The 1997 makeover made Barbie less busty and a little thicker around the middle . She 's also doing her part for medical science . Plastic knee joints from retired dolls are now used to make knuckles in prosthetic fingers for amputees at Duke University Medical Center . The plastic princess has had more than 75 careers , including rock star , astronaut and presidential candidate . With `` Headliners , '' I 'm Bob Glascoff . A United Nations report on AIDS finds the number of people infected with HIV worldwide is growing , but there 's a decrease of new cases in Sub-saharan Africa . According to the report , there are 36.1 million people around the world 25 million of those cases can be found in Africa . About 5.3 million were infected this year . Women account for 47 % of HIV - positive adults . The disease is spread mainly through sex and needle sharing . The report says the world 's richest countries are becoming complacent because of the treatments available . Hello , I 'm Kathleen Kennedy , sitting in for Chuck Roberts . We begin this half hour with the latest developments in the presidential election . Thousands of disputed ballots in South Florida are being prepared for shipment to the state capital amid tight security . A Tallahassee judge wants them in case they are needed as evidence in a lawsuit challenging Florida 's certified vote , but there are growing signs state lawmakers could step in and decide the winner . Jonathan Aiken reports . State legislators in Florida 's capitol are discussing if a special session is needed to decide which 25 electors will represent Florida in the Electoral College -- a Democratic slate ? or a Republican slate ? U.S. law allows state legislatures to choose representatives to the Electoral College as a last resort . Florida lawmakers may go that route , if the disputed recount is n't settled by December six days before the Electoral College meets to verify the results of the presidential election . Experts are telling Florida 's lawmakers to act cautiously . The right to vote is clearly protected by the First Amendment . I think that your action needs to take that into consideration . As lawmakers consider their options , the legal fight over the recount continues at several levels . In Leon County , which includes Tallahassee , Circuit Court Judge N. Sanders Sauls ordered 13,000 contested ballots from Miami - Dade and Palm Beach counties to be brought to Tallahassee by Saturday . That 's when he 'll decide if they should be counted , along with contested ballots from Nassau County . Miami - Dade County , for one , is heavily Democratic , and it 's from these areas , Gore officials believe , that a hand count of ballots will turn up enough votes to overcome Governor Bush 's lead . In West Palm Beach Wednesday , an independent , conservative group called Judicial Watch asked a court to let it see those ballots for itself . We 're here for the public , for the public should know what 's going on without two adversaries that are fighting with each other . The Gore camp would prefer the ballot counting from all disputed counties start immediately . It 's concerned the public is losing patience with the legal challenges to the Florida vote . As this host of legal actions makes its way through the Florida court system , attention is turning to the legal body of last resort in the United States -- the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington . Oral arguments will be heard Friday on a request by the Bush campaign to overturn a decision by Florida 's Supreme Court . It ruled that recounts submitted to state officials after a filing deadline had passed had to be counted . Jonathan Aiken , for CNN , Washington . Al Gore left his residence at the Naval Observatory today to attend to his duties as Vice President at the White House . In an interview taped last night for NBC 's `` Today '' show , Gore said he thought his chance of winning the legal battle for the presidency was 50 / 50 . He was asked if he thought George W. Bush was trying to `` steal '' the election . I have never used that word , that phrase , and , in fact , I have well , in one public statement , urged my supporters never to use that phrase . I think that both Governor Bush and I should recognize an obligation during this time when the votes are still to be counted , to try to restrain the passions of our partisan supporters . Judges in the Netherlands are refusing to dismiss charges against one of two defendants in the Lockerbie bombing trial . The judges have rejected defense arguments that prosecutors failed to link the man to the explosion that brought down Pan Am Flight 103 . The suspect is one of two Libyan nationals charged with planting a bomb on board . 270 people were killed when the plane exploded over Lockerbie , Scotland , 12 years ago . The prosecution rested its case last week after five months of hearings . Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak is proposing an interim peace deal with the Palestinians . The proposal would give the Palestinians a state and 10 % more land , but it would put off decisions on the fate of Jerusalem . Barak announced the proposition in a speech to newspaper editors . Palestinian officials say they have not formally received it , but they add they oppose any interim agreement . AIDS activists are observing World AIDS Day today in an effort to battle complacency and ignorance about what they call a global epidemic . Health officials say 36 million people are living with the incurable disease worldwide . Five million were infected in the last year . The United Nations says men must take responsibility for their behavior to stop the spread of the deadly virus . U.N. Secretary - General Kofi Annan says men can make a particular difference by being more caring , taking fewer risks , and facing the issue of AIDS head - on . It will likely cost more money to fix the `` USS Cole '' than was first thought . The Navy has sent Congress a revised repair estimate of $ 240 million . Earlier , the Navy put the figure at $ 150 million to $ 170 million . The destroyer was damaged October in a suicide bombing in Yemen . 17 sailors were killed and 39 others injured . The `` Cole '' is due to arrive in Mississippi in a little more than a week for repairs . Americans are slowly finding out there are many health benefits associated with soy . Holly Firfer has details in this edition of `` Feeling Fit . '' This little bean native to northern China is a complete protein .