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Nearly 20 Million Across Northeast Under Winter Weather Alerts; NYT: Trump Set To Return To Office In Face Of Weakened Iran; Potential Risks Of Skipping Doses Of Diabetes Or Weight-Loss Drugs. Aired 3:30- 4p ET

Aired December 24, 2024 - 15:30   ET

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

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[15:32:04]

ERICA HILL, CNN HOST: We are monitoring some wicked weather out there on the West Coast. A major storm slamming California's central coast, causing high surf and flooding, even leading to one death after a man became trapped under debris on a beach. That high surf and the coastal flood warnings do remain in effect today as well.

In Santa Cruz, a portion of a wharf collapsed from the rough weather conditions that sent three people into the ocean. Wharf had been closed for renovation. The victims were inspecting the structure when it gave way. Two of them were rescued by first responders. The third person was reportedly able to make it out on their own.

And some scary moments a little bit further north at a Lake Tahoe ski resort, when two lift chairs collided. Witnesses say one chair slid back would slam into the other, sending skiers falling to the ground. At least five people were hurt and had to be taken to the hospital. The resort said it is investigating what caused that malfunction.

And after a three month break, new video shows one of the world's most active volcanoes putting on a pretty fiery display. Lava shooting as high as 300 feet, spewing from the Kilauea volcano on Hawaii's big island. That spectacle brought packed crowds to Hawaii volcano's national park to witness it in real time. Authorities say nearby communities important to note, they say, are not in danger.

Well --

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN HOST: Here we are.

HILL: Here we are.

FREEMAN: He knows when you've been sleeping. He knows when you're awake. And right now, slowly but surely, he is making his way here to the States.

HILL: Cue the bells, cue bells. We are, of course, talking about Santa. He is currently in Mozambique, in southeast Africa. He's taking a somewhat circuitous route. It seems. Our friends at NORAD are tracking the big guy as he brings Christmas cheer. I don't know if there was eggnog involved for the circuitous route.

I'm sure it's nothing. It's just sort of, you know, it makes sense. It's probably the wind.

FREEMAN: My favorite part about, too, is that its Rudolph. You can see him with his red nose right at the front of the line there. Love that.

HILL: That's how you know it's really them.

FREEMAN: Right, right. Of course. Exactly, exactly, but for those of us who cannot travel by sleigh, courtesy of nine flying reindeer.

CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam has a little bit more guidance for those of us who might need the holiday forecast.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Some lucky few will get their white Christmas dreams realized, including here in Staten Island, New York, where a fresh layer of snow blanketed the roadways and the landscape here early Christmas eve morning.

I think temperatures will remain cold enough to where this sticks around. Maybe well get that white Christmas in and around New York City, something we haven't seen in quite some time. This is going to have impacts though, on the roadways. Of course, one of the busiest travel weeks of the year.

And with the FAA ground stop with American Airlines earlier on Christmas Eve morning, which has since been lifted. This could, of course, have compounding issues through the course of the day.

Now, the storm system that brought the snowfall to New York and surrounding areas has moved offshore. There is still some light drizzle reported in and around Washington and Baltimore. The higher elevation bridges and overpasses could have some slick spots. So do take care.

Now, we're focusing our attention just a little further to the west, where heavy rain could be an issue for eastern sections of Texas.

[15:35:07]

This area you see shaded in green has a marginal risk of excessive rain that could lead to localized flash flooding. There has already been flash flood warnings in and around the Dallas-Fort Worth region, 2 to 4 inches locally higher amounts expected across the area.

Plus, you'll want to keep an eye to the sky. We have a slight risk from the Weather Prediction Center of severe weather today, basically from Waco to the south and east outside of Houston. Although there is a marginal risk all the way to the gulf coast, damaging winds, hail a possibility, especially where you see that shading of yellow.

That is why we have at least minor to moderate potential here for some airline delays because of the weather across eastern sections of Texas. You saw the snow, the icing potential along the East Coast. But then let's focus out west because a series of storm systems have been impacting the western coastline of our country lately, bringing rough surf and also strong winds and heavy rain. We'll measure the snowfall and mount in the mountains here in feet, not inches.

But again, its all about the coastal surf that has been very rough. That will continue at least for the next 24 hours. Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FREEMAN: Derek Van Dam, thank you very much.

Coming up ahead, Iran and the Middle East have changed quite a bit since President-elect Trump's first term. How he could adjust the way he handles Iran after he takes office. We'll talk about it next.

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[15:40:32]

HILL: Donald Trump is inheriting a very different world when he takes office in a few weeks. The conflict in the Middle East has, of course, changed the power dynamics in that region. Iran is a country that will pose a dilemma for President-elect Trump. How he handles it is the focus of a new piece from David Sanger, CNN political and national security analyst. He's also the author of "New Cold Wars: China's Rise, Russia's Invasion and America's Struggle to Defend the West".

David, always good to see you.

He really does come into this second term with a much different Iran. And in your reporting, you discuss how this is going to be a major focus for him. Is there a sense yet of how Donald Trump will approach Tehran?

DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, there's certainly a sense, Erica, that the Iran he faces looks quite different in several ways than the one he left when he left office in January of 2021. So first of all, it's just in a much weaker position. And that's not a function of the past four years. It's really a function of the past 2 or 3 months.

It's lost Hamas and Hezbollah, its two major proxies that could strike Israel. It has lost Syria, the country through which it sent most of its weapons along the way. It had some missile exchanges with Israel, and it lost in each and every one of those, unable for its missiles with except -- with a few small exceptions, to get through the shield that Israel built up with the United States and some Arab allies.

So Iran is feeling exposed in a way it never did when President Trump left office. And then, of course, Iran has built up its nuclear capability -- in part, that's a function of President Trump's decision in 2018 to pull out of the earlier nuclear accord, which it had been largely observing. And it's built up a lot of capability soon. So the question is, might it raise for a bomb? HILL: And as we look at this, the fact that Iran is weaker, the

current national security advisor, Jake Sullivan, speaking with my colleague Fareed Zakaria over the weekend, said that could actually serve as an incentive. I want to play a little bit of what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE SULLIVAN, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: One of those things is, if you're Iran right now and you're looking around at the fact that your conventional capability has been reduced, your proxies have been reduced, your main client state has been eliminated, Assad has fallen, it's no wonder there are voices saying, hey, maybe we need to go for a nuclear weapon right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Is there a sense of how many of those voices may be saying that? I mean, do you agree?

Oh, David, can you hear me?

We just lost David Sanger. But I do encourage you to read his piece in "The New York Times". We'll try to get him back.

We're going to take a quick break here. Or. Oh, or maybe -- maybe. Oh, we got you back. Hey, David.

SANGER: Sorry about that.

HILL: Let's -- you know, when it happens, it's technology. It happens all the time, and it's live TV. That's all right. We roll with the punches. All good. I know you're familiar with what Jake Sullivan had to say over the weekend. Basically talking about how Iran's weakness could actually be some sort of incentive when it comes to nuclear weapons.

Would you agree that that's potentially where this could be heading?

SANGER: That's certainly where it could be heading. And that means that President Trump, when he comes into office, will have two different paths he can pursue. One is open up a negotiation with Iran. And I think he was has shown some openness to that. And the Iranian president has shown some openness to that.

But I also think that the fear that Iran will move quickly to try to get a bomb, and it certainly accelerating its production of material, will also ramp up the pressure for Israel to take military action, perhaps with U.S. help.

And so I think you're going to see both of these movements happen simultaneously. And they'll probably be an effort at some coercive diplomacy, an effort to say to Iran, either you give this up through a diplomatic process or you lose it.

HILL: And it's going to be a far different dynamic as well. When we look at the relationship between Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump is far more willing to back Netanyahu, as we've seen publicly encouraging Israel striking Iran's nuclear site.

[15:45:05]

That will also be a major factor, not just when it comes to Iran, but frankly, for the region.

SANGER: It certainly will. And we just don't know how Prime Minister Netanyahu is going to respond to all of this. He has certainly at other moments, pressed the United States for approval to go ahead with a strike on Iran's nuclear facilities. He always backed away, sometimes because of voices inside Israel, sometimes because of pressure from Washington. But we just don't know how President Trump will respond to that.

And remember, it's the Iranians who sent out some hit men if you believe the Justice Department and their recent indictment to try to assassinate President Trump when he was candidate. Obviously, that effort didn't go very far. But I'm sure it left an impression on him.

HILL: Yeah, certainly. David Sanger, always good to talk to you. Happy holidays.

SANGER: Happy holidays, Erica. Thank you.

HILL: Thank you.

Just ahead here, what to watch out for if you are taking a holiday pause, if you're on a weight loss or diabetes medication like Wegovy or Ozempic.

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[15:50:12]

FREEMAN: 'Tis the season for friends, family and of course, food. But what if you're taking one of those popular weight loss and diabetes drugs which curb cravings? Well, some people, we understand are taking the holiday pause from these drugs so they can chow down. But is it a good idea?

Let's discuss with the Dr. Megan Ranney, the dean of Yale School of Public Health.

Dr. Ranney, thank you so much for being with us on this Christmas Eve. So tell us right off the bat, what should people know about skipping some of these doses?

DR. MEGAN RANNEY, DEAN, YALE SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH: Gosh, I am getting this question a lot right now. Almost half of Americans with diabetes are taking one of these GLP-1 drugs, like Wegovy or Ozempic or Zepbound, and 1 in 8 American adults are taking the medication for some reason or another.

They do have side effects. So it's not surprising that people are thinking about skipping a dose for the holidays.

Now, my best advice is, of course, to talk to your own doctor, but knowing that its Christmas Eve, you might not be able to do that. So there are two things that I tell folks to think about.

The first is honestly, skipping one week of your medication is not going to be the end of the world, even if you are taking it for diabetes, your blood sugars might go up a little bit. You might gain a little weight because you're going to eat a little more. But when you take your dose next week, you're going to quickly re-equilibrate. So if you really must skip a dose, so be it.

The second thing, though, to think about is the reason why you are taking these medications. Again, for most people that are taking them, it's because they have diabetes or heart disease or something that this medication really treats. So rather than skipping a dose, think about how you can use these holidays to celebrate with your family, but also create new traditions that honor your new, healthier self. You know, maybe eat a little less food, or find traditions that are not so food centered.

But try hard to not skip the dose simply because of the message that it sends to yourself and to your family about what you're committing to for the New Year, which is taking care of your body.

FREEMAN: And, Dr. Ranney, I'm curious because some of these drugs are weekly injections, as you noted, if you stop and skip one dose, say, will the effects linger or will it really be almost immediate? You can. Those curbed cravings will go away.

RANNEY: Yeah, that's a great question. The medication does stay in your body for a while, particularly that injectable version of the medication. So it's not going to completely disappear over the course of a few days. We actually tell people if you miss a dose, you can take a makeup dose even a few days later. So missing one week doesn't mean it totally disappears from your body.

So, but there's the other side of it, too. Again, which is the effect does decrease over time. So you don't want to miss more than one week if you can possibly help it.

FREEMAN: Now, I guess here's the other question that I imagine you are getting are there. You know, some of the users of these drugs, they sometimes have side effects nausea, uncomfortable abdominal pain. If people are considering pausing, though to just enjoy some of these holiday, you know, delicacies, could those side effects return when they start up again? Could they be stronger than before? What is the data say?

RANNEY: So not totally sure. One of the things again, that's with only missing one week, you don't have to start at a lower dose than you did before, right? When you first start, you started a low dose and then you slowly titrate up.

If you only miss one week, you can stay at the same dose that you were taking before. But if you're eating a lot of fatty or greasy or heavy foods, you may find more side effects when you restart. That's why we recommend with these injectable medications that you eat multiple small meals, lots of protein, lots of fiber. And those holiday cookies, roast beef, and so on are not going to interact super well with the medication. So try to keep those portions small.

FREEMAN: Dr. Ranney, can I just ask you one question? Looking forward, you know, it seems definitely that this year in particular, the use of these types of drugs really became perhaps more mainstream. You cited those numbers earlier about how many Americans are on it.

Do you think that 2025, we're going to see an even larger explosion of people being, or at least asking to try and be on some of these drugs?

RANNEY: We're certainly going to see more people asking for it. And we've seen a lot of the shortages that stopped people from going on it start to resolve. The big question, of course, is whether you can afford to take them. Now, the Biden-Harris administration did approve these medications for weight loss for folks on Medicare, which is really exciting and deeply needed because it can save costs over the long term, prevent heart attacks, prevent strokes.

We'll see what happens around health insurance under the new presidential administration in the New Year.

[15:55:06]

I think that cost is still going to remain a big barrier for a lot of folks, unfortunately.

FREEMAN: Dr. Megan Ranney, thank you so much for breaking all that down. Really appreciate it. And have a very merry Christmas Eve.

And coming up ahead --

RANNEY: Thank you.

FREEMAN: You bet.

Coming up ahead, how the Grinch did much more than steal Christmas in one town. We'll explain. That's coming up next.

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FREEMAN: Well, Erica, if you'll indulge me, 'twas the weekend before Christmas. And who's that at the front door? Well, if you're an alleged drug dealer in Lima, Peru, it might just be the Grinch.

This is video of a Peruvian police officer dressed as Dr. Seuss' infamous Christmas hating Grinch sledge in hand, leading an anti-drug operation.

HILL: I mean, as one does. You see, the Grinch here smashes the door, cuffing someone appearing to find what possibly or drugs were told.

And it turns out, Danny, this is an ongoing tradition for this police unit. (AUDIO GAP)

FREEMAN: How many sizes that day from drugs?

HILL: Oh, that's right, that's a good question. I don't remember, terrible.

FREEMAN: Unbelievable. Erica, you're the best. Thank you so much for being with me.

And thank you all --

HILL: It's been a lot of fun.

FREEMNA: Well, it has been -- for watching this Christmas Eve.

I'll be back tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. Eastern.

"HISTORY OF THE SITCOM" is up next. Have a great night.