CNN 2009-02-01

Hello to you, I'm Creshon Saunders at the CNN.com newsroom in Atlanta, here is a look at what's happening NOW IN THE NEWS,

Iraqis put democracy into action today in elections held across the country. The polls have closed and a vote-counting has begun. Voters went to 6,000 polling stations to pick from among 14,000 candidates including 4,000 women. Security is very tight though, voters were searched before they entered the polls. The borders with Iran and Syria were sealed and a curfew has been put into place. Now even the United Nations was involved in monitoring those elections.

The military is asking service members to throw away any treats that contain peanut butter. It comes as the FDA has launched a criminal investigation 1 into the company at the center of that salmonella outbreak linked to peanut butter. The company has issued a statement, it says, in part, we at Peanut Corporation of America express our deepest and most sincere empathy for those sickened in the salmonella outbreak and their families, our top priority has been and will continue to be to ensure the public safety and to work promptly 2 to remove all potentially contaminated products out of the marketplace.

The huge ice-storm earlier this week is still affecting a million people from the mid-west to the Atlantic coast. Many remained in extreme cold and without electricity,42 people have died as a result of the cold and icy conditions. Kentucky has seen some of the worst of the storm toll 3, 12 people have died there. County emergency officials are even telling people to head south and find a motel because their shelter is filled to capacity. The campus of Mary State University is haven 4 for some folks where a heated dormitory has been converted to a shelter. Emergency officials say they still haven't been able to reach everyone who may need help.

" We have people on our lakefronts and so on that we don't know if they're alive or dead. We haven't even got to clear the roads into them. "Among the latest storm victims, a man and two women were found dead in their Louisville  home. One woman was found frozen in her bed, the other two were found in a garage next to a generator 5.

Another of President Obama's cabinet picks is having tax troubles, former Senator Tom Daschle, the nominee 6 for health and human services secretary. Daschle recently paid $150,000 in back taxes and interest, amid questions about his consulting work and the use of a borrowed car and driver. Now the Senate Finance Committee has been reviewing Daschle's records and he is expected to meet on Monday. but the meeting and the review is not expected to derail his nomination 7.

The Republican National Committee has elected its first African-American chairman. Former Maryland Lieutenant 8 Governor Michael Steele was chosen as the new face of GOP after six heavily contended rounds of voting. The Party chose Steele over four other candidates including former President Bush's handpicked GOP chief who bowed out saying the winds of change are blowing. The Party is trying to recover from crushing defeats in November's National Election.

Those are the headlines this hour, for more on these stories and other news of the day, CNN is your source online, on TV, even when you're on the go.