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New Video Shows Chaos, Terror Amid Raging Inferno in Swiss Bar; NYC Mayor Mamdani Doubles Down on Ambitious Agenda in First Speech as Mayor: California Braces for More Flooding, Threat of Debris Flow; Stocks Enter 2026 Near Record Highs; DHS Begins Slashing FEMA Disaster Response Staff. Aired 8:00-8:30a ET

Aired January 02, 2026 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:00]

CLINT HENDERSON, MANAGING EDITOR, THE POINTS GUY: ... Paris. Maybe do one night in Paris and then a couple nights in Bordeaux where it's cheaper. I spent some time in Ljubljana, Slovenia this year, much cheaper than a place like Zurich. So, you know, look for those secondary cities and be flexible with where you're going and when you're going to save the most amount of money.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN ANCHOR: There's some pretty good secondary cities, Mr. Clint Henderson. Thank you for taking the time. Good to see you.

New Hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Forty dead, 115 injured and an urgent search for people still missing after a deadly fire tore through a bar at a Swiss ski resort. We have new video for you this morning showing the moments before the flames became an inferno and the panic that ensued.

Also, a new era in the Big Apple, Zohran Mamdani, now the mayor of New York. He's doubling down on his Democratic Socialist agenda, already issuing five executive orders.

Plus, a stormy start to the new year for Southern California. Cars in San Diego submerged there in floodwaters. The threat of more flooding, rockslides and mudslides ongoing. We have the latest on the forecast.

I'm Sara Sider with Omar Jimenez. Kate and John are out today. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

JIMENEZ: Families are desperate for answers this morning after a fire raged through a ski resort bar in Switzerland, killing at least 40 people during a New Year's party. I want to show you a disturbing new video that shows what appears to be the initial moment the fire started.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(CRANS-MONTANA, SWITZERLAND FIRE SHOWING CHAOS)

(END VIDEO CLIP) JIMENEZ: So you see people are already swatting at the fire there. And then in another video, you can see the fire getting larger as panic begins to set in and people are trying to escape. And then in video shot from the outside, people can be heard screaming as a person stumbles out of the building. And before we show that to you again, it may be disturbing to see.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(VIDEO OUTSIDE THE BUILDING, SCREAMING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

I mean, you see how frantic it is. You hear the screaming. And this footage shows what a local security director called scenes of war, saying young people were suddenly forced to act as first responders as injured people came out of the burning building.

I want to bring in CNN's Nada Bashir, who joins us now. So, Nada, what do we know about this? What is the latest here?

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, Omar, investigators are still very much in the early stages of their inquiry. At this stage, the priority, officials say, is on identifying all of the victims. Some of them have not been identified yet.

There are still families waiting for confirmation of whether their loved ones who are still missing are among the victims killed in that deadly blaze or perhaps among those injured who've been transported to hospitals across Switzerland and in neighboring countries but have yet to be identified. So, this certainly is a moment of anguish for so many across the country still in mourning. At this stage, at least we know that 40 people are presumed dead.

Some 115 others are said to have been injured. Authorities say many of them were badly burned. And we know that many of those who were inside the bar celebrating New Years were young people, some of them even teenagers.

So, this really is a tragic, tragic incident, of course, the blaze beginning at around 1:30 in the morning, according to authorities. So, as you can imagine, this was the moment where many were still celebrating New Year's and gathered at this very high-end, popular bar lounge to celebrate New Year's. And as you heard from witnesses, many of those in the area became first responders as they waited for emergency services to respond.

At this stage, there is no firm conclusion as to what actually caused the blaze. There has been some speculation with witnesses saying that sparklers were carried in champagne bottles near the ceiling, which in the video you showed just a short while ago appeared to have been the first thing to catch fire before the entire bar itself caught ablaze. But, again, it is just speculation at this stage.

There hasn't been any firm confirmation from the authorities. Investigations are still ongoing. And, of course, the priority at this stage, as officials have reiterated, remains focused on the victims, the casualties, and, of course, their family members as well.

JIMENEZ: Yes, all right, Nada Bashir, thank you for keeping us updated on those awful details -- Sara.

SIDNER: All right. For New York's brand-new mayor, Zohran Mamdani, the work of governing begins now.

[08:05:00]

After his stunning rise, lofty promises, and history-making win, Mamdani was sworn in yesterday vowing to govern, quote, expansively and audaciously with a focus on the working class.

A 34-year-old immigrant born in Uganda is the city's first Muslim mayor, first South Asian mayor, and the youngest New York mayor in more than a century. Mamdani, who campaigned on a promise to tackle affordability, was unapologetic about leading the city as a Democratic Socialist.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR ZOHRAN MAMDANI, (D) NEW YORK: 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.

SIDNER: CNN's Glory Pazmino is outside City Hall, where she witnessed this whole thing. He's already signed five executive orders. What can we expect from Mamdani on his first full day of work?

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Sara. You know that moment that you just played from Mamdani's speech yesterday, I thought was sort of remarkable. He was talking about what he described as a refusal to compromise his political ideals as he begins this new term.

And that's a pretty high bar the new mayor is setting for himself, because we know that so much of politics and government actually requires compromise. So we've heard a lot about Mamdani's proposals, right? He wants to create universal childcare.

He wants to make city buses fast and free. He wants to freeze the rent for rent-stabilized tenants here in New York City. All of those proposals targeting working-class people, helping to make the city of New York -- one of the most expensive in the world -- affordable for working-class and middle-class people.

And he wants to do that by taxing the rich, the wealthiest residents of New York. And that is a very controversial position. Something that we know Governor Kathy Hochul, who is the one that has the power, along with the state legislature, to increase taxes, she has said that she does not support that proposal.

But listen to Mamdani during his speech yesterday, again doubling down on how he wants to pay for his initiatives. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAMDANI: To fulfill the affordability agenda that we have been running on is by raising taxes on the 1 percent of New Yorkers who make a million dollars a year by an additional 2 percent and by raising the state's top corporate tax rate to match that of New Jersey.

We put this forward because it is critical in a moment like this to not allow fiscal challenges to become an excuse for austerity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAZMINO: So that was Mamdani speaking just a few hours after inauguration. He traveled to Brooklyn where a group of tenants was gathered inside of a building where they live, where they've stopped paying the rent because the landlord has refused to make repairs. And that was yet another moment of symbolism for Mamdani where he signed these executive orders that you mentioned at the beginning, Sara, directing this new administration to focus on housing.

He signed three executive orders yesterday, creating two task forces directing the city to look for city-owned land, to build housing, and to figure out ways to speed up construction. He also reinstated the mayor's office of tenant protections. He also tried to undo, or in fact signed executive orders to undo some of the Adams executive orders that were put into place towards the end of his term.

So Mamdani getting right to work. We do expect to hear from him later this afternoon as this new administration begins to take shape -- Sara.

SIDNER: I know you will be there watching. Gloria Pasmino, thank you for your great coverage of the new mayor of New York. Appreciate it -- Omar.

JIMENEZ: On a cold day out in New York.

Still ahead, a new year shakeup at FEMA. We've got exclusive reporting this morning on the White House plan to slash staff at the forefront of the agency's disaster response and recovery. A lot of details coming up.

And a new law means less time on social media for kids in one state. We'll tell you how Virginia hopes new restrictions will help young people's mental health.

Plus, BTS is back. The K-pop boy band is ready to return after a four- year hiatus. When you can expect their new album to drop, stay with us.

[08:10:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SIDNER: Finally a break after winter storms have been bringing misery to Southern California. This morning, evacuation orders have been lifted. Here's what folks have been facing in San Diego.

On New Year's Day, flooding there. You can see it in the streets, swallowing cars. Some drivers still trying to push through that.

This is not what authorities recommend. There were plenty of swift water rescues. Here are some more pictures as rescuers pull a child from a vehicle as the water rises really quickly around them.

You see the distressed child there. But that family's safe now.

Let's bring in CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam. This has been so much rain in so short of a time. And, you know, Southern California's just not used to this. Although it is the time for these kinds of storms.

But this is a lot.

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right, well, weather whiplash. Remember, last year at this time, we had drought conditions across Southern California that led to the catastrophic fires in Los Angeles County. Now, fast forward a year later, and we've got too much rain that we know what to do with, right?

It's coming down in buckets. It's turning streets into rivers. Not handling the situation well, especially for this driver here who seems to fishtail as the water kind of levitates and floats his vehicle.

So what's happening right now? We've got that break. That's what we need, a desperately needed break from the rainfall.

And this is really interesting. We were investigating this. Across the lower 48, there's only a handful of states that are not under any kind of drought conditions.

The rest of the lower 48, moderate to severe drought. But look at the state of California. We have no drought.

[08:15:00]

We have abnormally dry conditions across the Northeast, but no drought. That is because of the constant bombardment of these atmospheric rivers. And guess what?

There's yet another one that is set to impact the state through the course of the weekend. And then more lining up behind it as we just get this constant deluge of rainfall coming in from the Eastern Pacific.

Now the rain coming will not be anything like what we experienced over Christmas week or even New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. But because the ground is so saturated, the lack of drought conditions, that means that flooding is once again a potential. This is for tomorrow.

So keep this in mind. You can see Ventura, Santa Barbara counties, the transverse mountain ranges here just to the west of Los Angeles. That's where we expect some of the heavier rain to impact this part of Southern California. Again, another atmospheric river takes aim at the state of California -- Sara.

SIDNER: Yes, this is rough. You need the rain, but not all at once. Derek Van Dam --

VAN DAM: Not that much.

SIDNER: -- thank you so much. Happy New Year to you.

All right, coming up, a historic church in the center of Amsterdam is burned to the ground over New Year's. The latest on the investigation into what happened there, what started that blaze.

And new data revealing the crime rate for one of the Democratically led targeted cities by the Trump administration took a dramatic dip in the past year. Those numbers ahead.

[08:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JIMENEZ: This morning, Wall Street kicking off 2026 with equal doses of optimism and skepticism. The S&P 500 just wrapped another strong year, up more than 16 percent in 2025. Despite that, though, investors are entering the new year with a little bit of caution.

Joining us now is Madison Mills, senior markets reporter for Axios. So, Madison, we've got a little bit of both here, maybe a little bit of nerves, maybe let's just see what happens in 2026. What are you predicting here?

MADISON MILLS, SENIOR MARKETS REPORTER, AXIOS: Well, I like to say it's the most hated bull market ever because we've had three years of back-to-back double-digit gains on the stock market. That hasn't happened since the 1940s, so you would think that investors are just throwing a party. They're really happy.

In fact, all of Wall Street is optimistic for 2026 when you talk to analysts and strategists. But that optimism is so hated because when everyone's optimistic, you start to worry that people are missing something, that there's some big shoe that's going to drop. And that's very much the vibe on Wall Street right now, and also on Main Street.

You have consumers worried about the state of the economy as well. So when you combine those two things, there's really this sort of undercurrent of pessimism about the market because people are so concerned that this gravy train can't last forever. But they're also not going to pull out of the market in anticipation of that.

They're going to wait and see if any of those risks come to fruition.

JIMENEZ: And there are a lot of factors, I think, that are weighing in on the minds of investors, too. I mean, there's tariff whiplash, turnover at the Federal Reserve to look out for next year, AI as well. I just wonder what factors are you keeping your eyes on that you feel like are going to be dynamic or at the very least volatile?

MILLS: And those are absolutely the main factors investors are focused on. But it's really it all comes down to the AI bubble question, especially because so much of the market is tied to the tech trade. We have about half of the market right now moves based off of any news that's related to AI, to tech.

Overnight, there was some positive news in China about AI, and that's part of the reason why stocks are ripping this morning. And that's kind of the dynamic that we're expecting throughout 2026. Any headline about tech, about AI could cause these earthquake volatile moves in the market.

But broadly, as long as that AI theme stays intact, that could be positive for the market for 2026.

JIMENEZ: And you talk about sort of the mentalities of Wall Street and Main Street. Really, the disparity hasn't quite changed over the past few years. If anything, it's grown, you know, the K-shaped economy, as many talk about.

It's great for those who've got stuff in the stock market. Not so great for those who don't and are dealing firsthand with the effects of inflation that we've seen over the past few years. I just wonder, is that just going to continue?

Are there any signs that that's slowing down in any way?

MILLS: It's tough, especially because stocks keep rallying. Right. So if you were lucky enough to not only own stocks and own assets through the stock market, but also maybe you own a home and you had a low mortgage rate, you are golden right now.

You're doing really well. And then everybody else who was not in a phase in life to be able to take advantage of those assets and be invested in the market, whether that's through stocks or a home, they're really struggling to just get in. So that's the only thing that people talk about a recession or a market crash like it is such a huge negative.

And, of course, the negative impacts on the labor market when those things happen are nothing to scoff at. But the one half positive of any kind of market crash is that it does give an opportunity for people to get in for the first time who haven't had that chance with asset prices, home prices at all-time high. So if there was any sort of correction, there is that sort of buying the dip opportunity for investors.

And hopefully that could be a way to somewhat even out some of the K- shaped economy we're seeing.

JIMENEZ: Yes, we will see what happens. But as we talk about some, some nervous, some excited. But as the market goes, we can't really predict it.

Otherwise, it'd be easy. MILLS: Yes, exactly, exactly.

JIMENEZ: Madison Mills, good to see you. Happy New Year.

MILLS: Thank you, you too.

JIMENEZ: All right, coming up, President Trump tells The Wall Street Journal he wants nice thin blood pouring through his heart. In one of the most extensive interviews yet about his health, the president talks about what may be causing his hand bruising. But medical professionals aren't so sure. We'll talk about it.

And new surveillance video shows the moments a police chief accidentally started a fire at a nursing home with his cigarette. We'll explain coming up. There it goes.

[08:25:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JIMENEZ: Now to a CNN exclusive, a major shakeup at FEMA that one former senior staffer says will seriously hobble the agency's ability to respond to national disasters. The Trump administration is cutting dozens of core staff members who serve as the backbone of recovery efforts during and after a disaster.

And internal e-mails obtained exclusively by CNN show these workers were let go with almost no warning.

I want to bring in CNN's Gabe Cohen, who has more on this exclusive reporting. Gabe, can you just tell us what you're learning about how deep these cuts will actually go?

GABE COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. So, Omar, just to paint a picture of how this unfolded, this happened really abruptly and rather quietly on New Year's Eve. Trump's Department of Homeland Security axing dozens of these FEMA disaster workers.

Anyone whose employment contract is expiring in these first four days of January, they were all told that their positions have been eliminated and that their services are no longer needed. And these are workers that are part of a large swath of the agency, about 40 percent of it, this group known as CORE. They are really described to me as the backbone of FEMA, some of the first federal boots on the ground who deploy to disaster zones and try to help communities recover during these national emergencies.

As one senior official put it to me, "FEMA cannot do disaster response and recovery without CORE employees. The regional offices are almost entirely CORE staff. And so the first FEMA people who are usually on site won't be there if CORE is cut. The impact would be that states are on their own."

And, Omar, that last bit there, that's really critical, because as we have been reporting now for months, the Trump administration is looking to shift more responsibility for disasters onto states. And just last month, we obtained this list of recommendations from the task force that President Trump has assembled to help him overhaul FEMA.

And one of the key proposals is to cut the agency staff in half. Now, what we're looking at here, what has just unfolded, this is far from a 50 percent reduction of the agency. We're talking about just a few dozen ...

END