July 18, 2005
CALPINE PIQUE - HEDGE FUND CRIES FOUL OVER $17.3B IN DEBT ISSUES
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amA Madison Avenue hedge fund is accusing troubled utility giant Calpine of failing to fulfill its part of a debt deal, saying it is out at least $80 million. A...
ADS TO MAKE COURT TV'S CASE ACROSS CITY
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amCourt TV is invading Manhattan this week, rolling out advertisements on everything from billboards to deli bags. The multi-million dollar outdoor ad campaign is the largest ever for the network,...
N-BOMBS FALLING ON NEW CARTOON SERIES
July 18, 2005 | 4:00am'BOONDOCKS" creator Aaron McGruder admits he regularly tosses around the "n-word" in his everyday speech - and will be pushing the hot-button word a lot on his new Cartoon Network...
SOMERS BUMMER
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amSUZANNE Somers bounces on with a tomboyish grin, telling us that she is 58 years old - well-timed pause for applause because in truth she doesn't look a day over...
BOYS OF TATTOO U. - 'MIAMI INK' FINDS SKIN GAME CAN BE SCARY
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amWHEN did TLC (which used to be known as The Learning Channel) become the channel for learning things like number of times ignoramuses can use the "f" word in a...
MIDTOWN SHOWS ITS STUFF
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amYOU don't have to be downtown to be cool. At least, that's what the Midtown International Theatre Festival seems determined to prove. Three weeks before its bigger, badder cousin, the...
STARR REPORT
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amKen he do it? It's now nine days and counting for Dave Madden, the latest "Jeopardy!" contestant to make some noise. Madden's amassed around $200,000, and has already passed Tom...
OH, WHAT A TANGO WEB WE WEAVE! - 'THINK YOU CAN DANCE' AIMS TO RECLAIM THE 'IDOL' TITLE
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amFOX is hoping for a repeat performance when the producers of "American Idol" waltz out "So You Think You Can Dance" this week. " 'American Idol' was lightning in a...
YOU WANT BOTOX WHERE? - THE SHOCKING THINGS WOMEN ARE ASKING THEIR DOCTORS
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amDR. Paul Jarrod Frank thought he'd seen it all. But the normally unflappable 36-year-old Upper East Side nip-tuck whiz was stunned when a female patient asked for Botox on a...
COOL SOLUTIONS TO HOT-WEATHER WOES
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amGOT an embarrassing problem? Try these hot-weather helpers: * Soothe irritated skin and cool your sweaty mug with SKYN'S ARCTIC FACE MIST, $35 at Henri Bendel (712 Fifth Ave.): Refresh...
CITY SCHOOLS KEEPING SUSPENSION RATE LOW
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amALBANY - New York City schools suspend students far less frequently than those anywhere in the state, according to a new report and a review of statistics. The city suspended...
ROOKIES HAVE BIG 'IMPACT' ON CRIME
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amThe NYPD's "Operation Impact" - which places rookie cops into high-crime hot zones with veterans - has been so successful in slashing crime that the number of precincts in the...
BOOZE FLIGHT TERROR - TEEN FEARED FOR LIFE
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amOne of the young men who took a boozy joyride around the metro area in a stolen plane last month has revealed how easy it was to swipe the aircraft...
JUSTICE FOR TONY - KILLER'S CONVICTION CONSOLES WIDOW
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amIn her first interview since her husband's brutal killer was convicted last week, the grieving widow of a slain Long Island engineer says the verdict finally closed a nightmare chapter...
DRAWING CENTER PENCILING ITSELF OUT OF PLANS
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amIt could be back to the drawing board for the controversial Drawing Center. The edgy downtown museum has gone from preparing to move to Ground Zero, once construction there is...
INSIDE NYPD ANTI-TERROR SQUAD
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amCounter-terrorism at the NYPD is a uniquely intense operation involving nearly 1,000 officers who monitor the Internet, provide overseas intelligence and visit about 200 terror-sensitive businesses every week, according to...
'CHARLIE' & THE MONEY FACTORY
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amHow sweet it is for "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" - and Hollywood. The PG kiddie flick, starring Johnny Depp as creepy candymaker Willie Wonka, rocketed to the top of...
NYPD DAILY BLOTTER
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amBROOKLYN * A teenager has been arrested and charged with swiping items from a Fort Greene store and then returning with a gun and threatening to kill a clerk, authorities...
SHOCK & DISMAY IN GOD'S HOUSE
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amThe attack on two cops and a statue of the Virgin Mary and St. Anne yesterday came as a shock to parishioners of the historic house of worship on a...
BLOOMY SCORES A BRONX BOOST
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amMayor Bloomberg picked up an endorsement from a Democratic club right in Fernando Ferrer's back yard. The nod from the Northwest Bronx Democratic Club was seen as a jab against...
LONDON BOMB TRIO GOT PAKISTAN MURDER LESSON
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amThree of the four London suicide bombers recently visited Pakistan together and met with known al Qaeda members to receive terror training, officials revealed. Mohammad Sidique Khan, 30, and Shehzad...
HARRY SALES ABSOLUTELY 'PRINCE'-LY
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amHoly Hogwarts! The sixth Harry Potter novel made publishing history, selling an estimated 6.9 million copies during its first day of release in America, the book's U.S. publisher announced yesterday....
CONEY ISLAND HEROES - SAVE DROWNING MAN
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amA 43-year-old Manhattan man put a high-school lifeguard-training course to great use 25 years later - when he helped save a drowning man off Coney Island last night. The good...
BRONX KID'S EAR-Y COCKROACH SAGA
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amA Bronx boy and his grandmother have sued their Scarsdale-based landlord, saying their Tremont apartment was so infested with roaches that one crawled into the kid's ear - and drove...
'JUNIOR' OWNS UP TO REIGN AS GODFATHER - & REVEALS HOW DAPPER DADDY CAST HIM OUT
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amAwaiting trial on sensational attempted-murder charges, John "Junior" Gotti has finally admitted in a stunning, first-ever interview that he ran New York's most infamous crime family - and he has...
HEAT ON JA RULE - EYED BY FEDS IN MIDTOWN GUN SLAY
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amThe feds are gunning for hip-hop superstar Ja Rule. The megawatt rapper is now in the cross-hairs of Brooklyn federal prosecutors who have taken over the investigation into the caught-on-tape...
CHURCH GUNMAN SHOOTS 2 COPS - AMBUSH FOLLOWS VIRGIN MARY MUTILATION
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amA shotgun-wielding maniac tried to assassinate two cops after he blew the head off a statue at a Queens church yesterday, police and witnesses said. Kevin Davy, 25, ambushed Officers...
'IMPACT' POUNDS THUGS - 'HOT ZONES' SHRINK
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amThe NYPD's "Operation Impact" - which places rookie cops into high-crime hot zones where they work with veterans - has been so successful reducing crime that the number of precincts...
DOCS EYE BREAK ON DWI INSURE
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amALBANY - The state may soon reverse a three-decade-old practice of prohibiting doctors who treat injured drunken drivers from seeking reimbursement from insurance companies, The Post has learned. A bill...
HERO'S VEST STOPPED EIGHT SLUGS
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amMany cops rely on St. Michael the Archangel, the patron saint of police officers, for protection, but Dominick Romano and his NYPD colleagues also have a backup - their bullet-resistant...
ROOFTOP LOVERS' 'SEX ED'
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amTwo lusty Long Island lovebirds yesterday were caught with their pants down - atop a school roof - as wide-eyed kids watched the steamy sex session from across the street,...
FOES RIP MAYOR OVER CALL TO PEN
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amThe mayor's Democratic rivals screamed foul yesterday over his phoning Al Leiter to join the Yankees. "There are plenty of chronically unemployed New Yorkers who would love his help," Manhattan...
MAG TELLS WHAT ROVE SAID - AND DIDN'T SAY
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amWASHINGTON - White House political guru Karl Rove was the first person to tell a Time reporter that the wife of administration critic Joe Wilson worked at the CIA, the...
NYC OPENS HEART TO KID - AUSSIE CLAN REUNITED AS SON FIGHTS CANCER
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amA 6-year-old Australian boy being treated in New York for a rare bone-marrow and spine cancer was reunited with his dad and brother - thanks to generous donors who've been...
MAYOR BLOOMBERG HAS PICKED UP AN ENDORSEMENT FROM A DEMOCRATIC CLUB ...
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amMayor Bloomberg has picked up an endorsement from a Democratic club right in Fernando Ferrer's back yard. The endorsement from the Northwest Bronx Democratic Club was seen as a jab...
MYSTERY WOMAN IS CONEY I. HERO
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amA woman rescued a drowning man off Coney Island yesterday, dragging the unconscious victim to shore, where she gave him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation - then vanished before cops arrived, a witness...
'NATALEE HAIR' FOUND ON BEACH
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amInvestigators searching for an Alabama teen missing in Aruba reportedly found four strands of blond hair stuck to duct tape washed up on a beach near where a Texas-based search...
SLEUTHS FIND U.N. OIL $TASH - BIG'S SECRET ACCOUNTS
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amWASHINGTON - Investigators have discovered overseas bank accounts belonging to disgraced U.N. oil-for-food program head Benon Sevan that could unlock the mystery over whether he profited from dirty deals with...
BILL BURY QUIET - ONLY EX-PREZ WHO WON'T PLAN A FUNERAL
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amWASHINGTON - All living former presidents have filed detailed plans for a state funeral except for one - Bill Clinton, The Post has learned. "He's an optimist," said spokesman Jim...
THE PLAZA: LANDMARK LUNACY - PERFECT PRESERVATION = DEATH
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amIN the annals of stupid landmark tricks, the campaign to foil the conversion of the Plaza Hotel into a mixture of hotel rooms, condo apartments, stores and restaurants just might...
MUSLIM NEW YORKERS: LET'S DO MORE TO STAMP OUT JIHAD HATE
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amMuslim New Yorkers were appalled by the London bombing attacks by Islamic terrorists - and say the community itself must do more to make sure homegrown fanatics don't sprout here....
HAIR COULD BE NATALEE'S
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amInvestigators searching for an Alabama teen missing in Aruba reportedly found four strands of blond hair stuck to duct tape washed up on a beach. The possible new evidence in...
SUE FOR THE SCHOOLS - END, DON'T MEND, TEACHERS' CONTRACT
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amFOR years, New York City's teachers contract has been one of the major obstacles standing between public-school children and a decent education. But there seemed no way to remove the...
TWINS' STORY IS WIRED BUT TRUE - 2 TEENS WIDEN THE 'NET
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amDavid Steinhardt was 13 years old and home sick from school one day catching up on classwork when the question, he says, "just popped into my head": How do kids...
BACKDOOR BIZ BUCKS FOR GOV
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amNEW York-based telecommunications giant Verizon, which is heavily regulated by the state Public Service Commission, gave Gov. Pataki a $25,000 political contribution - five times more than is permitted by...
FIELDS' MELTDOWN BAD NEWS FOR MIKE
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amSENIOR advisers to Mayor Bloomberg in creasingly fear that Fernando Ferrer will win the Democratic primary and avoid a potentially racially divisive runoff that could work to the mayor's advantage....
WEIRD BUT TRUE
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amWhen will Drew Barrymore give up acting and start directing? Don't ask her, just ask her chest. The busty blond movie star says when "my boobs fall down to the...
MAG TELLS WHAT ROVE REVEALED
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amWASHINGTON - White House political guru Karl Rove was the first person to tell a Time reporter that the wife of administration critic Joe Wilson worked at the CIA, the...
FINEST RADIO ACTIVE - $3M FOR NEW GEAR
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amThe NYPD is spending $3 million to equip every investigator with sleek new police radios for the first time, as part of a strategy to improve safety, The Post has...
BUSH URGED TO PICK 'SWINGER'
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amWASHINGTON - The maverick GOP chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee called on President Bush yesterday to tap a moderate swing vote to replace outgoing Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day...
PASSENGERS WILL CRUISE THROUGH B'KLYN TERMINAL
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amPassengers lining up for the Queen Mary 2 in Brooklyn next year won't have much of a wait, thanks to a plan to put customs and immigration under one roof....
$125M PALIMONY CLAIM - MISSISSIPPI MODEL SUES ITALIAN TYCOON
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amA former American model is giving her billionaire Italian ex-boyfriend a lesson in breaking-up, New York-style - she's suing him for $125 million. That's the amount Narissa Bradford says she's...
BROWN SAGA DRAGS ON
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amIn 12 days, Knick president Isiah Thomas and Larry Brown will spend an entire Saturday together in the Hamptons, as the two guest celebrities for the Hoops 4 Hope charity...
REST NOT OPTION FOR MILLAR
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amBOSTON - Most players take a vacation during the All-Star break. Kevin Millar spent the three days at Fenway Park to - as he put it - escape the noose...
CAM BUSTS OUT
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amMike Cameron hadn't gotten a hit in the first three games against the Braves, including the two losses in which the Mets struggled to score runs. While he wasn't pleased...
REYES GETTING DOWN & DIRTY
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amIt remains to be seen if Jose Reyes ever becomes the leadoff hitter the Mets would like him to. The free-swinging shortstop doesn't look at enough pitches, doesn't get on...
WHEELS KEEP ON SPINNIN'
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amBOSTON - Stump Merrill is making one of his occasional pitstops to spend time in the Yankee clubhouse, doing a job that no one can quite explain. Still, it is...
ST. ANDREWS DICE CLAY
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amIT was the British Open, but somebody should have pardoned Tiger Woods and company's French. Saturday afternoon, the gentlemanly 134th Open Championship turned into an old Andrew Dice Clay routine,...
SHAUN VISITS WINNER'S CIRCLE
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amTrack was sloppy, sealed; no turf racing. What's wrong with this picture: Grand total of 54 horses ran on entire nine-race card that offered $480,000 in purses. 2ND RACE -...
BACK TO .500 - METS (46-46) BASH BRAVES FOR SERIES SPLIT
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amMets 8 - Braves 1 In the first half of the season, the Mets played three series against the Braves and lost each one of them. So when the two...
CLOCK HAS STRUCK 12 FOR COLLEGE GRIDDERS
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amIT would have been nice if they asked. Just a gratuitous, "You don't mind if we lower your minimum wage and increase your work week, do you?" might have sufficed....
NEW ROLE NOT EASY FOR TINO
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amBOSTON - There's always a domino effect in a lineup. When the Yankees temporarily shelved the Melky Cabrera Experiment, Bernie Williams switched from being a part-time DH to an everyday...
ACE IN THE HOLE
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amPEDRO Martinez couldn't chase the overcast far enough away to fill 23,000 empty seats for a Sunday game with hated Atlanta. He could inspire Mike Cameron's bat back to life...
CHANTAL, SMOKUME TAKE 'FOOL'
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amJockey Chantal Sutherland, a two-time winner of Canada's Sovereign Award as best apprentice rider, notched her first graded stakes victory in the U.S. yesterday at Belmont Park, taking the Grade...
CAIRO FINDS HIS RHYTHM
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amMET NOTES The hottest bat on the Mets right now is being wielded by the position player who bats lowest in the lineup. Miguel Cairo had another strong game in...
TAYLOR: CAN'T WAIT FOR REMATCH
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amLAS VEGAS - Bernard Hopkins thought he'd won the toughest fight of his career and retained his undisputed middleweight championship. But when Michael Buffer read the judges' scorecards, Hopkins' long...
ALL LEIT NOW FOR YANKEES - STELLAR DEBUT HELPS SLICE SOX LEAD TO HALF-GAME
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amYankees 5 - Red Sox 3 BOSTON - Who says the Yankees don't spend money wisely? After all, they turned $400,000 found in George Steinbrenner's ashtray into Al Leiter, and...
AL MAKES MOST OF SECOND DEBUT
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amBOSTON - Al Leiter went back to the future last night, reached back to a time when he was all arms and lip and boundless ambition. He's no longer 21,...
YANKS STUMPED TO FIND ANSWERS
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amSTUMP MERRILL was in the Yankee clubhouse yesterday, and more and more it looks as if one of his old teams is in there, as well. The assembly line of...
SUTHERLAND, SMOKUME TAKE 'FOOL'
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amJockey Chantal Sutherland, a two-time winner of Canada's Sovereign Award as best apprentice rider, notched her first graded stakes victory in the U.S. yesterday at Belmont Park, taking the Grade...
YANKEES ROSTER KEEPS REVOLVING
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amBOSTON - The doors marked "In" and "Out" in the Yankees' universe were swinging hard again yesterday. In what seemingly is a daily occurrence the Yankees welcomed a suspect pitcher...
DAMON EXTENDS STREAK
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amBOSTON - Dom DiMaggio didn't see the final five innings of last night's Red Sox-Yankee game, so he had to be told Johnny Damon extended his major-league leading hit streak...
AL'S TANK HAS SOME GAS LEFT
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amBOSTON - The walks kept mounting, the losses chipping away at his pride, and still the stubborn voice inside Al Leiter's soul kept insisting he had more innings in that...
ALL LEIT NOW FOR YANKEES - SECOND DEBUT HELPS SLICE SOX LEAD TO HALF-GAME
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amYankees 5 - Red Sox 3 BOSTON - Who says the Yankees aren't thrifty with their dollars? After scraping $400,000 out of George Steinbrenner's ashtray and turning it into Al...
ONE-TWO PUNCH - SHEFFIELD, A-ROD RIP YANK FOES
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amBOSTON - Menace stands close to the plate, waves its bat and gives off an aura, Al Leiter said, "that makes you wonder where you can ever throw a pitch...
CASH WORKS PHONES
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amYankee Notes BOSTON - As the Al Leiter deal proved, trades can be constructed very quickly. However, as of 6 p.m. yesterday GM Brian Cashman wasn't preparing to make a...
SAVING THE DAY, ONE MO TIME
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amBOSTON - Robinson Cano had committed a brutal ninth-inning throwing error, turning two potential outs from Trot Nixon's grounder into zero. Two batters later, Boston had closed within two runs...
TIGER'S EASY SUNDAY DRIVE - WOODS CAPTURES HIS 10TH MAJOR IN CONVINCING FASHION
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amST. ANDREWS - Much the way he did five years ago, Tiger Woods left no doubt yesterday. Five years ago, while completing his career Grand Slam, Woods won the Open...
BREAKING BEAR'S RECORD SEEMS INEVITABLE
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amST. ANDREWS - The crusty old men wearing the stuffy blue blazers with the Royal & Ancient crest on the left breast of the jacket have made it tradition to...
COLIN CLOSER - RUNNER-UP MONTY SHORT AGAIN
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amST. ANDREWS - Colin Montgomerie fancied himself as a major championship winner this week. That dream, however, ended midway through the round as Montgomerie faltered and Tiger Woods accelerated en...
HONORABLE EXIT FOR OLAZABAL
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amNOTEBOOK ST. ANDREWS - Jose Maria Olazabal had the best chance to derail Tiger Woods' pursuit of his second Open Championship, beginning the day just two shots behind him. "I'm...
CASH STAYS BUSY WORKING PHONES
July 18, 2005 | 4:00amYANKEE NOTES BOSTON - As the Al Leiter deal proved, trades can be constructed very quickly. However, as of 6 p.m. yesterday GM Brian Cashman wasn't preparing to make a...