July 14, 2005
THAILAND'S REBUILDING EFFORT OFFERS LESSONS
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amPHI PHI ISLAND, Thailand - The developed world could learn a lesson from a place like this. And, in fact, it may have to. Six months ago this tourist destination...
OGILVY EXEC GETS 14 MONTHS FOR OVERBILLING GOVERNMENT
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amFormer Ogilvy & Mather executive Thomas Early was sentenced to 14 months in jail and ordered to pay a $10,000 fine for scheming to overbill the government on a national...
BIG BOSSES SWEATING AFTER JAILBIRD BERNIE'S SENTENCE
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amThe sight of Bernie Ebbers behind bars is certainly causing business executives to change their stripes. "I don't think it's overstating the significance of Ebbers' 25-year prison term when talking...
FALLON SHUTTERS N.Y. UNIT
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amAd firm Fallon Worldwide is closing its New York office after two top executives quit to start their own agency. New York President Anna Bologna and Chief Creative Director Ari...
OSNOS TURNS A PAGE - STEPPING DOWN FROM IMPRINT HE STARTED
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amPeter Osnos, the journalist-turned-book executive, is stepping down from the PublicAffairs imprint he started eight years ago with the aim of bringing out quality books with low-priced advances. "The second...
MARTHA GETS $2M FOR HOW-TO BIZ BOOK
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amMartha Stewart, the domestic diva and convicted felon who spent five months in jail for lying to federal prosecutors, has snagged a $2 million book deal from "South Beach Diet"...
TEST DRIVE - JAGUAR XJR V8
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amIN life, you are generally either a cat or a dog person. I love dogs, but with cars I am coming round to cats. The Jaguar XJR is the sports...
NASA DISSES 'AMAZING' DEAL
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amOFFICIALS at cash-strapped NASA refused to sign $10 million confidentiality agreements with CBS' "Amazing Race" when the show passed through one of its facilities in the deep South earlier this...
TURTLE LOVERS SLAM MTV
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amTWO environmental groups are accusing MTV of trashing a tropical beach where rare sea turtles lay their eggs. TV crews descended on the small Caribbean nation of Tobago in May...
EMMY NODS
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amPRIMETIME Emmy nominations will be announced this morning in Hollywood at 8:39 (New York time) by "The Sopranos" star Michael Imperioli and Jami Gertz ("Still Standing"). The nominations will be...
DARK & DELICIOUS - WEIRDNESS FLAVORS BURTON AND DEPP'S 'CHOCOLATE FACTORY'
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amCHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY (three and a half stars) The summer's best movie. Running time: 115 minutes. Rated PG (distrubing images for very young children). At the Empire, the...
TINY DANCERS COME UP BIG AT THE JOYCE
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amONLY four dance companies are popular enough nowadays to risk a four-week season in New York. There are of course the two classic behemoths, New York City Ballet and American...
LATIFAH RULES A SPARSE HOUSE
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amWHILE the Sugar Water Festival - a Lilith Fair for urban women featuring Erykah Badu, Jill Scott and Queen Latifah - was a souled-out affair, the trio only moved 6,000...
'CLOSET' CASE TOPS CHART RACE
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amR&B singer R. Kelly, whose criminal trial on child pornography charges is pending, rode his latest disc, "TP.3 Reloaded," to the No. 1 spot on Billboard's Top Albums chart. The...
STARR REPORT
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amCramer unleashed Just keep your hands and feet away from his mouth . . . CNBC's hyperactive "Mad Money" host, Jim Cramer, takes his act before a live, instudio audience...
PERFECT MATCH - THE TANGLED WEB OF ONLINE DATING
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amTO paraphrase that old knock-off perfume ad: If you love WE's longrunning, very popular series, "Single in the City," and its equally riveting partner, "Single in the Hamptons," you'll also...
CANCAN YOU DIG IT?
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amWAITERS sprinting down the street, whooping cancan dancers and beretcapped, pedi-cab drivers - it must be Bastille Day. Chalk up the joie de vivre in the air today to the...
U.K. BANDS KICK NEW YORK'S BUTT - THEY'RE NOT TRYING TO BE COOL - SO THEY ARE
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amAS the frontman for the Kaiser Chiefs, Ricky Wilson spends half of his performances airborne, leaping with glee, running around like an antic schoolboy. He dances, claps his hands and...
HOWARD BEACH 'HATE' VICTIM LEAVES HOSPITAL
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amThe 22-year-old beating victim in the Howard Beach bias attack was released from a hospital yesterday, and told his elated parents he wants to rest and see his baby. "Glen...
FUND HONORS BX. VICTIM
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amWhen Michael Matsushita led adventure tours through Southeast Asia, among the stops he made off the beaten path were local orphanages. Friends of the 37-year-old globetrotting Bronx man - who...
SOCIAL WORKER IS AN ANGEL FOR CITY'S ABUSED CHILDREN
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amElizabeth Akinyemi left Nigeria 24 years ago and arrived in New York with $100 in her pocket, and in her heart a promise she had made her mother -always to...
AMERICA'S MUSEUM - GO AHEAD: 'POLITICIZE' WTC SITE
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amAS the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. board holds its monthly meeting this morning, some 9/11 families are vowing to be on the scene again, warning that the International Freedom Center...
WEIRD BUT TRUE
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amJuren Ding finally got the lake view he always wanted - but he may go to jail for it. Authorities say the 39-year-old Minneapolis homeowner chopped down 37 trees -...
INSULT TO AIR-CRASH KIN - PA DECIDED NOT TO INVITE FLIGHT 587 FAMILIES
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amPort Authority officials were left red-faced yesterday after angry relatives of the victims of American Airlines Flight 587 had to bust into a memorial service honoring their own lost loved...
PATAKI UNCORKS NEW WINE LAW
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amALBANY - New York wine lovers will soon be able to order their favorite vino from the comfort of their own homes. Gov. Pataki yesterday signed into law legislation that...
CHRISTA SLAY SUSPECT: I BEAT HER
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amA garbage man accused of killing a New York fashion writer in Cape Cod admitted he viciously beat the woman, but blamed another man for the 2002 murder, according to...
HOME IS THE HERO - TEARS FOR SEAL KILLED IN BATTLE
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amTHE skies rumbled, the rain came down in buckets. Maybe the heavens were weeping as they received Navy SEAL 1st Lt. Michael Murphy. And yes, the tears of the people...
BOOB TRIED TO BLACKMAIL CAMERON: DA
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amLOS ANGELES - A scheming photographer targeted Cameron Diaz for fraud with decade-old topless pictures in a sleazy bid to score big bucks from the sexy actress, prosecutors said yesterday....
REHNQUIST IS TAKEN TO HOSP
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amWASHINGTON - Chief Justice William Rehnquist, who's battling thyroid cancer, was rushed by ambulance to a hospital due to a fever, a Supreme Court spokeswoman said yesterday. The news came...
ACTIVISTS DEMAND WARNING LABELS ON SODA CONTAINERS
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amA consumer group wants to take the fizz out of soda pop by forcing companies such as Coca-Cola and Pepsi to place warnings on bottles and cans that the drinks...
FOR THE RECORD, HERE'S MY 9/11 STORY
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amIT STARTED as my job. Then it became a mission. Then, it evolved into an awesome responsibility, and a privilege. For nearly four years, I have talked to, cried with...
NYPD DAILY BLOTTER
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amQUEENS * A Crime Stoppers tip led to the arrest yesterday of a suspect who allegedly fondled an 8-year-old girl in a College Point laundromat, police said. Charges were pending...
IRAQI MONSTER BLOWS UP KIDS - SLAMS CAR BOMB INTO 18 CHILDREN WAITING FOR CANDY
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amAn Iraqi terrorist plowed his bomb-laden car into a crowd of Baghdad children receiving candy from GIs yesterday, triggering a horrific explosion that killed at least 18 kids. The attack...
NOW HE'S A TRUE BLUE HERO
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amMore than 1,500 rookie cops graduated from the Police Academy yesterday, including Anthony Napolitano, who made his first bust earlier this week. Napolitano, 26, was jogging in a Staten Island...
HILL'S BILL ON SMALL AIRPORTS - SPURRED BY JOY RIDER
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amWASHINGTON - Federal officials would conduct a full-blown assessment of the threat posed by small planes and rural airports under a provision slipped into a homeland-security spending bill by Sen....
'KING' KILLER - JURY NAILS GANG THUG IN LIRR SLAY
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amA coldblooded gang member was found guilty yesterday of murdering a Long Island Rail Road commuter attacked by a group of thugs on his walk home from the train station....
BUSH-BASH HILL MAKES LEFT TURN
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amMAYBE Sen. Hillary Clinton has come down with a bad case of tone-deafness. Or maybe she's caught MoveOn disease. But over the past week the wannabe moderate with an eye...
ARMY FIRES BACK AT MTA
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amThe U.S. Army said the MTA was off track when the agency blamed the military for derailing a top-secret project to safeguard the city's subway system from terrorists two years...
SCHOLARSHIPS EYED FOR TEACHERS
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amFacing a shortage of instructors in several subjects, the Department of Education is looking to offer scholarships to as many as 100 teachers to put them on a fast track...
LANDLORD-TENANT WAR HEATS UP IN COURT
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amA displaced mother and son will fight to get their apartment back in housing court today as the ongoing landlord-tenant battle at a formerly subsidized Manhattan apartment complex continues. Philip...
ASBESTOS IN ED. BLDG.
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amThe city shut down work on the former Board of Ed headquarters in Downtown Brooklyn yesterday, only weeks after the $100 million residential conversion got under way. "[An] inspector observed...
BAWLING BERNIE SMACKED - $11B WORLDCOM CROOK IS GOING AWAY FOR 'LIFE'
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amBrazen book-cooker Bernie Ebbers wept like a frightened child yesterday when he learned he'll likely spend the rest of his life in prison for orchestrating the nation's largest corporate fraud...
NEW GLITCH GROUNDS DISCOVERY
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amBetter safe than very, very sorry. NASA administrators called off yesterday's planned launch of the space shuttle Discovery after a fuel gauge said the tank was empty rather than full....
BUSH PLAYS IT COY ON ROVE AFFAIR
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amWASHINGTON - President Bush yesterday said he won't "prejudge" the probe of his political guru, Karl Rove, in the flap over who leaked a CIA officer's name to the press...
HACK HEEL HELL - TRANNY SLAY-BID TRIAL
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amHe's no lady. A transvestite hooker is on trial in Manhattan for allegedly trying to murder a cabby on Christopher Street by plunging the business end of his 4-inch-heeled stiletto...
MAYOR'S PHONE REALLY BUZZING
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amMayor Bloomberg's phone was ringing off the hook yesterday after he told New Yorkers they could call him at home with their problems. The staff at his Upper East Side...
SUSPICIOUS-PARCEL REPORTS SURGE
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amReports of suspicious packages here have tripled since last week's bombings in London, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said yesterday. The NYPD has received 303 calls from worried New Yorkers since...
SEX SICKO NAILED - GETS 12 YRS. IN VICIOUS '93 ATTACK ON GIRL, 9
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amA Queens judge yesterday threw the book at a career criminal convicted of sodomizing a 9-year-old girl after smashing her in the head with a brick on a rooftop nearly...
RACE-BEAT VICTIM OUT OF HOSPITAL
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amThe 22-year-old beating victim in the Howard Beach bias attack was released from a hospital yesterday and told his elated parents he wants to rest and see his baby. "Glen...
CHARGES OVER COP SHOOTING
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amA Queens man was charged with attempted murder yesterday for allegedly shooting a cop last month. Philbert Lasana, 21, was picked out of a lineup by Officer Christopher Wiesneski, who...
MTA FINALLY GETS ALBANY'S OK FOR $21B TRANSIT FIX
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amALBANY - State political leaders yesterday signed off on the largest capital program in MTA history, putting much-needed transit repairs and expansion projects like the Second Avenue subway back on...
YES, VIRGINIA 'KNEW' - SMOKING GUN E-MAILS PROVE IT: AXED ADVISER
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amC. Virginia Fields received before and after versions of a doctored campaign photograph in which two white supporters were replaced with Asians, according to bombshell e-mails made public yesterday by...
ACTOR STICKER-SOCKED
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amA once-hot actor was busted yesterday by an eagle-eyed cop who spotted a fake FDNY parking permit in his window, authorities said. Paul A. George - who starred in the...
PATAKI TOASTS WINE LAW
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amALBANY - New York wine lovers will soon be able to order their favorite vino from the comfort of home. Gov. Pataki yesterday signed into law legislation that will let...
MIKE'S PHONE REALLY BUZZING
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amMayor Bloomberg's phone was ringing off the hook yesterday after he told New Yorkers they could call him at home with their problems. The staff at his Upper East Side...
JUDGE NIXES NUP$ - HE'S 98, SHE'S 60
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amA Manhattan judge has annulled a marriage between a 98-year-old multimillionaire and his "child" bride - a 60-year-old woman. Neither Herbert Hofmann nor Genevieve Pignarre had wanted their October-December romance...
FLT. 587 KIN RIP PORT AUTHORITY'S MEMORIAL SNUB
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amPort Authority officials were red-faced yesterday after angry relatives of the victims of American Airlines Flight 587 had to bust into a memorial service honoring their own lost loved ones....
NOW HE'S A TRUE BLUE HERO - ROOKIE QUICK ON 1ST COLLAR
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amMore than 1,500 rookie cops graduated from the Police Academy yesterday, including Anthony Napolitano, who made his first bust earlier this week. Napolitano, 26, was jogging in a Staten Island...
2 BUSTED IN QNS. PARTY SLAY
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amTwo Queens men were arrested yesterday in the shooting of a woman at a party earlier this week, police said. William Ramirez, 22, and Ramiro Pineda, 20, were drinking in...
COP-SHOOT CHARGES
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amA Queens man was charged with attempted murder yesterday for allegedly shooting a cop last month. Philbert Lasana, 21, was picked out of a lineup by Officer Christopher Wiesneski, who...
'93 DNA NAILS SICKO - 25 YRS. IN KID ATTACK
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amA Queens judge yesterday threw the book at a career criminal convicted of sodomizing a 9-year-old girl after smashing her in the head with a brick on a rooftop nearly...
STATE HONCHO IN 'DWI' FIASCO
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amALBANY - A high-level Pataki administration official has been demoted for taking a state car without permission, damaging it, and getting arrested for drunken driving, The Post has learned. Keith...
CONDUCTOR KO'D IN SUBWAY MYSTERY
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amA conductor on a Brooklyn train was found mysteriously injured last night - his head hanging out the window of his cab, police and transit officials said. The 44-year-old conductor,...
GOV AIDE SCANDAL - DEMOTED IN WAKE OF STATE-CAR 'DWI'
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amALBANY - A high-level Pataki administration official has been demoted for taking a state car without permission, damaging it, and getting arrested for drunken driving, The Post has learned. Keith...
PRADO SIZZLES AT BELMONT
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amEdgar Prado won four races to boost meet-leading total to 75, 29 more than Eibar Coa in second. Track was sloppy for first race, upgraded to muddy for second, to...
AMERICAN A MARATHON FAVORITE
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amAn American had not won an Olympic Medal in the marathon since Frank Shorter in 1976 until last year when Meb Keflezighi won the silver. An American has not won...
U.S. OPEN CHAMP LIKES VIEW FROM TOP
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amST. ANDREWS - Michael Campbell's feet still haven't touched the ground since his stunning U.S. Open victory last month at Pinehurst. "It's been a rocket ride the last three weeks,"...
ESPN, NBC IN AL-OUT BATTLE
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amWith Al Michaels deciding between offers from ESPN and NBC to call the NFL in 2006, a battle of words has broken out between leaders of the two networks. On...
GIAMBI SURGE THRILLS BOSS
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amYANKEE NOTES BOSTON - Even the hard-to-impress George Steinbrenner is smitten by Jason Giambi's reinventing himself into a lineup force. "I have to praise Giambi for working hard and for...
GO GET 'EM, MONTY!
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amST. ANDREWS - Between Tiger Woods' pursuit of Jack Nicklaus' major championship record, Phil Mickelson's pursuit of a second major, Ernie Els' pursuit to shed his bridesmaid label, Sergio Garcia's...
LOTTO LUCK FOR RANGERS - HAVE 6-PERCENT CHANCE AT PHENOM CROSBY
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amFailure will have its reward for the Rangers - but hardly enough of one in the NHL's forthcoming Entry Draft lottery to justify seven years of lousy hockey. Under the...
BRODEUR: SUCCESS UP TO GMS
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amExcuses will be gone, and so will exposed GMs. Devils goalie Martin Brodeur said the agreement in principle reached yesterday to end the NHL lockout puts the onus on hockey's...
KNICKS, JAMES HAVE BOND
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amThe Knicks did not solidify their coaching position yesterday, but they did get their behemoth starting center, agreeing to terms with Seattle's 7-1, 275-pounder Jerome James, according to sources. His...
DEAL WILL END NHL'S COLD WAR - VOTE BY UNION, LEAGUE LAST STEP
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amIt's all over but the voting. Then comes the chaos of buyouts and low-ball free-agent signings. If ratified by the 700-plus members of the NHL Players' Association in a vote...
NO DECISION YET BY BROWN, PISTONS
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amThe Larry Brown soap opera was not resolved during yesterday's one-hour Motor City summit, but sources contend the meeting was a step in the direction of having the Pistons coach...
LOOKS LIKE 'WILD' TIME AT BIG SHEA
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amIt's been more than a month since they've played them. It will be more than a month until they play them again. So for the Mets, their opportunity to catch...
BERNARD TAKES AIM AT DEFINING DEFENSES
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amLAS VEGAS - Bernard Hopkins is certain his streak of successful title defenses now at 20, will be his defining mark in boxing. It's a record for a middleweight Hopkins...
HARD TO GO FROM DEERE TO THERE
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amOPEN NOTES ST. ANDREWS - It's been a wild week for Sean O'Hair, who by winning the John Deere Classic last week qualified for the British Open. "Monday was my...
NETS MAKE POWER PLAY
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amThe Nets' process for landing a power forward is attempting to rival the Knicks' wait for naming a head coach. But the Nets could be nearing a resolution. Shareef Abdur-Rahim,...
MIENTKIEWICZ TAKES 1ST STEPS TO RETURN
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amMET NOTES The rehab games have begun for Doug Mientkiewicz. The Met first baseman, who has been on the disabled list since June 26 with a strained right hamstring, played...
CYLCONES' STEWART GETS BACK IN SWING
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amCyclone DH Caleb Stewart's eyes darted to the floor when asked to retell his experience of the 2004 season, his first in professional ball. He was used to having the...
UNDER SALARY CAP, RICH WILL GET RICHER
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amTHE FLIM-FLAM men who sit on the NHL Board of Governors can dance their little jig all right, now that they've won their precious percentage-of-the-gross hard salary cap. But as...
NIEDERMAYER IS NO FAN OF NEW CBA
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amThe reigning Norris Trophy winner says the new CBA may make him an ex-Devil. "It's going to be a real issue. There's no question that teams will lose players because...
FIRST HALF WAS LEARNING TIME FOR RANDOLPH
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amIt's 88 games into the Mets' 2005 season. It's also 88 games into Willie Randolph's managerial career. There has been a lot said about the performances of the Mets' two...
KNICKS FORGE JAMES BOND
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amThe Knicks did not solidify their coaching position yesterday, but they did land their behemoth starting center, agreeing to terms with Seattle's 7-1, 275-pounder Jerome James, according to sources. His...
CYCLONE' STEWART GETS BACK IN SWING
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amCyclone DH Caleb Stewart's eyes darted to the floor when asked to retell his experience of the 2004 season, his first in professional ball. He was used to having the...
EVEN AFTER FIRST-HALF FLOP, BOMBERS CAN OVERTAKE RED SOX AT FENWAY
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amBOSTON - After all the losing streaks, all the calamities, all the angst and all the aggravation, after all those losses to the Devil Rays and the Royals, all the...
HE'S NO 'TIZ - YANKEE KILLER ANYTHING BUT A FLUKE
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amBOSTON - Alex Rodriguez still marvels at the destruction David Ortiz wrought last October. But what really astonishes A-Rod is Ortiz's climb from a Twins' reject to an annual MVP...
VISIONS OF A DIVISION TITLE - MAKE OR BREAK IN BEANTOWN FOR SURGING YANKS
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amBOSTON - Do or begin to expire slowly. Again. And this time for good. That's the situation facing the Yankees when they open a four-game, adrenaline-pumping series tonight at Fenway...
POWER OF PEN - RELIEVERS IN FOCUS THIS WEEKEND AT FENWAY
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amTHE second half begins at the end. The Rivalry renews tonight at Fenway Park with last things first. Can Mariano Rivera solve the Red Sox? Can a bunch of folks,...
ON TIGER'S TAIL - ELS, GARCIA, PACK OF NO-NAMES CHASING WOODS AT ST. ANDREWS
July 14, 2005 | 4:00amST. ANDREWS - Another major championship is upon the golf world and tensions are rising. This, of course, is hardly just another major championship; it's the Open Championship at the...