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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 Standard. 12 dead, 14 wounded after militia attack on Ugandan forces in MogadishuMOGADISHU, Somalia (CNN) -- Militia fighters attacked Ugandan forces with rocket-propelled grenades in an ambush late Wednesday in the Somali capital Mogadishu, residents told a local journalist. Twelve people were killed and 14 more were wounded when the RPGs struck a restaurant and a crowded bus station, hospital officials said. A Ugandan military spokesperson in the African Union confirmed to CNN that Ugandan forces were attacked Wednesday. About 400 Ugandan peacekeeping forces arrived in Mogadishu the previous day as part of the first contingent of the African Union Mission in Somalia -- AMISOM, in U.N. parlance -- charged with helping the war-torn country rebuild. (Posted 2:34 a.m.) Death toll from Indonesian earthquake and aftershock increasesJAKARTA (CNN) -- The death toll from a strong earthquake, which was followed by an almost equally strong aftershock, that rocked Sumatra in western Indonesia Tuesday morning climbed to 73 on Thursday, according to disaster officials there. In addition to the dead, 194 were injured, according to the Disaster Coordinating Center in west Sumatra. On Tuesday Indonesian television showed widespread damage to buildings on the island, including a hospital that had to be evacuated. (Posted 12:45 a.m.) Couey guilty in murder of 9-year-old girlMIAMI (CNN) -- A convicted sex offender was convicted Wednesday of abducting, raping and killing 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford by burying her alive, a case that sparked national outrage and led to stricter Florida laws regarding registration and supervision of released sexual predators. After deliberating for about four hours, a Miami jury convicted John Evander Couey of first-degree murder in Jessica's death. She was abducted two years ago from her home in Homosassa, Fla., and found buried three weeks later at the home of Couey's half-sister, within sight of her own home. (Posted 11:30 p.m.) Former member of U.S. Navy charged with terrorism, espionageNEW HAVEN, Conn. (CNN) -- A former member of the U.S. Navy was arrested Wednesday in Phoenix on charges of providing material support to terrorists and espionage, the Department of Justice said. Hassan Abujihaad, formerly known as Paul R. Hall, 31, was arrested on a federal criminal complaint. He is alleged to have provided information regarding the classified movements of a U.S. Navy battle group as it traveled from California to the Persian Gulf region in 2001 to a London-based group called Azzam Publications. Two members of that group, Babar Ahmad and Syed Talha Ahsan, also face terrorism charges in the United States. Federal prosecutors have said that from 1998 to 2002, the two operated Web sites encouraging the donation of money or equipment to terrorists. Ahmad and Ahsan remain in Britain while they appeal extradition orders. (Posted 9:03 p.m.) Earlier California primary may benefit Giuliani, McCainSACRAMENTO, Calif. (CNN) -- California may be the nation's most populous state, but, thanks to its late June presidential primary, the Golden State has usually had little impact on who winds up as the Republican Party's presidential nominee. That may be about to change. The California Legislature gave final approval Tuesday to a bill to move up the state's presidential primaries to Feb. 5 -- the earliest possible date allowed by major party rules. Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has said he will sign the measure. While the primary switch was initiated by Democrats, who control the Legislature, to increase the state's clout, its effect may be more pronounced on the GOP side of the ballot, thanks to the peculiar rules under which California Republicans operate. In the GOP primary, the winner of the most votes in each of the state's 53 congressional districts gets all of the delegates up for grabs in that district. So a candidate with enough money and name recognition to do well across California can walk away with a major chunk of the 173 delegates available. -- From CNN Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider (Posted 7:12 p.m.) Hagel could announce presidential bid MondayWASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sen. Chuck Hagel, a potential Republican presidential contender and an outspoken critic of the war in Iraq, will announce his "future plans" Monday at a news conference in his home state of Nebraska, aides said. Hagel's advisers would not explicitly say the two-term senator will announce a bid for the GOP nomination at his Omaha news conference. But he plans to appear at a forum for presidential hopefuls put on by the International Association of Firefighters next week, the union announced Wednesday, and he told CNN in January that he would make a decision about a presidential run "soon." A decorated infantry sergeant in Vietnam, Hagel supported the 2002 congressional resolution that authorized the invasion of Iraq the following year. But he has become an increasingly vocal critic of the Bush administration's handling of the war, and called President Bush's plan to send thousands of additional U.S. troops to Iraq "the most dangerous foreign policy blunder in this country since Vietnam." --From CNN Congressional Correspondent Dana Bash (Posted 6:26 p.m.) British lawmakers endorse electing House of Lords, booting noblesLONDON (CNN) -- The dukes, barons and other British noblemen who sit by birthright in the House of Lords may soon have to pack their powdered wigs and go, after a historic parliamentary vote Wednesday. The House of Commons endorsed the idea of moving toward a mostly or totally elected House of Lords and ejecting about 90 members, known as hereditary peers, who sit in the upper house of Britain's Parliament by virtue of their inherited title. While the vote was only advisory, House of Commons Leader Jack Straw said afterward that it "does mean that something will happen," according to Britain's Press Association news agency. He gave no timetable for when a change might be made. Lawmakers considered a range of options for the House of Lords, from a chamber that is totally appointed to one that is totally elected. Only two options gained a majority -- electing all members or electing 80 percent of them and appointing the remaining 20 percent. (Posted 5:43 p.m.) Mega Million winner plans to go fishingWOODBINE, N.J. (CNN) -- A Georgia truck driver said Wednesday he's "going fishing" with his share of a multimillion-dollar pot in the record $390 million Mega Millions lottery Tuesday night. Ed Nabors, 52, said his "arms went numb" when he realized he held a winning ticket, good for more than $116 million in a single payout. A second winning ticket was sold in Woodbine, N.J., but that winner has not yet come forward. "My daughter has wanted a house and to get out of a mobile home for a long time," said Nabors, who bought his ticket in Dalton, Ga., "and I think she just got it." Nabors added that he wants to buy some lakefront property for himself. Nabors bought his ticket at Favorite Market on Abutment Road off Interstate 75, according to Tandi Reddick of the Georgia Lottery Corp. (Posted 5:40 p.m.) ME: Cause of Smith's death known, to be announced in 1-2 weeksFORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (CNN) -- Broward County Medical Examiner Joshua Perper has determined the cause of former centerfold Anna Nicole Smith's death last month, but will not announce it for a few more weeks in order to give police time to finish their investigation, his office said Wednesday. Smith, 39, was pronounced dead Feb. 8 after being found unconscious in her room at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino near Hollywood, Fla. Perper conducted Smith's autopsy and had been waiting for test results. His office said Wednesday no announcement would be made for one to two weeks pending the end of the police investigation. Perper, the office said, wants to make sure none of the investigators' findings changes any of his own findings. (Posted 4:48 p.m.) Couey guilty in murder of 9-year-old girlMIAMI (CNN) -- John Evander Couey was found guilty Wednesday of murder in the first degree in the death of 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford, who was abducted two years ago from her home in Homosassa Springs, Fla., and was found buried nearly a month later within sight of her home. Couey was also found guilty of all other counts he had faced: burglary, kidnapping and sexual battery on a child under 12 years of age. As the verdict was read, Couey, 48, stood beside his lawyer, his expression unmoved. The jurors are to decide Tuesday whether to recommend Couey be sentenced to life in prison or to death. It is up to the judge to decide whether to accept that recommendation. Couey has a 30-year criminal history, and his case prompted more debate over the rights of sexual predators. (Posted 4:17 p.m.) State Dept. won't rule out bilateral meeting between Iran, U.S. in BaghdadWASHINGTON (CNN) -- At a briefing Wednesday, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack would not rule out a possible bilateral meeting between U.S. and Iranian officials at this weekend's conference in Baghdad on the future of Iraq. McCormack even suggested that the United States might be open to such a meeting to discuss alleged Iranian support for Iraqi militias with deadly explosive devices. "We shall see," McCormack said. "If we have an opportunity to raise the issue of EFPs (explosively formed projectiles) and Iran's support for those networks and supply of those networks with the technology and know-how to construct these EFPs, you bet we're going to raise it, because that gets to an issue of force protection for our troops, and we're going to take every possible opportunity that we can take to ensure that our troops are protected in-theater. "And if that means having a discussion with the Iranian representative in the context of this meeting, yes, we're going to take that opportunity." --From CNN's Zain Verjee and Elise Labott (Posted 2:58 p.m.) Anti-war House Democrats demand 'clear timeline' for Iraq withdrawalWASHINGTON (CNN) -- Anti-war House members Wednesday urged colleagues to set a "clear timeline" for a U.S. withdrawal from Iraq and bring American troops home, challenging Democrats to assume the political risk of ending the war. In a letter to party colleagues, leaders of the "Out of Iraq Caucus" accused the Bush administration of playing a game of "chicken" with the war, "where whoever acts to bring a responsible end to their failed policy will be accused of having lost Iraq." "There is no question that moving to stop this folly carries a political risk -- the accusation that Democrats gave up on the Vietnam War, despite all evidence that it was an unwinnable conflict, hurt the party's credibility on national security issues for a generation," they wrote. But they argue that costs of the war have become "unsustainable," damaging efforts to battle terrorism and costing the Treasury more than $8 billion a month. --From CNN Congressional Correspondent Andrea Koppel (Posted 2:54 p.m.) Insurgents target Shiite pilgrims for 3rd day; 19 pilgrims, 12 police killedBAGHDAD (CNN) -- For a third day, insurgent attacks against Shiite pilgrims on Wednesday bloodied the route to the holy city of Karbala. Iraqi security forces have been deployed into a number Sunni neighborhoods in Baghdad to secure the roads for the pilgrims, a Baghdad police official said. Shiites across Iraq are heading to Karbala on foot for an upcoming religious gathering, which falls on Saturday. So far Wednesday, three attacks have been reported in Baghdad involving pilgrims. A suicide car bomb struck an Iraqi police checkpoint in the southwestern Baghdad neighborhood of Saydiya, killing 12 police and 10 pilgrims and wounding 18 police and 23 pilgrims, the official said. In the Nadha district in central Baghdad, two were killed and three wounded when gunmen in a vehicle fired on a crowd of pilgrims, and in Baghdad's predominantly Sunni Dora district, attackers detonated a roadside bomb and then fired on pilgrims, killing at least seven and wounding 14. Dozens of Shiite pilgrims have died in similar attacks this week. (Posted 2:39 p.m.) Lisa Nowak's days as astronaut iendedHOUSTON (CNN) -- U.S. Navy Capt. Lisa Nowak's detail as a NASA astronaut will be terminated, effective Thursday, NASA and the U.S. Navy said Wednesday in a written statement issued jointly. Nowak, 43, is charged with attempting to kidnap a romantic rival, allegedly confronting her former boyfriend's new love interest in a parking lot at Orlando International Airport on Feb. 5. In addition to facing a charge of attempted kidnapping, Nowak was charged with battery and burglary of a vehicle with a weapon. She is scheduled to be arraigned March 22, but has already entered a not guilty plea. Nowak's attorney has said the charges overstate her conduct. NASA said it requested Nowak's detail be ended "because the agency lacks the administrative means to deal appropriately with the criminal charges pending against Nowak. Because Nowak is a naval officer on assignment to NASA, rather than a NASA civil servant, she is not subject to administrative action by NASA." Nowak is to get her next assignment from the U.S. Navy. (Posted 2:27 p.m.) At least 2 winning tickets sold for record Mega Millions $370 million jackpotWOODBINE, N.J. (CNN) -- Lottery players who bought their tickets in Dalton, Ga., and Woodbine, N.J., were checking their numbers hopefully Wednesday after it was announced that at least two winning tickets were sold in those locations for the Mega Millions record $370 million jackpot, a lottery spokeswoman said. The final jackpot could actually be more than the advertised $370 million because sales were so brisk Tuesday night that all the totals have not yet been reported, officials said. In Georgia, the winning ticket was sold in the northwestern city of Dalton at Favorite Market on Abutment Road off of Interstate 75, according to Tandi Reddick of the Georgia Lottery Corp. New Jersey Lottery Commission spokesman Dominick DeMarco said the winning ticket was purchased at Campark Liquors Inc. on DeHirsch Avenue in Woodbine, N.J. The winners have not yet come forward in either state, lottery officials said. They have a year to do so. (Posted 2:07 p.m.) Top officials of now-defunct Islamic charity indicted, arrested for funding terrorismWASHINGTON (CNN) -- Three top officials of the now-defunct U.S. arm of a Sudan-based Islamic charity were arrested early Wednesday in Missouri and Iowa after the charity and five of its top officials were indicted by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo., on charges of seeking to fund terrorism. Two other officials of the Islamic American Relief Agency (IARA) based in Columbia, Mo., remain at large, officials said. The U.S. branch of the charity was shut down in October 2004 when it was designated by the federal government as a "specially designated global terrorist organization." The 33-count indictment returned by a grand jury in Kansas City says the charity and its officers illegally sent funds to Iraq, laundered money, stole U.S. government funds and violated tax laws. The charges are the first brought against the organization and its officials in a broad continuing investigation of links to funding terrorism, officials said. --From Justice Producer Terry Frieden (Posted 1:41 p.m.) U.S., Iraqi officials: Suicide bomber kills at least 30 at popular cafeBAGHDAD (CNN) -- A suicide bomber detonated his explosive vest at a popular cafe in Balad Ruz, north of Baghdad, on Wednesday, killing at least 30 Iraqis and wounding 40, a police official and a U.S. official told CNN. U.S. military spokesman Gen. William Caldwell said the attack happened near a crowded marketplace and blamed al Qaeda in Iraq, calling the suicide bombing targeting civilians "a classical AQI trademark." He said the area was crowded with predominantly Shiite Muslims. Balad Ruz is in Diyala province, about 50 miles (80 km) northeast of Baghdad and 25 miles (40 km) east of Baquba. (Posted 1:33 p.m.) Ohio pension funds settle lawsuit with Time Warner over stock plunge after AOL mergerCLEVELAND, Ohio (CNN) -- Time Warner will pay $144 million to settle a securities fraud claim alleging the company inflated its stock price prior to its 2001 merger with AOL, the Ohio attorney general announced Wednesday. The Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation and five other Ohio pension funds filed suit against Time Warner, the parent company of CNN, seeking repayment of millions of dollars lost when the company's stock price fell to more than half its value in 2001 after the merger that created the world's largest media company at the time. As part of the settlement with Ohio attorney general Marc Dann's office, Time Warner does not acknowledge any wrongdoing. --From CNN's Katy Byron in New York (Posted 1:30 p.m.) Bush 'sad' about Libby's convictionWASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush said Wednesday he is "sad" about the conviction of former vice presidential Chief of Staff Lewis "Scooter" Libby on charges of lying and impeding a CIA leak investigation, but he said the decision must be respected. "This was a lengthy trial on a serious matter and a jury of his peers convicted him and we've got to respect that conviction," the president said in an interview with CNN En Espanol correspondent Juan Carlos Lopez. But the president wouldn't respond directly when asked if the conviction breaks his promise to bring honor back to the White House. "This is an ongoing legal matter ... at this time it's inappropriate for me or the administration to be issuing comments on this serious matter," Bush said. The president and other members of his administration had vowed that anyone found to be involved in leaking the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame Wilson would no longer work in the White House. Libby resigned in October of 2005 after he was indicted in connection with the matter. (Posted 1:13 p.m.) Suspect detained in abduction of 13-year-old boyBRADENTON, Fla. (CNN) -- The man wanted by authorities in connection with the abduction of a 13-year-old boy was taken into custody Wednesday, the Manatee County Sheriff's Department announced. Dave Bristow, a spokesman for the sheriff's department, did not give details about the arrest of Vicente Ignacio Beltran-Moreno, but said there would be a news conference at 2 p.m. to release more information. Authorities say Beltran-Moreno abducted 13-year-old Clay Moore at gunpoint Feb. 23 from a school bus stop in Parrish, about 30 miles southeast of St. Petersburg. Moore was driven to a rural area and tied to a tree, but was able to free himself by using a safety pin he had hidden in his mouth to cut through duct tape and other bonds that were holding him, authorities and Moore's parents said. Information Moore gave authorities led them to issue an arrest warrant for Beltran-Moreno, 22, on charges of armed kidnapping and aggravated assault. (Posted 12:30 p.m.) Helicopter crashes in Anbar; 3 injuredBAGHDAD (CNN) -- An Mi-8 private security helicopter crashed in Iraq's Anbar province Wednesday, injuring three civilian contractors on board, U.S. military spokesman Gen. William Caldwell told CNN. Initial reports from the pilot indicated weather and mechanical failure were to blame. (Posted 12:19 p.m.) 3 U.S. soldiers killed in bomb-clearing operationBAGHDAD (CNN) -- Three U.S. soldiers were killed Wednesday by a roadside bomb while clearing improvised explosive devices planted along a commonly traveled route northwest of the Iraqi capital, the U.S. military said. Another soldier was wounded in the explosion. All were part of Multi-National Division-Baghdad. With the deaths, 3,187 U.S. military personnel have died in the Iraq war. (Posted 12:08 p.m.) Dole, Shalala vow 'vigorous' review of Walter ReedWASHINGTON (CNN) -- Former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole and ex-Cabinet member Donna Shalala vowed Wednesday to carry out a "vigorous" review of health care for recovering Iraq and Afghan war veterans, focusing primarily at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. President Bush asked Dole and Shalala this week to lead his Presidential Commission on Care for America's Returning Wounded Warrior. Their reports are due June 30. White House spokesman Tony Snow told reporters Wednesday that seven other panel members will be appointed as soon as possible. "We're going to do the best we can to make certain that those young men and women who served are properly cared for when they come home, and then properly transitioned after their care is complete," said Dole, the GOP's unsuccessful presidential nominee in 1996. Shalala said, "I don't want to overstate or understate (the mission) other than it's going to be comprehensive. It's going to be vigorous." (Posted 11:47 a.m.) Comic Hero killed in controversial endingNEW YORK (CNN) -- He fought and triumphed over Hitler, Tojo, International Communism and a host of Super-Villians, but a sniper's bullet cut him down. Comic hero Captain America is dead. After close to 60 years in print, Marvel Comics has killed off Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, one of it's most famous and beloved Super-Heroes amid an already controversial story line. In the comic series, Rogers was to stand trial for defying a Super-Hero registration law passed after a hero's tragic mistake causes a 9/11 like event. Marvel says the comic story line was intentionally written as an allegory to current real-life issues like the Patriot Act, the War on Terror and September 11th. --From CNN's Larry Holmes, Jonathan O'Beirne and Glenn Perreira (Posted 9:19 a.m.) Sources: Israelis raid Palestinian military building it says is used as terrorist hideout; 18 arrestedRAMALLAH, West Bank (CNN) -- Israeli forces early Tuesday raided the Palestinian military intelligence headquarters -- which Israel says is used for "terrorist activity" and as a militant hideout -- arresting 18 wanted Palestinians, according to Israeli security sources. According to the sources, Israel has "frequently contacted" Palestinian leaders, most recently in January, about the use of the intelligence headquarters as a base of operation for "Tanzim" operatives -- militants loyal to the Fatah movement. Because the Palestinian Authority did not remove the militants from the building, the security sources said Israel was "forced to take action." Those arrested include men blamed for carrying out and directing attacks against Israeli forces and civilians, the sources said. -- CNN's Shira Medding in Jerusalem contributed to this report. (Posted 9:02 a.m.) Airliner bursts into flames on landing at Indonesian airport, at least 23 deadJAKARTA, Indonesia (CNN) -- An Indonesian airliner overshot the runway at Yogyakarta airport Wednesday, killing at least 23 aboard when it burst flames shortly after landing, Indonesian Transportation Minister Hatta Rajasa said. Indonesian air carrier Garuda Airlines said of the 133 passengers and seven crew members aboard, 117 people survived. The 737- 400 Boeing plane had flown from Jakarta to the Yogyakarta airport in central Java, about 300 miles east-southeast of the capital. --CNN's John Vause, Dan Rivers and Kathy Quiano contributed to this report (Posted 6:58 a.m.) NATO: Senior Taliban commander capturedKANDAHAR, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Afghan National Army (ANA) forces captured a senior Taliban commander at a checkpoint in Kandahar province Tuesday, a NATO statement released Wednesday said. According to NATO's International Security Assistance Force, Mullah Mahmood was caught while trying to make an undercover "escape from the Panjwaii area of Kandahar province." He was wearing a burka -- a head-to-toe cloak which covers the face and is worn by Muslim women in Central and South Asia. (Posted 5:29 a.m.) Americans hospitalized with possible radioactive poisoning released from hospitalMOSCOW (CNN) -- Two American women hospitalized with possible thallium poisoning where released from a Moscow clinic Wednesday, according to a hospital official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, and security guards, who saw them leave. The official said Marina Kovalevsky, 42, and her daughter Yana, 26, were well enough to walk out of Sklifosovsky Clinic and were expected to leave the country shortly. Russian authorities are investigating how they may have been poisoned, the U.S. embassy told CNN. Typical symptoms of thallium poisoning include dehydration, heart complications and hair loss. (Posted 5:01 a.m.) U.S. military: 24 suspected terrorists detained in raids across IraqBAGHDAD (CNN) -- U.S.-led coalition forces detained 24 suspected terrorists during raids across Iraq Wednesday morning, a U.S. military statement said. According to the military, the raids targeted al Qaeda in Iraq operations in South Baghdad, Rutba, Samarra and an area northeast of Karma. The groups were said to be involved in the production of roadside and vehicle bombs; weapons trafficking and the acquisition of identity cards and passports; and foreign fighter facilitation. "Coalition Forces operations continue to systematically dismantle the al Qaeda in Iraq network," said Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, a Multi-National Force-Iraq spokesman. "The al Qaeda in Iraq network is contrary to the peace and stability Iraqi citizens deserve." (Posted 3:33 a.m.) North Ireland votes on new power-sharing assemblyBELFAST, Northern Ireland (CNN) -- Northern Ireland residents go to the polls Wednesday in a last-ditch effort to elect a new parliamentary assembly. The hope is that assembly elections will round off the peace process by seeing the IRA's political wing, Sinn Fein, and their historical enemies, the Protestant hardliners of the Democratic Unionist Party, agree to serve together in a power-sharing executive. Previous deadlines have passed without consequences, but this time, the new assembly must form a 12-member Cabinet within a week after the election, and be ready to receive control of most Northern Ireland government departments by March 26. Failure would mean the assembly's abolition the next day. (Posted 1:30 a.m.) |
 | Three arrested in killings; 2 face murder chargesThree suspects are in custody, including two who face murder charges, in what the local sheriff called a "multifaceted" investigation into the killings of ... |
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