July 27, 2005
FLEA MARKET IS SQUASHED
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amSAY goodbye to good buys. One of the last remaining Sixth Ave. flea market sites at 55 W. 25th St. will soon fold up its tables so a $205 million...
DREAMY DEAL; NBC UNIVERSAL EYES DREAMWORKS' LIVE-ACTION UNIT
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amNBC Universal is in discussions to acquire DreamWorks SKG, the private live-action film business left behind after the company took public its animation division last year, The Post has learned....
TRADER RAIDER ; MORGAN STANLEY OPTS FOR POACHING OVER TRAINING
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amMorgan Stanley will soon stop training new stockbrokers and rely solely on poaching pros from its Wall Street rivals, The Post has learned. The plan is unfolding as the financial...
WENNER IS FIRED UP ; MAG STAR EYES GIG HOSTING NEW REALITY SHOW ON MTV
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amTHIS may be the role that Jann Wenner has prepped for his entire life - firing editors and writers. Only this time, the chairman of Wenner Media is going to...
TV GUIDE IS GETTING BIGGER AMID NEW CHALLENGERS
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amIn a gamble to save a venerable franchise, TV Guide is going to chop its circulation, supersize its format from a digest to a full-sized magazine, while jettsioning a good...
STARR REPORT
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amWrestling with facts It wasn't so long ago that the professional wrestling world was loathe to admit that it was built on pure fic tion, with matches scripted by a...
CHILDHOOD ETCHED IN WAR
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amTHE THREE ROOMS OF MELANCHOLIA***1/2 (three and one half stars) FINNISH director Pirjo Honkasalo's "The Three Rooms of Melancholia" is an achingly beautiful look at the most tragic victims of...
BOUT TIME ; BOXING DRAMA FIGHTS FOR MATCH WITH 'CONTENDER'
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amESPN is getting ready to rumble with a weekly night of prime-time boxing shows next year. The all-sports network is in the early stages of production on a boxing drama...
EVER-EXPANDING MARTHA
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amMARTHA Stewart is getting some TLC. Episodes of Stewart's new syndicated show, "Martha," will be rebroadcast on TLC this fall. And Stewart's company, MSLO, will develop an original, 13-episode home-improvement...
THE MUSICAL KING ; ELTON TOP THEATER COMPOSER - VIRTUALLY
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amWITH productions of "The Lion King" and "Aida" running around the world - and with "Billy Elliot," a smash hit in London - Elton John has become the most successful...
SLAPSTICK FLOWS IN BOLSHOI BALLET'S 'STREAM'
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amTHE BRIGHT STREAMBolshoi Ballet at Metropolitan Opera House, Lincoln Center, Broadway at 65th Street; (212) 362-6000. Season runs through Saturday. JOSEPH Stalin nowadays rarely gets the last laugh. Just as...
ON THE SIDE: MR. CHOW CHECKS INTO BEACH HOTEL
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amCELEBRITY eatery Mr. Chow is expanding to Miami Beach. Insiders tell us the Asian hot spot will serve its pink and green edibles-on-a-stick in the planned W Hotel South Beach....
IRAQ OPERA - 'OVER THERE' WON'T WAIT FOR THE ENDING
July 27, 2005 | 4:00am"Over There" Tonight at 10 on FX * * * (three stars) DESPITE my usually more-left-tha-right leanings, my conservative Republican upbringing comes out of nowhere to bite me in the...
SUPER STUNTMAN INJURED
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amAstuntman doubling for Tom Welling, the star of "Smallville," was in critical condition last night after being injured on the Vancouver, BC, set of the popular WB Network drama. Chris...
CATWALK ON THE WILD SIDE - SCARY STROLL DOWN THE HEIGHTS OF FASHION
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amTHINGS didn't work out too well the last time a man clasped my hand, told me to look in his eyes and swore I could trust him. But just before...
SACCO COULD DO BETTE-R
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amBette (one and a half stars) 461 W. 23rd St. (212) 366-0404 'DO you need any help with the wines?" the friendly waiter at Bette asked. "They're all pretty obscure."...
HOLLYWOOD HELL; STARS ARE OUT TO BASH U.S.
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amIT'S time for your regular Hollywood update - in which people who earn and lose and gross hundreds of millions of dollars figure out ways to trash America, democracy and...
PATAKI BOWING OUT, HE TELLS TOP AIDES
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amALBANY - Gov. Pataki told a group of aides last night that he will not seek re-election next year - and alluded to a possible run for president in 2008...
STOP THE BROOKLYN SPOILER
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amGREAT cities grow out of brave decisions, and no decision regarding New York City's future compares with today's scheduled MTA board vote on rival proposals for the exposed LIRR site...
WEIRD BUT TRUE
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amA sicko Web site called murderauction.com is selling off the personal items of America's most notorious killers. Inventory includes Unabomber Ted Kaczynski's shoes, dishes and typewriter, John Wayne Gacy's Illinois...
SYRIAN BIGS CONNED U.N.
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amWASHINGTON - Top Syrian officials, including a former defense minister and two cousins of President Bashar Assad, earned millions helping Saddam Hussein evade sanctions and scam the U.N. oil-for-food program,...
EGYPT HAD TIP BEFORE BLASTS
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amWASHINGTON - Egyptian investigators yesterday admitted they had received a prior warning of a terrorist assault before last weekend's hotel attacks, and also identified one suspected homicide bomber. Officials acknowledged...
HERO CHURCH COP LEAVES HOSP
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amOne of two cops shot by a crazed gunman outside a Queens church last week was released from the hospital yesterday. Dominick Romano, 26, was greeted by 100 colleagues, the...
DEM: TAKE 'BLOOMY' OFF TAX CHECKS
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amA Queens councilman said yesterday he'll propose legislation to bar Mayor Bloomberg from sending out $400 property-tax rebate checks with his name on them while he seeks re-election. City Council...
TOP N.Y. POLS GIVING 'ZERO'
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amTROY, N.Y. - Gov. Pataki yesterday called it "very unfortunate" that some 9/11 families are calling for a boycott of donations to the World Trade Center memorial - but neither...
HIGH ANXIETY FOR SHUTTLE - HEAT TILE BREAKS AFTER DISCOVERY BLASTS OFF IN FIRST POST-COLUMBIA SPACE MISSION
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amThe space shuttle Discovery triumphantly blasted back into space yesterday - but a ripple of fear swept the nation last night after NASA revealed that a piece of heat-shielding tile...
DEM GRILLERS SEEK MORE ROBERTS RECORDS
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amWASHINGTON - Democrats complained yesterday after the White House moved to release 75,000 pages of memos by Supreme Court nominee John Roberts - but not including all the documents that...
NYPD DAILY BLOTTER
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amBROOKLYN * A Connecticut woman was arrested yesterday after police scoured Williamsburg for a car she reported stolen with her 10-year-old daughter inside. It turned out that Jennifer Merridy, 30,...
CUOMOS ENDORSE DA MORGY
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amManhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau picked up endorsements from former Gov. Mario Cuomo and his son, Andrew Cuomo, the former U.S. Housing Secretary and current candidate for state attorney general....
'POT PRINCESS' CLEANS UP ACT
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amShe's a princess with a happy ending. New York University drug dealer Julia Diaco - dubbed the "Pot Princess" because she grew up in a pricey, Rumson, N.J., mansion -...
CABBY-CRASH CHAOS; 3 HURT ON CENTRAL PARK WEST
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amA careening cab smashed into an exclusive apartment building on Central Park West yesterday - injuring three people and shattering the midday calm on one of the city's toniest thoroughfares....
ALBANY WARNS OF LOOMING $9B CITY BUDGET-GAP TRAP
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amThe state's top fiscal watchdogs warned yesterday the city faces tough times in closing $4.5 billion deficits in each of the next two fiscal years - the second largest gap...
ARENA FOES READYING LAWSUITS
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amA neighborhood group opposing developer Bruce Ratner's plan to build an NBA arena in Downtown Brooklyn warned the MTA yesterday it could face years of litigation if the agency hands...
HOUSING-HERO BX. REV. HAILS 'HOME'BOY MIKE
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amThe Rev. Louis Gigante, the veteran priest who helped build more than 5,000 apartments in the South Bronx, hailed Mayor Bloomberg yesterday as a "man of the people" and endorsed...
HATE-SLAY RAP FOR MALL FIEND
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amA convicted rapist who said he stabbed a white Westchester woman to death because he "wanted to kill someone who represented the white lifestyle" was indicted yesterday on a charge...
AIDES' HILL OF A RAI$E; PAC PADS PAY
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amWASHINGTON - It pays to be a senior staffer in Hillary Rodham Clinton's Senate office. Clinton has taken the highly unusual step of supplementing the salary of six full-time Senate...
COCAINE-CARTEL INFORMER PROVIDED TIP ON BIN LADEN
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amOsama bin Laden's plot to buy tons of cocaine, poison it and then sell it to Americans was revealed to the Drug Enforcement Administration by an informant linked to a...
XXXTRA SPICY CABLE - TW PORN DEAL
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amTime Warner Cable has a suggestion for New Yorkers who are getting hot outdoors - stay home and order porn. "Tune [in] and get ready for the hottest summer of...
'FLOCK-FLEECE' PRIEST INDICTED
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amA Manhattan monsignor fleeced his flock out of $820,000 - and spent the money on Rolex watches and golf trips, prosecutors charge. Monsignor John Woolsey, former pastor of St. John...
'REALITY' QUIZ FOR GOTTI JURY
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amJurors who will decide the fate of suspected mob boss John "Junior" Gotti were asked yesterday if they watch the reality show that features his celebrity sister and her three...
AN OFFER YOU CAN'T REFUSE - CITY GARBAGE TRUCKS UP FOR AUCTION
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amNew Yorkers who've always wanted to cruise down the block behind the wheel of their own garbage truck, street sweeper or police scooter will have their chance today, when the...
2ND 'ATTA' BUSTED - N.J. 'TERROR' TIP TRIPS UP ILLEGAL MIGRANT & PALS
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amFive Egyptians yesterday were nabbed in a New Jersey apartment with New York subway maps, a video of Big Apple landmarks and $8,000 in cash after a tipster told cops...
IT'S TORTURE BY SCORCHER - * TEMPS HIT 97 IN AGONIZED APPLE * POWER WOES AMID RECORD USAGE * RELIEF IS IN SIGHT FOR TOMORROW
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amThe Big Apple turned into the Big Oven yesterday with New Yorkers roasting, toasting, baking and sizzling as the mercury rocketed into the high 90s. Combined with high humidity, it...
JUDGE ZAPS O.J. FOR STEALING SATELLITE TV
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amDirecTV can squeeze O.J. Simpson for $25,000 for stealing the signal of its satellite-TV service, a Florida federal judge ruled yesterday. The ex-gridiron great - acquitted by a California jury...
PATAKI CALLS HUDDLE AS PALS AWAIT BOWING-OUT
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amALBANY - Rumors that Gov. Pataki is about to announce that he won't seek re-election next year swept the state Capitol last night after the governor unexpectedly summoned several longtime...
JURIST IMPRUDENCE ; JUDGE QUITTING AFTER 2ND ETHICS CENSURE
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amA Queens judge will step down at the end of the year after a state judicial committee slammed him yesterday for the second time in five years on ethics violations....
PUPILS HOT ON HOOKY - SUMMER-SCHOOL DIP
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amMore kids are playing hooky during summer school, with attendance down 3 percentage points this year compared with last, according to newly released figures. The city Department of Education said...
'JURY STILL OUT' ON ROBERTS: CHUCK
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amWASHINGTON - Supreme Court nominee John Roberts yesterday said he's not "an ideologue," during a private huddle with Sen. Chuck Schumer, the New York senator said. But Schumer said "the...
ARUBA COPS DRAIN LAKE
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amThe hunt for missing vacationer Natalee Holloway has led Aruban officials to drain a lake on the Caribbean island near where the teen was last seen two months ago. The...
FERRER: AX 'PARK DISS' COMMISH
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amMayoral candidate Fernando Ferrer last night called for the firing of Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe for saying that some underutilized green spaces weren't worth upgrading because that would be throwing...
SCORCHER TORTURE - BUT RELIEF ON THE WAY FROM SUMMER SWELTER
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amThe Big Apple turned into the Big Oven yesterday with New Yorkers roasting, toasting, baking and sizzling as the mercury rocketed into the high 90s. With the sticky humidity heaped...
CUOMOS ENDORSE MORGY
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amManhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau picked up endorsements from former Gov. Mario Cuomo and his son, Andrew Cuomo, the former housing secretary and current candidate for state attorney general. The...
PATAKI 'BOW-OUT' THE BUZZ IN ALBANY
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amALBANY - Rumors that Gov. Pataki is about to announce that he won't seek re-election next year swept the state Capitol last night after the governor unexpectedly summoned several longtime...
PLAME'S ANTI-W. MONEY - SPY LISTED AS 'RETIRED'
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amWASHINGTON - Outed CIA spy Valerie Plame last fall gave a campaign contribution to go toward an anti-Bush fund-raising concert starring Bruce Springsteen, it was revealed last night. It's the...
JUMP-ROPE GIRL STRANGLED
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amA 6-year-old girl accidentally strangled herself while she jumped rope last night inside her grandparents' Queens home, police said. Najiyah Roberts, who was visiting from Virginia, tied the rope to...
A-ROD'S BIG 3-0 - SURPRISE BASH FOR BIG BASHER
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amJAY-Z's 40/40 Club was transformed into a celeb-studded casino for Yankee slugger Alex Rodriguez's surprise 30thbirthday bash Monday night. Rodriguez's wife, Cynthia, arranged to have poker, blackjack and craps tables...
COKE-RING INFORMER GAVE TIP ON OSAMA
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amOsama bin Laden's plot to buy tons of cocaine, poison it and then sell it to Americans was revealed to the Drug Enforcement Administration by an informant linked to a...
WORKERS GRILLIN' INSTEAD OF CHILLIN'
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amAFTER a hungry, delirious and exhaustive search, I've located the exact hottest spot in the known universe - a few, square feet of sizzling, blistering, feverish torment. I am standing...
AMAZIN'S PARCHED FOR POP AT SECOND
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amMET NOTES DENVER - Last night the Mets played their 100th game of the season. Through the first 99, the only position players who had hit worse than their first...
OPENING OF SPA IS WELCOME RELIEF
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amSARATOGA SPRINGS - The most eagerly anticipated moment of the year for New York racing arrives at 1 p.m. today, when the flag falls for the first race of the...
EAST END WATERS ARE AN ANGLER'S DREAM
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amTHE caravan of anglers head- ing to Montauk is endless this time of year and for good reason, as the waters around the East End teem with life from August...
ON RIGHT SIDE, METS CRY FOR HELP
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amDENVER - Last night the Mets were set to play their 100th game of the season. Through the first 99, the only position players who had hit worse than their...
RANGERS, MONTOYA ARE CLOSE
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amAl Montoya, the 20-year-old Michigan goaltender whom the Rangers selected sixth overall in 2004, is closing in on a contract agreement with the club, The Post has learned. Montoya, who...
BAD RECORD TEAMS HOLD AMAZIN' HEX
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amMET NOTES DENVER - The last few times the Mets have played sub-par clubs, they haven't opened those series very well. That included Monday night's game. The Mets' loss to...
MONTH'S MARKED PROGRESS FOR LIBS
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amThe key was not panicking - not when the Liberty opened the season 0-2 by dropping two home games, and not when a 12-point loss at San Antonio at the...
LAMORIELLO SAYS DEVS WON'T GO BUYOUT ROUTE
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amNot wasting a nickel, Devils GM Lou Lamoriello yesterday told The Post he will not be using the one-time 67 percent buyout on any of his signed players to create...
ISLES' PRESEASON IS FULL OF RIVALS
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amThe Islanders will re-open the Coliseum in style when they begin the preseason schedule against their archrivals, the Rangers, on Sept. 20. That will be the only one of seven...
TEPID METROS FEEL THE HEAT
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amThe MetroStars are clearly starting to feel the heat - and not just because of the triple-digit heat index on the Meadowlands FieldTurf at yesterday's practice. Coach Bob Bradley and...
CANO CAN MAKE RUN AT AWARD
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amSeven games into Robinson Cano's major-league career, the Yankees second baseman was batting .087 and had many thinking he was in over his head. Going into last night's series opener...
KNICKS WILL ANOINT LARRY KING OF CITY - COACHING LEGEND TO BE PLANTED IN GARDEN
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amIt was worth the wait. After a three-month search that began with a failed attempt at Phil Jackson, the Knicks have their head coach, and Isiah Thomas has landed the...
HAVE TO SAY YES TO NOMO
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amFROM no mas to Nomo. Having gotten a negative return out of their two-year investment in Kevin Brown, and with the expectation they can reliably expect no mas from their...
PALACIO, NETS HAGGLE OVER MONEY
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amThe Nets want Milt Palacio. Milt Palacio wants the Nets. So where's the holdup? Well, money's a good place to begin. Palacio's agent, Andy Miller, said yesterday that his client...
HIDEO ON THE WAY - BROWN LIKELYDONE; EX-RAYNEWEST HOPE
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amKevin Brown's disappointing Yankees career likely is over. And the date of Carl Pavano's return from the disabled list isn't known. Welcome to the Yankees' pitching world, a galaxy that...
LOOKING TO NOMO FOR RELIEF
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amYANKEE NOTES Hideo Nomo may have little left, but the Yankees think he might be better than what they have. That's why the veteran right-hander will be signed to a...
ESPN MAKING MICHAELS RICH
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amAl Michaels will be paid around $4 million per year to be the voice of Monday Night Football on ESPN in 2006. In announcing the deal yesterday, ESPN didn't disclose...
COACH CALLING PLAYS FOR HIRING ASSISTANTS
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amIsiah Thomas is already treating Larry Brown differently than his past two coaches - Lenny Wilkens and Herb Williams. Brown will have full authority to hire his own coaching staff,...
USA GIVES ITALY THE BOOT
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amUSA 15Italy 0 Team USA certainly hasn't held up its end of the bargain in this "friendship series" with Team Italy. Heading into last night's contest at KeySpan Park in...
CAIRO STANDS GROUND DESPITE TRADE WINDS
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amMET NOTES DENVER - Lately Miguel Cairo has gotten most of the playing time at second base for the Mets. But Cairo didn't sound as if he's losing sleep over...
RODRIGUEZ CELEBRATES WITH HOMER
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amBirthday boy Alex Rodriguez, who turns 30 today, now has 10 career hits against Brad Radke. Proving Rodriguez has no short game against the Minnesota starter, half of those hits...
JOHNSON GETS THERE
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amRANDY Johnson, tired of being asked every five days, if not every 15 minutes, a) if he was there yet; b) if not, why not; and, c) when was he...
UNIT STARTING TO CATCH FIRE ; FLAMETHROWER FANS 11 TWINS
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amYankees BD+>4 Twins 0 The pitcher George Steinbrenner had to have in the chill of last winter finally arrived in The Bronx heat last night. Now the challenge for Randy...
BROWN MAY BE DONE IN BRONX
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amKevin Brown's disappointing Yankee career is likely over. And the date of Carl Pavano's return from the DL isn't known. Welcome to the Yankees' pitching world, a galaxy that at...
ANOTHER ROCKIE HORROR
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amRockies 4Mets 3 DENVER -The Mets may be debunking Coors Field's reputation as a ballpark that boosts offense. Through two games at Coors on this road trip, the Mets have...
RANGER DANGER - METS MULL PROS AND CONS OF ACQUIRING SORIANO
July 27, 2005 | 4:00amLAST month, the Rangers asked for Jose Reyes as part of a package for Alfonso Soriano. In the last week, Texas requested Mike Cameron, Aaron Heilman, top prospect Lastings Milledge...