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Friday, May 19

Editor's Note: The CNN Wire is a running log of the latest news from CNN World Headquarters, reported by CNN's correspondents and producers, and The CNN Wire editors. "Posted" times are Eastern Daylight.

U.S. troop killed, 6 wounded in Afghanistan

(CNN) -- A U.S. soldier was killed Friday and six troops were wounded in fighting in southern Afghanistan, the U.S. military said.

A joint patrol of Afghan and U.S. troops was on patrol in the Cahar Cineh District of Uruzgan Province "when they encountered enemy forces," the U.S. military said in a statement.

The six wounded troops were evacuated to a nearby medical facility and are in stable condition, the statement said. The troops' names were withheld pending notification fo next-of-kin. (posted 2:16 a.m.)

Sadr City blast kills 19

BAGHDAD (CNN) -- An explosion Saturday in Baghdad's Sadr City neighborhood killed 19 people and wounded 58, police said.

The roadside bombing at about 6:30a.m. (10:30 p.m. Friday ET) apparently targeted laborers. It took place in a well-known area near a bus station in which people gather in the morning to eat breakfast before work.

Sadr City is a Shiite area. (posted 1:09 a.m.)

U.N. dispatches Brahimi to Sudan

UNITED NATIONS (CNN) -- U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan has tapped former Afghanistan and Iraq United Nations envoy Lakhdar Brahimi to be his special envoy to Sudan, Annan's spokesman said Friday.

Brahimi will travel to Khartoum Wednesday to assist in implementing a peace deal between the Sudanese government and rebel groups in Sudan's western Darfur region, said the spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, at a news briefing.

Brahimi will be accompanied by assistant secretary general for peacekeeping operations Hedy Anabi, Dujarric said.

They will also talk about the a U.N. Security Council resolution, passed unanimously Tuesday, to speed up the transition from African Union to U.N. peacekeeping troops in Darfur, he said. The resolution calls for strict observance by all groups of the shaky peace accord, which was adopted in Abuja, the Nigerian capital, on May 5.

The plan is to beef up the current African Union peacekeeping mission, with a handover to the United Nations in an estimated six to nine months, and to fold the roughly 7,000 African Union troops into a larger U.N. force. (Posted 9:18 p.m.)

McCain booed at liberal New School commencement

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Protests and heckling greeted Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., Friday when he delivered the commencement address to the liberal New School in New York.

The protesting students pointed to McCain's speech last week at the conservative Liberty University run by Rev. Jerry Falwell as proof that McCain clashed with the school's ideals.

"McCain does not speak for me," read orange signs held by dozens of graduates, while dozens more turned their backs for the duration of McCain's speech.

Some students had petitioned New School president -- and former Democratic senator -- Bob Kerrey to withdraw McCain's invitation to speak, saying they didn't want the Arizonan to use their graduation ceremony as a platform for a potential run for president in 2008. (Posted 8:13 p.m.)

Authorities seize luxury car with possible links to Saddam Hussein

(CNN) -- Authorities have seized an armor-plated Mercedes Benz car in Connecticut that may once have belonged to Saddam Hussein but was illegally bought and transported from Iraq by a Army reservist, U.S. Customs and Enforcement (ICE) said Friday.

The white, 1988 560 SEL is believed to have been a "war trophy," according to a statement from ICE. It was equipped with bulletproof windows, microphones and various listening devices, the statement said.

Federal law prohibits American citizens from owning any property that once belonged to the former Iraqi regime.

The statement said that the incident is still under investigation, and no arrests have been made. (Posted 7:16 p.m.)

Cheney daughter leaves State Dept. post to have baby

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Liz Cheney, the daughter of Vice President Dick Cheney, is leaving her senior-level post at the State Department to have a baby, the department announced Friday.

Cheney, 39, has served as the principal deputy assistant secretary for Near Eastern affairs since February 2005. In that role, she launched the Middle East Partnership Initiative, an effort to provide funding for programs to advance political and educational reform and women's rights in the region.

She also worked in the State Department from 2002 to 2003, before leaving to work on her father's re-election campaign.

Cheney and her husband, Philip Perry, the general counsel at the Department of Homeland Security, have four other children, including a son born in the middle of the 2004 campaign. (Posted 6:53 p.m.)

Nagin, Landrieu square off in New Orleans runoff Saturday

NEW ORLEANS (CNN) -- Voters in New Orleans will decide Saturday whether they want to stick with the mayor whose job performance through the devastation of Hurricane Katrina has drawn intense scrutiny, or venture in new direction with a very familiar name.

Mayor Ray Nagin and Louisiana Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu will square off in a runoff election to decide which man will get to oversee the Crescent City's comeback fight. Polls open at 6 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. (7 a.m.-9 p.m. ET).

In the first round of voting April 22, Nagin finished first with 38 percent of the vote, compared to 29 percent for Landrieu. Because Nagin was unable to capture a majority in a noisy field of more than 20 candidates, the race moved to a runoff.

While some political analysts believe Nagin has gained momentum in the past week, Landrieu -- the scion of a legendary New Orleans political family who has raised about six times as much money as the mayor -- is still given the edge. (Posted 6:35 p.m.)

U.S. dismisses U.N. torture report, says calls for Guantanamo closure beyond the scope of committee

WASHINGTON -- The United States on Friday dismissed a report by the U.N. Committee Against Torture as "skewed" and driven by political agendas, and said the panel stretched beyond its scope in calling for the closure of the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The report, issued Friday, also called on the United States to end questionable interrogation techniques and close any secret prisons.

The findings, in a report released in Geneva, Switzerland, echo many of the points in a report presented to the U.N. Commission on Human Rights in February.

John Bellinger, the State Department's legal adviser who led the U.S. delegations at the panel hearings earlier this month in Geneva, told reporters at a briefing Friday the report basically ignored the extensive presentation and materials the United States shared with the committee. --From CNN State Department Producer Elise Labott (Posted 5:42 p.m.)

Senate Democrats ask for new intelligence report on Iran

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Five key Senate Democrats Friday asked President Bush to order a new national intelligence estimate (NIE) on Iran to avoid repeating intelligence mistakes made in the months leading up to the war in Iraq.

Led by Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., the senators also asked for an unclassified summary of the NIE's key findings "to facilitate the public debate."

"In order to avoid repeating mistakes made in the run-up to the conflict in iraq, we must have objective intelligence untainted by political considerations or policy preferences and a comprehensive debate in the Congress about the best short and long-term approaches to resolving the international community's differences with Iran," the senators' letter to the president said.

The NIE prepared on Iraq in 2002 erroneously concluded that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. (Posted 5:26 p.m.)

Pentagon says prisoners attacked U.S. military personnel at Guantanamo

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A Guantanamo Bay prisoner staged a fake suicide attempt to draw U.S. troops into a room where they were attacked by other prisoners, military leaders at the camp told reporters.

Some 500 detainees from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are being held at the facility at the U.S. Naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The incident came on the same day a U.N. committee issued a report calling for the closing down of the Guantanamo facility.

In the melee that followed the fake hanging, U.S. troops used rubber bullets and a sponge grenade to subdue the prisoners, taking an hour to do so. The prisoners wielded improvised weapons such as sticks, light fixtures and parts of fans.

No troops were wounded in the incident, and no prisoners were seriously hurt, the Pentagon said. (Posted 4:21 p.m.)

Poll shows Americans disapproving of congressional job performance

(CNN) -- A new CNN poll shows more Americans disapprove of the way Congress is handling its job than approve, with senators scoring much weaker on their job performance than their counterparts over in the House.

Among those polled, 57 percent said they disapproved of the job performance of the Senate, compared to just 25 percent who approved. When asked about the House, 46 percent expressed disapproval, while 34 percent approved.

However, about a fifth of those polled said they were not sure of Congress' job performance.

The poll, conducted by Opinion Research Corporation, had a sampling error of plus or minus 4.5 percent. (Posted 4:10 p.m.)

Frist says he's still on the fence over immigration bill

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- After months of intense negotiations and a week of impassioned floor debate, most U.S. senators know where they stand on the controversial immigration reform bill.

But Majority Leader Bill Frist said Friday he still doesn't know if he'll vote for it or against it.

"I'm keeping my options open," said the likely 2008 Republican presidential candidate, who is keenly aware that many of the conservative voters he may want to court strongly oppose the bill because of concerns it grants amnesty to illegal immigrants.

He acknowledged "good progress" was made on the bill this week, and when asked directly if he intends to vote for it said, "it's certainly moving in that direction." But, he said, his support "depends on how the debate and amendment process goes over the next several days." --From CNN Congressional Produce Ted Barrett (Posted 3:54 p.m.)

Western Baghdad gun battle kills 2 civilians

BAGHDAD (CNN) -- Two Iraqi civilians were killed and two Iraqi police commandos were wounded when a gun battle between police and insurgents erupted in the al-Jihad neighborhood in western Baghdad at 2 p.m. Friday, Baghdad police said.

Earlier, 10 Iraqi civilians were injured when a gunman opened fire on a minibus driving down a road in the Abu Ghraib section of western Baghdad at 11 a.m. Friday, police said. (Posted 2:53 p.m.)

Temps will fill Iraq's defense, interior posts until deal reached on permanent Cabinet

BAGHDAD (CNN) -- Despite having no agreement among the sectarian and political coalitions about who should be named defense and interior ministers, Iraqi Prime Minister-designate Nuri al-Maliki will announce his Cabinet at Saturday's parliament meeting, a spokesman for a leading Shiite party said.

Al-Maliki will make temporary appointments to fill the defense and interior posts until a deal can be reached on permanent ministers, said Haitham al-Hussseini, spokesman for the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq, one of the larger Shiite parties. (Posted 2:33 p.m.)

Dozens killed in 2 days of Afghan fighting

(CNN) -- More than 60 "enemy fighters" and 17 Afghan national police died in fighting between coalition-led troops and Islamic militants in southern and southeastern Afghanistan on Wednesday and Thursday, the coalition command in Kabul said Friday.

The fighting came amid what the coalition says is a spring offensive launched by "Taliban extremists."

The deaths occurred in Helmand and Ghazni provinces as coalition forces staged offensives. They are in addition to the killings of at least 25 Taliban fighters and a Canadian army officer in the southern province of Kandahar.

The coalition said Afghan National Police and coalition forces "killed a reported 60 enemy fighters and captured 20 during a battle in the village of Musa Qalah in Helmand Province" on Wednesday. Sixteen police were killed and 20 were wounded in the southern province.

In addition, a police officer and an insurgent were killed in a firefight in southeastern Ghazni province. (Posted 12:33 p.m.)

Old associate of Jimmy Hoffa once owned property where search is taking place

(CNN) -- A 92-year-old man who had been a longtime associate of missing Teamsters union leader Jimmy Hoffa once owned the property where authorities now are searching for his remains.

He is Rolland McMaster, a former Teamsters officer, McMaster's lawyer told CNN.

The search began Wednesday on an 80-acre horse farm in Milford Township, Mich., based on a tip from an informant who said he saw a backhoe and other "suspicious activity" there on the day Hoffa disappeared in 1975, a law enforcement official familiar with the investigation said. (Posted 11:10 a.m.)

Olmert: Israel to buy Palestinian medical supplies with tax revenue withheld from PA

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- The Israeli prime minister said Friday that Israel plans to address crucial Palestinian health-care needs by purchasing medical supplies for the region with tax revenue it has withheld from the Hamas-controlled Palestinian Authority.

However, Ehud Olmert told CNN there is no evidence the Palestinians are facing a humanitarian crisis.

Olmert and his office made the comments this week. Israel has clamped down on funding for the new Palestinian government because it is controlled by a group it considers a terrorist organization.

The drying-up of funds for a Hamas-led government has raised great concern that it will lead to problems for the Palestinian citizenry, particularly in medical care. (Posted 10:53 p.m.)

U.S. commander in Iraq: Ending unemployment in Iraq will help fight insurgency

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A top U.S. military commander in Iraq said the formation of a new Iraqi government will enable the country's new leaders to focus on the eradication of what he says is a key insurgency breeding ground -- unemployment.

Army Lt. Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli -- commander of the Multinational Corps-Iraq who briefed reporters at the Pentagon on Friday in a teleconference from Iraq -- said the "linchpin of a peaceful Iraq" is a healthy economy.

"Take the angry young men off the street" and get them jobs, he said.

"Disillusionment, poverty and hopelessness are the breeding grounds of violence," he said. (Posted 10:16 a.m.)

'Runaway Bride' calls off engagement with man who gave her cold feet

ATLANTA (CNN) -- Jennifer Wilbanks, known as the "runaway bride" after she disappeared just before her wedding last year, is unattached again after breaking up with the man she was to marry, CNN has learned.

Wilbanks, 33, told CNN she recently split with fiance John Mason and she has a new job as a receptionist in an Atlanta medical office.

The couple had been scheduled to marry April 30, 2005, at a lavish wedding with 600 guests and 28 attendants. But on April 26 she disappeared. She showed up four days later in Albuquerque, N.M., saying she had been abducted and assaulted.

She later admitted she had run off because she felt overwhelmed by the coming wedding. She was sentenced to perform community service for filing a false police report. (Posted 10:15 a.m.)

Fighting continues in Ramadi: Troop-insurgent firefight reported Thursday

BAGHDAD (CNN) -- Coalition forces and insurgents in Iraq continue to square off in the Anbar provincial capital of Ramadi.

Fighting has been raging there daily for days, and the U.S. military said on Friday that troops fought insurgents in central Ramadi on Thursday.

"Marines from 2/28 Brigade Combat Team were attacked multiple times with improvised explosive devices, medium and heavy machinegun fire, and small arms fire from several locations near the Ramadi Government Center.

"Coalition forces responded with small arms fire, medium and heavy machinegun fire, grenades, mortars, shoulder-fired rockets, and precision munitions," the U.S. military said in a statement. (posted 8:18 a.m.)

U.N. report: Close Guantanamo detention center

(CNN) -- The U.N. Committee Against Torture called Friday on the United States to close its detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, end questionable interrogation techniques and close any secret prisons.

The findings, in a report released in Geneva, Switzerland, echo many of the points in a report presented to the U.N. Commission on Human Rights in February. (posted 7:11 a.m.)

Book translator: 'misunderstood' Hussein is 'delicate and tender'

(CNN) -- The Japanese translator of a book purportedly written by Saddam Hussein, which went on sale this week, describes the ousted dictator as "misunderstood."

Itsuko Hirata said the book shows him to be "delicate and tender."

Hussein faces war crimes charges. Human rights groups have long chronicled Iraq's extensive human rights abuses under his leadership.

The book has not been published in Iraq. Japan is the first country to make it commercially available.

Hamas official caught at border with more than a million dollars

GAZA CITY, Gaza (CNN) -- Palestinian monitors at a crossing between Gaza and Egypt caught a Hamas official Friday carrying about 900,000 euros, Palestinian officials said Friday. That is equivalent to more than a million U.S. dollars.

International monitors have operated at the crossing in the wake of Israel's historic pullout from Gaza last year. The monitors are charged with checking for contraband, which sometimes includes weapons.

European monitors were there at the time the money was confiscated by the Palestinians.

The funds will be held by the Palestinian attorney general's office, Palestinian officials said. (posted 5:12 a.m.)

Former Turkish premier suffers brain hemorrhage

ANKARA, Turkey (CNN) -- Former Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit is in critical condition at an Ankara hospital after undergoing surgery for a brain hemorrhage overnight, hospital and political sources said Friday.

According to the hospital, Ecevit, 81, is paralyzed on his right side following a four-hour operation to stop the bleeding and is in the hospital's intensive care unit.

A political ally, Zeki Sezer, leader of the Democratic Left Party, said Ecevit's health is improving. (posted 4:30 a.m.)

Poll: Public supports National Guard troops at border, immigrant legalization

(CNN) -- Americans generally agree with the major elements of President Bush's immigration reform plan, but they still say they disapprove of the way he is handling the immigration issue, according to a new CNN poll released Thursday.

By a 2-to-1 margin, those polled said they favored Bush's plan to deploy National Guard troops along the U.S.-Mexico border. And by an even larger margin -- 79 percent to 18 percent -- they said they favored allowing illegal immigrants who have been in the United States for many years to apply for citizenship.

However, respondents in the poll, conducted by Opinion Research Corporation, were more evenly split when it came to Bush's temporary worker program.

Asked if they favored a program that would allow temporary workers to come to the United States without leading to citizenship, 48 percent were in favor and 46 percent opposed, which was within the poll's sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. (Posted 10:01 p.m.)

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