Author Michael Gross suggested over the weekend that the Costume Institute Gala, hosted by Anna Wintour, represents the Vogue editor's attempt to compete with Graydon Carter's equally star-studded Vanity Fair Oscar bash every February. "Graydon and Anna are competing for the social crown. It's the social-status factor that defines those magazines," explained Gross. So did Graydon deign to stop off at last night's celeb-fest at the Met?

Kathy Freston has been popping up everywhere touting her new diet book, which is why it was hardly surprising to see she'd parked her skinny behind on the Good Morning America couch this morning. What was a little surprising? That she continues to brag about having Oprah Winfrey as a devotee, even though Oprah tried the 21-day cleanse way back in May 2008, but then went on the air to detail all the weight she'd gained just a few months later. Perhaps her supremely-connected husband could help her land a couple of new celebrity endorsements? We hear Kirstie Alley is looking to lose some weight! [ABC News]

• New York Times union members approved a five percent pay cut last night, which takes effect today. Meanwhile, the NYT will resume negotiations with the Boston Globe's largest union at 5pm this afternoon. [NYP, E&P]
• The Onion is killing off its LA and San Francisco print editions. [Gawker, MP]
• How desperate has NBC become? Execs have announced that Jay Leno "is not afraid to experiment with live commercials and with sponsorships." [AdAge]
• Better news for NBC: It scored big with its coverage of the Derby. [NYP]
• Ad spending in the fourth quarter fell 9.2% from a year earlier. [WSJ]
• Writers gathered last night to say goodbye to the Times' City section. [NYO]

Why did Caroline Kennedy "abandon" her bid take over Hillary Clinton's vacant Senate seat? It had nothing to do with rumored tax troubles, her uncle's medical troubles, her plunging poll numbers, or the fact she torpedoed her own chances with a series of disastrous performances on the campaign trail. It was because she didn't want to expose her poor kids to the rough and tumble of the political process, naturally. At least that's the spin contained in Edward Klein's new book, Ted Kennedy: The Dream That Never Died. Not that we'd expect this revelation to have an impact on Cindy Adams's assertion that Kennedy will be elected president in 2016. After all, Adams stuck to her claim McCain would win the 2008 election until the beginning of the November! [Vanity Fair]

The James Beard Awards were held at Avery Fisher Hall last night, gifting Jean-Georges Vongerichten's eponymous flagship the title of "Outstanding Restaurant." Other notable winners included David Chang's Momofuko Ko (Best New Restaurant) and opulent dinosaur Daniel (Best Service), with Drew Nieporent (left) knighted Outstanding Restaurateur for his (apparently outstanding) work at Corton and Nobu. But, much like the Costume Institute Gala across town, the night was not without a bit of drama.

If you woke up this morning with a hangover after last night's Costume Institute gala, keep in mind that it could have been worse. Proenza Schouler's Jack McCollough (left, with partner Lazaro Hernandez) reportedly spent the night in the hospital after getting headbutted by Kiefer Sutherland during an after-party at SubMercer. No word on exactly what started the fight, although it apparently had something to do with Brooke Shields. We always knew fashion was vicious, but this may be taking it to a whole new level. [GoaG]

Rachel Bilson leaving her hotel on the Lower East Side ... Eva Longoria and Tony Parker shopping downtown ... Matthew Broderick walking son James to school in the rain ... Taylor Momsen talking on her cell phone ... Gisele Bundchen and Tom Brady leaving a doctor's office on Park Avenue ... Kate Bosworth and James Rousseau walking in Soho ... Jessica Alba heading into BLT Prime on East 22nd Street ... Donatella Versace leaving an art gallery in Chelsea ... RuPaul walking under an umbrella in the West Village ... Rachel Zoe heading inside the Carlyle Hotel ... Jennifer Aniston leaving dinner at the Waverly Inn ... and Blake Lively and Penn Badgley heading inside the Costume Institute afterparty at Monkey Bar.

Cinco de Mayo commemorates the Mexican army's defeat of French forces at the Battle of Puebla in 1862. Leave it to Saks Fifth Avenue to give the day entirely new meaning. The retailer has announced that today "has been designated by the city of New York as Chanel No. 5 Day," and "a portion of Fifth Avenue is being renamed Avenue No. 5 for the week." [PR Newswire]

Hearty congratulations to S.I. Newhouse and the rest of the Newhouse family: Samuel I. Newhouse IV, the grandson of Condé Nast's mercurial chairman, got hitched this past weekend! You may remember the young heir from Jamie Johnson's 2003 film Born Rich, which featured an interview with the youthful Newhouse in his college dorm room. (See photo, left.) Much has changed since then, as you can probably tell from the before-and-after photos.

Michelle Obama will be in New York this evening to attend—and speak at—the glitzy party celebrating Time's list of the 100 most influential people. As the name implies, there are precisely 98 people in addition to president and first lady who made the cut. But leave it to some AP reporter to make it sound like earning a spot on the list is a really, really bad thing: "Among those who made the list: the First Lady, Michelle Obama; her husband, President Barack Obama; and Bernard Madoff, the disgraced New York money manager who has admitted to stealing tens of billions of dollars from investors." [AP]

Ivana Trump and daughter Ivanka Trump recently took some time out of their busy schedules to pose for !Hola! The intimate (and very "exclusiva") portraits catch them in a few rare moments of solitude, lounging with their exotic cats and straining to express emotion. So are the creatures in this photo cougars? Leopards? Given Ivana's dating history (not to mention the title of her lightly-watched reality TV show from a few years back), we're going to assume it's the former. [Popbytes]

• The 25-foot-wide townhouse at 11 East 82nd Street, which was purchased up by billionaire Ron Perelman as a home for one of his executives back in 1996 and was later bought by private investor Keith Gollust, has been reduced for a second time since hitting the market in February 2008 for $40 million. Most recently priced at $35 million, the limestone manse can now be yours for a mere $29.5 million. [Cityfile, Sotheby's]
• British architect Lord Norman Foster and his wife, Elena, paid $7.2 million for a 2,725-square-foot co-op at 912 Fifth Avenue. [NYO]

NBC anchor Brian Williams turns 50 today. Kurt Loder is 64. Caroline Hirsch, the founder of the Caroline's comedy club, is turning 59. Ad agency CEO Bob Greenberg is 61. The singer Adele is 21, as is reality TV star (and "singer") Brooke Hogan. Actor Henry Cavill (The Tudors) is 26. R&B singer Craig David turns 28. Tina Yothers of Family Ties fame is 36. And Chris Brown turns 20 today, although it's doubtful he'll be getting any special presents from Rihanna.

• Madonna's adoption appeal was "adjourned indefinitely" by the chief justice of Malawi's Supreme Court yesterday. Fair enough. After all, would you let a woman dressed like this adopt your child? [Reuters]
• Gisele Bundchen was seen leaving an OB/GYN's office yesterday with Tom Brady, which may mean she's pregnant, or may mean nothing at all. [P6]
• Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard tied the knot in front of 40 guests in Italy on Saturday. [Us]
• Bebe Neuwirth is married, too. She married Destino vineyard founder Chris Calkins in a Buddhist/Christian ceremony at The Players Club on Gramercy Park. [P6]
• Rihanna has cancelled her comeback concert in the United Arab Emirates. The reason? "Poor timing," she says. [Sun]

• About 10 of the 19 largest banks that have undergone "stress tests" will be notified by Washington that they need to raise more capital. [WSJ, BN]
• JPMorgan Chase chief Jamie Dimon isn't expecting to be one of the 10: He said he thinks "there are still too many banks in the United States," and will happily acquire some of the institutions that can't survive on their own. [WSJ]
• UBS announced a first-quarter loss of $1.8 billion as the bank took more writedowns on risky investments and client withdrawals continued. [Reuters]

Fashion's biggest event of the year, the Met's annual Costume Institute Gala, took place last night. The evening wasn't without some drama: Designer Azzedine Alaïa, who felt his work was underrepresented in the "Model as Muse" exhibit, asked several of the models who he had dressed for the party to skip it, and both Naomi Campbell and Stephanie Seymour complied. But 650 other celebrities, designers, and models—including co-chairs Marc Jacobs, Kate Moss, and Justin Timberlake—braved the controversy (and rain) and walked the red carpet anyway. A few photos of the hits and misses after the jump.

• The new owners of the Florent space are turning it into something called the Gansevoort Cafe; a Fiamma replacement is on the way, too. [Eater]
• 'wichcraft is introducing a "sandwich-inspired" dinner menu. [GS]
• Daniel Boulud's forthcoming DBGB will offer 14 kinds of sausage. [TONY]
• Le Souk is abandoning the EV and moving to Bleecker and LaGuardia. [Eater]
• Organic food is more popular in NYC, less popular in Idaho. Crazy! [NYT]
• Cookbook sales are up, which, naturally, has to do with the recession. [WSJ]
• A film shoot gone awry damaged the Sbarro in Times Square today. [NYP]
• The James Beard Awards go down tonight; Eater has a liveblog. [Eater]

Whether this is a draw or a drawback is up to you, but guests who book the 46th-floor penthouse suite at the Helmsley Park Lane gain access to many of Leona Helmsley's old "personal belongings," including her "king-size bed with satin covers," "lacquered dining room table and crystal chandeliers," and the salon chair that Frédéric Fekkai once used to style "her trademark short brown hair." Access to her private swimming pool isn't part of the package, alas, although hotel employees do say they've "spruced" up the place, which is nice to hear since they also point out she went through about five packs of cigarettes a day when she lived there. [NYDN]

Something to think about while you scarf down your lunch in 10 minutes and bemoan the fact that you're only getting four hours of sleep as you try to keep yourself employed in these challenging economic times: The average person in France spends two hours each day eating, and gets close to nine hours of sleep every night. [AP]

If you spot Tom Colicchio eating out and he appears to be displaying bad table manners by not having his napkin on his lap, keep in mind it may have been an intentional move on his part. Colicchio's biggest pet peeve at restaurants: "I do not want the server to pick up the napkin and put it on my lap. I know it belongs there; maybe I don't choose to put it there." Duly noted! Oh, and if you should happen to invite Tom over for dinner and he takes you up on your offer, avoid preparing any dishes with okra or grated mountain yam, and make sure your fridge is stocked with Fresca. He'll be forever grateful. [NYT]