December 5, 2002
'JURASSIC PARK' AUTHOR IS SELLING ESTATE FOR $21M
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amTHE fourth wife of best-selling novelist Michael Crichton is listing the former couple's "Jurassic Park"-like Bedford estate for $21.5 million. The three-story, 19-room home sits high atop 63 prime professionally...
WARNER R(EMI)X ; PARSONS BACK IN TALKS OVER MUSIC LABEL MERGER
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amDick Parsons has restarted informal talks about merging Warner Music and EMI, The Post has learned. Parsons, the chief executive of AOL Time Warner, has spoken with EMI execs in...
EXPECT SMALL TV GROUPS TO GO ON BLOCK
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amWILL it be Young Broadcasting, Acme Communications, or Lin TV Corp.? Maybe Granite Broadcasting, or Gray Television. Perhaps even Liberty Corp. or Hearst-Argyle Television. Investment bankers tell me that even...
UAL GETS CLIPPED BY FEDS' REFUSAL
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amUAL Corp.'s bankruptcy filing is likely to come as early as today, now that the federal government has denied United Airlines' request for a $1.8 billion bailout. The Air Transportation...
IDOL HANDS KASPER AN $88M OFFER
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amJohn Idol's in a buying mood. The chairman and chief exec of Kasper ASL is making a bid to buy his employer outright. "Kasper's what we believe to be a...
CHARGES VS. ANALYSTS DUE
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amRegulators are expected to file charges against some of Wall Street's former high-fliers as early as next week when global settlement talks over analyst conflicts resume, The Post has learned....
P-RICE WAR AT PRU: RICE TO HEAD BROKERAGE, PRICE OUT IN SHAKE-UP
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amA shake-up in Prudential Securities' executive suite boosted star retail chief Michael Rice to the top slot in charge of the firm's vast stock brokerage operations. Rice, a Wharton MBA,...
REEBOK STEPS UP LOOK WITH NEW JAY-Z DEAL
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amReebok's dancing into a new territory. The athletic shoe and apparel company has signed rapper Jay-Z to create a signature shoe line called the S. Carter Collection by Rbk. Jay-Z...
KANN GIVES ANGRY WSJ-ERS
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amPeter Kann is getting a drubbing from his angry employees at Dow Jones in a revolt over his cost-cutting. At company-wide "town hall" meetings in the last two days, about...
LUXE STORES LURE SHOPPERS WITH SWEETS AND SPARKLERS
December 5, 2002 | 5:00am'Tis the season for bargains, but luxury retailers can't exactly offer "buy one, get one free" deals on diamonds and furs. Instead, they are using more creative ways to lure...
MERRILL STARTING TO DUMP 250-300 BANKERS
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amLayoffs at Merrill Lynch have been a long time coming. Now they're just around the corner. As early as today the nation's biggest brokerage firm will begin firing 250 to...
STARR REPORT
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amA Dom deal down in Little Italy "Sopranos" star Dominic Chianese (Uncle Junior) and Food Network host Bill Boggs will help kick off the "Sorrento Cheese Presents Christmas in Little...
NEWMAN'S OWN ; RETURNS TO B'WAY IN TRIUMPHANT 'OUR TOWN'
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amOUR TOWN 1/2Booth Theatre, 222 W. 45th St. (212) 239-6200. Through Jan. 26. HE takes the stage with casual modesty, his back to the audience, to minimize that ritual applause...
LING LEAVES 'EM LAUGHING
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amLISA Ling's last day on "The View" today will be a celebration - with some good-natured humor thrown into the mix. Ling, who's leaving "The View" after three years to...
SPIELBERG TV SERIES BLASTS OFF
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amVIEWERS were carried away by "Taken," Steven Spielberg's ambitious, 10-night series about alien abduction. Monday night's two-hour, debut installment on the SCI FI channel was seen by about 6.1 million...
'HOURS' TIME HAS COME WITH MOVIE AWARD
December 5, 2002 | 5:00am'THE Hours," an homage to Virginia Woolf opening Dec. 27, was named best picture yesterday by the National Board of Review, which traditionally kicks off the pre-Oscar movie awards season....
'PINOCCHIO' GROWS VOICE
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amWith less than three weeks to go before the scheduled release of "Pinocchio," Miramax Films has found someone to dub Roberto Benigni's voice as the lead character.Breckin Meyer ("Kate &...
TWAIN RIDE
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amShania Twain, the country star playing for pop tart status, is on top of the charts again with "Up!" Her split-personality double CD, which offers a disc of pop candy...
BEAUTIFUL BAGHDAD
December 5, 2002 | 5:00am" Live from Baghdad" Saturday night at 8 on HBO THE trailers HBO has been showing incessantly over the last few weeks fail to do justice to "Live from Baghdad."...
OLD SCHOOL TO NEW YULE: FROM CLASSIC TO CUTTING EDGE, NEW YORK DECKS ITS HALLS WITH HOLIDAY SHOWS OF EVERY STRIPE
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amTHE more things change, the more comforting it is that some things stay the same. No matter what else is happening in the world, come the holidays, the Rockettes are...
BROTHER KILLS BROTHER OVER COAT: COPS
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amAn argument between two brothers over a leather coat turned tragic when one stabbed and killed the other with a kitchen knife, Long Island cops said yesterday. The feud began...
BABY STABBED TO DEATH ; HIS BRONX 'MOM' IS A SUBWAY SUICIDE
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amAn 11-month-old boy was found dead of a stab wound in the Bronx yesterday - hours after a woman thought to be his mother leapt to her death in front...
BOXER GOES FOR KO IN $8M SUIT
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amHeavyweight bruiser Lennox Lewis tried delivering a knockout blow by testifying as the final witness in his $8 million suit accusing his former lawyer of helping a promoter to rip...
ISRAEL JAILED U.S. 'TERRORIST' DOCTOR
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amJERUSALEM - Israel held an American doctor for two weeks on suspicion he was linked to al Qaeda and Hamas before deporting him, authorities said yesterday. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's...
N.Y. POLS RIP SAUDI 'BLAMER'
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amNew York lawmakers yesterday were fuming over a top Saudi official's claim that "Zionists" were responsible for the 9/11 attacks while Saudis had no part in it. "They are showing...
GROUND ZERO OPENS TO KIN
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amRelatives of World Trade Center victims will be allowed into the Ground Zero pit over the next few weeks, giving them a chance during the holidays to be near what...
BUSH PINS KENYA BLAME ON AL QAEDA
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - President Bush yesterday said Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda thugs are behind last week's anti-Israel attacks in Kenya and blamed "terrorists" for disrupting Mideast peace plans. "I am...
CLOCK TICKS ON TRANSIT TALKS
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amThe MTA and union reps are resuming contract talks today - with just 10 days before the contract expires. Transport Workers Union officials said the MTA has slowed down negotiations...
CELEBS' PAL FACES EVICTION
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amEXCLUSIVE Working out of his West Side apartment, a one-time encyclopedia sales exec has sold stars like Kathy Bates, Martin Sheen and Alan Bates on his dream of putting on...
PALSY KID AWARDED $91M IN BOTCHED BIRTH
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amA Brooklyn jury has awarded $91 million to a 5-year-old girl born with cerebral palsy after doctors failed to realize her mother was suffering a rare condition - and may...
GOTTI BRO STAYS IN STIR UNTIL TRIAL
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amPrison is where reputed Gambino boss Peter Gotti belongs while he awaits trial on racketeering charges, an appeals court has ruled. Gotti, 63, lost his bid to get out of...
PEDDLE-PUSHING POL - SAYS CITY SHOULD SELL ASSETS
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amThe city might have to peddle some of its assets to close a projected $3 billion budget gap next year, City Council Speaker Gifford Miller said yesterday. "You can sell...
COMPTROLLER TRASHES MIKE'S RECYCLING COST ESTIMATES
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amCity Comptroller Bill Thompson yesterday said the Bloomberg administration may have inflated the cost of the recycling program - raising questions about how much money the city will save from...
WEIRD BUT TRUE
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amA California company is selling tickets to heaven. For $15, plus $4.95 shipping and handling, Ticket to Heaven Inc. will send you a ducat with your name on it, along...
NEXT CHAPTER: THE POOR THINGS GET TO SUE CITY
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amAND so it begins. Today, the Jogger 5 - five men who confessed that they took part in the infamous 1989 gang rape of an investment banker - are on...
BUDGET WATCHDOG BITES GOV'T OVER 'SHORT' STAFF WORKWEEKS
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amThe city could save nearly $500 million a year just by requiring civilian employees to put in 40 hours a week, a budget watchdog group said yesterday. The restructured workweek...
BILL DOESN'T HAVE TO TESTIFY IN SEX SUIT
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amFormer President Bill Clinton doesn't have to testify under oath that he did not have sexual relations with a Manhattan woman. No, not that Manhattan woman. Daria Carter-Clark wanted to...
WEB PERV NABBED WITH BOY
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amA perverted Long Island DJ chatted up a 15-year-old boy on the Internet and lured him to a sleazy sex tryst in a deserted parking lot, police said yesterday. In...
BUZZ HAS GORE NIXING '04 RUN
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amMAYBE it's just wishful thinking, but the December buzz among Dems is starting to be that maybe, just maybe, Al Gore will bow out of the 2004 presidential race and...
CRISPY = CANCER ; FOOD FRIED LONGER IS A BIGGER HEALTH RISK
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amIf you like your french fries crispy, it may be time to switch to limp. The longer those potato fingers are fried, the higher the level of a cancer-causing substance,...
CREDIT-CARD SHARKS - POL CRIES 'RIP-OFF' OVER SHOPS' HIGH RATES
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amLet the shopper beware. Major retailers across the city are socking their credit-card customers with exorbitant interest rates, a study showed yesterday. Many store cards carry rates that are much...
NYPD BIGS RETHINKING RUDY COP$
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amThe NYPD is evaluating former Mayor Rudy Giuliani's police protection as he globe-trots around the world, raking in millions of dollars in new business for his consulting firm, officials said...
WHY REYES ADMITTED RAPE - BID TO WIN PROTECTION FROM A JOGGER CON
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amCops suspect Matias Reyes confessed to raping the Central Park jogger to win protection from a Muslim prison leader who was serving time for the horrific attack, law-enforcement sources said...
IT'S JERRY FINE-FELD - COMIC GETS TICKET WHILE SHOPPING
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amYada, yada, yada - Seinfeld got a parking ticket yesterday. TV funnyman Jerry Seinfeld wasn't laughing after he got slapped with a $105 ticket for illegally parking his Mercedes-Benz in...
TIMES: ALL NEWS NOT FIT TO PRINT IF IT DISAGREES WITH US
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amNew York Times muckety-mucks rushed to put out a smoldering fire among staffers yesterday after admitting the paper had killed two sports columns at odds with its editorial pages. In...
'TWILIGHT' TIME FOR BX. PUPILS
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amTroublemakers at Kennedy HS in The Bronx are candidates to be among the first students to be placed in a new city "twilight" school, sources said yesterday. "These are the...
WHITNEY'S DAD SICK OVER SUIT
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amThe multimillion-dollar lawsuit Whitney Houston's father lodged against her has given him so much stress, he's been admitted to a hospital, his business partner said yesterday. "He was sick before...
BITTEN JACKO SMITTEN WITH SELF
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amCelebrity spider bait Michael Jackson hobbled back into court on crutches yesterday - and smiled like a star-struck fan at a video of himself prancing onstage at a 1999 concert....
FAILING B'KLYN SCHOOLS TO BE BROKEN UP
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amChancellor Joel Klein is planning to bust up six failing Brooklyn high schools and replace them with several smaller ones. Those that could begin to be phased out as early...
COP PUSHED MOB KIN'S BIG LIE: EX-DETECTIVE
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amAn NYPD detective tried to convince colleagues that a bizarre, phony story his mobster cousin told about the fatal shooting of a gangster was the gospel truth, a jury heard...
FIRED PROF REHIRED WITH NO TENURE
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amThe head of Brooklyn College yesterday rehired an outspoken history professor over the objection of the school's appointments panel - but denied the teacher's request for promotion and tenure. College...
WENDY'S FIEND A COOL KILLER, VIDEO SHOWS
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amIn a gruesome videotaped confession, the mastermind of the Wendy's restaurant massacre calmly used his outstretched finger to demonstrate how he and an accomplice pointed a gun at five workers...
ANNUAL CHRISTMAS 'TREE'T
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amThousands of people braved the frigid weather last night to gather in Rockefeller Plaza for the 70th annual lighting of the Christmas tree. The crowd heard music by Sheryl Crow,...
DRIVERS AND PEDESTRIANS WILL FIND IT SNOW GOING
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amNew Yorkers will be walkin' in a winter wonderland today as the Big Apple gets hit with the first major snow of the season. The flakes will start falling after...
MUSTARD GAS IS FOUND IN IRAQ
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amU.N. weapons inspectors found mustard gas yesterday inside Iraqi artillery shells at a military complex north of Baghdad. The inspectors had already known the gas and shells were stored at...
MATIAS REYES, WHO CONFESSED TO RAPING THE CENTRAL PARK JOGGER, WAS OVERHEARD BY A FELLOW PRISONER
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amMatias Reyes, who confessed to raping the Central Park jogger, was overheard by a fellow prisoner saying he saw the woman attacked by a group of youths first, law enforcement...
CELEBS' BELOVED PAL FACES EVICTION
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amEXCLUSIVE Working out of his West Side apartment, a one-time encyclopedia sales exec has sold stars like Kathy Bates, Martin Sheen and Alan Bates on his dream of putting on...
NYERS FIND HOLIDAY TRADITION TREE-LIGHTFUL
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amLet's get right to the root of what New Yorkers consider their favorite holiday tradition - visiting the tree at Rockefeller Center. A new Quinnipiac poll released yesterday shed light...
NIEGHBOR STATES GANG UP ON N.Y. FOR FEDERAL $$
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amEXCLUSIVE WASHINGTON - Lawmakers from four neighboring states around New York are trying to team up to funnel federal dollars away from the Empire State, The Post has learned. The...
BEHIND BIZARRE SLAY STORY AT EX-COP TRIAL
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amAn NYPD detective tried to convince colleagues a bizarre, phony story his mobster cousin told about the fatal shooting of a gangster was the gospel truth, a jury heard yesterday....
FED-UP CONDI STIX IT TO BLIX
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - Bush National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice has pressed chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix to get more aggressive on Iraq and do multisite inspections, U.S. officials said yesterday....
WHY REYES ADMITTED RAPE: BID TO WIN PROTECTION FROM A JOGGER CON
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amEXCLUSIVE Cops suspect Matias Reyes confessed to raping the Central Park jogger to win protection from a Muslim prison leader who was serving time for the horrific attack, law-enforcement sources...
CREDIT-CARD OUTRAGE : POL CRIES 'RIP-OFF' OVER SHOPS' HIGH RATES
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amLet the shopper beware. Major retailers across the city are socking their credit-card customers with exorbitant interest rates, a study showed yesterday. Many store cards carry rates that are dramatically...
CLEARED: DA TO DROP ALL CHARGES IN CENTRAL PARK JOGGER CASE
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amManhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau is expected to ask a judge today to throw out all the convictions against five youths who confessed to sexually assaulting a jogger during a...
CLEARED: DA TO DROP RAPE RAPS IN CENTRAL PARK. JOGGER CASE
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amManhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau will tell a judge today to toss the rape convictions against five youths in the 1989 Central Park jogger case, sources told The Post yesterday....
COLLINS KEY TO NETS' SURVIVAL
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amThe morning after the Nets found out they'll lose center Dikembe Mutombo for 12-16 weeks, GM Rod Thorn's offseason dream of turning this team into an NBA champion is becoming...
HEALTHY HOLIK GETS TROT'S GREEN LIGHT
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amThe wait is finally over for the Rangers and Bobby Holik. The center skated a third straight practice and said he hoped to play tonight when the Rangers play in...
HERMAN GIANT NOTES
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amHerman Moore did nothing in the one month he was with the Giants, and with pressing needs elsewhere and mounting injuries, the team and the veteran player quietly parted ways,...
MCKEE IS OFF TO FAST START
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amApprentice sensation John McKee, touted as "the next Steve Cauthen" after breaking The Kid's quarter-century-old riding records this year at River Downs and Churchill, took a bite of the Big...
BETTOR SUES AUTOTOTE
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amAutotote Corp., the pari-mutuel company that handles 65 percent of the horserace betting in the U.S., was slapped with a class-action suit yesterday by a California law firm in the...
BIG BLACK & BLUE: INJURIES PUTTING HURT ON GIANTS DEFENSE
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amWill Peterson excused himself, politely, as is his way. He did not appear to be in pain, but clearly he was not himself. "I just got done practicing," Peterson said,...
MARRIAGE MADE IN BRONX ; CLEMENS, YANKS EAGER TO FINALIZE DEAL
December 5, 2002 | 5:00am"Our intention is to work out a deal with the Yankees. I have not called one team . . . Our talks have been very cordial. Both sides want to...
SZOTT FEELS READY TO PLAY, AGAIN
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amJET NOTES Jets' veteran guard Dave Szott revealed yesterday he wasn't happy about not playing Monday night in Oakland after taking most of the reps with the first team during...
JETS WILL GO 'FOUR' IT ; TEAM CONFIDENT IT CAN WIN 'EM ALL
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amThe Jets' save-the-season mantra sounds like a lottery game: Win Four. It's a similar marching order to that of their next opponent, the Broncos, who come to Giants Stadium on...
MAGIC GARDEN:
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amConsidering their 1-8 start and speculation they could break the mark for worst record in franchise history (23-59), the Knicks' three-game winning streak should be savored. Because it may not...
ROBESON, BOYS GET PENALTIES ; FIGHT RESULTS IN SUSPENSIONS
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amAccording to the PSAL basketball schedule, Robeson and Boys & Girls will play for the second time this season on Jan. 9. But after what happened during the teams' first...
RANGERS SEND OLIWA PACKING
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amPHILADELPHIA - Krzysztof Oliwa's brief and unfulfilling Rangers career has come to an end. The Blueshirts yesterday placed the pugilistic winger on non-roster waivers, The Post has learned. The 29-year-old...
MAWAE: JETS NEED TO LET MARTIN RUN
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amAfter Curtis Martin posted consecutive 100-yard rushing performances in wins over Buffalo and Detroit, the Jets' running game was nonexistent in Monday night's loss to the Raiders in Oakland. Asked...
ROCKET INTENT ON NEW DEAL WITH YANKEES
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amRoger Clemens wants to end his Hall of Fame career as a Yankee. So much so that his agent has talked exclusively to the Bombers about the free-agent pitcher. "Our...
DOC COULD BE CURE FOR GARDEN WOES
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amGIVEN the "we all get along," management style Jim Dolan favors despite the Knicks struggles on the court, it may be difficult for the Garden boss to face the inevitable...
VENTURA OKS $3.5M PAYCUT
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amThe Yankees' first major move of the off-season filled a gaping hole at third base, where All-Star Robin Ventura will return for a second season in pinstripes. Ventura and the...
METS LEFT AT ALTAR? GLAVINE TO INK WITH PHILLIES, SOURCES SAY
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amThere will be a new beast in the East. The Great Tom Glavine Chase took some fascinating twists and turns yesterday. Tom Glavine's talks with the Braves did not go...
REYNOLDS CALLED INNOCENT: ATTORNEY: STORM STAR 'DID NOTHING'
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amThe attorney for St. John's forward Grady Reynolds, who stands accused of assaulting and harassing a university coed, strongly proclaimed his client's innocence yesterday and expressed disappointment over what he...
COED'S DAD: SCHOOL IS FREEZING ME OUT
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amBruce Seager, the father of Rachel Seager, the St. John's coed who allegedly was assaulted and harassed by basketball player Grady Reynolds, lashed out at the university yesterday, saying it's...
DEVILS AREN'T RIGHT AT HOME
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amOVERTIMECanucks 3Devils 2 Perhaps the Devils should be thankful there aren't a lot of witnesses to their home troubles. "[Home] hasn't been good to us," Jamie Langenbrunner said after the...
DISAPPEARING ACT: KNICKS VANISH LATE VS. MAGIC
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amMagic 87 Knicks 85 Latrell Sprewell called last night's Orlando match a test to see if the Knicks' recent surge was for real. When the league's best player, Tracy McGrady...
HANGUP ON DATE FOR EWING FETE
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amKNICK NOTES The Knicks have had as much trouble pinning down a date for Patrick Ewing's jersey retirement ceremony this season as they have had making a trade for a...
AMAZIN'S TURN TO TEUFEL
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amThe next time the Mets have to go through a managerial search, you know they don't want it to be as difficult as this last search and seizure of Art...
ATLANTA'S BACK IN GLAVINE HUNT
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amThe Mets said yesterday they felt they were still in the Great Tom Glavine Chase, but there were conflicting reports coming out of Atlanta. Depending upon the source, the Braves'...
METS TURN TO TEUFEL TO MANAGE CYCLONES
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amThe next time the Mets have to go through a managerial search, you know they don't want it to be as difficult as this last search and seizure of Art...
NO DATE YET FOR EWING'S BANNER NIGHT
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amThe Knicks have had as much trouble pinning down a date for Patrick Ewing's jersey retirement ceremony as they have making a trade for a center this season. The Knicks,...
DEVILS STINGY VS. POWER PLAY
December 5, 2002 | 5:00amIf a team doesn't score much, it had better allow less. Such is the case with the Devils, particularly their special teams. New Jersey's power play was the laughingstock of...