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CNN This Morning

Israel, Hamas Both Walk Away From Hostage Talks; U.S. Pledges $3 Billion To Global Climate Action; Harris Meets With Egyptian President To Discuss Israel-Gaza; Trump Takes Aim AT Biden, Calling Admin "Criminals" On Campaign Trail; Trump Dominating Polls 6 Weeks Out From Iowa Caucuses; More Heavy Rain, Snow On The Way For Pacific Northwest; Pope Francis Will Not Be Present in Dubai For The U.N. Climate Summit; CDC: Increase In Respiratory Illness, Especially In Children; Interview With Cardiologist, Piedmont Healthcare Health And Community Education Executive Director, And Piedmont Healthcare COVID Task Force Former Executive Director Dr. Jayne Morgan; Interview With Washington Post Personal Finance Columnist Michelle Singletary; College Admissions Scandal Addressed By Felicity Huffman. Aired 7-8a ET

Aired December 03, 2023 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

CAROLYN MANNO, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Ramirez burying the winner there. So Columbus heading to the cup final, hosting the defending champs LAFC next Saturday. That should be a good one.

And lastly for you this morning, an absolutely wild finish in college shoes between Vermont and Yale. So Vermont down five here with less than four seconds to go. Aaron Deloney hitting an uncontested layup with six-tenths of a second left.

But then on the ensuing inbound play here, look at this. Yale committing an offensive foul. Vermont gets the ball back. TJ Long absolutely making Yale pay. Draining the three-pointer to tie it and he gets the foul and he makes the free throw and somehow Vermont pulls off this insane comeback win, 66 to 65, the final.

There is a lot going on right now. We're gone know more about the college playoff and where that stands later on this afternoon, but a fun morning for you guys for sure. Back to you.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: I can't -- I mean, the number of like the four team lists I've seen on social media over the last few hours. It's crazy. I don't even know college football. But I know this is a very important day.

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN HOST: Oh, a big deal.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

ROSALES: And thank you, Carolyn, for your careful handling of this story to two Georgians. We appreciate it.

BLACKWELL: All right. ROSALES: Well, the next hour of CNN This Morning starts right now.

BLACKWELL: Good morning to you and welcome to CNN This Morning. It is Sunday, December 3rd. I'm Victor Blackwell.

ROSALES: And I'm Isabel Rosales in for Amara Walker.

BLACKWELL: Overnight, Israel continued to bombard what it calls Hamas targets in Gaza. This is the third day of fighting since the truth collapsed. Israel says it plans to continue its mission to eradicate Hamas and free the remaining hostages.

Now Israel's defense force, they hit multiple targets. We're talking tunnel shafts, command centers, weapons storage facilities. Meanwhile, Hamas launched a barrage of missiles toward Tel Aviv, which were intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome.

ROSALES: But Israel recalled its team of negotiators in Qatar. That is not good news. When talks broke down Saturday after Israel insisted that Hamas release a group of women from Gaza, and Hamas refused. Hamas blames both Israel and the U.S. for the hostilities in these talks, and said that there will be no hostage negotiations with Israel until there is a ceasefire.

CNN's Ben Wedeman is covering all of this for us in Jerusalem. And Ben, what is the latest? What are you seeing on the ground?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, what we've seen is fairly intense Israeli airstrikes, really throughout the Gaza Strip. Yesterday, it appeared that many of them were focused in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, which Israel has said is no longer under Hamas's control.

But there was on social media, the Arabic spokesman for the Israeli media told people in areas to the east and north of Gaza City to leave their homes immediately. But what we saw was, in those areas, there were multiple strikes, one of them hitting a six-story building, which, according to people in the area, had more than 100 people who had fled from other areas.

And the local hospital reported that dozens were killed in that instance. Dozens were killed in another strike in the Shujaiya district, which is east of Gaza City. Now, we don't have a clear idea of how many people have been killed in Gaza within the last 24 hours. But I think it's fair to say hundreds is probably safe.

Now, we understand that according to the Israelis, they were able to kill one of the Hamas commanders who helped plan the 7 October attacks on Israel. The Israelis are also saying that they have until now managed to locate 800 Hamas tunnels and destroyed 500 of them.

Now today also the Israelis are announcing that two of their soldiers in Gaza have been killed. And as far as the humanitarian situation goes, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, 100 trucks were able to pass from Egypt into Gaza through the Rafah crossing. Those trucks contain food, medicine, and body bags. A spokesman for the U.N. agency that looks after the -- after Palestinian refugees said that however, the amount of aid getting into Gaza is, in his words, a drop in the ocean, they are increasingly concerned about the spread of disease, given that especially in the south of Gaza, it is so crowded and the sanitary conditions are deteriorating. Victor, Isabel?

ROSALES: Yes. And as we heard on here in the last hour from the UNICEF spokesperson, those conditionings just worsening by the day that UNICEF spokesperson in the hospitals and seeing up close and personal the struggles people are going with.

Ben Wedeman, thank you so much for your time and for your perspective.

[07:05:02]

Let's go now to CNN's Camila DeChalus at the White House. Camila, when it comes to releasing more hostages, the coordinators for both Israel and the United States, they have been meeting. What can you tell us about that? Is that a sign of something positive?

CAMILA DECHALUS, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: That's right. We're told that the U.S. coordinator and the Israeli coordinator met on Saturday. Where the Israeli official just thanked the U.S. for the continued support of Israel since the conflict began on October 7th. And it's commitment to ensuring that all the hostages held in captivity by Hamas are freed.

Now what we've seen this entire weekend from Vice President Kamala Harris attending a Dubai summit where she made public remarks about the conflict and reiterated the U.S.'s support of Israel to just this meeting that took place is the White House is pushing for these talks to resume for Hamas and Israel to come up with a agreement, to resume a humanitarian pause.

Because what we've seen in the past is that without a truce in place, then that means that the possibility of more hostages being released are very slim. When the seven-day truce lasted, we saw more than 50 hostages be released, including a little American girl named Abigail, who turned four in captivity, Isabel.

ROSALES: Right. And still 17 women and children under captivity in Gaza.

Camila DeChalus, thank you so much.

BLACKWELL: For more information on how you can help with humanitarian relief efforts for Gaza and Israel, please go to CNN.com/impact.

The U.S. says it is pledging $3 billion to combat global climate change. Vice President Kamala Harris made the announcement Saturday at the COP28 Summit.

ROSALES: Now that money is earmarked for the Green Climate Fund, which helps developing nations to adapt to the climate crisis and to cut fossil fuel pollution. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Today, I am proud to announce that the United States is launching a new partnership to help build clean energy supply chains around the globe. We are also announcing $568 million in concessional lending as a part of this partnership to help drive investment in clean energy manufacturing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSALES: CNN's David McKenzie is monitoring all the developments happening at COP28. He joins us now live from Dubai. David, the U.S. had been previously criticized by some climate experts and advocacy groups for not contributing enough funding. So what changed?

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Isabel, good morning. Well, it's the kind of funding that the U.S. is providing. It did give a relatively small amount to what's known as the loss and damage fund. Now that is a fund that will go to countries that are dealing with the worst ravages of the climate crisis.

But this $3 billion announcement by the vice president is certainly substantial. That's going to a different fund that will help countries transition to cleaner energy. All of today, though, has been about the health impacts of the climate crisis.

You know, we've seen this summer in the northern hemisphere the heat waves, the ravages of hurricanes, and the impact of pollution. It has a significant impact on people's health across the globe and the World Health Organization says this needs to be front and center as we combat global warming.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. DIARMID CAMPBELL-LENDRUM, WHO HEAD OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND HEALTH UNIT: So they think they've been negotiating about carbon emissions. The message we're bringing is that you are actually negotiating about human lives and how many human lives you can save both by preventing the health risks of climate change but also saving an awful lot of lives by climate action through clean energy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCKENZIE: Here's a big number. More than 7 million people die every year from the pollution spewing out of mostly fossil fuel plants. That is one impact, but of course it's just the searing heat we've seen from the warming planet that has an impact on health.

More than 50 million different physicians and nurses and others in the health industry have banded together to try and put pressure on the negotiators here through the World Health Organization to do better in terms of adjusting our world, both to help poorer nations deal with the health impacts and also, of course, limiting emissions to try and stop global warming.

Isabel, Victor? BLACKWELL: David. We also understand that the vice president spoke with the president of Egypt, President El-Sisi. What do you know about that conversation?

MCKENZIE: Well, that's an important meeting that happened on the side of these climate meetings that the vice president had with President El-Sisi, as well as other leaders from the region.

[07:10:01]

According to the vice president's office, they talked about the fact that the U.S. would not respect any move by Israel to the borders of Gaza or to move people out of that territory elsewhere. There was also, of course, discussion about Egypt's role in negotiating the release of further hostages.

But as we've been reporting without a pause in the fighting, that's probably very unlikely, at least in the short term. But the vice president was working with and speaking to U.S. allies in this region here on the sidelines of the meeting. Victor?

ROSALES: Well, that's David McKenzie in Dubai. Thank you, David.

Coming up, Donald Trump spent the weekend in Iowa trying to convince voters they should fear a Biden second term. More on what he had to say, that's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:15:06]

ROSALES: Welcome back to CNN This Morning. Now to the 2024 presidential race, former President Donald Trump took his most direct aim yet at President Joe Biden on the campaign trail in Iowa. And as he faces 91 criminal charges himself, he told his crown of supporters last night the Biden administration is full of, quote, "criminals."

BLACKWELL: The White House warns a second Trump term would threaten American democracy. CNN's Kristen Holmes is in Iowa.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Victor and Isabel. Well, this speech really served as the most forceful rebuttal we have seen from former President Trump to President Biden's argument that a second Trump term would be bad for democracy.

Trump even referenced the speech in which Biden essentially said that MAGA Republicans were bad for American institutions, that Trump himself was bad for democracy. Trump in this speech trying to really turn the tables on the narrative and say that it was Joe Biden who was bad for democracy. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: But Joe Biden is not the defender of American democracy. Joe Biden is the destroyer of American democracy. So if Joe Biden wants to make this race a question of which candidate will defend our democracy and protect our freedoms, and I say to crooked Joe, and he is crooked, the most corrupt president we've ever had, we will win that fight and we're going to win it very big, very big.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: And at one point, the former president also said that his campaign is a righteous crusade to liberate our republic from Joe Biden. So of course, begs the question, what exactly is Joe Biden doing that is anti-democratic? Well, he raised several topics, one of them being electric vehicles, saying that the Biden administration was trying to force people to drive specific cars.

But the main crux of the argument was really what we had heard before, which was about Joe Biden and his administration and about the charges, the multiple charges that Donald Trump is facing, Trump saying that the Biden administration was using its powers to essentially interfere with the election to punish him because he was running for president to work against him. And in that way, he was against democracy.

And just a reminder here that former President Trump is currently facing charges for his efforts to try and overturn the 2020 election. But just when it comes to the Iowa caucuses, in general, we should note that he remains a clear favorite. His polling numbers are extremely high, and it was really fascinating being in the room during his speech earlier before he started talking.

We heard someone one of the intro speakers asking how many people in the room had never caucus before, and it seemed about half raised their hand. So he clearly has a lot of support and a lot of new support here in Iowa. Victor and Isabel?

ROSALES: Joining us now for analysis on these busy weeks ahead in Iowa is Erin Murphy, Des Moines Bureau Chief at the Gazette. Erin, thank you for your time. Let's go right into it. We're about six weeks out to the Iowa caucuses and Trump is dominating in the polls. What would you say are the primary objectives of both Trump and DeSantis for the Hawkeye State?

ERIN MURPHY, DES MOINES BUREAU CHIEF AT THE GAZETTE: Well, for Trump, it's to just make sure that he has locked down that support that he sees at these events here that were just described. He gets still big crowds that come out. And as was noted, a lot of these people are new to the process still even after his run in previous years.

So it's the campaign's job now to make sure that those people know how to caucus. It's different than a normal primary election. You have to be in the room at the exact right time. And a lot of people still don't know that when they come to these events, and so that's the campaign's job is to inform these supporters so that they know that on January 15th, they know where to go and where to be to express their support for former President Trump.

As far as Governor DeSantis, it's a simple task of trying to create some momentum. There is still time. Iowans are notoriously late breakers, late deciders in caucuses. So even though we're getting down to the wire, we're counting weeks now instead of months, there is still time for someone like Governor DeSantis or perhaps Ambassador Haley to make a charge.

And so that's what they need to do, is to coalesce basically that for lack of a better term, anyone but Trump lane and start to mount a serious challenge to former President Trump in the polls. Because right now, as was just noted, former President Trump still has a commanding lead in those polls.

ROSALES: Yes, right. And what you were mentioning, as long as Iowans aren't late to the caucus at 7:00 p.m. that is the cutoff time. So, let's dig a little deeper into Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. This weekend, he completed a tour of all 99 counties in Iowa. That is known as the full Grassley and onto to Senator Chuck Grassley.

[07:20:08]

So, he is clearly going all in on Iowa. He's devoted a lot of resources, time to the state. But does that matter? Will it actually give him an edge, the edge that he needs?

MURPHY: You know, I think that's the big question and we'll find out. I will say that Iowans value that, Iowans want to see the candidate face to face. They want to see them multiple times really. They want to be able to shake their hands, look them in the eye, ask them a pressing question they might have.

And so that historically has been a good strategy. It's helped Iowa Caucus winners in the past, like Rick Santorum and Mike Huckabee. We're in a slightly different era of politics now with former President Trump. He did not do that eight years ago, and he still finished a strong second here. And obviously went on to earn the nomination.

So, Governor DeSantis is kind of putting that strategy to a test. Is it still valuable? We haven't seen, like I just said, we haven't seen that rise in the polls yet. But if he continues to do this, then maybe he does start to coalesce that group of late deciding people. And maybe we do see a surge here in these last few weeks, and that would theoretically help Governor DeSantis moving forward into New Hampshire, South Carolina, on and on.

ROSALES: Right. And DeSantis, he finishes this 99 county tour pretty much exactly where he started, well behind Trump. And now Nikki Haley, is at his, at his sights right here. She is turning her attention to Iowa. So can you talk about what a candidate's performance in Iowa says about the overall strength of their campaign? Why are all the eyes on Iowa?

MURPHY: Yes, well, I mean, the easy answer is because we're first. But what I would does is two things really. It sorts out the field both at the bottom and kind of determines who's strong enough to create a campaign and get voters' attentions.

And if they're unable to do that, that shows up and candidates drop out of the race like we've seen here this year and as we've seen in other previous cycles. And then at the -- for the top polling candidates, it sort of gives, you know, information to those next steps.

You know, Iowans will ultimately decide on a few candidates. And the old phrase is there's three tickets out of Iowa. I don't know if that's necessarily true this year. I think it may be true. But the meaning behind that is that Iowans vote and then the next states look at that and say, OK, here's who finished at the top in Iowa. Maybe I should give that candidate a look.

And it's a springboard. It's not the decider, but it's a springboard into the next early states and so that's why Donald Trump has to make sure he locks down that support and why either Rick -- Governor DeSantis or Ambassador Haley needs to improve those numbers to show those next few states that they are a viable challenger to former President Trump.

ROSALES: Yes. And that retail campaigning crucial, crucial, crucial for Iowa.

Erin Murphy, thank you for your time. Victor?

BLACKWELL: Coming up, after canceling his trip to the U.N. Climate Summit in Dubai over health concerns, Pope Francis was still able to deliver a message to the world.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:27:08]

BLACKWELL: The Pacific Northwest is bracing for more heavy rain and snow. Those storms will pass through over the next several days.

ROSALES: And winter weather alerts they are in place for multiple states and some regions could see up to 4 feet of snow because of those atmospheric rivers. Here to explain the science of it all, that's meteorologist Allison Chinchar. Allison, what should we know?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: All right, so we've got a lot of rain and a lot of snow, but also some very gusty winds and that could lead to some power lines down as well as some trees. So here's a look at the live radar. You can see a lot of that moisture really starting to surge back across portions of extreme northern California, Oregon, as well as Washington.

But also the snow from yesterday and the day before is now starting to spread eastward. So you've also got some winter weather alerts that stretch a little bit farther off to the east. Here's a look at going forward, and I want to emphasize this is multiple systems here. So this is going to be a new one practically every day.

You've got this next one starting to arrive early into the morning, that's going to begin to spread out as we head into Sunday afternoon and Sunday evening, bringing some more snow to areas of the Intermountain West. Then by Monday, we get the next system that begins to push into the Pacific Northwest, that being more of a focus for Washington, whereas today is really more of a focus for Oregon. By Monday night, that wave continues to slide back in. And yet another wave begins to push in as we go into Tuesday. That begins to spread farther into the east as we head into Wednesday.

So again, back to back rounds here, essentially of atmospheric river events. Now, when we talk about atmospheric rivers, not all of these are bad. Level ones and level twos, those are mostly beneficial rains that these states need to kind of fill up that water table. But once you start getting to level fours and fives and we have a level four from much of Oregon here, now it becomes more hazardous than it is beneficial.

And that's mainly because of how much moisture you're putting into these areas. You're talking widespread along the coastlines of Washington, Oregon, and even northwestern California. 4 to 7 inches of rain when you move inland, especially into the higher elevations. Now you're talking a lot of this snow being measured in feet.

1 to 3 feet, not just for the Olympics and the Cascades, but also going into money of -- most of the Rockies as well. Winds have also been a big factor too. Take a look at some of these. Trout Creek topping out at 61 miles per hour. Tacoma 54, the Seattle airport at 52. And again, more of these winds are going to kick up later today and even as we go into Monday and Tuesday of the upcoming week.

So it's not just winds, but also rain. Take a look at the forecast for Portland. It is pretty much rain every single day, Victor and Isabel, for these areas for at least the next seven days.

BLACKWELL: Wind and rain and potentially snow, again, all of its. Allison Chinchar, thanks so much.

This weekend, Pope Francis was unable to attend the U.N. Climate Summit in Dubai over health concerns.

ROSALES: CNN's Vatican Correspondent, Christopher Lamb. He joins us now from Rome. Christopher, we just learned new details on how the pope is getting better, but he's still struggling. What can you tell us?

[07:30:10]

CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Isabel and Victor, yes, the pope today said that he is feeling better, but he was still unable to deliver his Angelus prayer and reflection that he does every day from Rome in noon. An aid read out his reflection, and it took place not from the usual spot of the Vatican's Apostolic Palace overlooking St. Peter's Square, but in the Pope's home, the Casa Santa Marta. And the Pope was advised not to go out because of the chain -- any possible changes in temperature.

Now, Francis has been suffering from severe bronchitis, which has led to certain difficulties in him giving speeches. And this is something that he has been slightly vulnerable to recently. He was hospitalized earlier this year with bronchitis, and as a young man suffered very serious pneumonia and part -- had part of his right lung removed. But we did see today that there has been a small improvement, and it seems that the cannula that was in his hand to administer the antibiotics has been removed. So, the pope is slowly getting better, but still unable to give those longer reflections because of the lung infection. Isabel.

ROSALES: Yes, and it's great to hear that he's doing better, but of course, whenever the pope is feeling unwell, all eyes, of course, go to the Vatican. Christopher Lamb, thank you so much.

Coming up, a warning for parents with small children after a rise of respiratory illnesses. We're going to discuss what parents need to know with a doctor, that's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:36:11]

ROSALES: This morning on health news, a triple threat of COVID-19, the flu and RSV, that's causing an uptick in respiratory illnesses here in the U.S., especially among children. That is according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Officials say, November data shows hospitalizations have been increasing for months. And more than 10 percent of doctor visits among children younger than five were for flu-like illness. That is about three times higher than the national average for all ages.

Joining me now is cardiologist and the executive director for Health and Community Education at Piedmont Healthcare, Dr Jayne Morgan. Thank you for your time --

DR. JAYNE MORGAN, CARDIOLOGIST, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Good morning.

ROSALES: -- and for your expertise.

DR. MORGAN: Thank you, Isabel.

ROSALES: So, great. What can we expect this season? And talk to me about these numbers, these cases happening in China and whether that's of significance to us here in the U.S.

DR. MORGAN: It is. And we're all interconnected in this global society. And here, what we're seeing in the United States, we really are probably cresting at our RSV, that respiratory syncytial virus. And flu is still yet to come. We have lower numbers of COVID than we were anticipating. And yet we see this mix of viruses coming in. We want to actually be careful.

When we look at China, they certainly are having a bigger surge than we are. And part of that is probably because they came out of lockdown a little bit later. And so, we see these viruses really tearing through the community. They're so highly contagious, just as we've seen in our children here in the U.S., that's also what's happening in China with a mix of viruses, bacteria and fungi. ROSALES: So, that's a rebound that they're going through --

DR. MORGAN: There is a rebound from so long not having exposure to all of these viruses. We actually get exposed our children to multiple viruses and multiple illnesses, even if they are not evident to us throughout the year. And we miss that. America had its sort of big rebound last year. I think that's what we're seeing in China this year.

ROSALES: Gotcha. Well, the CDC reports on vaccines, about six percent of children have gotten the new COVID-19 vaccine. So, how does one make the decision of which vaccine to get and when?

DR. MORGAN: We're looking at is this -- it's really being driven by intent. And who intends to get these vaccines and why, and what is the reason? The two primary reasons are, do the parents have trust in the medical facility, in the medical establishment? And also, what is their level of concern about the viruses?

We see when we look at parents and what they're expecting to do, the highest number, more than 70 percent really plan to get the RSV vaccination. Next, at about 60 percent we see the flu vaccination, and at 40 percent lagging is the COVID vaccination. And what that shows is, what is their level of concern? The highest level of concern for parents is RSV this season, followed by flu, followed by COVID. And you know what else is interesting?

ROSALES: Tell me.

DR. MORGAN: When we look at men, men are more likely to vaccinate their children than women.

ROSALES: That's fascinating.

DR. MORGAN: Fascinating.

ROSALES: Any idea why?

DR. MORGAN: Fascinating. It is -- it's an anomaly at the moment and we're trying to take a look at why that is, but men respondents were more likely to vaccinate their children than women.

ROSALES: I wouldn't have thought that.

DR. MORGAN: Exactly.

ROSALES: Interesting that RSV, of course, is the primary concern for parents --

DR. MORGAN: It is this year.

ROSALES: -- of young children. So, what advice would you have for these parents as they're seeing the seemingly alarming numbers, because there's so much advice out there.

DR. MORGAN: Right. ROSALES: What's the one sticking point you want them to bring home?

DR. MORGAN: And something that we need to remember is that even though COVID is the laggard here, it is the primary cause for hospitalizations and deaths. And we really should not take our eye off of that such that there is not a resurgence as these variants begin to move through and begin to change.

[07:40:00]

Something else to consider as a cardiologist is we see emerging data that begins to continue to support that flu vaccinations actually decrease heart attacks by 26 percent, and decreased cardiovascular events by 33 percent. And that's because there's an overall decrease in inflammation in the body and that stabilization of those plaques that can be disrupted and lead to heart attacks. So, it may be that we need to begin to think of flu shots as well as part of cardiac prevention tool as well as protecting our respiratory viruses and so more of that to come.

ROSALES: So, getting the flu vaccine makes your heart healthier.

DR. MORGAN: Can make your heart healthier and protect you from heart attacks and heart disease.

ROSALES: OK. Let's talk about masks. Are people still wearing them? What do you advise with this? Obviously, there are cultures, especially in Asia, where they would wear that anytime they're feeling a little bit down. Is that something we should be considering?

DR. MORGAN: And so, I don't think we're at the point of wearing masks. I think we certainly need to consider individual situations and people that you are around and whether they are vulnerable and what your behaviors have been prior to being in that situation. But currently, I don't think we're at a point where we need to wear masks, certainly not uniform. Formally, but we always need to make certain that we keep that in our armamentarium and have situational awareness for where we are and who we are around. And have consideration, not just for our ourselves, but for others as well.

ROSALES: OK. And as you're looking ahead, as the temperatures drop, we get further into the fall and then eventually winter. How -- what is your outlook for this season? Do you anticipate it being normal above average?

DR. MORGAN: And so, I think this year we probably will have a normal to maybe slightly above normal flu season. I think we are starting to normalize. Last year we kind of had our catch-up year with all of the viruses. And we saw it really sort of tear through, our communities. Because these viruses are highly contagious. I think this year we're really beyond that ground zero that catch up and we'll see a normal flu season, maybe slightly a greater uptick as we see this confluence of RSV, Flu and COVID . And don't forget, pneumonias and things are caused by other things like Michael plasma streptococcus. We always have to mix that in as well as we get all of our exposures back to normal. ROSALES: Dr. Jayne Morgan, thank you for your time, for your expertise, and it's that time of the year.

DR. MORGAN: It is that time of year.

ROSALES: Thank you.

DR. MORGAN: Thanks.

BLACKWELL: Coming up, yes, it's that time of year, also the time of year to buy presents. But if your money is funny, my next guest says try spending only $100 on gifts. Not on each gift, total. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:47:03]

BLACKWELL: It's the holiday shopping season, and if you're having some financial anxiety, you're alright. Experts say that this is normal, especially about buying gifts and deciding how much money to spend on friends and family.

Here to help us is Michelle Singletary. She's a personal finance columnist for the "Washington Post". She's also the author of "What to Do with Your Money when Crisis Hits A Survival Guide". Michelle good to see you again. Let me talk to you about this $100 budget for gifts. Now, this excludes food for the big meal, but Michelle a hundred dollars for everybody.

MICHELLE SINGLETARY, PERSONAL FINANCE COLUMNIST, WASHINGTON POST: Everybody, and happy holiday to you. And yes, $100, that's right.

BLACKWELL: How.

SINGLETARY: It's based on this book "Hundred Dollar Holiday" by Bill McKibben. And basically, what you're going to do is just you -- first of all, you're going to have a smaller list, right?

BLACKWELL: Yes.

SINGLETARY: And then you're just going to really think about the kinds of things that people want. Like, how often, Victor, are you looking for a charger for your phone, right?

BLACKWELL: OK.

SINGLETARY: You know, you're just like that little small thing, and you want one for your car, and your desk, and you're always running, things like that. And then the other way you can do that is think of alternative gift giving. Like one year, my daughter gave me three home cooked meals and I can invite two guests. So, you should -- next time you're up in D.C., I can make you one of those guests.

BLACKWELL: I'll be there.

SINGLETARY: And -- all right. I love it. And so -- and then one person wrote me and said, she told her mom, listen, I'm trying to save some money. What is it that you want? And she said, you know what? She said, time, baby. And so, she said, how about if I help you declutter your house because you've been talking about that? And the mom said, yes, because that meant several hours with your adult child, because you know they only want to spend about five minutes with you.

And so, that means going through photos and things like that. I mean -- and grandparents can take on their phone because grandparents got those phones, too. Reading their grandkids' favorite story, you know. And then the parents can play it for them if they're out of town at bedtime. It's about realizing that what we mostly want from folks is time and presence and not the presents.

BLACKWELL: So, I also could go for some metal collar stays, which aren't expensive, but I can never find a matching pair when I need them. So, there are some things on the list, but you're talking about all adults here. What about the kids --

SINGLETARY: That's right.

BLACKWELL: -- who've been good all year and expecting Santa to make it rain on the 25th. And you are at a $100 budget and Santa might be on your plan too?

SINGLETARY: Well, you know -- and then we were talking about people who are financially struggling, right? And you manage your children's expectations. You know, I -- we always did that. My husband and I, with our children, we go, you know what? Santa's had a difficult time. He -- you know, some elves didn't show up for work. So --

BLACKWELL: Oh, my gosh. You all --

SINGLETARY: -- we do not have lots of gifts this year.

BLACKWELL: Elves are on strike? Oh, my goodness.

[07:50:00]

SINGLETARY: Yes. They're trying to unionize. And so, we say, come on, bring your list, but you're only going to get about two or threes off the -- two or three things off the list. And when they were little, I know you're going to fall out your seat when I tell you this. When they were little, like under three, I would look through their closet, in their toy bin and find things that they hadn't been playing with or maybe they got a gift that they didn't really particularly care, and I wrapped it up, yes, and put it under the tree.

BLACKWELL: No.

SINGLETARY: Yes, I did.

BLACKWELL: No.

SINGLETARY: Yes, yes. Because listen to me, the kids love unwrapping stuff. That's like the -- what they really like, right? And they usually only like one or two things anyway. And so, that gives them the ability to unwrap stuff and have that fun. And you don't have to spend a lot of money.

BLACKWELL: And your kids must have horrible memories that they already had this, like three days ago, but OK. So, speaking of -- this is a good segue though into your piece on regifting. You give seven tips here -- and I don't think I've ever regifted anything. I have a person in my life who, for probably the last 10 years, has given me a gift every year and I immediately put it in my car because when I stopped by Goodwill, I want to make sure I donate it because it's never anything I use, but they --

SINGLETARY: Right.

BLACKWELL: -- are adamant about giving me something. If you're regifting --

SINGLETARY: Well, you know --

BLACKWELL: Go ahead.

SINGLETARY: No, I mean -- and I love that you're donating that and that's great. You can, you know, raise money for charity and help somebody out. But like say what you're a working person and you live in paycheck to paycheck, and you go to a party for you or your child, and you get something and it's not what the child likes. People used to give my son trucks and stuff like that, but my son like to read. He would love books. And so, he didn't care about that.

So, some of it you donate it, some of it -- I have a re gifting closet. And you put those in there and he's got, you know, when they're little, they got all these birthday parties and one of his friends loves trucks. And so, you were like, OK. I got a truck and a kid who likes a truck and you rewrap it and give it to that kid. It's just being creative.

And listen, we get so much stuff. We have so much stuff in our homes and our lives. It would help the environment. It would, you know, take the stress off of always trying to find something. Then the key to be gifting is to give something that the person would like, you know. If my -- my best friend's a Delta. I'm not going to give her a pink and green sweater somebody gave you.

BLACKWELL: You better not.

SINGLETARY: I better not, right? So -- but you know, if you've got a pair of earrings that you like, you know your best friend would like that. It's OK. And we don't have to tell people what we got these gifts. It's just by -- and I'm not saying you're going to regift everything that you give to everybody. But you know, there have been times that you've invited to something at the last minute, it's a birthday party or something, and you don't have time to shop, but you have something in your closet that's new. It has to be new.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

SINGLETARY: All the parts have to be there. And it's OK to then regift that to that person. Now, listen, I have a rule. Don't ask. Don't tell. Now, if you suspect somebody gave you a gift, right? Don't embarrass them, right?

BLACKWELL: Yes.

SINGLETARY: Don't be a gracious -- receiver, right?

BLACKWELL: I have --

SINGLETARY: And if you are regifting, don't put it in, you know, a sex box when you bought it at Costco, right?

BLACKWELL: Yes, that's true. That's a good thing is don't try to fool somebody. I have received many scented candles that I know people didn't go to the store and buy themselves. Michelle Singletary of the "Washington Post", always good to have you on. Thanks so much.

ROSALES: Listen, I don't have kids --

SINGLETARY: All right. And I -- I'm willing to get a gift from you, a regift from you, Vic. And you know where I live.

BLACKWELL: All right. I will. All right. Michelle, I'll be back.

ROSALES: I don't have kids, OK?

BLACKWELL: yes.

ROSALES: But if I regift --

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:58:03]

ROSALES: Welcome back. Actress Felicity Huffman is opening up for the first time about how she cheated to get her daughter into college. She was one of 33 wealthy parents charged in the college admissions scandal.

BLACKWELL: Well, Huffman said she did it to give her daughter a chance at a future so that she would not feel like a bad mother. CNN's Stephanie Elam explains how Huffman says she's now making amends.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Felicity Huffman was one of 33 wealthy parents using their money and influence to cheat to get their children into some top-notch colleges. She says in this interview with CNN affiliate "KABC" that she's ashamed. She went on to say, "To the students and families that sacrificed and worked really hard to get where they are going legitimately", she's apologizing to them as well. She says in this that when the whole incident went down, she actually didn't even think it was real. Take a listen to her here.

FELICITY HUFFMAN, ACTRESS: They woke my daughters up at gunpoint, again, nothing new to the black and brown community. Then they put my hands behind my back and handcuffed me and I asked if I could get dressed and I thought it was a hoax. ELAM: She continued that in hindsight, looking back, that she really thought she would be a bad mother if she didn't help her child in this way. Listen to more of her thought process here.

HUFFMAN: I had to give my daughter a chance at a future. And so, it was sort of like my daughter's future, which meant I had to break the law. I kept thinking, turn around, just turn around and to my undying shame, I didn't.

ELAM: In December of 2019, Huffman was sentenced to 14 days in prison, a year of probation, $30,000 fine as well, and she was also told to do 250 hours of community service. So, if you're wondering, why is she telling us all about this now? Well, it has a lot to do with that community service.