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CNN Special Reports
Tom Foreman On All The Best, All The Worst 2022; John Berman On Putin; Conservative Pundit S.E. Cupp On Her Wish For 2023. Aired 9-10p ET
Aired December 28, 2022 - 21:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[21:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: U.S. officials, today said, all travelers, originating in China, will be required to show a negative COVID test, before flying to the States. China has been battling a surge, since it dismantled its strict zero-COVID policy. And the new U.S. rule will take effect, January 5th.
Coming up next, all the best and worst moments of 2022, a CNN SPECIAL REPORT, "ALL THE BEST, ALL THE WORST 2022" starts now.
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Buckle up, strap in, and brace yourself. This year brought more twists and turns, ins and outs, and ups and downs than anyone could have predicted, in Big News, Politics, Movies, Music, Sports and more.
We're going through it all, with our guests, Comedian and actress, Helen Hong; former NFL player and commentator, Donte Stallworth; CNN's own John Berman; Conservative pundit, S.E. Cupp; and comedian, Gina Brillon. They're all on board, for the wildest ride ever.
ALL THE BEST, ALL THE WORST 2022.
FOREMAN (on camera): Welcome, I'm Tom Foreman.
And depending on who you are, and where you were, and what you believe, this year may have been pretty good, or really bad, or somewhere in the murky middle. Many of us started with high hopes, but the troubles of recent years are fading oh, so slowly. And that was clear in all sorts of huge news events that rocked our world.
FOREMAN (voice-over): Let's start with the biggest, baddest, worst story, runaway inflation.
S.E. CUPP, CONSERVATIVE PUNDIT: Things felt very abnormal, when it came to what we could buy, what we could afford, where we could go.
GINA BRILLON, COMEDIAN: I'm going to have to start selling off other things that I own, so I can buy milk.
FOREMAN (voice-over): Prices for food, clothing, houses, and more jumped sharply. HELEN HONG, COMEDIAN: I bought a sandwich, at one point, at not even a fancy shop. And it was $22!
FOREMAN (voice-over): Driven by lingering Pandemic supply issues, strong demand, and perhaps some price gouging too.
DONTE STALLWORTH, FORMER NFL PLAYER: It's hit every American, at some point, whether if it's been you personally, or someone, you know.
FOREMAN (voice-over): Worst constant reminder, gas prices. The nationwide average for a gallon climbed over $5, at one point, a new record.
CUPP: Yes, I mean, filling up my SUV sometimes cost over $100.
FOREMAN (voice-over): Best part?
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Some parts of the economy that were just humming, right? Unemployment, very low. Wages, up significantly, for the first time in a very long time.
FOREMAN (voice-over): So, is a recession coming?
STALLWORTH: I don't think it's a definite no, if you listen to a lot of the economists.
HONG: I don't even care if there's a recession coming. It already feels like we're in a recession.
FOREMAN (voice-over): Despite topping a million deaths in the U.S., the COVID Pandemic brought some good news. More than 80 percent of all Americans have now received at least one dose of vaccine, and the rate of new infections, hospitalizations and fatalities has dropped.
BRILLON: I feel like the Pandemic, we just kind of let it go. Like you know, when you date somebody for a little bit, and then you just eventually stop calling them, and that's how you break up?
FOREMAN (voice-over): But new variations, long COVID, and complications remain, for many vulnerable groups.
CUPP: This isn't over for them. And so, I'm still mindful of the folks, who are still dealing with it.
FOREMAN (voice-over): Internationally, the worst story was the invasion of Ukraine, with Russia's army hammering Military and civilian targets alike.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT: (FOREIGN LANGUAGE).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: What Vladimir Putin did is something that really just hasn't been done, in decades and decades and decades. He invaded another country, for the purpose of conquest.
STALLWORTH: A lot of people were saying he's losing his mind, he's becoming more isolated.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: (FOREIGN LANGUAGE).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (voice-over): Best counter-punch? Ukraine's response.
CUPP: It was The Little Engine That Could.
FOREMAN (voice-over): Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and his forces, defied all predictions of quick defeat, and in some places, put the Russians on the run.
HONG: Listen, before Ukraine was invaded, nobody had heard of Volodymyr Zelenskyy. But now? Hot daddy!
FOREMAN (voice-over): The world outlook was not great.
Wide portions of Africa were wracked by disease.
Iran stepped up its repression of human rights, especially for women, amid protest.
Flooding plagued Pakistan.
BRILLON: I need to talk to some serious astrologers, and figure out when are we going to get out of this, because this seems like madness.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(VIDEO - PEOPLE PROTESTING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (voice-over): China rattled over COVID lockdowns and Taiwan tensions.
North Korea tested more missiles.
South Korea and Indonesia were saddened by fatal crowd crushes.
Japan was shaken by the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
And London watched a revolving door of leaders.
[21:05:00]
BERMAN: The United Kingdom seems to like having a lot of different Prime Ministers, because they keep on changing whose in-charge there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Prime Minister.
(CHEERS)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (voice-over): As the new King Charles stepped up, following the passing of Queen Elizabeth, the longest serving monarch in British history.
BRILLON: I mean it was a heck of a sendoff. And, honestly, I didn't expect anything less.
FOREMAN (voice-over): Closer to home, Hurricane Fiona pounded Puerto Rico, and Ian hammered the Caribbean, before hitting Florida hard. Both storms raising fresh alarms about climate change.
CUPP: It's hard to deny the science, when it's flooding your home.
FOREMAN (voice-over): Add other places, afflicted by wildfires, heat waves, blizzards, and drought so bad, it was draining lakes. And?
BERMAN: The Earth is telling us something, right? The planet is telling us that we can't just keep going on like this.
STALLWORTH: I look at my nieces, and nephews, and they'll be the ones that are inheriting the planet from us.
FOREMAN (voice-over): Among many worrisome predictions, the glaciers in Yellowstone and Yosemite could be gone by 2050. And sea levels may rise in the next 30 years, as much as they did in a century.
HONG: I live in Los Angeles. And it's probably going to be underwater, in about five years. So, I'm just working on my doggy paddle right now!
FOREMAN (voice-over): Mass shootings, once again, haunted shopping centers, subways, public squares, nightclubs, and so many places.
CUPP: It is exhausting. And it is depressing.
STALLWORTH: Seems like this is our new normal. And no one wants to be there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stay over there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (voice-over): The massacre, at Robb Elementary School, in Texas, drew particular notice, after 19 students, and two teachers, died while Law Officers waited more than an hour, to engage and stop the gunman. BERMAN: And to see them, in that video, looking like they're just waiting, for something, as more people, we feel, or saw, were dying? It's very upsetting.
BRILLON: I am petrified, to have my son, in any school, because I don't know what's safe anymore.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUDGE TIMOTHY R. WALMSLEY, SUPERIOR COURT EASTERN JUDICIAL CIRCUIT: Today, the defendants are being held accountable for their actions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (voice-over): Best news, for many looking for justice? Three Georgia men, involved in the murder of jogger, Ahmaud Arbery, received stiff federal and state prison sentences.
And so did Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis cop, who knelt on George Floyd's neck, until he died.
STALLWORTH: Hopefully, we start to see that, maybe this is a trend, where people are held accountable. And then, when you go from there, it's, you're held accountable, and everyone gets to be able to see, like this is how the justice system is supposed to work.
FOREMAN (voice-over): On the border, the battle raged, over undocumented immigration. Some Republican governors fed up with new arrivals, started shipping them to faraway Democratic strongholds.
HONG: First of all, refugees are not props.
FOREMAN (voice-over): Worst supply chain issue, the shortage of baby formula that sent parents scrambling.
BRILLON: I can't imagine the moms that are going crazy, looking for formula. Because if you got a hungry infant? Man, that's a fight!
FOREMAN (voice-over): Best case for infrastructure reform, the drinking water issues facing Jackson Mississippi, and other places.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELON MUSK, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF TWITTER: Let that sink in!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (voice-over): Worst purchase order, in less than 300 characters, billionaire Elon Musk's on again, off again, on again acquisition of Twitter.
HONG: Oh, Elon Musk! Thank you for proving to us that you don't have to be smart or mentally stable, to be a billionaire.
FOREMAN (voice-over): And the best way to get away, from all the maddening, saddening craziness? Give it to those spectacular images coming back from the Webb telescope, way off in space, where everything at least looks so beautiful!
BRILLON: They were so good that they almost seemed fake. They were so pretty that I was like "Is this real?"
HONG: You know, now that we've officially turned our entire planet into a dumpster fire? Space is looking pretty gorgeous, right now!
FOREMAN (on camera): Coming up, we'll have the year's most spectacular sports, the must-see TV, you might have missed, full-contact politics. And hit it!
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(VIDEO - "BEJEWELED" - SONG BY TAYLOR SWIFT)
What's a girl gonna do? A diamond's gotta shine Best believe I'm still bejeweled
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (voice-over): We'll be talking Taylor and her tunes, Maverick and his moves.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(VIDEO - SCENES FROM "TOP GUN: MAVERICK")
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What the hell!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (voice-over): And so much more, as ALL THE BEST, ALL THE WORST 2022 rides on!
[21:10:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HONG: Ride into the Danger Zone!
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(VIDEO - SCENES FROM "TOP GUN: MAVERICK")
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What the hell!
CAPTAIN PETE "MAVERICK" MITCHELL, FICTIONAL CHARACTER PLAYED BY TOM CRUISE, "TOP GUN: MAVERICK": Good Morning Aviators! This is your Captain speaking.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (voice-over): In movies, the best time travel came in "Top Gun: Maverick," with Tom Cruise slipping into his role, from more than 25 years ago, like an old pair of jeans, then blowing up the box office.
STALLWORTH: You know he looks the same actually. He looks like he's like Benjamin Button, he got younger actually.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
"MAVERICK" MITCHELL: Just want to manage the expectations.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HONG: I was like "Um!" But then, I saw it, and I was like "Yes!"
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OWEN GRADY, FICTIONAL CHARACTER PLAYED BY CHRIS PRATT, "JURASSIC WORLD DOMINION": That's another plane right?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not exactly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (voice-over): Best bigger-than-life sequels, "Jurassic World Dominion" roared, while "Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore" cast a spell.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. STEPHEN STRANGE, FICTIONAL CHARACTER PLAYED BY BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH, "DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS": Wanda, what do you know about the Multiverse?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (voice-over): Almost all the top-earning films were full of action and superheroes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you mean?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (voice-over): I mean, very attractive actors?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Maybe we're not so different.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (voice-over): Doing very amazing things.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
THOR, FICTIONAL CHARACTER PLAYED BY CHRIS HEMSWORTH, "THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER": I just want to say that was very, very impressive what you did back there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CUPP: These are movies that are pretty simple and straightforward. There's good guys and bad guys.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OTTO OCTAVIUS/DOCTOR OCTOPUS, FICTIONAL CHARACTER PLAYED BY ALFRED MOLINA, "SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME": You're Not Peter Parker.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CUPP: I think people want that simplicity.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CARTER HALL/HAWKMAN, FICTIONAL CHARACTER PLAYED BY ALDIS HODGE, "BLACK ADAM": Heroes don't kill people.
[21:15:00]
TETH-ADAM/BLACK ADAM, FICTIONAL CHARACTER PLAYED BY DWAYNE JOHNSON, "BLACK ADAM": Well, I do!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRILLON: Black Adam, two thumbs up from this girl!
FOREMAN (voice-over): Most eagerly awaited follow-up?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(VIDEO - SCENES FROM "BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER")
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (voice-over): "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever." And it wasn't good. It was great!
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COLONEL TOM PARKER, FICTIONAL CHARACTER PLAYED BY TOM HANKS, "ELVIS": I wish to promote you, Mr. Presley.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (voice-over): Plenty of movies from "Elvis" to "The Fabelmans."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENNIE LOEWY, FICTIONAL CHARACTER PLAYED BY SETH ROGEN, "THE FABELMANS": If you stop start making movies, it'll break your mother's heart.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (voice-over): To "Devotion."
STALLWORTH: Great story of perseverance.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(VIDEO - SCENES FROM "DEVOTION")
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (voice-over): Offered traditional dramatic fair, often based on true tales.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(VIDEO - SCENES FROM "THE WOMAN KING")
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You are called to join the King's Guard.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (voice-over): And for many moviegoers, the best of that lot was "The Woman King."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GENERAL NANISCA, FICTIONAL CHARACTER PLAYED BY VIOLA DAVIS, "THE WOMAN KING": Fight or we die.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRILLON: I absolutely adore Viola Davis. I will literally watch anything that you put her in. She is amazing!
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(VIDEO - SCENES FROM "MINIONS: THE RISE OF GRU")
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why don't we make this a fair fight?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (voice-over): In animation, the "Minions" and "Sonic the Hedgehog" came back in force.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SONIC THE HEDGEHOG, FICTIONAL CHARACTER PLAYED BY BEN SCHWARTZ, "SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2": That wasn't too bad.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (voice-over): And "Bob's Burgers" was hot!
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) (VIDEO - SCENES FROM "BOB'S BURGERS")
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not what I was expecting.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (voice-over): But give the best award to the heartwarming and wonderful "Marcel the Shell with Shoes On!"
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NANA CONNIE, FICTIONAL CHARACTER PLAYED BY ISABELLA ROSSELLINI, "MARCEL THE SHELL WITH SHOES ON": Marcello, let's forget about being afraid. Just take the adventure.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HONG: Oh! "Marcel the Shell with Shoes On" was so good!
CUPP: Very creative, very clever, adorable, it was a little too art- house for me.
FOREMAN (voice-over): Best mindbender, "Everything Everywhere All at Once," a time and space warping adventure, unlike any other.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EVELYN QUAN WANG, FICTIONAL CHARACTER PLAYED BY MICHELLE YEOH, "EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE": Of all the places I could be, I just want to be here with you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: It was truly innovative entertainment. I loved it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You met a guy?
BOBBY LIEBER, FICTIONAL CHARACTER PLAYED BY BILLY EICHNER, "BROS": I don't think I'm his type. He's like gay Tom Brady.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (voice-over): Best movie we've needed in the worst way? "Bros."
Worst breakup that happened in the best way? Jamie Lee Curtis, and Michael Myers, in "Halloween Ends."
STALLWORTH: I love horror. It's one of my favorite genres.
FOREMAN (voice-over): Best reason to say "Yep" to horror? Jordan Peele's "Nope." (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(VIDEO - SCENES FROM " NOPE")
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No! No! No!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRILLON: I saw "Nope" in a 4D Theater. So, my seats were moving, and there was like stuff spraying in my face. It was wild!
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAKE SULLY, FICTIONAL CHARACTER PLAYED BY SAM WORTHINGTON, "AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER": Let's get it done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (voice-over): There were many others. But the most perfect movie, for our imperfect times? Give it to "The Banshees of Inisherin," painful, hilarious, and disturbing, just like so much, these days.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PADRAIC SUILLEABHAIN, FICTIONAL CHARACTER PLAYED BY COLIN FARRELL, "THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN": Just tell me what I've done to you.
COLM DOHERTY, FICTIONAL CHARACTER PLAYED BY BRENDAN GLEESON, "THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN": But you didn't do anything to me. I just don't like you no more.
SUILLEABHAIN: But you liked me yesterday.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (on camera): Movie ticket sales are still trying to bounce back, from the Pandemic. But the music industry is singing a different tune, starting this year, on a very high note, in terms of streaming and sales, and then, going up.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(VIDEO - "ANTI HERO" - SONG BY TAYLOR SWIFT)
It's me, hi, I'm the problem, it's me At tea time, everybody agrees
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (voice-over): In Pop music, the worst news for everyone, not named Taylor Swift, was her release of "Midnights," a record- shattering album that captured all 10 top slots of the Billboard Hot 100.
BRILLON: Like, as a grown woman, I'm listening to this, like I felt like "Et tu (ph) Taylor! I feel you!"
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(VIDEO - "BEJEWELED" - SONG BY TAYLOR SWIFT)
Best believe I'm still bejeweled When I walk in the room I can still make the whole place shimmer
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HONG: Taylor Swift's album drops are bigger than Daylight Savings, like they just stop time, for like a full day.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(VIDEO - "RICH FLEX" - SONG BY 21 SAVAGE AND DRAKE)
Ayy, ayy, ayy, ayy, ayy I'm on that Slaughter Gang
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (voice-over): If not for swift, Drake & 21 Savage might have taken the top honors, or the great Lizzo.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(VIDEO - "ABOUT DAMN TIME" - SONG BY LIZZO)
It's about damn time In a minute, I'ma need a sentimental
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CUPP: Lizzo was a national treasure.
FOREMAN (voice-over): But you can never count out the Queen! Beyonce's new album "Renaissance" scored the best bling, nine Grammy nominations.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(VIDEO - "BREAK MY SOUL" - SONG BY BEYONCE)
You won't break my soul Break my soul You won't break my soul
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (voice-over): She and, her husband, Jay-Z, are now tied for the Most-ever.
STALLWORTH: That's an amazing accomplishment, right? They probably just have a bedroom, just for the Grammys, because they've got enough. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(VIDEO - "GREEN GREEN GRASS" - SONG BY GEORGE EZRA)
She said Green green grass, blue blue sky
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (voice-over): Plenty of artists made a run at the charts, George Ezra, Soccer Mommy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(VIDEO - "SHOTGUN" - SONG BY SOCCER MOMMY)
So whenever you want me I'll be around I'm a bullet in a shotgun waiting to sound
(VIDEO - "SWEETEST PIE" - SONG BY DUA LIPA AND MEGAN THEE STALLION)
I might take you home with this I might give you all of it
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CUPP: Big fan of both Megan Thee Stallion, and Dua Lipa, both incredibly talented, and they had a great year.
FOREMAN (voice-over): Best vintage 80s sound, give it to The Weeknd.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(VIDEO - "OUT OF TIME" - SONG BY THE WEEKND)
Say I love you, girl, but I'm out of time.
(VIDEO - "BLACK SUMMER" - SONG BY RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS)
It's been a long time since I made a new friend.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (voice-over): Although the Red Hot Chili Peppers started in the 80s, and they're still making noise.
BERMAN: In addition to the Grateful Dead, I listened to a lot of The Beatles, who it turns out are a great group.
[21:20:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(TIKTOK VIDEO - "JIGGLE JIGGLE" - SONG BY DUKE & JONES, JASON DERULO, LOUIS THEROUX, AMELIA DIMOLDENBERG)
My money don't jiggle, jiggle, it folds I'd like to see you wiggle, wiggle, for sure
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (voice-over): Best TikTok tune, Duke & Jones, and Louis Theroux.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(TIKTOK VIDEO - "JIGGLE JIGGLE" - SONG BY DUKE & JONES, JASON DERULO, LOUIS THEROUX, AMELIA DIMOLDENBERG)
Riding in my Fiat, you really have to see it
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HONG: TikTok has introduced me to so many great four- to six-seconds of songs.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(MUSIC)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (voice-over): Country music saw huge hits, from Morgan Wallen, Zach Bryan, Lainey Wilson.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(VIDEO - "HEART LIKE A TRUCK" - SONG BY LAINEY WILSON)
I got a heart like a truck
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (voice-over): But we'll give the best song to Ernest.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(VIDEO - "FLOWER SHOPS" - SONG BY ERNEST)
Aw, it's a bad day for love, but a good day for flower shops
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (voice-over): Longest wait well worth it, six years, for this new tune, from Rihanna.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(VIDEO - "LIFT ME UP" - SONG BY RIHANNA)
Lift me up in your arms
(MUSIC) (END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (voice-over): Best imports, all the international talents, showing up on playlists, of American listeners.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(MUSIC)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: I think as we become more diverse, it's only natural that our music becomes more diverse.
FOREMAN (voice-over): Best unexpected comeback, the return of a 1985 hit, by Kate Bush, after it was featured on the TV show, "Stranger Things."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(VIDEO - "RUNNING UP THAT HILL" - SONG BY KATE BUSH)
Be running up that road Be running up that hill
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HONG: I love that she's 64, and she's like in AARP, and like collecting her Social Security, and she's like, "Wait, what? My song's a number one hit? All right!"
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(VIDEO - "AS IT WAS" - SONG BY HARRY STYLES)
In this world, it's just us
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (voice-over): And our Best Song of the Summer goes to Harry Styles, with a big hit, and a big year, for the former boy bander.
BRILLON: Could Harry Styles be any more iconic?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(VIDEO - "AS IT WAS" - SONG BY HARRY STYLES)
You know it's not the same as it was As it was, as it was
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (on camera): So much was not the same, as it was, especially in politics. And that brought some explosive moments, this year. When we come back? FOREMAN (voice-over): Picking up the papers, in Florida, taking the Fifth, in New York, duking it out, in D.C.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. LIZ CHENEY (R-WY): There will come a day when Donald Trump is gone, but your dishonor will remain.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (voice-over): And is it getting hot in here, or is that just the TV?
ALL THE BEST, ALL THE WORST 2022 flies on.
[21:25:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOREMAN (on camera): If you hoped politics would be calmer, or kinder, this year, you were disappointed. Anger, bitterness, and mistrust dominated again, especially on one stunning day.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(VIDEO - PEOPLE PROTESTING)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Off our body!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (voice-over): Political story of the year, the Supreme Court scrapping Roe v. Wade, the case that for almost 50 years assured the right to an abortion.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm here because I'm absolutely ecstatic.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (voice-over): It was the best for some, the worst for others.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's not unexpected, but it's terrifying. It is devastating and heartbreaking.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRILLON: I remember, just waking up that morning, like "Who we got to fight?" Who we got to fight, because that's a fight on my block.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(VIDEO - PEOPLE PROTESTING) (END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (voice-over): Despite polls showing most Americans objected, Red States rapidly rolled out bans.
CUPP: That was a huge cataclysmic seismic moment in American history. It changed something that most women took for granted.
FOREMAN (voice-over): While, activists promised even more.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We will make it a crime in all 50 States to kill a baby.
(VIDEO - PEOPLE PROTESTING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STALLWORTH: In my view, you've got to stand with women, like why - why would you try to make a decision, for a woman, or for anyone in that matter? Let - let women have autonomy over their own bodies.
FOREMAN (voice-over): Other rulings by the Court's conservative majority thrilled some people, and outraged others.
HONG: At this point, the "Supreme Court" should be renamed the "Not Even That Good Court."
FOREMAN (voice-over): And the addition of a more liberal Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson could not stop the juggernaut.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUSTICE KETANJI BROWN JACKSON, ASSOCIATE JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES: So help me God.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: It will be interesting to see how far this goes, over the next several years, and what the ramifications will be.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRAD RAFFENSPERGER, (R) GEORGIA SECRETARY OF STATE: Our election went remarkably smooth.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (voice-over): Best political counter-punch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL BARR, FORMER ATTORNEY GENERAL UNDER PRESIDENT TRUMP: I told the President it was bull (bleep).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (voice-over): Give it to the bipartisan January 6th House Select Committee, which laid out a string of allegations that former President Donald Trump conspired to overturn his election loss in 2020.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CASSIDY HUTCHINSON, FORMER TRUMP WHITE HOUSE AIDE: The President said something to the effect of, 'I'm the effing president. Take me up to the Capitol now.'
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (voice-over): And triggered that violent attack on the Capitol.
BERMAN: For all the complaints about this being a partisan endeavor, it was Republicans testifying that I think provided some of the most damaging accounts of what happened that day.
STALLWORTH: It's really a sad thing for our country. It really is.
HONG: The January 6th committee, were taking their slow-ass time. But they were making some hits!
FOREMAN (voice-over): Trump had a swarm of legal problems as investigations and lawsuits swirled around his business, private and political behavior.
Worse knock on the door? The FBI agents, who took scores of government files, from his Florida home, and left a big question.
BERMAN: Why did Donald Trump have documents that were marked "Classified" and "Top Secret," at Mar-a-Lago?
FOREMAN (voice-over): Worst flip-flop, Trump reportedly taking the Fifth, hundreds of times, in a deposition, for another case, after previously saying?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If you're innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STALLWORTH: He is the definition of what you would call a hypocrite.
FOREMAN (voice-over): Some of his presidential pals were also under pressure. Worst way out of the War Room, former adviser Steve Bannon, convicted of contempt of Congress; worst pillow-talk, Mike Lindell, and other Trump allies, sued, for disparaging Dominion voting machines.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MICHAEL J. LINDELL, MYPILLOW CEO: Just demand an audit!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (voice-over): Worst objections, several Trump lawyers sanctioned, for their actions, on his behalf.
[21:30:00]
HONG: Donald Trump has more court cases against him than I have underwear. And I hate to do laundry, so I have a lot of underwear.
FOREMAN (voice-over): Through it all, January 6th insurrectionists has continued their march to prison. Still, Trump says he's done no wrong. And?
CUPP: He has not been charged with anything related to January 6.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Unlike some, I didn't disappoint you.
WILLIAM J. WALKER, SERGEANT AT ARMS OF THE UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: Madam Speaker, the President of the United States.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (voice-over): So, what kind of year was President Joe Biden having?
HONG: Oh, Joe Biden, right? Joe Biden - I'm sorry, what?
FOREMAN (voice-over): Biden led the country out from the worst of the Pandemic.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: America is back to work.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (voice-over): Passed legislation, to deal with inflation, corporate taxes, health care, climate change.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: Name me a president in recent history that's gotten done as much as I have in the first two years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Biden got much of his agenda through. He was able to get it through Congress.
FOREMAN (voice-over): But the economy and voter dissatisfaction helped him to a terrible approval rating.
BRILLON: Uncle Joe, you tried, you tried, and we wanted to have so much faith in you. But, yes, you dropped the ball, Joe.
CUPP: For a lot of people, who voted for him, including disaffected Republicans, like me, the idea was "Just get Trump out." So, Joe Biden has done the job.
FOREMAN (voice-over): Polls found even less approval, for Congress, as Left and Right clashed through trucker convoys, book bans, issues with gender identity topics, and disagreements over taxing Disney World, amid Florida's "Don't Say Gay" bill.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(VIDEO - PEOPLE PROTESTING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRILLON: Like it's scary how much there's fighting now, and how people are just so blatantly racist, sexist, and it's - it's wild.
FOREMAN (voice-over): Worst outcome? Rising politically-inspired violence, including the attack on Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi's husband.
HONG: An 80-year-old man was attacked in his house, with a hammer. There's nothing cute or funny about that.
STALLWORTH: Our political leaders, whether you - whether you're Republican or a Democrat, they shouldn't have to face any type of violence.
FOREMAN (voice-over): It all set the stage for the tumultuous midterm elections. And some races were tight amid the hopes and fears.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAKE TAPPER, CNN CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT & CNN ANCHOR: We're following all the races that are still too close to call, as well as critical contests that have been decided.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, ANDERSON COOPER 360: Too close to call.
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Too close to call.
DON LEMON, CNN CO-ANCHOR, CNN THIS MORNING: Many of the races really just too close to call at this point.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STALLWORTH: A lot of the Republicans and probably even some Democrats were expecting what they call a quote-unquote, "Red wave," and that just did not come to fruition.
BERMAN: The Democrats, they lost the House of Representatives, but not by the margins that people thought. The Democrats didn't lose the Senate.
FOREMAN (voice-over): Worst losers? Those still insisting there is widespread election fraud, despite no evidence.
BRILLON: OK, you all need to move on. Do you guys need like group therapy?
FOREMAN (voice-over): But the fight for true majority power remains deadlocked.
CUPP: Neither Republicans nor Democrats nor Joe Biden have a mandate.
FOREMAN (voice-over): With the next round, just beginning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: America's comeback starts right now.
(CHEERS)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (on camera): When we come back, we will kick off the best in sports, and tune into the top shows, on television.
FOREMAN (voice-over): Plus, Crypto crashes, the slap heard around the world, and bang zoom, we're going back to the Moon! Back to the Moon and beyond!
It's ALL THE BEST, ALL THE WORST, out of this world!
[21:35:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CUPP: I actually - I'm a big sports fan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(MUSIC)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (voice-over): In sports, NFL football is still by far America's most watched sport on TV. More than 208 million fans tuned into the Super Bowl, to see the Los Angeles Rams edge out the Cincinnati Bengals.
STALLWORTH: It was a great game. I enjoyed it, because these two teams were kind of polar opposites. And it was fun to watch them play.
FOREMAN (voice-over): Halftime was fun too!
BRILLON: I want to know who's performing, who were they bringing, what songs are they doing? That's all I care about when it comes to sports. FOREMAN (voice-over): In college football, the Georgia Bulldogs broke a more than 40-year drought, to beat the legendary Alabama Crimson Tide, for the national championship.
Major League Baseball nearly beaned by a labor dispute, rallied to reach a World Series, in which the Houston Astros clobbered the Philadelphia Phillies.
BERMAN: The Astros were a very good baseball team.
FOREMAN (voice-over): In basketball, the Golden State Warriors kicked the Boston Celtics to the curb, Steph Curry dominated.
STALLWORTH: I'm just glad to be able to be alive and see him in his prime.
FOREMAN (voice-over): And in hockey, the Colorado Avalanche shocked the Tampa Bay Lightning, to take the Stanley Cup, and promptly fell down, and dented it.
HONG: See hockey? This is why we can't have nice things!
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(VIDEO - PEOPLE CHEERING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (voice-over): Best fever pitch, fans everywhere going wild, over the World Cup, including in America, as the U.S. Men went on to the knockout round.
CUPP: Suddenly everyone cared about soccer!
FOREMAN (voice-over): Best of the Best in tennis, give it to the legendary Serena Williams, who said she is evolving away from competitive tennis. But?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JORDAN CROOK, DEPUTY EDITOR, TECHCRUNCH: What are the chances that we get to see you play again?
SERENA WILLIAMS, AMERICAN INACTIVE PROFESSIONAL TENNIS PLAYER: Well, the chances are very high. You coming to my house? I got a court.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (voice-over): Most touching moment, tennis great Rafael Nadal's tearful response to the retirement of his rival, Roger Federer. Although to borrow from the movies?
HONG: There's no crying in tennis!
FOREMAN (voice-over): Worst hard charge? U.S. women's basketball star, Brittney Griner imprisoned, for nearly 10 months, in Russia, over drug laws. Best surprise? A late prisoner swap set her free.
Although, we must note, former Marine, Paul Whelan, remains behind bars, in Russia, accused of espionage.
Best new course, the return of the women's Tour de France, for the first time since the 1980s.
[21:40:00]
BERMAN: Tour de Femmes (ph).
HONG: Is that cycling?
FOREMAN (voice-over): Worst slice into a sand trap, the LIV Golf tournament divided golf pros, who wanted the big money, from those who hated the big social justice issues, tied to the Saudi-backing.
And the Winter Olympics sledded, skated and skied, through China, this year.
CUPP: I cannot remember that. Where was I? What was I doing?
FOREMAN (voice-over): Despite a pronounced lack of snow, Norway dominated; the Russians heated up another doping scandal; U.S. snowboarding legend, Shaun White, retired; and American, Erin Jackson became the first Black woman ever, to take gold, in speed skating.
STALLWORTH: It's beautiful. I love to be able to see other athletes do their thing.
FOREMAN (on camera): Sports provided an enormous ratings boost, for many TV channels, watched by millions of dedicated fans. But, on entertainment TV, the biggest game, everyone seemed to be awaiting was really a war.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(VIDEO - SCENES FROM "GAME OF THRONES")
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (voice-over): The most anticipated comeback, the "Game of Thrones" franchise, was reignited, in "House of the Dragon." Swords, and fighting, and fire, oh my!
HONG: "House of the Dragon" was so good. It was so juicy, and dirty, and there was so much incest, it was like a telenovela, but with dragons.
STALLWORTH: I was a big and still am a big "Game of Thrones" fan. So, I think any spin-off that they had was going to be good for me.
BERMAN: I'm enjoying it, and there do appear to be more dragons.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wait time is over.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have to act fast.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have to act smart.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (voice-over): On the major networks, Police, Firefighter and Doctor dramas packed the top of the rating.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(MUSIC)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (voice-over): Although there were exceptions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're in trouble.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (voice-over): "La Brea" dug up a winning formula, so did "Ghosts."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I like you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I like you too.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Isaac.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not sure what's happening, but I am here for the drama.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (voice-over): Of course, nothing could top the tear-jerking finale of "This Is Us."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JACK PEARSON, FICTIONAL CHARACTER PLAYED BY MILO VENTIMIGLIA, "THIS IS US": Then we spend the rest of our lives looking back, trying to remember.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STALLWORTH: It left me breathless. It was a tough watch. But you know? What a great show!
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN DUTTON III, FICTIONAL CHARACTER PLAYED BY KEVIN COSTNER, "YELLOWSTONE": I love Montana. But I'm doing this for our family.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (voice-over): Elsewhere, "Yellowstone" keeps expanding its rein.
CUPP: Great acting, great cinematography, great scenery, great stories.
HONG: I mean, Kevin Costner is like 95-years-old, and he's still a hot, hot daddy!
FOREMAN (voice-over): The best hired killer "Barry" was back for more.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(VIDEO - SCENES FROM "BARRY")
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (voice-over): "Bridgerton" was steaming up the screen again.
STALLWORTH: Actually, I liked "Bridgerton."
FOREMAN (voice-over): Along with new seasons of "The Handmaid's Tale," "Ozark," and "White Lotus."
BERMAN: It's very exciting to see them show us again how awful we all are.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Welcome back, dorks!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (voice-over): "Abbott Elementary" came into its second season.
HONG: And it's got a mostly female and people of color cast, and I'm here for it.
FOREMAN (voice-over): And "Russian Doll" was hanging tough.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NADIA VULVOKOV, FICTIONAL CHARACTER PLAYED BY NATASHA LYONNE, "RUSSIAN DOLL": I'm still exploring my actions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (voice-over): Not to mention "For All Mankind," which feels oddly suited, to the rising age, of a new space race.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EDWARD "ED" BALDWIN, FICTIONAL CHARACTER PLAYED BY JOEL KINNAMAN, "FOR ALL MANKIND": This is the resource that can support large-scale human colonization.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (voice-over): Among new programs, another space saga, "Andor," was exploring the universe.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(VIDEO - SCENES FROM "ANDOR")
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: "Andor" was good!
FOREMAN (voice-over): Along with "The Lincoln Lawyer" and "The Dropout."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can't give them one reason to doubt me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not even close to working it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CUPP: I mean, "The Dropout" was incredible.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can see home so clearly (ph).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (voice-over): "The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey" and "Gaslit" found fans, while FX poked the bear, and uncovered some peak TV.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a delicate ecosystem, and it's held together by a shared history, and love.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HONG: Now, I want Italian beef! You know what I'm saying?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a predator out there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How can there not be?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (voice-over): But the best winners just as it was at the movies were horror fans.
BERMAN: My 15-year-old boys, it's all they watch.
FOREMAN (voice-over): A 11 seasons in, "American Horror Story" is still strong and scary.
BRILLON: All of the seasons and all the differences in stories and the seasons are absolutely amazing.
STALLWORTH: I haven't had a nightmare since I was a kid, but that show gave me nightmares. So, I loved it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Step out of your skin, and into your Alo Glo.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (voice-over): There was a "Cabinet of Curiosities" and "Interview with the Vampire."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's best to let the food come to you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (voice-over): And the very vampy "What We Do in the Shadows."
[21:45:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GUILLERMO DE LA CRUZ, FICTIONAL CHARACTER PLAYED BY HARVEY GUILLEN, "WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS": He really loves musical theater.
LESLIE "LASZLO" CRAVENSWORTH, FICTIONAL CHARACTER PLAYED BY MATT BERRY, "WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS": What have the Dark Lord wrought?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't have my powers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (voice-over): But the king of the genre on TV, give it to "Stranger Things," now in its fourth season, more upside down than ever.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Without you, we can't win this war.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRILLON: I'm waiting away, and counting down the days, till we get to season five, because I need to know what's going to happen next.
STALLWORTH: It just brought me back to my childhood.
BERMAN: Watching 35-year-old high school kids have adventures, in Indiana, was really, really good.
FOREMAN (on camera): Stay tuned, because we're about to tell you what's happening every couple of minutes, all over the country, maybe to someone you know. Plus?
FOREMAN (voice-over): We'll have the smackdown in Tinseltown, the hardest hang-up, and hey, what is that?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's it (ph)?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (voice-over): It's ALL THE BEST, ALL THE WORST, coming right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[21:50:00]
FOREMAN (voice-over): The best new frequent flyer leads off our science and culture section. Artemis launched the most powerful space rocket, to reach Earth's orbit, ever.
CUPP: Listen, space had a huge year.
FOREMAN (voice-over): It was the first of several missions intended to put humans back on the Moon, maybe by 2024. Then, who knows?
BERMAN: I mean if this means that we will really try to get to Mars, then it will be worthwhile.
STALLWORTH: What will we do once we get there is another story.
FOREMAN (voice-over): Worst-kept secret?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's that thing (ph)?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a bird (ph).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (voice-over): After decades of people claiming to see UFOs, and more than 50 years, since their last testimony, the U.S. Military finally told Congress "Yes, there's something out there, but we don't know what it is either."
BRILLON: What is happening, that they're letting us know now? What is on the way, people?
HONG: One of my favorite shows, when I was a kid, was "The X-Files." And apparently, it's all true! FOREMAN (voice-over): Back on Earth, worst slap in the face, Will Smith, at the Oscars, who responded to some Chris Rock jokes, with a smack heard around the world.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(VIDEO - WILL SMITH-CHRIS ROCK SLAPPING INCIDENT AT THE 94TH ACADEMY AWARDS)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRILLON: People literally thought it was a skit
STALLWORTH: And then you start to realize, "Oh, this actually happened." It was - it was sad.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WILL SMITH, AMERICAN ACTOR: My behavior was unacceptable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (voice-over): Smith apologized. But?
BERMAN: You know? I'm still processing that moment!
FOREMAN (voice-over): Worst battle of the exes, Johnny Depp, and Amber Heard, accusing each other of defamation. The court said, "You're both guilty."
BRILLON: Shout, Johnny Depp, and Amber Heard, and their mudslinging, and I will take toxicity for 100 Alex.
FOREMAN (voice-over): Biggest judgment day, right-wing conspiracy pusher Alex Jones ordered to pay nearly a billion and a half, in damages, for baselessly calling the Sandy Hook School massacre, 10 years ago, a hoax.
STALLWORTH: Whatever he owes, I hope that he pays up, and that he's forced to pay up.
HONG: There are actually consequences for hateful behavior! Oh my goodness!
FOREMAN (voice-over): The U.S. population ticked over 333 million, this year. And between births, deaths, and migrations, the new person is added, well, it varies, but about every two minutes.
STALLWORTH: Whoa! Whoa!
CUPP: No, that's good. It's good for our economy.
BERMAN: You'd think, "I would have a few more friends."
FOREMAN (voice-over): The most popular baby names are returning champions from last year. For boys, it's "Liam," and, for girls, "Olivia."
CUPP: "Liam" and "Olivia" are both lovely names.
FOREMAN (voice-over): Clearest sign the times are changing, more Americans are now smoking marijuana than cigarettes.
HONG: Oh! Oh, wait! My edible just kicked in! What?
FOREMAN (voice-over): Worse roller coaster ride, the multibillion dollar ups and downs of Cryptocurrency.
STALLWORTH: I mean, it's been good for a lot of people for a lot of years. But I'm glad I didn't get into it, because I obviously would not have been happy at this moment.
FOREMAN (voice-over): Best pocket change. Poet Maya Angelou appears on a U.S. quarter.
BRILLON: It's a nice homage to pay to somebody who was a phenomenal human.
FOREMAN (voice-over): Worst goodbye, New York's last freestanding public payphone, hung up, retired, gone for good.
CUPP: The last time I used a paid phone, I think Reagan was president.
FOREMAN (voice-over): Best phone number, 988. That's the new shorthand, for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
Best new phrase, "Quiet quitting," the idea that some workers are so worn out, they're just barely showing up.
BERMAN: I think that what's gone on in this country, for the last few years, has caused people, to reassess, how they want to live.
CUPP: It's happening for sure.
FOREMAN (voice-over): Best online game craze, five letters, six tries, it's Wordle. And the worst follow-up, everyone, everywhere, all the time, sharing their results online!
HONG: Screenshots of your Wordle is the new sexting.
FOREMAN (on camera): Well our wild ride, through 2022, is almost done. But stick with us. We have just enough time, for our wishes, for the coming year, when ALL THE BEST, ALL THE WORST comes back.
[21:55:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOREMAN (on camera): With 2022 fading away, and our wild ride, coming to an end, we have just enough time, to ask our friends, as we always do, their wishes, for the New Year.
CUPP: My wish for America, in 2023, is to make social media better. This is a time of disruption and change. That's an opportunity. We need it to be a better place for us, and for our kids.
BRILLON: I wish we could get to a place, where we could have more unity, instead of so much division, in terms of who's right, wrong, this, that. I really wish that we had more unity.
BERMAN: I want to have genuine laughter, next year, where I'm maybe not laughing at someone. But I'm laughing, and I mean it, and it's joyful. And I hope we all have that.
HONG: America, if I have one wish for us, it's that one bag of groceries doesn't cost $3,000!
STALLWORTH: I know it's kind of pie in the sky. But if we work together, as a nation, we could truly, truly achieve great things. Great things that - that we never thought were possible. We've done it before.
FOREMAN (on camera): On behalf of everyone, at "ANDERSON COOPER 360," and the entire CNN team, worldwide, thank you for watching, and being with us, through it all.
I'm Tom Foreman. And my wish for you and yours? How about all of the best and none of the worst, in 2023?
(MUSIC)
