Comedian D.L. Hughley was pummeled by critics when his weekend talk show debuted on CNN last fall. "What the hell was CNN thinking?" a columnist for AdAge asked after watching the first episode. It remains unclear what was running through the minds of CNN execs when they signed him up for the spectacularly unfunny program featuring painfully awkward interviews. But the network may have come to its senses or at least decided to cut its losses. A source tells us that CNN has decided to cancel the show due to "budgetary constraints." We haven't heard back yet from reps at CNN, although the move wouldn't be surprising given CNN's troubles as of late and the fact that HLN (the network you used to know as Headline News) is now "beating its older sibling CNN in the target 25-54 demo," according to Broadcasting & Cable. We'll let you know as soon as we hear more. Update: It's confirmed: Hughley is out. An official statement from CNN and more detail on his departure below.

Gov. David Paterson may just boost his sagging approval ratings yet: He announced today that he plans to take a 10 percent pay cut. "I will symbolically make the gesture for the state," he said to reporters in Buffalo this afternoon. "I will take that sacrifice." Of course, he'll also have a fine excuse if it comes out once again that he gave a total of $150 to charity. [NYT/City Room]

Michael Wolff has a little critique of Barack Obama posted to Newser.com if you're interested. "A frenzy of confidence and desire"? "A desire to be loved"? "Greedy, grasping, wanting"? "A sense of sleaziness"? You'll have to excuse us: For a moment, we thought he was finally addressing this! He isn't, alas. And so the wait goes on. [Newser]

Chace Crawford hailing a cab in the West Village ... Mickey Rourke walking into Nello's on Madison Avenue ... Cameron Diaz leaving her apartment building ... Kate Winslet taking her daughter to school ... Tyra Banks having lunch at Gusto on Greenwich Avenue ... Steve Martin standing on the set of his new movie in Brooklyn ... Naomi Watts and Liev Schreiber holding hands while walking downtown ... and Katie Holmes filming scenes for The Extra Man outside the Russian Tea Room.

Yet another sign that the apocalypse really must be near: Wal-Mart says it is looking for space for its first Manhattan location. The chain supposedly passed on the Virgin space in Union Square; another possible location is along the corridor of crap on Sixth Avenue in Chelsea. But on the plus side, Sarah Palin will finally have somewhere to shop if she ever comes back into town. [NYP]

• HarperCollins is launching a new imprint which will focus on "pop culture, sports, style and content derived from the Internet." Clever! [NYT]
• Sony Pictures is cutting 300 employees, or 4% of its workforce. [LAT]
• YouTube and Universal are in talks to build a "hub" for music videos. [WSJ]
• Jon Stewart went to town on CNBC last night, in case you missed it. [Portfolio]
• For some reason, NBC has decided to bring back Heroes next season. [THR]
• In the first two months of this year, 7,453 jobs were lost at media companies. You know, just in case you're keeping track or whatever. [THR]

At last, an answer to the age old question: What does a spectacularly surgically-enhanced, platinum blonde, post-op, forty-something tranny smell like? Steamed rice, mandarins, bergamot, orange flowers, strawberry, and cucumber, with just a dash of Cristal. Yes, Amanda Lepore the Fragrance has arrived, and can be yours for just $950. Naturally, it comes in a sparkly disco ball-shaped bottle, and even better, it's fermented, so will linger on and on. Yum!

It looks like 20 Pine Street and Rector Square aren't the only downtown apartment buildings facing lawsuits from frustrated, angry buyers. Steve An paid $820,000 for an apartment in mogul Lev Leviev's District condo building at 111 Fulton Street back in 2007. Maybe he isn't so impressed with how Amy Sacco's "exclusive lifestyle concept" has been turning out? An filed suit against Leviev's company on Tuesday, and is now demanding his $82,000 deposit back. You can look at the complaint for yourself below.

Even if you've never stopped to think about what the fashion director of a store actually does—they're not buyers, or merchandisers, or window dressers, or marketing execs, but sprinkle their oracular wisdom (shoulder pads: back! Heels: high! Hems: flouncy!) over all of these domains—you may still be taken aback to learn that this civilizing breed of person is endangered, bordering on, dare we say it, obsolete. Both Michael Fink of Saks and LaVelle Olexa of Lord & Taylor have been let go, neither to be replaced, and their counterparts at other stores must be wondering what the future holds. But who, or what, is to blame for this sad state of affairs? It practically goes without saying that it's those twin destroyers of culture: blogs and reality TV!

Hope you didn't make the big mistake of taking Michael Bloomberg's investment advice yesterday! The mayor singled out three companies, telling reporters that General Electric, Macy's and Saks were all "irreplaceable brands" and were undervalued in the current market. But with the exception of GE, which is about where it started, both Macy's and Saks are down big today. Guess a career as an investment advisor probably isn't in the cards if his re-election campaign doesn't pan out this November.

• The massive penthouse at 895 Park that belonged to the late fashion tycoon and movie producer (Tootsie, Showgirls) Charles Evans has undergone its third price cut since it went on the market for $29.5 million in October 2007. The four-bedroom triplex, which was discounted to $25 million in May '08 and then lowered to $20 million in October, is now on the market for just $15.5 million. [Cityfile, Stribling]
• Matthew Bronfman has put his 9,000-square-foot mansion in Katonah, known as Treetops, up for rent. It's $28,500 a month, just so you know. [NYP]
• Gary and Charlotte DePersia, both senior vice presidents at the Corcoran Group, have sold their 5,000-square-foot, Celerie Kemble-designed home in Amagansett for $4 million. [Newsday]

So everyone knows that the art world's in the doldrums, that even deep-pocketed collectors are holding off buying, and that the only reason people even show up to art openings anymore is to quaff the free champagne. But you'd think that a seven foot-wide portrait of a smirking Bernie Madoff, priced at a mere $100,000, would have some takers, right? Strangely not: Disappointingly for the artist Yan Pei-Ming, his masterpiece, on sale at the Armory Show which kicked off yesterday at the West Side Piers, has so far attracted no interest.

After weeks of anticipation and confusion, the listing for Sting's duplex apartment at the Brentmore at 88 Central Park West has finally turned up online. The 6,600-square-foot spread, which is listed with Halstead's Mark Friedman, features five bedrooms, grand staircase, and no less than 23 closets. And it can be yours for just $19 million! Take a tour for yourself after the jump.

Eva Mendes turns 35 today. One of New York's richest men, oil billionaire David Koch, is 69. Supermodel-turned-TV host Niki Taylor is turning 34. Actor Kevin Connolly is 35. Former AOL exec and Huffington Post co-founder Kenny Lerer is 57. Sheila Birnbaum, Skadden's "Queen of Toxic Torts," is 69. Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante turns 39. Publicity-seeking pastor Joel Osteen turns 46. And the more talkative member of Penn & Teller, Penn Jillette, is celebrating his 54th birthday.

• Whoops! Jeremy Piven was seen eating a mercury-laden plate of tuna tartare and calamari salad last weekend, although his publicist is now denying the account. [MSNBC]
• "Insiders" say that Ivana Trump and Rossano Rubicondi did not, in fact, marry because they were hopelessly in love, but because it was all part of a deal to stir up some publicity and the two even had a contract drawn up. Our faith in romance has been crushed! [NYDN]
• How did the press know Chris Brown was in Miami with Rihanna last weekend? He told them so, silly. In related news, Rihanna is reportedly refusing to testify against him (even though prosecutors plan to move forward). And Brown is scheduled to be arraigned today, although it's unclear if he'll make a courthouse appearance. [P6, NYP, People]
• Jeff Toobin changed his Facebook status to "Married" yesterday. That'll clear everything up! [P6]

• Andrew Cuomo has issued subpoenas to several of the Merrill Lynch employees who made it on to the highest-paid list for 2008. [WSJ, DB]
• Merrill is now suing Deutsche Bank for "raiding" several top bankers. [BN]
• More Merrill news: Two ex-CEOs say they were victims of Madoff. [Reuters]
• GE seems to be in some serious trouble thanks to losses at GE Capital; shares of the company are at their lowest point since '91. [WSJ, BN, DB]
• UBS execs on Capitol Hill said the bank has no plans to give up the names of clients behind the 52,000 accounts connected to illegal tax shelters. [NYT]
• The good news: The number of new jobless claims dropped last week. The not-so-good news: Worker productivity is down. [NYT, BN]

Last June, HarperCollins filed suit against Victoria Gotti after she failed to turn in a memoir she'd agreed to write (and for which she'd been paid a $70,000 advance). The reason? Gotti claimed the publisher had demanded she provide inside dirt on her late father, Mafia boss John Gotti, whereas she thought the book was going to just be about her. "They wanted more of dad than I was willing to give," she said at the time. It looks like someone's had a change of mind. Publishers Marketplace reports that Gotti has signed a new book deal:

• Why do people like to watch models falling down? "Is it because us mere mortals love to take pleasure in seeing the beautiful go down? Is it fashion show turned fashion spectacle? Is it the same logic as watching a car crash?" Yes, yes, and yes. [Pipeline]
• Editors who turned up to Gareth Pugh's show in Paris were shown an 8-minute video instead of a runway show. The same one that appeared online. Surprise! [Fashionologie, Fashionista]
• Meet Ruth, Marc Jacobs's secret weapon on Bleecker Street. [Racked]
• Kenneth Cole cut 10 percent of his workforce last week. [Reuters]
• PETA's new anti-fur campaign features strippers. Classy. [Gawker]
• Lou Doillon is opening a concept store in Paris later this year. [Fashionista]
• Rebecca Taylor is introducing a line of shoes and jewelry. [FWD]
• Badgley Mischka's new ad campaign was shot by Annie Leibovitz and features Eva Longoria, Brooke Shields, Lauren Hutton and Anjelica Huston. [SW]
• What you can expect to see when Topshop finally opens on April 2. [NYM]

• Pics inside the UWS branch of Zak Pelaccio's Fatty Crab, opening tonight. [GS]
• Time Out's Jay Cheshes says Ken Friedman and April Bloomfield's John Dory "is the best new restaurant I've visited so far this year." [TONY]
• The owners of Long Island City's Water Taxi Beach will be opening a beach bar/restaurant next to the South Street Seaport this summer. [Eater]
• Described as "fitfully enjoyable," "uneven" and "bold," Frank Bruni gives Gabe Thompson's L'Artusi one star out of four in the Times today. [NYT]
• Top Chef's Fabio Viviani is now pitching frozen pizza. [EMD]
• The L Magazine's third annual "Bar Awards" is now online. [L Mag]
• NYC's top paella place, Socarrat, is now serving lunch and delivering. [TONY]
• Paris's latest three-star chef, according to the new Michelin Guide? It just so happens to be Nicolas Sarkozy's favorite spot. Global food scandal! [Guardian]

Expect a request for a building maintenance bailout any minute! [EVG]