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CNN prime time: Maher's big gift, Colvin family waits
Friend: Alleged gunman had sad look
A friend of the gunman suspected in an Ohio school shooting that left two students dead says she’s in shock.
Colvin's mom: Return my daughter's body
“I want my daughter home,” pleads the mother of Marie Colvin, a veteran journalist killed last week in a shelling attack in Syria.
Maher's $1 million super PAC donation
Bill Maher tells Piers Morgan why he made the decision to donate $1 million to a super PAC supporting Obama's reelection.
WikiLeaks + Anonymous = A powerful partnership?
Though it's nothing new for WikiLeaks to publish information belonging to a private company, Monday's release of Stratfor e-mails might be an indication that for the first time, Anonymous and WikiLeaks have worked together. And that could have legal consequences for WikiLeaks' editor Julian Assange, experts say.
In December, Anonymous claimed it had hacked Stratfor, the Austin, Texas-based private company that produces intelligence reports for clients. On Monday, WikiLeaks began releasing 5 million e-mails it said belonged to Stratfor that reveal, WikiLeaks says, a litany of injustices by the company. WikiLeaks is calling the leak The Global Intelligence Files.
WikiLeaks has not said where it got the e-mails. Anonymous, an amorphous group of hackers worldwide, is claiming on Twitter and on other social media that they gave it to the site. Numerous media outlets such as the Washington Post and Wired are reporting the partnership.
"Their [WikiLeaks and Anonymous] working together made sense. Anonymous did the hack, had the stuff and in the end decided that someone else would be better-suited to comb through this and release it," said Gregg Housh, who acts as a spokesperson for Anonymous. "Anonymous just didn't have the ability to go through all the e-mails themselves. This was a happy partnership. WikiLeaks did such an awesome job categorizing the [State Department] cables."
Student shot at Ohio high school dies, police say
More on this story from CNN affiliates WOIO-TV, WEWS-TV, WJW-TV and WKYC-TV.
iReport: Are you there? Let us know but please stay safe.
[Updated at 4:04 p.m. ET] Chardon Police Chief Timothy McKenna said in a press conference today that two of the victims in Monday's shootings were in critical condition, one was in serious condition and one was in stable condition.
[Updated at 2:58 p.m. ET] Danny Komertz, a student at Chardon High School said that he saw shooter T.J. lane point a gun directly at a group of students before shooting them.
"I looked straight ahead and I saw a gun pointing at a group of four guys sitting at a table and he was able two feet away from them," Komertz said. "He just fired two quick shots at them. I saw one student fall. I saw the other hiding, trying to get cover underneath the table."
Komertz said that he felt that by his demeanor, the shooter was targeting that group.
"It was clearly to me that he was aiming right at them," Komertz told CNN. "He wasn't shooting around the cafeteria at all. He was directly aiming at the four of them."
Komertz said he then ran out the door with his friends. While he was trying to escape he said he heard another two shots fired from behind him.
"I just can't believe it. I don't think it's real," said student Danny Komertz, who witnessed the shooting. "And I just, it kills me that I saw someone hiding, and now that someone is now dead."
[Updated at 2:13 p.m. ET] A fatally wounded student was identified by the hospital that treated him as Daniel Parmertor.
"We are shocked by this senseless tragedy," Parmertor's family said in a statement released by MetroHealth Medical Center. "Danny was a bright young boy who had a bright future ahead of him. The family is torn by this loss. We ask that you respect our privacy during this difficult time."
[Updated 1:19 p.m. ET] A student who hid in a classroom at Chardon High School said that T.J. Lane, the suspect in Monday's shooting, "was a nice guy" who he never suspected would shoot anyone.
“He just came from a really broken down home and he was living with his grandparents," Evan Erasmus, a senior at the school told CNN. "He was more of a quiet type of kid. He was really nice, though, if you did talk to him.”
Erasmus said that Lane and some of the victims "used to be friends" but more in middle school and early high school.
“He was one of the nicest kids there…," Erasmus said. "It was really shocking that it was him.”
Erasmus told CNN that he believed T.J. Lane was either a sophomore or junior at the school.
He said that Lane was sitting about a table away from some of the victims.
Erasmus said he heard the victims "were all sitting there and then he just stood up and that’s when it all started."
Meanwhile, he and the other students in a nearby classroom, "turned the lights off and we headed into a corner" after the shooting.
[Updated 12:52 p.m. ET] Witnesses and one of the shooting victims have identified the gunman as T.J. Lane, according to The Plain Dealer of Cleveland.
[Updated 12:04 p.m. ET] Police say one student has died from the shootings at Chardon High School this morning. Five students were shot in total, officials said.
[Updated 11:58 a.m. ET] A parent of children who attend Chardon High School says the gunman in today's shooting had specific targets and was not shooting randomly, according to a report from CNN affiliate WJW-TV.
[Updated 11:43 a.m. ET] The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives says it has been given one handgun from the Ohio high school shooting scene to do an emergency trace.
The Geauga County sheriff's office is executing searches in the case with the assistance of ATF agents, a law enforcement official said.
[Updated 11:13 a.m. ET] Geauga County Sheriff Daniel McClelland says a K-9 unit tracked the shooting suspect, who was apprehended "some distance from the school," according to a report on CNN affiliate WJW-TV.
FULL STORY
Greenpeace: "Xena" actress arrested after protest on drilling ship
Actress Lucy Lawless, famous for starring in the television show "Xena: Warrior Princess," was arrested along with six other Greenpeace activists early Monday for boarding a drilling ship last week in New Zealand, according to Greenpeace. She and the others who were aboard the ship without permission were released shortly after their arrest, the activist organization said.
CNN.com spoke with Lawless on Friday while she was having a restless night on the Noble Discoverer, a ship leased to Shell Oil. The ship was docked in the Port of Taranaki when the actress and other activists, on behalf of Greenpeace, made it on board to protest drilling in the Arctic.
The group was able to display signs on the Discoverer's 174-foot drilling tower. One sign said "Stop Shell #SaveTheArctic."
Lawless told CNN on Friday that she expected to be arrested for the stunt but that she and the others intended to remain on the ship for as long as possible. She stressed that exchanges between them and authorities had been peaceful.
"We feel very much that what happens in the Arctic doesn't stay in the Arctic anymore," Lawless said. "An oil spill can never be cleaned up because of the remoteness and the freezing temperatures. We risk trashing whole ecosystems and poisoning them from plankton on up. It's absolutely unthinkable."
Syria says new constitution approved; EU imposes new sanctions
Syria's new draft constitution received overwhelming approval, the nation's interior minister said Monday.
Some 89.4% of voters approved the draft, said Interior Minister Mohammed al-Shaar, and 57.4% of eligible voters cast ballots.
"We would like to say congratulations to Syria and to the Syrian people, who expressed their legitimate right" to vote, al-Shaar told reporters.
FULL STORYFormer Spanish judge acquitted of abusing power
Spain's best-known judge was acquitted Monday of improperly investigating human rights abuses under the former dictatorship of Francisco Franco.
However, Judge Baltasar Garzon remains under suspension. He was removed from the bench by Spain's judicial authority last week following his conviction in a second case. The nation's Supreme Court said Garzon improperly ordered wiretaps while investigating a financial corruption case.
Monday's acquittal was on a 6-1 ruling, according to a court spokesman.
Earlier this month, the court dropped a third case against Garzon, saying the statute of limitations had expired on alleged abuse involving some courses he taught at New York University years ago.
FULL STORYEx-President Saleh to leave Yemen after handover, officials say
After seeing his three-decade rule come to an end, Yemen's former president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, will leave the country for Ethiopia this week, ruling party officials said Monday.
Saleh returned to Yemen just days ago. However, he was under increased pressure to leave, as Yemenis worry his presence will undermine efforts of the new president, Abdurabu Mansur Hadi.
Saleh and Hadi appeared at the presidential palace Monday for a former handover of power ceremony amid cautious optimism and ongoing threats of violence in the country.
FULL STORY
Polar bear cub going live to save sea ice
When Siku the polar bear cub was introduced to the public late last year, he quickly became an Internet sensation, with his own Web and Facebook pages. But with fame often comes responsibility, and officials at Denmark's Scandinavian Wildlife Park said Siku would have an important burden to shoulder.
"Siku is going to be an ambassador for polar bears, for global warming," park director Frank Vigh-Larsen said in December.
Siku's official first day on the job was Monday, International Polar Bear Day.
Beginning Monday, the wildlife park, in cooperation with Polar Bears International and explore.org, a philanthropic media organization, will show a daily live look-in at Siku from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. ET at explore.org/siku and polarbearcam.com. You can also follow along again on Tuesday at CNN.com/live.
“We’re launching the Siku Cam on International Polar Bear Day, which is a day of action on climate change,” Robert Buchanan, president and CEO of Polar Bears International, said in a press release. “Our goal with the Siku Cam is for people to fall in love with this little cub and become inspired to reduce their carbon footprint to help save arctic sea ice.”
Siku is named after the environment of the polar bear, with siku being the most common word for sea ice in the Inuit language across the Arctic. The bears hunt on the sea ice, and as it disappears, so do opportunities for the bears to eat, the polar bear conservationists say.
The National Snow and Ice Data Center reports that the Arctic ice cover is near record lows, with the January 2012 Arctic ice cover the fourth lowest ever recorded.
"Based on the satellite record, before 2005 average January ice extent had never been lower than 14 million square kilometers (5.41 million square miles). January ice extent has now fallen below that mark six out of the last seven years," the NSIDC website says.
Many scientists blame global warming, fueled by carbon dioxide emissions, for the decline in sea ice. Polar Bears International says two-thirds of the estimated 20,000 to 25,000 polar bears in the wild could disappear by the middle of this century if carbon dioxide emissions are not cut.
“Our goal with the Siku Cam is to create awareness and inspire change,” Vigh-Larsen said in a press release. “And we are resolute that his image may only be used to advance those ends.”
Siku's secret to saving ice may be melting hearts. Check out these pictures and try not to smile.
Monday's live events
The race to the Republican presidential nomination continues tomorrow with the Arizona and Michigan primaries. CNN.com Live is your home for all the latest news and views from the campaign trail.
Today's programming highlights...
8:30 am ET - Romney rally - GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney is spending his day in Michigan, starting with a rally in Rockford. He'll also hold rallies in Albion at 12:45 pm ET and Royal Oak at 6:45 pm ET.
A 1st for Daytona 500: Rain washes out race for the day
NASCAR will battle the elements again Monday - a day after rain postponed the Daytona 500 for the first time in its 53-year history.
After hours of intermittent showers Sunday, race officials decided to pull the plug and give it another try on Monday, rescheduling for a 12:01 p.m. ET start.
NASCAR officials will be battling the odds again Monday. The National Weather Service forecast calls for an 80% chance of precipitation along the central Florida coast.
Prior to this year, the Daytona 500 had a sparkling record with only four races out of 53 shortened by rain - in 1965, 1966, 2003 and 2009. None, however, had ever been canceled for the day.
FULL STORY
Russian TV claims Putin assassination plot foiled
A plot to assassinate Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has been foiled, Russia's state-run Channel One TV reported Monday, less than a week before presidential elections that Putin is expected to win.
Citing unnamed sources, the report said a group of plotters was arrested in the Ukrainian city of Odessa in early January and, after weeks of questioning, confessed to planning to kill the Russian leader.
The TV report included what it said was a confession by a fixer associated with the two men who were seized in Odessa.
"The final task was to go to Moscow and carry out an assassination attempt on the premier Putin," the man, Adam Osmayev, said.
The plot allegedly involved a plan for a suicide bomber, and was organized by Chechen militant leader Doku Umarov, Channel One reported.
CNN has not independently confirmed the existence of the plot.
The announcement comes a week ahead of this Sunday's presidential election.
FULL STORY
Stratfor calls WikiLeaks e-mail release 'deplorable'
The private intelligence firm Stratfor called the release of 5 million of its e-mails by WikiLeaks a "deplorable, unfortunate and illegal breach of privacy."
"Some of the emails may be forged or altered to include inaccuracies; some may be authentic," the Texas-based firm said. "We will not validate either. Nor will we explain the thinking that went into them."
In a statement released early Monday in Europe (Sunday evening ET), WikiLeaks promised a raft of juicy disclosures about Stratfor, which promotes itself to corporate and government clients as a source of intelligence on international affairs.
WikiLeaks, a website that facilitates the leaking of confidential information, says the documents will be released through a network of more than 25 news outlets and activist groups in the coming weeks.
The first document out was titled "The Stratfor Glossary of Useful, Baffling and Strange Intelligence Terms," featuring brief and sometimes humorous definitions and blunt assessments of U.S. intelligence and law enforcement.
Others focused on speculation about the health of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and who was behind a suspected campaign of sabotage against Iran's nuclear program
FULL STORY
North Korea: Ready to go to war with U.S., South Korea
North Korea said it's ready to fight a war with the United States and South Korea as the two allies kicked off their annual joint military drills Monday, according to state-run media.
"Hundreds of thousands of troops are poised for a war carrying nuclear war equipment," North Korea's KCNA news agency reported, saying Pyongyang considers the drills to be practice for a preemptive strike on the North.
The international community has been negotiating with North Korea over its nuclear program for years.
The most recent talks between North Korea and the United States ended Friday with little visible progress. They were the first high-level talks since the death of North Korea's longtime leader, Kim Jong Il, in December and the subsequent transition of power to his youngest son, Kim Jong Un.
FULL STORYCar bomb attack near NATO base in Afghanistan kills 9, authorities say
Authorities say a suicide bomber detonated a car full of explosives Monday near a NATO-led International Security Assistance Force base at Jalalabad airport in eastern Afghanistan, an attack that follows a week of deadly violence spurred by the burning of Qurans at a U.S. base.
At least nine people were killed and 12 wounded in the early morning explosion near the airport's front gate, Gen. Abdullah Hazim Stanikzai, the provincial police chief, said.
There were no reports of ISAF casualties, Air Force Capt. Justin Brockhoff, an ISAF spokesman, said.
Authorities could not immediately confirm whether the attack was motivated by the burning of the Muslim holy book.
U.S. officials, including President Barack Obama, have apologized for the burning and called it inadvertent. A military official - speaking on condition of anonymity, given the sensitivity of the issue - said the materials were from a detainee center's library and had "inscriptions" that appeared to be used to "facilitate extremist communications."
Such statements, or explanations, haven't stopped protests from Muslims in Afghanistan, who believe the Quran is the word of God.
FULL STORY
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