December 13, 2005
LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON, BUSHES BELIEVE THEIR OWN HYPE
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amTHE president has a problem: Americans just don't seem to "git it." The economy is doing stupendously well, Mr. Bush thinks, but folks are just so darned pessimistic. Gauges of...
FULCRUMBLES - RESEARCH SHOP SEVERS UNIT AFTER ANALYST EXODUS
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amA series of bad stock-trading bets, combined with large guaranteed-pay deals for star performers, has forced independent research powerhouse Fulcrum Global Partners to dump its research and trading operations. Fulcrum's...
MEATPACKING SIZZLES; FASHIONABLE DISTRICT DRAWS RETAILER THEORY'S FLAGSHIP
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amTHIS is how hot the Meatpacking District is: The holder of a 49-year leasehold on the site of fashion retailer Theory's new flagship store and corporate offices is putting that...
TOMMY GUN IS MISFIRING - DEAL FOR CLOTHIER IN DOUBT
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amAs the bidding for clothier Tommy Hilfiger nears the final stages, several obstacles have emerged that could dampen prospects for a deal, sources said. Among the issues is the health...
DEAL BUZZ GOOSES BOX BIG
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amRumors that software giant Microsoft Corp. is gearing up to make a hostile bid for Scientific-Atlanta Inc. caused a flurry of trading activity in the set-top box maker's securities yesterday....
HAMPTONS REALTOR TALKS DEAL
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amThe Hamptons' largest privately owned residential real estate firm is about to get swallowed up. Sources tell The Post that NRT, the real estate arm of Cendant Corp., is among...
AMERICAN GIRL CAMPAIGNS FOR SUGAR & SPICE
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amAmerican Girl, the sweet-as-pie line of books, dolls and movies, is on a mission to "save girlhood." A new ad campaign for the brand, a division of toy giant Mattel,...
$ TO DONUTS, NEW DEALS IN WORKS
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amBoth the world's largest doughnut chain, Dunkin' Donuts, and the largest ice cream chain, Baskin-Robbins, are in the hands of deal-hungry new owners. Three of the nation's top buyout firms...
'PINCH' GETS A PUNCH - STAFFERS LOSING FAITH
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amFor the second time in five days, staffers at The New York Times were slammed by a major magazine article critical of the paper's botched handling of the Judy Miller...
HOLIDAY CRACK AT STARDOM
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amLINCOLN Center's end-of-the-year tradition, as long lasting as the Christmas tree glittering in its plaza, has New York City Ballet giving no fewer than 45 performances of George Balanchine's "The...
'MOUNTAIN' OF ACCLAIM - COWBOY PIC TOPS 3 LISTS FOR BEST FILM
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amTHE gay cowboy romance "Brokeback Mountain" has lassoed an early lead in this season's movie awards, snagging the top prizes from influential critics' groups in New York and Los Angeles....
ANOTHER HELPING OF MARTHA - DAYTIME SHOW RENEWED
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amMARTHA Stewart apparently does fit in - at least in daytime. Stewart's syndicated show, "Martha," was renewed for a second season yesterday despite mediocre ratings - avoiding the fate of...
'RUNWAY' JAY TURNS DOWN PRIZE
December 13, 2005 | 5:00am'PROJECT Runway" winner Jay McCarroll says he turned his back on the reality show's $100,000 grand prize. McCarroll, who beat out 11 other competitors last spring on Bravo's designing reality...
SEX TRADE - SOME 'SECRETS' CLOBBER OTHERS
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amODDLY enough, WE's fascinating new documentary-style show, "The Secret Lives of Women," premieres tonight by following the progress of a transsexual who travels to Thailand for "sexual reassignment" surgery -...
WILD CARD$ - POKER SERIES BOASTS $100 MILLION PRIZE
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amFOX Sports Net is going allin for a new poker tournament that will award its ultimate champ a $100 million cash prize. "The Mansionpoker.net Pokerdome Series," a 43-week show, is...
ON THE LAM! SEE THE FAMILY AND HAVE FUN WITH 10 QUICK AND EASY SOFLA GETAWAYS
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amIT's a familiar story. You finally get a few days off of work, for the holidays, and what? It's your mother, your great aunt, your Nana, your Nana's first cousin,...
STARR REPORT
December 13, 2005 | 5:00am'Desperate' lip-lock I don't know how pleased "Desperate Housewives" creator Marc Cherry will be with Doug Savant blabbing about upcoming plotlines to "Extra" but there's no such thing as bad...
NEW COST OF A TICKET: $12.50 ; MINUTES OF ADS: 20-25 ; HOW YOU FEEL: FLICK'D OFF
December 13, 2005 | 5:00am'TIS the winter of our cinematic discontent. New York moviegoers endure long lines, crowded theaters, pre-show advertising that rivals the length of a Wagnerian opera and now, quite possibly, tickets...
'LOST' STAR MAKES PEANUTS
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amWHEN last we saw Ian Somerhalder, his "Lost" character, Boone, was being lowered into a shallow grave by the rest of the plane-crash survivors (and then making a brief appearance...
PIMP YOUR PHONE - CHEAP WAYS TO SPICE UP MOBILES WITH GAMES, SPORTS, BLING
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amYOU could easily drop $800 on the hot new Nokia N90 Smartphone - featuring a camcorder and a 20X zoom camera with a flash - but that's the expensive way...
HELP TROOPS PHONE HOME
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amAMERICANS looking for a way to offer some holiday cheer to our troops stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan might want to consider the USO's Operation Phone Home - a program...
TOP DEM: SPEAKER IS STRIFE OF THE PARTY
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amALBANY - Embattled Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver isn't just getting heat from law enforcement for skipping cops' funerals and dragging his feet on gun-control legislation, he's also getting blasted as...
LAWYER RAI$ES THE BAR - FIRST-EVER 1G/HR. FEE
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amIn the era of the $10-plus movie ticket and $3,000-a- month studio apartment, it was inevitable: A top-notch lawyer is charging $1,000 an hour. Benjamin Civiletti, who served as attorney...
PENN STA. 'BOMB' NUT GETS 1 YR.
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amA disgruntled Amtrak passenger whose bomb threat paralyzed Penn Station last July will stay in jail at least another year after pleading guilty yesterday. Self-described crack addict Raul Claudio, 43,...
ON THE SLOW TRACK: STATS BARE RISE IN TARDY TRAINS
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amSubway service has plummeted this fall - even before worries that a contract deadlock with the MTA might provoke renegade transit workers to delay trains with a rule-book slowdown. Morning...
LONG-DISTANCE FALL - CALIF. TIP NABS L.I. 'INVADERS'
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amA quick-thinking California man sensed something was wrong after his Great Neck pal's phone line went dead during a cross-country call Sunday night, so he called Long Island cops -...
GOP BIGS' BLOW TO PIRRO - URGE HER TO DITCH SENATE RUN FOR AG
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amALBANY - The state's Republican county leaders yesterday overwhelmingly urged Jeanine Pirro to quit her troubled campaign for Senate against Hillary Rodham Clinton and run instead for state attorney general....
'SLEIGH RIDE' SNOWS COMPETITION
December 13, 2005 | 5:00am"Let's take that road before us and sing a chorus or two" - or 16,000. That's how many times listeners across the country heard the holiday song "Sleigh Ride" on...
TEACH TO GET 'CANED - KATRINA SCHOOL $CAM
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amA Bronx high-school teacher and Lutheran minister is in a tornado of trouble for soaking the city for a paid vacation to Brazil while claiming he was aiding the military...
TOUGH 'TOOKIES,' ARNIE SEZ - DENIES CLEMENCY FOR DEATH-ROW CRIP
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amLOS ANGELES - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger yesterday terminated a last-ditch clemency bid by notorious gangbanger Stanley "Tookie" Williams, assuring the four-time killer would be put to death early this morning....
BEASTLY OWNER BEAT CAT: ASPCA
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amA Manhattan man was arrested yesterday for beating his cat to within inches of its nine lives, ASPCA officials said. George Rayot, 52, of East 124th Street, was charged with...
DEADBEAT DAD COPS 163G PLEA
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amA notorious deadbeat dad who once managed the rock band Kiss - and later spent 10 years on the lam - was sentenced to time served yesterday and ordered to...
IT'S TOO LITTLE & TOO LATE FOR GUYS ON BEAT
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amTHE proverb that says all that glitters isn't gold screams the truth, particularly when it comes to silver - Sheldon Silver, that is. A trip through lower Manhattan, where Silver...
HIZZONER AIMS HIGHER
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amThe gun courts Mayor Bloomberg created in 2003 have resulted in more convictions and longer sentences, he said yesterday in urging the program's expansion. "We've formed [them] in three boroughs,...
FAREWELL TO 3 'ANGELS' - WAKE FOR KIDS KILLED IN FIRE
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amThree small white caskets lay side by side at a Queens funeral home yesterday, each with a picture of two young brothers and their baby sister - who died together...
SILVER BACKS OFF UNDER FIRE - 'NO-FUNERAL' SHELLY WILL DEIGN TO ATTEND SLAIN COP'S WAKE
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amALBANY - Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver - who set off a storm of protest last week when he declared, "I don't go to cops' funerals" - beat a stunning retreat...
OPTIMISTIC IRAQIS SALUTE AMERICA - LIBERATED NATION GRATEFUL TO U.S., POSITIVE ON DEMOCRATIC ROAD TO FUTURE, SAYS POLL
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - Iraqis are surprisingly optimistic about their lives and future despite violence and terrorism - most say they feel safe and a growing majority supports democracy, an intriguing ABC...
LIVERY MAN DRIVES INTO HUDSON R.
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amA limousine driver was presumed dead yesterday after he drove off an Upper West Side pier into the frigid Hudson River, police said. The unidentified victim drove the black Town...
'HIT LIST' BOY FACES EXPULSION
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amA Long Island middle school student faces expulsion today after creating a "hit list" of classmates and threatening to bring a weapon to school, officials said. The 12-year-old boy at...
'N.Y.' VIDEO GAME GIVES KID SEIZURE
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amA 14-year-old Iowa girl had a seizure after spending five hours playing a video game based on the streets of New York. Amy Kopaska terrified her mother Sunday morning by...
GRIEF UNITES THE CITY WITH KIN AND PALS OF OFFICER
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amThe city's heart-wrenching period of mourning began yesterday for a selfless cop slain off-duty while busting up a burglary allegedly committed by a former Sopranos actor and his drinking-and-drugs pal....
NYPD DAILY CRIME BLOTTER
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amTHE BRONX * A Westchester man was nabbed for stomping and suffocating a transvestite hooker to death inside an Eastchester hot sheets motel, police sources said yesterday. Alberto Pagan, 46,...
CITY, LARRY NOT BONDING
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amCity negotiations with Ground Zero developer Larry Silverstein over his bid for $3.35 billion in Liberty Bonds to rebuild the World Trade Center fell flat yesterday - scuttling a vote...
NEWLY FREE NATION HAS LOST 30,000
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - President Bush yesterday said about 30,000 Iraqis have been killed since the Iraq war began and predicted Thursday's Iraqi election will help change history even though it "won't...
COPS SAVE WOMAN IN B'KLYN FIRE
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amTwo Brooklyn cops on routine patrol yesterday sprang into action to pull a woman from a burning building, officials said. The officers teamed up with two women who also live...
MIKE RECOMMENDS CRASH-PAD COURSE
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amHit the couch, pal. If a catastrophic transit strike comes at the end of the week, commuters should minimize the hassles of traveling by temporarily bunking with relatives or colleagues...
SOPRANO'S DRUG-FUELED DAYS OF RAGE LED UP TO SLAY OF HERO COP IN THE BRONX
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amDeeply troubled "Sopranos" actor Lillo Brancato Jr. showed up at the Yonkers home of his on-again, off-again girlfriend just last Thursday, smashing the front door and screaming at her from...
SHOOTINGS GO UP AS CRIME TAKES A DIVE IN CITY
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amCrime has plunged more than 5 percent overall in the city so far this year, but an average of nearly two more victims a week have been shot, according to...
HORRIFIED KIN SEE MOM KILLED - TRUCK CRUSHES HER AS CROSSES B'KLYN STREET
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amA Queens mother trying to cross a busy Brooklyn intersection was struck and killed by a dump truck as her horrified husband and 3-year-old daughter witnessed the tragedy. Police said...
SHIPWRECKED BY HUBBY'S VANISH
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amThe heartsick bride of the Connecticut man who mysteriously vanished during their honeymoon cruise broke her silence yesterday, telling how her life and her dreams of beginning a family have...
FREEDOM'S TOLL STANDS AT 30,000
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - President Bush yesterday said about 30,000 Iraqis have been killed since the Iraq war began, and predicted Thursday's Iraqi election will help change history even though it "won't...
SCHOOLBOY, 12, DREW UP 'HIT LIST'
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amA 12-year-old Long Island boy faces expulsion today after creating a "hit list" of classmates and threatening to bring a weapon to school, officials said. The Commack Middle School youngster...
SUSPECTS ALREADY FINGERING EACH OTHER
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amTough-guy actor Lillo Brancato Jr. and his ne'er-do-well older pal are already turning on each other after allegedly killing a cop - with each faulting the other for the deadly...
JERSEY GI KILLED NEAR BAGHDAD
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amA New Jersey soldier was killed in an enemy attack in Iraq, officials said yesterday. Sgt. Clarence L. Floyd, 28, of Newark was killed Saturday when his unit engaged enemy...
YANK PREZ HITS FOES OF STADIUM
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amCommunity opposition isn't stopping plans to build a new Yankee Stadium and demolish the House That Ruth Built, the team's president said last night after another noisy public hearing on...
FINEST IN D.C. SHOOT - WOUNDED-TEEN MYSTERY
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amAn NYPD inspector who once helped lead the department's controversial Street Crime Unit is under investigation after he allegedly shot an armed teenager in Washington, D.C., then failed to immediately...
KONG LOTTO WINNER'S SAD TALE
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amMargie Barres emerged yesterday as the sole winner of the $55 million jackpot in the King Kong Millions lottery draw - but it's a bittersweet win for the Long Island...
'N.Y.' VID GAME GIVES KID SEIZURE
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amA 14-year-old Iowa girl had a seizure after spending five hours playing a video game based on the streets of New York. Amy Kopaska terrified her mother Sunday morning by...
BODY SET ABLAZE ON QNS. STREET
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amFirefighters made a grisly discovery early today when they found an unidentified body that had been set on fire on a Queens street. Police were investigating reports that someone in...
'KONG' MOM'S PAIN - SON HAS AUTISM
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amMargie Barres emerged yesterday as the sole winner of the $55 million jackpot in the King Kong Millions lottery draw - but it's a bittersweet win for the Long Island...
SILVER FINALLY HOLDS HIS FIRE - 'NO-FUNERAL' SHELLY WILL DEIGN TO PAY RESPECTS TO SLAIN BRONX COP'S FAMILY
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amALBANY - Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver - who set off a storm of protest last week when he declared, "I don't go to cops' funerals" - beat a stunning retreat...
NOT PRETTY, BUT . . .
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amGIANT REPORT CARDQUARTERBACKS: C It is high, it is far, it is . . . one of Eli Manning's floaters over the reach of Jeremy Shockey. Manning (28 of 44,...
RARE SIGN OF LIFE
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amJET REPORT CARDQUARTERBACKS: B Brooks Bollinger (14-of-26, 119 yards, 1 TD, 78.8 rating) managed the game very well with no turnovers. He was also great on the run with 56...
GREEN GRINS - SKID SNAP HAS JETS JUMPIN'
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amThere was an unusual bounce in people's steps at Weeb Ewbank Hall yesterday. For the first time in nearly two months, there were no long faces roaming the hallways, locker...
JUDAH CAN'T WAIT TO GET MAYWEATHER
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amTWO of the biggest boxing showdowns in 2006 figure to be Zab Judah against Floyd Mayweather and Jermain Taylor versus Winky Wright. But the uncertainty of whether these bouts take...
BUSH IN LOVE WITH CITY LIGHTS
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amWalking out of Giants Stadium moments after Sunday's 26-10 victory over the hapless Raiders, a Jets fan bemoaned, "Before, this team didn't know how to win. Now they don't know...
U.S. CUP ROAD FULL OF POTHOLES
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amMost Americans did not contribute to the 350 million people worldwide who watched the World Cup Draw Ceremony last Friday. That's a shame because the U.S. may field its best...
JUST SAY NOMAR - GARCIAPARRA MAY PLAY FIRST BASE FOR YANKS
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amThree years ago the odds of Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and Nomar Garciaparra together in the Yankees' infield were as long as a Beatles reunion. Today, it's moving toward even...
A LOAD OF QUIT! - STAN 'RESIGNS' SO RILEY CAN RECLAIM SPOTLIGHT
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amPadre Riles giveth and now Padre Riles taketh away. IF STAN Van Gundy says he wants to spend more time with the Osmond family, I, for one, take him at...
LARRY: ARTEST 'GREAT'
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amAfter Queensbridge native Ron Artest openly campaigned for a trade to New York, Knicks coach Larry Brown labeled him "tremendous," and former teammate Jamal Crawford lauded him as a great...
JUST SAY NOMAR - YANKS OFFER GARCIAPARRA SHOT TO PLAY FIRST BASE
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amThree years ago the odds of Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and Nomar Garciaparra together in the Yankees' infield were as long as a Beatles reunion. Today, it's moving toward even...
MOORE SAYS NO PAYBACK FOR BERTUZZI
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amCANUCKS at RANGERS - Tonight 7:00 - MSG; ESPN (1050) Twenty-one months and five days later, Todd Bertuzzi will skate on the same rink as a Moore brother, but no...
POTHOLES LINE U.S. CUP ROAD
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amMost Americans did not contribute to the 350 million people worldwide who watched the World Cup Draw Ceremony last Friday. That's a shame because the U.S. may field its best...
STIRLING TELLS ISLES: DO YOUR HOMEWORK
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amSteve Stirling showed a rare sign of anger on the ice yesterday when the Islanders coach roasted Alexei Yashin and Miro Satan when the first-line tandem deteriorated during a sloppy...
SKIDDING DEVILS TALK IT OVER
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amThe Devils talked themselves right out of practice yesterday. They were trying to talk themselves into winning games. At their lowest emotional point since the lockout ended, the Devils spent...
ANNA'S CALL TO METS: DON'T DEAL MY HUBBY
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amWith Kris Benson solidly on the trading block, his controversial wife phoned Mets COO Jeff Wilpon last week to address any misunderstandings after her recent incendiary comments. Additionally, Anna Benson...
FRYE FLIES PAST BOGUT
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amKNICK NOTES Isiah Thomas has said he preferred rookie center Channing Frye to Milwaukee's Andrew Bogut, the top overall pick in the draft. And last night, it was the 6-11...
KNICKS' EFFORT JUST D-PLORABLE - BUCKS BLOW OUT BROWN & CO. IN GARDEN STINKER
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amBucks 112 - Knicks 92 Despite finishing their grueling 19-game, season-opening stretch just 6-13, the Knicks claimed their long trip helped their young players develop and their veterans gel. But...
INCONSISTENT ELI A BIGGER PROBLEM THAN INJURIES
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amAS THE the playoff plot thickens, as playoff fever rages, as this bruising NFL marathon reaches a crescendo, the Giants are suddenly Big Black & Blue today. "They're sore, they're...
QUENTIN'S ONLY SOLACE ON COURT
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amTHERE is comfort in routine, every bit as much as there is sanctuary in the game. Quentin Richardson went back to work last night, and this was how he did...
ASSESSING THE DAMAGES - JINTS BUMPED, BRUISED WITH K.C. ON HORIZON
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amThis week, Bob Whitfield figures he might have to go with a black-on-black ensemble, rather than the charcoal gray he donned for the trip to Philadelphia. Why the change to...
KNICKS COULD PICK UP PACER - LARRY LAUDS ARTEST, WHO WANTS TO COME HOME
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amAfter Queensbridge native Ron Artest openly campaigned for a trade to New York, Knick coach Larry Brown labeled him "tremendous," and former teammate Jamal Crawford lauded him as a great...
MOORE'S NOT LOOKING FOR BERTUZZI PAYBACK
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amTwenty-one months and five days later, Todd Bertuzzi will skate on the same rink as a Moore brother, but no one should expect Rangers vs. Canucks tonight at the Garden...
ANNA TO METS: KEEP KRIS
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amWith Kris Benson solidly on the trading block, his controversial wife phoned Met COO Jeff Wilpon last week to address any misunderstandings after her recent incendiary comments. Additionally, Anna Benson...
SLUMPING DEVILS TALK THINGS OUT
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amThe Devils talked themselves right out of practice yesterday. They were trying to talk themselves into winning games. At their lowest emotional point since the lockout ended, the Devils spent...
DREAD ZONE - BIG BLUE SETTLING FOR FIELD GOALS
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amGIANT NOTES Holding on to the ball and sustaining drives was not the problem for the Giants, who put up some incredible numbers in their 26-23 overtime victory over the...
BROWN 'SORRY' FOR STAN
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amKNICK NOTES Heat coach Stan Van Gundy ostensibly stepped down and was replaced by Pat Riley yesterday. Van Gundy cited personal reasons and time with his family, although the move...
STIRLING: DO YOUR HOMEWORK
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amSteve Stirling showed a rare sign of anger on the ice yesterday when the Islanders coach roasted Alexei Yashin and Miro Satan when the first-line tandem deteriorated during a sloppy...
WEIRD BUT TRUE
December 13, 2005 | 5:00amHave yourself a morbid little Christmas with some unusual gifts from the Clark County Coroner's Office in Las Vegas - which has just opened its own gift shop. There's a...