LAST NEWS : The Latest From VanityFair.com

Great Carson’s Ghost!
Surveying the talking wounded—Jay Leno, David Letterman, and Conan O’Brien—in late-night’s succession war, James Wolcott summons the regal specter of Johnny Carson.

A Man of Darkness and Dreams
The suicide last month of designer Alexander McQueen was as confounding as many of the wunderkind’s couture shows. Was it prompted by drugs, health problems, or the death of his mother? Speaking to insiders, Ingrid Sischy learns that McQueen’s restless talent came with a price.

“What’s That Damned Racket?”
Jim Windolf explains today’s pop-music charts to the middle-aged.

Cameron Obscura
In recession-battered Britain, where class divisions run deep, Tory leader David Cameron is a master of congenial compromise—and the likely next prime minister. Michael Wolff examines how the aristocratic Cameron and his Conservative Party have defused the hot-button issues.

Starstruck Enterprise
Worlds collided at Vanity Fair’s annual Oscar party, hosted by Graydon Carter at the Sunset Tower Hotel. VF.com presents a gallery of great images from last night’s celebration.

Terry O’Neill’s Hollywood
Faye Dunaway, Laurence Olivier, and Jodie Foster are only a few of the Oscar winners to have shined through the photographerl’s lens.

The New Commandments
Blue-chiseling the Ten Commandments, Christopher Hitchens decrees which should stay and which should go, adding a few new ones of his own.

Wild on the Street
Graydon Carter introduces the April 2010 issue.

Larry Fink’s $12 Trillion Shadow
As co-founder and C.E.O. of the world’s largest asset-management firm, BlackRock, Larry Fink invests more than $3 trillion—and services another $9 trillion—for a client list that includes Fannie Mae, A.I.G., and the New York Fed. Suzanna Andrews tackles the question: Could one man be too big to fail?

Ford’s Driving Ambition
Harold Ford Jr. on his Senate hopes, Derek Jeter, and his Merrill Lynch bonus.

Big Trouble at 11:35
As David Letterman’s accused extortionist, 48 Hours Mystery producer Joe Halderman, heads to court, Mark Seal delves into the alleged romantic triangle involving Late Show staffer Stephanie Birkitt that plunged the entertainment mogul and the hard-news veteran into shocking legal combat.

Michael Douglas, Take Two
After struggling with his own famous but distant father, Michael Douglas has seized a second chance at the role of family man. As the actor brings Gordon Gekko back to the screen, Evgenia Peretz hears about the star’s new emotional investments.

Lehman’s Desperate Housewives
For the wives of top executives at Lehman Brothers, standing by their men meant painful compromise—and mandatory hiking. In an excerpt from her new book on the defunct firm, Vicky Ward reveals the plight of Lehman’s families.

Lehman Wives: A Family Album
Lehman Brothers C.E.O. Richard Fuld was the kind of boss who cultivated a cutthroat atmosphere and demanded 24-7 dedication from his deputies. And the force of his expectations was felt far beyond the boardroom. For the wives of the firm’s top executives, being part of the Lehman family meant accepting a life of intense competition, conformity, and loneliness.

Betting on the Blind Side
Back in 2004, when Wall Street was in full subprime-craze mode, a reclusive stock picker named Michael Burry read the fine print—and made a fortune. In an excerpt from his new book, Michael Lewis explains why Burry saw what no one else did.

The Vanity Fair/60 Minutes Poll
Americans stand firm against Bernie Madoff, online sexual predators, and corporate cash in politics. But they’d be willing to re-draw the map of the U.S.A.

Little Miss Miracle
Jenny Gage, Tom Betterton, and Krista Smith spotlight Abigail Breslin and Alison Pill, on Broadway in The Miracle Worker.

Lauren Remington Platt, Bright Young Thing
Lauren Remington Platt on her family farm.

In Character, Starring …
Photographer Howard Schatz had an idea: place actors in a series of roles and dramatic situations to reveal the essence of their characters. Such was the premise behind his book, In Character: Actors Acting, which captures some of Hollywood’s most emotive stars in the act of, well, making faces. Luckily for us, he continued the tradition for the pages of Vanity Fair. Here are some of the best.

Faces of the Games
Though the media tend to focus on a handful of superstars, no fewer than 2,600 athletes competed in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics—every one of whom represents the best the world has to offer. Setting up shop in an apartment in town, VF.com invited a wide array of athletes—both lesser-known lights and legends in the making—to share their moment of hard-earned glory.