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Powerball Jackpot; California Mother Charged With Murder in Daughter's Killing; Deadly Storms in California; U.S. Attacks ISIS Targets in Nigeria. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired December 26, 2025 - 13:00   ET

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

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ERICA HILL, CNN HOST: The U.S. military carries out -- quote -- "powerful and deadly strikes" against ISIS militants in Nigeria. Why President Trump says he ordered the action.

Plus, homes and cars buried by mud after dangerous storms slam California, and more rain is expected there today. Meantime, a big blast of winter weather across the country could cause a travel mess on what is expected to be one of the busiest days for folks traveling home after Christmas.

And, Kevin McCallister, get your heart out, a real life "Home Alone" playing out after a 12-year-old boy hears an apparent burglar in his home. How he saved the day.

We're following these major developing stories and many more all coming in right here to CNN.

Thanks so much for joining me this afternoon. I'm Erica Hill in New York. Boris and Brianna are off for the holiday.

Well, less than a week is left now in 2025. And for President Trump, the next few days could bring some major foreign policy moves. Earlier today, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he will be heading to Florida this weekend for U.S.-led peace talks. Zelenskyy's words -- quote -- "A lot can be decided before the new year."

President Trump is also expecting a visit from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday. We're waiting to hear more from the White House on both of those meetings. Overshadowing, though, the conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine right now are the U.S. military's deadly strikes on ISIS targets in Nigeria overnight.

President Trump saying they were done to stop the killings of Christians.

CNN senior White House reporter Kevin Liptak is in West Palm Beach near Mar-a-Lago, where the president is spending the holidays. So, Kevin, first of all, what more do we know about these strikes and

the targets specifically?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Right.

And the president has described them as -- quote -- "perfect strikes." I'm told that they involved more than a dozen Tomahawk cruise missiles fired from a U.S. Navy vessel towards two ISIS sites in the northwest part of Nigeria, so right up there along the border with Niger.

And what U.S. Africa Command says, that multiple ISIS terrorists were killed, at least according to their initial assessments. And President Trump has said that this was all meant to go after a group that he says is executing a slaughter of Christians.

It's something that he's been talking about now for some weeks. The president wrote on TRUTH Social that he had ordered a "powerful and deadly strike against ISIS terrorist scum in Northwest Nigeria who have been targeting and viciously killing primarily innocent Christians at levels not seen for many years and even centuries."

The president goes on to say: "I have previously worn these terrorists that if they do not stop the slaughtering of Christians there would be hell to pay. And, tonight, there was."

Now, these strikes do appear to have been coordinated with the Nigerian government. And that is significant, because the leadership there has bristled in the past at the president's suggestions of U.S. intervention. What the foreign minister told CNN earlier today was that he had spoken with the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, and that the Nigerian president had given the go-ahead.

Now the plight of Christians in Nigeria has been something of an animating force for American conservative Christians in particular, who have urged President Trump to do more to protect that group in the country. But the security situation in Nigeria is incredibly complex.

Both Christians and Muslims have been targeted for violence. The reason for that violence is multifold, whether it's religious persecution or whether it's crime, whether it's disputes over land. And so it's a complex situation.

But one thing seems clear is that the president says that this could happen again potentially, saying that there will be many more if their slaughter of Christians continues -- Erica.

HILL: So, Kevin -- so that's the Nigeria front.

The also -- we're also hearing the announcement of these meetings, these planned meetings, with President Zelenskyy, Prime Minister Netanyahu. What is the White House saying about those meetings.

LIPTAK: Right.

[13:05:00] And the meeting with Netanyahu, which will be on Monday, has been on the books for some time now. It's this meeting with Zelenskyy that I think caught some people by surprise. He says that he will be here on Sunday. We don't have confirmation from the White House on that just yet.

But I do think that this is significant, because, remember, President Trump had said just recently that he didn't think it would be useful to meet with Zelenskyy unless they were close to reaching an agreement on a peace plan for Ukraine.

And there have been intensive discussions, including down here in South Florida, the president's envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, meeting with the delegation from Ukraine, meeting with an envoy from Russia to try and hammer down some of these sticking points on an agreement.

It seems as if right now it is this question of land concessions that remains the top outstanding issue. Moscow has not backed off its maximalist demands that Ukraine give up the entire Donbass region. And so I think what President Trump and President Zelenskyy will want to discuss when they sit down at Mar-a-Lago is how to get to a point where Zelenskyy can agree to something that perhaps Moscow could also agree to when it comes to these territorial concessions.

Now, Ukraine has also proposed its own form of this peace plan as these discussions and as these drafts go back and forth. It includes affirmation of Ukraine's sovereignty, details of security guarantees from the U.S., which will be essential, as well as a financial development package to rebuild Ukraine once the war is over, so some very, very critical topics for these two men to discuss when Zelenskyy is down here on Sunday, Erica.

HILL: Yes, absolutely. Kevin, appreciate it. Thank you.

Turning now to the deadly and disastrous storms in California, a final round of heavy rain is drenching the state today and threatening to bring with it even more flooding and debris flows following a days- long siege of storms, these back-to-back systems leaving homes and cars -- some of these pictures are just tough to wrap your mind around.

Look at that. They're encased in mud. That car is literally stuck in a mudflow. This prompted forced evacuations, understandably, countless water rescues as well. The images that you're looking at are from the town of Wrightwood in Southern California.

A San Bernardino County fire officer says they have been going door- to-door amid heavy downpour at times.

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ERIC SHERWIN, SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY FIRE: We saw a whole lot of rain here. We have -- we are approaching 10 inches in the Wrightwood area that came down in a single operational period. That led to widespread flooding throughout the community. A number of rescues were performed throughout the day. Those rescues

include water rescues from vehicles traveling onto flooded roadways. We had people that were trapped in their houses.

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HILL: So, authorities report at least four people have been killed across the region. The Weather Prediction Center says more than 18 million people are at risk.

For more on that forecast, as well as the weather conditions we're keeping a close eye on across the country, here's CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: We have two separate systems that we are keeping a close eye on. The first one, that's the one expected to wrap up as we finish up the rest of the day on the West Coast into the Northeast.

This is the next area to watch. The system itself will be sliding from the Midwest into the Northeast as we go through the remainder of the day today. But we begin in California, where there is still a threat for excessive rainfall and flooding across portions of Southern California and even this narrow path through Central California, in anticipation of the extra rain that we are expected to get throughout the rest of the day today.

When you look at the forecast, you will see that surge of moisture into Southern California. But then, finally, by the time we get to Saturday, all things clear back out and we finally get some drier conditions, not just Saturday, but also into Sunday. And this will continue at least through the early portion of next week.

Now, additional rainfall totals, you're looking maybe an extra one to three inches in most places. But, remember, this is on top of what these areas have already had, which is what's likely going to cause some concern. It's also going to keep their temperatures on the cooler side out to the West, where as much of the central portion of the country is dealing with temperatures above average, not just five or 10 degrees, but near record-breaking.

You're talking 20 to even 30 degrees above where they normally would be this time of year. And this will continue through the rest of the weekend. The other cool spot is going to be the Northeast. And this is why this is important because that means, when this next system begins to slide through, it's going to bring a lot of winter precipitation.

The purple color here indicating the snow. The pink is a little bit of a wintry mix -- excuse me -- where you have some sleet and even some freezing rain. This is going to continue to slide into the Northeast as we go through the remainder of the day today and especially through the evening hours.

Some of this will still be wrapping up early tomorrow morning, especially across places like New York, Hartford, and even around Boston. But by the time we get to lunchtime, that system finally exits the area. Some of these locations could be looking at upwards of a quarter-of-an-inch of ice.

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This is a concern because, as that accumulates on trees and power lines, it could lead to some power outages. And then, in terms of snowfall, this could vary slightly, but there are going to be some isolated locations that could pick up eight to 12 inches total.

HILL: All right, Allison, thanks for that.

Still ahead here: The California woman accused of killing her 9-year- old daughter during a road trip faces a judge. We have the latest for you from court.

Plus, a major recall this hour involving potentially radioactive shrimp that could be in your freezer.

And, later, what would you do with $1.8 billion? We're going to ask someone else who bought a winning Powerball ticket. We know that this one was purchased in Arkansas. What might they be plotting today with all those winnings?

Much more ahead right here on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

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HILL: The California woman accused of killing her 9-year-old daughter during a multistate road trip, making her first court appearance today.

Ashlee Buzzard is charged with first-degree murder after being arrested earlier this week. Authorities alleged she killed her daughter with exceptional cruelty and viciousness. Melodee Buzzard's decomposing remains were found on December 6 in a rural community in Southern Utah, hundreds of miles from her California home.

CNN senior correspondent Josh Campbell has been following the developments.

And you have a little bit more on today's hearing.

So, Josh, where do things stand?

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're keeping an eye on the live feed from court right now in Central California. We haven't seen Ashlee Buzzard appear yet.

But this will be the first instance where she is in court after being arrested and charged with first-degree murder in connection with the death of her daughter. CNN is attempting to determine whether she has attorney representation. It's important to note how we got here.

It was back in October that the young girl was reported missing, not by the mother, but by her school. Authorities then launched an investigation. They determined that both the mother and the daughter had engaged in this road trip across numerous states, going so far east as Nebraska and Kansas.

Authorities released CCTV footage that they found at different businesses along the way, where it looks like both the mother and daughter are wearing these clumsy disguises, wigs. Authorities allege that the license plates on their rental car were swapped out at times.

The mother returned to California. The young girl was not with her. Now, we learned just a few days ago from authorities that there was a couple that was out in a rural part of Utah taking photographs and came across the decomposed remains of someone. Authorities say that they conducted their forensics.

They determined that the DNA of that individual matched familial DNA of Ashlee Buzzard. They determined this was indeed the young California girl.

I will let you hear from the sheriff who spoke recently about some of the other types of evidence that they found, specifically shell casings from bullets that were found at the crime scene and ammunition that was found at the family home. Have a listen.

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BILL BROWN, SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA, SHERIFF: Sheriff's detectives, along with the FBI evidence response team, responded and served follow-up search warrants at the home of Ashlee Buzzard.

During the search of the Mars Avenue residence, an expended cartridge case was recovered. Cartridge cases found at the Utah crime scene resulted in a NIBIN hit linking them to the single cartridge case that was found at the Buzzard residence.

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CAMPBELL: Now, authorities say they don't yet know a motive in why this might have occurred, obviously, this heinous act here that was alleged by authorities.

We don't know if she has actually been cooperative with authorities after being taken into custody. But, Erica, all of us, when we see a missing persons case, we hope for the best possible outcome. This is certainly not that, just a truly, truly tragic outcome with this missing girl.

HILL: Yes, it's just -- it's terrible.

The officer there was mentioning the casings. Is there a murder weapon that was found?

CAMPBELL: Not that they have found yet, but they say that their investigation is not over.

And you and I both know from covering so many shooting cases that the ballistics from what is left behind, both the bullet, as well as the shell casing that is expended from a firearm, that's critical evidence, because especially the ATF, which is the lead agency in the U.S. that can help try to match different ballistics, they bring in their analysts at these laboratories.

And they can see the unique marking that a shell casing -- that a gun makes on a shell casing. If you have ammunition at a crime scene and ammunition at your home and that seems to match, that is obviously very, very strong evidence.

HILL: Yes.

CAMPBELL: So, authorities say they don't -- haven't found a gun yet, but the search isn't over.

HILL: All right, Josh, really appreciate it. Thank you.

CAMPBELL: You bet.

HILL: Still to come here: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announcing he will be meeting with President Trump this weekend -- just ahead, what we know about their face-to-face, as we also get details on the negotiations and new offers aimed at ending this war.

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HILL: One lucky Powerball player having an unforgettable holiday after winning the $1.8 billion jackpot on Christmas Eve. That winning ticket was sold at a gas station in Cabot, Arkansas, which is where CNN correspondent Rafael Romo is.

You are, sadly, my friend not there because you are the purchaser of said ticket.

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RAFAEL ROMO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That is right, although it may give me some luck, Erica.

HILL: It's worth a shot.

ROMO: I may just go in there and buy my own ticket for the next drawing, yes.

But this is it, Erica. This is the lucky Murphy USA gas station that sold the winning ticket. We are in Cabot, Arkansas, population 27,000, about 25 miles Northeast of Little Rock. The big question here today is, who is a lucky person or lucky people -- it could have been more than one -- who won the $1.8 million -- billion dollar, I should say, Powerball jackpot on Christmas Eve.

Last-minute ticket sales in Wednesday's drawing pushed the jackpot to $1.8 billion with a cash option of $834 million, making it the second largest U.S. lottery jackpot ever, Powerball said in a statement. Everybody knows them already, but just in case, the winning numbers,

Erica, were four, 25, 31, 52, and 59, with red Powerball 19 and a Power Play multiplier of two. As you can imagine, as the jackpot money started to go up so did ticket sales in the weeks prior to the Christmas Eve drawing.

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This is what an official with the local lottery had to say about it. Let's take a listen.

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SHARON STRONG, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ARKANSAS SCHOLARSHIP LOTTERY: We did hear from some retailers that they were running out of paper, that they were selling more than they ever had. Many millions of dollars in tickets were sold over the last several weeks as this jackpot started rolling higher and higher. And that just means all kinds of good things for our state.

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ROMO: And, Erica, while there was only one big winner Wednesday, eight tickets nabbed $1 million each to stuff their stockings. Those tickets were sold in California, Indiana, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.

Nationwide, 14 tickets won a $50,000 prize and 31 tickets won $100,000, according to Powerball. I would have taken any of those, Erica -- now back to you.

HILL: Yes. I'm with you. None of them are anything to sneeze at.

Better luck next time. Let me know how it works out for you when you buy that ticket inside. Good to see you. Thank you.

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ROMO: All right.

HILL: Still ahead here, the latest on the U.S. strikes in Nigeria and what could come out of a weekend meeting between President Trump and the president of Ukraine's sit-down at Mar-a-Lago, with potentially major consequences for that war.

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