The deadline for Annie Leibovitz to repay her $24 million loan from Art Capital Group passed last night at 11:59 p.m. She didn't (her spokesman says she's trying to "work things out"), but Art Capital is mum. What's going on?

Three or four men hijacked a Mexican airliner carrying 104 passengers. The plane is sitting on a runway at the Mexico City airport. A "square box" has been found onboard, and all passengers have reportedly exited the plane.

In the end, Steve Jobs didn't have much to announce in San Francisco today — a new iPod Nano with a videocamera, a faster iPod Touch. But the Apple CEO knew he needed to show his face, and he did.

• A long list of media luminaries and politicians, including President Obama and former president Clinton, turned out for this afternoon for a memorial service at Avery Fisher Hall in honor of Walter Cronkite. [WP, NYT, LAT]
• Stephen Farrell, a New York Times reporter taken hostage by militants in Afghanistan, was freed early this morning following a raid by British commandos; his Afghan interpreter, however, was killed. [NYT, E&P]
• The McKinsey consultants who have been reviewing operations at Condé Nast are finishing up their work and will be submitting their findings shortly. So what changes are in store for the magazine conglomerate? No one knows for sure, but further budget cuts and a closure or two are entirely likely. [NYO]
• McGraw-Hill, the parent company of BusinessWeek, reports that 93 different buyers have expressed an interest in acquiring the struggling magazine. [BN]

Chris Wilson loves Fashion Week parties like unicorns love rainbows. But ten consecutive days of late-night bacchanalia can damage both body and soul. Last night he hit Paper's 25th Anniversary blowout to find out how to make it out alive.

The little white letters in this photo are advertising the 28th Biennale of Graphic Art, in Slovenia. So uh, what's that shape in the background, then? NSFW, is what it is, so do not click through to find out.

The rescue of New York Times reporter Stephen Farrell in Afghanistan comes on the heels of Times reporter David Rohde's similar (though much longer) ordeal. It's at least the fifth kidnapping or arrest of a Timesman in as many years.

Scientists around the world are in stunned today over the breakthrough in human performance technology made by actress/explorer Jennifer Aniston. Clips released from her new film Love Happens reveals Aniston was able to complete an entire film while comatose.

A public memorial for longtime CBS News anchor Walter Cronkite was held earlier today at Lincoln Center. Here, a selection of the tributes, from two presidents and the remaining giants of TV news.

William Fitzsimmons, Harvard's dean of admissions, is taking questions on the New York Times' website. So far, 788 queries have been submitted. What do these questions tell us about American higher education? That it can make you crazy, times ten.

The big news in the trades was about the trades today. Variety's legendary gala fixture, columnist Army Archerd died yesterday at age 87. The Defamer Trade Roundup lowers its flag to half mast in tribute.

Young women whose marriage fantasies are less Kay Jewelers rings and Jessica McClintock gowns and more crown jewels and 700-year-old castles will eagerly be taking note of the fact that Prince Harry turns 25 next week, which means he comes into the millions from the estate of his late mother, Princess Diana. And since our own answer to Diana, Tinsley Mortimer, has managed to bag herself a prince, why not follow her example and set your sights on a husband in line to a throne? After the jump, our guide to the world's most appealing 20-something princes.

Keep in mind that if attend the US Open and you run out onto the court to kiss your favorite player and express your undying love, you will end up in handcuffs and find yourself charged with criminal trespass and "interfering with a professional sporting event." Not that Rafael Nadal minded much when a fan did just that in Flushing Meadows last night. "For me it wasn't a problem," he told a reporter after the incident went down. "The guy was really nice... He was a great fan. He said, 'I love you,' and he kiss me." [NYT, NYP]

There is nothing Hollywood likes better than a theme party and last night TV's big wigs assembled the themeiest of launches, going back to the land of their primal fears, high school for the Glee premiere.

In your world-beating Wednesday media column: Vibe's former editor moves up(?) in the world, people amazingly still want to buy the Sun-Times and BusinessWeek, the college newspaper marches on towards death, and media elites marry.

"Height brings happiness, according to a study that also suggested tall people are more likely to have higher levels of income and education than smaller peers. The study published in the journal Economics and Human Biology showed that tall people reported more enjoyment of life and less pain and sadness." [Bloomberg]

In any given month, half of Twitter's users never log on. Oy. To fix that, the microblogging service hand-picked some streams to push on new users, hoping quality content would prove addictive. How do you think that worked out?

Who is Sarah Palin's new ghostwriter? After obviously composing her own Facebook blog posts and Tweets (well, her intellectual doppelganger Meg Stapleton might've helped) for months, recent Palin missives have been so... professional.

We're not ones to hype Matt Drudge's influence, but he is what he is, and New York Times editor Bill Keller and the Huffington Post's Tom Edsall's claims to the Observer that they don't read Drudge are transparent lies.

A series reboot has the detriment of trying to recreate greatness while making something entirely original. Last night, the first episode of Melrose Place did neither. Did no one learn anything the first time around?