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Early Start with Rahel Solomon

What The Epstein Files Reveal; Christmas Around The World; Mother Arrested In Murder Of Daughter. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired December 24, 2025 - 05:00   ET

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

[05:00:24]

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning and welcome to our viewers joining us from the U.S. and all around the world. I'm Rahel Solomon. It is Wednesday, December 24th, Christmas Eve.

Merry Christmas to all those who celebrate. It is 5:00 a.m. here in New York.

And straight ahead on EARLY START.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MJ LEE, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL ENTERPRISE CORRESPONDENT: The Justice Department disclosing tens of thousands of additional pages of documents related to convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

HALEY ROBSON, EPSTEIN SURVIVOR: I don't trust the redactions. I don't trust the DOJ. I don't trust this administration.

REPORTER: Nine-year-old Melodee Buzzard's remains have been located, and her mother, Ashlee Buzzard, has been arrested.

POLICE OFFICER: Melodee deserved a far better life than she had.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Santa's got a new ride. In Venice, Santa's helpers were spotted rowing gondolas through the canals and in Rome, riding bicycles past the colosseum.

SANTA CLAUS: Merry Christmas from Jerusalem.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(MUSIC)

SOLOMON: We begin this morning with the Justice Department's latest release of the Epstein files, which include many more mentions of Donald Trump than the previous release. His name appears in several documents, including subpoenas from the Ghislaine Maxwell case seeking Mar-a-Lago employment records relating to a redacted individual. There are also tips to the FBI about Trump and his relationship with Epstein, but there's no indication whether anyone actually followed up on those. A picture that appeared in the file drop purports to show a 2019

prison letter from J. Epstein to Larry Nassar, which referenced, quote, "our president". The U.S. Justice Department says that this is fake. It also says that some of these documents contain untrue and sensationalist claims against Trump. The U.S. president has not been accused of or charged with any wrongdoing related to Epstein.

But all of this is not sitting well with Epstein survivors, who say that the Department of Justice is failing to live up to its name.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HALEY ROBSON, EPSTEIN SURVIVOR: I am so disgusted with this administration. I think that Pam Bondi and Kash Patel both need to resign, and I would love to see number 47 get impeached over this. I don't trust my government. I don't trust the redactions. I don't trust the DOJ

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: The files also contain FBI references to ten coconspirators of Epstein's. CNN's MJ Lee has more on that angle.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MJ LEE, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL ENTERPRISE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Justice Department disclosing tens of thousands of pages of documents related to convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

Among the redactions in those documents, names of Epstein's potential coconspirators named by federal authorities around Epstein's 2019 arrest. That omission, widely criticized. Also redacted, names of some government officials, including federal prosecutors involved in some of the early criminal investigations into Epstein, leaving in the dark identities of officials who helped negotiate the highly controversial non-prosecution deal that Epstein received in 2008.

The DOJ has not explained why potential coconspirators and prosecutors names would require redactions.

And meanwhile, one document from a lawsuit filed in the U.S. Virgin Islands against Epstein's estate in 2021 making the rounds for appearing to have botched redactions. Some text that is blacked out when copied and pasted into a document revealing that Epstein's lawyer had signed checks for, quote, over $400,000 made payable to young female models and actresses.

But CNN's review of the Virgin Islands' docket indicates that the botched redaction occurred years ago. The DOJ simply republished the flawed file.

Another major source of concern, information about Epstein victims and survivors, whose names are unredacted and visible throughout the files. One woman, who identifies as Jane Doe, telling CNN she was mortified to see her real name appear throughout the Epstein files. She's contacted the DOJ multiple times to ask them to fix the error. As of Tuesday, her name still appears in the files, but CNN did find one document where her name is now redacted.

TODD BLANCHE, DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL: The statute also requires us to protect victims.

LEE (voice-over): But many Epstein survivors and victims and lawyers representing them expressing fury over the incomplete release and slamming what they say are abnormal and extreme redactions, with no explanation.

JENNIFER FREEMAN, ATTORNEY REPRESENTING EPSTEIN SURVIVORS: Victim identities, national security or ongoing investigations, those are the categories on which they are permitted to withhold. But they withhold -- sounds like they're withholding more than that.

LEE (voice-over): Files released overnight Tuesday morning containing multiple new references to Donald Trump, who has not been accused by law enforcement of any wrongdoing related to Epstein. Inconsistencies related to the redaction of Trump's name further fueling questions about the extent of the president's past relationship with Epstein.

[05:05:17]

In one document, the DOJ redacting Trump's name, but in another posting of that same document, Trump's name is visible.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEE (on camera): And just to make one more note on the Donald Trump references that are found in the Epstein files, according to the DOJ, there are some untrue and sensationalist claims about Donald Trump that were submitted to the FBI right before the 2020 election. But the department is saying that they are choosing to release these kinds of documents anyway for the sake of transparency.

MJ Lee, CNN, Washington, D.C.

SOLOMON: Supreme Court has rejected President Trump's request to deploy the National Guard to Chicago in order to protect ICE agents. The court said in an unsigned order on Tuesday, at this preliminary stage, the government has failed to identify a source of authority that would allow the military to execute the laws in Illinois.

Now, the decision marks a significant and also rare loss for the administration and could jeopardize deployments of the National Guard to other cities as well. A White House spokesperson saying that the ruling will not stop Trump's effort to, quote, "safeguard the American public".

Now to the U.N. Security Council, where Russia and China are criticizing the U.S. pressure campaign against Venezuela, Moscow and Beijing accused Washington of violating international laws in trying to impose its will on the region. Russia says that the U.S. blockade of sanctioned oil tankers from Venezuela is a, quote, act of aggression. Venezuela's ambassador described the U.S. pressure as the greatest extortion in his country's history.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAMUEL MONCADA, VENEZUELAN PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE TO THE U.N.: The illegal use of state force to carry out theft on the high seas is worse than piracy, worse than piracy.

MIKE WALTZ, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: Why have sanctions either bilaterally or unilaterally, or backed by the international community if they're not enforced? Well, the United States, under President Trump is enforcing them in international waters. Otherwise, they are just empty words.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: U.S. military has seized two oil tankers in the region over the past two weeks, and has been pursuing a third since Sunday. The Security Council meeting follows months of U.S. strikes against alleged drug trafficking boats, which have killed at least 105 people. Now, it's not just the ships that the U.S. is worried about. The coast guard and international authorities are reporting an increase in so- called narco subs. These are homemade submarines used by traffickers to smuggle cocaine across the ocean.

CNN''s Patrick Oppmann reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): U.S. Coast Guardsmen raced to board a so-called narco sub in the eastern Pacific with 17,000 pounds of cocaine aboard. They don't have a moment to lose.

Drug traffickers will often flood and sink the vessels before law enforcement can seize cargo to transport. Since his 2019 incident, officials say the phenomenon of DIY subs built to traffic narcotics and the distances they travel have increased dramatically.

JOSE FERREIRA, MARITIME ANALYSIS AND OPERATIONS CENTER: This is a modus operandi that the criminal groups are now using a lot more and more. It's a clearly a growing threat towards Europe and it's very hard for us not just to detect, but also to interdict.

OPPMANN (voice-over): Experts say narco subs travel just under the surface of the water and are painted to match the color of the ocean. They're often built in mangroves near the ocean in South America, where thick tree cover hides them from law enforcement and satellite surveillance. Increasingly, the narco subs are traveling to new markets thousands of miles from where they are assembled.

Last month, this narco sub, believed to have crossed the Atlantic from South America, was seized off the coast of Portugal with nearly two tons of cocaine aboard. Portuguese police arrested the four-man crew aboard. Even though narco subs can cost up to $1 million to build, maritime authorities say they are often discarded after only one drug run.

In January, police discovered this sunken sub mysteriously abandoned near the coast of Spain. Police divers managed to raise the damaged sub and towed it into port as potential evidence.

Increasingly alleged, smugglers transporting drugs by sea face a new threat. In October, the U.S. military destroyed the suspected narco sub in the Caribbean.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: That was a drug carrying submarine built specifically for the transportation of massive amounts of drugs.

[05:10:00]

Just so you understand, this was not an innocent group of people. I don't know too many people that have submarines.

OPPMANN (voice-over): Two alleged crew members of the sub were killed in the strike. Two survivors were transported to their home countries where they were released for lack of evidence.

The threat of U.S. strikes is an added danger to an already risky profession.

HENRY SHULDINER, INSIGHT CRIME: There's many, many risks that can happen. Whether it's a mechanical failure, whether it's rough seas, you know, bad weather that they encounter, law enforcement. You know, if something goes wrong, there's almost no margin for survival.

OPPMANN: But once again, the smugglers knack for adaptation may be one step ahead. In July, the Colombian navy seized what they say was an unmanned narco sub equipped with a Starlink dish. Soon, counter- narcotics officials say drug cartels may deliver their dangerous contraband across oceans by remote control.

Patrick Oppmann, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOLOMON: Our thanks to Patrick there.

It is, of course, Christmas Eve. And Christians all around the world are getting ready to celebrate Christmas.

Let's take a look at live look at Bethlehem extra special there this year, which is celebrated as the site where Jesus was born. You can see clear skies, not a not a cloud in the sky. This morning, 12:10 in the afternoon there, but the small historic city in the West Bank is marking festivities for the first time in three years. Bethlehem did not publicly celebrate Christmas while the war in Gaza raged on.

Let's get to CNN's chief global affairs correspondent, Matthew Chance, joining us live now from Bethlehem.

Matthew, the first time in three years, obviously hugely significant for people who were there celebrating and perhaps for Christians all around the world. What's the mood like? How are people feeling?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, it is a very significant moment here in Bethlehem in the West Bank. You can see you've got the Christmas tree behind me in Manger Square. Just beyond that, the church of the nativity, the place where Jesus Christ is traditionally celebrated. He was born there.

And, you know, you're seeing all these, march past of the scout troops and various other sort of religious denominations that have come from all over the occupied West Bank, to take part in these celebrations. So, a very significant time for the people here of Bethlehem, of course, for Christians around the world.

I've got Mustafa Barghouti with me. He's a senior Palestinian politician.

Thank you very much for being with us. Merry Christmas, by the way.

MUSTAFA BARGHOUTI, PALESTINIAN POLITICIAN: Merry Christmas to all of you.

CHANCE: Yes. Thank you. Tell me how -- how -- we know about the religious significance of this, but how symbolic is it in terms of Palestinian identity?

BARGHOUTI: You know, for two years we had no celebrations whatsoever because of the genocidal war in Gaza. This year, I think what you see is a sign of resilience, a sign of steadfastness of Palestinians who are suffering -- of course, you can feel also, I spoke to people that it's a celebration mixed with a lot of sadness about what's happening in Gaza. So, in a way, it's a sign of resilience. That vastness in front of so many attacks by Israeli illegal settlers and so on. But also it's a sign of solidarity that people sent to Gaza.

CHANCE: It's quite controversial, isn't it, because for two years, as you say, Christmas was not celebrated in this way here because of the war in Gaza, out of solidarity with the people there. But why now? Why bring it back now? Because there's still suffering in Gaza, right?

BARGHOUTI: Yes, there is still suffering and people are sad so much. And they speak about that because you're talking about 12 percent of the population of Gaza, more than 250,000 who are killed or injured, including 20,000 children who were killed, 12 percent is a huge number. If you apply that to the United States of America, you would be speaking about no less than 35 million people killed or injured. Imagine, yeah.

CHANCE: Given that, is it appropriate?

BARGHOUTI: Nevertheless, people are organizing this celebration to remind the world that Bethlehem is the place of birth of Jesus Christ. The people's feeling here is that Jesus Christ was (AUDIO GAP) this land, and we are now suffering. We are suffering as we suffer in the West Bank because of settlers, because of attacks of the army and so on.

But we are determined to live. We are determined to struggle for our people. CHANCE: And, of course, life here for people in Bethlehem under

economic strain. It's a town that's very dependent on tourism and on pilgrims. And there's not many people. How many people here? I mean, look, I mean, there's some crowds, but there's not thousands upon thousands of people.

BARGHOUTI: Not what we usually have. Why is that? That's because West Bank is completely under siege. You know, it used. I usually came from Ramallah to Bethlehem in 40 minutes.

[05:15:00]

CHANCE: How far is that?

BARGHOUTI: That's less than 40km now. It took me more than four hours because of the checkpoints. We had to change the routes several times because the Israelis blocked the roads.

And so, of course, many people couldn't come. You have 1,000 military checkpoints that block the roads in the west bank. We have military gates that transform communities into prisons. And of course, that affects the economy. People's ability to move.

We are having Israeli efforts to suffocate our economy. So many people cannot afford to come, and many people find great difficulty moving from one place to another.

CHANCE: Mustafa Barghouti, thank you very much. Thank you very much for joining us. Merry Christmas again.

BARGHOUTI: Merry Christmas to everybody.

CHANCE: Thank you. Thank you very much.

There you have it, Rahel. Economic strains, a symbol of unity, but also of Christian celebration. Lots of events planned today as well, culminating, of course, in mass over there at the Church of the Nativity to mark the beginning of Christmas Day. Back to you.

SOLOMON: Yeah. Resuming Christmas celebrations for the first time in three years, albeit in a perhaps different way, considering everything happening in the world today.

Matthew Chance, thank you, live for us there in Bethlehem.

All right. Still ahead, a fire and explosion killed two people at a Pennsylvania nursing home. What we know about the suspected cause and investigation coming up next,

Plus, an update in the case of a missing 9-year-old California girl. And why authorities now have her mother in custody.

And southern California, facing a severe weather threat. The latest on the risk of dangerous flooding after this short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [05:20:51]

SOLOMON: Welcome back.

The governor of Pennsylvania says that two people are dead after a fire and explosion ripped through a nursing home near Philadelphia. Police say that five people may be missing and others are hurt. The cause of the explosion remains under investigation. Governor Josh Shapiro says that authorities believe that it may have been a gas leak. First responders had to pull some people out of windows and elevator shafts.

The first floor also partially collapsed into the basement. About 30 seconds after firefighters left the building, there was another explosion and fire.

The remains of nine-year-old Melodee Buzzard have been discovered in a rural area of southern Utah after she was reported missing over two months ago. Now, authorities have arrested her mother, Ashlee, on a charge of first-degree murder.

CNN's Josh Campbell has the latest on the investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: A tragic update in the case of a missing 9-year-old California girl. Law enforcement officials say that Melodee Buzzard has been found deceased and her mother has been arrested for her murder. Authorities gave an update on Tuesday laying out various items of evidence that they believe connects the mother to this alleged killing. They said that that type of evidence includes forensic evidence, digital evidence, as well as ballistics evidence.

Here's the sheriff of Santa Barbara County, California, speaking Tuesday.

BILL BROWN, SANTA BARBARA COUNTY SHERIFF-CORONER: Sheriff's detectives, along with the FBI evidence response team, responded and served follow up search warrants at the home of Ashlee Buzzard, cartridge casings found at the crime scene resulted in a NIBIN hit linking them to the single cartridge case that was found at the residence.

CAMPBELL: Now, CNN is attempting to determine whether Ashlee Buzzard has attorney representation. This all started in October, when it was the young girl's school who contacted authorities after they had not heard from her for some time. Authorities launched an investigation.

They determined that over the course of days, both the mother and the daughter traveled about 1,000 miles from California, east as far as the state of Kansas. Authorities released CCTV footage as part of their investigation that allegedly shows both the mother and the daughter wearing wigs. Police say that at times, the license plates on their vehicle, where they were swapped out. The mother returned to California. The young girl was not with her.

Authorities say that the mother wasn't cooperative and she didn't have what they viewed as a plausible explanation about where her daughter is.

Again, the news now, the mother has been taken into custody. Police say for murder. We're still waiting additional charging documents which could lay out additional evidence that authorities found as part of this investigation.

Josh Campbell, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOLOMON: Breaking news into CNN. Reuters reporting a 6.1 magnitude earthquake has struck the southeastern coast of Taiwan. There have been no reports at this point of damage. The island's weather administration says that the quake had a depth of nearly eight miles.

Now, Taiwan is prone to earthquakes because it lies near where two tectonic plates meet. We will continue to follow this news and of course, bring you updates throughout the show as we get them.

Major storm system has arrived in California and could dump months' worth of rain on the region. It's facing a high risk of flooding. Level four out of four. Millions of people across L.A. and the surrounding areas are likely to be affected by this rare weather system. Evacuation orders and warnings have already been issued to at- risk communities, where flooding and high winds could also trigger mudslides and debris flows.

Experts predict that at least nine inches, or nearly 230 millimeters of rain could fall in less than a day in some areas, and Los Angeles could potentially get hit with nearly half a years worth of rain just this week.

And still to come, no Christmas truce for Russia and Ukraine. Kyiv responding after Moscow's massive aerial attack hits about half the country.

We're back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:28:53]

SOLOMON: Welcome back.

Ahead of Christmas Eve, Russia launched a massive aerial attack on Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that at least three people were killed, including a 4-year-old child. Officials say that the attack hit about half the country and left some areas completely without power on the ground. Ukrainian forces retreated from a small town in the Donetsk region as Russia continues its offensive operations.

Let's get now to CNN's Nada Bashir, who joins us live this morning from London.

Nada, good morning to you. Judging by how things are playing out, I mean, what shift needs to be made? Are more talks going to lead to more progress or possibly more attacks as we see?

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we've certainly heard the messaging from the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, signaling and indicating that there needs to be more support coming from its international allies when it comes to Ukraine's air defenses. As you mentioned, we have seen now Ukrainian forces being forced to withdraw and retreat from Donetsk region. We have seen this massive ramping up of Russia's aerial attacks and bombardment on Ukraine.

As you mentioned, at least 13 regions impacted by that massive wave of drone and missile strikes carried out by the Russian armed forces on Ukrainian territory. At least 13 regions overnight Monday. So clearly, we are seeing that ramping up.