• After testifying again in front of a grand jury, Judith Miller has been released of contempt of court charges — thanks to those notes she just happened upon. [IHT]

• Despite what the upcoming third issue of Radar has to say about Jeff Zucker's tenure at NBC, Katie Couric is countering claims that her relationship with her boss as "soured." They're still very close, piratically touching, just like her knees. [Lowdown]

• Is it possible that the New York Times newsroom is even "more demoralized now than during the 2003 debacle over Jayson Blair's serial fabrications" thanks to the handling of Judith Miller's case? In a word: abso-fucking-lutely. [WaPo]

• Aileen Mehle has ended her five decade gossip reign, closing the doors on a career that included the New York Post, Daily Mirror, WWD and W. In this era of snark, nothing is sacred anymore. [Page Six]

• Rupert Murdoch's wife Wendi Ding might just become the most powerful personality at News Corp., which is easier to say now that Lachlan Murdoch pussied out. [Malaysian Star]

• Google and Comcast are looking to bloat their own empires with the purchase of a minority stake in AOL. Just in time too, since Time Warner is suddenly realizing how valuable its Internet property just might be. [Reuters]

• Since you can't find music videos on MTV anymore, perhaps now you'll be able to find them on your iPod. Oh, and Lost and Desperate Housewives too. [AP]

• As if Esquire food critic John Mariani didn't come off yesterday as being too demanding, now he's demanding an apology from Chicago chef Homaru Cantu, who trashed Mariani for (what else?) trashing him. [Page Six]

Foodies are a notoriously demanding group, what with their kalamata olives and Turkish bay leaves. But foodie scribes are an entirely elevated level of snob, Frank Bruni excluded, of course.

Take, for example, Esquire food columnist John Mariani, whose listicles and review don't exactly go unnoticed. Which is why most chefs might jump at the chance to cater to him when he decides to visit their eatery, but not a select few boldface names in Chicago.

Take Homaro Cantu of moto.

Cantu was a bit less restrained, saying that Mariani sent his PR people a four-page list of requests before dining at moto last year, asking the restaurant to pay for everything from cab fare to his hotel bill — requests the restaurant did not honor and Mariani denies he asked for.

And you thought editorial plugs were paid for, didn't you?

Esquire critic says Butter melts in mouth [Chicago Sun-Times]
Related: We shudder to agree with the majority of magazine readers