diff --git a/Include/patchlevel.h b/Include/patchlevel.h
index 53554aa2598..89874459da2 100644
--- a/Include/patchlevel.h
+++ b/Include/patchlevel.h
@@ -19,10 +19,10 @@
 #define PY_MINOR_VERSION	0
 #define PY_MICRO_VERSION	0
 #define PY_RELEASE_LEVEL	PY_RELEASE_LEVEL_ALPHA
-#define PY_RELEASE_SERIAL	1
+#define PY_RELEASE_SERIAL	2
 
 /* Version as a string */
-#define PY_VERSION		"3.0a1+"
+#define PY_VERSION		"3.0a2"
 
 /* Subversion Revision number of this file (not of the repository) */
 #define PY_PATCHLEVEL_REVISION  "$Revision$"
diff --git a/Misc/NEWS b/Misc/NEWS
index c041d106b21..b3905c6ac3c 100644
--- a/Misc/NEWS
+++ b/Misc/NEWS
@@ -6,7 +6,9 @@ Python News
 
 What's New in Python 3.0a2?
 
-*Unreleased*
+*Release date: 07-Dec-2007*
+
+(Note: this list is incomplete.)
 
 Core and Builtins
 -----------------
diff --git a/README b/README
index 0f372351ee0..6aec2a495ed 100644
--- a/README
+++ b/README
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-This is Python version 3.0 alpha 1
+This is Python version 3.0 alpha 2
 ==================================
 
 For notes specific to this release, see RELNOTES in this directory.
@@ -11,8 +11,8 @@ have changed considerably, and a lot of deprecated features have
 finally been removed.
 
 This is an ongoing project; the cleanup isn't expected to be complete
-until 2008.  In particular there are plans to reorganize the standard
-library namespace.
+until some time in 2008.  In particular there are plans to reorganize
+the standard library namespace.
 
 
 Release Schedule
@@ -55,6 +55,19 @@ We'll eventually have a comprehensive overview of the changes in a
 "What's New in Python 3.0" document.  Please help write it!
 
 
+What's New Since 3.0a1
+----------------------
+
+Undoubtedly the biggest change is in the bytes type: 'bytes' is now
+immutable, and there is a new mutable bytes type 'bytearray'.  These
+two types are interoperable in every way.  For more info on this
+issue, read PEP 3137.
+
+For a more detailed change log, read Misc/NEWS (though this file, too,
+is incomplete, and also doesn't list anything merged in from the 2.6
+release under development).
+
+
 Converting From Python 2.x to 3.0
 ---------------------------------
 
diff --git a/RELNOTES b/RELNOTES
index c23f82021ff..2526bc5eb04 100644
--- a/RELNOTES
+++ b/RELNOTES
@@ -5,6 +5,15 @@ Release notes describe unfinished work in particular releases.
 
 Please report bugs to http://bugs.python.org/.
 
+Version 3.0a2 - Release Date 07-Dec-2007
+----------------------------------------
+
+* SSL support is back!  However, the SSL code appears to be leaking
+  quite a bit.
+
+* Otherwise, the 3.0a1 release notes still apply, except hashlib no
+  longer requires openssl.
+
 Version 3.0a1 - Release Date 31-Aug-2007
 ----------------------------------------