After Rep. Charlie Rangel was recommended for formal censure yesterday, he glumly headed down the hall, chastened, alone, and talking to no one. Who would cheer him up? House Tea Party Caucus founder Rep. Michele Bachmann, strangely enough!

Many newly elected Republican members of Congress explicitly refused to raise the federal debt ceiling during their campaigns. Problem is, the federal debt ceiling kinda needs to be raised, soon! Can John Boehner get these kids to do it?

The classmate Willow Palin called a "faggot" on Facebook does not accept big sister Bristol's apology: "Willow called me a faggot in front of the whole world and my family." He thinks she "may be" homophobic.

Remember how Nicaraguan troops totally accidentally violated the territorial integrity of Costa Rica because Google Maps got the borders wrong? Turns out it was just a run of the mill military incursion, and Nicaragua is refusing to back down.

Authorities say that the everything-but-the-explosives bomb-like suitcase found in a Namibian airport yesterday was an American-made item "built to test security measures." These terrorist "dry runs" are getting tedious. Testing? Testing our patience. Exploratory pseudobombs: Fear not—or fear more?

What do you do if you're a state executioner facing a shortage of drugs for lethal injections? You improvise. That's what Oklahoma is trying to do, by using pentobarbital — the same drug used to euthanize animals — on humans.

[An aurora borealis, as seen from the International Space Station. The wicker-looking thing floating in the middle is a solar array from the space station. Image via astronaut Douglas Wheelock/AP]

The criminal that old people love to hate, Colton Harris-Moore, the "Barefoot Bandit," yesterday pleaded not guilty to charges related to his years-long spree of stealing airplanes and boats. And, unsurprisingly, he's now mulling over book and movie deals.

[On the day General Motors launched the biggest IPO in US history, GM CEO Daniel Akerson is mobbed by press outside the New York Stock Exchange as he tries to drive away in his Camaro. Image via AP]

Democratic swamp-rat strategist James Carville told reporters today that "If Hillary gave up one of her balls and gave it to Obama, he'd have two." Will Obama mock him, like the last time Carville said something along these lines?

Senate Democrats will keep a "Don't Ask Don't Tell" repeal in the defense authorization bill next month. This is your last chance, gays, and supporters of gays, so consider telephoning your particular plutocrat. Then we can stop talking about this!

A Stockholm court has issued a warrant for Wikileaks founder Julian Assange's arrest, just to ask him some questions about those mysterious rape charges. Assange's only recourse now is to... simply not go to Sweden, of course! That's easy enough.

A judge in Tennessee yesterday ruled that the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro can be built, despite objections from xenophobes who fear a jihadi incubator is being built in their backyard. The plaintiffs said they may appeal to the Supreme Court.

The swift collapse of Four Loko's empire now has the backing of White House narcs. Barack Obama's drug czar, Gil Kerlikowske — boo! — supports the FDA's effective ban on these comical caffeine-and-alcohol hybrids. We are the lamest country, ever.

The president and both parties' leaders were supposed to meet at the White House on Thursday night for a "summit," where they would fight each other to the death, with the winner becoming Emperor. So which scaredy cats backed out?

Brian Tierney got rich as a much-hated (by journalists) Republican PR man in Philadelphia. Then he led a group that bought Philly's newspapers and went bankrupt. Now, he's going back into PR. Philadelphia thanks you for your service, Brian. [NYT]

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization has deemed 46 cultural practices from around the world part of the "intangible cultural heritage of humanity." French cuisine made the cut, as did the Kirkpinar oil wrestling festival in Turkey. Watch!

[Retired Navy Cmdr. Bob Coolbaugh pilots a replica Curtis Pusher Biplane on the flight deck of the USS George H.W. Bush, marking 100 years since the first plane took off from the deck of a ship. Image via AP]

Accused arms dealer Viktor Bout, the "Merchant of Death," arrived in New York last night to face terrorism charges. But according to his website, Bout is "a dynamic, charismatic, spontaneous, well-dressed, well-spoken, and highly energetic person." Well, okay then!

The caffeine-infused cultural phenomenon known as Four Loko will no longer contain caffeine, guarana or taurine, according to a statement last night from its producer, Phusion Projects. The company remained defiant, saying, "the combination of alcohol and caffeine is safe."