Tabs Run Train on Birkhead, Stern

COSBY SHOW Rita inspires Us

The glossies let throaty Rita Cosby do the work for them this week—hey, it was Labor Day—and apparently contraband copies of the MSNBC journo's new Anna Nicole Smith tell-all, Blonde Ambition: The Untold Story Behind Anna Nicole Smith's Death, was the hot Hamptons beach read (it wasn't due out until the Tuesday after the weeklies closed).

The tome is chock-full of on-the-record allegations from frenemies that say Anna's lawyer/partner Howard K. Stern and bona fide BD Larry Birkhead were secret lovers who made a backroom deal for custody of the playmate's fortune, legacy, and, oh yeah, that kid. A quick book report was all that was required from the glossies. Then it was just a matter of making the photo editors dig up appropriate file footage and finding a legal expert media whore-y enough to take a call on a holiday. Add water, rinse, repeat—voila! Cover story!