Philadelphia, capital city of the United States*, is great at many things. It's great at being within relatively short driving distance of the Jersey shore. It's great at allowing you to bring your own wine to restaurants. The world's largest clothespin is there.

New York State Senator Malcolm A. Smith and City Councilman Daniel J. Halloran were arrested early this morning on charges of trying to rig the New York City mayoral race. The two men were among several facing federal corruption charges.

Ever since the New York City Police Department initiated its reviled stop-and-frisk technique, the force's laughable refrain has been that its officers are not engaging in racial profiling. It may not look like racial profiling to Mayor Michael Bloomberg or NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly, who oversee stop and frisk, but to the millions of blacks and Latinos harassed by the NYPD over the years it is a blatant campaign against dark skin.

As we've noted before, it's possible we'll all die from the bird flu. That established, here's some cheery news — At least two people have died in China after contracting a strain of the bird flu that previously hadn't affected humans.

Despite the fact that North Korea and South Korea have technically been at war since the 1950s, when their hostilities ended with a ceasefire rather than a peace treaty, the North has now claimed to have entered a state of war with the South. Unfortunately, exactly what that means is difficult to decipher.

After 9/11, the US Navy launched a massive program to build a "Littoral Combat Ship" that could fight submarines, clear underwater mines, and perform other tasks close to shore, because, um... you never know where the terrorists might be, with snorkels. Astoundingly, it appears more and more like this boondoggle has become—you guessed it—a boondoggle.

In 2012, the median overall pay of corporate CEOs rose 8%, to $9.7 million. The value of CEO salaries, stock options, bonuses, and perks all rose in 2012, in most cases by double digit percentages.

After months of half-assed speculation and heartless anticipation, Ashley Judd, America's Charlize Theron, has decided she is not going to run for a Senate seat to represent her home state of Kentucky.

Yesterday it was reported that Justin Bieber was being investigated for battery after a neighbor claimed Bieber made physical contact with him during an argument that took place on the singer's property. (The neighbor's wife told KTLA that her husband went to Justin Bieber's home to complain because the 19-year-old had been racing his new Ferrari around their residential block early Tuesday morning.)

Police have confirmed that Boris Berezovsky, the Russian oligarch found dead this weekend, died from a hanging. Despite the many conspiracy theories, authorities say there was no evidence of struggle before his death, and the examination results support claims that he killed himself.

If you've been reading our unemployment stories—or if you've been out looking for a job lately—you know that many college graduates (and even advanced degree holders) are forced to accept low-skill jobs that don't put their degrees to use. One economist is now arguing that this state of affairs is the new normal.

Depending on how you feel about spoilers, this could be bad news or good: Last December, someone broke into Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston's car in Albuquerque, where the show is filmed, stealing the actor's bag containing an iPad and a copy of a Breaking Bad script from one of the show's final episodes.

The Daily Beast broke a fairly damning story Monday morning about Minnesota Representative Michele Bachmann. The report reveals that federal investigators working on behalf of the Office of Congressional Ethics are investigating the congresswoman's campaign about potential intentional finance violations. According to former Bachmann staffers questioned by the investigators, the allegations include improper fund transfers and illegal payments made during Bachmann's failed 2012 presidential campaign. One such allegation is that Iowa state Senator Kent Sorenson, her Iowa campaign manager, received under the table payment for his support. Her lawyers, of course, are denying any wrongdoing, at least on Bachmann's part.

The Tennessee legislature dodged a potential firestorm today when lawmakers were able to come together and reassure one another that a possible Muslim foot bath was, in fact, just a mop sink.

From the Spanish-American War all the way up to the 40 Hottest Women in Tech, the past century has borne witness to some epic trolling, bro. This amoral art form—loosely defined as "the media fucking with you on purpose"—has defined our modern era of outrage. It is time that we honored the very best trollings of the past 115 years.

New York magazine's lengthy dissection of the ultimate first-world problem that is morning-news drama is a good read, if you're into media navelgazing. Covering Matt Lauer's role as the villain in Ann Curry's unsentimental firing from the Today Show, and the Today Show's subsequent fall from grace, the piece contains a lot of interesting information that helps shed darkness on the sometimes frustratingly bouncy world of morning news programs.

A housekeeper at West Point who was busted with a bag full of frozen meatballs that didn't belong to her is facing two years in prison on federal charges of larceny and possession of stolen property.

This has been a big month for prominent politicians coming out in favor of gay marriage. First, Bill Clinton publicly disavowed the anti-gay marriage bill he signed into law in 1996. One week later, it was Republican Senator Rob Portman's turn, and just two years after his own son came out as gay. Then, last week, it was Hillary Clinton, which was surprising only because she hadn't already made such an announcement. And now Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill has announced her support, and via Tumblr, no less.

The North Dakota House passed a bill this afternoon that would define life as beginning at conception, effectively moving one step closer to banning all abortion in the state without exception for rape or incest. Approved by the state Senate last month, the bill will now go to voters as a ballot initiative. This latest restrictive measure comes only a week after North Dakota legislators approved bills that would ban abortion beyond six weeks into pregnancy and ban abortion in the case of genetic abnormality, like Downs Syndrome.

This week, Bill Cosby was a guest on Letterman, where the 75-year-old made many jokes about being old. One Cosby admirer not watching was Kiley Kmiec, a Santa Monica resident who couldn't bring himself to witness the Coz's appearance "for fear of tossing shit at my TV."