December 24, 2012
Jack Klugman dies at 90
LOS ANGELES — Jack Klugman, the prolific, craggy-faced character actor and regular guy who was loved by millions as the messy one in TV's "The Odd Couple" and the crime-fighting...
Thief nabs $10K by threatening to light clerk on fire
A sick thief was caught on surveillance video today throwing a cup of gasoline on a cashier of a Harlem check-cashing store – and then threatening her with a lighter,...
Osi says if there are changes they need to be 'wholesale'
There is one constant in the NFL – losing brings on change. The Giants are losing down the stretch of the season and change is inevitable, most likely including Osi...
Outer borough metered cabs head to NY's highest court
This cab fight is going straight to the top. The city has received permission to bypass the Appellate Division and go directly to the state's highest court -- the Court...
2 B'klyn women, dog escape raging Christmas Eve fire
Two Brooklyn women and their dog narrowly escaped from a raging Christmas Eve fire, authorities said today. The fire began at about 6:50 a.m. and quickly engulfed the Prospect Lefferts...
PATH problems driving some NJ residents to move
HOBOKEN — Brian McCarthy moved here from Manhattan last year and came to love his huge apartment and short train ride into New York. His boyfriend planned to move in...
Rex Ryan sidesteps 'wild' Tebow drama
Jets coach Rex Ryan would not reveal much about the Tim Tebow drama of last week during a conference call this afternoon with reporters.Ryan avoided answering directly whether quarterback Tim...
Billy Crystal’s ‘Parental Guidance’ a holiday dud for any age
Regrettably arriving too late for The Post’s annual Turkey Awards, the old-geezers-know-best comedy “Parental Guidance” kicks off with a mean-spirited joke about an overweight woman and heads downhill from there....
Giants will face Vick in finale
The Giants’ paper-thin hopes of making the playoffs one year after winning the Super Bowl rest on them beating the Eagles in the regular season finale and then receiving a...
Looking back: New offensive sets pay dividends in win over 76ers
The Nets, who had lost three games in a row and eight of the previous 10, came up with a desperately needed win Sunday afternoon in Brooklyn against the 76ers,...
Todd Fisher’s Bacon bliss blondie truffle recipe
Ingredients for the Blondie 1/2 C. unsalted butter, softened (1 stick) 1 large egg 1 C. light brown sugar, packed 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract 1 C. all-purpose flour 1/4...
Gunman dead after killing 2 firefighters, 3 others wounded at scene of blaze near Rochester
A sadistic gunman killed two firefighters and wounded three other first responders in western New York today after setting a blaze to lure victims into shooting range, officials said. Cops...
Man critical after being hit by alleged drunk driver
A man is fighting for his life after being mowed down by a drunken driver in Queens this morning, authorities said. The 27-year-old victim was crossing Astoria Boulevard and 96th...
Baby dairy cow is first born at Prospect Park Zoo
A baby dairy cow at the Prospect Park Zoo is the first to be born there. Zoo officials say the newborn calf weighed in at a healthy 84 pounds when...
Newtown draws hundreds of visitors
NEWTOWN, Conn. — The Sandy Hook section of Newtown was a gathering place this weekend for hundreds of people drawn to the scene of the recent massacre to share in...
Phone lines ready for 2012 NORAD Tracks Santa
PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. — Volunteers are pulling on their Santa hats, phone lines are in place and wall-size tracking screens are ready. NORAD Tracks Santa is primed for...
Ex-Marine hospitalized after release from Mexico
MIAMI — A Marine veteran jailed for months in Mexico after trying to carry an heirloom shotgun across the border had to be hospitalized on his way home to Florida....
Afghan policewoman kills US adviser: police
KABUL, Afghanistan — An Afghan policewoman shot and killed an American adviser outside the police headquarters in Kabul on Monday, the latest in a rising tide of insider attacks by...
Jets blitz
HERO Chargers DE Kendall Reyes and LB Shaun Phillips, who combined for six sacks. Reyes had a career game with 3½ sacks for 18½ yards in losses. Phillips had 2½...
Jets report card
OFFENSE The big quarterback change did not make much of a difference. Greg McElroy (14-of-24, 185 yards, 1 INT, 1 fumble 65.5 rating) did not have a chance to do...
Team-first Tim asks out of package
Tim Tebow finally had enough. When the Jets’ backup quarterback was informed Tuesday he was being passed over for Greg McElroy and would be the third-string quarterback for yesterday’s game...
Giants blitz
HERO The Ravens’ defense destroyed the Giants offense, as Eli Manning and Co. were totally held down for the second straight week. The Giants had no turnovers, but they only...
Giants routed; playoff hopes on life support
BALTIMORE — The end is near for the Giants, who will not mount a Super Bowl run like they did last year. You have to be in it to win...
Sanchez doesn’t have backup plan
For Mark Sanchez, the feeling was new. Sanchez was armed with a clipboard instead of a football for yesterday’s 27-17 loss to the Chargers, the first time in his career...
Season has become all about massive rebuilding project
The first clue it was not going to be a good day for the Jets came after special teams coach Mike Westhoff was honored ahead of his upcoming retirement by...
Office party on
The Rolling Stones weren’t the only ancient tradition making a return this season. After a recessionary rough patch during which they were considered either massively inappropriate or needlessly extravagant, holiday...
Go to Greg
With the horror in Connecticut, I am fearful, as a manager, of firing anyone because you just never know how someone is going to react. But some people just aren’t...
What about bonuses?
Chances are your boss didn’t fatten your corporate holiday card with a bonus check this year. While official figures aren’t in — and there’s always a chance that ol’ Ebenezer...
Chill Factor
Most popular songs 1. Locked Out of Heaven, Bruno Mars 2. Gangnam Style, PSY 3. I Knew You Were Trouble, Taylor Swift 4. Ho Hey, The Lumineers 5. Scream and...
Business briefs
Mf moneyThe court-appointed authorities liquidating various parts of MF Global Holdings agreed to settle long-running legal disputes, a three-way truce expected to help customers of the failed brokerage firm get...
These tunes they are a-changin’ hands
Private-equity firm Rizvi Traverse Management is nearing a deal to acquire a majority stake in SESAC, one of the biggest music-copyright enforcers, The Post has learned. The buyout shop has...
Holiday monster
Meet the latest victims of brutal competition with the iPad: Santa’s elves. Toy makers and retailers are on track for their worst Christmas season in recent memory, and analysts say...
Google’s scan plan set fire under Amazon
When Amazon.com’s Jeff Bezos got word of a project at Google to scan and digitize product catalogs a decade ago, the seeds of a burgeoning rivalry were planted. The news...
This one’s history
Even on its deathbed, Newsweek’s breathed its last print words in the language of its conqueror: Twitter. The 80-year-old magazine — which has ceased to be a print publication and...
Egypt vote furor
CAIRO — Egypt’s opposition called yesterday for an investigation into allegations of vote fraud in the referendum on a divisive Islamist-backed constitution after the Muslim Brotherhood, the main group backing...
Arab activist on peace mission to Israel
JERUSALEM — An Egyptian activist is taking an unusual step — visiting Israel on a peace mission.Maikel Nabil says that the Middle East has “had enough violence and confrontation.”Israel and...
Dylan Smith, hero who rescued six people during superstorm, drowns in Puerto Rico
A surfer who saved six neighbors in the Rockaways during Hurricane Sandy drowned yesterday while on vacation in Puerto Rico, officials said. The body of Dylan Smith, 23, was found...
Afghan policewoman kills US advisor
KABUL — An Afghan policewoman has killed an American advisor at the Kabul police headquarters. local officials said.Kabul’s Deputy Police Chief Mohammad Daoud Amin says an investigation is under way...
Parks Department workers taking away toys left for kids
The Grinch is lurking at a Brooklyn playground — and he’s come for the toys! Parents who take their kids to Chapin Playground near the Brooklyn Heights Promenade are fuming...
Sandy’s toxic risk
OLD BRIDGE, NJ — For more than a month, the Environmental Protection Agency has said Hurricane Sandy did not cause significant problems at any of the 247 Superfund toxic-waste sites...
Wounded Brooklyn Marine hopes to conquer climb of a lifetime
An elite Marine from Brooklyn who lost his left leg after an IED attack in Iraq hopes to hit a new high — climbing the steepest, most treacherous route on...
Somalis rescue 2010 hijack hostages
After a two-week siege, forces of Somalia’s semiautonomous Puntland region raided a hijacked ship yesterday and safely rescued 22 hostages who had been held captive for nearly three years, authorities...
Cab-hit boy on the mend
A Crown Heights boy was recovering yesterday after being hit by a livery cab on his way to church with his grandpa, his family said.Joseph Williams, 9, was unconscious but...
Parole nix in cop’s ’88 slay
The last of the four men who assassinated rookie Police Officer Eddie Byrne in 1988 has been denied parole. Philip Copeland was turned down Thursday. He and three accomplices were...
NYPD Daily Blotter
The Bronx***A 41-year-old man was found dead on a Mott Haven street early yesterday, police said.The body was discovered at about 3:30 a.m. on 148th Street near Morris Avenue, and...
Art-gallery owner faced financial problems before her suicide: sources
The Madison Avenue art-gallery owner who jumped to her death from atop her Upper East Side shop had been facing mounting debt and personal problems, sources said yesterday. Marijana Bego...
O, Congress salute Inouye
HONOLULU — President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama yesterday joined members of Congress at a memorial service for Sen. Daniel Inouye, a decorated war hero who died of respiratory...
Shoe sales now a big feat
Surprise! Shoes — which don’t usually make it on to too many gift lists — are coming out of the closet this holiday season, retailers say. Take Laranda Williams, 39,...
Mitt Romney didn’t want to be a presidential candidate in 2012, his son says
Mitt Romney never wanted to run for president in the first place, his son says. “He wanted to be president less than anyone I’ve met in my life. He had...
Pols fear cliff dive as deadline nears
WASHINGTON — With just eight days to go before the fiscal-cliff deadline, chagrined members of Congress expressed increasing fear yesterday that negotiators won’t reach a deal in time. “I feel...
‘Real House’ divorcée
The marriage of reality-TV star Bethenny Frankel won’t end happily ever after. The 42-year-old talk-show host, chef, author and entrepreneur — who first came to prominence on Bravo’s “The Real...
Holly, jolly Miley
Tween queen Miley Cyrus takes a break from making movies and music with a shopping trip in LA over the weekend. The 20-year-old former “Hannah Montana” star exited a Rite...
Drake fights club-biz rap
Hip-hopper Drake says he isn’t to blame for any business decline at a downtown club near W.i.P., the hot spot where he and Chris Brown got into a bottle-throwing brouhaha...
Luxury condo building in B'klyn bans smoking by owners and tenants
It’s fine to flash the neighbors — just don’t have the indecency to smoke. The condo board for one of Brooklyn’s most prestigious addresses has banned smoking throughout the glass-walled...
New York can’t afford assault rifle buyback - it could cost the state $1B
New York state can’t afford to confiscate all the assault rifles out there. The number of such military-style weapons in the state — including the New York-made Bushmaster used in...
NRA exec still pushing for armed guards in every school, opposes any form of gun control
He just can’t stop shooting off his mouth. The clueless CEO of the National Rifle Association yesterday refused to back down from his widely panned proposal to put cops and...
Show to go on in Newtown
Adam Lanza couldn’t kill Christmas.Newtown residents are pressing on with holiday rituals this week in a heavyhearted bid to restore some normality after the Sandy Hook massacre.After a week of...
Victim’s doc sickened by Lanza link
A Newtown pediatrician who lost a young female patient in the school massacre was stunned to learn he had a tie to her killer: His daughter bought and is living...
Twisted fake on Facebook
An imposter created a fake Facebook page in the name of Sandy Hook school shooter Adam Lanza’s brother, a family spokesman said yesterday.“It appears to be a hoax by someone....
Data breach rocks NYS
State investigators have opened a sweeping probe into the security of sensitive personal information in the wake of a shocking breach at the Office of Children and Family Services, The...
Warning on schiz release
It could happen all over again.A plan by the Cuomo administration to transfer thousands of mentally ill residents out of adult homes to so-called “community-based” housing will likely lead to...
Kazakhstan president’s nephew might have ‘conned way’ into Columbia without HS diploma, records reveal
Getting into Columbia University is so much easier when your uncle is the president of a Eurasian country. Admission records obtained by The Post show that the stepson of the...
‘Hobbit’ forming
Tiny hobbit Bilbo Baggins is running circles around some of Hollywood’s biggest names. Peter Jackson’s “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” took in $36.7 million to claim the No. 1 box-office...
Nurse who killed herself after Kate Middleton hoax attempted suicide twice before
The British nurse who killed herself after transferring a hoax call from Australian radio personalities to Kate Middleton’s hospital room earlier this month reportedly had attempted suicide twice before. Jacintha...
Arsonist torches historic Brooklyn church that’s helping victims of Hurricane Sandy
A coldhearted arsonist yesterday set fire to a historic Brooklyn church that was storing hundreds of toys for underprivileged children, police said. The firebug poured gasoline — which was being...
Banker ripped me off: widow
An elderly widow claims her former banker swindled her out of her nearly quarter-million dollar retirement fund — and used it to finance his lavish wedding in India and buy...
Outgoing MTA chief Lhota is riding the straight-talk express
The “H” is silent. Joe Lhota is not. The MTA chairman’s biggest challenge in running for mayor won’t be controlling what people say about him, but what he says about...
June nups for Swedish royal
Sweden’s Princess Madeleine will marry her American-British fianc�� in Stockholm in June, the palace announced yesterday.“The marriage between Princess Madeleine and Christopher O’Neill will be held Saturday, June 8, 2013,...
Top SEAL cmdr. eyed as suicide
The death of the commander of an elite US Navy SEAL in Afghanistan is being investigated as a suicide, officials said yesterday. Cmdr. Job Price, 42, of Pottstown, Pa., died...
The Fiscal Cliff Dive: Who’s Pushing Us Over?
The Issue: House Speaker John Boehner’s attempts to negotiate with Democrats on spending and taxes. *** With GOP opposition to House Speaker John Boehner’s “Plan B,” Republicans have shown they...
A Visit From St. Nick
Clement Clark Moore was born in New York City in 1779 and, long before his death 84 years later, established a reputation as a scholar. A noted lecturer and writer,...
A Perilous Pick for the Pentagon
It has been a bad time for the Republican Party, and wouldn’t you know it? The worst addition to President Obama’s foreign-policy team could well be a Republican.Former Nebraska Sen....
Christians Besieged
The Christmas season’s become a time to reflect on the fate of Christians around the world, from the besieged ancient communities of the Middle East to the tyrannized worshippers in...
Hands-on drama
Maybe it’s because we live in a world where everybody’s connected, but this year has seen an explosion of “immersive” shows that blur the line between audience and performers. In...
Today's Sports on the Air
Football8 p.m.Hawaii Bowl: Fresno State vs. Southern Methodist ESPNHorse Racing12:25 p.m.Parx Ch. 71
Sports Shorts
NBA: Nowitzki returns for Dallas Dirk Nowitzki made his season debut for the Mavericks last night, entering the game as a substitution midway through the first quarter of a 129-91...
The Post Line
NFLSundayFavoriteOpeningCurrent(O/U)UnderdogBILLS33 1/2(41)JetsGIANTS9 1/29 1/2(47)EaglesPATRIOTS1110 1/2(49 1/2)DolphinsBENGALS33(43)RavensSTEELERSOFFOFF(OFF)BrownsCOLTSOFFOFF(OFF)TexansTITANS5 1/24 1/2(42)JaguarsREDSKINS3 1/23 1/2(50)CowboysBears33(44 1/2)LIONSPackers33(47)VIKINGSFALCONSOFFOFF(OFF)BuccaneersSAINTS44 1/2(54)PanthersBRONCOS1616(42)ChiefsCHARGERSOFFOFF(OFF)Raiders49ERSOFFOFF(OFF)CardinalsSEAHAWKSOFFOFF(OFF)RamsHome team in CAPSNBATomorrowFavoriteLineUnderdogNETS4CelticsLAKERS3 1/2KnicksHEAT3ThunderBULLS4RocketsCLIPPERS7Nuggets
Parx Results
FIRST-5 1/2 fur; $25,000; alw; 3up(f)1a-Vrgn Ann (Ellott)3.402.602.102La Recoleta (Remedio)11.605.805Satin Sunset (Bermudez)3.40* Exacta (1-2) $37.40 * Trifecta (1-2-5) $91.40SECOND-1 mile; $24,000; clm($16,000); 2YO5My Emma (Rose)4.203.002.803Asia Gray (Arroyo)3.403.402Love Your Looks (Cruz)6.60*...
Parx Racing Analysis
Post Time: 12:25 p.m. All horses appear in post position order1. 5 1/2f; $19,000; cl($7,500); 3up; (f&m)LIBERTY FOR ALL makes second attempt at this level after stalking and getting beat...
Freel found dead at 36
MIAMI — Ryan Freel, a former major leaguer known for his fearless play but whose career was cut short after eight seasons by injuries, was found dead Saturday in Jacksonville,...
Gulfstream Park Charts
December 23rd, 2012 Clear And Fast. Turf Firm.©2012 Equibase. All Rights ReservedFIRST-6 fur; $17,500; clm($12,500); 2YOOff: 12:46. 1,2. 2wd bid, drew offTime: 23.69, 47.93, 1:.55, 1:13.45. Trainer: Dale RomansHorseWt.PP1/41/2Str.FinJockeyOddsDixie Devon120...
Camby: Yule see me for Xmas
The Knicks are getting a big man back for Christmas, and it’s not Amar’e Stoudemire. Camby, signed as the Knicks’ backup center, said before yesterday’s win over the Timberwolves he...
Fewell’s new look leads to D-isaster
BALTIMORE — Different is not always better. It wasn’t close to better last night for Giants defensive coordinator Perry Fewell. Searching for a new look after last week’s 34-0 pummeling...
Home Team Lineups
TODAYDec. 24MONDec. 25TUEDec. 26WEDDec. 27THUDec. 28FRIDec. 29SATDec. 30KnicksNO GAMELakers 3:00 ABC ESPNPhx. 9:00 MSG ESPNNO GAMESac. 10:00 MSG ESPNNO GAMENO GAMENetsNO GAMEBos. Noon YES/ESPN WFANMil.8:00YESWFANNO GAMEChar. 7:30 YES WFANCleve.7:30YESWFANNO GAMESt....
Swisher gets $56M from Cleveland
Another day, another outfielder leaving the Yankees. This time, it’s Nick Swisher, who is heading to Cleveland. Swisher follows Raul Ibanez, who agreed to a deal with Seattle on Saturday....
RG3, Washington move step closer to East title
PHILADELPHIA — The light that suddenly flickered on for the Redskins six weeks ago still refuses to go out. While their 27-20 nailbiter of a victory yesterday over the hopeless...
’Boys lose, but remain alive
ARLINGTON, Texas — Drew Brees and the Saints won’t go to the playoffs in their season without suspended coach Sean Payton. The Cowboys again need help to get there.Playing near...
Little bit of Luck has Colts back in playoffs
Andrew Luck has the rookie passing record. More importantly, he got the surprising Colts into the playoffs. The rookie quarterback completed a 7-yard touchdown pass to Reggie Wayne on third-and-goal...
Healthy Humphries sits out
With the Nets in a slump for the entire month of December, it came as no surprise that Avery Johnson decided to shake up his rotation for yesterday’s game against...
Deron powers Nets’ new offense past 76ers
Deron Williams hit his shots when it counted. The star point guard may not have had a great shooting day overall against the 76ers, finishing 5-for-11 from the field, but...
Melo rallies Knicks with 19 in final frame
Carmelo Anthony couldn’t explain yesterday’s malaise through three quarters other than the Christmas music at halftime putting him into a holiday stupor. But this time, despite more calls going against...
Anthony tops MVP ballot, but he needs help
The emerging MVP is ready for the battle of MVPs: Carmelo Anthony vs. Kobe Bryant. Without Anthony, the Knicks would be lost as their weaknesses are being exposed just in...
McElroy bent by broken line
The enduring image of the Jets’ 27-17 loss to the Chargers yesterday was Greg McElroy getting sacked over and over, the lasting memory Gang Green’s pass protection being as porous...
Coples: Let’s play for pride
Prized rookie defensive end Quinton Coples was one of the few bright spots in the Jets’ disappointing season as well as their humbling 27-17 loss to the Chargers yesterday. And...
Selfish withdrawal shows it’s ... All about Me-bow
Here is what we learned yesterday about the Jets with Greg McElroy as their starting quarterback: Nothing. Here is what we learned about starter Mark Sanchez, who was benched in...
McElroy pounded by Chargers while Tebow stands idly by
Just when you thought the Jets’ quarterback situation could not become any messier ... Their new starting quarterback is picking MetLife Stadium out of his teeth this morning, and the...
Giants unlikely to make playoff return following blowout loss to Ravens
BALTIMORE — The end doesn’t always come in a spectacular blaze of heartache and anguish. Sometimes it sneaks up on you. Sometimes it bleeds you by the drop and not...
Nicks empty-handed
BALTIMORE — Hakeem Nicks was at his locker, where he was told this was the first time in his NFL career he was held without a catch. “I don’t even...
Eli: It wasn’t pretty
BALTIMORE — Eli Manning put it simply. The Giants needed to save their best for last this season. “We knew we had to play our best football at the end...
Little hope remains for defending champions
BALTIMORE — It can be a players strike, or it can be a head coaching change, or it can be a star player shooting himself in the leg. Or it...
Another Big Blue defensive disaster
BALTIMORE — The Giants have not earned a playoff bid, in Jason Pierre-Paul’s eyes.“[Shoot], do we deserve it by the way we played? Do we? [Shoot], I don’t think so,”...
Ravens torch Jints’ vet cornerback
BALTIMORE — There are games individuals want to forget, purge from the memory as quickly as humanly possible with no word spoken about it again by friend or foe. And...
‘Cured’ for the common dessert
For Todd Fisher, the host of “United States of Bacon,” almost everything goes well with bacon — except for bananas. “For me, bacon and bananas don’t work . . ....
‘Mother’ goes on with Segel
It lives! “How I Met Your Mother” will return to CBS for a ninth season — after star Jason Segel agreed to one more go-’round. Segel, who has been with...
Old ‘wives’ tale
If greedy, mindless, blood-sucking modern “Real Housewives” who are famous for no reason aren’t enough to make you pray for an earlier era, maybe you should tune in to see...
Talk show guests
MONDAYMATT DAMON - LIVE! with Kelly and Michael, 9 a.m., Ch. 7ADAM LAMBERT, RADIO CITY ROCKETTES - The Wendy Williams Show, 10 a.m., Ch. 5 and 3 p.m., Ch. 9BETTE...
‘Jersey Shore’ finale a bust
The “Jersey Shore” finale was a washout. The final episode of MTV’s once-powerful series snared only 3.1 million viewers last Thursday night — not bad, by cable standards, but a...
Buy-buy, 2012!
Come Wednesday, the city will be chock-full of deals, as post-Christmas sales pop up in stores and online. Whether you’re a tardy gift-giver or looking to treat yourself, here’s where...
Weird but true
Bad customer service has never been so rewarding. Scott Bennett, of Hillsborough, NH, asked a store clerk for one Lucky for Life lottery ticket and one Tri State Megabucks Plus...
Rams discover 1-2 punch
Fordham plays in one of the oldest gyms in America, so it was fitting the team’s elder statesmen were the reason the Rams beat Siena yesterday at the Rose Hill...
Game of name in Big East split
For the first time in forever I got to watch a college basketball game as a fan, not a reporter, and it nearly brought me to tears. Sitting in Section...
Wildcat strike: Tim Tebow asks out of package
Tim Tebow put his Wildcat back in a cage. When the Jets’ backup quarterback was informed on Tuesday he was being passed over for Greg McElroy and would be the...
Brooklyn boy, 9, improving after being hit by cab on way to church
A Crown Heights boy was miraculously recovering today after being hit by a livery cab on his way to church with his grandpa, his family said. Joseph Williams, 9, was...
Giants playoff hopes on life support after blowout loss to Ravens
BALTIMORE – The Giants are not officially eliminated from playoff contention but, based on the way they performed in last night’s limp 33-14 loss to the Ravens and the way...
Anthony scores 19 of his 33 points in fourth to lead Knicks over T-wolves
This time Carmelo Anthony did something about the strange calls going against him. Instead of getting ejected, he ejected the Wolves off Broadway, pouring in 19 of his 33 points...
Peyton throws three TDs as Broncos beat Browns
DENVER — Denver won its 10th straight game Sunday as Peyton Manning threw three touchdown passes for the 72nd time of his career in a 34-12 victory over the Cleveland...