos Beltran didn't even...
LANIGAN TAMES IONA PREP
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amCHSAA: Moore 8 - Iona Prep 2 Bobby Lanigan had high expectations coming into his senior season, but pre-season arm trouble slowed the Moore Catholic righthander and he struggled early...
DL'D RELIEVERS FACE SURGERY
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amMET NOTES Bartolome Fortunato has not pitched this season, and Felix Heredia has pitched in just three games. Those totals are unlikely to change this year. Met GM Omar Minaya...
DIGIORGIO COMPLETES THE JOB FOR FARRELL
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amCHSAA: Farrell 10 - Hayes 2 Two tasks needed to be checked off Monsignor Farrell pitcher Larry DiGiorgio's to-do list going into yesterday's first round playoff duel against Cardinal Hayes....
REYES STEALS SHOW
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amSpeed kills, and that's exactly what Jose Reyes and his legs did to the Diamondbacks last night in the Mets' 2-1 win at Shea. Reyes tied a career high with...
VICTOR-Y FOR METS - ZAMBRANO MOWS DOWN DIAMONDBACKS
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amMets 2 - D'backs 1 It figured to unravel in the fourth inning. That's when Victor Zambrano threatened to erase what he had done through three innings, when two self-caused...
TIGHT HAMMY BITES MIGUEL
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amMET NOTES Miguel Cairo has been playing a lot lately, thanks to Kaz Matsui's ailing neck and Cairo's hot bat. But Cairo himself is now hurting. Cairo left last night's...
RANDY GETS NO SUPPORT, NO MARGIN FOR ERROR
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amKANSAS CITY - Randy Johnson pitched well enough to win last night while working on the four days of rest he prefers. However, when you hurl in front of The...
TORRE: PAVANO TO POUNCE
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amYANKEE NOTES KANSAS CITY - As usual, Joe Torre accentuated the positive when it came to Carl Pavano trying to bounce back tonight. "You are always anxious to see how...
MATSUI EMBRACES LINEUP'S NO. 2 SPOT
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amKANSAS CITY - One night after stopping the longest homerless streak of his career, Hideki Matsui found himself in a strange spot in Joe Torre's batting order. Matsui - who...
K.C. A ROYAL PAIN FOR UNIT, YANKS - BOMBER BATS ARE DUDS IN SECOND STRAIGHT LOSS
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amRoyals 3 - Yankees 1 KANSAS CITY - Chances are you were as sick of looking at the lifeless Yankees as Joe Torre was last night. However, unlike you, Torre...
UNIT, YANKS OUT TO STOP STREAK - LOWLY ROYALS OPPOSE RANDY IN BIGGEST YANK START
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amKANSAS CITY - When George Steinbrenner lusted for Randy Johnson The Boss never thought Johnson would be needed to pitch the game of his pinstriped life on the first day...
METS CRY MAY DAE! - LOUSY MONTH FOR SOUTHPAW OUT OF BULLPEN
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amIt's pretty hard to imagine somebody who had a worse month of May than Dae-Sung Koo. The Mets lefty reliever posted a 7.04 ERA in 13 games and batters hit...
BILLUPS FINALLY REDEEMS HIMSELF
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amHEAT-PISTONS NOTEBOOK MIAMI - Getting beaten is one thing. Beating yourself is another. That was the gnawing assessment Detroit's Chauncey Billups had after Miami victories in Games 2 and 3...
SNAKES' REBIRTH MAY BE HISTORIC
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amAfter winning just 51 games last season, the Diamondbacks are on pace for a historic turn-around. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the 1903 New York Giants pulled off baseball's...
REIGN MAN-NING - ELI POISED TO TAKE COMMAND OF JINTS
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amWith every word, every throw, every hint given off from his body language, Eli Manning gives the Giants reason to believe the bad days are behind them and a star...
PLAXICO BUYING INTO TOUGH TOM'S RULES
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amPlaxico Burress looked disgusted with himself yesterday when he failed to haul in a long pass during his first mini-camp with the Giants. Still, his transition thus far has been...
GIANTS' OWNER GETTING WELL
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amThree weeks ago, Giants co-owner Wellington Mara had surgery at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center to remove cancerous lymph nodes from his neck and under his left arm. He set yesterday...
PISTONS GANG UP ON WADE - DWYANE DRAWS HEAT FROM DETROIT 'D'
June 2, 2005 | 4:00amMIAMI - Early in the series, it was mainly Detroit forward Tayshaun Prince guarding Dwyane Wade. Then Richard Hamilton did a superlative job in Game 4. But Larry Brown has...