February 24, 2006
BOARD STIFF - DISNEY ADVISER: SAY BYE, GEORGE
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amInfluential proxy adviser Glass Lewis is recommending Disney shareholders withhold their votes for Chairman George Mitchell at the company's upcoming annual meeting, partly because of revelations he hid a negative...
KINGDOM COME - ALWALEED TO PUBLICLY LIST HIS HOLDING COMPANY
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amThe world's fifth-richest man is about to get even richer. Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, one of the world's most influential investors, is planning to float at least 30...
PRADA SELLS JIL SANDER TO EQUITY FIRM
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amPrada Holding has agreed to sell the Jil Sander brand to a private equity firm, ending months of speculation about the brand's future and allowing the Italian fashion house to...
ADVERTISERS' GOLD IS GONE FROM TV EVENTS
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amAdvertisers are learning the hard way that the Olympics and the Oscars are still "must-see" events - just not necessarily on television. While the networks tout the big sports and...
QUICK SELF SACRIFICE - DANZIGER SCRAMBLED, AXED GRAHAM COVER; LIFE NOT SO LUCKY
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amTHE abrupt cancellation of Heather Graham's "Emily's Reasons Why Not," after only one episode left Self magazine scrambling to find a replacement cover for its April issue. When Graham's much-hyped...
ST. JOHN OUT AS WANG SUITOR
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amTalks have ended between Vera Wang and St. John Knits, which had courted the designer to create a runway collection for the brand, The Post has learned. The collapse of...
3 TOP EXECS EXIT GAP
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amThree more senior executives have left the Gap, part of an exodus at the struggling retailer, which has been unable to stem a decline in sales and earnings, The Post...
MORE BADDING FROM GOODING
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amTHE train wreck that is Cuba Gooding Jr.'s career comes careening off a cliff with "Dirty," an excruciating indie knockoff of "Training Day" in which the hapless Oscar winner tries...
BLANCHETT LOOKS LIKE FISH OUT OF WATER
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amLITTLE FISH [*] (One star) IF you say you'd watch Cate Blanchett in anything, here's your chance to prove it. The drug drama "Little Fish" is set in Australia, where...
RUN A MUCK
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amA Bruce Springsteen song gone terribly awry, "Running Scared" fills the screen with preening women, violent men and a cherry-red Mustang. Things look promising at first: The night's bustin' open!...
GANG UP ON BAD THUG TALE
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amPRESLEY Chweneyagae, in his first screen role, gives an amazing performance as the titular character in "Tsotsi," the sullen teen leader of a gang of hoods that preys on commuters...
DON'T CALL IT ANOTHER 'LAW & ORDER'
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amDICK Wolf draws a sharp demarcation line be tween his successful "Law & Order" franchise and his new NBC series, "Conviction," which revolves around a group of young assistant DAs...
SUPERHEROES BACK FOR A GOTHAM VISIT
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amTHE city that launched the caped careers of a thousand superheroes finally has a shot at morphing back into a golden-age Gotham. The arrival of the three-day New York Comic-Con...
THEY'RE GREAT IN BED
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amIT'S a rare musical revival that actually matches - perhaps even surpasses - a much-loved original. Yet this is the marvelous case of the new Roundabout Theatre production of Richard...
UNFORGETTABLE
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amON July 3, 2003, a 35-year-old "Unknown White Male" opened his eyes on a train in Brooklyn. He had no idea who he was nor any memory of anything he...
TOO EARNEST TO BE CHIC
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amREMEMBER the scene in "Animal House" when John Belushi smashes the foppish folk singer's guitar at the frat party? That's what Duncan Sheik's intense earnestness and musical melancholy at his...
IT'S PINK ON THE BACKGROUND
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amTHE Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Bowery Ballroom shows are sold out and the Test Icicles, the London-based, metal-loaded dance-punk band, had a meltdown - announcing their breakup yesterday, and canceling all...
'Q' WAS A NO-WYNN SITUATION
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amI'VE decided to give Dede Harris a rest today and train the heavy artillery on Steve Wynn, producer of that Las Vegas loser, "Avenue Q." By some estimates, Wynn has...
'IDOL' 4 IN SWAN SONG
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amFOUR "American Idol" contestants were booted last night, victims of the first viewer vote of the season. Bobby Bennett, 19, Stevie (Stephanie) Scott, 19, Patrick Hall, 27 and Becky O'Donahue,...
GAMES FALL TO 'IDOL' POWER
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amNBC could only grab the silver medal in the cutthroat ratings race Wednesday night. Its coverage of the Winter Olympics from Turin turned in the lowest ratings for the games...
STARR REPORT
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amHealing continues ABC released another update yesterday on the condition of "World News Tonight" anchor Bob Woodruff and ABC cameraman Doug Vogt, both seriously injured Jan. 29 by a roadside...
DMC'S LOST & FOUND - HIP-HOP LEGEND RAPS ABOUT HIS 'ADOPTION'
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amHere are three words of advice if you plan to watch "DMC: My Adoption Journey": Bring the Kleenex. WHAT'S it like to search for your birth mother at age 40?...
OUT THE LOUT! PHOTO SITE STRIKES BACK AT CATCALLERS
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amSMILE, you're on creepy catcaller camera. Using nothing but a camera phone, the women of Holla Back NYC are snapping pictures of harassing men everywhere and putting their leering mugs...
MARY'S HOT PICK
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amThe good news is that Mardi Gras is next week. That's followed by the bad news, for those who indulge: so does Lent. Celebrate accordingly with Steve Riley and the...
DAD HELD IN HORROR BABY BEAT
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amA Queens dad was arrested last night for the merciless beating of his 3-month-old son, four days after telling doctors he'd accidentally dropped the infant, police said. Jerome Wiza, 26,...
MAN KILLS 2 NEIGHBORS OVER NOISE
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amA Brooklyn man, enraged by loud noise coming from an upstairs apartment, stabbed two men to death last night after pistol-whipping them, police sources said. The 30-year-old suspect, who was...
UNITED NATIONS TEAM AT A LOSS
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amTired of endless bungling, bickering and bad ideas, a group of diplomats from the United Nations went on a fact-finding mission this week to learn how a successful New York...
COURT BLASTS SEADOG CLAIM
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amA Long Island judge refused to grant Huntington's harbormaster a new trial yesterday - and blasted his attorney for suggesting that the court had a conflict of interest. "These attacks...
MIKE'S SICK JOKE ON GOV
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amGov. Pataki yesterday got a hospital visit from Mayor Bloomberg, who was ready to announce a long-awaited deal on school funding - but then the governor's medication wore off. Bloomberg...
HOT TIME AS FIRE HITS PLAZA
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amWorkers demolishing The Plaza hotel's interior accidentally sparked a fire that led to the storied building's evacuation and the closure of some Midtown streets yesterday. The two-alarmer began at 11:16...
HELP! SAVE US! - L.I. PAIR SURVIVES APT. FIRE
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amJim Longley and his girlfriend, Kim Jelley (above) - his face blackened by smoke - scream for help yesterday from their third-floor Long Island apartment as it's swept by fire...
HIGH-TECH LABOR DAZE
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amAmericans have more to do at work these days but, incredibly, we're actually getting less done than we did a decade ago. And a new survey has found that fast-evolving...
ISRAELI RAID KILLS 5
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amJERUSALEM - Israeli troops yesterday killed five Palestinians, including a terrorist commander, in the biggest West Bank raid in months. Officials said a shootout began after the troops surrounded the...
NYPD DAILY BLOTTER
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amBROOKLYN * Police are asking for the public's assistance in finding a Canarsie teen missing since November. Judith Casseus (above), 14, was last seen at her home on East 92nd...
HIKIND BACKING SPITZER FOR GOV
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amALBANY - Assemblyman Dov Hikind is backing Attorney General Eliot Spitzer for governor after endorsing only Republicans for governor and mayor for more than 12 years, The Post has learned....
THE PREZ'S PORT PROBLEM: WHITE HOUSE MESS
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amTHE more we learn about the Dubai ports deal, the less worrisome it seems. The more we see the White House in action these days, however, the more worrisome it...
UAE HAS SPLIT PERSONALITY IN WAR ON TERROR
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amThe United Arab Emirates is backing the U.S. war on terrorism by being a port of call for the Navy, a base for Air Force jets, and a source of...
MAFIA TAKES A BIG HIT - JAILED DON 1 OF 32 NAILED BY FEDS
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amA mob lawyer admitted he carried orders from the jailed acting boss of the Genovese crime family - including a directive to whack an acting capo, authorities said yesterday in...
TRANSIT FALLS $58M SHORT
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amThe combination of the transit strike and the holiday discounts cut bus and subway revenue $58 million below expectations last year, according to an MTA report. But this shortfall was...
PERV: I RAPED WOMAN, 88
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amA homeless ex-con pleaded guilty yesterday to viciously raping a frail, 88-year-old Chinatown woman as she returned to her apartment. Faced with irrefutable DNA evidence, Reggie Owen, 27, admitted the...
AMERICA'S 'GAYEST' MAGAZINES
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amThe magazine you read might say something about your sexuality. Men's fashion bible DNR has named the mags they say have the biggest gay readerships. The No. 1 glossy on...
SCHOOL FULL OF BULL-Y - CALLS ATTACKS ACCIDENTS
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amA Brooklyn elementary school's safety procedures are under review by the city Education Department after parents complained that the school listed injuries to children from bullying as accidents. Department of...
CHICK THIS OUT - SALMONELLA ON RISE
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amAlarming new tests show that 16 percent of the nation's chickens are infected with the potentially deadly salmonella bacteria - almost double the rate from five years ago. Salmonella hits...
MIKE STICKS TO HIS GUNS
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amTaking aim against illegal guns, Mayor Bloomberg met yesterday with U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales behind closed doors at City Hall. Talking privately for about 45 minutes, the mayor asked...
CONTRACT TALKS NEARING ARBITRATION
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amThe Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the Transport Workers Union edged closer to binding arbitration yesterday - yet signaled there was still hope of hammering out a contract before then. The...
SCARS' 'SICK' STORY - THROWING UP GOTTI
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amThe star witness in prosecutors' case against John "Junior" Gotti told jurors it was so agonizing to implicate his best pal that he vomited thinking about it. But Michael "Mikey...
DUBYA WILTS UNDER POLS' PIER PRESSURE
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amPresident Bush blinked for the first time in his confrontation with Congress over the United Arab Emirates port deal yesterday, as a top aide hinted he would now accept a...
BAD HAIR DAZE FOR 'FIRE PERV'
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amAccused fire fiend Peter Braunstein may have stabilized since getting locked up in Bellevue Hospital, but his hairstyles have been all over the map. Braunstein showed up for a routine...
ACTIVIST COP SLAPS BACK AT NYPD BRASS
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amTaking the stand in his own defense, Capt. Eric Adams yesterday told an NYPD disciplinary hearing he believes he's being singled out for punishment for daring to suggest the police...
TEEN KILLER GETS 50 YRS.
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amA teenage member of a Queens gang was sentenced yesterday to more than 50 years in prison for killing a man delivering Chinese food. William Capehart, 19, of Corona, along...
BX. HAZARD-CLEANUP DEAL
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amALBANY - State officials yesterday announced that 31 companies agreed to help pay for the cleanup of a Bronx hazardous-waste site. The companies will pay a total of more than...
WORM IN THE GARDEN - ANTI-PLANT RAMPAGER
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amAn East Village vandal was nabbed red-handed yesterday after rampaging through the roses - and the redwoods and the magnolias - and running up $24,000 worth of damage in Union...
REVENUES COULD SNAP CITY RECORD
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amThe city could reap $500 million more than Mayor Bloomberg projected just last month, as "revenue projections continue to exceed all reasonable expectations," State Comptroller Alan Hevesi said yesterday. Hevesi...
PACEMAKER PIONEER DR. SEYMOUR FURMAN DIES
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amDr. Seymour Furman, who laid the groundwork for the modern pacemaker, was remembered as a medical pioneer yesterday at Riverside Memorial Chapel on the Upper West Side. Furman, 74, who...
2 TEENS BUSTED IN QNS. MURDER
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amTwo Queens teens were arraigned yesterday in the Valentine's Day shooting death of a neighbor. Christina Carter, 17, and Vincent Edwards, 19, were arrested Wednesday for the murder of William...
RANGEL WILL BACK ELIOT IN GOV RACE
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amALBANY - Eliot Spitzer and Democratic Rep. Charles Rangel will officially bury the hatchet in Harlem today when the dean of New York's congressmen endorses the attorney general's run for...
ROYAL SUITOR'S KILLER PAST - SLAY-RAP L.I. MAN WOOS FERGIE'S KID
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amA Long Island man with a criminal past has apparently stolen the heart of England's Princess Beatrice. Paolo Liuzzo, 24, of Woodbury, has secretly been charming Beatrice, 17, for the...
'GHOUL AND THE GANG' IN CADAVER SCAM: DA
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amFour ghouls ran a multimillion-dollar body-parts ring, hoisting corpses into a secret, surgically pristine operating room where they removed bones, tendons and heart valves, authorities revealed yesterday. Once their gruesome...
DUBYA & DUBAI WILT UNDER PIER PRESSURE
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amPresident Bush blinked for the first time in his confrontation with Congress over the United Arab Emirates port deal yesterday, as a top aide hinted he would now accept a...
CITY SURPLUS MAY HIT $5B
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amThe city could reap $500 million more than Mayor Bloomberg projected just last month, as "revenue projections continue to exceed all reasonable expectations," State Comptroller Alan Hevesi said yesterday. Hevesi...
COP DODGES BULLET IN SHOOTOUT
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amCops and at least two men exchanged gunfire early today during a wild shootout on a Brooklyn street, police said. A bullet tore through a cop's uniform - but miraculously...
'LETHAL' LOOT - COPS SEEKING 'ANTHRAX' THIEF
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amThe thief who stole a colorful ceremonial mask and costume from a van belonging to anthrax victim Vado Diomande may have gotten more than he bargained for. Police are looking...
TECH-LABOR DAZE
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amAmericans have more to do at work these days but, incredibly, we're actually getting less done than we did a decade ago. And a new survey has found that fast-evolving...
GOWDY DIDN'T PLAY GAMES
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amTO understand what Curt Gowdy did and how he did it, it might be easier to study what he never did and how he never did it. Gowdy, dead Monday...
2005 SEASON WAS SAFER FOR THE DEER AND HUNTERS ALIKE
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amIF YOU went deer hunting in New York last fall, you probably suspect that there were a lot fewer deer taken. In fact, according to the numbers, it was the...
BROADWAY SHOW - OLYMPIC SEMIFINALS RIFE WITH RANGERS
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amTURIN, Italy - The Americans were bad and the Canadians, shut out three times, were even worse. So let's go Rangers! Tonight's first Olympic semifinals match Henrik Lundqvist's Swedes versus...
RED, WHITE AND BOO - TEAM USA FIRED TOO MANY BLANKS
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amTURIN, Italy - It gets old, explaining how 1980 was a miracle, how the 1996 World Cup championship was a watershed, how silver in Salt Lake City might be as...
READY, GILLEN & ABLE - SEASON ON TV LIKELY A PIT STOP FOR PETE
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amIN A nearly empty central New Jersey gym Dec. 10, Princeton and Wyoming played a forgettable non-conference game. A matchup of two teams headed absolutely nowhere was appropriately met with...
PRINCE, CHARLES IN MICKEY D
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amBergtraum's Epiphanny Prince and Christ the King's Tina Charles were named yesterday to play in the McDonald's All-American girls basketball game March 29 in San Diego. Rutgers-bound Prince scored a...
GIVE USA BIT MORE TLC: YORK
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amMike Modano threw the first punch, and now USA Hockey is taking a beating after a disappointing quarterfinal ouster at the Turin Olympics. Modano - who has represented the U.S....
METS CAN GET SERIES-OUS, TOO
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amPORT ST. LUCIE - When the team in town speaks boldly on the first day of spring training of winning the World Series, the other team simply cannot afford to...
KNICKS REFUSE TO TRADE YOUTH
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amKNICK NOTES The Knicks made one last run at Blazers center Theo Ratliff yesterday and revisited talks with the Lakers for Lamar Odom. But as expected, the Knicks did not...
RUNNING HIS MOUTH - STEPH TO LARRY: PICK UP THE PACE
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amNETS at KNICKS - Tonight - 8:00 MSG; YES; ESPN (1050); WFAN (660) With explosive Steve Francis his new backcourt partner, Stephon Marbury made a plea yesterday to Larry Brown,...
GW GUARD WILL ENJOY NY RETURN
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amCarl Elliott is from Bedford-Stuyvesant, but when the George Washington junior visits Fordham tomorrow, he'll be doing something he hasn't done a lot of: playing in New York City. Elliott...
GREAT INTENTIONS PREVAILS
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amIn 60G Flip's Pleasure at six furlongs for fillies and mares, Pretty Imposing went to front in hand under Jose Santos, then Great Intentions, 2-1 under Pablo Morales riding without...
BOWA'S INTENSITY SHAKES UP CAMP
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amYANKEE NOTES TAMPA - Larry Bowa came advertised as a tireless worker loaded with enthusiasm, a fiery personality and a love for teaching. Two days into full-squad workouts, those traits...
BABY ROCKET DRAWS RAVES FROM GIAMBI
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amTAMPA - Jason Giambi compared him to a Hall of Famer after seeing Phillip Hughes throw batting practice for eight minutes yesterday at Legends Field. "He reminds me of Roger...
ABANDONED CAR NO THREAT
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amTURIN, Italy - The first security scare of the Olympics took place yesterday when police investigated an abandoned car near the main press center. It turned out to be a...
NETS MAKE TRADE TO AVOID TAX HIT
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amThe Nets yesterday dropped under the luxury tax threshold, traded two players who rarely played and got back another player who probably will play even less. Avoiding luxury tax payments...
BOUT WILL GIVE PPV A BELLWETHER
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amSHANE Mosley and Fernando Vargas view themselves as superstars of boxing. That's why they lobbied to have their 12-round junior middleweight fight tomorrow night in Las Vegas on HBO pay-per-view...
ONE TOO MANY GARDEN GUARDS
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amGOD makes 'em and Lord Thomas mismatches 'em. Shockingly, Isiah Thomas' genius thoughts failed to provide Larry Brown with Allen Iverson and Baron Davis to complement Stevie Francis, Stephon Marbury,...
UP FROM THE ICE, SHE KEEPS COOL
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amTURIN, Italy - It was the worst start since the 1962 Mets. Sasha Cohen fell on her first jump, stumbled on her second jump, and the gold medal was gone....
SASHA SLIPS INTO SILVER - COHEN CAN'T JUMP FOR JOY
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amTURIN, Italy - Sasha Cohen skated to the theme song of "Romeo and Juliet" in last night's free skate, and like Shakespeare's play, Cohen did not have a happy ending....
JOHNNY GOOD AFTER GRAZE - DAMON TOUCHED UP BY UNIT PITCH
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amTAMPA - Two inches farther inside and the Yankees' universe could have been shattered yesterday. That's how close Randy Johnson came to drilling Johnny Damon on the left forearm with...
TORRE IS AS COOL AND CALM AS EVER
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amTAMPA - Joe Torre crossed his right leg over his left thigh and slowly twirled an empty water bottle in his hand. He defined tranquility as he spoke with reporters...
TOE THE LINE - PEDRO'S WBC STATUS STILL IN AIR
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amPORT ST. LUCIE - When it comes to the World Baseball Classic, you can call Pedro Martinez's participation highly doubtful for the first round and questionable overall. But the bigger...
HUGHES IN 7TH HEAVEN
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amTURIN, Italy - The curtain came down on Emily Hughes' fairy-tale run to the Olympics last night, and the 17-year-old Long Island native walked away proud of what she accomplished....
WORKOUTS OPEN WITH WILLIE TALK
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amMET NOTES PORT ST. LUCIE - The Mets had their first full-squad workout yesterday, and before that manager Willie Randolph spoke to his team. Asked about Randolph's message, David Wright...
EMPTY CAR NO THREAT
February 24, 2006 | 5:00am2006 Turin Notebook TURIN, Italy - The first security scare of the Olympics took place yesterday when police investigated an abandoned car near the main press center. It turned out...
THE NUMBERS LIE - DESPITE LOWER RANK, HUSKIES ARE TOP DOGS
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amVillanova at UConn is a college basketball matchup filled with contradictions. Though Villanova is higher ranked, UConn is almost universally considered the better team. Despite the fact the Wildcats beat...
DOWN FOR THE 'COUNT'? - IRVIN, YOUNG COULD BE GONERS
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amESPN's Sunday NFL Countdown pregame show could have a facelift come next season. As of now, Michael Irvin and Steve Young do not have contracts for next year, NYP TV...
5 QUESTIONS FOR GARY COHEN
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amThis week, NYP TV Sports' Andrew Marchand spoke with SportsNet NY's Gary Cohen. Cohen, 47, will make the transition from Mets' radio to TV play-by-play this season. SNY starts its...
MARCHAND'S MEMO OF THE WEEK
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amTo: Jerry Rice From: Andrew Marchand Re: Post-NFL Career CC: Paris Hilton Dear Jerry: Just say no! Stop doing all these reality shows. Don't you know you are Jerry Rice,...
WEIRD BUT TRUE
February 24, 2006 | 5:00amRemember when we used to dissect live frogs in biology class? Well, a California school has taken things to a whole new level. An agriculture teacher at Rosamond HS in...