June 24, 2004

SIGN OF TROUBLE - BILLBOARD SUIT CLAIMS HARASSMENT, DEFAMATION

The publisher of music industry bible Billboard forced his editor in chief to tailor news coverage to please advertisers while fostering an office environment that allowed sexual harassment and racial...

SAUDIS 'ESCAPE' CHANCE TO TEST-RIDE HYBRID FUTURE

TALK about ungrateful: Not a single Saudi official would come with me for a ride in a new hybrid, gasoline-sipping SUV. Now, I understand the reluctance. In their part of...

GEMSTAR FINED $10M

Gemstar-TV Guide International will pay $10 million to the Securities and Exchange Commission to settle charges stemming from allegations the company overstated its revenue from 1999 to 2002. The company...

REJECTION SEATS - SEC RULES FUND CHAIRMEN MUST BE INDEPENDENT

In a major push to reform the mutual fund industry, the Securities and Exchange Commission has ordered funds to dump most of the management insiders from their boards of directors....

LACK OF INTEREST CAUSES COMDEX TO LOG OFF

Bowing to competition from other computer trade shows, the annual geek-fest known as Comdex was canceled yesterday, putting the kibosh on what was once the tech industry's biggest event. The...

MIRAMAX LANDS TEEN BOND BOOKS

MIRAMAX books is set to announce that it has just signed a deal with U.K.-based writer Charlie Higson to write five books that will introduce readers to the teenage version...

DONALDSON GETS REP FOR SIDING WITH DEMS

Securities and Exchange Commission chairman William Donaldson's vote yesterday in favor of forcing mutual fund companies to appoint independent chairmen aligns him yet again with the agency's Democratic commissioners. Few...

IN WAKE OF RESTATEMENT, HOY LOOKS FOR CIRC CZAR

Perhaps the ad should have run sooner. Hoy, the Spanish-language daily that admitted to fudging its circulation figures last week, ran a newspaper ad yesterday seeking a "circulation quality assurance...

ATKINS IMPACT IN PASTA PLUNGE

The Atkins diet is causing companies to shrink as well. America's biggest pasta maker, American Italian Pasta Co., said yesterday it will fire 14 percent of its workforce and close...

PRIMUS SCREAM

PRIMUS IN post- rock pop America, music needs at least one Primus to keep the flame of innovation and experimentation burning. At Radio City Tuesday, the trio, fronted by bassist...

BEASTIES ARE FIRSTIES

NEW YORK'S own Beastie Boys rapped their way to the top of Billboard's Top 200 Albums chart with their comeback disc "To the 5 Boroughs." The musical pioneers' sixth album,...

'BOISE' I DUNNO

BOISEAt the Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, 224 Waverly Place. Through July 18. SmartTix, (212) 868-4444. 'BOISE" may call itself a comedy, but this unpleasant and implausible play about sexual dysfunction eventually...

'L&O' STAR EXITING

'LAW & Order" co-star Elisabeth Rohm "may" leave the long-running drama in the middle of next season, NBC said yesterday. Reacting to published trade reports that Rohm was exiting the...

CRACKING GRAHAM - NORTON 'NOT YOUR AVERAGE WISE GUY'

"The Graham Norton Effect" [] (Three stars) Tonight at 10 on Comedy Central DON'T hate Graham Norton because he's got Sandra Bernhard as his first guest. And don't turn the...

SWEET 16 FOR 'J'PARDY!' CHAMP KEN

KEN Jennings continued his remarkable run on "Jeopardy!" last night - snaring his 16th consecutive victory. Jennings, who began his streak June 1, has now amassed $512,959 in total winnings...

HOW TO AVOID THE SUMMER DUMPS

IF you do insist on going to the Hamptons with your partner this summer, here are five (al most) foolproof ways to make sure you make it to Labor day...

STARR REPORT

Turnin' up the amp The search is on to replace Billy Bush as "Access Holly wood's" East Coast corre spondent (Bush now co-hosts in L.A. with Nancy O'Dell). Hard-chargin' "AH"...

A&E MINI RECALLS 'BLACKOUT'

A&E will go dark next summer - with a new miniseries inspired by last summer's East Coast blackout. "Blackout" is slated to be a fictional epic about what might happen...

BURNETT'S 'ROCK' 'N' WOE

REALITY TV guru Mark Burnett may have just dodged an Australian legal tangle over his new rock 'n' roll series that will try and find a new lead singer for...

THE HEAT IS ON - ONLY THE STRONG SURVIVE SUMMER OF REALITY

SUMMER used to be known for hot weather, vacations and repeats. Now it's all about reality series, and they seem to pop up everywhere, like seasonal weeds. For many of...

TOO HOT FOR THE BIG SCREEN - WHY THE DIRECTOR YELLED 'CUT!' ON COLIN'S NUDE SCENE

YOU won't be seeing more of Colin Farrell this summer. One of the most buzzed about movie scenes of the season - his full-frontal nude turn in "A Home at...

BLOCK PARTY: KICKS & TRICKS ON 56

THE wide boulevard of West 56th Street is largely taken up by offices as it traverses the city from east to west. But all those worker bees need somewhere to...

JOSÉ TO RENEW MARRIAGE VOWS WITH HIS BRAVE WIFE, WHO SAYS: 'I DID IT FOR LOVE'

Yankee pitcher José Contreras, reunited with his wife and kids after their freedom dash from Cuba ended a two-year separation, plans to renew his wedding vows. His wife, Miriam, and...

HEROES SAVE DROWNING BEACH TEENS

Two teenage girls were rescued from the waters off Rockaway yesterday by a cop, an off-duty lifeguard and firefighters who swam out to save them. The teens - 16 and...

ASSASSIN'S EVIL VOW - ZARQAWI: I'LL SLAY PM TO KEEP IRAQ IN CHAOS

WASHINGTON - Terror master Abu Musab Zarqawi yesterday vowed to assassinate Iraq's new prime minister and intensify his campaign of beheadings and bombings in the lead-up to the handover of...

WEIRD BUT TRUE

Two inmates really went out on a limb to escape from a Nashville jail - because both have artificial limbs. Accused car thief Berl Keith McKinnie, 38, and robbery suspect...

WAKE FOR HERO N.Y. FIREMAN KILLED BY ROADSIDE BOMB

A wake will be held today for a hero FDNY firefighter, who took a job driving trucks in Iraq after he retired and was killed by a roadside bomb. Walter...

RIKERS THUG IN SLAY BUST

Cops have charged a Rikers Island inmate with murdering a man by throwing him to the sidewalk in a Brooklyn attack. The victim was tossed to the ground and robbed...

SADDAM'S CENSORED SADISM

AFTER terrorists beheaded Korean hostage Kim Sun-il, The New York Times kept the photo showing the horror of his final moments off yesterday's front page. Instead, the Times' front page...

POLICE ON LONG ISLAND BUSTED A $10 MILLION ILLEGAL GAMBLING RING ...

Police on Long Island busted a $10 million illegal gambling ring and netted one of the Bonanno crime family's "big fish" in the process, authorities announced yesterday. Suffolk cops arrested...

KIDS HAVE WRITE STUFF

A determined quintet of "Little Apple Heroes" won a bundle of great gifts - including a sneak peak at the long-awaited Spider-Man sequel - for spinning some bright ideas to...

ADS BOOST TRANSIT SECURITY

The MTA is ratcheting up its efforts to secure subways and commuter trains from terror attacks by expanding an awareness campaign encouraging riders to notify cops if they see a...

OUR GUY AT U.N. BOLDLY MOVES TO BAGHDAD

WASHINGTON - Veteran ambassador John Negroponte yesterday was sworn in for the world's most dangerous diplomatic job - the first U.S. ambassador to the Iraqi government that takes power Wednesday....

5 CITY PLAYGROUNDS ARE DANGER ZONES

Five of the state's most dangerous playgrounds are in the city - one in each borough, a survey by a consumer watchdog group concluded. The annual examination of playgrounds around...

W. SAGS IN JERSEY JOUSTING

WASHINGTON - President Bush's approval rating in New Jersey is lower than ever - but Democrat John Kerry doesn't seem able to capitalize on it, according to a new poll....

BICKERING BUDGET BUNGLERS

ALBANY - Gov. Pataki and legislative leaders continued their bitter squabbles yesterday, a day after the Legislature ended its most unproductive session in memory. Pataki and Senate Majority Leader Joseph...

MIKE'S PLAN TO KEEP FAMILIES OFF STREET

Mayor Bloomberg yesterday unveiled an ambitious plan to reduce the record number of homeless in city shelters by two-thirds over the next five years, with an infusion of new housing...

MOTHER IS SHOT BY SON - BUT SHE WON'T FINK

A trigger-happy Brooklyn man shot his mom in the chest on a crowded street, but she refuses to squeal on him to the cops, law enforcement sources said yesterday. Michael...

SHEIK-CASE MAILMAN'S HATE SCREED

A Staten Island postal worker didn't mean any harm when he issued an edict on behalf of a powerful jailed sheik to "fight the Jews and kill them," his lawyer...

BOTH SIDES SNARL OVER PET PEEVES

Landlords and tenants were fighting like cats and dogs at City Hall yesterday when lawmakers debated a bill that would strengthen the rights of renters to have pets. Currently, tenants...

ART DEALER'S $1M SMUGGLE

An art dealer pleaded guilty yesterday to smuggling a $1 million ancient silver griffin - believed to have been plundered from an Iranian cave - from Switzerland to New Jersey....

COPS RE-SMASH '10-YEAR PLAGUE' DRUG RING

Police and prosecutors busted a Manhattan drug ring with ties to dealers who controlled the same turf nearly a decade ago, law-enforcement officials said yesterday. After a recent surge of...

MIKE DEFENDS TAX-BACK PLAN

Mayor Bloomberg was steaming yesterday at critics who say homeowners will have to pay taxes on the $400 property tax rebates he hopes to send them this fall. But the...

TRAGIC COMEBACK CON

A Brooklyn dad gunned down on the subway was attending vocational school in hopes putting his criminal past behind him, his family said yesterday. "He was working to change his...

B'KLYN PARENTS AT WAR WITH PRINCIPAL

A Brooklyn school principal is under fire after parent leaders complained she improperly interfered with the business of the PTA and pitted teachers against them in a riotous meeting. All...

BURNING BED - QNS. WIFE: I TORCHED HUBBY IN SELF-DEFENSE

In a scene straight out of Farrah Fawcett's "The Burning Bed," a battered Queens woman looking to ward off her drunk husband's violent sexual advances splashed the man with rubbing...

STREET OF SHAME - BUST KIDS WHO IGNORED RAPE VICTIM'S PLEAS: NEIGHBORS

Residents of the Long Island street where three youths ignored the cries of a screaming Hofstra University student as she was raped say their block should be renamed "the street...

COPS CLEARED IN BRUTALITY SUIT

A Bronx jury took only 45 minutes yesterday to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a man who claimed cops used unreasonable force to subdue him after a high-speed chase. Michael...

CHILLING TALE OF MAD DASH TO FREEDOM

The seas were calm, but the journey was a rough one that seemed "like a movie" to José Contreras' family and the 18 other Cubans when they fled their homeland...

ROCK & ROLLED - EX-MANAGER OF KISS BUSTED AS DEADBEAT

The ex-manager of the hard-rock band Kiss was exposed yesterday as a $2 million deadbeat dad - the city's worst, authorities said. Jesse Hilsen, 64, once a top East Side...

CHARTER SCHOOLS EXPANDING

The Knowledge is Power Program Academy - one of the city's most successful operators of privately managed charter schools in The Bronx and Harlem - plans to open new middle...

FATAL HONEY TRAP - MAN SLAIN AFTER GAL LURED HIM FOR SEX

A 25-year-old temptress charmed a college-bound Bronx man with the promise of wild sex - then cunningly lured him into a deadly ambush, sources told The Post. Leonard Starkes, 24,...

MIRACLE ENDING TO NIGHTMARE CRASH

The driver of a sports utility vehicle that did multiple rollovers in a Coney Island crash yesterday escaped with no serious injuries. The collision took place on Neptune Avenue when...

ONE JOHN TOO MANY

IT'S THE Double-John bandwagon. Everyone in sight seems to be telling Democrat John Kerry to pick charismatic also-ran John Edwards for vice president, but there are hints that so far...

MAFIA 'BODY' BUDDY - RAT BRAGS: I WAS MASSINO'S CORPSE-DUMP KING

A capo who wore a wire to snare his fellow mobsters told jurors yesterday that after he made his bones by dumping bodies from a triple murder, he became reputed...

BUSH HONORS 'FREEDOM' FIGHTERS

WASHINGTON - President Bush yesterday hailed golf great Arnold Palmer for style and daring that changed the game as he honored 13 people with the nation's highest civilian honor, the...

RUSSIAN TEA ROOM 'NYET' DEAD YET

It could be tea time again in New York - rather than tee time. The United States Golf Association has agreed to sell the six-story building that housed the historic...

JOSÉ TO RENEW MARRIAGE VOWS WITH HIS BRAVE WIFE WHO SAYS, 'I DID IT FOR LOVE'

José Contreras is so delighted to have his wife back in his arms, he plans to renew his wedding vows. But before he exchanges another round of "I do's" he...

MIKE PICKS FIGHTS WITH GOPERS IN CONGRESS

With just 2 ½ months remaining until the GOP swoops into town for its national convention, Mayor Bloomberg can't seem to stop feuding with Republicans in Congress. Yesterday, it was...

FED TELLS OF SHEIK 'DANGER'

A federal prosecutor who helped jail a blind Egyptian sheik for life on terrorism charges was the first witness against the sheik's former lawyer yesterday. Patrick Fitzgerald, now U.S. attorney...

MADONNA MANIAC - STALKER TOSSED FROM 2 GARDEN SHOWS

A man who has been stalking Madonna was ejected from Madison Square Garden on the first two nights of the Material Mom's six-night run last week, The Post has learned....

GRUESOME SUBWAY TRACK DEATH

A woman desperately trying to pull herself back onto a Manhattan subway platform after a fall was sliced in half by an incoming train at rush hour yesterday evening. Joan...

$5 BIL IN ALZHEIMER'S AID URGED

Just $5 billion in research spending over the next five years could save $149 billion in annual federal costs to deal with an expected epidemic of Alzheimer's cases once the...

DEMS IN A FELON FUMBLE

WASHINGTON - A Democratic group funded by Bush-hating billionaire George Soros is hiring felons - some convicted of sex offenses, assault and burglary - to go door to door registering...

L.A. COPS' NEW 'BEAT' VIDEOTAPE

A Los Angeles cop was caught on video yesterday repeatedly clubbing a black suspect with a flashlight - sparking fears of a scandal and racial tensions similar to the Rodney...

NYPD DAILY BLOTTER

BROOKLYN * A Canarsie man has been arrested for beating and slashing his ex-girlfriend, law-enforcement sources said yesterday. Peter Charles, 25, approached Robin Cohen at her East 101st Street apartment...

REYES GETTING BETTER

Though he's finally healthy, Jose Reyes would be the first to admit his timing - both in the field and at the plate - is off. But the Mets are...

RUSSIAN TEA DEAL BREWING

It could be tea time again in New York - rather than tee time. The United States Golf Association has agreed to sell the six-story building that housed the historic...

SUBWAY HORROR - DIZZY SPELL DROPS WOMAN TO TRACKS

A woman desperately trying to pull herself back onto a Manhattan subway platform after a fall was sliced in half by an incoming train at rush hour yesterday evening. Joan...

STONE-THROWING B'KLYN TEENS SHOT

Four Brooklyn teens were wounded by gunfire last night after they pelted a livery cab with stones, police sources said. The unidentified gunman and his daughter were passengers in a...

STALKER FOLLOWS MADONNA TO GARDEN SHOWS

A man who has been stalking Madonna was ejected from Madison Square Garden on the first two nights of the Material Mom's six-night run last week, The Post has learned....

SUBWAY VICTIM AN EX-CON : TRIED TO MAKE A NEW LIFE

A Brooklyn dad gunned down on the subway was attending vocational school in hopes putting his criminal past behind him, his family said yesterday. "He was working to change his...

SPAM SCAM - 92M AOL NAMES SOLD FOR $52G

In one of the biggest spam scams ever uncovered, an AOL software engineer stole 92 million screen names from the online giant and sold them for $52,000 to spammers who...

SPAM SCAM: 92M AOL NAMES SOLD FOR $52G

In one of the biggest spam scams ever uncovered, an AOL software engineer stole 92 million screen names from the online giant and sold them for $52,000 to spammers who...

FOR THE BIRDS - LIEBER STINKO AGAIN AS O'S BASH BOMBERS

BALTIMORE - After seven straight victories against Baltimore this year, the Yankees were due for a clinker. Jon Lieber, in his latest dud of an outing, gave them one last...

NICE WHILE IT LASTED - WIN STREAK ENDS ON CASEY'S HR

12 INNINGS: Reds 6 - Mets 4 One more quality pitch from a pushed-to-the-max bullpen wouldn't have been needed if only someone on the Mets would have produced the hit...

METS BEHIND IN ARMS RACE

HARD to be negative about the Mets, winners still of seven of nine. But look, even Art Howe basically admitted to being afraid to look as he sent Jae Seo...

DL'S POSSIBLE FOR ACHY SHEFF

BALTIMORE - The only chance Gary Sheffield will be in the lineup tonight was "if a miracle happened" overnight, the Yankee slugger said last night. What's more, the disabled list...

CASEY AT THE BAT PROBLEM FOR JOHN

Sean Casey strafed Mets pitching all night, sprayed the ball all over Shea, even out of the park. But with the game on the line in the 12th inning, Art...

LINEUP CHANGE LOOMS FOR LIBS

Changes may be looming for a Liberty starting five that matched a franchise-worst five-game losing streak Tuesday night and fell to .500 after beginning the season 6-1. Five straight losses...

'SMARTY' RETURNS TO TRACK

Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Smarty Jones is set to return to the track tomorrow for the first time since Birdstone foiled his Triple Crown bid in the June 5...

CONFIDENT TELFAIR SET TO BLAZE TRAIL IN NBA

Sebastian Telfair has heard the rumors his stock is dropping and there are a lot more people who expect him to fail in the NBA than succeed, but on the...

TIGERS, MAHONEY SIGN DEAL

Collin Mahoney initially was frustrated after he was drafted by the Tigers in the fourth round earlier this month. For months, he had heard from scouts and other baseball people...

MAGIC FOCUS ON OKAFOR, HOWARD

DRAFT NOTES Unlike last year, when it was a foregone conclusion the Cleveland Cavaliers would use the No.1 pick on Ohio native LeBron James, the Orlando Magic could use the...

GIANTS TURN TO NKWENTI

There has been expectation that the Giants are in the market for a veteran offensive lineman who can play right tackle. The pickings are slim, and yesterday's signing of Mathias...

THIRD CATCHER WILL GIVE ART FLEXIBILITY

MET NOTES No longer will manager Art Howe have to get by with only two catchers available on his roster, as the Mets today will purchase the contract of Tom...

DEVS GM LOU LIKES DRAFT AS IT STANDS

With his record of prosperity in the NHL draft, Lou Lamoriello says he doesn't want the next Collective Bargaining Agreement to alter the league's amateur selection process. "I hope the...

CAM'S HEATING UP - .406 STREAK HASAMAZIN'S ON ROLL

Are the Mets playing much better because Mike Cameron has finally joined the party, or is Cameron finding his stroke as a result of the Mets getting in gear? Who...

ISIAH MULLS DEALING SECOND-ROUND PICK

Isiah Thomas traded his way out of the first round in January. Now there's a chance he's going to get out of the draft altogether tonight and trade his second-round...

MILBURY PREFERS DRAFTIER CLIMATE

Mike Milbury - at one time a wizard of blockbuster draft-day trades - is in Raleigh for this weekend's draft, but yesterday the Islanders' GM was more desperate to find...

HEALTHY REYES OUT TO REGAIN HIS TIMING

Jose Reyes finally has his health, his job and at least a semblance of his blazing speed. But his timing both at the plate and in the field, with double-play...

LAYDEN SURFACES IN TV SPOT

Former Knicks GM Scott Layden came out of hiding last night and hosted an NBATV special show on the draft. That's as close as he'll come to tonight's NBA Draft...

LOFTON MAY TURN RIGHT

YANKEE NOTES BALTIMORE - Kenny Lofton and Bernie Williams might start in the Yankees outfield alongside each other, Joe Torre said yesterday. An injury to Gary Sheffield and an extended...

NETS MAY TAP TELFAIR - BUT FOR PORTLAND

In a perfect world, the Nets would have a choice of players they covet in tonight's NBA draft. Oregon's Luke Jackson would be there. If they wanted a high school...

NEW LIFE DAWNS FOR JOSE AND KIN - YANKS: REUNIONSURE TO REMEDYCONTRERAS' GAME

BALTIMORE - Jose Contreras' torment is over, and his teammates and friends couldn't be more ecstatic. One day after the Yankee right-hander's emotional reunion with his family, his teammates sounded...

EASY BEING GREEN - TEENS CASH IN AT NBA DRAFT

Don King would love this NBA Draft. Only in America could this happen. Only in America could a young man who may not be old enough to drink, drive or...

BACK WITH FAMILY, NEW LIFE FOR JOSE - YANKS: REUNION CAN CURE CONTRERAS

BALTIMORE - Jose Contreras' torment is over, and his teammates and friends couldn't be more ecstatic. One day after the Yankee right-hander's emotional reunion with his family, his teammates sounded...

FORGET BASEBALL, IT'S ABOUT FAMILY

BALTIMORE - Forget the boxscores this morning. Forget the standings. This one's about heart, about the things that get us out of bed in the morning, send us off to...

NICE WHILE IT LASTED - WIN STREAK ENDSON CASEY'S HR

12 INNINGSReds 6Mets 4 For so long last night, the Mets kept trotting out relief pitchers who kept on sending the Reds down. One inning after another. The sterling work...

KAZ CAN'T ESCAPE ZING OF QUEENS

MET NOTES There's a new trend at Shea Stadium: Rip Kaz Matsui. The shortstop has been jeered more and more frequently as he struggles as the leadoff hitter and often...

NBA GETTIN' ALL SHAQ UP

ON the eve of reconstruction throughout the NBA, its entire 30-team union was working OT. Time to round up the usual sources and see what they've got to say for...

NEVER MIND BASEBALL - TODAY'S ABOUT FAMILY

BALTIMORE - Forget the boxscores this morning. Forget the standings. This one's about heart, about the things that get us out of bed in the morning, send us off to...

6 IN THE CITY - YANKEES-METS WILL BE SMASH HIT OF SUMMER

This is when it's best, of course, when the Yankees are playing like the Yankees and the Mets are still playing important baseball games in the opening hours of the...

THE MATCHUPS

Yankees-Red Sox? Mets-Braves? Please. The best rivalry in town is with the two teams in the same town. Sure, the Mets and Yankees play ball in different boroughs, but they...

A-MAZIN' MEMORIES: ALEX GREW UP IDOLIZING THE METS

BALTIMORE - Alex Rodriguez says he was sky-high when the Mets won the World Series in 1986, and he's not exaggerating. A-Rod was an unabashed, unapologetic fan of New York's...

GUIDE TO THE NYC TRIATHLON

It started small three summers ago, a Sunday morning for New York City to boost its Olympic bid and boast its athletic amenities to a new crowd. Sunday, it comes...