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Obama-Clinton ticket 'on the table,' Woodward says

(CNN) – Some called a Barack Obama-Hillary Clinton pairing the "Dream Ticket" in 2008. It didn't happen.

But what about 2012?

"It's on the table," veteran Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward told CNN's John King in an interview Tuesday on John King, USA. "Some of Hillary Clinton's advisers see it as a real possibility in 2012."

The scenario – whereby Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would switch positions – has been bandied about by political observers for months, seen by some as a potentially savvy strategy to gin up excitement among what appears to be a depressed Democratic base.

But it's never been clear if the idea has been actually discussed in the White House, until now.

"President Obama needs some of the women, Latinos, retirees that she did so well with during the [2008] primaries and, so they switch jobs, not out of the question, and the other interesting question is, Hillary Clinton could run in her own right in 2016 and be younger than Ronald Reagan when he was elected president."

Clinton will be 69 years old and three months in January 2017. President Ronald Reagan was just shy of his 70th birthday in January, 1980. FULL STORY

20 oil tankers hauling fuel for NATO set ablaze; 1 dead

(CNN) - The Pakistani Taliban has claimed responsibility for an attack Wednesday on NATO supply vehicles in Quetta, Pakistan, a spokesman for the militant group told CNN by phone.

Quetta police said 20 oil tankers parked near Quetta were set ablaze, and one person died in the attack.

Azam Tariq, the central spokesman for Pakistani Taliban, said a special squad designated to strike NATO supply efforts made the attack.

At least five other attacks have been carried out on vehicles carrying supplies for NATO forces in the past week, killing at least six people.

The Pakistani Taliban has claimed responsibility for two of earlier attacks. Tariq said this week that those attacks were carried out as revenge for drone strikes and NATO's attacks in Pakistan.

"U.S. and NATO forces are killing innocent Pakistanis, which is unacceptable, and we will teach them a lesson by such attacks," Tariq said. FULL STORY

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Editor's Note: Welcome to American Morning's LIVE Blog where you can discuss the "most news in the morning" with us each week day. Join the live chat during the show by adding your comments below. It's your chance to share your thoughts on the day's headlines. You have a better chance of having your comment get past our moderators if you follow our rules: 1) Keep it brief 2) No writing in ALL CAPS 3) Use your real name (first name only is fine) 4) No links 5) Watch your language (that includes $#&*) 6) Stay relevant to the topic.

As rescue drill nears, miners in Chile still have long way to go

Copiapo, Chile (CNN) - With 160 meters to go until the Plan B drill reaches 33 trapped miners, a breakthrough to the men may be imminent.

Then what?

At Camp Hope, the makeshift tent city where hundreds of family members are living, widespread celebrations will likely break out as the miners' loved ones receive news they have waited for more than 60 days to hear.

But despite any euphoria, the rescue operation will be entering its most dangerous phase for the men.

Chilean Mining Minister Laurence Golborne made clear to reporters Saturday that the operation can only be called a success if all the men are rescued from the mine safely.

"We haven't rescued anyone here," Golborne said. "We have to be very conservative, nothing is finished."

Officials said they expect to have the men above ground between October 15 and October 30.

If the Plan B drill reaches the 624 meters (2,047 feet) to the trapped men, the miners will be closer than ever to freedom. But they will still have a long way to go before their actual rescue.
FULL STORY

Pakistan: 5 German among 8 foreign nationals killed in drone strike

(CNN) - Pakistani intelligence officials confirmed Tuesday that five German nationals were killed in a drone strike in northwest Pakistan a day earlier.

The Germans were among 11 suspected militants killed Monday. Three others were foreigners whose nationalities were not disclosed, said the officials - who did not want to be named. The rest were Pakistanis.

There were no immediate comments from Germany.

The strike happened in the Mir Ali area of North Waziristan, the officials said.

Missiles struck a building that held the eight, who are believed to have been members of the group Jihad al Islami, the officials said.

The strike comes a day after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the FBI issued a joint bulletin warning that terror attacks were being plotted against targets Europe. European intelligence officials said Monday that a group of jihadists from Germany were at the heart of the plots, but it was not immediately clear if the warning and the suspected drone strike were related.

The reported plots prompted the U.S. State Department to issue a Europe-wide security advisory for Americans traveling abroad. FULL STORY

U.S. judge bought drugs for stripper, feds say

Atlanta, Georgia (CNN) - A federal judge in Georgia has been arrested on drug and weapons charges after federal agents say he bought drugs for a stripper with whom he was having an affair.

Senior U.S. District Judge Jack Camp Jr. has been charged with possession of cocaine, marijuana and the painkiller roxicodone, according to court documents. He is also charged with possessing a firearm as an unlawful user of controlled substances and with aiding and abetting the possession of drugs by the stripper, who had a prior drug conviction.

Camp was arrested Friday after federal agents said he bought drugs from an undercover agent. He made an initial appearance Monday in a federal court in Atlanta and was released on $50,000 bond.

The charges allege that Camp had been paying the stripper for sex since the past spring and was fronting money to buy drugs for both of them. Before the sting that led to his arrest, he told her, "Let me pay him, because you've already got a record," the affidavit states.

Camp, 67, is the former chief judge for the northern district of Georgia. He was appointed to the bench by then-President Ronald Reagan in 1987 and took senior status in 2008. His lead attorney, Bill Morrison, would not discuss the facts of the case but played down his client's public office. FULL STORY

Times Square bomb plotter to be sentenced

New York (CNN) - Faisal Shahzad, the 30-year-old Pakistani-American suspect in the Times Square bombing plot, is expected to be sentenced Tuesday.

Prosecutors are seeking a sentence of life in prison for Shahzad.

On Wednesday, prosecutors say Shahzad carefully selected his location as a highly populated target and intended to strike again if he wasn't caught the first time.

Shahzad is accused of attempting to set off a vehicle bomb in Times Square on May 1, according to documents filed in federal court Wednesday.

The bomb failed to detonate and he was arrested two days later while trying to leave the country on a flight from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport bound for Pakistan.

In a sentencing memo submitted to a federal court Wednesday, prosecutors paint a picture of a young man determined to target Americans on a large scale.

According to the memo, Shahzad used webcams accessible on the internet "as part of his effort to maximize the deadly effect of his bomb." FULL STORY

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Editor's Note: Welcome to American Morning's LIVE Blog where you can discuss the "most news in the morning" with us each week day. Join the live chat during the show by adding your comments below. It's your chance to share your thoughts on the day's headlines. You have a better chance of having your comment get past our moderators if you follow our rules: 1) Keep it brief 2) No writing in ALL CAPS 3) Use your real name (first name only is fine) 4) No links 5) Watch your language (that includes $#&*) 6) Stay relevant to the topic.

Americans abroad alerted: Terror plot rooted in Hamburg

Hamburg, Germany (CNN) –A group of jihadists from the German city of Hamburg are alleged to be at the heart of the recent al Qaeda plot to launch co-ordinated terrorist attacks against European cities, according to European intelligence officials.

The plan prompted the U.S. State Department to issue a Europe-wide security advisory for Americans traveling in Europe.

Western intelligence officials say they learned about the plot when Ahmed Sidiqi, a German citizen of Afghan descent was arrested in Afghanistan in July and taken to the U.S. Airbase at Bagram for questioning. He has not been charged and intelligence sources in Germany say he is co-operating with the investigation.

In early 2009 Sidiqi and ten others left Hamburg for the tribal areas of Pakistan - where most joined a jihadist group fighting U.S. and coalition forces across the border in Afghanistan, according to German intelligence officials.

Sidiqi told American interrogators that at least one member of his travel group was to be a "foot-soldier" in the plot, with other members of the group helping to plan the attacks, a European counter-terrorism official told CNN. FULL STORY

Verizon says it will refund some 15 million customers

(CNN) - Verizon Wireless said Sunday it will refund about 15 million of its customers because the company incorrectly charged them for data sessions.

Over the past few years, some 15 million Verizon customers who did not have data plans were billed for sessions on their phones that they did not initiate, said Mary Coyne, the company's deputy general counsel, in a statement.

She added the majority of data sessions involved minor exchanges caused by built-in software. Others involved opening the web, which should not have incurred charges, she said.

"We have addressed these issues to avoid unintended data charges in the future," Coyne said. "Our goal is to maintain our customers' trust and ensure they receive the best experience possible."

Current customers will receive notification of credits on their October or November bill of between $2 and $6 in most cases, while former customers can expect to receive a refund check in the mail. Some will receive larger credits or refunds.

Rutgers holds vigil for student who committed suicide

(CNN) - Rutgers University held an emotional vigil Sunday evening as the campus grapples with the suicide of a student whose sexual encounter with another man was broadcast online.

The body of Tyler Clementi, 18, was recovered from the Hudson River on Thursday, more than a week after he jumped from the George Washington Bridge, which spans the river between New York and New Jersey.

Two other Rutgers students - Clementi's roommate, Dharun Ravi, 18, and Molly Wei, 18 - have been charged with invasion of privacy. The pair allegedly placed a camera in Clementi's dorm room without his knowledge and then streamed his sexual encounter online, according to the Middlesex County, New Jersey, prosecutor's office.

"Our entire campus is very upset about what happened," said Greg Blimling, Rutgers' Vice President of Student Affairs. "The entire campus is in mourning. And we feel very deeply for what happened to the family. This is a terrible tragedy."

Students and other members of the university community, some wearing pins that read "Pride," stood silently as they lit and held white candles. FULL STORY

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Editor's Note: Welcome to American Morning's LIVE Blog where you can discuss the "most news in the morning" with us each week day. Join the live chat during the show by adding your comments below. It's your chance to share your thoughts on the day's headlines. You have a better chance of having your comment get past our moderators if you follow our rules: 1) Keep it brief 2) No writing in ALL CAPS 3) Use your real name (first name only is fine) 4) No links 5) Watch your language (that includes $#&*) 6) Stay relevant to the topic.

Obama's chief of staff to depart White House Friday, sources say

Chicago, Illinois (CNN) - White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel will step down Friday to run for mayor of Chicago, two sources told CNN Thursday.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters that President Obama will make "a personnel announcement" Friday morning, but refused to confirm it would relate to Emanuel's expected departure.

Gibbs said he would "bet on having two announcements" Friday morning - a possible reference to Emanuel's successor.

The move was expected, after Chicago Mayor Richard Daley recently decided not to run for re-election.

Candidates for the Chicago mayoral race must gather 12,500 signatures by November 22. The city's February 22 Democratic primary could be very difficult to win given the number of prospective candidates from various factions of the party lining up to run.

Gibbs heaped praise on the famously tough chief of staff, saying that he has an "incredible amount of energy every day" and has "been the leader" since Obama took office.

He "helped us accomplish so much in helping our economy recovery, in passing landmark Wall Street reform, health care reform, credit card reform [and] student loan reform," Gibbs said. FULL STORY

Prosecutor: Bias charges may come in webcast of sexual encounter

New York (CNN) - New Jersey prosecutors said Thursday they are determining whether additional charges, including bias, may be brought against two Rutgers University students accused of invading the privacy of fellow student Tyler Clementi, who committed suicide after his sexual encounter with another man was streamed online.

"The initial focus of this investigation has been to determine who was responsible for remotely activating the camera in the dormitory room of the student and then transmitting the encounter on the Internet," Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce J Kaplan said.

"Now that two individuals have been charged with invasion of privacy, we will be making every effort to assess whether bias played a role in the incident, and, if so, we will bring appropriate charges," Kaplan said in a statement.

Under New Jersey law, a person is guilty of bias intimidation if he or she commits a crime with the purpose of intimidating someone because of race, color, religion, gender, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin or ethnicity; or if the victim or victim's property was selected as a target because of the same factors.

On the evening of September 19, Rutgers student Dharun Ravi is believed to have sent a message by Twitter about his roommate, Clementi. FULL STORY

Sound off: We want to hear from you this morning. Add your comments to the LIVE Blog below and we'll read some of them on the show.

Editor's Note: Welcome to American Morning's LIVE Blog where you can discuss the "most news in the morning" with us each week day. Join the live chat during the show by adding your comments below. It's your chance to share your thoughts on the day's headlines. You have a better chance of having your comment get past our moderators if you follow our rules: 1) Keep it brief 2) No writing in ALL CAPS 3) Use your real name (first name only is fine) 4) No links 5) Watch your language (that includes $#&*) 6) Stay relevant to the topic.

Congress OKs stop-gap spending, ready to go home

Washington (CNN) - Congress on Thursday passed a measure to fund the federal government another two months, their last major legislative action before shutting down and returning to the campaign trail for the Nov. 2 elections.

The House voted 228-194 early Thursday morning and the Senate voted 69-30 on Wednesday to pass a stop-gap effort that effectively keeps the lights on at agencies and major federal programs until Dec. 3. The tab for the 64 days tops $219 billion, meaning the overall budget for the new fiscal year will be $219 billion lighter, a congressional aide explained.

The move marks Congress' second major accomplishment since returning from summer break in September. Congress also passed a bill giving tax breaks to small businesses. The Senate also confirmed two of three nominees to the Federal Reserve board of governors, a seven-member board which has been operating short by three members.

"We may not agree on much," said Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., who is facing a tough re-election fight. "But with rare exception, all 100 senators want to get out of here and get back to their states."
FULL STORY

Army's largest base reeling from four apparent suicides in one weekend

(CNN) - Four soldiers from Fort Hood, Texas died over the week. In all four cases, it appears the soldiers, all decorated veterans from the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan, took their own lives, according to Christopher Haug, a Fort Hood spokesman.

If confirmed as suicides, it would be on top of 14 other suicides on the base this year. Base officials called a news conference for Wednesday afternoon to discuss the problem of suicides at the huge base in central Texas.

"Every one of these is tragic," said Maj. Gen. William Grimsley, the post commander. "It's personally and professionally frustrating as a leader."

Grimsley did not announce any major action or response during the news conference. "I don't think there is a simple answer," he said.

The recent spate of incidents, began Friday Sept. 24 when the body of Pvt. Antonio E. Heath, 24, of Warren, New York, was found in Temple, Texas, the victim of a gunshot wound. Heath was deployed to Iraq for most of 2009 and earned a number of medals including the Army Commendation Medal. FULL STORY

Student's apparent suicide linked to webcast of sexual encounter

(CNN) - A Rutgers University student who apparently committed suicide was the unknowing target of an internet broadcast showing him in a sexual encounter, New Jersey authorities said Wednesday.

Two other Rutgers students have been charged with invasion of privacy after they allegedly placed a camera in 18-year-old Tyler Clementi's dorm room without his knowledge and then broadcast Clementi's sexual enounter, according to the Middlesex County prosecutor's office.

"If the charges are true, these actions gravely violate the university's standards of decency and humanity," Rutgers President Richard L. McCormick said in a statement Wednesday.

Although Clementi's body has not been found, an attorney for the Ridgewood, New Jersey, family said Wednesday, "On behalf of the family of Tyler Clementi, I can confirm that Tyler committed suicide last week by jumping from the George Washington Bridge."

"The family and their representatives are cooperating fully with the ongoing criminal investigations of two Rutgers University students," attorney Paul Mainardi added.

A law enforcement source confirmed with CNN that while a body has not yet been recovered, Clementi's wallet and cell phone were found on the bridge that spans the Hudson River between New Jersey and New York. FULL STORY

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