February 5, 2003
SONY ERICSSON UNVEILS A PHONE FOR ALL REASONS
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amJames Bond used it in "Die Another Day." Steven Tyler, Cher, Kelly Ripa and Cynthia Nixon have all requested one. Some of Puffy Combs' VIP guests are getting one in...
MARTS BETWEEN IRAQ AND A HARD PLACE
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amStocks fell yesterday after giant insurer American International Group Inc. warned that it had underestimated its liabilities by $1.8 billion, rattling investors a day before a United Nations meeting that...
STATE FORCES HCA TO ADOPT STRICT GOVERNANCE REFORMS
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amFollowing up on a promise to force companies to practice good corporate governance, the New York State Common Retirement fund is requiring that HCA Inc., the nation's biggest hospital company,...
WE WUZ ROBBED! - WORLDCOM EXECS SUE SOLLY, GRUBMAN OVER OPTIONS
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amYet another group of unhappy investors are trying to jump on the Citigroup gravy train in the wake of WorldCom's bankruptcy. A dozen high-ranking WorldCom insiders who say they lost...
ROOSEVELT HOTEL GOING ON BLOCK
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amTHE Roosevelt Hotel, where Guy Lombardo led his orchestra on New Year's Eve for many years, is for sale. An Eastdil group will begin marketing it as an office development...
AMERICAN ASKING EMPLOYEES TO DECIDE HOW TO MAKE CUTS
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amExecutives at American Airlines, tired of the long negotiations with labor unions to cut costs, laid it on the line. The airline asked each of its unions to propose their...
PEPSI'S GOT THEM HIP-HOPPIN' MAD
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amMembers of the hip-hop community say they're being blacklisted from Pepsi commercials, and they plan to strike back. Rap artist Russell Simmons - who's heading the boycott plan - is...
UNION BLUES AT BLOOMBERG - ORGANIZERS RECRUITING MAYOR'S DISGRUNTLED NEWSHOUNDS
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amTHE AFL-CIO is trying to start a union organizing drive at the New York City headquarters of Bloomberg L.P., where 2,200 of the company's 8,200 employees work. Patricia Hoffman, senior...
TURNER'$ TIN CUP - LOST UP TO $8B IN AOL-TW DEAL; CAN'T BUY BACK CNN
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amTed Turner may be out of work, but he's still got plenty to say. The recently departed vice chairman of AOL Time Warner is saying he lost up to $8...
CABLEVISION SAYS 'NO' TO YES OFFER ON YANKS
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amThe latest effort to break the TV stalemate on Yankee baseball in the 'burbs collapsed into another round of insults yesterday. Cablevision said in a statement that the YES Network...
SEC TO FUNDS: HEAL THYSELF!
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amThe Securities and Exchange Commission voted yesterday to force mutual funds to set up an oversight board to protect the 95 million Americans who have more than $6 trillion invested...
STARR REPORT
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amIn the Thicke of it: Stars to shine in L.A. Shannon Elizabeth, Alan Thicke, Tim Curry, Wendie Malick, James Cromwell, Doris Roberts, AJ McLean and others will be among the...
TRUE BLUE LAMU
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amTRUE BLUE LAMU LAMU [ 1/2] 39 E. 19TH ST. (212) 358-7775 ------ LAMU is a restaurant that sticks to its game plan. While some places drive you nuts with...
CENT FROM HELL - ON RAPPER'S HOT NEW DISC, LIFE'S NOT WORTH A DIME
February 5, 2003 | 5:00am* 50 CENT "Get Rich or Die Tryin' " [ 1/2] Shady/Aftermath/ Interscope Records --- PUT a million dollars of hype behind a kid named 50 Cent, and you have...
PHILLY STAKE
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amColdplay will find itself in good company at the Grammys, when the New York Philharmonic backs up the British band for a performance of its song "Politik." Not only will...
SWINGING THROUGH A TREE NEAR YOU - YOU TARZAN, CALVIN KID
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amCALVIN Klein model Travis Fimmel is going ape. He'll play a young Tarzan in the pilot for a new series that could hit the air next season on the WB....
A FARE TO REMEMBER - ALT-VALENTINE'S FOR ANY ROMANTIC STATUS
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amST. Valentine was, after all, a martyr. Maybe that's why the holiday dedicated to love often turns into sheer torture. The big day is still over a week away, but...
CHICKEN FOR GOLD BOUILLON
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amFIRST, the $50 hamburger - now a $150 chicken? Chef Christian Delouvrier is offering his poularde pochee dans son bouillon riz basmait truffé - a.k.a. young female chicken poached in...
CIVIL WAR COMING TO NYC
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amTHE South will rise again - as more than 100 Civil War re-enactors battle in Central Park on Feb. 19 in one of the most elaborate publicity stunts staged for...
AFTER SKIPPING THE SHUTTLE STORY, ONE MORE CHANCE FOR... OUT OF TOWN BROWN
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amCNN anchorman Aaron Brown's future seemed very much in doubt yesterday after skipping out on covering the space shuttle disaster last Saturday to play in a celebrity golf tournament. "It's...
A LOVELY DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amLOVELY DAY [] 196 ELIZABETH STREET (BETWEEN PRINCE AND SPRING STREETS) (212) 925-3310 ------ IF your idea of a lovely time is sitting in a vintage red leather booth slurping...
JOLTIN' JOE
February 5, 2003 | 5:00am'JOE Millionaire" cashed in its biggest ratings ever Monday night. Monday's fourth episode, in which faux-millionaire Evan Marriott booted man-hungry Melissa M., notched nearly 21 million viewers - an all-time-high...
BROADWAY FIGHT IS ON - MUSICIANS COME OUT SWINGING AT TALKS
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amTHE war between Broadway producers and pit musicians has begun, with the musicians gaining an early advantage with a p.r. blitzkreig. Local 802 of the American Federation of Musicians has...
SPACED OUT ANCHOR LEFT IN THE ROUGH
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amSO much for Aaron Brown. He'll never win back his credibility at CNN after blowing off the space shuttle disaster last Saturday. No matter how much he and his network...
EX-LOVER SUES RUE FOR $50M
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amEX-"Golden Girls" star Rue McClanahan is being hauled into court by her ex-lover on fraud charges. And director Dirk Summers, 71, is threatening to introduce sensational evidence in the trial...
KEEP 'KIMBERLY AKIMBO' AT ARM'S LENGTH
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amA satiric sensibility has to be funny first. David Lindsay- Abaire, whose latest play, "Kimberly Akimbo," follows his "Fuddy Meers" and "Wonder of the World" at the Manhattan Theatre Club,...
COLLEGE CRUNCH - N.Y. CAN AVOID HIKES IN SUNY/CUNY TUITION
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amGOV. Pataki's new budget proposes 35-plus percent tuition hikes for SUNY and CUNY students. Here's hoping Albany finds the political will to save the money some other way - whether...
'KOSHER' BIZMAN, 65 FOUND SLAIN IN B'KLYN
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amA Brooklyn man who once ran a kosher eatery in Borough Park was found bludgeoned to death yesterday in his restaurant-supply business, police said. Jacov A. Luchinitver was found dead...
RANGEL'S SLUR OF MINORITY GIS
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amREP. Charles Rangel sure has gotten plenty of mileage with his bill to restore the military draft - which even he concedes has no chance of passing Congress. He's garnered...
WEIRD BUT TRUE
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amA Minnesota golf course features more than a dog leg, it has the whole dog, and a famous one at that - Snoopy. Golfers on the 15th hole of St....
RISK OF ANOTHER 9/11 ATTACK IS ON THE RISE
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - Counterterrorism officials said yesterday the threat of a large al Qaeda attack has increased recently, but warn they don't have any idea what the target might be for...
'SOPRANOS' LEGAL MUSCLE SQUEEZES STORE
February 5, 2003 | 5:00am"The Sopranos" have ordered a hit on Best Buy. James Gandolfini and his co-stars on the smash HBO series are suing the electronics chain for running their photos in a...
BLACK & WHITE TV - STUDY REVEALS RACIAL DIVIDE
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amBlack TV viewers have a message for the networks - forget reality and stick with laughs! A new study from advertising giant BBD&O shows that hugely popular reality hits like...
TEA WITH HITLER - PEACENIK BRIT'S SHAMEFUL LOVE-FEST WITH SADDAM
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amNOTHING so reveals the bankruptcy of the European left as its reverence for Saddam Hussein. When we have reached the point at which a British lawmaker makes a pilgrimage to...
COPS WANT JACKO DOCUMENTARY
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amProsecutors who probed child-sex abuse charges against Michael Jackson 10 years ago plan to scrutinize his confession that he still sleeps with young boys. The Santa Barbara District Attorney's Office...
U.S. ARTIST MURDERED IN LONDON PARK
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amA brilliant young American artist was stabbed to death during a "frenzied" morning attack while jogging in a London park, police said yesterday. Margaret Muller, 27, of Virginia was found...
NYPD DAILY BLOTTER
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amQUEENS * Two teenagers have been arrested in a string of eight muggings they allegedly committed with a fake gun in Jamaica and Jamaica Estates (see map above), police announced...
COCHRAN COMES OUT SWINGING IN ABUSE SUIT
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amChild-welfare workers concerned for the safety of an 8-month-old girl took her from her mother and placed her in a foster home - where she was nearly killed, according to...
JAYSON GETS TIMEOUT FROM APPEALS JUDGE
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amFormer NBA star Jayson Williams made a lot of rebounds on the basketball court - but none like one he made in an appeals court yesterday. A New Jersey judge...
GIFF: CITY GETTING $TIFFED
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amCity Council Speaker Gifford Miller used his State of the City speech yesterday to pummel Gov. Pataki for shortchanging the Big Apple. In an impassioned, 40-minute address to 450 people,...
I'M TORTURED BY INNER DEVILS - MUSIC LEGEND BARED SECRET TORMENT DAYS BEFORE ARREST
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amEccentric pop impresario Phil Spector admitted to having "devils inside that fight me," just weeks before he was busted for first-degree murder. In a candid interview - his first in...
DNA ICES CASE AGAINST ICE-T
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amIce-T is finally warming up to his baby son. After two positive DNA tests and a bitter paternity skirmish, the "Law & Order" star finally admitted in Manhattan Family Court...
AOL-SITE HARDHATS GET TANKED AT LUNCH: REPORT
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amDozens of hardhats building new headquarters for Bloomberg Business News and AOL Time Warner have been nailed allegedly getting hammered at local bars during lunch. Construction workers were caught on...
POLITICAL CRACKS SHOWING IN REBUILD PLAN
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amLMDC Chairman John Whitehead called yesterday's selection of design finalists Daniel Libeskind and the THINK team a "major step forward" for Ground Zero. But the stresses that could send the...
MILITARY PROBES TOP GULF GEN.
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - Gen. Tommy Franks, who would lead the war against Iraq, is under Pentagon investigation for allegedly arranging improper favors for his wife - such as letting her sit...
YOU'RE A GRAND OLD 'FLAGMAN'
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amHOUSTON. ROBERT SHUMAKE doesn't wait for tragedy to show his colors. The Galveston, Texas, man, 45, has been doing it every day - literally - since July 4, 2001, by...
NAILING PROBATION VIOLATORS
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amConvicted criminals who violate probation will have to face special judges assigned solely to their cases, Mayor Bloomberg announced yesterday. In an expansion of the successful "Operation Spotlight" program, a...
SCHOOL BOOTS KIDS TO BOOST IMAGE: LAWSUIT
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amA children's advocacy group yesterday filed a federal lawsuit charging that officials at Franklin K. Lane HS illegally discharged hundreds of students after falsely claiming they were truants or couldn't...
JEWS ARE 'WICKED' IN SAUDI TEXTBOOKS
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - Saudi schoolchildren are fed a steady diet of hatred toward Jews and Westerners in government-sponsored textbooks, raising new questions about the desert kingdom's public commitment to moderation, a...
U.N. TO HEAR IRAQI DOOMSDAY TAPES
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - Secretary of State Colin Powell is bringing CIA chief George Tenet with him to the United Nations today to play intelligence tapes of Iraqi spies as they plot...
SO IF YOU'RE FIRED, JUST SCREAM, 'BIAS!'
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amTHE city's new $11 million man, Charles Bell, yesterday sent a clear message to the honest, sober, working people of New York: Suckers! It occurs to me that I'm in...
2 LEFT IN WTC RUNOFF
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amGround Zero officials yesterday chose two designs with radically different points of view as finalists in the hunt for a site plan - one looking down into the Ground Zero...
B-MOVIE SEXPOT'S FINAL NIGHT AT BLUES CLUB
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amThe woman found shot to death in the foyer of rock impresario Phil Spector's suburban Los Angeles mansion on Monday was a 6-foot blond beauty who appeared in a string...
GOTTI JURORS CATCH PEEK AT CASH STASH
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amJurors in Peter Gotti's racketeering trial got their hands on the cold hard cash seized from the pockets of the reputed mob boss' nephew - money the feds believe was...
TENANT RAPE $HOCK - LANDLORD MUST PAY $1M OVER BROKEN DOOR
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amThe owners of a Brooklyn apartment building have agreed to pay $1 million to settle a lawsuit by a student who says she was raped because of their negligence. The...
BX. BLOCK RENAMED FOR DIALLO
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amThe Bronx block where Amadou Diallo was slain in a hail of police bullets was renamed in his honor yesterday, the fourth anniversary of the tragedy. A sign designating the...
PARK VICTIM GETS REVENGE 1 MONTH LATER
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amA harrowing New Year's Eve mugging in Central Park didn't keep the victim from visiting the park again - and that was bad news for his attacker, cops said yesterday....
LACI'S HUBBY IN HOUSE-SALE BID
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amScott Peterson, whose pregnant wife vanished from their Modesto, Calif., home last year, has tried to sell their house - and already traded in her car for a new truck,...
HOTEL QUEEN LEONA HOWLS, 'I'VE BEEN ROBBED,' AS JURY WALLOPS HER FOR $11M - IT'S SUITE REVENGE FOR AXED GAY AIDE
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amA Manhattan jury got downright nasty with Leona Helmsley yesterday, slapping her with an $11.175 million verdict for discriminating against a gay employee. "Oh, well," the billionaire quipped after the...
TRIP'S A BUST FOR HIGH-FLYING COURTNEY - LOVE IN FURY ON AIRLINER
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amHot-head grunge mistress Courtney Love was busted at London's Heathrow Airport yesterday after allegedly going berserk during an overnight flight from Los Angeles. "She was verbally abusive toward our cabin...
TOKEN TWO AT MTA HEARING
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amTransit officials readied themselves to face a firestorm of anger at a public hearing on a proposed transit-fare hike yesterday - but only two people showed up at the first...
SALUTE TO OUR HEROES - BUSH HONORS LIVES OF LOST ASTRONAUTS
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amPresident Bush led America in bidding farewell to the seven Columbia astronauts yesterday, telling thousands of grieving aerospace workers that the nation "shares in your sorrow and your pride." "We...
TEACH GUILTY IN 'RAPE' OF EX-LOVE'S KID
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amA teacher was convicted yesterday of having a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old former student - the daughter of his ex-girlfriend. Bronx Supreme Court Justice Steven Barrett declared Mark Levy,...
STUY TOWN BLAST HURTS 3
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amAn explosion rocked Stuyvesant Town yesterday, injuring three people. Firefighters said the 4:55 p.m. blast happened after a man attempted suicide by turning on his gas jets and something set...
ISRAELI'S REMAINS IDENTIFIED
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amThe remains of Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon have been identified and will be brought home for burial in the next few days, the Israeli army said today. "This is a...
HAMPTONS COUPLE A SLAY-SUICIDE
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amA Long Island couple found dead in their Hamptons home over the weekend were victims of a bizarre murder-suicide, police said yesterday. Giullio Romano, 66, an Italian national living with...
SALUTE TO OUR HEROES: BUSH HONORS LIVES OF LOST ASTRONAUTS
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amPresident Bush led America in bidding farewell to the seven Columbia astronauts yesterday, telling thousands of grieving aerospace workers that the nation "shares in your sorrow and your pride." "We...
STAR OF DAVID PATCH FOUND
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amSearchers have found a patch of fabric bearing a Star of David that apparently came from the suit of Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon. The fabric (pictured above), which contained a...
TRIP'S A BUST FOR HIGH-FLYING COURTNEY : LOVE IN FURY ON AIRLINER
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amHot-head grunge mistress Courtney Love was busted at London's Heathrow Airport yesterday after allegedly going berserk and endangering an aircraft during an overnight flight from Los Angeles. "She was verbally...
BLOOMY GETS FARE WARNING
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amALBANY - The executive director of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority yesterday defended a pending fare hike - and warned it could be worse if Mayor Bloomberg cuts transit funding. To...
SPREE'S 3-FOR-ALL - RECORD 9-FOR-9 NIGHT CAPS 38-POINT GAME
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amLatrell Sprewell gave a resounding response to the mounting trade speculation last night - Trade This! Sprewell answered with a historic evening of 3-point perfection. The crowd answered with a...
COLLINS STANDS TALL IN MIDDLE
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amNET NOTES Jason Kidd is back, and Kenyon Martin is on fire. But don't overlook the recent contributions of Jason Collins. The Nets center continues to be an effective replacement...
ALLEN THROWS WRENCH INTO NETS' PLANS
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amThe question is how to stop The Answer. Welcome to tonight's theme for the Nets, who are in Philadelphia for their latest go-round with Allen Iverson. Byron Scott's crew hasn't...
YUGO STAR WANTS TO PLAY HERE
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amKNICK NOTES Clippers point guard Marko Jaric yesterday told The Post his countryman Milos Vujanic wants to play for the Knicks next season. Vujanic, because he's young, is paid roughly...
VAULTER EYES ENCORE
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amMILLROSE GAMES Despite pole vaulter Jeff Hartwig's misfortunes at some of the world's biggest track meets, he's dominated at the prestigious Millrose Games at Madison Square Garden. And Friday he's...
GIANTS TAB A 'SPECIAL' ASSISTANT
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amHere's a new one: The Giants have hired an assistant coach to assist an assistant. Mike Priefer comes aboard as an assistant for special teams coach Bruce Read; he will...
HOT STREAK IS MANDATORY FOR RANGERS
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amWith only 27 games remaining, there's only one thing the Rangers can do if they're serious about making their first return to the playoffs in six seasons. "Win. That's it,"...
RED STORM'S BACKCOURT FINALLY COMING TOGETHER
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amCHESTNUT HILL, Mass. - In a conference loaded with superb backcourts, Marcus Hatten and Elijah Ingram were poised to take the Big East by storm this season. The senior from...
BOBBY V BASHES CRITICS
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amIn what was restrained for him - which means he began with a "no comment" before unleashing his fury toward current members of the Mets organization - Bobby Valentine last...
NINERS SET TO TALK TO COTTRELL
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amTed Cottrell's dream of becoming an NFL head coach took a serious turn toward reality yesterday when 49er GM Terry Donahue called him and informed him that team owner John...
YUGO EYES KNICK CASH - STAR GUARD VUJANIC SEEKS BETTER PACT
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amClippers point guard Marko Jaric was a teammate of Milos Vujanic on Yugoslavia's gold-medal-winning World Championship team last August. Jaric began as the starting point guard, but Vujanic shot the...
JEFFERSON: JAMES A VICTIM
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amRichard Jefferson, one of the nation's most sought after high school players just five years ago, sympathizes with LeBron James. "I think that [the OHSAA] was really just trying to...
TAKING HIS SHOT - LEBRON'S LAWYER ASKS COURT TO OVERTURN BAN
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amLeBron James might not be done just yet. As expected, Fred Nance, the lawyer for the 6-foot, 8-inch phenom, yesterday requested an injunction on Friday's ruling by the Ohio High...
FALCONS ADVANCE, BUT NOT WITH EASE
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amH.S. HOOPS: Martin 64 - Newtown 59 August Martin and Newtown will both be playing in next week's PSAL playoffs - but to hear their coaches talk, you probably wouldn't...
BIG BURDENS FALLING ON DEREK & MARIANO
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amTHEY arrived for a cameo together in 1995 and a full-fledged, championship-caliber debut a year later. Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera define an era in Yankee history, when the organization...
ISLES LOSE GAME, ANOTHER DEFENSEMAN - JONSSON HURT IN FLOP VS. PHILLY
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amFlyers 2 - Islanders 1 There's something in the water at the Coliseum. There's no other way to explain it. On a night the Islanders got 30-minute man Adrian Aucoin...
DON'T TRADE MR. EXCITEMENT
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amYOU can't blame Latrell Sprewell if he's secretly crossing his fingers, hoping Knicks GM Scott Layden brokers a deal that sends him to a contending team before the Feb. 20...
RED-HOT DEVILS ROLL - CRUISE TO EIGHTH STRAIGHT HOME WIN
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amDevils 4 - Sabres 1 The Devils are making major noise, even if there's nobody in the swamp to hear it. Tying a franchise record last night, they can take...
DON'T SET SPREE FREE
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amYOU can't blame Latrell Sprewell if he's secretly crossing his fingers, hoping Knicks GM Scott Layden can broker a deal that sends him to a contending team before the Feb....
CONTRACT LEAVES NO DOUBT THOMAS WILL STAY
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amKNICK NOTES Contrary to reports, not every soul on the Knicks is available on the open market at the Feb. 20 trading deadline. If there is an untouchable, it is...
SURPRISING RUPP'S BEEN BIG ADDITION AS DEVILS FILL-IN
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amThe Devil pipeline has pumped out yet another prospect, this time one who was mired in the mud with woeful Albany. Center Mike Rupp was going nowhere with the River...
IT'S MONEY THAT MATTERS - ISLES WON'T SPEND TO FILL HOLES
February 5, 2003 | 5:00amIt has become apparent through the first half of the schedule that the Islanders don't have a legitimate top line. The Alexei Yashin-centered unit that most recently has Oleg Kvasha...