Today the Bloomberg administration unveiled the outgoing mayor’s official portrait, which was painted by Jon Friedman and depicts Bloomberg wearing two “Big Apple” cufflinks and a Big Apple lapel, and, behind him, at least two Bloomberg LP computer terminals. The city unveiled the portrait three days after Polish artist Ismena Halkiewicz placed on the market her own (uncommissioned) portrait of the mayor, who in Halkiewicz’s version is holding an owl and framed by blood-red raindrops inscribed with the dollar sign.

Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio has named Carmen Farina as the new chancellor of New York City’s Department of Education. Farina, who previously served as deputy chancellor under Bloomberg, has helped steer de Blasio’s plan to implement a city-wide universal preschool program.

Last weekend, unemployment benefits ran out for 1.3 million Americans who have been out of work more than six months. This week, 13 states will raise their minimum wage. As 2013 draws to a close, the class war rages on. At least one nation on earth has a bold idea about what to do

Steve Benen of MSNBC figured out all the politicos who've been on serious grownup important Sunday political talk shows more than 10 times in 2013. His colored chart points out that they're nearly all Republicans. But it holds some other angry-making conclusions he didn't highlight.

Are you a wealthy white person with way too much time on your hands? Then do we have the workout for you!

We've already assembled what we think are the best Gawker posts of 2013. Here is what the faceless, indifferent gods of internet traffic thought were the best.

Wow, you guys missed some... OK stuff. These are the 10 least-read Gawker posts of the year, ranked by pageviews. Give them another chance! And what do you have against Nelson Mandela, international news, terrible music, and former Gawker editorial fellow Maggie Lange? (The Lanny Davis thing, we get.)

Police in San Francisco say a teen robbery suspect was accidentally killed by his alleged accomplice when a bullet from the latter's gun struck the former after ricocheting off their victim's face.

With a DVR in every home and a YouTube account in every computer, it's become impossible for news bloopers to go unnoticed.

We already knew that Al Qaeda fighters filed expense reports and followed corporate-style rules. But a new report from the Associated Press shows that the terrorists keep detailed, almost obsessive receipts for all expenses, even for items as small as a single lightbulb or a jar of mustard.

Local college student Rachael Sacks enjoyed 15 minutes of fame earlier this year when she wrote an essay—telling jealous poors to "fuck off"—that was obnoxious even by Thought Catalog standards. Rachael Sacks would very much like to enjoy a 16th minute of fame.

Going to work while high on cocaine, LSD, and Ketamine is not recommended. Stopping your work in order to watch footage of someone else working while high on cocaine, LSD, and Ketamine, however, is highly recommended.

A California mom thought the photo she snapped of her son and his friend sitting on surfboards with a breaking wave at their backs was a normal amount of cool — until she noticed the two boys were being photobombed by a shark.

Sigma Alpha Epsilon is a fraternity with deep links to Wall Street. It's also notable for killing more of its pledges through hazing than any other frat. Fortunately, you can learn SAE's secret motto here without placing your own life at risk.

A Pittsburgh-area mohel is being accused of accidentally severing an infant's penis during a botched circumcision.

When people think of weird crime stories, they think of Florida. And that's fair—the strange Southern state has certainly earned the right to call itself (or be called) the Stupid Criminal Capital of the World. But to say Florida has a monopoly on dumb criminals does a great disservice to other idiot states, like Ohio and Oklahoma, and otherwise respectable countries, like Canada and Sweden. To be sure everyone gets their due, we're proud to present: The Year in Stupid Crime.

In an epic, 27-minute-long rant, Kanye West vowed to stop talking shit "for a long time."

Just one day after a suicide bombing killed at least 17 people at a railroad station in Volgograd, a second suicide bomber attacked a bus during Monday morning's rush hour in the same southern Russian city, leaving at least 14 people dead. The attacks come just six weeks before February's Olympic Games in Sochi.

[During a session with the Dalai Lama on Sunday, one novice monk got distracted. The religious leader has been at the Sera Monastery delivering the ten-day-long series of Jangchup Lamrim teachings since Wednesday. Image by Abhishek N. Chinnappa via AP.]

Yesterday, a YouTube playlist unlike any other graced the internet with its presence. That playlist is Psybrid Theory, a reimagining of Linkin Park's first album, Hybrid Theory, using the vocals from "Gangnam Style." Yes, it's exactly as amazing as it sounds.