As the world has learned, 77-year-old director Roman Polanski was arrested and faces extradition to the US over a 31-year-old rape case. Seemed a good moment to sort out what the h- this is all about.

The cyclist who says he was dragged around Central Park by a Fox News writer, who won't face any charges in the incident, tells us neither cops or prosecutors tried very hard to investigate the incident.

Why did this come out after she was sworn in, hmm? Sonia Sotomayor had her Equinox Fitness membership canceled because she insisted on always breezing in without showing her I.D. card. What a reverse-racist! [NYM]

Barack Obama will award Harvey Milk a posthumous Medal of Freedom.

CNN is reporting that the Cambridge Police Department has dropped all charges against Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, who was arrested last week outside his home for disorderly conduct.

David Malakoff, the former NPR editor and reporter who pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography, has been let off without prison time by a federal judge. Bill O'Reilly, call your office.

Mark Dreier will spend twenty years in prison for defrauding investors out of $400 million.

Egypt just sentenced a billionaire real estate tycoon to die for killing his girlfriend, a Lebanese pop singer. In America, we protect the billionaires, and leave killings of music stars (Tupac, Biggie) unsolved forever. We can learn from these Egyptians!

Good news if you are a Bush administration official who authorized abuses of power after a 24 marathon: you can't be sued!

The Philadelphia police have confirmed to us that Kari Ferrell, a.k.a. the Hipster Grifter, was booked into custody last night at 10:35 p.m., as a fugitive from another jurisdiction. Looks like Kari told the truth!

Mr. T goes on jury duty, does not fail to work in his catchphrase.

Iraqi courts have cut the prison sentence for the hero shoe-hurling-at-Bush journalist from three years down to one. Huzzah! And on the same day Obama visited Iraq. Coincidence??? Open your eyes, sheeple! [WSJ]

Bernie Madoff's lawyer, Ira Lee Sorkin, signaled to a judge today that his client would plead guilty to charges, which would carry a life sentence, of running a $50 billion Ponzi scheme.

The Iraqi shoe-thrower guy was in court today and he has a pretty awesome defense: President Bush was not a "guest," so throwing a shoe at him was not even impolite.

Everyone's favorite scary conservative harpy may have tried to subvert democracy, twice! Property records and lawsuits show that Ann Coulter voted in Connecticut while living in New York. Now officials are investigating.

[Submit your own Gawker Stalker sightings to stalker@gawker.com] Feb. 7 @ 8:30pm Barbara Bush, Henry & Jenna, table of dudes and six waiters did a shot to Obama at Gradisca. What was the toast?

Bush-pardoned rapper John Forte's last day in jail: "Washing and conditioning the hair that had grown below my waist added an extra 30 minutes to an already lengthy process." But he made it, thankfully. [TDB]

Oh gee, yesterday the word was that Baghdad Shoe Hurler Muntader al-Zaidi could face seven years in prison. But then George W. Bush called for mercy, and now his possible sentence has doubled:

Sad news for crazy people: the Supreme Court decided not to hear an emergency call to intervene to stop Barack Obama from assuming the presidency, on account of how he's secretly not a citizen. The nut who brought the suit "also contends that two other candidates, Republican John McCain and Socialist Workers candidate Roger Calero, also are not natural-born citizens and thus ineligible to be president." Even David Horowitz has had enough of this nonsense. (This nonsense sponsored by Alan Keyes.) [AP/Yahoo]