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CNN International: Around 40 People Killed In Swiss Resort Fire; Mamdani Publicly Sworn In As New York City Mayor; Trump's Sweeping New U.S. Travel Ban Now In Effect; Cuba Struggling To Deal With Mosquito-Borne Diseases. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired January 01, 2026 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:21]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

PAULA NEWTON, CNN HOST: Live from New York, I'm Paula Newton, and you are watching CNN NEWSROOM.

At this hour, Switzerland is mourning after a New Year's party turned into a devastating tragedy. Swiss authorities say about 40 people were killed and 115 injured when a fire engulfed a crowded bar inside a ski resort packed with revelers. Many families now dealing with an agonizing situation as they wait to find out the whereabouts of their loved ones. It's not clear how the fire began at this early point in the investigation. Witnesses, though, describe a scene of sheer panic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Like in the movies, like from the movies, incredible, unbelievable. There was all the commotion in the street, and then I went through the balconies. There was smoke everywhere.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: Our Nic Robertson joins us now on the phone. He is on the way to Crans-Montana. That Swiss resort.

Nic, grateful you're on the ground there now.

I mean, look, so many questions about the investigation, but authorities have made clear they have so much to do yet just to try and identify not just those who now lost their lives, but those who remain in hospital, so many of them in critical condition.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (via telephone): Yeah, many, many, many in critical condition, 115 total taken to hospital. More than 40 people have died. And what we heard from the Swiss federal president was speak about the state of mourning. And just a feeling of, sympathy and support for the families, the families of the victims, and in some cases, and this is what we understand from the commander of the police in the Valais canton, of course, Crans- Montana in the Valais canton has spoken about, the difficulty or that the identification of the bodies, identification of the injured as well can still take time. And of course, this is very, very painful for families who are waiting

for information about their loved ones who may have been trying to call them, who may be trying to locate a hospital where they are, who are turning to the authorities, and the authorities are trying to do their best. This is what they say. Speed up as quickly as possible, getting families vital information about their loved ones.

But this process of identification, we know that the police have been using forensic teams as well, but it does. The fact that some of the living in hospital are still unable to be identified. According to the police commander, really gives a very grave understanding of the consequences and the viciousness of this fire, if you will, and those witnesses we were just listening to that. Others have described a scene where they say they saw, a barmaid being carried on the shoulders of another barmaid who was carrying sparklers in a champagne bottle that were very close, according to these witnesses, to the ceiling, the wooden ceiling in this underground bar. And they attribute the sparks from these sparklers setting that fire.

And witnesses have -- two witnesses at least have described that within a space of 10 seconds, seconds the fire that had started was suddenly ripping through so quickly, and the underground bar and turning it into a scene of panic. And we heard from the authorities that the police were able to respond, and they got the call at 1:30 a.m. They were there within two minutes. Weve heard from eyewitnesses talking about a local bank and another bar that just opened up because it was so cold on the streets in this, this high alpine ski resort that people were coming out burnt, suffering these, these horrendous burn injuries and plunged into this terrible cold that these local establishments, a bar and a bank, were opening up to help the medical workers begin to give triage and support to the injured on the scene.

But now, they're dispersed, the injured among into many of the hospitals in this region beyond the Valais canton, beyond C on where we understand there are about 60 injured people in that particular hospital. They've been taken because there are so many to many other hospitals. And of course, that will make the -- it will make it harder for the authorities to really wrap their hands around the details of witness accounts of identification and of all that they need to do at this time.

[15:05:06]

NEWTON: Yeah, so many questions, mostly for the loved ones of the victims right now, really trying to cope with unspeakable tragedy.

Nic Robertson, who will be on the ground there shortly for us -- appreciate it.

Francois Barras is a retired Swiss diplomat who lives in Crans- Montana. He joins us now.

Can you please, Francois, just detail for us exactly what happened overnight. As I understand, you live very close.

FRANCOIS BARRAS, RETIRED SWISS DIPLOMAT: Yes. Good evening. Yes, I live around 100 meters from the bar. So last night, I came back from the New Year celebration around the quarter to 1:00. And I saw a large crowd of young people in front of the bar. I parked, I went up to my apartment, and I went to sleep.

And one hour later, I was woken up by sounds of sirens. And I just looked into the street, and the street was full of ambulances. I did not see any fire and -- but it was -- it was a terrible, a terrible scene. And but I did not really understand at the time what was really happening. And it's only this morning, that I heard about the number of casualties and hour after hour, you learn more, you start to know people --

NEWTON: Unfortunately, it seems that we've lost Francois there. We'll see if we can get him back. But as he was describing, you can imagine how much this tragedy is affecting the entire community.

Joining us now is Glenn Corbett. He is an associate professor of fire science at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

And I want to thank you for joining us.

You know, in one respect, the authorities have said a lot, and yet they've not said much because they themselves say forensically they need to determine exactly how this fire started. But from what we know, especially when we talk about the amount of people injured here as well, 115, so many with serious injuries and not just burn victims, but many having injuries to their lungs as well.

When you put this entire picture together, what does it telling you, Glenn?

GLENN CORBETT, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF FIRE SCIENCE, JOHN JAY COLLEGE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE: Well, it's an unfortunate tragedy, of course. But this is not unheard of in our history. We've had numerous nightclub fires over the years.

One particular one here in the U.S. in 2003, in West Warwick, Rhode Island, killed 100 people in a -- in a building that was at the time of the fire, probably had over 450 people. In Russia back in 2009, another nightclub fire in which several people -- lots of people were killed.

And there's common denominators amongst all these. Number one is the fact that many of these had combustible we call interior finishes. Basically, the ceiling and walls having things like plastic, for example, for sound attenuation or soundproofing, basically, the use of pyrotechnics, which we understand may have been a situation here in this case using what appear to be sparklers in the champagne bottles to actually ignite the material.

But one of the key takeaways here, I think, for me, is the fact that when we studied, for example, that Rhode Island nightclub fire back from '03, that we were able to show that it took you if you didn't get out of that building within 90s, you didn't make it out, basically. And that's the key to this whole thing, is that egress is incredibly important. There may be some issues in this building as well, with the exits and things like that.

But the point is, there's no time here. There's no time to think about it. And I did see some images online where people were watching this particular fire here in Switzerland, or watching it basically. And which is exactly what happened in Rhode Island, where people did not see, did not understand what was going on, and quickly moved to get out.

And so, this will be something for the Swiss authorities to look at, you know, what did happen here? What should have taken place in terms of the construction of the building and the occupancy and inspections and things like that, and perhaps look at updating their regulations to include things like sprinklers, where if this building had been sprinkled, its very likely you and I wouldn't be talking on television right now.

NEWTON: Sprinklers and obviously exits as well. I mean, as I understand it, this club was -- if it wasn't fully in a basement, it was at least partially so.

I do want to bring up this issue as well on whether or not there was an explosion. I mean, obviously there could be something that once the fire started, then also, you know, exploded, maybe a propane tank or something.

[15:10:04]

CORBETT: It's certainly possible, and we'll have to look into that. I mean, one of the issues we have and I deal with is, you know, teaching science is the fact that the general public doesn't have a large vocabulary for words involving fire and sometimes people things, things that are very loud, for example, explosion. It's very possible that this could have been, you know, some of the windows breaking out under force from the fire from again, perhaps down below.

The fact that, you know, this space may have been below grade, which it appears that it perhaps was adds a whole another complicating factor to getting people out. People do not move quickly up stairwells, particularly when it's a, you know, a crowd crush kind of situation, which we might find also that some people may not have made it out because they're caught in that crowd crush, not being able to make it up the stairs quickly enough in this gigantic movement of lots of people.

So there's a lot involved here. And again, I hope that the Swiss authorities this is something for them of national significance that they put together a blue ribbon panel to really understand all the details and find out what, you know, what the issues were in this fire, and of course, go back to correct that and find what existing facilities are, just like this one, which I suspect they're there. And they're also in other parts of the world as well. So, it's a very important thing for them to look at.

NEWTON: Yeah, as you say, not just national significance but international significance, because we can quote chapter and verse over the last few decades, these nightclubs were sadly, so many people lose their lives, as you indicate, within a matter of minutes.

Glenn Corbett, grateful to you. Appreciate it.

Now, coming up, one of the youngest mayors of New York laying out his vision for 2026 and beyond. Details on Zohran Mamdani's inauguration next.

Plus, the terrifying story Queen Camilla has been carrying around since she was a young woman. Why she is opening up now about an assault that happened decades ago.

And later, defying the odds by hitting the waves. The doctors said he -- his time was up, so he went surfing. An amazing survival story.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NEWTON: There he is, the new mayor of New York. A message of affordability for the New Year, on the first day on the job for Zohran Mamdani.

[15:15:00]

Here's what he had to say just moments ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR ZOHRAN MAMDANI (D), NEW YORK: I stand alongside neighbors who carry a plate of food to the elderly couple down the hall. Those in a rush who still lift strangers strollers up subway stairs, and every person who makes the choice day after day, even when it feels impossible to call our city home. I stand alongside over 1 million New Yorkers who voted for this day nearly two months ago. And I stand just as resolutely alongside those who did not.

I know there are some who view this administration with distrust or disdain, or who see politics as permanently broken. And while only action can change minds, I promise you this -- if you are a New Yorker, I am your mayor.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: A New Year means new elections across the United States. Both Democrats and Republicans, looking to freshen up their messages ahead of the 2026 midterms.

Now, a short time ago, I spoke with our senior political analyst, Ron Brownstein. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: The main danger for the midterm is probably overinterpreting the midterm, you know, the history of our midterms are that they are very much quasi parliamentary elections. They're really less about individual candidates than they used to be, and they're more about which party you want to have control of the national agenda. And that question turns on attitudes toward the existing incumbent president.

With Trump's approval rating where it is, it would be very surprising if Democrats don't win the House. But it is possible to take the wrong message from that. I mean, you know, the biggest risk to Democrats is they assume that even a good midterm in '26 means they have solved their problems with the electorate, especially the bigger electorate, much bigger electorate that votes in presidential years.

So, you know, Democrats, I think, mostly have to stay out of the way in '26. They basically have to avoid giving voters who are inclined to try to check Trump a reason to stick with Republicans. They don't have to solve their big messaging and coalition problems, but they do need to solve those for 20 -- for '28.

And, you know, if we talk about "The Original Sin", to borrow from our colleague's title of his book about Biden, the original sin on Biden was not only overlooking his age, it was overinterpreting the relatively good performance of Democrats in 2022, and assuming that meant that Biden could ride out discontent in '24. And I see the same risk as the biggest challenge for Democrats in '26.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: Forty-five seconds, right?

Still to come for us, we continue to follow the news where Switzerland --in Switzerland were. A deadly fire broke out during a New Year's party.

And we will tell you about China's latest plan to encourage couples to have more children.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:20:38]

NEWTON: And welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Paula Newton in New York and we continue to follow the tragic news out of Switzerland.

A New Year's party turned deadly at an upscale ski resort in Crans Montana. A fire broke out at Le Constellation bar around 1:30 in the morning. Right now, officials believe about 40 people were killed. More than 100 others have been injured.

Now, a short time ago, officials gave an update on the terrible turn of events.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATHIAS REYNARD, PRESIDENT OF THE STATE COUNCIL: Although this evening should have been one of celebration and joy, it was marked by a disaster which took the lives of dozens of people. We are aware, unfortunately, of the fact that it will be some time yet before we can identify the bodies. A terrible time for the families concerned. (END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: CNN's Nada Bashir has the latest on this story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): What began as a night of celebration turned into a nightmare. As crowds rang in the New Year. A deadly fire tore through a packed bar in the luxury alpine resort of Crans-Montana in southern Switzerland. Swiss police say around 40 people were killed and over 110 injured, many of them severely. Adding it will take several days to return bodies to families.

BEATRICE PILLOUD, PROSECUTOR: There are quite a few circumstances to be clarified through initial investigations. I would like to point out that as things stand, we are treating this as a fire and there is no question of any kind of terror attack at this stage.

BASHIR: The fire broke out just after 1:30 in the morning inside a bar called Le Constellation. Two witnesses told CNN affiliate BFMTV it may have been caused by sparklers placed in champagne bottles.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People shouted "fire, fire!" And at first, we thought it was a joke. Then suddenly, there was a very large cloud of black smoke. We could not breathe anymore, and in our heads, we knew we had to get out. But there was a crowd and we couldn't leave. So we tried to hide.

SAMUEL RAPP, LOCAL RESIDENT: 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.

BASHIR: The bar is located in the heart of Crans-Montana, an exclusive resort town known for skiing, fine dining and nightlife.

On Thursday morning, authorities closed the area to the public and declared a state of emergency. They added the investigation would look into whether safety standards were met. Swiss Confederation President Guy Parmelin described it as one of the worst tragedies to have faced his country, saying on social media, quote, "What should have been a happy occasion on the first day of the year in Crans-Montana has turned into a tragic loss that touches the whole country and far beyond."

Few could imagine the first day of 2026 would begin this way. For a resort known for sweeping alpine views, authorities are now focused on finding answers and preventing another tragedy.

Nada Bashir, CNN, in London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: A group of Ukraine's allies, known as the Coalition of the Willing, is set to meet next week. This comes as Ukraine's wartime president expresses a fervent wish for peace. Volodymyr Zelensky says a peace agreement for his country is 90

percent ready. After discussions with U.S. and European allies. In his New Year's Eve address, Mr. Zelensky says the remaining 10 percent will, quote, "determine the fate of peace, the fate of Ukraine and Europe".

Russian President Vladimir Putin, meantime, delivered his own view in this year's address, telling his troops the country believes in them and in Russia's victory in Ukraine.

Now, a sweeping new U.S. travel ban largely targeting African countries, takes effect today. Citizens from Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan, Sierra Leone, Syria and Laos join 12 other nations whose citizens are already barred from entering the United States. Nineteen countries, you see them there now face a total ban in 20 nations, face partial bans.

[15:25:02]

The White House defends the move, saying it will, quote, protect the U.S. from national security and public safety threats.

Mali and Burkina Faso have joined a list of countries imposing reciprocal travel bans on Americans.

With more now on how the travel ban is impacting Africa, here's CNN's Larry Madowo.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President Trump's expanded travel restrictions that came into effect on 1st January 2026 have been criticized by some as an effective Muslim and African ban. Many of the nations with full restrictions are Muslim majority nations -- Afghanistan, Syria, Iran, the Palestinian Authority in Africa. Almost half of countries on the continent now have full or partial restrictions for travel to the United States. 67 percent of the nations with these restrictions are from Africa.

So those that cannot travel to the United States include South Sudan and Sudan, Sierra Leone, which was surprising, and some major nations are on the partial restrictions list, such as Nigeria and Tanzania.

President Trump has said that he intends to permanently pause migration from all third world nations, and these restrictions track with that. The United States says these nations citizens pose national security and safety threats to the United States. The main issue is that some of them have serious deficiencies in their vetting, according to the White House, either because they have no functional governments, because of terrorism, widespread fraud, citizenship by investment schemes that mask who or where somebody originally is from, and they just don't feel like they can trust the documents issued by these governments.

The big complaint also is that some of these nation's citizens have high visa overstay rates. They go to the United States and overstay their visas, and sometimes their countries don't accept them when it's time for them to be deported. And so, the United States is pressuring these nations to accept their citizens. And if they do not, then they will be either included in the partial or full restrictions list.

And this travel ban will affect a lot of people from these nations, some of whom were hoping to go to the United States because of the World Cup, which is very popular in the rest of the world. This means also citizens hoping for reunification with their families through asylum cases, through immigration to the U.S. Those have all come to a stop.

Students who have even ongoing programs in the United States have been affected by this as well. So, it has far reaching consequences for many.

Larry Madowo, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: We want to go back now to the inauguration of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

Gloria Pazmino is tracking this historic event. She is with us live in New York.

Gloria, you saw it all unfold there. I am wondering this for a mayor who has a lot of expectations on his shoulders, and yet he doubled down on those expectations.

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): That's exactly right, Paula. And, you know, he was I would say, unapologetic during that speech about his agenda, about his proposals and frankly, about his political identity.

Much has been said about Democratic Mayor Zohran Mamdani being a Democratic socialist, and he said during today's speech that he was elected as a Democratic socialist and that he planned on governing as a Democratic socialist. And I thought that was an important moment during the speech because it was Mayor Mamdani, as you said, doubling down on what has essentially helped them get here to this moment, his policies, his proposals, his progressive identity, the fact that he ran very much to the left of the Democratic Party.

And even though New York City is, you know, a big liberal, deep blue Democratic city some of the proposals that he has rolled out are controversial, you know, like making buses fast and free for passengers, creating universal child care, and also making sure that rent stabilized tenants can have a rent freeze.

The other reason why all of this is controversial, Paula, is because Zohran Mamdani has said he wants to tax the rich in order to pay for many of these initiatives. And, you know, taxing the rich and raising taxes on people is not something that is easily done. And Zohran Mamdani will not be able to do that alone. He's going to need support from the governor, the state legislature, in order to raise taxes. So, he has a long road and an ambitious agenda ahead of him. But I do

kind of just want to take a moment to reflect on the speech that Mamdani delivered.

[15:30:04]

You know, I would say it was a speech where he really tried to unify. He talked about the fact that he knows not everybody voted for him, that there were New Yorkers who were not willing to support him and that were not happy about his election. But he said here today that he is going to be a mayor for everybody.

He also spent a lot of time highlighting the identity of New York City. You know, for anyone that's ever been to New York who lives in New York, it's just such a core part of the culture here. He talked about immigrant New York, working class New York, what it's like to grow up in New York, talking about his own experience as a -- as a child who grew up here, who went to school here. So that was sort of, you know, the more interesting, moment of the speech, hearing him talk about the city in these glowing terms while also acknowledging that in the last several years, the city has become more and more expensive for the working class.

And he was making the point that working class people are what keeps the city running. You know, he talked about cab drivers and train conductors and restaurant workers and people who get up every single morning and go to work and really struggle to get by in one of the most expensive cities in the world.

So, again, going back to those same ideas that helped him get elected. You know, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders issuing the oath of office and also delivering an unapologetically progressive, working class focused message, calling this sort of a new dawn, a new era of progressive politics in the United States. We'll see what happens. There's a long road ahead.

The question of how Zohran Mamdani is going to balance all of this while Donald Trump is in the White House, and even though the two had a pretty positive meeting just a month ago -- we know that all of that can change very quickly. So, we saw commitment from this new mayor right from stage today, getting to know the new first family, his wife, First Lady Rama Duwaji, an artist who is likely one of the youngest, if not the youngest ever first lady in the history of New York City. She's only in her late 20s. And the two of them will soon be moving into Gracie Mansion, the mayoral residence here in New York.

So, a lot of energy. A lot of people who were clearly very happy to join in in this moment. And what next -- what comes next is, of course, the hardest part in politics, and that is to govern.

But I think there's a lot of people here today who are rooting for him, who are inspired by his election and who are hoping that he will succeed.

NEWTON: Yeah. Principal among them, right, Gloria, are those working class New Yorkers. So, I had to say from his speech when he said, I stand with those New Yorkers who call New York home, even those who sometimes find it impossible to do so. I think that kind of says it all in terms of where New York has been the last few years, and where many New Yorkers hope it's headed.

Gloria, I thank you for continuing to have our coverage of what is a local event, but certainly lots of national and international eyes on him.

Gloria Pazmino for us, appreciate it.

And stay with CNN. We'll have much more news in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:36:15]

NEWTON: The price of your prescription medications here in the United States could go up this year. Drugmakers are planning to raise the U.S. prices on at least 350 branded medicines in 2026. That's according to data by a healthcare research firm.

Now, the list includes vaccines against COVID, RSV, shingles and cancer treatments. The hike comes despite pressure from the Trump administration for drugmakers to lower prices. Americans currently pay by far the most for prescription medicines, often nearly three times more than in other developed countries.

In Cuba, meantime, an economic collapse is leading to a health care crisis. The island nation is suffering a run of mosquito-borne diseases, and the government admits it simply doesn't have the resources to fight them.

CNN's Patrick Oppmann has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the front line of Cuba's war against mosquito borne diseases. It's a war the island is losing. As World Health Organization data shows, infection rates of illnesses like dengue, chikungunya and Oropouche are soaring. Part of the problem is that as Cubans confront the worst economic crisis in decades, there are fewer resources to combat and treat the rising number of cases that are spread by mosquitoes.

Outside hospitals in Havana, we find many people waiting to be treated who say they're still suffering the after effects of chikungunya, which originally was first identified in Africa and whose name means bent over for the severe joint pain the disease causes for weeks and sometimes months. It was terrible, very strong pain. This virus is a living hell, this man tells us.

So far, the Cuban government says the health crisis has cost the lives of at least 55 people. The majority of the deceased are children. They say, but the true toll could be far higher, as many hospitals are overwhelmed and unable to test for the viruses. Video posted to social media shows waiting rooms in government run hospitals overflowing with patients. The painful aches and pains of chikungunya seem to go away and then return, causing people to seek treatment again and again, Cuban health officials say.

"Chikungunya is very explosive," she says, "with lots of symptoms and it lasts longer."

The Cuban government acknowledges that their inability to provide many basic services, like picking up trash that now covers whole streets and many neighborhoods across the island, is also fueling the outbreak.

OPPMANN: One byproduct of Cuba's economic collapse is that the government no longer has the trucks, or even the gasoline, to pick up the garbage, and these piles of trash you see nearly everywhere you look have become the ideal breeding ground for mosquitoes carrying dengue, chikungunya and other diseases.

OPPMANN (voice-over): In treating those illnesses. In a country where basic medicines are increasingly scarce, a crisis that Cuban government blames on U.S. economic sanctions only contributes to the misery.

"I had a lot of pain in the joints, a fever that was higher than 39 and a constant pain in the body," this man tells us, who said he used homemade remedies since no painkillers were available to treat the virus's symptoms. The spread of these viruses is unlikely to stay within Cuba's borders, especially as Cubans living abroad return to the island over the holidays. Countries like the U.S. and Spain are warning travelers heading to Cuba to take precautions against mosquitoes to reduce the risk of infection and the further spread of an already deadly outbreak.

Patrick Oppmann, CNN, Havana.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Britain's Queen Camilla is speaking out for the first time after being attacked when she was just a teenager. She says she had to fight off a stranger on a train.

Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUEEN CAMILLA, UNITED KINGDOM: I remember something that had been lurking in the back of my brain for a very long time that when I was a teenager, I was attacked on a train and I'd sort of forgotten about it. But I remember at the time being so angry. It was anger.

And I thought, why is this? Its a sort of boy. I thought it was an old man, was probably not a great deal older than me, but, and I think --

INTERVIEWER: Attacked in what way?

QUEEN CAMILLA: On a -- on a train.

INTERVIEWER: You were on a train.

QUEEN CAMILLA: On a train.

INTERVIEWER: And someone you didn't know.

QUEEN CAMILLA: Somebody I didn't know. I was reading my book and you know, this -- well, boy, man attacked me, and, I did fight back, and. And I got off. I remember getting off the train and my mother looking at me and saying, you know, why's your hair standing on end? And why? But, you know, missing from your coat. And I said --

INTERVIEWER: Physical --

QUEEN CAMILLA: Attacked and but I remember anger and, I was so furious about it and, and it's sort of lurked for many years and I think, you know, when all the subject about domestic abuse came up and suddenly you hear a story like John and Amy's -- it all, you know, it's something that I feel very strongly about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: Now, the queen brought up the incident while talking about violence against women in a BBC radio interview. Details of the attack first came out in a book earlier this year, after an official recounted a story he reportedly heard from the queen.

Buckingham Palace has not released an official statement about the attack.

And we will be right back with more news in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NEWTON: Would you love it? London over New Year's, ringing it in with that big fireworks show.

And today, thousands gathered in the streets to watch the city's New Year's Day parade. Aerial acrobatics were among performers from all around the world who took part in those festivities.

Now, 2025 was a year that included attacks on public health. The miracle of a pig kidney transplant, and how a family of firewalkers led to a breakthrough in pain research.

[15:45:03]

CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, has the top ten health stories of 2025.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: 2025 was a veritable battleground for public health as it faced challenge after challenge.

(CHANTING) GUPTA: Mass layoffs, an armed attack on the CDC, and as misinformation gained momentum, once forgotten viruses took hold on U.S. soil. But as always, with science and medicine, progress does persist.

It is impossible to ignore the impact of MAHA. It's been the rallying cry of HHS Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

ROBERT F. KENNEDY, JR., HHS SECRETARY: The real overhaul is improving the health of the entire nation to Make America Healthy Again.

GUPTA: The main driver of the movement, reducing chronic disease, and a lot of efforts to that end like condemning ultra-processed foods and taking action on artificial food dyes. Those have been largely applauded by public health experts. But other targets of the MAHA movement, those have them worried.

SEN. BILL CASSIDY (R-LA): We currently have our current vaccine schedule based upon a lot of people who know a heck of a lot, looking at things not to make mandates, but to make recommendations.

KENNEDY: It makes no sense to have fluoride in our water.

GUPTA: This year, we saw some states take steps to ban fluoride in their water supply. Dentists and other public health experts worry that its removal will increase cavities, especially for people without access to regular dental care. But, supporters of these bans point to studies that found children exposed to higher fluoride levels have lower IQs and more neurobehavioral issues. But, as with so many things this year, there is important nuance.

Those studies looked at levels much higher, almost double than the levels found in the majority of public water systems. In fact, another study found that fluoride at the recommended levels in drinking water did not negatively affect cognitive ability.

DR. MARTY MAKARY, FDA COMMISSIONER: There may be no other medication in the modern era that can improve the health outcomes of women on a population level than hormone replacement therapy.

GUPTA: In November, the FDA announced that it was taking steps to remove what is known as a black-box warning for many hormone treatments for women with menopause symptoms. Now, while this change is expected to give women more options for treatments, I do want to stress that it needs to still start with a conversation with your doctor.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR OF "ANDERSON COOPER 360": President Trump and Health Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. today publicly linking the rise in the number of cases of autism to the use of acetaminophen or Tylenol by women during pregnancy.

KENNEDY: Today, the FDA will issue a physician's notice about the risk of acetaminophen during pregnancy and begin the process to initiate a safety label change.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Don't take Tylenol. Don't take it.

GUPTA: Now, the FDA was much more nuanced in its warning, saying that pregnant women should use the lowest effective dose for the shortest necessary duration and only when treatment is required. However, there is decades of evidence that Tylenol or acetaminophen is among the safest options for pregnant women dealing with fever or pain, and that it does not cause autism.

DR. EDITH BRACHO-SANCHEZ, PRIMARY CARE PEDIATRICIAN: I understand the risks of a fever and pregnancy, which is risk of miscarriage, risk of birth defects, and I said, no way am I taking that risk.

TIM ANDREWS, RECEIVED A KIDNEY TRANSPLANT FROM A PIG: It may shorten your life, but you're going to do something for humanity.

GUPTA: This year, we follow the courageous journey of Tim Andrews, the fourth living patient in the United States to get a genetically- modified pig kidney transplant. It's a process known as xenotransplantation.

ANDREWS: And the little pig is right there, so I can pat it.

GUPTA (voice-over): Tim lived with a pig kidney for a record 271 days and while they did have to have it removed, his case helps move this field farther into the future, especially as larger-scale human clinical trials are just on the horizon.

GUPTA: When do you think this might be available for the average person?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think less than five years.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: We just learned that Robert Kennedy Jr., the Secretary of Health and Human Services, will announce huge layoffs today, some ten thousand jobs across the agency, and this comes on top of some ten thousand employees who left the department voluntarily.

GUPTA: Thousands of jobs, billions of dollars in research funding stripped, it's almost unimaginable to predict the long-term impacts of the Trump administration's cuts to public health.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is going to make it more challenging to bring the best new treatments for children with cancer.

GUPTA (voice-over): And the cuts extended beyond America's shores.

[15:50:00]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Withdrawing from the World Health Organization.

GUPTA (voice-over): Global programs like Gavi and USAID, also had funding pulled by the administration.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please just give us medication. We still want to survive. MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: In Milwaukee, one kid was found to have really elevated blood lead levels and that sparked this whole public health investigation.

GUPTA: And that Investigation led them to Milwaukee's public schools and several other children who had elevated blood lead levels. For the first time, they were able to link lead poisoning in children to the city's aging schools. The problem we found when traveling there is that most of the school buildings were built before 1978. That's before lead paint was banned. And to further complicate the city's efforts to handle this crisis, those cuts I was just talking about, that left the city without federal support.

DR. MICHAEL TOTORAITIS, MILWAUKEE COMMISSIONER OF HEALTH: Investigation into the potential chronic exposures of students at the districts is a part that we were really looking to the CDC to help us with. And unfortunately, HHS had laid off that entire team for childhood blood exposure. These are the best and brightest minds in these areas around lead poisoning and now they're gone.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: The FDA just did something that could be a game-changer for people living with pain.

GUPTA: For the first time in more than 25 years, the agency approved a new class of pain medication. It's called Suzetrigine. It's not an opioid. It works by preventing pain signaling nerves around the body from firing in the first place, so that message of pain never makes it to the brain. And even cooler, this medication was actually discovered after researchers learned about a family of firewalkers in Pakistan that lacked a gene allowing those pain signals to be sent. Those people, they could walk on hot coals without flinching.

A new FDA-approved blood test could help diagnose Alzheimer's by detecting certain biomarkers of the disease. It will still need to be used alongside other diagnostic tools like neurological exams and brain imaging, but preventive neurologist, Dr. Richard Isaacson, says that he thinks blood tests will be a great new option for screening.

DR. RICHARD ISAACSON, NEUROLOGIST: I believe this is a screening test that may predict if a person is going to be more likely to be on the road to Alzheimer's or dementia in 10, 20, 30 or 40 years.

GUPTA (voice-over): And that means patients, including myself, who went through a battery of tests with Isaacson, can get a baseline for their risk and they can also track their progress while applying certain lifestyle interventions.

ISAACSON: Your numbers went from "eh" to now working faster and better than your age, that you're actually six years younger in your age.

GUPTA: Six years younger?

Have you ever seen measles before?

DR. JENNIFER SHUFORD, COMMISSIONER, TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF STATE HEALTH SERVICES: No, and I'm an infectious disease physician.

GUPTA: Wow.

SHUFORD: I've never diagnosed a case.

GUPTA: That's incredible.

SHUFORD: It's because, you know, measles was declared eliminated --

GUPTA: Right.

SHUFORD: -- from the United States back in the year 2000 because of the effectiveness of that vaccine.

GUPTA: A measles outbreak that started in Texas earlier this year. It signaled a worrying trend as cases continue to grow across the country, putting the U.S.' elimination status in jeopardy. But this is also symbolic of the larger fight over vaccines, especially as the RFK-appointed members of the highly influential Vaccine Advisory Committee to the CDC has pledged to re-examine the entire vaccine schedule, even for shots that have long-established safety records.

DR. PAUL OFFIT, DIRECTOR, VACCINE EDUCATION CENTER AT CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF PHILADELPHIA: The ACIP is full of people who are anti- vaccine activists and science denialists, so you know that the decisions that they're going to be making are not science-based.

GUPTA: As always, we'll continue our reporting and we'll bring you everything you need to know when it comes to your health in 2026. See you next year.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Our thanks to Sanjay.

Now many people will be set on reaching new heights for the New Year. For a bit of inspiration, we want to bring you the success of one surfer dad who blew his goal for 2025 right out of the water.

Danielle Miskell from affiliate KGTV in California has his story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATT HENRY, "IMPERIAL BEACH DAD": Yeah, so set a goal for 365 waves, which it seemed like a big goal at the time.

DANI MISKELL, KGTV REPORTER (voice-over): But Matt Henry, who's also known as the "Imperial Beach Dad", hit that goal back in October.

HENRY: This is wave 365.

MISKELL (voice-over): Before he served his 365th wave, we talked with Matt back in January.

HENRY: I'm half a decade past my life expectancy. Like what? That's awesome. MISKELL (voice-over): For Matt, meeting this goal means something.

You see, he's living with terminal brain cancer, living on borrowed time.

HENRY: So, it's pretty rad. I survived another year of life.

MISKELL (voice-over): And as for this past year, Matt made the most of 2025.

HENRY: Adventure for eight bucks.

MISKELL (voice-over): He traveled by bus with his wife and six kids, and he surfed all over the country.

HENRY: I got to surf in a river. That was pretty cool. I got to surf on a sand dune.

[15:55:00]

I was actually the first to surf Fort Myers in the Gulf of America. They renamed it like the day we were there.

MISKELL (voice-over): When Matt told his wife, Kristie, that he met his goal, she set a new goal for him.

HENRY: She's like, no, the new goal needs to be 1,000. I was like a thousand waves. Okay.

MISKELL: Matt Henry met his goal of surfing 365 waves this year, but he not only beat it, he actually served triple times that number.

MISKELL (voice-over): In this case, tripling the number of his goal was symbolic.

HENRY: And I decided, you know what? If I move the goal one more time, I could get 365 waves three times, and I've outlived my prognosis three times. So how cool would that be?

MISKELL (voice-over): It's harder than it sounds. Matt pushed through a lot of challenges, including getting seizures while surfing.

HENRY: When you have this, like, weird taste in your mouth, it's really terrifying because it's your fight or flight reflex freaking out.

MISKELL (voice-over): But his approach to life.

HENRY: Staying positive is a huge weapon against, you know, any -- any adversity, right?

MISKELL (voice-over): And his family being right there in his corner --

HENRY'S KID: When you don't know how much time you're going to have left with your dad. It was -- it was just such a blessing to be able to hang out with him. And like, I got to ride a lot of the waves with him.

MISKELL (voice-over): -- made 2025 an unforgettable year.

HENRY: Awesome.

MISKELL (voice-over): In Coronado, Dani Miskell.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: That certainly was inspirational.

That does it for this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Paula Newton in New York. I want to thank you for watching.

Stay with us, though. Our coverage continues after a quick break.