Rita Rinna touches he forehead of her aunt, 113 year-old Mary Christian Thursday, Nov. 7, 2002, in San Pablo, Calif. Christian is believed to be the oldest American alive. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
The only grammatical explanation possible for the last sentence is that she is believed to be alive, otherwise the word "alive" is redundant.
In this photo Rita's explaining to her aunt that she's been fitted with a microphone because she's going to be on Larry King, the world's oldest live talkshow host.
