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Winter Storm Poses Threat to Holiday Travel; Flurry of Diplomatic Activity as White House Works to Reach Russia-Ukraine Peace Deal; Inferno Rages Through Hong Kong Residential High-Rises. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired November 26, 2025 - 10:00   ET

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

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[10:00:00]

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, Thanksgiving rush. Millions of travelers are on the move this Wednesday, and so is an arctic blast that could put a freeze on your holiday travel plans.

Plus, high-rise inferno, a massive fire ripped through several apartment buildings in Hong Kong, killing at least 13 people. The challenge firefighters are facing to stop the flames that have been burning now for hours.

And Democrats are pushing back after learning FBI agents want to have a word with them about that video they posted urging military members to refuse illegal orders.

Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Pamela Brown. Wolf. Blitzer is off today. You are in The Situation Room.

Happening now, an arctic blast is jeopardizing holiday travel for millions of Americans with more than 6 million people currently under winter storm warnings. The combination of snow and strong winds, that is creating dangerous travel conditions, like this stunning video from North Dakota, a dash cam captured first responders assisting vehicles that had slid off the highway when suddenly a pickup truck appears to lose control and nearly misses them.

Here to bring us the very latest on this winter storm and its impact on travel plans is CNN Aviation Correspondent Pete Muntean and CNN Meteorologist Allison Chinchar.

So, Pete, you are at Reagan National Airport. You're home away from home these days. How's it going there?

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Things are pretty smooth here, Pam. You know, here's the Terminal 2 North checkpoint right now, no line at pre-check. Things have been pretty sedate for the last couple minutes here, although it ebbs and flows. Sometimes there's a big rush of people and a big glut, and sometimes it is kind of just like this. Although we will see as the day goes on because, you know, D.C.'s kind of a working city. So, a lot of people are going to put it off until the last minute to depart tonight.

The good news is that things have been relatively smooth when it comes to air travel. There's a ground stop here at DCA for flights bound to DCA, implemented by the Federal Aviation Administration because of low clouds, bad weather here earlier. That ended about 8:30 Eastern Time. So, things are moving all right now.

The latest from the Federal Aviation Administrations, they're warning ground stops in places like Minneapolis because of that winter storm. Chicago is maybe going to be impacted. The three New York airports are also on the possibility for ground stops list, Newark, LaGuardia, and JFK, also Philadelphia. That's a big hub for American Airlines.

So, we'll probably see mostly nuisance level stuff today. We're not talking big air travel chaos. This time around, which is good, because 2.7 million people anticipated to be screened at airports across the country today, also, so many people will be driving. And AAA says about 90 percent of the 80 million people and anticipates traveling 50 miles or more will be driving.

And I want you to listen now to AAA's Aixa Diaz. She says that you got to really depart now. Maybe get a jump on it before the afternoon rush when there are still people going to and from school to and from work, add on top of that the holiday, travel into the mix, and it could be bad. Listen.

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AIXA DIAZ, SPOKESPERSON, AAA: Think 3:00 P.M. Think 3:00 P.M. or 4:00 P.M. on a normal work day. There's a lot of traffic because you've got schools getting out, you've got people trying to get off work. So, imagine that on one of these holiday periods. That mid-afternoon timeframe is brutal and that can add hours to your trip, quite literally. Let's say you have a five-hour road trip, it could easily become eight hours the later you leave. So, you want to leave before lunchtime.

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MUNTEAN: I couldn't have cued this better. I said earlier that. Things can be a bit ebb and flow here. Take one more look at the line over here at DCA. Things have already picked up now that one of the metro trends just dropped off. It has been a little hit or miss on traffic around the area.

And I took a little look at Google Maps earlier. There is a bit of red out there for folks going on 95 southbound towards some of the beaches. It's not going to be totally smooth sailing, and it is raining here right now, which, of course, puts the brakes on everything, quite literally.

BROWN: It really does, especially in Washington.

All right, Pete Muntean, thank you so much.

[10:05:00] Allison, let's bring you in because there's -- we've been talking about this arctic blast. We have this video right here we're showing. What kind of weather should people expect across the next 48 hours?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, unfortunately, the snow that you see here in the background, as well as the very low visibility, this is going to be expected in a few other places, not necessarily where you're seeing it right here, because this was from yesterday. But, again, very windy conditions, snow blowing around, very poor visibility. That's going to be associated with this system you see right here. That purple color right through there, that is the snow, and all of the green indicates the warmer air where we have the rain.

Now, that system itself is going to slide off to the east taking with it the potential for rain and snow. So, where you see these yellow, orange, and red dots here, that's where you're likely going to have some delays, at least in the skies.

Now, you still will likely have them on the roadways as well as that system continues to slide off to the east. This is where we're going to have some of the highest snowfall amounts.

Now, this is not going to be widespread. Most of these areas likely to get several inches here, but those higher areas, especially right there along the eastern flanks of the Great Lakes, where you're going to get those lake-effect enhancement bands, yes, you could be looking at upwards of one foot total of snow.

Wind is also going to be a big component with this. Look at some of these gusts 40, 50, even about 55 miles per hour. The focus today for those strong winds is in the Midwest today, then it transitions over into the northeast as we head into Thursday and Friday. Yes, this means the big parade tomorrow is going to be windy and very cold. Those temperatures only in the low 40s, but it's going to feel like it's only in the 30s.

BROWN: Very chilly. All right, Allison Chinchar, thank you so much.

And joining us now with some tips to make your Thanksgiving travel a little easier is Eric Rosen? He is the director of Travel Content at The Points Guy. Hi, Eric. Thanks for being here.

So, you know, we've got the weather situation. We are less than two weeks out from the end of the government shutdown, where we saw countless flights later even canceled. What is your view on what travelers can expect right now?

ERIC ROSEN, DIRECTOR OF TRAVEL CONTENT, THE POINTS GUY: Well, sure. As Pete and Allison were saying, obviously, weather's going to be a big factor. Today is a very big travel day that we project Sunday and Monday to actually be the biggest travel days this Thanksgiving holiday. So, bottom line, give yourself plenty of time. Try to leave at those less busy times a day. Try to hop on earlier flights in the day. But the good news is since the shutdown ended, air traffic is pretty much rebounded. We haven't seen any major delays or cancellations that haven't had to do with things like weather, so staffing issues and stuff like that haven't been an issue. So, travelers should hopefully expect a smooth ride as long as they're not going through one of those airports affected by major weather issues at the moment.

BROWN: So, the FAA expects that this will be the busiest Thanksgiving in 15 years. What can travelers do or say, you know, parents with three kids do to ensure that they make their flight in time to get where they're going? How early should they get there?

ROSEN: Absolutely. I mean, obviously, this is one of the most expensive times to travel if you're taking the whole family. You want to make sure everything goes as smoothly as possible, so give yourself time. Do you know what I mean? You get to the airport as early as you want to. Be on dad airport time, as we like to say. You know, get there three hours early for your flight just because you don't know what lines are going to be like, what other snarls they're going to be.

And then you can also check the MyTSA app just to see what security lines are like at the airports you're traveling through. And if you are noticing that those times are creeping up, get to the airport even earlier.

BROWN: Wow, three hours, oh my goodness. I'm like one of those people. I get there and basically have like a minute of spare time. I'm really bad about that, so I'm going to have to work on that flying with the kids.

ROSEN: I'm with you. Go grab a meal or a coffee, you know, take a little extra time.

BROWN: All right, good advice. Good advice.

All right, so speaking of flying, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is encouraging more civility among passengers this Thanksgiving. Let's take a listen.

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SEAN DUFFY, TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: How do we, you know, maintain maybe some of that frustration we have as we travel this Thanksgiving season? Maybe we should say please and thank you to our pilots and to our to our flight attendants, maybe dressing with some respect, you know, whether it's a pair of jeans and a decent shirt. I would encourage people to maybe dress a little better, which encourages us to maybe behave all a little better. Let's try not to wear slippers and pajamas as we come to the airport.

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BROWN: What did you make of that and do you expect it will make much of a difference? ROSEN: I mean, honestly, no. People are going to dress how they're going to dress. I think it is a good reminder though. You've probably paid a lot for your ticket. This is one of the biggest travel weeks of the year. Everybody else around you has also paid a lot of money to be traveling. It's stressful. You're around a lot of strangers and, obviously, you know, you don't want things to get canceled.

So, just remember that we're all sort of gliding in towards the end of the year. Remember, everyone around you is a human.

[10:10:00]

It's the holidays. And just act with a little more kindness in your heart, I would say. It's going to improve everybody's day.

BROWN: All right, Eric Rosen, thank you so much. Great to have you on and Happy Thanksgiving.

ROSEN: Happy Thanksgiving.

BROWN: Well, still ahead here in The Situation Room, President Trump says progress is being made in the efforts to end Russia's war on Ukraine, but a few crucial sticking points remain. The next moves in place over the coming days in hopes of getting to a peace agreement.

Plus, a new lawsuit alleges social media giants buried their own research on teen mental health harms.

We'll be right back.

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BROWN: Happening now, a flurry of diplomatic activity as the U.S. works to get Russia and Ukraine to reach a peace still after nearly four years of war.

[10:15:00]

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says a framework is on the table and his country is ready to move forward, but there are still sensitive points to discuss.

A top aide to Russian leader Vladimir Putin says the Kremlin received the latest version of the plan, but many aspects still require negotiation.

All of this, as President Trump says his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, will meet with Putin in Moscow next week, this as a new transcript provided insight into Witkoff's dealings with his Russian counterpart.

Let's go live now to CNN's Paula Hancocks live in Abu Dhabi where U.S. and Russian delegations recently met for talk. So, Paula, how close is peace, really, and what are the sticking points including from this new reporting from Bloomberg and these negotiations?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Pamela, I think how close we are to seeing a deal really depends on who you're speaking to. We are hearing a much more positive note from the Trump administration than we are from the Russian or the Ukrainian sides at this point. But there does appear to be a general consensus that progress is being made, but there are some serious sticking points remaining.

Now, you mentioned this Bloomberg report. This was a leaked audio of a phone call between Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and one of Putin's closest aide back in October. And in it, it appears as though Witkoff is coaching the aide on how to deal with the White House, with President Trump in order to put their points across.

Now, it is a rare insight into the negotiating tactics of Steve Witkoff. Obviously, he doesn't have a background in negotiations. He has a background as a real estate developer, and it has provoked criticism from some Republicans saying that this shows that he is favorable to Russia.

Now, when it comes to the deal itself, as I say, that the talks are ongoing, we are expecting, according to President Trump, that there will be that meeting with Putin in Moscow next week. Now, he has suggested his son-in-law may be on that trip as well as Steve Witkoff. He has brushed off any concerns over that Bloomberg report. Pamela?

BROWN: All right. Paula Hancocks, thank you so much.

And for more analysis, I want to bring in New York Times White House and National Security Correspondent David Sanger. He is also a CNN political and national security analysts.

All right, so, David, as we learn the details of that original 28- point plan, you frame that as an offer from President Trump that, quote, the Kremlin can love. How do you expect the Russian leader of Vladimir Putin, how do you expect he feels right now about the plan as it stands?

DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, I think that Putin clearly would be pretty happy with the plan that leaked out last week because in that case, Pamela, he got just about everything he wanted. He got territory in the areas of Ukraine that he's invaded. He didn't get the whole country but that would have gotten several of the key provinces that they've been fighting over. He got an agreement that Ukraine would never join NATO and that NATO would never accept it. He had in that earlier draft wording that suggested that NATO would never be allowed to base peacekeeping forces inside Ukraine, thus getting rid of the one long-term deterrent to the Russians actually invading again after a pause, and the list went on.

Now, this got so embarrassing after it came out and criticized not only by Democrats but by many Republican senators, including Mitch McConnell and others that Secretary of State Rubio had to sort of wrench it back to the middle. And now many of those provisions are sitting in brackets waiting to be negotiated. I don't think there's any question that Putin would reject the current version unless he could get many of those provisions back in.

BROWN: We got a rare window into some of the diplomacy happening behind the scenes with this leaked transcript from Bloomberg of this October 14th phone call between the U.S. special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and his counterpart in Russia. And it was interesting because in that, Witkoff brought up Donetsk and that to reach a peace plan, he understands that Donetsk would have to be given up. And that was one of the sticking points, the 28-point plan, because Ukraine hasn't given up, you know, or I should say, Russia hasn't taken over all of Donetsk, right?

SANGER: That's right.

BROWN: And so that was really interesting and I just wonder what else you think about it, just the approach Witkoff took and your overall view of this transcript being leaked.

SANGER: I think you had it right that the -- when you read the transcript, clearly, Witkoff is coaching the Russians about how to go deal with President Trump and urging a call from President Putin to President Trump before President Trump was scheduled to meet with the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

[10:20:15]

And that call did happen. And he suggested basically flattering the president, calling him a peacemaker, all the things that you've seen other world leaders successfully do with the president.

What I found most notable though about this was that Mr. Witkoff is very focused on the land issues and the real estate part of this. No surprise since he's a real estate developer. But in many ways, most of the objectionable parts of the early draft of the agreement had to do with Ukraine's sovereignty. You know, the agreement, for example, limited the size of their military. And as one Ukrainian said to me later on after this, supposing the Canadians came to the U.S. and said, we need an agreement that your military can be no more than 400,000 people or 600,000 people, I don't think we'd be that interested in hearing their opinion.

BROWN: Interesting. I want to ask you about something else, and that is President Trump revealing on Air Force One yesterday that his son- in-law, Jared Kushner, might be traveling with Witkoff to Moscow for these negotiations with Putin next week. How significant is that?

SANGER: You know, it's really interesting to see how these negotiations began. And, you know, I think we have to start, Pamela, by saying it's a great thing that people are finally in that peace negotiation because this war next year will have gone on longer than the American involvement in World War II. So, you know, they've got to get some peace talks going. And I think it was Jared Kushner who helped push that when, after the agreement in Gaza, he and Mr. Witkoff and others went to the president and Vice President Vance and said, let's try to replicate what we did in Gaza for Ukraine and Russia.

And so they -- you know, on paper, it looks a lot like that. They're laying out positions for each one, trying to find the middle ground. Of course, the reality of the conflict is quite different than Gaza.

BROWN: Does President Zelenskyy have any leverage in this right now?

SANGER: President Zelenskyy is losing leverage, and I think that's one of the reasons that the president has moved in here on this quite quickly because there's obviously a big corruption scandal underway. Zelenskyy is losing ground slowly to the Russians. He's having a hard time raising recruits for the military. So, I think that President Trump has concluded that maybe this is a moment where Zelenskyy is realizing that, as Mr. Trump put it to him during that February meeting, that famous February meeting, he doesn't have many cards.

Now, Zelenskyy views it quite differently. He believes that they're developing new weapons and reaching deep inside Russia from Ukraine and that he may be able to actually do more damage to the Russians.

BROWN: All right, we'll see how this all plays out. David Sanger, thank you so much.

SANGER: Thank you, Pamela.

BROWN: Coming up here in The Situation Room, several people dead after a fire breaks out in multiple high-rise buildings in Hong Kong. Officials believe construction equipment could be to blame.

We'll be right back.

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BROWN: Happening now, a raging inferno is tearing through multiple high-rise residential buildings in Hong Kong. Right here, look at the flames, they're shooting from the top of that building right there on the left, especially. But as you can see, the flames are racing across multiple buildings. And right now it's not clear how many people are trapped inside. But we do know at least 13 people have died.

So let's go live now to CNN Senior International Correspondent Ivan Watson in Hong Kong. Wow, this is just horrific, Ivan. Do investigators have any idea how this fire started?

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So far, the only explanation we have is that the fire department responded to an alarm a little bit less than nine hours ago, and it was in -- by the time they showed up, they said that the fire had started to spread up into one of the towers over my shoulders and up the scaffolding and construction netting that was surrounding it. And at this stage now, less than nine hours after that initial call, seven of the eight towers, Pamela, in this public housing development are on fire. And I've been here for hours. It does not look like the fire crews are any closer to getting it under control.

As you pointed out, at least 13 people killed thus far, including a seasoned member of the fire department and dozens injured. But here's what's most chilling, is that the deputy director of Hong Kong's Fire Department says that the emergency crews have been in touch with residents still inside by telephone and that they cannot reach them because the temperatures are simply too hot inside the buildings to try to go up to higher floors and that they've had to advise people to tape or put towels around their doorframes and try to sit tight while taking note of which apartment number and which floor they're in.

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