November 13, 2006
SUNDAY SECTIONS: Nov. 12
November 13, 2006 | 1:04pmMacchu Picchu, through the back door (you know, just to spice things up a little). Also, there are things about The Borgata that Frank Bruni likes, ("...yuzu-bergamot moisturizer, mint-thyme hair...
LIVEBLOG/ITALY: And now, to Parma
November 13, 2006 | 10:55amWe leave Bologna at around 11 a.m. and head to Parma, birthplace of the famous prosciutto we've been eating all trip. After stopping for lunch in Modena at a disappointing...
FAO MAY OPEN 2 NEW STORES
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amIf FAO Schwarz's new chief executive gets his way, New Yorkers won't have to fight the Fifth Avenue crowds to do their Christmas shopping next year. Edward Schmults wants the...
MIKE: CITY WON'T PAY FOR MERRILL
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amLITTLE ROCK - Mayor Bloomberg isn't bullish about giving city subsidies to keep Merrill Lynch in the city. The investment firm is pondering a move because its current offices at...
HOME REPAIRS - HOME DEPOT COMEBACK PLANS HIT BY COOLING MARKET
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amHome Depot has made much of plans to spend $350 million over the next six months to spruce up the shopping experience at its stores as an antidote to poor...
A SPLASH OF VEGAS IN TIMES SQUARE
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amA new entertainment-restaurant concept dubbed Spotlight inked a deal for the former Noche space on the corner of 49th Street in Times Square. The Post has learned the nightspot is...
KATIE KISSED OFF BY LAUER
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amMATT Lauer admits he's happier now that Katie Coruic is gone - but is already predicting that things may not always be so smooth with Katie's replacement, Meredith Vieira. "Keep...
MAGICAL GARDEN FOR PIANO MAN
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amWHAT a difference a year makes. In 2005, if you heard that Billy Joel's number was up, you'd probably think his career was in the toilet after his auto accidents,...
GIVE US THIS DAY HER (365) DAILY PLAYS
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amHOW do you write a play a day? If you're Suzan-Lori Parks, you raise your hands heavenward, wiggle your fingers - and consider any and all thoughts that come to...
A DULL BLADE
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amWHY, at the Metropolitan Opera, is the singing so often so much better than the staging? No, not just better, quite frequently in a different class. It proved precisely that...
STARR REPORT
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amWho is a good guy? Answer: Christopher Meloni. The "Law & Order: SVU" star, who won a boatload of money Friday on "Jeopardy!" (celebrity edition), will split his winnings between...
ALL THAT GLITTERS - HOW TO SHINE IN 5 GOLDEN STYLES; FOR THESE JEWELRY STYLES, IT'S A GOLDEN AGE
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amIT'S a golden moment in jewelry. In happy news, bling (sequins and beading and rhinestones, oh my) has moved off clothing, replaced by classic accessories that carry both investment and...
RUDY GIULIANI WILL APPEAR ...
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amRudy Giuliani will appear on an episode of "The Simpsons" next season. In the episode, which Giuliani recorded over the weekend, the former mayor plays himself, putting in a cameo...
EGG FOO GUN - COP'S HOSP BLUNDER
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amA cop, apparently miffed over getting hospital guard duty, allegedly blew off safety precautions and unwittingly let a loaded gun - smuggled inside a carton of Chinese food - reach...
DUBYA'S 'FRESH' STRATEGY - TO MEET IRAQ PANEL
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - President Bush meets today with members of the Iraq Study Group, signaling a dramatic change in policy to develop an exit strategy. Once little known and unwanted in...
'BORAT' IS NO. 1 AT NO. 2
November 13, 2006 | 5:00am"Borat" continued its domination of the U.S. box office over the weekend. The Sacha Baron Cohen vehicle took the top spot for the second straight weekend, ringing up another $29...
'SHARING GRIEF' - FLIGHT 587 MEMORIAL DEDICATED 5 YRS. LATER
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amHundreds of friends and relatives of those lost when American Airlines Flight 587 went down in flames gathered under cloudy skies near the crash site in the Rockaways yesterday to...
MAN FIGHTS FOR SON'S MEMORIAL
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amA Bronx dad who lost his beloved son in a vicious murder is outraged that a co-op board is threatening to tear down a touching memorial erected to the young...
LIEBERMAN 'NOT RULING OUT' SWITCH TO GOP
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman isn't ruling out a party switch. Asked yesterday whether he would consider joining the GOP if Republicans let him keep his coveted committee chairmanship,...
NEW SUBWAY VANDALS FORGE YOUTUBE TIES
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amThe following motion picture has been rated M for misdemeanor. Fade in. An R train rumbles by to a hip-hop beat. A close-up of a homeless man sleeping cuts to...
HOW 'RAPE' PUT TRAGIC END TO THE STORYBOOK LIFE OF N.Y. LEGAL EAGLE
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amAndrew Gardner's body was found under a stand of trees in a bird sanctuary in tony upstate Bedford - a mile from the sprawling gray cedar-shingled Colonial home he no...
MIKE PRAISES SWEET CHARITY
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amLITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Private philanthropists have to step in for the government when it won't back controversial endeavors such as stem-cell research, Mayor Bloomberg said last night at a...
CROSSING GUARD IN SHOPLIFT BUST
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amA city school crossing guard sporting an "NYPD Raid" jacket went on a one-woman shoplifting spree in Macy's on Staten Island over the weekend, authorities said yesterday. She is accused...
MCCAIN TAKES 1ST STEPS FOR PREZ RUN
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - Sen. John McCain is taking the first steps to lay the foundation for a possible 2008 presidential bid - setting up what could be a prizefight against Sen....
KILLER CRASH - WOMAN FLUNG FROM CAR AS IT FLIPS OVER
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amA "very bright" Brooklyn college student who left home for a night out with friends was killed after the car she was riding in flipped over on the Belt Parkway,...
KIDS SEE VAN HIT THEIR 'GRANDMA'
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amTwo young brothers watched in horror as their beloved elderly "grandmother" was struck by a van and critically injured just yards away from their Queens home last night. "We saw...
WEIGHING IN ON BALLROOM DANCING
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amResearch involving public-school students as "guinea pigs" can be seriously worrisome - but also downright silly, critics charge. One example: A study of whether ballroom dancing helps kids beat weight...
'GENIUS' NO MORE - REPUBLICANS POINT TO MASSIVE ROVE BUNGLING
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amNO one's calling Karl Rove "Boy Genius" anymore. After last week's election debacle, some Republicans wonder aloud if it's time for President Bush's political guru to follow Defense Secretary Don...
HAMAS AGREES TO PEACE SUMMIT WITH ISRAEL
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - The Hamas-led Palestinian government yesterday agreed to an Arab League proposal of an international peace conference with Israel. The proposal came after the league - angered by Israel's...
2 KNIFED AT CHELSEA CLUB
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amTwo men were stabbed during an early-morning brawl inside a Chelsea nightclub, authorities said yesterday. A 27-year-old was cut on the leg and his 29-year-old pal was hit over the...
L.I. FATHER OF FIVE KILLED IN HOUSE FIRE
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amA beloved neighborhood churchgoer was killed and his wife and daughter were injured early yesterday when a fire ripped through their Westbury, L.I., home. Nassau County cops said the blaze...
BLOOMBERG IS SWEET ON CHARITY
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amLITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Private philanthropists have to step in for the government when it won't back controversial endeavors such as stem-cell research, Mayor Bloomberg said last night at a...
CLASS DRUG SWABS - SCHOOLS EYE WIPE KIT
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amA handful of schools in the tri-state area are hoping to wipe out drugs with one quick swipe. They're using a new DrugWipe technology that allows educators to take samples...
'GUINEA PIG' KIDS STIR FUROR - CITY ALLOWS RACIAL STUDIES IN SCHOOLS
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amThe city's Department of Education has turned thousands of public-school students into "guinea pigs" - allowing researchers to use kids in lucrative and racially explosive studies, critics charge. City education...
B'KLYN SLAY SUSPECT BUSTED IN VA.
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amA gunman who had been on the lam since killing a Brooklyn man in an argument outside a diner was arrested in Virginia yesterday, driving a stolen car, cops said....
U2 SONGS YOU CAN HYMN TO
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amStill haven't found what you're looking for? U2's music is rocking churches and rallying the faithful to singer Bono's favorite causes: the fight against AIDS and the drive to end...
OLMERT READY FOR CONCESSIONS AS HE VISITS U.S.
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert began a five-day trip to the United States yesterday, ready to make concessions to the Palestinians but not to Iran. On the flight...
MICK ROCKS ON IN GRIEF
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amThe death of Mick Jagger's 93-year-old dad didn't stop the Rolling Stones singer and his bandmates from playing Las Vegas on Saturday, according to reports. Jagger, 63, took the stage...
SLAIN ON WHIM - DAD RANDOM VICTIM OF MIDTOWN THUG: COPS
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amA teetotaler dad who worked seven days a week to provide for his kids was shot to death yesterday by a plastered punk bent on starting trouble on a Hell's...
SUV-PINNED COP HOME
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amThe cop who shot and killed an armed suspect while pinned by the perp's revving SUV in Brooklyn was released from the hospital yesterday - and promptly paid his comrades...
HILL OUTPITCHES RUDY - SHE BACKS MORE WINNING CANDIDATES
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amSen. Hillary Rodham Clinton apparently knows how to pick a winner. Congressional candidates backed by Democrat Clinton, who crushed challenger John Spencer by more than 35 percentage points to keep...
S.I. HOSP. SUED OVER DEATH OF 'GRANNY'
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amThe only reason Francine Ciccardini, 60, chose to have a triple bypass was to be in top shape when her new granddaughter arrived a month later, says her daughter. Instead,...
NYPD DAILY BLOTTER
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amBROOKLYN * A young man was shot to death early yesterday on a Bushwick street, police said. Raúl Guttiérez, 20, was shot by an unknown gunman at Jefferson Street near...
4 CHARGED WITH STABBING HEROES
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amFour Brooklyn thugs have been charged with assault in the Veterans Day stabbings of four men - two of them Iraq war vets - cops said. A fight broke out...
BEATLES & DYLAN TOP ROCK PILE
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amThe times aren't a changin': Bob Dylan is a music giant and "Abbey Road" is the address of the world's greatest band. The Beatles and Dylan top a list of...
HEVESI WOULD QUIT IN DEAL WITH DA: DEMS
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amTOP state Democrats say scandal-scarred Comptroller Alan Hevesi is ready to resign from office to avoid indictment by Albany County District Attorney David Soares. "Hevesi's hope is that Soares will...
SKINNY ON FAT OPS AT N.Y. HOSPS
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amWhen it comes to cutting the fat, two city hospitals are tops, a survey found. NYU Medical Center and New York Presbyterian Hospital received the highest rating, five stars, for...
FIRED 'FOR SPEAKING SPANISH'
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amA housekeeper at a Bronx residence for retired priests has sued the Archdiocese of New York, claiming she was unjustly fired for speaking Spanish on the job. Emorgelia Portillo, 43,...
BLAST FROM PAST TO LAME-DUCK GOV: PARDON ME
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amA perennial thorn in the side of the Brooklyn district attorney is putting his faith in lame-duck Gov. Pataki, hoping for an 11th-hour pardon of a conviction he claims was...
KEEP IT UNDER YOUR HAT: CIA IS RECRUITING SPIES
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amUncle Sam wants you - to be a spy. It's not only the Army that's seeking fresh blood nowadays but the Central Intelligence Agency, too. Our top-level spooks are running...
LOYAL MOB GALS - WIFE, LOVER STAND BY THEIR MADE MAN
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amThe women in Vincent "Vinny Gorgeous" Basciano's life seem to have taken their oath of loyalty more seriously than the men. While both the mentor and protégé of Basciano, the...
AVENGING ANGEL - MAKE MY TORTURER SUFFER, TOO: SLIWA
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amRadio host Curtis Sliwa has asked a federal judge to do what a divided jury couldn't - make a reputed Gambino gunman pay for shredding his insides with hollow-point bullets...
DIPLO DISGRACE - U.N. BIG'S KIDS SEIZED AFTER 'ABUSE' BUST
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amAn international custody battle is brewing over the children of a Kenyan diplomat who was arrested for allegedly beating his 9-year-old son at their Queens home. Fred Matwanga's diplomatic immunity...
ALFRED WEGENER - FATHER OF THE CONTINENTAL DRIFT THEORY
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amAlfred Wegener was the first to offer evidence that our continents were once one great land mass. WE really are one world, according to the findings of Alfred Wegener, a...
CHURCHES USE U2 SONGS YOU CAN HYMN TO
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amStill haven't found what you're looking for? The band U2's music is rocking churches and rallying the faithful to lead singer Bono's favorite causes: the fight against AIDS and the...
DIPLO'S 'ABUSE' SHAME - KIDS TAKEN AWAY
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amAn international custody battle may be brewing over the children of a Kenyan diplomat, who was arrested for allegedly beating his 9-year-old son at their Queens home. Fred Matwanga's diplomatic...
L.I. FATHER KILLED IN HOUSE FIRE
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amA beloved neighborhood churchgoer was killed and his wife and daughter were injured early yesterday when a fire ripped through their Westbury, L.I., home. Nassau County cops said it began...
SWAB THE DESKS - SCHOOLS EYE WIPE TESTS TO DETECT DRUG USE
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amA handful of schools in the tri-state area are hoping to wipe out drugs with one quick swipe. They're using a new DrugWipe technology that allows educators to take samples...
BEATLES & DYLAN ATOP THE ROCK PILE
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amThe times aren't a changin' when it comes to Bob Dylan's musical greatness. And "Abbey Road" is still the address for the world's greatest band. The Beatles and Dylan top...
DUKE TOPS COLUMBIA
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amDURHAM, N.C. (AP) - Freshman Brian Zoubek scored 18 points to lead a balanced effort in No. 12 Duke's 86-43 victory over Columbia last night in the first round of...
BRANCH GETS FIRST N.Y. WIN
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amWelcome to Big A, home of Murphy's Law, where whatever can go wrong will. Yesterday's misadventure: Starting gate malfunctioned before second race, had to be replaced, delaying post time 14...
LAST KASP FOR DARIUS
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amDarius Kasparaitis, whose conditioning assignment to Hartford expires today per the CBA, must either be recalled to the Rangers or placed on waivers. If the Blueshirts reinstate the 34-year-old veteran...
HISTORIC MATCHUP - GIANTS-BEARS INVOKES MEMORIES OF PAST
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amTHERE is something comforting about seeing these two old teams, these two ancient franchises, representing these two proud cities, under the lights of Big Game America. The television folks were...
CROSSING THE LINE - ISIAH BETTER THAN SAN ANTONIO RANT
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amWHEN mild-mannered Spurs star Tim Duncan, whose personality borders on comatose, is disgusted enough to rip you in the media, it probably means you crossed the line. Knicks coach/president Isiah...
KIWANUKA'S ON SPOT WITH STRAHAN OUT
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amGIANT NOTES In the first two starts of his career, rookie Mathias Kiwanuka knew he would not be a marked man. Not with Michael Strahan lining up at the Giants'...
COLD FRYE STILL GETS HIS STARTS
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amKNICK NOTES Former Knicks coach Larry Brown spent last season trying to convince Isiah Thomas to trade Channing Frye for a veteran stud. In fact, Brown desperately wanted the Knicks...
ACC GETS WAKE-UP CALL
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amCollege NotesTHIS is unfolding as the greatest season ever in modern college football history. It has been fueled by three story lines: Michigan and Ohio State, two of the nation's...
BARLOW BREAKS THROUGH
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amJET NOTES FOXBOROUGH - When we last left Kevan Barlow, he hadn't touched the football once in the second half of the Jets' loss in Cleveland. Rookie RB Leon Washington...
PENN MIGHTY
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amFOXBOROUGH - The Jets couldn't quite kill the clock, which, against the Patriots, normally means you can't quite kill Tom Brady, either. With 1:08 to go, the Patriots took over...
VIN-DICATED - CARTER'S SHOT SAVES NETS' NIGHT
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amOVERTIME: Nets 105 - Wizards 93 WASHINGTON - The Nets blew opportunity and leads all game, despite the triple double brilliance of Jason Kidd. But at the absolute last tick...
WRIGHT TRADED TO BIRDS
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amOnce Brian Cashman decided Jaret Wright had no future with the Yankees, it was a no-brainer. Cashman simply could have declined Wright's $7 million option, paid the $4 million to...
VALENTIN RETURNING TO METS
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amAs a reward for emerging as the productive replacement to Kaz Matsui at second base, Jose Valentin has agreed to a contract with the Mets that will more than quadruple...
TWO DIFFERENT GAMES - GIANTS GO FROM BEASTS TO BEASTLY ... LIKE THAT
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amTHE GAME can play tricks on you. It can deceive you. It can taunt you. It can tantalize you. For a while last night, it was easy to forget all...
BAD 'LUKE' FOR BLUE
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amGIANT NOTES The Giants went into last night's game against the Bears battered and bruised on defense, with four starters out with injuries. To make matters worse, the Giants could...
HESTER'S TD RETURN STUNS SLEEPING JINTS
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amFor a moment, it appeared as if the Bears' Devin Hester was about to do something stupid instead of spectacular. Before he ran into history by returning Jay Feely's 52-yard...
KLITSCHKO-BRIGGS A SORELY-NEEDED BOUT
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amShannon Briggs thought he had an agreement to fight Wladimir Klitschko at the Garden Saturday night. Instead, negotiations broke down and it was Calvin Brock who entered the ring, only...
IN CLASSIC STYLE, ARMY PAYS TRIBUTE TO DIXON
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amAfter the heart-wrenching ceremony at West Point was complete yesterday, after the tears had been shed, Maggie Dixon's father tried to find the words to describe how he felt. Maggie...
ALBERT, JACKSON RIGHT ON THE MARK
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amWHILE we've never known a TV or radio game announcer who can make us tune to a game, there are a precious few who can actually keep you there. YES's...
GIANTS FALL ONE HALF CHI - NFC-BEST BEARS REGROUP IN FINAL TWO QUARTERS
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amBears 38 - Giants 20 Squandering a lead and then battling from behind, the Giants last night were embroiled in a tense and tight game with the Bears when Tom...
MIGHTY DAGGER INTO BIG BLUE'S HEART
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amGO ahead and call it Tomfoolery. Go ahead and ask Tom Coughlin what he was thinking when he summoned Jay Feely - who had missed a 33-yarder and hit a...
ALL SET TO BE SHORTHANDED - YOUNGSTERS PSYCHED FOR SUNDAY NIGHT CHALLENGE
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amIt was strange to hear Barry Cofield speak as the voice of experience this past week as he discussed the incredible run of misfortune to hit the Giants defensive line....
BOLD BARBER MAY GET A HALL PASS
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amTIKI Barber had a chance to state his Hall of Fame case last night, and over the rest of this season, his 10th and last. Because the Giants needed Barber,...
WRIGHT MOVE - BOMBERS UNLOAD JARET ON ORIOLES
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amOnce Brian Cashman decided Jaret Wright had no future with the Yankees, it was a no-brainer. Cashman simply could have declined Wright's $7 million option, paid the $4 million to...
NETS ALL WRIGHT WITHOUT JEFFERSON
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - Last season, when Antoine Wright made plays in practice - usually with guys who are no longer in the Nets' employ - there was little or no reaction....
WEIRD BUT TRUE
November 13, 2006 | 5:00amA Singapore teen broke the Guinness record for fastest text-messaging when he typed a 160- character message in less than 42 seconds yesterday. Ang Chuang Yang, 16, used his cellphone...
Road-trip Wrap
November 13, 2006 | 2:01amBy MARC BERMANThe three-game road trip through Denver and Texas is over and it could've been worse. They finished 1-2 and considering the strength of the teams they played and...