Debate Headquarters [55]  —  Track the Discussion Online: Can't get enough?  Check out some of the blogs following the debate tonight.  —  LamontBlog (unoffocial) |  Firedoglake |  MyDD |  Atrios |  Connecticut Local Politics |  Blog for America  —  Rapid Response: Rebut misleading answers …

N. Korea missile aimed at area off Hawaii - report  —  TOKYO (Reuters) - A North Korean missile launched on Wednesday was aimed at an area of the ocean close to Hawaii, a Japanese newspaper reported on Friday.  —  Experts estimated the Taepodong-2 ballistic missile to have a range of up to 6,000 km, putting Alaska within its reach.

Lieberman, Lamont Spar in Conn. Primary Debate  —  SPEAKERS: U.S. SENATOR JOSEPH LIEBERMAN (D-CT)  —  NED LAMONT, FORMER SELECTMAN, GREENWICH, CT  —  ANNOUNCER: Live from NBC 30, Connecticut's news leader, this is a "Decision 2006" special presentation, the Democratic primary debate, Lieberman and Lamont.

Coulter Plagiarism Story Picks Up Steam  —  Is the Ann Coulter plagiarism story shifting from a one-day spark into a days-long saga?  —  Interest appears to be growing.  John Barrie, the man whose technology identified the instances of plagiarism in acidic right-wing writer Ann Coulter's columns …

Judge's ruling keeps DeLay on ballot  —  AUSTIN - A federal judge ruled today that Republicans cannot replace former U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay on the ballot for the 22nd Congressional District race.  —  U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks, a Republican appointee, ruled that DeLay must appear …

N.Y. Court Says Lawmakers Should Consider Gay Marriage  —  The New York Court of Appeals ruled this morning that the state Constitution does not guarantee a right to marriage for same-sex couples, and that state lawmakers, not the courts, are better suited to consider the issue.

Hate Groups Are Infiltrating the Military, Group Asserts  —  A decade after the Pentagon declared a zero-tolerance policy for racial hate groups, recruiting shortfalls caused by the war in Iraq have allowed "large numbers of neo-Nazis and skinhead extremists" to infiltrate the military, according to a watchdog organization.

N.J. Gov., Lawmakers Reach Deal on Budget  —  TRENTON, N.J. — New Jersey's governor and lawmakers reached a deal Thursday on a new state budget, six days into a state government shutdown that shuttered casinos and threw more than 80,000 people out of work.  —  Gov. Jon S. Corzine …

Emergency Over, Saith the Court  —  1861. 1941.  2001. Our big wars — and the war on terrorism ranks with the big ones — have a way of starting in the first year of a decade.  Supreme Courts, which historically have been loath to intervene against presidential war powers in the midst of conflict …

Putin kissed boy 'like a kitten'  —  MOSCOW, Russia (Reuters) — Vladimir Putin's decision to stop a small boy as he walked through the Kremlin and kiss his stomach was prompted by a desire to "touch him like a kitten," the Russian president said on Thursday.

Enron founder, facing prison, dies in Aspen  —  What he couldn't do in the courtroom, former Enron Chairman Ken Lay may finally be able to achieve in death — avoid a criminal record.  —  Lay, 64, who died of a heart attack in Aspen, Colo., early Wednesday morning, will likely have his case vacated …

Suicide: Not Painless  —  Michelle Malkin has responded to my post on UC Santa Cruz Chancellor Denice Denton's suicide.  Quick recap: Malkin called Denton a "capitulationist chancellor" after Denton failed to expel or punish students who angrily protested and kicked military recruiters off campus.