Student tasered at John Kerry forum Update: A University of Florida student/eyewitness shares what he saw; 12:15 pm Eastern 9/18 update: Another UF student speaks; Update: UF president schedules 2pm press conference...plus: Andrew Meyer, professional taunter  —  Update 3:10pm Eastern 9/18.

Giuliani still leads GOP race; Thompson in second place  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani continues to lead the national race for the Republican presidential nomination, although his support has faded to one of its lowest readings of the year.

The Constitution Needs Your Help Today  —  Let's hit the phones this morning, people.  The Habeas Restoration Act is being put forth again — by Sens. Leahy and Dodd, among others — and they are asking for our help.  Please call your Senators this morning and tell them to support Amendment S. 2202 …

Republicans Can Win on Health Care  —  A market-based system can give us freedom, innovation and health security.  —  All around America, families are grappling with health-care concerns.  They wonder if they'll have insurance at a price they can afford.  They worry about how much out-of …

Iraq Diary: Jammers Beat Bombers (Which May Be Bad News)  —  Radio-controlled bombs used to be the biggest killer of American troops in Iraq.  Now, they've been rendered all-but-useless.  Good news, right?  Like so much else in Iraq, it's not quite that simple.

CREW releases "Beyond DeLay: The 22 Most Corrupt Members of Congress (and two to watch)"  —  Today, CREW released its third annual report on the most corrupt members of Congress entitled Beyond DeLay: The 22 Most Corrupt Members of Congress (and two to watch).

Poll: Percentage Favoring Withdrawal Has Gone Slightly Up Since Petraeus Show  —  A new poll from CBS News finds that The Petraeus Show failed to budge public opinion on Iraq.  —  Indeed, the number favoring withdrawal actually edged slightly upwards since the Scholar Warrior testified before Congress …

Hot Air TV: Rep. Jack Murtha confronted about Haditha accusations Updated  —  We've just obtained video of Rep. Jack Murtha being directly confronted over repeatedly accusing the Haditha Marines of murdering Iraqis "in cold blood."  I'm editing and processing it now, so we should have it online before too long.

For immediate release  —  The Federal Open Market Committee decided today to lower its target for the federal funds rate 50 basis points to 4-3/4 percent.  —  Economic growth was moderate during the first half of the year, but the tightening of credit conditions has the potential to intensify …

Glenn Greenwald and Atrios have already taken solid whacks today at the media idiocy surrounding the GOP attack on Dems for not condemning MoveOn's Petraeus ad.  But the worst media offender by far has to be The Washington Post's Richard Cohen.  —  Incredibly, Cohen today devotes an entire column …

D.C. Vote Bill Dies in Senate  —  Republican lawmakers today blocked the Senate from taking up the D.C. voting rights bill, dealing a major blow to the District's most promising effort in years to get a full member of Congress.  —  The vote was merely on whether to begin action on the bill.

MoveOn.org and the media mess  —  Last Monday, on the same day that Gen. David Petraeus was testifying before Congress about how important progress was being made in Iraq, the Pentagon announced that nine American service members had died that day in Iraq.  Given the death toll to date …

Fired engineer calls 787's plastic fuselage unsafe  —  A former senior aerospace engineer at Boeing's Phantom Works research unit, fired last year under disputed circumstances, is going public with concerns that the new 787 Dreamliner is unsafe.  —  Forty-six-year veteran Vince Weldon contends …

Random Pictures, Two  —  The "Twin Towers Mosque" lights up in preparation for Ramadan as electricity becomes available in the city.  —  Military Transition Team Captain Theodore "Teddy" J. Folsome was tired but dryly funny, with a nametag that read "Elvis Presley."