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20-Year-Old National Guard Member Dies After Shooting Ambush in D.C.; A.G. Bondi Says Prosecutors Will Seek Death Penalty Against Suspect; At Least 128 Dead, More Than 200 Missing in Hong Kong Inferno. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired November 28, 2025 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking overnight, a terrible turn for the worst, one of the two National Guards troops shot in an ambush attack in Washington has died. Local and federal officials lining the streets of our nation's capital overnight to honor the fallen 20-year-old Army specialists, as new details emerge about the suspected shooter and the president vowing to ramp up his immigration crackdown.

BRAD SMITH, CNN ANCHOR: And new this morning, a cross-country storm brewing potential headaches for millions, traveling home from the holiday. Rain and snow expected to blanket more than 1,000 miles of America this weekend. Are you in the storm zone? We'll dive into that.

And a lesson in checking your dump truck before hitting the road. One driver had an unfortunate encounter with a highway sign and it was all caught on camera.

I'm Brad Smith here with Sara Sidner. John Berman and Kate Bolduan are outs today. This is CNN News Central.

SIDNER: Breaking overnight, the ambush-style shooting of National Guard troops in Washington, D.C., has taken another tragic turn. One of those Guard members has died, the other still fighting for his life. President Trump announcing that 20-year-old Army specialist Sarah Beckstrom died from her injuries on Thanksgiving. He called her an incredible person who was outstanding in every way.

New images from overnight of law enforcement officers lining the streets for the transfer of her body. Beckstroms former boyfriend spoke to CNN and said she had a huge heart and would do anything for anyone.

The other wounded Guard member, a 24-year-old Andrew Wolfe, remains hospitalized and is in critical condition.

We're also learning more about the suspect in custody, a 29-year-old Afghan national. He arrived in the United States in 2021 on a resettlement program after working with the CIA in Afghanistan helping American troops. President Trump, in the wake of the shooting, says the U.S. will, quote, permanently pause migration from all third world countries. He also says the U.S. will reexamine all green cards issued to people from what the administration calls 19 countries of concern.

CNN's Betsy Klein joining us now live from Washington this morning. What is the latest on this investigation?

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, Sara, an interagency investigation is now underway to determine exactly how this horrific tragedy could have happened while the Trump administration meanwhile is ramping up its aggressive and immigration policies.

We know that this suspect is an Afghan national who came to the United States in 2021. He applied for asylum in 2024, and it was granted under the Trump administration in April of this year.

Now, we've also learned that the suspect worked with U.S. forces, including the CIA, starting in 2011. A U.S. official tells CNN that he was vetted by intelligence agencies and clean on all checks. The question now of his pathway to violence is going to be a major target for investigators.

Now, officials say it's still too soon to say what the motive is, but President Trump, as he addressed troops on Thanksgiving, offering his own speculation. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: He went cuckoo. I mean, he went nuts. And that happens too. It happens too often with these people. You see him. But, look, this is how they come in. This is how they -- they're standing on top of each other and that's an airplane. There was no vetting or anything. They came in unvetted. And we have a lot of others in this country. We're going to get them out. But they go cuckoo, something happens to them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KLEIN: Now, within hours of this shooting, the president moved to justify an even more intense immigration crackdown. The director of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services announced that, at the president's direction, he was ordering the reexamination of all green cards issued to people from countries of concern. That includes about 19 countries, including Afghanistan, Iran, Venezuela, among many others.

[07:05:02]

The president last night also calling for what he described as reverse migration. In a lengthy post to social media, he wrote, quote, I will permanently pause migration from all third world countries and remove anyone who is not a net asset to the United States. We have, of course, asked the White House and State Department for clarity on what countries that would impact. Attorney General Pamela Bondi meanwhile says that the Justice Department will do everything in their power to seek the death penalty for this suspect.

SIDNER: All right. Betsy Klein, thank you so much for your reporting for us. And over to you, Brad.

SMITH: Thank you, Sara.

Joining me now is CNN Senior National Security Analyst Juliette Kayyem. Juliette, great to have you here with us. You know, first, as we think about the investigation, the radius is extremely wide, including the path of travel to commit the deadly act. What do we know about progress thus far and the resources that need to be mobilized for this type of scale?

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, it's going to have sort of two nexus points. One is going to be in Washington State, sort of his ties, who he was living with, where he was living, family, contacts, was there a network that was supporting him, then, of course, in D.C., how long was he there, why did he choose this group of National Guard members. And then, of course, there's the linkage between the two, where did he stop, who may he have been in contact with, was he calling anyone abroad. So, it's going to be extensive in that sense.

What's the good news in this tragedy is it's a knowable suspect who had ties to the United States, essentially, for most of his life between his work with the CIA or with the United States in Afghanistan through at least three vetting processes to get his amnesty status, asylum status, and then, of course, whatever ties he had with family and friends where he was living.

SMITH: And so as information piles up, what does a typical breakthrough moment look like in the effort to establish a motive?

KAYYEM: Well, so it's interesting, I've been thinking about this a lot because he's a suspect who -- we don't normally have suspects who have such ties with the United States. I mean, in other words, when we have a terror or a violent incident like this, it's someone either here who has no contact with the U.S. or with us authorities or someone who comes in from abroad. This is someone who was vetted at least by the CIA or the National Counterterrorism Center, was vetted when he came over when Kabul fell in Afghanistan, and then, once again, when he's granted amnesty.

Look, there's a lot of politics behind this. I think we just need to step outside of that and say either the vetting process was bad, missed something key, or the radicalization process was fast, that between the time he received amnesty a couple months ago and now something happened. So, investigators are going to look at some trauma in his life, something that happened in Afghanistan that he blamed the United States for.

SMITH: Juliette Kayyem, thank you so much for taking the time, breaking this down this morning. Sara?

SIDNER: All right. Thank you, Brad.

Breaking overnight, the death toll surging to disturbing heights after that devastating high-rise fire in Hong Kong. New clues this morning about how that fire started and why it was so hard for firefighters to try and put it out.

And a dangerous cross-country storm could cause some serious headaches for travelers this weekend. Heavy rain, even blizzard warnings, you can see what looks like a white out there, what to watch out for.

And gird your loins or whatever. Today is Black Friday. Put your elbows out. Holiday shoppers hoping to score some massive deals, but is Black Friday actually still worth all the hype? We're checking into that.

Those stories more ahead.

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[07:10:00]

SIDNER: Breaking overnight, there are now 128 people confirmed dead in that devastating Hong Kong high-rise inferno. That death toll unfortunately expected to rise because 200 people are still missing. Officials say the blaze is finally under control more than two days after it erupted, engulfing a dense housing complex.

We're going to show you some new drone video that shows the aftermath of all of this. I mean, look at all of those tiny apartments charred. A criminal probe is under way as three employees of a construction company have now been arrested.

CNN's Hanako Montgomery is in Hong Kong. You are there on the scene. What are you learning this morning?

HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Sara. As you said, I'm just at the base of the apartment complex where this deadly fire took place. And right now, we're still seeing some fire trucks on the scene, even though the fire, as you said, has been completely extinguished, and they're just standing by in case small pockets of fires do erupt again once more in these buildings.

Now, behind me, Sara, you can see there are a couple hundred people here laying down flowers, also holding small vigils, holding small plastic tea lights, essentially just mourning the over 180 people lost in this deadly fire.

[07:15:03]

And as you mentioned, Sara, they fear that the death toll could rise in the coming hours, if not days, as 200 people still remain missing. And the atmosphere here, Sara, is very somber and it's just completely heartbreaking to see the city devastated by such a deadly inferno.

Now, the exact cause of this fire, Sara, is still unknown. Authorities though have provided a little bit more detail as to how this fire so quickly from one building to the next. They have said, of course, that this apartment complex was under construction at the time, and it was encased in this mesh net bamboo scaffolding and also this highly flammable material called polystyrene. Now, authorities have said that when the polystyrene caught fire, it caused the windows in the building to break, and then the fire then spread inside one building from floor to floor. And then, of course, because the bamboo scaffolding was then also on fire, the debris from that was also spreading from building to building, and, again, we just saw those seven buildings just completely engulfed in flames.

So, Sara, again, the exact cause of this fire still not yet known, but we are hearing a little bit more detail as to just why so many individuals died in this very, very deadly blast. Sara?

SIDNER: It was horrific watching it as you just seemed like it was impossible to put out and it was still smoldering on Thursday as well.

Thank you so much for giving us that update, a really, really devastating story for the families waiting to hear anything from those 200 people who are still missing. I do appreciate it.

All right, new overnight, President Trump says United States is going to take actions against drug trafficking networks in Venezuela by land, quote, very soon.

And it is that time of year again, that's right, Toyotathon upon us. And some people have a reason to celebrate. Why the Green Bay Packers quarterback says he loves taking the field during Toyotathon.

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[07:20:00]

SMITH: The Kansas City Chiefs are waking up in a tough spot this morning. Their playoff hopes suddenly looking a lot shakier after a rough Thanksgiving matchup with the Cowboys.

Let's go to CNN's Coy wire. Coy, how about them Cowboys?

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Hey, man, that's big coming from you, Philadelphia, boy. Within a four-day span, the Cowboys have now beaten both of the teams who made it to the Super Bowl last year. Brad Smith's Eagles and now the Chiefs straight to a pivotal moment in this game.

Cowboys down one in the fourth quarter. Dak Prescott hits George Pickens and look at him get up, up, up and over a dude, incredible stuff. Dak would find Javonte Williams for the score. He had 320 yards passing, two touchdowns, one pick.

Now, Mahomes is playing out of his mind. Look at his play. Mahomes Magic, he had four touchdowns on the day. This guy's made it to the AFC Championship every year. But now they'll likely after win out just to make the playoffs. Cowboys win 31-28. Prescott gets MVP and it's nice enough to share the whole turkey with his teammates.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAK PRESCOTT, DALLAS COWBOYS Q.B.: I just get the ball to these playmakers, all these guys around me, and they just go make plays. So, it's fun. We're a hot team right now. We're going to stay right there, like this turkey, baby.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: Bengals Star Joe Burrow is back, first game since week two after injuring his toe. Incredible catch by Hudson, one hand, it's snagged. He's like, I want some turkey legs too. Burrow's first touchdown pass of the day was that one, and this one, the Yoshi boss (ph) was his second. The Bengals dominate the Ravens 32-14, their first turkey day win in franchise history. Afterwards, they chow down on Maryland crabs and a turkducken, chicken and a duck in a turkey. You all know what it is.

Finally, divisional showdown between the Packers and the reigning NFC north champion Lions. Let's just say Jordan Love goes into overdrive this time of year. Packers fans noticed his stats during the last two years of Toyotathon, the annual sales, holiday sales push there, starting in mid-November, they've been mind-boggling, 28 touchdowns, just two interceptions. Non-Toyotathon games, 29 touchdowns, 20 interceptions. We'll add four more tuddy to his tally. No interceptions either, as the Packers pull off the 31-24 win. Here's Jordan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JORDAN LOVE, GREEN BAY PACKERS Q.B.: It's special. You know, it's a big time stage, and to come out here and get a win on Thanksgiving. You know, I'm grateful for all these guys, grateful for everybody in that locker room, the whole team, and we just got to keep rolling.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: Now incredible there, this Toyotathon stuff people have just started to run with it, including Jordan Love himself. He posted, Toyotathon is upon us. People are saying he turns into Peyton Manning. Jordan turns into Aaron Rogers in his prime. So, yes, it is a wild conspiracy-ish theory that the fans have created here and he's rolling with it.

SMITH: Yes. Fans want Toyotathon to be extended seemingly like Black Friday sales are being extended all season here, if it means more winning.

Coy, thanks so much.

WIRE: You got it, man.

SMITH: Well, dangerous storms are slamming parts of the country today. Could blizzard warnings and heavy rain make a mess of your holiday travel plans? We've got more there.

And deal or no deal? Shoppers are hoping for some serious savings on this Black Friday and they may be in for a surprise once they get in store.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:25:00]

SMITH: This morning, we're learning that the Justice Department could push for the death penalty against the suspect accused of shooting two National Guard members killing one of them. Attorney General Pam Bondi said yesterday, before 20-year-old Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom died, that the DOJ would do everything in its power to seek the death penalty. She said, at the very least, the suspect could face life in prison under terrorism charges.

CNN Legal Analyst Joey Jackson is with us now to discuss. I mean, Joey, we know that there are case proceedings with any of these charges that come forward as they're brought forth. What will this timeline look like that we should be tracking up against?

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes. So, Brad, what will happen is this, and good morning to you, by the way, what'll happen is that the investigation will be ongoing.

[07:30:04]

We know that they've executed search warrants as it relates to the home of the particular shooter.