Harold Ford, Jr. wants to be the next Senator from New York. We've mapped out his barnstorming tour of the state, which has taken him from the luxury hotels of midtown Manhattan to the exclusive restaurants of downtown Manhattan.

That rumor yesterday about Sarah Jessica Parker teaming up with Halston? It's true, although what she'll be doing for the label wasn't disclosed, other than she'll have an "active design role" of some kind. Oh, and Halston co-owner Harvey Weinstein didn't have anything to do with the decision. It was the other investor in Halston, which owns a stake in Polaroid and got Lady Gaga to come aboard as the brand's "creative director," that made it happen. Not to mention Harvey has more pressing issues to worry about. [People, NYM]

Equinox has been taking lots of heat since the gym chain erected two enormous billboards outside its West Village location over the holidays: The move outraged local community groups and led the city's Department of Buildings and Landmark Preservation Commission to threaten the company with steep fines if it didn't pull them down. Equinox has until tomorrow to remove the ads, and the failed campaign will end up costing the company a good deal of money in the process. But the gym chain just walked away with a victory in a Manhattan courtroom, so maybe the week will go down as a wash.

There's plenty of stuff going on in the news to keep you awake at night, matters both foreign (Haiti, obviously) and domestic (Harold Ford running for Senate). So it's always nice when you can cross something off your "worst fears" list. The Post reports today that immigrant-hating former CNN anchor Lou Dobbs has decided not to run for political office, after all. He's decided to stick to TV instead, a source tells the paper, which means you can start counting the minutes until you see oversized frame parked next to Sarah Palin on a couch at Fox News. [NYP, previously]

Yesterday, JPMorgan's Jamie Dimon and Goldman Sachs' Lloyd Blankfein talked to Congress about why they're sitting on billions of profits and you're broke. CityFile cataloged the many emotions on display.

James Gandolfini walking his dog in Tribeca yesterday ... Bradley Cooper running errands in SoHo ... Ringo Starr walking uptown ... Dr. Mehmet Oz leaving Rockefeller Plaza ... George Clooney and Elisabetta Canalis dressed up and headed out for the evening ... Kiefer Sutherland posing for pictures outside the Late Show with David Letterman ... Matthew Broderick walking son James to school ... Ke$ha shopping at Sol de Ibiza on Greene Street in SoHo .. Steven Van Zandt walking in Midtown yesterday ... and Catherine Zeta-Jones leaving her apartment building.

• Britney Spears' former penthouse at 14 East 4th Street has been price-chopped once again. So if you've ever fantasized about living in an apartment once occupied by the faded pop star, this may be your big chance. The three-bedroom pad, which Spears unloaded in 2006, is now up for sale for $4.999 million, down from the $6.595 million its owners were seeking when they put the place on the market in 2008. [Curbed, PDE]
• Paul Greenwood, the former money manager and Islanders co-owner who was accused of securities fraud last year, is looking to sell his North Salem estate. The 16-acre spread, which Greenwood has broken up into three properties for the purposes of the sale, can be purchased for a combined $10 million, or $8 million for the 9,000-square-foot mansion by itself. [NYP, PDE]

Dominic Carter goes to court today to be sentenced for beating up his wife back in 2008. (He faces up to three months in prison.) But that's not the only thing he has to worry about. NY1 says that Carter's no longer employed by the station, so he's officially unemployed, too. [NYP]

• Remember the dust-up a couple of weeks ago when it was reported that Beyoncé had performed for the son of Libyan dictator Moammar Khadafi in St. Bart's on New Year's Eve? Photos of the concert have now surfaced, although the worst thing about them may be how Beyoncé looks like she's the headliner at a tacky club in New Jersey. [DM]
• Is Bethenny Frankel trying to pull a Star Jones? It seems Frankel has been approaching vendors and asking them to "sponsor" her wedding: She'd get their services gratis and, in exchange, they'd get a mention on her upcoming reality show, Bethenny's Getting Married. The only problem with Bethenny's grand scheme? She hasn't had much luck finding companies interested in taking part. [NYDN]
• Here's a great idea: David Letterman has reportedly invited Conan O'Brien to appear as a guest on his show. Cross your fingers! [PopEater]
• Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel have not broken up, in case you were concerned. According to friends, he'd committed to working on a film in Wyoming, which is is why he didn't climb Mt. Kilimanjaro alongside Biel. It's not because he didn't want to, say, spend a week living with the love of his life in a tent. He would have totally done it if he could have. Really. [P6]
• Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie donated $1 million yesterday to Doctors Without Borders to fund emergency medical operations in Haiti. As for whether Tiger Woods really paid to send a plane full of medical supplies to the devastated nation, that's a (pretty unlikely) story that Russell Simmons has been circulating, though Tiger's reps have yet to confirm it. But it wouldn't be the worst way to begin rebuilding his image, come to think of it. [Us, TMZ]

It hasn't been the easiest year for Vikram Pandit, but the Citigroup CEO has at least one reason to smile today: It's his 53rd birthday. Cranky 60 Minutes commentator Andy Rooney turns 91 today. Fox News anchor Shepard Smith is 46. Maureen Dowd of the New York Times is turning 58. Director Steven Soderbergh turns 47. Jason Bateman is 41. Dave Grohl is turning 41. LL Cool J is 42. Model Angela Lindvall is celebrating her 31st birthday. And Faye Dunaway turns 69 today.

• The Tavern on the Green auction kicked off today and continues through Friday. Expect long lines if you plan on checking it out yourself. (But forget about meeting Regis Philbin if you go; he was already there today.) [Crain's]
• Four Seasons chef Fabio Trabocchi is out after only three months. [NYP]
• The critics: Sam Sifton of the Times gives one star to the Breslin; Bloomberg's Ryan Sutton also weighs in on the Breslin, as does the Village Voice's Robert Sietsema; Adam Platt of New York takes on Maialino, giving it three out of five stars; Time Out awards four stars to Purple Yam; and the Post's Steve Cuozzo makes the case that Robert in Columbus Circle offers the best views in town.

[January 12. Photo: Flickr/jbmurp01]

In the esteemed tradition of murdered mob boss Paul Castellano (East 46th Street between Second and Third!) and gun-toting former Giant Plaxico Burress (Lexington between East 47th and East 48th Streets!), Seventh Avenue was renamed "Project Runway Avenue" today. It's just a one-day thing, though. Tomorrow you can go back to calling it Seventh Avenue. [OK!, NYT]

• Sick of the Leno-Conan saga yet? Conan is still negotiating an exit from NBC (and will probably continue ripping the network to shreds on his show until a deal is done). And now there's a rumor that Jay Leno may bolt from NBC as well, since "it looks like he is the reason that Conan is now without a job." The good news for everyone involved? All that drama has been great for ratings.
• The fact it was NBC chief Jeff Zucker who greenlit The Biggest Loser a few years back? Judging by the coverage today, it's looking increasingly likely that those three words haunt him forever/serve as his career epitaph. [NYT, NYP]
• Roger Ailes isn't leaving Fox News, says News Corp. prez Chase Carey. [LAT]
• CBS Early Show news anchor Russ Mitchell is leaving the program. [NYT]
• Last night's season premiere of American Idol reeled in 30 mil. people. [LAT]
• Sarah Palin's debut on Fox News last night scored big ratings, too. [HP]
• Did you hear Vogue staffers have to take the subway from now on due to cost cuts? Needless to say, Anna Wintour is exempt from this sort of insanity. [P6]
• Not too many Condé Nast employees were sad to see Richard Beckman leave the company. And there's no word yet on who will replace him. [NYO, NYP]
• Ben Silverman, the second-worst executive in the history of NBC (see above), but who got lucky and was canned just in the nick of time, is engaged. [P6]
• Project Runway returns to the air—and NYC—tomorrow night. [NYDN]

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Struggling movie mogul Harvey Weinstein hasn't had much success reviving Halston since buying a stake in the once storied fashion brand back in 2007. But he may have a new trick up his sleeve! (And he may be taking inspiration from Lindsay Lohan, of all people.) Rumor has it Halston is in negotiations with Sarah Jessica Parker—award-winning actress and noted perfume expert—to have her sign on as the company's creative or design director. [E!, Vogue]

It's bonus season on Wall Street, which explains why investment bankers are in good spirits these days. But they're not the only ones excited about the impending gravy train. Real estate brokers are gearing up to (finally!) unload some of those ridiculously expensive apartments that have been sitting on the market unloved for many months now.

H&M took some heat last week after it was revealed that one of the company's stores in Midtown regularly destroyed its unsold merchandise rather than give the items to charity. The Swedish retailer revised its policy the next day, but now it's the mayor's turn on the hot seat. It seems the NYPD has been incinerating or shredding the counterfeit clothing that it's seized over the past year, thus "abandoning a practice of giving knockoff garments to groups that help the needy." [NYT]

Ron Perelman has never been known as a nice guy. If the city gave out an award each year to the most horrible husband in town, the bald billionaire would probably have a collection of gold statuettes sitting on his mantle. (He's been married and divorced four times, and he's been involved in messy lawsuits with each one.) But if you'd like evidence that Perelman also happens to be a horrible father and son-in-law, this sprawling article in the current issue of Fortune should do nicely. [Fortune]

Gretchen Rubin seemed to have it all a few years back. She was a graduate of Yale Law, had established herself as a bestselling author, was happily married to her law school sweetheart, had two beautiful girls, lived on Park Avenue, and also happened to be the daughter-in-law of Robert Rubin, the fantastically wealthy former co-chairman of Goldman Sachs and Treasury Secretary under President Clinton. (Bonus!) And yet she still wasn't happy. So, naturally, Rubin took a year off to clear up her "midlife malaise."