Another way you can tell the recession has ended (in addition to hearing it from the chairman of the Federal Reserve, of course): When you start seeing articles with headlines like "How to Buy Your Own Private Jet." Too soon for this sort of thing? Maybe, but prices are down 25 to 50 percent, according to Barron's, "so planes are (relatively) cheap!" Emphasis on "relatively." Naturally. [BusinessInsider, photo]

I couldn't get into the big Marc Jacobs party at Hiro Ballroom last night. I didn't get to see Lady Ga Ga play a white piano, nor did I witness her violate a completely-shaved centaur backstage with a strap-on.

The New York Times just sent out an internal memo announcing that Jonathan Landman—currently the deputy managing editor and head of the paper's digital operations—will succeed Sam Sifton as the paper's culture editor. Full memo below.

Golden-hued flack Lizzie Grubman made a professional comeback after running people over with her car. ShamWow guy Vince Shlomi was arrested for beating a cannibal hooker. Now he's hired Lizzie Grubman to engineer his comeback. Perfect. Allow us to assist.

• July 1, 2011. This will be the date when the world sees Peter Berg's Battleship film, inspired by the Hasbro plastic peg board game. [Variety]

After 19 weeks and 74 witnesses for prosecution, it looks like the Brooke Astor trial may be near its end. The defense began its closing arguments yesterday, and they continue today. The approach that Frederick P. Hafetz, Anthony Marshall's lawyer, is taking as he wraps up his case: Exploit the idea that jurors were needlessly forced to endure the painfully long trial. Instructing jurors to ignore the "diversionary evidence" and "keep their eye on the ball," Hafetz offered up a very simple approach for jurors to take: "You could say, 'Case closed, what were we doing here for all these weeks?'" [NYT, NYP]

Bush speechwriters keep writing books, as if in an attempt to convince us that despite their former job, they are indeed able to read and write above a fourth-grade level. The latest: Matt Latimer says Bush didn't like Palin!

Kanye West wasn't the only person who squirmed thanks to the primetime premiere of The Jay Leno Show. 17.7 million people tuned in for the unfunniest hour since on network TV since Bush's last State of the Union.

Twenty-five percent! One fourth of the whole pie! This scary number's being kicked around everywhere as the worst(?) case scenario for the looming Conde Nast budget cuts. Every perk is being trimmed—even the ones for little old ladies.

New York City's primary election is today! As in, right now! And for most offices in this town, this is the de facto general election. Polls close at 9pm, so you even have time to hit happy hour beforehand.

[Anna Wintour is too hip for the swag bag the Marc Jacobs show at The Armory last night. Image via Getty]

Kelly Ripa getting a hot dog with son Joaquin ... Karolina Kurkova walking in Tribeca with fiance Archie Drury ... Agyness Deyn riding her bike to Bar Pitti ... Bar Refaeli walking near Bryant Park ... Kate Gosselin arriving at her hotel ... Shia LaBeouf riding a motorcycle while filming scenes for Wall Street 2 on Park Avenue ... Kim Kardashian walking with Jonathan Cheban in Midtown ... Jude Law talking on his cell phone outside, and later hanging out with friends in the West Village ... Megan Fox getting out of an SUV in front of Rockefeller Plaza ... Kim Cattrall walking on the Sex and the City 2 set ... Hugh Jackman unloading an SUV ... Rosie Perez waving to the crowd at the US Open ... Mary-Kate Olsen walking in Tribeca ... and Leighton Meester walking in the meatpacking district with her stylist Logan Horne.

The New Haven Register is reporting that a technician in the Yale lab where murdered student Annie Le worked has emerged as a top suspect, and MSNBC is reporting that an arrest could come as early as this morning.

"While daily bathroom showers provide invigorating relief and a good cleansing for millions of Americans, they also can deliver a face full of potentially pathogenic bacteria..." [Science Daily]

The innocent civilians of the Hawaiian islands are being stalked by a bloodthirsty baby seal, which circles a lagoon plotting how to kill humans twice: First, with cuteness; then, with drowning. Cutie patootie, or aquatic psychotic?

Rubbers, jimmy hats, scumbag—there are a million names for condoms, but this stud doesn't like any of them. This reality star wishes he could use one, and we all need some protection from a toxic starlet.

There's lot of financial news to be cheerful about today. According to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, the worst recession since the Great Depression is "probably over" at this point, which is certainly nice to hear even if Bernanke did say that it would be some time before the economy really turned around and new jobs were created. But that's not all!

Ululate your huzzahs, counterimperialist warriors: Shoe-hurling Iraqi journalist Muntader al-Zaidi is free from prison. Where he was tortured. So, Muntader, tell us, are you going to Disney World or what?

• Corrugated cardboard magnate Dennis Mehiel has chopped $5.4 million off the price of his Carhart Mansion duplex (left). The 10,350-square-foot spread, which had been listed for $34.9 million, can now be yours for a much more modest $29.5 million. [NYO, BHS]
• Michael Steinberg, a portfolio manager at Sigma Capital, a hedge fund affiliated with Steve Cohen's SAC Capital, has picked up a new apartment. Steinberg and his wife Elizabeth paid $8 million for a penthouse at 885 Park Avenue. [Cityfile]
• Clara Markowicz, co-founder of Original Media LLC and a co-producer of The Rachel Zoe Project, has paid $3.55 million for a three-bedroom, ninth-floor apartment at 21 Astor Place, the building where real estate scion Jared Kushner recently picked up an apartment, too. [Cityfile]