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The Story Is with Elex Michaelson

Heavy Rains Causing Life-Threatening Floods In California; Justice Department Finds More Than A Million More Documents; Pope Leo's First Christmas As Leader Of World's Catholics; Zelenskyy Signals Willingness To Compromise In Donbas; A Look Inside Norway's Official Post Office For Santa; Aired 12-12:30a ET

Aired December 25, 2025 - 00:00   ET

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

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KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to "The Story is." I'm Kim Brunhuber in for Elex Michaelson.

Tonight, the top story is in California. The latest in a series of powerful storms is lashing California with high winds and heavy rains, producing life-threatening flooding. At least two deaths have been reported. Southern California is being hit especially hard with more than seven million people under a rare high-risk flooding threat.

Officials warn that a, quote, dangerous scenario is unfolding in the region. Governor Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency in at least six counties, including Los Angeles County, to activate emergency resources. Firefighters report an uptick of swift water rescue calls in some areas.

Now, the video that you're seeing now shows crews in Ventura County rescuing a hiker stranded by the flooding. The National Weather Service warns the severe weather will continue through Thursday.

Adam VanGerpen joins me now. He's a fire captain and public information officer with the Los Angeles City Fire Department. Thank you so much for being here with us. Really appreciate it at this hour.

Yours is one of several counties in a state of emergency. What's your biggest concern right now?

ADAM VANGERPEN, LOS ANGELES CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT: Right now, our biggest concern is people just trying to stay off the roads. We are still concerned with our burn scar areas, our mountain communities. And right now, we also in the Tujunga area. We just recently issued mandatory evacuation orders for a road that's been washed out there.

And just a few hours ago, we had to do a -- a swift water rescue with our -- we had an L.A. River rescue with our helicopter, had to hoist somebody and take them to safety.

BRUNHUBER: VANGERPE: Yes. We're just seeing some of the pictures of all the water on the streets and everything. You were talking about those water rescues, people getting trapped in drainage tunnels. You -- you mentioned your department pulling someone out of a tunnel near the L.A. River.

I mean, can you walk us through what those kinds of rescues look like when the -- the -- the water is just moving so fast as we can see there?

VANGERPEN: Yes. So when we get those kind of rescues, what we do is we try to find the last known location of the person that went into the water. We then start to deploy our swift water resources and numerous firefighters deployed to the last known location.

And then we -- based on the speed of the river, we deployed downriver. We also utilize our air resources, our helicopters. So we have a large number of firefighters and we had three L.A. River rescues today. And we had -- we're able to locate and -- and rescue one patient.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. You mentioned the burn scars. I mean, you were on the ground during the -- the palisades and eaten fires back in January. I mean, now almost a year later, those same burn scars are getting hit with this -- this massive atmospheric river, which, you know, is just -- just washing everything down those -- those hills.

What's it like for your crews responding to the calls in -- in those same areas now?

VANGERPEN: Well, our -- our crews, this is all-hands-on-deck. So our firefighters, we've been pre-deployed. You mentioned earlier that the -- the governor and the Office of Emergency Services had given us funding for five additional engines that have off-road capabilities.

So we have all-hands-on-deck. We have -- our firefighters were recalled today. Every position has been staffed. We're utilizing our brush patrols to patrol the mountain areas, the burn scar area.

So, yes, this has been a very long hard year for our firefighters, but we're -- we're -- we're remaining vigilant and patrolling and looking for any hazards.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. As always, in these types of situations, some people in the evacuation warning zones are choosing to stay put.

I mean, I used to hear that all the time, especially in -- in L.A. covering fires. You must hear that all the time. People saying, you know, oh, we know our neighborhoods. We'll be fine. I mean, what would you say to those folks right now?

VANGERPEN: Well, we try to tell people whether it's a wildland fire, mud debris flow, or just anything like this. We tell people, if you get an evacuation order, that you should heed that order, evacuate immediately.

Especially these hillside communities, if we have a significant mud or debris flow, as the firefighters are trying to come up to rescue people, they may not have the time to evacuate and get down out of those mountain areas.

So we tell people when they get that evacuation order that they need to leave immediately.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, such an important warning for folks to hear.

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We've got another wave of the storm coming Christmas Day today for us, still a couple of hours away for you. What -- what's your biggest worry there?

VANGERPEN: Well, right now, we're having a little bit of a lull, but even as the rain started to subside a little bit, we still had to go out and perform a rescue.

So we know that it's a holiday season. We know people are going to be traveling to go see their family. So we want people to leave lots of extra time. Take alternate routes if you can avoid the mountain areas, the hillside areas.

Just leave yourself lots of time, slow down, and use every precaution that's available to you.

Never a good time for something like this to happen, but certainly folks being affected on Christmas, not just -- just victims, but -- but firefighters like yourself, so many people who have to deploy during Christmas. We certainly wish you all the best there.

Captain Adam VanGerpen, thank you so much. Really appreciate it.

VANGERPEN: Thank you.

BRUNHUBER: Well, a candidate backed by Donald Trump has won the presidency in Honduras. Nasry Asfura is a right-wing businessman and former mayor of the country's capital. He's also a member of the same party as former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernandez who was recently pardoned by Trump in his drug trafficking conviction.

Election officials say Asfura defeated Salvador Nasralla by about three quarters of a percentage point.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio congratulated Asfura on X saying, the U.S. looks forward to working together to, quote, advance prosperity and security in our hemisphere.

The U.S. Justice Department of Justice says, the release of files in the Jeffrey Epstein case is about to grow substantially. It's uncovered more than a million additional documents, which it's reviewing now and expects to release in a few weeks.

CNN's Marshall Cohen has details.

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MARSHALL COHEN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Well, you could call it a Christmas Eve bombshell. The Justice Department announced Wednesday that there are potentially one million new additional documents related to Jeffrey Epstein that need to be processed and will be released.

That announcement came as we were all expecting more materials to come out, but perhaps not quite such a massive volume of material still out there.

The Justice Department in a post to X, formerly called Twitter, said the following, quote, "We have lawyers working around the clock to review and make the legally required redactions to protect victims. And we will release the documents as soon as possible."

They went on to say, "Due to the mass volume of material, this process may take a few more weeks."

Pleading for some patients, which it has been difficult to come by in the past week. A bipartisan array of outrage from Capitol Hill in the last few days about the heavy handed redactions, the various documents that still haven't been released.

And we saw a flurry of responses to this tweet on Wednesday afternoon. House Democrats said that they believe this was an outrageous admission from the DOJ.

Now, the Justice Department said that these new materials came from the Southern District of New York, which, of course, was responsible for the Jeffrey Epstein investigation that led to his federal sex trafficking indictment in 2019.

He never stood trial on those charges because he died by suicide that year. But it was that office, SDNY, that prosecuted Epstein's former girlfriend and longtime associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, and she was found guilty, convicted on sex trafficking charges by that office that were filed by that office in 2021.

So the big news here is, there's a lot more to come in what seems like a never-ending saga over the Epstein files.

Marshall Cohen, CNN, Washington.

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BRUNHUBER: President Trump took part in a longstanding holiday tradition on Christmas Eve, alongside the First Lady at Mar-a-Lago. The couple spoke to children whose calls to NORAD to track Santa were patched through to his Florida resort.

At one point, he told a child he made sure a bad Santa isn't infiltrating the U.S. and asked others what they were hoping for from Santa.

Well, known soon enough, the NORAD Santa Tracker has been keeping an eye on his path around the globe. You see him there. So far, he's delivered nearly six billion gifts.

And Pope Leo is marking his first Christmas since being chosen to lead the world's 1.4 billion Catholics.

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BRUNHUBER: His Christmas Eve sermon at the Vatican focused on the plight of the vulnerable, including immigrants, children, and those living in poverty.

And he quoted one of his predecessors, Pope Benedict. Here it is.

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POPE LEO XIV, HEAD OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH: While a distorted economy leads us to treat human beings as mere merchandise, God becomes like us, revealing the infinite dignity of every person. While man seeks to become God in order to dominate others, God chooses to become man in order to free us from every form of slavery.

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BRUNHUBER: And in the hours ahead, Pope Leo will deliver the famous Christmas Day Urbi et Orbi blessing to the world.

Here's CNN's Vatican correspondent, Christopher Lamb.

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CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Well, despite the rain and the cold weather, thousands gathered in St. Peter's Square to follow at midnight mass during what is Pope Leo's first Christmas since his election.

Leo came out to greet the crowd before the service got underway. The crowd gathered under umbrellas in the rain, and following the service on the big screen.

Leo saying that he admired them for coming out in the -- in this weather and thanked them for being there.

There's been a celebratory atmosphere in St. Peter's for this midnight mass and celebration of Christmas.

And Leo emphasizing that the message of Christmas is one of hope and a new dawn. And that's, I think, something that he wants to emphasize throughout this Christmas period on Christmas day. He is due to give his message to the world, expected to emphasize the importance of peace and dialogue. He has already called on Russia to observe a 24- hour peace in its war with Ukraine.

Leo has got a packed schedule over Christmas. He's going to be celebrating mass on Christmas day morning. The first time a pope has done that in 30 years.

Leo, of course, is 70 years old, relatively young for a pope, and he is keeping up a packed schedule.

Leo, in his first Christmas, emphasizing the importance of harmony, of peace. And here in St. Peter's Square, the Nativity scene, emphasizing that message.

And, of course, the square also homes with a number of other Nativity scenes from across the world at an exhibition in St. Peter's, including one from Pope Leo's hometown of Chicago and Peru where he served as a missionary for many years.

So Leo's first Christmas taking place in the celebratory atmosphere, the first American pope marking an important milestone in his new pontificate.

Christopher Lamb, CNN, Rome.

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BRUNHUBER: All right. Let's take a look now at some of the Christmas celebrations around the world.

Palestinians in Gaza gathered at Deir al-Latin Church for Christmas Eve mass with the ceasefire entering its second month. Worshippers say they hoped for peace and better lives for their children.

Meanwhile, listen to this.

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BRUNHUBER: The famed Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris held Christmas Eve mass for the second year since it reopened. The catastrophic fire in April of 2019 nearly destroyed the historic cathedral. About $900 million were donated from all over the world to help restore it to its former glory.

Ukraine's president indicates, he's ready to compromise on territory to achieve peace, but that's only if Moscow shows flexibility too. That's ahead.

Plus, Norwegian post office stays busy with letters to Santa.

After the break, we go to St. Nick's official address and meet some of his helpers. Stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: President Vladimir Putin is praising North Korea for coming to Russia's aid in the Kursk region. He said it matches to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ahead of the new year, according to North Korea's state news agency. Putin applauded what he called Pyongyang's heroic role in Kursk, where Russia claimed victory earlier this year.

Kyiv has estimated that about 11,000 North Koreans fought in the region, following Ukraine's cross-border incursion. And that up to 30,000 more could be deployed to help Russia despite their heavy losses.

Well, Christmas is bittersweet for some Ukrainians who don't have a place to call home. Ukraine moved its Christmas holiday to December 25th, two years ago, to distance itself from the Russian Orthodox Church, which celebrates in January.

Some displaced families had a traditional Christmas dish on Wednesday, saying they're hoping for peace and unification with relatives.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is now indicating he's ready to make some compromises to end the war, but as Nada Bashir reports, he wants Moscow to reciprocate.

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NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, in a new sign of potential progress in mediation efforts between Ukraine and Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signaled his willingness to make concessions on several key negotiation points, including crucially on withdrawing troops from parts of the Donetsk region still under Ukrainian control.

In a meeting with reporters, Zelenskyy outlined the possibility of a Ukrainian withdrawal from parts of Donetsk, including fortified cities such as Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, cities which currently stand in the way of any potential Russian advance deeper into the heart of Ukraine.

In return, Russia would be expected to also withdraw its forces from parts of Ukraine, effectively ceding control of an equivalent amount of territory, and effectively establishing a demilitarized zone.

The proposed withdrawal comes as part of a broader 20-point peace plan hammered out by the U.S. and European allies.

In addition to concessions on territory, Ukraine is also asking for guarantees when it comes to its security and economic recovery through concrete commitments from the U.S., as well as European and NATO states.

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The diplomatic development comes after a fresh round of talks to end the war wrapped up in Miami over the weekend, where Ukrainian and Russian officials met separately with a U.S. delegation.

While Ukrainian officials and the lead U.S. negotiator described the talks as, quote, productive and constructive, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov would not give any specific details. However, he did tell reporters that Moscow would formulate its next steps and continue to maintain contact in the near future through existing channels.

Nada Bashir, CNN, in London.

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BRUNHUBER: We're waiting to see if anyone won the Powerball lottery here in the U.S. The number for its fourth largest jackpot were drawn a short time ago. The winning combination is 4, 25, 31, 52, 59, and the Red Powerball number is 19.

Now, the enormous prize jumped to an estimated $1.8 billion because there were no winners in Monday's drawing. The winner can choose between collecting 30 annual payments, totaling the whole jackpot or taking a lump sum payment estimated at $781 million before taxes.

British T.V. viewers saw a special musical moment at the beginning of the annual Christmas service on Christmas Eve.

According to Kensington Palace, Catherine, Princess of Wales and her daughter, Charlotte, played a festive piano duet during the extravaganza. It was filmed at Westminster Abbey in London earlier this month with about 1,600 people in attendance, a selection of British artists sang and speakers including Prince William, actors Kate Winslet and Chiwetel Ejiofor delivered poignant readings all tied to the theme of love, compassion and connection.

Well, if you've ever written to Santa Claus, it may have ended up at his official address in Norway.

Every year, thousands of letters from around the world writhed for Jolly Old St. Nick and the elves who worked at his office picked their jobs very seriously.

CNN's Richard Quest has more.

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QUEST: In Norway, this is the official address of Santa.

Located in the charming little town of Drobak, it is a Christmas- themed shop and post office which receives thousands of letters each year from around the world.

EVA JOHANSEN, CO-FOUNDER, TREGAARDENS CHRISTMAS HOUSE: From Taiwan.

QUEST (voice over): And all of them addressed to Santa.

JOHANSEN: 10,000 to 15,000 letters.

QUEST: 10,000 to 15,000 letters. Right.

JOHANSEN: Yes.

QUEST: Now, here we go.

JOHANSEN: Yes.

QUEST: Let's have a look at what we have got.

JOHANSEN: Oh.

QUEST: So, these -- oh, good Lord, they've come from everywhere.

JOHANSEN: Oh, it's from Taiwan.

QUEST: Taiwan, yes.

QUEST (voice over): The shop is run by Eva Johansen, who is part post mistress and part elf. I just not.

The Santa in this part of Norway is a little bit different to the one with which we're all familiar.

QUEST: Santa Claus is a big, fat, jolly, man or woman these days. Yours is small, short, and with a weird face.

JOHANSEN: He is different. From all -- you see? Knitted sweaters, knickers, boots, and looks different.

QUEST: Why?

JOHANSEN: Because it is belongs to our culture, our history, from all time.

QUEST (voice over): Eva the elf agreed to let me open and read a few of the letters that have been sent to Santa.

QUEST: Wants an MP3 player.

QUEST (voice over): Some of the content is a little surprising, but more of that in a moment.

In Norway, they take Christmas very seriously. After all, so many Christmas trees have grown here. And in December, everywhere is filled with twinkly lights, trees and markets.

This is one of the biggest and it's run by one of the country's most successful business leaders.

CARL OTTO LOVENSKIOLD, OWNER, BAERUMS VERK: We like the summers with the long light and bright days. But then, we had the pressure also enjoying the four seasons, strong season, the wonderful fall. The winter is now coming where we can go skiing and live a completely different lifestyle before summer comes again.

Yes. We have adjust to the -- to the seasons and enjoy them.

QUEST: Enjoy them.

LOVENSKIOLD: That is very important. QUEST: Right. Let's go have a look.

QUEST (voice over): Browsing for this.

QUEST: Look at that.

QUEST (voice over): Looking for that, enjoying the other. I could have spent many hours here filling stockings.

But back in Drobak, there were still letters to Santa --

QUEST: Oh, look at this.

QUEST (voice over): -- that had to be opened and read. Heartwarming messages the lot.

QUEST: Dear Santa Claus, my favorite holiday Christmas is coming soon, which -- oh, look at that, nice little hat. Oh, Uzbekistan.

Dear, Santa Claus, Merry Christmas. Can I have a froggy toy?

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From Hong Kong. My daughter, Du, (PH) will turn five in December. She's kind to her friends. She loves practicing K-Pop dancing.

QUEST (voice over): Before I left, there was one last letter thrust in front of me, and I was in for a shock.

QUEST: This year, our brother has been a very good boy. Much like you, he's been traveling the world. It's highly likely he'll be working on December.

Is there any chance you could give him a small present in advance? Anything chocolate-related would, in our experience, work well. Thank you very much. Beverly, Larae (PH), and Caroline (PH), my three sisters.

JOHANSEN: What?

QUEST: Yes. What a coincidence.

Well done. Thank you. I'll take that. Sorry, I'm taking this one with me.

QUEST (voice over): Now, I just have to wait and see whether Santa thinks I deserve that gold chocolate bar.

Richard Quest, CNN, at Santa's village in Norway.

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BRUNHUBER: Excellent. All right. Thanks so much for watching. I'm Kim Brunhuber. Stay with us.

Blueprint, the United Kingdom is next. And have a happy Christmas. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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