November 4, 2004

TIME WARNER SETS $500M LEGAL RESERVE

Media giant Time Warner seems hopeful that the end of a long-running accounting investigation is in sight. The company said yesterday it has put $500 million in reserve to pay...

MOSAIC MAGIC - ZZ TOP PUBLISHER COULD YIELD COOL $40M

Mosaic Media, which has produced the hit movie "Scooby Doo" as well as a slew of films for HBO, is entertaining offers for its music-publishing arm, The Post has learned....

IT'S TIME TO SOLVE OUR ENERGY CRISIS

FIRST, a little poem. It was nice of Osama bin Hidin'To preach to us this fiscal warnin'"Leave the Middle East aloneOr we'll drain your resources to the bone,"That, at least,...

NEWS CORP. NET PROFIT SOARS 27%

News Corp. saw healthy gains in profit and revenue in the fiscal first quarter - helped by growth in advertising at the Fox News Channel and the Fox broadcast network,...

RATNER FAILS TO KEEP PACE DEAL

A widely publicized development deal between Bruce Ratner and Pace University has collapsed, threatening to scuttle or delay a planned Frank Gehry-designed skyscraper near City Hall. Pace balked over Ratner's...

MARSH, AON AIG SUED

OptiCare Health Systems, filed what it hopes will become a class action lawsuit against Marsh & McLennan Cos., AIG Inc. and Aon Corp, alleging they steered business to insurance companies...

EX-NEWSDAY SCANDAL EXEC GOT 30G PAYOFF

Newsday severed ties to a Long Island businessman after learning that one of his companies made a $30,000 payment to the paper's ousted circulation chief. The paper said it was...

FOUR EX-MERRILL EXECS GUILTY IN ENRON TRIAL

The first criminal convictions came yesterday in the Enron Corp. energy scandal - hitting four ex-Merrill Lynch executives and one former finance executive at the now-collapsed Enron. A federal jury...

N.Y. TIMES SERVED CIRC PROBE PAPERS

The New York Times has joined a list of newspapers in the New York area to receive subpoenas as part of a federal investigation that began with Newsday's circulation practices....

S.A.C. CAPITAL MAY RESCUE WET SEAL

Wet Seal, the troubled teen fashion retailer, may have found its white knight. A group led by S.A.C. Capital Associates is negotiating the terms of an investment that could see...

SUIT TARGETS MARSH, AON & AIG

A financially-troubled managed vision-care company is charging several insurance companies and brokers with charging them with fraudulently high rates, the result of a conspiracy that had the brokers steering business...

STARR REPORT

Off the hook . . . Why anyone would want to harm the comely women of "Life & Style" is beyond me, but a bomb threat was, in deed, phoned...

'KING' CALL - 'HILL' HOME ON THE RANGE IN DANGER

'KING of the Hill" executive producer John Altschuler describes Sunday's season premiere as "oddly dramatic" - or business as usual in the animated universe of Arlen, Texas, where humor and...

'JEOPARDY' KEN BREAKS THE BANK

JEOPARDY!" know-it- all Ken Jennings made history last night - becoming the biggest money winner on a single quiz show in the history of TV. Jennings snagged $45,099 on last...

NBC BIG WINNER FOR ELECTION NIGHT

MORE than 55 million people watched Tuesday's presidential election coverage from 8 to 11 p.m., according to Nielsen. NBC was the big winner on the broadcast side, averaging 15.2 million...

SONGSTRESS IS 'NOT NOBODY'

DESPITE last year's Grammy nods and her MTV hit "A Thousand Miles," singer-songwriter Vanessa Carlton has flown under pop music's radar since her 2002 debut. That's probably because her brain...

REAL-LIFE 'ALFIES' - N.Y. LOTHARIOS PUT JUDE LAW TO SHAME

JUDE Law has nothing on the real-life cads of New York. The smoldering British star of the remake of "Alfie," opening tomorrow, spends his time hopping between the beds of...

R. KELLY, JAY-Z ON TOP - AGAIN

IT'S been a roller coaster of a week for R. Kelly and Jay-Z. First the feuding duo canceled their "Best of Both Worlds" tour, then Kelly filed a $75-million breach-of-contract...

DEMOCRATS' SURVIVAL TIPS

DEMOCRATS, don't despair. You made it through the first four years. Here's a survival guide for the next four. * Marry a Canadian. Live up to your threats - and...

GOOD? SURE. GREAT? NOT SO MUCH

"Alexander the Great" Sunday night at 8 on History Channel * * ½ (two and one half stars) ALEXANDER the Great is becoming like Ben Affleck - every time you...

FIREFIGHTER DUO IN RIVER RESCUE

Two city firefighters waded into the East River last night to rescue a woman who had jumped off the Roosevelt Island Bridge, officials said. Capt. Daniel DiMartino was inside the...

UGLY START FOR NETS

Heat 100 Nets 77 Here was the scary part for the Nets: Shaquille O'Neal was decidedly human. And still it could not have worked out worse for the new-look Nets,...

WEIRD BUT TRUE

A Michigan student won the prize for scariest costume at his school Halloween party - then got a five-day suspension for wearing it. The senior at City HS in Grand...

COP-SHOOT THUG FACES LIFE IN JAIL

A Brooklyn man was convicted yesterday of trying to murder a cop he shot twice while resisting an arrest last year. Martin Diggs, also convicted of weapons possession, faces up...

ROVE LAUDED FOR W.'S 'BASE' HIT

Top Bush political adviser Karl Rove's insistence on playing to the Republicans' conservative base on issues like gay marriage was key to propelling the president to victory, supporters and critics...

NOW TO BEAT THE KILLERS - 'AMBITIOUS' STRATEGY

WAR ON TERROR WASHINGTON - Crushing Iraq's barbaric rebels ahead of its January elections and pursuing fresh leads on Osama bin Laden are the immediate priorities in the next phase...

MAFIA SPLIT MAN - GOTTI DIVORCE IS DONE DEAL

You could say he made her an offer she couldn't refuse. Peter and Catherine Gotti settled their contentious divorce case after the jailed mob boss offered his estranged wife most...

FREED TO RAPE - FIEND JUST OUT OF JAIL ATTACKS B'KLYN TEEN: COPS

A Brooklyn jailbird with a history of violent sex offenses allegedly raped a 16-year-old girl just days after being let out of prison - then was collared as he checked...

A MAN WITH A PLAN - WHAT TO EXPECT ON DOMESTIC AGENDA

BUSH'S 2ND TERM Much of the presidential campaign was a heated referendum on President Bush's first term - with little debate about his agenda for the next four years. But...

THE LAST SUPPER - WACKO BITTEN WHILE PREACHING TO LIONS

Here's a Christian who threw himself into the lions' den. His reason? He wanted to convert them. This modern-day Daniel performed his derring-do-or-die at the Taipei zoo in Taiwan -...

SWERVY SURVEYS - POLLS RANGED FROM DEAD-ON TO DEAD WRONG

THE POLLS The stunning results of the presidential race have left most professional pollsters beaming with pride about getting it right - but a few others were wiping egg from...

PAINFUL JUMP $HOT - KNICKS FOULING FANS WITH HUGE TIX BOOST

The Knicks may not have been able to beat the Nets in the playoffs last year, but they creamed their cross-river rivals - and the rest of the NBA -...

BROOKLYN BONES WERE 'NATIVE' NYER

They may have sold Manhattan to the Dutch for a few dollars, but they kept their roots across the East River in Brooklyn. It turns out the bones uncovered Tuesday...

FOR ONCE, JOHN DID RIGHT BY THE NATION

THE moment was freakishly out of character. There, in the flesh, was unmistakably John Kerry - face taut and unmoving, makeup tan, hair at attention - and he performed an...

IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN GEPHARDT

Maybe John Kerry should have picked as his running mate Rep. Dick Gephardt, the Missouri populist and friend of organized labor, after all. That was the thinking of many in...

HERO POOCH WAS RUFF ON PARK 'RAPIST'

The hero pooch who saved his ex-model owner from a vicious, knife-wielding would-be rapist in Central Park was honored yesterday, and rewarded with a medal and a gigantic stuffed toy...

LYNNE'S LOOKING LIKE A LOSER

DESPITE the hugs and kisses from her old lefty friends, radical activist lawyer Lynne Stewart had a pretty bad day yesterday. First of all, her main man, Sen. John Kerry,...

WORDS HAUNT LEFTY LAWYER

Radical lawyer Lynne Stewart yesterday was forced to read sworn statements she had signed - forbidding her from sending messages from imprisoned Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman to terrorists overseas, prosecutors say....

NYPD DAILY BLOTTER

BROOKLYN * A Brownsville man has been arrested for robbing a woman at gunpoint, authorities said yesterday. Police sources said Marlo Selby, 43, approached his 42-year-old victim from behind as...

L.I. CEMETERY GUY DIGS OWN GRAVE IN CYBERSEX STING

A Long Island cemetery worker has been arrested for sending porn to an FBI agent who identified himself as a 14-year-old girl, cops said yesterday. Nassau County police busted William...

SISTER OF NO MERCY - TESTIFIES VS. PELOSI

The day millionaire banker Ted Ammon was slain, Danny Pelosi took a mystery bag, which may have contained the murder weapon, from his sister's attic, she testified for the prosecution...

NETWORKS PLAYED A GAME OF 'CHICKEN'

NOW that we've all managed to rub the sleep out of our eyes following the marathon TV coverage on election night, it's time to take care of a few odds...

LIL' ENGINES THAT COULD RAISE BIG $$

Mayor Mike is about to get into the ring with Spider-Man and SpongeBob Square Pants. The city's marketing agency is asking toy manufacturers for proposals to produce miniature replicas of...

DNA RAPE TEST NAILS 'MURDERER'

A Brooklyn man was busted for a 3-year-old murder, thanks to the DNA cops obtained for a rape charge that didn't stick. Police arrested Bernard Stoney, 48, early yesterday morning...

POST READERS OPEN HEARTS & WALLETS TO AILING TOT

Kindhearted Post readers yesterday began reaching out to help little Gracie, the Brooklyn 3-year-old who needs a lifesaving bone-marrow transplant. The Children's Organ Transplant Association said it received e-mail donations...

BUBBA'S BARNSTORMING BOOMERANGED ON DEMS

WASHINGTON - Former President Bill Clinton's 11th-hour campaign swing on behalf of John Kerry did nothing to boost the Democratic nominee - and may have actually hurt him, according to...

SCHUMER LOOKS LIKE SURE THING FOR GOV RUN

ALBANY - Sen. Charles Schumer's historic re-election victory - combined with stunning Democratic losses in Washington - makes it likely he'll run for governor in 2006, political experts agreed yesterday....

BLARING BRASS GETS BURNED

A top aide to Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta was in hot water yesterday for turning on his lights and siren to reach a new firehouse in Queens in time for...

A DATE FOR '08 - FAMILIAR FOES HILL, RUDY SET FOR PREZ FACE-OFF

THE CHALLENGERS WASHINGTON - John Kerry's loss puts Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton atop the heap of Democrats ready to run for president in 2008 - with former Mayor Rudy Giuliani...

BX. DAD BUSTED AFTER TOT GOES MISSING

The father of a 1-year-old South Bronx toddler who was missing for 30 hours was arrested yesterday and charged with endangering his child. Shawn Tindal, of East 149th Street, left...

PUNK ROBS B'KLYN NUN

It wasn't as easy as taking candy from a baby, but it was just as vile. The brazen thief robbed the Holy Innocents Catholic School in Flatbush, Brooklyn, yesterday, getting...

DRAMA BEHIND KERRY DECISION - * 'BACKSTAGE WAS LIKE A FUNERAL' * CANDIDATE NIXED LEGAL CHALLENGES

THE LOSER BOSTON - Three hours after he woke up in his 19th-century Federalist townhouse on Louisbourg Square, Sen. John Kerry was told his lifelong dream to become the president...

'HOOPS' SLAYING RECANT - STAR'S KIN CLEARED

The older brother of city high-school hoops star and first-round NBA draft pick Sebastian Telfair has been cleared of attempted murder after the shooting victim recanted his story. Sylvester Telfair,...

OUT-OF-TOUCH KERRY NOW OUT OF CHANCES

PRESIDENT BUSH won the White House because he understands it's hip to be square. Bush knows what he stands for and connects with mainstream Americans across a cultural divide that...

CHARGE IN BOGUS BRIDGE PLOT

A Brooklyn man from Pakistan was arrested yesterday on federal charges that he fibbed to the FBI about a bogus terrorist plot to blow up the Verrazano Bridge - in...

BIG WINNER BUSH URGES WEARY NATION TO BE UNITED STATES AGAIN

Declaring that "America has spoken" in granting him a second term, a joyous President Bush vowed yesterday to unite a nation deeply divided after a bitterly contested campaign. "We have...

BUSH-HATING DEMS MUST FIND NEW WAY

DEMS IN SHAMBLES Shell-shocked Democrats yesterday woke up to find their party in shambles and in desperate need of a 12-step program for recovering Bush-haters. It isn't just that Democrats...

200 WOULD-BE JURORS QUIZZED FOR 'SAMMY BULL' HIT TRIAL

Federal court officials have queried more than 200 New Yorkers as candidates to serve as anonymous jurors in the Peter Gotti trial. Gotti, currently imprisoned on prior racketeering charges, is...

CELEBRITY CHATTERING CLASSES GO SILENT

For months, they flapped their yaps. Now they've zipped their lips. The boatloads of Hollywood stars and rock icons who loudly, and sometimes obnoxiously and vulgarly, proclaimed that George W....

GAL SPOTS 'RAPIST' ON TV SHOW

The reality show "Blind Date" turned into "America's Most Wanted" after a woman spotted her alleged rapist on a recent episode of the dating program. Ulrick Kevin White, 31, was...

TIGER SUES FOR YACHTS OF $$

Tiger Woods has gone public with his demand for "Privacy." The golf great has sued Christensen Shipyards, the maker of his 155-foot, $20 million yacht Privacy, for bragging about its...

ARAFAT IN 'SERIOUS' RELAPSE

Yasser Arafat took a sudden turn for the worse yesterday and was rushed into the intensive-care unit of the Paris hospital where doctors are trying to diagnose his mystery illness....

'SAME' HEIST, 17 YEARS LATER

A suspect shot by Bronx cops after a gas-station robbery had served 12 years in prison for robbing the same business in 1987, police sources said yesterday. Marcelano Hernandez, 41,...

'MAIN' EVENT SNARLS SUBWAYS

A water main break in Midtown yesterday disrupted subway service along Sixth Avenue throughout the day. Uptown and downtown B, D, F, and V trains were forced to skip all...

APPLE TOYING AROUND

Mayor Mike is about to get into the ring with Spider-Man and SpongeBob Square Pants. The city's marketing agency is asking toy manufacturers for proposals to produce miniature replicas of...

NORMAN-DAY - U.S.-AUSSIE GROUP FETES GOLF GREAT

Australian golf great Greg Norman was honored for his contributions to relations between his homeland and his adopted home last night at the annual benefit dinner of the American Australian...

FIRE-ESCAPE 'RAPIST'

A 26-year-old ex-con was arrested yesterday for raping a Queens woman after sneaking into her apartment through her fire escape, cops said yesterday. Richard Brown scaled the fire escape at...

COCAINE PRESCHOOLER'S BLOW-&-TELL

Morning playtime at a Bronx Head Start center turned serious yesterday - when a 3-year-old girl brought cocaine to class, police said. The preschooler pulled a deck of cards from...

HOW W WON

TWO things happened on Tuesday night: George W. Bush won the election decisively, and John Kerry and the Democrats lost the election decisively. That's what a close study of the...

AND NOW, FALLUJAH - IT'S TIME TO FINISH THE FIGHT

TUESDAY'S decisive popular vote wasn't just for George W. Bush. It was for our troops, as well. The American people sent a message to the world: We know we're at...

CLASSROOM EXTRA - THE PEOPLE HAVE SPOKEN - BUT IT'S NOT THE LAST WORD. READ ON TO SEE HOW THE PRESIDENTIAL RACE IS REALLY DECIDED.

The election is over and the popular winner has been decided. You've followed the race for the White House for months now. You've talked about it at dinner, with your...

CRAWFORD SHINES IN DARK

T' wolves 99 Knicks 93MINNEAPOLIS - The Knicks had clearly done their homework, understood it is anathema to talk about moral victories any longer when you have the words "New...

ISIAH, ROBINSON MAY MEET

KNICK NOTES MINNEAPOLIS - The Knicks have emerged as "one of the front-runners" for the services of free agent small forward Eddie Robinson, according to a league source. The source...

WILLIE GETS NOD AS MET SKIPPER - LONG WAIT OVER AS RANDOLPH LANDS TOP JOB

The kid who grew up in Brooklyn rooting for the Miracle Mets has earned the chance of a lifetime. Willie Larry Randolph is the 18th manager in Met history. The...

OPENING NIGHT DUD - KNICKS FADE AS WOLVES ROAR BACK

MINNEAPOLIS - A Knick season of promise began that way with a blazing 8-2 start in the first two minutes, forcing the mighty Wimberwolves to call timeout. In the first...

REFS MAIN ROADBLOCK FOR 'ZO IN COMEBACK

In a perfect world, Alonzo Mourning would have fought back Shaquille O'Neal and led the Nets to victory in his first regular-season game. But the world is hardly perfect -...

TELFAIR BIDES TIME ON BENCH

OAKLAND - The rookie season of Sebastian Telfair figures to be a series of new occurrences for the 19-year-old from Coney Island. Last night in the season opener for his...

OLYMPIAN WANTS TO ADD NYC MARATHON CROWN

Deena Kastor, the reigning Olympic bronze medalist in the marathon, began running competitively when she was 11 years old in Agoura Hills, Calif. It was 20 years ago when she...

SHAQUILLE HUNGRY TO GET GOING

It wasn't quite the breakfast of champions. Heat center Shaquille O'Neal decided he was able to play in the season opener against the Nets last night at the Meadowlands after...

JERSEY FILLED WITH INTRIGUE

IT WAS supposed to be the Nets' and Heat's season opener last night at Meadowlands Arena, a mutual launch into their respective NBA schedules. Yet nearly all of the focus...

CLASSY HOU WATCHES, WAITS ... AND TEACHES

MINNEAPOLIS - He was on the court, walking gin gerly, showing a thing or two to the man who will replace him in the starting lineup last night. Allan Houston...

TOOMER KNOWS THE SCORE - GIANTS WINNING WITHOUT HIS TDS

There it was, at long last, the first touchdown catch of the season for Amani Toomer. He hauled in a 17-yard scoring pass from Kurt Warner to extend the already...

O'HARA HAPPY SCARE IS OVER

GIANT NOTES It started out looking like a small spider bite inside Shaun O'Hara's left ankle, but it quickly evolved into something far more serious for the Giants center. O'Hara...

STERN WARNING - COMMISH STILL MIFFED OVER LATEST SPREE FLAP

MINNEAPOLIS - Commissioner David Stern, angered again with Latrell Sprewell, has spoken to Timberwolves GM Kevin McHale about Spree's latest incendiary remarks, according to a league source. The source said...

JETS DEFENSE READY TO WELCOME BACK COWART

After missing the past five games with a knee injury, Jets LB Sam Cowart appears ready to play, just in time to face his former teammates Sunday in Buffalo. Cowart...

CHAD PLANS TO REPAY BILLS ; JETS QB HAS OL' SCORE TO SETTLE

Monday night's game against the Dolphins wasn't even over and Chad Pennington found himself pacing the Giant Stadium sideline with his mind wandering to the next task ahead, to another...

EXTREME MAKEOVER: NEW-LOOK NETS FORCED TO MAKE FAST ADJUSTMENTS

Jacque Vaughn was Jason Kidd; Ron Mercer was Kerry Kittles; Eric Williams was Kenyon Martin; Lawrence Frank was Byron Scott, and a whole bunch of new guys on the Nets'...

ROBINSON TO KNICKS? N.Y. HIGH ON FREE AGENT'S LIST

KNICK NOTES MINNEAPOLIS - The Knicks have emerged as "among the front-runners" for the services of free-agent small forward Eddie Robinson, according to a league source. The source said Knick...

FRANK GETS THREE-YEAR EXTENSION

NET NOTES Lawrence Frank will be around the Nets for a while . . . barring natural disasters and 15-game losing streaks, of course. The Nets will hold a press...

N.Y.'S TELFAIR LIVES A DREAM

OAKLAND - Sebastian Telfair dreamed about this day while launching jumpers on the playgrounds of Coney Island. Talent evaluators and members of the media speculated about this day since Telfair...

GOTTA BELIEVE IN WILLIE R.

IT'S time for the Mets to stop acting like "idiots." It's time for the Mets to get serious about winning, about New York and stop making believe they are some...

TOOMER KNOWS SCORE ; GIANTS FIND WAY TO KEEP WINNING WITHOUT HIS TDS

There it was, at long last, the first touchdown catch of the season for Amani Toomer. He hauled in a 17-yard scoring pass from Kurt Warner to extend the already...

A WINNING MOVE

IT'S time the Mets stop acting like "idiots." It's time the Mets stop making believe they are some kind of small-market franchise, living in fear of the Yankees' giant shadow....

STOTT ON FENCE ABOUT NEXT YEAR

Mel Stottlemyre still hasn't made up his mind about retiring or returning to the Yankees for a 10th season as pitching coach, and catching instructor Gary Tuck resigned yesterday. "I...

YANKEE PALS THRILLED BY NEWS

Even if Willie Randolph is going to manage the arch-rival Mets, the Yankees' extended family was happy for him. The former Yankees' second baseman, captain, third-base coach and bench coach...

SPREWELL TICKS OFF COMMISH

T'wolves 99Knicks 93 MINNEAPOLIS - NBA commissioner David Stern, angered again with Latrell Sprewell, has spoken with Timberwolves GM Kevin McHale about Sprewell's latest incendiary remarks, a league source said...

HEAT ADJUSTING TO LIFE WITH SHAQ

Shaquille O'Neal was running through the hall outside the Heat locker room before the tip of last night's season opener against the Nets at the Meadowlands like a human eclipse....

RANDOLPH ON DECK? WILLIE REMAINS FAVORITE TO BE METS MANAGER

The Mets could decide on the 18th manager in franchise history as soon as today. All Omar Minaya has to do is make a decision. The three finalists for the...

PIGSKIN PROFIT

PITTSBURGH at SYRACUSE - Noon MSG - Line: - Syracuse - 4½. - Angle: - Winner not only moves into undisputed second place in the Big East but retains outside...

FRATELLO, STAN BELIEVE BRIGHTER DAYS AHEAD

NET NOTES Some foresee gloom, doom and things much worse for the Nets. Miami coach Stan Van Gundy is not among them. Neither is ex-coach and current TV analyst Mike...