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Conficker Computer Worm Stirring To Life

2009-04-09T22:22:29Z

SAN FRANCISCO — The dreaded Conficker computer worm is stirring. Security experts say the worm's authors appear to be trying to build a big moneymaker, but not a cyber weapon of mass destruction as many people feared.

As many as 12 million computers have been infected by Conficker. Security firm Trend Micro says some of the machines have been updated over the past few days with fake antivirus software _ the first attempt by Conficker's authors to profit from their massive "botnet."

Criminals use bogus security software to extort money. Victims are told their computers are infected, and can be fixed only by paying for a clean-up that never happens.

Conficker gets on computers through a hole Microsoft patched in October. PCs set up for automatic Windows updates should be clean.

Iowa Results Scrambles The Money Game

2008-01-06T16:40:04Z

Victories by Senator Barack Obama and Mike Huckabee in Iowa have not only upset political calculations, they have also upset the money game and spurred a growing flood of donations for these candidates while making fund-raising trickier for the rest.

Mr. Huckabee, a former Republican governor of Arkansas who ran a campaign with minimal resources, now finds more money flowing his way. As he jetted to New Hampshire from Iowa, money began to show up, click by click over the Internet -- a total of $350,000 by the time he had landed at dawn. By Thursday, the campaign hopes to have an online total of $1 million in fresh cash.

Dodd, Biden Abandon Campaigns For President

2008-01-04T05:54:19Z

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Sens. Chris Dodd and Joseph Biden are abandoning their campaigns for the Democratic presidential nomination after poor showings in the Iowa caucuses on Thursday night.

Click here to read more.

Democrats Have Massive Turn Out In Iowa

2008-01-04T05:22:59Z

A wide-open race in both parties sparked a record turnout Thursday in Iowa's caucuses, far exceeding previous contests.

Projections showed a turnout of 220,588 for Democrats, compared to 124,000 who participated in 2004. Most projections had estimated turnout would be about 150,000.

Clinton Campaign Stung By Third-Place Finish

2008-01-04T05:05:52Z

Des Moines - After a stunning defeat and finishing third in Thursday night's Democratic caucuses, Senator Hillary Clinton congratulated Barack Obama and John Edwards, and vowed to jumpstart her national campaign and win her party's nomination for president.

"I am ready as I can be," Clinton told a crowd of a few hundred invited guests at a downtown hotel ballroom. "We're going to take this enthusiasm and go to New Hampshire."

But, as she spoke, shock and despair seemed to replace enthusiasm in the Clinton campaign. Months ago, the New York senator rolled into Iowa with an aura and attitude of invincibility. She now leaves the state for next Tuesday's primary in New Hampshire after suffering a humiliating finish nine points behind Obama and one point below Edwards.

Clinton was joined on the stage by her husband Bill Clinton and a pack of other Democratic luminaries including former Secretary of State Madeline Albright, former General Wesley Clark and Antonio Villaraigosa, the mayor of Los Angeles.

As the TV networks projected Obama's insurgent victory about 90 minutes after the opening of the 7 p.m. caucuses, Clinton's rented ballroom seemed the loneliest place in town. Not a single guest was seen on the cordoned-off floor. And then shortly after the network projection was broadcast, the tightly disciplined Clinton campaign literally assembled the crowd for the batteries of TV cameras in the room.

Putting the best face on her stinging defeat, Clinton attached herself to what she called the "clear message of change" manifested in the massive Democratic turnout. After congratulating her two top rivals she claimed that "together we have presented the case for change" and declared the results to be "a great night for Democrats." Both Obama and Edwards, however, vigorously counterpoised themselves as agents of profound change and generational turnover against an ossified status quo embodied by Clinton.

The rumblings of Clinton's defeat could be sensed in the past few days as a sense of momentum and swelling crowds fueled the numerous campaign events staged by Obama and Edwards as they feverishly crisscrossed the state.

A few hours before the caucusing began Thursday night, Bill and Hillary Clinton were seen striding through the Hotel Fort Des Moines with a look of consternation on their faces.

The caucuses marked the culmination of a dispiriting week for the Clintons as a series of polls presaged a possible Obama victory -- so long as a projected massive turnout of young and first-time caucus-goers materialized. And so it did with an estimated 212,000 Democrats showing up to caucus, almost twice as many as in 2004.

The groundswell of Democrats responding to Obama's and Edwards' call for "hope" and "change," respectively, flooded and stalled the vaunted, fine-tuned Clinton electoral machine. The enormous institutional and organizational power of the New York senator's campaign - ranging from a laundry list of endorsements by elected officials to the celebrity clout of Bill Clinton to a brigade of hundreds of snow-shovelers who cleared the driveways of elderly caucus-goers--wasn't enough to overcome the emotional call to a new political dynamic that seemed to turbo-charge the Obama campaign.

As soon as the doors to the more than 1,700 caucus sites opened, there was a clear foreboding of Clinton's coming defeat. Long lines of caucusers, shortage of registration forms for first-timers, and standing-room-only crowds marked the high tide of a turnout tsunami in favor of Obama.

The caucus at one northwest Des Moines precinct seemed a microcosm of the political drama that rattled the entire state on Thursday night. Residents of Precinct 9 waited patiently in line to caucus as poll workers were overcome by the sheer scope of the turnout. As the 125 Iowans in the room dispersed into separate groups supporting different candidates, a visibly striking generational gap slashed the room.

With a mixed group of about 25 Edwards supporters in the middle, on the right side of the room sat about 40 mostly white-haired and subdued Clinton adherents. On the left side of the high school classroom, about 60 decidedly much younger, boisterous and ramped-up Obama supporters gathered in noisy clumps. "I've never caucused before but I like everything Obama has to say," said 30-year-old machinist Chris Augustine. Typical of exactly the kind of voter the Obama campaign had hoped to mobilize, he added: "For me, Obama is the un-politician. If it comes down to Hillary Clinton versus a Republican in November, I would rather vote for the Republican. There's nothing Clinton could do to prove she's really different than the same old, same old of the past."

Edwards Second-Place Spin: 'This Is A Repudiation Of Hillary Clinton'

2008-01-04T05:04:06Z

Following Obama's win in Iowa, John Edwards' campaign declared his second place finish in tonight's race to be a repudiation of Hillary Clinton. Watch the CBS News report.

CBS

Detailed Results From The Caucuses

2008-01-04T04:52:23Z

Detailed Iowa Caucus Results

Mood Somber At Clinton Post-Caucus Party Site

2008-01-04T03:54:43Z

There was no music.

About 200 diehard Hillary Clinton fans stared at big-screen televisions in the second-floor meeting rooms of the Hotel Fort Des Moines.

When CNN called it for Barack Obama at 8:28 p.m., Carol Beronich, 52, a magazine editor, looked like she was going to cry.

"I'm mad," she said, with a catch in her voice. "I'm going to be very disappointed if she's not there to vote for in December."

Chris Dodd To Drop Out Of Presidential Race

2008-01-04T03:44:25Z

Senator Chris Dodd's run for president will soon come to an end, campaign officials told ABC News, following a disappointing showing in the Iowa caucuses.

After moving his entire family to Iowa, clocking thousands of miles on the road, campaigning in three statewide bus tours, and holding over 400 events the Democratic Senator from Connecticut will return to his day job in the U.S. Senate.

Clinton Campaign Spin: We're "Built For A Marathon"

2008-01-04T03:41:05Z

"Congratulations to Senator Obama and his campaign on their victory tonight," Clinton campaign manager Patti Solis Doyle said in a statement issued at 9:22 PM central time. "It's been a hard fought race here in Iowa for the last year and all eyes now turn to New Hampshire." She continued: "Hillary is going to continue making the case that in these serious times when America faces big challenges, it will take a leader with the strength and experience to deliver real change. This race begins tonight and ends when Democrats throughout America have their say. Our campaign was built for a marathon and we have the resources to run a national race in the weeks ahead."

Clinton supporters mustered a cheer of "Hill-a-ry, Hill-a-ry" and "New Hampshire" in a second-floor ballroom of the Hotel Fort Des Moines, where campaign officials kept turning up the volume of her soundtrack to try to mask the quiet disappointment of the crowd. Her backers -- overwhelmingly women -- waved signs that read "ready for change" -- an ironic twist on a night when voters sought change, and chose her chief rival.

Obama Camp Credits Youth Turnout

2008-01-04T03:40:27Z

Senior Obama advisor David Axelrod said the most surprising thing [about tonight] was the turnout. "These were numbers you'd expect almost in a primary," he said.

One crucial group, he said: young voters.

Click here to read more.

New Caucus Goers Boost Obama in Iowa

2008-01-04T03:28:02Z

DES MOINES, Iowa -- An influx of new caucus-goers boosted Barack Obama to victory in the Iowa caucuses in a race that centered on which candidate would best be able to change the country's course.

The freshman senator from Illinois was able to convince Iowans that he could do the most to shake up Washington, a feat that rivals Hillary Rodham Clinton and John Edwards had argued they'd be best able to accomplish.

Edwards Vows to Fight on in NH

2008-01-04T03:18:12Z

WASHINGTON -- Democrat John Edwards told The Associated Press that the Iowa caucus showed that voters are choosing change over the status quo, and he vowed a vigorous campaign into New Hampshire.

Edwards, who lost a close race to Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, said he would continue running as the candidate for middle-class Americans. Edwards finished second and Hillary Rodham Clinton was a close third.

How Huckabee Won The Iowa Caucus

2008-01-04T03:06:57Z

Mike Huckabee's victory in Iowa's GOP caucus can be largely attributed to his overwhelming support among evangelical voters and women, our entrance polling shows.

Romney Concedes Iowa To Huckabee: "First Round To Mike"

2008-01-04T03:03:39Z

Just under an hour after the caucuses began, Mitt Romney conceded Iowa to Mike Huckabee on Fox News.

"Congratulations for the first round to Mike," the former Massachusetts governor said.