United Airlines said today that it will require obese travelers to buy a second seat on flights that are especially full and in cases where other passengers complain about being cramped. And how do you know if you're too fat to fly? "Travelers must be able to put the arm rest between seats down to its normal position and buckle a seat belt with one extension belt." There you have it: When you start creeping into one extension belt territory, it's probably time to clip that Xenadrine ad out of the in-flight magazine. [Bloomberg]

The ladies of Code Pink—you remember them, don't you?—protested outside the offices of AIG today. The turnout wasn't anything to brag out, as you can see above. But Reverend Billy did show up with a bullhorn, so at least the day wasn't a total loss! We must admit, though, that we're a little bit concerned to see that the good reverend has been so busy protesting, he clearly hasn't even had time to change his clothes. After the jump, a couple of photos from Billy's "exorcism" of Bank of America ATM machine in Union Square yesterday.

• More bad news for the magazine biz: Ad pages fell 26 percent during the first quarter, although you probably guessed that when you used last month's issue of any number of Condé Nast magazines to floss your teeth. [NYT]
• Steve Brill plans to save journalism! Or die trying, at least. [NYT]
• Sam Zell now says his acquisition of the parent company of the Chicago Tribune in 2007 was "a mistake." And a rather expensive one at that. [CT]
• Is NBC's long ratings slump over? Jeff Zucker sure is hoping so! [LAT]
• 20/20's Bob Brown has been dismissed after 30 years at the network. Insult to injury: He was told he could freelance for the network if he wants. [P6]

You can tell Seven jeans apart from the denim sold at discount department stores by the price tag, of course. But that doesn't mean Seven is going to stand idly by when someone comes along and tries to sell knock-off jeans for less than half the price at Marshalls. Seven for All Mankind filed a lawsuit last week charging InDesign Apparel and Oleg Cassini with doing just that, producing a line of denim "bearing an embroidered design on the back-pockets that is strikingly and confusingly similar" to Seven's own "distinctive brand," goods on sale at Marshalls locations across the country. Seven says it informed the parties involved to knock it off (as it were), but they've failed to comply with the cease and desist letters that have been sent their way. So Seven is now suing for trademark and copyright infringement (among other things), and asking a court to put a halt to it. Oh, and they're also asking the court to grant them "up to $150,000 per work infringed," which should be about a trillion dollars or so. The full lawsuit is below. Flip to the end of the document to see the two labels side by side and play the role of judge and jury.

What do Donald Trump or Anderson Cooper know about taxes? Beats us, but for some reason the pair came up at the top of the list of "celebrities Americans feel most comfortable doing their taxes." The Donald came in first with 32 percent of the vote; Coop followed behind with 27 percent. That Trump came in first may be slightly surprising considering he has trouble keeping his own finances in order. Much less surprising? Paris Hilton came in dead last.

Another sign that Palm Beach is truly reeling in the wake of the Bernie Madoff mess: Rooms at the most luxe hotels in town—including Bernie's personal fave, The Breakers—are now just $19. [HotelChatter, NYT]

Is there a single major law firm in America accepting new recruits in 2009? Doesn't look like it! Earlier this week, the Times covered the story of a sixth-year associate at Skadden, Arps who was offered $80,000 to take a year off. (She's hoping to spend her time off "teaching English to monks in Sri Lanka" and helping to "bring solar power to remote parts of the Himalayas.") Even more common are the firms informing new associates that they're pushing back start dates by a few months. Or years.

It's a popular sentiment at the moment: This recession is not only temporarily affecting our ability to spend, it's actually changing society's value system, so that we're genuinely less bothered about acquiring a new Prada purse and more interested in strolling hand-in-hand in the park. Sounds lovely, doesn't it? A pity it's delusional, say psychologists who believe that even though everyone is abstaining from extravagant spending now, they won't hold out forever.

Beyoncé leaving Bar Pitti yesterday after having lunch with Jay-Z ... Zoe Kravitz walking around ... James Franco studying at the library ... Minnie Driver shopping with her mom in Soho and later pushing son Henry in a stroller in the Village ... Russell Crowe walking around in sweats on the Upper West Side ... Jason Bateman carrying daughter Francesca around on his shoulders ... Kathleen Turner hailing a taxi in Midtown ... Agyness Deyn walking with a friend in the East Village ... Sean Penn filming scenes for his new movie, Fair Game ... Zac Efron leaving his hotel in Midtown ... Michelle Williams and Spike Jonze walking in the rain in Brooklyn with Matilda ... and Diane Kruger shopping in Soho.

You know what the world desperately needs? Another hastily-written, bandwagon-jumping dating manual that details all the ways in which single women must lie, fake, manipulate, and tie themselves up in knots so that some guy might consent to be their boyfriend. So yay for Rachel Greenwald—a Harvard MBA, no less—who has scraped what we hope to God is the final layer from the bottom of this tragic genre's barrel with the imaginatively-titled Why He Didn't Call You Back. Go on, aren't you dying to hear?

We're looking for some extra help here at Cityfile. Perhaps you're looking for some extra work? We're currently seeking a couple of people to help with writing, research, and other assorted projects. It's a part-time gig and the pay is modest, but it's fun work. And it's better than watching soap operas all day and mourning the miserable state of the job market. Interested? Email us some background info and we'll be in touch.

Sorry to crush your hopes and dreams, but contrary to reports earlier this week, disgraced former Gov. Eliot Spitzer is not planning to run for office in 2010, or so says "a source familiar with Spitzer's thinking." This is most unfortunate news, since we were really looking forward to seeing Ashley Dupre make an appearance in a negative campaign ad, but we'll survive somehow. [NYDN]

• Dr. Lindsay Rosenwald appears to have given up on his seemingly hopeless quest to find someone willing to pay $90 million for his four-bedroom apartment at 15 CPW—for the time being, at least. The biotech venture capitalist, who paid $30 million for a duplex on the building's 18th and 19th floors last April and re-listed the spread for $90 million a few weeks later, is now renting out the apartment for $75,000 a month. [NYO]
• Attorney Bruce Kaye and his wife Deborah, who paid $7.8 million for a two-bedroom condo at 15 CPW less than a year ago, have put the 32nd-floor apartment on the market for $11.9 million. [Cityfile, MRP]
• Author Gary Shteyngart has put his one-bedroom apartment at 575 Grand Street on the market for $450,000. [Curbed, LoHo]

Yesterday, the Daily News reported that mega-developer Larry Silverstein has collected more than $21 million from the Port Authority since 2006 to "develop" the Freedom Tower—even though he no longer has any role in constructing the 1,776-foot tower. Today, an unrelated Wall Street Journal article fills us in on what he's been doing with the big gift from taxpayers: He's trading in his old yacht (above) and building himself a bigger, better one:

Seth Rogen turns 27 today. Actress Emma Thompson is 50. Jason Sehorn, the former NFL cornerback and husband of Angie Harmon, is 38. Olympic swimmer Dara Torres is turning 42. Songwriter Linda Perry is 44. Socialite Jamee Gregory turns 60. And Harry Potter star Emma Watson turns 19 today.

• Is Heidi Klum pregnant with her fourth kid? That appears to be the case, since sketches of a gown she's planning to wear in a future Project Runway episode have made "room for a bump." [MSNBC]
• Are you a disgraced sports star or politician? Congrats: You're getting a reality TV show! Rod Blagojevich has signed on to appear in NBC's I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here, assuming a judge lets him go to Costa Rica for the taping. Meanwhile, Michael Vick is reportedly in talks to create a reality show of his own, one that will document his attempts to "make amends for his past." Your turn, Spitzer! [THR, NYP, THR]
• Looks like Barbara Bush and boyfriend Jay Blount won't be tying the knot in Kennebunkport this summer after all. And here we were hoping for both a Bush and Clinton family wedding the same month. [People]
• Dina Lohan was spotted dropping Lindsay off outside a club in LA on Monday night. Because, clearly, that's what good mothers do. [OK!, TMZ]
• That big Michael Jackson memorabilia auction? It ain't happening. [Reuters]

• UBS is cutting another 7,500 jobs after posting a $1.8 billion quarterly loss and clients pulled more than $20 billion out of the firm. [BN, NYT]
• Andrew Cuomo strikes again: Carlyle Group is now under investigation by the attorney general and the SEC over whether it illegally paid third parties to secure $1.3 billion in investments from New York's pension fund. [BN]
• BlackRock plans to raise $5-$7 billion to scoop up toxic assets. [Reuters]
• Scandal du jour: Danny Pang, who heads up the $4 billion fund Private Equity Management Group, has a few questions to answer, it would seem. [WSJ]

• Barneys' owner pumped more cash into the struggling retailer today, which will allow it to pay for its shipments for the rest of the year. And thank goodness for that! [Reuters]
• Rumor has it Madonna will return as the face of Louis Vuitton this fall. [NYM]
• Rocawear's roving pop up shop—a 50-foot-long tractor-trailer filled with zebra-striped furniture—rolled into town today. [Racked]
• Getting married? Bridal dresses at Vera Wang are now 50 percent off. [NYM]

Ruth Madoff paid another visit to her imprisoned husband yesterday. When she exited the Metropolitan Correctional Center, however, a photographer spotted her carrying a plastic bag with several dollar bills inside. Is Bernie Madoff now fleecing his fellow prisoners and having Ruth smuggle out the booty? That was TMZ's punchline. A more plausible scenario is that Ruth tried to bring Bernie some cash, although if that's the case, Ruth should be extremely thankful she's safely ensconced in her East 64th Street penthouse this evening and not spending the night behind bars. Allow us to explain:

• The Beatrice Inn will need to install fire sprinklers, add an additional exit, and create a wider entrance to the haunt if it wants to reopen its doors. [P6]
• Frederick Lesort's Frederick's Madison filed for bankruptcy today. [Crain's]
• Masa charges a 20% service charge to diners' tabs, although they prefer to call it an "administrative fee." Of course if you can still afford to spend $400 per person on sushi, you can probably afford to additional fee, too. [Eater]
• Speaking of overpriced spots, Daniel is now offering an early-bird special: The three-course prix-fixe menu with wine is (only) $98 per person, but you'll have to consume it between 5:30 to 6pm and on weeknights only. [TONY]
• Tavern on the Green bidders took a final tour of the place today. [NYT]
• Silvano Marchetto's Scuderia gets a blah review in the News today. [NYDN]
• Beverage conglomerate smackdown: Pepsi is now suing Coke for suggesting Powerade is better than Gatorade when, in fact, they're both lousy. [AP]