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The Situation Room
Annual Roses Parade; Cell Phone Ban in Virginia; Top 10 Entertainment Stories of 2025. Aired 9:30-10a ET
Aired January 01, 2026 - 09:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[09:30:00]
PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR (voice over): Spans the globe, with more than 150 churches.
Lennox Kalifungua moved to Moscow from Africa.
BROWN: Are there other black families in this community?
LENNOX KALIFUNGUA, NEW MEMBER OF CHRIST CHURCH FROM ZAMBIA: Oh, absolutely. There's a few black families.
BROWN (voice over): Wilson maintains all are welcome to his church, but he's also not shying away from his past controversial statements on race.
BROWN: Do you still believe what you said back in the '90s, that there's a mutual affection between master and slave?
DOUG WILSON, SENIOR PASTOR, CHRIST CHURCH: Yes, it depends on the -- on which master and which slave you're talking about. Slavery was overseen and conducted by fallen human beings, and there were horrendous abuses. And there were also people who owned slaves who were decent human beings and didn't mistreat them. I think that system of chattel slavery was an unbiblical system, and I'm grateful it's gone.
BROWN (voice over): What he also wants gone, same sex marriage, because he thinks homosexuality is a crime.
WILSON: In the late '70s and early '80s, sodomy was a felony in all 50 states. That America of that day was not a totalitarian hellhole.
BROWN: So, you would like America to go back to that?
WILSON: Yep.
BROWN (voice over): Wilson maintains his ultimate goal is to bring about the second coming of Christ through his work and rejects critics claims he's trying to make the dystopian world of "The Handmaids Tale" a reality.
WILSON: I'm not a white nationalist. I'm not a fascist. I'm not a -- I'm not a racist. I'm not a misogynist. BROWN: How far off do you see a Christian nation, like a full on
Christian theocracy?
WILSON: Oh, 250 years.
BROWN: Two hundred and fifty years.
WILSON: Yes, honestly, that's -- yes.
BROWN: That's what you see. But you do think it will happen?
WILSON: Yes, I do. We're not going to usher in anything ourselves. We're really, genuinely pioneers.
BROWN (voice over): Pamela Brown, CNN, Moscow, Idaho.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:36:06]
DANNY FREEMAN, CNN ANCHOR: And welcome back.
We are gearing up to the kickoff of the historic Tournament of Roses Parade, on New Year's Day tradition filled with dazzling floats, powerhouse marching bands, and musical performances. Oh, I guess you can throw in a football game afterwards as well.
Now, this year marks the 137th year of the parade. And CNN is out along the parade route so you do not miss a thing.
For more on this let's go live now to CNN's Coy Wire and Elex Michaelson, who are out in Pasadena waiting for the action to get underway.
Great to see you both, friends of mine.
We know it is a little wet out there. I'm sorry for that. But what's the energy like?
ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: The energy is great, but it is wet. And that is part of the story. This is the first time that CNN has ever broadcast the parade, which we're very excited about. Going to be happening at 11:00 a.m. Eastern today.
But it's also the second time in 70 years that it will be raining. So, think about that. In 70 years, this is only the second time. So, that is definitely impacting the floats. Hopefully we don't have any breakdown. Last time it rained 20 years ago we had about five floats break down along the route. So, you don't know -- you don't know what's going to happen today, Coy.
COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Oh, we're expecting drama. I mean so this rain, which has been coming down nonstop for more than 24 hours now, it just kind of can potentially melt some of the glue. We can have flower shrapnel everywhere. It will be --
MICHAELSON: Maybe not -- maybe not shrapnel. It's not that kind of a --
WIRE: Yes, I'm just picturing the worst. It's kind to -- but it would make it more fun, right?
But these floats, they are gorgeous. They are breathtaking when you see them on your TV, that's one thing. And then to see them up close and personal and you realize that every inch, every surface has to be natural material. There are orange lentils seeds. There are red lentils, white rice. There's palm bark from trees, and they turn it into fur on animals. It is mind blowing what they're able to do.
MICHAELSON: Yes. So, we can't wait to get started. 11:00 a.m. Eastern, Danny. I hope everybody joins us as well.
FREEMAN: Listen, you two can make the sun come out, that I know.
Coy and Elex, thanks so much. Appreciate you guys.
And, of course, don't go anywhere. The 137th Rose Parade, presented by Honda, airs today at 11:00 Eastern right here on CNN. And you can watch on the app.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:42:34]
PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Younger generations have spent their entire lives surrounded by technology, but school systems across the country are starting to curb that unlimited access for students. More than 30 states have some kind of ban in place, either at the state or district level. Among them is Virginia. And last year the governor, Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, required districts to go phone free. Back in the spring I talked with students and a teacher at one Virginia high school where the ban had been in place for several months to get a better understanding of what it actually looks like and the effects it had.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: Raise your hand if you're a fan of this new phone free policy at the school.
GABBI HARBER, SENIOR, WAKEFIELD HIGH SCHOOL: It's complicated.
BROWN (voice over): This Virginia high school looks like any other during passing periods. But notice one thing's missing.
ALEX HEATON, JUNIOR, WAKEFIELD HIGH SCHOOL: I remember the first day I was sitting in physics. My phone was locked up in my bag, and I kept reaching for it, but I couldn't. And the only thing I could do was sit on my computer and listen. BROWN (voice over): Wakefield High is a guinea pig of sorts. Students
are expected to store their phones in this magnetic locking pouch throughout the day. At first there was resistance.
HARBER: People were putting dents and holes in the wall. Like there are tables we had to, like, get fixed.
LUCA LOPEZ, JUNIOR, WAKEFIELD HIGH SCHOOL: Right after we got them, when I walked in the cafeteria, all you hear is like the banging.
HARBER: Bang. Like it sounded like gunshots.
BROWN (voice over): Greg Cabana, a government teacher at Wakefield, noticed it, too.
GREG CABANA, GOVERNMENT TEACHER, WAKEFIELD HIGH SCHOOL: The fact that they're banging pouches around the cafeteria trying to unlock their phone, this is proving our point right here of how meaningful and how powerful that phone is.
BROWN (voice over): Cabana has been advocating for stricter regulations on phones for years after feeling like his role as an educator was secondary to being the phone police.
CABANA: As a teacher, it was just daily judgment calls. Put your phone away. Put your phone away. Should I say something to the student? Should I keep on teaching? Should I talk to them in the hallway? Is it worth it?
BROWN (voice over): It may be too soon to fully understand the impact of phones on academic performance, especially talking to this group of high-performing students.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it depends on who you were before the phone policy.
HARBER: Yes.
BROWN (voice over): But other benefits inside the classroom are clear.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Even just picking it up for a small time can take away from like your learning experience.
CABANA: It's not a small improvement. It is -- it is a dramatic improvement back to engaging fun teaching with student interaction.
BROWN (voice over): The 2023 surgeon general's report says up to 95 percent of kids 13 to 17 use social media.
[09:45:05]
Former Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy even called for tobacco style warning labels on social media platforms, saying they're associated with significant mental health harms for adolescents.
DR. VIVEK MURTHY, FORMER SURGEON GENERAL: The data also shows when kids are spending more than three hours, on average, that they face nearly double the risk, increased risk, of depression and anxiety symptoms.
BROWN (voice over): But a recent CDC study found about 50 percent of teenagers between ages 12 and 17 had four or more hours of daily screen time.
LOPEZ: I definitely prefer having it, but, I mean, I get more work done at the end of the day.
BROWN: Do you realize -- did it make you realize you have an emotional attachment to it?
LOPEZ: I think I knew that before, and I was just kind of avoiding that fact.
BROWN: You were avoiding that fact before, but now it's like in your face reality?
LOPEZ: Oh, yes. Now I know I'm addicted.
JAM'HARIE PRICE, JUNIOR, WAKEFIELD HIGH SCHOOL: Every day I go straight to my phone when I get home. I don't even think about the homework.
BROWN (voice over): But when he's in the walls of Wakefield, he's opening up in other ways.
PRICE: I feel like I connect with more people and, like, have better conversations than I could have had with the phone.
BROWN (voice over): Student Karen Mines says it's led to a new kind of engagement.
KAREN MINES, SENIOR, WAKEFIELD HIGH SCHOOL: Even just, like, at lunch, you, like, talk to each other, you know? Like people bring games to class. And that's something I had never experienced.
BROWN: You never experienced that kind of engagement?
MINES: Well, it was just like, and maybe not since kindergarten. Maybe not since preschool.
BROWN (voice over): And the students and teachers here say less isolation has meant less interpersonal conflict.
MINES: There were a lot less fights. I haven't seen any this year.
BROWN (voice over): The movement to restrict cell phones in classrooms is growing, with nine states having already passed a ban or restricted cell phone use in schools. And 15 states, plus the District of Columbia, have introduced legislation to do the same.
But not every educator is on board, including Brandon Cardet- Hernandez, a former public school principal in New York. BRANDON CARDET-HERNANDEZ, PRESIDENT, MRS. WORDSMITH: We have to teach
digital literacy skills, like kids need to know how to use social media. And by an outright ban of smartphones in schools, we are not getting any closer to teaching those skills.
BROWN (voice over): He also worries that low income students relying on the school for access to reliable wi-fi are being forgotten in the discussion.
CARDET-HERNANDEZ: Kids who are already the most vulnerable and the most under-resourced schools, who are already experiencing skill gaps, those are the kids who are going to be the most harmed.
BROWN (voice over): There's also a very real concern about what happens during an emergency.
HEATON: I know one of the biggest things that people were worried about was if there's like a lockdown and like there's someone in the school and you need to text your parents. And then all the parents would be going crazy because they can't text their kids. They don't know if they're OK.
BROWN (voice over): Cabana points out that he thinks phones can do more harm than good in those situations.
CABANA: Misinformation could be put out on phones. Incorrect rumors. Perhaps panicking when there shouldn't be. That would just be a hindrance to keeping students safe.
BROWN (voice over): So, while the jury's still out if this group would recommend a ban in other schools, one thing is clear, unplugging for them means a new sense of freedom.
HEATON: That's the part I really love most. Just like, honestly, the wait that's kind of been lifted off my shoulders. This freedom taken from us. But we've like gained another freedom. I guess like a mental freedom. So, I really appreciate that.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:52:36]
ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: From Hollywood's battle with Trump to courtroom drama and the engagement we were all waiting for. Here are the top ten entertainment stories of 2025.
Number ten, a super-sized controversy.
BAD BUNNY: I'm doing the Super Bowl halftime show.
WAGMEISTER: Bad Bunny is named halftime headliner, delighting his global fan base.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bad Bunny is slated to become the first Latino male artist to headline the Super Bowl.
WAGMEISTER: But some others blasted the choice.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This guy does not seem like a unifying entertainer.
WAGMEISTER: The Trump critic decided not to tour the U.S. mainland amid ICE raids, opting for 31 shows in Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory.
MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: And, by the way, ICE did show up in -- during his shows. So, he did not want to have that happen for the Latino communities here in the United States.
WAGMEISTER: In response, conservative group Turning Point USA is producing their own halftime show.
Number nine.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Let's get to know each other. And thanks for watching.
WAGMEISTER: Artificial intelligence invades Hollywood. Meet Tilly Norwood, a British actress who's not real.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Real life Hollywood stars are condemning the project.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is a ripoff.
WAGMEISTER: But A.I. is coming to Hollywood.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Michael Caine and Matthew McConaughey have partnered with 11 labs that will allow the voice cloning company to use A.I. technology to replicate their voices.
WAGMEISTER: And Disney, while suing one A.I. startup, is licensing its characters to another.
Number eight.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't I know it?
WAGMEISTER: The box office roller coaster. As "Minecraft" and "Lilo and Stitch" wipe away early year box office bombs.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Listen here. This ain't no house party.
WAGMEISTER: Beyond "Sinners" and "Weapons," many original stories failed to hit big. Theaters turned to special events to fill seats.
TAYLOR SWIFT, MUSICIAN: Hey, it's Taylor.
WAGMEISTER: A Taylor Swift album party, and a K-pop demon hunter sing along prove that fans can be wooed into theaters.
Number seven, the Sydney Sweeney saga.
SYDNEY SWEENEY: I'm not here to tell you to buy American Eagle jeans.
WAGMEISTER: Sweeney's American Eagle ads led to a political firestorm.
SWEENEY: Jeans are passed down from parents to offsprings.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sydney Sweeney has great jeans.
SWEENEY: You see what I did there, right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The ads featuring the blonde, blue-eyed actress generated a storm of criticism, accused of promoting eugenics.
WAGMEISTER: The internet blew up with calls of racism and Naziism. The ad spawned endless parodies.
[09:55:02]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: American Eagle stocks soaring up 35 percent.
WAGMEISTER: American Eagle had the last laugh. The jeans sold out within a week.
Number six.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There are houses on fire.
WAGMEISTER: The L.A. fires ravage Hollywood. Celebrities like Mark Hamill and Dick Van Dyke fled for their lives, while Jeff Bridges, Billy Crystal and Paris Hilton are among those who lost their homes. Actor Steve Guttenberg sprung into action as fires raged.
STEVE GUTTENBERG, ACTOR: I was helping people in wheelchairs, and there were mothers who were hysterical.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know one guy that lost his entire studio, burned.
WAGMEISTER: Award show producers had a dilemma, should the show go on?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is a sense of community right now in Los Angeles that I personally haven't seen before.
WAGMEISTER: The Grammy's did go on, honoring firefighters and raising millions for victims.
Number five, the war for Warner Brothers.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: It's a mega deal that could reshape the entire entertainment industry.
WAGMEISTER: Netflix wins a bidding war for the storied film studio in HBO. The streamer could change how we watch legendary titles like "Batman," "Harry Potter," and "Game of Thrones."
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Paramount CEO David Ellison is turning up the heat, launching a hostile takeover bid.
WAGMEISTER: Taking its bid for Warners directly to shareholders. Any deal needs federal approval.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's a lot of market share. So, we'll have to see what happens.
WAGMEISTER: Number four.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's Taylor Swift.
WAGMEISTER: Another year of Taylor mania.
CROWD: That was so good.
WAGMEISTER: First, her engagement to Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
LAURA COATES, CNN ANCHOR: Posting their engagement on Instagram today with the caption, "your English teacher are your gym teacher are getting married."
WAGMEISTER: Then came the number one album of the year, "The Life of a Showgirl," which Swift announced on a record-breaking podcast with Kelce.
JASON KELCE: Do I have to wait until October 3rd?
TRAVIS KELCE: Yes, you do, Jason.
J. KELCE: (EXPLETIVE DELETED) this is unfair.
TAYLOR SWIFT, MUSICIAN: Yes. We don't -- we don't trust you at all.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The album is a coda to her biggest year yet. She finished her record-shattering Era's Tour. She announced in an Instagram post that she owns her masters.
WAGMEISTER: Cementing her as the most influential celebrity in the world.
Number three, shocking celebrity deaths.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Hollywood legend Rob Reiner and his wife Michele found dead in their Los Angeles home. An apparent homicide.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 9:15 p.m., a suspect arrested. The couple's son, Nick Reiner.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Reiner had well-known battles with substance abuse. But by 2015 he said he was clean and co-wrote the film "Being Charlie," inspired by his own experiences with drug addiction, directed by his father.
ROB REINER, DIRECTOR: It forced me to have to see more clearly and understand more deeply what Nick had gone through.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This actor, writer, director, producer, political activist, Harry Shearer, one of the stars of "Spinal Tap" said, "this is unspeakable. The stuff of Greek tragedy." ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: We begin this hour with the shocking death of
actor Gene Hackman.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The 95-year-old Hollywood icon was found dead Wednesday inside his New Mexico home, along with his wife, Betsy Arakawa, and a dog, according to officials.
WAGMEISTER: The mystery ended when the cause of death was finally revealed.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Betsy Arakawa Hackman died from the hantavirus. When she died, authorities say that Gene Hackman was unable to care for himself. He had advanced Alzheimer's.
WAGMEISTER: "French Connection," "Unforgiven," "Crimson Tide," Gene Hackman's legacy will endure. The deaths of Hollywood legends brought the end of an era.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How much can you tell me about Deep Throat?
ROBERT REDFORD, ACTOR: How much do you need to know?
WAGMEISTER: Robert Redford transcended the screen.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He had the heart and soul of a -- of an artist.
WAGMEISTER: Oscar winner Diane Keaton.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Along the way, she became an icon of beauty and fashion, of eccentricity and humor.
WAGMEISTER: Ozzy Osbourne, the eccentric rocker turned reality star.
RIKI RACHTMAN, FORMER MTV HOST: And when he put out a record that had like Post Malone, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, it's like, look at all these people that want to work with Ozzy Osbourne. There's a reason for that.
WAGMEISTER: Number two, late night chaos. Jimmy Kimmel pulled off the air by ABC.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The decision to pull the show came hours after Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr publicly pressured the company to punish Kimmel for recent comments he made about the reaction to Charlie Kirk's shooting death.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was a tremendous backlash to this, not just among the left. You saw people on the right saying, you can't -- the government can't do this.
JIMMY KIMMEL, HOST, "JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE": I'm happy to be here tonight with you.
WAGMEISTER: Six days later, ABC put Kimmel back on the air. The return set a ratings record for Kimmel, but that wasn't the only late night drama in 2025. STEPHEN COLBERT, HOST, "THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT": Next year
will be our last season.
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: CBS said it is canceling "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert."
WAGMEISTER: CBS said the show was too expensive. Critics called it political, coming two weeks after CBS settled a lawsuit filed by President Trump.
Colbert was later crowned with an Emmy.
KIMMEL: Stephen Colbert.
WAGMEISTER: And after the Kimmel saga, the hosts made history, appearing on each other's shows on the same night.
KIMMEL: Say, I've never been happier to lose the Emmy.
[10:00:00]
COLBERT: I've never been happier for you to lose the Emmy either.
WAGMEISTER: Number one, the trial and downfall of a music mogul.
TAPPER: Sean
