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 Wednesday, December 14
Editor's Note: CNN News Update is a running log of the latest news from CNN World Headquarters, reported by CNN's correspondents, producers and Wires.CNN editors. Polls open for Iraq's parliamentary elections BAGHDAD (CNN) -- Under heightened security and the hope for a new beginning in the midst of a bloody insurgency, millions of Iraqis headed to the polls Wednesday to vote for a new parliament in a historic election. Shortly after the polls opened at 7 a.m. (11 p.m. ET Tuesday) explosions echoed through sections of Baghdad. While there were no reports of major violence, some scattered incidents were reported. Three mortar rounds landed in Baghdad, one near a polling station, police said. Two people were wounded. Turnout in some areas of Baghdad was slow, as some residents were awakened Tuesday night by police and security forces warning them of a rumor that the water had been poisoned. Later, the health minister went on television and declared the report false. Because of that, some Baghdad voters were sleeping in, election workers said. In other areas, however, turnout was reportedly brisk. In Ramadi, where CNN's Nic Robertson is embedded with U.S. Marines, a roadside bomb detonated as a tank passed, while he was reporting live on the network. He ducked for cover. A head of the ballot, electoral officials on Wednesday said they are on the lookout for big and small election violations, such as illegal campaign practices, the distribution of fake ballots and voter intimidation. And, they warn, some areas might not have elections because of insurgent violence and military activity. Security has been beefed up along closed borders and a nighttime curfew is in force. (Updated 1:50 a.m.) Israel launches second day of airstrikes in Gaza JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Israel launched a second day of airstrikes Thursday against suspected Palestinian militants in Gaza, and one attack destroyed the home of a member of the Popular Resistance Committee, Palestinian sources said. No casualties were reported. A short time later, an Israeli missile was fired at a building in Rafa, in southern Gaza, that housed the offices of a charity run by Islamic Jihad. The structure was heavily damaged, Palestinian sources said. The Israel Defense Forces said the building targeted in the first attack was being used by the PRC for storing weapons, and the airstrike in Rafa was aimed at a building used for terrorist activities. On Wednesday, an Islamic Jihad leader escaped an assassination attempt by an Israeli missile strike on a car east of Gaza City, but four Palestinian militants were killed by Israeli attacks in the same area earlier in the day, Palestinian security sources said. (Posted 10:08 p.m.) Pentagon database may have improperly kept data on U.S. groups WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A classified Pentagon database containing information about possible threats to national security and the U.S. military may have improperly included data on American citizens and groups that posed no threat, Pentagon officials said Wednesday. The Pentagon is examining whether regulations guiding the little-noticed program may have been violated and is also informing Congress about problems with database, the officials said. For over two years, the Pentagon has collected counterintelligence and law enforcement information about possible domestic threats in the Threat and Local Observation Notice database, known as TALON. However, regulations governing the program require that if the information gathered does not show any threat to national security or U.S. military personnel or bases, it must be deleted from the database. Pentagon officials said some of the reports in the database that should have been deleted may not have been. However, the officials said the TALON program, which gathers information collected by others, does not constitute illegal spying on U.S. citizens by the military. The Pentagon, in a statement, said the Defense Department obtains "properly collected" information, and its use is subject to "strict limitations." (Posted 10:06 p.m.) Missouri governor 'astounded' by flooding from reservoir rupture (CNN) -- Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt said Wednesday evening he was "astounded" by the damage done when a breach in the upper reservoir of a hydroelectric plant sent a huge wall of muddy water gushing down the Black River in southeast Missouri earlier in the day. At least nine people were injured, including three children hospitalized in critical condition after their home was swept away by the water. The flood flattened everything in a quarter-mile swath on each side and inundated Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park, witnesses said. "It looked like the tsunami," said paramedic Robert Kiefer of the Air Evac Lifeteam. The deluge from the dam break was contained by the lower reservoir of the Taum Sauk Hydroelectric Plant. Blunt said engineers are confident the lower reservoir will hold. The plant is owned by AmerenUE, a St. Louis-based electric utility. What caused the dam to fail remains a mystery. Rainfall before the disaster was slight, and AmerenUE said there was no evidence of foul play. Blunt also said "there's no reason to believe that seismic activity caused the breach," even though the area is within the New Madrid seismic zone and does experience small earthquakes. AmerenUE is a subsidiary of Ameren Corporation, which serves 2.3 million electricity customers in Missouri and Illinois. (Posted 10:03 p.m.) Romney won't seek second term in Massachusetts (CNN) -- Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney announced Wednesday evening that he will not seek re-election to a second term next year, but he demurred on whether he will instead seek the GOP presidential nomination in 2008. "We'll let the future take care of itself," Romney said at a news conference in Boston. However, the governor also said, "I'm not going to close any options at this point." Romney, 58, was elected to the governor's post in 2002, after garnering acclaim for his stewardship of the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. He faced a potentially tough re-election battle next year in heavily Democratic Massachusetts. The governor said he decided not to seek re-election because he had managed to accomplish most of what he set out to do in his first term, including balancing the state's budget and improving education. He said he would support Lt. Gov. Kerry Healy as his successor, if she decides to run for the post. In 1999, Romney was brought in to head the Salt Lake Olympic Organizing Committee, which was mired in scandal over charges that International Olympic Committee members were bribed during the city's successful bid process. Romney is a member of the Mormon Church, based in Salt Lake City, and is a graduate of Brigham Young University in nearby Provo, which is operated by the church. He also holds both an MBA and a law degree from Harvard. (Posted 6:52 p.m.) Judge won't disqualify Fulton DA from trying Nichols ATLANTA (CNN) -- A judge Wednesday denied a motion from attorneys for Atlanta courthouse shooting suspect Brian Nichols to disqualify the entire Fulton County District Attorney's Office from prosecuting the case. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Hilton Fuller said the defense had failed to show that District Attorney Paul Howard and his staff were "victims" under Georgia law, and therefore had a conflict of interest and could not prosecute the case fairly. "That some experienced psychological impact upon hearing of the events, or experienced genuine grief after the events of March 11, does not make them 'victims' to the extent that disqualification of the district attorney and his office is required," Fuller wrote. Nichols is charged with killing a Superior Court judge, his court reporter and a sheriff's deputy as he escaped from the county courthouse in Atlanta, and later killing a federal agent. He escaped March 11 after allegedly overpowering a deputy as she was escorting him into the courtroom, where he faced a second trial on rape charges. Nichols has pleaded not guilty to 54 counts of murder, kidnapping, robbery and escape. The prosecution has said it will seek the death penalty. Also Wednesday, defense attorneys withdrew a motion to move their their client to a jail outside Fulton County, and withdrew a motion for a gag order. They did not explain their decisions. (Posted 6:45 p.m.) Bloomberg reveals transit-strike contingency plan NEW YORK (CNN) -- If New York City bus and subway workers strike when their contract expires at 12:01 a.m. Friday, there will be "no winners," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Wednesday as he described the contingency plan to deal with a possible mass transit shutdown. "Let me be clear about the impact of the strike, it would do far worse than inconvenience the 8.1 million city residents and nearly 1 million suburban commuters. Emergency vehicles may get stuck in traffic, and people will have difficulty getting to hospitals," Bloomberg said. Members of Transport Workers' Union Local 11 and the Metropolitan Transit Authority have been deadlocked in negotiations for several days. The TWU has threatened to strike when their contract expires at midnight Thursday if their demands are not met. In an effort to reduce danger and inconvenience in case of a strike, the city will order higher vehicle occupancy, some street closures, and the creation of carpool staging areas, additional Staten Island ferry service and capped cab fares. (Posted 6:40 p.m.) Mortgage fraud on the rise, federal officials say WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Despite recent signs that the booming residential real estate market may be cooling in some of the nation's priciest housing areas, the problem of fraud in the mortgage industry is sizzling, top government officials said Wednesday. Officials of several federal agencies attempting to combat mortgage fraud said documented losses during the last fiscal year topped $1 billion, and known losses from cases prosecuted during the past four months alone exceeded $600 million. Inflated appraisals, straw purchases, fake identities, phony loan applications and rampant property-flipping litter the real estate landscape, the officials said "It's a pervasive problem, and it's on the rise," said FBI Assistant Director Chris Swecker. (Posted 5:09 p.m.) Sources: Massachusetts governor confirms he won't seek re-election (CNN) -- Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has confirmed that he won't seek re-election in 2006, sources close to the Republican said Wednesday. House approves Patriot Act renewal WASHINGTON (CNN) -- By a 251-174 vote, the House of Representatives Wednesday voted to renew 16 provisions of the anti-terror Patriot Act that were set to expire at the end of the year. Now, the bill goes to the Senate, which is expected to take up the measure later this week and where its fate is less certain. Among the provisions set to expire unless Congress reauthorizes the bill are ones allowing the FBI, with a court order, to obtain business, library, medical and other records and to get a wiretap on every phone a suspect uses, a so-called "roving wiretap." The proposal Congress is considering would extend these two tools for four years. This bill also includes some changes to other controversial provisions that do not expire but have drawn the ire of civil liberties advocates. One, for example, requires a person who is the subject of a search warrant but has not been told of the warrant because it could jeopardize an ongoing investigation to be notified within 30 days. (Posted 4:45 p.m.) Islamic Jihad leader escapes assassination attempt; 4 militants killed in Israeli airstrike JERUSALEM (CNN) -- An Islamic Jihad leader on Wednesday was the object of a failed assassination attempt, Palestinian security sources told CNN. The sources said an Israeli helicopter strike just east of Gaza City targeted an Islamic Jihad leader. The strike produced an explosion. The sources said Islamic Jihad identified the militant as Sheikh Khader Habib, who had been riding in a car when the strike occurred and then escaped. Israel Defense Forces had no initial comment. (Posted 2:15 p.m.) Murtha: Bush confuses war on terrorism with Iraq insurgency WASHINGTON (CNN) -- U.S. Rep. John Murtha, the powerful Pennsylvania Democrat who once served in Vietnam as a Marine, rebuked what he said is the Bush administration's penchant to confuse the war in Iraq with the war on terror. "You've got to separate terrorism from the insurgency," said Murtha -- a conservative Democrat based in the hardscrabble city of Johnstown in blue-collar Western Pennsylvania. He responded to President Bush's speech before the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington. Murtha, long supportive of the U.S. military, recently advocated a U.S. withdrawal from Iraq "at the earliest practicable date" and lashed out against Bush's performance as president. He took issue with one key theme in his speech. "He continues to mischaracterize, linking terrorism with the insurgency. There's no connection between the U.S.(S.) Cole incident and Iraq. There's no connection between 9/11 and terrorism and Iraq. And there's no connection between the embassy attacks (and) Iraq." (Posted 2:11 p.m.) 20 injured in LA collision LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- At least 20 people were injured, two critically, when a transit bus collided with a catering truck in downtown Los Angeles Wednesday morning. According to a Los Angeles Police Department spokeswoman, the accident occurred shortly after 9 a.m. PT when the truck ran a red light, slamming into the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) bus. (Posted 1:40 p.m.) CIA flights: German government still seeks answers BERLIN (CNN) -- Germany's foreign minister told parliament Wednesday the government had no prior knowledge of the CIA detention of a Lebanese German and was still awaiting answers from Washington on the matter. And he voiced concern the CIA flights of terror suspects via Europe could damage transatlantic relations. Frank-Walter Steinmeier also said he was "nauseated" by reports the German government tipped off the Americans about the man, Khaled al-Masri, who is suing the CIA for wrongful imprisonment and torture. Al-Masri said he was on vacation in Macedonia in December 2003 when CIA agents captured him and flew him to Afghanistan, where he says he was held and interrogated for five months before being dropped off in Albania. Steinmeier told the Bundestag, the lower house of parliament, that Germany had asked the United States, Macedonia and Albania for information on the al-Masri case but was still awaiting answers. (Posted 1:39 p.m.) Bush says he's responsible for decision to go to war on faulty intelligence WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush said Wednesday he's responsible for the decision to go to war with Iraq, even though the information he based his decision on was false. "It is true that much of the intelligence turned out to be wrong," he said in the last of four speeches outlining his strategy in Iraq. "As president, I am responsible for the decision to go into Iraq. And I'm also responsible for fixing what went wrong by reforming our intelligence capabilities. And we are doing just that," he told an audience at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington. In his speech Monday at the World Affairs Council in Philadelphia, Bush said that even knowing what he did now, he would make the same decision to remove Hussein from power. (Posted 12:37 p.m.) Louisiana governor: Congress must act to help rebuild after Katrina WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. government has an "obligation" to help rebuild Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina smashed the Gulf Coast in late August, the state's governor said Wednesday, citing the "extraordinary catastrophe" never before inflicted on a U.S. state. Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco told a House committee investigating the preparations for and response to Katrina that "the economic security of our country is at stake" if Congress fails to help businesses and residents rebuild. "I know we must devise a better response to large-scale disasters at the federal, state and local levels," she said. "Looking back is a necessary exercise, and we will improve our response. "But none of this negates the obligation of this Congress to help American citizens from the Gulf Coast who literally and figuratively are feeling they have been left out in the cold." (Posted 11:59 a.m.) Iraqis prepare for parliamentary elections BAGHDAD (CNN) -- Security forces and electoral officials in Iraq hustled to prepare the country for Thursday's historic parliamentary election, with officials expecting speed bumps and big challenges in the country's third democratic exercise this year. Electoral officials on Wednesday said they are on the lookout for big and small election violations, such as illegal campaign practices, the distribution of fake ballots and voter intimidation. And, they warn, some areas might not have elections because of insurgent violence and military activity. Security has been beefed up along closed borders and a nighttime curfew is in force. More than 19 political coalitions and 307 political entities -- either parties or people -- are registered to run in the elections for the 275-seat parliament called the Council of Representatives. (Posted 10:48 a.m.) Iranian president calls Holocaust 'a myth' TEHRAN (CNN) -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in a Wednesday speech called the Holocaust "a myth" and suggested that Israel be moved to Europe, Canada or Alaska. In response, the Israeli government said Ahmadinejad's regime had "a distorted sense of reality." "They have invented a myth that Jews were massacred and place this above God, religions and the prophets," Ahmadinejad said in a speech in the Iranian city of Zahedan, according to a report from Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB). "If somebody in their country questions God, nobody says anything, but if somebody denies the myth of the massacre of Jews, the Zionist loudspeakers and the governments in the pay of Zionism will start to scream," he said. (Posted 10:46 a.m.) Pilot program puts Federal Air Marshals in train, subway, bus stations WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A small number of Federal Air Marshals will focus their efforts on rail and bus stations at five cities this week as part of a pilot program to test the government's ability to deploy security forces on other modes of transportation. Federal officials stress the pilot program is part of the Transportation Security Administration's efforts to improve security and is not in response to any specific intelligence. Five teams are being deployed, one to each of five cities -- Washington, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Atlanta. Each team consists of one or two federal air marshals, a TSA canine handler with a bomb-sniffing dog, one or two TSA inspectors and a member of local law enforcement. The teams will include both uniformed and plain-clothed members, an official said, and are known as "Viper" teams, for "Visible Intermodal Protection and Response" teams. (Posted 10:44 a.m.) Mob attacks Allawi office in southern Iraq BAGHAD (CNN) -- A mob on Wednesday attacked the Nasiriya office the former Iraqi interim prime minister's political group, according to Aziz Kadhim Alwan, the governor of Thiqar province south of Baghdad. Attackers broke windows of the building and set on fire Ayad Allawi's Iraqi National Accord office, the governor said. No one from the party was hurt, and soldiers and police eventually took control of the situation, police said. Allawi is heading a coalition that is running in Thursday's parliamentary election. (Posted 10:41 a.m.) Israeli airstrike kills 4 JERUSALEM (CNN) -- An Israeli airstrike struck a car Wednesday carrying Palestinian militants just east of Gaza City, Israeli and Palestinian officials said. Palestinian security officials said four militants were killed. The Israeli army said the vehicle was carrying members of the Palestinian Popular Resistance Committee en route to carry out an attack against Israeli targets. The airstrike produced an extremely loud explosion, the army said, because the car was carrying explosives. (Posted 10:39 a.m.) Iraqi police: Truck stopped near Iran border with fake ballots for Iraqi election From CNN Producer Arwa Damon BAGHDAD (CNN) -- Police told CNN an Iraqi border unit detained a truck carrying what are believed to be thousands of fake ballots for Thursday's election. The vehicle was stopped close to the Iranian border in Wasit province southeast of Baghdad. The U.S. military said it was aware of the reports and is investigating. Additionally, Iraqi police said the driver of the truck that was stopped is an Iranian national and that the plates on the truck were also from Iran. Lt. Gen. Ahmed al-Khafaji, a deputy interior minister in charge of border patrol, said the reports are false. Authorities are also investigating reports of other vehicles with possible fake ballots trying to cross the border into Iraq. Separately, at least 100 people in Ramadi protested after hearing reports of fake ballots. The crowd demanded that the U.S. military offer more protection and security along the border and asked the Independent Election Commission of Iraq to investigate. (Posted 5:46 a.m.) Police detain two allegedly planning to blow up election centers BAGHDAD (CNN) -- Iraqi police detained two members of a terrorism network who they allege were planning to blow up three elections centers on Wednesday, a Hilla police spokesman told CNN. The two were detained in Jurf al-Sakhar town, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) south of Baghdad, about 10 a.m. Wednesday, the spokesman said. Acting on intelligence, police raided a farm in the town, detaining the two and confiscating 72 bombs, the official said. One of the detainees told police they were planning to blow up election centers in Jurf al-Sakhar, al-Latifiya and al-Iskandariya, and they were preparing to move the bombs to another location, police said. (posted 5:10 a.m.) Mourners gather in Beirut to bid farewell to Tueni BEIRUT (CNN) -- Thousands lined the streets of central Beirut Wednesday for the funeral of Gebran Tueni, an anti-Syrian member of parliament and head of a prominent newspaper who was killed Monday in a car bombing. Monday's attack was the fourth in a series of political bombings targeting people viewed as supporting the opposition and rejecting Syrian influence in the country. On Feb. 14, former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was killed in Beirut when a car bomb exploded by his convoy. Since then, two other prominent opposition journalists and columnists in addition to Tueni have been killed in similar attacks, but despite investigations authorities have made no arrests. Immediate suspicion that Syria was involved in the Hariri assassination led to outrage in Lebanon and renewed international pressure on Syria to withdraw troops and intelligence assets from Lebanon, which it had dominated since the end of the 1975-1990 Lebanese civil war. Syria completed its military withdrawal from Lebanon in late April -- a turn of events called the Cedar Revolution. (Posted 4:59 a.m.) Two fires still burning at British fuel depot HEMEL HEMPSTEAD, England (CNN) -- As firefighters battled blazes at an oil depot north of London for a fourth day, the Hertfordshire Fire Brigade responded to criticism that it was not adequately prepared for Sunday's explosions and subsequent fires at the Bunceford Oil Depot. Two fires were burning Wednesday, according to the fire brigade's press office: One at a tank where some of the fuel penetrated the concrete walls surrounding it, and the second where petroleum leaked out of a destroyed valve. The first blaze was being tackled with fire suppressant foam, the fire brigade said, while the second was left to burn itself out, as that was deemed safer than fighting it. (posted 4 a.m.) Ex-President Ford leaves hospital after tests LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- Former President Gerald R. Ford was released from the hospital Tuesday night, a hospital representative said, after undergoing what his chief of staff called routine medical tests. Ford, 92, was admitted Tuesday to Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, Calif., for tests that had been scheduled for some time, Ford spokeswoman Penny Circle told CNN. She said Ford has been suffering from a cold recently, but that is not why he went to the hospital. She added that Ford is in as good health as any 92-year-old. (posted 11 p.m.) 
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