November 21, 2002
SMALL DEALS, BIG QUESTIONS
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amFOLKS in investment banking circles are puzzled over how aggressively J.P. Morgan Partners, the big bank's private equity subsidiary, has been pursuing acquisitions. These are mostly meat-and-potato-type deals - medium-size...
CONFLICT BREWING OVER WHO'S GOING TO RUN AOL
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amToday is Jonathan Miller's day. Miller, who would be forgiven for wondering why he left Barry Diller's side in August to take the helm at troubled America Online, makes a...
HO-HO HUMBUG: 'SCROOGES' CANCEL CHRISTMAS IN E-MAIL
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amThere won't be much holiday cheer at America Online this year. The struggling division of AOL Time Warner has decided to cancel its holiday parties. Jonathan Miller, AOL's chief executive...
STREET WANTS AT&T TO UP PAYOUT
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amAT&T will be forced to raise its cash dividend if the company wants to keep Wall Street happy. Merrill Lynch, for instance, said yesterday that without its recently sold cable...
HOME STARTS DOWN IN OCT.
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amU.S. home construction fell last month to the lowest level in six months - the strongest evidence yet that consumers alone cannot bring the U.S. economy back to robust health....
ANTITRUST PROBE HITS VOICE, NEW TIMES
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amVillage Voice Media and Phoenix-based New Times Media are being probed for potential antitrust violations by federal and state officials over a deal that shut down alternative weeklies in Cleveland...
STOCKS RALLY AS NASDAQ ADDS 3.3%
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amBig money stormed back into stocks yesterday to prop up a rally that smelled a lot like the bull's return. But some analysts warn that the economy is still too...
CALVIN MAY NOT 'ESCAPE' NEW NABES
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amA new building may be coming between Calvin Klein and his skyline views. That's because the two Richard Meier-designed towers at 173-176 Perry St. at West Street - where Klein,...
READY FOR RIOT ACT: REGULATORS TO OUTLINE CHARGES, FINES TO BANKS
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amFor Wall Street firms embroiled in settlement talks to end analyst conflict of interest probes - it's time to face the music. As soon as tomorrow, regulators will put the...
HIP HOTELIER DROPS INN FOR CONDOS
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amHOW hip will you have to be to buy a condo in hip hotelier Andre Balazs' proposed downtown apartment complex? The building, located at 204 Lafayette, was slated to be...
CARO'S BIOGRAPHY OF LBJ TAKES HONORS AT NATIONAL BOOK AWARDS
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amLyndon Johnson biographer Robert Caro's victory in the non-fiction category of the National Book Awards was all that stood between an all- women sweep of the top prizes in book...
STARR REPORT
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amA kiss is just a kiss - or is it? Fasten your seatbelts - we're descending into the bizarro world of Liza Minnelli and husband David Gest. Minnelli and Gest...
FILM HONCHO
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amPETER Scarlet, who ran San Francisco's prestigious film festival from 1983 to 2001, has been named executive director of the fledgling Tribeca Film Festival. The second edition of the downtown...
JAY-Z KO'S EMINEM
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amHIP-HOP heavyweight Jay-Z sold more than a half-million copies of "Blueprint 2: Gift & the Curse," to smack bad-boy rapper Eminem - and his "8 Mile" soundtrack - out of...
WOLF IS AT THE DOOR TO ROCK GREATNESS
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amPETER WOLF WHEN you close your eyes and listen to the chameleon voice of Peter Wolf, you hear a parade of stylists - Mick Jagger, Bob Dylan, Sam Cooke and,...
HAVE YOU SEEN OPRAH'S OTHER TALK SHOW?
November 21, 2002 | 5:00am"Oprah After The Show" Weekdays at 7 p.m. on Oxygen FOR reasons no one seems to understand, Oxygen - which had more money, more staff, more chances to be the...
SWELL VERSED: POETRI IS THE FUNNY BARD OF DEF JAM
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amHE'S Poetri in motion, especially when he's late."I'm so sorry, 100 percent sorry, 400 percent sorry," says Poetri, running into the Krispy Kreme store in Chelsea. "Please, give me a...
FIRST ESTATE LIMELIGHT CLUB RENOVATED, RENAMED
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amLIMELIGHT'S back in the spotlight.The church-turned-club reopened last night with a new name (Estate), new management (farewell, Peter Gatien) and a new look. "There's nothing left of the old interior...
MINERS' TALE CAN BE TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT
November 21, 2002 | 5:00am"The Pennsylvania Miners' Story" Sunday at 9 p.m. on WABC/Ch. 7 ½ DON'T watch "The Pennsylvania Miners' Story" if you're claustrophobic. Much of ABC's made-for-TV re-creation of last summer's dramatic...
QUEEN HELENE WINS 'BACHELOR'S' HEART ; AARON POPS THE QUESTION TO JERSEY GIRL AS BROOKE IS SENT CRYING
November 21, 2002 | 5:00am"THE BACHELOR" ended with a proposal last night, as school psychologist Helene accepted Aaron Buerge's hand in marriage. "I've definitely fallen in love with you and I have a pretty...
MARTHA GETS A REPRIEVE
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amMartha Stewart can be home for the holidays - the feds say they'll take no action on her criminal investigation until after Christmas. So Martha can plan for the big...
NYPD DAILY BLOTTER
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amManhattan A Harlem woman, shot by her common-law husband in a murder-suicide attempt last month, has died, police said yesterday. Nathaniel Brailsford, 37, shot Nicole Smith, 24, in the neck...
PONY PHONY PLEADS GUILTY IN RACE SCAM
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amA Delaware man who masterminded a plan to rig bets on the horses to pay off his debts hedged his bets against a trial and pleaded guilty yesterday to federal...
BIKE-RIDING MOLEST SUSPECT NABBED
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amA bicycle-riding pervert who molested two elderly women, including one in a public park, was busted on Long Island, cops said. Charles Marlon, 25, of 243 Caney Road in Valley...
500G 'WIFE' INSURANCE ; HUBBY TOOK OUT POLICIES BEFORE SLAY
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amEXCLUSIVE The strapped Long Island insurance agent accused of murdering his wife and trying to make it look like suicide had taken out at least two life-insurance policies on her...
MIKE BACKS OFF HUNTER CUTS
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amMayor Bloomberg's office promised yesterday to undo budget cuts that could force layoffs of teachers at the prestigious Hunter College school for gifted students. "Teachers should never be hit," said...
YES, A NEW DAY IS DAWNING DOWNTOWN
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amYesterday was not for doubts. The sunlit unveiling of the design for the new 7 World Trade Center made you believe 9/11 was finally over, and the history of downtown...
CITY HALL BUDGET PROTEST
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amFirefighters, senior citizens and health-care workers took to the steps of City Hall yesterday to beg Mayor Bloomberg to spare them from budget cuts. "There has to be some kind...
AL SHARPTON YESTERDAY SAID HE'S BEEN PROMISED VISAS BY IRAQ
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - The Rev. Al Sharpton yesterday said he's been promised visas by Iraq and plans to lead a delegation to Baghdad on Dec. 8, the deadline for Saddam Hussein...
911 SNIPER CHAOS ; DAY ONE TAPES BARE CONFUSION
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - Tapes of 911 calls from the morning of the first Beltway sniper attacks in Maryland show witnesses mistaking the shootings for explosions, suicide attempts and even a ghastly...
FARE-HIKE FIGHT ON TRACK
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amLet the fare wars begin. The MTA will fire the first salvo today in the war with outraged straphangers over a possible hike in the bus and subway fare to...
MOUSSAOUI WAS A 9/11 TERRORIST 'BACKUP'
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - A captured al Qaeda leader reportedly has told U.S. interrogators that jailed terror suspect Zacarias Moussaoui was supposed to be used in the 9/11 attacks - but only...
DRAWING LINE IN SAND - IRAQ: WE'LL LIMIT U.N. INSPECTION
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - Saddam Hussein's vice president yesterday warned there will be limits on U.N. weapons inspections to protect Iraq's "sovereignty and security" - the same excuse used in the past...
DASCHLE RIPS LIMBAUGH
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - Rush Limbaugh and his "wannabes" are as dangerous and shrill as religious fundamentalists in other countries, Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle charged yesterday. Daschle said he and his...
THESE BOZOS COULD GIVE BOOZE A BAD NAME
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amWHETHER they were inebriated is still up for debate - but it's quite obvious their brain cells were abbreviated. How did a punch-up in a diner in the wee hours...
TEACHERS TO RALLY AGAINST VIOLENCE
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amFed-up teachers at Norman Thomas HS will conduct a protest tomorrow about safety conditions in the building after a student was arrested for pushing and threatening a pregnant teacher. Norman...
DEMS LEFT FOR DEBT - STATE PARTY BEG$ CLINTONS FOR HELP
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amALBANY - The state's Democratic chairman is turning to Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton to help bail out the party, which faces a large debt from Carl McCall's failed bid...
ABORT KILLER: I SHOT TO WOUND
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amJames Kopp, the anti-abortion extremist accused of gunning down an upstate abortion doctor, has admitted firing the fatal shot - but insists he only intended to wound his target. "I...
BILL: FIRMS MUST REVEAL SLAVE LINKS
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amCompanies that want to do business with the city will have to reveal if they took part in the trans-Atlantic slave trade more than 150 years ago, under a bill...
7 WTC TO RISE FROM ASHES
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amDeveloper Larry Silverstein yesterday unveiled the design for a new $700 million, clear-glass office tower that will be the first new building to rise at the trade center site since...
'100%' CERVICAL-CANCER VACCINE NEAR
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amA vaccine that could virtually wipe out cervical cancer is expected to be available within five years, researchers said yesterday. Early clinical trials indicate that the experimental vaccine, developed by...
DEFECTOR: SADDAM WILL TRY TO BLUFF WAY OUT
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amGET ready for a game of Liar's Poker on Dec. 8 - and President Bush is giving every sign he intends to call Saddam Hussein's bluff. Iraqi defector Khidhir Hamza...
JUDGE STICKS IT TO NEEDLE-BUST COPS
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amA federal judge yesterday told New York cops to back off arresting addicts for carrying drug-tainted needles when they're taking part in a state-sponsored needle-exchange program. Judge Robert Sweet said...
HILL VS. CORZINE IN SENATE POWER STRUGGLE
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - New York is battling New Jersey for power in the next Congress, with Sen. Hillary Clinton fighting Sen. Jon Corzine over who will lose their powerful committee spots....
SEASICK HOMELESS PLAN - ADVOCATES BLAST HOUSING PEOPLE ON SHIPS
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amAdvocates for the homeless yesterday tried to torpedo a proposal to stow the indigent on decommissioned cruise ships. Fighting a rising tide of homelessness - a record 37,931 people need...
'CRAVING' LUNATIC - WELLS ANGRY WE IGNORED HIM: WITNESS
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amYankee ace David Wells started a fight with the man accused of slugging him in an East Side diner because he was starved for attention, the pint-sized puncher's pal said...
FATTY FOOD FIGHT - KIDS SUING MCDONALD'S FOR 'MAKING' THEM OBESE
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amSuper-sized kids - including a 400-pounder - who ate at McDonald's nearly every day sank their teeth into the Golden Arches in court yesterday, claiming they didn't know cheeseburgers and...
WACKY DADDY JACKO UNVEILS 'BURQA' KIDS
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amA day after Wacko Jacko shocked the world by dangling his 8-month-old son from a 70-foot-high balcony, the King of Freaks tried to show the world he's a normal dad...
OSAMA VS. MARTHA AS TIME RUNS OUT
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amWith less than a month to go before Time picks its 75th Person of the Year cover, the magazine's top editors are still highly divided. That emerged from a panel...
COPS: N.J. MOM SMOTHERS HER TWO LITTLE GIRLS
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amIn what authorities say is an eerie echo of the crimes of Susan Smith and Andrea Yates, a New Jersey woman has been accused of smothering her two daughters with...
CITY ISSUES WARNING TO PUBLISHER OF 'SICK' 9/11 CARDS
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amThe City's top lawyer yesterday fired off a letter to the publisher of the World Trade Center "Heroes" trading cards in an attempt to scuttle the venture that's been blasted...
HEAT'S ON RESCUERS IN SAFRA SLAY
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amThe lawyer for Ted Maher, who goes on trial today for the arson death of multibillionaire Edmund Safra, says he'll blast moneyed Monaco for its allegedly incompetent cops and firefighters...
BRIDGES TO GET SECURITY CAMS
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amThe NYPD will position surveillance cameras on several of the city's bridges as part of its expanding war on terror, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said yesterday. The cameras will augment...
HILLARY AND GORE GANG ON DUBYA
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - President Bush's Iraq policy got a tongue-lashing yesterday from two top Democrats - former Vice President Al Gore and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. Gore all but accused Bush...
GIFF GETS HIS WAY OVER MIKE
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amCouncil Speaker Gifford Miller flexed some muscle yesterday by leading two overrides of Mayor Bloomberg's vetoes. One bill the council wants forces the city to buy appliances only if they...
ARAFAT: I CAN WORK WITH LABOR CHIEF
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amJERUSALEM - Yasser Arafat yesterday welcomed Israel's new dovish opposition leader as the man who could revive the Mideast peace process. The Palestinian president said he would "extend [his] hand"...
ROUGH WATERS FOR FERRY-TRAGEDY PROBERS
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amIt will be tough to figure out why a tractor-trailer tumbled from a ferry into Long Island Sound, killing the driver, unless divers can get to it in the treacherous...
FATTY FOOD FIGHT : KIDS SUING MCDONALD'S FOR 'MAKING' THEM OBESE
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amSuper-sized kids - including a 400-pounder - who ate at McDonald's nearly every day sank their teeth into the Golden Arches in court yesterday, claiming they didn't know cheeseburgers and...
CITY EYES IF CARD MAN DEALING FROM BOTTOM OF DECK
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amThe City's top lawyer yesterday fired off a letter to the publisher of the World Trade Center "Heroes" trading cards in an attempt to scuttle the venture that's been blasted...
DEMS LEFT FOR DEBT: STATE PARTY BEG$ CLINTONS FOR HELP
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amALBANY -The state's Democratic chairman is turning to Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton to help bail out the party, which faces a large debt from Carl McCall's failed bid for...
STRUGGLING ISLES FACING SHAKEUP
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amSUNRISE, Fla. - As the Islanders approach the quarter pole of this thus far forgettable season, amid a five-game road trip that continues tonight against the upstart Lightning and ends...
THIS TOM IS NOT SO TERRIFIC ; WILPON WOULD BE FOOLISH TO MAKE GLAVINE A MET
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amTOM Glavine is the wrong player at the wrong time for the Mets, carrying the wrong price tag. Perhaps Fred Wilpon will realize that later today, by the time this...
DEVS, RANGERS BUTTIN' HEADS
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amThe rivalry will only be slightly muted by Bobby Holik's absence. Rangers-Devils doesn't depend on homecomings - it has a bigger life of its own. "These," John Madden said, "are...
NYRA VP: WHY ODDS MOVED
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amA plunger who bet big bucks at a St. Kitts racebook right before the gates opened, the cycle of processing those wagers through a betting hub in Maine, and a...
4TH-QUARTER POISE-ON ; DON: KNICKS NEED BETTER COMPOSURE
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amDespite Monday's escape against Detroit, the Knicks' fourth-quarter ineptitude is reaching historic proportions. And even though most of the players insist on denying it, coach Don Chaney says the problems...
EYES OF TEXANS ARE ON SHOCKEY
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amGIANT NOTES Back in the Hall of Fame Game on Aug. 5, Jeremy Shockey made his Giants debut with a highlight-film catch-and-run against the Texans, a tackle-breaking romp that immediately...
SHAW SETS THE RECORD STRAIGHT
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amSt. John's guard Willie Shaw had been searching for the proper words and right time. Ever since he was suspended for last year's NCAA Tournament game and subsequently, the upcoming...
COLES CATCHING ON: JETS RECEIVER GETSLIFT FROM PENNINGTON
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amBetween the two of them, the top Bills receivers the Jets will be facing Sunday at Giants Stadium, Eric Moulds and Peerless Price, have caught 130 passes for 1,767 yards...
BACKUP PLAN FOR BY PAUL SCHWARTZ
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amAll these "firsts" are great for the individuals getting them but they can be hazardous to the team forced to rely on players who have never before made an NFL...
NEW ST. RAY'S COACH CAME UP THE HARD WAY
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amOliver Antigua seemed relaxed sitting in his office before practice Monday afternoon and insisted there's no pressure on him. "This is fun," said Antigua, who has taken over the reins...
CHSFL AA TITLE GAME RESET
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amThe Catholic High School Football League AA championship game, originally scheduled for Sunday at 3 p.m., has been moved to tomorrow at 8 p.m. at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy...
SPREE RIPS KURT FOR 'SILLY' FOULS
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amKNICK NOTES Kurt Thomas insists he's not worried about his persistent foul trouble because it's "part of the game." Even if Thomas claims he's not worried about having his minutes...
SAN JUAN ON MET DOCKET
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amThe Mets will be part of the christening of the Expos' new pseudo-home in San Juan, Puerto Rico, next season. The Expos were cleared yesterday to play 22 home games...
PITT TAKES AIM AT MIAMI UPSET
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amMIAMI - Pittsburgh coach Walt Harris remembers watching a game last year in which Miami's defense smothered Nebraska, 37-14. The Cornhuskers' entire scheme was based on quarterback Eric Crouch making...
HOLIK'S FEELING DOWN IN DUMPS OVER DOWN TIME
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amIt's killing Bobby Holik that he won't be able to play tonight when his new team, the Rangers, visits his old team, the Devils, for the first time this regular...
WIN OVER JET NOTES
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amSeveral Jets players yesterday acknowledged they came out of the season-opening, 37-31 overtime win over the Bills in Buffalo with an inflated sense of how good they were. "It was...
KIDD ANSWERS COUNTRY'S CALL
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amNET NOTES BOSTON - To paraphrase Patton - or George C. Scott - Americans will not tolerate a loser. So after the nightmare of Indianapolis for Team USA in international...
HILL: GOOD RIDDANCE TO EX-RAMS
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amCOLLEGE PREVIEW(Third of a series) Fordham basketball coach Bob Hill lost four starters from last season, one of them to the NBA. And he couldn't be happier. "Last year's group...
MARC ANTHONY VISITS FASSEL
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amPop singer Marc Anthony was a visitor yesterday at Giants practice, which was not incredibly unusual, as celebrities on occasion pop in to get a look-see. But it sure took...
CELTS BOMB 'TERRIBLE' NETS
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amCeltics 96Nets 79 BOSTON - Early in the third quarter, Kenyon Martin got inside and earned a goaltending call against Boston's Tony Battie. We bring this up only because it...
AMAZIN'S ROLL OUT RED CARPET FOR ACE
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amTom Glavine will be window-shopping for New York-area digs today - but hold off on your housewarming gifts. He's still about 900 miles from becoming a Met. The 36-year-old lefty...
TURNING 'POINT' FOR ISLES?
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amIsles 3Panthers 3 SUNRISE, Fla. - There's no question, no doubt and no disbelief in Islander Country that the current five-game road trip, continuing tonight against the division-leading Lightning and...
ROGERS SHOOTS FOR BETTER DAYS
November 21, 2002 | 5:00amBOSTON - Despite what everyone around him said, then-Celtic Rodney Rogers knew the Nets were not dead last spring. Yes, they had just suffered the worst fourth-quarter collapse in NBA...