Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Lawmakers, Victims Slam DOJ For Not Releasing All Epstein Files; DHS: U.S. Seizes Another Oil Tanker Off Venezuela; Trump Stops In North Carolina To Give Economic Speech; Police Seek Motive In Brown University-MIT Killings; Officials: 43 Missing Children Rescued In 'Operation Northern Lights'; Video Of Retaliatory Strikes On Alleged ISIS Targets In Syria; Islamic State Back In The Spotlight After ISIS Inspired Attacks. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired December 20, 2025 - 17:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:00:15]

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks for joining us here in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Erica Hill in New York. Jessica Dean has the night off.

Well, the day many Jeffrey Epstein survivors have been waiting for is finally here. The Justice Department releasing thousands of files related to the convicted sex offender.

But that document dump, which took an act of Congress it's important to remember, is being met with a fair amount of criticism. Lawmakers from both parties voicing their anger and frustration amid the partial release and the significant redaction -- entire pages, as you can see here.

So much has been blacked out. It's been noted that the release say some lawmakers does not comply with the law. In some cases, we're talking about, as you see here, entire pages.

The DOJ though defending the redactions, saying they protect the victims and also other information.

CNN's Camila DeChalus is joining us now from Washington. So, Camila, what actually is in these documents that was released? What's new?

CAMILA DECHALUS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Erica, there is a lot of things that stood out in this latest batch of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein.

Number one, these documents really give us a better idea of just how well connected he was and who he was in touch with. There was images seen in these documents that were just released of high-profile figures in the political and entertainment world, like Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, former president Bill Clinton and even President Donald Trump himself.

Now, it's very important to note that there is no evidence connecting Jackson, Clinton, Ross, or even Trump and engaging in any illegal activity connected to Epstein.

And even on the topic of the president, we noticed earlier today that an image containing a photo of him appeared to be removed from the Department of Justice's Epstein library.

Now, the Justice Department at this time has not commented on this since we reached out. But it is notable that it has sparked more speculation in just these past few days since the documents were released of whether or not the Justice Department has been holding back any information regarding the president.

A top DOJ official actually addressed this. Here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TODD BLANCHE, U.S. DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL: There's no effort to hold anything back because there is the name Donald J. Trump or anybody else's name. Bill Clinton's name, Reed Hoffmann's name.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To be clear, you're saying DOJ has not been ordered to redact anything related to President Trump? There's no order to do such.

BLANCHE: No, I mean, I would give the order.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DECHALUS: Now Erica, it's also worth noting that these documents give us a better idea of how law enforcement was warned very early on about Epstein.

The documents confirm that one of Epstein's victims filed a complaint as far back as the mid-1990s about him, and her lawyer later confirmed that this -- the accuracy of this. So these documents really just shed more light on Epstein.

But it also raises more questions around the Justice Department and around whether they're being transparent.

HILL: Yes, it's raising questions certainly about that. Also, what more is still to come? Why this was the first batch. What more is expected? I know Todd Blanche was asked about that as well.

DECHALUS: Well that's right. I mean, what we know at this point is that they're going to continue to release these documents and images, and even lawmakers on Capitol Hill raised just about the importance of this. The fact that this has been a long-anticipated effort on not just Republicans and Democrats, on both a conjoined effort for there to be more transparency around this.

So we are anticipating more images and documents to be released and kind of shed more light about -- around Epstein. And just -- on just some of the things that he has been convicted on and some of the questions that still the public has about him.

HILL: Yes, we'll be watching that. Camila, appreciate it. Thank you.

Well, among the frustrations with this release is a lack of context overall. Deputy AG Todd Blanche, as Camila was just noting, has said there is more to come.

So could that change the initial reaction to what we are seeing?

Former federal prosecutor Ankush Khardori is a senior writer at "Politico" and recently published "The Five Rules for Reading the Epstein Files".

It's good to have you here tonight.

You know, one of those rules, you point out rule number five, is ask yourself, where's Trump in all of this? The reality is there is not a lot of Donald Trump in this release. What does that tell you

ANKUSH KHARDORI, SENIOR WRITER, "POLITICO": It suggests to me that there's more material related to Trump that has not been produced. What is unclear to me is whether this Justice Department will actually produce all of it at some point.

We don't know really much in the way of detail around Trump's presence in the material. We know from Susie Wiles that there is some reference to him confirming earlier reports. And whatever is there seems to have upset him so much that we then have been subject to this stonewalling and deflection effort for months.

[17:04:52]

KHARDORI: So I think, you know, there's more related to Trump. And I'm curious to see if we find it or, you know, receive it.

HILL: You also noted in that piece to be skeptical of some of the early releases. What do you make of what has been put out there today in terms of both the names that are more prominent, I would say, and also the level of redactions?

KHARDORI: Yes. I mean, look, perhaps it is a coincidence that a good deal of the material was related to Bill Clinton, who Donald Trump has been trying to lay this on to the White House, and Republicans have been trying to -- perhaps it was just entirely a coincidence.

I kind of doubt it. And although you played the tape of Todd Blanche denying it, I mean, this is the exact same person who thought it was a good idea to spend two days interviewing Ghislaine Maxwell in order to get to the bottom of all this.

I mean, the Justice Department and the White House have forfeited all of their credibility on this subject. I do not think we should assume any assurance we get from them is necessarily true.

HILL: There are some inconsistencies as well in the redactions when it comes to photos that are, you know, in some cases sort of blacked out and then images of those people show up in other places. One of the frustrations from a number of survivors has been not only a

lack of context. When images are released, for example, but also a lack of notification about what would be coming out.

Based on what you're seeing, do you believe the Justice Department in the way they went about these redactions, and even this release was, in fact sensitive to those concerns of survivors?

KHARDORI: Look, so far as I can tell they appear to have been pretty sensitive about the survivors. The question I have is whether they decided to redact over, you know, above and beyond information related to the victims or survivors pertaining to certain political figures or the like.

So I think that's been fine. But, you know, the decontextualization issue, right, the fact that this material is coming with no explanation is kind of inherent in this whole exercise of producing the so-called Epstein files.

What could clarify it is if the department at some point produced internal memos that prosecutors generated concerning their review of the evidence, prosecution memos, things of that nature. It is unclear whether the Justice Department is going to do that.

You know, Blanche has indicated that, you know, they're going to withhold things that they regard as subject to the attorney-client or work product privileges.

So I think that is the material that would be most likely to put things into context. But there's no guarantee we'll get it or what the scope of that material would even be.

HILL: You were also noting, you know, in this, in this piece that you write your five rules ahead of the release. Your rule number one was don't read this. But that's because, as you point out, it does need context and it needs explaining, and there needs to be enough time to go through all of the documents to understand what is there. And the fact that what could be there is not necessarily always a finding of fact.

KHARDORI: Exactly. You know, my fear was that, you know, it still may be some something -- it is something that still concerns me is that this would be treated sort of as like a WikiLeaks type dump where people are sort of rummaging around.

And this is a very long, complex story. I am not an expert in it. I have colleagues who have followed this for years. Your colleague just did a very fine job of putting the material into context for your viewers.

So you know, there are people who are better situated to contextualize this stuff for the average American. And there's just a real risk that you can be misled or led astray, particularly by like, you know, social media accounts rummaging through this material and the like.

HILL: Yes, absolutely. Great advice, all of it. I encourage people to read the piece.

Ankush Khardori, thank you so much for your time tonight.

KHARDORI: Thank you.

HILL: Just ahead here, the U.S. Marshal Service announcing the recovery of 43 missing children. This happening in one single operation. We have new details this hour about, not only the children, but also the arrests made in that operation.

Plus, brand new video. The U.S. military seizing another oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela early this morning. Iran, it turns out, may now be offering to come to Venezuela's defense. We have a live report with those developments.

And President Trump traveling to North Carolina in an effort to sell his message that the economy has never been hotter. Staying on topic, though, was a little tough. We'll break it down.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

[17:09:20]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HILL: New tonight, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is confirming the U.S. seized another oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela early this morning, releasing this video on X in just the last hour.

President Trump announced this week what he called a blockade of sanctioned oil tankers in and out of Venezuela as the administration ramps up its pressure on Venezuela's president, Nicolas Maduro.

CNN's senior White House reporter Kevin Liptak is following these developments for us. So, Kevin, what more do we know about this vessel and even some of the context around the timing here?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And what Kristi Noem wrote is that this was a pre-dawn operation. I'm told it occurred in international waters off the coast of Venezuela. The lead agency was the Coast Guard, which falls under the Department of Homeland Security, which is why Kristi Noem is announcing this.

[17:14:48]

LIPTAK: It was assisted by the military and this vessel, I'm told, was flying under the Panamanian flag carrying Venezuelan oil, headed towards Asia. And of course, China is the top purchaser of Venezuelan oil.

And it all comes amid this intensifying pressure campaign by President Trump and his administration toward the dictator, Nicolas Maduro there. Of course, we know just ten days ago, the U.S. seized the vessel skipper similarly carrying Venezuelan oil. And then it was just in the last several days that President Trump

announced what he called a, quote, "total and complete blockade" of sanctioned vessels heading in or out of Venezuela.

What's interesting here is I'm told that this particular tanker was not covered by U.S. sanctions. And I think that underscores the attempts and the objective of the U.S. to really try and cut off Maduro's economic lifeline. You know, oil is the way he has maintained a grip on power inside that country.

And what officials have made clear is that the goal of this overall initiative is to try and oust Maduro from power. Whether it's the targeting of those alleged drug boats or whether it's the massive buildup of U.S. military muscle in the region, this is all aimed at trying to loosen the grip of Maduro on power in Caracas.

And, of course, what President Trump has said is that the next step will be targeting a land targets on land in Venezuela. He has said that repeatedly over the last several weeks ago.

He has so far stopped short of ordering them up, which I do think speaks to some of the reservations he has perhaps about an escalating war, the U.S. potentially becoming mired in a broader conflict.

What is, I think, clear is that this strategy of targeting these vessels will continue. What American officials have said is that they have a number of different tankers in their sights as they work to really cut off Venezuela's oil revenues, Erica.

HILL: And real quickly, Kevin, so Venezuela is also saying that Iran has offered its cooperation in all areas to combat any U.S. actions. Do we know what that looks like? Do we know any more in terms of context for that offer?

LIPTAK: Yes. And that's interesting. It came between a phone conversation that occurred today between the Venezuelan foreign minister and the Iranian foreign minister, sort of amid all of this action in the region, what according to the Venezuelan readout, the Iranian foreign minister offered was, quote, "full cooperation as it works to confront U.S. actions". And you see how that alliance is growing.

You know, that first tanker that the U.S. seized, the skipper was actually under U.S. sanctions for its relationship with carrying -- with carrying Iranian oil. And so you see how those linkages are together.

The Venezuelans have also been cultivating a relationship with the Russians. Maduro spoke just in the last week with Vladimir Putin. And so you see how amid this intensifying pressure from Washington, you have Maduro really trying to strengthen his relationships in other parts of the world, in both instances, with staunch U.S. foes.

HILL: All right. Quite the development. Certainly interesting.

Kevin, appreciate it, as always. Thank you. President Trump making a stop in a newly-redrawn congressional

district in North Carolina Friday night to sell his economic agenda, repeating some familiar talking points, blaming Democrats for the health care crisis and former President Biden for the economy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Let the money not go to the insurance companies. The problem is the Democrats will shut down the government because they are totally beholden.

It's so simple. The money should go to the people. The people should then take all of this money and buy the best health care there is.

When I took office last January, I inherited a mess and very simply I am fixing it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Joining me now, pollster and communications strategist Frank Luntz. Frank, always good to see you.

So we hear from the president there. Perhaps not surprisingly, still blaming Joe Biden for the economy's problems. What I think is fascinating is what we're seeing in the polling and what we are hearing from Americans who clearly do not agree. 57 percent saying it is, in fact, Donald Trump, who is responsible for the current state of the economy.

How much longer can he keep pushing this messaging that doesn't line up with what Americans are feeling and experiencing, which we know that didn't really work for Joe Biden during the '24 elections.

FRANK LUNTZ, POLLSTER AND COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGIST: I think it's the reason why Donald Trump won in 2024 is that Biden had a tin ear to what was happening.

[17:19:46]

LUNTZ: And they called it affordability back then -- well actually, back then, they called it inflation. Now they call it affordability.

And in the end, if you can't afford your food or fuel, if you have trouble with your housing or healthcare, it's a real problem. For an individual, it's a genuine crisis.

And the people who Donald Trump did well in -- well among -- in November of 2024 was the paycheck-to-paycheck voter. These are individuals who voted Democrat in the past, many of them were Hispanic or Latino. Many of them were union members.

And they said enough. And they saw in President Trump more solutions and more concern for what they were feeling. And now we get to a year after the election, just over a year, and they're starting same issues, the same concerns with President Trump. Now, this is what I find fascinating. On the genuine, genuine programs

-- on the genuine solutions, the public supports what President Trump is trying to do. It's the execution of it and how it's being communicated.

And the best example is the Big, Beautiful Bill. It sounded great to some people six months ago, but the public has turned against it; that they support the individual member -- components of that legislation, but not the overall legislation itself.

And the president's articulation of it or the administration's articulation of it is simply not bringing voters over to his side.

And so we're about to close out the year with the president's numbers well below what they were when he became president again. And he's starting to realize that unless he changes how he articulates it, the public will continue to move against him.

HILL: Is he starting to realize, I mean, you mentioned where the numbers are. The latest CNN poll of polls has his approval rating at just 39 percent.

The fact, though, that you were seeing the White House and the president continue to go out there, putting him out there, right. And they're telling us he's going to give more speeches, like what we saw last night in North Carolina to address the economy. I mean, it's important to note, too, he also went off on a number of other tangents.

But this is part of an effort too, moving into the midterms to keep Donald Trump at top of mind for voters. Is that actually going to help Republicans? It seems like it could come back to bite them.

LUNTZ: No, it actually will help them. And here's why that Republicans did not vote in New Jersey. They did not vote in Virginia. They did not participate in the California initiative. That Republicans have -- Donald Trump is not on the ballot. This happened in 2018. This happened in 2022.

That Republicans will vote, I should say voters, because they're not necessarily Republicans, will back Donald Trump when he's participating, but they won't come out to the congressional. They won't come out for the senatorial, gubernatorial candidates if he's not on the ballot.

So that's why they're sending him out and they're sending him out to states where it really does matter. You've got a number of swing voters and Republicans that may choose to stay home because they don't see a reason to vote.

HILL: I wanted to get your take on what we heard from the president Tuesday night -- or Wednesday night when he said service members would receive these bonuses of $1,776. So it's estimated that that would cost for service members $2.6 billion. An official is now saying it would come from funds approved by Congress for housing and other costs. You teach at West Point. You are talking to cadets all the time. How

is this being received by both cadets and other members of the military?

LUNTZ: Well, the great thing is that cadets can't be political. They cannot be partisan.

HILL: That's true.

LUNTZ: And they never are. And it actually means they (INAUDIBLE) are. And the same thing with people who wear uniform.

And that's why it's so important at this time, as we're approaching Christmas to show support for our men and women in uniform, because they're the last vestige of nonpartisanship.

They are sworn to defend the Constitution, and they do so every day. And the fact that there are so many homeless who are veterans, and the fact that the current military, so many people have to struggle to make ends meet, that they really are living paycheck-to-paycheck, I think the president deserves tremendous credit for making this decision to assist them right now when they need it most.

But I love the fact that I can't get political with you on this, because they can't be political on this.

HILL: But real quickly, Frank, before I let you go, there is legitimate concern, I think, that this is also an effort by the president to try to make members of the military political in terms of winning over their support. Do you see that being effective, whether it's talked about publicly or not?

LUNTZ: It's amazing to me that when someone makes an effort to make the day-to-day lives of our men and women in uniform a little bit easier, a little bit more comfortable that they're accused of doing politics.

[17:24:47]

LUNTZ: I'd rather have them do that and face that accusation than having these people struggle, weekly or monthly, to pay their bills.

In the end, I don't believe, and I didn't serve. And so there's a little bit of guilt in that, to be candid with you, that if we can do something to make their lives easier, I'm all for it in every possible way, because they're serving their country in the best possible way.

HILL: Frank, always good to talk to you. Thank you.

LUNTZ: Thank you.

HILL: Still ahead here, the search for a motive after the deadly shooting at Brown University and the killing of an MIT professor. What some of the suspect's classmates are now saying about him.

Stay with us. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:29:53]

HILL: While the manhunt is over, of course, in the Brown University and MIT shootings, the investigation is really only just beginning. And specifically when we talk about a potential motive for the suspect.

Claudio Neves Valente was found dead in a New Hampshire storage facility from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was found on Thursday evening. Former classmates of the 48-year-old Portuguese national describe him as brilliant, but exceptionally difficult.

CNN correspondent Michael Yoshida has been following these developments for us and joins us tonight from Providence, Road Island.

So, is there any insight, at this point, that investigators are releasing in terms of motive what may have led him to these shootings?

MICHAEL YOSHIDA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, there, Erica. Yes, that question of motive continues to loom over this investigation and this community. What caused this suspected shooter last Saturday to open fire here, killing two, injuring nine. And then, just two days later, some 50 miles away in Massachusetts, to shoot and kill that MIT professor.

Obviously, this all made more complicated by the fact that, that suspected shooter is dead. But here are some of the things we know investigators are keen in on. You mentioned 48-year-old Claudio Neves- Valente, Portuguese national, who did have a tie to Brown University, briefly in the early 2000s. He was part of a graduate program here.

You mentioned what some of his former classmates described him as, and also, as it relates to that MIT professor in the late 90s, in Portugal, we are told the two were in the same academic program. Whether they knew each other had any interactions, that's something investigators are trying to obviously figure out and answer. And also, we know they're looking at the timeline of how this all played out, the planning, the premeditation, the sophistication of getting that storage unit in New Hampshire, weeks before these shootings happened, getting a rental car in Boston, then, coming to this campus and seemingly scouting out the area before these shootings.

And, of course, the sophistication with trying to avoid capture, switching license plates, using untraceable cell phones, and different credit cards.

These are all things we know investigators are looking through as they try to answer the question of why this happened. I can tell you, throughout the day here today, we've seen this memorial continue to grow. We have seen people of this community continuing to stop by to pay their respects and tell us that, yes, this manhunt being over, that is a sense of relief, and they are trying to process now and heal. But really, at this point, they are really wanting to understand why this happened, and hoping that investigators can at some point give them that answer. Erica?

HILL: Yes, absolutely. Michael, really appreciate it. Thank you.

We are following now a developing story out of Florida. We are learning that 43 missing children have now been found, including a one-year-old. The U.S. Marshals announcing the rescue in an operation called Northern Lights. Nine people were arrested, according to officials. This was a two-week staying in a joint effort with law enforcement, social services and child advocacy groups.

Sylvester Stone -- Sylvester Jones is a former assistant director of the U.S. Marshals Service, and also the author of "Hunting Criminals to Hiding Them: My journey with the U.S. Marshal Service.

It's good to have you with us tonight, sir. When we look at this, 43 children, so important that they were found, that they were rescued. Can you walk us through an operation like this? How unusual this is or perhaps comment. I -- you know, I'm not familiar.

SYLVESTER JONES, FORMER ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, UNITED STATES MARSHALS SERVICE: Yes. Good evening, Erica.

The Marshall Service, you know, as of 2015, with the Justice for Victim Trafficking Act, was received the authority to assist law enforcement agencies and recovering missing and endangered or abducted children. Operation similar to this was conducted across multiple jurisdictions a few years ago, called Operation We Will Find You, where we located. It was -- it was in the news. 200 children, 123 of them were in a very dangerous situation.

And so, these kind of operations, ever since that Victim Trafficking Act was passed, have been ongoing, and the agencies is known. We're very good at finding folks, no matter who you are or what your status is.

HILL: Thankfully, the kids here who are recovered range in age from, as I noted, just 1, 1-year-old, 1-1/2 to 17. It's such a range of ages. Again, 43 children, but the range of ages there is so wide. What does that tell you?

JONES: Well, some of the cases are when you have 1-year-old or very young minor children, could be child custody cases where one parent abducts a child and tries to leave the jurisdiction for one reason or another.

Recently, there are other cases where that they could be used for meals, for drug trafficking, and also for other human trafficking. And so, is -- it could be a combination of factors why the age spreads so much.

HILL: Are we seeing more trafficking of children in 2025?

[17:35:05] JONES: I think we are. I think that it is trafficking has been on the -- on the rise for a while. And I mean, the agency works -- actually, the Marshall Service has a missing children's unit. They work with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. They have been doing that for many years.

So, I think it is a problem that we are seeing that's on the rise. Yes.

HILL: Yes. Thankfully, they are -- they are following it closely. And good to hear about these 43 children who are recovered. Sylvester Jones, really appreciate your insight tonight. Thank you.

JONES: Thank you. Have a good evening.

HILL: Still to come here, the U.S. military striking dozens of targets inside Syria overnight as retaliation for the death of two American service members. We could take a closer look at how, at those strikes, and also how ISIS is resurfacing in the U.S., and what's different this time? Stay with us here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:40:38]

HILL: New Video shows U.S. strikes against dozens of alleged ISIS targets in Syria on Friday. Now, officials say the U.S. was retaliating for that recent attack that killed two American service members.

CNN's Barbie Latza Nadeau has the very latest.

BARBIE LATZA NADEAU, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: The United States says it hit at least 70 targets in Syria in multiple strikes on Friday in retaliation for the killing of two U.S. service members and an interpreter by a gunman who had been part of Syria's Internal Security Service.

Possible links between the gunman and ISIS remain unclear. The overnight strikes, which also involved Jordanian war planes, hit ISIS infrastructure and weapon stores, the U.S. Defense Department said. But the strikes were not an act of war, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted on social media. They were, he said, an act of vengeance.

U.S. President Donald Trump called the strikes, dubbed Operation Hawkeye to honor the fallen soldier's home state of Iowa, a success.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I ordered a massive strike on the terrorists that killed our three great patriots last week. Two soldiers, one interpreter, all great people, and it was very successful. It was precision. We hit every site flawlessly, and we are restoring peace through strength. We are all over the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP) NADEAU: The killing of the service members and the retaliation come just weeks after the new Syrian president visited the White House with Syria joining the U.S.-led coalition against ISIS.

Barbie Latza Nadeau, CNN, Rome.

HILL: CNN national security analyst Peter Bergen joins us now. He is also Vice President for Global Studies and fellows at New America.

Peter, always good to talk to you when we look at these strikes, the fact that you have Pete Hegseth saying, this is not an act of war, but, in his words, a, "declaration of vengeance". Certainly, an interesting choice of words. How do you see these retaliatory strikes actually having an impact here? What do you think that impact is?

PETER BERGEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, I think Pete Hegseth is trying to thread a bit of a needle there, which is, you know, the base doesn't really want to get involved in Middle Eastern wars. That was one of Trump's appeals.

However, it was a fairly big strike. It's the biggest strike we've seen since the fall of the regime of President Assad. It does raise the question, if there were 70 known ISIS targets, why weren't they targeted earlier? After all, you know, we've got a thousand American troops in Syria on an anti-ISIS mission.

You know, will they have effect? Yes, I'm sure they will have an effect. ISIS, the ideology, however, is hard to extinguish. The geographical caliphate that ISIS once had in Iraq and Syria was the size of the United Kingdom and population larger than New York City.

Now, that had basically all gone in the past decade, and I think it's highly unlikely it will resurface, because there is a bunch of parties, whether it's the Syrian government or the Iraqi government or the U.S. government that, you know, is threatened by ISIS.

But the ideology that we have seen in Australia with these recent attacks on a Hanukkah celebration, you know, has not been distinguished, won't be extinguished. It's on the Internet and it's widely available.

HILL: You talk about that connection there. Australian police, of course, noting that they were driven by Islamic state ideology. ISIS called the attack, a "source of pride," but stopped short of claiming responsibility. Does that surprise you?

BERGEN: Not necessarily. I mean, you know, Erica, I think, as you know, the Australians are looking at a trip that the father and son took Philippines to Mindanao, which is a southern island in the Philippines, which has long been a hotbed of Islamist extremism, including the Abu Sayyaf group, which kidnapped Americans in the past, and also an affiliate of ISIS.

And so, the fact that these guys went on a trip a month before this shooting, which they conducted, unfortunately, in a rather effective manner, indicates that perhaps they may have received military training in the Philippines. We don't know, but certainly the Australian authorities, you know, the fact they went to Mindanao, which is a hotbed of Islamic extremism, is, I think, you know, concerning.

HILL: When we look at more things. And there was a U.N. report in, I believe it was July, that found ISIS propaganda output is extensive. Has remained extensive. It is available, of course, in multiple languages. Social media makes it very easy to put things out there in terms of radicalizing individuals.

[17:45:01]

What are you seeing and how much more often is that happening, perhaps, even in surprising areas?

BERGEN: Well, think about the Australian 19-year-old-who was planning to attack a Taylor Swift concert in Austria about a year ago. You know, that was a pretty well-developed plan that the CIA tipped-off the Austrian authorities to. But clearly, he was radicalized successfully.

I mean, you can't take down the Internet. One of the sort of issues around travel bans is people are not -- they are radicalizing in their own bedrooms. They are not radicalizing sort of overseas and coming, say, to the United States.

And when, you know, we saw just almost a year ago in New Orleans, a man who was influenced by ISIS ideology killed 15 people on New Year's Eve in the French Quarter. And, you know, how you deal with that is hard, because the volume of material is massive. I'm not saying that you can't do -- you can't take these things down, but it's a large task. I mean, the volume of video and other kinds of propaganda is very large.

And, you know, so that, I don't think we are going to see the end of that. Is the problem getting bigger? I don't think so. I think, it's sort of it remains an issue. It was a much bigger issue when ISIS controlled all this territory in the Middle East because they were that was very inspirational to certain people. But the problem has not disappeared.

HILL: Yes, it certainly hasn't. And as we know, unfortunately, incredibly large numbers of people who are susceptible and vulnerable online clearly falling prey to it.

Peter, always appreciate your insight, your expertise. Thank you.

BERGEN: Thanks, Erica.

HILL: Still to come here, damaging winds, toppling trees, sending cranes spinning as millions hit the road for the holidays. We are taking a closer look at that forecast and its impact on your holiday travel.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:51:25]

HILL: A powerful storm system is bringing damaging winds to parts of the Northeast, more than 70 million people now under wind alerts.

In New York City, an unsecured crane was captured on video, spinning in the wind. Now, it's important to note it is supposed to spin so it doesn't fall over, but still, you know, stresses a lot of people out when they see that movement. The wind threat could disrupt travel, of course, during this busy kickoff to the holiday travel.

AAA predicting more than 122 million Americans are set to travel from now through January 1st. CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar has the very latest on your weather.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: If you are dreaming of a white Christmas, you may have to keep dreaming, and that's because warm air is expected to surge across much of the U.S. as we head into the upcoming week. And one thing to note is that it starts in a lot of places over into the West, but then you start to see it spread eastward. Even places that have been relatively cold over the last two to three weeks are now finally going to see their temperatures jumping back above normal, especially, for Christmas day itself.

And not just a few degrees above average. We are looking at several areas that could be looking at record temperatures, and a few places that could break record temperatures two or even three days in a row.

This is a look, again, at Thursday, Christmas Day. Look at all of these dots representing a location that could end up having a record high temperature that day.

Now, again, if you are looking for snow, you may have to kind of see where the snow is located, now, to determine whether or not you actually have much of a chance. Here is where we have current snow cover. You can see a lot of it out into the Rockies, portions of the Great Lakes and even some of the higher elevations of the Northeast.

Now, one area where we may actually add some snow before Christmas is going to be out west. We've got a series of systems coming in that's going to bring not only rain, but also snow, especially to the Olympics, the Cascades, and even into the Sierras. You notice a lot more color coming into the screen right through here, through Christmas Day, because of those next systems that will be arriving.

Everywhere else, though, it's going to be warm air if it starts to surge in.

Take a look at Chicago. The average this time of year, about 36 degrees. Sunday will be below that. Every single one of the rest few of the seven days is actually going to be at or above that. And it's not just portions of like Chicago. Kansas City is also going to be above average. Their average of 41 degrees. They will be above that every single one of the next seven days, including look at this, Christmas Day, almost getting to 70 degrees.

Again, remarkable how warm some of these areas are going to be, even Dallas. Take a look at this. The average high temperature is 57 degrees. Most of the low temperatures forecast for this week will actually be warmer than their average high temperature.

HILL: Allison, thank you for that.

While you may not get that White Christmas this year, there is a chance for a little extra holiday green. That's right. Powerball, my friends. Right now, the jackpot is an estimated $1-1/2 billion. Think of how many people you could share that with, like your friends at CNN. It is the second largest prize of the year.

This, of course, coming after there was no winning ticket on Wednesday. That drawing will be held tonight, 10:59 p.m., Eastern. You could spread a lot of Christmas cheer.

Tomorrow, a night of back-to-back specials for you right here on CNN at 8:00, on "THE WHOLE STORY WITH ANDERSON COOPER". The latest on Rob Reiner, his life and legacy.

And then, at 9:00 from the CNN archives, we have an encore presentation for you of "A Larry King Live Exclusive" in a wide- ranging interview with the legendary director in his own words.

[17:55:00]

Still to come here, more on our top story, the U.S. seizing another tanker near Venezuela, creating new pressure on Caracas from the Trump administration.

So, is it having an impact? We are live. Stay with us here the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:00:00]

HILL: Top of the hour here in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Erica Hill in New York. Jessica Dean has the night off.

New tonight, the Trump administration ratcheting up pressure on Venezuela's leader Nicolas Maduro.