April 20, 2004

GETTING TRUMPED: I SAW HAIR, OPENED MOUTH, INSERTED FOOT

I first met Donald Trump about 15 years ago. I didn't meet his hair until a decade later. I have never told this story before because I thought it was...

BORDERLINE LABEL - MADONNA'S MAVERICK HAS LOST $66M, WARNER SAYS

Madonna has racked up some $66 million worth of losses at Maverick Records since 1999 - and will have to cough up that money and more if she wants to...

AT&T BRINGS VOIP TO NEW YORK

AT&T introduced a voice-over-Internet calling plan for New York yesterday - part of the company's aggressive rollout of the digital technology. The service transfers calls over Internet lines, cutting AT&T's...

WHAT, US REFORM? CEO PAY RISES AGAIN FOR '03

Reforms of bloated CEO pay be damned - bosses are raking in more money than ever. Chiefs of major corporations and their boards have largely ignored investor protests about excessive...

MOUSE HOUSE VOTED 73% VS. EISNER

A stunning 73 percent of Disney's pension fund shares were cast against CEO Michael Eisner at the company's annual meeting last month, according to figures released yesterday by dissident shareholders...

CA DISASSOCIATES FROM NINE MORE EXECUTIVES

Accounting scandals at Computer Associates claimed nine more scalps yesterday, as analysts eyed the future of one particular employee - CEO Sanjay Kumar. Nine employees in the Long Island software...

SOTHEBY'S EYES MIDTOWN MOVE

WORLD-famous auction house Sotheby's is actively searching for a new home in Midtown as it considers a hospital's offer to sublease the auctioneer's gleaming York Avenue headquarters. Sources say that...

NEW HARRY WINSTON HEAD

Harry Winston, jeweler to the stars, yesterday named a Burberry executive as its new chief. The appointment of Thomas O'Neill, worldwide president of Burberry, to the post of chief executive...

SEC FILINGS COULD FORCE GOOGLE IPO

Because of a technicality, Google's much-anticipated initial public offering may come as soon as the end of this month. Securities and Exchange Commission rules state that a company must report...

NOTICIAS TO CLOSE; MOONIES AXING 86

The publishing arm of the Rev. Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church is shutting down Noticias del Mundo, a Spanish-language newspaper that circulates in New York City, and laying off staffers...

MCDONALD'S CEO CANTALUPO DIES AT 60

Jim Cantalupo, a veteran McDonald's executive who took the reins less than two years ago to pull off a miracle turnaround, died suddenly yesterday at the age of 60. Cantalupo,...

PRINCE CHARMING

* PRINCE "Musicology" [] (three stars) NPG Records Prince is back and he's bad - and that's good. With the precision of a debutante at her coming-out party, the fuchsia...

'IT'S ALL FAKE' - REGIS DOESN'T BUY 'APPRENTICE'

REGIS Philbin thinks "The Apprentice" was fixed - and that troublemaker Omarosa was planted on the show to stir up trouble. "I have a sixth sense about these things ....

'CHAMP' HAS FAMILIAR RING TO IT; EPA

FOX is lacing up its gloves for a new reality show about boxing, with champ Oscar De La Hoya as its host. "The Next Great Champ" will seek out young...

DENIS' 'RESCUE'

HERE'S a first look at "Rescue Me," a new dramatic comedy about New York City firefighters from snark-meister Denis Leary. Leary and a few cast members - at least one...

GAY-DOLF HITLER ; FUSSY FASCIST DRAGGED OUT OF CLOSET

WAS FEAR OF BEING OUTTED THE REASON HITLER HAD THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF GAY MEN THROWN INTO CONCENTRATION CAMPS? ---"The Hidden Fuhrer: Debating the Enigma of Hitler's Sexuality" [ 1/2]...

STARR REPORT

Summer six-pack Fox will launch its 2004 schedule in June with six new shows - getting a huge jump on the competition. "Certainly this all started when we were running...

TV MOVIE FOR BUFFY, ANGEL?

'BUFFY the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel" have a shot at returning from the grave - in a made-for-TV movie. The WB has approached Joss Whedon, the creator of both shows,...

BEAN THERE - WITH TWO COFFEE FREAKS AT THE WHEEL, DAVID LANDSEL GETS INDUCTED INTO PHILLY CAFÉ SOCIETY

THE City of Brotherly Love is known for many things. The cheese steak. The Liberty Bell. Cheap housing. Add great coffee to that list, please. Wander the narrow streets of...

HOLY TURF WARS - THE MADNESS OF MUSLIM EXTREMISTS

WHENEVER I visit history-haunted Istanbul, my first stop is the cathedral of St. Sophia. The greatest monument of Christianity's first millenium is now a museum run by the Turkish government....

IT'S NOT THE VOTE - ONE NONCITIZEN'S AGENDA

I'M not an American citizen, but I get mistaken for one: I'm white, and English is my mother tongue. After 10 years in the United States, about the only thing...

CURRY PUTS HEAT ON ALZHEIMER'S

If you want to protect against Alzheimer's disease, better get some curry in a hurry. A new study reveals that hot curries can prevent the deterioration of the brain and...

WEIRD BUT TRUE

A Wisconsin woman whose purse was stolen last May got it back nearly a year later - complete with the $300 she had left inside and all her credit cards...

FALLING TREE KILLS TWO ON SAW MILL PARKWAY

A tree fell into the middle of rush- hour traffic yesterday on a major Westchester highway, killing two adults and injuring a 5-month-old girl. The freak accident happened on the...

BRAVEST SAVE TWO TOTS FROM BRONX BLAZE

A pair of 1-year-old Bronx cousins were saved by firefighters from a blaze that roared through their home last night. The tots, Tanisha Narvaez and Jeremy Delgado, were raced to...

NYPD DAILY BLOTTER

MANHATTAN * A double shooting in Harlem briefly shut down the West Highway yesterday while police unsuccessfully hunted for the assailant, who fled in a car, cops said. The unidentified...

3 CHAIRS FOR YANKEE FANS

What could be better than parking your tush in the cushioned comfort of a real Yankee Stadium seat - in the cozy confines of your home? That's what some Bronx...

CURRY MAY PUT HEAT ON ALZHEIMER'S

If you want to protect against Alzheimer's disease, better get some curry in a hurry. A new study reveals that hot curries can prevent the deterioration of the brain and...

LOCK UP HEARTLESS HIT-RUN DRIVER: WIDOW

The grieving wife of a fatal hit-and-run victim attended his alleged killer's trial yesterday because "I want her to know he was not a deer, he was not a sack...

SPECIAL-EVENT SECURITY TEAM

WASHINGTON - Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge yesterday announced a new task force that will focus on preventing terror attacks at special events like political conventions and the Olympics. "With...

'GOV. RUDY' WINS ANOTHER POLL

ALBANY - A second poll in less than a week shows Gov. Pataki losing to either of his two likely Democratic foes - and both of them losing to Rudy...

MTA PRIVATE-BUS BUYOUT

It took nearly 20 years to accomplish, but the city has finally reached a deal for the MTA to take over operations of seven private bus lines serving 400,000 riders...

JURY MULLS WTC INSURE CLAIM$

Billions of dollars for rebuilding lower Manhattan hung in the balance yesterday as a jury began deliberations to decide if a group of World Trade Center insurance companies signed a...

WRITER-DOC NEW TERROR CHIEFTAN

JERUSALEM - The man believed to be the new head of the Hamas terror group is a Palestinian surgeon, novelist and hard-liner - who escaped his first Israeli assassination attempt...

KEVIN SPACEY IN MYSTERY MUGGING

A spaced-out Kevin Spacey told cops he was brutally assaulted during a stroll in a London park in the middle of the night - then mysteriously retracted his complaint and...

U.N. SHUT EYES TO SLICKSTER SADDAM

WASHINGTON - U.N. officials knew for years that Saddam Hussein was skimming billions from the humanitarian oil-for-food program, but they did nothing to stop what's being called the largest financial...

$200M FOR PIERS IS BERTH OF A NEW ERA

The city's ship came in yesterday when two major cruise lines committed to paying at least $200 million in port charges to help fund new and expanded terminals here. Norwegian...

MAFIA BUST BLITZ - UNION CRACKDOWN SET

More than three dozen gangsters, union officials and construction contractors face indictment in separate federal and state probes designed to break the Genovese crime family's grip on two major unions,...

-TERROR ROCKET WOUNDS 7 SETTLERS (M)-ROCKET WOUNDS SEVEN SETTLERS (S, LCF)

JERUSALEM - Seven Israelis - including a six-month-old girl - were wounded in the Gaza Strip late yesterday when a Palestinian rocket exploded in the Jewish settlement of Nisanit, officials...

B'KLYN BOAT IS 'UNSUNK'

Sheepshead Bay's most notorious boat - a former Coast Guard cutter that once sank subs in World War II, but ended up as a rusted derelict - is finally being...

ANCHOR AWAY: TV NEWS LEGEND BROKAW TO QUIT DEC. 1

Tom Brokaw, the longtime anchor of "NBC Nightly News," plans to retire Dec. 1, NBC officials said yesterday. Brokaw has held the top spot behind the anchor desk at "NBC...

POLICE HUNT BRAZEN ATM THIEF

Police are offering a $2,000 reward for information about a thug who's been robbing people at ATM machines in Manhattan. Cops said the thief, described as a black man, between...

NIELSEN GRATING COUNCIL

Council members yesterday chided the Nielsen TV ratings firm over its plans to press ahead with a new system in the city that opponents charge underrepresents minorities. Nielsen last month...

TALE OF COURAGE - CANCER KID PENS AWARD-WINNING STORY

On the day of young Gabrielle Acevedo's bone-marrow transplant, homework was the furthest thing from her teacher's mind. But the plucky youngster insisted on receiving an assignment anyway. The next...

-BELOVED CHIEF GETS THE FINEST SALUTE (M, S)-FINEST SALUTE FOR BELOVED CHIEF (LCF)

Long lines of police officers and cadets blanketed both sides of East 21st Street yesterday to bid a fond farewell to one of the city's top cops. Assistant Chief Michael...

GARSON WIFE SET TO TESTIFY IN CUZ CASE

The jurist wife of embattled Judge Gerald Garson is expected to testify today before a grand jury probing a third Brooklyn judge - her husband's cousin, The Post has learned....

BUSH PULLING FURTHER AHEAD IN LATEST POLL

WASHINGTON - President Bush stretched his lead over John Kerry to five points, according to a new poll that shows the 9/11 commission hearings haven't hurt Bush politically. Bush leads...

TOBACCO 'RUDE' - GANDOLFINI'S 'CIG' FILM SUED OVER 'UNAUTHORIZED' SHOOT

Lights, camera, legal action! A Queens resident with a disdain for smokers says the crew filming the new John Turturro flick "Romance and Cigarettes" set up shop on his lawn...

SCHOOL-BUS VANDALS HAVE NO CLASS

Vandals gave every student in a New Jersey school district a free ride yesterday - 4,300 kids got the day off after the mischief-makers let the air out of the...

BUSH BASHES PAIN IN SPAIN - WARNS PULLOUT GIVES THUGS 'FALSE COMFORT'

President Bush scolded Spain's new leader yesterday for his quick withdrawal of troops from Iraq, warning him to avoid future actions that give "false comfort to terrorists." The president made...

BROOKLYN WELCOMES CHESS KINGS

Brainy prom-date seekers are all atwitter - the kings of high-school chess are back in Brooklyn. Edward R. Murrow HS's nationally renowned chess team returned home triumphant yesterday after whipping...

CURSE OF RUTH HAUNTS SECOND TYCO CASE

Apparently gun-shy from the recent Tyco mistrial, Manhattan prosecutors have asked a judge to sequester jurors in a related trial beginning next week. The trial involves charges that Tyco's former...

VELELLA: GAG ON LEGAL $$ - WANTS IT KEPT FROM JURY

Bronx state Sen. Guy Velella fought yesterday to keep jurors from hearing how he used $400,000 in campaign contributions to pay the lawyers in his upcoming bribery trial. Velella ardently...

3-SLAY DADDY: POLICE BEAT ME

A convicted ax murderer who beheaded his wife and butchered his two sons told federal jurors yesterday that cops roughed him up at the time of his arrest. "[They] beat...

LIBERATED WOMAN - BATTERED WIFE NOT GUILTY IN HUBBY SLAY

A battered Queens wife who fatally stabbed her husband during a violent argument was found not guilty of all charges yesterday, as a jury found she did not mean to...

BRIT POLICE SWOOP ON 10 SUSPECTS

Ten people were arrested in raids across Britain yesterday amid fears that Islamic terrorists were planning to bomb a shopping mall or a soccer stadium in Manchester. The raids were...

MAYOR: BOYCOTT TEST & WE'LL FAIL YOUR KID

Mayor Bloomberg yesterday warned defiant parents who make their kids boycott today's third-grade reading exam that such a move will almost guarantee their children will be held back. Asked about...

-FERRY-TALE TRIP - CONTRARY TO MARY, NO SWELLS RIDE HERE (M)-FERRY-TALE TRIP HAS ITS CHARMS (S, LCF)

SOMEWHERE IN NEW YORK HARBOR - Squint your eyes and dream of paradise. I am aboard the mighty Staten Island Ferry, perched regally atop a hard, immovable plastic seat -...

10 MINUTES OF TERROR ON LIRR - * RIDERS THOUGHT CRASH WAS A BOMB * KEPT IN DARK UNTIL ANNOUNCEMENT * 136 INJURED BY AMTRAK TRAIN RAM

Terrified passengers suddenly sent flying through a Long Island Rail Road car yesterday waited a nerve-wracking 10 minutes before they were told they had been rear-ended by another train -...

'FELON' GROOVY - BACANOVIC AT LUXE SPA WITH 'COURT PSYCHIC'

Peter Bacanovic may be headed to the slammer - but until then, he's into the "pamper." And Martha Stewart's disgraced ex-broker did just that over the weekend as he chilled...

'JAYSON' TAKES AIM AT EXPERT

The judge overseeing Jayson Williams' manslaughter trial told jurors yesterday that prosecutors erred by not earlier telling defense lawyers details of an examination of a shotgun belonging to the ex-NBA...

STOOP CRASHES CAR INTO B'KLYN PORCHES

A car traveling on a Brooklyn street early yesterday careened out of control, jumped the curb and crashed through the porches of three homes before coming to a grinding halt,...

FACT VS. FANTASY IN COURT - MOB JURORS QUIZZED ON MOVIES, TV

Potential jurors in the case of reputed Bonanno boss Joseph Massino were asked to weigh in on whether "The Sopranos" and "Donnie Brasco" realistically depict the Mafia. Approximately 500 candidates...

NO BAIL FOR STOCK 'MANIPULATOR'

A federal judge revoked bail for a notorious financial commentator charged with manipulating the market by leaking confidential law-enforcement information. Amr "Anthony Pacific" Elgindy, who had been under house arrest...

GAZA GET-OUT'S 'GOOD': CLINTON

Former President Clinton yesterday endorsed Israel's intended withdrawal from the Gaza Strip as "quite a good thing" that may advance chances for peace in the Mideast. "Any time we're stuck...

WACKY CENTRAL PARK SWIM BABES BUSTED; HOT CHICKS TAKE PARK DIP

Two overheated young Canadian women had to be dragged out of the Central Park Reservoir by cops yesterday after an illegal plunge to cool off. As the temperature soared to...

PROBERS EYE QNS. POL FOR NEW HARASS RAPS

The private investigative firm hired to probe sexual-harassment allegations against Queens Councilman Allan Jennings is now looking into whether he had inappropriate contact with other staffers over the past two...

BUSH PULLING FURTHER AHEAD IN LATEST POLLS

WASHINGTON - President Bush has stretched his lead over John Kerry to 6 points, according to a poll that shows the 9/11 commission hearings haven't hurt Bush politically. Bush leads...

'ICE-CREAM' INDICTMENT

The Bronx man arrested in last month's brutal turf-war attack on a husband-and-wife team of ice-cream truck operators was indicted for attempted murder yesterday. A Bronx grand jury also charged...

2 HS BOYS IN SEX RAP

Two 17-year-old boys have been charged with public lewdness for allegedly having oral sex with a female classmate in a basement bathroom at the HS of Art and Design, officials...

SPACEY'S MYSTERY MUGGING

A spaced-out Kevin Spacey told cops he was brutally assaulted during a stroll in a London park in the middle of the night - then mysteriously retracted his complaint and...

TWO HOT CHICKS TAKE DIP - BUSTED IN CENTRAL PK.

Two overheated Canadian women had to be dragged out of the Central Park reservoir by cops yesterday after an illegal plunge to cool off. As temperatures soared to 85 degrees,...

'FELON' GROOVY - BACANOVIC AT SPA WITH 'COURT PSYCHIC'

Maybe he wants to know where he'll be spending the next 20 years. Peter Bacanovic - Martha Stewart's disgraced ex-broker who faces the hefty prison sentence for his role in...

UNION'S MTA CRITIC GETS ON BOARD

One of the MTA's biggest critics has gotten a seat on the agency's board, officials said yesterday. Ed Watt, secretary-treasurer of the Transport Workers Union Local 100, was nominated by...

YOU, TOO, CAN HAIKU

April is National Poetry Month and today's Classroom Extra page wants to bring out the poet in you. Read on to learn how to write one of the world's simplest...

SHEEPSHEAD BON VOYAGE TO SUNK SHIP

Sheepshead Bay's most notorious boat - a former Coast Guard cutter that once sank subs in World War II and chased drug dealers in the Gulf of Mexico, but ended...

QUANTRILL & JETER HURTING

BOSTON - Concerned about the health of Derek Jeter and Paul Quantrill, George Steinbrenner had team doctor Stuart Hershon call the Fenway Park clubhouse during yesterday's 5-4 loss to the...

DEFENSE-LESS KNICKS HAVE NO SHOT

THIS is "war," says Dikembe Mutombo, who plays little and won't much more tonight because he is relatively useless in a running game the Knicks are almost powerless to prevent....

NETS' COLLINS: I DON'T PLAY DIRTY

You have heard it a bazillion times if you follow the Nets. Jason Collins isn't the most athletic player on the planet. He does the little things. He's a positional...

GRAMAN GETTING CALL VS. CHISOX

YANKEE NOTES BOSTON - Alex Graman was such a strong pitching prospect that the Cubs insisted on the lefty being included in a 2000 deal for Sammy Sosa. On the...

MILBURY IN NO HURRY TO START ISLES' OVERHAUL

There is no talk yet of breaking up the Islanders, but if anything was proved after being eliminated in the first round in five quick games again, it is that...

BOSOX PEN RELIEVED TO HAVE FOULKE

BOSTON - At 2 p.m. on a normal afternoon, Boston closer Keith Foulke is either eating a late lunch or in the middle of a nap. At that time yesterday,...

JETS COVET S.C. CORNER ROBINSON

The Jets are in need of a "shut-down" cornerback with blazing speed who's a good tackler and a tough player. So if he falls to the No. 12 overall slot...

'TAIL' OF TAPE: GALLERY'S HUGE

You want an idea just how competitive Robert Gallery is? Just take a gander at that ponytail that looks so out of place falling onto his massive shoulder blades. An...

FIRST ROUND GOES TO BOSTON

BOSTON - The city was already in a feisty, fighting mood yesterday, an 80-degree Patriots Day that could easily have passed for the Fourth of July. A few streets away,...

NO DEFENSE FOR THIS YANK LOSS - SOX GLADLY ACCEPT GIFT WIN

Red Sox 5 - Yankees 4 BOSTON - All that was missing on the Yankees' present to the Red Sox yesterday was a pinstriped bow. Come to think of it,...

JINTS TO TRY FRANCE

The Giants want to add to their roster a kicker who can compete with Matt Bryant for the job. Whether they added that player this week by signing Todd France...

NO WAY TO SLOW NETS UP

NET NOTES Kenyon Martin had heard the question several times for several days. Can the Nets' running game be stopped? "We are not going to have 28 fast-break points every...

METS TRY TO GET GRIP - CAN'T AFFORD TO LET SLUMP GET WORSE

A dozen games into the season, and the red-flag cliches are already flowing in the Mets clubhouse. See what we're made of . . . You never want it to...

KNICKS TALK NASTY - 'WE'RE IN A WAR NOW'

The Nets put Tim Thomas into the hospital and perhaps out of the Lincoln Tunnel Series. The Knicks' level of anger continued to rise yesterday and center Dikembe Mutombo vowed...

PENNY WORTH MORE

KNICK NOTES Penny Hardaway said entering the playoffs he wanted an expanded role. He's got it now. Not only will he start because of Tim Thomas' back injury, he'll have...

RIVERA'S RELAXED WITH PRESSURE OFF

Most pro athletes as unproven as Juan Rivera would leap at the chance to play in the postseason every year and have an opportunity to win a championship. Not Juan...

TORRE ESCALATES WAR WITH ESPN

BOSTON - Joe Torre heightened what is both a personal and Yankee-wide battle against ESPN yesterday by belittling the network during postgame interviews following the Red Sox' 5-4 triumph. ESPN...

KAPLER REDEEMS HIMSELF

BOSTON - Gabe Kapler could've been a goat. Instead, he became Boston's answer to Luis Sojo. Kapler, a spot starter in the Red Sox outfield, recovered from two base-running blunders...

DISABLED REGULARS MENDING

MET NOTES All three of the Mets' injured regulars took small-but-tangible steps toward their respective returns yesterday. Considering the Amazin's came into last night's tilt with Montreal fresh off a...

COLLINS GOT OFF EASY

WELL, what do you know? Eight first-round games over the weekend, eight home-team victories; a far cry from last season, when the visiting Visigoths actually went 4-4 in lid lifters....

RODRIGUEZ NOT YANKS' ONLY WORRY

ALEX Rodriguez got one hit and the Yankees one win in this hyped four-game Fenway set. It was symbolic. At present, the most expensive player embodies the most expensive team....

-QUESTIONS SURROUND DEVILS (M)-DEVILS SKATE INTO SUNSET SURROUNDED BY QUESTIONS (S, LCF)

They began heading in different directions, these dethroned Devils. How many reunite, and when, is a question that dogs them all. There hasn't been this much uncertainty surrounding the Devils...

METS FIND REMEDY - YATES, BATS STOP SORRY EXPOS

Mets 4 - Expos 1 With their pride and confidence still stung from being swept at home by Pittsburgh - and throwing around red-flag cliches like must-have, gotta-win, and gut-check...

ROOKIE HURLER NOT FAZED BY PRESSURE

Tyler Yates had more than enough pressure on him last night. He was trying to snap the Mets' three-game losing streak, as well attempting to rebound from an ugly outing...