• More trouble for the Ciprianis: The family's Rainbow Room lease has been terminated by Tishman Speyer for failing to pay millions in back rent. [NYT]
• The latest recessionary byproduct: restaurants are getting robbed. [Eater]
• Noah Tepperberg has won approval to open a new lounge in Chelsea. [NYP]
• Adam Platt gives John Dory two stars in this week's New York, subtracting points for a "slightly uneven" menu and "overamped" atmosphere. [NYM]
• Ron Perelman, Jon Bon Jovi and Larry Gagosian purchased the lease for the Blue Parrot in East Hampton and now plan to re-open it in May. [Page Six]
• Tom Colicchio and Craft executive chef Damon Wise are launching a new Friday night menu consisting of dishes and drinks under $10. [GS]
• Want to sample some deadly blowfish? You're in luck! [GS]

How do you know when a socialite's marriage is falling apart? They stop going to parties so they stay home and bury their beautiful faces in giant containers of ice cream. Following up on the news that Tinsley Mortimer is now separated from her husband Topper, the Observer notes that the Tinz has made few party appearances in recent months, a stark contrast from happier times when Tinsley could be counted on to turn up at events several nights a week. As for Topper, he's reportedly shed 15 pounds and has "an added bounce in his step," in case you were wondering. [NYO]

Elisabeth Hasselbeck may be a vocal supporter of the President, but it doesn't appear her 14-month-old son is following in his mom's footsteps. After getting snubbed last month when she was denied an invite to the White House Christmas party, Hasselbeck got a chance to meet the President over the weekend and her son, Taylor, greeted the president by headbutting him. [HuffPo]

Claire Danes bundled up on a walk in SoHo with boyfriend Hugh Dancy ... Kate Hudson leaving her apartment in the West Village ... Taylor Swift leaving her hotel en route to an appearance on SNL ... Sarah Jessica Parker getting in a Prius outside her Village apartment ... Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon standing under an umbrella after leaving Japonais on East 18th Street ... Naomi Watts and Liev Schreiber unloading luggage from an SUV in front of their NoHo apartment ... Elisabeth Hasselbeck posing for photos on the sidewalk ... Madonna leaving the Waverly Inn with photographer Steven Klein, shortly before Kanye West turned up ... and Katie Holmes and Suri boarding a helicopter at the West 30th Street heliport.

This isn't the easiest time to sell an apartment at the Plaza what with all the bad press and lawsuits, but Guy Wildenstein is giving it his best shot. The president of Wildenstein Galleries (and ex-brother-in-law of Jocelyne) first put the 8,033-square-foot former Frank Lloyd Wright Suite on the market in September for $46.5 million, a few weeks before plunking down $32.5 million on William F. Reilly's 9,250-square-foot townhouse at 7 Sutton Square. Now, after languishing on the market for four months with broker Carrie Chiang, Wildenstein has slashed the price of his Plaza spread by $4.1 million. It's now down to the bargain basement price of $42.4 million. You can take a look at the floorplan after the jump.

• NBC's Lauren Zalaznick is forming a "panel" to help marketers target women. Just a few who have joined the program: Maria Bartiromo, Meredith Vieira, Candace Bushnell, Shelly Lazarus, and Tori Spelling. [AdAge]
• Hearst's Cathie Black is expected to sign a new 3-year contract. [NYP]
• The FT has let 80 people go. [Guardian]
• The first Madoff-related book, Catastrophe: The Story of Bernard L. Madoff, The Man Who Swindled the World, will be out in March. [NYP]
• ABC is thinking about bringing back Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. [TVW]
• Magazines like O, Glamour, W, Marie Claire and Teen Vogue all posted sharp declines in sales during the last few months of 2008. [WWD]
• The networks that went home winners at the Golden Globes. [Variety, NYT]

The few dozen people who still read print magazines will have noticed that the January glossies are more anorexically skinny than ever before. Elle is no exception, so it's no wonder that the mag is determined to pin its fortunes on a medium that remains relevant: TV. But since Joe Zee and Anne Slowey's uninspired (and lightly-viewed) Stylista has officially failed to make up for Elle's loss of Project Runway, Hollywood powerhouse agency CAA has just been tasked with finding new shows for Elle. So if you've got a concept that's brilliantly novel but still involves the humiliation of striving wannabes, elimination rounds featuring dramatic pauses/clunky music, and plenty of tears and tantrums, you now know where to pitch.

The Post's Andrea Peyser stopped by the Greenwich Village High School this weekend, the new private school backed by Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter, the mag's deputy editor, Aimee Bell, and actor John Leguizamo. Peyser is predictably outraged by the "selective, pretentious and pricey high school" and its proposed curriculum: "The plan is for kids to rub elbow pads with Carter-friendly Pulitzer Prize-winners. Students will learn about artifacts from a Museum of the City of New York curator, and Mandarin from random residents of Chinatown, all for an eye-popping $34,729 a year." Hold on for a moment. Random residents of Chinatown? That sounds awfully populist! Were Wendi Deng or Vera Wang unavailable? Next we'll hear that they're planning to hire regular gym teachers to teach PE classes instead of having Marc Jacobs lead students in daily workout sessions. A few months ago, The Daily put together a possible curriculum for the school and list of potential faculty members. Click here to see the larger version and consider the glam school that could have been.

There's a very good reason why Ruth Madoff's 1996 cookbook, Great Chefs of America Cook Kosher, is no longer in print. John Shoup, the CEO of Great Chefs Television, says his company trademarked the term "Great Chefs" in 1983 and forced Madoff's publisher to stop printing the book as soon as he learned of its title. Shoup claims his attorney is now looking into whether Ruth and her publisher have violated the agreement since then, although if he's hoping to get any cash out of the Madoffs, he'll have to take his place at the back of a very long line. [Eat Me Daily via NYM/Daily Intel]

In the grand tradition of profiles that implore you not to hate the subject despite her embarrassment of blessings, Page Six Magazine's interview with Isabella Rossellini's daughter Elettra Wiedemann pretends to humanize her by using adjectives like "klutz" and "dork," and telling us that as a teen she wore a back brace for scoliosis, which made her cruel Nightingale-Bamford classmates tease her.

Bernie Madoff won't have to make new friends at Rikers tonight. A federal judge, Ronald Ellis, denied a request by prosecutors that Madoff be jailed while awaiting trial. Judge Ellis did impose a couple of new conditions, ordering Madoff to compile an inventory of all items in his home and barring him from transferring property. But you can be sure that fellow residents of 133 East 64th Street won't be too pleased to hear their most infamous neighbor will be relaxing in his penthouse for the foreseeable future. The judge's full ruling is after the jump.

• Investment banker E. Stephen Benson has lowered the price of his penthouse apartment at 885 Park Avenue for the third time since first listing it for $13 million in early 2008. The two-bedroom pad, which includes a library, chef's kitchen, and wrap-around terrace (left), is now listed with Serena Boardman for $9.5 million. [Cityfile, Sotheby's]
• Andrew Weinberg, an exec at the private equity firm Lindsay Goldberg, has paid $8.35 million for a 14th-floor apartment at 170 East End Ave. [Cityfile]
• Lizz Winstead, the co-creator of The Daily Show, has paid $700,000 for a renovated loft on Atlantic Avenue in Boerum Hill. [NYT]
• Victoria Gotti has lowered the price of her Old Westbury mansion to $3.2 million, just weeks after listing it for $3.5 million. [Newsday, Laffey]

Even the least cynical among us appreciate that it is in Barack Obama's best interest to paint as grim a picture of the current economic situation as possible, hence his announcement that the country is about to hit "a trillion dollar deficit." The only problem is, nobody really has a clue what one trillion means!

• Will Bernie Madoff sleep in his bed tonight? Will he sent to jail for violating the terms of his bail? Judge Ronald Ellis will answer the question in the next few hours, but if you're dying to find out Bernie's fate the minute it happens, you can tune into Fox's live feed from outside his apartment building. [Bloomberg, Fox]
• In other Bernie-related news, it turns out that Bernie's sister was a victim of the scheme, too. She lost $3 million that she invested with her brother and is now "desperately" trying to sell her Palm Beach home. [NYP]
• Madoff has yet to apologize to his victims, but the Times reports that Bernie did issue regrets to his neighbors for the "terrible inconvenience" he's caused them in recent weeks. He also thanked them for their support, although it's unclear who exactly these supporters are. [NYT]

Is Kelly Killoren Bensimon already having second thoughts about her decision to join the cast of Real Housewives of New York City? "The promos for the reality show's second season—which focus largely on me, the newest addition—just started airing on Bravo. I am petrified. We have no control over the episodes because the show has already been edited," Bensimon writes in her "Socializer" column in Page Six magazine. "It's quite daunting to know that I've opened myself up to judgment. But I can't turn back now... I'm just along for the ride—bumpy or not." Good approach! Now make sure you have plenty of dramamine in your medicine cabinet. [Page Six Mag]

• Talks between Citigroup and Morgan Stanley continue as the two banks discuss a plan to combine Citi's Smith Barney unit with Morgan Stanley's brokerage division in a joint venture worth $20 billion. [FT, Bloomberg, WSJ]
• It remains unclear if Vikram Pandit will be able to hang on as Citigroup's CEO, especially amid rumors the bank will report a $10 billion loss for the fourth quarter. In the meantime, banking regulators are pushing for the removal of Citi's chairman, Win Bischoff. [NYT, WSJ]
• The man who will likely lead the Citi-Morgan Stanley joint venture, James Gorman, is now considered the frontrunner to take over for Morgan Stanley CEO John Mack when he retires next year. [Bloomberg]
• Phil Falcone's Harbinger is the latest hedge fund to limit redemptions. [DB]
• The board of the Federal Reserve of New York met with candidates over the weekend as part of their effort to find a replacement for Tim Geithner. [NYT]

Radio personalities Howard Stern and Rush Limbaugh don't have much in common, but they do share a birthday: Howard is 55 today, while Rush is turning 58. Others celebrating: CNN's Christiane Amanpour is 51. Kirstie Alley is 58. Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos is 45. Badgley Mischka's Mark Badgley is turning 48. Chef Rebecca Charles is turning 55. Actor Oliver Platt is 49. New York City Councilman James Oddo is 43. Rob Zombie is 44. And Heather Mills turns 41 today.

• It may be the end of the line for socialite Tinsley Mortimer and her husband Topper. The couple has been living apart since December, reportedly because Tinz is sick of Topper's "promiscuous ways." But considering this is the second time they've been married to one another, there's always the chance the third time will be the charm. [P6]
• Gwyneth Paltrow is turning into quite the entrepreneur. She's reportedly in talks to launch a chain of gyms with her personal trainer. [DS]
• Amy Winehouse says she's finally off drugs and "feels like a new woman," although she also says that she hasn't quit drinking just yet. [NYDN]
• Madonna is reportedly beefing up her security detail following death threats from Islamic fanatics. [People.co.uk]
• A rundown of the winners at last night's Golden Globes. [E!]

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• Yes, Karolina Kurkova does indeed have a weight problem, but that's because she suffers from hypothyroidism. Satisfied now? [Fox News]
• Brooks Brothers' Fifth Avenue flagship is closing at the end of January. [Racked]
• Searle has gone bankrupt. [Fashionista, CNY]
• Peter Som won't be showing at Fashion Week, but buyers and the press may still get a peek. [NYM]
• Tag Heuer has tapped Leonardo DiCaprio as its new ambassador. [WWD]
• A look at 100 years of bob haircuts. [Pipeline]
• Daisy Fuentes is starting a hair care line. [WWD]
• A fire broke out at Topshop's future Soho location last night. The damage was minimal, but presumably it will serve as a handy excuse if Topshop needs to push back the opening once again. [Nylon, NYM]