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CNN Live Saturday

New Sex Ex Cirruculum To Be Introduced In Montgomery County Schools; Interview with Susan Lunsford; House To Convene Tomorrow In Special Session

Aired March 19, 2005 - 18:00   ET

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

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


(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARY SCHINDLER, TERRI SCHIAVO'S MOTHER: Please, please save my little girl.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Terri Schiavo's mother pleads with lawmakers to save her daughter. Straight ahead in this hour, new developments as life and death battle unfold in Florida and on Capitol Hill.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANGELA BRYANT, JESSICA LUNSFORD'S MOTHER: He will pay. He will pay for hurting them children out there and my daughter. He will pay. He deserves everything he gets coming to him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: And a message from a mother to a man police say admitted killing her 9-year-old daughter.

And then, sex education goes under the microscope. Parents say one Maryland program gives students a little too much information.

It is March 19, and you're watching CNN LIVE SATURDAY. Good evening. From CNN's global headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Lin, and here's what's happening right now in the news.

Congressional leaders say they have agreed on legislation that would allow the parents of Terri Schiavo to take their case to federal court. Bob and Mary Schindler are fighting to get their brain-damaged daughter, well, reconnected to a feeding tube. The tube was disconnected yesterday by order of a Florida court at the request of Terri Schiavo's husband, Michael. We are going to have a live reports coming straight up.

And in the Persian Gulf, an explosion near a British school in Qatar has killed one person and injured a dozen more. It occurred near the school's theater while a Shakespeare play was being performed. The cause is under investigation.

Condoleezza Rice is in South Korea looking for ways to get North Korea to resume talks on its nuclear weapons program. Well, today, she toured a command center for U.S. and South Korean troops. The center would be battle headquarters in the event of a war with Communist north.

But right now we are going to begin with a last-ditch effort to keep Terri Schiavo alive. The brain damaged woman was disconnected from a feeding tube yesterday after years of court battle, but today the action moves to Congress. We are following the story from a number of angles. CNN's Bob Franken is on the scene in Clearwater. Dana bash is near President Bush's ranch in Crawford Texas. First, we're going to go to CNN congressional correspondent Joe Johns with the latest from the Hill.

Joe, what's happening right now?

JOE JOHNS, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Carol, an apparent agreement between the House and Senate that would allow Terri Schiavo's parents an avenue in federal court and would also allow the reconnection of the feeding tube. The announcement of that made earlier today at the capitol by House Majority Leader Tom Delay.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. TOM DELAY (R), MAJORITY LEADER: We are confident that this compromise addresses everyone's concerns. We are confident it will provide Ms. Schiavo a clear and appropriate avenue for appeal in federal court, and most importantly, we are confident that this compromise will restores nutrition and hydration to Ms. Schiavo as long as that appeal endures.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: Now, the plan originally was for the Senate to take up this compromise legislation sometime after 5:00 Eastern Time. Of course we're now at 6:00 Eastern Time, and the Senate is open for business, but they haven't done anything yet. This is the type of delay we see often on Capitol Hill; always not quite clear what the holdup is. Nonetheless, we are told there were certain senators who should have been in the loop who had not necessarily signed off on this compromise legislation. We'll have more details on that later.

Carol Lin, back to you.

LIN: All right, thanks very much, Joe. Of course, we'll get back to you as soon as we see anything reconvening on Capitol Hill.

In the meantime today, Terri Schiavo's mother made an impassioned plea. She said, "Keep my daughter from starving to death." CNN national correspondent Bob Franken is now on the scene in Clearwater, Florida.

Bob, a lot of protests and an emotional scene with the mother.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right, but today comparative to yesterday when you were here, Carol, it has been very subdued. But the word went out that nothing was supposed to happen that would disrupt the delicate negotiations going on in Washington. And in the hospice behind me, Terri Schiavo continues with her tube removed -- her feeding tube removed as the battle goes on to try and reinstall it. Her parents and her sister went into the hospice this afternoon for a visit. Her mother had made an impassioned plea to the politicians.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCHINDLER: I am begging Governor Bush and the politicians in Tallahassee, President Bush and the politicians in Washington, please, please, please save my little girl.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FRANKEN: And there's been a very tightly coordinated public relations effort. Cameras were there as the family departed the hospice. Meanwhile, Terri Schiavo's husband, Michael Schiavo, who is her legal guardian, considers all the efforts in Congress to be blatant politics. He says through his lawyer, "That is a matter of fact, this is just political thugery," that he loves his wife very much and wants to end her ordeal -- Carol.

LIN: All right, Bob Franken, we'll get back to you as things develop out there in Clearwater, Florida.

In the meantime, President Bush is following developments in the Schiavo case from his ranch in Crawford, Texas, and that is where we find CNN's Dana Bash with White House reaction.

Dana, the president has been very outspoken in this particular case. Did he have anything more to say given pending Congressional action?

DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, we are told that the president's liaison to Congress was actually on Capitol Hill today. She was meeting with the Republicans as they were trying to game out this latest maneuver in what has really been an extraordinary series of steps by Congress to try to have an impact on the Terri Schiavo matter.

Now, just minutes after Tom Delay announced that there was this compromise; the White House did come out with a statement. Its spokeswoman, Jeanne Mamo, said -- quote -- "We're supportive of efforts by Congressional leaders. We remain in close contact with Congress, and the president is being kept apprised." Now, they are not saying so publicly now, but White House officials say that the president is all but certain to sign this legislation if and when it comes to his desk.

And it's interesting to note, Carol, that as Congress has been involved in this over the past several days, the president and White House in general have been very careful not to talk specifically about these legal maneuvers. The president was in Terri Schiavo's home state of Florida yesterday. He was there for several hours. He did not speak publicly at all about this. Even when asked by one of our producers about it, he did meet with his brother, the governor, Jeb Bush, who has been, of course, very vocal in favor of keeping Terri Schiavo's feeding tube in for really years. But as for the president, he has only, in a written statement late last week, said that if there is any doubt, the court should have the presumption in the favor of life -- Carol.

LIN: Dana, yesterday when I was down in Clearwater, Florida, outside the hospice, Randall Terry, one of the founders of Operation Rescue said to me about the legislators as well as the president in terms of acting to get this tube reinserted. He told me, "We got him elected. We're going to remind him of that. It is payback time." He is, of course, talking about the support from the Religious Right.

Is the White House concerned at all that the Religious Right has been so vocal on this in terms of their influence and what may happen on the Hill?

BASH: Well, I'll tell you that Tom Delay, the House majority leader, was asked point-blank on CNN earlier today about that, and he was very vehement, that he said that politics has nothing to do with this, that this is an issue that he says he says that he and others believe is imperative to focus on. Of course, Democrats, as you know -- as you have noted, would tend to differ.

As for the White House, perhaps that is why they're being so careful. This is changing really on an hourly, maybe even daily basis, in terms of where this is going. So they've been very careful in terms of the legal issue. But in terms of the broad, philosophical issue, the president has been very clear. He believes this is a culture of life issue, Carol. And that is really a euphemism, if you will, and has been for abortion and what they call the right to life.

LIN: Yes, carefully chosen words, indeed. Thanks very much, Dana. Dana Bash live in Crawford, Texas.

All right, we have also been covering a different major story, the discovery of Jessica Lunsford. She is home now. Words from a grieving father after finding out his worst fears have now come true. The three-week search for 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford ended early today in tragedy. Authorities did find her body. It was behind a house just across the street from her own. Police say the suspect has confessed. CNN's Sara Dorsey now joins me live from Homosassa Springs, Florida, with more on that.

This has been a long search indeed and it happened very early this morning, Sara?

SARA DORSEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It certainly has, Carol. And overnight and into this morning, this area was crawling with investigators. Now, much of that activity has been calming down. In fact, they're beginning to open the street behind me, the one that runs right in front of Jessica Lunsford's home. That's because their job is complete, that was only to find the body of this missing 9- year-old girl. They have done that. From here, the entire community must try to heal.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DORSEY (voice-over): A community devastated.

MARK LUNSFORD, JESSICA LUNSFORD'S FATHER: She's home now and it's over.

DORSEY: A family destroyed. And a vibrant 9-year-old girl, her future ripped away.

SHERIFF JEFF DAWSY, CITRUS COUNTY, FLORIDA: And in the early morning hours, somewhere between 3:30 and 4:30, we recovered Jessica.

DORSEY: Jessica Lunsford had her life ahead of her, but police say three weeks ago, John Couey, a convicted child molester with a rap sheet spanning three decades would forever change the Lunsford family when he snatched Jessica from her home in the night.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tonight, the search goes on for little Jessie Lunsford.

DORSEY: Hundreds of people began a frantic search just after Jessica disappeared, none knowing Jessica's body lay in a shallow grave only yards from her own home. Her confessed killer was caught on camera by a Georgia TV station in a bar drinking a beer and laughing. The reporter, unaware of who John Couey was, but once authorities caught up with Couey, a confession, the first major break in a case that seemed to be going nowhere.

DAWSY: This guy is not a quality person by any means. And you know, he has also, to my knowledge, is a crack head. And I don't think we're actually ever going to be able to get a valid timeline about him. He's truly a piece of trash.

DORSEY: Investigators converged on Couey's home and after less than 12 hours, Jessica's body was unearthed.

M. LUNSFORD: Jessie's home now and she's right here with me.

DORSEY: Later in the day, after hearing of his daughter's fate, Mark Lunsford, a rock through this entire ordeal, led a rolling memorial, over 300 people deep. Meanwhile, investigators continue building their case against John Couey. Three others are charged with obstruction of justice in this case for failing to lead law enforcement to Couey. Three weeks of uncertainty solved. A little girl will finally get the proper burial her family wants.

BRYANT: Now, I love her, and I always have and I always will.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DORSEY: And Sheriff Jeff Dawsy is saying he hopes John Couey gets the death penalty for this crime, but before that can even be discussed, Mr. Couey has to be extradited from Georgia back to Florida. And we expect that to happen any day now -- Carol.

LIN: Sara, thank you very much.

We want to make this programming note, Jessica's father, Mark Lunsford, will be Larry King's guest on Monday, which is going to be at 9:00 Eastern, 6:00 Pacific right here at CNN.

All right, after three long weeks of hoping and praying, the search for little Jessica Lunsford obviously has now ended in heartache. So straight ahead, I'm going to get a chance to speak with her aunt about the little girl and about the man suspected of the killing.

Also, two soldiers, two years later on the second anniversary of the war in Iraq, hear what those who fought it and lived it think of what has actually has been accomplished.

And controversial curriculum, a Maryland county is changing the way kids learn about sex. But some parents want it stopped. You'll hear why, later.

You're watching CNN SATURDAY. We are back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

M. LUNSFORD: I love everybody for helping, for supporting, for even talking about it, but Jessie's home now and she's right here with me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: Well, the discovery of Jessica Lunsford's remains marks the end of a three-week ordeal for her family and now the grieving begins. I'm joined now by Jessica's aunt, Susan Lunsford. She's with us from Charlotte, North Carolina.

Susan, when the news came of the discovery of the body early this morning, did it answer in some way the prayers that she be found and found soon?

SUSAN LUNSFORD, JESSICA LUNSFORD'S AUNT: Yes, wanting for find her, and even though we would have liked to have found her alive, we're still glad that we did find her and she is home now.

LIN: Susan, you have said that Jessica was wary of strangers. Do you have any theories about how John Couey got into that mobile home and got her out without waking her grandparents?

S. LUNSFORD: Well, I was there after she was taken, and I don't have any idea how he possibly, you know, even got in. They weren't sure of how he got in. But I guess we all feel safe in our own home, at least we think that we are safe there, and we go to sleep at night and we just go to sleep not thinking that anything's going to happen.

LIN: You and your family have shared these pictures that we're showing our audience right now of this little girl. She seems so precocious, so full of life, and a smile that is unforgettable.

S. LUNSFORD: Oh, yes.

LIN: What was she like? What is going to be your most enduring memory of her?

S. LUNSFORD: How jolly that she was, her calling me and asking me if I would make her some karaoke music because she loved -- she loved to sing and she loved the camera, so -- and you can see that in those pictures. A lot of times, just the fun things that she did, and the smiling and she was such a joy to the family.

LIN: Do you think she would have told you or the family if she was suspicious of somebody in the neighborhood? Had you ever had those kinds of discussions with her?

S. LUNSFORD: I never had those discussions with her, but I know that -- I know that Jessica would have come to the family if she was ever suspicious of anyone or if she thought that she didn't like somebody, she'd let you know, "I don't really like that person."

LIN: I spoke earlier with someone who heads up the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and he had an interesting phrase. He said that strangers are not strangers for long to children, that it's, frankly, easy to befriend the innocence of a child. I mean do you think that could have been the case with Jessica? Might John Couey have had some kind of contact with her, that even if she had found him by her bedside, she may not think that was strange.

S. LUNSFORD: I don't think that that's something that would easily happy with Jessica. She was a -- even though -- that if you were -- if I was standing there or my mother was standing there or Mark and someone walked up and spoke, she might return that hello, but she was not the kind of person that would go just off with anybody. And it was very difficult for a strange person to really win her over. They'd have to be there a while in order to win her over.

LIN: Susan Lunsford, it's still a mystery, but I know you're learning much more as investigators probe the mind of this man. I want to thank you for joining us, and our hearts go out to you and your family.

S. LUNSFORD: Thank you.

LIN: Susan Lunsford, Jessica Lunsford's aunt, a huge loss instead.

In the meantime, we want to bring you back to one of our top stories, the fate of Terri Schiavo and what is happening now on the Senate floor. We're hearing from the Senate leadership right now. Let's listen in.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

SEN. BILL FRIST (R), MAJORITY LEADER: It allowing Terri's case to be heard in federal court, more specifically it allows a federal district judge to consider a claim, and I'll quote -- "by or on behalf of Teresa Marie Schiavo for the alleged violation of any right of Teresa Marie Schiavo under the Constitution or laws of the United States relating to the withholding or withdrawal of food, fluids or medical treatment necessary to sustain her life."

I'm pleased with our progress thus far, and I'm committed as leader to see this legislation pass and give Terri Schiavo one last chance at life.

Mr. President, I understand that there is a bill at the desk that is due for a second reading.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The clerk will read the bill.

H.R. 841, an act to require states to hold special elections to fill vacancies in the House of Representatives and so forth and for other purposes.

FRIST: In order to place the bill on the calendar under the provisions of Rule 14, I would object to further proceeding.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sir, the bill will be placed on the calendar.

FRIST: Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the adjournment resolution which is at the desk, provided that the resolution be agreed to and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Without objection, so ordered.

FRSIT: Mr. President, I want to be clear about what we've just agreed to. Today, we will not be adjourning under the authority provided by the resolution that we just considered. This adjournment resolution will now allow the House to be called into session to consider legislative matters. At the close of business today, we will adjourn until Sunday. Once we are able to complete our work as it relates to Teresa Marie Schiavo, we are prepared to declare a new adjournment resolution so that we may begin the Easter recess.

Mr. President, I ask you unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today; the Senate adjourn until 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 20. I further ask that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the general proceedings be approved to date, the time of the two leaders be reserved, and the Senate then begin a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Without objection, so ordered.

FRIST: Mr. President, tomorrow, the Senate will convene for a short period of morning business. There will be no roll call votes tomorrow. It appears that we have achieved compromise language with the House with respect to the Schiavo situation. It is my hope that the House will act on this language and send it to us early tomorrow afternoon, and I will have more to say on that tomorrow.

Mr. President, if there's no further business to come before the Senate, I ask that the Senate stand in adjournment under the previous order. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Without objection, so ordered. The Senate stands in recess -- adjournment.

LIN: Adjournment not recess. The significance of what you just saw by Senator Bill Frist is that the Senate is -- it was a procedural matter, allowing the House to convene tomorrow so that it can vote on compromise legislation that essentially will allow federal court to hear the case of Terri Schiavo. So far her case has been consistently all the way up to the Supreme Court and then bounced back to the state level. This is an extraordinary measure by both the House and Senate to create a new law that would allow her case to be considered in federal court. And what that would mean is that surely a federal court would then order that her feeding tube be reinserted if this legislation passes. The president has already indicated that he would sign the legislation. So it's a matter of making it happen, and will it happen is a question that will be answered sometime tomorrow.

We still have much more ahead on CNN SATURDAY. Major League Baseball finds itself in the spotlight over allegations of steroid use, but professional athletes aren't the only concern. Up next, steroid use in teenagers, should parents be worried?

Also ahead, getting the most out of your savings, what's the best way? Author Ben Stein is going to join me later to tell us his secret.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Thursday, as Congressional hearings on baseball and steroids continues to spark controversy. Missouri Congressman William Clay wants Mark McGwire's name stripped from a five-mile stretch of Interstate-70 in St. Louis. McGwire previously has denied using steroids during his playing days. But the former St. Louis slugger refused to repeat those denials when he was under oath at Thursday's hearing. McGwire's critics claim that's a virtual admission.

Well, Dr. Gary Wadler of the New York University School of Medicine was one of the witnesses who testified at Thursday's hearings. He joins me now from New York to talk about athletes, steroid and steroid abuse among teenagers.

Doctor, you're also with the World Anti-Doping Agency, so I know you've got a lot of experience in this matter. Give me an idea of why -- given that people -- athletes, professional athletes, have died from the side effects of using steroids, why would teenagers want to use them?

DR. GARY WADLER, NYU SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: Well, it's very seductive. You know it definitely makes you bigger, makes you stronger, makes you perform better. Teenagers take it also to look better, get more cut, more defined, try and get those six pack abs. And they see their superstars taking it, presumably getting away with it, so it's a seductive type of a drug. And with role modeling being what it is, it's not a surprise. After all, after Mark McGwire hit his 70 home runs, the sale of Andro in this country skyrocketed much of that by teenagers. LIN: Well, given that some of the -- some of the changes, some of the indications of a teen on steroids could be explained away by simply adolescence, I mean the fact that they're growing, that their voice is changing, that there are mood swings. Are there -- what specifically are the absolute telltale signs, warning signs to a parent that they should be looking for?

WADLER: Well, it's not absolute, but there are relative signs. If the adolescent seems more than you would have anticipated, if these mood swings are greater than you would have anticipated, if the acne is more severe, if all of a sudden the teenager is going to the gym excessively, if his relationships with his friends have changed substantially, if he's really gotten irritable at home, one has to think about the possibility of steroid abuse although I caution, it may be just a difficult adolescence. So if it crosses your mind, the best thing to do is to check it out with a physician. There are ways to check it out both medically and talking to the individual, laboratory studies and so on. But it is something that can be kind of insidious and unrecognized and parents may unwittingly contribute to it by complimenting the youngster, saying they were looking better, performing better, and feeding into the whole thing.

LIN: Do you think then that there should be mandatory testing for steroids in high school athletics?

WADLER: No, I don't think that's very practical, although I think school districts can come up with programs. They have to decide what their objective is. It may not have anything to do with sanctions as in professional sports. It may have more to do with case finding and sort of getting an epidemiological handle on just how pervasive it is in the school.

LIN: Right, accountability, it sounds like.

WADLER: Absolutely.

LIN: All right, thanks very much, Dr. Wadler.

WADLER: Nice talking with you, Carol.

LIN: You too.

All right, two years since Shock and Awe. Can you believe it? And many around the globe still aren't convinced going to war with Iraq was the right thing to do. So straight ahead tonight, a look at the antiwar protests happening worldwide today.

Also, she saw the casualties in Iraq firsthand. One doctor's amazing account of life on the front lines, that's coming up.

And later, sex education -- how much is too much? And is one Maryland county going too far?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: All right, live pictures on our air as we take you to Augusta, Georgia, where Citrus County, Florida, sheriffs are escorting John Couey, the prime suspect in the murder of 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford. They're escorting him into a vehicle. He is being extradited back to Florida to be charged and presumably to stand trial for the murder of a little girl. He confessed to the murder. Investigators dug in a field behind his home. He was living virtually across the street from the little girl. She was abducted sometime in the night of February 23 right out of her bed. Her grandparents had tucked her in.

All right, in the meantime, an interesting and important anniversary to note. It has been two years since the Iraq war started. Major combat lasted only 39 days but the violence continues. Well, today, a bomb exploded during a funeral procession in Kirkuk, killing three Iraqi police officers. At a base near Baghdad, Aneesh Raman talked with some of the U.S. troops on duty on this anniversary.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Two years on, the rituals of war remain. And for Capt. Daniel Getchell, who was part of the initial wave, so do the memories of those first weeks.

CAPT. DANIEL GETCHELL, U.S. ARMY: And as I was coming in, I remember getting shot at. Bullets were whizzing by my head. An RPG went flying by.

RAMAN: He is now back on his second tour, surveying progress made. Getchell was one of the first people to start recruiting Iraqi forces and today trains more than he can handle, a sign he thinks of things getting better. But at any given moment, a stark reminder emerges of things that haven't changed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sir?

GETCHELL: Yes?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Possible thieves and different IED's may be in our area.

RAMAN: A potential car bomb forces the convoy to move on.

GETCHELL: It's a bit frustrating, but at the same time, it's (UNINTELLIGIBLE) to let the insurgents know that -- our enemies know that as long as Iraq progresses, it's a danger to them.

RAMAN (on camera): Two years on, today's Iraq is defined by complexity. Here in Taji, there are still strongholds of pro-Saddam supporters. Yet, here on the road, new forces, Iraqi security forces continue to be trained.

(voice-over): Balancing it all is perhaps the military's greatest challenge. Major Clarke Taylor first arrived as Baghdad fell and now feels he must ensure that democracy rises.

MAJ. CLARK TAYLOR, U.S. ARMY: I have no problem coming back this time. I have no problem coming back if I've got to come back again because if we don't finish this now, our children are going to have to do it 20 years from now.

RAMAN: Conflicts like these change people, the things they witness.

GETCHELL: I've seen over here probably the best and worst of humanity in general.

RAMAN: And the lessons learned from those they have lost.

TAYLOR: It feels like we have -- we value the small things and we don't take things for granted. War is hard. It comes -- it's a cost we all know that we could possibly have to pay when we volunteer to serve our country.

RAMAN: Two years on for these two men, there is no anniversary to observe, simply work to be done.

Aneesh Raman, CNN, Taji, Iraq.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Well, the second anniversary barely of the Iraq War barely caused a ripple right here in the United States. There were antiwar protests around the globe. The largest demonstration was in London. At least 45,000 people marched past the U.S. embassy. And there was another big demonstration, 10,000 at least in Rome. These protesters not only oppose the war, they want their government to withdraw Italian troops from the coalition.

When I come back, a very different view of the war in Iraq. I'm going to introduce you to a doctor who was able to find the good in the midst of war, but, first, remembering a fallen soldier.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STACEY SAMMIS, BENJAMIN SAMMIS' WIFE: I remember I sat on the couch and I stared up at this big lieutenant colonel with these big blue eyes and he had just tears coming out of his eyes. And they were reading all of the military technical term and I just stopped the captain for a second. I said, "Did the bad guys get him?" And they said, "Yes." And that was all I needed to know.

He had a heart that was so big. He just loved everyone. He was very intelligent. And he had big dreams for his life. He wanted to be a dad. He wanted to be the best officer he could be. He was funny as anything. He could do voices from Shrek and the Klumps from "The Nutty Professor." So he was always there with a laugh and a smile. Every time I cry like that, like now, he would just say, "Stacey, just smile, just smile." He was always there to pick me up, too.

I miss everything about him. I miss making dinner together. I miss waking up next to him. I miss the e-mails. I miss the future that we will never have, the children we'll never have. We used to say all the time we'd go for a walk and say we're going to 80-year- olds in our matching little sweatsuits sitting out here feeding the pigeons, and that sounded great to me. So I miss that. I was definitely the center of his world and he was the center of my world. And we were a great team. We used to be called Team Sammis. He was my beset fried, but I would just come right up to him and put my head right in the crick of his neck and he would just give me a big bear hug and just hold me so tight. So maybe that's what I miss the most, just being able to be held and protected because I just felt so safe in his spot. He just held me so tight. I just knew nothing bad would happen if he were with me.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Every week, we like to bring you the personal stories from the front lines. And today, we profile a Navy doctor who also tends to the mental wounds that troops suffer on the battlefield. Her name is Dr. Heidi Kraft, and she's also a psychologist who counsels men and women in Iraq who have seen the worst of war. And while she's there to help others, there are times when Dr. Kraft needs help herself and that's when she puts pen to paper. CNN's Beth Nissen reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BETH NISSEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was a tough deployment for Alpha Surgical Company starting in February near Falluja. Trauma surgeons worked in 24-hour O.R.s stabilizing Marines with blessed wounds. Navy Lieutenant Commander Heidi Kraft, a clinical psychologist, worked in the combat stress platoon on trauma of another kind.

LT. CMDR. HEIDI KRAFT, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: Normal people in this abnormal situation of combat can experience very significant symptoms of shock and sometimes even shutting down psychologically.

NISSEN: Seeing so many so young so shattered over seven months was hard on the healers, too. Alone in her barracks room, Dr. Kraft started a list of things that were good and things that were not good about her time in Iraq.

KRAFT: It was partially a self-therapy. I was struggling towards the end of the deployment with how to process everything that we had been through and done and survived together.

NISSEN: The not good list came easily.

KRAFT: Things that were not good, terrifying camel spiders, poisonous scorpions, 132 degrees, sweating in places I didn't know I could sweat like wrists and ears, the roar of helicopters overhead, the popping of gunfire, the cracking sound of giant artillery rounds splitting open against rock and dirt, the shattering of the windows, hiding away from the broken windows, waiting to be told we can come to the hospital to treat the ones who are not so lucky, watching the black helicopter with the big red cross on the side landing at our pad, telling a room full of stunned Marines in blood soaked uniforms that their comrade that they had just tried to save had died of his wounds, washing blood off the boots of one of our young nurses while she told me about the one who bled out in the trauma bay.

NISSEN: She struggled at first to find the positive, but slowly that list formed.

KRAFT: Things that were good: sunset over the desert, almost always orange, sunrise over the desert, almost always red, the childlike excitement of fresh fruit at dinner after going weeks without it, my comrades, some of the things witnessed will traumatize them forever, but they still provided outstanding care to these Marines but most of all, the United States Marines, our patients, having them tell us one after another through blinding pain or morphine-induced euphoria, when can I get out of here? I just want to get back to my unit.

NISSEN: There was the young sergeant who had lost one eye but asked for help sitting up so he could check on the members of his fire team being treated for minor shrapnel wounds.

KRAFT: He smiled, laid back down, and said, "I only have one good eye, Doc, but I can see that my Marines are OK."

NISSEN: And there was the young corporal known to the whole company as Heidi's Marine.

KRAFT: The one who threw himself on a grenade to save the men at his side, who will likely be the first Medal of Honor recipient in over 11 years.

NISSEN: That was Corporal Jason Dunham (ph), age 22. He arrived in the trauma bay on April 14 with a severe head wound. Kraft took his hand, talked to him, comforted him.

KRAFT: I told him we were proud of him, and that the Marines were proud of him and that he was brave.

NISSEN: Dunham (ph) could not speak, could only squeeze her hand in response.

KRAFT: I stayed with him as long as I could and I held his hand all the way up to the point where we got to the helicopter. It was the most wonderful moment of my life and the most horrible moment of my life at the same time.

NISSEN: She wept when she learned that Corporal Dunham had died at Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland eight days later, wept again when Dunham's mother wrote to thank her. Her biggest fear was that her son had been alone and that no one had been with him. For me, basically the whole deployment, all of it, all of it wrapped up at that moment.

NISSEN: The sorrow for the wounded and damaged, the grief for the lost, gratitude for being able to ease another's pain, pride in the U.S. troops for their courage and sacrifice. For Dr. Kraft it was all that was good and not good about Iraq. The ending of both lists is the same.

KRAFT: And finally, above all else, holding the hand of that dying Marine.

NISSEN: Beth Nissen, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: All right. We've got some new developments in the murder investigation of 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford. Let's go live to Augusta, Georgia and Denise Belgrave -- Denise.

DENISE BELGRAVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, we are here at the detention center here in Augusta, Georgia, where John Couey just left on his way back to Florida. Citrus County officials arrived here at about 6:05. It took about 30 minutes to process him. And at 6:35, that gate opened and the car drove out with John Couey inside. We understand from some of our contacts that Couey spent most of the night sleeping here. They did have him under a protective suicide watch because they were a little bit concerned. They also had him segregated away from other prisoners for his own safety -- Carol.

LIN: All right. Thanks, Denise. Do you know what's going to happen next in this process?

BELGRAVE: Well, as far as we know, they're heading right back to Florida and he's probably going to be facing murder charges in the Jessica Lunsford case.

LIN: All right. Considering she's already confessed, I'm wondering even if there's going to be a trial. We'll see what happens.

Denise Belgrave, thank you very much, live in Augusta, Georgia.

I want to bring you now the story we've been promising all night. Virginity pledges, they've become popular in recent years as a way to discourage teenagers from having sex. But now a study suggests teenagers who take the pledge eventually do have premarital sex anyway and some experts say education is a better approach. Let's find out. CNN's Kathleen Koch reports from Montgomery County, Maryland.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The emphasis today, we'll be use a cucumber for the demonstration.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A graphic demonstration of condom use and for the first time discussion of sexual variations, including homosexuality.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This tape of sexual education should be taught by parents at home.

KOCH: Such controversial changes had passions running high on both sides at a Saturday meeting on Montgomery County Maryland's new sex education curriculum.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Be careful not to tear the condom with your fingernails.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am shocked an appalled at what I've seen here today. I had no idea.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm thrilled that this kind of video is going to be there because I think it forces parents to then have conversations with their kids.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Abstinence is 100 percent effective.

KOCH: School officials point out that much of the new sex ed video stresses abstinence.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The best way is not to have sex at all.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Condoms and abstinence.

KOCH: They believe the lesson plans on homosexuality will increase tolerance and decrease bullying.

RUSSELL HENKE, HEALTH CURRICULUM COORDINATOR: Lack of information sometimes leads to fear. It sometimes leads to hate. And what we're trying to do is we're trying to clear that up for the kids in our schools today.

KOCH: Health teacher, Alex Rubenstein says it's an improvement over the previous curriculum in which homosexuality could only be discussed if a student brought it up and then only briefly.

ALEX RUBENSTEIN, HEALTH EDUCATION TEACHER: We were basically allowed to answer it to a certain degree, but it was very overwhelming because I didn't know exactly what would be going over the line. So it was just very confusing.

KOCH: The county says parental response is running 3 to 1 in favor of the new curriculum to be tested in six schools this spring.

SUZANNE MAXEY, PRINCIPAL, SENECA VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL: The kids are already talking about these things. This isn't -- we're not introducing anything to them. What we're doing is we're setting the conversation in an atmosphere that's socially responsible.

KOCH: Michelle Turner, whose six children have all attended county schools, believes the curriculum has another goal.

MICHELLE TURNER, PARENT: To purposely teach these kids these things in the hopes that they will grow up to be adults who believe that there's nothing wrong with it. We can all do our own thing. It's no big deal.

KOCH: Christine Grewell believes it is opponents who have an agenda.

CHRISTINE GREWELL, PARENT: I think they are trying to, in a way, to use their religious views to influence the school curriculum and I don't think that's proper. KOCH (on camera): Montgomery County School officials do say that during this trial period, any segment of the new curriculum that's found to be problematic could be changed or eliminated.

(voice-over): Finally, parents who dislike the changes can opt to have their students study other material, including an abstinence only curriculum.

Kathleen Koch, CNN, Wheaten, Maryland.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: And straight ahead, Ben Stein on how to squeeze the most out of your savings.

Hi, Ben.

BEN STEIN, AUTHOR: How are you?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Fueled by dire predictions from the Bush administration about social security, a lot of Americans are looking for a way to create a nest egg. And Ben Stein talks about alternatives to stock market investing in his new book, "Yes, You Can Be a Successful Income Investor." And Ben Stein is with me from Palm Desert, California to tell us all about it.

Hi, Ben, good to see you.

STEIN: Nice to see you. These aren't really alternatives to stock market investing but they're alternatives to long-term capital gain investing. They're ways to buy securities to yield six percent, seven percent, eight percent, instead of the two-tenths of one percent or two percent you're getting in your savings account or your CD. I mean these are ways to triple or quadruple the amount of money you're getting current income from your investments.

LIN: All right. Well, let's talk about some of those specific ways, OK. I'm going to ask for the second graphic because I thought we were going to go to the first graphic. Can I show folks some of the tips that you talked about?

STEIN: Show all the graphics you want. Show any graphics...

LIN: Even though I love looking at your face but Real Estate Investment Trusts, Utility Funds, Emerging Market Funds, is that what you're talking about?

STEIN: Right, and high dividend stocks. And you can find a number of leveraged real estate investment trusts that are yielding seven, seven and a half, some eight percent, a number of combined utility funds and real estate investment trust funds yielding seven, seven and a half, eight percent. The principal will fluctuate. That is, the stock price will fluctuate from day to day but the checks you get every month or every quarter in the mail will not fluctuate at least not very much at least not over very, very long periods. And if they do fluctuate, they're likely to fluctuate upwards and emerging market funds, which are bonds issued by countries like Korea or the Philippines or Russia or Turkey or Brazil, they have a wild fluctuations in the price but they coupon the dividend that you get in your mailbox. That has been very secure. And if you're earning six percent or seven percent as you can do from reading our book and then spending 15 minutes on the phone with your broker, you can literally triple or quadruple the amount of interest that you're getting.

LIN: That's the trade off. The trade off is you've got to have the stomach to watch your principal go up and down. You've just got to keep your eye on the prize and focus on the interest rate and the dividend income that you're getting month a month, right? I mean that...

STEIN: But that is...

LIN: ...is the risk.

STEIN: But that is indeed the prize because if you are a retired person or a person living on a fixed income, and you've got to squeeze every dollar you can out of your savings, figure it out. If you've got $500,000 in savings and you're getting seven percent, that's 35,000 a year. If you're getting two percent, that's 10,000. That's an incredible difference. It's well worth the little bit of agitation when you see it go down. And then you'll have some days when you see it go up and you'll be happy.

LIN: It's a little bit of agitation. I mean some people who invest in the Asian markets not too long ago, Ben, had more than just a little bit of agitation. They lost, you know...

STEIN: Yes, but you know what...

LIN: ...50,80 percent of their principals.

STEIN: No, no, no. With all due respect, it fluctuated tremendously but the coupons and the dividends on those bonds remained secure.

LIN: I got you.

STEIN: And there were tremendous fluctuations in the stock prices but there were none of those big funds missed a dividend. So yes, you will have to put up with some fluctuation, no doubt about it.

LIN: All right.

STEIN: But the check you need to pay your rent will be secure.

LIN: All right. And then the hassle of forcing the kids, when little Suzie gets worried about her inheritance. But that's for another day.

Thanks so much...

STEIN: That's her problem.

LIN: Yes! That's what we'll tell her. All right, little Suzie, you go out and you get a job.

Ben Stein, thank you so much. Good luck with the book.

STEIN: Thank you. Thank you.

LIN: And that's all the time we have for this hour. Coming up next, "THE CAPITAL GANG" and then at 8:00 Easter, "CNN 25," a look at the most influential moments and personalities of our time. And at 9:00, Larry King and Larry's guest tonight, friends and family of Anthony Quinn. Ad I'm going to be back at 10:00 tonight, my interview with Terri Schiavo's brother, Bobby Schindler. He is keeping an eye on Congress tonight. Right now, to "THE CAPITAL GANG."

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 19, 2005 - 18:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARY SCHINDLER, TERRI SCHIAVO'S MOTHER: Please, please save my little girl.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Terri Schiavo's mother pleads with lawmakers to save her daughter. Straight ahead in this hour, new developments as life and death battle unfold in Florida and on Capitol Hill.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANGELA BRYANT, JESSICA LUNSFORD'S MOTHER: He will pay. He will pay for hurting them children out there and my daughter. He will pay. He deserves everything he gets coming to him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: And a message from a mother to a man police say admitted killing her 9-year-old daughter.

And then, sex education goes under the microscope. Parents say one Maryland program gives students a little too much information.

It is March 19, and you're watching CNN LIVE SATURDAY. Good evening. From CNN's global headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Lin, and here's what's happening right now in the news.

Congressional leaders say they have agreed on legislation that would allow the parents of Terri Schiavo to take their case to federal court. Bob and Mary Schindler are fighting to get their brain-damaged daughter, well, reconnected to a feeding tube. The tube was disconnected yesterday by order of a Florida court at the request of Terri Schiavo's husband, Michael. We are going to have a live reports coming straight up.

And in the Persian Gulf, an explosion near a British school in Qatar has killed one person and injured a dozen more. It occurred near the school's theater while a Shakespeare play was being performed. The cause is under investigation.

Condoleezza Rice is in South Korea looking for ways to get North Korea to resume talks on its nuclear weapons program. Well, today, she toured a command center for U.S. and South Korean troops. The center would be battle headquarters in the event of a war with Communist north.

But right now we are going to begin with a last-ditch effort to keep Terri Schiavo alive. The brain damaged woman was disconnected from a feeding tube yesterday after years of court battle, but today the action moves to Congress. We are following the story from a number of angles. CNN's Bob Franken is on the scene in Clearwater. Dana bash is near President Bush's ranch in Crawford Texas. First, we're going to go to CNN congressional correspondent Joe Johns with the latest from the Hill.

Joe, what's happening right now?

JOE JOHNS, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Carol, an apparent agreement between the House and Senate that would allow Terri Schiavo's parents an avenue in federal court and would also allow the reconnection of the feeding tube. The announcement of that made earlier today at the capitol by House Majority Leader Tom Delay.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. TOM DELAY (R), MAJORITY LEADER: We are confident that this compromise addresses everyone's concerns. We are confident it will provide Ms. Schiavo a clear and appropriate avenue for appeal in federal court, and most importantly, we are confident that this compromise will restores nutrition and hydration to Ms. Schiavo as long as that appeal endures.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: Now, the plan originally was for the Senate to take up this compromise legislation sometime after 5:00 Eastern Time. Of course we're now at 6:00 Eastern Time, and the Senate is open for business, but they haven't done anything yet. This is the type of delay we see often on Capitol Hill; always not quite clear what the holdup is. Nonetheless, we are told there were certain senators who should have been in the loop who had not necessarily signed off on this compromise legislation. We'll have more details on that later.

Carol Lin, back to you.

LIN: All right, thanks very much, Joe. Of course, we'll get back to you as soon as we see anything reconvening on Capitol Hill.

In the meantime today, Terri Schiavo's mother made an impassioned plea. She said, "Keep my daughter from starving to death." CNN national correspondent Bob Franken is now on the scene in Clearwater, Florida.

Bob, a lot of protests and an emotional scene with the mother.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right, but today comparative to yesterday when you were here, Carol, it has been very subdued. But the word went out that nothing was supposed to happen that would disrupt the delicate negotiations going on in Washington. And in the hospice behind me, Terri Schiavo continues with her tube removed -- her feeding tube removed as the battle goes on to try and reinstall it. Her parents and her sister went into the hospice this afternoon for a visit. Her mother had made an impassioned plea to the politicians.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCHINDLER: I am begging Governor Bush and the politicians in Tallahassee, President Bush and the politicians in Washington, please, please, please save my little girl.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FRANKEN: And there's been a very tightly coordinated public relations effort. Cameras were there as the family departed the hospice. Meanwhile, Terri Schiavo's husband, Michael Schiavo, who is her legal guardian, considers all the efforts in Congress to be blatant politics. He says through his lawyer, "That is a matter of fact, this is just political thugery," that he loves his wife very much and wants to end her ordeal -- Carol.

LIN: All right, Bob Franken, we'll get back to you as things develop out there in Clearwater, Florida.

In the meantime, President Bush is following developments in the Schiavo case from his ranch in Crawford, Texas, and that is where we find CNN's Dana Bash with White House reaction.

Dana, the president has been very outspoken in this particular case. Did he have anything more to say given pending Congressional action?

DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, we are told that the president's liaison to Congress was actually on Capitol Hill today. She was meeting with the Republicans as they were trying to game out this latest maneuver in what has really been an extraordinary series of steps by Congress to try to have an impact on the Terri Schiavo matter.

Now, just minutes after Tom Delay announced that there was this compromise; the White House did come out with a statement. Its spokeswoman, Jeanne Mamo, said -- quote -- "We're supportive of efforts by Congressional leaders. We remain in close contact with Congress, and the president is being kept apprised." Now, they are not saying so publicly now, but White House officials say that the president is all but certain to sign this legislation if and when it comes to his desk.

And it's interesting to note, Carol, that as Congress has been involved in this over the past several days, the president and White House in general have been very careful not to talk specifically about these legal maneuvers. The president was in Terri Schiavo's home state of Florida yesterday. He was there for several hours. He did not speak publicly at all about this. Even when asked by one of our producers about it, he did meet with his brother, the governor, Jeb Bush, who has been, of course, very vocal in favor of keeping Terri Schiavo's feeding tube in for really years. But as for the president, he has only, in a written statement late last week, said that if there is any doubt, the court should have the presumption in the favor of life -- Carol.

LIN: Dana, yesterday when I was down in Clearwater, Florida, outside the hospice, Randall Terry, one of the founders of Operation Rescue said to me about the legislators as well as the president in terms of acting to get this tube reinserted. He told me, "We got him elected. We're going to remind him of that. It is payback time." He is, of course, talking about the support from the Religious Right.

Is the White House concerned at all that the Religious Right has been so vocal on this in terms of their influence and what may happen on the Hill?

BASH: Well, I'll tell you that Tom Delay, the House majority leader, was asked point-blank on CNN earlier today about that, and he was very vehement, that he said that politics has nothing to do with this, that this is an issue that he says he says that he and others believe is imperative to focus on. Of course, Democrats, as you know -- as you have noted, would tend to differ.

As for the White House, perhaps that is why they're being so careful. This is changing really on an hourly, maybe even daily basis, in terms of where this is going. So they've been very careful in terms of the legal issue. But in terms of the broad, philosophical issue, the president has been very clear. He believes this is a culture of life issue, Carol. And that is really a euphemism, if you will, and has been for abortion and what they call the right to life.

LIN: Yes, carefully chosen words, indeed. Thanks very much, Dana. Dana Bash live in Crawford, Texas.

All right, we have also been covering a different major story, the discovery of Jessica Lunsford. She is home now. Words from a grieving father after finding out his worst fears have now come true. The three-week search for 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford ended early today in tragedy. Authorities did find her body. It was behind a house just across the street from her own. Police say the suspect has confessed. CNN's Sara Dorsey now joins me live from Homosassa Springs, Florida, with more on that.

This has been a long search indeed and it happened very early this morning, Sara?

SARA DORSEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It certainly has, Carol. And overnight and into this morning, this area was crawling with investigators. Now, much of that activity has been calming down. In fact, they're beginning to open the street behind me, the one that runs right in front of Jessica Lunsford's home. That's because their job is complete, that was only to find the body of this missing 9- year-old girl. They have done that. From here, the entire community must try to heal.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DORSEY (voice-over): A community devastated.

MARK LUNSFORD, JESSICA LUNSFORD'S FATHER: She's home now and it's over.

DORSEY: A family destroyed. And a vibrant 9-year-old girl, her future ripped away.

SHERIFF JEFF DAWSY, CITRUS COUNTY, FLORIDA: And in the early morning hours, somewhere between 3:30 and 4:30, we recovered Jessica.

DORSEY: Jessica Lunsford had her life ahead of her, but police say three weeks ago, John Couey, a convicted child molester with a rap sheet spanning three decades would forever change the Lunsford family when he snatched Jessica from her home in the night.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tonight, the search goes on for little Jessie Lunsford.

DORSEY: Hundreds of people began a frantic search just after Jessica disappeared, none knowing Jessica's body lay in a shallow grave only yards from her own home. Her confessed killer was caught on camera by a Georgia TV station in a bar drinking a beer and laughing. The reporter, unaware of who John Couey was, but once authorities caught up with Couey, a confession, the first major break in a case that seemed to be going nowhere.

DAWSY: This guy is not a quality person by any means. And you know, he has also, to my knowledge, is a crack head. And I don't think we're actually ever going to be able to get a valid timeline about him. He's truly a piece of trash.

DORSEY: Investigators converged on Couey's home and after less than 12 hours, Jessica's body was unearthed.

M. LUNSFORD: Jessie's home now and she's right here with me.

DORSEY: Later in the day, after hearing of his daughter's fate, Mark Lunsford, a rock through this entire ordeal, led a rolling memorial, over 300 people deep. Meanwhile, investigators continue building their case against John Couey. Three others are charged with obstruction of justice in this case for failing to lead law enforcement to Couey. Three weeks of uncertainty solved. A little girl will finally get the proper burial her family wants.

BRYANT: Now, I love her, and I always have and I always will.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DORSEY: And Sheriff Jeff Dawsy is saying he hopes John Couey gets the death penalty for this crime, but before that can even be discussed, Mr. Couey has to be extradited from Georgia back to Florida. And we expect that to happen any day now -- Carol.

LIN: Sara, thank you very much.

We want to make this programming note, Jessica's father, Mark Lunsford, will be Larry King's guest on Monday, which is going to be at 9:00 Eastern, 6:00 Pacific right here at CNN.

All right, after three long weeks of hoping and praying, the search for little Jessica Lunsford obviously has now ended in heartache. So straight ahead, I'm going to get a chance to speak with her aunt about the little girl and about the man suspected of the killing.

Also, two soldiers, two years later on the second anniversary of the war in Iraq, hear what those who fought it and lived it think of what has actually has been accomplished.

And controversial curriculum, a Maryland county is changing the way kids learn about sex. But some parents want it stopped. You'll hear why, later.

You're watching CNN SATURDAY. We are back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

M. LUNSFORD: I love everybody for helping, for supporting, for even talking about it, but Jessie's home now and she's right here with me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: Well, the discovery of Jessica Lunsford's remains marks the end of a three-week ordeal for her family and now the grieving begins. I'm joined now by Jessica's aunt, Susan Lunsford. She's with us from Charlotte, North Carolina.

Susan, when the news came of the discovery of the body early this morning, did it answer in some way the prayers that she be found and found soon?

SUSAN LUNSFORD, JESSICA LUNSFORD'S AUNT: Yes, wanting for find her, and even though we would have liked to have found her alive, we're still glad that we did find her and she is home now.

LIN: Susan, you have said that Jessica was wary of strangers. Do you have any theories about how John Couey got into that mobile home and got her out without waking her grandparents?

S. LUNSFORD: Well, I was there after she was taken, and I don't have any idea how he possibly, you know, even got in. They weren't sure of how he got in. But I guess we all feel safe in our own home, at least we think that we are safe there, and we go to sleep at night and we just go to sleep not thinking that anything's going to happen.

LIN: You and your family have shared these pictures that we're showing our audience right now of this little girl. She seems so precocious, so full of life, and a smile that is unforgettable.

S. LUNSFORD: Oh, yes.

LIN: What was she like? What is going to be your most enduring memory of her?

S. LUNSFORD: How jolly that she was, her calling me and asking me if I would make her some karaoke music because she loved -- she loved to sing and she loved the camera, so -- and you can see that in those pictures. A lot of times, just the fun things that she did, and the smiling and she was such a joy to the family.

LIN: Do you think she would have told you or the family if she was suspicious of somebody in the neighborhood? Had you ever had those kinds of discussions with her?

S. LUNSFORD: I never had those discussions with her, but I know that -- I know that Jessica would have come to the family if she was ever suspicious of anyone or if she thought that she didn't like somebody, she'd let you know, "I don't really like that person."

LIN: I spoke earlier with someone who heads up the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and he had an interesting phrase. He said that strangers are not strangers for long to children, that it's, frankly, easy to befriend the innocence of a child. I mean do you think that could have been the case with Jessica? Might John Couey have had some kind of contact with her, that even if she had found him by her bedside, she may not think that was strange.

S. LUNSFORD: I don't think that that's something that would easily happy with Jessica. She was a -- even though -- that if you were -- if I was standing there or my mother was standing there or Mark and someone walked up and spoke, she might return that hello, but she was not the kind of person that would go just off with anybody. And it was very difficult for a strange person to really win her over. They'd have to be there a while in order to win her over.

LIN: Susan Lunsford, it's still a mystery, but I know you're learning much more as investigators probe the mind of this man. I want to thank you for joining us, and our hearts go out to you and your family.

S. LUNSFORD: Thank you.

LIN: Susan Lunsford, Jessica Lunsford's aunt, a huge loss instead.

In the meantime, we want to bring you back to one of our top stories, the fate of Terri Schiavo and what is happening now on the Senate floor. We're hearing from the Senate leadership right now. Let's listen in.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

SEN. BILL FRIST (R), MAJORITY LEADER: It allowing Terri's case to be heard in federal court, more specifically it allows a federal district judge to consider a claim, and I'll quote -- "by or on behalf of Teresa Marie Schiavo for the alleged violation of any right of Teresa Marie Schiavo under the Constitution or laws of the United States relating to the withholding or withdrawal of food, fluids or medical treatment necessary to sustain her life."

I'm pleased with our progress thus far, and I'm committed as leader to see this legislation pass and give Terri Schiavo one last chance at life.

Mr. President, I understand that there is a bill at the desk that is due for a second reading.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The clerk will read the bill.

H.R. 841, an act to require states to hold special elections to fill vacancies in the House of Representatives and so forth and for other purposes.

FRIST: In order to place the bill on the calendar under the provisions of Rule 14, I would object to further proceeding.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sir, the bill will be placed on the calendar.

FRIST: Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the adjournment resolution which is at the desk, provided that the resolution be agreed to and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Without objection, so ordered.

FRSIT: Mr. President, I want to be clear about what we've just agreed to. Today, we will not be adjourning under the authority provided by the resolution that we just considered. This adjournment resolution will now allow the House to be called into session to consider legislative matters. At the close of business today, we will adjourn until Sunday. Once we are able to complete our work as it relates to Teresa Marie Schiavo, we are prepared to declare a new adjournment resolution so that we may begin the Easter recess.

Mr. President, I ask you unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today; the Senate adjourn until 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 20. I further ask that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the general proceedings be approved to date, the time of the two leaders be reserved, and the Senate then begin a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Without objection, so ordered.

FRIST: Mr. President, tomorrow, the Senate will convene for a short period of morning business. There will be no roll call votes tomorrow. It appears that we have achieved compromise language with the House with respect to the Schiavo situation. It is my hope that the House will act on this language and send it to us early tomorrow afternoon, and I will have more to say on that tomorrow.

Mr. President, if there's no further business to come before the Senate, I ask that the Senate stand in adjournment under the previous order. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Without objection, so ordered. The Senate stands in recess -- adjournment.

LIN: Adjournment not recess. The significance of what you just saw by Senator Bill Frist is that the Senate is -- it was a procedural matter, allowing the House to convene tomorrow so that it can vote on compromise legislation that essentially will allow federal court to hear the case of Terri Schiavo. So far her case has been consistently all the way up to the Supreme Court and then bounced back to the state level. This is an extraordinary measure by both the House and Senate to create a new law that would allow her case to be considered in federal court. And what that would mean is that surely a federal court would then order that her feeding tube be reinserted if this legislation passes. The president has already indicated that he would sign the legislation. So it's a matter of making it happen, and will it happen is a question that will be answered sometime tomorrow.

We still have much more ahead on CNN SATURDAY. Major League Baseball finds itself in the spotlight over allegations of steroid use, but professional athletes aren't the only concern. Up next, steroid use in teenagers, should parents be worried?

Also ahead, getting the most out of your savings, what's the best way? Author Ben Stein is going to join me later to tell us his secret.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Thursday, as Congressional hearings on baseball and steroids continues to spark controversy. Missouri Congressman William Clay wants Mark McGwire's name stripped from a five-mile stretch of Interstate-70 in St. Louis. McGwire previously has denied using steroids during his playing days. But the former St. Louis slugger refused to repeat those denials when he was under oath at Thursday's hearing. McGwire's critics claim that's a virtual admission.

Well, Dr. Gary Wadler of the New York University School of Medicine was one of the witnesses who testified at Thursday's hearings. He joins me now from New York to talk about athletes, steroid and steroid abuse among teenagers.

Doctor, you're also with the World Anti-Doping Agency, so I know you've got a lot of experience in this matter. Give me an idea of why -- given that people -- athletes, professional athletes, have died from the side effects of using steroids, why would teenagers want to use them?

DR. GARY WADLER, NYU SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: Well, it's very seductive. You know it definitely makes you bigger, makes you stronger, makes you perform better. Teenagers take it also to look better, get more cut, more defined, try and get those six pack abs. And they see their superstars taking it, presumably getting away with it, so it's a seductive type of a drug. And with role modeling being what it is, it's not a surprise. After all, after Mark McGwire hit his 70 home runs, the sale of Andro in this country skyrocketed much of that by teenagers. LIN: Well, given that some of the -- some of the changes, some of the indications of a teen on steroids could be explained away by simply adolescence, I mean the fact that they're growing, that their voice is changing, that there are mood swings. Are there -- what specifically are the absolute telltale signs, warning signs to a parent that they should be looking for?

WADLER: Well, it's not absolute, but there are relative signs. If the adolescent seems more than you would have anticipated, if these mood swings are greater than you would have anticipated, if the acne is more severe, if all of a sudden the teenager is going to the gym excessively, if his relationships with his friends have changed substantially, if he's really gotten irritable at home, one has to think about the possibility of steroid abuse although I caution, it may be just a difficult adolescence. So if it crosses your mind, the best thing to do is to check it out with a physician. There are ways to check it out both medically and talking to the individual, laboratory studies and so on. But it is something that can be kind of insidious and unrecognized and parents may unwittingly contribute to it by complimenting the youngster, saying they were looking better, performing better, and feeding into the whole thing.

LIN: Do you think then that there should be mandatory testing for steroids in high school athletics?

WADLER: No, I don't think that's very practical, although I think school districts can come up with programs. They have to decide what their objective is. It may not have anything to do with sanctions as in professional sports. It may have more to do with case finding and sort of getting an epidemiological handle on just how pervasive it is in the school.

LIN: Right, accountability, it sounds like.

WADLER: Absolutely.

LIN: All right, thanks very much, Dr. Wadler.

WADLER: Nice talking with you, Carol.

LIN: You too.

All right, two years since Shock and Awe. Can you believe it? And many around the globe still aren't convinced going to war with Iraq was the right thing to do. So straight ahead tonight, a look at the antiwar protests happening worldwide today.

Also, she saw the casualties in Iraq firsthand. One doctor's amazing account of life on the front lines, that's coming up.

And later, sex education -- how much is too much? And is one Maryland county going too far?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: All right, live pictures on our air as we take you to Augusta, Georgia, where Citrus County, Florida, sheriffs are escorting John Couey, the prime suspect in the murder of 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford. They're escorting him into a vehicle. He is being extradited back to Florida to be charged and presumably to stand trial for the murder of a little girl. He confessed to the murder. Investigators dug in a field behind his home. He was living virtually across the street from the little girl. She was abducted sometime in the night of February 23 right out of her bed. Her grandparents had tucked her in.

All right, in the meantime, an interesting and important anniversary to note. It has been two years since the Iraq war started. Major combat lasted only 39 days but the violence continues. Well, today, a bomb exploded during a funeral procession in Kirkuk, killing three Iraqi police officers. At a base near Baghdad, Aneesh Raman talked with some of the U.S. troops on duty on this anniversary.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Two years on, the rituals of war remain. And for Capt. Daniel Getchell, who was part of the initial wave, so do the memories of those first weeks.

CAPT. DANIEL GETCHELL, U.S. ARMY: And as I was coming in, I remember getting shot at. Bullets were whizzing by my head. An RPG went flying by.

RAMAN: He is now back on his second tour, surveying progress made. Getchell was one of the first people to start recruiting Iraqi forces and today trains more than he can handle, a sign he thinks of things getting better. But at any given moment, a stark reminder emerges of things that haven't changed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sir?

GETCHELL: Yes?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Possible thieves and different IED's may be in our area.

RAMAN: A potential car bomb forces the convoy to move on.

GETCHELL: It's a bit frustrating, but at the same time, it's (UNINTELLIGIBLE) to let the insurgents know that -- our enemies know that as long as Iraq progresses, it's a danger to them.

RAMAN (on camera): Two years on, today's Iraq is defined by complexity. Here in Taji, there are still strongholds of pro-Saddam supporters. Yet, here on the road, new forces, Iraqi security forces continue to be trained.

(voice-over): Balancing it all is perhaps the military's greatest challenge. Major Clarke Taylor first arrived as Baghdad fell and now feels he must ensure that democracy rises.

MAJ. CLARK TAYLOR, U.S. ARMY: I have no problem coming back this time. I have no problem coming back if I've got to come back again because if we don't finish this now, our children are going to have to do it 20 years from now.

RAMAN: Conflicts like these change people, the things they witness.

GETCHELL: I've seen over here probably the best and worst of humanity in general.

RAMAN: And the lessons learned from those they have lost.

TAYLOR: It feels like we have -- we value the small things and we don't take things for granted. War is hard. It comes -- it's a cost we all know that we could possibly have to pay when we volunteer to serve our country.

RAMAN: Two years on for these two men, there is no anniversary to observe, simply work to be done.

Aneesh Raman, CNN, Taji, Iraq.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Well, the second anniversary barely of the Iraq War barely caused a ripple right here in the United States. There were antiwar protests around the globe. The largest demonstration was in London. At least 45,000 people marched past the U.S. embassy. And there was another big demonstration, 10,000 at least in Rome. These protesters not only oppose the war, they want their government to withdraw Italian troops from the coalition.

When I come back, a very different view of the war in Iraq. I'm going to introduce you to a doctor who was able to find the good in the midst of war, but, first, remembering a fallen soldier.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STACEY SAMMIS, BENJAMIN SAMMIS' WIFE: I remember I sat on the couch and I stared up at this big lieutenant colonel with these big blue eyes and he had just tears coming out of his eyes. And they were reading all of the military technical term and I just stopped the captain for a second. I said, "Did the bad guys get him?" And they said, "Yes." And that was all I needed to know.

He had a heart that was so big. He just loved everyone. He was very intelligent. And he had big dreams for his life. He wanted to be a dad. He wanted to be the best officer he could be. He was funny as anything. He could do voices from Shrek and the Klumps from "The Nutty Professor." So he was always there with a laugh and a smile. Every time I cry like that, like now, he would just say, "Stacey, just smile, just smile." He was always there to pick me up, too.

I miss everything about him. I miss making dinner together. I miss waking up next to him. I miss the e-mails. I miss the future that we will never have, the children we'll never have. We used to say all the time we'd go for a walk and say we're going to 80-year- olds in our matching little sweatsuits sitting out here feeding the pigeons, and that sounded great to me. So I miss that. I was definitely the center of his world and he was the center of my world. And we were a great team. We used to be called Team Sammis. He was my beset fried, but I would just come right up to him and put my head right in the crick of his neck and he would just give me a big bear hug and just hold me so tight. So maybe that's what I miss the most, just being able to be held and protected because I just felt so safe in his spot. He just held me so tight. I just knew nothing bad would happen if he were with me.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Every week, we like to bring you the personal stories from the front lines. And today, we profile a Navy doctor who also tends to the mental wounds that troops suffer on the battlefield. Her name is Dr. Heidi Kraft, and she's also a psychologist who counsels men and women in Iraq who have seen the worst of war. And while she's there to help others, there are times when Dr. Kraft needs help herself and that's when she puts pen to paper. CNN's Beth Nissen reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BETH NISSEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was a tough deployment for Alpha Surgical Company starting in February near Falluja. Trauma surgeons worked in 24-hour O.R.s stabilizing Marines with blessed wounds. Navy Lieutenant Commander Heidi Kraft, a clinical psychologist, worked in the combat stress platoon on trauma of another kind.

LT. CMDR. HEIDI KRAFT, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: Normal people in this abnormal situation of combat can experience very significant symptoms of shock and sometimes even shutting down psychologically.

NISSEN: Seeing so many so young so shattered over seven months was hard on the healers, too. Alone in her barracks room, Dr. Kraft started a list of things that were good and things that were not good about her time in Iraq.

KRAFT: It was partially a self-therapy. I was struggling towards the end of the deployment with how to process everything that we had been through and done and survived together.

NISSEN: The not good list came easily.

KRAFT: Things that were not good, terrifying camel spiders, poisonous scorpions, 132 degrees, sweating in places I didn't know I could sweat like wrists and ears, the roar of helicopters overhead, the popping of gunfire, the cracking sound of giant artillery rounds splitting open against rock and dirt, the shattering of the windows, hiding away from the broken windows, waiting to be told we can come to the hospital to treat the ones who are not so lucky, watching the black helicopter with the big red cross on the side landing at our pad, telling a room full of stunned Marines in blood soaked uniforms that their comrade that they had just tried to save had died of his wounds, washing blood off the boots of one of our young nurses while she told me about the one who bled out in the trauma bay.

NISSEN: She struggled at first to find the positive, but slowly that list formed.

KRAFT: Things that were good: sunset over the desert, almost always orange, sunrise over the desert, almost always red, the childlike excitement of fresh fruit at dinner after going weeks without it, my comrades, some of the things witnessed will traumatize them forever, but they still provided outstanding care to these Marines but most of all, the United States Marines, our patients, having them tell us one after another through blinding pain or morphine-induced euphoria, when can I get out of here? I just want to get back to my unit.

NISSEN: There was the young sergeant who had lost one eye but asked for help sitting up so he could check on the members of his fire team being treated for minor shrapnel wounds.

KRAFT: He smiled, laid back down, and said, "I only have one good eye, Doc, but I can see that my Marines are OK."

NISSEN: And there was the young corporal known to the whole company as Heidi's Marine.

KRAFT: The one who threw himself on a grenade to save the men at his side, who will likely be the first Medal of Honor recipient in over 11 years.

NISSEN: That was Corporal Jason Dunham (ph), age 22. He arrived in the trauma bay on April 14 with a severe head wound. Kraft took his hand, talked to him, comforted him.

KRAFT: I told him we were proud of him, and that the Marines were proud of him and that he was brave.

NISSEN: Dunham (ph) could not speak, could only squeeze her hand in response.

KRAFT: I stayed with him as long as I could and I held his hand all the way up to the point where we got to the helicopter. It was the most wonderful moment of my life and the most horrible moment of my life at the same time.

NISSEN: She wept when she learned that Corporal Dunham had died at Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland eight days later, wept again when Dunham's mother wrote to thank her. Her biggest fear was that her son had been alone and that no one had been with him. For me, basically the whole deployment, all of it, all of it wrapped up at that moment.

NISSEN: The sorrow for the wounded and damaged, the grief for the lost, gratitude for being able to ease another's pain, pride in the U.S. troops for their courage and sacrifice. For Dr. Kraft it was all that was good and not good about Iraq. The ending of both lists is the same.

KRAFT: And finally, above all else, holding the hand of that dying Marine.

NISSEN: Beth Nissen, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: All right. We've got some new developments in the murder investigation of 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford. Let's go live to Augusta, Georgia and Denise Belgrave -- Denise.

DENISE BELGRAVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, we are here at the detention center here in Augusta, Georgia, where John Couey just left on his way back to Florida. Citrus County officials arrived here at about 6:05. It took about 30 minutes to process him. And at 6:35, that gate opened and the car drove out with John Couey inside. We understand from some of our contacts that Couey spent most of the night sleeping here. They did have him under a protective suicide watch because they were a little bit concerned. They also had him segregated away from other prisoners for his own safety -- Carol.

LIN: All right. Thanks, Denise. Do you know what's going to happen next in this process?

BELGRAVE: Well, as far as we know, they're heading right back to Florida and he's probably going to be facing murder charges in the Jessica Lunsford case.

LIN: All right. Considering she's already confessed, I'm wondering even if there's going to be a trial. We'll see what happens.

Denise Belgrave, thank you very much, live in Augusta, Georgia.

I want to bring you now the story we've been promising all night. Virginity pledges, they've become popular in recent years as a way to discourage teenagers from having sex. But now a study suggests teenagers who take the pledge eventually do have premarital sex anyway and some experts say education is a better approach. Let's find out. CNN's Kathleen Koch reports from Montgomery County, Maryland.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The emphasis today, we'll be use a cucumber for the demonstration.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A graphic demonstration of condom use and for the first time discussion of sexual variations, including homosexuality.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This tape of sexual education should be taught by parents at home.

KOCH: Such controversial changes had passions running high on both sides at a Saturday meeting on Montgomery County Maryland's new sex education curriculum.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Be careful not to tear the condom with your fingernails.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am shocked an appalled at what I've seen here today. I had no idea.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm thrilled that this kind of video is going to be there because I think it forces parents to then have conversations with their kids.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Abstinence is 100 percent effective.

KOCH: School officials point out that much of the new sex ed video stresses abstinence.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The best way is not to have sex at all.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Condoms and abstinence.

KOCH: They believe the lesson plans on homosexuality will increase tolerance and decrease bullying.

RUSSELL HENKE, HEALTH CURRICULUM COORDINATOR: Lack of information sometimes leads to fear. It sometimes leads to hate. And what we're trying to do is we're trying to clear that up for the kids in our schools today.

KOCH: Health teacher, Alex Rubenstein says it's an improvement over the previous curriculum in which homosexuality could only be discussed if a student brought it up and then only briefly.

ALEX RUBENSTEIN, HEALTH EDUCATION TEACHER: We were basically allowed to answer it to a certain degree, but it was very overwhelming because I didn't know exactly what would be going over the line. So it was just very confusing.

KOCH: The county says parental response is running 3 to 1 in favor of the new curriculum to be tested in six schools this spring.

SUZANNE MAXEY, PRINCIPAL, SENECA VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL: The kids are already talking about these things. This isn't -- we're not introducing anything to them. What we're doing is we're setting the conversation in an atmosphere that's socially responsible.

KOCH: Michelle Turner, whose six children have all attended county schools, believes the curriculum has another goal.

MICHELLE TURNER, PARENT: To purposely teach these kids these things in the hopes that they will grow up to be adults who believe that there's nothing wrong with it. We can all do our own thing. It's no big deal.

KOCH: Christine Grewell believes it is opponents who have an agenda.

CHRISTINE GREWELL, PARENT: I think they are trying to, in a way, to use their religious views to influence the school curriculum and I don't think that's proper. KOCH (on camera): Montgomery County School officials do say that during this trial period, any segment of the new curriculum that's found to be problematic could be changed or eliminated.

(voice-over): Finally, parents who dislike the changes can opt to have their students study other material, including an abstinence only curriculum.

Kathleen Koch, CNN, Wheaten, Maryland.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: And straight ahead, Ben Stein on how to squeeze the most out of your savings.

Hi, Ben.

BEN STEIN, AUTHOR: How are you?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Fueled by dire predictions from the Bush administration about social security, a lot of Americans are looking for a way to create a nest egg. And Ben Stein talks about alternatives to stock market investing in his new book, "Yes, You Can Be a Successful Income Investor." And Ben Stein is with me from Palm Desert, California to tell us all about it.

Hi, Ben, good to see you.

STEIN: Nice to see you. These aren't really alternatives to stock market investing but they're alternatives to long-term capital gain investing. They're ways to buy securities to yield six percent, seven percent, eight percent, instead of the two-tenths of one percent or two percent you're getting in your savings account or your CD. I mean these are ways to triple or quadruple the amount of money you're getting current income from your investments.

LIN: All right. Well, let's talk about some of those specific ways, OK. I'm going to ask for the second graphic because I thought we were going to go to the first graphic. Can I show folks some of the tips that you talked about?

STEIN: Show all the graphics you want. Show any graphics...

LIN: Even though I love looking at your face but Real Estate Investment Trusts, Utility Funds, Emerging Market Funds, is that what you're talking about?

STEIN: Right, and high dividend stocks. And you can find a number of leveraged real estate investment trusts that are yielding seven, seven and a half, some eight percent, a number of combined utility funds and real estate investment trust funds yielding seven, seven and a half, eight percent. The principal will fluctuate. That is, the stock price will fluctuate from day to day but the checks you get every month or every quarter in the mail will not fluctuate at least not very much at least not over very, very long periods. And if they do fluctuate, they're likely to fluctuate upwards and emerging market funds, which are bonds issued by countries like Korea or the Philippines or Russia or Turkey or Brazil, they have a wild fluctuations in the price but they coupon the dividend that you get in your mailbox. That has been very secure. And if you're earning six percent or seven percent as you can do from reading our book and then spending 15 minutes on the phone with your broker, you can literally triple or quadruple the amount of interest that you're getting.

LIN: That's the trade off. The trade off is you've got to have the stomach to watch your principal go up and down. You've just got to keep your eye on the prize and focus on the interest rate and the dividend income that you're getting month a month, right? I mean that...

STEIN: But that is...

LIN: ...is the risk.

STEIN: But that is indeed the prize because if you are a retired person or a person living on a fixed income, and you've got to squeeze every dollar you can out of your savings, figure it out. If you've got $500,000 in savings and you're getting seven percent, that's 35,000 a year. If you're getting two percent, that's 10,000. That's an incredible difference. It's well worth the little bit of agitation when you see it go down. And then you'll have some days when you see it go up and you'll be happy.

LIN: It's a little bit of agitation. I mean some people who invest in the Asian markets not too long ago, Ben, had more than just a little bit of agitation. They lost, you know...

STEIN: Yes, but you know what...

LIN: ...50,80 percent of their principals.

STEIN: No, no, no. With all due respect, it fluctuated tremendously but the coupons and the dividends on those bonds remained secure.

LIN: I got you.

STEIN: And there were tremendous fluctuations in the stock prices but there were none of those big funds missed a dividend. So yes, you will have to put up with some fluctuation, no doubt about it.

LIN: All right.

STEIN: But the check you need to pay your rent will be secure.

LIN: All right. And then the hassle of forcing the kids, when little Suzie gets worried about her inheritance. But that's for another day.

Thanks so much...

STEIN: That's her problem.

LIN: Yes! That's what we'll tell her. All right, little Suzie, you go out and you get a job.

Ben Stein, thank you so much. Good luck with the book.

STEIN: Thank you. Thank you.

LIN: And that's all the time we have for this hour. Coming up next, "THE CAPITAL GANG" and then at 8:00 Easter, "CNN 25," a look at the most influential moments and personalities of our time. And at 9:00, Larry King and Larry's guest tonight, friends and family of Anthony Quinn. Ad I'm going to be back at 10:00 tonight, my interview with Terri Schiavo's brother, Bobby Schindler. He is keeping an eye on Congress tonight. Right now, to "THE CAPITAL GANG."

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