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Exclusive: CIA Conducted Drone Strike On Port Facility In Venezuela; FBI, DHS Surge Resources To Minnesota To Probe Child Care Fraud Claims; New Search For Missing MH370 Plane To Begin Today. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired December 30, 2025 - 07:30   ET

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

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[07:30:05]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking overnight, CNN has exclusive details on the first known U.S. strike inside Venezuela. It turns out it was carried out by the CIA using a drone. Sources tell CNN the strike destroyed a port facility and boats suspected of being used by drug smugglers. We're told no one was at the site when the strike happened and that there were no casualties. It comes are more than 30 U.S. strikes on suspected drug boats in the Caribbean and the Eastern Pacific Ocean.

Joining us now is retired U.S. Army Major Mike Lyons.

All of these other strikes have been in international waters -- focused on boats in those waters -- but this one is on land. I mean, is -- does this fit the definition of an act of war?

MAJ. MIKE LYONS, U.S. ARMY (RET.): Good morning, Sara.

No, I don't think so because it was done by the CIA. It falls under that threshold. It's a counternarcotic operation that they use going after the individuals, the cartels, the state-sponsored people that are doing the drugs inside of Venezuela. So it wasn't a military target so to speak, and I think that's why they did it that way -- provided that level of ambiguity with regard to having the CIA run it from a drone operation.

But it is somewhat of an escalation because it did attack on land there even though that area was somewhat remote. But the target was the money launderers and the cartels, and the individuals that are producing the drugs there.

So it's not an act of war technically. They like -- they had reporting that the agencies got involved, I'm sure, but this was a covert operation meant to stay that way.

SIDNER: What does it tell you that this strike happened, according to sources, last month and there has been no reaction by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro? LYONS: You know, the question is going to be what the cartel is going to expect from the Venezuelan government at this point. The CNN report said that the place was unmanned. There was no casualties there so likely, they'll put casualties there. Now, will they put Venezuelan soldiers there or who will actually now be part of the -- what could be a -- you know, a tipping straw with regard to -- if it's attacked again? Casualties make a difference, right, in terms of what -- when we attack something.

So if the Venezuelan government decides to get involved and protect these operations going forward, then that sends another escalation signal from their side that likely will respond to us from the United States. So I think they're playing it smart and recognizing to see what will be the next step that the United States does. But it looks like we're out of targets when it comes to the boats, so now we're going to go after some of these direct facilities with counternarcotics operations.

SIDNER: I do want to ask you on another subject -- you know, another huge issue for the United States and the world. After emerging from a meeting with Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu, Donald Trump threatened more military action against Iran if, he says, it tries to build its nuclear program or rebuild it. Trump said back in June that the key nuclear sites that were hit by the United States completely and fully obliterated -- were obliterated by U.S. strikes. That was back in June.

What does all of this tell you?

LYONS: Well, I think first and foremost, the United States is not going to allow the Iranians to remanufacture the level of nuclear capability that they had before in terms of what they were enriching. And that's going after those plants, and that's what we did and took -- back in the summer. It was just more of a warning shot to the Iranians.

They're having tremendous problems right now inside the -- their country. I think there's uprisings.

SIDNER: Yeah.

LYONS: Twenty twenty-six could be the year that the Iranian government finally goes down. We're looking at them moving some of their missiles around, for example. They're going to the North Korea strategy and making them more mobile and not necessarily having them in fixed locations.

But this is just Donald Trump telling the Iranians that you're still the enemy to us. You're still a state sponsor of terrorism and we're still going to put as much pressure as we can on you.

But I just don't believe they've got any forward nuclear capability of enriching uranium and then weaponizing that and delivering it anytime soon.

SIDNER: And as you mentioned, there is quite an unrest happening there in Iran at the moment, so a lot of changes could be ahead or not. We have seen this movie before.

Major Mike Lyons, thank you so much. I do appreciate it and have a wonderful new year -- Omar.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Well, speaking of 2026 -- right around the corner -- and it is gearing up to be a big year on the legal calendar.

So I want to bring in Mr. Elie Honig to take a look at some of the most anticipated stories -- senior legal analyst for us.

OK, top cases to watch next year. What are we looking for?

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR, FORMER ASSISTANT U.S. ATTORNEY, SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK: All right. We're going to count down from number five.

So number five --

JIMENEZ: Let's do it.

HONIG: Twenty twenty-five was a --

JIMENEZ: Oh, yeah.

HONIG: -- big year --

JIMENEZ: Yeah.

HONIG: -- for scandals. Gambling scandals in our pro sports league. The NBA was hit hard.

[07:35:00]

Former player Chauncey Billups, Hall of Famer and coach, was hit with an indictment charging that he was part of a mafia-run illegal poker game that defrauded millions of dollars from players.

More problematically, current player Terry Rozier and former player Damon Jones charged with essentially giving inside information to gamblers. Terry Rozier is charged with pulling himself out of games to help gamblers win their bets.

And then over in Major League Baseball you had two star pitchers on the --

JIMENEZ: Yeah.

HONIG: -- Cleveland Guardians charged with intentionally throwing bad pitches at certain times to help gamblers.

So two things to watch for in 2026, Omar. First of all, both of these cases -- all of these cases are likely to either go to trial or plead out. But bigger question: Are these scandals going to expand as we see gambling expand into the sports league? Are we going to see more problems with players and with the leagues themselves? Watch and see where this one goes. JIMENEZ: And that's the dynamic. I mean, with this legal process these

cases grow, they develop, they change.

HONIG: Yeah.

JIMENEZ: So even though you might have seen headlines about all of these cases what comes in 2026 could actually being very different --

HONIG: Yeah.

JIMENEZ: -- from what we know now, including the DOJ also lodging --

HONIG: Yeah.

JIMENEZ: -- a lot of prosecutions to watch as well, right?

HONIG: Well, one of the most memorable I think infamous Donald Trump Truth Social posts of the year was his post calling --

JIMENEZ: Yeah.

HONIG: -- explicitly for DOJ to prosecute Jim Comey, Adam Schiff, Letitia James. Now, Donald Trump, in 2025, largely got his wish. He saw indictments of Letitia James and Jim Comey, although those cases have now been thrown out by a court. The Trump administration is appealing.

So one question: Will those cases come back? They tried to reindict Letitia James twice and both times the grand jury rejected. Theoretically, they can try again.

Separately, there's the case against John Bolton. I see that one as separate because that indictment -- that investigation predates the Trump administration. The charges there, mishandling and disseminating classified information, are very serious.

So the first thing to watch for will DOJ succeed in trying to bring either of those cases back.

And then second of all, will they continue to go down the list of people Donald Trump has said publicly he wants to see indicted. Senator Adam Schiff, we saw before. Lisa Cook on the Federal Reserve. Jack Smith, former special counsel. Donald Trump has named all these people and said he wants them locked up. Will DOJ continue to do the president's bidding in 2026?

JIMENEZ: Yeah. I mean, post is one thing but again, we saw that transition into actual concrete --

HONIG: Yeah.

JIMENEZ: -- action.

Uh, final thing, the Supreme Court. We're always watching for the Supreme Court.

HONIG: Yeah, but --

JIMENEZ: Yeah.

HONIG: -- this is going to be extraordinary, at least the next six months.

JIMENEZ: Yeah.

HONIG: The third-biggest case to watch for birthright citizenship. We just --

JIMENEZ: And that's the third-biggest case, yeah.

HONIG: And that's only number three, believe it or not, right? We just learned a few weeks ago that the Supreme Court will hear this case. They should decide it sometime over the summer. This goes back to the 14th Amendment ratified in 1868. It tells us any person born or naturalized in the United States subject to very narrow exceptions is automatically a citizen. That's been the rule for 150 years.

Donald Trump, on his first day in office, tried to narrow that down and say but not if the parents are here illegally or temporarily.

And so that question is going to go up to the U.S. Supreme Court. This will affect literally millions of people --

JIMENEZ: Yeah.

HONIG: -- whether they have the most basic protections of U.S. citizenship. The court has taken this case. They're going to decide it. I would look for an opinion sometime in May or June of '26.

JIMENEZ: OK.

HONIG: All right. Number two, and this just is very recent, Trump's continuing effort to deploy the National Guard and the military in U.S. cities. Just last week the Supreme Court blocked Trump from deploying the National Guard in Chicago. However, he can try again.

And the big question in 2026, Omar, will Donald Trump take that extraordinary step of invoking a separate law, the Insurrection Act? That law has not been invoked since 1992 after the Rodney King incident. And so will Trump take that dramatic step? And if he does, I promise you it will wind up in the courts and probably back into --

JIMENEZ: Back here.

HONIG: -- the Supreme Court. That's case number two.

All right, number one. You want to guess?

JIMENEZ: Uh, you know what? I'm going to -- I have to -- it probably has to do with money.

HONIG: It has to do with money.

JIMENEZ: Yeah.

HONIG: You got it.

JIMENEZ: So there we go.

HONIG: The tariffs, right?

JIMENEZ: Yeah, yeah.

HONIG: We remember "Liberation Day." Donald Trump announced his reciprocal tariffs on dozens of countries around the world.

Now, this case has already been argued. The Supreme Court heard arguments on this back in November. We are expecting an opinion from the Supreme Court. I don't think we're going to have to wait until the spring. In fact, I expect this will happen in January or so. I think we're going to hear --

JIMENEZ: Wow.

HONIG: -- really soon. But hard to think of another case that has so many implications legally, politically, economically, financially. We're going to learn really soon whether Donald Trump's tariffs will stand or be struck down. That's one that the whole world is watching.

JIMENEZ: Yeah.

HONIG: And by the way, I've listened to the oral argument there. Really hard to read the justices. Sometimes you get a sense where they're at. If it had to make a prediction, I think they're probably -- not definitely but probably going to strike down the tariffs. But nobody should invest space on that I do not give advice to.

JIMENEZ: Yeah. The whole world --

HONIG: To anyone economically.

JIMENEZ: The whole world is, like, yeah -- no thanks, Elie.

HONIG: I just do legal, not economics, folks.

JIMENEZ: Yeah.

But, you know, if that decision does come in January, it would be just under a year since these tariffs were first announced.

HONIG: Right.

JIMENEZ: But obviously, huge, huge implications.

HONIG: He has said -- the president has said this is the biggest single thing he has done in his first year in office.

[07:40:00]

JIMENEZ: Well, I'm excited to have you back. We'll talk about all of this when this happens in 2026.

HONIG: I'm ready.

JIMENEZ: Elie Honig, appreciate it as always.

HONIG: Thanks, Omar.

JIMENEZ: Sara.

SIDNER: Elie, are you trying to shift the predictive markets? Is that what's happening here? Because you probably just had an impact right now. Somebody somewhere is betting on this.

HONIG: If I have market-moving powers that's beyond the --

SIDNER: Pretty incredible. I think you might.

JIMENEZ: It's a different story.

SIDNER: We'll check with Harry and see if you're having an impact, Elie Honig. Thank you, guys.

All right. This morning the FBI and Homeland Security say they are surging resources to Minnesota to investigate claims of widespread fraud in the state.

The federal crackdown comes just days after a YouTube creator posted a viral video boosted by Vice President JD Vance, accusing Somali-run childcare centers of taking money without actually caring for children. But critics say these accusations are being made without any actual proof and call it a troubling continuation of the Trump administration's targeting of Minnesota's Somali community who he publicly called "garbage."

CNN's Holmes Lybrand joins us now with more on this. Holmes, tell us -- tell us a little bit more about what has been driving this investigation.

HOLMES LYBRAND, CNN REPORTER: Yeah. So this is a really interesting investigation. It's actually pretty old. A lot of this began under President Joe Biden when they were investigating fraud claims related to COVID relief.

So when we talk about a lot of this giant -- this giant kind of fraud scheme that director of the FBI Kash Patel also tweeted about, saying that there were 78 indictments so far, 57 convictions, as well as this dismantling of a $250 million fraud scheme, that is an older case than what we're now talking about with this new viral video.

So this new viral video is trying to take past claims and kind of make these new claims. These new claims have not been investigated. In fact, Tikki Brown, the commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Children, said that these centers have been visited in the past six months and that none of those unannounced visits have turned out any fraud. But they are investigating these locations. But again, this is a kind of this past fraud that's still being investigated. In fact, prosecutors are now telling reporters that they're investigating new suspicious billing practices for 14 Medicare-funded programs in the state.

So this is an ongoing investigation. It is clearly a lot fraud that takes place but that's very different than going door-to-door and making these accusations against specific facilities like these daycare centers that have not yet been backed up by officials.

Holmes Lybrand, thank you so much for that. We spent a lot of time in court watching court sessions together over these many years. Thank you. I do appreciate seeing you now and have a wonderful new year.

Joining us now, CNN political analyst Jackie Kucinich, and senior contributor at Axios, Margaret Talev. Thank you both for being here.

Let's start with what's happening in Minnesota. Does this YouTuber's viral video simply kind of give the Trump administration another reason or cover for its crackdown against Somalis who Trump did call "garbage" -- who said he wanted out of the country?

I will start with you, Margaret.

MARGARET TALEV, SENIOR CONTRIBUTOR, AXIOS, DIRECTOR, INSTITUTE FOR DEMOCRACY, JOURNALISM AND CITIZENSHIP, SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY (via Webex by Cisco): Well, it certainly is giving fuel to this argument. And I think it does demonstrate the sort of increasing power of the sort of creator -- news adjacent creators in this space. We're seeing it all over the country, whether it's people who claim political neutrality or are aligned with one side or the other.

But I think it is also a big political problem for Tim Walz. I mean, he's running what would be a historic third four-year term in Minnesota. There's a lot of Republican interest in taking him on, including from figures like Lindell. You can be sure if Tim Walz was the U.S. vice president right now at this moment that this would be like one of the first, you know, political scandals that he would be dealing with.

So there are a lot of moving parts here but I think for President Trump and the Trump administration this effort to use this to make broader arguments about scaling back immigration and scaling back refugee status does run up against this other issue of does he go too far when he makes those points. And in a state like Minnesota, which has been a blue state for quite some time, that's the big question. Will he take it too far? What's the sort of maximal pressure to put on Walz without jumping the shark?

SIDNER: Yeah.

Jackie, I do want to talk to you a little bit more about Walz. I mean, there was a huge fraud case that was decided in a federal court where a jury convicted the leader and associate of a now-defunct nonprofit. Prosecutors, at the time, in 2019, called it the nation's largest-ever case of pandemic aid fraud. That case just ending in 2025. You know, the head of that nonprofit is not Somali, but her associate was.

[07:45:10]

I mean, how much damage has all of this done to Governor Tim Walz's prospects of potential higher office? Obviously, he is running again for governor, so that's one thing. But then if you look at the national picture as 2028 comes rolling around, what do you make of all this?

JACKIE KUCINICH, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, THE BOSTON GLOBE (via Webex by Cisco): So I think -- I think you're right with the -- with the -- particularly with the first point there. This is about his re-election campaign right now in 2026. And you know that Minnesota Republicans have taken aim. They've called on him to resign for some of these scandals at this point.

Now, the governor's office has said they have made reforms but ultimately, the voters are going to decide if that's enough.

And Margaret is absolutely right. This is a blue state but it's a governor's office that Republicans absolutely are targeting and want to take back in 2026. And the closer these scandals get to that election day, which we're still, you know, a couple of months out -- but the closer you do get, the more likely that this could impact what could be a really interesting general election in Minnesota.

SIDNER: Yeah. I mean, we've got some great reporting from Annie Grayer this week that shows all of the Republicans who are leaving in large numbers from Congress and looking at running for governorships. So this all could be very, very interesting going forward.

I do want to move on to New York where Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani will be sworn in in an abandoned subway station beneath City Hall on New Year's Eve -- and then the hardest work will begin, which is governing.

He has three main things he ran on: universal child care, rent freezes, and making buses free and faster. His whole campaign was about affordability and other Democrats certainly jumped quickly to do the same and won seats in special elections.

First to you, Margaret. I mean, how will the party -- the Democratic Party be watching what happens in New York as they gauge for how they should proceed?

TALEV: It's an -- such a fascinating story to watch and I think the answer is kind of at arm's length -- like, kind of like looking but then looking away. You've got Democrats nationally saying New York is not -- New York City is not the same as swing districts across the United States or statewide offices in many states, so are reluctant to draw too many parallels, I think.

And then on the other hand this affordability message is so potent and visceral, whether you're in a red district or a blue district. It helped Donald Trump get elected in 2024. It is one of President Trump's biggest obstacles and his -- one of his party's biggest obstacles now a year later.

And for Mamdani, these promises to impact affordability for working- class New Yorkers but also just messages saying sort of, like, I hear you, I feel you. You -- it's legitimate to feel like you can't afford anything. These are really powerful messages that helped him get elected.

But the measure of his success now is going to be on whether he can deliver on some of these things inside the context of this massive city full of millionaires and billionaires and major businesses also. So you have to be able to run all of the city while addressing this case that helped you get elected.

And I think in these early days we're going to see his decisions about who to appoint to crucial positions inside his government. How many people from the prior mayor's administration to keep over. Who will he be able to bring on board to help execute some of these promises? Everyone -- Democrats, Republicans, New Yorkers -- will be closely watching.

SIDNER: Yeah, for sure. And there was a lot of surprise on how he and President Trump got on when he visited the White House.

I do -- I'm leaving a heavy one for you, Jackie, which is looking forward --

KUCINICH: Uh-oh.

SIDNER: -- to 2026, what do you see as being --

KUCINICH: Oh, God.

SIDNER: -- the big political story? You know this stuff like the back of your hand. What do you see being a couple of the big, big political juggernaut stories that you think we are going to be watching in 2026?

KUCINICH: To the extent that we can predict anything about 2026, I think -- I mean, I think that, you know, you just -- Margaret just mentioned it -- affordability. Affordability is going to be a centerpiece we know of Democrats going forward into 2026. And I think Republicans are trying to wrap their minds around how to message this as well and what they can get behind and what they can't get behind when it comes to making things affordable for their constituents.

Is it how they -- how they handle tariffs? Is it how they handle some of the other things that could move through Congress? But the House -- particularly, we're talking about the House of Representatives, which is definitely up for grabs in 2026.

[07:50:05]

So it's going to be quite the year.

SIDNER: It certainly will be.

Jackie Kucinich and Margaret Talev, thank you so much and have a wonderful new year.

All right. Happening today, a new search begins for the missing MH370 plane. This happened 10 years ago when it crashed. Now there is a brand new search. We will tell you all about what's happening there.

And they say everything's bigger in Texas. How Shaquille O'Neal is helping one young man become the tallest police officer in the state.

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SIDNER: On our radar for you a crazy Christmas Eve crash. Yeah, that's a problem. Security camera video shows a Corvette speeding off the road, through a yard, and ultimately smashing through that fence you saw there into a boat on the other side, a trailer, and the side of the house because it was going so fast. Other than all the property damage, unbelievably, nobody was hurt. The driver ended up with just a ticket somehow.

[07:55:10]

All right. Basketball legend Shaquille O'Neal is helping a young man reach his dream of becoming the tallest police officer in Texas. Jordan Wilmore is seven-foot-three and recently took his state peace officer exam. He missed a passing score by just one point. So Shaq, who is a certified peace officer -- things you didn't now -- heard about his story and is now sponsoring Jordan's next attempt.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHAQUILLE O'NEAL, NBA HALL OF FAMER: I actually found out about him through jealousy. I thought I was the tallest, handsomest cop in the world.

JORDAN WILMORE, ASPIRING TALLEST COP IN TEXAS: I'm really thankful for him helping me out and being there, and being like a mentor for helping me out to do this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Proof that Shaq is involved in almost literally everything. The help does not stop there. Shaq will have a custom made car ready for Jordan once he passes that exam.

All right. Beyonce is a billionaire. Forbes announcing the iconic singer has joined a very small group of other musicians to reach that elite status. The financial success comes after a landmark year in her career that included becoming the most awarded and most nominated artist in Grammy history. She also made history as the first Black woman to win the Grammy for "Best Country Album."

The other four billionaire musicians are Beyonce's husband Jay-Z, Rhianna, Bruce Springsteen, and -- you know it -- Taylor Swift -- Omar.

JIMENEZ: I need an invite to dinner at Beyonce and Jay-Z's house. But look, we've got a lot of news going on today. One of the things

we've been following is something now that is more than a decade in the making. Happening today, after Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 vanished without a trace, the search for the missing plane is going to get back going this morning.

Malaysia's Transport Ministry says the search will be carried out by Texas-based marine robotics firm Ocean Infinity over the next 55 days. Now, the firm restarted the search for the Boeing 777 earlier this year but had to stop in April because of bad weather.

Now, the Boeing flight disappeared from radar back in 2014 carrying 239 people, mostly Chinese nationals. And satellite date showed the plane turned from its flight path and headed south to the far southern Indian Ocean where it's believed to have crashed.

I want to bring in now CNN transportation analyst Mary Schiavo. And Mary, I just want to start with -- look, more than 10 years later, why now?

MARY SCHIAVO, CNN TRANSPORTATION ANALYST, FORMER INSPECTOR GENERAL, TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT (via Webex by Cisco): Well, why now is because they believe they have enough new technology and enough new information and guidance, especially from AI, to have a better idea of where to search the location.

They have new autonomous underwater vehicles. Literally, they send them out and say go search and map. It's not robotic vehicles but truly autonomous and so they will be better able to map a smaller area to search.

And, of course, with all the tremendous AI advances they think they will be able to better analyze what they're finding and what they're seeing, and what they have from data from the past. So that's why now.

But they do have some things working against them -- most importantly, of course, Mother Nature. The drift of any debris over time. The sediment. Of course, they say their AI will help them clear away, at least in computer language, the sediment and the deterioration of the wreckage.

So now is because technology allows them to try again.

JIMENEZ: Yeah. I mean, so much time has passed. To your point, it's not just drifts, but it's drifts over more than 10 years, you know. And with the power of --

SCHIAVO: That's right.

JIMENEZ: -- the ocean it can really, really shift what was known about the flight prior to the crash.

Now Mary, other than the plane itself -- I mean, what are they hoping to find here? What is part of a mission like this?

SCHIAVO: Well the mission part -- part of the mission is, of course, to give the families some information, some closure. You know, they've been waiting for a long time to have exactly -- know exactly what happened to their loved ones.

But also, it's very important for aviation safety. Even though, you know, it was 2014, and 10-11 years have passed, it's important to know what really happened. There were lots of theories. A lot of them were pure speculation and there wasn't any evidence to back them up. But by finding out exactly what happened we can make changes that are important for aviation safety.

And already, some changes were made. The suspect in the cargo hold was more pallets of lithium ion batteries. Now commercial passenger flights do not carry those in the cargo hold. And anybody who has flown when you check in, they say, "Do you have any of those in your luggage?"

We have better tracking methods. We can track planes around the globe with technology, such as ADS-B, literally to the second where back then they didn't have to report in for 30 to 60 minutes. And, of course, one of the things we all talked about back then was the able to locate through pingers underwater.