• ABC has offered George Stephanopoulos the job of Good Morning America co-host and "intensive negotiations" are now reportedly underway. [WP]
• More on how the deal to hand over control of NBC to Comcast came together; and more on how the deal will be viewed by regulators in Washington.
• Oprah won't be hosting her own show when her cable network debuts in 2011, but she will have a "significant presence" on OWN, reportedly. [NYP]
• The magazine graveyard: National Geographic Adventure is no more. [NYT
• Cuts: Thomson Reuters is laying off 240; Daily Candy is shutting down seven of its 12 editions and laying off half a dozen; and ALM is shuttering four titles.
• Town & Country is planning to sex up the magazine, apparently. [WWD]
• An unnamed former Forbes staffer is writing a tell-all about the mag. [DF]
• Lou Dobbs is a nasty, evil man. But you probably knew that. [TDB]
• Someone is paying "at least $100 million" for Friendster? [Reuters]
• This year's Grammy nominations were announced this morning. [LAT]

Former Lehman Brothers CEO Dick Fuld has been out of sight for months now. (He's been spending much of his time holed up at his house in Idaho.) His problems, howver, continue, it seems. Over the past year, he's unloaded part of his art collection, sold off his apartment on Park Avenue, and given up his memberships at several high-priced country clubs. And yet he's now a bit behind on the $212,000 property tax bill for his house in Florida— the one, as we first reported, that he flipped to his wife for next to nothing last November. [TDB]

Off-Track Betting, the quasi-public agency that has provided so much joy to this city's population of gambling-addicted, alcoholic miscreants—and turned more than a few neighborhoods into cesspools in the process—has filed for bankruptcy protection and now plans to scale back operations. [NYT]

"Man cleavage—plunging necklines slit open to reveal chest hair, pectoral muscles, maybe more—is back," today's Wall Street Journal reported. How did Pat Kiernan, the beloved and normally buttoned-up NY1 anchor and host of "In the Papers" respond? He showed off his stuff, naturally. [NY1]

With politicians and pundits calling for blood, it was only a matter of time before there'd be some serious fallout from last week's crashing of the White House state dinner. Now there is. Three Secret Service officers were placed on administrative leave today over the security breach. And more trouble is brewing for Tareq and Michaele Salahi. Not only could they be forced to testify before the House Homeland Security committee, the couple's super-suspicious charity is now under investigation by the state of Virginia. Good work, Bravo. [ABC, WP]

Art Basel Miami kicked off today and everyone who's anyone in the art world—from dealers to collectors to professional party-hoppers—has now headed south and Miami is now even more awash with air kisses and insincere compliments. (If you're in town and looking to crash a good party, head over to the event that Peter Brant, Aby Rosen and Alberto Mugrabi are hosting this evening; it's expected to be one of the fair's highlights.)

Rachel Uchitel, the New York-based club promoter who is believed to have had an affair with Tiger Woods, was supposed to give a press conference today along with her publicity-seeking attorney Gloria Allred. But she abruptly canceled it this morning. Is she waiting for a news outlet to cut her a big check? Or is she keeping quiet because—as TMZ suggests—Woods may make it worth her while to stay silent? That's all up in the air at the moment. But if you're wondering what would lead a woman down the path of tabloid infamy, this may shed a little light on the underlying psychology.

Think you've ever had a really uncomfortable flight? Just be thankful you've never been forced to sit next to this guy. [NYP]

Fashion designer (and now "soulful" filmmaker) Tom Ford has worn the same signature uniform for years now, a custom-made black suit accompanied by a white dress shirt that's almost always unbuttoned halfway down his chest. Occasionally, he'll wear the tea-colored sunglasses he's long been fond of; and you'll never, ever find him baring his teeth in photographs. But that isn't the meticulous designer's only quirk: He always tips his head to the left "to highlight his best side." [NYT]

Amy Poehler and Will Arnett walking in Soho with their son Archie ... Jude Law getting in a car outside his apartment in the Village ... Jessica Simpson walking in Midtown ... Hugh Jackman carrying daughter Ava home from school ... Catherine Zeta-Jones leaving her apartment building with her dog ... Christy Turlington taking daughter Grace home from school ... Cate Blanchett pushing her son in a stroller ... Meg Ryan walking in the Village ... Taylor Momsen filming scenes for Gossip Girl ... Naomi Watts walking into Whole Foods with son Alexander ... Adam Brody and Dianna Agron taking a coffee break on the set of their new movie on Long Island ... Lo Bosworth leaving her hotel ... and Matthew Broderick walking son James to school.

It's a done deal: NBC has a new corporate overlord. So how did it go down?

Wall Street is feeling flush, clearly. Yesterday afternoon, a "resurgent" Bank of America announced that it plans to repay the $45 billion in government aid it received during the darkest days of the financial crisis last fall. And while you might expect that Goldman Sachs to be on the defensive given all the negative press that's come its way in recent weeks, it's behaving in quite the opposite fashion according to the Wall Street Journal, which reports the bank has been meeting with its investors recently to convince them why its employees are totally entitled to record bonuses this year. And then there's Deutsche Bank:

• Interior designer James Huniford (left) has sold his townhouse at 26 Bank Street. The 3,822-square-foot home, which Huniford bought for $5.18 million in 2005 and listed for $8.2 million in June, sold for $7.25 million to Jocelyn C. White and Annabel Catherine White. [Cityfile]
• Former Dateline co-anchor Stone Phillips has put his 4,100-square-foot apartment at 8 West 19th Street on the market. The three-bedroom spread, which comes with library and soundproof media room, is listed for $4.995. Phillips paid $4.45 million for the place back in 2005. [NYP, Corcoran]
• Shopping center mogul Murray Goodman isn't giving up on his duplex at 960 Fifth Avenue. The 5,300-square-foot co-op, which Goodman first listed for $32.5 million in January, has since gone down in price four times since then. It's now down to $25.6 million, although that's still $24.2 million more than what Goodman paid for the place back in 1981. [Cityfile, Sotheby's]

The always amusing Michael Musto of the Village Voice celebrates his 54th birthday today. Julianne Moore is turning 49. Daryl Hannah is turning 49, too. Actress Amanda Seyfried is 24. Ozzy Osbourne is turning 61. French filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard is 79. Actor Brendan Fraser is turning 41. Retired Olympic figure skater Katarina Witt is 44. Freaky televangelist Benny Hinn is 57. And infamous polygamist Warren Jeffs turns 54 today.

• It's been a busy 24 hours for Tiger Woods. Just after admitting he'd "let his family down" yesterday, a voicemail he apparently left for alleged mistress Jaimee Grubbs surfaced and put a nail in his adulterous coffin. Now Rachel Uchitel, one of the other women he supposedly was involved with, is coming clean about her affair and will be giving a press conference later today. [TMZ, NYP]
• Meanwhile, Tiger and wife Elin are supposedly in "intense" marriage counseling. They're also in intense discussions with their lawyers, apparently. Rumor has it they're renegotiating their pre-nup and Elin may collect a "hefty seven-figure amount" if she agrees to stay with him. [CST, Us]
• Tinsley Mortimer's family sounds more white trash than high society. Her mom, Dale Mercer, got into a shoving match recently with the woman who's been dating her ex-husband. George Mercer—Tinsley's dad—says the 29-year-old woman, Krissy Morrow, is merely his "escort" and he's never even kissed her. But Krissy says she married Mercer last month. George says the marriage didn't count since he was "drunk as [expletive]" at the time and because he's married to someone else anyway. Let's hope all this nonsense—like the report Tinsley was seen making out with Constantine Maroulis on Tuesday night—is just another PR stunt for her reality show. [P6]

Photo: Flickr/rhockens

• Rupert Murdoch is hoping to give the Times a run for its money. The mogul plans to put $15 million into the NYC edition of the Wall Street Journal. [NYO]
• ABC still hasn't said who's replacing Diane Sawyer on Good Morning America, which has led to some "puzzlement and frustration" among staffers. [LAT]
• Why is Comcast planning to keep Jeff Zucker on as NBC Universal's CEO after it takes control of the company? There are no easy explanations, alas. [NYT]
• The Times may "prune" its collection of 70 blogs to cut expenses. [NYO]
• Sam Zell has stepped down as CEO of Tribune; he'll remain chairman. [NYT]
• The lineup for Sundance 2010 was announced today. [Vulture, NYT]
• Tiger Woods' spicy extracurricular activities would have come out two years ago if the National Enquirer hadn't cut a deal with the golfer. Allegedly. [NYP]

Swine flu is terribly infectious. That you knew. But were you aware that loneliness can spread among groups of people just as easily? That's what a bunch of researchers are reporting, so the next time you board a plane, you may want to avoid the dude hacking up a lung as well as the man weeping into his hands. [Reuters]

According to data released today by the New York City Department of Health, Olivia—yes, Olivia—was the most popular girls name with white women in 2008. It's time for a recount! [NYDN]

So much for New York's reputation as one of the most liberal and accepting states in the nation. The State Senate defeated a bill that would have legalized same-sex marriage this afternoon after Democrats were unable to convince a single Republican senator to vote for the measure. [NYT]