November 8, 2002

CABLEVISION'S QUARTER SHOWS LAYOFFS, LOSSES

Cablevision has sent 1,300 workers packing at its money-losing Wiz electronics store chain. The layoffs resulted from the closure of 26 of 43 Wiz stores during the third quarter as...

TOP DOG AT NASD DENIES HE'S UP FOR NO. 1 SEC JOB

ROBERT Glauber, the National Association of Securities Dealers chairman and chief exec, told The Post he is not being tapped to head up the now-headless Securities and Exchange Commission. A...

CLOSING THE GAP; RETAILER'S SALES UP 11%; 1ST GAIN IN 30 MONTHS

Someone was minding the Gap. The retail behemoth posted a same-store sales increase in October for the first time in 30 months - prompting many to predict the beginning of...

STOCKS SINK ON WAR TALK, CISCO VIEW

Stocks fell after President George W. Bush spoke publicly about continuing the war on terrorism - and companies relayed concerns about faltering profit growth. The Dow Jones industrial average plunged...

NYSE'R SETTLEMENT: WATERED-DOWN RESEARCH PROPOSAL FOLLOWS GOP SWEEP

In a bid to wrap up a settlement that would give investors access to independent research, regulators have offered Wall Street's biggest investment banks a new, watered-down proposal they hope...

OCT. SALES MAY BE PRELUDE TO MERRY XMAS FOR STORES

It could mean good news for Christmas. Retail comparable-store sales for the month of October showed signs of improvement due to cooler weather, and not just with the usual suspects....

STONE ROLLS OUT OF BAND FEST

IT was billed as a battle of the bands between three music magazines - Rolling Stone, Blender and Spin - a trio normally locked in vicious battle for cover subjects...

GALLIC GUMDROP DOESN'T SATISFY

GOD IS GREAT,I'M NOT A cinematic petit four. In French, with English subtitles. Running time: 95 minutes. Not rated (language, sexual situations). At the Paris, 58th Street and Fifth and...

TROUBLED TRIO IN TOKYO

HUSH! 1/2 Lonely in Tokyo. In Japanese, with English subtitles. Running time: 135 minutes. Not rated (nudity, straight and gay sex). At the Quad, 13th Street, between Fifth and Sixth...

PURE PARADISE

FAR FROM HEAVEN Movie lovers will be in heaven.Running time: 107 minutes. Rated PG-13 (brief violence, profanity, sexual references). At the Lincoln Plaza, the Angelika. TODD Haynes' "Far From Heaven,"...

A PAS DE DUMB

ETOILES: DANCERS OF THE PARIS OPERA BALLET Shallow dance documentary.In French, with English subtitles. Running time: 100 minutes. Not rated. At Cinema Village, East 12th Street between Fifth Avenue and...

NO PRETENDING ; TO CHRISSIE HYNDE, EARTH'S IN CRITICAL CONDITION

Chrissie Hynde - with the Pretenders - is tough, smart, political and not afraid to speak her mind about anything. Chrissie Hynde, with the Pretenders, is not shy about expressing...

TOT'S ALL, FOLKS ; KID STAYS IN PICTURE AT LOEWS 34TH ST.

NOW there's a movie theater where screaming babies are actually welcome.Starting Tuesday through Dec. 3, Loews Cineplex Entertainment and Urbanbaby.com's "Reel Moms Film Series" will host special baby-friendly screenings once...

INDIAN DRAMA IS TOO SOAP-Y

LEELA Running time: 97 minutes. Not rated (sexual situations). At the Loews State, Broadway and 46th Street. THE Bollywood movie "Leela" isn't what you would expect from India's version of...

SHORTS ARE LONG ON ENTERTAINMENT

THE HIRE Pedal to the metal.Running time: "Hostage," "Beat the Devil" and "Ticker," each about 9½ minutes. Not rated (violence.) At bmwfilms.com. CLIVE Owen already has my vote to step...

DEMS BUMS; LA-LA LAND ELECTION LANDSLIDE PUSHES 'WEST WING' EVEN DEEPER INTO LEFT FIELD

ON "The West Wing" this week, a charismatic Democratic president won re-election by defeating a stiff-necked Republican by more than 10 million votes. The winner delivered a rousing Election Night...

'RISING' DAMP IN DIXIE

THE RISING PLACE Tale of South falls flat.Running time: 99 minutes. Not rated (violence, profanity). At the Sunshine Cinema and the Lincoln Square. 'THE Rising Place" is a poor woman's...

A SHOW TO GET INSIDE YOUR HEAD

TV's search for new and original program ideas has brought us dating shows, talk-to-the-dead shows - even a pet psychic. So why not a nightly show about your dreams? The...

'SHANGHAI GESTURE' GIVES OFF THE WRONG SIGNALS

THE SHANGHAI GESTUREAt the Bank Street Theatre, 155 Bank St. Through Nov. 17. (212) 561-9635. THE Broadway theater used to offer "Oriental" shockers - Somerset Maugham tales like "Rain" and...

WORRIED WHITNEY FINALLY TALKS TO SAWYER

DIANE Sawyer's oft-delayed interview with Whitney Houston took place last night in Atlanta - just hours after Houston's husband, Bobby Brown, was released from jail on drug and traffic charges....

THE GOOD RAP

8 MILE Compelling rap biopic.Running time: 111 minutes. Rated R (violence, sex, nudity). At the E-Walk, the Loews 84th St., the Kips Bay, others. PLAYING a character based on himself...

H'WOOD TALKS IN QUEENS

FILM buffs and scholars, take note: As of next week, a valuable new resource will be available on the American Museum of the Moving Image's Web site. For nearly 15...

SEE HARRY SOMETIME

THE WB Network will air a whole scene from the next Harry Potter film, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets," sometime during its block of comedies tonight. The net...

LAPTOP LOG: KID KILLED FBI GAL AT HOME DEPOT

WASHINGTON - A morbid digital diary of death - with special symbols denoting hits and misses - was found on a laptop computer kept by the Beltway sniper suspects, a...

ARI & BIBI REMAIN ESTRANGED BEDFELLOWS

JERUSALEM - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon made a veiled slap at his new foreign minister yesterday when he said his government would not damage its agreements with the Bush...

YEMEN: YANK AMONG SLAIN THUGS

WASHINGTON - A U.S. citizen was among the six al Qaeda fanatics killed in Sunday's CIA missile strike, the Yemeni government claimed yesterday. Yemeni security sources identified the man only...

GOLISANO PAL FACES COUP PLOT

EXCLUSIVE ALBANY - Angry Democrats are moving to oust a key Albany legislative leader partly because he helped Tom Golisano's campaign for governor, The Post has learned. Those involved in...

A NEW POLITICS?

Time to throw out all the history books. The view of most political analysts (including this one) was that the 2002 election would just confirm the status quo: The House...

DICK CHENEY RUNNING MATE

President Bush yesterday made it official yesterday, saying Vice President Dick Cheney will be his 2004 running mate - putting an end to the cottage industry of speculating on who...

YOUNG DEVIL MERITS NO SYMPATHY

WHEN most 13-year-old girls worry about the cruel onslaught of acne, Marta Casiano had more pressing concerns: * Marta had to slash the face of Erica Colon because she ratted...

W ZINGS THE PRESS

PRESIDENT Bush was in a good mood yesterday, and why not? After playing a central role in the stunning Republican victories on Tuesday, the president now has a Republican Congress...

MURDER FUGITIVE IN SCARY RETURN

A ruthless Romeo who traveled the nation wooing hearts while Brooklyn cops hunted him for allegedly killing his sister and an ex-girlfriend is back - and broke into a former...

POWER PLAY BOOSTS BETSY

It didn't take long to undo the ballot referendum in which voters stripped Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum of the power to preside over City Council sessions. City Council Speaker Gifford...

HOME SECURITY TOP 'PRIORITY' ; BUSH TO CONGRESS: 'I WANT IT DONE'

WASHINGTON - President Bush yesterday refused to accept credit for Republicans' election success - while demanding Congress approve a Homeland Security Department. "I want it done. It is a priority...

ARREST IN COBBLER MURDER

A Brooklyn man was charged yesterday with the shooting death of a Korean cobbler, who was gunned down in his Park Slope shoe repair store on Monday. Jason Belliard, 21,...

ANTI-CRIME STUDY BOOSTS AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAMS

A new report called for a major expansion in after-school programs to prevent crime - both by and against children - and other harmful behavior. The study, by the New...

$TRAPPED MTA STARTS TALKING SERVICE CUTS AND FARE HIKES

The MTA yesterday changed tracks and said it is not ruling out cutting bus, subway and commuter train service for the first time in seven years in its effort to...

WINONA SEALED OWN FATE: JUROR

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - Actress Winona Ryder literally played a star role in her shoplifting conviction, a juror said yesterday, citing surveillance video as the single most important piece of...

BIZARRE RAZOR 'BOMBS' EXPLODE

Albany-area cops yesterday said they fear there are more potentially lethal explosive electric razors out there - after two men had the closest shaves of their lives when rigged razors...

BOBBY BROWN IN POT BUST

Thanks to a traffic cop with a radar gun, R&B bad boy Bobby Brown has became the second member of his family to get busted for pot possession. The singer...

WWII HERO'S HIGH HONOR: HS DIPLOMA

World War II veteran Anthony Candell, a prisoner-of-war hero who survived the Battle of the Bulge, achieves his lifetime dream today: He's getting a high-school diploma. To many, the 80-year-old...

CALIFORNIA LIBERAL PELOSI IS FAVE TO LEAD HOUSE DEMS

WASHINGTON - Flashy liberal California Rep. Nancy Pelosi yesterday emerged as an early favorite to become the new leader of House Democrats - bolstered in part by strong backing from...

FRAUD-RING CIRCUS ; COPS BARE INSURE-SCAM SUSPECTS' WACKY WOES

Accused Russian mob associates who ran a medical-insurance scam ripped off $3 million in three years - but it was no easy feat managing their network of dodgy doctors, fake...

'KILLER': I LOOTED SLAIN MA

While her parents' murdered bodies lay rotting in their Manhattan apartment, alleged killer Connie Leung said she lifted money from her mom's wallet to go shopping and eat at restaurants...

TEACHER'S UNION

The teachers union yesterday urged Schools Chancellor Joel Klein to set up a "waste watchers" telephone hot line to expose budget scandals in the school system. United Federation of Teachers...

PLAGUE VICTIM A N.M. LAWYER

The New Mexico man fighting for his life against bubonic plague in a Manhattan hospital was identified yesterday as a lawyer and insurance-fraud investigator from Santa Fe who loves Western...

'SADDAM' DAY AT U.N. ; SET TO VOTE FOR TOUGH SANCTIONS

The clock starts ticking for Saddam Hussein today as the U.N. Security Council finally heads for a vote on a tough resolution ordering him to give up all weapons of...

FIREFIGHTERS HURT BATTLING QNS. BLAZE

An FDNY lieutenant was critically burned and nine other firefighters were injured battling a two-alarm house blaze in Queens, authorities said. The fire erupted at 2:34 p.m. inside the basement...

DONOR FELON TIPS SCALES OF JUSTICE

A chunky felon bargained with a federal judge to put off his sentencing on gun charges for six months - but only if he loses 20 pounds by mid-December so...

STUDENTS TO FEEL THE $QUEEZE

Cost overruns and budget cuts have wiped out nearly one-third of the 60,000 school seats expected to be built through 2004 to relieve overcrowding, according to a report released yesterday....

CLINTON AND MCAULIFFE PRESIDED OVER DEM DEBACLE

ANALYSIS Former President Bill Clinton yesterday defended the performance of his handpicked Democratic national chairman, Terry McAuliffe, as grumbling grew over the roles of both Clinton and McAuliffe in the...

$2B TAX HIKE: PROPERTY OWNERS FACE PUMMELING

Mayor Bloomberg (right) is quietly floating a plan to raise property taxes by an eye-popping $2 billion - double the amount being considered just last month, The Post has learned....

NEW CONSTRUCTION ACCIDENT SPURS AOL TIME WARNING

High winds yesterday tore a sheet of plywood from the AOL Time Warner building - the construction site where a worker was critically injured in September - closing traffic in...

ST. PAT 'SEXCAPADE' LADY SORRY

The woman who allegedly took part in a sex romp in St. Patrick's Cathedral has apologized - but she still claims she didn't get down and dirty in front of...

NEW WTC IDEAS GOING PUBLIC

The latest designs by Ground Zero architects will be brought directly to the public next month in two exhibits set up by curators from the Museum of Modern Art, officials...

MISSING AUDIOTAPE

A missing audiotape of Princess Diana discussing a gay sexual assault at Buckingham Palace with the male victim may have spurred Queen Elizabeth into halting the trial of butler Paul...

NPD DAILY BLOTTER

MANHATTAN A robber walked into an Upper East Side bank, slipped a note demanding money to a teller and escaped with $12,400 yesterday, police said. The robbery occurred about 9...

FLAG FURY OF DI'S BROTHER ; DEFIANTLY PULLED ROYAL COLORS OFF COFFIN & SAID, 'SHE'S A SPENCER NOW'

Just minutes after Princess Diana's hearse arrived at her family's estate, her brother ripped the royal banner off the coffin, replaced it with the family flag and defiantly declared, "She's...

VIDEO CATCHES B'KLYN SITTER ABUSING BABY: DA

A baby sitter was caught on tape violently shaking, hitting and force-feeding milk to a 5-month old boy, the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office said yesterday. Ramune Senkuviene, 33, was caught...

WEIRD BUT TRUE

Seattle SWAT-team cops had a dog-day afternoon when they surrounded a house for five hours, believing a psycho gunman was inside - when it was just a friendly pooch. Officers...

GAY RAPE AT THE PALACE? DI SERVANT'S TELL-ALL SPURS TALK OF SHOCKING COVER-UP

The fallout from sensational disclosures by Princess Diana's butler continued yesterday as British newspapers speculated his theft trial was halted by Queen Elizabeth II to keep lurid details of a...

WHAT THE BUTLER SAW

The father of Princess Diana's last lover says he believes Paul Burrell may be in great danger because of his scandalous confessions about the royal family. Burrell has claimed that...

SNIPERS' DEATH DIARY: KEPT 'HIT' RECORDS ON LAPTOP COMPUTER STOLEN FROM VICTIM

A morbid digital diary of death - with special symbols denoting hits and misses - was found on a laptop computer kept by the Beltway sniper suspects, a law-enforcement source...

AOL TIME WARNING: ANOTHER ACCIDENT AT FIRM'S NEW HQ

High winds yesterday tore a sheet of plywood from the AOL Time Warner building - the construction site where a worker was critically injured in September - closing traffic in...

'PLAGUED' MAN IS N.M. ATT'Y

The New Mexico man fighting for his life against bubonic plague in a Manhattan hospital was identified yesterday as a lawyer and insurance fraud investigator from Santa Fe who loves...

NEW RAP AS 'SNIPERS' SENT TO VA. LOCKUP

Beltway sniper suspects John Allen Muhammad and John Lee Malvo were transferred to a Virginia jail yesterday to face separate murder trials that could land both on death row. The...

THE FAN'S CORNER

Notre Dame grad Ed Resciniti will travel to Baltimore to watch his Irish play Navy. The trip won't be nearly as sweet, though. "I wish they were undefeated, but what...

FASSEL: PLAY LIKE CHAMPS

GIANT NOTES If the Giants are going to make the playoffs, they have to get off the roller coaster ride they've been on all season. That's been the theme leading...

STEVENS KOS ELIAS' WOES

"I'd rather be winning hockey games than have Patrik with 10 goals while we're losing." SCOTT STEVENS PHILADELPHIA - The captain doesn't seem worried about his alternate captain's woes. Patrik...

'ACCURATE' PREDICTION ; SURE-FIRE CHAD WILL DIRECT JETS PAST DOLPHINS

THE line doubled from Jets -1½ to Jets -3 in one day, which meant a Jet bandwagon was starting to form largely on the basis of one big win for...

WHY SILAS HAMMERED NAILON ; PAIR ALMOST CAME TO BLOWS DURING PRESEASON GAME

A DAFFY depiction currently being perpetrated by the New York media is that Paul Silas released Lee Nailon out of the goodness of his heart because the Hornets coach was...

WEATHERING ANOTHER STORM

IT'S starting to sound like a broken record, but Mother Nature keeps throwing a wrench into the works with winds that seemed to never let up and capping it all...

BRAVES: MAZZONE GOING NOWHERE

John Schuerholz may not be able to keep both of his free-agent aces, but he's keeping his pitching coach. The Braves general manager snuffed out any chance the Mets had...

BAYSIDE ROLLS INTO PLAYOFFS

H.S. FOOTBALL Bayside hasn't lost in five weeks, its last defeat a turnover-riddled, 26-19 loss to Tottenville. Commodores head coach Joe Capuana has seen a different team since then. "We're...

A SPREE OF QUESTIONS ; WHAT LATRELL'S RETURN MEANS TO LEE, KNICKS

Small forward Latrell Sprewell is eligible to come off the injured list for tonight's game at Indiana, but don't expect to see the Knicks' best player in a uniform against...

THE WORD'S OUT, GODZILLA'S HERE

Hideki Matsui cannot officially become a Yankee until the middle of next week, but as MLB's general managers get set to gather in Tucson, Ariz., this weekend for their annual...

PACER RIVALRY HAS LOST LUSTER

KNICK NOTES There was a time Knicks-Pacers was among the NBA's nastiest rivalries, filled with great play, legitimate venom and playoff implications. Those days are long gone, with even the...

CLIPPERS' MILLER LATEST FOE GUNNING FOR KIDD

NET NOTES Compare this to the gunfighters in the old westerns. When you're the best, someone always comes into town trying to take away the title. Jason Kidd knows exactly...

PIGSKIN PROFIT

A couple of college football betting rules The Profit has learned to live by: Never bet against Miami. 'Canes have found a way too many times. And they may find...

JEFFERSON, NETS AIM FOR QUICK REBOUND

Byron Scott is curious about bouncing back. Not so much his team as a whole. Scott is as certain as eastern sunrises that the Nets will respond with effort to...

KING TRUMPETS BOXING SERIES

Wearing a shiny American flag-themed jean jacket, a red, white and blue bow tie and a long diamond necklace, Don King bellowed from the podium at The Plaza's Grand Ballroom...

A DOUBLE HELPING; CARTER & DIXON GET PROPS FROM IKE

When Ike Hilliard was lost for the season with a separated shoulder suffered two weeks ago against the Eagles, he knew exactly where to turn. Hilliard went to the players...

COPS KO CATSKILL TOUCH-TONE BETS

The N.Y. state police have impounded Catskill OTB's touch-tone phone-betting system as part of the probe into whether this year's Breeders' Cup Pick 6 was rigged to collect $3 million,...

MOSS GOES THE DISTANCE

If you're sitting on your sofa or at Giants Stadium during Sunday night's Jets-Dolphins game and you see Santana Moss standing on the field awaiting a punt, here's a bit...

LUCAS ALL BUT SET AS FISH QB

JET NOTES Ink Ray Lucas in as the Dolphins' starting quarterback against the Jets Sunday night. The former Jets' backup quarterback, who's nursing a sore right shoulder, practiced again yesterday,...

TO TELL YOU THE TRUTH, MIKE DIDN'T ; FRANCESA IGNORED FACTS IN ON-AIR ATTACK

UNLIKE Mike Francesa, I'm uncomfortable making myself the focus of my work. But Francesa told several lies on the air Monday, self-serving lies not easily apparent to his audience. And,...

GLAVINE IS ON YANK WISH LIST

The Yankees made sure to say hello to free agent Tom Glavine yesterday on the day Roger Clemens officially filed for free agency. It's all about keeping your options open....

WILPON FAVORS ANGEL BLUEPRINT

Fred Wilpon confirmed the Mets have interest in Tom Glavine, but fans should brace themselves for more of John Thomson instead. Hideki Matsui would look great in a Mets uniform,...

DEVS' PATIENCE PAYS OFF IN WIN

Devils 1Flyers 0 PHILADELPHIA - From such lessons, Devils become disciples. It was a match of wills, a test of Pat Burns' preaching of patience, particularly when his so-similar counterpart...

TROTS LIGHTS LETHAL MATCH

OVERTIMERangers 1Flames 0 The coach who claims that matching is vastly overrated used the last change at the Garden to match all night last night. The Rangers responded with their...

ISLES DON'T HAB WINNING TOUCH

Canadiens 3Islanders 0 MONTREAL - Remember two seasons ago, when the Islanders were the worst team in the NHL? Things have improved ever so slightly, so that now they are...

MARIUSZ MAD AT ISLANDERS

MONTREAL - At one end of the rink, there was Arron Asham, the most popular Islander for a day. At the other end, there was Mariusz Czerkawski, the most popular...

RICHTER HEADS FOR BENCH

The Rangers aren't playing any head games when it comes to Mike Richter. The goaltender, who suffered a broken skull when struck with a shot on the side of the...

HOT DEALS FOR NOV. TEE TIMES

LOCAL GOLF Wait! Don't put those golf clubs away just yet. With mild temperatures in the forecast, November is a good time to tee it up at bargain prices. A...

MARCHAND'S MATCHUP OF THE WEEK

Jim Nantz vs. James Brown (NFL Studio Hosts) With Dan Marino, Deion Sanders and Boomer Esiason, CBS finally has provided Jim Nantz with a strong combination of NFL Today analysts....

5 QUESTIONS FOR DICK VITALE

With college hoops about to begin, The Post's Andrew Marchand this week caught up with ESPN's Dick Vitale. The 63-year-old Vitale, who grew up in Elmwood Park, N.J., enters his...

WHERE'S THE JUICE? WHY HBO EDITED O.J. OUT OF 'O.J.'

After watching HBO's "O.J.: A Study in Black and White" (Tuesday, 10 p.m.), you might ask yourself: Where's O.J.? HBO conducted a one-hour interview with O.J. Simpson for the program,...

JUMBO JET: MARTIN BIGGEST COG IN GREEN MACHINE

Who says football is complicated? Not ESPN's Paul Maguire. Yeah, he thinks the Jets have a chance in the AFC. It comes down to one guy. If No. 28 is...