Return to Transcripts main page

CNN This Morning

Trump in Legal Limbo Ahead of Iowa Caucuses; Scotus Deals Major Blow To Special Counsel, Rejects Request To Fast-Track Trump Immunity Case; Colorado Paramedics Guilty of Killing Blackman with Ketamine; Biden Grants Clemency to 11 Non-Violent Drug Offenders. Aired 6-7a ET

Aired December 23, 2023 - 06:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:00:47]

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, everyone, and welcome to CNN this morning. It is Saturday, December 23rd. I'm Amara Walker.

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Danny Freeman in for Victor Blackwell.

WALKER: Lovely to see you. Thank you being here.

FREEMAN: Thanks for having me. It's great. Christmas Eve, eve.

WALKER: The eve of Christmas Eve. That is correct. Here is what we are watching for you this morning. There is more legal chaos involving Donald Trump heading into 2024. The Supreme Court rejects a request for justices to quickly hear arguments on whether the former president has immunity from federal prosecution. We'll walk you through what that means for his legal calendar.

FREEMAN: Plus, authorities at the southern borders report a record number of migrant encounters every day, CNN is there. Plus, at the UN, a resolution finally passes calling for a pause and fighting between Israel and Hamas will speak to a UNICEF official about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

WALKER: And have yourself a healthy little Christmas. I feel like it should be seen. Does it feel like a lot of people you know, are sick right now? Yes. We'll talk about -- we'll talk to a doctor about how to steer clear of the respiratory viruses out there ahead on CNN this morning.

Well, we are just about three weeks away from the Iowa caucuses and Republican front runner Donald Trump just learned his legal limbo will likely stretch on. On Friday, the Supreme Court issued a one sentence judgment bluntly rejecting Special Counsel Jack Smith's request to fast track arguments on the former president's immunity case. Now both sides get the option of appealing and eventual ruling from the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. Something Trump is already praising on social media. FREEMAN: But the question remains, how will that affect his 2024 calendar as campaigning and trial dates loom large? CNN Evan Perez explains.

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Danny, Amara, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a request by federal prosecutors to skip the appellate court and have the high court decide whether Donald Trump has immunity from prosecution in the election subversion charges. The decision deals a significant blow to Special Counsel Jack Smith's effort to keep a march for rack. It's a lot harder now that prosecutors will have to wait several weeks while the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals weighs the same consequential questions. Now, Trump is arguing that he has immunity for actions that he took while in office to pursue his claims of election fraud. He also claims that because he was impeached by the House of Representatives and acquitted by the Senate, prosecuting him would violate the Constitution's double jeopardy clause.

Trump's attorneys urged the Supreme Court to stay out of the dispute for now, saying that the special counsel was, "trying to rush to decide the issues with reckless abandon". The Justice Department had argued that the fact that this case deals with an unprecedented criminal trial of a former president required taking the unusual step of bypassing the appeals court. The special counsel said the public interest in a prompt resolution of this case favors and immediate definitive decision by this court.

Now the one sentence rejection by the Supreme Court on Friday didn't come with any additional explanation. There's no notice of dissent among the justices. But Trump's claim of immunity could make its way back to the High Court in the thick of the political calendar. The D.C. based appeals court has scheduled or oral arguments on the immunity question for January 9. And that is just days before the Iowa caucus on January 15. Danny, Amara.

WALKER: All right. Evan Perez, thank you so much. Joining us now for analysis is former prosecutor Jeremy Salland. Jeremy, good morning to you and thank you so much for joining us. So first off --

JEREMY SALLAND, FORMER MANHATTAN PROSECUTOR: Good morning.

WALKER: -- your reaction. I mean, you know, I'm hearing varying reactions to whether this is actually a major victory for Trump at least a limited and temporary one. How do you see it?

SALLAND: Well, it defines -- It depends how you define victory. Certainly, for Trump, it is a victory and I would argue it's a sizable one. Because this looming case, which could not only impact is potentially his freedom, and his criminal record now gets pushed off really it's not likely to see the light of a courtroom on March 4th. That is his goal. It's delay, delay, delay, and his attorneys are doing the right thing whether or not you believe in what they are saying that they want the Supreme Court to pause because the circuit court should do its job first and do its due diligence, whether that's true or not, they get what they want, which is, again, a delay in the process and the delay in the procedure, which could easily bump this out. Because we understand and we know that January 9, we have the hearing oral arguments, and then it's going to be at least weeks after that before there's a decision rendered, which pushes this whole calendar back.

[06:05:35]

WALKER: Well, let's hear what both sides had to say regarding the Supreme Court, taking up Trump's immunity defense case. So Jack Smith in a filing, on Thursday, he reiterated his request for the court to immediately decide on presidential immunity. And in the filing, in part it reads, "The public interest in a prompt resolution of this case favors and immediate definitive decision by this court. The charges here are of the utmost gravity. Here, the stakes are at least high, if not higher. The resolution of the question presented is pivotal -- pivotal to whether the former president himself will stand trial, which is scheduled to begin less than three months in the future."

Trump's attorneys have filed an appeal saying, "This in part, importance does not automatically necessitate speed. If anything, the opposite is usually true. Novel, complex, sensitive and historic issues such as the existence of presidential immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts call for more careful deliberation, not less."

Why do you think the Supreme Court declined to take up this case?

SALLAND: Well, I think it could be one of two things. One of the reasons could be Jack Smith was able to advocate in the right way with the circuit court to get an expedited schedule. So knowing that January 9 is right around the corner for the circuit court out of D.C., which is that mid-level of the Appellate Court, the Supreme Court could have said, Hey, this is moving fairly quickly anyway. And it's going to come to us. And it'll come to us potentially in a couple of months, as opposed to months and months and months or next year. So there could be a timing issue.

And then number two, you know, the Supreme Court also could have said, I understand Jack Smith, but you did not advocate and set forth enough why this should be expedited to that degree? Yes, we do do it recently did it with affirmative action years ago with the Watergate Nixon and even Nazi saboteurs coming out of World War II. So it has happened, but -- but evidently, they believe that Jack Smith did not put forth the right argument as to why should the expedited as it was.

WALKER: Well, the bottom line is the Supreme Court seems to have its hands full, or it will have its hands full with at least two major rulings that could have consequential impacts in an election year. So first off, I mean, that the Supreme Court will likely take up -- take up this case at some point on whether or not Trump will be immune from prosecution. But the other cases on whether or not he will be eligible to run and as you saw this week, this unprecedented ruling by the Colorado Supreme Court that basically removed President Trump from -- excuse me, former President Trump from being on the ballot in that state that will, of course have this Supreme Court. But I want to show you a graphic of other 14th amendment lawsuits that

are being -- that are playing out. In Minnesota, Michigan, in New Hampshire, those lawsuits have been rejected. Also, in Arizona appeals are underway in those states, a similar case was recently fired and filed in Oregon, which is also pending. How do you expect all these cases to play out?

SALLAND: You know, that there's been different procedural issues that have come into play as to why some of these cases or all of them really have been deemed. There's been some substantive issues. So for example, is there standing is it right? There's been issues about what officer at office means. You know, the Supreme Court has to really make an affirmative and straightforward response and give an answer, because otherwise, all these cases are going to percolate and go through the system and go through the process. And we could have Arizona and Michigan for example, saying one thing, and Colorado saying another thing in defining certain terms in different ways and -- and having different reasons. So I'd expect that the Supreme Court is going to give it hopefully, a not just a kicking the can down the road and giving it another procedural answer, but saying this is the definition of Officer. This is whether or not you have to wait for Congress to make a determination.

So I think that -- that Supreme Court is going to give an answer that's going to then inform all of the state level courts the courts to make this decision because as of now, I think these other cases are going to end up not going anywhere and there's going to be a lot of constant appeals and -- and moving throughout the process throughout the nation.

WALKER: Jeremy Salland, appreciate you waking up this early this morning. Thank you so much.

And just a quick programming note for you. He is buried in debt and facing multiple lawsuits. How did it happen? Go inside Rudy Giuliani's rise and dramatic fall in the CNN Original Series, Giuliani, What Happened to America's Mayor? The four part series airs Tonight at 8:00 on CNN.

[06:10:14]

FREEMAN: The U.S. Mexican border is seeing a record breaking number of migrants every day pushing available resources to the limits.

WALKER: Yes. And this comes on the heels of a new Texas law which empowers local law enforcement to arrest migrants. CNN's Rafael Romo joins us from the border with more.

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Danny and Amara, we're at a migrant camp here in Eagle Pass. We're right next to the U.S. border with Mexico behind me you can see a holding area where Border Patrol agents take immigrants once they surrendered to authorities so that they can wait there before being processed. And this is happening only hours after Customs and Border Protection released the latest on the number of apprehensions here at the U.S. southern border. During the month of November, the U.S. Border Patrol recorded a total

of 191,113 of what they call encounters with immigrants, meaning either apprehensions or people who turn themselves in that compares to 189,000 or 4,000 more than the month of October. But these are only people who cross the border at sites other than a point of entry. If we add everybody else the figure is close to a quarter of a million and releasing the latest figures to top immigration official recognize that they're facing a serious challenge along the U.S. border. He also said that CBP and other federal agencies need more resources from Congress, turning out the border and the country as a whole. And the reality is that the impacted communities like Eagle Pass is brutal.

This is in 30,000 people. Local officials say they're having to deal with this crisis with little or no help from the federal government. Earlier this week we heard from Congressman Tony Gonzalez, a Republican whose district includes two thirds of the Texas border. He says that the situation here at the border is at a breaking point. Danny and Amara, back to you.

WALKER: All right. Rafael Romo, thank you. Coming up in the 8:00 o'clock hour, we are going to speak with the bishop and El Paso, Texas about his reaction to the humanitarian crisis unfolding there.

All right. Still ahead. This hour the IDF says it is preparing to expand its operations in Gaza even despite international pressure to scale back. Details on what that could look like next.

FREEMAN: Plus, another hit for Harvard as a billionaire mega donor suspends donations to the school. This is more controversy surrounds the university's president. Plus, that time of year where respiratory viruses are running rampant. We'll discuss how you can get through the holiday season with a clean bill of health.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FREEMAN: This morning, the Israeli military says it's preparing to expand its operation into new areas in Gaza. Now that's despite pressure to scale back its offensive and as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza deepens and aid groups warn, there are no safe places for people there.

WALKER: This comes as the UN Security Council has just passed a resolution calling for humanitarian pauses in the fighting and more aid. That took days of closed door negotiations. And while the U.S. praised the resolution, it abstained from voting because it did not include a condemnation of Hamas. Let's go now to Nada Bashir in London.

Good morning to you Nada. Israel says is expanding its operation and it will focus on Southern Gaza. Do we know what that will look like and what that could mean for efforts to get more aid into the areas?

NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: Well, look Amara, this has certainly raised alarm bells. For weeks now we've been hearing from the Israeli military telling civilians in Gaza to move southwards. But as we have seen over the last couple of weeks, aerial bombardment has continued across the Gaza Strip, including in those areas of southern Gaza. And we have seen that ground offensive, deepening further south was as well we've seen a focus on Khan Yunis, the largest city in southern Gaza. And it is important to underscore here that we are talking about some 1.9 million Palestinians who are displaced across the Gaza Strip, many of them concentrated in that small portion of land in southern Gaza. And we've seen the images of those huge, enormous tent cities that have been established in order to house those that have been displaced.

The UN has described the circumstances there as unlivable, particularly as winter looms, and as temperatures continue to drop across Gaza. And of course, this has raised concern. The Israeli military has said it will expand its operation focusing on Southern Gaza no clear details as to where exactly and when it comes to where they want Palestinians to then move to in order to avoid being caught up in the targeting. It is unclear what the strategy here is take a listen to watch one senior adviser Mark Regev to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier today to our request.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARK REGEV, SENIOR ADVISER TO ISRAELI PM: Now that the fighting has started in the south, we've had to be more specific and we've asked people to go to specific areas where we don't intend to see serious, intensive fighting, but we're urging people please get out of the line of fire. We don't want to see civilians caught up.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASHIR: Now of course getting out of the line of fire is in some cases and in many cases rather simply impossible. We have seen that aerial bombardment across those areas that have been deemed safe. According to the Israeli military, we've heard the repeated warnings from the UN's own rights agencies and agencies saying that there is simply nowhere safer civilians know where to take shelter. And of course in addition to the security concerns around that ongoing bombardment on the ground offensive there are of course deepening concerns around the humanitarian situation. We are hearing warnings of the spread of disease. We are now hearing warnings of a potential famine on the brink in Gaza with the majority of the civilian population facing acute food insecurity. So this is a deeply dire situation.

[06:20:26]

FREEMAN: Mr. Bashir, thank you very much for that report. I really do appreciate it. All right. For more on this, let's talk about it all with Joe English, Emergency Communication Specialist for UNICEF.

Joe, good morning. Thank you for joining us.

JOE: Good to be with you, Danny.

FREEMAN: All right, Joe. UNICEF has been warning about the increasing risk of famine and Gaza, and just yesterday said that food insecurity has put 335,000 children under the age of five, they're at high risk of preventable death. Joe, tell me what needs to immediately happen to help these children.

JOE ENGLISH, EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION SPECIALIST, UNICEF: We need to ceasefire. You know, I mean, yesterday, Security Council resolution was -- was a positive step. And as the Secretary -- Secretary General said. You know, I think we all can agree that the conditions and the level of aid getting in need to improve, but the reality is, is that even the trucks going across the border, whilst the bombardment continues, and now we're talking about an expansion in the fighting, we just will not be able to reach children and families in need. I mean, these are be on belief figures, you know, absolutely staggering. 300,000 children under the age of five, as you said, you know, danger of severe malnutrition.

Now, this is the worst form of malnutrition and means that children without, they can start to that. And ultimately, that is every single child under the age of five in the Gaza Strip right now. And so, if that doesn't focus minds, and if that doesn't bring the world together to say, no more, we need an end to the fighting, then it's hard to see what well.

FREEMAN: Joe, there was a quote late this past week that I think stunned a lot of people, when the Israeli military officer charged with coordinating aid into Gaza, said on Friday that there is no food shortage in Gaza, I just want to get your response to that.

ENGLISH: I mean, that's not what we're seeing, you know. We speak to parents. We speak to our colleagues who are they're doing absolutely heroic work in the most difficult circumstances, day in, day out more than 130 UN staff are being killed in this war, you know. Parents, families, they are absolutely shattered emotionally, physically, mentally, by the sheer exertion of just trying to keep their families alive. You know, and one of the things which is -- which is absolutely critical is that, you know, food aid is important, and our colleagues at WFP are doing everything they can to get in with that. But we also need commercial deliveries to resume because ultimately, humanitarian aid can only ever be a sticking plaster, and this is an ever increasing wound. And the only way that it will heal is an end to the fighting.

FREEMAN: But Joe, what -- on that point, do you or does UNICEF know how much aid is actually getting through right now? And I mean, how much more of the scale of how much more might be needed?

ENGLISH: So at the moment, you know, there have been up with around 100 trucks that have been able to get in, you know, good days, you know, in this compares to five, six, seven times that before the fighting, but we also know that the level of need has increased. So many times since -- since the fighting began, we're now three weeks out from the latest ceasefire, you know, and parents and families that are struggling to survive. And, you know, it's fear and panic and misery. But when fear and panic continues for this long, it can turn to just shock. And we're seeing children now who are too tired, and too hungry and too scared to even cry. They just sit in silence, and ultimately, you know, many families feeling that they are just waiting for death. FREEMAN: Well, and, Joe, I think you may have just heard in the report that came before we spoke with you that Israel is now preparing to expand its operations in Gaza. I mean, just from your perspective, what could that mean for the people there.

ENGLISH: They're not excited, you know. There's already no safe space for -- for children and their families. You know, they there's talk of asking, asking families and people to move to new areas. And honestly, the people who have not already moved who have not already fled in search of safety or those who, for whatever reason, cannot they may have elderly parents. They may have young children. They may have children with disabilities or mobility issues. I mean, I have two very young children. I live in New York and it is a struggle to get them out of the door in the morning.

Now imagine trying to do this. You know, whilst you know that there are bombs falling from the -- from the air, there is disease stalking the children. There is a chronic lack of water. There is a lack of food. It -- you know, for parents it is just yet another impossible challenge that they are facing on an hourly basis.

[06:25:03]

FREEMAN: Joe, last thing I want to get your perspective on is we're talking about what's happening right now. But you know, hopefully at some point, this war will end. What are the long term consequences though, for these children are the repercussions rather of what's happening today than to come in the future?

ENGLISH: It is going to be profound you know, and this is not just children in Gaza. This is children in the West Bank. There's a children in Israel. You know, living your life against this backdrop of violence and conflict and horror has long term impact on children.

Now, one of the good things is that we know that psychosocial support, providing children with a safe space to play, to be a child, to receive the professional care they may need, can -- can help with that and can help children heal these wounds in these trauma. But that's not going to be able to happen until there is an end to the fighting. And so that is the most important thing you know, the reverberations from this are going to be felt for years after but today, tomorrow the next day the only thing that will stop children dying is an end to the fighting.

FREEMAN: Joe English with UNICEF, thank you very much for joining us this morning. We appreciate it.

WALKER: Still to come. Some heavy rain could throw a wrench in the holiday plans of millions. We're going to take a look at the Christmas weekend forecast when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:30:00]

FREEMAN: A Colorado jury has found two paramedics guilty of criminally negligent homicide in the death of Elijah McClain. He's the 23-year- old black man who was subdued by police and injected with ketamine in Aurora, Colorado, in 2019. He suffered a heart attack and died three days later.

Well, prosecutors say Jeremy Cooper and Peter Cichuniec acted recklessly in administering a high dose of the drug without speaking to him or checking his vital signs. That was after police had violently subdued McClain. Three Aurora officers have also faced trial for McClain's death.

WALKER: President Biden granted clemency and commuted the sentences of 11 people on Friday. The White House said they were serving long sentences for non-violent drug offenses, served decades-long prison terms or even life for crack cocaine-related convictions.

In a statement, Biden said, quote, "all of them would have been eligible to receive significantly lower sentences if they were charged with the same offense today."

FREEMAN: And Google is paying out $700 million to settle an antitrust lawsuit, alleging unfairly raising prices and stiffening competition against its PlayApp Store. About 102 million people will get a cut of the $630 million, and the company will dish out another 70 million to states. But no need to make a claim, each eligible consumer will get -- get this, at least, $2, depending on their Google Play-spending from August 2016 to September 2023.

WALKER: Not even half for a cup of coffee, but hey, we'll take it. And it could be a very Merry Christmas for some lucky person or people if they pulled the right numbers in tonight's Powerball draw. There's an estimated $620 million in the jackpot.

The grand prize has been piling up after a no winner was declared on Wednesday. Five jackpots have been won just this year with winning tickets sold in California, Washington State, Ohio and Virginia. The atmospheric river that unleashed heavy rains and flooding in California and Arizona this week is on the move eastward today.

FREEMAN: And there's also a chance of mountain snow in the southern Rockies and Central Plains heading into a busy holiday weekend. Here to break it all down for us, meteorologist Chad Myers. Chad, that sounds like some people might get white Christmas maybe.

CHAD MYERS, METEOROLOGIST: Especially over 5 -- most of you back out here to the west, and the skiers are loving this finally for Christmas, seeing some natural snow out there, even if it's a couple of inches of powder on top of the mountain, they will take it.

Now, when you're pushed then into the plains, and you're not above 5,000 feet, that's where the heavy rain will be, and very heavy rain across parts of Texas. Here are the Winter weather advisory, there's nothing big out there, we're not going to see 2 feet of snow over any interstate.

But the snow will be to the west, it will move to the east. There's a small system in the Great Lakes right now, making a little bit of rain for Detroit, Chicago, Cleveland, but it is rain, and it's not even close to snow. Temperatures there are in the 50s. Here's the rainfall for Saturday into Sunday, and I'm afraid that if you get a new bike in Atlanta, you may have to wait until Tuesday to actually ride it or maybe Nashville, or for that matter, Chicago.

There will be snow in Nebraska -- I was just talking to my producer about Nebraska. He said it's a long state, I said yes, but it's an amazing state. There's no place like Nebraska, because I was actually the mascot for the Nebraska football team.

There's your rainfall across parts of the Midwest and also the deep south for the rest of the weekend, and then the snow, if you are in this white or purple, you will see a white Christmas, but that doesn't really include much of the country or for that matter even eastern Canada.

Atlanta, Canada not even white this time of year. It has been so warm across the east, it stays snowy across parts of the Rockies today, maybe a slowdown for Denver, but I'm not seeing much Denver, does a really great job with snow cover. I mean, when they have some snow, they take care of it and the planes are in and out, and then for tomorrow, I think most people are probably already at their destination, but if that happens, there could be some delays around Kansas City all the way down towards the Gulf Coast.

But all in all, as this goes, compared to some of the other years I've seen, this is a pretty good Christmas weekend to travel. So Merry Christmas-eve-squared to you today, see you tomorrow.

WALKER: Wait, you were --

FREEMAN: Yes --

WALKER: A mascot? What were you? A corn husker --

FREEMAN: Yes, can't let that go.

MYERS: Yes, I was a corn husker, and I was --

WALKER: No way --

MYERS: Much too small, much too small to play football, because you had to be about a foot taller than me to actually even be on the team. So I thought, how do I get on the school bus?

WALKER: That's smart, yes --

MYERS: And just become the mascot.

[06:35:00]

FREEMAN: Oh, there you go, love that --

WALKER: That's awesome.

FREEMAN: Fantastic. WALKER: That was our breaking news this morning. Thanks for that.

FREEMAN: Thanks, Chad. All right, still ahead, as we enter the Winter months, a new COVID-19 variant is now dominant once again in the U.S., we'll talk about what you and your family can do to stay healthy during the holiday season. That's all coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FREEMAN: As millions travel for the holidays, the CDC has a warning for what they may be bringing with them. Respiratory illnesses.

The flu, RSV, and a new sub-variant of the coronavirus that is now the fastest growing variant in the U.S.

[06:40:00]

WALKER: I hate talking about variants --

FREEMAN: I know --

WALKER: Because it's almost like post-traumatic --

FREEMAN: Right --

WALKER: For us. Viewers, that is Dr. Jayne Morgan, cardiologist and executive director, Health and Community Education at Piedmont Healthcare in Atlanta. It's always a good day when we have you here in studio. Dr. Morgan --

JAYNE MORGAN, CARDIOLOGIST: It's a pleasure --

WALKER: Good to see you --

MORGAN: Good morning --

WALKER: What do we need to know about this COVID sub-variant?

MORGAN: Well, we've got this sub-variant here, J in 1, and unfortunately, since December, it has doubled in its prevalence here in the United States. It's gone from about 21 percent to over 40 percent. And in the northeast, New York and New Jersey, over 50 percent of cases --

WALKER: Wow --

MORGAN: So somewhat concerning. And what's interesting about this variant is, it really only has a change in one mutation from its parent, BA2A6, but if you can recall, and maybe you don't, it's been complicated, that particular parent had multiple mutations.

This one does not, and yet, it seems to have some degree of high success now. Either it's increasing in transmission or it has been able to evade our immune systems. We don't know which it is.

WALKER: OK -- FREEMAN: Well, Dr. Morgan, I mean, you know, I think a lot of people

post-pandemic have been enjoying gathering for the holidays, being able to be in tight corners. Is there anything we can do though to help prevent this from spreading, you know, as we wind down the year?

MORGAN: Yes, and you know what? That's such a good point, because what we're seeing is this post-Thanksgiving bump --

FREEMAN: Right --

MORGAN: Right? So this -- we're just in time for Christmas, we've got this post-Thanksgiving bump from all of our interactions and holidays, and we'll see people traveling and moving around again. And so, all of these interactions -- and so, you need to really just have situational awareness.

What is your health? What is the health like of people that you will be around. If you can be at the outdoors, have those gatherings outdoors, if you're indoors, try to have ventilation. Are there people around you who are elderly or immunocompromised?

What is -- what is your status? What has your behavior been before you arrived? That type of thing -- because we have so many tools now in our toolbox, use them as you need them.

WALKER: Right --

MORGAN: And if you are traveling, plan ahead. What happens if you get sick? Do you have the ability to isolate? Do you have some place to go? Can you get an antiviral therapy? How will you get it? Think about those things ahead of time and just plan. And remember, COVID isn't the only thing out there. We've got RSV --

WALKER: Yes --

MORGAN: We have flu, all of those things have increased, especially the flu by 200 percent --

WALKER: And even so, when you look at the numbers from the CDC, I mean, a lot of people are not getting, you know, their flu vaccines, and you know, all the other vaccines, it's not the COVID booster -- what is it called? It's --

MORGAN: Updated vaccine --

WALKER: So, you know, what is your advice to people who haven't -- I mean, they just don't feel the urgency --

MORGAN: Right --

WALKER: To get these vaccines. What would you tell them?

MORGAN: Right. You know, the Kaiser Family Foundation -- such a great question, had a survey, and most parents were more concerned about RSV than flu and COVID, and more of them were more likely to get their kids immunized against RSV. But the fact of the matter is, COVID is still driving most of the

hospitalizations and deaths. That being said, we've seen a 200 percent increase in hospitalizations from flu. So, listen --

WALKER: Wow --

MORGAN: We've got three vaccines available, let's take advantage of them --

WALKER: Yes --

MORGAN: It's the first season where we have all three available, we've got all of these viruses circulating, and don't forget, if you get sick with one of these infections, it can impact your immune system and make you susceptible to other things that are not viruses, like bacteria, streptococcus other pneumonias. So we want to take this very seriously, but also, let's enjoy the holidays.

FREEMAN: You know, one more thing -- I know on a different topic you want to ask about --

WALKER: Oh, no, I just -- I just want to say, let's not take it for granted, right? Because --

MORGAN: Right --

WALKER: I remember that we have vaccines available, and I'm so grateful for science. Because I remember, in March --

MORGAN: You're welcome --

WALKER: Of April, May --

(LAUGHTER)

No, really, truly is, you know, June, July of 2020, I remember just being so scared because there was no vaccine and remember the rush to get a vaccine because -- or people trying to jump the line, and so -- and now we're taking it for granted. Like OK, well, it's available, we'll get it when we can --

MORGAN: That's right --

WALKER: And now it's like -- but before we go, just switch topics for a moment, because there's this new monitoring of future survey, that found teen alcohol-use continues to decrease -- obviously, I'm asking you this, because you know, people tend to drink during the holidays with their family.

So, this is a constant trend that we've been seeing since the survey begun collecting data in the 1970s --

MORGAN: Right --

WALKER: Teen drinking going down.

MORGAN: Right --

WALKER: What's behind that?

MORGAN: Not only is teen drinking going down, but use of all types of hard drugs like heroin and narcotics, all of that is decreasing from what we call pre-pandemic levels.

[06:45:00]

When we look at things from 2019 versus 2023, and it seems to be a correlation with schools being closed, people being isolated, not socializing, all of these behaviors then were diminished. And then what has happened as we've come out of isolation. Those behaviors weren't picked up again. And we see an overall lifetime decrease in use. They looked at --

WALKER: Wow --

MORGAN: The 30-day use, 12-month use, and lifetime. And also, the lifetime-use also decreased. So some positives --

WALKER: I was just going to say --

MORGAN: Coming out of COVID --

WALKER: Some positives --

(CROSSTALK)

A little bit, yes, just a little bit of that. Dr. Jayne Morgan, lovely to see you --

MORGAN: Thank you --

WALKER: Merry Christmas to you --

MORGAN: Good morning. Merry Christmas, happy holidays --

WALKER: Same to you. All right, still to come, as another controversy swirls around Harvard's President Claudine Gay, the list of frustrated donors is growing. And now, one billionaire mega donor is closing his checkbook.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:50:00]

FREEMAN: Still more fallout this morning for Harvard University and its President Claudine Gay. The elite college is facing pressure again to oust its leader as house lawmakers investigate academic plagiarism allegations against Gay. And now, another billionaire has joined the list of donors closing their checkbooks.

WALKER: All of this after her controversial congressional testimony addressing anti-Semitism on campus. CNN's Matt Egan has the story. MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Another Harvard mega donor is closing his

checkbook. Person familiar with the matter tells CNN that billionaire Len Blavatnik has suspended donations to Harvard in the wake of President Claudine Gay's disastrous testimony before Congress.

The source says that Blavatnik, who is a master fortune that Forbes values at $32 billion, he's holding back donations until the university addresses anti-Semitism on campus. Now, he joins a growing list of frustrated Harvard donors, hitting the Ivy League school where it hurts the most.

Now, Blavatnik who was born in Ukraine and raised in Russia, has been a prolific backer of Harvard. His family foundation donating at least $270 million to the school over the years. Now, a source says that Blavatnik hasn't made specific demands to Harvard, but he wants the university to make sure that Jewish students are protected the same way that other students are.

Now, this comes as Harvard President Claudine Gay remains mired in a plagiarism controversy. Harvard announced that Gay will request additional corrections to her writings, this time to her 1997 PHD dissertation due to what the school described as inadequate citation.

Now, this is clearly an embarrassing setback for Gay, and it comes just a week after she issued corrections to two of her scholarly writings in the 2000s. Harvard called these instances, quote, "regrettable".

But university officials have determined that this does not constitute research misconduct, which is something that would be subject to punishment. Matters of plagiarism can be quite complex, and experts that CNN spoke to were split on how or even whether Gay should be punished. But none of them called for her to be fired.

And they noted it's quite rare for academics to be fired for plagiarism or for students to be expelled for it for that matter. Now, according to a person who's familiar with the matter, just before announcing plans to issue these latest corrections, Gay held a virtual town hall meeting with hundreds of faculty members.

Now, the source says that about a dozen Harvard faculty members spoke during this event, and all of them were supportive. The plagiarism controversy, that did not come up. Back to you.

FREEMAN: Matt Egan, thank you. You know, Amara, it seems -- I was in Cambridge --

WALKER: Oh, yes --

FREEMAN: Yesterday and Thursday covering all this stuff. And the thing --

WALKER: Yes --

FREEMAN: That I came away with was -- actually, it's not unprecedented for university presidents to get caught up in plagiarism scandals. I learnt in 2021, the University of South Carolina's President resigned after getting, you know, caught up in plagiarism scandal for plagiarizing his own commencement speech --

WALKER: Oh, wow --

FREEMAN: On the job.

WALKER: Well, you know, I'm sure with AI, we're just going to see, you know, more of these kinds of plagiarism scandals --

FREEMAN: Yes --

WALKER: In various institutions.

FREEMAN: Absolutely.

WALKER: You're right.

FREEMAN: Thank you. Still ahead, Florida state was left out of the college football playoffs, well, now, they went out of the ACC. The latest on the evolving legal battle coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:55:00]

WALKER: Florida State University's board of trustees has taken the first official step to eventually leaving the Atlantic Coast Conference.

FREEMAN: They claim, quote, "draconian" withdrawal penalties have trapped schools in the ACC. Carolyn Manno here is here with more of this morning's BLEACHER REPORT. Good morning, Carolyn.

CAROLYN MANNO, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, guys. You know, undefeated Florida State was controversially left out of the college football playoff after winning the ACC Championship. We covered that story closely here.

Well, on Friday, they made it clear that they want to leave the conference, and the board of trustees voted unanimously to file a lawsuit challenging an agreement that binds the school's league for the next 12 years with more than half a billion dollars in fees for exiting.

FSU claiming that the ACC's long-term TV media deal is grossly undervalued and that it puts the school at a disadvantage compared to rivals in the SEC and the Big 10. Meantime, it was also revealed that the league had proactively filed its own lawsuit against Florida State's board of trustees on Thursday.

The ACC claim that FSU cannot challenge the binding agreement, and that any ruling should be determined in North Carolina where the conference headquarters are located. So, stay tuned. Much more coming on that story, I'm sure. Reigning NBA MVP Joel Embiid continues to add his name next to some of

the greatest basketball players of all time. The Sixers big man playing through an ankle injury to score 31 and grabbed 10 boards against the Raptors on Friday night. That is the 13th time in a row that he has managed to put up at least 30 and 10 in a game. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's record is 16 games set 51 years ago.

Tyrese Maxey, Tobias Harris also scoring 30-plus in Phillies 121-111 win. And with Christmas just around the corner, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is in the spirit of giving, rewarding the lineman that protects him so much with some custom golf carts, complete with their names and their jersey numbers. These are nice.

And the big boys could not wait to take their new toys out for a spin in the parking lot around Arrowhead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PATRICK MAHOMES, QUARTERBACK, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS: I figured I'd get them something that I enjoy, and I think you all could see from some of the videos, they enjoyed it, they were going around arrowhead and got a little nervous. It's cool, I'm glad they enjoyed it. I mean, it's part of that part of the year and they do a lot for me, so I'm going to take care of them as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MANNO: One of the more creative quarterback gifts, and it's safe to say that Mahomes approves of the love story between his teammate Travis Kelce and Pop superstar Taylor Swift.