December 8, 2005
WHY LAMPERT SHOULD TAKE SEARS PRIVATE
THE two big questions in retailing today: Will consumers spend more this Christmas, and will Eddie Lampert splurge and buy the chunk of Sears Holdings that he doesn't already own?...
PORSCHE PUSHES LUXURY ENVELOPE
Time is on the side of free-spending Porsche lovers. A $150,000 titanium Porsche watch - the world's first with a digital automatic chronograph - will be unveiled today at Tourneau...
SHOPPING SPREE; DILLER IN MIX OF POSSIBLE DEAL FOR PAXSON NET
Competition in the home-shopping business could get a lot feistier if ValueVision Media - home to ShopNBC - gains control of broadcast network Paxson Communications. ValueVision has been in discussions...
OVERDUE CREW ; IPO DELAYED ON WEAK FALL SALES
A slow start to the fall season spooked J. Crew, one of the hottest turnaround stories in retailing this year, into postponing its planned initial public offering, analysts and industry...
EURO IS PLOTTING GLOBAL P.R. ROLLUP
Euro RSCG Worldwide is mulling uniting its public-relations firms to form a global entity after losing ground to larger rivals, sources told The Post. Euro, the biggest division of French...
TRIBUNE HAS CUT 800 JOBS
Tribune Co., owner of Newsday and the freebie AM New York in the metro region, said it will start 2006 with about 800 fewer jobs nationally than it had a...
KIRK INVITES MERGER-MAKER TO GM
In his drive to reshape General Motors, billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian is calling in the same quarterback he used a decade ago to set up Chrysler for a surprise sale...
COKE INTROS NEW SLOGAN, BREW
Coca-Cola is shaking up its marketing with a new ad slogan: "Welcome to the Coke side of life." The soda giant hopes the tagline will hit home with consumers after...
NFL BOOKIES BURNED FOR $563M
National Football League underdogs threw bookies to the wolves this weekend, winning 12 out of 16 games and showering gamblers with cash. Odds makers had to cough up an estimated...
FUND'S FLIP PLAY - CEO GETS SHARES
Old Hill Partners, a $600 million hedge fund in posh Darien, Conn., flipped holdings between its corporate books and the personal accounts of its chief, a controversial move that could...
HAIL 'TAXI' FROM PERU
DIAS DE SANTIAGO*** (three stars) Peruvian "Taxi Driver."In Spanish, with English subtitles. Running time: 83 minutes. Not rated (violence, sexuality). At the Two Boots Pioneer Theater, Avenue A and Third...
FINELY BLOWN BRASS
CHRIS BOTTIBlue Note, 131 W. Third St., between Sixth Avenue and MacDougal Street; (212) 475-8592. Shows at 8 and 10:30 p.m. through Sunday. YOU could be stone deaf and still...
'DANCING' DREAMS OF 'IDOL'
THAT sound you hear off in the distance is the hype building up around ABC's surprise hit, "Dancing with the Stars." The network began teasing fans last Sunday night with...
SLAY RIDE - 'SOPRANOS' KILL CHRISTMAS IN N.J. TOWN
TONY Soprano has stolen a lot in his time as a Mafia boss, but yesterday he nearly ripped off Christmas cash from a group of merchants in Boonton, N.J. "The...
KATIE'S CALL STILL MONTHS AWAY
DECISION time for the future of Katie Couric's career is now, according to CBS sources, but NBC brass says it'll happen later. "There's a tremendous amount of speculation out there,...
STARR REPORT
Jackie's return Jackie "The Joke Man" Martling, who returns to "The Howard Stern Show" next Thursday for the first time in nearly five years, says he doesn't know what to...
'GRAND' OPERA - WHAT YOU MISS WHILE DASHING FOR THE 6:18
"Inside Grand Central" Tonight at 8 on National Geographic Channel (three stars) THE statistics alone are staggering - which is probably why the makers of this new documentary about Grand...
RIDE 'EM, COWBOYS! FOR ONCE, A SAME-SEX ROMANCE WOMEN CAN LOVE
ALL the world loves a little girl-on-girl action. Mediocre films like "Wild Things," "Cruel Intentions" and "Gia" tossed out brief female makeout scenes as a proverbial bone for male audiences;...
WARDROBE MALFUNCTION
THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (two and a half stars) Onward Christian soldiers! Running time: 140 minutes. Rated PG (battle sequences, frightening images). At...
'STARTING OVER'; THE JOYS STOLEN FROM JOHN
DEC. 8, 1980: I was 19 years old and sitting in a dorm room at the University of Chicago, watching Monday Night Football - and Howard Cosell's voice suddenly dropped...
L.I. TEEN IS KILLED IN 'DRAG RACE'
A Long Island teen driving with a junior license was killed when his car plowed into a telephone pole at 80 mph, cops said yesterday. Joseph Digirolamo, 17, appeared to...
JFK'S JETBLUE HEAVEN ; 'WORLD'S BUSIEST TERMINAL' TAKES WING
JetBlue, the phenomenally successful low-cost airline, broke ground yesterday on a new terminal at Kennedy Airport that officials said would become the busiest in the world for its size. The...
NYPD DAILY BLOTTER
MANHATTAN *** Police yesterday released a picture (above) of a suspect they are hunting in the fatal stabbing of an Upper West Side man. Javier Garvas, 29, also known as...
BOMB COP'S 'SUICIDE' BID
A former cop says he was trying to kill himself when he set off a pipe bomb in a Times Square subway station. "I really believed that putting an end...
BREAK FOR 'MOB' DUO
Two alleged high-ranking Colombo crime-family members charged in the puzzling disappearance of another mob bigwig have something to live for. Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Seigel filed a letter yesterday in...
'QUIET PROGRESS'; BUSH: WE'RE ON RIGHT TRACK IN BUILDING IRAQ
WASHINGTON - President Bush yesterday conceded mistakes in the U.S.-led rebuilding of Iraq but said "quiet, steady progress" is now under way as he again rejected calls for quick withdrawal...
FIRMS SCRAMBLE TO AMASS TRANSIT
New Yorkers are bracing themselves for a devastating bus and subway strike by arranging to get to work any way they can - even by helicopter. "Make no mistake about...
FURY AT SNOTTY SILVER; COPS RIP FUNERAL SNUB
Colleagues of slain Officer Dillon Stewart and fellow state lawmakers yesterday blasted Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver for saying, "I don't go to cops' funerals." "At long last, the law-abiding people...
BAT-BEAT WITNESS COPS NO-JAIL PLEA
First he eluded a baseball-bat beating, then he dodged prison. A key witness in the case against bias-beating suspect Nicholas "Fat Nick" Minucci escaped his own legal troubles yesterday, walking...
UNHAPPY HOOKER IS $LAMMED
A woman accused of running a multimillion-dollar prostitution ring is being forced to pimp out her homes. Jenny Paulino, 47, will sell her East Side Trump Palace apartment and her...
CITY DAY-CARE BIG'S 'SCAM'
The former director of the city's day-care bureau - fired in September 2004 after the death of an infant - was under investigation since June 2004 for cheating on his...
SILVER FINALLY ACTS ON SEX-FIEND CONFINEMENT PLAN
ALBANY - After months of criticism, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver yesterday unveiled a plan to crack down on sexual predators that would authorize keeping some fiends locked up after their...
GRANNY FIGHTS FOR VALERY ; CUSTODY WAR VS. TOT'S KIN
Valery Lozada's grandmother is making a bid to get custody of the 4-year-old found abandoned on a Queens street after her mommy was murdered, and yesterday blasted relatives she accused...
A MESS AT 'UFT' SCHOOL; KIDS ON TOILET DUTY
The principal of a union-run charter school in Brooklyn that set out to wipe the floor with its competition has been accused of ordering two first-graders to clean up human...
BLACK & WHITE ROLE REVERSAL; FAMILIES SWITCH RACES IN TV REALITY SERIES
It's the 21st century version of black-and-white TV. These are the stunning photos from an upcoming cable TV show called "Black. White," in which two families - one Caucasian, the...
SPITZER AIDE SAYS HE LOST JOB FOR CHIDING BOSS
A former top deputy to Attorney General Eliot Spitzer says he lost his job last year when he was blamed for a bungled investigation into the finances of an Orthodox...
TEENS BUSTED FOR GUN IN BROOKLYN HS
Two students were arrested yesterday after a classmate saw them with a .38-caliber revolver and told officials in a Brooklyn high school, authorities said. Christopher Boston and Javon Mosquito, both...
PEEK AT THE PARK ; NEW LOOK UNDER B'KLYN BRIDGE
Planners yesterday unveiled a revised scheme for a development at the Brooklyn Bridge, rearranging the size of its condo towers and adding an outdoor skating rink to a park. The...
STREISAND RAPS PAPER
Circulation woes at the Los Angeles Times continued yesterday. Barbra Streisand (left) announced that she has canceled her subscription to the Chicago Tribune-owned newspaper over the recent firing of liberal...
PIRRO NIXES FULANI LINK
ALBANY - Jeanine Pirro yesterday denounced controversial Independence Party leader Lenora Fulani and said she would not accept her support. Pirro was responding to a report in yesterday's Post that...
CBGB IN A'CHORD' TO MOVE
Music mecca CBGB has almost another year to rock on the Bowery after agreeing with its landlord to leave its legendary space by next October, both sides announced yesterday. "We...
GOING, GOING . . . MEMORABILIA BUFFS MAKE STADIUM THE AUCTION HOUSE THAT RUTH BUILT
It'll be bidders instead of batters stepping up to the plate at Yankee Stadium tomorrow as the House That Ruth Built hosts its first auction of Bronx Bomber memorabilia. Besides...
DRIVERS GEAR UP FOR ANOTHER SNOW BELT
Get ready for a snowy commute tomorrow - a winter storm watch is in effect from tonight until early Friday morning, and we could see as much as 6 inches...
FLIER BUMPED OFF; AIR MARSHAL SHOOTS HIM AFTER CRAZED TALK OF 'BOMB'
A hysterical passenger who claimed he had a bomb in his backpack was shot dead by air marshals after he ran through a jumbo jet awaiting takeoff in Miami yesterday,...
'CARTOON' DOPE RING SMOKED OUT
A major marijuana delivery ring, known for its self-styled "Cartoon Network" logo on packages of high-grade cannabis, was crushed when DEA agents busted the top honchos in Queens and Long...
LARRY LASHES CRITICS; DIGS IN FOR WTC FIGHT
Ground Zero developer Larry Silverstein yesterday flatly shot down a proposal that he relinquish two of his planned buildings to the Port Authority - a move he warned would force...
HYPOCRITE HOWARD FAILS HIS OWN PARTY
HOWARD DEAN has now done exactly what he promised he wouldn't do when he ran for Democratic national chairman - meddle in policy and put other Democrats on the defensive...
Looking back on John Lennon’s NYC love affair 35 years after his death
New York was a natural fit for John Lennon in 1971 - a king of rock 'n' roll who had divorced his bandmates and was now wedded to an avant-garde...
MTA OFFER TO UNION IS A RAIL GOOD START
The MTA offered the city's bus and subway workers a 5 percent raise over two years yesterday, providing a hopeful sign the two sides could avert a crippling strike. Union...
'GAY' ST. STATION
Cops broke up an alleged group grope orgy in a Brooklyn subway station men's room that workers say has become an underground gay pick-up spot, authorities said. The potty raid...
NURSING HOME DUO FACE RAP
Two wealthy New Yorkers accused of running New Jersey nursing homes "from hell" will be prosecuted by the feds, The Post has learned. The National Labor Relations Board slammed Mary...
LOVE SPLIT FOR NICOLE AND ADAM
Nicole Richie and Adam Goldstein have called off their nine-month engagement. Richie's publicist, Cindy Guagenti, said yesterday that the couple has split, but would give no details. Richie, co-star of...
BX. BRICK WORKER IN DEATH PLUNGE
A construction worker fell five stories to his death yesterday after tumbling off a plank stretched between two fire escapes behind a Bronx apartment building, cops said. The 27-year-old man,...
CITY EYES TAKING BLAZE MA'S KIDS; WELFARE PROBE AFTER 3 SIBLINGS ARE KILLED
A Queens mother already reeling from a house fire that killed three of her five children may lose her surviving son and daughter if child-welfare authorities decide to remove them....
'SEN. MENENDEZ'
WASHINGTON - New Jersey Gov.-elect Jon Corzine today will name Rep. Robert Menendez to replace him as U.S. senator, sources said last night. The Cuban-born Menendez will be the first...
'QUIET PROGRESS' ; BUSH: WE'RE ON RIGHT TRACK IN BUILDING IRAQ
WASHINGTON - President Bush yesterday conceded mistakes in the U.S.-led rebuilding of Iraq, but said "quiet, steady progress" is now under way as he again rejected calls for quick withdrawal...
BUSTS AT 'GAY' ST. STATION
Cops broke up an alleged group grope orgy in a Brooklyn subway station men's room that workers say has become a gay pick-up spot, authorities said. The potty raid was...
SPITZER SLAMS FELLOW DEM DEAN ON IRAQ
Howard Dean's stance on the Iraq war is "flat out dead wrong" - that was the message Attorney General Eliot Spitzer had last night for the Democratic Party chairman who...
CLASSROOM EXTRA - PRESIDENTS EDITION
JAMES POLK - OUR 11TH PRESIDENT, 1845-1849 Today's page looks at the first dark-horse president. JAMES K. POLK was born in Mecklenburg County, N. C., in 1795. He was studious...
GRANNY TRUCK TRAGEDY
An elderly woman was struck and killed by a tractor-trailer near her Queens home last night, police said. The woman,whose name was withheld,was pushing a shopping cart full of groceries...
CITY EYES TAKING BLAZE MA'S KIDS - WELFARE PROBE AFTER 3 TOTS KILLED BY SIBLING 'FIRESTARTER'
A Queens mother already reeling from a house fire that killed three of her children may have her surviving son and daughter taken away by child-welfare authorities. Jennifer Gaston, 27,...
RUCINSKY'S GOOF COSTS RANGERS
OVERTIME B'HAWKS 2 RANGERS 1 CHICAGO - It was a point on the road, but a pointless one lost. Martin Rucinsky took a four-minute penalty in overtime when his stick...
S'NO PROBLEM ; ALL WHITE NOW ON NORTHEAST TRAILS
MOTHER Nature has thrown us some curves the past two weeks and consequently the ski season here and the out West got off to considerably different starts. The Rockies have...
HERM BOLTS FROM PRESS
Herman Edwards hastily gathered the papers in front of him at the podium and abruptly told reporters, "Press conference over," even as a reporter was trying to ask a follow-up...
ELIAS' COMEBACK FACES NEW HURDLE
That up-and-down of rehabbing from hepatitis, as Lou Lamoriello put it, was something more than that. It was really a torn abdominal muscle that already has twice derailed five-time leading...
NETS' 'D' IS PANNED BY CLIFF
NET NOTES CHARLOTTE - For years, Cliff Robinson was regarded as one of the league's premier defenders. So he knows defense. And he knows that the current state of the...
HERM: VIN WILL PLAY AGAIN
JET NOTES Jet coach Herman Edwards yesterday revealed he has a plan to get Vinny Testaverde back onto the field before the season - and his career - ends. "Vinny...
FORDHAM NAMES GRID COACH
Tom Masella faced Fordham when he played at Wagner College and throughout his coaching career, often thinking he would like to be there. "It was always in the back of...
SIR GREELEY STRIKES PAYDIRT
In the $65,000 Fly So Free overnight stakes for 3-year-olds at six furlongs, 4-5 favorite Sir Greeley, coming off solid fourth Thanksgiving Day in Fall Highweight, pressed pace set by...
NYRA PREZ IS STILL HOPEFUL
New York Racing Association president Charles Hayward was optimistic yesterday following Tuesday's meeting with the N.Y. Racing Oversight Board, that the state and NYRA can put together a financial package...
NETS KO 'CATS
Nets 97Bobcats 84 CHARLOTTE - The Nets defended. They pushed the ball. They played hard and with effort. Then they defended some more. But they had to. "We were a...
NO HILL, NO PROBLEM, YET
St. John's 63Stony Brook 45 "We're going to go as far Daryll takes us." That's what St. John's coach Norm Roberts said about star guard Daryll Hill before the season...
ANOTHER DEVS DISASTER
Flames 4Devils 1 This was Larry Robinson's call to change the Devils' team personality. It's something probably only achievable through a change of team personnel. "This is the strangest team...
RUCINSKY'S GOOF COSTS RANGERS ; RUCINSKY'S GOOF COSTS RANGERS
OVERTIMEB'hawks 2Rangers 1 CHICAGO - It was a point on the road, but probably a pointless one lost. Martin Rucinsky took a 4-minute penalty in overtime when his stick rode...
COLLINS MAY NEED KNIFE ON ACHY LEG
NET NOTES CHARLOTTE - For those who thought it could always get worse while the Nets sought defense, toughness and chemistry, feel vindicated. It has gotten worse. Jason Collins, the...
LARRY TO Q:NO RUSH
KNICK NOTES LOS ANGELES - Larry Brown said he spoke to the grieving Quentin Richardson yesterday to tell him not to rush back, but the Knicks guard is anxious to...
L.A. MELTDOWN ; KNICKS LOSE BIG LEAD, FALL TO CLIPS
Clippers 84Knicks 79 CLIPPERS 84 KNICKS 79 LOS ANGELES - The Knicks wasted a wonderful first three quarters last night, wasted Eddy Curry's breakout performance, wasted a chance to build...
LARRY TO Q: NO RUSH
KNICK NOTES LOS ANGELES - Larry Brown said he spoke to the grieving Quentin Richardson yesterday to tell him not to rush back, but the Knicks guard is anxious to...
UNSURE AL WILL LEAVE LEIT ON
YANKEE NOTES DALLAS - Al Leiter is contemplating retirement but is leaving the door ajar to make sure it's the correct decision. "I am leaning toward retirement, but I am...
METS STILL SHOPPING MATSUI
DALLAS - The final season of Kazuo Matsui's contract is coming up. But it's possible he might not be spending it with the Mets. The Mets and Devil Rays have...
ASTRO-NOT ... AND SORIANO D.C. - BOUND
DALLAS - Rocket II in The Bronx? Yankee GM Brian Cashman didn't say it could happen - but he didn't rule it out, either. When the Astros didn't offer Roger...
BERNIE SHUNS ARBITRATION; DAMON IN LIMBO
DALLAS - Bernie Williams' Yankee career is still breathing, at the same time the club has intensified talks with Johnny Damon, Williams' potential replacement in center field. Faced with a...
THE CENTER OF THE PROBLEM - BERNIE SHUNS ARBITRATION ; DAMON IN LIMBO
DALLAS As the agent for Bernie Williams and Johnny Damon, Scott Boras finds himself in a familiar position: at the center of the Yankees' universe. Boras talked to GM Brian...
THE CENTER OF THE PROBLEM - WHILE BERNIE WAITS, BOMBERS EYE DAMON
DALLAS - As the agent for Bernie Williams and Johnny Damon, Scott Boras finds himself in a familiar position: at the center of the Yankees' universe. Boras talked to GM...
METS FEEDING OFF FOES
DALLAS - Picking up Carlos Delgado, Billy Wagner and Paul Lo Duca this offseason has filled the Mets holes at first base, closer and catcher, respectively. But picking them up...
BLAZERS NOT OUT OF WOODS ON QYNTEL
KNICK NOTES LOS ANGELES - The Player's Association is fighting on Qyntel Woods' behalf regarding his Blazers' termination last January, The Post has learned. According to Player's Association attorney Ron...
JAM SESSION - CRAWFORD EXPLODES OFF BENCH FOR KNICKS
LOS ANGELES - Jamal Crawford was pegged as one of the guys who might not fit into Larry Brown's structured system. Crawford's rep as a no-defense, shot-happy guard did not...
BIRDS OF PREY - COUGHLIN TELLS GIANTS TO BE WARY OF EAGLES
Click. That's what Amani Toomer did last Monday night when he was late for the Eagles-Seahawks game. By the time he flipped on the TV, it was early in the...
COLLINS' INJURY HURTS NETS' 'D'
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The Nets have been searching for defense, toughness, chemistry and an identity. Through it all, they maintained it could be worse. They were right. It has gotten...
FEEL-GOOD RANGERS TOAST TO THEIR HEALTH
CHICAGO - The first-place Rangers couldn't be happier, and with Tom Poti and Ryan Hollweg returning for last night's game with the Blackhawks, they couldn't be healthier, either. Everybody was...
STORM HAS FULL MONTY - HAMILTON GETS ON TRACK AT ST. JOHN'S
None of it made sense. Lamont Hamilton had what coaches can't teach - height. He had touch. He was smart around the basket. And for a guy his size -...
JINTS TRY T-BUCK
Terrell Buckley at 34 years old, after 13 NFL seasons, was back home in Davie, Fla., figuring he was through with football until the Giants came calling and yesterday he...
FEELY INSISTS HE'S JAY-OK
GIANT NOTES The questions have come fast and furious, everyone wanting to get inside Jay Feely's head and find out if the Giants have a kicker they can count on...
ISLES' ROAD: EASY STREET
COLUMBUS - Brooms at the ready and playing with as much confidence as they have all season long, the Islanders will look for the sweep tonight against the Blue Jackets....
UNSURE AL WILL LEAVE THE LEIT ON
YANKEE NOTES DALLAS - Al Leiter is contemplating retirement but is leaving the door ajar just a bit to make sure it's the correct decision. "I am leaning toward retirement...
WEIRD BUT TRUE
The bucks stopped here. Pedestrians watched in horror as five deer made their way onto the top of a five-story parking garage in Ranson, W.Va., then committed mass suicide by...