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Democrats Prepare For New Era In Washington; Top 10 Health Stories of 2024; Chiefs Clinch AFC's Top Seed With Rout Of Steelers. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired December 26, 2024 - 05:30   ET

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

[05:30:00]

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN ANCHOR: It is just about 5:30 a.m. here on the East Coast. Here's a live look right now at beautiful Baltimore this morning. Good morning, everyone. I'm Danny Freeman in for Kasie Hunt. It is wonderful to have you all with us.

Let's talk politics. Despite flipping the presidency in 2020 and pulling off several wins during the 2022 midterms Democrats are heading into 2025 having lost the White House and both chambers of Congress this past election cycle.

So what went wrong this time around? Well, there's been a lot of speculation, including from Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders who said this in a statement right after Donald Trump won the election.

He said, you might remember, "It should come as no great surprise that a Democratic Party which has abandoned working class people would find that the working class has abandoned them. While the Democratic leadership defends the status quo, the American people are angry and want change. And they're right."

Now, Democratic Congressman Seth Moulton seemed to somewhat agree. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. SETH MOULTON (D-MA): I think both Bernie and Ritchie are right. I think we do need to reconnect with working class voters. We haven't done enough for them. We haven't spoken to their concerns. And by definition we're out of touch because they clearly don't support us at the polls. I think Ritchie is also right to a certain degree.

I'm grateful for the advocacy and the ideas that the far left brings to our party, but we can't be branded by that. We can't be defined by the far left. We're a much broader party than that. And if we're going to win more elections we've got to appeal to voters in the (INAUDIBLE).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREEMAN: So looking backwards has been a big question since the election, but the real question now is where do Democrats go from here? Well, according to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries it's all about the economy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY), HOUSE MINORITY LEADER: We're going to focus like a laser beam on dealing with the issues relating to working class Americans and middle class Americans, and those who aspire to be part of the middle class to make sure that we can build a healthy and affordable economy.

(END VIDEO CLIP) FREEMAN: Joining me now to discuss, political editor for Bloomberg News, Laura Davison. And national political reporter for The Hill, Julia Manchester. Thank you both for joining us early on this holiday week. We really appreciate it.

Let's start, Laura, actually with you. What's your perspective here? Will focusing on the economy like a laser get Democrats back on track for the next election cycle?

LAURA DAVISON, POLITICAL EDITOR, BLOOMBERG NEWS (via Webex by Cisco): That certainly seems to be the takeaway from this election, though as we heard earlier from both Seth Moulton and Bernie Sanders, they agree that losing the working class is a -- the biggest hurdle for Democrats. What they don't agree on is what the policy prescription is going forward.

Is that doubling down more on some of those progressive policies that Bernie Sanders has championed for his entire career or is this focusing more on some of these more kitchen table issues acknowledging that maybe the Biden administration wasn't the best when it came to prices and some of the other day-to-day concerns that people have had when they look at their paychecks and when they look at the cost of living?

And that is going to be sort of the issue that they're going to have to wrestle with going forward. What are the ideas they have? What do they bring to the front? And what are the sort of, like, broader issues that they look at in terms of -- you know, abortion has been a main focus. Should they pull away from that and focus more on immigration?

This entire policy conversation is what they're going to have. And being in the minority for the next two years will give them a little bit of space to test out some of these messages as they recruit new candidates and figure out where they have a chance to potentially build a House or Senate majority going in two years.

FREEMAN: And Julia, I understand Hakeem Jeffries' goal here to talk about the economy and I understand the post mortem. But if you look at this past week, right, which was all about all of a sudden President- elect Trump is talking about trying to get back the Panama Canal, and Greenland, and Canada -- I mean, how are Democrats going to be able to laser focus on the economy when I guarantee this next year to four years is going to be a lot of responding to whatever idea pops into President-elect Trump's head?

JULIA MANCHESTER, NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER, THE HILL (via Webex by Cisco): Well, it's a good point, Danny.

And I think you have to just look back to 2016 -- or I should say the first administration after 2016-2017 to the beginning of 2021 and see that Democrats were constantly responding and attacking President Trump. Now I would say that the 2020 presidential election was a bit of an anomaly. Of course, it was happening during the coronavirus pandemic, et cetera.

But I think Democrats probably have learned somewhat from their messaging when it comes to Trump over the past eight years or so and realizing that it's not just hitting back against Trump -- hitting back against his supporters but really focusing in on those so-called kitchen table issues.

And I would argue that when it comes to issues like Panama, Greenland, et cetera, there are economic impacts there, particularly --

FREEMAN: Yes.

MANCHESTER: -- Panama. Trump wanting Panama to start -- you know, to lower the tariffs of stop charging the U.S. tariffs to use the canal. So you could make that argument though I don't know how well that translates to voters.

But one point I would make is that it's one thing to talk about House Democrats -- and, of course, we're going to hear them responding -- but I think it will be probably even more interesting to go out to the states to look at Democratic governors, lieutenant governors, attorneys general and see how they're responding to the Trump administration.

[05:35:00]

And I think we could really see that in January once Trump starts trying to at least implement these so-called mass deportations. Let's see how much these Democratic officials in blue states go along with that or don't go along with it.

FREEMAN: Yeah, I think it's well said.

And along those lines let's take a listen to what Democratic Congressman Dean Phillips had to say about his views of the issues with the party right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. DEAN PHILLIPS (D-MN): We don't really know -- and I'll say it again, we don't really know despite being members of Congress -- we have silos, the DCCC, the DSCC, the DNC, the Governors Association. We have super PACs and independent organizations. None of us really know who is sitting at the table. Who is making the decisions? Of course, President Biden would be the leader of our party.

But that is part of the problem. We don't have an organizational structure that we -- even members of Congress understand. We don't have a reporting structure. We don't have a strategy of which we're aware.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREEMAN: So I take the point. I think all parties kind of have this challenge to some extent even though Trump is such an imposing figure, of course, on the Republican Party.

But to Julia's point, Laura, I do think that we're probably going to hear the names Josh Shapiro, Gretchen Whitmer, Gavin Newsom -- for at least, in Newsom's case, for as long as he has left -- quite a bit.

What do you think?

DAVISON: Yeah. One of the things that Democrats realized really over the summer if not before is that the fatal flaw, at least on the presidential level, was not going through a competitive primary process.

By the time Biden stepped aside, really the only option of who could run was Harris because she had the campaign infrastructure behind her. She was able to take over all of the money in the Biden campaign. No one else had that and that was just with essentially 100 days to go -- to go until the election. It had to be here.

Now they have an opportunity to have a competitive process. You're going to see these names out there. You're going to see them traveling to places like Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina. You're going to see books and book tours.

And that's going to be sort of how they determine, OK, do we want to go with a more progressive pick? Do we want to go with a moderate pick? What is the demographic makeup? What are the issues that are resonating? And that's what the next four years will be about really, and that starts today, essentially.

FREEMAN: Well again, and voter testing messages, right? I mean, nothing beats actually being on the stump and getting real time reaction for longer than 100 and whatever days to get your message right and to a mass appeal.

Julia, I want to thank you for reminding us that there are more elections coming right around the corner -- right around the corner. I want to talk about your recent reporting on two upcoming races in Virginia. We have a full screen, I believe.

And you write about "The special elections in state Senate District 32 and House District 26, both located in Virginia's Loudoun County, are slated for January 7. The elections come amid warning signs that Democratic support in the region appeared to slip in last month's general election, something that Democrats hope to improve on ahead of next year's gubernatorial and House of Delegates races."

What are -- I mean, a) what are you looking for out of these two races, but what are Democrats looking for? I mean, Loudoun County is incredibly important and almost a bellwether these days. MANCHESTER: Incredibly important, particularly for Democrats. We have to remember even though going back to 2021 during when we saw Gov. Glenn Youngkin elected how Loudoun County was really the center of the education debate in many ways in the country and the reopening of schools, et cetera -- that debate amid the COVID pandemic.

Loudoun County -- even though it was sort of ground zero for that, it is a safe Democratic county. It's an exurb of Washington, D.C. It certainly leans blue and normally we see Democrats carry it very handily.

And Vice President Harris did win Loudoun County, and she also won neighboring Prince William County in northern Virginia. What raised some red flags for Democrats though is she wasn't carrying at the same margin that President Biden carried it out in 2020. So there was the question of whether we were seeing in other blue parts of the country, like California or New York, this seemingly depressed turnout for Democrats of heightened enthusiasm for Republicans in those areas.

So Democrats want to be able to juice back up that enthusiasm. It's going to be hard to in a special election in the beginning of January right after a presidential year. They'll likely win these seats, but they want to get back that turnout. They want to juice that enthusiasm, and they want to keep that going into November's election in Virginia where we will likely see Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger on the Democratic side and Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears on the Republican side.

FREEMAN: Laura Davison, Julia Manchester, thank you both so much for breaking all that down this morning. I really appreciate it. Have a great rest of your holiday week.

MANCHESTER: Thank you.

FREEMAN: And still ahead on CNN THIS MORNING, 2024 was a year filled with major medical breakthroughs. Dr. Sanjay Gupta takes us back through the top 10 stories in medicine.

[05:40:05]

Plus, Beyonce gave us the ultimate Christmas present taking the stage for an epic NFL halftime show.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BEYONCE, SINGER-SONGWRITER: Singing "Ya Ya."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL)

FREEMAN: From weight loss drugs to genetically edited pigs being used for organ transplants, 2024 made tremendous strides in the search for the next medical breakthrough.

CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta has the top 10 health stories of the year. [05:45:00]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: From another potential pandemic to health threats infiltrating our daily lives, 2024 provided us with some warning signs. But we also saw stories with hard-earned moments of inspiration and innovation reminding us of the relentless search for the next medical breakthrough.

With more than 100,000 people on the waitlist for organ transplants in the United States there is a clear need for a solution, and this could be the answer.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're fully edited. All these piglets can carry a total of 69 edits to their genome.

GUPTA: Genetically edited pigs designed by scientists to be compatible with the human body, reducing the possibility of rejection. Scientists have started to make progress testing this type of organ transplant. It's known as xenotransplantation. They're doing into patients who have no other alternatives.

As temperatures around the world keep climbing it's taking a clear toll on our health testing the limits even of human survivability. This year people hiking, attending concerts, and just being in their own homes -- they have died from heat. In fact, heat is the deadliest type of extreme weather and climate change is making those heat waves longer and more severe.

Heat also means warmer oceans leading to these supercharged hurricanes like the ones that we saw this year, and that comes with our own health consequences as well.

Imagine using a computer by only using your mind. That's just the beginning of what brain computer interface or BCI technology combined with artificial intelligence is now hoping to do. Companies like Synchron and Elon Musk's Neuralink -- they have begun implanting BCI devices into people's brains to help people who are losing motor function still be able to perform daily tasks.

Earlier this year I met Mark. He's an ALS patient who has mostly lost the ability to use his arms. And we saw firsthand how Synchron's Stentrode device helps send messages on his computer and even play a game like Pawn. He hopes this technology can help him and can help other patients struggling as well with paralysis maintain as much independence as possible.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was 43 years old at the time when I was diagnosed.

GUPTA: A growing number of young adults, like Timothy Mitchell, are being diagnosed with cancer.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cancer, which usually would affect people over 65 has now become much more prevalent in patients under 55. GUPTA: While the trends have been headed this way for more than a

decade, experts still aren't sure why this is happening. But it has put a spotlight on the importance of recommended preventative screenings, paying attention to any unusual symptoms in your body, and a search for factors that could be behind this increase.

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: A new study shows an increase in levels of microplastics in human brains.

GUPTA: Microplastics -- they are everywhere nowadays. They're in our food. They're in our clothing. They're in the air we breathe. And now we're starting to get a better understanding of their potential impact on our health.

There was a study that found people with micro or nano plastics in their carotid arteries were twice as likely to have a heart attack, or stroke, or die from any other cause over the next three years compared to people who had none.

If you're a parent, I know you're going to understand this.

DR. VIVEK MURTHY, U.S. SURGEON GENERAL: Forty-eight percent -- nearly half of parents are saying on most days they are completely overwhelmed by their stress.

GUPTA: This summer the U.S. surgeon general, Dr. Vivek Murthy, issued an advisory calling parental stress a public health concern, saying that we need a cultural shift with both individual and government intervention.

Parents are working more than ever and childcare demands have only increased, leaving many families feeling exhausted, burned out, perpetually behind. That's what Murthy said.

It's no secret that diet plays a major role in our health, and while we know the benefits of healthy food the harms of ultra processed food are now coming into clearer focus. Ultra processed foods make up nearly 70 percent of our country's food supply.

Numerous studies have found that consuming higher amounts of these foods raises the risk of obesity, but also the development of chronic conditions like cancer, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, depression, and it probably even shortens life span. Researchers are now trying to figure out if ultra process ingredients are all created equal.

An alarming spread of bird flu throughout dairy herds across the United States has scientists on edge.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As we think about a virus that might move from animals into humans and potentially cause the next pandemic, it certainly has everyone's guard up.

GUPTA: While the CDC says the public health's risk remains low there have been cases of bird flu in humans.

[05:50:00]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: The CDC is now confirming the first severe case of H5N1 bird flu in a human inside the United States.

GUPTA: Most human cases have been among people who have been exposed to sick animals, but that hasn't completely eased the fears of a possibility of human-to-human transmission.

There might be more hope for Alzheimer's patients than ever. A new study led by Dr. Dean Ornish found that some patients who underwent lifestyle interventions alone, like eating a vegan diet, exercising daily, practicing stress reduction -- they saw improved cognition -- even signs of reversal of the disease. I got to see this firsthand meeting patients all over the country.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the best I can do to stay alive, and I want to live with my wife as long as I can.

GUPTA: We also did see promise in newly approved pharmaceutical intervention, including monoclonal antibody treatments -- donanemab, for example -- demonstrating the ability to slow the progression of the disease.

You know, for decades, we only saw incremental progress in treating this disease but now I have to say these options are giving patients new hope.

This year we traveled around the world investigating the impact of the GLP-1 weight loss drugs. With no signs of slowing in popularity now these drugs have given us new insight into obesity as a disease.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What it did help me was not have a whole lot of thoughts about food. My cravings went away.

GUPTA: We now consider obesity a disease of the brain, a revelation that I think has lifted a sense of guilt associated with this disease and helped us get to a better understanding of how to treat it as well.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's definitely true that there are people out there who have said time and again obesity is not really a disease. All you need to do is eat better and exercise more and you'll be OK.

GUPTA: While these drugs may not be for everyone, we have seen how they can transform people's lives -- physically, yes, but also emotionally.

We've only, at this point, begun to unlock the possibilities. Studies have found that these drugs could be associated with cardiovascular benefits, lowering the risk of certain cancers, and curbing cravings as well beyond food, like nicotine and alcohol. And I'm sure we're going to continue to learn a lot more about this in 2025.

Happy New Year.

(END VIDEOTAPE) FREEMAN: And it is time now for sports. The Chiefs lock up the top seed in the AFC with a Christmas Day win over the Steelers.

Coy Wire is here and he's got this morning's CNN sports update. Hey, Coy.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Good morning, Danny. This is my first time hearing this new sports music. I kind of like it.

FREEMAN: It's good.

WIRE: Good things come to those who wait, and Kansas City fans got another big gift for their team on Christmas Day. The two-time defending Super Bowl champs clinching home field advantage in the playoffs and a bye in the first round.

Patrick Mahomes and company racing to an early 13-point lead and they were never really threatened by the Steelers. Mahomes throwing three TD passes, including one to his favorite target Travis Kelce. Travis' 77 career touchdown catch early in the fourth breaks Kansas City's all-time TD receptions record. And there he was dunking it to pay tribute to former recordholder Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez.

Chiefs win 29-10.

And afterwards Mahomes said he was just keeping a holiday promise to his wife Brittany -- listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PATRICK MAHOMES, QUARTERBACK, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS: I thought it was full team performance. Defense stepped up. Offense stepped up. Everybody had their imprint on the game.

And I told my wife -- my pregnant wife I was the number one seed so we can go have that baby. So I got the -- we got the one seed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: Now it was a very Merry Christmas for the Chiefs and even Santa was there to help them celebrate in the locker room. And that is actually head coach Andy Reid. Then a jolly old elf showed up to give coach, AKA Santa, the game ball after his Chiefs earned a franchise record 15th win on the season.

The Baltimore Ravens flying high in the second game against the Texans. There was not stopping Baltimore QB Lamar Jackson. He threw two TD passes. But he can also run like some reindeer and he went dashing and dancing for 87 yards in the game, including a 48-yard score, reaching a top speed of more than 21 miles per hour.

Then Lamar ran into the record book in the third moving past Michael Vick at the top of the all-time rushing list for quarterbacks.

Baltimore wins 31-2 improving to 11-5 on the season. One game up on the Steelers for first place in the AFC North. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BEYONCE: Singing "Ya Ya."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: All right. Now fans also treated to a halftime performance from 32-time Grammy winner Beyonce. Queen B rocking her hometown of Houston with her first live performance of songs from the "Cowboy Carter" album along with special guests Shaboozey, Post Malone, and her daughter Blue Ivy.

[05:55:05]

Beyonce also teased something coming on January 14. Is it a new album? A new tour? We shall see.

To the NBA. LeBron and the Lakers taking on the Warriors and Steph Curry. LeBron scoring a team-high 31. This one went down the wire. Curry dropping a game-high 38 with eight three-pointers, including that heave, tying it with seven seconds to go. But it was Austin Reaves calling game, sinking a layup in the last second, giving himself a 26-point triple-double and the Lakers a 115-113.

LeBron, playing in his NBA record 19th Christmas Day game, had one message about the sports ball on Christmas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEBRON JAMES, FORWARD, LOS ANGELES LAKERS: I love the NFL. I love the NFL, but Christmas is our day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: All right. LeBron's just going to claim that, Danny.

FREEMAN: Oh, wow.

WIRE: And we have more NFL coming up today. We have a Thursday night game between the Bears and the Seahawks coming at you.

FREEMAN: Yeah, I can't wait for that.

And Coy, there's so many things to talk about. Andy Reid, that's hilarious. Blue Ivy, I thought, killed it. But Coy, where is Joe Mixon?

WIRE: Oh my goodness.

FREEMAN: I was sitting watching this game. What? Nine carries?

WIRE: I know, and I don't know what has happened to their quarterback C.J. Stroud. He had an awesome year last year and they've kind of fallen off. They put up two points. Two points, Danny.

FREEMAN: Two points. WIRE: You must be a Texas guy. I hear some angst in that voice.

FREEMAN: No, no, even worse. I'm a fantasy guy.

Thanks, Coy. I really appreciate you.

WIRE: You got it.

FREEMAN: All right. And coming up on CNN THIS MORNING the birth of Brett Sommer (PH). An era makes its curtain call.

And the heated feud between two hip-hop titans. We're going to take a look back at the year's biggest entertainment stories.

Plus, why some business leaders are lining up to pledge their donations to Donald Trump's inauguration.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: And all over the world people are investing in it. They're calling it the "Trump Effect" because even before taking office we're already bringing in the jobs and opportunity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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