April 5, 2010
RNC chief of staff resigns as strip club controversy rages on
The fallout continued Monday from the Republican National Committee’s questionable spending practices when chief of staff Ken McKay stepped down, according to reports in The National Journal and Politico. McKay's...
SEC probe of Lehman picking up steam
Top officials inside the Securities and Exchange Commission are ramping up their probe of the former executives associated with the Lehman Brother’s insolvency following a bankruptcy examiner’s report that cited...
Marty Markowitz blasts 'Tinkerbell' ex-staffer
Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz thinks one of his ex-staffers is a real “Tinker Bell”That’s the nickname Brooklyn’s clown prince gave former press secretary Jocelyn Aframe before she was forced...
Hedge-fund crook James Nicholson scammed own family, cousin says
Hedge-fund fraudster James Nicholson betrayed his own family by ripping off relatives as part of his $150 million Ponzi scheme, a cousin revealed today. Jean Taliana of Westbury, Long Island,...
Tom Ognibene a possible Paladino runningmate
As Carl Paladino kicks off his campaign for governor, word comes that he's screening for runningmates -- with former City Council Minority Leader Tom Ognibene among those he's interviewing for...
Levy calls Paladino a 'walking contradiction'
Steve Levy welcomed Carl Paladino, his biggest rival for the Tea Party stamp of approval, to the gubernatorial race just now as the Buffalo developer is set to take the...
Redskins 'sent a message' with trade for McNabb
WASHINGTON -- When Mike Shanahan was introduced as Washington Redskins coach, he said he hated to use the word rebuilding even though he was taking over a 4-12 team. With...
Gov hopeful Paladino: They can't shut me down
Carl Paladino just let loose with one of the wilder campaign kickoff speeches seen in recent memory, daring his rivals to brand him a "racist," mocking Andrew Cuomo as a...
Woods is a 'big fat liar' says alleged porn star lover
Tiger Woods "is a big fat liar" who slept with a porn actress 10 days after the birth of his child, the woman, who claims a relationship with the golf...
Sources say Cuomo eyes Republican as runningmate, others deny it
Sources close to Andrew Cuomo are pushing back on reports, which come from multiple sources, that his camp has debated the possibility of Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks -- a...
7 dead, 19 missing in West Virginia mine explosion
MONTCOAL, West Virginia — Rescuers converged on a remote coal mine where seven workers were killed and 19 missing deep underground after an explosion rocked the operation that has a...
Callahan surprise at Rangers practice, could play Tuesday
Rangers forward Ryan Callahan, who has been out since March 25 after re-injuring his left knee, skated for the first time since the injury at practice and could return to...
Christ the King's WNBA Royalty
Christ the King wasn’t Tina Charles’ first high school choice. That was Archbishop Molloy. CK’s girls basketball legacy was lost on her as a youngster. “I had no clue,” said...
Now 16, Elian Gonzalez shown at Cuba youth meeting
HAVANA — Cuba has released photos of one-time exile cause celebre Elian Gonzalez wearing an olive-green military school uniform and attending a Young Communist Union congress. Gonzalez, now 16 with...
Brooklyn targeted in search for Weiner "anthrax" sender
The Anthrax scare that shut down Rep. Anthony Weiner’s Queens office might have been sent from a home-grown Brooklyn nut.Officials said this week that the letter carrying the powder —...
Riverdale pins hopes on young but experienced roster
When Doug McDonald scanned his roster at the outset of preseason this spring, youth jumped off the page. There were just four seniors, but a host of juniors and sophomores....
Report: Pedro plans to pitch this season
Pedro Martinez threw out the first pitch for the Red Sox. He says it won't be his last.Martinez today told the Boston Herald he plans to pitch in the majors...
Update: Zac Posen for Target
Here's something we bet you didn't know. We just got off the phone with Zac, and he told us New Yorkers will get first dibs on his Target collection at...
Computer issues, media days
I've gotten some e-mails about why the Top 30 countdowns for both organizations were cut short around No. 24. The short answer is that we here at the Post have...
Deadline for movie derivatives pushed back again
Controversial plans to launch an exchange that would allow investors to bet on box-office revenues have been held off for yet another week. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission – an...
Man who murdered his girlfriend gets life without parole
A self-described "monster" who murdered his 18-year-old girlfriend — holding her by the hair to make sure none of the eight bullets allegedly fired by his cousin missed — was...
St. John's will try again to land Rohrssen as assistant
Steve Lavin's full bore search for a "Dream Team" staff was expected to be finalized by Monday night with the new St. John's coach making one more pitch to lure...
Save big in Hawaii
NONSTOP ACTION Jet straight to Honolulu from Newark with Continental Vacations, offering a 6-night stay in Waikiki from $846/pp in mid-April; prices vary by departure date and choice of hotel,...
Maui, beyond the resorts
MAUI brings to mind cheeseburgers. Mostly because Maui brings to mind resorts on beaches, and condominiums on golf courses. Timeshares you really didn’t want but are now stuck with. It’s...
3 insider itineraries on Maui
MAUI may be a tourist’s paradise, but it is also a great place to experience the unique culture of Hawaii. (No, we’re not talking about all those dueling luaus in...
Annie Leibovitz accused of not paying bills, again
Debt-ridden photographer Annie Leibovitz is facing new accusations of not paying her bills less than a month after she struck a deal that was supposed to resolve her financial problems....
PSAL baseball preseason rankings
Last week was a tease, from the warm weather to the preseason tournaments. The real thing starts for real this week as the PSAL league season gets underway Wednesday. Hopefully,...
UFCW Local 1500 backs Avella
Tony Avella, the former Councilman who made his bones last year as a major opponent of the term limits extension, got a major union boost in his effort to snare...
Levy goes after Lazio, again
Steve Levy is nothing if not aggressive. The Democratic Suffolk County Executive revisited an early and unpopular Rick Lazio proposal that was panned by GOP insiders when it was first...
Pizza guy fends off gunman to deliver pies
A New York City pizza deliveryman managed to fend off a gunman trying to make off with his pies and deliver them to their rightful owner. Frank Grecco, the owner...
Halladay stars in Phillies' win
WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama’s first pitch was way high and wide. Pretty much all of Roy Halladay’s were spot-on as he struck out nine in his National League debut...
The best DIY I've ever seen.
Just because you can't afford Chanel doesn't mean you can't have it. Take note of this brills interpretation of the classic quilted bag and get inspired to make your own. All...
Strawberry concerned about former teammate Gooden
Darryl Strawberry's excitement over throwing out the ceremonial first pitch for the Mets on Opening Day was contained by his concern for troubled friend Dwight Gooden. "I'm just praying for...
SI Councilman dumps on state at SI dump
Not everything went according to script today when Mayor Bloomberg announced the start of a $266 million clean-up and makeover for the Brookfield Avenue landfill on Staten Island.The project has...
Corker headlining for national cash in NYC tomorrow night
Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) is headlining a fundraiser for the National Republican Senatorial Committee tomorrow night, at the home of Manhattan County GOP leader Jennifer Saul, according to an invite...
N.J. lawmakers: NFL hypocrites over betting
ATLANTIC CITY -- New Jersey lawmakers called the National Football League hypocritical Monday for opposing legalized sports betting while doing business with broadcast networks that openly discuss betting lines and...
Even 'Clash' director thinks it sucks
In one of the most refreshingly honest - and kind of endearing - admissions to come out of the film industry in recent memory, "Clash of the Titans" director Louis...
Jailbirds
Edie Falco and Alison Pill as cellmates! Okay, so I got a little less excited after figuring out they're playing former cellmates (I still have to wait for my dream women's...
US plans to fine Toyota $16.4M for alleged safety violations
US regulators will announce Monday that they plan to fine Toyota Motor Corp. $16.4 million for allegedly hiding pedal problems from safety regulators, in what would be by far the...
Kiss me at the ballgame
Score a home run with your honey in one of these sporty sparklers. We're partial to the Yankees, but anyone who wears these is a guaranteed winner. Snag one for only $32.50 at PINK (565...
After Iran tests the bomb
Gabriel Schoenfeld warns that while gloating “we told you so” isn’t going to help, it is also true that we can’t imagine the horrors such an event might unleash.
Inter ready for 'artificial' Russian test: Mourinho
Coach Jose Mourinho believes playing on an artificial pitch will be like child's play for his Inter Milan team as they look to knock out CSKA Moscow in the second...
Natalee Holloway's mom teams up with security team
The mysterious disappearance and death of high-school senior Natalee Holloway in Aruba is an enduring symbol of a parent’s worst nightmare. Five years after her daughter’s death, Beth Holloway has...
A delicious helping of giallo
I didn't get to see as many entries in the New Directors/New Films showcase as I would have liked to. One I did see is "Amer,'' a Belgian/French horror movie...
Trouble with the truth
Matt Welch examines President Obama’s trouble actually communicating reality: “During the president’s nonstop gabfests before, during, and after the State of the Union speech, he kept repeating the fiction that...
11 hurt after school bus collides with minivan
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — A school bus and minivan have collided at an intersection in Rochester, seriously injuring the van driver. Two other people in the minivan were taken to hospitals...
Body parts found in NJ trash bags
ELIZABETH, N.J. — Police say the dismembered bodies of a man and woman have been found in several garbage bags along a residential street in Linden. Union County Prosecutor Theodore...
Ill. man arrested in hotel beating death of co-worker
VINELAND, N.J. — An Illinois man has been charged in the beating death of his co-worker, who was found dead in the hotel room they shared for a business seminar...
Detective: Long Island teen admitted to fatal hate crime stabbing
RIVERHEAD, N.Y. — A detective investigating the hate crime stabbing of an Ecuadorean immigrant says a Long Island teenager admitted in a five-page confession that he inflicted the fatal blow....
Nate returns to Garden, but will he play against Knicks?
Nate Robinson didn't play in the Celtics big victory over Cleveland Sunday, as Doc Rivers said he's going to play their best defenders, with Tony Allen the flavor of the...
Tiger Woods apologizes again -- says he can win Masters
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Admitting he made some “incredibly poor decisions” in his personal life over the past few years, Tiger Woods said this afternoon that he can win the Masters...
Stringer: Violent Times Square riot just like 'bad old days
Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer invoked the "bad old days" -- the scary times in the 1970s when violence ruled the streets and people were scared to take the subawys...
Shia LaBeouf finds love among penny-stock traders
The controversial world of penny-stock trading is looking to capitalize on actor Shia LaBeouf's reputation as a picker of controversial stocks -- and is bringing its message directly to LaBeouf...
Wright has Amazin' start to season
When I first wrote about David Wright’s new swing in minicamp after talking to Howard Johnson, back in January in beautiful Port St. Lucie, I pointed out how Wright wanted...
Live blog: Tiger Woods news conference
Follow this afternoon's Tiger Woods news conference with live updates: 2:01 p.m. -- Nearly 200 reporters are assembled in Augusta for Tiger's news conference ahead of this week's Masters Tournament....
Obama throws 'high and outside' on Opening Day
President Obama's ceremonial first pitch Monday was a ball, high and to the left, but successfully caught by Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman. Obama's pitch at the Washington Nationals home...
Cop released from hospital after being shot
A young cop seriously wounded in a shootout with a Bronx man was released from the hospital Monday to the cheers of dozens of fellow officers and relatives. Officer Robert...
Dad who saved daughter from East River thankful for Easter 'miracle'
The heroic dad who jumped into the dark waters of the East River to rescue his 2-year-old daughter said today he got an early Easter "miracle" after he thought she...
VIDEO: Islanders fan wins car with miraculous shot
Sign him up. An Islanders fan won a new car at Nassau Coliseum when he shot a puck from the far blue line into the net through a hole approximately...
VIDEO: Jets April Fools' prank
The Jets had some April Fools' fun at their offseason conditioning program, with lemon juice substituted into the water bottles after the defensive lineman finished a training run.
Energy independence is a ridiculous notion
Kevin Hassett has an interesting take on the recent announcement by President Obama that his administration would promote more offshore drilling in an effort to gain our energy independence: Poppycock....
Red Sox sign Beckett through 2014
BOSTON -- Red Sox ace Josh Beckett agreed to a $68 millon, four-year contract extension through the 2014 season, solidifying one of baseball’s best rotations. The former World Series MVP...
Bloomberg: We won't tolerate gang mayhem
Per The Post's Dave Seifman, Mayor Bloomberg had some tough words for the people responsible for a night of Midtown mayhem that prompted a string of arrests -- and said...
Yankees' Hughes fans 12 in simulated game
TAMPA -- Yankees fifth starter Phil Hughes struck out 12 and allowed three hits over the equivalent of 8 1/3 scoreless innings in a simulated game. The right-hander pitched against...
AG candidate Coffey adds adviser
Attorney General hopeful Sean Coffey is beefing up his campaign and has added Democratic strategist Tammy Sun as his spokeswoman and senior adviser. “I am thrilled to have Tammy on...
David homers; Mets win opener
David Wright hit a two-run homer, Johan Santana pitched six effective innings, and the Mets finally solved Josh Johnson, beating the Marlins 7-1 on Monday for their fifth consecutive win...
DiNapoli slams state for fiscal gimmickry
ALBANY – State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli blasted state leaders this morning for concealing the true size of the state's fiscal problems last year with fiscal tricks and gimmicks.DiNapoli said Gov....
Pinstripe Power
The Yankees added to their outstanding tradition with a 27th world championship last season. The Post takes a special look at that title and the chances for No. 28. FOR...
Engine cover falls off plane leaving Newark
TRENTON, N.J. — A Jet Blue flight leaving Newark Liberty International Airport had to return to the airport Monday morning because an engine cover fell off the plane shortly after...
6, including 1 from NYC, survive 700-foot plunge in Mass.
SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. — An all-terrain vehicle carrying six people plummeted over a cliff in total darkness, sending them tumbling as far as 700 feet but killing no one in...
City doormen may strike April 21
They collect the laundry and the mail, baby-sit, call 911 and, of course, open doors. As ubiquitous on New York City sidewalks as yellow taxicabs on the streets, doormen are...
26-year-old drowns in canoe accident
PRINCETON, N.J. — A 26-year-old man drowned in the Delaware and Raritan Canal on Sunday after the canoe he was riding in overturned. According to police, the man’s canoe capsized...
DVD Extra: 'New York Confidential' (1955) emerges from vault
Speaking of noir (see post below), Russell Rouse's long out-of-circulation "New York Confidential'' is making its first appearance on home video. June 29. Broderick Crawford, Richard Conte, Marilyn Maxwell, Anne Bancroft and J....
RNC chairman defends stewardship of party affairs
WASHINGTON — Republican Party chairman Michael Steele defended his stewardship of party affairs Monday and dismissed criticism as the talk of GOP figures uncomfortable with his "streetwise" managerial style. Asked...
New dispute over boy brought to NJ from Brazil
FREEHOLD, N.J. — The grandmother of a boy brought from Brazil to his father’s New Jersey home to resolve an international abduction case is complaining that she’s not allowed to...
3UP: Granderson, Mets Lineup, Core Four
1. There are few columns I enjoy writing less than the post-game one after the season opener. You feel forced to make huge proclamations based on a single game. It...
Militants attack US consulate in Pakistan
PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Islamist militants attacked a U.S. consulate in northwest Pakistan with car bombs and grenades Monday, killing three people, hours after 41 people died in a suicide attack...
DVD Extra: Warner sets fifth noir set
Warner Home Video has set a July 13 release date for its long-awaited fifth volume of "The Film Noir Classic Collection,'' the first since 2007. The new release offers four...
Roma emerges as Serie A title contender
AS Roma was not widely considered to be a contender for the Serie A title just six months ago. Well, what a difference a season can make! Roma has put...
Sandra Bullock prepares divorce papers
Sandra Bullock has had it. The Academy Award-winning actress has prepared divorce papers against her cheating hubby, while it was revealed today that the couple has a pre-nup agreement that...
Apple confirms 300,000 iPads sold on first day
Apple said Monday it sold more than 300,000 iPads in the U.S., including preorders, on the first day the device was available. The company did not give a precise figure,...
Mild applause greets Woods at Masters practice round
Tiger Woods was greeted with mild applause in a Monday morning practice round at the Masters, his first public golf appearance since the sex scandal that overtook him last November.World...
Coach K not interested in any Nets offer
After a report circulated that the Nets would make Duke's Mike Krzyzewski the highest paid coach in sports, the Duke legend squashed the notion before it took off, saying for...
The Monday Whacks, on the cream of the college coaching crop, and a gem of a high school coach, too
The other day at dinner, a question was posed: Throughout the history of college basketball, who is the best coach of all-time – excepting John Wooden? Wooden, by rote, is...
Wagner hires Danny Hurley to be next head coach
Wagner searched far and wide for a head coach to replace the fired Mike Deane. The short list included assistant coaches, in fact, from schools in Texas, Tennessee and Kentucky....
All eyes on Elin as Tiger returns to golf
STOCKHOLM — When Tiger Woods returns to golf at the Masters this week, the world will be watching to see if his wife Elin is at his side.It may seem...
'Miracle' in China: 115 trapped miners rescued
XIANGNING, China — More than 100 Chinese miners were pulled out alive Monday after being trapped for over a week in a flooded coal mine, where some ate sawdust and...
Taxes, but not for thee
Howie Carr writes about the two-tiered income tax in Massachusetts and comes up with an interesting theory: All the lovely liberals who say they favor higher taxes to pay for...
5 questions we want Tiger to answer
Here are the most pressing questions that Tiger Woods needs to be asked today, and a look at whether or how he’ll answer them. * QUESTION: Why did you have...
New iPhone app lets you chat will baseball fans across stadium
Take me out the ball game, just don’t make me talk to the fan next to me. A new iPhone app lets baseball fans attending certain games e-chat with fans...
Morning buzz
Here's the quick rundown:* Buffalo developer Carl Paladino formally announces his Republican gubernatorial run. The developer, who's vowed to spend $10 million of his own cash, is courting the Tea...
Tea party reports
The tea party gathering with Sarah Palin in Searchlight Nevada included some 8,000-10,000 people and was heavily focused on bashing Nevada Sen. Harry Reid. The Hill did a survey of...
O’Meara: Woods looks ‘great’
Tiger Woods, who’s made a couple trips to Augusta National in recent weeks to practice for the Masters, played a practice round yesterday with his friend and former neighbor Mark...
Woods' image rehab tees off today at Augusta
When the clock strikes 2 p.m. today inside the Augusta National interview room, it will mark perhaps the most fascinating moment at a major golf tournament that doesn’t involve a...
Butler primed to dance with Devils
BUTLER (33-4) vs DUKE (34-5) FRONTCOURT: Butler’s Gordon Hayward has emerged as the best player in the Final Four. He carried the Bulldogs in their 52-50 win over Michigan State....
Yankees fall to Red Sox, 9-7, in season opener
BOSTON — The Red Sox stressed run prevention as they built their team for this season. Then it began and they won with run production. Kevin Youkilis had three extra-base...
Pulse sales
JUDITH LEIBER 317 W. 33rd St., at Eighth Avenue; 718-747-1656 Sale: April 6-9. Tues.-Thurs., 9 a.m.-6 p.m./Fri,. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Crystal minaudieres for $650 (originally $2,495). TUSK 242 W. 26th...
Talented Trojans ready for battle
Steve Mandl doesn’t speak with regret when recalling last season. He is more matter of fact about George Washington’s second-place finish in Manhattan A East and quarterfinal loss to runner-up...
Morris out to prove it belongs among best in 'A' division
It wasn’t until last year’s Monroe Tournament that Morris finally begun to find its footing among the ‘A’ division. The Warriors finished second in the prestigious event and used that...
Go to Greg
Q I graduated into the recession, and after months of unsuccessful searching, I took a job as an assistant. I’ve been at the job a little over a year now,...
Home free?
Victoria Porter, a medical writer, used to work in a Manhattan office, until she was hired a job a few years ago by a company based in Minnesota. The offer:...
St. Edmund's hopeful to make big step up
Eric Cooper is one of the best unknown pitchers in the CHSAA, a 6-foot-7 senior left-hander who was verbally committed to Division II St. Thomas Aquinas. The biggest reason St....
Chill factor
Top music downloads 1.How Low Can You Go, Ludacris 2. Bad Romance, Lady Gaga 3. TiK ToK, Kesha 4. Tie Me Down, New Boyz 5. Say Something, Timbaland 6. Drop...
Peiser starts GOALS youth softball league
Ginny Peiser had seen enough and for too long. The Mary Louis Academy softball coach for many years has felt the softball players in Queens needed a better base of...
This dramatic revival really sings
Playwright Robert Anderson certainly had an ability to craft classic lines. For instance, there's this immortal one from "Tea and Sympathy": "Years from now, when you talk about this --...
Hope for 'Damages'
The prospects for the return of "Damages," the Glenn Close legal drama, next year have gotten, well, dramatically better. The show's worried, producers said over the weekend, that they were...
Simon's PR wedding
Simon Cowell's romance with a 36-year-old make-up artist from "American Idol" will not end up at the alter until this time next year -- when it can be milked for...
'Jersey Shore' for Asians
Casting notices are out this week for an Asian-American version of "Jersey Shore." This latest twist on the MTV hit series joins at least two other knockoffs -- a Russian-American...
Loan repaid, with interest
There are bona fide stars in the re vival of Ken Ludwig's "Lend Me a Tenor," which opened last night: Tony Shalhoub from "Monk" and Anthony LaPaglia, a Tony winner...
‘Twin Peaks’ at 20
Even without the bene fit of hindsight, it's safe to say that, 20 years later, "Twin Peaks" still stands as the most bizarro show in TV history. "The Log Lady."...
Starr report
"It's the boss -- you'd better show up" . . . Discovery has corralled some of its biggest personali ties -- from Mike Rowe ("Dirty Jobs") to Buddy Va lastro...
Christian Siriano's 'Moment'
No matter how personally annoying Christian Siriano, the "Project Runway" Season 4 winner, can be, he, nonetheless, may be the greatest young working designer in this country right now. And...
Defiant pope rips 'chatter'
A defiant Pope Benedict XVI yesterday vowed he would "not be intimidated" when it comes to handling the church's sex-abuse crisis -- but he offered no other words on the...
NY gave environmental org. absurd $3.7M profit for forest
ALBANY -- Gov. Paterson's administration handed an enormously wealthy environmental group a staggering 57 percent profit on a large tract of wilderness land -- even as property values collapsed across...
Now hear this (just not in the subways)
Say what?! Straphangers stuck waiting in trains between stations shouldn't expect an audible explanation -- 55 percent of announcements during delays and disruptions are garbled or incorrect, a new survey...
Bus-a-move! Drivers' hit spots
Some city intersections may need a new street sign: Beware of buses. Two Upper East Side corners are among the top five locations for bus accidents in the city, according...
Dems rip Dave pal's Haig-ling
Legislative Democrats are mockingly calling Gov. Paterson's top aide "Alexander Haig," while angrily describing the governor as "disengaged" and "checked out" of state government. "Larry Schwartz has become the Alexander...
Sharpe return to Newark
NEWARK -- Former Newark Mayor Sharpe James plans to head back home after he's released from a federal prison camp this week. James was convicted on corruption charges in April...
Arrests in shul heists
Rockland County cops on stakeout busted three teens in connection with a recent spate of synagogue break-ins in which money was taken from charity boxes and wallets, and credit cards...
Tallest skyscraper is riding high again
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- The observation deck of the world's tallest skyscraper reopened yesterday in Dubai, two months after an elevator malfunction that left visitors trapped more than 120...
Brit couple gets prison for Dubai kiss
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- A Dubai appeals court on Sunday upheld a one-month prison sentence for a British couple convicted of kissing in a restaurant. The pair landed in...
Mailroom mask fight
An ailing 9/11 first responder who now works as a custodian at a busy Long Island post office has been forbidden to wear a protective face mask when he scrubs...
'Love' and war for pop artist
Where's the love? Famed Pop artist Robert Indiana is embroiled in an ugly court fight with a former business partner over translated knockoffs of his multicolored 1960s masterpiece "Love." John...
The Tut 'mummy' returns
King Tut just never gets old. Exquisite artifacts from the boy king's tomb are on their way back to New York City for an encore engagement of the historic late-1970s...
Stalker's mother to Ivanka: I apologize
RENO, Nev. -- The mother of the crazed creep accused of stalking Ivanka Trump admits that her son has "mental problems" and says she wants to apologize to the real-estate...
Geeks' goofs cost NY $140M in Medicaid
That's one expensive computer glitch! Bureaucratic bungling of the Medicaid program at the state level has squandered more than $140 million in taxpayer dollars over the last decade by putting...
Anti-terror cops will shift to crime nabes
A special fleet of cop cars that routinely blankets Manhattan landmarks to scare off terrorists is being diverted to the city's roughest neighborhoods to try to stem spiking crime rates...
Smith ripped for saying ye$ to yuppies
State Senate President Malcolm Smith steered a $150,000 grant to a well-heeled, politically connected business group -- as the state grappled with the worst budget crisis in decades, The Post...
Slicing NJ's schools
Gov. Chris Christie is making good on his promise to get tough with New Jersey's $2.2 billion budget gap -- by taking aim at one of the drivers of the...
Defect pill reborn
LONDON -- Thalidomide, the notorious morning-sickness pill that caused birth defects back in the 1960s, may be effective against a hereditary condition that affects blood vessels. French scientists write in...
'Race war' furor
VENTERSDORP, South Africa -- The slaying of a white-supremacy group's leader was "a declaration of war" by blacks against whites, a top follower declared yesterday, as the president appealed for...
Obama's no-opportunity society
Last summer, I wrote a column framed as a letter to a young Obama voter. It concluded: "You want policies that will enable you to choose your future. Obama backs...
Engaged NJ couple killed
JERSEY CITY -- An engaged couple returning to their northern New Jersey home early yesterday were fatally shot in what authorities believe was a botched carjacking. Hudson County Prosecutor Edward...
NJ 'orgy' cops back on force
TRENTON, NJ -- More than two years after being pulled off the state police force following a night of drinking and group sex that a woman claimed was gang rape,...
Obama's walking a thin line on jobs front
WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration took credit yesterday for reversing the economic downturn, as recent federal data showed the country had stopped hemorrhaging jobs even though the unemployment rate held...
Gilly overrides Vito, wins B'klyn boss' backing
Assemblyman Vito Lopez, the Brooklyn Democratic Party chairman, will endorse Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand for re-election -- a move that comes after she aggressively courted him in recent weeks, The Post...
Parade brings out mad hatters
The wackier and tackier the better. Thousands of revelers yesterday transformed Fifth Avenue into a fantasyland of handmade hats and bonnets as they flaunted their carefully crafted headgear for the...
i-popping! iPad sales top expectations
Apple is on pace to sell more than twice as many iPads as analysts predicted for its debut weekend. The company sold some 700,000 devices, Gene Munster, of Piper Jaffray...
NYPD daily blotter
Brooklyn A man nicknamed "Country" is singing the blues. Lanell Dowling, 25, was arrested Saturday in a string of gunpoint robberies after a caller phoned Crimestoppers and gave police the...
Finest hurt in double 'DWI'
A veteran police officer was hospitalized with two broken legs yesterday after a drunken driver barreled into him in Brooklyn -- minutes after he pulled over another boozed-up motorist, cops...
Bronx pol's 20G bill for new digs
The path to Larry Seabrook's new district office must be paved in gold. The indicted Bronx city councilman spent nearly $20,000 of taxpayer money to move into new digs last...
Cops nab three out of 'con text'
PINE PLAINS, NY -- Three less-than-tech-savvy drug dealers tried to text a potential buyer but wound up in handcuffs when they reached a drug task-force agent instead, police said yesterday....
Tiny lemur is zoo's latest star
This bouncing baby boy will soon be jumping 20 feet from tree to tree. The Bronx Zoo's newest resident is Ares, a baby lemur with a thick white-and-maroon coat and...
Public gives Buffett highest grades
Everybody loves Warren Buffett. Berkshire Hathaway Inc. -- the investment vehicle run by Buffett, the so-called sage of Omaha -- topped a list of the best-regarded US companies, although the...
Good, bad & 'fugly' for sexy Fergie
She doesn't look "fugly" here. But Fergie hates it when people insult her looks. "It has hurt in the past when people say things like how 'fugly' I am or...
It's cash of the 'Titans' for box-office champ
LOS ANGELES -- The gods of Mount Olympus are the new rulers of the weekend box office. The action remake "Clash of the Titans" debuted at No. 1 with $61.4...
Erin Andrews defies threats for 'Dancing'
Erin Andrews is no quitter! The brave ESPN sideline babe says she's not intimidated by death threats and will take the stage tonight with partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy on ABC's "Dancing...
Angry Jesse flees sex rehab
Serial cheater Jesse James reportedly bolted from a sex-addiction clinic after his Oscar-winning wife refused to take his phone call. An angry James checked out of the Sierra Tucson treatment...
Business briefs
Job yuan Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner is delaying a re port on global currency policies, in a bet that inter national diplomacy will work better than US pres sure to...
Solidarity for some
Labor solidarity ain't what it used to be. As The Post reported at week's end, 230 hardhats working to repair the city's crumbling Alexander Hamilton Bridge will likely lose their...
To the glue factory!
Upstate Rep. Scott Murphy is pressing Gov. Paterson to expedite the selection of a successor to scandal- scarred AEG to operate 4,500 slot machines at Aqueduct racetrack, saying the future...
Less than we pay for
Are New York's schools 65 percent better than the na tional average? Are our hospitals 73 percent better or our prisons 63 percent better? For that matter, is our Legislature...
The boys of April
The Yankees opened their season last night. Now that there are only 161 games to go, we better look at the baseball previews before it's too late. There won't be...
Jets, Giants could bag 'Super' stadium namer
The Jets and Giants may get not just get the Super Bowl, but also a super sponsor. The teams' bid to host the 2014 Super Bowl at their new $1.7...
Slumdog millionaires
Boo freakin' hoo. Some parents send Mommy's Little Juvenile Delinquent to military school. Others cut off her platinum card, cellphone and access to Internet shopping and porn sites. "Confessions of...
Deadly quake shakes California-Mexico border
TIJUANA -- One of the strongest earthquakes to hit Southern California in decades shook tens of millions of people in two countries and three states yesterday, swaying buildings from Los...
Cabbies gone wild: where's the TLC?
It's 9 p.m., and your cabdriv er's on his cellphone. Do you know where your Taxi & Limousine commissioner is? Less than two months ago, the TLC crowed about its...
US-Israeli relations: built on more than cash
THE ISSUE: Whether the United States can help both nations by ending or cutting aid to Israel. *** Celestine Bohlen naively suggests that the United States will be perceived as...
B'klyn tot is savaged by pit bull
A pet pit bull mauled a 3-year-old Brooklyn boy yesterday, ripping into his face after becoming agitated by bickering between the child's parents, authorities said. The little boy, identified by...
54 arrested, 4 shot in Times Square riot
Scores of gangbangers marauded through Times Square and nearby streets last night, storming businesses and harrassing pedestrians as three people were shot in possibly related violence. Hundreds of cops struggled...
One wheel - & 2,078 bridges
This crew is a bit clownish even by bridge-and-tunnel standards. A group of unicyclists is determined to pedal across the bridges of New York City -- and not just landmarks...
Obamas mark holy day near shooting scene
WASHINGTON -- President Obama and the first family observed Easter yesterday at a historically black Methodist church in a hardscrabble southeast Washington neighborhood rocked last week by a deadly drive-by...
Philadelphia Park Analysis
Today's analysis.1. 1m; $20,000; mdn cl($12,500); 4upINDY'S SPELL made a middle move to gain the lead and tired to second at this level while going longer. T.J. HIGHWAY stretches out after...
Lookin At Luck rocked, Eskendereya rolls in Kentucky Derby preps
Lookin At Lucky and Eskendereya went into their final preps on Saturday, the Santa Anita Derby and Wood Memorial at Aqueduct, respectively, as co-favorites for the May 1 Kentucky Derby....
Matthews Jr. to start in center for Mets on Opening Day
Gary Matthews Jr. was named the Opening Day center fielder yesterday by Mets manager Jerry Manuel, but that doesn't mean he has won the job. Life is never that simple...
Mets begin quest to become Redeem Team
It's show time in the big Citi. The numbers, which did not favor the Mets all spring, begin counting today. Johan Santana's earned-run average is zero. The Mets haven't lost...
Jets expected to snag Rackers
Just days after Jay Feely, who has been a clutch, reliable kicker for the Jets for the last two years, signed a free agent contract with the Cardinals, expect the...
The Post Line
NHL Favorite Line Underdog CAPITALS $150-170 Bruins BLUES $155-175 Blue Jackets Wild $110-130 OILERS Home team in CAPS
Hondo: Let's go Mets!
Hondo, looking for the big payoff after the long layoff, was denied last night by the Yankees, who flopped in Fenway to put the deficit at 50 hartungs. Today, he'll...
Say prayer for K-Rod and kin
Opening Day is special. If Francisco Rodriguez gets the opportunity to close today's game for the Mets against the Marlins at Citi Field, he deserves an ovation just for making...
Pedro still loves Mets fans
BOSTON -- Pedro Martinez was back in a Red Sox uniform last night -- for one pitch only. The Red Sox legend threw out the ceremonial first pitch at Fenway...
Nets fail to notch 12th win
WASHINGTON -- The Nets found out quickly how difficult it is for them to win two nights in a row. Coming off Saturday's 115-87 home victory over the Hornets, the...
Sports shorts
HOOPS: LeBron can't rally Cavs vs. C's In Boston, LeBron James scored 20 of his 42 points in the fourth quarter, but he missed two free throws in the final...
T-Mac: I don't think LeBron's comin' to Knicks
LOS ANGELES -- Tracy McGrady may not want to be a Knick next season anyway because his gut is telling him LeBron James isn't coming. McGrady wants to play for...
Eagles send McNabb to Redskins for draft picks
Philadelphia's green-clad fans won't have Donovan McNabb to verbally abuse anymore. Instead they will have to watch McNabb face their team twice a year after the Eagles abruptly ended the...
Subpar CC suffers case of deja boo
BOSTON -- Maybe next year CC Sabathia should wait until game No. 2 to pitch. These Opening Day starts with the Yankees are not working out too well. A year...
Yankees bullpen springs early leak
BOSTON -- Gentlemen (and ladies): start your baseball engines. Consider the season officially on. Consider the winter a distant gleam at last, and consider the snow and the rain that...
Granderson fails to get the big hit in first Yankees test
BOSTON -- Curtis Granderson opened brilliantly and had a chance to close even more spectacularly. He turned around a Josh Beckett fastball in the second inning, following a Jorge Posada...
Posada has up-and-down night
BOSTON -- Jorge Posada's day began with a bang, quite literally: The Yankees' veteran catcher connected with a Josh Beckett fastball that eased over the far part of the bat,...
Yankees' early lead wasted as pitchers struggle in loss to Red Sox
BOSTON -- Don Zimmer lived in Joe Torre's ear about no lead ever being safe in hitter-friendly Fenway Park. However, the way the Yankees pitched last night they couldn't have...
Gardner's legs a valuable asset for Yankees
BOSTON -- Brett Gardner exists in an interesting middle ground. He is the Yankees' weakest everyday link. Yet he also has great admirers in the organization. Privately, those admirers will...
For openers, Yankees bullpen lays Easter egg
BOSTON -- When Joba Chamberlain failed to win the fifth starter's spot in spring training, it was assumed he would settle into the bullpen as Mariano Rivera's setup man. Eventually,...
Once again, Youkilis a big, Green Monster
BOSTON -- With Manny Ramirez in California, David Ortiz in decline and Pedro Martinez relegated to first-pitch duty, Red Sox villains are not as easy to find as they once...
Playoff picture sharpens for 9th-place Rangers
There is no longer any confusion for the Rangers or for Marc Staal as the Blueshirts continue their chase of the Flyers and the final Eastern Conference playoff berth in...
Posada to catch Burnett tomorrow
BOSTON -- It's not exactly Elin and Tiger Woods getting back together, but tomorrow night there will be a significant Yankees reunion at Fenway Park. That's when A.J. Burnett and...
Weird but true
Bad doggie, bad driver. A canine motorist caused a fender-bender in Middleton, Wis., after it knocked a parked car's gear shift into neutral. The owner had stopped for lunch and...
Under-'dogs not good enough to top Coach K, Duke
Each day during the NCAA Tournament, the Post's Tim Sullivan offers his plays: They're baiting you. They're practically begging you. They're doing everything they can to convince you to take...
Butlers embraces David vs. Goliath storyline
INDIANAPOLIS -- Gordon Hayward wasn't asked to deliver the sermon when he and his parents attended Easter Sunday services yesterday morning in his hometown of Brownsburg, Ind., but the Butler...
UConn, Stanford in women's final
SAN ANTONIO -- Maya Moore had 34 points and 12 rebounds to help Connecticut beat Baylor and freshman phenom Brittney Griner 70-50 last night for its 77th straight win, leaving...
Butler can dance like '85 champs
INDIANAPOLIS -- None of these Butler Bulldog dreamers were born the night Villanova made history with its Perfect Upset over Georgetown in 1985 at Rupp Arena. Brad Stevens, the baby-faced...
Wagner tabs Dan Hurley
Wagner searched far and wide for a head coach to replace the fired Mike Deane. The short list included assistant coaches from schools in Texas, Tennessee and Kentucky. In the...
NYC softball rankings
After a staggered start, the softball season really gets rolling this week. And these rankings are bound to change with almost every team playing significant games. No. 3 James Madison,...
Parks Department says Prospect Park lake is clean
The lake in Prospect Park was given a clean bill of health by the city’s environmental agency — but the findings were immediately criticized by wildlife lovers who believe that...
Nerds go nuts for the iPad in Brooklyn
People who don’t need the iPad lined up for hours to get one on Saturday, the first day that touch-screen media player went on sale nationwide.Some waited on line for...
McNabb-to-'Skins is a stunner
Philly’s green-clad ingrates won’t have Donovan McNabb to verbally abuse anymore. Eagles fans will have to watch McNabb face their team twice a year instead after Philadelphia abruptly ended the...
PSAL softball rankings
The last two weeks were just an appetizer. The PSAL softball season starts in earnest now with a week loaded with interesting matchups. No. 1 Tottenville will meet No. 3...
CHSAA softball rankings
League play will be in full swing this week for the Brooklyn/Queens and Staten Island divisions. We will get a much truer sense of how these rankings such shape up...