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The Brief with Jim Sciutto
House Democrats Release More Epstein Photos; U.S. Sanctions More Venezuelan Shipping Companies, Vessels; Zelenskyy Visits Front Lines; E.U. Indefinitely Freezes Russian Assets; Peace Prize Winner's Escape From Venezuela; FIFA Fans' Anger Over World Cup Ticket Prices. Aired 6-7p ET
Aired December 12, 2025 - 18:00 ET
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[18:00:00]
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR, "THE BRIEF": Hello, and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Jim Sciutto in Washington, and
you're watching "The Brief."
Just ahead this hour, in just the last hour, House Democrats reveal more photos of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. We're going to hear from
one of the lawmakers on the committee behind that release. Then, new details on the incredible escape of Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina
Machado from Venezuela, from one of the folks who helped her. And FIFA facing anger and amazement from football fans over ticket prices for next
year's World Cup. That story and much more coming up.
We begin with news in the Jeffrey Epstein investigation. Democrats on the House Oversight Committee have just released a new batch of photos from the
sex trafficker's state. Their second release of the day. You can see some of those 70 plus images here on the screen. Earlier, they released 19
images showing Epstein's interactions with some of the most powerful figures in the world. Familiar faces include not one, but two American
presidents. The current one, Donald Trump and former President Bill Clinton.
There are several more photos of Trump. One, a black and white photo where he poses with six women. Their faces are obscured for their privacy. Also
appearing in the photographs, former Trump adviser and White House strategist Steve Bannon, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, the billionaire
Richard Branson, as well as the Hollywood film director Woody Allen, and Harvard Law professor emeritus and longtime Trump supporter Alan
Dershowitz.
My colleagues Phil, my colleague Phil Mattingly spoke with an Epstein survivor a short time ago. And here was her reaction to all this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LIZ STEIN, JEFFREY EPSTEIN SURVIVOR: I think that this can be really difficult for us. And when we're seeing these photos, things that might
seem like they don't matter to the general public can really be meaningful to us. I was talking to a survivor earlier who said, to the rest of the
world, that just looks like a room. But to me, that's the phone that I picked up to call for help.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: We should note that none of the photos depict sexual misconduct or illegal behavior by these men or show them in the presence of underage
girls. We should note as well that there are more photos which have yet to be released.
The White House responded with a statement which read in part, quote, "Once again, House Democrats are selectively releasing cherry-picked photos with
random redactions to try and create a false narrative."
Joining me now with more, CNN's Annie Grayer. And I wonder, as you speak to Democratic lawmakers on the Hill, and we should note it's not just
Democrats who wanted these files released, of course, right? Republicans voted quite overwhelmingly for the release of the files. What do they say
these photos show?
ANNIE GRAYER, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: These photos, Jim, show just how many powerful men Epstein was involved with. And it really gives us a behind-
the-scenes look of what their relationship is. Now, a lot of the individuals who you named in these photos have been had to have known
connections with Epstein in the past. But these photos just give a more candid light to all of that.
Now, there's at least three photos in this batch of around 80 that the Democrats put out today that include President Trump. There's the photo
with the president, who was then a private citizen, and six women with their faces redacted. There's a photo with President Trump and Epstein
speaking to a woman. Her face is not redacted. And then there's a photo of the president with one woman. Her face is redacted. There's also a photo of
a novelty box of condoms that has a caricature of Trump's face on it, with a price tag of $4.50 and the caption, quote, "I'm huge." There's also a
pumpkin that is called a Trumpkin that has this tagline on it, Make America Great Again.
Now, the president is not the only powerful person who's featured in these photos. As you mentioned, there's former President Bill Clinton. There's
Bill Gates. There's Steve Bannon, Alan Dershowitz, Woody Allen. The list goes on.
[18:05:00]
And Democrats say that this is just part of a rolling basis of photos that they're going to be releasing. The committee has gotten over 95,000 images
that they are trying to sort through. And Republicans are critical of Democrats for going forward and releasing just a small batch of those today
before doing the due diligence of sorting through all of them.
They say that releasing just a small sample is creating a false narrative. But this is part of the larger investigation that the House Oversight
Committee is doing. In fact, they are trying to hold depositions with the Clintons next week, who have yet to sit for their closed-door interview.
We'll see if that interview happens. The committee is also trying to get bank records on Epstein's financial dealings. And we're all still waiting
for the Department of Justice to release their -- all of the Epstein files that have been mandated by Congress to release. They have until December
19th to release those files. And those days are counting.
SCIUTTO: Annie Grayer on the Hill, thanks so much. Well, joining us now is one of the members of the House Oversight Committee, Democratic Congressman
Stephen Lynch from Massachusetts. Congressman, thanks so much for taking the time this evening.
REP. STEPHEN LYNCH (D-MA), U.S. HOUSE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE AND U.S. HOUSE FINANCIAL SERVICES COMMITTEE: Thank you, Jim. Good to be with you.
SCIUTTO: So, you heard the White House reaction to this release. They say that Democrats on the committee are cherry-picking these photos here. Can
you explain to us how you chose the photos you released?
LYNCH: Sure, we got these photos -- this was a trove of photos, 95,000, that were received from the estate of Jeffrey Epstein. And what they did on
their own, the Epstein estate, is they organized these photos hierarchically, ostensibly the most -- the ones that they thought would be
the most helpful to the committee. So, they sent them over. The top batch were all pictures with various well-known individuals, including President
Trump, President Clinton, and other officials that are with the administration as well. After that, they also included those that depicted
what they thought were sexually explicit or more provocative or photos that would show some level of exploitation. So, those were in the two batches.
The ones later on -- and those are the ones that we focused on. We've only gone through about a third of the pictures. So, there's 95,000. We probably
got through 30,000 of them today. And all the pictures will come out. We're going to bring everything out into the public. So, we're not cherry-
picking. We're showing the ones that were provided to us first, that were thought to be most helpful.
SCIUTTO: OK. But tell me helpful how? Because you're not alleging that any of the photos released show evidence of illegal behavior. I mean, it
certainly shows association, not just between Trump and Epstein, but people close to Trump, President Bill Clinton, former President Clinton, as we see
there. So, what exactly are you contending these photos demonstrate?
LYNCH: The scope and the power that Epstein exerted, the connections that he had. As you mentioned earlier, there's a connection here financially
with a number of banks. So, we're going through records of how Epstein was allowed to, you know, be so successful in his financial practice. So,
there's information there that we'll need.
We think that by putting these pictures out there, there's also the inducement of people to come forward to provide testimony. In reviewing
these pictures, we're also trying to identify unknown people in these photos, unknown to us, to try to, you know, contact them and try to get
more information from them in order to get justice for these survivors, for the women who have been so dramatically affected here. So, we've got all
that.
Now, when you say there's no evidence of illegal contact, no, there are some very troubling photos that have not been released, that are not fit
for release. We've got to figure out who, but they certainly demonstrate sexual activity, sexual contact and suggest an exploitation of the young
women who are in those photos. So, those have not come out yet, because we want to figure out who's in those photos.
None of those photos indicate interaction between these underage women and the notable people that were released in the original batch. So, I want to
be clear about that.
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SCIUTTO: So, you're saying there are other photos that indicate -- just to be clear so our viewers understand I understand, you're saying there are
other photos not yet released that you've seen that show sexual activity possibly with underage women but not involving, to be clear, President
Trump, former President Bill Clinton, others that have been pictured with Epstein, to be clear.
LYNCH: We haven't accurately identified the people in those other photos. So, some of them it's -- you're not able to but there's definitely
something going on there of an exploitive nature, sexual nature, sexual contact. So, those photos have not been released.
Obviously, we'd like to protect the victims here and we'd like to be very, very certain about who's actually in the pictures. We don't want to suggest
anything that's inaccurate.
SCIUTTO: Let me ask you this, given that this is a rare bipartisan effort, right, because the vote was quite overwhelming Republicans and Democrats to
release these files, on the investigation of photos like you're describing here, now further investigation, are Democrats and Republicans working
together to identify who's in those photos and what specific kinds of behaviors and potential law-breaking activities involved?
LYNCH: At this point we do have some bipartisanship Democrat and Republican. At this at this point on these 95,000 photos, we're still going
through and categorizing them, what might be useful, what might be helpful to the committee in terms of bringing in other potential witnesses and
other people who were involved. So, we're at that that point.
So, far, so far, Jim, I would say we're getting some cooperation from some Republicans. We're getting far less from others, but it's a mixed bag.
SCIUTTO: Well, as you discover more, we'll welcome you back on the broadcast. Congressman Stephen Lynch, thanks so much for joining.
LYNCH: Thank you, Jim.
SCIUTTO: Well, another story we're following closely, the U.S. ramping up yet more pressure on Venezuela, announcing new sanctions on shipping
companies and vessels, which the administration says help move Venezuelan oil. It comes after the U.S. seized a sanctioned oil tanker which the
administration says was carrying millions of dollars' worth of oil off Venezuela's coast. Caracas says Washington has now suspended deportation
flights that were scheduled to land there today. A U.S. official says that's not true.
Stefano Pozzebon, he's in Caracas and he joins us now. The deportation flights, that's interesting because one could argue that's one space where
the two countries are if not working together, right? I mean. they're maintaining contact and the U.S. is deporting these people back to their
home country. What more details are you learning?
STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, exactly. It's crucial to point out that those deportation flights that have occurred with regularity frankly
over the last several months were the only area where there was direct communication, where there was a coordination between the government of the
authoritarian leader here in Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, and the White House indeed, because also, those flights were managed directly by ICE, the
government agency in charge of removing undocumented migrants from the United States.
But the fact that we are seeing that today those flights -- that flight did not take place and the Venezuelans saying that it was a unilateral decision
from Washington as a sign that the temperature is rising here around Nicolas Maduro in particular.
One other point for example is that we had not seen military people on the screen here in the Venezuelan television for the last few weeks perhaps as
Maduro wanted to portray the picture that he was ready to sit down and speak with Trump and try to mediate. Well, a couple of hours ago we did see
the defense minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez, who by the way is also accused by Washington of being a narcotraffickers with a bounty of $25 million on
his head, and this had him to say about the growing tensions on the Caribbean.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VLADIMIR PADRINO LOPEZ, VENEZUELAN DEFENSE MINISTER (through translator): Let's not fool ourselves around Venezuela. We've seen efforts to intimidate
us, sending United States armed aircraft close to our coasts. I, we, with great humility, we say don't fool yourselves. We're ready to defend this
country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
POZZEBON: We're ready to defend the country. Once again, a return to the type of rhetoric that we've seen in times of heightened confrontation.
[18:15:00]
And I think I want to point out to three areas that in three main issues that are happening in the standoff between Washington and Caracas. There
is, of course, the deportation flight and if those flights were indeed stopped because of a decision from Washington, that is the number one issue
for the Trump administration. If those have been have been stopped it's because something is really happening in the same place. Jim.
SCIUTTO: Stefano Pozzebon, thanks so much for following. For more reaction now to U.S. pressure on Venezuela, joining me representative Adam Smith,
Democratic leader on the House Armed Services Committee. Congressman, thanks so much for taking the time.
REP. ADAM SMITH (D-WA), DEMOCRATIC LEADER, U.S. HOUSE ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE: Well, thanks for having me Jim, it's good to see you.
SCIUTTO: So, we're now seeing a mix of tactics here. You've got the military buildup, you have these deadly strikes on drug boats and alleged
drug boats. You had the seizure of an oil tanker, now you have these sanctions. Is it clear to you, or is it clear to the American people, what
the ultimate goal is of the Trump administration here? Is it war?
SMITH: Yes, it's not clear at this point. You've heard a lot about the desire to stop the very real problem that we have in the U.S. with drug
abuse. But blowing up a few boats with cocaine on them in the Caribbean doesn't seem terribly connected to that, and then of course you have Trump
pardoning, you know, the convicted drug dealer, former president of Honduras, that seems inconsistent.
What is clear is that President Trump wants to assert U.S. dominance in Latin America. We saw this in the national security strategy that the White
House released last week. And that's troubling, that that should not be our policy. And it's also clear that he wants to force Maduro out of power.
He's also mentioned he's not fond of President Petro in Colombia.
So, the U.S. getting involved in potential regime change operations in Latin America is deeply troubling. Because if we learned anything from the
last 25 years, it should be that regime change is a dangerous path to go down, and the U.S. should be out of the regime change business.
SCIUTTO: Yes. I wonder, do you believe or have any sense of how far Donald Trump is willing to go, right? Because Admiral James Stavridis made the
point on our broadcast yesterday that this is the biggest buildup of military power in the Caribbean since the Cuban Missile Crisis, right, when
the U.S. and Soviet Union nearly went to nuclear war.
Do you believe that this is buildup for actual military action, perhaps even on the ground in Venezuela, or more of a bluff?
SMITH: We don't know. I mean, I think it's absolutely clear President Trump wants to flex, basically. He wants to show the power and strength of the
U.S. Where he takes that, I don't know. I mean, I remember a quote about President Trump from the first term that someone once said, when you don't
know where you're going, you're always on the right path, as one would describe President Trump. And he tends to bluster forward and see where it
goes.
And in this case, it's really dangerous. I mean, we're actually killing people in the Caribbean, in the Pacific Ocean, in international waters. We
are putting a ton of pressure on different governments, all without congressional authority, by the way. This is a massive expansion of the use
of the U.S. military without any congressional authority.
And it seems to be the polar opposite of what President Trump ran on. Remember, he was going to get us out of forever wars. He was going to stop
international interdictions and focus more on issues closer to home. So, not knowing where he's going and seeing the belligerence of what he has
done to date, it's an alarming combination.
SCIUTTO: You and others on the Hill still have questions about that double- tap strike, but Republicans, including Republicans who initially were at least uncomfortable and some quite critical of that double-tap strike, seem
to be satisfied now with what they've seen. If Republicans are no longer on board for an investigation, can you properly investigate that in the U.S.
decision-making going forward?
SMITH: Well, it's more mixed than that. And the answer to your question is no. I mean, we can do it. We're going to keep pushing from our side and the
Democratic side, but it's a lot harder if you don't have the majority.
Now, Republicans have been mixed on that. I mean, Mike Rogers, chairman of the committee, said this morning that he wants to hear from the lawyer who
gave the legal opinion on that double-tap strike. And that seems like he still wants to pursue the investigation.
So, I'm going to keep pulling at those cracks to try to get the full and complete investigation that we need. Because what's on that video,
Republicans are not describing it accurately. Number one, this should be released publicly. I should stop having to defend this. Let's release it to
the public, and then we can see who's right. By the way, I'm very confident that we're right. I know what I saw. We know what we saw. Republicans are
deflecting from that.
But second, what is the legal authority here? I mean, Admiral Bradley says that basically the military now has the authority to kill anybody
affiliated with any one of 24 different narco-terrorist groups. To kill those individuals, even if they have drugs. A massive expansion of the
power of this president and the U.S. military to kill people. We shouldn't be doing that so lightly and so frivolously.
[18:20:00]
SCIUTTO: Yes. Final question before we go, if we can, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse made the point on this broadcast earlier in this week, OK, I see
the argument for seizing Venezuelan oil tankers, trafficking illegally in oil against sanctions, et cetera, why isn't this administration doing the
same to Russian shadow fleet tankers doing quite the same thing, funding the ongoing war in Ukraine? Do you understand that contradiction, one could
call it?
SMITH: Well, I mean, I think you understand that contradiction from something we talked about a moment ago, which is President Trump's
worldview. It's not so much about, you know, who's illegally shipping oil from Iran or Russia, it's about his desire to assert U.S. dominance in the
Western Hemisphere in a very 19th century way.
And by the way, that 19th century approach led to a whole series of world wars culminating in World War II, which killed nearly 70 million people and
almost, you know, basically wiped out the planet. That's not a good policy approach. We should stick with the rules-based international order and
respect for sovereignty.
SCIUTTO: Congressman Adam Smith, appreciate you joining.
SMITH: Thanks, Jim.
SCIUTTO: Coming up, a real rough week for tech investors, A.I. stocks tumbling once again. Not even solid earnings could stop that sell off.
We're going to discuss.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCIUTTO: In today's Business Breakout, a rough way to end the week on Wall Street. All the major averages finished in the red with the Dow and S&P
falling from their record highs. The NASDAQ dropped more than one and a half percent on what continued fears of an A.I. bubble. A.I. chipmaker
Broadcom was one of the hardest hit tech stocks down more than 11 percent, as you see there, despite even posting strong earnings. It's warning of
weaker profit margins ahead, though.
Oracle, whose earnings report on Wednesday rekindled A.I. bubble concerns, fell another four and a half percent. Meantime, power developer Fermi lost
more than a quarter of its value. The company, whose goal is to power A.I. data centers, says it lost a major client.
Joining me now, Paul La Monica, senior markets writer for Barron's magazine. Paul, I mean, it's a combination of warning signs, right, because
it's not just the chipmaker, but also and you and I have talked about this, how much money is being dumped into these data centers. I mean, for one of
those big data center manufacturers to lose a quarter of their value. I mean, are we seeing the beginnings of the bubble bursting or just perhaps a
correction here?
[18:25:00]
PAUL R. LA MONICA, SENIOR MARKETS WRITER, BARRON'S MAGAZINE: I think it's probably more of the latter, Jim, but I mean, are we seeing the beginnings
of the bubble bursting or just perhaps a correction here? I think it's probably more of the latter, Jim, but make no mistake, there had been such
an insane run up in many of these stocks. I mean, Broadcom, take a look at them getting hit today.
Before today's collapse, the stock was up about 75 percent year to date. So, it's not exactly a surprise for them to get hit because they were
priced for perfection. Everyone was really expecting much better results and better profit margins than they delivered.
But then you have broader concerns. You look at Oracle on the software side, and this is a company that is spending very aggressively to build its
A.I. capabilities. And it's financing that with debt, which is raising a lot of concerns and worry about whether or not a company like Oracle really
should be going into hock, if you will, to spend on A.I. when the returns on investment aren't necessarily guaranteed just yet.
SCIUTTO: Yes, it's a big case. So, much of this is debt finance. Of course, the banks are on the hook for those for those loans. So, President Trump
signed an executive order this week blocking states from regulating AI. Of course, you know that celebrated by A.I. companies. They like to have their
freedom. They don't like to be regulated.
But I wonder how the market views that. You know, is that really a good thing for the industry? Does the market, to some degree, want some
oversight and regulation?
LA MONICA: I think the market would welcome some oversight. Obviously, not so much that is crippling. You remember in 2008, after the great financial
crisis, when so many banks got into trouble, the knee-jerk reaction was to regulate them so heavily that many banks cut back on lending and profit
margins really diminished there.
So, there is that fine line. You want to have companies doing business in a free market, what is capitalism, but not having it be so much of a wild,
wild West atmosphere that they're getting away with proverbial murder. And then that's very difficult because that's when companies get into trouble
and they spend too aggressively. They take on debt and they make reckless business decisions that become problematic down the road.
SCIUTTO: Yes, no question. Paul La Monica, we'll keep talking. Thanks so much. Checking some of today's other business headlines, President Trump
appears to have narrowed his search for the next Fed chair, narrowing it down to two candidates. Trump has told The Wall Street Journal he's leaning
toward former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh or the National Economic Council director, Kevin Hassett.
Trump stressed once again that the new Fed chair must consult with him on rate policy. It's actually not how the Fed was designed. He says he wants
rates at one percent or lower this time next year. That's a big drop from the current levels of more than three percent in the midst, we should note,
of ongoing inflation.
Shares of publicly traded cannabis stocks rallied Friday and reports the Trump administration will soon reclassify cannabis as a less dangerous
drug. The Washington Post says the move would reduce federal oversight of cannabis, ease criminal penalties and encourage investment in the industry.
It will also allow banks to lend to the sector. The White House says President Trump has not made a final decision, though, on the issue.
Lululemon shares rallied on Friday after the company announced the departure of its CEO, Lululemon's apparel sales have been struggling. The
company has lost market share to upstart brands and reports say the company's founder is frustrated with the direction of the firm. Lululemon
says it has begun the search for a new CEO.
Just ahead, the Venezuelan opposition leader, Maria Carina Machado, celebrates her Nobel Prize win in Norway. I'm going to speak to the man who
helped get her safely out of Venezuela, where she was in hiding. Our conversation after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:30:00]
SCIUTTO: Welcome back to "The Brief," I'm Jim Sciutto, and here are the international headlines we're watching today.
Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released new photographs of powerful figures in the orbit of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Some images include Donald Trump before he was president. You see one there. The White House has accused Democrats of cherry-picking photos to
try and create a false narrative. Another photo shows former President Bill Clinton alongside Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein. There are also
images of Bill Gates, Woody Allen, Richard Branson, and former Trump adviser, longtime supporter Steve Bannon.
Thailand's prime minister says a new ceasefire has not been reached with Cambodia. This, even though President Trump is claiming he got the two
countries to agree to end all shooting effective this evening. The Thai prime minister says the fighting is, in fact, ongoing.
In Washington State, the Sheriff's Office in King County used a drone to deliver a life jacket to a man trapped on top of his car as the floodwaters
rose around him. They say it's the first-time drone pilots have ever delivered a life jacket to a person. More heavy rain, sadly, is predicted
in the area next week.
A source at Ukraine's security service says it attacked two Russian oil platforms with long-range drones on Friday, its latest move to disrupt
Russia's oil and gas output. This comes as President Zelenskyy visited a front-line town in Kharkiv, parts of which, it says, Ukrainian forces have
taken back. Russia, you'll remember, claimed to have taken this town. He praised Ukraine's soldiers, said the results on the battlefield mean
results at the negotiating table. European leaders are set to discuss the peace process over the weekend, this after Ukraine submitted its latest
proposal to the U.S.
Elsewhere, Ukraine's Navy says three Turkish-owned ships were damaged in a Russian attack on ports near Odessa. A Turkish shipping company confirmed
earlier that a cargo ship carrying food had been hit. CNN has reached out to the Turkish Foreign Ministry for comment.
And this is big news. The European Union has frozen all Russian assets in Europe for good before European rules required them to be re-frozen every
six months, but today the E.U. used a special procedure to freeze them immediately. This is a first step before then using some of those assets to
underwrite a massive loan to Ukraine to begin rebuilding from Russia's ongoing invasion.
We should note that not all of Europe is on board. Two big dissenters, Hungary and Slovakia, which are often pro-Russian, and that's one reason
why the E.U. used this method today to push this through under emergency powers.
There has been another day of rain in Gaza, worsening the humanitarian crisis for civilians, many of whom still live in tents and temporary
structures. These images give us a glimpse of what they're facing.
[18:35:00]
In Khan Younis, one mother told CNN her eight-month-old baby died earlier this week from hypothermia. An aid group says many people are living below
street level, causing rainwater to collect inside their tents. Imagine the misery. It's a situation made worse by sewage overflowing and getting into
those shelters.
Newly released video shows six Israeli hostages celebrating Hanukkah in a tunnel in Gaza months before they were then killed by Hamas. The video
would have been taken in December of 2023. It offers a vital clue about the life of hostages and what they faced during their captivity. Jeremy Diamond
has more.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From the depths of captivity, these six Israeli hostages celebrated the miracle of Hanukkah
and prayed for their own. But that miracle never came. The beautiful six, as they've come to be known, were executed by Hamas in August of 2024, as
Israeli troops closed in on their location.
These never-before-seen videos appear to have been filmed about eight months earlier, lighting candles on the first and second nights of Hanukkah
using a makeshift menorah made of paper cups.
With the help of miracles associated with this holiday, may we go home in a big miracle, and may we return to normal, happy, and good lives. And may we
always be happy, all of us, says hostage Almog Sarusi. Amen.
The videos were filmed by Hamas and later obtained by the Israeli military. Now, their families say they want the world to see them. Hamas filmed these
videos as propaganda, but the humanity of the beautiful six shines through this footage.
The footage released by the Hostage and Missing Families Forum offers a new, albeit partially staged, glimpse into their captivity. Playing cards,
cutting each other's hair, and in this clip, pressing their captors for medical attention.
He needs treatment, hostage Carmel Gat tells a guard. Professional.
American-Israeli hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, whose left hand was blown off by a Hamas grenade, is seen repeatedly, often trying to reassure his
family.
We're here healthy and alive, we are being taken care of, we are all right, and we want to return home.
HERSH GOLDBERG-POLINL, ISRAELI HOSTAGE KILLED BY HAMAS: Happy New Year to everyone in my family.
DIAMOND (voice-over): Hersh would not live to see another year. He was killed the next August.
Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Tel Aviv.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:40:00]
SCIUTTO: Welcome back. We're learning more about a dangerous operation to get Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado safely out of Venezuela,
where she was in hiding, and her way all the way to Oslo in Norway. The operation reportedly involved a boat, secret rendezvous, even disguises.
The Venezuelan opposition leader has been in hiding following last year's disputed election.
Machado didn't just receive the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, she also got to see her children for the first time in more than a year. Machado has
promised she will return to Venezuela.
Joining me now is Bryan Stern, he's the chair and founder of Grey Bull Rescue, involved in this operation, and he joins me now. Thanks so much for
taking the time.
BRYAN STERN, CHAIRMAN AND FOUNDER, GREY BULL RESCUE: Thanks for having us, appreciate it.
SCIUTTO: So, without revealing what I understand include sensitive methods, can you give us some sense of how this escape was managed?
STERN: This escape, this extraction and escape was extremely high threat. Maria is the most famous person in the Western Hemisphere after Nicolas
Maduro. So, she's a household name. And because of her profile and her signature, every aspect of this operation, from the beginning to the end,
was complicated by her signature.
We've done Grey Bull Rescue, my team and I, we've done over 800 missions. This is our 800th mission. We've rescued over 8,400 people, but this is the
first person that has a Wikipedia page. So, while we've done hostages and victims of war crimes and jailbreaks and kidnappings and all kinds of
stuff, Maria is a household name and that made it all the more special but also the most difficult as well.
SCIUTTO: I mean, listen, it raises the question, can she get back? Because, I mean, it's one thing to carry off a difficult and dangerous operation
once, but can you do it again to fulfill her wish to go home, in effect, to Venezuela?
STERN: You know, Maria is known as the Iron Lady and she absolutely lives up to that name. She is a very, very, very resolute and tough -- just tough
leader and tough woman. When we were on the boat together, we talked about this and I begged her not to go back.
I've been a fan of Maria for years. I've been on her Twitter for many years. She's a real hero and icon of mine and to put her back in harm's
way, where she may be arrested, killed, tortured, who knows what, I would really prefer -- I would really not want to do that.
But she -- like us, she's a leader and she wants to be there for her people and I get that and I understand that but as someone who respects her, I
would beg her not to go, is what I would say.
SCIUTTO: You said you've done hundreds of extractions, rescues, et cetera, how did this one compare to others you've done in the past?
STERN: The mechanics of the operation were -- none of these things are ever standard, but we've done maritime extractions before, we've done denied
area stuff before, we worked behind enemy lines in Russian-occupied Ukraine, we worked in Israel, we worked in Gaza, in Afghanistan and all
these places. So, doing boats, doing planes, doing ground movements with high threat, we do this stuff as a matter of course at Grey Bull Rescue.
However, because of her face, because of her signature, because the entire Venezuelan Intelligence Service, the entire Cuban Intelligence Service,
parts of the Russian Intelligence Service, we're all looking for her for months and specifically this week in particular, because of the Nobel
Prize, made this operation significantly more high-risk than we've ever done before. Overwhelmingly, this is the hardest, most high-profile, most
delicate operation we've conducted.
SCIUTTO: Wow. I mean, I have to imagine if I'm a Cuban intelligence officer or Russian or Venezuelan intelligence officer right now, who'd been trying
to track her, I'm feeling like I -- you know, I got duped here.
STERN: I'm sure that's how they feel, and I'm sure that I'm happy about that's how they feel. You know, we fight these enemies. We're a veteran-led
non-profit. We're a bunch of just patriots that do the right thing. We're not political. I don't care about political nonsense. We do the right thing
for the right people.
And Maria Carina Machado, her values and how she thinks and how she fights for her people are completely aligned with our values and why we fight for
our people. It's not because she's political. She just happens to be a leader. I wouldn't even call her a politician. She's really just a leader.
[18:45:00]
Yes, she won the election and all those things, but she's really a patriot for her people who wants fairness, who wants equality, who wants freedom,
who wants democracy. And she's been a hero of mine, as I say, for a very long time. When I -- it was the privilege and honor of my career to be able
to rescue a hero, someone who I know, who I feel like I know, and to share a very arduous journey with her through very dangerous waters and very
dangerous circumstances is an experience that I can't believe actually happened. I just can't believe it.
SCIUTTO: Well, Bryan Stern, we appreciate the work you do. Thanks so much for joining, and I imagine you're someone who's good to have on their speed
dial if you end up in a situation like this.
STERN: Greybullrescue.org is our website. You can see us on social media. That's how people help us out. We're donor-funded. So, if you want to help,
please click the donate button. It really goes a long way. That allows us to do these kinds of operations that really change the world in this case,
really change the world for sure.
SCIUTTO: Bryan Stern, thanks so much. Just ahead, FIFA is under fire. Fans outraged due to sky high ticket prices for the World Cup, while the FIFA
president faces a new ethics complaint.
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SCIUTTO: Well, FIFA, the world governing football body, is dealing with more than one fire right now. The first one involves its inaugural peace
prize given to none other than President Donald Trump. An advocacy group has filed an official complaint with FIFA's ethics committee, accusing the
body and its president, Gianni Infantino, of failing to follow its rules on impartiality. The non-profit Fair Square is also pointing to how Infantino
had publicly lobbied for President Trump himself to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.
Then, there's outrage and astonishment from fans around the world over ticket prices for next year's World Cup. Fan advocacy group Football
Supporters Europe says loyal supporters are being priced out of the tournament as a result, which of course is going to be hosted here in North
America by the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.
Here are those prices for England supporters. Cheapest ticket for a round of 16 knockout game, nearly $300, rises to $680 for a quarterfinal,
semifinal, the tickets start at close to $1,000, and the final, $4,000. More than that.
Patrick Snell joins me now. I mean, listen, sports tickets are already nuts, right? And then you add in hot dogs and whatever else you buy there.
But I mean, this is off the charts. How does it compare with past World Cups?
PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Definitely up. Definitely up, no question about that. Certainly, compared to 2022, Jim, when the tournament was
played, the last men's World Cup in Qatar. And bear in mind, those prices are for minimum pricing as well.
[18:50:00]
But, you know, we had so much excitement last Friday around the World Cup draw. We're now about half a year out to next year's tournament. The time
of year when fans are excitedly deciding how they're going to travel and weighing everything up, all the costs, looking to book their trips. And
now, we're learning -- and now, we are learning about the very high cost of next year's tournament here in North America.
Football supporters Europe has called the pricing of tickets a monumental betrayal of fans, describing them as extortionate. Tickets to the games are
as much as seven times more expensive than that 2022 tournament I mentioned, where the lowest price for a ticket was around the $600 mark.
It's emerged the cheapest tickets for the final itself in New Jersey next year will cost more than $4,000. That's a lot of money for the cheapest
ticket. And there are no concessions either across any of its tickets for children or other groups as well.
And in a change from previous tournaments, group stage games are priced based on the perceived popularity of the teams involved rather than a flat
rate. So, for example, we saw the screen there on England pricing their game, the three lines against Croatia. There's more for that one because
it's a high-profile fixture than, say, for England's match against Panama. We have reached out to FIFA for comments separately. The association saying
it did receive 5 million requests for World Cup tickets on Friday in the first 24 hours of its latest sales phase.
Meantime, earlier on Friday, the Football Supporters Association's England fans' embassy saying these prices are a slap in the face to supporters who
support their team outside of the flagship tournament that appears every four years. A game for supporters. Loyalty thrown out the window and
supporters of the participating nations have been completely let down. Let's hear now from some fans from over here in the U.S.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think they're pretty insane, honestly. You know, I've been a long-time soccer fan, been watching since I was a kid. I remember
watching the World Cup back in 2010, 2014, and I was pretty excited to watch this year and go to some of these games, but, you know, even though I
have adult money, I can't really afford some of these tickets, which is just insane for the everyday fans.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: These ticket prices, I just think it's so ridiculous. It's just too hard.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's disappointing, especially for fans who might be really, you know, interested in the game itself, but, you know, maybe not
in a financial position to, you know, swing that kind of price.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A couple hundred maybe. A couple thousand, absolutely not.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SNELL: And anyway, look, Jim, concern here is that loyal fans are just being priced out of it. Fans who've been following the national team for
years, maybe who've been saving for years as well, priced out of the tournament.
And as you mentioned off the top, Jim, it's not just the ticket prices. Fans have to factor in travel expenses, overseas expenses, overseas
flights, accommodation as well at the height of the North American summer. There is a lot of expense involved in following your country at a World
Cup.
SCIUTTO: Yes. I mean, listen, if you're making the final ticket, it's more than $4,000. That is a straight-up luxury event, right? There are no normal
people who can afford that, plus, as you say, flights and hotel, et cetera. It's -- yes. I mean --
SNELL: Food, drink, all of it. Yes.
SCIUTTO: They'll get the crowd they want then. Patrick Snell, thanks so much.
In tonight's Good Brief, Britain's King Charles has provided a rare but positive, thankfully, update on his cancer treatment. The king says his
treatment, doctors will reduce it in the new year. He made the announcement during a stand-up to cancer broadcast on Britain's Channel 4.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KING CHARLES: Indeed, today I am able to share with you the good news that thanks to early diagnosis, effective intervention, and adherence to
doctors' orders, my own schedule of cancer treatment can be reduced in the new year. This milestone is both a personal blessing and a testimony to the
remarkable advances that have been made in cancer care in recent years. Testimony that I hope may give encouragement to the 50 percent of us who
will be diagnosed with the illness at some point in our lives.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: Thankfully, the king looking healthy there. The king also spoke about the importance of early screening and thanked those involved in the
care of cancer patients. Charles was diagnosed with cancer back in early 2024. Buckingham Palace has not revealed what type of cancer the king is
receiving treatment for but says he has responded well.
Finally, the first two episodes of Taylor Swift's new six-part documentary are out now, pulling back the curtain on the final days of her incredible
eras tour. In the End of an Era, which was released on Disney+, the superstar shares candid backstage moments from the highs to the lows. It
also shows the enormous effort needed to stage that tour. It also touches on multiple security threats during her stops around Europe.
[18:55:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TAYLOR SWIFT, 14-TIME GRAMMY WINNING ARTIST: We've done like 128 shows so far, but this is the first one where I feel like I don't know, like I'm
like skating on thin ice or something. We just had this We've had a series of very violent, scary things happen to the tour, like we dodged like a
massacre situation. And so, I've just been kind of all over the place.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: Yes. Understandably so. Also, out today a concert film of the tour's final performance. Before we go, a skydiving excursion in Australia
did not go as planned. As one person, you'll see her jumped out of the plane. The handle on their reserve parachute got caught on the wing flap,
causing it to deploy. Of course, they're stuck on the wing there in the midst of this as they're flying thousands of feet above the ground wrapped
around the tail of the plane at 15,000 feet. That person happened to have a knife so was able to cut those lines and get to the ground safely. I mean,
that's a pretty remarkable self-rescue there.
Thanks so much for joining us today. I'm Jim Sciutto in Washington. Hope you have a great weekend. You've been watching "The Brief." Please do stay
with CNN.
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