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Dozens Presumed Dead In New Year Catastrophe In Swiss Ski Resort; Global Leaders, Celebrities Send New Year Wishes; Zelenskyy Says Peace Deal Is 90 Percent Ready In New Year Address; U.S. Military Says 8 Killed In Strikes On 5 More Alleged Drug Boats; Protests, Strikes After Iran's Economic Situation Rapidly Deteriorates; Zohran Mamdani Sworn In As New York City's Mayor; China Uses Penalties And Incentives To Increase Birth Rate; CNN Celebrates The New Year And Its Fun Customs From Around The World. Aired 3-3:30a ET
Aired January 01, 2026 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[03:00:29]
BEN HUNTE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello. Happy New Year wherever you are in the world. You are now in the CNN NEWSROOM with me, Ben Hunte in Atlanta. And it is so good to have you with me.
Coming up on the show, new details about a fire at a Swiss ski resort as people gather for New Year's celebrations.
Plus, world leaders ring in 2026 with their own messages of peace, unity and victory. And we'll look at why China is making condoms and birth control pills more expensive.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN Newsroom with Ben Hunte.
HUNTE: Welcome. We're beginning with breaking news. Several people have been killed and others injured after a fire broke out at a ski resort in Switzerland. It happened in a bar in the town of Crans- Montana, early on Thursday morning as revelers were ringing in the new year.
The area is known for high end holiday resorts. And we'll continue to bring the updates on this and the latest as we do get it.
Well, it is now 2026 in most of the world, the U.S. West Coast, including Las Vegas here just moments ago. You're seeing them live pictures there marking the first of the year. And for the past few hours, other cities around the globe have been ringing in the new year in style with big parties and massive fireworks display.
As you're there, my goodness. Many world leaders have also been sharing their thoughts on the year ahead, some with messages of hope, optimism and reflection.
U.S. President Donald Trump attended his traditional New Year's Eve celebration at Mar-a-Lago. He was asked about his hopes for 2026 on the red carpet outside that party.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you have a New Year's resolution?
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I have peace. Peace on earth.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNTE: In China, leader Xi Jinping used his New Year's Eve address to celebrate his country's economic and technological strength. He also reiterated Beijing's position on Taiwan, saying, quote, the historical trend toward national reunification is unstoppable.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un brought in the new year with fireworks and musical performances in Pyongyang, according to state television. His daughter was with him during the festivities. Kim also met the families of North Korean soldiers deployed to Russia, reportedly telling their families he thinks desperately of them.
Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged his own troops during a brief New Year's address. He told Russian forces that he believes in them and in Russia's victory in Ukraine. Here's some more of what he had to say.
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VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): After all, we are together, the people of Russia. Work, success and achievements of each of us create new chapters in its thousand year history. And the strength of our unity determines the sovereignty and security of the fatherland, its development, its future.
We are united in our sincere, selfless and devoted love for Russia. I congratulate all our soldiers and commanders on the coming new year. We believe in you and our victory.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNTE: French President Emmanuel Macron says that Ukraine's allies will make, quote, concrete commitments to protect the country during a meeting set to take place next week. That gathering just the latest in the ongoing effort to end the war in Ukraine and reach a peace agreement.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke about what's needed Minsk.
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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Ukraine does not need a Minsk style, meticulously drafted trap. Signatures under weak agreements only fuel war. My signature will be under a strong agreement. And that is exactly what every meeting, every call, every decision is about right now, to secure a strong peace for everyone. Not for a day, not for a week, not for two months, peace for years.
Only then will it truly be a success for Ukraine, for America, for Europe, and in truth, for every nation that wants to live, not to fight.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNTE: In his New Year's Eve address, President Zelenskyy said right now a peace agreement for his country is 90 percent ready after discussions with U.S. and European allies. The latest talks were held in a phone call on Wednesday as officials discussed plans to advance the peace process. CNN's Nada Bashir is following developments from London.
[03:05:05]
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NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well as mediation efforts continue. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said some documents pertaining to the Russia-Ukraine peace agreement are set to be ready for signing as early as January.
However, it all depends on the willingness of those involved, according to Zelenskyy, though he didn't specify which parties he was referring to. Talks will be held in early January between leaders and top officials from the so called Coalition of the Willing, a group of Kyiv's key allies with national security advisers set to meet in Ukraine on January 3rd before further talks are held at the leaders level in France on January 6.
President Zelenskyy said he has also notified U.S. President Donald Trump and European leaders of his willingness to meet with his Russian counterparts, Vladimir Putin. The talks come after Zelenskyy indicated he may be willing to make some key concessions as part of the deal if including ceding territory in the Donetsk region, though he said any withdrawal of troops would have to be reciprocal with Moscow giving up as much Ukrainian territory as that ceded by Kyiv.
Negotiations appear to have picked up pace as U.S. officials continue to consult with both Ukrainian and Russian delegations. Meanwhile, some European leaders have also indicated that things may be moving in a more positive direction.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said after a Tuesday meeting that peace is on the horizon. Meanwhile, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the peace process is moving forward, though he also urged for transparency and honesty from all parties, including from Russia. Nada Bashir, CNN in London.
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HUNTE: To Gaza now, where displays Palestinians say they hope the new year will bring peace to the region. The fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is largely holding, but 10 countries, including Canada, the U.K. and Japan warn that Gaza's humanitarian situation remains catastrophic.
At least 1.3 million people are still in urgent need of shelter as a harsh winter with heavy rain and plunging temperatures worsen already dire living conditions.
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YAOOUB AL KAQARNA, DISPLACED PALESTINIAN (through translator): We wish to live in safety. We are for peace, not against it. We don't like wars or wish for wars. Ask any child here what they like more. We like peace.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNTE: In the occupied West Bank, Israeli forces demolished houses in a refugee camp on New Year's Eve. Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been forced from their homes in operation, which started months ago and has virtually emptied at least three refugee camps so far.
The Israeli military has said the operation is meant to root out fighters from militant groups backed by Iran, including Hamas. However, many Palestinian residents say the Israeli operations have left them with nothing.
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KEFAH HAYKAL, RESIDENT NUR SHAMS REFUGEE CAMP (through translator): Nine people live in the house. My husband is disabled. We don't have a way to get money. The house was our home and until now we don't have any other place to live in. No one is supporting us financially or helping us. I have nobody helping me. What shall I say? God is sufficient for us and he is the disposer of affairs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNTE: The U.S. military says it killed at least eight people in strikes on alleged drug boats and over the past two days. U.S. Southern Command says at least three people were killed in a convoy of three boats international waters on Tuesday and in a separate strike on New Year's Eve. At least five people were killed on two boats.
The U.S. Coast Guard is coordinating search and rescue efforts for survivors in the area. The military hasn't released details on where the strikes occurred, but officials have shifted their focus from the Caribbean Sea to the eastern Pacific Ocean recently.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Treasury Department has announced sanctions on four more Venezuelan oil companies. It has also designated four oil tankers as blocked property. Two were flying Hong Kong flags and two were flying the flags of Guinea and Panama.
These are the latest sanctions levied on Venezuela as part of the Trump administration's pressure campaign on Nicolas Maduro's regime.
Finland has detained a ship and its crew after a critical undersea telecommunication cable was damaged. The cable runs between the Finnish capital, Helsinki, and the Estonian capital Tallinn. The extent of the damage was not immediately clear, but communications between the countries are backed up by other sea and land cables.
The ship suspected of causing the damage left a Russian port on Tuesday and was headed to Israel, according to Marine Trackers.
Protests across Iran mark the latest chapter increasing anti- government sentiments over the rising cost of living and inflation. Meanwhile, the strict Islamic regime appears to be overlooking the growing civil pushback as it focuses on its own survival. CNN's Paula Hancocks has the story.
[03:10:05]
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PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These are the biggest demonstrations seen in Iran for three years. Traders and shopkeepers walk through a Tehran bazaar chanting, close it down. Many shops did this week, shutting their doors in protest, furious at the country's currency plummeting to a record low, pushing inflation and the cost of living to unbearable levels.
This is the year of blood, Sayed Ali will be toppled, a popular chant by protesters referring to the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, calling for the collapse of the regime. Economic pain is being blamed on government mismanagement. Similar rallies are being seen in cities across Iran.
Police deploy tear gas in some areas of Tehran. A lone protester covers his face but refuses to move, a significant act of defiance in a country where dissent has been met with swift and deadly force in recent years.
President Masoud Pezeshkian acknowledged the public anger, stating, the livelihood of the people is my daily concern, adding he has tasked the minister of interior to hear the legitimate demands of the protesters.
The head of Iran's central bank has resigned. Food prices have risen more than 70 percent since this time last year. Inflation for December year on year, is at more than 40 percent. The regime cannot ignore these protests.
Merchants played a crucial role in the 1979 Islamic Revolution that ousted the monarchy and brought the Islamists to power. Students at several universities have staged their own demonstrations calling for economic justice. It is unclear at this point how widespread this dissent might become.
ABAS ASLANI, SENIOR RESEARCHER FELLOW, CENTER FOR MIDDLE EASTERN STRATEGIC STUDIES: The average citizens and ordinary public is not joining this, let's say, protest. And because there is no bright and clear picture of the day after, and there is no, let's say, credible alternative to this political system. HANCOCKS (voice-over): Hundreds of women ran a marathon on Iran's Kish
Island in early December without mandatory headscarves. Similar acts in the past have sparked bloody crackdowns. Those desperate for reforms in Iran are once again this week testing cracks in the wall of the Islamic regime that they want to see crumble. Paula Hancocks, CNN, Abu Dhabi.
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HUNTE: OK, China takes new steps to try to reverse its population decline. Still ahead, Beijing's sticks and carrots (ph) approach to push couples to have more babies. See you in a moment.
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[03:16:47]
HUNTE: Welcome back. Britain's Queen Camilla is speaking out for the first time about being attacked when she was a teenager. She says she had to fight off a stranger on a train.
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QUEEN CAMILLA, UNITED KINGDOM: I remember something that had been lurking in the back of my brain for a very long time that when I was a teenager, I was attacked on a train and I'd sort of forgotten about it. But I remember at the time being so angry, it was anger. And I thought, why is this sort of boy. So it was an old man, was probably not a great deal older than me, but and I think --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Attacked in what way?
QUEEN CAMILLA: On a train.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: On a train.
QUEEN CAMILLA: On a train.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And someone you didn't know?
QUEEN CAMILLA: Somebody I didn't know. I was reading my book and you know, this, well, boy man attacked me and I did fight back and I got off. I remember getting off the train and my mother looking at me and saying, you know, why is your hair standing on end? And why is the button, you know, knitting from your coat? I was being attacked, but I remember anger.
And I was so furious about it. And it sort of lurked for many years. And I think, you know, when all the subject about domestic abuse came up and suddenly you hear a story like John and Amy's it all, you know, it's something that I feel very strongly about.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNTE: The Queen brought up the incident while talking about violence against women in a BBC radio interview. Details of the attack first came out in a book earlier this year after an official recounted a story he reportedly heard from the Queen. Buckingham Palace has not released an official statement about that attack.
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ZOHRAN KWAME MAMDANI, NEW YORK MAYOR ELECT: I --
LETITIA JAMES, NEW YORK ATTORNEY GENERAL: Zohran Kwame Mamdani --
MAMDANI: Zohran Kwame Mamdani --
JAMES: -- do solemnly swear --
MAMDANI: -- do solemnly swear --
JAMES: -- that I will support the Constitution of --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNTE: Zohran Mamdani is now the mayor of New York City. He was sworn in just after midnight during a private ceremony with his wife also present. 34-year-old Mamdani is making history as the city's first South Asian and Muslim mayor and the youngest in more than a century.
At least 4,000 people are expected at the public inauguration ceremony in the coming hours. Mamdani had promised during his campaign to tackle the affordability crisis.
China is kicking off the new year with a push for couples to have more babies. The country abandoned its controversial one child policy 10 years ago. It was meant to slow down population growth, but now the birth rate is declining too fast. So as Simone McCarthy reports, Beijing is using incentives and penalties to encourage people to have more kids.
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SIMONE MCCARTHY, CNN SENIOR CHINA REPORTER: Condoms and birth control pills just got more expensive in China, and the reason why stretches back decades. The change is part of a push from China's government to reverse the country's falling birth rate and encourage more couples to have children.
In this case, condoms and other contraceptives will start to be taxed when they used to be tax free.
[03:20:02]
The change starts January 1st. That's also the 10-year anniversary of when China relaxed its controversial one child policy. That decades long policy was meant to control China's population growth. Under it, authorities pressured families to have fewer children, including by using hefty fines and forced abortions.
The policy left a painful legacy in China and even led to protests, and now authorities are scrambling to reverse its impact. Beijing sees the country's growing number of older adults as well as its shrinking population as a major threat to its economic growth, and authorities have rolled out a raft of policies to encourage people to have more kids, including tax breaks and subsidies and other measures. But all that may not be enough.
As talking to young people here, many cite the high cost of raising a child as well as an uncertain economic future as reasons why they may not plan for another kid or want to start a family at all.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HUNTE: After nearly a decade of spooky adventures and 1980s nostalgia, the hit Netflix series "Stranger Things" has come to an end. The last episode of the fifth and final season hit the streaming service just a few hours ago.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Better Ms. K (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mother of God.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNTE: The last season of "Stranger Things" was released installments. No words so far on viewership numbers for the finale, but according to Variety, the first set of episodes had the best premiere week viewership ever for an English language Netflix series, and the second set drove Netflix to its highest ever viewership on Christmas Day.
CNN covered New Year celebrations from all over the world, including our big party in New York, of course, just a few hours ago. Here's how our Anderson Cooper and co-host Andy Cohen bid farewell to 2025.
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ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Good night Lababu.
ANDY COHEN, TALK SHOW HOST: Labubu.
COOPER: clip I don't know what it is.
COHEN: Lababu --
COOPER: My kids --
COHEN: You're the face of CNN.
COOPER: My kids are Amish. I don't know.
COHEN: Yes, I know.
COOPER: Labubu.
COHEN: Labubu.
COOPER: Good night Labubu clipped to a Birkin. Good night Kim Kardashian shapewear complete with a merkin
COHEN: Good night Coldplay Kiss Cam. Good night Meghan Markle Jam.
COOPER: Good night K-Pop Demon Hunters golden stuck in my head. Good night Taylor and Travis soon to wed.
COHEN: Good night to "White Lotus" brotherly love. Good night Katy Perry up in space far above.
COOPER: Good night 6. Good night 7. Good night to a meme now gone to heaven.
COHEN: I hope so. Good night Kendrick Lamar crushing the Super Bowl in boot cut jeans. Good night Beyonce reuniting our Destiny's Child queens.
COOPER: Good night Starbucks Bear. Good night Nicole Kidman's post breakup hair.
COHEN: Let's read this together.
COOPER: And now it's time to feel alive as we did good night to 2025.
COHEN: And now it's time to feel alive as we did good night to 2025.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNTE: All right, well, now let's take a look at how countries around the world. Welcome to 2026.
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ANGUS WATSON, CNN PRODUCER: Guys, welcome to 2026. Happy New Year from Sydney, Australia.
HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I hope you like my sparkly golden hat. Kind of makes me look like a unicorn as well. But it's been a great start to the new year.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Happy New Year Tokyo.
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: If you think Labubus are going to be out in 2026, you're --
WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Oh, my God. What the --
LU STOUT: Delulu. Oh, my gosh. I realized this is a New Year's Eve miracle. Can I have a hug? Can I have a hug?
RIPLEY: Did you -- did you know about this? Did she know about this?
MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's a little hard to see the spare thermometer, but. Oh, my God. We're closing in on negative 30 Celsius, which is negative teens of Fahrenheit. But we're all soaked. We are in one of the ice tunnels of the Harbin Winter Festival. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One, two, three. Let's go.
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, John. I hope you're getting ready for your first trip ever out to Abu Dhabi. You're going to help me ring in the New Year here. And I've got the team sorted with a whole bunch of adventures for you.
[03:25:00]
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good to go?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Feeling good.
ANDERSON: Here we go.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Happy New Year.
ANDERSON: Happy New Year.
PAU MOSQUERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What you see here around me is the inside of the tower that houses Madrid's most famous clock, the one that is located in iconic Puerto del Sol. Since the Beginning of the 20th century, this clock has marked the 12th chimes on New Year's Eve.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Happy New Year.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're just going to talk about a few of the myths of old land Zion.
MICHAEL PEDERSEN, EDINBURGH'S POET LAUREATE: There's nothing indicatively in the song which says it should be sung at New Year. Yes, it is a song of celebrating friendships past and present, of reminiscing about the past whilst looking to the future, which I think sort of speaks to the spirit of New Year.
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HUNTE: That's what I've got for you. Thanks for joining me and the team. Happy New Year once again. I'm Ben Hunte in Atlanta and I'll see you at the same times tomorrow. Quest Means Business is next.
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