Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check

Those @$#%* Foreigners:

New survey from Hotels.com says London's taxicabs are the best in the world.
   The black taxis picked up 59 percent of the vote, while New York City's cabs were a distant runner-up with 27 percent, followed by Tokyo with 26 percent. Berlin's taxis and Bangkok's tuk tuk taxis rounded out the top 5.
   The poll ranked taxis in various cities for their cleanliness, value, quality of driving, knowledge of the area, friendliness, safety and availability.
   Other poll results:
   --London taxi drivers are the friendliest in the world
   --New York and Paris tied for the rudest cab drivers
   --Rome apparently has the worst taxi drivers of any city in the world as far as the "quality of driving."
   Editor's note: Nice thing about an Italian cab driver: They're always cooking a nice red sauce in the front seat.
   --Know what New York cabbies like to call their passengers? Americans. (Maiman --a former NYC cab driver, and proud of it!)

Signs you have an inexperienced NYC cab driver (Maiman):

   --Turban all clean and bright
   --He says, "Uh oh, easy does it! Pothole coming up!"
   --Has only two or three of those scented evergreen trees hanging from the dashboard
   --When you get in the cab and say, "Ground Zero," he starts screaming, "I didn't do it!" (too soon?)
   --You recognize him as former talk show host Laura Schlessinger
   --Drives cab in area marked "street"
   --Turns meter off and says, "How can I care about money when I'm drivin' a big yellow car?! Whoopee!"
   --"South Bronx? 2 am? Sure, hop in."
   --When stuck in traffic, he explains, "I would use the horn but that's only for emergencies"
   --Stops at red lights

The Airlines:

Once again, JetBlue --the airlines that STEVEN SLATER slid out of-- is offering its wildly successful 'All You Can Jet Pass.' Travelers can fork over $699 for 30 days of unlimited travel --from Sep 07 to Oct 06-- or $499 for unlimited travel excluding Fridays and Sundays. Details at www.jetblue.com/aycj/

Idle gossip & unconfirmed rumors:

HILARY DUFF and MIKE COMRIE are deep in the throes of newlywed bliss, but made sure business was taken care of before saying their "I Do's." Insiders tell the NY Post's Page Six the actress signed an air-tight prenuptial agreement, but it was just a "technicality."
   While Hil has plenty of cash, her bank account is nothing compared to his --the hockey player's family is worth a cool half-billion-dollars since his dad is the founder of a Canadian appliance and furniture empire!
   And he's shelled out the big bucks --he gave her a Mercedes Benz G-class SUV as a gift for her 20th birthday and her en gagement ring is said to be worth a cool million bucks.
   Meanwhile, the bride went into panic mode on her big day. The missus tells OK! magazine she chipped her tooth just hours before walking down the aisle and had to make an emergency trip to the dentist with the help of her trusty wedding planner. (Lee)

The Reel Deal:

Warning: note content.
   JERRY O'CONNELL isn't just a full-time daddy, law student and husband --he plays a former porn star in the new movie "Piranha 3D." Mr. REBECCA ROMIJN says making the flick was fun and the footage looks great, despite his character having some really bad luck. AbsoluteNow.com reports the killer fish bites off a certain part of his (ahem) anatomy and audiences will get to see the flying parts come straight at them!
   By the way, the cast has put together a gag "For Your Consideration" video for "Piranha 3D" to beg for an Oscar for the film on FunnyOrDie.com. (Lee)