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Swiss Police Says Dozens Killed, 115 Hurt After Fire at New Year's Eve Party; Zohran Mamdani Publicly Sworn-in as Mayor of New York City; Masked, Armed Ice Agents Roam Hallways of NY Immigration Court; Trump Faces Lame Duck Status After Midterms. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired January 01, 2026 - 14:00   ET

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

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[14:01:32]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": Happy New Year. I'm Briana Keilar. Boris is off today and we do begin with some devastating Breaking News out of Switzerland where authorities say dozens of people are dead and more than 100 others injured after a fire and explosion tore through a crowded New Year's celebration.

Flames engulfing a bar at a popular ski resort just over an hour into the New Year. Witnesses say they believe sparklers on top of champagne bottles are to blame. CNN's Nada Bashir is following the tragic developments for us. Tell us what you're learning here, Nada.

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brianna, we have been hearing from officials and local authorities with regards to the progress of the investigation which they have very clear about. They said it is simply too early at this stage to come to a firm conclusion as to what has caused the fire and the priority at this stage, what authorities are focusing on is the tragic effort of trying to identify the bodies of the victims of this deadly blaze and also to notify the family members of those impacted. They have said that there are still families waiting for confirmation.

As we know, at this stage, at least 40 people have been killed. Some 100 others have been injured. According to authorities, many of them have been badly burned and many of them were young individuals celebrating New Year's when that fire broke out at around 1:30 a.m. local time, and we have been hearing from witnesses on the ground describing the distressing scene which unfolded.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAMUEL RAPP, WITNESSED AFTERMATH OF FIRE (through translator): There were people screaming and then people lying on the ground probably dead. They had jackets over their faces. Well, that's what I saw, nothing more. Then I received videos where people were trying to get out but they were trampling over each other, so it was hard to get out through the exit. And there were people shouting, saying help me, please help us. (END VIDEO CLIP)

BASHIR: Now, other witnesses have been speaking to local officials say that after the fire broke out, an explosion was heard. This is being investigated purely as a fire. There is no indication of anything malicious at this stage or any sort of terror links. But of course, this is a huge undertaking for authorities. We have been hearing, of course, around the mammoth effort that has been put forward by the Emergency Services who are said to have responded rapidly after that fire broke out, and we've seen a huge deployment of Emergency Response Teams, some 40 ambulances as well as air ambulances, some 150 medical personnel taking part in that response effort.

Now, we have been hearing from officials that some of those injured will be transported to hospitals abroad, across the European Union for specialized care. But again, early stages in this investigation, no clear details just yet as to what has caused this deadly fire.

KEILAR: All right, Nada, thank you for the very latest on that. It is a historic day in New York City. The city's first-ever Muslim mayor and the youngest mayor in more than a hundred years, Zohran Mamdani, has now been on the job just over 12 hours. And right now, there is a crowd gathered outside of city hall. You're looking at live pictures here as Mamdani is holding a public swearing-in ceremony alongside Senator Bernie Sanders and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, among the notable figures there. CNN's Gloria Pazmino is watching all of this as New York City is welcoming in a new era.

Gloria, what is Mayor Mamdani's message to the city today?

[14:05:00]

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're about to hear from Mamdani shortly, Brianna. We expect him to talk about his agenda and about exactly what got him here today and that is, of course, his message to working-class people and his message that was focused on affordability and making the city of New York, the most expensive city in America, affordable for those who live here.

Now on stage, we're hearing from Cornelius Eady and he is the inaugural poet. Mr. Eady is a well-known African-American poet who in fact, much of his work is focused on the African-American experience as well as the New York experience, the diversity of the city. That is yet another symbol that we are seeing at this ceremony today. Eady is delivering a poem right now that was composed specifically for this moment. We expect to hear from Mamdani in just a short few minutes.

There's been a lot of energy here today. There's a lot of people, thousands of supporters who packed the streets around city hall, who are packed into the plaza directly behind me wanting to take this moment in and it is in fact a historic moment. Mamdani is the first Muslim mayor elected in the city of New York. He is the first immigrant mayor in centuries, and the youngest in the last 100 years. So, there's a lot of meaning in all of today. He will be using a Quran to take his oath of office, that belonged to his grandmother and another one that belonged to his grandfather. That's going to be a big moment for the Muslim community here in New York City as well as the South Asian community who came out in droves to support this candidate.

Mamdani has a long road and a very ambitious agenda ahead of him and he is going to need the support of the state legislature, the governor, certainly, the federal government to enact part of his agendas. And I think one thing that we are all going to be keeping a close eye on is his relationship with President Trump.

We know how that last meeting, that first meeting that they had last month went, a lot friendlier and a lot warmer than I think any of us expected, so that will certainly be a major dynamic playing out here in the next few months. He has a lot of work ahead, a very complicated city of New York to run, but there's a lot of people here who are rooting for him and want to see him succeed. Brianna?

KEILAR: All right. We'll be surveying things there with you, Gloria, and we will bring folks his remarks when they do begin. Still ahead, redistricting, the economy, and midterm elections. We're going to look ahead to some of the biggest headlines of 2026 that will shape the political arena.

Also, courthouse hallways turned into a battleground for immigration rights. CNN hears some of the heartbreaking stories of families torn apart with no explanation.

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[14:12:05]

KEILAR: New developments in the case of Kilmar Abrego-Garcia coming from a recently unsealed ruling. A judge says top officials in Washington may have worked with federal prosecutors to bring charges against Abrego-Garcia after he fought his wrongful deportation to El Salvador.

Abrego-Garcia argues that the charges stemming from a Tennessee traffic stop years earlier were brought in retaliation for his challenging his unlawful removal, calling for the charges to be dismissed, saying he's a victim of selective and vindictive prosecution. In a December 3rd ruling that was made public on Tuesday, the federal judge writes, "The government's documents may contradict its prior representations that the decision to prosecute was made locally and that there were no outside influences."

Every weekday, people come to 26 Federal Plaza in New York to meet with judges overseeing their immigration cases. Federal agents are roaming the hallways too, detaining men and women without explanation as they leave routine hearings. CNN's Omar Jimenez has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JUDGE CARMEN REY CALDAS, FORMER IMMIGRATION JUDGE: I will never forget the visuals of seeing masked, armed men walking past my courtroom, as I'm watching the people in front of me shake in fear from what is coming.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The woman was forcibly slammed to the floor.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ICE took the rare step of relieving an officer of his duties.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Every weekday in New York City, foreigners come here to 26 Federal Plaza to meet with the judges overseeing their immigration cases.

JIMENEZ (voice-over): But since this past spring, they're not just seeing judges, ICE agents are there too, detaining some men and women without explanation as they leave routine court hearings, even when their case is still ongoing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look this way.

JIMENEZ (voice-over): These are civil courts, and according to an analysis of federal data, over 70 percent of people in ICE detention have no criminal convictions.

Ben Remy comes here almost every day to deliver free legal advice to whoever needs it, wherever they need it.

BEN REMY, LAWYER, NEW YORK LEGAL ASSISTANCE GROUP: This was a first for me giving legal advice in a bathroom, but I actually encountered them in the bathroom with a CPP agent that was asking them questions.

REMY (through translator): I am an immigration lawyer, OK. You don't have to talk to the officers if you don't want to. That's your right.

JIMENEZ (voice-over): An hour later, that same man is immediately detained outside the courtroom.

REMY (through translator): You have rights. You have rights. You can give me your card if you want.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): That's my address, and phone.

REMY (through translator): I'm going to walk with you, so you are not alone.

JIMENEZ (voice-over): In New York City, ICE made nearly half of all of its arrests outside courtrooms through July this year. The detainees are then transferred to ICE detention facilities across the country, like Sonia's husband, who was sent to a detention center in New Jersey. Sonia and her family came from Ecuador in 2023 and filed an asylum claim.

[14:15:00]

Here in the United States, her husband worked as a truck driver. Earlier this year, he was arrested for petty theft, but the charges were set to be dismissed and sealed. In response to CNN, the Department of Homeland Security referenced Sonia's husband's petty theft charges without mentioning those charges were set to be dismissed, saying "Criminal illegal aliens are not welcome in the U.S." Sonia says her children are struggling.

SONIA ANDRANGO-OROZCO, ASYLUM SEEKER (through translator): They boy was fine. But the day before yesterday when we were sleeping he couldn't sleep. And he told me, "Mommy, I miss my dad. It's been many days since he hasn't come back." The girl, she always cries. She's older. She kind of understands what's going to happen.

JIMENEZ (voice-over): These detentions are leaving immigrants with an impossible choice. If they skip a hearing, that's grounds for removal. But since President Donald Trump has come into office, they can still be detained even while trying to go through the legal process.

ANDRANGO-OROZCO (through translator): I have friends from the neighborhood who have never shown up for court, and nothing has ever happened to them. They haven't showed up to court since getting here. But I've always shown up. We were doing things the right way.

JIMENEZ (voice-over): Judge Carmen Rey Caldas worked on the 12th floor of 26 Federal Plaza, ruling on asylum cases just like Sonia's and her family.

REY CALDAS: The hallway space at 26 Federal Plaza is public. And so, the court really doesn't have a lot that it can do to prevent ICE from being in the hallways.

JIMENEZ (voice-over): At the beginning of 2025, there were approximately 700 immigration judges across the U.S. About 150 of them have either been fired or taken an early-out offer since Trump took office. In August, Judge Rey Caldas was one of them.

REY CALDAS: Honestly, the courthouse just doesn't feel the same. I've seen attorneys, both defense and ICE, shake from the screams coming in out of the hallways. It shouldn't feel like a war zone when you're going into a courtroom.

JIMENEZ (voice-over): DHS told us arrests outside courtrooms are common sense and safer because people have gone through security and been screened to not have any weapons. Sonia's husband was supposed to appear in court from detention this morning.

ANDRANGO-OROZCO (through translator): I am worried, about not having enough to take care for them.

JIMENEZ (through translator): What are you thinking about?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): That I love him very much. That I miss him a lot. And that hopefully, we will get him out of there soon and we will be together again. They shouldn't separate families like that, because it's ugly.

JIMENEZ (voice-over): Omar Jimenez, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE) KEILAR: Our thanks to Omar Jimenez for that report.

2025 was a big year in politics, but 2026 could be bigger. After the break, the major political headlines we're keeping an eye on in the year ahead.

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[14:20:25]

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KEILAR: President Trump's inauguration in January set off a tsunami of political change.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": The president's challenges on delivering some of his key promises, especially on the economy, threatens to undermine his ability to govern over the next three years. Let's discuss all of this with CNN Washington Bureau Chief, David Chalian.

David, redistricting a huge story in 2025. Do you think that more states are going to go down the same road that Texas did?

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF AND POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Possibly. We know Indiana rejected this, the Republicans there pushing back on the president's desires. But we're still looking to see what happens in a place like Florida on the Republican side. And in Virginia, Democrats have been talking there and possibly in Maryland, about changing their maps in a way to advantage the Democrats.

So I don't think we're done with the redistricting maneuverings, Boris, but I'm not sure that at the end of the day, the redistricting maneuverings will determine the outcome of which party controls the House.

KEILAR: Taking into account that redistricting could change things and also, that this is just a different time, right? The midterms are on November 3rd. And there's this question, there always is, and everyone has loathed to predict whether there's going to be some kind of wave one way or the other. But you know, what are the possibilities?

CHALIAN: I mean, history is a guide for as long as it's a guide and then it's not, right? But if you use history as a guide, right, the president's party has only gained House seats in a midterm election twice in modern times, right? So that was in 1998 and in 2002.

Every other time, the president's party loses seats in the midterm. So, I would expect Republicans will probably lose seats. So given how narrow the majority is now, yes, redistricting, as you know, to Brianna, may change the calculation. But on today's facts, right, Democrats are just a net gain of three seats away from the majority. So you're dealing with a very narrow majority. Given that the president is woefully unpopular right now, especially on issue number one, the economy, that's going to, to me, tell us everything. So I would just say throughout 2026, watch carefully. Don't watch if the economy is improving. Watch if Americans believe their economic circumstances are getting better and if they are crediting President Trump with that. To me, when we have the answer to that question throughout 2026, we will know how this is going to shake out in the battle for control of the House.

SANCHEZ: So that's the House. When it comes to the Senate, what are the odds that it flips?

CHALIAN: You know, it's a steeper climb for Democrats there. First of all, they need a net gain of four seats to win. And they're not playing on very hospitable turf.

[14:25:00]

You know, I would -- there are some key contests that are there to watch. Obviously, Susan Collins in Maine is the only Republican up for re-election in a state on the Republican side that Kamala Harris won, right? Maine. Whereas Jon Ossoff, the Democrat in Georgia, is the only Democrat up for re-election in a state, obviously, that Donald Trump won.

But there are open contests in true battleground states where Donald Trump was successful just a year ago, place like Michigan is a perfect example of that. So North Carolina is another one. So there are some key contests. I just don't know if the map will get big enough. This gets back to your question about the wave.

If there's a big anti-Trump Democratic wave, that could potentially put Democrats over the top in the Senate, but it's just going to be a much tougher climb for them.

KEILAR: We have to look towards January 30th, because that's when the government is funded until, right? I mean, could we see another government shutdown?

CHALIAN: Potentially yes. And I am fascinated by this, because if you would have told me that the minority in the House, the Democrats, would be able to control the state of play through that shutdown and into these closing days of the year on the battle for health care and the like, I would have said, I'll be very surprised if that's the case. But that's exactly what's happened here.

The Democrats have been able to sort of control the narrative of what is the issue being debated before the American people, not Mike Johnson in many ways. And that's usually not the case, where as you know, majority rules in the House, right? But that has been the case here. So watch carefully as we approach January 30th and that deadline. Are Democrats able to keep Americans focused on this issue of health care, which is resonating so strongly, as a reason to still refuse to fund the government? It's an open question, but that's where I would squarely keep my attention.

SANCHEZ: Donald Trump has defied political gravity in all manner of ways. Can he avoid the second half of a second term becoming a lame duck?

CHALIAN: Well, first of all, the president of the United States is the most powerful person on the planet. That's not going to change. He was a lame duck, technically, as soon as he put his hand on the Bible a year ago and took the oath of office, because he is in his final term as the Constitution says. I would just note this, Boris. If indeed Republicans can somehow maintain the majorities of both the House and the Senate, well, that puts a real governing agenda back in target for Donald Trump as president.

If the Democrats win one or both of the chambers, clearly, that will hasten this notion of lame duckness for Donald Trump because he's going to have a lot less maneuverability to get stuff done legislatively, and he's already worked through most of what he's trying to enact as an agenda without Congress. So that will complicate matters, never mind the investigations or potential impeachment that may come his way.

KEILAR: David Chalian, thank you so much for joining us as we take stock of 2025 and look towards 2026. We appreciate it.

CHALIAN: Thanks, guys.

KEILAR: And we'll be right back.

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