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The Situation Room

Women's Health Headlines in 2025; Top Legal Stories of 2025. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired January 01, 2026 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:30:00]

DR. MARY CLAIRE HAVER, UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS MEDICAL BRANCH AND AUTHOR, "THE NEW MENOPAUSE": They -- the whole population does better. So, it's a great investment.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: And to that point, more workplaces are making accommodations for women who are in menopause, right? Tell us about that.

DR. HAVER: We are. Right. So, we're seeing large companies starting to add menopause benefits to their care packages, which could include, you know, helping -- you know, we have a big -- we have -- we're underserving women in the menopause space because we don't have enough trained clinicians. So, we're seeing investments in companies providing menopause care. We're seeing companies starting to provide more menopause benefits, time off, resources available. And so, it's pretty exciting.

BROWN: Yes, it certainly is. All right. Before I let you go, I also want to get your thoughts on how you think women could be impacted by the major cuts to Medicaid spending in rural communities.

DR. HAVER: I -- you know, we already struggle across the country in smaller populated areas with having enough providers and enough expertise to treat women. You know, menopause affects all women. If we live long enough, that's 51 percent of the population, and it's even in New York City, even in major metropolitan areas, it's difficult to find an educated provider. When we look in the rural areas, it's next to impossible.

One of the things I think that is exciting in this. Space is that these telemedicine companies are being developed specifically to serve women in perimenopause and menopause. And I think that's going to go a long way to help women get the care that they need.

BROWN: All right. Dr. Mary Claire Haver, great conversation. So, important. Thank you so much and happy holidays.

DR. HAVER: You're so welcome. You too.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:35:00] DANNY FREEMAN, CNN ANCHOR: The 137th Tournament of Roses Parade is less than 30 minutes away now, and CNN's Coy Wire and Elex Michaelson are standing by in Pasadena where the action will get underway soon. I know you guys are soaked already, but what are you most excited to see despite the rain?

COY WIRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Did he say soaked or did he say stoked? Either way --

ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, yes.

WIRE: -- accurate. Good to see you, Danny. So, excited to be here, especially with Elex because he is a legend. We're walking around last night looking at the floats. I'm like, do people think this is Tom Cruise? They're like, stop taking pictures. He's an L.A. legend. And this parade is legendary. The 137th Rose Parade. We have 39 floats. We have 19 marching bands, 17 equestrian units, four performances. Bishop Briggs, one of them. Elex, what was one of the floats that really stood out to you that we're going to see today?

MICHAELSON: I'm a Star Trek geek. So, there is, for the first time, a Star Trek float to celebrate 60 years of "Star Trek," including George Takei, Rebecca Romijn. Other folks are part of that. So, that's something I'm especially looking forward to. What about you?

WIRE: Well, I'm looking forward to the marching bands because that, as a football player, I get goosebumps when I hear those drones beating because it's almost game time. Of course, this parade leads right up to the Rose Bowl featuring Alabama and Indiana. And you can watch the lead up to it with us right here. This is going to be fun. There are people out here who've been out here for hours and they're soaked. They're drenched. They're wearing ponchos. They can't have umbrellas because it obstructs views. But this is the first time -- second time in 70 years that it's rained on this parade. So, we could see some extra fun.

MICHAELSON: Yes, usually the parade goes like this. But there's a lot of unpredictability with this parade. We don't really know what it's going to happen or what it's going to look like. But we will have coverage for you at the top of the hour and hope you'll join us.

WIRE: I got you a rose, our first day together.

MICHAELSON: Oh, my God.

WIRE: Can't wait to do this show with you, buddy.

MICHAELSON: This is going so well. Danny, back to you.

FREEMAN: All right. Coy, Elex, you guys got to save a rose for me. And no one will rain on your parade today. I know that. Coy and Elex, thanks so much. See you in a little bit.

The 137th Rose Parade presented by Honda airs today at 11:00 a.m. Eastern on CNN. You can also watch our live coverage on the app. We'll be right back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:40:00]

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Number 10, the Massey murder trial. Illinois Sheriff's Deputy Sean Grayson convicted of second-degree murder for shooting the 36-year-old Sonya Massey inside her home. Massey had actually called 911 to report a suspected prowler, but body cam footage shown at trial showed tensions rising after the officer confronted Massey for how she was handling a pot of hot water.

Number nine, held accountable. A jury awarded Virginia teacher Abby Zwerner $10 million after she sued the ex-assistant principal at her school for failing to act before Zwerner's six-year-old student shot her in the chest and hand. In gripping testimony, Zwerner told the jury after being shot she was sure she was going to die.

ABBY ZWERNER: I thought I had died. I thought I was either on my way to heaven or in heaven.

CASAREZ (voice-over): Number eight, shocking museum heist.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right. Let's begin with breaking news out of Paris. Priceless jewels are stolen from the Louvre in an audacious daytime heist that took only seven minutes.

CASAREZ (voice-over): It all happened at the Louvre in Paris when thieves stole more than $100 million in crown jewels and slipped away in broad daylight. All eight suspects were later arrested, but the jewels are still missing to this day.

Number seven, Karen Read acquitted.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What say you, is the defendant of the bar guilty or not guilty?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not guilty.

CASAREZ (voice-over): A jury found Read not guilty of hitting and killing her boyfriend, off-duty Boston police officer John O'Keefe with her car.

KAREN READ: No one has fought harder for justice for John O'Keefe than I have, than I have and my team. Thank you.

CASAREZ (voice-over): Large crowds celebrated the decision outside the Massachusetts courthouse.

Number six, Minnesota lawmakers attacked. A man disguised as a police officer ambushed two state democratic officials at their homes. Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband were killed while State Senator John Hoffman and his wife were shot but survived. Vance Boelter was arrested after a two-day statewide manhunt. He has pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and attempted murder. Number five, deadly stabbing in North Carolina. Passengers watched in horror as 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska was brutally stabbed three times in an unprovoked attack on Charlotte's light rail system.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, tell me exactly what happened.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know. We didn't see it. There's just a lady right now on the ground with a lot of blood, and everybody's screaming that she god stabbed and I don't know if anybody's called 911 yet. People are just freaking out.

[10:45:00]

CASAREZ (voice-over): The case became a political lightning rod after the public learned the suspect, 34-year-old DeCarlos Brown, had an extensive criminal record.

Number four --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As to Comp 1, we're on the defendant Brian Walshe charged with murder in the first degree. What say the jury? Is the defendant guilty or not guilty?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Guilty.

CASAREZ (voice-over): -- Brian Walshe convicted. Jurors in Massachusetts found Walsh guilty of murdering his wife, Ana. But unbeknownst to the jury, even before the trial began, Walshe pleaded guilty to illegally disposing of Ana's body and misleading police. Walshe's defense argued that Ana died in a sudden unexplained death, something prosecutors told jurors defies common sense. The defense rested without Walshe testifying or even putting up any evidence to back their claims. Walshe now faces years in prison. Ana's body has never been found.

Number three, Catholic school children gunned down.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're following breaking news of a deadly mass shooting at a Catholic school and church in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

CASAREZ (voice-over): August 27th, a shooter fired dozens of rounds through stained glass windows into the sanctuary of Church of the Annunciation in Minneapolis. Students from the Annunciation Catholic School were gathered inside to celebrate a mass in honor of their first week of school. The attack killed two children and wounded two dozen others as well as adults.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A coward decided to take our eight-year-old son, Fletcher, away from us. Because of their actions, we will never be allowed to hold him, talk to him, play with him, and watch him grow into the wonderful young man he was on the path to becoming.

CASAREZ (voice-over): The suspected shooter, a 23-year-old who graduated from the school in 2017, died of a self-inflicted gunshot. Sadly, this was just one of more than 70 school shootings in the United States this year.

Number two, controversial plea deal.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you pleading guilty because you are guilty?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

CASAREZ (voice-over): In a move that blindsided the families, Bryan Kohberger took a plea deal before heading to trial for the grisly murders of four University of Idaho students in 2022. In exchange for the guilty plea, the government removed the potential for the death penalty. At the emotional sentencing hearing, the families of Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chafin, Xana Kernodle, and Madison Mogen had their turn to speak directly to the killer.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police officers tell us within minutes, they had your DNA, like a calling card. You were that careless, that foolish, that stupid.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're going to go to hell. I know people believe in other stuff. You're evil. There's no place for you in heaven.

CASAREZ (voice-over): Kohberger is now serving four consecutive life sentences in prison without the possibility of parole.

And number one.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BROWN: Happening now, some breaking news coming in. Jurors in the trial of Sean Diddy Combs have reached a verdict on all counts.

CASAREZ (voice-over): Rap mogul Sean Diddy Combs found guilty. But Combs avoided the most serious charges stemming from his federal sex trafficking trial and was found guilty of lesser counts, including transportation to engage in prostitution.

Each day, hundreds of people gathered outside the courthouse to follow the proceedings, despite no cameras being allowed in the courtroom. Combs got more than four years in prison and was fined $500,000. His attorneys are now appealing.

Jean Casarez, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: As my Buffalo Bills make their push to the playoffs, their season really started long before September. "Hard Knocks" on HBO Max followed the Bills during the training camp season. We should note both HBO Max and CNN are part of Warner Brothers Discovery. Here's my interview with the show's lead director, Pat Harris.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Pat, thanks very much for joining us. I know you're a Rochester native. I grew up in Buffalo, not very far from Rochester. People in Rochester, like all the people in Buffalo, are Bills fans. Tell us a little bit about the process of capturing all the sights, the sounds, and the hits of training camp in Buffalo.

PATRICK HARRIS, SENIOR DIRECTOR, HBO'S "HARD KNOCKS": Well, thank you for having me, Wolf. I really appreciate it. But no, we have an army of people that are out here. We have about 35 people, eight cameras at practice every day. We got between five and eight coaches mic'd up. So, we're accumulating about 300 hours' worth of footage between practice and the meeting rooms that we're filming. So, 300 hours of footage for every hour that makes TV. So, we are capturing an incredible amount of footage.

[10:50:00]

Naturally, we get to see Josh Allen every single day and he is as good as advertised. He certainly is the NFL MVP, Josh Allen. Is the biggest star of our Buffalo Bills.

BLITZER: What might we learn about him from the incredible access you had to training camp and working on this "Hard Knocks" documentary? What do you think we're going to learn?

HARRIS: I think you learn just how the attention to detail he has for his craft. I think with everything he's doing, but also, I think the person that he is, not only when he's on the field, but when he steps off it, the ability he has to connect with fans, to take extra time out of his busy day to sign any and all autographs. I think it resonates with fans and they truly appreciate it.

BLITZER: What would you say, Pat, are the biggest storylines that we'll see featured on "Hard Knocks" for the Bills heading into this upcoming season?

HARRIS: Yes, I think it's as much they have accumulated a level of play that makes them one of the best four teams in football last year. But I think realizing that it all starts over this season, it's a fresh start. I think we're going to get a chance to meet some iconic characters with the team. And Dion Dawkins, a familiar face that's back and Tre'Davious White. So, hopefully, besides Josh Allen, you kind of fall in love with a variety of different players on the team today.

BLITZER: Yes. We have some great players on our Buffalo Bills. What's the one thing you can't wait for Buffalo Bills fans to see this season?

HARRIS: I think a chance to learn more about Coach Sean McDermott. I think he's an incredible coach. He's done a great job, him and Brandon Beane. But I think we're trying to take an opportunity to not only showcase the coach, but also the person. So, in this episode and episodes to come, I think we're going to try to peel back a few of the layers a little bit because he is such an incredible person that we really want people to be able to see.

BLITZER: So, what do you think, bottom line, about my Bills' chances this coming season? Is this the year they bring home the Lombardi trophy from the Super Bowl?

HARRIS: Well, look, I am also a very diehard Bills fan. So, I, too, am always saying, next year, let's hope for next year. I think there's as good a year as any. I would say I'm very optimistic, very hopeful. I think as Bills fans, we can't be too hopeful. We've had our hearts broken before. But I think the team looks incredible. I think they have all the right pieces to do it. And then we just got to kind of see what happens.

BLITZER: Yes. I'm always optimistic that we could go all the way. Even though we went to four Super Bowls in a row and we lost four Super Bowls in a row, this could be the year. I'm optimistic about that. And I assume you are as well, Patrick.

HARRIS: No question. I think I feel almost fortunate that I don't remember those Super Bowls because I feel like the heartbreak, I don't know how my dad did it, watching and going to all those games. But I'm hoping that I think we got the right guy in place with Josh. We waited a long time for that. And then I think they're just continuing to get better and better.

And we've seen that on the field. I think their performance each day, the attention to detail they have, it's like nothing I've been around.

BLITZER: Yes, I watched all four of those Super Bowls and they were heartbreaking. There's no doubt about that. This must have been such an exciting opportunity for you to do what you do for a living, namely you're a great director and you do these sports documentaries, but to do something that's so personal about our Buffalo Bills.

HARRIS: No question. It was very surreal when I found out. I've had very surreal moments, I think throughout this whole process and I've been trying to soak it all in. I think realizing this opportunity doesn't come very often. So, it's been an incredible time thus far in Rochester. I think we're close to moving on to Buffalo, but it's been cool to see family and friends at training camp for me, getting to be on the field, watching my favorite team, getting to build relationships with players, Sean McDermott, Brandon Beane. So, I've definitely appreciated every second of it.

BLITZER: So, when I say that Josh Allen is my one big, beautiful Bill, you identify with me.

HARRIS: A hundred percent. I definitely had a smile on my face when you were saying that. That was a good segue.

BLITZER: All right. Good. All right. The senior director, Patrick Harris, thanks so much for all the good work you're doing. Thanks so much for joining us.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And you can see "Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Buffalo Bills" and all the other "Hard Knocks" seasons right now on HBO Max.

FREEMAN: All right. Thank you so much, Wolf. And thank you to all of you at home for watching. Happy New Year. I'm Danny Freeman, CNN's special coverage of the Rose Parade with Coy Wire and Elex Michaelson is coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:55:00]

MICHAELSON: Happy New Year and welcome to CNN's coverage of the 137th Rose Parade, presented by Honda. Get ready for spectacle and pageantry, unforgettable floats, stirring performances, and lots and lots of rain. I'm Elex Michaelson.

WIRE: And I am Coy Wire. What a way to kick off 2026 with this iconic tradition that started way back in 1890. This year's parade begins in just seconds. We have 39 floats. We have 17 equestrian units, 19 marching bands. Yes, please.

MICHAELSON: And we'll see some incredible musical performances, including in just moments, pop star Bishop Briggs will get us kicked off.

[11:00:00]