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CNN Live At Daybreak

Naval Academy Questions; 'War Room'; Sex on the Brain

Aired March 08, 2005 - 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: And good morning to you, welcome to the second half-hour of DAYBREAK. From the Time Warner Center in New York, I'm Carol Costello, along with Chad Myers.
"Now in the News."

China proposed a new law today authorizing military force to stop Taiwan from formally declaring its independence. A leading communist party leader says the anti-secession law would authorize an attack if peaceful persuasion fails. The National People's Congress is expected to approve the measure on Monday.

In Iraq, U.S. soldiers with Task Force Liberty fought off a militant attack north of Baghdad. Military officials say two militants were killed and a third wounded, five others were detained.

Los Angeles voters go to the polls today to cast ballots in the wide-open mayoral primary. Twelve candidates are in the running. Incumbent Mayor James Hahn is struggling to keep his job.

A 90-day ban, Reverend Al Sharpton plans to call on radio and TV stations to ban playing music by performers who use violence in their lyrics. The move comes after last week's shootout between rappers at a New York radio station that left one man wounded.

To the Forecast Center now.

Good morning -- Chad.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Carol.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Thank you -- Chad.

MYERS: You're welcome.

COSTELLO: Now for our "Defending America" segment.

Is the Naval Academy producing qualified sailors? One professor is questioning his school's admissions policy.

CNN's senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre has more for you from Annapolis.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): According to one outspoken academy professor, half of the brigade of midshipmen got into Annapolis through set-asides, lower standards for racial minorities, star athletes or sailors who have shown potential. Weaker academics means weaker officers, he says, officers who may one day have their finger on the button or the trigger.

Some minority students were outraged.

ADAM YANG, MIDSHIPMAN 1ST CLASS: The fundamental flaw in his argument was that weaker academics make weaker officers, but academics isn't the definition of a good officer.

MCINTYRE: As part of a regular feature called "Nobody Asked Me, But," Annapolis English Professor Bruce Fleming wrote in last month's "Proceedings" magazine the academy can do better. "Set-asides," he wrote, "slow class discussions and take seats that better applicants could have filled."

(on camera): So what were you thinking when you wrote this?

PROF. BRUCE FLEMING, U.S. NAVAL ACADEMY: Well, my concern is for the well-being of the Navy and Marine Corps.

MCINTYRE: What kind of reaction are you getting from the students?

FLEMING: Well, a number of them have come in to tell me that I'm saying things they're not allowed to say and bully for me and they're really glad that I did it. And a number of them are either writing or saying that they don't agree and want to let me know that, too.

MCINTYRE: And isn't that what campus dialogue is supposed to be about?

FLEMING: At some level, I couldn't be happier.

MCINTYRE (voice-over): The academy superintendent, the equivalent of the school's president, was furious.

(on camera): Is Professor Fleming in any trouble?

VICE ADM. RODNEY REMPT, SUPERINTENDENT, U.S. NAVAL ACADEMY: No, not at all.

MCINTYRE (voice-over): Admiral Rempt can't fire a tenured professor for speaking out, but he can and did abrade him. "I would have expected a faculty member with almost 18 years here to exercise better judgment," he wrote in a memo to Fleming. "Your action has served to needlessly criticize the academy, our admissions board, and every midshipman."

(on camera): The Naval Academy disputes the idea that it has lower standards for some applicants and insists its whole person admissions policy looks at far more than just academics.

(voice-over): And the academy insists there are no quotas or racial preferences to achieve diversity.

REMPT: We're looking for people who certainly have academic smarts but also have the physical toughness and the determination and the basic leadership skills.

MCINTYRE: Xochitl Piedra is a Mexican-American and a standout on the women's soccer team. Just because she needed some extra help to get through engineering, academy officials argue, doesn't mean she won't excel as a leader.

XOCHITL PIEDRA, MIDSHIPMAN 1ST CLASS: I think I'll be able to take care of my people, which is one of the most important things about being an officer.

MCINTYRE: While the midshipmen provided to CNN for interviews all supported the official view, Professor Fleming said his e-mails were split 50/50. One student wrote, "The only reason that anybody would be opposed to your article would be if they recognized its truth and were threatened by it." But another argued the last thing the fleet needs is 4,000 straight A students. And some cited examples of poor students who went on to succeed.

Senator John McCain graduated from Annapolis in 1958, fifth in his class, fifth from the bottom.

Jamie McIntyre, CNN, Annapolis.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: And be sure to stay with CNN for the very latest stories on "Defending America."

Looking at our troop ticker now, thousands of Marines are volunteering to help a fellow Marine who may need a bone marrow transplant. The Marine is in Loma Linda, California in a hospital there where he underwent a liver transplant. Doctors say he may need a transplant because his body isn't producing enough red blood cells.

A little bit of warmth from across the nation, quilt makers have been making lap quilts for injured soldiers returning to Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland from overseas. So far more than 3,000 lap quilts have been made for the troops.

Go ahead take the cover off this puppy. It's a 1971 Corvette fixed up special for Michael and Kathleen Darnell (ph), members of an Ohio National Guard unit just back from 14 months in Iraq. Michael bought the Corvette over the Internet while overseas, but the car's condition was not what he expected. Enter a whole bunch of good samaritans who chipped in to make it one hot ride.

When DAYBREAK continues, more fallout on the freed Italian journalist, including questions of whether her government paid for her release. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COSTELLO: More details are emerging this morning on that U.S. military shooting of Italians in Iraq. A senior U.S. official says the shooting occurred at a checkpoint set up to secure the passage of John Negroponte, the U.S. Ambassador to Iraq.

An Italian intelligence agent, Nicola Calipari, was killed in Friday's shooting. And a freed journalist, Giuliana Sgrena, was wounded. She returned to Rome on Saturday disputing U.S. accounts. Sgrena says the shooting did not happen at a checkpoint. And she says the U.S. gave no warning before opening fire. Sgrena doesn't rule out the shooting was deliberate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD BOUCHER, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: No shred of truth to the idea that we somehow did this on purpose. This was a very tragic accident. And we, and the Italians, are going to look into it. We do have an investigation going on. And the secretary -- the president has called Prime Minister Berlusconi, our ambassador has talked to Prime Minister Berlusconi. Secretary called Foreign Minister Fini on Saturday to express our sadness and our sympathies and condolences.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Sgrena is recovering from a wound to the shoulder. The United States, of course, is promising a full investigation.

Let's head into "The War Room" right now, because Italian officials have spoken out about this new this morning, and we want to know what they said.

So let's head live to Atlanta and our CNN senior international editor David Clinch.

DAVID CLINCH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: Yes.

COSTELLO: David, what are they saying this morning?

CLINCH: Well, Carol, we've just been listening to Gianfranco Fini, the Italian Foreign Minister, who's been addressing the Parliament in Rome today on this issue. A few important points. He stresses the Italian government, as opposed to the journalist, and we talked about her potential bias, as the government considers this to have been an accident.

On the other hand, he does point out a few issues where there are disputes with the United States' version of events. A few important points. He's saying the agent who survived, who was in the car, says it could not have been going more than about 25 miles an hour, disputing the U.S. version that it was speeding up. That agent also, according to the foreign minister, saying there was no warning before the shooting started. So those two points for a start.

And then also pointing out that communication did happen with U.S. authorities, not necessarily to say that the Italian car was on the road at that time, although they do say that they called the airport to say they were on the way. Not clear if that was the U.S. authorities they spoke to, but they did tell the Italian Embassy they were on the road at that time. And they did have permission from U.S. authorities to be in the country and that U.S. authorities were aware of this operation, so some very significant disputes between the governments.

COSTELLO: Well, David, let me interrupt for just a second, because we said just a short time ago that they had set up this checkpoint for John Negroponte.

CLINCH: Right.

COSTELLO: That means that the checkpoint wasn't in place in the first place, it was a new checkpoint that perhaps the Italians didn't know about. What exactly does that mean?

CLINCH: Right, well that is an interesting point. We had been made aware that this was a temporary or ad hoc checkpoint, something that happens all the time in Iraq. But the added emphasis that Negroponte may have been on the road or about to be on the road certainly would play into the idea that these U.S. soldiers were very aware of a security threat, potentially to Negroponte, and would have been even more nervous than usual about any vehicle approaching the checkpoint. So perhaps a very bad coincidence of events there, we'll have to wait and see what the investigation reveals.

But as opposed to the journalist and her version of events, this is now the government's disputing. And the Italians saying, yes, it was an accident, but they're demanding the truth and justice from the U.S. government.

He did not mention, and this was something we were planning to talk about at this hour now, he did not mention, the Italian Foreign Minister, whether a ransom was paid for Sgrena's release. That's an issue the U.S. authorities have been very upset about the reports in the Italian media that perhaps millions of dollars were paid for her release.

Something the U.S. military and the U.S. government is disgusted with the idea that even an ally, whether it was the government or somebody else in Italy, would pay insurgents or criminals, whoever it is, thousands or millions of dollars to get anybody free. It encourages more hostage taking, and that money potentially used to support the insurgency, something the U.S. is not happy about. He did not mention that today in the Parliament.

COSTELLO: Well this is far from over, and we'll discuss it in the days to come.

CLINCH: Right.

COSTELLO: David Clinch, thank you.

CLINCH: OK. COSTELLO: Still to come on DAYBREAK, the birds, the bees and the human brain, how men and women really do think differently when it comes to sex.

And later on, a star from the movie "Sea Biscuit" heads to the big horse track in the sky.

We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports. It is 5:47 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says President Bush has picked this man, Under Secretary of State John Bolton, for Ambassador to the United Nations. He's been a harsh critic of the world body and could face a tough confirmation hearing.

Machinists at the Lockheed Martin plant outside of Atlanta are on strike this morning. Some 2,800 union workers are in a dispute with the company over pay, health care premiums and retiree insurance benefits.

In money news, how does 25 miles per gallon sound? "Consumer Reports" has picked the Honda Accord hybrid as this year's top pick of family sedans. It goes from 0 to 60 a half second faster than the all gas version.

In culture, the legendary New York rock club, CBGB, is embroiled in a dispute over unpaid rent. Blondie and the Ramones got their start at the club, as well as a host of other groups. The lease is up in August. The club owes $76,000.

In sports, four-and-a-half months after the World Series, New York and Boston mixed it up again in exhibition play. The Yankees beat Boston 9 to 2. Fans did taunt Jason Giambi, chanting steroid, steroid, steroid every time he came up to bat.

MYERS: That won't be the last time.

COSTELLO: I think he hit a home run in that game, though, if I'm not mistaken.

MYERS: It was a split squad, so I don't think that's an indication of how the season is going to go.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: All right, thank you, Chad.

Those are the latest headlines for you this morning.

Some graphic testimony in the Michael Jackson child molestation trial to tell you about. The 14-year-old younger brother of Jackson's accuser says on two occasions he's walked into the pop star's bedroom and found Jackson masturbating with one hand while his other hand was down his brother's pants while his brother was asleep. This was the first direct eyewitness account of sexual contact between Jackson and the accuser.

The brother also says Jackson once walked naked into his bedroom while the boys were sitting on the bed watching a movie in Jackson's room. And he testified that he and his brother viewed sexually explicit images from the Internet and pornographic magazines. They drank wine, made prank phone calls to strangers with Michael Jackson. The pop star denies all the charges against him.

Still ahead on DAYBREAK, take a look at this, if you're a man, you're putting down your coffee and coming closer to the television. If you're a woman, you're probably making a face and turning away. How is that? Well now there's a scientific explanation. We'll explain. And we apologize about the segue from the Michael Jackson story.

DAYBREAK will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: All right, what turns you on? It's actually a very serious scientific question about the differences between men and women when it comes to sex.

CNN's Gary Tuchman reports the answer on what turns you on, lies and how you're wired.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Four courageous graduate students. Brave because they have volunteered to let us witness...

PROF. STEPHAN HAMANN, EMORY UNIVERSITY: Just like you look at them as if you were watching a movie and just have your natural reaction.

TUCHMAN: ... their reactions to explicit sexual images, all in the name of science, of course.

Jen Pokorny is hooked up to a skin response machine that measures sweat. This is her response when looking at a non-sexual picture, almost a flat line. But when looking at an explicit picture of a couple, her lines start to move. But compare her lines to Henry Lanks (ph). He looks at a similar image and this is what happens on the computer screen.

Now, it's not revolutionary to find out men have stronger reactions to sexual images. But research here at Atlanta's Emory University with a larger group of people, showing these pictures, and others found that much of the reason for the differences has to do with our brains.

HAMANN: We found that there are very specific parts of the brain that are more active in men than in women.

TUCHMAN: Professor Stephan Hamann's research using MRI brain scans, in addition to the skin tests, has shown...

HAMANN: The areas that were more active in the males were here in the amygdala on both sides, and in that central area, the hypothalamus.

TUCHMAN (on camera): And the woman?

HAMANN: Now the women you can see in that same area, the amygdala, on both sides, no activity, and just very little activity in the hypothalamus.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): Among our group, the women insist they did find some of the pictures arousing.

JEN POKORNY, EMORY UNIV. GRADUATE STUDENT: I'm surprised that there was relatively little response.

TUCHMAN: But the results in our test, as well as the complete study, show that men are more likely to have a dramatic response.

(on camera): Is it enough for you just to see the picture and know nothing about what you're looking at?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, definitely.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): There are certainly sociological reasons for the differences.

(on camera): You're looking at pictures with no context at all, no social context.

POKORNY: Right.

TUCHMAN: If there was some context, if you knew more about the people, if you knew the people, would that make it more arousing?

POKORNY: Probably, yes, because you could look at it that they're just pictures. But, yes, if there was a story or there was some sort of context put into it, you could probably respond better.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): But this study has shown these students and many others there are biological reasons, too.

Gary Tuchman, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Here's what's ahead in the 6:00 hour of DAYBREAK.

Millions of you are struggling to live on $5.15 an hour. That's the minimum wage. It hasn't changed in, what, seven years. We'll talk about the economics of the minimum wage and relief might finally come. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: We've been talking about "Fat Actress" this morning. That's the new Kirstie Alley reality I guess it's a sitcom. But the question this morning, "Fat Actress": helpful or harmful?

Take it away -- Chad.

MYERS: I got this one from Ontario, Canada. He said I watched "Fat Actress" yesterday, found it very entertaining, very funny to watch. Also, nice to see that an actress in Hollywood could have weight issues and still do very well. Kirstie Alley was a great actress and she looked very great on that show.

COSTELLO: Cool!

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: This is also a positive comment. This is from Linda (ph) from Connecticut. As a woman who battled the bulge my entire adult life, I absolutely loved the "Fat Actress." I just lost 85 pounds, and I almost ran out and bought a Scooter Pie after watching Kirstie's great rendition of how great it is to ride back to the childhood treats -- how great it is to ride back to childhood treats can be.

MYERS: For me it was the Ho Ho.

COSTELLO: So interesting.

MYERS: And it still is.

COSTELLO: Exactly.

The next hour of DAYBREAK starts right now.

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 March 8, 2005 - 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: And good morning to you, welcome to the second half-hour of DAYBREAK. From the Time Warner Center in New York, I'm Carol Costello, along with Chad Myers.
"Now in the News."

China proposed a new law today authorizing military force to stop Taiwan from formally declaring its independence. A leading communist party leader says the anti-secession law would authorize an attack if peaceful persuasion fails. The National People's Congress is expected to approve the measure on Monday.

In Iraq, U.S. soldiers with Task Force Liberty fought off a militant attack north of Baghdad. Military officials say two militants were killed and a third wounded, five others were detained.

Los Angeles voters go to the polls today to cast ballots in the wide-open mayoral primary. Twelve candidates are in the running. Incumbent Mayor James Hahn is struggling to keep his job.

A 90-day ban, Reverend Al Sharpton plans to call on radio and TV stations to ban playing music by performers who use violence in their lyrics. The move comes after last week's shootout between rappers at a New York radio station that left one man wounded.

To the Forecast Center now.

Good morning -- Chad.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Carol.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Thank you -- Chad.

MYERS: You're welcome.

COSTELLO: Now for our "Defending America" segment.

Is the Naval Academy producing qualified sailors? One professor is questioning his school's admissions policy.

CNN's senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre has more for you from Annapolis.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): According to one outspoken academy professor, half of the brigade of midshipmen got into Annapolis through set-asides, lower standards for racial minorities, star athletes or sailors who have shown potential. Weaker academics means weaker officers, he says, officers who may one day have their finger on the button or the trigger.

Some minority students were outraged.

ADAM YANG, MIDSHIPMAN 1ST CLASS: The fundamental flaw in his argument was that weaker academics make weaker officers, but academics isn't the definition of a good officer.

MCINTYRE: As part of a regular feature called "Nobody Asked Me, But," Annapolis English Professor Bruce Fleming wrote in last month's "Proceedings" magazine the academy can do better. "Set-asides," he wrote, "slow class discussions and take seats that better applicants could have filled."

(on camera): So what were you thinking when you wrote this?

PROF. BRUCE FLEMING, U.S. NAVAL ACADEMY: Well, my concern is for the well-being of the Navy and Marine Corps.

MCINTYRE: What kind of reaction are you getting from the students?

FLEMING: Well, a number of them have come in to tell me that I'm saying things they're not allowed to say and bully for me and they're really glad that I did it. And a number of them are either writing or saying that they don't agree and want to let me know that, too.

MCINTYRE: And isn't that what campus dialogue is supposed to be about?

FLEMING: At some level, I couldn't be happier.

MCINTYRE (voice-over): The academy superintendent, the equivalent of the school's president, was furious.

(on camera): Is Professor Fleming in any trouble?

VICE ADM. RODNEY REMPT, SUPERINTENDENT, U.S. NAVAL ACADEMY: No, not at all.

MCINTYRE (voice-over): Admiral Rempt can't fire a tenured professor for speaking out, but he can and did abrade him. "I would have expected a faculty member with almost 18 years here to exercise better judgment," he wrote in a memo to Fleming. "Your action has served to needlessly criticize the academy, our admissions board, and every midshipman."

(on camera): The Naval Academy disputes the idea that it has lower standards for some applicants and insists its whole person admissions policy looks at far more than just academics.

(voice-over): And the academy insists there are no quotas or racial preferences to achieve diversity.

REMPT: We're looking for people who certainly have academic smarts but also have the physical toughness and the determination and the basic leadership skills.

MCINTYRE: Xochitl Piedra is a Mexican-American and a standout on the women's soccer team. Just because she needed some extra help to get through engineering, academy officials argue, doesn't mean she won't excel as a leader.

XOCHITL PIEDRA, MIDSHIPMAN 1ST CLASS: I think I'll be able to take care of my people, which is one of the most important things about being an officer.

MCINTYRE: While the midshipmen provided to CNN for interviews all supported the official view, Professor Fleming said his e-mails were split 50/50. One student wrote, "The only reason that anybody would be opposed to your article would be if they recognized its truth and were threatened by it." But another argued the last thing the fleet needs is 4,000 straight A students. And some cited examples of poor students who went on to succeed.

Senator John McCain graduated from Annapolis in 1958, fifth in his class, fifth from the bottom.

Jamie McIntyre, CNN, Annapolis.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: And be sure to stay with CNN for the very latest stories on "Defending America."

Looking at our troop ticker now, thousands of Marines are volunteering to help a fellow Marine who may need a bone marrow transplant. The Marine is in Loma Linda, California in a hospital there where he underwent a liver transplant. Doctors say he may need a transplant because his body isn't producing enough red blood cells.

A little bit of warmth from across the nation, quilt makers have been making lap quilts for injured soldiers returning to Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland from overseas. So far more than 3,000 lap quilts have been made for the troops.

Go ahead take the cover off this puppy. It's a 1971 Corvette fixed up special for Michael and Kathleen Darnell (ph), members of an Ohio National Guard unit just back from 14 months in Iraq. Michael bought the Corvette over the Internet while overseas, but the car's condition was not what he expected. Enter a whole bunch of good samaritans who chipped in to make it one hot ride.

When DAYBREAK continues, more fallout on the freed Italian journalist, including questions of whether her government paid for her release. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COSTELLO: More details are emerging this morning on that U.S. military shooting of Italians in Iraq. A senior U.S. official says the shooting occurred at a checkpoint set up to secure the passage of John Negroponte, the U.S. Ambassador to Iraq.

An Italian intelligence agent, Nicola Calipari, was killed in Friday's shooting. And a freed journalist, Giuliana Sgrena, was wounded. She returned to Rome on Saturday disputing U.S. accounts. Sgrena says the shooting did not happen at a checkpoint. And she says the U.S. gave no warning before opening fire. Sgrena doesn't rule out the shooting was deliberate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD BOUCHER, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: No shred of truth to the idea that we somehow did this on purpose. This was a very tragic accident. And we, and the Italians, are going to look into it. We do have an investigation going on. And the secretary -- the president has called Prime Minister Berlusconi, our ambassador has talked to Prime Minister Berlusconi. Secretary called Foreign Minister Fini on Saturday to express our sadness and our sympathies and condolences.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Sgrena is recovering from a wound to the shoulder. The United States, of course, is promising a full investigation.

Let's head into "The War Room" right now, because Italian officials have spoken out about this new this morning, and we want to know what they said.

So let's head live to Atlanta and our CNN senior international editor David Clinch.

DAVID CLINCH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: Yes.

COSTELLO: David, what are they saying this morning?

CLINCH: Well, Carol, we've just been listening to Gianfranco Fini, the Italian Foreign Minister, who's been addressing the Parliament in Rome today on this issue. A few important points. He stresses the Italian government, as opposed to the journalist, and we talked about her potential bias, as the government considers this to have been an accident.

On the other hand, he does point out a few issues where there are disputes with the United States' version of events. A few important points. He's saying the agent who survived, who was in the car, says it could not have been going more than about 25 miles an hour, disputing the U.S. version that it was speeding up. That agent also, according to the foreign minister, saying there was no warning before the shooting started. So those two points for a start.

And then also pointing out that communication did happen with U.S. authorities, not necessarily to say that the Italian car was on the road at that time, although they do say that they called the airport to say they were on the way. Not clear if that was the U.S. authorities they spoke to, but they did tell the Italian Embassy they were on the road at that time. And they did have permission from U.S. authorities to be in the country and that U.S. authorities were aware of this operation, so some very significant disputes between the governments.

COSTELLO: Well, David, let me interrupt for just a second, because we said just a short time ago that they had set up this checkpoint for John Negroponte.

CLINCH: Right.

COSTELLO: That means that the checkpoint wasn't in place in the first place, it was a new checkpoint that perhaps the Italians didn't know about. What exactly does that mean?

CLINCH: Right, well that is an interesting point. We had been made aware that this was a temporary or ad hoc checkpoint, something that happens all the time in Iraq. But the added emphasis that Negroponte may have been on the road or about to be on the road certainly would play into the idea that these U.S. soldiers were very aware of a security threat, potentially to Negroponte, and would have been even more nervous than usual about any vehicle approaching the checkpoint. So perhaps a very bad coincidence of events there, we'll have to wait and see what the investigation reveals.

But as opposed to the journalist and her version of events, this is now the government's disputing. And the Italians saying, yes, it was an accident, but they're demanding the truth and justice from the U.S. government.

He did not mention, and this was something we were planning to talk about at this hour now, he did not mention, the Italian Foreign Minister, whether a ransom was paid for Sgrena's release. That's an issue the U.S. authorities have been very upset about the reports in the Italian media that perhaps millions of dollars were paid for her release.

Something the U.S. military and the U.S. government is disgusted with the idea that even an ally, whether it was the government or somebody else in Italy, would pay insurgents or criminals, whoever it is, thousands or millions of dollars to get anybody free. It encourages more hostage taking, and that money potentially used to support the insurgency, something the U.S. is not happy about. He did not mention that today in the Parliament.

COSTELLO: Well this is far from over, and we'll discuss it in the days to come.

CLINCH: Right.

COSTELLO: David Clinch, thank you.

CLINCH: OK. COSTELLO: Still to come on DAYBREAK, the birds, the bees and the human brain, how men and women really do think differently when it comes to sex.

And later on, a star from the movie "Sea Biscuit" heads to the big horse track in the sky.

We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports. It is 5:47 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says President Bush has picked this man, Under Secretary of State John Bolton, for Ambassador to the United Nations. He's been a harsh critic of the world body and could face a tough confirmation hearing.

Machinists at the Lockheed Martin plant outside of Atlanta are on strike this morning. Some 2,800 union workers are in a dispute with the company over pay, health care premiums and retiree insurance benefits.

In money news, how does 25 miles per gallon sound? "Consumer Reports" has picked the Honda Accord hybrid as this year's top pick of family sedans. It goes from 0 to 60 a half second faster than the all gas version.

In culture, the legendary New York rock club, CBGB, is embroiled in a dispute over unpaid rent. Blondie and the Ramones got their start at the club, as well as a host of other groups. The lease is up in August. The club owes $76,000.

In sports, four-and-a-half months after the World Series, New York and Boston mixed it up again in exhibition play. The Yankees beat Boston 9 to 2. Fans did taunt Jason Giambi, chanting steroid, steroid, steroid every time he came up to bat.

MYERS: That won't be the last time.

COSTELLO: I think he hit a home run in that game, though, if I'm not mistaken.

MYERS: It was a split squad, so I don't think that's an indication of how the season is going to go.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: All right, thank you, Chad.

Those are the latest headlines for you this morning.

Some graphic testimony in the Michael Jackson child molestation trial to tell you about. The 14-year-old younger brother of Jackson's accuser says on two occasions he's walked into the pop star's bedroom and found Jackson masturbating with one hand while his other hand was down his brother's pants while his brother was asleep. This was the first direct eyewitness account of sexual contact between Jackson and the accuser.

The brother also says Jackson once walked naked into his bedroom while the boys were sitting on the bed watching a movie in Jackson's room. And he testified that he and his brother viewed sexually explicit images from the Internet and pornographic magazines. They drank wine, made prank phone calls to strangers with Michael Jackson. The pop star denies all the charges against him.

Still ahead on DAYBREAK, take a look at this, if you're a man, you're putting down your coffee and coming closer to the television. If you're a woman, you're probably making a face and turning away. How is that? Well now there's a scientific explanation. We'll explain. And we apologize about the segue from the Michael Jackson story.

DAYBREAK will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: All right, what turns you on? It's actually a very serious scientific question about the differences between men and women when it comes to sex.

CNN's Gary Tuchman reports the answer on what turns you on, lies and how you're wired.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Four courageous graduate students. Brave because they have volunteered to let us witness...

PROF. STEPHAN HAMANN, EMORY UNIVERSITY: Just like you look at them as if you were watching a movie and just have your natural reaction.

TUCHMAN: ... their reactions to explicit sexual images, all in the name of science, of course.

Jen Pokorny is hooked up to a skin response machine that measures sweat. This is her response when looking at a non-sexual picture, almost a flat line. But when looking at an explicit picture of a couple, her lines start to move. But compare her lines to Henry Lanks (ph). He looks at a similar image and this is what happens on the computer screen.

Now, it's not revolutionary to find out men have stronger reactions to sexual images. But research here at Atlanta's Emory University with a larger group of people, showing these pictures, and others found that much of the reason for the differences has to do with our brains.

HAMANN: We found that there are very specific parts of the brain that are more active in men than in women.

TUCHMAN: Professor Stephan Hamann's research using MRI brain scans, in addition to the skin tests, has shown...

HAMANN: The areas that were more active in the males were here in the amygdala on both sides, and in that central area, the hypothalamus.

TUCHMAN (on camera): And the woman?

HAMANN: Now the women you can see in that same area, the amygdala, on both sides, no activity, and just very little activity in the hypothalamus.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): Among our group, the women insist they did find some of the pictures arousing.

JEN POKORNY, EMORY UNIV. GRADUATE STUDENT: I'm surprised that there was relatively little response.

TUCHMAN: But the results in our test, as well as the complete study, show that men are more likely to have a dramatic response.

(on camera): Is it enough for you just to see the picture and know nothing about what you're looking at?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, definitely.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): There are certainly sociological reasons for the differences.

(on camera): You're looking at pictures with no context at all, no social context.

POKORNY: Right.

TUCHMAN: If there was some context, if you knew more about the people, if you knew the people, would that make it more arousing?

POKORNY: Probably, yes, because you could look at it that they're just pictures. But, yes, if there was a story or there was some sort of context put into it, you could probably respond better.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): But this study has shown these students and many others there are biological reasons, too.

Gary Tuchman, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Here's what's ahead in the 6:00 hour of DAYBREAK.

Millions of you are struggling to live on $5.15 an hour. That's the minimum wage. It hasn't changed in, what, seven years. We'll talk about the economics of the minimum wage and relief might finally come. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: We've been talking about "Fat Actress" this morning. That's the new Kirstie Alley reality I guess it's a sitcom. But the question this morning, "Fat Actress": helpful or harmful?

Take it away -- Chad.

MYERS: I got this one from Ontario, Canada. He said I watched "Fat Actress" yesterday, found it very entertaining, very funny to watch. Also, nice to see that an actress in Hollywood could have weight issues and still do very well. Kirstie Alley was a great actress and she looked very great on that show.

COSTELLO: Cool!

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: This is also a positive comment. This is from Linda (ph) from Connecticut. As a woman who battled the bulge my entire adult life, I absolutely loved the "Fat Actress." I just lost 85 pounds, and I almost ran out and bought a Scooter Pie after watching Kirstie's great rendition of how great it is to ride back to the childhood treats -- how great it is to ride back to childhood treats can be.

MYERS: For me it was the Ho Ho.

COSTELLO: So interesting.

MYERS: And it still is.

COSTELLO: Exactly.

The next hour of DAYBREAK starts right now.

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