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Left Behind?; Head of the Class; Bush Delivers Speech in Idaho

Aired August 23, 2005 - 11:30   ET

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

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's take a look at what's happening now in the news. Gasoline is at record-high prices. The Bush administration is taking steps to cut consumption. Automakers will have to boost gas mileage on trucks, SUVs and minivans. It will go from an average of 21 miles per gallon to 23. Transportation Secretary Norm Mineta says that rule will save as much as 10 billion gallons of gasoline.
Four more U.S. troops have been killed in Iraq. The military says roadside bombs killed service members in Fallujah and Samarra. And in Baghdad, a rocket attack took the life of an American soldier.

Conservative televangelists Pat Robertson is calling for the assassination of the President of Venezuela. Robertson warned the country could become a launching pad for communism and Muslim extremism. Hugo Chavez is a left-wing populist with ties to Cuba's Fidel Castro. He has sharply been critical of President Bush. Robertson says the U.S. doesn't need another $200 billion war to get rid of a dictator.

And former Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich is off the market as a bachelor. There's his pretty bride. The Ohio congressman has married a taller, and apparently younger British redhead. Elizabeth Harper is now the third Mrs. Kucinich. She works for a Chicago thinktank.

From the classroom to the courtroom, Connecticut has become the first state to sue the Bush administration over the No Child Left Behind Act. The federal education law is supposed to raise school standards, but Connecticut wants to know who is going to pay for that.

Mark Davis with our affiliate WTNH has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARK DAVIS, CNN AFFILIATE WTNH REPORTER (voice over): Over the next few weeks, 570,000 Connecticut school kids will go back to public schools. But teachers and administrators have been having fits about having to add testing to grades 3, 5 and 7, in addition to the tests that have been conducted in grades, 4, 6, 8 and 10 here in Connecticut for years.

COMM. BETTY STERNBERG, CONN. DEPT. OF EDUCATION: The additional tests as imposed by the requirements of NCLB have questionable merit.

DAVIS: The additional testing mandated by the federal No Child Left Behind Act championed by President George Bush is, according to school administrators, the general assembly and this lawsuit, an illegally-imposed unfunded mandate, forcing the state and cities and towns to spend money they don't have.

DON WILLIAMS, CONNECTICUT STATE SENATE: It is as great as $40 million in unfunded mandates to the state, and as much as $400 million in unfunded mandates to our cities and towns.

DAVIS: Educators say requiring school systems to get the test scores higher will only result in teaching how to take the tests.

H. KAYE GRIFFIN, MADISON SCHOOL SUPT.: In many cases, that can only be done with direct intervention, which is very costly, is one of the major issues that we all face.

DAVIS: The lawsuit seeks to either stop the forced testing or get the federal government to pay for it.

RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, CONNECTICUT ATTORNEY GENERAL: Literally, it's give up the illegal mandates or give us the money. One or the other.

DAVIS: Governor Jodi Rell, who originally opposed the idea of a lawsuit against the federal government, seems to now be reluctantly going along. Her education commissioner has been rejected several times in attempts to get the feds to give the state some sort of waiver.

GOV. JODI RELL (R), CONNECTICUT: And while I would have preferred, as I said, to work through a different mechanism, I believe if he wants to pursue, he certainly should be able to do so.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: And That report from Mark Davis, with our affiliate WTNH.

Programming note for you: I'll have a back-to-school chat with Education Secretary Margaret Spellings. That's tomorrow about this time at CNN LIVE TODAY. looking forward to that.

High school seniors, decision time is ahead. Which college is best for you? The "361 Colleges 2006 Edition" to help you decide is out today. The book ranks schools on five dozen different lists, everything from academics, to politics to the all-important cafeteria food.

"Princeton Review's" Rob Franek is with me, one of the people behind the book. He joins me from New York this morning.

Rob, good morning.

ROB FRANEK, "THE BEST 361 COLLEGES": Good morning, Daryn. Thanks for having me.

KAGAN: OK, interest of full disclosure, where did you go to school?

FRANEK: Drew University in Madison, New Jersey, fine school, in the book.

KAGAN: Very good. Did it win in any of the questionable topics?

FRANEK: Actually it's number five on best college theater programs.

KAGAN: OK, very good. Congratulations to them on that.

How did you rank, and how did you get the information?

FRANEK: Well, one, we went directly to whom we would consider college experts, and we reached out to students at those best 361 schools through our Web site, princetonreview.com. We got back a little over 110,000 students responding to our survey. The survey is 70 questions long, and it talks to students about -- asks questions, rather, from academics to quality of life to social life.

KAGAN: Well, let's look at some of those.

FRANEK: Sure.

KAGAN: Let's start, top party school. That's what everyone wants to know.

FRANEK: Top party school. We'll get out of that way real quick, is number one, University of Wisconsin Madison. And to come up with that party school list, we looked at alcohol consumption, drug consumption on campus, popularity of fraternities and sororities and the hours of study spent outside of the classroom.

KAGAN: You know school administrators are cringing.

FRANEK: Yes, and I have to say that most schools that get on the less-than-coveted lists tend to discredit the "Princeton Review" survey. We've been doing the book now for 14 years. We go, again, directly out college experts, students in the classroom, ask them of their experience. We simply report that information back.

KAGAN: OK, I found this interesting that some schools popped up on different lists, like the best overall academics was also the least religious school.

FRANEK: Very true, Reed College, terrific school, about 1,400 students. It's in Portland, Maine, small, liberal arts school. Again going directly to students and asking them their experiences both inside and outside the classroom, I think, is certainly the value with Reed, but certainly the mission of "The Princeton Review" and the best 361 overall.

KAGAN: And Maybe not too surprising that the most religious students were also at the school that was stone-cold sober.

FRANEK: Stone-cold sober, Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, correct.

KAGAN: Very good. On toughest to get into. A lot of people looking at this right now, not just choosing where you want to go, but who's going to choose you.

FRANEK: Yes, exactly. Now that's one of the list that we reached out to administrators on. So although 60 of those 62 ranked, as we go directly to students, this is one of the lists where we looked directly at numbers from the admissions office and the institution of research office. So how difficult is it to get into our number one school, which is MIT, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. We look for overall GPA, average on the SAT and ACT, class rank and so on.

KAGAN: Didn't even try to get in there.

Some other lifestyle things, where are best dorms?

FRANEK: Best dorms and best food are some terrific ones. Best dorms is -- I'm sorry, best food is Bowden College, and best dorms is Loyola College in Maryland.

KAGAN: Yes, so most likely to gain the freshman (INAUDIBLE), I guess would be Bowden.

FRANEK: Exactly. You know, Bowden is such a terrific place, and they have a lobster bake, as soon as freshman come on to campus, and they have some cooperative experiences for students, and they have some local cooperatives that provide fresh produce for the food service at Bowden.

KAGAN: So most surprising or biggest shakeup, you say you've been doing this for 14 years, "The Princeton Review" has.

FRANEK: Yes, I think that, you know, thinking about our financial aid list. I mean, financial aid, as we all know, is a major concern for both students, as well as for their families. Number one on our students most pleased with financial aid is Princeton University. And I think that people might be surprised with that. But Princeton, as well as a few other schools have said, you know, we're going to create a mandate now. Once a student has been admitted to our school academically, then we're going to make sure we meet that family's financial need. And Princeton is number one that list.

KAGAN: Yes, you look at some of those numbers, it just makes your eyes pop about what it costs.

FRANEK: It is. It is a bit staggering.

KAGAN: Glad we're done. Rob Franek, thank you, "Princeton Review."

FRANEK: Always a pleasure. Thank you.

KAGAN: Great, thank you for checking in, "The Best 361 Colleges." So what do the states of Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana and Tennessee have in common? We already know they're in the South. A hint, it is not a light or laughing matter. We'll get back to that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: The U.S. Coast Guard is searching for 31 Cuban migrants who have been missing at sea for almost a week now. Three survivors rescued by a merchant ship say the boat carrying the migrants capsized between Cuba and Florida. Searchers found the capsized boat in that area yesterday but there were no sign of any more survivors.

Seventies pop star Olivia Newton-John is pleading for the public's help. Her long-time boyfriend is missing, and police have few clues. Here now is entertainment correspondent Sibila Vargas in Los Angeles.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SIBILA VARGAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): "I Honestly Love You" was one of the multiple hits that Olivia Newton-John turned out in the 1970s, and it won her two Grammys. Fans loved her when she became Sandy in the 1978 movie "Grease." "Grease" became the top- grossing non-animated musical of all time.

Newton-John's career kept her in the spotlight over the years, but behind the scenes, she faced personal hurdles, including a 1992 diagnosis of breast cancer. Now the singer-actress is dealing with the heartbreak of a different sort.

Her boyfriend of nine years, Patrick McDermott, has been missing for almost two months. The 48-year-old TV cameraman told friends he was joining an overnight fishing excursion on this 80-foot boat, the Freedom, off the Los Angeles coast on June 30.

The landing manager said the trip included nearly two dozen other fishermen and several crew members. There were conflicting reports about whether McDermott was seen returning with the boat, and he hasn't been heard from since the vessel docked the next day at San Pedro Harbor.

SCOTT EPPERSON, U.S. COAST GUARD: The manifest showed that he signed on to the boat. He was spotted eating -- at least eating on the boat, or in the galley on the boat, sometime during the trip. And they're still trying to determine, through interviews, if someone had seen him actually get off the boat.

VARGAS: When he didn't show up for a family function nearly a week later, McDermott's family reported him missing. On July 11, they discovered his car in the marina parking lot. McDermott's backpack and personal belongings had been found on board the Freedom.

FRANK LIVERSEDGE, MANAGER, 22ND STREET LANDING: In 45 years down here, we've never lost a fisherman. We've lost divers that went down and drowned. I've had people jump over the side and swim to the shore at Catalina, or something like this, but I've never heard of a passenger drowning down here or falling overboard.

VARGAS: The Coast Guard isn't offering a theory of McDermott's disappearance. For now, it's treating it as a missing person's case rather than a crime.

McDermott and Newton-John met on a TV commercial set in 1996. Newton-John released a statement calling his disappearance a heartbreaking experience and says she hopes for answers. The Coast Guard is asking the public for help.

Sibila Vargas, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: To medical news now. The nation is fat and we're getting fatter. An advocacy group says obesity rates rose last year in every state except Oregon.

Trust for America's Health is basing its findings on data from the CDC.

So according to the group's report, the states with the highest percentage of obese adults are Mississippi, Alabama, West Virginia, Louisiana and Tennessee. The states with the lowest obesity percentages are Colorado, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont and Montana. Hawaii was not included in that report.

Swedish researchers say they have identified a virus that may cause many of the respiratory infections in children. They're naming it human boca virus. Respiratory infections are a living cause of hospital visits among infants and children. The scientists say in 12 percent to 39 percent of cases, the cause of the infection is never identified.

A new study finding that women often spot the early symptoms of ovarian cancer but doctors may not order the right test until much later. Ovarian cancer spreads quickly.

So early diagnosis is crucial. Medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen has some warning signs in our daily dose of health news.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: When Lydia Zipp complained of stomach troubles, her doctor thought she had the flu and psychological problems.

LYDIA ZIPP, OVARIAN CANCER SURVIVOR: I left with a diagnosis of flu and allergies, and I got some antidepressants to go with it.

COHEN: For eight months, eight crucial months, doctor after doctor missed the fact that Lydia had cancer. Finally, the day before her 34th birthday, Lydia felt so sick she went to the emergency room and they found it: Stage IV ovarian cancer that had spread to her lungs making a killer cancer even more deadly. The delay meant she lost crucial time. ZIPP: When ovarian cancer is diagnosed in its earliest stages the survival rate is 90 percent.

COHEN: But Lydia's chances of survival were only 20 percent. Ovarian cancer kills 16,000 women a year, women like Madeline Kahn, Loretta Young, Gilda Radner and Jessica Tandy.

A new study published by the American Cancer Society found that all too often, just like in Lydia Zipp's case, women complain of symptoms to their doctor but aren't diagnosed with ovarian cancer until up till three years later.

The study looked at women with the cancer and found that when women had the symptoms, doctors only ordered the right test 25 percent of the time. The symptoms of ovarian cancer include abdominal bloating, indigestion and backaches. If you have these symptoms and feel like something is just not right, the right test to ask for, a pelvic ultrasound and a blood test called CA125.

Now Lydia runs an ovarian cancer support group telling women to trust their instincts when they feel sick.

ZIPP: I know that women are very intuitive and know a lot about their bodies. And if they feel like they are not getting the information that they need from their doctor, then we suggest that they get a second opinion or third opinion.

COHEN: Lydia was one of the lucky ones. She's been in remission for three years, enough time to spread the word about getting the right diagnosis at the right time.

ZIPP: I feel truly blessed.

COHEN: Elizabeth Cohen, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: For your daily dose of health news online, log on to our Web site. You'll find the latest medical stories, special reports and a health library. The address is CNN.com/health. We're back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: We expect any minute to see videotape of President Bush. It was shot in Donley, Idaho, within the last hour. President Bush is there in between speeches, one he gave yesterday in Salt Lake City, the other he will give tomorrow in Idaho.

President Bush coming out, and we expect to hear this in this tape, making some very strong comments about those that are critical of his war policy in Iraq. This has been coming up time and time again as anti-war protester Cindy Sheehan has been camped outside his ranch in Crawford, Texas since August 6th. The president refusing to meet with Cindy Sheehan yet again. Let's go ahead and listen in to the president. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BUSH: (JOINED IN PROGRESS) ... He's been asking me to come here for five years and I finally made it. I'm going to tell the people tomorrow in Boise that I made a mistake not getting here earlier. It's a beautiful state.

We're out spending a little time hiking the trails here. This is a spectacular part of the world.

I want to thank the people of Idaho for a warm welcome. I'm looking forward to my speech tomorrow, to thank the Idaho National Guard and those who are on active duty for their selfless dedication to working to make this world a more secure place for those of us who love freedom.

I'll remind the people that we're making progress on two fronts, a political front. The Iraqi people are working hard to reach a consensus on their constitution.

It's an amazing process to work. First of all, the fact that they're even writing a constitution is vastly different from living under the iron hand of a dictator.

As Americans watch the constitutional process unfold, as we watch people work to achieve compromise and unity, we ought to remember our own history. We had a little trouble at our own conventions writing a constitution.

And it took a lot of work and a lot of interests and the willingness of people to work for the common good.

That's what we're seeing in Iraq, and it's a positive development.

The fact that Iraq will have a democratic constitution that honors women's rights, the rights of minorities, is going to be an important change in the broader Middle East.

And on the security front, we'll remain on the hunt. We have an obligation and a duty to protect this country. And one way to do so is to not only firm up the homeland but to stay on the offense against the terrorists, and we will do so.

We'll defeat the terrorists. We'll train Iraqi forces to defeat the terrorists. In the long run, we'll defeat the terrorists through the spread of freedom and democracy.

Anyway, thanks for the invitation.

The Idaho National Guard has done good, strong work, and I look forward to thanking them in person.

I'll take a couple of questions.

AP? QUESTION: Yes, Mr. President, we know you met with Cindy Sheehan a year ago, but she says a lot has changed since then, she has more to say to you...

BUSH: Yes.

QUESTION: And even some Republicans have said that you should meet with her. Why not do that when you get back to the ranch?

BUSH: Well, I did meet with Cindy Sheehan. I strongly support her right to protest. There's a lot of people protesting. And there's a lot of points of view about the Iraq war.

As you know, in Crawford last weekend, there was people from both sides of the issue or from all sides of the issue there to express their opinions.

I sent Deputy Chief of Staff Hagen and National Security Adviser Hadley to meet with Ms. Sheehan early on.

She expressed her opinion. I disagree with it. I think immediate withdrawal from Iraq would be a mistake. I think those who advocate immediate withdrawal from not only Iraq but the Middle East are advocating a policy that would weaken the United States.

So I appreciate her right to protest. I understand her anguish. I've met with a lot of families. She doesn't represent the view of a lot of families I have met with. And I'll continue to meet with families.

QUESTION: Mr. President, Israel has withdrawn from the final settlement. What does the Palestinian leader, Abbas, need to do next? And are there any specific plans for restarting negotiations based on the road map?

BUSH: Yes.

First of all, I want to congratulate Prime Minister Sharon for having made a very tough decision.

As I said in my remarks yesterday in Salt Lake City, the prime minister made a courageous decision to withdraw from the Gaza.

We have Jim Wolfensohn, the former head of the World Bank, on the ground helping President Abbas develop a government that responds to the will of the folks in Gaza.

In other words, this is step one in the development of a democracy.

And so to answer your question -- "What must take place next?" -- is the establishment of a working government in Gaza, a government that responds to the people.

President Abbas has made a commitment to fight off the violence because he understands a democracy can't exist with terrorist groups trying to take the law into their own hands.

Along these lines, we've also got General Ward on the ground helping the Palestinians consolidate their security forces.

It turns out that the post-Arafat regime is one of different factions and different security forces that were really in place to kind of maintain his power, but not necessarily protect the overall security of the Palestinian people.

It's in the interest to consolidate those security forces so that the government has got a vehicle and a group of folks by which to help enforce order.

You asked about the road map. Of course we want to get back to the road map, but I understand that in order for this process to go forward there must be confidence: confidence that the Palestinian people would have in their own government to perform; confidence with the Israelis that they'll see a peaceful state emerging.

And, therefore, it's very important for the world to stay focused on Gaza and helping the Gaza economy get going, helping rebuild the settlements for the people of Gaza.

So it's a very hopeful period. Again, I applaud Prime Minister Sharon for making a decision that has really changed the dynamics on the ground and it really provided hope for the Palestinian people.

My vision and my hope is that one day, we'll see two states -- two democratic states -- living side by side in peace.

Who else have we got? Bloomberg.

QUESTION: The Sunni negotiator yesterday, for the constitution, said that if they do pass the constitution tomorrow that it will cause an insurgency amongst the Sunnis. What would America do if the Sunnis did rise up and have an insurgency?

BUSH: Well, I think -- you know, you're speaking about one voice. There's more than one Sunni involved in the process. And reaching an accord on a constitution after years of dictatorship is not easy. And so you're seeing people express their opinion.

I don't know if this is a negotiating position by the fellow or not. I didn't hear him.

But I will tell you: I spoke with Secretary Rice twice this morning, who has been in touch with our ambassador on the ground. And she is hopeful that more and more Sunnis will accept the constitution.

Again, I repeat to you that we're watching an amazing event unfold. And that is the writing of a constitution which guarantees minority rights, women's rights, freedom to worship in a part of the world that had only -- a country that had only known dictatorship.

And so you're seeing people express their opinions and talking about a political process. And the way forward in Iraq is there to be a two-track strategy; one, on the one hand, the politics.

It wasn't all that long ago, but it seems like a long time ago, I guess, for some, that the Iraqi people expressed their interest in democracy. Eight million people voted. They said: "We want to be free."

BUSH: They went to the polls and said, "Give us a chance to vote, and we will," and they did.

In other words, they have made their intentions known, that they want to have a free society.

And now they're writing a constitution. The next step after the constitution will be the ratification of the constitution and then the election of a permanent government.

In other words, democracy is unfolding. And the reason why that's important is that we had a policy that just said, "Listen, let the dictators stay there. Don't worry about it."

And as a result of dictatorship, and a result of, you know, tyranny, resentment, hopelessness began to develop in that part of the world which became the -- it gave the terrorists capacity to recruit.

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