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U.S. in "Active Pursuit" of Oil Tanker Off Venezuela's Coast; Russian General Killed in Moscow Car Bombing; U.S. Holds Weekend Talks with Kremlin Envoy; Republicans Criticize Trump's Action Against Venezuela; Israeli Soldiers Kill Palestinian Teen in West Bank. Aired 9-10a ET

Aired December 22, 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: You're looking at the aftermath of a car bombing in Moscow that killed a Russian General according to

officials. It is 05:00 p.m. there, and it is 06:00 p.m. here in Dubai. I'm Eleni Giokos. This is "Connect the World".

Also coming up, the U.S. is pursuing an oil tanker near Venezuela as President Trump tightens his crack down on the country's oil industry. And

U.S. Vice President Vance is trying to keep a brewing MAGA civil war at bay as a conservative Turning Point USA group founded by the late Charlie Kirk

names him Trump's heir apparent.

All right, we're around 30 minutes to go before the start of trade in New York. Let's check in to see how the market futures are faring and what will

be a shortened holiday week. Of course, markets only operating half day on Christmas Day, the DOW is up slightly.

S&P doing quite well, and NASDAQ seeing it seven tenths of a percent increase. A lot of excitement about AI stocks. And of course, as it is

normal, per year, every single year we usually have a Santa Claus rally. So, we're expecting that by the end of this week.

In the meantime, I want to take us to our top story this hour, a Russian General has been killed in a car bombing in Moscow. Investigators say they

are pursuing various motives and believe Ukraine's special forces may have been behind the attack. Russian President Vladimir Putin was immediately

informed, according to the Kremlin.

CNN's Fred Pleitgen is live in Moscow for us with more details. Fred, what are you learning?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Eleni. Apparently, all this happened in the very early morning hours of today,

around 07:00 a.m. as far as the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation has said. And they said, what happened was that this general was

apparently either going to his car or driving his car.

Fanil Sarvarov, who is the head of the operational training department, or was the head of the operational training department of the Russian military

when an explosive device under the car went off. And I think if we look at the video that we are getting from the scene of where all this happened,

which is in the southeast of Moscow, that you can see that there is substantial damage to the vehicle, especially from the inside of the

vehicle.

We see that the outside of the vehicle. The top of the vehicle still seems he was somewhat intact, but the inside is completely destroyed. And

certainly, the Russians are saying that Sarvarov was brought to the hospital, obviously, with severe injuries, and there died of his injuries.

And you're absolutely right to point out that the Russians are saying that they're investigating in all sorts of different directions. We are of

course, only a couple of hours after this happened. They say that there's forensic experts who are on the scene. They also say that they're speaking

to witnesses.

And that an investigation has been launched, and that certainly they have to believe that possibly Ukrainian special services were behind all of

this. Also, of course, because this would not be the first time that Ukrainian special services assassinated a top Russian general here in

Moscow.

In fact, it was pretty much exactly one year ago, or almost exactly one year ago, that another top Russian General was also killed, also by a bomb

that was inside a vehicle as he was leaving his house here in Moscow. Now, as you stated, the Russians are saying that Vladimir Putin, Russia's

Leader, had been informed immediately after all this happened by Russia's own special services.

Certainly, the Russians in the past, when something like this has happened, showing themselves to be extremely angry, no doubt about all of this, but

definitely something that is huge news here in Russia. And certainly, also something that a lot of people here say is definitely disconcerting for the

Kremlin, Eleni.

GIOKOS: All right, Fred Pleitgen thank you so much for that update. Live in Moscow for us. Now U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff says that Russia

remains fully committed to achieving peace in Ukraine. That assessment following a weekend of talks with Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev.

The U.S. delegation met with President Putin's top emissary in Florida to discuss the proposed plan put forward by the White House. We've got CNN's

Clare Sebastian following all the talks, all the latest news out of London for us. Clare, I mean, some of the feedback we've heard, especially from

the U.S. and Ukrainian delegation, is that these talks are constructive.

Also is very similar from the Russian delegation. So, what does it ultimately mean?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Also, Kirill Dmitriev is the top Russian negotiator who is at these talks in Miami, has called it

constructive, but we're getting a slightly different message out of Moscow, the Kremlin aid, top Kremlin aid, Yuri Ushakov coming out on Sunday with

some pretty negative comments.

[09:05:00]

Before you hear them. I want you to bear in mind that he had already said about 10 days ago, even before the U.S. had reported back to the Russian

side on any changes to the documents made in talks with Ukraine. He'd already said that he didn't think the Russian side would like them.

So now he's basically reiterating that. But even before they've had the full report on these talks from Kirill Dmitriev, which I think gives you a

real, clear indication of their position when it comes to compromising. So, take a listen to Yuri Ushakov on Sunday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YURI USHAKOV, KREMLIN AIDE: I think that the majority of offers will not work for us, because we will stick to the plan that we have decided on in

Anchorage and at the other meetings with the American representatives. Yes, what was offered, in my opinion, is quite unconstructive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SEBASTIAN: So he's saying we're going to stick to the plan that was made in Anchorage, which is essentially referring to the summit that took place

between Trump and Putin back in August, and basically suggesting that if they're sticking to that plan and that they're not really going to play

ball with this new round of negotiations, which aims to tweak and update and make that plan essentially more fair for Ukraine.

So that is the position we're in, I think, with Russia, if anything, hardening their sort of stance throughout this and really glossing over the

fact, frankly, that after that Anchorage summit, the relationship with the U.S. did deteriorate somewhat, culminating in sanctions on Russia's biggest

oil giants that came into force in November.

So perhaps the Russian side is feeling emboldened. Certainly, we got that sense from Putin's press conference on Friday, his long end of year press

conference, where he basically said that the initiative is entirely in the Russian hands when it comes to this war. They may well be still playing for

time in this.

As for the Ukrainian side, they are coming out with some positive noises, saying that they discussed all the relevant documents, and they've

discussed the sequencing and timelines for the next steps. But two things to bear in mind, number one, we don't have any further talks scheduled.

We don't know what the next steps are. Number two, critically, this is still taking place along two tracks, which means that at this point, real

peace negotiations between the two warring parties have not happened yet, Eleni.

GIOKOS: Yeah. I mean, really good point there. And the fact that we are looking at, a lot of concessions, specifically territorial concessions that

Russia has expected, expecting from the Ukrainians, this is one of the biggest sticking points with regards to working out a plan, isn't it?

SEBASTIAN: Yeah, territorial concessions, I think, is the hardest part. Russia is still demanding the whole of the Donbas, Donetsk and Luhansk,

even though it doesn't actually occupy a portion of the Donetsk region, and that portion is critical to Ukraine. It is some of the most formidable

defenses that Ukraine has this so-called fortress belt of cities.

So, they don't want to give that up. They cannot, Zelenskyy has repeated many times, give up territory without going to the Ukrainian people for a

vote on that. And obviously that's impossible in wartime. And of course, they are concerned that if that concession is made to Moscow, it would only

lead to further aggression.

The U.S. side has floated some idea of a demilitarized zone or a free economic zone, but that certainly did cause some concern among the

Europeans and Ukrainians. So as of yet, this issue unresolved.

GIOKOS: All right. Clare Sebastian, thank you so much for that update. Now, the U.S. is pursuing a third oil tanker in international waters, saying it

has ties to sanctioned Iranian oil. Officials say the U.S. tried to board the ship Sunday as it moved toward Venezuela to pick up oil, and it sailed

off, triggering the chase.

It's the latest escalation of the Trump Administration's complete blockade of Venezuela's oil. Two other ships have been seized this month, the latest

just on Saturday, and its sparking criticism for many, including Republicans.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. RAND PAUL (R-KY): I consider it a provocation and a prelude to war, and I hope we don't go to war with Venezuela. Look, at any point in time

there are 20, 30 governments around the world that we don't like that are either socialist or communist or have human rights violations.

We could really, literally go through a couple dozen. But it isn't the job of the American soldier to be the policeman of the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: All right. Joining us now, we've got Senior White House Reporter Kevin Liptak. He's been following the president, who's in West Palm Beach.

And Kevin, I mean, frankly, this is an active pursuit of an oil tanker. What's the latest on that front? And importantly, does the United States

have the legal right to make these moves?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yeah, it's been an extraordinarily dramatic weekend there in the international waters off the

coast of Venezuela. The U.S. trying to board this massive oil tanker called the Bella 1, which is headed towards Venezuela to load a cargo of oil.

The U.S. says that it's under sanctions that there had been a warrant for its seizure, and that was flying a false flag, but its crew essentially

refused to submit to the U.S. Coast Guard personnel turned around and fled into the Caribbean Sea, leading to what one U.S. official described as an

active pursuit that as of very late last evening was still under way.

[09:10:00]

Now this was the second vessel that the U.S. tried to seize this weekend, the first one they were more successful with. It was called the centuries.

It was carrying what the U.S. called stolen oil. And the Homeland Security Secretary, Kristi Noem posted video of a Coast Guard helicopter hovering

over its deck as personnel boarded that ship.

It was the third ship altogether. You remember, about 11 days ago, the U.S. seized a ship called the skipper that is now at anchor off of Texas as the

U.S. works to seize its oil. And so, this is all a part of the campaign, really an escalation of Washington's crackdown on Venezuela's oil industry,

really looking to up the pressure on President Nicolas Maduro and cut off that country's most important economic lifeline.

You're right to point out and raise these questions of legality, what the White House and what the Department of Homeland Security have said is that

there are warrants out for some of these ships and that other ones are operating as part of this shadow fleet that transports illegal in the view

of Washington, oil from around the world, whether it's from Venezuela or Iran or Russia.

And they say that this is all part of their attempts to enforce the sanctions regime. But it has raised a lot of questions, both among

Democrats but also among Republicans. And you heard Rand Paul earlier questioning what the end goal in all of this was. It also has led to an

escalation of rhetoric from Caracas.

Nicolas Maduro saying that this was all psychological terrorism, and he has ordered his navy to escort these oil tankers as they're leaving Venezuela,

which obviously ups the risk of a potential armed confrontation between the two navies. Now President Trump has said that the next step in all of this

will be land strikes in Venezuela.

He's been saying that those will be coming soon for the last several weeks, but has so far stopped short of giving the final order. We will hear from

President Trump down here in South Florida, later today, he's due to make an announcement over at Mar-a-Lago at 04:30.

He'll be with the Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, the Secretary of the Navy and Marco Rubio, the Secretary of State. We don't know precisely the

topic that he'll be discussing, but it seems certain that Venezuela will come up as part of these remarks, Eleni.

GIOKOS: Yeah, all right. Kevin Liptak, thank you so much for that important update. Now, Israeli soldiers have shot and killed a Palestinian teenager

in the occupied West Bank security camera video reviewed by CNN, appears to show the soldiers shooting the 16-year-old at point blank range after he

followed them into an alley.

The IDF says the teen was suspected of hurling a block at Israeli forces. Matthew Chance is in Jerusalem for us. Matthew, thanks so much for joining

us on this important story. What more have you learned about this incident?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, well, there's not a lot in terms of details about the incident. The Israeli military have

been confronted with the video, which shows that the person who was shot in the video that 16-year-old boy wasn't throwing a stone at the time, and the

soldiers who were crouched, or one of them crouched on the corner of a street junction, did not appear to be in any sort of imminent danger.

So, you know the sort of Israeli military account of what exactly happened doesn't seem to add up, but that the military say that they're

investigating it, and so perhaps there'll be some kind of developmental determination later on. There was another instance at the weekend as well,

when a 22-year-old man in the West Bank was killed as well in another clash with Israeli security forces.

That person was said to be a member by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group. That's the group itself said that he was a member. But these two incidents

are just the latest in a much broader sort of upsurge in violence in the West Bank, or certainly something that's been continuing, intensifying

recently, but has been continuing very much over the past year, with United Nations saying that something in the region of 230 or more Palestinians

have been killed in the West Bank since January the first.

And more than 50 minors -- children killed as a result of those upsurge -- that upsurge in violence, which involves increased military operations by

the Israeli Defense Forces, House demolitions, clashes with Palestinian protesters. There's been settler violence as well.

[09:15:00]

And so, it's all part of a bigger sort of picture of increasing violence in the West Bank. Now the Israeli military say that, that violence is a result

of them so trying to defend their soldiers and their population against potential terrorist attacks or actual terrorist attacks. But the fear among

many Palestinians is that this is additional pressure on their communities ahead of a possible annexation of the West Bank by Israel in the future.

And so, there's a great deliver in security and a great deal of tension in the region.

GIOKOS: Yeah, all right, Matthew, thanks so much for that update. Right and still to come on the show, we're following growing outrage over the U.S.

Justice Department's latest release of fires related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Will bring you that story right after this.

Plus, conservatives in America literally at a Turning Point, MAGA infighting take center stage at the first conference in the wake of Charlie

Kirk's death.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GIOKOS: The U.S. Justice Department is denying accusations of a cover up. Following its latest release of files related to convicted sex offender

Jeffrey Epstein. A fresh batch of files was made public over the weekend, but many of them were heavily redacted and contained few revelations

fueling accusations the Trump's Justice Department selectively withheld information for public viewing.

And amid the growing backlash, a photograph containing an image of President Donald Trump was restored to the DOJ's Epstein files library on

Sunday after officials determined the photo did not show any victims. We've got CNN's Katelyn Polantz on the story for us, live from Washington.

Katelyn, I mean these images, these pages heavily redacted. I mean, basically just black. And importantly, the DOJ is justifying its decision,

saying that it's trying to protect the victims of violence and survivors of sexual abuse. So, what more are we learning about how the next tranche of

papers and information are going to be released?

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Eleni, it may not even be a tranche. It is just a work in progress. So, we're seeing with

that deadline on Friday to make public all of the Epstein files the Justice Department heavily redacted.

Many did not put out, many that they have not worked through because of the sheer volume of the several 100,000 records that they have swept in from

various agencies. And then on top of that, there are laws that protect victims, especially in this situation where Epstein was criminally charged

as well as his Co-Conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell.

But there have been mistakes too, two of them to point out. One is that photo, including Donald Trump in that desk drawer, among several other

photos that would have been taken around Jeffrey Epstein or from his files. That photo, it was taken down. The Justice Department says because their

attorneys in the Southern District of New York where the Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell cases originated in recent years.

[09:20:00]

Those attorneys wanted to make sure that there wasn't further action needed to protect victims, to potentially make more redactions. The Justice

Department, after taking it down on Saturday, they put that image back up, the one that contained Trump and a lot of other people in it, saying that

it has been reposted without any alteration or redaction and that there were no -- there's no evidence that any Epstein victims are depicted in

that photograph.

But Eleni, this is a moment where the Justice Department, not only are they protecting victims, they're doing so in a way that even they say may be

considered a quote over redaction. That's according to a court filing on Friday where they also explained that any women in photographs with

Epstein, whether or not they may be victims, they erred on the side of caution, and they redacted those women's names, their images, anything else

related to them.

It ends up being more than 1200 people whose names or information or photos are redacted. The Justice Department also kept out of these releases or

blacked out what's called privileged information, something that went beyond what the law specified they could keep out of these records.

That would be things like attorney, client communications, attorney work, product, so drafts or internal deliberations. That's other things from the

executive branch that would be before any final decision was made on charging or other parts of their investigation. So those are a lot of

redactions that the Justice Department is going to have to defend, especially if members of Congress continue to be unhappy and if courts get

involved as well.

GIOKOS: Yeah, Katelyn Polantz, thank you so much. Good to see you. Now, the Epstein saga has exposed fractures within the Republican Party. A growing

number of Republican lawmakers pressured President Trump into reversing his stance and supporting the files release.

Those divisions were on full display at a gathering of conservative influences and young Republicans at the Turning point USA conference this

weekend. It was the first such gathering since the killing of Charlie Kirk, and was supposed to be a weekend of unity, but instead, tensions among

conservatives took center stage.

JD Vance, who was endorsed by Turning Point CEO Erika Kirk, for the 2028 presidential race, addressed that friction head on.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JD VANCE, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: President Trump did not build the greatest coalition in politics by running his supporters through endless self-

defeating purity tests. He says, Make America Great Again because every American is invited. I know some of you are discouraged by the infighting

over any number of issues, don't be discouraged.

Wouldn't you rather lead a movement of free thinkers who sometimes disagree than a bunch of drones who take their orders from George Soros?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: All right. CNN's Jeff Zeleny is covering the latest from Washington for us. Jeff, you know it is interesting that JD Vance in an interview over

the weekend, also criticizing the influential but controversial five brand Nick Fuentes, saying, quote, he has a dedicated group of young fans, and

some of them have been bleep to my friends and family.

Let me be clear, anyone who attacks my wife, whether their name is Jen Psaki or Nick Fuentes, can eat again. A word that I cannot say on air. But

I mean, here's the thing, Jeff, there's a divide that is emerging in this MAGA base, and I'm wondering how you're reading into this, and also Vance's

role in it.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF U.S. NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, certainly those bleeped languages is language that's perhaps not fitting

for the Vice President of United States a few days before Christmas.

GIOKOS: Yeah.

ZELENY: But we will set that aside. Look, there is, without a doubt, there is a division inside the MAGA movement, a division inside the Republican

Party. Perhaps not surprising after a decade where Donald Trump has really led the party for much of that time with largely an iron grip.

Of course, there was a primary election that he won back in the 2024 campaign, but there are big divisions. But even though Vice President Vance

talked about the sort of his viewpoint in that different interview. He did not make that same view from stage on camera at the Turning Point

conference.

And the reality is there is a big division inside the Republican Party about the direction and the way forward. However, we do have a new poll out

that came out over the weekend that sort of offers a glimpse into where Republicans may be as they are looking in the future.

Donald Trump, of course, remains the president for three years. However, if you look at this poll here, who would you like to see run for president? JD

Vance, not surprisingly, the vice president, the sitting vice president leads the way at 22 percent. However, not sure, 64 percent that is very

interesting, and that shows that Vice President Vance has certainly not really won over a lot of the Republican base.

[09:25:00]

Not surprisingly, he's somewhat of a new figure in terms of how long he's been on the stage, but it shows that he will have some work to do to sort

of gain the trust and the appeal and the affinity of the MAGA base and Republicans overall here. So just a benchmark, look into that.

But Vice President Vance walking a very fine line here as he tries to thread the needle of keeping the support of the base without alienating

some others. But again, we are in 2025 that is a long time away.

GIOKOS: Yeah. I mean, really interesting. 64 percent not sure according to that latest poll. But I want to talk about this Turning Point conference,

and whether you know there is, you know, very clear division that is coming through, how it manifested at the specific conference.

ZELENY: Look, the Turning Point USA conference was having its first meeting in Phoenix over the weekend, the first meeting since Charlie Kirk was

assassinated.

GIOKOS: Yeah.

ZELENY: So of course, that hung heavy over the entire event. But there are differences in terms of the view of the party. Of course, the Charlie

Kirk's widow, has endorsed JD Vance, but that does not mean that all of the supporters there are on board with that. So, we saw the divisions.

My colleague, as Steve Contorno was there talking to many younger voters about these divisions, and they were quite clear, from Christian

nationalism, obviously, to the antisemitic strains really coursing through some sectors of the conservative movement here. It just shows that there is

a lot of work to do to coalesce around one individual person.

GIOKOS: Yeah.

ZELENY: But there will absolutely be a fight inside the GOP for the next primary. There's no doubt about it.

GIOKOS: All right, Jeff, thank you so much for your insights breaking that down for us. Jeff Zeleny, there in Washington. All right, we're going to a

short break, and when we come back, a burning question among traders, will we see the coveted Santa Claus Rally materialize as we head into the last

trading days of 2025.

We'll take a deeper look at today's market. That's coming up right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GIOKOS: Welcome back. You're watching, "Connect the World". These are your headlines. The Russian General has been killed in a car bombing in Moscow.

Investigators are looking into a motive and whether Ukraine could possibly have been behind the attack. The general ran Russia's Armed Forces

operational training department.

The U.S. is pursuing a third oil tanker linked to Venezuela, saying it also has ties to Iranian oil. It's part of the Trump Administration's crack down

on Venezuela's oil industry.

[09:30:00]

Two other ships were seized this month, the second one just on Saturday, and it sparked criticism for many, including Republicans. The U.S. Justice

Department is facing intense criticism over its latest release of files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Officials say the department erred on the side of quote over redaction to protect Epstein's victims. Critics accuse the DOJ of a cover up. Right,

we're a few seconds away from the start of trade in New York. All right. Markets have already opened. We just missed the opening bell.

But importantly, we had a mixed week last week. We had a bit of economic data, giving the market a little bit of an idea of the health of the U.S.

economy. And of course, we have a few days left until the end of the year, and these are the numbers right now. In early trade, DOW is up two tenths

of a percent.

NASDAQ, six tenths of a percent to the good. And S&P also half a percent higher, and a big focus on AI stocks, Nvidia and Oracle are the main

winners here. A big question about whether we're sitting in AI bubble, how long can it last? And the person who's going to answer these questions for

us, we've got Joe Brusuelas.

He's joining us now. He's the Chief Economist at RSM. Joe, really good to have you with us. You know, I mean, many people at this point in time are

looking to see what idea, you know, they're getting from the markets, specifically on the economic front, and the data that we saw last year --

last week.

We've got CPI out sitting at 2.7 percent, we have an idea on non-farm payrolls. And I wonder what you're reading into this and how that's going

to set us up for the new year?

JOE BRUSUELAS, CHIEF ECONOMIST AT RSM: Well, I think we need to look at financial markets and the economy is two separate realms.

GIOKOS: Yeah.

BRUSUELAS: What's going on in financial markets is we're setting up for the classic end of the year, what we call Santa Claus Rally in the United

States. But you can see what's going on in commodity markets is there's real concern over the geopolitical tensions, especially what's going on in

Venezuela or around Venezuela, real concerns about the quality, underlying quality of earnings in the tech sector.

And then some real concerns, I think, also about where the U.S. and global economies are going. That's driving sort of the risk assessment, or risk

averse view, which is driving gold and silver higher this morning. Now with respect to the economy, U.S. economy -- global economy.

GIOKOS: Yeah, really good point.

BRUSUELAS: Yeah, next year, you're going to see a really big expansionary fiscal policy out of the U.S., out of Germany and probably out of China.

And that's why many of us are somewhat bullish on both the economy and financial markets well into 2026.

GIOKOS: All right, you mentioned gold and silver, and I'm actually quite fascinated by what's happening there. It's really showing a bit of risk

aversion. You've got investors rebalancing their portfolios, you know, the end of the year, that's what normally happens.

But you mentioned something really important on the geopolitical front, and whether we are seeing sort of something very risky playing out between the

United States and Venezuela, how much of that risk has actually been priced in would you say?

BRUSUELAS: Probably not enough. I think when you take a look at what's going on in and around Venezuela, should the regime in Caracas collapse,

you're not just going to see problems in Venezuela. You're going to see problems in Colombia and Cuba. You'll see continuing issues in and around

oil markets.

And that's why you see that big move in gold and oil, and that those are those more risk averse investors taking a look at this and seeing, I don't

see a follow through. I don't see a plan, what happens after the event. And I think that there's good reason for that, given what's going on the last

20 years around oil markets and around U.S. intervention.

So, you should expect to see this continue. Even as markets, equity markets probably melt up.

GIOKOS: Yeah. I mean, heading into 2026 we should have a new Fed Chair. There's a big question around whether we're going to see deeper rate cuts.

We've got inflation out now sitting at 2.7 percent and with these geopolitical risks that are perhaps on the horizon.

What's your sense of what we will be seeing on the interest rate funds and, importantly, on the inflationary scenarios?

BRUSUELAS: OK, so we expect two rate cuts out of the fed next year.

GIOKOS: Yeah.

BRUSUELAS: Mostly having to do with the seating of a new chairman. Now there's room for at least one, I think, if you're looking where the fed is

now, but there's real concerns around the inflationary outlook. That inflation report we got last week was inherently flawed.

There's going to be a downward bias in inflation until at least April, given the way that they've set this up the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Investors clearly aren't buying that. And as an economist, that report just didn't pass the smell test.

[09:35:00]

My sense is we don't have inflation at 2.7 percent it's at 3 percent or higher. So, we're going to be setting up some real tensions in and around

fed rate policy, inflation and the direction of interest rates.

GIOKOS: All right. Well, Joe, I wish you a very Happy Santa Claus Rally towards the end of this week. Hopefully it materializes. It always does, no

matter what I think since 1950. Is that correct?

BRUSUELAS: That's correct.

GIOKOS: -- go up.

BRUSUELAS: They always do --

GIOKOS: Yeah, OK. Well, thank you so much for joining us. Much appreciated. All right, I want to quickly check in on the gold price, because it did hit

a record high today. And in fact, it's really showing us quite a bit of risk aversion that is getting into the market. People are buying gold.

It's up 1.5 percent if you're a hold of gold. Well, good for you. Is it $4,452 a fine ounce. All right, we're going to a short break. I'll be back

straight after this. Stay with CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GIOKOS: Reindeer are dying in Finland, and many people there are blaming Russian President Vladimir Putin. CNN's Isobel Yeung reports on an

unexpected consequence of war.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ISOBEL YEUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Russia's war in Ukraine is having far reaching and surprising impact. Even hundreds of miles away here

in Finland. Every year, hundreds of thousands of tourists from all over the world flock here to the Arctic Circle.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have a feeling that you can be seen --

YEUNG (voice-over): Finnish legend has it that this is the home of Santa Claus. The iconic reindeer are at the heart of Finland's culture and

economy. But Finland's reindeer are in trouble. Thousands are showing up dead, and you might be surprised to know who people here blame Russian

President Vladimir Putin.

Russia's border with Finland stretches over 800 miles, the longest of any NATO country. Juha Kujala lives just a few miles away. His family have been

wrangling reindeer for over 400 years. He now sells reindeer everything from reindeer yoga to sleigh rides.

YEUNG: Oh, poor reindeer. What is it that's killing the reindeer?

JUHA KUJALA, REINDEER HERDER: Wolf is the worst. They just kill, kill, kill, kill.

[09:40:00]

It's awful. This area, wolves. Most of them come for the east, the Russian side.

YEUNG: How do you know that?

KUJALA: You see the tracks they come for the Russian side.

YEUNG: Why do you think there are more Russian wolves?

KUJALA: That's the Putin who changed the world.

YEUNG: Putin?

KUJALA: Yeah, the soldiers and the young hunters, they hunt the wolves, but now they're hunting people in Ukraine, there's nobody anymore there left.

Who's hunting wolves?

YEUNG: So, do you blame Vladimir Putin for these dead reindeer?

KUJALA: Who could I blame? I could blame the whole world. Why this shit happened? It's getting worse after the Ukraine war.

YEUNG (voice-over): In an effort to control the thriving wolf population. Russian men have long been paid bounties by the state for every wolf they

hunt. The experts who track the Russian military tell us that recruitment drives into the war in Ukraine have been intense, leaving fewer people to

hunt the wolves.

Now, reports in Russian media say wolves are increasingly entering villages and towns, and it seems they're crossing the border. Extensive wolf DNA

testing supports that theory. In Finland, there's been a dramatic rise in wolves, which are killing reindeer in record numbers.

Sightings like these are increasingly common all along Eastern Finland. That's something that will be difficult to stop. As tensions along this

over 800-mile border are at their highest point in decades.

YEUNG: So right now, we are with some Finnish conscripts in the northernmost part of the European Union.

YEUNG (voice-over): Finland has increased defense spending and is carrying out large scale military training.

YEUNG: Finland seems like a very optimistic but also very prepared country.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's smart to prepare.

YEUNG (voice-over): As Finland preps for the worst. Kujala is hoping for the best.

KUJALA: Hopefully, Mr. Trump, if you hear me, do everything to try to stop this war, if we cannot fix this wolf situation quickly. Some part of the

area going to be without reindeers.

YEUNG: And what would that mean to you?

KUJALA: Like somebody took my life away.

YEUNG (voice-over): Isobel Yeung, CNN, in Northern Finland.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GIOKOS: All right, so now attention to all the children out there, particularly my daughter Cleo, who I know is watching. We are getting

multiple reports of a Santa sighting under water. Take a look at this. This diver in Croatia donned a Santa suit and a beard to place a Christmas tree

at the bottom of a popular lake near Zagreb.

It's actually a holiday tradition for their diving club. And they've been doing it for 10 years. So, Santa is getting ready, just quick dive before

Christmas Day. All right, so "World Sports" is up next. I'll be back in 15 minutes with more news. Stick with CNN.

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