Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check - Sep 2, 2011

MDA Telethon:

For 45 years, the annual MDA Labor Day telethon ran for 21 and a half hours with JERRY LEWIS as host. This year, that’s all changed.
The Muscular Dystrophy Association has decided this year’s telethon will run from 6pm -midinght -just six hours in each time zone-- and Jerry Lewis is not mentioned anywhere on the MDA web site. Instead, the listed co-hosts include NANCY O’DELL, NIGEL LYTHGOE, JANN CARL and ALISON SWEENEY.
This year’s telethon will once again originate from Las Vegas, being broadcast from the South Point Hotel to approximately 160 “Love Network” stations across the country. You can also catch the show at mda.org on the internet.
Last year, the telethon raised $58.9 million, only the third time in its history the telethon had not raised as much money as the preceding year.
This year, entertainment will be provided by musical acts including CELINE DION, LADY ANTEBELLUM, JENNIFER LOPEZ, DARIUS RUCKER, RICHIE SAMBORA, JON SECADA, MAUREEN McGOVERN, JORDIN SPARKS, MARTINA McBRIDE, STEVEN TYLER, RANDY JACKSON, SMOKEY ROBINSON, BILLY RAY CYRUS and PENN & TELLER are scheduled to appear on the show.

Weekend travel:

Fewer Americans will be traveling this Labor Day weekend than last year.
Triple A says the number of us planning to travel at least 50 miles from home this weekend will fall 2.4 percent to about 31.5 million.
You can blame all the usual suspects: High unemployment, high gas prices ($3.62 a gallon on average) and higher hotel room rates (big discounts are gone) and for longer trips, higher airfares. (Maiman)

Designer Update:

You’ll soon be able to get knock-offs of KIM KARDASHIAN’S wedding dresses designed by VERA WANG. But these will be high-quality knock-offs because Vera’s the one making them.
Kim had three custom-made wedding dresses for her over-the-top $10 million dollar wedding. Fashionista.com says Vera will make two of the styles available for sale in February. Each dress, the ballroom style and the mermaid gown, will be considerably cheaper than Kim’s. They’ll both be sold by David’s Bridal for under $16-hundred dollars. (Bartha)

Reality Round-Up:

Whole Foods has pulled reality star BETHENNY FRANKEL’s Skinnygirl brand of cocktails from its shelves, after deciding its claim of "All Natural" ingredients might not be true.
The Huffington Post says a store employee told them the product was “shaded with secrecy” and not “the best quality whole products that our high-end consumers expect.”
The brand had both Skinnygirl Margaritas and also Skinnygirl Sangria as well. Bethenny does not own the line any more, however, having sold it for around $120 million in April to Fortune Brands' Beam Global.

Grace notes from Vinny Marino:

ARETHA FRANKLIN will perform at President BARACK OBAMA's Labor Day Rally on Monday at Detroit's Hart Plaza. Billboard.com says the Queen of Soul is on the bill to do three songs, including "Chain Of Fools." Aretha also sang at then-candidate Obama's rally at at Hart Plaza in 2008, and at his inauguration. (Marino)