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Trump Acknowledges Divisions with Israel on West Bank; Trump: U.S. Took Out "Big Facility" Tied to Alleged Drug Boats; Biggest Health and Medical Stories of the Year; Saudi Arabia Accuses UAE of "Highly Dangerous" Actions in Yemen; Ukraine Denies Russian Claim Drone Attack on Putin Residence; Arctic Front Brings Cold, Snow, Gusty Winds to Parts of U.S. Aired 9-9:45a ET
Aired December 30, 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]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ELENI GIOKOS, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu make no clear progress on the next phase
of the Gaza peace plan. It is 09:00 a.m. in Washington, it is 06:00 p.m. here in Dubai. I'm Eleni Giokos. This is "Connect the World".
Also coming up, exclusive CNN reporting. The CIA attacks inside Venezuela targeting a port facility. We will have more details about the operation.
And President Trump says Putin told him that a Ukrainian drone had targeted one of his residences. All right, we've got 30 minutes to go before the
start of trade in New York.
I want to check in on those market futures. And it's red or round. DOW is flat with a negative bias. S&P, very close to 7000 points, and that's what
everyone is hoping for before the end of 2025 so not much time left on the clock. NASDAQ also taking a bit of a knock. Everyone is concerned about
whether we're seeing an AI bubble. We're starting to see some of the tech stocks coming under pressure.
All right, we'll check in on those numbers later on. In the meantime, I want to start with a meeting of the U.S. and Israeli Leaders that yielded
words of mutual praise, but few signs of progress towards moving to the next phase of Gaza, ceasefire.
President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lavished compliments on each other after their private lunch at Mar-a-Lago in
Florida. They did not announce any major action on Gaza, while Mr. Trump called the Prime Minister's current tenure as Israeli leader key to the
country's survival. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: The relationship has been extraordinary. And Bibi is a strong man. It can be very difficult
on occasion, but you need a strong man. If you had a weak man, you wouldn't have Israel right now. Israel would have been, you know, Israel, with most
other leaders would not exist today.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GIOKOS: Paula Hancocks is following developments for us from Abu Dhabi. Paula, great to see you. Lots of smiles. And you know, it seems that they
presenting -- presented a united front. But tell me, behind the optics was the tension of the lack of progress in Gaza and Israel's actions in the
West Bank.
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Eleni, we know that the Israeli Prime Minister would have been delighted with some of the words that we've
just heard from the U.S. President there. He is heading into an election year and having the support of President Trump, who is more popular in
Israel than the Israeli Prime Minister is, is certainly going to help his chances.
But what we did see publicly was that intense flattery. We didn't see any detail about the board of peace that is going to be created the
stabilization force, which will be boots on the ground in Gaza to keep the peace. We also didn't hear any frustration from the U.S. President.
This is something we've heard behind the scenes and sometimes publicly over recent weeks, frustration that there's a perception that Netanyahu is slow
walking towards this phase two. We heard none of that. In fact, the U.S. President put all of the onus on Hamas. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We talked about Hamas and we talked about disarmament, and they're going to be given very short period of time to disarm, and we'll see how
that works out. Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will be in charge of that from our side. But if they don't disarm as they agreed to do, they agreed
to it, and then they'll be held to pay for them, and we don't want that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANCOCKS: Now, this is something we've consistently heard from Prime Minister Netanyahu, that Hamas has to disarm before they withdraw any
further out of the Gaza Strip. Both of those are conditions and part of this phase two.
Now what we have heard from Hamas is no sign of any decision to disarm or to stop trying to govern the Gaza Strip. In fact, on Monday, we heard from
Hamas' military wing saying that they reject calls to disarm while the occupation is ongoing. So, at this point, it is very clear that phase two
is extremely difficult.
We knew that there was a lot of very intricate issues to be dealt with, and quite frankly, disarming is not something Hamas wants to do, and pulling
out of Gaza is not something the Israeli military wants to do.
[09:05:00]
So, it is understandable that this is not moving forward quickly. No one expected this to be easy. When you mentioned the Occupied West Bank though
Eleni, we did see some push back from the U.S. President saying that they have been talking about the West Bank now for some time, and they do not
agree 100 percent on what Israel has been doing there. So, there is some light between the two sides Eleni.
GIOKOS: All right. Paula Hancocks in Abu Dhabi for us. Thank you. Iran's government is reaching out protesters to resolve a wave of unrest over a
currency collapse. Demonstrations gripping Tehran and other cities were set off by a plunge in the Iranian Rial and soaring prices.
In a post on X, Iran's President offered dialog with protest leaders, calling their concerns legitimate and saying the livelihood of the Iranian
people is a daily concern. CNN's Nada Bashir is following this from London for us. Nada, good to have you with us.
I mean the inflation rates, according to statistics coming out of Iran it said it's sitting at 42 percent for the month of December. This is very
high. Give me a sense of what reforms the Iranian government could implement to try and ease some of this crisis that's playing out?
NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, look Eleni, we haven't seen any concrete commitments being offered by the government just yet. Just that
offer of dialog with protesters. And we are continuing to see protesters taking to the streets in Tehran.
We've seen that video on social media being shared protesters around Tehran's markets and bazaars a standoff with police in central parts of
downtown Tehran. We're also seeing university students today taking part in marches around the University of Tehran.
So, we are clearly seeing some momentum building in these protests taking place across the country. And as you mentioned, this is all surrounding
this economic crisis that we are seeing in the country, with inflation rising, and this is a real daily struggle for many in the country.
We're seeing a sharp increase in the prices of food, of essential medical supplies, of gas prices. So, people are really feeling this at home on a
daily basis, and this is clearly sparked a lot of anger and uproar in the country now, particularly as there has been some indication of potential
tax rises in the New Year as well.
So clearly, a lot of dissatisfaction with how the government is handling this economic crisis. And of course, when it comes to the situation with
regards to foreign relations, there is concern around comments being made by the U.S. President Donald Trump, around potentially taking further
action if Iran seeks to rebuild its nuclear capabilities.
And of course, those tensions remain high following that 12-day war that we saw just a few months ago. So clearly there is a huge feeling of unease
amongst the Iranian population. At this stage, what we have seen in terms of tangible action is, according to state media, the resignation of the
Head of the Central Bank, Mohammadreza Farzin.
Rumors had been circular, circulating around his possible resignation in response to this economic crisis. But clearly a lot of dissatisfaction.
Still, we are hearing calls still for shops, markets in the bazaar to be closed. I spoke to one Iranian contact yesterday who said it is when the
bazaars close, governments tremble.
Of course, important to remember that the shopkeepers, merchants played a key role in the Iranian revolution. So, there is certainly a lot of history
there with regards to the potential power behind these protests, if indeed they do continue to escalate and spread.
GIOKOS: All right. Nada Bashir, thank you so much for that update. And we'll be diving deeper into the story. We'll be taking to Tehran in the
next hour to get a full understanding of what's going on in the streets and in terms of how the cost of living is impacting people there?
All right, turning now to an exclusive, sources telling CNN, the CIA struck a port facility on the Venezuelan Coast earlier this month. If true, it
marks the first known U.S. operation against a target inside the country, and could dramatically escalate tensions with President Maduro is
government.
This comes as President Trump has repeatedly threatened to attack Venezuela's Mainland as part of a relentless campaign against alleged narco
trafficking there. Commenting on the strike on Monday, here's how he described this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: There was a major explosion in the dock area where they load the boats up with drugs. They load the boats up with drugs. So, we hit all the
boats, and now we hit the area. It's the implementation area that's where they implement and that is no longer around.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GIOKOS: All right, let's bring in and CNN's Zachary Cohn, who is across these developments from Washington, DC. Zach, I mean the strike really
telling in terms of what the U.S. wants to achieve there.
[09:10:00]
Give me a little bit of an understanding about what is happening between Caracas and Washington? And how things could potentially escalate even
further?
ZACHARY COHEN, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yeah, the CIA drone strike that we're learning about from our sources certainly marks a significant escalation in the U.S. pressure campaign against Venezuelan
Leader, Nicolas Maduro.
And it's one that we really may never have learned about if it hadn't been for what President Donald Trump said on a radio show recently, revealing
for the first time that the U.S. may have conducted a strike inside Venezuela itself.
Now, as we know, the U.S. military has been conducting strikes in international waters for the last several months, really targeting alleged
drug boats and narco traffickers that they say are trying to bring drugs to the United States.
But in this case, a much different scenario, covert operation, we're told, carried out by the CIA that targeted with a drone strike a facility on the
coast of Venezuela that the U.S. believes is being used by a Venezuelan gang to load ships with drugs that are effectively destined for the United
States and elsewhere around the world.
Now we're told too that this facility was vaccine at the time that it was hit, meaning there were no casualties. But as you mentioned, this
development and this escalation taking their strikes to land really is, is significant, and it's one that Donald Trump has been warning could happen
for the last several weeks.
I want to take a listen though to what President Trump said yesterday when he was pressed on those comments that he had made a few days prior about
this supposed strike, and whether or not the U.S. military or another U.S. agency was behind it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: There was a major explosion in the dock area where they load the boats up with drugs. They load the boats up with drugs. So, we hit all the
boats, and now we hit the area. It's the implementation area. That's where they implement and that is no longer around.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Was the facility taken out by the U.S. military? Was it another entity like the CIA?
TRUMP: Well, I don't want to say that. I know exactly who it was, but I don't want to say who it was.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COHEN: So, we've reported that President Trump previously authorized the CIA to carry out covert operations inside Venezuela. But again, hearing the
U.S. President essentially refer to a covert CIA operation publicly like that, and ultimately, through our sources, we were able to confirm that
that is what he was talking about.
Is really a remarkable moment in what has been an extended and controversial U.S. military and now U.S. intelligence agency campaign, not
just against narco traffickers, but also the Venezuelan regime itself.
GIOKOS: Zac Cohen thank you so much for that update. Now, Eurostar has suspended its cross-channel train services because of an overhead power
supply problem. The high-speed train operator is warning passengers of severe delays at the height of winter travel. This disruption affects one
of Europe's busiest international rail corridors connecting London to Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam.
A Eurostar Spokesperson says they are not sure when services will resume. Right ahead on "Connect the World" 2025 saw thousands lose their jobs at
the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as the Trump Administration called for new blood. We'll take a look at the other major
medical and health stories with Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:15:00]
GIOKOS: From the resurgence of measles in the United States to mass layoffs at federal health agencies and the spread of medical misinformation and a
new Leadership Act HHS, there were major developments in health medicine that dominated headlines in 2025. CNN's Chief Medical Correspondent, Dr
Sanjay Gupta, takes a look back at the year.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: 2025 was a veritable battleground for public health as it faced challenge after challenge. Mass
layoffs, an armed attack on the CDC, and as misinformation gained momentum, once forgotten, viruses took hold on U.S. soil. But as always with science
and medicine, progress does persist.
It is impossible to ignore the impact of MAHA it's been the rallying cry of HHS Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr.
ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR., U.S. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: The real overhaul is improving the health of the entire nation to make America
healthy.
DR. GUPTA: The main driver of the movement reducing chronic disease, and a lot of efforts to that end, like condemning ultra processed foods and
taking action on artificial food dyes, those have been largely applauded by public health experts, but other targets of the MAHA movement. Those have
them worried.
REP. BILL CASSIDY (R-IL): We currently have our current vaccine schedule based upon a lot of people who know a heck of a lot looking at things not
to make mandates, but to make recommendations.
KENNEDY JR.: It makes no sense to have fluoride in our water.
DR. GUPTA: This year, we saw some states take steps to ban fluoride in their water supply. Dentists and other public health experts worry that its
removal will increase cavities, especially for people without access to regular dental care.
But supporters of these bans point to studies that found children exposed to higher fluoride levels have lower IQs and more neuro behavioral issues.
But as with so many things this year, there is important nuance.
Those studies looked at levels much higher, almost double than the levels found in the majority of public water systems. In fact, another study found
that fluoride at the recommended levels in drinking water did not negatively affect cognitive ability.
DR. MARTY MAKARY, FDA COMMISSIONER: There may be no other medication in the modern era that can improve the health outcomes of women on a population
level than hormone replacement therapy.
DR. GUPTA: In November, the FDA announced that it was taking steps to remove what is known as a black box warning for many hormone treatments for
women with menopause symptoms. Now, while this change is expected to give women more options for treatments, I do want to stress that it needs to
still start with the conversation with your doctor.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: President Trump and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., today publicly linking the rise in the number of cases of
autism to the use of Acetaminophen or Tylenol by women during pregnancy.
KENNEDY JR.: Today, the FDA will issue a physician's notice about the risk of acetaminophen during pregnancy and begin the process to initiate a
safety label change.
TRUMP: Don't take Tylenol. Don't take it.
DR. GUPTA: Now, the FDA was much more nuance in it's warning saying that pregnant women should use the lowest effective dose for the shortest
necessary duration and only when treatment is required. However, there is decades of evidence that Tylenol or Acetaminophen is among the safest
options for pregnant women dealing with fever or pain, and that it does not cause autism.
DR. EDITH BRACHO-SANCHEZ, PRIMARY CARE PEDIATRICIAN: I understand the risk of a fever in pregnancy, which is risk of miscarriage, risk of birth
defects. And I said, no way am I taking that risk?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It may shorten your life, but you're going to do something for humanity.
DR. GGUPTA: This year we follow the courageous journey of Tim Andrews, the fourth living patient in the United States to get a genetically modified
pig kidney transplant. It's a process known as Xenotransplantation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And the little pig is right there, so I can pat it.
DR. GUPTA: Tim lived with a pig kidney for a record 271 days, and while he did have to have it removed his case helps move this field farther into the
future, especially as larger scale human clinical trials are just on the horizon.
[09:20:00]
When do you think this might be available for the average person?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think less than five years.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We just learned that Robert Kennedy, Jr., the Secretary of Health and Human Services, will announce huge layoffs today, some 10,000
jobs across the agency, and this comes on top of some 10,000 employees who left the department voluntarily.
DR. GUPTA: Thousands of jobs, billions of dollars in research funding stripped. It's almost unimaginable to predict the long-term impacts of the
Trump Administration's cuts to public health.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is going to make it more challenging to bring the best new treatments for children with cancer.
DR. GUPTA: And the cuts extended beyond America's shores.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Withdrawing from the World Health Organizations?
DR. GUPTA: Global programs like GAVI and USAID also had funding pulled by the administration.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please, just give us medication we still want to survive.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In Milwaukee, one kid was found to have really elevated blood lead levels, and that sparked this whole public health
investigation.
DR. GUPTA: And that investigation led them to Milwaukee's public schools and several other children who had elevated blood lead levels. For the
first time, they were able to link lead poisoning in children to the city's aging schools.
The problem we found when traveling there is that most of the school buildings were built before 1978 that's before lead paint was banned. And
to further complicate the city's efforts to handle this crisis, those cuts I was just talking about that left the city without federal support.
DR. MICHAEL TOTORAITIS, MILWAUKEE COMMISSIONER OF HEALTH: Investigation into the potential chronic exposures of students at the districts is a part
that we were really looking to the CDC to help us with, and unfortunately, HHS had laid off that entire team for childhood lead exposure. These are
the best and brightest minds in these areas around lead poisoning, and now they're gone.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The FDA just did something that could be a game changer for people living with pain.
DR. GUPTA: For the first time in more than 25 years, the agency approved a new class of pain medication. It's called Suzetrigine. It's not an opioid.
It works by preventing pain signaling nerves around the body from firing in the first place, so that message of pain never makes it to the brain.
And even cooler, this medication was actually discovered after researchers learned about a family of fire walkers in Pakistan that lacked a gene
allowing those pain signals to be sent. Those people, they could walk on hot coals without flinching.
A new FDA approved blood test could help diagnose Alzheimer's by detecting certain biomarkers of the disease. It will still need to be used alongside
other diagnostic tools like neurological exams and brain imaging, but Preventive Neurologist, Dr Richard Isaacson says that he thinks blood tests
will be a great new option for screening.
DR. RICHARD ISAACSON, NEUROLOGIST: I believe this is a screening test that may predict if a person is going to be more likely to be on the road to
Alzheimer's or Dementia in 10, 20, 30 or 40 years.
DR. GUPTA: And that means patients, including myself, who went through a battery of tests with Isaacson, can get a baseline for their risk, and they
can also track their progress while applying certain lifestyle interventions.
DR. ISAACSON: Your numbers went from to now working faster and better than your age. You're actually six years younger age.
DR. GUPTA: Have you ever seen measles before?
DR. JENNIFER SHUFORD, COMMISSIONER, TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF STATE HEALTH SERVICES: No, and I'm an infectious disease physician never diagnosed a
case.
DR. GUPTA: That's incredible.
DR. SHUFORD: It's because, you know, measles was declared eliminated from the United States back in the year 2000 because of the effectiveness of
that vaccine.
DR. GUPTA: A measles outbreak that started in Texas earlier this year, it signaled a worrying trend as cases continue to grow across the country,
putting the U.S.'s elimination status in jeopardy. But this is also symbolic of the larger fight over vaccines, especially as the RFK,
appointed members of the highly influential Vaccine Advisory Committee to the CDC, has pledged to re-examine the entire vaccine schedule, even for
shots that have long established safety records.
DR. PAUL OFFIT, DIRECTOR, VACCINE EDUCATION CENTER AT CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF PHILADELPHIA: The ACIP is full of people who are anti-vaccine activists
and science denialists. So, you know that the decisions that they're going to be making are not science based.
DR. GUPTA: As always, we'll continue our reporting, and we'll bring you everything you need to know when it comes to your health in 2026. See you
next year.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GIOKOS: All right, I want to get you up to speed on some of the stories that are on our radar right now. Saudi Arabia is accusing the UAE of highly
dangerous actions in Yemen. A Saudi led coalition struck a Yemeni port after accusing two ships from the UAE of delivering weapons and combat
vehicles to separatist forces.
Riyadh says actions by the UAE and Yemen pose a threat to the Kingdom's national security. The UAE denies the ships carried weapons and says it was
surprised by the airstrike.
[09:25:00]
Bangladesh is mourning Former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, who passed away at the age of 80. She was the first female leader of the country and served
two terms in office. But it was her rivalry with current PM Sheik Hasina that defined a nation's politics for a generation. Zia was acquitted this
year of corruption charges that she called politically motivated.
Denmark, state run postal service is becoming the first in the world to stop delivering letters. Tuesday, we'll see the last ever letter delivered
by Post Nord, bringing the service's 400 year run to an end. Danes will now post letters at Kiosks where they will be delivered by private companies.
Post Nord will continue delivering parcels as online shopping remains popular.
Donald Trump has called it the most beautiful word in the dictionary, tariffs, and he's wielded them with all the subtlety of a machete this
year. We look at the effects on three major global economies right after the short break, stick with CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GIOKOS: Welcome back. I'm Eleni Giokos in Dubai, and you're watching "Connect the World". These are your headlines. Here's President Donald
Trump downplay the lack of progress on the Gaza ceasefire at a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Florida.
He said he isn't concerned with Israel's actions in the region, and insisted Hamas must disarm to help advance the ceasefire. The two leaders
heaped praise on each other after the meeting. Social media videos are revealing the size and scope of protests in Tehran and other Iranian
cities.
Anger has boiled over in recent days over spiraling inflation and the plunging value of Iran's currency. The Iranian government is offering
dialog and monetary reforms. Sources are exclusively telling CNN that the CIA has struck a port facility on the Venezuelan Coast, allegedly used by
the Venezuelan Gang Trend De Aragua to store and ship drugs. This comes as President Trump said the U.S. had knocked out a big facility in the
country.
China has mobilized its army, navy, air and rocket units for a second day of military drills around Taiwan. This is the second largest number of
fighter jets deployed by China, with 130 war planes and 22 ships. Taiwan says rockets landed in waters near the island and the drills have also
caused flight cancelations.
[09:30:00]
All right, we've got a few seconds to go before the start of trade in New York. And I was hoping we'd see the Santa Claus Rally, but I don't think
Santa showed up for the markets over the last few days. And there you have it, that is the start of trade.
I want to quickly check in on those numbers, because S&P 500 there was hope that was going to breach that 7000 level. It has not done so. Concerns
about an AI bubble bursting, you've got a bit of pressure on the tech stocks, very evident. And what we're seeing on the NASDAQ today down half a
percent. DOW is flat and S&P also battling to find direction in the early start of trade.
We've got basically a day left of trading before we kick start the New Year, and everyone's actually focusing very much on what we're seeing on
gold and silver and some of the critical minerals that's going to perhaps be a driving force going into the New Year.
All right, so, what are the biggest stories this year for the global economy? Was Donald Trump's trade war? The U.S. President issued a series
of punishing tariffs on countries around the world in April. CNN's Anna Cooban looks at the impact on three countries in particular.
ANNA COOBAN, CNN BUSINESS & ECONOMICS REPORTER: 2025 has been a momentous year for global trade when President Donald Trump took office again for the
second time in January, everybody was scared of tariffs. And then when his Liberation Day, his so-called Liberation Day, came in April, and he
announced a lot of these reciprocal tariffs, it was a lot worse than expected, a lot higher than expected.
Now, this trade war has had far reaching implications, but to really get into it, I'll just focus on three countries to try and explain to you just
how significant this has all been. So firstly, we've got the U.S. and China, two major trading partners. Well, second largest economy is China.
Now, after this reciprocal tariff debacle, we see China yanking up tariffs on the United States, and then the United States responding in kind. We're
now in this tit-for-tat trade war, but the impact on China has actually been fairly mixed. In fact, you might say in some cases it's been quite
positive.
Now, China is the only country in the world that has logged a trade surplus. That's when people buy more things from China than China buys from
them. It logged a surplus of a trillion dollars in just the first 11 months of the year. No other country has ever achieved that milestone.
And we can see here that Chinese exports to many parts of the world, Europe up 10 percent Africa up nearly 30 percent in that same time. That more than
offsets this over 18 percent drop in Chinese exports to the United States.
However, it's not all so rosy for other countries. Switzerland, we see Switzerland here has got the will log the steepest fall in its GDP, in its
economy during the third quarter this year since back in the pandemic, since the height of COVID.
Now, many people were quite confused when President Trump announced a 39 percent tariff on Switzerland. Many people asking, what did Switzerland
ever do to the United States? That's now reached, they're now reaching agreement to lower that down to 15 percent but as you can see, some of the
damage has already been done.
Now to Canada closes trading relationship with the United States. We saw the United States say they're going to put a 25 percent tariff on most
Canadian goods earlier this year, a 50 percent tariff from aluminum and steel imports into the U.S. And this has had an impact on Canada's
manufacturing sector.
So, we've seen that since the start of the year, the sectors lost over 36,000 jobs. In fact, the workforce in this sector is now the smallest it's
been since September 2021. Again, when the country was reeling from the impact of the pandemic. So, this year has been pretty big, a pretty big one
for trade.
Now we don't know what's going to happen in the next few years. How this is all going to play out. It could be that the Supreme Court overturn some of
these reciprocal tariffs. They're currently looking into that right now. But whatever happens, we know that in many cases, the damage has already
happened. Anna Cooban, CNN, London.
GIOKOS: The Kremlin is doubling down on a claim that a Ukrainian drone attack targeted one of President Vladimir Putin's residences, but is yet to
provide any evidence. The alleged attack took place in the Novgorod region with no reported damage or casualties. Ukraine continues to dispute this
incident.
U.S. President Donald Trump says Putin told him of the claim in a phone call early Monday, while Trump later conceded that the incident may not
have occurred. His initial response seemed to suggest that he took Putin at his word.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: It's another thing to attack his house. It's not the right time to do any of that. And can do it. And I learned about it from President Putin
that I was very angry about it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GIOKOS: All right, CNN's Clare Sebastian is following the story for us from London. Clare, good to see you. What do we know about this alleged attack?
It seems that President Trump seems convinced.
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, and I think that is the key thing, Eleni, whether or not Russia is telling you the truth about this or
the scale of it, it's really impossible for us to verify at this point.
[09:35:00]
But I think the key thing is that Trump, although he later did obviously concede that it may or may not have happened, he did seem to take Putin at
his word and then to direct his anger at Kyiv. And I think, for Russia in this constant tug of war, for Trump's favor, that is clearly a win.
As for the attack itself, as I said, we can't independently verify it. There are some elements of it that seem a little murky, not least, of
course, the Kremlin's dismissal of a call for evidence, the fact that there have been no social media videos or images that have appeared, which does
quite often happen when Ukraine launches deep strikes.
Ukraine has also flatly denied this, calling it a complete fabrication, and doesn't seem to have a huge incentive to do something like this, while
these negotiations seemed, at least after the Florida talks, to be moving in their favor. And of course, Zelenskyy keenly aware that Trump's favor,
Trump's trust, is hard one, and that Russia continues its efforts to try to poison Trump against Ukraine.
So obviously this is delicate for Zelenskyy, right? He wants to get across to Trump that he can't trust Putin, but obviously try to keep him on side
as well. And you see him treading this fine line in an interview with Fox News on Monday, when he was asked about a comment that Trump made,
suggesting that he thought Putin wanted a successful Ukraine. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: I don't -- I don't trust Putin and he doesn't want success for Ukraine, really. He doesn't want. He can
say it. I believe that he can say such words to President Trump. I believe in it that he can say, but it's, it's not, it's not true, really.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SEBASTIAN: But obviously, look, he's focused on action right now. President Zelenskyy wants to keep up the momentum from those Florida talks. He is not
missing a moment to do that. He got on a call again today, initiated by the German Chancellor Friedrich Merz with European Leaders to discuss the
progress so far and next steps in this peace process.
There were a lot of optimistic noises coming out of that. The Polish President even saying peace is on the horizon in a government meeting. And
I think for Ukraine now, obviously it's about that momentum. They're clearly aware that Russia has threatened retaliation for this alleged drone
attack. And I think are also aware that a lot rests on the U.S. is willingness to not just praise Putin, but to pressure him as well, Eleni.
GIOKOS: All right. Clare Sebastian, thank you. And still to come on, "Connect the World" a cold-front-hits the U.S. with freezing temperatures
and lake effect snow in the wake of a powerful storm. We've got Derek Van Dam standing by. He is going to give us a full report that's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:40:00]
GIOKOS: That powerful storm system in the United States has exited, but wait for it, an Arctic front is now creating havoc, bringing plummeting
temperatures and lake effect snow, winter weather already knocked out power to tens of thousands of people and created dangerous conditions for travel
like this major pile up near Detroit involving three big trucks and at least 20 vehicles on Monday.
I want us to welcome Derek Van Dam, our Meteorologist. Derek, what does it feel like to be the Grinch of Christmas always bringing us bad news with
the weather?
DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Delivering these puzzles that nobody wants, right? Look, I come from the Midwest, the Great Lakes. This is like
a walk in the park for me. But I know it's difficult for people who have to travel through it. I get it. I've been there.
Look at this. Yesterday there were hurricane force gusts off of the Great Lakes, and once the cold arctic air spilled in, it started to freeze
everything in its path right along the immediate shoreline. Really quite a sight. And we talk about this arctic front that has dropped our temperature
so dramatically, well, we're now feeling the cold air that is spilling in behind it.
So, at the moment, the wind gusts have been impressive. Yesterday, clocking over 120 kilometers per hour at the Buffalo Airport that's in Western New
York. But what it's doing is that cold air is moving over the relatively warm lake waters of the Great Lake, so that difference in temperature helps
create these lake-enhance snow bands.
And unfortunately, those are very narrow, focused bands of heavy snow fall, and they can drop the visibility from, let's say, 10 kilometers to under a
quarter of a kilometer in a moment's notice. That's why so dangerous to travel in these conditions on the roadways there, because they can just
change the visibility so quickly.
So, you need to allow extra time to with the vehicles in front of you and, of course, behind you as well. There's actually a snow squall warning just
south of Pittsburgh for warning residents, for people who are traveling through this area, that conditions could deteriorate at a moment's notice
within that narrowly focused snow band.
So, a lot of wind associated with this impacting not only the downwind lake effect snow bands, but also the major East Coast Airports, Boston to New
York, all the way south into DC area. But it's this temperature contrast from yesterday compared to today, while what a difference a day makes, and
we're talking about below zero.
This is fahrenheit, of course, wind chill temperatures. We're 36 degrees fahrenheit below where we were this time yesterday. So, a sharp change in
the past 24 hours. So, we're all looking forward to New Year's Eve across the planet, and when we're talking about the United States, we do have a
generally dry forecast along the East Coast, with the exception of northern New England, where some of those Lincoln head snow bands may form.
But across the South West, get this Eleni, we may have the first rainy New Year's Day in Los Angeles for the Rose Bowl Parade. So that'll be a first
since 2006.
GIOKOS: You're making me feel very grateful for being in Dubai over this period. Derek, so Happy New Year to you, my friend. Thank you. All right,
"World Sports" is up next. I'll be back top of the hour. Stay with us.
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[09:45:00]
(WORLD SPORT)
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