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Counting Down to 2025 Around the World; Puerto Rico Struggling with Massive Power Outage; Palestinians Hope New Year Will Bring Peace to Gaza; London's Big Ben Sounds at the Stroke of Midnight; Pope Francis Holds First Mass of the New Year. Aired 4-4:30a ET
Aired January 01, 2025 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:00:00]
ANNOUNCER: Live from London, this is CNN NEWSROOM, with Max Foster and Christina Macfarlane.
MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello. A warm welcome to our viewers joining us from around the world. I'm Max Foster.
It's Wednesday, January 1st, New Year's Day. I don't need to tell you that, but it's 9 a.m. here in London, 11 p.m. still in Honolulu, Hawaii, with less than an hour left until the islands enter 2025 too. In the last hour, the Western U.S. rang in the New Year, including Vegas, where there wasn't a bad seat really in the house or on the streets, with multiple fireworks displays filling the skies there.
CNN crews in Austin, Texas, captured these shots just as the central time zone marked the start of 2025. Meanwhile, in South America, officials in Rio de Janeiro say about 2.5 million people crowded Copacabana Beach to see the midnight fireworks. CNN's Leigh Waldman takes us now to New York, though, for a look at how Times Square began the New Year.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LEIGH WALDMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Happy New Year. Happy 2025 is officially the start of the New Year here in Times Square. The biggest party around town, and you can see people are overjoyed.
The rain has finally stopped here in Times Square. The party is going. Frank Sinatra is ringing in the New Year with us.
People are so overjoyed. Hundreds of thousands of people have packed into Times Square and have been here since this afternoon because there is no greater party to be a part of than right here in Times Square. We have been bringing in the New Year with incredible New Year with music acts all throughout this afternoon, incredible performances, and people have been sharing their wishes for the New Year all along, saying they want hope, happiness and love to ring in this New Year.
And with the rain stopping, I think that's what's in store for all of us.
Leigh Waldman reporting. Happy New Year to all of you at home.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: In Puerto Rico, not so festive and bright lead up to the New Year, though, a critical failure in the island's power grid caused a massive blackout. At one point on Tuesday, nearly 90 percent of customers were without power. Right now, about 30 percent remain in the dark, according to Luma Energy.
Sherrell Hubbard brings us that story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SHERRELL HUBBARD, CNN REPORTER (voice-over): A massive power outage in Puerto Rico has its population scrambling. The power went out 5:30 a.m. Tuesday, leaving island dwellers waking up in the dark. Residents spent the better part of Tuesday getting gas to run generators.
Some expressed their frustration, saying the outage is affecting them at an inopportune time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I understand it's a critical situation, a day like today, New Year's Eve. Well, we'll be in a difficult situation.
HUBBARD (voice-over): Puerto Rico's governor says a critical failure in the island's power grid caused the blackout. He said the government and providers are working to restore service as quickly as possible. Luma Energy, a power company responsible for power distribution and transmission on the island, says it'll take up to 48 hours to reach full restoration.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Complete frustration, frustration, disappointment in the government, in the institutions and everything.
HUBBARD (voice-over): Power outages on the island have been an ongoing source of frustration throughout the years. The island's inconsistent power system has faltered before.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): More than the holidays, what worries me is this country's development. I work here in the pharmaceutical industry. No industries that really want to invest in this country will come here if we don't improve the infrastructure.
HUBBARD (voice-over): I'm Sherrell Hubbard reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: The all-time blackout, nothing new for Puerto Ricans, though, sadly. It's the latest in a long string of failures from the island's fragile and poorly maintained power grid. And as one resident told CNN earlier, Puerto Ricans are facing increasingly hefty energy costs without getting much in return from the power company.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) CARLOS DE LEON, PUERTO RICO RESIDENT: They haven't been able to do what they were contracted to do. And that's giving us a good power service. And to me, today, I mean, it's kind of, it's a bad joke, because recently, just at the beginning of this week, they authorized to hike the prices on the electricity beginning next month, that's tomorrow.
[04:05:06]
And to have this big failure that began at dawn, you know, it's just crazy. The electric company just keep on hiking prices and not doing what they're supposed to do. So, I mean, it's kind of frustrating.
But at the same time, we keep on going. We have life here, but it's just because we are putting our own money on getting our generators running. So it's not only that they are asking for more money, but it's us putting more of our own.
So people are really frustrated. And I think that next year is going to be a tough year.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Well, a decades-old deal that brought Russian gas to Europe through Ukraine has just come to an end. The contract expired today. Ukraine's government and Russia's state-run gas exporter Gazprom confirmed deliveries have indeed stopped.
European countries have turned instead to the U.S., Qatar and Norway for liquefied natural gas. Analysts predict the market impact on Europe will be minimal, and they don't expect a repeat of the 2022 EU gas price rally. Russia stands to lose $5 billion in annual sales, and Ukraine will lose out to the tune of about $800 million a year in transit fees.
These are live pictures of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, where Pope Francis is holding mass to mark the annual World Day of Peace. It's the pontiff's first mass of the new year. This is also a jubilee year, a Catholic tradition every 25 years in which thousands of pilgrims will travel to Rome and to the Vatican.
In his New Year's message, Pope Francis is asking for God's peace for a world plunged into chaos of war and uncertainty.
In South Korea, authorities say they've identified all 179 people killed in Sunday's plane crash, but they still don't know what caused the tragic accident. The news could provide closure for families of the victims camping out at the Muan airport as they wait for new information.
Investigators have located both black boxes from the Jeju jet. They'll soon be able to hear the last moments recorded on the cockpit voice recorder, but the flight data recorder is posing bigger issues. It was damaged in the crash and was sent to the U.S. for analysis.
New York police have identified the woman who was killed after being intentionally set on fire while sleeping on a subway train. Police say the victim was 57-year-old Debrina Kwan of New Jersey. She died of thermal injuries and smoke inhalation.
Police say 33-year-old Sebastian Zapeta-Calil used a lighter to burn the woman's clothes and the blanket wrapped around her on December the 22nd. Immigration officials say Zapeta-Calil is an undocumented immigrant from Guatemala who returned to the U.S. illegally after being deported in 2018. He was indicted on Friday on charges of murder and arson. He's expected to be arraigned in court next Thursday.
The number of people with bird flu is on the rise in North America and so are concerns about how the virus is developing. Most of the 46 confirmed cases have been mild, but officials with the U.S. National Institutes of Health are calling for closer tracking of the virus to control the outbreak.
They're particularly concerned about a new variant that made one person in Louisiana and a 13-year-old in Vancouver, Canada, severely ill. It's also been found in poultry workers in Washington state. The variant is showing changes that could mean it's adapting to humans, which increases the chances of it spreading amongst people.
The U.S. is making preparations to honor the life of former President Jimmy Carter. A motorcade will take him through his hometown of Plains, Georgia, on Saturday to his presidential center in Atlanta, where the 39th president will lie in repose. He'll lie in state in the U.S. Capitol in Washington DC from January 7th, and his funeral service will be held at the Washington National Cathedral on January 9th. President Biden will deliver the eulogy there.
The remaining former presidents and their wives are expected to attend, including President-elect Donald Trump, who told reporters Tuesday that he plans to be there. The events honoring Jimmy Carter will begin and end in Plains, Georgia. Carter will be laid to rest in his hometown, in the same location his wife, Rosalind, was buried following her death last year.
A new U.N. report warning that Israeli attacks on Gaza's hospitals have pushed its healthcare system to, quote, the brink of total collapse.
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The U.N. Human Rights Agency documented more than 130 strikes on nearly 40 medical facilities between October 2023 and June 2024. The report says hundreds of health and medical professionals have been killed, as well as patients and civilians, and the situation has reached, quote, a catastrophic level.
Northern Gaza's last remaining major hospital is no longer functional after Israeli forces raided it on Friday and arrested its director. Israel claims Hamas uses hospitals as cover for military purposes, but the U.N. found these claims, quote, vague and broad, and in some cases appear contradicted by publicly available information.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JEREMY LAURENCE, SPOKESPERSON, OFFICE OF THE U.N. HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS: The protection of hospitals during warfare is paramount and must be respected by all sides at all times. In essence, if the relentless bombing and the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza were not enough, the one sanctuary where Palestinians should have felt safe, in fact, became a death trap. Under certain circumstances, the deliberate destruction of healthcare facilities may amount to a form of collective punishment, which is also a war crime.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: The Israeli envoy to the U.N. in Geneva claims the report is, quote, politically driven. The report comes as the U.N. agencies for Palestinian refugees say there's an urgent need for winter supplies in Gaza. UNRWA says severe cold has resulted in the death of several Palestinians, including at least five babies, and Gaza's civil defense says more than 1,500 tents and shelters were flooded after heavy rains.
Palestinians displaced by the Israel-Hamas war are hoping the new year will bring some peace to the enclave.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NAJLA ABU AL-AOUN, DISPLACED IN GAZA (through translator): I hope the world sees us as human beings. All global institutions should consider us as we care about peace and want peace, not war. We want to live for our children to thrive.
I don't want to live in a home that is intact when my neighbor's houses are destroyed. I don't want to walk down the street and remember that there lived my neighbor who is now dead or hear family was wiped out. I don't think anyone can endure the life we're living.
Words are many, but actions are what matter.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: The World Health Organization says 90 percent of people in Gaza live in tents amid fears or risks of disease and malnutrition, and that's amid Israel's military offensive, of course. Many Palestinians are being forced to flee the fighting multiple times.
One man said his children live without blankets and he goes often without food. Another summed up his hope for the new year, saying, quote, we wish to see the day when we can live in peace just like other people around the world.
Fireworks lighting up the sky over the city of Aleppo as Syrians mark the first new year since the fall of the Assad regime. Many Syrians say they're approaching 2025 with hope and caution, with some suggesting there's lingering fear from the days of Assad's brutal dictatorship.
Others say they're feeling optimistic that this year will build on the recent progress for good, but they feel the country faces a long road to recovery. Saudi media is reporting that the de facto leader of Syria's interim government says it may take up to four years to organize elections.
Well still to come, a message from Ukraine's president. We'll hear his hopes for the new year.
And later, a major Italian city is cracking down on smoking. Find out how much it could cost to light up even when you're outside.
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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: Ukraine says it struck some key Russian military targets in recent days. The Ukrainian officials say their special operations and drone forces have destroyed an oil depot in Russia's Smolensk region. Pictures show fire and huge plumes of smoke at the facility. Ukraine says the base was used to supply Russian forces with oil.
Russian officials say the attack caused a fuel spill and fire, but that the situation was, quote, under control.
Ukraine is also touting what it calls an historic strike near Crimea, saying its military intelligence forces destroyed a Russian helicopter with a drone for the very first time.
Russia's president is promising the new year will bring good things for the country, though he doesn't specify what those will be.
The Kremlin broadcast Vladimir Putin's message at midnight local time across all 11 time zones in the country. Putin praised Russians fighting in the Ukraine war, calling them, quote, true heroes.
But he didn't outline the challenges that Russia is facing, including the nearly three-year-long war and the country's economic troubles, but he promises Russia will come out on top.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): We are sure that everything will be fine. We will go only forward. We know for sure that the absolute value for us was, is, and will be the fate of Russia and the well-being of its citizens.
On this New Year's Eve, the thoughts, the hopes of relatives and friends, millions of people all over Russia, together with our fighters and commanders, you are true heroes who have undertaken the great military labor to defend Russia, to provide our people with strong guarantees of peace and security. We are proud of your courage and bravery. We believe in you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: The Ukrainian president is also presenting a message of hope for the new year, despite losses on the battlefield and uncertainty about Ukraine's relationship with the U.S. under the incoming Trump administration. Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised Ukrainians fighting during excruciating circumstances, and he promised that with the help of the country's most powerful ally, Ukraine will be able to force Russia into a just peace.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Ukraine is not alone, because we have our friends with us. Since the first minutes of this war, America has stood with Ukraine.
[04:20:00]
I believe that America will also stand with Ukraine in the first minutes of peace.
I have no doubt that the new American president is willing and capable of achieving peace and ending Putin's aggression. He understands that the first is impossible without the second. May 2025 be our year, the year of Ukraine.
We know that peace will not be given to us as a gift, but we will do everything to stop Russia and end the war.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Big Ben is quite literally ringing in the new year to the delight of Londoners and tourists, marking the start of 2025. CNN's Isa Soares went behind the scenes to see the bell and what makes the great clock of Westminster tick.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ISA SOARES, CNN ANCHOR: Big Ben, what does it sound like to you?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You want me to imitate?
SOARES: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, no, no, no, no.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ding-dong.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dong.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ding-ding.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ba-ba.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ding-dong, ding-dong.
SOARES: That sounds good. That's very good.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, that's the one.
SOARES: Prepare yourselves for this moment.
(BIG BEN RINGS)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: London, the old metropolis, has been having a lot of fog lately.
SOARES (voice-over): For 165 years, the bongs of Big Ben have kept Londoners on time, consistently ringing in the changes. Big Ben is a favored spot for social media users, but one night a year, the bell and its bongs get a much bigger audience. It's now impossible to imagine a New Year's Eve in London without Big Ben.
SOARES: But what makes Big Ben tick, you ask? Let me show you. Come with me.
SOARES: Let's go up. Finally.
How do you feel when you hear that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It always sounds like a stern friend reminding you not to be late. This is the hour bell here, Big Ben, which is 7 foot 6 high, 13.7 tons. It's the weight of a small elephant.
SOARES: How do you keep it regulated on time?
DR. ANDREW STRANGWAY, CLOCKMAKER, UK PARLIAMENT: I have a specific app built on my phone specifically for timing the clock. As soon as the hammer hits the bell, I press the button and check the time. The majority of the time, we're within a fifth of a second of the correct time.
So the regulations that we're making are actually very, very small. And especially for something like New Year, it's really important that the clock is on time.
SOARES: Oh, here we go.
This is amazing.
STRANGWAY: They're just fabulous, aren't they? The dials are about 23 foot across, and they have 324 individual panes of glass. The minute hand is about 14 foot long, and it weighs about 240 pounds, including its counterweight.
And the hour hands weigh about 672 pounds.
SOARES: From both of us here, in the south face of Big Ben, a happy New Year.
STRANGWAY: Happy New Year.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Happy New Year to Big Ben. The clock, the bell, rather, rather than the tower.
Here's something to think about as we start the New Year as well. Babies born between 2025 and 2039 will be the first of a new generation called Generation Beta. An Australian social researcher coined the term, along with Generation Alpha, the one that went before. Generation Beta will likely experience artificial intelligence and automation in every aspect of life.
By 2035, Gen Beta is expected to make up 16 percent of the global population, and many of them are expected to live into the 22nd century. So you can meet the people who will be living next century right now.
Darkness is slowly being lifted in Puerto Rico after much of the island rang in the New Year without any electricity or lights. The details when we come back.
[04:25:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Max Foster. If you're just joining us, here are today's top stories.
The world has been ringing in the new year with parties for nearly an entire day now.
The skies above Victoria Harbor in Hong Kong lit up with fireworks launched from barges with an impressive laser light show there in the background. In New York, the famous Kiss Cam came out as Times Square attendees took part in that New Year's tradition. And the London Eye took center stage as fireworks illuminated the skies here in the U.K.
Right now, at St Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, Pope Francis is holding his first Mass of the year to mark the World Day of Peace. In his New Year's message, the Pope is asking God to help a world filled with chaos of war and uncertainty.
And in Bangladesh, thousands of people rallied at a March for Unity five months after the country's Prime Minister was ousted from power. On Tuesday, student groups and families gathered in Dakar to remember the victims of the unrest. More than 1,000 people were killed during last year's anti-government protests.
Now, in Puerto Rico, a not-so-festive and bright lead-up to the new year, a critical failure in the island's power grid caused a massive blackout.
More than half of all customers rang in the new year in the dark, and nearly a third are still without power. Luma Energy, the Canadian- American power company that took over management from the government in 2021, is still investigating the cause of the outage. CNN en Espanol spoke with residents who were left with no choice but to deal with the unreliable power system.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I understand that it is a difficult situation, a critical situation. A day like today, the end of the year, well, we are going to be in a difficult situation.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Complete frustration. Frustration, disappointment with the government, with the institutions, with everything.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: CNN's Carlos Suarez now has the latest on the blackout for you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CARLOS SUAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The sweeping blackout hit Tuesday morning. Luma Energy, which supplies power to Puerto Rico, said that crews would try to get the power grid back on in phases, and that could take anywhere between 24 to 48 hours. As of 1 o'clock on Tuesday, about 3 percent of customers out of the 1.3 million users impacted had their power restored.
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