June 21, 2005

CRUISIN' FOR SUIT BRUISIN'

SO, 24 people filed a $100 million suit the other day against Norwegian Cruise Lines because they were roughed up by bad weather. The aggrieved say the ship they were...

CABLE ACCESS - DOLAN BREAKUP PLAN MAY ATTRACT NEW BIDDING

The Dolan family's bid to buy out public shareholders of Cablevision and take it private could be a first step toward a sale of the company. Predicting when the Dolans...

ONCE BLAZING, BAILEY HEDGE FUND SHUTS ITS DOORS

The bell continues to toll for hedge funds, with troubled London-based Bailey Coates announcing that it was closing yesterday, the third in the past week. Last week, Singapore-based Aman Capital,...

GAMING WEB SITE GOES ON THE BLOCK

IGN Entertainment, an Internet company that focuses on the video game industry, is up for sale and could fetch nearly $850 million, The Post has learned. The company has been...

TWO PARTNERS TAKE BUYOUT TO SETTLE AXIOM GLOBAL SPAT

A besieged trading firm CEO accused of abusing brokers and using company cash to pay for hookers and babysitters yesterday regained control of the outfit after his estranged partners agreed...

BUYOUT FIRMS SNIFFING AROUND HERTZ

As Ford Motor Co. paves the road for a possible initial public offering of its Hertz unit, a few eager buyers are already teaming up to kick the car-rental company's...

SPITZER LEAPS HURDLE IN BANK-BIAS CASE

Give round one to Attorney General Eliot Spitzer. A federal judge yesterday refused to stop Spitzer's probe of possible bias in mortgage-lending by three nationally chartered banks after finding the...

CHARITY IN THE BAG - NOT-FOR-PROFITS PUT BRANDS IN STORES

The philanthropically inclined will soon have the option of sleeping on sheets bearing the official New York City Fire Department logo, munching on organic trail mix from the Sierra Club...

OUSTED EDITOR BASHES BOSSES

The ousted editor-in-chief of freebie paper amNew York fought back against Newsday and its parent Tribune Company yesterday, saying that the plagiarism controversy over a Deep Throat attribution that led...

DEBEERS BRINGS CARATS TO APPLE

When it comes to diamonds, size matters. No one knows this better than DeBeers, which will make its retailing debut in New York later this week with a display of...

JOJO A MACY'S TRIAL BALLOON

JoJo, the star of "JoJo's Circus," the Disney Channel series for preschoolers, will make her balloon debut in this year's Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, becoming the first Disney Channel character...

'IDOL' COREY TO TALK TO FOX

FOX will finally meet with Corey Clark, the "American Idol" contestant who alleges he had an affair with "Idol" judge Paula Abdul while he was a contestant on the show....

JOAN ALLEN IN 'YES' - IT COULD BE VERSE

ANY film fan can tell you Joan Allen has impressive range: She's played everything from a 17th-century Puritan in "The Crucible" to a federal agent in "The Bourne Supremacy" to...

ARISTOCRAP - NO ROOM FOR ANOTHER 'HILTON'

AM I the only one who is sick and disgusted by the Hilton family and their need to prove that they are better than everyone else? And worse - that...

STARR REPORT

'Deathmatch' redux "Celebrity Deathmatch," which aired on MTV from 1998-2002, is making a return on MTV2. Eight new episodes of "Deathmatch" will begin airing in November, featuring claymation-type celebrities duking...

LIVE LARGE - WANT TO TASTE THE HIGH LIFE? CHRIS BUNTING FINDS SOME GREAT HOMES WITH FAMOUS BAGGAGE

WHY sit at home drooling over reruns of "Cribs" when you can get your own? For the right price, you too can sleep where Bruce Willis, Madonna or Mick Jagger...

EXPRESS CHECK-IN - GOSSIP, HOT TOPICS AND OTHER NEWS YOU'LL USE

THEY'RE NOT LIKE YOU AND ME, YOU KNOW HOT on the heels of Kimora Lee Simmons whining to the media that she's really not a selfish person, and that anyone...

HIGH STAKES - POKER-OBSESSED NEW YORKERS ARE GAMBLING WITH THEIR VACATION TIME - AND WINNING. ANDY WANG REPORTS

LAST summer, Seth Fass, who owns a Syosset, L.I. mortgage company, told his wife Tracy he was taking her to Las Vegas in July to celebrate their three-year anniversary. What...

BOYS OF SUMO - SQUEEZING INTO THE RING WITH THE NEXT BIG THINGS; BATTLE OF THE DIAPER DUDES

RYUICHI Yamamoto weighs 480 pounds. Takayuki Ichihara weighs 360. After a hearty breakfast, I weigh about as much as a medium-sized sack of Purina Kitten Chow. Yet here I am...

THAT'S A LATTE CALORIES!

AH, the drinks of summer: Icy cold and sweet, they go down easy . . . even when they pack as many calories as a couple of Big Macs. "People...

THE MUGGING OF LIBERTY - 2 FACE TRIAL IN ASSAULT ON MIME

The Statue of Liberty may take the witness stand today - to describe getting slugged in the head in Times Square by a pair of bumbling muggers. In an Only-in-New-York...

'LAW & ORDER' GLITCH FOULS UP POLICE RADIOS

Here's one "Law & Order" tale that won't be ripped from the headlines. Red-faced honchos at the hit NBC crime series were slapped with a $10,000 fine from the Federal...

WEIRD BUT TRUE

A joker dentist inserted a pair of boar tusks in an anesthetized patient's mouth and snapped photos. But when Dr. Robert Woo of Auburn, Wash., showed his female patient the...

RUDY KID JUST MISSES PRO CUT

While his father prepares for a possible run against heavy hitters in the world of politics, Andrew Giuliani came within a few putts of going up against some heavy hitters...

MAJORITY HAIL HYBRID TAXIS

Most New Yorkers are in favor of hybrid electric taxis, a new poll shows. The poll released yesterday by the Coalition Advocating for Smart Transportation also shows that the 66...

'DESPERATE' STAR GETS OFF

Cody Kasch, the 18-year-old who plays the troubled Zach on ABC's "Desperate Housewives," got a slide in a Manhattan courtroom yesterday. Judge Evelyn Laporte told him a pot-possession charge would...

RAFT BOY TRAGEDY - MISSING AFTER FRANTIC BRONX RIVER HUNT

A 14-year-old boy was feared drowned in the Bronx River last night after he and a group of pals took a ride on a makeshift raft they found along the...

'FRAGGER' WAS BEING PROBED

WASHINGTON - The upstate National Guardsman accused of killing two superior officers was under investigation for "irregularities" connected to his job as a supply sergeant before the shocking attack, it...

UNDIE-COVER BOMBER - WOMAN THWARTED NEAR ISRAELI HOSP

JERUSALEM - A Palestinian woman, wearing explosives attached to her underwear, was arrested yesterday before she reached the Israeli hospital where she intended to blow herself up. "I wanted to...

NEW AD'S MAYOR A KINDER, GENTLER BILLIONAIRE

The parents of a child with cerebral palsy have made the most riveting ad of the mayoral campaign, lauding Mayor Bloomberg for developing a special program that allows their severely...

HOLE-Y COW! THE STREET CAVED IN

Traffic was the pits along West 56th Street yesterday after a massive, 10-foot-deep sinkhole - measuring about 20 feet wide - caused chaos on the block between Fifth and Sixth...

GIFFORD MILLER YESTERDAY GOT THE BACKING OF JERRY HAUER ...

Council Speaker Gifford Miller yesterday got the backing of Jerry Hauer - the former emergency-preparedness czar in the Giuliani administration - moments after unveiling his plan to keep the city...

CRITICS BLAST MTA FOR DITCHING STATION REHABS

Straphanger advocates, community leaders and transit-union officials gathered yesterday to protest a recent MTA decision to scrap plans to restore 12 subway stations in dire need of repairs. "The MTA...

CITY PLAN TO HELP TEENAGE HOOKERS

The city is launching a new drive to curb underage prostitution. Mayor Bloomberg said it aims to take down pimps by winning over their teenage streetwalkers. "To go after the...

GRANNY CLEARED IN '83 HUBBY SLAY

It was the first time in more than 20 years that Marie LaPinta walked into court through the front door. The 69-year-old grandmother - who helped kill her husband, Michael,...

NEWBIES TOLD TEACHING WILL BE A REAL TEST

Nearly 1,800 soon-to-be public-school teachers underwent an indoctrination by fire yesterday as the city's top education officials promised them a tough first year. "We're not going to assign you in...

JUMBO-SIZE THE JAVITS, CHUCK SAYS

With plans for a West Side football stadium dashed by Albany lawmakers, Sen. Charles Schumer yesterday called on the city and state to use the MTA rail yard to create...

S&M MAN TORTURED BY CYBERBAN

An Internet Web master who ran a violent S&M site and is accused of publishing pictures of a woman he sexually tortured in his Queens home says he needs to...

NYPD DAILY BLOTTER

QUEENS (s, lcf) * Police say this drug suspect (above) fought with a Queens cop who was wounded in a struggle over the officer's gun. The man had a gun...

GHOSTLY CHAMBERS IN COURT - PREPPY SLAY STILL HAUNTING DRUG SUSPECT

Infamous "Preppy Killer" Robert Chambers, looking gaunt and hollow-eyed, faced a double dose of legal trouble in court yesterday - first defending himself against a drug charge and then getting...

GRIEVING DAD BEGS FOR TOUGHER N.Y. PERV LAWS

ALBANY - The father of a 9-year-old Florida girl who was raped and murdered forced an emotional meeting yesterday with Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver to plead for a crackdown on...

TV CRIME SHOW OUT OF ORDER

Here's one "Law & Order" tale that won't be ripped from the headlines. Red-faced honchos at the hit NBC crime show were slapped with a $10,000 fine from the Federal...

FDNY TO LIGHT A FIRE UNDER SLOW BRAVEST

The FDNY "will take whatever measures are necessary" to reduce response times around the city - including ousting certain captains if necessary, sources said yesterday. Concerned that response times have...

BUSH DEFENDS 'HUMANE' GITMO

WASHINGTON - President Bush yesterday passionately defended the Iraq war and the treatment of terror suspects at Guantanamo, saying America won't call it quits until the "cold-blooded killers" terrorizing Iraq...

NEW HIT FOR 'MEDI-FRAUD' MILLIONAIRES

There was more trouble yesterday for the notorious millionaire Pustilnik family of Central Park West - powerful new indictments against their alleged medical-insurance- fraud ring. Under the new enterprise-corruption charges...

STAFF: '21' 86'D US FOR BEING FRENCH

Sack-re bleu! Three waiters say they were a là carted off their jobs at the prestigious '21' Club because they're old . . . and French. In a $5 million...

CLAN UNDER FIRE - HOUSE BURNS DOWN FOR SECOND TIME

It was a devastating case of déjà vu for a Brooklyn family yesterday as their house burned down, leaving them homeless and without possessions - for the second time in...

WRONG TIME, WRONG PLACE FOR LEFTIES' PC PRATTLE

NEARLY four years after her husband was murdered on 9/11 just because he was American, Loisanne Diehl stood in lower Manhattan, de fending her beloved from those who would insist...

NOW SADDAM'S A SNACK FIEND - DORITOS & BABY WIPES FOR FUSSBUDGET BUTCHER: GIS

WASHINGTON - Saddam Hussein loves Doritos, is a compulsive neat freak, wants to become friends with President Bush, and thinks he can make Iraq a beautiful country once he returns...

COPTER-CRASH HERO IS CLEAR FOR HOSP TAKEOFF

The hero pilot injured in last Friday's East River helicopter crash was discharged from Bellevue Hospital yesterday. Mark Schaberg, a former crash-test pilot, has been credited with saving the lives...

'SUGE KILLED BIGGIE' - ORDERED HIT, KIN CLAIM

LOS ANGELES - The family of slain rap legend Notorious B.I.G. claims it has secret police documents that will tie the Brooklyn native's murder to West Coast nemesis Marion "Suge"...

'BOARDER' COPS CLOSE 44-BED L.I. FLOPHOUSE

An illegal Long Island boarding house for Mexican day workers was shut down yesterday after police found 44 beds in an eight-room home. Suffolk County cops raided the house in...

TOOTHLESS MOB BOSS CHEWSY EATER IN JAIL

The reputed acting boss of the Genovese crime family is apparently a picky eater who gives prison food a "gums" down. Dominick "Quiet Dom" Cirillo - a wiseguy who has...

POLICE SHOOT DERANGED KNIFE MAN IN B'KLYN APT.

An emotionally disturbed man brandishing two large knives was shot after lunging at two cops responding to a call of an assault inside his family's Brooklyn apartment yesterday, police said....

9/11 KIN FUME: 'HOW COME OKLA. CITY CAN GET IT RIGHT - & N.Y. CAN'T?'

In an emotional outpouring at Ground Zero yesterday, hundreds of 9/11 family members urged Gov. Pataki to scuttle a controversial International Freedom Center - saying the site should be about...

BUSH COULD INSTALL BOLTON WITH NO VOTE

WASHINGTON - President Bush yesterday left the door open to unilaterally appointing John Bolton as his U.N. envoy yesterday as Democrats blocked Bolton's Senate confirmation vote for the second time....

HARLEM HIT-RUN PUTS BIKE BOY, 11, IN HOSP

An 11-year-old boy riding his bicycle was seriously injured last night by a hit-and-run driver in Harlem, police said. Joel Limones was riding along East 118th Street near Lexington Avenue...

A 'SICK' TRICK - WIFE BLASTS 6-TIME BIGAMIST'S CANCER LIE

A bitter ex-wife of a New Jersey con man - who is believed to have wed at least six women to swindle them - yesterday said her filching former hubby...

QUOTAS DRIVING DRIVERS MAD

Drivers yesterday ripped the city's practice of giving cops traffic-ticket quotas - while officials insisted they're "productivity goals." "People are getting robbed and mugged, and [cops] are . . ....

GHOSTLY CHAMBERS IN COURT

Infamous "Preppy Killer" Robert Chambers, looking gaunt and hollow-eyed, faced a double dose of legal trouble in court yesterday - first defending himself against a drug charge and then getting...

POLS GET THE DIRT ON FOUL SUBWAY STATIONS

More than half of the city's subway stations are filthy - and the dirtiest are in some of the Big Apple's poorest neighborhoods, according to a new City Council report....

PLEA FREES GRANNY IN HUBBY SLAY

It was the first time in more than 20 years that Marie LaPinta walked into court through the front door. The 69-year-old grandmother - who helped kill her husband, Michael,...

CITY VOWS TO LIGHT A FIRE UNDER 'TOO SLOW' BRAVEST

The FDNY "will take whatever measures are necessary" to reduce response times around the city - including ousting certain captains if necessary, sources said yesterday. Concerned that response times have...

GRIEVING DAD: GET TOUGHER ON N.Y. PERVS

ALBANY - The father of a 9-year-old Florida girl who was raped and killed forced a meeting with Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver yesterday and pleaded for a crackdown on sex...

JUMBO-SIZE THE JAVITS: CHUCK

With plans for a West Side stadium dashed, Sen. Charles Schumer is calling for the city and state to use the MTA rail yard to create the nation's biggest convention...

BRONX 'RAFT' TEEN DROWNS

A 14-year-old boy was feared drowned last night after he and a group of pals scaled a fence in The Bronx and took a ride on a makeshift raft they...

HARLEM HIT-RUN PUTS BIKE BOY, 12, IN HOSP

A 12-year-old boy riding his mountain bike was seriously injured last night by a hit-and-run driver in Harlem, police said. Joel Limones was riding along East 118th Street near Lexington...

NIGHTMARE RETURNS FOR FIRE FAMILY

It was a devastating case of déjà vu for a Brooklyn family yesterday as their house burned down, leaving them homeless and without possessions - for the second time in...

B'KLYN BOY, 14, SHOOTS TEEN

A 14-year-old boy was shot by another teen during an argument in Brooklyn last night, police said. The teen was shot in the leg by a 14-year-old he knew outside...

QUOTAS DRIVING DRIVERS NUTS

Angry drivers yesterday denounced the city's practice of issuing cops quotas on traffic tickets - while city officials insisted there are no quotas, just "productivity goals." "People are getting robbed...

WHAT'S UP IN THE SKY

If you thought the sky was boring, think again. Our galaxy is full of surprises. Here's a quick rundown of the exciting things that happen up above. OUR sun is...

CELLPHONE RAPIST GETS 8 YEARS

A 40-year-old Queens man was sentenced yesterday to eight years behind bars for raping a 12-year-old girl he'd met when she dialed his cellphone by mistake. Bernard Luster avoided trial...

THROUGH THE ROOF - $90M SALE IN HAMPTONS IS U.S. RECORD

A Hamptons estate is selling for $90 million - setting a new U.S. record for a residential property. The seller of the 40-acre estate on Further Lane in East Hampton...

MATSUI NOT QUITE READY FOR OF DUTY

YANKEE NOTES Hideki Matsui shagged balls during batting practice but he pronounced himself a few days away from playing in the outfield. Matsui (sprained right ankle) also shagged the AL...

ROAD TO RUINED - SPUTTERING METS FACE MORE POTHOLES

It'd be nice if things got easier for the slumping Mets. Instead, they're about to get harder. Six games of the Mets' 12-game road trip have been played, and the...

DUNCAN: 'BIG SHOT' SAVED ME

NBA FINALS NOTEBOOK Tim Duncan and Robert Horry traded playful jabs early yesterday morning in the giddy postgame press conference at the Palace. "I'll tell you the deal with Rob,"...

MATSUI'S NOT QUITE READY YET

YANKEE NOTES Hideki Matsui shagged balls during batting practice yesterday, but he pronounced himself a few days away from seeing game action in the outfield. Yesterday, Matsui also shagged an...

BROWN'S BURDEN - LARRY TAKES BLAME FOR HORRY'S FATEFUL TREY

SAN ANTONIO - Pistons coach Larry Brown couldn't sleep last night, so he didn't have nightmares of Robert Horry's wide-open 3-pointer that sailed in shortly after midnight and flipped these...

CAMERON MAY PLAY IN PHILLY

MET NOTES Mike Cameron could return to action for the Mets as early as tonight. But Kazuo Matsui's left knee has forced him to the disabled list. Cameron was in...

TIGER'S LAMENT - WOODS WILL REGRET BLOWING IT AT PINEHURST

TIGER WOODS blew it. He squandered his chances (note the plural) to win the 105th U.S. Open Sunday at Pinehurst No. 2. When he looks back on his career someday...

RASH OF MISTAKES

RASHWEED Wallace was more than a bit lucky the referees refused to acknowledge his appeal for a non-existent timeout (making Richie Powers eternally proud) after Tim Duncan's missed tip at...

LIBERTY LOOKING TO CLIMB OVER .500

Saturday's 65-54 Liberty triumph over the Phoenix Mercury was a key win in the season and a personal milestone in an already decorated career for Lib veteran Vickie Johnson. It...

NETS EYE HOPEFULS

Where have you gone, Kenyon Martin? With the June 28 NBA draft rapidly approaching, the Nets yesterday honed their search for a power forward, bringing four quality college power forwards...

LOU: I'M NO QUITTER

Lou Piniella is not a happy camper. But you already knew that. He also restated that he plans to honor the remaining season and a half on his contract, painful...

HURLER NOT JUST PLAYIN' FOSSUM

Casey Fossum hit the first batter he faced last night, and for a long stretch during the Devil Rays' 5-4 win over the Yankees, it seemed like it would be...

THIS HENN IS NOT MIGHTY

THE MOST discouraging aspect of Sean Henn's start at the Stadium last night isn't so much that he proved himself a Not Ready For Prime Time pitcher, but that he...

BOMBERS SURE KNOW HOW TO TAKE A BREAK

SO WHICH came first, the umpire's horrendous ninth-inning call at first base that granted the Yankees the opportunity to come from behind and beat the Pirates last Wednesday, or the...

RAYS PUT STING ON THE STREAK - A-ROD RIPS 'LAZY' YANKS AS RUN ENDS AT 6

Devil Rays 5 - Yankees 4 Sean Henn couldn't find the plate last night, walking seven men in 4 2/3 innings. But Alex Rodriguez accused the Yankees of a far...

RAYS PUT STING ON THE STREAK - FOSSUM, TAMPA BAY HALT YANKS' RUN AT SIX

Devil Rays 5 - Yankees 4 Sean Henn was long gone by the time the Yankees mustered a furious comeback last night, and his seven walks contributed to a five-run,...

SURGING YANKS KEEP STRIVING - UNSATISFIED A-ROD IMPROVING IN THE CLUTCH

A six-game win streak and some of the best numbers in baseball haven't satisfied Alex Rodriguez. Although the Yankees have climbed back to respectability since a miserable 3-9 road trip...