Citigroup has solved its Andrew Hall problem. The man in charge of the bank's commodities trading unit, Philbro—and the man who'd created a major headache in recent weeks since he'd been guaranteed a bonus of $100 million while Citigroup still owes the federal government $45 billion—will have a new parent by the end of the year. Citi has announced it's selling the unit to the oil company Occidental Petroleum. One problem down, only a few thousand more to go! [Reuters]

• Richard Gere and wife Carey Lowell have closed on the sale of their home in Water Mill. The 5,500-square-foot residence set on 1.2 acres sold to Susan Boland and Kelly Granat for $5.9 million, which is about a third less than its original asking price of $8.8 million. [WSJ]
• Vicki Rosen-Solomon, the widow of private equity exec Adam Solomon, is selling her co-op at 956 Fifth. The three-bedroom apartment, which was purchased in 2002, is listed for $14.575 million. [Cityfile, Stribling]
• Suzanne Sheik, the jewelry designer and mother of Duncan Sheik, is selling her five-story UES townhouse. The 7,000-square-foot manse, which Sheik spent to years renovating, is on the market with Stribling's Barbara Evans-Butler for $17.5 million, or double what she paid for the home in 2007. [WSJ]
• Photographer Jade Albert has paid $2.595 million for a three-bedroom apartment at the Olcott at 27 West 72nd Street. [Cityfile]

Sean Lennon turns 34 today. Sharon Osbourne is turning 57. Newly retired pro golfer Annika Sörenstam is 39. Former Senator Trent Lott is turning 68. Director Guillermo del Toro turns 45. Tony Shalhoub is 56. Jackson Browne is 61. John O'Hurley of Seinfeld and Dancing with the Stars is 55. Actor Brandon Routh is turning 30. C-SPAN founder Brian Lamb is 68. Singer-songwriter P.J. Harvey is 40. And Randy Spelling—son of Aaron and Candy and brother of Tori—turns 31 today. A few weekend birthdays are below.

• Dina Lohan, America's No. 1 mom and the face of a new line of shoes, is defending Lindsay against her dad's accusation that the actress is addicted to drugs and desperately needs an intervention. ("I have no idea what he is talking about," Dina says.) She also stood up for LiLo's fashion design skills, even after her debut as Emanuel Ungaro's "artistic adviser" was savaged by the press earlier this week: "The critics can say whatever they want, but Lindsay is a genius," she said. [P6, NYDN, Radar]
• Mischa Barton reportedly "had a drink in hand all night" on the LES on Wednesday, where she was seen buying shots for Young Veins' frontman Ryan Ross. Where's Michael Lohan when you need him? [NYDN]
• Meanwhile, model Agyness Deyn is reportedly laying off the booze in solidarity with her boyfriend, Albert Hammond Jr., who is in rehab. [P6]

It only takes asking for something to win the Nobel Peace Prize, which this year goes to President Obama for his efforts to scale back to world's nuclear arsenal and sooth the Middle East. His Grammy's reportedly very jealous.

Kelly Bensimon has odor issues. Marge Simpson will have a 3-page Playboy spread. Isaiah Washington's still having a hard time finding work. And Nicolas Cage has a lot of money the government wants. Enjoy your Friday morning gossip roundup!

Barney Frank has long been described as the Democrat's most witty lawmaker, but that may soon change, because Alan Grayson's on an amusingly incendiary roll. He learns quick, yes, but could it bite him in the ass?

Silly Barnes & Noble plans to take on Amazon's Kindle by releasing its own e-reader.

One of Roman Polanski's supporters, French cultural minister Frédéric Mitterrand, admitted in 2005 to paying for sex with youthful "boys." But now people are outraged, so he's making a spectacular attempt to change his story. It's not terribly convincing.

In a major upset, the Nobel Committee announced this morning that it's awarded this year's peace prize to President Obama for "his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples." [AP, Reuters, NYT]

Those young Brits love their cocaine. Just love it! In fact, the amount of 18-24 year olds who are hooked on the stuff has doubled in four years. Now the government's unleashing a wave of graphic, campy PSAs.

Brace yourself, internet: Miley Cyrus deleted her Twitter account. How ever will we go on?!

There's something wrong with American college students these days. First there was poor Annie Le's murder at Yale. Now an unidentified man has been arrested for allegedly stabbing a female student at a UCLA chemistry lab. What the fuck's happening?

Arnold Schwarzenegger must have some balls, because the Republican "governator" made an impromptu appearance at a San Francisco Democratic Club dinner. The crowd was certainly not feeling it, and heckled him with such phrases as "Kiss my faggot ass."

As we learned last week, Tim Gunn's conundrum is the textiles. He is not seduced by them. And I must say I agree: As a general rule, I am also unseduced by conundrum-causing textiles. How about you?

Tracy Morgan joined Twitter; Tracy Morgan said hello to Twitter; Tracy Morgan said funny things on Twitter. Tracy Morgan took the Twittererati behind the Middle School and got them pregnant.

[Onlookers gawk at Jeff Koons' giant inflatable rabbit installed in London's Covent Garden to celebrate the opening of a new pop art exhibit at the Tate Modern. Image via Getty]

commenting on how New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine has played the fat card in his election campaign against the Republican challenger, to the New York Times.

One of the amazing things about this screaming fight on a San Francisco Muni bus is the way the citizen cameraman deftly captures every moment. At one point he's even shooting over his shoulder. Cell phone cameras never sleep, straphangers.

We first told you Levi Johnston is going to pose for Playgirl, we just don't know how much he'll show. So we're unveiling our Levi's Johnston Watch to follow this important matter very closely. Today's reading: nothing more than undies.