A member of Barack Obama's security detail has contracted a suspected case of the swine flu—this outbreak has Barack "The Typhoid President" Obama's fingerprints all over it.
Botox won't be the only option on the menu the next time you head off to see your cosmetic surgeon or dermatologist. A drug called Dysport just won approval from the Food and Drug Administration. Just like Botox, Dysport uses pure poison (botulinum toxin) to relax your muscles and smooth out the wrinkles you'd really rather not have for your upcoming class reunion. But it's more expensive than Botox—and research suggests it's less effective and riskier compared to the competition—so feel free to ignore everything you just read and stick to the lethal poison you already know and love. [Bloomberg]
It's a good thing hedge fund manager Dan Loeb sold off his carriage house a couple of months ago and is now renting out his jet on an hourly basis. Despite some peppiness on his part, these are clearly tough times for the notoriously temperamental hedge funder. According to his most recent letter to investors, Loeb's firm, Third Point, is currently managing just $1.8 billion, down from more than $5 billion a year ago. And he's been forced to cut staff, too, although the people he kicked to the curb were accountants, techies, and admins, so it's not like it's a big deal or anything. Of course, if he gets really desperate, there are other ways to cut the fat. He could vow to never give fameseeker Julia Allison another free trip on his plane, starters. See? Scaling back in a recession isn't that hard, after all. [Zero Hedge]
The extraterrestrials at Hulu have staged another coup in their bid to take over television. Disney has struck up a deal with the online video site, meaning we get ABC shows now.
• The New York Times Co. has reached a "tentative agreement" with its union to impose a 5 percent pay cut on employees through the end of the year. [NYP]
• Disney's ABC is joining Fox and NBC and taking a stake in Hulu. [AdAge]
• As expected, Time Warner said it may spin off AOL. But it may end up selling it, too. Either way, Gerald Levin, Dick Parsons and Steve Case will still be responsible for the worst merger in American corporate history. [NYT]
• Viacom reported that first quarter profit dropped 34 percent amid falling revenue at both its film and TV networks businesses. [AP]
• Related: Viacom boss Sumner Redstone is as senile as ever. At the Milken conference in Beverly Hills, he said he wouldn't comment on his competitors before lashing out at Ted Turner, Rupert Murdoch, and Jay Leno. [THR]
Bonnie Fuller, the former Star and Us Weekly editor who now spends her days blogging for the Huffington Post, has always had a rep for being a horrible boss. Writers and editors who had the misfortune to work with her never lasted long; the stories recounted by the people who worked for her over the years are legion. So kudos to Samantha Ettus, the host of ObsessedTV, for broaching the subject in a chat with the editrix a couple of weeks ago.
Those who toil in the fashion industry may not shape our lives to quite the same extent as some of the luminaries who make it on to Time's "Most Influential" list, like Oprah Winfrey, or Zac Ephron, or the evil doers who invented Twitter. But the fact that the list includes just one fashion world figure is still a bit of a surprise. So who is it? Anna Wintour? Tom Ford? Gisele, Naomi, or Kate perhaps? Nope. The people at Time have named Stella McCartney as one of the world's most influential people. But don't worry, they asked Gwyneth Paltrow to account for their controversial decision. Enlighten us, Gwynnie!
That's how you do Idol! I mean, that's how you do it. Manufacture "surprises" so people will keep watching a full hour of television that should only take five minutes. Did your jaw drop?
Were you aware that if you bend your Metrocard just the right way, you can use it twice but you'll only be charged for one ride? This might strike you as rather useful information what with the economy the way it is and fares about to go up. But you probably should just shell out the $2 and not bother taking any chances. A man who tampered with his Metrocard, and who was later convicted of felony forgery, learned today that he'll be spending the next two years in prison. [NYP]
