November 25, 2003

TIAA-CREF NEEDS TO PRACTICE WHAT IT PREACHES: TEACHERS (S, LCF)

COLLEGE professors and teachers all over the country want to know this: How can their pension fund - which is the largest in the nation - preach corporate governance perfection...

CNBC CUTS 'BUSINESS CENTER'

Business news network CNBC is axing its "Business Center" program to make way for a new show starring comedian Dennis Miller. Beginning Dec. 8, CNBC's "Kudlow & Cramer" will switch...

EDGAR'S UNIVERSAL TWO-STEP

With Edgar Bronfman Jr.'s acquisition of Warner Music complete, his role at Vivendi will come under scrutiny. Bronfman remains the largest individual shareholder and a board member of Vivendi -...

HERE COMES THE AX - BRONFMAN MAY SLASH $300M IN COSTS AT WARNER

Edgar Bronfman Jr. and the group that helped him seal a deal to acquire Warner Music are getting out the ax. Bronfman is looking to make deep cost cuts at...

VORNADO'S ROTH GETS LAST LAUGH

IT took Vornado CEO and Chairman Steve Roth a decade to develop the old Alexander's site - a decade in which he put up with sniping from all sides over...

ECONOMIC FORECASTS SEND STOCKS INTO ORBIT

Economists around the globe say the surging U.S. economy will lead the world out of its slump in 2004. Early reports here and in Europe see the economy growing at...

TABLES TURN AS LOSER EMI LOOKS LIKE TAKEOVER TARGET

EMI may now be takeover bait. Having lost out in a crucial battle to acquire Warner Music, EMI executives are figuring out how to cope as a small player in...

STC TO BE CHARGED IN FUND PROBE

Regulators are poised to slam Security Trust Corp. with civil and criminal charges today for illegal mutual fund trading - and they could shut the firm down, sources close to...

SONY MERGER HELPED SEAL DEAL FOR BRONFMAN TEAM

EMI execs were on the edge of their seats as the Time Warner board decided the fate of Warner Music last week. But Edgar Bronfman Jr. and his team were...

FORECASTS SEND STOCKS SOARING

Economists around the globe say the surging U.S. economy will lead the world out of its slump in 2004. Early reports here and in Europe see the economy growing at...

BLACK IN THE PINK AMONG FRIENDS

Conrad Black shrugged off a new revolt of his board members and spent last night soaking up celebrity support over his insider pay scandal. The city's power elite turned out...

TIAA-CREF BLASTED BY SOME MEMBERS OVER GOVERNANCE

COLLEGE professors and teachers all over the country want to know this: How can their pension fund - which is the largest in the nation - preach corporate governance perfection...

HED: KISSIN' TELL - WHAT CELEB SMOOCHES SAY ABOUT THEIR ROMANCE

A KISS is never just a kiss, especially when it's caught on camera. "The way we kiss is a reflection of how we feel about ourselves and the other person,...

NAKED MACY HEATS UP 'THE COOLER'

WILLIAM H. Macy, of all people, takes off his clothes in "The Cooler," a romantic drama opening tomorrow. The 53-year-old former Oscar nominee for "Fargo," plays a human bad-luck charm...

THIS BIRD CAN'T FLY

* NELLY FURTADO "Folklore" [] DreamWorks As the teenager who flapped her way into pop culture a couple of years ago with the Grammy-winning hit "I'm Like a Bird," Nelly...

DISNEY'S NEWS DREAM MAY COME TRUE

THE competitive cable news arena could get even more cutthroat soon - ABC is close to launching its own all-news channel. The Disney-owned network is in advanced discussions with some...

THE RIGHT CHOICE - 'THE VIEW' PICKED ELISABETH WHO'S YOUNG, READY TO START A FAMILY AND CONSERVATIVE

THE choice of Elisabeth Filarski Hasselbeck as the new co-host of "The View" yesterday gives the show "a new charge" in its seventh season, says co-creator/co-host Barbara Walters. "She's 26...

YULE SCREAM - OPRAH GIVES AWAY $1.5 MIL IN GIFTS ON ONE SHOW

OPRAH Winfrey showered her hysterical studio audience with $1.5 million worth of high-tech gadgets, clothes and food in her annual "Oprah's Favorite Things" show. The Super Bowl of give-away shows,...

JACKO RULES CABLE RATINGS GAME

FURTHER proof that Jacko = ratings for the all-news cable networks. Fox News Channel, MSNBC and CNN all experienced ratings spikes when the latest Michael Jackson scandal erupted last Tuesday....

STARR REPORT

The scoop on Rupe Fans of "Survivor" flooded the CBS switchboard after last Thursday's "Survivor" episode - in which popular Rupert Boneham was voted off the show. CBS insiders say...

GO IRISH

Update HERE'S a no-brainer for the commitment-phobic: Book an Aer Lingus flight to either Dublin or Shannon ($99 each way) - and when you back out last minute, simply change...

MADE FOR MILANO - POST FASHION GURU LIBBY CALLAWAY TAKES ON THE WORLD'S FASHION CAPITAL

DISTANCE: 4,002 MILES from Madison Avenue FOR shopoholics, Milan is a dream. Make that for shopoholics blessed with time, patience and a fat wallet. For anyone on a tight schedule...

GO NUTS IN BRAZIL - RIO'S A LAUGH, BUT SERIOUS SHOPPERS (LIKE LIBBY CALLAWAY) KNOW TO HEAD STRAIGHT FOR SAO PAULO

SAO PAULO doesn't have Rio's beaches and it doesn't live to celebrate Carnivale. It have the Amazon ter-doesn't have the Amazon territory's exotic flair. But what the never-ending Brazilian metropolis...

LET US ENTERTAIN - AT THESE MALLS, SHOPPING ISN'T THE HALF OF IT, WRITES DAVID LANDSEL

THERE are those of us who live to shop, and those of us who live to avoid it. Next time you must head for the mall, pray you are near...

'LINCOLN CENTER' HS KIDS STABBED

Two students at Martin Luther King HS were stabbed and another assaulted outside Lincoln Center yesterday when they clashed with two former students over a girl, police said. The three...

100 LEADS ON JACKO - CALLERS DELUGE POLICE PHONES

Authorities probing Michael Jackson on child-molestation charges are investigating at least 100 other leads on The Gloved One - and the possibility of new victims, The Post has learned. The...

MEDICARE OVERHAUL SET FOR SENATE'S OK

WASHINGTON - Seniors will be able to get at least 75 percent of their prescription-drug bills paid by the government under a Medicare bill expected to get final passage in...

WEIRD BUT TRUE

Why would someone arrange 756 pounds of bologna to look like a car seat? To sneak it across the border for sale in the United States, according to customs agents...

GUYS OUTSPEND GALS ON GIFTS

Women are more likely to tighten the purse strings than men when it comes to swapping gifts with a date this holiday season, according to a Matchmaker.com poll. Overall, men...

COP 'CAB' CRASH INJURES 6

Six people, including an 11-month-old boy in a stroller, suffered minor injuries in an accident on the Upper East Side when two cars - one of them an undercover police...

JOHN CAN'T KERRY OWN STATE: POLL

WASHINGTON - Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass) can't seem to get ahead of Howard Dean - not even in his home state. A new poll shows Dean, the former Vermont governor...

CONN. PROF MUST PAY N.Y. TAXES: COURT

ALBANY - In a decision that could affect thousands of telecommuters, the state's top court ruled that a Cardozo Law School professor cannot skirt paying New York income taxes on...

DEM POWERHOUSE SILVER SAYS ELIOT'S HIS GUY FOR GOV

ALBANY - Attorney General Eliot Spitzer picked up a key endorsement in his race for governor yesterday - although the election is three years away and Spitzer hasn't even declared....

STATE CENSURES QUEENS JUDGE

ALBANY - A city Civil Court judge was censured yesterday for approving $21,000 in court-paid accounting fees for her friend who was also preparing the judge's taxes for free at...

BUSH OKS NEW NUKE - 'MINI-BOMB' WOULD SMASH BUNKERS

WASHINGTON - President Bush signed a huge new defense bill that includes millions of dollars for a small nuclear bomb designed to destroy deep, hardened underground bunkers. Among the many...

GERE'S FIGHT AGAINST CAPITAL PUNISHMENT IS A BAD ACT

I WAS at those funerals when the D.C. snipers had all of Washington in their stranglehold of fear. Blacks, whites, Latinos - men, women and children. I was at the...

NYPD DAILY BLOTTER

MANHATTAN * A city Housing Authority worker impersonating an officer was arrested after cops stopped his car for a traffic violation on the Lower East Side, police said yesterday. When...

BEARS EAT MORE THAN NECESSITIES

A study by scientists affiliated with The Bronx Zoo says America's obesity epidemic has claimed a new victim: bears. "Black bears in suburban areas are putting on weight and doing...

MR. HOSPITAL-ITY - WING IN ISRAEL FOR MIKE'S MA

Mayor Bloomberg made a whirlwind trip to Israel and Kosovo yesterday, visiting Jerusalem with his mother Charlotte to dedicate a new pediatric hospital wing named after her and delivering Christmas...

AFTER MEDICARE: W'S WINNING WAYS

ELECTION Day 2004 is 343 days away. A lot can happen in 343 days. But if George W. Bush wins a second term convincingly next Nov. 2, this will be...

L.I. PERV PAIR ATTACKS GIRL, TERRORIZES 2 MORE: COPS

Police on Long Island are searching for a masked, two-man sex assault team that molested a 12-year-old girl and later attempted to grab two other teenagers off the street in...

SHARON'S VOW ON PALESTINE - WITH A BIG IF

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon yesterday promised an independent Palestinian state if terror attacks are halted and radical groups are disarmed. Sharon told Israeli officials "if there is a cease-fire...

CITY HIT BY 5G PHONE RIP-OFF

Five phone workers helped themselves to more than $5,000 worth of long-distance calls while installing lines at a city agency, officials charged yesterday. One of the suspects is accused of...

DRIVER DIES IN BIZARRE CAR CRASH

A 94-year-old man died of an apparent heart attack and crashed his car into the entrance of the Queens nursing home where he had just visited his ailing wife yesterday,...

LIFE FOR CHINESE DELIVERY MURDER

A young woman was sentenced to 18 years to life behind bars yesterday for luring a food deliveryman to his death. Shaniqua Brown was 19 in October 2002 when, as...

W. SPARES LUCKY STARS

Stars, the talkative turkey who gobbled throughout yesterday's Rose Garden ceremony, nevertheless gets a pat and a pardon from President Bush (above). The turkey punctuated every sentence of Bush's address...

MASSAGE TO MADAMS: OUT OF L.I.

Suffolk County authorities say they have "cleaned out" the county of massage-parlor prostitution - arresting 199 accused hookers and closing 46 alleged sex-for-sale storefronts over the past year. Police "really...

WTC INSURANCE TRIAL SET

Larry Silverstein and his Twin Towers insurance companies will finally get to face off in front of a jury after a judge scheduled a trial for their $7 billion battle....

ANTHRAX SCARE CLOSES SCHOOL

Authorities evacuated a Bronx middle school yesterday after a cafeteria worker there opened an envelope addressed to her containing a suspicious white powder - and a note that read, "You...

COURAGEOUS COP'S TRIGGER FINGER

Sgt. Darren Finn was ducking for cover in a cast iron bathtub - his shot ring finger hanging from his blood-soaked hand - when he realized what he had to...

NAME YOUR POISON - MUHAMMAD CAN PICK SHOT OR SHOCK AS HE GETS DEATH

The next big decision in the Washington, D.C,. serial sniper case belongs to killer John Muhammad: lethal injection or electrocution. Jurors in Virginia Beach, Va., yesterday recommended death for the...

LUXURY IS BACK - GLAMOUR PRESENTS HOT FOR THE HOLIDAYS

Pricey monogrammed handbags, fur-lined sweatshirts and other glamour gifts are flying off shelves this season, leading retailers to believe luxury may have its best holiday in years. Bergdorf Goodman even...

PLAN-SWITCHING CUSTOMERS MAKE A 'NUMBERS' RACKET

Cell-phone stores were the most popular places in town yesterday as gleeful New Yorkers rushed to take advantage of new rules allowing them to take their phone numbers with them...

UPSTATE GI'S FINAL MESSAGE OF LOVE TO WIFE

Rising-star Army Capt. George Wood of New York dashed off an e-mail to his young wife on the morning of Nov. 20 - just before heading out on patrol duty...

DEAD RINGERS - MIDTOWN RANKS WORST IN LOST CELL CALLS

The city recently asked New Yorkers to call 311 and report areas where they were losing cell-phone calls. And the "winner" is - Midtown. The area bounded by 43rd Street...

FILM GROUP SUED OVER SCREENING BAN

Twelve independent film companies sued the Motion Picture Association of America yesterday for at least $75 million over its controversial decision to ban distributing copies of movies to critics before...

BARRY BOMBSHELL - STEROIDS SEIZED AT TRAINER'S: REPORT

Federal investigators reportedly seized steroids when they staged a September raid on the home of the personal trainer of San Francisco Giants superstar Barry Bonds. Probers who searched Greg Anderson's...

LIBRARY LADY IN SEX 'LIE'

A 60-year-old school librarian - suspected of injuring two students - has been arrested for concocting a story that she was sexually assaulted by an investigator, authorities said yesterday. The...

DEAN UNDER FIRE IN IOWA FREE-FOR-ALL

WASHINGTON - Dick Gephardt and John Kerry ganged up on Howard Dean in last night's debate in Iowa, accusing Dean of cutting Medicaid and other services for the needy during...

MOM RAGED AT 'CHANGED' RELATIONSHIP

The L.A. comic who introduced Michael Jackson to the 12-year-old cancer victim now accusing the star of molestation says the boy's mother angrily called him several months ago to say...

TEARS FOR SLAIN B'KLYN ARMY SGT.

Sonia Rivera's husband, José, died a hero in Iraq - and at a memorial service to honor him yesterday at Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn, she prayed he'd be the last....

PASTA STAR BOILS

Posh-eatery owner Silvano Marchetto allegedly got pushy while biting the head off a mouthy city health inspector who issued him a violation yesterday - and now may be forced to...

QNS. CAR HORROR - TEEN FATALLY RUN OVER AS GOOD SAM TRIES TO HELP HER

A car ran over and killed a 16-year-old Queens schoolgirl on her way home yesterday despite the efforts of a good Samaritan who stopped to help her. The tragedy began...

FERRY CAPTAIN FIGHTS FOR JOB

The captain of the Staten Island Ferry that crashed into a pier appeared yesterday at a hearing where his job hung in the balance. A Department of Transportation labor-relations specialist...

TRAGIC N.Y. GI'S FINAL LETTER TO DAUGHTER

Rising-star Army Capt. George Wood of New York tenderly told his 3-year-old daughter, "I can't wait to see you again," and, "Tell Mommy I love her," just days before he...

SCHOOLKIDS STABBED AT LINCOLN CENTER

Two students at Martin Luther King HS were stabbed and another assaulted outside Lincoln Center yesterday when they clashed with two former students over a girl, police said. The three...

COPS HIT HIS PRIVATE EYE'S OFFICE, TOO

As cops were raiding accused child molester Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch, they also were searching the office of a Beverly Hills snoop who had been working for the star, it...

CLASSROOM EXTRA - CONFESSIONS OF A WILD MAN

Tigers, snakes and alligators - oh my! Imagine working with them for a living. Jeff Corwin does. With two nature shows on Animal Planet and a new book, he's walking...

TAX $HOCKER - TELECOMMUTING CONN. PROF MUST PAY N.Y.

ALBANY - In a decision that could affect thousands of telecommuters, the state's top court ruled that a Cardozo Law School professor cannot skirt paying New York income taxes on...

FERRY CAPT. FIGHTS FOR JOB

The captain of the Staten Island Ferry that crashed into a pier appeared yesterday at a hearing where his job hung in the balance. A Department of Transportation labor-relations specialist...

KID'S MOTHER RAGED AFTER RELATIONSHIP 'CHANGED'

The L.A. comic who introduced Michael Jackson to the 12-year-old cancer victim who's now accusing the star of molestation says the boy's mother angrily called him several months ago to...

BLUNDER-FUL 'D' DOOMS BIG BLUE

GIANT NOTES TAMPA - There were rather silly-looking celebrations after solid plays by linebackers Brandon Short and Dhani Jones for the Giants early last night in their loss to the...

GIANT LETDOWN - BUCS WRITE SAD SEASON'S END FOR FASSEL'S FLOPS

Bucs 19 - Giants 13 TAMPA - Mistake after mistake, penalty after penalty, blown chance after missed opportunity, the Giants last night never missed a beat in continuing their season...

LINDROS MAY GO TO VISOR

Eric Lindros walked into the Rangers' locker room after practice yesterday with a noticeably fogged-up addition to his gear: a visor. Lindros has contemplated wearing the protective visor in a...

BLAZING DEVILS TAKE THEIR STREAKS ON THE ROAD

This month-long, 11- game unbeaten streak is memorable for coming from chaos, but in a span of some 27 hours, the Devils can turn it into something that won't require...

NICE THREE MINUTES

JET REPORT CARDQUARTERBACKS: B+ Chad Pennington (25-of-39, 236 yards, 1 TD,1 INT, 78.6 rating) struggled for 57 minutes and was magnificent in the final three, engineering a memorable game-winning drive....

'ZO NO! MOURNING FORCED TO RETIRE - KIDNEY TRANSPLANT LOOMS AS RELAPSE ENDS CENTER'S CAREER

SEATTLE - The warning signs in the blood were rising ever perilously for several weeks. Alonzo Mourning knew it but continued playing the game he loved. Finally, the levels could...

KENYON'S ROCKED BY NEWS

"It's terrible news, man. He's part of this family." -KENYON MARTIN SEATTLE - Kenyon Martin said things to Alonzo Mourning he immediately wished he had not said. And he apologized....

STORM SHOOTERS ADJUST TO LIFE WITHOUT HATTEN

St. John's got what it wanted on Nov. 13. In the season-opener, the first game of the post-Marcus Hatten era, three Red Storm players attempted double-digit shots. In 34 games...

PENNING PARALLELS - HERM: CHAD NO ORDINARY JOE

Herman Edwards sat with Chad Pennington yesterday in a room upstairs at Weeb Ewbank Hall and watched film of the Jets' 13-10 comeback win over the Jaguars - a game...

TRANSPLANT WAIT COULD BE THREE MONTHS

A leading expert in kidney transplants said Alonzo Mourning's search for a donor kidney will take at least three months but may result in his return to a healthy life....

DIKEMBE BEGGED ALONZO NOT TO ATTEMPT COMEBACK

BOSTON - The Knicks' Dikembe Mutombo didn't understand why Alonzo Mourning came back in the first place and desperately tried to dissuade him last June. Mourning, the Net center and,...

DICE WON'T ROLL UNTIL DECEMBER

KNICK NOTES BOSTON - Barring a miracle turnaround at today's practice in Minnesota, Antonio McDyess will not make his Knick debut in the month of November. Based on interviews with...

ONLY THE DOCTORS COULD STOP ALONZO

JOHN Thompson had just spent the day at Alonzo Mourning's house in New Jersey, sitting down his old player for a long television interview. The former Georgetown coach figured he...

'ZO'S PALS SADDENED

Alonzo Mourning's friends and coaches reacted with shock to yesterday's news the seven-time All-Star retired due to a worsening kidney condition. "When I spoke to him, I just wanted to...

BUCS' DEFENSE STILL HARD-HITTING

GIANT NOTES TAMPA - After a season when they were favorably compared to some of the NFL's greatest defenses of all time, the Buccaneers have slid backward this season, but...

'ZO COULDN'T SAY 'NO' - COMEBACK WAS ABOUT THE MONEY

SO how does Kenyon Martin ("My kidney! My kidney!") feel today? Vindicated, probably. Prior to the season, I mentioned to Jerry West how much I hated New Jersey's signing of...

NOW THE BALL'S IN GEORGE'S COURT

THE scrumptious steak bathed in a garlic-lemon sauce did not go down easy yesterday at Malio's, the famous Tampa restaurant where the Yankees dysfunctional family gathered for lunch with George...

SEASON ON THE LINE - INJURY-PLAGUED GIANT OL STILL STRUGGLING

TAMPA - A rare two-day break from the grind of practice last week suited all the Giants in general and one group in particular. It's been a long season for...

CHANEY: WE MISS SPREWELL

KNICK NOTES BOSTON - Don Chaney will likely be missing Keith Van Horn and possibly sore-backed Allan Houston again when the Knicks face Latrell Sprewell tomorrow in Minnesota. Before last...

RAILSPLITTERS, TELFAIR UNHAPPY WITH OPENER

PSAL HOOPS: Lincoln 100 - Lafayette 70 Sebastian Telfair is tired of hearing about himself. "I've had enough of listening to people talk and reading about how good I am...

KNICKER-BLOCKER - MUTOMBO HELPS SWAT DOWN CELTS

Knicks 94 - Celtics 88 BOSTON - Dikembe Mutombo had fire in his eyes as the Celtics' rookie point guard Marcus Banks drove the left baseline. Mutombo, playing as if...

RONDE'S WINNER IN BROTHER BRAWL

TAMPA - They have played against each other as NFL rivals before, but never with both as marquee players, which meant last night's Giants-Buccaneers game was special for twin brothers...

DON: WE MISS SPREE

"We miss his energy for sure. . . . And one thing I know we miss is his passing." -DON CHANEY ON LATRELL SPREWELL BOSTON - Don Chaney does not...

STORM WARNINGS ARE UP EARLY

OVERTIME: Fairfield 64 - St. John's 59 St. John's coach Mike Jarvis has been amused by the number of times he's been asked whom the Red Storm will turn to...