September 2, 2004

BUSH HAS A LOT RIDING ON FRIDAY'S REPORT

WALL Street is ex pecting the government tomorrow to report a big jump in employment in August. I think. I'd like to finish that sentence as I did so successfully...

I'M NOT A CROOK - EX-HOLLINGER DEPUTY RADLER RIPS BREEDEN REPORT

David Radler, the former top deputy to ousted newspaper baron Conrad Black, lashed out yesterday at a report that accused him and other executives of looting Hollinger International's coffers to...

TIME WARNER WANTS TO THROW ALL-CASH AT MGM

In a move to further tip the scales in the topsy-turvy auction of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Time Warner Inc. has switched its bid to cash, The Post has learned. Time Warner had...

RUBIN QUITS AT G+J

Another top executive hired in the Dan Brewster era at Gruner + Jahr USA is out at the embattled publishing company. Dan Rubin, who was the executive vice president involved...

CABLE RIDES HIGH; POLITICAL ADS INCREASE; FOX BEATS BIG 3 NETWORKS

Cable news networks are getting a summer boost from their coverage of the political conventions. CNN, Fox News and MSNBC are reporting strong ratings following the Democratic and Republican conventions...

TV GUIDE WILL LIST BIRCH AS NEW EDITOR

TV Guide is bringing in a British editor with a knack for newsstand sales to take over the magazine with big circulation headaches as editor-in-chief. Ian Birch, who once edited...

NEWSDAY LIFTS BAN ON CAR DEALERS' ADS

Newsday lifted an advertising ban on a group of Long Island car dealers suing the paper over its rates. In July, Newsday banished the dealers after they accused the paper...

BIRCH IS NEW TV GUIDE EDITOR

TV Guide is bringing in a British editor with a knack for newsstand sales to takeover the digest-sized magazine with big circulation headaches as editor-in-chief. Ian Birch, who once edited...

GRUNER + JAHR EXECUTIVE DAN RUBIN RESIGNS HIS JOB

Another top executive hired in the Dan Brewster era at Gruner + Jahr USA is out at the embattled publishing company. Dan Rubin, who was the executive vice president involved...

CABLE RIDES HIGH - POLITICAL ADS BLAST NETWORKS OUT OF SUMMER DOLDRUMS

Cable news networks are getting a summer boost from their coverage of the political conventions. CNN, Fox News and MSNBC are reporting strong ratings following the Democratic and Republican conventions...

TIM TOPS TUNES

CROSSOVER country superstar Tim McGraw rides onto the charts with the best country debut of the year. Mr. Faith Hill's latest country-pop disc, "Live Like You Were Dying," topped Billboard's...

THEIR GOPS & 'Q'S; DELEGATES REVIEW PUPPET PRODUCTION

THEY loved the performers, they adored the puppets and the music set their toes a-tapping. But they winced during a graphic puppet sex scene, were offended by some of the...

REALITY BITES; 'RENOVATE' DOESN'T EVEN TRY TO INNOVATE

'Renovate My Family' Last night at 8 on Fox/Ch. 5 * * (two stars) IT was bound to happen - reality shows have now begun feeding on each other. That...

BUSHIE TALES: DEMS AND GOP SPLIT ON FAVORITE TV FARE

POLITICAL humor does come in two varieties: Republican and Democratic. Want proof? A new study says Bush supporters prefer "Everybody Loves Raymond" and Kerry people tune in to "Will &...

JANE IN THE NECK

- WHAT'S wrong with this picture? The less-than-stellar debut of "The Jane Pauley Show" - the most talked-about new daytime talk show - is a head scratcher. Early ratings for...

SHARON VS. SIMON IN TV DRAG-OUT

TWO of TV's biggest big- mouths, Sharon Osbourne and Simon Cowell, are feuding. The pair - who are set to appear together later this year on a new "American Idol"-like...

CLUB BED - A NIGHT OUT IS A REAL SNOOZE; SLUMBER PARTY

IT'S time for New York clubgoers to hit the sack. A slew of new clubs are threatening to turn the city's nightlife scene into a giant slumber party - and...

RED BADGES OF COURAGE - E. VILLAGE BARS ONLY FOR THE BRAVE, IF YOU'RE REPUBLICAN

WHILE the GOP's faithful were gathering at the Garden, a bunch of young Republican delegates visited a neighborhood not on their itinerary - the ultra-liberal Lower East Side. In their...

'QAEDA' SEIZES SCHOOL - KIDS SCREAM FOR THEIR LIVES IN RUSSIA HOSTAGE NIGHTMARE

Al Qaeda-linked Chechen terrorists, wearing explosive belts around their waists, seized more than 300 hostages - nearly half of them children - at a Russian school yesterday, and threatened to...

VETS FOR SALE? JOHN KERRY SEEMS TO THINK SO

YESTERDAY, in front of the American Legion's National Convention, John Kerry made his most disgraceful speech since he lied about atrocities to Congress three decades ago. By making promises he...

JOHN IN 'WE' BIT OF TROUBLE WITH UNIMPRESSED VET GROUP

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - American Legionnaires are a polite group - perhaps because they have had too much experience with the ultimate rudeness: war and death. There were no boos yesterday....

DELEGATES SHOWED LITTLE TASTE FOR THE BIG APPLE'S OUTER BOROUGHS YESTERDAY ...

Delegates showed little taste for the Big Apple's outer boroughs yesterday - blowing off elaborate planned visits to major cultural institutions throughout the city. Each borough planned to host a...

HEARTLESS THIEF

A former Long Island fast-food cashier who bilked a mentally handicapped customer out of $50,000 was sentenced yesterday to 16 months to four years in prison. The cruel scam began...

BRUNO ADDS FUEL TO PATAKI PREZ RUN

N.Y. NOTES PATAKI presidential fever continued to mount yesterday as a top New York Republican predicted the governor wouldn't seek re-election in 2006 - so he can run for president...

ARNOLD ROCKS; THE TWINS . . . DON'T

TUESDAY night ran the gamut from the sublime to the ridiculous. The sublime - politically speaking - was Arnold Schwarzenegger's electrifying speech, which was so effective that Rudy Giuliani and...

DAY TWO: BRIGHT SPIRITS ON A ROLL

Rep. Peter King (R-Nassau) will be sharing his convention observations with Post readers all week. I WAS up earlier Tuesday than I wanted to be but I had promised an...

KERRY NOT SO 'SWIFT' - EVADES VIET FLAP IN AMERICAN LEGION SPEECH

In a much-anticipated address to the largest veterans group in the nation, Sen. John Kerry yesterday completely dodged the Swift Boat Veterans controversy, which has dogged his campaign, and instead...

N.J. TRIO IN DRUG-PLOT BUST

Three mid-level drug dealers were arrested by Bergen County, N.J., police as they were about to rob an undercover cop, bind him with duct tape, and murder him if he...

MAD AS ZELL - GOP KEYNOTER SLAMS FELLOW DEM KERRY

Saying his family's safety is more important than his party affiliation, Democratic Sen. Zell Miller last night reached across the political aisle to tell the GOP convention that America would...

BUSH SUES TO HALT '527' ATTACK ADS

President Bush's campaign filed suit yesterday to stop anti-Bush groups - and others like the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth - from continuing their avalanche of negative ads, while the...

LADY CROOK STEALS CHARITY CASH

A cruel-hearted woman walked into a Suffolk County pharmacy and stole a donation jar filled with small contributions for a local boy with an incurable disease. The bandit, captured on...

G-RATED GOP COOL TO SEX BIZ

They came, they saw, they went to bed early. Republicans failed to ignite the city's sex and "adult entertainment" industries during the first two days of the convention, disappointing many...

CRIME TAKING A HOLIDAY FOR GOP

Arrests for serious crime in the Big Apple have plummeted since the NYPD mobilized its forces to protect the city during the Republican convention, The Post has learned. Excluding convention-protest...

NYPD DAILY BLOTTER

BROOKLYN * Detectives are hunting for the sexual predator (above) who attacked a woman early Monday on Flatbush street. The 35-year-old woman was walking to work at 3:30 a.m. in...

TWINS NO LAUGHING MATTER, CRITICS GRUMBLE

You didn't have to be a Democrat Tuesday night to know the Bush twins tanked. Forget Burns and Allen - Barbara and Jenna aren't quite up to the heights of...

ESCAPE TRAIN SET TO ROLL . . . JUST IN CASE

President Bush will have a rail fast way to get out of town if catastrophe strikes during the Republican convention. An escape train is waiting at Penn Station, beneath Madison...

SAY 'THANKS' TO THE COPS

DELEGATES, New Yorkers and, yes, protesters: At any given street corner in Manhattan, please stop and say "thanks" to the cops for the fantastic job they're doing this week. Republicans:...

INSIDE JOB AT THE TAJ; TRUMP GAL BUSTED

Finally, Donald Trump can tell an employee "You're fired" with good cause. One of The Donald's casino workers in Atlantic City helped an armed robber slip into a secure area...

CHENEY REACTION - A 'DEFINING MOMENT' IN TERROR WAR, SAYS VEEP

Vice President Dick Cheney declared last night that the nation has reached a "defining moment" in the war against terror and spotlighted the differences between John Kerry and George Bush...

GOP VOCAL IN SUPPORT OF ISRAEL

Unlike the Democrats at their convention, Republi cans from Veep Dick Cheney to former Mayor Rudy Giuliani have sought this week to embrace Israel as a crucial ally to the...

NOISY NUTS' SNEAK ATTACK - DISGUISED ACTIVISTS IN GALA SECURITY BREACH

AIDS activists infiltrated and disrupted the Republican convention yesterday - adding to serious concerns about security at Madison Square Garden just as President Bush is set to accept his renomination...

POLICE BASH LOONY - 'PERP' BERSERK IN DEC.

The protester busted in the vicious stomping of a city detective at a demonstration this week was already in trouble with the law - for allegedly going wild just eight...

'SWEETHEART' SWINDLE LED TO SLAY: DA

A "sweetheart swindler" admitted offering a thug $2,000 to rough up an aging Queens homeowner in a scheme to grift the old man out of his house, prosecutors said yesterday....

'2G SLAY' BY REALTY GRIFTER

A 30-year-old "sweetheart swindler" from Israel told cops she offered a thug $2,000 to rough up an aging Queens homeowner in a scheme to grift the old man out of...

$1M COKE HAUL IN WASH. HTS.

Cops seized a massive pile of cocaine worth $1 million yesterday after pulling over a van in Washington Heights, cops said. The officers stopped the vehicle for making an illegal...

SERENA AN OH-SO-SEXY SWINGER

U.S. OPEN NOTEBOOK SERENA WILLIAMS is wowing the crowd without swinging a racket. The curvaceous queen of the courts raised eyebrows yesterday when she appeared center court for her second-round...

COURTING TROUBLE; CROOKED ATTORNEY TESTIFIES VS. GARSON

A turncoat lawyer testified yesterday that a judge - whom he allegedly wined and dined in exchange for favorable treatment - took him under his wing, referred clients to him,...

JUDGE OKS CASE VS. DEM BOSS

A judge yesterday ruled the case can proceed against Brooklyn Democratic boss Clarence Norman, who allegedly charged the state for mileage while using a car paid for by the Kings...

PRESIDENT CATCHES 'FIRE' - IN APPLE TO GRAB FDNY UNION NOD

President Bush arrived in New York last night and immediately surrounded himself with the heroes of 9/11 - a day before he accepts his party's nomination at Madison Square Garden...

FLEEING FRANCES ; FLA. ORDERS EVACUATION; MONSTER MAY HIT 156 MPH

Storm-ravaged Florida braced for a second pounding last night as fearsome Hurricane Frances roared north toward the coastline. Nearly half a million people were ordered to evacuate as the monster...

SENIORS WELCOME DUBYA, BUT GRUMBLE OVER CANCELED BINGO

The senior citizens who frequent Italian Charities of America's social club in Elmhurst were thrilled about President Bush's visit - that was, until the Secret Service canceled bingo. "I like...

PREZ CATCHES 'FIRE' IN APPLE - * PICKS UP FDNY UNION BACKING * CHEERED ON EVE OF BIG SPEECH * EVOKES 'INSPIRATION' OF SEPT. 11

President Bush arrived in New York last night and immediately surrounded himself with the heroes of 9/11 - a day before he accepts his party's nomination at Madison Square Garden...

REAGAN TRIBUTE INSPIRES TEARS

Michael Reagan presented a heart-wrenching video tribute to his father, former President Ronald Reagan, last night that left many convention delegates in tears. Reagan said his father was not just...

MAD AS ZELL - DEM REBEL LAMBASTES KERRY

With a raucous Republican crowd urging him on, Sen. Zell Miller unleashed a white-hot attack on fellow Democrat Sen. John Kerry last night - charging that the Massachusetts pol's anti-terror...

WHERE NO REPUBLICAN CAN GO

HE gave them Zell. I don't think there's ever been a speech like last night's keynote address by Georgia's Democratic senator, Zell Miller. First, it's unprecedented for a senator of...

TONIGHT IS BUSH'S BIG CHANCE TO PULL AWAY

PRESIDENT BUSH has a shot at breaking open the 2004 race with his speech tonight - thanks to Democrat John Kerry's fumbles and a surprise boost from the anti-Kerry Swift...

PREZ CATCHES 'FIRE' IN APPLE; * PICKS UP FDNY UNION BACKING * EVOKES 'INSPIRATION' OF SEPT. 11

President Bush arrived in New York last night and immediately was embraced by the firefighter heroes of 9/11 - as he got ready to accept the Republican nomination at Madison...

SNEAK 'ATTACK' ; DISGUISED ACTIVISTS IN GALA SECURITY BREACH

AIDS activists infiltrated and disrupted the Republican convention yesterday - adding to serious concerns about security at Madison Square Garden just as President Bush is set to accept his renomination...

CHENEY REACTION - BLASTS JOHN AS ]]TOO 'SOFT' ON TERROR

Dick Cheney dismissed John Kerry last night as a flip-flopping, weak-willed politician misguidedly hoping to use his "softer side" against al Qaeda in the deadly war on terrorism. In a...

PROSECUTORS USED HER MORE THAN STAR DID

THE prosecutors used this girl, too. Now that this year of madness has finally been laid to rest, it must be said. The lawmen who preside over the Colorado backwater...

BROOKLYN ROB SUSPECT SHOT

A robbery bust in Brooklyn last night left one suspect shot in the knee and a pit bull shot dead after it charged at the arresting officers, police said. Four...

PREZ CATCHES 'FIRE' IN APPLE - * PICKS UP FDNY UNION BACKING * EVOKES 'INSPIRATION' OF SEPT. 11

President Bush arrived in New York last night and immediately was embraced by the firefighter heroes of 9/11 - as he got ready to accept the Republican nomination at Madison...

SNEAK 'ATTACK' - DISGUISED ACTIVISTS IN GALA SECURITY BREACH

Two security breaches disrupted the Republican convention yesterday - adding to serious concerns about security at Madison Square Garden just as President Bush is set to accept his renomination there...

ANGRY TIME BOMB - 'COP BASHER' BERSERK

The protester busted in the vicious stomping of a city detective at a demonstration this week was already in trouble with the law - for allegedly going wild just eight...

CLASS ACT BY THE EDU-NATOR IN HARLEM - ARNOLD PUMPS UP PUPILS

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger took his "Kindergarten Cop" shtick to a Harlem school yesterday morning to pump up national after-school programs, just hours after delivering his blockbuster GOP convention speech....

RATED G FOR GOP - SEX BIZ GOES FLACCID AS PARTY STAYS TAME

They came, they saw, they went to bed early. Republicans failed to ignite the city's sex and "adult entertainment" industries during the first two days of the convention, disappointing many...

ESCAPE TRAIN ALL READY TO WHISK BUSH OUT

President Bush will have a rail fast way to get out of town if catastrophe strikes during the Republican convention. An escape train is waiting at Penn Station, beneath Madison...

BUSH'S ESCAPE TRAIN - WOULD WHISK HIM OUT IN CONVENTION DISASTER

President Bush will have a rail fast way to get out of town if catastrophe strikes during the Republican convention. An escape train is waiting at Penn Station, beneath Madison...

CRIME TAKES BREAK - CONVENTION CITED

Arrests for serious crime in the Big Apple have plummeted since the NYPD mobilized its forces to protect the city during the Republican convention, The Post has learned. Excluding convention-protest...

'CHRISTMAS' GIFT - OF LIFE - MAN DONATES KIDNEY TO HIS PAL

Brian Carter's gift has brought life and health to college pal Vincent Christmas, who says Carter deserves a Liberty Courage Medal for giving him a kidney and promoting kidney donation....

FEDERER STRUGGLES TO TOP TEEN

OPEN NOTES Top-ranked Roger Federer may be the most complete tennis player and he's taking aim at the most dominant campaign in nearly two decades. But last night showed no...

KRUK TARGET OF LOAIZA BRUSHBACK

YANKEE NOTES John Kruk doesn't think much of Esteban Loaiza. And vice versa. Kruk, an analyst on ESPN's SportsCenter, claimed Loaiza quit in the 22-0 loss to Cleveland on Tuesday...

FANS HIT RODRIGUEZ WITH BOOS

All season long, Yankee fans have waited for Alex Rodriguez to return to the form that made him the most feared hitter in the American League. Their patience has worn...

DECISION TIME: COUGHLIN STILL HAS BIG CALLS TO MAKE

Judging from the especially dour expression Tom Coughlin has lugged around of late, his mood has gone from serious to deadly serious. In 11 days, the Giants play for keeps,...

REMEMBER ME? FASSEL REAPPEARS

GIANT NOTES His return, he acknowledges, "is a little bit awkward right now." Jim Fassel, the former coach of the Giants, comes back to the scene of some of his...

SERENA SWEEPS; WILLIAMS WINS EASILY

Serena Williams struck again yesterday, this time in daylight, unveiling an even skimpier outfit than her denim number from Monday night. Under a heavy Ashe Stadium sun yesterday, Serena donned...

KARSAY'S CONFIDENT HE'LL HELP

Steve Karsay finally made it back to the Yankees last night. "I definitely had doubts I would get here," said Karsay, who missed nearly the last two seasons after undergoing...

LLOVELY LLEYTON

Former world No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt took a break from tennis and seems to have found his game. He came into his match yesterday against veteran Wayne Ferreira on a...

AUSTIN:SLUMP DUE TO 'RENTS

OPEN NOTES USA Network's Tracy Austin questioned the judgment yesterday of the parents of Serena and Venus Williams for not providing their daughters with better coaching. Years ago, Richard Williams...

CAMERON SHELVED BY A VIRAL INFECTION

MET NOTES Art Howe saw Mike Cameron briefly yesterday when the centerfielder came into the clubhouse to visit the trainers. "He looks like death warmed over," Howe said. "He's really...

GUT-CHECK TIME - BEFUDDLED BOSSHAS EYE ON YANKS

Sure, it was the worst loss in franchise history. Sure, George Steinbrenner showed up 4½ hours before first pitch and watched batting practice like a hawk. Nevertheless, the Yankees tried...

GEORGE'S SHADOW LOOMS LARGE

GEORGE Steinbrenner hovered over the Yankees yesterday. His presence, words and actions reinforcing what everyone in the clubhouse tried to deny. Just how much trouble his team suddenly is in....

KRUK HITS HARD SHOTS OFF LOAIZA

YANKEE NOTES John Kruk doesn't think much of Esteban Loaiza. And vice versa. Kruk claimed Loaiza quit in the 22-0 loss to Cleveland on Tuesday night on ESPN's SportsCenter, but...

CONTRACT TALKS PROGRESSING, BUT NOT MUCH

MONTREAL - Had the NHL not invested a full year and $1 million in a publicity stunt called the Levitt Report last winter, perhaps the league and the Players' Association...

MET FANS GET CLOSE LOOK AT PAVANO

Because it is September at Shea, the dominant thoughts do not involve a pennant race. Instead, the Mets go into the final month of the regular season stinking and thinking...

ANOTHER GAME, ANOTHER LOSS

Marlins 5Mets 4 October can't get here soon enough. The Mets have 30 games left, and at this point, you might as well start the countdown. Another day, another game,...

NEAT NIGHT-CAP

After a tougher-than-expected first-round match, Jennifer Capriati had a better-than-could-be-hoped-for second-rounder, a win so thorough that she proclaimed afterward that she's playing well enough to make a run deep into...

HAYNES ENJOYS MAJOR VICTORY

OPEN NOTES Angela Haynes, a young, unranked, unheralded black qualifier from Compton, says she's pretty much been left out of the loop by the USTA. But the way she played...

FUHGEDDABOUT IT - DUQUE, POSADA'S HRHELP RIGHT YANKEE SHIP

Yankees 5Indians 3 It was Orlando Hernandez vs. Cleveland last night, and outside forces made it sound every bit as dire as Game 4 of the 1998 ALCS. Outside the...

BOSS NEEDS NO MOTIVATION

WHILE his team stretched on the field below him late yesterday afternoon, George Steinbrenner surveyed from his box above like a Roman emperor. Would his gladiators receive thumbs up or...

FUHGEDDABOUT IT - DUQUE, POSADA'S HR HELP RIGHT YANKEE SHIP

Yankees 5 Indians 3 It was Orlando Hernandez vs. Cleveland last night, and outside forces made it sound every bit as dire as Game 4 of the 1998 ALCS. Outside...

METS' FINAL DAZE - AMAZIN' BRASS SEARCHES FOR ANSWERS

Thirty games remain for the Mets, and while there's no pennant race or scent of meaningful games, there are questions that demand answers. In this final month, the Mets have...

CHAD HITS JACKPOT - JET QB OKS $64M, 7-YEAR EXTENSION

Chad Pennington, welcome to the elite world of the highest-paid players in your sport. Now, without contract uncertainties to cloud your head, you can go help win that championship you're...

HERM: I'M GOIN' WITH STARTERS

JET NOTES A year ago, in the moments leading up to their annual preseason finale with the Eagles, Herman Edwards received news that the Eagles were not using any of...

THE RUSSIAN MENACE - U.S. FACES CHALLENGE FROM AN OLD ENEMY

ST. PAUL - The Cold War has melted, the nationalist fervor of USA-Russia hockey muted. Instead, the Americans will be battling for themselves here tonight, seeking some spark that will...

ISIAH: OLYMPICS HELPED MARBURY

Isiah Thomas saw something different in Stephon Marbury's eyes when the Knicks point guard returned Monday from the Olympics in Athens. "He had a glow," Thomas said. "It's something I...

POST'S PUNCHER PICKS PROMOTER

Our man in The Bronx is on his way. Jason Quick, who doubles as a pressman at the Post's Bronx plant and a professional boxer, signed a three-year deal with...

NETS OK 'ZO GO - MOURNING SET FOR CAMP COMEBACK

It's official. After months of rumors and speculation, the Nets and Alonzo Mourning made it official yesterday. 'Zo will give it a go on a comeback from a kidney transplant....