Today's news

--> BREAKING: Violence broke out today as tens of thousands of Serbs protested Kosovo independence and reportedly set fire to the facade of the U.S. embassy in Belgrade, according to news agencies.

Riot police fired tear gas at Serb rioters as protesters wearing masks broke into the embassy, according to the Associated Press and Reuters. The embassy was reportedly closed and not staffed.

Chanting 'Kosovo is Serbia," the crowds vowed to never accept the province's independence.

Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica, who earlier addressed the rally, said "Kosovo is Serbia's first name." He called the declaration of independence last Sunday illegal and has vowed to work to get it annulled.

--> U.S.: Sen. John McCain today denied assertions published in The New York Times that he once had a close relationship with a female lobbyist whose clients had business before his Senate committee.

"I'm disappointed in The New York Times piece. It's not true," he told reporters in Toledo, Ohio, his wife, Cindy, standing by his side. He added that he has never "done anything that would betray the public trust or make a decision" that would favor a particular group.

You can read the NYT article here.

--> U.S.: Meanwhile, on the Democractic side of things, Sens. Hillary Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois will face off in a Democratic presidential debate in Austin tonight starting at 8 p.m on CNN.

--> Kenya: Kenya’s rival political parties have nearly finalized a deal to end the political crisis that has kept this country on edge for almost two months, with the government agreeing to create a prime minister position, one of the opposition’s key demands, a high-ranking government official said today.

Not all the details have been worked out, the official said, but lawyers were drafting language on Thursday evening that would outline the job description of the new prime minister position and how it would be incorporated into Kenya’s existing political framework.

An opposition official confirmed that a deal was close, but was a bit more cautious, saying that the amount of power attributed to the new prime minister position had not yet been pinned down.

“Its a major achievement,” said the opposition official on condition of anonymity because both sides were asked by international mediators not to speak to the press. “The next challenge will be to put meat on the bone.”