The number of confirmed dead during a terrorist attack and standoff at an upscale Nairobi mall now stands at 68, as Kenyan forces begin an operation to end the standoff with al-Shabab militants who are holding around 30 hostages inside the mall.

In the most boring election ever, German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative coalition has won by a huge margin, giving Merkel a third term to relentlessly promote the wonders of austerity.

A New York hotel security chief and fire safety director was arrested this week for giving himself days off by setting fire to the hotels he was supposed to oversee.

Chiquita Brands International, giver of bananas and well-known supporter of Colombian death squads, is trying to get a federal appeals court to block a lawsuit brought against it by the families victimized by their paid mercenaries. And they might just get away with it.

People have ideas all the time. Say you've got an idea to ship old restaurant food to people far away. That's worth $3 million, right there. Maybe you've got an idea about liberty and freedom and taking a pile of your death guns to the local Starbucks. That's no longer a good idea. Maybe you're a busy entertainer who likes to "talk back" to gossip blogs, or a hamburger hero who makes the news for spending $140 for a single monstrous "sandwich" of bacteria and bits of cow anus, or maybe you're a simple Christian blessed with the ability to beat the devil out of your 80-year-old girlfriend. These ideas are "neutral," regardless of their particular charms.

Gaddafi had a "general of whores" who oversaw his rapey overtures, according to his former chief of security, Mansour Daw. While Gaddafi's predilection for preying is nothing new, Parisian penis pump and all, Daw claims he had to use elaborate security measures to protect his family from the pervy dictator.

Rihanna is a woman of many talents — she's a smoker of L's, a talented thrower of side-eye, a kidnapper of fans, a possible giver of Herpes, and now, a quasi-international crime stopper.

Authorities in France noticed something very strange when a Air France cargo flight arrived from Venezuela: it contained 30 suitcases that weren't registered to anyone on the plane, or anyone expecting to pick up the cargo. Intrigued, the officials opened the bags and found 1.3 tons of pure cocaine. That's a lot of cocaine.

Two women who have not been having a very good year came together for seafood and sushi Friday with a power lunch at Lure Fishbar.

In the largest terrorist attack in Kenya since the 1998 bombings of two American embassies, masked gunmen associated with the Somali militant group al-Shabab stormed an upscale mall, killing at least 59 people and taking an unknown amount hostage.

Mumford & Sons are going on an "indefinite hiatus." Fantastic.

Newark Mayor and presumptive Senator Cory Booker appeared in a pitch for a reality show that would have highlighted the rise of Newark real estate developer Tate George. Embarrassingly, the former NBA player George was running a large Ponzi scheme at the time. But this is just what happen when you have a lot of friends.

Not all people waiting in line for iPhones this week were homeless men being exploited. Some people were just... actually, as this video shows, a lot of people were confused why they were living outside for a phone.

Giant Pacific Ocean typhoon update: Still heading straight at Hong Kong, "with a width of nearly 700 miles and carrying sustained winds of 139 miles per hour."

It's not the easiest to be the niece of our extremely powerful vice-president, and according to her friends, Caroline Biden just couldn't take all that pressure.

An attack by gunman on an upscale Nairobi mall, initially believed to be a botch robbery, has now been confirmed as a terrorist attack. The Shabab, a Somalian terrorist organization, has taken credit for the attacks, which has left 30 people dead.

Thursday night, a sex offender stepped in front of a microphone and tried to explain himself to his new community of Belmont, Massachusetts. ""My name is Carl Peterson. 'I'm the level 3 sex offender all of you have been talking about," the 48-year-old told his neighbors in the high school auditorium.

In Oregon, a woman yelled "Gun!" in a crowded movie theater while witnessing a confrontation between a 70-year-old man and a father of a 14-year-old boy whom the older gentleman had just urinated on. The movie theater was evacuated, but no gun was ever found.

I've read the previous essays you've written for Gawker's True Stories series and I just read your collective piece, “Echo” in Kiese’s new book, How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America. I heard, and really felt, the sinew of pain and joy in your autobiographical offerings and would like to respond with my own.