Christiane Amanpour

Wednesday evening at Pier 60, the dedication of the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge (formerly known as the Triborough!) attracted a long list of high-profile guests—Sarah Jessica Parker, Carl Bernstein, Matt Dillon, not to mention gaggles of politicians and Kennedys. And Archbishop Desmond Tutu! The Daily Transom wondered what kinds of Manhattan landmarks this sort of crowd would like to be named after them.

"A dog park!" replied actress Glenn Close, who during the dinner would be reading alongside Matthew Broderick and Harry Belafonte from Ariel Dorfman's play Speak Truth to Power: Voices From Beyond the Dark. "Or maybe a theater, that would be nice. Or the Empire State Building! But I guess that should actually be named after a guy."  read more »

At the New York Public Library’s Library Lions benefit on Monday, Nov. 3, most guests were eager to get home at a reasonable hour—since polls around the city were scheduled to open at 6 a.m. the next day, and as several guests pointed out, open bars at benefits tend to make it difficult to get anywhere on time the following day.

“I’m going to vote early, probably right after my show,” said Live with Regis and Kelly host Regis Philbin, who was one of the earlier departers along with wife, Joy. “I’m just so glad it’s over! This has been the longest election.  read more »

"Oh! You came!" exclaimed actress Renee Zellweger when she spotted designer Carolina Herrera through a crowd of people at Michael's this afternoon.

Ms. Zellweger was attending a private luncheon to celebrate Living Proof, a Lifetime original movie on which she was an executive producer about a doctor who works to find a cure for breast cancer.

The two women embraced, after which Ms. Herrera promptly departed before everyone sat down to eat. But Ms. Zellweger didn’t seem to mind as she had plenty more people to greet. After all, Ron Perelman had just walked in. ("Hey Peggs!" he shouted in the direction of publicist Peggy Siegal, who was lining the tables with name cards—Liz Smith, Bonnie Fuller, Trudie Styler—and shuffling guests around at the last minute.  read more »

A snarky report in on Page Six of Wednesday's New York Post claimed that CNN publicists were scrambling this week to convince B-list guests to attend the network's first ever "Hero's Tribute," which took place last night at the Museum of Natural History, after first choices like Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt did not confirm attendance.

Still: The show—hosted by Anderson Cooper and Christiane Amanpour, and designed to honor some 18 "ordinary people" who, the network says, have helped change our world for the better—must go on! Tyra Banks was on the red carpet, in a Pamela Roland gown and vintage jewelry. "I didn't want to be too trendy," she said. "Anderson's here! I thought I had to look White House-ey!"  read more »

Christiane Amanpour, CNN's chief international correspondent, who has become a fixture reporting from war zones around the world, was awarded a CBE, or Commander in the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire for services to journalism, the news channel announced. Wearing a large brown hat, a chic cream colored skirt suit, and a three tier diamond necklace, she beamed as the Queen pinned Amanpour’s lapel with a blue and gold cross metal inscribed with the motto "For God and the Empire."

The award, which is seen as just one step shy of knighthood, is considered a major honor for Britons. The half-Iranian half-British Ms. Amanpour joked that the honor was "very nice for my British half."  read more »