USA
In the first court-martial of military personnel accused of mistreating Iraqi prisoners, Army Spc. Jeremy Sivits pleaded guility to taking photos of the abuse and was sentenced to a year in prison. Sivits, a member of the reserves, cooperated with prosecutors, who agreed to lesser charges than those brought against others serving at the Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad. In his hometown, Hyndman, Pa., his parents, Freda and Vietnam veteran Daniel Sivits and other residents held a candlelight vigil in his support. Meanwhile, Gen. John Abizaid, head of the US Central Command, told the Senate Armed Services Committee Wednesday that the military has investigated 75 cases of abuse in Iraq and Afghanistan. His testimony suggested that mistreatment was more widespread than previously acknowledged.
Emotions ran high during the second day of testimony in New York, as city officials, including former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani (R), shared their version of developments of Sept. 11, 2001, before the national commission investigating the attacks on that day. At one point, Giuliani was shouted down by family members of victims of the World Trade Center collapse, some of whom wanted to know more about Fire Department radio failures during the catastrophe. Giuliani said warnings of a possible attack on New York City contained in an August 2001 White House briefing didn't reach his desk, but said if they had, the city's security precautions might not have been different. The day before, testy exchanges occurred as city deputies were grilled about the coordination of emergency workers at ground zero.
Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) ordered clerks in four towns that have issued marriage licenses to homosexual couples to submit copies to his office. Romney had instructed town officials to deny licenses to all nonresident couples with no plans to move to Massachusetts. On Monday, the state became the first to legally allow homosexual marriage.
President Bush announced his decision Tuesday to nominate Alan Greenspan to a fifth term as chairman of the Federal Reserve. If approved by the Senate, Greenspan would serve until Feb. 2006.
Pitcher Randy Johnson of the Arizona Diamondbacks retired all 27 batters he faced Tuesday night to complete a perfect game - the first in Major League Baseball since 1999 - in a 2-0 win over the Atlanta Braves.
