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Trump Escalates Immigration Crackdown After National Guard Shooting; Marco Rubio to Join U.S. Team for Ukraine Talks in Miami Tomorrow; Vigil Tonight for National Guard Members Shot in D.C.; Trump Calls for "Reverse Migration" After D.C. Attack. China Launches Emergency Mission To Bring Back Stranded Astronauts; WHO: Measles Deaths Dropped 88 Percent Globally From 2000 To 2024; Americans Filling Their Carts For Holiday Shopping Deals. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired November 29, 2025 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:36]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN ANCHOR: You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. Hi, everyone. I'm Jessica Dean here in New York.

The Trump administration moving swiftly to intensify its crackdown on immigration. The president doubling down on anti-immigrant policies and directing steps to stem legal migration into the U.S. This follows the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C., this week. U.S. Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom has died while U.S. Air Force Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe is fighting for his life.

The suspect in that shooting is a 29-year-old Afghan national who previously worked with U.S. forces including the CIA. Sources tell CNN the suspect underwent numerous rounds of vetting before his asylum was approved. Still, it has placed the program and other immigration policies under the spotlight.

CNN's Kristen Holmes is traveling with the president this weekend, and she joins us now from West Palm Beach.

Kristen, walk us through these new actions from the administration and the thinking around them.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean, Jessica, look, President Trump has been trying to ramp up this crackdown on immigration for quite some time. They faced a number of legal battles in the courts and some of this stuff, they were not ready to roll out until this incident happened. And now there is something to point to as they try to intensify this crackdown on immigration.

So here's just some of what the administration is doing. And it really is a whole of government response right now. So you have USCIS pausing all asylum decisions. You have visa issuances paused for travelers with Afghan passports. We also know they are no longer even looking at any requests for asylum or visas there. The Treasury Department is moving to block undocumented immigrants from receiving federal based -- federal tax based benefits. So that was also something that we know they talked about during the

campaign. Now they are actually doing it. They are working on a permanent pause of migration from "all third world countries." That's in quotes there because that was a post that President Trump made on Truth Social. And then they are also examining all green cards issued to people from 19 countries that they say, the administration, are of concern. And lastly, they are reviewing all asylum cases approved under Biden.

I would go a little bit further. They're saying that they are looking at all asylum cases approved under Biden. But we should note that the suspect's asylum was actually approved under the Trump administration. So you're looking at likely not just asylum cases approved under Trump, but, of course -- I mean, Biden. But of course, that is how they are framing it at this time.

Just a quick note on those 19 countries, they did outline what countries they were. I'm not sure if we have the map available, but you can see it's mostly countries in the Middle East as well as in Africa. There is at one point a couple of countries in South America. Venezuela, unsurprisingly, given the tense relationship there, is one of those countries. The other ones are Afghanistan, Iran, Somalia, just for an example there. Another thing President Trump has wanted to do but is now putting into effect.

DEAN: All right. A lot there, a lot of changes. Kristen Holmes tracking them all for us there from West Palm Beach. Thank you so much for that.

We also know now Secretary of State Marco Rubio will be joining Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner for peace talks with a Ukrainian delegation. That's going to happen tomorrow in Miami, Florida. This as both Ukraine and Russia launch new attacks on each other.

And CNN's Larry Madowo has more on that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President Zelenskyy moving on swiftly after the resignation of his chief of staff, one of his closest allies, Andriy Yermak, who's seen almost as a shadow prime minister because of this corruption scandal shaking his administration. Zelenskyy has now appointed Rustam Omarov to lead the negotiations to end the war that he and his team are already on their way to the United States to continue these talks.

He is the secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, former defense minister, and has been involved in these talks already. And that announcement coming just hours after Russia launched the largest barrage of attacks, drones and missile attacks against Ukraine. 36 missile attacks, nearly 600 drones that targeted critical energy infrastructure and civilian facilities terrorizing the population. Listen to two victims.

ILYA MARTYNENKO, KYIV RESIDENT (through translator): This is intimidation by Russia. The attacks are targeting the civilian population in order for Kyiv and the government to make a decision faster, to sign the agreement faster.

IRYNA BORUCHEVSKA, KYIV RESIDENT (through translator): Peace. I don't believe there will be peace anytime soon.

[16:05:02]

With such neighbors I doubt there will be peace anytime soon. It's getting worse and worse. It's getting worse every day.

MADOWO: The overnight Russian attacks left over 600,000 people without power, mostly in Kyiv and the surrounding region. President Zelenskyy once again appealing for international support to shore up Ukrainian air defense systems.

At the same time, a source in the Ukrainian Security Services telling CNN that Ukraine was responsible for attacking two Russian so-called shadow fleet in the Black Sea. These are tankers that transport Russian fuel, selling them against sanctions, and they're usually flagged under different countries for convenience. These two were flagged under the Gambian flag, and there were some damage to them using underwater drones.

This is just the latest front as Ukraine tries to assert itself as this war grinds on.

Larry Madowo, CNN, Nairobi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: All right, Larry, thanks so much for that.

And we're joined now by CNN contributor and former CNN Moscow bureau chief Jill Dougherty.

Jill, good to see you. Thanks for being here. We go back to that news at the top of that segment, which is that this Ukrainian delegation will meet tomorrow with Rubio, Witkoff and Kushner in Florida before the U.S. team talks to Moscow next week. It's been a week of kind of fast diplomacy since we last talked. How would you assess the likelihood that any of this could lead to an ultimate deal at this point?

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, I think it's still, you know, pretty far away. But I think, you know, we have to talk about one of the main things, which is who is going from the Ukrainian side. And that has rapidly, you know, overnight changed with the stepping down of Andriy Yermak, who was really the senior aide, the person who, you know, was with Vladimir Zelenskyy for such a long time.

He stepped down because of the corruption scandal that is engulfing Ukraine. And in his place will be a man whose name is Rustam Umerov. And he is the national security adviser to Zelenskyy. So the advantage that Yermak had was, number one, he's a tough guy, tough negotiator, and he had the ear of Volodymyr Zelenskyy. And Umerov actually has done some negotiating over a prisoner swaps with the Russians. But the question is, can he really be as tough as the Russians?

Because right now, judging by President Putin, and I read his speech, his interview by the media with great detail, he is taking a very, very tough line.

DEAN: Yes. And with that key figure stepping down, does that present any sort of reset even either for the Ukrainian delegation or this whole thing at all? Or do you think that we kind of are still where we are, but with a new face?

DOUGHERTY: Yes, I think substantively, Jessica, it's probably the same. I mean, right now you have Vladimir Putin taking this brick wall approach with no concessions whatsoever. And Ukraine looking at what it can do. But where are its lines, where it simply can't accept what Putin is demanding? So I think, you know, this substantively it continues. But the big question is, what about the United States?

You know, this is something that President Trump has set up as an objective that must be attained as quickly as possible. So could the Americans simply say, look, you know, Putin is not going to budge. You Ukrainians really have to do the budging.

DEAN: Yes. And you do mention that Putin is taking this incredibly hard stance. Obviously, he's going to be meeting with Steve Witkoff, or at least it's scheduled for next week. What will you be watching for out of that meeting?

DOUGHERTY: Well, I mean, if you look at what Putin is saying already, it's no way we are not going to do anything. In fact, he even said Zelenskyy is an illegitimate leader and it's really not worth it to even sign a deal with him. It makes no sense. He also has been very strong about saying that the territory that Russia claims that hasn't even been able physically, militarily to take that it is Russian.

And I think another point that I'm going to watch, which is really important on that territory, Putin wants the West, the United States to declare it de jure. In other words, legally part of Russia. And, you know, that is a very, very big step. So far the negotiations, at least from the Western side, have been, well, maybe, you know, de facto, we could live with it, but we would never legally recognize it.

[16:10:04]

Now, Putin continues to do this. So I think I'm looking more at what the U.S. side will do, because Putin seems very set and determined in what he's going to do.

DEAN: Yes. And meantime, a State Department official is telling CNN that Secretary of State Rubio will skip this meeting next week of NATO's foreign ministers. It's not clear why he won't be there. But obviously, this is coming at this very critical time when European allies are looking to close the gap on this, you know, proposal that is -- that is out there. What does if anything Rubio's absence for this gathering indicate to you?

DOUGHERTY: Well, we don't really know. I mean, if he's going to be at the negotiations in Florida, that's new. And, you know, his not going to NATO could change. But if that continues, if he doesn't go, I think it's not a very good sign because NATO and the issue of, you know, NATO and its role in all of this is really key. Vladimir Putin is demanding not only that Ukraine not be a member of NATO and, you know, reject any claim to be, but he is also saying that NATO ought to just, you know, roll back the countries that it brought in or that came into NATO years ago.

And this is a very big deal. It also has to do with possible, they're called a reassurance force. That would be European armies would go in on the ground in Ukraine to make sure that there is some type of, you know, stabilization and that they're there in case Russia decides to come back. And if they're not going to be part of the picture, then how can you really guarantee the security of Ukraine? So NATO is a big issue. And if the United States isn't there, I don't think it's a good sign.

DEAN: All right. Jill Dougherty, as always, good to see you. Thanks for your time.

DOUGHERTY: Sure.

DEAN: Still ahead this hour, we're learning more about the background of the suspect in the shooting of two National Guard members as a community gathers to honor those National Guard members. Plus 50 million people are under winter storm alerts, making getting back home from Thanksgiving maybe a little more difficult. And later, nearly a year after wildfires ravaged a California community, locals are rallying around small businesses in that area. We're going to take you there.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:17:09]

DEAN: Tonight a West Virginia community coming together to honor two National Guard members shot in an ambush attack in Washington, D.C. 20-year-old Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom died from her injuries Thursday. 24-year-old Air Force Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe remains in critical condition. And in the days following that attack, family and friends, even strangers, have come together to honor Beckstrom and Wolfe.

And joining us now is CNN reporter Camila DeChalus.

Camila, what more are you learning about the victims and where the investigation stands?

CAMILA DECHALUS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Jessica. Since they're -- the passing of Sarah Beckstrom and even just the notification that Andrew Wolfe is now in critical condition, there has been an outpour of support, prayers and condolences for these families, but we are learning a bit more details about these two National Guard members who were recently shot in D.C. Unfortunately, like we just mentioned, Beckstrom did pass away, but

the Republican lawmaker, Riley Moore, has been in contact with Wolfe's family. And they did give us an update on his condition earlier today. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. RILEY MOORE (R-WV): Andy is hanging on. And he's a fighter. And his family has told me that time and time again he is a fighter. But above all, what they want here is for everybody to continue to pray.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: How did she feel about being deployed to D.C.?

ADAM CARR, FORMER BOYFRIEND OF U.S. ARMY SPECIALIST SARAH BECKSTROM: Hated it. Absolutely hated it. She was crying before she left. She dreaded it. She did not want to go. I didn't figure it would ever go this way of course, and I kind of encouraged her. I was like, it could be a great opportunity. There's nothing around here. She didn't want to be there. Not a doubt on her mind. She didn't want to be there. And once she was there, she kind of realized it wasn't too bad and she was having fun.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DECHALUS: Now, Jessica, what you just heard there was the ex-boyfriend of Sarah Beckstrom. And as he just said, she wasn't really thrilled when she learned that she was going to be deployed to D.C. but once she got here, she really started to enjoy herself. And really, as these days have gone by, we've learned a little bit more about these two members. You know, as we just mentioned, Andrew Wolfe himself, they're both from West Virginia, but he is just young in 24, and he only joined the West Virginia National Guard in 2019. And as for Sarah, she was just 20 years old and recently joined the military back in 2023.

Now, what we know of the shooter so far is that we learned that he worked with the CIA back in Afghanistan before coming to the U.S. and came in 2021 under the Biden era program. He was recently granted asylum just this past year, we learned, and sources told CNN that he was thoroughly vetted by U.S. intelligence agencies before coming here.

[16:20:00]

Now, the U.S. attorney general said that the suspect is now facing murder charges related to the shooting, and prosecutors are even considering seeking the death penalty.

DEAN: All right, Camila, thank you so much for the latest reporting on what is just a tragic, tragic story. Thank you so much.

A huge winter storm system is creating chaos for a lot of people trying to get home after this Thanksgiving. In Indiana a highway partially closed after cars and trucks started sliding in the snow there. Across the northern United States, more than 50 million people are now under winter weather alerts. Let's bring in meteorologist Chris Warren.

Chris, how are things shaping up?

CHRIS WARREN, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, it has been a day of snow, Jessica, in Chicago. The snow started falling well before sunrise and it is still coming down and still causing big, big headaches at the airports here. Ground stops at O'Hare and in Midway. So if you have a ticket and you're in New York, you know, or in Atlanta or Los Angeles heading to Chicago, your plane is not taking off anytime soon. That's the ground stop there. Major delays with some serious snowfall.

Already across the Midwest and the plains here, more than a foot of snow. Cedar Falls almost there. Eleven and a half inches, 10 inches in parts of North Dakota, Montana and Iowa. Here is Right Field in Wrigley, just outside of Right Field in Chicago, 28 degrees. We're getting close to a half a foot of snow. Snow is still falling. And you can see it right here. Also Sheffield Avenue waving right there that sign.

So the wind is also a factor when it comes to travel, reducing visibility and just making it that much colder. Here's a look at the winter storm warnings. More than about 700 miles across. That's just in one direction here, with the winter storm warning. So tough travel on the roads, the winter storm warnings are the high impact event here that we're talking about. We're talking also some high snowfall rates, some lightning showing up here in central Illinois.

So that's going to be associated with more intense snowfall. And that can -- even plowed roads can get snowed over again very quickly. Southern side of this also a chance for these thunderstorms that are starting to fire up right now outside of Houston, outside of Dallas, possibly being severe as well. So we could have some strong damaging storms in Texas while we're seeing the snow falling here across the Midwest.

Purple still showing some of that heavier snow. This is now overnight into the early morning hours. Just wrapping up snow. Still snowing in Milwaukee, snowing in Michigan still. So a slow moving system with the impacts of the snow and then the wind. So travel is going to be tough. Again here's that severe weather threat, damaging winds, large hail, isolated tornado.

But as far as the snow side of things go, Jessica, in addition, in addition to what has already come down, another eight inches to a foot still a possibility.

DEAN: All right. Chris Warren, with the very latest. We will keep an eye on that. Thanks so much.

And still to come tonight the Trump administration going even further in its immigration crackdown following that shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C. The administration now targeting some green card holders. We'll tell you which countries they're looking closely at. That's next.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:26:30]

DEAN: President Trump directing a reexamination of certain green card holders following this week's fatal shooting of a National Guard member in Washington allegedly by an Afghan national who came into the country in 2021 after assisting the U.S. in Afghanistan and was granted asylum earlier this year. A second member of the National Guard is still fighting for his life.

The Trump administration says it will reexamine green cards already issued to people from certain countries the president has deemed third world. He's also calling for, his words, reverse migration and vowing to permanently pause immigration from all third world countries. And last night, an official said on social media the U.S. will be halting all asylum decisions until, quote, "every alien is vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible."

Todd Schulte, he is joining us now. He's the president of FWD.US, which advocates for immigrants.

Todd, thanks so much for being here with us. This reexamination for these green card holders, what kind of impact might that have?

TODD SCHULTE, PRESIDENT, FWD.US: Well, it could have a huge impact for hundreds of thousands and millions of people. And we should obviously acknowledge the incredible tragedy that happened here. You all just covered this well. There is, we're going to talk about immigration and across different countries and cultures, few things more horrifying for anyone to imagine than the call that a parent would get for somebody to be killed at such a young age.

That isn't a reason, though, that we should be halting all green cards from dozens of countries. It's not a reason we should be halting the ability for anyone to seek refuge in the United States. And unfortunately, that's what we are seeing the president do. Use this horrible tragedy to pursue a policy agenda that, quite frankly, he and his allies have been talking about for years in this case.

DEAN: And President Trump, we put that map up, is focused on 19 countries specifically. In June, there was an executive order separate from this, but he was talking about those countries. He said many of these countries have also taken advantage of the United States in their exploitation of our visa system and their historic failure to accept back their removable nationals. He also expressed concern over their vetting that he said his officials had told them was not up to par. What do you say to that?

SCHULTE: I mean, that's just not the case and we should be honest about it. I think your viewers understand what's happening here. This is a terrible tragedy. There are a bunch of different countries on there for a variety of different reasons. But the big reason is that unfortunately we have lost as a country right now with our government, the ability to tell the difference between an oppressive regime and the people fleeing that regime.

And that just goes to some of the worst things we've done in American history. I mean, what would this country be without the contributions of Cubans fleeing the Castros, without Jews who fled the Soviet Union? We are currently talking about going to war with Venezuela. Yet we have sent back Venezuelans with autism awareness tattoos to a torture dungeon. This isn't about vetting. This isn't about security. This is about being cruel to immigrants.

DEAN: And help people understand, again, with the green card holders, how is that different? What does that mean to be the holder of a green card?

SCHULTE: Yes. So if you're going through the process of becoming a legal permanent resident, that's a green card. So you've heard about this before. That's the kind of last big step you do before you become a citizen or you're naturalized. So it's green card holder or an LPR, and then you become a citizen.

[16:30:00]

The administration previously reported. In fact, I was able to be on CNN a week ago, that they had plans to put in place these country- based bans on places like Cuba, on places like Afghanistan. These are naturalization bans. They harken back to some of the worst things we've done, like the Chinese Exclusion Act in our history here. They have no place in the United States.

Now, look, there's plenty of blame to go around when it comes to immigration policy in both parties here. Country-based immigration bans -- country-based citizenship bans aren't going to make anybody worse. They're going to make us all worse off, both morally and economically, in this country.

DEAN: And they're saying that they're going to reexamine these green card holders. What might this extra vetting reexamination mean practically? What is that going to look like?

SCHULTE: Yes.

DEAN: Do we know?

SCHULTE: Well, they actually -- they actually use the term re- migration -- reverse migration, which is actually a term that came out of the far, far right in Europe, in the AFD in Germany. They had to kind of tweak stuff to get things past the courts in Germany. This is them saying that they will revoke the legal permanent residents. They've already obviously tried to revoke tons of temporary status for folks from around the country, but they also talked about denaturalization.

And so, this is part of an effort that, again, they've talked about for a long time. This has kind of regardless of legal status, regardless of even citizenship, to push out what they see as undesirable immigrants. And so, this is going to make life incredibly cruel, not just for the people whom this will hurt directly, but for tens of millions of their family members or community members here, and the people who have to live in fear. People who've done everything right in our immigration system.

DEAN: ALL right. Todd Schulte, thanks for your time. We really do appreciate it.

SCHULTE: Thank you.

DEAN: Still ahead. Stuck in space. What caused a second set of astronauts to be stranded in orbit? And why does this keep happening? You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:36:27]

DEAN: It is more common than you might think, space debris. Three Chinese astronauts now have a ride home when they're ready to go. They were stranded in space after their ride home was hit by space debris, damaging one of the spacecraft's windows.

And all the astronauts are safe aboard China's space station. This week, China launched an emergency mission to bring them extra food, supplies, and eventually return them safely back to Earth sometime next year.

And joining us now to discuss space debris and more is former NASA Astronaut Mike Massimino. He's also the author of "Moonshot: A NASA Astronaut's Guide to Achieving the Impossible." Mike, great to have you here.

Space debris, I have to say, is not something probably a lot of us think about on a day-to-day basis, but there's a lot of it out there. And it sounds like it could be -- is it common for it to hit a spacecraft or to cause problems like this?

MIKE MASSIMINO, FORMER NASA ASTRONAUT: Yes, it is. It is common for things to take hits, Jessica. It doesn't always cause problems. You try to protect against it.

The spacecraft we have -- like the space station when we flew the space shuttle, all the -- all the spacecraft we have are built so they can protect the inside of the what the -- we call the pressure vessel, where the people are, or where the cargo is, but particularly when people are involved to keep that pressure intact so you don't get a leak. So, the -- you are going to get strikes. When you do, hopefully, you're protected from them. And it's rare actually, that it causes a problem.

This one was a little bit different, that it hit a window. It could be that that spacecraft is going to be fine. They're going to reenter it without anybody on board. My guess is it will probably come back safely. But why take the risk when you have another option?

DEAN: And what is space debris? What is this stuff? MASSIMINO: Yes. Some of it is natural material, what we call micrometeorites. You know, particles that are just out there in our solar system, orbiting around our planet. And a lot of it also is human-made.

As we launch more things into space and there's more satellites, then we also have to deal with a little more debris -- a lot more debris, actually. And it's getting more and more crowded up there. So, typically, it's micrometeorites, natural material, but every once in a while, it's something that is human-made as well.

DEAN: And I'm thinking back, we covered this story with Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams. They were stuck aboard the International Space Station for more than nine months. Now, we have these other astronauts, kind of stuck up there. There's a plan to get them back, it sounds like.

MASSIMINO: Yes.

DEAN: But how common is it for astronauts to find themselves kind of stranded, for lack of a better word, in space?

MASSIMINO: It happens every once in a while. You know, it's not necessarily stranded. They can always have a way to get back, especially in an emergency. I think what happened with Butch and Suni, though, is that it got everyone's attention.

DEAN: Yes.

MASSIMINO: It was supposed to be eight days. And it ended up being nine months. But a couple of my friends, Mark Vandehei and another astronaut, Rubio, as well, both of these guys were on board for what they thought was going to be six months -- Frank Rubio and Mark Vandehei, and they ended up getting -- in space, they were there for over a year. Their spacecraft -- both of those cases was a Soyuz.

In one instance, there was a problem with the Soyuz on board. On another instance, it was -- it was a Soyuz that was getting ready to launch, where they had to hold it on the ground for longer, and they ended up extending their missions from six months to over a year. So, it happens every once in a while. It's not that frequent. But you know, when you leave the ground, you might be there for longer than you expect.

DEAN: I do think -- it seems like that is something that is really built into the astronauts' kind of mental state, is that it could be longer, potentially. You always -- it sounds like they know that in the back of their mind. I do want --

MASSIMINO: Yes, you never -- you never know.

DEAN: Yes, go ahead.

MASSIMINO: We had -- we had these sayings -- you never know you're going to space until the main engines light. That's one.

DEAN: Yes.

MASSIMINO: And you never know when you're coming back until the deorbit burn. Up until that, you know, it could be expanded that time in between. Yes.

DEAN: You got to be flexible. That is for sure.

MASSIMINO: Yes.

[16:40:09]

DEAN: I do want to ask you about Boeing.

MASSIMINO: Yes.

DEAN: This week, NASA announced some changes to its contract with the aerospace company, specifically to its Starliner Spacecraft. So, it will no longer ferry astronauts to the International Space Station on its next mission. It's only going to move cargo. So, what do you think about that?

MASSIMINO: Actually, Jessica, I think that's not a bad plan. You know, the SpaceX Dragon, which has been very successful taking astronauts back and forth to space now for over five years. They started out as a -- as a cargo ship, and they were able to work out some issues with the with the cargo version of the -- of the SpaceX Dragon.

The Boeing Starliner kind of from the get-go, was supposed to carry people. And it had one uncrewed flight. And then the crewed flight we just mentioned with my friends, Butch and Suni.

So, I don't think it's a bad idea. It's a -- it's a way to get some cargo up there. It's a way to check out the system, make sure everything's working, without risking people on board. And I think they're going to learn a lot.

And then hopefully, that will open up the opportunity on that flight after, you know, this next -- and I think they're looking at the spring. But maybe again next year, sometime after that first flight if it's successful that they'll be able to send people again. So, actually, this makes a lot of sense to me. I think it's a good move.

DEAN: Yes. And then lastly, Voyager One, it's going to become the first spacecraft to travel one light day from earth. That's about 16.1 billion miles, which is just incredible.

MASSIMINO: Yes.

DEAN: Give us some perspective on just how incredible of an achievement this would be.

MASSIMINO: It's pretty amazing. That thing is still working. That thing launched in 1977. I was a kid when that thing launched. Right? And it's still going. And they're still getting data back from it. It's still working. Not like it did, you know, years ago. It is -- they have to manage the systems and the power and conserve things. But it's still reporting back data on what it's like outside of our solar system. And the distance.

All right. So, for example, when we're in space, you know, we can get a -- we can get a message or send a signal up to the crew in about a second. You can get a light -- you know, it's a signal -- a radio transmission to the moon. It's like a second and a half or maybe two seconds. What -- as far away as this thing, it's a -- it's a whole -- it's a whole day for a radio signal --

DEAN: Wow.

MASSIMINO: -- the speed of light to reach that thing. Traveling 186,000 miles per second. This spacecraft is traveling at about ten and a half miles per second, which is really fast.

But travelling at 186,000 miles a second, it would take you -- it would take you -- that would take you in one day. It would take you 16.1 billion miles away. And that's how far this spaceship is.

DEAN: Nice.

MASSIMINO: Pretty incredible. And it has on board something called the Golden Record. In case -- you know, anyone's listening out there, and you know, there's -- it's sometime in the future, if it -- if someone else encounters it, it'll have some information about planet earth on it.

DEAN: Wow.

MASSIMINO: It's pretty, pretty interesting project.

DEAN: It is. All right. Mike, thanks for being here. We appreciate it.

MASSIMINO: You bet. My pleasure. Thanks for having me.

DEAN: A very concerning report from the World Health Organization warning all the progress made over the last few decades to eliminate measles is now in peril. The report finding cases of the highly infectious disease surging worldwide due to low vaccination rates, even in countries that were previously declared measles-free. That includes the United States. CNN Health Reporter Meg Tirrell joins us now with more on this. Meg?

MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, first, some good news from this World Health Organization report. Over the last -- about 25 years, we've seen an 88 percent decline in global deaths from measles. So, that's a really marked change.

However, if you look down at the numbers, we are seeing signs that, at least in terms of cases, that's starting to reverse itself. If you look at 2024, we still saw 95,000 deaths that year from measles. The World Health Organization points out that any death from a disease that's preventable with a highly effective and low-cost vaccine, the way measles is, they call it unacceptable. So, you're seeing almost 100,000 people around the world each year dying from measles.

But those deaths are coming down. If you look back at 2000, that's down from 777,000 global deaths from measles, 38 million cases that year. In 2019, the year before the COVID-19 pandemic, cases came down to 10.2 million globally and just more than 100,000. However, with the COVID pandemic, there were disruptions to measles vaccination programs around the world, and we've started to see cases start to climb back up now to an estimated 11,000,000 in 2024.

And though deaths have continued to fall, the W.H.O. report suggests that some of this sort of split in the directions of cases and deaths may be explained by the fact that we're seeing more cases in middle- income countries. So, these are places that have lower-case fatality rates for measles because of better health care systems and nutrition. But there are still concerns that we're seeing more cases from measles. Because measles, even if it's not deadly, can also have longer-term health consequences. And, of course, as the W.H.O. points out, is preventable with a safe and effective vaccine that's been around for decades.

[16:45:05]

One of the countries, of course, that is seeing more measles cases is the United States, and we are at risk of losing elimination status, something that was hard won in the year 2000 after 40 years of having the measles vaccine and trying to apply vaccination programs broadly. This year, we're approaching 1800 cases. That's a record number of measles cases in the U.S., the most since well before we declared the disease eliminated.

A lot of that having to do with declining vaccination rates, both nationally but also in pockets of communities where we see quite low measles vaccination rates. A lot of concern that the measles outbreaks that we're seeing are going to continue.

DEAN: All right. Meg Tirrell with the latest. Thanks for that. Still to come. Businesses destroyed by the California wildfires earlier this year are now opening their doors once again for the first time since then for small business Saturday. Plus, did Black Friday shopping paint a clear picture of the economy? We're going to run the numbers. That's after the break. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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DEAN: As we're tracking new wildfires in California, the Los Angeles area is still recovering from the Palisades and Eaton fires from earlier this year. That was some of the damage left behind in Altadena in January. Today is Small Business Saturday, and the shops and restaurants in these fire-ravaged communities could really use some help.

Let's bring in CNN's Julia Vargas Jones. Julia, some of those businesses in these areas just starting to reopen. Those fires were in January. What are you seeing today?

[16:50:11]

JULIA VARGA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you can see behind me here still, this is one of these businesses that still has not recovered, Jessica. It is a very important day for these businesses, not because it is Small Business Saturday, but it's also the first weekend that these businesses are opening here in Altadena.

You know, nationwide Small Business Saturday -- watch out for this dog. There's a lot of dogs and babies out here today. It is really a celebration. But nationwide, this day accounts for some up to 20 percent of small businesses' income throughout the year. But over here in Altadena and Los Angeles County as a whole, the damages from that fire, and that means, you know, structural damage to their actual brick and mortar shops, but as well as all of these months that these businesses have been closed, now that's over ten months.

The estimate is between $5 and $10 billion. That's the impact that the fires have had in this community. So, they do need a lot of help. They do need people to come out and spend their money back in this community. We spoke to one business owner who was just so happy to be opening and be welcoming people here today. Take a listen.

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ADRIANA MOLINA, OWNER OF SIDECCA: It's awesome to see people walking in the door just seeing cars on the street, and I intentionally wanted to reopen for this season to give people a reason to come up here. I think everyone needs to see and see the rebuild and or just be patient with all the businesses here who are trying to make it. Small businesses supporting small businesses is like -- you know, our -- it's our true passion to be little small mom and pop shops. So, we love it.

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JONES: And, Jessica, I have to tell you, just seeing this community today, seeing so many houses already rebuilding, seeing businesses opening again, it really did warm my heart. It was -- ten months ago, we were in this very intersection reporting on the fire ravaging here, the largest in Los Angeles County history. And seeing this community get back on their feet and helping each other has just been very heartwarming.

And some of these businesses, they're saying they've already sold out of some of the specialty items that they've made Altadena strong. We're seeing a lot of rebuilding Altadena. They're saying they're overwhelmed by how many people have come out to spend their money in these businesses.

DEAN: It is really a wonderful thing to see that progress that is being made after such devastating fires. Julia Vargas Jones, thank you so much for that. Despite recent polling showing Americans are not happy with the economy, that they're nervous about where things are going, this holiday weekend could see a record number of shoppers, whether it's online or in person. Our CNN Chief Data Analyst, Harry Enten, is here to run the numbers. Hi, Harry.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Hey there, Jessica. Happy weekend to you. Of course, this is a holiday weekend. We had Thanksgiving on Thursday. We had Black Friday yesterday. We're going to have Cyber Monday coming up in just two days.

And so, this is a big season for shopping. Of course, the stock -- the start of the holiday shopping season. And we're expecting record numbers this weekend. What are we talking about? Record shoppers this weekend between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, 187 million Americans either shopping online or in person.

I must admit, I am not necessarily one to be shopping in person. I like to avoid the crowds. That's what I like to do. That's why I'm a much bigger fan of Cyber Monday, than I am of Black Friday. I prefer to spend my weekends at home or maybe going to a nice little luncheonette. But there's 187 million. It's three million more than we had last year. Again, record numbers shopping this weekend.

Of course, it's not all good news when it comes to the economy, Jessica, because we're in a bit of a K-shape, right, whereby the top of the economic spectrum seems to be going along as if everything is normal, nice, fantastic while those on the lower rung are facing tougher times. And we see that when it comes to shopping this holiday season. Expected holiday shopping in terms of money versus 2024 by household income.

You can see that this is a real economic divide in terms of how much folks are expecting to spend this year versus last year when it comes to shopping during the holiday season. If you make less than $50,000 in your household income, the expected amount to be spent, down 16 percent versus a year ago. You jump to the middle rung, $50 to $100,000, again down, but by less. Down six percent.

Look at those making at least $100,000 in terms of their household income. It's actually up. It's up about five percent, or at least the expected amount versus last year. Again, illustrative of this K-shaped economy, whereby the wealthier folks are spending as if nothing is wrong, spending as if times are good, while those on the lower rung of the economic spectrum not seeing the good times nearly as much. In fact, seeing some bad times in a number of cases.

[16:55:11]

Of course, this is not the only sign that the economy is perhaps not as strong as some might necessarily want. Of course, this holiday season, if you're going to be buying something, you might be putting it on your credit card. And we're seeing some potentially troubling numbers when it comes to that credit card debt.

What are we talking about here? Well, let's take a look at credit card balance. That's 90 days or more late. 90 days or more late. We're talking about the highest percentage since the Great Recession.

You know, you go back to quarter three of 2022, three years ago, seven point -- 7.6 percent of all credit card balances were 90 days or more late. Late in terms of their payment. You jump over now. Look at this.

This percentage has really climbed in quarter three of 2025, which of course, this last quarter. We're talking about 12.4 percent. That is a significant, significant rise, Jessica. I think the question is, will this percentage become worse during the holiday season? We've obviously seen that those who earn less are cutting back on their spending -- expecting to cut back on their spending.

Of course, there are plenty of wealthier people who also have big credit card debts as well. So, we'll just have to wait and see what happens. But this, to me, is a troublesome sign. Folks spending money that they simply do not have.

And we're seeing it at a higher percentage since the Great Recession. Hopefully, we'll have some better news on the economy going forward. But for now, Jessica Dean, this is all I got for you. So, back to you.

DEAN: All right, that will do it. Harry Enten, thanks so much. And we'll be right back.

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