thank god it's thursday. >> shonda was born many years earlier. in chicago where rhimescreative and escape. >> it was an escape. it was a way of challenging my creative but also my insecurities. what i loved most is my parents got it. she wants to play in the pantry, fine. let that happen. >> i'm glad you mentioned the pantry. my favorite production is not "gray's anatomy," it's canned goods in the pantry. >> the giant cans of yams were important people. it was interesting to me. my mom would knock on the door and say, i need vegetables. i would decide who would die so that she could make dinner. >> the light goes on at usc at film school. you graduate. what was the struggle like at the beginning? >> it was hard. i finished school. tons of student loans, totally broke. >> 9/11 happened. it sort of caused this reassessment or epiphany of what's important. what do i want to do with my life? >> i would not be satisfied with what i have done. i went home and i did the one thing i had always wanted to do, i adopted a baby and became a parent. >> she has three children now. sh

for wright's story to, the atlantic, for shonda rhimes to read it.is article has done. with a lot of people. not just with shonda rhimes. >> information leading to the preservation of that site and others. amazing. >> really powerful stuff there. >> let's get to ginger. >> thank you. thank you so much, robin. okay. so now we've got to get to the disney ultimate toy drive. our parent company is proud to continue its longstanding tradition with the marine toys for tots program. we've got incredible news. disney has broken the record for the most toys collected during this campaign, with 250,357 donated so far. christmas eve is the last day you can get involved. for more information head to disney.com/toy drive. let's get a check closer to home. >>> coming up velvet voice of gregory porter. he performs live. (sfx: crowd noise. ref whistle) ♪ (music) ♪ but we need an atm from our bank unless you want to spend a small fortune in fees. uh, no, thank you. banking with us means more fee-free atms than the two largest us banks combined. well, that would be co

course of the weekend, including last night with some hollywood heavyweights, steven spielberg, shonda rhimes, rob reiner. the president went after president trump there, talking about how he's a threat to democracy. i was talking yesterday with jeffrey katzenberg, a film mogul and the co-chair of the campaign. he said this will be the most lucrative 36 hours of president biden's campaign since he announced his re-election effort back in the spring. >> kevin liptak, thank you so much, in los angeles. >>> now to iowa, where many of the republican white house hopefuls are stumping today. the state's caucus, the first in the nation, will take place in just over five weeks. nikki haley, governor ron desantis, vivek ramaswamy, all holding events today in an attempt to court voters. cnn's eva mckend is on the ground. people have flooded all of these rooms to hear from these candidates. what's being said? >> reporter: fred, they want iowans to get out and caucus in a few short weeks, vivek ramaswamy, governor desantis, they spoke at a faith and family forum this morning. that's so important because

major fundraising events, including last night with some hollywood heavyweights, steven spielberg, shonda rhimes, rob reiner. i was talking yesterday to jef jeffrey katzenberg and he told me it will be the most successful in campaign fundraising since president biden announced his election in the spring. >> kevin liptak, thank you so much. >>> still to come for us, the u.s. is facing backlash after it vetoed a u.n. security council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire in gaza. this comes as israel advances its military operations in southern gaza amid a worsening humanitarian crisis. >>> > "the lead"d" with jake ta, cnn mondayay at 4:00. >>> new today, reports of heavy clashes across gaza between israel defense forces and hamas. the idf says it is engaging militants in northern gaza near the refugee camp, as well as in areas of khan younis in southern gaza, and it comes as the israeli military issued an urgent appeal for civilians to evacuate areas of khan younis today. the fighting showing no signs of slowing down, after the u.s. vetoed a u.n. resolution calling for an immediate cease

the president's 2020 for re-election campaign tonight hosted by hollywood star steven spielberg, shonda rhimesnny kravitz is also slated to perform in a clear and according to deadline tickets for the event range from $1000 to as high as $500,000. the biden administration has announced billions of dollars in federal funds for california's ongoing high-speed rail project. capitol correspondent eytan wallace shares what this means for the project's timeline and brings us reaction from state leaders on both sides of the aisle. >> we're looking at the future of high-speed rail in california. a project that has been under construction and development for several years now. and one that eventually seeks to connect southern california to northern california. and now the project is getting a boost in the form of a 3 plus billion dollar federal investment from the biden administration. >> california leaders including former house speaker nancy pelosi, responding to the news on this zoom call this massive federal investment takes us one step closer. high speed rails a reality. this is a game changer. a

this event hosted by hollywood heavy hitters, including steven spielberg and shonda rhimes, is trying to help build a better bay area by holding officials accountable. >> today we hear from san francisco district attorney brooke jenkins. a shopping spree for a good cause. and up next, we're live with abc news meteorologist rob marciano there is nothing like it dancing is my passion. but with my moderate-to-severe eczema, it hasn't always been easy. i was constantly itching. whatever i was doing now, i'm staying ahead of my eczema there's a power inside all of us to live our passion. and dupixent works on the inside, to help heal your skin from within. it helps block a key source of inflammation inside the body that can cause eczema. so, adults can have long lasting, clearer skin and fast itch relief serious allergic reactions can occur, that can be severe. tell your doctor about new or worsening eye problems, such as eye pain or vision changes, including blurred vision, joint aches and pains, or a parasitic infection. don't change or stop asthma medicines without talking to your docto

major names like producer shonda rhimes and barbara streisand and lenny kravitz is expected to performsident biden's first los angeles fundraiser since he announced his 2024 reelection bid. >> all right. 508. i heard on the radio and i thought, can this be that the air outside our house is likely colder than the air in the refrigerator early this morning for some. >> what do you set your refrigerator? 37. >> i have no idea. yeah. somewhere around there, i'm pretty sure mine's are 37. >> but there are some that are colder than that. tomorrow morning will be colder gaseous. all right. >> i've been warned. >> put that standing rib roast outside on the deck. >> you know i've done that, too. cool. a pie. quickly. i >> i believe me, i understand. all right. we do have mainly clear skies. there's really there's not much fog. there's a little bit of fog, so i'll mention it, but nothing widespread. but there are a few pockets of fog and it'll be a nice day today. just not very warm. the next system is heading to seattle and portland. they're saying, oh, we've had enough. thank you. but they're