April 5, 2006
FELIX DENNIS THROWS IN TOWEL HERE, MAGS MAY SELL FOR $250M
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amFELIX Dennis, the maverick British publisher behind bawdy lad-mag Maxim, is putting his Dennis Publishing U.S. unit on the block. Allen & Co. won the mandate to sell the firm,...
EX-REFCO BROKERS CHARGED
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amThe Securities and Exchange Commission filed suit yesterday against three brokers at a small Long Island brokerage for allegedly using their account at Refco to run a wide-ranging short-selling scam....
OPRAH TOPS WITH HEARST
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amOPRAH is moving into the new Hearst Tower. Yes, Oprah Winfrey, whose magazine O is published by Hearst, will have a "high-floor" aerie in the opulent new Lord Norman Foster-designed...
KATIE'S QUAKE - 'TODAY' STAR'S MOVE TO CBS NEWS TO RATTLE AD WORLD
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amKatie Couric's imminent defection to CBS is likely to turn NBC's "Today" show from a must buy to a major question mark for the nation's biggest advertisers. After 15 years,...
ETHANOL FUELS GAS TROUBLES
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amThe pain of $4-a-gallon gasoline for your beach trips is already on its way to New York gas pumps - thanks to corn fields in the often-parched Midwest. Excluding geopolitical...
PECKER SHUTS DOWN CELEBRITY LIVING
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amYesterday was black Tuesday at American Media. One-year old Celebrity Living magazine was shut down and the National Enquirer, which moved to New York amid much fanfare a year ago...
ELLE GIRL GOES BELLY-UP - HACHETTE'S TEEN MAG 1ST CASUALTY OF COOLING MARKET
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amFive years after its launch, Elle Girl is shutting down, the first magazine casualty in the once white-hot teen market that has now cooled down considerably. Hachette Filipacchi Media CEO...
EX-REFCO BROKERS CHARGED IN SHORT-SELLING SCAM
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amThe Securities and Exchange Commission filed suit yesterday against three brokers at a small Long Island brokerage for allegedly using their account at Refco to run a wide-ranging short-selling scam....
A TRIPLE WHAMMY - PECKER SHUTS CELEBRITY MAG, CUTS EDITOR, MOVES SOUTH
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amYesterday was black Tuesday at American Media. One-year old Celebrity Living magazine was shut down and the National Enquirer, which moved to New York amid much fanfare a year ago...
S.F. TALE IS HIGH QUALITY
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amQUALITY OF LIFE *** (three stars) BENJAMIN Morgan hits the ground running with his directorial debut, "Quality of Life," a raw portrait of two San Francisco graffiti "artists." By day,...
SOUL-SEEKING BRIT'S SOUND IS ALL-AMERICAN
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amBRITISH singer James Hunter doesn't sound like he looks. And he doesn't sing like he talks. Take a spin of his American debut platter, the addictive "People Gonna Talk," and...
'O.C.'S' MISCHA SICKOUT; YOUNG DIVA WANTS TO LEAVE
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amMISCHA Barton seems to be trying really hard to wiggle out of doing "The O.C." any longer. Barton, worried about the show's spiraling ratings - and concerned about being typecast...
PULITZER SURPRISE; DESERVING DRAMA OUT OF THE RUNNING
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amAWARDS time in the theater kicks off Monday, April 17, with the announcement of this year's winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Pulitzer officials are notoriously tight-lipped about the...
'SOLO' SISTER - LATINA COMIC DEBUTS ONE-WOMAN SHOW
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amMARGA Gomez has appeared on the big screen opposite Sharon Stone, cut it up with Tracey Ullman on HBO and will soon take the stage for a one-woman show off-Broadway,but...
STIR-CRAZY FOR SWEET BEANS
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amHabichuelas con dulce (sweet beans)is a creamy,pudding-like,red-bean dessert mixed with yam,condensed milk,raisins,cinnamon and cassava bread.Be honest,doesn 't it sound tasty? This one-of-a-kind delicacy is enjoyed in Dominican households during Lent.But...
DE NIRO'S REALITY
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amROBERT De Niro is getting into the real ity TV business. The actor's first foray into reality TV will be in partnership with R.J. Cutler, who produced the FX hit...
GAY, OLD TIME - ROSIE'S TRIP SUPRISINGLY GOOD TIME
April 5, 2006 | 4:00am"All Aboard! Rosie's Family Cruise" Thursday night at 8 on HBO * * * * (four stars) A few years ago, Rosie O'Don nell and partner Kelli were sitting around...
STARR REPORT
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amHam and 'Cheese' Jeff Garlin, who's just com pleted the pilot for his TBS se ries, "The Jeff Garlin Pro gram," will be here at Caroline's tomorrow through Sunday. These...
AWAY FOR RE-PAIR - 'RECONCILIATION VACATION' OFTEN A BIG, AND EXPENSIVE, GAMBLE; TAKING A RELATIONTRIP
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amDJ AM and Nicole Richie are back on - thanks, quite possibly, to the magic of the "reconciliation vacation." Booked as a last-ditch attempt to save a relationship, it's the...
DOWNTOWN & OUT - CLOSING OF 14 WALL ANOTHER BLOW TO LOWER CITY SCENE
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amDOWNTOWN just lost a restaurant it couldn't afford to lose - one with a precious and increasingly rare high-floor view. Let's hope the padlocking of The 14 Wall Street by...
BISTRO LEVER-ING INTO NOHO
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amLEVER House co-owners John McDonald and Josh Pickard are in the final stages of construction on their Chinatown Brasserie in NoHo, where details of the 200-seat Chinese-American at 380 Lafayette...
CUTLER GNOMES AT THE MOUTH
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amHIS face turned heavenward, his arms upwardly outstretched, Bruce Cutler yesterday won the Academy Award for Best Performing Attorney. Some, like myself, thought his closing was truly brilliant. Others thought...
LILLO'S EX GETS 'KEY' DWI DEAL
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amThe ex-girlfriend of accused cop-killer actor Lillo Brancato kept her mouth shut and scored a partial victory in court yesterday - a conditional license to drive to work, despite her...
TERROR FAN OR BIAS VICTIM?
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amNEW Jersey's new governor and U.S. senator - Jon Corzine and Bob Menendez - find themselves under fire for a heavy-handed bit of political pressure that may have nationwide repercussions...
NYPD DAILY BLOTTER
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amTHE BRONX * Cops are searching for this man after an argument over a soccer game turned fatal at the weekend, police said yesterday. The suspect, Bledar Haxhia (above), 24,...
GRIPER GREEN TALKS OF MUTINY - THREATENS TO BACK SUOZZI AGAINST SPITZER
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amALBANY - Hard-pressed attorney-general hopeful Mark Green unleashed his anger at the state Democratic chairman for not giving him enough support - and threatened to join forces with insurgent gubernatorial...
GOV, MIKE BACK STADIUM STATION
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amA proposed Metro-North station next to the new Yankee Stadium got a boost from Gov. Pataki and Mayor Bloomberg yesterday as the City Council prepares to vote today on the...
HAMPTONS PORK ROAST
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amWASHINGTON - The feds spent precious homeland-security dollars protecting towel-toting Hamptons beachgoers, a watchdog report will reveal today. The report, dubbed the "Pig Book" by the nonpartisan Citizens Against Government...
FIRETRUCKS IN TRASHY SHAPE
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amA garbage truck is safer to drive than a firetruck, the firefighters union charged. "A garbage truck gets a strenuous review that is 7.5 times more rigorous than for a...
RATNER'S PLAN GETS BEER JEER
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amBrooklyn beer everywhere, and not a drop to drink . . . at least not here. The venerable Freddy's Bar and Backroom, which will lose its nearly 100-year-old quarters to...
L.I.'S PRIM PROM - SCHOOLS BAN EXCE$$
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amAbsolutely no limos, tuxedoes or ballroom gowns allowed. That's the ruling from officials at two Catholic schools on Long Island, who have negotiated a compromise with irate students after canceling...
BYE-BYE TO A BOSS - WHAT MADE TOM DELAY TICK
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amREP. Tom DeLay's resignation brings his political career to an end - and a defiantly old-fashioned career it was. Liberals and left-wingers who long reviled DeLay never really understood him....
HILL 'SQUANDERED' FIRST TERM: GOPER
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amJohn Spencer, one of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's would-be Republican challengers, yesterday accused the former first lady of "squandering" the chance to help New Yorkers during her five years in...
MCC KNOWS HE'S FILI-BUSTED
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amWASHINGTON - Sen. John McCain said his push to set 11 million illegal aliens on the path to citizenship doesn't have enough support to stop a filibuster by conservatives who...
TRANSIT-REVOTE BALLOTS DUE
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amTransit workers will take a second stab at the contract they rejected in January after ballots for a revote are mailed out this week, union sources said. But MTA Chairman...
RECORD WAVE OF RED INK LOOMS
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amOut of every tax dollar that the city spends, 17 cents will go toward debt service by 2010 - near the historic high reached right after the dark days of...
ANNA'S CHANGE-UP KOS DIVORCE SUIT
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amDays after hurling divorce papers at her husband, smoking baseball wife Anna Benson has decided to give him an intentional pass. After a weekend in seclusion at her suburban Atlanta...
HAPPY LAND ANGEL IN $1M GREEN-CARD 'SCAM'
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amA Bronx community activist - recently feted for helping survivors of the infamous Happy Land fire - scammed more than $1 million from impoverished illegal immigrants hoping to land U.S....
B'KLYN TEACH CHARGED IN KID ASSAULT
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amA veteran special-ed teacher shook and choked a 10-year-old student he suspected of flinging a belt buckle at him, then bounced the boy's head against a wall inside a Brooklyn...
UFT OUT TO GET ME: EVA
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amA former City Council member who earned the ire of the United Federation of Teachers during her time in office is now taking heat over her charter school in Harlem....
'SALVATION' SWINDLER MULLS DEAL
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amAn accountant accused of embezzling $166,914 from his job at the West 14th Street Salvation Army headquarters is mulling a plea deal that would get him at least five years...
FURY AS JUDGE STAYS CONFINED
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amSupporters of a former Brooklyn judge who has been confined to a nursing home against his will fumed yesterday after the jurist hearing the case put off a decision for...
MEMORIAL $$ FIGHT
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amThe foundation that will build the Ground Zero memorial is in a tug of war with the Port Authority over who will pay more than $100 million underground-infrastructure costs. Gretchen...
A ONE-MAN CRIME WAVE OF SCHEMES AND SCAMS
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amWHEN Andrew Kissel bought his first co-op apartment on the Upper East Side in 1992, he held a low-level job with a commercial real-estate company. But within a few years,...
DAD-TO-BE BRAVEST DELIVERS
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amA Bronx firefighter who's an expectant dad put his time in front of the tube to good use yesterday - by delivering a baby girl. "From watching TV and the...
ROBBING A BABY - PREGNANT GAL'S 'KILLERS' STOLE $35
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amA couple accused of the heartless slaying of a pregnant Bronx mother in front of her three terrified children allegedly polished off their coldblooded handiwork by robbing the youngsters of...
WILY 'MOB COP' DEFENSE - SAYS RAT IS REALLY A COYOTE
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amA "Mafia cop" defense lawyer yesterday took his final swipes at the prosecution's star turncoat witnesses - likening one admitted embezzler to Hal the Central Park coyote - before the...
RAID SHUTS SPORTS BAR
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amThe Park Avenue Country Club, a Manhattan sports bar popular with athletes, celebrities and cellphone-yakking yuppies, was raided yesterday by detectives from the District Attorney's Office and city tax agents....
BX. BRAVEST DELIVERS BABY
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amA Bronx firefighter who's an expectant dad put his time in front of the tube to good use yesterday - by delivering a baby girl. "From watching TV and the...
D'AMATO COMES TO HILL'S DEFENSE
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amRepublican Al D'Amato rose to defend former foe Hillary Rodham Clinton yesterday, after one of her GOP Senate challengers slammed the senator as an unresponsive lawmaker who duped New Yorkers...
TEEN BUSTED IN GRANNIES SHOOT
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amThe gunman who wounded two grandmas during a shootout at a Brooklyn housing project last Friday was arrested yesterday, police said. Cops charged Carlos Howard, 18, in the Farragut Houses...
LET US VOTE: ALIENS - NONCITIZEN BALLOT BID
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amA push to give Big Apple residents who aren't citizens the right to vote kicks off today, with throngs of immigrants flocking to City Hall to back legislation giving them...
NUDE GEEZER EXEC GOT ME FIRED: BODYGUARD
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amYou apparently can teach an old dog new tricks. An elderly cosmetics king once accused of groping female secretaries is at it again, this time prancing around in his birthday...
SHEL SPIKES HIKE$ RUMOR
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amALBANY - Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver yesterday said he's open to a legislative pay raise, but he shot down reports that raises have been discussed as part of recent budget...
RAISES FOR MIKE STAFFERS
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amThe City Council will vote today on a modification to the $52 billion proposed budget that includes about $1 million more for raises in the mayor's office. Bloomberg aides said...
FRAUDSTER EYED IN 'SUICIDE BY HITMAN' - $10M+ LIFE POLICY AT STAKE
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amSuspicions grew yesterday that a disgraced tycoon found slain in his Greenwich mansion may have paid a hitman to have himself knocked off - so his kids could collect on...
ZAC MUST FACE ALL 2,972 DEAD
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amALEXANDRIA, VA. - The name and picture of every 9/ll victim will be displayed in the last phase of the Zacarias Moussaoui trial - and prosecutors hope the haunting display...
HASIDS & COPS CLASH - RAGE OVER BAKER BUST
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amAn angry protest over the arrest of an elderly Hasidic man turned violent in Brooklyn last night, when throngs of irate residents lit fires on the street, clashed with cops...
BOMBERS' BATS GO COLD IN CLUTCH
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amATHLETICS 4 YANKEES 3 OAKLAND - One night after their muscles carried them to an impressive victory, the Yankees had a lesson drummed into their heads: You don't hit in...
ROBBING A BABY - PREGNANT BX. GAL'S 'KILLERS' STOLE $35 IN BIRTH FUND: KIDS
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amA couple accused of the heartless slaying of a pregnant Bronx mother in front of her three terrified children allegedly polished off their coldblooded handiwork by robbing the youngsters of...
$40M PUTS VIEIRA ERA NEARER - DUE TO INK DEAL TODAY FOR 'TODAY'
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amMeredith Vieira is on the verge of a $40 million payday to take over for Katie Couric on the "Today" show, sources revealed. The deal, which could be completed as...
'NUDE EXEC' $LAP - EX-BODYGUARD SUES
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amYou apparently can teach an old dog new tricks. An elderly cosmetics king once accused of groping female secretaries is at it again, this time prancing around in his birthday...
RECORD WAVE OF RED INK LOOMING
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amOut of every tax dollar that the city spends, 17 cents will go toward debt service by 2010 - near the historic high reached right after the dark days of...
RAISES FOR MAYOR'S STAFF
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amThe City Council will vote today on a modification to the $52 billion proposed budget that includes about $1 million more for raises in the mayor's office. Bloomberg aides said...
FIVE ANSWERING CALL TO COACH AT THE HALL
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amINDIANAPOLIS - Seton Hall athletic director Joe Quinlan fired coach Louis Orr, a decent man, March 24 even though the Pirates qualified for the NCAA Tournament. Quinlan believed it was...
ISLES NEED TO RESTORE LOST PRIDE
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amThe end of the season is finally within sight, and the Islanders are being drawn to what seems like a white light. The Isles' tragic number for mathematical elimination has...
ELIAS' STICK COULD USE OLD MAGIC
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amThe scary thing about the Devils' four-game winning streak is that if they falter, the fallback will be scarier still. When the Devils host the Penguins tonight, it will be...
NOAH MAY WORK ON NBA SWAGGER
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amINDIANAPOLIS - It sounded like a Disney World Super Bowl commercial. Less than an hour after Joakim Noah led Florida to the NCAA Championship with an overwhelming performance, the Gator...
GREEN RETIRES AS JET
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amThe Jets yesterday re-signed safety Victor Green so that he can retire as a Jet. "I am grateful to the Jets organization for giving me a chance 13 years ago...
CLIFF VOWS HE'LL SOCK HR TONIGHT
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amMET NOTES David Wright went from Monday's chants of "MVP" to shrieking fans on MTV. But it was fellow guest Cliff Floyd who made the biggest splash on the show...
STORM IN THE ATLANTIC ; RENNEY: RANGERS CAN MAKE NOISE IN PLAYOFFS
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amFirst-place Rangers? Well, yes, that they were going into last night's Atlantic showdown at the Garden against the second-place Flyers. But first things first. Which for the Blueshirts meant that...
GREATER SUPPORT JUST MIGHT MAKE WEEKES STRONG
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amHENRIK Lundqvist and the Garden faithful fell in love almost at first sight. An eight-year absence from the playoffs made the heart instantly fonder. And with Lundqvist winning games that...
START OF BIG THING? METS' BANNISTER CONFIDENT FOR MLB DEBUT
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amWhen Brian Bannister says, "I've been preparing for this a long time," believe him. The son of former big-league lefty Floyd Bannister has been hanging out in major-league clubhouses since...
THE '1ST' STEP - NETS' 13TH STRAIGHT WIN CLINCHES ATLANTIC
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amNets 96Hawks 94 The Nets clinched their fourth Atlantic Division title in five years last night when they ran their winning streak to 13 games, the second longest in team...
THE WAITING IS OVER ; RANGERS GOING TO PLAYOFFS
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amSHOOTOUTRangers 3Flyers 2 In the first place, there are the playoffs. In first place, there are the Rangers. Nine years, eight seasons, 173 players and five head coaches had come...
FRANCIS' 'POINTED' REMARKS
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amKNICK NOTES WASHINGTON - Steve Francis said he needs to get his "swagger" back, along with his minutes. Francis will get the latter, as Larry Brown announced he will be...
WEEKES STRONG IN CLINCHER
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amNO ONE ever got to Vegas to get married any faster than the Rangers faithful said "I do" to Henrik Lundqvist. From his first game in a blue shirt, it...
RIPS KNICKS TEAMMATES AFTER NINTH STRAIGHT LOSS
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amWizards 105Knicks 90 WASHINGTON - The Knicks' catastrophic season became even more alarming last night, prompting Quentin Richardson to call the team more pathetic than the old Clippers and question...
OPPORTUNITY BUT NO KNOCKS; BOMBERS' BATS GO COLD IN CLUTCH
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amAthletics 4Yankees 3 OAKLAND - One night after their muscles carried them to impressive victory, the Yankees had a lesson drummed into their heads: you don't hit in the clutch;...
NO WORD ON PAVANO RETURN
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amYANKEE NOTES OAKLAND - As of 9 o'clock (EDT) last night, the Yankees hadn't heard from Dr. Robert Watkins. That meant they didn't know when Carl Pavano would be able...
ALEX SET UP FOR ROD-ICULOUS YEAR
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amOAKLAND The back of the shirt laid out the numbers of utmost importance to Alex Rodriguez in the calendar year 2006: "Two-hundred fifty-seven days." "Thirty-seven weeks." "Nine months." The front...
MO: 'SANDMAN' SQUABBLE 'SILLY'
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amOAKLAND - Mariano Rivera thinks the sandstorm over "Enter Sandman" is silly, funny, strange and more than a little odd. But he isn't angry if Billy Wagner wants to use...
MISSION POSSIBLE - A-ROD AIMS TO GUIDE BOMBERS TO TITLE NO. 27
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amOAKLAND - The back of the shirt laid out the numbers of utmost importance to Alex Rodriguez in the calendar year 2006: "Two-hundred fifty-seven days." "Thirty-seven weeks." "Nine months." The...
MENTAL GAME PUTS PLAYERS OFF COURSE
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amAUGUSTA - Most of the field that will compete in the 2006 Masters doesn't have a prayer to win the year's first major, and it has less to do with...
MICKELSON'S DRIVEN 'TWO' WIN
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amMASTERS NOTES AUGUSTA - Phil Mickelson has his competitors thinking. Mickelson, always one for innovation and not conforming to the norm, will put two drivers in play this week at...
NO WORD YET ON PAVANO RETURN
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amYANKEE NOTES OAKLAND - As of 5 p.m. New York time yesterday, the Yankees hadn't heard from Dr. Robert Watkins. That meant they didn't know when Carl Pavano would be...
FIRST OFFENSE - BOMBERS COULD ASSAULT ALL-TIME RUNS RECORD
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amOAKLAND - Believe the hype. From the moment Johnny Damon signed, the Yankees' lineup was expected to flex its biceps to produce slow-pitch softball numbers. One thousand runs was the...
TOUGH TIMES FOR TIGER - AILING FATHER WON'T TRAVEL TO AUGUSTA
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amAUGUSTA - The father and his son used to share weeks like this and cherish them with hopes and dreams they would last forever. They were going to make history...
THE '1ST' STEP - NETS GO FOR CLINCHER - BUT AIM A LOT HIGHER
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amThe Nets were primed to clinch their fourth Atlantic Division title in five years last night. Yawn, stretch, yawn again. "It doesn't matter," Vince Carter said. "Maybe when the season's...
FRANCIS MAKES HIS POINT
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amWASHINGTON - Steve Francis said he needs to get his "swagger" back, along with his minutes. The latter could happen, as Larry Brown announced that Francis will be the team's...
TAYLOR'S DOING WRIGHT FOR SPORT
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amJermain Taylor can't tell you much about boxing history. The undisputed middleweight champion admits that names like Ray Leonard and Marvin Hagler don't mean much to him. "I grew up...
FIX HEARING CONTINUES
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amA hearing on the harness horse-drugging allegations at The Meadowlands involving the Seldon Ledford Stables, held at Freehold Raceway yesterday before officials of the N.J. Racing Commission, will continue on...
WEIRD BUT TRUE
April 5, 2006 | 4:00amThink you've heard every excuse there is for being late? Meet Bethany Walker, who was prevented from getting to her sales job in Newport, Ky., by two wild turkeys that...