coronavirus surge. good morning. thank you so much for joining us this morning. you are right now in california and there was a dramatic rise in cases post thanksgiving. just six weeks ago, the state alone hit 1 million cases. now it's up to 2 million. icus are also overwhelmed. what are you seeing on the ground? >> when i was on shift yesterday, i was looking at the patients we were admitting to the hospital in the icu. almost all of them had the same presenting complaint to the hospital, which was shortness of breath. we had patients in the waiting room for three, four hours with fever, cough, difficulty breathing. across the state, icu capacity is down and the hospitals around us are full and our icus are filling rapidly. >> despite the repeated warnings from health officials, it's predicted to be a busy travel day today. what's your advice?

>> well, i think my biggest piece of advice, if you are looking to travel for the holidays is don't if you can avoid it. it's really hard to avoid risks that come along with especially air travel. if you're staying home and you want to socialize locally, the risk level of that depends a lot on local infection rates. so its really is important to look at local guide lines. >> there's another headline regarding the virus and pregnant mothers. can you break it down for us? >> yeah. this was a bright spot in the news today. this is a study out of boston. they were looking at pregnant women who had acquired covid during their third trimester and then had given birth. i think they followed 64 women. they found that in zero of those cases was the virus transmitted to the newborn. that should be reassuring to those who are slated to give birth here during this pretty challenging time.

>> definitely some hopeful news coming out of that study. thank you, dr. rivera. now to the story of a shelter dog set to get a second chance on life. >> meet coby, the 3-year-old bulldog/pit bull mix on long island. he's got a heart defect. in addition to threatening his life, it's also made it difficult for him to get adopted. now a local vet has stepped in to save the day. coby will undergo heart surgery next month. doctors say he should be a normal life span, hopefully in his forever home. >> he year and he has a bad heart valve. i'm really excited for this dog. >> i can use a dog. he's on long island. maybe i'll throw my hat in the ring. don't hold me to that. >> i've already sent the script to lifetime. they're making a movie. >> what a great movie that would be. coming up, this year's hottest stocking stuffer ideas. it's '90s nostalgia with a care bear throwback.

and it's cats versus pickles, the new beanie babies. you'll never believe what meghan markle got her brother-in-law as a gag gift for christmas. ag gift for christmas.

♪ ["i go♪ oooh by ciara] ♪ it all can get so out of control sometimes ♪ ♪ you can lose your faith ♪ you can lose your mind ♪ lose your grip ♪ get stripped of your pride ♪ till you don't know how you're gonna stay alive ♪ ♪ hey, hey i got you ♪ hey, hey i got you ♪ i'll be there to stop the bleeding ♪ ♪ i'll be there to start the healing ♪ ♪ i will give you what you're needing ♪ ♪ i'll be right there ♪ i got your back ♪ i got you ♪

if you're still looking for something to fill those stockings this christmas, a hippo might be more than the family bargained for. luckily, we have some better ideas. >> our will ganss spoke with toy insider ali majevski about 2020's must-have stocking stuffers. >> i have a beautiful stocking

hand made by my grandma, but there's one problem. it's empty. that's where you come in. >> and i have the perfect stocking stuffers for kids and family members. >> let's jump right in. >> we'll start out with these amazing plush toys. these are the cats versus pickles plush. they are so fun and so silly. they are the absolute best. you also have a rare pickle. so the pickles are very rare and you have to try to collect as many as you can. kids will absolutely love these. >> that is incredible. i love that i got the rare pickle. >> next up we have five surprise mini brands. these come in these collectible little balls like this. when you crack them open, they'll peel out into sort of like orange wedges. as you peel each of those wedges open inside you're going to get these fun little mini versions of what you can see at the grocery store. this is velveeta. i have a pickle jar.

they're so detailed. they come in groceries and toys, all kinds of fun things like that. >> that is so cute. >> next up, we're going to go back in time. these are the care bears unlock the magic interactive figures. how cute are they? they're the new care wear bears. they have all kinds of reactions and interactivity. you can talk to them. they'll talk back. they share their feelings, they sing songs. if you have more than one, they will interact with each other. so they'll sing together. they'll talk back and forth. they're really fun. plus, they come with these really cute care points that you can give to your friends so you can remember to be kind and caring, which is something we all need in 2020. >> absolutely. yes, we do. this is so cool. i can't believe that care bears are still on the hot toy list. they were on the hot toy list when i was little.

>> the talking plush, i love this. it is a classic plush toy. it has this cute drawstring in the back. when you pull it -- >> son of a nutcracker! >> he says fun phrases from the movie that kids will love. he also can sit. >> my neighbors are going to hear me pulling the string and hearing the line. sorry. what else do we have? >> last up, we have the beyblade tournament versus battle pack. that is a lot to say, but these are so much fun. they come in a two-pack of these battling tops. when they collide, you know who wins because one will burst apart, which is so fun. you launch them with these rip cords, so they're super easy to do. then you rebuild it and battle

again. it's the perfect stocking stuffer if you have multiple kids. so kids can play right away with each other. it's so great. >> amazing. thank you so much. now i have -- this will not be empty for much longer. i have some great ideas for myself and for other people, family members, loved ones. thank you so much, ali, for saving our holidays once again. >> of course. thank you for having me. >> ali is the best. so is will. this segment made me feel a lot better. care bears, beyblades. maybe i'm not that old because i recognized all of those items. we're still in the game, you guys. >> i have little nieces and nephews. i was taking plenty of notes there. >> same. coming up, if you think your holiday situation stinks, be glad you're not this guy. how he wound up stuck sharing an apartment with his mother and

his ex-wife. >> oh, man. that's next.

♪ all right. this happened. >> what happened? >> this guy's living with his mom and his ex-wife in quarantine. >> and it's not a sitcom? >> not yet anyway. the man is a tv writer. his name's neil kramer. for the past ten months, he's been in queens with his mom and his ex-wife. two bedrooms, one bathroom, one crazy scenario. and they're taking -- oh, what is that? >> i don't know what's going on. >> they're taking a whole bunch of pictures documenting the whole thing. he's been posting these on social media with his ex-wife and his mother's approval. he says he doesn't want to get

killed. i admire people who are evolved enough to do that. the man and the wife were married for two decades, but they've been divorced for three years. her house flooded so she moved in with him. the mom is there. good for them, i guess, is all i can say. >> i think he's doing -- >> my gaft is flabbered. i'm flabbergasted. >> i think he's doing research. he's a tv writer. this sounds like a sitcom. >> he wanted to get on "world news now." it's been a ten-month-long con. here it is. going viral. speaking of family drama, so we know that the royals have an annual tradition where they give each other inexpensive gifts but they have to be quirky and humorous. in the past we've seen princess ann gave her brother prince charles a leather toilet seat. then we saw kate middleton once gave prince harry a grow your own girlfriend. looks like it worked. this year meghan markle, she gave prince william a spoon that reads cereal killer.

but spelled cereal -- >> yes. get it? it's funny. >> i do get it. it is funny. ha ha. what do you want me to say? there's only so much you can say. >> it's the first time it's not drama related. >> but it will be soon enough. it's like, oh, that's not a nice gift. anyway, let's move on. dog races through mini snow labyrinth after winter storm hits calgary? are you interested? >> mm-hm. >> look at this guy. it's in calgary this week. i'm looking for the dog's name. he's quick. he's nimble. probably having a whole lot of fun. >> brain from pinkie and the brain. >> works for me. let's go to this story where santa, like many new yorkers, likes to spend summer in the florida keys and he is sky ba

diving before h

♪ from the north pole to new york city, it's live with kelly and ryan. @home for the holidays. today, the queen of christmas, the magical mariah carey. and a classic holiday performance from alanis morissette. plus our heartwarming story of a young man whose earned the nickname, kid santa. and throughout the show, funny holiday home videos courtesy of our incredible viewers. also, the live family staff and crew a special holiday message. so grab your cocoa and get comfy, because here are two of santa's favorite elves, kelly ripa and ryan seacrest. -santa: oh, no! -[crashing] woo! ah! oh! oh my goodness! oh! that was magical.