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CNN Live Saturday

Tropical Storm Arlene Heads to Gulf Coast; Developments in Search for Missing Girl in Aruba; Safeguarding Against Identity Theft

Aired June 11, 2005 - 12:00   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.


FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: It's Noon in New York, 11:00 on Pensacola Beach, Florida and 9:00 a.m. in Los Angeles. Hello, I'm Fredricka Whitfield at CNN's global headquarters in Atlanta. Welcome to CNN LIVE SATURDAY. Ahead this hour:
Tropical storm Arlene is hours away from making landfall. We'll go live to Pensacola Beach Florida, with the latest.

And a developing story in Aruba involving one of the suspects in Natalee Holloway's disappearance.

Plus,

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I asked her why she was so insistent and she said it's because she was going to donate the money to her hospital.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Turning lemons into more than lemonade. One little girl's battle is an inspiration to others, but first here are the other headlines making news right now:

It's being hailed as a new deal between rich and poor countries. Finance ministers with the world's wealthiest nations agreed today, in London, to cancel more than 100 percent of the debt owed by the poorest countries. The final tab could top $55 billion. The decision comes ahead of next month's G-8 Summit in Scotland.

Insurgents in Iraq are on the attack again. So far today they've killed at least 19 people. Among the latest attacks, a suicide car bombing near the Slovak embassy in Baghdad. Four people were wounded in that blast.

Federal officials are trying to determine if a cow, here in the United States, has mad cow disease. A sample from the animal has been sent to a lab in England. Officials say the beef cow, which never entered the food chain, had previously been cleared of the infection.

We begin on the Gulf Coast and the eminent arrival of an unwanted visitor named Arlene. Whether Arlene is a tropical storm or a hurricane at this point is almost irrelevant. The difference is slight. Either way, Arlene is not to be taken lightly when it makes landfall in the next couple of hours or so. Pensacola Beach is right in Arlene's path, and the storm could arrive there at high tide, that's where we find CNN's Susan Candiotti with a live update on the conditions right there, right now -- Susan.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fredricka. Yes, we're experiencing wind gusts of around 30 miles an hour, but really, as you can see, not much of rain squalls at all, we get them from time to time. In fact, look at all of the people out here on the beach, they've come to see what things look like and I'm practically the only one wearing a rain jacket out here at this point, it's just too hard to take off and put on. But, off there in the distance, you see the peer it is built for a hurricane or a very strong tropical storm, as we have at this hour. That did suffer damage during hurricane Ivan. Evidently the planks in the bottom of that peer are made to break away as there is pressure, so it makes it much easier to repair as is necessary. There were a lot of people out there on that peer earlier this morning. Then the authorities came and told them to get off. It's off limits.

Obviously, no one is allowed to go out into the water as well, and they've been paying attention to that. The beach patrol has been out here steadily going up and down the beach. They are worried about a storm surge here and rain of up to 10 inches. Of course, this area suffered a lot of damage during hurricane Ivan, last September, and in fact, still there are 10,000 homes whose roofs still need repair.

One of the people taking a walk out here is Alan Finklestein.

Alan, you know, so far this is not a hurricane, it is a very strong tropical storm, that could change of course. But, what are you doing out here right now?

ALAN FINKELSTEIN, Watching you.

CANDIOTTI: Well, above and beyond that, what are you doing out here?

FINKELSTEIN: I came to see our beautiful beach being destroyed. It's terrible. This whole area is, between this and Ivan, especially Ivan, it really did a number on us here.

CANDIOTTI: How did you make out with your house during Ivan?

FINKELSTEIN: I made out pretty good, just some roof damage and carpeting and...

CANDIOTTI: So, did you have some unease when you heard that Arlene was heading this way?

FINKELSTEIN: Oh, no, because they were saying tropical storm, and I didn't think that'd be too bad.

CANDIOTTI: How do you think this hurricane season will go for you?

FINKELSTEIN: Oh, I don't even think about it.

CANDIOTTI: Too hard to make a prediction I assume.

FINKELSTEIN: Right.

CANDIOTTI: Well, we wish you luck and we hope that you don't have any flooding.

FINKELSTEIN: I wish you luck, too.

CANDIOTTI: Thank you very much.

I can tell you the berm they created here, after Ivan, it took them a few months, they just finished it a few months ago, and it's about 10 feet high and they're saying that they hope it will help, as the storm approaches. It should be hitting within the next couple of hours, we will see, but it is high tide right now.

Fredricka, back to you.

WHITFIELD: All right, Susan Candiotti, thanks so much for that update.

Let's check in with Jacqui Jeras who's also close and monitoring the storms, but she's dry.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, I am, and certainly happy with that, Fredricka. Glad to be in the studio. And, you know, it's a lot of fun for a meteorologist to be in here with our bells and whistles. We've got some great equipment helping to us forecast this storm.

It has slowed down a little bit. It's still a tropical storm, a very strong one, packing winds around 70 miles per hour, and at this point it, doesn't look like it's going to be reaching hurricane strength. Now, here's what could change that. Take a look at this satellite imagery and look at that little burst at the very end there, we get a little more convection here with the thunderstorm activity, that could strengthen the winds enough to bring it down to a very weak category one, but at this time, it's not looking like that's going to happen, as the storm is much less organized than it was yesterday. Yesterday, bringing the heavy rain into parts of the Florida peninsula and now the action is starting to develop on the north and west side of the storm.

Her area the latest statistics for you: Just over 80 miles away from Mobile, it's moving at only about 14 miles per hour, so that's slowed down a little bit since last night. We're expecting the landfall to be sometime this afternoon. I think it's going to be more like mid to late afternoon rather than early afternoon. Now, it should be weakening then as it makes landfall and should be spreading heavy rain all across the southeast. Three to five inches is what we're expecting widespread across parts of the south, but some isolated areas may be getting more like six to eight inches of rainfall.

You can see there is a tornado watch in effect across parts of Florida into the Panhandle, into southern parts of Alabama, also into Georgia. As these feeder bands coming in on the backside of the storm that have the greatest risk of having some potential for a little bit of rotation. So we're just hours away at this time, a very strong tropical storm, Arlene -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much, Jacqui Jeras, in the Weather Center.

Well, some places in Florida, in particular, are already starting to feel the effects of Arlene, even though it seems rather early. Just moments ago we heard from the head of the Florida Emergency Management Agency's Craig Fugate, and this is what he had to say:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CRAIG FUGATE, DIR. FL EMERGENCY MGT.: Well, it's important for most people, particular the Panhandle, this storm has not strengthened to a hurricane, it still has a lot of hazard with it. And again, if you'll follow some basic safety tips, and hopefully nobody's out on the water today or in the water, but also as we are dealing with some heavy rainfalls throughout the area, is member, flash flooding can occur, it's very dangerous to move through moving water, particularly driving through. So, if you're not sure, just turn around, don't drown. Probably the best thing for folks in West Florida to do right now is to stay inside as this storm's coming across, not get outside and be out in the elements.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Flash floods are a concern just about everywhere in the southeastern region. The danger from Arlene, however, is mostly from the storm surge and heavy rains, at least that's what's expected. John Kilcullen is the director of the Emergency Management Operations in Mobile County, Alabama, and he joins us by phone with some important information for people in that area, what to do to brace for this storm.

All right, well, John, give me a sense, what have you asked the folks in that area to do to prepare?

JOHN KILCULLEN, DIR. MOBILE CO. EMER. MGT. OPER: Well, we've advised some fundamental protective measures, particularly for those residents in our immediate coastal areas and other flood-prone areas to seek shelter in safer places. Hopefully they've already done that. Otherwise, just stay put, and avoid getting out on the streets if you can.

We're starting to feel some of the initial effects in our immediate coastal areas in the form of some heavier rain, and the winds gradually increasing, and we're already starting to experience some minor flooding on some of our coastal roads.

WHITFIELD: You mentioned shelters. You're encouraging people to seek shelter. How many shelters do you have in that area, ready for what kind of crowd?

KILCULLEN: We currently have three shelters available in Mobile County, and one of those is designated as a medical needs shelter we have a small population currently in the centers now, so we have capacity to shelter about 1,500 people, right now, and we can increase that if we need to.

WHITFIELD: Just shy of hurricane strength right now, Arlene is; however, have you asked people in low-lying areas to evacuate?

KILCULLEN: Yes, we have. We issued our initial evacuation advisory at about Noon yesterday to give people plenty of time to make those plans and preparations and to seek shelter.

WHITFIELD: And you always have a handful of folks who don't want to adhere to the evacuation order. What have you done to reach out to those people, those stragglers who decide to ride out the storm?

KILCULLEN: Just basic information, telling them, you know, how to prepare their property and how to protect themselves.

WHITFIELD: What are some of those tips?

KILCULLEN: Well, securing the outdoor items, or bring them inside, and then just stay indoors, if you have -- if you don't have to go outside, don't.

WHITFIELD: Yeah. OK, John Kilcullen, the Emergency Management Agency in Mobile, Alabama, thanks so much for join us.

KILCULLEN: You're welcome.

WHITFIELD: Well, depend on CNN as we track Arlene. You can expect live updates throughout the hour and throughout the day right here on CNN.

There are new developments in Aruba, this hour, in the case of missing Alabama teen, Natalee Holloway. It involves the prosecutor's office, one of the suspects, and a senior police official. We get the latest from Karl Penhaul in Palm Beach, Aruba -- Karl.

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, last night, shortly before midnight, a senior police official, here in Aruba, told CNN that one of three young men detained on Thursday had made a confession in killing Natalee Holloway. The three men who are under suspicion there, are the last three men to be seen in Natalee's company. This morning, around 11:00 local time, the chief prosecutor's office made a statement about the case, this is what they had to say:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VIVIAN VAN DER BIEZEN, PROSECUTOR'S SPOKESWOMAN: Good morning, members of the press. The prosecution service has -- is aware of some information that are related to the investigation of alleged statements of witnesses -- but, sorry of suspects in this case, and what the prosecution service would like to say is, at this moment, we neither confirm or deny any information coming from other sources. The investigation, at this point is the following -- we have five suspects, they are being interrogated, and we are at a very crucial, very important moment in our investigation, and as soon as we have all the information, we will make that available to you. Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PENHAUL: Along with the police force, the prosecutor's office is heading the investigation into the disappearance of Natalee Holloway, also in the last few moments, a government spokesman has told us that early afternoon, a judge will be flying in from the Netherlands Antilles and he will be listening to initial evidence to see if the three men, the three young men detained on Thursday can be detained in custody for a further eight days and we will be bringing you up-to- date as that happens -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Karl Penhaul, thanks very much for that update from Palm Beach, Aruba.

Coming up on CNN LIVE SATURDAY:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would say to them that I totally understand what they're going through, and I empathize with them and my heart, just breaks for them. And I know what they're going through. I think about it all the time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Advice for the family of Natalee Holloway, from someone who knows heartache.

Plus, is it another case of mad cow disease? We'll have the latest news on some test results.

And we'll get another update on Arlene, as it bears down on the Gulf Coast.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Updating our top story now. Just days into the Atlantic hurricane season, warnings are up along parts of the U.S. northern Gulf Coast, a short time from now, tropical storm Arlene is expected to make landfall. And forecasters say it could be a minimal hurricane when it does hit. As the region braces for Arlene, memories of last year's devastating hurricane season still linger across that state and much of the damage remains.

CNN's John Zarrella shows us one of the hardest-hit areas in Florida.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHARLEY YONAKA, PORT CHARLOTTE RESIDENT: This is all new. The door's new...

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Today, Charley and Jeanne Yonaka can laugh about the coincidence. They have the same names as two of the four hurricanes that hit Florida last summer. JEANNE YONAKA, PORT CHARLOTTE RESIDENT: My daughter called the first week and she said, "Mom, I can't believe it." and I said, "What?" and she says, "Charley and Jeanne." I said, "Tanya, I don't see your humor in this right now!"

ZARRELLA: With water pouring in, windows blown out and debris flying in the house, Charley and Jeanne ran to the bathroom. At one point, Charley dashed to the garage for two motorcycle helmets.

(on camera): And how'd you have the presence of mind in the height of the storm to say I'm going to come out...

C. YONAKA: Because things were falling -- falling down around me and I was going -- I was running around like this. I said why am I doing that? I got helmets out in the garage.

ZARRELLA (voice-over): In the end, hurricane Charley caused about $60,000 damage to their Port Charlotte home.

C. YONAKA: This room here and that bedroom, are the only two that the ceilings did not fall in on.

ZARRELLA: With the help of skilled friends, the Yonaka's repaired most of their home themselves. Insurance covered most of their losses.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You were warned the day before.

ZARRELLA: Now at a hurricane-preparedness seminar, they are getting ready for what could be another tough season.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Strengthen that garage door. They attach on the inside and keep it from being pushed in.

ZARRELLA: Just a few miles away, most people still haven't recovered from last year.

(on camera): A lot of these places still have the blue tarps on them.

GRACE NURSE, HOUSING ADVOCACY GROUP LEADER: Yes, they do. They haven't been repaired. The person who owned these properties did not have insurance.

ZARRELLA (voice-over): Grace Nurse runs a housing advocacy group in a low-income neighborhood of Punta Gorda. Few here have the money to rebuild. Nurse believes many will be forced to leave homes that their families have lived in for generations. Tough economic times made worse by real estate speculators driving up the price of land, in an area where demand is always high.

NURSE: Income have not gone up, salaries have not gone up, but yes, property value have. A lot that would have cost maybe 12 to $1,800 a year or two ago is now going for $30,000.

ZARRELLA (on camera): Thirty thousand? NURSE: Thirty thousand, so these people are completely priced out of the market.

ZARRELLA (voice-over): The city hoping to rebuild some public housing in the neighborhood. Housing projects so badly damaged that 150 families had to move out.

(on camera): This was supposed to be a two-story house. Charley took the second floor. This place and one next to it were going to be models for a neighborhood redevelopment project. The families had been pre-approved and were months away from moving in. The storm changed everything.

(voice-over): These homes will have to be torn down and Grace Nurse says there may not be any money to restart the project. In a matter of just a few hours, last August, nearly everyone's life in Charlotte County was changed. Some are recovering. Others may never be the same.

John Zarrella, CNN, Punta Gorda, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: The jury is still out, no verdict yet in the Jackson trial. We'll talk to our legal analyst for the very latest.

And initial test results are back on a possible case of mad cow disease, a live report ahead on CNN LIVE SATURDAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Now to our "Legal Roundup." After seven days of deliberations, there's still no verdict in the trial of former Tyco international executives, Dennis Kozlowski and Mark Swartz. They're accused of taking millions in unauthorized bonuses and misrepresenting Tyco's financial condition to investors and regulators. The jury gets back to work on Tuesday.

And jurors in the Michael Jackson trial will be back on Monday. So far they've put in 28 hours of deliberations over a six-day period. Sources close to the case tell CNN, the panel asked to have portions of Jackson's accuser's testimony read back to them.

Let's talk a little bit more about the Jackson trial with former U.S. attorney, Kendall Coffey. He joins us from a breezy Miami.

Good to see you, Kendall.

KENDALL COFFEE, FMR. U.S. ATTORNEY: Hey, hi Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, well it's tough to read the tea leaves, but we'll try. In a case like this, the Michael Jackson case, where they're deliberating six days and now going into a seventh day, next week, who is more nervous are the defense or the prosecutors?

COFFEY: Well, prosecution's getting a little more nervous. Still much too early for Michael Jackson to get on the top of the car and do any victory dance. I think, in general, longer deliberations are good for defendants. We can look at former actor Robert Blake, nine days out, not guilty verdict. Martha Stewart, three days of deliberations, guilty on all counts, but this is Michael Jackson, very strange guy, very strange case and I think all bets are off in judging this one.

WHITFIELD: Well, in another notorious case, we're talking about the O.J. Simpson trial, it was a matter of hours before the jurors came back with a verdict. How do you compare that case and this one when it comes down to the number of charges, the difficulty, and the complexities that the jurors have to really weigh and go over? In this case it's 10 counts.

COFFEY: Well, and I think that I makes a very big, big difference. I think the eyes of the world are watching, this jury's going to want to be very careful. They're averaging about five notebooks each of notes they've taken through a 16-week trial, so a lot of work to do. But, some of the counts are convoluted. For example, Fredricka, the conspiracy count which is pretty weak stuff anyway, has over 24 different jury instructions trying to explain what the heck it is the prosecution's talking about to the jury. You could spend a couple days just on the conspiracy count, and the jury has the same duty to reach unanimity if they can on all 10 counts.

WHITFIELD: And you have to wonder at the complication of some of those charges, and the instructions they were giver -- given, end up boding well for the defense, merely for the fact that the jurors are going to be confused.

COFFEY: Well, I think the defense always gains something when things aren't so clear, because at the end of the day, if it's a reasonable doubt, the defendant walks.

WHITFIELD: All right now, in the publicity of this case, it has to impact the jurors especially in the case of jurors not being sequestered, so they're learning about all of these intricacies taking place outside the courtroom, particularly about the infighting now taking place with some of the Jackson spokespeople. For example, the Michael Jackson Productions, MJJ Productions released this statement saying, "MJJ Productions regretfully announces the termination of Raymone Bain and Davis, Bain and Associates. We thank you for your services." Raymone Bain being a rather visible spokesperson for the Jackson camp, might the jurors weigh on this? Might it influence their decision ultimately?

COFFEY: Well, hopefully they're not paying any attention to the media, but you never know. Some definite static with the Jackson mouthpieces and a concern on the part of the Jackson camp that they were seen as violating the gag order. So what happens? She's gone, the former Jackson spokesperson is out, Mesereau issues a statement saying he's in charge here, he's not talking to anybody.

WHITFIELD: Now, how unusual is this also for a judge to say, "We're going to give you 60 minutes in which to get back to the courtroom, if indeed there is a verdict?" Ordinarily the judge says be only minutes away. Why in this case is 60 minutes, is that a special circumstance because we're dealing Michael Jackson?

COFFEY: Michael Jackson and the media. The judge is very aware that American justice is being looked at throughout the world. He wants folks to be there, to have the opportunity just to see how well it can work in a very difficult case.

WHITFIELD: All right, if convicted, just playing devil's advocate, here. If convicted, might he have the opportunity to go back to Neverland and wait for sentencing or is it likely the judge would say we're going to hold you until?

COFFEY: Well, we're looking at tea leaves. In my case, coffee beans, but I suspect, Fredricka, that this judge is going to treat Michael Jackson like any other defendant if convicted of child molestation. And that means directly to jail, do not pass go, right to jail.

WHITFIELD: Wow, all right, thanks for reading the coffee beans. Kendall Coffey, thanks so much from Miami.

COFFEY: Thanks, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Arlene gathers strength. Residents brace for flooding as waves continue pounding the shoreline. We'll have a live report straight ahead.

And they vanished without a trace. One woman recalls the numbing sense of loss and uncertainty when her family members disappeared. CNN LIVE SATURDAY continues in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

Our top stories now.

Tropical Storm Arlene is getting closer to landfall, along the Gulf Coast. A live report from the water's edge straight ahead.

In Iraq, a rash of violent attacks today has claimed at least 19 lives. This is video of a suicide car bombing near the Slovak embassy in Baghdad. Four people were wounded in that attack. In other incident, a suicide bomber blew himself up among Iraqi police commandos gathered for roll call. Three police officers were killed.

Finance chiefs from the world's richest countries have struck a deal to scrap the debts of poor nations. The G-8 ministers have agreed to cancel at least $40 billion in debt owed by developing countries. Britain's finance minister called it an historic new deal.

We're keeping a close eye this hour on Tropical Storm Arlene, expected to make landfall in the Gulf coast within a few hours. And forecasters say Arlene could become a category one hurricane.

Let's get the latest now from meteorologist Jacqui Jeras in the weather center -- Jacqui? JERAS: Hi, Fredricka. Yes, it could be, but right now, it looks like that's not going to happen. We still have a little bit of time for it to develop and become a little bit stronger. We're watching this area right here -- we're getting a little bit more what we call convection. And so if we get a little bit more thunderstorm activity, that can help to kick up the winds a little bit. If that doesn't happen, I think this is definitely going to be staying as a tropical storm.

70 mile per hour winds right now -- though there isn't a lot of difference, by the way, between a strong tropical storm and a weak category one hurricane. Winds are gusting up to 85 miles per hour. Pressure down to 990 millibars. And we are expecting this to making landfall probably within the next couple of hours, we think mid to late afternoon. It's slowed down a little bit. It's moving around 14 miles per hour.

What's the bottom line? What do you need to know here about Tropical Storm Eileen? Arlene, rather. The main impact we're going to be seeing. Heavy rainfall. Three to six inches can be expected widespread, but within the path, especially along the northern and eastern sides of the storm, we could see as much as six to eight inches of rainfall. Winds will be gusty, 40 to 70 miles per hour, with some scattered power outages expected. Isolated tornadoes are possible and some coastal flooding with the storm surge between three and five feet.

There you can see the radar picture right now, and you can see kind of a center of circulation here to the south of Mobile. It's just less than 80 miles away from the coastline now, and tracking that 14 miles per hour. Do the math. If we see no change in forward speed, that means about 4:00 Central time or so.

You can see there is a tornado watch in effect for central parts of Florida, extending all across the Panhandle and the southern parts of Alabama and into Georgia. These feeder bands, as we call them, coming here on the outside of the storm. This is where we have the greatest chance of some rotation. So as these lines start to make their way up towards the Florida Panhandle, that's when we can start to see maybe a couple of tornado touchdowns.

Here is the forecast track for Arlene, what we're expecting over the next 24 to 48 hours. Continuing on a slightly north to northwesterly track, weakening as it becomes inland, eventually coming an extra tropical low. But it should cause some flooding problems likely as it heads on through the Tennessee and Ohio River valleys -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks a lot, Jacqui.

And you can view an online map of Arlene's predicted path and prepare yourself with safety tips at CNN.com/weather.

The other big story we're watching this morning -- or this afternoon, rather, is in Aruba. Authorities there may be closer to learning the whereabouts of Natalee Holloway. CNN has learned from a senior police official that one of the suspects has confessed to killing the Alabama teenager. The official did not identify which suspect confessed or offer any additional details. The prosecution's office refused to confirm or deny that report. Stay with CNN for the latest on this developing story.

While the search for Natalee Holloway continues in Aruba, one Georgia woman knows exactly what Holloway's family is going through. CNN's Tony Harris has her story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TONY HARRIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: (voice-over): One of the great lures of the islands of Aruba and nearby Bonair is the spectacular diving. Tom Ennis and his son Brandon were on vacation and scuba diving in the waters off Bonair, when, for reasons no one knows, they disappeared, just vanished into the vast waters of the Caribbean.

LESLIE ENNIS, TOM'S SISTER: He loved the beauty of it. He loved the beauty of another world. He loved the fact that there was another universe in this world we live in. It was like going to the moon. He was in a completely different environment. He loved -- he really loved anything with freedom.

HARRIS: The loss of her brother and nephew have been extremely hard on Leslie Ennis. Months went by before even the thinnest thread of a clue was found.

ENNIS: I believe it was sometime in June, May or June, I don't have the date exactly, but...

HARRIS (on camera): Of this year?

ENNIS: Of 2004.

HARRIS: Of 2004.

ENNIS: That human remains were found in the water off of Bonair, located around the site that my brother was thought to have been diving.

HARRIS (voice-over): Bones and a shredded dive suit were found, a tantalizing clue. But another year passed before DNA tests finally confirmed the bones and dive suit were those of her brother and cleared up at least part of the mystery about what happened.

What unites Leslie with the Holloway family is the intense pain of not knowing, to have many, many more questions than answers. And she has advice for Natalee's parents.

ENNIS: I would say to them that I totally understand what they're going through, and I empathize with them. And my heart just breaks for them. And I know what they're going through. I think about it all the time. I know what they're thinking, I know what they're feeling.

HARRIS: Leslie still thinks about her nephew, Brandon. His remains were never found.

ENNIS: I wish they'd find Brandon. I wish they'd keep looking.

HARRIS: A mystery, 17 long months, and still counting.

Tony Harris, CNN, Douglasville, Georgia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: A possible case of mad cow disease has turned up in the United States. The Department of Agriculture is satisfied the beef is not in the food chain, however.

CNN's Kathleen Koch is outside the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington with more on this story -- Kathleen?

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, it was back in November of that a cow arrived for slaughter, but it couldn't walk, so it was tested for mad cow disease and a rapid preliminary test found that it was negative. But then a second, more comprehensive test was conducted, and it was found to be free of the disease -- excuse me, the first test found it was positive, the second test found it was free of the disease.

But then the Agriculture Department's inspector general, at the urging of consumer groups, decided a third, more detailed, test should be conducted and the cow this week was found to be positive. Just to verify, a sample from the animal has been sent to a laboratory in England for more detailed analysis. The Agriculture Department is also conducting its own test. And Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns insists this shows that their system to keep mad cow out of the food supply works.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

MIKE JOHANNS, AGRICULTURE SECRETARY: The firewalls that the USDA put in place did work. As I point out, the animal did not enter the food or the feed chain. Therefore, there is no risk to human health.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

KOCH: Now mad cow or BSE is a chronic degenerative disease that affects the central nervous system of cattle. It's usually transmitted via contaminated feed. It is not a contagious disease, and there's no evidence that it can be transmitted through direct contact with a cow or spread animal to animal.

But of course the concern is the consumption of beef. It was back in the 1990s that more than 150 people died after an outbreak of mad cow disease in Great Britain, and these people died from a human form of the disease. Now, here in the United States, the only other positive case of mad cow disease was discovered in December of 2003, and that was in a dairy cow in Washington state.

It was that discovery that then prompted the cutoff of U.S. beef trade with major buyers, countries like Japan and South Korea, that cost the U.S. beef industry more than $1 billion. And ironically, the federal government was right now in the middle of negotiations to reopen those markets. So Fredricka, there is a good deal of concern that this potential discovery certainly will not help its case.

WHITFIELD: And Kathleen, can we say where this discovery -- where in the U.S. this discovery was made?

KOCH: No, we can't, Fredricka. The Agriculture Department has not yet released that information, nor will they say exactly where this cow was born. The Washington state dairy cow that was back in 2003 discovered to have mad cow disease, it was born in Canada. So they are not yet releasing that information, but everyone, of course, is very curious about that. Because when that case occurred, and when there were some cases in Canada, the U.S. quit importing cattle from Canada. So they want to certainly find out where this one was from.

WHITFIELD: Yes. All right. Kathleen Koch, thanks very much, outside the U.S. Agricultural Department in D.C.

It's a feeling of helplessness. Identity theft. It happens to million of people every year. How safe are you and what can do you to protect yourself? Some advice from an expert, straight ahead on CNN LIVE SATURDAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: In other news across America now.

Corpus Christie, Texas. 13-year-old Katie Warnick (ph) will undergo radiation treatment for cancer despite earlier objections by her parents. A Texas judge ordered the therapy after test showed the girl's cancer was not in remission, as her parents had claimed. The state took custody of the teenager last week. Warnick's (ph) teen's parents have since dropped their objections.

In Lincoln, Nebraska, Jim Exon was known in Democratic circle as "Big Jim." Exon began his political career in 1970 and never lost an election. The two-term governor and three-term senator died Friday of natural causes at the age of 83.

A head's up of owners of new Nissan Sentras. Nissan is recalling 49,000 2005 sedans due to a possible fuel leakage. Nissan says faulty hoses could cause -- lead to fuel spill and potential fires.

And pitching for a world record. Two softball teams in northwest Arkansas are engaged in a marathon that began yesterday morning and might not end until tomorrow night. They vowed to play until they scored enough money to renovate their ballpark and win a place in the record books by keeping the action going for at least 61 hours.

Stolen identity? Companies continue to lose important personal information. Ahead, your privacy and ways to protect it.

Plus, she's an inspiration to others. One little girl turns lemons into more than lemonade. CNN LIVE SATURDAY continues right after this. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Well, we've heard lots of scary stories of personal data being stolen using sophisticated high-tech methods. Truth is, most I.D. theft happens the old-fashioned way, these taken from your wallet or your trash and in other ways. We'll explain that in a moment.

Todd Mark is with the Consumer Credit Counseling Service. He joins us with some important tips on safeguarding your privacy.

Particularly, we're talking about ways in which your personal data can escape your possession or private possession. Just recently, Citigroup seem to have lost their data, not by the methods I just mentioned in the lead-in, but instead by courier, by UPS. They somehow misplaced. So it happens in so many different ways. What can we, as consumers, do to protect ourselves?

TODD MARK, CONSUMER CREDIT COUNSELING SERVICE: Well, you know, there's nothing you can do when it's up at that corporate level, whether it's a data collector or a financial service or a university. Whatever it is, everybody has your credit information, because we're an information society and that's what makes it so easy to get credit. So you can't really do much other than protecting your wallet, you know, and not giving out information online. You can't worry about what these third parties do. If it's going to happen, it's going to happen regardless of what steps or precaution you take.

WHITFIELD: All right, well, let's talk about some of the things you can do. You did mention -- you know, you give some of your personal information online. A lot of us are paying our bills online now. Does that make you that much more vulnerable to someone stealing some of your information?

MARK: Well, your naivete of how you give the things online might contribute. Because, you know, one of the biggest scams in the last year, are phishing (ph) e-mails. And they look like they're coming from your bank or your credit union saying, Fredricka, we'd like to confirm that your account is active, please give us your account number and PIN. And it looks and feels exactly like the company -- it will just like their Web site. And so many people, because there's a trust factor...

WHITFIELD: I think it was Bank of America that had a big problem with that.

MARK: Bank of America, Sun Trust, so many have fallen to it. And again, it's not them. So you've got to use common sense. You know, whether it's a fax that comes into work or an e-mail. Somebody asking for your credit information, your bank accounts, PINs, don't give it.

WHITFIELD: Be suspicious.

MARK: Yes, and if you really think that your bank is asking for this, instead of responding, call them up with the number that you're used to or go into your branch and say hey, did you really need to confirm some of the information?

WHITFIELD: You also mentioned PINs. So many of us might keep the same PIN for all of these different accounts. You know, or vary them by a number or letter or so. How often should we be changing our PINs?

MARK: You know, I wouldn't worry so much about changing it unless you're giving out your PIN to other people constantly. It is really more important to just be vigilant of not giving it out. And don't write it down and keep it in your wallet. Because as we said, that's the old stand-by.

If you get robbed of your purse or wallet or even somebody at work just happens to fish into it while you're doing something else and you leave -- and your purse, not just your driver's license, which please, don't let your Social Security number be on your driver's license. Don't let Soc (ph) be on your checks. But then if you've got written in there, oh, my PIN is 1-2-3-4, well, that's not going to help you if they have access to all of that.

WHITFIELD: So don't put your Social Security on some of those things, but it seems these days on applications or maybe doctor's appointments, visits, et cetera, they ask you for that Social Security. It seems like your Social is no longer your best-kept secret, but instead, it is your I.D. card. It takes precedence over almost over anything else. So when can you say no, I don't want to provide that, or gee, you know, how do I protect myself by doing that?

MARK: Bring it up. If your doctor wants to use your Soc or you see it on your claim forms, say, I don't want that as my identification number. Please change it. And they have the ability to do that. The same thing with many sort of companies you may do business with. If they ask for that, and you know, it's up to you at that point. You can choose not to do business with them or you can choose, if they require it, to give it. And obviously, a lot of financial companies, they are going to require that kind of information if you're applying for a mortgage or car. So they're going to need access to all of those things.

WHITFIELD: Yes, so you're saying particularly since there are more instances of identity theft, people should feel more empowered to protect themselves and be maybe even a little bit more combative with some of these companies who are asking for private information.

MARK: Sure.

WHITFIELD: Challenging them.

MARK: You've got to be vigilant about keeping your information private to yourself, but you've also got to really be empowered and look at your information yourself. You know, they've just -- through the Fact Act (ph) that where most Americans now have free access to their credit reports, one freebie from each of the three bureaus per year. There's 15 states in the Northeast which will go effective September 1. And there's no excuse. This is free. You've got to take advantage. Pull these reports. And you want to verify all the information, including your Soc and address is correct, to make sure your files aren't getting merged with somebody else. And more importantly, review all the accounts and make sure somebody hasn't opened up additional accounts in your name.

WHITFIELD: Once a year it's free. Do you encourage people to look more than once, however?

MARK: Well, since you can get one free from each of the three bureaus, you can almost set up your own monitoring service, instead of paying somebody else to do it. Why don't you pull one every four months from one of the three bureaus.

WHITFIELD: Interesting.

MARK: The only exception would be if you're applying for a big purchase, a car or mortgage. Pull all three of them and you probably want to buy your score about six months ahead of time. So if there's any erroneous information or if you're a victim of identity theft, you can get that all corrected and it doesn't hold up your mortgage.

WHITFIELD: And those three agencies again, TransUnion, Experian...

MARK: Experian and Equifax.

WHITFIELD: And Equifax. That's right.

MARK: And the new Web site where everybody can get their freebies -- except for the Northeast, sorry, wait three more months -- is annualcreditreport.com.

WHITFIELD: All right. Todd Mark, always good to see you. Thanks so much. Of Consumer Credit Counseling Service.

MARK: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Showdown at Belmont Stakes. But Afleet Alex is racing for a lot more than a trophy this weekend. His quest for one little girl, straight ahead on CNN LIVE SATURDAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Post time for today's Belmont Stakes is just five and half hours from now. There won't be a triple crown on the line, but one horse is the sentimental favorite because of a little girl named Alex. Here's CNN's Jason Carroll.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is a story about a little girl, Alex Scott, her dream and her spirit. And this is the young race horse who some believe is Alex's kindred spirit.

JAY SCOTT, ALEX'S FATHER: He wouldn't give up. And that's the way -- that's the way our Alex was. She wouldn't give up.

CARROLL: When Alex was a year old, doctors diagnosed her with a rare form of cancer. At 4 she drew a picture of her dream, a lemonade stand.

LIZ SCOTT, ALEX'S MOTHER: I asked her why she was so insistent, and she said it's because she was going to donate the money to her hospital.

CARROLL: Thanks to the local paper running a story, Alex raised $2,000 her first day. Every summer for the next few years her stand grew in ways few expected.

L. SCOTT: We started receiving letters from people saying that they had a lemonade stand. Lots of letters from kids.

CARROLL: Last year children across the country helped Alex raise $1 million. The same year she finally succumbed to cancer. She was 8-years-old.

L. SCOTT: It was peaceful. She was home. And she was comfortable. And we were all here with her.

J. SCOTT: When Alex passed away, probably the lemonade stand would go away. But we started getting more letters and more e-mails, by the hundreds and thousands of people that said, you know, you need to carry this on.

CARROLL: One call came from the co-owner of a young race horse, also named Alex, Afleet Alex. Chuck Zackney reached out to Alex's parents after hearing about her story.

CHUCK ZACKNEY, AFLEET ALEX'S CO-OWNER: I said, you know, we have a horse named Afleet Alex. She wasn't aware of it. It was only a 2- year-old and had only a couple races. And they said as he races, you know, we'd like to contribute.

CARROLL: Alex's parents saw something special in the horse, something familiar.

ANNOUNCER: But Afleet Alex is taking -- he blew the turn, and Afleet Alex almost fell out of the saddle!

CARROLL: During the Preakness, Afleet stumbled, but remarkably righted himself and won the race.

L. SCOTT: And it did remind me very much of Alex and the way that she would often stumble. I could just picture her, you know, running across the back yard and, you know, her knee buckling and her popping back up and just keep going and going faster.

CARROLL: Afleet Alex's jockey says he felt a spiritual connection.

JEREMY ROSE, AFLEET ALEX'S JOCKEY: Alex Scott's the only thing I can think of. Somebody was there. There's no reason I should have stayed on, there's no reason he should have stayed up. Something kept my butt in the saddle.

CARROLL: But this is where Alex's spirit counts most -- in hospitals, where children suffering from cancer, like Ruby (ph), who's four, have already benefited from money raised through lemonade sales and donations.

DR. JOHN MARIS, CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL: This funding has made it possible for children like Ruby to get access to what we hope is cutting edge therapy.

CARROLL: A new goal now for Alex's family. They want to raise $1 million this weekend.

L. SCOTT: I'm feeling really good that we're going to do it and hopefully, we're going to have a winning horse and we can just continue this until there's a cure.

CARROLL: Afleet Alex races in the Belmont Stakes. Odds are good someone will be watching over him, as he races for more than just the finish line.

JASON CARROLL, CNN, Belmont, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: So much more ahead on CNN Saturday. We'll have a live weather update every 15 minutes, plus all of the top stories at 2:00 p.m.

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 June 11, 2005 - 12:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: It's Noon in New York, 11:00 on Pensacola Beach, Florida and 9:00 a.m. in Los Angeles. Hello, I'm Fredricka Whitfield at CNN's global headquarters in Atlanta. Welcome to CNN LIVE SATURDAY. Ahead this hour:
Tropical storm Arlene is hours away from making landfall. We'll go live to Pensacola Beach Florida, with the latest.

And a developing story in Aruba involving one of the suspects in Natalee Holloway's disappearance.

Plus,

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I asked her why she was so insistent and she said it's because she was going to donate the money to her hospital.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Turning lemons into more than lemonade. One little girl's battle is an inspiration to others, but first here are the other headlines making news right now:

It's being hailed as a new deal between rich and poor countries. Finance ministers with the world's wealthiest nations agreed today, in London, to cancel more than 100 percent of the debt owed by the poorest countries. The final tab could top $55 billion. The decision comes ahead of next month's G-8 Summit in Scotland.

Insurgents in Iraq are on the attack again. So far today they've killed at least 19 people. Among the latest attacks, a suicide car bombing near the Slovak embassy in Baghdad. Four people were wounded in that blast.

Federal officials are trying to determine if a cow, here in the United States, has mad cow disease. A sample from the animal has been sent to a lab in England. Officials say the beef cow, which never entered the food chain, had previously been cleared of the infection.

We begin on the Gulf Coast and the eminent arrival of an unwanted visitor named Arlene. Whether Arlene is a tropical storm or a hurricane at this point is almost irrelevant. The difference is slight. Either way, Arlene is not to be taken lightly when it makes landfall in the next couple of hours or so. Pensacola Beach is right in Arlene's path, and the storm could arrive there at high tide, that's where we find CNN's Susan Candiotti with a live update on the conditions right there, right now -- Susan.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fredricka. Yes, we're experiencing wind gusts of around 30 miles an hour, but really, as you can see, not much of rain squalls at all, we get them from time to time. In fact, look at all of the people out here on the beach, they've come to see what things look like and I'm practically the only one wearing a rain jacket out here at this point, it's just too hard to take off and put on. But, off there in the distance, you see the peer it is built for a hurricane or a very strong tropical storm, as we have at this hour. That did suffer damage during hurricane Ivan. Evidently the planks in the bottom of that peer are made to break away as there is pressure, so it makes it much easier to repair as is necessary. There were a lot of people out there on that peer earlier this morning. Then the authorities came and told them to get off. It's off limits.

Obviously, no one is allowed to go out into the water as well, and they've been paying attention to that. The beach patrol has been out here steadily going up and down the beach. They are worried about a storm surge here and rain of up to 10 inches. Of course, this area suffered a lot of damage during hurricane Ivan, last September, and in fact, still there are 10,000 homes whose roofs still need repair.

One of the people taking a walk out here is Alan Finklestein.

Alan, you know, so far this is not a hurricane, it is a very strong tropical storm, that could change of course. But, what are you doing out here right now?

ALAN FINKELSTEIN, Watching you.

CANDIOTTI: Well, above and beyond that, what are you doing out here?

FINKELSTEIN: I came to see our beautiful beach being destroyed. It's terrible. This whole area is, between this and Ivan, especially Ivan, it really did a number on us here.

CANDIOTTI: How did you make out with your house during Ivan?

FINKELSTEIN: I made out pretty good, just some roof damage and carpeting and...

CANDIOTTI: So, did you have some unease when you heard that Arlene was heading this way?

FINKELSTEIN: Oh, no, because they were saying tropical storm, and I didn't think that'd be too bad.

CANDIOTTI: How do you think this hurricane season will go for you?

FINKELSTEIN: Oh, I don't even think about it.

CANDIOTTI: Too hard to make a prediction I assume.

FINKELSTEIN: Right.

CANDIOTTI: Well, we wish you luck and we hope that you don't have any flooding.

FINKELSTEIN: I wish you luck, too.

CANDIOTTI: Thank you very much.

I can tell you the berm they created here, after Ivan, it took them a few months, they just finished it a few months ago, and it's about 10 feet high and they're saying that they hope it will help, as the storm approaches. It should be hitting within the next couple of hours, we will see, but it is high tide right now.

Fredricka, back to you.

WHITFIELD: All right, Susan Candiotti, thanks so much for that update.

Let's check in with Jacqui Jeras who's also close and monitoring the storms, but she's dry.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, I am, and certainly happy with that, Fredricka. Glad to be in the studio. And, you know, it's a lot of fun for a meteorologist to be in here with our bells and whistles. We've got some great equipment helping to us forecast this storm.

It has slowed down a little bit. It's still a tropical storm, a very strong one, packing winds around 70 miles per hour, and at this point it, doesn't look like it's going to be reaching hurricane strength. Now, here's what could change that. Take a look at this satellite imagery and look at that little burst at the very end there, we get a little more convection here with the thunderstorm activity, that could strengthen the winds enough to bring it down to a very weak category one, but at this time, it's not looking like that's going to happen, as the storm is much less organized than it was yesterday. Yesterday, bringing the heavy rain into parts of the Florida peninsula and now the action is starting to develop on the north and west side of the storm.

Her area the latest statistics for you: Just over 80 miles away from Mobile, it's moving at only about 14 miles per hour, so that's slowed down a little bit since last night. We're expecting the landfall to be sometime this afternoon. I think it's going to be more like mid to late afternoon rather than early afternoon. Now, it should be weakening then as it makes landfall and should be spreading heavy rain all across the southeast. Three to five inches is what we're expecting widespread across parts of the south, but some isolated areas may be getting more like six to eight inches of rainfall.

You can see there is a tornado watch in effect across parts of Florida into the Panhandle, into southern parts of Alabama, also into Georgia. As these feeder bands coming in on the backside of the storm that have the greatest risk of having some potential for a little bit of rotation. So we're just hours away at this time, a very strong tropical storm, Arlene -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much, Jacqui Jeras, in the Weather Center.

Well, some places in Florida, in particular, are already starting to feel the effects of Arlene, even though it seems rather early. Just moments ago we heard from the head of the Florida Emergency Management Agency's Craig Fugate, and this is what he had to say:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CRAIG FUGATE, DIR. FL EMERGENCY MGT.: Well, it's important for most people, particular the Panhandle, this storm has not strengthened to a hurricane, it still has a lot of hazard with it. And again, if you'll follow some basic safety tips, and hopefully nobody's out on the water today or in the water, but also as we are dealing with some heavy rainfalls throughout the area, is member, flash flooding can occur, it's very dangerous to move through moving water, particularly driving through. So, if you're not sure, just turn around, don't drown. Probably the best thing for folks in West Florida to do right now is to stay inside as this storm's coming across, not get outside and be out in the elements.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Flash floods are a concern just about everywhere in the southeastern region. The danger from Arlene, however, is mostly from the storm surge and heavy rains, at least that's what's expected. John Kilcullen is the director of the Emergency Management Operations in Mobile County, Alabama, and he joins us by phone with some important information for people in that area, what to do to brace for this storm.

All right, well, John, give me a sense, what have you asked the folks in that area to do to prepare?

JOHN KILCULLEN, DIR. MOBILE CO. EMER. MGT. OPER: Well, we've advised some fundamental protective measures, particularly for those residents in our immediate coastal areas and other flood-prone areas to seek shelter in safer places. Hopefully they've already done that. Otherwise, just stay put, and avoid getting out on the streets if you can.

We're starting to feel some of the initial effects in our immediate coastal areas in the form of some heavier rain, and the winds gradually increasing, and we're already starting to experience some minor flooding on some of our coastal roads.

WHITFIELD: You mentioned shelters. You're encouraging people to seek shelter. How many shelters do you have in that area, ready for what kind of crowd?

KILCULLEN: We currently have three shelters available in Mobile County, and one of those is designated as a medical needs shelter we have a small population currently in the centers now, so we have capacity to shelter about 1,500 people, right now, and we can increase that if we need to.

WHITFIELD: Just shy of hurricane strength right now, Arlene is; however, have you asked people in low-lying areas to evacuate?

KILCULLEN: Yes, we have. We issued our initial evacuation advisory at about Noon yesterday to give people plenty of time to make those plans and preparations and to seek shelter.

WHITFIELD: And you always have a handful of folks who don't want to adhere to the evacuation order. What have you done to reach out to those people, those stragglers who decide to ride out the storm?

KILCULLEN: Just basic information, telling them, you know, how to prepare their property and how to protect themselves.

WHITFIELD: What are some of those tips?

KILCULLEN: Well, securing the outdoor items, or bring them inside, and then just stay indoors, if you have -- if you don't have to go outside, don't.

WHITFIELD: Yeah. OK, John Kilcullen, the Emergency Management Agency in Mobile, Alabama, thanks so much for join us.

KILCULLEN: You're welcome.

WHITFIELD: Well, depend on CNN as we track Arlene. You can expect live updates throughout the hour and throughout the day right here on CNN.

There are new developments in Aruba, this hour, in the case of missing Alabama teen, Natalee Holloway. It involves the prosecutor's office, one of the suspects, and a senior police official. We get the latest from Karl Penhaul in Palm Beach, Aruba -- Karl.

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, last night, shortly before midnight, a senior police official, here in Aruba, told CNN that one of three young men detained on Thursday had made a confession in killing Natalee Holloway. The three men who are under suspicion there, are the last three men to be seen in Natalee's company. This morning, around 11:00 local time, the chief prosecutor's office made a statement about the case, this is what they had to say:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VIVIAN VAN DER BIEZEN, PROSECUTOR'S SPOKESWOMAN: Good morning, members of the press. The prosecution service has -- is aware of some information that are related to the investigation of alleged statements of witnesses -- but, sorry of suspects in this case, and what the prosecution service would like to say is, at this moment, we neither confirm or deny any information coming from other sources. The investigation, at this point is the following -- we have five suspects, they are being interrogated, and we are at a very crucial, very important moment in our investigation, and as soon as we have all the information, we will make that available to you. Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PENHAUL: Along with the police force, the prosecutor's office is heading the investigation into the disappearance of Natalee Holloway, also in the last few moments, a government spokesman has told us that early afternoon, a judge will be flying in from the Netherlands Antilles and he will be listening to initial evidence to see if the three men, the three young men detained on Thursday can be detained in custody for a further eight days and we will be bringing you up-to- date as that happens -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Karl Penhaul, thanks very much for that update from Palm Beach, Aruba.

Coming up on CNN LIVE SATURDAY:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would say to them that I totally understand what they're going through, and I empathize with them and my heart, just breaks for them. And I know what they're going through. I think about it all the time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Advice for the family of Natalee Holloway, from someone who knows heartache.

Plus, is it another case of mad cow disease? We'll have the latest news on some test results.

And we'll get another update on Arlene, as it bears down on the Gulf Coast.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Updating our top story now. Just days into the Atlantic hurricane season, warnings are up along parts of the U.S. northern Gulf Coast, a short time from now, tropical storm Arlene is expected to make landfall. And forecasters say it could be a minimal hurricane when it does hit. As the region braces for Arlene, memories of last year's devastating hurricane season still linger across that state and much of the damage remains.

CNN's John Zarrella shows us one of the hardest-hit areas in Florida.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHARLEY YONAKA, PORT CHARLOTTE RESIDENT: This is all new. The door's new...

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Today, Charley and Jeanne Yonaka can laugh about the coincidence. They have the same names as two of the four hurricanes that hit Florida last summer. JEANNE YONAKA, PORT CHARLOTTE RESIDENT: My daughter called the first week and she said, "Mom, I can't believe it." and I said, "What?" and she says, "Charley and Jeanne." I said, "Tanya, I don't see your humor in this right now!"

ZARRELLA: With water pouring in, windows blown out and debris flying in the house, Charley and Jeanne ran to the bathroom. At one point, Charley dashed to the garage for two motorcycle helmets.

(on camera): And how'd you have the presence of mind in the height of the storm to say I'm going to come out...

C. YONAKA: Because things were falling -- falling down around me and I was going -- I was running around like this. I said why am I doing that? I got helmets out in the garage.

ZARRELLA (voice-over): In the end, hurricane Charley caused about $60,000 damage to their Port Charlotte home.

C. YONAKA: This room here and that bedroom, are the only two that the ceilings did not fall in on.

ZARRELLA: With the help of skilled friends, the Yonaka's repaired most of their home themselves. Insurance covered most of their losses.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You were warned the day before.

ZARRELLA: Now at a hurricane-preparedness seminar, they are getting ready for what could be another tough season.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Strengthen that garage door. They attach on the inside and keep it from being pushed in.

ZARRELLA: Just a few miles away, most people still haven't recovered from last year.

(on camera): A lot of these places still have the blue tarps on them.

GRACE NURSE, HOUSING ADVOCACY GROUP LEADER: Yes, they do. They haven't been repaired. The person who owned these properties did not have insurance.

ZARRELLA (voice-over): Grace Nurse runs a housing advocacy group in a low-income neighborhood of Punta Gorda. Few here have the money to rebuild. Nurse believes many will be forced to leave homes that their families have lived in for generations. Tough economic times made worse by real estate speculators driving up the price of land, in an area where demand is always high.

NURSE: Income have not gone up, salaries have not gone up, but yes, property value have. A lot that would have cost maybe 12 to $1,800 a year or two ago is now going for $30,000.

ZARRELLA (on camera): Thirty thousand? NURSE: Thirty thousand, so these people are completely priced out of the market.

ZARRELLA (voice-over): The city hoping to rebuild some public housing in the neighborhood. Housing projects so badly damaged that 150 families had to move out.

(on camera): This was supposed to be a two-story house. Charley took the second floor. This place and one next to it were going to be models for a neighborhood redevelopment project. The families had been pre-approved and were months away from moving in. The storm changed everything.

(voice-over): These homes will have to be torn down and Grace Nurse says there may not be any money to restart the project. In a matter of just a few hours, last August, nearly everyone's life in Charlotte County was changed. Some are recovering. Others may never be the same.

John Zarrella, CNN, Punta Gorda, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: The jury is still out, no verdict yet in the Jackson trial. We'll talk to our legal analyst for the very latest.

And initial test results are back on a possible case of mad cow disease, a live report ahead on CNN LIVE SATURDAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Now to our "Legal Roundup." After seven days of deliberations, there's still no verdict in the trial of former Tyco international executives, Dennis Kozlowski and Mark Swartz. They're accused of taking millions in unauthorized bonuses and misrepresenting Tyco's financial condition to investors and regulators. The jury gets back to work on Tuesday.

And jurors in the Michael Jackson trial will be back on Monday. So far they've put in 28 hours of deliberations over a six-day period. Sources close to the case tell CNN, the panel asked to have portions of Jackson's accuser's testimony read back to them.

Let's talk a little bit more about the Jackson trial with former U.S. attorney, Kendall Coffey. He joins us from a breezy Miami.

Good to see you, Kendall.

KENDALL COFFEE, FMR. U.S. ATTORNEY: Hey, hi Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, well it's tough to read the tea leaves, but we'll try. In a case like this, the Michael Jackson case, where they're deliberating six days and now going into a seventh day, next week, who is more nervous are the defense or the prosecutors?

COFFEY: Well, prosecution's getting a little more nervous. Still much too early for Michael Jackson to get on the top of the car and do any victory dance. I think, in general, longer deliberations are good for defendants. We can look at former actor Robert Blake, nine days out, not guilty verdict. Martha Stewart, three days of deliberations, guilty on all counts, but this is Michael Jackson, very strange guy, very strange case and I think all bets are off in judging this one.

WHITFIELD: Well, in another notorious case, we're talking about the O.J. Simpson trial, it was a matter of hours before the jurors came back with a verdict. How do you compare that case and this one when it comes down to the number of charges, the difficulty, and the complexities that the jurors have to really weigh and go over? In this case it's 10 counts.

COFFEY: Well, and I think that I makes a very big, big difference. I think the eyes of the world are watching, this jury's going to want to be very careful. They're averaging about five notebooks each of notes they've taken through a 16-week trial, so a lot of work to do. But, some of the counts are convoluted. For example, Fredricka, the conspiracy count which is pretty weak stuff anyway, has over 24 different jury instructions trying to explain what the heck it is the prosecution's talking about to the jury. You could spend a couple days just on the conspiracy count, and the jury has the same duty to reach unanimity if they can on all 10 counts.

WHITFIELD: And you have to wonder at the complication of some of those charges, and the instructions they were giver -- given, end up boding well for the defense, merely for the fact that the jurors are going to be confused.

COFFEY: Well, I think the defense always gains something when things aren't so clear, because at the end of the day, if it's a reasonable doubt, the defendant walks.

WHITFIELD: All right now, in the publicity of this case, it has to impact the jurors especially in the case of jurors not being sequestered, so they're learning about all of these intricacies taking place outside the courtroom, particularly about the infighting now taking place with some of the Jackson spokespeople. For example, the Michael Jackson Productions, MJJ Productions released this statement saying, "MJJ Productions regretfully announces the termination of Raymone Bain and Davis, Bain and Associates. We thank you for your services." Raymone Bain being a rather visible spokesperson for the Jackson camp, might the jurors weigh on this? Might it influence their decision ultimately?

COFFEY: Well, hopefully they're not paying any attention to the media, but you never know. Some definite static with the Jackson mouthpieces and a concern on the part of the Jackson camp that they were seen as violating the gag order. So what happens? She's gone, the former Jackson spokesperson is out, Mesereau issues a statement saying he's in charge here, he's not talking to anybody.

WHITFIELD: Now, how unusual is this also for a judge to say, "We're going to give you 60 minutes in which to get back to the courtroom, if indeed there is a verdict?" Ordinarily the judge says be only minutes away. Why in this case is 60 minutes, is that a special circumstance because we're dealing Michael Jackson?

COFFEY: Michael Jackson and the media. The judge is very aware that American justice is being looked at throughout the world. He wants folks to be there, to have the opportunity just to see how well it can work in a very difficult case.

WHITFIELD: All right, if convicted, just playing devil's advocate, here. If convicted, might he have the opportunity to go back to Neverland and wait for sentencing or is it likely the judge would say we're going to hold you until?

COFFEY: Well, we're looking at tea leaves. In my case, coffee beans, but I suspect, Fredricka, that this judge is going to treat Michael Jackson like any other defendant if convicted of child molestation. And that means directly to jail, do not pass go, right to jail.

WHITFIELD: Wow, all right, thanks for reading the coffee beans. Kendall Coffey, thanks so much from Miami.

COFFEY: Thanks, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Arlene gathers strength. Residents brace for flooding as waves continue pounding the shoreline. We'll have a live report straight ahead.

And they vanished without a trace. One woman recalls the numbing sense of loss and uncertainty when her family members disappeared. CNN LIVE SATURDAY continues in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

Our top stories now.

Tropical Storm Arlene is getting closer to landfall, along the Gulf Coast. A live report from the water's edge straight ahead.

In Iraq, a rash of violent attacks today has claimed at least 19 lives. This is video of a suicide car bombing near the Slovak embassy in Baghdad. Four people were wounded in that attack. In other incident, a suicide bomber blew himself up among Iraqi police commandos gathered for roll call. Three police officers were killed.

Finance chiefs from the world's richest countries have struck a deal to scrap the debts of poor nations. The G-8 ministers have agreed to cancel at least $40 billion in debt owed by developing countries. Britain's finance minister called it an historic new deal.

We're keeping a close eye this hour on Tropical Storm Arlene, expected to make landfall in the Gulf coast within a few hours. And forecasters say Arlene could become a category one hurricane.

Let's get the latest now from meteorologist Jacqui Jeras in the weather center -- Jacqui? JERAS: Hi, Fredricka. Yes, it could be, but right now, it looks like that's not going to happen. We still have a little bit of time for it to develop and become a little bit stronger. We're watching this area right here -- we're getting a little bit more what we call convection. And so if we get a little bit more thunderstorm activity, that can help to kick up the winds a little bit. If that doesn't happen, I think this is definitely going to be staying as a tropical storm.

70 mile per hour winds right now -- though there isn't a lot of difference, by the way, between a strong tropical storm and a weak category one hurricane. Winds are gusting up to 85 miles per hour. Pressure down to 990 millibars. And we are expecting this to making landfall probably within the next couple of hours, we think mid to late afternoon. It's slowed down a little bit. It's moving around 14 miles per hour.

What's the bottom line? What do you need to know here about Tropical Storm Eileen? Arlene, rather. The main impact we're going to be seeing. Heavy rainfall. Three to six inches can be expected widespread, but within the path, especially along the northern and eastern sides of the storm, we could see as much as six to eight inches of rainfall. Winds will be gusty, 40 to 70 miles per hour, with some scattered power outages expected. Isolated tornadoes are possible and some coastal flooding with the storm surge between three and five feet.

There you can see the radar picture right now, and you can see kind of a center of circulation here to the south of Mobile. It's just less than 80 miles away from the coastline now, and tracking that 14 miles per hour. Do the math. If we see no change in forward speed, that means about 4:00 Central time or so.

You can see there is a tornado watch in effect for central parts of Florida, extending all across the Panhandle and the southern parts of Alabama and into Georgia. These feeder bands, as we call them, coming here on the outside of the storm. This is where we have the greatest chance of some rotation. So as these lines start to make their way up towards the Florida Panhandle, that's when we can start to see maybe a couple of tornado touchdowns.

Here is the forecast track for Arlene, what we're expecting over the next 24 to 48 hours. Continuing on a slightly north to northwesterly track, weakening as it becomes inland, eventually coming an extra tropical low. But it should cause some flooding problems likely as it heads on through the Tennessee and Ohio River valleys -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks a lot, Jacqui.

And you can view an online map of Arlene's predicted path and prepare yourself with safety tips at CNN.com/weather.

The other big story we're watching this morning -- or this afternoon, rather, is in Aruba. Authorities there may be closer to learning the whereabouts of Natalee Holloway. CNN has learned from a senior police official that one of the suspects has confessed to killing the Alabama teenager. The official did not identify which suspect confessed or offer any additional details. The prosecution's office refused to confirm or deny that report. Stay with CNN for the latest on this developing story.

While the search for Natalee Holloway continues in Aruba, one Georgia woman knows exactly what Holloway's family is going through. CNN's Tony Harris has her story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TONY HARRIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: (voice-over): One of the great lures of the islands of Aruba and nearby Bonair is the spectacular diving. Tom Ennis and his son Brandon were on vacation and scuba diving in the waters off Bonair, when, for reasons no one knows, they disappeared, just vanished into the vast waters of the Caribbean.

LESLIE ENNIS, TOM'S SISTER: He loved the beauty of it. He loved the beauty of another world. He loved the fact that there was another universe in this world we live in. It was like going to the moon. He was in a completely different environment. He loved -- he really loved anything with freedom.

HARRIS: The loss of her brother and nephew have been extremely hard on Leslie Ennis. Months went by before even the thinnest thread of a clue was found.

ENNIS: I believe it was sometime in June, May or June, I don't have the date exactly, but...

HARRIS (on camera): Of this year?

ENNIS: Of 2004.

HARRIS: Of 2004.

ENNIS: That human remains were found in the water off of Bonair, located around the site that my brother was thought to have been diving.

HARRIS (voice-over): Bones and a shredded dive suit were found, a tantalizing clue. But another year passed before DNA tests finally confirmed the bones and dive suit were those of her brother and cleared up at least part of the mystery about what happened.

What unites Leslie with the Holloway family is the intense pain of not knowing, to have many, many more questions than answers. And she has advice for Natalee's parents.

ENNIS: I would say to them that I totally understand what they're going through, and I empathize with them. And my heart just breaks for them. And I know what they're going through. I think about it all the time. I know what they're thinking, I know what they're feeling.

HARRIS: Leslie still thinks about her nephew, Brandon. His remains were never found.

ENNIS: I wish they'd find Brandon. I wish they'd keep looking.

HARRIS: A mystery, 17 long months, and still counting.

Tony Harris, CNN, Douglasville, Georgia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: A possible case of mad cow disease has turned up in the United States. The Department of Agriculture is satisfied the beef is not in the food chain, however.

CNN's Kathleen Koch is outside the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington with more on this story -- Kathleen?

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, it was back in November of that a cow arrived for slaughter, but it couldn't walk, so it was tested for mad cow disease and a rapid preliminary test found that it was negative. But then a second, more comprehensive test was conducted, and it was found to be free of the disease -- excuse me, the first test found it was positive, the second test found it was free of the disease.

But then the Agriculture Department's inspector general, at the urging of consumer groups, decided a third, more detailed, test should be conducted and the cow this week was found to be positive. Just to verify, a sample from the animal has been sent to a laboratory in England for more detailed analysis. The Agriculture Department is also conducting its own test. And Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns insists this shows that their system to keep mad cow out of the food supply works.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

MIKE JOHANNS, AGRICULTURE SECRETARY: The firewalls that the USDA put in place did work. As I point out, the animal did not enter the food or the feed chain. Therefore, there is no risk to human health.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

KOCH: Now mad cow or BSE is a chronic degenerative disease that affects the central nervous system of cattle. It's usually transmitted via contaminated feed. It is not a contagious disease, and there's no evidence that it can be transmitted through direct contact with a cow or spread animal to animal.

But of course the concern is the consumption of beef. It was back in the 1990s that more than 150 people died after an outbreak of mad cow disease in Great Britain, and these people died from a human form of the disease. Now, here in the United States, the only other positive case of mad cow disease was discovered in December of 2003, and that was in a dairy cow in Washington state.

It was that discovery that then prompted the cutoff of U.S. beef trade with major buyers, countries like Japan and South Korea, that cost the U.S. beef industry more than $1 billion. And ironically, the federal government was right now in the middle of negotiations to reopen those markets. So Fredricka, there is a good deal of concern that this potential discovery certainly will not help its case.

WHITFIELD: And Kathleen, can we say where this discovery -- where in the U.S. this discovery was made?

KOCH: No, we can't, Fredricka. The Agriculture Department has not yet released that information, nor will they say exactly where this cow was born. The Washington state dairy cow that was back in 2003 discovered to have mad cow disease, it was born in Canada. So they are not yet releasing that information, but everyone, of course, is very curious about that. Because when that case occurred, and when there were some cases in Canada, the U.S. quit importing cattle from Canada. So they want to certainly find out where this one was from.

WHITFIELD: Yes. All right. Kathleen Koch, thanks very much, outside the U.S. Agricultural Department in D.C.

It's a feeling of helplessness. Identity theft. It happens to million of people every year. How safe are you and what can do you to protect yourself? Some advice from an expert, straight ahead on CNN LIVE SATURDAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: In other news across America now.

Corpus Christie, Texas. 13-year-old Katie Warnick (ph) will undergo radiation treatment for cancer despite earlier objections by her parents. A Texas judge ordered the therapy after test showed the girl's cancer was not in remission, as her parents had claimed. The state took custody of the teenager last week. Warnick's (ph) teen's parents have since dropped their objections.

In Lincoln, Nebraska, Jim Exon was known in Democratic circle as "Big Jim." Exon began his political career in 1970 and never lost an election. The two-term governor and three-term senator died Friday of natural causes at the age of 83.

A head's up of owners of new Nissan Sentras. Nissan is recalling 49,000 2005 sedans due to a possible fuel leakage. Nissan says faulty hoses could cause -- lead to fuel spill and potential fires.

And pitching for a world record. Two softball teams in northwest Arkansas are engaged in a marathon that began yesterday morning and might not end until tomorrow night. They vowed to play until they scored enough money to renovate their ballpark and win a place in the record books by keeping the action going for at least 61 hours.

Stolen identity? Companies continue to lose important personal information. Ahead, your privacy and ways to protect it.

Plus, she's an inspiration to others. One little girl turns lemons into more than lemonade. CNN LIVE SATURDAY continues right after this. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Well, we've heard lots of scary stories of personal data being stolen using sophisticated high-tech methods. Truth is, most I.D. theft happens the old-fashioned way, these taken from your wallet or your trash and in other ways. We'll explain that in a moment.

Todd Mark is with the Consumer Credit Counseling Service. He joins us with some important tips on safeguarding your privacy.

Particularly, we're talking about ways in which your personal data can escape your possession or private possession. Just recently, Citigroup seem to have lost their data, not by the methods I just mentioned in the lead-in, but instead by courier, by UPS. They somehow misplaced. So it happens in so many different ways. What can we, as consumers, do to protect ourselves?

TODD MARK, CONSUMER CREDIT COUNSELING SERVICE: Well, you know, there's nothing you can do when it's up at that corporate level, whether it's a data collector or a financial service or a university. Whatever it is, everybody has your credit information, because we're an information society and that's what makes it so easy to get credit. So you can't really do much other than protecting your wallet, you know, and not giving out information online. You can't worry about what these third parties do. If it's going to happen, it's going to happen regardless of what steps or precaution you take.

WHITFIELD: All right, well, let's talk about some of the things you can do. You did mention -- you know, you give some of your personal information online. A lot of us are paying our bills online now. Does that make you that much more vulnerable to someone stealing some of your information?

MARK: Well, your naivete of how you give the things online might contribute. Because, you know, one of the biggest scams in the last year, are phishing (ph) e-mails. And they look like they're coming from your bank or your credit union saying, Fredricka, we'd like to confirm that your account is active, please give us your account number and PIN. And it looks and feels exactly like the company -- it will just like their Web site. And so many people, because there's a trust factor...

WHITFIELD: I think it was Bank of America that had a big problem with that.

MARK: Bank of America, Sun Trust, so many have fallen to it. And again, it's not them. So you've got to use common sense. You know, whether it's a fax that comes into work or an e-mail. Somebody asking for your credit information, your bank accounts, PINs, don't give it.

WHITFIELD: Be suspicious.

MARK: Yes, and if you really think that your bank is asking for this, instead of responding, call them up with the number that you're used to or go into your branch and say hey, did you really need to confirm some of the information?

WHITFIELD: You also mentioned PINs. So many of us might keep the same PIN for all of these different accounts. You know, or vary them by a number or letter or so. How often should we be changing our PINs?

MARK: You know, I wouldn't worry so much about changing it unless you're giving out your PIN to other people constantly. It is really more important to just be vigilant of not giving it out. And don't write it down and keep it in your wallet. Because as we said, that's the old stand-by.

If you get robbed of your purse or wallet or even somebody at work just happens to fish into it while you're doing something else and you leave -- and your purse, not just your driver's license, which please, don't let your Social Security number be on your driver's license. Don't let Soc (ph) be on your checks. But then if you've got written in there, oh, my PIN is 1-2-3-4, well, that's not going to help you if they have access to all of that.

WHITFIELD: So don't put your Social Security on some of those things, but it seems these days on applications or maybe doctor's appointments, visits, et cetera, they ask you for that Social Security. It seems like your Social is no longer your best-kept secret, but instead, it is your I.D. card. It takes precedence over almost over anything else. So when can you say no, I don't want to provide that, or gee, you know, how do I protect myself by doing that?

MARK: Bring it up. If your doctor wants to use your Soc or you see it on your claim forms, say, I don't want that as my identification number. Please change it. And they have the ability to do that. The same thing with many sort of companies you may do business with. If they ask for that, and you know, it's up to you at that point. You can choose not to do business with them or you can choose, if they require it, to give it. And obviously, a lot of financial companies, they are going to require that kind of information if you're applying for a mortgage or car. So they're going to need access to all of those things.

WHITFIELD: Yes, so you're saying particularly since there are more instances of identity theft, people should feel more empowered to protect themselves and be maybe even a little bit more combative with some of these companies who are asking for private information.

MARK: Sure.

WHITFIELD: Challenging them.

MARK: You've got to be vigilant about keeping your information private to yourself, but you've also got to really be empowered and look at your information yourself. You know, they've just -- through the Fact Act (ph) that where most Americans now have free access to their credit reports, one freebie from each of the three bureaus per year. There's 15 states in the Northeast which will go effective September 1. And there's no excuse. This is free. You've got to take advantage. Pull these reports. And you want to verify all the information, including your Soc and address is correct, to make sure your files aren't getting merged with somebody else. And more importantly, review all the accounts and make sure somebody hasn't opened up additional accounts in your name.

WHITFIELD: Once a year it's free. Do you encourage people to look more than once, however?

MARK: Well, since you can get one free from each of the three bureaus, you can almost set up your own monitoring service, instead of paying somebody else to do it. Why don't you pull one every four months from one of the three bureaus.

WHITFIELD: Interesting.

MARK: The only exception would be if you're applying for a big purchase, a car or mortgage. Pull all three of them and you probably want to buy your score about six months ahead of time. So if there's any erroneous information or if you're a victim of identity theft, you can get that all corrected and it doesn't hold up your mortgage.

WHITFIELD: And those three agencies again, TransUnion, Experian...

MARK: Experian and Equifax.

WHITFIELD: And Equifax. That's right.

MARK: And the new Web site where everybody can get their freebies -- except for the Northeast, sorry, wait three more months -- is annualcreditreport.com.

WHITFIELD: All right. Todd Mark, always good to see you. Thanks so much. Of Consumer Credit Counseling Service.

MARK: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Showdown at Belmont Stakes. But Afleet Alex is racing for a lot more than a trophy this weekend. His quest for one little girl, straight ahead on CNN LIVE SATURDAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Post time for today's Belmont Stakes is just five and half hours from now. There won't be a triple crown on the line, but one horse is the sentimental favorite because of a little girl named Alex. Here's CNN's Jason Carroll.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is a story about a little girl, Alex Scott, her dream and her spirit. And this is the young race horse who some believe is Alex's kindred spirit.

JAY SCOTT, ALEX'S FATHER: He wouldn't give up. And that's the way -- that's the way our Alex was. She wouldn't give up.

CARROLL: When Alex was a year old, doctors diagnosed her with a rare form of cancer. At 4 she drew a picture of her dream, a lemonade stand.

LIZ SCOTT, ALEX'S MOTHER: I asked her why she was so insistent, and she said it's because she was going to donate the money to her hospital.

CARROLL: Thanks to the local paper running a story, Alex raised $2,000 her first day. Every summer for the next few years her stand grew in ways few expected.

L. SCOTT: We started receiving letters from people saying that they had a lemonade stand. Lots of letters from kids.

CARROLL: Last year children across the country helped Alex raise $1 million. The same year she finally succumbed to cancer. She was 8-years-old.

L. SCOTT: It was peaceful. She was home. And she was comfortable. And we were all here with her.

J. SCOTT: When Alex passed away, probably the lemonade stand would go away. But we started getting more letters and more e-mails, by the hundreds and thousands of people that said, you know, you need to carry this on.

CARROLL: One call came from the co-owner of a young race horse, also named Alex, Afleet Alex. Chuck Zackney reached out to Alex's parents after hearing about her story.

CHUCK ZACKNEY, AFLEET ALEX'S CO-OWNER: I said, you know, we have a horse named Afleet Alex. She wasn't aware of it. It was only a 2- year-old and had only a couple races. And they said as he races, you know, we'd like to contribute.

CARROLL: Alex's parents saw something special in the horse, something familiar.

ANNOUNCER: But Afleet Alex is taking -- he blew the turn, and Afleet Alex almost fell out of the saddle!

CARROLL: During the Preakness, Afleet stumbled, but remarkably righted himself and won the race.

L. SCOTT: And it did remind me very much of Alex and the way that she would often stumble. I could just picture her, you know, running across the back yard and, you know, her knee buckling and her popping back up and just keep going and going faster.

CARROLL: Afleet Alex's jockey says he felt a spiritual connection.

JEREMY ROSE, AFLEET ALEX'S JOCKEY: Alex Scott's the only thing I can think of. Somebody was there. There's no reason I should have stayed on, there's no reason he should have stayed up. Something kept my butt in the saddle.

CARROLL: But this is where Alex's spirit counts most -- in hospitals, where children suffering from cancer, like Ruby (ph), who's four, have already benefited from money raised through lemonade sales and donations.

DR. JOHN MARIS, CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL: This funding has made it possible for children like Ruby to get access to what we hope is cutting edge therapy.

CARROLL: A new goal now for Alex's family. They want to raise $1 million this weekend.

L. SCOTT: I'm feeling really good that we're going to do it and hopefully, we're going to have a winning horse and we can just continue this until there's a cure.

CARROLL: Afleet Alex races in the Belmont Stakes. Odds are good someone will be watching over him, as he races for more than just the finish line.

JASON CARROLL, CNN, Belmont, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: So much more ahead on CNN Saturday. We'll have a live weather update every 15 minutes, plus all of the top stories at 2:00 p.m.

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