June 20, 2005

THIS SANTA'S SLEIGH IS LOADED WITH DOUGH

A five-year old New York media company hopes to own Santa Claus in less than six months. No, Classic Media of Union Square isn't going to try to kidnap the...

MAGAZINE STAR - FUND RESEARCH KINGPIN WINS INC., FAST COMPANY

Joe Mansueto, the billionaire chairman of Morningstar Inc., has emerged as the winning bidder for Inc. and Fast Company magazines - the final two titles remaining in Gruner + Jahr's...

IF HOUSING BUBBLE POPS: LOOK OUT!

Home prices may plunge as much as 25 percent when mortgages suddenly balloon in the coming surge in borrowing costs, says an economist. Lenders are expected to start hiking interest...

CABLE/VISION - DOLANS WANT TO SPLIT CO.

Cablevision has become the latest media company to propose a break-up. The Dolan family, which controls the Long Island-based cable operator, sent a letter to the board of directors yesterday,...

SWING VOTE - SECRET 'STARS' AVOIDS 'IDOL' POPULARITY CONTEST

VIEWERS of ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" help determine which couple gets booted each week by voting for their favorites - both by phone and on the Internet. But unlike...

FOKINE MOVES ETERNAL

IN his day, the Russian Michel Fokine - ballet reformer, dance activist and 65 years ago one of the founding choreographers of American Ballet Theatre, was regarded as among the...

STARR REPORT

Making (air)waves Fans of the late oldies station WCBS FM are planning to rally tomorrow (11:30 a.m.) at 1515 Broadway to protest the change over to Jack FM. Meanwhile Micky...

MINORITY REPORT - SOMETHING TO OFFEND NEARLY EVERYONE ON NEW ABC SERIES

A new reality series in which three white, self-described "Christian" families get to pick their new neighbors from among a group of minority families is already drawing fire. And it...

'WE NEVER PAY' CAN BE RELATIVE

THE big "get" has gotten expensive. As NBC prepares to air an exclusive interview with the runaway bride, Jennifer Wilbanks - the reported fruits of a $500,000 "story rights" deal...

RADIO VERSION OF 'IDOL'

'American Idol" is launching an online version of the popular talent show as an Internet radio station. The station will be called "American Idol Underground" and will be a place...

BABY IT'S HOT! - SUMMER BEAUTY: DEFRIZZ, DRY OFF & LOOK GORGEOUS; SWEATY TO SWEET

YOU know the feeling. It starts with a tiny trickle of sweat dribbling down your forehead. You're nowhere near a mirror, but you can feel your hair starting to expand....

KIM'S PRE-JAILHOUSE ROCK - RAPPER IN RACE TO CUT NEW ALBUM

Here's Lil' Kim making like a songbird - just days before she becomes a jailbird. As these exclusive photos show, the sexy hip-hop honey was busy in the recording studio...

RICE DEMANDS BOLTON VOTE

WASHINGTON - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice yesterday entered the fray over John Bolton's controversial nomination to be U.N. ambassador. "Let's find out whether, in fact, the Senate, in its...

RALLY WILL HIT 'BLAME U.S.' EXHIBIT AT GROUND ZERO

Critics of the planned International Freedom Center near the Twin Towers site will rally today to protest what they fear will become a Ground Zero showcase for "blame-America" politics. Organizers...

AN 'L' OF A SUBWAY RIDE - TEENS SNEAK INTO EMPTY CONDUCTOR'S BOOTH

The L train's single-operator maiden voyage, with MTA bigs aboard, was going without a hitch yesterday - until a group of skylarking teens invaded the empty conductor's booth. Several MTA...

BRANDO NAME SALE - ACTING LEGEND'S STUFF TO BE AUCTIONED

Here's an offer fans of Marlon Brando can't refuse - the chance to own some of the Hollywood legend's most prized possessions. Anybody who's ever dreamed of wearing the Oscar...

NYPD SPREADING OVERSEAS

The NYPD's overseas anti-terrorist unit may soon be expanding with new outposts in Jordan, Australia and Madrid, officials said. Already a global operation with detectives in France, England, Israel, Canada,...

'FASHION HOUSE' OUTRAGE - RENTERS RIP DESIGNER ROWLEY AS SLUMLORD

The address is the only thing fashionable at design diva Cynthia Rowley's West Village town house, where tenants of the famed clothingmeister gripe that a rehab job has left them...

REV. AL MAY YET BACK FREDDY

The Rev. Al Sharpton said yesterday that he was "having private discussions" with mayoral hopeful Fernando Ferrer to figure out whether to back the man who said the fatal police...

MAYOR-RACE POLS & DOLLS

The mayoral candidates have plenty of pollsters, spokespeople and advisers - but at the end of a long day of campaigning, it's usually their spouse they go to for honest...

GRIEVING KIN TELL OF VIRGIN IS. SLAY SHOCK

The shattered brother of a Queens man killed in the Virgin Islands last week recalled yesterday the moment that he and his mother learned of the horrible news - from...

ISRAEL TO DESTROY GAZA SITES

JERUSALEM - Jewish settlers' homes will be bulldozed when Israel withdraws from the Gaza Strip, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said yesterday at the end of a successful two-day Mideast...

NYPD DAILY BLOTTER

BROOKLYN * A man has been arrested for assaulting a police officer who had been dispersing an unruly crowd, authorities said yesterday. At 1:03 a.m. Thursday, the cop asked a...

HYBRID CABS ARE FACING ROUGH ROAD

The city's Taxi and Limousine Commission has quietly arranged to have its enforcement inspectors use hybrid electric vehicles - but the officers fear the environment-friendly cars put them at risk....

2ND SEX CLAIM VS. TOP TEACH

A former student of a Brooklyn Tech social-studies teacher accused of groping a pupil says she, too, was fondled by him and is suing the city - to teach it...

B'KLYN DAD SHOT DEAD AT COOKOUT

A Brooklyn dad of four was shot to death before horrified pals at a Father's Day weekend cookout, just two days before his birthday, police said yesterday. Aspiring rapper Linell...

AMBUSH ON EVE OF GAZA TALKS

JERUSALEM - Palestinian gunmen ambushed a pair of Israelis, killing one and wounding another, on the West Bank early today, Israeli officials said. The attacks took place on the road...

$1M BID TO JOIN MAFIA - DUMBGUY'S BRIBE SNUBBED

A longtime Mafia associate - frustrated at being passed over for induction into the mob - offered $1 million to the Gambino crime family if they made him a wiseguy,...

SAUSAGE 'TART' IN PERMIT FIGHT

One of Long Island's accused hot-dog hookers is steaming mad because officials have refused to give her a vending license since her arrest for allegedly offering an undercover cop a...

NYPD GETTING IN GEAR - BIDS FOR HAZMAT RIGS

Having won the battle over who's in charge at bioterror and hazardous-material calamities, the NYPD is now battling for the best equipment - shelling out big bucks for top-of-the-line emergency...

COP TIX QUOTA BARED - SARGES REVEAL SCHEME

Three NYPD sergeants have confirmed what police brass has denied for years - that ticketing quotas exist. Testifying at a closed-door union-grievance hearing last week, the sergeants said cops in...

MOM'S PROTECTOR - GUTSY 4-YR.-OLD GIRL USES BROOMSTICK TO FIGHT OFF CRAZED DAD

Meet the bravest little girl in New York. She's 4-year-old Guadalope Carbaja of Brooklyn - and she knew exactly what to do when she saw her dad go berserk and...

CAM CATCHES S.I. 'BURGLARS'

Two burglars were busted after being caught on video grabbing more than $250,000 in cash and jewelry from a Staten Island home, authorities said yesterday. Anthony Cutaia, 17, and John...

CHEF NEEDED AT CHEZ BUSH

WASHINGTON - Wanted: a superchef with a taste for politics. First Lady Laura Bush is still on the hunt for a new White House chef more than four months after...

SOAK JOKE LEAVES TOM WASHED UP

Newly engaged Tom Cruise had the smile washed off his face at the London premiere of his new movie yesterday when he was drenched with water by a prankster while...

SCAVENGER-HUNT TEENS BUSTED

A group of Long Island friends searching for items for a scavenger hunt found their way into handcuffs over the weekend, Suffolk police said. It all started when two cops...

CITY 'LULU' ADO - COUNCIL COULD LOSE ITS PERK

Mayor Bloomberg's charter panel is investigating whether council members should get "lulus" of up to $25,000 a year on top of their salary after ex-pols complained that the speaker uses...

POL: GOP SUFFERING PATAKI 'PARALYSIS'

GOV. PATAKI'S continuing refusal to say if he'll run for re-election is damaging the Republican Party, a top GOP official charged yesterday. U.S. Rep. John Sweeney - the former state...

POLS PRESS FBI ON FILES

A Senate panel has launched an investigation into whether FBI agents in Saudi Arabia shredded a mountain of documents containing thousands of unprocessed leads in the months after the 9/11...

OSAMA ON THE RADAR - WE CAN FIND HIM BUT NOT CATCH HIM: CIA DIRECTOR

CIA Director Porter Goss reportedly has an "excellent idea" where Osama bin Laden is hiding, but doesn't think the architect of the 9/11 attacks will be apprehended any time soon....

FIRE DAD'S TWIN PEAKS - INJURED HERO HOME FOR FATHER'S DAY

Dear Daddy,It was so good to see you on our first Father's Day. You looked good and mommy says you're getting better and you are very brave. When you first...

WEIRD BUT TRUE

A California library has just gotten back a book - that was 78 years overdue. Jim Pavon said he discovered the copy of Rudyard Kipling's "Kim" in a box belonging...

WEINER, TOO, MAKES THIS A 'MAIL'-DOMINATED CAMPAIGN

SO IT turns out Gifford Miller wasn't the only one rushing out campaign-like mailings to voters from his government office in the days before the pre-primary ban on the fliers...

CONFESSIONS OF A PUZZLE KING

What does it take to be a puzzle king? Classroom Extra chatted with Wayne Gould, creator of the Post's new Su Doku puzzle. SU Doku is one hot puzzle game....

TV GAL IN SPERM BATTLE

An award-winning TV journalist is embroiled in a bizarre legal battle with her ex-con former boyfriend over a test tube of sperm. Michele Gillen, who has worked for "Dateline" and...

TV GAL SPERM BATTLE - EX-LOVER SUES TO GET IT BACK

An award-winning TV journalist is embroiled in a bizarre legal battle with her former ex-con boyfriend over a test tube of sperm. Michele Gillen, who has worked for "Dateline" and...

POOH-BAH POP DRAWN INTO ARUBA PROBE

Police in Aruba questioned the politically connected father of a Dutch teenager detained in the disappearance of an Alabama teen on a class trip, authorities said yesterday. Paul van der...

MOVIE FANS GO BATTY FOR 'BATMAN'

The Caped Crusader clobbered Gotham City and the rest of the nation as "Batman Begins" flew to the top of the weekend box-office charts. The big-budget flick, starring Christian Bale...

AN 'ENGAGING' COUPLE

Jennifer Garner showed off what looked like a big, sparkling engagement ring yesterday as she and Ben Affleck enjoyed a relaxing weekend in the Big Apple. The blinding diamond bauble,...

RASH JUDGMENT - PISTONS: WALLACE JUST 'MISUNDERSTOOD'

AUBURN HILLS - Pistons coach Larry Brown isn't blind to Rasheed Wallace's faults, but doesn't think the vision of him complaining to referees should define his whole person. There's so...

YANKS FOLLOW MOOSE TRACKS - GRITTY MUSSINA SPURS BOMBERS TO SIXTH STRAIGHT

Yankees 6 - Cubs 3 Every pitcher occasionally feels like Mike Mussina did on Tuesday night, when everything's working and major-league hitters seem like Little Leaguers. Yesterday, it was back...

CALLING TIGER'S HUFF

NBC's Johnny Miller made history Friday, becoming the first live event TV golf commentator to unequivocally criticize TV meal ticket Tiger Woods for rotten behavior. Woods' misconduct, while often seen...

HUNTER: HOU NOT RETIRING

NBA FINALS NOTEBOOK AUBURN HILLS - Pistons guard Lindsey Hunter, who has remained tight with his former Detroit teammate Allan Houston, said retirement is not on Houston's radar, even if...

PINSTRIPED SUITS WITH BLUE COLLARS NOW ALL THE RAGE

IN YEARS past, it was Mystique and Aura that helped carry the Yankees. This season the script has changed. The failures of the first three months have humbled them. These...

WILLIE PLANNING TO RING IT MORE

MET NOTES SEATTLE - Royce Ring had been impressive recently, and when manager Willie Randolph was asked about the lefty reliever's success in pregame yesterday, he praised him. "We'll see...

MATSUI CLOSE TO TAKING FIELD AGAIN

YANKEE NOTES Hideki Matsui is expected to shag flies during BP today, and could be back in the outfield as early as tonight, manager Joe Torre said yesterday. Matsui, who...

LADY BI BI, KEVIN'S DECISION WIN

In first division of split Mount Vernon Handicap for N.Y.-bred fillies and mares going mile-and-eighth on turf, Lady Bi Bi saved ground early while well off pace under Jose Santos,...

KNICKS MAY TAKE SHOT AT H.S. KID

The Knicks already have one Seattle high school legend and now they're looking at a second. Seattle Prep shooting guard Martell Webster, one of only two high schoolers considered lottery...

SKIES SUNNY TO BOSS

George Steinbrenner had been unhappy, making it clear manager Joe Torre would take "full responsibility" for the Yankees - and that was even before they finished a horrid road trip...

PEN MIGHTIER - RELIEF CONSISTENT FOR YANKS

There are precious few givens in baseball, but the fact the back end of the Yankee bullpen is getting back to being as near-automatic as it once was is a...

PITCH IMPERFECT - GLAVINE, MET PEN FLOP IN LOSS TO MARINERS; END WEST SWING 1-5

Mariners 11 - Mets 5 SEATTLE - The slumping Mets finally scored some runs yesterday, but their pitchers simply could not shut the Mariners down. On a day the Mets'...

MATSUI GETS GLOVE READY

YANKEE NOTES Hideki Matsui is expected to shag flies during BP today, and could be back in the outfield as early as tonight, manager Joe Torre said yesterday. Matsui, who...

POPOVICH: BROWN'S NOT DONE

NBA FINALS NOTEBOOK AUBURN HILLS - Spurs coach Gregg Popovich believes his buddy, Pistons coach Larry Brown, will coach next season. "I'm going to have to see it to believe...

SPURS IN COMMAND - HORRY SENDS SAN ANTONIO HOME WITH 3-2 LEAD

GAME 5 /OT: Spurs 96 - Pistons 95 AUBURN HILLS - Finally a game. Finally a heart-stopper, one for the ages. Veteran Finals hero Robert Horry, maker of a multitude...

PITCH IMPERFECT - GLAVINE, PEN FLOP AS LOWLY MARINERS SWEEP AWAY METS

Mariners 11 - Mets 5 SEATTLE - After the Mets lost yesterday, Mike Piazza called it "a bad weekend of baseball." It was bad, but for the Mets, it has...

GORE (84) CAN'T HELP BUT SMILE

PINEHURST, N.C. - Even a final-round 14-over par 84 couldn't erase the smile from Jason Gore's face. The Nationwide Tour player had became a fan favorite and a national story...

CAM HEADS HOME FOR KNEE PROBE

MET NOTES SEATTLE - The status of Mike Cameron could clear up a bit today. The Mets' ailing rightfielder, who's missed all six games on the road trip so far...

GOOSE LAYS HUGE EGG

PINEHURST, N.C. - The chances of Retief Goosen being on the wrong side of one of the worst collapses in major championship history are about as great as Goosen becoming...

CHAMP IS A WHIZ KID

PINEHURST, N.C. - If you were watching the NBC telecast and noticed U.S. Open champion Michael Campbell running off greens and through the ropes on occasion, there's an explanation. Campbell...

WILLIE PEPPERED AFTER ODD SWITCH

SEATTLE - Heading into the bottom of the sixth inning yesterday, Aaron Heilman had pitched 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief as the Mets sliced their deficit from five runs...

CAMPBELL TIPS CAP TO BROWNE

OPEN NOTES PINEHURST, N.C. - Michael Campbell was emotional about a lot of things after his U.S. Open victory yesterday at Pinehurst No. 2. One of those topics was Olin...

MICHAEL'S HARD WORK FINALLY PAYS OFF

PINEHURST, N.C. - The average sports fan might glance across sports pages today, notice Tiger Woods or some other household golfing name didn't win the U.S. Open and decide not...

TIGER JUST COULDN'T BE LIKE MIKE

PINEHURST, N.C. - After Tiger Woods drained a 12-foot putt for birdie on the 18th green yesterday, he acknowledged the cheers of the crowd and then stood by his caddie...

PINEHURST PUNISHED THE MICK

OPEN NOTES PINEHURST, N.C. - Phil Mickelson's difficult week came to an end with a finalround 74 yesterday. He finished well off the lead at 12-over in a tournament he...

CAMPBELL WAS SIMPLY SOUP-ER - JOURNEYMAN ZEALS UPSET

PINEHURST, N.C. - Michael Campbell, stunning victor of the 105th U.S. Open yesterday, walked into the Pinehurst clubhouse locker room minutes after his victory, sat in a chair, made a...

PAYNE-HURST - STEWART LEGACY PLAYS A BIG ROLE

PINEHURST, N.C. - As the final putt disappeared into the hole on No. 18 to close out this year's U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2, a very poignant chapter was...