November 5, 2005

SLOWDOWN HIT JOB MARKET IN OCT.

Only 56,000 U.S. jobs were created in October, about half the number expected, the Labor Department said. The government also yesterday adjusted numbers from August and September to show 36,000...

CALPINE'S CASH FLOW NO-NO

Calpine, the troubled energy giant whose $17.5 billion in debt is widely held among Wall Street's biggest investors, conceded yesterday that it had misstated its cash flow for the last...

INSIDERS BEWARE; CREDITORS TARGET $2B PAYMENTS TO REFCO EXECS

The group that holds $16.8 billion in claims against beleaguered trading shop Refco Inc. may try to go after the fat payments made to company insiders before its initial public...

GIMME SHELTER

Chris-stall CHRISTIE BRINKLEY's broker might need a makeover. The infomercial babe, who has been taken out of mothballs and restored to CoverGirl status, appears to need some help unloading her...

TIME IS ON THEIR SIDE ; FAITHFUL TO THE BLOODY 'CRUSADES' STORY

"The Crusades: Crescent & The Cross" Tomorrow night at 9 on History Channel * * * * (four stars) HISTORY Channel's new,luxuriously produced documentary miniseries, "The Crusades: Crescent & The...

JUNIE B.GOOD! 25 BOOKS LATER, THE FEISTY FIRST-GRADER'S STILL A FAVORITE

THE woman behind the hugely popular Junie B. Jones books gets two kinds of fan mail: the sweet - and the "extraordinarily nasty." "There's a really, really small but very...

THE POOP ON 'UNDERPANTS'

JUNIE B. isn't the only one who doesn't speak the queen's English: Dav Pilkey is a best-selling author who misspells words in his books. But the creator of the wildly...

WHAT'S UP - YOUR BEST BETS FOR THIS WEEKEND

DINO-MITE: The Margaret Mead Film & Video Festival is rarely a kiddie magnet, but it will be today - thanks to "Dinosaurs on Film." Look for clips from such thrillingly...

RUNNING REV. IS ABLE AFTER 'CANE

FATHER Brian Jordan made a hasty escape to New Or leans yesterday after pulling off the great Dublin heist. "I held up the bookies there," said Father Brian, of St....

EXPECT AN ICY, TEETH-CHATTERING WINTER OF OUR DISCONTENT

It may be in the low 70s today - but expect to feel a chill this winter, as forecasters and energy experts are predicting a season of heavy snow, frostier...

BOOZE: SEEING IS DECEIVING

The mere sight of booze can send you over the edge, a study found. In one of a series of experiments, subjects were shown images of alcohol, weapons and "neutral"...

WRITER EYED IN FIRE SEX ATTACK; CONVICTED CREEP KNEW THE VICTIM

Police hunting for the phony fireman sex fiend set their sights on a journalist and playwright from Queens who knew the victim from work and who is on probation for...

$LAP AT DEM-BACKER DIDDY

WASHINGTON - A conservative good-government group is getting huffy and puffy over Sean "P. Diddy" Combs' support last year for Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry. The National Legal and Policy...

COPS BUST 2 IN L.I. ROB RING

Two men suspected of being part of the burglary ring that has terrorized Long Island residents through a series of home invasions were arrested last night, law enforcement sources said....

CIG BAN INSIDE & OUT; POLL: GET EVEN TOUGHER

ALBANY - New Yorkers are fed up with having to pass through clouds of smoke created by clustered cigarette puffers congregating outside buildings, a poll shows. A new study on...

CABLEVISION IN NEW PU$H

ALBANY - Cablevision has chipped in another $250,000 to help push a controversial amendment shifting more state budget-making powers away from the governor and to legislative leaders. The contribution, which...

WHEEL-TO-REEL; 'DWI' FIREFIGHTER SLAMS INTO SET OF STONE'S 9/11 FILM

A drunken firefighter plowed a stolen truck yesterday into the Chelsea set of Oscar-winning director Oliver Stone's controversial film about 9/11, cops said. No one was hurt in the wild...

EGG-TOSS RAP IS MURDER NOW

Two teens accused of killing a Bronx man after he'd confronted them for egging his car will be charged with murder, officials said. Jeffery Ivey, 15, and Erik Fuller, 17,...

NICK'S BELLY LAUGH; 'BAT' SUSPECT SNICKERS AWAY

Nicholas "Fat Nick" Minucci giggled in a Queens courtroom yesterday after being arraigned on hate-crime charges in connection with the beating of a black man in a racially charged Howard...

PILING DIRT IN GARDEN RACE

WASHINGTON - The final sprint to the finish line in the Garden State governor's race careened deeper into the mud as Sen. Jon Corzine and Republican rival Doug Forrester dealt...

CELEBS FLIP FOR BLOOMBERG AS FREDDY ENLISTS ARMY

The mayor's campaign yesterday bombarded the airwaves with two new celebrity-studded TV ads, while challenger Fernando Ferrer welcomed an "army" of supporters from Puerto Rico to help rouse Latino voters....

'SCAMMER' MAY VISIT SLAMMER

A Queens travel agent accused of scamming hundreds out of their vacations may have booked himself a first-class ticket to prison. Jagdeep Pujji, who ran such phony Web sites as...

CHEAT'S NEW ANGLE ON TRIANGLE; SHE BACKS SUBWAY 'KILLER' HUBBY

There she was on the witness stand - the model of wifely loyalty. "He's a Christian man," prim Belkys Peña, 42-year-old mother of three, told a Manhat tan jury yesterday...

N.Y. DOCS STUCK WITHOUT FLU SHOTS

More than half the doctors in New York state say that flu vaccine suppliers are sticking it to them - either not sending them any of the shots they ordered...

NYPD DAILY BLOTTER

BROOKLYN *** Cops are looking for a suspect in connection with the horrific death of a Canarsie mother whose charred remains were found in a Brownsville Dumpster earlier this year....

B-U-S-T-E-D: MOUSEKETEER A 'SCAMMER'

This was no Mickey Mouse crime. An original Mouseketeer is accused of mail fraud for allegedly siphoning more than $300,000 in payouts from a multimillion-dollar class-action suit that she had...

TOP OF THE HILL FOR BILL; 'SHE'D BE BETTER PREZ'

WASHINGTON - Former President Bill Clinton said yesterday that his wife, Hillary, would be a better commander in chief than he was. "I think she wouldn't make as many mistakes...

TOP-COP POP BAILS OUT HIS POT-BUST SON

Beleagured former NYPD Deputy Commissioner John Timoney bailed his son out of jail via speakerphone in an Albany courtroom yesterday - coming to the aid of the second of his...

SOUR NOTE ON RADIO CITY 'BLACKMAIL'

The president of the local musicians union turned up the volume on his war with Radio City Music Hall yesterday - accusing the hall's chief of attempted extortion. David Lennon,...

MIKE HAS IT SEWN UP WITH 34-PT. LEAD: POLL

Mayor Bloomberg has opened up his biggest lead of the race against Fernando Ferrer - a virtually insurmountable 34-point edge, a new poll yesterday found. The Marist College poll just...

NEW L.I. HOME INVASION

Two thugs pulled another home-invasion robbery on Long Island yesterday after they posed as exterminators and forced their way in and grabbed cash and jewelry, authorities said. Nassau County cops...

'RANDY' REV.RESIGNING

The charismatic senior pastor of the ritzy Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church has admitted to an "inappropriate relationship" with a married congregant after lying about it for months, and is resigning...

'WILD' SUBPOENA FOR PARIS

LOS ANGELES - Authorities want Paris Hilton to sing against an accused burglar, busted for a break-in at the home of "Girls Gone Wild" peddler Joe Francis. An LAPD spokesman...

$LAP AT DIDDY

WASHINGTON - A conservative good-government group is getting huffy and puffy over Sean "P. Diddy" Combs' support last year for Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry. The National Legal and Policy...

LONDON TERROR TEAM EYED IN PLOT VS. D.C.

Authorities are investigating whether a terror cell arrested in London raids last month plotted to blow up Washington landmarks - including the White House - with homemade bombs, it was...

COPS KILL FUGITIVE GUN THUG

Police yesterday shot and killed a Brooklyn man wanted in connection with a double shooting the previous day. When detectives approached Stephone Crawford's third-floor apartment at Fulton Avenue and Hendrix...

KELLY SUES OVER JAY-Z 'SPRAY & PAY'

Hip-hop mogul Jay-Z "rewarded" the pal who attacked R. Kelly by making him a record company executive, court papers claim. In papers filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, Kelly charges that...

CORZINE FALTERS AS DIRT FLIES IN GARDEN STATE

The New Jersey governor's race looked set for a nail-biting finish yesterday with two new polls showing Sen. Jon Corzine paying a price for attack ads featuring his disgruntled ex-wife...

DEADLY STREET JUSTICE ; POLICE OVERLOOK STAB

A 29-year-old Brooklyn man died yesterday - two weeks after he was chased by an angry mob and apparently stabbed in the back following a drunk-driving accident. Now the NYPD...

RADIO CITY 'BLACKMAIL' A SOUR NOTE

The president of the local musicians union turned up the volume on his war with Radio City Music Hall yesterday by accusing the hall's chief of attempted extortion. David Lennon,...

JAY-Z'S 'SPRAY & PAY' - R. KELLY LAWSUIT

Hip-hop mogul Jay-Z "rewarded" the pal who attacked R. Kelly by making him a record company executive, court papers claim. In papers filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, Kelly charges that...

BOUNCY NEW BUNNY - PLAYBOY PETS' UPDATED LOOK

The Playboy Bunny is shedding her skin. The signature uniform worn by waitresses at Playboy clubs since the '60s is being updated by flamboyant glam-rock designer Roberto Cavalli, and will...

NEW SLASH AT FAA PLAN

WASHINGTON - A former Federal Aviation Administration security director is the latest expert to blast a federal plan to let passengers take small knives and scissors aboard commercial flights. "Somebody...

CRITICS SLASH AWAY AT FAA'S KNIFE PLAN

WASHINGTON - A former Federal Aviation Administration security director is the latest expert to denounce a federal plan to let passengers take small knives and scissors aboard commercial flights. "Somebody...

SEND 'SCAMMER' TO SLAMMER: COPS

A Queens travel agent accused of scamming hundreds of customers out of their vacations may have booked himself a first-class ticket to the slammer, authorities said yesterday. Jagdeep Pujji, who...

IT'S STILL A WORK IN PROGRESS

RED Holzman's seat, the one the kid from Long Beach finally got to sit in last night in his eighth NBA job, is a hot seat. Larry Brown' track record...

GETTING THEIR KICKS; FEELY, FEAGLES BOOST GIANTS

Gibril Wilson pointed to the pile of books in Jay Feely's locker and shook his head. "What a life," Wilson, a second-year Giants safety, said yesterday. "All that time with...

CAN'T GET LOST ON THE ROAD

GIANT NOTES Judging from the Giants' comments this week, they understand the importance of breaking through with their first road victory this season. They'll take a charter flight to San...

THEY'RE RACING TO INSPIRE

It's been 45 days since Paul Nicholls had a stem cell transplant because "my cancer came back," and he's marking the anniversary by running in tomorrow's New York City Marathon....

GATOR'S HOME ; GUIDRY INKS 1-YEAR DEAL AS YANKEES PITCHING COACH

After three years of talking to Ron Guidry about being his pitching coach, Joe Torre has gotten his wish. Yesterday, the Yankees great was announced as Mel Stottlemyre's replacement even...

HOKIES NEED TO MAKE STATEMENT

It is a college football game including the Miami Hurricanes, so the players on one side are confident - bordering on cocky. When they're not strutting, they're swaggering. When they're...

OL' JOEPA SET TO KEEP ROLLIN'

STATE COLLEGE, Pa.- If it's November, if it's Penn State's final home game of the season, the question is bound to surface. It's a simple inquiry and usually elicits a...

UT IN WAY OF IRISH BCS BID

SOUTH BEND - Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis took great pains this week to convince the Fighting Irish players not to take Tennessee lightly. Today, we'll see if they listened....

BENCH LEAVIN' FRYE STEAMED; ROOKIE ANXIOUS TO LEAP OFF PINE

Channing Frye is fast turning into the Darko Milicic of the Knicks - the big-man lottery pick nailed to the bench. "It doesn't matter where you're drafted," Frye said diplomatically...

ISLES TEST STERLING'S PATIENCE

OTTAWA - The Islanders are a team searching for an identity, and the ever-elusive 60 full minutes of high-quality hockey. So there are better places to start a tough stretch...

BROWN ON PINS AND NEEDLES

KNICKS NOTES Antonio Davis played for Larry Brown for four years in Indiana before this reunion. But Davis noticed something different at yesterday's morning shootaround, hours before the 65-year-old Long...

CURRY'S STARTING TO FIT IN

Eddy Curry didn't mind playing 42 minutes in his Knicks debut on Wednesday. Despite having been out for the final month of last season with an irregular heartbeat, Curry said...

MORE STYLE THAN SUBSTANCE

RED Holzman's seat, the one Larry Brown always wanted to sit in at the Garden, is a hot one. Brown's track record will help keep the thermostat down for a...

'COUNTRY BOY' WAGNER IMPRESSED BY THE METS

Three days ago, Mets executives, including GM Omar Minaya, visited Billy Wagner at his home in Virginia. And according to the free-agent closer, the meeting left a positive imprint. "I...

RENNEY NOT SURPRISED BY FAST START

One month ago today, it began. A new season was beginning, and hockey fans were busy trying to learn a game with new rules and rosters with new names. But...

JETS MUST STOP 'L.T.'

"L.T." will be running around Giants Stadium tomorrow against the Jets - and we're not talking about Lawrence Taylor. LaDainian Tomlinson, the San Diego Chargers' do-it-all running back, will be...

NETS ENJOY TORONTO RAPT-URE

Nets 102 Raptors 92 TORONTO - The Toronto Raptors faithful came to boo Vince Carter. But they left cursing Richard Jefferson. And Jason Kidd. And Carter. And the Nets' defense...

GARDEN FULL OF GOOD JEER; INEPT KNICKS MAKE IT HOME DE-BOO FOR BROWN

Wizards 86Knicks 75 Nine minutes. That's all the time it took for the playoff buzz inside the sold-out Garden last night to turn to boos. Larry Brown's hyped home debut...

CURRY IN FOUL MOOD OVER PLAY

Eddy Curry received one of the loudest ovations before the Knicks' Garden opener last night, but the fans hardly got a chance to see him the rest of the night....

FATHER CARTER MAY SKIP OLYMPICS

NET NOTES TORONTO - It sounds like Vince Carter isn't up for the Olympics. Fatherhood will do that. "That's going to be a tough one for anybody," said Carter, a...

FRYE PLAY GIVES LARRY NICE THRILL

KNICK NOTES Channing Frye was shocked. After being the only Knick to not play in Wednesday's opener, and with Larry Brown saying Frye was out of the rotation for now,...

FRANK WANTS HIS TEAM ON THE DEFENSIVE

NET NOTES TORONTO - What haunted the Nets during preseason is still very much a part of their early-season nightmare. Namely, shoddy defense and rebounding. "It's a ever-going process," coach...

VIN-SANITY CONTINUES - BUT CARTER WON'T SWEAT THIS RETURN

TORONTO - It was nothing like last April, when Vince Carter returned to Toronto amid a media circus more appropriate for a Martian landing than a basketball event. Still, Carter...

NETS ENJOY RAPT-URE

Nets 102 Raptors 92 TORONTO - The Toronto Raptors faithful came to boo Vince Carter. But they left cursing Richard Jefferson. And Jason Kidd. And Carter. And the Nets' defense...

CATCH U.S. IF YOU CAN

When New York Marathon race direction Mary Wittenberg introduced Meb Keflezighi, she proclaimed tomorrow's race would be his entire season. When asked about the contenders for his crown, defending champ...

WEIRD BUT TRUE

A man fleeing a video store with a half-dozen stolen DVDs was bagged by police - because of his baggy pants. Cops in Ferndale, Mich., said James Green was fleeing...