By Lisa Eadicicco, Hadas Gold, Clare Duffy, CNN

(CNN) — Hundreds of billions of dollars spent, a surge in mental health concerns and thousands of jobs lost.

The link between it all? Artificial intelligence, the buzzy yet controversial technology being depicted as the future or the stock market’s next bubble, depending on who you ask.

Although AI has been a key technology behind the scenes for decades, the arrival of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in 2022 pushed the tech to the frontlines. The rise of AI chatbots like ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini has gradually influenced online services used by millions every day, from Google search’s AI Mode to the AI chatbots built into Instagram and Amazon. In other words, AI is starting to reshape the front door to the internet.

But 2025 was also the year AI expanded beyond our screens and began impacting national policy, global trade relations and the stock market. It also raised important questions about whether the tech should be trusted in our jobs, classrooms and relationships.

That’s expected to continue in 2026.

“In previous years, (AI) was a shiny new object… And I think this last year was a lot more serious uses of the technology,” said James Landay, co-founder and co-director of the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence. “And I think people are waking up to actually understanding both some of the benefits and the risks.”

Regulation questions and mental health concerns

Count President Donald Trump among AI’s biggest believers; the technology has been a cornerstone of his second term so far.

For example, the CEO of chipmaker Nvidia, the posterchild of the AI boom, has become a fixture of Trump’s inner circle. And the president has used Nvidia’s and AMD’s AI processors as bargaining chips in the ongoing trade war with China.

This year, Trump introduced an AI action plan aimed at stripping back regulation and boosting AI use in the government.

He also signed multiple AI-related executive orders, including a controversial one seeking to block states from enforcing their own AI rules. The move was seen as a win for Silicon Valley, but online safety advocates fear it’ll enable tech companies to evade accountability for AI-related risks. Next year will likely see a legal fight over the order and states’ abilities to regulate AI — with some critics arguing it won’t hold up in court.

The absence of broad AI guardrails has been in the national spotlight this year and not for good reason. A slew of reports and lawsuits this year have alleged that AI companions like ChatGPT and Character.AI have contributed to mental health episodes and, in some cases, suicide among teens.

“Please don’t leave the noose out … Let’s make this space the first place where someone actually sees you.” That’s how ChatGPT is said to have responded when 16-year-old Adam Raine wrote that he wanted to leave a noose out in his room so that someone would find it and stop him before he committed suicide.

Raine’s parents sued OpenAI in August alleging that the popular chatbot advised the teen on hi

By Asuka Koda, CNN

(CNN) — For the second year in a row, the US has surpassed 25,000 whooping cough cases — another sign of the risks of falling vaccination levels.

Often called the “100-day cough,” whooping cough or pertussis begins with cold-like symptoms such as runny nose, fever or cough that can progress to coughing fits that last weeks or months, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A “whoop” sound when coughing may appear in the second phase of illness.

The infection can lead to severe illness or death, especially in young children: About 1 in 3 babies younger than 1 who have whooping cough requires care in a hospital. Still, experts believe that much of the disease goes unrecognized and unreported, the CDC says.

The CDC reported nearly 28,000 cases this year, an elevated level after a peak last year, when the agency reported 35,493 cases. One year earlier, in 2023, there were only 7,063 cases reported.

The last time numbers were similarly high was 2014, when there were 32,971 cases.

Thirteen deaths from pertussis have been reported in the US this year, according to the Pan American Health Organization, most of them children under 1 year old.

The rise in whooping cough is not unique to the US, according to the Pan American Health Organization, which serves as the World Health Organization’s office for the Americas region. Last year, 977,000 cases of pertussis were reported to WHO, a five-fold increase over 2023.

Dr. Scott Roberts, associate medical director for infection prevention at the Yale School of Medicine, believes the US rise is driven by falling vaccination rates along with a loss of population-wide immunity during the Covid-19 pandemic, among other factors.

“I worry vaccine hesitancy is playing a role. This is a vaccine-preventable illness, and any decline in vaccine rates will lead to increases in pertussis,” he said.

Vaccines prevent whooping cough

The CDC recommends routine diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (DTaP) vaccination for all infants and children under 7 through a five-dose series beginning at 2 months of age. Children who get all five doses of the DTaP vaccine on schedule are 98% protected from illness within the year after the last dose. About 70% of children are fully protected five years after getting the last dose, according to the CDC.

Adults and adolescents are urged to get a booster Td or Tdap vaccination every 10 years, starting at the age of 11 or 12, to maintain protection. Roberts recommends choosing the version that protects against pertussis — Tdap — when possible.

“Last year, we had a lot of college outbreaks. What happens is, a lot of people get their childhood vaccine series, and then they don’t get the booster series,” Roberts said. He noted that many of those outbreaks were driven by students who had lost their immunity and were living in group settings where the disease spreads easily.

A return to shared indoor spaces after the pandemic may have also contributed to the increase, he said.

There had been limited exposure to routine pathogens because of Covid-19 mitigation measures, he said, but now “a greater proportion of people are getting exposed to the pathogen, all at the same time. I wonder if there is some degree of loss of population immunity that we’re still recovering from, and maybe things will [stabilize] over the next few years.”

Additionally, the PAHO Read more

By Gloria Pazmino, CNN

(CNN) — New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s inauguration will feature Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, the two most prominent leaders of the Democratic Party’s progressive movement.

Mamdani, who will be publicly sworn in at a City Hall inauguration ceremony on New Year’s Day, will be introduced by fellow New Yorker Ocasio-Cortez, his transition team told CNN.

“For the many New Yorkers who have long felt betrayed by a broken status quo, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez embodies a new kind of politics that puts working people at the heart of it,” Mamdani said in a statement. “I’ve been so proud to count her as a partner across the many stages of our people-powered movement—from the primary campaign to our Forest Hills rally in October to the very first day of the transition—and I’m honored that she’ll be a part of our historic City Hall inauguration.”

Ocasio-Cortez, who endorsed Mamdani early in the primary and campaigned alongside him on several occasions, is expected to deliver opening remarks at the ceremony, which is open to 4,000 ticketed guests.

Mamdani’s transition is also organizing a “watch party” set to take place alongside Broadway, part of an effort to make the celebration accessible to any New Yorker who wants to attend.

Sanders will administer Mamdani’s oath of office during the City Hall ceremony. Mamdani, a 34-year-old democratic socialist, will technically take office at midnight on New Year’s Day.

As thousands of revelers usher in the new year in Times Square, Mamdani and his family will be in Lower Manhattan where a private swearing-in ceremony is expected to take place at an old, now defunct subway station underneath City Hall Plaza.

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By Alexandra Banner, CNN

The next presidential election is not until 2028, but speculation is already swirling about who might make a run for the Oval Office. Take a closer look at the names beginning to come into focus.

Here’s what else you need to know to get up to speed and on with your day.

1⃣ CIA drone strike

The CIA carried out a drone strike earlier this month on a port facility along Venezuela’s coast, sources told CNN, marking the first known US attack on a target inside the country. Analysts say it could signal a major escalation of Trump’s military campaign in the region and further inflame tensions with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who the US has been pressuring to step down. Separately, the US military on Monday struck another alleged drug boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing two people. At least 107 people have died in strikes on suspected drug boats as part of an operation the Trump administration has said is aimed at curbing narcotics trafficking.

2⃣ Store closings

The year 2025 proved to be a brutal one for some US retailers as familiar brands and neighborhood favorites shuttered locations across the country. Forever 21, Party City and Rite Aid were among the well-known brands to close their doors this year. Overall, roughly 8,200 stores closed in 2025 — about 12% more than in 2024, according to Coresight Research. Industry analysts say a combination of slumping consumer confidence, poor finances and shifts in shopping habits has left many aging chains struggling. Some other companies are heading toward bankruptcy as Americans cut back on discretionary spending amid persistent inflation.

3⃣ Trump-Netanyahu meeting

President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met in Florida on Monday but announced no progress on the next phase of the Gaza peace plan. The second phase of the deal includes Hamas’ disarmament, the beginning of reconstruction in Gaza and the establishment of post-war governance. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Trump said Hamas will be given “a very short period of time” to disarm, warning that if it does not, other countries backing the ceasefire “will go and wipe them out.” Also on Monday, Netanyahu announced Trump will receive the Israel Prize for Peace, marking the first time the country’s highest civilian excellence honor will be awarded to a non-Israeli citizen.

4⃣ Kennedy Center

A growing number of artists are cancelling performances at the Kennedy Center after its board of trustees voted to add President Trump’s name to the building. Earlier this month, the board approved renaming the venue from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to the Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts. In response, several performers have called off their shows: the long

By Alexandra Banner, CNN

The next presidential election is not until 2028, but speculation is already swirling about who might make a run for the Oval Office. Take a closer look at the names beginning to come into focus.

Here’s what else you need to know to get up to speed and on with your day.

1⃣ CIA drone strike

The CIA carried out a drone strike earlier this month on a port facility along Venezuela’s coast, sources told CNN, marking the first known US attack on a target inside the country. Analysts say it could signal a major escalation of Trump’s military campaign in the region and further inflame tensions with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who the US has been pressuring to step down. Separately, the US military on Monday struck another alleged drug boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing two people. At least 107 people have died in strikes on suspected drug boats as part of an operation the Trump administration has said is aimed at curbing narcotics trafficking.

2⃣ Store closings

The year 2025 proved to be a brutal one for some US retailers as familiar brands and neighborhood favorites shuttered locations across the country. Forever 21, Party City and Rite Aid were among the well-known brands to close their doors this year. Overall, roughly 8,200 stores closed in 2025 — about 12% more than in 2024, according to Coresight Research. Industry analysts say a combination of slumping consumer confidence, poor finances and shifts in shopping habits has left many aging chains struggling. Some other companies are heading toward bankruptcy as Americans cut back on discretionary spending amid persistent inflation.

3⃣ Trump-Netanyahu meeting

President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met in Florida on Monday but announced no progress on the next phase of the Gaza peace plan. The second phase of the deal includes Hamas’ disarmament, the beginning of reconstruction in Gaza and the establishment of post-war governance. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Trump said Hamas will be given “a very short period of time” to disarm, warning that if it does not, other countries backing the ceasefire “will go and wipe them out.” Also on Monday, Netanyahu announced Trump will receive the Israel Prize for Peace, marking the first time the country’s highest civilian excellence honor will be awarded to a non-Israeli citizen.

4⃣ Kennedy Center

A growing number of artists are cancelling performances at the Kennedy Center after its board of trustees voted to add President Trump’s name to the building. Earlier this month, the board approved renaming the venue from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to the Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts. In response, several performers have called off their shows: the longtime host of the Kennedy Center’s annual Christmas Eve jazz performance cancelled the gig, and a dance company called off two April performances, among others. The center’s president, Richard Grenell, dismissed the cancellations as “a form of derangement syndrome” in a post to X on Monday.

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