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ability to fight them may occur. before treatment, get checked for infections and tb. tell your doctor about any flu like symptoms or vaccines. liver problems leading to hospitalization may occur when treated for crohn's. >> now's the time to take control of your crohn's. control is everything to me. ask your doctor about skyrizi. the number one prescribed biologic in crohn's disease. >> no more gross cough sirup. >> we all want you to feel better. >> i want extra tv time or i'll walk. >> how about this? introducing the only kids soft shoe for medicated cough relief. new mucinex children's mighty chews are mighty clever. >> this. our extraordinary video captures the moment survivors of a deadly plane

crash emerge from the wreckage, some appearing dazed. we have the latest on the christmas day crash in kazakhstan. also, the pentagon reveals just how many u.s. troops are in syria. the number is far higher than what officials have said publicly. and thousands of starbucks baristas go on strike and they say it's just the beginning. we're following these major developing stories and many more, all coming in right here to cnn news central. >> this is cnn breaking news. >> hello and welcome. i'm danny freeman in new york. we're beginning this hour in kazakhstan, where authorities now say at least 38 people are dead after an azerbaijan airlines plane crashed and burst into flames. though there were 29 survivors, including two children, 11 are currently in critical condition. now we have to warn you, this next video showing dazed survivors pulled from the wreckage may be disturbing for some to watch. >> some of.

you. brynn gingras. >> and in this video right here posted to social media, you can actually see the plane descending to the ground and what appears to be the moment of impact. a russian aviation watchdog says preliminary information suggests the pilot tried to make an emergency landing after a bird strike. last hour i spoke with cnn transportation analyst mary schiavo about the new developments. here's some of that conversation. >> well, what i'm seeing is it has to be more than a bird strike because the plane did not have what's called pitch control. in other words, how many degrees up or down the nose is, how much is the nose pointed up or how much is it pointed down. so it obviously had some damage to the pitch

control, which could be from the trim system, which, you know, helps the pilot keep the nose in the right place, up or down, or the elevator, which is in the back of the plane. so there had to be something additional going on. also, there's unconfirmed reports that the pilot had done what's called squawking. and others. you put your radio, you put your equipment on, and it sends a certain signal, which is 7700, which says, you've got a serious onboard problem. and then also, when looking at a publicly available flight radar system online, you can see that the pilot fought with this plane for some time before choosing to land it at another airport. and so this wasn't something that happened. and then the plane was brought down. for example, on landing, you hit a flock of birds and the altitude makes me wonder, you know, would the birds been at that altitude? but the pilot really fought. pilots really fought with this plane for some time, and then did a figure eight before

landing. they did two circles and then tried to land. so it appeared that they were trying to gain control of this aircraft and really put quite a fight up on this embraer 190. >> that's remarkable. remarkable that you can just by looking at some of that publicly available flight data, tell what that story may have been as it was playing out. mary, though at least 29 people, as far as we understand, survived this crash, though that seems truly extraordinary. >> well, and it's reminiscent of of other, you know, accidents that we've talked about here on cnn or that i've worked as a, you know, an aviation, uh, lawyer and doing investigations. and we see crashes, more and more crashes where people survive because of the safety features built into aircraft. they're they're less there's more survivability. there's less flammability, um, the ability to get out. and we have actually seen many crashes where the plane was completely

destroyed. and in several cases, everyone got off, or in some cases there were just a few deaths, including cartwheeling like this, as the plane did when it came in. and there are pictures circulating showing holes punctured in the fuselage. and some people are saying, well, that looks like bullet holes, actually, in doing accident investigations, i can tell you that looks like damage from the explosion of the aircraft when it exploded on the ground. so those don't look like bullet holes to me on the pictures that are circulating around. and, um, you know, clearly this pilot, these pilots, there are two of them on this plane could not get this nose up, which suggests you you don't have, uh, pitch control, which is reminiscent of other accidents. even the 737 max eight crashes in indonesia and in ethiopia. the final sequence looked very much like this a dive into the ground. so because there are several, you know, many survivors, which is fortunate, and because of the newer plane that will have newer black

boxes, flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder, it will have all the parameters and i think they will have their answer of what happened fairly soon. however, they may not have their answer very soon as to whether it was a bird strike or something else, there's lots of speculation. it might have been a drone, but they will have to carefully examine the plane, the engines, the windscreen. ordinarily, birds take out your engines or engine and you have time to to tell air traffic control. you have time to get a mayday call in. you have time to communicate and tell what happened. >> and thanks again to mary schiavo for that analysis. this morning, president biden and the first lady sent their final christmas day message of his presidency. >> merry christmas america, we're joining you from children's national hospital, where we've been spreading holiday cheer to children and families and them to us as well, from the biden family to yours. >> may your christmas be full of

kindness and love, peace and light. merry christmas and beyond gifts. >> the president is also wrapping up his legislative duties, signing 50 new bills into law on christmas eve. cnn's senior reporter, isaac dovere is here with the details. isaac, great to see you. talk to us about what some of these laws do. >> well, there's a lot of things. as you said, it's 50 laws that he signed on christmas eve. they include a bill that would strip members of congress who've been convicted of certain crimes of their pensions. a bill that designates the bald eagle officially as the national bird of america. even after all these years, and a bill sponsored in part or promoted in part by paris hilton, that would be aimed at improving conditions for teens in all sorts of institutions where teens are living. by requiring studies to be done and other things to look at what's going

on with them. so it's a it's a lot of legislation that comes at the end of the lame duck congress that finished last week. and that is probably the end of the laws that joe biden will sign as president. there may be a couple of more i just can i ask you, i mean, do you think we're going to see much of president biden in this last less than a month now, uh, time of his presidency? well, he is going to be away with his family for part of this time over the holidays. we will. it's hard to know exactly what the president's plans are for the last couple of weeks of the presidency. once everybody comes back into things in january. but he has certainly been keeping a lower profile, a lower radar, uh, for a number of reasons. but one of those is that some of the things that he wants to some of the things that he cares about, he does not want to essentially raise to the attention of donald trump, put a target on for when trump takes over on january

20th. although people within his party, his own party and beyond have noted that we have seen, uh, quite a notable lack of public appearances from joe biden over the last couple of weeks. >> yeah, i'm interested to see again how much, if at all, really, we see him. aside from that visit with the pope between now and inauguration day. isaac taveras, thank you as always. great to see you have a happy holiday. you too. all right. let's talk som politics now with democratic strategist chuck rocha and republican strategist lee carter. chuck, of course, was the senior adviser on bernie sanders presidential campaigns. and lee is president of maslansky and partners. chuck, let's start with you. president biden, 26 days left in office. what else could you see him doing with those precious last few days? >> well, what a lot of us are thinking about right now is we're with our family, with our friends, spending time with loved ones, our other loved ones that are here, and what

i'm specifically thinking about are folks with tps, temporary protective status, or daca, the deferred action. what he could do in his last 27 days is take those programs and he could extend them because many of them are expiring, like my business partner in march, she would have to self-deport even though she's been here for 22 years and has been here since she was a kid at three years old. so there's a lot of folks looking for him to do something on tps and daca as he moves into the last days of his presidency. >> lee, president elect trump railed against biden's pardons of those, or i should say, commutations. of those 37 inmates on federal death row, uh, i was curious. your perspective on what president-elect trump might do about that? i mean, it seems that the goal of biden's actions is to make sure that president-elect trump can't do anything about that when he gets into office. but will the death penalty be a priority for him? >> i think it's on the top of his list as far as priorities. i know it seems like it, based on the conversations we've had

right now, but it looks like donald trump's priorities are going to be all around immigration, the economy. i don't think the first thing he's going to focus on is the death penalty. >> all right, chuck, i'm going to ask you my favorite question of every year of the past year, or i guess, or so. uh, do you think that speaker mike johnson will still be speaker by the end of 2025? >> look, if you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always gotten. and one thing we know about republicans and speaker's elections, we all learned this just two years ago, is that anything can happen. and with the slimmest majority in american history in the last 100 years, i think that anything could happen. and he would only need, keep in mind, only need like three people to be against him. it's hard when you get all these republicans in one place to get all three of them to agree on a lunch order, much less a speaker. so i think we're in for something really unique. >> i mean, lee, what do you think about that? we got this interesting preview just in the past week and a half or so with elon musk, with mar-a-lago chiming in and and the

government stayed open. you know, a shutdown was avoided for the moment. but what do you think? i mean, are we going to see speaker mike johnson really have a hard time with this tiny republican majority come 2025? >> i mean, there's no doubt about it. there's there's some rogue republicans out there and they're they're not easy to wrangle. but i think you underestimate speaker johnson at your own peril. i think a lot of people thought he was going to be able to do what he's done. so far. he seems to have built a very good relationship with donald trump. he was at the msg event where in, you know, before the election and donald trump made reference to speaker johnson a number of times and even talked about some of the things that they had committed to do together. so i wouldn't be surprised if he sticks around. i think donald trump sees that he has somebody that's willing to work with him in him. and i think you'd be careful what you wish for somebody else. you might not know exactly what you're getting. so my guess is, uh, if anybody has a chance

of still being there a year from now, it's him. >> all right, chuck and i will say merry christmas to both of you. so, in the spirit of the holiday, chuck, what is the one thing that you think president-elect trump and the democrats could actually find common ground on in the next year? >> look, this is not hard. democrats and republicans can get along. we're all with our families right now. we don't ask them what their party belongs to. heck, i even get along with my republican brother in law. that's his boat right behind me. we can get along about fishing. we can also get along as democrats and republicans about not putting so much sugar in our drinks. you want to make america healthy again. donald trump and jfk? sign me up. i'm all about it. >> i mean, listen, if your brother in law has has a boat. yeah, you got to be friends with them. i understand that completely. uh, lee, i'll ask you that question, though. where do you see a place where the two parties might be able to work together next year? >> chuck, there's a lot of common ground on some of the health issues. when you think about all that, they're talking about food ingredients. a lot of people are really supportive of of that. but i

also think there's an opportunity to find common ground around immigration. i know that there's a lot of places where the republicans are tougher on immigration than democrats, but a path to citizenship for children who are born here is something that we all agree on. and i think there's if you look at the polling, there's a number of issues around immigration that we agree on, and hopefully that's something that we could come together and get something done on bipartisanship. >> not that hard. we can do it on on christmas. at least we can do it. uh, lee carter, chuck rocha, thanks both to you for joining us on this holiday. really appreciate it. >> hey, christmas, merry christmas. >> all right. ahead this hour on cnn news central, it's known as a santa rally. we'll share what you need to know about this typically very merry period for the stock market, as well as what the new year could bring. plus, starbucks baristas say they're just getting started after thousands went on strike. we'll talk to one of the bargaining leaders about their demands. these important stories and much, much more all coming up this hour on cnn news central.

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dark days of winter. >> this is cnn, the world's news network. >> investors are enjoying their annual christmas present this week. the seasonal santa rally. this happens most years when the market sees a bump at the end of the year, right around the holidays. and while there's no question it's been a good year for stocks, what happens next year after president elect trump takes office really is anyone's guess. for more on this, let's discuss with cnn economics and political commentator and washington post columnist catherine rampell. catherine, great to see you on this holiday. listen, the market had a great year under president biden. certainly, 2024 was a good year for the bulls. will this continue into 2025? >> merry christmas. look, that's that's the best question out there. and if i knew the answer to that, i would be a very rich woman. i will say this. the u.s. economy has been the envy of the world. we have strong gdp growth. we

have low unemployment. inflation is still too high, but has come down a lot. we have a lot of things going for us, and certainly we're doing better than basically all of our peer countries. if i were donald trump, i would come in and declare victory and do pretty much nothing at all and hope that, you know, the boom just continues. we're well situated. however, i am not donald trump, and donald trump has, of course, suggested that he will take some relatively risky economic policies into, you know, going out going into the first few months of his term, including things like global tariffs, which would be very risky for the u.s. economy if you raise tariffs on everything around the world and higher tariffs on countries like china and mexico, that not only raises prices for consumers on the things that they buy that are largely imports, whether we're talking about lots of produce, toys, automobiles. et cetera apparel.

but it will also cause a lot of uncertainty and costs, obviously, for u.s. companies, including ones that are primarily manufacturing domestically. somewhat counterintuitively, because they do buy a lot of raw materials and inputs from abroad. sost as an example, trump adopts that policy as he has threatened to do, there's a very good chance that could kill not just the great economic boom that we've had, but of course, the bull market as well. >> do you actually see that as as the investor community's biggest worry for 2025? these sweeping tariffs? >> you know, it's interesting. the markets clearly don't believe this will happen. they are betting on big corporate tax cuts. and that's why we've seen a big rise at least in you know until as of last week when the fed indicated that it might have fewer rate cuts in the imminent future. that rattled markets. certainly. but

up until then, that seemed to be the thing that u.s. companies were betting on. they were expecting that their corporate tax rates would go down, which means more profits get to be retained by shareholders, which arithmetically drives up stock prices. it seems like for now, a lot of companies and market participants do not really believe that trump will do as he says he will on tariffs. and look, he may not. i think it's quite likely that he'll he'll do something on tariffs. he will maybe just on china for example. but he may not do quite the sweeping global tariffs that he had promised on the campaign trail. and companies are clearly hoping that's not the case. but if you talk to a lot of smaller businesses, for example, they're kind of paralyzed by this uncertainty right now because without knowing whether there will be tariffs, what the tariffs will look like, where the tariffs

will be, it's very difficult for them to sort of plan around them and relocate supply chains and diversify in a way that will actually protect them going forward. so at the very least, there's a fair amount of uncertainty right now. but but companies, you know, executives. et cetera. investors don't seem to be taking at face value the threats that trump has made. >> catherine, i wanted to get your take on what we've been seeing heading into the inauguration, where a lot of tech companies in particular, they're making these big donations to the inauguration. we, of course, also see elon musk, you know, first buddy to president elect trump. i was curious, your perspective. we've seen companies and individuals make big donations around the inauguration always before. but with this particular time or these instances that have been so public that have been so effusive, do you think that these tech companies in particular will have some weight over president-elect

trump in the coming year? >> well, i think elon musk certainly will. he clearly has the president's ear and has already been throwing a wrench into all sorts of political things, including what's happening in congress over spending legislation. in terms of the other ceos out there, i wonder if i suspect i should say that it's less about getting trump to do them a favor specifically, rather than to avoid his wrath and punishment. so it's more like protection money almost, that they're very worried that donald trump will use the powers of the state to go after his political enemies, as he has promised to do, whether it's about taking away broadcast licenses from media organizations that he dislikes or otherwise, you know, using the powers of government procurement or antitrust or various other things. actually, he did try to do a number of times in his first term and was largely undermined by his own

advisers and aides. so i think a lot of this is sort of, um, uh, prophylactic that companies are very worried that if they're not on the right side of the incoming president, that they could suffer serious retaliation. but i'm sure that there are some that are also hoping for, you know, a nice sweet tax break in the tax overhaul that is definitely coming next year. or they're hoping for exemptions to tariffs. that's what we saw a lot last time around. so i think there are a few things going on. but mostly i see it as defensive. >> i did not anticipate the word prophylactic being on this christmas day show, but i appreciate it specifically in context because it is helpful to understand, i think, what is coming in this coming year. catherine rampell, thank you so much for your time. have a happy holiday. >> you too. merry christmas! >> and still to come, the pentagon reveals more u.s. troops than originally believed are in syria. we'll discuss why their numbers have been

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na na na na na na na na na na na na na na. >> crushing it. >> really crushing it. wipeout. all new sundays at nine on tbs. >> right now, american service members are spending the holidays abroad on all seven continents in 170 countries, including in some danger zones. the pentagon says 13,000 troops from all service branches are in afghanistan, working to train and advise afghan forces. another 5200 service members are in iraq and 2000 are in syria. the defense department reminding us all that, quote, military members must stay at their jobs because threats don't take a holiday. joining us now for more on this is retired army major mike lyons. first, merry christmas, sir. thank you so much for being with us today. >> hey, danny. merry christmas. and merry christmas to all those forward deployed. having been deployed in a combat zone during christmas. it's special time those service members are with their family members now. and those those who they serve with, they keep our freedoms

here safe. and so we want to thank them for their service at this point. >> absolutely, incredibly well said. and and, you know, we should say it more, not just on christmas but around the clock and around the year. i wanted to get your opinion on this. we learned recently that the u.s. has more than doubled the previously reported number of troops in syria. do you think the pentagon has been reluctant to acknowledge how many service members are actually in syria? >> well, they've been reluctant, but i think that's the goldilocks number. what i mean by that is just about right. i think that's the number we would like to have kept in afghanistan, frankly. you go back four years at this point, but that 2000 number gives enough center of gravity for the commander on the ground there to control a very large border between syria and iraq. and given what's happened in syria now and given what appears to be so far a peaceful transition into this new government, the fact that the iranian military proxies have been destroyed fundamentally, and the fact that the turkish military has

been involved and we're protecting the kurds there, all of these things are putting in favor that the united states is doing the right thing by staying inside of syria. with that number, 2000 troops gives us gives that commander on the ground enough to influence the situation as well as project enough american power, should the situation get out of hand. >> well, you know, there have been so many questions since the fall of assad. and i'm curious what you think the incoming administration will really have to be weighing as they decide what their new continuing the same policy might be towards syria? >> so, danny, listen to what donald trump says. he says one thing he wants american forces home on the surface. but if you listen to those around him that are whispering in his ear, michael wilson and national security adviser, and i think even pete hegseth, they're talking about making sure that i.s.i.s. does not reemerge. i think that's going to be their top priority. and the only way that doesn't happen is if you have u.s. troops there on the ground in that small number, in

that small footprint. so i don't think there's going to be any change between the trump administration and what's happening right now. i think there will have to be more transparent with that number. but i do think that, you know, given russia is no longer a key factor in syria right now, we would. be at a disadvantage if we decided to leave that area right now and leave it to the forces that act there. we have to protect our kurdish partners that are there as well. so there are so many things that are saying, we need to stay in syria right now. and i think the people around the incoming president are going to be whispering that in his ear. i don't think you're going to see a lot of changes. >> well, and you just brought up congressman mike waltz's comments, basically emphasizing that their number one interest is keeping a lid on i.s.i.s. when it comes to policy in syria. but to your point, you're arguing that you need at least some boots on the ground in order to make that a reality. but how challenging is that? even with psn the ground? >> yeah. no question. this is a hardship that those troops have

to endure as they also defend against a land bridge that once existed between iran that supported terrorist organizations against israel and gaza and in lebanon. but that land bridge has been shut down to the north. we have military assets and bases in the north that that were once there from 20 years ago, that we that we continue to use. and then and then in the south, the southern part of the eastern part of syria, again, if you kind of look on a map, it's a large area. there's major cities down there that we've seen i.s.i.s. try to come back, so there's no substitute for putting people on the ground and making sure that doesn't happen. it's it's a little bit beyond a police force because we can also bring in strategic weapons as well. as we saw that happen. israel goes in and decides to destroy the syrian military capability. while that revolution was taking place. and that's also a good thing. so there's there's a whole new playing field right now that's happening in syria. and it's important that we're there and working with our allies. saudi arabia, for example. another one, the jordanians as well, and making

sure that we keep a lid on peace. that's going to happen, hopefully inside of syria. >> yeah, a whole new playing field, but still a lot of old problems that still have to be dealt with. major mike lyons, thank you so much for spending part of your christmas with us. and of course, thank you for your service. and as you said earlier, we're still so grateful to all of our service members who are overseas and away from their families on this holiday. we have a christmas greeting on that note coming up right here. >> hello, i'm u.s. air force staff sergeant eno vincent jr.. i'm stationed with the first som ics in okinawa, japan. i'd like to give a shout out to my brother and sister, zach and erica, and i'd like to give them a special happy holidays over in snellville, georgia. >> andy, it has been one wild year. >> i know that home live was crazy. what you have been following actual news right? oh boy. >> new year's eve live with anderson and andy. live coverage starts at eight on cnn

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>> we need your help. >> go online, call or scan this code to support wwf's global conservation efforts by symbolically adopting an elephant for only $16 a month. it's just $0.53 a day to protect wildlife and their habitats. do it in the next five minutes and you'll get this free adoption kit with this plush keepsake. go online, call or scan to help make a difference. today, closed captioning is brought to you by sokolove law. >> mesothelioma victims call now $30 million in trust. money has been set aside. >> you may be entitled to a portion of that money. call one 800 859 2400. that's one 800 859 2400. >> the baristas are calling it the strike before christmas, 5000 starbucks workers in 43 states walked off the job in a five day work action that ended on christmas eve. and they're warning it's just the

beginning. let's discuss with michelle eisen. she's been a starbucks barista for 14 years, and she's a delegate for the union. michelle. merry christmas. thank you for being with us today. >> merry christmas. thanks so much for having me. >> all right, so let's start on the top line. what were the goals of your strike and what do you want for your workers? >> i mean, the easiest thing to say is the goal was to let the company know that the the latest economic offer that they put across the table in our bargaining sessions was just not acceptable for us. we needed them to know that we were prepared to take action, and i'm hoping that seeing, you know, 300 plus stores go on strike through the christmas season, 5000 workers walk off the job because this wasn't an acceptable offer. and the fact that there are still hundreds of unresolved unfair labor practice charges that the company agreed to to take care of. when we started chartering this new path forward back in

february, that just haven't been resolved at all. um, these are these are very significant things, and we need to see the company make some movement. >> michelle starbucks said that it can't afford to meet the union's wage demands, saying specifically that proposals that its proposals call for an immediate increase in the minimum wage of hourly partners by 64% and by 77% over the life of a three year contract. but the union denied it asked for such a wage increase in proposals and said starbucks claim mischaracterizes and combines various separate demands. can you just clarify and respond to that for us? >> yeah, i mean, that is exactly true. it is a mischaracterization of the proposals that were put across the table. i can't go into the specifics of proposals because, you know, these are closed door negotiations. but i think it's interesting that that is the talking point that they are putting out there when when they presented to us, they they are mischaracterizing what they already provide to us, saying that workers make the

equivalent of $30 an hour already, which is just not the case. you know, when you look at our wages, they're combining things like our spotify premium benefit and our mental health benefits. and until grocery stores start accepting, you know, my spotify premium benefit for currency or my landlord puts my, my, um, lira towards my my rent those you can't say that you're paying your workers $30 an hour. workers need tangible money in their paycheck that they can use for things like groceries and gas and paying their rent. >> michelle, one of the challenges, i imagine, for this larger project to try and unionize more and more starbucks locations is that some are, while some nearby stores, in some cases are non-unionized. so we understand that some employees are being brought from other stores into unionized stores to keep them running through this strike. um, what has that looked like

in practice over the course of the past five days? >> you know, it's a very common practice for, um, businesses to try to keep themselves running during a strike by using non-unionized workers to do the work of unionized workers. i personally think it's a very bad practice to try to pit workers against each other, and that's inevitably what ends up happening. but it wasn't incredibly successful in the last five days. um, by yesterday afternoon, all almost all of the stores that were striking had been closed by the company because they just simply couldn't find the staffing to keep the stores running. >> last question real quick, michelle. do you expect to see more striking and actions like this in the coming year i mean, this was an initial show of strength. >> we needed the company to know that while we we were in these negotiations in the last several months in good faith, hoping that, you know, both sides could reach an agreement. the company was repeatedly saying that they wanted to

reach an agreement by the end of 2024. we weren't just sitting on our hands, you know, we were prepared to take action if we got to the point that we reached last week in negotiations. and this is just the beginning, we will do what we need to do to let the company know that the the current offers are not acceptable. the inability to solve these, these, um, legal issues needs to needs to take place as quickly as possible. we are stronger than we've ever been. we've only been growing in the last eight months since we've started negotiations. just this year, we've organized an additional 150 starbucks locations across the country, and we will stand up and keep fighting and make sure our voices are heard until someone in the company starts listening. >> michelle, thank you very much for your time on this holiday. have a good rest of your christmas. >> thank you. you too. >> coming up next, organ transplants with the help of genetically edited pigs, make the top ten health stories of

2024. don't miss the rest of that list coming up right after this break. >> scott luther never too much new year's day at eight on. >> it's the most wonderful time with the kids. jingle be of good cheer. >> it's the most one. >> whether your phone's broken or old. we've got you with verizon. anyone can trade in any phone, any condition. it's your last chance to get iphone 16 pro with apple intelligence on u.s. and ipad and apple watch series ten all three on us. that's up to $2,000 in value only on verizon. hello every parent knows when it's time to go into. >> protect mode. kill 99.9% of bacteria when you add lysol laundry sanitizer to your laundry routine. >> go, friends. >> gather kiki, chris

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>> shop my entire holiday collection at laura geller.com. >> this year is way better for flipping houses bigger budgets. >> 1.3 what? they went up? >> bigger stakes. >> things are so unpredictable. is there a crocodile in there? >> the flipping el season premiere thursday at nine on hgtv. >> from an alzheimer's breakthrough to warnings of parental stress. cnn's dr. sanjay gupta has a look at the top ten health stories of 2020 for. >> from another potential pandemic to health threats infiltrating our daily lives 2024 provided us with some warning signs, but we also saw stories with hard earned moments of inspiration and innovation, reminding us of the

relentless search for the next medical breakthrough. >> with more than 100,000 people on the waitlist for organ transplants in the united states, there is a clear need for a solution. and this could be the answer. >> they're fully edited. all these piglets can carry a total of 69 edits to their genome. >> genetically edited pigs, designed by scientists to be compatible with the human body, reducing the possibility of rejection, scientists have started to make progress testing this type of organ transplant. it's known as xenotransplantation. they're doing this into patients who have no other alternatives. as temperatures around the world keep climbing, it's taking a clear toll on our health. testing the limits of human survivability this year. people hiking, attending concerts, just being in their own homes. they have died from heat. in fact, heat is the deadliest type of extreme weather, and climate change is making those heat waves longer and more severe. heat also

means warmer oceans, leading to these supercharged hurricanes like the ones that we saw this year. and that comes with their own health consequences as well. imagine using a computer by only using your mind. that's just the beginning of what brain computer interface or bci technology combined with artificial intelligence is now hoping to do. companies like synchron and elon musk's neuralink, they have begun implanting bci devices into people's brains to help people who are losing motor function still be able to perform daily tasks. earlier this year, i met mark. he's an als patient who has mostly lost the ability to use his arms, and we saw firsthand how synchron stentrode device helps send messages on his computer and even play a game like pong. he hopes this technology can help him, can help other patients struggling as well with paralysis. maintain as much independence as possible.

>> i was 43 years old at the time when i was diagnosed. >> a growing number of young adults like timothy mitchell are being diagnosed with cancer. >> cancer, which usually would affect people over 65, has now become much more prevalent in patients under 55. >> while the trends have been headed this way for more than a decade, experts still aren't sure why this is happening. but it has put a spotlight on the importance of recommended preventative screenings, paying attention to any unusual symptoms in your body, and a search for factors that could be behind this increase. >> a new study shows an increase in levels of microplastics in human brains. >> microplastics. they are everywhere. nowadays, they're in our food. they're in our clothing. they're in the air we breathe. and now we're starting to get a better understanding of their potential impact on our health. there was a study that found people with micro or nanoplastics in their carotid arteries were twice as likely to have a heart attack or

stroke, or die from any other cause over the next three years, compared to people who had none. if you're a parent, i know you're going to understand this. >> 48%. nearly half of parents are saying on most days they are completely overwhelmed by their stress. >> this summer, the u.s. surgeon general, vivek murthy, issued an advisory calling parental stress a public health concern, saying that we need a cultural shift with both individual and government intervention. parents are working more than ever and child care demands have only increased, leaving many families feeling exhausted, burned out, perpetually behind. that's what murthy said. it's no secret that diet plays a major role in our health. and while we know the benefits of healthy food, the harms of ultra processed food are now coming into clearer focus. ultra processed foods make up nearly 70% of our country's food supply. numerous studies have found

that consuming higher amounts of these foods raises the risk of obesity, but also the development of chronic conditions like cancer, cardiovascular disease, type two diabetes, depression. it probably even shortens lifespan. researchers are now trying to figure out if ultra processed ingredients are all created equal. an alarming spread of bird flu throughout dairy herds across the united states has scientists on edge. >> as we think about a virus that might move from animals into humans and potentially cause the next pandemic. it certainly has everyone's guard up. >> while the cdc says the public health risk remains low, there have been cases of bird flu in humans. >> the cdc is now confirming the first severe case of h5n1 bird flu in a human inside the united states. >> most human cases have been among people who've been exposed to sick animals, but that hasn't completely eased the fears of the possibility of human to human transmission.

there may be more hope for alzheimer's patients than ever. a new study led by doctor dean ornish found that some patients who underwent lifestyle interventions alone, like eating a vegan diet, exercising daily, practicing stress reduction. they saw improved cognition, even signs of reversal of the disease. i got to see this firsthand, meeting patients all over the country. >> this is the best i can do to stay alive, and i want to live with my wife as long as i can. >> we also did see promise in newly approved pharmaceutical interventions, including monoclonal antibody treatments. donanemab, for example, demonstrating the ability to slow the progression of the disease. you know, for decades we only saw incremental progress in treating this disease. but now i have to say these options are giving patients new hope. this year, we traveled around the world

investigating the impact of the glp one weight loss drugs, with no signs of slowing in popularity. now, these drugs have given us new insight into obesity as a disease. >> what it did help me was not have a whole lot of thoughts about food. my cravings went away. >> we now consider obesity a disease of the brain, a revelation that i think has lifted a sense of guilt associated with this disease, helped us get to a better understanding of how to treat it as well. >> it's definitely true that there are people out there who've said, time and again, obesity is not really a disease. all you need to do is eat better and exercise more and you'll be okay. >> while these drugs may not be for everyone, we have seen how they can transform people's lives. physically, yes, but also emotionally. we've only at this point begun to unlock the possibilities. studies have found that these drugs could be associated with cardiovascular benefits, lowering the risk of certain cancers, curbing cravings as well. beyond food like nicotine and alcohol. and

i'm sure we're going to continue to learn a lot more about this in 2025. happy new year! >> it's fascinating list. all right. coming up ahead on the next hour of cnn news central. new video shows the moment a passenger plane came down in kazakhstan, and that video could offer new clues about what led up to that deadly crash. stay with us. >> 2024 was a wild ride. >> it was like the craziest roller coaster ride i've ever been on in my life. >> that was an whooping. >> tom foreman and special guests look back. all the best, all the worst. 2024 tomorrow at 11 on cnn no more gross cough sirup. >> we all want you to feel better. >> i want extra tv time or i'll walk. >> how about this? introducing the only kids soft shoe for medicated cough relief. new mucinex children's mighty chews are mighty clever. >> my moderate to severe crohn's symptoms kept me out of the picture. now i have

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