Billionaire moguls Steve Schwarzman and Henry Kravis have never liked each other much. The private equity kingpins have competed for years for deals and priceless works of art; last year, they exchanged barbs in the press when Kravis called Schwarzman "the poster boy for greed" and Schwarzman referred to Kravis as a "one-trick pony." Well, you'll be happy to hear that the two men have reconciled. Sort of. A couple of weeks ago, they bumped into each other at the synchronized diving event at the Olympics in Beijing and peace was made. From the lengthy Times profile of Kravis yesterday: "For a brief moment, there was an awkward pause as the longtime rivals took stock of each other. Then both men cracked smiles, and Mr. Schwarzman extended his hand, congratulating Mr. Kravis on his latest move: an attempt to take KKR public despite a stock market mired in uncertainty and fear." Relations between egotistical moguls improving: now there's one positive effect of the recession you probably didn't count on.

"ABC News' Charles Gibson has snagged the sought-after first interview with Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin since she was named the Republican vice presidential pick nearly two weeks ago." [THR]

Bonnie Fuller isn't employed at the moment, which means she should have plenty of time to celebrate her birthday today: the tabloid queen is 52. Maybe she can share a birthday cake with the New York Times' David Carr: He turns 52 today, too. Others celebrating: Real estate mogul Howard Lorber is 60. Food writer Amanda Hesser is 37. Kerry Kennedy, the daughter of Bobby Kennedy and ex-wife of Andrew Cuomo, is 49. Singer/songwriter Aimee Mann is 48. David Arquette is 37. Pink is 29. Swimsuit model and former E! host Brooke Burke is 37. And '90s teen heartthrob Jonathan Taylor Thomas turns 27.

Following accusations that the network had veered too far to the left and after months of internal tension, MSNBC has decided to drop Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann from anchoring coverage of the election. David Gregory of NBC News will anchor the debates and election night coverage instead. [NYT]

• Britney Spears is supposedly furious with her mother over her upcoming tell-all, which accuses the pop star's former manager of grinding up pills and sneaking them into her meals. She should be in a better mood, however, after she reads all the positive reviews from her appearance on the VMAs last night, where she kicked off the show and later won three awards. [P6, NYP]

• The seizure of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac by the federal government over the weekend has sent global stocks up sharply this morning. [Bloomberg]
  

• The inimitable Fug Girls were at Yigal Azrouël today and saw Elettra Rossellini Wiedemann (not sweating in leather pants, enthusiastically posing for a photographer), Miss J Alexander and Nigel Barker (chatting front row), Cory Kennedy (bored, disheveled), Alexis Bryan Morgan (still pregnant), Fabiola Beracasa (front row next to Katie Lee Joel), Nina Garcia (talking to reporters), and Kelly Cutrone (looking better in person than on TV). [The Cut]

The first victim of the Tropical Storm Hanna: Jeffrey Deitch's annual art parade on West Broadway, which was scheduled for tomorrow, has been cancelled. [Deitch.com]

It's not so cool being a socialite, according to this Reuters article, which observes that women like Tinsley Mortimer and Fabiola Beracasa would rather be known as "designers" or "social activists" than by the S-word, which conjures up images of Paris Hilton. How this constitutes news isn't clear, although it follows a piece by William Norwich in this month's Vogue (not online, summary here) in which Lauren Remington Platt says she doesn't go out anymore (we're guessing last weekend was an exception?) and Maggie Betts blames the decline of the socialite on the economy and overexposure from the Internet. (It's probably worth noting that it was Maggie's dad who did more than anybody to insure George Bush got elected, so if she's looking for people to blame for the recession, well, she knows who to talk to.) But the worst thing about the Reuters piece? It lumps Tinsley and Fabiola in the same category as Devorah Rose, which may very well have sent the Tinz into a tizzy this morning.

• Inside The Libertine (left), Todd English's latest venture, which will open next week in Jason Pomeranc's Gild Hall hotel. [Eater]

In case you haven't seen them just yet, photos of star Olympian Michael Phelps "massively skeeving on girls at the Playboy Club" at the Palms Hotel in Las Vegas. [Radar]

The Sun may fold at the end of the month if it doesn't raise additional capital. But the paper has plenty of people who are voicing support! Among those recruited to give the neo-con paper a positive blurb today: Michael Bloomberg, Edward Egan, Glenn Lowry, Paul LeClerc, Herbert Pardes, Randi Weingarten, William Thompson, Betsy Gotbaum, Scott Stringer,Christine Quinn, and Robert Morgenthau. Now if just each of those people got one friend to pay for a subscription, they'd be in business. [NYSun]

Add Continental to the list of airlines—including American, Northwest, United, US Airways—that will begin charging you to check a bag on domestic flights. The only major airline that so graciously offers you a "complimentary first checked bag"? Delta, baby. [AP]

We always knew that using our brains too much was a bad idea—frowning causes wrinkles, for one thing—but now there's research to prove it. A study has demonstrated that not only does thinking barely burn any more calories than resting, but carrying out intellectual tasks triggers significantly greater hunger. "Caloric overcompensation following intellectual work," says the study's lead researcher, "could contribute to the obesity epidemic currently observed in industrialized countries." Finally, an explanation for all those obese people who turn up for the all-you-can-eat special at Red Lobster. The problem isn't that they were just handed a plate of 43 jumbo shrimp. It's they they just finished intellectually-demanding tasks like economics research and neurosurgery, so it's only natural that they're hungry.

• According to Nielsen, John McCain's acceptance speech at the RNC was watched by more people than Obama's speech last week. [TVWeek]

Model/actress Sofia Vergara having lunch with friends at Da Silvano ... a pregnant Naomi Watts with her baby in hand ... Katie Holmes getting out of a SUV ... a bronzed Claire Danes walking down the street ... Shannen Doherty signing autographs outside the Late Show with David Letterman ... an inebriated Mariah Carey getting a little help standing up from two bodyguards ... and Lindsay Lohan and Samantha Ronson kissing outside the Mercer Hotel last Sunday.

Not that you actually ever go there, but Coney Island will change forever this weekend when the Astroland amusement park finally closes once and for all. Now you can look forward to not buying a bunch of condos with beach views there in a few years.

Did you miss Barack Obama's sit-down with Bill O'Reilly on Fox News's O'Reilly Factor last night because were watching the convention, or you had better things to do altogether? You didn't miss all that much. Video of the relatively gentle interview below.

• Matthew Modine, who plays a developer on the TV series "Weeds," has picked up a condo for $1.7 million. [Real Deal]

The Times takes a look today at Woody Johnson, heir to the Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical fortune, owner of the New York Jets, and Republican fundraiser extraordinare. Johnson was one of the most important men at the Republican convention this year and has been among John McCain's most loyal fundraisers. He was the only fundraiser, the Times tells us, who had his name "emblazoned" on his own hospitality suite. And he's successfully raised money from the likes of Donald Trump, billionaire oil mogul David Koch, and even former enemy Chuck Dolan, the man who thwarted his attempt to build a Jets stadium on the West Side. Of course he's also the father of Casey Johnson, who has been tabloids recently for having dated Courtenay Semel, the daughter of ex-Yahoo CEO (and Democrat) Terry Semel, although we're guessing Casey didn't come up very often in conversation, especially with those Sarah Palin social conservatives. But Woody always has something to talk about with Dick Cheney!