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One World with Zain Asher

Swiss Officials Believe Deadly Fire Caused By Champagne Sparklers; Trump: U.S. Ready To Intervene If Iran "Kills Peaceful Protesters"; U.S. Official: Venezuela Detaining At Least Five American Citizens; California Facing More Storms And Flood Threats; Zohran Mamdani Sworn In As Mayor Of New York City; AJC Prints Final Physical Edition Of Newspaper After 157 Years; Dry January: Weighing Whether To Skip Alcohol For A Month; Aired 12- 1p ET

Aired January 02, 2026 - 12:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:00:41]

ZAIN ASHER, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Coming to you live from New York, I'm Zain Asher. You are watching the second hour of "One World."

New details emerging after a New Year's Eve fire at a Swiss ski resort bar took the lives of at least 40 people. A chief prosecutor believes that

sparklers in champagne bottles started the blaze.

Authorities say the number of injured has actually risen to 119. It also includes people from nine European countries. Multiple people remain

unaccounted for.

New images widely circulated on social media and online appear to show the initial moments of the fire. This image you see here shows at least six

bottles with a lit sparklers attached, raised in the air as fire and smoke breaks out on the ceiling. Many in the community shocked and certainly

searching for answers at this point.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SONY OBOMWO, STUDENT FROM U.S. HOLIDAYS: Yes, the fact that it's so close, close proximity, it's one of those places you go to, you know. Everyone

goes to the bars to party and those things.

It's -- it's weird. It's eye-opening and it -- it gave me a sense of gratitude.

LENNI SAUTIER, STUDENT FROM FRANCE LIVING IN SWITZERLAND: I have loved ones who are affected. My best friend, I still haven't heard from her. I still

don't know where she is. That's shocking.

And so you realize that this can really happen to anyone. Life doesn't stop. We have to keep enjoying it. But it's a slap in the face. A reality

check.

(CRYING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: And this is really painful to watch, obviously. You can see here a really emotional father just crying as people console him at the scene. His

brother tells CNN that he's still looking for his son.

Nada Bashir has more on the chaotic scenes from this tragedy. And we want to warn you that some of the images you're about to see are disturbing.

(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 PILOUD, PROSECUTOR (through translator): Some hypotheses can be confirmed. As things stand, everything points to the fire starting from

sparklers or flares placed in champagne bottles that came too close to the ceiling, which very rapidly led to a flashover fire.

BASHIR (voice-over): The fire broke out just after 1:30 in the morning inside a bar called Le Constellation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): 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 (through translator): There were people screaming and then people lying on the ground, probably dead. They had

jackets over their faces. Well, that's what I saw, nothing more.

BASHIR (voice-over): 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)

ASHER: Nic Robertson has been tracking these developments. He joins us live now from Crans-Montana in Switzerland.

[12:05:59]

I mean, it's impossible to imagine the level of fear and panic that would have set in for those young revelers when they realized that there was a

fire in that bar. And, obviously, you have so many people trying at once to get out and only a limited number of exits. You could imagine that the bar

was likely packed. People had been drinking.

You know, it would have been very difficult for them to actually realize and sort of sober up in that moment to understand what was actually

happening.

And so, what are we learning about the specific cause of this fire? I mean, we're being told that there's a possibility that it could have been the

sparklers attached to champagne bottles, Nic.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, that's what the prosecutor says that they're focusing on. And that's what they believe is

the -- is the sort of logical cause of the fire and then the flashover fire.

And the prosecutor was asked as well about the acoustic foam that had been placed with the acoustic insulation, which was a type of foam that was

placed on the ceiling of the bar, if that had contributed to the way that the flames had caught and this flashover effect, this sudden sort of

spilling over of the fire sort of leaping into a whole other area or engulfing the whole of that downstairs basement.

The -- though the prosecutor said, look, that -- that's something she's looking into. But for right now, she said it seemed to them that the spark

-- sparklers coming from that -- that indoor firework that was in the champagne bottle was how close the ceiling, that was the cause of it. But,

you know, that sense of just how confined the space was and the limited exit from there.

Our producer, Joseph Ataman, yesterday was talking to some -- some youngsters here in Cran- Montana, who -- who are familiar with the bar. And

-- and -- and we're telling him, look, we think about when we've been in there before, we've thought about that staircase, how narrow it is, how

hard it would be to get out.

And that was a concern for them, sort of even prior to this, that sense of need -- of understanding the room and needing to evaluate how you would

escape in the case of emergency, I think speaks to the confined nature.

And when you talk there about the -- and the prosecutors talked and -- and officials have talked about how quickly the fire spread and people being in

panic and obviously celebrating and then perhaps being, you know, a little bit tipsy, there are some people though whose accounts we're hearing now,

whose presence of mind appears to, well, save them that there's a young man who said he literally hid behind a table because he needed -- he realized

that he needed to put something between him and these flames and it was a table.

And -- and -- and the hospitals are talking about people coming in with terrible burns on their exposed flesh, terrible burns internally from

inhalation. And even from that sort of overspill of the fire, the way that it spreads so quickly, the force of that hospital staff are saying, can --

could cause broken bones.

But this young man who had the presence of mind to hide behind the table then uses it to try to smash through a window that isn't a window, it's

plexiglass, and eventually manage -- manages to kick it through.

But it was that presence of mind in those vital seconds where the flames literally shoot across and around and engulf the room that appeared to have

saved his life and perhaps the lives of some of the others as well.

And -- and -- and, yes, the -- the heart-running scenes were seen on the streets here of people, the father, not knowing where his son is, just --

just desperate and the police are still saying, that's their priority to identify the dead. And still six of those 119 in hospital yet to be

identified as well.

ASHER: That's terrifying what those kids would have gone through on New Year's Eve. And actually as you're speaking, Nic, we're actually showing

our audience the image of that father who is kneeling on the ground crying. I think he has about four people around him trying to console him.

I mean, I just -- you cannot even imagine. You cannot put into words what this poor man is experiencing right now and what he's thinking and feeling

and how painful past 24 hours would have been for him as he awaits news of his son.

Nic Robertson live for us there. Thank you so much.

All right. Turning now to unrest in Iran. On Thursday, at least three people were killed and more than a dozen injured when protesters stormed a

police station. That's according to Iranian state-affiliated media.

On social media, President Trump warned that if Iran kills peaceful protesters, the U.S., in his words, is, quote, locked and loaded and will

come to their rescue.

Iranian officials responded to Trump's threats. The country's national security chief says any U.S. interference would lead to disruption across

the region and the destruction of American interests.

The speaker of Iran's Parliament warned that Iran would target U.S. military in the Middle East should Washington intervene.

Protesters -- protests rather have erupted in Iran this week over worsening economic conditions.

Joining me live now from Doha is Mehran Kamrava, a professor of government at Georgetown University in Qatar. Thank you so much for being with us.

I want to start by talking about the latest sort of causes of these particular protests. They're economic in nature. People's livelihoods have

been affected. Obviously, Iran relies heavily on oil exports and that's been hampered by U.S. sanctions, but also they also rely heavily on China

and the number of Chinese suppliers who are buying Iran -- of oil from Iran has been reduced in recent days.

[12:10:25]

But also, on top of that, you've got the inflation issue, inflation being at around 50 percent, and also the currency issue as well.

Explain to us how all of that is affecting the livelihoods of ordinary Iranian taxi drivers, shopkeepers, you name it.

MEHRAN KAMRAVA, PROFESSOR OF GOVERNMENT, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY IN QATAR: Well, Iranians of all walks of life are seeing their purchasing power erode

over the last several years. The cost of basic foodstuffs, chicken, eggs, milk, rice, all have really shot up disproportionately compared to anything

in the past.

And so the middle classes are really struggling to maintain their middle class standards. And -- and so I think the trigger for all of this was the

government's presentation of the budget, planned budget to the parliament.

And when people saw that there was nothing really that the government was planning on doing, there were no radical changes, I think that resulted in

the latest round of protest -- protests.

ASHER: And when you think about the actual pressure at this point on Iran's theocracy, just talk us about the various headwinds. I mean, you know,

obviously in 2022, the massive headwinds back then was the demonstrations, which was significant larger than what we're seeing today, but obviously

the protests we're seeing today do have the potential to grow. That was in relation to the death of Mahsa Amini.

But on top of that, you had the brief war with the U.S., where the U.S. really struck Iranian nuclear sites. And then you have the economic crisis

as well.

How have all of these different factors put a lot of pressure on the theocracy in Iran right now?

KAMRAVA: Well, the Iranian government, of course, is under tremendous pressure from the international community, from the United States. The so-

called maximum pressure campaign remains in effect, although it's not necessarily called as such anymore.

And -- and, of course, the European Union, also like the United States, has imposed comprehensive sanctions on Iran.

But the Iranian government also excels in scoring own goals and inflicts a number of wounds on itself and the population. Mismanagement is rampant.

Corruption is rampant. And -- and so the -- the Iranian population is under tremendous pressure, whether they're in the upper classes, middle classes,

lower classes, Iranians of all walks of life.

And interestingly, in the latest round of protests, what we're seeing is really people in the smaller cities and in towns are coming out, where you

would think that the government is trying to allay economic difficulties.

ASHER: All right. Mehran Kamrava, we have to leave it there. Thank you. Thank you so much for joining us today. We appreciate it.

All right. Venezuelan president, Nicolas Maduro, says he's ready to talk with the U.S. after months of mounting tensions between the two countries.

In an interview, Maduro described Venezuela as a brother country to the U.S. and proposed serious talks on how to combat drug trafficking, going so

far as to offer American companies ready access to Venezuela's oil. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICOLAS MADURO, VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT (through translator): We must start to speak seriously with the facts in hand. The U.S. government knows that

because we have said it a lot to their interlocutors, that if they want to speak seriously about an agreement to battle drug trafficking, we are ready

to do that.

If they want Venezuela's oil, Venezuela is ready to accept U.S. investments like those of Chevron, when, where, and how they want to make them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: Meantime, CNN is learning that the Venezuelan security forces have detained at least five American citizens in recent months. That's according

to a U.S. official who says it appears Venezuela is using these detentions as leverage in its current standoff with the United States.

CNN's Sean Lyngaas joins us live now from Washington. Sean, what more do we know?

SEAN LYNGAAS, CNN CYBERSECURITY REPORTER: Zain, we're learning a little bit more about some of the Americans who've been detained. We're in touch with

one of the families of the detained -- detained American.

[12:15:06]

And it's -- it's really up in the air right now as to the -- the information that's available to -- to U.S. officials, right? There's --

it's unclear what Venezuela plans to do with these detained Americans. Some of them have been held for quite a while, we think.

And it comes amid, you know, historic tensions between the two countries. The U.S. military has been striking drug boats, alleged drug boats, leaving

Venezuela in the Caribbean. And many U.S. officials view that detention of these Americans as potential leverage for the Maduro regime should he want

to talk, as he claims in that clip that you just played.

But he does want to engage with the U.S. government on the issue of drug trafficking and investments in -- in -- in Venezuela's oil.

So this situation is very fluid. And the U.S. does not have a formal diplomatic presence in Venezuela, which complicates the picture. So,

there's a lot going on.

And I think some of it will -- will -- will likely come to head -- to a head if the -- the U.S. increases its -- its military strikes, and if the

Maduro decides to extend some sort of olive branch to the U.S. government. Zain.

ASHER: All right. Sean Lyngaas live for us there. Thank you so much. Appreciate it.

All right. Parts of California are still dealing with a storm that brought heavy rain and flooding over the holidays. And residents are preparing for

another line of storms set to hit this already-soaked state.

Heavy rain and even snow is actually forecast for later on Friday and through next week as well.

For more, let's bring in meteorologist Derek Van Dam, joining us live now from the CNN weather center in Atlanta.

Derek, first and foremost, Happy New Year, but thinking about the kind of new year and the kind of holiday week that Californians have rung in.

I mean, obviously, it's really difficult. You're seeing this kind of revolving door of just various storms hitting certain parts of the state.

What more can you tell us?

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, Zain. And amongst all the videos that you've seen on your screens over the past couple of days of roads

turning into rivers, there's this, a very heartwarming first responder getting to this young child as floodwaters rapidly rose around their

vehicle. You can see how hard they're working to get at those individuals trapped within the vehicle.

So some harrowing moments. People are obviously excited that they were able to bring that child to safety.

But the point being here is that this is happening all too often. We've just had this barrage of atmospheric rivers that have impacted the state of

California. Right now, we've got a bit of a break. We'll call it a respite, but it'll be short-lived, unfortunately, because the next 24 hours is going

to bring yet another round of atmospheric rivers. You can see it here on this kind of available moisture.

Look at its tapped into the tropical regions of the equatorial parts of the country or the world, I should say. It's going to bring that moisture all

the way starting into the northern half of the state first and then fluctuating further south towards central coastline and then eventually

into southern California into the day on Saturday and early Sunday.

So we start with our flood alerts now. This is northern California. You can see Eureka, southward into the north coast of -- of California. That's

where we have a marginal risk slightly increased across the Sacramento Valley and up against the mountain ranges of the Sierra Nevada.

But looking into Saturday, it's inclusive of Santa Barbara, Ventura County is this area where we have a mountain range. It's the transverse mountains

really across southern California that is going to wring out all of this moisture from an incoming atmospheric river.

We start to sound like a broken record because we've basically washed, rinsed and repeated this process so many times over the past several weeks.

And that is why we have these flood concerns.

You can see the amount of precipitation that will impact the state of California, snow for the inner mountain west, good news for the ski

resorts. We found this very interesting.

You have to look very hard on this U.S. drop monitor map to find any states that are not impacted by drought. Well, it turns out one of them happens to

be California. Look at that. That -- that's really saying something that the entire state is without drought conditions officially right now and

that is because of the recent rains.

Unfortunately, Zain, it's just been a little bit too much, too quickly.

ASHER: Yes. Not -- not a great start to the year for our -- our California friends.

Derek Van Dam, live for us. Thank you. Appreciate it.

All right. Today is the first day of trading on Wall Street in 2026. Let's take a look and see how U.S. markets are doing. The Dow and S&P 500 up ever

so slightly. Dow is at a third of one percent. S&P 500 is basically flat at this point. And the NASDAQ is slightly down but also pretty flat as well.

All right. Coming up, New York officially has a new mayor. What Zohran Mamdani is tackling on his first full day on the job.

[12:20:05]

Also ahead, do you plan to kick off the New Year by swearing off alcohol for the month? We'll speak to one public health scientist who says thanks

but no thanks to Dry January.

Also ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID NEELY, ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION DELIVERY MAN: The last headline. What is the Future of Local Media in Atlanta?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: The end of an era. The "Atlanta Journal-Constitution" prints its final physical newspaper. That story, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(CHANTING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: Sounds of celebration as Zohran Mamdani officially took the reins as New York's mayor on Thursday. Today marks his first full day on the job

after his history making in operation.

Mamdani, a Democratic socialist is wasting no time getting to work as he begins governing the largest city in the United States. The 34-year-old has

already signed a series of executive orders on the campaign trail. Mamdani promised bold changes to tackle affordability for lower income New Yorkers.

The question on many minds now is, can he deliver? The inauguration drew some of the biggest names in the progressive movement as Mamdani promised

to stick to his expansive agenda.

Sherrell Hubbard reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ZOHRAN MAMDANI, MAYOR OF NEW YORK CITY: I will faithfully discharge the duties.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT): Of the office of the mayor of the city of New York.

MAMDANI: Of the office of the mayor of the city of New York.

SHERRELL HUBBARD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Former state assemblyman turned New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's public inauguration ceremony

Thursday, ushering in what he calls a new era.

Mamdani was sworn in on the steps of New York City Hall by Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. Very befitting as both men are progressives whose views run

in contrast to today's politics.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D-VT): When working people stand together, when we don't let them divide us up, there is nothing we cannot accomplish.

HUBBARD (voice-over): Mamdani captured the world's attention in the Democratic primary last summer. Then-Mayor Eric Adams and President Donald

Trump urged voters to support former New York governor Andrew Cuomo for the job. Critics said the 34-year-old was too inexperienced and idealistic.

MAMDANI: I was elected as a Democratic socialist and I will govern as a Democratic socialist.

HUBBARD (voice-over): During the campaign, he promised to create a universal child care program, freeze the rent for roughly two million rent

stabilized tenants and make city buses quote "fast and free."

[12:25:08]

MAMDANI: These policies are not simply about the costs we make free, but the lives we fill with freedom.

HUBBARD (voice-over): A message that appears to be resonating with New Yorkers.

FERNANDO RESTREPO, MAMDANI SUPPORTER: I think that we are looking at the possibility of a lot of progressive policies being put into place. And I

think that that means a safer society for all.

HUBBARD (voice-over): I'm Sherrell Hubbard reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ASHER: And CNN's Gloria Pazmino is joining us live now from New York with more.

I mean, I -- I think that one of the challenges here is the idea of whether or not he can actually deliver on some of his agenda, Gloria. I mean, he's

promised to make New York City buses totally free. He wants universal childcare. I mean, these -- these are expensive.

And a lot of people sort of view some of his perspective, some of his politics as very idealistic, but not practical.

How does he prove them wrong, Gloria?

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Zain, you know, I think that that's going to be Zohran Mamdani's biggest challenge. And the biggest challenge

of his administration, certainly as they begin to do the work of governing, how to balance this very ambitious agenda with the realities of running a

very complicated city like New York and also putting into place initiatives, which as you said, are very expensive.

Mamdani has said that he wants to raise taxes on the city's wealthiest residents in order to pay for things like universal childcare and free city

buses and freezing the rent for rent stabilized tenants.

But the reality is that Mayor Mamdani actually doesn't have the power to raise taxes himself. So he's going to need the governor and the state

legislature to help him do that. And whether that happens or not really remains in question.

It's possible that the governor will find a different funding stream to try and pay for some of these initiatives.

But for now, we're already seeing Mayor Mamdani use the power of his executive office. He signed a handful of executive orders last night after

his inauguration, directing his new administration to look into housing and how the city of New York can do better when it comes to developing housing

and building on city-owned land.

The housing crisis here in New York City was a big part of Mamdani's campaign. It's something that he promised to deliver on. And it's something

that would get at the issue of affordability.

And the fact that so many working class people here in the city of New York have a hard time making ends meet. The cost of housing is very much a part

of that.

So yesterday, we saw a speech from the new incoming mayor that I think you can describe as unapologetically progressive, unapologetically liberal,

promising not to compromise his principles.

But we'll see because governing requires compromise sometimes. And he is going to have to balance his idealism and his political identity as a

Democratic socialist with the reality of running New York City. And all these other political dynamics that are likely to come into play, the state

of the economy, the political forces at play.

Of course, the Trump administration will be a major factor of Zohran Mamdani's time in City Hall. All of that will definitely make or break his

agenda.

But for now, he is certainly telling his supporters that he plans to deliver and those executive actions that he signed into place last night

are one -- one small step in that direction. Zain.

ASHER: All right. Gloria Pazmino, live for us. Thank you. Happy New Year.

It is the end of an era for a major Atlanta newspaper. After 157 years, the "Atlanta Journal-Constitution" published its final print edition on New

Year's Eve.

Joshua Skinner of WANF reports, the AJC is pivoting to an all-digital format as it looks to its future.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOSHUA SKINNER, WANF REPORTER (voice-over): It's just another day at the office for "Atlanta Journal-Constitution" delivery man David Neely.

NEELY: Oh, yes.

SKINNER: Rolling, bagging, and tagging.

NEELY: This place is a lot like a casino. There's no clocks.

SKINNER (voice-over): But in a way, there are. Because after 157 years, time has run out on the AJC's print edition.

NEELY: The last headline. What is the Future of Local Media in Atlanta?

SKINNER (voice-over): It's more than the end of an era, it's the end of a lifestyle. After all, the paper began its print run in 1868, the same year

President Andrew Johnson was impeached.

David has been here for the last 37, bagging and delivering dailies and watching everything shrink.

NEELY: I remember when Westchester basically was around on its own. Pretty much the whole neighborhood. Now going on for maybe 10 papers.

[12:30:07]

SKINNER (voice-over): And he'll miss what a paper can do that a screen cannot.

NEELY: Instead of click, flip, click, flip, click, flip. It's just more warm, personal.

SKINNER (voice-over): But he also knows times change. Everything is going digital.

I followed David on his final deliveries.

NEELY: So here we go. We'll go around the corner here. Start dropping papers.

SKINNER (voice-over): He knows these neighborhoods well.

NEELY: That -- the foyer in there is got to be three stories.

SKINNER (voice-over): As he hits each house one final time, the quirks of tossing a paper brick come back.

NEELY: I hit this elderly lady in her driveway. Didn't see her.

SKINNER (voice-over): The job goes from roughly 11:00 P.M. to 6:00 A.M. Seven days per week.

NEELY: And some days, you have to stop and take a nap.

SKINNER (voice-over): And David will be glad to get more sleep.

NEELY: Couple years ago, it's the last time I actually had a day off.

SKINNER (voice-over): But there's also a sadness here in what feels like losing a friend.

NEELY: Yes. I figured we had another year.

SKINNER (voice-over): The clocks are not. Time doesn't stop even for the news.

NEELY: There it is.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ASHER: All right. More than a dozen Italian pasta makers products were going to be hit by the U.S. Commerce Department's import tariffs of 107

percent.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is this considered panic buying? You feel like this is justified.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: Pasta influences in America are now breathing a sigh of relief. That 107 percent tariff on 13 Italian pasta makers will no longer go into

effect. The number could now drop to around 29 percent.

The Commerce Department will announce the final rates in March, the tariffs are, because of a complaint by two American companies alleging that some

Italian companies underpriced pasta shipped to the United States.

We'll be right back with more.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ASHER: All right. Welcome back to "One World." I'm Zain Asher.

[12:35:00]

The New Year and a new you. As 2026 begins, many are getting ready to say goodbye to a month of parties and holiday hangovers.

And say cheers to four weeks of alcohol-free living. Research shows that roughly 87 million American adults, that's about one-third of drinkers,

skipped booze during the opening month of 2025. And a similar number is expected this year.

Health experts tout the many benefits of abstaining from alcohol, even just for a few weeks, including better sleep, more energy, weight loss, this

goes on. But others are questioning that strategy.

Time now for "The Exchange." One public health scientist weighed whether to embrace a Dry January or not and decided actually against it and even wrote

an article explaining his move, which actually intrigued a lot of us, Robert, in our newsroom.

Joining us live now is Robert Kaplan, a senior scholar at the Stanford School of Medicine's Clinical Excellence Research Center. Doctor, thank you

so much for being with us.

Just walk us through what the research actually shows, right, about the links between alcohol and cancer and alcohol and heart disease.

ROBERT KAPLAN, SENIOR SCHOLAR, STANFORD SCHOOL OF MEDICINE'S CLINICAL EXCELLENCE RESEARCH CENTER: Well, first, thanks for having me. The

literature is very complicated. There are literally thousands of studies that are published in the literature. And so it's possible to find studies

that support just about any position.

What I did in preparation for writing this side piece was to look at a -- a series of systematic reviews of the literature. And there have been plenty

of them.

In the last year, there were at least eight of these systematic reviews that appeared in the literature. And many of them were from very

distinguished organizations, American Heart Association, the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine, and so forth.

And what I found was that there was a lot of conflicting opinion. There is a lot of consistency of about one point, and that is that habitual alcohol

use and heavy alcohol use is very -- is a very serious problem and very clearly a risk to life expectancy and other illnesses, and also social

factors as well.

But I was interested in people like me who have an occasional glass of wine with dinner and a -- and a beer with friends. And I was wondering if going

from this low-level of alcohol consumption -- consumption to abstinence would provide benefit for me.

So, anyway, I spent some time looking at this literature. I found that many of these systematic reviews emphasized the need for abstinence. And they

concluded that -- that no level of alcohol is safe.

But when we looked at that literature in more detail, it looked like there was very little risk for low-level consumption. And in my case, you know, a

-- a glass of wine a couple times a week or a beer occasionally.

The interesting part of it is that the literature is complicated by the abstinence group because many people who are abstinent are abstinent

because they have other health conditions that -- that convinces them not to consume alcohol.

When we looked again across all of the studies that we were able to get access to, it appeared that if anything, there's a slight protective

benefit for heart disease. There are some risks for cancer, particularly breast cancer, but it doesn't appear to be much of a signal for people that

are consuming just a couple drinks per week.

ASHER: So -- so the solution based on -- I mean, yes, because you're right. There is so much in terms of, you know, just how mixed the literature is.

And, you know, I mean, I remember when I was growing up, we were told that actually a glass of red wine was actually really good because of

antioxidants.

And, you know, then you had this sort of Canada health, you know, literature that came out not so long ago that talked about, you know, even

just a couple of times a week, drinking just a couple of times a week, even if it's wine, was actually not good and actually increased your risk of

cancer.

So you're -- so you're right that the literature is varied and vast. So, what about people who sort of say, you know what, I'm not going to plan a

Dry January. I'm not going to abstain completely, but I'm instead going to plan a mindful January where, you know, just like yourself, maybe just one

or two times a week.

And what -- what does that look like? Is that something you support? And what does -- what is occasional drinking? What is sort of light drinking?

What does that look like in terms of specific amounts of alcohol per week?

KAPLAN: Well, first of all, I -- I do want to say that I applaud people who -- who made the decision to do Dry January. I'm very much in support of

anything where people want to gain control over habits that they want to modify. And so I'm -- I'm certainly behind that effort.

[12:40:14]

The question that I wanted to address was whether or not going from very light consumption to zero consumption provides a health benefit.

The various reviews have different thresholds for what they think is safe drinking. Some say maybe a glass of wine or a beer or a drink twice a day

or two drinks a day for men and one for women is perhaps not risky.

And then others like the Canadian report that you mentioned emphasized going back to maybe one or two drinks per week for men, one for women. And

that's what sparked a lot of this controversy.

Since then a variety of organizations have looked at this. And I focus my attention on the organizations which I feel produce the most credible

reports. And the two that I put a lot of weight on are the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine in the U.S.

The reason that I think that their report is important is that they get a very systematic effort to reduce a lot of the biases.

So for example, people can cherry pick studies to include in their reviews. But if it's done properly, the group will pre-specify their strategy for

selecting studies to look at.

And that was done by the National Academies and also by the American Heart Association which also released a report in the summer of 2025.

The surgeon general produced a report right around the first of the year, about a year ago. But that report was -- was not an original systematic

review nor was the Canadian report.

So those reports in which the committees looked at the literature, but they didn't do it in -- in the same systematic way that the two that I favored

were.

So again, it is complicated and that the -- the literature is -- is quite divided. Although, I do have to say that -- that if you look carefully at

the data, everybody's looking at the same studies.

And if you look carefully at the data, it's very hard to find much of a risk for people that are consuming just a couple of drinks per week.

ASHER: All right. Robert Kaplan, thank you. Thank you so much. Appreciate it.

And that does it for this hour of "One World." I'm Zain Asher. Appreciate you watching. "Marketplace Africa" is up next. You're watching CNN.

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