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Mystery Deepens in Russian Spy Death; New Mexican President Sworn in Amid Controversy; Interview With Magic Johnson; Many African Children Orphaned by AIDS; Lucy Liu Interview

Aired December 01, 2006 - 15:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Don Lemon.

Just ahead: the AIDS terror equation. U.S. defense dollars are going to fight AIDS. Why is the Pentagon so worried about a disease?

PHILLIPS: New chapters in that real-life spy drama in Britain -- two more people test positive for poison. A hotel is evacuated for polonium testing.

LEMON: Attention, Midwesterners: wind, snow, ice. Why would you want to be anywhere other than right here, warming your hands, in the CNN NEWSROOM?

The mystery grows in the death of a former KGB agent in Britain. A hotel is southern England is evacuated for radiation tests. And a member of the dead man's family tests positive for the same radioactive poison.

CNN's Matthew Chance is tracking all the developments for us in London.

It just keeps going, Matthew.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It certainly does, Kyra. These developments are coming in thick and fast this evening, with these latest revelations that a member of Alexander Litvinenko's family has now been confirmed by the British Health Protection Agency as also being contaminated with the same radioactive material that killed the former Russian agent.

I have spoken to a family source, and they have confirmed to me that the individual concern is the wife of Alexander Litvinenko, Marina. And, so, it's obviously a double tragedy for her, although health officials at this stage are saying that this family member's condition is good, and there are only small traces of the radioactive material that they have detected inside her.

But it comes hot on the heels of news that another individual, as well, a key individual in this ongoing investigation into the killing of Alexander Litvinenko, has also been confirmed as being contaminated with polonium 210, that radioactive isotope that caused Alexander Litvinenko such a long and agonizing death. He has been named by a source, again, close to his family as Mario Scaramella, who, you may remember, was the Italian contact who was one of the last people to see Alexander Litvinenko. He had lunch with him at a London sushi bar.

And, so, that has opened all sorts of questions here in Britain tonight about when this contamination is going to end, and who else it's going to affect -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: ... more about this hot line. And is it getting a lot of calls?

CHANCE: Yes, it is.

And I think that this new information, that these individuals have been confirmed as being contaminated, will increase even further the many thousands of people -- add to the many thousands of people who have already called in to this hot line, directly to the British Health Service, that the government has set up.

The government, though, is stressing that the risk to public safety, as a result of this radiation -- there are 12 contaminated areas, at least, around London that have been identified so far -- the risk to public safely, they're saying, is extremely low, because of the nature of this radioactive isotope. People have to come into very close contact with it, sometimes even ingest it or inhale it, in order for it to actually contaminate a human body.

And that is why I think it's people who have been so close with Alexander Litvinenko, his close friend, Mario Scaramella, his wife, who are the people who have so far been identified as also being contaminated. Nobody else has.

PHILLIPS: Matthew Chance, live from London.

ANNOUNCER: You're watching CNN, your severe weather headquarters.

LEMON: And Chicago's morning rush hour was anything but a rush hour. And the afternoon, well, it's slush hour. That's only if you're lucky.

Let's get the latest from CNN's Ed Lavandera.

Hi, Ed.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Don.

Let me show you what is going on here along Michigan Avenue. These guys here are scooping out the snow that was here in Pioneer Plaza, next to the Tribune Tower, along Michigan Avenue.

Essentially, the quickest way to get rid of this snow, they say, is to just essentially dump it out here into the roadway -- the taxis and cars that have been driving over it melting it away. And, here, in Pioneer Plaza, you can see, this was covered in quite a bit of snow here this morning. So, we got crews out here moving that snow away as well.

So, of course, as you mentioned, the rush hour commute here this morning was just absolutely brutal, six inches of snow out at Chicago O'Hare Airport and many places of Illinois -- in and around Illinois, 10 to 12 inches of snow in some places -- so, quite a winter storm that blew through here.

But what officials are now concerned about is that, as the temperatures throughout the day have gone up a little bit, much of the snow has been melting on the roadways, and they're worried that, later tonight, as the temperatures start dropping again, that the snow and the slush that is on the roadways will refreeze, and that, since the worst of the storm has already blown through Chicago, they're worried that commuters and drivers will kind of let their guard down about what has been going on, and not really pay attention to the roadways.

So, they're urging people to remain on guard and be careful as you drive around on the roadways, and be careful for that slush and snow out here, that might refreeze in the -- in the coming hours, into the night, and into tomorrow morning -- Don.

LEMON: Yes, Ed, I'm very familiar with that plaza...

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: ... that you're standing on right now. It looks like folks are getting along, at least on Michigan Avenue.

But what about the airport situations, delays, stranded passengers?

LAVANDERA: Well, they have.

American and United has -- have canceled hundreds of flights throughout the morning. We understand that, here, this afternoon, they will try to pick back up and try to get people on their way. So, that is one of the things that we will be monitoring here in the coming hours, just to see how those airlines are doing and managing and getting people out of Chicago or back into Chicago. Many people from other places have been stranded there, as well, have been wanting to come back home as well.

LEMON: Yes.

LAVANDERA: Can't forget them.

LEMON: One of the busiest airports in the country.

Thank you very much, along the Mag Mile, Ed Lavandera.

PHILLIPS: Let's get the big picture now, Reynolds Wolf from the CNN Weather Center with more.

What are you watching?

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Thanks, Reynolds.

Well, when weather becomes the news, you can become a CNN correspondent. If you see severe weather happening, just send us an I-Report. You can go to CNN.com and click on I-Report, or type in ireport@CNN.com on your cell phone and share your photos or video with us.

LEMON: It is December 1st. And that means people around the globe are pausing to take stock of AIDS. The World Health Organization founded World AIDS Day in 1988. This year's theme is accountability. Since 1981, when record-keeping began on a new and a terrifying disease, more than 65 million people have been infected.

PHILLIPS: Well, former President Clinton is spending World AIDS Day in India. He calls it the epicenter of the global AIDS pandemic. More than 5.5 million people there are infected. Clinton says it's a breathtaking challenge, but one that could be met.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "AMERICAN MORNING")

WILLIAM J. CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think you should feel hopeful, first of all, because in America, it was rifling through our society.

It started out as a disease primarily found among gay men and then among intravenous drug users. And then it got into the heterosexual population generally. And, then, we just basically turned it around with education, prevention and treatment. And what we did can be done everywhere.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, the former president is working through the Clinton Foundation, set up in 2002 to help poor countries struggling with AIDS.

The AIDS Quilt, when it was on display 10 years ago in Washington, it stretched down the National Mall. Today, a smaller version is on display right here in Atlanta. The quilt's 45,000 grave-sized panels have been parceled out to schools, universities and church across the country. You're looking at the largest single portion right now, 650 panels, all displayed at Emory University, and all memorializing the life of someone who lost their life to AIDS.

LEMON: Well, AIDS, a weapon of mass destruction?

PHILLIPS: The Pentagon is spending billions of dollars of defense money to fight a disease. And, on this World AIDS Day, the CNN NEWSROOM is checking out the reasons why.

LEMON: Sworn in under cover of darkness, and Mexico's new president still had to wait until lawmakers stopped throwing chairs. As Bart Simpson might say, ay, caramba.

We're watching from the relative safety of the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Seniority isn't what it used to be on Capitol Hill. Soon-to-be House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced today that Silvestre Reyes will be the next chairman of the White House -- or the House Intelligence Committee.

Reyes is a Texan who spent more than 25 years with the Border Patrol. He gets the Intel post, over two more senior Democrats on the panel. Jane Harman is said to have political differences with Pelosi. And that is putting it mildly. Alcee Hastings was impeached by Congress in his former career as a federal judge.

LEMON: Well, you may know your I.Q. score. You may even know your credit score, but you don't know your terror threat score. And you probably didn't know you had a terror threat score.

It turns out federal agents are using software that rates people entering and leaving the U.S. on several criteria, including travel records, payment information, seating preference, even what kind of meals they order. Now, travelers aren't allowed to see their scores, which the government plans to keep on file for 40 years. Civil liberties group call the system alarmingly invasive.

PHILLIPS: The funeral is tonight for the New York groom-to-be who was killed last week by police. Family and friends who had planned to attend the wedding of Sean Bell will bury him instead. He was fatally shot and two of his friends wounded by undercover police, after a bachelor party at a strip club.

Police have said that they're searching for a witness, a possible fourth man in Bell's car, which allegedly struck an officer before the shooting. Now a law enforcement source tells CNN, investigators brought in a man identified as Bell's half-brother for questioning last night. But the man's attorney says that he refused to cooperate.

A lawyer for Bell's two wounded friends says no fourth man exit (sic). Bell's bride-to-be will appear Monday night on "LARRY KING LIVE," with Al Sharpton. That's 9:00 p.m. Eastern, Monday, right here on CNN.

LEMON: Well, the election was a bare-knuckle fight leaving both contenders bruised and the country split -- the inauguration, even more so.

Fistfights broke out in the Mexican congress today, along with jeers, threats and catcalls, as Felipe Calderon was sworn in as president. Leftists claim he stole that election.

Earlier, in the NEWSROOM, we got an account from Juan Carlos Lopez of our sister network, CNN Espanol.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JUAN CARLOS LOPEZ, CNN EN ESPANOL CORRESPONDENT: The day started, as it did three days ago, with fights between Mexican congressmen. It was those who backed Felipe Calderon, the new president, and those who support Manuel Lopez Obrador, who lost on July 2, but refused to concede defeat, because he wanted a total recount of votes. He did not get it. And he says that Calderon is not a legitimate president.

He declared himself the president on November 2. He named a Cabinet. And, then, Calderon did something today. What we're seeing now is that Lopez Calderon's (sic) followers in Congress were trying to take over the stage in Congress to prevent Calderon from coming and swearing in.

They weren't successful, because Calderon's supporters made sure that he was able to go to the ceremony.

Now, we're going to see when he comes in -- it was ahead of time -- and most of the heads of state, including former President Bush, who were there, just had enough time to -- to go into this building before Calderon came on to the stage with former President Fox. But he had done something before, something very controversial.

Now, in Mexico, what they do is, that he swears in. He gets -- he receives a sash, and then he becomes president. But, at midnight, when Fox's term had expired, he swore in at the presidential palace, Los Pinos, and that's causing a lot of controversy in Mexico.

Lopez Obrador is now saying that he is the legitimate president of Mexico. He's not recognizing President Calderon. And it's going to be an interesting time now in Mexico, Don, because, even though he followed what is -- what normal procedure -- what people expected, he had sworn in before, something that hadn't been done before in Mexico.

So, there's going to be a lot of discussion on his legitimacy, and how he is going to be able to perform as a president.

LEMON: And let's talk about the impact here in the U.S., if any. What will the impact be here?

LOPEZ: Well, the relationship between the U.S. and Mexico goes farther than the border. And there's -- the interests for the U.S. -- for the U.S. economy and Mexico is great. It's one of the largest trading partners, not only in the hemisphere, but in the world.

And there is a lot of discussion about immigration. And President Calderon, when he came to meet with President Bush, when his victory was confirmed, said that that was one of his priorities, to work with this government to obtain a comprehensive immigration reform. And there's a lot of controversy in Mexico and on the U.S. side on what happens on the border.

So, what ever happens in Mexico, and political instability in Mexico, will have an effect on the U.S. And that's why it's being very -- it's being followed very closely.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, for many Americans, these words brought to light a disease they tried to ignore.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EARVIN "MAGIC" JOHNSON, NBA PLAYER: Because of the HIV virus that I have attained, I will have to retire from the Lakers today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Fifteen years later, Magic Johnson is living with HIV and still pushing AIDS awareness. He is going to join us live in the CNN NEWSROOM for World AIDS Day.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian has apparently put up the white flag in his costly campaign to reshape the world's largest automaker.

Susan Lisovicz, live at the New York Stock Exchange, with all the details.

What happened, Susan?

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, he just couldn't get his way. And, when you're a billionaire investor, you want things to happen quickly. And it just wasn't working out with that three-way alliance between Toyota -- excuse me -- Nissan, Renault, GM.

So, Kirk Kerkorian unloaded his entire stake in General Motors yesterday. According to published reports, the billionaire sold his last 28 million shares last night to Bank of America. That's on top of the 14 million shares he sold earlier in the day.

Up until the last week, Kerkorian held a nearly 10 percent stake in GM, making him the company's largest individual shareholder. "The Wall Street Journal" estimates, he made some money, though, on this, nearly $100 million, on his GM investment.

The sale follows the recent resignation of Kerkorian's representative from GM's board. That came after GM decided against teaming up with Nissan and Renault, something Kerkorian had been pushing for. He basically wanted GM's turnaround to happen much quicker than what he has been seeing -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, is this a positive for GM and its leadership?

LISOVICZ: Well, it takes away some of the near-term pressure from GM chief Rick Wagoner. But he still has to prove that his plan works better than Kerkorian's more aggressive ideas.

He has to slash costs, and he has to make cars that people want to drive -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, well, the automakers posted November sales number today, right? How did they do?

LISOVICZ: Well, GM did OK. Two of the big three posted gains. GM's November sales rose more than 6 percent, even though that was lower than expected. DaimlerChrysler sales were up nearly five percent. Analysts had been expecting a decline there. But Ford sales fell by nearly 10 percent.

Toyota, meanwhile, led the industry with a nearly 16 percent sales gain. It took the number-two sales spot from Ford for the second time this year. And that is sales here in the U.S.

(MARKET REPORT)

But, first, it's Friday. And means time for a look at "Life After Work." Shopping for a car can be a stressful experience, and an expensive one, if the dealerships have their way. Yet, many of the folks that end up paying the most are the ones that can afford it the least.

Valerie Morris has the story of one man who is leveling the playing field.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERT CHAMBERS, FOUNDER, BONNIE CLAC: And they could afford the car. And it would be less expensive. And, so...

VALERIE MORRIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After a career in the computer industry, Robert Chambers decided to try his hand at selling cars, after being recruited by a friend. Yet, there was a part of the job that didn't sit well with him.

CHAMBERS: The more time I spent in the car business, the more I learned about how low-income individuals really waste an awful lot of their very hard-earned money in the car-buying process. And, so, that wasn't enjoyable, watching that.

MORRIS: So, Chambers left that New Hampshire car lot five years ago, and started up a nonprofit called Bonnie CLAC. The foundation offers advice and financial support to lower-income individuals, allowing them to buy a brand-new car, without getting gouged in the process.

CHAMBERS: We guarantee the loans. So, they get a very low interest rate. And we teach them the skills to be able to budget. If they can't make a car payment, we won't guarantee the loan.

Jackie (ph) went three through our program, and graduated into a brand-new car. And you can just see on the -- on the faces of these kids what difference it made in their lives. It is very, very rewarding. They're so proud of their cars, because they worked hard for it, to earn it. And they -- most have never owned a new car in their entire lives.

It's hard to get sometimes full-time work, if you can't get to where the work is. We see many clients that go on and get better- paying jobs within months of receiving their new car, because they can focus on the job. They can focus on their life. They can focus on their family, and not have to focus on an old, dilapidated car that's falling apart.

MORRIS: Valerie Morris, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Straight to the NEWSROOM -- Fredricka Whitfield working on a developing story -- Fredricka.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Well, Don, it does indeed sound like something out of a 007 movie.

We're talking about, in Great Britain, the investigation into the poisoning death of a former Russian spy is widening. Now investigators are saying two people close to Alexander Litvinenko may have also been exposed to this polonium 210.

The wife of Alexander Litvinenko, Marina, has now been exposed to traces of the material. And, according to the Health Protection Agency, that -- quote -- "amount" is not significant enough to result in any illness in the short term -- the other person believed to have been exposed, an Italian security expert who met with Litvinenko, Mario Scaramella.

A short time ago, the University College Hospital spokesperson described Scaramella's condition.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: .. is Mario Scaramella, who met with Mr. Litvinenko on November the 1st, before Mr. Litvinenko was admitted to this hospital.

Tests have detected polonium 210 in Mr. Scaramella's body, but at a considerably lower level than Mr. Litvinenko. He is currently well and shows no symptoms of radiation poisoning. He is receiving further tests over the weekend.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And while on that same day the two met, November 1st, that was the date that doctors say significant symptoms were detected there in Litvinenko. He died three weeks later of that exposure -- Don.

LEMON: Fredricka Whitfield, thank you so much for that.

PHILLIPS: As we've been reporting on this World Aids Day, AIDS is ravaging sub-Saharan Africa and when grownups die, their children suffer too. The State Department says 12 million African children have been orphaned by AIDS and that number is only expected to rise.

CNN's Christiane Amanpour has more on the orphans of AIDS.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTL. CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As AIDS continues its relentless march across Africa, this will soon become a continent of AIDS orphans. There are 12 million today but in four short years, there will be 18 million.

STEPHEN LEWIS, U.N. AFRICA AIDS ENVOY: There are some countries whereby 2010, 10 or 15 percent of the entire population, not the child population, but the entire population will be orphans.

AMANPOUR: Steven Lewis is the U.N. special AIDS envoy.

LEWIS: They are like kids everywhere. They are so bewildered by what is happening to them. They stand in the hut and they watch their parents die and then their lives fall apart and it is inexplicable.

AMANPOUR: Anthony and Gabriel's parents both died of AIDS and left them alone in this wilderness.

(on camera): What do you remember about your mother and father?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD (through translator): They were people who loved me.

AMANPOUR (voice-over): Without that love and care, they have to fend entirely for themselves. Walking to school every morning and doing all their chores when they come home every evening, trekking an hour to collect water and firewood which they need to cook their one meal of the day.

(on camera): Do you remember the last time you had some meat or vegetables or fruit?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD (through translator): Yes, I remember. It was when my parents were still alive. Back then, we lived well and we had food to eat. Now, we go to sleep hungry. We don't even have clothes to wear and we don't go out anymore.

AMANPOUR (voice-over): So much loss and deprivation makes them determined to work for their future. Every night, they read by the dying light of the fire. Ironically, this lesson is about African diseases.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: An example of diseases for each vaccine is not yet able is malaria.

AMANPOUR: Anthony wants to be doctor. Gabriel, a teacher.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD (through translator): If I do well in my exams I will become a teacher so I can help myself.

AMANPOUR (on camera): Do you think your parents would be proud of you to see how you're coping in such a difficult circumstance?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD (through translator): I think they would be very happy.

AMANPOUR (voice-over): And Anthony and Gabriel have a message for all the other AIDS orphans.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD (through translator): What I want to say to those who have lost their parents is that they should be strong and never give up.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: AIDS orphans are not just an African problem. By the year 2010, just four years from now, it's estimated there will be 25 million AIDS orphans around the world.

Apart from the misery and danger those children can face, they are easy prey for terrorists, like these boys in Sierra Leone, forced to take up arms and become killers. The Pentagon considers AIDS one of the top security threats that faces this country.

Joining me now to talk about it, Dr. Richard Shaffer, director of the Defense Department's HIV/AIDS prevention program, and Ken Robinson, a former Special Operations and intelligence officer. Great to see you both.

Dr. Shaffer, let's start with you. And tell me what is the Department of Defense doing exactly to fight AIDS?

DR. RICHARD SHAFFER, DIR. HIV/AIDS PREVENTION PROG.: Well, good afternoon. Part of the president's emergency plan for AIDS relief, the U.S. military is currently working with 67 militaries around the world to provide them with technical assistance, resources, and other capability building processes in order to help them develop their programs around HIV prevention, care and treatment.

It's very common for the U.S. military to work with our partner militaries when it comes to security cooperation such as helping and training pilots and providing many military capabilities. We also have a very common practice of working with medical security cooperation and doing that with HIV/AIDS is a very appropriate and important part of this overall security cooperation program.

PHILLIPS: Ken, you were an intel, special operations. What did you learn? What were you trained on with regard to fighting AIDS and why was it a priority of boots on the ground?

KEN ROBINSON, FMR. INTELLIGENCE OFFICER: Well, pandemics are very cruel and they are very vicious and they rarely give you a second chance. The United States government, the first intelligence report I read on AIDS was called AIDS in Africa, the Global Pandemic and that was in 1989.

But, between 1989, almost all the way into the Clinton administration, it took that long before we made a declarative policy in the United States government that said it is a national security threat. Within special forces, we recognize that the instability on the ground, populations are affected, economies are affected, infrastructure is affected by these best and brightest of people within cities dying and, typically, the members of the military in Africa, the members of the government in Africa, those who travel, are the ones who tend to spread the disease and be most likely to acquire the disease, and so Africa, as a continent, its brain trust is eroding right now.

PHILLIPS: Dr. Shaffer, General Charles Wald, former operational head of European Command actually listed the biggest threats to U.S. security at a recent conference -- after terrorism and weapons of mass destruction, he said AIDS. Explain to me why he said that and specifically why he said that.

SHAFFER: Well, militaries, and successful militaries realize that health is a readiness issue and as long as we remember that maintaining the health of our forces is one of the key aspects to being a stable and effective fighting force, we will realize that that's how we continue to provide a stable background and situation around the world.

General Wald is very correct when he said that. He realizes that in certain parts of the world, health issues, specifically those due to infection with HIV are becoming a very big concern for many militaries.

They understand that they are always up against the need to keep their forces healthy and HIV infection can put you at increased risk depending on where you're deployed. Military members travel more, often than many other occupations. They are often young men, they often have money.

PHILLIPS: So healthy peacekeepers are getting sick.

SHAFFER: Yes, correct. And also, at the same time, if you send an HIV infected peacekeeper into an area where they may not have the best environmental support, they also can get even sicker.

PHILLIPS: So, Ken, let's talk about how AIDS makes war, civil strife more likely? And put it in the context for us. For example, al Qaeda. Do members of al Qaeda infiltrate Africa and look for these AIDS orphans thinking, hey we'll give them some sort of money, security, a place to sleep if they become a part of our terrorist faction?

ROBINSON: Well, you know, I wouldn't even clarify it as calling al Qaeda infiltrating -- they just simply went. Al Qaeda moved into Africa after they moved out of Afghanistan. They went to about 60 countries but they really concentrated in Africa because al Qaeda needs to move along the edges of society.

They need places where there is infrastructure erosion, where there is the potential for a failed state. They need a place where they can operate with impunity and Africa is very lucrative to them right now because the United States and the world, for about 20 years, has not effectively tried to manage, in a Marshall Plan type way, what is happening to that continent.

If I was to write a book about it, I'd say while America slept because we're just now getting religion on that. And really the politics of religion is what slowed down our response back in the '80s because of the issues involving with abstinence and choice and the distribution of condoms and the cultural differences between it being in the heterosexual community over in Africa and the perception that it was in a homosexual gay community in the United States -- that it wasn't our problem.

But now we're finally are recognizing, realizing, but we may be a day late and a dollar short. There needs to be twice as much done than is being done right now. It has to be more aggressive because the migration of this is going to affect the issue of stability throughout the continent.

PHILLIPS: Dr. Shaffer, can you give an example of how this education or how this fight coming out of DOD is taking place to educate people and try to get these kids not to join these terrorist organizations and to understand just -- what they need -- or that they have other options?

SHAFFER: Well, the main purpose of our effort is the education around how to protect themselves with HIV and AIDS -- from HIV and AIDS, and we have a number of examples where we've been able to see success in that. One of the very interesting aspects of HIV has been the concern of whether HIV expands or increases during the conflict at the time.

And what we've seen now in a couple of countries in Africa is that the real concern is when the conflict ends, and once the conflict ends, then we really have to get the message out to ensure that the individuals who are both in the military and may join the military and the surrounding communities are educated about how to maintain a very safe lifestyle and to keep this epidemic in check.

PHILLIPS: Dr. Richard Shaffer, Ken Robinson, interesting discussion. Thanks, gentlemen.

SHAFFER: Thank you.

ROBINSON: Thank you, Kyra.

LEMON: Fighting AIDS in the field and on film. Our special coverage on World AIDS day continuous with a preview of "Three Needles." It's a movie, and UNICEF ambassador Lucy Liu joins us in the NEWSROOM to talk about it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Mosquitoes -- not only are they pesky, they can transmit diseases from West Nile virus to malaria. One company hopes to use technology to keep mosquitoes at bay.

DEVIN HOSEA, PRES. & CEO, AMERICAN BIOPHYSICS CORP.: We are perfectly happy to let the mosquitoes live and thrive in the 98 percent of all land humans do not occupy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Alone, the mosquito magnet works like a vacuum, attracting and sucking up mosquitoes. But new technology is taking it to the next level. When the machines are linked to a computer network and placed around a property, they create a smart fence which keeps mosquitoes out.

HOSEA: We think this is revolutionary in terms of basically allowing people to take back their outside.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Future plans include using the technology in third world countries where, according to the World Health Organization, malaria kills more than a million people a year.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Hollywood is marking World AIDS Day with a premier of "Three Needles." It's an ambitious film that tackles the AIDS crisis from Canada to South Africa to rural China. Lucy Liu plays a mother to be who is worried about whether she or her unborn baby has AIDS.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE).

LUCY LIU, ACTRESS/UNICEF AMBASSADOR: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE).

LIU: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Lucy Liu is also a UNICEF ambassador who's witnessed the ravages of AIDS around the world. I spoke with her about her new film and her AIDS activism.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: What was it like to play in a movie with such an intense plot and back story?

LIU: I think the most interesting thing about this character is that she's not aware of what she has, and I think it was very clear on this trip that a lot of people in remote areas have no idea what they have and their medical resources are limited.

And it's unfortunate, because this is something that can be taken care of and should be taken care of. And so the most important thing is the spread of awareness and education, especially in this case.

LEMON: Yes, especially in that case because a lot of people get it from their spouse.

LIU: Yes.

LEMON: Many times, husbands give it to their wives and their wives are unaware of it. So apparently that's what happened to you.

LIU: Exactly. And in this case, this woman -- you know, the character that I play -- she's pregnant and so she has contracted this disease that she doesn't know she has and she's going to give it to her child as well.

So it's something that -- I mean, World AIDS Day is something that probably a lot of people don't take notice of because I think it's something that's been taken care of, but it's really something that's a priority right now. And, in fact, it's a growing -- the numbers are growing in terms of how the cases are getting worse, not better.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: And if you want to help UNICEF help children and fight AIDS, go their Web site. It's UNICEFUSA.org

PHILLIPS: Well, our coverage of World AIDS Day continues in just a moment, basketball great Magic Johnson on living with HIV and AIDS. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: It was a moment that stunned America and changed the face of the AIDS crisis.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNSON: Because of the HIV virus I have attained, I will have to retire from the Lakers today. I just want to make clear, first of all, that I do not have the AIDS disease because I know a lot of you are -- want to know that, but HIV virus.

My wife is fine. She's negative. So no problem with her. I plan on going on, living for a long time, bugging you guys, like I always have.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: It was November 6, 1991.

Many thought Magic Johnson's announcement that he was HIV positive meant he would soon be dead. But a lot has changed since then. On this World AIDS Day, Irvin "Magic" Johnson is alive and well and an activist against the fight against HIV/AIDS. He spoke with us earlier from Los Angeles. And I asked him about awareness in the black community.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JOHNSON: Oh, no question about it. We should of paid attention to it earlier. It's unfortunate that we had to now, since we're behind the 8-ball in the sense, really try to get out here and also get out here in a big way and to the African-American community. But it is what it is.

So we can't look backwards. Now we have to move forward. And what are we going to do about the problem?

And I think all of us got to work together: the faith-based community, the government, the public officials, the great HIV and AIDS organizations across America and all band together and come with a game plan that will bring the numbers down.

I think I stand with Magic Campaign, that's what we're doing with a great company, like Abbott, I partnered with them through the Magic Johnson Foundation and we have all of this information on www.istandwithmagic -- if you log on to that, you are going to get a lot of good information about HIV and AIDS.

Because that's what's been missing as well, the fact that we haven't had the right information about HIV and AIDS. And then we can't have the same attitude or the mindset when it comes to HIV and AIDS as well.

LEMON: Yes. And I'm glad you mentioned the faith-based community and also leaders anticipating World AIDS Day coming.

I spoke with several black leaders, Maxine Waters, recently, Reverend Joseph Lowery, also Harry Belafonte, and then recently Jesse Jackson who said on Saturday, he is going to be asking all ministers in the country to take public HIV tests and encourage men to take those tests as well which will lead to women -- but basically he believes that men are the basic carriers.

Let's talk about testing, and mandatory testing, because you were tested for something else. You weren't getting HIV test, you were getting tested for health insurance.

JOHNSON: Right. The insurance company tested me for HIV and AIDS and thank god that they did, because I'm glad we caught it early where I could get on some medicine and get some treatment that has worked for me for 15 years.

LEMON: So what about the importance of being tested?

JOHNSON: Oh, it's very important. Oh, getting tested is the most important thing that's why we have three days of testing right now. While I'm talking to you, there's people being tested. We've already tested about 300 people early this morning and we're going to be here through this evening as well as Saturday and Sunday.

So testing is very, very important because people need to know their status. There's a lot of people walking around who have HIV and don't even know it. And so we must urge young people and all people to get out and get tested. LEMON: Yes. And your announcement -- you mentioned your wife in your announcement. And let's be real about this, probably the people who are most at risk and the highest numbers now, African-American women and many of them getting it from their partners, from their male partners maybe on the down low or contracted it some other way.

What is your advice when it comes to that?

JOHNSON: Well, when it comes to that, first of all, I expect men to be open to their partners about, if they are living that double life, much what you just talked about. And then I urge all women, because especially African-American women, when you think that is the number one killer for those women ages 25 to 35 and those are young women.

So women are going to have to really take charge of making sure that their partners are wearing protection and that they also make sure that they educate themselves about HIV and AIDS. But it's up to the women to really take charge now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: To find out more about what magic Johnson is doing, go to the web site, www.istandwithmagic.com.

Closing bell and a wrap of the action on Wall Street straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Oh, in North Carolina, their chips have finally come in. Thousands of bags of Doritos washed up on the beaches of the Outer Banks. Take a look at that.

Beach combers delighted in the trespassing triangles. They scooped up the snacks like a chip in dip.

Where did the bags come from? Well, the Doritos are a chip off the old cargo container that apparently fell from a ship.

There you go -- or fell from a truck, we've already heard that one.

The closing bell is about to ring on Wall Street. Susan Lisovicz is standing by with a final look at the trading day. Hey, Susan.

(MARKET REPORT)

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