Given that news that Mayor Bloomberg had heart surgery before he was mayor was slipped into a Newsweek article, the Post suggests Mayor Mike was behind the leak. Strategists say that candidates rather have information out there in the open, versus than it coming out to bite candidate later. Republican strategist Dan Schnur told the Post, "This is the sort of thing Fred Thompson did" (Thompson announced his non-Hodgkin's lymphona - which is in emission - in April).

The NY Times expands on the idea of knowing all about Mayor Bloomberg. Even though he's been known to be secretive about pretty much everything else (like where he is on weekends), he's more open about his health - he takes a baby aspirin every day!

The Daily News says that a NJ man received a call from a polling company asking questions something like "Would you support Bloomberg running for the White House as an independent?" and "Would you support his candidacy if he pledged to spend $1 billion of his own money on the campaign?" The NJ man happened to be Daily News copy chief Philip Cornell, who said the automated poll did not say who was the sponsor but it really seemed like it was a Bloomberg poll. Guh, we know how we feel about $1 billion being put to a presidential campaign, but we want to know what you think:

And Crain's has video of Mayor Bloomberg from its breakfast forum earlier this week; watch and learn what the Mayor thinks about congestion pricing, education, and more.

Rebecca Charles, NYC lobster roll pioneer and owner of Pearl Oyster Bar will do whatever it takes to protect the formula she has created to make Pearl such a success. She has brought suit in Federal court against Ed McFarland, her former sous chef and owner of Ed's Lobster Bar, claiming that he copied “'each and every element' of Pearl Oyster Bar, including the white marble bar, the gray paint on the wainscoting, the chairs and bar stools with their wheat-straw backs, the packets of oyster crackers placed at each table setting and the dressing on the Caesar salad," amounting to a theft of Charles' intellectual property.

According to the Times, one of the most brazen violations in Charles' opinion is McFarland's Caesar salad, made from the same unique recipe that was passed down from Charles' mother. If the case is successful, it could carry quite a bit of weight in the restaurant world, where chefs and owners are just scratching the surface to see how far their intellectual property rights extend.

Having been a longtime fan of Pearl, we were struck by the similarities when we visited Ed's, and a commenter even chided us for not recognizing more overlap on the menu. We'll be following this one closely, but may have to do some extra taste-test research to get to the bottom of it all.

Fun fact: David Burke is applying for a trademark on his bacon-flavored spray. And a while back, the success of Magnolia Bakery spawned off-shoots and lawsuits.

Photo of Ed's lobster roll -- or is it Pearl's?

We've had half a day to absorb the news, but it's still kind of crazy that Mayor Michael Bloomberg decided to drop his 6-years-old Republican coat for an unaffiliated one. Here's his official statement:

“I have filed papers with the New York City Board of Elections to change my status as a voter and register as unaffiliated with any political party. Although my plans for the future haven’t changed, I believe this brings my affiliation into alignment with how I have led and will continue to lead our City.

“A nonpartisan approach has worked wonders in New York: we’ve balanced budgets, grown our economy, improved public health, reformed the school system and made the nation’s safest city even safer.

“We have achieved real progress by overcoming the partisanship that too often puts narrow interests above the common good. As a political independent, I will continue to work with those in all political parties to find common ground, to put partisanship aside and to achieve real solutions to the challenges we face.

“Any successful elected executive knows that real results are more important than partisan battles and that good ideas should take precedence over rigid adherence to any particular political ideology. Working together, there’s no limit to what we can do.”

The Daily News, Post, and NY Times put Bloomberg news on the front covers (although Hillary Clinton's Sopranos spoof got top billing on the tabs). The Post reports Bloomberg allegedly spoke to Oklahoma governor David Boren about a third-party run, as Mayor Mike's aides have been discussing third party ballot access with other election officials. Democrat strategist Donna Brazile told the News, "I think it's a wakeup call to our two-party system that there is another player in town." Of course, it's not clear whether he's running, as he keeps saying he wants to be Mayor until his term ends in 2009, but it's pretty safe to say this is the big signal that says, "It's on." And who can blame him - he doesn't want to have to host GOP fundraising parties anymore!

What's unclear how successful candidate Bloomberg would play outside of urban areas and the coasts. The NY Times notes he "has never proved to be a particularly personable campaigner, known for giving a stiff speech and given to impatience at the often numbing demands of retail campaigning." Still, the fuss is good: Barnard professor Esther Fuchs, who advised Bloomberg during his first term, told the Observer, “I think it’s important for him to be on the national stage regardless of whether he runs. I think whether he runs or not, he needs to do everything to make himself a relevant figure in the national political debate. It makes sense for him to do this because he will be taken most seriously this way on issues that are important to New York City—and that’s really his goal.”

We're betting he'll put his money into conducting polls to figure out how to win with his millions and billions. Bloomberg railed against Republicans and Democrats alike during two speeches in California on Monday, but he did say that Senators Schumer and Clinton had been helpful to him. Aw, that's a silver lining in the Bloomberg-cloud for Clinton.

We've got a (spoiler-full) summary of the episode after the jump, but we want to know what you thought of finale:

And tells us what you think in comments!