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CNN Live At Daybreak

Eye on the World; General Defense; More Gaza Violence; Who is Courtney?; Reassignment; Barghouti Convicted; Creative Minds

Aired May 20, 2004 - 05:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: New this morning, deadly attacks and angry accusations in the Middle East. Live to Gaza in eight minutes.
It's Thursday, May 20. This is DAYBREAK.

And good morning to you, welcome to the second half-hour of DAYBREAK. From the CNN Global Headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.

Here are the latest headlines for you now.

A Spanish security patrol comes under attack today after accompanying Spanish forces leaving Iraq, no troops killed. But in Baghdad, an attack earlier today killed one U.S. soldier and wounded three others.

In southern Gaza, five Palestinians were killed overnight when Israeli helicopters fired rockets. Israelis say they were aiming at people placing explosives on the streets. Palestinians say a 3-year- old boy is among those killed.

In money news, Domino's Pizza is preparing its initial public stock offering of a little more than 24 million shares. The estimated share price will be 15 to 17 bucks each.

In sports, the Calgary Flames will play for the Stanley Cup. The Flames beat the San Jose Sharks 3 to 1 in Game 6 of the Western Conference finals. They will play either Tampa Bay or Philadelphia.

In culture, it's down to two now, singer Jasmine Trias was voted off "American Idol" last night. That leaves Fantasia Barrino and Diana DeGarmo to duke it out for the final round.

In weather, it's not easy getting around parts of the midwest this morning. You're taking a look at flash flooding in Kansas City. Fire and police report they rescued several people who were in cars who drove through those flooded highways. Not a good idea -- Rob.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: No, and it's so tempting, too, when you just don't know how deep that water is, you think you can get through it. That was about this time yesterday. It was really coming down. Not only Kansas City, but St. Louis and just south of Kansas City, some radar estimates of five, six inches of rainfall. So one to two inch rainfall estimates per hour. That is some heavy rain, and obviously the streams and some of the rivers can't handle it.

(WEATHER REPORT)

MARCIANO: Carol, back to you.

COSTELLO: All right, thank you, Rob.

Well you knew it was coming, two new pictures have come to light in the Iraq prison abuse scandal. They appear to show American soldiers gloating over a body. In one, Specialist Charles Graner is seen smiling, giving the thumbs up. In the other, Specialist Sabrina Harman is in a similar pose. The identity of the body in the picture is not yet known.

And while the pictures have not been authenticated, the soldiers who appear in them are among those who already face charges in the scandal. These pictures, by the way, came out following the first court-martial in connection with the abuse.

Want to bring in our senior international editor David Clinch to talk more about the photos and also this alleged wedding party in western Iraq.

DAVID CLINCH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: Right. Well first of all, on the prison abuse story, those two photographs that have emerged and also the Pentagon announcing yesterday that they have found a new disk containing I think about 24 images, 11 or so of which they say appear to be new. And again, there is authenticity questions over the 2 we have just shown and multiples 11 (ph).

COSTELLO: Do we know if they show any other soldiers besides the seven charged?

CLINCH: We do not know that. We do not know that. They do, according to the Pentagon, show abuse or apparent abuse. They are being authenticated and they will be shown to members of Congress at some point fairly soon. So more images. And that story won't go away.

But I think it's very important to realize that not only in the region itself, but really in our coverage, events are moving so quickly in Iraq, including, as you say, this so-called wedding party incident yesterday. That, in some ways, this prisoner abuse scandal is already fading somewhat, particularly in the region.

If you look in the Arab world today, not only is, let's first of all talk about this wedding party incident, very much in dispute. The U.S. is saying it hit a target where militants, some of whom were from Syria, were hiding out near the Syrian border in Iraq. They admit hitting various buildings in that area. They acknowledge that there are a number of people dead.

Local Iraqis on the ground not only are saying but are showing bodies of up to 40 people, including tiny children. I mean babies included in the death toll there, who, they say, were attending a wedding in the area at the time and were hit by U.S. helicopters.

COSTELLO: It's possible, though, that you know if children were present, they could have been in this safe house.

CLINCH: There are all sorts of possibilities. And of course the problem here is twofold for the U.S. and for us. For the U.S. military, the problem is that no matter how long they take to investigate this and how many facts come out, the images are already there. And we're showing you some images. Believe me, the Arab media are showing far worse images of that incident. And so the effect of the images from the prison abuse, the images from that.

And of course the other story, and this is what we also need to realize, this story that is in fact the lead story in the region is what Israel is doing in Gaza at the moment. And of course the U.S. joining the rest of the world and the U.N. in not vetoing, surprisingly, unusually not vetoing a very strong U.N. resolution condemning Israel's actions in Gaza yesterday, which, in effect, ends up being a condemnation of Israel's action. The images from those incidents yesterday also horrific. We are showing you some.

COSTELLO: And the important point to make from all of this is that Muslims see this as one big conflict.

CLINCH: Correct. This is something...

COSTELLO: Not the United States invading Iraq.

CLINCH: Right.

COSTELLO: They just see it as Muslims being targeted by all different sorts of people.

CLINCH: Absolutely. An Arab summit coming up this weekend and all of those leaders have their people seeing all of this as one story. Israel and Gaza, the United States and Iraq, whether that's accurate or not of course is disputable, but that is the impression growing in the Middle East.

COSTELLO: All right, you'll be back in our next hour?

CLINCH: Yes.

COSTELLO: David Clinch, many thanks.

The prison abuse scandal has landed the Army's top generals in Iraq on the defensive. A Senate committee is trying to figure out who knew what and when and if orders from senior officers set the scene for the abuse.

Barbara Starr has more for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, said he too holds himself accountable for the abuse of Iraqi prisoners. LT. GEN. RICARDO SANCHEZ, COMMANDER OF U.S. FORCES IN IRAQ: I accept responsibility for what happened at Abu Ghraib and I accept as a solemn obligation the responsibility to ensure that it does not happen again.

STARR: But questions for General John Abizaid the senior commander.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How did it happen so long and so deep and we not know?

GEN. JOHN ABIZAID, COMMANDER, U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: Well, I think there are failures in people doing their duty. There are failures in systems and we should have known and we should have uncovered it and taken action before it got to the point that it got to.

STARR: Sanchez insisted his order last year for military intelligence to take some responsibility for prison operations did not involve the Pentagon and was not an order to soften up the detainees for interrogation through violence and sexual humiliation.

Major General Geoffrey Miller, the new head of detainee operations, denied his recommendations for using military police to set the conditions for interrogation encouraged coercion of detainees. A report last November from the International Committee of the Red Cross containing abuse allegations was never seen at the highest levels.

ABIZAID: We've got a problem there that's got to be fixed.

STARR (on camera): Abizaid warned the violence in Iraq will grow. He said it is now vital to name new Iraqi leaders to take over after June 30 and that it might be April of next year before the Iraqis are ready to provide law and order.

Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: And we'll have more on the prisoner abuse investigation when retired Army General Daniel Christman joins us live. That's in the next hour of DAYBREAK.

Palestinian security sources say seven more people were killed overnight by Israeli military operations at Rafah in southern Gaza. In the meantime, the United States abstained from voting as the U.N. Security Council condemned Israel's actions in Gaza.

CNN's John Vause is live in Israel.

Where exactly are you -- John?

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Carol.

We're just on the Israeli-Egyptian border at Kerem Shalom. It's -- Egypt is just over there. This is the Israeli Philadelphi (ph) Route, which they control, and Gaza is just over there. And we can tell you that the latest information that we are receiving from here is that four Israeli battalions, that's about 1,200 men, are now on the ground moving through the Brazil and Solum (ph) districts of Rafah. Israel reports they are coming under fire from automatic weapons as well as anti-tank missiles.

Now overnight, Palestinian medical sources report that six people were killed by an Israeli airstrike. Apparently the witnesses on the ground, according to security sources, say an Israeli Apache helicopter fired four missiles into residential buildings. Now Rafah medical sources say that a 3-year-old boy has also died. He apparently died from shock after a tank shelling in his neighborhood. So that's the seven people who have died overnight.

The Palestinian death toll, though, now stands at about 40, 41 if you include the 3-year-old boy who was killed. At least 10 people, though, died yesterday when that demonstration marched through the streets of Rafah heading towards the Israeli troops.

Now Israel confirms that one of its helicopters did, in fact, fire a missile at an open field near the protestors. Israel says that was an attempt to disperse the crowd. When that didn't work, it says its tanks opened up fire, one tank firing four shells.

Now the Palestinians say that this was just an outright massacre. There has been an Israeli investigation under way now, but still there is a widespread international condemnation of Israel and calls for Israel to end this operation, end the demolition of homes and withdrawal from Gaza. But so far there appears to be no sign that Israel is ready to pull out of Gaza -- Carol.

COSTELLO: John Vause reporting live for us this morning.

In stories 'Across America' this Thursday, federal investigators say a 40-ton interstate bridge girder that fell and killed a family of three near Golden, Colorado, had been temporarily braced. Workers had run out of time to finish the job. The girder was initially installed backward. A spokesman for the contractor says part of the girder was marked incorrectly by the manufacturer.

A Minnesota senior citizens group is suing nine drug makers. The Minnesota Senior Federation complains the companies are conspiring to keep prices for medicine artificially high by blocking imports of lower costing drugs from Canada.

Twelve-year-old Malcolm Locke may have a headache today. He was swimming in a Deltona, Florida lake when an alligator grabbed him by the head. The boy fought back and he swam to shore. Searchers are still looking for the gator. Locke and his mother, Misty Warren (ph), will talk about the experience on "AMERICAN MORNING" with Bill and Soledad in the 8:00 Eastern hour.

Well police hope that someone out there can help solve a sad mystery in Baltimore. A little girl has been abandoned. All she knows is her first name. Jason Carroll has more on her story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): She says her name is Courtney. Like most children, she's quick to smile when asked about a toy but tears come just as fast when asked about her mother.

Baltimore's Department of Social Services is trying to figure out who her mother and father are. Courtney says she's three years old and from Brooklyn, New York.

SUE FITZSIMMONS, BALTIMORE DEPT. OF SOCIAL SERVICES: She doesn't know her last name. She doesn't know her address. She doesn't know her parents' first name and last name. She doesn't know her phone number.

CARROLL: Baltimore authorities say a man left Courtney with a stranger two weeks ago.

FITZSIMMONS: A woman was approached by a man with a child who said this was his daughter and he was living in an abandoned warehouse with her. He's attempting -- he was from New York. He's attempting to get, find someone who would cash some money orders for him so he could rent an apartment and asked her if she would care for the child.

CARROLL: Social workers hope putting Courtney on TV will help them find a relative to take care of her. Until then she'll stay in foster care.

Jason Carroll, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: If you have any information, call the Department of Social Services in Baltimore. That number is 410-361-2235, 410-361- 2235.

We have news just in to CNN. I'm going to read this to you. I just got it, so bear with me here. We understand that U.S. troops and Iraqi police have raided the headquarters of the party led by governing council member Ahmed Chalabi. This just happened. Apparently the headquarters of the Iraqi National Congress and a nearby house, also used by Chalabi's parties, were being raided.

As you know, Chalabi was a former favorite of the Pentagon and he has increasingly fallen out of favor. In fact, his Iraqi National Congress is no longer being funded by the United States. Again, U.S. troops have raided -- have raided Ahmed Chalabi's home and a neighboring house. When we get more information on exactly what they are looking for in those places, of course we'll pass it along to you.

In the next hour of DAYBREAK, bigwigs from Major League Baseball have a meeting of the minds. We'll look at the top priority on their agenda. And troops shuffle in Seoul. As thousands of U.S. soldiers prepare to redeploy, South Korea scrambles to fortify its line of defense. We'll get the latest for you in a live report.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports. It is 5:46 Eastern Time. Here is what's all new this morning.

Another U.S. soldier has been killed, three more wounded in a grenade attack. Happened in central Baghdad. That raises the U.S. death toll in Iraq to 794.

The trial of Oklahoma City bombing conspirator Terry Nichols resumes a few hours from now. Defense attorneys are getting ready to rest their case. In earlier testimony, a former FBI scientist said a current FBI scientist lied during his testimony.

In money news, workers at the nation's second largest local telephone company SBC are planning a four-day strike. Their union is fighting over health care, job security, pension and wage issues. The strike is set to begin tomorrow.

In sports, check out teen soccer star Freddy Adu. He scores his first stunner just two days before his high school graduation. Despite the big goal, Adu's D.C. United team lost to the Los Angeles Galaxy.

In culture, Sylvester Stallone is jumping into the nutrition business, big time. He is launching a line of health products, which include low carb pudding and energy enhancing pills. You should start seeing them at GNC stores next month -- Rob.

MARCIANO: Yes, that guy needs to get in shape, you know. That's...

COSTELLO: He really has to work on it, doesn't he?

MARCIANO: Now he's trying to launch nutrition, good for him.

(WEATHER REPORT)

MARCIANO: We'll see you in a little bit -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, thank you, Rob.

Those are the latest headlines for you.

South Korean security ministers gather in emergency session this morning after the Pentagon decides to redeploy some U.S. troops from the Korean DMZ.

CNN's Sohn Jie-Ae live in Seoul with the latest for us.

Good morning.

SOHN JIE-AE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

South Korean government officials are working very hard to insure its people that even though the U.S. is planning to pull some 3,600 troops out of South Korea and into Iraq that there won't be a security vacuum in South Korea. A meeting led by South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun today sought to, in various ways, to assure that the security will not be compromised.

One, possibly to increase the number of South Korean's spending on military and to work with Washington to assure that while the number of U.S. forces may decrease, that Washington will be able to increase other ways, for example, senior or air defenses of the South Korean peninsula. South Korea are needed also said another way to decrease tensions here on the Korean peninsula would be to make sure that negotiations with North Korea increase. And that South and North Korean relations, if there are -- if they continue to improve, that would overall decrease the tensions here on the Korean peninsula -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Sohn Jie-Ae reporting live from Seoul this morning.

We want to take you now live to Jerusalem, to Israel, because an Israeli court has just convicted Marwan Barghouti. He is the leader of the Palestinian uprising. They convicted him on murder charges.

But let's let our Paula Hancocks tell you more.

Paula, tell us, what's happening?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, we're just being told that he has been convicted of 4 of the 37 charges that were against him. Marwan Barghouti, the Palestinian leader, has been charged of three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder. Now the sentencing will happen at a later date, but many people do assume that it could be a life sentence. Some of his subordinates have been charged and convicted in the past and they have got life sentences.

Now the Tel Aviv district court judges did say that the reason they acquitted him on the other charges, only 4 out of the 37 was he convicted on, was the fact they had insufficient evidence to place him at the scene of the crime.

Now Marwan Barghouti is very popular in Palestinian circles. He was head of the Fatah movement, Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction in the West Bank. He had been in the past widely tipped as a credible successor to Yasser Arafat as well, and some of his close aides say that since he has been a political prisoner of the Israelis, his popularity has increased.

Now Marwan Barghouti had refused to start a formal defense as he said that the Israeli court did not have jurisdiction over him as he is a Palestinian legislator. But he also did his own defense. He fired his lawyers very early on in the case, the case that started back in August 2003. But his lawyers that were fired do say that they don't expect him to appeal against this sentencing. Marwan Barghouti was arrested back in April 2002 in the West Bank town of Ramallah -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Paula Hancocks reporting live from Jerusalem this morning. We'll have much more when DAYBREAK continues. You stay right there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: The secrets of the brain may not be unlocked in our lifetime, but we are gaining some insight.

Our Anderson Cooper looks at a boy whose story helps illustrate a connection between genius and madness.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From artist Vincent Van Gogh's "Starry Strokes" to mathematician John Nash's window scribbles, as see in the film "A Beautiful Mind," in the works of brilliant minds throughout history creativity and mental illness have often crossed paths.

CAREN LERMAN, SON'S AUTISTIC: I feel as though his artwork is a window into his soul.

COOPER: Caren Lerman's son Jonathan may not speak like other 16- year-old boys but with a pencil in hand he can communicate a world of knowledge and unending creativity. Jonathan is an autistic savant.

LERMAN: Through Jonathan's art we see that he's taking in a lot more than we ever realized and I think he feels things even more keenly than we do.

COOPER: Jonathan began sketching when he was ten. Today his works sell for thousands of dollars.

LERMAN: He wants to be like everybody else and he knows he isn't. It's abstract for him to say that verbally, you know, that he's lonely but he's letting us know this way.

COOPER: But scientists are wondering how we can emulate Jonathan's level of creativity by studying how autism and other mental illnesses, like psychosis, can increase a person's potential for creativity.

SHELLEY CARSON, HARVARD UNIVERSITY, DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY: What's causing the dots to appear?

COOPER: Harvard professor Dr. Shelley Carson recently completed a study which uncovered a link between creativity and mental illness. The connection, both highly creative people and psychosis prone people have reduced levels of what doctors call latent inhibition, that is, they can't ignore all the extraneous and irrelevant things that happen in the environment around them. And a possible explanation for this, dopamine.

CARSON: Reduced latent inhibition is associated with higher levels of dopamine in the mesolimbic system of the brain.

COOPER: So, depending on your level of intelligence and dopamine absorbing the information around you may actually fuel creativity or madness.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: That was Anderson Cooper reporting. And you can watch more of the series "Unlocking the Secrets of the Brain" later tonight on "ANDERSON COOPER 360."

DAYBREAK will be right back. You stay right there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired May 20, 2004 - 05:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: New this morning, deadly attacks and angry accusations in the Middle East. Live to Gaza in eight minutes.
It's Thursday, May 20. This is DAYBREAK.

And good morning to you, welcome to the second half-hour of DAYBREAK. From the CNN Global Headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.

Here are the latest headlines for you now.

A Spanish security patrol comes under attack today after accompanying Spanish forces leaving Iraq, no troops killed. But in Baghdad, an attack earlier today killed one U.S. soldier and wounded three others.

In southern Gaza, five Palestinians were killed overnight when Israeli helicopters fired rockets. Israelis say they were aiming at people placing explosives on the streets. Palestinians say a 3-year- old boy is among those killed.

In money news, Domino's Pizza is preparing its initial public stock offering of a little more than 24 million shares. The estimated share price will be 15 to 17 bucks each.

In sports, the Calgary Flames will play for the Stanley Cup. The Flames beat the San Jose Sharks 3 to 1 in Game 6 of the Western Conference finals. They will play either Tampa Bay or Philadelphia.

In culture, it's down to two now, singer Jasmine Trias was voted off "American Idol" last night. That leaves Fantasia Barrino and Diana DeGarmo to duke it out for the final round.

In weather, it's not easy getting around parts of the midwest this morning. You're taking a look at flash flooding in Kansas City. Fire and police report they rescued several people who were in cars who drove through those flooded highways. Not a good idea -- Rob.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: No, and it's so tempting, too, when you just don't know how deep that water is, you think you can get through it. That was about this time yesterday. It was really coming down. Not only Kansas City, but St. Louis and just south of Kansas City, some radar estimates of five, six inches of rainfall. So one to two inch rainfall estimates per hour. That is some heavy rain, and obviously the streams and some of the rivers can't handle it.

(WEATHER REPORT)

MARCIANO: Carol, back to you.

COSTELLO: All right, thank you, Rob.

Well you knew it was coming, two new pictures have come to light in the Iraq prison abuse scandal. They appear to show American soldiers gloating over a body. In one, Specialist Charles Graner is seen smiling, giving the thumbs up. In the other, Specialist Sabrina Harman is in a similar pose. The identity of the body in the picture is not yet known.

And while the pictures have not been authenticated, the soldiers who appear in them are among those who already face charges in the scandal. These pictures, by the way, came out following the first court-martial in connection with the abuse.

Want to bring in our senior international editor David Clinch to talk more about the photos and also this alleged wedding party in western Iraq.

DAVID CLINCH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: Right. Well first of all, on the prison abuse story, those two photographs that have emerged and also the Pentagon announcing yesterday that they have found a new disk containing I think about 24 images, 11 or so of which they say appear to be new. And again, there is authenticity questions over the 2 we have just shown and multiples 11 (ph).

COSTELLO: Do we know if they show any other soldiers besides the seven charged?

CLINCH: We do not know that. We do not know that. They do, according to the Pentagon, show abuse or apparent abuse. They are being authenticated and they will be shown to members of Congress at some point fairly soon. So more images. And that story won't go away.

But I think it's very important to realize that not only in the region itself, but really in our coverage, events are moving so quickly in Iraq, including, as you say, this so-called wedding party incident yesterday. That, in some ways, this prisoner abuse scandal is already fading somewhat, particularly in the region.

If you look in the Arab world today, not only is, let's first of all talk about this wedding party incident, very much in dispute. The U.S. is saying it hit a target where militants, some of whom were from Syria, were hiding out near the Syrian border in Iraq. They admit hitting various buildings in that area. They acknowledge that there are a number of people dead.

Local Iraqis on the ground not only are saying but are showing bodies of up to 40 people, including tiny children. I mean babies included in the death toll there, who, they say, were attending a wedding in the area at the time and were hit by U.S. helicopters.

COSTELLO: It's possible, though, that you know if children were present, they could have been in this safe house.

CLINCH: There are all sorts of possibilities. And of course the problem here is twofold for the U.S. and for us. For the U.S. military, the problem is that no matter how long they take to investigate this and how many facts come out, the images are already there. And we're showing you some images. Believe me, the Arab media are showing far worse images of that incident. And so the effect of the images from the prison abuse, the images from that.

And of course the other story, and this is what we also need to realize, this story that is in fact the lead story in the region is what Israel is doing in Gaza at the moment. And of course the U.S. joining the rest of the world and the U.N. in not vetoing, surprisingly, unusually not vetoing a very strong U.N. resolution condemning Israel's actions in Gaza yesterday, which, in effect, ends up being a condemnation of Israel's action. The images from those incidents yesterday also horrific. We are showing you some.

COSTELLO: And the important point to make from all of this is that Muslims see this as one big conflict.

CLINCH: Correct. This is something...

COSTELLO: Not the United States invading Iraq.

CLINCH: Right.

COSTELLO: They just see it as Muslims being targeted by all different sorts of people.

CLINCH: Absolutely. An Arab summit coming up this weekend and all of those leaders have their people seeing all of this as one story. Israel and Gaza, the United States and Iraq, whether that's accurate or not of course is disputable, but that is the impression growing in the Middle East.

COSTELLO: All right, you'll be back in our next hour?

CLINCH: Yes.

COSTELLO: David Clinch, many thanks.

The prison abuse scandal has landed the Army's top generals in Iraq on the defensive. A Senate committee is trying to figure out who knew what and when and if orders from senior officers set the scene for the abuse.

Barbara Starr has more for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, said he too holds himself accountable for the abuse of Iraqi prisoners. LT. GEN. RICARDO SANCHEZ, COMMANDER OF U.S. FORCES IN IRAQ: I accept responsibility for what happened at Abu Ghraib and I accept as a solemn obligation the responsibility to ensure that it does not happen again.

STARR: But questions for General John Abizaid the senior commander.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How did it happen so long and so deep and we not know?

GEN. JOHN ABIZAID, COMMANDER, U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: Well, I think there are failures in people doing their duty. There are failures in systems and we should have known and we should have uncovered it and taken action before it got to the point that it got to.

STARR: Sanchez insisted his order last year for military intelligence to take some responsibility for prison operations did not involve the Pentagon and was not an order to soften up the detainees for interrogation through violence and sexual humiliation.

Major General Geoffrey Miller, the new head of detainee operations, denied his recommendations for using military police to set the conditions for interrogation encouraged coercion of detainees. A report last November from the International Committee of the Red Cross containing abuse allegations was never seen at the highest levels.

ABIZAID: We've got a problem there that's got to be fixed.

STARR (on camera): Abizaid warned the violence in Iraq will grow. He said it is now vital to name new Iraqi leaders to take over after June 30 and that it might be April of next year before the Iraqis are ready to provide law and order.

Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: And we'll have more on the prisoner abuse investigation when retired Army General Daniel Christman joins us live. That's in the next hour of DAYBREAK.

Palestinian security sources say seven more people were killed overnight by Israeli military operations at Rafah in southern Gaza. In the meantime, the United States abstained from voting as the U.N. Security Council condemned Israel's actions in Gaza.

CNN's John Vause is live in Israel.

Where exactly are you -- John?

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Carol.

We're just on the Israeli-Egyptian border at Kerem Shalom. It's -- Egypt is just over there. This is the Israeli Philadelphi (ph) Route, which they control, and Gaza is just over there. And we can tell you that the latest information that we are receiving from here is that four Israeli battalions, that's about 1,200 men, are now on the ground moving through the Brazil and Solum (ph) districts of Rafah. Israel reports they are coming under fire from automatic weapons as well as anti-tank missiles.

Now overnight, Palestinian medical sources report that six people were killed by an Israeli airstrike. Apparently the witnesses on the ground, according to security sources, say an Israeli Apache helicopter fired four missiles into residential buildings. Now Rafah medical sources say that a 3-year-old boy has also died. He apparently died from shock after a tank shelling in his neighborhood. So that's the seven people who have died overnight.

The Palestinian death toll, though, now stands at about 40, 41 if you include the 3-year-old boy who was killed. At least 10 people, though, died yesterday when that demonstration marched through the streets of Rafah heading towards the Israeli troops.

Now Israel confirms that one of its helicopters did, in fact, fire a missile at an open field near the protestors. Israel says that was an attempt to disperse the crowd. When that didn't work, it says its tanks opened up fire, one tank firing four shells.

Now the Palestinians say that this was just an outright massacre. There has been an Israeli investigation under way now, but still there is a widespread international condemnation of Israel and calls for Israel to end this operation, end the demolition of homes and withdrawal from Gaza. But so far there appears to be no sign that Israel is ready to pull out of Gaza -- Carol.

COSTELLO: John Vause reporting live for us this morning.

In stories 'Across America' this Thursday, federal investigators say a 40-ton interstate bridge girder that fell and killed a family of three near Golden, Colorado, had been temporarily braced. Workers had run out of time to finish the job. The girder was initially installed backward. A spokesman for the contractor says part of the girder was marked incorrectly by the manufacturer.

A Minnesota senior citizens group is suing nine drug makers. The Minnesota Senior Federation complains the companies are conspiring to keep prices for medicine artificially high by blocking imports of lower costing drugs from Canada.

Twelve-year-old Malcolm Locke may have a headache today. He was swimming in a Deltona, Florida lake when an alligator grabbed him by the head. The boy fought back and he swam to shore. Searchers are still looking for the gator. Locke and his mother, Misty Warren (ph), will talk about the experience on "AMERICAN MORNING" with Bill and Soledad in the 8:00 Eastern hour.

Well police hope that someone out there can help solve a sad mystery in Baltimore. A little girl has been abandoned. All she knows is her first name. Jason Carroll has more on her story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): She says her name is Courtney. Like most children, she's quick to smile when asked about a toy but tears come just as fast when asked about her mother.

Baltimore's Department of Social Services is trying to figure out who her mother and father are. Courtney says she's three years old and from Brooklyn, New York.

SUE FITZSIMMONS, BALTIMORE DEPT. OF SOCIAL SERVICES: She doesn't know her last name. She doesn't know her address. She doesn't know her parents' first name and last name. She doesn't know her phone number.

CARROLL: Baltimore authorities say a man left Courtney with a stranger two weeks ago.

FITZSIMMONS: A woman was approached by a man with a child who said this was his daughter and he was living in an abandoned warehouse with her. He's attempting -- he was from New York. He's attempting to get, find someone who would cash some money orders for him so he could rent an apartment and asked her if she would care for the child.

CARROLL: Social workers hope putting Courtney on TV will help them find a relative to take care of her. Until then she'll stay in foster care.

Jason Carroll, CNN, New York.

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COSTELLO: If you have any information, call the Department of Social Services in Baltimore. That number is 410-361-2235, 410-361- 2235.

We have news just in to CNN. I'm going to read this to you. I just got it, so bear with me here. We understand that U.S. troops and Iraqi police have raided the headquarters of the party led by governing council member Ahmed Chalabi. This just happened. Apparently the headquarters of the Iraqi National Congress and a nearby house, also used by Chalabi's parties, were being raided.

As you know, Chalabi was a former favorite of the Pentagon and he has increasingly fallen out of favor. In fact, his Iraqi National Congress is no longer being funded by the United States. Again, U.S. troops have raided -- have raided Ahmed Chalabi's home and a neighboring house. When we get more information on exactly what they are looking for in those places, of course we'll pass it along to you.

In the next hour of DAYBREAK, bigwigs from Major League Baseball have a meeting of the minds. We'll look at the top priority on their agenda. And troops shuffle in Seoul. As thousands of U.S. soldiers prepare to redeploy, South Korea scrambles to fortify its line of defense. We'll get the latest for you in a live report.

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COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports. It is 5:46 Eastern Time. Here is what's all new this morning.

Another U.S. soldier has been killed, three more wounded in a grenade attack. Happened in central Baghdad. That raises the U.S. death toll in Iraq to 794.

The trial of Oklahoma City bombing conspirator Terry Nichols resumes a few hours from now. Defense attorneys are getting ready to rest their case. In earlier testimony, a former FBI scientist said a current FBI scientist lied during his testimony.

In money news, workers at the nation's second largest local telephone company SBC are planning a four-day strike. Their union is fighting over health care, job security, pension and wage issues. The strike is set to begin tomorrow.

In sports, check out teen soccer star Freddy Adu. He scores his first stunner just two days before his high school graduation. Despite the big goal, Adu's D.C. United team lost to the Los Angeles Galaxy.

In culture, Sylvester Stallone is jumping into the nutrition business, big time. He is launching a line of health products, which include low carb pudding and energy enhancing pills. You should start seeing them at GNC stores next month -- Rob.

MARCIANO: Yes, that guy needs to get in shape, you know. That's...

COSTELLO: He really has to work on it, doesn't he?

MARCIANO: Now he's trying to launch nutrition, good for him.

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MARCIANO: We'll see you in a little bit -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, thank you, Rob.

Those are the latest headlines for you.

South Korean security ministers gather in emergency session this morning after the Pentagon decides to redeploy some U.S. troops from the Korean DMZ.

CNN's Sohn Jie-Ae live in Seoul with the latest for us.

Good morning.

SOHN JIE-AE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

South Korean government officials are working very hard to insure its people that even though the U.S. is planning to pull some 3,600 troops out of South Korea and into Iraq that there won't be a security vacuum in South Korea. A meeting led by South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun today sought to, in various ways, to assure that the security will not be compromised.

One, possibly to increase the number of South Korean's spending on military and to work with Washington to assure that while the number of U.S. forces may decrease, that Washington will be able to increase other ways, for example, senior or air defenses of the South Korean peninsula. South Korea are needed also said another way to decrease tensions here on the Korean peninsula would be to make sure that negotiations with North Korea increase. And that South and North Korean relations, if there are -- if they continue to improve, that would overall decrease the tensions here on the Korean peninsula -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Sohn Jie-Ae reporting live from Seoul this morning.

We want to take you now live to Jerusalem, to Israel, because an Israeli court has just convicted Marwan Barghouti. He is the leader of the Palestinian uprising. They convicted him on murder charges.

But let's let our Paula Hancocks tell you more.

Paula, tell us, what's happening?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, we're just being told that he has been convicted of 4 of the 37 charges that were against him. Marwan Barghouti, the Palestinian leader, has been charged of three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder. Now the sentencing will happen at a later date, but many people do assume that it could be a life sentence. Some of his subordinates have been charged and convicted in the past and they have got life sentences.

Now the Tel Aviv district court judges did say that the reason they acquitted him on the other charges, only 4 out of the 37 was he convicted on, was the fact they had insufficient evidence to place him at the scene of the crime.

Now Marwan Barghouti is very popular in Palestinian circles. He was head of the Fatah movement, Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction in the West Bank. He had been in the past widely tipped as a credible successor to Yasser Arafat as well, and some of his close aides say that since he has been a political prisoner of the Israelis, his popularity has increased.

Now Marwan Barghouti had refused to start a formal defense as he said that the Israeli court did not have jurisdiction over him as he is a Palestinian legislator. But he also did his own defense. He fired his lawyers very early on in the case, the case that started back in August 2003. But his lawyers that were fired do say that they don't expect him to appeal against this sentencing. Marwan Barghouti was arrested back in April 2002 in the West Bank town of Ramallah -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Paula Hancocks reporting live from Jerusalem this morning. We'll have much more when DAYBREAK continues. You stay right there.

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COSTELLO: The secrets of the brain may not be unlocked in our lifetime, but we are gaining some insight.

Our Anderson Cooper looks at a boy whose story helps illustrate a connection between genius and madness.

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ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From artist Vincent Van Gogh's "Starry Strokes" to mathematician John Nash's window scribbles, as see in the film "A Beautiful Mind," in the works of brilliant minds throughout history creativity and mental illness have often crossed paths.

CAREN LERMAN, SON'S AUTISTIC: I feel as though his artwork is a window into his soul.

COOPER: Caren Lerman's son Jonathan may not speak like other 16- year-old boys but with a pencil in hand he can communicate a world of knowledge and unending creativity. Jonathan is an autistic savant.

LERMAN: Through Jonathan's art we see that he's taking in a lot more than we ever realized and I think he feels things even more keenly than we do.

COOPER: Jonathan began sketching when he was ten. Today his works sell for thousands of dollars.

LERMAN: He wants to be like everybody else and he knows he isn't. It's abstract for him to say that verbally, you know, that he's lonely but he's letting us know this way.

COOPER: But scientists are wondering how we can emulate Jonathan's level of creativity by studying how autism and other mental illnesses, like psychosis, can increase a person's potential for creativity.

SHELLEY CARSON, HARVARD UNIVERSITY, DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY: What's causing the dots to appear?

COOPER: Harvard professor Dr. Shelley Carson recently completed a study which uncovered a link between creativity and mental illness. The connection, both highly creative people and psychosis prone people have reduced levels of what doctors call latent inhibition, that is, they can't ignore all the extraneous and irrelevant things that happen in the environment around them. And a possible explanation for this, dopamine.

CARSON: Reduced latent inhibition is associated with higher levels of dopamine in the mesolimbic system of the brain.

COOPER: So, depending on your level of intelligence and dopamine absorbing the information around you may actually fuel creativity or madness.

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COSTELLO: That was Anderson Cooper reporting. And you can watch more of the series "Unlocking the Secrets of the Brain" later tonight on "ANDERSON COOPER 360."

DAYBREAK will be right back. You stay right there.

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