August 25, 2006
ENDLESS SUMNER - CRUISE FLAP SHOWS REDSTONE STILL WON'T GIVE UP CONTROL
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amWith a few off-the-cuff remarks to a reporter before jetting off to Aspen Tuesday, Sumner Redstone burst back in to public view after staying behind the scenes for much of...
DAVID'S ONLY WOOED BY 2
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amTwo private equity firms are the only buyers left standing in Federated Department Stores' yearlong auction of its David's Bridal wedding gown unit, which is now likely to fetch substantially...
FUGITIVE COMVERSE CEO IN SRI LANKAN HIDEAWAY
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amA private investigator eyeballed Jacob "Kobi" Alexander - the fugitive CEO of Comverse who went on the lam just as he was set to be indicted for making millions in...
LEE ADDS EX-BARNEYS CHIEF TO BUYOUT FIRM
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amThomas H. Lee, the billionaire buyout veteran who last year left the Boston-based giant he founded, has hired several executives, including former Barneys New York boss Allen Questrom, for his...
THIS 'PIRATE' FLOPPED - TIME INC. PULLS THE PLUG ON WEB SITE FOR YOUNG MEN
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amABANDON Ship! Officepirates.com, a new Time Inc. Web site, has hit a reef and sunk to the briny depths of Davey Jones' locker after only a seven-month voyage. The Web...
LARRY STEALS 575 LEX - AND GETS WTC TENANT
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amLarry Silverstein and a California pension fund yesterday emerged as the surprise buyers of 575 Lexington Ave., the black-skinned office tower that the Koeppel family put on the market earlier...
SCHLITZ & GIGGLES
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amACH, Klaus, das ist funny! But "Beerfest" goes on too long. Take out 20 minutes of nonfunctioning jokes, and it would have given you a comedy buzz like four tankards...
WALTER BACK ON THE NEWS
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amWALTER Cronkite has recorded the voice-over opening to Katie Couric's revamped evening newscast, according to reports. Cronkite, who is 89, introduces the newscast and Couric in the short narration -...
EARLY 'IDOL' SONGS SUIT
August 25, 2006 | 4:00am'AMERICAN Idol" Taylor Hicks is suing a Tennessee music producer to halt the online sale of songs the gray-haired soul singer recorded five years ago. Hicks' suit charges that producer...
DRAFT CHOICE
August 25, 2006 | 4:00am'INVINCIBLE" is about Philadelphia Eagles fans. So it's another psycho movie? Sort of. It's (inspired by) the true story of a Philly bartender and Eagles fan named Vince Papale -...
BAIT FOR PARENTS, NOT KIDS
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amGROSS-OUT title notwithstanding, "How To Eat Fried Worms" is a blandly inoffensive "After School Special"-type comedy based on a perennially popular children's book. The setting is a generic American suburb...
HIGH-OCTAVE FUEL
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amGO to your darkest fear, the cold-sweat stuff you awake to in the night, like being thrust onto the stage of Madison Square Garden in front of 20,000 people wearing...
KASTAWAY - SORRY MISS JACKSON, IT AIN'T FOR REAL; IDLE PLOT BUT WILD VIDEOS
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amSMALL wonder that Universal is dumping the OutKast musical "Idlewild" in the wilds of late August after reportedly spending two years puzzling how to market this eccentric vanity project. Written...
FUSING PAST AND PRESENT
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amOUTKAST"Idlewild"[****] (Four stars)LaFaceDan Aquilante wrote about OutKast's new album Sunday. Here's an abridged version of his review. OutKast's CD "Idlewild" defies pigeonholing - it's a soundtrack record where some music...
FILM PICK
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amBAM Rose Cinemas' salute to the leading men of French cinema turns tomorrow to Gérard Depardieu in Maurice Pialat's "Loulou" (1980). He's the loutish drifter Loulou, who finds himself in...
MARY'S HOT PICK
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amIT'S time to get into the swing of things with the 14th annual Charlie Parker Jazz Festival, which goes uptown to Harlem tomorrow and downtown to the East Village on...
WHAT NEXT: GERMANS VS. JEWS?
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amMAYBE they should just rename it "Amazing Races." I'm talking, of course, about the incredibly bad idea of having Americans compete against each other based solely on race on the...
RE-'WIRED' - STREET LIFE IN BALTIMORE GOES TO SCHOOL
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amThese 13 episodes just might comprise the single finest piece of work ever produced for American TV. THIRTEEN hours ago, I was a different person. That was before I sat...
'NIGHT' FIGHTS - 'SNL' CHIEF: 'I CHOOSE TO BE FLATTERED'
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amLORNE Michaels has something to get off his chest: He doesn't hate Aaron Sorkin. "I went through this years ago with the whole Dr. Evil thing," Michaels told The Post...
TAKING 'SURVIVOR' TO THE NEXT LEVEL
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amTHE CBS reality show "Survivor" has decided to court controversy by dividing its players into teams according to race. Assuming the show survives this bizarre decision, here are some other...
MARATHON SUBWAY DUO STAR IN '24'
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amAfter riding the subway for two minutes and a day, MTA marathoners Matthew Green and Donald Badaczewski emerged from a No. 6 train yesterday morning beaming with pride and demanding...
ROOSEVELT I. TRAM READY FOR RETURN
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amThe Roosevelt Island Tram may soon ride again. Grounded since April - when dozens of passengers were left hanging over the East River into the wee hours of the morning...
SPAN BAN ON PARKERS
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amThe privileged illegal parkers of Chambers Street have been banished - three days after The Post zeroed in on them. As promised by the NYPD, two "No Stopping" zones off...
SHOE-BOMB SCUZZBALL: MY MURDER TRY WAS 'JUST' - AND 'I AM NOT CRAZY'
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amShoe bomber Richard Reid, serving a life sentence for trying to blow up a U.S.-bound jet, has no regrets about his evil plot, which nearly killed 198 people. "I am...
CAM BIG'S SCAM PLEA
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amThe former president of a Long Island camera company was indicted for pillaging more than $7 million from the business and blowing almost all of it on gambling debts, prosecutors...
RATNER YIELDS A BIT TO 'BUILDING' ANGER
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amThe 620-foot-high "Miss Brooklyn" tower planned for the gateway to Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards project might not wind up being the borough's tallest building after all. Ratner spokesman Joe DePlasco...
FRANCE UPS LEB TROOPS
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amFrance reversed course yesterday and agreed to send 1,600 more troops to keep the fragile peace in southern Lebanon. France had been expected to lead a 15,000-member U.N. force -...
KT'S BACK ON THE TRAIL
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amALBANY - Kathleen Troia "KT" McFarland returned to the Senate campaign trail yesterday after taking several days off to deal with her teen daughter's arrest last weekend for shoplifting. "My...
STRAHAN'S MYSTERY GAL - BEAUTY ON ARM AT MOVIE
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amGiants sack machine Michael Strahan was sporting some new arm candy at a movie premiere the other night - just a month after his bitter divorce from wife Jean was...
LOST IN SPACE - PLUTO GETS DEMOTED TO A FORBIDDEN PLANET
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amOn a galactic scale, size does matter. So Pluto - the runt of our solar system - was stripped of its status as a full-fledged planet yesterday, and downgraded to...
HILL LIFTS BLOCKADE OF DUBYA'S FDA PICK
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amWASHINGTON - Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton yesterday promised to stop stonewalling President Bush's pick to run the Food and Drug Administration - ending a six-month political stalemate. Clinton and Sen....
PORT GETS SUPER NUKE DETECTOR
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amThe world's most advanced nuclear scanner is now helping to safeguard New York City - inspecting up to 6,000 containers of overseas goods that pass through a busy Staten Island...
NYPD DAILY BLOTTER
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amMANHATTAN (lcf) * Cops are asking for the help in finding this would-be bandit (above) who was photographed at the Apple Bank at 706 West 181st Street in Washington Heights...
HUNT FOR RUDY AIDE'S FATAL GUEST
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amPolice checked hours of surveillance video and pored over phone records yesterday as they tried to figure out who killed a gay former Giuliani aide. The strangled body of Martin...
TOWEL-CLAD HOTEL CHEF STRANGLED
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amA beloved chef at a Midtown luxury hotel was strangled in his Westchester home - and left wearing only a bath towel, police said yesterday. The body of David Webb,...
WOMAN'S 'SEX ORDEAL' IN TAXI
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amA Brooklyn woman who fell asleep in a taxi was sexually assaulted by the driver in the back seat, police say. The 31-year-old Brooklyn woman got into the cab in...
'STAR WARS' SPACE CASE
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amThe Long Island man who screamed about "Star Wars" and ninjas as he fired at cops trying to arrest him could face life behind bars for pulling the trigger, sources...
'SURVIVOR' COLOR CODE DRAWS POL IRE
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amMembers of the City Council's Black, Latino and Asian Caucus are denouncing a new installment of "Survivor" for which contestants are divided into racial teams. The group will take to...
SLAIN PHARMACIST SAW BULLET COMING - GRIPPED BY FEAR IN FIERY MARRIAGE
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amA divorced pharmacist found shot to death in his posh New Jersey home was so fearful for his safety during his failed marriage that he often slept in his son's...
FEDS OK RX-FREE MORNING-AFTER PILL
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amThe Food and Drug Administration yesterday said consumers as young as 18 can walk into the local pharmacy and purchase the so-called "morning after" pill without a prescription. Those 17...
'HEARTLESS' COLLEGE SUICIDE RULE KO'D
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amHunter College has overturned a "suicide policy" in its housing contract for students, after a sophomore claimed she was unfairly evicted from her dorm room over a failed attempt to...
BOTTLE BATTLE AGAINST CLUBS - POL BLASTS 'DANGEROUS' $300 RULE
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amNightclubs that require patrons to buy bottles of liquor at $300 or more a pop are creating "dangerous" conditions that a Queens legislator pledged yesterday to stamp out. Councilwoman Melinda...
'IDOL' STAR ROB ATTACK - BASHED BY MUGGERS
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amFormer "American Idol" finalist Mikalah Gordon is "lucky to be alive" after four thugs robbed her and then viciously slammed her head into the pavement on a Las Vegas street....
STARGAZERS ARE SERENE
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amPluto may no longer be ascendant, but don't think that'll change your fate. Astrologers say the demotion of Pluto to second-class planetary status will have no effect on how they...
HILL HOSTS A 'DOVE'-IN FOR LAMONT
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amWASHINGTON - Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is powwowing with Connecticut's anti-war Democratic Ned Lamont at her Chappaqua home today to help him beat back a renegade general-election challenge from Sen....
JACKIE: 'JESUS' HEIST! - COMIC SUES OVER AD
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amGoy vey! Comic Jackie Mason is suing Jews for Jesus for $2 million, charging the group damaged him to an "incalculable degree" by using his name and likeness in an...
B'KLYN BIZMAN IN HEZ-TV BUST - FEDS PULL PLUG ON SATELLITE LINK
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amA Staten Island man has been charged with aiding terrorists - by using his Brooklyn business to give local viewers a satellite hookup to a Lebanese TV station operated by...
YES, THEY CAN
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amA nationwide reading program for kids got help from several prominent New Yorkers yesterday performing a national TV reading of "The Little Engine That Could." Mayor Bloomberg, author Frank McCourt...
ST. BRIGID DODGES DEMOLITION
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amOne of the city's oldest Roman Catholic churches got a reprieve from the wrecking ball yesterday, but time may be running out for the 157-year-old Church of St. Brigid. After...
SILENT SLAY WITNESS IN CONTEMPT
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amA key prosecution witness was held in contempt yesterday for refusing to testify against a gunman who allegedly fired at him, but missed and killed his pal. Alvin Briggs, 22,...
PERV HAS LANDED - KARR FLOWN TO COLO. FOR JONBENET JUSTICE
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amConfessed JonBenet Ramsey killer John Mark Karr - dressed in the same geeky '80s garb he wore on the flight from Thailand - was flown from California to Colorado yesterday...
POLL CALL FOR CITY SCHOOLS - MASSIVE OPINION SURVEY PLANNED
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amIn an unprecedented effort to elicit feedback during a flurry of policy changes in its 1,450 public schools, the city Department of Education intends to ask students, parents, teachers and...
BRONX STATE SENATOR INDICTED IN JOB SCAM
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amA powerful Bronx state senator has been indicted by the feds in connection with a sweeping yearlong corruption probe of allegations that taxpayer-funded groups were providing jobs to family and...
SQUEAL-&-DEAL 'JUNIOR' IS A RAT - FINGERED FATHER'S COHORTS: REPORT
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amIn a move that his father would have considered the ultimate betrayal, John "Junior" Gotti ratted out three of his dad's former cohorts when he secretly met with the feds...
ROOK SAVES WOMAN, 85, IN B'KLYN FIRE
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amA rookie firefighter pulled an 85-year-old woman from a blazing Brooklyn high-rise yesterday morning. Probie Brian Pascascio, 24, was one of the first to get to the building at 1935...
8 YEARS IN HELL - TEEN GIRL'S ESCAPE ENDS KIDNAP MYSTERY
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amNatascha Kampusch is back with her family - eight years after she was snatched off the street and dragged into a white minivan as she walked to school in Vienna....
'IDOL' STAR GUN ATTACK - BASHED BY MUGGERS
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amFormer "American Idol" finalist Mikalah Gordon is "lucky to be alive" after four thugs - one toting a gun - robbed her and then viciously slammed her head into the...
KARR-SLAY FEAR - EVASIVE FLIGHT KEEPS JONBENET PERV SECURE
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amFearing a Jack Ruby-type assassin, authorities yesterday used extraordinary evasive tactics to transport confessed JonBenet Ramsey killer John Mark Karr from California to Colorado. Early today, Karr was safely in...
HOOKER HELL FOR B'KLYN GIRL, 14
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amA 14-year-old Brooklyn runaway - allegedly pimped out to hundreds of men by a couple who had promised her a better life - was picked up on a New Rochelle...
SQUEAL 'N' DEAL 'JUNIOR' IS A RAT - FINGERED FATHER'S COHORTS: REPORT
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amIn a move that his father would have considered the ultimate betrayal, John "Junior" Gotti ratted out three of his dad's former cohorts when he secretly met with the feds...
POL DENIES 'RAT' TACTIC
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amA black Brooklyn congressional candidate denied having anything to do with putting up fliers calling his Jewish opponent a rat. During a debate last night, Chris Owens - the son...
HURLED 'BRICK' HURTS BX. COP
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amA Bronx cop was hospitalized last night after he was struck in the head by an object thrown from a building, police said. The 46th Precinct officer and his partner...
'99 SLAY CONVICTIONS TOSSED
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amAn appeals court yesterday overturned the murder convictions of two men convicted of fatally shooting two others at a Kips Bay housing project in 1999. The Appellate Division freed Randy...
CROWD CRUSH ON USHER
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amUSHER was just the ticket to boost "Chicago's" box office. The pop star made his Broadway debut in the musical Tuesday night - and on Wednesday, the 10year-old show sold...
METS' BROOM CARDS' DOOM - AMAZIN'S STREAK AT 7 AFTER SWEEP OF ST. LOO
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amMets 6 - Cardinals 2 With the Mets soaring in the standings, perhaps catcher Paul Lo Duca doesn't need to be playing as much as he is right now. Lo...
MANGINI HAS SOME BLUE IN HIS BLOOD
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amJET NOTES For Eric Mangini, tonight's annual Jets-Giants preseason matchup isn't merely another preseason game. "My dad was a huge Giants fan," Mangini said. "He was my dad, so we...
MAD FEDERER FIRING BACK - CALLS CARILLO'S COMMENT 'ABSURD'
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amFacing arch-rival Rafael Nadal yesterday on a miniature court during a Nike appearance in Manhattan, Roger Federer was riled up over a remark. Federer was fuming at CBS commentator Mary...
GREEN FEELING RIGHT AT HOME - NEWEST MET CRAVES SHOT AT THE SERIES
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amShawn Green is in his 14th season in the majors and has appeared in the playoffs only once, in 2004, when the Dodgers lost in the NLDS. The lack of...
WILDCAT BETTIE B WINS
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amSARATOGA SPRINGS - Smashing performance by Delaware shipper Wildcat Bettie B to take Grade 3, $100,000 Victory Ride at six furlongs for 3-year-old fillies. Taken back to last by Mario...
TRAVERS FAVORITE TO TEST SPA JINX
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amSARATOGA SPRINGS - No race with more than one horse in the starting gate is a walkover, no matter how big the favorite's reputation or how small his odds. That's...
THEY'RE STINGING THE BLUES
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amBLUEFISH will be the main target in Long Island Sound this weekend as anglers look to hook that big pay day, while those fishing the South Shore will see a...
CURSE STRINGS - S.I. KID'S REMORSE NOT A BAD THING
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amIT TAKES a village to raise a child who curses on national TV. So, when that kid on Staten Island's Little League World Series team threw an F-bomb into the...
TRUMP 'APPRENTICE' CAPTURES MET OPEN
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amJohn Guyton got a phone call from Donald Trump after winning the 91st Met Open yesterday. "He just said congratulations and good going," said Guyton, the 29-year-old first-year assistant pro...
BANNISTER GETS BALL AS DUQUE GETS REST
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amMET NOTES Willie Randolph announced yesterday that Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez, who was slated to pitch tonight against the Phillies, won't take the hill this weekend due to his recent...
GREEN FEELING RIGHT AT HOME
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amShawn Green is in his 14th season in the majors and has appeared in the playoffs only once, in 2004, when the Dodgers lost in the NLDS. The lack of...
SHAWN PROVES HE'S BUILT TO LAST
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amLASTINGS Milledge is too young to give up on, but it is clear he has gone from the darling of the Mets' list of prospects to just another player, an...
WILLIAMS PITCHES IN AT KEY TIME
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amPedro Martinez is on the disabled list. Tom Glavine has been out after a recent blood clot scare. Orlando Hernandez won't make his next turn in the rotation because of...
A-ROD GRUMBLIN' WITH SORE THROAT
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amSEATTLE - The viral throat infection that turned Alex Rodriguez' throat into a wall of broken glass abated a bit last night, but not enough for him to return to...
UTILITY VEHICLE - GREEN GETS CHANCE TO SHOW VERSATILITY
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amYANKEE NOTES SEATTLE - Alex Rodriguez was not back in the Yankees' lineup last night against Mariners lefty Jarrod Washburn. Rodriguez missed Wednesday night's 9-2 victory with a viral throat...
STOTT HAS 'NO REGRETS'
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amYANKEE NOTES SEATTLE - Even with George Steinbrenner not secondguessing his coaching staff anymore, Mel Stottlemyre doesn't regret walking away from Joe Torre's staff after last year. "From what I...
DECLINE INTERVENTION - POST-BOSTON HANGOVER OFFICIAL AS YANKS WASTE STRONG OUTING BY UNIT
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amMariners 4 - Yankees 2 SEATTLE - How do the Yankees lose two of three to awful Orioles at home on their way into Boston, take five in a row...
RIGHT AT HOME - YOUNG MILLEDGE NOW ODD MAN OUT
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amLASTINGS Milledge is too young to give up on, but it is clear the rookie has gone from the darling of the Mets' list of prospects to just another player,...
CHIEN MUSIC - SURPRISING WANG IN HUNT FOR CY YOUNG
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amSEATTLE - With less than six weeks remaining in the race, Toronto's Rob Halladay is the favorite to win the AL Cy Young Award. Yet, should the Blue Jays' ace...
JINTS FEELIN' AT HOME
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amGIANT NOTES Amani Toomer sounded playful and serious at the same time when he said one goal tonight is to remind the Jets their annual preseason tussle with the Giants...
CUTTING EDGE - DEPTH CHART BATTLES LOOM FOR GANG GREEN
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amThe talk about open competition on the roster and who'll start and who won't ends, for the most part, for Eric Mangini and the Jets with tonight's preseason game against...
WEARY DUQUE SKIPS A START
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amMET NOTES Willie Randolph announced yesterday that Orlando Hernandez, who was slated to pitch tonight against the Phillies, won't take the hill this weekend due to his recent heavy workload....
DOWN WITH THE SICKNESS - SORE THROAT KEEPS A-ROD OUT
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amSEATTLE - The viral throat infection that turned Alex Rodriguez' throat into a wall of broken glass abated a bit last night, but not enough for him to return to...
GIANT STEPS - BIG BLUE'S AIM: KEEP MAKING STRIDES
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amWhen the Giants traveled to New England to face the Patriots in last year's preseason finale, Bill Belichick decided he'd risk only 38 players in uniform. Of those 38, the...
WIDE 'OPEN' - WOMEN'S BRACKET A GUESSING GAME
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amThe women's side of the U.S. Open is more unpredictable than forecasting the precise date a baby will be born. Still, the two lead TV analysts on the tournament should...
5 QUESTIONS FOR CHRIS CARLIN
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amThis week, NYP TV Sports' Andrew Marchand spoke with WFAN's Chris Carlin. Carlin, 33, is the sportscaster on Imus in the Morning. He also does talk shows and is the...
BRYANT PARKED IN BOOTH - COLLINSWORTH DOESN'T EXPECT GUMBEL TO GET AX
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amCris Collinsworth fully expects Bryant Gumbel to be his partner when the NFL Network begins broadcasting games on Thanksgiving night. Gumbel's NFL Network status came into question this week after...
WEIRD BUT TRUE
August 25, 2006 | 4:00amClifton Sanches couldn't believe what he saw when he went to quiet his barking dogs outside his Colorado Springs home. "A mountain lion came through my window - right through...