Wealthy young man buys New York Observer

Jared Kushner, the 25-year-old son of a wealthy New Jersey developer, has bought the New York Observer, the city's respected upmarket weekly, for a reputed $10m (£5.4m). Kushner, confirming speculation in today's Dispatches column in The Guardian, said he bought the newspaper because it was "a marquee property in the media capital of the world". Though its circulation is just 50,000, and loses about $2m (£1.1m) a year, it has considerable influence in New York's media, political and real estate circles. The Kushner name is well known to The Observer's readers because his father, Charles B. Kushner, was jailed last year after pleading guilty to 18 counts of tax evasion, witness tampering and illegal political campaign donations. (Via nytimes.com)