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Christmas Festivities in Bethlehem for First Time in Three Years; Pope Leo Calls for Peace in Ukraine on Christmas Eve; Justice Department Scrambles to Find Staff to Redact Epstein Files; Trump Named Multiple Times in Latest Batch of Epstein Files. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired December 24, 2025 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

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BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: You're looking at Christmas festivities in Bethlehem, happening for the first time in three years. It

is 04:00 p.m. there. It is 09:00 a.m. here in New York. I'm Bianna Golodryga, and you're watching a special edition of "Connect the World".

Coming up for us, Pope Leo marks his first Christmas leading the Catholic church with a call for a ceasefire in Ukraine. This comes as Ukrainian

President Zelenskyy is signaling new willingness to make concessions to broker a deal. And in the United States, the fallout grows over the Justice

Department's latest drop of documents from the Epstein files.

Right now, we are waiting to see if more files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein will be released by the U.S. Justice Department.

On Tuesday, the DOJ leadership asked prosecutors to volunteer to help redact and review more files during the holidays, according to CNN

exclusive reporting.

The latest batch of documents released Tuesday included a number of references to President Trump, though he's not accused of any wrongdoing

related to Epstein. Also, this hour, new questions about who the Justice Department may be trying to protect a batch of apparent FBI emails from

2019 cite investigations into 10 people described as Epstein's coconspirators without disclosing their names.

CNN's Marshall Cohen has more on this developing story from Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARSHALL COHEN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Justice Department officials are trying to recruit their colleagues and their subordinates in some of their

offices across the country to work through this holiday, work through the weekend, to review, redact and ultimately release more Epstein files.

But there's already been a lot of revelations in what we've seen so far. The drop started on Friday night last week, and another 30,000 documents

came out yesterday, and there was a lot of Donald Trump in there. I want to highlight one of the most interesting things that we picked up on was that,

in addition to all that stuff about the coconspirators and a possible subpoena to Mar-a-Lago.

One of the prosecutors in 2020 who was working on building that case against Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein's associate, discovered that

Donald Trump had been on Epstein's private jet. There were flight logs that they found, and they had believed that Trump maybe had never been on the

jet, and Trump recently said he had never been on Epstein's jet.

But this is an email you're seeing it on your screen from 2020, prosecutors found from the flight logs eight times that Donald Trump, as a private

citizen in the 1990s was on Jeffrey Epstein's private jet. Of course, Donald Trump has never been accused of any wrongdoing regarding Jeffrey

Epstein by law enforcement.

AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: In the meantime, Marshall, I want to ask about the Justice Department's statement about that letter that people are

looking at that was allegedly sent from Jeffrey Epstein to sex offender Larry Nassar.

COHEN: This took up so much of the day yesterday, Audie, and it's really a cautionary tale of the risks of dropping a massive tranche of documents

with zero context and zero explanation. It's a purported letter from Epstein to Nassar that's frankly disgusting and appears to make a reference

to Donald Trump as well.

But by the end of the day, after it caught wildfire on social media, the Justice Department knocked it down and said that it was a fake. I'll read

for you a quote from the Trump appointed Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who said, quote, we produce documents, and sometimes this can

result in releasing fake or false documents because they simply are in our possession, because the law requires this, which is true.

Case in point, the so-called Epstein Nasser letter, he went on to say, is clearly fake, wrong hand writing, wrong return address and post mark three

days after Epstein died. So, this is what happens when you drop everything with no context. But I guess ultimately, at the end of the day, the

transparency is what Congress wanted.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GOLODRYGA: Well, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appears to be offering some concessions in the negotiations to end the war in Ukraine.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, he laid out what would be acceptable terms to withdraw forces from parts of the Donetsk region that are not

currently occupied by Russian forces.

They are -- the area has been a key sticking point in the talks. CNN's Nada Bashir is live in London. So, what more are we hearing from the president,

Nada?

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, look Bianna, this is certainly a significant development, and although we haven't been given all of the

details around the discussions that were held between a Ukrainian delegation and U.S. officials.

[09:05:00]

We know that there has been according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, some progress when it comes to potential concessions that Ukraine is

willing to make as part of this 20-points peace plan. Now, as we know, over the course of negotiations and discussions, Russian President Vladimir

Putin has long insisted that Ukraine must effectively cede most, if not all, of the Donetsk region.

And now, of course, this has been something that has been characterized as unacceptable for some time now by Ukrainian officials, including the

Ukrainian President, but now we are hearing that there may be the potential for some compromise on this front. And according to officials, with regards

to this discussion, this talk that was held with reporters, with President Zelenskyy.

There is now the potential consideration of a withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from some parts of the Donetsk region, particularly fortified cities

such as Kramatorsk and Sloviansk which have effectively prevented Russian troops from being able to advance deeper into the heart of Ukraine.

But this potential concession would also only take place, according to these reports, if Russia would then also agree to cede some of the

territory that it has also taken. So, we're looking at an equal amount of territory being withdrawn from on both sides, and effectively this is said

to potentially create a demilitarized zone.

Now, of course, we do not have the finer details of what this would essentially look like. These details are still being ironed out and

discussed and of course, this is a wide-ranging peace plan. So, in addition to those territorial disputes, there are several other areas where

Ukrainian officials are seeking guarantees, not only from Russia, but also from its international partners and allies, including security guarantees

from the United States, European Nations and NATO nations as well.

They are looking, obviously, for further post war development commitments when it comes to the economic development of Ukraine following any sort of

ceasefire agreements and, of course, guarantees of Ukraine sovereignty and a non-aggression agreement between Ukraine and Russia.

Of course, we are waiting to hear more on this. It is expected, according to the Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, that we might see some sort of

comment or response from Moscow in the coming days or weeks. But the Kremlin spokesperson did reject to give any sort of details or response at

this stage to reporters describing any discussion of the ceasefire negotiations, or peace plan negotiations as unproductive.

GOLODRYGA: And Nada, speaking of the Kremlin, how are they responding to what appears to be yet another, the second car bombing inside of Russian

territory. We talked about the general who died in a car bombing in Moscow earlier this week. What more do we know about the latest reports?

BASHIR: Well, at this stage, both incidences are not being formally connected, but there have been some allegations from Russian officials

accusing Ukraine of carrying out this latest attack. Two police officers and a third individual are said to have been killed in this car blast, in

this blast, rather the last attack being a car bomb attack.

According to officials and investigators, the two police officers approached a suspicious individual when that bomb was detonated, a device

they've described near a police car. Now we do have a statement from police officials and investigators say, investigators and forensic experts are

continuing to examine the scene of the incident.

Police are also looking at CCTV and interviewing witnesses who were in the area at the time to try to get more details on the alleged perpetrator of

this attack. And of course, this has raised concern at this stage, Ukraine hasn't claimed responsibility. But of course, as we have seen over the

course of the war between Russia and Ukraine, since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a number of these attacks and assassinations have taken place.

And Russia has long accused Ukraine of being behind this. But again, no formal claim of responsibility or formal identification of a connection

between this particular attack and the killing of the Russian General.

GOLODRYGA: All right. Nada Bashir reporting live from London for us. Thank you so much good to see you, Nada. Well, as millions of Catholics celebrate

Christmas Eve, today, Pope Leo is using his first festive season as pontiff to make an appeal for Ukraine. He's expressing his sadness at Moscow's

refusal to agree to a ceasefire. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POPE LEO, HEAD OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH: Truly, one of the things that causes me great sadness is the fact that apparently Russia has rejected the

request for a truce. Once again, I make this request to all people of good will to observe at least on the feast of the birth of the Savior, a day of

peace, perhaps they will listen to us, and may there be 24 hours of peace throughout the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: Pope Leo's message comes as the Vatican's nativity scene at St. Peter's Square sends a message of Christmas harmony.

[09:10:00]

Taking a global approach showcasing more than 100 recreations of the birth of Jesus from over 20 different countries. CNN's Chris Lamb is across the

story from Rome for us. Christopher, it is good to see you. So, tell us more about Pope Leo's message this Christmas, his first in the papacy, as

it relates to Ukraine and more broadly.

CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Well Bianna, it's a significant moment because, of course, it is the Pope's first Christmas

since his election, and the eyes of the world are going to be on him to hear what he has to say at Christmas.

And I expect he will do what he's done right from the start, and that is try and emphasize a message of peace, of dialog, and the importance of

trying to apply the Christmas message of goodwill to the conflicts around the world. Of course, we heard last night from him that he is very

distressed that Russia has not heeded a call for a Christmas ceasefire.

I suspect he's going to try and emphasize the importance of countries laying down their weapons at Christmas in the various services. He's going

to be leading tonight, Christmas Eve, he'll be celebrating Midnight Mass in St. Peter's Basilica. And then on Christmas Day, we'll be expecting the

major Christmas message that he is going to deliver from the balcony of St. Peter's.

I've been out in St. Peter's Square, and everything is ready for Christmas. There's a large nativity scene in St. Peter's which its creator says he

wants anyone who looks at it to feel a sense of beauty and harmony. And there's also a series of Christmas crib scenes in St. Peter's from

countries across the world.

There's more than 100 on display, including the Chicago nativity from Pope Leo's hometown, very appropriate to have that this year. And also, a

Christmas crib scene from Peru, where Pope Leo was a missionary for many years. So, everything in place for the first American Pope's first

Christmas since his election, Bianna.

GOLODRYGA: I love that nod to his background, the nativity scene from Chicago and also from Peru. As we noted, there are over 100 nativity scenes

from more than 20 countries around the world. And it's just such a beauty to look at and beautiful scene. Very lucky to have you there for us this

Christmas.

Christopher Lamb in Rome for us, thank you. And still to come on "Connect the World", celebrations underway in the streets of Bethlehem today. We'll

have a live report just ahead.

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GOLODRYGA: Bethlehem is celebrating Christmas again for the first time in three years. This is a live look at the historic city in the West Bank

where Christians refrained from any public celebrations during the Gaza war. Thousands turned out for the parade down star street all the way to

Nativity Square earlier.

And children gathered. Many awaiting carol sung by the voice of angels' choir that's set up to start shortly. Jerusalem's Latin Patriarch delivered

this message before heading to Bethlehem.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARDINAL PIERBATTISTA PIZZABALLA, JERUSALEM LATIN PATRIARCH: If in Gaga was possible to celebrate Christmas, there is no reason all over the world to

not to celebrate it. And also, there is no reason to lose hope. We are living difficult times. The problems are all again on the ground.

But I felt also visiting Gaza, visiting our communities, desire of life, desire to go back to life and to rebuild the life from the scratch. And

this is the hope for the future.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: Joining us now from Bethlehem is our Matthew Chance. Every time we hear from Cardinal Pizzaballa, he always has such moving words, words of

wisdom. And as noted for the first time in three years now, Christmas celebrated there in Bethlehem publicly.

What are you seeing behind you, and what are you hearing from those who are hoping for a peaceful, quieter and more optimistic year ahead?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, well, it's always a special occasion in Bethlehem when it's Christmas Eve, but it's

particularly special this year because it's the first time in three, that they've actually had these Christmas festivities.

And take a step away. Look, you can see there's man just square behind me. There's the Christmas tree, which has been up for the first time in three

years. And just beyond that, the Church of the Nativity, of course, where it's celebrated that Jesus Christ was born.

There's a lot of people in the square, but you know, nowhere near as many as we've seen in past years, where there have been thousands of people. The

crowds really thinned out this time. And from what I've been hearing from local people speaking to the van there, is that that's partly because it is

so difficult at the moment to get around the West Bank, which is occupied by Israeli forces, of course, so lots of checkpoints.

It's very hard to get from one town to the next, and so people who would have liked to have come to celebrate Christmas Eve here in Manger Square

have not been able to do so. There's also a great sense of insecurity as well. The West Bank is a very violent and volatile place, and so a lot of

families are choosing not to come.

A lot of pilgrims are choosing not to come as well. And all of that is having an impact economically on this town of Bethlehem, which is, you

know, very much dependent on tourism and on pilgrims for its economic welfare. A lot of the hotels around here have been closed down for years.

Souvenir stalls haven't sold anything for a long time. It is really tough times. And a lot of Christians who lived in Bethlehem over the past couple

of years have moved away, gone to other places in the West Bank, but also around the world as well, where there's a sort of broader, sort of

Christian, Palestinian community where they can easily go to.

So, these are all the factors that are feeding into the sense of economic hardship here. And as we said, for the past two Christmases, these

festivities have not been taking place out of sympathy and solidarity for the plight of people inside Gaza. And it was quite a controversial move to

actually restart festivities, because there's still a lot of people suffering in Gaza, even though it's been a ceasefire here.

But I spoke to the Mayor of Bethlehem earlier today, and he said he was still very glad that Christmas has finally returned to Bethlehem. Take a

listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAHER NICOLA CANAWATI, BETHLEHEM MAYOR: It was very important for the resilience of the people of Pakistan, and because many people almost lost

hope. And you know, when you lose hope, it's the end, and we thought it was really crucial to reignite the spirit of Christmas, to reignite hope for

the locals, and to send the messages that everybody needs to hear from the Palestinian people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHANCE: The Mayor of Bethlehem there talking about how important it is symbolically, both for Christians and for Palestinians, for the Christmas

to be celebrated here. You can hear they're singing carols now in Manger Square, Bianna, a few people have gathered there around the band that's

been set up to sing those carols.

There's still another eight hours left until mass is held in the church nativity. Until then, we're expecting a lot of some activity here in Manger

Square in Bethlehem, Bianna.

GOLODRYGA: I have to say, Matthew, I really enjoy listening to you deliver a report with Feliz Navidad and Joy to the World in the background, there.

[09:20:00]

It suits you. Thank you so much for this report.

CHANCE: -- anytime.

GOLODRYGA: Yes, please put that in your contract. A beautiful day there. The Christmas tree is beautiful. Still, so much to overcome, but hopefully,

at least for today and this season, a bit of normalcy again. Matthew Chance in Bethlehem for us, thank you. And coming up for us, make sure you have

your cookies and milk ready by the tree, because Santa Claus is now in route.

I believe we there. He is flying over Japan. Always on schedule. We'll have a live update on tracking Santa, up next.

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GOLODRYGA: Well, children around the world are anxiously waiting for their gifts to arrive, and thanks to this live tracker, we can see exactly where

Santa is headed right now. The North American Aerospace Defense Command website, or NORAD, features updates on Santa's travels around the world.

The tradition began in 1955 when a kid could phone the operation center asking for Santa Claus. I'll be speaking to a Major General, Michael

Simmering of NORAD, about Santa's progress in about 90 minutes time. You're not going to want to miss that conversation.

Well, Santa uses more than sleighs to deliver his presence. Sometimes he needs a different kind of ride. Polo Sandoval explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Santa's got a new ride. We don't know if the sleigh is busy with the big night, but in Venice, many of

Santa's helpers were spotted rowing gondolas to the canals, and in Rome riding bicycles past the coliseum.

It's all part of the Christmas fund, says the bike events organizer, and the proceeds go to a charity that supports families of children fighting

cancer.

RICCARDO LOCHE, ORGANIZER OF BIKE RIDE: We always raise significant funds, which undoubtedly provides considerable help to the facility that welcomes

these families who may come from anywhere in the world and have to leave their homes, jobs and loved ones behind, so we support them in this way.

SANDOVAL (voice-over): In Bulgaria, Santa opted for transport with a little more kick. The festive crew there packed the streets of Sofia with motor

bikes, also for a good cause.

GEORGI YANCHEV, ORGANIZER: After touring the capital's boulevards, we stop at the final point and distribute treats to the children who can take

photos with the motorcycles.

SANDOVAL (voice-over): In Rio, Santa took a dive in the aquarium. The reindeer set this one out, but Santa was accompanied by a variety of sharks

and fish, which delighted some onlookers.

CAMILA FIGUEIREDO DE ASUNCAO, STUDENT: It's surprising he only gives gifts to us, to humans, but apparently, he gives gifts to fish too.

[09:25:00]

How incredible, inclusion always that's a good thing.

SANDOVAL (voice-over): And on the banks of the Brazilian Amazon, a barge decorated with a huge Santa display brought presents and holiday cheer to

some of the most remote stops in Santa's list.

FABIANA BRAGA, RESIDENT: There are many families who can't afford to take their children to the city to enjoy these experiences, to go to the mall

and see Santa Claus. And here we have all of that right at the port of our community, on the banks of the river. It's wonderful.

SANDOVAL (voice-over): And for those not quite in the holiday spirit, yet there's always the grinch moto taxi in Lima, which seems to have a very

ungrinchy effect of making customers feel happy and safe for the short trips around town.

JEFERSON CASTRO, MOTOTAXI DRIVER: To not see my moto taxi empty a simple driver like me. I decided to use the grinch theme to fit the occasion and

for people's enjoyment, they really like it.

SANDOVAL (voice-over): Something -- Santa and the grinch can both agree on. Polo Sandoval, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GOLODRYGA: All right now to a special holiday message from space.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Greetings to planet Earth, all of our friends and family from Expedition 74 aboard the International Space Station, flying high

above, thinking of you during this holiday season.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: Those are astronauts aboard the International Space Station, wishing everyone on Earth a Merry Christmas and a happy holiday season.

They are in the middle of a long duration state to test new technologies for human and robotic exploration missions in space.

Well thousands of union Berlin fans transformed the club stadium into a sea of candlelight and song for the Christmas holiday. Nearly 29,000 people

filled the stadium for the annual tradition, which began about two decades ago with less than 90 people. Look at how that grew.

What started as a small gathering has now snowballed into a festive event, drawing fans from across Germany to spread cheer for everyone celebrating.

All right, I love looking at these images. I'm Bianna Golodryga. I'll be back in about 90 minutes for more news around the World, "Global

Perspectives", meantime, on Africa is up next.

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