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The Situation Room

Flu Cases on the Rise Across the Country; World Leaders Respond to Trump's Diplomatic Activity; New Search for Missing MH370 Underway. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired December 30, 2025 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:30:00]

DR. MICHAEL OSTERHOLM, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR INFECTIOUS DISEASE RESEARCH AND POLICY, UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA: -- have had their flu shot. We've also seen a 30 to 35 percent reduction even in hospitalizations. So, you're right, it doesn't guarantee you won't get flu. It doesn't guarantee that you still won't get sick, but it surely is a big improvement on what the otherwise outcome could be of either being seriously oh, or dying. And so, that's why I get my flu shot every year religiously.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: I do too. I get it in the fall, getting ready for the winter season. But people who are refusing to get their flu shots or their COVID booster shots for that matter, they speak about negative side effects. Are there any?

DR. OSTERHOLM: You know, in some cases there are people who experience fever -- a fever-like illness for a few hours to a day after getting the shot. And I guess the -- again, the trade-off we have here is that this however could protect you against dying or being seriously ill and hospitalized. You know, I'll take that odds of having a fever for a day or two versus being seriously ill any day of the week.

BLITZER: And even though it's now officially winter, it's not too late, get your flu shot. That's the advice from Dr. Michael Osterholm and everyone else who knows anything about this subject at all. Thank you very much, Dr. Osterholm for joining us.

DR. OSTERHOLM: Thanks, Wolf.

BLITZER: And just ahead, much pomp and flattery between President Trump and the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, during their latest face-to-face meeting despite growing divisions over the war in Gaza, and it remains to be seen if they actually made progress on ending it. We're going to ask the former U.S. Ambassador Rahm Emanuel about what's going on. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:35:00]

BLITZER: New this morning, there's fallout from President Trump's flurry of diplomatic activity at Mar-a-Lago in Florida. And it's playing out across the world right now. The president held two days of high-profile meetings. First with the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday, followed by a phone call with the Russian leader Vladimir Putin yesterday. The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, also made the journey to Florida. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: I think Israel is very blessed to have President Trump leading the United States, and I'll say leading the free world at this time. I think it's not merely Israel's great fortune, I think it's the world's great fortune.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Joining us now to discuss what's going on, CNN senior political and global affairs commentator Rahm Emanuel. He also served previously as President Biden's ambassador to Japan. He was the mayor of Chicago and a member of Congress as well. Rahm, thanks very much for joining us.

We heard extraordinary flattery between these two men with the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, even announcing he'll make President Trump the first non-Israeli recipient of what's called the Israel Prize for Peace. But what did they actually accomplish when it comes to Gaza, in your view?

RAHM EMANUEL, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR AND (D) FORMER CHICAGO MAYOR: Look, on the outside, not much was accomplished there. Outside of the flattery, when you look at it, I think you have to take the situation. Israel's been, at this moment, probably the most strategically secure in its history, yet the most politically vulnerable and isolated that it's ever been, and not really taking advantage of the opportunities that exist both on the northern part, the Lebanon and Syria, from a diplomatic effort, or, from that matter, what it wants to do in the sense of the West Bank. And you can't cover up these problems. Israel is strategically secure but politically incredibly vulnerable, and the Israeli public and the Israeli IDF knows that and has expressed that.

So, I'm not sure much outside of a unified expression towards Iran was accomplished here. It was more of a political effort than a diplomatic or strategic advancement.

BLITZER: President Trump, in his public remarks, did acknowledge at least some of the divisions between the U.S. and Israel, particularly over the West Bank. President Trump opposes Israeli annexation of the area, but will his view on the West Bank be enough to deter, do you think, further Israeli military action and creation of more settlements on the West Bank?

EMANUEL: It should, if the president was clear and hard in that there are consequences, whether or not the prime minister's government is going to continue to push that. Just one quick lesson here. You know, Israel has made security agreements with Jordan and peace, Egypt, and obviously the Abraham Accords. When it agrees with a country, it accomplishes major strategic advantages. When it unilaterally moved on both Lebanon, you've got Hezbollah filling the vacuum. On Gaza, Hamas filling the vacuum. It is in Israel's interest, and the rest of the world wants to help, to stand up an operating, successful Palestinian entity because you cannot leave it to both the settlers and the IDF to do that.

There will never be a river to the sea, as the Palestinian or Hamas has advocated, and there will never be a greater Israel, as some part of the Israeli government advocates. And being clear of the consequences to the prime minister would force them to start to make some strategic choices in Israel's long-term and medium-term strategic interests. That has not been done, and I think the consequences of avoiding that should be clear that the United States is not going to pay that price. Israel will pay that price alone, and I'm not sure the Israeli public wants to do that.

BLITZER: Yesterday, Prime Minister Netanyahu hailed President Trump as the best friend Israel has ever had in the White House. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NETANYAHU: I have to say that, in addition to what I said, that we've never had a friend, even close a friend, as President Trump in the White House. I think he's been extraordinary in his friendship and his support for Israel.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: What do you make of those comments? You're a former senior official in the Bill Clinton administration, the Barack Obama administration. Is Trump the greatest American presidential ally Israel has ever had, as Netanyahu has now suggested?

[10:40:00]

EMANUEL: No, I think he's the greatest ally Prime Minister Netanyahu had, that doesn't mean he's the greatest ally Israel's ever had. Don't ever confuse the two, contrary to what the prime minister wants confused. That is not true on a whole host of fronts, whether it's President Carter and the Egypt peace agreement, which has been incredibly beneficial. Egypt just signed a natural gas deal with Israel. The Jordan peace agreement under President Clinton. The Abraham Accords under President Trump. But intervening like he just did on the criminal cases for Netanyahu doesn't mean he's great for Israel. I would leave the criminal justice system alone.

I actually think on a separate point here, not just Israel and U.S. relationship, the most important story in the region is what's happening domestically in Iran. There is a major gulf between the Iranian people and their government. And you have a head of state who's on in his 80s and ill health. This is going to be the chemistry of something fundamental that's going to happen in the next three years.

In three years from now, when you and I may be sitting down like this, this will not be the same Iran. It may go more repressive. It may go more open. But you cannot have a major drought, a major economic recession, a major doubt in the capacities of the government, a transition in government and have the same status quo hold. That's probably the most significant, given the disruption of Iran over the last 20 to 30 years in the region. Most significant story that's happening. It wasn't in Mar-a-Lago. It's on the streets of Tehran that is the most significant story for the region.

BLITZER: I've always felt that President Harry Truman in 1948 was the best friend Israel had. Remember, Israel was declared an independent Jewish state in May of 1948. And within eight minutes of that declaration, President Truman announced that the United States would be the first country in the world to recognize and accept Israel's independence. That underscores friendship to Israel.

EMANUEL: Well, Wolf, as you said to me, look, I worked for two different presidents where prime ministers at different points have said those presidents were the best friends Israel has. That's a tradition that happens. It happens in that case. I do think, you know, one of the things there's sort of a point of value strategically of closeness between the United States and Israel. But there's also a point where the United States has to be clear to Israel on the consequences of their actions, not only to the relationship, but to Israel's actions also impact America's foreign policy.

And America serves its interests and Israel's interests when there are clarity in that basis, especially, like, take a look at the West Bank. What is going on there with the settlers and the violence is not only not in Israel's self-interest, it's not in America's self-interest that Israel trades on in the region. It harms us.

So, just agreeing to something doesn't mean we have consensus or interest served. We have divergent national security interests, and it's not incumbent upon the United States president to change our policy to fit Israel. That is not how this relationship works. It's a meeting and understanding and appreciation. There's divergence. And Israel takes unilateral actions, as it has in Qatar, when it bombed Qatar, that doesn't include us and not only doesn't include us, gets us into a real bind.

So, we have to be clear of the consequences, like in the West Bank, that's affecting Palestinian people and Israel's own national security interests.

BLITZER: Good point. Rahm Emanuel, as usual, thanks very much for joining us. Happy New Year and have a healthy New Year as well.

EMANUEL: Happy and healthy to you --

BLITZER: Thank you. Coming up --

EMANUEL: -- and your family, Wolf.

BLITZER: Thank you very much, and to your family as well. We'll talk with someone who's led several deep-sea expeditions about a company's new effort to try to find the wreckage of MH370 nearly 12 years after it disappeared. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:45:00]

BLITZER: Happening now, a new search for a missing MH370 is now underway, more than a decade after the Boeing 777 jumbo jet vanished from radar shortly after takeoff in Kuala Lumpur. The Texas-based marine robotics firm Ocean Infinity is now resuming its efforts to locate the plane. This will be the group's third attempt at searching for wreckage from MH370.

Joining us now is oceanographer David Gallo. He's also the former director of the special projects at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. David, thanks so much for joining us. You're someone who has personally taken part in these kinds of expeditions over the years that look for wreckage on the seafloor. How does a search first of all like this typically begin?

DAVID GALLO, OCEANOGRAPHER, FORMER DIRECTOR OF SPECIAL PROJECTS, WOODS HOLE OCEANOGRAPHIC INSTITUTION, CO-LED SUCCESSFUL SEARCH FOR AIR FRANCE 447 AND CO-LED TWO TITANIC MAPPING EXPEDITIONS: Well, it begins by knowing, well, you want to know as much as you can about what happened, meaning where on the ocean is this X-marked spot? Because the ocean is very difficult. We've explored very little of it. It's not easy to find something there. And I always think that you need the right team, you need the right instruments, and then you need the right techniques. It's like an orchestra, musicians, instruments, and then the music.

And then with that, you've got a pretty good chance of finding a needle in a haystack. But the trick here is to find out, are you in the right haystack? Is this the right haystack to be looking in? So, that's how it begins, by putting that team together, picking the right instruments, and it's a whole lot easier if you know where to begin looking.

BLITZER: How does a group like Ocean Infinity narrow down its search area? What is that process like?

GALLO: You know, over the -- since the accident happened, the tragedy, there have been different groups working with some satellite information trying to pinpoint an area where the plane might be, the wreckage might be. And I'm sure they've looked at all of that, gone over it and over it, and they haven't disclosed any more information, anything about what new information they have. But I'm sure they've looked over very carefully, and they're confident enough to put a team out to sea for a month or so to look in that area.

[10:50:00]

BLITZER: What are some of the biggest challenges when searching for wreckage deep underwater on the ocean floor?

GALLO: Well, it's the depth, of course, is a big problem. The ocean floor goes down to seven miles deep. Average depth is about two and a half miles, that's one. Two, the bottom of the ocean can be flat, but most of it, a third of it anyway, is incredibly mountainous, more steep and rugged than the Rockies or the Himalayas. And that's the biggest issue. Then on the surface, of course, you've got the weather issues to deal with, currents to deal with.

So, being out there is one thing, and the currents and all of that, and then lowering an instrument or instruments to the bottom of the ocean and putting them to work, that's a whole other challenge.

BLITZER: Since the last time they made a search like this, searching for this missing Boeing 777, artificial intelligence has come into play. Potentially, how significant could that be in helping to find the wreckage?

GALLO: I think very, very significant, Wolf. This company, for starters, Ocean Infinity, came out of nowhere and gangbusters. And now, I would say pretty much they're leading in the technology and expertise to do these kinds of surveys. Oh, you can use A.I. a lot of different ways at sea, but the one I think maybe most importantly is looking at every little bit of data that comes back from the bottom.

Best way to look is with sound. So, you're not looking at a picture, you're looking at pixels of different colors usually. And I think A.I. has the power to really look at any of those and identify which ones are suspicious. Otherwise, it's often in the hands of the talent of a person that does that kind of work, the sonar operator.

BLITZER: So, give us your guess, David. How likely is it that what everyone knows right now in this major search that's about to resume will actually find something significant?

GALLO: I'm hoping they do, praying they do, Wolf, but, you know, it's going to be difficult. I don't know that there's enough information. Well, they feel that they've got enough new information to go to sea. I don't see where that comes from because it's been such a long time but I hope you can't get a better team to go out there and look for it. And you just got to hope for the best that they do find something.

BLITZER: We are all hoping for the best. David Gallo, have a happy and healthy new year. Thanks very much for joining us.

GALLO: And to you. Bye-bye.

BLITZER: And coming up after the break, why federal agents are now swarming parts of Minnesota as the Trump administration takes aim at the state over fraud allegations.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:55:00]

BLITZER: Happening now, millions of Americans are bracing for what's coming behind a very powerful winter storm that has slammed parts of the country with a mix of blizzards, ice, and very dangerous winds. The snow caused this massive pileup along Detroit's main highway. You can see vehicles lined up along the side. State police say at least 20 were involved. No injuries, thank God, were reported. On the other side of Lake Erie, my hometown of Buffalo, New York, is getting hit with wind gusts strong enough to whip up these large waves along Lake Erie's shores. CNN's Derek Van Dam is tracking the conditions we expect to follow that we're following right now. Derek, update our viewers.

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Wolf, yesterday, Buffalo Airport recorded a wind gust of 79 miles per hour. It hasn't gusted that strong since 1980. So, we're going back 45 years roughly to experience what we did on the shores of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario yesterday. Some of that ice starting to freeze on the surfaces there. That's lake water being pushed inland from the strong winds.

So, what's causing all this? Well, the clipper system that moved through came in a little bit more powerful than really anyone had anticipated. But now the Arctic air is pouring in behind it, and the winds are still strong as well. We're gusting to 35 miles per hour in Buffalo, 46 near Binghamton (ph), and then a little further towards the coastline, we're still gusting 30 to 40 miles per hour. That's a concern.

Of course, big travel day today for many along the East Coast. There's a look at the winter storm alerts. We have the potential to see several feet of snow in these narrow but heavily focused bands of lake effect snowfall. There's one just south and north of Buffalo. So, it's all about the direction of the wind as that cold Arctic air spills over the relatively warm lake waters of the Great Lakes. So, there's our snowfall totals.

And yes, we're talking 12 inches or more, especially into Rochester, potentially close to Syracuse and just south of Buffalo, depending on the exact wind direction. So, the big change here has been the drop in the temperatures. Everybody's feeling it over the eastern two-thirds of the country. We're talking 30 to 40 degrees colder this morning compared to yesterday morning. But everybody's eyes are on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. What will happen?

Well, there is some latest computer guidance that says that maybe when the ball drops in the Big Apple, we could have a few flurries, certainly after midnight. That's certainly a possibility. And then we may have the first rainy day for the Rose Bowl parade in Los Angeles on New Year's Day since 2006. So, that's really saying something.

But for anyone celebrating New Year's Eve in New York City, the lead up to the big ball drop should stay dry. But again, just after midnight, that's when we think things will get a little bit interesting with at least a chance of snow in the skies.

[11:00:00]