December 2, 2003
WHAT MIGHT FOLLOW FRIDAY JOB FIGURES
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amLABOR markets across the nation generally improved or remained stable, with several [areas] noting a slowing in layoffs. [There was] stronger demand for temporary workers. Firms are waiting for sustained...
BOEING CEO JETS - CONDIT LEAVES AMID GOVERNMENT CONTRACT SCANDAL
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amThe chairman and CEO of Boeing Co. resigned yesterday after his company was accused by a government watchdog group of unethical behavior in securing a government contract. The departure of...
INSIDERS HATE IDEA OF IGER AS SUCCESSOR
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amBob Iger is Michael Eisner's choice to succeed him - but a lot of the company's top executives hate the idea. Many company executives and some board members would likely...
RATNER GETS DIBS ON DOWNTOWN LOT; RATNER GETS BIDDING RIGHTS
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amNEW York Times headquarters developer Bruce Ratner is poised to snatch up one of Manhattan's prime building sites. His Brooklyn-based Forest City Ratner just beat out a brace of bidders...
AMEX OPTIONS MARKET SHARE SLID LAST MONTH
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amThe American Stock Exchange was the only major exchange to lose market share in its equity options business in November, according to data from the Options Clearing Corp. The International...
DAIMLER-BENZ 'LIED' TO GRAB CONTROL OF CHRYSLER: KERKORIAN
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amIn fiery opening testimony of Kirk Kerkorian's $3 billion lawsuit against Daimler-Benz, he called the Germans liars, and they called him a greedy bungler. The angry shots are about whether...
EISNER ROCKED AS GOLD EXITS DISNEY
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amMichael Eisner may be in for a bruising battle to keep his job. The longtime Disney boss saw another disgruntled board member quit yesterday - but not before he unleashed...
PASCAL IS TOP H'WOOD FEMALE SUIT
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amAmy Pascal, vice chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment, is the most powerful woman in Hollywood. That's according to trade publication The Hollywood Reporter, which today will publish its 12th annual...
TARIFF REPEAL MAY COST 30,000 JOBS: BIG STEEL
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amTwenty percent of the nation's steelworkers could lose their jobs if the Bush administration repeals a controversial tariff, industry sources said. Steel executives oppose the repeal, saying it will lead...
MICROSOFT'S LONGHORN PIRATED, 3 YEARS EARLY
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amYo-ho-ho and a bundle of code: A new version of Microsoft's Windows has been pirated in Malaysia - only three years before it's due in stores. The product, code-named Longhorn,...
TOO RACY FOR RETAIL: A&F PULLS ITS NAUGHTY CATALOG
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amPerhaps it was the picture of half a dozen nearly naked teenagers entwined under the Christmas tree like so many unwrapped presents. Or maybe it was the words printed on...
FEDS EYE INVESCO ; FUND FIRM, TOP EXECS TO FACE FRAUD CHARGES
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amFederal and state regulators are expected to file civil charges against Invesco Funds, CEO and President Raymond Cunningham and two other top managers for mutual fund trading abuses, sources close...
DODGE UNDRESSES A SUPER BOWL PROMO
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amFor its Super Bowl fans, truck-maker Dodge is moving up a notch from pricey commercials - with a half-time show of models in lingerie playing tackle football. Last year, the...
ARCHIPELAGO TO GO PUBLIC
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amArchipelago Holdings, the parent company of all-electronic exchange Archipelago Exchanges, has announced it will go public in 2004. The SEC approved Archipelago as one of the first electronic communications networks...
KERKORIAN CLAIMING FRAUD BY DAIMLER-BENZ
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amIn fiery opening testimony of Kirk Kerkorian's $3 billion lawsuit against Daimler-Benz, he called the Germans liars, and they called him a greedy bungler. The angry shots are about whether...
WORKING IN MAJOR KEYS
December 2, 2003 | 5:00am* ALICIA KEYS "The Diary of Alicia Keys" [ 1/2] J Records Her debut album, "Songs in A Minor," sold more than 6 million copies and snagged Alicia Keys five...
TOUCHY-FEELY CRIME BOSS - SINCE WHEN DO ALL GANGSTERS LOOK LIKE CPAS OR MALE MODELS?
December 2, 2003 | 5:00am"Line of Fire" [ ] (two stars) Tonight at 10 on ABC ---- NETWORK TV should stop making gangster shows. They don't work. Not anymore. Not since "The Sopranos" ruined...
'I WANTED TO BE DESPISED' - HAUNTED BY 'DEAD' GRANDMA HOAX
December 2, 2003 | 5:00am'SURVIVOR" contestant Jon Dalton, who lied about his granny's death last week, is now the most despised person in show history. And that's just the way he wants it. "When...
GOOGLING THE STARS: SEARCHES REVEAL WHO'S LOVED & HATED
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amIF you hate Britney and you know it, go on the Internet. There you'll find thousands of other vocal anti-fans - along with haters of Saddam Hussein, Fred Durst and...
TRIPP TO WED CHILDHOOD SWEETHEART
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amMonicagate whistleblower Linda Tripp said last night she will marry her childhood sweetheart next year. Tripp, 52, said on CNN's "Larry King Live" that she's known her fiancée, Dieter Rousch,...
EXECS USED TYCO STAFF TO PAY THEIR BILLS, JURY TOLD
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amTyco's two top honchos used company funds to pay a trio of women to manage their household spending - including alimony payments and yacht bills, the women's manager testified yesterday....
HEINZ HONORS TWO NEW YORKERS
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amGood guys can finish first and with a big check, too. Two New Yorkers are being honored by the Heinz Foundation for their advocacy and tireless work on two fronts...
GENEVA PEACE PUSH RILES ISRAEL OFFICIALS
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amJERUSALEM - Israeli and Palestinian activists, backed by supporters such as Jimmy Carter, Lech Walesa and Nelson Mandela, yesterday launched a campaign to win support for their Mideast "peace plan"...
W'S FOES FLIP OUT
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amIT might be best for President Bush's opponents to drop the subject of his Thanksgiving trip to Baghdad. The more they talk about it, the longer it will remain in...
BLABBY BEATLE DOC - CANCER MD RAPPED FOR DISHING ON GEORGE
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amALBANY - The state Health Department has sanctioned the Staten Island doctor who publicly blabbed about the late Beatle George Harrison's final days. Dr. Gil Lederman, the director of radiation...
HILLARY BLASTS BUSH'S TIMING
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton escalated her attack on President Bush's Iraq policy yesterday, charging for the first time that the president has orchestrated a timetable for turning over...
SAD SANTA PLEAS - NEEDIEST KIDS' LETTERS CAN MELT HARDEST HEARTS
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amNine-year-old Shaniece has had two strokes and countless seizures, calls a hospital home - and is very worried Santa Claus will forget to bring her a doll. "All these things...
STRICKEN DRIVER CRASHES SCHOOL BUS
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amThe driver of a school bus suffered a fatal heart attack and smashed into a parked car in Brooklyn yesterday, but none of the kids aboard was hurt. The crash...
CRUELEST CUT - MAN JAILED IN BID TO LOP PUPPY'S TAIL
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amA Harlem barber was found guilty of animal cruelty yesterday for "docking" a puppy's tail - a decision that could wind up putting some animal breeders on the chopping block....
DUBYA HAILS TAX-CUT BOOST FOR ECONOMY
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - President Bush yesterday trumpeted positive new signs that the economy is roaring back, and claimed his tax cuts are doing the job. The president made his comments in...
WEIRD BUT TRUE
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amHubba, hubba, hubba. A man in Peoria, Ill., has legally changed his name to Bubba Bubba Bubba. The former Raymond Allen Gray Jr., known from childhood as Bubba, said he...
DEAN MONEY TRAIN ROLLING INTO TOWN
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - Democratic front-runner Howard Dean is planning monster cash bashes in New York next Monday starring his showbiz pals - like acid-tongued antiwar comic Janeane Garofalo, who claims President...
COURT MAY HAND CRECHE-ING BLOW TO CITY SCHOOLS
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amA federal judge is set to rule on whether the city can continue banning the display of the nativity scene in its 1,200 public schools, The Post has learned. A...
ALLIANCE OF ARROGANCE GATHERS FOR SWISS SUMMIT
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amTHE only person missing from this crew of junketeering windbags, has-beens and persons of questionable repute was Michael Jackson. Well, at least he is still capable of drawing a crowd....
KEYSTONE KIDNAPPERS ALL BUT BUST THEMSELVES
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amTwo bumbling kidnappers who released a Brooklyn teenager, but insisted they were still entitled to a ransom, were nabbed by cops after they tried to collect. The pair first tried...
UNITED NATIONS SUICIDE
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amA senior security officer at the United Nations suffered a deadly gunshot wound to his head in an apparent suicide in an employees' lounge above the General Assembly, sources said....
SAMARITANS SHOT - SIBS SAVED PAL FROM BEAU: COPS
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amA Manhattan brother and sister were shot by a vengeful gunman a day after they stopped him from beating his girlfriend, police said. Good Samaritan siblings Caroline Villanueva, 18, and...
MAN PLEADS NOT GUILTY IN PLUNGE SLAY
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amA Queens man pleaded not guilty to murder yesterday in last month's fatal lover's quarrel in an uptown hotel. Prosecutors say Trevor Frederick, 25, stabbed his ex-love, Jenae Aragosa, in...
SILVERSTEIN DEBT CLEARED - PA INSURANCE DEAL WILL PAY OFF WTC MORTGAGE
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amThe Port Authority agreed yesterday to use $710 million in World Trade Center insurance proceeds as part of a reordering of the project's tangled finances - buying back the rebuilding...
ROBBED BLIND - GLAUCOMA FUND HIT FOR 10G
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amNearly $10,000 worth of diamonds and Knicks, Jets and Nets tickets were stolen from a Manhattan charity just days before they were to be auctioned at a Plaza hotel gala,...
UNION RIPS FDNY OVER DANGEROUS 'LIAISONS'
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amA powerful firefighters union boss says the FDNY outright ignored the "unquestionable certainty" that some firemen would ignore their own families and get "too close" to the widows and kids...
QNS. CREEP CONFESSES TO MORE SEX CRIMES
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amA Queens man busted on menacing charges over the weekend has 'fessed up to four more serious crimes, including rape and sodomy, cops said. Alberto Duque, 27, of Woodside was...
BRAND NEW B'KLYN - $100M PLAN ENVISIONS SKYSCRAPERS, BOULEVARDS
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amDowntown Brooklyn will become a financial, shopping and cultural mecca with new skyscrapers and tree-lined, Parisian-type boulevards under a bold master plan unveiled yesterday. City officials said the $100 million...
FERRY VICTIMS HIT $TORMY WATERS
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amThe city has asked a federal judge to drastically limit the amount of money for which victims and survivors of the Staten Island Ferry crash can sue - a legal...
ARCHITECTS GIVE MEMORIAL PLANS A 'ZERO'
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amPressure increased yesterday on the Ground Zero memorial jury as a prominent group of architects issued an open letter criticizing the eight design finalists and suggesting the panel go back...
TEENS LURE REPORTER TO BEATING
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amA Long Island reporter who covers high-school sports was lured to a secret meeting by a youth pretending to have a scoop - and was attacked and beaten by two...
ROCKAWAYS KID BRINGS LOADED GUN TO SCHOOL
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amA pistol-packing Rockaways sixth-grader pointed a loaded .380-caliber semi-automatic gun at three classmates yesterday, police said. No one was hurt - and as the courageous principal at MS 180 was...
GANGING UP ON L.I. GANGS
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amFederal and local authorities teamed up to fight gang activity on Long Island yesterday by pledging support for proposed new federal legislation to crack down on gang members with longer...
BROOKLYN TROLLEYS GET THE HOOK
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amA proposal to bring trolley service to the Brooklyn waterfront is being derailed again. Bob Diamond, whose historic trolley cars were part of a now-scuttled plan to connect Red Hook...
BLOOMBERG OFFERS 1-HR. AIDS TEST
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amThe city intends to offer the latest HIV test that produces results within an hour to all New Yorkers by next year, Mayor Bloomberg said yesterday in marking World AIDS...
GET READY: LATEST FLU BUG IS A REAL ZINGER
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amEveryone from Broadway stars to Gov. Pataki has already gotten it, and chances are, you may have it before the end of the winter - unfortunately. This year's flu is...
MOTHER'S LONG WAIT FOR JUSTICE
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amAida Washington has been tormented for nearly a decade by her son's murder, and yesterday she finally got a chance to meet one of the two heroic cops shot while...
CHURCH BABY MAY HAVE BEEN SLAIN
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amThe baby girl found dead in a Christmas shopping bag on the steps of a Brooklyn church was a newborn who lived for some time before her death, authorities said...
TEENS E-RACED HI-TECH COPS TOO FAST FOR L.I. DRAGSTERS
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amLong Island cops used e-messages to outsmart teen "Fast and Furious" drag-racer wannabes with a surprise predawn crackdown. The teens, aping the antics of the dragsters in the hit flick,...
FIRE UNION: WE WARNED OF 'LIAISONS'
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amA powerful firefighter union boss says the FDNY outright ignored the "unquestionable certainty" that some firemen would ignore their own families and get "too close" to the widows and kids...
UFT SLAPS KLEIN WITH LABOR COMPLAINT
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amEscalating its public war against the Bloomberg administration, the teachers union has filed charges against city officials for alleged unfair labor practices. United Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten, who...
MURDER CASE IN 'JEOPARDY'
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amAn alibi witness for an alleged murderer testified yesterday that the suspect couldn't have pulled off a deadly Brooklyn drive-by shooting three years ago because he was at her house...
CHURCH BABY SLAY PROBE
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amThe baby girl found dead in a Christmas shopping bag on the steps of a Brooklyn church was a newborn who lived for some time before she died, authorities said...
HEARTLESS THIEF TRAPS MAN, 90
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amA 90-year-old Brooklyn man was beaten by a robber who pinned him under two beds, where he was trapped for 21 hours before he was finally discovered last night, police...
JUST-FREED L.I. PSYCH PATIENT STABS PROF: COPS
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amHours after being freed from a psychiatric ward, a 23-year-old man stabbed a Suffolk County Community College professor as a classroom full of students looked on in horror, the suspect's...
QUEENS FIRE LEAVES GIRL, MAN CRITICAL
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amA 3-year-old girl and a 60-year-old man were in very critical condition following an early morning fire in Queens today, fire officials said. The two were in respiratory arrest after...
CLASSROOM EXTRA: MUSEUM FUN - 101
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amIt's too cold to play outside and you're tired of sitting on the couch all weekend. How about a trip to a museum? For the next four Tuesdays, Classroom Extra...
PLUNGE-SLAY PLEA: LOVER'S TRIANGLE SUSPECT IN COURT
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amA 25-year-old Queens man pleaded not guilty to murder yesterday in last month's fatal lover's quarrel in an uptown hotel. Trevor Frederick will remain behind bars until he returns to...
ALIBI CLAIM COULD PUT SLAY CASE IN 'JEOPARDY'
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amAn alibi witness for an alleged murderer testified yesterday that the suspect couldn't have pulled off a deadly Brooklyn drive-by shooting three years ago because he was at her house...
STUDENT STABS PROF IN CLASS: COPS
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amA business professor at Suffolk County Community College was stabbed in his classroom yesterday by a 23-year-old student who lunged at him with a knife and then fled the school,...
STUDENT STABS L.I. PROF IN CLASS: COPS
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amA business professor at Suffolk County Community College was stabbed in his classroom yesterday by a 23-year-old student who lunged at him with a knife and then fled the school,...
DEPRESSINGLY BAD
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amGIANT REPORT CARD QUARTERBACKS: C Can't pin this one on Kerry Collins (17 of 35, 233 yards, 1 TD), who had no time or help and played as if his...
LIFELESS ISLES HOPE BRIDGEPORT CAN HELP
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amThere's clearly a spike in the Islanders' locker room between the workers and the loafers, and something's got to change. So yesterday there were a few alterations as they look...
ANSON'S ACHING FOR MORE ICE TIME
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amRANGERSatLEAFSTonight He started the season with a new contract and a load of confidence courtesy of the Rangers coach/general manager. Since then, Anson Carter has watched Glen Sather challenge him...
DOC: I DIDN'T WANT DARRELL
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amFOUR defeats A.D. (After Doc), hints and allegations continue to dribble-drive-and-dish throughout the league. The misinformed majority would like you to believe Magic GM John Gabriel undermined his undeviatingly adored...
BATTERED BLUE PUT ALLEN ON IR
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amGIANT NOTES These days, there are no tweaks and bruises with the Giants. Tweaks become sprains and bruises become breaks. So it went again this past weekend, as the Giants...
GROIN STRAIN KEEPS ABRAHAM BENCHED
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amJET NOTES As expected, Pro Bowl defensive end John Abraham was unable to play for the Jets last night because of his strained groin. It was the fourth game in...
JARVIS, JOHNNIES RIDING OUT STORM
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amHofstra hoop coach Tom Pecora knows what Mike Jarvis is going through, and he feels for his St. John's counterpart. Last year, two of Pecora's players, Wendell Gibson and Rick...
BOMBERS CENTERING ON LOFTON
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amYANKEE NOTES The Yankees are considering all kinds of ways to improve, and signing veteran free agent centerfielder Kenny Lofton, who can beat Bernie Williams in a foot race, is...
THE FUTURE ISN'T NOW
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amKNICK NOTES Knicks GM Scott Layden believes his three 2003 draft picks will be part of the club's future. For now, they can't possibly be part of its present since...
JAMIE OUT - AND SO IS DEV ATTACK
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amIn the first 105 minutes of three weeks without right wing Jamie Langenbrunner, the Devils have managed exactly one goal. No wonder they took his knee injury so seriously. They...
MARCIANOS LAUD MESI
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amHEAVYWEIGHT Joe Mesi was showered with love and adoration yesterday when he walked into Vincent's Restaurant in Little Italy. On hand were Peter and Lou Marciano, brothers of the legendary...
METS READY OFFER FOR JOSE GUILLEN
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amMET NOTES The Mets' main offseason acquisition so far has been former A's pitching coach Rick Peterson. Now they may be zeroing in on another Oakland target - rightfielder Jose...
IN SHEFF, YANKS GET A WINNER
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amTHE year was 1993. I was working in beautiful San Diego, covering a bad team in perfect weather and standing in front of Gary Sheffield's locker. Earlier in the day,...
HOUSTON: BLAME ME FOR THIS LOSS
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amBasketball is a team game, and there were plenty of team failures to go around in last night's 79-78 Knick loss to Detroit - from blowing a 15-point lead to...
ANTONIO NO HELP IN OT DEBACLE
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amOVERTIMEPistons 79Knicks 78 It's going to take awhile. Antonio McDyess said before making his Knicks' debut that this was "my training camp." And he was in vintage preseason form last...
NETS END TRIP WITH CLINKER
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amSALT LAKE CITY - The Nets' shooting was horrible - .389 -but it was downright uplifting compared to the rebounding slaughter - 51-25, advantage Jazz. Jason Kidd posted a season-low...
JETS KEEP DREAMING - TOPPLE TITANS TO KEEP SLIM PLAYOFF HOPES ALIVE
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amJets 24 - Titans 17 The Jets wanted this game desperately. Not only do they still harbor scant playoff hopes with dreams of running the table and finishing 9-7, but...
CRASH LANDING FOR JASON
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amNET NOTES SALT LAKE CITY - What's the only thing that could be worse than the Nets suffering a third straight defeat on the road? How about suffering a third...
BYRON'S A HARRIS BOOSTER
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amNET NOTES SALT LAKE CITY - Lucious Harris is one of the most under-appreciated players in the league - except by his Nets coaches and teammates. "He's very underrated. He...
PRIDE CAN BE COSTLY COMEBACK VS. KINGS LEFT NETS FATIGUED
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amSALT LAKE CITY - Simply put, the Nets were sort of hoping pride didn't goeth before a fall last night. On Sunday in Sacramento, the Nets were humiliated beyond imagination...
MCDYESS' DEBUT PROVES FAN-TASTIC NEWS
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amThe marquee on the Seventh Avenue side of Madison Square Garden last night flashed the news: Antonio McDyess was back. And as fans streamed in for the game against Detroit,...
COLLINS BROTHERS IN TWIN THRILLING
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amNET NOTES SALT LAKE CITY - There were countless hours in the driveway, in gyms, on playgrounds. But the Nets' Jason Collins and his twin, Jarron, of the Jazz had...
STINKER FOR NETS END ROAD TRIP 2-3 AFTER LOSS TO JAZZ
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amJazz 91Nets 84 SALT LAKE CITY - There are mysteries in the universe that can't be explained. Is there intelligent life elsewhere in the galaxy? Why can't the Red Sox...
CHAD & JETS KEEP THE DREAM ALIVE ; TOPPLE TITANS TO MAINTAIN SLENDER PLAYOFF HOPES
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amThe Jets wanted this game desperately. Not only do they still harbor scant playoff hopes with dreams of running the table and finishing 9-7, but they were hell-bent on using...
SWAYNE NABS FIRST CAREER TOUCHDOWN
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amJET NOTES In the better-late-than-never department, Jets receiver Kevin Swayne made his Monday Night Football appearance a memorable one last night, catching a 27-yard Chad Pennington touchdown pass in the...
A 'DYESS NIGHT FOR A COMEBACK: COACH KNOWS STAR'S PAIN
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amIT only took four words for his old coach to understand Antonio McDyess' agony, to identify his frustration. Four words. This was last April, in the awful moments after McDyess...
ANTONIO MAKES GARDEN DEBUT
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amWith 3:15 remaining, Don Chaney stood up and pointed down the bench. Antonio McDyess stood up and so did the Garden crowd, a huge roar filling the building. McDyess ripped...
THAT'S THE SPIRIT: HERM KEEPS INSPIRING GREEN
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amThe season has been a resounding disappointment for the Jets, regardless of the outcome of last night's Monday Night Football match-up against the Titans. Yet during the last week, the...
CASTILLO NIXES METS, STAYS WITH FLA.
December 2, 2003 | 5:00amMET NOTES The Mets' search for a second baseman continues. Luis Castillo, Florida's sparkplug second baseman, turned down the Mets' offer late last night, reaching an agreement in principle to...