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CNN Special Reports
All The Best, All The Worst 2024; Mass Shootings Became A Norm; U.S. Athletes Won More Gold In 2024. Aired 5:30a-6a ET
Aired January 01, 2025 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:31:00]
TOM FOREMAN, CNN HOST: Beyond the election, this was a year jammed with huge news stories which in any other time could have dominated the headlines for weeks. For raw intensity and surprise impact, nothing topped the worst storm of the year. Hurricane Helene striking the southern coast, then moving up and hammering North Carolina.
BERMAN: So much water, so much water in places that just couldn't handle it.
FOREMAN: In the middle of the country, tornadoes slammed one community after another.
JIMENEZ: Look, this was a chaotic year.
UNKNOWN: The window, it was just like sizzling from the heat.
FOREMAN: As NASA called this summer the hottest on record. Heat waves hit and hit and held on.
ROY WOOD JR., COMEDIAN: Maybe it shouldn't be 80 full in December.
UNKNOWN: This is an emergency evacuation.
FOREMAN: Out West, it was not the worst fire season, but --
KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: In California there are so many wildfires that we can't cover them all.
UNKNOWN: So this is the kitchen, was.
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: It's yet another sign that climate change is real and that its impacts are being felt more and more each day.
CROWD: Two. One.
FOREMAN: More than 200 orbital rockets blasted off this year, bringing us, among other things, the first civilian spacewalk.
KEILAR: The most interesting thing was the propulsion system just coming back and sort of parking itself.
FOREMAN: We also got the worst flight delay. Those two astronauts who took the new Boeing Starliner to the space station for a week and had been stuck there for months.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: It's like Gilligan's Island on the International Space Station. You go for a three-hour tour and you're up there for like a year and a half.
FOREMAN: That was just part of the worst turbulence for Boeing, which saw a door plug blowout in flight, massive legal payouts, and a labor dispute as well.
WOOD JR.: If it's anybody that need to pay their mechanics, it's Boeing.
FOREMAN: Worst unexpected accident, the bridge that was hit by a ship in Baltimore and collapsed, killing six people. Overall, the American economy was among the best in the world. The stock market hit new highs, consumer spending and hiring remained strong, but public opinion.
OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I don't think most people understand what's going on with the economy, but what they do understand is their ability to put food on their table.
WOOD JR.: I think people feel about the economy however they feel about their own home.
FOREMAN: Best cashing in on it. The computer chip and software giant Nvidia edged past Microsoft and Apple this fall to become the most valuable publicly traded company on earth, each worth more than $3 trillion.
BROWN: It's insane. Don't you wish you got in there early on.
FOREMAN: Other companies had the worst time. Jo-Ann stores unraveled into bankruptcy. So did Tupperware, the 99 Cents only stores. Kmart closed its last major outlet.
KEILAR: In the course of a month in the 80s, when I was little, we would hit all of those spots. Well, we wouldn't hit Tupperware, but we'd use it.
LAH: I mean, brick and mortar. These stores are having hard times right now.
UNKNOWN: Flavor drop.
SANCHEZ: Red Lobster is on the comeback trail.
FOREMAN: And in the worst shell game, those endless shrimp allegedly helped sink one of America's favorite seafood joints. But Fresh Financing has Red Lobster regrouping.
SANCHEZ: So, I, for one, am bullish on Red Lobster. I'm buying Red Lobster all the way. Cheddar Bay biscuits, baby.
FOREMAN: Worst public image plunge. The U.S. Supreme Court, dominated by conservatives, issued rulings that gave presidents broad immunity from prosecution, limited the regulatory power of government, and saw critics sharply question the impartiality of some justices.
[05:35:00]
LAH: It does lend to the argument the Supreme Court has indeed been politicized and that the opinions of the justices are not based on law and precedent.
FOREMAN: The court's ruling more than two years ago to let states decide on abortion rights is still white hot.
BROWN: I don't think that like this is over by any stretch of the imagination and it's still a galvanizing topic.
FOREMAN: And conservative groups this year pursued even more hard right policies on religion in the public square.
KEILAR: We're seeing people on the right pushing the envelope because even though things have been asked and answered, they think maybe with this court the answer has changed.
FOREMAN: The worst court time goes to Sean Diddy Combs, who is facing a storm of criminal and civil cases tied to people who say he drugged and sexually abused them. Diddy denies the accusations, but could face many years behind bars, and he's already facing outrage over video showing him violently assaulting a former girlfriend in 2016.
LAH: Astonishing. It turned everything upside down for Diddy. And that is the power of video.
FOREMAN: Cryptocurrency king Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years for fraud.
BROWN: Do not ask me a question about cryptocurrency, please. Let me read up on it, then I'll get back to you.
FOREMAN: Mass shootings continued to rock communities coast to coast. While in New York, the gunning down of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson spurred a manhunt, and in Georgia.
UNKNOWN: Count one, malice murder. I find the defendant guilty.
FOREMAN: The killing of a single young woman out for a run rattled a national debate about immigration.
BERMAN: The murder of Laken Riley by an undocumented immigrant became a symbolic case for so many people who said, there are those who are being killed by people who shouldn't be in the country.
FOREMAN: Best news for many families facing the tragedy of addiction. Overall deaths are declining.
JIMENEZ: Anybody who studies that field, anybody who's dealt with that first hand, wants those numbers to go down much further than they are already.
Overseas, a late year charge by rebels overturned the 50-year reign of the family of Bashar al-Assad. The brutal dictator was sent on the run to Russia. Next door, running clashes between Israel, Palestinian groups, Hezbollah and Iran threatened to boil over even as ceasefires were negotiated. In Haiti, violence ran rampant.
SANCHEZ: It just seems like every iteration of news that comes out of Haiti is more and more depressing.
FOREMAN: The occupation of eastern Ukraine by Russia passed day 1000.
BERMAN: It is a very, very tenuous situation at best. And it's hard to imagine things staying like they are now in Ukraine for the next year.
TUCKER CARLSON, HOST, FOX NEWS: Pardon my English. What is denazification?
FOREMAN: Not helping, right-wing ideologue Tucker Carlson sitting down for the worst interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
LAH: My god, did you watch that whole thing? It just felt like a talk show, like propaganda.
FOREMAN: It all fed dismal polls of how people feel about the state of things.
JIMENEZ: That should give you an indication of people's perception of what this world is.
FOREMAN: But the best news in the whole mess, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter turned 100, becoming the oldest U.S. president ever.
FOREMAN: In a moment we will lace up our cleats and hit the field for the very best and worst in sports, including breakdancing at the Olympics.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNKNOWN: So what are you planning?
UNKNOWN: Watch it all burn.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: And we'll look back at some of the TV shows that lit up our homes. Plus, America's favorite names for our favorite pets and the most expensive bite of banana ever. It is All The Best, All The Worst, 2024.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:42:25]
UNKNOWN: You know what the problem with the U.S. culture show, they're so damn interesting. FOREMAN: On television, among the hot new arrivals was Tracker, which chased down one of the biggest weekly audiences. And not far behind, Kathy Bates was mesmerizing as the new Matlock.
KATHY BATES, ACTRESS: There's this funny thing that happens when women age. We become damn near invisible. Oh, dear.
UNKNOWN: I got you.
BATES: That's how I got through your security.
CARRIE PRESTON, ACTRESS: Wow, what is all this?
FOREMAN: Carrie Preston barged in too.
PRESTON: Hi, I'm Elsbeth Tascioni. I'm the thingy-thing.
UNKNOWN: The thingy-thing?
PRESTON: The outside observer.
FOREMAN: Those were all big winners for the big broadcast networks. Throw in another hot year for "Chicago Fire. Med and PD," "Blue Bloods," "FBI" and more, and it proves police and emergency procedurals are still big draws for American audiences.
KEILAR: And I'm a huge true crime fan, so I get that. I think it's really interesting. People want a window into how this works.
UNKNOWN: Whoever controls the drug business, controls the street.
FOREMAN: Best streaming answer to broadcast crime obsession and our pick for best new arrival, the dark, brutal, cold world of The Penguin.
JIMENEZ: Couldn't get enough of Colin Farrell as Oz. That performance is going to be top of mind for a long time. Give him all the Emmys.
UNKNOWN: Look out at this wasteland. Looks like chaos.
FOREMAN: Maybe there was too much to sort through.
BROWN: There is a lot of television, there's a lot of competition.
UNKNOWN: The call is coming from inside the house.
FOREMAN: Still, for TV with an international flair, "The Diplomat" with Keri Russell was a standout.
LAH: It is the series that you must watch, especially if you don't have time, especially if you're a working woman and your kids are making you crazy.
UNKNOWN: You're a cheater.
UNKNOWN: No, you're a cheater. FOREMAN: In comedy, "Curb Your Enthusiasm's" Larry David used his 12th season to say goodbye with sensitivity.
UNKNOWN: Very sorry to hear about your father.
UNKNOWN: Father and mother, thank you.
UNKNOWN: Well, that's, you know, it's a little better. Your dad is still alive?
UNKNOWN: Yes.
UNKNOWN: Oh, well there you go. Boom.
FOREMAN: "Shrinking," book some fun new sessions.
UNKNOWN: It's not your mission's job to heal you.
BERMAN: I think it's Harrison Ford like goal in a best way. I mean, everyone, you know, likes "Indiana Jones." I think it's really cool to see him do something completely different.
UNKNOWN: You can even be Batman.
FOREMAN: And the best creepiest perfect series for our psychopathic times, we've got to give it to "Baby Reindeer."
UNKNOWN: Ladies and gentlemen, this is my stalker. Say hello to Mark.
UNKNOWN: Don't you say that to me. Apologize to me right now.
SANCHEZ: I found it difficult to watch at times, but it was truly like a car accident. I couldn't take my eyes off it.
[05:45:00]
UNKNOWN: I'm going to be talking about Chuck E. Cheese 4, and I'm not kidding about this, the next 25 minutes.
FOREMAN: Political satire in the hands of John Oliver, Bill Maher, and The Daily Show found new life in our politically fractured world.
WOOD JR.: CNN got a show on Saturday nights now where they talk about the news and crack jokes. The host of that one is pretty good too. I'm Roy Wood Jr.
UNKNOWN: Lyle was the only person that had ever protected me.
FOREMAN: Documentaries on the Menendez brothers and Martha Stewart drew crowds.
MARTHA STEWART, WRITER: I was on the top of the world.
BROWN: That doesn't really count as television, does it?
UNKNOWN: The realm is only hope is an elite strong enough to unite them.
FOREMAN: And for sheer adventure "House of the Dragon" left plenty of viewers breathless and wanting more.
KEILAR: They're getting ready for a big battle and then that's the end of the season? That was it.
UNKNOWN: Many years ago, the great injustice stole everything from me.
FOREMAN: But our pick for series of the Year, draw your swords, it's --
UNKNOWN: Kill them.
JIMENEZ: Had me gripped every single episode. The visuals, the score, the acting, the story. Absolutely, absolutely amazing show.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: Of course, the biggest audiences in television were generally not for drama, comedy, or reality, but for sports, including the 30 million viewers tuning in each day to watch the biggest, best competition of the year.
Paris said, ooh, la, la, let's play at the Olympics. And the U.S. collected the most medals by far. Katie Ledecky snagged four more as she became the most decorated U.S. female Olympian ever.
KATIE LEDECKY, SWIMMER: I just love the pool, love the water, love telling people how great our sport is.
FOREMAN: The U.S. women's and men's basketball teams dominated for gold in both cases beating the host country's team. Zut alor, that had to be the worst.
BERMAN: And to see Steph Curry just like chucking bombs at the end, one after another after another, it was great.
JIMENEZ: I'm going to remember it for a long, long time. I'm going to tell my grandkids about it.
FOREMAN: In the 100-meter dash, Noah Lyles took the title of world's fastest man in a photo finish, then medaled again and collapsed.
WOOD JR.: That boy won an Olympic medal on COVID. Do you understand when I had COVID, I couldn't walk up the stairs?
FOREMAN: The unstoppable Simone Biles jumped, flipped, and fought her way into the medals again.
BROWN: She's amazing. Such an inspiration. FOREMAN: And the men weren't bad either.
LAH: The male athlete with the glasses whose name I cannot remember who was so serious, I mean, he blew me away. FOREMAN: But the U.S. can't claim the most amazing performance that goes to Australia and the dazzling dance of Rachael Gunn, better known as Raygun.
KEILAR: I feel badly that so much fun has been made, and yet I might have also been Raygun for Halloween.
FOREMAN: Back on U.S. shores, the Kansas City Chiefs bested the San Francisco 49ers to repeat as Super Bowl champs, first time since the Patriots two decades ago.
SANCHEZ: I think Patrick Mahomes is on pace to be the GOAT, to unseat Tom Brady as the greatest of all time.
FOREMAN: In baseball, the Los Angeles Dodgers crushed the New York Yankees in the World Series, and the best of the best was clearly number 17.
LAH: Ah. Shohei Ohtani. It was thrilling to see this kid who, and I'm going to call him a kid because he's so young. This import from Japan, really killing it in American sports.
WOOD JR.: He's still a base. He smile. He hit a home run. He smile. He strike out. He smile. You can't hate that.
FOREMAN: In hockey, the Florida Panthers mauled the Edmonton Oilers for Lord Stanley's Cup. Oh, Canada. In basketball, the Boston Celtics grabbed the top trophy by roping and tying the Dallas Mavericks.
BERMAN: It was really fun to see the Celtics winning again.
CAITLIN CLARK, BASKETBALL PLAYER: These people were my idols. I grew up wanting to be like them.
FOREMAN: Also in basketball, Caitlin Clark, the phenom who brought record audiences to college games is now lighting up the WNBA.
KEILAR: I love watching an athlete who has revolutionized interest in a sport, and I just think about how many little girls she has brought to basketball.
UNKNOWN: We'll give it to you, Chet.
FOREMAN: Worse spectacle, the aging iron Mike Tyson squaring off with internet influencer Jake Paul.
JIMENEZ: I don't know what I expected.
LAH: Something about that fight was really hard to watch.
TARA DOWER, CANDY MAMA: If you don't know who I am, my name is Tara Dower, otherwise known as Candy Mama.
[05:50:00]
FOREMAN: And while you were sleeping, the best athletic achievement of the year, Tara Dower ran all 2,189 miles of the Appalachian Trail in a record 40 days, 18 hours and 5 minutes.
SANCHEZ: It stretches the notion of what people think the human body is capable of. And it's always astounding to hear these feats from my couch as I'm sitting down eating Cheetos, watching from home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: Don't you run off, grab some more snacks and sit tight, because when we come back we'll have the best of pop culture, science, the arts, and look, up in the sky.
UNKNOWN: Wow. It's so cool.
FOREMAN: Eclipses and auroras and comets, oh, my. And hey, is that a penguin on the beach? All The Best, All The Worst will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:55:00]
FOREMAN: In pop culture, art and science, the best show on earth about things off earth was the total eclipse that sliced across America. The worst reality? All the places you couldn't see it.
LAH: I did see the clip of Brianna and Boris doing Sun and Moon, and that was about as close to the eclipse as I got.
KEILAR: The moon will be going in front of the sun. We didn't tell our bosses that we were going to do it, because we thought they'd shut us down.
SANCHEZ: It was an astounding moment to witness in person, and one that I'll never forget.
FOREMAN: The second-best celestial show was that rare explosion of northern lights much farther south than usual.
BERMAN: It turns out you can see them better through your phone, but if I'm looking at it through my phone, am I really looking at it?
FOREMAN: And let's not forget the spectacular comet that lit up the skies in autumn.
BROWN: When was the comet?
UNKNOWN: Unidentified objects in any domain pose potential threats to U.S. safety and security.
FOREMAN: The best testimony for those who are sure the truth is out there. Lawmakers held more hearings on UFO or UAP sightings. JIMENEZ: I firmly believe that we are not alone in the universe. I
just want a little bit more evidence to prove it to me.
FOREMAN: Best Bones, an exciting new dinosaur was discovered in Montana, although once again, the worst news, it was not alive.
SANCHEZ: I feel like they're just making up dinosaurs now to feature in a new "Jurassic Park" movie.
FOREMAN: The world population has grown to about 8 billion people. The U.S. population this year tipped above 337 million, and the most popular baby names are returning champions, Noah and Olivia.
LAH: Can you imagine what that second-grade classroom is going to be like? Olivia, eight hands go up in the air.
FOREMAN: Most common languages spoken by American homes after English, Spanish, Chinese, and?
KEILAR: German? Are the Germans here?
LAH: It's not Korean?
JIMENEZ: I honestly, I have no clue.
FOREMAN: Tagalog, a language of the Philippines.
JIMENEZ: I never would have guessed that, ever.
FOREMAN: The fastest growing sport seems to be pickleball with 50 million people picking up paddles this year.
WOOD JR.: Which meant they annoyed 100 million people who were close by just trying to play tennis.
FOREMAN: Among big changes you may have missed, best mouse in the house, steamboat Willie. The progenitor of Mickey Mouse went into the public domain. The best salute to bees came from Utah, which officially adopted a new state flag with a beehive in the middle. The Boy Scouts of America became Scouting America to promote more inclusion.
KEILAR: I was a Girl Scout. I think I did something on textiles.
FOREMAN: The French Bulldog remains America's favorite dog breed. Top names for all dogs this year, Luna.
BROWN: Luna, I love that name actually.
FOREMAN: And Milo.
BERMAN: Who's a good boy? Milo.
FOREMAN: Best frequent flyer or floater. The emperor penguin that somehow drifted all the way from Antarctica to Australia.
JIMENEZ: Hats off to the penguin. Whatever you're trying to do, glad you did it.
FOREMAN: And worst sign that we've all gone crazy the banana taped to a wall that sold for more than six million dollars because hey, art. BERMAN: Is that a banana on the wall or you're just happy to see?
WOOD JR.: I'm tell you right now I got an orange taped to a piece of wood with some super glue. I sell it to you for 200,000.
BROWN: No matter how you slice it, I don't get it.
FOREMAN: That about does it, but before we go, we always ask the friends who have joined us their wishes for the coming year.
WOOD JR.: My wish for the coming year is peace and love, especially on inauguration day.
LAH: I hope in this year going forward that people will just be more kind.
SANCHEZ: I wish for the Miami Dolphins to finally, finally make it to the Super Bowl in my lifetime.
KEILAR: It feels like a lot of people have been feeling stretched and they've been feeling anxious. And I just would like to calm that down. That would be my wish.
BERMAN: My wish for next year is that everyone gets their own podcast or a cabinet appointment, whether they're qualified for it or not.
BROWN: I just think if we better understood each other, we'd be happier and there'd be more peace.
JIMENEZ: We got to figure out a way to coexist much more peacefully. And at the very least, we're heading in the wrong direction from those ideals. So, let's fix that.
FOREMAN: And with that, we are pulling 2024 into the garage and hanging up the keys. Thanks for joining us on this very wild ride for everyone at Anderson Cooper 360 and the CNN family worldwide.
I'm Tom Foreman and my wish for you all the best and none of the worst, no matter where the roads take us in 2025.
[06:00:00]
