Supporters of George W. Bush's torture policies flacked so hard in recent days, it was impressive to see the Daily Show sifting through the avalanche of spin and plucking the most demented examples.

Six months ago, someone made a fake Sarah Silverman Twitter account. But this seems genuinely to be the comedian's work, what with all the facetious jewish jokes and invented profanities. (Click for highlights.)

If the cliché about secret serial criminals is that they seemed so normal, and no one saw their attacks coming, then Philip Markoff could be the poster child for the stereotype.

They're not taking it so well.

Everyone else is cutting circulation, but Food Network Magazine expects to ride the whole "I can't afford restaurants but would like to still eat" meme to 1.1 million copies, triple the current level.

• Mayor Bloomberg has pronounced it "Sparkle Week" in NYC as part of an effort to give a boost to the jewelry industry. They sure could use the help: Retailers in the Diamond District report that sales have dropped by more than 50 percent over the past year. [NYM, Crain's]
• Jil Sander's new Madison Avenue store has opened its doors. [Racked]
• Lauren Hutton was injured while surfing a couple of weeks ago, but she's still hoping to make it to the Costume Institute ball. [NYM]
• Is Chloe Sevigny single-handedly trying to bring back the sandals-and-socks look, or was the combo of sun and booze at Coachella to blame? [Frisky, JJ]

A University of Wisconsin researcher posted a 23-character message to Twitter using his brain — instead of the random muscle spams that have been customary on the microblogging service until now. Breakthrough!

You know the trend in recession chic has gone a little too far when one of the worst hotels imaginable reports that it has a waiting list. The first-ever "zero-star hotel," which doubles as both an actual hotel and art installation and is scheduled to open in Switzerland in June, is situated in an air raid shelter and features dormitory-style rooms, shared bathrooms, limited hot water, no heat, and no windows. But it already has a 1,000-person waiting list. It's also where AIG and Bank of America should probably plan to hold their next training seminar, but we have a feeling that isn't going to happen. [HotelChatter]

This weekend, a bunch of lame kids saw a bunch of lame bands (and a couple good ones) out in the desert. We thought we'd try to figure out what the deal is with a little trip through Flickr.

The Pulitzer Prizes were announced today, and the AP was on hand at various newsrooms to capture the celebration. Even though winning one doesn't matter, we've put together a small gallery of the best photos.

One of the two Pulitzer Prize winners for local reporting was laid off last year.

Now the world really is flat. Flat broke.

The father of nine-year-old Slumdog Millionaire star Rubina Ali has been arrested for allegedly trying to sell her to an undercover reporter—but he says he's innocent, and it's all a setup. What's going on?

The St. Louis newspaper runs a picture of a black man kissing his white girlfriend; rednecks write racist comments; we mock those comments. Now, the almost-as-bad backlash: the "I'm the least racist!" comment contest:

Whoooo 4/20! The New York Times got high and celebrated early with a story on 4/19 about how all these hippies think the return of weed movies means anything for the legalization debate.

• A roundup of what's opening this week and next month, too. [Eater, Eater]
• Terrance Brennan's Bar Artisanal and Steve Hanson's 675 Bar will probably turn into "the places to be during the Tribeca Film Festival," so you know. [GS]
• City Councilman Eric Gioia is proposing that fast food restaurants be prohibited from opening within a tenth of a mile of public schools. [NYT]
• A roundup of places to take your mom for Mother's Day. [Zagat]
• How do you know it's spring? The palm trees are in place at 230 Fifth. [NYT]
• Mi Cocina in the West Village has been seized and is now for rent. [Eater]
• Bruni takes a trip to Astoria and leaves Taverna Kyclade a happy man. [NYT]
• NYC has the best food in America, according to an opinion piece in Saturday's Wall Street Journal. But of course you already knew that, didn't you? [WSJ]

Now that the fabulous glory of the 2009 Pulitzers—the first ever to include online reporting!— has come and gone, let us reflect on their meaning. Hint: the Pulitzers are just like the newspaper industry!

Al-Qaeda's Ayman al-Zawahri just can't make everyone hate Barack Obama as much as they hated Bush. Maybe they should stop trying to recruit poor Pakistanis and focus instead on liberal economists?

New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman didn't have a column in yesterday's paper. Was it because the company that his wife's fortune is invested in went bankrupt last week, and he's too sad to type?

["Twilight" star Kristen Stewart, center, amicably takes a photo with a fan at a bar in Vancouver, where band Sage Dill was performing; image via Splash]