CNN 2012-05-13

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Yesterday we reported on an alleged² terror plot that officials said had been foiled. We said there were still a lot of questions.Now we have some of the answers.The plot was designed to blow up a plane 

 

headed to the United States. What we now know is that the person picked to carry out that attack is actually the person who prevented it. Authorities said the plot started in Yemen with the terrorist group known as Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.Initial reports said the plan was thwarted³ based on a tip from Saudi Arabia, one of Yemen's neighbors.

 

Turns out Saudi Arabia had a mole⁴, a sort of spy inside the Al Qaeda group. He's a Saudi intelligence agent.He volunteered for a suicide mission.Then he took the explosive device that would have been on the plane and turned it over to U.S. intelligence officers and told them about the plot. 

 

Now there's some concern about the fact that all this information was leaked. One source said Saudi officials are upset about the possible risks that this could mean for other undercover agents working inside the Al Qaeda group. 

 

Some U.S. officials are worried that the leak could interfere⁵ with other operations. The U.S. director of national intelligence is launching a review to see if the leak came from an American intelligence agency.

 

All right. Turning to U.S. politics now, we know who the presumptive presidential nominees⁷ are for both the Republican and Democratic Parties, but primary season continues. 

 

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt⁸ Romney won the Republican primaries in North Carolina, Indiana and West Virginia on Tuesday. Not a major surprise. He is the presumptive nominee⁶. But it`s not all about the White House in these primaries. Voters also cast ballots⁹ for state and local elections this work. In North Carolina, that included a vote on a constitutional amendment¹⁰.

 

We talked about this earlier in the week.The amendment would change the North Carolina constitution to say,quote,"Marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid¹¹ or recognized in North Carolina."

 

The unofficial results from Tuesday's primary showed that around 61 percent voted for the amendments¹².Around 39 percent voted against.One critic called the amendment discrimination. She said, quote,"It gives the majority the chance to vote against the minority." 

 

But a supporter of the amendment responded,quote,"We are not anti-gay.We are pro-marriage."

 

A recent Gallup survey shows the country overall is more closely divided on the issue. According to that poll, about 50 percent of Americans believe same-sex couples should be allowed to marry. Around 48 percent say same-sex marriages should not be legal.

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