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9/11 Commission Talks to NYC's First Responders; Should Bush Tap Strategic Petroleum Reserve?
Aired May 18, 2004 - 13:00 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.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were in the North Tower, communicating with some of our people, and then all of a sudden we hear this loud roar and we were able to go into a small alcove immediately to our left.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Survivor stories, an emotional moment in the 9/11 Commission hearings. In the spotlight, confusion and a breakdown in communication between emergency responders.
Record gas prices, and still rising. Is it time to tap into America's strategic oil reserves?
Childhood vaccines and autism. A new report on whether immunizations can put your child at risk.
And marking the passing of actor Tony Randall. Fans knew him best as neat freak Felix Unger on "The Odd Couple."
From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Betty Nguyen, Kyra Phillips and Miles O'Brien are off today. CNN's LIVE FROM... starts right now.
We begin this hour with a failure to communicate, or at least a failure to communicate effectively. The independent panel investigating September 11 is in New York today, honing in on the frantic, largely disorganized attempts by first responders to save lives at ground zero. A big part of the problem the panel says, crossed signals and mixed or missed messages. CNN's Jeanne Meserve tells us more -- Jeanne.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Betty, this has been a hearing today which has not only revisited what happened on 9/11, but try to take from that some lessons in trying to determine what steps have been taken to improve preparedness and what steps at this point still have not been taken.
One of the things that the staff report revealed today is that when there were drills at the World Trade Center, they weren't complete drills. After a bombing in 1993, drills were conducted more often. But even then people were not taken into staircases. They were not shown that there were deviations in those staircases that didn't go straight from the top to the bottom. Also civilians of those buildings had never been informed during the drills that there was not going to be any roof access, that there would be no evacuations from the roof.
This morning, one of the panel members was asked whether or not that situation had been corrected. Here's what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALAN REISS, FMR. PORT AUTHORITY DIR.: Every one is going to leave that building. No one is going to listen to a fire safety director making an announcement that says stay and let the other people evacuate first. Everyone, including myself -- and we've had a couple of fires in the building that I'm now a tenant in, that fire alarm goes off and you smell smoke, everyone is down the stairs instantaneously.
These drills basically had the strobe light goes off and the evac. tone and people would come out into the hallways, not everyone, because some people thought a fax was more important than participating in a drill. And we actually trained the floor ones, don't get into an argument with your co-workers, just tell us who didn't respond and we'll try and deal with that through the office manager. But you're right. We did not have people walk down -- we didn't have them walk down 50 flights of stairs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MESERVE: Well, one of the panel members said even today in high- rises in New York City, civilians are not being given instructions on whether or not they have roof access, whether or not there would be roof evacuation.
Another problem pointed up in the staff report which was released today had to do with communications. There were many communications issues that day, but one of the things they addressed were the fact that occupants could not hear address systems. Those had been knocked out. And so they were calling 911, asking for instructions on what to do, but there was no protocol that was giving the 911 operators information from the scene.
So they were telling people to stay in the towers. They were not telling people that access to the roof was impossible. This is another subject which the commissioners will be exploring more in depth to determine if that's a situation that has been corrected at this point in time or if it has not.
It has been an emotional day here. Perhaps you can see behind me an array of cameras. Those are all set up, hoping to get some sound from family members who are inside today. Some of them have been quite emotional and tearful during the presentation this morning, which included video clips and audio from survivors and from first responders.
Also, there's been some editorial reaction to some of what has been said today. We talked to a couple of the family members when they came out today. Some of them expressing incredulity that there are still these gaps in preparedness here in New York City, that there are still people here today who might be vulnerable if, God forbid, there were another attack of the sort that happened on 9/11.
Betty, back to you.
NGUYEN: Hopefully we'll learn a lot from that hearing today. CNN's Jeanne Meserve in New York, thank you.
Well, those hearings will resume in about an hour with testimony from NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly. Tomorrow, commissioners hear from former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
We are a day away from the first in a series of courts martial coming out of the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal proceedings, sure to be as public as the alleged crimes were covert. But as CNN's Harris Whitbeck reports from Baghdad, many potential spectators are already giving the trials a thumbs-down.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A makeshift courtroom at the Baghdad Convention Center ready for the first of several military courts martial in the Abu Ghraib abuse cases. There will be lots of room for the press and live simultaneous translation into Arabic. Coalition authorities realize they have to convince public opinion, particularly in Iraq, they are serious about bringing prison abusers to justice.
But a day before the special court martial of Specialist Jeremy Sivits and the arraignment of three others, few in Baghdad seem ready to believe justice will be served.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (through translator): While the Americans knew about the torture of Iraqi detainees before this date, it is a game to help Bush win the elections.
WHITBECK: This shopkeeper says the court martial will be just a show and that those who ordered the abuse are the ones who should be put on trial.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (through translator): It should be an Iraqi court, not an American, to try the officers in charge, not the soldiers who executed the orders.
WHITBECK: Sivits is expected to plead guilty to charges of mistreatment of prisoners and dereliction of duty while he was a prison guard at Abu Ghraib. In a pretrial hearing, known as an Article 32 in military justice terms, he stated abuse took place; describing, for example, an incident in which a prison guard would strike a detainee with a baseball swing and hit the wounds of detainee. For military court officers, the challenge is in conducting the proceedings under intense scrutiny.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're not looking at the expeditious manner of conducting these court-martials. The challenge for all parties involved is to make sure these court-martials are conducted as if there is no media attention, as if no one else is looking and scrutinizing what we're doing. WHITBECK (on camera): But the bigger challenge will be in convincing Iraqi public opinion that the American military court system will result in justice, not easy where confidence in the U.S. is not really high.
Harris Whitbeck, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Back in Washington now, top guns from the Bush administration are facing another tough week on Capitol Hill, over Abu Ghraib and the state of the war in general. CNN's Barbara Starr is watching and listening from the Pentagon.
Hi, Barbara.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Betty. Well, just to follow up first on what Harris Whitbeck was saying, at the coalition briefing today in Baghdad, the very same point was underscored, coalition officials know that Iraqis are very skeptical about the upcoming courts martial tomorrow of Specialist Jeremy Sivits. So Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt took great pans to spell out what is expected to happen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIG. GEN. MARK KIMMITT, U.S. ARMY: We would hope that by making it open to the public, by making it open to the press, that the press would take advantage of this situation, not only to see American justice in action, but to record it and tell the readers about their observations. Our aspiration is not to turn this into a show trial. Our aspiration is to mete out justice to Mr. Sivits. He might be found innocent, he might be found guilty. This is not meant to...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STARR: Now, even as this courts martial is happening tomorrow, here in Washington, General John Abizaid, you see here, the head of the U.S. Central Command, also General Ricardo Sanchez, the head of coalition forces in Iraq, and also General Geoffrey Miller, the new head of detainee operations, all three of them expected to appear at 8:30 tomorrow morning in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee to talk about what they know.
They are going to also face a lot of very tough questions about some of the coercive interrogation procedures that were approved, although they've been withdrawn now, some of the procedures at Abu Ghraib Prison that General Miller now runs. And General Abizaid, of course, expected to be questioned a good deal about what he knows about all of this. But it's really very interesting, Betty, a day away, and already some in Congress are saying this whole investigation is just simply taking too much time.
NGUYEN: Well, do you expect this court...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REP. DUNCAN HUNTER (R-CA), ARMED SERVICES CMTE.: ... you have a military tribunal, which is considered to move very quickly, very efficiently, and very fairly, handling this. And we need to refocus the efforts of this nation on winning this war. We've got 135,000 kids over there that need leadership, and their leadership can't be dragged back to Washington every couple of days to focus on seven people, and that's what's happened so far.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STARR: So, Betty, quite a bit of action expected from Baghdad all the way to Washington tomorrow -- Betty.
NGUYEN: We will be watching. CNN's Barbara Starr at the Pentagon, thank you.
A vow that the transfer of power to Iraq will go forward next month, that from U.S. administrator Paul Bremer in Baghdad, at the funeral of the leader of the Iraqi Governing Council. Izzedine Salim was killed Monday in a suicide bomb blast while his motorcade waited at a checkpoint outside coalition headquarters. The U.S. military now says the killing may not be the work of Zarqawi network as first thought. The group is believed responsible for beheading Nicholas Berg.
Thousands are mourning the news today that actor Tony Randall has died. Randall did it all, radio, film, television in a career that spanned six decades. But he's best known for and will forever be remembered as Felix Unger, the persnickety yin to Oscar Madison's sloppy yang in "The Odd Couple."
CNN's Adaora Udoji is in New York with more -- Adaora.
ADAORA UDOJI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Betty, Tony Randall was indeed a sophisticate, actually from small town beginnings. He studied voice, dance, and acting. He wanted to master his art. And for so many years, he brought such great joy to audiences across the country.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UDOJI (voice-over): Tony Randall made people laugh. He was an artist molding his craft across six decades. The man audiences came to love was born Leonard Rosenberg in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He leapt from there onto the stage and never looked back.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TONY RANDALL, ACTOR: As a friend, my only hope one day you find a girl like this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
UDOJI: He appeared in dozens of productions, even late into his life. On film, Randall's irrepressible character stood with the 1950s American darling Doris Day, among so many others.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "THE ODD COUPLE")
RANDALL: Warn me the next time you open a beer!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
UDOJI: But it was television that sparked arguably his most memorable character in 1970: the fastidious, uptight, often hilarious, Felix Unger on "The Odd Couple." A frequent guest on CNN's "LARRY KING," he talks about his early doubts.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "LARRY KING LIVE")
LARRY KING, HOST: You liked it right away, let's do it?
RANDALL: No, I had to be talked into it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
UDOJI: It paid off. During its five-year run, he won a prestigious Emmy. A widower in the 1990s, Randall remarried and became a father very late in life. It brought him great joy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "LARRY KIND LIVE")
KING: You're 81.
RANDALL: Yes. Nothing in life is the equal of it. And it's as if this is what I was waiting for all my life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
UDOJI: A family spokesman says he died in his sleep on Monday from complications of a prolonged illness. He leaves behind two young children, Julia, 7, and Jefferson, 5. Tony Randall was 84 years old.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
UDOJI: Now, Betty what many may not know about Tony Randall is how much he loved the stage. In fact, he continued to work with the National Actors Theater which he proudly founded in 1991. That theater began its sixth season this year -- Betty.
NGUYEN: CNN's Adaora Udoji, thank you for that.
Many in the show biz community voicing their sorrow at today's news about Tony Randall, and that includes David Letterman who released this statement just a short time ago, saying: "I was lucky enough to know Tony as an actor and a friend. He appeared on our show over 100 times. Whenever we needed a big laugh, we would bring in Tony. He always made us better for having worked with him. We will miss him very much."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Well, is pressure at the pump putting pressure on your pocket book and on the federal government to take action to lower prices? We'll explore the options, that's ahead on LIVE FROM...
And an Olympic first, a ruling on whether transsexuals can compete at the Athens summer games.
The "Terminator" turns litigator. California's governor says hasta la vista to the bobblehead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: News around the world now. Bowing out in a stunning move. Sonia Gandhi withdraws her name from consideration to become India's prime minister. Gandhi was almost assured victory, but sources say she pulled out because of personal attacks.
Still in the running. Five cities have made the cut to host the 2012 Summer Olympic Games. The contenders are New York City, London, Paris, Madrid, and Moscow. Four cities were cut. The host city will be selected next summer.
It's a first, transsexuals will be allowed to participate in the Summer Olympic Games in Athens. But athletes must meet certain criteria. Surgical changes must be complete and their assigned sex must be approved by appropriate officials.
Well, what can be done to drive down the soaring cost of gasoline? Some Democrats say the White House should tap into the nation's emergency oil reserves. For a look at that, let's go now to CNN's Allan Chernoff in New York.
Hi, Allan.
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS SR. CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Betty, and Senate Democrats are calling for the administration to tap in to the strategic oil reserves as a way of injecting new supply into the market and pushing prices down. It's a strategy used by the last Democratic president.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHERNOFF (voice-over): The strategic reserves lie more than 2000 feet underground in huge natural caverns along the Gulf Coast of Texas and Louisiana, 660 million barrels of oil. Every day, the government adds another 100,000 barrels, even as the price of oil traded here in New York has jumped to an all-time record high.
RICHARD SCHAEFFER, ABN AMRO BANK: The closer we get towards the election, with prices staying as high as they are, I think the likelihood of a release to some percentage is a high possibility.
CHERNOFF: With oil above $40 a barrel and gasoline topping $2 a gallon, some industry executives are calling for the government to help by releasing reserves. The petroleum reserve is supposed to be for emergencies. But President Clinton opened the oil tap in the fall of 2000, temporarily pushing prices down, shortly before the presidential election.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM SEPTEMBER 23, 2000)
BILL CLINTON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The overriding purpose of our action is to increase supply and help consumers make it through the cold winter. Families shouldn't have to drain their wallets to drive their cars or heat their homes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHERNOFF: The Bush campaign criticized the action. President Bush's Energy Department says the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is off limits. That's the way it should be, argues the energy lobby.
JOHN FELMY, AMERICAN PETROLEUM INSTITUTE: There's no good argument for releasing oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. It's our insurance policy so that if we do have physical disruptions of supply, we can fill that void with oil from the SPR.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHERNOFF: Energy traders say if the president were to change his policy, it would provide a psychological jolt to the markets that would send prices lower. But it certainly is not the only way to push prices down. In fact, today in the futures market, the oil price is down about $1 a barrel amid talk that OPEC may increase its production, and also an announcement from Nigeria that it plans to sell a few extra million barrels of oil next month -- Betty.
NGUYEN: Waiting to see that at the pump. All right, CNN's Allan Chernoff in New York, thank you.
NGUYEN: There's a photo confirming what many of us have been thinking, oh yes, gas now costs an arm and leg. Well, not really, but that's the posted price at this station in Menlo Park California. Yes, an arm and a leg.
Can you get through the grocery shopping list without a list? Why are some people better at remembering things than others? We're unlocking the mysteries of your mind and memory ahead on LIVE FROM...
And want fries with that? A fast food supplier finds a way to trim the fat.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SYLVESTOR STALLONE, ACTOR: Does that come with a liver transplant? Because you're going to need it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: And even Sylvester Stallone isn't ordering a $1000 omelet. We're serving it up ahead on LIVE FROM...
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(AUDIO GAP)
NGUYEN: ... Giuliani, Hillary Clinton, and many others.
Well, apparently it is OK with the actor turned politician to show up on a charm bracelet. But of course it helps that the bracelets are being sold by Mrs. Schwarzenegger, also known as Maria Shriver. California's first lady says she's marketing a line of jewelry featuring the state's landmarks. So in between the Golden Gate Bridge, the Hollywood sign and other monuments, there is a photo of the first couple.
And finally, remember those iPod ads featuring a 10-year-old boy lip sinking eminem's hit "Lose Yourself"? Well, a federal judge in Detroit says eminem may proceed with a copyright infringement suit for unauthorized use. Apple Computer and MTV parent company, Viacom, are among those named in that lawsuit.
A six-egg omelet at a four-figure price. We're not joking. But of course only in New York. CNN's Jeanne Moos has more on the thousand dollar breakfast.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's an egg dish that will cost you a nest egg, 1000 bucks for an omelet? It's enough to make a chicken cluck. Enough to make the front page. Enough to make diners at the Parker Meridian Hotel restaurant say...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We thought that was the calorie count when we saw 1000.
MOOS: Take six legs, a lobster tail and claw meat, pop in the oven, then cover with caviar, 10 ounces of caviar. That's $500 to $600 worth of caviar alone.
STALLONE: Does that come with a liver transplant? Because you're going to need it.
MOOS: We stumble on Sylvester Stallone eating at the Parker Meridian. Here's a guy who had experience with eggs filming "Rocky."
(on camera): You're probably the only guy in here who can afford this omelet.
STALLONE: You feel like you're eating a generation of sturgeons there. So I feel a little guilty.
MOOS (voice-over): On the menu, the wife of the owner dares you to expense the $1000 omelet. This guy did. He's a reporter for a London tabloid doing a story on what is technically a frittata. Since this is the first one sold it got applause. And though we couldn't expense one, our colleague gave us a bite.
(on camera): You know, I'm not crazy about caviar.
(voice-over): But our British friend said he loved it. Watch the eyebrows.
(on camera): You know, we could get about 200 omelets at a regular diner for this.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know.
MOOS (voice-over): There's also the bargain hunter's $100 version with a mere ounce of caviar.
STALLONE: Could you wrap this, Donald Trump is due for a snack.
MOOS: Jeanne Moos...
STALLONE: Hey, Donald.
MOOS: ... CNN...
STALLONE: Love you.
MOOS: ... New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: I think I'll stick to cereal, that's a lot cheaper.
(MARKET REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired May 18, 2004 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were in the North Tower, communicating with some of our people, and then all of a sudden we hear this loud roar and we were able to go into a small alcove immediately to our left.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Survivor stories, an emotional moment in the 9/11 Commission hearings. In the spotlight, confusion and a breakdown in communication between emergency responders.
Record gas prices, and still rising. Is it time to tap into America's strategic oil reserves?
Childhood vaccines and autism. A new report on whether immunizations can put your child at risk.
And marking the passing of actor Tony Randall. Fans knew him best as neat freak Felix Unger on "The Odd Couple."
From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Betty Nguyen, Kyra Phillips and Miles O'Brien are off today. CNN's LIVE FROM... starts right now.
We begin this hour with a failure to communicate, or at least a failure to communicate effectively. The independent panel investigating September 11 is in New York today, honing in on the frantic, largely disorganized attempts by first responders to save lives at ground zero. A big part of the problem the panel says, crossed signals and mixed or missed messages. CNN's Jeanne Meserve tells us more -- Jeanne.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Betty, this has been a hearing today which has not only revisited what happened on 9/11, but try to take from that some lessons in trying to determine what steps have been taken to improve preparedness and what steps at this point still have not been taken.
One of the things that the staff report revealed today is that when there were drills at the World Trade Center, they weren't complete drills. After a bombing in 1993, drills were conducted more often. But even then people were not taken into staircases. They were not shown that there were deviations in those staircases that didn't go straight from the top to the bottom. Also civilians of those buildings had never been informed during the drills that there was not going to be any roof access, that there would be no evacuations from the roof.
This morning, one of the panel members was asked whether or not that situation had been corrected. Here's what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALAN REISS, FMR. PORT AUTHORITY DIR.: Every one is going to leave that building. No one is going to listen to a fire safety director making an announcement that says stay and let the other people evacuate first. Everyone, including myself -- and we've had a couple of fires in the building that I'm now a tenant in, that fire alarm goes off and you smell smoke, everyone is down the stairs instantaneously.
These drills basically had the strobe light goes off and the evac. tone and people would come out into the hallways, not everyone, because some people thought a fax was more important than participating in a drill. And we actually trained the floor ones, don't get into an argument with your co-workers, just tell us who didn't respond and we'll try and deal with that through the office manager. But you're right. We did not have people walk down -- we didn't have them walk down 50 flights of stairs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MESERVE: Well, one of the panel members said even today in high- rises in New York City, civilians are not being given instructions on whether or not they have roof access, whether or not there would be roof evacuation.
Another problem pointed up in the staff report which was released today had to do with communications. There were many communications issues that day, but one of the things they addressed were the fact that occupants could not hear address systems. Those had been knocked out. And so they were calling 911, asking for instructions on what to do, but there was no protocol that was giving the 911 operators information from the scene.
So they were telling people to stay in the towers. They were not telling people that access to the roof was impossible. This is another subject which the commissioners will be exploring more in depth to determine if that's a situation that has been corrected at this point in time or if it has not.
It has been an emotional day here. Perhaps you can see behind me an array of cameras. Those are all set up, hoping to get some sound from family members who are inside today. Some of them have been quite emotional and tearful during the presentation this morning, which included video clips and audio from survivors and from first responders.
Also, there's been some editorial reaction to some of what has been said today. We talked to a couple of the family members when they came out today. Some of them expressing incredulity that there are still these gaps in preparedness here in New York City, that there are still people here today who might be vulnerable if, God forbid, there were another attack of the sort that happened on 9/11.
Betty, back to you.
NGUYEN: Hopefully we'll learn a lot from that hearing today. CNN's Jeanne Meserve in New York, thank you.
Well, those hearings will resume in about an hour with testimony from NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly. Tomorrow, commissioners hear from former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
We are a day away from the first in a series of courts martial coming out of the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal proceedings, sure to be as public as the alleged crimes were covert. But as CNN's Harris Whitbeck reports from Baghdad, many potential spectators are already giving the trials a thumbs-down.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A makeshift courtroom at the Baghdad Convention Center ready for the first of several military courts martial in the Abu Ghraib abuse cases. There will be lots of room for the press and live simultaneous translation into Arabic. Coalition authorities realize they have to convince public opinion, particularly in Iraq, they are serious about bringing prison abusers to justice.
But a day before the special court martial of Specialist Jeremy Sivits and the arraignment of three others, few in Baghdad seem ready to believe justice will be served.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (through translator): While the Americans knew about the torture of Iraqi detainees before this date, it is a game to help Bush win the elections.
WHITBECK: This shopkeeper says the court martial will be just a show and that those who ordered the abuse are the ones who should be put on trial.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (through translator): It should be an Iraqi court, not an American, to try the officers in charge, not the soldiers who executed the orders.
WHITBECK: Sivits is expected to plead guilty to charges of mistreatment of prisoners and dereliction of duty while he was a prison guard at Abu Ghraib. In a pretrial hearing, known as an Article 32 in military justice terms, he stated abuse took place; describing, for example, an incident in which a prison guard would strike a detainee with a baseball swing and hit the wounds of detainee. For military court officers, the challenge is in conducting the proceedings under intense scrutiny.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're not looking at the expeditious manner of conducting these court-martials. The challenge for all parties involved is to make sure these court-martials are conducted as if there is no media attention, as if no one else is looking and scrutinizing what we're doing. WHITBECK (on camera): But the bigger challenge will be in convincing Iraqi public opinion that the American military court system will result in justice, not easy where confidence in the U.S. is not really high.
Harris Whitbeck, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Back in Washington now, top guns from the Bush administration are facing another tough week on Capitol Hill, over Abu Ghraib and the state of the war in general. CNN's Barbara Starr is watching and listening from the Pentagon.
Hi, Barbara.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Betty. Well, just to follow up first on what Harris Whitbeck was saying, at the coalition briefing today in Baghdad, the very same point was underscored, coalition officials know that Iraqis are very skeptical about the upcoming courts martial tomorrow of Specialist Jeremy Sivits. So Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt took great pans to spell out what is expected to happen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIG. GEN. MARK KIMMITT, U.S. ARMY: We would hope that by making it open to the public, by making it open to the press, that the press would take advantage of this situation, not only to see American justice in action, but to record it and tell the readers about their observations. Our aspiration is not to turn this into a show trial. Our aspiration is to mete out justice to Mr. Sivits. He might be found innocent, he might be found guilty. This is not meant to...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STARR: Now, even as this courts martial is happening tomorrow, here in Washington, General John Abizaid, you see here, the head of the U.S. Central Command, also General Ricardo Sanchez, the head of coalition forces in Iraq, and also General Geoffrey Miller, the new head of detainee operations, all three of them expected to appear at 8:30 tomorrow morning in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee to talk about what they know.
They are going to also face a lot of very tough questions about some of the coercive interrogation procedures that were approved, although they've been withdrawn now, some of the procedures at Abu Ghraib Prison that General Miller now runs. And General Abizaid, of course, expected to be questioned a good deal about what he knows about all of this. But it's really very interesting, Betty, a day away, and already some in Congress are saying this whole investigation is just simply taking too much time.
NGUYEN: Well, do you expect this court...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REP. DUNCAN HUNTER (R-CA), ARMED SERVICES CMTE.: ... you have a military tribunal, which is considered to move very quickly, very efficiently, and very fairly, handling this. And we need to refocus the efforts of this nation on winning this war. We've got 135,000 kids over there that need leadership, and their leadership can't be dragged back to Washington every couple of days to focus on seven people, and that's what's happened so far.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STARR: So, Betty, quite a bit of action expected from Baghdad all the way to Washington tomorrow -- Betty.
NGUYEN: We will be watching. CNN's Barbara Starr at the Pentagon, thank you.
A vow that the transfer of power to Iraq will go forward next month, that from U.S. administrator Paul Bremer in Baghdad, at the funeral of the leader of the Iraqi Governing Council. Izzedine Salim was killed Monday in a suicide bomb blast while his motorcade waited at a checkpoint outside coalition headquarters. The U.S. military now says the killing may not be the work of Zarqawi network as first thought. The group is believed responsible for beheading Nicholas Berg.
Thousands are mourning the news today that actor Tony Randall has died. Randall did it all, radio, film, television in a career that spanned six decades. But he's best known for and will forever be remembered as Felix Unger, the persnickety yin to Oscar Madison's sloppy yang in "The Odd Couple."
CNN's Adaora Udoji is in New York with more -- Adaora.
ADAORA UDOJI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Betty, Tony Randall was indeed a sophisticate, actually from small town beginnings. He studied voice, dance, and acting. He wanted to master his art. And for so many years, he brought such great joy to audiences across the country.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UDOJI (voice-over): Tony Randall made people laugh. He was an artist molding his craft across six decades. The man audiences came to love was born Leonard Rosenberg in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He leapt from there onto the stage and never looked back.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TONY RANDALL, ACTOR: As a friend, my only hope one day you find a girl like this.
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UDOJI: He appeared in dozens of productions, even late into his life. On film, Randall's irrepressible character stood with the 1950s American darling Doris Day, among so many others.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "THE ODD COUPLE")
RANDALL: Warn me the next time you open a beer!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
UDOJI: But it was television that sparked arguably his most memorable character in 1970: the fastidious, uptight, often hilarious, Felix Unger on "The Odd Couple." A frequent guest on CNN's "LARRY KING," he talks about his early doubts.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "LARRY KING LIVE")
LARRY KING, HOST: You liked it right away, let's do it?
RANDALL: No, I had to be talked into it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
UDOJI: It paid off. During its five-year run, he won a prestigious Emmy. A widower in the 1990s, Randall remarried and became a father very late in life. It brought him great joy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "LARRY KIND LIVE")
KING: You're 81.
RANDALL: Yes. Nothing in life is the equal of it. And it's as if this is what I was waiting for all my life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
UDOJI: A family spokesman says he died in his sleep on Monday from complications of a prolonged illness. He leaves behind two young children, Julia, 7, and Jefferson, 5. Tony Randall was 84 years old.
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UDOJI: Now, Betty what many may not know about Tony Randall is how much he loved the stage. In fact, he continued to work with the National Actors Theater which he proudly founded in 1991. That theater began its sixth season this year -- Betty.
NGUYEN: CNN's Adaora Udoji, thank you for that.
Many in the show biz community voicing their sorrow at today's news about Tony Randall, and that includes David Letterman who released this statement just a short time ago, saying: "I was lucky enough to know Tony as an actor and a friend. He appeared on our show over 100 times. Whenever we needed a big laugh, we would bring in Tony. He always made us better for having worked with him. We will miss him very much."
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NGUYEN: Well, is pressure at the pump putting pressure on your pocket book and on the federal government to take action to lower prices? We'll explore the options, that's ahead on LIVE FROM...
And an Olympic first, a ruling on whether transsexuals can compete at the Athens summer games.
The "Terminator" turns litigator. California's governor says hasta la vista to the bobblehead.
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NGUYEN: News around the world now. Bowing out in a stunning move. Sonia Gandhi withdraws her name from consideration to become India's prime minister. Gandhi was almost assured victory, but sources say she pulled out because of personal attacks.
Still in the running. Five cities have made the cut to host the 2012 Summer Olympic Games. The contenders are New York City, London, Paris, Madrid, and Moscow. Four cities were cut. The host city will be selected next summer.
It's a first, transsexuals will be allowed to participate in the Summer Olympic Games in Athens. But athletes must meet certain criteria. Surgical changes must be complete and their assigned sex must be approved by appropriate officials.
Well, what can be done to drive down the soaring cost of gasoline? Some Democrats say the White House should tap into the nation's emergency oil reserves. For a look at that, let's go now to CNN's Allan Chernoff in New York.
Hi, Allan.
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS SR. CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Betty, and Senate Democrats are calling for the administration to tap in to the strategic oil reserves as a way of injecting new supply into the market and pushing prices down. It's a strategy used by the last Democratic president.
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CHERNOFF (voice-over): The strategic reserves lie more than 2000 feet underground in huge natural caverns along the Gulf Coast of Texas and Louisiana, 660 million barrels of oil. Every day, the government adds another 100,000 barrels, even as the price of oil traded here in New York has jumped to an all-time record high.
RICHARD SCHAEFFER, ABN AMRO BANK: The closer we get towards the election, with prices staying as high as they are, I think the likelihood of a release to some percentage is a high possibility.
CHERNOFF: With oil above $40 a barrel and gasoline topping $2 a gallon, some industry executives are calling for the government to help by releasing reserves. The petroleum reserve is supposed to be for emergencies. But President Clinton opened the oil tap in the fall of 2000, temporarily pushing prices down, shortly before the presidential election.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM SEPTEMBER 23, 2000)
BILL CLINTON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The overriding purpose of our action is to increase supply and help consumers make it through the cold winter. Families shouldn't have to drain their wallets to drive their cars or heat their homes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHERNOFF: The Bush campaign criticized the action. President Bush's Energy Department says the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is off limits. That's the way it should be, argues the energy lobby.
JOHN FELMY, AMERICAN PETROLEUM INSTITUTE: There's no good argument for releasing oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. It's our insurance policy so that if we do have physical disruptions of supply, we can fill that void with oil from the SPR.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHERNOFF: Energy traders say if the president were to change his policy, it would provide a psychological jolt to the markets that would send prices lower. But it certainly is not the only way to push prices down. In fact, today in the futures market, the oil price is down about $1 a barrel amid talk that OPEC may increase its production, and also an announcement from Nigeria that it plans to sell a few extra million barrels of oil next month -- Betty.
NGUYEN: Waiting to see that at the pump. All right, CNN's Allan Chernoff in New York, thank you.
NGUYEN: There's a photo confirming what many of us have been thinking, oh yes, gas now costs an arm and leg. Well, not really, but that's the posted price at this station in Menlo Park California. Yes, an arm and a leg.
Can you get through the grocery shopping list without a list? Why are some people better at remembering things than others? We're unlocking the mysteries of your mind and memory ahead on LIVE FROM...
And want fries with that? A fast food supplier finds a way to trim the fat.
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SYLVESTOR STALLONE, ACTOR: Does that come with a liver transplant? Because you're going to need it.
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NGUYEN: And even Sylvester Stallone isn't ordering a $1000 omelet. We're serving it up ahead on LIVE FROM...
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(AUDIO GAP)
NGUYEN: ... Giuliani, Hillary Clinton, and many others.
Well, apparently it is OK with the actor turned politician to show up on a charm bracelet. But of course it helps that the bracelets are being sold by Mrs. Schwarzenegger, also known as Maria Shriver. California's first lady says she's marketing a line of jewelry featuring the state's landmarks. So in between the Golden Gate Bridge, the Hollywood sign and other monuments, there is a photo of the first couple.
And finally, remember those iPod ads featuring a 10-year-old boy lip sinking eminem's hit "Lose Yourself"? Well, a federal judge in Detroit says eminem may proceed with a copyright infringement suit for unauthorized use. Apple Computer and MTV parent company, Viacom, are among those named in that lawsuit.
A six-egg omelet at a four-figure price. We're not joking. But of course only in New York. CNN's Jeanne Moos has more on the thousand dollar breakfast.
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JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's an egg dish that will cost you a nest egg, 1000 bucks for an omelet? It's enough to make a chicken cluck. Enough to make the front page. Enough to make diners at the Parker Meridian Hotel restaurant say...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We thought that was the calorie count when we saw 1000.
MOOS: Take six legs, a lobster tail and claw meat, pop in the oven, then cover with caviar, 10 ounces of caviar. That's $500 to $600 worth of caviar alone.
STALLONE: Does that come with a liver transplant? Because you're going to need it.
MOOS: We stumble on Sylvester Stallone eating at the Parker Meridian. Here's a guy who had experience with eggs filming "Rocky."
(on camera): You're probably the only guy in here who can afford this omelet.
STALLONE: You feel like you're eating a generation of sturgeons there. So I feel a little guilty.
MOOS (voice-over): On the menu, the wife of the owner dares you to expense the $1000 omelet. This guy did. He's a reporter for a London tabloid doing a story on what is technically a frittata. Since this is the first one sold it got applause. And though we couldn't expense one, our colleague gave us a bite.
(on camera): You know, I'm not crazy about caviar.
(voice-over): But our British friend said he loved it. Watch the eyebrows.
(on camera): You know, we could get about 200 omelets at a regular diner for this.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know.
MOOS (voice-over): There's also the bargain hunter's $100 version with a mere ounce of caviar.
STALLONE: Could you wrap this, Donald Trump is due for a snack.
MOOS: Jeanne Moos...
STALLONE: Hey, Donald.
MOOS: ... CNN...
STALLONE: Love you.
MOOS: ... New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: I think I'll stick to cereal, that's a lot cheaper.
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