Berlinda Dixon-Newbold is charged with aggravated assault for lighting the crotch of her boyfriend's pants on fire while he slept. She did it because she wanted more attention, not because he's a "liar, liar." His "family jewels" survived the blaze.

It's not exactly news that U.S. personnel wantonly tortured detainees at Guantanamo Bay, but a newly released Army document shows an Army psychologist discussing the torture in unusually stark terms: "The only way to extract information was more physical pain."

Prosecutors have struck a deal that will bring in $7 billion to compensate victims of Bernie Madoff's scam.

There will be no hate crime charges in last week's alleged "camel jockey" subway attack.

24-year-old Adam Wheeler lied his way into Harvard. Wheeler just pleaded guilty to charges of larceny, identity theft and fraud and must now pay Harvard back for more than $45,000 in scholarships and serve 10 years probation.

LAPD has released a gallery of 160 women whose pictures were found in the 'Grim Sleepers' killer's home.

Sexual assaults in the U.S. military academies are way up this year. For some reason.

Stoner heir Nicholas Brooks has been indicted for the Soho House murder.

Bell, California is not just the Most Corrupt Town in America; it's also one of the poorest towns in L.A. County. Which makes it all the more fucked up that officials were extorting regular working people with bogus "code violations."

Julian Assange's release on bail has been upheld by a British judge over the objections of prosecutors. His release to a British manor is imminent.

WABC and Good Morning America weatherperson Heidi Jones was arrested this week after police determined she fabricated a story about a Hispanic man trying to rape her in Central Park. Today, the fallout: ostracism, anger, and possible unemployment and jail.

Authorities have confirmed that all four bodies found on a Long Island beach over the weekend are female, meaning that, yes, there's a good chance we're looking at the work of a serial killer.

Hashim Thaçi, the prime minister of Kosovo, runs a criminal gang that "smuggl[es]weapons, drugs and human organs through eastern Europe," according to a forthcoming report from the Council of Europe.

Accused of raping starlets, movie composer Joseph Brooks appeared in court today, four days after his son appeared in the same courthouse for attempted murder. Just like in the movies, the bailiffs broke into song: "It's a family affa-a-air." [NYDN]

Heidi Jones, the weatherperson on New York's WABC (and occasionally on Good Morning America), told police that a man had attacked her and tried to rape her as she was jogging in Central Park in September. Police say she lied.

Awful New York state senator Pedro Espada, known for suckling shamelessly at the public teat, has been indicted (along with his son) for embezzling brazenly from a health care network he controlled. An example, you ask?

On Tuesday, 56-year-old Clay Duke engaged in a bizarre standoff with a school board, killing himself after a security guard wounded him. His motives are still unclear, but his Facebook profile indicates that he never expected to survive.

56-year-old Clay Duke took his own life today during a shootout with authorities at a Florida school board meeting, mere seconds after he fired at—and missed, thankfully—several local officials. The dramatic showdown was caught on tape—watch it inside.

A masked gunman swiped $1.5 million in chips from the Bellagio Casino in Las Vegas early this morning before making his getaway on a motorcycle.

A British judge has just granted bail to Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, on the condition that he surrender his passport, put up $315,000 bond, obey a curfew, and wear an electronic monitor.