• Barack Obama's appearance on David Letterman's show last night helped the Late Night host score his second-highest ratings ever. [NYT, WP]
• Dan Rather scored a couple of victories in his suit against CBS: A motion by the network to dismiss the case was denied by a judge; and Rather's lawyers will be permitted to question Viacom chairman Sumner Redstone. [Reuters]
• Yesterday, activists handing out fake copies of the Post outside its offices were detained by cops. Today, the paper says it was "flattered" by it. [NYP]
• Book deals: Jenny Sanford, the estranged wife of South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, is writing "inspirational memoir" for Random House. And Andrew Young, an aide to former Senator John Edwards, has landed a deal with St. Martin's Press' Thomas Dunne Books to publish his tell-all memoir.
• In an effort to keep more viewers tuned in, ABC plans to reduce—yes, reduce—the number of commercials in the premieres of its new shows. [LAT]
• Fox won the opening night of the fall season, a first for the network. [THR]

• Hedge fund manager Phil Falcone has sold off part of his stake in the New York Times Co. His Harbinger Capital Partners has reduced its stake in the newspaper publisher from 20 percent to about 16 percent. [WSJ]
• Dow Jones will shutter The Far Eastern Economic Review in December. [BN]
• Two Agence France-Presse photographers have sued Gisele Bundchen and her husband Tom Brady for getting shot at their wedding in Costa Rica. [AP]
• More signs of trouble have surfaced at the already troubled Maxim. [NYP]
• Condé Nast is hoping to bring the pages of Bon Appétit "to life" over the next few weeks with a pop-up restaurant in Midtown. Meanwhile, Bon Appétit staffers are just hoping the magazine is alive in a few weeks. [NYO]