February 25, 2017
De Blasio's legal defense fund mystery
Even after his sitdown Friday with prosecutors from the office of US Attorney Preet Bharara, Mayor de Blasio still hasn’t explained just how he’ll pay the lawyers representing him in...
Nate Robinson literally dribbled through another player's legs
Let’s be honest, there wasn’t much reason to go out of your way to tune into the Delaware 87ers vs. Raptors 905 on Saturday night. However, the saying “don’t judge...
The Democrats who don't dare face voters at town halls
Recent weeks have seen a flood of media reports on Republicans facing angry constituents at town-hall meetings, so it’s nice to see the Associated Press point out that many Democrats...
Man resisting arrest drags cop six blocks on dirt bike
A dirt-bike rider gave a cop a dangerous ride in the Bronx on Friday, dragging the officer several blocks when he was stopped for cruising around in the illegal vehicle,...
Did Kevin Klein already play his last game as a Ranger?
Kevin Klein, whose spot in the lineup would seem to be in jeopardy if the Rangers pull off a deal for a right-side defenseman, sat out his second straight game...
Retired cop: City 'punishes' me by not letting me carry gun
A newly-retired hero detective with more than 600 arrests wants to carry a gun in retirement -- but the NYPD has treated him like a common criminal in denying his...
Golf tournaments need to be more like outdoor parties
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — It was mid-afternoon on a sweltering South Florida Saturday at the Goslings tent at the “Bear Trap,’’ a 30,000-square-foot elevated party pavilion that surrounds the...
Carmelo won't let Knicks' faint hopes go
Carmelo Anthony wasn’t going to let the Knicks choke again to the Sixers. The Knicks were on their déjà vu way, blowing another sizeable fourth-quarter lead — 12 points with...
Asbestos forced couple out of apartment for two years: suit
An Upper East Side couple has had to live apart for two years after creeping toxic dust from a neighbor’s gut renovation forced them out of their $2 million apartment,...
Jacoby Ellsbury admits lineup demotion 'a possibility'
TAMPA — The last time Jacoby Ellsbury started a game lower than third in the batting order, it was 2012 and he hit sixth in the lineup for one game...
Nail product company claims Rihanna stole their trademark
A Long Island company wants Rihanna to kiss off because the singer’s new fragrance infringes on their trademark. Kiss Nail Products has been using the word “Kiss” to promote its...
Armed robber caught on video during brutal assault
Dramatic surveillance video released by police Saturday shows an armed robber brutally attacking an employee during a heist at a Brooklyn medical supply company. The gun-wielding crook entered Belmont Medical...
Don't expect the Oscars to provide a break from politics
HOLLYWOOD — It feels like each year, a ceremony for what’s good about the movies becomes a cultural battleground. This year in particular with nonstop White House drama, TV viewers...
Big studios nearly struck out in Oscars' Best Picture category
HOLLYWOOD — Almost all of this year’s crop of best picture nominees were financed not by big studios, but by independent companies, says Nick Meyer, who represents Amazon-backed “Manchester by...
Mnuchin’s timetable for tax cuts raises red flags
This was Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s first full week on the job. On Thursday, he made the rounds with the media, discussing the economic agenda of the Trump administration. While...
Mark Cuban scares Bleacher Report into deleting tweet he hated
Two Mark Cuban certainties: He supports his guys, and he has powerful friends. The folks at sports news website Bleacher Report were reminded of both these things the hard way Friday...
Us Weekly changes course after five straight Trump covers
After five consecutive covers featuring at least one of the Family Trump on its cover, Jann Wenner’s Us Weekly has finally gone Trump-less. The unprecedented run of five Trumped-up covers...
Trump won't get away with boosting economic projections
Dear John: As a follower of your articles on how the government/Obama administration has been manipulating the economic data and statistics, I find it hard to swallow that now the...
How Gleyber Torres' base-running wowed Yankees, too
CLEARWATER, Fla. -- Gleyber Torres is listed among the top prospects in baseball for a solid bat and good actions at shortstop. Saturday he displayed very good instincts when he scored...
Renting a car can be a living nightmare
Dear John: Fantastic piece on Avis! They once charged me a mileage fee for NOT driving the car enough. Evidently, drivers are required to hit a certain number of miles...
Half of college students think their loans will be forgiven
Owing to a serious misconception, almost half of college students recently polled believe they won’t be saddled with student loans soon after graduation. According to a survey of 500 current...
8-year-old shot to death moments after surviving car crash
An 8-year-old Houston girl survived a car crash Saturday morning -- only to be shot and killed minutes later. DeMaree Atkins was in the backseat of her mother Toyia Thomas'...
Police find dead man floating in East River
A dead man was found floating in the East River Saturday afternoon, police said. Cops spotted the unidentified man, believed to be in his 50s, at Catherine Slip near Market...
Gramercy Park residents furious about growing piles of dog poop
Gramercy Park is full of crap. This past week, the exclusive neighborhood — home to Jimmy Fallon and Julia Roberts — was abuzz about angry, anonymous signs posted outside of...
'Pussyhats' make their runway debut
The Women's March Pink Pussyhat has made its way to runway status. Today at Missoni, models closed the kaleidoscopic-colored fashion show donning variations of the pink, cat-eared hat that first...
Meet the 'Vulture,' the Mets' baseball lifer who's overflowing with stories
PORT ST. LUCIE — Baseball is a journey. Sometimes the journey never ends. There is roving Mets minor league pitching instructor Phil Regan throwing batting practice on the back fields...
'Everyone' is talking with Rangers about a J.T. Miller trade
So it's three well-connected sources within the past three days who have told Slap Shots that when it comes to the Rangers and the trade deadline, “Everyone is asking for...
Dozens hurt after 'drunk' driver plows into Mardi Gras crowd
NEW ORLEANS — A suspect is in custody after 28 people were injured Saturday when a vehicle plowed into a crowd watching the Krewe of Endymion parade in the Mid-City...
Rangers find way to answer Devils' late challenge
This was about as entertaining and high-octane as it gets these days when the Rangers and Devils meet. The clubs from either side of the Hudson combined for 77 shots...
JaVale McGee tries to put a smile on amid Shaq feud
OAKLAND, Calif. — Just a day after JaVale McGee’s beef with Shaquille O’Neal — a feud intense enough to prompt Golden State to call O’Neal’s employers — the Warriors big...
Did Knicks stop Derrick Rose from taking another Chicago trip?
Derrick Rose said he “wasn’t trolling.” Rose never took a flight to Chicago, but whether he was grounded by the Knicks is up in the air — pun intended. Rose...
Islanders' playoff push momentum hits a brick wall
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Josh Anderson and Nick Foligno each scored twice, sending the Blue Jackets to a 7-0 romp over the Islanders on Saturday. The high-energy Blue Jackets didn’t show...
Millennial 'pet parents' pay up for dogs to get ritzy human services
When shoe designer Vanessa Noel brought home two poodle puppies recently, she knew she had her hands full. Left to their own devices, the brothers would no doubt make short...
Baylor coach urges violence against parents who think Baylor's unsafe
Baylor women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey really loves her school, and she’s ready to fight anyone who disagrees. The Baylor women clinched their seventh straight Big 12 regular-season title Saturday...
Mets fans and David Wright loved his 2017 debut
PORT ST. LUCIE — David Wright fought half the battle Saturday and was encouraged with the results. It was a start, but his marathon has just begun. The Mets captain,...
Seton Hall step closer to NCAA Tournament, but it wasn't easy
ROSEMONT, Ill. — Desi Rodriguez scored 19 points and grabbed five rebounds and Seton Hall held on late to edge DePaul 82-79 on Saturday to take another step toward securing...
A Rickie Fowler surge awakes his choking demons
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — This is everything Rickie Fowler wants, and it certainly is everything the Honda Classic wants. Starved for his first win in 37 starts, Fowler has...
Hitler was routinely injected with cocaine, meth and opiates
When we think of Adolf Hitler, we tend to imagine him as the raging, crowd-inciting dictator. But “Blitzed: Drugs in the Third Reich” paints a very different picture, one of...
Adam Warren: My skill can keep me from Yankees job I want
CLEARWATER, Fla. — Adam Warren made it clear what part of Joe Girardi’s pitching staff he wants to work from. Saturday morning Girardi said Warren would be on the staff...
Mets alarms go off as Lucas Duda sits after shots
PORT ST. LUCIE -- Lucas Duda’s spring is off to a troublesome start. The Mets first baseman was absent from the lineup in his team’s exhibition home opener Saturday, a...
Kevin Plawecki is the first scary moment of Mets camp
PORT ST. LUCIE — Kevin Plawecki suffered a contusion to his left knee in the sixth inning of the Mets' exhibition home opener Saturday, during a collision at home plate with Rafael...
God help us if Chelsea Clinton runs for office
Last Sunday Chelsea Clinton, usually such a reticent public figure, took to Times Square with her 2-year-old daughter, Charlotte, to march in the Muslim solidarity rally. “Thank you to all...
Trump says he's skipping White House Correspondents' Dinner
President Trump said Saturday he won't attend the annual White House Correspondents Association dinner. "I will not be attending the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner this year. Please wish everyone...
Suspect in fatal bar shooting is 'a drunken mess': neighbor
OLATHE, Kan. — A Kansas man accused of shooting two Indian immigrants and a third man at a bar, in what some believe was a hate crime, was always a...
Derrick Rose wants to be a Knick for a long time: agent
B.J. Armstrong, the former Chicago Bull and Derrick Rose’s agent, still feels this Knicks group has a good future together despite their record, and he hopes his client is part...
Principal under fire for naming suspended students in newsletter
The principal who left Brooklyn’s struggling Automotive HS for Long Island has sent out newsletters at her new school naming suspended students, in violation of a federal student privacy law,...
Why Trump should expect his presidency to be a drag-out fight
In the month since Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 45th president of the United States, his opponents on the left, in the media and in the Deep State of...
Behind MLB chemistry: How teams try to sniff out 'bad guys'
TAMPA — Let’s start by dispelling one misperception: Goose Gossage does not spend spring training chasing kids off his lawn. The Hall of Fame closer, a Yankees guest instructor, smiles...
Ex-Labor Secretary Tom Perez elected DNC chairman
Former US Labor Secretary Tom Perez edged Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison by 35 votes Saturday to become the head of the Democratic National Committee. He promptly called President Trump “the...
Massive sewage spill flows into US from Mexico
LOS ANGELES — Officials in Southern California are crying foul after more than 140 million gallons of raw sewage spilled into the Tijuana River in Mexico and flowed north of...
Nick Mangold's Jets days are done
The Jets made a move Saturday that was not completely unexpected, but still momentous. The team released center Nick Mangold, the longest-tenured Jet and one of the best players in...
Shamorie Ponds picks biggest moments to show he's 'amazing'
The game was in the balance. The crowd was buzzing. Georgetown was swarming. A seven-point St. John’s lead had been sliced to one, just over a minute remained. So, naturally,...
Mets' staff of aces now a staff of mustaches
PORT ST. LUCIE -- Maybe they want to be just like Keith Hernandez. Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz have recently begun sporting mustaches at spring training...
Stars will do things for an Oscar that would make a politician gag
Earlier this week, a notoriously press-shy Casey Affleck appeared in his third PETA ad in 10 months, exposing the horrors of circuses as somber music played in the background. “I...
Jets find David Harris heir, Giants load up on defense in NFL mock draft
The drama surrounding Jimmy Garoppolo and Kirk Cousins continues to hold mock drafts hostage, so there will be inevitable changes following the NFL Combine — aka the Underwear Olympics —...
Meet the terrorist behind the next women's march
Here’s the left’s next great idea for bringing down President Trump: another women’s march. Which means another public instance of Trump haters shouting slogans to one another and mistaking it...
Suspect in Amber Alert is a felon who was once deported
The man suspected of taking a 6-year-old Connecticut girl prompting an Amber Alert on Friday had previously been deported, federal immigration officials said. Oscar Hernandez was taken into custody on...
Sponsor fires back: Danica Patrick's team couldn't control her
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Nature's Bakery filed its response to a $31 million breach of contract suit brought by Stewart-Haas Racing because the company severed its sponsorship with Danica Patrick....
McMaster reportedly splits with Trump on 'radical Islamic terror'
President Trump’s newly appointed national security adviser on Thursday reportedly held his first “all hands” staff meeting where he said labels like “radical Islamic terrorism” are not helpful because he...
Oklahoma QB tried to flee cop, and it didn't end well
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield has been arrested and charged with public intoxication, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. Mayfield, a Heisman Trophy finalist last year, was booked into...
Trump team takes first step toward building border wall
SAN DIEGO -- U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Friday that it plans to start awarding contracts by mid-April for President Donald Trump's proposed border wall with Mexico, signaling that...
Judge Judy neighbor jumps to his death
A 59-year-old man jumped to his death early Saturday from a posh Sutton Place building where TV's Judge Judy shelled out $8.5 for a duplex penthouse, police said. The unidentified...
French president fires back at Trump over Paris comments
French President Francois Hollande fired back at Donald Trump on Saturday after the U.S. president remarked in a speech that a friend thought "Paris is no longer Paris" after attacks...
Inmates say they were given cake laced with rat poison
A group of Brooklyn inmates got the carrot and sick treatment, they claim in a lawsuit. More than a dozen jailbirds in Brooklyn’s House of Detention say they fell ill...
Motorcyclist dies after crashing into box truck
A motorcyclist died in Brooklyn early Saturday when he lost control of his bike while braking to avoid a turning taxi, police said. Franklin Goodman, 68, wound up in a...
Buffett critical of Wall Street as Berkshire reports profit surge
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway released his annual letter to shareholders. In it, he ramped up his criticism of Wall Street, saying investors should "stick with low-cost index funds." "When trillions...
No, Bob Marley's granddaughter doesn't want to smoke weed with you
Thirty-six years after Bob Marley’s death, you can barely walk a block around the NYU campus downtown without coming across a student wearing a T-shirt celebrating the singer’s life. But...
Another woman killed in 'cursed' apartment building
A mother of three was stabbed to death early Saturday inside her Harlem apartment — the second time in two months that a woman has been killed in a building...
Trump brags about his first month in office
He's only been in office for a month -- but President Trump wants you to know he's already boosted the economy and cut the national debt. “The media has not...
Malaysia sweeping airport for chemicals after Kim Jong Nam murder
Malaysia plans to sweep one of the terminals at Kuala Lumpur international airport for toxic chemicals after Kim Jong Nam was murdered there with a nerve agent last week. The...
Attack on Syrian security forces kills at least 40
Militants attacked two Syrian security offices in the western city of Homs on Saturday with guns and suicide bombers, killing at least 42 people including a senior officer, a war...
Suspect in Kim Jong Nam's death was paid $90
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — The Indonesian woman who is one of the suspects in the killing of North Korean ruler Kim Jong Un's half brother said she was paid $90...
NYPD officer saves four from car wreck
A NYPD officer helped save four people from a devastating car wreck in Queens on Friday. Officer Ryan O'Connor was driving on the Laurelton Parkway near the Francis Lewis Boulevard...
Bryan Mitchell off to perfect start in run at Yankees rotation spot
TAMPA — The rap coming from the Yankees is there is a competition for right field and first base. The reality is Aaron Judge and Greg Bird, respectively, are prohibitive...
Don't forget about Didi Gregorius amid Yankees' prospect craze
TAMPA — When you play on the same team as Aaron Judge, you aren’t going to win too many home run derbies. “I have a regular swing,” Didi Gregorius said...
Michael Conforto makes big opening statement in battle for roster spot
FORT MYERS, Fla. — Michael Conforto began his seemingly uphill battle to make the Mets outfield out of spring training with a bang on Friday. Conforto homered in the Mets’...
Why Sean Marks' under-the-radar move could pay off for Nets
DENVER — While getting a first-round pick without dealing Brook Lopez will get the headlines, plucking K.J. McDaniels without giving up essentially anything might have been general manager Sean Marks’...
Henrik Lundqvist is hot, and he wants 'to go with the flow'
Here’s the conundrum: Henrik Lundqvist got his game back over the past month by playing a lot, and he wants to keep playing a lot to keep it going. But...
How Mets are trying to emulate the world champion Cubs
PORT ST. LUCIE — “Flexibility” is this year’s buzzword for the Mets. Usually, the term has applied to the front office’s battle to keep the payroll contained, without numerous long-term...
Hold off drafting fantasy catcher, even if his name is Gary Sanchez
As you sit down to make a list of players to target on fantasy draft day, studying the positions themselves becomes integral to the process. How deep is the position?...
Back spasms worse than expected for Rangers veteran
It turns out Kevin Klein’s back issue was a little more serious than first thought. The Rangers’ veteran defenseman originally hurt himself during warmups before Thursday night’s 2-1 shootout victory...
Four-alarm blaze rips through two Upper West Side buildings
A four-alarm blaze tore through two buildings on the Upper West Side Friday night. The fire started on the third floor of a building on Amsterdam Avenue near West 85th...
Two injured after helicopter crashes in parking lot
A small helicopter crash-landed in the parking lot of a New Jersey apartment complex Friday evening, leaving one of the two people aboard with non-life-threatening injuries. The pilot walked away...
'Taken' makes action-filled but flawed jump to TV
"Taken” was a surprise big-screen blockbuster when it was released in 2008 with star Liam Neeson — and must have seemed irresistible to TV programmers always searching for ways to...
Investors still fleeing hedge funds -- just not as quickly
Investors are still fleeing hedge funds, but not as quickly as they were this time last year. Investors yanked $5.2 billion from the $3 trillion hedge fund industry in January,...
Mets' second-tier starter battling for fifth spot in starting rotation
FORT MYERS, Fla. — If the season goes as planned for the Mets, they won’t be looking for another starting pitcher. All that means is for Noah Syndergaard, Matt Harvey,...
NCAA tourney hopeful Seton Hall looks to avoid 1st of 2 traps
The heavy lifting is over. Seton Hall prevailed in its must-win games, knocking off No. 23 Creighton and Xavier during a mammoth three-game homestand that put the Pirates on the...
'Bunny Hoarder' gets 45 days behind bars for animal cruelty
Brooklyn’s “bunny hoarder’’ will spend 45 days in a cage on multiple animal-cruelty charges. Dorota Trec was sentenced Friday in Brooklyn Criminal Court after she was convicted in November of...
Monmouth is team of the year and other NYC area awards
For far too many casual fans, college basketball season is now just beginning. While the NCAA Tournament and upcoming conference tournaments are more enthralling than anything in sports, the regular...
Jeremy Lin makes a cameo — and the Nets get demolished
DENVER — Jeremy Lin’s return from another long layoff — and the second-half reset the Nets had hoped for — didn’t go as planned. Lin was back after missing eight...