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Tourist Dies, Another Injured After Shark Attack in Australia; Two National Guard Members in Critical Condition After D.C. Shooting, Coast-to-coast Investigation Ramps Up After Shooting; Pirro Says Looking Into Suspect's Immigration Vetting Process; Trump Orders 500 More Troops to D.C. After Wednesday Shooting; Cross-country Winter Storm Threatens Travel; Holiday Sales Forecasts Up Despite Rising Costs; Electra Transforming Travel With Hybrid Electric Aircraft. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired November 27, 2025 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:00]

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": Issued an executive order to allow the religious exemptions, but this isn't the final say on the matter. The case is on appeal to the state Supreme Court.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": Finally, a shark attack on two Swiss tourists in Australia, leaving one dead, the other injured. This happened at Crowdy Bay, some 200 miles north of Sydney. Both victims believed to be in their 20s. Officials say the woman died at the scene before paramedics arrived. Meantime, witnesses are credited with potentially saving the male victim's life after strapping a tourniquet around his leg. Nearby beaches were closed while officials used drones to search for the shark.

A new hour of "CNN News Central" starts right now.

JIMENEZ: A coast-to-coast investigation ramps up after a shooting just blocks from the White House, the latest on what we're learning about the suspect and the status of the National Guard members wounded in the attack.

SANCHEZ: Plus, Black Friday kicks off just hours from now. But holiday shopping comes at a time when many Americans are nervous about the state of the economy. We'll get into the data and explain why some are worried. And this may be the future of flight, no emissions, no long runway required. CNN's Jim Sciutto taking selfies onboard the cutting-edge Electra. We're following these major developing stories and many more, all coming your way right here on "CNN News Central."

Happening now, we're learning new information about the victims and the suspect in what's being described as an ambush-style attack in downtown Washington, D.C. The two West Virginia National Guard members who are now in critical condition after being shot in close range, have been identified as 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom and 24-year-old Andrew Wolfe.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JEANINE PIRRO, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: A lone gunman opened fire without provocation, ambush style, armed with a .357 Smith and Wesson revolver. One Guardsman is struck, goes down, and then the shooter leans over and strikes the guardsman again. Another guardsman is struck several times.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: Those Guards members currently fighting for their lives. But authorities say the alleged gunman is from Afghanistan and once worked with the CIA. They say he came to the United States in 2021 under a government program following the U.S. withdrawal. I want to bring in CNN's Brian Todd, who's at the shooting scene in Washington, D.C. Brian, what more are you learning about how the attack played out here?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Omar and Boris, we are getting some critical new information on how the attack unfolded because we're actually able to get access, firsthand access, for the first time to the actual scene where it did happen. I'm standing at that scene right now. This is the spot where some of the bullets were fired. This is an exit of a bullet from this planter, the bullet went in this way, exited this way, the hole is on the other side. You can see over here, we were told yesterday that at least one of the Guardsmen attempted to take cover behind a bus shelter.

This had to have been the bus shelter in question, because you can see the glass here -- that the glass panel here has been taken out. You can see the fragmented glass here where it's been fastened, not clear if the panel was actually shot out or whether law enforcement actually removed it to process the scene.

This part of this planter has been removed somehow, and I'm going to show you a little bit more on that in a second as we walk this way. There's a makeshift memorial here at this other planter with flowers and an American flag in honor of the National Guardsmen who were struck. And over here, when I talked about that one part of the planter that was removed, this is pretty much a piece of that evidence. You can see, look, bullet holes here and here from that section of the planter that was removed.

Now, in addition to some of the new information that we got about how the shooting unfolded, how the shooter came around a corner here at the Farragut West Metro Station, and then started opening fire, striking one of the Guardsmen from close range, leaning over that Guardsman, firing again and then wounding another Guardsman before another Guardsman engaged the suspect in gunfire. That was a sequence of shots.

We also learned some critical new information about the suspect from Afghanistan, as you guys alluded to just a moment ago. But Jeanine Pirro, the Attorney General for Washington, D.C., kind of laid out some additional new information about the suspect, where he's from in the United States, where he was living in the United States, and how he came to D.C. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PIRRO: He resided in Bellingham, Washington with his wife and we believe, five children. And we're working very closely with our federal partners, especially DHS and the FBI, to review his immigration history and the vetting process itself. What we know about him is that he drove his vehicle across country from the state of Washington with the intended target of coming to our nation's Capitol.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[14:05:00]

TODD: And that suspect is identified as 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal. Officials have said he is not cooperating with authorities. He remains at a local hospital, being treated. So that information pretty critical coming from Jeanine Pirro about the sequence of how he got here. And again, to reiterate what Boris and Omar mentioned a short time ago, the National Guard members who are wounded and being treated, identified as 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom and 24-year-old Andrew Wolfe, both of the West Virginia National Guard.

According to the Joint Task Force operating the National Guard, they don't have an update on their conditions. They remain in critical condition at a local hospital. Guys, back to you.

JIMENEZ: Yeah. Brian Todd reporting live from the scene. Appreciate that. I want to bring in retired U.S. Navy Rear Admiral, Michael E. Smith, who joins us now. He's also the founder of National Security Leaders for America. Thank you for taking the time. Look, there are a lot of factors that are currently playing into the investigation right now, but from that investigative standpoint, what are you most looking for moving forward here?

REAR ADM. MICHAEL E. SMITH, U.S. NAVY (RET.): Really, I think that it's early in the process, obviously. But, I think we need to better understand, first of all, what were the failures in the vetting process that allowed him to be provided his clearance here in April, where they approved his application for asylum. So, we need to understand how that broke down, so that they can be addressed. There are legitimate people who do need to be provided asylum in our country, but we can't allow individuals such as this to slip through the tracks.

So, I hope that we'll soon learn how the Trump administration failed to vet him properly and provide him asylum. And then we need to better understand his motivations. I think what appears to be clear is that this is a lone individual who drove across country. It's -- and had a -- what's being described as a terrorist attack, a single shooter. So this is not a random act of crime, which gets to the statement that they're going to look at sending another 500 National Guardsmen to Washington, D.C. They were sent to Washington, D.C. to begin with to address crime.

Why would we send another 500, when this wasn't about crime? So I hope those two issues are looked at and we can better understand the decision process. JIMENEZ: Well, in reaction to the shooting, as you mentioned, President Trump asking for 500 more National Guard troops to be deployed. What do you believe the security response should be here? Especially if -- while we're still waiting for the exact motivation here, it does seem to be targeted at these Guards members, and we do have many uniformed Military Guard members currently out on the streets.

SMITH: We do. And I think that the federal authorities do have a responsibility for providing security against these types of terrorist acts. That's why we have an FBI, that's why you have the entire federal apparatus to be able to address these types of threats. Certainly the -- my organization were over 1,400 non-partisan, former senior national security leaders, retired admirals and generals, ambassadors, we have been against deploying National Guard to D.C. from the beginning just because we feel that, that they're not needed. It's a dangerous, expensive and ineffective use of the National Guard.

JIMENEZ: And you know, these two Guard members right now still in the hospital. We're talking about a 20, 24-year-old, as I mentioned, we don't fully know the motive outside of this being targeted at this point. But as we understand, these two had been on orders in the city since August. And from a military standpoint, across some of those key national security leaders you just mentioned, from a military standpoint, what would that coordination for local deployment, potentially coordinating with local law enforcement actually look like, again, as they sort of began that deployment going back to August?

SMITH: Well, first of all, I think it goes without saying that our hearts are out to those two brave National Guardsmen, to their families and to their units. Deploying the National Guard to D.C. for what ended up being a mission that for which they had no impact. This is -- it's dangerous because what it does is, is it works to degrade the public trust with the military.

[14:10:00]

It also erodes the civil military relationship. And finally, it's pulling the Guard from duties that they had and are trained on in their states for disaster response, of if needed in a war, to go as they did in Afghanistan and Iraq. But they're not trained for civil policing. There are so many more effective tools that -- the president is effectively the governor of Washington, D.C. He has at his disposal, with both Houses of Congress under his party, he can do so much to address crime in Washington, D.C. by providing more police forces, by addressing civic organizations and homelessness and mental health.

Those tools have been proven effective at fighting crime in major cities. The National Guard is not.

JIMENEZ: Well, regardless of the much debate that came in prior to their deployment, this is where we are right now, unfortunately, on this Thanksgiving.

SMITH: Right.

JIMENEZ: And we will see what happens from here on that standpoint. Admiral Michael E. Smith, appreciate the time. Thanks for being here.

SMITH: Thank you for having me.

JIMENEZ: All right. Still to come, U.S. officials face resistance as Russia's President dashes hopes for a quick end to the war with Ukraine. Plus, we're watching a cross-country winter storm that could wreak havoc. Heads up for millions of Americans traveling back home after the holiday weekend. And retailers prepare for an unpredictable holiday season. We're tracking Americans' shopping habits this Black Friday as consumer sentiment sours. That and much more, coming up on "CNN News Central."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:16:33]

SANCHEZ: Tomorrow is Black Friday. Really, the whole week is Black Friday if you think about it. And many of the forecasts this year look pretty shiny and bright for holiday sales with a record number of Americans expected to shop this weekend. 187 million holiday shoppers expected. MasterCard is forecasting that overall sales will rise about 3.6 percent with online sales climbing nearly 8 percent and store sales up about 2 percent.

Retail experts though say that these rosy holiday numbers belie some deep concerns regarding the economy, specifically that it is becoming more and more K shaped, the gap widening between the rich and the not so rich. Let's get some analysis now from Business Journalist, Roben Farzad, who also hosts "Full Disclosure." Roben, great to see you as always. What are you going to be looking for this Black Friday?

ROBEN FARZAD, BUSINESS JOURNALIST AND HOST OF "FULL DISCLOSURE": You do absolutely hit the nail on the head with that K-shape thing. I hear all about this FOMO spending and people are still eating out and still traveling and the airports are clogged and a lot of people on the road and luxury hotels are booked and the like. And I also hear about everybody is still terrified about that SNAP near-death experience. They're worried about their healthcare premiums growing up. They can't afford to eat at Chipotle; they can't afford to eat out.

Grocery sticker shock is still hitting them. You don't want to dispense the -- have that cliche, a tale of two cities or a tale of two worlds. But that is the difficulty that I think policymakers face as the Fed, which is being in this iteration, or Jerome Powell belittled by the president. He is already talking about his successor -- has the unenviable task of having to bring down interest rates while inflation is still hurting all of us.

SANCHEZ: And also, while there's this incomplete economic data, they're not working with as much data as they usually do, the Fed, because of the government shutdown. I do want to ask you, speaking about the data, about the way that we track holiday spending, because ultimately, it's measured in dollars and not volume. In other words, we're not actually seeing how much people are buying and who specifically is buying. So, I wonder how you go about trying to draw a fair picture of the average consumer's behavior.

FARZAD: I look at consumer spending overall, and I frankly don't pay that much attention to kind of the Black Friday, doorbuster Thursday evening, things like we used to mean (ph) time was. They'd post these YouTube videos of people fighting over an LCD TV. I don't about you, Boris. You go to a Best Buy or a Walmart, now they can't even give away an LCD TV for $200, $300. I mean, some things have deflated, some technological changes. I mean, people switching to smaller screens, clothing maybe hasn't had as bad a time with inflation, but we see with beef and other essentials in the house.

So people are having to cut back just to make ends meet in the pantry, in the grocery store, right now. And it's -- I think that the Fed and other policy makers are looking at those essential purchases. The difficulty of making rent, your monthly nut, gas, healthcare. The places where inflation is hitting us leave very little margin for going out and kind of blowing it on a luxury air fryer. I mean that's such a four-year-ago sentiment.

SANCHEZ: Yeah, I do miss the golden era of watching people needlessly beat the crap out of each other on Black Friday over just trivial stuff. I also want to get your thoughts on how tariffs may be impacting these holidays. I remember shortly after Liberation Day, the President and CEO of the Toy Association warned that tariffs on China and other countries were potentially putting Christmas at risk.

[14:20:00]

Eight months or so later now, how did those tariffs impact toys and other holiday items?

FARZAD: I think axiomatically, it's not helping. The fact that they had to come out and relent on certain things that are getting hit really hard --

SANCHEZ: Yeah.

FARZAD: -- especially in the food basket, that shows you that kind of logical thinking. If it wasn't supposed to hit inflation on the way up, then why are you pulling it back on the way down? And I have heard perversely, there's some rumors in the canyons of Washington, D.C. that there is a hope that the Supreme Court strikes it down, that that would actually give Trump a boost if the market and economy rallies on tariff relief. So certainly, many people out there saying that this is when we last need these in -- these price inputs to worsen inflation for us.

SANCHEZ: Yeah. There's also the question of how retailers are adjusting to a shifting landscape. And we understand that as Macy's revamps its store experience, Walmart is now promising this 30-minute turnaround from putting an online order to it actually getting onto a delivery truck. They're just really trying to compete with Amazon at this point. Do you see that? Do you see these moves as potentially successful, having a different experience in person and a faster one online?

FARZAD: It's killing -- it's killed all sorts of legacy retailers. I don't have to tell you what the pandemic did to malls. I don't have to tell you how many Sears, Kmarts are left. And Walmart might be the only one who can fight in a very hail and hardy way with Amazon because it had invested tens of billions in that technology. And being omnichannel and having something like a Walmart Prime, there's kind of Walmart, Costco and Amazon being the Colossus who's not even really measured on retail sales, let's be honest.

SANCHEZ: Yeah.

FARZAD: Amazon's just this behemoth. It's a film studio. It's a web services company. It's a Zappos, it's Whole Foods, but it's not being measured on same-store sales.

SANCHEZ: That is a really good point. Roben Farzad, Happy Thanksgiving, man.

FARZAD: Likewise, my man.

SANCHEZ: Thanks so much. Appreciate you. Still to come, the future of flying. CNN taking you for a spin onboard a new special plane. We'll explain what makes it unique and different with Jim Sciutto, after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:26:48]

JIMENEZ: All right. So, you've heard about hybrid cars. We know about hybrid cars.

SANCHEZ: Yeah.

JIMENEZ: Yeah. It's a thing. It's been a thing for a while, but hybrid planes less so. Aerospace company, Electra is hoping its planes are the future of flight.

SANCHEZ: Yeah. This startup says that its aircraft can get you to your destination twice as fast --

JIMENEZ: I'm interested.

SANCHEZ: -- as a commercial plane, so is CNN's Jim Sciutto.

JIMENEZ: Apparently.

SANCHEZ: He's going to take us for a ride.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST AND ANCHOR (voice- over): What if you had a plane that could take off and land in a space not much bigger than your backyard? I got to see for myself.

SCIUTTO: Wow, that was quick.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's pretty fast.

SCIUTTO (voice-over): This is Electra's Ultra Short meant to compete in the new flying car craze. That is a relatively cheap to operate aircraft that can get you from pretty much anywhere on the map to pretty much anywhere else.

MARC ALLEN, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, ELECTRA: And we can save them half the time, right? I mean, half the time you spend in a commercial airplane or on the road or in a train, this will get you there twice as fast.

SCIUTTO (voice-over): How does it work? The science is pretty crazy. Its eight electric motors don't just move the plane forward, they generate their own airflow over the wings, which in the physics of flight then generates their own lift for the aircraft.

ALLEN: You experienced something that very few people have experienced. The airplane is going super slow. The wing thinks it's going super fast because we're just accelerating all of this air over it. And then some really unique design structures, just rises right up. So the wing just lifts the airplane up at about 150 feet of ground roll.

SCIUTTO: You create your own lift?

ALLEN: You create your own lift, and then you just fly on that lift like an airplane.

SCIUTTO (voice-over): Because the plane creates its own lift, we took off at just about 30 miles an hour, about the speed of a racing bicycle. Something of a nod to the bicycle building, Wright Brothers who invented the world's very first flying machine. From the air, you get the feeling of floating, sort of like taking a ride on a drone. (Inaudible).

Plus, it's a hybrid with turbo generator charging batteries that run the prop, sort of like a flying Prius. And less fuel means lower cost per mile than helicopters and many flying cars. The idea of the Ultra Short is to solve another problem with many flying cars. While they can take a passenger or two, the ultra short can take multiple passengers and cargo, and go as much as 10 times as far, about 250 miles.

Electra already has more than 2,000 planes ordered, mostly from airlines and the U.S. Military, with even the ambition to replace the military's workhorse transport helicopter, the Blackhawk.

ALLEN: A lot of military applications because the military has the same problem we all have. They need to go from where they are to where they want to go. And imagine a bombed out runway. How do you get an airplane in with fuel, with munitions, supplies, food, spares? You can't. And if you're in the ocean, you can't take a helicopter hundreds of miles. This airplane flies like an airplane, arrives like a helicopter. That bombed out runway, no problem. SCIUTTO (voice-over): The $10 million price tag for the larger commercial model means most of us can never dream of owning one. But for the military, airline.