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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. Wandering humpback whales head back toward Pacific(CNN) -- Two humpback whales have turned back downstream toward San Francisco Bay after a week lost upriver near Sacramento, Calif., authorities said Sunday. "I'm thrilled," said Rod McInnis, regional admnistrator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's fisheries service. "We've done a lot of planning. We've planned for a lot of different incidents, a lot of different possiblities, and we'll take this one." The mother and calf have drawn a crowd of spectators to the banks of the Sacramento River, nearly 80 miles upstream from San Francisco, while experts tried to steer them back toward the ocean with the sounds of other humpback whales feeding and socializing. Experts say the humpbacks -- an endangered species -- appear to have been slashed by boat propellers, and the wounds would heal more quickly in salt water. The whales turned back downstream about 2 p.m. (5 p.m. ET) while crews at the Port of Sacramento were moving barges out of the way of an inbound cargo ship, said Capt. Paul Hamilton, of the California Department of Fish and Game. (Posted 10:10 p.m.) Beirut bomb kills 1; Lebanese troops battle militants in TripoliBEIRUT (CNN) -- A bomb went off late Sunday in the Beirut neighborhood of Ashrafieh, killing one woman, as Lebanese forces battled Islamic militants linked to al Qaeda near the northern city of Tripoli, Lebanese national security forces said. Several other people were wounded in the blast, which went off beneath a car at the southern entrance to the ABC Shopping Mall in the Christian neighborhood in east Beirut, sources said. Sunday's blast came as Lebanese troops battled Islamic militants linked to al Qaeda outside Tripoli, Lebanon's second-largest city. The battle near a Palestinian refugee camp continued into the night, and left 22 Lebanese soldiers and at least 10 militants dead. The fighting was sparked early Sunday when Lebanese internal security forces raided a building in a neighborhood north of Tripoli, army sources said. Militants from Fatah al-Islam opened fire on the forces, who returned fire, triggering clashes in the vicinity of the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp. (Posted 8:30 p.m.) Specter: Gonzales faces 'substantial' no-confidence voteWASHINGTON (CNN) -- A leading Republican senator predicted Sunday that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales would quit before facing a "substantial" no-confidence vote, but the White House said such a vote would have no effect on the Justice Department chief. Sen. Arlen Specter, the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Gonzales was likely to resign before the Senate delivers "a forceful, historical statement." "I think that if and when he sees that coming, that he would prefer to avoid that kind of an historical black mark," the Pennsylvania senator told CBS' "Face the Nation." Gonzales has been under fire for months over the 2006 firings of eight U.S. attorneys, a move for which the Justice Department has offered shifting explanations. The flap has led to the resignation of two of the attorney general's top aides and allegations of political influence on pending cases. (Posted: 6:35 p.m.) Palestinians: 9 civilians killedJERUSALEM (CNN) -- Hours after Israel's prime minister vowed to counter ongoing rocket attacks with an increased military response, Israeli strikes stuck houses in Gaza, killing at least nine Palestinians, including a child, Palestinian security sources said Sunday. Tank fire targeted a house in Beit Lahya in northern Gaza, wounding four people and killing the child, the sources said. Shortly beforehand, an airstrike hit the Gaza City home of a Hamas lawmaker, the sources said. Khalil Hayya was not home at the time, but the strike killed at least eight Palestinian civilians -- including some of the lawmaker's relatives, who were inside -- Palestinian medical sources said. (Posted: 4:14 p.m.) Temperature rises among senators over proposed immigration billWASHINGTON (CNN) -- Tempers flared last week during a profanity-laced rhubarb in the Senate over proposed immigration reform legislation, which members are expected to take up this week. "Tempers got pretty hot at some point," said Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, who witnessed the exchange Thursday between Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and John Cornyn, R-Texas, over the immigration bill. The proposal has drawn bipartisan support and bipartisan criticism. Sources familiar with the meeting said Cornyn expressed concern that the proposed legislation could lead to judicial appeals that would tie up the courts, as first reported Friday on Washingtonpost.com. Cornyn was speaking in the vice president's ceremonial office off the Senate chamber with Chertoff and Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., about the possibility of limiting judicial review when another senator present called that concern "chicken----." Sources contradict each other on which senator used the word. At that, Cornyn became angry and said that, though he had been present during the meetings held over the past few months by the bipartisan working group that crafted the bill, McCain had appeared only at the last minute. That comment elicited a "F--- you!" from the gentleman from Arizona, a candidate for the 2008 GOP presidential nomination. (Posted: 4 p.m.) Palestinians: Airstrike targets house of Hamas lawmaker; 8 civilians killedJERUSALEM (CNN) -- Hours after Israel's prime minister vowed to counter ongoing rocket attacks with an increased military response, an Israeli airstrike struck the Gaza City home of a Hamas lawmaker, Palestinian security sources reported Sunday. Khalil Hayya was not home at the time, but the strike killed at least eight Palestinian civilians -- including some of the lawmaker's relatives, who were inside the home -- Palestinian medical sources said. More than a dozen others were wounded, the sources said. A spokeswoman for the Israel Defense Forces confirmed an airstrike was carried out in northern Gaza, but offered no details. (Posted 3:10 p.m.) Gas prices reach new all-time high, survey says(CNN) -- The price of gasoline surged more than 11 cents in the past two weeks to a new all-time high, averaging $3.18 per gallon of self-serve regular, a national survey reported Sunday. The price surpassed the previous high set in March 1981, Trilby Lundberg, publisher of the Lundberg Survey, said. In today's dollars, the 1981 price of $1.35 would be $3.15, she said. Lundberg predicted that gas prices over Memorial Day would be 25 cents higher than they were during Memorial Day in 2006. The city with the lowest average price found in last Friday's survey of 5,000 gas stations was Charleston, S.C., at $2.87. The highest was $3.59 in Chicago. (Posted 3:05 p.m.) 3 dead, including suspected gunman, in shooting in Moscow, Idaho(CNN) -- Police in Moscow, Idaho raided a church early Sunday where a gunman had holed up after opening fire on police and civilians, killing two people -- a police officer and a civilian -- and wounding two others before apparently turning the gun on himself, police said. Around 6 a.m., SWAT teams stormed the church and found the body of the shooter and another man in separate rooms on the main floor, Moscow Police Department Assistant Chief David Duke said. The man, a civilian, was not identified. The shooter died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, Duke said. Police found a semi-automatic or automatic rifle next to one of the bodies, casings and bullets in the church and four empty magazines outside the church, Duke said. (Posted 2:55 p.m.) Palestinians report airstrikes in northern Gaza; IDF reports tank fireJERUSALEM (CNN) -- Hours after Israel's prime minister vowed an increased military response to ongoing rocket attacks, Palestinian security sources Sunday reported two Israeli airstrikes in northern Gaza. The sources said the airstrikes targeted a house and a group of militants, but there were no casualties. The Israel Defense Forces told CNN a military tank fired at two locations in northern Gaza where two Qassam rockets had been fired into Israel. Earlier in the day, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said "if the measured steps we are taking on the diplomatic front and on the military front don't bring the desired calm, we will be forced to intensify our response." (Posted 1:20 p.m.) U.S. military draining canal in search for missing soldiersBAGHDAD (CNN) -- As part of its search for three missing American soldiers, the U.S. military was draining a canal Sunday after receiving a tip from local Shiite Iraqis that they saw two heads floating in the water, U.S. military officials told CNN. So far, the search of the canal, which leads from the Euphrates River to the village of Janabi, has turned up nothing of interest to the military. Janabi -- once a Sunni insurgent stronghold -- is about 7 miles from the site where the soldiers were last seen after a deadly ambush on May 12. Four American soldiers and an Iraqi soldier were killed in the attack on a U.S. military observation post just outside Mahmoudiya, south of Baghdad, in an area known as the Triangle of Death. Meanwhile, the mayor of Janabi and a police official in Mahmoudiya dismissed the local farmers' claim that two heads were seen floating in the canal, telling CNN that some of the reports given to the military are not credible. (Posted 1:14 p.m.) Lebanese forces battle al-Qaeda-linked militants; at least 32 deadBEIRUT (CNN) -- Fighting on Sunday between Lebanese forces and Islamic militants linked to al Qaeda has killed 22 Lebanese soldiers and at least 10 militants, Lebanese army sources said. The battle near a Palestinian refugee camp outside the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli continued into the night, the sources said. In addition, 16 Lebanese Internal Security Forces have been wounded in the fighting, an ISF spokesman said. The tenuous security situation prompted Syria to temporarily close two of its five border crossings with Lebanon, an interior ministry spokesman told Syria's state-run news agency, SANA. (Posted 1:13 p.m.) U.S. military says terrorist ringleader killed in recent raidBAGHDAD (CNN) -- U.S. forces have killed a man identified as the ringleader of the Jan. 20 attack on U.S. forces in Karbala, military spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell told CNN's "Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer." Sheikh Azhar al-Dulaymi was killed Saturday during an operation in Baghdad's Sadr City neighborhood, according to an unclassified U.S. military presentation obtained by CNN. "We've been pursuing this guy relentlessly," Caldwell said. "Anybody who kidnaps an American soldier and murders them we're going to continue to hunt down." In the January attack, a group of armed insurgents "disguised as American soldiers, driving American vehicles, speaking English" raided a military compound in Karbala, killing one U.S. soldier at the scene and kidnapping four others, who were later slain, Caldwell said. (Posted 11:51 a.m.) Lebanese forces battle al-Qaeda-linked militants; at least 11 deadBEIRUT (CNN) -- Lebanese forces Sunday battled Islamic militants linked to al Qaeda and Lebanese Army forces near a Palestinian refugee camp outside the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli, army and government officials said. The tenuous security situation prompted Syria to temporarily close two of its five border crossings with Lebanon, an interior ministry spokesman told Syria's state-run news agency, SANA. At least 10 militants have been killed in the fighting and 16 Lebanese Internal Security Forces have been wounded, according to an ISF spokesman. The Lebanese army has confirmed casualties among its soldiers -- which are separate from the ISF -- but have offered no specifics. Lebanese minister Ahmed Fatfat said at least one soldier was killed in the fighting. The fighting was sparked early Sunday when Lebanese internal security forces raided a building in a neighborhood north of Tripoli, army sources said. Militants from Fatah al-Islam opened fire on the forces, who then returned fire, triggering clashes in the vicinity of the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp. (Posted 11 a.m.) Police find 2 bodies, including presumed shooter, in church(CNN) -- Police found the bodies of two white males Sunday morning in a Presbyterian church in downtown Moscow, Idaho, including the man police believe shot a civilian and two police officers Saturday night. Police also found a semi-automatic or automatic rifle next to one of the bodies, and casings and bullets in the church, and at least four magazines outside the church, David Duke, the assistant Moscow police chief, said. He could not provide a description or identification of either of the two men, whom he said were found in separate rooms on the main floor of the church. There was no immediate information as to the status of the two police officers shot by the gunman. The civilian survived the attack and was in surgery, Duke said. (Posted 10:45 a.m.) U.S. military Sunday announces 7 soldiers killed in separate attacksBAGHDAD (CNN) -- The U.S. military Sunday reported seven more U.S. soldiers were killed in roadside bomb attacks on Saturday, bringing the number of American soldiers killed since Friday to 15. A U.S. soldier was killed and two more were wounded when an improvised explosive device detonated near their vehicle near Diwaniya shortly after midnight on Saturday. Last month, the U.S. military began a push against Shiite militias in the southern city of Diwaniya. The U.S. military Sunday also announced a roadside bomb attack on Saturday that killed six U.S. soldiers and an Iraqi interpreter in western Baghdad. That brings the monthly death toll for U.S. military personnel to 71 and the death toll since the war began to 3,422. (Posted 10:02 a.m.) Police search for gunman who shot 1 civilian, two police officers(CNN) -- Police were searching Sunday for a gunman who shot one civilian and two police officers Saturday night in Moscow, Idaho, a police spokesman said Sunday. David Duke, the assistant Moscow police chief, did not release the status of the three victims. However, Susan Waltz, a police dispatch supervisor, told CNN that a female civilian had survived the attack. She had been transported to Pullman Regional Hospital, and is in stable condition, Waltz said. There was no immediate description of the shooter, Duke said. Although police did not have a positive identification of the suspect's location, they believed he may be holed up in a Presbyterian church in downtown Moscow near where the shootings occurred, Duke said. (Posted 9 a.m.) Iraqi president heads to U.S. for medical checks, weight lossBAGHDAD (CNN) -- Months after he fell ill and was taken to Jordan for treatment, Iraq's President Jalal Talabani left Iraq on Sunday for the United States for a medical check-up and to lose weight, according to a statement from his office. There were no details about which U.S. city or medical center Talabani, 73, would receive treatment. Talabani is the leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, one of the two main parties that controls Iraqi Kurdistan. He was accompanied on his trip by the vice president of Iraq's Kurdish region, Kossrat Rassol Ali. During a news conference on Tuesday, Talabani announced his intention to head to the United States soon for "full medical tests and in order to lose weight." He said his only health problem was his overweight condition. (Posted 8:30 a.m.) Lebanese forces battle al-Qaeda-linked militants; at least 1 soldier deadBEIRUT (CNN) -- Lebanese forces Sunday are battling Islamic militants linked to al Qaeda and Lebanese Army forces near a Palestinian refugee camp outside the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli, Youth and Sports Minister Ahmed Fatfat said. The tenuous security situation prompted Syria to close two of its five border crossings with Lebanon, an interior ministry spokesman told Syria's state-run news agency, SANA. Speaking on Arabic language network Al-Jazeera, Fatfat, who is from northern Lebanon, said the Lebanese Army has suffered "a large number of killed and injured," but would only confirm one death, owing to the fact the clashes were ongoing and more developments were expected. The fighting was sparked when Lebanese internal security forces raided a neighborhood early Sunday north of Tripoli, army sources said. Militants from Fatah al-Islam opened fire on the forces, who then returned fire, triggering clashes in the vicinity of the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp. (Posted 7:42 a.m.) 6 killed Saturday in fighting between Iraqi security forces, Shiite militiaBAGHDAD (CNN) -- At least six people were killed Saturday when fighting broke out between Iraqi security forces and Mehdi Army fighters loyal to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr south of Baghdad in Diwaniya, an Iraqi interior ministry official said Sunday. Of the six killed, two were Iraqi soldiers and one was an Iraqi police officer. The official also said 30 others were wounded in Diwaniya, which is about 100 miles (160 km) south of the capital. Al-Sadr's Mehdi Army militia is part of a politically powerful Shiite movement thought to be in the middle of the Sunni-Shiite sectarian violence in Iraq. Last week fighting in the same area between Mehdi militia members and Iraqi security forces wounded at least 12 people, four of them Iraqi police officers. -- From CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq in Baghdad (Posted 7:40 a.m.) Bombing attacks in Baghdad kill 1, wounds 11BAGHDAD (CNN) -- A car bomb detonated Sunday at a gas station in central Baghdad near the entrance to the Interior Ministry, killing one Iraqi civilian and wounding five others, a ministry official said. It was unclear if the attack in Bab al-Sharqi was a suicide car bomb or a parked car bomb. In the northeast Baghdad neighborhood of Ur, a parked car bomb detonated at about 1:45 p.m. Sunday, wounding at least five civilians, the official said. (Posted 7:40 a.m.) Israel threatens to 'intensify' response to militant rocket attacksJERUSALEM (CNN) -- Israel's prime minister Sunday threatened to "intensify our response" to Gaza militants if they failed to stop firing rockets on the Jewish state. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said "if the measured steps we are taking on the diplomatic front and on the military front don't bring the desired calm, we will be forced to intensify our response." His remarks were made at the start of his weekly cabinet meeting. In addition, an Israel Defense Forces statement said Defense Minister Amir Peretz deemed the area surrounding Gaza a "special situation," granting the military power to decide whether to close schools or other public places if need be. The move was made, according to the IDF, in response "to the continuing attacks on the civilians in and around the Gaza strip that will likely continue." (Posted 6:36 a.m.) Suicide bomb kills 6 in southern Afghanistan(CNN) -- At least 40 civilian casualties resulted from a suicide bomb blast at a crowded market in the southern Afghan province of Paktika Sunday morning, Afghanistan Interior Ministry spokesman Zmarai Bashiri told CNN. At least six people have been confirmed dead. The blast occurred in Gardez, the province's central city, "and unfortunately as a result a big number of civilian casualties (occurred)," Bashiri said. No one claimed responsibility for the attack, but Bashiri said authorities believe the attackers were either Chechnyan or Pakistani. He did not specify why. The target of the attack was not immediately clear he said, and there were no U.S. - led coalition forces in the area. -- From Journalist Tom Coghlan in Kabul(Posted 2:59 a.m.) NATO precision airstrike killed Taliban extremists in southern Afghanistan(CNN) -- A NATO -led precision airstrike targeting "a gathering of enemy leaders" killed a "significant number of Taliban extremist leaders" overnight in southern Afghanistan, a statement from NATO's International Security Assistance Forces said Sunday. The statement was vague about the exact location of the airstrike, saying only that it occurred "in a remote area, far from any population center." Initial assessments, the statement said, indicated only enemy insurgents were killed. According to ISAF spokesman Maj. John Thomas, the overnight operation, in combination with the killing last week of a top Taliban leader, will "push the enemy into confusion and disarray." (Posted 2:29 a.m.) At least 1 Lebanese soldier dead in army, militant clashes(CNN) -- At least one Lebanese soldier was killed in ongoing clashes between Islamic militants linked to al Qaeda and Lebanese Army forces near a Palestinian refugee camp north of Tripoli Sunday, Youth and Sports Minister Ahmed Fatfat said. Speaking on Arabic language network Al-Jazeera, Fatfat, who is from northern Lebanon, said the Lebanese Army has suffered "a large number of killed and injured," but would only confirm one death, owing to the fact the clashes were ongoing and more developments were expected. Army sources told CNN earlier the ongoing fighting was sparked when Lebanese internal security forces were conducting early-morning raids in a neighborhood in the Lebanese port city of Tripoli. Army sources said militants from Fatah al-Islam opened fire on the forces, who then returned fire, triggering clashes in the vicinity of the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp. -- CNN's Nada Husseini and Saad Abedine contributed to this report (Posted 2:10 a.m.) |
 | Charges dismissed against Iraq contractorsA federal judge dismissed all charges Thursday against security contractors from the former Blackwater in connection with the 2007 deaths of 17 Iraqi civili ... |
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