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EU Announces $105 Billion Funding Plan for Ukraine; Moscow Welcomes EU Decision Not to Use Frozen Assets; Putin: Willing to End Conflict Peacefully if Principles Met; Suspect in Brown University, MIT Shootings Found Dead; U.S. Justice Department Faces Deadline for Releasing Epstein Files. Aired 9-9:45a ET

Aired December 19, 2025 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: Today is the deadline. Will the U.S. Justice Department release all of the Epstein files? Some Epstein

survivors are doubtful. It is 09:00 a.m. in Washington. It's 06:00 p.m. here in Dubai. I'm Eleni Giokos. This is "Connect the World".

Also coming up, Ukraine secures crucial financing from the European Union, but the EU leaves Russia's frozen assets untouched. Vladimir Putin claiming

Moscow made compromises in Ukraine peace talks during his end of the year news conference.

And the Brown University shooting suspect has been found dead. Investigators explain what led him then to him. Right, we're on 30 minutes

to go before the start of trade in New York. Let's quickly check in to see how those market futures are faring. It is Friday, so it's been a busy

week.

We've had a lot of economic data out that was delayed. And as you can see, the DOW slightly negative, S&P and NASDAQ sitting slightly in the green.

Will check in on those numbers in around 30 minutes from now. All right, a move that strengthens our resilience.

That's the verdict from Ukraine's President after the EU agreed to $105 billion plan to fund Ukraine's military and economy over the next two

years. It will be achieved through borrowing, rather than the use of billions of dollars of frozen assets.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONIO COSTA, EUROPEAN COUNCIL PRESIDENT: We will provide a loan backed by the European Union budget. This will address the urgent financial needs of

Ukraine. And Ukraine will only be the -- and Ukraine will only repay this loan once Russia pays reparations, the union reserves its right to make use

of the immobilized asset to repay this loan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: Moscow is welcoming the decision not to use its frozen assets for now. France's President says it's up to the EU to find a way to interact

with Russia's President.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT: I think it will once again become useful to talk to Vladimir Putin. Yes, I see that there are people who talk to

Vladimir Putin. So, I think that we, Europeans and Ukrainians have an interest in finding the right framework to re-engage in this discussion in

a proper manner.

Otherwise, we discuss among ourselves with negotiators who go it alone. Discussing with the Russians is not ideal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: All right, I want to connect now Melissa Bell, who is joining us from Paris. Melissa will get into the funding package in just a moment, but

I want to talk about what Macron was talking about there in terms of finding a diplomatic solution, engaging with President Putin.

It's a very different approach from the U.S., which is putting pressure on Ukraine ahead of talks between Donald Trump Special Envoy and Russian

officials.

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. I think what you just heard there was the president, French President, tap into

what is fairly broadly a European sentiment of frustration that there are these breakthroughs that we saw, for instance, in Berlin earlier this week.

And then back around the table with the revised Ukrainian European and American plan, will be American emissaries, we expect Jared Kushner and

Steve Witkoff and the Russian Dmitriev, Kirill Dmitriev, the Head of the Russian sovereign fund. They will meet in Miami over the weekend with no

Ukrainians or Europeans present.

And that's the way that these negotiations have been going. You'll remember a couple of weeks ago, this plan now revised into the 20-point plan, had

initially been hammered out in -- by American and Russian envoys looking at it and coming up with that what was at the time of 26 and then 28-point

plan.

So those cycles of negotiation where not everyone managed to get around the table, and there is this sort of cyclical nature to what happens that is of

great frustration to the Europeans. And I think that is also something that you've heard in the words of President Trump, as you mentioned, putting

pressure on Ukraine from the Oval Office yesterday, saying that it was time for Ukraine to act quickly, because every time they faltered or failed to

act quickly enough, Russia changed its mind.

Well, the reading from this side of the Atlantic very different, of course, over the course of the last few cycles of negotiation, still. Europeans and

Ukrainians believe that they have managed to hammer out this week in Europe, the closest thing to an acceptable plan to them, it has taken

concessions from the Ukrainian side.

The question now how far the Russians are willing to go? And listening to the Russian President just now in his annual press conference, there's very

little to suggest that there is any movement there.

[09:05:00]

On the crucial questions, Eleni, of the territorial integrity of Donbas or on the question of NATO troops on the ground in Ukraine.

GIOKOS: Yeah, I mean really good points there, and perhaps a win for President Putin, because the Europeans decided not to tap into frozen

Russian assets that are currently in Belgium and said they're going to go to the market. They're going to take out $105 billion worth of loans. Who's

going to foot this bill? And how it's funding going to work?

BELL: That's right, just first of all, Vladimir Putin has also spoken to that describing theft as something that happens when it's hidden. This

would have happened in broad daylight. So, welcoming the fact that the Europeans, which he described as robbers, had not been able to carry out

what he described as a high.

So, quite strong words there for the Europeans, and not much love lost. But it was under pressure we understand, not just from Russia, but also the

United States, that some European countries chose not to go in the direction of using these frozen Russian assets, some $250 billion worth,

largely held in that financial institution in Brussels.

The Belgians that led the charge against this move, but others have followed suit as well. In the end, it is this common EU budget drawn backed

by the blocks annual budget, common budget that will be used. But you heard there the Head of the European Council, they still reserve the right

further down the line to use these funds.

And I think perhaps most crucially for Europe, what they managed to do was freeze them. So, until now, it had taken every six months, the renewal of

this agreement to hold the funds. They can now hold them indefinitely, till the end of the war, and that they believe gives them some leverage.

Still, it is a blow to many parts the European Union, not least the EU Commission's President, Ursula von der Leyen and the German Chancellor,

that Europe should have gone a different way to simply using those funds to underwrite that loan, Eleni.

GIOKOS: Right, Melissa Bell, thank you so much. Well, Europe's financial package for Ukraine comes as Russia's President warns of severe

consequences of any frozen Russian assets are ever used for Ukraine's defense. Vladimir Putin's comments coming during his annual press

conference in Moscow, where he fields dozens of questions from Russian citizens as well as journalists.

He said today, Russia is ready to end the conflict through dialog, if certain conditions are met. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VLADIMIR PUTIN, PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA: They are refusing to end this conflict by peaceful means. But nonetheless, we see, we feel, and we know about

certain signals, including from the Kyiv regime, that they are ready to engage in some kind of dialog.

We have always said this too. We are ready and willing to end this conflict peacefully based on the principles I outlined last June at the Russian

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and by addressing the root causes that led to this crisis.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: All right, we've got Fred Pleitgen joining us now, live in Moscow, and of course, President Putin there in that address. Tell me some of the

important things that he said, because, frankly, Europeans not tapping into the frozen Russian assets is basically a win for him, because he vowed

retaliation.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, it certainly is a win for him. And one of the interesting things, of course,

that we've also seen today is that his envoy, who's been speaking to the Americans, Kirill Dmitriev. He also claimed that this was a win for Russia

and a win for international law, as Dmitriev put it.

Nevertheless, Vladimir Putin, at this press conference, which happened in the room right behind me, and wrap that, would say, about 20 minutes ago,

still ripped into European nations for even entertaining that idea. Calling all of this not stealing but robbery, because he says it's something that

would happen in broad daylight.

So clearly, the Russians still not happy with the conduct of the Europeans, and also threatening, as you put it, severe consequences if Russian funds

are used to help Ukraine. Let's listen in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PUTIN: Theft is a secret stealing of property, but here they're trying to do it openly. It's a robbery. But why are they failing? Because the

consequences for them will be severe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PLEITGEN: So, he's saying that the consequences would be severe for the Europeans as well. Of course, there are still a lot of funds and a lot of

assets of European countries and European companies that are here in Russia as well. So that could be one of the reasons why Vladimir Putin was

speaking about that.

At the same time, you're absolutely right to point out that the Russian leader did say that Russia was willing to engage in diplomacy, wanted to

find a peaceful solution to the conflict in Ukraine. But at the same time, he was also still very bullish about Russia's military capabilities.

Saying that Russia could continue all this for an extended period of time. The people are still signing up for what Russia still calls its special

military operation. So, on the one hand, the Russians saying that they are willing to talk, but it certainly seems as though what they want is a

compromise on Moscow's terms, Eleni.

GIOKOS: Yeah, exactly. I was just about to say that.

[09:10:00]

They want -- they say they want diplomacy, but they want the. War to end on their terms, and that means major territorial losses for Ukraine, and you

know, the Europeans feel out of the conversation. Macron earlier said he wants to engage in diplomacy with Vladimir Putin. Do you think things could

be changing on the diplomacy front?

PLEITGEN: Well, I think to a certain extent, they have been changing, really, over the course of this week. If we go back and look at talks that

happened in Berlin, this past Monday between the U.S. delegation and the Ukrainians, of course, also involving the Europeans as well.

I think the Europeans, including the French, of course, saw that as a sort of reentry into the diplomatic process after they'd sort of been shut out

by it. The Europeans certainly feeling that the U.S. side is closer in its estimates of what's going on to the Russian side than possibly to the

European side.

But I think that they feel that they've closed that gap. So right now, the Europeans certainly believe that they're back part of the fold as far as

the diplomatic process is concerned. At the same time, of course, the Russians are very entrenched in their positions. They feel that they have

the momentum on the battlefield. They say their forces are moving forward. They say that it's the Ukrainians who need a pause on the battlefield, and

not the Russians.

And so therefore, the Russians obviously have some very steep demands as far as the territories are concerned. The big question is whether or not

one of those big compromises that was reached earlier this week with the U.S. saying that it would grant Ukraine security guarantees similar to

those of being a member of NATO, whether or not that does anything to accelerate the talks, or whether or not that's something that will also

sort of fizzle as well, Eleni.

GIOKOS: All right, Fred Pleitgen in Moscow for us. Thank you so much for that update. Now the suspect in last weekend's mass shooting at Brown

University has been found dead. Police say he took his own life, and they say they tracked Claudio Neves-Valente, 48-year-old Portuguese national, to

a storage facility in Salem, New Hampshire.

When they entered the building on Thursday, they found his body with a satchel two firearms and evidence, which they say matched findings from the

scene of the crime. Neves-Valente has been a student at Brown. Prosecutors say he was also responsible for the killing of an MIT profession, professor

rather days after the shooting at Brown.

Michael Yoshida is following developments for us from Salem, New Hampshire. Michael, good to see you, and it was actually a Reddit post that led to the

discovery of the suspect, take me through how authorities were able to track him down.

MICHAEL YOSHIDA, CNN REPORTER: Yeah, Eleni, you mentioned that Reddit post also this other tipster in the Brown University community that helped break

this case wide open, in the words of investigators. This all took place over the last 48 hours. Obviously, we're nearly -- we're now nearly a week

into this manhunt and eventually led them.

Here you can see that storage facility you had mentioned behind me, still surrounded by that crime scene tape. But investigators tell us it was that

Reddit post along with a follow up interview with that individual that allowed the investigation to identify a vehicle and a license plate, that

they were able to connect with a person of interest that led them from Rhode Island into Massachusetts.

The neighboring state and the City of Boston, where a rental car company was able to help police identify the person that had rented that car, and

that person was then identified as the suspect as they dove into that person's financials, their background, they found out they had a storage

unit at this facility.

When they arrived, they saw the vehicle they were looking for. They eventually went inside, and that's where they found this suspect deceased.

Obviously, still a lot of questions that need to be answered here, but also a lot of relief in these communities that this manhunt is now over.

GIOKOS: Yeah, really important. We know you and I have been discussing this for the six days that it took authorities to find the suspect. It was a

community that was on the edge. I also want to talk about the victims and how they're doing in hospital right now.

YOSHIDA: Perfect. Yeah, we did get an update from officials last night. Those victims were told the six remaining in the hospital in stable

condition. Obviously, some good news there, that three have already been able to be discharged, let go from the hospital. So, some good news there,

and really, like I mentioned, a lot of relief in this community as they now wait to try and learn more about a potential motive that connected these

two shootings.

Note, you briefly had laid out this a former Brown University student. He had a connection to the MIT professor. They both went to school together in

Portugal in the late 90s. So that's some information that the investigation is currently going through trying to see if they might be able to parse

something there.

So still, so many answers left. But at this point, some good news here, those victims who were shot, some of them out of the hospital. Others

recovering, and again, this manhunt finally over here in New England.

GIOKOS: Yeah. So, Michael, I want to talk about the killing of that MIT professor and the timeline of that shooting as well and how they were able

to link him to that crime?

[09:15:00]

YOSHIDA: Yep, so we know that it was just this past Saturday when that initial mass shooting happened at Brown University. It was two days later

when that MIT professor was shot and killed later dying at the hospital in the suburb of Boston, Massachusetts. And there were always some questions

about, were these connected?

Were they not initially, investigators saying they didn't see any sort of connection. But again, that tip that investigators got from Reddit, from

the individual who had seen this person of interest that led them to then realize the same suspect had been within a half mile on surveillance

videos.

They saw them near that MIT professor's home on the night of that murder. They then saw him in other video right after it, and eventually here at

this storage facility. So again, that's something that they used to connect to the two crimes. And also, that interesting detail I pointed out that

back in the late 90s, this suspect, as well as this MIT professor, they were in the same academic program in Portugal.

So obviously something investigators are paying close attention to as they try to figure out the motive for both of these shootings.

GIOKOS: Yeah, still a lot of work to be done there. Michael Yoshida, thank you so much for that update. And still to come on the show. It's the last

day for the U.S. Justice Department to release the Epstein files. New reporting about frustration inside the DOJ as it races to meet the

deadline.

And wild weather in the U.S. ahead of Christmas week, which areas of the country are experiencing damaging winds and power outages. A story coming

up just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GIOKOS: Now to a highly anticipated moment in the Jeffrey Epstein case, after years of pressure, today is the deadline by law for the U.S. Justice

Department to make public its trove of Epstein files. But of course, there are significant exemptions. And CNN has actually learned lawyers at the DOJ

have been racing to redact thousands of pages.

Meanwhile, separately, on Thursday, Democrats on the U.S. House Oversight Committee released more than 60 images from Epstein's estate. CNN's Crime

and Justice Correspondent, Katelyn Polantz is in Washington for us, and the deadline is looming. Frankly, there's a race to redact as much as possible.

Give me a sense of whether you believe and whether there's any reason to think that the Justice Department will not comply with today's deadline.

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: We now are learning that they will not be able to comply in full with the deadline today that

there will be some transparency in several 100,000 documents that would be released. And then they are saying now that there will need to be several

100,000 documents more released later, which would not put them in full compliance at the moment.

[09:20:00]

But the Justice Department is going to be left to explain as to why that is. Here's a little bit more about the release today. Deputy Attorney

General Todd Blanche was just speaking on Fox News about it and about how the release process is going to work, at least from the Justice

Department's perspective.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TODD BLANCHE, DEPUTY U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: So yes, so today is the 30 days when I expect that we're going to release several 100,000 documents today,

and those documents will come in all different forms, photographs and other materials associated with all of the investigations into Mr. Epstein.

And so, I expect that we're going to release more documents over the next couple of weeks. So today, several 100,000 and then over the next couple

weeks, I expect several 100,000 more.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

POLANTZ: So, we'll just have to wait and see if the Justice Department explains a little bit more about why they are not able to meet this

deadline? And also, why they believe it is within their ability to hold back some of the documents, because they just haven't processed them yet.

GIOKOS: Yeah. I mean, I just want to talk about the frustration that we're seeing among some of the survivors, about the selective release of some of

the pictures that we saw is, frankly, some of them pretty shocking. What are you hearing on that front?

POLANTZ: Yeah, there are some releases that have been coming from Congress.

GIOKOS: Yeah.

POLANTZ: As they have obtained images and other materials related to Epstein from the Epstein estate. One of the things that our colleagues who

talk to the Capitol Hill side of things that they have learned is that there are survivors that have met with female Democratic lawmakers to

express how distressing it is to see these productions come out and new images that have shaken them.

They are victims who could be triggered again every single time there is some sort of imagery that's coming out from the world of Jeff Epstein.

There is concern about whether those survivors are getting enough of a heads up on new releases, either from the House or from the Justice

Department, but this is something that I think a lot of people are keeping in mind.

And the Justice Department, we understand they haven't spoken directly with the survivors. GIOKOS: Yeah.

POLANTZ: But it is clear that there is going to be a lot released today. Although there may be significant redactions on those documents.

GIOKOS: All right, Katelyn Polantz keeping a very close watch on the story. Thank you so much for your reporting. Well, thousands of customers in the

Southeastern U.S. are without power after strong thunderstorm winds caused damage across several states.

The winds accompanied a cold front stretching from Kentucky through Tennessee, Mississippi as well as Alabama, the storm predicted, prediction

center rather says wind gusts measuring over 60 miles an hour, or more than 95 kilometers per hour, were reported in some areas on Thursday.

The system is currently moving across the southeast toward North Carolina's Outer Banks, bringing with it the threat of severe thunderstorms. We have

CNN's Derek Van Dam with more damaging winds headed for the Atlantic seaboard, along with the forecast for the weekend and leading into

Christmas. Take a listen.

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: The big story this week has certainly been the wind, as well as the atmospheric rivers impacting the western

parts of the U.S. Well, now one of those stronger storm systems has moved to the Atlantic seaboard, and there's a lot of wind energy still associated

with this.

You can see the millions of Americans right where some of our biggest and most populated parts of the country are located. They're going to be

impacted by winds in excess of 30 to 40 miles per hour, and with the increased demand at the airports, the added number of customers, as well as

the winds and the weather impacting this.

You better believe that there could be some travel delays, not only on the roads but also in the skies. It's all part of a larger storm system that is

moving through that will bring rain to the I-95 corridors through early Friday morning, it quickly exits, but behind it, that's when the real wind

starts to pick up from the north and west, and this is going to cause some potential delays.

Check this out. This is the forecast airport delays because of the weather, LaGuardia into JFK, potentially into Newark, even as far south as the

airports in and around Baltimore, as well as the nation's capital, and as far north as Boston Logan. So, something to keep an eye out.

Double check your flight, add some extra time to get to the airport today, atmospheric river impacting the western parts of the country. Yet again,

we've got this direct connection to the tropics, so a lot of rain for the coastal areas of Oregon and Washington. High elevation snow fall.

The difference here from last week's storms is that this will be slightly colder. So, we'll start to see more frozen precipitation, especially across

the northern spine of the Rockies into the Cascades, and as far south as the Northern Sierra Nevada mountain range as well.

[09:25:00]

But right along the coastline of California, Oregon and Washington, quick two to five inches of rain could add more flooding concerns for the region.

This is the other big story, if you were looking for a cold white Christmas. Well, looking unlikely. Much of the snow that blanketed the

country over the past couple of weeks should melt with good chances of above average temperatures.

We'll call it Merry Torchmas, right? It is hot out there, or at least it's looking like it will be well above average for a majority of the country

right through the Christmas holiday period. Back to you.

GIOKOS: All right, that was Derek Van Dam for us. I want to get you up to speed now on some of the stories that are on our radar. Federal

investigators today begin sifting through the wreckage of a plane crash that killed the former race car driver Greg Biffle and his family.

The plane went down shortly after takeoff from Statesville, North Carolina, Thursday, killing all seven people on board. Video taken by witnesses shows

the plane bursting into flames as it hit the ground. The U.S. military says it struck two more alleged drug trafficking boats in the Pacific, killing

five people.

It's a third such strike this week as part of Washington's expanding anti- narcotics campaign. Arrangements are reportedly underway for the Japanese Prime Minister to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump in the new year.

According to the Sankei Shimbun newspaper, this would happen ahead of Mr. Trump's visit to Beijing in April, as Tokyo seeks to confirm its close ties

to Washington.

And still to come on the show, the wrangling over the ownership of TikTok could be coming to an end. Is the Chinese app finally going to get its

American passport? We'll unpack that, right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GIOKOS: Welcome back. I'm Eleni Giokos Dubai, and you're watching "Connect the World". These are your headlines. The European Union has reached a deal

to provide desperately needed financing for Ukraine. Kyiv will receive more than $100 billion over the next two years.

The money won't come from Russian assets frozen in Europe. Russian President Vladimir Putin says if Europe ever does use frozen Russian assets

to assist Ukraine, European countries would face severe consequences. He gave the warning during his annual press conference in Moscow.

Putin also said Russia is willing to end the war based on principles he laid out in June, which include Ukraine ceding territory to Russia.

Australia's Prime Minister has announced a gun buyback plan. It follows the mass shooting last weekend at Bondi Beach that killed 15 people.

Anthony Albanese says hundreds of thousands of surpluses newly banned and illegal firearms will be collected and destroyed.

[09:30:00]

Right, we're a few seconds away from the start of trade in New York. And we're ending the week on what seems to be quite a volatile note. Right,

we've had quite a bit of economic data out this week. We had the non-farm payrolls, which were delayed for the month of November, showing an increase

of 64,000 jobs.

The month of October we saw 105,000 jobs that were lost. Unemployment is now sitting at 4.6 percent and the month of November inflation, CPI that

came through yesterday is sitting at 2.7 percent, if you take out volatile food as well as gas prices, inflation, sitting at 2.6 percent annualized

for November.

So, all that economic data currently being digested by investors, and here we have a DOW JONES up two tenths of a percent, NASDAQ looking strong, half

a percent higher, and that's mostly because there's a lot of excitement what's happening in AI specifically, Oracle is doing quite well today.

So, two other stocks that are going to be backing TikTok, we'll talk about that in just a bit, and S&P 500 up four tenths of a percent. And then on

that note, TikTok is one step closer to avoiding a ban in the United States. The app has now signed a deal to sell most of its U.S. assets to

American and global investors.

The new joint venture includes the tech giant Oracle, the private equity firm Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi based MGX. But TikTok's parent Beijing

based ByteDance would retain a stake. CNN's Clare Duffy joining us now from New York. Clare, I mean, big question, this has been something that's been

a lot of people's minds, who is going to come in and buy TikTok?

Who's going to be the investor coming in? And it's basically a consortium. So, give me a sense of what this means.

CLARE DUFFY, CNN TECH REPORTER: Yeah. Eleni, I think there are two really important things to understand about this news. The first, as you said, is

the fact that this is not yet a finalized transaction. This was sort of the next procedural step that we understand needed to take place as this deal

moves forward.

TikTok and ByteDance needed to agree to this spin off plan. And that's what has happened here. They say they are working towards a January 22nd close

of this deal. The other is that this is not just a straightforward ByteDance is selling off TikTok U.S. to American investors.

As you said, what's happening is they're creating a joint venture that is going to control TikTok's U.S. assets. 50 percent of that joint venture

will be held by this consortium of investors that we've heard Trump Administration officials talk about. That will include that group that you

mentioned, Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX.

Then you'll have 30 percent of this joint venture that's held by existing ByteDance investors. We don't know who those companies or those people are.

And then just under 20 percent 19.9 percent of this joint venture is going to be held by ByteDance. Now what this means is that this new U.S. joint

venture that's controlling TikTok's U.S. assets is going to control the sensitive U.S. user data held in the United States.

It's also going to control TikTok's algorithm. They're going to retrain it on U.S. user data. But what's interesting about this is that global TikTok

controlled by ByteDance, is going to continue to control marketing, advertising and e-commerce on the American platform.

So, there's still a lot of sorts of close connections between this new entity that they're controlling for TikTok U.S., and the existing ByteDance

controlled global version of TikTok.

GIOKOS: Lot happening there. Clare Duffy, thank you so much for explaining that to us. Good to have you on the show. Now Hong Kong is honoring the

firefighter who died in the line of duty battling the inferno that devastated a huge part of the city last month. The body of 37-year-old Ho

Wai-ho was laid to rest with full honors during a ceremony.

Thousands of people turned out for the procession through the city to pay their respects. Last month's fire killed at least 160 people as it quickly

engulfed residential buildings and burned for nearly two days. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Ho's -- fiancee described him as

muscular and sweet, and friends called him very gentle. CNN's Kristie Lu Stout has more from Hong Kong for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We have been witnessing solemn and deeply moving scenes. This day, Hong Kong is holding a funeral with full

honors for Ho Wai-ho, the 37-year-old firefighter who gave up his life trying to save the lives of others.

He perished in that horrific high-rise fire at a housing estate in Tai Po, a fire that has taken the lives of at least 160 people. Today's funeral

with full honors began at a funeral parlor in Kowloon. It then moved to the site of the fire in Tai Po, and then here at the Sha Tin fire station where

Ho had worked.

[09:35:00]

It then ended at a cemetery for fallen officers for public servants killed in the line of duty, and that is where Ho Wai-ho is being laid to rest. He

leaves behind his parents, his brothers and his fiancee. And in a statement, we heard this from her saying this quote, may everyone forever

remember Ho Wai-ho's selfless spirit.

In a statement, the Hong Kong government adds this, quote, his tragic death is a great loss, not only to the Fire Services Department, but also to the

community at large. Being courageous, selfless and dedicated, he will no doubt stay in the minds of Hong Kong people forever.

Members of the public have been paying tribute with burning incense, messages of condolence and flowers, and they have been in mourning.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I felt very upset. I was unable to sleep the whole night. I hope when he goes to the other world, he won't be in pain anymore.

STOUT: Residents have been in mourning, and they've also been searching for answers. Last week, we heard from John Lee, the Chief Executive of Hong

Kong, and he pledged that an investigation will be wrapped up within nine months. Now, there have been no official cause of the fire, given

authorities point to substandard renovation materials for facilitating the rapid spread of the fire.

At least a dozen people have been arrested in connection with the fire. A fire that has taken the life of a hero. Kristie Lu Stout, CNN, Hong Kong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GIOKOS: All right, we're going to very short break. We'll be back right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GIOKOS: Sometimes the best things in life take a little extra time from piecing together a luxury fabric to a bespoke tailoring service in a modern

atelier in London. In this last episode of "Seasons", host Laura Jackson discovers the secret behind slow luxury and the craftsmanship behind

garments that last a lifetime.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAURA JACKSON, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): In the heart of London, one of Mayfair's newest tailoring houses is quietly rewriting the rules of bespoke

fashion. HAX was founded by Hattie, who wanted to redefine who tailoring is for and how we wear it.

HATTIE GLENDENNING, FOUNDER OF HAX: When I came into the tailoring world, it was really inaccessible. There wasn't very much for women, and the price

points were so high, it's really important to sit down with someone and make them feel relaxed and get on each other's level. It's quite a personal

process.

[09:40:00]

JACKSON (voice-over): Here, luxury comes from the process, slow, personal and entirely bespoke.

GLENDENNING: So how do you like your shoulders to fit?

JACKSON: A little bit bigger, but not too big?

JACKSON (voice-over): And for many of Hattie's designs, the story of fabric leads to one place, Huddersfield, the town where I was born. British cloth

has been made in the Pennine Hills for generations, and it's here that -- wool begins its journey through mills that still rely on time tested

machinery.

MARK LIGHTOWLERS, CHAIRMAN & DIRECTOR OF LIGHTOWLERS: These machines were built in the 1950s.

JACKSON: Wow, and are they still watching like new today?

LIGHTOWLERS: They're better than new. Still like a chocolate mousse.

JACKSON (voice-over): The wool is blended, combed and spun into a thread strong enough to be woven. A process that's barely changed in more than a

century.

JACKSON: I had no idea of the scale of the operation, like the for the detail, the care. I honestly don't think I'm ever going to wear a wool and

jumper in the same way again.

JACKSON (voice-over): But thread isn't a suit at W.T. Johnson, finishing is where the fabric earns its luxury. Fabrics go through as many as 25

individual processes to lock in the characteristics of the material for the world's most demanding designers, from Savile Row to Hollywood.

PAUL JOHNSON, CO-OWNER OF W.T. JOHNSON & SONS: I would say that almost every luxury brand in apparel that you could care to mention will have some

Huddersfield fabric in its collection. And -- Huddersfield fabric will have been through here.

JACKSON: Tell me one real wild card where you think that the fabric has ended up.

JOHNSON: We dressed Daniel Craig in all of his James Bond films.

JACKSON: Wow. So exciting. Where's Daniel Craig?

JACKSON (voice-over): Back at HAX, Hattie turned centuries of craft into something made for me.

JACKSON: Oh, my God, it's looking incredible. Oh, wow. I feel like it's perfect. All of these tiny details just feel so special.

GLENDENNING: It makes even more special that this fabric came from your hometown.

JACKSON (voice-over): Honestly, seeing the whole process and then for it to be in a suit that I'm going to have forever from Huddersfield. I know. It's

honestly one of the most luxurious things that I will ever --

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GIOKOS: All right, so "World Sports" is up next. We've got Patrick Snell standing by. And I'll be back at the top of the hour with more news. Stick

with CNN.

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