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Friday, April 20

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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.

Fighting spreads, intensifies as more Ethiopian troops arrive in Mogadishu

From journalist Mohamed Amiin in Mogadishu

MOGADISHU, Somalia (CNN) -- More Ethiopian troops arrived in Mogadishu Friday as the battle against Islamic insurgents spread into a main market area of the Somalian capital and the intensity of the fighting increased.

Mortars landing in civilian areas are blamed for some of the deaths, including a civilian killed Saturday morning when his home was hit by a shell.

A human rights group estimated that at least 113 people, including soldiers and civilians, were killed in the last three days of fighting between Ethiopian troops, who are supporting Somalia's transitional government forces, and remnant fighters from the Islamic Courts Union, which was ousted from power late last year. Another 229 people have been wounded, the group said.

No one is saying which side has the upperhand in the fighting, although the level of shelling and machine gun fire has risen in the past day. The battle had spread into the main market area of Mogadishu by Saturday.

Another 40 military vehicles carrying Ethiopian soldiers arrived in the Somalian capital Friday. Residents are fleeing Mogadishu by the thousands each day for central Somalia. (Posted 2:53 a.m.)

As nation pauses to remember victims, Cho's family speaks out

BLACKSBURG, Va. (CNN) -- As people across Virginia and around the country donned Virginia Tech's distinctive maroon and orange Friday and paused to remember the lives lost in Monday's shooting rampage, the family of shooter Seung-Hui Cho made its first public comments about the devastation he caused.

"He has made the world weep. We are living a nightmare," his sister, Sun-Kyung Cho said in a written statement issued on behalf of her family. "Our family is so very sorry for my brother's unspeakable actions. It is a terrible tragedy for all of us."

But in a sign of life slowly moving toward some sense of normalcy, the first athletic event since the massacre was held Friday evening on the sports-crazy campus, when Virginia Tech and the University of Miami took the field for a baseball game.

Before the game started, the crowd at English Field observed 32 seconds of silence, one second for each of Cho's victims. The University of Miami also donated $10,000 to a memorial fund for the victims' families. (Posted 8:07 p.m.)

2 dead after hostage situation at Johnson Space Center

HOUSTON (CNN) -- A hostage situation at an office building on the sprawling campus of Johnson Space Center ended Friday with the gunman and a hostage dead, a police spokesman said.

Houston Police Capt. Dwayne Ready said that a second hostage was found taped up but otherwise unharmed and is being checked out by paramedics.

"I do not have any names at this time," Ready said.

The situation started at about 1:40 p.m. CT when police responded to a call that a person with a gun had entered Building 44 at the space complex. A witness reported two gunshots at the time, Ready said.

"While they (SWAT teams) were trying to establish communication, they heard an additional gunshot," he said. Believing the suspect may have shot himself, they decided to move in and found that he had committed suicide. (Posted 6:35 p.m.)

Cho's sister: 'He has made the world weep'

BLACKSBURG, Va. (CNN) -- The family of Virginia Tech shooter Seung-Hui Cho feels "hopeless, helpless and lost" and is "deeply sorry" for his "unspeakable actions," according to a written statement released Friday by his sister.

"We are humbled by this darkness," Sun-Kyung Cho said in the family's first comments since Monday morning's shootings that left 33 people dead, including her younger brother, who police say died by his own hand. "He has made the world weep. We are living a nightmare."

In her statement, Sun-Kyung Cho said her brother was "someone that I grew up with and loved. Now I feel like I didn't know this person."

"We have always been a close, peaceful and loving family. My brother was quiet and reserved, yet struggled to fit in. We never could have envisioned that he was capable of so much violence," she said. (Posted 6:16 p.m.)

New Jersey governor breathing without respirator

(CNN) -- New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine is breathing without a respirator one week after being involved in a car crash that left him critically injured.

In a written statement released Friday, the governor's spokesman, Anthony Coley, said Corzine is "in critical but stable condition." His breathing tube was removed at 12:25 p.m. Friday.

The statement adds that Corzine "will be closely monitored to ensure that he can continue to breathe on his own and cough efficiently. Doctors do not entirely rule out the possibility that the breathing tube will need to be reinserted." --From CNN's Amy Sahba (Posted 6:15 p.m.)

Wolfowitz 'welcomes' call for urgent review of World Bank flap

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Embattled World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz said Friday he "welcomes" a call by the bank's executive directors for an urgent review of his role in brokering an agreement that sent his girlfriend, Shaha Riza, a bank staffer, off to a new job at the State Department with a hefty pay increase.

After meeting Thursday, the World Bank's 24 executive directors issued a statement calling on a review panel "to consider immediately the arrangements" made to send Riza to the State Department, including whether there were any violations of staff rules, the bank's code of conduct or Wolfowitz's employment contract.

The review panel will also consider "conflict of interest, ethical, reputational and other relevant standards," the statement said.

In response, Wolfowitz's office issued a brief statement saying he "welcomes the decision of the board to move forward and resolve this very important issue." (Posted 5:49 p.m.)

Presidential elections will test Nigerian democracy

ABUJA, Nigeria (CNN) -- On the eve of scheduled presidential elections in Africa's most populous nation, Nigerians on Friday shared their concerns and hopes for the young democracy with CNN's Isha Sesay.

After only eight years of democracy, widespread reports of political corruption, electoral fraud and voter intimidation during last week's regional elections raised the question of whether the state can maintain its democratic integrity on Saturday.

Atiku Abubakar, Nigeria's current vice president and a main contender among the 25 vying for the presidency, voiced his concerns to Sesay.

"We do not anticipate any elections on Saturday. What we anticipate is, again, vote allocation by the ruling party," he said, making reference to the party of current Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo. (Posted 4:18 p.m.)

Source: Cho's family being moved around every day

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A top level source at the South Korean Embassy told CNN Friday that the family of Cho Seung-Hui, named by police as the gunman in the Virginia Tech shooting massacre, is being moved to different locations every day.

A law enforcement source said the family is not being moved around, but declined to give any information as to the family's whereabouts.

A South Korean Embassy source said Thursday Cho's parents and sister were "doing OK," according to a South Korean official who met with the head of the FBI's Washington field office. A law enforcement official said the FBI is in contact with the family.

So far Korean officials have been unable to contact the family directly, the source says, but they are working with the U.S. government to meet them. Cho's parents still hold South Korean citizenship. South Korean officials said they are legally obligated to make sure the family is safe. --From CNN's Zain Verjee (Posted 3:24 p.m.)

Several administration officials say they want Gonzales out

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Several administration officials and the House Republican Conference chairman said Friday that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales should step down, following the harsh response to his Senate testimony on last year's firing of eight U.S. attorneys.

Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee grilled Gonzales for hours Thursday about the dismissals -- seven in December and one in June.

"He did not distinguish himself in the hearing," said Rep. Adam Putnam, GOP conference chairman. "... I think that (the Justice Department) would be well-served by fresh leadership."

One administration official, who works closely with Gonzales, described him as "out of touch" with the political pulse in Washington. The official said the attorney general is still optimistic that he can remedy the situation. However, several other officials said Republicans have begun discussing a possible replacement.

Still, the White House issued a statement of support for Gonzales on Thursday, and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, indicated to CNN that he is ambivalent about the possibility that Gonzales might leave. "If Al Gonzales were to quit tomorrow, it wouldn't end it. It would just, I think, add fuel to the fire," especially with Democrats controlling the Senate," he said. --From CNN's Kelli Arena (Posted 3:01 p.m.)

All bodies of Virginia Tech massacre victims released to families

BLACKSBURG, Va. (CNN) -- All the bodies of victims of the Virginia Tech massacre had been released to their families as of Friday morning, including that of the shooter, Cho Seung-Hui, a spokesman for the Virginia State Department of Health told CNN.

Spokesman Larry Hill also said that all autopsy and coroner reports on the victims are complete.

The families are in the process of making transportation and funeral arrangements with mortuaries, if they have not already done so, Hill added. --From CNN's Victor Hernandez (Posted 2:28 p.m.)

Cho fired as many as 225 shots in rampage

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Cho Seung-Hui fired off as many as 225 shots as he gunned down 30 students and faculty on the campus of Virginia Tech before turning the gun on himself, a law enforcement source told CNN Friday.

That figure is based on the number of bullets and the 17 empty ammunition magazines found at Norris Hall, the source said.

Another law enforcement source familiar with the investigation said most of the victims were shot at least three times. A doctor who treated some of the survivors Monday said they also had multiple gunshot wounds, and no one had less than three. --From CNN's Deb Feyerick and Kevin Bohn (Posted 2:08 p.m.)

Poll shows most Americans feeling the pinch as gas prices rise

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Rising gas prices are causing economic strain for the majority of Americans, but only one in five report facing severe problems as a result of higher prices at the pump, according to a CNN/Opinion Research Poll released Friday.

Two-thirds say that rising gas prices are causing hardship for their families; that's virtually the same number who felt that way when gas prices began to rise last spring.

Of those polled, only 19 percent found themselves in severe hardship because of the affects of rising gas prices, opposed to 47 percent who said they have experienced a moderate hardship and 33 percent who reported no hardship at all.

The poll of 1,218 adult Americans had a sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. (Posted 1:56 p.m.)

Military: al Qaeda leader among 15 detained

BAGHDAD (CNN) -- U.S. soldiers in Iraq on Friday detained 15 people, including a suspected al Qaeda leader, the U.S. military said.

The soldiers were from the 1st Ironhorse Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, and the raid took place in Tarmiya, north of Baghdad.

The troops were tipped off by residents that the insurgents were based in two houses in the area. (Posted 1:42 p.m.)

Islamic State of Iraq announces 'Cabinet'

BAGHDAD (CNN) -- The insurgent umbrella group that recently claimed responsibility for the execution of 20 security officers and the bombing of the Iraqi parliament complex says it has chosen a "Cabinet."

A video from the Islamic State of Iraq, posted on an Islamist Web site, listed the names of 10 people.

One name stood out: The successor to the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, one of the components of the group is listed as the "war minister."

Sheikh Abu Hamza al-Muhajer, also known as Abu Ayyub al-Masri, succeeded Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, killed in Iraq's Diyala province last year by a U.S. airstrike. (Posted 1:04 p.m..)

U.S. military: militants shoot at U.S. troops from Baghdad mosque; 2 insurgents killed

BAGHDAD (CNN) -- Two insurgents were killed in a firefight with U.S. troops in Baghdad on Friday after militants fired on the soldiers from a mosque, the U.S. military said.

The incident took place in the southwestern Baghdad neighborhood of Bayaa and the gunshots came from the Husayniayh al-Bayaa mosque. The troops were from the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division.

Attack aviation helicopters fired approximately 100 rounds of 30 mm ammunition during the firefight, with pilots engaging militants "after positively identifying them as hostile targets," the military said.

The military earlier "reported that aviation assets had not engaged insurgent targets, but further review of the action revealed the engagement by the aviators." (Posted 12:21 p.m.)

Gates hopes parliament won't recess for summer without passing key legislation

BAGHDAD (CNN) -- Defense Secretary Robert Gates, in Iraq for talks with U.S. commanders and Iraqi officials, said he hopes Iraq's parliament won't recess for the summer before passing key legislation about hot-button issues in Iraq involving energy and de-Baathification.

Gates, speaking to reporters at a press appearance in Baghdad on Friday, noted that U.S. officials plan to assess the status of the troop escalation over the summer, and said Iraqi strides toward legislation that would foster the goal of political reconciliation will be among the factors considered.

"Our commitment to Iraq is long-term, but it's not a commitment to having our young men and women patrolling Iraq's streets open-endedly," the defense secretary said.

Gates said that during his visit he has met with his Iraqi counterpart, the country's defense minister, and other Iraqi officials, such as the prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki, and the presidency council. And he said he sat down with top U.S. commanders in a "very thorough" meeting. (Posted 11:26 a.m.)

Inspector general says Wolfowitz may have recommended friend for Pentagon job

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- While serving as deputy secretary of defense in 2003, Paul Wolfowitz may have personally recommended that his female companion, Shaha Ali Riza, receive a contract to help the United States set up a new government in Iraq, the Pentagon has confirmed.

But there was no finding of wrongdoing, it said.

A department spokesman, speaking on background, confirmed the details. The spokesman was authorized to speak only on background because the issue involves personnel matters.

The official confirmed that the Defense Department's inspector general opened an initial inquiry into the matter in 2004 to determine if Wolfowitz misused his office. But the inspector general concluded there was no wrongdoing because Riza was uniquely qualified for the work. She also did not draw a separate salary, but was paid only for expenses, so there was no financial gain.

In addition, the inspector general found that Riza, as well as two others, were recommended by more than one person to work for the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance, which at the time was the major U.S. government reconstruction effort in Iraq. --By CNN Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr (Posted 11:12 a.m.)

School threats pop up nationwide

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The FBI says law enforcement agencies across the nation have received 15 to 20 copycat threats to schools since the Virginia Tech massacre.

The bureau vows authorities will do everything they can to figure out who is responsible. (Posted 11:07 a.m.)

Another wounded Virginia Tech student leaves hospital

BLACKSBURG, Va. (CNN) -- Hospital officials on Friday said one victim of Monday's Virginia Tech campus shooting spree was discharged Thursday night while eight others remained in three southwest Virginia hospitals with gunshot wounds. Montgomery Regional Hospital discharged one female patient last night. The remaining five include three men and two women, all listed as "stable," and all up and walking around, according to Montgomery Regional spokesman Mark Foust.

Four are in the intensive care unit and one is in the orthopedic unit, he said. The hospital expects to release one or two more patients later today or early Saturday.

Two patients with gunshot wounds were listed in good condition Thursday at New River Valley Hospital near Radford, hospital spokesman Eric Earnhart told CNN.

At Roanoke Memorial Hospital in Roanoke, one patient remained in serious condition with gunshot wounds.A second patient who had been treated at Roanoke was transferred Wednesday to another hospital, Earnhart said. He declined to identify the hospital, citing a request for confidentiality from the patient's family. (Posted 10:27 a.m.)

Gates 'respectfully' disagrees with Reid that 'war is lost'

BAGHDAD (CNN) -- U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, in Iraq to meet with commanders and assess the progress of the Baghdad security crackdown, said Friday he disagrees with the Senate majority leader's declaration that the war in Iraq has been "lost."

"I have great respect for Sen. Reid," Gates told reporters on Friday, referring to Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev. "On the matter of whether the war is lost, I respectfully disagree."

Reid made his remarks in the Senate on Thursday, a day after a particularly bloody day in Baghdad, when nearly 200 people were killed in six bombings. He indicated he believes that Gates now holds the same view.

"I believe myself that the secretary of state, secretary of defense and -- you have to make your own decisions as to what the president knows -- (know) this war is lost and the surge is not accomplishing anything as indicated by the extreme violence in Iraq yesterday," Reid said. (Posted 10:18 a.m.)

Day of mourning in Virginia for Tech victims; other states remember them with vigils, bells

BLACKSBURG, Va. (CNN) -- Four days after the deadliest shooting on a college campus in the United States, people across the country prepared to remember the victims of the Virginia Tech massacre with candlelight vigils, moments of silence and the tolling of bells.

Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine has declared Friday a day of mourning, and alumni of Virginia Tech have organized a "Hokie Hope" day and are asking all alumni, students and friends of Virginia Tech to wear the school colors -- orange and maroon.

Kaine will participate in a prayer service at the Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, according to a statement from his office.

Church services to remember all the victims will be held in cities including Arlington, Texas; Seattle, Wash.; Georgetown, Ky., Washington, D.C. and Virginia Beach, Va.

Candlelight vigils will take place in Santa Monica Beach, Calif.; Vancouver, Wash.; Middletown, Pa.; Charleston, W.V. and St. Mary's City, Md.

Bells will toll across the states of Georgia and Colorado at 12 p.m. ET, and residents are being asked to observe a moment of silence. (Posted 9:08 a.m.)

2 NATO soldiers killed in southern Afghanistan

(CNN) -- Two NATO soldiers died Friday "as the result of explosions" in two incidents in southern Afghanistan, NATO's International Security Assistance Force said.

One of them may have been a Dutch soldier killed in Helmand province. It is not clear if this casualty is one of the two killed reported by NATO because NATO would not disclose their nationalities or where the incidents occurred.

The Dutch chief of defense staff confirmed that a 21-year-old Dutch corporal was killed by a roadside bombing during a foot patrol in Helmand province. He was part of NATO's Operation Achilles in Helmand, one of the restive southern provinces where NATO has been fighting Taliban militants. (Posted 8:58 a.m.)

Gunmen in Baghdad ambush convoy of Shiite leader's son; 6 wounded

BAGHDAD (CNN) -- Six security guards were wounded Thursday night when gunmen ambushed the convoy of a top Shiite leader's son, a political party spokesman confirmed Friday.

Haytham al-Hussaini, a spokesman for the office of Abdul Aziz al-Hakim -- who heads the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, or SCIRI -- said Ammar al-Hakim's convoy was struck in the Dora neighborhood of southern Baghdad.

Ammar al-Hakim -- whose detention in February by U.S. troops sparked mass protests -- was not harmed. He was headed to Baghdad from Najaf when his convoy came under attack.

Al-Hussaini said the guards engaged what he called "these criminal gangs" before driving out of the area.

SCIRI is one of the most powerful political parties in Iraq and it is part of the Shiite-led ruling coalition called the United Iraqi Alliance. (Posted 7:46 a.m.)

Coalition: 8 insurgents killed, 7 tanks of chlorine found

BAGHDAD (CNN) -- Coalition forces launched operations in Iraq on Friday that resulted in the deaths of eight insurgents and the discovery of seven tanks of chlorine, the U.S. military said.

Forty-one people were detained during the operations. The discovery of the chlorine is significant because insurgents have used chlorine gas in car bombs in recent weeks. (Posted 7:20 a.m.)

Northern Iraqi cities impose vehicle bans amid security threats

BAGHDAD (CNN) -- Authorities in two major northern Iraqi cities have imposed vehicle bans because of security threats, officials told CNN Friday.

The measures were taken in Mosul and Tal Afar, both in Nineveh province.

Tal Afar Mayor Gen. Najem Abdullah said a ban was imposed Thursday evening because insurgents have been distributing leaflets threatening to carry out chemical attacks against civilians. --From CNN's Jomana Karadsheh (Posted 6:57 a.m.)

Rocket strikes base, killing U.S soldier

BAGHDAD (CNN) -- A Task Force Marne soldier was killed and two others were wounded when a rocket struck their base south of Baghdad Thursday night, the U.S. military said on Friday.

The base is called Forward Operating Base Mahmoudiya. Mahmoudiya is in Babil province. The U.S. military death toll in the Iraq war now stands at 3,316. In April, so far, 69 have been killed. (Posted 6:56 a.m.)

'Significant developments' postpone start of Woolmer inquest

(CNN) -- The coroner's inquest into the death of Pakistan cricket coach Bob Woolmer in Jamaica last month has been delayed due to "significant" new developments in the police investigation, the Jamaican government said Thursday night.

"The coroner wishes that these 'new and significant developments' be pursued with the utmost urgency, taking into account that the (police) officer in charge has advised that these new developments are critical to the progress and the eventual result of the investigations themselves," the statement issued by the Jamaican Ministry of Justice said.

Woolmer's body was found lifeless in his hotel room on March 18, the morning after one of the biggest upsets in modern international cricket -- Pakistan's elimination from the cricket World Cup by Ireland. Four days later, police declared the cause of his death to be murder by manual strangulation.

Under the circumstances, the statement said, the coroner's inquest into Woolmer's death will not start next Monday as originally scheduled.

Another date would be set depending on the outcome of the police investigation of the new developments. (Posted 2:50 a.m.)

South Korea soldiers killed while on guard at ammo depot

SEOUL (CNN) -- Two South Korean soldiers who were guarding an ammunition depot at a military base in Gangwon Province were shot to death Friday, according to state-run Yonhap news agency.

The soldiers, both corporals in their 20s, were armed with rifles when they were killed, Yonhap quoted a South Korean Army official as saying.

Another soldier heard the fatal gunfire, the official said. (Posted 2:45 a.m.)

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