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Trump and Zelenskyy Meet for Talks on Ending Russia's War; FAA, NTSB Investigating Deadly Midair Helicopter Crash Over New Jersey; Tomorrow: Trump, Netanyahu Meet Amid Rising Middle East Tensions. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired December 28, 2025 - 15:00   ET

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

BILL TORPY, COLUMNIST, "ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION": Now, we hit send and you get it. So, it is a lot more efficient manner of delivering the news and obviously, it is the news of the future. Our publisher said the news of the future. Our publisher said that, you know, we had to pull the Band-Aid off one day. It has been a few years coming, and here it is.

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN HOST: And I just appreciate the emphasis that this does not mean by any stretch of the imagination that the journalism stops.

Bill Torpy, thank you so much for joining us this Sunday afternoon. Really appreciate your time.

TORPY: Have a good one!

[15:00:38]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN BREAKING NEWS.

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN HOST: And good afternoon. Thank you so much for spending part of your holiday weekend with us. I am Danny Freeman in for Fredricka Whitfield, and we begin this hour with breaking news.

Right now, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is meeting with President Donald Trump in Florida. Zelenskyy, you see on your screen there, arrived at Mar-a-Lago about an hour and a half ago and they are discussing a new peace proposal that had been worked out in recent days.

One of the biggest sticking points is a security guarantee for Ukraine. Here is what President Trump said about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: There will be a security agreement. It will be a strong agreement and the European Nations are very much involved in that, and they will be very much involved in protection, et cetera. But the European nations have been really great. They are very much in line with this meeting and getting a deal done.

They are all terrific people. I think you can say that. There is no nobody there. They all want to get it done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREEMAN: With us now is senior White House reporter, Kevin Liptak, who is near Mar-a-Lago and also CNN senior international correspondent Fred Pleitgen joining us from Berlin.

Thank you, gentlemen, both for continuing to break this down. Kevin, let's start with you.

How would you describe or characterize the tone going into this meeting?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, the part of it that we saw was certainly very cordial. The President calling Zelenskyy very brave. He called him a gentleman. He said he had been working very hard. There was also a tone of optimism from President Trump. He said that they are now in the final stages of negotiating this peace agreement that, in his view, both sides of it, Russia and Ukraine, are serious about these talks. But of course, it is what is happening right now in the dining room at Mar-a-Lago that really matters where these two men have been behind closed doors for about an hour now, and the tone of those discussions, I think, are going to be what really have the most ramifications for how this war proceeds and whether or not President Trump is successful in bringing all of this to an end.

You know, one of the things that Zelenskyy had said that he wanted to do in these talks is get some more details from the President about those security guarantees that you heard them discussing there on the steps. He wants to get into the nuance and get into the specifics of what precisely, the President is putting on the table here and for President Trump's part, I think he wants to get a sense from Zelenskyy about what flexibility exists in the land concessions. That has been a major sticking point through all of this.

What Zelenskyy said as he was heading in is that they are about 90 percent there. But of course, it is that 10 percent that remains so difficult and the land concessions, I think will be a big part of it.

Now, the President did say that he is not putting a deadline on this, that he is willing to hear these talks out and see how this all progresses, but he did say something interesting, which is that this war will either end or it will, "Go on for a long time with many more casualties."

And I do think that that is perhaps the President's way of saying that now is the moment for Zelenskyy to reach a good deal, for him to come to the table, make some concessions on those issues for which he has drawn a red line for so long.

The problem is that Putin has not necessarily shown all that much flexibility and in the hour before this meeting began, President Trump did speak with Vladimir Putin. He says he is going to speak with him again once this meeting wraps, and it will be instructive to see how the President sort of receives what Zelenskyy told him in these talks and how he presents it to Putin afterwards.

FREEMAN: That's absolutely well said. It will be fascinating indeed, especially as President Trump continues to put pressure on Zelenskyy to try and get to that peace point.

Fred, let's bring you into the conversation.

For his part, Zelenskyy emphasized he wanted the negotiating teams to talk about strategy on how to bring peace closer. What did you make of that?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think one of the things that Volodymyr Zelenskyy was talking about was the possible sequencing about how things could happen. Of course, Zelenskyy has shown more openness to those possible land concessions, but at the same time, he has also said that there needs to be a referendum about that.

And the U.S. has essentially said the same thing as well. It is not something that Volodymyr Zelenskyy can decide on his own. There has to be a vote. Obviously, the Ukrainian Constitution does not call for land concessions to other countries, so it is definitely something that's a sensitive and very difficult issue and one of the things that the Ukrainians have said is they believe that they need a 60-day ceasefire, or at least an extended ceasefire, to be able to prepare for a referendum on something like that, on something like a peace agreement that also could contain some of those land concessions.

[16:05:22]

Now, of course, that's where the Russians come in and the Russians have said that they are strictly against any sort of temporary ceasefire, and also in the readout of the phone call between President Trump and Vladimir Putin tonight, a senior Kremlin aide, Yuri Ushakov, coming out and claiming that the U.S. and Russia see eye to eye that a temporary ceasefire is not something that is in order or not something that is helpful.

Now, we haven't heard from the Trump administration about that yet, but that's definitely something where the Ukrainians have been calling for a very long time for a ceasefire, but the Russians are saying that's not in their interest -- Danny.

FREEMAN: And Kevin, I want you to talk a little bit about the room that we saw of, I guess, working lunch at Mar-a-Lago. We saw White House Envoy Steve Witkoff, in attendance. Secretary of State Marco Rubio; Hegseth as well. What is the significance of having this group of people as part of the team there?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, and I will add one more, which was Jared Kushner, the President's son-in-law who has joined Steve Witkoff to try and broker this peace agreement.

You know, these are, you know, the President's senior most advisers. I think, you know, from a person like Witkoff who has drawn some controversy for his role in all of this, he has had no previous experience in diplomacy before taking on this role, I think he has developed certain relationships both in Russia and with the Ukrainians. And he, perhaps most importantly, has the inherent trust of President Trump to try and bring about a peace here.

I think when you see Marco Rubio sitting in that room, when you see Pete Hegseth, they will, I think, weigh in on some of the discussions about these security guarantees and what precisely is on the table here. You know, we've heard talk of Article V-like guarantees. That's the NATO provision that an attack against one country is an attack against all.

President Trump has been pretty clear that Ukraine will not be joining NATO itself, but I think for Zelenskyy's part, he wants to know from Hegseth, from Rubio, from President Trump himself, what the U.S. will do if Russia tries to re-invade Ukraine once this war comes to an end.

And so that is why I think having those folks at the table will be important for Zelenskyy as he tries to get some of these nuances nailed down and put down on paper.

FREEMAN: All right, gentlemen, we will have to leave it there. Fred Pleitgen and Kevin Liptak, thank you both so much for breaking this all down.

We want to continue the conversation now with retired Colonel Cedric Leighton. He is a CNN military analyst.

So great to see you as always, especially on a consequential day. What is your takeaway, Colonel, from what we've seen so far?

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yes, so this is going to be very interesting, Danny, to see exactly which way Trump goes, because on the one hand, you know, everybody looks at his phone call with Putin and thinks of what happened in Anchorage.

On the other hand, you see a very cordial reception of Zelenskyy, and that, of course, is very different from what Zelenskyy experienced back in February in the Oval Office.

So these things can go several different ways, and it looks to me as if at the moment, at least there are some serious conversations going on about what the details are going to be. And one thing that I noted were the military personnel who were present on both sides. For the U.S., you had the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General Dan Caine, very appropriate for him to be there; for the Ukrainian side, you had Andrii Hnatov, who is basically an equivalent of General Caine for the Ukrainian General staff, and that is a very interesting choice because General Hnatov is a combat experienced Ukrainian Marine, so he can definitely talk about the military situation in Ukraine and perhaps shed some light on that and perhaps inform the U.S. delegation of some of the military aspects of this. So this could get to be a very interesting discussion just from that standpoint.

FREEMAN: Now, I think that's incredibly well said, especially like you said, because security guarantees is such a crucial part of this negotiating process right here. Colonel, Zelenskyy this week, it was very interesting when we got this -- their proposed peace plan, their version. This week, he opened the door, though to a compromise on Ukrainian troops in the Donbas region, potentially creating this type of demilitarized zone.

Can you break down why something like that might be important or even feasible?

LEIGHTON: Well, so from the important standpoint, Danny, what we are looking at is basically an area that has no Armed Forces in it. That's what a demilitarized zone obviously would be.

Now, when you think about other demilitarized zones in the world, like the one between North and South Korea, for example, there is no at least at the beginning of it, there was no real zone that had an economic development aspect to it. That came a bit later and has since been done away with by the North Koreans specifically.

[15:10:16]

But in the case of Ukraine and Russia, you know, it is kind of an interesting idea if it is done in a way that has absolutely no military presence, but the unworkable part of this could very well be if there is no military presence from a third party such as, you know, a country of, you know, either a neutral country or a NATO country, that could invite the Russians back into those areas.

So the Ukrainians aren't going to give up that territory without some kind of a security guarantee that the Russians won't come back in. The idea is a very interesting one. The Ukrainians are accepting it provisionally, it appears, based on the idea that somehow those security guarantees are going to be in place, and that zone will actually truly be free of Russian troops.

FREEMAN: Well, let's talk a little bit more about this potential security agreement, because President Trump said a short time ago that there would be a security agreement in place as part of a peace plan. But do you at this point, from what we know about what has been proposed, European's involvement, et cetera, can you see a scenario where Russian President Vladimir Putin would accept that? Even this Article V-lite or this mirrored Article V, I mean, do you see a world in which Putin would go with that?

LEIGHTON: Well, you know, when one believes in fairy tales, it could happen. But the fact of the matter is, is that Putin has always said that he will not accept a NATO force in there. He won't accept NATO membership for Ukraine, and he won't accept any kind of guarantee like that.

Now, there may be some movement on the latter part of this. You know, ideally, the U.S., Europe and Ukraine would be on exactly the same page and would certainly be in our interest for many reasons, for the Ukrainians to be a part of NATO. But, you know, things are the way they are and Russia is, you know, basically insisting on no membership for Ukraine in NATO, I think that could change over years. And we have to remember, both Sweden and Finland joined NATO recently. They were countries that for a long, long time were very neutral and the Russians objected to them being part of NATO, but yet when they finally became part of NATO, nobody, including the Russians did anything about it.

FREEMAN: That's an interesting point. Well, again, all eyes on Mar-a- Lago this Sunday afternoon.

Colonel Leighton, thank you so much for sharing your expertise. As always, good to see you.

LEIGHTON: Good to see you too, Danny. Thank you.

FREEMAN: Well, it is President Zelenskyy today and will be tomorrow, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He is set to meet with President Trump in Florida. We will tell you why this meeting matters right now and what is at stake for U.S.-Israeli ties.

Plus, we are following breaking news, one person was killed and another hurt after two helicopters crashed earlier today in New Jersey. CNN NEWSROOM will continue in just a few moments.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FREEMAN: We are following breaking news out of New Jersey, where officials say one person has died and another is critically injured after two helicopters collided in midair.

CNN correspondent, Rafael Romo is following the latest developments.

Rafael, tell us what are you learning?

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Danny.

Well, we have obtained a statement from the Federal Aviation Administration. The FAA is confirming that the crash happened at 11:25 in the morning, Eastern Time and they say the two helicopters collided in midair near Hammonton Municipal Airport in New Jersey. The location is about 30 miles southeast of Philadelphia.

The FAA also described the aircraft as an Enstrom F-28A helicopter and an Enstrom 280C helicopter. Officials also say that only the pilots were on board of each helicopters. Both the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the accident, but the NTSB will be in charge.

Hammonton Fire Department Chief Sean Macri described what happened as a possible midair collision. We had two helicopters down in the field, he said. Macri also confirmed to CNN that there is one fatality, adding that another person is unconfirmed, after both were airlifted to the trauma center. The scene is still under investigation and NTSB has been contacted and are sending out their investigators, Macri said.

The AP, Danny, is reporting that rescuers responded to a report of an aviation crash and that police and fire crews subsequently extinguished flames that engulfed one of the helicopters. The report also added that one person was killed and another was transported to a nearby hospital with life-threatening injuries.

Something else that we have learned is that both helicopters are older, probably built in the 1970s. One has a private owner listed and the other is listed to a charter company. Again, at least one person died near Hammonton Municipal Airport in New Jersey, located about 30 miles Southeast of Philadelphia.

We will keep monitoring the situation, Danny, and bring you the very latest as soon as we get it.

Now back to you.

FREEMAN: Thank you, Rafael.

Yes, just stunning photos of those two helicopter ruins there in the field. Appreciate your time, as always. Thanks, Rafael.

All right to this now, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has just arrived in Florida for high-stakes talks with President Trump tomorrow. Well, tomorrow's meeting will take place as tensions are flaring across the Middle East. We will see what impact those talks could have on the region. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:24:23]

FREEMAN: Russia and Ukraine in progress. Next up on President Trump's meeting list, Israel. Tomorrow, amid rising Middle East tensions, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with Trump as The White House pushes for Phase 2 of its ceasefire in Gaza. Netanyahu landed in Florida just moments ago.

For more on this, let's discuss with former State Department Middle East Negotiator, Aaron David Miller. He is also a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Aaron, always good to see you. Thank you so much for being here.

So let's lay out the stakes right here. Who is this meeting tomorrow more critical for? President Trump or Prime Minister Netanyahu?

AARON DAVID MILLER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Fascinating question, Danny. Thanks for having me.

You know, this is the sixth meeting, right, in the first year of President Trump's second term. That's a lot of meetings with the Israeli leader.

[15:25:10 ]

Look, I don't think -- I think both of these guys don't trust one another. I am not even sure they like one another, but the reality is they need one another. Trump needs Netanyahu to avoid his much touted 28-point plan in Gaza from cratering and Netanyahu desperately needs the President of the United States in order to manage growing calls for his resignation and the prospects in 2026 of an election, in which he would like to become Prime Minister again and Trump is more popular in Israel than Netanyahu.

So again, mutual need creates a certain amount of dependency. This may not be a great meeting, but it is not going to crater, it may push the ball forward a tad on Gaza.

FREEMAN: Now, Israeli domestic politics clearly on the front of the mind of the Prime Minister.

I want to get your perspective on this, though, because AXIOS' Barak Ravid reports that White House officials think Netanyahu is actually slow walking this peace process.

From your perspective, what is the current state of U.S.-Israel relations as you see them, especially in relation to this peace process?

MILLER: You know, it all depends on the President. Whatever Marco Rubio's view is, Pete Hegseth's, Susie Wiles -- the reality is, it is the Netanyahu-Trump relationship that is going to produce or not produce and the reality is, Danny, I've worked in administrations from Jimmy Carter and Bush 43. No American President, in my experience, and I would add, Barack Obama and Joe Biden to the mix -- no American President at least in the administrations I've ever worked for ever talked to an Israeli Prime Minister the way Donald Trump has talked to Benjamin Netanyahu, basically saying, to quote Barak Ravid, "We will walk away from you unless you sign up to our peace plan."

And I think the President has maneuvered in a way that few other presidents have. He cut a deal with the Houthis, about which the Israelis learned after the fact. He opened up a direct dialogue in March with Hamas and also authorized Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Sharm El-Sheikh to meet with Khalil Al-Hayya, who is presumably, at least on the external leadership, making decisions or at least facilitating contacts with the Egyptians and the Qataris and the Americans.

So Trump has the capacity, it seems to me, to bring a lot of pressure on Netanyahu. The question is, again, how is it going to be calibrated and when is it going to be used? You're entering Phase 2.

Phase 2 of involves heavy lifts anywhere you look and the Prime Minister, clearly and Hamas I would argue, are much more comfortable staying where they are in Phase 1.

FREEMAN: Well, let's talk a little bit more about some of the specifics of those heavy lifts of Phase 2, because as I understand it, Phase 2 of the ceasefire would involve Hamas handing over weapons and Israel pulling back some of its forces. I don't know. How do you couch the chances Netanyahu agrees to parts of these elements of this phase? MILLER: Right now, they are thought experiments, you know, Northern Ireland, the decommissioning process took -- it started in 1998, it completed in 2005, and there, the IRA was actually offered a role in Irish politics. Here, Hamas now understands that decommissioning, demilitarization is a ticket to their obliteration. So I think on that issue, it is going to be extremely difficult.

The issue with Israeli withdrawal is tied to a thought experiment, which is the creation of an international stabilization force. No Muslim or Arab countries are going to put their boots on the ground without a commitment or some empirical evidence in the real world that Hamas is prepared to give its heavy weapons and won't engage those peacekeepers.

So again, I am thinking here, Phase 1 is going to be more active. I think mid-January, you can see an announcement, International Board of Peace, an Executive Committee, maybe a 15-person technocratic Palestinian government managed by the Board of Peace and the Executive Committee, you may see the International Stabilization Force, a couple of boots on the ground in the area that the Israelis control, the 50 percent of Gaza is, and you're going to see reconstruction begin.

The Emiratis have proposed a sort of 20,000-person -- I don't want to trivialize this, given the horrors that the people of Gaza have experienced, but for the 200,000 Gazans who actually live in the 53 percent that the Israelis control, the Emiratis want to build a sort of modelled village to demonstrate that life can be secure and safe for Palestinians.

So a lot of activity in those areas, Danny, not so much in the 47 percent that Hamas now controls.

FREEMAN: I will tell you, you know, usually the weekend between Christmas and New Year's is a sleepy one, not so when it comes to foreign policy.

Aaron David Miller, thank you so much for your insight. As always, appreciate it.

MILLER: Danny, thanks for having me. Really appreciate it.

[15:30:10]

FREEMAN: All right, coming up, trusted with the most intimate care, a prominent doctor now faces sexual assault allegations from hundreds of women. We will tell you what survivors say happened behind exam room doors as they say warnings were ignored.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FREEMAN: Nearly 500 women accused a Los Angeles doctor of decades of sexual abuse. While many say their complaints were ignored, a new California law opens a two-year window for filing sexual assault claims, no matter when the alleged abuse happened. CNN's Julia Vargas Jones reports on how some survivors continue to grapple with lasting trauma and barriers to speaking out. [15:35:10 ]

And we will give our viewers a warning, some of the details of this story may be disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUZANNE, VICTIM: The betrayal is so complete and so deep, and it does so much damage.

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Almost 40 years later, Suzanne says the pain still hasn't faded.

SUZANNE: It happened to me. I can't hide that. It is a part of who I am and it will never go away.

That scar exists.

JONES (voice over): Suzanne, who asked to go by another name to protect herself from potential stigma, says she was only 21 years old when she encountered Dr. Barry Brock for the first time.

SUZANNE: When I walked into the office, he excused the nurse and told her to go home for the night. He made me get undressed in front of him, which just was shocking to me, but I was young. He didn't give me a sheet or a cover or anything and so he was doing a breast exam.

He was stroking my breasts and telling me how beautiful they were and how beautiful I was and I was frozen. And the exam went on and it didn't get any better.

He was using the speculum, and he is literally petting me and telling me how pretty I am.

JONES (voice over): She says she told her mother immediately, and together they told another Cedars' doctor what had happened.

SUZANNE: We trusted that he would do what he said, which he said straight out, I will take care of this.

JONES (voice over): She is one of almost 500 women suing Brock for allegedly sexually abusing, harassing and molesting them while they were patients at Cedars-Sinai and at Brock's private practice in Los Angeles.

Brock's attorney says he "... denies any and all allegations that have been set forth to date. Any improper conduct, and has never touched or examined a patient in any way for anything but medical reasons. Any claim that he conducted exams for his own personal gratification or assaulted anyone are outrageously false claims. There are many hundreds of patients, medical providers and medical staff who support Dr. Brock and who have had only positive experiences with him."

In a statement to CNN, Cedars-Sinai said, "The type of behavior alleged about Dr. Barry brock is counter to Cedars-Sinai core values and the trust we strive to earn every day with our patients. We recognize the legal process must now take its course, and we remain committed to Cedars-Sinai sacred healing mission."

Many of the women say they sought Brock specifically because of his renown in fertility and specializing in high-risk pregnancies. But from the claims, a pattern emerges that Brock had for decades allegedly been forcing his patients to undress completely in front of him while he watched, administering prolonged and medically unnecessary pelvic exams, groping his patients breasts, digitally penetrating his patients, often without wearing gloves and with unwashed hands, and making misogynistic, sexually harassing comments.

In the complaint, Jane Doe #3 claims that at monthly prenatal appointments, Brock would perform vaginal exams in a manner she believes was designed to mimic intercourse. Jane Doe #7 claims Brock gave her a pelvic exam using bare ungloved fingers, pressing his leg against her inner thigh. She said she noticed he had an erection. He then commented, "You are very tight."

JENNIFER MCGRATH, ATTORNEY: They were experiencing molestation and abuse at virtually every appointment.

JONES: Jennifer McGrath and Darren Kavinoky represent more than 100 Jane Does in civil lawsuits. Many who say they tried to speak out over the decades.

MCGRATH: Our lawsuits allege more than 20 women in the 80s and 90s, the 2010s and throughout a 40-plus year career that Dr. Brock had at Cedars, that they did make complaints whether to nurses, to other physicians, to the administration, and those complaints were ignored.

JONES (voice over): Until 2024, when Brock was barred from Cedars- Sinai pending an investigation.

In June 2025, he surrendered his medical license after the California Medical Board found he had committed, "... repeated negligent acts in his care of a pregnant patient in 2018." Brock's attorney says he "... retired from practicing medicine in late summer of 2024. In no way was his resignation or retirement an admission of any wrongdoing."

MCGRATH: A lot of times, women don't realize that they were abused. Again, they push that down. They go through a denial. They say, no, I must have been mistaken because all the indicia are that the doctor is trustworthy and they believe that they must be wrong, that there is no way that there could be a physician employed in such a hospital who is engaging in abuse.

[15:40:10 ]

DARREN KAVINOKY, ATTORNEY: We've heard so many times that women walked out and thought, oh, that was creepy. Just their gut told them something was wrong, and it was only when its talked about in the media or women hear the stories from other survivors, that's where it really clicks.

JONES (voice over): Suzanne did realize that, she says, in hopes other possible survivors will, too.

SUZANNE: I did come forward. If they had done anything, they would have saved hundreds and hundreds of women.

JONES (voice over): And as of January 1st, a new law will reopen a two-year statute of limitations window for filing claims over sexual assault allegations, regardless of when the assault happened.

SUZANNE: They should have done something. They could have stopped him.

JONES (on camera): Now, it is important to note that there are resources out there. If you or someone you love has been sexually assaulted or abused, you can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline 24 hours a day. Their number is 800-656-HOPE or you can text HOPE to 64673.

Julia Vargas Jones, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:45:38]

FREEMAN: The last weekend of the year means it is down to the wire for NFL teams fighting for a spot in the playoffs or trying to clinch their division titles or bums like me who are doing fantasy and just are hoping for a win.

For more on this, let's bring in CNN Sports Anchor, Don Riddell, who is covering it all for us.

Don, some make or break games being played today. What should we know?

DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT HOST: Yes. You know, you're right. It is the last weekend of the year, not the last weekend of the season, but we are getting close. Let's talk about the Ravens because they had a big game on Saturday.

For some time, their running back, Derrick Henry has been known by a regal nickname, King Henry. And in the NFL, he enjoyed something of a coronation this weekend. Both starting quarterbacks were out in this game, so a battle of the backups and this one played out on the ground and it was a career night from Henry.

Let's look at what happened against the Packers in Green Bay. Henry rushing for 216 yards and four touchdowns on 36 carries. This was his seventh career 200-yard game, passing Adrian Peterson and O.J. Simpson for the most in NFL history, and he also set a record for most rushing yards by a visiting player ever at Lambeau Field.

The ravens, keeping their postseason hopes alive with a 41 to 24 win. Keep an eye on what the Steelers are doing right now, though. They are losing to the Browns. That's great news for the Ravens. If it stays like that, the Ravens season is alive. They will go or they will play the Steelers in the last game when it is winner takes all. The Packers, by the way, have locked down seven seed in the NFC.

Now, it has been 52 years since the famous battle of the sexes in tennis, when Billie Jean King beat Bobby Riggs at the Houston Astrodome. More than half a century later, another battle of the sexes on Sunday in Dubai, Aryna Sabalenka took on Nick Kyrgios.

Sabalenka has won four Grand Slam titles, including the U.S. Open in September. She is the world number one female. Kyrgios has only played a handful of matches this year, and his ranking has plummeted because of injuries.

Organizers reduced the size of Sabalenka's side of the court to level the playing field. They broke each other throughout the opening set and although Kyrgios seemed to be tiring halfway through the match, he ultimately won it in straight sets, six-three, six-three.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARYNA SABALENKA, TENNIS PLAYER: I think it was a great level. I made a lot of great shots, moved a lot to the net, great dropshots, great serving and yes, I really enjoyed the show and I think -- not I think, I felt like next time when I play him, I already know the tactic. I know his strength, his weaknesses. And it is going to be a better match for sure.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIDDELL: All right, you've just got to see this from the NHL in New York last night. It is not a game highlight, the National Anthem ahead of the Islanders game against the Rangers was played by a Second World War veteran, Dominick Critelli, who is 104, born in 1921, Critelli operated behind enemy lines in Europe. He survived the Battle of the Bulge and his saxophone rendition of the anthem was just spectacular.

And listen to this, his ability to hold the notes at the end was utterly captivating.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Ladies and gentlemen, Staff Sergeant Dominick Critelli.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIDDELL: Well played, sir, well played. That is absolutely spine tingling. Inspiring stuff there, Danny.

Back to you.

FREEMAN: It really is. And again, I am from Long Island, so seeing him in an Islanders jersey, it does my heart good.

Don Riddell, thanks so much as always for a great round of sports. Good weekend, on tap still to come. Appreciate it.

All right, this now, a server at an iconic Cincinnati restaurant was surprised with $27,000.00 by her regulars after they learned her husband passed away suddenly.

Tammy Hammonds has worked at Skyline Chili for 30 years and was really overwhelmed by the generosity of her customers. Alexis Martin from our affiliate WXIX, has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TAMMY HAMMONDS, HAS WORKED AT SKYLINE CHILI FOR 30 YEARS: To show the love they have for me was enough, but today, what they've done is incredible.

ALEXIS MARTIN, WXIX REPORTER (voice over): Thirty years of serving at Skyline, making friends and supporting the community came full circle for Tammy Hammonds on Sunday night, when a group of her regulars surprised her with $27,000.00.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tammy. Tammy --

MARTIN (voice over): Kyle Zimmerman and Sam Bruchell started raising money for her on Monday after hearing her husband, Randy Hammonds had suddenly died.

Zimmerman said he died of kidney cancer one month after his diagnosis.

KYLE ZIMMERMAN, RAISED MONEY FOR TAMMY: He was a wounded war veteran and so he had checks coming in from that, and he also handled hazardous waste on behalf of the U.S. government. So, they had another check coming in from that, and that is what bolstered the family financially.

And since his passing, those checks go away.

MARTIN (voice over): Zimmerman and Bruchell started regularly coming to the Clifton Skyline as college freshmen, sometimes visiting four times a week. They quickly built up a relationship with Tammy, one that they have continued even though they now live in New York and Chicago.

ZIMMERMAN: That's a testament to who she is.

MARTIN (voice over): Zimmerman says when he learned of Tammy's husbands passing, he knew he had to do something. He posted about her situation and within hours had raised thousands of dollars, donations coming in from as far away as Australia.

Bruchell says the community support shows how Cincinnati comes together for one of their own.

SAM BRUCHELL, RAISED MONEY FOR TAMMY: Everybody treats each other like family and it is -- we are just very lucky to be from such a special place.

MARTIN (voice over): Tammy says she already knew the group of friends left an impression on her years ago.

HAMMONDS: I knew the impact it was having on me by being able to be part of their lives and watching them grow, but I never thought that they would have loved me this much.

MARTIN (voice over): As everyone came together for Tammy, she was at a loss for words filled with gratitude.

HAMMONDS: I always felt like Kyle was my little angel, but this time he brung a whole army of angels with him.

MARTIN (voice over): Tammy says she hopes people watching learn how special it is to connect with the people around you.

HAMMONDS: Show love each and every day to be happy with what you're doing. Sometimes it may not seem important, but I can see how important it was.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FREEMAN: Just a great, great community there. That was Alexis Martin reporting.

All right, coming up, a high-stakes meeting between President Trump and Ukraine's President Zelenskyy continues right now, we are going to be taking a closer look at that renewed push for peace as Russia's war against Ukraine approaches the four-year mark. Stay with us.

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[15:56:57]

FREEMAN: Hollywood royalty Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson star as Lightning and Thunder. It is in a movie that features the songs of music legend Neil Diamond. It is about a tribute band. It is a love story that has already picked up awards and nominations for its stars' performances.

CNN's Lynda Kinkade sat down with the actors to discuss the film.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(VIDEO CLIP FROM "SONG SUNG BLUE"/FOCUS FEATURES PLAYS)

LYNDA KINKADE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT AND ANCHOR (voice over): Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson bringing music and messy, honest love to life in the film "Song Sung Blue" inspired by a true

story about a Neil Diamond tribute band.

MIKE SARDINA, PLAYED BY HUGH JACKMAN: I am not a songwriter. I am not a sex symbol. I just want to entertain people.

CLAIRE SARDINA, PLAYED BY KATE HUDSON: I don't want to be a hairdresser, I want to sing, I want to dance, I want a garden, I want a cat.

KINKADE: What resonated with you and what hit home when you first read the script?

HUGH JACKMAN, ACTOR: It is real family showing up with some regrets, with some left turns, with some difficulties, and yet they are still showing up for each other.

KINKADE: What was the biggest challenge in putting this film together?

JACKMAN: Well, getting it made, everyone turned this film down except one, Universal Focus.

M. SARDINA: We should call ourselves Lightning and Thunder.

KINKADE: And I heard you two felt like a married couple making this movie.

JACKMAN: Yes.

KATE HUDSON, ACTOR: Yes.

KINKADE: How did you build that chemistry?

JACKMAN: It was thankfully easy.

HUDSON: But this love story is central. Like, if it doesn't work, the movie doesn't work. So it was our job to make sure that we were, you know, that we had that connection.

And thank God, thank God, thank God it was you.

(VIDEO CLIP FROM "SONG SUNG BLUE"/FOCUS FEATURES PLAYS)

KINKADE: Congratulations on your nomination for the Golden Globe.

HUDSON: Thank you. Thank you very much.

KINKADE: Why do you think this was a bit of a breakout for you in terms of showcasing all of your talents?

HUDSON: Well, I don't think these roles come around very often. There are musicals and there is, you know, dramatic stories and things like that. But this kind of walks this line of entertainment and drama and art.

KINKADE: You did such a fabulous job at the Milwaukee accent.

HUDSON: I would slip into it sometimes, even when we are doing press.

C. SARDINA: Just try it.

M. SARDINA: I told you, I'm lactose intolerant.

C. SARDINA: I know, but it is just a little gas --

M. SARDINA: Plus, I hate cheese.

HUDSON: We had a great dialect coach. He kept us in line.

KINKADE: How's Kate's Australian accent?

HUDSON: It's awful. This is the hardest one for me.

JACKMAN: Not many people do it well, right?

HUDSON: No, no.

JACKMAN: No. No.

KINKADE: And I loved when I saw you two just pop up at a bar, beer in hand, and start singing.

JACKMAN: It was so great. We went down to Old Mates, which is, I don't know --

HUDSON: Also what a great bar.

JACKMAN: Yes.

HUDSON: But it is literally like you step into Australia when you're -- I mean, everyone is Australian.

KINKADE: Where do we turn up to for the next performance at a bar?

HUDSON: Well --

JACKMAN: Well, we are touring the world.

KINKADE: Over the holidays and looking forward to 2026, wishes and hopes.

HUDSON: I am going back to Neil Diamond's house. I've decided I am spending the holidays with the Diamonds.

JACKMAN: Goal is to get invited.

HUDSON: On cinnamon sticks.

JACKMAN: To Kate Hudson's for Christmas. That's the epic Christmas.

KINKADE: That would be gold. Her family, I just feel like you just want to hug them all.

JACKMAN: It is true.

HUDSON: Oh, well, it depends on if we are playing games. If we are playing games, you won't want to hug us. We get really competitive.

My mom leaves the room.

JACKMAN: There's a line in our movie "Dream huge" and I wish that for every single one of you for 2026.

(VIDEO CLIP FROM "SONG SUNG BLUE"/FOCUS FEATURES PLAYS)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[16:00:50]