Did the Wall Street Journal really think people would fall over in disbelief at the news that the CEOs of a few bailed-out banks used their corporate jets to fly off on vacation? Like, last Christmas? By now, you've probably figured out that these companies blow tons of money on not-so-important things. (Like, say, office renovations, or jaunts to the Olympics and Wimbledon aboard their company jets.) If the paper really wants to break a story open wide, perhaps it could look into why a JPMorgan Chase-owned Gulfstream G-V was on the tarmac at a small airport in Brazil that happens to be known as a major transfer point for South American drug cartels? (See above.) Now that could be something big! [WSJ]

You might want to inspect your bill closely the next time you stay at a hotel. Thanks to the plunging economy and the decline in travel, hotels have come up with all sorts of ingenious new ways to make money, as you may have noticed. Take, for example, the pool or exercise room that you had no intention of visiting anyway. You may end up seeing a "facility free" or "resort fee" appear on your bill, even though you went to Denver on a business trip, not to swim laps, and you've never heard anyone even use the words "resort" and "Denver" in the same sentence. You're perfectly aware that drinking a miniature-sized can of soda from the mini-bar will end up costing you $10. These days, though, you may also get slapped with a $1 "mini-bar restocking fee," which accounts for the 3.2 seconds or so it took someone to replace that $10 can of soda you just consumed.

Ed Koch is having surgery today at Columbia-Presbyterian to replace a heart valve. Dr. Craig Smith, the same top doc who handled Bill Clinton's bypass a few years ago, will be performing the honors. (Smith is also NYC's hunkiest cardiac surgeon, a fact that probably didn't escape Koch's attention.) And while a valve replacement is a pretty uncomplicated procedure, the 84-year-old ex-mayor appears to be prepared for all the eventualities: "God will take me if he needs legal or political advice," he quipped to a reporter. [NY1, NYP]

"The city's unemployment rate jumped to 9 percent in May, its highest level in more than a decade... The figures showed that there were about 361,000 unemployed people in the city, more than at any time during the recession that surrounded the Sept. 11 terrorist attack and the largest number of city residents out of work since 1993." But at least it's not raining out today! If you happen to be one of these 361,000 people, make sure you get outside and enjoy it. Next thing you know, the economy will turn around and you'll be stuck in a miserable cubicle again, and you'll be depending on your colleagues for weather reports so you know whether to take an umbrella with you to lunch. [NYT]

What's the social etiquette of the shared cab ride? No talking, to touching, no cell phones—pretty much exactly like the subway during morning rush hour—reports the Times in a piece today about the city's ur-shared taxi stand at the subway no-man's land of 79th and York. For the last 20 years, commuters have been sharing rides (at $6 a pop) between the UES and Wall Street. But now similar stands will be coming to other places like Penn Station and Grand Central.

Whether it's the real sun (or the sort of glow that can only come from a bottle or fluorescent lamp) is up to you. But you'll find the answers after the jump.

Oh, sweet irony: "The hedge fund that kicked Veronica Hearst out of her Palm Beach mansion and forced Elizabeth Taylor and Kathy Ireland to bankrupt their jewelry business through predatory financing is now in some trouble of its own." [Dealbreaker]

• Anthony Sbarro, heir to the pizza empire founded by his parents in the 1950s and a vice chairman at the company, has sold his 1,600-square-foot apartment at the Essex House on Central Park South for $3.25 million. [Cityfile]
• After ten months and three price cuts, financier and philanthropist Eli Broad has decided to take his full-floor apartment at the Sherry-Netherland off the market. The two-bedroom co-op, which Broad first put up for sale last August for $15 million, had most recently been listed for $10.95 million. [WSJ]
• Money manager Raymond Cubero and his wife, Kathleen Comerford, have put their Trump Tower duplex on the market with Paula Del Nunzio for $14.995 million. [NYO, BHS]

• The owner of M2, the club formerly known as Crobar and Mansion, says he may sue Beyoncé now that she appears to be backing out of a deal to perform at the club for $200K. [P6]
• It's been nearly 10 months since Jeremy Piven put a deadly piece of fish in his mouth and the sudden onset of mercury poisoning forced him to drop out of a Broadway show and seek medical treatment. He's feeling much, much better now, he'd like you to know. And he's still sticking to that fishy story about fish, evidently. [People]
• During a recent concert in Manchester recently, Britney Spears shouted out, "What's up, London," a line that did not go over well with the crowd. [Sun]
• Jennifer Love Hewitt is writing a relationship advice book. The secret to landing sweet, charming men like Carson Daly and John Mayer: coming soon to bookstores everywhere! [People]

Allen Stanford, the billionaire financier accused of orchestrating the second-largest Ponzi scheme in recent memory, was (finally) indicted on criminal charges on Thursday, and he surrendered to the FBI a few hours later. [NYT, WSJ]

• Voguette and social fixture Lauren Santo Domingo is branching out into modeling, apparently. [FashionCopious via Pipeline]
• Madonna's very special friend Jesus Luz is very much front and center for Dolce & Gabbana this season. [Telegraph]
• Kira Plastinina, the teenage designer and daughter of a Russian oligarch whose business went bust last year, may be preparing to return to the U.S. [WWD]
• Elle is launching its own online video channel. [Fashionista]
• Jack and Lazaro guest-edited the latest issue of A Magazine. [NYT]
• Beth Ditto has a new plus-size line and she isn't the only one. [NYT]
• Temperley is opening a pop-up shop in the Hamptons. [WWD]
• The first online D&G store makes its debut on June 23. [WWD]
• Roberto Cavalli and Miss Universe Dayana Mendoza had "a 15-minute conversation with a homeless man" after dining at Nobu. The mind reels. [P6]

• A month shy of its 15th anniversary, The Cub Room in Soho has closed. [GS]
• A roundup of restaurants that have opened in the past couple of days. [Eater]
• A few more details about the Standard Grill at the Standard Hotel, which will open for dinner next Monday and breakfast/lunch the week after. [GS]
• The cost of food—both at home and in restaurants—is up, so you know. [NYT]
• One more way restaurants are saving money in these lean times: They're hiring fewer servers so that "no one's being paid to just stand around." [NYT]
• One more silly eating competition coming to Coney Island soon: a bunch of human beings will square off against a bunch of elephants on July 3. [BP]

"Obsession uses vocabulary and describes activities of a sort that readers of The New York Times are usually shielded from," Charles McGrath blushed in a story from today's Grey Lady, before going on to enumerate the risqué "activities" in question, including "scenes involving dildos, whips, silken cords and golden nipple clamps, not to mention an ebony, smooth-backed Mason Pearson hairbrush purchased at Harrods." What was the occasion for offending the sensibilities of the most cosmopolitan readership this side of the Atlantic? Gloria Vanderbilt, of course. If a regular author were to write "erotica" involving "mint, cayenne pepper and a fresh garden carrot... deployed... in ways never envisioned by The Joy of Cooking," the Times might turn up it's nose. But when the 85-year old blue blood who birthed Anderson Cooper decides to write a novel involving "a five-story Brooklyn sex mansion where most of the orgies take place," it's suddenly interested. Fair enough!

Did you miss Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner testifying today before members of the Senate Banking Committee? You can read about all the excitement here, but today was actually supposed to be a double-header for Geithner: He was scheduled to head over the House afterwards to testify before the Financial Services Committee. But then the committee decided it had something more important to do and postponed it for "a later date." No rush, guys. Really. [CNN]

It's not just Mister Softee trucks that come out when the summer season begins. So do murderers! The Times combed through crime stats for the past few years and confirmed what had long been conventional wisdom, namely that "when the temperatures rise, people hit the streets, and New York becomes a distinctively lethal place." September, it turns out, is the single most murderous month, followed by August. (In case you're curious, Saturday night around 10pm is the deadliest time to be out and about.)

The folks at Guest of a Guest forwarded us a statement from Pink Elephant regarding the bankruptcy filing we reported on earlier. They'd like to make it clear that it's just the Southampton outpost of Pink Elephant that filed Chapter 11. Since it's a franchise operation, the club in Manhattan (as well as the one in São Paulo) won't be affected by it. So if you were concerned you'd no longer have the opportunity to meet the sort of sweet, down-to-earth girls you see pictured, don't you worry. You will!

• Advertisers are asking (demanding) that TV broadcasters cut prices by as much as 15 percent. The networks? They're not so happy about it. [LAT]
• Jared Kushner's Observer is launching a supplement for "stroller-wheeling New York City moms." The glossy is set to debut in September and "will address family-friendly topics for the society set and celebrity parents." [WWD]
• Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. has sold off The Weekly Standard magazine to Denver-based media mogul (and fellow conservative) Phil Anschutz. [AP]
• ABC is changing up its executive management structure. [THR]
• Conan O'Brien was victorious in his second week up against Letterman. [NYT]
• Speaking of Letterman, Olive Garden—the "Italian" chain restaurant that you should never eat at even if you're dying of starvation—is canceling all of its spots on Letterman's show in solidarity with Sarah Palin. [Politico]

Twilight star Robert Pattinson was hit by a taxi in front of the Strand on Broadway today, supposedly as he attempted to flee a group of hysterical fans: "A team of five security guards were trying to fend off a crowd of teenaged girls when Rob was leaving the bookstore. It was pouring rain as they tried to hustle him quickly across the busy street to the safety of his trailer. Some of the teen girls were hysterical and Rob rushed across the road. As he did so, a taxi grazed him." Got that? It grazed him. So he's fine. Please pass that message along to your 16-year-old cousin, okay? Thanks. [RadarOnline/National Enquirer]

Summer's here (supposedly) and that means television's gone bad. But while you wait for the next season of your favorite show to begin again next fall, there's always the ongoing, glorious, convoluted Astor trial, now rolling into its eighth week, to feed your drama fix. But just in case you haven't been reading all the stories about the case in the papers, we've gone ahead and recapped what you missed. This week's installment: "The Codicil." Join us after the jump, won't you?