Vivek Kundra, the White House's chief information officer, has been placed on leave after Yusuf Acar, a technology manager in the D.C. government who previously worked for Kundra, was arrested on bribery charges.

You might think that American Apparel would thrive in the recession, with their affordable clothes and dirtbag-embracing ads. But you'd be wrong, since an investor just rescued them from defaulting on a loan.

Conservative wunderkind Jonathan Krohn was interviewed by CBS's Bob Schieffer today, in case you want to feel sad.

It's probably safe to assume that Amy Odell, the editor of New York magazine's fashion blog, The Cut, won't be on the guest list for Lauren Santo Domingo's Christmas party this year. Late yesterday, Odell posted a scathing critique of the socialite, Vogue contributing editor, and wife of Colombian heir Andres Santo Domingo. Why? It seems Santo Domingo couldn't get her hands on a pair of black $1,800 Hussein Chalayan boots that have been all the rage recently. So she did what any other dedicated fashionista would do: She took a pair of similar boots in brown and customized them to look just like the Chalayan ones. Vogue posted Santo Domingo's tale of "fashion dedication" online; Odell responded by suggesting Santo Domingo wasn't "important enough" to get her hands on the genuine article, and said her effort to recreate them was something that "no one with a real job would ever have the time, money, or energy to even think about doing." Totally true! The problem is that not long after, New York removed any trace of the story from its website. Did Vogue put pressure on New York to remove the offending piece? Did Anna bitch Adam out? Hard to say! An email to Odell asking for an explanation went unanswered. But we saved a cached version for you, which you can read here.

After a pretty disappointing opening weekend, the cult comic movie — which was hyped as the next Big Cultural Thing — is struggling to avoid a second-weekend box office collapse. So they've begun to beg.

Yesterday we heard rumors that Viacom has introduced a new system for screwing its vendors out of getting paid on time. Today, more insight into the Kafka-esque world of "InvoiceWorks," from a real vendor!

"What's on your mind?" It sounds like something a therapist might ask you on the couch. But it's become the new question Mark Zuckerberg is asking the world, as his latest Facebook design rolls out.

The moment Aretha Franklin stepped out at the Obamanaugural, people went nuts over the structured beret with large bow" she wore. Now Luke Song, Franklin's longtime Detroit milliner, is getting actual orders for actual hats!

Bernie Madoff would like to return home to his Upper East Side penthouse. The Metropolitan Correctional Center? It's not such a fun place to be, apparently! Madoff's lawyer, Ira Sorkin, filed an appeal today and is now asking that Madoff be permitted to return to house arrest at his duplex on East 64th Street. An appeals court will likely deliver a decision later today. In the meantime, though, you're welcome to refer to him as federal inmate No. 61727-054. [NYDN]

Ladies and gentlemen, your selection for pancake artist-to-the-stars Dan Lacey's next painting is "Rush Limbaugh with a chained Princess Leia (Sarah Palin) and Michael Steele as C3P0." He's already started it.

There's a new iTunes feature that lets you control someone else's iTunes library from your iPhone, while at a party or a hip, downtown blogging headquarters in Nolita. Is this a good idea? Only maybe.

Conventional wisdom says that smaller local papers are safer than bigger papers, because they have less competition. Then again, an amazing number of people do not give a fuck about their local papers.

So the other day RNC chairman Michael Steele accidentally told GQ that he supports a woman's right to choose. The wingnuts are outraged! He's screwed, right? Not really!

• Jon Stewart's showdown with Jim Cramer is getting mixed reviews, mainly because both deviated from their typical personas: the normally brash Cramer was a wimp and Stewart wasn't funny. It "felt like a Senate subcommittee hearing," writes Alessandra Stanley. [NYT, Salon, Atlantic, ABC]
• TMZ and Extra have extended their coverage to the financial services industry! Isn't it ironic that TMZ has exposed more corporate misbehavior over the past few months than CNBC has? Because it sort of has. [NYT]
• Google sales chief Tim Armstrong is the new chairman and CEO of AOL. [WSJ]
• Jim Kelly is stepping down as managing editor of Time Inc. [NYP]
• Fox has dumped Peter Liguori in favor of Fox Searchlight's Peter Rice. [THR]
• More changes are ahead at the Peter Brant-owned Interview. [WWD]
• Mel Karmazin says Sirius's poor performance last quarter was due to "doom and gloom" rumors suggesting the company would go bankrupt. [WSJ]
• Jimmy Fallon finished his first week with solid ratings, beating out the numbers that Conan O'Brien typically generated. Depressing, huh? [Variety]

Area zombie Padma Lakshmi was spotted berating a hostess at Schiller's last night. You'd think she'd be a more agreeable restaurant guest, considering she hosts Top Chef and all. Read about her loveless double date:

[Gwyneth Paltrow arriving at a hotel in foggy Londontowne; image via Splash]

Washington has three sad "social" magazines: Washington Life, Modern Luxury's DC, and Jason Binn's Capitol File. We can't believe all three are still publishing. And Obama had them all over for tea!

The swimming fella Michael Phelps was on the Today show this morning talking about his BONG SCANDAL, now that everyone has stopped caring. He's not saying what he did but he won't do it again*.

It isn't easy to be a gold digger in a deep recession. You can't just expect to hit a club and find bankers standing on banquettes with a bottle of Cristal in one hand and a handful of $100 bills in the other. And you can't just stand outside the Lamborghini dealership on Long Island and expect to meet that special someone. Conspicuous consumption is out and even the men who could afford a Lambo if they wanted one aren't buying them. Fear not! You just need to make a few small adjustments and boost your chances of meeting an absurdly wealthy man willing to shower you with gifts for years and years—or at least until someone younger, blonder, and cuter comes along. After the jump, a few suggestions!

A cable nymph moves to the big screen, every movie ever is remade by the same guy, Dawson Leery rages against a storm like a be-bouffanted King Lear, and executive wife swapping.