Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live Today
Holiday Shoppers Mob Malls; AIDS Virus on the Rise in Retirement Comunities; Bill Schneider's Election Year Leftovers
Aired November 26, 2004 - 11:30 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.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Carol Lin at the CNN Center. Right now in the news. Reuters is now reporting that Iraq's leading political parties are calling for the January elections to be delayed. Party leaders reportedly signed a petition calling for the change. Influential Sunni Arab parties have been pressing for a delay saying violence in the Sunni areas makes it impossible to hold elections. And they are threatening a boycott.
And four members of a British security firm were killed Thursday and dozens injured during an insurgent attack inside Baghdad's Green Zone. Four were members of Global Risk Strategies which provides security in various countries including Iraq and Afghanistan.
And thousands of demonstrators are gathered for a fifth day in Kiev's Independence Square. They are protesting what they call a rigged presidential election. European mediators have arrived in the Ukraine capitol to help settle the dispute.
Demonstrations began after the country's pro-Russia's prime minister was declared the winner of a highly disputed election. Now, those two candidates are face in a room. We're keeping an eye on that meeting.
A pack of eight tornadoes sliced a devastating past through Calhoun County, Alabama. One woman is dead and much of the community is left to pick up the pieces. Generous neighbors turned out Thanksgiving Day to help victims recover what they could. At least what they could find after those storms.
Holiday shoppers are mobbing malls and discount stores as the post-Thanksgiving shoppathon gets under way nationwide. We have some shopping tips to save your feet, your sanity and money coming up right now.
But up first, this is a big day for shopping in America. Not for Americans in Europe, though. The plunge in the Europe dollar has made everything ultra-pricey over there. Jim Boulden has a report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM BOULDEN, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Americans may not be shouting it from the rooftops, but they are from the top of this London tour bus, at least. The weak dollar is taking its toll.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Too expensive! Oh, is that right? Is it really?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you really find that the exchange rate that bad at the moment?
BOULDEN: The Partin family of Fort Lauderdale, Florida arrived Thursday morning and went window shopping before hopping on the bus.
LILY PARTIN, AMERICAN TOURIST: We were just in the stores and the prices, we were looking at some watches. We noticed that they're double the price than what you would get in the U.S.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here on our left, one of the most famous, largest toy shops around, it's Hamley's.
BOULDEN: Though the Partins couldn't resist the world's most famous toy store.
PARTIN: You have six pounds, it's about $12.
BOULDEN: But they did resist the urge to buy, leaving Hamley's with all their money still in their pockets.
PARTIN: The only thing we can do here is just about eat and do our little tourism.
BOULDEN: That is not what Britain's tourist authority wants to hear. Americans make up 14 percent of tourists in Britain, but spend a whopping 20 percent of tourist money.
RICHARD DONOGHUE, "VISIT BRITAIN": About 4 million Americans come to Britain every year. And although they are spending slightly less, they are spending coming here in record numbers.
PARTIN: You think a large will do it.
BOULDEN: The Partins did have to make one purchase on their first day, gloves for their cold 11year old. So, we did a little currency conversion for them.
(on camera): You have just bought these pair of gloves at The Gap. Tell me how much it was?
PARTIN: Total was 29 pounds.
BOULDEN: OK, 29 pounds, you know what the current rate? Probably by the time you get back with your credit card...
PARTIN: About $1.86, I think.
BOULDEN: Yes, I think you are going to be close to $1.90, so these gloves just cost you $55. What would you have paid for those in the States, do you think?
PARTIN: About $10. UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: About $10.
BOULDEN: We just paid five times the price.
(voice over): Granted London is expensive at the best of times. And though their flight was cheap their one hotel room is not. Coming in at $359 a night.
BOULDEN (on camera): What would $359 a night get you in America, do you think?
PARTIN: Oh, we could be at the Beverly Hills Hotel on Wilshire (ph) Boulevard.
(LAUGHTER)
BOULDEN (voice over): And no one back in Fort Lauderdale should expect a Christmas present from London.
GARY PARTIN, AMERICAN TOURIST: Yes, we would normally look for stuff while we're here. But that doesn't look like it is going to happen.
BOULDEN: So now, it is back on the bus where at least the views are free - Jim Boulden, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: All right. Are you worried about your privacy every time you get on line? All next week, on LIVE TODAY, we'll tell you how to avoid getting snared on the worldwide web. CNN's Technology Correspondent Daniel Seiberg has a preview.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANIEL SEIBERG, CNN TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Your privacy, even your identity may not be quite what it used to be. It's a jungle out there in the cyberworld and all next week on CNN LIVE TODAY we'll explore the risks and what you can do about them.
Do you think you have a right to privacy?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why do we need privacy? That's the question. Like why do people need privacy?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SEIBERG: Well, not everyone else agrees. At home, on-line, and in the workplace, we'll show you how to avoid your own identity crisis. Our series starts Monday with a look at spyware. It's probably on your computer, you didn't put it there, but it's following every move.
We'll see you all next week on CNN LIVE TODAY.
LIN: Excellent. In the meantime, a surprising killer may be stalking retirement homes across America. >
AIDS. Dr. Sanjay Gupta continues the series "Are you positive?" Coming up.
And later, they grabbed headlines, but who was this year's biggest political turkey? Bill Schneider hands out the Turkey Awards ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: We just teased the special, but we want to give you a preview. HIV infection is widely regarded as a young person's problem, but the virus that causes AIDS is on the rise in some retirement communities. Details now from our Senior Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Jane Fowler is 69 and does what many grandmothers like to do, spoil her grandkids.
She's also single, divorced now for over 20 years.
JANE FOWLER, HIV POSITIVE: I had my career as a journalist, what I didn't have was the social life that I had enjoyed as half a couple.
GUPTA: So, at age 48 she re-entered the dating scene. Seven years later she received a disturbing letter from a life insurance company.
FOWLER: I got a kind of form letter saying that I could not be insured. The company would not insure me because my blood test had shown a significant abnormality.
GUPTA: And that is how she found out she had HIV. She was 55 years old.
FOWLER: I was devastated.
GUPTA: AIDS is rarely thought of as a disease affecting middle- aged heterosexuals, but Fowler's story is becoming increasingly common.
In areas like south Florida, where a lot of single seniors live, the rate of infection is stunning. In Broward County one in seven over the age of 50 is infected with HIV. And in Miami-Dade and Palm Beach the HIV rate is one in six.
Then there is another amazing part of the equation, among south Floridian seniors there is only on man for every seven women.
At age 78, after losing two husbands, Evelyn Gross-Brien never thought she'd feel like a teenager again, but look at her now.
EVELYN GROSS-BRIEN, COUNTY HEALTH DEPT., VOLUNTEER: You sort of get excited, you get a second wind when you get to be our age, or there is a new adventure.
GUPTA: Especially when the golden years are spent in self- contained communities, kind of like college dormitories, with thousands of people your own age.
JOLENE MULLINS, BROWARD CO. HEALTH DEPT.: And with the advent of medications like Viagra and Cialis and Lavitra (ph), the ones that enhance male potency, people's life, as far as their sexual stamina has certainly expanded into 60, 70, 80, 90 years old.
GUPTA: Evelyn is HIV negative, but has seen the devastation caused by the virus. She wants to be safe, but convincing men of her generation to wear condoms, is a tough sell, but an important one as HIV takes an unlikely toll among seniors in the sun - Doctor Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Miami.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: Tune in today for more on Sanjay's special series "Are you positive?" He takes a look at youth and AIDS on "Wolf Blitzer Reports" that is at 5:00 p.m. Eastern, 2:00 Pacific.
You, of course, can always log on to cnn.com/aids for an animation explaining how HIV infects a cell, and a special report on the changing face of aids in America.
In political news, from Bush to Kerry, to Nader to Dean, our Bill Schneider takes aim and hands out his Political Turkey of the year awards. Find out who made the cut, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: Smart shopping today requires a well-oiled strategy, you might say. So before you grab your credit cards and race to the mall, grab a pen and take on these few tips. Mandy Norwood is editor-in- chief of "Shop Etc." magazine, she joins me now from Time Warner Center in New York this morning.
Good morning, Mandy.
MANDY NORWOOD, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, "SHOP ETC" MAGAZINE: Good morning.
LIN: You are saying we're entering the Super Bowl of shopping now.
NORWOOD: Absolutely. Those retailers are gearing up for a big- old frenzy out in the malls, so you really need to plan your shopping trip before you go.
LIN: In what sense?
NORWOOD: Well, the first thing is to do a bit of research. Instead of watching TV, maybe you should be on the computer checking out the local malls. Stake them out, go to their website, stake them out, make sure you know the running order of the stores that you want to go in.
Make sure that you also dress appropriately. Lots of lovely layers like this that can be peeled on and off. Use all those leftovers from yesterday's feast to make sandwiches and salads so you're not standing in line wasting time. There are lots of really logical, you know, matter-of-fact, sensible strategies to save you time and save you money.
LIN: We're looking at pictures of people buying electronics now. You're saying the time of day of what -- the item you're shopping for matters in terms of the deal you're going to get, and how much time it will take you?
NORWOOD: It so matters. In actual fact, if you haven't been shopping just yet, you have missed the best time of day to get the really big deals. Those deals would have happened around 5:30 until about 7:00 this morning.
However, there is another great time to go shopping, and it's right now. It's that sort of just before lunch moment where all the early birds have gone home, and you can hit the stores and get some really good deals.
But then there's a third time to go shopping, and that's later at night. That sort of 7:30 until 10 o'clock. That is when the tourists have headed home, that's when those with the kids have headed home to put them to bed, and you can get some really amazing deals when the stores are just trying to clear the decks.
LIN: Some of the tips you actually have are things I wouldn't think of. Have an extra person with you to stand in line with you while you jump ahead to the next store.
NORWOOD: You know, it's all about sort of planning. It's like going into war. While somebody's standing in the line paying for your goods, you go next door and scout out the store that you really want to spend in next.
It's all about having like a relay system, so you're not wasting time just hanging around waiting for the woman in front of you to shuffle through her purse. It really is about making sure that every single second counts.
LIN: Because when you're in a big hurry, mistakes can also be made. How often have you found that people have been overcharged for an item?
NORWOOD: I mean, you know, 50 percent of the time there's going to be something wrong with your receipt.
LIN: Really? Half the time?
NORWOOD: I mean, honestly, those girls behind the tills and guys behind the tills are just working so quickly. I mean, bless them, they're having a tough time today, be patient, but for goodness' sake check your receipt. One wrong decimal point, can actually mean hundreds of dollars for you, so please check your receipt.
Also, here's another really good tip.
LIN: Real quick.
NORWOOD: Make sure you understand the store's return policy. What you're buying may not be refundable.
LIN: Really? Especially a lot of the sale items going on a day like today.
NORWOOD: That's right. Make you sure you understand whether you can get a return or not.
LIN: You bet. All right, thanks very much, Mandy Norwood. Good tips and good shopping.
NORWOOD: Thank you.
LIN: While you are contemplating Thanksgiving leftovers, CNN's Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider has been contemplating election year leftovers, and he found some fat political turkeys. Here are his top five.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST (voice over): How do you become one of the political turkeys of the year? By doing something pretty foolish.
Let's see who makes the, um, "cut." Turkey No. 5, remember Jack Ryan who won the Illinois Republican primary for senator? Ryan insisted that the sealed papers from a custody dispute with his ex- wife actress Jeri Ryan, from TV's "Star Trek" contained nothing embarrassing, but the "Chicago Tribune" sued for access and found some spicy stuff.
JACK RYAN, (R) ILLINOIS, SENATE CANDIDATE: There's no allegations of infidelity or breaking of laws, kept all civil and criminal laws, my vows to my spouse.
SCHNEIDER: But Republican leaders were angry over Ryan's lack of candor. Rather than go through what he called a scorched-earth campaign Ryan withdrew from the race. You know what they say -- it's not the crime, it's the cover-up.
Turkey 4, how about a little turkey for the Democrats? Like the time John Kerry went windsurfing on his summer vacation. Someone must have told Kerry windsurfing is all the rage in Youngstown, Ohio. Sure enough, footage of Kerry being blown this way and that made its way into a Bush campaign commercial.
ANNOUNCER: John Kerry, whichever way the wind blows.
SCHNEIDER: Concerned about appearing out of touch, Kerry decided to compensate by dressing up in neat camouflage duds and going bird hunting in, where else? -- Ohio. The turkey hunting the geese?
Turkey No. 3, President Bush had his turkey moment during the first campaign debate. He appeared to be unaware that his every reaction was being caught on camera, and boy, did Bush react. Like when Kerry talked about earning respect from allies.
JOHN KERRY, (D) FMR. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think we have a lot of earning-back to do.
SCHNEIDER: And when Kerry talked about the failure to find weapons of mass destruction.
KERRY: He would still have done everything the same way. Those are his words.
SCHNEIDER: The president did not look very presidential in that debate.
Turkey 2, an independent turkey? Yes, there was one. Has anyone ever figured out what Ralph Nader was doing in this race? Nader claimed he was helping defeat George W. Bush.
RALPH NADER, (I) FMR. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The Democrats are steering attention away from our criticism, all over the country, of George W. Bush, and they just are fighting themselves.
SCHNEIDER: This, in a year when Democrats were remarkably united and disciplined. Nader's support collapsed from nearly 3 million votes in 2000, to less than half a million this year. At least this time, Democrats can't blame Nader for electing Bush.
And now the moment we've all been waiting for. The turkey of the year, it goes to the winner of last year's invisible primary, the candidate who raised the most money and topped the polls in 2003, so that his nominations seemed inevitable, until Iowa.
Iowa Democrats decided to go with a candidate who had a better chance of beating Bush. Dean came in third in Iowa, behind Kerry and John Edwards. What really took the air out of the Dean balloon wasn't the defeat, it was -- the scream, which came after the caucus results were announced.
HOWARD DEAN, (D) FMR. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Then we're going to Washington, D.C. to take back the White House. (SCREAM)
SCHNEIDER: What got into him, the world said in amazement, this turkey was done. Bill Schneider, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: In other news, she turned sadness into celebration. Every Sunday night right in her living room, up next, meet a woman who keeps the spirit of her son alive through a weekly jazz jam.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MARJORIE ELIOT, JAZZ MUSICIAN: I used to make people come out of the laundry room. Please come upstairs, you don't have to get dressed up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER FORECAST)
LIN: The apartment building in Harlem holds no marquee or other sign of actually what's happening inside, but every Sunday, jazz lovers make the pilgrimage to apartment 3F. As CNN's Jason Carroll reports, the notes played there be heard round the world.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Stand outside this building in Harlem on any given Sunday, and listen.
You might hear the faint echoes of jazz. It's not the spirits of Duke Ellington or Count Basey, who lived here back in the day. It's the spirit of Marjorie Eliot in apartment 3F at 555 Edge Comb (ph) Avenue, that's making it all possible.
MARJORIE ELIOT, JAZZ MUSICIAN: It's a kind of a communion of spirits, you know, from all kinds of places.
CARROLL: Every Sunday for the past 10 years, Marjorie has hosted jazz concerts right in her living room, free of charge, in honor of her son Philip, who died a little more than 10 years ago.
ELIOT: He passed on a Sunday and I really used to go crazy on Sundays. I say that something joyous has been threaded through a very sad story.
CARROLL: Marjorie, a former actress and musician, herself, never had a problem finding other musicians, but in the beginning, it was hard finding an audience.
ELIOT: I used to beg people to come out of a laundry room. Please come upstairs. You don't have to get dressed up. Silly.
CARROLL: Now, thanks to word of mouth, they come from all over the world to sit in her living room, hallway, wherever.
ELIOT: They get a chance to hear people, unplugged. And they are right on top of them. They can experience them. They can talk to them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It seems very cool. You can tell something's going to happen here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a nice experience to go back and tell people back in North Carolina what I did.
ELIOT: It doesn't surprise me. It's thrilling, because they really embrace the notion of what I do. They just come with an outpouring of love and generosity, and honesty.
CARROLL: Keep on jamming, Marjorie. Your living room is larger than you could possibly imagine -- Jason Carroll, CNN, New York.
(JAZZ CRESCENDO, APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: Now, that is awesome.
HARRIS: It's jazz.
LIN: That is love.
HARRIS: Absolutely. You play it, you improvise if you live it.
LIN: Well, I'm Carol Lin. Thanks so much for joining me, and us, this morning.
HARRIS: Yes.
LIN: Tony Harris is going to be taking over the noon hour today.
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 November 26, 2004 - 11:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Carol Lin at the CNN Center. Right now in the news. Reuters is now reporting that Iraq's leading political parties are calling for the January elections to be delayed. Party leaders reportedly signed a petition calling for the change. Influential Sunni Arab parties have been pressing for a delay saying violence in the Sunni areas makes it impossible to hold elections. And they are threatening a boycott.
And four members of a British security firm were killed Thursday and dozens injured during an insurgent attack inside Baghdad's Green Zone. Four were members of Global Risk Strategies which provides security in various countries including Iraq and Afghanistan.
And thousands of demonstrators are gathered for a fifth day in Kiev's Independence Square. They are protesting what they call a rigged presidential election. European mediators have arrived in the Ukraine capitol to help settle the dispute.
Demonstrations began after the country's pro-Russia's prime minister was declared the winner of a highly disputed election. Now, those two candidates are face in a room. We're keeping an eye on that meeting.
A pack of eight tornadoes sliced a devastating past through Calhoun County, Alabama. One woman is dead and much of the community is left to pick up the pieces. Generous neighbors turned out Thanksgiving Day to help victims recover what they could. At least what they could find after those storms.
Holiday shoppers are mobbing malls and discount stores as the post-Thanksgiving shoppathon gets under way nationwide. We have some shopping tips to save your feet, your sanity and money coming up right now.
But up first, this is a big day for shopping in America. Not for Americans in Europe, though. The plunge in the Europe dollar has made everything ultra-pricey over there. Jim Boulden has a report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM BOULDEN, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Americans may not be shouting it from the rooftops, but they are from the top of this London tour bus, at least. The weak dollar is taking its toll.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Too expensive! Oh, is that right? Is it really?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you really find that the exchange rate that bad at the moment?
BOULDEN: The Partin family of Fort Lauderdale, Florida arrived Thursday morning and went window shopping before hopping on the bus.
LILY PARTIN, AMERICAN TOURIST: We were just in the stores and the prices, we were looking at some watches. We noticed that they're double the price than what you would get in the U.S.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here on our left, one of the most famous, largest toy shops around, it's Hamley's.
BOULDEN: Though the Partins couldn't resist the world's most famous toy store.
PARTIN: You have six pounds, it's about $12.
BOULDEN: But they did resist the urge to buy, leaving Hamley's with all their money still in their pockets.
PARTIN: The only thing we can do here is just about eat and do our little tourism.
BOULDEN: That is not what Britain's tourist authority wants to hear. Americans make up 14 percent of tourists in Britain, but spend a whopping 20 percent of tourist money.
RICHARD DONOGHUE, "VISIT BRITAIN": About 4 million Americans come to Britain every year. And although they are spending slightly less, they are spending coming here in record numbers.
PARTIN: You think a large will do it.
BOULDEN: The Partins did have to make one purchase on their first day, gloves for their cold 11year old. So, we did a little currency conversion for them.
(on camera): You have just bought these pair of gloves at The Gap. Tell me how much it was?
PARTIN: Total was 29 pounds.
BOULDEN: OK, 29 pounds, you know what the current rate? Probably by the time you get back with your credit card...
PARTIN: About $1.86, I think.
BOULDEN: Yes, I think you are going to be close to $1.90, so these gloves just cost you $55. What would you have paid for those in the States, do you think?
PARTIN: About $10. UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: About $10.
BOULDEN: We just paid five times the price.
(voice over): Granted London is expensive at the best of times. And though their flight was cheap their one hotel room is not. Coming in at $359 a night.
BOULDEN (on camera): What would $359 a night get you in America, do you think?
PARTIN: Oh, we could be at the Beverly Hills Hotel on Wilshire (ph) Boulevard.
(LAUGHTER)
BOULDEN (voice over): And no one back in Fort Lauderdale should expect a Christmas present from London.
GARY PARTIN, AMERICAN TOURIST: Yes, we would normally look for stuff while we're here. But that doesn't look like it is going to happen.
BOULDEN: So now, it is back on the bus where at least the views are free - Jim Boulden, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: All right. Are you worried about your privacy every time you get on line? All next week, on LIVE TODAY, we'll tell you how to avoid getting snared on the worldwide web. CNN's Technology Correspondent Daniel Seiberg has a preview.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANIEL SEIBERG, CNN TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Your privacy, even your identity may not be quite what it used to be. It's a jungle out there in the cyberworld and all next week on CNN LIVE TODAY we'll explore the risks and what you can do about them.
Do you think you have a right to privacy?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why do we need privacy? That's the question. Like why do people need privacy?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SEIBERG: Well, not everyone else agrees. At home, on-line, and in the workplace, we'll show you how to avoid your own identity crisis. Our series starts Monday with a look at spyware. It's probably on your computer, you didn't put it there, but it's following every move.
We'll see you all next week on CNN LIVE TODAY.
LIN: Excellent. In the meantime, a surprising killer may be stalking retirement homes across America. >
AIDS. Dr. Sanjay Gupta continues the series "Are you positive?" Coming up.
And later, they grabbed headlines, but who was this year's biggest political turkey? Bill Schneider hands out the Turkey Awards ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: We just teased the special, but we want to give you a preview. HIV infection is widely regarded as a young person's problem, but the virus that causes AIDS is on the rise in some retirement communities. Details now from our Senior Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Jane Fowler is 69 and does what many grandmothers like to do, spoil her grandkids.
She's also single, divorced now for over 20 years.
JANE FOWLER, HIV POSITIVE: I had my career as a journalist, what I didn't have was the social life that I had enjoyed as half a couple.
GUPTA: So, at age 48 she re-entered the dating scene. Seven years later she received a disturbing letter from a life insurance company.
FOWLER: I got a kind of form letter saying that I could not be insured. The company would not insure me because my blood test had shown a significant abnormality.
GUPTA: And that is how she found out she had HIV. She was 55 years old.
FOWLER: I was devastated.
GUPTA: AIDS is rarely thought of as a disease affecting middle- aged heterosexuals, but Fowler's story is becoming increasingly common.
In areas like south Florida, where a lot of single seniors live, the rate of infection is stunning. In Broward County one in seven over the age of 50 is infected with HIV. And in Miami-Dade and Palm Beach the HIV rate is one in six.
Then there is another amazing part of the equation, among south Floridian seniors there is only on man for every seven women.
At age 78, after losing two husbands, Evelyn Gross-Brien never thought she'd feel like a teenager again, but look at her now.
EVELYN GROSS-BRIEN, COUNTY HEALTH DEPT., VOLUNTEER: You sort of get excited, you get a second wind when you get to be our age, or there is a new adventure.
GUPTA: Especially when the golden years are spent in self- contained communities, kind of like college dormitories, with thousands of people your own age.
JOLENE MULLINS, BROWARD CO. HEALTH DEPT.: And with the advent of medications like Viagra and Cialis and Lavitra (ph), the ones that enhance male potency, people's life, as far as their sexual stamina has certainly expanded into 60, 70, 80, 90 years old.
GUPTA: Evelyn is HIV negative, but has seen the devastation caused by the virus. She wants to be safe, but convincing men of her generation to wear condoms, is a tough sell, but an important one as HIV takes an unlikely toll among seniors in the sun - Doctor Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Miami.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: Tune in today for more on Sanjay's special series "Are you positive?" He takes a look at youth and AIDS on "Wolf Blitzer Reports" that is at 5:00 p.m. Eastern, 2:00 Pacific.
You, of course, can always log on to cnn.com/aids for an animation explaining how HIV infects a cell, and a special report on the changing face of aids in America.
In political news, from Bush to Kerry, to Nader to Dean, our Bill Schneider takes aim and hands out his Political Turkey of the year awards. Find out who made the cut, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: Smart shopping today requires a well-oiled strategy, you might say. So before you grab your credit cards and race to the mall, grab a pen and take on these few tips. Mandy Norwood is editor-in- chief of "Shop Etc." magazine, she joins me now from Time Warner Center in New York this morning.
Good morning, Mandy.
MANDY NORWOOD, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, "SHOP ETC" MAGAZINE: Good morning.
LIN: You are saying we're entering the Super Bowl of shopping now.
NORWOOD: Absolutely. Those retailers are gearing up for a big- old frenzy out in the malls, so you really need to plan your shopping trip before you go.
LIN: In what sense?
NORWOOD: Well, the first thing is to do a bit of research. Instead of watching TV, maybe you should be on the computer checking out the local malls. Stake them out, go to their website, stake them out, make sure you know the running order of the stores that you want to go in.
Make sure that you also dress appropriately. Lots of lovely layers like this that can be peeled on and off. Use all those leftovers from yesterday's feast to make sandwiches and salads so you're not standing in line wasting time. There are lots of really logical, you know, matter-of-fact, sensible strategies to save you time and save you money.
LIN: We're looking at pictures of people buying electronics now. You're saying the time of day of what -- the item you're shopping for matters in terms of the deal you're going to get, and how much time it will take you?
NORWOOD: It so matters. In actual fact, if you haven't been shopping just yet, you have missed the best time of day to get the really big deals. Those deals would have happened around 5:30 until about 7:00 this morning.
However, there is another great time to go shopping, and it's right now. It's that sort of just before lunch moment where all the early birds have gone home, and you can hit the stores and get some really good deals.
But then there's a third time to go shopping, and that's later at night. That sort of 7:30 until 10 o'clock. That is when the tourists have headed home, that's when those with the kids have headed home to put them to bed, and you can get some really amazing deals when the stores are just trying to clear the decks.
LIN: Some of the tips you actually have are things I wouldn't think of. Have an extra person with you to stand in line with you while you jump ahead to the next store.
NORWOOD: You know, it's all about sort of planning. It's like going into war. While somebody's standing in the line paying for your goods, you go next door and scout out the store that you really want to spend in next.
It's all about having like a relay system, so you're not wasting time just hanging around waiting for the woman in front of you to shuffle through her purse. It really is about making sure that every single second counts.
LIN: Because when you're in a big hurry, mistakes can also be made. How often have you found that people have been overcharged for an item?
NORWOOD: I mean, you know, 50 percent of the time there's going to be something wrong with your receipt.
LIN: Really? Half the time?
NORWOOD: I mean, honestly, those girls behind the tills and guys behind the tills are just working so quickly. I mean, bless them, they're having a tough time today, be patient, but for goodness' sake check your receipt. One wrong decimal point, can actually mean hundreds of dollars for you, so please check your receipt.
Also, here's another really good tip.
LIN: Real quick.
NORWOOD: Make sure you understand the store's return policy. What you're buying may not be refundable.
LIN: Really? Especially a lot of the sale items going on a day like today.
NORWOOD: That's right. Make you sure you understand whether you can get a return or not.
LIN: You bet. All right, thanks very much, Mandy Norwood. Good tips and good shopping.
NORWOOD: Thank you.
LIN: While you are contemplating Thanksgiving leftovers, CNN's Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider has been contemplating election year leftovers, and he found some fat political turkeys. Here are his top five.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST (voice over): How do you become one of the political turkeys of the year? By doing something pretty foolish.
Let's see who makes the, um, "cut." Turkey No. 5, remember Jack Ryan who won the Illinois Republican primary for senator? Ryan insisted that the sealed papers from a custody dispute with his ex- wife actress Jeri Ryan, from TV's "Star Trek" contained nothing embarrassing, but the "Chicago Tribune" sued for access and found some spicy stuff.
JACK RYAN, (R) ILLINOIS, SENATE CANDIDATE: There's no allegations of infidelity or breaking of laws, kept all civil and criminal laws, my vows to my spouse.
SCHNEIDER: But Republican leaders were angry over Ryan's lack of candor. Rather than go through what he called a scorched-earth campaign Ryan withdrew from the race. You know what they say -- it's not the crime, it's the cover-up.
Turkey 4, how about a little turkey for the Democrats? Like the time John Kerry went windsurfing on his summer vacation. Someone must have told Kerry windsurfing is all the rage in Youngstown, Ohio. Sure enough, footage of Kerry being blown this way and that made its way into a Bush campaign commercial.
ANNOUNCER: John Kerry, whichever way the wind blows.
SCHNEIDER: Concerned about appearing out of touch, Kerry decided to compensate by dressing up in neat camouflage duds and going bird hunting in, where else? -- Ohio. The turkey hunting the geese?
Turkey No. 3, President Bush had his turkey moment during the first campaign debate. He appeared to be unaware that his every reaction was being caught on camera, and boy, did Bush react. Like when Kerry talked about earning respect from allies.
JOHN KERRY, (D) FMR. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think we have a lot of earning-back to do.
SCHNEIDER: And when Kerry talked about the failure to find weapons of mass destruction.
KERRY: He would still have done everything the same way. Those are his words.
SCHNEIDER: The president did not look very presidential in that debate.
Turkey 2, an independent turkey? Yes, there was one. Has anyone ever figured out what Ralph Nader was doing in this race? Nader claimed he was helping defeat George W. Bush.
RALPH NADER, (I) FMR. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The Democrats are steering attention away from our criticism, all over the country, of George W. Bush, and they just are fighting themselves.
SCHNEIDER: This, in a year when Democrats were remarkably united and disciplined. Nader's support collapsed from nearly 3 million votes in 2000, to less than half a million this year. At least this time, Democrats can't blame Nader for electing Bush.
And now the moment we've all been waiting for. The turkey of the year, it goes to the winner of last year's invisible primary, the candidate who raised the most money and topped the polls in 2003, so that his nominations seemed inevitable, until Iowa.
Iowa Democrats decided to go with a candidate who had a better chance of beating Bush. Dean came in third in Iowa, behind Kerry and John Edwards. What really took the air out of the Dean balloon wasn't the defeat, it was -- the scream, which came after the caucus results were announced.
HOWARD DEAN, (D) FMR. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Then we're going to Washington, D.C. to take back the White House. (SCREAM)
SCHNEIDER: What got into him, the world said in amazement, this turkey was done. Bill Schneider, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: In other news, she turned sadness into celebration. Every Sunday night right in her living room, up next, meet a woman who keeps the spirit of her son alive through a weekly jazz jam.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MARJORIE ELIOT, JAZZ MUSICIAN: I used to make people come out of the laundry room. Please come upstairs, you don't have to get dressed up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER FORECAST)
LIN: The apartment building in Harlem holds no marquee or other sign of actually what's happening inside, but every Sunday, jazz lovers make the pilgrimage to apartment 3F. As CNN's Jason Carroll reports, the notes played there be heard round the world.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Stand outside this building in Harlem on any given Sunday, and listen.
You might hear the faint echoes of jazz. It's not the spirits of Duke Ellington or Count Basey, who lived here back in the day. It's the spirit of Marjorie Eliot in apartment 3F at 555 Edge Comb (ph) Avenue, that's making it all possible.
MARJORIE ELIOT, JAZZ MUSICIAN: It's a kind of a communion of spirits, you know, from all kinds of places.
CARROLL: Every Sunday for the past 10 years, Marjorie has hosted jazz concerts right in her living room, free of charge, in honor of her son Philip, who died a little more than 10 years ago.
ELIOT: He passed on a Sunday and I really used to go crazy on Sundays. I say that something joyous has been threaded through a very sad story.
CARROLL: Marjorie, a former actress and musician, herself, never had a problem finding other musicians, but in the beginning, it was hard finding an audience.
ELIOT: I used to beg people to come out of a laundry room. Please come upstairs. You don't have to get dressed up. Silly.
CARROLL: Now, thanks to word of mouth, they come from all over the world to sit in her living room, hallway, wherever.
ELIOT: They get a chance to hear people, unplugged. And they are right on top of them. They can experience them. They can talk to them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It seems very cool. You can tell something's going to happen here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a nice experience to go back and tell people back in North Carolina what I did.
ELIOT: It doesn't surprise me. It's thrilling, because they really embrace the notion of what I do. They just come with an outpouring of love and generosity, and honesty.
CARROLL: Keep on jamming, Marjorie. Your living room is larger than you could possibly imagine -- Jason Carroll, CNN, New York.
(JAZZ CRESCENDO, APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: Now, that is awesome.
HARRIS: It's jazz.
LIN: That is love.
HARRIS: Absolutely. You play it, you improvise if you live it.
LIN: Well, I'm Carol Lin. Thanks so much for joining me, and us, this morning.
HARRIS: Yes.
LIN: Tony Harris is going to be taking over the noon hour today.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
