In her response to accusations her violent rhetoric was connected to Jared Loughner's shooting spree, Sarah Palin claimed that media figures had manufactured a "blood libel" against her. How would the Anti-Defamation League, the Jewish civil rights group, take this?

Lebanon's government has collapsed after enough Hezbollah ministers and allies withdrew from the prime minister's cabinet. The prime minister has been cooperating with a U.N. investigation into former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri's assassination, which is expected to indict Hezbollah officials.

A judge yesterday dismissed copyright lawsuits between appropriating "street artist" Shepard Fairey and the non-profit Associated Press over an image of Barack Obama that Fairey lifted and profited from. The judge cited a "suggestion of settlement" for his decision. [Image:AP]

By this time in the last presidential cycles, 14 candidates had declared their presidential runs. But this year, even though there's only one party with a primary field, zero have declared. What gives? The Internet demands entertainment!

The Way We Live Now: reflecting on the long-term implications of our situation. And they ain't good. They just ain't. There's no getting around it. The currency's not bouncing back. The wages are down for good. And Haiti's fucked forever.

Arizona's government is fast-tracking a bill today that would make it illegal to protest or picket within 300 feet of funerals. It's a direct response to the Westboro Baptist idiots' plan to protest murdered 9-year-old Christina Green's funeral on Thursday.

New York Rep. Peter King is considering introducing the latest piece of hasty gun legislation after Saturday's shooting spree: Making it illegal to carry a gun within 1,000 feet of government officials. Everyone else can fend for themselves.

In your foreboding Tuesday media column: Bloomberg decides to attract some of these "wealthy" readers, Kathleen Parker's reign at CNN looks tenuous, magazine ad revenue rises in 2010, journalism's depressing, and Elaine Lafferty speaks on her Daily Beast-Koch-Jane Mayer story.

A CBS poll finds that 57% of Americans find no connection between "heated political rhetoric" and the Tucson massacre, compared to 32% who do. But this contradicts what frenzied tweeters were typing minutes after the shooting! How can this be?

F. Lee Bailey—remember him? O.J. Simpson's defense attorney, yea! Well, big news: he says he has evidence that O.J. was innocent all along. He just didn't bring it out at the trial because it was too long.

Dr. Peter Rhee, the surgeon treating Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, says he's "100 percent" certain now that she'll survive and "very optimistic" that it won't be in any sort of vegetative state. Peter Rhee: Best surgeon ever, or just top ten?

Wikileaks mastermind Julian Assange appeared in a high security court south of London today for a hearing regarding his fight against extradition to Sweden on allegations of sexual assault. The full hearing is scheduled for February 7-8. [NYT]

[The sun setting in Liberty Park, N.J. on Monday night. Image via AP]

It's been two days since Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and more than a dozen others were shot in Arizona by Jared Lee Loughner. Here's a round-up of some of the news that's come out on the first workday since the incident.

Republican sex-fantasizer Andrea Peyser needs a stronger man than weepy Johnny Boehner: "Can you imagine Vladmir Putin of Russia, who rides bare-chested in boots aboard a horse through frigid Siberia, tapping wetly into his deepest fears?" Despotic fascism= sexxxy. [NYP]

Renato Seabra, a 20 year-old male model, has confessed to attacking, castrating, and killing Portugese fashion journalist Carlos Castro (pictured) in a Times Square hotel room Saturday night. Seabra is apparently very, very disturbed.

[A bird attacks a kite during the International Kite Festival in Ahmadabad, India today. Image via AP]

A small oil leak has shut down the Trans Alaska Pipeline for the last three days, cutting production there by 98% and prompting price increases. And guess which company is a "major owner" of the pipeline? Poor old BP. [Reuters]

On Tuesday, a passenger informed airport security that he was bringing a dead dog in a cardboard box on a flight from Newark to Los Angeles. This was fine, until officials realized it hadn't been properly screened for explosives.

Police investigating the assassination attempt yesterday in Arizona said "there is some reason to believe [Jared Loughner] came to this location with another individual, and that individual is involved." They've released a picture. (Updated: Man pictured is cleared of involvement)