by the end of the year, and projects its activation in early 2005. (Reuters) (Associated Press) Sprint Corporation announces a US$35 billion deal to acquire Nextel Communications. With about $40 billion in combined yearly revenue the resulting company (called Sprint Nextel) will be the third largest wireless telephone service provider in the U.S. (MSNBC) Human rights in Iraq: The U.S. is forced to release evidence which shows prisoners in Iraq were subject to mock executions, electric shocks, and burns by US Marines. (BBC) December 14, 2004 The leader of Hamas, Khaled Meshal, tells the BBC's Newsnight programme that his group has had secret contacts with the United States and the European Union. (BBC) The U.S. admits that more prisoners have died in American custody in Afghanistan than it has previously acknowledged. (BBC) December 13, 2004 The jury in the Scott Peterson trial recommends that he be sentenced to death for the murder of his wife and unborn son. (CNN) 2004 U.S. presidential election controversy: As required by the United States Constitution, Members of the United States Electoral College meet in all 50 state capitols and the District of Columbia to cast their electoral votes, including an unexpected single vote for John Edwards by an elector in Minnesota. (Minneapolis Star Tribune) All members of the Ohio delegation of the Electoral College cast their ballots for George W. Bush while a legal recount is still ongoing, after a written request by 11 Democratic congressmen (pdf) to suspend voting. (ABC) (ABC) The U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary hears testimony at a forum in Columbus, Ohio, regarding problems with the 2004 presidential election. (freepress.org) (statements) (audio, mp3) (video, wmv) Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael O. Leavitt is nominated by President George W. Bush to succeed outgoing Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson in the Cabinet-level post. (Bloomberg) Conflict in Iraq: At least 13 people die following a car bomb attack on a U.S. checkpoint near the Green Zone in Baghdad, Iraq. (The Guardian) The U.S. launches another air raid on the Iraqi city of Fallujah after eight U.S. Marines were killed by insurgents over the weekend. (ABC {aus}) Foreign policy of the George W. Bush administration: Human Rights Watch, a New York based NGO claims that another three prisoners have died while in U.S. detention in Afghanistan. (BBC) Oracle Corporation announces a merger deal to acquire PeopleSoft for approximately US$10.3 billion.