P. Diddy’s Mom Knows Her Way Around a Stripper PoleThe Scores girls have nothing on Janice Combs. Plus, Helen Mirren, Peggy Noonan, and Joe Scarborough confess to drug use; and more unlikely tidbits, in our daily New York gossip roundup.
ByTim Murphy
gossipmonger
Sheryl Crow Finally Has Something to Say About Ashley and Lance
Sheryl Crow thinks it’s “pathetic” that Lance Armstrong is dating Ashley Olsen. Paris Hilton has been frequenting New York hot spots very late at night (or, rather, early in the morning). Donald Trump Jr. is suing the board members of his West Side condo for kicking him off. Jon Corzine’s ex, 48-year-old Carla Katz, is dating a 32-year-old American soldier and former model. Torch, a new club slated to open tonight, is scrambling to get Tiki Barber and 800 other invitees not to show up because the plumbing isn’t ready. A guy on the subway once told Matthew Broderick that he looked and sounded exactly like Matthew Broderick.
the morning line
Parts and Labor
• New Jersey governor Jon Corzine has acknowledged giving “large gifts” to union boss Carla Katz, whom he dated shortly before running for the office. How large? Well, the words “tuition bills” and “mortgage forgiveness” come up. [NYP]
• The city is on what the News gleefully terms “pervert alert,” as a whopping 64 sex offenders who had claimed to be living in NYC housing projects turn out to be unaccounted for. (Giving cops a bogus address is a misdemeanor in itself.) [NYDN]
• RightRides, a ride-home service for women who’d rather not walk alone at night in troubled neighborhoods, is giving volunteers camcorders to film their walks; eerie first-person views of deserted streets are intended as evidence but accidentally double as compelling video art. [MetroNY]
• We knew Chuck Schumer was a bit of a compulsive camera hog, but we had no idea why: Turns out the senator’s Rosebud is a triumphant quiz-show TV appearance in 1967, wherein 16-year-old Chuck helped his James Madison team defeat Flushing High. [NYT]
• And it’s on: White Castle versus Mayor Bloomberg! The slider chain, as well as its buddies Wendy’s and Quiznos, are pulling all nutritional info from their menus in defiance of the new NYC law mandating just the opposite. The reason is, supposedly, lack of space, and we’re far too classy for a rat-as-ingredient joke. Or are we? [All Headline News]