Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check

The President at play:

A pretty funny moment for President BARACK OBAMA yesterday when he stopped in at a popular restaurant outside Buffalo, NY. When the president dropped by Duff's Famous Wings in Cheektowaga, NY, the New York Daily News reports that 45-year-old LUANN HALEY told him, "You're a hottie with a smokin' little body!"
   The president then responded with a hug, and then joked that First Lady MICHELLE OBAMA might see the clip on TV. Undaunted, Haley said --as the cameras rolled-- "That's all right ... Hi Michelle, eat your heart out." (Pacelli)

Broadcast, cable and video news:

Looks like NBC's "Law & Order" --currently tied with "Gunsmoke" as the longest-running drama in TV history-- could be over.
   Some sources claim NBC has canceled the series before it would break the record. Others say there are still negotiations going on with Dick Wolf Productions, which make the series. And according to the Hollywood Reporter, NBC President ANGELA BROMSTAD has said she wants the show to return.
   And regardless of whether Law & Order" gets the axe, it looks like the two spin-offs, "Law & Order: SVU" and "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," will stay on. And the NY Times says Wolf has also been in talks with NBC about another spinoff, "Law & Order: Los Angeles," as well.
   Whatever the case, we won't have long to wait, since NBC is scheduled to officially unveil its fall schedule on Sunday.  If not, make sure to watch the season finale May 24, with Olympic skier LINDSEY VONN as the guest-star.

Grace notes:

JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE may show up on the season finale of "Saturday Night Live" tomorrow night. That's the rumor anyway. The last live edition of the year usually brings out a bunch of surprise guests. ALEC BALDWIN is hosting, with musical guest TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS. (Marino)

It turns out that "one-of-a-kind" tape of a 1966 BEATLES press conference in Toronto is not the only copy. The Dallas affiliate of NBC says journalist LARRY ROBERTS was there, and it was he who asked JOHN LENNON the question about the Beatle's statement that the band was bigger than Jesus.
   Larry says his tape has been sitting in a closet for years, so he was very surprised when Bonhams & Butterfields announced this week that it was auctioning off what it claimed was the only existing tape of that press conference. The auction house says the tape will bring in upwards of 20,000-dollars. Well, maybe not now, since it's clearly not the only copy! (Marino)

Taking everything much too seriously:

Indulgence reaches a new high as a hotel in Abu Dhabi has unveiled the emirate's first gold-plated ATM that dispenses gold for cash.
   Put in the paper money, get back a tiny gold bar worth up to 10 grams.
   The "Go-to-Gold" ATM was installed in the Emirates Palace hotel at the behest of German entrepreneur THOMAS GEISSLER, who introduced the machine in Frankfurt earlier this year.
   The machine also monitors the daily price of gold.
   Geissler hopes to have 500 of the ATMs installed in Germany by the end of the year. In a recent interview, he suggested that gold should replace flowers as a de facto romantic gift. "I have yet to meet a woman who does not like a gift of gold," he said. "It's better than flowers. They wilt and you (as a man) don't get as many points at home as if you bring gold."
    On the day Abu Dhabi's first "Go-to-Gold" ATM officially opened, gold hit a record high of $1,245 an ounce. (Maiman)

Space, the final frontier:

NASA is preparing for the final launch of Space Shuttle Atlantisthis afternoon at Kennedy Space Center. Forecasters predict good weather at the launch site, and the six-member crew is set for lift-off at 2:20 pm (Eastern).
   This is the last flight for Atlantis before the orbiter is retired. It'll be a quiet summer, with no more planned launches until September. (Page)