Open thread: Fred announces on Leno; Update: Web announcement video now live; Update: Leno announcement video added  —  Late night for the big A. If you're staying up for it, feel free to sound off.  If you just can't be bothered, Geraghty has a sneak peek at the transcript.

Bush knew Saddam had no weapons of mass destruction  —  Salon exclusive: Two former CIA officers say the president squelched top-secret intelligence, and a briefing by George Tenet, months before invading Iraq.  —  (Clockwise from top left) Naji Sabri, George W. Bush, Colin Powell and George Tenet.

Baghdad Burning  —  ... I'll meet you 'round the bend my friend, where hearts can heal and souls can mend...  Leaving Home...  Two months ago, the suitcases were packed.  My lone, large suitcase sat in my bedroom for nearly six weeks, so full of clothes and personal items, that it took me …

GAO Criticizes Homeland Security's Efforts to Fulfill Its Mission  —  Hobbled by inadequate funding, unclear priorities, continuing reorganizations and the absence of an overarching strategy, the U.S. Homeland Security Department is failing to achieve its mission of preventing and responding …

LIVE FREE OR DEBATE  —  PJM's Vodkapundit Stephen Green liveblogged the debate with martini glass in hand.  —  Support Pajamas Media; Visit Our Advertisers  —  6:49pm First martini down.  Going to run upstairs to pour a second one before things get started.

Jones Report: Iraqi Security Forces Not Ready  —  Logistical Self-Sufficiency Is at Least Two Years Away  —  Iraq's Interior Ministry is "dysfunctional," filled with sectarianism and corruption, according to an independent assessment of the Iraqi security forces to be published tomorrow.

Democrats Newly Willing to Compromise on Iraq  —  With a mixed picture emerging about progress in Iraq, Senate Democratic leaders are showing a new openness to compromise as they try to attract Republican support for forcing at least modest troop withdrawals in the coming months.

Clinton Donor Fails to Appear in Court Again  —  The mystery of Norman Hsu, the wealthy Clinton donor who turned out to be a fugitive from justice, took a bizarre twist yesterday when Mr. Hsu, who skipped out after pleading no contest in a California fraud case 15 years ago, disappeared yet again.

Breaking: GOP Senate Leader McConnell Says Craig Won't Resign If Cleared  —  Crazier and crazier.  Now GOP Senate leader Mitch McConnell has gone and said at a press conference and said that Larry Craig won't be resigning if he's ultimately exonerated of the charges against him.

PAVAROTTI Looked as the Stars Trembled With Love and Hope  —  Have you ever noticed that some brilliant souls seem to come to earth close together in time, eddy near one another in genius, and then also leave the earth within a few short months of one another? ...

THE MYTH OF AQI....Who's responsible for the violence in Iraq?  According to George Bush, the most dramatic and destabilizing attacks come from al-Qaeda in Iraq, the group supposedly responsible for the bombing of the Golden Mosque in Samara last year and for a spectacular truck bomb attack in Tal Afar five months ago.

Richardson to bloggers: 'I make no apologies'  —  FLORENCE, South Carolina (CNN) — At a campaign stop Wednesday at Horne's Country Buffet, Democratic presidential candidate Bill Richardson struck back at prominent liberal blogs that yesterday called Richardson a "buffoon" …