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Tuesday, April 17

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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.

Candlelight vigil brightens night at Virginia Tech

BLACKSBURG, Va. (CNN) -- Virginia Tech students gathered by the thousands in the heart of their campus Tuesday night for a candlelight vigil to send a message of unity, determination and pride after the horror, sorrow and carnage of Monday's senseless shooting rampage.

"Hokies, Hokies, Hokies," the students assembed on Tech's drill field chanted, holding their lit candles aloft against the chilly Virginia night.

Even as the university community paused Tuesday to mourn and remember their dead and wounded, new details emerged about Cho Seung-Hui, the student responsible for the deadliest shooting spree in U.S. history, including graphic writings by the 23-year-old English major that set off alarm bells among the faculty. (Posted 9:55 p.m.)

South Koreans react to news Virginia Tech shooter is Seoul native

From CNN Seoul Correspondent Sohn Jie-Ae

SEOUL, South Korea (CNN) -- South Koreans expressed shock Wednesday as new details revealed that the Virginia Tech shooter was born and lived for eight years in Seoul.

The shootings have been headline news in the country which sends more students to the United States than any other country in the world -- more than 90,000 according to the U.S. embassy here. But many South Koreans woke up Wednesday to the new revelation that the Virginia Tech shooter is in fact South Korean born and lived here until he was eight years old.

One front page headline said "The Killer is a One-Point-Five Generation Korean," a Korean reference to the fact the shooter was a Korean national whose parents took him to the United States to grow up. (Posted 9:54 p.m.)

N.Y. student arrested with assault rifles

From CNN's Rob Frehse

(CNN) -- A student at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) was arrested Tuesday afternoon after officers found two assault rifles in his dormitory room, according to Cpl. John Helfer of the Monroe County (N.Y.) Sheriff's Office.

Twenty-two year old Jonathan Hackenburg was arrested and charged with two counts of criminal possession of a weapon and could be charged federally for illegally possessing assault rifles in New York state, according to Helfer.

He was arraigned in Henrietta Town Court and is being held on $15,000 bail at the Monroe County Jail. (Posted 9:53 p.m.)

War contractor hired Wolfowitz's girlfriend in 2003, company says

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Pentagon ordered an Iraq war contractor to hire then-Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz's girlfriend as an adviser to occupation authorities for about a month in 2003, the contractor said Tuesday.

Wolfowitz, a leading architect of the war in Iraq, left the Pentagon to become president of the World Bank in 2005. He apologized last week for brokering an agreement that sent his girlfriend, Shaha Riza, off to a new job at the U.S. State Department with a hefty pay increase.

The contractor, Science Applications International Corp., said Tuesday that it was told to hire Riza in March 2003 by the office of the undersecretary of defense for policy, the No. 3 post in the Pentagon. In a written statement, the company said Riza asked that she receive no salary, just that her expenses be paid. (Posted 6:54 p.m.)

Va. Tech shooter's disturbing writings raised alarm bells

BLACKSBURG, Va. (CNN) -- As the Virginia Tech community paused Tuesday to mourn and remember their dead and wounded, new details emerged about Cho Seung-Hui, the student responsible for the deadliest shooting spree in U.S. history, including graphic writings by the 23-year-old English major that set off alarm bells among the faculty.

The former chairwoman of the university's English Department, Lucinda Roy, said she and other instructors were so disturbed by the content of Cho's writings in the fall of 2005 that she alerted police and university administrators and eventually decided to teach him one-on-one because she was afraid to leave him in a classroom.

Roy said police have asked her not to discuss details of Cho's writings because of the ongoing investigation. However, she said he did not write about guns or killing people. (Posted 6:49 p.m.)

Va. Tech professor: Cho's writings showed a 'disturbed' young man

From CNN's Jim Acosta

BLACKSBURG, Va. (CNN) -- The former chairwoman of Virginia Tech's English department was so concerned about Cho Seung-Hui's anger back in the fall of 2005 that she took him out of another professor's creative writing class and taught him one-on-one.

Lucinda Roy told CNN Tuesday that police had asked her not to discuss details of the Virginia Tech shooter's writings because of the ongoing investigation, but she said the anger he expressed was palpable if not explicit.

He never wrote about guns, she said, or killing people -- but his writing was disturbing enough that she went to police and other university officials to seek help. (Posted 6:48 p.m.)

New Jersey governor's car was driving at 91 mph just before crash

(CNN) -- Governor John Corzine's vehicle was traveling at approximately 91 mph seconds before it crashed, critically injuring the governor, according to a report from the Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police.

The crash happened last Thursday night on the Garden State Parkway, just outside of Galloway Township in New Jersey. Corzine's motorcade was driving north toward Princeton with its emergency lights on just before the accident.

A car two cars ahead of Corzine's vehicle moved to the right lane to let the motorcade pass, but one of the cars swerved suddenly back to the left lane to avoid a mile marker signpost.

The car hit the governor's Chevy Suburban, causing State Trooper Robert Rasinski to lose control of the governor's car, veering through the shoulder and into the western grass berm. The car then hit a milepost marker and the guide rail. --From CNN's Amy Sahba (Posted 6:38 p.m.)

14 remain hospitalized from Monday's shootings

Va. (CNN) -- Fourteen people wounded in Monday's mass shooting at Virginia Tech remained hospitalized Tuesday evening, one of them in critical condition, officials said.

Eight people -- all of them stable -- were still at Montgomery Regional Hospital in Blacksburg, which discharged a ninth earlier Tuesday, said Scott Hill, CEO of the hospital. "Three or four" of them were in the intensive care unit, he said.

One person was still hospitalized and stable at Lewis-Gale Medical Center in Salem, Hill said.

At New River Valley near Radford, three students were in good condition after being treated for gunshot wounds, said spokesman Eric Earnhart.

At Roanoke Memorial Hospital in Roanoke, one student was in critical condition and a second was in serious condition -- each of them with gunshot wounds. A third patient there died Monday, Earnhart said. (Posted 6:26 p.m.)

U.S. military closely watching terrorist activities in Morocco, Algeria

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Terrorist groups in North Africa continue to recruit Islamic fighters to fight in Iraq, and some of them return with combat experience and conduct operations in an attempt to destabilize the governments in the region, according to Pentagon officials.

While U.S. officials do not know if recent bombings in Morocco and Algeria were conducted by terrorists with experience gained in Iraq, officials said the United States is keeping an eye on an al Qaeda-linked, Algerian-based terrorist group to see if it will conduct more attacks.

That terrorist organization, once known as the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat, affiliated itself with al Qaeda in January, according to Pentagon officials. The organization, now called al Qaeda Group in the Maghreb (AQGIM), claimed responsibility for the attacks in Algiers this month.

Two years after the departments of Defense and State began a diplomatic and military training program for sub-Saharan countries to slow the growth of terrorist activity in sub-Sahara, U.S. officials say they have seen a drop in fighters moving back and forth from Africa to Iraq, but acknowledge it still continues with groups like AQGIM and numerous other smaller terrorist organizations in the region. --From CNN Pentagon Producer Mike Mount (Posted 4:28 p.m.)

Bush, poet Giovanni lead Virginia Tech in mourning

BLACKSBURG, Va. (CNN) -- Virginia Tech students mourned their slain classmates and professors with a solemn tribute from President Bush and a rousing oration from poet Nikki Giovanni on Tuesday, a day after a fellow student's rampage left at least 30 people dead.

"We are sad today, and we will be sad for quite a while," said Giovanni, an English professor at the southwestern Virginia university. "We are not moving on. We are embracing our mourning.

"We are Virginia Tech," she said. "We are strong enough to stand tall tearlessly. We are brave enough to bend to cry, and sad enough to know we must laugh again."

Giovanni was the event's final speaker, and the students, faculty and staff that filled the 10,000-seat Cassell Coliseum for Tuesday's convocation launched into chants of "Let's Go, Hokies" when she finished.

"Boy, did we need that," said Zenobia Hikes, the school's vice president for student affairs, when the chants subsided. (Posted 4:07 p.m.)

Secret Service officers wounded in 'accidental' shooting

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Two Secret Service agents were wounded Tuesday in what was called an "accidental discharge of a firearm" near the White House, said Secret Service spokeswoman Kim Bruce.

One uniformed Secret Service officer was shot in the leg, and a second suffered shrapnel wounds to the face, Bruce said. Both were taken to a hospital where they were treated and released.

The incident took place shortly after 2 p.m. at the southwest gate security post and is under investigation. --From CNN Correspondent Suzanne Malveaux (Posted 3:49 p.m.)

Cho's purchase of Glock 19 was 'unremarkable'

ROANOKE, Va. (CNN) -- Cho Seung-Hui bought a Glock 19 9 mm pistol 36 days ago, paying $571 for it with a credit card in an "unremarkable" purchase, the owner of Roanoke Firearms told CNN's Drew Griffin Tuesday.

John Markell said Cho was very low-key and appeared clean cut when he purchased the gun and 50 rounds of ammunition.

Even though Cho is a resident alien, Markell said, it was legal for him to purchase a firearm and he presented three forms of identification: a driver's license, a checkbook with an address matching the driver's license, and an insurance card.

State police conducted an instant background check that probably took about a minute, the store owner said. Cho did not say why he wanted the gun, Markell said.

He said the transaction -- which was with one of his associates, not Markell himself -- was "probably the most unremarkable sale ever" and he was shocked when three ATF agents arrived at his store Monday with the receipt for the weapon.

The Glock 19 is one of his biggest sellers, Markell said. It's used mostly for competition and self-defense. --From CNN's Drew Griffin (Posted 3:26 p.m.)

Charges dropped in exchanges for Marine's testimony in Haditha killings

(CNN) -- The Marine Corps has dropped charges against a sergeant accused of taking part in the 2005 killings of Iraqi civilians in the town of Haditha in exchange for his testimony, the service announced Tuesday.

Sgt. Sanick Dela Cruz was one of eight Marines charged in connection with the Haditha killings and one of four accused of having a direct role in the deaths. But Lt. Gen. James Mattis, the commander of the I Marine Expeditionary Force, agreed to grant him testimonial immunity April 2, and the charges were dismissed, the Marines announced in a statement from Camp Pendleton, Calif.

Prosecutors brought unpremeditated murder charges in December against Dela Cruz and three other Marines from his company -- Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, Lance Cpl. Justin Sharratt and Lance Cpl. Stephen Tatum. Wuterich, who led the Marine patrol in Haditha the day of the killings, is also charged with making a false official statement and with trying to get another Marine to make a false statement.

In addition, four officers were accused of failing to investigate and report the civilian deaths. (Posted 3:18 p.m.)

Students, town mourn 'our fallen Hokies'

BLACKSBURG, Virginia (CNN) -- At the War Memorial on Virginia Tech's Blacksburg campus, a 5-foot-tall cardboard "VT" leans against a tree, a solemn place for school students and town residents to leave tributes and thoughts as they try to absorb the horror that gripped the campus just a day before.

A book of thoughts is labeled "To all our fallen Hokies," using the school mascot's name.

Emily Alderman, 25, reflected on the difference a day can make.

"We were having fun this week -- we were looking forward to our spring (football game)," she said of the start of the week.

But on Tuesday, she said the slayings of 32 fellow students and staff members reminded her of what her mother told her after the September 11, 2001, attacks: "The devil is real." --From CNN's Ashley Fantz and Kristi Keck (Posted 3:14 p.m.)

Gunman's writings found to be disturbing a year ago

BLACKSBURG, Va. (CNN) -- The gunman responsible for the deadliest shooting rampage in the history of the United States wrote some disturbing essays about a year ago that raised concern in the English department at Virginia Tech, an academic official told CNN Tuesday.

The official did not give details about the writings of Cho Seung-Hui but described them as "troubling," and said some were turned over to the university administration.

The writings will be given to investigators as they try to piece together why the 23-year-old senior English major went on a rampage on the Virginia Tech campus Monday, killing 30 people in the engineering building before turning a gun on himself as police moved in. Two shooting deaths earlier in the day at a dormitory are also believed to be the work of Cho, but authorities would not declare that definitively Tuesday until the investigation is complete.

Two draft scripts also attributed to Cho contain"really twisted, macabre violence," according to a student who was in class with him at Virginia Tech.

Ian McFarlane, now an AOL employee, describes the writing as "very graphic" and "extremely disturbing." McFarlane says in the blog that when the class read Cho Seung-Hui's work, "it was like something out of a nightmare."

"The plays had really twisted, macabre violence that used weapons I wouldn't have even thought of. Before Cho got to class that day, we students were talking to each other with serious worry about whether he could be a school shooter." (Posted 3 p.m.)

Disney recalls some Baby Einstein pajamas

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Disney Stores North America and the Consumer Product Safety Commission on Tuesday announced a recall of Baby Einstein caterpillar pajamas and Baby Einstein duck pajamas due to a risk of burn injury to children.

According to the CPSC, the sleepwear fails to meet the children's flammability standard, although no injuries have been reported.

The recall involves 200 footed cotton pajamas sold at Disney Stores between April and May 2006.

Only sleepwear in sizes 12 months and 18 months is included in the recall. Sleepwear sold in sizes 3, 6 and 9 months is not included. (Posted 1:38 p.m.)

University police chief: Shooter was South Korean student at Virginia Tech

BLACKSBURG, Va. (CNN) -- The gunman responsible for the deadliest shooting rampage in the history of the United States has been identified as Cho Seung-hui, a 23-year-old English major from South Korea, Virginia Tech Police Chief Wendell Flinchum announced Tuesday.

Cho, a legal resident of the United States, took his own life Monday as police closed in on him in Norris Hall, where 30 other bodies were found, according to Virginia State Police Superintendent Col. Steve Flaherty.

Flinchum said ballistics show that the weapon that was used in the shooting of two people at a dormitory around 7:15 a.m. ET was also one of the two weapons used in the shootings at Norris Hall, the engineering building.

Flaherty said that despite that finding, authorities could not yet say definitively that Cho was responsible for both incidents.

"It certainly is reasonable for us to assume that Cho was the shooter in both places but we don't have the evidence to take us there at this particular point in time," Flaherty explained.

Investigators are moving "very carefully, very meticulously, because frankly, we have but one chance to get it right," he said.

As the investigation into the massacre continued, authorities have discovered that Cho was a loner, according to Larry Hincker, the associate vice president for university relations. But officials are having a hard time finding any other information about him, he added. (Posted 1:06 p.m.)

Key terrorist suspect says he is not part of al Qaeda

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A suspected top al Qaeda operative with alleged close ties to Osama bin Laden told a military panel he is not close to bin Laden and does not believe in part of al Qaeda's philosophy, according to a transcript of a hearing released by the Pentagon Monday.

Abu Zubaydah, one of 14 high-value detainees held by the United States in Cuba, told a military panel at a hearing, "I disagreed with the al Qaeda philosophy of targeting innocent civilians like those in the World Trade Center."

Zubaydah did say he helped get people to a training camp in Afghanistan from Pakistan from 1994 to 2000. The training was for "jihad" around the world when Muslim lands were invaded, he said, calling it "defensive jihad." He then moved the fighters to battlefields in Chechnya and Bosnia among other locations. --From CNN Pentagon producer Mike Mount (Posted 12:47 p.m.)

Iraqi government forming committee to deal with situation of detainees

BAGHDAD (CNN) -- Iraq's government is forming a committee to help speed up due process for detainees languishing in jail there.

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki announced the formation of a committee specializing in the affairs of detainees in Iraqi and coalition prisons.

The committee will work with the judiciary to review all detainees' files.

They hope to set free all those who aren't being charged, and they hope to bring to trial those who have been charged. --From CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq (Posted 12:43 a.m.)

Volunteer contributes what he can -- body bags

BLACKSBURG, Va. (CNN) -- It was a tearful, lonely drive for Brian Horne.

The Christiansburg, Va., resident was called to the Virginia Tech campus Monday morning as a member of the local volunteer fire and rescue squad. Horne did not see the carnage; he was stationed at a command post on campus.

But as authorities began to comprehend the scope of the disaster, Horne volunteered to take care of a sober task. His family owns a funeral home about 10 miles from the campus, and Horne drove there and collected 36 body bags.

"We knew then there were at least 30 dead and possibly more," Horne told CNN outside the funeral home, where a giant American flag flies at half staff in honor of the victims.

Horne said he has responded to many tragic events in the past, but none comparable to the campus massacre. "It is difficult to comprehend, but at that moment, I knew I could assist with what we needed to do," he said. --From CNN's John King (Posted 12:35 p.m.)

17 more bone fragments found near WTC 'ground zero'

NEW YORK (CNN) -- More than a dozen additional bone fragments have been found in the ongoing search for human remains around the former site of the World Trade Center, the office of the New York City medical examiner said Tuesday.

Seventeen pieces of potential human remains were found Monday in debris from a service road near the World Trade Center site, the office said.

The search for human bones is part of a year-long initiative to find and identify remains that were originally overlooked. Since the search began last fall, more than 500 pieces of human bones have been found in debris and manholes on the road. --From CNN's CiCi Stevens (Posted 12:31 p.m.)

Getting a gun is relatively easy in Virginia

(CNN) -- While it's still not clear where or how the gunman in the Virginia Tech shooting massacre got his weapons, it is clear that obtaining a weapon in the state of Virginia is relatively easy.

According to the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, in Virginia no license or permit is required to purchase a weapon, and there is no waiting period for those wanting to buy a gun. There is a state law that no more than one handgun may be purchased by a person within a 30-day period. The Brady Campaign was founded by Jim and Sara Brady after Jim Brady -- press secretary to President Ronald Reagan -- was shot during an attempted assassination of Reagan in Washington.

The National Rifle Association, which generally opposes controls on gun ownership, responded to the Virginia Tech shooting with a written statement.

"The National Rifle Association joins the entire country in expressing our deepest condolences to the families of Virginia Tech University and everyone else affected by this horrible tragedy," the statement from NRA spokesman Andrew Arulanandam said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the families. We will not have further comment until all the facts are known." (Posted 12:16 p.m.)

South Korean Embassy, student association react to Va. Tech shootings

(CNN) -- The Embassy of the Republic of Korea issued a written statement Tuesday saying it was "shocked and dismayed by the violent crime" that took place Monday at Virginia Polytechnic Institute.

"We express our deepest sympathies and most sincere condolences to the victims and their families and friends," said Yoon Sock-Joong, minister for public affairs.

The Korean Student Association at Virginia Tech said no one there knew the gunman, Cho Seung-hui, who was from South Korea. The organization said there are 300 Korean students on campus. (Posted 11:30 a.m.)

Pace of homebuilding picks up in March

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The pace of home building picked up in March, according to the latest government reading on the state of that battered sector, and builders increased the pace of homes they plan to add to the already flooded pipeline.

Housing starts rose to an annual pace of 1.52 million in March, according to the Census Bureau report, up from a revised 1.51 million rate in February. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had forecast that the pace of building would slow to a 1.5 million rate in March.

Building permits, which are often seen as a measure of builders' confidence in the market, increased to an annual rate of 1.54 million in March from 1.53 million in February. The consensus forecast had been for permits to slow to a 1.52 million rate in the latest reading. (Posted 11:12 a.m.)

5 in U.N. convoy killed in roadside bombing in southern Afghanistan

UNITED NATIONS (CNN) -- A roadside bomb attack in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday killed five people in a U.N. convoy, U.N. spokesmen in New York and Kabul told CNN.

Four Nepalese security contractors and an Afghan driver died in the strike, which took place in Kandahar city.

A remote-controlled explosive device detonated under the third car in the four-vehicle convoy. The incident occurred at 10:30 a.m. The five were working for the U.N. Office for Projects Services.

NATO-led troops have been battling Taliban militants in southern Afghanistan. (Posted 10:28 a.m.)

17 remain hospitalized from Monday's shootings

BLACKSBURG, Va. (CNN) -- Seventeen people wounded Monday in a mass shooting at Virginia Tech remained hospitalized Tuesday, and at least one of those patients was to be released Tuesday, said the CEO for Montgomery Regional Hospital.

All of the nine patients at Montomery are in stable condition, said CEO Scott Hill. Three of those patients, who had been critical, were upgraded to stable Tuesday morning, he told reporters.

In addition, three patients remained at Lewis-Gale Medical Center in Salem, two were at Roanoke Memorial Hospital and three remained at New River Valley Medical Center.

Montgomery in Blacksburg received a total of 19 patients, Hill said.

Earlier Tuesday, Dr. Joseph Cacioppo, an emergency room doctor at Montgomery, indicated he was stunned when victims began pouring in.

"The injuries were just amazing. This man was brutal. There wasn't a shooting victim that didn't have less than 3 bullet wounds in him," Cacioppo told CNN's "American Morning."

One patient had bullet wounds to the wrist, elbow and thigh; another was shot in the abdomen, chest and head, Cacioppo said.

"Nobody had ever seen anything like this before," Hill said. "You can never adequately prepare for this level of violence." Extra emergency workers were called in to handle the surge of patients, he said.

At least two of the most seriously wounded were transferred by ambulance to a trauma center in Roanoke, Hill said. High winds prevented the use of helicopters to move patients, he said. Seven patients had been released from hospital by Tuesday, Hill said. A representative of Roanoke Medical Center said two patients who remained hospitalized there Tuesday were in critical condition.

New River Valley Medical Center in Blacksburg had three patients from the shooting who were listed in stable condition Tuesday, a hospital official said. (Posted 9:02 a.m.)

Military clarifies: Gasoline, not nitric acid, used to launch attack

BAGHDAD (CNN) -- The U.S. military on Tuesday issued a correction to its earlier statement that a failed vehicle bomb attack involved the use of nitric acid.

"A dump truck that overturned attempting to deliver its payload of explosives in Mushada, Iraq April 16 held eight containers filled with fuel, not acid," the military said. "The containers were consistent with those normally used to transport nitric acid, but upon examination, they were found to be filled with gasoline."

Explosives were also found, the military said.

The driver confessed that he had been paid to use the truck bomb to attack a joint security station, which also houses an Iraqi police station, in the village of Mashada, 30 miles north of Baghdad, the military said in a statement released Tuesday. (Posted 8:43 a.m.)

Web claim: Insurgents execute 20 Iraqi security force members

BAGHDAD (CNN) -- Insurgents executed 20 Iraqi security forces seized last week, according to a claim posted on the Web on Tuesday.

The Islamic State of Iraq -- an umbrella group of Sunni extremists that includes al Qaeda in Iraq -- claims it carried out the executions.

The authenticity of the claim has not been verified.

The Islamic State of Iraq has claimed responsibility for the bombing of the parliament building last week in Baghdad's Green Zone.

A statement was issued on the Web last week that it seized 20 security forces northeast of Baghdad.

The group indicated that it would kill the officers if several demands weren't met. --CNN's Octavia Nasr contributed to this report (Posted 7:48 a.m.)

Bush will attend convocation at Virginia Tech

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush will attend a convocation at Virginia Tech Tuesday afternoon at 2 p.m., White House officials said. (Posted 7:39 a.m.)

U.N.: Iraqi displacement 'can no longer be overlooked'

(CNN) -- The U.N. refugee agency leader said Tuesday the international community must act urgently to deal with the displacement of the nearly 4 million Iraqis who have fled their homes over the years because of warfare and conflict.

U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres spoke at the start of a two-day UNHCR conference in Geneva, Switzerland, on the "humanitarian needs" of refugees and internally displaced people.

"The humanitarian dimension of the problem can no longer be overlooked," said Guterres, stressing that "too little attention has been devoted to the humanitarian tragedy looming in the shadows" of the country's long-standing political and military conflicts.

"Almost 4 million Iraqis are watching us today. Their needs are as obvious as the moral imperative to help. All of us -- representatives of governments, international organizations and civil society -- are now compelled to act," said Guterres, whose comments, a keynote address, were posted in a U.N. press statement.

The UNHCR has been focused on Iraqi displacement problems for months, but scheduled the conference to garner help and understanding for the people.(Posted 7:06 a.m.)

Wind, terrain cited as causes of Fossett crash Nearly two years after the disappearance of adventurer Steve Fossett, investigators on Thursday determined that strong winds probably downed his plane.

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