Author/New Yorker writer/CNN pundit Jeffrey Toobin turns 49 today. Duly elected United States Senator Al Franken is turning 58. Actress Fairuza Balk is 35. Lisa Edelstein from the TV show House turns 43. Judge Reinhold is 52. Ron Isley of the Isley Brothers is 68. Hairstylist Ed Tricomi turns 57. Manhattan Media CEO Tom Allon is 47. Porn star Briana Banks is turning 31. And Laurence Tureaud (better known as Mr. T) celebrates his 57th birthday today.
An Atlanta man has offered to buy Bernie Madoff's investment firm. And he's willing to pay a pretty penny for it, too. Ade Ogunjobi, who runs a company called Toks Inc.—and just so happens to have been born in Nigeria—has proposed to acquire the defunct firm in an "all stock tax free transaction involving $100 trillion in stock or 400 million shares" of his company.
• New jobless claims are down, but a record number of people are collecting unemployment, which won't be good news for the markets today. [BN, WSJ]
• Bank of America is hoping to pay back the $45 billion in bailout money by the end of the year. And it looks like they might actually be able to do it. [DB, WSJ]
• Speaking of taxpayer money, GMAC is getting $7 billion of it. [WSJ]
• Hedge funds are back: They raked in $15.4 billion in April. [BN]
• The Justice Dep't is looking into shady behavior at Lehman circa '07. [WSJ]
• Britain's Serious Fraud Office is building a "warning system to help it spot hedge fund fraud." But only serious hedge fund fraud, obviously. [Reuters]
• Kate Moss's latest collection for Topshop hits stores (and the web) tomorrow. [Fashionologie]
• Anna, Oscar, Vera, and Carolina—among others—joined Mayor Bloomberg at City Hall this afternoon to announce Fashion's Night Out, which is scheduled for Sept. 10. [NYM]
• A former assistant to Karl Lagerfeld (and the author of a tell-all about the designer) is making waves once again with his descriptions of life inside the house of the Kaiser. [Fashionologie]
• A chat with French Vogue editor Carine Roitfeld. [Guardian]
• Halston's new creative director is Marios Schwab. [Vogue UK]
• Nordstrom be eyeing the Virgin Megastore space in Union Square. [WWD]
• It's Fleet Week! Why not get dressed up for the occasion? [Pipeline]
• Keith McNally's Minetta Tavern and its selection of steaks score rave reviews—and three stars—from Frank Bruni in today's New York Times. [NYT]
• A peek around Warren 77, the bar that Ranger Sean Avery co-owns. [GS]
• Jeffrey Chodorow's next project, set to open in the new Kimpton Hotel in 2010, will be a Spanish restaurant and "global food park." [IC]
• A wine auction at Christie's last night raked in $1.1 million. [NYP]
• Dining in a recession: AMNY's list of spots that offer free good. [AMNY]
Former Lehman CEO Dick Fuld has officially stepped down as the bankrupt firm's "chairman," per a letter delivered last week to Bryan Marsal, the restructuring pro who assumed control of Lehman last fall. Finding someone to vastly overpay for a Park Avenue apartment isn't exactly part-time work, you know. [NYT/Dealbook]
There's been lots of depressing news about the state of the Hamptons real estate market in recent weeks. Today, however, there's a bit of good news to report: Calvin Klein has finally started demolishing Dragon's Head, the tacky 50,000-square-foot castle in Southampton that he bought a few years ago. A smaller—but much trendier—minimalist mansion will soon rise from the rubble. And if Calvin remains bullish about the future, shouldn't you be, too? Of course you should. [Newsday, previously]
The controversial plan to ban cars from Herald and Times squares takes effect on Sunday. But there's some good news to take your mind off the giant traffic jams that will inevitably be created by the initiative: The city has announced a series of exciting events this summer, including a "simulcast of the Tony Awards in Broadway Plaza" and "lunchtime concerts by buskers in Times Square." That should totally make up for it, shouldn't it? [AMNY]
• Portfolio isn't over and done with, after all: An affiliate of Condé Nast—based in Charlotte, weirdly—plans to revive the magazine's website. [NYO]
• Josh Marshall has accepted Maureen Dowd's apology for swiping some of his copy; and Dowd's new column today is Marshall-free, thankfully. [TPM, NYT]
• Upfronts 2009: What the CW and CBS have in store for the fall. [THR, THR]
• Is Jann Wenner looking to poach Condé Nast honcho David Carey? [NYM]
• Times executive editor Bill Keller says Google is the paper's "frenemy." [NYO]
• CNBC's Jeff Macke had a meltdown on the air yesterday. [Gawker]
Working on Michael Bloomberg's reelection campaign might just be the best job in town. He's got lots of money to spend, of course. (He's already shelled out more than $18 million since Jan. 12 despite little in the way of competition.) And then there are those rides aboard his jet, where expensive wine and sushi is always on the menu. He's paying his campaign staff pretty well, too, as Jason Horowitz discovered. And he's generous about looking beyond what others might consider unfortunate career blemishes. Take Bradley Tusk, the mayor's 35-year-old campaign manager, for example. Tusk once worked for Chuck Schumer's communications office and for Mayor Bloomberg at City Hall. But then he took a job as deputy governor of Illinois under now-disgraced Rod Blagojevich, and then left to join Lehman Brothers as a senior vice president. (We all know how that one turned out.) But Tusk has bounced back nicely. He's now making $27,500 a month to run Bloomberg's campaign. And he's not the only one doing well. A roundup of some of Bloomberg key campaign staffers—and their salaries—below.
Last year, Rudy Giuliani's son Andrew filed a lawsuit against Duke University after the school kicked him off the golf team. Andrew claimed that Duke's golf coach had made up a series of allegations in order to force him off the team and had turned his classmates against him. The school (and the coach) countered by saying Giuliani had been dumped for "a variety of boorish acts, including assaulting a teammate, defying coaches, and violating 'both the rules and the spirit of the game of golf.'" (In other words, he behaved much the same way you'd expect given his equally boorish dad.) A judge finally weighed in yesterday and dismissed the lawsuit—but not before slipping in a series of references to Caddyshack in the process. Andrew shouldn't have any trouble putting this legal defeat behind him. As the Smoking Gun points out, "Giuliani graduated this month from Duke, so he's got that going for him."
ABC News caught up with Ruth Madoff the other day when she appeared downtown to pay a visit to her imprisoned husband. Shockingly, she was not in the mood to chat about whether she had anything to do with the scheme, or whether she has any regrets about what happened. But it is nice to see her lifestyle seems to have suffered a bit of a blow. After issuing the reporter a stern "Fuck you!" she hops into a taxi, instead of her customary chauffeur-driven Town Car. [ABC News via Dealbreaker]
A notice to dog owners who still refuse to pick up after their pets: Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe announced yesterday that the city is raising the fine for people who refuse to comply with the city's pooper-scooper law from $100 to $250. The fine doesn't take effect until June and Benepe says the move is merely intended to "change the culture of litter in our parks." Also? Dog poo may now be the city's secret weapon in tackling the budget deficit. [NYDN]
Damon Dash pushing a stroller in Tribeca with a friend ... Naomi Watts carrying her son on her shoulders in Soho ... Jimmy Kimmel leaving the Trump International on Central Park West ... Hugh Jackman picking up after his dog in the West Village ... Ryan Gosling shooting scenes for his new movie in Brooklyn ... Pete Wentz pushing son Bronx around Midtown in a stroller ... Jamie Kennedy and Jennifer Love Hewitt taking pictures of themselves while walking in Soho ... Conan O'Brien chasing a taxi down Park Avenue for an NBC skit ... Michelle Williams carrying daughter Matilda in Brooklyn ... and Rihanna bowling at Lucky Strike.
The Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice & Human Rights is holding a celebrity auction to raise money for the non-profit organization. And they've lined up an impressive collection of items. Any interest in paying a visit to the set of Larry King's show in LA? Not only will you get a chance to make small talk with the 114-year-old host, he'll also take off his suspenders, sign them, and let you take them home with you. Act fast, though. The bidding is up to $1,500. If that doesn't tickle your fancy, perhaps you'd like to "enjoy" (their words, not ours) a 20-minute phone chat with Suze Orman? Do note, though, that you'll need to bid a minimum of $1,000.
• Doug Griebel, co-founder and president of the Rosa Mexicano restaurant chain, paid $1.9 million for a 23rd-floor apartment at The Bromley on West 83rd Street. [Cityfile]
• Marc Juris, executive vice president and general manager of truTV (formerly CourtTV) paid $2.8 million for a three-bedroom condo at 133 West 22nd Street. [Cityfile]
• Artist Cosimo Cavallaro has lowered the price of his apartment/gallery at 20 South 4th Street in Williamsburg for the fourth time since listing it for $12.8 million one year ago. It's now listed for $5.95 million. [NYO, Stribling]
• Former Yankee Bobby Abreu has dropped the price of his apartment as well. The Angels outfielder's 37th-floor condo at One Beacon Court, which he put on the market for $7.9 million earlier this month, is now $6.9 million. [NYO, PDE]
We understand that newspapers are having a really tough time right now. But is the solution offering the public free weight loss tips? The Daily News "diet "hotline" launched this week. Call 212-210-2044 between the hours of 9am and 5pm and you'll be connected to the paper's "talented team of nutrition and fitness experts" who are "dishing out free advice on exercising safely and eating right." The paper reports that they've fielded 659 calls since the service started the service on Monday. Hey, at least it's better than bingo. [NYDN]
