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Trump And Zelenskyy Ends Meeting On Ending Russia's War In Ukraine; Live In Gaza Still Very Difficult After More Than Two Months Of Ceasefire; The Politics Of 2025 Ahead Of 2026 Midterms; Americans Looking Ahead To 2026, Biggest Health Stories Of The Year; "I'm Chevy Chase And You're Not" Airs New Year's Day. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired December 28, 2025 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:48]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN ANCHOR: You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. Hi, everyone. I'm Jessica Dean here in New York.

Negotiators getting closer. That was the message from President Trump tonight after meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Florida in an effort to end Russia's war on Ukraine. Trump called that meeting terrific but conceded major issues remain, the big one being land concessions in the eastern Ukrainian Donbas region.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're getting closer to an agreement on that, and that's a big issue. Certainly that's one of the big issues, and I think we're closer than we were probably one. It's unresolved, but it's getting a lot closer. That's a very tough issue.

PRES. VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINE: We have to respect our law and our people and we respect the territory which we control. And of course, our attitude is very clear. That's why President Trump said this is very tough question. And of course, we have with Russia's different positions on it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Russia continued its attacks on Ukraine this weekend, targeting Kyiv and leaving tens of thousands of people without heat or electricity and freezing temperatures.

For the latest on today's meetings, we go to CNN senior White House reporter Kevin Liptak, who is there in West Palm Beach.

Kevin, walk us through what you heard from today's meeting.

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it was an optimistic outcome, but realistic as well. President Trump saying that they're closer than they have ever been, but also acknowledging that there were, in his words, one or two thorny issues that remain. And the way Zelenskyy put it was that they were 90 percent there. He said that going into the meeting, but he also said that coming out, suggesting that none of those sticky issues, whether it be land concessions or the fate of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, had been resolved in these talks.

And I think when you listen to President Trump, he is trying to underscore here just how complicated all of this is. He's trying to sort of limit expectations that there could be an immediate peace and saying that we will know in the next few weeks, he said, whether this was all going to work out, but also raising the prospect that there could be some unexpected issue out there that derails all of this and prevents it from moving forward.

And so I think it was a positive meeting certainly in tone, which I don't think you can underplay when it comes to Trump and Zelenskyy after that disastrous February meeting in the Oval Office. This was much more cheerful. The president said that Zelenskyy was brave. Unclear, though, whether Moscow is ready to agree to all of this. President Trump says that after his call with President Putin, he thinks that Putin is serious about peace and that he believes him.

DEAN: All right. Kevin Liptak with the latest there from Florida. Thank you so much.

And here to discuss more is former National Security Council and State Department official Brett Bruen. He's also the president of the Crisis Communications Agency at the Global Security Situation Room.

Brett, thank you so much for being here with us. I just want to get your reaction, first off, from what we heard from Trump and Zelenskyy earlier this evening, the two men taking questions. What stood out to you?

BRETT BRUEN, PRESIDENT, GLOBAL SITUATION ROOM: Well, a few things. One, you know, you didn't hear a condemnation by Trump of those horrible attacks against civilian infrastructure, residential buildings in Ukraine over the Christmas Eve and the day following. I mean, that's a lost opportunity. That's something Trump needs to start establishing what is beyond the pale. And he missed that this evening.

I think also, you know, there was some suggestion by Trump that, you know, somehow, you know, the demands that Putin is making are legitimate. I think, again, he's giving too much ground to Putin.

Now, on the other hand, Zelenskyy walks away, having gone to Mar-a- Lago, having been received by Trump there, even some complimentary words coming out of Trump's mouth. So he'll take it.

DEAN: Yes, and we heard from both of them that land remains the major sticking -- a major sticking point. How do they get past this stalemate?

BRUEN: You know, it's interesting, I've heard recently within the last 24 hours or so, talk about a demilitarized zone.

[19:05:03]

And, you know, viewers will be familiar with this from the Korean Peninsula. What's interesting about that, having been in the situation room when Russia first invaded Ukraine back in 2014, you know, we got two agreements, Belarus, or rather Minsk one and Minsk two, and there you just essentially froze the lines. If you have a demilitarized zone, you're creating a barrier of separation. It makes it harder for Russia, in particular, to continue some of those attacks. So if that's truly on the table, it would be an interesting development.

DEAN: Yes. And then there is the Putin of it all, and how Putin will respond. I mean, there have been all of these offers, all of these ceasefires, you know, potential deals on the table that Zelenskyy has agreed to, that Putin has not, over the last several months. What now from Putin?

BRUEN: Well, and that is, quite frankly, the big problem here. Zelenskyy has made a lot of public concessions. Putin has made almost none. And so we're in this situation now where Putin now has essentially been able to pocket everything Zelenskyy has put on the table, whereas we really don't have any notion of what he's been willing to give up.

The other thing, Jessica, which I think is critical here, what happens if Putin doesn't agree to a deal? What are the consequences if he violates a deal? That's going to be really important. And if Trump is willing to put, for instance, more weapons into the mix if Putin delays, if Putin breaks the agreement, that, again, would be a consequence that changes his calculus.

DEAN: Yes. And then there's the European leaders that Zelenskyy and Trump talked to today that were included in all of this. Trump said they were all great leaders. Obviously there has been highs and lows in all of those relationships between the president and Europe and this administration and Europe. But how do you think Europe is viewing what happened today and where it goes from here?

BRUEN: Well, breathing a sigh of relief, but I also think, you know, and I was in Brussels, in London just before the holiday, encouraging some of those leaders. They've got to get out ahead of Trump. They're playing catch up too often. And I think this is where and we heard it earlier in the year from the likes of Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron, you know, if we put boots on the ground, if we offer air defenses that potentially puts into the mix something that Putin finds is a significant deterrent. And so I think Europe has got to get more creative and more proactive here.

DEAN: Yes. All right. More to come there. We're told that they will likely all meet again later potentially this month. And then Trump will be talking to Putin again as well.

Brett Bruen, thank you so much. We really appreciate your analysis.

BRUEN: Sure thing.

DEAN: Still ahead here tonight, another highly anticipated meeting taking place at Mar-a-Lago tomorrow. This one will be with Israel's prime minister. What this could mean for the ceasefire in Gaza. That's coming your way here in the CNN NEWSROOM. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:12:28]

DEAN: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has arrived in Florida ahead of a meeting with President Trump, scheduled for tomorrow, and the meeting comes at a pivotal point as the Gaza ceasefire nears the end of phase one. Trump is pushing Israel to advance to now phase two of this deal, but no international force has been created to govern Gaza, and the prospects of Hamas disarming seem remote.

The remains of one hostage Ran Gvili is still being held in Gaza. Under phase one of the ceasefire deal Hamas was required to return all living and deceased hostages. This is also an important time for Netanyahu politically at home, with elections scheduled in October of next year.

And more than two months into the ceasefire, life for Palestinians in Gaza still incredibly difficult. Thousands of displaced people are living in tents and enduring round after round of chilly winter rain. Israel still controls the amount of aid into the enclave, which some groups say simply isn't enough.

We are joined now by UNICEF emergency communications specialist Joe English.

Joe, thanks for being here with us as we near the end of 2025. Now that this ceasefire has been in place for a little bit, help people understand what life looks like in Gaza, especially I know your focus often -- focuses on children, especially for the children there in Gaza, as people try to get back to life but it's quite difficult.

JOE ENGLISH, UNICEF EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION SPECIALIST: It is. Good to be with you, Jessica. You know, at the moment, as you say, we are seeing absolutely abhorrent weather. And for the hundreds of thousands of people whose homes have been destroyed, parents, families are faced with an impossible choice. They can choose to stay in a tent. And, you know, in many of these tents, there's very little protection from the elements.

We have seen multiple children, one just 28 days old, who succumbed to hypothermia recently, or they can try and take shelter in buildings which may provide a slightly greater level of warmth but that are unstable, that may be damaged, you know, may collapse. And just this afternoon, we saw a 7-year-old boy who was killed as a building collapsed. So these are choices that no family, no parent should be forced into making.

And so the threats for children, they continue. You know, we are so grateful that we were able to see a ceasefire come into place. You know, it's important to note that we are still seeing children killed since the ceasefire, dozens killed since the ceasefire came into place. But the threats are not just from the violence. It's the cold. It's disease. It's more or less everything for children now.

DEAN: Right. I mean, because there's such a lack of infrastructure there as well. A United Nations backed hunger monitor recently said there's no longer famine in Gaza, but that there are still high levels of food insecurity.

[19:15:08]

Of course, as you and I have discussed many times, children were hit especially hard by those famine conditions.

What are your colleagues telling you on the ground about the food situation there in Gaza?

ENGLISH: Yes, it's still incredibly precarious and it all feeds into each other because what we know is that children who are malnourished, even for a short period of time, it is a slow process to get them back up to full health. And during that time they are more vulnerable to water borne diseases. They're more vulnerable to hypothermia. You know, this time last year we were seeing the same thing of children, very young children, infants who were succumbing to the cold.

And we have people coming back to us and saying, oh, but it's, you know, it's 38, 40, 42 degrees as if that is warm enough. You know, these children, we are providing warm clothes, we're providing blankets. But as soon as these clothes or blankets are wet and we're seeing these storms and huge amounts of rain, children are vulnerable. And so we will continue to see children die.

And so what we need is, as you said in your introduction, we need to see not just an increased amount of aid, which we've seen after the ceasefire, but it needs to be predictable, it needs to be sustained, and we need to be able to get everything that we need in to provide that level of protection for children.

DEAN: Yes. And how is UNICEF operating at this point? I know in the past being able to get to people was obviously quite difficult. Are your colleagues able to move around to get aid to take it to the people, or are they still having to come to them?

ENGLISH: It's still challenging. You know, things have improved, but, you know, you just look at the pictures and you think in terms of the logistics, the amount of rubble, the amount of roads that need clearing. You know, we have many, many people living in close proximity, which raises the risk of disease. You know, and at a time of year when so many people around the world are coming together to remember the story of a child who was born not so far from Gaza.

And now we have children being born every day in tents, in shelters, in overcrowded, unsanitary conditions, you know, it really is a reminder that every child, every child on earth deserves that safe, warm, comforting, loving start in life. And that's what we're trying to provide.

DEAN: Yes. And what is the future look like for the children of Gaza right now? Are they able to go back to school at this point? Is there infrastructure to support them returning to some kind of routine?

ENGLISH: Yes. So we're doing everything we can to sort of try and bring back that sense of stability. And that includes, you know, reaching children with psychosocial support to help. You know, we estimate that every single child in Gaza and this is no, you know, this is no exaggeration, every single child in Gaza will need some kind of psychosocial support to help them process the experience of the last couple of years. So that's something that we work to do.

We provide these child-friendly spaces where children and parents know that, you know, they should be safe there. They should be able to just play. But getting kids back into school is going to be critical because this is the generation who eventually are going to have to rebuild Gaza. So we have to equip them with the tools to do it. And so that is, you know, in terms of our long term priorities, there is no greater priority than education for Gazan children. But at the moment, we're just trying to keep them alive.

DEAN: Yes. All right. We will see what 2026 will bring.

Joe English, always nice to have you. Thank you for walking us through all of that. We appreciate it.

ENGLISH: Thanks so much, Jessica.

DEAN: Still to come, nearly a year has come and gone for President Trump's second term in office. Our political panel joins us to talk about the administration's successes, failures and challenges ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:23:02]

DEAN: Land concessions remain a main sticking point after high level talks today between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Since Russia's full scale invasion of Ukraine back in 2022, it's captured significant territory along the eastern front, land it now wants recognized as Russian.

We're joined now by two former U.S. representatives, Republican Charlie Dent from Pennsylvania and Democrat Max Rose from New York, who's also a decorated U.S. Army combat veteran and senior adviser to VoteVets.

It is great to have both of you here. Thanks so much for being here on this Sunday before the New Year.

Charlie, I want to start first with you because President Trump campaigned on ending this -- ending this war. He said he'd end it on day one. And we're obviously almost a year into his second term now. There are the humanitarian pieces of this war not ending, of course, but politically, where does this leave the president?

CHARLIE DENT, FORMER REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVE, PENNSYLVANIA: Well, I think the president is in the same place where he has been, where he is expecting the Ukrainians to make all sorts of concessions, no concessions from the Russians. So they float a proposal to Zelenskyy with no NATO, no security guarantees, territorial concessions, and all sorts of things that are highly objectionable. Zelenskyy then changes the deal, sends back to Putin, and Putin says nyet. Rinse and repeat.

That's where we are. And I hope that's not where we are today. But I have a feeling that's what will happen. Again I'm waiting to see what concessions Vladimir Putin will be making. So far, we haven't seen anything. I don't think he really wants peace. He simply wants Ukraine. And that has been the problem. And the president himself, President Trump, has acknowledged that he's been tapped along by Vladimir Putin. And I feel like that's where we are.

But until we get a good readout from this meeting, it's hard to say what happened today. We all want the war to end, but we don't want this Ukraine to enter into a surrender agreement.

DEAN: Do you think the president is doing enough to push Putin?

DENT: No, absolutely not. I mean, he should be pressuring the Europeans to basically to confiscate that $300 billion worth of Russian -- frozen Russian assets and use those for the war effort and for Ukrainian reconstruction, certainly can do more on the sanctions -- on sanctions on Russian oil than we've done to date.

[19:25:21]

So I think there's plenty more pressure. We can give Ukrainians more offensive weaponry, all sorts of things we can do to support the Ukrainian government. But again, I think the president wants to fundamentally change our relationship with Russia. He sees -- he wants to create more business opportunities with Russia. Who wouldn't want to do that? But Russia has to change its behavior before we can welcome them back into the family of nations.

DEAN: Max, what are your thoughts on this?

MAX ROSE, FORMER DEMOCRATIC REPRESENTATIVE, NEW YORK: Well, a few things here. First of all, Donald Trump has for this past year sought to negotiate in reverse when it comes to Russia. He has stopped any effort to additionally fund Ukraine, particularly in partnership with Congress. He's used the harshest of language towards Europe, working to further alienate and disconnect the United States from its NATO allies.

But we have to look at the entire map here as well. Although Donald Trump has renamed his Department of Defense into the Department of War, in effect, he's turned it into the department of forever war. Refocusing America's military might and its resources on Venezuela and its own hemisphere, much to the delight of Vladimir Putin and his cronies, because that is far fewer resources that can actually be targeted towards aid to Ukraine.

So this has yet again been Vladimir Putin's dream for who could be occupying the White House, and that is to the detriment of Ukraine.

DEAN: And Charlie, look, President Trump, some in his party, in his base, have criticized him for being so focused on foreign policy this year. He has had some wins. He was able to get the ceasefire between Israel and Gaza. And he has been quite focused on foreign policy. As we look toward the midterms, though, we are hearing him talk a little bit more about affordability. He's calling it pricing. He's promising to bring the cost of things down.

How urgent of a need is that, though, for the White House to focus on and get sorted out before we head into these midterms?

DENT: Well, President Trump, you can argue, won the election in large part because many of those voters who had some doubts about both candidates supported Donald Trump because they thought he would be stronger on the economy. And so to the extent that we haven't made a whole lot of progress on inflation and the job market is very soft, there's a lot of voter angst over the economy.

While I don't begrudge any president for working on foreign policy, the president does seem to be fixated on things that I think a lot of his base isn't too interested in, like bailing out the Argentinians, for example, and even this venture down in the Caribbean with Venezuela. I think they're more focused on a lot of issues that matter to them, their pocketbooks and even other distractions, not foreign policy related, but with a fixation on the ballroom, renaming the Kennedy Center.

All these things again that these don't matter to normal Americans. They care about how their future is. They're worried about things like tariffs, the cost of health care. These are all economic issues for voters. And that's what's driving the president's low approval ratings right now. And ultimately, a real drag on the Republican Party moving into this midterm. And we saw that the challenges that they faced all throughout 2025 in the various special elections and, of course, in the off-year election in November. So the economic issues, I think, are front and center. That's driving everything for the president.

DEAN: Yes. And, Max, look, Democrats have to be ready to pounce on that, on that messaging about the economy, about affordability. That's what we heard from all Democrats, really, in those elections, you know, just about a month ago, a month and a half ago.

ROSE: Look, this is not complicated. When we're articulating this, the level of discipline that the Democrats should have right now, it's about anti-corruption. It's about addressing affordability matters, and it is about hyper focusing on the fact that the Donald Trump in the White House is so vastly different from the Donald Trump that he promised to be during his presidential election.

He promised to lower costs right away. He promised to end the war in Ukraine on day one. He promised, in his hyper focus on Hunter Biden, to be the president, that put the people first, when in actuality he's putting the wealth generation of his family first.

So the calculus is clear for Democrats. But it is all in the execution. Now they started off slow certainly in early 2025. But I got to tell you, the Democrats are ending this year on such a high note of bold unity. I think the American people are seeing very clearly that they are ready to govern, and they are ready to speak with one voice and here's to hoping they continue into continue into 2026 in exactly that same way. [19:30:25]

DEAN: All right, we will see what 2026 holds for us. Charlie Dent and Max Rose, great to have you both. Thanks so much.

DENT: Thanks, Jessica.

ROSE: Thank you.

DEAN: Still to come -- yes, you too. The New Year means new goals and resolutions. But how many Americans will drop the ball on making those plans? Harry Enten joins us to run the numbers.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:35:09]

DEAN: Let's take a look at some of the other top stories we're following today. One person was killed and another critically injured after two helicopters collided midair over Southern New Jersey earlier today. According to local authorities, one of the helicopters burst into flames and that crash occurred about 35 miles from Philadelphia. The cause remains under investigation.

Brigitte Bardot, the iconic French sex symbol turned animal rights activist, has died at the age of 91. Bardot tantalized audiences and scandalized moral authorities with her raw display of sexuality in the 1950s and 60s. She became a box office phenomenon in the U.S. at a time when censorship in Hollywood movies did not allow frank discussions of sex. At age 39, Bardot abandoned film work, turning her attention to animal rights and far right politics in France.

Snowplows are out in force as more than 30 million people are under winter weather alerts across the country. Another storm now threatening to upend travelers plans on what's expected to be one of the busiest travel days this holiday season. Tonight, FlightAware says thousands of flights are being delayed, hundreds canceled.

As the New Year approaches, a lot of Americans are coming up with new goals. CNN's chief data analyst Harry Enten breaks down the top resolutions people are looking to accomplish in 2026.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: Hey, Jessica, can you believe it? We're already at the end of 2025. We're about to jump into 2026 come Thursday, New Year's Eve, of course, being on Wednesday and I think the number one question we have going into New Year's Eve, at least if you're an elderly gentleman like myself, is whether or not I'm actually going to be awake come midnight. Well, I'll be working come midnight. I'll be working out in Prescott, Arizona. But if I wasn't working, would I actually stay awake?

And this number actually surprised me a little bit. Awake at midnight on New Year's Eve. Look at this, 55 percent, only about 55 percent of us say yes, we will be awake come midnight on New Year's Eve. Look at this sizable plurality, 44 percent say no, no, they won't be awake. I feel like they might have polled folks like my father. My father never, ever, as far as I can recall ever stayed awake on New Year's Eve going into New Year's Day. I guess he wanted to get a jump start in the New Year and wake up refreshed instead of partying on New Year's Eve.

Now, of course, if we're going to go into New Year's, what does that mean? That means resolutions, it's a fresh start, baby. And how many Americans are actually going to make a New Year's resolution? Well, get this about 40 percent of us, two in five say yes, 60 percent the lion's share, say, no, we're good, we don't need to make a resolution, but we do, in fact, see two in five Americans saying, yes, you know what, I do want to get a jump start on the New Year. Try and do something different. Try and do something new, better for myself.

Now, the question is, what are Americans going to try and do better for themselves come 2026? Well, here's the resolution list some top resolutions for 2026 for Americans, not much of a surprise, exercise more. That's always right near the top of the list. I know it's easy to start off running in that gym class come January. The question is, can you actually stay in it come February or March?

This one was interesting to me. How about being happy? I think mental health is definitely jumped to the top of a lot of people's charts. Being happy, better mental health. I think that one is a pretty big one going into 2026, sort of showing up on the charts more than it used to. Not much of a surprise. How about eating better, eating healthier, right? I think I'm eating a little too much carbs these days. I think I've shied away from the fried chicken, that's good. But I picked up some carbs, so I definitely think that I could eat better, eat healthier, come 2026.

And here's one for you. How about learning a new skill? Learning a new skill, come 2026, maybe my new skill would perhaps be not be as loud, not be as loud, especially in public places. Yes, I know I'm loud on T.V., you can't believe how loud I am sometimes in restaurants. I don't mean to be loud; I just am loud. But maybe it's something that I can work on. But I definitely think of all of these. Being happy, I think, is numero-uno for me, I think, you know, I'm happy already, but being happier come 2026, even happier than I am now, and maintaining more than that, at least maintaining the level of happiness would be rather important.

Now, when it comes to resolutions, I don't know if you can recall this, Jessica, but last year we learned that I in fact failed. Failed my 2024 resolution. What was it? Well, what was it was it was keeping a clean desk; it was keeping a clean desk?

We actually showed this video on air. My desk was absolutely disgusting back in 2024, as we turned the clocks to 2025, turn those calendars. You see my nice Buffalo Bill somewhere right there. I got a Buffalo Bill's jersey. That's all good but the desk was messy.

Now, going into 2026, we can look back at 2025. Did I in fact get a clean desk? Well, the good news is the good news is the desk I worked at in 2024 that is clean now, the bad news is that's because I'm no longer at that desk. Somebody else took that desk. So, if we take a look at this fresh video that was shot earlier today by our main man, L.J., here on the news desk, what you see is I'm just as dirty. I'm just as dirty.

In fact, I've spread out, I've spread out my dirtiness. I mean, we can see this right over here. We look at the desk. Look at this. I still got the Bill's helmet there, but I got packaging going on there. I got a jacket. I've got an open present over there, some boxes. What am I even doing here?

[19:40:43]

And I've spread out, look at this. I have a Doritos, welcome to the renaissance of snacking box. Those Doritos were absolutely fantastic, but maybe I can try and contain myself for 2026 not be as messy. I mean, maybe third time's the charm, Jessica. We'll just have to wait and see. But I can just say that 2025 and being with you has been absolutely delightful. Happy early New Year, my friend, back to you.

DEAN: Thanks, Harry, it's been delightful to be with you too, but you may just be who you are. And that could be a messy desk guy, it's okay. We love you anyway.

Be sure to check out "The Enten Scale" it's online right now at CNN.com.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:45:54]

DEAN: Now, to a look at the top health and medical stories of 2025 with CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: 2025 was a veritable battleground for public health as it faced challenge after challenge.

PROTESTERS: United, united, we'll never be defeated.

GUPTA: Mass layoffs, and armed attack on the CDC and as misinformation gained momentum, once forgotten viruses took hold on U.S. soil. But as always, with science and medicine, progress does persist.

It is impossible to ignore the impact of MAHA. It's been the rallying cry of HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

ROBERT F. KENNEDY, JR., U.S. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: The real overhaul is improving the health of the entire nation to make America healthy again.

GUPTA: The main driver of the movement reducing chronic disease and a lot of efforts to that end, like condemning ultra-processed foods and taking action on artificial food dyes, those have been largely applauded by public health experts, but other targets of the MAHA movement, those have them worried.

SEN. BILL CASSIDY (R-LA): We currently have our current vaccine schedule based upon a lot of people who know a heck of a lot, looking at things not to make mandates, but to make recommendations.

KENNEDY: It makes no sense to have fluoride in our water.

GUPTA: This year we saw some states take steps to ban fluoride in their water supply. Dentists and other public health experts worry that its removal will increase cavities, especially for people without access to regular dental care. But supporters of these bans point to studies that found children exposed to higher fluoride levels, have lower IQs and more neurobehavioral issues.

But as with so many things this year, there is important nuance. Those studies looked at levels much higher, almost double than the levels found in the majority of public water systems.

In fact, another study found that fluoride at the recommended levels in drinking water did not negatively affect cognitive ability.

DR. MARTY MAKARY, U.S. FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION COMMISSIONER: There may be no other medication in the modern era that can improve the health outcomes of women on a population level than hormone replacement therapy.

GUPTA: In November, the FDA announced that it was taking steps to remove what is known as a black box warning for many hormone treatments for women with menopause symptoms.

Now, while this change is expected to give women more options for treatments, I do want to stress that it needs to still start with a conversation with your doctor.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, "ANDERSON COOPER: 360": President Trump and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. today publicly linking the rise in the number of cases of autism to the use of acetaminophen, or Tylenol, by women during pregnancy.

KENNEDY: Today, the FDA will issue a physician's notice about the risk of acetaminophen during pregnancy and begin the process to initiate a safety label change.

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Don't take Tylenol. Don't take it.

GUPTA: Now, the FDA was much more nuanced in its warning, saying that pregnant women should use the lowest effective dose for the shortest necessary duration and only when treatment is required.

However, there is decades of evidence that Tylenol or acetaminophen is among the safest options for pregnant women dealing with fever or pain, and that it does not cause autism.

DR. EDITH BRACHO-SANCHEZ, PRIMARY CARE PEDIATRICIAN: I understand the risks of a fever in pregnancy, which is risk of miscarriage, risk of birth defects, and I said, no way am I taking that risk.

TIM ANDREWS, FOURTH LIVING PATIENT IN THE UNITED STATES TO GET A GENETICALLY MODIFIED PIG KIDNEY TRANSPLANT: It may shorten your life, but you're going to do something for humanity.

GUPTA: This year, we followed the courageous journey of Tim Andrews, the fourth living patient in the United States, to get a genetically modified pig kidney transplant. It's a process known as xenotransplantation.

ANDREWS: And the little pig is right there, so, I can pat it.

GUPTA: Tim lived with a pig kidney for a record 271 days, and while he did have to have it removed, his case helps move this field farther into the future, especially as larger scale human clinical trials are just on the horizon.

When do you think this might be available for the average person?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think less than five years.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN HOST: We just learned that Robert Kennedy, Jr., the Secretary of Health and Human Services, will announce huge layoffs today. Some 10,000 jobs across the agency. And this comes on top of some 10,000 employees who left the department voluntarily.

[19:50:32]

GUPTA: Thousands of jobs, billions of dollars in research funding stripped. It's almost unimaginable to predict the long-term impacts of the Trump administration's cuts to public health.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is going to make it more challenging to bring the best new treatments for children with cancer.

GUPTA: And the cuts extended beyond America's shores.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're withdrawing from the World Health Organization, Sir.

TRUMP: Ooh.

GUPTA: Global programs like GAVI and USAID also had funding pulled by the administration.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please just give us medication. We still want to survive.

MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: In Milwaukee, one kid was found to have really elevated blood lead levels, and that sparked this whole public health investigation.

GUPTA: And that investigation led them to Milwaukee's public schools and several other children who had elevated blood lead levels.

For the first time, they were able to link lead poisoning in children to the city's aging schools. The problem we found when traveling there is that most of the school buildings were built before 1978. That's before lead paint was banned. And to further complicate the city's efforts to handle this crisis, those cuts I was just talking about, that left the city without federal support.

DR. MICHAEL TOTORALTIS, MILWAUKEE COMMISSIONER OF HEALTH: Investigation into the potential chronic exposures of students at the district is a part that we were really looking for the CDC to help us with, and unfortunately, HHS had laid off that entire team for childhood lead exposure. These are the best and brightest minds in these areas around lead poisoning and now they're gone.

SARA SIDNER, CNN HOST: The FDA just did something that could be a game changer for people living with pain.

GUPTA: For the first time in more than 25 years, the agency approved a new class of pain medication. It's called suzetrigine, it's not an opioid. It works by preventing pain, signaling nerves around the body from firing in the first place, so that message of pain never makes it to the brain. And even cooler, this medication was actually discovered after researchers learned about a family of firewalkers in Pakistan that lacked a gene, allowing those pain signals to be sent. Those people, they could walk on hot coals without flinching.

A new FDA approved blood test could help diagnose Alzheimer's by detecting certain biomarkers of the disease. It will still need to be used alongside other diagnostic tools like neurological exams and brain imaging, but preventative neurologist, Dr. Richard Isaacson says that he thinks blood tests will be a great new option for screening.

DR. RICHARD ISAACSON, PREVENTATIVE NEUROLOGIST: I believe this is a screening test that may predict if a person is going to be more likely to be on the road to Alzheimer's or dementia in 10, 20, 30 or 40 years.

GUPTA: And that means patients, including myself, who went through a battery of tests with Isaacson can get a baseline for their risk, and they can also track their progress while applying certain lifestyle interventions.

ISAACSON: Your numbers went from -- to now working faster and better than your age, and you're actually six years younger --

GUPTA: Six years younger.

ISAACSON: -- than your age.

GUPTA: Have you ever seen measles before?

DR. JENNIFER SHUFORD, COMMISSIONER, TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF STATE HEALTH SERVICES: No, and I'm an infectious disease physician. I've never diagnosed a case.

GUPTA: Wow, that's incredible.

SHUFORD: It's because, you know, measles was declared eliminated from the United States back in the year 2000 because of the effectiveness of that vaccine.

GUPTA: A measles outbreak that started in Texas earlier this year. It signaled a worrying trend as cases continue to grow across the country, putting the U.S.'s elimination status in jeopardy. But this is also symbolic of the larger fight over vaccines, especially as the RFK appointed members of the highly influential vaccine advisory committee to the CDC has pledged to reexamine the entire vaccine schedule, even for shots that have long established safety records.

DR. PAUL OFFIT, DIRECTOR, VACCINE EDUCATOR CENTER OF CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF PHILADELPHIA: The ACIP is full of people who are anti- vaccine activists and science denialists, so you know that the decisions that they're going to be making are not science based.

GUPTA: As always, we'll continue our reporting and well bring you everything you need to know when it comes to your health in 2026.

See you next year.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: Sanjay, thank you. Chevy Chase helped define a generation of comedy and became a widely recognized name.

The CNN film, "I'm Chevy Chase and You're Not" explores the man both on and off the screen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. Chase, a fan.

CHEVY CHASE, COMEDIAN AND ACTOR: I appreciate that. Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would you like a signed picture?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you have one available?

CHASE: I might, I might have one.

MARTIN SHORT, ACTOR: We were at the AFI tribute to Gregory Peck. Way, way in the corner, Mary Hart was interviewing someone live and Chevy said, I wonder if I can hit her with this roll and he whipped it as far as getting it, hit her right in the head in the middle of a thing and then he had to sit down like a kid.

KEVIN NEALON, ACTOR AND COMEDIAN: I was at an event, and this young caterer came up with a tray full of chocolate mousse, like shots of chocolate mousse. And she said, would you guys like some chocolate mousse? And Chevy looked at it and he stuck his finger in one, took it out, and no, thank you.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

DEAN: "I'm Chevy Chase and You're Not," premieres New Year's Day at 8:00 P.M. Eastern, and the next day on the CNN App.

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