April 12, 2003

NOW IT'S M'SOFT - JOINS APPLE IN KICKING TIRES OF UNIVERSAL MUSIC

Microsoft has expressed interest in buying Vivendi's Universal Music Group, setting up a possible bidding war between the software maker and rival Apple Computer, according to sources familiar with the...

LVMH IN TALKS TO SELL 3 FRAGRANCES

LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton is in discussions with Estee Lauder and Coty about the sale of three designer fragrance licenses, a person familiar with the situation said. Estee Lauder...

ROGERS IS ON THE ROPES AT PRIMEDIA

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. has lost patience with Primedia Chief Executive Tom Rogers and is not interested in renewing his contract, according to sources familiar with the matter. KKR,...

P. DIDDY WALKS IN BLUES SHOES

SEAN "P. Diddy" Combs will be singing the blues - he's set to play blues legend Robert Johnson in an HBO biopic. "Love in Vain," an HBO Films feature, will...

BURY IT!

HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES [Half a star] Blecch. Running time: 88 minutes. Rated R (strong sadistic violence/gore, sexuality and language). At the AMC Empire 25, Loews 84th Street, Battery Park...

PEER PLEASURE - GROUP SHOPPING TOUR YIELDS BONDING AND DISCOUNTS

Chain store shoppers who long to be chic - but aren't finding what they need at the Gap - now have a savior. Tracey Morgan aims to rescue gals who...

DINNER PARTY CHEAT SHEET

FRIENDS got drunk the other night and tried to liberate the dinner table. THOSE IN THE KNOWLES The city health department released the most popular baby names for 2001 this...

ACROSS A CLOUDED ROOM ....

Stifling a sneaking suspicion that we were doing something wrong as we skulked furtively into the jazzy den of Circa Tabac, we were elated to find a host of like-minded...

HEAD OF THE GLASS - THESE MANHATTAN BREWSPOTS HAVE GOT MAD HOPS

What is a brew pub? A bar that goes far beyond the call of duty. Brew pubs design and brew their own beers on the premises and sell it to...

OY HAPPY DAY

Joshua Nelson keeps kosher, strictly observes Shabbat and studies the Talmud. He also loves to sing about Jesus. Nelson, from Newark, N.J., is an Orthodox Jewish gospel singer - and...

THEY CAN DIG IT - THE CAST AND CREW FILL US IN ON BRINGING 'HOLES' TO THE SCREEN

IT wasn't the humidity, it was the heat, the wind and the dirt. And it wasn't Operation Iraqi Freedom - it was the set of "Holes," the movie based on...

FOLLOW THESE DANCING FEET!

They call them "Broadway babies" - kids from small towns who come to the big city with stars in their eyes and tap shoes on their feet. Catch them in...

ALL THE DIRT ON THE AUTHOR

OLIVER Twist, Huck Finn, Holden Caulfield . . . Stanley Yelnats. Stanley Yelnats? Sure. Stanley's the hero of "Holes," Louis Sacher's award-winning novel beloved by readers 10 and up. On...

WEIRD BUT TRUE

A Boston teen's cell phone saved his life this week - without his dialing 911 or making a call. The phone - attached to the 15-year-old's waistband - deflected a...

WHAT DO WE DO NOW? - THE CHALLENGES AFTER SADDAM

OUR military success has been spectacular. Key phases of the campaign, such as the fall of Baghdad, came even more swiftly than the most optimistic observers believed possible. But sudden...

IMAGE OF CONQUEST

KUWAIT OUTSIDE the MWR (Morale, Welfare and Recreation) tent at this dusty camp in Kuwait, a 40-inch television blares updates on the war. The battleground is a black hole of...

FLUNKY LEAVES BEHIND TRASHED BA'ATH ROOM

AN Iraqi diplomat here has taken out his anger at the United States by trashing his rented East Side apartment - and sticking the owner with an $8,500 repair bill....

CRAVEN NEWS NETWORK

CNN chief news executive Eason Jordan yesterday revealed that his network had refused for years to report what it knew about Saddam Hussein's murderous atrocities - even against its own...

WANNABE RAPPER SENTENCED TO 15 YEARS TO LIFE

The wannabe rapper who gunned down an innocent man in Queens in retaliation for the slaying of a rising hip-hop star was sentenced yesterday to 15 years to life in...

BUTCHER'S BRIGADES EVAPORATE

WASHINGTON - The last of Saddam Hussein's military forces in northern Iraq collapsed yesterday as commanders surrendered control of Mosul to U.S. troops and prepared to abandon the fierce defense...

PRESIDENT VOWS: OUR POWS WILL BE FOUND

President Bush yesterday vowed to find the seven missing American POWs, whose whereabouts are still unknown three days after the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime. "We will use every resource...

NYPD DAILY BLOTTER

MANHATTAN * Cops yesterday released a sketch of a man (above) they say tried to sodomize two girls in Harlem. The incident occurred Feb. 27 around 4:30 p.m. when the...

VLADIMIR PUTIN YESTERDAY SAID MOSCOW WILL CONSIDER THE "LEGITIMATE" U.S. CALL TO FORGIVE IRAQ

WASHINGTON - Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday said Moscow will consider the "legitimate" U.S. call to forgive Iraq up to $12 billion in debt that was built up by Saddam...

RUB-OUT THREAT IN TIMES HEIST

A Genovese mobster threatened to have a fellow gangster killed if he screwed up their plans to rob The New York Times printing plant of as much as $6 million,...

PRESIDENT BUSH YESTERDAY SAID HE'LL NEVER FORGET HOW SADDAM HUSSEIN'S STATUE CAME TUMBLING DOWN

WASHINGTON - President Bush yesterday said he'll never forget how Saddam Hussein's statue came tumbling down in Baghdad as he fought back tears after visiting wounded troops who helped make...

SLAVE 'BURIAL' GROUND - COPS HUNTING MORE VICTIMS OF SEX FIEND

Cops began digging up the land around the home of a 67-year-old retired handyman yesterday fearing it might be the secret burial ground for women he kidnapped, police said. John...

MARAUDING MOBS PLAY LOOT 'N' SHOOT

Iraq was in chaos yesterday as outbursts of celebration and anti-Saddam looting turned violent in several cities. Many Iraqis who tolerated the exuberant turmoil earlier this week were aghast yesterday...

FURY OVER CNN BIG'S COVER-UP

CNN exec Eason Jordan's stunning admission that he withheld information about Saddam Hussein's atrocities drew a scathing response yesterday from media watchdogs and Iraqi opposition groups. Jordan, CNN's news chief,...

DRAGNET A GAME OF '55 PICK-UP' - PLAYING CARDS AID GIS IN HUNT FOR SADDAM'S GANG

WASHINGTON - The U.S. military yesterday raised the stakes in the hunt for Saddam Hussein and his henchmen - distributing decks of playing cards bearing the names and faces of...

COP CLEARED IN FATAL SHOOTING

A police officer is off the hook in the Jan. 2 fatal shooting of a car thief, Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes said yesterday. John LaGattuta, 35, was shot by...

BAGHDAD NOTEBOOK

Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf - who became a celebrity with his outlandish denials during the war - has become so popular that a web site dedicated to him...

SCALDED TOT BLAMED MOM

A 4-year-old Brooklyn girl who died after being scalded, said her mother had put her in a bathtub filled with hot water to punish her, a city official testified yesterday....

$20M SUIT HITS COPS IN WTC 'PIT' FIGHT

A city engineer who says he was beaten and arrested by five Port Authority cops at Ground Zero filed a lawsuit yesterday for $20 million. Michael Kenny broke his collarbone...

SERIAL RAP FOR 'PSYCHO'

The suspected psycho killer who targeted Middle Eastern men in Brooklyn and Queens to avenge the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks was indicted as a serial killer yesterday afternoon. Although the...

UNDERDOG STUDENTS KICK A LITTLE CLASS

Six students from a Queens high school that is plagued by a dwindling graduation rate, failing test scores and a lawsuit for unfairly expelling students have done the impossible -...

CD COUNTERFEIT BUST SNAGS A 'RIP-OFF'ICER

An East Harlem man busted for counterfeiting CDs and DVDs turned out to be a one-man phony police force - with three fake badges, six simulated handguns, a bulletproof vest...

GOLF PROTESTS IN THE ROUGH

The Rev. Jesse Jackson's PUSH troops and angry women's groups will be far from the putting green today as the Masters tournament goes into its second day. About 100 demonstrators...

YOU LUCKY DOGG - RAPPER ESCAPES DRIVE-BY SHOOTING

Gangly rap superstar Snoop Dogg emerged unscathed from beneath an L.A. freeway after a gunman squeezed off at least a dozen bullets into his six-car caravan. Police said an unidentified...

'MOCK'EFELLER DENIES CON

A French con man who jumped bail on charges he swindled $1.5 million out of America's glitterati by posing as a Rockefeller heir - and then chronicled his exploits in...

TEACH NAILED FOR BOY SEX

A Manhattan jury convicted a former Harlem junior high teacher last night of sodomizing a 13-year-old student in a storage closet. Jose Segarra, 47, of Jackson Heights, Queens, who has...

WHAT BUSHES MADE & PAID IN TAX

WASHINGTON - President Bush and wife Laura reported $856,058 in adjusted gross income last year and paid $268,719 in federal income taxes, or 31 percent, the White House announced. They...

TROUBLE À LA CARTE AT PRICIEST FRENCH EATERY

Helping to fuel the fear of anti-French retaliation, New York's most expensive restaurant closed its near-empty dining room for one night this week. Insiders at Alain Ducasse at the Essex...

THIRD DUNGEON VICTIM - KIDNAPPED WOMAN RAPED IN HORROR HOUSE

A third woman has come forward claiming she was held captive and kept as a sex slave for a year by a Syracuse senior citizen in a dingy backyard dungeon,...

BLOOMBERG THREATENS 'UNSAFE' CUTS

Mayor Bloomberg warned yesterday that if Albany doesn't provide sufficient aid to the city, he'd have to make cuts that impact public safety. "We need a more broad-based tax to...

WORKERS DUCK LAYOFFS AS TA AXES 381 JOBS

The Transit Authority will slash 381 jobs - without any layoffs - over the next two years as part of a budget-cutting plan, officials said yesterday. The TA said it...

WATCHDOG INSISTS MTA KEPT HIM ON A LEASH

Embattled MTA Security Director Louis Anemone said yesterday that agency bosses "attempted to stop me" from looking into internal corruption - echoing charges in a letter from a former prober...

TAKE FRANKEL IN FIRST TWO, THEN HOPE FOR THE BEST

PLAYING today's Big 3 Pick 3 would be a lot easier if trainer Bobby Frankel were running a horse in the Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park, the third leg of...

TWO RESERVES EXIT ST JOHN'S

Forward Eric King of Brooklyn and point guard Tristan Smith of Long Island have received their release from St. John's and are in the process of finding a suitable Division...

NETS ARE AIMING TO RUN BOARD - SET THEIR SIGHTS ON FIRST-PLACE FINISH

CHICAGO - Just a few days ago, the Nets were in first place in the East, needing to close the season with five more victories to secure the prize they...

SWEET HOMECOMING FOR ROBERTO, REY

MET NOTES SAN JUAN - Roberto Alomar and Rey Sanchez returned to Puerto Rico as favorite sons yesterday, and you couldn't hide the pride on their faces. The Mets' double-play...

MANHATTAN'S ZAHRINGER LIKED MASTERS EXPERIENCE

AUGUSTA - It was a rough ride for George Zahringer, but an exhilarating one to the end. Zahringer, a Manhattan resident, member of Stanwich and Deepdale and reigning Mid-Amateur champion,...

SENS WILL TURN UP VOLUME ON YASHIN

OTTAWA - Expect the volume of the Islanders-Senators series to be turned up considerably tonight for Game 2. Expect the Senators to play harder and expect the Islanders to come...

BOOMER MUM ON QUIT THREAT

Hours after telling ESPN radio that he offered to quit in the wake of the spring training firestorm his controversial book, "Perfect I'm Not," caused, David Wells decided the issue...

'PEACEFUL' PROTEST SET FOR TODAY

The Rev. Jesse Jackson's PUSH troops and angry women's groups will be far from the putting green today as the embattled Masters tournament goes into its second day. About 100...

METS EXPOS-ED - CONE, BATS GO SOUTH IN LOSS

SAN JUAN - David Cone was left twisting in the Trade Winds last night, the victim not only of his fickle fastball but also of a ridiculous lack of run...

LANGENBRUNNER'S ATONING BIG-TIME - 3-POINT NIGHT PUTS DEVS UP 2-0

GAME 2: Devils 4 - Bruins 2 It's already a vastly different playoff for the Devils, and for Jamie Langenbrunner. They're half done with Boston, thanks to a whole lot...

MARTY & SCOTT STILL DEVILS' TOP GUNS

THE DEVILS wouldn't be where they are without the new wave, that's pretty obvious what with Jamie Langenbrunner, Joe Nieuwendyk and Jeff Friesen scoring five of their team's six goals...

BENITEZ NEEDS A THREE-POINT PLAN TO SAVE SEASON

SAN JUAN - Consider ing the Mets' current pitching plight, is it too late to put a call into Nuke LaLoosh? After all, Mets superfan Tim Robbins has a lot...

IF YOU CARE: SCRUBS HELP KNICKS WIN

Knicks 108 - Sixers 103 A forgotten man since January, Lee Nailon says he wants to return to the Knicks next season. No, he wasn't wearing his trademark headband too...

'TERRIBLE' ROUND FOR NICKLAUS

MASTERS NOTES AUGUSTA - Arnold Palmer, giving up 10 years to 63-year-old Jack Nicklaus, scored two shots better in the first round than the man who's won more Masters green...

'TOUGHEST I'VE EVER SEEN IT'

AUGUSTA - One by one they trudged off the ninth and 18th greens, most of them wearing the beaten look of defeat and facing the horror of more abuse to...

REIGN ISN'T OVER - WEIR TAKES THE LEAD WITH TIGER EIGHT BACK

AUGUSTA - It was the longest day in Masters history. Portable flood lights illuminated the practice areas before sunrise, play started at 7:30 a.m., and golfers grinded through their first...

REIGN ISN'T OVER - TIGER TRAILS BY EIGHT, BUT 'ON RIGHT TRACK'

AUGUSTA - For those of you silly souls who pondered a thought that Tiger Woods, after an opening-round 4-over-par 76 yesterday, was on his way out of contention at the...

BOOMER CLAMS UP - WON'T DISCUSS HIS THREAT TO QUIT YANKS

Hours after telling ESPN radio that he offered to quit in the wake of the spring training firestorm caused by his controversial book, "Perfect I'm Not," David Wells decided the...

BENITEZ ON THE BRINK - NO RELIEF IN SIGHT FOR MET BULLPEN

SAN JUAN - Once again, Art Howe heard the question. Once again, he gave the same answer. During an otherwise benign late afternoon press conference designed to drum up coverage...

JARRED GOMEZ FLIPS HIS 'LID'

After four years, Scott Gomez decided to don a new helmet last night. Different brand and all, right in the middle of the playoffs. More protective, too. But Gomez and...

DEVILS 'HOMING' IN ON NEXT ROUND

HOME may be where the heart is, but then we've always known how heartless hockey people can be, haven't we? Or is there a better way to explain the 1-7...

NAILON EYES KNICK RETURN NEXT SEASON

A forgotten man since January, Lee Nailon says he wants to return to the Knicks next season. No, he wasn't wearing his trademark headband too tight. If anyone should want...

IT'S A WINDY CITY WIPEOUT

Bulls 95 - Nets 86 CHICAGO - So much seemed to be going the Nets' way. Detroit was in a fight and eventually lost. Philadelphia lost. Indiana was in trouble....