On the morning the FBI arrested Rod Blagojevich, he was supposed to be doing a live exclusive interview with Matt Lauer. But Today canceled so Lauer could flack the "news" of Jay Leno's new 10 p.m. show on NBC.

Jeffrey Epstein was released from a Florida prison last week for soliciting underage girls for sex, which means he is now free to pursue the "philanthropic endeavors" that his lawyer says he's been eager to get back to. What these good deeds will consist of isn't clear, but perhaps one item on the agenda will be focusing his attention on "exonerating the wrongfully convicted" and "reforming the criminal justice system to prevent future injustice"?

Michael M. Thomas — who left the New York Observer after 22 years with a declaration that owner Jared Kushner "stands pretty much squarely on the side of those whom I consider the bad guys" — reflects on the paper.

Lots of writers all over Hollywood get deals. There are remakes and reimaginings, adaptations and homages. And there is love.

Marketing whizzes for a movie called I Love You, Beth Cooper figured that a good idea to generate "buzz" would be to pay some valedictorian for a product placement in her high school graduation speech. They were wrong.

[Submit your own Gawker Stalker sightings to stalker@gawker.com] July 27 @ 1pm "Look at that idiot wearing his helmet on the back of his head," my friend said. Someone yelled "HOLY SHIT THAT'S 50 CENT!!" He smiled and waved.

Former Mayor Ed Koch returned home Sunday after spending six weeks in the hospital, where he had a heart valve replaced and his gallbladder removed. And while his medical troubles have left him weak and looking a bit gaunt, he says he can now eat whatever he wants (Peking duck, ice cream), and is planning to return to his various media-related gigs (Bloomberg Radio, NY1) shortly. But it's especially nice that his tendency to speak his mind was not affected by his recent illnesses. On the subject of those elected officials in New Jersey who were implicated in that big corruption scandal last week: "I hope that those who are found guilty are hung by the thumb." Welcome home, Mr. Mayor. [NYDN]

Yesterday the New York Mets fired their VP of player development for being a psycho—then tried to insinuate that a Daily News beat writer sabotaged the guy in order to steal his job. Today the reporter responds: No, liar.

Olivia Palermo sipping a drink in the Village ... Keri Russell pushing son River in a stroller in Brooklyn ... Michelle Trachtenberg shopping with a friend in SoHo ... Rihanna grabbing a bite at the Golden Krust Caribbean Bakery around Herald Square ... Diane Keaton shooting scenes for Morning Glory in Battery Park ... Hugh Jackman carrying son Oscar on his back in SoHo ... Katy Perry flipping off photographers in front of the Standard Hotel ... Blake Lively walking to the Gossip Girl set in Midtown ... Robert Pattinson hugging a fan at JFK ... Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon posing for pictures in Tribeca ... and Russell Brand walking in SoHo with an unidentified female.

In a lesser town, Emmanuel "Ojo" Ojofeitimi would have been just another dude whose wife got angry at him for cheating and poured a cauldron of boiling water over his genitals while he slept. In New York, we have tabloids!

[Katy Perry shows off a fake Josh Grobin tattoo after getting a real tattoo on her ankle in New York; image via INF]

This has been a rough year for the Plaza what with the high-priced apartments that haven't been selling, retail space that hasn't been renting, and the bitter lawsuits that have landed the iconic building in the public eye. Further proof that the Plaza just can't catch a break? A taxi exploded in front of the building yesterday, "sending flames shooting 10 feet into the air as people strolling through the jampacked block near Fifth Avenue and Central Park ducked for cover." [NYP, previously]

Today we have a British star who is having some problems with her down there business, an actor who wouldn't own up to babydaddydom, and a jerky jerky who did jerky things when dating someone who was, probably, a jerk.

The majority of New Yorkers still don't know who Bill Thompson is. (If you happen to be one of them, he's New York City's comptroller and Bloomberg's leading rival in the race for mayor this fall.) But the fact that most NYC residents don't know the first thing about Thompson doesn't appear to be hurting his poll numbers. In a hypothetical matchup between the two men, Bloomberg leads Thompson by 47 to 37 percent, according to Quinnipiac, although a month ago, Bloomberg was beating Thompson by 54 to 32 percent. [NYT/City Room]

• Developer Charles Yassky has put his townhouse back on the market—and he's looking for $2 million more than he was seeking last fall. Yassky purchased 122 East 78th Street in mid-2008 for $13.2 million. He put it back on the market with Paula Del Nunzio just two weeks later for $18.9 million, before dropping the price to $16.9 million in November and eventually taking it off the market altogether in April. The 36-foot-wide manse has returned to the market with broker Carrie Chiang for $18.9 million. [Cityfile, Corcoran]
• Roberta Campbell, the wife of former Intuit CEO William Campbell, has paid $17.5 million for an 11th-floor condo at 15 Central Park West. Campbell bought the apartment from Paula Lascano, who paid $14.2 million for the four-bedroom pad in March 2008. [Real Deal]

Amy Winehouse reached into Kate Moss' handbag and stole her cocaine, Kim Kardashian and Reggie Bush break up, Madonna's love faxes from the early 90s emerge, Tobey Maguire's mom and brother get a reality show and Mischa Barton goes home.

Model, DJ, and rock star spawn Alexandra Richards turns 23 today. Former New Jersey Senator Bill Bradley is turning 66. Famed television exec (and NBC Sports chairman) Dick Ebersol is 62. Richard Haass, the president of the Council on Foreign Relations, is 58. Alexis Arquette is turning 40. The rapper Soulja Boy is 19. Sally Struthers is turning 61. Garfield creator Jim Davis turns 64. Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez is 55. And Elizabeth Berkley, she of Saved by the Bell and Showgirls fame, celebrates her 37th birthday today.

• Remember when Bethenny Frankel announced a few weeks ago that she was engaged to "a real estate bigwig" named Jason Hoppy? According to one "insider," the engagement may be a big publicity stunt, and Hoppy may be a "medical sales rep/personal trainer," not some property-owning master of the universe. [Fox News]
• A treasure trove of Madonna memorabilia, collected by one of her long lost ex-boyfriends, is going up for auction. Yes, 17 minutes of "erotic phone messages" could soon be yours. [P6, NYDN]
• Kim Kardashian and Reggie Bush have broken up. Tragic! [People]
• It looks like Dr. Conrad Murray gave Michael Jackson a dose of the powerful anesthetic propofol right before his death and that was what killed him. And it looks like Murray could face manslaughter charges because of it. [TMZ, NYDN]
• Mischa Baron says she's feeling better and is ready to go back to work. [Us]

Wayne Coyne, lead singer of The Flaming Lips, surfs the crowd inside of a giant bubble at the Splendour in the Grass festival at Belongil Fields in Byron Bay, Australia on Sunday. [Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images]

So you think the American economy's bad? Well get a load of this: Things are so awful in Japan that many of that country's women are seeking employment as gentleman's club "hostesses," which is basically a prerequisite to prostitution.