February 24, 2009
Stephon saga finally over
By MARC BERMANStephon Marbury and the Knicks reached an agreement today on a buyout settlement during an arbitration hearing over the point guard's $400,000 fine, according to an NBA source.Marbury...
MATTONE GROUP TAKES OVER ATLAS PARK MANAGEMENT
The new company managing the Shops at Atlas Park will be the College Point-based Mattone Group, sources close to the arrangement said Tuesday, which brought a positive response from elected...
You Can Walk the Walk, But Can You Basstalk?
Here is a small antidote to ease your "Gossip Girl" withdrawal.It has been weeks since any new "Gossip" - the drama of the trust-fund fabulous is on a mini hiatus...
Sneak Peek: 'Top Chef' Finale
Hootie Hoo! The "Top Chef" finale is so close we can taste it.Finalists Carla, Hosea, and Stefan will tie their final apron when the three remaining chefs face off for...
ANDY RICHTER REJOINING CONAN O'BRIEN
It's back to the future for Andy Richter. The former "Late Night" sidekick will rejoin Conan O'Brien as announcer/sidekick on the "Tonight Show," which O'Brien inherits from Jay Leno June...
WOODS READY TO GO
MARANA, Ariz. - Tiger Woods pulled into the parking lot as sunlight began to filter across the desert floor. He ducked into the clubhouse to change into golf shoes and...
MAN GETS 25 YEARS FOR KILLING GIRL, 11
A man has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for killing an 11-year-old girl in a drive-by shooting as she played in the spray of a Queens fire hydrant...
Report: 'Skins will sign Haynesworth
The Houston Chronicle reports the Washington Redskins will sign DT Albert Haynesworth to a deal expected to be up to $16 million a season.
MARINERS HAPPY WITH ENDY
PEORIA, Ariz. - Endy Chavez is still making a living off "The Catch" even though it happened three years ago. How often does Chavez think of his home run-robbing grab...
A-ROD EXPECTS RUDE RECEPTION
Alex Rodriguez is prepared for the worst when he plays in the Yankees' spring training opener Wednesday. The game against Toronto at Dunedin will be his first since admitting that...
Oscar's Inconvenient Truths
I'm still semi-comatose from the Oscars. But before I move on to next year's race, here's a link to Lt. Smith's column on the factual omissions and inventions of "Milk''...
Jeter plans to play Weds.
APDerek Jeter, who didn't run the previous two days because of right hamstring soreness, planned to play Wednesday. The Yankees captain took part in all drills Tuesday, including sprints in...
OFFICIAL: US OUT OF IRAQ IN 19 MONTHS
Former President George W. Bush had the troop surge -- but President Obama is opting for the purge. The president plans to withdraw the bulk of US troops from Iraq...
NYC BUY-BACK NETS 919 GUNS
New York City officials say 919 guns were collected during a one-day buy-back program at six Queens churches. The program paid $200 to anyone who turned in a gun. A...
Apples vs. Oranges
Last week, we switched coasts as the "Real Housewives of Orange County" ended their journey of over-age drinking and middle-aged gossiping and the "Real Housewives of New York City" began.To...
So This Is How the Other Half Felt
By FRED KERBERMaybe it doesn't make up for all the improbable last-second, final possession agonies the Nets halve endured in their lives:Think, Milt Palacio, Lamond Murray or in succession, Mike...
'City' Relationships: Why Bother?
This week on "The City," MTV has replaced New York with it's sweatier, trashier, wannabe stepsibling city, Miami, probably because Olivia kicked the producers out of her apartment and Whitney's...
NASA GLOBAL WARMING SATELLITE CRASHES AFTER LAUNCH
LOS ANGELES - A NASA mission to monitor global warming from space ended Tuesday when a satellite plunged into the ocean near Antarctica minutes after launch. An equipment malfunction was...
A-Rod expects rude welcome
APAlex Rodriguez is prepared for the worst when he plays in the New York Yankees' spring training opener Wednesday.The game against Toronto at Dunedin will be his first since admitting...
BUSH STARTS PAID SPEAKING TOUR
Looks like the former president isn't beating around the bush when it comes to sharing his thoughts. Former President George W. Bush will give a series of speeches starting next...
Trouble in the 'Hills'!
Over the weekend, "Hills" star Audrina Patridge's house was broken into. Much to the delight of Patridge, her surveillance camera caught the two robbers - one guy and one girl...
'Idol' Fix: Are You a Gokehead?
Are you a Gokehead? Looks like America has it's next David Cook with church music director Danny Gokey - but some think the show is exploiting his personal story, urging...
Murphy-Church by the numbers
Our Back Page Blog has a statistical comparison of Daniel Murphy and Ryan Church, and the results may surprise you.
Torts: Avery 'doesn't belong in league'
It sounds like GM Glen Sather has a lot of work to do if he is going to convince John Tortorella that Sean Avery deserves a spot on the Rangers.According...
Murphy-Church by the numbers
By JONATHAN LEHMANIt's now roughly 48 hours since Jerry Manuel made his surprising comments Sunday about outfielders Daniel Murphy and Ryan Church -- time to step back and try to...
CHIMP ATTACK VICTIM'S FAMILY READIES FOR LAWSUIT
STAMFORD, Conn. - The brother of a woman mauled by a 200-pound chimpanzee in Connecticut last week has been appointed her conservator, and is taking legal steps to prepare a...
TORTORELLA BRINGS CHANGES TO RANGERS
John Tortorella brought bluster and a new set of rules during his first day as coach of the Rangers. The man with the booming voice and the rugged reputation got...
The man who could ruin golf
His name is Brendan Jones and he is golf's worst enemy.Tiger Woods and Jones face off in the WGC Match Play Championship on Wednesday at 2:02 p.m. when the pair...
HOLOCAUST-DENYING PRIEST BOOTED FROM ARGENTINA
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina - A Holocaust-denying bishop flew out of Argentina under a government expulsion order on Tuesday after scuffling with a reporter at the airport. A local television station...
ROADSIDE BOMB KILLS 4 US TROOPS IN AFGHANISTAN
KABUL - A roadside bomb killed four U.S. troops patrolling in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday in the deadliest single attack on international forces this year. An Afghan civilian working with...
RBNY beats Velez; Richards, Celades star
Dane Richards & RBTC sprinted to a preseason win. (Photo from Velezsarsfield.com) The Red Bulls beat Argentine first-division club Velez Sarsfield 2-1 this morning in a preseason tilt. Velez used...
Revolving door of N.Y. coaches
The pressure of coaching in the biggest market claimed another victim yesterday when the Rangers axed Tom Renney in the midst of a late-season slump that threatened the Rangers' postseason...
Bracket Watch
Three weeks to go until Selection Sunday. Here's our latest bracket projection: West (Glendale, Ariz.)Greensboro, N.C.1. North Carolina vs. 16. Radford8. LSU vs. 9. BYUMinneapolis5. Washington vs. 12. Temple4. Marquette...
TURNCOAT: WE PLANNED TO KILL GOTTI JUNIOR
Mob turncoat John Alite said today that he and a Gambino hit man had planned to whack John "Junior" Gotti because he "didn't trust" the acting boss any longer. Alite...
Mets' WBC reps confirmed
PORT ST. LUCIE -- The Mets announced today that they will have 15 representatives in the three-week World Baseball Classic that begins early next month. Here are the Mets going...
Dallas' new 10: David Ferreira
Dallas' midfield makeover continued this offseason. After trading for Red Bull stalwart Dave van den Bergh, now the Hoops have added Colombian David Ferreira. He's the third player loaned to...
BERNANKE FORECAST GIVES MARKETS A BOOST
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has given Wall Street a double dose of reassurance. Now it's President Barack Obama's turn. Bernanke told Congress on Tuesday the recession might end this...
GOV'S POPULARITY CONTINUES TO SLIDE
Gov. Paterson's popularity continues to slide. A new poll released today shows the governor slumping to the lowest job approval ratings since he took office last year. The Siena College...
RANGERS' PLAYERS OWN UP TO THEIR END AFTER FIRING
Scott Gomez saw the impact an in-season coaching change can have first hand during his rookie season. When the Devils fired Robbie Ftorek with nine games remaining in 2000, they...
The Daily Whacks, Tuesday Edition
I'm all for shaking up the pot whenever it's necessary, but exactly how many times does Glenn Sather get to stir up the Rangers' pot before he winds up in...
SULLY TOOK BIG PAY CUT
Hero pilot Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, who safely splash landed a US Airways jet into the Hudson River last month, said today that he had his pay and benefits slashed over...
OBAMA PITCHING ECONOMIC CASE TO NATION
Barreling ahead on a mammoth agenda, Barack Obama is ready to offer a detailed sketch of the first year of his presidency, casting the nation's bleeding economy as a tangle...
Star-less roster tomorrow
PORT ST. LUCIE -- It won't exactly be a star-packed lineup the Mets send to Fort Lauderdale tomorrow for their Grapefruit League opener with the Orioles. Jerry Manuel has posted...
Lineups for second intrasquad
PORT ST. LUCIE -- The lineups are ready for the Mets' second and final intrasquad game this morning. Their Grapefruit League schedule begins tomorrow in Fort Lauderdale against the Orioles....
2 DEAD, 27 INJURED IN CHINATOWN BLAZE
A pre-dawn fire ripped through a Chinatown apartment building today - killing two people and wounding at least 27 others, fire officials said. Three of those seriously injured had jumped...
DEALS: Chicago for $129
Australia's Gold Coast has nothing on Chicago's -- who needs killer surfing and rad weather when you have the Lincoln Park Zoo? Also in the neighborhood: class acts like The...
GMAIL DOWN IN EUROPE, PARTS OF US
Google's Gmail online e-mail service ran out of juice Tuesday morning for users in Europe and possibly worldwide. British users noticed Gmail conked out around 10:30 local time, or 5:30...
3 UP: SANTANA, GIRARDI, CHURCH
FROM JOEL SHERMANI wrote this column last Oct. 12, from the Dodger-Phillie NLCS, about how Joe Girardi could never be Joe Torre, but that he should try to emulate Tom...
Santana a mentor now, too
From JOEL SHERMANI wrote this column about Mets ace Johan Santana in the Post today. Mets pitching coach Dan Warthen told me that over the final two months of last...
3 UP: SANTANA, GIRARDI, CHURCH
1. I wrote this column about Mets ace Johan Santana in the Post today. Mets pitching coach Dan Warthen told me that over the final two months of last season...
D'ANTONI CONFIDENT HUGHES WILL REDISCOVER GAME
No matter how badly Larry Hughes struggles, no matter how much rust his game accumulated in a month of inactivity in Chicago, Mike D'Antoni insists he's confident the combo guard...
CITI RESCUE TALKS
Citigroup and the federal government last night were close to completing a pact that could see Uncle Sam becoming the ailing bank's biggest shareholder by far. Yesterday, Citi executives, including...
SERMONS ON THE MOUNT
THE Civilians hit the jackpot when they went to Colorado Springs, Colo., to research "This Beautiful City." While the theater troupe interviewed residents of the area that's ground zero for...
A HALL OF A SHOW FOR TULLY REOPENING
LINCOLN Center's newly revitalized Alice Tully Hall opened its doors Sunday with something old (15th-century Sephardic Romances), something newish (Osvald Golijov's 1999 "Mariel") and something that wasn't on the program:...
STOP THEM!
LET'S just get it out in the open. Just because you are a rabid adopter, zealous breeder, star as benighted mothers in movies no one watches and live in France,...
AFTERGLOW
When the ceremony ends, that's when the real fun beginsMORE FROM PULSE OSCARS SPECIAL:Bizarro Rourke Rocks the Red CarpetStiller a Phoenix Rising From AshBrangie Guilty of Smugging For CameraRed Carpet:...
A FISH TALE
REMEMBER the 1990 chick flick with Cher and Winona Ryder? No, not those mermaids. We're talking about the gown style that hugs the body and flares at the knees. Many...
THE ROCKS THAT THEY GOT
DESPITE a lack of colorful frocks, there were shiny baubles aplenty on Oscar's big night. Whether it was chunky necklaces, jewel-toned gems or oversize rings, there was no shortage of...
STILLER A PHOENIX RISING FROM ASH
IT'S hard to believe, but true: The Oscars can actually be funny. Granted, out of three hours and 23 minutes, we're talking about all of three minutes. But what a...
SLIP US A MICKEY!
HEY, Mickey, you're so fine/You're so fine you blow our minds wearing sunglasses indoors and a necklace with a picture of your dead Chihuahua on it/Hey, Mickey! White suit by...
BOYS ON GIRLS
HALLE BERRY: in Marchesa "I would take a lot of crap from a woman who looks like her." - Brian Niemietz, 38 "Who got to knock her up again, and...
BRODEUR: CALL ME OK-MART
Devils goalie Martin Brodeur says he'll be OK if the team holds his return back until this weekend. That's not to say Brodeur is hoping to delay his return any...
SPORTS SHORTS
BLOTTER: Jail time for Sir Charles Charles Barkley will serve time in jail after pleading guilty yesterday in Scottsdale, Airz., to charges of driving drunk. According to court records, the...
HARRIS' HALF-COURT HEAVE TOPS SIXERS
With the Nets trailing by a point and the clock showing just 1.8 seconds between them and a sixth straight defeat, Devin Harris raced up the left side, snared an...
YOUNG PITCHERS IMPRESS
PORT ST. LUCIE - Three of the Mets' most promising young pitchers caught their manager's eye right out of the gate yesterday. Jonathon Niese, Robert Parnell and Dillon Gee each...
SANTANA OVERWHELMING, YET SOMEHOW UNDER RADAR
PORT ST. LUCIE - Johan San tana is possibly the best starting pitcher on the planet. He certainly is in the conversation. Yet somehow he lives beneath the radar at...
MO'S FEELING STRONG - ON AND OFF THE FIELD
TAMPA - Mariano Rivera was amped about his right shoulder. And that was prior to winning two titles in manager Joe Girardi's First Annual World Championship of Pool. "It's feeling...
AUSSIE READIES FOR MATCH VS. WOODS
MARANA, Ariz. - Brendan Jones has been getting some friendly advice from friends and even members of the gallery at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club on how to beat Tiger Woods...
GIANTS, JETS EYE RAVENS LB SCOTT
Could it be possible that the Jets and Giants will be going after the same coveted linebacker in free agency? Though it's likely that the Jets will be more aggressive...
ANTI-TOM WILL PUT PEDAL TO METTLE
THE moment John Tortorella walks through the door of the Rangers locker room today to take command, that will be the end of the excuses and that will be the...
CHALK ONE UP FOR GIRARDI . . .BUT HE STILL MUST WIN
TAMPA - The harsh truth of the job, and the job description, is this: In April, in Fenway Park, if Joe Girardi stays a batter too long with, say, Andy...
JOE'S IDEA BOWLS OVER COUGHLIN
TAMPA - Giants coach Tom Coughlin is impressed with Yankees manager Joe Girardi's idea to build team unity through pool. COMPLETE YANKEES COVERAGEYANKEES BLOG "In this profession, we are all...
POOL TOURNEY MAKES FOR HAPPY CAMPERS
TAMPA - Joe Girardi said he hasn't spoken to Tom Coughlin about improving relationships with players. Girardi, however, is borrowing a page from the Giants coach's playbook in his second...
TOUGH-GUY COACH REPLACES RENNEY
So it turns out you can teach an old salt like Glen Sather new tricks. It turns out the Ranger GM who never before had hired a strong-minded, bombastic and...
HAMELS CAN'T STOP DISSING METS
PORT ST. LUCIE - Cole Hamels can't seem to quit talking about the Mets. In yet another salvo in the ongoing Mets-Phillies rivalry, the Philadelphia ace and reigning World Series...
TRAINER'S WORD KEY FOR BONDS
The fate of Barry Bonds' perjury trial may hinge on a hearing in San Francisco tomorrow morning. Judge Susan Illston has ordered Greg Anderson, Bonds' trainer and friend, to appear...
IN THE 'RIGHT': MANUEL SAYS SKIPPING CHURCH NO SIN
PORT ST. LUCIE - Jerry Manuel is still calling them as he sees them. Manuel moved quickly to defuse the public challenge he issued Sunday to Ryan Church, but the...
STEPH SHOWDOWN ON TAP FOR TODAY
On the eve of his arbitration hearing showdown with Stephon Marbury, Knicks president Donnie Walsh admitted to being wary of putting the banished point guard on the market because he...
NEW ARRIVALS BAD NEWS FOR GALLINARI
THE fans, perhaps sensing that the two-man game between Al Harrington and Larry Hughes needs the 26 remaining games this year, plus all of next, to develop, began booing the...
ROBBY (41 POINTS) RESCUES KNICKS
Maybe the Knicks can make Will Ferrell their official mascot. With Nate Robinson's acting idol on celebrity row, Robinson last night continued his scoring rampage, shaking and baking his way...
EX-CUSE STORM'S POOR HOSPITALITY
The first inkling St. John's coach Norm Roberts had that Sunday evening's game against Seton Hall could be special was during the national anthem, when he noticed fans still streaming...
I SUPPORT THE FDNY
At a press conference, unrelated to the topic of pensions, I was asked to respond to alleged abuses in FDNY disability pensions ("FDNY Disability Pay Cause for Alarm: Pol," Feb....
WILL CHINA KEEP BUYING OUR DEBT?
THE China ATM has dispensed over a trillion dollars to the United States in this decade. But now Beijing faces serious troubles at home. How long will it be willing...
BAM'S TRILLION-BUCK BET: WILL GOP GIVE IT A SHOT?
Michelle Malkin writes that a revolt is rising around the country protesting President Obama's stimulus bill ("As the Feds Spend On, a Revolt Is Rising," PostOpinion, Feb. 21). I bet...
NEW LINK TO MEN'S CANCER
Infertile men are nearly three times more likely to develop testicular cancer than those who are fertile, researchers reported yesterday. In a study of 22,000 men, infertile men were 2.8...
CHESS KING
SOFIA, Bulgaria - A Bulgarian grandmaster appears to have broken the world record for the most chess games played simultaneously, organizers said yesterday. Kiril Georgiev played a total of 360...
SPRINGSTEEN TIX FIX
Ticketmaster has agreed to change the way it sells tickets over the Internet, the New Jersey attorney general announced yesterday. Anne Milgram said Ticketmaster has not admitted any wrongdoing in...
THE SHRINKING MIDDLE CLASS
"It's also true that it's easy to rile against the 'rich.' I saw one group wants to give affordable housing to people up to $240,000 income a year, but [at]...
GUYS' AND GALS' BEAUTIFUL MINDS
WASHINGTON - Beauty is in the brain of the beholder. Men process beauty on the right side of their brains, while women use their whole brain, researchers report in today's...
IT'S HIS ECONOMY NOW
LAST January, Barack Obama sat in the audience during the State of the Union Ad dress. As a top contender in the Democratic nomination battle, he was the subject of...
WORSE THAN 9/11
LAST week, New Yorkers learned that the federal stimulus package will provide the state with $24.6 billion. That sounds like a reason to celebrate, but don't bring out the champagne...
US OFFERS 900M TO AID GAZA
WASHINGTON - The United States plans to offer more than $900 million to help rebuild Gaza and strengthen the Palestinian Authority, officials said yesterday. The money, which needs congressional approval,...
BUSINESS BRIEFS
GE dividend GE's stock fell for a third straight day on concerns its finance arm may require addi tional equity that would threaten the div idend. GE fell 53 cents,...
ANGER REALLY IS DEADLY SIN
Anger and other strong emotions can trigger potentially deadly heart rhythms in certain vulnerable people, researchers said yesterday. Dr. Rachel Lampert and colleagues at Yale University studied 62 patients with...
GRAND CANAL COKE
The mayor of Venice, Italy, says it's a good business deal. But bar owners and the media are criticizing his plan to install Coca-Cola vending machines in their world-famous city...
BIG PLANS FOR BOXER'S BURGEONING BURGER JOINTS
WHEN chef/owner Anita Lo closed her Asian-fusion Bar Q in the Village last week, she said of diners' tastes in the miserable economy, "All they want is burgers." If that's...
NYPD DAILY BLOTTER
Manhattan Cops are hunting for this brazen, note-passing bank robber (right), who knocked off the same Chelsea bank twice during a three-week spree in some of Manhattan's toniest neighborhoods. The...
BID TO BENCH SIB JUDGES
Two brothers who serve as judges in Westchester and The Bronx should be removed from the bench because they filed "deceitful" statements after one of them tried to stiff his...
MILWAUKEE'S LOSS IS GOD'S GIFT TO GOTHAM
MILWAUKEE - I hear Timothy Dolan, now Milwaukee's Catholic archbishop and soon to be New York's, did well when unveiled in Manhattan yesterday. Pity: I was selfishly hoping he'd dribble...
MODEL THREATENED LAWYER: COPS
A transgender model who claimed she had an illicit affair with jailed Manhattan moneyman Jeffrey Epstein pulled a knife on her lawyer and demanded drug money, officials said yesterday. Avarelle...
BIRD EYED IN HELI TRAGEDY
WASHINGTON - Investigators have found evidence that a bird may have struck a helicopter before it crashed into a Louisiana swamp last month, killing eight people, the National Transportation Safety...
THE DOW HAS LOST JUST ABOUT 50% FROM HIGHS
FIRST, * the good news: it's only money. Now the bad news: if the Dow Jones industrial average falls another 32.52 points today (or should that be "when" it falls)...
JPMORGAN TO REDUCE DIVIDEND
JPMorgan Chase yesterday announced that its board of directors has reduced the company's quarterly common stock dividend from $0.38 to $0.05 per share, effective for the dividend payable April 30,...
PAYBACK'S A GLITCH FOR EX-MSFT STAFF
First they were laid off. Then their company wanted them to give back part of their severance. In an ultimate software screw-up, red-faced Microsoft bosses demanded that some of their...
AMEX NIXES CARDHOLDERS
American Express is paying some cardholders $300 each to close accounts so the lender can reduce the risk of defaults as the recession deepens. People who got the offer to...
STIMULUS GREEN-LIGHTS UPSTATE ROAD WORK
ALBANY - Gov. Paterson fast-tracked nearly a dozen upstate road and bridge projects yesterday as the first federal stimulus cash began to stream in to New York - including $2...
AIDE TO GOV'S WIFE $OAKING UP RAISE
ALBANY - At a time when state workers are being asked to forgo any pay hikes, the chief of staff to Gov. Paterson's wife was given a $25,000 raise in...
WALL STREETER TAPPED TO GET DETROIT IN GEAR
WASHINGTON - Wall Street financier Steven Rattner yesterday was named a counselor to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner for restructuring the ailing auto industry - the latest in a proliferation of...
'SLUMDOG' PUPS NOW HOMETOWN HEROES
For two of the smallest stars of "Slumdog Millionaire" and their poverty-stricken families, it's a Bollywood dream come true. Some 9,000 miles away from LA's Kodak Theatre, in a Mumbai...
LANE LENSES TO NAB CABS
The city is keeping an electronic eye on cabbies who run afoul of bus-only lanes. Two cameras are being installed along the terra cotta-colored express-bus lane at 34th Street between...
SURVEY RIPS HOME BAILOUT
Fifty-five percent of adults think the federal housing bailout plan is simply a reward for bad behavior on the part of homeowners who aren't paying their mortgages, according to a...
HOSP MISSED CANCER: SUIT
A Queens teen was forced to undergo a radical mastectomy after doctors failed to diagnose a cancerous tumor in her right breast - despite four trips to the emergency room...
A HIDDEN AGENDA AT THE DAILY NEWS
EVERY big newspaper has conflicts of interest - yet most publishers manage to be subtle about promot ing their extracurricular agendas. Our distinguished opposites at the Daily News, however, seem...
MICHELLE'S 'FIRST' LADY OF US: POLL
First Lady Michelle Obama is keeping pace with her hugely popular husband, earning positive ratings among more voters than previous first ladies have had at this stage in their husbands'...
VID CLEARS COP VICTIM
All charges were dropped yesterday against a disabled truck driver whose severe beating at the hands of a baton-swinging cop on the Lower East Side was caught on video. "I...
O'S A PRICE CHOPPER
WASHINGTON - President Obama yesterday took the wind out of plans to purchase a fleet of sophisticated new Marine One helicopters that could set taxpayers back more than $11 billion....
HILL'S BILL BACKS GILL
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who's been threatened with a primary battle from her left ever since Gov. Paterson tapped her to be New York's junior senator, got a big boost yesterday...
SCHOOL BUS FIRE CHAOS
A suspicious fire that wiped out a school bus fleet used by more than 500 Queens kids to get to and from Bronx high schools has left their families scrambling...
THAIN WILL SING
John Thain's bid to remain silent on who got how much of Merrill's 11th-hour payout of $3.6 billion in bonuses ended yesterday after a state judge cleared the ex-Merrill Lynch...
FAKE SOFTEES CREAMED
Two ice-cream vendors from Queens took a licking in federal court for peddling frosty treats in fake Mister Softee trucks. The soft-serve dessert company has won a $20,000 judgment for...
AIG MIGHT SEEK SHIFT IN US AID
American International Group, the insurer rescued by the Uncle Sam, may seek to convert preferred shares held by the government into common stock, a person familiar with the situation said....
FAT IN THE LIBRARIES
Major-league baseball training camps are open and tax-filing season is in full swing - so it's time again for the annual kabuki dance over . . . funding for city...
ARCHBISHOP DOLAN
New Yorkers yesterday got their first look at a man who's sure to become a fixture of the city's public life. Timothy Dolan, the Catholic archbishop of Milwaukee, Wisc., got...
MARTS ROUTED
Washington's big-bank fix scheme crashed with a big thud on Wall Street as stocks dived to 12-year lows yesterday. Traders said shares toppled across the board in a global sell-off...
PEPSI SQUEEZES ARNELL
After the last few months he's had, brand guru and designer Peter Arnell might well need a makeover himself. Hired last year by Pepsi to overhaul several US brands, including...
AN ENGAGING MAN OF CLOTH
Timothy Dolan comes into his job as archbishop of New York with a personality and résumé well-suited to returning the so-called seat of American Catholicism to the center of national...
HAVE A JURASSIC LARK
Going, going, extinct. A complete dinosaur skeleton will be sold at auction next month - a rare opportunity for New Yorkers to give their 21st-century habitats a little Jurassic decor....
BLOG MOVES TO GAWKER
Gawker Media founder Nick Denton, after trying unsuccessfully to sell Defamer.com, is now going to fold it into the flagship Gawker.com. Yesterday, he gave walking papers to Defamer's five West...
PETER CHERNIN TO EXIT NEWS CORP. IN JUNE
News Corp. President and Chief Operating Officer and Fox Group CEO Peter Chernin is stepping down when his contract expires on June 30. The company said that the Fox businesses...
BACKUP PITCHER
The daughter of New York's most stylish street seller - who peddled his potato peelers all the way to Park Avenue - is taking over her late father's stool. Ruth...
STATEMENT FROM RUPERT MURDOCH
As the Chairman of the New York Post, I am ultimately responsible for what is printed in its pages. The buck stops with me. Last week, we made a mistake....
A BULL'S-EYE ON 'JUNIOR'
John "Junior" Gotti may have met his match. Gotti's one-time best friend, John Alite, made his debut appearance as a turncoat yesterday and fingered the mob scion for lining his...
LI POL: GITMO LIKE CLUB MED
They should call it Camp Gitmo. Congress yesterday conducted its first inspection of the Guantanamo Bay military prison since President Obama ordered it closed. Long Island Rep. Peter King said...
YSL'S ART SALE A BLOCK-BUSTER
Christie's auction house kicked off a mind-blowing sale of the century yesterday, collecting $262 million in just one day of hawking art that belonged to late French fashion icon Yves...
BISHOP'S A REV-ELATION
Archbishop Timothy Dolan may be a gentle enforcer of conservative Vatican teaching - but he has a delightful fun streak that hit New York yesterday like a breath of fresh...
CHIMNEY-CREEP HEIST
Thieves hid behind a fake chimney to cut a hole in the roof of a Brooklyn bank - then made off with the contents of 60 safe-deposit boxes, police sources...
I'M OCTODAD, SAYS FORMER BEAU
Denis Beaudoin thinks his sperm was used to create Octomom's 14 kids - and he's willing to provide even more of his DNA to prove it. But Nadya Suleman insists...
RAIL SLOW GOING ON SUBWAYS - FOREVER!
Every "letter" line but the L will forever run slower on weekends - because of repair work NYC Transit says will never end. Transit officials said A, D, F, G,...
$410B BILL TURNS GRAPES INTO PORK
A $410 billion spending bill unveiled yesterday will fund the US government for the rest of the fiscal year - and kick in $2.2 million for the Center for Grape...
WEIRD BUT TRUE
Note to self: Leave the gun at home when you go to the bank. As an 18-year-old boy exchanged $88 in nickels at his neighborhood branch in Camden, Ark., an...
Shake and Bake
By MARC BERMANSo who has become a more clutch player in crunch time - restricted free agent Nate Robinson or restricted free agent David Lee?Robinson bailed out Lee with a...
MACAQUES ATTACK
THIS is either the most auspicious moment for a show about killer monkeys or maybe the absolute worst time in human memory for such a debut - considering the horrible...
SYMPATHY VOTE?
'AMERICAN Idol" has a new fa vorite - and he's already hip- deep in controversy. Depending on your point of view, church music director Danny Gokey's performance last week of...
FEW MORE TUNED IN FOR OSCARS
SUNDAY'S Oscarcast made some modest ratings gains over last year. ABC's coverage of the 81st Annual Academy Awards averaged 36.3 million viewers - up 4.3 million viewers from last year's...
MINI MEAN
'HELL'S Kitchen" contes tants terrorized by Gor don Ramsay are in for more profanity-laced humiliation - from his miniature alter ego. Nine-year-old Felix Light, who spoofs Ramsay (profanity and all)...
TV ON THE RISE
THE average American is now watching more TV than ever - more than 151 hours a month - according to the latest Nielsen research. While viewership of the Big Four...
DESTINATION:CANCUN
SINCE the 1970s, travelers winging from the Yucatan capital of Mérida to the holiday isle of Cozumel were all told about the biiiiiiiig plans for the enormous, largely empty sandbar...
10 SIGHTS YOU CANNOT MISS
1) The Big Maya Kahuna: Chichén Itzá Most of Cancun's sights are actually daytrips outside the city on the Caribbean coast or, like this one, inland. A two-and-a-half-hour, 100-mile drive...
WHERE TO STAY NOW
OF Cancun's hundreds of hotels, the following is a selection of the best and/or most interesting at the moment. Rates cited are for doubles and are generally the official published...
10 GREAT MEALS
ONE thing's for sure: you won't starve in Cancun, whether downtown or in the Hotel Zone. For the extremely unscientific selection below, I've tried to mostly stay away from hotel...
STRATEGIES
HERE are just a few observations and tips to keep in mind when approaching a trip to Cancun. 1) Getting There In the Tri-State area, you can book the four-hour-plus...
BEST OF THE WEB
AllAboutCancun.com One of a series of Mexico resort sites spun off from AllAboutCabo.com, this Texas-based operation lists a wide variety of local hotels, restaurants and so on, giving preference to...
NEWS + NOTES
MONK-Y BUSINESS THE ROCCO Forte Collection will officially be a dozen large when its 12th member, The Augustine, opens in Prague on May 14. The 101-roomer is being created from...
HOT DEALS!
ALASKA $399 per person for 7 nights aboard Island Princess, leaving Whittier, Alaska, stopping in Skagway, Juneau and Ketchikan before arriving in Vancouver, BC. Depart May 18 (princess.com). WEST COAST...
ON STORMY SEAS
UPDATE 3/6: This story, which ran in the Post on Feb. 24, references a 50 percent advance-booking discount on excursions with Holland America Line. This fact was confirmed both before...
50 STATES: Texas
FEEL free to weigh in on this one, but I think a lot more people would go to the opera if they could do so while lying out on the...