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Guilty of Manslaughter; Intrigue in Aruba; Bolton Nomination

Aired June 21, 2005 - 14:00   ET

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

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Guilty of manslaughter 41 years to the day of the murders of three civil rights workers. A former Klansman convicted. We have reaction from Philadelphia, Mississippi.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's important to bring him to justice one day. And our nation will not stop until he is either captured or he is killed.

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NGUYEN: Capturing Osama bin Laden. America's new top commander in Afghanistan sounds off on his mission.

And how much of your privacy are you giving up when you get on a plane? And who is getting their hands on it? We're in depth this hour.

From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Betty Nguyen, in for Kyra Phillips. This hour of CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.

And we begin this hour with preacher Killen's conviction in Philadelphia, Mississippi. That's Edgar Ray Killen, the 80-year-old part-time minister and former Klansman, held to an account for three notorious killings committed this very day back in 1964. Killen lashed out at news cameras surrounding his exit from the Neshoba County courthouse after manslaughter verdicts in the deaths of three civil rights workers on a mission to sign up voters.

CNN's Ed Lavandera has the latest there in Mississippi.

Hi, Ed.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Betty.

Well, in just a short while, the judge in the case will come back to the courtroom here in Philadelphia, Mississippi. They will set a sentencing date for 80-year-old Edgar Ray Killen. He faces anywhere between zero to 20 years, although we just spoke with prosecutors who say, since he was convicted in the 1967 federal trial, Mr. Killen is actually a convicted felon and probably faces no less than at least three years in prison, up to 20.

That will be at the judge's discretion. And it might take some time to figure out just what the sentence is. But just a short while ago here in Philadelphia, the historic verdict read in this case. The jury finding Edgar Ray Killen guilty on three counts of manslaughter.

Slightly different from what the judge -- or what the jury had expected to determine in this case, which was an original murder charge, three charges of murder. But just toward the end of the trial, the lead prosecutor in the case, Attorney General Jim Hood, asked the judge to give the jury the option of convicted Edgar Ray Killen of manslaughter, which there had been some conflicting testimony as to whether or not Edgar Ray Killen was actually at the murder scene the night that it happened. But a lot of the testimony pointing to his behind-the-scenes operation and putting together the plan that led to the deaths of the three civil rights workers.

Victims' families who have been here in Philadelphia throughout the course of the trial, a mixture of reactions, saying they would have liked to have seen Edgar Ray Killen convicted of murder, but they're happy with the verdict.

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RITA BENDER, MICHAEL SCHWERNER'S WIDOW: The window, the light has not come in completely. The fact that some members of this jury could have sat through that testimony, indeed, could have lived here all these years, and could not bring themselves to acknowledge that these were murders, that they were committed with malice, indicates that there are still people, unfortunately, among you who chose to look aside, who choose to not see the truth. And that means there's a lot more yet to be done.

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BEN CHANEY, JAMES CHANEY'S BROTHER: I'm glad the jury could see beyond this "us against them" attitude that the defense counsel tried to portray, because it's not us against them. It's those who believe in justice and peace, and those who believe in violence and destruction.

I think that those who believe in peace won today, some way, even if it's on a small level. And I believe that we're going to have to continue to move forward. There's a lot of work to be done. This is not over with.

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LAVANDERA: Edgar Ray Killen sat stoically as the verdict was read to him. A little bit later on, he was comforted by his wife.

Edgar Ray Killen each day of this trial was brought into the courtroom on a wheelchair. And out he went from the courtroom after the verdict was read into the custody of the sheriff's department here in Philadelphia, where he will remain until his formal sentencing. And Mr. Killen left the courthouse after a week of sitting quietly and being strolled in quietly, never talking to reporter or acknowledging the cameras, the anger bubbled out as Mr. Killen lashed out at a couple of photographers who were trying to get a picture of him as he was being taken out of the courthouse after this verdict was read. As you can imagine, the anger that he feels over this verdict kind of culminating here at that very moment as he was coming out.

Rita Bender, who was the widow of one of the three civil rights workers, also had one interesting comment that she made just a short while ago here in Philadelphia, and has kind of touched on one of the racial issues that has been so difficult for people to talk about in this case, and says that she worries. And the reason she has remained quiet and hasn't talked very much over -- over the last four decades is because she's always worried that the attention brought upon this case, being the basis of a Hollywood movie, "Mississippi Burning," was because two of the victims in this case were white, and that she hopes this case will continue to force people and convince people to talk about the issues of race in this country.

But right now, we await a court hearing here in Philadelphia to set the formal sentencing date for Edgar Ray Killen -- Betty.

NGUYEN: All right. CNN's Ed Lavandera. Thank you for that update.

There is more intrigue in Aruba. Sources tell CNN a party boat music man hit a sour note with investigators when a story he corroborated concerning Natalee Holloway's last known whereabouts fell apart.

We get an update now from CNN's Chris Lawrence in Palm Beach, Aruba -- Chris.

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Betty, for days, prosecutors wouldn't tell us how that fourth suspect, Steve Croes, was connected to the other three. But law enforcement sources close to the investigation now tell us Croes came under suspicion because he told police that those other three men dropped off Natalee Holloway right here at this hotel on the night she disappeared more than three weeks ago. But the more investigators looked into that and investigated, that story completely fell apart.

They believe Croes was lying, and that's when they arrested him last Friday.

Now, by the end of the day, we expect Croes to be the only one of the suspects still staying at a local jail here. Of the original three, two brothers have been moved down to the only prison here on the island, and we expect the Dutch teenager also be moved there by the end of the day.

Now, those three men were the last three to be seen with Natalee by her friends walking out of a bar together on the night she disappeared. Police are continuing their search here on the island, and they're going to get some help from a group of volunteers.

A private search company has volunteered their time to the family to come here and help with the search. They have a sonar expert, they've got a few master divers and some search dogs that they will be bringing in. They expect to be flying in here by tomorrow to start helping with that search, hoping to find anything, anything at all that the police may have missed -- Betty.

NGUYEN: Chris, the fact that this search team is coming in, does it show any kind of friction or frustration between Holloway's family and investigators there in Aruba?

LAWRENCE: Not from what we heard. The family is telling us that they have a very good relationship with the authorities. They believe in what the authorities are doing. And they're confident in the work that the authorities are doing.

This group volunteered their time. They're coming here to add on to what the police are doing, not take the place of it.

NGUYEN: All right. CNN's Chris Lawrence in Palm Beach, Aruba. Thank you.

Back in this country, new developments in the confirmation struggle of John Bolton.

Our David Ensor is at the White House with the latest on that and much more.

Hi, David. What is the latest?

DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Betty, a fascinating political moment here in Washington this afternoon. You had the -- this is over the nomination of John Bolton to be the U.N. ambassador for the United States. And as everyone knows by now, that nomination has been held up by Democrats who want to have access to a list of names that Bolton was trying to find out about, intercepts by U.S. intelligence.

He wanted to have access to certain parts of the information. They wanted to know what it was he was after to see whether or not he was playing politics within the administration or not.

Now, what's happened just in the last hour or two is that Senate Majority Leader Frist, who had earlier today said he was not going to schedule another vote on this nomination, that since they lost the cloture vote yesterday, the Democrats managed to hold firm, even gained a couple of votes to prevent Bolton's nomination from coming to the Senate floor, Frist was not going to hold another vote. He now has emerged from having lunch with the president and the other Republican leaders and reversed himself. He now says their -- they will keep trying.

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SEN. BILL FRIST (R-TN), MAJORITY LEADER: It's not dead. It is going to require continued talking and discussion. And basically, the Democrats have locked down with Chris Dodd and Joe Biden. They just flat out locked down. There was very little change in the voting in -- between the two cloture votes that we had taken.

I'll continue to work. Pat Roberts will continue to work. Members of the United States Senate will continue to work to bring reason to the body, because all we're asking for is that up-or-down vote.

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ENSOR: So for the moment, the Republicans in the Senate will hang tough, and so will the White House. Here's the spokesman.

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SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Well, I think the American people expect better. And let's call it what it is.

This is simply an effort to block the nomination of John Bolton and play partisan politics. It's nothing but that. And we've got important work to do at the United Nations when it comes to reforming it and making it more effective, and making it work better, and John Bolton is the kind of guy we need there to do that.

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ENSOR: Now, if the president cannot gain those extra six votes or so to get the nomination to the floor by perhaps making further concessions to the Democrats, then the other two choices are to pick a new nominee or give Mr. Bolton a recess appointment, which would put him in office until the end of 2006, but not longer than that -- Betty.

NGUYEN: David, today at the White House, President Bush also met with the Vietnamese prime minister, which is considered controversial by many Vietnamese-Americans here in the U.S. In fact, it has sparked protest.

Tell us about those developments.

ENSOR: Well, yes, Betty, there was this meeting, the first time a Vietnamese president has come to the White House since the relations were restored 10 years ago. And, of course, we have a long history of warfare between these two countries.

Relations are warming up, say White House officials. And the president has been asked, has been invited by the prime minister to visit Vietnam in 2006, and accepted the invitation today.

But outside the White House, there were over 200 demonstrators while the meeting was going on, very vociferously chanting. Most of them were demonstrating in favor of religious freedom and other human rights in Vietnam which they, and, in fact, the White House also feel are not nearly adequate. So -- and this was actually a topic that Mr. Bush brought up with the -- with the Vietnamese prime minister, the need for more human rights in Vietnam -- Betty.

NGUYEN: CNN's David Ensor at the White House. Thank you for that update.

One hundred years of automotive history goes up in a spectacular blaze. Look at this. We have details on this huge Detroit fire. That's ahead on LIVE FROM.

And, are Transportation Security officials keeping too much information on airline passengers? That story a little later.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I live with it because I have to.

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NGUYEN: Kids call on Congress for a cure for chronic disease. Ahead, we'll talk with two young diabetes sufferers about what they asked lawmakers to do today.

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NGUYEN: In our "Security Watch" today, privacy issues. The Transportation Security Administration is wrestling with criticism today over a database about air travelers.

Now, it says the information was used to test a security program. But privacy advocates are outraged.

Our security analyst, Richard Falkenrath, is in Washington, and he joins us to sort all of this out.

All right. First of all, when we talk about the TSA and this information, what kind of personal information did it get its hands on?

RICHARD FALKENRATH, CNN SECURITY ANALYST: It basically got its hands on the airline passenger record system. So when you buy a ticket, you give the airline a lot of information about yourself, your name, your address, maybe credit card information. And it's all stored in the reservation system.

And so what TSA has done is a test of a system which will be deployed later in the year to see what data is in these passenger reservation systems and how it can be manipulated so that they can run it and check against government watch lists.

NGUYEN: But Richard, is it just your name and address, or is it Social Security numbers? I'm reading here spouse's first name, your second address, your zip code, even the latitude and longitude of your address. Why is that so important?

FALKENRATH: Oh, that is probably not important. And that's sort of the point here, is a lot of different information gets loaded into the airline reservation systems. The government doesn't even know what's in there.

In some cases, it may be your preference of where you like to sit, it may be your frequent flyer number, it may be what kind of meal you want to eat. And the government does not need that information. And they're trying to work out a system where they get only the information they actually need so they can check that against the terrorist watch list.

NGUYEN: And that brings up a very good point, because this really perked my interest when I read about this story. It says that they're also checking this information against information obtained by banks and mortgage companies. What does that give the TSA -- how does that give them more clues to whether or not you're on a terror watch list? Is that necessary?

FALKENRATH: Well, I think -- I think this is the ACLU's claim, and I'm not sure they've got it quite right. What I -- my understanding is that TSA is relying on these private data companies to normalize and regularize the data so that it can be referenced against other lists in the government's possession.

They're not actually checking through the credit history of the people flying on airplanes. And they have no real interest to do that. So I think here, it may be a case where the ACLU and some of the privacy groups are exaggerating a little bit what's actually happening.

NGUYEN: But if the TSA is getting all this extraneous information that they don't really need, is this a violation of the privacy act? Do they need it?

FALKENRATH: Well, they don't need certain kinds of information. They need to purge it and get out of their systems. And hopefully design a system so they never get it in the first place.

And what they have to do is strike a balance. They do need some information on the people getting on our airplanes for national security reasons, but they only need some information. They don't need everything in the databases, and they don't need it in perpetuity.

They only need it long enough to do the check, then it needs to be purged. And so they need to strike this balance, and it's a difficult balance to strike.

I think some of the criticism that we've heard today is representative of a valid point. That is, the government only needs the data that it really needs and only needs it temporarily. But I think this criticism is a little bit exaggerated in this case.

NGUYEN: Well, when we talk about this data, we're also, too, seeing in the news all these credit card companies and the data that's been lost or hacked. Is there fear that with all this information out there collected by the TSA it, too, can get in the hands of the wrong people?

FALKENRATH: Well, there's always that fear. And the government needs to make sure that it doesn't fall victim to the sort of violations that have occurred in the private sector. But the American people need to know that there's a lot of data about them that's in the hands of private companies, far more, in many cases, than has actually been in the hands of the government, except for people with criminal backgrounds and a few other special cases. But every one of us has huge amounts of data about us in the hands of these private companies. And that is an enormous privacy risk. And there have, in fact, been very severe cases lately of the theft of that information.

NGUYEN: All right. Richard Falkenrath, CNN security analyst. Thanks for kind of opening our eyes to all of this. We appreciate your time.

FALKENRATH: Thank you, Betty.

NGUYEN: CNN is committed to providing the most reliable coverage of news that affects your security. You'll want to stay tuned to CNN for the latest information both day and night.

High school hoop dreams could become a thing of the past. Players like LeBron James might not be drafted into the NBA anymore thanks to a new agreement reportedly reached between NBA owners and players. That story ahead.

And this will definitely stop traffic. Fire shuts down a major interstate in Arizona. That's ahead on LIVE FROM.

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NGUYEN: Look at this. A big brush fire burns along the Arizona highway near Sunset Point. It's a major headache, as you can well see, for motorists who want to travel between northern and southern Arizona.

Interstate 17 is expected to be closed for most of the day. That is the main route between Phoenix and Flagstaff.

Meantime, another fire destroys most of a century-old building in Detroit. The four-story warehouse was once a production site for Studebaker cars. About 150 firefighters fought this massive blaze late last night and well into the morning.

Checking the latest developments in the war in Iraq. A U.S. soldier was killed by a bomb in western Iraq today. That brings the number of American troops killed in the war to 1,721.

More mayhem in northern Iraq, too. An Iraqi security chief and two guards were killed last night by a suicide car bomb. It exploded near the convoy.

And the new U.S. ambassador to Iraq arrived in Baghdad today. Zalmay Khalilzad is replacing John Negroponte. Khalilzad is the former U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan.

Now to the latest on the war on terror and the problem with insurgents in Afghanistan. Violent attacks have increased in recent weeks, but that's not the only challenge emerging. The commander in charge of combined forces in Afghanistan is speaking exclusively to our Barbara Starr.

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BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Lieutenant General Karl Eikenberry has come to this Afghan Army base to see the soldiers who call him "father." Two years ago, he was the first U.S. general assigned to train these Afghans. Now he is back, in charge of the entire coalition.

In the six weeks since Eikenberry took command, violence has increased. He believes insurgents are gearing up for a violent summer in a last-ditch attempt to disrupt Afghanistan's parliamentary elections scheduled for September.

LT. GEN. KARL EIKENBERRY, COMMANDER, COMBINED FORCES, AFGHANISTAN: The kind of tactics that the enemy will use, we're already starting to see them, continuation of IEDs, a continuation of attacks against soft targets, blowing up of mosques. These are a group of terrorists and criminals that will use any tactic they can to try to stop this democratic process.

STARR: The suicide bomber that struck this Kandahar mosque was wearing a bomb vest, something not seen before in Afghanistan. Military officials say it was a sophisticated device. It's not clear who manufactured it.

EIKENBERRY: We've got foreign fighters from the Middle East, there's foreign fighters that appear from time to time from Chechnya. There's foreign fighters that appear from Uzbekistan.

STARR: And the Taliban are far from gone.

EIKENBERRY: They indeed are an active threat. Let me -- let me say with the Taliban, maybe use the expression down, but certainly not out.

STARR: He says the Taliban and local warlords are still a significant threat.

EIKENBERRY: As we approach the September election, I think we'll see a steady rise in those attacks.

STARR: But in this country where al Qaeda was once strong, the question still remains, what about Osama bin Laden? Is catching him still a priority for this general?

EIKENBERRY: We have Americans, we've got Europeans, we've got Asians, Africans, Middle Easterners. And look around, here we have Afghans that have suffered enormously because of that man and his attack on innocent people. And so, yes, he's important to bring him to justice one day. And our nation will not stop until he is either captured or he is killed.

STARR: For Eikenberry, Afghanistan is a deeply personal commitment.

EIKENBERRY: I was in the Pentagon when the terrorist attack took place on the -- against the Pentagon. And so, yes, I was -- I was there

STARR: He does not like to talk about the friends he lost that day, but now, as the commander of U.S. forces in the place where the 9/11 attacks were planned, he is determined to keep helping this new Afghan army protect this very fragile country.

Barbara Starr, CNN, Afghanistan.

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NGUYEN: We're going to shift gears now. Tom and Katie, by now the world knows about the love between the two Hollywood stars. But has all of the public display of affection damaged the reputation of one of Hollywood's biggest stars? What our survey says when LIVE FROM returns.

And reports of a big change just announced by the NBA. Why you may not be seeing the next LeBron James jump straight from high school.

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NGUYEN: Now in the news, this is definitely something you don't see too often. We are looking at a live picture right now of Harbor City, California, where the L.A. City Fire, the Urban Search and Rescue, along with the Long Beach Fire -- all these crews have come out to try to get possibly three people who are stuck underneath this mobile home that you see on the left hand side of your screen. We really don't know how long that they've been there or what kind of injuries they may have, but we understand from the L.A. City Fire Department that these three people may have been trying to shore up an area underneath this mobile home. And that's when they become -- they became trapped. We'll continue to monitor this story for you.

The need to curb terror dominates a discussion between two Mid- East leaders. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas met for several hours at Sharon's home in Jerusalem today.

And in Aruba, new details about Steve Croes. He is one of four men in custody in connection with the case of a missing Alabama teenager. Police sources tell CNN Croes corroborated a story about Natalee Holloway being dropped off at Holiday Inn. When that story fell apart, the sources say, police detained Croes as a suspect.

Meanwhile, a search and rescue organization from Texas will help look for the missing teen in Aruba. They'll use dogs and sonar equipment.

Another search continues for 11-year-old Brennan Hawkins. He was last seen Friday at a Boy Scout camp 80 miles east of Salt Lake City. And rescue crews and hundreds of volunteers are souring the area, along with swift water rescue teams. They are searching the Bear River for any signs of the little boy.

The Justice Department says one in five children online is sexually solicited, yet only one in four tells a parent or guardian. In recognition of June as Internet Safety Month, congressional and business leaders unveiled joint efforts to make Web surfing safe for kids.

And you can check out CNN's most popular video of the day at CNN.com. Click on the video link at our Web site and look for the most popular video of the day. Watch it as many times as you want, whenever you want. It's a whole new way to experience the power of CNN video, and it's absolutely free.

In our "American Voices" segment today, fighting in Iraq, controversy at Gitmo and celebs in the spotlight. A lot to tell you about. Keeping track of the latest polls, Gallup editor-in-chief Frank Newport joins us.

Frank, first up, with more violence and U.S. casualties in Iraq, how just much has support for the war dropped among Americans?

FRANK NEWPORT, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, GALLUP: Well, Betty, based on the question that we used at our CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll over the weekend, quite a bit. There are various ways of asking about Iraq, we should point out, and they do get differing results based on the question wording.

This question, however, is about as simple as it comes. Do you favor or oppose the war in Iraq? We've been asking that in our CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll for a couple of years. You see back in October 2003, the majority in favor of the war. It broke about even last time we asked it in March, but now, a significant change, 20 point margin. 59 percent of Americans opposed, 39 in favor.

I did break it out for you by approval of George W. Bush in general. Now, look at this very carefully. On the left are those Americans who approve of the way Bush is handling his job overall. And you notice strong support for the war, but not total. About one out of four of those people opposed to the war. On the right, those who disapprove of Bush's handling of the job in general, admit it's overwhelming. Nine out of 10 say the disapprove of the war in Iraq -- Betty.

NGUYEN: Frank, let's turn to the issue of Guantanamo Bay. The very name has become a source of anti-American sentiment in many parts of the world, and there is growing pressure on the Bush administration to close the prison down. Where do Americans stand on this issue?

NEWPORT: Quite interesting. Two questions on this and on both of them, the majority of Americans answer in the affirmative as far as Guantanamo Bay and the prison is concerned. Basic question -- just based on what you know and have read, should it be left open? 58-36 percent of Americans say leave it open.

Do you approve or disapprove of how the prisoners -- that is the detainees -- are being handled down there in Guantanamo? And again, just based on what Americans have read, of course, they haven't been there in person. 52-37 percent approve. Overall, pretty positive reactions, relatively speaking on the part of the American public, at least at this point, on Guantanamo Bay prisoners.

NGUYEN: And finally, we must move over entertainment, of course. It's been a busy week or two for Tom Cruise. He's gotten engaged. There's this water-squirting microphone prank in London that he wasn't too happy about. What do people think about Tom Cruise, with all this news of him lately?

NEWPORT: Well, that's the interesting question. We put him in some context for you. You know, Betty, we always say, when you look at polling data, you want some context. So here are the three personalities that we tested over the weekend in the Gallup poll. Tom Cruise, Tiger Woods and Paris Hilton.

On the left there, you see Tom Cruise -- he's doing all right. Favorable, 58 to 31. That's not wonderful for a movie star. 31 percent don't like him. He pales in comparison to Tiger Woods. He came in second at the U.S. Open over the weekend. But Tiger remains one of the most positively evaluated personalities of any kind that we've ever measured in our Gallup poll.

But poor Paris Hilton, Betty, on the right. I'm not sure what she's done to deserve this kind of antagonism from the American public, but 63 percent to 15, Americans have an unfavorable opinion. And you know, Betty, what really interests me about Paris Hilton is so many Americans know enough about her to have an opinion.

NGUYEN: Oh, exactly.

NEWPORT: She's better known than Dennis Hastert.

NGUYEN: What does she do, exactly? Do you know?

NEWPORT: That's -- well, I know one thing she's very good at and that is, getting publicity.

NGUYEN: That is very true. And that's quite a line-up. Tiger Woods, Tom Cruise and Paris Hilton? Interesting there, Frank. Thank you, though. We appreciate it.

NEWPORT: You bet.

NGUYEN: A developing story in sports for you now. There is word that NBA owners and players have reached an agreement averting the possibility of a lock-out. So let's go now to CNN's Larry Smith, live in San Antonio, Texas, with the latest on this. Hi, Larry.

LARRY SMITH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Betty.

5:00 p.m. Eastern time here at the SPC Center in San Antonio. That is the time for the news conference to announce this. You can credit union chief Billy Hunter for jumpstarting this process. A week ago, talks were dead and it appeared that the league was headed toward a lock-out at month's end, when Hunter, the union chief, called (INAUDIBLE) David Stern, he said he would call him one more time. And that was all that it took, as it appears now, a few days later, a deal is done.

Now the perimeters, the reported perimeters of this new collective bargaining agreement, which would begin on July 1st. A minimum age of just 19 years old for players, increased drug testing throughout the year, and a reduction in the maximum length of contracts from seven years down to six years.

Now, as you can see behind me here at the SPC Center, they are rehearsing for a potential championship celebration tonight. Game six, the Spurs lead the series, three games to two. And with a victory, they can wrap up their third NBA title in seven years. The defending champion, Pistons, say, hey, they're the NBA champions. They know that they are down, but they are not out.

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ANTONIO MCYESS, DETROIT PISTONS: ... they in a better position than we are in. We just basically have to come out there and play, I mean, like we played at the first two games at home. We can't put our heads down and think it's over. We have to go out there and play hard.

TAYSHAUN PRINCE, DETROIT PISTONS: We feel confident that we do what we take -- what it takes to win, as far as just what we done at the Palace, as far as playing well and playing aggressive. That's all we have to do in order to give ourselves a chance to win. That's what we want, to give ourselves a chance to win it. If we feel we can put ourselves in that position, then anything is possible.

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SMITH: Now, Gregg Popovich did not want to talk about this after the game five overtime victory in Detroit. With a win tonight, the Spurs coach will become only the third NBA coach -- OK, sorry, the fifth NBA coach -- to win three NBA titles. Betty, let's go back to you.

NGUYEN: Larry, let's talk about this agreement one more time. Because this parameter of having to be at least 19 years old to get into the NBA, that could affect a lot of players. I mean, looking back, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, all of those guys wouldn't have been eligible.

SMITH: Sure. Kevin Garnett. It would certainly -- the NBA has wanted to kind of stem the tide of kids jumping right from high school. So what you'll see is, the kids may to go to college for one year or it's big business for prep schools. And they choose to a prep school for one year, turn 19 years, and then enter the league. College coaches will then maybe get a kid in, a blue chip kid in for one year, maybe convince them to stay for two years or three years.

The NBA wanted to do this. The players union agreed to it as part of the deal. And we'll see how it changes things, the landscape. It wont affect this year's players, by the way, we don't believe, this year's draft, which is next Tuesday. It would start with the kids coming out of high school in 2006.

NGUYEN: CNN's Larry Smith in San Antonio, Texas. My old stomping ground there in Texas. I guess you don't have to guess who I'm rooting for, right?

SMITH: I think we know.

NGUYEN: Yes. Thank you, Larry.

Well, some very courageous youngsters stepped up on to a very big stage this morning. They're young sufferers of diabetes and they shared their stories today on Capitol Hill. We will talk to two of these young ladies when LIVE FROM returns.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Living with diabetes is the pits. I live with it because I have to.

STEPHANIE ROTHWEILER, DIAGNOSED WITH JUVENILE DIABETES: At first, I thought diabetes was like a cold and that it would be gone in a week or so. Little did I know I would have it for the rest of my life. I actually can't remember having a normal life without diabetes.

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NGUYEN: Young kids facing a very grown-up situation, testifying before Congress and living with a chronic disease. Today, the young diabetes patients urged senators to help find a cure, and 13-year-old Lauren Stanford and 11-year-old Stephanie Rothweiler testified, and they join us now from Washington to talk about that. Thanks for being with us, both.

LAUREN STANFORD, DIAGNOSED WITH JUVENILE DIABETES: No problem.

ROTHWEILER: Oh, no problem.

NGUYEN: All right, Lauren, let's start with you. How did you find out you have juvenile diabetes?

STANFORD: Well, I went for my annual checkup to -- just around my birthday, and they took my blood sugar test, and it was strangely high, like, off the charts. So, then, they sent me to Children's Hospital in Boston, and they confirmed that I now had juvenile diabetes.

NGUYEN: And no doubt that has changed your life tremendously. Tell us how.

STANFORD: Yes, totally.

NGUYEN: How has it changed your life? What is life like for you? STANFORD: Well, now, I have to check my blood and monitor what carbs I'm eating and level my blood sugar every day and I have to have -- carry an insulin pump on me, and I have to check my blood six to 10 times a day. And, it's a real hassle, like, it takes up a lot of my life.

NGUYEN: It's a lot to keep up with. And Stephanie, does it hurt? Is it something that you just really dread to do, keeping up with diabetes and making sure that your levels are correct?

ROTHWEILER: Well, I finded (SIC) that in the beginning I would think it would be scarier, and so I think it hurts the same all the way through. Also, the depending on where you poke yourself and, I mean, in the beginning I was scared, and so, I think that -- I thought it hurt more, but now I find it kind of painless.

NGUYEN: Kind of get used to it after a while, because you know it's a necessity.

Lauren, you testified today before Congress. Tell us a little about what you told them.

STANFORD: Well, I talked about a problem I had last October when I got sick of diabetes and ended up in the hospital because I wasn't taking good care of myself, and I told them they shouldn't give up like I gave up. Like, they should keep trying to get the stem cell bill to pass. Even though it might be against what you started off as, just think about us kids and what we have to deal with everyday when you're voting for that.

NGUYEN: You know, you're so young and you're sitting here, talking about stem cells. You understand what it can do for diabetes?

STANFORD: Yes, I do.

NGUYEN: And what can it do?

STANFORD: Well, we have to have enough eyelet cells (ph), which are insulin-producing cells, and the hope is that they could make enough for everyone to have -- the stem cells could make eyelet cells for everyone with diabetes to get transplanted into them.

NGUYEN: That's a lot to say for someone who is 13-years-old.

STANFORD: Yeah.

NGUYEN: Stephanie, what did you tell Congress today? Did you talk about stem cells, as well? What was your message? I mean -- Stephanie?

ROTHWEILER: My message was pretty much that a lot of kids suffer from this disease, and it's not fair because we just want to be normal kids, living a normal life, doing normal things, and yet, we -- by the time I was five, I had to be able to know decimal points, know all of -- how to count carbohydrates, know their glycemic index -- before most of my friends knew the ABCs. And I find it much more of a -- like Lauren said, a hassle to find these -- well, to find these -- hard decisions to make because each decision you make could take a toll on your life, and you want to be able to keep it in line.

NGUYEN: All right. And Lauren, when you think about testifying today, and you go back home and talk to your friends about it, what is the biggest difference you think you have made?

STANFORD: Well, I really think I got the message out. Like, Susan Collins came to be after and said, wow, your speech was just so inspirational. I think that I really -- even she said we are one of the panels that made the biggest difference. So, I really think that we may have shifted some spaces around in the votes, hopefully.

NGUYEN: Well, we appreciate your time today, and it was quite a measure you did in front of today in front of Congress. It takes a log of guts, and you were there to do it, so we salute you, both of you.

STANFORD: Oh, thank you.

ROTHWEILER: Thank you very much.

NGUYEN: Lauren and Stephanie, take care.

STANFORD: You, too.

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