October 29, 2003

GRASSO'S PAL ASHEN STILL TOILS FOR NYSE

The New York Stock Exchange's personnel chief, who announced his early retirement from the exchange after helping create the compensation scheme that led to a massive scandal surrounding Dick Grasso's...

XM TUNES IN 1M SUBSCRIBERS

In the immortal words of Casey Kasem, satellite radio still has its feet on the ground - but it's reaching for the stars. XM Satellite Radio announced yesterday that, after...

VIACOM TO GO AFTER WARNER CHAPPELL

Viacom is emerging as a contender for Warner Chappell, the music publishing division of Time Warner, The Post has learned. Time Warner is in the process of bringing Warner Chappell...

UNLOADING KAGAN - PRIMEDIA PUTS MEDIA RESEARCH FIRM ON BLOCK

New York magazine publisher Primedia is gearing up to sell research firm Kagan World Media, The Post has learned. Primedia is looking to offload the Carmel, Calif.-based firm as it...

PITTMAN GIVES GORE TIPS ON TV

Former AOL Time Warner co-COO Bob Pittman is reportedly advising Al Gore on the former vice president's plans to launch a news channel for young viewers. Pittman is advising Gore...

MICROSOFT PAYS $200M IN 6 SUITS

Microsoft Corp. continues to snuff out small blazes in its mammoth antitrust case - but the issue continues to burn. The software giant said yesterday that it would pay about...

15 DEALS INKED AT RISING MILAN; 15 CONDOS SOLD AT RISING MILAN

INTERESTED apartment hunters are lining up to get a closer look at the Milan, a new condo tower now rising from the ground at East 55th and Second Avenue. The...

ALAN'S BIG TREAT - DOW, NASDAQ ROCKET AS FED STANDS PAT

Wall Street is getting its treats early from the Halloween bounce in the economy. A spate of strong recovery signs yesterday, combined with another likely year of historically low interest...

PUTNAM MANAGERS FIRST TO BE CHARGED WITH INSIDER FRAUD

Putnam Investments won the dubious distinction yesterday of becoming the first mutual fund company accused of securities fraud by the SEC and Massachusetts regulators in an ever-widening probe of the...

WENNER NIXES PECKER DEAL - AMI BOSS CALLS MOVE 'REVENGE' FOR POACHING BONNIE

JANN Wenner has finally found a way to strike back at David Pecker and American Media for running off with onetime Us Weekly superstar Editor Bonnie Fuller, who is now...

KRAVIS TRIES TO CUT LOSSES ON MAGAZINE STRATEGY

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., the buyout firm that controls Primedia, is hot on the pruning trail as it tries to salvage some value from the debt-laden media empire it...

FLEET MOVE NABS INSIDE TRADERS

In one of fastest-ever bursts of insider trading, a FleetBoston insider, his wife and brother saw a $1 million windfall slip through their fingers just hours after completing their scheme....

FRIED RICE LEAVES MERGED WACHOVIA

Michael Rice, president of Wachovia Securities' massive brokerage business - and a major architect of the firm's February 2003 acquisition of Prudential Securities - has left the firm and will...

BELLSOUTH-AT&T DEAL OFF

BellSouth and AT&T abandoned discussions aimed at cementing a planned merger yesterday, less than a week after resuming talks, according to published reports. Executives at Atlanta-based BellSouth told their AT&T...

GIRLS GONE BAD TRY GOOD

GIRLHOOD [] (three stars) Girlz 'n the hood. Running time: 88 minutes. Not rated (adult subject matter). At the Quad, 13th Street between Fifth and Sixth avenues. ----- LIZ Garbus,...

CHILLING OUT - 'TRU CALLING' SHOULD'VE BEEN CALLED 'MARATHON PSYCHIC'

"Tru Calling" [No stars] Tomorrow at 8 p.m. on Ch. 5 ---- THE thing you gotta wonder about "Tru Calling," Fox's new show about a young woman who can see...

REGIONAL VIETNAMESE FARE MAKES BAO WOW

BAO NOODLES [] (three stars) 391 SECOND AVE. (BETWEEN 22ND AND 23RD STREETS) (212) 725-7770 ---- AT Bao Noodles, noodles aren't the half of it. The new, cash-only eatery from...

REDONE OUTER-SPACE CLASSIC OUT OF SIGHT

ALIEN: THE DIRECTOR'S CUT [ 1/2] (three and one-half stars) One classy and cerebral horror movie. Running time: 119 minutes. Rated R (violence, gore). At the E-Walk, the Union Square,...

SALMON, ENCHANTED EATING

AS an illustration of how differently restaurants value a familiar main element, consider salmon. Its many varieties taste quite different in their purest forms, from bland "Atlantic" (i.e., farmed) to...

JUNIOR'S AROUND THE CORNER

CREAMY cheesecakes won out over bison burgers as the new residents of the long-vacant space at the northwest corner of Sixth Avenue and 57th Street.Junior's Restaurant, the makers of those...

TINA'S SHOW POISED FOR WEEKLY RUN

CNBC is taking "Topic A with Tina Brown" weekly. The show, hosted by A-list editrix Tina Brown, will start its new run in January. Until now, it had aired only...

LEBRON'S ON THE SPOT

LeBRON James makes his TV- commercial debut tonight - coinciding with his NBA debut with the Cleveland Cavaliers. The first-round draft pick, who's only 18, jumped from high school straight...

MEAT YOUR SALAD - BEEFY-LEAFY COMBOS TEMPT LOW-CARB CREW

'WAITER, there's a meatball in my salad!" So there is. Lettuce is sporting some pretty meaty toppings, satisfying not only cool-weather appetites but protein-conscious low-carb dieters. Arugula with warm chicken...

BRAVO! NEW 'QUEER' EPISODES ON THE WAY

GET ready for more "Queer" this year. Bravo said yesterday that its smash hit "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" will return Nov. 18 with all-new episodes (10-11 p.m.) airing...

THEY'RE SO STOKED - MORE SHOWS MEAN MORE STARDOM FOR 'O.C.' GANG

THE summer's hottest show is back to heat up the fall - as "The O.C." returns tonight (9 p.m./Ch. 5). Tonight's episode picks up from the Sept. 16 cliffhanger, when...

CHANGES BY THE 'HOUR' - LAST MINUTE SUBS PLAGUE PLAY

WHAT'S going on with "The Violet Hour"?Richard Greenberg's eagerly awaited new play has been in previews a couple of weeks and already there are so many bodies piling up, the...

STARR REPORT

Not the average Joe "Divorce Court" bailiff Joe Catalano is being kept busy with something a little more serious these days - the wildfires raging in Southern California. Catalano is...

KILLER BILLS - YOU DON'T ALWAYS EAT WHAT YOU PAY FOR

People assume a cut of sea bass that costs $38 at Le Cirque must be superior to one that costs $21 elsewhere. READER H.S. e-mailed me after last week's review...

AIR TO THE THRONE - WATCH 'NEWLYWED' SIMPSON GAFFE ALL THE WAY TO BANK WITH MILLIONS

"The money is just kicking in for her." - Dell Furano, CEO of Signatures Network SO who's the dumb one? Jessica Simpson says "platy-mu-pus" instead of "platypus" - but she...

NYPD DAILY BLOTTER

MANHATTAN * A bicyclist was in critical condition after being struck by a car in Hell's Kitchen last night, police said. The 25 year-old man, who was hit at the...

WEIRD BUT TRUE

An armed robber got a finger-lickin' good surprise when he held up a fast-food joint in Florida and grabbed what he thought was a bag containing hundreds of dollars in...

CLUELESS PROSECUTORS STILL PULLING PIDDLING PARTY TRICKS

EMBATTLED Tyco chief Dennis Kozlowski was mighty ticked off. "The court has spent more time about that party than the time I spent at the party," Kozlowski was saying in...

'SMALLER' HS PLAN A BUST

About one-quarter of the city's smaller high schools are academic flops - just like the larger, low-performing schools they replaced, a new report shows. The analysis, conducted by the group...

MINORITY POLS RIP NONPARTISAN PLAN

Twenty black and Latino legislators yesterday denounced Mayor Bloomberg's plan for nonpartisan elections, saying it will hurt minority voters. "Let's get clear and let's get real here. Nonpartisan elections is...

MIKE'S QUIET ENDORSEMENTS

Mayor Bloomberg yesterday endorsed three Republicans who are challenging veteran Democrats on the City Council - but he did it behind closed doors. Reporters heard of the endorsements when a...

ANOTHER VIETNAM? NO

'In this war, the only measurement that matters is the absence of attacks.' LET'S leave the phony pieties and hand-wringing to the presidential aspirants and celebrity journalists. Here's the truth:...

TURN OFF THAT TV - DIMINISHES KIDS' ABILITY TO READ

Kids who live in homes where the TV is constantly on have more trouble learning to read than other children do, a new study says. "Watching TV is far inferior...

NO DEATH PENALTY FOR 'SERIAL SLAYER': DA

The man who prosecutors believe was well on his way to becoming New York's next serial killer got good news yesterday - Brooklyn DA Charles Hynes will not seek the...

VETERAN REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST IS BEING SENT TO IRAQ ....

WASHINGTON - The veteran Republican strategist whose credentials include being called in when Dan Quayle and Newt Gingrich landed in hot water is being sent to Iraq to help the...

FERRY CAPTAIN'S HOSPITAL SWITCH

The pilot of the doomed Staten Island Ferry that crashed into a pier two weeks ago will be moved to another hospital today, where he is expected to undergo an...

CHUCK, HILL SPLIT OVER EPA BOSS

WASHINGTON - Sens. Chuck Schumer and Hillary Clinton yesterday split on a key vote - the confirmation of Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt as the new head of the Environmental Protection...

'KOSHER' PIGS TAKE ON TERROR

JERUSALEM - Jewish settlers in the West Bank say there's a new weapon to fight terrorism - bomb-sniffing pigs. And prominent rabbis agree the idea is kosher. "Pigs have a...

SLAY RAP FOR DAD IN BABY'S SLEEP DEATH

A Queens man was charged with manslaughter yesterday for suffocating his 3-month-old son after accidentally knocking him off the bed in their apartment last month, authorities said. On Sept. 8,...

MAN DIES IN HIS HAMPTONS POOL

A 57-year-old man who was closing the pool at his East Hampton home was found dead in the water, police said. Peter Gilman Axelrod, a father of two, fell in...

MALLET-ATTACK HUBBY JAILED

A Queens painter was sentenced to 15 years in prison yesterday for a brutal hammer attack that left his wife near death - and he faces a new trial on...

'WHY DID YOU KILL MY HUSBAND?'

The anguished widow of a slain jewelry-store owner stared down the accused killer in court yesterday and chastised him during her tear-filled testimony about how he pretended to be a...

AMMON SIS $LAMS KIDS' TRUSTEES

The sister of murdered millionaire Ted Ammon says in court papers she fears his two children, orphaned after the death of their mother, Generosa, "will not see their money during...

HAMAS HINTS AT RESUMING CEASE-FIRE

JERUSALEM - The Hamas terror group said yesterday it may agree to revive last summer's aborted Mideast cease-fire. But the militant group's spiritual leader, Sheik Ahmed Yassin, said it would...

DIANA'S BUTLER: I FAKED QUOTES

Princess Diana's blabbing butler was under fire last night after admitting he fudged quotes from several of her personal letters in his new kiss-and-tell book. Paul Burrell at first insisted...

MALL FIRM IS FINED A FORE!TUNE

ALBANY - A top retail management company is set to pay the state Lobby Commission $25,000 for illegally offering state and local officials tickets to this summer's PGA tournament in...

'HAMMER' COP: 'I GOT SCARED'

The cop who pepper-sprayed a hammer-wielding, mentally ill man moments before the suspect was gunned down by five other officers testified yesterday that he feared for his life after efforts...

$2M BASH AN ORGY OF EXCESS - JURORS FINALLY WATCH VIDEO OF TOGAS BABES & BEEFCAKE

Toga! Toga! Toga! Prosecutors in the $600 million Tyco embezzlement trial pressed "play" on the long-awaited Sardinian party video yesterday - treating jurors to 20 minutes of mostly middle-aged, wealthy...

911 BLACKOUT CHAOS - FRANTIC CALLERS WERE LEFT IN THE DARK: REPORT

The 911 system was so overloaded during this summer's massive blackout that desperate callers couldn't get through, a mayoral task force found yesterday in a comprehensive report that revealed widespread...

CRITICS RIP GOV IN FARE SCARE

Rider advocates blasted Gov. Pataki yesterday for the MTA's massive deficits and said he's to blame if the agency is forced to raise the price of discount MetroCards to combat...

YES, IT WAS A TWISTER ON S.I.

Hang on, Toto - twisters aren't just in Kansas. The National Weather Service confirmed yesterday that the massive windstorm that struck Staten Island Monday - spinning cars, uprooting trees and...

RADIO-SLAY COP HIT WITH FED RAP

A former NYPD cop, cleared after killing a fleeing drug suspect by beaning him with a police radio five years ago, was indicted yesterday on federal charges that could land...

CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES A $2 BILLION DISASTER

LOS ANGELES - Firefighters waged a desperate war on flames racing toward the Los Angeles city limits yesterday as Gov. Gray Davis declared the Southern California wildfires the most costly...

SCHOOL SUPERVISORS 'RAISE' HELL OVER SALARY

More than 100 school supervisors have been deprived of thousands of dollars in promotional raises this year because of bureaucratic bungling at the Department of Education, their union charged yesterday....

RAT-BUSTING POLS EYE 2G TRASH FINES

The Bloomberg administration yesterday threw its support behind a proposal to dramatically hike fines for improper trash disposal to up to $2,000 for repeat offenders. The measure, sponsored by City...

CLARK FAULTS W. FOR 9/11

WASHINGTON - Democratic 2004 wannabe Wesley Clark yesterday sought to revive his slipping presidential bid by blaming President Bush for the Sept. 11 attacks. "There is no way this administration...

CITY PITCHES SWITCH IN WTC STREET PLANS

City officials said yesterday they want Ground Zero plans changed to improve street life and retail space and have submitted a laundry list of proposed fixes to the Port Authority....

LEAD 'MOB HIT' JUROR REGRETS CONVICTION

A jury foreman feels so guilty about convicting a Gambino wiseguy of plotting to whack Salvatore "Sammy Bull" Gravano last week that he called a judge immediately after the verdict...

DRAWING FIRE - N.J. SCHOOL SACKS BOY FOR WAR ART

A 14-year-old New Jersey schoolboy - whose dad and stepdad are in the military - was suspended for five days because he drew a "patriotic" stick figure of a U.S...

MOM: BOOT 'RACIST' TEACHER OVER 'GORILLA' REMARK

A white Queens teacher has come under fire for allegedly asking a black fourth-grader whether a picture of a gorilla on her folder was "your family" - and then demanding...

PIANIST IN GRISLY KIN SLAY

A renowned Manhattan pianist and an expert on Broadway composer Cole Porter has been arrested in the fatal bludgeoning of her brother-in-law, whom she had been visiting in Pennsylvania over...

TEEN BUSTED IN ROAD-RAGE SLAY

A teenager has been arrested for fatally punching a 50-year-old man in a road-rage incident in Queens. Jordan Taveras, 17, was busted Monday on charges of assault and menacing in...

RESTAURANT WORKERS ON THE MARCH

Nearly 300 restaurant workers marched through Manhattan yesterday, warning that if they don't get their treats they'll play a massive trick - by going on strike for Halloween. The members...

LOVE IN - J. LO AND THE MAYOR; MIKE'S A J.LO GOOD FELLOW

Mayor Bloomberg's dream finally came true yesterday - he got a little TLC from J. Lo. Sizzling Bronx bombshell Jennifer Lopez cozied up to the mayor at a City Hall...

PACKING HEAT - HS TEEN SHOWS OFF LOADED GUN AT SCHOOL

A 16-year-old Queens high-school student was arrested yesterday morning after he brought a loaded gun to school and started showing it off to classmates, cops said. School safety officers quickly...

PREPPY PORN PAIN - SCHOOL STAFF AND KIDS SCHOCKED AT PERV BUST

Teachers and students at Manhattan's exclusive Trevor Day School were reeling yesterday from news of the arrest of their headmaster on charges of engaging in lurid, X-rated Internet chats with...

NFL'S MAFIA 'BABY' - CHEATING WIFE PREGNANT BY N.Y. GRID PRO: DRUGGIE

A Philadelphia gangster's beautiful wife conducted a secret affair with a New York football player - and later aborted the jock's baby, an accused murderer has charged at his sensational...

DIDDY TO PROBE 'SWEATSHOP'

Sean "P. Diddy" Combs promised last night to investigate charges that a Honduran factory manufacturing his Sean John clothing is a sweatshop. "I am determined to get to the bottom...

CITY PAYS $1.6M IN WRONG-RAID DEATH

New York City has agreed to pay $1.6 million to the family of Alberta Spruill for the botched police drug raid that led to her tragic death. Spruill, 57, a...

CALIF. FIRESTORM A $2 BILLION DISASTER

LOS ANGELES - Firefighters waged a desperate war on flames racing toward the Los Angeles city limits yesterday as Gov. Gray Davis declared the Southern California wildfires the most costly...

DA NIXES 'DEATH' IN DOUBLE SLAY

The man prosecutors believe was well on his way to becoming New York's next serial killer got good news yesterday - Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes will not seek the...

BUSH PLEDGES U.S. STAYING POWER IN IRAQ

WASHINGTON - President Bush yesterday blamed "foreign terrorists," as well as Saddam Hussein's thugs, for the wave of terror attacks in Iraq and vowed, "We're not leaving." Bush also warned...

PREPPY PORN PAIN - SCHOOL STAFF AND KIDS SHOCKED AT PERV BUST

Teachers and students at Manhattan's exclusive Trevor Day School were reeling yesterday from news of the arrest of their headmaster on charges of engaging in X-rated Internet chats with probers...

COPS RAID HELL HOUSE - UNLOCKING SECRETS OF KIDS' STARVE ORDEAL

Probers armed with a search warrant yesterday swooped down on the New Jersey house of horrors where four boys were allegedly starved for years - as union bigs rushed to...

BABY & GEEZER IN 'HOOKER' STING

An undercover Suffolk police officer posing as a prostitute attracted males ranging in age from 3-months to 72-years-old yesterday, cops said. The elderly man was arrested. The infant saw his...

DI'S BUTLER: I FAKED QUOTES

Princess Diana's blabbing butler was under fire last night after admitting he fudged quotes from several of her personal letters in his new kiss-and-tell book. Paul Burrell at first insisted...

NEW HIGH SCHOOLS COME UP SMALL ON ACADEMICS: STUDY

About one-quarter of the city's smaller schools are academic flops - just like the larger, low-performing schools they replaced, a new report shows. The analysis, conducted by the group Advocates...

PRINCIPALS 'RAISE' HELL OVER PAY

More than 100 school supervisors have been deprived of thousands of dollars in promotional raises this year because of bureaucratic bungling at the Department of Education, their union charged yesterday....

RAT-BUSTING POLS WANT 2G FINE FOR TRASH VIOLATIONS

The Bloomberg administration yesterday threw its support behind a proposal to dramatically hike fines for improper trash disposal to up to $2,000 for repeat offenders. The measure, sponsored by City...

BYRON PLAYS COY ON STARTING CENTER

TORONTO - Byron Scott expects Kenyon Martin to play and said so. But what Scott wasn't saying is who he will start at center tonight in the season opener against...

DONATE VENISON TO NEEDY

THERE will be plenty of opportunities for hunters to take home a deer or two, maybe even three, and with all that venison, sportsmen might want to think about donating...

GROIN STRAIN PUTS ABRAHAM ON SHELF

As expected, the Jets will be without defensive end John Abraham for Sunday's key game against the Giants. The two-time Pro Bowl pass rusher, who recorded 3 ½ sacks in...

TOSS UP THE BALL & LET'S GO - VAN HORN IN SPOTLIGHT AS KNICKS OPEN AT GARDEN

Tonight is Keith Van Horn's first chance to win over the Garden. Good luck. There will be a sellout crowd tonight, probably one of the few the Knicks have this...

HE'LL HAVE THE GM'S TITLE ... BUT NOT THE GM'S JUICE

FRED Wilpon yesterday named Jim Duquette the weakest GM in the majors. Last off season, Wilpon went after Lou Piniella, Lou Piniella and Lou Piniella and then made Art Howe...

JETER MAY NEED KNIFE ON THUMB

Derek Jeter will know in about three weeks whether he needs surgery to repair a ligament problem in the area around his left thumb. Jeter, who suffered the injury in...

MANNING, MCNAIR MIDSEASON MVPS

SOME teams have enjoyed byes, others haven't, blurring the exact midway point of the 2003 NFL season. But because the only unbeaten team, the Chiefs, have eight wins, now is...

NO ONE'S BEEN FIRED - YET - BUT BOSS LIKELY TO AX BLAKELEY SOON

When Josh Beckett tagged out Jorge Posada to end the World Series Saturday night, everybody figured George Steinbrenner would be head-hunting because in the Boss' world somebody has to be...

HENSON HAS NO PLANS TO TRY NFL

Drew Henson's agent said nothing should be read into Henson tossing footballs at IMG's sports academy in Bradenton, Fla. A buzz went through the Yankees' universe yesterday when the club...

HOUSTON: DON'T SETTLE FOR 8 SEED

KNICK NOTES Allan Houston believes the Knicks should raise the bar. He thinks the Knicks should be thinking about a top-four finish and home-court advantage in the first round, not...

GIANTS-JETS NEVER JUST ANOTHER GAME

NEARLY every summer, the Giants go on and on about how their preseason game against the Jets means nothing special, how they like those guys in green who practice somewhere...

GREEN GOAL: HALT FOES' RUN OF FIELD

"You're not going to beat anyone if you don't stop the run. We have to stop the run." -SAM GARNES ----- A YEAR ago, with his team mired in the...

KENYAN COULD RUN INTO MARATHON HISTORY

Catherine Ndereba could make history Sunday at the 34th running of the New York City Marathon. If the Kenyan prevails, she will join Norway's Ingrid Kristiansen as one of only...

LEETCH BACK ON SKATES - 'NOT READY' FOR GAME ACTION

It wasn't Alex Kovalev, who suffered a sprained MCL in his left knee during Monday's practice, who drew the most attention yesterday at the Rangers' morning skate at the Garden....

NEW GM, NEW PAYROLL - DUQUETTE, METS WILL ATTEMPT TO DO MORE WITH LESS

At yesterday's press conference for new general manager Jim Duquette, the Mets vowed to emulate the cursed Cubs franchise and indicated their payroll would be slashed as much as 25...

REYES IN DARK ON POSSIBLE MOVE TO 2B

MET NOTES If the Mets plan to move phenom Jose Reyes to second base to accommodate Japanese shortstop Kaz Matsui, it sure is news to Reyes' camp. Recent reports indicate...

BAR SET HIGH, FOR A REASON

NET NOTES TORONTO - Here's a surprise: Expectations are real high around the Nets. "Last year people thought we were a fluke and we had a good playoff run," Richard...

BIG EAST TO HOOP IT UP

The Big East will enter into its next phase of damage control today. The conference's men's basketball media day at the Garden will offer commissioner Mike Tranghese, his athletic directors...

BRODEUR APPLIES WHITEWASH WITH STEADY HAND

When the ship needed steadying, Martin Brodeur stilled the storm. If the Islanders couldn't score, the Devils couldn't lose, as they had in three of their previous four. Suddenly an...

NEW SYSTEM, OLD RESULT - ISLES CAN'T COMPARE TO DEXTEROUS DEVILS

Devils 4 - Isles 0 For those nostalgic fans out there, the Islanders last night did a wonderful re-enactment of their woeful showings from a year ago against the Devils....

RANGERS NOTHING SPECIAL - FEEBLE AGAIN ON PP, PK

Mighty Ducks 3 - Rangers 1 All around the room, and starting with Glen Sather, the Rangers would have had you believe that they played well enough to win last...

YANK PURGE BEGINS - BOSS FIRES DOWN; BLAKELEY NEXT?

The first blood on the Yankees' tracks is Rick Down's. Talking from the organizational meetings in Tampa, GM Brian Cashman informed Down yesterday morning he was being let go from...

ISLES MUST PROTECT PECA - PENS SEEK REMATCH AFTER FIGHT-FILLED LOSS

Eric Godard is expected to be in the lineup tonight for the Islanders, and Steve Stirling may want to consider playing him on Michael Peca's right flank when they face...

DEVILS' GOAL: GET MORE OUT OF OFFENSE

The captain repeatedly insists the Devils need more scoring, fatter leads to protect. However, on a squad that also repeatedly reminds itself that last season is over, Scott Stevens hangs...