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    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. sub hits Japanese tanker; no injuries reportedWASHINGTON (CNN) -- A U.S. submarine collided with a Japanese oil tanker late Monday, U.S. and Japanese officials said. According to the U.S. Navy and Japan's Foreign Ministry, the USS Newport News was surfacing in the Arabian Sea south of the Straits of Hormuz when it hit the tanker Mogamigawa. There were no injuries, but there was some damage, a senior U.S. Navy official told CNN. "Neither ship is in extremis," the official said, meaning the damage was not serious enough to put the ships in jeopardy. According to Navy spokeswoman Lt. Ruth Rayburn in Manama, Bahrain, damage to the Newport News was being evaluated and the incident was under investigation. "I am relieved to hear that there were no casualties and no oil leak as a result of the accident," said Japanese Transportation Minister Tetsuzo Fuyushiba, adding the tanker was headed to the nearest port in the United Arab Emirates to be checked for damage. According to Fuyushiba, Tokyo has asked Washington for details of the accident. (Posted 2:40 a.m.) Wildfire hits MalibuLOS ANGELES (CNN) -- A wind-driven wildfire swept across 10 acres and burned at least 6 homes, destroying four of them, in upscale Malibu Monday, a spokesman for Los Angeles County Fire Department told CNN. Among the homes lost in the blaze was the residence of former sitcom star Suzanne Somers. The first call about the fire came at about 5 p.m. (8 p.m. ET) as it was burning in the area of the Pacific Coast Highway and Malibu Road. Fire spokesman Chris Friedman said 150 firefighters with 20 engines and helicopters were fighting the blaze. A Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department spokesman said that evacuations had been ordered on the west end of Malibu Road, which runs parallel to the Pacific Coast Highway. (Posted 2:05 a.m.) Senator: Bush 'betting his presidency' on Iraq planWASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush will be "betting his presidency" on a plan to send another 20,000 or more U.S. troops to Iraq and give the Iraqi government "one last chance" to establish security, a Republican war critic said Monday. Sen. Gordon Smith, who declared in December that the war was "absurd" and possibly "criminal," said he opposes the plan. Bush plans a nationally televised speech Wednesday night to announce a new strategy for the nearly 4-year-old war, the White House said Monday. Sources told CNN last week that he would lay out plans to increase the American contingent in Iraq by between 20,000 to 40,000 troops in order to re-establish security in Baghdad and other areas. Other reports have put the figure at closer to 20,000 -- a figure Smith called inadequate for the task. (Posted 7:53 p.m.) U.S. gunship fires on suspected al Qaeda operatives in SomaliaFrom CNN Senior Pentagon Correspondent Jamie McIntyre WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A U.S. aerial gunship has attacked suspected al Qaeda targets in southern Somalia, a senior Pentagon official said Monday. The AC-130 flew its mission within the last 24 hours, the official told CNN. The operation was launched based on intelligence that al Qaeda operatives were in that location, but there was no immediate indication of how successful the strike had been. Additionally, the official said, the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower has moved within striking distance of Somalia, but its jets have not been put to use. (Posted 7:34 p.m.) New video emerges showing bloodied Saddam Hussein(CNN) -- A video posted Monday on the Internet depicts Saddam Hussein with a gaping wound on his neck and his face badly bruised. The former Iraqi dictator, apparently still wearing the white shirt and black coat that he was hanged in, lays on a gurney covered with a white sheet. The video shows the hand-held camera approaching the gurney and someone pulling back a sheet to reveal the left side of Hussein's head. The 27-second video was posted on Al-Iraq News, a Baathist Web site that publishes only pro-Saddam Hussein views, though it claims no political affiliation. CNN has not been able to verify the authenticity of the video. (Posted 6:25 p.m.) House Democrats' 100 hours to begin with 9/11 billWASHINGTON (CNN) -- The clock begins ticking Tuesday on House Democrats' 100-hour legislative agenda, as lawmakers consider a bill to implement recommendations from the independent commission that investigated the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. To buttress support for the measure, designated as House Resolution 1, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her lieutenants handling the legislation appeared Monday with two former Democratic congressman who served on the 9/11 commission, Lee Hamilton and Tim Roemer, who both offered their endorsements. "If this bill ... is enacted, funded and implemented, then the American people will be safer," said Hamilton, who estimated that about half of the commission's recommendations have not yet been put into place. "We are -- all of us on the 9/11 commission -- deeply pleased that the speaker and the leadership of the House have decided to put this bill forward with the number one designation." (Posted 6:20 p.m.) Chavez seeks to nationalize electrical, telephone companiesCARACAS, Venezuela (CNN) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez announced Monday that he wants to nationalize the country's electrical and telephone companies, according to the state news agency ABN. "Everything that is privatized will be nationalized," Chavez said in a speech during the ceremonial swearing in of his cabinet. Chavez also said that the oil projects in the Orinoco River basin should also be nationalized. The president will ask the legislature to pass a wide-ranging law to allow the nationalization to take place, according to The Associated Press, which said Chavez is also pushing for a constitutional amendment to change the official name of the country from the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to the Socialist Republic of Venezuela. (Posted 6:06 p.m.) Pakistani immigrant sentenced to 30 years for NYC subway bomb plotNEW YORK (CNN) -- A Pakistani national was sentenced to 30 years in prison Monday on charges he planned to bomb Manhattan's 34th Street subway station by planting explosive devices just before to the Republican National Convention. Shahawar Matin Siraj, of Jackson Heights in Queens, was convicted in May 2006 of all four counts of conspiracy to maliciously damage and destroy by means of an explosive. After 25 years and six months in prison, Siraj will be deported to his native country, Pakistan. He is to be under supervised release for life after he is deported. --From CNN's Richard Davis (Posted 5:26 p.m.) Veteran lawyer Fielding replacing Miers as White House counselWASHINGTON (CNN) -- Longtime Washington lawyer Fred Fielding will replace Harriet Miers as White House counsel, a post he held during Ronald Reagan's presidency, a senior Bush administration official said Monday. Fielding, 67, was White House counsel from 1981 to 1986. He served most recently on the independent commission that investigated the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington, and was part of President Bush's transition team after the 2000 election. The White House announced last week that Miers would leave her post at the end of January. (Posted 5:19 p.m.) Reid said Dems will 'take a look' at blocking funds for Iraq troop surgeWASHINGTON (CNN) -- Two days before President Bush is expected to announce an increase in the number of U.S. troops fighting in Iraq, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said for the first time he and other Democrats are actively considering blocking funding for the escalation. Asked if Congress would consider cutting off the funds, Reid said Monday that Democrats will "take a look at everything. We're going take a look at it, of course." Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., said his office "is now investigating what tools are available to us to condition or constrain appropriations" for the surge in troops. Although he cautioned he doesn't want troops already in Iraq to be "shortchanged." He noted that it "creates a difficult situation for Democrats." House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., seemed to disagree with Reid when she vowed to scrutinize carefully Bush's new war strategy but not defund it. "Democrats will not cut off funding for our troops," she said emphatically. --From CNN Congressional Producer Ted Barrett (Posted 5 p.m.) Miami port given all-clear after explosives scareMIAMI (CNN) -- A scanner alerted officials to possible explosives on a pallet Monday at the Port of Miami, where the Miami-Dade bomb squad blew up the suspicious item. It was later determined the package that raised suspicions was loaded with fire sprinkler parts and posed no danger, a spokesman for the Bureau of Customs and Border Patrol said. The port has been given the all-clear. (Posted 4:05 p.m.) Tornado that hit south of Atlanta rated F-2ATLANTA (CNN) -- The National Weather Service said Monday that the storm that swept through Coweta County south of Atlanta Sunday night was an F-2 tornado. The tornado damaged 20 homes and knocked down trees, but injured no one, local officials said. It was the second wave of severe thunderstorms since Friday to hit Coweta County, about 30 miles south of Atlanta. (Posted 4:04 p.m.) Moroccan sentenced to 15 years for helping 9/11 hijackersHAMBURG, Germany (CNN) -- A Moroccan accused of helping Sept. 11 hijackers has been sentenced to 15 years in a German prison. Mounir el-Motassadeq, a member of a group of radical Arab students in Hamburg who helped organize the 2001 attacks, is one of only two men convicted of involvement in the plot that resulted in the death of nearly 3,000 people. At his sentencing Monday, el-Motassadeq railed at the judge and prosecutors. "You've done me great injustice," he shouted. (Posted 2:23 p.m.) Charges dismissed against 3 men involved in Port of Miami entryMIAMI (CNN) -- A state judge Monday dismissed charges against three men who had allegedly attempted to drive a truck into a secure area of the Port of Miami without the proper documentation. The truck driver, Amar Al Hadad, 28, had been charged with resisting arrest without violence; his brother, Hussain Al Hadad, 24, was charged with resisting arrest without violence and trespassing; and Hussan El Sayad, 20, had been charged with trespassing. The incident began about 8 a.m. Sunday, when the driver of the 18-wheeler loaded with electrical supplies approached the port's main entrance, where he was unable to produce required paperwork, said Lt. Nancy Goldberg, a spokeswoman for the Miami-Dade Police Department. (Posted 2:09 p.m.) Khalilzad to U.N., Crocker to Baghdad as U.S. readies new Iraq planWASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush will move the U.S. ambassador to Iraq to the United Nations and replace him with a veteran Middle East hand as part of the administration's new war plans, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced Monday. Confirming days of speculation, Rice said Bush has chosen Zalmay Khalilzad to replace the controversial Ambassador John Bolton at the United Nations. And Ryan Crocker, now the top American diplomat in Pakistan, has been tapped to replace Khalilzad, she said. Rice linked both appointments to Bush's new plans for the Iraq war, which the president is scheduled to announce Wednesday night. She said Khalilzad "has performed heroically and at great personal risk" in Baghdad, but new military and diplomatic leadership in Baghdad is part of the plan. "The next two years may be the most significant ones in this mission so far," she said. "New challenges on the ground call for changes to our strategy." (Posted 1:57 p.m.) Allegations of communist collaboration costs second Polish Catholic priest his jobWARSAW (CNN) -- A growing national scandal over collaboration between Catholic priests and Poland's former Communist security forces forced the resignation Monday of the second high-ranking priest in two days. Janusz Bielanski, parish priest at the Wawel Cathedral in Krakow, was forced to resign after accusations surfaced that he provided information to the Soviet-backed government's secret police, said Robert Neck, spokesman for the Catholic archdiocese. Bielanski also retired from the priesthood, Neck told freelance journalist Jacek Dobrowolslki. On Sunday, Bishop Stanislaw Wielgus resigned during a mass set to mark his appointment as archbishop of Warsaw. Pope Benedict XVI, who appointed Wielgus to the post just a month ago, requested the resignation after the charges surfaced. The Vatican said Wielgus' past actions had "gravely compromised his authority" and he was right to quit. Wielgus admitted working for the communist-era police. (Posted 1:27 p.m.) U.N. estimates 1 in 8 Iraqis displacedUNITED NATIONS (CNN) -- More than 3.5 million Iraqis are displaced, and as many as 50,000 more are fleeing their homes every month, the U.N. Refugee Agency said Monday. "About one out of every eight Iraqis is now displaced," the office of the United Nations High Commissioner (UNHCR) said. "Many" were displaced before the United States launched war in Iraq in 2003, but "increasing numbers of Iraqis are now fleeing escalating sectarian, ethnic and generalized violence," the group said in a written statement announcing an appeal for $60 million to fund relief work over the coming year. "UNHCR and its partners estimate that out of a total population of 26 million, some 1.7 million Iraqis are currently displaced internally and up to 2 million others have fled to nearby countries," the agency said in a written statement.In 2006 alone, nearly 500,000 Iraqis fled the country, UNHCR estimated. (Posted 12:56 p.m.) Justice study says criminal aliens released by states often re-arrestedWASHINGTON (CNN) -- The number of criminal aliens released by state and local authorities is "extremely high," according to a report issued Monday by the Justice Department's inspector general. The limited study of 100 selected aliens showed that 73 of them had been arrested at least once, and averaged nearly six arrests. "Our review of the criminal histories for a sample of known criminal aliens produced results that, if indicative of the full population of criminal aliens identified, suggest that the rate at which released criminal aliens are rearrested is extremely high," the report said. --From Justice Producer Terry Frieden (Posted 12:26 p.m.) Bush to address nation WednesdayWASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush has asked TV networks to clear their schedules for an address about Iraq at 9 p.m. Wednesday, the White House said Monday. Bush will discuss what the White House is calling a new strategy for Iraq. The White House says the address will last about 25 minutes. (Posted 10:21 a.m.) Bush moves to finish Iraq planWASHINGTON (CNN) -- As President Bush's new Iraq plan nears completion, sources familiar with the deliberations said White House speechwriters worked "around the clock" over the weekend to prepare the address for the plan's critical midweek unveiling. Over the next few days, the president is to review and rework the speech for its expected Wednesday prime-time debut. As of Friday, the plan was being dubbed: "A New Way Forward." While the plan is not final, three sources familiar with the deliberations said there are aspects of it that have been widely agreed upon, including stationing at least 20,000 more U.S. troops in Baghdad and perhaps other areas in the region. They said the debate within the administration has been whether to send them all in as a "big bang" force right away or phase them in from month-to-month contingent on whether the Iraqis meet certain political and military goals. --From CNN White House Correspondent Suzanne Malveaux (Posted 9:39 a.m.) Iraq lawmaker calls for 'iron fist' security, more executionsBAGHDAD (CNN) -- The leader of Iraq's dominant Shiite bloc in parliament on Monday called for quick executions for the co-defendants of Saddam Hussein and other criminals and for the government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to act with an "iron first" to secure the capitol. Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, head of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq party, also encouraged al-Maliki to crack down on violence by "die-hard Saddamist Baathists," calling them the biggest threat to Iraq. No date has been set for the hanging of Saddam's co-defendants, half-brother Barzan al-Tikriti and former Iraq Chief Judge Awad Hamed al-Bander, according to the Iraqi prime minister's office. All three were convicted of murder in the 1982 torture and murder of 148 Iraqi citizens in Dujail after an abortive assassination attempt on Saddam. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has called upon the Iraq government to grant a stay of future executions. Al-Hakim also called for the high tribunal that convicted Saddam, al-Tikriti and al-Bander to continue trials of defendants alleged to have committed crimes during the reign of Saddam. (Posted 7:34 a.m.) Nablus deputy mayor releasedNABLUS, West Bank (CNN) -- Nablus Deputy Mayor Mahdi al-Hanbali was released Monday morning after being kidnapped in the West Bank over the weekend, city officials told CNN. Al-Hanbali was abducted on Saturday along with Palestinian Interior Ministry official Ihab Sulayman. Both men belong to the militant group Hamas. Kidnappings and other internal violence have been occurring more frequently in the Palestinian territories as the conflict between the Hamas-led government and Fatah-aligned President Mahmoud Abbas has escalated. (Posted 5:35 a.m.) Passing ship finds ferry survivorsJAKARTA (CNN) -- More than a week after Indonesian ferry sank in a storm off the coast of Java, a passing ship rescued from a life raft 15 people who had been aboard the ill-fated Senopati Nusantara, an emergency official said Monday. According to I Ketut Parwa, head of Bali's Search and Rescue Agency, 15 people were picked up Sunday evening by the passing KM Mandiri, about 21 miles east of Kangean Island, north of Bali. One of the passengers, a woman, died on the way to port. Most of the 14 survivors --11 passengers and three crew members -- were men, Parwa said, and were in stable condition. They were being taken to the port of Makassar, the capital of South Sulawesi island. The Senopati Nusantara sank on Dec. 29. (Posted 3:40 a.m.) Monday violence in IraqBAGHDAD (CNN) -- Gunmen ambushed a bus carrying cleaning workers to Baghdad International Airport Monday morning, killing at least four and wounding nine, an official with Iraq's Interior Ministry said. Six members of a Shiite family were ambushed and killed by gunmen in southern Baghdad. According to the Interior Ministry, the family members -- a mom, dad and four children -- were moving out of the Iraqi capital and had all of their belongings in their van when it was attacked in the Dora district. Also in southern Baghdad, three pilgrims returning from the Hajj were wounded when a roadside bomb exploded near their bus, the Interior Ministry said. Another bomb exploded at a market in southeastern Baghdad's Zaafaraniya neighborhood, killing three people and wounding another. A third bomb exploded near a police patrol on the Ghadeer bridge in the New Baghdad section of eastern Baghdad. The attack killed one policeman wounded another. A civilian was also injured. (Posted 4:25 a.m.) Bush moves to finish Iraq planWASHINGTON (CNN) -- As President Bush's new Iraq plan nears completion, sources familiar with the deliberations said White House speechwriters worked "around the clock" over the weekend to prepare the address for the plan's critical midweek unveiling. Over the next few days, the president was to review and rework the speech for its Wednesday prime-time debut. As of Friday, the plan was being dubbed: "A New Way Forward." While the plan is not final, three sources familiar with the deliberations said there are aspects of it that have been widely agreed upon: boosting the level of U.S. forces by at least 20,000, expand the training program for Iraqi forces and increase funding for reconstruction. (Posted 2:25 a.m.) U.S. sonar ship to join search for missing Indonesian jetlinerJAKARTA (CNN) -- A week after a jetliner disappeared from radar screens over central Indonesia, a U.S. Navy ship was set to join the hunt, a U.S. Embassy spokeswoman said. According to Shannon Quinn, the USS Mary Sears, a sonar-equipped oceanographic survey ship, was expected to be available to help on Monday. A day earlier, a team of U.S. National Transportation Safety Board officers arrived to coordinate search and rescue operations with Indonesian authorities. The NTSB team has expertise in analyzing radar data. The Adam Air flight with 102 people aboard was en route to Sulawesi island when it dropped off radar on January 1. The plane went down in bad weather -- the pilot reported 80 mph winds before the plane disappeared. (Posted 11:40 p.m.) |
 | Huge winter storm blasting central U.S.Oklahoma's governor ordered every state highway, interstate and turnpike closed Thursday night, hours after declaring a statewide emergency because of a maj ... |
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