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Ukraine Agrees to Common Understanding on Main Points of Peace Plan; White House Postpones Unveiling Healthcare Plan Amid GOP Backlash; Today, Peak Travel Day for Flights This Thanksgiving Holiday. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired November 25, 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]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Breaking news this morning, a U.S. official says Ukraine has agreed to a peace proposal. What we do not know how the Russians feel about this plan.

Happening now, severe weather hitting major airports across the country, just what you want to hear as millions hit the road or skies for the holidays.

And tell us something good that happened today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They told me that my hair looked really pretty today.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There was a new girl at school today, and I think I made a new friend. So --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I finally got a girlfriend.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: One school's experiment with gratitude causing a national sensation.

I'm John Berman with Kate Bolduan and Sara Sidner. This is CNN News Central.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: And to that breaking news this morning, we are learning from a U.S. official that Ukraine has agreed to a peace proposal to end the war with Russia, saying that only, quote, minor details are outstanding now. The word from Ukraine's President Zelenskyy is much work still lies ahead. The country's national security chief though says its delegation has reached an understanding on the core terms of the deal. And there's also a word that Zelenskyy could travel to the United States this month to sign it. But what about Vladimir Putin?

Today, U.S. and Russian officials are meeting in Abu Dhabi to discuss the plan. A spokesman for the U.S. Army secretary, who's leading the delegation, says that those talks are going well and we remain optimistic.

While people are clearly talking, the war rages on. Both Ukraine and Russia trading deadly new strikes overnight.

Let's get to the White House. Alayna Treene is standing by for us at this hour. With this new development, new reporting with from this U.S. official, what are you hearing about this supposed deal?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes. Look, this has been a crazy twist and turns to this entire negotiation over the past couple of days, Kate, but I can tell you that the Trump administration and White House officials really want to use the momentum of these recent talks and negotiations to try and see if they can bring this to the finish line. And I think that's part of why you're hearing a lot of these very optimistic and positive statements from key players on the ground. We heard similar, I should note, from Secretary of Marco Rubio following those talks in Geneva on Sunday.

But I just want to get into what this U.S. official told our colleagues, Oren Liebermann and Natasha Bertrand. They said that Ukraine has agreed to a deal to end the war with Russia. Only minor details remain. They said, quote, the Ukrainians have agreed to the peace deal. There are some minor details to be sorted out, but they have agreed to a peace deal. That is a huge deal, we should just note, I think, like full stop. That is a huge deal if Ukraine is actually backing this plan. As you mentioned, of course, the big question is whether the Russians could actually stomach a lot of this.

Now, this comes as a U.S. Army secretary, Dan Driscoll, is in Abu Dhabi. He's meeting with Russian officials today. Of course, the goal there to see how much they can get them to compromise on some of these areas that the Ukrainians seem eager to know to work on.

I will note that Ukraine's national security secretary, Rustem Umerov, he wrote about this in a post on X. I want to read this for you. Because what we're hearing from this U.S. official does seem to go a little bit beyond the position of the Ukrainians. The national security secretary said, quote, we now count on the support of our European partners in our further steps. He added that Ukraine looked forward to organizing a visit of Zelenskyy to the U.S. to, quote, complete final steps and make a deal with President Donald Trump.

So, look, we have to see where this all comes down to, but, again, I want to just reiterate how pretty quick this came together, because I'd remind you last week when details of this plan were initially emerging, at that point, it was a 28-point plan that Steve Witkoff, one of the president's top advisers, had been quietly discussing with the Russians, there was a lot of skepticism from Ukraine and also the United States, European allies, about whether or not it was, in many ways, a wish list for Russia.

[09:05:16]

There were concerns that there were far too mu many concessions for the Ukrainians, not as many for the Russians, that it was too favorable. Now, we're seeing, though, after a lot of these negotiations, particularly those in Geneva, as I mentioned, on Sunday, it does appear that they were able to get this, you know, working. We've heard Rubio call this a breathing document, this working deal, to a place where the Ukrainians feel confident that they can go as far as this U.S. official is telling CNN today into agreeing to this deal.

So, big question now is whether they can take this to the Russians, get the Russians on board. And if that's actually a possibility, this could be a major breakthrough in something that has really been kind of, you know, eluding the president and this administration for months now in their goal to finally find an end to this war between Russian and Ukraine.

BOLDUAN: Yes, it would be a major breakthrough, for sure. The question about was Russia going to do about it and say about it is also a huge question.

Alayna, thank you so much for the reporting. John?

BERMAN: All right. With us now is Senator Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat from New Hampshire, the ranking member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Senator, what do you make of this? I mean, this is a U.S. official saying that Ukraine has agreed to a proposal. We don't know what proposal, frankly. We don't know if this is a proposal the Russians have agreed to, and we're not even sure how the Ukrainians feel about it other than the comment from the U.S. official. But what questions do you have?

SEN. JEANNE SHAHEEN (D-NH): Well, I think it's premature to suggest that there's a final deal but I understand that good progress was made yesterday in negotiations and we'll see how the Russians respond to taking some of the items off the table. The original proposal was obviously a Putin wish list for everything they want, including no Ukrainian option for joining NATO, no NATO enlargement in the future, capping the size of Ukraine's military, none of that should be acceptable to the United States, to the Ukrainians or to the Europeans.

So, the devil is in the details here. We need to see what kind of security guarantees are being provided to Ukraine, because what we've seen time and again is that Russia makes a commitment, they made a commitment not to go into Georgia, they went into Georgia in 2008. Then they signed the Budapest agreement in the 90s, they said we won't attack Ukraine and they should give up their nuclear weapons. Well, they've attacked Ukraine now and Crimea, then they went into Ukraine. So, we can't trust what Russia says and what Putin says.

So, what we need is real security guarantees that are going to ensure that Ukraine is protected. Its sovereignty is protected in the future.

BERMAN: You said progress has been made. I guess specifically progress in what direction? What progress do you think there would need to be for you to support this and really for the Ukrainians to feel comfortable?

SHAHEEN: Well, again, I think we need to have real security guarantees, as I've said. I think any cap and any ability for Russia to determine how Ukraine's military moves forward is unacceptable. Ukraine right now has the biggest army in Europe. They're the most technologically advanced. We want that army on the ally side fighting with Europe and the United States in any future conflict.

So, we need to make sure that that is protected. We need to make sure that Ukraine's sovereignty is protected, that Russia is -- understands that any attempt to go back in Ukraine is not only going to be met with European force but with United States force.

We also know that Russia is arming in a way that doesn't just allow them to go into Ukraine but allows them to go after NATO countries and Eastern European countries. We need to make sure that that doesn't happen in the future, and there needs to be some accountability, this idea in the original proposal that anybody who committed war crimes would not be held accountable for that. That's not acceptable.

We can't allow an aggressor like Vladimir Putin to get away with that because it then sends a message to China, to Iran, to North Korea, to our other adversaries.

BERMAN: Look, we obviously need to see what is being discussed now, what exactly the plan is that's on the table. We'll find out more, presumably over the next few hours.

I want to rewind, if I can, 24 hours, because yesterday morning at this time, we were told that the White House might have a plan as soon as yesterday to extend Obamacare subsidies.

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They even floated some of the details of that plan, a two-year extension, a cap on subsidies on income level 700 percent above the poverty level, some basic required minimum there. Were this yesterday morning, and if that were the actual plan being discussed, how do you feel about that?

SHAHEEN: Well, I think it's very positive that President Trump is talking about coming to the table to address this issue. There is real urgency to get this done because people are seeing their insurance rates spike dramatically and with the other affordability crisis that Americans are facing, that's unacceptable, because we're going to have millions of Americans lose their health insurance if that goes forward.

I think some of the details that have come out about what the president were proposing would have been very good for Democrats. I think Democrats are willing to come to the table. I understood that a number of our Republican colleagues also wanted to get this done. It's in their interest. They understand that this is an issue not just for blue states but for red states, and that people don't care what party you're in. If they can't afford their health insurance, that means they can't get the healthcare they need. BERMAN: So, the second part of this question and why I tried to rewind to yesterday morning, is since yesterday morning, the president and the White House seemed to have backed off. The proposal didn't come yesterday, isn't coming today, at least as far as we know. And The Wall Street Journal's reporting that Speaker of the House Mike Johnson basically told the president Republicans won't support this. So, what does it tell you that there may not be Republican support for the White House plan?

SHAHEEN: Well, that's unfortunate. I think if Republicans -- they need to recognize that 57 percent of these premium tax credit recipients are in states that are -- they're in Republican Congressional districts, and 76 percent of them are in states that Donald Trump won in the last election. We've already heard from President Trump's pollsters, but two of whom have said, if the Republicans don't come to the table, if they don't address this, they're going to pay at the polls next November. And that's what we're going to see.

So, it's very shortsighted for Speaker Johnson for other Republicans to say they're not willing to address this because the voters are going to hold them accountable, because people can't afford their health insurance. And that has ramifications for people who can't afford their health insurance. It has ramifications for the whole healthcare system as we look at people going to emergency rooms and the cost of care there is much higher.

BERMAN: Senator Jeanne Shaheen from New Hampshire, have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Thanks so much for being with us. Kate?

BOLDUAN: So, on that note, today is set to be the busiest day for air travel this Thanksgiving. More than 52,000 flights are scheduled across the country. And with that in mind, you want to keep a close watch on Atlanta's airport, one of the world's busiest airports. A ground stop was issued this morning because of incoming thunderstorms, and we all know the ripple effects that can create.

This holiday is also slated to set a new travel record for Thanksgiving with nearly 82 million expected to travel 50 or more miles.

CNN's Pete Muntean is at Reagan National Airport, just outside Washington, keeping an eye on it all for us. What are you hearing about all this, Pete?

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Well, I'm seeing a lot of people checking the departures board this morning because we know that there was this ground stop in place at Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson International Airport. We also know the air traffic control tower was evacuated there for a brief time, about ten minutes, because of high winds today. So, you can see Atlanta on the board right now probably going to get a little bit worse. We've seen some flights take off a little bit late. Probably not a great day if you're flying on Delta, especially if you're connecting in Atlanta.

Although the day is still young and there's still some time for airlines to recover here, a huge, huge day for air travel. As you mentioned, 52,000 flights being handled by air traffic controllers in the U.S. today, we'll probably see over 2.5 million people here at TSA checkpoints around the country.

The wait time here at the Terminal 2 north checkpoint at DCA less than five minutes right now, TSA workers are getting paid again. Air traffic controllers are getting paid again after the government shutdown ended that 43-day-long stretch. And it seems that most of the staffing issues have abated. Airlines have been keeping a really, really close eye on this and so has the FAA. And I want you to listen now to FAA administrator Bryan Bedford, who says they are ready for this onslaught of air travel today with the most number of flights being handled by air traffic controllers. Listen.

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BRYAN BEDFORD, FAA ADMINISTRATOR: This week is our Super Bowl. And I'm here to tell you we've got a great plan. We're past the laps. Controllers are back at work. They're excited to be back on the job. They're excited to be compensated to be back on the job. But please be confident that the folks in the towers and in the tray counters and in the route centers, they have a great plan, lots of different strategies we run to manage traffic safely and efficiently in all conditions.

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So --

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MUNTEAN: Huge weekend -- huge week, rather, for air travel, also huge for driving. And AAA says 73 million people out of the 82-ish million people traveling will drive. Best in worst times, you're going into the worst time right now. So, if you can wait until later, that's probably the best idea and also the confluence of so many people still going to work in school today. So, AAA, Axia Diaz says, if you think about 2:00 P.M., 3:00 P.M. in your normal metro area, that will probably be three or four times worse because of Thanksgiving travel. So, maybe wait until Thursday when the traffic is going to be really light. That's the best advice right now.

BOLDUAN: And so begins my favorite Pete Munteanness of all Pete Munteanness, which is we can all live in the world of wildly flexible schedules and leave whenever it is the easiest for our travel. Wasn't it last year that you told us that we should delay our return by like four days?

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. Yes, I will, Pete.

MUNTEAN: Well, consider this. AAA also says that so many people are now coming home on Monday, and that's turning into another big travel day. You know, usually, Sunday is a really big day that because so many people are coming home then. That's kind of like the big intersection of everybody. And now they're saying more and more people are able to slough it off, take another day and come home on Monday. It seems that the Thanksgiving rush gets longer and longer every year.

BOLDUAN: I mean, let's just --

SIDNER: Who are these people?

BOLDUAN: We're just going to extend it into Christmas.

SIDNER: Who are these people?

BOLDUAN: It's just like, I'll return after Christmas. The traffic is so bad.

Thanks, Pete.

SIDNER: The Pete Munteanness is getting more, more grand every single holiday. Thank you, guys.

All right, let's check on the weather and how it might impact traveling for Thanksgiving, another potential impact for people.

CNN's, Derek Van Dam tracking that for us today. What are you seeing? What will we be experiencing over these next few days?

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: If our work schedules could be as flexible as Pete Muntean's travel schedule, I've got something else I got to do, Sara. Look, we -- so we talked about Atlanta with this line of thunderstorms that moved through. This is the same line of storms that caused some hectic weather in Houston yesterday. But now a non- weather delay, a ground stop at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston has just been notified. So, we're monitoring that as well.

So, just not a great day to travel nonetheless, especially when you've got to keep an eye to the sky and also keep an eye on what's going on the ground because a lot of this rain and wind is causing some travel disruptions on Interstate 20, right through Birmingham and Atlanta. Look at that line that raced through that caused the ground stop at Hartsfield Jackson International Airport earlier this morning. It has since moved on, but there's still precipitation falling from the sky. And the storm prediction center has this area highlighted with a level two of four risks.

So, this is part of a larger storm system, right? And a lot of this wet weather is moving into the I-95 corridor today and tomorrow. The cold side of the storm, of course, wrapping in snowfall, which we could pick up over a foot in some locations across Northern Michigan and into Minnesota and Wisconsin. So, that's a powerful storm.

Downwind lake enhanced snowfall potential on Wednesday, the wet weather, again, Washington to New York. But look what's coming, Sara, this is a dramatic drop in our temperatures, feeling more like Thanksgiving for the East Coast by Thursday.

SIDNER: Derek Van Dam, thank you so much. I do appreciate it. Stay warm over there.

All right, ahead, an 18-year-old high school student vacationing with her family found dead on a Carnival Cruise ship, her body under a mattress. Who authorities are looking into when it comes to what caused her death.

Plus, a woman in Thailand decides she's not ready to die and starts knocking on her coffin as she was being brought in to be cremated. The shocking discovery ahead.

And breaking developments in the Louvre heist in Paris, police, what they're doing in this case, there is an update for you.

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[09:20:00]

SIDNER: We are learning more about the death of an 18-year-old high school cheerleader who was with her family on a Carnival Cruise ship. Anna Kepners body was found under a mattress in her cabin on the ship earlier this month. Her grandparents are now speaking out, telling ABC news she may have died from asphyxiation and that the FBI have spoken to Kepner's 16-year-old stepbrother. They say Anna had been sharing the state room with him and her brother.

CNN's Isabel Rosales is joining me now with this story. What a disturbing situation this family has found themselves in. What are you learning this morning?

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sara, good morning. Yes, absolutely heartbreaking for this family that's dealing with so much right now. This is the first time we're hearing from Anna Kepner's family, her grandmother telling ABC news that it'll be up to the courts to decide what justice looks like for the family. She also recalled in this interview the last time the family saw her alive, stating that she went up to the ship's casino, told family members that she loved them, and then retired for the night back to her room that she shared with her brother and her stepbrother.

Now, the next day is when the family members ultimately realized that something had gone wrong when they heard a medical alert blaring throughout the ship stating their room number. Ultimately, it was a steward who found her body concealed, the family says, underneath a mattress. The family also saying that there were no signs of sexual assault or abuse. There were no signs of drugs or alcohol within her. And in court documents in a separate custody court case, Anna's stepmother said that her 16-year-old stepbrother is a suspect in that case.

[09:25:06]

Listen now to the victim's grandmother what she said.

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BARBARA KEPNER, ANNA KEPNER'S GRANDMOTHER: I heard him in his own words say he does not remember what happened. He was the only one seen coming and going. So, I can't accuse him because I don't know what happened in that room, but the summation would be that he did something.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSALES: And it's important to note that no criminal charges have been filed in this case. I reached out to the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner's Office, who has still not released any cause or manner of her death, saying that this is an ongoing investigation. I also reached out to the FBI and Anna Kepner's family, both declined to comment. Sara?

SIDNER: Isabel, thank you so much for the reporting on a really disturbing mystery this morning. I appreciate it. John?

BERMAN: All right. We are standing by for a hearing for the woman who stabbed her classmate when she was 12 all in the name of the fictional character, Slenderman, back in custody after an escape.

And born during the presidency of Grover Cleveland, came to the United States during the terms of Calvin Coolidge and lived long enough to see the Wicked sequel. Imagine that. Remembering a very special tortoise.

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