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National Guard Member Dies, Another Fights For His Life After Shooting; Pope Speaks About Secret to "Christian Charity" While in Turkey. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired November 28, 2025 - 08:30   ET

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

BRAD SMITH, CNN ANCHOR: UPS has announced that a fleet of grounded planes after that deadly crash in Louisville, Kentucky earlier this month, they will not be back in the air in time to make deliveries this holiday season. You'll remember 14 people were killed when the MD-11 plane crash happened after an engine detached during takeoff. An internal company memo says inspections and possible repairs to meet FAA guidelines will be more extensive than first thought.

So, it's going to take months instead of the weeks that they originally estimated. UPS says it has contingency plans to make sure that customers get their deliveries during this peak holiday season.

Also, breaking moments ago, eight more people are now under arrest in the horrific Hong Kong high-rise inferno. Officials with Hong Kong's anti-corruption agency, they say the individuals are connected to renovations at the apartment complex that housed many elderly residents. The death toll from the massive fire has now risen to 128. It is expected to keep going up as 200 people are still unaccounted for.

When the flames erupted on Wednesday, the buildings were encased in bamboo scaffolding with mesh netting and boards blocking windows, boards that officials, they say, were flammable. It's believed that helped the flames spread swiftly from tower to tower. Authorities also say fire alarms in the towers were not functioning properly. Those arrested include scaffolding subcontractors, directors of an engineering consulting company and project managers supervising the renovations.

Sara?

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Thank you so much, Brad.

Breaking news now. Prosecutors now say the man accused of shooting two members of the West Virginia National Guard in Washington, D.C., will face a murder charge since one of the guard members has died. Meantime, President Donald Trump is vowing to crack down on asylum and immigration programs following that tragic shooting. The suspect is 29-year-old from Afghanistan who came into the United States in 2021 at the end of America's longest war.

Now, he had worked with the CIA during the war to assist U.S. operations and arrived in the United States under a Biden era resettlement program called "Operation Allies Welcome," meant to help Afghan allies escape the Taliban. He was recently given asylum during the Trump administration.

Joining me now is Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida.

Thank you for being here. This is so difficult for these families and for Americans just seeing what happened with this ambush style shooting in D.C. of the National Guard. I first just want to get your thoughts after learning that the 20-year-old National Guard person who was shot in D.C. has now died.

[08:35:04]

REP. DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (D-FL): Sara, thank you for having me and hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

That certainly isn't the case for Sarah Beckstrom's family or Andrew Wolfe's, who is, you know, in critical condition and fighting for his life. And my heart breaks for them and goes out to their families.

This is a deeply concerning situation. But, you know, it's one that I think we have to beg the question. Would an individual have flown across the country to target law enforcement officers in Washington, D.C.? And -- I mean, the answer is likely no.

So, why wasn't the president's first thought? Well, you know, maybe I should reconsider deploying military troops in the nation's capital or in any city, particularly not when they haven't coordinated closely with the leadership of these cities and when we have law enforcement that are quite capable of handling the criminal justice issues that are -- that we need law enforcement to focus on and not our military.

SIDNER: There was some concern in a memo that our reporters have seen before all of this about having National Guard in the streets and in a capacity that you don't normally see them. But the president is also sort of turning and looking at this very differently. And I'm curious what you think of the president's reaction to this, specifically what he put out in his social media post, saying that he's going to permanently pause all immigration from so-called third world countries to allow the system to fully recover, terminate all of the millions of Biden, what he calls illegal admissions. I am curious what you think that means and if you think that is the right thing to do.

SCHULTZ: Well, I mean, there certainly needs to be a careful review of vetting generally when it comes to the Afghan program. That would be a natural thing to do, given this horrific situation.

However, making a sweeping generalization about a type of immigrant, particularly in the resettlement program like this one, which has multiple levels of vetting, in the vetting that occurred before he even arrived in the country, the vetting for him to remain in the country, the vetting the Trump administration did to grant him asylum in April of this year. I mean, the vetting to begin with for him to even participate in the program where he assisted our military in Afghanistan. So, making sweeping generalizations for countries across the globe for

this one incident, I think, goes too far. But we do have to make sure that whatever gaps there might be are tightened.

But how about we also address our gun loss? Once and for all, the ease of access for anyone to get a gun in this country is something that has to be a part. And Americans have been trying to demand to be a part of any solution or attempt to address the gun violence, which this was specifically in this country.

SIDNER: I do want to ask you this because the timing of this has caught a lot of people's attention that days before the shooting, the public learned through reporting that the Trump administration had planned to review and re-interview refugees that came in during the Biden administration. I mean, what do you think about the timing of all this, the shooting coming literally days after that?

SCHULTZ: I just think that any administration needs to be careful about making sweeping generalizations. I mean, the fact that the president's come out and he's going to says he's going to review every green card holder from 19 countries of concern, you know, that he has stopped certain immigrants from countries already, that again, makes sweeping generalizations about countries that -- that shouldn't have every individual assumed to be dangerous to admit to the United States.

We need to make sure that we have tight and appropriate and vetting. If there were gaps that admitted this person, they would have failed over multiple levels of gas. And this individual was trusted enough to participate in assisting our military during the war in Afghanistan.

[08:40:00]

So, I just think, you know, the president looks everywhere except inward to blame his own policies. We need to make sure that we don't have our military deployed in our cities. We're doing law -- handling law enforcement responsibilities and we need to make sure that we address gun violence.

We certainly need to make sure we always have the proper and appropriate and tight vetting processes and those should be reviewed. But it's never the president's fault for his policies when it comes to his reaction. And it's pretty disgusting.

SIDNER: Two administrations, both the Biden and the Trump administration, were responsible for having this person in the country, as you mentioned.

Congressman Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Thank you so much for going through that with us. And everyone's hearts are with the families who are dealing with the consequence of this shooting there in D.C.

Brad?

SMITH: New this morning, a new study from Oxford Economics suggesting the American dream is becoming increasingly out of reach for Gen Z. With rising housing prices, a slowing jobs market, declining wage growth and rising layoffs, many young Americans, they're struggling to get ahead.

Economists note that unemployment among workers ages 20 to 24 has risen 2.1 percent since early 2023. For workers 16 to 19 years old, unemployment is up 3.5 percent.

With me now for more on this, we've got Madison Mills, Senior Markets Reporter with Axios.

And so, as we think about this, I mean, house, steady job, family, retirement pathway, maybe some nice wheels even along the way. That's just some of the tentpoles to the American dream. You've been looking at how some of these goals and the attainment of them is being seen by Gen Z. What did you know?

MADISON MILLS, SENIOR MARKETS REPORTER, AXIOS: Yeah. And you laid some of this out, Brad, that it's a really tough environment for the kids right now, right? Not only are we in this low hire, low fire environment when a lot of members of Gen Z have just taken on record amounts of student debt to be able to fund their college educations.

Now, they're graduating and it's hard to suss out the return on that investment because it's very difficult to get a job in this labor market. Part of that is the economy. Part of that is A.I. specifically targeting some of those really early career roles. And that's what I hear from a lot of the CEOs that I talk to, that they don't necessarily want to be hiring a lot of those early career people when A.I. can -- in their views right now, at least come in and take some of that work.

So, that's what's happening on the labor market side. Then, on the broader economic side, you have wage growth slowing. So, even for people who are employed, they can't necessarily bank on getting a raise anytime soon. You have record breaking home prices.

Obviously, interest rates are still high. So, that goal of someday getting to own a home and the kind of feeling that is attached to that as part of the so-called American dream continues to be further and further out of reach and making that feel even more unattainable for young folks.

SMITH: What does this mean for the long-term economic health of Gen Z? Is the outlook as dire as it sounds or could there be a recovery period down the line?

MILLS: So, this can be a catch up. And I feel like you would also put yourself in the millennial category, Brad. And there was a similar dynamic when we were graduating in the 2008 era. The economy wasn't doing well. And then, the economy started to boom and you're able to catch up a bit. So, long as you get that boom down the line and it impacts wages broadly for that generation.

That's the hope from the folks that I've spoken to that that could happen for Gen Z. There could be this sort of catch up. But it's hard to see what that's going to look like right now. Again, especially because of A.I., that's going to be kind of a key determining factor in whether or not there can be this catch-up era for members of Gen Z.

And it is a critical problem because we see that for every member of Gen Z who continues to live at home longer, that can have up to $12,000 of impact per year for GDP, which can equate to billions of dollars in aggregate. So, it's not just a problem for young people. It's a broader economic problem as well.

SMITH: I got to hustle to my finish here. You write that this is not just about the personal economics for young people. What are the macro implications?

MILLS: Be a hit to GDP, not just for, you know, the short term, but again, long term. If you have an entire generation that has struggled to catch up, that's obviously an issue. And then, of course, this kind of broader existential question about what the American dream is.

I talk to a lot of young people who are buying stocks and betting on sports games instead of hoping to own a home someday. So, certainly some macro implications there.

SMITH: Wow. Looking for a parlay. Madison Mills, thank you so much.

Sara?

SIDNER: All right. Speaking of a parlay, it is the day after Thanksgiving, which means perhaps you're having pie this morning for breakfast or you're on your second turkey sandwich or you're standing in line and elbowing around people because it's Black Friday and you've decided you're going shopping.

[08:45:11]

But what are some other post-Turkey Day traditions? CNN Chief Data Analyst Harry Enten joining me now with the answers. So what are some other post-Turkey Day traditions? CNN Chief Data Analyst Harry Enten joining me now with the answers.

So, how many people are working today like us or most people like at no?

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: You know, how many people are so fortunate like you and I are to be able to hang out together, touch human contact? There we go.

SIDNER: Hello, my dear.

ENTEN: Hello, hello. How many of you are working? How many of you are staying home? Well, why don't we take a look at this?

Paid day off Black Friday. Among those who get paid days off, 43 percent of you get a paid day off today. It turns out the clear majority of Americans who, in fact, do get paid days off, do not get one for Black Friday. You're going to have to take it off as your personal holiday. So, we are with the people here, Sara Sidner and I. We are part of the 57 percent who do not, in fact, get a paid day off today. SIDNER: And working, but some people just decide like, OK, that's just fine. I don't care.

ENTEN: They'll just go. They'll be like, I got to hit those Black Fridays.

SIDNER: And I wish I was one of them. But anyway, how many people are actually going to shop today?

ENTEN: Yes. So, how many of those people who are offered decide, you know what? Screw it. I'm taking off because I'm going shopping. Well, this to me is an interesting little nugget because projected holiday shoppers, Black Friday versus Cyber Monday, Black Friday still reigns supreme. We're talking, of course, online, in person, et cetera.

We're talking about projected up to 130 million of you going shopping today. That is why I'm staying away from the malls after this. I'm going to the luncheonette. I'm not going to the mall.

Seventy-four million on Cyber Monday. That's much more of my speed. I'm going to go on Amazon, find some nice deals, maybe get Sara Sidner or something, maybe get the girlfriend something.

SIDNER: Yes, that's not late.

ENTEN: Maybe get -- maybe get John Berman when he comes back. A little something, a little Patriots gear.

SIDNER: I like it.

ENTEN: I'm going to be part of this 74 million. And don't worry, Kate Bolduan, I'm not forgetting about you either. I'm going to get you something nice as well.

SIDNER: I'm sure they are rapt watching.

ENTEN: Oh, there's no doubt they're watching. That's what all Americans are doing right now.

SIDNER: Absolutely. OK. This is a question that a lot of people talk about. In my house, everyone thinks like, oh, it's going to go bad. It's going to go bad. It's going to go bad. When is it too late to eat the leftover turkey?

ENTEN: OK. As far as I'm concerned, I'm part of the 10 percent who doesn't eat any leftover turkey at all.

SIDNER: You don't?

ENTEN: No, no, no, no, no, no.

SIDNER: Why?

ENTEN: I ordered myself poke yesterday. I have a whole thing on our streaming, all access about my hatred of turkey.

But leftover --

SIDNER: It's insane.

ENTEN: It's not insane. It's perfectly American. I'm with the vice president on this one.

Leftover turkey after Thanksgiving, days after you'll eat it. 59 percent say three days or less. So, Sunday is your final day to eat it my dear friends, four days or more. We're talking 29 percent. But again, I'm part of this 10 percent who say I won't do it at all. I'm going to lunch in it later on. I'm going to pump some more money into this economy.

Sara?

SIDNER: Well, that is your duty and you are doing it well.

ENTEN: My patriotic duty --

SIDNER: Patriotic duty.

ENTEN: -- on Black Friday.

SIDNER: Although there's a lot of talk. We're going to talk a little bit more of this, like, Black Friday deals might not be the greatest deals of all. So, we'll have to wait and see. But a lot of people, 130, that's why you do this one.

ENTEN: That's why I'm doing Cyber Monday.

SIDNER: OK. All right, we'll see. All right, Harry Enten, thank you so much. No turkey for you, more for me.

ENTEN: There you go.

SIDNER: Brad?

SMITH: I've got to introduce Harry Enten to some smoked turkey. It lasts a little bit better.

ENTEN: How about a little fried turkey? A little fried turkey?

SMITH: Maybe, maybe.

ENTEN: Oh, John Madden. Oh my God, I love duck. Oh, please.

SIDNER: OK, so now we'll figure out a way.

ENTEN: We got the all-Madden team. We got some guy. We got a member of our crew here Wearing the All-Madden team.

SIDNER: Sweet Lou's got the All-Madden outfit on. I mean, we're good.

ENTEN: Perfect. Perfect. A little football. There he is over there.

SIDNER: There he is. SMITH: Catching the pass.

SIDNER: Representing.

SMITH: There we go. All right, speaking of catching the pass, I'm going to catch the pass over here. We've got a powerful earthquake that's actually rocking parts of Alaska on Thanksgiving morning and sending bottles flying off of the shelves. We've got those visuals from you from what played out on Thanksgiving morning.

Plus a real-life Grinch stealing a family's Christmas decorations. Just wait until you see this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:53:31]

SIDNER: Pope Leo just finished his speech commemorated the Council of Nicaea's 1700th anniversary. He spoke in Istanbul, Turkey. It's part of his first trip abroad as pope. He was also seen this morning greeting crowds with high fives after he met with members of the clergy. Pope Leo also stopped by a nursing home where he gave this message.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POPE LEO: The secret of Christian charity is that before being for others, we must first be with others in a communion based on fraternity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: All right, let's turn now to CNN Correspondent Salma Abdelaziz. Good to see you. What are you learning this morning about the pope's visit?

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN REPORTER: Sarah, I am at this gorgeous archaeological site, Lake Iznik, just behind me here. And it is in this site that the ancient city of Nicaea held the first ecumenical council 1700 years ago. It was one of the first times that Christian leaders came together to resolve a theological dispute through dialogue.

And that's why Pope Leo is here to carry that message through to today. He was accompanied by the patriarch Bartholomew. He is the head of the Eastern Orthodox Church who is based in Istanbul here in Turkey.

Together they led a prayer service over what is a really extraordinary site. It is the remains of this basilica that is mostly submerged in this lake right behind me here. They built a platform especially for the pope and the patriarch to stand on as they led that prayer and as they gave their speeches.

[08:55:12] Pope Leo spoke in English. He's been creating his own culture, his own style during his first overseas trips. And one of those things is to speak in English during his speeches. And he pushed for unity, pushed for harmony, pushed for dialogue as a way to resolve conflict.

And that's very much the message and the mission of his papacy. And it's what he's trying to spread. Again, during his first overseas trip to both here, Turkey, and later on he's going to be moving to Lebanon.

This was the key event that's taking place in Turkey, the commemoration of 1,700 years since that first council of Nicaea. And it was really beautiful to see that moment. Everyone was, there was people crowded around this gorgeous lake. You had helicopters flying overhead, the pope coming down, and really an opportunity to showcase his personality, spread his wings, and spread his message.

Sara?

SIDNER: Yeah, peace through conversation sounds good to a lot of people in the world now. Salma Abdelaziz, thank you so much. Great reporting there from Turkey for us.

Brad?

SMITH: Thank you. CNN religion contributor Father Edward Beck joins me now to discuss further. We got to know, what message is Pope Leo sending with his first trip overseas? And how is he positioning the papacy?

FATHER EDWARD BECK, CNN RELIGION CONTRIBUTOR: Well, Brad, yesterday was focused on international diplomacy. I met with President Erdogan. He wanted to talk about the conflict in Gaza. It's the possible place where peace might be brokered between the -- Ukraine and Russia. And so, that really was the focus yesterday. There is a minority Christian tradition and Christian minority people in Turkey.

It's a vastly Muslim country. And so, he's trying to shore up those kind of beleaguered Christians as well. And today, as you heard, is focused on ecumenism. I mean, he's at this birthplace, this creedal birthplace of Christianity in Nicaea. And to think that 1,700 years ago, this creedal statement of faith was formed. And today, it's said by most Christians throughout the world.

So, really, it's a sign of unity. That's why they're celebrating the 1,700th anniversary. And so, he's really trying to promote this whole message of international unity and then ecumenical unity among religious denominations.

SMITH: We know that Pope Leo is warning that global conflicts, they're endangering humanity, invoking Francis's term of piecemeal Third World War. What kind of influence does the prophecy have in issues of international affairs even?

BECK: Well, I think we saw with Pope Francis, he was influential. Remember with President Barack Obama, he helped broker the deal with Cuba. And he was very instrumental. And I think we'll see with Pope Leo as well.

I mean, if they can be seen as neutral and bring opposing sides together to a conversation of peace, I mean, his primary message is peace. It's the message of the gospel. It's the message of Jesus. And so, I think there can be a real influence in international relations, as we have seen with previous popes. And I think that this pope is going to continue to try to do that, especially as a concern about the Gaza ceasefire remaining.

I mean, there's been some threats to that, as we've seen. There was the Catholic parish that was bombed in Gaza as well. And so, this is heavy on the heart of the pope. And so that message is going to be continuing throughout this trip, I think.

SMITH: Father Edward Beck, thank you for joining us this morning.

Sara?

SIDNER: It's always nice to see Father Beck in the morning.

All right, "On Our Radar" for you, a startling Thanksgiving morning wake up call for some folks in Alaska, an earthquake. Look at what happened there. You can see the response, all of the things falling off all over the place. Earthquake rocked the south-central part of the state.

Video from a local coffee shop there shows the moment that Anchorage, Alaska residents felt what was a 6.0 magnitude quake. The quake happened about 8 o'clock on Thursday morning. Even, of course, startling some pets awake. But people may not have been so surprised because Alaska is the most earthquake-prone state, according to the U.S. Department of the Interior.

All right, a real-life Grinch caught on camera stealing Christmas decorations in North Miami Beach, Florida.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[09:00:03]

SIDNER: Looks like the moms weren't having it. Home surveillance shows the brazen thief drive into the family's front yard and load large inflatable Christmas decorations onto his vehicle. The stunned homeowner ran outside, her baby in her arms. This morning, police say the suspect still on the loose.