Court-Martial Hearing of Specialist Jeremy Sivits; Previews of Today's Testimony Before 9/11 Commission in NYC
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: A guilty plea from the first American soldier to face a court-martial in the prisoner abuse scandal. This is DAYBREAK for Wednesday, May 19. And good morning to you. From the CNN global headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello. Let me bring you up to date now. The court-martial of Specialist Jeremy Sivits has begun in Baghdad. It is still going on. Sivits is the first to be tried on charges he abused prisoners at the Abu Ghraib Prison. He has plead guilty. We'll have more on this court proceeding in just a few minutes. We're going to take you live to Baghdad. Are prisoners in Afghanistan being abused? The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan has begun a probe of prison conditions and allegations of abuse of facilities under this command. The 9/11 Commission finishes up its latest round of hearings in New York today. Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge are expected to testify. In money news, the average gallon of unleaded gas has broken the $2 barrier. The price has jumped almost eight cents in just the last week. In sports, no runs, no hits, no errors, no nothing -- Randy Johnson of the Arizona Diamondbacks tosses a perfect game against the Atlanta Braves. At 40 years old, Johnson is the oldest person to pitch a perfect game. Good for him. In culture, more time for "American Idol" voters. In an effort to combat jammed phone lines, the show's producers announced that voters will be given four hours to vote after next week's finale instead of the normal two hours. So, Rob, get your phones dialing now.</s>ROB MARCIANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I've got it in speed dial. Good morning, again, Carol.</s>COSTELLO: Specialist Jeremy Sivits pleads guilty in the first court-martial stemming from the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal. We've got live reports for you from Baghdad, where the court proceedings are playing out. Harris Whitbeck is there and CNN's Susan Candiotti has reaction from Hyndman, Pennsylvania, Specialist Sivits's hometown. But, Harris, let's start with you. What's happening inside the courtroom now?</s>HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, Specialist Jeremy Sivits continues to give his testimony, as we reported earlier. He has already pled guilty to charges of conspiracy to maltreat detainees, dereliction of duty for willfully failing to protect detainees from abuse and maltreatment of detainees. And in the testimony that he is giving now, he has referred specifically to events that occurred on November 8 of last year at Abu Ghraib Prison. He identified "six or seven" other soldiers who were involved in abuse of the detainees and he gave explicit details of punching of detainees, positioning them in sexual positions. He also described an incident in which Private First Class Lynndie England lined up some of those naked detainees and pointed to their genitals and laughed. He also choked up a couple of times when he described two particularly brutal beatings, one in which Corporal Charles Graner punched a detainee in the head and knocked him out cold. He also described another incident in which a detainee was punched in the chest, he fell to the ground and he says that at that time a medic had to come in with an inhaler to help this detainee start breathing again. Again, Sivits choked up when describing these beatings during the delivery of his testimony. That testimony continues at this hour inside this improvised courtroom at the Baghdad Convention Center -- Carol.</s>COSTELLO: Harris, explain more. You say Sivits is choked up, Sivits choked up. What does that mean?</s>WHITBECK: Well, he actually broke down. He was describing in a lot of detail the incident in which these detainees were beaten. And as he did that, he had to stop for a second. The judge told him to take all the time he needed to regain his composure. And when he did, he continued describing those incidents. But his voice was breaking up. His voice was -- vocal cords were vibrating and he was visibly emotionally upset by what was transpiring, by what he was describing.</s>COSTELLO: Harris Whitbeck reporting live from Baghdad. Again, Jeremy Sivits pleading guilty this morning. The hearing is ongoing. He's telling about what happened inside that prison, obviously, to the judge in this case. The judge a senior officer of the military. We're going to head live to Pennsylvania now to check in with Susan Candiotti. She's in Jeremy Sivits's hometown -- Susan, what's going on there today?</s>SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it is a dark and dreary morning. However, an emotional prayer vigil among a sea of yellow ribbons on the eve of Jeremy Sivits's court-martial here in his hometown of Hyndman, Pennsylvania. His young wife and parents have been turning down all media interview requests. However, they broke their silence at this prayer vigil. Sivits's father, a Vietnam vet, thanked everyone for their support and said no matter what, he loves his son. it's a close-knit community here. Only about a thousand or so residents. There are few strangers and there is much sympathy for Sivits. What he's pleading guilty to, abusing prisoners, witnessing abuse and not saying anything about it, people here say it just doesn't sound like him. Many claim that he was thrown into a bad situation, trained as a mechanic with a military Guard Reserve unit and then finding himself guarding prisoners at Abu Ghraib Prison. Jeremy Sivits may not be coming home for a while, serving time for his offenses, probably. And he is expected to testify against others. However, when he does come back, most people here say he will be welcomed home. His father says he will walk proudly with him -- Carol.</s>COSTELLO: Susan Candiotti live from Pennsylvania this morning. Our legal analyst, Kendall Coffey, will join us live in the next half hour to explain the court-martial process, and you won't want to miss that, so we can better understand what's going on in Baghdad this morning. There is an accusation this morning that Army officials tried to keep the International Red Cross from making surprise spot inspections of Abu Ghraib Prison. The accusation is in a "New York Times" story this morning. It says the Red Cross observed alleged abuses in one area on two unannounced October inspections. The "Times" reports that after the Red Cross complained, the military said the agency should make appointments before visiting the prison the next time. Fighting in Karbala between U.S. forces and fighters loyal to anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr tops our look at the Iraq situation report this hour. The fighting near a shrine in the city broke out when U.S. forces approached a militia checkpoint. The militia is loyal to cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. A Marine with the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force has died west of Baghdad in Anbar Province. The military says the death was not due to hostile action. About 3,600 U.S. Army troops from South Korea will be heading to Iraq by mid-summer. The troops will replace those whose tours of duty were extended during recent fighting. The face of New York will be the forefront of the 9/11 Commission hearings today. Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani is set to take the stand. And given the contentious nature of day one of the hearings, he, too, could face some very tough questions. CNN's Keith Oppenheim joins us live from New York to tell us more -- good morning, Keith.</s>KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, there, Carol. Well, the second day of hearings in New York will be an opportunity to talk to top officials, not only the former mayor, but the current mayor, as well, about what was known before the attacks and what was done after the attacks. But this day of questioning is probably going to be different in tone from yesterday, when, as you said, the Commission got very feisty and the presentations got very emotional for the families of victims.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, I've got some</s>OPPENHEIM (voice-over): The hearings began with the playing of tape and the sound of firefighters and the pictures of rescue went on record.</s>DIANE HORNING, SON DIED IN 9/11 ATTACKS: I was warned. I knew it would be painful and it was.</s>OPPENHEIM: Those recordings were part of a general Commission finding that as a result of old turf battles, New York's police and fire departments were, in some ways, not prepared. Radio communications from one agency didn't reach or warn the other and more lives may have been lost as a result.</s>JOHN LEHMAN, 9/11 COMMISSIONER: The command and control and communications of this city's public service is a scandal.</s>OPPENHEIM: 9/11 Commission member John Lehman blasted the rivalry culture, which he said created confusion in a crisis.</s>THOMAS VON ESSEN, FORMER NYFD COMMISSIONER: I think it's outrageous that you make a statement like that.</s>OPPENHEIM: But the former fire and police commissioners said the agencies did the best they possibly could. Later, current department heads emphasized a new agreement that clarifies which agency, police or fire, takes the lead in various emergencies.</s>MINDY KLEINBERG, HUSBAND DIED IN ATTACKS: That seems ridiculous to me that two and a half years later, they wouldn't have sat down and said look, you know what, we need to make a decision here.</s>OPPENHEIM: But some relatives of victims question whether the cooperation is as good as it needs to be, especially when officials keep repeating New York is a likely target for another attack.</s>OPPENHEIM: Carol, in the end, New York's current emergency managers seemed to convince the Commission that the city has made some progress. But now, as former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani gets ready to testify, the questions will likely focus on what intelligence, if any, did New York City have from Washington before September 11 -- back to you.</s>COSTELLO: Keith Oppenheim reporting live from New York City. Here are some more stories making news across America this Wednesday. A shoulder-held rocket launcher was found near a section of commuter rail tracks here in Atlanta. The FBI says the rocket launcher may be the type used for military training and probably isn't powerful enough to stop a train or bring down a plane. The training models can be bought at gun shops. In Santa Ana, California, dramatic testimony in the rape trial of three teenagers who were arrested after a videotape of the alleged attack surfaced. Their teenaged victim took the stand for the first time. She said she thinks she was drugged. She admits having consensual sex with two of the defendants the night before this incident. A former Hooters Restaurant manager is facing 57 criminal counts for allegedly taping job applicants as they undressed. Juan Aponte is being held on half a million dollars bail ahead of his arraignment next week. Prosecutors say he secretly taped 14 women as they changed into their Hooters waitress uniforms. Some of the women were under 18. If convicted, Aponte faces up to 19 years in prison. Still to come on DAYBREAK, the Arab TV networks are covering the courts-martial in Baghdad this morning and you may be surprised at their reporting. Plus, you know it's getting more expensive to travel by car. Now a major airline says its costs are going up, too, but passengers will soon have a low cost choice. We'll tell you about it. And later, we don't always have time to cook. So what's the most healthful thing you can heat and eat from your freezer? This is DAYBREAK for May 19.