People

MARTHA STEWART 'ON NOTICE' BY FEDS

The Securities and Exchange Commission has formally notified household maven Martha Stewart that it apparently now has enough evidence against her to bring a civil complaint into court. The issue at question, of course, is Stewart's sale of nearly 4,000 shares of a company just before the stock went into the dumpster. According to the New York Times, Stewart has actually known about the impending action for nearly a month; that may explain her recent resignation from the board of the New York Stock Exchange. Meanwhile, just days ago a friend of Stewart, the former head of ImClone -- the company in which she held stock then suddenly sold it "in the nick of time" -- pleaded guilty to insider-trading manipulations. Stewart continues to claim she is innocent of any Wall Street hanky panky.

JOHNNY CASH MAKING MORE APPEARANCES

Even though Johnny Cash, "The Man in Black," has had to deal with a spate of infections and illnesses in the past couple of years -- some of which have landed him in hospitals for extended stays -- this has turned out to be a banner year for the singer. Not only has the cream of country music turned out to honor him on his 70th birthday, in many public appearances and albums of his music, but many singers have penned original songs in his honor. Among the works is one by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails. The song, "Hurt," was included on Cash's latest "American" album. Now comes word from CMT that Cash is filming a music video of the song. The director of the taping is Mark Romanek, who recently did a series of shoots for Nine Inch Nails. In spite of his recurring illnesses, Cash has been well enough to participate in the shooting of the video and has made two public appearances in recent weeks. One was at a banquet in his honor at the International Entertainment Buyers Association meeting in Nashville; he was honored with the group's Pioneer Award. The other appearance was with wife June Carter Cash at a performance at the Spirit of Americana Free Speech awards recently.

'GROUND ZERO' NEW HOME FOR UNITED NATIONS?

There has been talk in New York for some time that the proper tribute to those who died in the collapse of the World Trade Center towers would be to build a new home for the United Nations there. After all, people from 90 of the world's countries died in the terror attack at that site. The New York Post's Cindy Adams says that since there has been talk for a while that the old United Nations building in Manhattan has become far too cramped and a new home will soon have to be built, why not construct the new headquarters for the peace-seeking body at "Ground Zero?" The United Nations started with just over 50 members. Now its ranks have swelled to 191. But, moving the World Body to the old WTC site would meet with some instant opposition, mainly from businesses and residents in the area. Parking would be at even more of a premium. And there would certainly be a fight put up by businesses around the current site who profit handsomely from the traffic generated by workers and visitors to the building.

CANADIAN BROADCASTERS CRACK DOWN

It's a "no brainer" that Canada is not that far from the United States, geographically. "Proximity" is an understatement when you refer to the longest peaceful border in the world. And, if you've ever talked to anyone from north of the border you know that Canadians know far more about this country than most Americans know about Canada. One reason is the presence of U.S. television in Canada ... much of it illegally pirated by people who steal the signal from American satellites. Shows produced in this country are extremely popular in Canada. As an example, the recent finale of "American Hero" had more than 2 million viewers up there. The average Canadian-produced program garners about a million. Worried about the fact that Canada is losing its own culture and angered by the illegal theft if U.S. programs, Canadian TV regulators have gone to war. This week, according to the Hollywood Reporter, they have filed nearly $70 million in lawsuits against Canadian stores that are selling American TV-ready satellite dishes. American shows are viewable in Canada, but only through Canadian distribution channels and only with legal equipment -- that is unless you live near the border and can pick up U.S. signals through the air.

WATTS, HENDERSON SCORE IN CREEPY 'RING'

Out just in time to scare the pants off you for Halloween is "Ring," starring Naomi Watts and Martin Henderson, both of whom are getting good marks for their performances. The creeper, rated PG-13, is also getting mostly good reviews from most quarters, though some are calling it "old hat," as far as a scary movie is concerned. Among the best reviews is one from the Chicago Tribune. That paper's reviewer says that the movie is nearly perfect, when it comes to scaring the audience. The film, according to movie.com, is a remake of a 1998 Japanese thriller, called "Ringu." During its run it became one of the top-grossing Japanese films of all time. Now placed in an American setting -- Washington state -- it revolves around a Seattle newswoman (Watts) who discovers that her young niece died of fright. And the child's death happened just a week after she and her friends (who also died) had watched a mysterious video tape. The movie is from Dreamworks and the director has a name that makes him perfect for Halloween-themed movies ... Gore Verbinski.

COUNTRY MUSIC TO GET ITS OWN 'IDOL'

First British producers looked for a U.K. music idol. Then the concept was brought to America. Now Canadian producers are planning their own version of an updated "Star Search." Amid all of this, the world of country music is not about to be left out. CMT is reporting that auditions for a new reality series, to be called "Nashville Star," are taking place this week at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Music City. The contestants will be living together during the run of the series; shades of "Survivor." Competitions will take place over a two-month period. Sony Records -- the home of the Dixie Chicks -- says it will give a recording contract to the person who ends up No. 1 at the end of the show. USA Networks will air the series some time next year. The auditions for contestants will continue for the next week or so.

UPI DAILY SURVEY QUESTION NO. 442

Here is today's question: "If you could suddenly transform yourself into a professional athlete at the prime of your career, in what sport would you want to be participating, and why?" Put SPORT in the subject line and send to [email protected] via the Internet.

RESULTS OF QUESTION NO. 437 (PRIZE)

Last week we asked about the personal accomplishments of which you are the most proud and for which you have won recognition. From a very random dip into the e-mail inbox, here are some of your replies: Angela S is one of the very talented people who read this column. She wrote to say that over the years she won over 50 medals, plaques and ribbons for figure staking. The majority were gold medals. (Way to go, Angela.) She also says that two fifth-place medals are the most important; they inspired her to work harder and go for the gold. Pat O is among those who are proud of bowling trophies; she won a prize for getting a perfect score on an 11th grade math test. PIPET was a standout sophomore in high school, getting an award in world history -- scoring 3,567 out of a possible 3,600 points. (Wow!) Finally, Peaches in Pittsburgh says "no trophies," but three wonderful children are her prize. TOMORROW: Look, up in the sky! GBA