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CNN This Morning
50M+ Under Winter Storm Warnings; Family And Friends Mourn Fallen National Guard Member; Afghans In The United States Fearful Amid Immigration Crackdown; Affordability Crisis Rattles Small Business Owners; A.I. Raises The Competition During Holiday Shopping Rush; Pope Visits Istanbul's Blue Mosque During First Trip Abroad. Aired 7-8a ET
Aired November 29, 2025 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[07:01:03]
ISABEL ROSALES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Welcome to the weekend. And for our American audience, Happy Thanksgiving break. It is Saturday, November 29th This is CNN THIS MORNING. I'm Isabel Rosales, in for Victor Blackwell. Here is what's new this morning.
Just as millions get ready to head out after the Thanksgiving holiday, a major winter storm is on the move too. We are tracking where the worst weather is right now. Take a look at this. This is a live image from St. Louis.
Who is going to be dealing with this stuff next, and how it could impact your travel. Plus, West Virginia mourns the National Guard member killed in the attack in D.C. this week, as they hold out hope for another soldier fighting for his life right now. Coming up, you'll hear from some of their loved ones.
And caught on camera --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, what the --
Oh, my God.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROSALES: Wow. The stunning moments. A rideshare driver helps a woman escape from a domestic abuse situation, as her husband tries to push them off the road. Incredible.
Well, we begin this morning with that cross-country storm. More than 50 million Americans face winter storm warnings that are threatening to create all sorts of havoc on travel home plans after Thanksgiving.
Here is a look at that. St Louis, Missouri, camera. You can see all the snow on the ground. That is not a -- not the best driving conditions, making it very difficult for these drivers, as the Midwest just gets pounded by the severe weather.
We also want to give you a peek outside of New York. Travelers there face very chilly temperatures.
CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar joins me now with what you need to know as folks brave this cold and return home.
ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right? And so, we show the video where the snow is, but that's not the only place
ROSALES: Right.
CHINCHAR: And I think that's kind of the key. You are talking over 50 million people that are under some type of winter weather alert out there. Again, all of the areas you see in the pink and the purple color is here, and even some of these others.
Again, you are talking a lot of people that are expected to be impacted by this next storm. So, here is where it is at the moment.
You all of this purple color here, the light purple, the dark purple, this is where the snow is. The darker the purple, the heavier the snowfall actually is. So, you can see it is coming down pretty thick across portions of Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, and even into Kansas.
Now, you've also got some pink mixed in there. That's where it's going to be a little bit of a wintry mix. So, it's some snow, some ice, and even some rain. Farther to the south, it's all rain. Temperatures here are just warm enough that it's just going to only be rain.
But the downfall here is you could have some thunderstorms and even some severe thunderstorms across portions near the Gulf Coast.
So, here's a look at the system itself. Again, as we go into the morning, the main focus right here is across portions of St Louis, Omaha, stretching in the Indianapolis. By tonight, the main focus for the heavy snow, places like Milwaukee, Chicago, Detroit, before the system finally exits and pushes out over the Northeast as we head into Sunday.
But also notice too, the very heavy rain that is expected very early in the morning across much of the southeast Sunday.
So, when we talk about the snow, here's a look. The target point is obviously going to be right here, with the pink eight to 12 inches. Keep in mind, some of these areas had snow earlier in the week. So, this is the eight to 12 that's on top of what they already had.
ROSALES: Lordy.
CHINCHAR: Yes.
ROSALES: And it's earlier in the season for something like this. Right?
CHINCHAR: Yes, the Indianapolis area. This is their first November winter storm warning that's been issued since 2008.
ROSALES: Wow.
CHINCHAR: That normally -- get this much snow this early in the season.
ROSALES: All right. Well, bundle up, be careful on those roads.
Thank you, Allison Chinchar.
Well, this morning, family and friends are mourning the loss of one National Guard member while praying that another one survives.
This week's shooting in Washington, D.C. killed 20-year-old U.S. Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom. 24-year-old U.S. Air Force Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe, he is in very serious condition. That's according to West Virginia's governor.
CNN's Gabe Cohen, went to their hometowns in West Virginia as communities understandably they are still in shock.
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[07:05:03]
GABE COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What's it like being back here?
ADAM CARR, FORMER BOYFRIEND OF SARAH BECKSTROM: I didn't come here much without her. So, it was always here with her. So, it's just that missing piece.
COHEN: This is a place that Sarah Beckstrom loved, Salmon Run near Summersville, West Virginia, where she lived. She'd come here to swim and to fish. It was her happy place.
COHEN (voice over): Adam Carr tells me he dated Sarah Beckstrom for nearly six years. They split just a month ago.
CARR: I kind of just can't wrap my head around it at all. Seeing her picture everywhere, just hearing the whole that she is gone, kind of unbelievable.
COHEN (voice over): The 20-year-old U.S. Army specialist, one of two National Guard members ambushed Wednesday. She joined the Guard back in 2023 and had been deployed in DC since August.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Sarah Beckstrom of West Virginia, outstanding in every way.
COHEN (voice over): Her father, writing on Facebook, My baby girl has passed to glory. This has been a horrible tragedy."
COHEN: Tell me about her.
CARR: She is super kind hearted, super sweet, one of the best people around that you could meet. She'd do anything for you, and didn't even have to know you.
COHEN (voice over): Carr says Beckstrom eventually wanted to work for the FBI.
COHEN: How did she feel about being deployed to D.C.?
CARR: Hated it. Absolutely hated it. She was crying before she left. She dreaded it. She did not want to go. More she was there, the more she warmed up to it. And she actually volunteered for longer time.
She definitely knows she was making a difference for the right cause. And she is one of the biggest hearted people out there, and I'm glad most of -- most of our time was together.
COHEN (voice over): Beckstrom grew up in Webster Springs, West Virginia, and worked here at the custard stand in high school.
ALISSA CLAYTON, RESIDENT, WEBSTER SPRINGS: I think she'll be remembered as the hero.
COHEN (voice over): Alissa Clayton's parents own this restaurant.
CLAYTON: It's just hard, because it's hard to lose somebody from here that the wanted to leave this community and be successful and do something for our country and for our community.
COHEN (voice over): This small town held a vigil, Thursday night. Across the state, another community is reeling, as 24-year-old Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe remains in the hospital.
His father telling me, Thursday, "Just pray for my son. He is a fighter."
A guardsman since 2019, Wolfe is part of the 167th air-lift wing near his hometown of Martinsburg, West Virginia.
MICHAEL LANGONE, NEIGHBOR OF SGT. ANDREW WOLFE: Just really good guy. We always looked out for each other, best neighbor you could ask for, really. I just hope that the right thing happens for him and he comes back.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: God bless his family and all of them. So, hopefully everything turns out good.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COHEN (on camera): And Isabel, this weekend, there are more vigils planned for Sarah Beckstrom here in Webster Springs. And I can tell you, having spent so much time in these communities across West Virginia over the past couple days, there are still so many people dealing with shock and grief, trying to process this tragedy. Isabel.
ROSALES: Yes. Just horrible. OK, Cohen, thank you for that.
The suspect accused of killing Beckstrom and gravely wounding Wolfe is an Afghan national. 29-year-old Ramanullah Lankawal was one of the almost 200,000 Afghans admitted into the U.S. after the military withdrawal back in 2021.
He underwent numerous rounds of vetting, starting as early as 2011 when he started working with U.S. intelligence agencies. Now, in April, under the Trump administration, he was granted permanent asylum, and the wake of the shooting, the Trump administration is now putting the vetting process for Afghan nationals under intense scrutiny.
All asylum decisions are halted and all green cards issued to people from a list of 19 countries of concerns, as they are called, will be re-examined.
These decisions are escalating fear within Afghan communities right here in the U.S. One group who helps Afghans, who helped us during the war to relocate and resettle outside of Afghanistan. They are helping those Afghans.
Shawn VanDiver, the president of Afghan Evac, joins me now.
Sean, thank you so much for your time. Really appreciate you being on.
SHAWN VANDIVER, FOUNDER, AFGHAN EVAC COALITION: Thanks for having us on today. I really appreciate it, Isabel.
ROSALES: Yes. So, what's happening here is one person did something heinous. These are the actions of one person, and it's being used to trigger this sweeping crackdown on immigration. What are Afghans here in the U.S. telling you about the shooting and this subsequent crackdown?
VANDIVER: Sure. Well, listen, I'm hearing -- my inbox is full this morning from Afghans who are getting pulled off of planes, because it's not just all the things that you guys said. Late last night, Secretary Rubio, seemingly unilaterally, without consulting Congress or the courts that have said, they have to keep doing this has pause the Special Immigrant Visa program and all visas for Afghans coming to the United States.
This is unconscionable that the United States government would take the actions of one crazy person and ascribe them to an entire community.
[07:10:06]
And obviously, what this man did requires accountability, we've got to identify the gaps. It doesn't seem like there was a gap in vetting, but it sure does seem like there might have been a gap in the domestic security programs that are meant to identify lone wolf shooters.
Our hearts go out to the families, the Beckstrom family, who are grieving the loss of Sarah, and the Wolfe family who are pulling for Andrew to get through this awful time.
We hope he recovers. But we cannot punish an entire community for the actions of this one man. ROSALES: I want you to listen now to what President Trump said Friday about Afghan evacuees after the Taliban seized control of the country back in 2021. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: 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 are 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 are going to get them out. But they go cuckoo. Something happens to them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROSALES: Yes. Except that's not true. They wouldn't be here if they weren't vetted rigorously.
VANDIVER: That's true.
ROSALES: What's your reaction to what the president said there? You mentioned earlier that there was a gap. Walk us through what that vetting process is like.
VANDIVER: Sure.
ROSALES: And do you think this was a failure of vetting?
VANDIVER: I do not think that this was a failure of vetting, unless there is some sort of evidence to the contrary, which I'm sure the president would be saying if there was.
But look, the president is just not telling the truth there. All of those folks are vetted. It took so long to get them on those planes because of the vetting. Then, they went to a third country, got more vetting. Then, they came here, went to an American military base, got more vetting. They were vetted continuously while they were here. This guy got vetted at each step in the application process where he applied for both asylum and SIV after he arrived here in the United States. And then, was approved both times by the Trump administration, or in both cases by the Trump administration.
If there is any gap, it's a gap in our mental health services and a gap in our domestic security policies. Right? President Trump defunded both of those things. Both the domestic security policy programs at DOGE. And President Trump cleared all of that out, all the programs meant to keep us safe.
And then, they also defunded all the psychosocial programs for refugees and new arrivals.
Look, anybody who has seen the things that guy has seen would likely be struggling with some form of PTSD, or could be struggling with some form of PTSD and he needed this support --
(CROSSTALK) ROSALES: And we do have reporting from sources that he was likely dealing with PTSD as well.
(CROSSTALK)
VANDIVER: Yes.
ROSALES: And in terms of vetting, nothing came up.
(CROSSTALK)
VANDIVER: Yes, if a veteran have done that, then, they wouldn't have thrown veterans now.
ROSALES: Yes. Senior U.S. official told CNN that in terms of vetting, nothing came up. That he was, "clean on all checks."
VANDIVER: Yes.
ROSALES: Now, listen, the Trump administration. Trump, the president, has ordered a reexamination of green card status of migrants from 19 countries, including Afghanistan. So, green card residents, these are lawful permanent residents of the US. These are people that are authorized to live and work here in the U.S. Do you think that was the right move. We are looking at a map now of these countries that are impacted.
VANDIVER: No, I don't think it's the right move. That's a waste of money. We have already been doing that, and he already -- he -- to be clear, the president announced that, or the -- a policy memo came out on Friday, that said that they were going to do that last Friday, not this past one, well before this incident occurred.
Instead, we should reallocate that money to focus on real, serious national security issues in our country, those domestic security programs meant to identify lone wolves and on the psychosocial services that our country needs.
Shawn VanDiver, thank you so much for your time and your work.
VANDIVER: Thank you so much.
ROSALES: Well, President Trump says he plans to pardon former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez. He is serving a 45-year of federal sentence for drug trafficking. Trump announced the move on Truth Social saying that he believes that none this was treated harshly and unfairly. That's a quote.
Hernandez was convicted of working with cartels to move hundreds of tons of cocaine through Honduras to the U.S., taking millions in bribes along the way.
The announcement comes just days before Honduras holds its elections.
Officials in Iran say they will boycott next week's World Cup draw in Washington, after the U.S. denied visas to members of their delegation.
Iran Soccer Federation says the visa problems go beyond sports and has asked FIFA to step in.
The Trump administration recently banned travel from several countries, including Iran, but promised exceptions for athletes. Now, it's not clear if those exceptions apply to this draw. The event takes place December 5th at the Kennedy Center.
[07:15:01]
In Washington State, a rideshare driver is being hailed as a hero after helping a woman escape a domestic abuse situation. Police say right after the driver picked her up, her husband chased them down and rammed their car four times. Look at this. Wow. Even pushing them toward a 20-foot drop.
Video shows both of them screaming as the car is hit again and again.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (via telephone): (INAUDIBLE) emergency -- scape your vehicle, (INAUDIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, please. We are somebody --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hesp us --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, please (INAUDIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. I am calling 911 right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROSALES: So scary, the driver managed to get away, thankfully, and get the woman to a police station. She was not hurt, but she was, excuse me, injured. And she was taken to a hospital. Police are still searching for that suspect.
Still to come, as President Trump tries to mediate a peace deal, Russia launched an overnight wave of missiles and drones across Ukraine. The latest on that conflict. That's next.
Plus, Pope Leo is visiting the Middle East, where he spoke out against conflict in the world and visited the historic Blue Mosque in Turkey.
And despite inflation and higher prices, shoppers were out in full force on Black Friday. We'll have details on how many of them actually went to the store, you know, the brick and mortar like we saw all the time 20 years ago, versus those who just stayed home shopping online.
Stay with us. You are watching CNN THIS MORNING.
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[07:21:10] ROSALES: Overnight, Russia launched a wave of new missiles and drones across Ukraine, killing at least three people. Ukraine's capital city of Kyiv was under air raid alert for more than 10 hours. That's according to CNN reporters on the scene there.
Ukraine's foreign minister said that the strikes hit civilian homes as well as the country's energy grid.
With me now is CNN international correspondent Larry Madowo. Larry, good morning. What more are you learning about these strikes?
LARRY MADOWO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Isabel.
This was the largest barrage of drones and missile attacks that Russia has launched against Ukraine in about a month. 36 missiles and nearly 600 drones, according to President Zelenskyy, and he says the main targets were critical energy infrastructure and civilian facilities. Three people killed, about 15 wounded. And we've seen emergency services attending to some of those buildings where there was extensive damage, fires still burning overnight, as they struggled to deal with this.
And this attack came as the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban was in Moscow meeting with the President Putin, and the Ukrainians are saying this has a trend of happening every time Viktor Orban shows up in Moscow, shortly afterwards, Russia tends to launch these strikes against Ukraine.
ROSALES: And we have also learned that a top adviser to Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has resigned after anti-corruption police raided his home. Now, this was a top negotiator for these deals happening right now? What can you tell us, and how does this impact those peace talks?
MADOWO: Andriy Yermak was Ukraine's very powerful, essentially, the chief of staff for President Zelenskyy. He was seen as a shadow prime minister. He resigned after this corruption scandal, after investigators raided his home, and President Zelenskyy has wasted no time in naming a new chief negotiator, Rustem Umerov, who is a former defense secretary. He is the head of the National Security and Defense Council, and is actually already on his way to the United States to lead negotiations.
And President Zelenskyy says he expects a report on Sunday. His brief is very simple, to make sure that they can work out of the fastest way to end this war based on that plan that has present -- presented by the United States. But the resignation of Andriy Yermak has been played well in the country. Listen to one Ukrainian.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR SHRUR, RESIDENT, KYIV (through translator): I am concerned about the constant changes at the top of our country, especially in such difficult times. If this leads to some major changes and help streamline the leadership of our state in crisis situations, then, of course, that is not a bad thing. It is sad that this is happening amid all these corruption scandals.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MADOWO: The Russians are the ones to blame for all of these attacks, the Ukrainians say, and they are working very hard to make sure that they can get this war to come to come to an end, but also need a lot of international support, especially the air defense systems. Isabel.
ROSALES: Yes, next week, one definitely keep a close eye on, as a Putin is expected to welcome a group from the U.S. negotiators as they continue these talks.
Larry Madowo, thank you.
Well, Pope Leo is in Turkey, where he visited the Blue Mosque earlier today, and will be praying at a historical church this hour.
[07:24:23]
We'll have the details in a live report from Istanbul. That's next.
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ROSALES: Welcome back. The holiday shopping season is officially in full swing, and small business owners are hoping to lure customers away from big box retailers with a push to shop local starting today, Small Business Saturday.
The awareness is critical for small businesses that have seen surging tariff costs and growing payroll and health care expenses amid a shortage of affordable loans.
CNN's Ivan Rodriguez has more on the crisis threatening mom and pop stores across the nation.
IVAN RODRIGUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Small businesses are the backbone of the U.S. economy. They account for the vast majority of total businesses in the nation, nearly half of all employees and the bulk of the job growth.
In 2025, the mood is mixed among some of these businesses and their employees.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RODRIGUEZ (voice over): Doug Scheffel's experience as a small business owner is similar to many others across the country this year.
DOUG SCHEFFEL, OWNER, FAMILY-RUN ETM MANUFACTURING: In a small business world, everything is cash, it's everything. Everything you worry about, and I just see all the costs rising.
RODRIGUEZ (voice over): Scheffel is the co-owner of family-run ETM manufacturing in Massachusetts.
Back in April, he says he laid off about a quarter of his employees as the Trump administration's tariff rollout dented demand for the machine parts and sheet metal his company sells.
[07:30:07]
SCHEFFEL: It just has become almost impossible to plan and be thoughtful about our workforce. Be thoughtful about how we pay those people, how we employ them.
RODRIGUEZ (voice over): Beyond the economic uncertainty, small businesses are facing. Aaron Terrazzas, an economist for Point says another challenge is accessing financing,
AARON TERRAZZAS, ECONOMIST, POINT: Credit conditions, bank funding conditions for small businesses have tightened now for 13 consecutive quarters. I think that's probably going to continue.
RODRIGUEZ (voice over): The average rate on a new urban small business term loan was over seven percent at the end of last year, according to the Kansas City fed. But many small businesses face rates well north of 10 percent. All of that adds stress on businesses and its people.
SCHFELL: If you are spending all your time worrying about how to get your payables in line, your cash in line, and you are taking out really expensive debt to cover those gaps, it's hard to think about growth, because you just can't afford it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
RODRIGUEZ (on camera): Scheffel tells me high prices at grocery stores, for example, have also left his employees preoccupied. They are not alone. About one in four U.S. households are living paycheck to paycheck. Meaning, they are spending over 95 percent of their income on necessities like housing and groceries, according to estimates from Bank of America.
In Atlanta, I'm Ivan Rodriguez.
ROSALES: Ivan, thank you for that.
Well, shoppers reach deep into their wallets on Black Friday, shelling out, listen to this, $8.6 billion to online retailers. That's up nine percent from last year. Analysts say steep discounts helped drive the surge as retailers try to woo customers during the Super Bowl of shopping. The surge is expected to continue despite Americans feeling the pinch of rising costs. The National Retail Federation forecast that retail sales will continue to rise in November and December, similar to last year.
Walmart and T.J. Maxx are expected to see strong sales. But others like Target may struggle as shoppers hunt for deals.
Long gone are the days of lining up outside of big box stores on Black Friday, those door buster days gone, gone, gone.
These days, you can buy almost anything online and tech giants are betting on A.I. to keep consumers spending this holiday shopping season. Joining me now is business writer Lisa Lacy to explain what is ahead and how tariffs are threatening shoppers and business owners. Lisa, hello.
LISA LACY, BUSINESS WRITER: Hi.
ROSALES: Hi.
LACY: Thanks for having me.
ROSALES: Of course. OK. So, what is this business of A.I. can help me shop? How does that work?
LACY: Well, I think that there is a couple of a really good use cases for A.I. this holiday season. First and foremost is finding deals.
So, if there is a particular product that you're looking for, like a Nintendo Switch 2 or a Labubu, you can tell an A.I. assistant, hey, this is what I want go find the best possible price for me out there. And these assistants are really good at just scouring the Internet in its entirety. All of the retail sites out there, and identifying where you can get the best deal. And maybe, you know, you are looking for the item with free, free overnight shipping, something like that.
They can help you find those web sites much faster than you could do on your own. They are also really good. I don't know if you've ever had the experience of like, trying to find a promo code that works. They are really good.
(CROSSTALK)
ROSALES: All the time. Who doesn't want to deal?
LACY: Yes. So, they can't, unfortunately, generate codes for you that will work. But if there is a code out there that will work for the product in question that you are looking for on the site, where you are buying it, they will help you find those much faster than you can on your own as well.
And also, if there is a budget that you're trying to stick to this holiday season, you can tell the assistant that you're working with, whether that's ChatGPT, Gemini, Cloud, say, hey, this is the budget that I'm trying to stick to this holiday season. This is the number of people I'm shopping for, maybe even this is what I'm thinking of buying for them. And then, he helped me kind of stick to my budget this year.
ROSALES: Wow, that is incredible. I never thought to use A.I. bots and chats in this manner. I also read somewhere that you can even shop directly from Etsy via ChatGPT. How are businesses using A.I. to keep people spending?
LACY: Well, this is all -- I mean, this is really the first holiday season where anything like this has been possible. There are some figures from Adobe on shopping behavior over Thanksgiving. And I think that there was a 725 percent increase from Thanksgiving, 2024. So, and yesterday, Black Friday, it was like 600 percent. I think those are the early figures that came out. So, this is really the first time that consumers have been able to use A.I. assistants to do their holiday shopping.
I'm not an expert in terms of how to promote yourself, but I believe that the best thing that you can do is kind of get yourself into the sources that the assistants are pulling from.
[07:35:04]
So, you know, I'm sure you've seen like listicles out there, like, you know, here are the 10 best toasters for under $100.
If you are selling toasters, you want to be on one of those lists. That kind of thing.
ROSALES: Now, today is Small Business Friday. If you're a small business, a mom-and-pop shop, how can you keep up with this? How can you compete with big retailers when you don't have the same amount of resources to even get into A.I. like this?
LACY: That is a very good question. I think it's probably going to come down to content and relationships. I think that, that really, that the latter, the relationships, that human connection, is where the big box stores can't compete quite as much. And so, if you do have relationships with your customers, that may be, that may help you in terms of when they are doing their planning, using these A.I. assistants, looking for the best deals. But they may say, you know, hey, I want to shop local. I want to buy it from, you know, the store in my community where I know the store owner.
And that may -- that's probably the best piece of advice, I think, I could give for somebody who --
ROSALES: Right. An intentional use of your money for small businesses.
LACY: Yes.
ROSALES: Lisa Lacy, thank you so much for this. I guess I'll now be using chat GPT to help me shop this Christmas.
LACY: So, will I.
ROSALES: Thank you so much.
Well, a historic visit for Pope Leo to Turkey this morning. Right now, he is visiting a church in Istanbul. We'll take you live to Turkey. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:41:16]
ROSALES: Welcome back. On the first international trip of his papacy, Pope Leo visited a mosque in Turkey. The pontiff removed his shoes to show respect while inside Istanbul's famous Blue Mosque. He did not appear to pray, though.
Yesterday, he spoke out against those using religion to fuel conflict and violence.
Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
POPE LEO XIV, SOVEREIGN OF THE VATICAN CITY STATE: We must strongly reject the use of religion for justifying war, violence, or any form of fundamentalism or fanaticism. Instead, the paths to follow are those of fraternal encounter, dialog, and cooperation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROSALES: CNN correspondent Salma Abdelaziz joins us now from Istanbul, Turkey with more on the pope's plans here.
It looks like these are live images. I'm not sure what we're looking at here. Oh, a church.
Salma, walk us through this. What's he doing?
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. So, he's had an absolutely packed schedule today. He is right now visiting a church right here in Istanbul, and he is standing alongside the head of the Eastern Orthodox community, who is based here in Istanbul, Patriarch Bartholomew, the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. And it's really important what you're seeing take place, because, of course, this is about unity within Christianity, outside of Catholicism.
And they are going to sign a joint declaration. That's the expectation, emphasizing that. Emphasizing the importance of dialog, of cooperation.
He is also interested Pope Leo is in the interfaith aspect of dialog as well. That's why you mentioned his visit to the Blue Mosque earlier today. And as required, as is custom, he took off his shoes very respectfully when he entered that mosque. It is an active mosque as well as a tourist site.
Now, he walked around it, took a look. He spoke to the Imam Asgyn, the leader of the mosque. And the Imam Asgyn has expected that Pope Leo was going to pray inside the mosque. And he even offered, he said, go ahead, if that's what you want to do, please do go ahead and pray, but Pope Leo chose not to.
Now, why am I emphasizing this? Well, this is a departure from his predecessor. Pope Francis, when he visited the Blue Mosque in 2014 did pray inside the mosque. So, we are getting a sense of how Pope Leo is standing out, is forging his own path, is distinguishing himself from his predecessors.
Now, the Vatican did release a statement about his visit to the -- to the Blue Mosque, saying the pope visited the mosque in silence, in a spirit of reflection and listening with profound respect for the place and the faith of those gathered there in prayer.
Now, his busy schedule continues today. He is later on expected to lead a mass at this very big arena, this very big stadium, Volkswagen Arena, here in Istanbul, up to 5,000 people might be attending that.
He is going to be using a papal style golf cart, golf buggy, to move around the stadium, and you can expect that this is his opportunity to step out on the world stage and share his message.
So far, what we've heard from him, and I know you played some sound from him earlier there. What we've heard from him is that he wants to use his papacy to spread a message of peace through dialog. Isabel.
ROSALES: Yes, certainly, a tremendous moment showing unity through religions. And that was an interesting bit you said there about his departure from his predecessor by choosing to not pray in that moment, and instead, the spirit of reflection, as his team says.
Salma Abdelaziz, thank you.
Well, this morning, parts of the Midwest are covered by a big blanket of snow. Take a look at what drivers in Cedar Rapids, Iowa are dealing with right now. These are live images. More on the storm sweeping through parts of the country.
[07:45:02]
That's next.
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ROSALES: If you traveling after the Thanksgiving holiday, this is what you may be facing. Lots of snow!
You are looking at harsh driving conditions in St Louis and Cedar Rapids, Iowa, not the easiest there.
Winter storm warnings are in effect throughout the day for millions of people. CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar joins us now with a quick check of your forecast. Over 50 million people impacted.
CHINCHAR: Yes, yes. And let's take a look at this, because I want to show you this shot right here.
This is St Louis, and what you should normally be able to see in the background is the arch. It should actually be right about here, but you can't see it, because the visibility is so poor.
[07:50:07]
So, yes, you can see lots of snow coming down across some of these areas. It's also very windy too. And so, what that's doing is it's taking all of that snow that's fallen and just blowing it all around, again, reducing the visibility even more.
Here is a look at where all the alerts are. And essentially, anywhere you see this pink or purple color, this is where we have a lot of those alerts ongoing, and they are going to stick around for at least the next 24 to 48 hours.
Here is a look anywhere you see this purple color, the light purple, even the dark purple. That's all the snow that's coming down. There is a little bit of pink too. That indicates a little bit of a mix. So, you've got rain, you've got snow, you've even got a little bit of ice.
Now, down to the south, it's all rain, that's why you see all of the green shaded color here. Now, even though it's just rain, keep in mind, some of these areas could end up seeing some strong to severe thunderstorms. Here is a look at what we've got for you, again, you can see a lot of the snow here focused across portions of this morning. That's going to slide up to the north. Here, you can see on -- by Saturday night, the main focus is really going to be Chicago, Milwaukee, Detroit. That's where your heaviest snow is going to be.
But you also start to see this line of stronger thunderstorms begin to develop, and that's really going to take shape late this evening, through the overnight and even into tomorrow morning, especially for Houston.
If you have plans to leave Houston, maybe do it today or maybe tomorrow afternoon. Do not do it tomorrow morning. That's really when you are going to have some of those strongest thunderstorms, and that's why you have the potential for severe weather.
Again, this is for today, but all the way through about 7:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. Damaging winds, and we can't rule out the potential for an isolated tornado as well.
ROSALES: Oh my gosh, pick your poison. Snow tornadoes, severe thunderstorms. Got to love it.
CHINCHAR: Little bit of everything.
ROSALES: Stay safe. Allison Chinchar, thank you.
Well, we have a lot going on in college football this morning. Carolyn Manno is in New York with all of the action and how it may affect the playoff picture. Carolyn, hi.
CAROLYN MANNO, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. Isabel. How are you? This weekend, as you know, is really about food and football for a lot of people. In last night's game between rivals, Texas and Texas A&M, really delivered, and they shook up the rankings in the process. This was a wild one.
When you think about Texas A&M, where they were at the beginning of this game, you know the way that Texas was able to come back here with A&M, leading Texas 10-3 at the half. Arch Manning, seven for 22, as 51 passing yards at that point.
And then, once Texas is running game got going in the second half, that's really when things turned around here. Running back Trey Wisner, just punishing the Aggies' defense. He had a season high, 155 rushing yards. Manning finished with 179 passing yards and 53 more on the ground. He sealed the win with his 35-yard touchdown run up the middle on a third and three. That was with a little over seven minutes left. Number 16 Texas upsetting third ranked Texas A&M, 27-17, knocking them out of contention for the SAC championship in the process.
And when you look at the current college football playoff picture, which is set to shift after the Aggies lost. That spoils her perfect season. Indiana now 12-0, they secured their spot in the Big 10 title game. Rivals Ohio State and Michigan are going to play later on this afternoon.
You've got Georgia and Alabama still in the mix. Texas Tech and BYU going to play in the Big 12 championship, with the winner earning a playoff bid. So, the penultimate set of rankings are out on Tuesday as we get set for Selection Sunday on December 7th.
The college football world is also waiting on Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin to reveal what his coaching future holds. Will he stay at the historic program that he built in Oxford, or will he move on to a team with a higher national championship ceiling? That's the question.
LSU reportedly prepared to offer him more than $100 million over seven years, and after last night's win over Mississippi State was secured in 11-01 regular season, he was asked whether his mind was made up yet.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LANE KIFFIN, HEAD COACH, OLE MISS: No, I haven't. I got a lot of praying to do to figure that out tomorrow, but right now, I'm just going to go enjoy these players. I told them last night, you're going to win your 11th game, and all I want to do is experience joy watching you, and that's what I'm about to do.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you experiencing that joy right now?
KIFFIN: I am.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MANNO: A huge night for the Bears on Friday on the road against the top tier team. Chicago beating Philly, 24 to 15, the Bears fifth win in a row, and they did it on the ground, rolling up 281 total rushing yards, DeAndre Swift, Kyle Monungai, becoming the first Bears' duo to each rush for over 100 yards in the game since Walter Payton and Matt Suhey way back in the mid-80s. And that wins cement Chicago as a serious contender in the NFC as they improve to nine to three on the season.
Nobody more amped about this than Bears' head coach Ben Johnson in the locker room after the game, surprising, everybody, taking the shirt off. It turns out, Isabel that last month, one of the city's really famous hot dog stand called the Wiener circle, offered free hot dogs for the entire city of Chicago if the Bears head coach took his shirt off after any Bears win this season.
So, it took a couple of weeks, last night was the night he was asking the team if he was hungry. The team's desk match-up a big one, by the way, against Green Bay next week.
So, hopefully, not too many hot dogs inside the bears locker room, but a lot of fun and a huge win for that team, which is looking really promising as we march towards the postseason too.
[07:55:02]
ROSALES: He is a man of the people. He wasn't about to let them pay for those hot dogs.
Carolyn Manno, thank you so much.
And some good news this morning, a waitress working the Thanksgiving shift at an IHOP in Des Moines, Iowa received, listen to this, a $2,000 tip from one customer.
The customer, turns out, runs a popular Facebook page, and with the help of his over 80,000 followers, raised the money to help a server for the holiday season.
Ashley Crew says she was in shock when she saw that cash. She is been working on major holidays for the last 21 years.
Incredible. Can you imagine?
(CROSSTALK)
CHINCHAR: I would have thought it was -- I would have thought it was like somebody scribbled an extra zero on accident.
ROSALES: Yes, I'd be paranoid that, that was a mistake.
CHINCHAR: Yes.
ROSALES: What? 2,000?
CHINCHAR: Yes.
ROSALES: That's so cool.
CHINCHAR: Yes, that's crazy.
ROSALES: I wonder if that's tax deductible.
CHINCHAR: I don't know. But a, it's high enough. It would still make me happy to see that number on there.
ROSALES: Tis the season.
CHINCHAR: Yes, exactly.
ROSALES: Well, stick with us at the top of the hour. We have a special edition. "FIRST OF ALL WITH VICTOR BLACKWELL", coming up, where Victor speaks with one of the organizers of We Ain't Buying It, a protest movement calling out Target, Amazon, and Home Depot on this busy shopping weekend.
That and much more coming up next hour. Thank you for joining us.
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