By Benjamin-Emile Le Hay 9/19/12 4:07pm

First Lady Style Watch

Lady Obama and the girls. Photo Courtesy of AP/WWD.

Is L.A.-Based Designer Barbara Tfank Michelle Obama’s New Designer of Choice?

Word has gotten out from publicists and fashion news authority Women’s Wear Daily that first lady Michelle Obama has endorsed yet another one of Barbara Tfank’s ladylike designs for a heavily monitored public appearance. It is said to be the fifth time that the first lady has donned a Barbara Tfank frock. She wore the ravishing outfit at a meet-and-greet in Gainesville, Fla., for a young girls’ after-school program called Girls’ Place on September 17.

“A friend, who Tfank had shown the unusual fabric to, spotted the dress on C-SPAN and called the designer to tell her the news,” reported WWD.

According to our perhaps inaccurate tally, this means that Ms. Obama has worn Tfank to more public appearances than any other high-end American fashion designer, which leads us to ask: Is Barbara Tfank Ms. Obama’s new designer of choice? Has Ms. Tfank overtaken the feminine and playful aesthetic of Jason Wu? Read More

By Hunter Walker 3/28/12 5:56pm

Sports Page

Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman watching spring training last year in Tampa. (Photo: Getty)

Yankees Down South: Dispatch From Spring Training

On Sunday afternoon, Brian Cashman, general manager of the New York Yankees, stood by the dugout at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa watching the team take batting practice prior to a spring training matchup against the Detroit Tigers. A pair of dark glasses shielded Mr. Cashman’s eyes from the bright Florida rays, but his mostly bald crown was exposed. A man walked up to Mr. Cashman and gave him a warm greeting.

“What’s cooking?” the man asked.

“My head,” Mr. Cashman replied tersely.

The 44-year-old GM has plenty of reasons to feel the heat aside from the temperatures in Tampa, which topped 80 degrees nearly every day this month. Mr. Cashman spent much of the offseason dealing with a sex scandal that saw photos of his alleged pajama pants make the blog headlines and found him in court facing an alleged mistress he claims stalked and harassed him. Read More

By Mike Taylor 8/26/10 4:30pm

Scandals

Possible Mobster Connection in Florida Lawyer's Ponzi Scheme

An alleged gangster helped launder ill-gotten money for Scott Rothstein, the Florida lawyer who in December of 2009 turned himself in and in January copped to charges of wire fraud and conspiracy to launder money in connection with a $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme he ran, Bloomberg reports.

Roberto Settineri on Wednesday pleaded guilty to a charge of money laundering conspiracy and got a 50-year Read More

By Mike Taylor 8/24/10 4:10pm

Scandals

Phony Grocery Ponzi Schemer Reaches Plea Deal

The alleged architect of an $880-million Ponzi scheme may have copped to the charge, The Associated Press reports.

According to prosecutors, Nevin Shapiro, the man behind already suspicious-sounding Capitol Investments USA, bilked more than 60 investors using the technique pioneered by Charles Ponzi in 1920 and perfected by Bernie Madoff through the 1990s and Read More

By Joe Conason 5/19/10 5:50am

Op-Ed

Oil Rules

The more we learn about the BP oil well blowout in the Gulf of Mexico, the more we ought to question the basic assumptions that led us here. Like the explosion of the housing bubble that ruptured the world economy, this human and environmental tragedy resulted from a system that encourages reckless profiteering Read More