Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Russia Launches Assault On Kyiv Ahead Of Trump-Zelenskyy Meeting; U.S. Says "Multiple ISIS Terrorists" Killed In Nigeria Strikes; Investigators Search For Motive After Sheriff Office Shooting; Major Storms Could Cause Chaos For Post-Christmas Travelers; Ashlee Buzzard Pleads Not Guilty To Murder Of 9-Year-Old Daughter. Discovery in Utah Leads Investigators to Melodee Buzzard; Ashlee Buzzard Pleads Not Guilty to Daughter's Murder; 1M Plus More Epstein Pages; Flu Cases Surging During Holiday Season. Aired 1-2p ET

Aired December 27, 2025 - 13:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:00:35]

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, thank you for spending part of your holiday weekend with us. I'm Danny Freeman in for Fredricka Whitfield.

We've got a lot of news to get to today and we begin here with Russia, launching a large-scale attack across Kyiv that lasted nearly 10 hours, one of the longest of the year. Ukrainian officials say at least two people were killed and dozens were injured. Now, they also say the strikes knocked out heat to thousands of buildings in freezing temperatures.

Russia's attack comes just a day before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to meet with President Trump in Florida. The two leaders plan to discuss the 20-point peace plan that Ukraine unveiled this week following discussions with the U.S.

Now, we have full coverage for you. We have CNN Senior White House Reporter Kevin Liptak. He's near Mar-a-Lago and Correspondent Nada Bashir in London. Kevin, I want to go to you first. Tell us, what do we know about this 20-point plan that's on the table for these talks?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, and this is essentially Zelenskyy's version of the multi-point plan that President Trump had put forward. You see the two sides kind of going back and forth and back and forth, trying to come up with something that they can agree on. And what Zelenskyy's plan includes is immediate ceasefire. Of course, that has been his prerequisite for trying to get this war to an end.

A legally binding agreement. It includes provisions that sort of mandate Ukraine's sovereignty. It talks about security guarantees that the U.S. and Europe would provide to ensure that Russia doesn't invade further once this war ends. And it includes some discussion of the territorial concessions. Now, when we talked to American officials a couple of weeks ago, they said that they were about 90 percent there on this peace proposal. But of course, that 10 percent that is remaining is a difficult one, and it is a sticking point. And it's what the President will discuss when Zelenskyy comes down here to Palm Beach tomorrow.

You know, this meeting kind of came up last minute, and it's, I think, significant. You know, it wasn't that long ago that President Trump said that he didn't think it would be useful for him to sit down with Zelenskyy unless he felt they were closer to reaching a peace agreement. And there has been significant work put in to try and get there, including down here in South Florida.

The President's envoys, Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, meeting with a Ukrainian delegation. They met with an envoy from Moscow to try and get all of this put together. You know, President Trump, in an interview yesterday, was somewhat tepid about his expectations for this meeting with Zelenskyy, saying that he doesn't have anything until I approve it, referring to that peace plan, and we'll see what he's got.

But he also says that he thinks it's going to be a good discussion, which, in the end, has not always been the case. You'll remember back in February, that explosive Oval Office discussion between the two presidents. And so, quite a critical meeting, I think, set to take place here on Sunday.

What isn't going to happen, of course, is any agreement from Moscow. But it's because Vladimir Putin is not coming to Florida, he will not be over at Mar-a-Lago. And I think it still remains something of an outstanding question of what precisely Vladimir Putin is willing to agree to.

So far, Russia has not backed off any of its maximalist demands for how this war will end, including that Ukraine give up the entire Donbas region. What Zelenskyy has said is that he's willing to put this peace plan up for a referendum in Ukraine, but only if Russia agrees to stop the fighting.

And so, all of this remains uncertain, but clearly an important moment for the men to discuss all of it. Danny?

FREEMAN: Yes, an incredibly important moment, indeed.

I want to bring Nada into the conversation. Can you give us a little bit of perspective from Ukraine? Is Kyiv beginning to recover from this latest attack?

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, this has certainly been one of the largest aerial assaults that we have seen in recent days, if not recent weeks, targeting the Ukrainian capital. And we've been getting video from the ground showing the sheer scale of the destruction that has been brought not only to Ukraine's energy infrastructure, but also to civilian infrastructure. A number of residential buildings were hit in this overnight assault. And we've heard earlier in the day from the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who said that Russia launched nearly 500 drones and some 40 missiles at Ukraine in this overnight assault, which lasted some 10 hours, making it one of the longest that we have seen in the last year. So you can imagine the horror and devastation for many in Kyiv, who have not only had to see this overnight attack taking place today, but also over the last few days, we have seen a ramping up of Russia's assault on Ukraine ahead of the Christmas period.

[13:05:13]

Take a listen to one resident of Kyiv who was impacted in today's attack.

OLENA KARPENKO, KYIV RESIDENT (through translator): All night long, there was an air raid siren. And then in the morning, we heard a very loud explosion at the thermal power plant. Then we heard when the drones flew in and there was an explosion and flames broke out.

The house shook. We went to the window, even though you shouldn't. We got dressed, ran out of the house and heard a man burning on the fourth floor, begging for help. It's horrible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASHIR: At this stage, officials say at least one person has been killed in that attack, dozens injured. And this has certainly only ramped up the pressure and urgency that President Zelenskyy is facing in securing some sort of peace deal and backing not only from the United States, but also, of course, from NATO and European leaders as well. Danny?

FREEMAN: All right, a very consequential post-Christmas weekend on this front.

Nada Bashir and Kevin Liptak, thank you both so much for that reporting.

All right, staying overseas now, there are new details out of Nigeria after the U.S. military launched Tomahawk cruise missile attacks on what President Trump calls ISIS terrorists. Now, the President is saying he ordered the strikes to stop what he says is the slaughter of Christians there. The U.S. military is reporting multiple terrorists were killed in ISIS camps.

But on the ground, some people say the area targeted on Christmas Day is not known for terrorist activity and that Christians live peacefully with the Muslim majority. CNN's Larry Madowo has been talking with people there on the ground. Larry, tell us, what are you learning about this?

LARRY MADOWO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Danny, President Trump called the Thursday night airstrikes a Christmas gift, but for whom? The people are not sure because they're surprised about why they were targeted. The northwestern Sokoto state where these attacks took place is a majority Muslim.

About 90 percent of the population is Muslim. They coexist peacefully with the Christian minority. Even experts question the ISIS presence in Sokoto state. That is the big question here. Why did they pick the northwest of Sokoto? Why not the northeast, which has seen more militant attacks with groups affiliated with Islamic State and others?

The region, to be clear, this particular place, has had banditry and kidnappings and some small attacks from an organization known as Lakurawa. Lakurawa is an armed group that has been attacking some of the locals there. Their exact connection to Islamic State is not clear.

But they are a menace to the people, to be clear, and they welcome any kind of intervention, but they question and push back on this characterization as this being a major ISIS terrorist cell that needed to be taken out. And we have not really seen any major battle damage assessments.

So apart from the crater and the small depressed earth that you see in that video, there's not much else we've seen so far. So where are these terrorists that are supposed to have been killed? I want you to listen to one security analyst talking about the location and the choice of this place.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AWWAL ABDULLAHI, SECURITY ANALYST: To eliminate and disengage Lakurawa, it is a welcome development. But to say that the Lakurawas are ISIS or bandit are ISIS, that is where the challenge is. Not only ISIS, but saying that Christian genocide taking place in the -- in Sokoto or the entire northwestern state of Nigeria, it is truly a challenge. And then we truly -- there are a lot of questions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MADOWO: There are a lot of questions the Nigerians quickly pushed back on President Trump characterizing this as an attack against Islamic terrorists who have been targeting primarily Christians. They say they have a security problem that affects both Muslims and Christians.

And actually between the last five years, a slightly higher number of Muslims and Christians have been killed, and that's something the Nigerian government is very clear that they want to put out there, Danny.

FREEMAN: All right, Larry Madowo, thank you so much for breaking down an intense situation in Nigeria. Appreciate it.

All right, moving stateside now, investigators in Wallace, Idaho, are now trying to figure out why a gunman opened fire inside of a sheriff's office. Officials say the suspect injured three people before he was killed in a standoff with police. Deputies say the gunman first shot at a pickup truck outside the Shoshone County Sheriff's office, then walked into the lobby and kept firing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF WILLIAM EDDY, SHOSHONE COUNTY, IDAHO: An officer-involved shooting occurred, and the subject was pronounced dead at about 4:15 p.m. One officer got minor injuries. Two civilians also had minor injuries. They were shot in the leg, I believe. Two civilians were shot in the street, that's all I know, and then one officer was shot in the ear inside.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[13:10:00]

FREEMAN: Thankfully, all three people who were shot are expected to be OK.

And to this now, the University of Michigan Wolverines have a new head coach. He is Kyle Whittingham, who spent two decades leading the University of Utah's highly successful football program. Whittingham's appointment follows a chaotic period, though, for Michigan football, including the recent firing of head coach Sherrone Moore and his arrest.

The school said there was evidence Moore was, quote, "engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a staff member." After his dismissal, Moore was arrested and charged with felony home invasion and multiple misdemeanors. His lawyer has entered a plea of not guilty.

And baby number two is on the way for White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and her husband Nicholas Riccio. Leavitt announced her pregnancy in an Instagram post on Friday, saying their son's baby sister is due in May. She also thanked President Trump and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles for their support and for, quote, "fostering a pro-family environment in the White House." The couple's son, also named Nicholas, was born back in July of 2024.

All right, still to come this hour, a powerful snowstorm blasting the northeast, leaving a travel mess in its wake. We'll tell you where the flight delays and cancellations are piling up.

Plus, flu cases also on the rise right now. The state of New York even saying they're experiencing the highest number of flu cases ever recorded in a single week. We'll tell you ahead the flu treatment you might not be aware of. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:15:35]

FREEMAN: Right now, the Northeast is digging out from a massive winter storm that dumped heavy snow and dangerous ice all across the region. New York City clearing out after its first snowfall greater than 4 inches since 2022. Now, LaGuardia was one of the several airports in the area hit hard with flight delays and many cancellations. Plus, thousands of customers across Michigan started their weekend without power. CNN meteorologist Chris Warren joins me now with the latest. Chris, it's amazing because this is just one of two storms hitting the U.S. basically at the same time. What's in store for folks on both coasts today?

CHRIS WARREN, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, what we're going to be watching, Danny, is the next one really winding up and moving through the Midwest. While the one that we saw overnight, when really that's when the majority of the snow came in New York and Connecticut and throughout a lot of the Northeast here. As that is moving out, cold air is moving in.

Some of the higher snowfall totals were in New York and Connecticut. Close to a foot of snow. There's that Central Park at 4.3 inches of snow. Now, the forecast changed a bit late last night as the heavy snow band kind of moved a little bit to the east. So New York could have, we were thinking, would get almost double what they did get.

But some areas did absolutely get clobbered by a lot of snow. That is winding down. A few snow showers lingering in New Jersey and far eastern PA at the moment. And then here comes the next one. This one going to be too mild across much of the Northeast for snow again.

A little bit of wintry mix is possible here in pink, but the big-time snow happening in Wisconsin and parts of Minnesota, you can see right in here, these pink colors, 6 to 8 inches. Some areas locally, maybe even a foot of snow. And then on top of that, for, you know, late tomorrow and into early Monday, with the snow and the rain, it's also going to be the wind.

And, of course, when it comes to holiday travel, that is tough at the airports, not just how strong some of these winds are going to be by Monday morning, really Sunday night into Monday morning, 45 to 50 mile per hour gusts in Chicago, but it's also the wind direction. Changing wind direction over the runways can lead to delays, and through Monday afternoon into the evening hours, the Northeast will be seeing some of those strong winds, again, going along with some of the rain.

The temperature changes here. How about this in Chicago with daytime highs well above average tomorrow, 55 degrees, and then just drops down, not just well below average, but staying below freezing for highs and lows, Danny, most of the week.

FREEMAN: Wow, that's wild. Listen, I don't envy those who have to travel, but I will say it was beautiful with the snow coming down in New York City last night.

Chris Warren, thanks so much, as always. Appreciate you.

All right, joining me now, though, to talk more about that travel is Clint Henderson, the managing editor for the travel website, The Points Guy. Clint, good to see you.

Let's start here. If you were flying today and you were seeing that board turn redder and redder and delayed and delayed, what would you do? What would be your advice? CLINT HENDERSON, MANAGING EDITOR, THE POINTS GUY: So the best advice in a situation like that, when weather is really wrecking your local airport, is see if the airline will let you reschedule. That's honestly my best advice in a situation like that. The airlines are getting better and better at putting in place waivers.

So today, for instance, they've had a weather waiver in place for the Northeast, so you can reschedule your flight with no issue. And the airlines are being very flexible these days. So if you're in a situation where you're traveling from or to an airport that's really socked in by weather, I say cut bait and just reschedule for another day, if you can.

You know, the other thing I would just say to travelers is make sure you're situationally aware. Make sure you know what's going on at the airport. You know, have that airline app installed. Have the customer service phone numbers. Have a plan B. You know, you've really got to use all the tools in the toolbox.

FREEMAN: Yes, it's amazing. Sometimes they'll rebook you without you even like knowing that it has happened. But, like you said, they're getting more and more used to this process.

Clint, I'm curious, though, are we past the busiest days of travel, or do a lot of people have their eyes on tomorrow?

HENDERSON: No, tomorrow is the busiest day, and that's all the more reason to be on top of things because flights are full. So a lot of those folks who have been on canceled or delayed flights, they're going to want to get on a new flight tomorrow. Well, if the plane's already full, you know, you get in a situation where there's just no available seats. So you've got to have that plan B handy.

FREEMAN: Yes, I think that's -- yes, Monday might end up being the day. But do you have any tips for those folks who, let's say, they do already have their flights tomorrow. I'm sure airports are going to be crazy no matter what. What tips would you give to those folks --

HENDERSON: Yes.

FREEMAN: -- who are planning their holiday getaway?

[13:20:10]

HENDERSON: Yes, the first thing I would say is get to the airport early. Obviously, make sure you know what's happening with your flight. But then get to the airport early. Just give yourself some grace. You know, you don't want to be rushing.

And remember, a lot of people traveling this time of year don't know what they're doing. Not to be too rude, but, you know, they may not even know that they don't longer have to take off their shoes. So --

FREEMAN: Yes.

HENDERSON: -- you've got a lot of folks who don't travel a lot. So just give yourself some extra time. There's so much to do at airports these days. I don't consider it wasted time to get there three hours early just in case. So that's my strongest recommendation.

FREEMAN: No, but it's a good point. You know, for a lot -- most people, right, if they travel, this is the one time of year perhaps that they travel. So that is a point well taken.

Selfishly, though, I wanted to ask you one more thing, Clint. Is this a good time to maybe look at taking any last-minute trips? Again, hypothetically, maybe if you've been working straight through the holidays and through the holiday weekend, for example.

HENDERSON: Yes, this is a great time to use points and miles last minute because you're going to get maximum value. The other thing I would say is use a tool like Google Flights Explorer. Say you want to go to the Caribbean. You put in your home airport, it'll show you the cheapest options in the Caribbean, even last minute. So I love that tool.

And one more tip, start booking your spring break trips now because it's cheapest it's going to be before spring break.

FREEMAN: Start booking your spring break trips now. Clint, I'm trying to get through this weekend. Spring break but then --

HENDERSON: Sorry. Sorry.

FREEMAN: No, no, it's good advice. And listen, the gift cards that people have and stockings, maybe that's exactly what you can start putting them towards now.

Clint Henderson --

HENDERSON: Exactly.

FREEMAN: -- thanks so much for breaking all that down. Really appreciate your time.

HENDERSON: Yes. Happy New Year.

FREEMAN: To you as well.

And you can kick off the year with comedy legend Chevy Chase in a sharp, funny, and revealing new CNN film featuring candid interviews with the Chase family, friends, co-stars, and, of course, the man himself, Chevy. "I'm Chevy Chase and You're Not" premieres New Year's Day at 8:00 p.m. Eastern and the next day on the CNN app.

All right, months after 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard vanished, a back road discovery revealed the devastating truth. Now Melodee's mother is facing charges in her death. In just a moment, we'll take a deep dive into the months-long investigation. Don't go anywhere.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:26:49] FREEMAN: Investigators in California are searching for a possible motive in the killing of 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard. Now she vanished while on a road trip with her mother, triggering a massive multi-state search. Well, now her mother, Ashlee, has been charged with first- degree murder in Melodee's death, pleading not guilty during a Friday court appearance.

CNN's Marybel Gonzalez joins me now. Marybel, what's the latest on this story?

MARYBEL GONZALEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Danny. Well, the long search for 9-year-old California girl Melodee Buzzard is now over, but the hunt for answers into exactly what happened to her is just beginning. Now, her mother, as you just mentioned, Ashlee Buzzard, appeared before a judge Friday following her arrest Tuesday. She's charged with first-degree murder in her daughter's killing, which, according to a criminal complaint, was carried out with exceptional, quote, "cruelty and viciousness."

Now, after searching for two months across eight states, Melodee's body was found on December 6th in the rural community of Caineville, Utah, by a couple who pulled off a state highway onto an easily-missed dirt road. Now, authorities said she died from gunshot wounds to her head.

Now, they also say that evidence points to a suspect whom Melodee trusted the most in this world, her mother. Ashlee Buzzard has pleaded not guilty on Friday, and prosecutors said they would not seek the death penalty if she is convicted but would instead ask for life in prison without parole. Now, Melodee's family had a strong reaction to that announcement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARVIN MEZA, MELODEE BUZZARD'S PATERNAL UNCLE: The prosecution stating that they're not going to seek the death penalty, I don't understand why. I think, I mean, they're going to seek life in prison, that's fine, but I think for what she did, it should be a lot worse.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GONZALEZ: Now, it's interesting to note that many of Melodee's extended relatives said they had not seen her in years, and it was ultimately not her family that reported her missing back in October, but rather a concerned school administrator.

Now, Melodee was last seen on video with her mom Ashlee on October 9th near the Colorado and Utah state line while on a road trip, both appearing to wear wigs. Detectives now believe Melodee was killed shortly after this video was taken. Now, they also say they were hindered by deliberate efforts to hide the truth from clumsy disguises, swapped license plates, and an uncooperative mother who could not provide a reasonable explanation for her daughter's whereabouts.

We have reached out to Ashlee's attorney for comment. She is due back in court in January. Danny?

FREEMAN: Oh, man, such a sad and bizarre story.

Marybel, thank you so much. Just before you go, though, can you tell us what exactly happens next in this case?

GONZALEZ: Well, this is just -- she just got charged with first-degree --

FREEMAN: OK.

GONZALEZ: -- murder charge. She did plead not guilty. She is back for a preliminary hearing back in court, and that is when we will see where this case goes, legally speaking.

FREEMAN: OK, got it. So a lot more in the New Year.

Marybel Gonzalez, thank you so much for that. Appreciate it.

All right, I want to get an expert perspective on this now. I'd like to bring in former senior FBI profiler Mary Ellen O'Toole. Thank you so much for joining us and for breaking down a really complex, bizarre case.

Let's start here. What does Ashlee Buzzard's, Melodee's mother, of course, lack of cooperation with investigators suggest about her potential involvement here?

MARY ELLEN O'TOOLE, FORMER SENIOR FBI PROFILER AND FORMER FBI SPECIAL AGENT: Well, it's not just her lack of participation in the case, it's a combination of behaviors and forensic evidence that they're looking at. So, the fact that she's not cooperating with law enforcement, that's certainly significant. But they're also looking at how well the trip was planned, all the effort and the behavior that went into that premeditation that went into the planning.

So, when you combine all that together, I mean, it came across to them that this woman did not want to participate, did not want to help find her daughter. And as more evidence is collected, then she begins to look, you know, more and more responsible for what happened to Melodee.

FREEMAN: You know, this stood out to a lot of us. I believe the criminal complaint describes the act as a calculated and vicious killing. That struck me as really strong language. What specific evidence led investigators to characterize it this way?

O'TOOLE: Well, probably several things. And the one thing that really has jumped out at me is that this is a little girl and she is, according to the reports, and that could certainly change, but she was shot in the head, and that's tantamount to an assassination. She's then left along the side of the road. And in my old unit, the profiling unit, we look at the ways bodies are disposed of. They're staged, they're buried, or they're dumped. And this body was dumped on the side of the road. And when a body is dumped, that implies I don't care about this person anymore, they're meaningless to me. And in some instances, the offender abused the victim as garbage.

So, when I look at the cause of death and the way that Melodee was left on the side of the road, that certainly suggests to me that it was extremely cold. And then the planning on top of that suggests that it was very calculated and intentional. So, it rules out defenses like impulsive act, accidental act, and then it begins to help investigators really narrow down what the motive or motives might have been.

FREEMAN: Well, and again, I've been out there in parts of Utah, which is very -- you know, there are parts that are really rural. It's amazing that anyone ultimately found that poor girl's body.

O'TOOLE: Yes.

FREEMAN: Given that Melodee had been missing, though, for months, why do you think it took investigators so long to formally charge her mother, Ashlee, despite actually having her in custody earlier on a false imprisonment charge?

O'TOOLE: They needed the forensic evidence. And what they need in a case like this is they needed Melodee's body. They needed to be able to determine cause and manner of death, which they now have. They needed strong forensic evidence, which they have, which is the DNA. And then they also have the ballistic evidence. So, you can't go into court on a major case like this and just explain that the mother wouldn't cooperate because there could be a lot of reasons for that.

You have to say Melodee is not just missing, Melodee is dead. She's dead as a result of homicide. Homicide is the gunshot wound to the head, which is tantamount, again, to an assassination. So, we can rule out all of these other motives. So, they needed all of that to paint the correct picture of very likely what happened here.

FREEMAN: And yet still, it seems that we're in the very early stages. So, I guess from your perspective, what do you expect investigators and, of course, ultimately prosecutors to do next as we enter the new year?

O'TOOLE: Well, one of the first things that a jury is going to want to understand is there is this sweet little girl. What could possibly this child have done to cause this kind of behavior? So, as best as they can, they will go back and attempt to establish the relationship that the mother had with the daughter and what took place in that relationship. And that's going to be a challenge because Melodee was homeschooled. She was removed from the rest of her family. So, that's going to take months of investigative work to be able to establish that pattern of behavior that led up to, at least right now, what appears to be that this child was not wanted by her mother, maybe even hated by the mother, got in the way of the mother's life.

But to get to that point, they have the evidence, but I think they need to walk the jury through that so they can understand that's more than likely a possible motive in this case.

FREEMAN: Again, a lot more to come on such a sad and bizarre story. Mary Ellen O'Toole, thank you so much for your perspective. Really do appreciate it.

O'TOOLE: You're welcome.

FREEMAN: All right. Coming up, President Donald Trump says the Justice Department should be working on election fraud instead of redactions in the Epstein files. We'll tell you where things stand today as more than a million more documents related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein need to still be sorted through.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:35:00]

FREEMAN: Election fraud, not Jeffrey Epstein, that's what President Trump thinks the Justice Department's focus should be. After officials announced this week they found a million additional documents potentially related to the late sex offender, President Trump took to social media last night to blast the DOJ for spending too much time on what he calls a Democrat-inspired hoax, writing, quote, "When do they say no more and work on election fraud?"

All right. Let's discuss more with Politico Magazine senior writer and former federal prosecutor, Ankush Khardori. Ankush, thank you so much for being here on this holiday weekend. Let's start here, if you can help explain for our viewers, how does the DOJ just find a million new documents?

[13:40:00]

ANKUSH KHARDORI, SENIOR WRITER, POLITICO MAGAZINE AND FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: This is an excellent question. It's particularly a good question, I think, for a reason that I don't think has gotten enough attention, which is that the Trump Justice Department claimed that they reviewed all the documents before they issued a joint memo saying that there was nothing further to investigate, that they went over the prior investigation.

In terms of how they find a million documents, I've never seen this happen before. I can tell you as someone who represented corporations once in response to Justice Department criminal investigations and had to facilitate the production of documents, if a corporate defendant waited to the last day to respond to a subpoena, said that they were doing rolling productions, and then told the government a week later that they had a million documents they had missed, the Justice Department would go ballistic. This is a total, like, professionally incompetent endeavor. It reflects very poorly on the Bondi and Blanche Justice Department.

FREEMAN: Yes, the word find also doing a lot of work there. But also, help explain this, if it's all right. By law, the Justice Department had 30 days to release all of the Epstein files. OK. That deadline was last Friday. So, why are we still seeing dumps of documents and also discovery of new ones to this point that we're talking about?

KHARDORI: Incompetence. I mean, there's actually no other explanation. I mean, it would have been fine. You know, the day after the deadline, people like we were prepared to grant them a little bit of grace because they said, oh, we have some more stuff coming. It's like, OK, if you need it takes a few more days to put it out, you know, people aren't going to bat an eye.

What should have happened here is the Justice Department should have asked Congress for an extension. They clearly were not prepared to do this, despite the fact that it was Trump's idea. But, right, I mean, Trump is the one who committed to doing this last summer in an interview with Fox News. Kash Patel spent years ginning this up. It was Vice President J.D. Vance who was laughing about a totally unfunny matter, this case, on a podcast with Theo Von talking about releasing the client list.

The fact that these folks were not prepared to do it after hemming and hawing all year trying to avoid the day finally arriving reflects incompetence. We could talk about malice, cover up, whatever, but at a bare minimum, it's gross incompetence.

FREEMAN: Yes. And again, transparency, something that the Trump administration keeps trying to trumpet in all levels, including this one as well. But that certainly has not happened yet, as these documents keep coming out. I'm curious, though, in a new piece for Politico, you write about how whatever emerges in the files is, quote, "unlikely to put an end to all of the conspiracy theories." Explain that further. Why do you think that is?

KHARDORI: Well, look, I mean, we've never done this before. Dumped a gigantic, raw investigative criminal file onto the public, millions of pages on the theory that the public will somehow be able to clarify a whole set of facts that the government evidently was unable to. I mean, this was not a good idea from its inception. And I talked about this even when the bill was just a bill.

I think really what should have happened here, if we wanted to get some answers about this investigation and how it proceeded, is the Trump Justice Department, instead of firing the Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell prosecutors, should have allowed them to testify before Congress about what they did, how they did it. Kash Patel, Pam Bondi, when they released that memo over the summer saying, we're done, nothing left to see here, we've been over it, they should talk to the American public and testify to Congress about what they did.

I think the dumping of these files is not going to clarify much of anything. But again, this is a mess entirely of the Trump administration and Justice Department's own making.

FREEMAN: Well, and again, to that point, then it is up to the public to decide what is important, what is not, what is real, what is not. I mean, you have the DOJ replying in tweets to people as well about specific elements in this file. So, I mean, yes, a lot more to talk about the Epstein files, I'm sure, as we go into the new year. A lot more to talk with you about, but we have to leave it there for now. Ankush Khardori, thank you so much for your time and expertise, appreciate it.

KHARDORI: Thank you. FREEMAN: All right. Coming up in a moment, resilience in the face of tragedy. I'll introduce you to a high school senior rebuilding life in Philadelphia after being forced from home in Ukraine by Russia's war. Stay with me, you're not going to want to miss this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:45:00]

FREEMAN: To this now, flu cases are on the rise across the country this holiday season. In its latest report, the CDC says flu cases nationwide jumped nearly 15 percent over the previous week and nearly 10,000 people have been hospitalized. Tamiflu is widely prescribed as a treatment for the flu, of course, but it's not the only option. CNN health reporter Jacqueline Howard has more on what other flu treatments are available.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: The CDC recommends four doses of Tamiflu antiviral medications for this flu season. One of them is Tamiflu. That one's already widely used, widely available. It's typically taken twice daily over the course of five days, and it can be administered either in pill form or liquid form. It's approved for nearly everyone, ages two weeks and older.

Now, there's also Relenza. This is typically inhaled as powder form. It's approved for ages seven and older. There's also Rapivab. It's an IV infusion for ages six months and older. And there's Xofluza. Now, this is a single-dose pill, and it's approved for ages five and older. And Xofluza is growing in popularity because of that convenience of having just one dose to take, and then you should be good to go.

[13:50:00]

Now, if you have flu symptoms, it's important to get tested. If you test positive, call your doctor right away because all of those antiviral medications, they are prescription drugs, so you do need to be prescribed the treatment. And once you're prescribed, it's important to start your treatment as soon as possible because these medications work best when taken within the first 48 hours after your symptoms start.

And again, while Tamiflu is widely popular, Xofluza is becoming more well-known. There are slight differences. The side effects associated with Tamiflu are typically nausea and vomiting, but with Xofluza, most people typically experience nausea and diarrhea.

Now, Tamiflu does tend to cost less than Xofluza, but with Xofluza, you could look into getting manufacturer coupons to help lessen the cost. And for both medications, they do work prophylactically as well. So, if you've been exposed to the flu virus or if someone in your household has the flu, your doctor may prescribe either medication to help reduce your risk of getting sick as well.

(END VIDEOTAPE) FREEMAN: Jacqueline Howard, thank you so much for that report. All right to this now. As the fighting has raged for nearly four years, life for some of the thousands who fled Ukraine at the start of the war has changed dramatically. Now, I spoke with a young woman in Philadelphia who came to the U.S. as a timid teenager but is achieving great success despite the adversity in her homeland.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREEMAN (voice-over): On a recent chilly morning in northeast Philadelphia.

BILLY MARCHIO, HIGH SCHOOL ENGLISH TEACHER: Who is the real Othello?

FREEMAN (voice-over): An advanced English class read Shakespeare.

MARCHIO: It's act five, scene two.

FREEMAN (voice-over): Acting out a tragedy about unjust violence.

KATE SOBOLEVSKA, FLED WAR IN UKRAINE IN 2022: Then Lord, have mercy on me.

FREEMAN (voice-over): But in this class, 18-year-old senior, Kate Sobolevska, is herself a symbol of resilience in the face of tragedy. Because before she was Kate from Philadelphia --

SOBOLEVSKA: I feel like it's easier to say Kate.

FREEMAN (voice-over): She was Kateryna from Ukraine.

SOBOLEVSKA: I'm from Lviv, not exactly the city, the smaller city in Lviv region.

FREEMAN (voice-over): Just a few years ago, Kateryna was living happily in her peaceful community.

SOBOLEVSKA: It's very cozy. It's very, very small. I can cross the whole city in like a day.

FREEMAN (voice-over): A big sister with a loving family. President of her student government, who loved handball and ballroom dancing.

FREEMAN: Like waltz.

SOBOLEVSKA: Yes. Cha, cha, cha, cha. Yes.

FREEMAN: Really?

SOBOLEVSKA: Yes.

FREEMAN: You did all of that in Ukraine when you're small.

SOBOLEVSKA: Slick hair and heels.

FREEMAN: Do you remember when it all changed? SOBOLEVSKA: I do.

FREEMAN (voice-over): In February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine. Kate, her mom and her little brother quickly decided they had to leave the country.

FREEMAN: What went through your mind when you heard that news that you were leaving your home?

SOBOLEVSKA: It was really stressful, but I believed it would be for like two weeks, then a month, then two months.

FREEMAN (voice-over): And men between the ages of 18 and 60 were banned initially from leaving the country. So, her father had to stay behind.

SOBOLEVSKA: I talk with him every single day. He's my main support. And he's really proud. And I just wish he could see me grow up. And just understanding that last time he saw me was when I was 14 is really hard.

FREEMAN (voice-over): Kate's family traveled through Europe and passed through New York before settling in Philadelphia, where she started attending George Washington High School.

FREEMAN: How would you describe yourself when you first got here?

SOBOLEVSKA: Very lost. The school was very big. And also, again, language barrier. I wasn't really confident in speaking. And I was also really shy. And I didn't know anyone.

GIANNA LOZZI, HIGH SCHOOL ENGLISH TEACHER: She's very quiet, very reserved.

FREEMAN (voice-over): But then South Philly English teacher Gianna Lozzi started to read Kate's work.

LOZZI: There's something about being an English teacher and getting that first paper from a kid and being like, oh, OK, like you could write.

FREEMAN (voice-over): But she had no idea about Kate's journey.

LOZZI: She would start to come for lunch and, you know, sit closer to me and we would talk a lot. And that's when she opened up about, you know, all the things that she's been through, what brought her here.

FREEMAN (voice-over): English teacher Billy Marchio runs the school's honors program.

MARCHIO: I said, you know, what can you tell me about Kate? And they said, oh, you know, the levels are off the charts. So, I took Kate in.

FREEMAN: And it sounds like she rose to the occasion.

MARCHIO: She did. FREEMAN (voice-over): While frequently translating for her family at home and helping take care of her younger brother since arriving in 2022, Kate has simultaneously risen to the top of her class, become a member of the National Honor Society, and even got into a summer journalism program at Princeton.

MARCHIO: We're academics first and artists after.

FREEMAN (voice-over): This past fall, Mr. Marchio nominated Kate to be Senior of the Month across the entire Philadelphia School District, and she got it.

MARCHIO: Not many people can, you know, do calculus and do these chemical equations with all of that weighing in their mind.

[13:55:00]

LOZZI: I think that her classmates are very, you know, inspired by her. We have a lot of, you know, Ukrainian refugees here, and I think it's going to be so encouraging and a hopeful scenario for them.

FREEMAN (voice-over): And Kate, from Ukraine, understands the responsibility.

SOBOLEVSKA: There are kids in Ukraine who don't have ability to go to school or go to school, and they have to go to bomb shelter every single day. I feel like I just have to be grateful for what I have. And that's the best thing I could do.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FREEMAN (on camera): Just incredible strength right there. And a big thank you to Dr. Thompson, the principal of George Washington High School, for sharing her wonderful community with us.

All right. We have a lot more news coming up ahead on the next hour of CNN Newsroom. That's coming up just after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:00:00]