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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D-New York City, NY) Publicly Sworn in As Mayor of New York City; Dozens Killed, 100-Plus Injured in Fire At Swiss Tourist Bar; Obamacare Subsidies Expire After Congress Misses Deadline. Trump Defends Fitness In New Interview: "Health Is Perfect"; Trump Tariffs Upend Holiday Shopping At Local Store. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired January 01, 2026 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:00]

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN ANCHOR: Happy New Year and welcome to The Lead. I'm Phil Mattingly in for Jake Tapper.

This hour, Zohran Mandani is officially the mayor of New York City after midnight ceremony in an old subway station and a public swearing-in this afternoon. Mamdani promised to tackle the affordability crisis in one of America's most expensive cities. So, what will this first action be and how much leeway are New Yorkers willing to give their new mayor?

Plus, they were supposed to ring in the New Year with a performance at the Kennedy Center last night, but after the board added President Trump's name to the landmark institution, The Cookers backed out of the gig. Band member David Weiss joins me live to explain why.

And evacuation warnings are in place in parts of California as a new storm system threatens to dump heavy rains and trigger flash flooding. We're heading to the CNN Weather Center for a look at tonight's forecast, where the storm is heading next, as we head into the first weekend of 2026.

The Lead tonight, Zohran Mamdani publicly sworn in as New York City's 112th mayor. The 34-year-old immigrant from Uganda making history as the city's first Muslim mayor, first South Asian mayor, and the youngest mayor to hold the high-profile office in more than a century. The former New York State assemblyman captured the world's attention and stunned the political establishment with his win in the Democratic primary last summer running a campaign focused on affordability.

CNN's Gloria Pazmino is at the New York City Hall where Mamdani's public inauguration ceremony took place. Gloria, what are the expectations? They're clearly high for the next couple of days.

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Phil, they're very high. And, quite frankly, Zohran Mamdani set his own expectations very high for himself, especially during that rousing, I would say, unapologetically progressive, unapologetically liberal speech during his inauguration. We saw Zohran Mamdnai really doubling down on his political identity, reminding the crowd that he'd been elected as a Democratic socialist and telling them that he plans to govern as a Democratic socialist.

He also talked during his speech about how he was told that this is the moment to sort of move to the middle to perhaps reach out to moderate Democrats, people who do not support all of his liberal proposals and ideas. And he said here today that he had no intention of doing that.

He talked about the moment that got him to today, right, his focus on affordability, on working class people, talking about how those are the New Yorkers that keep the city going and promising to work on their behalf. Take a listen to some of the speech.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR ZOHRAN MAMDANI (D-NEW YORK CITY, NY): The only expectation I seek to reset is that of small expectations.

We may not always succeed, but never will we be accused of lacking the courage to try.

I was elected as a Democratic socialist, and I will govern as a Democratic socialist.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAZMINO: At one point, chants of tax the rich broke out during that speech. That is, of course, how Zohran Mamdani has said he wants to pay for his initiatives by taxing New York City's wealthiest residents, something that will likely be an uphill battle here in New York, because the governor has said she does not want to raise taxes, and she and the state legislature are actually the ones with the power to do it.

But Zohran Mamdani already getting back to work. In the last hour, he signed a handful of executive orders, all of them aimed at trying to deal with the housing crisis here in New York City. It directs the city to create two task forces so they can analyze sort of the blocks that exist right now to building housing. He also appointed a new housing director and he is directing the city to study what they can do right now to try and tackle the housing crisis quickly.

So, he has an ambitious and complicated agenda ahead of him. But today certainly was about celebrating his administration, celebrating this moment. And I think a lot of people here who were inspired by his election really took in the moment and were able to be a part of it during that ceremony. Phil?

MATTINGLY: Gloria Pazmino, who has been leading a stellar coverage for months on this beat, I really appreciate your time from New York City town hall -- or from New York City Hall, thanks so much.

[18:05:00]

And I want to bring in staff writer at The Free Press, Olivia Reingold, who has also been doing extensive coverage on this race up to this point, former Democratic New York Congressman Max Rose, joins us as well.

Olivia, to start with you, I think what was fascinating about the speech is, and I guess we shouldn't be surprised at this point, but there's no kind of pragmatic pivot, there's no triangulation, there's no attempt to be, I guess, more, some people would say, realistic about some of the policy promises. How realistic is this focus going to be from a policy perspective going forward?

OLIVIA REINGOLD, STAFF WRITER, THE FREE PRESS: So, there isn't a lot of compromise so far from Zohran. I mean, he's only been mayor for less than 24 hours, so perhaps it is coming, but he is going to need to build a coalition beyond the DSA, which he shouted out in his speech actually. That stands for the Democratic Socialist of America, which is really how he got his start. He's going to need to grow beyond that.

And this really matters because he's facing an uphill battle here. The city has a budget deficit that he is going to have to deal with, and a lot of this, he's just going to have to hike uphill to Albany and convince Hochul to go along with this.

MATTINGLY: Congressman, CNN interviewed a few Mamdani supporters ahead of today's ceremony. I want you to take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSE ORTIZ, MAMDANI SUPPORTER: He spoke for the people, I think, that things that resonate with me.

I think we're all looking for something different, you know? And I'm just saying we needed a change.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've been keeping up with the transition and been liking everything that I've been seeing so far.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We need Democrats with backbones, and Zohran has one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: Look, the enthusiasm, the positivity, the embrace of the way he's campaigned and the way he's kind of shaped himself as a politician, that's why he won, period, end of story. How much patience and time do you think New Yorkers will give him to deliver on the promises?

FMR. REP. MAX ROSE (D-NY): Look, three New Yorkers for opinions. So, certainly, there's nothing like the first day of office in terms of high level points of positivity and optimism. But people will definitely give him at least a year. I mean, I think New Yorkers understand that you can't make these changes on day one.

But what Zohran Mamdani really was talking about when it comes to affordability, that is a fight that Democrats are taking up nationwide. So, as we consider the leeway that Mamdani will get, this will also be the leeway that the Democrats will get as a party. And when voters are considering that, they're taking into account the other side. They're taking into account the failures of the Republican Party who currently has the reins of power to do absolutely anything.

So, whenever we're considering Mamdani, we have to consider, you know, Trump and his Republican Party as well.

MATTINGLY: Congressman, were you surprised that there wasn't any kind of move to the middle or shift, change of course in the speech today?

ROSE: Yes. You know, I was a little bit surprised because that certainly has not been the story of his appointments, right? His appointments have been highly technocratic, experienced folks who really don't have virtually any history of being ideologically far to the left. So, now, he's doubling down with his rhetoric.

So, you might see him walk this pathway over the course of at least this next year, where, on the rhetorical side, he is talking about socialism, and on the governance side, he is not. You know, the point on taxing the rich, yes, that will absolutely take the governor, but that's not the whole story here.

Really, what he's talking about is I need $10 to $15 billion more. There's a chance that he might not even be able to get that from his tax plan of taxing the rich in extra 2 percent per year, particularly if New York State's coffers and their aggregate revenue goes down, as some are predicting it to be. So, this is going to be far more complex than even he pointed to in his speech.

MATTINGLY: It's a really great point. Olivia, it's part of why one of the things, and I really want to ask you this, because you've been on the ground, you've covered this kind of day in, day out now for several months, are people simplifying this into a national narrative, national movement, national figure in a way that isn't actually representative of what it is, or is Zohran Mamdani heading into the midterm years, like this is the guy, this is for the Democratic Party, the kind of barometer?

REINGOLD: I travel a lot for my job. I report across the country and I am astounded everywhere I go. I mean, I spoke to a handyman in Florida a few weeks ago, and he knew almost as much about Zohran as I do, and I've been on this beat since the beginning of his trajectory, his ascendant rise.

[18:10:11]

So I -- you know, when you look at polling nationally, there is a huge appetite amongst average Democrats that they want to see new leadership. And Zohran has huge name I.D. across the country. And I think that there is this real populist bent and populist hunger. You look at the Democratic Socialists of America and they are having chapters pop up all across the country, even in the south too, in unexpected places also.

MATTINGLY: Olivia Reingold, former Congressman Max Rose, I really appreciate you guys. Thanks so much.

REINGOLD: Thank you.

ROSE: Thanks again.

MATTINGLY: Well, investigation is underway tonight after a fire broke out at a bar at a Swiss ski resort during a New Year's Eve party. Officials estimate 40 people were killed, more than a hundred others injured. CNN's team just arrived on the scene where a tribute is growing. We're going to check in with them live next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:15:00]

MATTINGLY: In our World Lead, a New Year's party at a popular tourist bar in Switzerland turned deadly when a fire broke out, killing at least 40 people and injuring about 115 others. Now, witnesses describe people screaming, calling for help as the fire spread.

CNN's Nick Robertson is live on the scene, near the scene. Do investigators, Nick, know how this actually started?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: They don't. It's an underground bar. Le Constellation bar is an underground bar and it has wooden paneling on the ceiling, quite narrow staircase to get down, capacity for several hundred people. Not clear, according to the prosecutors, how many people were in the bar when the fire started, but the witnesses have described the fire literally ripping through from the moment it starts to, within about ten seconds, balls of flame ripping through.

And what, you know, sort of pyrotechnic engineers, if you will, fire services, you know, often describe in these scenarios where you have an intense fire. The fire burns out the oxygen. Somebody opens a window or a door to try to break out and get out of there. Air rushes in, which feeds the fire. And that's perhaps partly why there's this intensity, that it was so ferocious and there were so many casualties and injuries. But also it's sort of how the file leapt around this enclosed space.

But the prosecutor at the moment is saying, look, we just do not have those details. There were forensic teams working at the bar just a few hours ago. Undoubtedly, there's a lot more work to be done there as well as trying to aid the injured and give solace to some of the families as well.

MATTINGLY: Nick Robertson for us on the ground in Switzerland, thanks so much.

Well, the first day of 2026 means healthcare subsidies have expired, meaning millions of Americans will likely have to pay even more for healthcare or go uninsured. Is Congress working on any kind of compromise during their holiday break? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:20:00] MATTINGLY: In our Politics Lead, the start of the New Year means new financial stress for millions of Americans enrolled in the Affordable Care Act after Congress missed the deadline to extend subsidies. While the House is expected to vote on a Democratic proposal to extend subsidies by three years when Congress is back in session, the bill already facing major headwinds in the Senate.

Joining us now to discuss, Florida Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Congresswoman, I really appreciate your time, Happy New Year.

I want to start with -- I mean, this is one of those issues -- it's tough to say Happy New Year for the people who are actually grappling with this at the moment. The director of the group covering Florida says, more clients are choosing to forego healthcare coverage in 2026. What is your message to your constituents, to Floridians who are having to make this choice while waiting for Congressional action?

REP. DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (D-FL): Well, thanks for having me and happy New Year to everyone, Phil. It is just unbelievable. My message at home is that, you know, I, alongside my Democratic colleagues, have been fighting for months and months to try to make sure that Republicans join us in careening the healthcare affordability car off the cliff, which Donald Trump and my Republican colleagues chose to do today.

And so I have 203,000 constituents in my district alone that are going to face -- that are facing today skyrocketing healthcare costs. Many of them will lose their coverage entirely. And it's just another example of the callous indifference that Republicans have when it comes to the everyday affordability that Americans -- affordability crisis that Americans are facing today. It's really mind-blowing.

And, thankfully, we're going to vote on the three-year extension of the tax credits that Democrats under Hakeem Jeffries' leadership forced to the floor joined by four Republicans. So, there are Republicans that agree we should work on this together. That's what we should have done already, and hopefully we can get this done in the next few weeks.

MATTINGLY: Yes. What's always struck me is, ironic, it's probably not the right word, it's Congress, so everything's kind of filled with irony on some level. But the idea that there was always 218 for an extension, there was always a majority in the Senate for an extension as well. Melding those two things together, getting leadership to actually put bills on the floor has been the two major roadblocks right now.

Obviously, the Democrats will get their proposal onto the floor in the house. How do you reconcile these? What's the way to thread the needle between two chambers?

SCHULTZ: Well, the problem is that it's going to be very difficult for us to reconcile the bill, the difference between the House and the Senate's opinion. But, overall, the Republican leadership in both the House and Senate and Donald Trump actually don't care and don't want to extend the tax credits. They had an opportunity to do that in the midst of the debate on the one big, ugly bill this summer. What they chose to do was that they chose to give tax breaks to the wealthiest, most fortunate Americans, extend those from 2017 and make those permanent. Those were temporary also.

They keep citing examples of how Democrats made the tax credits temporary. Well, Republicans did that in 2017 with their tax breaks for the wealthiest among us, and chose to make those permanent while refusing to make the tax credits either permanent or even extend them by a few years, and now, the pain that is added to an affordability crisis that already exists in America between groceries and utilities and healthcare now, and a laundry list housing, that this is in the lap of Republicans. Democrats will continue to fight to focus on making sure that life is more affordable for all Americans.

[18:25:03]

That's the critical issue today when I'm talking to my constituents at home.

MATTINGLY: That issue not only critical, but also politically salient like none other, I think, in the moment. And that's probably -- nobody's demonstrated that better than Zohran Mamdani, who was sworn in as mayor today of New York City. Again, city mayor, not necessarily the national barometer for the Democratic Party, although I think a lot of people have looked at it that way. You were sharply critical of him at points over the summer, saying -- telling the Hill, quote, to not be willing to condemn the term, globalize intifada, it just demonstrates his callous disregard for anti-Semitism, saying he isn't ready for prime time. What's your view on him now? Do you feel like he's there? Do you feel like he's a critical piece of the future of the Democratic Party?

SCHULTZ: Well, the views that I've stated over the course of his candidacy haven't changed because, unfortunately, he has not revised his opinions or certainly expressed a clear opposition to inciting more anti-Semitism with remarks like that when others make them.

But Zohran Mamdani's success was the result of his focus, like Abigail Spanberger, the incoming governor of Virginia, Mikie Sherrill, the incoming mayor -- governor of New Jersey, even Eileen Higgins, who is now the mayor of the City of Miami.

Democrats have won across the board this year in focusing on the number one issue, the most important issue, what is coming out of people's pocketbooks and that life has become unaffordable. And if he sticks to that and can work across the divide of philosophical differences, then, hopefully, life can become more affordable for New Yorkers and Democrats will continue, unlike the Trump administration and Republicans, to focus on making sure that the kitchen table issues that people are struggling with are at the top of the agenda.

MATTINGLY: It's a really good point that there's a through line between very different types of Democratic candidates in the off-year elections.

SCHULTZ: Absolutely.

MATTINGLY: And it's affordability. There are very different types representing very different kind of elements of the Democratic Party, but they all focused on one critical issue and they all ended up, victorious.

Real quick before I let you go, the Trump administration's decision to freeze childcare payments to Minnesota amid the federal investigations into allegations of fraud at childcare centers, it's having real repercussions on the ground in Minnesota. What's your response to that?

SCHULTZ: Well, look, again, it's more distraction from the affordability crisis that is being exacerbated by Donald Trump. I mean, listen, anybody who violates federal law and fraudulently uses federal funding should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, which is exactly what the Biden administration has been doing in Minnesota in this childcare investigation of fraud for years now, in fact, securing convictions of people who have engaged in fraud.

What Donald Trump is trying to do here is distract from the fact that he's pardoned people who -- a guy who was convicted of insider trading, a guy who was convicted of being a drug kingpin, he pardoned George Santos. Donald Trump is not someone who cares about making sure that people who are the worst criminals are actually put in prison.

And at the end of the day, we need to make sure that you don't hold children accountable and their parents who are trying to make sure that they can afford to send their child to a daycare center so that they can afford to go to work and they have a safe place for their children to stay.

So, this is nothing more than a distraction. Donald Trump has no credibility when it comes to fighting fraud or actually, you know, holding criminals accountable because he's pardoned so many just in the single year he's been president. So, spare me the tough on crime, fraud that he's representing himself.

MATTINGLY: Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Democrat from Florida, thanks so much for your time. I really appreciate it.

SCHULTZ: Thanks, Phil.

MATTINGLY: Well, my next guest was supposed to perform at the Kennedy Center last night, but just days before, his group canceled their performance. Why? We'll ask, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:30:00]

MATTINGLY: Our Pop Lead comes with a rather large helping of politics on the side. Ever since the Kennedy Center Board of Directors added President Trump's name to the Performing Arts Center here in Washington, artists have been canceling scheduled performances. My next guest's group, The Cookers, pulled out of a pair of New Year's Eve shows.

Trumpeter, composer and arranger David Weiss joins me now. David, I really appreciate your time. The statement on The Cooker's website says, the decision here came together very quickly. Explain the decision, the abrupt cancelation here.

DAVID WEISS, MUSICIAN: We were discussing it for quite some time and, of course, in the last couple of weeks, things seem to be escalating a lot. We were more talking about more of the general condition of the world we were living in at the moment. And I don't believe the name change to us made that big of a difference in the overall scope of everything that's going on.

But it seems to, I mean, blow up on social media and affect our fans and affect our families. And the discussion intensified. And, finally, we decided that we just couldn't do this. Like I said, a lot of pressure from longtime friends and family made a big difference. We didn't anticipate the name change to create such a backlash, but, apparently, it was something that spoke very strongly to a lot of people.

[18:35:01]

You never know when these symbolic things are just going to blow up. And we just, I don't know, reacted accordingly. But it was mostly about, you know, pressure from fans and friends and family.

MATTINGLY: The group issued a statement on its website, saying in part, we remain committed to playing music that reaches across divisions rather than deepening them. You know, you talk about what you were hearing in advance of the decision, what have you heard in the wake of the decision? Are you concerned that the decision itself might actually exacerbate some of the divisions?

WEISS: There's always that concern in this world. Again, this world we're living in seems to be creating these divisions. And, honestly, even seeing some of the social media stuff that was written about us when we were still slated to perform was, you know, scary, nasty. It was a lot to take in. It's social media, so, I mean, you don't weigh it as much as other things, like I said, friends and family. But it was -- we were quite taken aback by the backlash.

Now this band has been together for 18 years. And the main members of this group have been playing music for 60 years, and they performed music in the 60s. That always had elements of protest music. In fact, I think a lot of the music they played in the 60s were the soundtrack of the Civil Rights Movement.

So, they have been part of that fabric, but in the 60s, if you had something you say, you said it by playing music, by making an album, you know, albums that said Freedom Now, We Insist Freedom Now, I mean there's a lot of stuff going on then. But they didn't have social media then. They didn't have CNN cable news then. The only way to express themselves was through their music and they still really feel that way. For a long time, the intention was to do the performance because we thought that in itself, going there and playing this music and maybe playing some protest music or saying things was to form a protest we were going to go to. But it seemed like once the name change was made, the tide had turned and we -- that option was -- let's say, that option wasn't considered by this world. I mean, I guess, you know, screaming on social media is the only way to make a point now. And it's unfortunate because, like I said, these musicians have always played music as a way to express themselves.

MATTINGLY: I feel, and correct me if I'm wrong here, I can almost hear the -- there's a combination of weight, but also I think a struggle in your voice about how this has all played out and trying to figure out what the right answer is to convey what you want to convey, and you kind of got stuck in the middle of something that I don't think you or the group necessarily was looking for or has wanted since. Is that a fair characterization?

WEISS: I think we had no idea. I mean, we watch T.V. some of us dabble in social media. We see people get canceled, we see backlash. But we never, I guess, fully realized it would fall on us or that people would, you know, cancel us, you know, for, you know, taking -- you know, deciding to play the show if we went ahead with it.

So, yes, it's kind of a new thing. I'm trying to speak for everybody in this band. And, again, you know, the three of the guys are in their 80s. One guy's actually 90 years old now. And, you know, they're certainly moving with the times and their music is modern and vital and important, but that's what they do. And it's hard to grasp how much backlash they got and how much it was affecting them. And now that we've canceled, it's potentially going the other way. And I don't want to -- I don't -- I hope 85 year olds and 90-year-old guys are not subjected to that kind of kind of thing at this point in their lives. I just hope, you know, they're just trying to play music and, you know, make their statements musically and move on. But, yes, the world's got a different idea for them, I guess -- for us, I'm sorry.

MATTINGLY: Yes. Well, I appreciate you taking the time. There's a lot of value to actually having a conversation about it and conveying what you've been able to do so in the last several minutes.

David Weiss, thanks very much, I appreciate it.

WEISS: Thanks for having me.

MATTINGLY: Well, the advice from his doctors that President Trump says he ignores, that's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:40:00]

MATTINGLY: In our Health Lead, President Trump is dismissing concerns that he's slowing down or showing any signs of aging, telling The Wall Street Journal in a new interview, quote, my health is perfect. And he admits to sometimes relying on his, quote, good genetics over the advice of his doctors and accepted health recommendations.

The 79-year-old also told the Journal he regrets undergoing a C.T. scan last year because of the scrutiny it generated about his health, saying, quote, I would have been a lot better off if they didn't, because the fact that I took it said, oh gee, is something wrong? Well, nothing's wrong.

Let's discuss now with Dr. Jonathan Reiner, professor of medicine and surgery at George Washington University, he's also a CNN medical analyst. Doctor, really appreciate your time.

Just last month, you said you were seriously concerned about the president's health. What's your level of concern after hearing from the president who says he's in perfect health?

DR. JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Well, I'm mostly concerned that the public really hasn't been told essentially anything meaningful about the president's health here.

So, let's turn the clock back and look what's gone on over the last nine months. The president had a physical exam, a comprehensive physical exam in April at Walter Reed, and, you know, they listed, you know, a bunch of studies which were essentially all normal, the president was great and they -- and there was nothing else to see.

[18:45:08]

Over the summer, the president developed really a greatly swollen ankles, which prompted another series of tests. They called that chronic venous insufficiency, despite the fact that just a few months earlier, during his comprehensive exam, the presidents physician said he had no swelling of the leg. So, it doesn't sound so chronic to me. It sounds more acute.

And then something happened in the fall. Something happened in October that prompted an off-cycle series of tests by the president's medical team. And when the results of those were released to the public, they used some basically euphemisms to describe what the president the test, the president went through. And the euphemism was advanced imaging.

And they didn't describe whether there was a CT or an MRI. And then later on, a few days later on Air Force One, the president basically said he had an MRI. He couldn't describe what body part, but he said he had an MRI, which prompted the president's physician again to release another statement, at which time he again did not describe the specific test the president, underwent and said that, again, everything looked fine.

And now we learn that the president didn't have an MRI. He actually had a CT scan, which explains why the presidents physician didn't describe the test. After the president disclosed his MRI, because he didn't have an MRI.

So, as best we can tell, the president had a cardiac CT or what looks like a CT angiogram, which is basically a noninvasive way to tell whether the president has any significant coronary artery disease. And in his statement to the wall street journal, the president's physician, Dr. Sean Barbabella, basically said the test looked great. There was no abnormality, which actually doesn't correlate with what Dr. Ronny Jackson told the public in 2018 when he disclosed that the president had a similar CT scan that showed the presence of coronary calcium, which is a marker of coronary artery disease.

So the -- I'm almost less concerned about the actual cause of the president's bruising. We can talk about that, than I am about why the White House medical team has felt the need to study him in the last few months. What symptoms? What clinical concerns have prompted this?

Because the president is right. When you test the president of the United States, it creates a lot of concern, and rightfully so.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN HOST: The -- what the president said about the about aspirin, which has gotten a lot of attention, taking more aspirin than what his doctors are recommending and his rationale for doing so, which is he said, quote, they say aspirin is good for thinning out the blood, and I don't want thick blood pouring through my heart. I want nice thin blood pouring through my heart. Does that make sense?

Does that make sense?

REINER: That makes no sense. That actually makes nonsense.

So, first of all, when we use any kind of anticoagulant, medications to prevent clotting, those don't thin the blood. It's not like changing something from gumbo to chicken soup. It doesn't make -- it doesn't make it thinner. It makes you less likely to clot.

And it used to be that we would treat a lot of people with aspirin therapy to prevent heart attacks. But we've learned in, in recent years that particularly for people over the age of 70, not only is there no benefit in terms of just primary prevention trying to prevent a cardiac event by giving them aspirin, that there can be hazard and the hazard can be bleeding, significant bleeding.

So, here's the -- here's the interesting thing about this. The president apparently is taking 325 milligrams of aspirin per day, which is essentially one adult sized aspirin tablet. But the dosage that we use for patients, even with documented coronary artery disease, is a quarter of that, is 81 milligrams per day.

So why is the president taking, you know, an unorthodox dose of aspirin? And the media has published, you know, many photos of his right hand and now maybe his left hand with this chronic bruise. The White House has said that this is related to chronic aspirin therapy. So if you're bruising a lot and your doctor says you're on too much aspirin, why wouldn't you go down to the lower dose? It makes no sense to me.

MATTINGLY: Dr. Jonathan Reiner, that was actually a very helpful and nuanced explanation of a lot of things people have been talking about. Thank you very much. Really appreciate it. REINER: My pleasure.

MATTINGLY: Well, turning now to our "Business Leaders" series, where we speak with small business owners about President Trump's tariffs. Today, we're visiting Tesoro, a gift store in Beverly Hills, California, selling gifts for all ages, from clothing to antiques and everything in between.

Joining me now is owner and self-proclaimed curator of happiness, which I think you can all use in 2026, Tara Riceberg.

Tara, really appreciate your time.

Just to start off, we're going to talk about how tariffs impacted your products in a minute. But I also understand your store was damaged on Christmas morning. And there's actually been an impact on the repair process as well.

TARA RICEBERG, OWNER, TESORO: Yep, 6:00 a.m. Christmas morning. I get the call. The fire department is there, and the business that I have been scrambling to save since COVID is now gone and the idea that I need to rebuild and navigate that when I do not know what the cost of building materials is going to be, I'm looking at a 4 to 12 month build out before I can even get back in.

I don't even know how to source product and what that's going to even look like for me to be open. Hopefully by fourth quarter next year. The tariffs are real. They're taxes, they're taxes Americans are paying.

And I think there's a disconnect that people think it's only 30 percent. I have a store because of COVID that can no longer stock Amazon products. So, I stock with handmade by American artists. I import from Europe.

And my European imports now carry tariffs between 65 percent and 167 percent. So, I obviously cannot bring product into my store. The scramble I have gone from the COVID pivot to the tariff spin out. There is no way to plan, forecast, anticipate. We're just all holding our breath and just to kind of give you a visual, customers come in, but they're spending less.

You know, I'm a blond, but now I have brunet hair because I can't afford to hair color as blond anymore. The cost are everywhere. It's in the packaging. It's in the merchandise. There is not one aspect that has not been impacted by these tariffs, these illegal taxes.

And then nobody talks about this. But the insult to injury is sales tax on the tax. So, all we're doing is spending money. And I don't see any return for it. It's frustrating. It's scary.

We are going to kill main street. And if were not already headed into a depression, we're going to be. There is no way small business can sustain and honestly, these tariffs, these taxes, they are the final nail in the coffin of small business. MATTINGLY: We don't have a lot of time left, but and I have about 34

questions that I would like to ask you just quickly. How are you doing? Are you doing okay?

RICEBERG: Yeah. I just lost my business on Christmas Day. I'm great, but I am a retail champion, and I want to see -- I want to see our country in my stores and my retail community thrive. And honestly, as much as I want to say to Congress, do your job, stop with these illegal taxes, I also want to say to the viewers, hey you guys, we got to participate.

You got to write to your Congress people. You got to shout out and say that we're hurting here. And honestly, you got to shop small. The death of small business is the online shopping. We got conditions during COVID to shop from home, but we need to reengage.

You know, community isn't convenient. It takes an effort. You got to get out and be with people and be one to one, and say to a small business owner, thank you for being here. Even if you're just buying a greeting card, just walking through the door of your local store, gives that business owner hope that it's all going to work out and it's all going to be okay.

MATTINGLY: To be very clear, I wasn't trying to be flippant. I know that wasn't how you were answering it, but like your story and what you're conveying and your willingness to come on and convey it in the wake of what you've been dealing with recently, but also writ large, I really do appreciate it, and I think it carries a lot of value.

And I hope the people who are watching policymakers in particular, pay attention to what you're saying. And I hope you have a much better 2026 than the back end of your 2025.

Tara, thank you very much.

RICEBERG: Thank you so much.

MATTINGLY: And if you want to check out what's for sale or see how you can offer fire support, please visit bestgiftstoreever.com or follow Instagram, Best Gift Store Ever.

Tara Riceberg, thank you very much.

Well, evacuation warnings are in place as a new storm system pummels California. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:58:23]

MATTINGLY: In our national lead, the New Year bringing a new round of heavy rain across southern California and reigniting a flood threat after last week's destructive storm that brought mudslides and flooding around Christmas. While this round won't be as extreme, it could create new flooding and mudslides concerns. Our health lead, where a multi-state salmonella outbreak that's likely

linked to raw oysters has sickened more than 60 people across 22 states. The CDC says it's working to identify the source of the contaminated oysters, raw seafood, undercooked meat, unpasteurized dairy and raw eggs are some of the most common sources of foodborne illness.

And in our money lead, President Trump rang in the New Year at Mar-a- Lago, where he auctioned off a painting of Jesus for nearly $3 million. The massive portrait was painted in less than 10 minutes, while the president watched on. President Trump says half of the money raised will go to Saint Jude's Children's Hospital, and the rest will go to the local sheriff's department.

And a special treat on CNN tonight, he helped define a generation of comedy and became a widely recognized 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 with candid interviews with Chevy himself and those who know him best. The film boldly explores the life and career of an unforgettable comedy icon.

"I'M CHEVY CHASE AND YOU'RE NOT" premieres in just a little bit over an hour at 8:00 p.m. here on CNN. And starting tomorrow, you can stream it on the CNN app.

And of course, you can follow the show on x and Instagram at CNN. You ever miss an episode of THE LEAD, you can watch the show on the CNN app. I'll see you here again tomorrow.

Happy New Year, everyone.