November 16, 2013

Talbot’s first NHL shutout leads Rangers past Canadiens

MONTREAL — Cam Talbot and the Rangers came into this Habitant House of Horrors and ate it up as if it were made out of gingerbread. “This whole thing here...

Oct. consumer-confidence numbers hit two-year low

You bet the economy’s great — if you’re a Twitter founder. The rest of us? Not so much, we think. Consumers were spooked by the direction of the economy in...

Jagr's goals help Devils top Penguins

NEWARK, NJ — Jaromir Jagr and Martin Brodeur still know how to make the key plays that lead to wins. And the New Jersey Devils are thankful for that. "Our...

Chess coach: I'm not a cheater!

A Long Island man claims he was kicked off Chess.com and slapped with a scarlet “C” — for chess cheat. “I was put on a cheater list,” chess teacher Henry...

In my Library: Kenny Loggins

If anyone's written the soundtrack of our 40-and-over lives, it's Kenny Loggins. "Footloose," "Danger Zone," "Danny's Song," "This Is It"...are you singing yet? Loggins and Messina haven't toured for years,...

Sanitation workers trash can collectors' pushcarts

What the haul? The city Sanitation Department cracked down on bottle collectors this month, trashing pushcarts used by poor and elderly Lower East Siders to collect cans for cash. Neighborhood...

This week's must-read books

Respect Yourself Stax Record and the Soul Explosion by Robert Gordon  (Bloomsbury)The latest book from Gordon (“Can’t Be Satisfied”) is more than just a look at one of the best record...

Scandalously ever after: history's hard-partying princesses

Pauline Bonaparte, sister of French leader Napoleon and a princess by virtue of her marriage to Roman prince Camillo Borghese, enjoyed bathing in milk in order to “preserve her white...

Rutgers 'lied' about handling football coach’s bullying: player's mom

Rutgers University officials are lying about how they handled a football player’s allegations he was bullied by a coach, the student’s mom said Saturday. Defensive back Jevon Tyree has accused...

Melo rips Knicks’ effort after blowout

After the final buzzer and the boos died down, Carmelo Anthony stood alone quietly for a long moment by the Knicks bench, soaking in the harsh reality Saturday night. The...

ObamaCare damaged the nation's system, some Dems don't mind

At the end of the children’s nursery rhyme, “all the king’s horses and all the king’s men, couldn’t put Humpty Dumpty together again.” That’s the lesson Americans should bear in...

Is your pup an 'Einstein'? New test lets you find out

Like many dog owners, Raymond Meza, 51, has long thought his dog was especially smart. Turns out he was right. A few months back, Meza, a retired deputy sheriff living...

Former Nets owner Taub a 'godsend' for Paterson youth program

Benjie Wimberly, Democratic Assemblyman for New Jersey’s 35th District, remembers his plight 20 years ago. He was Paterson Eastside High’s baseball coach and budget cuts wiped out hope of new...

Colleges won’t avoid recruiting criminals until donations stop

Roughly 2,400 years ago “Lysistrata” opened in Athens. Aristophanes’ play was about how the beauty, Lysistrata, convinced Greece’s women to deny their men love-making until the region’s warring factions started...

Futuristic Starsky & Hutch join forces in 'Almost Human'

When “Almost Human” creator-executive producer J.H. Wyman first brought his idea for the futuristic police procedural to J.J. Abrams, one of the things that Abrams found appealing was how it...

The hip-hop rebirth of Billy Squier

Ask anyone under 25 if they’ve heard of Billy Squier, and the answer is likely no. But that doesn’t mean they haven’t heard him. Squier has one of the most...

'Who' is the question as iconic British show turns 50

You can keep your Don Drapers and your Walter Whites — for some of us (more than 77 million worldwide) there’s one character who stands head and shoulders above all...

This week’s couple: Friend request

The purpose of Meet Market is to experience a blind date: that is, the two people see each other for the first time on the date. So it was unfortunate...

Gadget geek looking for lady who’s a real turn-on

David, 27, volunteers as a high-school computer-science teacher — but can the tech entrepreneur find someone to start up a romance with? Trail blazer: David’s favorite place to run is...

TV's best and worst one-hour shows

“An Adventure in Space and Time” (Friday, 9 p.m., BBC America) Celebrating the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who — and the imminent arrival of new Doctor, Peter Capaldi — this...

Meet the new hottie burning up Broadway

In a Broadway season long on luscious leading men — Orlando Bloom, Daniel Craig, Zachary Quinto, Ethan Hawke — Brian J. Smith’s a standout. His fans knew that long before...

Paralyzed veterans competing in race in exoskeleton suit

Go, go gadget legs! A paralyzed Bronx Army vet will compete in a 1-mile race at Riverside Park today — with the help of bionic limbs. Gene Laureano, 51, is...

Alessandro Nivola: My Brooklyn

Dashing Alessandro Nivola currently stars as a buttoned-up, pre-WWI barrister in “The Winslow Boy” on Broadway — although the versatile actor will go full 1970s for the upcoming movie “American...

Chef Francois Payard's Thanksgiving feast

Francois Payard is a third-generation French pastry chef with bakeries around the world. He’s known for his fanciful, full-fat confections: creamy mousses, buttery tarts, macarons made light as air with...

99-year-old sex therapist can spice up your love life

Sex therapist and lecturer Shirley Zussman recently took on a new patient — a 25-year-old woman. “She had gone to somebody else in New York originally, and she felt she...

New doc explores the enduring cult of 'Calvin and Hobbes'

Eighteen years ago, Bill Watterson pulled the plug on his incredibly popular “Calvin and Hobbes” comic strip, turned down millions of dollars in merchandising — and shut out a nation...

Dear John: Where to invest $100K?

Dear John: My husband and I are in our 60s, and we presently have about $100,000 in cash and want to invest in something conservative. We have a mortgage at...

It’s time to make paid surrogacy legal in New York

In 1984, a New Jersey woman named Mary Beth Whitehead agreed to be a surrogate mother for a childless couple, William and Betsy Stern. Whitehead’s own eggs were used and...

Chris Pratt is proud of his new film roles -- and his buff body

As Andy Dwyer on “Parks and Recreation,” Chris Pratt doesn’t always have his stuff together. In real life, the 34-year-old actor is one successful dude, as well as a new...

Former Treasury Secretary joins Wall Street

Mr. Geither goes to Wall Street. Former Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner will join private-equity firm Warburg Pincus next year after 26 years in public service, the company said. Geithner will...

Jets prep for Bills with Dave & Buster’s trip

BUFFALO — The Jets spent Saturday night preparing for their game with the Bills on Sunday by … playing video games? According to a source, Rex Ryan canceled the team’s...

NYC hedge funds crack fracking titan

Frack you! A pair of New York-based hedge funds outmaneuvered new-age oil and gas titan Tom Ward, head of SandRidge Energy, according to a new book centered on the epic...

Luxury developers find 'affordable' way to dodge property taxes

At 90 stories, it will be tallest residential tower in the city. With sweeping views of downtown Manhattan and Central Park, the $1.5 billion building is one of the most...

Fancy properties with big tax exemptions

New York City collected $19 billion in property taxes for the year ending June 30, 2013. But it lost out on $4.98 billion more, thanks to exemptions granted to schools,...

Don't trust anything on Wikipedia

Wikipedia defines “Trust, but verify” — the phrase Ronald Reagan famously used in negotiating nuclear-arms cuts with the Soviet Union — this way: “A form of advice given which recommends...

Witt’s NFL picks Week 11

SUNDAY Browns (+5 ½) over BENGALS: Remember, this is Norv Turner offensively coordinating with Cleveland. The man knows offense, and now, he doesn’t have to play a no-win game with Brandon...

Ex-Fed insider confessed hatred of QE

He’s the man from the Federal Reserve whose essay in the Wall Street Journal apologized for Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s hoax on the American public— quantitative easing — in order...

Woodson won’t force J.R. Smith to stay quiet on Twitter

Tweet on, J.R.! J.R. Smith said he is free to keep using Twitter and he will. Coach Mike Woodson said his threat of shutting down Smith’s account was just that...

Celebrity stylist launches custom gown website

Mary Alice Haney, a fashion editor and celebrity stylist for Blake Lively, Sarah Jessica Parker and Jennifer Lawrence among others, just launched her own high-end luxury brand, Haney. The idea...

How a little alcohol helped Sam Claflin prepare for 'Catching Fire'

He's the most seductive man in the Capitol — a perfect specimen with a chiseled body, “camera-ready face” and “incredible” green eyes. When we first meet Finnick Odair in Friday’s...

Jessica Alba's all-natural baby product company raises $52M

The Honest Co., which counts among its founders actress Jessica Alba and LegalZoom founder Brian Lee, said it raised $25 million in second-round funding. The Los Angeles-based company, which sells...

Cops hunt thug in Gramercy push attack

Terror struck a swanky Gramercy street Friday night, when a stranger followed a 30-year-old woman home, forced his way into her apartment and threw her to the floor. The fiend...

Wintour shake-up remodels magazines masthead

Glamour, while not traditionally a fashion book, has been getting a lot of attention lately as Anna Wintour gives it a look-over in her expanded role as Condé Nast artistic...

Overlooked Smith deserves chance in Buffalo

MONTREAL — In 40 days and nights, Neil Smith might not have done what Noah was able to accomplish in that same time frame, but the Islanders general manager did...

JFK to open 'cutting-edge animal facility'

JFK Airport is about to go to the animals. The ARK, slated to open next year at the New York international airport, has selected a partner to run a splashy...

Nets have plenty of walking wounded

LOS ANGELES — The long-anticipated reunion of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Doc Rivers on Saturday night saw much of the luster dulled when the Nets announced Pierce would sit...

NY undecided on ObamaCare insurance patch

The President’s ObamaCare “fix” might not fly in New York. A growing list of states are refusing to go along with President Obama’s plan to extend insurance policies canceled due...

Year of foreclosures for Westchester County

A new wave of foreclosures is hammering tony Westchester County. Now, as the aftermath of the Great Recession’s economic pain grinds on, even those whose wealth once insulated them are...

Nets rewind: Excitable Kidd on the bench

PHOENIX – Here are my three thoughts on the Nets’ 100-98 overtime victory over the Suns Friday night: 1. Traveling around the NBA, there are plenty of different vantage points...

Visnovsky absence hurts Isles defense

Saturday night made it exactly four weeks since the Islanders were on the receiving end of a hit they have yet to recover from. Just more than five minutes into...

80 is the new 60 when it comes to retirement

American business has become a gray area. As in hair color. Call it the new American nightmare: Running out of money in retirement is scaring the hell out of record...

Lundqvist isn’t concerned over Rangers’ Montreal hex

MONTREAL — So, the Rangers are giving Cam Talbot the opportunity on Saturday night to end his club’s hideous losing streak here against the Canadiens, which had reached seven straight...

JPMorgan's Twitter Q&A doesn't go over well

#JustPlainMoronic: How else to explain JPMorgan’s ill-conceived trip into the Twittersphere last week when it decided to host an hour-long question-and-answer session with its investment banking boss, Jimmy Lee, under...

Baldwin bobs and weaves on ringside challenge

He coulda' been a contender. But TV tough guy Alec Baldwin refused the challenge of a  charity boxing match from a Post reporter  he shoved on the street — because he’s...

The other assassination of 1963

This coming Friday, our nation marks the anniversary of the day John F. Kennedy was struck down by an assassin’s bullet. Fifty years after Lee Harvey Oswald pulled the trigger,...

Reforming federal flood insurance policies

By what measure of fairness should a citizen living in Iowa be forced to subsidize the weekend shorefront home of a wealthy New Jerseyite? Or a resident of Flatbush underwrite...

Sneak peek at the fantastical garb in 'Catching Fire'

Having created highly stylized music videos — for everyone from Beyoncé to Britney to Gwen Stefani — Francis Lawrence knew one thing that would be key in his role as...

Rangers Rick Nash gets close to returning

MONTREAL — Rick Nash has targeted either Tuesday night at the Garden against the Bruins or Thursday night in Dallas for his return from the concussion that has sidelined the...

Serby’s Sunday Q&A with Vince Lombardi Jr.

With the Packers in town to face the Giants, Post columnist Steve Serby huddled with Vince Lombardi Jr., the son of the legendary Green bay coach. Q: What would your...

Crack mayor in crisis - some backers stay loyal

TORONTO — When Rob Ford was elected mayor of Toronto in 2010, his bluster and checkered past were widely known. A plurality of voters backed him anyway, eager to shake...

De Blasio pushes ‘aggressive agenda’ at Sharpton meeting

In one of his first speeches as mayor-elect, Bill de Blasio on Saturday did what any liberal politician in the city would do before taking office — he trucked up...

De Blasio, Ray Kelly 'clear the air'

Bill de Blasio says he’s “cleared the air” with Police Commissioner Ray Kelly after the top cop blasted him last week in a Playboy magazine interview. “I had a good...

Documentary explores world of Russian art collectors

It takes a good 15 minutes of throat-clearing for this documentary to get under way. At the opening and for a long while after that, Ilya Kabakov is shown walking...

The Faust legend, reset in Russia

The Faust legend has been filmed many times, in many ways. The distinguished Russian director Alexander Sokurov’s (“Russian Ark”) may be the most unusual; it’s also the most arid. Our...

Cops shoot man who 'pointed gun' at them

Cops opened fire at a Queens man who allegedly aimed a loaded gun at officers last night in the Rockaways, police said. Henry Jones, 25, was arguing with a woman...

Purple Gang mobster known for running 1980s drug trade shot dead: police

He was a violent thug who terrorized The Bronx and Harlem for decades, doing the Mafia’s bidding as he held an iron grip on a lucrative drug trade. But now,...

4 bodies found in desert ID'd as missing family

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — Four skeletons found in shallow graves in the Southern California desert are believed to be those of a San Diego County family that vanished three years...

Man erects giant middle finger next door to ex-wife

So over her. Which is presumably why he bought the house next to hers and erected a $7000 statue of a hand with its middle finger raised in the backyard....

Postal Service narrows loss in latest fiscal year

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Postal Service reported on Friday that it managed to slow the hemorrhaging of cash in its latest fiscal year, but said a legislative fix is still...

Tangled whale freed off NJ coast; outlook good

MANASQUAN, N.J. — When rescuers sailed to a spot off the New Jersey shore, they found a young humpback whale, bobbing near the surface but unable to move much. Although...

Board names 4 presidents at SUNY schools

ALBANY — The State University of New York trustees have named four presidents of colleges and universities in the SUNY system, including Dr. Gregory Eastwood as interim president of Upstate...

PATH weekend closures continue

JERSEY CITY — Workers along the PATH system are still removing corrosive salt from the rails and tunnels left behind more than a year ago by Superstorm Sandy. The Exchange...

Caribbean-American entrepreneurs honored

The best and brightest of young Caribbean-Americans were honored Thursday night at the “20 under 40 Awards” in Midtown. The inaugural event, hosted by Caribbean Life Newspaper and DiasporaDashboard.com, showcased...

Ace Hotel founder dies

The founder of the ultra-hip Ace Hotel in Manhattan has died, the hotel announced Friday. “Yesterday Alex Calderwood passed away,” the Ace Hotel blog stated. “Alex was our teacher, mentor,...

Lauder grandkids NY's newest billionaires

Skyrocketing cosmetic stocks have catapulted Estee Lauder’s sophisticated granddaughters into billionaire status — with younger sis Jane taking her place as the second-youngest lady billionaire in the United States, Bloomberg...

Prison for creep behind kid-prostitution ring

A Manhattan man was found guilty on Friday of taking erotic photos of underage girls and using them to pimp the teens out over the Web. Royce Corley, 29, was...

Crashes claim 2 lives in Brooklyn, Queens

Two people were killed in separate car crashes Friday night, authorities said. A Bronx man was fatally wounded at 8:15 p.m. after being hit by two cars in the Bronx....

Union power play in council speaker race

Members of the labor union that helped propel Bill de Blasio into City Hall aren’t just pushing for his pal to become City Council speaker — they’re also trying to...

Huge volcano erupts in Indonesia

Thar she blows! An Indonesian volcano that slept for four centuries before rumbling back to life in 2010 has blown its top — spewing pillars of ash and smoke four...

Baby ma bests Bode Miller in court

Olympic skier Bode Miller’s bicoastal custody battle with the baby mama of his almost 9-month-old son will play out in New York and not in California, according to a ruling...

Kelly right to feel betrayed: ex-mayoral candidate

A former candidate for mayor backed up Ray Kelly’s charge that most of the Democratic candidates “betrayed” him in a bid to win votes. The police commissioner made the claim...

'Hey Alec, let's settle this like men'

My old trainer, Smokin’ Joe Frazier, once told me, “Son, an empty wagon makes the most noise.” Alec Baldwin is the emptiest wagon of them all. This reporter got up...

After rough childhood, Laury thriving at Iona

David Laury’s first season at Iona was even better than he envisioned. He finally was playing Division I basketball, averaging a double-double and going to the NCAA Tournament. But he...

Tanaka posting delay affects free-agent starting pitchers

The delay in the Masahiro Tanaka sweepstakes hasn’t just affected the Japanese right-hander and teams such as the Yankees who are interested in pursuing the 25-year-old. It is being felt...

Mets GM Alderson open to dealing pitching

The Mets plan on looking much different on Opening Day than they do right now — they just haven’t figured out how to do it yet. One day after coach...

Rangers rook Talbot faces tough test in Montreal

It was a very diplomatic thing for Henrik Lundqvist to say. One might imagine the Rangers’ franchise goaltender walks around with a deep hatred for Montreal’s Bell Centre, the place...

Plumlee brothers face off for first time

PHOENIX — After all of the years both Miles and Mason Plumlee have played basketball, they both experienced something Friday night they had never had done before: Playing against one...

Knicks' Melo hoping for minutes reduction

Carmelo Anthony doesn’t lead the NBA in scoring, but he does lead the league in minutes, and that’s something he would prefer not to do, especially after spending so much...

Mother and daughter die in LI blaze

Suffolk County homicide detectives are investigating a tragic Huntington Station house fire that took the lives of a woman and her daughter with Down syndrome Thursday night. Officers arrived at...

'Serial killer' dressed down by judge

The wheels are falling off this madman’s defense. Accused Brooklyn serial killer Sal Perrone — who is defending himself in court — was ripped by a judge on Friday when...

Bryant Park ice-rink 'shooter' indicted

The 16-year-old gangbanger who is accused of shooting two skaters at the Bryant Park ice rink last week over a $680 Marmot coat was indicted by a grand jury prosecutors...

Seize the play! PlayStation 4 released a week before Xbox One

Game on! Sony’s PlayStation 4 launched on Friday — a week before Microsoft unveils its rival Xbox One — and was gobbled up by mobs of crazed customers. Brooklynite Joey...

The President's panic attack over ObamaCare

The most important thing about the policy move announced by President Obama on Thursday is not its practical significance — which is frankly very hard to predict — but rather...

De Blasio vs. the market

Business leaders in the city are scratching their heads over recent remarks by Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio. Describing how he plans to govern once he takes office next year, the...

Home(r) run: 'Simpsons' going to FXX

‘The Simpsons” is finally coming to cable. FXX has acquired the exclusive cable rights to the long-running Fox animated sitcom in the biggest off-network syndication deal ever — reportedly $750...

Deron injured, but Johnson's OT buzzer-beater saves Nets

PHOENIX — When Joe Johnson’s runner dropped through the net as the buzzer sounded in overtime to give the Nets a 100-98 victory over the Suns, he had just one...

'40's era 'Mob City' tackles corruption in the City of Angels

While there has been no shortage of LA noir dramas on the big screen (“Chinatown,” “Mulholland Drive,” “LA Confidential”), it’s a genre that’s been largely ignored on TV. Until now....

New Gotham West Market makes a trek to 11th Avenue well worth it

Far West Midtown has long been more of a food wasteland than a destination, but that’s changing next week with the opening of Gotham West Market. The massive gourmet food...

Rockettes' Christmas show still has legs

We're still hunting for Halloween candy between the couch cushions and have yet to order a turkey — but “The Radio City Christmas Spectacular” just propelled us into the holidays....

GPS-driven snow stars in Radio City 'Christmas Spectacular'

It's opening night at Radio City and inside the famed music hall, snow is flying through the air. But this “snow” is the annual Radio City Christmas Spectacular’s latest spectacle....