LOS ANGELES — Meryl Streep of the Roman Catholic drama "Doubt" and Sean Penn of the Harvey Milk film biography "Milk" won lead-acting honors yesterday at the Screen Actors Guild Awards.

The prize for overall cast went to the rags-to-riches saga "Slumdog Millionaire," while Heath Ledger of the Batman blockbuster "The Dark Knight" and Kate Winslet of the Holocaust-themed drama "The Reader" took supporting honors.

Ledger's supporting-actor prize for his sociopathic reinvention of Batman bad guy the Joker put the late actor closer to becoming the second performer to win a posthumous Academy Award. The first was Peter Finch, the best-actor recipient for 1976's "Network."

"30 Rock" swept the TV comedy honors, with Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin taking the individual acting prizes and the show winning the ensemble cast award.

James Earl Jones was honored with the guild's lifetime-achievement award.

MCCARTNEY'S FREE TO WED GIRLFRIEND

NEW YORK — Paul McCartney is free to marry his girlfriend, Nancy Shevell, because New York courts have issued a final decree in her pending divorce, two British newspapers reported yesterday.

The Sunday Mirror and the Sunday Telegraph reported that McCartney had gotten the approval of his children. The Mirror reported that the divorce was finalized Dec. 9.

A search of New York state public records yesterday did not turn up a notice of the divorce. Requests for comment went unanswered yesterday.

Shevell, a board member of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, had been legally separated from Bruce Blakeman, a Port Authority commissioner and former presiding officer of the Nassau County Legislature.

'PUSH' SCORES BIG WIN AT SUNDANCE

"Push: Based on the novel by Sapphire" scored a rare triple victory at the Sundance Film Festival on Saturday night, winning the grand jury prize and the audience award for drama, as well as a special jury prize for acting.

"Push" tells the raw, nightmarish story of a 16-year-old pregnant girl who tries to escape from the domination of her terrifying mother (played by Mo'Nique, who won an acting prize) and make something of her life.

Taking the grand jury prize for documentary was Ondi Timoner's "We Live in Public," about a renegade artist who did just that, while the world documentary prize went to Kim Longinotto's "Rough Aunties," about a South African organization that works with sexually abused children.

'MALL COP' NO. 1 FOR SECOND WEEK

LOS ANGELES — "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" wasn't ready to turn over his box-office badge this weekend as the film about a bumbling shopping center security guard earned $21.5 million to nab No. 1 for a second week in a row.

The comedy, starring Kevin James as the guard who tries to protect the mall where he works from criminals, has now grossed $64.8 million in its two weeks of release and appears on its way to surpass $100 million.

The third installment of the "Underworld" series fared well in its opening weekend. "Underworld: Rise of the Lycans," a prequel that looks at the roots of a feud between vampires and werewolves, made $20.7 million.

The fantasy adventure "Inkheart" was unable to cast a spell over moviegoers, earning only $7.7 million in its debut.