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Officials: Champagne Sparklers Likely Caused Swiss Resort Fire; Fire At Swiss Ski Resort Bar Kills At Least 40 People, 119 Hurt; New Questions Emerge About Trump's Health After Saying He Takes Higher Dose Of Aspirin Than His Doctors Advise. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired January 02, 2026 - 11:00   ET

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

[11:00:00]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: CNN Breaking News.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking new details emerging this morning about that deadly ski resort fire in Switzerland as officials try to identify dozens of victims. Plus, President Nicolas Maduro extends an olive branch to the United States as we learn that several Americans have now been detained in Venezuela. And President Trump's health is back in the spotlight after a very revealing interview with the Wall Street Journal.

Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer. Pamela Brown has the morning off. You're in The Situation Room. And we begin with the breaking news.

Swiss investigators are zeroing in right now on a possible cause of that deadly fire that raced through a ski resort bar on New Year's Day, killing at least 40 people. In this new image, you can see sparklers held in champagne bottles very close to the ceiling, which is covered in acoustic tiles. We want to warn our viewers the footage you are about to see is very disturbing.

You can see one person trying to beat back the flames as the fire begins to spread across the room. Survivors describe the effort to escape as total chaos. Listen.

This is video of people struggling to get out of the building. One survivor says it was a small door that everyone was trying to get through.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOMINIC DUBOIS, WITNESS: Many, many gory scenes. There were many who were very strong, who stayed strong, and who understood that their life was in great danger, but decided that mentally it was more important to stay calm.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: CNN International diplomatic editor Nic Robertson is now on the scene for us in Switzerland. Nic, where does the investigation stand right now?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, investigation still ongoing, but the lead prosecutor has made it very clear that they feel from the images that they've seen from their investigations so far that it is that moment that the champagne bottles are held aloft with those sort of indoor fireworks, those sparklers in them, contacting the roof. That's what the prosecutor is saying they believe caused this massive fire. Here's how it was explained.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BEATRICE PILLOUD, CHIEF PROSECUTOR (voiceover): It can be assumed that the fire arising from fireworks which have -- were put on champagne bottles came too close to the ceiling, and that produced a flashover which occurred very quickly, leading to general combustion.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: And Wolf, you were talking about acoustic tiles on the ceiling. And the prosecutor was asked that question, could these sparks have gone into these acoustic tiles? And that's how the flames really sort of got their first hold. And then into the wooden structure of the building. The prosecutor said, couldn't say at this time.

We've talked to people, by the way, that's the bar right behind me. We've talked to people who were living on the upstairs floors there. They were evacuated. They had to climb across the balconies there with their young children to escape the intensity of the flames from down below.

We are getting more details as well about those who are injured. 119 in hospital, 9 -- from 9 different European countries, 71 Swiss, 14 French, 11 Italians, 4 Serbians, and others from other European nations. Europe also stepping up and helping.

50 of the burn victims have been transferred to other European hospitals in neighboring countries to help the Swiss because, quite simply, these burn victims require specialist treatment. And it appears that can best be given by putting them in hospitals with that expert care available.

All of these explanations, hard to provide solace for the families. We witnessed the father here earlier on today on his knees in the road, Wolf, tears streaming down his face. His son went out on New Year's Eve heading into Crown, Montana, and he hasn't heard from him since. So desperate scenes playing out on the streets here today as well, Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, Nick Robertson, thanks very much. Awful, awful story. Nick is on the scene for us in Crown Montana, Switzerland.

Also happening now, there are new questions about President Trump's health after he told the Wall Street Journal he takes a higher daily dose of aspirin than his doctors have advised. And he blamed it for the bruises on his hands. The president said, I'm quoting him now.

"They say aspirin is good for thinning out the blood. And I don't want thick blood pouring through my heart. They'd rather have me take the smaller one. I take the larger one. What it does do is it causes bruising."

[11:05:12]

CNN White House reporter Alayna Treene is here with me in The Situation Room. What more are we learning about what President Trump is saying about all of this? He went into detail in that Wall Street Journal interview.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: He did, and there was a lot of really interesting anecdotes and quotes from the president. And look, that was one of them. He said he takes a higher dose of aspirin than his doctors recommend. He also said they recommended he wear compression socks. He said he tried that for a while, decided he doesn't like it. That's, of course, because of the swelling in his legs.

Doctors have previously said that the president has a chronic venous insufficiency. It's -- it's a lot. I won't go into the detail of what that is, but it's essentially poor blood circulation from the legs to the heart.

And then he also talked about how he wishes he didn't have get imaging. Earlier this year, when he went to the doctor, he initially said he had an MRI scan. His physicians in this piece say was actually a CT scan. But all to say, he said that brought more attention and scrutiny to his health issues.

One thing that was fascinating, I think, for this piece and just for our viewers to know is that this actually wasn't supposed to be an interview. The Wall Street Journal had reached out. They had some reporting about some of his medical information. And it was Trump who decided to call them up and give them this impromptu interview. And I think that just speaks to how sensitive of an issue this is for the president, someone who had spent really the majority of his 2024 presidential election campaign trying to attack.

Now the former President Joe Biden over what he argued were his, you know, what he said was his mental, not fitness and unfitness. I don't know that's the right word. For office, going after him for what he believed were his health issues. And so it's something that the president is very defensive of.

And we saw him this morning, Wolf, Trump actually post about this saying that he is in excellent health, that his doctors say that, you know, he has passed a third cognitive test, something he likes to often tout when talking about his health. But it was a very interesting piece. And the other thing, too, I will say, part of the reason there's been so much attention, I think, on the president's health has been because of those images we've seen of the heavy bruising on his hand that he tries to cover up with heavy makeup because of the bandages. The White House has argued that it's because he handshakes a lot.

Trump also said it's because of the aspirin that, you know, has led to some of this discoloration. But it was a very interesting piece on an issue that Trump doesn't often like to discuss.

BLITZER: Yes, he likes to discuss Biden's health, but not necessarily his own health. We understand also, Alayna, that President Trump made a stop at a granite and marble store this morning. What can you tell us about that?

TREENE: Yes, so actually a White House official actually told CNN that the president is purchasing or was purchasing, he's since left the store, marble and onyx at his own expense for the White House ballroom. This was a stop he made on his way to the golf course today.

Look, I think it just shows. I mean, the president is obsessed with some of this stuff. He's a real estate developer at heart. He's been very fixated on wanting to put his mark on the presidential ballroom. And we've seen that with a lot of other projects and culture institutions around D.C. I mean, look at what he's been doing with the Kennedy Center. He wants to make a triumphal arch. But him going there today and the way that he's talked about wanting to redo the ballroom, wanting to be the one to pick out the type of marble and limestone to match, I mean, he's very fixated on this, on an issue that also a lot of people argue is potentially not worth the money at this point in time when a lot of people are worried about the economy.

BLITZER: And spending a lot of time on that ballroom and the destruction of the east wing of the White House, where that ballroom is going to be going up. All right. Thank you very much. Alayna Treene and our White House reporter.

And still ahead, after months of intense pressure, the Venezuelan leader, Nicolas Maduro now says he's ready to talk to the United States. And a series of storms has left Southern California soaked. And even more rain is now on the way. Stay with us. You're in The Situation Room.

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[11:13:13]

BLITZER: This breaking news we're following. Look at this. The FBI in Charlotte, North Carolina, is about to share new details and about what it says was a potential terror attack that was planned for New Year's Eve. The plot was apparently foiled. They're set to hold a news conference right at the bottom of the hour. We'll bring that to you live once it begins. Stand by for that.

Also happening now, a U.S. Official tells CNN that Venezuelan security forces have detained at least five Americans in recent months. This comes as tensions between the two nations keep building and building. The official said the Trump administration believes the Maduro regime is detaining Americans to help build leverage against the United States -- United States. Here with me now in The Situation Room is CNN cybersecurity reporter

Sean Lyngaas. Sean, what do we know first of all about these detentions, and what is Venezuela saying?

SEAN LYNGAAS, CNN CYBERSECURITY REPORTER: Yes, Wolf, there's been a series of detentions over the last several months. We're reporting at least five Americans. And the problem here is that the U.S. Officials are very concerned that Maduro's government could use this as leverage in the ongoing tensions between the two countries. We've seen that with Russia, where the Russian government had wrongfully detained many Americans and then used that to try to free Russian prisoners here in the U.S. And Nicolas Maduro may be using this as a bargaining chip as these tensions rise, as the U.S. Officials continue to try to pressure Venezuela.

Let's take a listen to what President Maduro said regarding this week about his willingness to talk.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRE. NICOLAS MADURO, VENEZUELA (voiceover): 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 when, where, and how they want to make them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LYNGAAS: So it's interesting timing, Wolf, that Maduro said this week after, you know, another series of U.S. strikes in the Caribbean outside of Venezuela, but also after a CIA drone strike against a facility in Venezuela, the U.S. pressure is seeming to push Maduro to be willing to talk to the U.S. Officials.

BLITZER: What do we know about these five Americans who have been detained held by the Venezuelans?

LYNGAAS: We're working on getting more reporting on that, Wolf, but what we know right now is at least one of them. He is the son of a musician, a former musician in the U.S. He's from the New York area, and he was traveling in the region and had intended to come back with his, to see his family right before the holidays. So really unfortunate situation there.

The State Department is being quiet on this right now. I think they're behind the scenes, trying to scramble to figure out what's going on and try to contact the families. But we should have more on that.

BLITZER: Has the State Department told Americans to avoid traveling to Venezuela?

LYNGAAS: I think that's been long standing advice. As for any updates of that, I'm sure that they've been cautioning not to given the all the strikes going on. BLITZER: Which would be important caution indeed. Earlier this week the U.S. Military said it struck a quote, "convoy of alleged drug boats." What more are we learning?

LYNGAAS: Yes, well, this is sort of the continued high-tempo attacks that we've seen from the U.S. military. The U.S. Southern Command, which manages, oversees the Latin American region and announced multiple strikes this week that killed at least eight people that they deemed narco terrorists, that the U.S. Government considers narco terrorists, and that the U.S. Coast Guard has been helping try to track down those who did not die in those strikes.

BLITZER: All right, Sean Lyngaas, excellent reporting. Thank you very much.

Happening now, California is getting ready for even more rain after a series of storms that have soaked the state. Here you can see cars submerged in floodwater. This is in San Diego on New Year's Day. The next storm is expected to hit Northern California later tonight.

Joining us now, CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam. Derek, what are we expecting from this next phase of this brutal storm?

DEREK VAN DAM, METEOROLOGIST: Okay, so Wolf, you got to watch this though. This was captured on camera yesterday in San Diego of a young child being rescued from a vehicle surrounded by rapidly rising floodwaters. This was all amongst flash flood warning that was ongoing from yesterday's storm. Now, we're in a bit of a lull, which is good news because we need what we can take because of this constant barrage of atmospheric rivers, low pressure systems moving into the state.

Now, we take a respite for about 12 hours or so, help to dry things out into Southern California before our next storm system moves in, which you can see on this. This is a water vapor imagery, or rather precipitate water, but basically showing you the amount of water that's in the atmosphere and where it's direct. Here's the state of California.

It'll start across the northern portions of the state and then fluctuate further south. That is why we have the flood watches in effect for Northern California as it stands. Eureka southward into the Northern California region. You can see some of the heavier rainfall expected for the day tomorrow includes Ventura and Santa Barbara county, just outside of Los Angeles county. Because, as I mentioned, the storm will bring the heavier excess of rainfall further south. As time progresses through the course of the weekend, we'll look out for additional flooding chances with that.

BLITZER: Yes. That those flooding images coming out of San Diego. Awful. Awful indeed. All right, Derek Van Dam, thank you very much.

Up next, we're standing by for an FBI news conference on a potential New Year's Eve terrorist attack in North Carolina that was, thank God, foiled. We're going to bring you that news conference live once it begins. Stay with us.

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[11:23:29]

BLITZER: Happening now, investigators are closing in on a possible cause of that deadly fire that raced through a Swiss ski resort bar on New Year's Day. In this new image, you can see sparklers held in champagne bottles very close to the ceiling, which is covered in acoustic tiles. The fire killed at least 40 people. More than 100 others were injured. Multiple people are still missing right now.

Joining us now, the former Boston police commissioner Ed Davis. Ed, thanks so much for joining us.

When you see these videos from inside that bar, the sparklers coming out of the champagne bottles, the acoustic ceiling, what jumps out at you?

ED DAVIS, FORMER BOSTON POLICE COMMISIONER: Well, it's really horrible to see this thing occurring again after we had the station nightclub club fire here in New England back in 2003. It's almost the exact same set of circumstances. The insulation on the ceiling and a fire source. You know, sprinklers look innocent, but they, I mean, sparklers look innocent, but they, they burn red hot. So when you see that kind of combination in a crowded venue when there's so many people there, it really is frightening.

BLITZER: It's awful. Awful indeed. And you would think that they would have learned the lessons from what happened in Rhode Island and that horrible sprinkler-related fire. Then what are some of the questions investigators are asking about the bar's capacity and the crowd size at that New Year's party?

[11:25:05]

DAVIS: Well, that will all be part of the inquiry. The first and most important part of it, obviously, is determining whether or not criminal intent or criminal issues occurred there. So they're going to do a criminal investigation to see if there's any violations of the law.

But I think very quickly it will turn into a review of the fire codes and the codes for the number of people that are allowed in the premises and then whether or not there can be significant changes to those rules and regulations to try to prevent this from happening again.

When you're in the cellar of a building like that, and there's only one egress, air is coming in, and people are trying to get out. And that combination can cause a flashover which resulted in all of these deaths. It's horrible.

BLITZER: You know, I'm curious, what are the similarities between this fire in Switzerland and the one at the Station nightclub in Rhode Island back in 2003? I remember that fire was awful. For those who aren't familiar with what happened in Rhode Island at that nightclub. 100 people died in that fire. And there were some similarities, right? DAVIS: There certainly were. One of my staff members was the head

investigator on that fire, and I just spoke to him. People were really piled up like cordwood at the front door. You couldn't pull the bodies out because of the lack of egress.

The fire happened so quickly with that insulating material, the noise dampening material that they had in the ceiling, that people just could not get away. And most died from smoke inhalation. But the scene was just horrendous. That's exactly what we're seeing over in Switzerland. And it's disappointing that people aren't paying attention to these things and preventing them.

BLITZER: We got to learn the lessons from these horrible disasters. The former Boston police Commissioner, Ed Davis, thanks so much for joining us.

DAVIS: Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: And just ahead, separation of church and state here in the United States is back in the news after holiday messages from some lawmakers drawing criticism. Stay with us. You're in The Situation Room.

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