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Hegseth Weighing Punishment for Kelly; Witkoff Advised Russia on Pitch to Trump; Wesley Clark is Interviewed about a Peace Plan; TSA Expects 15-Year- High for Thanksgiving Travel; Wintery Weather for Thanksgiving Travel; Fire Rips Through Hong Kong Apartments. Aired 9- 9:30a ET

Aired November 26, 2025 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

NICOLE LAPIN, FINANCIAL JOURNALIST: Waiting or chasing deals.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Nicole Lapin, thank you so much for those great deals and those great ideas to keep us from losing it. Appreciate it.

A new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: The breaking news this morning. CNN has learned the secretary of defense is now considering taking action to punish a sitting U.S. senator. What he is considering and can he do it?

And a horrific situation is still unfolding in Hong Kong as a massive fire rips through an apartment complex. Just take a look at this video from today. The death toll is rising. The fire is still burning. And there is a desperate search for survivors.

And what started as a fun day at the beach quickly turned into a nightmare for one family. Their dog swept away in a riptide and lifeguards rushing in to help.

I'm Kate Bolduan, with John Berman and Sara Sidner. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

SIDNER: Breaking overnight, new CNN reporting on the Pentagon's push to try and punish a sitting senator for appearing in a video urging U.S. troops to disobey illegal orders. A source tells CNN, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is weighing potential punishments for Senator Mark Kelly, a Navy veteran, including reducing the retired captain's rank and pension, or even prosecuting him under military law. It comes as the FBI is taking the extraordinary step of seeking to interview Kelly and the five other Democrats, urging the same in that video.

CNN's Zach Cohen has the very latest on this reporting.

What have you learned?

ZACHARY COHEN, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yes, Sara, we've seen Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth really focus his public criticism related to this video on Senator Mark Kelly, who of the six Democrats who appeared in that video, achieved the highest rank of captain and had the longest tenure in the U.S. military. But we're now told behind closed doors Hegseth is weighing his options to effectively punish Kelly for participating in this video. And he's considering a range of options that go from reducing his rank and pension, as you mentioned, all the way to trying to prosecute him under military law. And that's something that we're told, technically speaking, Hegseth could possibly do. He could, you know, because Mark Kelly is a retired service member and one who achieved a certain amount of tenure in the military, he could be recalled into active duty and court martialed if that is the path that Hegseth wants to take.

Now, Hegseth, while he and the president have continued to attack these six Democrats over this video, they have not really made clear what the potential crime they committed by urging troops to remember their duty to refuse illegal orders. That's something that legal experts say also is very clear in these public statements that we've seen from the president and the defense secretary.

But look, this situation continues to escalate as the rhetoric from the Trump administration continues to really beat that drum and want -- and the president making clear that he wants these lawmakers held accountable in some way. And so that's something that Hegseth appears to be mulling over, how he could single handedly do so as it relates to Mark Kelly. Legal experts, though, two military, former and retired military judge advocates issuing a rare statement, though, pushing back on this idea that Hegseth could recall in court martial Senator Kelly, calling that possibility, "partizan, legally baseless and compromised by unlawful influence." The statement goes on to say, quote, "we are confident the unlawful influence reflected in the press reports will ultimately disqualify all convening authorities, except possibly the president himself, from actually referring a case for court martial."

So, we're going to have to wait and see how this plays out. Hegseth has, obviously, ordered his Navy secretary to review the case and to provide recommendations to him by December 10th. So, in just a few days ultimately it will be up to Hegseth to decide what -- how this goes forward.

SIDNER: Yes, and we've been seeing the response from Senator Kelly in the beginning of this, and he's fighting back. So, we will have to see where this goes. But great reporting from you, Zach Cohen. Thank you so much.

John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, major questions this morning after a report in "Bloomberg" that U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff appeared to offer tips to a senior Putin aide about how Putin could get what he wants from President Trump. And now that same envoy, Steve Witkoff, is going to head to Russia to meet with Putin. Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, might go with him. Obviously, this all has to do with finding a way to end the war in Ukraine. Russia's assault on Ukraine. Overnight, there were new Russian attacks on the city of Zaporizhzhia. You just saw pictures there.

Let's get right to CNN's Betsy Klein for the latest on this fallout. And the White House is commenting on this transcript published by "Bloomberg" of this call with Witkoff.

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Right, John, we are getting new details on the path toward that 28-point peace plan to end Russia's war in Ukraine.

[09:05:00]

That has been the subject of intense negotiations in recent days between the Trump administration, Russia and Ukrainian officials.

And it all starts with this call between Steve Witkoff and the foreign policy adviser to the Kremlin, Yury Ushakov. This happened on October 14th. And in this call, Witkoff is advising Ushakov on how he should counsel Putin about a potential call with Trump. He says that the president should -- or President Putin should congratulate Trump on Middle East peace.

I want to read to you a little bit of this audio recording that was obtained and transcribed by "Bloomberg." Witkoff says, quote, "just reiterate that you congratulate the president on this achievement, that you supported it, that you respect that he is a man of peace and you're just, you're really glad to have seen it happen."

Ushakov responds, "I agree with you that he will congratulate. He will say that Mr. Trump is a real peace man and so and so."

President Trump reacting to this aboard Air Force One last night, giving Witkoff his full backing, saying that he is a dealmaker and this is a standard form of negotiation. Ushakov, meanwhile, pushing back. He says, quote, "some of these leaks are fake. My conversations with Witkoff are confidential. No one should disclose them. No one."

We are also now hearing reaction from Republican hawks on Capitol Hill, including Congressman Don Bacon of Nebraska, who says that this call transcript reflects that Witkoff is -- fully favors Russia.

Now, I want to get into a timeline here. This call took place on October 14th. Two days later, President Trump spoke by phone with Russian President Putin, where Putin did indeed convey his congratulations to the president on Middle East peace. The president suggested that this could provide some momentum to end Russia's war in Ukraine.

And then, on October 17th, Trump hosted President Zelenskyy of Ukraine at the White House. And that meeting, we know at the time, turned very tense as the president encouraged Ukraine to make territorial concessions.

Now, as for next steps, Witkoff is expected to travel to Moscow next week, according to the president, who says that Jared Kushner, his son-in-law, may go with him for these high-stakes negotiations. Dan Driscoll, the secretary of the army, is also expected in Kyiv next week.

John.

BERMAN: Yes, some intriguing questions about who may have leaked the transcript of this phone call and what they were hoping to get out of it. We may never know the answers to that.

Betsy Klein, great reporting this morning. Thank you very much.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, to discuss further with me now is retired General Wesley Clark, former NATO supreme allied commander.

I do want to ask you, you know, Trump called what Witkoff said in that transcript that "Bloomberg" got a hold of, "a very standard form of negotiations." Is it standard to have the U.S. envoy sort of coaching a Russian official on how to butter up a U.S. president?

GEN. WESLEY CLARK (RET.), FORMER NATO SUPREME ALLIED COMMANDER: No, I'd say it's very unconventional. But it -- there's nothing wrong with people talking behind the scenes. And, you know, I would wish that Steve Witkoff had talked the same way to President Zelenskyy of Ukraine.

So, the real impact of this is that it reflects what seems to be the continuing criticism of the negotiation as it's slanted toward Russia. It's in Russia's favor. And really from the time that President Trump took office the Ukrainians themselves listened to his statements, and they believed that he favored Russia. And so, when you look at the 28- point peace plan, you don't know where we are today. You hear the statements. The -- it's just hard to accept the fact that there's going to be a peace without any concessions by Russia. And we don't know what the security guarantees are. So, yes, it's a little disturbing to see what Steve Witkoff said. But conversations like that are, you know, yes, you can have those conversations. The real issue is, what's the substance of the peace plan?

SIDNER: Yes. In the end, what is the final deal?

I do want to talk to you, because you talked a little bit about the concessions. And in the first draft, the U.S. plan, many did see it as a -- as a wish list for Russia. It had Ukraine making major concessions like taking away some of its sovereignty, like capping the size of its military and basically giving Russia land that it had not conquered. But that has changed, apparently, and it -- after Ukraine weighed in.

But President Trump was asked what concessions Russia is being asked to make. And I want to let you hear what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: What kinds of concessions are the Russians going to have to make? DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They're making concessions. Their big concessions is they stop fighting and they don't take any more land.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Those are the two things he said, to stop fighting and don't take any more land. Do those sound like concessions to you?

CLARK: They're not actually concessions. First of all the -- there should have been a ceasefire to begin with. Secondly, Russia is the aggressor. So, it is -- the fact that it's not taking any more land is -- is not a concession.

[09:10:04]

Furthermore, when you look at the agreement and you're talking about whether or not there are limits on the size of the Ukrainian forces, what about the Russian forces? Are they going to be restricted from moving more forces in? Are there restrictions on the weapons? There are so many elements that need to be restricted on the part of the Russians. We need to see real concessions, not simply a ceasefire. That's not a concession.

But I understand President Trump wants the agreement. But if he wants a lasting agreement, he has to have concessions on the Russians. And, Sara, we have to look at the security guarantees. You know, the United States assured Ukraine, as did Russia, in 1994, that they would protect their borders and sovereignty. Well, that did not go before the U.S. Senate. So, it wasn't a legal security guarantee. If this is going to be a workable, sustainable peace agreement, it needs to go before the United States Senate with a legally binding commitment by the United States to do the right thing.

And secondly, people are looking at sort of Article Five. Remember, Article Five in the Cold War, we had forces right up on the inner German border. We didn't say to the Russians, well, if you cross the border, we'll give you a few hundred miles and then we'll think about what we're going to do. So, if this is going to be a real sustainable peace agreement, the security guarantee has to have forces, not Ukrainian forces only, but allied forces up against the Russian forces at their edge. That's what will provide a real security guarantee backed by the United States Senate as a legal requirement on the American people.

SIDNER: General Wesley Clark, it is always good to have you. Thank you so much and have a Happy Thanksgiving. Appreciate it.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: All right, the breaking news out of Hong Kong. More than a dozen people are dead from a massive fire that is still burning through an apartment complex that's home to 4,000 people. The scene, terrifying. We're keeping a close eye on that.

Plus, we're tracking the airports for you this morning. Set to break records for Thanksgiving travel. And there is severe weather that you need to keep an eye on that's making its way across the country that could cause some serious headaches.

And a new twist in the stabbing saga involving that fictional online character known as "Slender Man." The woman who attacked her childhood friend, and escaped, this week is back in custody. Today, we're hearing from the person who went on the run with her.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:17:12]

BOLDUAN: So, we're all going to need to brace yourselves for some packed roads and some airports. Today is expected to be one of the busiest holiday travel days, as millions of people are heading out for Thanksgiving. And there are some things to watch for. Winter weather, for one. Unfortunately, storms are already producing scenes like this in North Dakota. I mean there was a pileup of semis on one of the highways. And that storm system continues on through. And at airports across the United States, they are preparing for record numbers. The FAA is expecting more than 50,000 flights. And that's just today.

Let's check in with CNN's Pete Muntean, keeping an eye on it all for us at Reagan National Airport.

How are things going now?

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Well, we've hit sort of the lull here at the terminal two north checkpoint. This is what it looks like right now. We've mostly been through the morning rush already. It will probably pick up again here in a moment, Kate.

But, you know, mostly it's good news. Nuisance level delays really. No major chaos at the airports.

There was a ground stop here for flights bound to Reagan National Airport earlier today. But you can look at the departures board. Things looking pretty good right now. It's -- we've -- the ground stop's over. Although the FAA is warning of possible ground stops as the day goes on. Minneapolis, Chicago, where there's some winter weather, also the major New York airports, Newark, Laguardia, JFK and Philadelphia.

So, those are some pretty big hubs. So, we could see the delays rise. Probably not a big day for cancellations. We've seen only cancellations in the dozens in the U.S. today according to FlightAware.

You know, the big thing is we were through the government shutdown. There was a lot of concern about air traffic control staffing issues as we went into the Thanksgiving rush. But I just checked the FAA's operations page. They say there are no so-called staffing triggers, no air traffic control facilities with short staffing today.

I want you to listen now to AA's Aixa Diaz, who says a lot of people were really on the sidelines waiting to see how the shutdown would pan out and whether or not it would impact their travel plans.

Listen

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AIXA DIAZ, NATIONAL SPOKESPERSON, AAA: Certainly some people have that concern. I think most people, though, who want to fly and have their tickets booked, they were waiting to see what would happen and they were taking a wait and see approach, and it's worked out for them that flights are now going back -- back to normal. Of course, the weather is always the wildcard here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MUNTEAN: Weather is the wildcard. Traffic is the wildcard. I'm looking over my shoulder here and I can see that the traffic getting into the airport is not very great from the view here at the terminal two north check point. You're going to see a lot of red on the traffic maps today.

Of course, about 90 percent of people, according to the AAA forecast, are driving 50 miles or more to get to grandma's house for the Thanksgiving rush.

The good news is that gas prices are about the same as they were about a year ago. The national price for a gallon of regular, on average, about $3.06, although AAA says it doesn't really factor into people's decisions when it comes to heading out for Thanksgiving.

[09:20:06]

BOLDUAN: I was just thinking back to the government shutdown. It's like -- what is it, it's like it's all about perspective. Like it could totally be worse, people. Just look back a couple weeks ago. You know, like, so --

MUNTEAN: Could have been bad.

BOLDUAN: Exactly right.

It's great to see you, Pete. Thank you, as always.

John.

BERMAN: I think there's a Pete Muntean lounge at Reagan National Airport.

BOLDUAN: Oh, I definitely need -- you need status, though, to get in it.

BERMAN: Right. Elite members.

BOLDUAN: You need --

BERMAN: Elite members can get themselves into the Pete Muntean lounge.

BOLDUAN: I mean, here's hoping.

BERMAN: All right, what about the weather? How is the weather going to affect all of this? Not just today, but for the next several days.

Let's get to meteorologist Allison Chinchar for a look at that.

Oh, look at that behind you, Allison.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, I was going to say, this is what it looked like yesterday in Minnesota. We still have some snow coming down across this state, but that system as a whole is going to be sliding east. And we hope we don't have scenes like this. Again, pileup after pileup, again, because the visibility was so bad in these areas.

Here's that system we talked about. Again, look at all of that whitish purple color. That is where we have the snow. And then where we've got the warmer temperatures out ahead of it, you've got all of the rain showers. The biggest tough spots today in terms of flying are going to be anywhere you see the yellow, orange or even this red dot right here. And that's going to be a combination, yes, from the rain and snow, but also because of the wind component to this system.

So, you've got all the winter weather alerts here across portions of the Midwest, but also into the northeast too, where you've got the lake effect that's going to be a big concern going into the day today and even into tomorrow.

Now, widespread locations, likely several inches here. But, yes, there will be a few spots, especially where you get those very heavy lake effect bands where up to a foot is not out of the question.

But we also talked about wind. It's going to really be strongest today, especially the early hours across the Midwest. But as the system begins to push east, it's going to take those gusty winds with it. So, you're going to start to notice the winds tick up across the northeast as we go through the next 24 hours.

Take New York, for example. The big parade tomorrow morning. And it's going to be a windy one. You've got wind gusts up around the 20 mile per hour range. Temperatures also going to be on the chilly side in about the 40s. That's the air temperature. Then you factor in the wind. It's going to feel more like the 30s. And even some southern cities are going to feel pretty bitter tomorrow, including 26 in Atlanta, 25 in Raleigh. Only about 23 degrees in Nashville.

BERMAN: Twenty-six in Atlanta. I mean, that's enough to cause terror there, to be sure. They have a hard time handling weather there sometimes.

Allison Chinchar, great to see you. Good luck. Thank you for that forecast.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, still to come, President Trump touting lower grocery prices this Thanksgiving as he rolls back some tariffs, but is it really going to make a dent in family's budgets. We'll break the numbers down for you.

And we are just minutes away from the opening bell on Wall Street. Stock futures, you can see them there. They're up a bit. That is ahead of today's open, of course. But they are looking to add back to back gains ahead of the shortened week of trading because, of course, it's Thanksgiving. The holiday is here almost.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:27:34]

SIDNER: We're going to go back to this breaking news out of Hong Kong. Flames are still tearing through all but one building of an apartment complex there. And we learned just moments ago, residents on higher floors still trapped in the building. At least 13 people are dead. One of them, a firefighter. So far, 15 people are being reported injured.

CNN's Ivan Watson is there for us.

You are, you know, right there on the scene, watching and hearing all of this as it's happening. What can you tell us is the latest in this fire? Have they been able to tamp down at least one building? Is that what you understand?

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, there's a -- there's a big fire truck here, but you can see over my shoulder, and perhaps on another feed, that fires are still raging out of control in a number of the towers here. The fire authorities say that the fire spread from about eight hours ago from a ground floor area to engulf seven out of eight towers in this public housing development, which is home to more than 4,000 people.

Now, at least 13 people have been confirmed killed by this already, Sara, including a seasoned member of the fire department.

But I think what's far more disturbing and frightening is that we've just heard in a press conference from the deputy director of the Hong Kong fire department, that there -- they have been in touch with residents in the top floors of at least one of these towers. And that they say that the -- the temperatures are just too scorching hot for the emergency personnel to go up to them and they've urged people to sit tight to, to put wet towels and tape around their doors and to wait for some kind of rescue.

But, you know, I've been here for two, three hours at this point. I can see that there are some ladders spraying water on lower levels of this tower, for example. But, meanwhile, the flames continue to burn out of control on the 10, 15 stories above that in this tower and in neighboring towers. We periodically hear booms and little explosions and see debris raining down.

[09:29:57]

The authorities say that they first got a call before 3:00 p.m. local time, and the fire quickly spread from a ground floor to the bamboo scaffolding that encases all of these buildings