Following yesterday's late night melee, we wondered: after four nights of infighting, would détente emerge this evening? Nope! Conan O'Brien embarrassed NBC in the best way ever, Jay Leno personally attacked David Letterman, Jimmy Kimmel mocked everyone, and much more.

• Word has it Conan O'Brien and NBC have finally reached a deal. He'll leave with $25-30 million and could end up joining Fox eventually, although a deal is far from certain. As for NBC, fallout from the mess is expected to linger for a long time. And now Jimmy Fallon is the The Tonight Show's heir apparent.
• The networks are going to extraordinary lengths (and spending small fortunes) to cover the disaster in Haiti, not surprisingly. [THR]
• Things are looking up for financially challenged photog Annie Leibovitz. She's settled one of the lawsuits that was filed against her last year. [P6]
• The search is on for Simon Cowell's replacement on American Idol. [AP]
• Erica Hill is taking over for Russ Mitchell on CBS' Early Show. [NYT]
• A bunch of pink slips have landed at Universal Music. [LAT]
• These aren't fruitful times for aspiring novelists/screenwriters. [WSJ]
• Ricky Gervais hosts the Golden Globes on Sunday night. [MSNBC, NYM]

NBC has drawn the long knives and dispatched NBC Sports titan and former late-night guru Dick Ebersol—who produced Saturday Night Live during the Joe Piscipo years—to strike back at Conan O'Brien in a New York Times interview.

NBC's Leno-Conan scheduling war: Fertile comedic material, and a window into late-night hosts' souls. A guide to Letterman's, Conan's, and Jimmy Kimmel's subconscious feelings for Jay.

Last night Conan O'Brien put his Tonight Show set on Craigslist: "guaranteed to last for up to seven months!!" and "Designed for 11:35 but can be easily moved." Shortly after the gag aired, the post was "flagged for removal."

This evening's late night lineup definitely delivered the drama. For the first time, Jay Leno went after Conan O'Brien, before being DESTROYED on his own show by Jimmy Kimmel. O'Brien continued to go rogue, Letterman didn't let up, and more.

NBC will not, as has been speculated, keep Conan O'Brien off the air until 2013, says The Daily Beast's Kim Masters, who reports "Conan's Exit Confirmed." (Albeit by an anonymous source.) O'Brien will take a payout, Masters says, and the network will strike his non-compete clause, which means he'll be able to rant about them indefinitely on other networks. However, "should Fox go forward with a late-night show with O'Brien now, it will take months before he would be ready to go on the air." [TDB]

• Is NBC close to resolving the mammoth mess it has on its hands? TMZ reports the network has reached a deal with Conan O'Brien (in which he'll leave NBC with some amount of money, and Leno, in turn, will take over The Tonight Show). Others, however, say the negotiations continue and NBC chief Jeff Zucker's been playing hardball with O'Brien. So who knows. Fortunately, Conan has lots of exciting options to consider when he finally walks out the door.
• Related: NBC announced its new, post-Leno primetime lineup today. [NYT]
• George Clooney will host a live telethon on Jan. 22 to benefit earthquake victims in Haiti. ABC, NBC, MTV, HBO and CNN will all broadcast it. [EW]
• Why isn't Fox News covering the tragedy in Haiti? Because rehashing faux controversies involving President Obama always comes first, duh. [MM]
• Avatar could top Titanic and become the top-grossing movie in history this weekend. In related news, it seems the Avatar backlash is in full swing.
• Robert Pattinson won't be Tobey Maguire's replacement in Spider-Man. [E!]
• American Idol creator Simon Fuller is starting up a new company. [LAT]
• Editor & Publisher is back in business under new ownership. [E&P]
• Is the ratings dry spell at MTV almost over? MTV execs hope so! [LAT]
• The cleanest and dirtiest cafeterias in the media industry. [DF]

According to Nikki Finke, bald TV prick Jeff Zucker is so furious at Conan O'Brien's insolence that he's threatening to "ice" him and enforce the noncompete provisions of his contract, which would keep him off the air until 2013.

The Late Night buzz is still going strong, but Conan has yet to be very specific about his future plans. People love him, but his many forays into executive producing have been abysmal failures. Conan's got some gambling to do.

Stern was as juicy this morning as all the late night shows were last night. He spouts a good deal of vitriol towards Leno. So much in fact that he's debating making his first Tonight Show appearance in years.

The day after Co Co said No No to moving his time slot, Gawker.TV covered all of the late night shows to make sure not a single quip or sly remark escaped our radar. And tonight, nobody held back.

• 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]

How better to channel ones rage over the fools at NBC than in art form? We're rounding up the best artwork and most ridiculous internet memes that support Conan O'Brien— or hate on Leno and NBC. Onward!

Many years ago, NBC decided that the guy who came up with the idea of doing concerts on The Today Show would make a great network head. Now they are in last place. Except in jokes, where they are first.

It's safe to say we have all forgotten the man with the most dynamic opinion on the late night landscape: George Lopez. What does he have to say? And how can he turn this debacle into a racist joke?

Conan O'Brien took to the airwaves tonight on the day he announced he'll leave NBC if he has to follow Jay Leno with another NBC/Leno-bashing broadcast. David Letterman, Jimmy Kimmel and Craig Ferguson joined in, while Leno stayed mostly quiet.

• 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]

Now that beloved carrot-top Conan O'Brien has gone and laid a gentle smack down on NBC for their time-shifting late night foxtrot, what are some ways he could fuck over the (already so fucked) network? Let's imagine some possibilities.