February 7, 2003

VIVENDI'S NEW SNAG - ASSET SALE WOULD TRIGGER $2B PAYMENT TO BRONFMANS

Vivendi's effort to get rid of its U.S. entertainment assets is being complicated by a potentially large tax payment the company could be forced to pay the Bronfman family, The...

KAUFMAN IS DILLER'S HOLLYWOOD HENCHMAN

Victor Kaufman is doing Barry Diller's dirty work in Hollywood. Kaufman, vice-chairman of Diller's e-commerce outfit USAI, has taken an active role in putting Vivendi Universal's Hollywood budgets under the...

GOLDMAN CUTS COMING - 20% OF OPTIONS TRADERS MAY GO, EQUITIES MAY FOLLOW

Goldman Sachs is planning to hand out pink slips to as many as 10 to 20 percent of its options traders early next week, The Post has learned. There may...

SEC: ANALYSTS MUST SWEAR BY THEIR RESEARCH REPORTS

Analysts must now swear that they're telling you the truth about stocks. Honest. New rules from the Securities and Exchange Commission will require analysts to vouch personally that their research...

KRAWCHECK SHUFFLES CITI

After four months in her new home at Citigroup, Sallie Krawcheck is starting to clean house. The 38-year-old head of the giant group's research arm and consumer stock sales dumped...

PUFFY INKS GOOD DEAL FOR BAD BOY

Puffy inked a multi-million dollar record deal with Universal Records yesterday. Sean "P.Diddy" Combs - also known as "Puff Daddy" - had been seeking a record deal to house his...

BLOOMBERG: A LIST-ING SHIP? - EDITORS ASKED TO NAME NAMES OF GRIPERS, COMPLAINERS

THE guys Mayor Michael Bloomberg left behind to run his old shop, media giant Bloomberg L.P., are going on a witch hunt to find out who the gripers and complainers...

FASHION WEEK SPRINGS BACK

It's all about optimism. Though there's uncertainty on the world and business fronts, the fashion flock is cautiously optimistic about fall 2003. Fashion designers will start to unveil their designs...

HINDERY TAKES YES BASEBALL FIGHT PUBLIC

The Yankees TV baseball impasse might get settled by a couple of moguls arm-wrestling at a table. Leo Hindery, head of the Yankees' YES Network, which is battling Cablevision to...

IN HYNDE SIGHT, A DUD

THE PRETENDERS ---------- ONCE the reigning queen of new wave and, in the years since, one of the strongest voices for women in rock, Chrissie Hynde delivered a disappointing performance...

NOW ANNA NICOLE IS GOING BLEEPLESS

ANNA Nicole Smith has worked without clothes and without shame - now she's working without a net. The first episode of the second-season return of reality show "The Anna Nicole...

HACKNEYED SEX STORY 'TWAS EVER 'ZUS'

ZUS & ZO [] An Amsterdam mess. In Dutch, with English subtitles. Running time: 100 minutes. Not rated (sex, nudity). At the Quad and the First and 62nd in Manhattan,...

WRITERS GUILD BOOSTS 'FISHER'

THE real-life Antwone Fisher, documentary filmmaker Michael Moore and a pair of brothers - one real, one imaginary - picked up award nominations yesterday from the Writers Guild of America....

NUDITY STILL IN 'OUT'

THERES no warning sign over the box office this time about any onstage nudity but theres just as much nakedness in Richard Greenberg's play "Take Me Out," now in previews...

SEE NO 'EVA'

DELIVER US FROM EVA [] Hokey romantic comedy. Running time: 105 minutes. Rated R (sex-related dialogue). At the Empire, the Union Square, the Magic Johnson, others. ----- THE team of...

WITH A MAJOR-LABEL HIT, GET READY FOR THE . . . DONNAS PARTY

GOOD girls may go to heaven, but bad girls go everywhere else. The Donnas are the baddest women in rock, and their major label debut "Spend the Night" has taken...

STARR REPORT

Simon says: Kimberly should have stayed "American Idol" judge Simon Cowell would have kept Kimberly Caldwell on Wednesday's show, he said on last night's "Extra" (7 p.m./Ch. 4). "It was...

YOU WOODEN BELIEVE HOW BAD BENIGNI IS

PINOCCHIO [Zero stars] Strung out. In Italian, with English subtitles. Running time: 110 minutes. Rated G. At the Angelika, Houston and Mercer streets. ---- NOSES at Miramax have grown longer...

'LOSE' THIS MOVIE

HOW TO LOSE A GUY IN 10 DAYS1/2 Clumsy, overlong. Running time: 116 minutes. Rated PG-13 (mild sexuality). At the E-Walk, the Loews Village, others. ------ 'HOW to Lose a...

ACTING MAKES 'RAINEY' SHINE

MA RAINEY'S BLACK BOTTOM [ 1/2] Royale Theatre, 242 W. 45th St., (212) 329-6200. ------- WHEN August Wilson burst upon Broadway in 1984 with "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom," two stars...

BACK TO THE ISLE OF LOVE

BRACE yourselves for "Temptation Island 3." The third edition of Fox's controversial reality show just began casting yesterday and is slated to air this summer. Casting takes between six and...

'ALIAS' FOR DUMMIES - ABC MAKES SPY SHOW EASIER TO FOLLOW

THE highly complex plots of ABC's cult spy-hit "Alias" are getting simplified. The hope, according to ABC sources, is that more people will tune in to watch the show if...

NOBODY DOES IT BETTER

"60 Minutes" [] Sunday at 7 on CBS --- A FEW years ago, The Montana Power Company, a 90-year-old firm which provided cheap, reliable (did I mention cheap?) power to...

MINIMUM RAGE - PRODUCERS, MUSICIANS CALLING THEIR TUNES

BULLETINS from the front lines of the producers vs. musicians labor dispute: * Negotiations began Tuesday, with both sides doing the requisite amount of posturing. On the burning question of...

ZAGAT EXPANDS BEAT WITH MUSIC

FIRST came food, now comes music. Zagat is adding to its vast number of directories with its first Music Survey, which will rate more than 2,000 albums from artists dating...

GET A LIFE! - ORIGINAL BACHELOR'S VERDICT ON THOSE DESPERATE SINGLES

IN three years, Rick Rockwell has gone from TV pariah to TV pioneer. The irony that reality-relationship shows are all the rage today is not lost on the hapless groom...

'KNIGHTS' TO REMEMBER

SHANGHAI KNIGHTS Surprisingly delightful sequel. Running time: 114 minutes. Rated PG-13 (moderate violence and sexual references). At the E-Walk, the Union Square, the Chelsea, others. 'SHANGHAI Knights" reunites the inspired...

HILLARY ROMPS IN DEMS' PREZ POLL

WASHINGTON - A new poll says Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton could sweep the entire field of Democratic presidential candidates if she wanted to challenge President Bush in 2004 - fueling...

WEIRD BUT TRUE

Handy the dog can run and fetch just like any other pooch - even though he has only two legs. The 12-week-old puppy, who was born with a partial left...

SECRET SHUTTLE HUNT - FEDS DESPERATE TO KEEP CODE DEVICE OUT OF WRONG HANDS

Hundreds of National Guardsmen, federal agents, cops and volunteers scoured a tiny Texas town yesterday for a top-secret shuttle communications device the feds want to keep out of foreign hands....

'WRONG TARGET' FAMILY PERISHES

A Jersey City mother and her two young children were killed in an apartment blaze after a disgruntled ex-boyfriend set a fire - meant for someone else. Jobina Walker, 26,...

WOMEN ARE BETTER AT BABY TALK

Women are better than men at talking to babies, researchers have concluded. That's because women spend more time with babies and learn what vocal patterns they respond to, they say....

THE COWARD'S WAY - PERSUADED BY POWELL - OR JUST GIVEN COVER?

IT'S understandable that politicians, especially Democratic politicians, might have been sitting on the fence about the looming war with Iraq. After all, they have to deal with a voting base...

CHUCK: BOOT PRISON CLERIC'S PALS

ALBANY - Sen. Charles Schumer yesterday called on the state to fire all Muslim clerics hired by a former prison imam who defended the Sept. 11 terrorists. "These imams represent...

ARABS KILL 2 ISRAELIS IN W. BANK

JERUSALEM - Two Palestinian gunmen attacked a West Bank military base with hand grenades and gunfire, killing two Israeli soldiers before they were cut down yesterday. The violence raised the...

PICTURE THIS! - BITTER FOES MIKE & BETSY ALL SMILES AS THEY BURY HATCHET

The very public feud between Mayor Bloomberg and Betsy Gotbaum ended yesterday in a public way. The public advocate and the mayor stood side-by-side at a City Hall press conference,...

SEPT. 11 TOMB HAS NO ROOM FOR KILLERS

The FBI has given the city medical examiner's office DNA profiles from the 10 hijackers who crashed planes into the Twin Towers so their remains can be separated from those...

WAR 'EAGLES' TAKING WING - AIRBORNE IS ORDERED TOWARD IRAQ

WASHINGTON - One of the U.S. military's most elite combat divisions - the "tip of the spear" for an Iraq attack - received deployment orders yesterday as mobilization for war...

EMBEZZLER NEARLY BROUGHT DOWN ELEVATOR FIRM: DA

A trusted and long-serving bookkeeper brought her Queens company to "the brink of bankruptcy" by methodically embezzling at least $2.3 million - a stunning repeat of a crime she committed...

COUNCIL CLOSER TO CELL HANG-UP

The controversial ban on cell phones in movie theaters and performance spaces moved closer to becoming law yesterday, despite objections from Mayor Bloomberg. The City Council's Committee on Consumer Affairs...

N. KOREA'S 'RATTLE' COULD LEAD TO BATTLE

WASHINGTON - President Bush has "robust plans for any contingencies" on North Korea - including military force - but still expects to resolve the crisis there by peaceful diplomacy, the...

NYPD DAILY BLOTTER

MANHATTAN * A man slashed a woman aboard a subway train in lower Manhattan yesterday, police said. The violence occurred about 11 a.m. on a southbound No. 2 train in...

SIBLING RIVALRY - FEDS TAPE GENE GOTTI CURSING MOB BRO

Reputed Gambino crime boss Peter Gotti has been badmouthed plenty over the years - but in Brooklyn federal court yesterday, even his own brother trashed him. Sibling rivalry burst into...

SHACKLES GIVE COPS A LEG UP

The NYPD began issuing leg shackles yesterday to precincts throughout the city for cops to use on suspects in an attempt to halt the embarrassing number of escapes by prisoners...

PRINCIP-HELL - TEACHERS RIP 'EVIL' HS BOSS

Meet the meanest principal in the city. That's how teachers and community leaders describe Adele Vocel, head of FDR HS in Brooklyn. More than three dozen current and former teachers...

SPECTOR SCUFFLED WITH COPS IN SLAY BUST

Fabled pop impresario Phil Spector reportedly resisted arrest after cops discovered the lifeless body of B-movie femme fatale Lana Clarkson sprawled in a pool of blood in the foyer of...

NO-PARKING ZONE FOR MIKE'S FOES

Three Democratic councilmen who voted against Mayor Bloomberg's plan to hike property taxes got some payback yesterday when their official parking passes were temporarily withheld. Councilmen James Davis of Brooklyn...

SILVERSTEIN IN WITH WTC 'IN' CROWD

A week after he slammed the design proposals and warned development officials not to leave him out of the loop, World Trade Center leaseholder Larry Silverstein is back in the...

APPLE SHOULD $ECEDE: POL

New York City as the 51st state? One local legislator says the idea should be explored, considering how poorly the city is faring in Albany these days. "The last straw...

LIRR RE-ROUTE GETS BUSH PUSH

President Bush gave the East Side Access project a thumbs up yesterday - recommending it get funding from Congress this year. The project, which would give Long Island Rail Road...

'REALITY' BITES LIZA, HUBBY IN MTV SUIT

David Gest's behavior "went so far beyond the acceptable bounds of show-business eccentricity" that he doomed an "Osbournes"-style reality TV show about his and Liza Minnelli's married life, MTV says....

BRUNO: NEW TAX MAY 'BRIDGE' BUDGET GAP

State Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno yesterday said he may allow the city to raise its local income tax and place tolls on the East River bridges to close a...

'SUV-ILLAIN' HIT WITH MURDER RAP IN B'KLYN CARNAGE

The Long Island SUV driver accused of blazing a deadly trail of destruction through East New York was hit with a laundry list of charges yesterday by the Brooklyn DA,...

RIDERS RAIL AT MTA HIKE TALK

Furious straphangers and politicans again pelted the MTA with complaints yesterday, arguing that raising bus and subway fares to $2 was way off track. More than 200 people packed into...

FATHER WEEPS FOR SON

An empty crib, a baby's blanket, a photo - they're all Manuel Villot has left of his family. A day after his girlfriend, Yaritza Santos, and their baby son, Manuel,...

FEDS NAB 'IMAM' IN VISA CON

A Brooklyn greeting-card salesman - who worships Osama bin Laden and hopes for another Sept. 11 - masterminded a Muslim immigration ring in which more than 200 people obtained green...

MUCH MORE TO SADDAM-QAEDA TIE

WASHINGTON - The United States has extensive proof of communication between Iraqi officials and an al Qaeda-affiliated group - but has been reluctant to reveal the information because of its...

TEEN KILLS DAD OVER MANICURE: COPS

An emotionally disturbed teenager murdered his father with a pocket knife early yesterday morning after receiving what he considered an unsatisfactory manicure from his dad, cops said. Police arrested William...

LETTERS THREATENING NEW TERROR ATTACKS IF MUSLIMS AREN'T TREATED "BETTER" WERE MAILED TO POLICE HEADQUARTERS

Letters threatening new terror attacks if Muslims aren't treated "better" were mailed to Police Headquarters, the Kennedy Airport control tower and several East Side buildings, police said. Roughly 10 letters...

BIZARRE SLAYING AFTER VAN SMASH

A simple van accident in Brooklyn turned deadly last night when a gunman - who was not involved in the crash - killed a witness, sped off in one of...

WACKO JACKO BITTERLY DENIES BEING A CHILD-ABUSING MONSTER.

Wacko Jacko bitterly denies being a child-abusing monster. "Everyone who knows me will know the truth, which is that my children come first in my life - and that I...

JACKO'S VEILED THREAT - SHRINKS' VERDICT: HE'S A BAD DAD

Michael Jackson is unfit to be around kids - and must be kept from sleeping with boys, top shrinks and child-welfare experts said after viewing a jolting TV special last...

WOMEN ARE BEST AT BABY TALK

Women are better than men at talking to babies, researchers have concluded. That's because women spend more time with babies and learn what vocal patterns they respond to, they say....

SECRET SHUTTLE HUNT: FEDS DESPERATE TO KEEP CODE DEVICE OUT OF WRONG HANDS

Hundreds of National Guardsmen, federal agents, cops and volunteers scoured a tiny Texas town yesterday for a top-secret shuttle communications device the feds want to keep out of foreign hands....

9/11 TOMB HAS NO ROOM FOR KILLERS

The FBI has given the city medical examiner's office DNA profiles from the 10 hijackers who crashed planes into the Twin Towers so the terrorists' remains can be separated from...

PICTURE THIS! BITTER FOES MIKE & BETSY ALL SMILES AS THEY BURY HATCHET

The very public feud between Mayor Bloomberg and Betsy Gotbaum ended yesterday in a very public way. The public advocate and the mayor stood side-by-side at a City Hall press...

WACKO JACKO DENIAL

Wacko Jacko bitterly denies being a child-abusing monster. "Everyone who knows me will know the truth, which is that my children come first in my life - and that I...

JACKO'S VEILED THREAT: SHRINKS' VERDICT: HE'S A BAD DAD

Michael Jackson is unfit to be around kids - and must be kept from sleeping with boys, top shrinks and child-welfare experts said after viewing a jolting TV special last...

I'VE BEEN HI-JACKO-ED: MICHAEL: 'UNFAIR' SHOW BETRAYED ME

Wacko Jacko has hit backo - defending his bizarre bedroom behavior with kids and blasting the TV special on his weirdo life as "terrible" and "grossly unfair." "Everyone who knows...

DAD WEEPS FOR TRAGIC LOVE & SON

An empty crib, a baby's blanket, a photograph - that's all Manuel Villot has left of his family. A day after his girlfriend Yaritza Santos and their baby boy Manuel...

'GAME OVER': BUSH GIVES THE U.N. ULTIMATIUM ON IRAQ

WASHINGTON - President Bush yesterday gave the United Nations one last chance to stand up to Saddam Hussein, declaring: "The game is over." Underscoring the imminent threat of war, the...

EUROS CRACK QAEDA CELLS

WASHINGTON - Britain and Germany yesterday announced new arrests of suspected al Qaeda cell members who may be plotting terrorist attacks designed to capitalize on the Iraq crisis. German prosecutors...

AMERICANS A 'WORLDWIDE' TARGET

WASHINGTON - The State Department yesterday issued a "worldwide caution" for all Americans - specifically warning against the possibility of chemical and biological attacks. "It is being issued to remind...

COMEBACK KIDDERS - KNICKS FALL SHORT FOLLOWING WILD RALLY

The Knicks didn't post the greatest comeback in Garden history, but they sure tried. The Knicks were embarrassed and humiliated for three quarters by a barrage of Shaquille O'Neal's rim-rattling,...

POINT WELL TAKEN FOR RANGERS

ST. LOUIS - Good point for the Rangers, thought Mikael Samuelsson, who created it last night with second goal of the game with 6:22 remaining. "Good team like St. Louis...

BRYLIN A BIG LOSS - UNSUNG HERO TO MISS 2-3 MONTHS

Their championship chase, the chance for records tonight, everything Devil was dampened yesterday. Glory was relegated to the waiting room while their Unsung Hero was undergoing wrist surgery. The Devils...

BROOKLYN YACHT CLUB: GREAT FOOD, FRIENDS

THE Brooklyn Yacht Club, born out of prejudice after World War II, has grown into a diverse group whose love of fishing is a common bond. The club was organized...

JONSSON GETS THE GO-AHEAD TO FACE CAPS

WASHINGTON - It appears the Islanders will have Kenny Jonsson in the lineup tonight against the Capitals after he returned to practice yesterday for the first time without headaches. "I...

YANKS' MONEY KEEPS ON TALKIN' - BUYING POWER CUTS INTO VALUE OF TEAM BUILDING

JOSE CONTRERAS did not rate as highly as Hideki Matsui when it came to press conference power. Contreras' affair was held at Yankee Stadium rather than a midtown Manhattan hotel,...

TORRE TO THE BOSS: PLACE BLAME ON ME

YANKEE NOTES Joe Torre says if George Steinbrenner wants to blame somebody for the Yankees' first-round ouster in last year's playoffs, The Boss can hang it on him. Steinbrenner was...

CONTRERAS SAYS HE'S READY FOR ANY ROLE

What is known about Jose Contreras is limited to the glimpse we got yesterday at Yankee Stadium and the superlatives from scouts who have seen the Cuban throw his filthy...

INJURY KOS VINDICATION FROM CROWN

The "Breeders' Cup jinx" has struck again. Kentucky Derby future-book favorite Vindication, the undefeated 2-year-old champion who capped his 2002 campaign with a rousing score in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile,...

K-MART'S SPRAIN NO WORRY FOR NETS

Kenyon Martin wasn't worried but Rod Thorn was. But the Nets' team president was breathing easier, a lot easier, after learning that results of an MRI performed yesterday on Martin's...

THE WRONG PLACE TO 'MEET' - ALL-STARS NEVER BELONGED ON NBC NEWS SHOW

IT TAKES a village to make an idiot. For the last few years, NBA All-Star Game Sundays on NBC began with, of all things, "Meet the Press." One of the...

GARDEN PHIL-ED MEMORIES

HE was here right from the start, from the moment they opened the doors of the place we still call "The New Garden," even if it's days away from celebrating...

MILLROSE SHOULD BLOOM

The Millrose Games has a well-earned reputation as the world's best indoor track meet, but tonight's meet - highlighted by Maurice Greene's return, Terrence Trammell's double [60M dash and hurdles],...

TIME TO BLOW WHISTLE ON RILEY

ATLANTA - Perhaps there's someone or something on this planet (or any other) not out to get Pat Riley, but astronomers have yet to find him/her/it. Following Wednesday night's 14-point...

COTTRELL WAITS FOR 49ER CALL

Ted Cottrell is so close to realizing his dream he can practically taste it. But the Jets' defensive coordinator, disappointed six previous times when his name was not called as...

TELFAIR LEARNS FROM LEBRON - SAYS HE'LL 'BE EVEN MORE CAREFUL'

Everyone expects Sebastian Telfair to be the next big thing, whenever LeBron James escapes the spotlight. And Telfair, the junior point guard for Lincoln, already is feeling the effects of...

NEWCOMER LIFTS LINCOLN

Lincoln 74 Banneker 56 Lincoln didn't need any more help, but the defending PSAL champions got some anyway. After storming through the regular season undefeated in the PSAL, Lincoln added...

KOBE'S HOT HAND LIGHTS UP GARDEN

This conversation actually happened after Phil Jackson watched as Kobe Bryant attempted one shot in the second half of a Jan. 24 game against the Nets. One single shot. Now...

NOTHING MORE THAN AN ILLUSION

FOR a while, you could close your eyes and let your mind wander, let the noise and the electricity carry you off to better times and happier nights. For a...

LAKERS SEND MESSAGE: THEY'RE BACK

The message sent by the Lakers the past two weeks and hammered home again last night is a simple warning to every NBA team that fancies itself a contender for...

BAD WRIST KEPT HOU ON BENCH

KNICK NOTES Allan Houston was shocked that TNT commentator Danny Ainge would question why he did not return to last night's loss to the Lakers in the second half. Houston...

VAN GUNDY OPTS TO BE GARDEN NO-SHOW

KNICK NOTES Jeff Van Gundy was conveniently missing from Garden courtside when TNT broadcast last night's game against the Lakers - the Knicks' first appearance this season on the network....

HOUSTON SEES SILVER LINING IN KNICK CLOUDS

Boy, it sure sounded strange to hear anyone associated with the Knicks remotely suggest the team is exceeding anyone's expectations. But that's the tune Allan Houston was singing as the...

SPREE WANTS TO STAY - WILL NEW ATTITUDE STOP TRADE WINDS?

The Lakers, last night's Knicks opponent, had internal discussions about acquiring Latrell Sprewell. The Sixers had external discussions with the Knicks about Sprewell, dangling Keith Van Horn. Knicks GM Scott...

NEW COACH, SAME RANGERS: LACK OF DISCIPLINE IS STILL KILLING BLUESHIRTS

ST. LOUIS - Sometimes, it takes a new voice. Sometimes, a new voice becomes only a second one crying in the wilderness. The Rangers gave up three power-play goals in...

TELFAIR LEARNS FROM LEBRON

Everyone expects Sebastian Telfair to be the next big thing, whenever LeBron James escapes the spotlight. And Telfair, the junior point guard for Lincoln, already is feeling the effects of...

THANKS, MICHAEL - JORDAN'S ALL-STAR FINALE WILL BE EMOTIONAL EVENT

With each word Marv Albert spoke, the goose bumps grew on Magic Johnson. Albert, using his familiar New York tones, explained what he expects during Michael Jordan's final NBA All-Star...

5 QUESTIONS FOR BILL CLEMENT

This week, The Post's Andrew Marchand spoke with Bill Clement, ABC/ESPN's lead NHL analyst. The 52-year-old Clement will work his 17th straight Stanley Cup Finals this year. Q: Who do...

MARCHAND'S MATCHUP OF THE WEEK

Bob Ley vs. Those Wise-Cracking SportsCenter anchors Memo to all young sportscasters: Don't annoy your audience. Trying too hard to be funny, or being too much of a wise guy,...

GAME, SET, MATCH FOR EVERT : CARILLO FAVORITE TO REPLACE HER AT NBC

Tennis great Chris Evert retired from NBC yesterday, starting a search for her replacement that includes Mary Carillo, Martina Navratilova and Tracy Austin, according to sources. Carillo is the favorite....

Lights, camera, Akron: City adores hometown hero LeBron James

AKRON, Ohio - Everywhere you go here, it is about LeBron James. Everyone you meet wants to talk about him. Everything you hear on the radio is about him. It...