NBC News' Brian Williams got full access to the White House and shot 150 hours of tape for his special on Barack Obama. He spent 45 seconds of them shooting a promo for the Tonight Show. And Obama played along.

Newspapers have been having problems, and whatnot. Why have they not asked Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter's advice sooner? Despite this error, Carter has deigned to stop having amazing sex for a few minutes to tell you how to save newspapers:

[President Obama received the red carpet treatment at the King Khaled airport earlier today after arriving in Saudi Arabia; Photo via Getty]

The new issue of Vanity Fair features a piece on Bernie Madoff's two sons, Andrew and Mark, how much they knew about their dad's vast Ponzi scheme, and what life is like for members of the Madoff family these days. Among the revelations: Neither son has spoken to their father since he was arrested in December, nor have they had any contact with their mother; Andrew's estranged wife uses her maiden name when ordering groceries from FreshDirect; and the parents of classmates of Andrew's daughters at Dalton—"apparently fearful of assassins crouching in vestibules"—aren't too keen on letting their children attend parties at the Madoff home. So in case you were wondering, it still does really suck to be related to the biggest scam artist that has ever lived. [Vanity Fair, Page Six]

Officially out of ideas, Hollywood continues to mine the recent past for any bit of something worth reviving. Movies that you and I both loved once. Plays that the English loved many centuries ago.

The outlook wasn't brilliant for Young Sulzberger that day; His stories had been boring, tho' his wit's on full display; But then an editor cried out, "AG! Come earn your pay!"; "Your presence is required at the baseball game—hey hey!"

Harvey Weinstein and Georgina Chapman got married back in 2007. But the couple only went on a honeymoon very recently. After badgering him for more than two years, Georgina says Harvey finally gave in and the two jetted off to Asia for a 10-day vacation. It didn't turn out to be much of a vacation, unfortunately:

Sure, you could undermine that colleague you despise by spreading lies about them around the company. If you're the more direct type, though, you can now buy a pen that doubles as "tactical defense implement." It was originally designed for "Marines hunting terrorists in burning deserts," reports the company. But there's no reason why it wouldn't work just as well at Condé Nast or Goldman Sachs! [Tuffwriter via BoingBoing]

Hot TV reporter-screwing L.A. mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is screwing another TV reporter! In the most literal sense. But not in the figurative sense, because her news station is just fine with the mayor-screwing thing! L.A.'s ridiculous in all ways:

[Heidi and Spencer Pratt (they're married!) arriving back at LAX after crapping out of "I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Outta Here!"]

Today we have a alpha male actor who wears makeup, a television star who's less than discreet about his infidelities, and an actress's live in boyfriend who's much the same.

As of this morning there are 171 news articles about the totally harmless rat snake—a popular type of pet—that was found in a Bronx apartment. It did not eat anyone, yet.

• Edgar Bronfman Jr. and wife Clarissa are putting down roots in London. The couple has picked up a "posh house" in Kensington and plan to relocate with their four kids by the end of the summer, although the Warner Music chairman/billionaire heir says he plans to divide his time between London and NYC. [NYP]
• Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner has taken $60,000 off the price of his Westchester home. The five-bedroom Tudor in Larchmont, which went on the market for $1.635 in March, has been reduced to $1.575 million. He's since rented out the house for $7,500 a month so he can "wait until the real estate market rebounds a bit." [Luxist, HL]
• Russian communications mogul Timur Artemiev, who co-founded the country's largest mobile phone retailer, has picked up a New York pied-à-terre. Artemiev paid $1.39 million for a two-bedroom condo at the Chelsea Stratus on West 24th Street. [Cityfile]

Good news from AIG headquarters: The scandal-ridden insurance company is close to ironing out a deal to sell its two buildings downtown, 70 Pine and 72 Wall Street. The buyer, which is expected to pay around $100 million for the property, is an overseas company with plans to turn the towers into a residential/retail development. [NYP]

CNN's Anderson Cooper turns 42 today. Tennis star Rafael Nadal is turning 23. Humorist/Apple pitchman John Hodgman is 38. Stanford law professor and Internet pioneer Lawrence Lessig is 48. Raul Castro, the president of Cuba, is turning 78. Actor Tony Curtis is turning 84. John Barlow, the Broadway publicist and partner of producer Scott Rudin, is 41. High Line advocate Josh David turns 46. Phish bassist Mike Gordon is 44. Melissa Mathison, the ET screenwriter and ex-wife of Harrison Ford, is 59. And former game show host and Confessions of a Dangerous Mind author Chuck Barris turns 80 today.

Today in celebrity fluff: Amy Winehouse is a morning drinker, Eminem was robbed, Lindsay Lohan storms through London, Simon Cowell reaches out to help Susan Boyle, Lily Allen has a nip slip, and Paris Hilton may get married this summer.

• The romance between Kate Hudson and Alex Rodriguez is heating up. How does People know this? Well, A-Rod supposedly introduced Kate to some of his friends and Kate has been telling people she's a baseball fan, so it's pretty obvious, no? [People]
• Kimora Lee Simmons and Djimon Hounsou have come up with a name for their new baby: He's Kenzo Lee Hounsou, in honor of the Japanese designer by the same name. [P6]
• A woman is claiming she was attacked and left "crippled" by Sacha Baron Cohen (playing the role of Bruno) in 2007. [TMZ]
• Eminem had thousands of dollars worth of items stolen from his L.A. hotel room on Sunday night, including his diamond necklace and laptop. [NYDN]

An ad in the new Black Enterprise seeks "some Bournes to serve under Barack." [Copyranter]

If you were a little disturbed when you heard that America's largest automaker had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection earlier this week, you really need not have worried so much. General Motors didn't really "go out of business," the car company's new commercial explains. It was "about getting down to business." And don't pay any attention to all the negative press the past few months: "The only chapter we're focused on is the first chapter."

An Egyptian woman watches the sunset over Cairo, Egypt, where President Obama is set to deliver a major speech on Thursday. [Photo by David Silverman/Getty Images]