The engagement gifts are rolling in for Observer publisher/real estate heir Jared Kushner and his newly-converted bride-to-be, Ivanka Trump. One of gifts the future Mrs. Kushner has received recently, per Urbanite: a "Swarovski crystal-studded mezuzah with leopard spots." If that's what you were thinking of getting her, too, please cross it off your list. [Urbanite]
Martha MacCallum may look like just another cutesy blonde anchor on Fox News. But it seems she has a darker side, too. A tipster tells us MacCallum threw quite the tantrum yesterday at a parking garage around the corner from the studios of Fox News when she turned up with her daughter in tow and her BMW wasn't waiting for her with the keys in the ignition. The outrage!
• Why did Janice Min leave Us? It was about money, reports WWD, which explains that given the economy, Jann Wenner wasn't prepared to offer her the $2 million a year she's been collecting. Min is denying it. [WWD, NYDN]
• Dan Rather’s $70 million lawsuit against CBS is back on track. [NYT, WSJ]
• McKinsey has been retained by Condé Nast to do the sort of "rethinking" and "realigning" that the consulting firm gets paid enormous sums to do. And while it isn't the first time McKinsey has been in the building—they were hired by Condé in 2001—this time employees are totally freaking out. [NYO]
• One title that is doing well: Food Network Magazine, apparently. [CNY]
• ESPN's Erin Andrews was secretly videotaped in the nude while staying at a hotel. Now an ESPN employee is said to have been behind it. [NYDN, AP]
Things may be all hunky-dory at Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase now that both firms announced hugely profitable second quarter profits. The same can't be said for Morgan Stanley, though. The bank posted a $1.26 billion loss for the second quarter today, but as is the case with so many things on Wall Street, you should not expect any of the execs at Morgan Stanley to feel the sting: The firm set aside 72 percent of the $5.9 billion it collected in during the second quarter for compensation and benefits. "It was a very good quarter to be a Morgan Stanley employee," said one analyst. "I'm not so sure it was so good to be a Morgan Stanley shareholder." [Bloomberg]
The chef in this picture could be mixing some flour. But he could also be using the bowl to store his supply of coke. According to Jason Sheehan, a former chef and food writer, the odds that your next restaurant meal "will be prepared by someone on drugs" is "very high," since "cooks and coke go together like salt and pepper." It's not something they can help, mind you. Chefs are hard-wired to be coke fiends, Sheehan says, since "being a cook or a chef means being in the pleasure business," and is "the sort of person who has a yen for experimentation and excess." So if you're looking for ways to curry favor at your favorite restaurant, bringing a key of coke with you might not be such a bad idea. [TDB]
Julian Tzolov, the former Credit Suisse broker accused of cheating investors out of $4 million and then fleeing the country, pleaded guilty today to securities fraud, conspiracy, wire fraud, and bail-jumping charges. Why did Tzolov slip out of his Fifth Avenue condo and escape to Spain—he was nabbed in lovely Marbella in possession of a fake passport and accompanied by a bodyguard—a move that cost his friends and family the $3 million they put up in bail money? "I panicked your honor. I got scared," Tzolov told a judge shortly before his attorney, Ben Brafman explained that his client "meant no disrespect" by running off and now "recognizes that this was a bad idea." [Bloomberg, NYP]
Did you subscribe to Portfolio just before Condé Nast announced plans to shut down the magazine? Perhaps you were burned when you plunked down a few bucks for a Men's Vogue subscription? Kenneth Rogers feels your pain. The Alabama resident subscribed to Vibe three months before the magazine announced it would discontinue publishing, an event that Rogers says "injured" him, since he's hasn't "received a refund for the remaining balance on his magazine subscription and is no longer receiving Vibe Magazine." Rogers isn't writing off the loss and moving on with his life, though. He's filed a class action lawsuit against Vibe and its owners for breach of contract, unjust enrichment, and for violating New York State's deceptive practices statute. Rogers is asking a judge to give him his $10 back as well as award punitive damages and pay for his legal fees, too. In the meantime, you can review Rogers' slightly ridiculous lawsuit for yourself below.
There's more bad news for real estate developer Kent Swig—and it has nothing to do the incident last fall when a former business partner clobbered him with an ice bucket, or the fact that his mentor and father-in-law is Harry Macklowe, possibly the unluckiest real estate mogul in town. The Real Deal reports that Citibank has filed a lawsuit against Swig for failing to repay a $5 million personal loan. [The Real Deal]
Guess who's been released from prison? That would be Jeffrey Epstein, the secretive money manager who pleaded guilty in 2007 to soliciting underage teen girls for sex. Epstein has spent the last year or so in a Palm Beach prison, although he hasn't had to spend every minute of the day confined to a cell. As part of a work-release program, Epstein was allowed to leave his cell during the day and work from an "office" in West Palm Beach, work that reportedly involved helping the government build a case against the Bear Stearns hedge fund that imploded last year and cost Epstein the $67 million he'd invested in the fund. His cooperation helped shave six months off his sentence and early this morning Epstein skipped out of jail, using a side entrance to avoid the reporters that had gathered outside to greet him. But while his lawyer told a reporter that Epstein is thrilled that "this part of his life is over," and he's "ready to move on to other things," it doesn't look like he's totally put his past behind him.
Jimmy Fallon and wife Nancy Juvonen walking downtown and holding hands ... Marla Maples and Tiffany Trump waiting for their luggage at JFK ... Susan Sarandon walking by herself ... David Hasselhoff leaving ABC Studios ... Justin Long on the set of Going the Distance in the Bronx ...Whitney Houston arriving at LaGuardia ... Larry King's wife, Shawn Southwick, getting out of an SUV on the Upper East Side ... Jennifer Aniston shooting scenes for her new movie at Blue Ink Tattoo Parlor in Brooklyn ...and Katherine Heigl getting out of an SUV in front of her hotel.
• Disgraced lawyer Marc Dreier's condo at One Beacon Court—along with his half-eaten pie and Christian Liaigre furnishings—sold at auction yesterday for $8.2 million after 45 people placed bids on the 3,000-square-foot pad. The buyer is Ajit Jain, a protégé of Warren Buffet and the head of Berkshire Hathaway's reinsurance group. [NYDN]
• Art dealer W. Graham Arader III has taken his mansion at 1016 Madison Avenue off the market. The 12,000-square-foot home went on the market for $75 million last October and was reduced to $65 million last month. [NYO]
• Attorney Bruce Blakeman, who launched a long shot bid for mayor this year, but is probably better known as the ex-husband of Paul McCartney's girlfriend Nancy Shevell, has picked up a new home in Water Mill. Blakeman bought the six-bedroom house for $2 million. [Newsday]
Designer Oscar de la Renta turns 77 today. Rufus Wainwright is 36. Actor Willem Dafoe is turning 54. John Leguizamo and David Spade are both turning 45. Publishing industry heavyweight Ann Godoff is 60. Actor Danny Glover is turning 63. John Wren, the president and CEO of the ad agency Omnicom, is turning 57. Former senator and presidential candidate Bob Dole is turning 86. George Clinton is 68. The Eagles' Don Henley is 62. Film director Paul Schrader is 63. Former football player (and now ESPN personality) Keyshawn Johnson is 37. And Disney star Selena Gomez celebrates her 17th birthday today.
• Is Andre Balazs the latest man to fall victim to Kelly Bensimon's feminine charms? Life & Style reports the hotelier and the "housewife" were seen getting cozy in Miami recently. [L&S]
• Kiefer Sutherland is in the clear. Prosecutors have dropped charges against him in connection with his assault on Jack McCollough back in May, since the designer has proved to be an "uncooperative witness." [NYDN]
• Mischa Barton is still in the hospital and may lose the role on the TV show that she was supposed to start filming this week. So what made her snap? In addition to all the drug stuff, she may be suffering from body image issues, too. [Sun, People]
• Ruth Madoff was supposedly spotted at LaGuardia en route to visit her husband in jail. And she was supposedly wearing ripped jeans, too. [P6]
Publicist and social fixture Ali Wise hasn't said anything publicly since she was arrested a couple of weeks ago for allegedly hacking into the voicemail account of interior designer Nina Freudenberger. It's probably Wise's lawyer who has been urging her to keep quiet. Because she just resurfaced on Twitter. And judging by the crypic tweets she's been sending out, she has a few things she'd like to get off her chest:
• Christian Lacroix saved? Possibly! Although Lacroix is keeping mum, a bidder for the struggling fashion house may have emerged. [WWD, Reuters]
• More depressing news about the state of the retail: Manhattan's vacancy rate is 6.5% and rising. [NYT]
• Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen are on the list of the 31 new inductees into the Council of Fashion Designers of America. Like, congrats! [FWD, Cut]
• Hermès reports sales were up 12% during the second quarter. If you've continued to shop there despite the downturn, don't pat yourself on the back. Credit the strong sales of Kelly purses in Asia. [BN]
• It's bad news all around for fashion magazines this September. Ad pages in W are down 53% from last year; Allure has witnessed a 52% drop-off; Vogue is down 37%; and Elle has experienced a 21% decline. [AdAge]
• Rumor has it reality TV star/train wreck Susan Boyle is posing for a Harper's Bazaar photo shoot. The good news? She won't be on the cover. [DM]
• Permanent Brunch, which will only serve brunch (obviously) and will feature the city's first-ever "bacon menu," opens this week or next. [UD, Eater]
• The recession is forcing some restaurants to close, have you heard? [NYP]
• Fedora in the WV isn't closing after 57 years; the hiatus is temporary. [Eater]
• The super-secret entrance to Café Select is no more, alas. [GS]
• A survey of the city's few remaining traditional Jewish delis. [Citysearch]
• The owner of Via Dei Mille is accused of assaulting his ex-girlfriend. [NYP]
• Rumor has it there have been layoffs and budget cuts at The Box. [DBTH]
• Frank Bruni says he's a big Nora Ephron fan. He also adored Silence of the Lambs, which probably says something about his current career, no? [TDB]
• The Bronx is NYC's fattest borough. Manhattan is New York State's Eastern European model: It's the slimmest of the Empire state's 62 counties. [NYT]
Last week, Donald Trump's silly suit against author Timothy O'Brien was tossed out of court by a New Jersey judge. Now another one of his silly legal actions has ended in defeat. Trump filed suit against the law firm Morrison Cohen last year for having the audacity to list him as a client on its website.
Fashion photographer Steven Klein opened up his Bridgehampton estate on Saturday evening to host the summer benefit for the AIDS Community Research Initiative of America (Acria), which funds HIV and AIDS-related research, treatment, and education. Sponsored by Calvin Klein Collection and Vanity Fair, the benefit attracted Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick, Francisco Costa, Italo Zucchelli, Rachel Zoe, Daphne Guinness, Lauren Santo Domingo, Euan Rellie and Lucy Sykes Rellie, Nacho Figueras, Olivia Chantecaille, Stefano Tonchi, Jane Holzer, and Royal Pains cast members Mark Feuerstein, Jill Flint, Paulo Costanzo and Reshma Shetty, among others. Cityfile correspondent Douglas Marshall took a few mintues to chat with famed artist—and longtime Acria supporter—Ross Bleckner about art, life, and Dash Snow.
A couple of weeks after turtles managed to disrupt flights at JFK for more than an hour and a half comes more bad news for the city's biggest airport: According to a new poll of 6,200 travelers, JFK is the third-worst airport to sleep in. If you live in NYC and thus have no reason to ever sleep at JFK, be thankful. If you do live here and you're traveling to Moscow (No. 2) and Paris (No. 1), be sure to leave yourself enough time between connecting flights. [NYDN]
Grab a tissue. The Wall Street Journal reports this afternoon that Stephen Baldwin and his wife filed for bankruptcy protection today, listing more than a million dollars in unpaid federal and state taxes. In totally unrelated C-list celebrity news, the Miami Dolphins announced today that Marc Anthony is now a part-owner of the team. Would it be too much to ask if Marc could hook Stephen up with a job at the concessions stand? [WSJ, NYP]
