March 9, 2009
PETTITTE SHARP IN SPRING DEBUT
TAMPA - Andy Pettitte felt so good in his first spring training start that the Yankees let him pitch longer than his scheduled one-inning stint. Pettitte allowed one hit over...
Barton visits Browns
LB Eric Barton became the latest Jets player to visit Eric Mangini's Browns, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer.The Browns are talking to LB David Bowens, and signed DL C.J....
Pagan has bone spur in elbow
PORT ST. LUCIE -- Tough break for Angel Pagan: The Mets just announced that the outfield candidate has a bone spur in the back of his right elbow. The club's...
This and that
PORT ST. LUCIE -- Some news, notes and observations after the Mets rallied for a dramatic, 9-8 win here over the Orioles in Grapefruit League play: * Nick Evans, who...
Pettitte: Pressure on pitchers
APAndy Pettitte says with Alex Rodriguez absent for the start of this season, the pressure to perform falls to the Yankees starting pitchers. "I feel like this team is going...
Manuel: Signing Pedro unlikely
PORT ST. LUCIE -- Jerry Manuel today appeared to douse any speculation that the Mets would bring back Pedro Martinez to fill their fifth-starter vacancy, saying the club is committed...
TAKEDOWN!
In tomorrow's hour-long season finale of A&E's "Manhunters," the US Marshals of the Regional Fugitive Task Force (RFTF) put taxpayers' dollars to good use by cleaning up the streets of...
N.W.A. biopic destined to improve police-rapper relationships
According to EW.com, the influential gangsta rap group N.W.A. is getting the movie treatment along the lines of "8 Mile" and "Notorious." The straight-out-of-Compton group consisted of future stars Ice...
COP EYED IN GAL PAL'S SLAY GETS PSYCH EVALUATION
NEW YORK - A former New York Police Department narcotics officer embroiled in a corruption scandal shot and killed his girlfriend before surrendering at a precinct station with a loaded...
Santana's first start Thursday
PORT ST. LUCIE -- Johan Santana's first start of the spring will be here Thursday night against the Marlins, Jerry Manuel announced this afternoon. Speaking after a 9-8 Grapefruit League...
NYC ECONOMIC DOWNTURN WILL BE 'DEEP, PROTRACTED'
The city's sagging economy will be "deep and protracted" and likely lag behind the rest of the country because of declining tax revenues, according to a budget watchdog group. Ronnie...
'MIRACLE ON THE HUDSON' VIDEO GAME PULLED
Discovery Channel has now removed the "Miracle on the Hudson" video game from its Web site after realizing it wasn't the best idea in the world--and was in questionable taste....
Ratings: Not So 'Bad' For Meth Drama
Last night's second-season premiere of "Breaking Bad" scored strong numbers for AMC. The Bryan Cranston drama averaged 1.7 million viewers at 10 p.m., up a whopping 42 percent over last...
'DWTS' WINNER CASTRONEVES' NEVER-SEEN $5M KEY IN TAX TRIAL
To this day, race car driver and "Dancing with The Stars" winner Helio Castroneves hasn't seen a single dime of $5 million in licensing money he was promised under a...
Najera out for the year, VC OK
By BRIAN LEWISThe Nets got some mixed injury news yesterday. Eduardo Najera will undergo hernia surgery that will likely end his season; the prognosis was much better for Vince Carter,...
Gold Cup to 13 cities, July 26 final in NY
CONCACAF can't do anything about the economy, but they're sure making it as easy as possible for fans to get to this summer's Gold Cup. They've announced a record 13...
COP SUSPECTED IN LONG ISLAND BEATING
ROOSEVELT, N.Y. - A man who may have been panhandling outside a Long Island deli was beaten by a New York City police officer and three others, who hurled racial...
Pelfrey to return Saturday
PORT ST. LUCIE -- Mike Pelfrey, who has been out since last Friday with a muscle strain in his lower left leg, said he will return to the rotation for...
Would You Let Bret's 'Bus' Babysit Your Kids?
In a touching twist, last night's "Rock of Love Bus" made a pit stop on its tour of booze-fueled bus romping at Motherly Lane.Poison frontman Bret Michaels surprised his newest...
LORNE MICHAELS' STALKER GETS OFF EASY
A self-styled standup comedian who was accused of stalking "Saturday Night Live" producer Lorne Michaels left court Monday practically a free man after his case was adjourned for six months....
Around the Minors, Monday, March 2
With spring training fully underway, players from across the Beating the Bushes universe are in major league camp with the Mets and Yankees. Because of the additional losses to each...
DENTIST'S WIFE PLANNED TO TAPE MURDER: PROSECUTORS
The Queens woman who hired a relative to kill her dentist husband had planned to videotape the murder as "insurance" in case the hitman later decided to "double-cross" her, prosecutors...
Rivera 'right on track'
APCloser Mariano Rivera threw 30 pitches during his third bullpen session. Coming back from surgery on the AC joint in his right shoulder last Oct. 7, Rivera is scheduled to...
MAN ARRAIGNED FOR DIPLOMAT'S WIFE'S SLAY
A Long Island man accused of brutally stabbing to death the wife of a former US diplomat was arraigned today and charged with second-degree murder. Robert Schiavo, 22, who repeatedly...
A-ROD SURGERY GOES 'EXACTLY AS PLANNED'
TAMPA -- The Yankees couldn't have heard sweeter words than the ones Dr. Marc Phillipon uttered after operating on Alex Rodriguez's right hip this morning in Vail, Colo. "The surgery...
Weekend box office
While you were busy watching UNC defeat Duke on the hard wood, how did it all shake out?1. Watchmen $55.6 millionThe non-superhero superhero movie pulled in quite a bit of...
ASHLEE RETURNS TO TV FOR 'MELROSE'
Ashlee Simpson-Wentz is returning to TV, full-time. After taking five years off from acting to focus on her music, Simpson-Wentz - seven years after getting her start on the WB's...
MCCAIN'S DAUGHTER COMPARES GOP TO DONNY OSMOND
The daughter of Republican Sen. John McCain called President Obama "the hippest politician around" - then complained that being a member of the GOP is "about as edgy as Donny...
Binghamton plays for NCAA bid
A couple of weeks ago in this blog,I wrote about the downfall of the local NCAA basketball teams. And mentioned some New York teams that were a little further away,...
VANCE ANNOUNCES CANDIDACY FOR D.A.
Former prosecutor Cyrus Vance Jr. has formally announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for Manhattan district attorney. Vance spokesman Kevin Wardally says the candidate was joined by about 50...
PENTAGON: CHINESE SHIPS HARASSING U.S. VESSELS
WASHINGTON - Five Chinese vessels "shadowed and aggressively maneuvered'' towards a US Navy ship in the South China Sea -- at one point closing to within 25 feet of the...
Pulse Sales: Rachel Roy
RACHEL ROY230 Fifth Ave., between 26th and 27th streets; 212-920-1211Sale: March 15-19. Sun.-Thurs., 10 a.m.-5 p.m.Up to 75 percent off retail.WHITE + WARREN80 W. 40th St., between Fifth and Sixth...
A-Rod's hip should've been checked out last year
Sept. 24, 2008.That's the day after the Yankees were officially eliminated from playoff contention last season, and it's the day Alex Rodriguez should have had his hip checked out.After news...
Parcells is in the house
PORT ST. LUCIE -- Bill Parcells, who lives in nearby Jupiter, Fla., and (for now) is in charge of the Miami Dolphins, stopped by the Mets' camp this morning. Parcells...
WARREN BUFFETT: THE ECONOMY HAS FALLEN OFF A CLIFF
Billionaire Warren Buffett said unemployment will likely climb a lot higher depending upon how effective the nation's policies are, but he remains optimistic over the long term. Buffett said the...
OBAMA SIGNS ORDER REVERSING BAN ON STEM CELL RESEARCH
WASHINGTON - Reversing Bush policy, President Barack Obama on Monday cleared the way for a significant increase in federal dollars for embryonic stem cell research and promised no scientific data...
Santana throws solid bullpen
PORT ST. LUCIE -- More good news on the Johan Santana front: The Mets' ace threw a roughly 35-pitch bullpen session here this morning and reported no problems whatsoever with...
N. KOREA THREATENS WAR OVER SATELLITE
SEOUL, South Korea - North Korea put its troops on alert and cut the last hot line to Seoul on Monday as the American and South Korean militaries began joint...
Serie A: Napoli in Freefall
When Napoli were title contenders at the start of the Serie A season, they were scoring goals and making new fans along the way, despite the millions more Inter Milan...
DIRTY COP A 'KILLER'
A scandal-scarred former narcotics cop who had agreed to testify against another indicted officer fatally shot his girlfriend in Brooklyn yesterday, police sources said. Jerry Bowens, 43, shot 28-year-old Catherine...
The Daily Whacks, Monday Edition
Nobody is going to make the argument that Cody Ransom is going to approach Alex Rodriguez in any manner, shape or form if he winds up being the April Band-Aid...
Blog poll: Pedro Martinez
PORT ST. LUCIE -- As a follow-up to the No. 5 starter poll I posted last week, momentum has grown for the Mets to bring back free agent Pedro Martinez...
Grapefruit: Orioles at Mets
PORT ST. LUCIE -- The Mets will put one of their most recognizable lineups since the start of the WBC on the field here today when Brandon Knight (pictured) takes...
10 Best 'Idol' Songs - Ever
To help kick off "American Idol" 8.0, we hit the charts in search for the best songs from season's past. Our picks for the best "Idol" alumni songs include some...
MERCK TO BUY SCHERING FOR $41B
TRENTON, New Jersey - Merck & Co. is buying Schering-Plough Corp. for $41.1 billion in stock and cash in a deal that gives the companies more firepower to compete in...
3 UP: THE FUTURE FOR A-ROD AND THE YANKS
1. Alex Rodriguez will never be an underdog. He is too famous, too rich and too talented for that. But he is going to be at such a low point...
3 UP: THE FUTURE FOR A-ROD AND THE YANKS
1. Alex Rodriguez will never be an underdog. He is too famous, too rich and too talented for that. But he is going to be at such a low point...
CURRY: I'D SUPPORT TRADE FROM KNICKS
Eddy Curry, back practicing with the Knicks, said in his first interview in a month he'd support getting traded if it meant the best for the Knicks' future. Knicks brass...
STEM-CELL CASH BAN ENDS TODAY
WASHINGTON - President Obama will lift George W. Bush's restriction on federal funding of human embryonic stem-cell research today and will give the National Institutes of Health four months to...
VANCE EARLY TO THE DANCE
Cyrus Vance Jr. didn't wait for Manhattan DA Robert Morgenthau's endorsement to lay the groundwork to replace the veteran prosecutor. He started more than a year ago - and that...
OFF THE CHARTS!
After seven seasons of introducing the next big musical thing - or so they hope - "American Idol" has produced an incredible list of singers who've gone on to become...
GO TO GREG
Q I work at a company where management believes that people who work overtime are more productive and more valuable than those who don't. I have strong time-management skills and...
JUMPING ROPE
'APPARENTLY, you don't know who I am." When the economy was rolling along and New York's I-banker army had cash to burn on bottle service and VIP tables, the city's...
THE AVENGERS
She was a successful senior executive at a Fortune 500 company in New York City, and one who could fairly be described as not having a mean bone in her...
BRIGHT AS RAIN
Look 1: Rare Donna trench coat, $360 at Atrium, 644 Broadway Printed tights, $3.90 at H&M Rain boots, $24.99 at target.com Headband, $4.50 at Old Navy, 610 Sixth Ave.Look 2:...
BEYONCE SPARKLES
Oh, man, if A-Rod had hips like these, he'd never get hurt! Beyoncé glitters in TriBeCa yesterday as she shoots a promotional video for her concert tour.
COKE STASHED IN DOCTORED PEPPER
Three people bought peppers at a Queens store last night and found them even hotter than they expected - all of them had bags of cocaine inside, police sources said....
'BOLD' FOGY'S BATTLE
He's got a name, attitude and history that make him a natural fighter. Nobody messes with Joshua Hope, 89, who spent six years in a Chinese labor camp for standing...
NYPD DAILY BLOTTER
Manhattan A knife-wielding robber swiped $70 from two young women as they stepped out of a cab Midtown - but turned his nose up at their cellphones, police sources said...
RIHANNA'S 'RECORD' RECOVERY
Bruised songbird Rihanna - rarely seen in public since a savage Feb. 8 attack, allegedly at the hands of boyfriend Chris Brown - is easing her way back into work,...
CBS CAMERAS LOSE FOCUS IN POSTGAME
THROUGHOUT Saturday's UConn-Pittsburgh telecast, CBS wisely encouraged us not to lose focus on the Hasheem Thabeet/DeJuan Blair matchup, the epic within, a latter-day Wilt vs. Willis that three weeks ago,...
SURGING ISLES STAY HOT
Don't look now, but the Islanders have won four of five and are once again on the verge of climbing out of the NHL's basement. Not only that, but they...
U.S. BATS ERUPT VS. VENEZUELA
TORONTO -- Forget the old "survive and advance" philosophy. This was more a case of conquer and pack the swim trunks for Miami. Though Team USA has another first-round game...
REYES GETTING 'SHORT' SHRIFT
SAN JUAN - The WBC sure didn't work out for Alex Rodriguez. It's not going all that great for Jose Reyes, either. The Met shortstop has become an every-other-game player...
HANSBROUGH HELPS UNC TOP DUKE FOR ACC TITLE
Tyler Hansbrough got the send-off he wanted in his final home game at North Carolina, thanks in part to Ty Lawson. Hansbrough scored 17 points in his final home game...
'BACHELOR' EX IS 'DANCING'
GETTING dumped by "Bachelor" Jason Mesnick has been very, very good for Melissa Rycroft. "Dancing With the Stars" - which just happens to needs a new celeb - has reportedly...
SPIN (RE)CYCLE
HUGELY successful mys tery writer Richard Castle (Nathan Fillion) is bored. So bored, in fact, that - when we first meet Castle at his book party in some fabulous Manhattan...
RIGHT AND LEFT ON CENTER STAGE
YOU might be sur prised to learn that Radio City Music Hall once hosted a live boxing match. But those fisticuffs will probably pale in comparison to the bloodletting that...
REMEMBRANCE OF THINGS PASTA IN ONE-MAN SHOW
THE women, the food, the clothing, Sinatra - what red- blooded man hasn't longed to be Italian? But I haven't felt the desire quite as acutely as when watching "Blood...
STARR REPORT
That's a game? Believe it or not, Discovery Channel has turned the now- famous "Miracle on the Hud son" US Airways Flight 1549 into a video game. Really. In the...
NETS HONING IN ON 8TH PLAYOFF SPOT
The Nets were determined to get that endgame thing right - the way they did against the Bucks last week, and unlike they did in similar situations against the Hornets,...
SPORTS SHORTS
TENNIS: Roddick lifts U.S. In Birmingham, Ala., Andy Roddick swept past Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka to give the U.S. an opening round victory in the best-of-five series with his second straight-set...
'REVENGE' ON EVERY MIND
As has been the case since many tracks switched from dirt to synthetic surfaces, a big question mark hanging over many 3-year-olds - those that have raced exclusively on Cushion...
BURNETT'S FIRST SPRING START IS A.J.-OK
LAKELAND, Fla. - A.J. Burnett watched 11 exhibition games drift by without getting into one. "What did I sign for?" joked Burnett, who inked a five-year, $82.5 million deal during...
5TH-STARTER FIASCO SPARKS PEDRO TALK
PORT ST. LUCIE - Paging Pedro Martinez? Less than a month before Opening Day, the "race" for the Mets' fifth-starter job remains as muddled and uninspiring as ever. Four of...
METS CROSS FINGERS OVER PELFREY'S LEG
PORT ST. LUCIE - Mike Pelfrey is hoping for the best when it comes to the mysterious muscle strain in his lower left leg. Pelfrey, who is being held out...
RANGERS TURN BACK BRUINS
John Tortorella is behind the bench, Sean Avery is back where he belongs, Nik Antropov and Derek Morris are Blueshirts and the team is winning, so there is a temptation...
CRUNCH TIME FOR TEAM TORTORELLA
EITHER the Rangers have turned it around or it was an optical illusion created when Manny Fernandez continually got turned around. Hard to tell which. The Rangers, 3-1-1 under John...
NOW ALEX HAS TIME TO GET HIP
ALEX Rodriguez has a lot of time for rehab now, and he can probably do some work on his hip, as well. This is, perhaps, the last best chance Rodriguez...
MAY RETURN TARGET FOR A-ROD AFTER SURGERY
LAKELAND, Fla. - The Yankees have more trust in Dr. Marc Philippon than the rich had in Bernie Madoff. For the Yankees' sake, Philippon better deliver a lot more than...
CASHMAN WON'T RANSOM THE FUTURE FOR A QUICK FIX
LAKELAND, Fla. - You listen to the Yankees talk about using Cody Ransom at third base until Alex Rodriguez returns and immediately the brain pulls up other replacement situations. COMPLETE...
JETER: YANKEES WILL GET BY
TORONTO - Hip, hip, hooray! Six to nine weeks without Alex Rodriguez doesn't sound so bad to Derek Jeter. "It's good, better than the other story I heard that he...
HUGHES, KNICKS CLUELESS IN CLUTCH
If Larry Hughes was brought in to be the Knicks' down-the-stretch go-to guy, they may have selected the wrong candidate. In his first opportunity to be their elusive finisher, Hughes...
D'ANTONI'S SQUAD NEEDS BIG-GAME HERO
DEVIN Harris and Vince Carter had their arms around each other, sharing a laugh as the final seconds of the Nets' 106-101 victory over the Knicks ticked off the scoreboard...
VILLANOVA LOOKS LIKE TEAM TO BEAT IN BIG EAST
FROM the school of, "Even the Blind Squirrel Finds an Acorn," this is as good a time as any to mention that last year we picked Pittsburgh to win the...
TEEN DIES IN BRAWL
A fight over an insult to a girl ended in tragedy yesterday when a promising high-school student collapsed and died during an early-morning brawl outside Brooklyn's Prospect Park. An 18-year-old...
PERV GROUP PUTS 10G 'HIT' ON ANDY
ALBANY - A $10,000 In ternet bounty was placed on Attorney General An drew Cuomo's head by a suspected agent of the North American Man/Boy Love Association, The Post has...
N. KOREA RATTLES SABER AHEAD OF LAUNCH
North Korea ordered its armed forces on standby and warned today it will retaliate against anyone seeking to block its planned satellite launch, which many fear will disguise a missile...
DOT-MOMS
I'LL take a hit of scotch in my juice box. Just don't take away my kid. Philippa Smith and Melissa Lawrence are women you'd love to maim: size-zero Upper West...
KELLY CURBS 'GAY' STINGS
Following accusations that vice cops were making dubious arrests of gay men at pornography shops, the NYPD has decided that similar investigations will now have to be approved by the...
BLOWTORCH BUNGLE
It was a fast, cheap - and ultimately deadly - decision, federal probers say of a shoddy repair that led to an Upper East Side crane collapse last year. An...
RAPE RAP FOR FORMER ISRAEL PREZ
JERUSALEM - Israel plans to charge former President Moshe Katsav with rape and other sexual offenses against female employees while he was president and tourism minister, the Justice Ministry said...
BELFAST PEACE AMID MURDERS
BELFAST - The shooting deaths of two British soldiers in Northern Ireland will not throw the province into a new cycle of violence, political leaders vowed yesterday. Gunmen shot the...
SUDAN PREZ: I'LL KICK OUT EVERYBODY
EL FASHER, Sudan - Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir yesterday threatened to expel more aid groups, diplomats and peacekeepers, while visiting Darfur for the first time since an international court indicted...
UNHOLY THIEVES HIT ART JACKPOT
OSLO - Thieves broke into a church in Norway yesterday and stole a valuable 16th-century painting by the German Renaissance master Lucas Cranach the Elder, police said. The culprits climbed...
POLS: BOOT STAY-LIENS
Federal lawmakers are threatening to retaliate against several countries - including Iran, China, India, Jamaica and Vietnam - for refusing to take back some 140,000 of their citizens, including criminals...
CONEY ISLAND PLAN MIGHT NEED TO SEIZE LAND
The Bloomberg administration's $2.5 billion plan for revitalizing Coney Island might require seizing beachfront land through eminent domain after all - especially now that negotiations to purchase property needed to...
STATE GOP GIVES RUDY A GOV-RACE DEADLINE
State GOP Chairman Joe Mondello has told Rudy Giuliani that he needs an answer by early fall on whether New York City's former mayor is running for governor next year,...
IT'S A MOB SCENE
Prison doors will swing open this year for some of the city's toughest mobsters. By an odd coincidence, some of the heaviest hitters from New York's fabled Five Families all...
NOTE TO CITY: YULE BE $ORRY AT BONUS TIME
So-called "Christmas bonuses" given to NYPD and FDNY retirees as pension "sweeteners" topped $450 million last year and are poised to be an extra-sour burden on recession-shocked city coffers. Deft...
PIONEER IN WINE BIZ IS A GLASS ACT
Many New Yorkers think they know how to hail a Cabernet. But in a city teeming with wine aficionados, there are only a few true masters - and of those,...
EARNINGS PITCH FOR TRAGIC YANKEE
The late Yankee pitcher Cory Lidle would have made more than $50 million from baseball had he lived, his ex-agent Jordan Feagan claims in court papers. About $45 million would...
REV. SLAIN IN CHURCH
MARYVILLE, Ill. - A gunman walked down the aisle of a church during a Sunday service and killed the pastor, then stabbed himself and two others as parishioners wrestled him...
3 JOINING EC-O-NOMIC TEAM
President Obama has chosen three people, including a Princeton University professor, to join the senior ranks of the Treasury Department, where a slow pace of hiring has put the agency...
IRAN 'TIGHTENS FIST'
TEHRAN - Iran has test-fired a new air-to-surface missile, Iranian media reported yesterday, in the Islamic Republic's latest display of its military capability. The test was carried out despite the...
VOUCHING FOR VOUCHERS
WASHINGTON - Last week, 12-year-old Washington, DC, student Fransoir William was appearing with lawmakers in Congress to talk about his excellent private school, which he attends with the help of...
TOXIC-VAPOR SITES
ALBANY - State environmental officials have reopened hundreds of pollution-cleanup sites, finding chemical vapors at 19 that pose possible health threats and require ventilation. Since 2005, the Department of Environmental...
CONN. MAN IN RARE APE RAP
A Connecticut man is scheduled to appear in court today after being cited for illegally owning an endangered ape. Pierce Onthank, 49, of Fairfield, is charged with illegal possession of...
HAMPTONS UNDER THE HAMMER
Desperate times call for desperate auctions. Spurred by tanking East End real-estate prices, a veteran Hamptons broker is putting 15 tony properties on the block - some for as low...
T.G.I. POOR EXCUSE
A man who cops say sold cocaine for years at a T.G.I. Friday's in the Financial District yesterday blamed his turn to crime on the bad economy. "I got laid...
BRIDGE TOLLS HIT TROUBLED WATER
ALBANY - Unless five Democratic state senators can be convinced to change their minds, the plan to bail out the MTA by imposing tolls on East and Harlem river bridges...
12,000 IN IRAQ HOMEBOUND
BAGHDAD - The United States will cut the number of troops in Iraq by 12,000 in the next six months, military officials said yesterday - a step in President Obama's...
O BUDGET DIRECTOR'S SCREWBALL
WASHINGTON - The White House's top budget official fended off criticism yesterday that President Obama broke his campaign promise to block earmarks on a spending bill poised to pass the...
'PIT BULL' LIU IN COMPTROLLER RUN
Councilman John Liu yesterday officially joined an already crowded Democratic primary field for city comptroller. The Taiwan-born, Flushing-raised Liu, a former business consultant, promised at a boisterous rally at City...
OBAMA MULLS HOLA! TO CUBA
President Obama is preparing to offer an olive branch to Cuba in a bid to improve America's tarnished reputation in Latin America. In advance of next month's Summit of the...
INTRUDER STABS LI HOUSEGUEST
A knife-wielding intruder fatally stabbed a woman who was visiting a friend in her ritzy Long Island home, cops said. Nancy McKinley, 61, died at Brookhaven Memorial Hospital after suffering...
HEROES' WELCOME FOR 'WATCHMEN'
"Watchmen" clocked in with $55.7 million in ticket sales to claim the top spot at the box office over the weekend, making director Zack Snyder's movie adaptation of the graphic...
RENTER DEPOSIT-IVE SHE GOT RIPPED OFF
The forecast calls for a summer bummer for a Florida woman who claims her dream Hamptons vacation plans have become a nightmare. Carole Via says a rich developer took her...
MONEY TO BERN? TRY THIS BANK
A New York sculptor has paid homage to megaswindler Bernie Madoff by turning the swine into a piggy bank. You can drop a coin in the slot atop the faux-bronze...
HOME CHEAP HOME FOR BIDDER
In a deal that gives a whole new meaning to "home free," a tidy, three-bedroom brick home got snapped off a city auction block yesterday for a mere $12,500. That's...
O-VATION FOR B'DAY BOY TED
President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama share a laugh with Ted Kennedy yesterday at a Washington, DC, concert celebrating the ailing senator's 77th birthday. Obama led the crowd in...
BIKER KILLED BY 'DRUNK'
A 21-year-old Brooklyn construction worker was killed "doing something he loved" early yesterday when a drunken driver in an SUV mowed down his motorcycle, police said. "He loved his bike,"...
THOMPSON RIPS 'TRICKLE DOWN' MIKE
Mayor Bloomberg is an out-of-touch billionaire with a "trickle-down Reagan-Bush philosophy" that ignores the middle class, Comptroller William Thompson charged yesterday in his strongest criticism to date. Thompson, a Democrat...
DAVE DITHERS ON MTA
Gov. Paterson is pushing to restructure the MTA's management, but isn't sure about who should lead the cash-strapped agency. He declined to endorse current boss Elliot "Lee" Sander to become...
WEIRD BUT TRUE
A penny-pinching senior citizen left the ultimate tip. Bruce Lindsay, 79, known as "the campus grandpa" at Vanguard University in Costa Mesa, Calif., died last month and left an estate...
TALKING RACE
ATTORNEY Gen eral Eric Holder recently called for a more frank national conversation on race. We agree - because the lack of it helps explain why black voters vote monolithically...
BACK-DOOR BONUS
After canceling an annual trip designed to reward its top brokers, embattled Citigroup shelled out $3.5 million worth of gift cards as a consolation prize, The Post has learned. Last...
WORLD POOR BEARS BRUNT OF GLOBAL CRISIS
Developing nations face a shortfall of as much as $700 billion to pay for their imports and service their debts this year as the global economy falters and foreign investors...
BUSINESS BRIEFS
Goldman Goldman Sachs' CEO, Lloyd Blankfein, said he opposed the full nation alization of banks, but thought government stakes could be sensible in extreme situations, in an interview with Ger...
SILENCE ON AIG GAINS
European banks declined to discuss a report that they were beneficiaries of the $173 billion rescue of insurer AIG that has sparked a political furor in the US. Goldman Sachs,...
SENATE GETS SERIOUS AS ECONOMY WORSENS
The gloves are off. Congressional leaders are putting up notice that they want action from President Barack Obama's economic team. And they want it now. Republican Sens. John McCain and...
WHAT'S BEHIND BARACK'S BRIT SNIT
PRESIDENT Obama's first hosting of a foreign leader, the UK's Gordon Brown, was a diplomatic disaster. Obama failed to hold a joint Rose Garden press conference, the usual protocol when...
NEGOTIATION'S NOT AN OPTION
THE ISSUE: Whether the US should work with Russia and Syria to halt Iran's nuclear progress. *** American presidents since Jimmy Carter have not been able to conduct successful peaceful...
TIM'S TOUGH TAX TALK: DO WE LAUGH OR CRY?
THE ISSUE: Vows by Sec. Geithner, who failed to pay his own taxes on time, to curb tax evasion. *** When I read your editorial on tax-cheat Treasury Secretary Timothy...
HOMELESS HALVED
WITHIN hours of last Wednesday's announce ment by the Department of Homeless Services that it had, over four years, cut New York's street homelessness nearly in half, the Coalition for...
A JILT-Y PLEASURE
What a week it's been for pop singer Rihanna and boyfriend and alleged domestic abuser Chris Brown. But lucky for us, there are a slew of celebrity mags to break...
ENOUGH HOLDUPS, ALREADY
The city took a big step forward late last month when Fordham University, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer and residents agreed on a plan to enlarge the school's Midtown campus....
PUTTING UNIONS FIRST
The US Senate can vote today to ensure that 1,700 Washington, DC, schoolkids have continued access to educational excellence. But will it do the right thing? Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.)...
QUINN'S CASH DISPENSER
Call it a golden parachute - courtesy of City Council Speaker Christine Quinn. How else to describe the nearly $1.2 million in member-item cash poured by the council into a...
Maybe it's Mike's system
By MARC BERMANTrying to figure out another answer to why the Knicks' offense grinds to a halt in the final two minutes of close games.Is it just the players or...
Marion Barry rocking D.C. United gear
There was one of the country's more infamous politicians _ D.C. Councilman Marion Barry _ coming home from the hospital rocking some D.C. United gear. As if P.G. United needed...
Beckham's final New York game moved from July 18 to Thursday, July 16
MLS' capitulation to David Beckham, their decision to let Goldenballs stay at AC Milan through the entire Serie A campaign, has had indirect effects on Red Bull. Not only will...
HARRIS, NETS TOP FADING KNICKS, 106-101
Three times in the past week, the Nets used the same script to drive themselves to frustration. Lead in the fourth quarter, then fail in the stretch as the other...