November 29, 2005
GETTING A FEEL FOR ANOTHER END OF YEAR STOCK RALLY
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amTHE Christmas season starts earlier each year. And so does the year-end rally on Wall Street. The stock market's recent improvement was oh-so predictable. But the timing did change by...
HOT DIGGITY DOG - STADIUM FOODIE CENTERPLATE URGED TO CA$H IN
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amSeveral large shareholders of Centerplate Inc., the exclusive seller of concessions at Yankee Stadium, the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center and countless other arenas around the country, have quietly urged...
TIVO TO EXPAND ABROAD
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amTiVo, the maker of the popular device that allows users to record and store television programs, is about to make a big push to bring its product to overseas television...
7 WTC SEEKS $50 PER FOOT
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amA stroll the other day through Planet Earth's most closely watched new office building, 7 World Trade Center, did not stumble onto any tenants signing leases. But, accompanied by CB...
GOLD - MAN, SACHS OF IT! - THIS YEAR-END
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amGoldman Sachs managed to bake an $11 billion money pie this year, according to New York magazine, and some employees are destined to get pieces ranging as high as $40...
BITTER MEDICINE ; MERCK TO AX 7,000 EMPLOYEES, CLOSE 5 FACTORIES
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amFacing up to $50 billion in Vioxx lawsuits and a dim future without new blockbuster drugs, the mighty Merck is firing 7,000 people and dumping five factories. Merck yesterday made...
ONLINE GAMERS ANTE UP OVER ILLEGAL ADS
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amInternet gambling sites, beaten back by a federal crackdown, are flexing their marketing muscles again. The industry, which is legal in Britain and elsewhere overseas, is promoting online gambling and...
VOICE TAKEOVER GETS GREEN LIGHT
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amThe takeover of Village Voice Media by Phoenix-based New Times moved closer to reality when the Federal Trade Commission and the antitrust division of the Justice Department gave a green...
INVESTORS DISCOUNT RETAILERS
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amAfter a weekend of big discounts, it was retail stocks that were on sale yesterday, as investors unloaded shares on fears that holiday promotions would erode profits. Consumers were out...
ROCK HALL TO HONOR OVERDUE PUNKS
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amAFTER being dissed for five years, the Sex Pistols will finally be inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame. The Brit punkers will receive 2006 Hall of Fame...
STARR REPORT
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amPope & circumstance Thomas Kretschmann, the lead in ABC's "Have No Fear: The Life of Pope John Paul II" (airing Thursday), was well-aware of CBS' com peting Pope movie. He...
IMPERFECT 10; WALTERS' TOP PEOPLE AN IRKSOME ASSORTMENT
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amTOM Cruise, America's No. 1 opponent of prescription drugs, champion couch jumper, bane of Brooke Shields' existence - crazy? Yes. Fascinating? Not so much. Yet there he'll be, sitting down...
HOWARD ALL OVER THE DIAL - STERN HYPES SIRIUS IN MEDIA BLITZ
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amHOWARD Stern's drive to become the "King of All Media" was derived from his dark days as a high-school doormat at Long Island's Roosevelt High. And in next week's edition...
ALL DOLLED UP; 'AMERICAN GIRL' IMAGINATION RUNS WILD IN COLONIAL AMERICA
November 29, 2005 | 5:00am"Felicity: An American Girl Adventure" Tonight at 8 on Ch. 11 * * * (Three stars) HOW lucky are little girls these days? They have American Girl dolls around which...
E! REVIVES 'SIMPLE LIFE'
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amPARIS Hilton and Nicole Richie are reuniting for a new season of "The Simple Life," this time on E! - but how much time the sparring party girls will spend...
TICKET TO PARADISE - ST. BART'S SHOCKING LITTLE SECRET - IT'S AFFORDABLE
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amTHE endless hype that surrounds exclusive St. Barts - a forest's worth of tabloid pages splashed with so-and-so fully naked on a beach or what'shis-name aboard a gazillion-dollar yacht -...
MYSTERY AILMENT HITS 24 AT L.I. SCHOOL
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amComplaining of nausea, dizziness and severe headaches, at least 24 people - including 19 students - at Center Moriches HS on Long Island were rushed to hospitals yesterday. Ambulances transported...
APARTMENT FIRE KILLS BED-STUY RESIDENT
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amAn unidentified man was found dead in his Brooklyn apartment last night after a fire tore through his kitchen, authorities said. His body was found on the second floor of...
ALLERGY TEEN'S FATAL KISS
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amHer allergy to peanuts may have been the kiss of death for a Canadian 15- year-old who died after smooching with her boyfriend, who'd just had peanut butter, authorities said....
RUDE OPERATOR AXED IN NEW CNN 'X' FLAP
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - Red-faced CNN just got another "X" mark - it has fired a phone operator for telling a caller the network was exercising "freedom of speech" when it put...
TWU WON'T WALK: MTA INSIDER
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amCity transit workers may threaten to strike, but the chances of their doing so are about as slim as finding a seat on a rush-hour No. 4 train, say sources...
S.I. 'WALK OUT' PSYCHO CAUGHT
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amAn accused sex offender who strolled out the front gate of a Staten Island state psychiatric center has been busted at a Brooklyn hospital, authorities said. Anthony Lee, 41, wandered...
SLAIN STRIPPER LED DOUBLE LIFE ; TOLD FOLKS BACK HOME SHE WAS ACTING IN PLAY
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amDetectives searching for the cold-blooded killer who stabbed exotic dancer Catherine Woods were last night quizzing her ex-boyfriend - who continued to room with the vivacious, raven-haired beauty even though...
JUSTICE OVER '73 RAPE
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amThirty-two years after she was raped in her own bed by a knife-wielding junkie, a California lawyer finally saw justice yesterday when a Manhattan judge sent the fiend to prison...
STEWART PUT JOB & FAMILY AHEAD OF HIMSELF
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amIt's not easy for any 70th Precinct cop to pass the memorial wall at the station house that bears four somber plaques dedicated to its fallen officers. It wasn't easy...
SAMARITAN HALTS DWI HAVOC
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amA Long Island man was arrested yesterday after another driver saw him speeding, blocked his vehicle and took away his car keys, police said. Daniel Snow, 53, of Port Jefferson...
SLAIN STRIPPER LED DOUBLE LIFE; TOLD FOLKS BACK HOME SHE WAS ACTING IN PLAY
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amDetectives searching for the cold-blooded killer who stabbed exotic dancer Catherine Woods were early today quizzing her ex-boyfriend - who continued to room with the vivacious, raven-haired beauty even though...
SUSPECT EYED IN 2ND SHOOT - GUNS DOWN COP WHO STAYED ON HIS TAIL WITH HEART WOUND
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amA hero Brooklyn cop yesterday was shot through the heart but lived long enough to help nab his attacker - who had mercilessly pumped a bullet into another officer just...
ROCKY START FOR BRUCE LEE STATUE
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amIs nothing scared? Only hours after a new statue of Bruce Lee dedicated to peace was unveiled in Bosnia, vandals ripped the nunchuck sticks out of the late martial-arts star's...
OUR IRAQ MISTAKES; FLAWED STRATEGY, FLAWED OUTCOME
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amWE aren't losing in Iraq - thanks to the quality and commitment of our troops. But we haven't made the progress we could have achieved had we accepted that a...
SPY DRAGGED IN FROM COLD TO BE FULL-TIME MA
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - Valerie Plame, the glamorous secret agent at the heart of the CIA leak scandal, is quitting the agency to become a full-time mom. Plame, 42, wife of Iraq...
'SALVATION' SHELTER SLAP
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amThe city's largest homeless shelter was so poorly run that many units were infested with roaches and millions of dollars were misused, a new audit shows. City Comptroller William Thompson...
THE WORDS THAT CHANGE EVERYTHING
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amSOMETIMES when a kid is told his cop father has gone to heaven because a street rat shot him dead, that kid will grow up very quickly. Eileen Rafferty was...
SLEAZE FACTOR MAY CLEAN HOUSE
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amFIFTY weeks from now, Americans will vote in the 2006 midterm elections. Republicans hold the House of Representatives by 232-202, so Democrats need a pickup of 16 seats to take...
CLOONEY AN ECO-RIDER; GETS CHARGE OUT OF TINY CAR
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amOne of Hollywood's biggest stars is now driving one of the world's smallest cars. George Clooney is a proud owner of the new Tango T600, an electric car that measures...
L.I. GOP BOSS JOINS ANTI-WELD GOV DRIVE
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amALBANY - Nassau County Republican Party Chairman Joseph Mondello has joined Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno in an effort to block the GOP from endorsing former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld...
LAWYER HEAD GAMES HALT ACTRESS-SLAY PLEA
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amA guilty plea by a callous young Lower East Side mugger - infamous for allegedly opening fire on a young actress who had taunted him, "What are you going to...
8 INDICTED IN $2.2M AUTO FRAUD
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amState officials unsealed a 72-count indictment yesterday charging eight individuals and one law firm with running a multimillion-dollar auto-fraud ring. Attorney General Eliot Spitzer said the ringleaders, Alex Goferman and...
FACING HER FEAR; GIRL STEPS UP VS. 'RAPE ATTACK' THUG
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amA tough teen who bravely fought off an attempted rape and abduction squares off today against her alleged attacker in an Albany courtroom where a judge will decide whether to...
STAR $CAMMER IN THE SLAMMER; L.I. MANSION-DWELLER'S PLUNGE
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amA promising young stockbroker who stole and then squandered an astounding $7 million on Wall Street was sent to prison for four years yesterday. Calvin Darden, 31, once drove a...
'ONE IN A MILLION' ; THUG'S BULLET FOUND VEST'S BUILT-IN FLAW
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amThe bullet that killed hero cop Dillon Stewart ripped into his body through his armpit - one of the few spots that is virtually impossible to protect with a bulletproof...
TRANSIT INSIDERS: NO WAY TWU WILL WALK
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amCity transit workers may threaten to strike, but the chances of their doing so are about as slim as finding a seat on a rush-hour No. 4 train, say sources...
FAST-FOOD SEX ATTACK
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amA 16-year-old girl was locked in the back of an Upper East Side Burger King restaurant and sexually assaulted by two co-workers, police said yesterday. Javier Marrero, 25, and Victor...
REGENTS DIPLOMA STUNNER; CITY KIDS IN DROP
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amThe percentage of city high-school students earning the gold-standard Regents diploma has fallen over the last three years - and the lackluster progress of African-Americans and Latinos has one prominent...
NYPD DAILY BLOTTER
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amBROOKLYN *** Police are appealing to the public for help in finding and identifying a man who shot a college student outside his family's Crown Heights home two months ago....
GOV'S MANNY PLEDGE; 'SWIFT' HOSP PROBE
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amALBANY - A "very concerned" Gov. Pataki yesterday promised swift Health Department action over the death of Manuel Lanza, who may have been denied lifesaving surgery at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital...
FREDDY STILL HUSTLING TO RAISE CAMPAIGN $
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amFernando Ferrer is appealing to supporters to help erase a $700,000 campaign debt - and city taxpayers will be on the hook, too. Ferrer yesterday sent out a new fund-raising...
'WALK OUT' PSYCHO NABBED
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amAn accused sex offender who strolled out the front gate of a Staten Island state psychiatric center has been busted at a Brooklyn hospital, authorities said. Anthony Lee, 41, wandered...
JUSTICE IN RAPE AFTER 32 YEARS
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amThirty-two years after she was raped in her own bed by a knife-wielding junkie, a California lawyer finally saw justice yesterday when a Manhattan judge sent the fiend to prison...
BUSH IN 'GUEST'URE TO ALIENS
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - President Bush yesterday tried to finesse the hot-button issue of immigration - vowing to protect the border by sending all new illegals home, but also pushing a guest-worker...
'DRUNK' CHEATS DEATH; FALLS UNDER TRAIN
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amA boozed-up straphanger miraculously survived after he passed out on a Manhattan subway platform, fell to the tracks and was run over by a train pulling into the station, cops...
'SUBWAY SHOVE' GRIEF; PAL'S DEATH A DRUNKEN 'ACCIDENT'
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amA Brooklyn man charged with kicking and rolling a buddy into the path of an oncoming No. 7 train in Queens told cops he never meant to kill his friend,...
DEAD-GAL FIELD DAY
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amCall it the "City of Motherly Love." A man arrested for running onto the field during an Eagles football game in Philadelphia said he was spreading his mother's ashes because...
HE PUT JOB AND FAMILY AHEAD OF HIMSELF
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amIt can't be easy for any 70th Precinct cop to pass the station house wall whose four somber plaques honor fallen officers. It certainly wasn't easy for Officer Dillon Stewart....
ALLERGY TEEN IN TRAGIC KISS
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amHer allergy to peanuts may have been the kiss of death for a 15-year- old student in Canada - she died after smooching with her boyfriend, who had just eaten...
CNN LOWERS AX IN NEW 'X' FLAP
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - Red-faced CNN just got another "X" mark - it has fired a telephone operator for telling callers that the network was exercising "freedom of speech" when it put...
FINEST SHOT DEAD IN CHASE - STAYS ON BROOKLYN GUNMAN'S TAIL DESPITE MORTAL BULLET WOUND TO HEART
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amA hero Brooklyn cop was shot through the heart by a driving scofflaw from hell yesterday - but he doggedly pursued the fleeing perp until he collapsed from his injuries....
CLASSROOM EXTRA - HOLIDAY EDITION
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amBRINGING FAIRY TALES TO LIFE For 20 years, Manoel Renha has been responsible for Lord & Taylor's award-winning holiday windows. He chatted with Classroom Extra about the job he clearly...
CURRY GETS THUMBS UP FROM SHAQ
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amKNICK NOTES MIAMI - Shaquille O'Neal believes Knicks center Eddy Curry will one day emerge as a dominating center. The beefy 6-11 Curry sat out last night's 107-94 blowout loss...
BLUNDER ROAD ; KNICKS EMBARRASSED BY HEAT
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amHeat 107Knicks 94 MIAMI - Don't mind the final count, 107-94. This was nothing short of a Knick humiliation. Heat center Alonzo Mourning tied his franchise record with nine blocks,...
NETS KEEP ON ROCKIN'
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amDENVER - George Karl was discussing the Nets before the game. He pointed to Jason Kidd and Vince Carter and Richard Jefferson, for starters. "I think they're gonna bust out,"...
K-MART PICKS UP EJECTION
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amNET NOTES DENVER - You can take Kenyon Martin out of New Jersey. But you can't take the emotion out of Kenyon Martin. Martin, the ex-Net, finished off an evening...
COLTS STAY PERFECT - MAUL STEELERS FOR 11TH VICTORY
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amCOLTS 26 STEELERS 7 INDIANAPOLIS - Five games to go for the Colts in the overwhelming task of winning them all in an NFL season. Last night, the only pressure...
GIANTS REPORT CARD - A KICK IN THE HEAD
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amQUARTERBACKS Whatever happened to easing the load off Eli Manning (29 of 53, 344 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT)? Again at his best when game got late, again not enough...
JET REPORT CARD - 2-14 IS REALISTIC
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amQUARTERBACKS Brooks Bollinger (19-of-28, 251 yards, 1 TD, 107.9 rating) played his best game as a pro, but the drives stalled too often. RUNNING BACKS Curtis Martin (24-for-91 rushing) got...
IRVIN EXPLAINS PIPE
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amESPN's Michael Irvin, who was charged with misdemeanor possession of a drug pipe last Friday, continued to present his alibi yesterday on ESPN Radio's "Dan Patrick Show." Irvin, who is...
BANGED-UP ISLES LOOK TO FINISH SWEEP
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amThe Islanders didn't have enough bodies to fill out a full squad at practice yesterday, so assistant coach Dan Bylsma took a spin on a fourth line with defenseman Tomi...
BRUINS SHOULD BE BREATHER FOR DEVS
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amOn the road the Devils are traveling, there should be a sign warning of falling objects ahead. Playing their best hockey of the season, the Devils have won three of...
COACH'S TOM IS NOW
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amTOM Coughlin wasn't about to make anyone feel better. That isn't his way. Say whatever you like about Coughlin, but we have learned one thing about him for sure across...
BOWLING KNIGHTS HAVE ASU IN SIGHT
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amWhen Greg Schiano took over the Rutgers football program five years ago, doubters told him it was a coaching graveyard. When fullback Brian Leonard chose RU over nearby Syracuse, the...
SHAKIN' IT OFF ; JINTS TURN PAGE, SET SIGHTS ON DALLAS
November 29, 2005 | 5:00am"This is a huge game. This is The Game of the Year for the New York Giants . . . Dallas is prepared and I promise you we'll be ready."JEREMY...
PRIDE IS ON THE LINE FOR RED STORM
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amAfter St. John's wore down Niagara Saturday afternoon in Carnesecca Arena, coach Norm Roberts responded like a holiday shopper on Black Friday when asked what's different about this year's 3-0...
YANKS EYE KYLE
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amWhile the Mets made back-page news again yesterday by landing Billy Wagner, the Yankees took steps toward rebuilding their bullpen. According to several industry sources, the Yankees are engaged in...
FLAG DAY NOTHIN' TO CELEBRATE
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amGIANT NOTES After 11 penalties were called on the offensive line in the Giants' gut-wrenching loss to the Seahawks on Sunday, coach Tom Coughlin said that there could be some...
JEFF'S ROCKETS ON SELF DESTRUCT
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amSOUNDING very Larry Browntide-ish following his team's seventh straight loss, Jeff Van Gundy podiumized the Rockets' front line. For a minute straight, Houston's Town Crier blanket indicted Yao Ming, Stromile...
MALIK'S MOVE STILL WINNING RAVES
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amAt 6-foot-6 (before skates) there's plenty of room in between Rangers defenseman Marek Malik's legs for a puck to pass through. Still, when Malik was called on to shoot for...
CURT A 14G-WHIZ ; JETS' MARTIN JUST KEEPS ON ROLLIN'
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amBefore a national television audience, Curtis Martin had just run 23 yards, weaving and cutting his way around Saints' defenders in the first quarter Sunday night at Giants Stadium. That...
COLTS HAVE SUPE DREAMS - PERFECT RECORD A LUXURY
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amINDIANAPOLIS - The longer the Colts go in their bid to become the first team since the 1972 Dolphins to go undefeated, the less they may really want to do...
OH MY! OMAR STRIKES AGAIN
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amThe Mets have long been November's champions, good at setting up a fine media buffet (with exceptionally tasty chocolate chip cookies), well skilled in draping a fresh jersey around the...
DELGADO DISMISSES PAST, VOWS HIS LOYALTY
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amLast winter, Carlos Delgado and his agent abruptly halted negotiations with the Mets - with lingering bad blood on both sides. Yesterday, smiles replaced insults. Delgado expressed his excitement to...
THE NOVEMBER TO REMEMBER - METS SNAG WAGNER, INTRODUCE DELGADO
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amIt's no wonder Met GM Omar Minaya brokered a deal for Billy Wagner - both men can close with rapid efficiency. Hours after the Mets ended a press conference welcoming...
DWYANE KNOWS MARBURY'S PAIN - WADE: BROWN MADE OLYMPIC BLUNDER
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amMIAMI - Dwyane Wade understands how Stephon Marbury feels about being restricted in Larry Brown's offense. Wade was in the same unsteady boat with Marbury during last summer's Olympics. Wade...
KIDD'S HEART SAVED NETS VS. LAKERS
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amDENVER - The Nets never trailed. The lead seemed safe - up eight with under two minutes left. Then Kobe Bryant was Kobe Bryant, the Lakers flipped in a follow...
KENYON: FORGET REUNION
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amNET NOTES DENVER - The Nets say the emotion in the reunion is gone. Kenyon Martin says the same about seeing his former team. "One time deal, man. It's old....
JACQUE'S PRODUCING OFF BENCH
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amNET NOTES DENVER - Jacque Vaughn showed exactly what he was talking about. On Saturday, Vaughn discussed the importance of staying ready - physically off the court in workouts, mentally...
IT'S RINGS OR NOTHING FOR RICE
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amKeydren Clark stopped by a recent Rice practice and his former teammates were eager to hear what the St. Peter's star had to say. "We all know that we haven't...
WEIRD BUT TRUE
November 29, 2005 | 5:00amA South Dakota man has been charged with indecent exposure after he was allegedly found partially undressed on the floor with a half-naked female mannequin. "There was inappropriate activity between...