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Thursday, April 12

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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 Time.

CBS cans 'Imus in the Morning'

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- CBS said Thursday it fired Don Imus from his radio show after a public outcry regarding slurs he used about the Rutgers' women's basketball team last week.

The announcement followed one a day earlier by GE-owned cable network MSNBC that it would no longer simulcast Imus' radio show.

Hours after the CBS announcement, Imus met with the Rutgers' team in a meeting the coach called "productive."

CBS, which carried Imus on 61 radio stations, had originally said it would suspend Imus for two weeks starting Monday.

The Rutgers' team -- including the 10 players, their parents, coaches, administrators and religious leaders -- met with Imus Thursday night at the New Jersey Governor's Mansion.

"We were able to really dialogue," said C. Vivian Stringer. "I thought it was productive. I am extremely proud of our 10 young basketball members. I have been througout this entire ordeal."

Stringer declined to talk about what was said during the meeting or the CBS decision. (Posted 1:40 a.m.)

N.J. governor Corzine "critical, but stable" after surgery

(CNN) -- New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine was listed in critical but stable condition in a Camden hospital early Friday after two hours of surgery to repair a long list of bones fractured in a Thursday evening car accident near Atlantic City, according to his spokesman.

Corzine was a front seat passenger in an SUV driven by a New Jersey state trooper that crashed on the Garden State Parkway in Galloway Township, just north of Atlantic City, said spokesman Anthony Coley.

The governor's broken bones include several ribs on each side, his sternum, collar bone, a femur and a slightly fractured lower vertebrae, Coley said. He also suffered a laceration to head, Coley said. (Posted 1:35 a.m.)

Legal community, opposition protest judicial hearing

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- Ignoring a citywide security crackdown, members of Pakistan's legal community and opposition parties rallied outside the Supreme Court in Islamabad Friday to protest the latest judicial hearing into alleged abuses of power by former Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry.

The demonstrators numbered in the thousands.

Opposition parties have launched a "Save the Judiciary" movement in support of lawyers, who have been boycotting the courts in response to Chaudhry's removal by President Pervez Musharraf.

On March 9, Musharraf suspended Chaudhry, accusing him of misusing his powers.

Chaudhry was subsequently placed under house arrest -- outraging many Pakistanis, in addition to the country's attorneys. (Posted 1:30 a.m.)

3 dead after tug capsizes in North Sea

LONDON (CNN) -- Three crew members were dead and five missing late Thursday after a supply tugboat capsized in the North Sea, according to the British Maritime & Coastguard Agency Press Office.

Ten crewmen were recovered, the press office said.

Shetland Coastguard was coordinating the search and rescue operation about 75 miles northwest of Shetland, where the tug capsized. The have scaled back the operation somewhat for the evening hours, but divers will assist in the search throughout the night. (Posted 9:27 p.m.)

Defense attorney: Marriage of preacher's wife on trial for murder 'a living hell'

(CNN) -- Testimony began Thursday in the case of a preacher's wife on trial for the shotgun slaying of her husband, with prosecutors striving to portray Mary Winkler as a conniving killer motivated by a need to keep her financial indiscretions secret and defense attorneys attempting to present her as an abused, belittled and desperate woman.

Winkler's marriage to preacher Matthew Winkler was "a living hell," defense attorney Steve Farese said in his opening statement.

Mary Winkler, 33, is accused of using a 12-gauge pump-action shotgun to kill Matthew Winkler on March 22 of last year before fleeing to the Alabama coast with the couple's three young daughters.

Matthew Winkler's body was found in the parsonage of the Fourth Street Church of Christ by parishoners investigating why he failed to show up for an evening service. He had been shot in the back as he slept, prosecutor Walt Freeland told jurors in opening statements Thursday. "The shotgun blast blew apart his ribs." (Posted 7:56 p.m.)

2 soldiers dead in Iraq

BAGHDAD (CNN) -- Two U.S. soldiers died in Iraq Thursday, according to statements from the military.

One soldier was killed when his patrol was attacked by small arms fire north of Baghdad, the military said. The second soldier died of "a non-battle related cause," the military said in a separate statement.

The names of both soldiers are being withheld pending notification of next-of-kin.

Since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, 3,295 U.S. military personnel have died in the war, 2,678 of them from hostile action. (Posted 7:23 p.m.)

Official: White House in 'urgent' search for 'war czar'

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Spurred on by a sense of "urgency" to implement and execute the administration's new security plan for Iraq, White House aides -- with President Bush's blessing -- are actively trying to hire a new point person to help pilot the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, an administration official told CNN Thursday.

The new post -- which has been dubbed "war czar" -- would be officially titled as assistant to the president for Iraq and Afghanistan policy implementation, reporting directly to Bush with the power to tell Cabinet secretaries what to do, the official said.

However, the hope is that whoever holds the post will have sufficient diplomatic skills to avoid having "to use that tone of voice" with Cabinet secretaries, the official said.

Speaking of the pace of the job search, the administration official said the desire would be to have it filled "yesterday -- if that's not available, then the day before."

-- From CNN White House Correspondent Ed Henry (Posted 7:05 p.m.)

NJ governor injured in car accident

NEW YORK (CNN) -- New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine was injured in a car accident Thursday evening near Atlantic City, his office told CNN.

Spokesman Anthony Coley said Gov. Corzine's injuries were non-life threatening and that a New Jersey state trooper was also injured in the two-car motorcade accident. (Posted 7:04 p.m.)

No agreement on how to ensure Fido's food is safe

(CNN) -- Government regulators, veterinarians and pet food industry representatives yelped and bared their teeth Thursday over the expanding recall of pet foods, yet failed to reach agreement on how to ensure such a problem does not recur.

The discussion came during an oversight meeting of the Senate Appropriations Committee on Agriculture on the same day that the Food and Drug Administration warned consumers that tainted pet food may still be on store shelves and that further recalls may be announced and two days after Menu Foods of Ottawa added additional canned cat-food products to their list of recalled products.

The problem hit the news on March 15, when the Food and Drug Administration announced that Menu Foods of Ottawa was voluntarily recalling 60 million cans of wet dog and cat food.

Food tainted with melamine -- a chemical used as a fertilizer in China and in the manufacture of kitchenware in the United States -- has been blamed for the deaths of an undetermined number of pets, though the mechanism remains unclear. Melamine had not been known to be toxic to lab animals. (Posted 6:52 p.m.)

'D.C. Madam' names a customer

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The alleged "D.C. Madam" dropped a name in court documents filed Thursday, but the man named in the motion bristled at being accused of hiring the services of Pamela Martin and Associates, the high-end escort service run by Deborah Jean Palfrey.

Government prosecutors say the company was actually a prostitution ring that she operated in the Washington area for 13 years. Palfrey denies that her business provided sexual services to its customers.

In her motion to reconsider appointment of counsel, Palfrey named Harlan K. Ullman as "one of the regular customers" of the business.

Ullman is one of the leading theorists behind the "shock and awe" military strategy that was associated with the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

"The allegations do not dignify a response," Ullman told CNN. "I'm a private, not a public citizen. Any further questions are referred to my attorneys." (Posted 6:29 p.m.)

DA apologizes to 3 exonerated former Duke lacrosse players

DURHAM, N.C. (CNN) -- Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong, who was behind the initial prosecution of three former Duke lacrosse players on charges of sexually assaulting an exotic dancer, apologized to the men Thursday.

Nifong's apology came one day after the three were declared innocent and charges against them were dismissed, following a review of the case by the state's attorney general.

"To the extent that I made judgments that ultimately proved to be incorrect, I apologize to the three students that were wrongly accused," Nifong said in a written statement.

However, he said he "certainly takes issue" with the stinging rebuke delivered Wednesday by North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper directed at his handling of the case. (Posted 5:08 p.m.)

CBS cans 'Imus in the Morning'

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- CBS announced late Thursday that it is ending Don Imus' radio show. The move came after a public outcry regarding slurs he used in reference to the Rutgers' women's basketball team last week.

The announcement follwed one earlier in the day by GE-owned cable network MSNBC that it would no longer simulcast Imus' radio show.

CBS, which carried Imus on 61 radio stations, had originally announced that it would suspend his show for two weeks.

"From the outset, I believe all of us have been deeply upset and revulsed by the statements that were made on our air about the young women who represented Rutgers University in the NCAA Women's Basketball Championship with such class, energy and talent," CBS CEO Leslie Moonves said in a written statement.

"Those who have spoken with us the last few days represent people of goodwill from all segments of our society -- all races, economic groups, men and women alike. In our meetings with concerned groups, there has been much discussion of the effect language like this has on our young people, particularly young women of color trying to make their way in this society. (Posted 5 p.m.)

FDA advisory panel votes against new arthritis painkiller

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- An advisory committee for the Food and Drug Administration rejected Arcoxia, Merck's new arthritis painkiller, in a one-sided vote Thursday.

The panel of experts voted 20-1 against Arcoxia, according to the FDA. This is a non-binding vote that will be taken as advice at a later date, when the FDA decides whether to approve the drug.

Arcoxia is already available in more than 60 countries. The drug is a member of the same class as Vioxx, a $2.5 billion-a-year blockbuster that Merck withdrew from the market in 2004 because of a study linking it to heart attacks and strokes. (Posted 4:33 p.m.)

Top Army brass visits troubled Walter Reed

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Army's new chief of staff, Gen. George Casey, spent much of Thursday inspecting conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. His visit came a day after a sharply critical report from an independent panel investigating problems with medical care at the facility.

After an awards ceremony in which he presented combat medals to three soldiers recovering from injuries they suffered in Iraq, Casey told reporters, "I wanted to come up here to Walter Reed to check up on the progress that we were making."

He said, "I am very impressed with what's happened here in a very short period of time, particularly in areas of installations, leaderships and processes."

But while pointing to improvements such as closing a Walter Reed building where living conditions were substandard for patients, Casey acknowledged there are broader problems, such as shortcomings in the classification system used to grant care to wounded soldiers. --From CNN's Paul Courson (Posted 4:18 p.m.)

Casablanca police arrest man with bomb

(CNN) -- Moroccan police Thursday arrested a man carrying a bomb near the same Casablanca neighborhood where two days earlier three suspected terrorist group members blew themselves up, police told CNN.

Despite earlier reports that an explosion occurred Thursday, police said there was no bomb blast and no one was hurt.

Morocco's state-run news agency, Maghreb Arabe Presse, reported that Thursday's arrest was not related to the incidents on Tuesday. (Posted 4:08 p.m.)

White House says it 'screwed up' by not saving GOP e-mails

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The White House "screwed up" by not requiring e-mails from Republican Party and campaign accounts to be saved and is trying to recover any documents that may have been deleted, a spokeswoman said Thursday.

The admission came after the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee accused the White House of trying to hide messages related to the firings of eight U.S. attorneys, which has stirred up a hornet's nest on Capitol Hill.

Congressional investigators have questioned whether White House aides used e-mail accounts from the Republican Party and President Bush's re-election campaign for official government business to avoid scrutiny of those dealings.

"You can't erase e-mails, not today," said Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. "They've gone through too many servers. They can't say they've been lost. That's like saying, 'The dog ate my homework.' "

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino told reporters that the e-mails from those accounts should have been saved, but said policy has not kept pace with technology. She said computer experts were trying to retrieve any records that have been deleted. "We screwed up, and we're trying to fix it," she told reporters. (Posted 3:07 p.m.)

U.S. citizen charged with supporting al Qaeda beginning in 1990s

(CNN) -- A 43-year-old U.S. citizen was charged Wednesday with providing material support to al Qaeda and plotting to set off bombs in Europe and the United States, according to a federal indictment unsealed in Columbus, Ohio.

Christopher Paul did not enter a plea in his first court appearance Wednesday, and his lawyer, Donald Worley, would not comment on the charges when contacted by CNN.

A detention hearing and arraignment are scheduled for Friday, according to the clerk of court's office.

According to the indictment, the targets of the bomb plots allegedly included European tourist resorts where American citizens stayed and a person in the United States whom prosecutors did not name. --From CNN Senior Producer Kevin Bohn in Washington (Posted 2:41 p.m.)

CDC changes recommendations for gonorrhea treatment

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended Thursday a change in drug therapies for gonorrhea because of widespread and growing resistance to the antibiotics currently used to treat the disease.

According to the CDC, resistance to fluoroquinolones -- a class of antibiotics that includes ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin and ofloxacin, and the first-line treatment for gonorrhea since 1993 -- increased among heterosexuals from 0.6 percent in 2001 to 6.7 percent last year.

Among both homosexual and heterosexual men, last year's incidence of resistance was 13.3 percent, the CDC said.

The new data came from 26 U.S. cities and show even greater increases in some cities, including Philadelphia, where it rose from 1 percent in 2004 to to nearly 27 percent last year; and South Miami, where it rose from 2 percent to more than 15 percent, CDC officials told reporters in a conference call. (Posted 2:10 p.m.)

Bomb attacks in eastern Afghanistan kill 2 NATO soldiers

(CNN) -- Two bomb attacks on NATO convoys in eastern Afghanistan killed two soldiers and wounded a third Thursday, a statement from NATO's International Security Assistance Forces said.

The convoys were about five miles apart "conducting independent operations in support of the Afghan government" when they were attacked. The blasts occurred 30 minutes apart, according to the ISAF.

"The three soldiers were medically evacuated to a treatment facility where two of them were pronounced dead by ISAF medical officials," the statement said.

The nationality of the deceased was not immediately released. (Posted 1:11 p.m.)

Defense attorney: Preacher abused wife on trial for killing him

SELMER, Tenn. (CNN) -- A defense attorney in the trial of Mary Winkler, accused of killing her preacher husband, said Thursday that although the marriage looked sunny to outsiders, "a huge cloud loomed over that household."

"We will show you proof that he would destroy objects that she loved, he would isolate her from her family and he would abuse her -- not just verbally, not just emotionally and not just physically -- in other ways too," attorney Steve Farese said in his opening statement.

The prosecutor, in his opening statement, described details of the shooting and how Mary Winkler fled with the couple's three young girls to Alabama.

Assistant District Attorney Walt Freeland said members of 31-year-old Matthew Winkler's congregation found his body on March 22 in his bedroom at the parsonage of the Fourth Street Church of Christ. He had been shot in the back with a 12-gauge shotgun that has to be pumped before it will fire, Freeland said.

He said Mary Winkler, who the sheriff says confessed to the shooting, told investigators that the last word she heard from her husband after the shooting was "Why?" (Posted noon)

Senate panel OKs subpoenas for White House, Justice Department documents

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Senate Judiciary Committee has authorized, but not yet sent, subpoenas demanding scores of documents from the White House and the Justice Department that relate to why eight U.S. attorneys were fired.

In the same meeting Thursday, the chairman of the committee accused administration aides of lying when they imply some documents are missing.

The Senate move comes after the parallel committee in the House went a step further and issued similar subpoenas to the Justice Department. The bicameral action shows Democrats in Congress are notching up the pressure in their confrontation with the administration.

Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said he has requested documents repeatedly. "This refusal to provide documents is just not acceptable," he said. --From CNN Radio's Lisa Goddard (Posted 11:40 a.m.)

Caldwell: 8 dead, 20 wounded in Iraqi parliament suicide attack

BAGHDAD (CNN) -- The suicide attack on Iraq's parliament on Thursday has killed eight and wounded 20, U.S. military spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell told CNN.

After the attack, more explosives were found near the parliament room and were destroyed in a controlled detonation, according to Iraqi lawmaker Iman al-Asadi.

The suicide bomb exploded inside the cafeteria in Iraq's parliament building just as lawmakers headed there for lunch. It killed at least two lawmakers and wounding three, an Iraqi official told CNN.

It is unclear how the bomber was able to pass through the multiple security checkpoints required to enter the building, located in Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone. (Posted 10:57 a.m.)

Turkey's military launches attacks against PKK rebels

ANKARA, Turkey (CNN) -- Turkey's military has begun a spring offensive against rebels with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) ahead of an expected surge in militant activity, the head of Turkey's military said Thursday.

In a rare news conference, Gen. Yasar Buyukanit said operations were already under way at several locations in the country, and in April alone at least 10 Turkish soldiers have been killed in the fighting.

Buyukanit said the military has information that the PKK will expand its terror activities in May as the weather warms up.

The general also said that he believes the Turkish military should expand its operations into northern Iraq, where the PKK conducts training and gets logistical support. However, he said, such a decision must be made by the parliament, and he said the military had not asked the government to approve such an operation. (Posted 10:54 a.m.)

Don Imus, after MSNBC drops simulcast: 'I've apologized enough'

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Amid a firestorm of criticism about racially charged comments he made last week, shock jock Don Imus on his radio show Thursday said he has "apologized enough" and will not go on "some talk show tour."

"I'm not going to go talk to Larry King or Barbara Walters or anyone else. ... I'm not going on some talk show tour. I've apologized enough," Imus said on his flagship station in New York, WFAN-AM, which is owned by CBS Corp. and distributes "Imus in the Morning" nationally on radio by the syndicator Westwood One.

"The only other people I want to talk to are these young women," said Imus, referring to the members of Rutgers University women's basketball team whom he described last week as "nappy-headed 'hos" the day after the team lost the NCAA championship to the University of Tennessee.

He has repeatedly apologized for those remarks, and members of the team have agreed to meet with him privately but so far neither side has said that a meeting has taken place.

Imus was broadcasting his 18th annual radio charity fund-raiser, which has pulled in $40 million since 1990. It ends Friday. (Posted 9:50 a.m.)

BBC makes appeal for kidnapped reporter

RAMALLAH (CNN) -- BBC director general Mark Thompson appealed for the release of journalist Alan Johnston Thursday, a month after he was abducted at gunpoint in Gaza City, saying he is increasingly concerned about the reporter's welfare.

"It is vital for all journalists to be able to report freely and without fear of harassment and intimidation," Thompson said.

"I appeal to all those who may have influence with the kidnappers to use their best endeavors to secure Alan's release, safely and speedily, and to ensure his return to his family and friends as quickly as possible."

The BBC reporter was kidnapped on his way home from work on March 12 and has been held longer than any other Western captive in Gaza. Two Fox news journalists were abducted in August and held for two weeks. (Posted 5:15 a.m.)

Jet's nose gear collapses while landing, but no one hurt

(CNN) -- A Northwest Airlink jet overran the runway as it landed at the northern Michigan's Traverse City airport early Thursday morning, but none of the 50 passengers and three crew members were hurt, according to an airport official.

The Canadair Regional Jet's nose gear collapsed and it skidded down the runway in a heavy snow, finally coming to rest 300 feet beyond the end of the 6,500 foot runway at Cherry Capital Airport, said airport manager Steve Cassens.

Northwest flight 4712, which originated at the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport, was operated by Pinnacle Airlines, Cassens said. The flight was nearly two hours behind schedule when it landed in a heavy snow about 12:45 a.m., he said.

One passenger said everyone in the cabin remained calm, although he said he worried at one point that the plane would roll over. (Posted 4:20 a.m.)

Author Vonnegut dies in New York

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Kurt Vonnegut, author of such literary classics as "Slaughterhouse-Five" and "Cat's Cradle," died in a New York hospital Wednesday night, his wife, photographer Jill Krementz told CNN. He was 84.

According to Krementz, she was holding her husband's hand when he died at 9:45 p.m. in Mount Sinai Hospital.

Vonnegut had been hospitalized for several weeks after suffering brain injuries in a fall at his East Side Manhattan home.

"Kurt was a loving, funny husband who always made me laugh," Krementz said. "He was a wonderful father who was proud and supportive of his children." (Posted 3:15 a.m.)

Baghdad bridge bombing kills 10, hurts 26

BAGHDAD (CNN) -- A suicide truck bomb exploded on a major bridge in northern Baghdad Thursday morning, sending cars into the Tigris River and killing at least 10 people and wounding 26 others, according to an Iraqi Interior Ministry official.

Video of the scene showed two large sections in the middle of al-Sarafiya bridge collapsed into the river.

The al-Sarafiya bridge connected the predominantly Sunni Adhamiya neighborhood and Bab al-Muadham, a mixed district. The iron bridge, one of Baghdad's oldest, was built by British forces in 1946. (Posted 1:40 a.m.)

2 Canadian soldiers killed, 2 wounded in roadside bombing

OTTAWA (CNN) -- Two Canadian soldiers were killed and two were wounded when a roadside bomb exploded near their vehicle in southern Afghanistan Wednesday evening, a statement from the Canadian military said.

The attack took place about 25 miles (38 km) west of Kandahar as the soldiers were assisting another military vehicle that had been hit by a roadside bomb earlier in the day. (Posted 1:15 a.m.)

Space station crew prepares for a change-out, ponders shuttle delays

(CNN) -- A day after NASA announced another launch delay for the shuttle Atlantis on the next assembly mission to the International Space Station, astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the station continued the business of switching out crews.

Two fresh crew members, Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and Flight Engineer Oleg Kotov, along with space tourist Charles Simonyi, arrived at the station Monday in a Russian Soyuz spacecraft. They are taking over from current crew members Commander Michael Lopez-Alegria and Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin, who will return to earth along with Simonyi next week.

Lopez-Alegria readily admitted that the delays of the sort that have set back Atlantis, which was damaged on the launch pad by a hail storm in February, will make it difficult for NASA to finish building the station by the time the shuttle fleet is retired in 2010. -- From CNN's Kate Tobin (Posted 10:30 p.m.)

Church hits natural gas in urban drilling frenzy Bishop Kenneth Spears always thought gifts from God came from above. He never imagined that the gifts would be hiding under his church in Fort Worth, Texas.

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