April 20, 2014
How Aereo's legal battle threatens $3.3B in retrans riches
There are a lot of reasons to care about the Supreme Court showdown over Aereo — 3.3 billion to be exact. That’s how much the major broadcast networks pocket in...
Kidd: Kirilenko will get his minutes
One of the biggest surprises to come out of the Nets’ 94-87 win Saturday in Toronto in Game 1 of their best-of-7 series with the Raptors was the absence of...
Raptors focus on Game 2
TORONTO — Before what would be the first NBA playoff experience for many of them, the Raptors claimed basketball is basketball, postseason or regular season. It’s not rocket science, they...
Dice-K adjusts to pitching out of pen
Daisuke Matsuzaka, a career starter, made only his second relief appearance ever on Saturday. He apparently is growing into the role, coming back on a second straight day and tossing...
Girardi won’t let Jeter get in way of winning
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Having already said he wasn’t hired to manage Derek Jeter’s farewell tour, Joe Girardi didn’t let the iconic shortstop get in the way of an effort...
Diller’s Aereo business model will be hard to kill
Broadcast networks are facing a classic game of Whac-A-Mole in their efforts to stamp out streaming service Aereo. The nation’s highest court will hear arguments on Tuesday over whether Barry...
Finally, a weekend of quality sports TV/radio coverage
Rarefied air. A strong weekend for sports on TV and radio. Good things come to those who wait, Grasshopper. Tops was the Nets’ radio team, Chris Carrino and Tim Capstraw,...
NYPD's 'Muslim mapping' saved lives
Federal agents knew that a would-be terrorist had likely arrived in New York City from Florida over Thanksgiving weekend in 2012. However, they didn’t know where in New York City...
Camp David brings dark, sexy vibe to the East Village
For the first time, Camp David will be in New York. No, not that Camp David. The ironically named lounge, co-owned by David Lopez and Carmen Aleman, opens this week...
The (little) speech the government allows
Occasionally, the Supreme Court considers questions that are answered merely by asking them. On Tuesday, the court will hear arguments about this: Should a government agency, whose members are chosen...
United Auto Workers a threat to US liberties
Everyone knows the United Auto Workers helped bankrupt General Motors and the entire Detroit auto industry, helping pull what was once America’s greatest city into decay and poverty. That legacy...
General Mills nixes plan to kill consumer suits
That wasn’t going to last. General Mills is scrapping a controversial plan to strip consumers of their right to sue the company. The Minnesota-based food giant had posted a notice...
Latest social media stunt shows people are too busy to be happy
If your Facebook, Instagram and Twitter feed have been full of lots of happiness lately, there’s a pretty good reason for it. Chances are your friends are taking up the...
The feminist 'confidence' quandary
It turns out that the villain behind the latest feminist complaint is...a feminist victory of yesteryear. The new complaint is “the confidence gap.” Start with this example: In academia, men...
Bottoms up
Good news, New York. Turns out there’s an upside to being ranked at the bottom when it comes to the best states in which to do business: The only place...
Defied by Delhi
Want a sense of just how little the world respects America these days? Forget Russia. Forget Syria. Forget Iran. Look at India. There, an NYPD cop is being detained, almost...
With Nova in doubt, Nuno leads Yankees to 12-inning win
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Can a game played in April earn the privilege of being called critical? When your pitching staff was filleted in the previous two games and your...
Obama shuts down debate
When President Obama trumpeted the 8 million figure representing people who had signed up for ObamaCare, he didn’t just declare it a victory. He declared the debate over — and...
Emery stars for Flyers in win
It was 2-0 Rangers just 8:22 into to Game 2 of the Eastern Conference playoff series against the Flyers Sunday at the Garden. The Flyers were already in the throes...
Granderson lifts Mets past Braves in 14th inning
The Mets started Sunday afternoon by demoting struggling Jose Valverde from the closer’s role and pulling slumping Curtis Granderson out of the cleanup spot. They ended it with Valverde getting...
Rangers double up on 'dives' in Game 2 loss
How rare is it that the Rangers got called for two separate embellishment penalties in one game? Try, it's happened only one other time in history since the rule was...
NFL prospect out to disprove critics again after torn ACL
Dominique Easley was hoping for the best as he sat in a Florida hospital room in September. But soon, as the doctor entered with his head down, the defensive lineman...
Rangers let Flyers impose their will in Game 2
One by one, the Rangers stood in the losing locker room at the Garden — that would be their own — and spoke as if reading from a script. One...
Raptors GM's vulgarity was a much-needed outburst of honesty
TORONTO — Everything about this was...come on, let’s be honest with each other. There’s no other word that applies. It was awesome. No. It was AWESOME. There was the act...
Is it bad to take notes at a job interview?
I like to take notes when I’m on a job interview, but sometimes I get a weird vibe from the interviewer, like they think it’s strange. Is there anything wrong...
'Everest Jump Live' canceled after deadly avalanche
The Discovery Channel announced Sunday that it’s canceling its “Everest Jump Live” special after an avalanche at Mount Everest killed 13 people – the worst disaster in the famed peak’s...
Parents of 3-year-old who died in heat wave sue day care center
The devastated parents of a 3-year-old Brooklyn boy who died during a heat wave have filed a lawsuit that claims the day care center was uninsured and that workers never...
Colorado celebrates 4/20 without threat of arrest
DENVER — Once the province of activists and stoners, the traditional pot holiday of April 20 has gone mainstream in the first state in the nation to legalize recreational marijuana....
Murder arrest after a body found wrapped in cellophane
Police arrested a man for murder after finding a man's body wrapped in cellophane and stuffed inside a black plastic bin inside the suspect's home. Joshua Simser, 24, was arrested...
Couple married 70 years dies hours apart
An Ohio couple who met as teenagers and were married for 70 years, almost never sleeping apart, died from natural causes within a span of 15 hours, according to their...
Valverde out, Farnsworth in as Mets closer
The Mets didn’t even make it through April without having to change two of their most important positions, taking Jose Valverde out of the closer role after he became a...
Lundqvist outplayed as Rangers lose Game 2 to Flyers
The Rangers found out what happens when you let the Flyers hang around, and what can happen when you get sucked into their type of game. With a chance to...
'Deranged' ex-cop shot wife 10 times as kids watched: officials
A former cop was charged with murder on Sunday after he allegedly shot his wife 10 times in front of their two young children as they watched in horror Saturday...
Stolen dog returned to woman after nightmare first date
DOVER, N.J. — A woman has been reunited with her Yorkshire Terrier and flat-screen TV that were snatched during her first date with a man she met online. The woman...
Miss America: Don't suspend the kid who asked me to prom
YORK, Pa. — Miss America is asking a Pennsylvania school district to reconsider the punishment of a high school senior who asked her to prom during the question-and-answer portion of...
Pierce pleads ignorance of Raptors GM's 'F--- Brooklyn' rant
If Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri was hoping to stoke the flames of a rivalry between the Nets and Raptors with his “F--- Brooklyn” ending to his pregame speech to...
Struggling Granderson moved out of cleanup spot
The Mets got Curtis Granderson expressly to be their cleanup hitter. But for the moment, the struggling outfielder is out of the cleanup role, moved to No. 2 in the...
Pistorius took 'acting lessons' before crying on stand
Blubbering “Blade Runner” Oscar Pistorius took acting lessons before testifying at his murder trial, according to a new report. The once-beloved Olympian — who regularly broke down in wailing sobs...
Boxer Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter dies at 76
TORONTO — Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, the boxer whose wrongful murder conviction became an international symbol of racial injustice, died Sunday. He was 76. He had been stricken with prostate cancer...
Firebug busted in $34M Hamptons mansion blaze
A former well-heeled developer from the Hamptons torched another land dealer’s spectacular mansion on Long Island, cops said Sunday. Pals said troubled businessman David Osiecki — who owns a $2...
Boyfriend of murdered woman in texts: 'I have the last laugh'
A man who allegedly murdered his girlfriend after discovering she was leaving him to attend college, also sent text messages to her family telling them he had killed her. Authorities say...
Tommy John likely after Nova tears elbow ligament
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Judging by what happened to Shawn Kelley and Dellin Betances, Tommy John surgery is in Ivan Nova’s future. Nova was diagnosed with a partial tear of...
'Make them escape!': Transcript shows fatal hesitation as ferry sank
JINDO, South Korea — A transcript released Sunday shows the South Korean ferry that sank was crippled with confusion and indecision well after it began listing dangerously, possibly adding to...
$34M Hamptons mansion destroyed by suspicious fire
A blaze of suspicious origin ripped through a $34 million, 10,000-square-foot Bridgehampton mansion Saturday, firefighters said. The inferno, which began just before 6 a.m., destroyed the interior of the palatial...
Deadly Easter morning shootout shatters truce in eastern Ukraine
At least two people were killed in a gunfight early on Sunday near a Ukrainian city controlled by pro-Russian separatists, shaking an already fragile international accord that was designed to...
Pope Francis celebrates Easter with huge crowd at Vatican
VATICAN CITY — Celebrating Easter Sunday, Christianity's most joyous day, Pope Francis stood under sunny skies before a flock so numerous they overflowed the flower-bedecked St. Peter's Square. Even before...
Divers begin pulling bodies from South Korean ferry
MOKPO, South Korea — The confirmed death toll from South Korea's ferry disaster rose past 50 on Sunday as divers finally found a way inside the sunken vessel, quickly discovering...
Rock throwing Palestinians arrested at holy site in Jerusalem
JERUSALEM — Israeli police entered the compound of Jerusalem's holiest site to disperse Palestinians who were throwing rocks at them on Sunday, as thousands of tourists packed the Old City...
Body found in plastic bin on Brooklyn street
A passer-by walking along a Brooklyn street Saturday made a gruesome discovery: the body of a man stuffed into a plastic bin. A suspect was taken into custody but had...
‘Vaulting’ ambition as street meets DC
What do the creation of the Federal Reserve in 1913 and the financial bailout of 2008 have in common? They share the phenomenon of a lot of bankers working with...
Broken-hearted girl's love songs are music to New Yorkers’ ears
The Saturday morning buskers on the Columbus Circle platform are out in force. A guy with a keyboard in hand walks by playing a few notes; a man with bongo...
This week's couple: Hipsters need love, too
Not all great romances begin with love at first sight — some need time to develop. Take Melissa, 26, and Juan, 25. The two OkCupid members met offline for their...
Fierstein play explores hidden secrets of cross dressing
You'd think that of all people, Harvey Fierstein would know about men in frocks. From his Tony-winning play “Torch Song Trilogy” in the 1980s through his books for the musicals...
This week's must-read books
’Til the Well Runs Dry by Lauren Francis-Sharma (Henry Holt) From a New York City-born daughter of Trinidadian immigrants, a debut novel set on the latter island. Francis-Sharma’s story begins...
In my library: Hunt Slonem
You don’t have to be Hugh Hefner to get excited about Hunt Slonem’s bunnies. Each day, the artist warms up by painting rabbits even Beatrix Potter would envy. Now, just...
Base politics
How can you tell it’s an election year and Democrats are scared? Their most senior members are working overtime to rile up their base — regardless of the collateral damage...
A senior space odyssey
We sympathize with any New York City seniors who are forced to move from apartments they’ve happily lived in for years — and without compensation. But when the rents they...
It’s time to penalize NHL’s perennial losers
The NHL staged its Lottery of Losers on Tuesday, an entire sub-division of the league hoping to actually win something after months of losing games and credibility. There they were, teams...
For Yankees, this is first test in a long season
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Yankees’ pitchers have been so generous these last two nights at Tropicana Field, I double-checked to make sure this wasn’t HOPE Week. So the Rays’...
Bring on the Ike comparisons! Duda can’t deliver in clutch late
Ike Davis might be out of sight, but that doesn’t mean he’s out of mind. At least for the next few weeks, if not the next few months, there will be...
Yankees set to get back Teixeira, Robertson
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — An infield that has been propped up by a surprising walk-on gets a big-time scholarship part back Sunday. And a bullpen that until Friday night was...
Beltran returns to Yankees lineup after day of rest
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — After sitting out Friday night’s game with a sore left shoulder and right wrist, Carlos Beltran was in Saturday night’s lineup as the Yankees’ designated hitter...
Boos picking up as Granderson's funk continues
As Curtis Granderson’s funk is getting worse, so are the boos in Flushing. The Mets’ struggling right fielder went 0-for-5 in Saturday’s 7-5 loss to the Braves to drop his...
Three reasons why Nets are positioned to bury Raptors
Here are three thoughts on the Nets’ 94-87 win over the Raptors in Game 1 of their best-of-7 first round playoff series Saturday afternoon: 1. The Raptors have to be...
Former Knick Cleamons wants to join organization
The stars are starting to align for an eventual reunion of Phil Jackson and Jim Cleamons in New York. Cleamons, the former Knicks starting point guard, and Jackson were teammates...
Kirilenko’s wife jabs Kidd for benching husband
TORONTO — One of the big surprises to come out of the Nets’ 94-87 victory over the Raptors in Game 1 of their best-of-seven first round series was the fact...
Baseball icon Al Leiter's HS battle remembered 30 years later
It is 30 years to the day on this Easter Sunday, and they still talk about the chilly, damp, misty day Al Leiter of Central Regional high school of Bayville,...
Maple Leafs fan starving since '67
TORONTO — Sure, if you are a Jets fan, you will have a hard time feeling sorry for anyone else; your drought extends to 1969. Yes, if you are a...
Boy recovering from Queens blaze hangs with the Mets
Mathew Miller never stopped dreaming. The Queens native, 13, had enjoyed a wonderful 2013, traveling the country, while starring for several travel baseball teams and hitting over 70 home runs....
Toronto turning back the (shot) clock
TORONTO — Things took a bizarre turn halfway through the third quarter of the Nets’ 94-87 victory over the Raptors in Game 1 of their best-of-7 first round playoff series...
Rape allegations could hurt draft status of Michigan OT Lewan
NFL executives say extreme caution is the new normal in draft scouting since Aaron Hernandez’s shocking murder arrest last summer and then the Richie Incognito bullying scandal. Taylor Lewan could...
Wall Street traders want 9/11 money
A wave of Wall Street stockbrokers and traders are coming down with cancers blamed on the toxic dust and smoke of 9/11. They’re joining ill Ground Zero first-responders in seeking...
MTA denying Access-A-Ride to some riders claiming disabilities
The MTA denied 13 percent of Access-A-Ride applicants in 2013 — almost 7,000 New Yorkers — more than double the denial rate from five years ago. And it’s no coincidence...
Daily Blotter
The Bronx Cops have released a photo of a man who allegedly exposed himself to a 12-year-old girl while she took out the trash in Morris Heights. The man was...
DNA swab kits to help MTA bus drivers bust spitters
The MTA is about to get a little more CSI. City bus drivers will soon be armed with DNA swabs to gather evidence in the all-too-common event of an unhinged...
City's worst high school has hundreds of empty seats
They don’t want no education — especially if it’s at August Martin HS in Queens. The troubled Springfield Gardens school is the least popular in the entire city, Department of...
The USA's first nail salon opened in NYC in 1878
There are nearly 1,300 nail salons in New York City — no surprise, given that the first one in the United States was founded on West 23rd Street, a new...
Horse lovers protest outside Liam Neeson’s apartment
Animal lovers rallied outside Liam Neeson’s Upper West Side apartment Saturday to neigh-say his loud support for the horse carriages in Central Park. About 40 protesters held signs saying, “Horse...
Can landlords ban tenants from opening gay bars?
A Brooklyn bar owner says he’s going “straight” out of business — because his landlord won’t let him turn his watering hole into a gay bar. John McGillion says he...
Police shot bystander trying to subdue deranged man: suit
A Manhattan woman shot in the leg by police trying to subdue a deranged, drugged- up man in Times Square says the cops were more dangerous than their target, according...
Attempted baby kidnapper has long history of illness
She’s a prisoner of her own mind. Last week’s terrifying attempted baby-snatching in Chelsea isn’t the first in which Tara Anne McDonald, 46, has been accused, records show. The delusional...
Downtown residents want to bring farmers market to WTC
Downtown residents are rallying for a farmers market to replace security lines at the 9/11 memorial. Officials say that when the National September 11 Memorial & Museum opens, construction fences...
'Uranus' jokes, pot pipe too racy for prestigious high school's musical
Stuyvesant’s got talent — for offending. Students at the elite Manhattan high school hit a sour note at their annual SING! musical this year, stunning some audience members with shockingly...
Cabby still driving after crash left tourist an amputee
He couldn’t wait to get on the road again. Cabby Mohammed Faysal Himon sheared off the foot of a British tourist in a grisly accident at Rockefeller Center last August,...
Two toddlers die in fire likely caused by cigarette lighter
The tragic Easter morning house fire in Queens that killed two 4-year-olds and injured three others is believed to have been sparked from one of the children playing with a...
From mullet to math genius after a concussion
When Jason Padgett pours cream into his morning coffee, this is what he sees: “I watch the cream stirred into the brew. The perfect spiral is an important shape to...
Canonization of Popes John Paul II, John XXIII to draw millions to Rome
Easter services today are expected to kick off a record-breaking week at the Vatican. Two beloved modern popes — John Paul II and John XXIII — are to be canonized...
The Pulitzers reward traitors and treason
It’s official: Treason is cool and traitors are acceptable sources for journalists. The Pulitzer Prize says so. In giving the 2014 Public Service award to The Washington Post and The...
Deal with Warner opens door to artists’ rights
The music industry should prepare to be rocked by this deal. More than two decades after Prince scrawled “slave” on his face to protest his record label, the artist has...
Average credit card interest up to shocking 21%
Credit card companies know there’s no free lunch, but they’re letting more customers get a taste as an enticement by gouging their existing card members. The average credit card interest...
Brooklyn Law cuts tuition by 15 percent
High tuition costs got you worried? Fuhgeddaboudit. That’s just what Dean Nicholas Allard of New York’s own Brooklyn Law School said last week — not in so many words —...
Techie creates starter 'black card' for 20-somethings
A young tech entrepreneur has launched an aspirational “black card”’ for 20-somethings who are working their way toward American Express’ famous Black card. Billy McFarland, 22, launched the Magnises card...
Fargo foreclosure manual on trial
Wells Fargo is in a federal judge’s hot seat. America’s largest mortgage servicer just lost the battle to keep its controversial Wells Fargo Home Mortgage Foreclosure Attorney Procedure Manual out...
Taylor Swift hires new publicist amid fresh start
Taylor Swift has split with her longtime PR spokeswoman, Paula Erickson, and hired flame-haired beauty Tree Paine to help her deal with the never-ending press interest. Swift, the 24-year-old Grammy...
Bronx-born boss lady wants a guy who can take charge
Kaitlyn, 24, spends her days running an online publication — but she’s ready for a guy who can liven things up in her offline love life. Kid stuff: Her two...
Struggling NYSE lobbies against high-frequency trading
The New York Stock Exchange is on an high-frequency trading war footing. The struggling mart, in a frantic new bid to regain market share, is huddling with lawmakers and bringing...
Dear John: Inflated expectations
Dear John: I was wondering: With a 0.4 percent rise in food prices and a 1.1 percent rise in energy, how did they come up with a 0.1 percent rise...
How Facebook could become your bank
CEO Mark Zuckerberg is set to breathe rarefied air when Facebook gets Irish regulatory approval to become a “payment and remittance processor,” i.e., a bank. The Central Bank of Ireland...
Google Glass, a marketing yawn
Here is the biggest difference between Apple and Google: marketing genius. Google CEO Larry Page unveiled the $1,500 Glass Internet-connected headset last week for a one-day sale, and it appears...
Most Americans prefer solid chocolate Easter bunnies: study
Are you a hollow or solid Easter Bunny fan? Most Americans — fully 66 percent — prefer the solid bunny, according to a study done by the National Confectioners Association....
Belgium snaps up US debt in droves
Belgium is not waffling on buying US debt, say traders and analysts. Treasury traders are suspicious about the latest Treasury International Capital (TIC) data for February. How on earth did...
Buybacks can bite you back
When is a buyback not a good thing? When it’s used for financial engineering. Take IBM. Over the last year, Big Blue has bought back almost 10 percent of its...