A British judge has ruled that Wikileaks founder Julian Assange can be extradited to Sweden to face rape and sexual molestation charges there. The judge says Sweden's extradition request is legitimate; Assange says Sweden will just be a detour on the way to Guantanamo Bay if England grants it. He has vowed to appeal to England's high court as well as the European Court of Human Rights (because all humans have a right not to face inconvenient criminal charges.) He's currently out on bail; according to the New York Times, the continued conditions of that bail are still under discussion in the courtroom.

Try as it might to hear the entire song, this adorable baby kitty can't seem to keep its eyes open.

Four Americans whose yacht had been hijacked by Somali pirates were killed by those pirates earlier this week; the U.S. Navy said that it stormed the ship after hearing gunshots, and found all the hostages dead.

Here's a cute video of Sesame Street's Oscar the Grouch and his thoughts on the Oscars. They go something like this: "Best Actor, Colin Filth—with a name that how can he lose?"

On Conan, we find out that The Situation checked himself out on the monitors 14 times during his interview. This was when he was trying to broaden people's idea from the self obsessed "Situation" to the grounded "Sitch."

Kathryn Stockett (pictured), author of the bestseller The Help, was sued last week by her brother's maid, who says that Stockett demeaned her by basing one of the novel's characters on her. Stockett's now issued a denial!

Paula Deen visited Top Chef: All-Stars last night, y'all! Predictably, the Quickfire involved a deep fryer. And though Anthonia's fried avocado wowed, Paula revoked the win (due to a technicality) and promised to spank Antonia for her mistake.

Can you guess what movie this image comes from? Check back for the answer at 4pm today.

Hawaii's new governor Neil Abercrombie — the same man who "found" Barack Obama's birth certificate and openly mocks birthers — signed into law a bill yesterday that legalizes civil unions for same-sex couples. According to CNN, Abercrombie said during the ceremony:

A New Jersey man who was arrested with $180 worth of deodorant stuffed down his pants in a Rite-Aid store was sentenced to 15 years in jail on Tuesday. It was his 75th (!!!) arrest in 23 years. (via)

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange will be extradited to Sweden over allegations that he sexually abused two women there, a court in London ruled this morning. He has seven days to appeal. [NYT; image via AP]

A park bench that was donated in Katharine Hepburn's honor on East 47th Street has, according to the Post, turned into a "hotbed for raunch and pot, with wanton women engaging in midafternoon sex acts as perverted men stare while smoking weed." Well, a visit to Dag Hammarskjold Plaza just made our list of weekend activities. [NYP]

The Russian government, which has long called beer a "foodstuff," will now classify the beverage as, you know, alcohol, as part of a campaign against alcoholism and underage drinking. People drinking excessively? In Russia!? Believe it or not! "Many ordinary Russians," The Daily Telegraph tells us, "regard beer as a soft drink. It is not uncommon to see men swigging a can of beer on their way to work." Ah, yes, but what they don't tell you is that those men are professional beer-tasters.

Worried about the ever-encroaching menace of Muslims practicing their religion? You may want to move to Tennessee, where State Sen. Bill Ketron (pictured) and state Rep. Judd Matheny are introducing a bill that would "make following the Islamic code known as Shariah law a felony, punishable by 15 years in jail." Nashville-based Imam Mohamed Ahmed wonders:

"I'm not one of those... kids who perhaps graduated college and their parents get them a passport and a backpack and say, 'Go off and travel the world,'" Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin told CBS News anchor Katie Couric in 2008. But that was then! This is now: Sarah Palin is going to India in March. Someone get her a passport and a backpack!

Click to viewAn attempted drug raid in Philadelphia ended badly on Wednesday night when a police officer entered the wrong home and shot and killed a dog that had bitten him on the ankle. It's hard to blame the officer for shooting an attacking dog (or the dog for attacking an intruder), but one would hope that when armed police are executing raids they could at least get the address right. [NBC10; video below]

When Justin Bieber got his groundbreaking hair cut, he put a little lock of it in a plastic box and gave it to Ellen. Now she's auctioning it off on her eBay page, with all the proceeds going to some animal welfare charity. The auction has been live for a little under 12 hours, and already it's up to $6,700! Jesus.

For the past 70 years, the names of Academy Award winners have been sealed in unremarkable little envelopes presenters have no qualms tearing open and leaving aside like some discarded fruit rind. Now, the homely Oscar envelope is getting a makeover.

On Monday, Jon Stewart overviewed the chaotic budget showdown underway in Wisconsin. Tonight, Stewart continued his assault on Governor Scott Walker, and especially his less-than-appropriate statements today to a prank caller he thought was billionaire Republican operative David Koch. [Gawker.TV]

On Monday, Jon Stewart overviewed the chaotic budget showdown underway in Wisconsin. Tonight, Stewart continued his assault on Governor Scott Walker, and especially his less-than-appropriate statements today to a prank caller he thought was billionaire Republican operative David Koch.