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American Morning
Charges Reconsidered Against Brawling Bus Driver; Laura Bush Meets Protests in Holy City; Howard Dean: DeLay will Go to Jail; Studies Show Differences in Male, Female Brains
Aired May 23, 2005 - 08:30 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, ANCHOR: Investigators collecting the last remnants of evidence from an Idaho home, where three people were found dead two small children still missing. They're 8-year-old Shasta Groene and her 9-year-old brother, Dylan.
CNN has obtained home video of the girl taken earlier this month. Police say they've received more than 800 tips in the search, but no solid leads. Their father, Steve Groene, says an FBI agent told him he failed parts of a polygraph test, but Groene insist he's does not know where his children are.
Michael Jackson's lawyers may rest their case as early as tomorrow. Still no word if the pop star himself will testify. Comedians Jay Leno and Chris Tucker are among the last witnesses expected to take the stand. Court resumes later today.
And radio host Rush Limbaugh could be ordered to hand over his medical records. Prosecutors in Palm Beach, Florida, are heading to court today to demand the release of those documents. The records were seized in late 2003 as part of an investigation into whether Limbaugh went doctor shopping to illegally buy pain medication.
And it's being called the largest ever demolition blast in China. Take a look. A total of 1,500 pounds of explosives were set off near the Hong Kong border in the southern part of that country. Always amazing to look at this, isn't it?
Fifteen buildings fell sideways in a cloud of dust, but there was one minor glitch. A 16th building remains standing. Good old fashioned bulldozers had to be called in. The area will be cleared and redeveloped.
We're so used to seeing them implode, it's kind of scary to see them fall sideways.
BILL HEMMER, CO-HOST: They got 15 of 16, right?
COSTELLO: Fifteen of 16.
HEMMER: Pretty good afternoon.
COSTELLO: Yes. And then the bulldozer came in.
Back to you, Soledad. Is that what I'm doing?
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CO-HOST: Back to me, thanks, Carol. Yes, amazing pictures there.
Let's turn to Florida now. Authorities are reexamining charges filed against a school bus driver who got into a brawl with two students. A video camera caught the entire fight on tape.
Sara Dorsey has our report this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SARA DORSEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Bus driver Albert Taylor told Charlotte County police he had to pull his bus over Tuesday after a few students caused a disruption.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Watch your mouth.
ALBERT TAYLOR, BUS DRIVER: Don't you tell me what to do. Get up here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
TAYLOR: Get up here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No!
DORSEY: Taylor told police he had asked a student to come to the front of the bus three times. This video shows Taylor then went to get the student. The boy's brother intervened, and Taylor appears to strike him and grab him by the throat.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get off him! Get off him!
TAYLOR: The scuffle doesn't end there. The older brother, who has already been struck, appears to throw a punch at the driver.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you going hit him?
TAYLOR: Sit down.
DORSEY: The boys then demand to be let off the bus.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're going to jail, boy. If you don't let me off this bus. Let me off the bus. Call that number. Call the deputies, hurry up.
DORSEY: Sixty-six-year-old Taylor has been charged with simple battery, a misdemeanor. We've been unable to reach him for comment, and it's not known if he has legal representation.
None of the other children on the bus were involved in the confrontation, but the 13- and 15-year-old brothers are charged with felonies. The boys' defense attorney says that doesn't add up.
RUSSEL KIRSHY, ATTORNEY: It's just -- it's despicable. It's crazy that they would be charged with felonies and the bus driver would be charged with a misdemeanor. DORSEY: Charlotte County sheriff's officials say that in Florida, it's an automatic felony for a student to strike a school official. They say the charges were filed before the video became available but that seeing it has, quote, "changed the thinking here."
(on camera) The sheriff's office says it does not have the power to change any of the charges, but the state's attorney can.
The brothers have been suspended from school and will appear in front of a judge on Monday. The bus driver is scheduled to appear on June 1. He has been suspended with pay, and the sheriff's office says the school board will meet next week to determine his future.
Sara Dorsey, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: A sheriff's spokesman says investigators will use the tape to try to determine just who provoked the attack. A school official says employees are allowed to defend themselves. But they're at fault if they instigate the confrontation -- Bill.
HEMMER: Soledad, the first lady caught some anti-American sentiment during her visit to two holy sites over the weekend, Mrs. Bush confronted by screaming protesters, first in the Israeli side, then on the Palestinian side as she left the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. Later she talked about it with reporters about the day's events.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAURA BUSH, FIRST LADY: I'm really glad to be here. But I also know that especially the American press, who are here with me, see what an emotional place this is as we go from each one of these very, very holy spots to the next. And it's -- we're reminded again of what we all want, what every one of us pray for.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: That is just one of three really good topics this morning, too, on a Monday morning for Kamber and May. Down in D.C., Democratic consultant Victor Kamber.
Vic, what's happening? Good morning there.
VICTOR KAMBER, DEMOCRATIC CONSULTANT: Good morning.
HEMMER: And former RNC communications director, Cliff May. Cliff, what's going on with you?
CLIFF MAY, FORMER RNC COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: Good morning, Bill.
HEMMER: Good morning to you guys.
Vic, let's start with Laura Bush. Some are saying this was an ill advised trip. Do you go to that region and not go to the Western Wall? Do you go to that region and pay a visit to the Dome of the Rock?
KAMBER: Well, I think the first question is do you go to the region if you're Laura Bush? She is not a diplomat. She has no diplomatic experience.
I think the administration, the president in particular, were trying to play off the enormous popularity that she presently has and hoping that it would convey, both in the United States a positive image and redirect American attention to this area in a way that was positive and, also, win some goodwill.
But the bottom line is, I think they misunderstood, misrepresented how much dislike there is in that region for this administration, regardless if it's Laura Bush or George Bush or Condoleezza Rice.
HEMMER: It's certainly getting a headline today, Cliff. But this is about 40 or 50 people. It wasn't like they had thousands waiting to protest there when she arrived.
MAY: Exactly. I'm surprised Victor doesn't understand this.
Laura Bush is from the United States, a democratic country. She can't go out for a tuna fish on rye without getting protested here. We have protests all the time and as long as they're peaceful, we don't mind.
Same thing about Israel. It's a democratic country. They have protests at the drop of a hat. As long as it's peaceful, that's fine, too.
Very important, by the way, that in Israel, all holy sites, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, are very carefully protected. That's not true in a lot of other countries in the region, and I think it's good that someone like Laura Bush, who is a dignified presence, who is just an admirable woman, she's going to learn, she's going to talk. She's talking about women's rights over there.
Sure, the headlines are going to be against her, but you know, she's a Republican.
HEMMER: All right. All right. That's topic No. 1. Topic No. 2, Vic, Howard Dean over the weekend told Tim Russert on "Meet the Press" that Tom DeLay, essentially, will likely go to jail. Did he cross the line, knowing this investigation is still underway?
KAMBER: Well, you know, no. Yes and no. I don't think so in the sense that he backed it up by saying that, you know, Howard -- Tom DeLay, at this point, has already been found ethically challenged on a number of issues prior to the present charges.
He -- he wouldn't back down. I watched it also and didn't understand exactly why he wouldn't quite back down and say you're innocent until proven guilty, because he basically said the guy is already guilty of ethical charges.
I think we all would have to agree -- Cliff may not -- that Tom DeLay is ethically challenged. He probably should be stepping aside at this point while the charges are pending and until it's all cleared up. And I, like Howard Dean, think in the end, when it is cleared up, he'll be out of office.
HEMMER: What are you smirking at, Cliff?
MAY: Because Howard Dean is the guy who said that Saddam Hussein was innocent until proven guilty. But he doesn't give the same courtesy to somebody like Tom DeLay, who hasn't been convicted, hasn't been indicted.
Yes, there have been a lot of charges, some of them made by Howard Dean. So now, if you charge somebody with something, they should go to jail for it?
KAMBER: He has been -- he has been found guilty by the ethics panel for four charges before the recent ones.
MAY: No. No, there are no crimes for which he's been found guilty, and there have been admonitions in regard to -- to rules of the House, which you know are not crimes. Don't confuse people like that.
KAMBER: I didn't say crimes, but he's been found ethically challenged by his colleagues.
MAY: You don't go to jail because of the ethical rules in the House. You know that. It's not a crime to do that.
Look, Howard Dean is somebody who cannot distinguish between his enemies or America's enemies, like Saddam Hussein, and his adversaries, such as people like Tom DeLay. He only wants to fight Republicans. He doesn't want to fight anybody in the real world, which is why Democrats didn't select him as their candidate.
HEMMER: I've got time for one more topic. Warren Beatty was speaking at a commencement address over the weekend at the University of California, Berkeley. Listen to what he said about the current governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, in that state.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WARREN BEATTY, ACTOR: The government is not a joke. Despite what he said, it's not a movie.
But he's going to have to listen. He's not stupid. He knows I'm a private citizen, just as he was a year ago. I'm an opponent of his muscle-bound conservatism, with a longer experience in politics than he has. And although I don't want to run for governor, I would do one hell of a lot better job than he's done.
(END VIDEO CLIP) HEMMER: Pretty strong speech. He talked for an hour. I think the idea for commencement speech is to keep it to 12 minutes or less. The grads want to get the heck out of there. Does he want his job, in essence, Victor?
KAMBER: I don't think so. I think he was -- probably got caught up with himself. As you say, he talked for an hour on a series of subjects.
I think all he did with the governor was indicate, I think, the view of a lot of Democrats that it's a failed governorship at this point, no different than when he took office from Gray Davis. Nothing has been accomplished. And even Warren Beatty could probably beat him is what he's saying.
HEMMER: Cliff, you have five seconds.
MAY: I wish he'd try. Look, it's very funny that he says, "I have longer experience than Schwarzenegger does in politics." I guess that means because he produced movies like "Reds," in which he played a Russian revolutionary He think he has had experience in politics.
Let him run.
HEMMER: I don't think we've seen -- I don't think this will be the last chapter of this, do you?
MAY: Let him run. Let him run something but his mouth.
HEMMER: Thanks, Cliff. Thanks, Victor. Talk to you again later in the week.
KAMBER: Thank you, Bill.
HEMMER: All right. Here's Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Thirty-nine minutes past the hour. It is time to take another look at the weather this morning. Chad Myers is at the CNN center with the latest forecast. Really hot in some places -- Chad.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HEMMER: Chad, thanks for that. I'll talk to you later.
Get ready for Trump University. Andy's "Minding Your Business" on that story in a moment here.
O'BRIEN: Is it stubborn pride or is it something much deeper? Dr. Gupta takes a look at why many men refuse to ask directions. Those stories ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Did you ever wonder why some men will never ask for directions when they're lost or why sometimes girls can be better communicators than boys? The latest research suggests that some of these traits are hard wired into our brain as men and women.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta explains.
Good morning.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
Yes, real interesting news here, breaking news. Men and women's brains are different. Girls' brains communicate better. Men can be better analytically as well. But a growing body of research showing the brains of men and women are, in fact, very different.
Here are some of the major differences, actually. We'll break it down. Male's brain, about 10 percent larger than the female brain, even when adjusted for the fact that men are, on average, eight percent taller than women. Men's brains are still slightly bigger.
Men do thinking in more focused regions of the brain. In fact, some studies show that men can move information within one hemisphere more effectively than women.
And as men age, they tend to lose more tissue from certain parts of the brain, located just behind the forehead. That area of the Brian concerns itself with consequences and self-control and judgment, as well. So they may be more prone to midlife crises as a result of this. Really interesting.
Important to remember, thought, of course, these are generalizations. There's a lot of women engineers and a lot of male communicators out there. The research does not apply to all men and women.
Most scientists at autopsy still cannot tell the difference between a male and female brain just by looking at them. And size does not predict intellectual performance, as was once thought. Men and women perform similarly on I.Q. tests, overall.
O'BRIEN: So if men's brains are larger but they're not using as much of it, what about...
GUPTA: I see where you're going with this.
O'BRIEN: You know exactly where I'm going with this. And know the answer I want.
GUPTA: Women are smarter, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: There you go.
GUPTA: Seriously, women's brains are different. They're more interlinked and they appear to have more connections, actually, between the two hemispheres. So women tend to use more parts of their brain to accomplish certain tasks. That might explain why they're better able to recover from strokes, for example, by using other parts of the brain to compensate. They also have 15 percent more blood flow to the brain. I found that very interesting. And I don't know what it really means, but they're using -- more metabolically active.
O'BRIEN: That's interesting. Boys' and girls' brains, do they develop differently, or essentially the same?
GUPTA: They do develop a little bit differently in terms of overall size. According to some of the studies we looked at, different parts of the brain develop at different rates.
For example, one study, one study, girls' brain sizes peaked around 11.5 years. Boys, about three years later, around 14.5 years. Boys' parts of the brain involved with mechanical skills or projectile estimation, spatial relationships, those actually matured somewhat faster in boys.
According to another study, the language area in the boy's brain is three to four years behind the language area of the girls' brains.
Now with girls, specifically, most parts of the brain mature faster in girls than in boys. But the parts of the brain related to verbal fluency, you know, to speak clearly, handwriting, recognizing familiar faces, those areas seemed to mature faster in the girls, as well.
Might explain why, in young children, for example, girls will tend to speak quicker, you know, actually start talking in sentences more quickly than boys.
O'BRIEN: Yes. Seems like all these things give credence to a lot of a lot of the things we think we know.
GUPTA: And you see this on a daily level, probably, daily with your own kids.
O'BRIEN: Yes, you know, the boys are little now, but it will be interesting to see sort of the hard wired differences between a boy and a girl...
GUPTA: Yes.
O'BRIEN: ... now that I've got both.
GUPTA: That's right.
O'BRIEN: Thanks, Sanjay. We'll see you later.
GUPTA: All right, Soledad. Thank you.
HEMMER: All right. Twelve minutes now before the hour. Seems there might be a sequel to "Sex in the City" after all. And that's making "The Cafferty File" in a moment here.
And Donald Trump is getting into college. Andy explains that. Back in a moment, "Minding Your Business." (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: All right. Welcome back.
JACK CAFFERTY, CO-HOST: Good news for all the Donald's casinos. And if you're thinking about business school, how about attending Trump U.? We'll spell that for you in a little while.
Andy Serwer's here, "Minding Your Business."
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Trump this, Trump that.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
SERWER: It's a little hard to fathom at first, Donald Trump University, but when you think about it, it's even more hard to fathom.
Donald's going to be introducing Trump U. at 9:45 Eastern this morning. That's right. Donald Trump University, an online institution of higher learning. You can already go to the web site and check it out at TrumpUniversity.com.
We went there. Here's the quote. Now listen to this. "The one sure way to success is to know everything you can about what you do."
What?
CAFFERTY: He charges money for that?
SERWER: Yes. I mean that's just -- that's precious. You know, he's got the bankrupt casinos, which are out of bankruptcy. We'll talk about the reality TV. You know, this thing is like, I mean, like Hannibal Lecter's School of Cooking or Michael Dukakis School of Photo Opportunities.
Let's talk about this because the casinos did emerge from bankruptcy -- this is the Atlantic City casinos on Friday. And these babies have lost money for nine straight years.
The Donald is looking for a new CEO. He's going to be chairman. He can't be CEO anymore. What about the winner of "The Apprentice," that woman Kendra Todd. My understanding is she was given the job of renovating one of his mansions in Florida.
CAFFERTY: If Trump is so smart, as he will tell you he is...
SERWER: Yes.
CAFFERTY: ... why are his casinos nine year in a row money losing propositions if Trump is so smart?
SERWER: He has a greatest P.R. in the world, doesn't he?
CAFFERTY: He sure does.
SERWER: I mean, he sort of keeps that to the side and manages to have this incredibly golden reputation.
Let's talk about the markets last week, though, quickly, Jack, because that was the golden situation, as you can see here. Best week of the year. Best week in the past six months. Futures are mixed this morning. And we just hope we keep on keeping on down there on Wall Street.
CAFFERTY: All right. Thanks, Andy.
SERWER: You're welcome.
CAFFERTY: Time for "The File."
Here's what we need: New York's 40-something women will soon get their own "Sex in the City" ladies to live by. Author Candace Bushnell has written "Lipstick Jungle." It's about three successful friends in their 40s, living, working and, of course, loving here in New York City.
She wrote "Sex in the City" a decade ago, said she was writing then about the women she knew, single women in their 30s whose focus was, quote, "more on men, having fun and creating excitement" than it was on their careers.
The women in "Lipstick Jungle," however, married or not, have grown up now. They realize that Mr. Big is not going to come riding in on a white horse and save them. Something to look forward to.
HEMMER: Yes.
CAFFERTY: Things were hopping, if you'll pardon the expression, at the annual Calaveras County jumping frog contest on Sunday.
This year's winning frog went 19 feet, 4 inches. The record is held by Rosie the Riveter, 21 feet, 5 3/4 inches. The frogs are directed by their human frog jockeys. And if could that stupid frog jump thing out of there, we could see them.
O'BRIEN: There we go.
CAFFERTY: They have to jump three times in a straight line in order to have any chance of winning. The cash prize for breaking Rosie's record is $5,000.
The event began in 1928 in honor of Mark Twain's tall tale, called "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County."
The losers, frog legs.
On Saturday, high -- that's not true. On Saturday, high school senior Jamie Gatz gets took center stage as class valedictorian. She also took center stage as the only graduate in her class of 2005 at Outlook High school in Billings, Montana.
Jamie is the lone graduate, because she's the only high school student in the district. The entire population of Outlook is just 82 people. Not only is Jamie the only graduate this year, she is the last graduate ever, because Outlook High School will close for good this week.
Jamie's considering a career as a psychologist or veterinarian and says she will start college in the fall, presumably at a school with more than one student.
O'BRIEN: I wonder what she said in her valedictorian remark.
SERWER: "I am the one."
HEMMER: "Follow my foot steps."
O'BRIEN: "Mom and Dad, can I say thank you?"
HEMMER: "I am No. 1."
I disagree on this Trump thing, by the way. I think online education is prime. We've got to get this thing going. I mean, something is going to have to defray the cost of these big-time colleges.
SERWER: What's that again, Bill?
O'BRIEN: There's already online education.
SERWER: "The key to success is to know everything you can about what you do."
HEMMER: Well, yes. We've got to start somewhere, right?
O'BRIEN: But there's already online education for business schools.
SERWER: Yes, tons of it.
HEMMER: Keep it going. I think there should be more.
SERWER: Well, some people seem to need it.
O'BRIEN: Maybe they just need a better tag line. "Know everything about what you do."
HEMMER: In a moment, here "TIME" magazine names the 100...
O'BRIEN: ... a poll (ph).
SERWER: He said so. He volunteered himself, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Go ahead.
HEMMER: In a moment here -- no problem -- "TIME" magazine names the 100 top movie films of all time. What were the biggest surprises? A look at the list in a moment here. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING, right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: In just a moment, Memorial Day marks the unofficial start of summer, and we kick off our special series, "Surviving Family Vacations." Some tips on how to survive the cost. Some good advice is ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired May 23, 2005 - 08:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, ANCHOR: Investigators collecting the last remnants of evidence from an Idaho home, where three people were found dead two small children still missing. They're 8-year-old Shasta Groene and her 9-year-old brother, Dylan.
CNN has obtained home video of the girl taken earlier this month. Police say they've received more than 800 tips in the search, but no solid leads. Their father, Steve Groene, says an FBI agent told him he failed parts of a polygraph test, but Groene insist he's does not know where his children are.
Michael Jackson's lawyers may rest their case as early as tomorrow. Still no word if the pop star himself will testify. Comedians Jay Leno and Chris Tucker are among the last witnesses expected to take the stand. Court resumes later today.
And radio host Rush Limbaugh could be ordered to hand over his medical records. Prosecutors in Palm Beach, Florida, are heading to court today to demand the release of those documents. The records were seized in late 2003 as part of an investigation into whether Limbaugh went doctor shopping to illegally buy pain medication.
And it's being called the largest ever demolition blast in China. Take a look. A total of 1,500 pounds of explosives were set off near the Hong Kong border in the southern part of that country. Always amazing to look at this, isn't it?
Fifteen buildings fell sideways in a cloud of dust, but there was one minor glitch. A 16th building remains standing. Good old fashioned bulldozers had to be called in. The area will be cleared and redeveloped.
We're so used to seeing them implode, it's kind of scary to see them fall sideways.
BILL HEMMER, CO-HOST: They got 15 of 16, right?
COSTELLO: Fifteen of 16.
HEMMER: Pretty good afternoon.
COSTELLO: Yes. And then the bulldozer came in.
Back to you, Soledad. Is that what I'm doing?
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CO-HOST: Back to me, thanks, Carol. Yes, amazing pictures there.
Let's turn to Florida now. Authorities are reexamining charges filed against a school bus driver who got into a brawl with two students. A video camera caught the entire fight on tape.
Sara Dorsey has our report this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SARA DORSEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Bus driver Albert Taylor told Charlotte County police he had to pull his bus over Tuesday after a few students caused a disruption.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Watch your mouth.
ALBERT TAYLOR, BUS DRIVER: Don't you tell me what to do. Get up here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
TAYLOR: Get up here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No!
DORSEY: Taylor told police he had asked a student to come to the front of the bus three times. This video shows Taylor then went to get the student. The boy's brother intervened, and Taylor appears to strike him and grab him by the throat.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get off him! Get off him!
TAYLOR: The scuffle doesn't end there. The older brother, who has already been struck, appears to throw a punch at the driver.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you going hit him?
TAYLOR: Sit down.
DORSEY: The boys then demand to be let off the bus.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're going to jail, boy. If you don't let me off this bus. Let me off the bus. Call that number. Call the deputies, hurry up.
DORSEY: Sixty-six-year-old Taylor has been charged with simple battery, a misdemeanor. We've been unable to reach him for comment, and it's not known if he has legal representation.
None of the other children on the bus were involved in the confrontation, but the 13- and 15-year-old brothers are charged with felonies. The boys' defense attorney says that doesn't add up.
RUSSEL KIRSHY, ATTORNEY: It's just -- it's despicable. It's crazy that they would be charged with felonies and the bus driver would be charged with a misdemeanor. DORSEY: Charlotte County sheriff's officials say that in Florida, it's an automatic felony for a student to strike a school official. They say the charges were filed before the video became available but that seeing it has, quote, "changed the thinking here."
(on camera) The sheriff's office says it does not have the power to change any of the charges, but the state's attorney can.
The brothers have been suspended from school and will appear in front of a judge on Monday. The bus driver is scheduled to appear on June 1. He has been suspended with pay, and the sheriff's office says the school board will meet next week to determine his future.
Sara Dorsey, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: A sheriff's spokesman says investigators will use the tape to try to determine just who provoked the attack. A school official says employees are allowed to defend themselves. But they're at fault if they instigate the confrontation -- Bill.
HEMMER: Soledad, the first lady caught some anti-American sentiment during her visit to two holy sites over the weekend, Mrs. Bush confronted by screaming protesters, first in the Israeli side, then on the Palestinian side as she left the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. Later she talked about it with reporters about the day's events.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAURA BUSH, FIRST LADY: I'm really glad to be here. But I also know that especially the American press, who are here with me, see what an emotional place this is as we go from each one of these very, very holy spots to the next. And it's -- we're reminded again of what we all want, what every one of us pray for.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: That is just one of three really good topics this morning, too, on a Monday morning for Kamber and May. Down in D.C., Democratic consultant Victor Kamber.
Vic, what's happening? Good morning there.
VICTOR KAMBER, DEMOCRATIC CONSULTANT: Good morning.
HEMMER: And former RNC communications director, Cliff May. Cliff, what's going on with you?
CLIFF MAY, FORMER RNC COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: Good morning, Bill.
HEMMER: Good morning to you guys.
Vic, let's start with Laura Bush. Some are saying this was an ill advised trip. Do you go to that region and not go to the Western Wall? Do you go to that region and pay a visit to the Dome of the Rock?
KAMBER: Well, I think the first question is do you go to the region if you're Laura Bush? She is not a diplomat. She has no diplomatic experience.
I think the administration, the president in particular, were trying to play off the enormous popularity that she presently has and hoping that it would convey, both in the United States a positive image and redirect American attention to this area in a way that was positive and, also, win some goodwill.
But the bottom line is, I think they misunderstood, misrepresented how much dislike there is in that region for this administration, regardless if it's Laura Bush or George Bush or Condoleezza Rice.
HEMMER: It's certainly getting a headline today, Cliff. But this is about 40 or 50 people. It wasn't like they had thousands waiting to protest there when she arrived.
MAY: Exactly. I'm surprised Victor doesn't understand this.
Laura Bush is from the United States, a democratic country. She can't go out for a tuna fish on rye without getting protested here. We have protests all the time and as long as they're peaceful, we don't mind.
Same thing about Israel. It's a democratic country. They have protests at the drop of a hat. As long as it's peaceful, that's fine, too.
Very important, by the way, that in Israel, all holy sites, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, are very carefully protected. That's not true in a lot of other countries in the region, and I think it's good that someone like Laura Bush, who is a dignified presence, who is just an admirable woman, she's going to learn, she's going to talk. She's talking about women's rights over there.
Sure, the headlines are going to be against her, but you know, she's a Republican.
HEMMER: All right. All right. That's topic No. 1. Topic No. 2, Vic, Howard Dean over the weekend told Tim Russert on "Meet the Press" that Tom DeLay, essentially, will likely go to jail. Did he cross the line, knowing this investigation is still underway?
KAMBER: Well, you know, no. Yes and no. I don't think so in the sense that he backed it up by saying that, you know, Howard -- Tom DeLay, at this point, has already been found ethically challenged on a number of issues prior to the present charges.
He -- he wouldn't back down. I watched it also and didn't understand exactly why he wouldn't quite back down and say you're innocent until proven guilty, because he basically said the guy is already guilty of ethical charges.
I think we all would have to agree -- Cliff may not -- that Tom DeLay is ethically challenged. He probably should be stepping aside at this point while the charges are pending and until it's all cleared up. And I, like Howard Dean, think in the end, when it is cleared up, he'll be out of office.
HEMMER: What are you smirking at, Cliff?
MAY: Because Howard Dean is the guy who said that Saddam Hussein was innocent until proven guilty. But he doesn't give the same courtesy to somebody like Tom DeLay, who hasn't been convicted, hasn't been indicted.
Yes, there have been a lot of charges, some of them made by Howard Dean. So now, if you charge somebody with something, they should go to jail for it?
KAMBER: He has been -- he has been found guilty by the ethics panel for four charges before the recent ones.
MAY: No. No, there are no crimes for which he's been found guilty, and there have been admonitions in regard to -- to rules of the House, which you know are not crimes. Don't confuse people like that.
KAMBER: I didn't say crimes, but he's been found ethically challenged by his colleagues.
MAY: You don't go to jail because of the ethical rules in the House. You know that. It's not a crime to do that.
Look, Howard Dean is somebody who cannot distinguish between his enemies or America's enemies, like Saddam Hussein, and his adversaries, such as people like Tom DeLay. He only wants to fight Republicans. He doesn't want to fight anybody in the real world, which is why Democrats didn't select him as their candidate.
HEMMER: I've got time for one more topic. Warren Beatty was speaking at a commencement address over the weekend at the University of California, Berkeley. Listen to what he said about the current governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, in that state.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WARREN BEATTY, ACTOR: The government is not a joke. Despite what he said, it's not a movie.
But he's going to have to listen. He's not stupid. He knows I'm a private citizen, just as he was a year ago. I'm an opponent of his muscle-bound conservatism, with a longer experience in politics than he has. And although I don't want to run for governor, I would do one hell of a lot better job than he's done.
(END VIDEO CLIP) HEMMER: Pretty strong speech. He talked for an hour. I think the idea for commencement speech is to keep it to 12 minutes or less. The grads want to get the heck out of there. Does he want his job, in essence, Victor?
KAMBER: I don't think so. I think he was -- probably got caught up with himself. As you say, he talked for an hour on a series of subjects.
I think all he did with the governor was indicate, I think, the view of a lot of Democrats that it's a failed governorship at this point, no different than when he took office from Gray Davis. Nothing has been accomplished. And even Warren Beatty could probably beat him is what he's saying.
HEMMER: Cliff, you have five seconds.
MAY: I wish he'd try. Look, it's very funny that he says, "I have longer experience than Schwarzenegger does in politics." I guess that means because he produced movies like "Reds," in which he played a Russian revolutionary He think he has had experience in politics.
Let him run.
HEMMER: I don't think we've seen -- I don't think this will be the last chapter of this, do you?
MAY: Let him run. Let him run something but his mouth.
HEMMER: Thanks, Cliff. Thanks, Victor. Talk to you again later in the week.
KAMBER: Thank you, Bill.
HEMMER: All right. Here's Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Thirty-nine minutes past the hour. It is time to take another look at the weather this morning. Chad Myers is at the CNN center with the latest forecast. Really hot in some places -- Chad.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HEMMER: Chad, thanks for that. I'll talk to you later.
Get ready for Trump University. Andy's "Minding Your Business" on that story in a moment here.
O'BRIEN: Is it stubborn pride or is it something much deeper? Dr. Gupta takes a look at why many men refuse to ask directions. Those stories ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Did you ever wonder why some men will never ask for directions when they're lost or why sometimes girls can be better communicators than boys? The latest research suggests that some of these traits are hard wired into our brain as men and women.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta explains.
Good morning.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
Yes, real interesting news here, breaking news. Men and women's brains are different. Girls' brains communicate better. Men can be better analytically as well. But a growing body of research showing the brains of men and women are, in fact, very different.
Here are some of the major differences, actually. We'll break it down. Male's brain, about 10 percent larger than the female brain, even when adjusted for the fact that men are, on average, eight percent taller than women. Men's brains are still slightly bigger.
Men do thinking in more focused regions of the brain. In fact, some studies show that men can move information within one hemisphere more effectively than women.
And as men age, they tend to lose more tissue from certain parts of the brain, located just behind the forehead. That area of the Brian concerns itself with consequences and self-control and judgment, as well. So they may be more prone to midlife crises as a result of this. Really interesting.
Important to remember, thought, of course, these are generalizations. There's a lot of women engineers and a lot of male communicators out there. The research does not apply to all men and women.
Most scientists at autopsy still cannot tell the difference between a male and female brain just by looking at them. And size does not predict intellectual performance, as was once thought. Men and women perform similarly on I.Q. tests, overall.
O'BRIEN: So if men's brains are larger but they're not using as much of it, what about...
GUPTA: I see where you're going with this.
O'BRIEN: You know exactly where I'm going with this. And know the answer I want.
GUPTA: Women are smarter, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: There you go.
GUPTA: Seriously, women's brains are different. They're more interlinked and they appear to have more connections, actually, between the two hemispheres. So women tend to use more parts of their brain to accomplish certain tasks. That might explain why they're better able to recover from strokes, for example, by using other parts of the brain to compensate. They also have 15 percent more blood flow to the brain. I found that very interesting. And I don't know what it really means, but they're using -- more metabolically active.
O'BRIEN: That's interesting. Boys' and girls' brains, do they develop differently, or essentially the same?
GUPTA: They do develop a little bit differently in terms of overall size. According to some of the studies we looked at, different parts of the brain develop at different rates.
For example, one study, one study, girls' brain sizes peaked around 11.5 years. Boys, about three years later, around 14.5 years. Boys' parts of the brain involved with mechanical skills or projectile estimation, spatial relationships, those actually matured somewhat faster in boys.
According to another study, the language area in the boy's brain is three to four years behind the language area of the girls' brains.
Now with girls, specifically, most parts of the brain mature faster in girls than in boys. But the parts of the brain related to verbal fluency, you know, to speak clearly, handwriting, recognizing familiar faces, those areas seemed to mature faster in the girls, as well.
Might explain why, in young children, for example, girls will tend to speak quicker, you know, actually start talking in sentences more quickly than boys.
O'BRIEN: Yes. Seems like all these things give credence to a lot of a lot of the things we think we know.
GUPTA: And you see this on a daily level, probably, daily with your own kids.
O'BRIEN: Yes, you know, the boys are little now, but it will be interesting to see sort of the hard wired differences between a boy and a girl...
GUPTA: Yes.
O'BRIEN: ... now that I've got both.
GUPTA: That's right.
O'BRIEN: Thanks, Sanjay. We'll see you later.
GUPTA: All right, Soledad. Thank you.
HEMMER: All right. Twelve minutes now before the hour. Seems there might be a sequel to "Sex in the City" after all. And that's making "The Cafferty File" in a moment here.
And Donald Trump is getting into college. Andy explains that. Back in a moment, "Minding Your Business." (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: All right. Welcome back.
JACK CAFFERTY, CO-HOST: Good news for all the Donald's casinos. And if you're thinking about business school, how about attending Trump U.? We'll spell that for you in a little while.
Andy Serwer's here, "Minding Your Business."
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Trump this, Trump that.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
SERWER: It's a little hard to fathom at first, Donald Trump University, but when you think about it, it's even more hard to fathom.
Donald's going to be introducing Trump U. at 9:45 Eastern this morning. That's right. Donald Trump University, an online institution of higher learning. You can already go to the web site and check it out at TrumpUniversity.com.
We went there. Here's the quote. Now listen to this. "The one sure way to success is to know everything you can about what you do."
What?
CAFFERTY: He charges money for that?
SERWER: Yes. I mean that's just -- that's precious. You know, he's got the bankrupt casinos, which are out of bankruptcy. We'll talk about the reality TV. You know, this thing is like, I mean, like Hannibal Lecter's School of Cooking or Michael Dukakis School of Photo Opportunities.
Let's talk about this because the casinos did emerge from bankruptcy -- this is the Atlantic City casinos on Friday. And these babies have lost money for nine straight years.
The Donald is looking for a new CEO. He's going to be chairman. He can't be CEO anymore. What about the winner of "The Apprentice," that woman Kendra Todd. My understanding is she was given the job of renovating one of his mansions in Florida.
CAFFERTY: If Trump is so smart, as he will tell you he is...
SERWER: Yes.
CAFFERTY: ... why are his casinos nine year in a row money losing propositions if Trump is so smart?
SERWER: He has a greatest P.R. in the world, doesn't he?
CAFFERTY: He sure does.
SERWER: I mean, he sort of keeps that to the side and manages to have this incredibly golden reputation.
Let's talk about the markets last week, though, quickly, Jack, because that was the golden situation, as you can see here. Best week of the year. Best week in the past six months. Futures are mixed this morning. And we just hope we keep on keeping on down there on Wall Street.
CAFFERTY: All right. Thanks, Andy.
SERWER: You're welcome.
CAFFERTY: Time for "The File."
Here's what we need: New York's 40-something women will soon get their own "Sex in the City" ladies to live by. Author Candace Bushnell has written "Lipstick Jungle." It's about three successful friends in their 40s, living, working and, of course, loving here in New York City.
She wrote "Sex in the City" a decade ago, said she was writing then about the women she knew, single women in their 30s whose focus was, quote, "more on men, having fun and creating excitement" than it was on their careers.
The women in "Lipstick Jungle," however, married or not, have grown up now. They realize that Mr. Big is not going to come riding in on a white horse and save them. Something to look forward to.
HEMMER: Yes.
CAFFERTY: Things were hopping, if you'll pardon the expression, at the annual Calaveras County jumping frog contest on Sunday.
This year's winning frog went 19 feet, 4 inches. The record is held by Rosie the Riveter, 21 feet, 5 3/4 inches. The frogs are directed by their human frog jockeys. And if could that stupid frog jump thing out of there, we could see them.
O'BRIEN: There we go.
CAFFERTY: They have to jump three times in a straight line in order to have any chance of winning. The cash prize for breaking Rosie's record is $5,000.
The event began in 1928 in honor of Mark Twain's tall tale, called "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County."
The losers, frog legs.
On Saturday, high -- that's not true. On Saturday, high school senior Jamie Gatz gets took center stage as class valedictorian. She also took center stage as the only graduate in her class of 2005 at Outlook High school in Billings, Montana.
Jamie is the lone graduate, because she's the only high school student in the district. The entire population of Outlook is just 82 people. Not only is Jamie the only graduate this year, she is the last graduate ever, because Outlook High School will close for good this week.
Jamie's considering a career as a psychologist or veterinarian and says she will start college in the fall, presumably at a school with more than one student.
O'BRIEN: I wonder what she said in her valedictorian remark.
SERWER: "I am the one."
HEMMER: "Follow my foot steps."
O'BRIEN: "Mom and Dad, can I say thank you?"
HEMMER: "I am No. 1."
I disagree on this Trump thing, by the way. I think online education is prime. We've got to get this thing going. I mean, something is going to have to defray the cost of these big-time colleges.
SERWER: What's that again, Bill?
O'BRIEN: There's already online education.
SERWER: "The key to success is to know everything you can about what you do."
HEMMER: Well, yes. We've got to start somewhere, right?
O'BRIEN: But there's already online education for business schools.
SERWER: Yes, tons of it.
HEMMER: Keep it going. I think there should be more.
SERWER: Well, some people seem to need it.
O'BRIEN: Maybe they just need a better tag line. "Know everything about what you do."
HEMMER: In a moment, here "TIME" magazine names the 100...
O'BRIEN: ... a poll (ph).
SERWER: He said so. He volunteered himself, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Go ahead.
HEMMER: In a moment here -- no problem -- "TIME" magazine names the 100 top movie films of all time. What were the biggest surprises? A look at the list in a moment here. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING, right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: In just a moment, Memorial Day marks the unofficial start of summer, and we kick off our special series, "Surviving Family Vacations." Some tips on how to survive the cost. Some good advice is ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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