February 5, 2004

DISSIDENTS WANT JOBS TO RUN MAGIC KINGDOM

STANLEY Gold and Roy Disney think Steven Jobs, the renowned boss of Apple Computer and Pixar, would be just dandy as the head of Walt Disney Cos. It's not that...

JANET'S SITE TOPS THE WEB AFTER TOPLESS HALFTIME STUNT

Janet Jackson has jumped from the boob tube to major online exposure. Jackson may be contrite, but her stunt had the desired effect. According to online ranking firm Hitwise, her...

TV/FILM UNIT BOUGHT BY AMERICAN VANTAGE

Wellspring Media, the New York-based art house that distributes critically acclaimed foreign films and specialty wellness videos, is being sold to American Vantage Media, The Post has learned. American Vantage...

NASDAQ NOSEDIVE - WEAK CISCO SALES FORECAST SPURS 2.5% SELL-OFF

Hung up on disappointing telecommunications news, investors sent the Nasdaq tumbling back down toward the 2,000 mark yesterday. Cisco, a maker of telecom equipment and bellwether of the tech industry,...

DISNEY HEIR ZINGS EISNER, PUSHES FOR HIS MOUSTER

Citing "Disney's cultural decay," Roy Disney is escalating his battle to boot Michael Eisner from the Walt Disney board for squandering $25 billion on a series of flops. Roy Disney,...

YAHOO! TUNES UP ITS OWN MUSIC SITE

Perhaps feeling left out of the party, Yahoo! is quietly planning its own online music service, sources in the company said. The popular online search site bought a small company...

MACY'S CHIEF TIGHTENS SHIP

As the new chairman and chief executive of Federated Department Stores, Terry Lundgren has moved quickly to centralize much of the decision making, from the buying of merchandise to the...

FRANKLIN HIT WITH TRADING CHARGES

Franklin Resources became the latest mutual fund giant to get dragged into the industry's trading scandal yesterday when Massachusetts regulators slammed the firm with securities fraud charges. Secretary of the...

RUSSIAN MOGUL POACHES FABERGE EGGS FOR $100M

Several rival Russian billionaires staged a behind-the-scenes fight to buy the fabled Forbes collection of the czar's Faberge eggs prior to Sotheby's public auction. The nine jewel-crusted masterpieces - on...

NYSE BOARD TO VOTE ON E-TRADING

With the support of the New York Stock Exchange floor, Big Board chief John Thain will present his radical plan to allow more electronic trading on the exchange to its...

MAG BATTLE LAUNCHED FOR THE HISPANIC HAMPTONS

Es la guerra! The Southampton Press is about to launch a new Spanish-language weekly, Nuestra Prensa (Our Press), on the East End of Long Island. It is the second Spanish-language...

LONG-TIME S&P HEAD TO RETIRE

The long-time head of Standard & Poor's is stepping down after guiding the ratings agency through its most tumultuous year. Leo O'Neill, 63, is expected to retire later this year,...

TWISTA SPIRALS INTO NO. 1 SLOT

'KAMIKAZE," the new disc from hip- hop artist Twista, skipped to the No. 1 slot of the top albums charts its first week out. Boosted by the hit single "Slow...

ACTING IN TUNE - SINGERS WANT BIG-SCREEN TIME

THEY just want to act. Even as chart-topping singers Jessica Simpson, Gwen Stefani and Faith Hill prepare for this weekend's Grammy Awards, they're also pursuing silver-screen dreams. With the rash...

CHECK IT OUT - 'IDOL' SCREENED ALL 117 OF THOSE HOLLYWOOD KIDS

"THE WHOLE PROCESS OF SCREENING THESE KIDS IS A BIT OF A NIGHTMARE," SAYS AN "AMERICAN IDOL" EXEC. THE producers of "American Idol" have ratcheted up their screening process this...

STARR REPORT

Ryan's big 'get' This could be the shot-in- the-arm that Ryan Seacrest's new daytime show needs. Britney Spears will perform live for "On Air with Ryan Seacrest" next Wednesday, Feb....

RICHARD, PUT SOME PANTS ON ALREADY

THE producer and creator of the CBS "Survivor" franchise says even he is annoyed that the show's first winner, Richard Hatch, can't seem to keep his clothes on in the...

ESPN PUNTS ON DRAMA

ESPN officially canceled its football drama series, "Playmakers," yesterday. The show drew solid ratings, but they were not high enough for ESPN to continue to deal with all the grief...

'GIVE HER THE JOB' - REGIS PUSHES KATHIE LEE FOR LATE NIGHT

COULD Jimmy Kimmel end up the new Regis Philbin? Regis seems to think Kimmel should be paired with Kathie Lee Gifford full time-after just three days of Kathie Lee co-hosting...

LET THE SHOWS BEGIN - NY FASHION WEEK ARRIVES ALL SEXY AND FLIRTY

Fashion Week kicks off tomorrow, and all indications are it's going to be bigger, better and more glamorous than ever before. Forget last year's stark Mod look. The word among...

FASHION WEEK SHOW TOPPERS - SNEAK PEEK AT THE HOTTEST MODELS, COOLEST PARTIES & SEXIEST SHOWS

FIGHT-FOR-A-TICKET PARTIES Toughest to get into will be the bash for Victoria's Secret's new book, "Backstage Sexy," hosted by Gisele Bundchen, Tyra Banks and Oluchi Onweagba at Jean-Georges Vongerichten's not-yet-opened...

MACED L.I. MAN DEAD AFTER COP FIGHT

A Long Island man who appeared to be disturbed stopped breathing yesterday while in police custody and later died, Suffolk cops said. Relatives of David Glowczenski, 35, called Southhampton Village...

NO MORE RECUSES: SUIT GETS DAY IN COURT

The seventh time may be the charm for Anthony DeRosa - a Manhattan judge has actually agreed to preside over his case. DeRosa, who sparked investigations into conflict-of-interest allegations against...

BIG BIZ BILKS CITY: UNION STUDY

Despite Mayor Bloomberg's claim that he's "ended corporate welfare," large companies continue to cash in on generous tax breaks while failing to live up to their end of the bargain,...

ARIEL OFFERS SETTLEMENT REFERENDUM

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said yesterday he would hold a national referendum before carrying out his controversial plan to dismantle all Jewish settlements inside the Gaza Strip. "If they...

HOTEL MAIDS' SEX-HARASS SUIT

Five former housekeepers at a Manhattan hotel filed a sexual harassment complaint yesterday, accusing their boss of trying to caress and fondle them, denying them bathroom breaks, and forcing them...

BLOOMY BOUNCE - 44% POLL RATING HIGHEST IN YEAR

Mayor Bloomberg got a big popularity bounce in a new poll issued yesterday - but he still trails leading rival Fernando Ferrer. The Quinnipiac University poll found voters about evenly...

NYPD DAILY BLOTTER

BROOKLYN * An unlicensed 20-year-old driver who had been drinking was arrested yesterday after he lost control of a car, slammed into a lamppost and injured two passengers, including a...

WEIRD BUT TRUE

Harvard University, renowned for its legendary scholars, is hiring Jesse "The Body" Ventura to teach politics. The tough-talking wrestler and former Minnesota governor, who's a college dropout himself, says he'll...

POLICE EXAM SET FOR JUNE

The NYPD is looking for more of The Finest. Commissioner Ray Kelly announced yesterday you can apply for the June 12 police exam at all precincts, transit districts and public...

RUMSFELD STUMPED BY WMD PUZZLE

WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said yesterday he hasn't yet concluded that Iraq didn't have weapons of mass destruction, and CIA Director George Tenet is set to defend his...

TAPPING INTO A RICH VEIN

There's nothing more American than tap dance, and it's a part of our culture that started on the plantations of yesteryear, says Harry Scott, who's been spreading the message of...

COPS: E. SIDE RAPIST TIED TO NEW ROBS

The accused East Side rapist is now suspected of at least two more robberies, including one committed during his spree of sex attacks and muggings last week, cops said yesterday....

STUDY URGING $4B CITY SCHOOL-AID BOOST

New York City kids should get a staggering $4 billion in additional school aid over the next several years - including funds to lower class size and provide more tutoring...

'DOG KILLER' JAYSON - SHOT OWN PET MONTHS BEFORE CHAUFFEUR SLAY: DA

Ex-NBA star Jayson Williams heartlessly shot his own Rottweiler to death after losing a $100 bet with a basketball buddy - just six months before fatally shooting a limo driver,...

'BRIBE' RABBI PLEA DEAL DUE

A Brooklyn rabbi and his daughter are expected to plead guilty today to conspiracy to bribe the judge who was handling the woman's child-custody case, their lawyer said. The plea...

LEAD-PAINT VETO NIXED

The City Council yesterday voted overwhelmingly to override Mayor Bloomberg's veto of a tough lead-paint prevention bill that backers called the "strongest and most thoughtful" in the nation. "There are...

L.I. GANGBUSTERS NAIL 'SLAY' CREWS

The feds have rounded up 30 reputed members of three ultra-violent Long Island gangs on charges of multiple murders and assaults during a bloody turf war - and peddling drugs...

L.I. BUS TOT LEFT OUT IN THE COLD

A 3-year-old Long Island boy spent about an hour out in the cold in his pre-school bus after he fell asleep and his absence went unnoticed by his five brothers...

ASSEMBLY POL TO COP THEFT PLEA

ALBANY - Brooklyn Assemblyman Roger Green, under investigation for nearly a year for submitting phony travel vouchers to the state, will be sentenced to three years' probation today after pleading...

$15M TO RIPA SIS - JURY AWARD IN SURGERY MESS

A Philadelphia jury yesterday ordered an orthopedic surgeon to pay the aspiring actress/model sister of TV talk-show host Kelly Ripa $15 million for failing to properly repair a broken ankle...

H2O, NO! PAY OR CITY MAY TAKE YOUR HOME

The city is pushing a new plan to crack down on homeowners who don't pay their water bills - by taking their houses. Under a City Council bill introduced yesterday...

CLUBS SLAM 'PARTY POOP' LICENSE BID

More than 300 business owners met yesterday to come up with a game plan to fight Mayor Bloomberg's proposal to create a nightlife license they say will force hundreds of...

COLD'S LIKE A BROKEN RECORD

Here's some chilling news that shouldn't surprise you - last month was the second-coldest January the city has weathered in a half-century. The average temperature for the month was a...

BIG SUPER BOWL FANS' TRAGIC WIN

An NYPD sergeant who died running to a crime scene and a city sanitation worker killed in an on-the-job crash are linked in death by an eerie coincidence. Each won...

DEFENSE FIGHTS TO BAR TYCO TELL-ALL

The judge in the Tyco case said he will rule today on a dirty laundry list of misdeeds prosecutors want to grill ex-CEO Dennis Kozlowski on should he take the...

EDWARDS IN N.Y. TO CASH IN ON WIN

Fresh from a big victory in South Carolina, Democratic candidate John Edwards flew to New York last night to raise campaign cash and do a TV star turn on "Late...

OSCAR FOR 'BREAST' PICTURE

The Academy Awards have been sucked into Janet Jackson's bare-breast fiasco. ABC has pressured the Academy of Motion Pictures & Sciences to agree to a five-second delay on the Feb....

GRAMMYS BOOT JANET - SHAMED CBS EXECS CAN'T BARE TO PUT HER ON AGAIN

Janet Jackson's bare-boob bust-out has gotten her booted from the Grammys. A source close to the record industry awards show told The Post the producers - under pressure from CBS,...

WTC-INSURANCE JURY SET

A Manhattan federal judge yesterday named five women and seven men to a jury in the $7 billion legal fight between developer Larry Silverstein and his Twin Towers insurance companies....

THEORY OF PELOSI-POSSE KILLERS

In rejecting a grand jury's request to look at Danny Pelosi's defense files, a judge has revealed that prosecutors suspect Pelosi and a cadre of friends and relatives killed millionaire...

B'DAY BOY GETS 25 YRS. IN WIFE SLAY

It was Billy Cooper's birthday yesterday, and a jury gave him a present - a murder conviction that will keep him in jail for at least the next 25 years....

PELOSI POSSE PROBED IN SLAY

A judge has revealed for the first time that prosecutors suspect Danny Pelosi and a small number of friends and relatives killed millionaire Ted Ammon. Suffolk County Supreme Court Justice...

BUSH LETTING DEMS TAKE FIGHT TO HIM

COLUMBIA, S.C. - Republicans at the grass-roots level are starting to get the jitters - not because they think Democratic front-runner John Kerry is such a great candidate (they don't)...

SCHOOL BID-RIG SCAM LEAVES BAD TASTE

Department of Education officials wasted "tens of millions of dollars" by allowing food vendors to manipulate bids, Special Schools Investigator Richard Condon charged yesterday. The schools serve food it buys...

TIPPED OFF AND TICKED OFF - MAD MARTHA SAID 'SELL' AFTER WAKSAL STOCK INFO: FANEUIL

Martha Stewart gave the order to sell her ImClone shares seconds after being secretly tipped that her buddy Sam Waksal was trying to dump his stock - and then turned...

KEITEL HAS KID-SUPPORT DEAL AT LAST

He's a tough guy in the movies, but Harvey Keitel was a softie in Manhattan Family Court yesterday - settling his long-running child-support battle with a California pottery maker. "I...

THIS LITTLE GUY GETS BIGGER WITH EACH HOUR ON THE STAND

SSSH! What's that flushing noise coming from the rear of the federal courthouse? That must be Martha Stewart, going straight down into an icky, wet hell. And dragging with her...

DOUG COMES CLEAN ON DRUG USE

Former Merrill Lynch rookie broker Doug Faneuil admitted to jurors yesterday he used cocaine, marijuana and "ecstasy." He was forced to 'fess up about his drug use after Judge Miriam...

14 MORE SHOCKING CON ED SITES

Con Ed workers yesterday discovered 14 more hot spots, or electrified manhole and utility-box covers - some dangerous enough to kill. The voltage at the new hot spots, whose specific...

COURT FIGHT TO AVOID TYCO TELL-ALL

The judge in the Tyco case said he will rule today on a dirty-laundry list of misdeeds on which prosecutors want to grill ex-CEO Dennis Kozlowski should he take the...

-FRIST-WHITE HOUSE RICIN LINK EYED (M)-LINK EYED IN RICIN SENT TO FRIST AND W. HOUSE (S, LCF)

WASHINGTON - The deadly ricin found in Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist's offices was on a letter-opening machine being used on mail from his constituents in Tennessee and could be...

30G REWARD IN TEEN SLAY

Distraught relatives of a New Jersey college football player slain at a party in Brooklyn last year are offering a $30,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of his...

'SOUR' MILK HS - CITY REPLACES PRINCIPAL AT GAY SCHOOL

The principal of the city's controversial new high school for gays and lesbians has been replaced following a tumultuous fall term that saw several of its students charged with criminal...

SLAM AT 'PARTY POOPER' LICENSE

More than 300 business owners met yesterday to come up with a game plan to fight Mayor Bloomberg's proposal to create a nightlife license they say will force hundreds of...

'SNATCHER' BUST - FLA. SUSPECT MATCHES VIDEO IMAGE

Cops in Florida were grilling a suspect yesterday in the case of an 11-year-old girl who was kidnapped on camera. Working with enhanced images from a security camera near where...

TOWERING TRIUMPH - TIME WARNER CENTER A HIT

The $1.7 billion Time Warner Center debuted last night to glowing reviews. New York hasn't seen a new building with such spectacular public areas since the Trump Tower and the...

WOMAN FREEZES TO DEATH ON ROOF

An elderly Queens woman who suffered from Alzheimer's disease froze to death yesterday after spending six hours on the roof of her nursing home - even though she had set...

'SNATCHER' BUST - FLORIDA SUSPECT MATCHES VID IMAGE

Cops in Florida yesterday hauled in a suspect in the case of an 11-year-old girl who was kidnapped on camera. Carlie Brucia had been snatched while walking home Sunday night...

SLAIN TEEN'S KIN OFFERING 30G BOUNTY

Distraught relatives of a college football star slain at a party in Brooklyn last year are offering a $30,000 reward for information leading to his killer - and they're begging...

COLD GETTING LIKE A BROKEN RECORD

Here's some chilling news that shouldn't surprise you - last month was the second-coldest January the city has weathered in a half-century. The average temperature for the month was a...

TRAGIC WINNERS - COP, SANIT MAN SCORE 50G ON BOWL BETS - AFTER DYING

An NYPD sergeant who died running to a crime scene and a city sanitation worker killed in an on-the-job crash are linked in death by an eerie coincidence. Each won...

CLASSROOM EXTRA: UPTOWN COMES ALIVE

Today's Classroom Extra Page celebrates one of the most creative periods in American history. Music, art, literature and social thinking came alive during the Harlem Renaissance. Soon after the turn...

IT'S MAGIC GARDEN AGAIN - JUST LIKE OLD TIMES FOR NEW-LOOK KNICKS

In a matter of seven weeks the Knicks have gone from the Shame of the City to the Toast of the Town. Capped by Tuesday's gritty Garden triumph over the...

DEVILS DO HOMEWORK

The Devils will be looking to issue the floundering Canucks a metro hockey sweep tonight as Vancouver limps into the Meadowlands after losing games this week to the Rangers and...

WALTRIP LOVES NASCAR'S NEW POINTS SYSTEM

The late Dale Earnhardt would have hated the new points system NASCAR has instituted to make the end of the season more exciting. There's no doubt about that. He was...

LAS VEGAS SETS $UPER RECORD

It was a Super Sunday in Las Vegas, too, as bettors wagered a record $81.2 million on the Patriots' 32-29 win over the Panthers. What's more, Nevada sports books won...

GRAVES DESERVES TO HAVE NUMBER CALLED

Sometime in the future, after Glen Sather has left and the executives running the Rangers have a better understanding of what Adam Graves means not only to Rangers history but...

CZERKAWSKI, ASHAM GET ATTENTION

The line that will garner the most attention both on and off the ice tonight when the Islanders visit Montreal will be the unit of Arron Asham, Mariusz Czerkawski and...

TOP CLASS SNOWBOARDERS TACKLE MOUNTAIN CREEK

SOME of the best snowboarders in the world will be at Mountain Creek, N.J., this weekend for the U.S. Snowboard Grand Prix. Mountain Creek has become a hot spot for...

MOM MARION BACK IN GEAR

After 14 months away from the sport she once ruled, The World's Fastest Woman is back. After the birth of her first child, and countless rumors and innuendoes about her...

BOSCO'S TOAL TABS B.C.

When Don Bosco Prep's All-American linebacker Brian Toal walked into the ESPN Zone at Times Square yesterday, slated to announce his college choice live on national television, he had no...

JEFFERSON OK WITH STAR SNUB

"If you look at the people I'm going against, it would've been tough to put me in there over some of those guys." -RICHARD JEFFERSON The Nets' Richard Jefferson didn't...

TRUE BLUE TILL THE END

HOW fragile was it? If Nathan Lafayette's shot late in the third period of Game 7 goes inside the post instead of against it, or Stephane Matteau's wraparound bounces to...

STEPH, PENNY FIRE BACK

It's official. The Pacers and Knicks have reignited their rivalry. Stephon Marbury and Penny Hardaway shot back at Jermaine O'Neal yesterday for crying about the Knicks' final-second celebration Tuesday. Marbury...

NET COACH HARDLY AN 'A-LIST' CELEB

NET NOTES Net coach Lawrence Frank doesn't mind the anonymous bit. In fact, he's used to it. "Most people have no idea who I am. Security usually stops me. Today...

GOAL-DEN MOMENT - RICHTER'S NO. 35 RISES TO GARDEN RAFTERS

It was a time of past perfect tense for the Rangers. The Garden crackled with emotion and chants of "Richter! Richter!" during the pregame ceremonies that culminated with the raising...

FRANKLY SPEAKING - NET COACH: WE WILL NOT LOSE FOCUS

"It's not about me. It's just another game that happens to be in front of our home crowd." - LAWRENCE FRANK Lawrence Frank just wants the Nets to live in...

RJ SENDS MALIK TOUGH MESSAGE

Whether it was a cheap shot or not, a flagrant foul by Miami's Malik Allen sent Jason Kidd to the deck last night. And Richard Jefferson didn't much like it,...

THE JUGGER-NETS - JERSEY NOW 5-0 UNDER FRANK

Nets 99 - Heat 88 Uh-oh. A Lawrence Frank-coached Net team surrendered 80 points (actually 88!) last night. Is the honeymoon over? Nah. It's really just starting. The Nets essentially...

DUNHAM, WILD RUIN THE PARTY

Wild 4 - Rangers 3 There could not have been a more symbolically inappropriate night for Mike Dunham to have come up so small. For following the pregame ceremonies honoring...

BOSCO'S TOAL TABS BC

When Don Bosco's All-American linebacker Brian Toal walked into the ESPN Zone at Times Square yesterday, slated to announce his college choice live on national television, he had no idea...

ERICKSON OKS METS DEAL

The Mets agreed to a minor-league deal with Scott Erickson yesterday, bringing the veteran righty in to compete for the fifth starter's spot, the Associated Press reported last night. Erickson...

FASSEL IS RAVEN MAVEN - JIM TO AID PAL BILLICK

When the Giants face the Ravens next season in Baltimore, will Jim Fassel be on the sideline of the home team? "Nah, I probably won't be," he said yesterday, chuckling....

STORM EFFORT THE PITTS - HILL: 'I FELT LIKE EVERYBODY GAVE UP'

Pittsburgh 71 - St. John's 51 PITTSBURGH - No one threw a chair. Or kicked a garbage can. Or screamed an expletive. There was no anger in the St. John's...

RED STORM IN TOUGH SPOT - SLUG IT OUT WITH PITT AFTER UCLA BLOWOUT

"There are a bunch of tough guys on this team who hate to lose. We'll do whatever it takes." -Pitt's CARL KRAUSER PITTSBURGH - The schedule-makers may have played a...

FACEMASK OR HEADSET FITS GIRARDI

If Joe Girardi doesn't make it as the Yankees' backup, he's already got his own backup. Girardi, whose return to the Yankees was first reported by The Post back on...

CLIFF NOTES - FLOYD ON SCHEDULE IN COMEBACK FROM ACHILLES' SURGERY

Last August, Cliff Floyd shut down his 2003 season in order to get ready for 2004. Floyd's ailing right Achilles' needed surgery, he wanted to be healthy for spring training...

DOUGLASS IS THE TOAST OF MANHATTAN

Damani Corbin lives in Brooklyn and plays ball there all the time during the summer. Although he has become a good player, his friends whom he plays with still give...