Kill The Bill...Update: Down, but not quite dead 8:55pm Cloture vote fails: 45-50; Roll added Reid vows to "put aside hurt feelings" - sniffle Post-debate thoughts: Yes, this was Bush's bill  —  Wire stories coming in: AP calls the cloture vote failure a "stunning setback."  Reuters: "A major legislative setback."

Immigration dead  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) just pulled the immigration overhaul bill from the floor after it failed to clear a procedural hurdle.  —  "We bent over backwards" to accomodate Republicans who disliked the bill, Reid said.  "We have to figure out a way to get this bill passed."

(Updated) Paris Hilton Bawls Her Way Out of An L.A. Celebrity Slammer  —  Paris Hilton has finally done it to me.  She has so outraged my sensibilities that here I am blogging on this sack of celebrity excrement instead of analyzing every jot and tittle of the presidential race.

Senate Begins Real Push on Habeas Corpus  —  Today the Senate Judiciary Committee passed an important bill to restore habeas corpus, the sacrosanct Constitutional right to challenge government detention in court, by a vote of eleven to eight.  —  Habeas corpus was revoked …

Romney's Up 17 In An Internal Campaign Poll  —  In an internal poll, ex-MA Gov. Mitt Romney holds a whopping 17 point lead over the rest of the Republican field, further evidence to Romney's senior staff that his organizational prowess and early support in Iowa scared challengers John McCain and Rudy Giuliani away.

Nothing New About It  —  KangroX over at Kos responds to Joe Klein's intemperate column today in which he takes bloggers to task for being ... intemperate.  —  He makes one point that I think it important for some of these journalists to understand:

Re: Libby, Ctd.  —  I have been trying to stay out of the Libby fray (too many friends on both sides), and I want nowhere near an argument over Derb's comments.  But as someone who has the battle scars attendant to defending Pat Fitzgerald here on our friendly Corner, I feel constrained …

Is London's future Islamic?  —  It's the capital's fastest growing religion, based on noble traditions and compassionate principles, yet Islam can still be tainted by mistrust and misunderstanding.  Here Time Out argues that an Islamic London would be a better place

Surprise offer defuses U.S.-Russia spat … HEILIGENDAMM, Germany (CNN) — U.S. President George Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed Thursday at the G8 summit in Germany to cooperate on missile-defense systems, apparently cooling tensions between the two leaders.

Judge freezes congressman's assets  —  ALEXANDRIA, Va. - A federal judge Thursday froze the assets of Rep. William Jefferson, the Louisiana Democrat who was indicted this week on charges of soliciting bribes.  —  A forfeiture charge is among the 16 criminal counts Jefferson is facing.

New Vent: Gorilla warfare against the open borders WSJ  —  The Wall Street Journal editorial board thinks conservatives who oppose the immigration bill are either xenophobes or bigots.  Michelle engages in guerilla gorilla warfare to prove them wrong.  —  Blowback

Attorney-general knew of BAE and the £1bn.  Then concealed it  —  Goldsmith hid secret money transfers from international anti-corruption organisation  —  British investigators were ordered by the attorney-general Lord Goldsmith to conceal from international anti-bribery watchdogs …

Defeat's Killing Fields  —  SOME opponents of the Iraq war are toying with the idea of American defeat.  A number of them are simply predicting it, while others advocate measures that would make it more likely.  Lending intellectual respectability to all this is an argument that takes …

Lieberman 'Really Upset' At Troops Who Didn't 'Speak To Me From Their Heart'  —  During Sen. Joe Lieberman's (I-CT) trip to Iraq two weeks ago, McClatchy published an article highlighting how several soldiers who met with Lieberman had wanted to ask him, "When are we going to get out of here?"