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Russia Pounds Kyiv ahead of Sunday's Peace Talks; Severe Weather Threatens California; Fourteen Countries Condemn Israel's Settlements in West Bank; No Civilian Casualties in Trump's Strike on Nigeria; The Epstein Files; New Flu Variant Spreading across the U.S.; Top 10 Viral Moments of 2025. Aired 5-6a ET
Aired December 27, 2025 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Welcome to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN NEWSROOM.
A deadly barrage overnight in Kyiv ahead of peace talks between the U.S. and Ukraine. We'll look at what we're expecting from the meeting in Florida.
Plus, dangerous storms lashing both U.S. coasts. We'll take you to Southern California, where people are bracing for more flooding.
And flu cases could be more serious this year because of a variant scientists didn't expect. How you can keep your kids from getting sick this winter.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from Atlanta this is CNN NEWSROOM with Kim Brunhuber.
BRUNHUBER: Emergency crews are scrambling to contain fires across Kyiv following a massive strike by hundreds of Russian drones and missiles overnight.
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BRUNHUBER (voice-over): Well, that was the moment a Russian drone slammed into a residential building in Ukraine's capital. Officials say at least one person is dead and nearly 30 others wounded as Russia pounded the city for 10 hours.
Some 3,000 buildings have already lost heat amid the freezing winter weather.
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BRUNHUBER: Now that's happening as the U.S. and Ukrainian presidents prepare to meet in Florida on Sunday. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Axios he's hoping they'll hammer out the framework for ending the war. He says this latest wave of attacks shows the true attitude of Putin and his inner circle.
Nada Bashir is monitoring those developments and she joins us now from London.
So take us through what we've been seeing.
NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this has been yet another large-scale attack carried out by Russia targeting Ukrainian territory, this time targeting the capital, Kyiv.
And according to officials, the attack has lasted almost 10 hours, marking one of the longest attacks that we have seen targeting the capital in recent times. And as you mentioned, hundreds of drones are said to have been used in this attack.
According to officials, nearly 500 drones and 40 missiles used overnight. According to the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has spoken, addressing this latest attack, saying that this violence speaks for itself with regards to Russia's position when it comes to any movement on securing a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.
And, of course, this has marked yet another deadly attack as well. At least one person confirmed to have been killed, some 28 others, at least, are said to have been injured. And this attack has targeted Ukraine's energy infrastructure but also civilian infrastructure.
We have seen residential buildings being targeted. Thousands of buildings are now going on without heat in this cold weather. And, of course, this comes just after a series of attacks that we've seen around the Christmas period.
President Zelenskyy had warned around the anticipation of a ramping-up of Russia's attacks over the Christmas period as we have seen in previous years. But this has certainly marked a significant stepping- up of those attacks.
And, of course, this comes as Ukraine attempts to hammer out a peace deal with U.S. officials, with European allies. And we've been hearing from civilians on the ground around their hopes and, of course, doubts around the potential for this peace deal to succeed. Take a listen.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I don't expect any dramatic changes. The strikes will continue but I sincerely hope their intensity will decrease and that over time things will gradually subside.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I believe Russia has no intention of changing anything. And as for what they expect from us, we cannot accept it.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BASHIR: Now president Zelenskyy is expected to be holding consultations with his European counterparts but he is also expected to meet with the U.S. president, Donald Trump, on Sunday, to continue to hammer out that 20-point peace plan.
We had previously heard from Zelenskyy, indicating some positive developments when it came to that peace plan, saying that some 90 percent of the deal had been hammered out by himself and the U.S. president.
That we all -- we have heard from president Trump saying that nothing will be confirmed until it is approved directly by the U.S. president himself. One of the key concessions that it appears president Zelenskyy may be willing to make is ceding territory in the Donetsk region.
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That is something Russia has long pushed for. And we have heard from the Kremlin saying that this would be a positive indication with regards to any progress in coming to a peace agreement.
But, of course, there are many more discussions to be had and the Kremlin not making any clear statements just yet on where it stands on the progress of this 20-point peace plan.
BRUNHUBER: All right. Appreciate that. CNN's Nada Bashir, thank you so much.
Sources tell CNN that the U.S. administration hasn't given up its pursuit of the oil tanker that its forces chased near Venezuela last weekend. The Bella 1 fled when the Coast Guard tried to stop it and is still on the run. Officials no longer expect it to return to Venezuela to load up with oil.
Those familiar with the situation say the U.S. is considering sending a maritime special response team to seize it. The team has experienced boarding ships that refused to submit. The White House says the Bella 1 is a dark fleet vessel sailing under a false flag and covered by U.S. sanctions.
More than 23 million people on the U.S. East Coast are waking up to winter storm warnings. The region's getting heavy snow and treacherous ice, with the heaviest snow expected in the coming hours. The FlightAware website says the storm has already forced airlines to cancel or delay hundreds of flights in New York and Philadelphia.
Parts of New York could get up to 10 inches of snow. And New York City could have its biggest snowfall in years. In Michigan, ice is weighing down trees and power lines. The power has -- tens of thousands of customers have lost power.
And in California, a final round of heavy rain could cause new flooding. Days of flooding created mudslides and debris flows that buried homes and cars in Wrightwood, California. That's about 800 miles northeast of Los Angeles. And in the eastern Sierra Nevada mountains, two ski patrollers were
injured in an avalanche on Friday. More than five feet of snow have fallen there since Tuesday.
Now since last weekend, waves of storms have killed at least four people, forced evacuations and led to more than 100 rescues. San Bernardino's fire chief told CNN it's not just residents who are struggling with the Christmas time disaster; it's also first responders. Listen to this.
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CHIEF DAN MUNSEY, SAN BERNARDINO FIRE DEPARTMENT: Firefighters are used to working on Christmas and Christmas Eve. Just what we do. But we recalled our firefighters.
I sent out a text, said we need everybody to come to work and we had our firefighters return, staff up extra units. They missed their Christmas. They'll reschedule. But its very impactful on their families, too. It is a service above oneself. It's something that people don't realize, that there is a mental toll to our firefighters.
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BRUNHUBER: Now have a look at this.
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BRUNHUBER (voice-over): This is what some homeowners are dealing with in Wrightwood. What you're seeing is a home filled with mud. The homeowner shot this video and she joins us now live, Misty Cheng.
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BRUNHUBER: Appreciate you having on -- having -- coming on the program for us. Really appreciate it. So I understand you weren't even in Wrightwood when this all started. I mean, walk me through how you found out what was happening to your house on Christmas Eve
MISTY CHENG, HOMEOWNER, WRIGHTWOOD, CALIFORNIA: My neighbor across the street had alerted me on Christmas Eve that my house may be destroyed and I had no idea what was going on. So I had her go in my house. I -- she has a key -- and shoot me some pictures and videos.
And when I saw what was going on, I immediately told her husband what to do. And what it was that I saw was literally a river coming down my back yard. The neighbor's fence had broken and all the mud, debris, water was rushing down and slamming against my glass door, sliding glass door to the back yard, like an aquarium.
So I immediately told them to open up the garage door and let about a foot and also the front door. And in the event that, it was going to break my house. And it was just too much force. And that's exactly what happened.
About 2.5 hours later, the water was like a rushing river, broke the side of the wall of my garage. And then the water just came out of the garage, out of the front door.
BRUNHUBER: Yes. I mean, we're seeing the pictures of this. I mean, it is literally just like a -- your house was placed in the middle of a river. I mean, it's just something to see. I mean, you've put years of work into this place. I mean, you were doing renovations there, I understand, weekend after weekend.
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I mean, what was it like when you, you know, you finally drove up there and saw this in person?
CHENG: It was just devastating. I have been a do-it-yourself, you know, type of person. Every weekend I would go up there and I enjoyed it. I did my work with my own hands. And to see all of that destroyed by this natural disaster, these mudslides, I just broke down in tears.
I mean, seeing videos and everything was shocking. But seeing it in person, going, walking into my house for the first time and filming it myself and every other sentence was, oh, my God; oh, my God. And I'm just shaking in disbelief.
BRUNHUBER: Yes.
CHENG: And that was on Christmas Day. That was Christmas Day that I saw the aftermath. But it was the day before Christmas Eve, it was literally my nightmare before Christmas.
BRUNHUBER: Oh, I can only imagine. And, you know, you have to explain this for our viewers. I mean, people who live in communities like yours, the only insurance I understand that you can get is the California FAIR plan. That's a state plan.
And that only covers fire, right?
So you're looking at all this mud damage.
Any coverage at all?
CHENG: Aside from the California FAIR plan, there is no other coverage. Everything else will be out of pocket. I've set up a GoFundMe page earlier today -- or I should say yesterday -- in the hopes that I can get some sort of donation to assist in the cleanup efforts and hopefully rebuilding, if it's still structurally sound.
Or -- and perhaps FEMA, some sort of help from the state or federal agencies or even the county because I'm out of pocket.
BRUNHUBER: Yes. It's just heartbreaking to see. And unfortunately, with everything we're seeing with the climate, more extreme weather and so on, I mean, this type of thing, you're not just the only one affected. There are many others as well. This type of thing is happening more and more often.
I mean, what more can be done, do you think, in terms of physical changes and so on to prevent this type of thing from happening? CHENG: Well, maybe some sort of block wall, barriers. So the burn scars that were a result of the 2024 Bridge fire created a lot of just rock and mud and natural resources in the ground that no longer had the hold of roots and houses and trees.
And there was already a naturally occurring ravine that was going through my yard as well as my neighbor's yard, just for regular overflow of water in a normal circumstance. But instead, when you have torrential rains of nearly 10 inches overnight, all of that soil, rock debris just came rushing down.
And the ravine is no longer -- it's completely covered. And so I think if, if federal or state or county agencies are able to -- and reinforce those areas, that would have increased the chances of our houses being saved. But that didn't happen.
And so it's the situation that we're in right now. But I need to do what I need to do to try to save my house.
BRUNHUBER: Yes.
CHENG: And dig it out from the debris.
BRUNHUBER: Yes. I can only imagine the work that lies ahead of you. I was talking to another Wrightwood resident earlier last hour. And she was just telling me about how the community has been coming together in these circumstances. And certainly we hope that you get the help you need as you're trying to rebuild as best you can.
Really wish you the best in your journey. Misty Cheng, thanks so much for speaking with us. Appreciate it.
CHENG: Thank you for having me.
BRUNHUBER: Police are investigating a deadly car ramming and knife attack in northern Israel. Now the incident comes as lawmakers consider a potential law that would impose the death penalty for terrorists. We'll share what we know next.
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Plus, Israel's approval of new settlements in the occupied West Bank draws international criticism. We'll look at why one Palestinian official says the region is under siege. Those stories and more coming up. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: After a two-year suspension, Christmas celebrations returned to Bethlehem, which Christians consider the birthplace of Jesus. Visitors flocked to Manger Square in the occupied West Bank for the first time since festivities were canceled in solidarity with Palestinians suffering in Gaza.
Christmas morning mass was held at the Church of the Nativity on Thursday. A Palestinian politician says, despite the festivities, attendance was hindered by Israeli military checkpoints that blocked the roads.
The official says the West Bank is under siege from increased Israeli military operations, the expansion of Jewish settlements and rising settler violence against Palestinians; 12 European Union countries, as well as Canada and Japan, condemned Israel earlier this week for approving 19 new settlements.
Saying the move hurts the prospects for peace and security.
Want to go live now to Tel Aviv and former Israeli consul general Alon Pinkas.
Thank you so much for being here with us. Appreciate it. So take us through what these settlements are exactly.
I called them new settlements but many of them aren't strictly new, right?
ALON PINKAS, FORMER ISRAELI CONSUL GENERAL, NEW YORK: Yes, you're absolutely right, Kim. Happy new year, by the way -- Christmas, Festivus, whatever it is that you're celebrating.
Yes. Look, there are two ways of looking at it. One is the actual statistics. The 19 new settlements are basically small-scale expansions of either existing small settlements.
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Or you know, some kind of a legalization of what were called illegal outposts by Israeli law. International law prohibits all of these settlements in general. So that's one way of looking at it and not making a big deal out of it.
That misses the bigger picture. The government is in -- this current government is intent on creating an irreversible reality in the West Bank, wherein a Palestinian state will lack any kind of territorial contiguity, meaning that it would render its viability or feasibility almost zero.
So in that respect, this expanded settlement activity, even if we can, you know, even if we treat it as well, you know, it's just an expansion of already existing settlements with 20 or 30 people in each, it is still a big deal in terms of a future political solution.
BRUNHUBER: Yes, absolutely. And so I guess that's part of the reason, you know, many would wonder why you would be announcing this now, during a ceasefire that's supposed to lead toward a two-state pathway.
Right?
PINKAS: Yes. Well, OK. So there are two -- there are two perspectives to this. One is that it is consistent with Mr. Netanyahu and his government's attempts to sever any ties between Gaza and the West Bank.
Now both are Palestinian. There are 2 million people in Gaza; almost 3.4 million, 3.3 million, rather, in the West Bank.
So Mr. Netanyahu, by severing any connection, any political, economic and transportational connection between them, is essentially preventing any Palestinian state, any two-state solution vision, even if it's down the road and even if the modalities are completely different.
You have to add to that what you said correctly in your introduction, that there is military pressure, there's military friction. There is settler violence that is being conducted without the military intervening and, in some cases, with the military just standing by or looking the other way.
And, you know, while, naturally, the focus, Kim, is on Gaza, for obvious reasons, since the war began, on October 7th, 2023, the West Bank is a cauldron. The West Bank is a pressure cooker.
The West Bank can conflagrate at any moment right now, right now. And what surprises me is that the American administration is so focused on Gaza and not on the bigger picture. Remains to be seen what will happen in -- with Mr. Netanyahu's meeting in Mar-a-Lago with president Trump on Monday.
But I doubt that Mr. Trump cares much about the West Bank. He's all focused on Gaza. And in the grand scheme of things, that would be a mistake, because that does not contribute to any final settlement or any kind of political solution.
BRUNHUBER: You talked about president Trump's -- I want to bring in the international reaction here. We have 14 countries condemning this, including all the G7, except, of course, for the U.S.
I mean, does international criticism like this actually matter to Netanyahu at this point?
PINKAS: No, not in the slightest, Kim. Look, historically, the world has been against any kind of Israeli settlement activity since 1967, since the Six Days War and the Israeli occupation/administration of the West Bank and Gaza.
Even U.N. resolutions 242 and 338 in 1967 and then again in 1974 -- '73; I'm sorry -- even then, you know, invoked the Geneva convention, saying that you cannot transfer a population into an occupied territory. Israel has been saying for years that this is not occupied, that this is our land.
So -- but at the same time, Israel never annexed what it calls its own territory. Yet it built all these settlements.
And so right now we're in a point where Mr. Netanyahu will not have the Palestinian Authority, which governs, at least ostensibly. And legally, the West Bank does not allow them, will not permit them to be involved in the Gaza reconstruction attempt. Not that it -- not that it started but the idea in and of itself.
Yet the Palestinians in the West Bank live essentially under military occupation.
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Yes, there are different areas, A, B, C. I don't want to dwell on that right now. And yes, there is self municipal government in some of those towns and cities in the West Bank.
But effectively and essentially, the area is enclosed or encircled by Israel. And Israel is adding, you know, it already has 700,000 settlers throughout the West Bank. And so the demographic equilibrium looks very ominous in terms of any kind of future solution.
BRUNHUBER: All of this, a cauldron, as you say. Really appreciate getting your analysis on this, former Israeli consul general Alon Pinkas, thanks so much.
PINKAS: Thank you. Kim.
BRUNHUBER: Well, some Middle Eastern and African countries are criticizing Israel's decision to become the first country to formally recognize Somaliland as an independent sovereign state.
And even Donald Trump, who usually supports Israel, isn't going along with the move for now, saying he'll study the issue. Somaliland is in the Horn of Africa on the Gulf of Aden. It broke away years ago from Somalia.
Somaliland and Israeli leaders signed a joint declaration of mutual recognition on Friday, the African Union, Egypt, Turkiye and Djibouti say, recognizing it jeopardizes peace and stability and reaffirmed their support for Somalia's territorial integrity.
Somalia's government called Israel's move a deliberate attack on its sovereignty.
Nigerians living in an area hit by U.S. airstrikes say they don't understand why their region was targeted. They say Muslims and Christians live in peace in their region. We'll have a live report straight ahead. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER (voice-over): Welcome back. I'm Kim Brunhuber. Let's check some of today's top stories. Storms are threatening millions in the Eastern and Western U.S. People
on the East Coast are waking up to winter storm warnings. Heavy snow and ice have disrupted post-Christmas travel and knocked out power to tens of thousands of customers.
In California, a final round of heavy rain could cause new damage after days of flooding caused mudslides and debris flows.
Crews are battling fires across Kyiv after Russia pounded the city for nearly 10 hours with hundreds of drones and missiles. Officials say at least one person is dead and nearly 30 others wounded.
Ahead of talks with president Trump in Florida, Ukrainian president Zelenskyy says this latest attack shows the true attitude of Putin and his inner circle.
Nigeria's foreign ministry says no civilians were killed in the Christmas Day airstrikes in the U.S. carried out against Islamic State terrorists but residents of one community say they were shocked and confused by the strikes.
BRUNHUBER: They say their area isn't known for terrorist attacks because Muslims and Christians live in harmony there. CNN's Larry Madowo joins me now live from London with more on this.
So Larry, plenty of controversy surrounding these strikes.
What more can you tell us?
LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Residents in Sokoto state in northwest Nigeria, where the airstrikes were carried out, were shocked and a little confused by why they were picked as the first of these U.S. airstrikes, because it's a predominantly Muslim state, 90 percent Muslim, Christian minority, they largely get along well.
And Sokoto is home to what is known as the Sokoto caliphate, the spiritual home of Islam in Nigeria. And they didn't understand why they were targeted because they have not seen the same militant attacks as the northeast of Nigeria.
They have some banditry, some kidnappings and maybe some attacks from Lakurawa, which is an armed group affiliated with ISIS, but not to the same extent as other parts of the Nigerian north have seen.
And that's why they woke up overnight, hearing what some people thought was an aircraft crashing and then saw this crater created in some parts of the region. No civilian casualties. The American military says that some ISIS militants, multiple combatants were taken out in this. But we have not seen any confirmations on the ground of that.
Lakurawa is the new, lesser-known militant group that operates in this area. It's also believed to be affiliated with ISIS and some analysts say, yes, they should be taken out.
But why in Sokoto? Why not in other parts of the region?
Listen to this one analyst.
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AWWAL ABDULLAHI, SECURITY ANALYSIS: To eliminate and disengage the Lakurawa, it is a welcome development. But to say that the Lakurawa are ISIS or bonded to ISIS (ph), that is where the challenge is.
Not only ISIS but saying that Christian genocide taking place in the -- in Sokoto or the entire northwestern states of Nigeria, it is truly a challenge. And then we truly are -- there are a lot of questions.
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MADOWO: A lot of questions. And you hear that pushback on the Christian genocide narrative. President Trump said these were deadly strikes against Islamic militants who primarily target innocent Christians.
The Nigerian government disagrees, even though they approved these airstrikes. The foreign minister, Yusuf Tuggar, told CNN that he had a call with Marco Rubio, the secretary of state. He had then spoke to president Tinubu, who gave the go-ahead.
He had another call with Marco Rubio before the attacks took place. But they disagree that this is because these militants target Christians. They say they equally target Christians and Muslims. The exact numbers are hard to come by.
But the population of Nigeria is evenly split between Christians and Muslims and some recent data shows that actually more Muslims than Christians have been targeted by these attacks.
The -- what has happened is that recent kidnappings and church attacks have gotten a lot of attention, especially as this has become an animating issue for American conservatives and even before it got to the desk of president Trump.
And now with this military action and there's the threat of even more to come, according to that cryptic post from the U.S. Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth. Kim.
BRUNHUBER: All right. Appreciate that. Larry Madowo in London. Thanks so much.
President Trump continues to vent his frustration over the release of the Jeffrey Epstein documents. On a Truth Social post, he suggested the Justice Department focus on claims of election fraud instead of parsing through the rest of the documents.
Now this comes after the department announced more than a million more pages potentially related to the Epstein case were found. They say it may take a few more weeks to review all the documents before releasing them. A lawyer representing victims says this -- newest files that could shed light on Epstein's past. Listen to this.
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JAMES MARSH, ATTORNEY FOR EPSTEIN SURVIVORS: For our purposes at least, we've been asking for these documents since the summer.
If these are the prosecution files, they're very important for uncovering, really, the genesis of Jeffrey Epstein, what he was engaged in, in the '90s, when my client, Maria Farmer, made her complaint and how well he was known.
And we know that he was well known to the federal government at that time. So these documents may not be relevant to the current period. But I think they're going to give us some important historical perspective on the origins of Jeffrey Epstein.
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BRUNHUBER: Investigators in California are searching for a possible motive in the killing of 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard. The child's mother, Ashlee, stunned the courtroom Friday when she entered a plea of not guilty after being arrested and charged with murdering her daughter.
Melodee's body was discovered in the Utah desert months after school officials called police to do a welfare check on the girl. Josh Campbell has more.
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JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: An update in the tragic case of Melodee Buzzard, the missing nine-year-old California girl whose remains, police said were found this month in the state of Utah.
Her mother, Ashlee Buzzard, made her first appearance in court on Friday, charged with first degree murder in connection with the death of her daughter. In this brief hearing, Ashlee Buzzard entered a plea of not guilty. CNN has reached out to the public defender representing her for comment.
Authorities gave an update on Tuesday, laying out various items of evidence that they believe connects the mother to this alleged killing. They said that includes forensic evidence, digital evidence, as well as ballistics evidence, including a comparison of ammunition found at the crime scene with ammo found at the Buzzard's family home.
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SHERIFF BILL BROWN, SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA: Sheriff's detectives along with the FBI evidence response team responded and served follow-up search warrants at the home of Ashlee Buzzard.
During the search of the Mars Avenue residence, an expended cartridge case was recovered. Cartridge cases found at the Utah crime scene resulted in a NIBIN hit linking them to the single cartridge case that was found at the Buzzard residence.
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CAMPBELL: Now this all started in October when the young girl's school contacted authorities after they had not heard from her for some time. Authorities launched an investigation. They determined that over the course of days, both the mother and the daughter traveled about 1,000 miles from California east as far as the state of Kansas.
Authorities released CCTV footage as part of their investigation that allegedly showed both the mother and the daughter wearing wigs.
Police say that at times the license plates on their vehicle were swapped out. The mother returned to California, the young girl was not with her. Authorities say that the mother wasn't cooperative, and she didn't have a plausible explanation about where her daughter was.
Police say a couple out taking photographs in Utah discovered human remains earlier this month and called police. Investigators say they were able to identify those remains as belonging to Melodee Buzzard based on DNA analysis -- Josh Campbell, CNN, Los Angeles.
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BRUNHUBER: Flu season is heating up here in the U.S. Next, we'll talk to a doctor about the latest variant and how to keep your family healthy. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: Flu season is officially underway here in the U.S. Both the number of cases and hospitalizations are on the rise. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say at least 25 public health jurisdictions currently have moderate to high flu activity.
The majority of illnesses appear to be from a new flu variant called subclade k. It's a variety of influenza subtype a. Health officials say a prevalent subtype a strain typically leads to more severe cases of the flu. Now this variant wasn't included in this year's flu shots because it was identified after scientists chose strains for the vaccine.
Joining me now from Houston, Texas, is emergency medicine physician Dr. Owais Durrani.
Good to see you again. Thanks so much for being here with us. So you've been in the ER this week.
In terms of the flu, I mean, what have you been seeing and what's been making this particular strain so aggressive compared to what we normally see during flu season this type of time of year?
DR. OWAIS DURRANI, EMERGENCY MEDICINE PHYSICIAN: Yes, absolutely. I've been working all this week. And I feel like almost every other patient has the flu. Anyone who comes in with a fever, we swab them and they end up having the flu. Everyone from kids to, you know, middle-age adults to elderly.
Some of the patients that are the most sickest, the ones that need to be admitted or maybe develop pneumonia, they tend to be the elderly.
The other thing we've seen with this is lots of kids are having vomiting. So that is something that is a known impact of having influenza. But I'm seeing a lot more of that personally throughout this past week.
Here in Texas where I practice, we have had about one in five flu swabs that come back positive this week. And that's a doubling compared to last week, which is a pretty alarming rate of increase.
And then, of course, we have the holidays and everyone's been mingling. So I imagine that's going to unfortunately kind of continue down that trend. But lots of flu everywhere in the emergency departments.
BRUNHUBER: Yes. You highlighted kids and the elderly, I mean, in terms of who might most be vulnerable to this.
What are you seeing?
DURRANI: Yes, absolutely. So both of those groups obviously have immune systems that are not fully developed. And with this flu subtype, it has evolved and has enough mutations where it's something that, even for, you know, a person like me, I probably haven't encountered it. And so I'm more susceptible to it.
And then you translate that to a kid or an elderly person with numerous medical conditions or comorbidities. Their immune systems are going to be weaker. And so they're going to be most susceptible to it.
Add on top of that our vaccination rates. When you actually look at those two groups, school-age children and then elderly over 65 are at a seven-year low. And so it's a combination of having this strain that we haven't encountered, a strain that gets us sicker.
And then we have low vaccination rates. And so unfortunately, it's making for a combination of a bad outcomes.
BRUNHUBER: OK. Let me ask you about the vaccines, because that's obviously a question many people would ask. You know, I got the flu shot.
Shouldn't I be immune to this?
But as I mentioned in the intro, this vaccine was made before this variant emerged.
So how much protection does it actually give right now?
DURRANI: Yes. So I think that is a good point to make. There is a mismatch. And so I think a lot of people who got the flu shot, who maybe are exposed to the virus, they will likely get the flu. The important thing is they are not going to get the severe illness.
And so we have an inkling of this and some data from the U.K. and Japan, where obviously they have earlier flu seasons, they have used a similar vaccine. And the data has shown that the severe illness, hospitalizations and deaths in the groups that have gone vaccinated have been what we expect, which is low.
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And so that is the point to lead with. It's still not too late to get vaccinated, get vaccinated. It's going to protect you against the severe impacts. And you might have a mild illness, which, all things considered, isn't the worst.
BRUNHUBER: Yes. While I have you here, I'm just wondering, you know, we're talking now about the flu.
But what about COVID?
Where is that right now?
How are we doing in terms of the numbers that we're seeing there?
DURRANI: Yes. So we're just entering, you know, if you look at the last few years, the kind of point, mid-December, mid to -- and onwards, where those cases start to rise. And we're just starting to see them rise. They're nowhere near the kind of almost exponential rise that we've seen with flu.
I do encourage everyone, you know, if you're qualified for a vaccine, if you're eligible for it, get it. It's never too late and it's going to protect you. It's going to protect you from severe illness.
And the, you know, you brought it up. The other thing we're seeing is a lot of whooping cough. That's another vaccine-preventable illness for young folks. So ensuring that those folks are getting those vaccines is very important as well.
BRUNHUBER: Yes, despite all the conflicting information perhaps we might be getting from certain government agencies.
Finally, before we go, you know, we've got, you know, families gathering for the holidays, people traveling; emergency rooms, as you said, are packed.
I mean, what's the most practical thing that people can do right now to protect themselves and their families?
DURRANI: Yes. So a few things. Obviously, if you're not vaccinated, get vaccinated. If you're sick, stay at home. You know, we don't want to expose the elderly or young ones around us and get them sick. The good thing is there are at-home flu tests. So get that flu test.
And if you have it, if you're within that first 48-hour period, there are numerous medications that are approved. They're prescribed medications that can prevent the illness, prevent severe versions of it or decrease the duration. So call your doctor and discuss that with them.
Hand washing is very important. Washing your hands for 20 seconds and kind of making sure that the soap kills all of the viruses and bacteria that may be out there.
And then if you're traveling, I would encourage wearing a mask just for protecting yourself. And then if you're sick, obviously not exposing others. But I think that combination of things will give us the best shot to get through the holidays.
BRUNHUBER: Yes. Great advice all around. Dr. Owais Durrani, thank you so much for speaking with us. Appreciate it.
DURRANI: Thank you.
BRUNHUBER: From U.S. strikes on Iran to devastating fires in Los Angeles, we'll look next at some of the news events that went viral this year. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: The president of the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., is sharply rebuking a jazz musician who canceled a Christmas Eve performance because Donald Trump's name was added to the venue.
In a letter obtained by CNN, Richard Grenell criticized jazz artist Chuck Redd for pulling out of the annual concert. He called Redd's move "classic intolerance" and costly to the nonprofit arts institution.
Grenell, a Trump loyalist, praised the president's leadership as chairman of the board and said the center would seek $1 million in damages. Chuck Redd has said the name change saddened him.
Well, as we prepare to say farewell to 2025, CNN's Boris Sanchez takes a look at some of the most surprising and astonishing news events that went viral this year, from Oval Office spats to a new pope from Chicago.
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BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Number 10, Trump targets Iran. Hours after the United States began its precision airstrikes on three nuclear facilities in an unprecedented aerial bombardment of Iran, the president spoke to the nation.
DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Tonight I can report to the world that the strikes were a spectacular military success.
SANCHEZ (voice-over): In the aftermath, some members of Congress openly questioned the constitutionality of the strikes while others, especially MAGA lawmakers, supported the administration.
Number nine, L.A. devastated. Satellite images showing the breadth and depth of the runaway Eaton wildfire. The fast-moving flames this past January, forcing thousands to flee their homes in search of higher and safer ground. Devastation like this will take years to rebuild.
Number eight, a shocking midair collision caught on tape. On January 29th of this year, an American Airlines flight operated by American Eagle and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter collided over the freezing Potomac River at night.
The tragedy caught on tape. The jet was on final approach to Reagan National while the helicopter had been performing a required flying evaluation. All 67 people aboard both aircrafts died.
Number seven, an American is Pope. In May, shortly after the death of Pope Francis, the College of Cardinals elected their next leader. And to the surprise of many, the choice was this man, Chicago's very own Cardinal, Robert Francis Prevost, the first Augustinian Pope.
POPE LEO XIV, PONTIFF, ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH: I invite you to recognize the marvels that the Lord has done.
SANCHEZ: Even more surprising, he briefly spoke in English during his first mass.
Number six, hot mic. Justin Trudeau, who at the time was Canada's Prime Minister, overheard making a jaw-dropping admission to business leaders back in February, essentially telling them that President Trump's talk of making Canada a 51st U.S. state was no joke. So far, Canada remains Canada.
Number five. Cramer speaks out. Famed CNBC broadcaster Jim Cramer appearing on Erin Burnett's show earlier this year, admitting he was misled by the Trump administration's tariffs policy. Listen.
JIM CARMER, FORMER CNBC BROADCASTER: Over and over again the president said, listen, it's going to be reciprocal. So you do it. We do it. And that was going to be so great. And I really believed in it. And I feel like a sucker tonight.
SANCHEZ (voice-over): Number four, swallowed whole. A father on a kayak captures the moment his son, Adrian, was briefly swallowed by a humpback whale off the coast of Chile. Adrian told CNN he didn't realize at first it was a whale and thought he just got caught up in a big wave.
ADRIAN SIMANCAS, KAYAKER: If the whale had hit me, it would be more dangerous.
SANCHEZ (voice-over): What a story to tell his grandkids.
Number three, beauty influencer gunned down. Valeria Marquez was shot and killed by a man who entered her salon, all while on a TikTok livestream in Zapopan, Mexico. Her death sending shock waves through a country grappling with frequent suspected cases of femicide.
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Number two, Jimmy Kimmel. Speaking out after a brief suspension following controversial comments he made about conservative activist Charlie Kirk, Jimmy Kimmel returned to ABC late night to say he never intended to make light of Kirk's murder. Also delivering powerful remarks about freedom of speech.
JIMMY KIMMEL, ABC HOST: This show is not important. What is important is that we get to live in a country that allows us to have a show like this.
SANCHEZ (voice-over): And the number one viral video on CNN's countdown, the feud seen round the world.
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: Get out so --
TRUMP: Wait a minute. No, no, you've done a lot of talking.
SANCHEZ (voice-over): On the left, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, hoping to win more lethal aid from the president. On the right, President Trump, moments before he would launch into a verbal rampage against Zelenskyy -- Boris Sanchez, CNN, Washington.
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BRUNHUBER: And before we go, doctors in Peru have successfully separated prematurely born conjoined twin girls during a complex surgery. The girls were born joined at the spine. They shared parts of their spinal canal and nerve structures.
And that made the operation especially challenging and their parents were understandably thrilled. Listen to this.
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MENELLO PALACIOS, TWINS' FATHER (through translator): I wanted to see them separated, not together, lying down. They were bored, crying. But now they're separated, happy, all thanks to the doctors and surgeons who have accomplished this goal.
BRUNHUBER (voice-over): The surgery took more than three hours and experts say the successful separation is a remarkable achievement.
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BRUNHUBER: I dare say. Nice to end with some positive news.
That wraps this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Kim Brunhuber. Thanks for watching. "CNN THIS MORNING" is coming up right after the break.
