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Last Day Of Turning Point USA's Youth Conference; U.S. Working To Intercept Another Vessel Near Venezuela Today; Outrage Grows After Heavily Redacted Partial Epstein File Release; Farmers Faced A Challenging Year Amid Tariffs, Immigration Crackdown; Top Catholic In Holy Land Urges Palestinians To Rebuild; Australian Government To Review Police & Intelligence Agencies Following Bondi Beach Massacre; U.S. Says It Attacked Alleged ISIS Targets In Syria Last Week; How To Live A Pain-Free Life. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired December 21, 2025 - 14:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:00:33]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Criticism mounts over the Department of Justice's heavily redacted release of the Epstein files, and the sudden removal of more than a dozen of the released pages from the DOJ Web site.

Outrage is coming from both sides of the aisle. And some key Democrats are saying this is a, quote, "White House cover up".

and the leadership of the MAGA movement is top of mind for high profile politicians at a big Turning Point USA Conference this weekend in Phoenix.

We'll break down new CNN polling showing who voters want to represent Republicans and Democrats in the 2028 election.

And 'tis the season to take flight. Millions of Americans are flying for the holidays and who knows better than flight attendants how to travel efficiently.

The holiday travel tips from them to help you land on the nice list.

Hello everyone. And thank you so much for joining me this Sunday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

We begin this hour in Phoenix, Arizona where Turning Point USA is hosting the last day of its youth conference known as AmericaFest. Any moment now, Vice President JD Vance is expected to address the crowd of young conservatives, capping a conference marked by simmering tensions about the best way forward for the MAGA movement.

The public clashes threaten to eclipse organizers' efforts to honor its late founder, Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated back in September. Kirk's widow, Erika, who now leads the nonprofit, is speaking right now alongside her special guest, rapper Nicki Minaj.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICKI MINAJ, RAPPER: We are not going to be silenced by the bullies anymore, ok? Know that, hear that, receive that. Believe we won't be silenced ever again. We will speak up for Christians wherever they are in this world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CNN's senior reporter Steve Contorno is joining us live now from AmericaFest. Steve, a lineup of notable speakers for the final day, including Trump Jr. and House Speaker Mike Johnson.

What has been the message or continues to be the message?

STEVE CONTORNO, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Well, the message today which Nicki Minaj is helping to deliver, and I have to admit, I did not enter today's event expecting to hear from the rapper, but it has certainly been a much more message about unity and sticking together after a conference that has been marked by some of the deep divisions that we are seeing within the conservative movement.

There have been public sparring and debates over Israel and anti- Semitism, over whether to embrace people who peddle conspiracy theories, and even whether to embrace people who are questioning the facts around Charlie Kirk's death.

But today we are hearing more of a message of unity. Donald Trump Jr., saying, quote, "what binds us together, what matters more than the disagreements is the ability to have that discourse". And the person that they will lean on to close this event, to help end with that unified message is Vice President JD Vance.

Earlier in this conference, Erica Kirk made clear that the vice president will have their endorsements for president going into 2028. Now, he hasn't even made that announcement himself, but already setting the tone that he is going to be the leader of this movement going forward.

And really, he is well positioned for that. Take a look at this latest CNN poll. When you talk to Republicans and Republican-leaning voters, he is far and away the person who they say they would like to see run for president in 2028. 22 percent of them naming Vance; no other person eclipse 5 percent.

I will say I talked to quite a few people here at this event over whether they want to see Vance as the nominee already, and here's what they said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATHERINE MUNSON, ATTENDEE, AMERICAFEST: That's the way we should go. Like, if we want to move America forward and to be Christian nation again, we have to keep the same driving force going forward. And right now, President Trump's successor is Vice President JD Vance.

[14:04:50] GENO SCHULTZ, ATTENDEE, AMERICAFEST: Oh, I like it. I like it a lot. I'm a big JD Vance guy. I was big into the Trump regime, and I think he kind of follows that pretty well.

BRADY, ATTENDEE AMERICAFEST: His entire backstory, it's very -- it seems very contrived. I think he says things to try and appeal to certain people. And there's a certain level of fakeness there to JD Vance.

CONTORNO: Now, Fred, I will say I did talk to one person who said they used to be a Democrat and a Bernie Sanders supporter, and succession plans is one of the reasons why they got away from the Democratic Party and embraced Donald Trump.

And that's one of the reasons why they are concerned about this early anointment of JD Vance as the torchbearer. But obviously, there are a lot of people here very excited about that as well.

WHITFIELD: All right. Keep us posted on that as it continues but then soon to wrap up.

Steve Contorno, appreciate it.

All right. Despite the next presidential election being nearly three years away, a new CNN poll finds that half of Americans say they've already given it some thought. But there hasn't been much consolidation around any particular candidate at this stage.

Among Democratic contenders, the top three names that emerge are California Governor Gavin Newsom, former vice president Kamala Harris and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Of the most frequently sought attributes in a -- in a president, the next president, at least that's the hope is honesty. That topped the list for both parties.

The Trump administration continues to ramp up pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. A U.S. official tells CNN the administration is working to intercept another vessel near Venezuela today, after President Trump ordered a U.S. oil blockade for ships coming and going from that country.

It's the second ship the U.S. has targeted in the region this weekend and the third ship this month. On Saturday, the U.S. Coast Guard intercepted the Centuries tanker in international waters off the coast of Venezuela.

The White House says the tanker was carrying sanctioned Venezuelan oil, though the ship itself did not appear on a list of sanctioned vessels.

And outrage and criticism are growing today over the limited release and heavily-redacted files related to the investigation of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

CNN has confirmed that more than a dozen files that were released on Friday as part of the Department of Justice's Epstein library now appear to have been removed from the Web site. And that took place this morning.

And that includes at least one photo in an open desk drawer of now- President Donald Trump, who has not been accused of any wrongdoing or charged with any crimes in connection with Epstein.

Well today, the DOJ said it will continue to review and redact materials from the trove of already released Epstein files to, quote, "protect victims".

And today, two of the lawmakers who pushed for the release of the files say they are now considering holding U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi in contempt of Congress over the extensive redactions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): I'll tell you why -- I've talked to the survivors -- why this is such a slap in the face. One of the survivors said they released her name accidentally, but they still have not released the FBI file about the people who abused her at her request.

And the problem here is that there are rich and powerful people, we all know this -- there are 1,200 victims -- the rich and powerful people who either engaged in this abuse, covered it up, or were on this island. And what the American people want to know is who are these people?

And instead of holding them accountable, Pam Bondi is breaking the law. And this is the corrupt system, the Epstein class that people are sick of.

REP. THOMAS MASSIE (R-KY): The quickest way And I think most expeditious way to get justice for these victims is to bring inherent contempt against Pam Bondi. And that doesn't require going through the courts and give her -- and basically, Ro Khanna and I are talking about and drafting that right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN's Kevin Liptak is joining us now from near President Trump's Florida home, where he is spending the holidays.

Kevin, bring us up to speed on where things stand and what the DOJ is saying and what kind of reaction out of the White House.

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, the administration very much on the defensive today for how it has handled the release of these documents, criticism coming from Democrats, certainly, but also from some Republicans that the administration didn't meet that 30-day deadline to release all of the documents and that what they did release was heavily redacted and didn't contain a lot of the information that advocates and victims had been looking for.

You heard that from Thomas Massie just there, who said the administration didn't adhere to the spirit and letter of the law.

You also heard from Ro Khanna saying that those two lawmakers were looking to hold Pam Bondi in contempt.

[14:09:48]

LIPTAK: So that is the backdrop against which we heard today from the deputy attorney general, Todd Blanche, who said that a lot of these redactions were meant to protect the victims. And saying that the Justice Department had a massive undertaking on its hand to go through what he said was a million pages of documents to try and find out which names needed to be blacked out.

He said that there were hundreds of lawyers working on that effort. He also acknowledged that some of the documents that were put online on Friday had been taken down, amid concern from some of the victims, including that image of President Trump.

He said that that was taken down because of other images within that photograph that contained pictures of women.

Listen to more of how he explained what happened here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TODD BLANCHE, DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL: There were a number of photographs that were pulled down after being released on Friday. That's because a judge in New York has ordered us to listen to any victim or victim rights group if they have any concerns about the material that we're putting up.

And so when we hear concerns, whether its photographs of women that we do not believe are victims or we didn't have information to show that they were victims, but we learned that there are concerns, of course, we're taking that photograph down. And we're going to address it.

If we need to redact faces or other information, we will, and then we'll put it back up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIPTAK: Now, he went on to say that taking that image that included the photo of President Trump had nothing to do with Trump himself. He says, quote, "we are not redacting information around President Trump".

So very much trying to tamp down on some of the criticism here. But I think it is certain that all of the furor surrounding this Jeffrey Epstein matter continues to plague President Trump for the foreseeable future, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Kevin Liptak in Florida, thanks so much.

All right. Still to come, how the end of Hanukkah has turned into a heartbreaking time of mourning for the Jewish community in Sydney, Australia. We'll look at this day of reflection a week after the deadly terror attack that shocked the world.

And up next, American farmers struggling from lost exports during the tariff war. Now the Trump administration plans to send them checks to get by. We'll talk to a farmer about the way forward now.

[14:12:08]

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WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back.

Trade wars, immigration raids and climate change have made 2025 a rough year for American farmers. Earlier this month, the White House announced a $12 billion aid package to bail out farms impacted by President Trumps tariffs. The one-time payments are earmarked to help farmers in the short term.

While farmers have widely supported the president, some tell CNN that they want free trade, not free aid.

The president of the National Black Farmers Association, John Boyd Jr., is with us. Always great to see you.

You always put so much insight into what you and other farmers are experiencing and what you still need, especially when it pertains to support from the federal government.

So what's your reaction to the administration's efforts to aid farmers right now?

JOHN BOYD, JR., PRESIDENT, NATIONAL BLACK FARMERS ASSOCIATION: Well, you know, the president, President Trump made a huge mess out of this thing, Fredricka, where the actual tariffs hurt America's farmers. He gave $40 billion to Argentina and since he was elected, farm suicides are up, farm bankruptcies are up, farm foreclosures are up.

And every time you watch a press conference, he says Biden did it. Biden didn't do this. All this is the result of President Trump's bad decision to enforce tariffs on China, Mexico, Canada -- all of our trade partners that farmers like myself rely on to have a good, sound market.

So the president tries to bail out America's farmers. But the farmers won't actually receive the payments until February. In my opinion, it's too late.

My farmers who do it in December and January is when farmers like myself need assistance. You know, I've been farming, Fredricka, for 42 years.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

BOYD, JR.: This is the first year that grain elevators was closed due to the president's tariffs. In the middle of my harvest, so I had to stop the harvest, wait for the grain elevators to reopen, and then start buying soybeans at a much -- at a much lower price.

So America's farmers are hurting, and the president met with farmers at the White House that I was excluded from. Something about DEI, somebody told me. Fredricka, there is no deal on my farm. My cows eat the same as cows' hay as others, and I have to be able to produce a crop. In good times, at all times, which I've been able to do so.

Shame on the president for not having us at the table.

WHITFIELD: So you're being hit in several directions -- from several directions. And then soybean farmers particularly have been hit very hard in the United States with the soybean market. Then China benefiting the most from the soybean market. And no longer a lot of American farmers.

[14:19:45]

WHITFIELD: So what's the formula that you understand the government payouts to be? I mean, it depends on your acreage? It depends on your losses?

But as you said in your case, you know, bills need to be paid right now. There are a lot of farmers who are liquidating. Can, you know, what's the calculus of what you or others might be able to count on as it pertains to the payouts? And if it doesn't come until January, February or March, is it too late?

BOYD, JR.: Well, a couple of things. One, the $12 billion is not going to be enough when really America's farmers were hit with between $45 billion and $50 billion loss in soybean production in this country. So what the president is proposing is a -- is a drop in the bucket.

And then there was the way that you have to go into the office and report your farm serial number and your acreage. And I believe the deadline was December 19th. So there needs to be more time for farmers to go in and actually report their acreage.

Many of our members have not reported their acreage, and they went in Friday. The offices in many areas in Mississippi was closed. So we need additional time.

And this administration, Fredricka, the reason I wanted to be at the table with the president is to tell them that no farmer should be losing their farm because of their inactions or their bad decisions on tariffs.

WHITFIELD: And you feel that is happening.

BOYD, JR.: Well, we need a complete farm moratorium. You know, they shouldn't be foreclosing on the farm because he completely lost his market due to the president's tariffs. And that's what happened here.

The president came in and took away the actual market for soybeans, the actual market for corn. And he messed things up with Canada, with his war for fertilizer. So all of our input costs fertilizer, fuel, lime -- all these things are up, and the actual price of soybeans are down.

And now the market that we fought for, for so long he rightfully gave it to his friend over in Argentina, you know. So what (INAUDIBLE) happened to America's farmers to bail out Argentina for $40 billion, when they should have been helping farmers like myself and America's farmers stay on the farm.

So this administration, in a year's time has caused complete havoc, complete havoc, in the United States for America's agriculture.

WHITFIELD: So, John, before I let you go, I just want to follow up on one thing you said you were -- you were talking about a response from the White House about DEI.

And I just wonder, you're the president of the National Black Farmers Association. Are you saying that you were asked to be, you know, you were trying to be part of the conversation and you received that kind of response? Or are you saying that it will -- that comment will impact your eligibility to receive assistance?

BOYD, JR.: Thank you. Thank you for asking for clarity. You know, the administration said they were moving away from DEI. And what I was explaining in the -- in my conversation with you, there's nothing on my farm that looks like DEI. My cows eat the same amount of hay as the white farmers do. My tractors burn the same amount of diesel fuel.

The problems I have is when I leave my farm, these companies have treated black farmers differently. It's clear to what I'm saying. So we have a different set of problems that other farmers don't face in this country.

So I have to produce the same amount of crop as everybody else. But we are not at the table. There wasn't a black person in that room when the president met with farmers, in the audience, or an actual black farmer in the room. So they're saying they want to get away from all of these things.

And then, Frederick, what's a very alarming to me, they brought in white farmers from South Africa. They said they want to get away from the race thing, but they're bringing in white farmers from South Africa, providing them with the homestead and the fast path to citizenship.

And everybody that looks like me, they want to get them out of the country. Ethiopian, Somalians, all of these persons have a deadline to leave the United States.

So this administration is looking at farmers like myself more differently than they do white farmers. And I still have to compete, is what I clearly was trying to say.

So I wasn't invited to the meeting. But we you know, we're farmers too. And our farmers here are faced with all kinds of stuff. We have people out in the fields telling them that this was a slave reparations, $12 billion, that, that we were opting out.

So we have all of these sets of issues, but we aren't at the table to raise them with this administration. And I think it's because of all of my interactions in the past with Stephen Miller and how they really put some roadblocks in the way when President Biden put $5 billion for debt relief and to get our land out of inventory.

Stephen Miller and other white farmers in these states filed lawsuits to block that. So I think there's a lot of history there, too.

[14:24:44]

WHITFIELD: Yes, because you have been involved in and central to the fight against discrimination that many black farmers in this country have faced historically for many, many decades. So I understand you when you're making reference to that and the history associated with that.

John Boyd, glad you could be with us. Thank you so much. President of the National Black Farmers Association -- you have another comment. What's that?

BOYD, JR.: Yes, I do. I would like to say congratulations to the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, who I've been involved with, who won federal recognition for so many years in their fight. So congratulations to them.

And happy holidays to all of the American farmers. Support America's farmers. We need your support now.

WHITFIELD: All right. Happy holidays. Thank you so much.

And we'll be right back

BOYD, JR.: Thank you so much.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: In Gaza today, the Catholic Church's most senior cleric in the Holy Land urged Palestinians to rebuild their lives after the devastating war there.

[14:30:03]

The Latin patriarch of Jerusalem delivered his message during an early Christmas mass in Gaza City.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARDINAL PIERBATTISTA PIZZABALLA, LATIN PATRIARCH OF JERUSALEM: I remember that during the war, especially the beginning, there were plans to transform here, you know, Gaza, into a resort. But we are here. We will not be resorts. We rebuild our life as we want.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: There is international concern. The second phase of the Gaza ceasefire could collapse, along with the rebuilding phase. Almost 71,000 Palestinians have been killed since the war began on October 7th, 2023.

Turning now to Australia, where the government said it will review law enforcement and intelligence agencies following last week's mass killing. Authorities say the alleged attacker is a father and son were inspired by the ISIS terror group.

CNN's Angus Watson reports the -- this remains a country in mourning.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANGUS WATSON, CNN PRODUCER (voice-over): One week after the worst terror attack in Australian history, Bondi's Jewish community led the nation in a moment of silence at a mass memorial at Bondi Beach. Here, two gunmen opened fire on a celebration for the first night of Hanukkah, killing 15 and wounding over 40, including 14-year-old Chaya Dadon.

CHAYA DADON, 14-YEAR-OLD INJURED IN BONDI BEACH SHOOTING: Thank you all so much for much for coming.

Well, obviously, mourning, but we're getting stronger as a nation and we're like -- we're growing. And like, sometimes growing hurts, but we're growing and life is going to move on. And why not make the best of it?

WATSON (voice-over): The eighth night of Hanukkah should also have been a celebration. Instead, it concluded a week of heartbreak and mourning.

RABBI MENDY LITZMAN, FIRST RESPONDER: We're among the very first on scene.

WATSON (voice-over): Rabbi Mendy Litzman, a first responder to the attack, was on stage to light the first candle of the Hanukkah menorah.

LITZMAN: When I arrived to just bodies everywhere, people bleeding, people shouting, Mendy, Mendy, save me, save me! And who do you go to first?

WATSON: The festival celebrates light over darkness. One week ago, two gunmen stood on this bridge. Tonight, a Hanukkah menorah.

WATSON (voice-over): On Sunday, the eighth candle lit by the father of the youngest victim, 10-year-old Matilda. Hanukkah's message of light over darkness, giving Australia the chance to heal.

Angus Watson, CNN, at Sydney's Bondi Beach.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Thank you so much, Angus.

All right. Let's continue this discussion with me now is Colin Clarke. He's executive director of the Soufan Center think tank. He's also author of the book after "The Caliphate: The Islamic State and the Future Terrorist Diaspora".

Great to be with us. So, what was your reaction when you saw the Bondi Beach attack? And

that -- it is considered ISIS-inspired?

COLIN P. CLARKE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, THE SOUFAN CENTER: Well, sadly, I wasn't surprised at all. I follow this group day in and day out, and so to me it wasn't really a shock. A lot of people are asking, is there an ISIS resurgence? This is really unfortunately, the steady state that we live in of jihadist terrorism. It ebbs and flows in reaction to geopolitical events, and we need to remain vigilant. We need to stay on guard, and we need to keep investing in counterterrorism resources.

WHITFIELD: The U.S. struck multiple targets connected to ISIS in Syria last week. It was a response to an attack that killed two U.S. service members. ISIS hasn't taken responsibility for that attack, but is there an assessment that you're able to make that indeed, that was an ISIS-inspired attack.

CLARKE: It was either ISIS-inspired or closely adjacent. Either way, this is a group that continues to wreak havoc in Syria. My main question on the response. We hit 70 targets in Syria, including infrastructure and weapons depots, is why did we wait until after we were attacked? If we knew of these targets and we had the intelligence, why not be proactive?

WHITFIELD: Okay, because that, there was a joint counterterrorism operation. That was underway when those U.S. servicemen were killed.

CLARKE: Correct. But again, to come up with 70 targets that quickly. We knew about this infrastructure. I would assume we didn't discover it over the course of 48 hours. It also question --

WHITFIELD: Do you -- do you now question those targets?

CLARKE: I don't question the targets. I want to know why we waited so long to hit them. This isn't you know, you don't just, all of a sudden, sprout infrastructure and weapons depots overnight. So why wait until after we're attacked? Why not stay on the offensive?

We hear constantly from the Department of War about how there's a new makeover. And we're all about war fighting. So, let's start fighting wars.

WHITFIELD: Okay, so, you know, Jordan has said that it was part of the operation against ISIS targets. And we've also seen Israel go after what it considers terror targets in Syria.

[14:35:03]

You mentioned that ISIS and the proliferation of it is steady. It ebbs and it flows. At what juncture is it right now?

CLARKE: I'd say it's far weaker than it was clearly at its apex. You know, when it ruled over the so-called caliphate. But this is a global organization. It's highly decentralized. It works through something called the general directorate of provinces. There's nodes in Somalia, there's nodes in Southeast Asia.

There's a very prominent and highly lethal affiliate in Afghanistan known as ISIS-K. So, this is a problem that's far from over. And it's one that we're going to be living with for the foreseeable future.

WHITFIELD: All right. Colin Clarke, great talking to you. Happy holidays as well. Thanks for being with us.

CLARKE: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Straight ahead, I had a special conversation with our Dr. Sanjay Gupta, talking about what affects one out of five Americans every day, chronic pain. Up next, his advice on how to get on the road to recovery without relying as much on the medications you're accustomed to.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:40:48]

WHITFIELD: Haven't experienced it already, at some point in your life, you may break a bone, recover from a surgery, or endure excruciating pain that will need medical attention. But how you address these things differs depending on temporary versus chronic discomfort. And according to the CDC, one fifth of American adults are now suffering from chronic pain.

Well, today, a special conversation about all of that with our own doctor, Sanjay Gupta, who has just released a new book called it doesn't have to hurt. Your guide to a pain free life. We caught up with him in between his scheduled surgeries and health reports to get the prognosis on options to consider.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Dr. Sanjay Gupta --

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: So good to be with you, Fred. Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Great to see you. This is so fun. Neurosurgeon and of course, author of yet another book. It doesn't have to hurt. And we decided to do this outside because you talk about how important it is to be mindful, to walk outside, breathe clean air. We've got hot cocoa with us, too. Cheers to that.

GUPTA: Cheers, yeah.

WHITFIELD: Why are these things important? Preemptively -- preemptive to any kind of injury or illness?

GUPTA: Well, one thing I'll tell you is that if you look at countries around the world where they practice on a regular basis, many of the things you just talked about, there's -- there's less pain. Pain is a is essentially a chronic problem that seems to affect societies where they're not getting as much of those things. So, if you look in the United States, for example, one in five people

now have chronic pain, 50 million adults.

WHITFIELD: That's a big number.

GUPTA: It's a huge number, and it's the fastest growing chronic condition in America. Faster than diabetes, dementia and cancer, which I thought -- that was really striking. So part of -- part of what I think scientists have been doing is saying, hey, let's look at places where this isn't as big a problem. And how are those people living their lives differently and seeing then retro-engineer like, what is it about being outside, being mindful and showing the evidence behind its relationship to chronic pain?

So, I'll give you a quick example. Meditation. I think everyone anecdotally knows is beneficial, but what has happened over the last 20 years is they have studied the brains of meditators, and they have found objective changes in the brain -- areas of the brain that are thicker in response to the meditation. And some of those areas are greatly associated with pain. So, it's not like you're not going to still stub your toe or develop some sort of injury, but it's really about your brain's resilience to that.

WHITFIELD: You're going to get injured, you're going to stub your toe, you might break something, too.

GUPTA: Yes.

WHITFIELD: But it's all the stuff that you're doing prior to that that is really important.

GUPTA: Yeah. And, you know, movement is almost like sending a signal to your brain that you're here, that you want to be alive, that makes you more resilient. The way we nourish ourselves. If you have a very high inflammatory state at baseline, so you're not injured, but your inflammation is up here now, a little injury is going to knock you up here. Whereas -- whereas if your inflammatory load is a lot lower than smaller, injuries don't matter as much.

I'll tell you really quick. You know, Rebecca, my wife, who you know, she deals with autoimmune disease. She went on an anti-inflammatory diet. I did it alongside her in a show of solidarity.

WHITFIELD: Yeah.

GUPTA: And I found that I just didn't hurt as much anymore. Like you miss a step, you hit your heel. That hurts for a few days. Getting out of bed in the morning. You're stiff. That stopped.

I mean, I'm mid-50s. I feel as limber as I ever have, and I think a lot of that just has to do with how I move and nourish myself, the basics more than anything else.

Seventy percent of what we're eating on a regular basis, if you don't think about it, is super pro-inflammatory food the same things that keep foods shelf stable, you know, gives them a longer shelf life. Those things are causing inflammation in our bodies.

WHITFIELD: You're not digesting.

GUPTA: We're not digesting it. And those things that are great for shelf stability are terrible for our bodies and increase our inflammation. There are things that I think are important in terms of diet, overall. Turmeric I think is a big one. I think magnesium is another one that has good evidence behind it.

Many of these supplements don't have great evidence, but turmeric and magnesium do.

[14:45:02]

Willow bark is another thing I add to my diet. And then something known as COQ10.

So, there's four things in addition to really healthy diet that I think can be helpful with regard to pain.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And we'll have more of my conversation with Dr. Sanjay Gupta later in our show, including one of the inspirations behind the book hitting very close to home.

All right, straight ahead. We've got some holiday travel tips straight from flight attendants to make your next flight a breeze. And for you and for your seatmates

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:50:18]

WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back.

As millions of Americans pack for that long distance trip this week, here are some tips if you're going to fly. And it comes straight from the people you interact with the most when flying -- flight attendants

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICH HENDERSON, FLIGHT ATTENDANT: The interesting thing about travelers flying around the holidays is the nice people get nicer and the mean people get meaner.

REPORTER: Holiday travel can feel like a group stress test at 35,000 feet.

KRIS MAJOR, FLIGHT ATTENDANT: Christmas Day, and none of those dates move. Everybody wants to be there at the right time. So yeah, the pressures on. People feel the pressure.

REPORTER: So before you lose your boarding pass or your mind, we asked a couple of flight attendants for some advice to make it through this time of year without melting down on your way to grandma's house. One way to prepare before you even get to the airport, get a flight

tracking app. The crew use the same ones we do.

HENDERSON: Flighty, flightview, flightaware, all of those apps are great.

MAJOR: We use those apps that track aircraft to find our airplanes. Even in the airport. What gate we're at, we can use those apps and sometimes they're more accurate than the company apps that we're supposed to be using.

REPORTER: Something to keep front of mind. Security rules don't change just because it's Christmas.

HENDERSON: If you can order your gifts and send it to wherever you're going, that I would suggest a thousand times over, because you just never know what TSA or security is going to do.

MAJOR: And you want to look and they've got the right to look. So, you know, just be careful. Be mindful that anything in your hand luggage can be, you know, can be required to be open. So just if you've taken ages wrapping something, it's going to get unwrapped.

REPORTER: And if you're hoping holiday travel comes with a surprise upgrade.

HENDERSON: Getting upgraded during the holidays is even less likely than other times of year because it's less business travelers who get those last-minute upgrades, and it's more families and people who are treating this like a special occasion and purchasing the first class tickets and things like that ahead of time.

REPORTER: But if you're feeling a little extra generous this time of year and want to show some gratitude to your flight attendants.

MAJOR: If a passenger wants to give us something. Yeah, it's always nice to be given a box of chocolates, but it's something that we can share amongst the rest of the crew, usually.

HENDERSON: I would suggest things like, you know, gift cards to coffee shops for like $5. That's easy.

MAJOR: There's been times where you've had a kind of celebrity on tends to be a musician, and they're going somewhere to play a concert and they'll give the crew tickets and they'll take the crew. And that's -- that's been -- that's quite a common thing that has happened. That's great. That really does make a trip.

REPORTER: Okay. We can't all give out concert tickets to the whole crew. But overall, a little kindness just might be the best gift you can give and the most powerful travel hack you have.

HENDERSON: Everyone's just emotions, I think are heightened during this time of year, especially with the flight crew and with airline employees. You know, you've got a delay situation and someone's barking at you. If someone comes up to you and says, hey, how's your day going before they launch into whatever request you know they they need from you?

It goes a long way because you think, okay, this person is actually sees me as a human being, and now I want to engage with this person and I want to help them. And it just -- it makes a long day of flying a lot easier.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Always pack your patience and your niceties for sure.

All right. Actor Chevy Chase helped define a generation of comedy and became a household name from his early days on "SNL" to becoming a movie star. And even the sometimes complicated moments in his private life. The CNN film "I'm Chevy Chase and You're Not" explores the man both on and off the screen.

Here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lorne Michaels, when he's given the job to develop a show for Saturday nights, he's got a blank slate.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'd spent my 20s in television studio, so I was comfortable in that environment. We were just filled with possibility of what we could do and what we couldn't do.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When I met with Lorne, he described this new show. It's spun my head around, said it would be live, be 11:30 to 1:00 on Saturday night and go, what? Who's going to watch that? You know, angry people. People who are not getting laid.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I got a call, Lawrence said. Do you want to start the show with me?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you could try to look at me instead of looking directly into camera, unless you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's hard for me.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because I invented weekend update so I could look in the camera.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: There's so much more. "I'm Chevy Chase and You're Not" premieres New Year's Day, 8:00 p.m. Eastern, and the next day on the CNN app.

More of the CNN NEWSROOM at the top of the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Hello again everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this Sunday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.