February 25, 2009
Four-year deal for Jacobs
BY PAUL SCHWARTZWhen the Giants on February 12 designated running back Brandon Jacobs as their franchise player the plan was to buy time in order to work out a multi-year...
Red Bull updates 2/25 (Stammler practices, RBNY to face Gallardo)
The Red Bulls will face River Plate tomorrow at 10 a.m. Argentine time (7 p.m. ET), and while we won't learn too much from the game since River will use...
Jets release Coles
By MARK CANNIZZAROWith the free agency signing period only hours away, the Jets made a rather stunning move today when they parted ways with receiver Laveranues Coles.The Jets, reaching a...
Opener odds and ends
FORT LAUDERDALE -- Some tidbits after Luis Castillo and Ryan Church combined for four hits and seven RBIs in the Mets' 9-3 win here over the Orioles in the Grapefruit...
STOCKS END DOWN AS WEEK'S BACK-AND-FORTH CONTINUES
Wall Street ended a choppy session with a loss, but showed its resilience as investors heard answers to some of their big questions about banks. The major indexes closed down...
COPS BUST BASH HOSTED BY CONN. TEEN PAGEANT WINNER
The reigning Miss Connecticut Outstanding Teen, a volunteer for Mothers Against Drunk Driving, held a party that resulted in two dozen people being charged with underage drinking, police said Wednesday....
HOUSE PASSES $410 BILLION PORK-FILLED BILL
Lawmakers indulged in a porkfest today after the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives approved a whopping $410 billion pork-filled bill to fund government operations through the end of the year. Despite...
Champions League: Liverpool and Chelsea Win
ReutersLiverpool secured a 1-0 victory over Real Madrid in Spain as Chelsea beat Juventus by the same score Wednesday night in the first leg of their Champions League Round of...
'Watchmen' Early Reviews
Warner Bros. is attempting to enforce an embargo on "Watchmen'' reviews, which have been popping up online fasting than crocuses after a spring rain. At least two of our sister...
RODRIGUEZ CLIMBS INTO CAR WITH 'STEROID' COUSIN
Just when you think Alex Rodriguez has figured out how to turn around this public relations' nightmare, he does something ridiculous. After Rodriguez won over some of the crowd and...
TIMOSHENKO SHOOTER GETS PRISON FOR LIFE
One of the men found guilty of killing a rookie cop in Brooklyn was sentenced today to life behind bars without the possibility of parole. Dexter Bostic, 36, was convicted...
'Hills' Season 5 Trailer: Wherefore Art Thou LC?
Just as we were settling into "The City," "The Hills" has come whooshing back into our lives.The Season 5 trailer below begins with a psychic reading where Tarot cards help...
COURT: HELMSLEY FORTUNE GOES TO MORE THAN DOGS
Real estate baroness Leona Helmsley's multibillion-dollar fortune can go to more than just the dogs. In a ruling announced Wednesday, a Manhattan judge said trustees managing Helmsley's estate can distribute...
COURT REJECTS NY DOC'S BID OVER EX'S KIDNEY
A court has rejected a New York surgeon's claim that he should get $1.5 million in his divorce settlement because he donated a kidney to his wife. Dr. Richard Batista...
Starr Report: The Bachelor
ABC's "The Bachelor" continues to defy expectations (including mine) in the numbers department, with Monday's two-hour "The Women Tell All" episode averaging 11 million viewers (8-10 p.m.). That's up 4.3...
Block Party
By FRED KERBERSo we asked Brook Lopez why the number 113 was significant."Hmmm, I'm guessing that's the number of games the Detroit Tigers lost that year when they were really...
A PEEK INSIDE MICHELLE OBAMA'S WHITE HOUSE
The Obama family is really enjoying life in the White House. In an interview with People magazine, First Lady Michelle Obama said the president and their two kids have dinner...
A-Rod gets mixed reaction
By GEORGE A. KING IIIDUNEDIN, Fla. - Alex Rodriguez's spring training debut could have gone better, but it could have gone a lot worse.Alex Rodriguez slowly won the majority of...
Dempsey scores in Fulham's 2-1 win
U.S. attacking options DaMarcus Beasley, Jozy Altidore and Freddy Adu have all struggled for playing time on their European sides. Clint Dempsey is having no such problems.His 77th-minute goal sparked...
OBAMA, GEITHNER LAY OUT BANK GUIDELINES
President Barack Obama and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner plan on Wednesday to lay out broad principles for Wall Street regulatory reform aimed at preventing a repeat of the current financial...
FDNY SUSPECTS ARSON AS APARTMENT BLAZE KILLS OAKLAND GARDENS COUPLE
Two people died when a suspicious fire ripped through the couple's Oakland Gardens apartment a little after 6:30 a.m. Wednesday, the Fire Department said. Fire officials said they found Yong...
Red Bull notes
Just clearing out the Red Bull notebook before I head to the Garden, and among the topics are Juan Pablo Angel's (minor) injury, a U.S. Open Cup pairing vs. San...
Green leaves with injury
FORT LAUDERDALE -- Mets reliever Sean Green, who started today's Grapefruit League opener here, left after just four batters with an unspecified injury. Green departed after consulting with Jerry Manuel...
NY UTILITY CUTOFFS JUMP 19%
Service cutoffs for New York's residential electric and gas customers jumped by almost 19 percent in 2008, but eased in January as deep cold triggered some "no-cutoff" protections. The state's...
BIG BANKS GET READY FOR STRESS TESTS
As the Obama administration begins "stress tests" to gauge the health of the nation's biggest banks, fresh evidence emerged of a weakening housing market, with sales of existing homes falling...
POLL: NEW YORKERS SAY THEY'RE FAT DRUNKS
Turns out that many New Yorkers think they're a bunch of drunks who love to overeat and smoke, according to a poll released today. The survey by the Siena College...
BERNANKE SPURNS TALK OF BANK NATIONALIZATION
-- Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is again spurning speculation that the government may nationalize Citigroup or other big banks. When asked about Citigroup by the House Financial Services Committee,...
BIDEN: USE IT WISELY OR LOSE IT
WASHINGTON - Vice President Joe Biden said Wednesday the Obama administration is determined to speed the $787 billion in stimulus money to Americans clamoring for economic relief, with checks going...
OBAMA CHOOSES LOCKE TO RUN COMMERCE
WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama introduced former Washington Gov. Gary Locke as his nominee for Commerce secretary Wednesday, trying a third time to fill a key Cabinet post for a...
JANUARY EXISTING HOME SALES FALL BY 5.3 PERCENT
Sales of existing homes unexpectedly plunged in January to the lowest level in nearly 12 years as pessimism about the economy grew and buyers waited for President Barack Obama's plan...
Report: Nugent leaving Jets
The Newark Star-Ledger is reporting that K Mike Nugent has rejected the Jets offer and is now an unrestricted free agent, who will be looking to sign with another team...
D'Antoni unsure Marbury can help Celts
By MARC BERMANMike D'Antoni didn't exactly give a ringing endorsement this morning on Boston's decision to sign Stephon Marbury after he clears waivers."I don't know,'' D'Antoni said when asked if...
ON-THE-JOB TRAINING
THE "clueless" John Tortorella ran his first snappy practice yesterday of a Ranger team he admits to knowing not enough about. In time, he is not going to be especially...
OCTOMOM MIGHT NOT GET BABIES
Octomom Nadya Suleman is worried that the California hospital where she gave birth last month won't release her octuplets until she "has a better living arrangement," TV host "Dr. Phil"...
Grapefruit: Mets at Orioles
FORT LAUDERDALE -- Not surprisingly, considering the distance, the Mets have left all but three of their regulars back in Port St. Lucie for today's Grapefruit League opener here against...
DEALS: Half Moon Bay < $200 a night
South of the South Bay (the real one, up in Northern California, where you'll find damn near the primest real estate abutting the Pacific), hotels are stopping just short of...
Mets' fifth starter competition
The top four spots in the Mets rotation are all set:Johan SantanaMike PelfreyJohn MaineOliver PerezThroughout Spring Training we will be taking a look at which pitcher will be the Mets...
FAMILY SUES NYPD POLICE OVER STUN GUN DEATH
The family of an emotionally disturbed man who plummeted headfirst to his death when police stunned him with a Taser is suing the NYPD and the officers involved in the...
IT'S ALL ABOUT THE OJ
After my last Posting, Sal dropped a comment noting it was great to have Where's Kernan? back in 24-7 action, but "aren't you going to miss the weather'' up north.He...
3 UP: Sanchez, Met Pen, Cabrera
1. The Mets like that Duaner Sanchez came to camp in good shape, which has not always been the case in his Met days. If Sanchez is right, the Mets...
2 DEAD IN QUEENS FIRE
The city's second fatal fire in two days killed a couple in their Queens apartment early this morning. Yong Ho Kim, 52, and his wife Sun He Kim, 45, died...
The Daily Whacks, Wednesday Edition
I know there will be a fair percentage of Knicks fans who hope Stephon Marbury's penchant for icing down teams will carry over to Boston, that the Celtics' drive for...
TURKISH CRASH PROVES SAFETY THEORY
AMSTERDAM -- A Turkish Airlines jetliner plummeted out of the sky and plowed into a muddy field on approach to Amsterdam this morning, but remarkably, 126 people -- most of...
Champions League: Manchester United and Inter Tie
APManchester United held Inter Milan to a 0-0 tie Tuesday night in the first leg of a European Champions League matchup between the league leaders in England and Italy, extending...
NYPD DAILY BLOTTER
Manhattan A thief busted for shoplifting in a lower Manhattan department store has been linked to two bank robberies, police sources said yesterday. On Feb. 20, Martin Villa, 30, was...
THE PAST AS MUCH OF A PROBLEM AS PHILS
PORT ST. LUCIE - Cole Hamels is not the Mets' problem, the cold hammer of facts is. History is a much greater threat to this group's ego than anything a...
ONE LAST CHANCE TO BE STEPH OF LEGENDS
TAMPA - One more time, one last time, Stephon Marbury has a chance to put a proper ending on a basketball career that once promised so much, that to date...
DEAD TO KNICKS, MARBURY LIKELY HEADED TO CELTS
Stephon Marbury left a prestigious Manhattan law office in a black overcoat at 2:30 p.m. yesterday, skipping across the cold Times Square streets in glee, raising his arms in triumph,...
ROUGH RECEPTION IS EXPECTED FOR A-ROID
TAMPA - Today in Dunedin, Fla., Alex Rodriguez gets the first taste of what baseball fans without an NY on their hat or in their heart think about his admitted...
WADA HEAD: HEY, BASEBALL, COME CLEAN
The head of the World Anti-Doping Agency called on Major League Baseball to be as open as possible about steroids, arguing against any premature closure of cases involving Alex Rodriguez...
JETER NO LONGER SPRING CHICKEN
TAMPA - This was early last week, just after Derek Jeter moved his stuff into his familiar locker by the back wall inside the home clubhouse at George M. Steinbrenner...
DEREK GETS BACK ON FIELD AFTER HAMMY PROBLEM
TAMPA - Derek Jeter's right hamstring isn't an issue any longer. Jeter, who sat out running drills Sunday, returned to the program yesterday at George M. Steinbrenner Field when he...
2 BRAVEST INJURED AT QNS. FIRE
Two firefighters were hospitalized after falling 15 feet while fighting a four-alarm blaze in Queens last night, authorities said. It wasn't immediately clear what caused them to plunge while in...
3 NEW COUNCIL MEMBERS
Voters chose three City Council members in special elections yesterday to fill vacant seats. Julissa Ferreras won in the 21st District in Queens - including Corona, East Elmhurst, parts of...
SHOOT TEEN CURSES JURY
A 16-year-old Harlem gang member cursed out the prosecutor and the jury yesterday as he was convicted of shooting five rival teens during a shoot-'em-up last Memorial Day in Marcus...
QNS. GUN NUT GETS 20 YEARS
He should have tried paintball. A Manhattan judge threw a demented gun nut in prison for 20 years after rejecting his lawyer's claim that he's just a harmless sharpshooting fan....
MISSILE PAYBACK
A Syrian-born arms dealer was sentenced in Manhattan yesterday to 30 years in prison for trying to sell Colombian narco-terrorists highly sophisticated weapons - including 15 surface-to-air missiles intended to...
'RAISING' THE HEAT ON DAVE
ALBANY - Gov. Paterson has worsened his "serious credibility problem" with state workers by giving an aide to his wife a $25,000 raise, a spokesman for the state's biggest public-employee...
$490 MILLION RAIL WELCOME
Two of the MTA's most costly projects are in line for millions in federal funds. The Second Avenue subway is slated to receive $280 million, and $210 million is reserved...
MIKE SETS EARLY TV BLITZ
He's got a comfortable lead in the polls, but Mayor Bloomberg isn't taking any chances on his bid for a third term and will launch TV campaign commercials earlier this...
IT'S A DATE: IRAQ TROOP PULLOUT IN AUG. 2010
WASHINGTON - The United States plans to withdraw most of its troops from Iraq by August 2010, according to Obama administration officials. The withdrawal plan would fulfill one of President...
BAM VOWS: 'WE WILL RECOVER'
WASHINGTON - Telling Americans battered by the economic disaster that a "day of reckoning" is at hand, President Obama last night called on the country to pull together and declared,...
O SEEKS HISTORIC SHIFT IN US POLITICS
BEHOLD the ambition of President Obama. It's not just that he wants to revive the economy and save the banking system, while reforming energy, health care and education. He seeks...
SUPER COOL OBAMA RISES TO THE OCCASION
WASHINGTON - Change arrived in the hallowed halls of Congress last night. It came in the form of 19 "thank yous" to quiet the thunderous applause from an ecstatic crowd...
FADING PATERSON GETS POLL-VERIZED
ALBANY - A second poll yesterday showed Gov. Paterson - under attack for proposed budget cuts and a botched Senate selection process - with record-low approval ratings, and losing badly...
WHINING AND DINING
RESTAURANTS are doing everything short of dropping their pants to lure customers. Owners and chefs talk so gloomily, you'd think bleu cheese on a burger instead of cheddar was a...
THIS FOX IS FREE TO PROWL
The sexiest woman on Earth is back on the market. Sci-fi starlet Megan Fox and her longtime fiancé, Brian Austin Green, have called it quits, according to Us Weekly. The...
STEPPING UP TO THE PLATE
BUY me some peanuts and Cracker Jack - and a California roll? NYC stadium fare has long been notoriously bad, stuck in an era of soggy dogs and watery beer....
STARR REPORT
ABC's "The Bachelor" con tinues to defy expectations (in cluding mine) in the numbers department, with Monday's two-hour "The Women Tell All" episode averaging 11 mil lion viewers (8-10 p.m.)....
'ABFAB' CAST
DAVID Mamet's daughter, Zosia Mamet, will co-star in Fox's "Absolutely Fabulous." She's been cast as Saffron, the daughter of Eddie (Kathryn Hahn), who's pals with Patsy (Kristen Johnson) in this...
PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF REFLECTION
YOU have to hand it to filmmaker Astra Taylor. She knows how to take the dullness out of talking heads, the mainstay (and downfall) of countless documentaries. In "Examined Life,"...
PAULA: FOURTH JUDGE IS MISTAKE
PAULA Abdul isn't too keen on the addition of fourth judge Kara DioGuardi to "American Idol" this season. It's nothing personal, she says - just business. "Kara and I have...
RICHTER AND CONAN COME TOGETHER AGAIN
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 June 1 from Jay...
SHAKE SPARE: LESS IS MOOR
YOU don't find Shakespearean productions more low-con cept than the Theatre for a New Audience's "Othello." Performed on a bare stage with simple props and no stars, this solid revival...
SINKING FAST
A few weeks ago, the produc- ers of "48 Hours Mystery," a show I never get tired of watching, began a limited three-episode series called, "Live to Tell," a strikingly...
FARE DEAL FOR CH. 2
THERE'S nothing that TV execs love more than a captive audience, and that's exactly what they're getting in New York City's taxicabs. So far, it's paid off for both Ch....
PLOT WITH A PINCH OF ASSAULT
WHILE watching not one but two characters pretend to urinate onstage at the Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, it struck me that this wasn't the first time I'd been forced to witness...
PADRAIG'S ROAD MUCH TOUGHER
MARANA, Ariz. - If there was one player who benefited from the absence of Tiger Woods it was Padraig Harrington, who won the British Open and PGA Championship and was...
OSI'S RECOVERY DE-LIGHTS GIANTS
The free-agent signing period begins tomorrow at midnight and the Giants can dive in feeling confident that they have a full complement of defensive ends, which will free them up...
HEALTHY, FIRED-UP WOODS CREATES REAL MIS-MATCH
MARANA, Ariz. - It's a frightening thought for the rest of the PGA Tour, but good news for those who enjoy watching Tiger Woods rewrite golf history. With a reconstructed...
NETS UPBEAT, EXCEPT FOR VINCE
The Nets basked in the afterglow of Devin Harris' game-winning, halfcourt shot that gave them one of the most improbable triumphs in their history. Everybody seemed perky - it was...
FEHR FEARS MORE STEROID NAMES BEING REVEALED
PORT ST. LUCIE - Baseball union chief Donald Fehr yesterday condemned the possibility of anyone joining Alex Rodriguez on the list of players outed for steroid use. Fehr, who spoke...
MYSTERY INJURY KOS TATIS
PORT ST. LUCIE - A mysterious injury to Fernando Tatis' right hand continues to sideline the veteran utilityman. Tatis told The Post he would be unable to play today when...
SUTTER MUM ON MARTY ETA
Devils coach Brent Sutter hinted yesterday that Martin Brodeur will not return tomorrow. Sutter said that he will wait until after practice today to make a decision about tomorrow night's...
MAINE'S SHOULDER 'GREAT' IN FIRST TEST
PORT ST. LUCIE - John Maine is giving the Mets one less reason for concern this spring. Considered a vital cog in the rotation this year, the right-hander continues to...
TORTORELLA TO RIDE RANGERS' BEST PLAYERS
TORONTO - A year ago, when John Tortorella was behind the Lightning bench, Marty St. Louis led NHL forwards in ice time while Vincent Lecavalier was third. Two years ago,...
HOME ON ISLES' MINDS
The Islanders still can't be sure where they're going to be playing in a few years. It might be Long Island - either at Nassau Coliseum or a new building;...
SPORTS SHORTS
SPORTS SHORTSNFL: Colts part ways with Harrison The Colts released Marvin Harrison, ending the star receiver's 13-year stay with the team. Colts owner Jim Irsay announced the move yesterday after...
'CUSE FANS CONTROL GARDEN IN ROUT OF STORM
There are games to forget and games that should never be forgotten. Ever. If one day St. John's cuts down the nets at the Garden as Big East Tournament champs...
KEEP PITT DOWN: NO. 1 FALLS AGAIN
All Providence coach Keno Davis wanted was for his team to be part of the conversation about who will be in the NCAA Tournament field. They're talking about the Friars...
LIL WAYNE LOSS
A Manhattan judge ruled yesterday that cops acted properly last summer when they boarded rapper Lil Wayne's tour bus and seized the gun that could send the star to prison...
ARREST ME, YOU IDIOTS!
A dimwitted thief shouted from his apartment window that he knocked off a Bushwick bodega while calling cops "idiots" for grabbing the wrong guy, authorities said yesterday. Raymond Gramby, 37,...
'JUST 1 DRINK' RISKS CANCER
LONDON - As little as one alcoholic drink a day appears to increase a woman's odds of developing several forms of cancer, a British study published yesterday has found. The...
SWINDLE SUSPECT WINS A ROUND
Accused socialite swindler Dina Wein-Reis should be sleeping easier today - a judge ordered the feds to return linens, furniture and artwork seized from her Upper West Side mansion. Defense...
REAL COPS NAB AN O-FAUX-CER
This is one Queens man's idea of Saturday-night fun: don a police-type uniform and cruise the Meatpacking District, offering rides to strangers. Jun Lin, 42, of Elmhurst, was busted at...
SINGERS SEEK PAY FOR PLAY
WASHINGTON - Sheryl Crow, will.i.am, Herbie Hancock and other entertainers yesterday urged Congress to force AM and FM radio stations to pay performers when their music is broadcast. They appeared...
GOING TO THE MATTRESSES
THE horror. The hor ror. As I sat, scratch ing miserably - Is that dry skin? Or is something eating me alive? - the City Council cranked up its brain...
A MURAL DILEMMA IN SOHO
The iconic black and white mural of the Manhattan skyline that has adorned the side of a SoHo landmark for nearly 20 years may soon fade to gray. New owners...
MADE FROM $CRATCH
Security guard Michael Levy is one of the state's newest millionaires, after winning $1 million in the Hollywood Cashword scratch-off game. On Feb. 13, taking a break from his overnight...
TWO DEAD, 28 HURT IN CHINATOWN TENEMENT FIRE
A deadly inferno tore through a Chinatown apartment building yesterday, killing two and forcing terrified residents to leap from their windows to escape the flames, cops and witnesses said. The...
PIVEN'S POISONAL PLEA
JEREMY PIVEN is on the hook. He goes before the grievance committee of Actors' Equity tomorrow to defend his much-snickered-at claim that high levels of mercury in his bloodstream, brought...
KIDS' INAUGURAL TRIP A COSTLY BUST: SUIT
An Upper West Side dad paid more than $2,500 for his 12-year-old daughter to witness President Obama taking the oath of office - but instead, she wound up watching the...
HE'S IN A NY STATE OF GRACE
The incoming archbishop of New York says he'll be a "tourist for one year" as he samples the Big Apple's heavenly delights - among them a brand-new Yankee Stadium and...
BANK HEIST ON VID
"Dog Day Afternoon" it wasn't. They brought a phony chimney to work behind, a specialized, heavy-duty blowtorch to blast through thick concrete and knew what jewels were worth keeping and...
BEST FRIEND EYED A 'HIT' ON JUNIOR
John A. "Junior" Gotti did such a bad job filling his father's shoes, his own best friend was planning to whack him. Former Gambino associate John Alite dropped the bombshell...
JAILED DOG KILLER THREATENS EX
Six years ago, he got 12 years prison for cruelly hurling his former-girlfriend's pet terrier, Ribsy, to his death off of her 23rd-floor balcony in TriBeCa. Now, heartless John Jefferson...
QNS. GUN BUYBACK ON TARGET
A buyback program that allowed residents in southeast Queens to turn in guns and other weapons at six churches was so successful - with 919 surrendered in a mere six...
LAST MADOFF VICTIMS LOSE
A Long Island family that invested $10 million with Bernard Madoff just days before the accused Ponzi schemer was busted cannot immediately recover its money from his frozen assets. Federal...
SULLY: PILOT CUT$ THREATEN AIR SAFETY
WASHINGTON - The hero pilot who safely ditched a jetliner in the Hudson River warned yesterday that airlines skimping on pilot compensation could reap deadly consequences. "I am worried that...
'DEATH SENTENCE'
WASHINGTON - The air-traffic controller who handled US Airways Flight 1549 captivated a congressional hearing yesterday in his first public account of the Hudson River ditching that he thought would...
BARS ON PRIMATE SALE OK'D
A week after a chimpanzee mauled and mutilated a Connecticut woman, the House of Representatives yesterday passed legislation that would ban the sale of primates via international or interstate commerce....
RUSE A BLOND BOMB
Evidence collected in a sting by a Brooklyn mom who dressed like a young blonde to compromise a juror wasn't enough to overturn her son's murder conviction, prosecutors said yesterday....
WEIRD BUT TRUE
She was so close to being eligible for a Darwin Award. An Evansville, Ind., woman decided to tackle her lice problem by washing her hair in gasoline. Unfortunately, gasoline is...
BLOOMY'S RUNNING . . . BUT IN WHICH DIRECTION?
THE ISSUE: Mayor Bloomberg's political leanings and his bid for a third term. *** Mayor Bloomberg is a leftist? Stop the presses ("Mike Marches Left," Jacob Gershman, PostOpinion, Feb. 23)....
AMERICA'S DURBAN DISGRACE
There's nothing new about anti-Semitism at the United Nations - except that now it apparently has the support of the United States. Washington has joined in the UN's preparations for...
UNTRUTH IN ADVERTISING
"The public needs to resist. . . The ads that are run[ning] are, unfortunately, very hard-hitting, very dire and unfair. . . New York is running a bloated [government spending]...
OBAMA'S ORATORY
President Obama's proxy State of the Union Address last night was nothing if not rousing. The rhetoric soared and the oratory resonated - and here's hoping the speech rallied Americans...
Green with envy
By MARC BERMANI am sure Donnie Walsh has a recurring nightmare, waking up in a cold sweat after dreaming about the 2009 NBA Finals Trophy presentation, with Kevin Garnett joyously...
THE MTA MELTDOWN
MTA board members were off to Albany yesterday to beg the state for more money. So far, though, all the pols have given us on the sinking state-run transit authority...
THE PUTIN PLAN TO SUCKER AMERICA
THE toughest challenge Americans face in dealing with Vladimir Putin's Russia is that we insist on complicating the obvious. Putin's schemes are plain as day, but we insist on polishing...
MIDTOWN TOWER MAY BE REVIVED
PROSKAUER Rose, the law firm that backed out of leasing a big chunk of Mort Zuckerman's planned Midtown tower, thus putting the project on hold, may be back at the...
AIG MAY NIX SALES OF ASSETS
American International Group CEO Edward Liddy is learning a hard lesson about selling stuff that nobody wants. Yesterday, cash-strapped AIG said it might scrap plans to pay back Uncle Sam...
NO RELIEF IN SIGHT FOR RETAIL GIANTS
Three retail titans - Macy's, Target and Home Depot - delivered dismal quarterly results, saying the outlook for consumer spending remains dire. Macy's fourth-quarter profit slid 59 percent, with CEO...
MALL BIG GETS A DEBT BREAK
General Growth Properties, the US mall owner that has lost 99 percent of its market value, rose 36 percent in New York trading after saying lenders haven't demanded full repayment...
VORNADO POSTS LOSS
Vornado Realty Trust, the third biggest US real estate investment trust, reported a fourth-quarter loss as office tenants cut jobs and the company wrote down assets. The net loss was...
BUSINESS BRIEFS
Merrill muff Merrill Lynch said its auditor found "material weaknesses" it its inter nal controls over ac counting. Deloitte & Touche said Merrill didn't maintain "effec tive" internal control over...
NY ROOF DOESN'T FALL IN
While the nation's home values plunged at the worst rate on record in a dismal December, homeowners in the New York City area got a break from the double-digit washout....
GETTING NASTY AT CONDé
FOR years, Condé Nast seemed to ride above the fray in the consumer magazine world. But in 2009, that is no longer the case. The publisher is reeling more than...
OUT OF BOUNDS
Call it Northern Distrust. That's the sentiment of several lawmakers who are blasting Chicago-based financial firm Northern Trust for throwing several lavish parties last week in Los Angeles just months...
FED'S GENTLE BEN TALKS MARKETS OFF A CLIFF
Ben Bernanke's finally found his voice to rally markets, proclaiming the US recession could actually end in 2010 - if no one drops the ball. Investors appeared to like the...
ALL IN THE FAMILY
Billionaire investor-agitator Carl Icahn is aiming to leverage his 14 percent stake in Lionsgate into a board seat for his son Brett, The Post has learned. Icahn increased his Lionsgate...
ENFATICO SLASHES AD STAFF ON DELL'S SLOWDOWN
Enfatico, the WPP agency created to handle Dell's ad business, is slashing 8 percent of its workforce, or about 80 employees. In a corporate blog posting, the agency said the...
PHILLY EXEC'S BONUS AXED
Brian Tierney, CEO of Philadelphia's two daily newspapers pledged yesterday to roll back a $232,000 raise while his firm reorganizes in bankruptcy court. Philadelphia Newspapers LLC, which publishes The Philadelphia...
FORD WILL CUT EXEC PAY, OFFER BUYOUTS
Hourly workers at Ford Motor Co. will get yet another round of buyout and early retirement offers, and the company's top two executives will take 30 percent pay cuts as...
BAM'S BOLD GAMBLE
WITH a speech to match the most eloquent os State of the Union Addresses, with strains of FDR and JFK and a touch of Winston Churchill thrown in, President Obama...
ACORN'S HOUSING-RIGHTS HUSTLERS
PRESIDENT Obama used his speech last night to advance his massive government plan to help "responsible" homeowners avoid foreclosure. While gently acknowledging that "people bought homes they knew they couldn't...
FERRERAS WINS SPECIAL COUNCIL RACE
After a campaign that brought out far more posters than voters in Corona, Elmhurst and East Elmhurst, Julissa Ferreras has won election to the City Council seat vacated by her...
ULRICH, 24, EASILY WINS COUNCIL SEAT
Republican District Leader Eric Ulrich is poised to become one of the youngest city councilmen ever to serve Queens after he handily defeated three opponents in the special election to...
Seven Mets, Yankees prospects make BA Top 100
The Mets and Yankees each had multiple prospects in Baseball America's Top 100 Prospects list, which was released today.Fernando Martinez was the highest-ranked prospect among the local players, coming in...
OBAMA VOWS TO LEAD U.S. FROM DIRE 'DAY OF RECKONING'
President Barack Obama promised a nation shuddering in economic crisis Tuesday night that he would lead it from a dire "day of reckoning" to a brighter future, summoning politicians and...
METS' MAINE CLEARS FIRST HURDLE
PORT ST. LUCIE - Mets starter John Maine cleared a hurdle Tuesday, pitching in a game for the first time since September surgery to shave a bone spur in his...
Tivo Alert: 31 Days of Oscar, Day 26, How Fox Viewed India in 1939
It's interesting to compare the gritty, colorful "Slumdog Millionaire'' with a super-glossy black-and-white film set in India that Fox released 70 years earlier, "The Rains Came.'' Based on a popular...