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U.S. Launches Deadly Strikes on ISIS Terrorists in Nigeria; California Bracing for More Rain Today; DOJ Says, Could Take Weeks to Redact Newly Discovered Documents. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired December 26, 2025 - 10:00   ET

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

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WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, new U.S. airstrikes. The Pentagon targets what it says are ISIS terrorists in Nigeria, where President Trump says Christians are being attacked.

Plus, the U.S. Justice Department says it now has more than a million new documents to go through as it rushes to release any files related to Jeffrey Epstein.

And deadly flooding. After getting hit with a month of rain in just a couple of days, Southern California is now bracing for life- threatening floods and mud flows.

Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer, Pamela Brown has the morning off, and you're in The Situation Room.

New this morning, we're learning more about deadly strikes. The United States has now launched. It says the target was the terror group, ISIS, in Nigeria. The Pentagon says multiple ISIS terrorists, their words, multiple ISIS terrorists, were killed. President Trump announced the attacks on Christmas.

For months, President Trump has accused the group of attacking Christians in the country. The strikes were carried out in coordination, we're told, with Nigeria's government.

Here with us right now is CNN Senior White House Reporter Kevin Liptak. He's joining us live from West Palm Beach in Florida. That's where the president is spending the holidays.

Kevin, the president has been talking about taking action against ISIS in Nigeria for some time now. Does this fit into what he has been saying?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: It certainly does. Remember, it was just in November, the president said that the U.S. would go, quote, guns ablazing into Nigeria unless the country did more to stem what he has called a slaughter of Christians. And the president saying that those strikes, which took place last night, were perfect strikes, I'm told this morning, that it involved more than a dozen Tomahawk cruise missiles fired from a U.S. Navy vessel towards two ISIS camps in the northwestern part of the country up there along the border with Niger.

What U.S.-Africa command has said is that multiple ISIS terrorists were killed, at least in their initial assessment. And what President Trump said last night on true social was this. Tonight, at my direction as commander-in-chief, the United States launched a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS terrorists scum in Northwest Nigeria who have been targeting and viciously killing primarily innocent Christians at levels not seen for many years and even centuries.

The president goes on to say, I have previously warned these terrorists that if they do not stop the slaughtering of Christians, there would be hell to pay. And tonight there was.

Now, this does appear to have been coordinated with the Nigerian government. I think that's significant because you have heard leadership there bristle at the president's suggestion that the U.S. might intervene. What we heard earlier today from the foreign minister, who is speaking on CNN, is that he spoke to the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, and said that the Nigerian president had given the go-ahead here.

Now, the plight of Christians in Nigeria has been kind of an animating issue for American conservatives for quite some time now. They have been pressing President Trump to do more to protect what they say is persecution of Christians there. But we should say that there is an extraordinarily complex security situation. You have seen both Christians and Muslims targeted by violence, religious persecution, to be sure, but also just crime. You've also seen a battle for resources between herders and farmers. So, a lot going on there.

But what President Trump said today and what he said last night is that this may not be the last of it. He said that there will be many more of these strikes if their slaughter of Christians continues. Wolf?

BLITZER: And, Kevin, I take it that just a few moments ago, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Said he will be meeting with President Trump on Sunday, this Sunday.

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What do we know about this meeting?

LIPTAK: Yes, a very critical meeting. We have heard from the Ukrainian side. We have not gotten confirmation from the Americans yet. But if this meeting goes ahead, it will be extraordinarily significant. It comes as there seems to be some significant progress being made on President Trump's plan to try and bring about an end to the war in Ukraine.

You remember, Wolf, President Trump has said that he didn't think it would be useful to sit down with Zelenskyy unless they're close to reaching a deal. Now, this meeting is on the book. So, clearly some significant developments there. You know, the president has been trying to get this multi-point peace plan across the finish line. His envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, did speak with Zelenskyy just in the last couple of days, that coming after meetings with Russian officials.

he big sticking point at this point is the land concessions. You know, Putin, Vladimir Putin, has not shown any willingness to back off some of his maximalist demands, and that, of course, is one of the big questions here is whether Putin will sign off on this agreement, but clearly a critical meeting shaping up for down here in Florida in the next couple of days.

BLITZER: That meeting's going to take place at Mar-a-Lago, right?

LIPTAK: That's our understanding. Again, no confirmation from the American side, but President Trump expected to be down here in Florida for the next week or so.

BLITZER: All right. Kevin Liptak on the scene for us down in West Palm Beach, thank you very, very much.

There's other major news we're following here in The Situation Room this morning. Happening now, California is bracing for yet more rain today after two major storms slammed the region on Christmas and Christmas Eve. Recovery efforts are underway after homes and cars were submerged in debris and mud from the storms, which prompted shelter in place and evacuation orders in parts of the state.

Let's go to CNN Meteorologist Alilson Chinchar. Allison, what's the forecast for some of these very hard hit areas that are trying to start what are being described as recovery efforts?

ALLISON CHIHNCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. So, we've still got one more day left that we have to get through for a lot of the rain for California. So, this system out here on this coast is going to be ending, but we have a separate system that's going to be impacting the opposite coast. We'll get to that in just a few minutes. We begin in California.

You can see from the radar you've got a lot of the heavy rain really now focused over Northern and Central California. But as we go through the rest of the day, that's going to begin to shift southward, so now Southern California. It's really going to see the brunt of the heavy rain in the latter half of the day. And that's why you have this excessive rainfall risk for much of those areas in anticipation of a lot of that rain, excuse me, coming into play for these areas later on into the latter half of the day.

Here's a look at the forecast again, you can see that shift southward. And then take a look at Saturday. We finally get to see things drying back out, which is very much needed across this entire state. They will stay that way through the weekend and even into early portions of next week. And then we'll start to see things get some more rain by the time we get to the middle of next week.

BLITZER: All right. Allison Chinchar, thanks very, very much for that update.

Also happening now, it's a labor-intensive holiday week for some federal prosecutors. They face the herculean task of reviewing and then redacting documents potentially related to the Jeffrey Epstein case. The U.S. Justice Department says it may need a few more weeks, their words, weeks to pore over more than a million recently uncovered files from the sex trafficking investigation.

CNN Senior Reporter Marshall Cohen is here with us in The Situation Room. Marshall, thanks very much for joining us.

What are you learning this morning about this late-breaking development?

MARSHALL COHEN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Wolf, the Justice Department dropped this bombshell announcement on Wednesday, Christmas Eve, and they've been quiet since then. They haven't given any updates to the American people on the status of those efforts to go through, like you mentioned, potentially 1 million additional documents related to the convicted sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein. The Justice Department, said they originated from the Southern District of New York, which, of course, is where Epstein was prosecuted, and so was his accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted and is currently in prison.

Let me read for you what they said in that announcement, Justice Department said this, quote, we have lawyers working around the clock to review and make the legally required redactions to protect victims, and we will release the documents as soon as possible. Their estimate was a few weeks.

They are pleading for patients, but so far they're not getting a lot of that in Capitol Hill, we've seen reactions in the last day or so from Democrats and Republicans. They're angry and they keep pointing out, Wolf, that the law required everything to be released one week ago.

BLITZER: And what are they saying about the fact that the House of Representatives and then the Senate, they passed this legislation almost unanimously, and then President Trump immediately signed it into law? It's a law of the land that all these documents were supposed to be released days ago. What are they saying about that?

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COHEN: Well, one of the things they're saying is that they're not going to stand for it. They have threatened potentially holding Justice Department leaders in contempt. There have been Democrats and one or two Republicans that have said that if this goes on for much longer, they might support a contempt resolution or even fining the Attorney general, Pam Bondi, for every day that this goes on.

BLITZER: All right, this is the law right now. I'll see what happens. They got to obey the law, right?

COHEN: That's true.

BLITZER: Okay. Marshall, thank you very, very much.

COHEN: Thank you.

BLITZER: Still ahead, the Trump administration is working to deploy U.S. National Guard troops in several U.S. cities. And now New Orleans is coming up next.

Plus, you may have more options than you think when it comes to fighting the flu. We'll explain. New developments coming in just ahead in The Situation Room.

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BLITZER: Happening now, hundreds of U.S. National Guard troops are now on their way to New Orleans after President Trump activated them just ahead of the New Year.

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Louisiana's Republican governor confirmed the deployment yesterday, saying they will, quote, ensure safety through the end of February. It's the latest in a string of Democratic-led cities where the Guard arrived after President Trump criticized their crime rates.

Let's discuss this and more with former U.S. District Court Judge Shira Scheindlin. Judge Scheindlin, thanks so much for joining us.

The Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday, as it did, that the Trump administration can't send troops to Chicago. How could President Trump decide to send them to New Orleans?

SHIRA SCHEINDLIN, FORRMER U.S. DISTRICT COURT JUDGE: Well, there's a big difference. The governor of New Orleans has asked for that help from the federal government. So, they will be -- the Guard will be under the control of the governor of the state. But because it's authorized by the federal government, the federal government will pay for it. So, it's a win-win. So, Landry, Governor Landry, wants the forces there.

In Chicago, Governor Pritzker did not want them there. And that was true in Portland. That was true in Los Angeles. So, it's a very different situation.

BLITZER: Yes. There's a Republican governor in Louisiana, clearly.

SCHEINDLIN: Exactly.

BLITZER: All right, good point.

SCHEINDLIN: Exactly.

BLITZER: These service members, Judge, as you know, will be activated through at least the end of February under what's called Title 32 orders, meaning, they will be federally funded, but under state control. That also enables them to operate as law enforcement, such as making arrests. How will judges handle their cases? SCHEINDLIN: The judges will have the authority to handle those cases. So, when there's an arrest made, the case will go to court and it'll be handled as routinely as any other law enforcement case. So, they're basically supplementing local law enforcement and they're doing it legally.

BLITZER: The governor, Jeff Landry, says that the troops will keep the city safe during its busiest season. That's upcoming earlier this year. Local police shared crime statistics for 2024, which showed a significant drop in incidents against people and property compared to pre-pandemic levels.

In your view, Judge, will a temporary activation lead to a long-term solutions?

SCHEINDLIN: It is hard to say. I don't think it'll cause any harm there. It may actually reassure people because there, there have been big problems. I think last year and New Year's, there was an attack there. There was loss of life.

So, I think it's sort of reassuring they want them there for Mardi Gras, they want them there for New Year's. And so there, it makes some kind of sense, I think.

BLITZER: The president certainly has some other options available if he wants to take those options. Are you concerned at all, Judge, that President Trump could invoke what's called the in Insurrection Act in order to get U.S. troops into some of these cities?

SCHEINDLIN: Yes, he could try to invoke the Insurrection Act in Chicago, in Portland, in the places that he's been stopped using the National Guard. Many presidents have used the Insurrection Act, but you have to be careful as to what is an insurrection. It is not a lawful protest or a civil disobedience. It's been defined as something where the civil authority is undermined or violated. It has to be violent. So, there has to be acts of serious violence to be able to invoke the Insurrection Act.

But it has been invoked a number of times in our history. I think if President Trump invokes it, there will immediately be legal challenges, and then the Supreme Court will tell us what they think of using the Insurrection Act at this time. We don't know yet.

BLITZER: We'll see. Yes, we don't know.

SCHEINDLIN: Yes.

BLITZER: I know the Trump administration, as you know, Judge, more than 140 immigration judges have been fired, involuntarily transferred, or took an early out offer, according to the National Association of Immigration Judges. That's -- all those statistics are from them. How are the remaining judges dealing with this backlog of cases?

SCHEINDLIN: Well, that's a terrible problem, because, as you know, immigration judges do not have life tenure. They are part of the executive branch. They can be hired or fired by the president, and he has been firing them. The problem of not being independent is if he doesn't like your ruling, he fires you. And there's a shortage now of immigration judges, and that means there's a huge backlog of cases, so people are not getting processed and they wait for years. So, it used to be that if you had an asylum case, it got heard. Now, it just sits around waiting, and then you can get picked up and deported. So, it's a tough situation now to have a shortage of immigration judges.

BLITZER: Yes, a very tough situation, indeed. Judge Scheindlin, as always, thank you so much for joining us.

SCHEINDLIN: My pleasure.

BLITZER: Coming up, the U.S. Justice Department says it could take weeks to go through a massive new batch of more than a million documents potentially tied to Jeffrey Epstein.

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We'll get reaction from a lawyer representing several Epstein survivors. That's coming up next.

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BLITZER: Happening now, millions of Americans are traveling for the holidays, and for many, the flu, yes, the flu is tagging along. Flu cases are rising across the country right now, and its typical for this time of the year. And while Tamiflu is often the go-to medication, it's not necessarily the only option out there.

CNN Health Reporter Jacqueline Howard is joining us right now. Jacqueline, what other flu treatments are available?

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: Well, for this flu season, the CDC actually recommends four different antiviral medications.

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Now, as you mentioned, Tamiflu is one of them. Tamiflu is already widely used, widely available. It's available in pill or liquid form. You typically take it twice a day over the course of five days, and it's approved for nearly everyone ages 12 or 2 weeks old and older.

But the other three medications, Wolf, they're lesser known. There's Relenza. It's typically inhaled in powder form. It's approved for ages seven and older. There's Rapivab. It's an I.V. in infusion for ages six months and older. And then there's Xofluza. This is a single dose pill, so you take it once and you should be good to go, and it's approved for ages five and older. And so Xofluza, it's really growing in popularity because of that convenience of having just a single dose.

Now, for anyone who has flu symptoms, Wolf, it's incredibly important to get tested. If you do test positive, call your doctor right away because all of those antivirals, they are prescription medications. Once your doctor prescribes you the right medication for you, you should try your best to take the medication as soon as possible. Because these antivirals, they're most effective in the first 48 hours after your symptoms start. Wolf?

BLITZER: Yes, good point. You know, it's interesting, Jacqueline, I got my flu shot, as I do every year, weeks ago, and as my doctor recommended, get the flu shot. Is it too late now for folks to go out there and get the flu shot to avoid coming down with a flu?

HOWARD: It's not too late, Wolf. And I'm so happy to hear you got your flu shot. I did too. But for those of us who may see this news and they're worried about, did I miss a certain window, it's not too late. And it's still important to get that flu shot because that can give you protection through the rest of winter, heading into spring. And even if you do happen to come down with the flu and you've been vaccinated, the vaccine can help reduce your risk of getting so sick, you end up going to the hospital. So, that's the big benefit there with getting vaccinated.

And for people who may live with someone who has the flu, one benefit with the antivirals I mentioned, like Tamiflu and Xofluza, they can be prescribed to reduce your risk of getting flu if you've been exposed. So, that's something to keep in mind as well. Wolf?

BLITZER: Yes, I got my COVID booster shot as well.

Jacqueline Howard, as usual, thanks very much, excellent advice, indeed. Not too late to go out for those of you who haven't gotten the flu shot. Go get the flu shot. Go get it now.

And just ahead, the Trump administration targeting what they say are terrorists in Nigeria. The latest CNN reporting coming up right after the break.

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