Capitol Police put Congress on lockdown late this morning, terrifying everyone. It didn't last long, though, after police took down a "man with a weapon" outside Senate office buildings. 'Twas a fleeting moment of excitement for poor, overworked Hill staffers.

An activist for a sub-group of the anti-gay National Organization for Marriage is speaking out against the rainbow as a symbol for gay rights. "We are the real rainbow coalition. The gay lobby does not own the rainbow," she said.

The scene: A luxe party at a Manhattan penthouse. Diddy hosts and livestreams video of his beautiful guests, like a model cavorting in a hot tub, surrounded by candles, one increasingly large flame—ohmigod! She's on fire! Everyone panic!

We don't know much about this poppin'-and-lockin' Santa seen boogieing on the side of the road in Detroit, but we do know that he's pretty freakin' awesome. Screw warbling carolers. We'd rather have this guy come to our door.

Perhaps Hollywood's most self-indulgent awards, for actors by actors, the SAGs are also often the best tea leaves to read to guess Oscar nominations. So pay attention! Here are this year's film and TV nominees.

Kevin Spacey fights for the right to stay in the glass closet. Nick Cannon confirms that Mariah's having twins. David Arquette confirms that he's having a breakdown. Thursday gossip knows that you know that he knows, but what about her?

Indie film hut Miramax has partnered with its old owners, the Weinstein Brothers, with plans to produce sequels of Weinstein-era Miramax's hits from the '90s and early '00s, including Rounders, Bad Santa, and most improbably, Shakespeare in Love.

Meghan McCain is the illiterate daughter of a ruined man, which makes her "column" for the Daily Beast something of a challenge for her editors. But by the looks of today's offering, they've given up.

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.

Billions of tweets have been sent since its last injection of capital. But Twitter has just announced it is getting another $200 million in funding, which puts the micro-blogging service at a $3.7 billion valuation.

A hotel in the United Arab Emirates has unveiled "the most expensive Christmas tree ever," a 40-foot fake decorated with jewelry valued at "over 11 million dollars." How much did you spend? $20? Guess you don't actually have Christmas spirit.

Offices have experienced a drastic reduction in per-worker size over the past few years. According to experts, we can blame this on two most blameworthy things: the recession, and the youngs.

Google has just introduced a new option that allows you to filter search results by "reading level." Who knows what black magick is behind this, but we thought it would be fun to compare some popular websites.

Facebook knows what you look like, and the implications are staggering. Drawing on billions of labeled photos, the social network will now automatically recognize faces and suggest people to tag in photos you upload. That's probably just the start.

I've come to believe the Kardashians are but an optical illusion designed to put viewers in a fugue state, wherein brain use stalls and the ability to recognize pores diminishes. Come, let us gurgle at the Kardashians' uncanny Christmas pictures.

It's clear that the federal government's absurd war on Wikileaks broke free of the bonds of reason weeks ago, but this State Department memo issued today serves as a nice reminder: Staffers can't read Wikileaks cables on their "personal time."

The Gap is having branding problems. Two months after their logo misstep, they are now selling a "Made in USA" branded "FEED" bag. But, oh my, how awkward: The tag inside Gap's bag says it's actually made in China. Updated.

Iraqi authorities have rounded up 73 suspected Al-Qaida operatives in recent weeks, some of whom claim to members of cells planning Christmastime attacks in the U.S. and Europe.

It's almost the end of the year, the time when various websites mine their statistics for interesting trends. Facebook declared "HMU" the hottest word of 2010. And now LinkedIn has compiled the most overused corporate buzzwords of the year.

Christmas carols can be beautiful reminders of one of the most exciting times of the year. They can also be horrible scourges that make you want to poke sharp objects in your ears. Here are some of the worst offenders.