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Thursday, October 27

Editor's Note: CNN News Update is a running log of the latest news from CNN World Headquarters, reported by CNN's correspondents and producers and compiled by Wires.CNN.

2 U.S. soldiers die in Iraq

BAGHDAD (CNN) -- Two U.S. soldiers died Thursday after roadside bomb attacks in Iraq, the U.S. military said.

A Task Force Baghdad soldier died of wounds after his patrol struck an improvised explosive device in south Baghdad. The second soldier, assigned to the 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward), was killed in an attack during combat operations in Ramadi, west of Baghdad in Anbar province.

The names of both soldiers are being withheld pending notification of next of kin. Since the start of the war, 2,007 U.S. troops have died in Iraq. (Posted 3:04 a.m.)

Beta near hurricane strength, expected to intensify

(CNN) -- Tropical Storm Beta, which extended the record-breaking 2005 tropical weather season when it formed in the southwestern Caribbean Sea, was hovering near hurricane intensity early Friday and was expected to strengthen before making landfall, likely Saturday, in Central America, forecasters said.

A hurricane warning was in effect for the islands of San Andres and Providencia off the coast of Nicaragua, the National Hurricane Center said, meaning hurricane conditions, including sustained winds of at least 74 mph, are expected within the warning area within 24 hours.

As of 2 a.m. Friday, Beta's center was located about 45 miles southeast of San Andres Island and about 175 miles east of Bluefields, Nicaragua. It had maximum sustained winds of near 65 mph with higher gusts and was moving north at 2 mph. It was expected to turn northwest and then west late Friday or early Saturday. (Posted 2:54 a.m.)

2 Louisiana female prisoners latest charged with Katrina fraud

(CNN) -- In a first for the Hurricane Katrina Fraud Task Force, two female prisoners in Louisiana have joined the list of people indicted for trying to defraud the government of hurricane relief funds.

The women, housed at the Avoyelles Women's Correctional Facility in Louisiana, have been indicted for claiming to be hurricane victims in order to obtain $2,000 checks from FEMA. Prosecutors said that brings to 52 the total number of federal defendants charged with Katrina-related crimes.

Officials said the two claimed that they had homes in New Orleans that had been damaged, but asked FEMA to send the checks to the prison, where prison officials intercepted them. (Posted 10:10 p.m.)

White House braces for results of CIA leak probe

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A curious episode that began as a single paragraph in a newspaper column more than two years ago could culminate Friday in criminal charges reaching to the top echelons of the White House.

The special prosecutor in the CIA leak investigation, Patrick Fitzgerald, is expected to announce the results of his probe Friday, including whether a federal grand jury will issue any indictments, an attorney involved in the case told CNN.

Two lawyers involved in the case also told CNN that the prosecutor is focusing on whether Karl Rove, President Bush's top political strategist, committed perjury. In addition to Rove, Vice President Dick Cheney's right-hand man, Lewis "Scooter" Libby, is also ensnared in the case.

Sources with knowledge of the investigation told CNN Libby could be in legal jeopardy for possibly making false statements.

The events were triggered by a syndicated newspaper column by Robert Novak, published in July 2003, about Joe Wilson. A week before, Wilson, a retired diplomat, publicly charged that administration officials, intent on building a case to depose Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, hyped unsupported claims that Saddam bought uranium for nuclear weapons in the African nation of Niger.

Novak noted that Wilson "never worked for the CIA, but his wife, Valerie Plame, is an agency operative on weapons of mass destruction."

An angry Wilson accused administration officials of deliberately leaking his wife's identity as a CIA operative -- thus ending her career as an undercover agent -- to retaliate against him for going public with his criticism. Both Rove and Libby have denied leaking Plame's name. (Posted 9:30 p.m.)

Detective: Teen accused of murder planned to have sex after alleged killing

MARTINEZ, Calif. (CNN) -- A 16-year-old California boy charged with first-degree murder in the brutal slaying of an attorney's wife told a friend the evening of the killing that he was going to his girlfriend's house to have sex, according to newly released documents on the case.

The suspect in the case -- Scott Edgar Dyleski, who is being tried as an adult -- was arraigned Thursday, but the hearing was continued until Nov. 9, after his attorney withdrew from the case, citing a conflict. A hearing on a defense request for a gag order -- because of intense publicity -- is to be held Nov. 10.

Dyleski's mother, Esther Fielding, was arrested Thursday on accessory to murder charges and was being held on $500,000 bail.

According to an affidavit filed in connection with her son's case, the mother allegedly told her son about the police presence in the area on the night of the slaying and advised him to spend the night at his girlfriend's house, because the road had been blocked off.

The Oct. 15 slaying of Pamela Vitale, 52, has drawn national attention because her husband, Daniel Horowitz, is a high-profile defense attorney and occasional TV commentator. (Posted 8 p.m.)

Senate to let Rosa Parks 'lie in honor' in Capitol; House votes Friday

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. Senate unanimously passed a resolution Thursday evening that would allow civil rights trailblazer Rosa Parks to "lie in honor" in the Capitol Rotunda -- the first woman allowed to do so. The House is expected to pass the resolution Friday.

Parks, 92, who died Monday, pioneered the civil rights movement when she refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white man in Montgomery, Ala., in December 1955.

The honor of lying under the Rotunda is typically reserved for presidents, members of Congress, and military leaders.

Former President Ronald Reagan was the last person to lie in state in the Rotunda, in 2004. Henry Clay, the Senate's controversial "Great Compromiser," died of tuberculosis on June 29, 1852, and became the first person to lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda. Parks would be the second African American to lie in the Rotunda.

One of two Capitol Police officers killed in 1998, when a man with a history of mental illness opened fire in the Capitol, was African American. Both men, Jacob Chestnut and John Gibson, received that honor.

Memorial services for Parks will be held Saturday and Sunday in Montgomery, and on Wednesday in Detroit, Mich., where she will be buried.

State Department: Cuba agrees to accept U.S. aid

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- In a reversal of its decades-long practice of eschewing any offers of aid from the United States, Cuba has agreed to accept U.S. help in the wake of Hurricane Wilma, a State Department spokesman said Thursday.

However, a former U.S. diplomat said he was not sure if that was the case. The United States offered Tuesday, via diplomatic note, to send a three-person assessment team to Cuba, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters.

Late Wednesday, "we received word, also via diplomatic note, that the Cuban government has accepted the offer," he said. However, CNN was unable to verify if that was true.

The team from the U.S. Agency for International Development's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance was preparing to depart for the communist island and survey damage and needs in the wake of Hurricane Wilma, McCormack said.

After Hurricane Katrina struck, the Cubans offered to send nearly 1,600 doctors to the United States, an offer the United States declined.

Parts of Havana were flooded Monday after the eyewall of Wilma passed over the island nation. Most of the downtown and central sections of the capital were under water -- up to 6 feet deep in some places. Many towns on the country's southwest coast also were flooded. (Posted 7 p.m.)

Israeli airstrike kills 7 in Gaza, including Islamic Jihad commander

GAZA CITY (CNN) -- An Israeli airstrike late Thursday hit a car carrying Palestinian militants north of Gaza City, killing seven people, including an Islamic Jihad commander and three other members of the group, Palestinian and Israeli security sources said.

The strike came just hours after Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon vowed to crack down on terrorists in response to a suicide bombing Wednesday that killed five Israelis in a market in central Israel. Sharon said he would not meet with Mahmoud Abbas until the Palestinian leader takes "serious and tangible action against terrorism."

Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for Wednesday's suicide bombing. An Israeli security source said the Islamic Jihad commander, Shadi Mohanna, directed the infrastructure of the group in the region, responsible for Qassam rockets and mortars being fired into Israel. (Posted 6:45 p.m.)

Suicide bomber involved in London attack is buried in Pakistan

LAHORE, Pakistan (CNN) -- One of the four suicide bombers involved in the July 7 attack on London's mass-transit system was buried Thursday in his hometown of Sumandari, Pakistan.

A coffin carrying the body of Shahzad Tanveer, 22, was accompanied by his parents on a flight to Lahore, and from there to Sumandari, which is 150 km south. A funeral, held in a mosque in the small town, was attended by several hundred people, Deputy Inspector General of Police Khawaja Khalid Farooq told CNN.

Tanveer had come to the town to visit with his family shortly before the London bombings of three subway trains and a bus, in which 52 people and the four bombers were killed. --From CNN's Syed Mohsin Naqvi (Posted 6:09 p.m.)

Former defense worker arrested for giving secret information to foreign governments

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The FBI has arrested a former Northrop engineer who worked on highly classified B-2 bomber technology for allegedly selling sensitive government secrets to at least three foreign governments, the FBI announced Thursday.

The FBI said Noshir Gowadia, 61, of Hawaii was taken into custody on Maui and formally charged with "willfully communicating national defense information to a person not to entitled to receive it."

The FBI said that Gowadia, during an interview with investigators two weeks ago, admitted that "he provided classified information to approximately eight named countries" because he wanted to "help" the countries better protect their aircraft. An affidavit released in Washington indicates Gowadia received several hundred thousand dollars.

FBI officials refused to disclose which countries received the secrets. They were identified in an affidavit as countries "A," "B" and "C." --From Justice Producer Terry Frieden (Posted 6:03 p.m.)

Pres. Bush: 'Things don't happen instantly, but things are happening.'

POMPANO BEACH, Fla. (CNN) -- With cars lined up for blocks at the few gas stations opened in southeast Florida Thursday, Gov. Jeb Bush urged residents not to hoard fuel because there is no gasoline shortage, only a temporary distribution problem caused by power outages at stations.

Bush said south Florida also has plenty of water, ice and food at distribution centers, but he has issued a national call for more to get his state through the crisis caused by Hurricane Wilma.

The governor's brother -- President Bush -- spent several hours touring south Florida and meeting with officials Thursday. "Things don't happen instantly, but things are happening," the president said.

More than 2 million of the 3.2 million utility customers left without electricity after the storm were still without power as of 1 p.m. Thursday, according to Florida Power & Light. Service has been restored to about one-third of the households affected. The most populated areas of south Florida -- Palm Beach, Broward and Dade counties -- are not expected to be completely back online for another 25 days, the utility said. (Posted 5:40 p.m.)

Wilma deals $800 million blow to Mexican travel industry

(CNN) -- Mexican authorities are still assessing the damage from Hurricane Wilma as they work to get aid to the storm-ravaged Yucatan Peninsula, but the country's tourism minister said the region stands to lose hundreds of millions of dollars.

The storm hovered over the coastal paradise for days, flooding resort hotels and reducing stores and businesses to heaps of twisted metal.

Tourism Secretary Rodolfo Elizondo estimated the area would lose $800 million in tourism revenue between now and December. He said that about 38 percent of international tourists to Mexico visit Cancun, the Mayan Riviera or Cozumel.

Tourism is Mexico's fourth-largest industry and pumped about $10.8 billion into the country's economy last year, according to the Mexican Tourism Secretariat. That's almost 10 percent of the country's gross domestic product. It's one of the country's largest sources of income, behind oil, industry and money sent from other countries.

"This is having trickle-down effects, with people saying 'are we going there over spring break,' or 'should we go somewhere else for spring break,' that sort of thing," Chicago travel agent Mike O'Malley said. (posted 5:30 p.m.)

Committee chairman investigating oil-for-food finds systemic faults in U.N.

UNITED NATIONS (CNN) -- Paul Volcker, the chairman of the U.N. independent inquiry committee that investigated the oil-for-food program in Iraq under Saddam Hussein, told the General Assembly Thursday that the world body should institute "fundamental and wide-ranging administrative reform" to ensure future programs are not similarly corrupted.

"Corruption of the program by Saddam and many participants could not have been nearly so pervasive with more disciplined management by the United Nations," he told the U.N.'s governing body. "At stake is whether the organization will be able to act effectively."

He called for the secretary-general -- typically selected for diplomatic rather than organizational skills -- to hire a strong chief operating officer to ensure that oversight, auditing and inspection functions are better insulated from management influence and control.

In his audience was Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who told reporters afterward he would "take measures to strengthen the organization," adding that he had already had received proposals "to ensure that, in the future, we are better equipped to handle this sort of program." (Posted 5 p.m.)

Ohio GOP fund-raiser indicted for contributions to Bush campaign

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A prominent Ohio Republican Party fund-raiser was indicted Thursday for allegedly making illegal campaign contributions to President Bush's 2004 re-election campaign, the Justice Department announced.

Thomas Noe, a coin dealer involved in an Ohio state government scandal, was named in a three-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Toledo.

The Justice Department charged Noe made contributions to the president's campaign last year above the $2,000 limits in order to fulfill his pledge to raise $50,000 for a Bush-Cheney fund-raiser held in Columbus on October 30, 2003. The indictment alleges he disguised his contributions by providing $45,400 to 24 peoplewho made campaign contributions in their own names. -- From Justice Producer Terry Frieden (Posted 4:38 p.m.)

Conservatives encouraged by Miers withdrawal, but waiting for who comes next

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Conservative activists breathed a sigh of relief Thursday upon hearing that Harriet Miers withdrew her nomination to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court, but some leaders vowed they would also oppose President Bush's next nominee unless the candidate has solid conservative credentials.

"I think (conservative groups) will swing into action again" if they disagree with his next pick, said Phyllis Schlafly, president of Eagle Forum. "The judicial issue was a major issue in the 2004 elections, and it was a reason why many people voted for Bush even though they might have been unhappy (with him) for other reasons."

Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, said leaders within the conservative movement will not demand "a nominee that can have the enthusiastic support from the people that supported the president."

One conservative leader suggested that Bush could help bring together a Republican Party in "disarray," by nominating a conservative that Democrats would vehemently oppose. "A fight I think would be helpful," said the leader, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "What will bring people together is to have a common goal and that would be the nomination of a conservative nominee." -- From CNN Political Editor Mark Preston (Posted 4:23 p.m.)

Texas oilman Wyatt pleads not guilty in oil-for-food case

NEW YORK (CNN) -- American oilman Oscar Wyatt pleaded not guilty Thursday to felony charges of conspiring to pay millions of dollars in kickbacks as part of the United Nations' oil-for-food program in exchange for contracts to buy oil. U.S. District Judge Denny Chin set a June 20 trial date.

Wyatt entered his plea as former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker released a report saying companies paid about $1.8 billion in illicit surcharges and kickbacks to the government of Iraq during the program, which began in late 1996 and ended in 2003.

In the report, the commission wrote that Wyatt was "a rare exception" to Iraq's ban on allocating oil to U.S. individuals and companies. Citing Iraqi officials, the report said Wyatt asked that the oil be given in his name -- not that of Coastal Petroleum, the company of which he was chairman and which participated in the U.N. program -- once the illegal surcharges began.

Wyatt, two other individuals and three companies were indicted in the federal investigation of the program in Iraq. The Texas business executive was arrested Friday in Houston. (Posted 3:08 p.m.)

Justice Dept., preparing Miers' questionnaire, caught off guard by withdrawal

From CNN Justice Producer Terry Frieden

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Justice Department, which had been intimately involved in preparing Harriet Miers for her Senate confirmation hearing, was clearly caught off guard by her decision to withdraw her nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Administration lawyers from the Justice Department Office of Legal Policy had worked late into the night to prepare a supplemental questionnaire from Miers for the Judiciary Committee with no inkling she had decided to bow out, Justice officials said.

Hearings for her nomination had been scheduled to begin on Nov. 7, and Miers had taken a second stab at answering the committee's questionnaire after chairman Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., said her initial responses were incomplete.

Though Miers told President Bush of her decision at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday night, she did not informed Attorney General Alberto Gonzales until Thursday morning, after her questionnaire responses had been made public. (Posted 2:49 p.m.)

Rocket blast kills Islamic Jihad commander, aide in Gaza

GAZA (CNN) -- An Islamic Jihad commander, his assistant and two others were killed when Israeli aircraft fired a rocket that hit their car north of Gaza City Thursday evening, according to Palestinian security sources.

Fourteen other people were wounded by the blast, Palestinian sources said.

An Israel Defense Force official confirmed there was an airstrike on an Islamic Jihad leader who it said was responsible for planning murderous attacks.

The Palestinian security source said Field Commander Shadi Mohanna and his aide were riding in a Subaru when it was struck by the missile. The attack came a day after a suicide bombing at an outdoor market in central Israel killed five Israelis and wounded 28 people and hours after Israeli troops entered the West Bank town of Jenin and arrested Abdel Halim Izzedine, a spokesperson for Islamic Jihad. (Posted 2:48 p.m.)

3 insurgents in Iraqi city of Ramadi killed by Marines

BAGHDAD (CNN) -- U.S. Marines in Iraq said coalition forces killed three insurgents in eastern Ramadi on Thursday during "a cordon-and-search operation" at a soccer stadium.

Marines said a man who was seen surveying Malaab stadium with binoculars after a rocket-propelled grenade was fired at coalition forces was killed by snipers. Forty-five minutes later, snipers fired on "two insurgents armed with AK-47s ... moving into position on the roof of a building," killing them. (Posted 2:02 p.m.)

'Focus on Family' founder welcomes Miers' withdrawal, despite initial support

(CNN) -- Focus on the Family founder James Dobson on Thursday said he welcomes Harriet Miers' withdrawal as Supreme Court nominee because, despite his initial support for Miers, he had "grown increasingly concerned about her conservative credentials."

Earlier this month, Dobson told listeners to his radio program that Karl Rove, Bush's top political strategist, called him to discuss Miers' religious beliefs before Bush announced her nomination on Oct. 3. Dobson said Rove told him the nominee is "an evangelical Christian; that she is from a very conservative church, which is almost universally pro-life; that she had taken on the American Bar Association on the issue of abortion and fought for a policy that would not be supportive of abortion."

However, in a statement on Miers' withdrawal, Dobson said he was "dismayed to learn this week about her speech in 1993, in which she sounded pro-abortion themes, and expressed so much praise for left-wing feminist leaders. ...

"Based on what we now know about Miss Miers, it appears that we would not have been able to support her candidacy. Thankfully, that difficult evaluation is no longer necessary." (Posted 1:10 p.m.)

Annan expresses 'dismay' over Iranian leader's comment on Israel

UNITED NATIONS (CNN) -- U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan expressed "dismay" over the Iranian president's comments urging the destruction of Israel, an Annan spokesman said in a statement issued Thursday.

The statement reminded "all member states that Israel is a long-standing member of the United Nations with the same rights and obligations as every other member."

Annan "recalls in particular that, under the United Nations Charter, all members have undertaken to refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state."

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Wednesday lambasted Israel and Zionism and quoted the late Ayatollah Khomeini calling for Israel to be "wiped out from the map." (Posted 1:08 p.m.)

France: Ill man tests negative for H5N1 after Thailand visit

(CNN) -- Despite preliminary tests showing the deadly strain of bird flu that emerged in Asia two years ago, final test results Thursday show one of three people who fell ill after returning from a vacation in Thailand did not contract H5N1, according to France's Health Ministry.

The 43-year-old man was part of a tour group from the Indian Ocean island of Reunion, which is governed by France. After he was hospitalized when he returned home with meningitis-like symptoms, authorities contacted the other 19 people in the tour group and two women reported feeling ill.

All three tested positive in preliminary checks for the deadly strain. The final results for the two women are expected Friday. The health of all three is satisfactory, according to a statement from French Health Minister Xavier Bertrand. (Posted 12:58 p.m.)

Gov. Bush: Gas station closings 'number one problem'

He called the lack of generators at gas stations the state's "number one problem" Thursday.

South Florida has plenty of water, ice and food at distribution centers, Bush said, but he has issued a national call for more to get his state through the crisis caused by Hurricane Wilma.

Nearly a third of the 6 million Florida residents who were left without electricity in the wake of Monday's pounding by Wilma have their power back on, according to Florida Power and Light. Still, the most populated areas of south Florida -- Palm Beach, Broward and Dade counties -- are not expected to be completely back online for another 25 days, the utility said.

It has promised it will focus on restoring power to gas stations along major roads once the work on repairing electric substations has been completed. (Posted 12:25 p.m.)

U.S. bringing home Americans stranded in Mexico by Wilma

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- State Department officials Thursday said they have helped bring home thousands of Americans stranded in Mexico because of Hurricane Wilma -- 4,000 on Wednesday and 4,000 on Tuesday.

Several thousand remain in Cancun, a few dozen in Merida and 650 on the island of Cozumel, the officials said. A cruise ship is departing Cozumel on Thursday with all of the Americans in that city, they said.

Sixty-five U.S. consular officers are in the area, visiting shelters and hotels to make sure Americans have the food, supplies and medicine they need and trying to arrange flights for them. A 24-hour task force at the State Department is fielding calls from stranded Americans and concerned relatives.

Airports in Cancun, Merida and Cozumel are open and the United States is working with airlines for increased flights. About 18 flights are expected to leave Cancun on Thursday, officials said. -- From CNN's Elise Labott (Posted 12:12 p.m.)

Sources: Special prosecutor focusing on whether Rove committed perjury

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald is focusing his investigation into the leak of a CIA operative's identity on whether presidential adviser Karl Rove committed perjury, two lawyers involved in the case told CNN.

Fitzgerald, whose spokesman said he won't be issuing announcements Thursday, is expected to announce on Friday the results of his investigation and whether he has come up with indictments, a source said.

The source, an attorney involved in the CIA leak case, said Fitzgerald summarized his case before the grand jury Wednesday, when the grand jury took up the case again and the special prosecutor met with the U.S. District Court's chief judge afterward for about 45 minutes. The details of what Fitzgerald and District Court Judge Thomas Hogan discussed were not immediately disclosed. (Posted 11:31 a.m.)

Miers withdraws as Supreme Court nominee; Bush 'reluctantly' accepts

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Saying her nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court presented "a burden for the White House," Harriet Miers announced Thursday she has withdrawn as a nominee to the high court.

President Bush "reluctantly accepted" her withdrawal, he said in a statement released by the White House.

Miers, in a letter to the president, said, "While I believe that my lengthy career provides sufficient evidence for consideration of my nomination, I am convinced the efforts to obtain Executive Branch materials and information will continue." Senators had asked for documents relating to her work as White House counsel under Bush.

Bush earlier this month had nominated Miers to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor on the high court. The nomination stirred up controversy because of Miers' lack of judicial experience and questions about her knowledge of constitutional law. Her nomination divided Bush's supporters, many of whom wanted a nominee with a clear record of opposition to abortion. (Posted 11 a.m.)

Report cites U.N. for not investigating the oil-for-food program

UNITED NATIONS (CNN) -- Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's regime received about $1.8 billion in illicit payments under the United Nations' oil-for-food program, an independent report issued Thursday said.

The investigation, led by former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, said the illicit kickbacks came from some 66 member states, "while those paying illicit surcharges on oil purchases came from some 40 member states."

The program was almost three years old "when the regime began openly to demand illicit payments from its customers," the report said. Though the oil overseers expressed concern about the demands to the secretariat and to the Security Council, "little action was taken," it said.

The report also cited Banque Nationale de Paris, which was involved in administering the program, saying it "was in a position to have first-hand knowledge" of what was going on but "did not recognize a particular responsibility to adequately inform the U.N." In addition, the countries that "were responsible for approving their national companies to do business with the program took no action." (Posted 10:52 a.m.)

Senators comment after Miers nomination withdrawn

(CNN) -- Speaking on the U.S. Senate floor Thursday after the withdrawal of Harriet Miers' nomination to the Supreme Court, Majority Leader Bill Frist said he spoke to Miers Thursday morning and she was "gracious and forthcoming."

Miers told Frist she had spoken to the president about her decision Wednesday night. "She came to this decision on her own, based on what she has experienced and witnessed," he said. Frist said Miers will stay on as White House counsel.

Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid, who supported Miers' nomination, said he spoke to Miers and "she was not happy, she was very disappointed -- who wouldn't be?"

"The radical right wing of the Republican Party drove this woman's nomination right out of town," Reid said. "Apparently Ms. Miers didn't satisfy those who want to pack the Supreme Court with rigid ideologies."

Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., said Bush now "should nominate a strict constructionist conservative." "That's what he is and ran as as president," Lott said. "He said if you elect me this is the nominee you will get." (Posted 10:34 a.m.)

Sharon calls Palestinian effort to fight terror 'total failure'

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- A day after a suicide bomber struck in Israel, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Thursday gave a pessimistic assessment of the peace process, calling the Palestinian Authority's efforts to fight terror a "total failure" and saying it is not serious about thwarting such attacks.

The Israeli government press office issued statements from Sharon and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who is visiting Israel.

Sharon called the strike in Hadera a "severe act of terrorism." The suicide bombing at a crowded outdoor market in central Israel killed five Israelis and wounded 28 people. Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility. In a telephone call to CNN, the group said the attack was in retaliation for the Monday killing of one of its leaders in the West Bank.

Just after the bombing, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and the Israeli military approved a widespread campaign against specific security targets. A Sharon adviser said it is to include arrests, prevention of terror attacks and targeted killings.

Lavrov also condemned the attack. But he added that the Russians on Wednesday held talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and said he "has also condemned acts of despicable terrorism" and is serious in his intentions to take action. (Posted 10:26 a.m.)

Harriet Miers first Supreme court nomination to fail since Reagan era

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Harriet Miers is the first Supreme Court justice nominee to withdraw since 1987 and she is the first woman nominated to the Supreme Court who was not confirmed. Also, it is the first time since 1968 that a Supreme Court justice nominee dropped out when the president's party controlled the Senate.

Failed Supreme Court nominees since 1900:

-- Hoover nominee John Parker, defeated May 1930;

-- Johnson nominee and sitting Associate Justice Abe Fortas, withdrawn as chief nominee October 1968;

-- Johnson nominee Homer Thornberry, withdrawn in October 1968, after Fortas was withdrawn;

-- Nixon nominee Clement Haynesworth, defeated November 1969;

-- Nixon nominee Harold Carswell, defeated April 1970;

-- Reagan nominee Robert Bork, defeated October 1987, and;

-- Reagan nominee Douglas Ginsburg, withdrawn November 1987. (Posted 10:14 a.m.)

19 people killed in fighting southeast of Baghdad

BAGHDAD (CNN) -- Nineteen people were killed in fighting in a town southeast of Baghdad between Shiite militia members and police on one side and insurgents on the other, police told CNN.

Seventeen members of the Mehdi militia and two police officers were killed. Seventeen people were wounded, including 12 militia members and five police officers, police said.

The Mehdi militia is affiliated with a Shiite cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr, whose forces fought U.S. troops early in the insurgency until peace between the coalition and that group was restored.

The fighting took place in the area of a town called al-Khazaliya. The clashes occurred as members of the militia asked police for help in recovering a militia member who had been kidnapped. (Posted 9:42 a.m.)

Worldwide rebukes issued over Iranian president's comments

(CNN) -- World diplomats sharply criticized the Iranian president's scathing denunciation of Israel and Zionism, which included quoting a late ayatollah's incendiary remark that the Jewish state should be eradicated.

European governments and officials, Israel and the United States were among those who condemned the remarks on Wednesday by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who was speaking during a World without Zionism protest in Tehran.

Ahmadinejad quoted a remark from Iran's late Ayatollah Khomeini, who said that Israel "must be wiped out from the map of the world."

He condemned Muslim countries that have or are developing relations with Israel and he said he believes Israel would be destroyed by the turmoil in Palestine and the Islamic world. (Posted 9:41 a.m.)

Israeli troops enter West Bank town, arrest Islamic Jihad spokesman

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Israeli troops entered the West Bank town of Jenin Thursday afternoon and arrested Abdel Halim Izzedine, a spokesperson for the Islamic Jihad, according to Palestinian security sources.

The Israeli forces, traveling in jeeps and helicopters, immediately began a withdrawal from Jenin after the arrest, the sources said. I

sraeli military sources confirmed that the army had been operating in Jenin, carrying out arrests. The sources said the troops had withdrawn from Jenin.

The operation came a day after a suicide bombing at an outdoor market in central Israel killed five Israelis and wounded 28 people. Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for Wednesday's bombing in a crowded marketplace. (Posted 9:40 a.m.)

Two police officers killed in Baquba

BAGHDAD (CNN) -- Two local police officers in Baquba north of Baghdad were killed in two separate incidents on Thursday.

A police officer was killed and four others were wounded when insurgents fired two mortar rounds on a police station in the central part of Iraq's Diyala province.

In the southeastern part of the city, a police officer was found shot dead in his car. (Posted 9:39 a.m.)

Special prosecutor spokesman: 'No announcements today'

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The spokesman for Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald said that "there will be no announcements" on Thursday by the man who is spearheading a grand jury probe into the leak of a CIA operative's identity.

Spokesman Russell Samborn issued the comment.

The grand jury took up the case again Wednesday and the special prosecutor met with the U.S. District Court's chief judge afterward for about 45 minutes.

The details of what Fitzgerald and District Court Judge Thomas Hogan discussed were not immediately disclosed. (Posted 9:38 a.m.)

Miers withdraws as Supreme Court nominee

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Harriet Miers Thursday announced she has withdrawn as a nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court, and President Bush said he has "reluctantly accepted."

In her letter to the president, Miers said she was "concerned that the confirmation process presents a burden for the White House and our staff that is not in the best interest of the country."

"While I believe that my lengthy career provides sufficient evidence for consideration of my nomination, I am convinced the efforts to obtain Executive Branch materials and information will continue," she said in the letter.

Earlier this month, Bush nominated Miers, the White House counsel, to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor on the high court. Miers' nomination stirred up controversy because of her lack of judicial experience and questions about her knowledge of constitutional law. (Posted 9:35 a.m.)

War crimes court gets new name: Iraqi High Tribunal

BAGHDAD (CNN) -- The name of the tribunal conducting war crimes proceedings in Iraq has been changed, a tribunal official told CNN.

The official said the name of the Iraqi Special Tribunal has been changed to the Iraqi High Tribunal by a parliamentary decision.

The tribunal went into session last week in the trial of Saddam Hussein and seven co-defendants in connection with the 1982 killings of more than 140 people in the town of Dujail. (Posted 7:09 a.m.)

11 killed in fire at Amsterdam airport's justice complex

(CNN) -- At least 11 illegal immigrants were killed Thursday and 14 injured in a fire that broke out in the justice complex of Amsterdam's Schipol Airport, officials said.

Police have said an independent investigation will determine the cause of the blaze, according to Dutch reporter Marijn Tebbens.

It was the third fire in the three years the detention center has been open, Tebbens said. Some of the illegal immigrants being held there told Dutch reporters that guards did not pay attention when they reported smelling smoke. In addition, the doors to the detention area could only be opened one by one, not all at once, he said. (Posted 7:02 a.m.)

Tropical Storm Beta forms in southwestern Caribbean

(CNN) -- The 23rd named tropical storm of the 2005 season, the most active ever for tropical storms and hurricanes, formed early Thursday in the southwestern Caribbean Sea, the National Hurricane Center said.

Tropical Storm Beta was packing maximum sustained winds of near 40 mph with higher gusts, and some strengthening was forecast, the Miami-based center said. The storm posed no threat to the United States as of Thursday.

A tropical storm warning was issued for the entire Caribbean coast of Nicaragua, from the Costa Rican border northward to Cabo Gracias a Dios near the Honduran border, as well as adjacent islands. Early Thursday, the government of Colombia also issued a hurricane watch for the islands of San Andres and Providencia, in addition to the tropical storm warning.

At 5 a.m. Thursday, Beta was located about 75 miles south of San Andres Island and about 140 miles east-southeast of Bluefields, Nicaragua. It was moving northwest at about 5 mph. The storm was expected to produce up to 15 inches of rain across western Panama, Costa Rica and Nicaragua, with up to 20 inches possible in some isolated areas, the hurricane center said. (Posted 5:35 a.m.)

3 U.S. soldiers killed in bombing, attack

BAGHDAD (CNN) -- Three U.S. soldiers died Wednesday in Iraq, two in a roadside bomb and the third in an improvised explosive device (IED) and small arms fire attack, the military said Thursday.

The first two died when their convoy struck an IED in east Baghdad, the military said. They were assigned to Task Force Baghdad.

The third soldier, assigned to the 1st Corps Support Command (COSCOM), died and four soldiers were wounded in the attack that occurred about 11:15 a.m. Thursday near Ashraf, Iraq. The soldiers were conducting a combat logistics patrol at the time, the military said.

Both incidents were under investigation, the military said. The soldiers' names were withheld pending notification of relatives. The soldiers' deaths bring the number of U.S. troops to die in Iraqi to 2,004. (Posted 5:06 a.m.)

Israel launches campaign after suicide bombing

HADERA, Israel (CNN) -- Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and the Israeli military have approved a widespread campaign against specific security targets in the wake of a Wednesday suicide bombing in which five Israelis were killed and 28 people wounded, an advisor to Sharon told CNN on Thursday.

The suicide bombing took place in the northern Israeli city of Hadera. Palestinian sources identified the bomber as Hassan Abu Zeid, 20, from the West Bank town of Qabatiya, southwest of Jenin. Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the bombing, saying it was in retaliation for the Monday killing of one of its leaders in the West Bank.

Also Thursday, Israeli airstrikes targeted a road in Gaza City and a bridge in Beit Hanoun, also in Gaza, the IDF said. For a second day, the IDF said Israeli airstrikes were aimed at fields in Gaza. There were no reports of injuries. (Posted 4:04 a.m.)

2 dead, 2 kidnapped in Iraqi violence

BAGHDAD (CNN) -- A suicide car bomb exploded near a U.S. military convoy in Baghdad on Thursday, killing one civilian and wounding four others, a Baghdad emergency police official told CNN.

In addition, an Iraqi police officer was shot and killed Thursday. Maj. Mahdi Hussein Salih died in the shooting about 9:35 a.m. in the al-Dora area of southern Baghdad, police said.

Ylmaz Mohammed Jaffer, a Ministry of Agriculture worker and sister of Iraqi Construction and Housing Minister Jassim Mohammed Jaffer, was abducted Tuesday along with two engineers on a road between Baghdad and Kirkuk near Tuz, about 170 kilometers (106 miles) north of Baghdad, the police official said. On Wednesday, Jaffer was released, bu the abductors kept the two engineers, police said. (Posted 3:59 a.m.)

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