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U.S. Lauches Deadly Strikes on ISIS Terrorists in Nigeria; Zelenskyy Says He Plans to Meet Trump for Peace Talks on Sunday; Tired of New Year's Resolutions, Consider a Theme; Biggest international Stories 2025. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired December 26, 2025 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:30:00]

ERICA HILL, CNN HOST: Turning now to our top story once again, these U.S. strikes on ISIS targets in Nigeria. A U.S. official telling CNN the strikes, launched on Christmas night, included tomahawk missiles fired from a Navy vessel that struck two ISIS camps. The U.S. military says multiple terrorists were killed in those camps.

Nigeria's foreign minister says he spoke to Secretary of State Marco Rubio before the strikes and that his country's president gave the go- ahead. President Trump saying he ordered the attacks to stop what he is calling the slaughter of Christians in Nigeria.

Lead global security analyst for the Washington Post Intelligence, Josh Rogin, joins me now. Josh, always good to talk to you. How would you view, how would you characterize these strikes against ISIS in Nigeria?

JOSH ROGIN, LEAD GLOBAL SECURITY ANALYST, WASHINGTON POST INTELLIGENCE: Right. I think, Erica, that these strikes can largely be characterized as symbolic. It's not likely that these strikes will have a significant effect on the war against ISIS in that region or the trajectory of a decade-long insurgency that is threatening the Nigerian government.

Of course, they're significant because the Nigerian government cooperated with the Trump administration in identifying the targets and approving the strikes. And also because the Nigerian government and the Trump administration have two different rationalizations for why the strikes took place. The Trump administration says it's about protecting Christians, and the Nigerian government says it's not about protecting Christians at all.

And so I think for those reasons there's likely to be a lot of confusion as these strikes continue.

HILL: Yes, it's certainly an important distinction. I also wanted to, you know, speaking of what President Trump says is the reason behind the strikes. In November, he of course threatened to suspend aid to Nigeria over violence against Christians, designated Nigeria a country of particular concern. But then less than two weeks ago, the administration also went on to expand that travel ban list to 39 countries, Nigeria on that list. It's interesting to see all of that playing out as you then have officials, you know, essentially coordinating for these attacks and the president of Nigeria giving the go-ahead.

ROGIN: Right. I mean, I don't often start with the assumption that Trump administration foreign policy is based on a lot of consistency. But I think what we see here basically is that they pressured the Nigerian government, sort of threatened them with sanctions by saying that they weren't sufficiently protecting the Christians, something the Nigerian government rejected.

But the Nigerian government decided to take the lemons and make lemonade and they thought to themselves, apparently, well, if they're going to strike anyway, we might as well help them strike our enemies, even though those aren't even the guys who are attacking the Christians in the first place. So the Trump administration gets what it wants. It can tell its domestic base that they're protecting Christians and the Nigerian government can get the U.S. to attack some of its enemies and avoid sanctions. And both sides are happy. But it doesn't really, again, have any real effect on the insurgency or it doesn't really protect Christians, by the way, which are not the people who are being attacked in that region in the first place.

HILL: Yes, important points, all of them. I do also want to get your take on Ukraine. So President Zelenskyy saying he's going to meet with President Trump on Sunday.

This, of course, comes on the heels of him signaling some concessions and some pretty significant ones, including on this demilitarized zone. What are you watching for coming out of this meeting? I would imagine it would be the Russian response will be a big part of it.

But overall, what do you think what do you think could even happen on Sunday?

ROGIN: Right. Well, it's very clear that Zelenskyy and his team have one singular focus. That's staying in the good graces of President Trump and to a lesser extent, those of Steve Whitkoff and Jared Kushner.

And so in order to do that, they've got to play this game where they move toward the Kushner, Whitkoff, Trump position, which is to sacrifice their territory, do a lot of other things that they don't want to do.

[15:35:00]

But the catch is that, as Zelenskyy told Axios in that interview that was published today, it only works if there's a ceasefire first. And Zelenskyy surely knows that Putin is not going to agree to that ceasefire. So he can he can sort of position himself as negotiating in good faith with the Trump administration and they can have a good meeting. But it's very unlikely any of this will ever happen because Putin is not going to agree anyway.

And that's kind of the needle that Zelenskyy and his team are threading. They want to be constructive. They want to be on Trump's good side.

But as long as the catch is that Putin has to agree, they know Putin is not going to agree. And it's pretty obvious Putin is not going to agree. So the likelihood of this deal ever becoming a real solution, based on the terms that Trump and Kushner and Whitkoff have put forward, is very, very slim.

HILL: Yes, we will see what comes out of that. We'll all be watching on Sunday. Josh, always good to talk to you. Thank you.

ROGIN: Thank you.

HILL: Still ahead here, keeping those New Year's resolutions. It's never easy, right? As soon as you talk about a resolution, you hear about how many people break them.

Well, that may be about to change, my friends. Our next guest says it's really time to maybe rethink the way you're framing those goals for 2026.

[15:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HILL: With the New Year right around the corner, maybe you're thinking about how those goals and resolutions can really be kind of a pain in the butt.

Well, maybe you should reframe it this year and think about a theme instead for your New Year. That suggestion from Gretchen Rubin, the author of "Secrets of Adulthood, Simple Truths for Our Complex Lives." And Gretchen joins us live.

Adulting is very complex, so thank you. I need this. Talk to me about the difference between a resolution and a theme.

GRETCHEN RUBIN, BEST-SELLING AUTHOR AND HAPPINESS EXPERT: Well, I think a lot of people have become really discouraged by doing resolutions. They've made and failed to keep them in the past. And picking a theme is a way to shake it up a little bit, make it more creative, maybe a little bit more whimsical and imaginative, and really get yourself to focus on what you want to achieve in the new year, but maybe without the cloud of negative associations that you've had in the past.

HILL: I don't need any more clouds of negative associations, so I like this idea. In some ways, a theme feels similar to these word clouds that I see popping up on Instagram. You know, the first however many words that you see will define your 2026.

Is it similar?

RUBIN: It is very similar in that, you know, you choose the words that you fill your mind with, and by picking a one-word theme for the year, you really dial in on what is the specific word that you want to set the atmosphere of the year to come. And this is good because sometimes, you know, a little bit of a difference in vocabulary can make a big shift in your attitude. So, for instance, my sister wanted to be resilient, right?

But the word resilient, I mean, we've all heard that so many times. So, instead, she picked the word bounce because bounce has energy and kind of fun, but it had that sense of bouncing back. So, she found the word that captured the same attitude that she wanted to have in the year but had a little bit more fun to it.

HILL: I love this idea. So, how do I find a theme?

RUBIN: Well, that's where the imaginative creative part of it. Really sit down and think to yourself, what is it that you want from the coming year? What do you want it to look like? What do you want the atmosphere to be?

Are there things that you want to get done? What's your vision for your future self? And then once you have that word, try to find the language that casts it in the most interesting way.

So, for instance, for mine, mine were kind of vague and I would say a little bit boring, like community and engagement and connection and reaching across division. And so, I thought, well, what is a one word that captures what I want? And I thought of the word neighbor.

Now, neighbor to me is a word that's full of emotion and like literal connection with actual people. It's not an abstract idea. It's something that's very, very vivid.

And it also lends itself to a visual theme because this is something else that can be really fun to do. Once you have your theme, you've gone through your word cloud, you've distilled your word, you try to find a visual representation of it. That way you can put it on a mug or, you know, like use that as you go through the world.

I'm trying to decide whether neighbor should be a cardigan because of Mr. Neighbor --

HILL: Mr. Rogers.

RUBIN: Mr. Rogers. Yes, the most famous neighbor of them all.

HILL: Yes.

RUBIN: Or a welcome mat. But I thought, oh, I don't want to be a doormat. Or like class pants. What is going to be my visual reminder for my one word theme?

HILL: I look forward to sharing the decision with us. So, how do we, once we've settled on this theme, how do you keep the momentum going for a full year?

RUBIN: Well, this is one of the reasons that I like to have the visual reminder. Because sometimes we just forget about all the things we expect from ourselves. So, put your one word theme up on a cork board by your desk. Put it on your laptop. Use it as your screensaver. Or use your visual representation for what it is that you want it to be.

And then how would you turn that into specific concrete action? Like, for me, I'm going to actually have friendly conversation with my neighbors when I walk the dog. Instead of just listening to my, you know, my podcast or whatever, I actually listen to my neighbor have little conversations.

As simple as that is, that is a specific action that I'm expecting of myself. And so, you want to think about what are those specific, manageable, concrete things you're expecting.

HILL: And for people who do like the idea of a resolution or a goal, maybe instead of a theme, how do you keep that manageable? What are a couple of tips for that?

RUBIN: Well, you want to distill it into something that, at the end of the day, you know whether you've done it or not. So, you don't want to have a resolution like, get fit. Because on any one day, did you get fit?

How do you know? What does that mean? But something like, I'm going to walk for 20 minutes every morning.

I'm going to take three yoga classes each week.

[15:45:00]

I'm going to take the stairs instead of taking the elevator at work. These are specific resolutions where you know whether you've done it or not. And those are going to get you towards that big aim of getting fit.

But getting fit is too abstract and vague. You don't know whether you've done that. You want to distill it into the concrete things.

HILL: Real quickly, I only have time for a yes or no, but is it better to share or not to share your theme, your resolution? Does the public accountability help?

RUBIN: Depends. It depends on you.

HILL: OK, that's all right. I love that you actually answered in one word. Thank you.

And not that you asked, but I vote for the cardigan. Happy New Year, Gretchen. Thank you.

RUBIN: Happy New Year.

HILL: Let's take a look at some of the other headlines that we're watching for you this hour. A Nebraska man is accused of hiding 55 pounds of meth in boxes that looked like Christmas presents. He was arrested after a traffic stop in Kentucky earlier this week.

Police say a canine sniffed out the drugs in his trunk and is now facing a trafficking charge and possibly some other charges as well.

A man is behind bars in Japan after allegedly stabbing eight people with a knife and throwing bleach on seven others. The attack happening at a tire factory about 80 miles west of Tokyo. According to the department, five of the stabbing victims are in serious condition. Those attacked with bleach are now receiving medical treatment. Investigators say they're still trying to determine a motive.

And in Syria, eight people are dead, 18 others injured after an explosion at a mosque during this morning's prayers. Health ministry officials call this a targeted attack on worshippers. The state news agency is reporting explosive devices have also been planted inside that building.

Officials say it's not immediately clear who carried out the attack, but a local group is claiming responsibility.

Still ahead here, jewel heist, stunning Oval Office meetings and a new pope. We're breaking down the biggest international stories of 2025 next.

[15:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HILL: From a brazen heist at the Louvre to the return of the remaining Israeli hostages from Gaza. These are some of the stories that topped international headlines this year.

CNN's Clarissa Ward takes a look back. I do want to warn you, though, you may find some of these images disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): The heist of the century. In just seven minutes four thieves raided the Louvre in October and fled in broad daylight with more than $100 million worth of crowned jewels. French police have since arrested the suspected thieves and their associates. The hunt for the jewels continues.

Two gunmen opened fire at the Jewish celebration of Hannukah at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia. A 10-year-old girl and a Holocaust survivor among 15 people killed in the deadliest mass shooting the country has seen in decades. Heroic bystanders risked their lives to stop the attackers, including this Muslim Syrian immigrant.

Thousands of mourners gathering to honor the victims, urging the government to examine its response to rising antisemitism and to tighten its gun laws.

An Air India plane en route to the U.K. crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad Airport in June, plummeting into a residential area and killing 260 people, including everyone on board except for one passenger, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a British national, who miraculously survived the crash. Intense monsoon season hit South and Southeast Asia with back-to-back cyclones unleashing catastrophic floods and landslides in November, displacing millions of people across Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Sri Lanka. A combination of rare weather phenomena amplified by the manmade climate crisis, killing at least 1,700 people. Hundreds of others are still missing.

This was Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's response to the mounting U.S. pressure on his government. Seemingly unfazed by the U.S. seizure of a sanctioned tanker carrying Venezuelan oil, a move that came on the heels of U.S. military strikes on alleged drug smuggling boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific that have killed at least 100 people since September.

While the campaign is scrutinized domestically with accusations that a double-tape strike in September could constitute a war crime. It is stoking tension across the Americas as leaders question Trump's real motives.

PRESIDENT GUSTAVO PETRO, COLOMBIA (through translator): Oil. Venezuela has one of the largest, if not the largest, reserves of oil in the world.

WARD (voiceover): The United Nations declared famine in two Sudanese cities in November warning that nearly half of the population across the African country face extreme food shortages due to a brutal yearslong civil war that has displaced more than 12 million and killed tens of thousands of people. The battles between the Sudanese Army and the rebel paramilitary Rapid Support Forces left a trail of destruction across the country.

[15:55:00]

Both sides are sanctioned by the U.S. for alleged atrocities that include mass killings and rape. Mediators failing to get them to agree on a sustained ceasefire in what the U.N. calls one of the world's largest humanitarian crises.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You're gambling with World War III, and what you're doing is very disrespectful to the country.

J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Have you said "thank you" once this entire meeting?

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: A lot of time.

VANCE: No.

WARD (voiceover): The public humiliation of the Ukrainian president at the White House sent shockwaves across the world. Alarmed European allies tried to placate the American president, increasing defense spending, and showering Trump with praise.

MARK RUTTE, NATO SECRETARY GENERAL: This president -- when it comes to it, yes, he's a man of peace. But, if necessary, he is willing to use strength.

WARD (voiceover): The comparison to the warm reception the Russian president received six months later in Alaska wasn't lost on anyone.

TRUMP: Thank you very much, Vladimir.

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT: Next time in Moscow.

WARD (voiceover): The Ukraine-Russia war Trump once said he could stop on day one of his presidency continues. Attacks on Kyiv got deadlier and Russia made gains on the front line. Ukraine and NATO leaders voicing unease with Russian demands and the U.S. peace proposal.

ZELENSKYY (through translator): Now Ukraine may find itself facing a very difficult choice. Either the loss of dignity or the risk of losing a key partner.

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT AND ANCHOR: Breaking news into CNN. Pope Francis has died.

WARD (voiceover): The ailing Pope Francis made his last public appearance on Easter Sunday. His signature brand of tolerance evident throughout his funeral as world leaders and mourners from across the globe paid their respects providing the world with a much-needed moment of unity.

Behind closed doors cardinals elected the first American-born pontiff, Pope Leo XIV.

Israel struck nuclear and military facilities in Iran in June. The unprecedented air campaign killed dozens of high-profile Iranian commanders and nuclear scientists. Iran fired hundreds of ballistic missiles and drones in retaliation.

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: They are arch terrorists of the world. They want to have nuclear terrorism, which will put the entire world under nuclear blackmail.

AYATOLLAH ALI KHAMENEI, IRAN'S SUPREME LEADER (through translator): The Zionist regime has made a big mistake -- a grave error.

WARD (voiceover): For 12 days, the skies of Tehran and Tel Aviv were lit with the terrifying blaze of missiles and interceptors. Explosions rocked military targets and civilian areas claiming the lives of hundreds of people in Iran and 29 in Israel, pushing the region closer all-out war.

TRUMP: A short time ago, the U.S. military carried out massive precision strikes on --

WARD (voiceover): U.S. bombers struck the Fordham, Natanz, and Isfahan nuclear facilities. Leading to a dramatic end to the conflict, the two countries agreed on a ceasefire on June 24.

Flanked by world leaders, President Trump signed the Gaza ceasefire deal in Egypt in October, bringing the remaining 20 living Israeli hostages back home and ending the two-year war that the U.N. says killed over 70,000 people in the Palestinian enclave.

The horrific humanitarian situation in Gaza had drawn international condemnation with a U.N. body declaring famine in parts of the north. Hundreds of Palestinians lost their lives due to starvation and in shootings at the few aid distribution sites.

TRUMP: This took 3,000 years to get to this point -- can you believe it -- and it's going to hold up, too.

WARD (voiceover): A promise undermined by regular infractions and continued strikes. And both sides have yet to agree on the second phase of the deal that could one day bring an enduring end to this conflict.

Clarissa Ward, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HILL: When Santa strolled through Hawaii this Christmas, he decided on a more water-friendly delivery. Instead of a sleigh, he arrived by canoe along Honolulu's Waikiki Beach. The warm weather welcome is actually a Christmas Eve tradition.

Drawing smiles, plenty of pictures, and a little island magic for families and visitors.

Thanks so much for spending your afternoon with me. I'm Erica Hill. Stay tuned. "THE ARENA" with Kasie Hunt starts right now.

END