Burmese Nobel Peace Prize laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi—under house arrest for over seven years—was freed today, five days after the country's military junta held parliamentary elections. "We must unite!" she told supporters outside her home.

[We may not be ready for Christmas yet, but Rockefeller Center certainly is after a 12-ton, 74-foot Norway spruce was hoisted into place today. Image via AP]

Do any Democrats dare challenge the omnipotent Nancy Pelosi for minority leader? Well, one ultra-conservative Blue Dog who's technically a Democrat may, if that counts. He's North Carolina Rep. Heath Shuler: Inexperienced backbencher. Legendarily shitty NFL quarterback. Democratic party savior?

David Kernell, the Tennessee student who "hacked" into Sarah Palin's Yahoo! account two years ago by correctly answering her easy password-reminder question — a crime that Palin has compared to Watergate — has been sentenced to a year in jail.

Did you get a raise last year? Seventy-four percent of White House staffers did, according a Gawker analysis of the White House's annual salary reports to Congress. Probably for the great job they're doing with the economy.

The exciting-to-everyone race for Republican National Committee chair appears to be "on." The notably comical incumbent, Michael Steele, has a challenger: Saul Anuzis, former head of the Michigan GOP. And he already has quite the winning campaign slogan!

A lot of people have been wondering why New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg tapped former Hearst chief Cathie Black to run the city's school system. Add Black to the list: Bloomberg never even interviewed her before offering her the job.

The Way We Live Now: grossly violating the rights of unaccountable stateless corporations. Things have gotten so bad that even organized labor has found a safe harbor. Fortunately, a sea of bubbles is coming, to sweep us all away.

Wal-Mart—the hellish trinket-stuffed warehouse that is, in a horrifyingly literal sense, America's favorite destination—has instituted totally free online shipping, for the holidays. Try to resist now, hippies. This will change everything, for the worse.

Here's the Yemeni parcel bomb clarity you've been seeking: one of the two bombs intercepted by authorities was on a timer set to detonate as the plane flew over America's Eastern seaboard. But the bombers miscalculated.

Cunning young criminal Colton Harris-Moore, the "Barefoot Bandit" who stole airplanes, boats and credit cards, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Seattle yesterday for "piloting an aircraft without a valid airman's certificate" and many other less fun-sounding crimes.

New York Senator Chuck Schumer says alcoholic energy drinks like Four Loko are "spreading like a plague across the country." This despite being extremely disgusting! Schumer is urging New York to ban the radioactive stuff. Washington's ban starts next week.

Because he yells at unions a lot, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is considered a leading presidential candidate for the next 5-6 elections. So what does this jolly galoot think about, say, climate change? He loves all of the arguments!

George W. Bush is unsurprisingly denying the report that he'd "have endorsed Obama if they'd asked." A spokesman calls the story "ridiculous and untrue," adding that Bush "proudly" supported McCain. Welcome back to the 24-hour news cycle, George W. Bush.

NYPD officers last year fired the fewest shots since the department started keeping records in 1971. Also, for the first time, no officer was shot by a suspect. One off-duty cop was shot and killed by a fellow officer. [WSJ]

Mean old granny Patty Bigbee last week was arrested for allegedly trying to sell her grandson for $30K, after initially asking for $70K. Why would someone ever sell their grandson? So mom can get a new car, that's why.

[A bather is seen entering the sea while the wind whips up a storm across the north of the country in northern Spain. Image via AP.]

An anti-abortion pastor was found guilty and sentenced to two years probation yesterday for stalking North Carolina doctors who perform abortions, The Charlotte Observer reports.

Barack Obama's trip to his ancient Muslim homeland of Indonesia is splashing all sorts of tender boyhood memories across the newspapers, like his gay male nanny who later became a transvestite volleyball player. Glenn Beck just came in his pants.

[Wish you lived in this photo? This beach—perhaps not coincidentally—is called Orange Beach, and it's in Alabama. Was the sunset this nice where you were? Photo via AP.]