November 28, 2002
DILLER'S HAD ENOUGH OF ENTERTAINMENT GRIND
November 28, 2002 | 5:00amWHAT does media mogul Barry Diller want to do with the rest of his life? According to an excellent source that knows the situation well, Diller would prefer not to...
IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE XMAS
November 28, 2002 | 5:00amRetailers could have a decent Christmas, after all. But it's what comes afterward that has Wall Street worried. Consumers are swimming in good deals as retailers try to outdo each...
SUPERMARKET TABS GET SOME MUSCLE
November 28, 2002 | 5:00amFinally, there will be magazines for space aliens who want to pump iron and take steroids. American Media agreed to pay a high price, $350 million, to the Weider family...
BULL IN COMEBACK - DATA ON JOBS, FACTORY ORDERS SEND DOW UP 255
November 28, 2002 | 5:00amGood economic news and low volume added up to a big rally on Wall Street ahead of today's Thanksgiving holiday. The Dow Jones industrial average shot up 255.26, or 2.94...
BIG BOARD'S PROFITS SINK 96% TO $279G
November 28, 2002 | 5:00amThe Big Board is on track to mark its worst annual earnings in more than a decade, as costs from 9/11 sent spending at the world's largest stock exchange skyrocketing....
MOUSE ESCAPES TRAP - ABC RATINGS SAVE EISNER'S, IGER'S AND LYNE'S BUTTS
November 28, 2002 | 5:00amAs ABC goes, so goes Disney. And at least for now, it is starting to look a bit brighter for the mouse - and the top execs who had a...
IVERSON MAY BE AFRAID TO GO TO REEBOK STORE
November 28, 2002 | 5:00amBasketball superstar Allen Iverson may be afraid of walking the streets of Philadelphia - but that isn't keeping Reebok from opening a giant new store there in his honor. In...
CITI'S $500M FINE IS CHUMP CHANGE
November 28, 2002 | 5:00amSandy Weill's half-a-billion-dollar ride out of scandal's way is turning out to be more like cab fare for his profit-rich Citigroup. Shares of the financial giant have shot up 63...
TRY TO IMAGINE LIVING BETWEEN THE HILTONS
November 28, 2002 | 5:00amLIVING in Midtown in a one-bedroom rental: $3,000 per month. Living in Midtown in a one-bedroom rental sandwiched between the fabulous Hilton sisters: priceless. Some lucky person could get the...
WAKING THE DEAD
November 28, 2002 | 5:00amOTHER ONES ---- THE gathering of the Gratefully Dedicated at Madison Square Garden was as much a look at the Dead's past as it was a prediction for the future...
HOLLYWOOD TURKEYS - A YEAR OF BAD-TO-THE-BONE FLICKS STUFFED INTO OUR 'PLEXES
November 28, 2002 | 5:00amHOLLYWOOD has been producing nearly as many turkeys as Butterball this year - making this among the worst years since the introduction of sound 75 years ago. I have two...
JACKO DISSES POP MUSIC
November 28, 2002 | 5:00amWacko Jacko says he's no longer a fan of pop music. Michael Jackson's latest stunner came as he was asked about two classical CDs he bought in Berlin. Jacko, 44,...
WEIRD BUT TRUE
November 28, 2002 | 5:00amA Pole has claimed a new world record for, er, pole-sitting. Daniel Baraniuk, an unemployed 27-year-old resident of Gdansk, sat atop his 8-foot-high perch on a 23-by-15-inch seat for 196...
TA TIGHTENS SAFETY FOR TRACK WORK
November 28, 2002 | 5:00amThe Transit Authority said yesterday it will implement stricter safety procedures for track workers in the wake of last week's track worker deaths. "We have made significant changes to our...
PALESTINIAN SURPRISE - ARAFAT'S NO. 2 CONDEMNS DISASTROUS INTIFADA
November 28, 2002 | 5:00amJERUSALEM - Yasser Arafat's top deputy said the violent uprising against Israel has been a disaster for the Palestinians and must be stopped. "What happened in these two years, as...
SHERIFF, MARSHAL FEES JUMP 50%
November 28, 2002 | 5:00amALBANY - Gov. Pataki yesterday quietly approved a series of hefty fee hikes on New York City residents who use local sheriffs or marshals to serve papers and recover property....
CONSTRUCTION SITES MAY BE MOSQUE-ING ARMS DEVELOPMENT
November 28, 2002 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - Two giant mosques that are under construction in Baghdad - and not on the weapons inspectors' list to visit - have aroused suspicion that they are being used...
OUTRAGED MOURNERS RECALL HAMPTONS HIT-RUN VICTIM
November 28, 2002 | 5:00amThe migrant worker who was killed by a Hamptons hit-and-run driver accused of trying to cover up the crime by saying she had hit a deer was remembered yesterday by...
INSIDE SHOCKING SPLIT - RELIGION, ELVIS DOOMED NICK AND LISA MARIE
November 28, 2002 | 5:00amLisa-Marie Presley and Nicolas Cage wore wide smiles and appeared the picture of wedded bliss when they posed for photographer Annie Leibovitz on Friday. But on Monday, Cage, 38, filed...
BIG APPLE $TILL ROTTING - ECONOMY LAGS BEHIND REST OF U.S.
November 28, 2002 | 5:00amThe city got another dose of bad economic news yesterday when City Comptroller William Thompson reported that the recession here was in its seventh consecutive quarter. "The continuation of this...
'LIVING WAGE' LAW SIGNED BY BLOOMBERG
November 28, 2002 | 5:00amMayor Bloomberg yesterday signed into law two bills affecting private employers, one setting minimum-wage rates for certain city contractors, and another providing job protection for building-service workers. The so-called "Living...
EX-THUGS' UGLY MUGS ON CRIME POSTERS
November 28, 2002 | 5:00amThe leader and the enforcer of a violent Bronx drug gang have been whacked with major prison sentences - and now they're the poster boys of a new anti-crime campaign....
EVEN DEMS PRAY 'NEW GORE' STAYS AWAY
November 28, 2002 | 5:00amTHE introduction of New Al Gore (Version 8.0) could be the worst product rollout since New Coke. And this product has been reinvented so many times that there's no way...
CITY CRIES $1M FOUL BALL
November 28, 2002 | 5:00amThe Mets owe the city at least $1 million in back rent for Shea Stadium, city officials said yesterday. In its plan for boosting revenue to meet a multibillion-dollar budget...
KISSINGER ON THE CASE - PICKED TO PROBE 9/11 INTELLIGENCE FAILURES
November 28, 2002 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - President Bush yesterday tapped Henry Kissinger to head the new commission that will probe why the government failed to stop the Sept. 11 terror attacks, and told the...
700G KNOCKOFF SCAMS BUSTED
November 28, 2002 | 5:00amPolice busted nine alleged scam artists and smashed several major counterfeiting operations that netted $700,000, Commissioner Ray Kelly announced yesterday. During an 18-month sting operation, undercover detectives rented a warehouse...
POSTCARD FROM BAGHDAD - U.N. WEAPONS HUNT FARCE; INSPECTORS BEGIN THEIR GOOFY TOUR DE 'FARCE'
November 28, 2002 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - Weapons inspectors began their hunt for Saddam Hussein's secret arsenals yesterday in a circus-like atmosphere that included a car crash, a team getting lost, and the sounding of...
BLIX: I'M NO EXPERT, SO WHO NEEDS ME?
November 28, 2002 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - U.N. honcho Hans Blix yesterday insisted there is no reason for him to be in Baghdad because he's a lawyer, not a weapons expert - and admitted his...
KIDS WERE KEPT IN TB SCHOOL - BUT TEACHERS WERE REASSIGNED
November 28, 2002 | 5:00amEven as city health officials allowed a Catholic elementary school to remain open during a possible tuberculosis outbreak, three public-school teachers assigned there were moved to other locations - a...
YANKEE PREZ BATTERED BY IDENTITY THIEF
November 28, 2002 | 5:00amNew York Yankee President Randy Levine is the latest victim of a stolen-identity scheme - a brazen thief swiped his credit report and tapped into the sports czar's ATM account,...
NYPD DAILY BLOTTER
November 28, 2002 | 5:00amMANHATTAN * A convicted sex offender was charged yesterday with raping two Manhattan prostitutes, police said. Eduardo Rodriguez, 33, of Stuyvesant Oval, was picked up after the two women identified...
WIDOW ON 9/11 MEMORIAL PANEL
November 28, 2002 | 5:00amAfter being criticized for ignoring the concerns of some of the relatives of trade center victims, development officials yesterday added an outspoken family member to a committee drawing up guidelines...
400G BAIL FOR SEAGAL'S P.I.
November 28, 2002 | 5:00amLOS ANGELES - A judge granted bail yesterday to the private eye suspected of scheming with actor Steven Seagal to intimidate a journalist. Federal Judge Fernando Olguin agreed to release...
THE BIG $LEAZY - NEW ORLEANS MAYOR'S KID NABBED HERE IN CREDIT SCAM
November 28, 2002 | 5:00amThe teenage son of New Orleans' crime-busting mayor has been arrested in an elaborate credit-card scam at Bloomingdale's. Cops say Jeremy Nagin, 18, and a pal tried to make off...
JOGGER JUROR DEFENDS 'GUILTY' VERDICT
November 28, 2002 | 5:00amA juror who helped convict two teens of savagely assaulting the Central Park jogger adamantly stands by the verdict, saying it was based solely on "the testimony and evidence," and...
CUBAN BOY CAN STAY
November 28, 2002 | 5:00amA 14-year-old Cuban boy, found aboard a disabled boat off the Florida coast, is expected to be reunited with his father in Miami - after testifying against their two accused...
'87 SLAY CASE CRACKED
November 28, 2002 | 5:00amHer vicious slaying remained unsolved for 15 years, but now Staten Island cops say they have arrested the man who beat Victoria Mason with a baseball bat in her apartment...
MIKE [LOVES] CHARLIE BROWN
November 28, 2002 | 5:00amYou're a good man, Michael Bloomberg! Hizzoner said last night his favorite Thanksgiving Day Parade balloon is Charlie Brown, the trouble-plagued, constantly beleaguered star of the Peanuts comic strip. "I...
SMALL BANK ADMITS LAUNDERING DRUG CASH
November 28, 2002 | 5:00amA tiny New York bank that catered to Korean-Americans and small businesses also let itself become "the bank of choice for narcotics money launderers" who funneled $123 million through accounts...
ROCK CENTER SUICIDE PLUNGE
November 28, 2002 | 5:00amAn man jumped to his death from a seventh-floor window of a Rockefeller Center building - plunging through a restaurant awning to the crowded street below. Hitesh Mehta, 32, of...
PETA GIVES MADDEN THE BIRD
November 28, 2002 | 5:00amAnimal rights activists are gunning for NFL announcer John Madden after he wolfed down a Thanksgiving Turducken on this week's edition of "Monday Night Football." The Turducken, considered a southern...
CUBAN BOY ALLOWED TO STAY IN U.S.
November 28, 2002 | 5:00amA 14-year-old Cuban boy found aboard a disabled boat off the Florida coast is expected to be reunited with his father - after he testifies against their two accused smugglers,...
NOW JACKO LEAVES FANS DANGLING
November 28, 2002 | 5:00amLast week he nearly dropped his baby off a balcony - now Wacko Jacko is dropping the dime on his own profession, saying he's no longer a fan of pop...
COPS CRACK 15-YEAR OLD S.I. MURDER MYSTERY
November 28, 2002 | 5:00amHer vicious slaying stayed unsolved for 15 years, but now Staten Island cops say they have arrested the man who beat Victoria Mason with a baseball bat in her apartment...
TAR HEELS STOMP KU
November 28, 2002 | 5:00amWhen Kansas coach Roy Williams turned down the North Carolina job 2 ½ years ago, one of the first people he spoke to was his assistant, Matt Doherty. Williams told...
NETS' RALLY FALLS SHORT IN PHOENIX
November 28, 2002 | 5:00amSuns 82 - Nets 75 PHOENIX - Defensively, the Nets were fine, thank you. The Suns managed just 82 points and shot 35 percent. Nope, the problem was not with...
TOP BUGBOY LOOKS TO GET 'POINT' ACROSS
November 28, 2002 | 5:00amNew York will get its first in-the-flesh look at the nation's No. 1 bug boy today when Ryan Fogelsonger drives up from Maryland to ride Crossing Point in Aqueduct's traditional...
STEPHON, KIDD ROLE REVERSAL
November 28, 2002 | 5:00amPHOENIX - Dogs and cats are getting along famously. The sun is poking its head up in the West and then settling down at day's end in the East. The...
VENTURA WAITS ON YANKEES
November 28, 2002 | 5:00amNow that George Steinbrenner's inner circle has vacated a Tampa bunker after two days of meetings, the agent for free-agent third baseman Robin Ventura expects his client's future will become...
RICE IS STILL COOKIN' - NEW JET SECONDARY BRACING FOR LEGEND
November 28, 2002 | 5:00amSure Jerry Rice is 40 years old. So what? Remember him scorching the Jets in the playoffs last January? The Jets do. They remember it well. Rice caught nine passes...
GAEL FORCE WILL BE BLOWING AGAIN
November 28, 2002 | 5:00amCOLLEGE HOOP PREVIEW(Sixth of a series) Iona coach Jeff Ruland had a premonition before last season's bid to three-peat as Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference champs - it would be very...
SZOTT GIVES KNEE A GOOD WORKING OVER
November 28, 2002 | 5:00amJET NOTES Herman Edwards insisted yesterday he'll wait until Saturday or Sunday before making a decision on whether Dave Szott will make his Jets debut Monday night in Oakland. But...
FOR PECA, OUTLOOK IS HEALED, TOO
November 28, 2002 | 5:00amIslander captain Michael Peca (right, delivering hard check) is back in action with surgically repaired knee and Michael Peca is back, and for that the Islanders should give thanks today....
'SWAMP BUGGY' SNAG DELAYS 2ND AT BIG A
November 28, 2002 | 5:00amA breakdown on the clubhouse turn at Aqueduct yesterday delayed the start of the second race for 12 minutes. Luckily, it wasn't a horse but a harrow tractor that suffered...
DON'S FORECAST CALLS FOR WEATHERSPOON ON BENCH
November 28, 2002 | 5:00amKNICK NOTES TORONTO - Making his first adjustment of the starting lineup, Don Chaney benched Clarence Weatherspoon and inserted Othella Harrington as the starting power forward last night vs. the...
A DAY OF MCTHANKS - DOCS: ANTONIO INJURIES UNRELATED
November 28, 2002 | 5:00amTORONTO - Antonio McDyess has kept the lowest of profiles since his expected season-ending knee injury, but that does not mean he doesn't have the highest of dreams when he...
DEVILS LOOKING TO SHAKE MOTOWN JINX
November 28, 2002 | 5:00amDETROIT - It's not the barn. It's the farmers and the crop, Scott Stevens says. With his Devils trying to win at Joe Louis Arena for the first time since...
NEGRON TO RESCUE?
November 28, 2002 | 5:00amIn the wake of Roger Cedeno's DUI arrest in Florida early Tuesday, the Mets are moving quickly to prevent future problems. Ray Negron, an addiction recovery specialist, spoke with owner...
LEETCH-POTI: REAL 'KILLERS' - PAIR POWERING RANGERS' PK UNIT
November 28, 2002 | 5:00amATLANTA - The numbers are staggering. Twenty-four games in, and the Brian Leetch-Tom Poti pair has been on for only two power-play goals-against all season, the first on Oct. 11...
DOHERTY HAS HEELS ON TRACK
November 28, 2002 | 5:00amMany dreamers, one job. That was scenario some 2 ½ years ago when Bill Guthridge resigned at North Carolina and the candidates to replace him read like a Who's Who...
METS, TOM GO FOURTH - ANSWER WITH OPTION YEAR
November 28, 2002 | 5:00amThe Mets might be worried about the Phillies' Monopoly money or the Braves' potential for a ninth-inning grand slam offer to Tom Glavine, but they haven't let those fears paralyze...
TITANS LOOK FAMILIAR - BATTLING INJURIES AND SPECIAL-TEAMS FOLLIES - JUST LIKE BIG BLUE
November 28, 2002 | 5:00amThey were coming off an impressive winning streak that propelled them into strong playoff positioning. They faced a team they were favored to beat but did not, losing in agonizing...
'LUCKY' COLLINS STARTING 50TH GAME IN ROW
November 28, 2002 | 5:00amGIANT NOTES Kerry Collins will never replace Phil Simms in the hearts and minds of Giants fans, but Collins is about to match Simms in an impressive ironman streak. Collins...
STANFORD MAKING NAME FOR ITS COACH
November 28, 2002 | 5:00amPreseason NIT: Stanford 69 - Florida 65 Mike Montgomery needs one of those debit cards so he doesn't have to worry about cashing a check without ID. I'm sorry. Perhaps...
A NIGHT OF THANKS - KNICKS, ALLAN FEAST ON RAPTORS
November 28, 2002 | 5:00amKnicks 87 - Raptors 81 TORONTO - Predictably, the Knicks blew a 14-point lead in the third quarter. Predictably, the Raptors outscored them 22-6 to close the third and took...
QUESTIONABLE CALLS LEAVE ISLES KNOT TOO HAPPY
November 28, 2002 | 5:00amIslanders 2 - Senators 2 The boos rained down on the refs and Ottawa goalie Patrick Lalime like Agent Orange. As the Islanders debuted their new alternate sweaters, they found...
MCDYESS GETS SOME HAPPY HOLIDAY NEWS
November 28, 2002 | 5:00amKNICK NOTES TORONTO - Antonio McDyess has kept the lowest of profiles since his expected season-ending knee injury, but that does not mean he doesn't have the highest of dreams...
THEY WUZ JOBBED! - DEVIL 'WINNER' DQ'D - AND WINGS POUNCE
November 28, 2002 | 5:00amOVERTIME: Red Wings 3 - Devils 2 DETROIT - To the Devils, Hockeytown has become Homertown. Even the Red Wing braintrust, chattering in thankful relief on the way to the...
TAR HEELS STOMP ON JAYHAWKS
November 28, 2002 | 5:00amPreseason NIT: N. Carolina 67 - Kansas 56 The Garden has done an exceptional job of bringing some of the best college teams in the nation to the Big Apple...
SUNS CENTER FINDS SOME ELBOW ROOM
November 28, 2002 | 5:00amNET NOTES PHOENIX - Scott Williams had two things on his mind against Dikembe Mutombo last night. Be aggressive. And stay alive. He was wary about going against the center...
MARION POSES ANOTHER TEST FOR JEFFERSON
November 28, 2002 | 5:00amNET NOTES PHOENIX - The question put to Richard Jefferson was about last night's counterpart, Phoenix small forward Shawn Marion. Before Jefferson could reply, teammate Lucious Harris shot back with...