What's socialite Annelise Peterson been up to this summer? She's been "exercising her inner rock star." According to her producer, Peterson has the ability to "channel a big, black diva à la Gladys Knight or Nell Carter from Gimme a Break." The song with the most potential? It's about "self-love and masturbating." [NYO]

After calling the reports "false" and "ridiculous," John Edwards now admits he had an affair with Rielle Hunter. [CNN]

Rocker turned Broadway composer Duncan Sheik, who won a 2007 Tony for his work on Spring Awakening, has sold his Tribeca loft at 195 Hudson Street for $2.65 million. The 2,402-square-foot space is configured as an artist/musician loft, according to the Halstead listing, with one room set up as a recording studio. The buyer is listed as artist William Ryman. [Cityfile]

So Harvey Weinstein isn't exactly the most generous mogul in town. But he gives plenty to political candidates, don't ya know? He was one of Hillary Clinton's most outspoken supporters during her ill-fated run for the White House, and even threatened to disrupt the primary when Democratic party officials didn't pursue a revote in Florida and Michigan. But it wasn't just Harvey who was so generous with Hill. His elderly mother, Miriam—for whom his first film company was named—handed over a total of $4,600 to Hillary in late 2007. As far as we can tell, it was the first time that the 82-year-old grandmother has ever donated to a presidential candidate. No doubt it was Hill's ability to connect with older women—and not Harvey's checkbook—that was responsible for the contribution.

There have been rumors that morale is low at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia ever since the departure of Susan Lyne last month. Then there was news today that the company axed 25 employees, which most certainly didn't do much to lift spirits. But that certainly doesn't seem to be the mood at the company offices judging by the chipper employee photos that Martha has been posting to her blog lately. Martha's been hanging around the office quite a bit this summer (that is, when she's not playing with her air-conditioned tractor) and look at all these satisfied employees she found! This tech guy seems pretty happy—someone even bought him a fan to keep from overheating. How about this cool shuttle bus that ferries staffers to Grand Central? And these customer service reps all have smiles on their faces (although they might just be excited their jobs haven't been outsourced to India yet). So step off, naysayers. This time around, Martha is coming armed with proof.

The most expensive hotel stay in the world. And it's in Abu Dhabi, naturally! [Khaleej Times, via Luxist]

Bad news for all you vodka-loving patriots out there: that bottle of Skyy vodka you're planning to guzzle later tonight was not actually a "product of the USA." The vodka, itself, is made here, which is why is says it's made in the USA on the bottle. But those "distinctive cobalt blue bottles"? They're made in Mexico! At least that's what a woman named Jennifer Martin claims, who filed suit against Skyy after she picked up some booze for a Independence Day celebration but had insisted on only buying "American made" beverages, and then got fooled into picking up some Skyy. Martin has filed a class action suit and is asking for $75,000 for each plaintiff, plus $5 million in punitive damages. You can review the lawsuit below. And you can probably expect to see Martin make an appearance on Lou Dobbs next week.

• Liev Schreiber and Naomi Watts haven't even moved into One Madison Park yet, but they're already headed upstairs. The couple has relisted the two apartments they'd purchased on the building's 27th floor, and are moving up to a four-bedroom, full-floor pad, which was listed at $10 million. [WSJ]

Amtrak is having a fine year thanks to the plunging economy and the rising price of gas. According to the Journal, the number of people riding the railway jumped 13.9% in July from a year earlier, and it's on pace to have a record year. Except now they system is getting overcrowded and uncomfortable. And Amtrak now says it needs at least $5 billion for upgrades. You can go back to taking planes now. [WSJ]

Celebrating birthdays today: Real estate broker Deborah Grubman—who also happens to be the wife of Allen and stepmom of Lizzie—turns 56. Party planner extraordinaire David Monn is 45. Designer John Varvatos turns 54. Dustin Hoffman is 71. Two former boy band-ers, Drew Lachey and JC Chasez, both turn 32 today. Tennis star Roger Federer is 27. And Robin Quivers is 56. Saturday is the big day for Chris Cuomo (left) who will be celebrating his 37th. Michael Kors will be turning 49. Allure's Linda Wells will be 50. And real estate broker Larry Kaiser and designer Peter Marino will be a year older on Saturday, too. On Sunday: Fashion icon Betsey Johnson will be 66, actress Angie Harmon will be 36, and real estate developer Harry Macklowe will turn 71.

The Obama and McCain campaigns have released lists of their biggest bundlers, the 98 people who have helped raise more than $500,000 for the two presidential candidates so far. There are nearly 20 residents of the tristate region on the list, although McCain has a significant local advantage—12 people versus Obama's four. See the names and details for yourself after the jump.

• John Edwards probably won't be invited to speak at the Democratic national convention unless he addresses those nagging rumors that he had a love child with Rielle Hunter. [Page Six]

• The bill for the auction-rate securities mess is now adding up by the hour. Merrill Lynch, Citigroup, UBS, and Morgan Stanley have all contributed to to the tally. [Dealbook]

Harvey Weinstein has had trouble coming up with box office hits as of late (and has had to contend with speculation that his film company may not remain independent for much longer), but he's not exactly in the poor house. He's got a lavish townhouse in the Village and a massive spread in Connecticut. And he's diversified into cable channels, magazines, websites, bars, and fashion companies. Does he give back to the community? Not so much! At least not when it comes to writing checks in honor of his mother and late father, Miriam and Max, for whom his previous film company, Miramax was named (and which he sold to Disney for about $80 million in 1993). Last year, the Max Family Foundation, which is controlled by Harvey and his brother Bob, handed out $96,000. When you subtract the foundation's legal and accounting expenses, though, the Weinsteins' charitable contributions total just $64,000. Documentation after the jump!

• Kate Moss might be heading to China as part of a deal with Topshop that could net the supermodel as much as $48 million. [Telegraph]

There are times when controversial comments are spliced up and taken out of context and come off worse in print. Unfortunately for Martin Bashir, the journo who delivered a sexist keynote speech at a conference last month, this isn't the case. And now there's video to prove it! [Gawker]

Brooke Shields and daughter Rowan taking a walk through SoHo ... Penelope Cruz leaving the ABC studios ... Katie Holmes and Suri checking out Little Mermaid on Broadway ... Diane Sawyer showing up at Jean Georges for lunch ... Leighton Meester walking around downtown in a strapless dress ... Brody Jenner filming a commercial in Washington Square Park ... Cosby Show alum Lisa Bonet filming a scene for a new TV show on the Lower East Side ... and Petra Nemcova showing off her new haircut at the screening for the film Holly.

If you didn't make it aboard the Airbus A380 last week when it arrived in New York for the first time, there are plenty of photos online to look at, including pics of those faux-marble bathrooms with showers for first-class passengers. The best thing? You can get drunk with the push of a button! [Pics, video @ Flickr]

• New details about Tina Brown's forthcoming (and Barry Diller-funded) news site: It's going to be called The Daily Beast in an homage the Evelyn Waugh novel, Scoop. [Baltimore Sun, via Gawker]

So Michael Bloomberg won't be going to the Olympics in Beijing, or attending the upcoming Democratic or Republican conventions. At least that's what he revealed today at a press conference alongside Jay-Z. During which he also dropped in a reference to one of Jay's songs. So if you don't see him at the conventions, but you do see him bobbing his head at the Young Jeezy concert in two weeks, now you know why. The video of the mayor and the rapper is here.