Investigative reporter Jane Mayer tells Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! how the McCain campaign picked Sarah Palin. It’s a fascinating story that involves Joe Lieberman, Lindsay Graham, the Republican base, the National Review, cruises to Alaska, halibut cheeks, a home schooled Christian conservative blogger, and much more.

As of 10:30 pm last night, 284 protesters had been arrested and booked at the Ramsey County Jail in Saint Paul, MN. The most common charges included obstruction, unlawful assembly, conspiracy to riot, and rioting.

The bulk of the arrests took place in the afternoon. The mass arrests started around 3:00pm when officers dragnetted protesters on Shepherd Road. The officers encircled the protesters and detained them for over an hour. About 50 people were let go, according to Gena Berglund of the National Lawyers Guild, which dispatched between 80 and 90 trained legal observers to monitor and videotape yesterday’s protests.