The Inside Story Of How The Senate Immigration Bill Died  —  A GOP Aide, who's one of my sources in the Senate, gave me the rundown on what happened to the Senate bill today.  —  After the 2nd cloture vote failure at noon on Thursday, Harry Reid could not get unanimous consent to call …

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 …

It's Subpoena Time  —  For months, senators have listened to a parade of well-coached Justice Department witnesses claiming to know nothing about how nine prosecutors were chosen for firing.  This week, it was the turn of Bradley Schlozman, a former federal attorney in Missouri, to be uninformative and not credible.

LONDON'S SWINGING AGAIN - LIKE A SCIMITAR!  —  [ed. - found in a trashbin in Trafalgar Square: first draft of Time Out London's suck-up to their new religious overlords]  —  By Michael Hodges, Time Out London  —  Islam — it's the capital's hottest lifestyle trend!

Edwards: If Rudy Embraces Bush, Then "He'll Never Be President"  —  Another interesting moment from John Edwards' press conference after his terrorism speech today.  Check out how tightly Edwards — responding to a question — yoked Rudy to our sinking President: … Simple as simple can be.

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."

U.S. Compromise on Global Warming Plan Averts Impasse at Group of 8 Meeting  —  The United States agreed Thursday to "consider seriously" a European plan to combat global warming by cutting in half worldwide greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, averting a trans-Atlantic deadlock at a meeting here of the world's richest industrial nations.

Rise in China's Pork Prices Signals End to Cheap Output  —  Few things are as essential to the Chinese as their pigs.  —  From pork spare ribs and mu shu pork to char siu bao — barbecued pork buns — pork is a staple of the Chinese diet.  So in this Year of the Pig, an acute shortage …

For 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell,' Split on Party Lines  —  The presidential candidates are dividing starkly along party lines on one of the signature fights of the 1990s: whether the 14-year-old policy of "don't ask, don't tell" should be repealed and gay men and lesbians allowed to serve openly in the military.

Iran to release 3 Finns detained in Gulf  —  TEHRAN, Iran - Iran seized three Finnish men on a fishing trip near a disputed Persian Gulf island and held them incommunicado for several days before agreeing Wednesday to release them, the men's employer said.  —  The three men working …

Clinton Names Florida Reps. Wasserman Schultz, Hastings National Campaign Co-Chairs  —  Clinton to Hold Conference Call Announcing Additional Florida Endorsement Today  —  The Clinton Campaign today announced that Florida Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Congressman Alcee Hastings have been named national Campaign Co-Chairs.

Two Years of Humble Pie  —  In Britain, Canada and other civilized places, national elections are often called, run and concluded within six weeks.  In America, election campaigns go on forever.  It used to be one year, now it's two.  No one planned this, but like other evolutionary artifacts …

Lincoln's Wisdom  —  In the old days, historians—at least some of them—were patriotic and moralistic.  No longer.  We live in what Andrew Ferguson, in his brilliant new book, Land of Lincoln: Adventures in Abe's America, calls "a wised-up era."  Now, Ferguson explains, "skepticism about the country …