Is McCain Just Too Tired to Do the Debate?Someone at the debate rehearsal overheard him saying he’s ‘exhausted.’ Well, yeah, but you’re running for the Big Job, John — you have to rally! And other gossip…
Lifestyles of the Rich
• The Sabhnanis, a “perfume mogul” couple, have allegedly kept two Indonesian women as slaves in their Long Island mansion. Both prisoners appear to have been subjected to systematic torture. And now, this photo of Mrs. Sabhnani will haunt our dreams. [NYP]
• The perpetrator of last week’s unusually intense clothing-store shoplift, which involved a getaway van and left a security guard near death, is an ex-preppie with Exeter and Yale in his past. The immediate moral falls along the lines of “kids, don’t do drugs.” [NYDN]
• Rudy Giuliani juggled a bunch of softball questions in the second Republican debate, somehow managing to clarify his tortured stand on abortion. Best of all, he got to let loose with the I’ve-been-there indignation when a rival suggested a modicum of U.S. culpability for 9/11. [amNY]
• Finally, a co-op dispute starring Bono! The board at San Remo, his CPW abode, has banned the use of fireplaces, yet chimney smoke keeps drifting into the Hewsons’ duplex. Somehow, Bono strikes us as a guy who sits in on every co-op board meeting. [NYT]
• And, XM Radio suspended its “shock jocks” Opie and Anthony for 30 days for their Laura Bush rape bit. What a pity; we were counting on them for a measured and nuanced Jerry Falwell eulogy. [WNBC]
the morning line
Breaches of Etiquette
• In another proof that post-9/11 airport security is a lot like pre-9/11 airport security, except with more badges, a passenger van was discovered driving on a JFK runway. The guards apparently simply waved it past the gates. [WNBC]
• We’ve gone a full three weeks without being properly outraged by something someone said on the radio. How about a homeless man goaded by “Opie and Anthony” into saying he’d like to rape Condoleezza Rice, Laura Bush, and Queen Elizabeth? Will that do? [NYDN]
• The Times serves up another “something cool’s about to happen to NYC transit, unless it won’t” item. The tortured peg: Tomorrow, parts of a giant drill will arrive in Newark, which, once assembled, will be used (next year) to dig a tunnel that will connect LIRR to Grand Central. Yay drill! [NYT]
• Finally, an animal-torture scandal with Anna Wintour at the center! Apparently, the live peacocks used as decorations at the Met’s Costume Institute gala were “fearing for their lives.” As were half the guests. [NYP]
• And, since the very idea of protest is hilarious, hope you enjoyed not one but two “Free Paris Hilton” rallies in Manhattan yesterday. There were eight actual mock-picketers, but “the media turnout was out of control” and “the online support has been tremendous.” We’re sure. [amNY]
gossipmonger
Obama Dunning Hill’s Dem Donors?Big Dem donors Steven Spielberg, David Geffen, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and George Soros have all pledged their support to Barack Obama, though Sant Chatwal and Ed Koch — who we’re shocked to learn is still considered a Democrat — are on Hillary’s side. Bill Clinton avoided a flirty blonde at a book party; Hillary called Obama to chat about her White House run. Michael Bloomberg doesn’t think taxpayers should have to pay for the mayor’s living expenses at Gracie Mansion. Shock jocks Opie and Anthony asked Donald Trump to come on their show and discuss the Rosie feud but afterward claimed that he had asked them. Derek Jeter went from Jessica Biel to Gabrielle Union.