October 26, 2004

ON STAGE, OFF THE RECORD - CLINTON MAKES LOW-PROFILE PLOY AT MAGAZINE CONFERENCE

POLITICS came to the American Magazine Conference with news that former President Bill Clinton would be making a surprise stop at the Boca Raton Resort this morning in one of...

DAILY NEWS CIRC DEALS RAISE FLAGS

The Daily News has engaged in several practices that suggest the tabloid's circulation figures may be inflated, a Post investigation has revealed. In interviews with The Post, retailers and home-delivery...

YSL CHIEF REPLACES SANTUCCI AT GUCCI

Robert Polet, chief executive of the Gucci Group, named company veteran Mark Lee to the post of president and managing director of the Gucci division, moving quickly to replace Giacomo...

BOYD'S STORE TO TAKE THIRD

BOYD'S Chemists, the legendary Madison Avenue beauty-products emporium that's moving to Columbus Avenue, has nailed down a new East Side location, too: 968 Third Ave., where Steve Roth's Vornado is...

BILLIONAIRE'S PAYDAY TO GILD GOLDEN YEARS

While Wilbur Ross celebrates his new honeymoon, he's also toasting his latest deal - an $80 million bet that reaped a $4.5 billion payoff in just two years. The billionaire...

CRIME BUSTER WADES IN AT MARSH

As Marsh & McLennan gets a new, squeaky clean chief executive, the financial giant's executive ranks are poised for an even bigger shakeup. Yesterday the insurance giant said Jeffrey Greenberg,...

NINTENDO GIVES NEW MEANING TO HANDHELD

A buxom blonde beckons from the pages of a magazine: "Two is always better than one," she says. "I love a man with a soft, sensitive touch," and "Believe it...

BATTERED CITIGROUP GETS FINE, HITS LOW

Citigroup stock hit a new low yesterday following two more black eyes - the shutdown of its scandalized Japanese bank and a record fine here over its hedge fund abuses....

PLAYED TO THE HILTON - 'SIMPLE LIFE 3' HOPS A BUS FOR HEIRESS' NEXT ADVENTURE

PARIS and Nicole are going to leave the driving to Greyhound. Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie, the ditz-lectic duo from Fox's "The Simple Life" are all set to embark on...

KEN PASSES $2M MILESTONE

LONGSTANDING "Jeopardy!" champ Ken Jennings passed the $2 million mark on last night's show. Jennings, who began his remarkable "Jeopardy!" run last June, won an even $30,000 on last night's...

SLOW CLIMB - TEEN FANS BEMOAN MOVING 'MOUNTAIN'

'THE Mountain" has risen to become this season's word-of-mouth hit - at least among the younger female set enamored with star Oliver Hudson (Kate's brother and Goldie Hawn's son). The...

STARR REPORT

Congrats to "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" co-executive producer Vin Rubino. His movie, "The Breakup Art ist," which I wrote about here Oct. 14, screened last Saturday at the...

'REAL' TOON SMACKS OF CLEVERNESS

TOMORROW night, Comedy Central presents the world's first-ever, all fake reality show called, appropriately enough, "Drawn Together." But I wish the show were as funny as it is clever. And...

'COBBLE HILL' TV

IT may never make it on the air, but hipster Brooklynites have arrived. CBS is fiddling with the idea of a new TV series to be called "Cobble Hill." The...

JEWISH JOKE GOES SO WRONG

A casting call for a cable makeover show about "Jewish American Princesses" in New York City has a lot people in a schvitz. The show's tentative title, "JAP Squad," made...

GIORGI-OH! - ONLY ONE THING SCARES THE $2B DESIGNER: TONIGHT'S NEW YORK SHOW; HE'S KING OF THE RED CARPET

HIS name is synonymous with status. He's the most successful fashion designer in the world, owning 100 percent of the $2 billion empire he fastidiously rules. He's as famous as...

GOOD VIBRATIONS

SEXY lingerie stores on the tony Upper East Side are nothing new - after all, it is the home of La Perla and BraSmyth. But it's the high-end sex toys...

WHERE THEY ARE, NOBODY KNOWS

FEW fan bases have ever been as fanatical about a TV show's location as the loyal fan base of the The Simpsons. Problem is, nobody knows which town it's actually...

EXPRESS CHECK-IN - GOSSIP, HOT TOPICS AND OTHER NEWS YOU'LL USE

HAVE PET, WILL TRAVEL SHE has property in Barbados and gets to perform in such hot spots as the Half Moon resort in Montego Bay, but singer Roberta Flack, who...

CLOSE CALLS - NOWHERE TO GO? TRY ONE OF THESE GREAT WEEKENDS WITH THE GANG

THE leaves are almost gone and cold weather - and the holidays -are about to put a cramp in your travel style. So why not go on a low-cost, quick...

CROOK A FUGITIVE DAD, TOO - BOYS LEFT TO LIVE ALONE

JACO, Costa Rica - Convicted con man Brett Lurie shamelessly used his young sons in his plot to flee the United States - and then virtually abandoned the boys in...

WEIRD BUT TRUE

They elected the annual homecoming queen at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota - and this year, she is a he. Fue Khang was crowned with a tiara after getting...

I WANT MY GI SON TO SERVE UNDER BUSH

THE cliché goes: "Just business, nothing personal." The hell it is. John Kerry makes me weak in the ankles - and now it's personal, not business. In the next few...

DA SLAMS TENNIS-SIS 'KILLERS'

COMPTON, Calif. - The two men accused of killing the half-sister of tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams were acting like trigger-happy urban cowboys when they blasted her SUV with...

NO DRAFT - TODAY'S MILITARY CAN'T USE CONSCRIPTS

THERE is not going to be a military draft. No matter who is elected. No draft. None. Period. Clear enough? The shameless lies told for political advantage, the immoral scare...

W.'S RUDY MOUNTAIN HIGH

GREELEY, Colo. - Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani shined his megawatt star power on President Bush's re-election bid yesterday and accused John Kerry of taking the wrong approach on terrorism. Giuliani's...

PERVY SCHOOL SHRINK GETS JAIL

A senior school psychologist was sentenced yesterday to 90 days behind bars for abusing at least one student at PS 146 in Bedford-Stuyvesant, authorities said. Lloyd Slater, 56, of Hempstead,...

NEW GI JANE PORN PROBE

WASHINGTON - The Pentagon's Inspector General has joined an Army investigation into soldiers in Iraq who are distributing nude photos of their female comrades in arms on an Internet porn...

BILL'S HEARTY ENDORSEMENT - COMEBACK CLINTON GIVES KERRY BOOST

PHILADELPHIA - Bubba's back. A gaunt but energized Bill Clinton made his debut on the campaign trail here yesterday, touting Sen. John Kerry's ability to lead America while slamming President...

HIPPIE HOLDOVER LYNNE PROUD OF GETTING KILLERS OFF

IN TRUTH, firebrand attorney Lynne Stewart would've run a marathon and taken out a Giants linebacker to get to the witness stand. "I'm a lawyer who defends those who the...

WHEEL HEROES GO DI$TANCE

New York's Bravest were the city's proudest pedalers yesterday as 35 firefighters completed a grueling 42-day biking trek across the United States. Roars of wild applause greeted the super smoke-eaters...

LAST PHASE OF UNION SQ. FIX-UP SET FOR NEXT FALL

The final phase of the reconstruction of Union Square Park will begin next fall, city officials announced yesterday. The north end of the park will get a $14 million facelift...

SCOOBY'S NOW TV'S TOP DOG

D'oh! "The Simpsons" have slipped - on Scooby Doo. The popular cartoon series starring a crime-solving canine has won a Guinness World Record for hitting the 350-episode mark, the most...

ARIEL'S SETTLER SLAP - IGNITES FURY AS HE RIPS 'MESSIANIC COMPLEX'

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon yesterday opened a raucous debate over his plan to pull out of the Gaza Strip by saying that while he feels the pain of Jewish...

JOHN KERRY YESTERDAY DEFENDED HIS CONTROVERSIAL WIFE ...

Democrat John Kerry yesterday defended his controversial wife, Teresa's, gaffe in suggesting that First Lady Laura Bush has never held "a real job" - adding that he loves his wife's...

ASHLEE'S HALF-ACID LIP-SYNC EXCUSE - BLAMES REFLUX & DRUMMER

A red-faced Ashlee Simpson was lip-syncing a new tune yesterday to explain her embarrassing performance on national TV over the weekend. The villain behind the snafu, which gave her record...

LOBBY GROUPS SPENDING MILLIONS ON STADIUM WAR

The relentless advertising and behind-the-scenes lobbying war over a proposed West Side stadium has cost $11.5 million as the Jets and Madison Square Garden duke it out, a new study...

MTA EYES BIG HIKES TO AVOID SERVICE CUTS

Riders who buy monthly MetroCards should be hit with a 20 percent fare hike in an effort to slam the brakes on service cuts and layoffs, an MTA official said...

GOV PAL DRESSED DOWN - COPS SLAM 'IMPOSTOR'

ALBANY - Gov. Pataki has quietly allowed one of his biggest contributors to be made a "deputy superintendent" and "colonel" in the State Police, angering law-enforcement officials, The Post has...

UNXPECTED SCENES IN KIDS FLICK

Five-year-old Leigh Ann Umbria thought she was going to see "Charlotte's Web 2: Wilbur's Great Adventure" on TV, but the adventure turned out to be X-rated when frames from a...

GOP-HACK $MACK

A WORD of advice to New York City taxi drivers: If you support President Bush in this GOP-hostile town, keep your mouth shut. Last week, I introduced you to Etzer...

'MY DADDY IS DEAD' - TOT FINDS PARENT SLAY-SUICIDE

A Lower East Side man strangled his girlfriend with a nylon chord and then hanged himself, leaving their 3-year-old son to discover the grisly scene yesterday, cops said. Little Anthony,...

GOTTI COHORT'S SURPRISE GUILTY PLEA

A Peter Gotti co-defendant faces life in prison after pleading guilty to killing his cousin and plotting to rub out mob turncoat Salvatore "Sammy Bull" Gravano. The bombshell admissions by...

CHUCK'S SECRET $11M STASH FOR 'GOV RACE'

ALBANY - Sen. Charles Schumer has quietly created an $11.6 million state campaign account that Republicans charge is a likely first step toward a run for governor. Schumer, who is...

'WIFE-KIDNAP' KOOK: 'I HEAR VOICES'

The Queens man accused of kidnapping his wife and shooting a hospital worker in September told his lawyer yesterday he suffers hallucinations. "I hear voices," Miguel Carrasquillo informed attorney Russell...

APPLE POLISHES OFF CRIME - AMERICA'S 'SAFEST' CITY AS STATS PLUNGE

Crime in New York City fell in eight of nine key categories last year and it is by far the safest big city in the country, according to new FBI...

GAY 'DOGFIGHT' - CELEB GROOMER 'STABS' HIS LOVER

A lover's squabble between a gay couple who groom the dogs of Jennifer Lopez, Sean "P. Diddy" Combs and Janet Jackson turned bloody when one pet primper allegedly stabbed his...

NEW FACES ON SCHOOL FUND

Schools Chancellor Joel Klein yesterday announced the appointments of eight new board members to the Fund for Public Schools, the nonprofit fund-raising arm of the city's Department of Education. The...

NYPD DAILY BLOTTER

THE BRONX * A Honduran immigrant was being sought yesterday in connection with Sunday's double shooting outside a Mott Haven nightclub that left one man dead, cops said. At about...

L.I. GANG SWEEP NETS 66

Long Island law-enforcement officials said yesterday that 66 gang members have been swept off the streets of Huntington Station during a three-week effort. Officials said 158 people were arrested overall...

CITY'S RAIL BEAUTY - MANHATTAN ACTRESS NAMED MS. SUBWAYS

Here she is: Ms. Subways 2004! Caroline Sanchez-Bernat was crowned the first Ms. Subways in nearly 30 years yesterday as part of the transit system's centennial celebration. "It's great to...

FLA. POLL PUTS PREZ 8 AHEAD

President Bush has a solid 8-point lead over John Kerry in the key state of Florida, according to a new Gallup poll on the heels of others that show the...

DURST JAILED FOR ANOTHER 9 MONTHS

PHILADELPHIA - Robert Durst will be spending another nine months behind bars. Just 11 days after he was paroled and rearrested, Durst pleaded guilty to two federal gun charges stemming...

BOUNCER'S KILLER A 'HERO': LAWYER

A Queens martial-arts expert yesterday went on trial for the bloody stabbing death of an East Village bouncer in a fracas that erupted after he ordered a clubgoer to stub...

I'M NO TERRORIST - BLIND SHEIK'S LAWYER SPEAKS OUT IN COURT

Radical lawyer Lynne Stewart insisted she's a loving grandma - not a terrorist. Stewart took the stand in her defense yesterday against charges that she helped her client - blind...

JENNINGS PLAYS THE RACE CARD

Embattled City Councilman Allan Jennings has branded as "racist" the ongoing council hearings into sex-harassment charges against him. In an Oct. 12 letter to Council Speaker Gifford Miller (D-Manhattan), Jennings...

CITY WILL GET ALL 140,000 FLU VACCINES ON ORDER

The city Health Department expects to soon get the rest of the flu vaccine it ordered, and hopes it can get more from the federal government - but there's no...

NIGHTCLUB 'SHOOTER'S' MA BUSTED

A mother was arrested after driving her teenage son from a Long Island night spot where he'd opened fire, wounding two people, cops said yesterday. Diana Little, 37, who, along...

MYSTERY BEHIND N.J. CAR PLUNGE

The driver of the Jeep that veered off a Newark street and plunged into the Passaic River may have been asleep at the wheel or lost control because of a...

PELOSI 'BASH' & CASH - PLOTTED SLAY, PAL SAYS

A contractor associate of Danny Pelosi testified yesterday that a year before millionaire Ted Ammon was bludgeoned to death, Pelosi drunkenly told him he planned to "bash in his brains"...

L.I. ACTOR IN FREAKISH BACKSTAGE 'ATTACK'

A Long Island actor playing a war-torn soldier staged his own bizarre drama by suddenly pummeling his leading lady and director in a violent outburst just before a show, police...

RIP GOT HIS 'KICKS' - ACTOR 'WENT FOR MY ANKLES': COP

Emmy-winner Rip Torn cursed like a sailor - and kicked like a chorus girl - when he was hauled in on drunken-driving charges earlier this year, a cop told Manhattan...

SLIPPERY SCAMMER AN ELUSIVE DADDY, TOO

JACO, Costa Rica - Convicted con man Brett Lurie shamelessly used his young sons in his plot to flee the United States - and then virtually abandoned the boys in...

MONTHLY METRO MAY RISE 20%

Riders who buy monthly MetroCards should be hit with a 20 percent fare hike in an effort to slam the brakes on service cuts and layoffs, an MTA official said...

'DADDY IS DEAD' - TOT FINDS PARENTS' SLAY-SUICIDE

A Lower East Side man strangled his girlfriend and then hanged himself yesterday morning - leaving their 3-year-old son to discover the grisly scene when he walked into their bedroom,...

ASHLEE'S HALF-ACID LIP-SYNC EXCUSE - BLAMES REFLUX FOR SNL FLUB

Punky lip-syncing pop star Ashlee Simpson last night said she couldn't stomach singing for real on "Saturday Night Live" - because of acid reflux. "I had severe acid reflux, and...

ACTOR ATTACKS CO-STAR, DIRECTOR IN OFFSTAGE DRAMA: COPS

A Long Island actor playing a soldier suffering from post-traumatic stress suddenly snapped for real and began pummeling his leading lady and director just before a show, cops said yesterday....

CLUB 'SHOOTER'S MOM BUSTED

A mother was arrested after driving her teenage son from a Long Island night spot where he'd opened fire, wounding two people, cops said yesterday. Diana Little, 37, who, along...

STADIUM FOES SPEND $11.5M

The relentless advertising and behind-the-scenes lobbying war over a proposed West Side stadium has cost $11.5 million as the Jets and Madison Square Garden duke it out, a new study...

PILOT AND PLANE AT FAULT IN FLT. 587 CRASH: NTSB

Federal probers will reportedly blame both an American Airlines pilot and the designers of his Airbus plane for the crash of Flight 587, which plunged into a Queens neighborhood in...

CIPEL OK OVER MCG: ATTORNEY

Federal investigators have cleared Jim McGreevey's alleged gay lover, Golan Cipel, of trying to extort millions of dollars from the New Jersey governor, Cipel's lawyer said. "There's no chance [he]...

TIME'S UP - DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME IS OVER

The phrase, "Spring forward, fall back" helps us to remember the beginning and end of Daylight-Saving Time. Read on to see how all this clock switching began. THIS Sunday, before...

MYTHS OF THE UNDECIDED

WHAT if there are no undecided voters left? What if the polls we're seeing now are a precise mirror of where we're going to be on Election Day? In polls...

PENTAGON STEPS UP GI JANE PORN PROBE

WASHINGTON - The Pentagon's Inspector General has joined an Army investigation into soldiers in Iraq who are distributing nude photos of their female comrades in arms on an Internet porn...

TAKING A STEP BACK

Jet Report CardQUARTERBACKS: D Chad Pennington (19-of-30, 162 yards, 77.4 rating, one rushing TD) didn't have the magic this time. RUNNING BACKS: D Curtis Martin (20-for-70 rushing) didn't exactly dominate....

TIKI CAN'T DO IT ALL

Giant Report CardQUARTERBACKS: C- The mantra has been the same all season: avoid the big mistake. Kurt Warner (23 of 34, 270 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, three fumbles) didn't...

A 'JOY' TO BEHOLD

GRAND PRAIRIE, Tex. - One of the shortest price betting favorites in the Breeders' Cup Saturday will be an American horse going a mile and a half on the grass...

KENDALL RELISHES BIG-GAME SCENE

JET NOTES All was not lost in Sunday's 13-7 Jets' loss to the Patriots. Jets left guard Pete Kendall, who's spent most of his eight-year career playing on losing teams...

JUST CALL HIM ALEX THE GREAT

GRAND PRAIRIE, Tex. - The Breeders' Cup workout spotlight yesterday was focused on Juvenile candidate Afleet Alex, who had the clockers nodding in approval as he zipped five furlongs in...

NETS MUST ADJUST THEIR 'D'

Despite their transition game, the Nets were always at heart a defensive team. Long-armed uber-athletes like Kenyon Martin, Kerry Kittles and Jason Kidd made them one of the NBA's best...

IT'S HOME OVER BUCKS FOR GOMEZ

Paying those hometown dues, Devil center Scott Gomez is passing on a chance to make up the money he's losing from Gary Bettman's lockout. Instead, the Anchorage, Alaska, native who...

OUIJA BOARD LEANS TO FILLY & MARE

NOTEBOOK GRAND PRAIRIE, Tex. - Lord Derby has decided to run his champion 3-year-old filly Ouija Board in the $1 million Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf, rather than tackle...

HERE WE GO AGAIN - SPEEDY 'AFLEET' HAS THE LOOK OF 'SMARTY' CLONE

GRAND PRAIRIE, Tex. - Is America ready for Smarty Jones II? We've heard this Cinderella story before: A brilliant colt with an obscure pedigree, and a trainer and jockey who...

PENNY'S READY TO FIRE AWAY

Barring a major surprise before the Knicks' regular season tips off next week, it's likely Allan Houston will not be healthy enough to play. You know that Jamal Crawford will...

NO BANGING CHAD - HERM STANDS BEHIND QB AFTER LOSS TO PATS

The Jets are moving on from Sunday's disappointing loss to the Patriots. They're not going to dwell on their uncharacteristic mistakes and their failure to defeat one of the league's...

TIME TO AIR IT OUT

CHAD Pennington, pilot of Hackett Airways, is encountering turbulence in the air. Engine trouble. His Jet has mechanical problems, and somebody had better fix them fast. Pennington and the Jets...

VITALI, WILLIAMS TALKIN' TITLE

Is Danny Williams a one-hit wonder? Is Vitali Klitschko the best of the heavyweight champions? Those questions could be answered when the two meet on Dec. 11 at Mandalay Bay...

GRADY GETS GOOD NEWS ON TRANSFERS

Derick Echols considered making another attempt to leave Grady last week, but yesterday, as PSAL basketball teams were allowed to begin practice for the season, the senior showed up, hoping...

TRUTH CAN REALLY HURT

NOBODY'S asking Doug Collins, or other NBA (sports) analysts, to make a living looking into closed closets or accentuating negative aspects of a player's game or a coach's game plan....

WHOLE LOTTA GLOVE FOR BIG PAPI

ST. LOUIS - With the clamor around David Ortiz starting at first base tonight, you'd think he hadn't played there since he was with Triple-A Salt Lake City. Although Ortiz...

TEAMMATES KEEP KILE'S SPIRIT ALIVE

ST. LOUIS - Two years later, the clubhouse locker is still his, the white home jersey with the No. 57 on it is still hanging inside and facing his teammates....

YANKEES INSPIRED SOX RUN

ST. LOUIS - The Yankees wanted to build a championship team this year. They did. In Boston. The Red Sox have become baseball's version of the Patriots, the NFL winning...

THE PRESSURE'S ON - WHICH PEDRO WILL SHOW TONIGHT?

ST. LOUIS - Tonight is the first World Series start in Pedro Martinez' illustrious career. Not to spoil the party, but will he finally pitch like a three-time Cy Young...

WARNER PINS LOSS ON PICK

GIANT NOTES No one player is responsible for winning or losing, but Kurt Warner yesterday boiled down the 28-13 loss to the Lions to one play he'd love to have...

BOSS, BRASS BEGIN POST-MORTEMS

ST. LOUIS - The first Yankee steps in recovering from the darkest moment in franchise history will be taken today, when George Steinbrenner gathers his inner circle to Tampa for...

RULING THEIR ROOST - CARDS OUT TO TURN IT AROUND AT HOME

ST. LOUIS - Since the 100th World Series swapped Samuel Adams for Budweiser at the taps by leaving New England for the banks of the Mississippi, the responsibility for placing...

SUPPAN'S READY FOR CHALLENGE

ST. LOUIS - During the 2003 season, the Red Sox traded for Jeff Suppan and asked him to be a part of their pitching plans down the stretch. It didn't...

BLUE BUMMERS - COUGHLIN RIPS GIANTS' FOCUS AGAINST LIONS

Starting out calm and growing increasingly exasperated, Tom Coughlin yesterday grew agitated and animated as he defended his short-yardage usage of Ron Dayne and continued to harp on the lack-of-preparation...

WILLIE STEPS TO PLATE

ST. LOUIS - Willie Randolph came into his interview with the Mets at Shea Stadium yesterday as the favorite for the managerial job. All he did was enhance his status....

HISTORY LESSENS FOR BIRDS

ST. LOUIS - It can't be this easy. That would be the biggest disservice of all. The more rabid members of Red Sox Nation understood perfectly well that if the...

GM: CURT CAN PITCH IN GAME 6

ST. LOUIS - Red Sox GM Theo Epstein expects ace Curt Schilling to be available for Game 6 if the World Series goes that far - calling Dr. Bill Morgan's...