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Thousands Of US Troops Spending Holiday In Danger Zone. 5-Day Starbucks Workers Strike Hit 43 States; Top 10 Health Stories Of 2024. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired December 25, 2024 - 14:30   ET

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

[14:30:40]

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right now, American servicemembers 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 5,200 servicemembers are in Iraq and 2,000 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, Danny.

MIKE LYONS, RETIRED US ARMY MAJOR: Hey, Danny. Merry Christmas and Merry Christmas to all those forward deployed. Having been deployed in the combat zone during Christmas, it's a special time.

Those servicemembers are with their family members now and those who they serve with. They keep our freedoms here safe, and so we want to thank them for their service at this point.

FREEMAN: Absolutely. Incredibly well said 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 US has more than double 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?

LYONS: 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. Two thousand troops gives us that commander on the ground enough to influence the situation as well as project enough American power should the situation get out of hand.

FREEMAN: 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.

LYONS: 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 Waltz and national security adviser, and I think even Pete Hegseth, they're talking about making sure that ISIS does not re emerge. I think that's going to be their top priority, and the only way that doesn't happen is if you have US 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 they'll have to be more transparent with that number. But I do think that given Russia is no longer a key factor in Syria right now, be 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.

FREEMAN: Well, and you just brought up Congressman Mike Waltz's comments, basically emphasizing that their number one interest is keeping a lid on ISIS 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 troops on the grounds?

LYONS: Yes, 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 in 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 were once there from 20 years ago that we continue to use. And then, in 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 ISIS try to come back.

[14:35:01]

So there's no substitute for putting people on the ground and making sure that doesn't happen. 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 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.

FREEMAN: Yes, 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 servicemembers who are overseas and away from their families on this holiday. We have a Christmas greeting on that note coming up right here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ENEL VINCENT JR., US AIR FORCE STAFF SERGEANT: Hello, I'm US Air Force Staff Sergeant Enel Vincent Jr. I'm stationed with the 1st SOMXs in Okinawa, Japan. I'd like to give a shout out to my brother and sister, Zach (ph) and Erica (ph), and I'd like to give them a special happy holidays over in Snellville, Georgia.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FREEMAN: The baristas are calling it the strike before Christmas. Five thousand 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.

MICHELLE EISEN, STARBUCKS BARISTA: Merry Christmas. Thanks so much for having me.

FREEMAN: 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?

EISEN: I mean, the easiest thing to say is the goal was to let the company know that 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 were prepared to take action.

And I'm hoping that seeing, you know, 300 plus stores go on strike through the Christmas season, 5,000 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 take care of when we started chartering this new path forward back in February, that just haven't been resolved at all.

These are very significant things and we need to see the company make some movement.

FREEMAN: 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 percent and by 77 percent 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?

EISEN: Yes. 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 they presented to us, 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 lira mental health benefits.

And until grocery stores start accepting, you know, my Spotify premium benefit for currency or my landlord puts my lira towards 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.

FREEMAN: Michelle, one of the challenges, I imagine, for this larger projects 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. What has that looked like in practice over the course of the past five days?

EISEN: You know, it's a very common practice for 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. By yesterday afternoon, 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.

FREEMAN: Last question real quick, Michelle. Do you expect to see more striking and actions like this in the coming year?

EISEN: I mean, this was an initial show of strength. We needed the company to know that while 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, 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 current offers are not acceptable. The inability to solve these legal issues 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.

[14:40:10]

And we will stand up and keep fighting and make sure our voices are heard until someone in the company starts listening.

FREEMAN: Michelle Eisen, thank you very much for your time on this holiday. Have a good rest of your Christmas.

EISEN: Thank you. You too.

FREEMAN: Coming up next, organ transplants with the help of genetically edited pigs make the top 10 health stories of 2024. Don't miss the rest of that list coming up right after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FREEMAN: From an Alzheimer's breakthrough to warnings of parental stress, CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta has a look at the top 10 health stories of 2024.

[14:50:07]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: 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 wait list for organ transplants in the United States, there is a clear need for a solution. And this could be the answer.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're fully edited. All these piglets can carry a total of 69 edits to the genome.

GUPTA: 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 even of human survivability. This year, people hiking, attending concerts, just being in their own homes, they have died for 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 our 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's Stentrode device helped send messages on his computer and even play a game like Pong. He hopes this technology can help him, and can help other patients struggling as well with paralysis maintain as much independence as possible.

TIMOTHY MITCHELL, CANCER PATIENT: I was 43 years old at the time when I was diagnosed.

GUPTA: A growing number of young adults like Timothy Mitchell are being diagnosed with cancer.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cancer, which usually would affect people over 65, has now become much more prevalent in patients under 55.

GUPTA: 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 behind this increase.

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A new study shows an increase in levels of microplastics in human brains.

GUPTA: 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.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Forty-eight percent, nearly half of parents are saying on most days they are completely overwhelmed by their stress.

GUPTA: This summer, the US surgeon general, Dr. 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 childcare demands have only increased, leaving many families feeling exhausted, burned out, perfect, 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 percent 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 2 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.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 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.

[14:55:05]

GUPTA: While the CDC says the public health risk remains low, there have been cases of bird flu in humans.

BORIS JOHNSON, CNN ANCHOR: The CDC is now confirming the first severe case of H5N1 bird flu in a human inside the United States.

GUPTA: Most human cases have been among people who've been exposed to sick animals, but that hasn't completely eased the fears of possibility of human to human transmission.

There may be more hope for Alzheimer's patients than ever. A new study led by Dr. 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.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the best I can do to stay alive and I want to live with my wife as long as I can.

GUPTA: 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-1 weight loss drugs. With no signs of slowing in popularity now, these drugs have given us new insight into obesity as a disease.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What it did help me was not have a whole lot of thoughts about food. My cravings went away.

GUPTA: 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.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's definitely true that there are people out there who 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.

GUPTA: 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.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GUPTA: 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 clues about what led up to that deadly crash. Stay with us.

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