July 24, 2007
Potter Pity: Meredithâs less-than-magical interview with J.K. Rowling
The âTodayâ show has been hyping Meredith Vieiraâs (right) exclusive interview with âHarry Potterâ author J.K. Rowling all week, but from the looks of the NBC News transcripts, you might...
Lower Eastside BUMS
Fans of the fanny pack rejoice.Then mark your calendar for a celebration of the waisted wunderkind this Thursday at zany Lower Eastside Boutique, Lola Y Maria (175 Rivington between Clinton...
Series pick
Four straight correct picks for me, so I'm on a solid roll. Now comes the Pirates series.Pittsburgh's a pretty unimpressive squad, but the Mets do have to face their two...
'Cruising' Hits Chelsea
William Friedkin's notorious 1980 thriller "Cruising'' will be opening on September 7 at Clearview's Chelsea, of all venues. A noticeably uncomfortable Al Pacino stars as a straight undercover cop who...
Deal of the Day
Some of the best graphics and prints are coming straight out of Brazilian design studios, and leading the charge is Alexander Herchcovitch.This Striped Cotton Tank with a raised back is...
I Know Who Killed My Career 2
Hard-partying Lindsay Lohan was supposed to be appearing on the Tonight Show this evening to promote her new flick, "I Know Who Killed Me'' opening Friday. Now she's been busted...
Back to Contraction
The question about what it takes to build a championship team has brought back the idea of contracting the league, first broached by the Post bloggers here.The Blackhawks and the...
J.J. Abrams' Name Game
A lot of people -- including Variety -- have been assuming that January 18 is the release date of that mysterious, much-buzzed about J.J. Abrams movie that's being trailered with...
THE MONKEY KING
Adopted From the Classic Chinese Tale by Ji-li JiangIllustrated by Hui Hui Su-Kennedy STORY SO FAR: Jade Emperor, learning of Monkey's great mischief, sends Vaisravana, his best general, and thousand...
THE SURVIVOR
IN her four years on 'The View' - ABC's exceptionally dysfunctional morning talk show - 30-year-old Elisabeth Hasselbeck has become a source of morbid curiosity for viewers and critics alike,...
VIDEO CHAT COMING TO YOUR CELLPHONE
IT may not be the video phones of science-fiction movies, but it's close. This week, AT&T is launching "Video Share," which lets you send live video signals via cellphone. But...
DREAM TEAM FOR KING
NOTHING quite evokes the life and legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. like . . . Garth Brooks. Unless it's Robin Thicke, or Mira Sorvino, or Ben...
KEEPING 'UP' WITH THE BECKHAMS
HOLLYWOOD'S A-list turned out in droves Sunday night to welcome David "Goldenballs" and Victoria "Posh Spice" Beckham the only way it knows how - dressed to the nines (inches, that...
'WHINE' & TEASE
WHEN rising pop star Kat DeLuna sings that she wants to 'Whine Up,' she's not complaining. 'A whine is when you gyrate your hips, like how Jamaicans do it,' she...
'SIMPSONS' SCORE STATE OF THE BART
YOU may draw a blank upon hearing Hans Zimmer's name, but chances are you've hummed along to his songs. Usually while you're trying to scrape a Milk Dud off the...
ALI IN THE FAMILY
GIRL fighter Laila Ali, 29, married former football player Curtis Conway, 36, in L.A. on Sunday, according to reports. Ali, the daughter of boxing champ Muhammad Ali, turned heads last...
STARR REPORT
A (South) Bronx tale Onetime "Sopranos" family member Federico Castelluc cio (Furio) makes his film writing/directing debut in "Tracks of Color," a short film produced by Gianna Palmin teri (wife...
BACK TO THE GOLDIE RUSH
GOLDIE Hawn is going back to the boob tube. Hawn, 60, is slated to star in a new show for ABC called "Leap" - based on the popular non-fiction book...
CLOSE UP
GLENN Close reprises her role as Cruella de Vil in FX's lat est over-the-top, near-hysteria pitch series "Damages," about a cutthroat litigator suing a cut-throat billionaire. She's horrid, and he's...
'IDOL' NOT SO GOOD
'AMERICAN Idol" executive producer Nigel Lythgoe says TV's top-rated show stumbled a bit last season. "We realized we made mistakes on 'Idol' last season," Lythgoe told reporters Sunday at the...
ZAHN WITH THE WIND, NBC STAR LANDS
DISAPPOINTED NBC anchorwoman Campbell Brown has jumped to CNN. Brown's move to CNN, where she begins Sept. 1, was rumored for months - after it became obvious that she was...
BOTOX REMEDY NOW NO SWEAT
NEXT time you overhear someone talking about getting Botox, better take a second look before you derisively roll your eyes - the speaker could very well turn out not to...
MERCURY'S RISING IN BLOODSTREAM
Hold the fish. One in four adult New Yorkers has elevated levels of mercury in their blood, according to a New York City Department of Health study released yesterday. Among...
HIZZONER'S 70G TV SET
Picture this - Mayor Bloomberg, a guy who rarely watches TV, now has the world's largest high-definition plasma television adorning his famous "bullpen" at City Hall. The 103-inch monster, which...
SCHOOLS BRUSHING UP ON THE ARTS
Come this fall, it'll be reading, writing and Rodin at city public schools. While arts education has long been a component of elementary-school curricula, principals will now be held accountable...
BRUNO IS CLEARED IN FLIGHT FLAP
ALBANY - Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno yesterday was cleared of any wrongdoing in his use of the state air fleet. At the urging of the Spitzer administration, the offices...
POST'S HASTE IGNITED THE GOV SCANDAL
ALBANY - The Post blew the lid off the surveillance of Majority Leader Joe Bruno by Gov. Spitzer's office 2½ weeks ago with an exclusive front-page story headlined: "Police State:...
ELIOT HAS BLOWN RE-ELECTION, DEMS FEAR
ALBANY - Republicans yesterday demanded "What did Gov. Spitzer know and when did he know it?" about a plot by his aides to ruin Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, while Democrats...
SPITZER AIDES DIRTY: CUOMO
ALBANY - Gov. Spitzer suspended a top aide and reassigned another yesterday after Attorney General Andrew Cuomo released a bombshell report concluding they conspired with the State Police to damage...
L.I. MARINE HERO SLAIN IN IRAQ
A 21-year-old Marine and former high-school star athlete from Long Island has been killed in Iraq. The shattered parents of Cpl. Christopher Scherer last night gathered with relatives at the...
RENT WAR'S HIP-HOP HOPE
Activists yesterday vowed to block the planned sale of a Bronx affordable-housing apartment building by invoking its status as "the birthplace of hip-hop." "No buyouts!" chanted more than 200 people...
NEW WEAPONS LAW TURNS UP THE 'HEAT'
Ja Rule and Lil Wayne's timing couldn't be worse. If yesterday's gun charges stick, the pair will be subject to penalties from a law passed last year that throws thugs...
'GUN' RAPPERS
If they did a rap about it, they could call it "Two .40s in the 2-0." Rappers Ja Rule and Lil Wayne were charged in separate arrests yesterday with possessing...
BROOKLYN BEAU BULLET HITS CHILD
A terrified 2-year-old girl was grazed on the back by a bullet after her mom's jealous boyfriend started firing a gun wildly outside their home in Brooklyn, police and the...
HERO VET GETS BIONIC HAND
He's a remarkable, real-life version of the "Six Million Dollar Man" - an Iraqi war vet fitted with one of the world's first bionic hands. Doctors attached the fantastic futuristic...
POLICE POOCH A SURVIVOR
A beloved 4-year-old German shepherd police dog who collapsed on the job at Rikers Island after his heart suddenly stopped is miraculously back on the beat after doctors implanted a...
SUICIDE-SLAY COP
A cop fatally shot his teenage girlfriend - an aspiring police officer - in his Bronx home, then blew his brains out, law-enforcement sources said yesterday. Officer Freder Maselli, 40,...
TEACH AIDE IN RAPE PLEA
A school aide who raped a fifth-grade boy more than seven years ago pleaded guilty yesterday - only after the victim recently ran into her and decided to call cops....
COPS CAP CAPERS
A New Jersey man who spent 18 years in jail for bludgeoning his girlfriend to death, stuffing her body in a suitcase and tossing it in the Passaic River 21...
'MIRACLE' SENTENCE FOR MOB BOSS
Jailed Genovese boss Liborio "Barney" Bellomo got his prayers answered when a judge sentenced him to just one additional year behind bars in a racketeering and murder case that was...
CHEF'S FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Walter Morrison, who turned his West Side classroom into a 1940s diner to teach his students self-esteem as well as cooking, now hopes to add even more fizz: a 1930s...
HARSH REALTY IN QNS.
So close, yet so far. While residential real-estate sales in Manhattan continue to hit record levels, the numbers in Queens appear to be mirroring the rest of the nation's housing...
OUTSMARTED RAPE FIEND GUILTYS
A Queens jury yesterday convicted a crack-addicted ex-con of raping a 34-year-old woman who became his victim after a teenager outsmarted him and got away. It took the jury just...
9/11 FEAR SPARKS STEAM-BLAST SUIT
A Brooklyn grandmother who claims she was traumatized by last week's steam-pipe blast filed a $400,000 negligence suit against Con Ed yesterday, saying she thought she was going to die...
INVADERS KILL DOC'S FAMILY
The beloved wife and two daughters of a wealthy doctor were held hostage yesterday - then brutally slain in an apparent break-in that ended with the physician staggering out of...
IT'S NO. 1-DERFUL
One is the loveliest number. The No. 1 train ranked numero uno in the Straphangers Campaign's annual subway report card, beating out 21 other lines, including perennial winners, such as...
NEW SHARPE LEGAL WOES
An "ethical conflict" could force a lawyer off Sharpe James' defense team as the embattled former Newark mayor fights charges that he funded lavish trips with city credit cards and...
MODEL SUES OVER 'PORN STAR' LABEL
A "mere model and dancer" can sue a magazine for calling him a porn star, a Manhattan judge has ruled. Go-go dancer and art student Manuel Alex Saez says he...
TEEN DIES, 6 HURT IN S.I. CRASH
A teenage girl was killed and six other teens were injured last night in a horrific Staten Island crash that might have been caused by drag racing, cops said. The...
SMOTHER MOTHER'S TRAGIC TALE
A mother accused of smothering her 3-month-old twin boys admitted rubbing their backs to quiet them, but claimed she had no idea they had died, a detective testified in Brooklyn...
GENIUS DIES IN PLUNGE
A "brilliant" MIT student doing a summer internship in New York died after plunging three stories onto the ledge of an East Village building, police said yesterday. James Albrecht, 21,...
PENSION $$ IN POCKETS OF TERRORISTS
More than $28 billion in state pension funds have been invested in companies doing business with terrorist nations Iran, Syria, Sudan and North Korea, The Post has learned. A breakdown...
GRYLLS' THRILLS BOGUS: EXPERT
Discovery Channel he-man Bear Grylls, the host of the survival-skills show "Man vs. Wild," is barely the man he seems to be on TV. On the program, Grylls appears to...
'PRICE' IS RIGHT FOR DREW CAREY
Drew Carey will "come on down" as the new host of "The Price Is Right." Carey, 49, the former star of the long-running ABC sitcom, "The Drew Carey show," will...
'KILLERS' TEAM UP ON REF
Two menacing phone callers told the embattled NBA "fix" referee he's a "dead man" and "done," as he appeared ready to sing for federal probers, authorities said yesterday. Disgraced former...
OBAMA CHILLS HILL
CHARLESTON, S.C. - Sen. Barack Obama ripped into front-runner Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton last night on the Iraq war in a sometimes-absurd debate that had voters on video - and...
FEAR-BEATER
Scientists have identified an fear enzyme in mice that could lead to the first drug for treating posttraumatic-stress disorder in people, researchers report. A study from the Massachusetts Institute of...
SUICIDE LAWSUIT
The family of a Dallas prosecutor who committed suicide last year after being snared in an underage-sex sting by "Dateline" has filed a $105 million suit against NBC. The sister...
BAY DENIES SPECTOR DEATH TALE
Furious "Transformers" director Michael Bay denied he "dissed" a down-and-out actress before she was found shot to death in the home of murder defendant Phil Spector, blasting the trial as...
NYPD DAILY BOTTER
STATEN ISLAND A lawyer was arrested for driving while intoxicated and crashing his Cadillac near the 120th precinct station house in St. George, authorities said yesterday. Christopher Trochiano, 38, was...
WIERD BUT TRUE
Mont Blanc just got a whole lot whiter after two toilets - the highest in Europe - were installed on the French snow-capped peak. "This move was much needed," said...
CNN: CRAZY NEWS NETWORK
LAST night's "debate" may have been brought to you by YouTube with questions from viewers like you, but it got hijacked. Of the thousands of video questions submitted, the few...
LOTTERY
NEW YORK Midday Nos. Mon.: 698; Lucky Sum: 23/ Midday Win-4 Mon.: 7277; Lucky Sum: 23 / Evening Nos. Mon.: 932; Lucky Sum: 14 / Evening Win- 4 Mon.: 4321;...
BEYOND THE CUOMO REPORT
What did he know, and when did he know it?" That question haunted Richard Nixon during Watergate, and now it's an apt query concerning Eliot Spitzer and Troopergate - the...
ELECTING ALLAH
THE bad news is that democ racy works. In free and fair elections, the Turkish peo ple voted overwhelmingly to deepen the majority status of a religion-based party that's modern...
SUING ANTI-TERROR TIPSTERS
IF you see something, hire a lawyer. Then, perhaps, you can say something. That would be the new mantra for passenger vigilance - replacing the ubiquitous "If you see something,...
All the governor's men: The ugly facts
Beginning in approximately May 2007, per sons in the Governor's Office planned to provide information to the media demonstrating that Sen. Bruno had been using state aircraft for political purposes, contrary...
NOW THE GOV'S SURPRISED?
YESTERDAY, Gov. Spitzer insisted he'd known nothing about his aides' abuse of the power of his office in their effort to "get" Sen. Joe Bruno. Funny - when did he...
LOOKS LIKE ELIOT'S M.O.
JOE Bruno is hardly the first New Yorker to be targeted by a full-scale Spitzer offensive. Here are some past comments on how Eliot Spitzer, as state attorney general and...
PRO-BRAWLER VICK: FIT FOR THE DOGHOUSE
*Michael Vick must be suspended ("NFL: Vick Won't Get 'Pacman' Treatment," July 20). The NFL and the Falcons must do the right thing. Violence against any creature must never be...
AN ENEMY STILL AT LARGE . . .
*"Twisting Intel" by Ralph Peters (PostOpinion, July 19) is a sine qua non on the rationale for the approach that must be taken, however much it hurts, against the terrorists...
LENDER'S $90M HIT IS ON 'HORIZON'
An Atlanta-based subprime lender has nearly $90 million tied up with a hedge fund that was forced to block withdrawals earlier this month because of poor performance in the bond...
DILLER DILEMMA
Barry Diller became the first media mogul to get pinched in the new credit crisis, backing out of borrowing more than $3 billion for a planned stock buyback deal because...
I'M JOHNNY REDSTONE, THE PROBABLE SON
I want Sumner Redstone to adopt me. Really, I promise to keep my room clean and take out the garbage, although I assume that "daddy" already has people to do...
HEIR APPARENT
If only Viacom Chairman Sumner Redstone felt the same way about his daughter Shari as he does about company CEO Philippe Dauman. Responding to a report in The Post Sunday...
BANCROFTS MULL NEWS CORP. DEAL
Members of the Bancroft family spent hours gathered in a Boston hotel yesterday to evaluate News Corp.'s $5 billion offer for Dow Jones, the parent of The Wall Street Journal....
CITADEL'S CLOSING IN ON ION
Hedge fund Citadel Investment Group and NBC Universal came a step closer to taking control of broadcaster Ion Media Networks after a Delaware judge quickly refused to hear an appeal...
SIRIUS, XM FLOATING PLAN FOR PRICE CUTS
In a bid to gain support for their proposed merger, satellite radio companies Sirius and XM say they plan to slash prices for entry-level packages and allow subscribers greater flexibility...
AOL HAS AN EYE ON YOU
After acquiring its way into the video and mobile ad-serving marketplace, CEO Randy Falco is moving AOL into the behavorial-targeting ad market with a deal to purchase Tacoda, The Post...
RADIO FIRM OKS BUYOUT
Shares in Cumulus Media climbed 33 percent yesterday to $11.12 on word that the Atlanta-based radio operator has agreed to a $1.3 billion management buyout. Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity...
EMPIRE STATE GETS A BOOST
EVER so stealthily, the revivified Empire State Building is beginning to flex its muscles. Three new leases have been signed at the landmark office tower on 34th Street for a...
RE$TORER$
A Tampa, Fla.-based construction company has grand designs on making a killing in the New York real estate market, but documents obtained by The Post raise questions about how much...
APPLE'S BIG IN BIG APPLE
Apple's iPhone may have been born in laid-back San Francisco, but it's edgy New York that brings in the big bucks. Apple's subterranean store on Fifth Avenue is leading the...
PADDY ON THE GO
CARNOUSTIE, Scot land - "On you go" is an often-used saying here that rolls off the tongues of the locals in with their distinctive Scottish brogues as a way of...
RAIN KOS HUGHES START IN TRIPLE-A
MOOSIC, Pa. - Phil Hughes's fourth rehab start was scratched 90 minutes before last night's Triple-A game between the Scranton Wilkes-Barre Yankees and Charlotte Knights officially was washed out. "After...
HONDO BONDS WITH TIGERS
The Hondo Retirement Fund took another hit last night when Westbrook was slapped around by the Sawx to goose the deficit to 605 dobys. Today, he'll go back to Bonderman,...
DEAR VICK, STAY HOME, COMMISH
Michael Vick was ordered by commissioner Roger Goodell yesterday to stay away from the Falcons' training camp until the league reviews the dogfighting charges against him. "While it is for...
NBA DREAMS
Mike Haynes has had the same dream for over two decades. It hasn't come to fruition yet, but he feels it is so tantalizingly close, that it's almost tangible. His...
SPORTS SHORTS
NFL: Giants sign pick The Giants announced that they have signed tight end Kevin Boss, their fifth-round selection in this year's draft. Boss, a 6-6, 253-pounder, was the 153rd player...
FRANCO KEEPS IT ALL BUSINESS
SAN FRANCISCO - Julio Franco has been around the block long enough, has seen his career take enough dips and darts and unexpected turns to know never to take anything...
BAY WATCH
SAN FRANCISCO - Last night at AT&T Park, the only boos were for the umpires and the guy who thought singing "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" like Donald Duck...
NOT HAMMER TIME
SAN FRANCISCO - Here was the deal we made, a verbal contract with terms I can still recite verbatim: I could stay awake for the first two at-bats. From there,...
ISLES RE-SIGN SIMON
While Chris Simon still has five games to serve on his 25-game ban for axing Ranger Ryan Hollweg, the Islanders yesterday re-signed the winger for this season. Simon, 35, accepted...
JETS PUT CHATHAM, DWIGHT ON PUP LIST
The Jets yesterday placed wide receiver Tim Dwight and linebacker Matt Chatham on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list. Chatham had offseason surgery on his injured foot and toe,...
FINAL CURT-AIN MARTIN TO MAKE RETIREMENT OFFICIAL
The time for one of the greatest Jets of all to say goodbye has come. Curtis Martin will officially announce his retirement within the next two days, The Post has...
PEDRO THROWS ANOTHER ROUND
Having returned to St. Lucie, Fla., Pedro Martinez threw his second simulated game yesterday and had no problems health-wise. "Everything went well," Omar Minaya said, adding that the Mets ace...
DEAL OR NO DEAL
There's just a week before baseball's non-waiver trade deadline, and despite the fact the Mets aren't close to any kind of deal right now, they are targeting multiple areas. The...
NETS EXTEND FRANK
There were three straight one-point losses, each coming on the opponents' last possession. The record twice hit a low point of seven games under .500. There were injuries. There were...
YANKS OFF ROAD RUNNING
KANSAS CITY - Maybe it's because Barry Bonds is hogging all the home run milestone ink on his way past Hank Aaron. Perhaps the Yankees being involved in must wins...
BOMBERS CONVENE TRADE
KANSAS CITY - Just because nothing is hot on the trade front isn't going to keep Yankee brass from convening for meetings in Tampa. General manager Brian Cashman arrived last...
SUMMER OF '77
Remember the sizzling, scintillating summer of 1977 when Billy Martin's Yankees stormed past the Red Sox and went on to capture their first World Championship in 15 years by beating...
A DUNCAN FAMILY AFFAIR
KANSAS CITY - Thanks to the Cardinals having a day off, Shelley Duncan had two very special guests on his ticket list last night for the Yankees-Royals game at Kauffman...
SKIN CITY
IT is a scorching, 116-degree summer Friday, but it feels like spring break has broken out in Las Vegas. I am just off The Strip at the Palms, poolside for...
IT'S THE HOTNESS
IT is 100 degrees. In the shade. But the air's dry, and there's a pool. And your room is cool and quiet. Ah, summer in the desert. Is there anything...
KID STUFF
WHILE most of the newer pool/beach areas in Las Vegas now skew toward adults (even the rather tame Flamingo is taking part of its always fun pool complex in a...
D'OH AND BEHOLD
WITH the impending release of "The Simpsons Movie" (Friday!), all eyes are trained on Springfield. Trouble is, where exactly to look? There are more than thirty places in the United...
STAR TREK
Q: Ever trashed a hotel room? Avril Lavigne: Yes. I was just in London with my band [at the Mayfair Hotel]. I went to the front desk and I got...
SCENTS OF PLACE
Like the way your hotel smells? Take a bottle home with you!