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Weather Alerts in Ten States Ahead of Thanksgiving; Sen. Kelly Fires Back at Pentagon Over Illegal Orders Video Probe; Thai Woman Found Alive in Coffin; Bodycam Video Shows Recapture of Slender Man Stabber; Four More Suspects Detained Over Louvre Jewel Heist. Aired 1:30-2p ET
Aired November 25, 2025 - 13:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[13:30:00]
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": -- trouble right now?
DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: No. Right now, we have a 45 minute on average delay because of low ceilings in and around Chicago. So yeah, O'Hare Airport, if you're traveling in or out of that location, maybe you want to just plan accordingly. Surprising though, with all of this rain moving through some of these airports from Detroit to Cleveland, there are no weather reported delays as it stands, but this storm's kind of just starting to crank up and I'll show you why. It's part of a larger storm system that will bring the wet weather that Pete was talking about along the East Coast city.
So Reagan National into LaGuardia, eventually into Boston Logan, but it was also responsible for the ground stop at Atlanta's Hartsfield- Jackson International Airport earlier this morning because of strong straight-line winds. There was no confirmed tornadoes despite rumors on the internet. But nonetheless, there has been very active weather across the Deep South today, particularly from Georgia through Alabama and portions of Mississippi.
This is new to CNN. We have a new tornado watch that's valid until 6:00 p.m. Central Standard, 7:00 p.m. Eastern for this area, inclusive of Birmingham. So that I-20 corridor right here, you can see some of these kind of rogue cells starting to form. Those are the ones we want to watch out for. So we talked about it yesterday. We're going to mention it again. Be weather aware; keep an eye to the sky. If you're traveling through this region, it could be a little bit tricky on the roadways, not to mention in the skies as well.
So, this is the area where the Storm Prediction Center has highlighted the greatest risk of severe weather. Notice, Atlanta is still on this marginal threat, but we do have more of a stable atmosphere in place from the thunderstorms that moved through earlier this morning. So as they move eastward from Alabama, we should start to see those kind of settle down a little bit. A lot of winter weather though to the north, we could be picking up feet of snow across the Northern Great Lakes, Duluth, Marquette, Minneapolis. Winter storm warnings in place for 10 different states across 10 million people. So quite impactful weather here for the holiday season. Boris? SANCHEZ: Yeah, important to keep an eye on it. Derek Van Dam, thank you so much.
VAN DAM: You got it.
SANCHEZ: So the Pentagon is investigating a war hero, retired Navy Captain and Senator Mark Kelly is now fighting back after the president accuses him of being a traitor. We'll discuss.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[13:36:33]
ERICA HILL, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": New today, war hero, NASA astronaut and Democratic Senator Mark Kelly is firing back at the Trump administration after the Pentagon announced it would be launching an investigation over this video where he and five other Democratic lawmakers urge members of the military and intelligence community not to follow illegal orders.
SANCHEZ: Remember, President Trump claimed the video was "seditious behavior punishable by death." The Defense Department says it could recall Kelly and active duty to face -- rather recall him to active duty to face a court martial or some other administrative punishment. Kelly says that he's given too much to this country to be silenced by bullies.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MARK KELLY, (D-AZ): I'm not going to be silenced; I'm not going to be intimidated. We wanted to just remind folks that they need to comply with the law and be reminded and also explain to members of the military that we have their backs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Let's talk about this with retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Rachel VanLandingham. She's a former JAG officer and now a Professor of Law at Southwestern Law School. Thank you so much for being with us. I wonder what the regulations say about recalling someone to military duty after they've retired.
LT. COL. RACHEL VANLANDINGHAM, U.S. AIR FORCE (RET.): Well, the federal law does provide that retirees, those with the -- retired from the military are still subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice. And they can be court-martialed without even being recalled to active duty and that's been done several times over the last decade. And furthermore, there is federal law that does provide for recalling -- involuntarily recalling retirees to active duty for court martial or for service to our country.
HILL: And Rachel, Senator Kelly, there are six Democrats in this video, all veterans, but Senator is the only participant in this video that's eligible to be recalled under what you were just explaining. Why is that? VANLANDINGHAM: Well, the other sort of individuals, the Congressmen and women in that video, did not serve till Senator Slotkin was not in the military and the other members are veterans, but did not formally retire. But I do want to stress that any kind of recall, first of all, the Constitution has an incompatibility clause that says someone cannot be both a member of the Senate, right? The Article I, Congress and a member of the executive branch at the same time, right? And so, again, this -- there's constitutional hurdles to doing this.
Number two, this is -- this is really an abuse of power. It's a gross abuse of power. Senator Kelly and neither did any of his colleagues in that video, did not do anything else but express their accurate description of the law. That -- and it's protected by the First Amendment speech, right? They said military members, follow lawful orders, but you shouldn't follow unlawful orders. And in fact, you must disobey unlawful orders. That is actually the state of the law.
So to try to threaten to bring back Secretary Kelly for what I believe is speech that's protected also by the speech and debate clause, right, which was written into the constitution to protect sitting Senators and Congress members from being intimidated by the executive branch by threats of criminal prosecution. So, their speech is protected and this is a gross abuse of power. And frankly, I think Secretary Hegseth should be impeached for doing this. This is so beyond the pale, it's extraordinary. And it sends a dangerous signal that the executive branch is all there is and that they can shill and silence individuals in Congress.
[13:40:00]
And that is just constitutionally and morally wrong.
SANCHEZ: Do you think that that's the intended message they're trying to send service members with this kind of investigation?
VANLANDINGHAM: I think they're trying to chill -- to tell service members that regardless of whatever order that -- I think the administration is trying to say, regardless of whatever orders you get, you're going to follow them, even if they're unlawful, which of course is not what the state of the law is. Look, we had Secretary Hegseth summarily fire the top military lawyers within the first few weeks of taking office at the Pentagon. He did so and admittedly did so because he said he didn't want roadblocks to his orders.
Well, there are legal roadblocks to his orders, but he's been firing senior commanders, relieved the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. And then providing this, for example, an Office of Legal Counsel Memorandum from DOJ that pretends to turn what is actually orders to commit murder into something that is considered lawful. And so just the destruction of the guardrails regarding what's lawful, what's unlawful, what our service members are supposed to do, I think there's erosion here and there's destruction that's going on.
HILL: All right, Lieutenant Colonel Rachel VanLandingham, thanks so much for that. We appreciate it. VANLANDINGHAM: Thank you.
HILL: Up next, see the woman -- see the moment, rather, a Thai woman was found alive inside her coffin, shortly before she was supposed to be cremated.
SANCHEZ: Oh.
HILL: Yeah. How that nightmare scenario happened right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[13:46:15]
SANCHEZ: We're learning new details about the escape of the woman who was institutionalized for a brutal stabbing in the name of a fictional character, Slender Man, as he's known. Morgan Geyser was captured in Illinois after running away from a group home in Wisconsin on Saturday.
HILL: Bodycam video showing the moment police found her at a truck stop Sunday night, and she was not alone.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MORGAN GEYSER, SLENDER MAN STABBER: I did something wrong.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What did you do wrong?
GEYSER: She doesn't know what I did.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, that's fine. I ain't -- let me to you over here. (Inaudible) What is it that you did wrong?
GEYSER: I did something really wrong.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: CNN Correspondent Jean Casarez is joining us now. Jean, Geyser had an extradition hearing today. What is the latest?
JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the latest is she waived her extradition. She is in Illinois and that allows Wisconsin authorities to come and pick her up and take her back to Wisconsin. And it would be Waukesha County that would come and pick her up because Waukesha, which is a little bit outside of Milwaukee, is actually the jurisdiction where she committed what was that crime, because that's what it was, of stabbing her little 12-year-old friend 19 times at a park in Waukesha.
So, there is up to 50 days to do this, but in my experience, it is done very quickly because the jurisdiction that is receiving her does not waste time on this. We just got a statement from the district attorney of Waukesha County, Wisconsin, saying that our office remains committed to protecting the community and ensuring this case moves forward without delay. Her alleged actions this past weekend only reinforce our position that a conditional release is not appropriate at this time.
And it was a conditional release in January that a judge signed off on, allowing her to go from the state mental hospital to the group home. Now, he didn't sign that order until September, according to the prosecutor in Waukesha. So she wasn't at that group home for very long. But the issue now is the custody is with the Department of Health Services in Wisconsin. They have to decide if they are going to file a petition to revoke that conditional release. If they do, it will be up to a judge. But where she would go would be back to that state mental hospital.
Now while all of this is going on, she was with someone, at least in Illinois and it was reported that after she cut off her electronic monitor in Wisconsin, she was with an adult at some point, walking the streets of Madison. Well, that person has come forward and he has actually spoken to our affiliate, WKOW, he asked CNN, our affiliate to be identified as Charly Mecca. We have a recording of Charly Mecca talking about being with Morgan Geyser and why this person was with her.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHARLY MECCA, FRIEND MORGAN GEYSER WAS FOUND WITH AT A TRUCK STOP (through telephone): We understand how to talk to each other and validate, and just how to communicate in a really good, healthy way. And it was really nice. It was like, I don't hate you. I think, clearly, you're not that person anymore and you're trying really hard to move away from it. That much is very obvious.
She ran because of me. She already made it clear if I didn't go with her or not, she was still going and she was not going back to jail. And I know what that means, and I was scared and I was nervous. And I still chose to, for my friend, who I knew wasn't going to make it on her own.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: So a lot of questions here because authorities in Madison, Wisconsin, in that county are also going to have to determine if Charly Mecca should be charged with anything because obviously, if this person was there when she left the facility and accompanied her to Illinois, as this person has admitted, then that potentially has some criminal charges attached also.
[13:50:00]
HILL: Yeah.
SANCHEZ: What a saga. Jean, you were talking about the hearing in January and prosecutors urged the judge at the time to not release Geyser into a group home. Eventually, a group home that she lasted about two months in before she cut off the bracelet and ran away. Why were prosecutors so concerned at the time?
CASAREZ: Well, here's some of the evidence they had and it came forward that she was communicating with, number one, someone who sold mass memorabilia from murders. People online get memorabilia from murders and they sell it. And she was communicating with this person. She was also reading gory novels about murders and that was the evidence, main evidence they had that she should stay where she is. She shouldn't go into a facility that doesn't have as much control and regulation over someone.
SANCHEZ: Well, I think we see the evidence that maybe those prosecutors had a correct hunch, you could say. Jean Casarez, thank you so much for the reporting.
CASAREZ: Thank you.
SANCHEZ: Now that some of the other headlines we're watching this hour, French officials have detained four more people with suspected ties to the Louvre heist. The two men and two women are all from the Paris area and will be questioned by investigators. No details yet about possible charges, but they do join four other suspects facing robbery charges after being detained late last month. Still no sign though of the stolen jewels worth an estimated $100 million.
HILL: Also, cleanup and damage assessments underway after a tornado went through the Houston area, damaging more than a hundred homes. Harris County Constable Mark Herman calling the storm a severe weather event that caused widespread and significant damage on the northwest side of the county. County officials say no serious injuries or deaths have been reported.
And a warning that some viewers may find the images in our next story disturbing. A woman in Thailand who was thought to be dead and taken for cremation was actually found alive inside that coffin. Staff at a Buddhist temple that offers cremation services said they heard a faint knocking coming from inside the coffin. And when they opened the lid, they saw the 65-year-old moving her eyes and arms. Her brother said she'd been bedridden for two years. He thought she'd stopped breathing two days earlier.
The woman was then rushed to a nearby hospital. Feels like someone should have checked that out more early.
(LAUGH)
HILL: But I'm glad she's --
SANCHEZ: Yes.
HILL: -- she's out of that coffin.
SANCHEZ: Yeah.
HILL: OK.
SANCHEZ: She's OK.
HILL: Coming up, two presidential pardons take center stage today, a tradition going back decades.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[13:57:37]
HILL: Thanks to an annual White House tradition, two turkeys named Gobble and Waddle had been pardoned by President Trump and spared from the Thanksgiving dinner table.
SANCHEZ: In a twist, this year though, only one Turkey was invited to the White House ceremony and officially named the "Thanksgiving Turkey" after winning a vote via text. The lucky bird was so excited about the pardon, it actually interrupted the president and the pardon ceremony.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Today, we continue a time-honored American tradition.
(LAUGH)
TRUMP: Boy, that's a well-trained Turkey. See how happy he is. Are you ready? Gobble, I just want to tell you, it is very important, you are hereby unconditionally pardoned.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Gobble clearly pumped.
(LAUGH)
SANCHEZ: CNN's Betsy Klein joins us now from the White House. Betsy, walk us through how these pardons played out.
BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Pumped and relieved, I would say. I think President Donald Trump has really been leaning into his clemency power in his second term. But today, dished out a pair of pardons to both Gobble and Waddle. And as you mentioned, this was a little bit different than in years past. The American people were asked to vote via text message for just one of the turkeys to participate in the official pardoning ceremony. Gobble emerging victorious. But the office of the first lady assures us that both of these birds have received clemency.
And you also saw the unpredictability of a presidential event with live animals, that bird interrupting the president repeatedly throughout his remarks. And the president had some fun with this Thanksgiving roast, but he didn't entirely set politics aside. He issued a full absolute and unconditional presidential pardon to both Gobble and Waddle. And then he poked some fun at his predecessor, former President Joe Biden's use of the auto pen. He said that he did a full investigation and determined that last year's Turkey pardons were totally invalid. He also joked about other potential names for these turkeys, listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I shouldn't say this, I was going to call them Chuck and Nancy, but then I realized I wouldn't be pardoning them. I would never pardon those two people. I wouldn't pardon them. I wouldn't care what Melania had told me. Though, I think, it would be a nice thing to do. I won't do it though.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KLEIN: Now, turkeys are generally unfriendly animals, but these two had been preparing for this moment their entire lives, training with big sounds --
