February 15, 2015
Russell Westbrook scores 41 in West's All-Star win
For most of the night, the players treated the NBA All-Star Game like, well, an NBA All-Star Game. Lots of running, loads of lobs, 3-pointers from every known corner of...
Amar'e Stoudemire done with Knicks after buyout
Shalom! Amar’e Stoudemire’s five-year run with the Knicks is over, a $100 million stay that ended in a spate of injuries and declining play. The buyout negotiations went smoothly and...
TNT's Craig Sager teases March return with classic absurd suit
Loud-suit-wearing, leukemia-battling sideline reporter Craig Sager returned to the TNT broadcast for Sunday night's NBA All-Star Game and said he may make a welcome return to full-time duty as soon...
The teachers unions' education-crisis denial
The situation with public schools in America is nothing short of a moral crisis, particularly where low-income children of color are concerned. In New York, more than a quarter of...
James Dolan endures seat bump, email joke as All-Star host
Knicks owner James Dolan had to move from his regular seat for Sunday night’s All-Star Game in his building, but his seating issue was nothing compared to the 1,000 or...
VA empire strikes back -- bureaucrats vs. veterans' health
President Obama and the Veterans Administration bureaucracy are already sabotaging the VA-reform law passed in August. The ink is barely dry on the 8.6 million “Choice Cards” that supposedly allow...
How to kill jobs & close doors -- a minimum-wage warning to New York
Couples across the country spent Valentine’s Day watching the rom-com “You’ve Got Mail,” where Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan fight over customers as his bookstore behemoth threatens to gobble up...
To win in 2016: The voters Republicans forgot
The GOP 2016 pack is off on a 16-month war for the nomination, which means performing for the party’s base and the money men. Yet whoever comes out on top...
How a failed Yankees prospect found perfect role with team
TAMPA — Eric Duncan was already one of the Yankees’ top prospects when he got to Staten Island in 2003 and tore up the short season New York-Penn League. Twelve...
Stars come out for SNL's 40th anniversary bash
“Saturday Night Live” is celebrating its 40th anniversary — on Sunday night — with a star-studded, fabulously funny blowout bash featuring the biggest names in comedy and music.
Rutgers coach on emotional loss of legend he calls 'second father’
Kyle Flood has come a long way, from a Queens kid who didn’t play a down of football entering high school to the head coach at Rutgers in one of...
Bitter Knoblauch bashes Yankees’ Pettitte ceremony over HGH
TAMPA — Add Andy Pettitte to the growing list of Yankees legends. The Yankees will honor the popular lefty with Andy Pettitte Day on Aug. 23 at Yankee Stadium, in...
The 4 biggest threats to Kentucky's perfect season
Those 40-0 T-shirts haven’t been sent to third-world countries yet. Kentucky enters the final three weeks of the regular season undefeated, equaling the best start in its glorious program’s history...
Giants face $15M decision on JPP as NFL 'tag' window opens
Jason Pierre-Paul soon will know more about his immediate future than he does right now. Starting Monday, NFL teams can place the franchise tag on impending free agents, triggering a...
'I had to kill a man': 'American Sniper' jury may hear confession of 'killer'
STEPHENVILLE, Texas — When the “American Sniper” murder trial enters its fourth day Monday, jurors could hear from a key witness who recorded accused killer Eddie Ray Routh’s creepy confession....
Rangers must solve Islanders to prove more than bottom-feeders
We know the Rangers can beat up on the NHL’s tomato cans. They do it pretty much all the time. We also know the Islanders can beat up on the...
Uber New York
Watching our political class react to innovation and entrepreneurship is like watching a Stradivarius in the hands of a chimp. Just look at what these clowns are trying to do...
Let's see her emails
It’s been nearly two years since Lois Lerner planted a question at an American Bar Association gathering to slip in the fact that the IRS had singled out Tea Party...
Paging Deborah Glick: Part 2
Earlier this month, Manhattan Assemblywoman Deborah Glick sponsored a bill to cap the pay of charter-school executives. Ideally, says Glick, their salaries shouldn’t be more than that of the New...
Former NHLer dead at 35; was depressed after concussion
CHICAGO — Former NHL defenseman Steve Montador was found unconscious in his home in Mississauga, Ontario, early Sunday morning and was later pronounced dead, according to the Peel Region Police. He...
Boehner ready for Homeland Security Department shutdown
WASHINGTON -- The possibility of a shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security seemed more likely Sunday after Speaker of the House John Boehner said he was "certainly" prepared to...
Did Padres sacrifice a coherent roster on altar of star power?
What has stood out about the Gregg Popovich Spurs is just how much sense they always make as a team. They accumulate talent that fits together. This allows them to...
Cullen Jenkins accepts Giants pay cut to avoid the ax
Cullen Jenkins, a 34-year old defensive lineman in danger of being lopped off the roster because of his high price tag, has accepted a pay cut from the Giants, a...
Copenhagen gunman ID'd, was recently in prison
Danish TV on Sunday identified the terror-inspired gunman who shot and killed two people and wounded five cops in a terror spree that targeted both a cartoonist who lampooned Islam's...
Rob Gronkowski takes his Champagne-soaked antics to Fashion Week
Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski hasn’t slowed his Champagne-soaked antics since winning the Super Bowl two weeks ago. When The Post spotted him at LeBron James’ GQ All-Star party and...
Egypt attacks after mass-beheading video released by ISIS
Islamic State released a video on Sunday purporting to show the beheading of a group of Egyptian Christians kidnapped in Libya, violence likely to deepen Cairo's concerns over security threats...
Bergdorf’s Linda Fargo is impressed by Kanye’s style sense
Nowadays during Fashion Week, one arm isn’t enough. “We are supposed to be Octopussy,” said Bergdorf Goodman’s Linda Fargo, who was snapping pics of Edie Parker’s lucite clutches at the...
Boehner admits keeping Obama in dark about Netanyahu
WASHINGTON -- Speaker of the House John Boehner admitted he purposely kept President Obama in the dark about inviting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to speak before Congress. “I frankly...
Harlem nonprofit stiffs supporters
A politically connected Harlem nonprofit stiffed its supporters — including rapper Doug E. Fresh — who kicked in nearly $700,000 to keep it afloat. The Greater Harlem Housing Development Corp.,...
Hedgie Richard Perry joins Herbalife exodus
Billionaire investor Richard Perry is the latest hedge-fund heavyweight to exit Herbalife, following on the heels of George Soros. Perry dumped his entire 5.575 million-share stake during the fourth quarter,...
$195K unaccounted for at NYC high school
Teachers and parents at William Cullen Bryant HS in Queens are demanding an accounting of more than $195,000 collected from students for gym uniforms, paddle locks and food. In response...
Shafted! New York City’s worst elevators
It’s not just residents in public housing who are left high and dry by defective elevators. The FDNY responded to 30,290 calls last year for stalled elevators and people trapped...
Elevator repair costs for NYC skyrocket after court settlement
The city’s elevator repair bills are going through the roof. Each of the 3,330 elevators in the city’s housing projects goes out of service an average of once a month,...
Squatter takes over, rents out unfinished apartment complex
Squatters have returned to New York City. One, Peter Zephyrin, considers himself a modern-day Robin Hood for taking over an unfinished and boarded-up complex on Jamaica Avenue in Queens. Zephyrin,...
Elderly woman killed in NYC blaze
An elderly woman was killed early Sunday when a blaze broke out in her Bronx apartment — in a building that has no heat, according to residents. Margaret Henry, 78,...
‘Screeching’ subway ukulele player sues to stop amp ban
He serenades straphangers with music that sounds like “cats dying” — and he’s suing to keep it that way. Electronic-ukulele busker Christopher X. Brodeur, who describes his instrumental imitation of...
Couples line up to buy $1,000 lots in Newark
More than 500 couples spent Valentine’s Day in line for the most unusual of sweetheart deals: a vacant lot in Newark. In a radical move to attract young homeowners and...
American savagely gored at bullfighting festival
MADRID — An American youth is recovering in the intensive-care unit of a hospital in western Salamanca after being savagely gored during a bullfighting festival celebrating Carnival, officials said Sunday....
Most decorated cop ever had 476 NYPD awards
While Ralph Friedman is the most decorated detective in NYPD history, he’s actually No. 2 among all ranks. Top honors go to a friend and former Fort Apache colleague, Lt....
Meet the most decorated detective in NYPD history
It was the bad old days of 1974, the South Bronx, and NYPD Detective Ralph Friedman and his partner, Robert De Matas, were working undercover, posing as cabdrivers.
Copenhagen victim identified as radical Islam tie probed
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Danish police shot and killed a man early Sunday suspected of carrying out shooting attacks at a free speech event and then at a Copenhagen synagogue, killing...
CEO tried to buy mistress' silence for $32K: suit
A married Manhattan multimillionaire thought he could buy his mistress’ silence for $32,500.
Cops did 'sexualized' search, then conducted 'sham' probe: suit
A Brooklyn woman is accusing State Police of subjecting her to a traumatizing body-cavity search, then conducting a “sham” investigation to justify it. Diana Hardy, 32, claims in a Manhattan...
Judge tied to Sheldon Silver stays on after term expired
Sherry Klein Heitler’s term as chief civil administrative judge in Manhattan Supreme Court — a courthouse the feds are investigating and where critics say Sheldon Silver’s law firm gets special...
Ukraine cease-fire largely holding, except near strategic railway hub
LUHANSK, Ukraine — A cease-fire that went into effect Sunday in eastern Ukraine appeared largely to be holding, officials said, except for around the strategic railway hub of Debaltseve. Heavy...
Building collapse in India kills 13 family members
LUCKNOW, India — A building under rushed construction in a northern Indian town collapsed overnight, killing 13 members of a family of weavers who were sleeping on the ground floor,...
Heavy snow, dangerous winds slam New England yet again
BOSTON — A storm brought a new round of wind-whipped snow to New England on Sunday, threatening white-out conditions in coastal areas and forcing people to contend with a fourth...
12-day homicide-free streak ends in NYC
New York’s record murder-free streak ended over the weekend when a Queens man who was shot on Friday died late Saturday night, cops said. Eric Roman’s death ended the 12-day...
Islamic State crucifies alleged spy on road sign
Islamic State terrorists publicly executed two alleged spies and crucified another to a road sign in Syria, it was revealed late Saturday. Footage shows two captives kneeling in orange jumpsuits...
Eggs-tremely cold out -- up to -24 wind chill
It’s gonna be cold enough to freeze your huevos off. Wind gusts over 50 mph will make Sunday’s low temperature of 3 degrees feel like 24 degrees below zero —...
Kosher food-cart vendor says he's blocked by 'halal mafia' in NYC
There is no peace in the Mideast — or Midtown. A Jewish kosher-food purveyor says he’s being prevented from settling in the heart of Manhattan by the “halal mafia.” Yisroel...
The science of bribery
The New York Times got it exactly right. Unfortunately, this was way back in 1877. We refer to a Times dispatch from Aug. 11 of that year. It appeared under...
Heastie's 'opportunity'
In one of his first public appearances as the new speaker of the Assembly, Carl Heastie spoke before the largely African-American audience at the Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network....
Secret tapes reveal JFK's duplicity in Cold War, civil rights
During the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, President John F. Kennedy consulted with his predecessor, Dwight D. Eisenhower, explaining the deal that pulled our country back from the brink of...
NASA's space probes have a record for aliens
Is there any intelligent life out there in the cosmos? And if so, are they into Chuck Berry? Thanks to the Voyager space probes, launched in 1977, we may find...
How did ‘Fifty Shades’ go from extreme to normal in just 2 years?
So this is what it’s come to: Bondage Bears. “Fifty Shades of Grey” has gone so mainstream that the Vermont Teddy Bear Company has now released a Fifty Shades Bear...
Meet the rarest dog breeds in New York City
While French bulldogs are as common in NYC as yellow cabs, chances are you won’t be tripping over the leash of a pharaoh hound on the way to grab your...
How Jon Stewart turned lies into comedy and brainwashed a generation
So Brian Williams goes out (for six months) humiliated and derided. Jon Stewart goes out (permanently, one hopes) the same day, but on a giant Comedy Homecoming King float, with...
A Yankees target, Cuban star Yoan Moncada nearing decision
TAMPA — The Yoan Moncada sweepstakes likely will go into high gear this week. Moncada’s agent said on Saturday that he has just one more private workout scheduled for this...
See how Zach LaVine, 19, clinched victory in the Slam Dunk Contest
It takes guts to channel Michael Jordan and “Space Jam” in an NBA All-Star Slam Dunk Contest. But Timberwolves’ Zach LaVine has confidence bordering on hubris — and after Saturday...
A shoe in: Curry wins 3-point contest after sneakers were swiped
Somebody stole Stephen Curry’s lime-green shoes, but nothing could take away his golden shooting touch. The Warriors guard dominated arguably the deepest field ever put together for the NBA 3-Point...
Why Magic credits David Stern for his 'No. 1 All-Star moment'
There have been moments at All-Star events that forever will be etched in the mind, like Michael Jordan’s gravity defying dunk in 1988 or the 50 greatest players being introduced...
Adam Silver expects to talk salary cap with union
Adam Silver said he anticipates there will be more negotiations on the “smoothing proposal” rejected by the players union Friday that would keep the NBA salary cap from exploding in...
Steve Kerr laughs off boos at Garden
Warriors coach Steve Kerr heard boos when introduced during the Western Conference All-Star team’s practice at the Garden. Kerr backed out of a verbal agreement with the Knicks last May...
City fighting to be able to burn brains as medical waste
The city is waging a macabre battle to allow it to burn as medical waste brains the medical examiner removes from corpses rather than return them to bodies before they...
Anthony Mason 'holding his own'
Though the situation remains serious, former Knick Anthony Mason has continued to show improvement following his hospitalization for congestive heart failure. His son, Anthony Jr., sent out a release on...
Jeff Klein will still get payments even after breaking ties with firm
State Sen. Jeff Klein may be giving up his outside legal work, but that doesn’t mean the profits will stop pouring in. Klein announced last week he would break ties...
'Sniper' and 'NCIS' success shows how out of touch media is
In just two months, “American Sniper” has become the first movie in ages to rise to the level of cultural phenomenon — in part because its success caught everybody by...
Two Knicks legends' advice for Melo: Get surgery now
They are not doctors, don’t play ones on TV, but two of the greatest Knicks ever, “The Captain” Willis Reed and Walt “Clyde” Frazier, know something about injuries and rehab....
Why the 2015 season could be make-or-break year for Mets
The window just opened, but it may already be closing. As the Mets prepare to begin spring training this week, with the reporting date for pitchers and catchers on Thursday,...
Mets fan Viggo Mortensen makes predictions for upcoming season
"The Mets are always going to be fighting the Yankees for attention in New York because they don’t have the money the older, wealthier club has. There have been times...
Mets fans have high hopes for a winning season
You gotta believe . . . seriously! That’s the modified slogan for Mets faithful this season, as long-suffering fans are giddy over the prospect of a winning season — and equally ecstatic...
Dear John: Rate hike in our best interest
Dear John: I agree wholeheartedly that the Federal Reserve deserves criticism for its past missteps, most notably allowing the housing market to blow itself into an enormous bubble eight to...
Commercial paper market facing liquidity squeeze
It’s the lubricant of the world’s financial machinery, and its pros fear there is a major jam coming soon. The nuts-and-bolts sector of finance known as the $1.76 trillion US...
Lower gas prices have been no help to retail sales
How in the world can you do that? While gas prices have fallen 40 percent and the latest jobs numbers show growth, retail sales for January and December came up...
Grammys sparks talk of new deals
The Grammys may be over, but all those high- powered executives getting together for a vodka-fueled weekend means there are deals on the way. On the Money sources spied Snapchat...
Stocks beat lottery if you’re in it to win it
Lightning struck a few times on Wednesday night, with several people sharing the Powerball top prize of $564 million, the fifth-largest in US history. The chances of winning the top...
Jobs brewing in Williamsburg
As trendy about coffee as they are about everything else, hipster parents at a Williamsburg preschool orientation one hot day in 2011 arrived with iced coffee in hand, rejecting the...
Manufacturing jobs vanishing from city
Will the last person leaving the plant get the lights? New York City’s once-mighty manufacturing sector is being strangled by low-cost competition and city policies, according to analysts. City manufacturing,...
Warriors' All-Star guard combo making big splash this season
Standing in front of a gymnasium full of school children Friday afternoon, Cavaliers star LeBron James offered his assessment for why the Warriors have taken a huge leap forward this...
Daily Blotter
Manhattan Authorities on Saturday released this surveillance image of one of the two suspects in a Harlem shooting that left one person dead and four others injured. The gunmen pumped...