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Fire in Swiss Ski Resort Bar; Mamdani Begins Work on Ambitious Agenda; Trump Takes Higher Aspirin; Dentist and Wife Found Dead in Ohio Home. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired January 02, 2026 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:06]

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Chaos, terror, grief in Switzerland after a fire rips through a ski resort bar there. Dozens now dead. Several people are missing. The latest on the investigation and new video of the moment before the flames became a deadly inferno.

And an urgent search to identify a suspect after a dentist and his wife were killed in their Ohio home. Their two children were in the house but weren't harmed. We'll tell you what we're learning this morning.

And a glacier the size of Florida melting at an alarmingly fast pace. We are with the team taking the two-month journey to assess the so - called Doomsday Glacier.

I'm Omar Jimenez, with Sara Sidner. John Berman and Kate Bolduan are out. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

This morning, disturbing new video shows the panic and terror inside the Swiss ski resort bar where a fire killed at least 40 people. One clip shows what appears to be the initial moment the fire started.

(VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: I mean, you see them just swatting at the flames there. Investigators are looking into whether a flashover event occurred inside. That's when hot gases rise to the ceiling and everything that's combustible reaches ignition point and catches fire. We're learning at least five of the hospitalized victims have injuries that are typically seen in a flash over event. So, a dynamic to watch moving forward. But one local who saw the aftermath says many of the victims are young.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EDMUND COQUETTE, WITNESS: You saw the young people who were totally burned in the face, who missed some fingers, here laying on the streets and the first -- the first aid was given to these people and then you have to, what was the worst is the screaming of these young people, the screaming of pain.

(END VIDEO CLIP) JIMENEZ: CNN's Nic Robertson is in Switzerland for us, outside the bar where this all happened.

Nic, what can you tell us right now? What are you seeing?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, just to give you a situational here, if you will, that behind me there, that's La Constellation, the bar. And it's been very emotional to watch people coming. They've been coming to lay flowers, light candles at a vigil.

But, of course, it's the families of the missing that really tug at the heartstrings. There was a man here just before kneeling in the road in absolute grief and tears because he just doesn't have any information about his son. His brother was with him to console him. And complete strangers were coming up on the street. It was very touching to watch, complete strangers coming up and hugging him. But that gives you a sense of the grief. And it's writ large here.

I'm just going to step out of the way so you can get a better look at the bar.

Those apartments above the bar you're looking at there, our P.J. Clays (ph) panning up, and you can see these rickety balconies. We were talking, our producer here, Joseph, was talking to a Greek family that owns an apartment up there and they said with their young children, six and seven-years-old, the fire was so intense they had to evacuate and climb across the balconies just to get away.

But to give you the real mood of the town here, take a look here. Look. This is the Christmas decorations, New Year's decorations getting packed up. This mood of celebration that this town, this well- hilled ski resort town is renowned for at new year and at this time people not just coming to ski but celebrating. Many Swiss have holiday homes here. That mood is gone. There are still people on the ski slopes, but it's the investigation everyone is focusing on.

And we're expecting to get an update shortly from the police, from other officials. And, of course, the pressure that they've been feeling is from the families, like the man who we witnessed here earlier today, they need answers. There are people the police were telling us yesterday who are unidentified, not just the dead, but victims in hospital.

The Italian foreign minister has been here today as well. There have been Italian victims caught in this. French victims as well. There's so much that's unknown at the moment.

JIMENEZ: Yes, just how quickly moments of celebration turned to chaos and, as we saw, death to start this new year.

Nic Robertson, appreciate the reporting.

Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, that was devastating seeing that father break down like that. Wow. All right, we know we'll check back in with Nic out there.

For New York, though, there's a brand new mayor in town, Zohran Mamdani. The work of governing now begins after his stunning rise as ambitious promises. Mamdani was sworn in yesterday, pledging to stay true to his Democrat socialist roots.

[09:05:05]

The 34-year-old immigrant born in Uganda is the city's first Muslim mayor. He's the first south Asian mayor and the youngest New York mayor in more than a century. Mamdani, who campaigned on a promise to tackle affordability, rejected any suggestion that he would dial back his ambitious plans.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR ZOHRAN MAMDANI (D), NEW YORK: Beginning today, we will govern expansively and audaciously. We may not always succeed, but never will we be accused of lacking the courage to try. To those who insist that the era of big government is over, hear me when I say this, no longer will city hall hesitate to use its power to improve New Yorkers' lives.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: CNN's Gloria Pazmino has been following the campaign all the way up to this day and now continuing to follow him as mayor.

You're outside city hall there. What are you learning he is going to do on this first full day as he's already done what many mayors have done and signed some executive orders?

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Sara. In fact, it was the very first thing he did as mayor following his inaugural address yesterday, and that was using the power of the executive, the power of his office to sign a handful of executive orders, but also undo some of the action that his predecessor, Mayor Eric Adams, had put into place in the month of his closing term.

Now, the first three executive orders that Mamdani signed last night direct the city government to essentially take a close look at housing. He reinstated the mayor's office to protect tenants and he also directed the city government to create two different task forces to look at how they can build more housing quickly and whether or not they can do so on city-owned land.

Now, he is using the power of the executive, as I said, to direct his government right now. But, of course, Mamdani has a very ambitious agenda that he has laid out, including wanting to create universal childcare, making buses fast and free. He wants to freeze the rent for rent stabilized tenants. And he wants to do all of that by raising taxes on New York City's wealthiest residents.

He also wants to raise the corporate tax rate. That is something that he's going to have to have to fight for with the governor and the state legislature. She has said she does not support increasing taxes on New Yorkers.

We also heard from Mamdani yesterday. And I want to play a bit from his speech talking about the one thing he and Donald Trump have in common, and that is some voters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR ZOHRAN MAMDANI (D), NEW YORK: Few of these 8.5 million will fit into neat and easy boxes. Some will be voters from Hillside Avenue or Fordham Road who supported President Trump a year before they voted for me, tired of being failed by their party's establishment.

But in our administration, their needs will be met. Their hopes and dreams and interests will be reflected transparently in government. They will shape our future.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAZMINO: And, Sara, this is going to be the other major story of this administration. And that is, of course, its relationship with the federal government and with President Trump. We saw that meeting that the two had last month, which was very positive. But we know that these things can change very quickly in politics. So, we'll see if Mamdani and Trump can actually work together and get anything done in the next few months.

Sara.

SIDNER: A lot of people watching what is going to happen here in New York. Gloria Pazmino, you among them. Thank you so much. Appreciate it.

Omar.

JIMENEZ: I want to bring in some folks who know a few things about mayoral politics here in New York, former New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, and a man who knows New York politics better than most, political anchor for Spectrum News, Errol Louis.

Good to see you both.

Mayor, I want to start with you.

Mayor Mamdani not shy about saying he's going to govern the way he campaigned as a Democratic socialist. As a former mayor, you know the difficulty sometimes in implementing what you've campaigned on and the reality of actually governing. What are -- what do you anticipate his difficulties will be in implementing some of his vision here?

BILL DE BLASIO (D), FORMER MAYOR OF NEW YORK: Well, first, Omar, I want to say, I think he very consciously decided to aim high. And this is crucial. I was in a very similar situation 12 years ago. I called for universal pre-k. Pre-k for every child in New York City for free. And a lot of critics said that was unrealistic. And we had to go to the state capital in Albany to get support. But the fact was, you build public energy and support by having that big vision and getting people bought in. And that's what moves the political world too. That's what moves the legislators. So, I think Mamdani is very consciously, very energetically saying, we can do something different in the city. Come along and join me. And that's going to trickle up, as it were, to the leadership in Albany and get him the support he needs.

[09:10:03]

Now, practically, you cannot do it alone when you're mayor. You need your state government especially, and to some extent the federal government. He did a masterful job, I think, in neutralizing, at least to date, President Trump and creating an interesting kind of bromance there. That's going to keep the federal government off his back so he can focus on Albany and get help from the state government. So far so good. I think it's a bold agenda, but he's going to be very practical in how he goes about it.

JIMENEZ: Well, we'll see if that Trump-Mamdani relationship lasts.

DE BLASIO: Yes.

JIMENEZ: But again, we're optimists to start 2026.

Errol, you know, some of paying for these ideas will need the state government and legislature. And at least at this point, Governor Kathy Hochul hasn't been fully on board with everything she's heard, not to mention the legislature. What hurdles do you think will be most significant in terms of getting that funding or buy-in from state politicians?

ERROL LOUIS, POLITICAL ANCHOR, SPECTRUM NEWS: Good morning, Omar.

Look, the state government is facing serious problems that have nothing to do with New York City. The federal cuts are going to land in the state capital and they're going into budget season starting really next week. So, they're going to have a very tough time trying to figure that out. And it becomes a less than opportune moment to start talking about raising taxes or implementing a brand new very expensive program to extend universal childcare in New York City. So, with that as the backdrop, we know it's going to be a difficult session.

But I think Bill de Blasio is exactly right. If you don't ask for it, you're definitely not going to get it. You may not get it if you ask, but you definitely won't unless you go up there with some momentum, with the million plus voters or a modern record number of voters who supported Zohran Mamdani. He has every right to walk into the state capitol and say, look, the voters have spoken and we have to deliver for them. That's really, I think, the importance of yesterday's ceremony, his victory, and the first 100 days or so of this new administration.

JIMENEZ: Look, shoot your shot, 2026 alive and well to this point.

Mayor, I want to ask you, because, you know, you have this unique insight here. And, look, fair to say, things didn't go perfectly during your time as mayor. Few administrations have perfect records. But if you're talking to a Mayor Mamdani at this point, you know, getting ready to start his administration, are there any mistakes you either felt you made or dynamics you felt you overlooked that you would pull him aside and say, hey, by the way, heads up for this?

DE BLASIO: Look, I've been very open with the mayor that there's a lot of things you learn along the way and then you look back and say, wow, I wish I knew that. For example, I learned so much in the context of dealing with natural disasters. And they come out of nowhere by definition. Blizzards and flooding and you name it. The Lord knows we had no idea we would ever hit something like the pandemic.

JIMENEZ: Sure.

DE BLASIO: But I think the important thing is to prepare your team for the unexpected. And to realize, when those situations starts to happen, you've got to move immediately. So, I've had that conversation. And I think he is a tremendous sort of student of government. He really has studied New York City's history and he's very humble about it. You know, a very confident guy, but a very humble guy in the way he listens and wants to take in those lessons. So, I think that's one of the classic examples. You're trying to move your agenda, something comes out of nowhere. You know what, you got to stop and really secure that situation before you can go back to the vision that brought you there.

JIMENEZ: And, you know, just really quickly before we go, Erol Louis, how does the mayor balance being mayor of New York City versus what he has become, which seems to be this increasingly national political figure.

LOUIS: Oh, Omar, he's an international figure. You can't believe the number of cameras that were crowded there on the -- on the platform with us trying to record this event yesterday.

Look the reality is, he's making some statements and he had national figures there to swear him in. He had Bernie Sanders there to administer the oath. He's making a larger statement about politics that is probably worth having as a national conversation.

Let me just give you, really quickly, one number. There are about a half million people living in public housing in New York City. Their average income is $26,000 a year. It's real -- some people are really struggling. The question is, do you try and help them or do you not? He's making the statement and the proposition that we should do something to help them.

JIMENEZ: A universal ideal as it seems.

Bill de Blasio, Errol Louis, appreciate both of you for being here.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, thank you, Omar.

All President Trump wants this year is, quote, "nice thin blood" pumping through his heart. What medical professionals are saying this morning about his use of aspirin.

And extreme weather on both coasts, leading to scenes like this one. People in California pulled from their cars, stuck in rising floodwaters. The latest on the severe storm track today.

[09:15:01]

And the Texas doctor turning the tables on what it means to care for others. The vinyl spinning doctor will join us ahead.

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SIDNER: This morning, President Trump is on the defensive as questions grow about his health. He posted on Truth Social that he is in perfect health following an interview he did with "The Wall Street Journal." In the interview, the 79-year-old president was asked about recent hand bruising. He attributed it to taking a higher daily dose of aspirin than his doctor recommended. It comes as the White House faces intensifying scrutiny for not being sufficiently transparent with Trump's medical information.

Joining me now, CNN's Alayna Treene.

This was a remarkable interview that was done. And it didn't come out of nowhere, correct? "The Wall Street Journal" was about to write something, and then what happened? What else did the president say?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, this was an impromptu interview, Sara. And, obviously, it made the story, I think, much stronger because the president ended up picking up the phone and calling the reporters who had initially, you know, sent, as is typical, a request for comment on some of the reporting that they had about the president's health. Well, then he decided to pick up the phone and call them. I think that, in itself, shows how sensitive an issue questions and stories about the president's health and fitness for office are, particularly to a man who spent a lot of the 2024 presidential election trying to attack now his predecessor, the president, Joe Biden, for what he argued were him shielding the American public from his health concerns.

[09:20:08]

But look, I do want to get into what the president said. He did a number of things. One, he said that he takes more aspirin than his doctors recommend. He said that they also recommended he wear compression socks because of the swelling in his legs from his chronic venous insufficiency. He said he tried that, didn't like it, so he doesn't do that anymore. And he also said he regrets getting advanced imaging over the summer because he argues that lead -- that has led to even more scrutiny of his health.

But I want to read for you one quote that he said about why he takes a larger dose of aspirin daily than his doctors recommend. I think it's just very enlightening into how the president views this. 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? They'd rather have me take the smaller one," he added, "I take the larger one, but I've done it for years, and what it does do is it causes bruising." He went on to argue that he has been taking aspirin for 25 years.

The bruising, I do want to get into as well, because this is something we have great photographers at the White House who have captured a lot of this. The president is often seen with heavy bruising on his hand. And he's tried to cover it up with makeup, with bandages. He's shielded his hand from the cameras. And that's, of course, added a lot of scrutiny to this too. The White House is blaming it on the aspirin. They also blame it on heavy handshaking. But all to say, this was a rare interview that the president has given and really one of the most extensive conversations we've learned that he's had with journalists about his health. So, great story there from "The Wall Street Journal."

SIDNER: Yes, Alayna Treene, thank you for reporting that to us this morning.

All right, just ahead, a dentist and his wife gunned down inside their Ohio home. Their two young children found unharmed inside the home. Now police urgently searching for whoever did this and looking for a reason behind it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:26:07]

JIMENEZ: This morning, investigators are trying to identify a suspect after an Ohio couple was found shot to death in their home. Doctor Spencer Tepe and his wife Monique were discovered Tuesday after he didn't show up for work. Concerned co-workers doing a wellness check at his house called 911 after spotting a body inside.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CALLER: We just came here and he appears dead. There's blood. He's laying next to his bed, off of his bed, and there's blood. I can't get closer to see more than that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: Now, police say there weren't any signs of forced entry, but investigators do not believe this was a murder-suicide at this point because they didn't find a gun. Now, the two young children were found safe inside the home.

Joining me now is Casey Jordan. She's a criminologist and host of the podcast "Criminal Appeal."

Thank you for being here.

Casey, I just want to start with, no forced entry, no firearm left behind. What do you make of what we know to this point?

CASEY JORDAN, CRIMINOLOGIST AND HOST, "CRIMINAL APPEAL" PODCAST: Yes, Omar, the police are on record of saying they don't believe this is a murder suicide, and yet this would be the first thing that you would look for. But if there is no gun found next to a body -- I mean he was shot multiple times and she was shot one time. At least one time. It makes you wonder if she, in a peak of rage, might have killed her husband and then shot herself and was able to secret the gun away before dying. Highly unlikely. The police don't think that's the scenario.

But the fact that the house was secure, locked, the children inside, no sign of forced entry is highly unusual as well. If this was a break-in, a burglary, you know, a person in a drug induced psychosis breaking in and killing people, you would have a big mess and you would have a theory that that's what it is.

So, right now I'm sure the police know a lot more than they're telling us. I'd love to know the state of the house. We need to find out if they had any beefs, any problems with neighbors, co-workers. Any indication that they might be having extramarital affairs. Those are all things the police will be looking into right about now.

JIMENEZ: And, you know, one of the interesting things here is sort of when you look at the timeline, which we have on screen here, his co- workers requested a welfare check at 9:03 a.m. And then reportedly, within the hour, drove to the home to check when the initial check by police didn't get an answer. Does that tell you anything that they drove over reportedly within an hour to check on their co-worker?

JORDAN: Omar, that jumped out at me as well. I -- and they were insistent to the police that he always calls and they can't get in touch with his wife. It's extremely unusual that co-workers would request a wellness check when someone is late to work by one hour. There could be so many reasons for that, traffic jam, car accident, a sudden illness, taking them to the hospital. But to send police over within an hour, you can believe that the police are looking very carefully at the people who made that phone call and the people who went to the house because the officer got there at 9:22, got no answer at the door, left, and they still insisted on the wellness check, going directly to the house, looking in the windows. You want to look carefully at the people who insisted on that wellness check because so often in these sorts of crimes the person who reports the crime knows a little too much about it. So, we will find out more.

JIMENEZ: Well, and -- yes.

JORDAN: We're going to find out if he had any problems at work. Yes.

JIMENEZ: Yes. And to your point, you know, raises the questions about what the dynamic may have been before this happened and if the coworkers knew anything, but all part of this investigation that is currently in its early stages right now.

JORDAN: Yes.

JIMENEZ: Casey Jordan, I appreciate you taking the time.

Sara. SIDNER: All right, jury selection is set to begin in the trial of a former Uvalde police officer charged in connection with the 2022 massacre at Robb Elementary School.

[09:29:59]

Former Uvalde CISD Officer Adrian Gonzales was among the officers who responded to the scene. Texas legislators have called that law enforcement response an abject.