Mischa Barton walking and talking in SoHo yesterday afternoon ... Ashlee Simpson heading into the Rosa Mexicano near Union Square on Monday ... George Clooney's girlfriend, Elisabetta Canalis shopping in SoHo ... Sarah Jessica Parker leaving her home in the West Village ... Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi leaving MTV studios in Times Square ... Blake Lively shooting scenes for Gossip Girl on Madison Avenue ... and Michael Lohan and girlfriend Kate Major ice staking at Rockefeller Center.

• Filmmaker Danny Boyle is the new owner of an apartment in Chelsea. The Slumdog Millionaire director paid $1.7 million for a tri-level co-op at 334 West 19th Street, but he isn't planning to move in himself. Boyle reportedly purchased the apartment for his youngest daughter who is attending Parsons. [Real Deal]
• Hedge funder Charles Ray Langston and his wife Casey are believed to be the mystery couple who snagged a record-breaking $14 million for their 8,200-square-foot home in Sag Harbor, although there's still no word on the identity of the home's buyers. [NYP]
• Personal injury lawyer Eleanor P. Vale has dropped the price of her 1,800-square-foot penthouse at Hampshire House, nearly a year and a half after first listing it for $10.9 million. The two-bedroom pad, which Vale bought for just $1.515 million in 2005, is now listed for $9.9 million. [Cityfile, PDE]

It looks like working at a newspaper really is one of the worst jobs in America. It was bad enough when you had to worry you could be laid off at any minute. Now you might get frostbite, too:

• Those rumors about Tiger Woods in rehab have returned. According to People, Woods checked into a sex rehab clinic around New Year's and will be there until "Valentine's Day or thereabouts." (Perfect timing!) As for his estranged wife, Elin Nordegren, she's moved into a new home that's just a couple of miles from the gated community where she used to live with Woods. [People, TMZ, NYDN]
• Have Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel split up? That's what some people are saying, since she spent the last week climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro while he was in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. And couples that are really in love would never spend a moment apart, would they? Didn't think so. [Radar]
• The Post reported a few days ago that Derek Jeter and Minka Kelly have made plans to get married in November. Naturally, this had led the Daily News to report today that the story is totally untrue and the couple hasn't even discussed getting engaged, at least according to one of Minka's friends. [NYDN]
• Forbes released its list of Hollywood's "top-earning couples" yesterday. The winner? That would be Beyoncé and Jay-Z, who reeled in $122 million last year, or more than double what Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt collected. Possibly related: Beyoncé said yesterday that she plans to take a "hiatus" from singing so she can "live life." Which is what you'd do, too, if you made nine figures over the last 12 months. [Forbes, NYDN]
• The Conan-Leno mess is bad news for NBC. But it's also made late-night TV sorta watchable again, which is nice. [Gawker]

Grey's Anatomy star Patrick Dempsey turns 44 today. The show's creator and head writer, Shonda Rhimes, is turning 40. Party-hopping author Jay McInerney is 55. Orlando Bloom is turning 33. Julia-Louis Dreyfus is 49. Former Citigroup chief Chuck Prince turns 60. Actress Penelope Ann Miller is 46. Former Seventeen editor Atoosa Rubenstein is 38. And season three American Idol reject William Hung turns 27 today.

[January 11. Photo: Flickr/mementosis]

• More on the epic mess at NBC: Conan O'Brien's manager says the late-night host's missive earlier today "came from the heart" and wasn't a negotiating ploy; TMZ reports that Conan is close to signing a deal with Fox; the public is siding with O'Brien over Leno; Letterman is taking lots of pleasure in the drama, naturally; and as for NBC chief Jeff Zucker, the man responsible for creating this disaster, this latest chapter may (finally!) be his undoing.
• Sarah Palin showed up for her first day at Fox News today. [AP, NYT]
• Is Rupert Murdoch about to kick Fox News CEO Roger Ailes to the curb? Some people seem to think so, although it's probably pretty unlikely. [NYM]
• Longtime Condé Nast exec Richard Beckman is leaving the publishing giant to become the CEO of e3 Global Media, the company that is now in control of The Hollywood Reporter, Billboard, AdAge and others. [NYP, NYT]
• Remember that breach-of-contract lawsuit against CBS that Dan Rather lost last fall? His motion to appeal the decision has ended in defeat, too. [AP]
• ABC is bringing back Cougar Town, The Middle and Modern Family for second seasons. No word on the fate of Conveyor Belt of Love, alas. [LAT]
• Who will replace Tobey Maguire in Spider-Man 4? Take your pick! [LAT]
• Google may close its China operations over freedom of speech issues. [PC]
• "Just how bad was 2009 for magazines?" Pretty bad. [NYT]

"Gov. Paterson's teenage son was picked up today after cops caught him shooting dice on an Upper West Side street corner and possessing somebody else's debit card, sources said." [NYP, NYDN]

It's been a heartbreaking day at NYU Law. It seems a group of students tried to make arrangements to have Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi from MTV's Jersey Shore pay them a visit, but then the whole thing fell through at the last minute. After the jump: The tragic details and amusing memo that was circulated earlier today.

Because some people have yet to get the message that it's not the best idea to talk on your cell phone, apply makeup and eat lunch while you drive, the Transportation Department is sending out "an army of people that will be traveling the country persuading people to put their cellphones away while they're driving." Yes, Distraction.gov, the "official US government website for distracted driving" has arrived! [AP]

Casey Johnson was buried in New Jersey earlier today. As you could have guessed, Tila Tequila wasn't invited to attend the private service. But that's probably just as well since she's been busy today launching her own record label. [NYDN]

NBC's late-night mess just got a little messier. Conan O'Brien says he is not willing to bump his show to 12:05am, since doing so "will seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting." But he isn't necessarily leaving NBC and says he hasn't received an offer to go elsewhere. Your move, Zucker. [NYT]

Goldman Sachs is hoping to redeem its damaged reputation by giving away bundles of cash to charity. What happens when one of the world's most profitable companies announces that the checkbook is open and the pen is in hand? Non-profit groups come calling, obviously.

Have you ever wondered if your doormen talk about you behind your back? Do they notice when you come home every night with a different guy? Do they have any idea that the kid who stopped off at your apartment the other night was there to make a "special delivery"? Oh, yes. They notice everything. Although keep in mind that if you do engage in something you shouldn't—like order in an escort while your wife is away on business—rest assured a generous tip goes a long way. [Brick Underground]

It was less than a month ago that billionaire hedge fund manager (and occasional talk show guest) Steve Cohen was slapped with a lawsuit by his first wife, Patricia Cohen, claiming Stevie had hid millions of dollars from her when the couple split up (not to mention engaged in insider trading, set up a racketeering scheme with his brother, and committed mail and wire fraud).

Jennifer Connelly and Paul Bettany walking with their kids and dog in the West Village ... Uma Thurman leaving her townhouse in the Village ... Katie Couric walking uptown ... Jeff Bridges leaving his hotel in Midtown ... Jessica Szohr filming scenes for Gossip Girl on the Upper East Side ... Matthew Broderick walking son James to school ... and George Clooney and girlfriend Elisabetta Canalis heading into Crimson after making an appearance at the New York Film Critics Circle Awards.

It's unlikely Anthony Marshall will end up spending any time behind bars following his conviction last month of swindling his mother, socialite Brooke Astor. A judge ruled yesterday that Marshall can remain a free man while he appeals the verdict, and since it will probably take years for that to happen, the ailing 85-year-old can look forward to living out the rest of his life at his luxe East 79th St. co-op. [NYT]

• Last month we reported that Westchester real estate developer Louis Cappelli had gone into contract to sell his 13-room duplex at 515 Park Avenue. The Post reports today that the deal has closed. The 6,500-square-foot, six-bedroom spread, which Cappelli and wife Kylie Travis bought for $15 million in 2002 and listed last year for $29.5 million, was sold to Swedish lingerie manufacturer Eric Ryd for $24 million. [NYP]
• Art dealer Christophe Van de Weghe has sold his loft at 77 Mercer Street for $2.8 million, or $1.2 million more than what he paid for it back in 2004. [NYO]
• There's a new record for the most expensive residential sale in Sag Harbor. An eight-bedroom, 8,200-square-foot "Nantucket-style cottage" at 25 Shaw Road sold for approximately $14 million yesterday, although the identities of both the buyer and seller remain unknown. [NYM, Real Deal]

• This is going to come as a big shock to you, we're sure, but it seems Alex Rodriguez has been hooking up with several women since splitting up with Kate Hudson. A-Rod also "keeps bragging that Madonna is still texting him all the time," although for Madonna's sake, let's hope that isn't true. [P6]
• Angelina Jolie has been dropped as the face of the clothing brand St. John in favor of red-headed model (and the wife of Jack White) Karen Elson. Why the change? It seems St. John concluded that Jolie was too famous and had "overshadowed the brand." [NYDN]
• Related: Did Brad Pitt deal weed in college? No, but he kind of looks like he may have what with that scraggly beard he's been sporting recently. [NYP]
• Usher had more than $1 million in jewelry, furs, and electronics stolen from his SUV in mid-December. Exactly why he had all this stuff stored in his car of all places—and why he only noticed now—is unclear. [TMZ]
• Tila Tequila was set to be interviewed on Larry King Live, but CNN yanked the "Casey Johnson tribute" at the last minute. Did the network realize giving a mentally-ill publicity addict was a bad idea? (Unlikely; the Balloon Boy dad was a guest the other night.) Maybe CNN worried about getting sued? Who knows, but you can always go to Twitter (where she's tweeted about Johnson's death more than 160 times over the past week), or go to People's website for your "Tila Tequila exclusive interview," if you must. [TMZ, E!, People]

Howard Stern turns 56 today. Fellow radio personality Rush Limbaugh is turning 59. CNN's Christiane Amanpour turns 52. Fashion designer Mark Badgley of Badgley Mischka is 49. Kirstie Alley turns 59. Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos is turning 46. Actor Oliver Platt turns 50. New York City Councilman James Oddo is 44. The rapper Raekwon is turning 42. And Heather Mills, Paul McCartney's ex-wife, turns 42 today.