[Fredricka Whitfield, Cnn Anchor:] Good morning, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield, in today for Heidi Collins.
[Tony Harris, Cnn Anchor:] And I'm Tony Harris. Stay informed all day in the CNN NEWSROOM. Here's what's on the rundown. The late-comer goes late night. Republican Fred Thompson making it official he is running for president.
[Whitfield:] A Baghdad neighborhood rocked by a fierce firefight. More than a dozen deaths reported.
[Harris:] How about this? A fake motorcade comes within a block of President Bush's hotel in Sydney. Did you hear about this? Inside a fake Osama bin Laden. Security breach on Thursday, September 6th. Are you in the
[Cnn Newsroom. Whitfield:] Well this just in. An investigation of corruption in New Jersey leads to the arrest of at least 11 public officials, some of whom are elected officials. Eleven public officials from north and south New Jersey have been arrested in this sting operation. The charges apparently stem from insurance contracts for local government. We expect that a news conference will be taking place in the 3:00 Eastern hour out of New Jersey for more details out on that, out of Trenton in particular. Among some of those arrested, we understand there to be a few assembly men, as well as a mayor. The mayor of Passaic. More information as we get it.
[Harris:] Well, the other story making headlines this morning, Luciano Pavarotti remembered today as the greatest tenor ever. The opera giant died this morning at home in Italy, losing a long battle to cancer. CNN's Brooke Anderson reports on an incredible life.
[Brooke Anderson, Cnn Correspondent:] He was widely considered the greatest tenor of his time. In his prime, a singer capable of hitting the most demanding notes. But it was far more than mere technical skill that turned Luciano Pavarotti into a worldwide star. It was also the force of his personality. The man who would become larger than life began life modestly in the Italian city of Modena. He was the son of a baker and amateur singer.
[Luciano Pavarotti:] I dreamed to become a singer when I was four. Then I hear my father in the church singing with a beautiful tenor voice and I say to myself, well, I try to do something.
[Anderson:] Do something he would, winning an international singing competition by age 25. But his big break came later in the 1960s when he appeared in dame Joan Sutherland in some acclaimed operatics performances. His U.S. debut came in 1965. And by the 1970s, he was earning rave reviews at New York's Metropolitan Opera. In 1979, at the height of his musical prowess, "Time" magazine put him on its cover, declaring him opera's golden tenor. Millions of record sales followed, earning him the title classical music's best- selling artist. And he raised millions of dollars for charity through benefit concerts, often sharing the stage with pop stars. But the highlight of his career may have come in 1990 when Pavarotti joined Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras to form the Three Tenors. Critics complained Pavarotti's vocal skills were waning, but the tenors proved hugely popular and they performed together over the next 14 years. Pavarotti's personal life was marked by ups and downs. He battled weight problems, which contributed to knee and back ailments. In 2004, he gave his 379th and final concert at the Met. But he did not retire from performing all together.
[Pavarotti:] For a man living the last days of his life, he always accomplished something. For me, my profession is to try to be the best I have always done since the beginning of my profession.
[Anderson:] Pavarotti embarked on a farewell tour of concerts in 2005 but had to stop when he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2006. It was only the second disruption in his career.
[Pavarotti:] I think I just don't one year went from a
[Anderson:] Brooke Anderson, CNN, Los Angeles.
[Harris:] The contate. The voice.
[Whitfield:] Beautiful presence.
[Harris:] The voice. Hey, you know, the weather's starting to pop right now. Want to get you to Rob Marciano, who has a, what, a tornado warning, Rob?
[Whitfield:] All right. On to the flurry of politics now. The will he or won't he political flirtation is over. Actor and former senator, Fred Thompson, officially is in the race for president. It kicks off a campaign swing across Iowa today. Thompson made the announcement on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" and on a 15 minute webcast.
[Fred Thompson,  Presidential Candidate:] Just within the next few years, some very serious challenges are moving toward us that will present a difficult and dangerous time in the life of our nation. There are grave issues affecting the safety and security of the American people and our economic well being. I'm going to do my level-best in this campaign to address these problems and I'm going to give this campaign all that I have to give. And I hope that you will join me.
[Whitfield:] Thompson hopes to win support from conservatives dissatisfied with the current crop of GOP candidates. National polls show him in second place behind front-runner Rudy Giuliani. Well, he boasts about his common sense conservative principles. Here's a look now at where presidential candidate Fred Thompson actually stands on some key issues. On abortion, Thompson opposes abortion rights. He calls Roe versus Wade a bad law. On immigration, Thompson supports tougher enforcement of existing laws. He opposes blanket amnesty but is willing to consider a path to citizenship for some illegal immigrants. On Iraq, Thompson voted for the use of military force. He supports President Bush's Iraq policy, but says the U.S. entered with too few troops. Thompson is against same-sex marriage. He says he personally opposes civil unions, but the issue should be left to the states.
[Harris:] Republican presidential candidates facing off and facing a new contender. The GOP candidates held their latest debate in New Hampshire last night. The newest candidate, Fred Thompson, skipped the event to officially announce his presidential bid. His rivals weighed in on his candidacy and his absence.
[Sen. John Mccain,  Presidential Candidate:] The people of New Hampshire expect to see you. They expect to see you a lot. And they expect to see you at town hall meetings and at places all over this great state.
[Mitt Romney,  Presidential Candidate:] He's going to bring more entertainment and vigor and ideas to the Republican platform. So I welcome him into this.
[Rudy Giuliani,  Presidential Candidate:] This is not a time that the United States should be electing someone who's going to get on the job training.
[Harris:] Other Republicans expressed support for the Iraq War, with the exception of anti-war candidate Ron Paul. He made the case for withdrawing troops from Iraq. Well, here's your chance to have your voice heard. Go to cnn.comyoutube debates and post your questions for the Republican presidential candidates. The debate, Wednesday, November 28th. Your voice will be heard only on CNN, your home for the best political team on television.
[Whitfield:] A hatred of Americans and a mission to kill them. New this morning, German police are searching for more suspects in a terror plot. Three people are already under arrest. CNN's Frederik Pleitgen has the latest.
[Frederik Pleitgen, Cnn Correspondent:] German authorities remain on high alert this morning as the investigation into the possible terror plot in this country broadens. Investigators here in this country tell us that they are now investigating up to 10 possible further suspects in this alleged plot. They say that not all of the suspects are from Germany and they also say that they are not only investigating in Germany. That this has become a broader investigation. Now they haven't told us where these people are or where these people are from, but certainly they are not in custody yet but they are being investigated. Another further development, security officials say that among some of the suspect they found highly sophisticated military detonators that would have made these explosions a whole lot more precise. The point of detonations would have been a whole lot more precise than with other, less lethal detonators. Now Germany has also begun a debate about how this country wants to provide for its own security. One measure possibly, Internet eavesdropping and also eavesdropping on a private e-mail account in this country. A massive debate going on at this time. Frederik Pleitgen, CNN, Ramstein, Germany.
[Harris:] And an update on a story this morning of a discovery of a suspicious chemical at a U.N. office last month. Remember this scene? Commotion in Manhattan. Well, authorities thought they had found samples of a deadly chemical agent recovered from an Iraqi weapons lab by U.N. inspectors. They sent it off for testing. And it turns out it may be nothing more than a cleaning solvent. Something that you can buy over the counter.
[Whitfield:] And fallout now following an air and ground assault by U.S. and Iraqi troops. Live to Baghdad in the
[Newsroom. Dana Bash, Cnn Correspondent:] I'm Dana Bash on Capitol Hill, where Senator Larry Craig suffered a setback in his strategy to clear his name quickly in the hopes of staying in the Senate. More on that coming up in the
[Newsroom. Harris:] Also, getting into the act. TV star and former Senator Fred Thompson officially in the presidential race. We will talk to Thompson friend and supporter, Senator Lamar Alexander, coming up.
[Whitfield:] And a veteran officer charged because his police dog dies in a hot car.
[Unidentified Male:] Somebody has to take care of the animals. People have to be held accountable for abusing animals. Who else is going to take care of them?
[Whitfield:] And it's that beautiful dog right there. Trapped for 12 hours in the Arizona heat. Phoenix is stunned by the case. You're in the NEWSROOM.