February 22, 2014
Amish beauty trades in bonnet for lingerie
She’s gone from horse and buggy to bra and panty. Raised Amish, Kate Stoltz (née Stoltzfus) left her insular Pennsylvania community for New York in 2012 to film the TLC...
Fading Knicks blow another lead in loss to Hawks
ATLANTA — The Knicks blew a 17-point third-quarter lead and likely their season Saturday. Their disastrous four-game Southeast road trip ended in a spectacular collapse against the Hawks, 107-98, at...
100 years of everyone's favorite undergarment
According to a delightfully daffy Bette Midler number from the film “Beaches,” the brassiere was invented — “to point the small ones to the sky/to keep the big ones high...
The future of NYC cable rates is up in the air
Comcast’s proposed $45 billion acquisition of Time Warner Cable — a match of cable behemoths — looms as one of the most controversial deals in recent memory. And the most...
Essence of Vali sees sales soar
Valerie Bennis knew in 2000 when she launched her all-natural aromatherapy company, Essence of Vali, she was on to something. Today Bennis’ “Sleep” concentrate is her best-selling product. Sales last...
What about NYC? City still holds high unemployment rates
The Big Apple’s recovery is rotten. New York City is falling behind, crushed by a middle-class economic rut of low-wage job growth and widening poverty, according to an alarming new...
Luxury bathrooms coming to NYC's mass transit hubs
Need a clean-bathroom break or shower and you don’t have Manhattan digs? A Fairfield, Conn., entrepreneur is launching what he says is the city’s first “luxury bathroom and private day...
Kardashian Kids line sparks big interest
The Kardashian sisters just unveiled their latest fashion product — Kardashian Kids — in a bid to grab a share of the lucrative $30 billion-plus children’s apparel industry in the...
WhatsApp rival tops charts in Germany
Call it schadenfreude, but a small Swiss messaging app has seen its users in Germany double in the days after Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook was buying its competitor WhatsApp...
Preview: Most-anticipated Senate races
For the third time in four years, the Republican Party finds itself politically positioned to win control of the Senate. More than eight months before President Obama’s second midterm election,...
The hottest Jesuses in movie history
It's the umpteenth coming of Christ, as the story of Jesus of Nazareth makes its way to movie theaters once again. In “Son of God,” out Friday, actor Diogo Morgado...
Roberto Cavalli sets runway on fire
Roberto Cavalli turned up the temperature on Milan Fashion Week with a ring of fire in the center of his tented runway.
Buffett has some explaining to do ahead of AGM
Just in time for Warren Buffett’s release of his 2014 annual letter to shareholders this coming Saturday, Oracle-watchers last week were privy to another iteration of the “Buffett Rule.” No,...
Dear John: There oughta be a thaw
Dear John: I’ve been reading your column for years now, and you’re always on the money when assessing the economy. I am what you would call a small-business owner, and...
No. 1 Syracuse loses on controversial call
DURHAM, N.C. — Rodney Hood scored 13 points and drew the game-changing charging call that helped No. 5 Duke beat No. 1 Syracuse 66-60 on Saturday night. Freshman Jabari Parker...
Last of 'The Sound of Music' siblings dies
STOWE, Vt. -- Maria von Trapp, the last surviving member and second-eldest daughter of the musical family whose escape from Nazi-occupied Austria was the basis for "The Sound of Music,"...
Mobile banking is huge for small businesses
The lucrative business that could flow from mobile banking is one cash cow that profit-starved US banks don’t need to nickel-and-dime customers in order to milk. A new study by...
Don't Miss: Time for new 'Arrow' baddie, 'Mixology' premieres
Downton Abbey (Sunday, 9 p.m., PBS) The year is 1923 and the fourth season of “Downton Abbey” is drawing to a close. Rose (Lily James) has put all that foolishness...
The English-Lit major
Here’s the nightmare scenario for many parents of college students. Suzie comes home from her $50,000-a-year university to tell you this: “Mom, Dad, I’ve decided I want to major in...
Serby’s Sunday Q&A with... Jimmie Johnson
Steve Serby chased down six-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champ Jimmie Johnson for some high-speed Q&A before Sunday’s Daytona 500. Q: How would you characterize your on-track mentality? A: I...
Reese: Giants will be younger in 2014
INDIANAPOLIS — Don’t count on the Giants re-signing any of their most prominent free agents before the market opens next month. General manager Jerry Reese said Saturday that fairness —...
Jets eyeing WRs at Combine
INDIANAPOLIS — Teams love to say they will take the “best available player” in the NFL Draft. For the Jets, that will be the “best available playmaker.” Not surprisingly, the...
Sound off: Canada try? No, they win
Canadian Olympic hockey teams have a culture of winning on the world stage. They do not have better players or coaches than the American teams, they have a winning mentality...
Vigneault: Rangers must be set for playoff push
It can be known for sure that on Saturday, there were three very unhappy New York Rangers players stewing in Russia. Defenseman Ryan McDonagh and forward Ryan Callahan were on...
Missouri DE ready to impress at Combine
INDIANAPOLIS — While the rest of the NFL world focuses on Michael Sam becoming the first openly gay player in the league, Sam would rather be known as the next...
Lavin: Glory still in sight
PHILADELPHIA — St. John’s coach Steve Lavin said the words “eye test” so many times Saturday afternoon, you would think he moonlights as an optometrist. Maybe he is in a...
Identity theft exploding with massive data breaches
A stranger takes over someone’s life about once every two seconds. And 1 in 3 of us now already has undesired personal experience with that upsetting fact, according to a...
Give Seinfeld a break on diversity charge
The United States Supreme Court will consider a suit, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, seeking to ban public schools from issuing “Perfect Attendance” awards to students as unconstitutional,...
New Yorker leaves $1.7 million unclaimed
There’s a New Yorker out there to whom $1.7 million is chump change. Among the people entitled to a share of billions of dollars in unclaimed funds is one state...
Woodson: Knicks looking to buy out World Peace, Udrih
ATLANTA — Say goodbye to World Peace. Knicks coach Mike Woodson said Saturday the club is working on a contract buyout for Queensbridge’s Metta World Peace and for Beno Udrih,...
Roberto Cavalli sets runway on fire
MILAN -- Roberto Cavalli turned up the temperature on Milan Fashion Week with a ring of fire in the center of his tented runway, while fashion newcomers au jour le...
Why doodling is a habit you don't need to break
At a 2012 United Nations Security Council meeting, Hilary Clinton hunched over her prepared speech, head in hand, writing intently. But she wasn’t taking notes on Syria or buffing up...
'The Americans' gambling with their kids' lives in new season
How are we going to live like this? It’s a question one spy, Elizabeth Jennings (Keri Russell), asks of another, Philip Jennings (Matthew Rhys), in an early episode of Season...
Team of ‘Warriors’ to defend US gold at Paralympics
It took Jeff Sauer about 10 minutes on the ice before he knew this was something he wanted to do. In July 2011, the former coach of two men’s hockey...
Quinn's lows a sign of more 'Scandal' craziness to come
Katie Lowes has done a 360-degree turn on “Scandal.” As Quinn Perkins, Lowes has been moved into the show’s lurid spotlight as a key player in a bizarre story that...
Phelps to help, but ultimate role a quandary
TAMPA — David Phelps is the leading candidate to be the Yankees’ fifth starter. Or a long reliever. Or traded in order to add a piece to a questionable bullpen,...
Texans would be clowns not to draft Jadeveon
INDIANAPOLIS — Jadeveon Clowney thinks the Texans should ask Peyton Manning if they have any doubts about making him the No. 1 pick in May’s NFL Draft. “You see the...
Ellsbury ignoring Yanks-Sox spitting contest
TAMPA — The Rivalry, like the man-eating plant in “Little Shop of Horrors,” requires regular servings of fresh meat to keep growing. Jacoby Ellsbury, by switching from the Red Sox...
Hey, Mets: Don’t hold back Amazin’ talent
PORT ST. LUCIE — Free Matt Harvey. The worst thing the Mets can do is to pull back the reins on their young star pitcher, who underwent Tommy John surgery...
When it comes to art, New Yorkers want nudes
Searching for artwork that’s NSFW? You’re not alone. According to research done by UGallery, a leading online gallery site, nude artwork is the most sought-after. Last year, it made up...
Cheerleader gone wild
Football season may be over, but that’s not stopping one NFL cheerleader. Her name is Alexa Brenneman, and she’s just kicked off a campaign aimed at forcing pro football teams...
Yankees sign Andrew Bailey to minor league deal
TAMPA — The Yankees have agreed to a one-year minor league deal with a team option, with right-handed reliever Andrew Bailey. The former A’s closer, who spent the last two...
NHL would be foolish to withdraw from Olympics
Garth Snow’s petulant reaction to John Tavares’ season-ending knee injury in Sochi is simply another prime example of the culture of victimization that has become a way of life on...
Zuckerberg ups stakes in tech takeover war with WhatsApp buy
Mark Zuckerberg — the young lord of Silicon Valley — expanded his reach on Wednesday by buying cross-platform messaging system WhatsApp for $19 billion — $4 billion in cash, $12...
Role models cut both ways in 'About a Boy' TV adaptation
Jason Katims isn’t the first name you’d expect to be linked with NBC’s new comedy, “About a Boy.” The Emmy Award-winning writer-producer is best known for creating “Friday Night Lights”...
Quarterback's journey from Cornell to combine
INDIANAPOLIS — Jeff Mathews has lived this day before. He has pictured the inside of Lucas Oil Stadium. He has envisioned himself running, throwing and jumping as NFL coaches, scouts...
Eliot Ness' revolutionary police work goes far beyond Al Capone
Hey, Kevin Costner — want to make “The Untouchables 2”? It’s got a pretty good plot. After taking down Al Capone, the real-life Eliot Ness achieved even greater law enforcement...
'Detective' gets darker, but lighten up, 'Portlandia' is back
With so many new shows premiering this week, you’ll need to prioritize which of the remaining series to keep on your schedule: “True Detective” (Sunday, 9 p.m., HBO): Be careful...
MLB full of players changing positions
The Tigers could have kept going, doing it the way they were doing it. After all, they have been tantalizingly close to winning the World Series that obsesses their aging...
Missing student killed by train in Rome
ROME — A college student from New Hampshire who was missing for two days in Rome was hit by a train, Italian railway police said Saturday. While police didn't release...
Finnished: No medals of honor for Team USA
So Team USA took the “Gold or nothing” approach to Sochi a bit too literally in the end, coming up with absolutely nothing in a 5-0 defeat to Finland in...
Goodell rewarded handsomely for creating hurdles for fans
In 2012, Roger “It’s All About The Fans” Goodell was paid $44.2 million by the NFL. That comes out to $850,000 per week, including paid vacations, plus, I imagine, all...
Jeter, Rizzuto show fans prefer stars who never leave
It was my father, wise in so many ways about sports, who identified 18 years ago the malaise that seems to affect everyone with even a passing interest in the...
Johnnies waste chance to knock off No. 9 ’Nova
PHILADELPHIA — It was all on the table for St. John’s. Third place in the Big East. The kind of resume-building win that would have gone a long way to...
Veteran shocked to hear of Medal of Honor, 40 years later
MIAMI — Melvin Morris was commanding a strike force on a mission near Chi Lang, South Vietnam, when his special forces group came under attack and a fellow commander was...
Knicks Rewind: Felton rehashes Knicks’ defensive flaws
ATLANTA — Raymond Felton hinted at it again late Friday night in the visitor’s locker room at Amway Center in Orlando, Fla., after another Knicks loss: The defensive system coach...
Former Knick recalls memorable dunk against Jordan
Former Knick John Starks had an interesting historical observation on the recent episode of MSG Network’s “Four Courses with J.B. Smoove.” The host was joined by dinner guests Starks, Ralph...
NFL eyeing 15-yard penalty for use of 'N-word'
The NFL is considering a rule that would ban players from using the N-word on the field — penalizing them 15 yards for a first offense and ejecting them from...
Harvey throws for first time since surgery
PORT ST. LUCIE — Jiminy Cricket made an appearance on Field 2 at the Mets spring training complex on Saturday. That was the voice in Matt Harvey’s head, reminding him to...
My time at the 'School of No'
Last week, after an investigation into her alleged habit of skipping school, the Department of Education finally moved to remove Principal Marcella Sills from PS 106 in the Rockaways. But...
Foreign real estate buyers in NY are not the enemy
My husband and I live in Toronto, but we just bought a condo on 57th Street in a 25 year-old building. I have owned a condo in New York since...
Christine O’Donnell: I was a victim of the IRS
On March 9, 2010, around 10 a.m., I announced my plans to run for senate representing Delaware. Later that same day, my office received a call from a reporter asking...
Charter school leaders warming up to Education chancellor Farina
Charter-school leaders remained nervous over Mayor de Blasio’s plans after a meeting Saturday with tight-lipped city officials who divulged almost nothing about their educational policies. “They haven’t consulted anyone from the...
World's most powerful drug lord captured
MEXICO CITY — The head of Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel who was the world's most powerful drug lord was captured overnight by US and Mexican authorities at a condominium in Mazatlan,...
Freed former Ukraine PM speaks to protesters
KIEV, Ukraine — Hours after her release from prison, former Ukrainian prime minister and opposition icon Yulia Tymoshenko appeared before an ecstatic throng at the protester encampment in Ukraine's capital...
Medal of Honor for Lenny Kravitz' uncle, 23 others
President Obama is posthumously awarding the Medal of Honor to Brooklyn-born Leonard M. Kravitz, whose heroics on the battlefield saved his comrades in Korea, and who never got to meet...
Protesters take control of Kiev as president flees capital
Jubilant opposition forces took control of Ukraine’s capital Saturday as President Viktor Yanukovych tried to flee the country, only to have his plane grounded by his own customs officials. The...
Obama calls Putin to discuss Ukraine accord
WASHINGTON — President Obama called Russian President Vladimir Putin Friday to get assurances that Moscow would back a hastily negotiated agreement on Ukraine’s future. Obama phoned hours after Ukrainian President...
Train hits film crew shooting on tracks, killing one
JESUP, Ga. — A movie crew was working on train tracks without permission from the railroad when a freight train crashed into the production team and its equipment, killing one...
Woman found dead in snowed-in car
PHILADELPHIA — Countless people in Philadelphia walked by a snow-covered sedan with dark windows and a slew of parking tickets before police this week found the body of a young...
Daily Blotter
Manhattan ■ The thief got away with $6,000 from a Financial District bank but struck out at two other branches, police said Friday. He first hit a Chase branch on...
Mets $250M refinance closer
The New York Mets owners have just made one of their biggest off-season signings. Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz have fully sold their loan to refinance the team, a source...
Rat found in 96th birthday cake
Joseph Vallenti celebrated his 96th birthday with a big slice of his favorite apple strudel cake, but there was one filling he didn’t count on — a rat. “Something isn’t...
Dodgers great Koufax hit by foul ball, but OK
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Dodgers great Sandy Koufax was hit by a foul ball off the bat of Andre Ethier during batting practice. Koufax was standing in the bullpen down the...
TV newsman Garrick Utley dies at 74
Veteran TV journalist Garrick Utley, whose far-ranging career included anchoring duties as well as reporting from more than 70 countries, has died of cancer at 74, NBC said Friday. Utley...
Nicki Minaj sued by wig designer
ATLANTA — A former wig designer for rapper Nicki Minaj sued the performer Friday, accusing her of walking away from business plans, then making money by selling wigs based on...
Drunken driver tries $50K bribe to go free: cops
A drunken coke fiend tried to bribe cops with $50,000 and “expensive watches from a safe in my house” if they would drive him home instead of cuffing him for...
Melo: Knicks have to move on from trade deadline
ORLANDO, Fla. — Carmelo Anthony isn’t sure whether the Knicks standing pat at the trade deadline while their competitors improved was the right or wrong thing to do. But he...
'Bang' star Bialik in Brooklyn's BAM for 'Star Talk'
Even someone like Mayim Bialik, who appears on one of TV’s most popular sitcoms (“The Big Bang Theory”), can get a little star struck. Especially when the star is the...
Aussie TV presenter Charlotte Dawson found dead
A New Zealand-born former model and television personality was found dead in her Sydney apartment Saturday morning, reported the Australian website news.com.au. Charlotte Dawson, 47, a judge on “Australia’s Next...
Scandal pol Kellner: I'm through
Embattled Upper East Side Assemblyman Micah Kellner — sanctioned for allegedly hitting on a female staffer — won’t be running for re-election. Kellner told the East Side Democratic Club Thursday...
NYPD to translate domestic complaints after family murder
NYPD brass on Friday sent a message to all personnel saying that reports of domestic violence written in foreign languages must be immediately translated to protect potential victims, sources said.The...
Kin of late fashion designer battle baroness over fortune
The dirt-poor Nepalese relatives of late Manhattan fashion legend Shail Upadhya are scraping together their meager belongings — even selling off land — to finance a battle against an evil...
Scare prepared hero auntie for baby rescue
A Miami schoolteacher was touched by an angel seven years ago when her own son almost died — and then grew wings on Thursday when she saved her nephew’s life....
Letitia James: I have no opinion on 'friend' mayor's gaffes
Meet the parrot-in-chief. For the second straight week, Public Advocate Letitia James deferred to the mayor in a case where his actions have come under considerable scrutiny. Asked about video...
Tyson blooper has to be the last straw for Knicks
ORLANDO, Fla. — They have been dying bit by bit, piece by piece, week after week, game after game. They have suffered a thousand cuts, inflicted a thousand indignities on themselves...
Obama meets Dalai Lama at White House, China protests
WASHINGTON — President Obama met with the Dalai Lama at the White House Friday over the stern objection of China, which warned that the meeting would “inflict grave damages” on...
Poly Prep apologizes for decades of sexual abuse
Brooklyn's elite Poly Prep Country Day School is apologizing for decades of sexual abuse by the school's former football coach. The Wall Street Journal reports that Poly Prep officials sent...