The mysterious white powder that shut down the Liberty Bell Center in Philadelphia was flour.

Red alert! Starlet under fire! Noting that "actions speak louder than words," L.A. Judge Marshal Revel has issued a bench warrant for Lindsay Lohan, who skipped hearing about violating the terms of her DUI probation, because she's in Cannes.

A suspicious vehicle has shut down Union Square. Gas cans were spotted in it. (Updated: False alarm)

A natural gas platform has sunk off the coast of Venezuela, President Hugo Chavez announced on the Twitter.

Over 100 people have died in a plane crash in the Libyan capitol, Tripoli. Unconfirmed reports say that an 8-year-old child is the only survivor.

Beau Biden, the vice president's 41 year-old son and the Attorney General of Delaware, is in the hospital. For some reason. The White House just released the following mysterious statement (Updated below):

NBC is reporting that Elena Kagan is Obama's nominee for the upcoming Supreme Court vacancy.

Crap. So that dome that was supposed to end the oil spill got plugged up with crystals of something called "gas hydrates." Now they've had to move the dome off the leak, and are looking for a new fix. [NYT]

The same Staten Island ferry that crashed in 2003 has crashed again. 60 people injured.

Times Square has been evacuated because a "small, white cooler" was left on the sidewalk. So, if you left a cooler in Times Square... go get it. It's the second suspicious-package call of the day. [ABC, photo] Update below.

Exit polls show that Tories have made huge gains in Britain's elections. Whatever that means!

Sort of unbelievable that the oil slick hadn't come ashore until today. The slick just hit Breton Wildlife Reserve, located in a chain of islands off the Lousiana coast. Better eat all those birds before they're coated in oil. [Reuters]

New York's Triborough Bridge has been shut down after a worker found an abandoned U-Haul truck that "smelled of gas." The NYPD bomb squad has been dispatched. Update: NYPD says there's no bomb and the bridge will reopen. [MSNBC]

No one knows for sure yet — but the Pakistani Taliban, according to the AP, are claiming it. And The Daily Telegraph says that police are investigating a link with NY-based South Park and Triscuits-hating extremists Revolution Muslim.

Reuters and MSNBC report that a "failed explosive device" has prompted an evacuation of Times Square. Earlier tonight, a man fled from an SUV that was smoking and making popping sounds. Inside, FDNY found "explosives, gasoline, propane and burned wires."

Police have shut down Times Square due to a suspicious package.

The Daily Beast reports that John Edwards has been called to appear before a grand jury on May 13th. He will have to submit to a sworn deposition about his affair, the tape and his use of campaign funds. [TDB]

First Goldman Sachs gets a lawsuit from the SEC, now prosecutors have indicted a former Blackwater president and four other former employees on weapons charges. Details are not yet clear. But who knows where this Federal justice train will stop.

Important political news or whatever: Spitzer superfriend Ashley Dupre's Playboy shoot is out, and here is a respectable, newsworthy sample. Smut peddler Foster Kamer has a more NSFW version at the Village Voice. Commence puns now. More censored shots below.

Lots of activity on Twitter and blogs tonight about a huge fire at 285 Grand Street in Chinatown. According to the Times at least ten people were injured in the fire, which spread to three buildings. Video and photos inside.