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National Guard Shooting Suspect to Face Murder Charge; Trump Orders Pause of Migration from "Third World Countries"; Russia Pounds Ukraine Ahead of Key Peace Talks with U.S.; Israeli Forces Kill Two Men Who Appear to Surrender; Death Toll at Least 128 and Expected to Rise in Hong Kong Fire; Trump: Canceling Anything Biden Signed Via Autopen; Pope Tours Istanbul's Blue Mosque on Day 3 of Overseas Trip; Faberge Imperial Egg Auction Could Break Record. Aired 4-5 am ET

Aired November 29, 2025 - 04:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:00:38]

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is "CNN Newsroom."

The U.S. has stopped making asylum decisions after a deadly shooting in D.C. We will look at what the changing rules mean for the millions waiting to find out whether they can seek refuge in the country.

Plus, a top aide to Ukraine's president has stepped down. We will take a look at the snowballing scandal that's threatening Ukraine's top leadership.

And the pope is in Istanbul, visiting a famous heritage site for Muslims, we have a live report on the pontiff's plans for the rest of his Middle East trip.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Kim Brunhuber.

BRUNHUBER: President Donald Trump is ramping up his anti-immigration efforts after an Afghan national was identified as the suspect in the D.C. National Guard shooting. He was granted asylum earlier this year, but now the U.S. is halting all asylum decisions. The director of U.S. citizenship and immigration services says the pause will stay in place until, quote, "we can ensure that every alien is vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible."

Meanwhile, the State Department announced it has stopped issuing visas for travelers with Afghan passports. Now, this as family and friends are honoring Sarah Beckstrom, the West Virginia National Guard member who died in that shooting. They held a vigil a short time ago in Webster Springs near Virginia, near Beckstrom's old high school.

Andrew Wolfe, the other guard member who was shot Wednesday, is still fighting for his life. Marybel Gonzalez is following the latest developments.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARYBEL GONZALEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Twenty-year-old Sarah Beckstrom had been in the National Guard for just over two years when she was shot in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. She died from her injuries a day later.

ALISSA CLAYTON, SARAH BECKSTROM'S FORMER CO-WORKER: I remember her mom posting pictures of her in her uniform and just thinking, like, how wonderful it was that she was out there serving our country.

GONZALEZ: A second National Guard member, Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe, was critically wounded in what authorities call an ambush. The alleged shooter is 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who came to the U.S. in 2021 in the wake of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan under a Biden-era program to resettle Afghans who had helped U.S. forces. His asylum application was approved under the Trump administration.

DONELL HARVIN, FORMER DC CHIEF OF HOMELAND SECURITY & INTELLIGENCE: Those people let off. They were rigorously vetted. Some people went to a second country, and they weren't allowed into this country until they were fully, fully vetted like we would do any other refugees.

GONZALEZ: Following the shooting, President Donald Trump has ordered a review of green card holders from 19 so-called countries of concern. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the department is also moving to block undocumented immigrants from receiving federal tax benefits. Immigrant communities and their advocates say the administration's anti-immigrant rhetoric is putting more people at risk.

AHMAD SHAH MOHIBI, FORMER U.S. MILITARY ADVISER: This is again like 9/11. You know, it happened and the entire Muslim community got impacted. Now Afghans are going to pay the price.

GONZALEZ: I'm Marybel Gonzalez reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: I want to bring in Andrew Sullivan, who's the executive director of "No One Left Behind," a nonprofit that supports Afghan and Iraqi allies who assisted the U.S. government. He joins me now from Erie, Pennsylvania.

Thank you so much for being here with us. So, as we heard there, the Trump administration has paused visas for people on an Afghan passport and stopped all asylum decisions. So, what does that mean for the Afghan allies still stuck in place in places like Albania and Qatar?

ANDREW SULLIVAN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NO ONE LEFT BEHIND: Yeah, thank you so much for having me and for covering this really important issue. So, firstly, you know, we are extremely, you know, concerned with what happened on Thursday. The loss of our service members, you know, hurts us deeply.

"No One Left Behind" is a veteran founded and led organization. So, our hearts are with the families affected there. With that said, we want to make sure that our Afghan allies, those that may be on bases in, you know, Qatar, those that are in third countries like Pakistan, that they still have a pathway to safety.

That pathway should involve rigorous vetting. We stand ready to work with the administration to ensure that our Afghan allies are rigorously vetted. But for those allies, they're in danger. And those allies have been indispensable to Americans like myself that served in Afghanistan. I can tell you categorically that my life was saved by Afghan allies that were working alongside me. So, we believe that our national security imperative is bettered by them being here.

[04:05:05]

BRUNHUBER: So, those are the people who are -- who are still sort of stuck abroad. Now, the people who are here, I mean, your organization's helped evacuate and helped resettle thousands of Afghan allies who served alongside the troops. So, what are you hearing from them right now? Those Afghan families that you've helped, are they -- are they scared that they could be deported or lose their status just because of the actions of one man?

SULLIVAN: Yeah, I think there's concern in the Afghan community for sure. I will say that the -- you know, our organization helps special immigrant visa recipients. From what we understand, the shooter was not an SIV recipient, but rather had come here under humanitarian parole and asylum, and then subsequently received asylum.

So, for the families that we've helped, they're SIV, they're already, you know, green card holders upon arrival. So, you know, we believe that they are going to be safe from, you know, from future proceedings that may happen from the administration. But there's definitely larger concern in the community as to what's going to happen.

And I think for, you know, all of the Afghan allies that are here in the U.S., the overarching view is they should not be judged by the actions of this one man.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah. And that one man, I mean, his family claims that he suffered from PTSD. I mean, you're a veteran, you've served alongside Afghan interpreters. I mean, how common is that for PTSD to be suffered by those who served alongside you?

SULLIVAN: I mean, from the sounds of it, he certainly was engaged in heavy combat. You know, the zero units were indispensable combat allies. They took, you know, malignant actors that targeted American troops off of the battlefield. And so, they were incredible allies, but they did see a fair amount of combat.

Obviously, with that can come PTSD. So, you know, it's impossible for me to say, you know, the scope and, you know, percentages or anything like that. But certainly for allies that serve so closely and so invaluably in our combat operations, that is that is unfortunately one of the outcomes that can happen.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah. The issue, according to the Trump administration, is vetting. I mean, you spoke to that a little bit earlier. And, you know, this individual presumably would have been one of the most heavily vetted ones because of the work he did.

So, in terms of all the others, now, a federal audit did find that they're in the rush to get people out of Afghanistan. The normal security checks kind of got pushed aside and 55 evacuees later ended up on terrorism watch lists. So, what would you say to folks out there who -- who might see what happened and be worried?

SULLIVAN: Yeah, so firstly, you know, I think that was a function of we didn't invest enough time in resources in the Special Immigrant Visa program because it does have fulsome in-person interviews, an interagency background check, all of those things.

And so, when we brought people over in, you know, August of 2021 and shortly thereafter, they came under humanitarian parole. They came under different programs. I would also say that there's been an opportunity for Congress to, you know, reconfirm the people that we brought over. The Afghan Adjustment Act has been introduced in three separate Congresses. It would provide another mandatory round of vetting to ensure that anyone that came over during the evacuation and during Operation Allies Welcome was re-vetted. So, I think we've missed some opportunities.

Now, I'm confident in the Afghan allies that served with us. I'm confident in the in the vetting that occurred. But another round of it, I think, is -- is, you know, warranted. And so, we certainly have called on Congress to pass that legislation. Unfortunately, they have not taken it up in any of the three Congresses. We hope that they will now.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah, absolutely.

We'll have to leave it there. Andrew Sullivan, really appreciate getting your insights on this. Thank you so much.

SULLIVAN: I thank you.

BRUNHUBER: Ukraine is reeling from the latest Russian attack in a month, killing at least three people overnight. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said dozens of others were injured as Russia fired nearly 600 drones and about 36 missiles on Kyiv and other targets. The strikes prompted a response from Poland, which scrambled military jets as a preventative measure.

Now, that's happening as Ukraine is looking for a new top negotiator just days ahead of key peace talks with the U.S. Andrii Yermak, President Zelenskyy's Chief of Staff, stepped down on Friday and he did that hours after anti-corruption investigators raided his home.

Yermak led his negotiating team at some of the most recent peace talks, including in Geneva last weekend. He said he cooperated with the investigators who didn't say why his home was raided. It happened as a major corruption scandal is rattling Ukraine's government. Zelenskyy portrayed the resignation as an opportunity to have a clean slate. Here he is. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): I want no one to have any questions about Ukraine today. Therefore, today we have the following internal decisions. First, there will be a reboot of the office of the president of Ukraine. The head of the office, Andrii Yermak, has written a letter of resignation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[04:10:11]

BRUNHUBER: Larry Madowo is monitoring those developments and he joins us from Nairobi.

Larry, we heard the spin President Zelenskyy put on this, but it really is a damaging blow to Ukraine, which couldn't have come, frankly, at a worse time.

LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's a terrible timing because he was being even recently in Geneva leading those talks to the U.S. and the allies to try and bring this war to an end and get to more of that in a second.

But overnight, Kyiv was under an air raid alert for more than 10 hours, according to CNN reporters on the ground. And they could hear loud explosions and missiles and drones overnight. And the Ukrainian foreign minister saying that Russia fired more than dozens of cruise and ballistic missiles and more than 500 drones at ordinary homes, at a critical infrastructure, at energy facilities. And they pointed out, he points out that this happened as the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban had been meeting with President Putin again, defying his European and NATO allies.

I want you to read this section for you from the Ukrainian foreign minister a short while ago. He said, while everyone is discussing points of peace plans, Russia continues to pursue its war plan of two points to kill and to destroy. It is now also notable how Putin once again used to pick Orban as an accomplice to his terror. And he goes back to 2024, where Orban's visit to Moscow was followed by Russia's horrific strike on a children's hospital at that time.

This time, a massive Russian attack on the Ukrainian capital right after Orban's visit and empty words about peace. Putin is simply using such politicians as actors in his bloody spectacle. And the Ukrainian foreign minister saying that Putin wants to extend this war for as long as possible. And the international community has an opportunity to stop him by continuing to support Ukrainian efforts to fight back against Russian aggression. And that is the backdrop for this latest resignation by the Chief of Staff of Zelenskyy, who has been kind of a shadow prime minister, has been described. He has been the point of criticism for all of the attention and the criticism for President Zelenskyy.

So, this is a reboot. It's not clear who will be leading these talks in Washington in a few days because he has been the leader for that. Ukraine has other capable negotiators, but he's been a central figure.

So, that throws those plans into disarray a little bit. But they have to make these happen, especially as they try and find a way to do a deal that does not favor Iraq. Russia completely can.

BRUNHUBER: Larry Madowo in Nairobi. Thank you so much. Appreciate it.

Still ahead here on "CNN Newsroom," outrage and an investigation after Israeli forces in the West Bank killed two men who appeared to have surrendered.

Plus, further arrests in connection with the deadly apartment fire in Hong Kong. We'll have those stories and more coming up. Please stay with us.

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[04:16:48]

BRUNHUBER: Israeli authorities say they're reviewing an incident in which soldiers shot and killed two men who appeared to be surrendering. Shooting took place during a wide scale counterterrorism operation in the occupied West Bank. Video of the incident shared on social media showed two men coming out of a building with their hands raised in apparent surrender. They were later seen on the floor before multiple rounds of gunfire heard. The Israeli Defense Forces say the men were wanted for alleged terror activities. The Palestinian Authority have called the shootings a flagrant violation of all international laws. Here's what family members had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAHMOUD ASSASA, BROTHER OF YOUSEF ASSASA (through translator): It's a brutal and hideous incident. Any person, any free person who sees the videos will be affected by the incident that was shot. The act was so hideous, a person who puts his hands up and surrenders can be arrested. But eliminating them in this brutal way is very wrong.

RULA ABDALLAH, WIFE OF MUNTASER ABDALLAH (through translator): It's a crime because he surrendered. Why did they kill him? They told them to leave the storage and then asked them to go in again. Why did they kill them? There was no shooting and no fire exchange. The people said that I was sure that my husband and his friend didn't have any weapons with them. So, you can't say that there was a fire exchange.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: And for more on this, I'm joined by Mairav Zonszein, a Senior Analyst for Israel with International Crisis Group.

Thanks so much for being here with us. So, I want to start there with that shooting. The U.N. called it a summary execution. An investigation has been open, but Israel's national security minister praised the soldiers involved. So, how do you read those two responses happening simultaneously?

MAIRAV ZONSZEIN, SENIOR ANALYST ON ISRAEL, INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP: Good morning, Kim.

Well, unfortunately, I'm not surprised this type of behavior happens, unfortunately, quite a lot in the West Bank. It just doesn't get a lot of attention. A case like this got a lot of attention because it was filmed and it's obviously outrageous. But it's important to know that these things are happening on quite a routine basis. Obviously, this is something that the IDF feels compelled to investigate.

The question is where this investigation will go. And even if it does go to some kind of conviction or punishment, this is something that we've seen, as I said, many, many times. And we have a national security minister, as you mentioned, who emboldens and supports this. He's also called in the past to pass a law that would give total immunity to soldiers in cases like this, meaning just give them carte blanche to kill Palestinians. And we've seen that the rules of engagement for the IDF have over the years become looser and looser. And so, I unfortunately expect this type of behavior to continue.

BRUNHUBER: Gosh, Incredibly sad to think that that would be routine. Now, that incident, it involved Israeli security forces, but we're also seeing record levels of violence in the West Bank from settlers themselves. Now, the U.N. says last month had the highest number recorded of settler attacks since they began tracking in 2006. Why do you think we're seeing this dramatic escalation right now?

ZONSZEIN: That's right. There's been an escalation, but this is on top of years of escalation of settler violence. And this is part of a pattern that has started since this Israeli government took power in the end of 2022, even before October 7th.

[04:20:03]

You had a minister that is now in charge, basically a de facto governor of the West Bank, Bezalel Smotrich. He's also the finance minister. And he has basically changed the way Israel controls the occupied territories, has emboldened settlers to take over more and more land, together with the national security minister who has allowed the police to kind of allow free rein.

And there's just a systematic pattern in which settlers feel emboldened by the state to act this way. And their main goal is to expand Israel's control and basically thwart the ability for Palestinians to live on land, specifically in Area C of the West Bank, which is 60 percent of where all the settlements that Israel has built is located. Also, it's a lot of agricultural areas that the Palestinians use. And this is how Israel has been de facto annexing the West Bank.

BRUNHUBER: Now, some Israeli military officials have called the violent settlers a fringe group of anarchist youth. From your research, how accurate is that?

ZONSZEIN: The types of violence that we see that reaches the Western media is perpetrated by very extreme settlers. But the phenomenon of settler violence, and as I said, which is backed by state violence, of course, a settler cannot exist in the West Bank without the state providing him support, water connection, housing, all of those things. So, this is a much wider pattern. And it's something that could not exist without the government's OK.

As we know, since 1967, Israel has built settlements. It has allowed settlers to de facto create facts on the ground and then has retroactively legalized them. And this has all been accelerated in the last few years and certainly in the shadow of the Gaza War.

So, this is a widespread phenomenon, which includes very extreme acts of violence by a small number. But this is unfortunately the this is state policy, the takeover of land, the violence against Palestinians. This is just something that goes from the top down and from the bottom up.

BRUNHUBER: You say it couldn't happen without the OK of the Israeli government. I'm wondering about the U.S. government here. President Trump lifted the Biden era sanctions on violent settlers back in January. Has that the absence of those sanctions changed anything on the ground?

ZONSZEIN: Well, it was important that Biden did that, but he did too little too late. And as you said, Trump took them out. The sanctions themselves alone on individual settlers is not enough, even on government ministers, which also European countries have done, is not enough.

Trump has, as a result of the Gaza War and countries like the United Arab Emirates, putting pressure on Israel, I mean, on Trump to put pressure on Israel. As we know, the Abraham Accords in 2020, basically when it normalized relations between Israel and the UAE, the UAE claimed that it took annexation off the table. But annexation has continued de facto.

And so now again, it's coming up and Trump feels the need to tell Israel annexation is not going to happen. But he's saying that and in practice and in reality, settlements are being built. Violence is happening. Takeover is happening. Annexation is happening de facto anyway.

So, if Trump is serious about stopping this and if he's serious about connecting the Gaza ceasefire to a wider political process, he's going to have to deal with the West Bank as well. And a wider risk in general is that if this continues unabated, there will be a further and further deterioration and explosion of violence in the West Bank.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah, let's hope not. We'll have to leave it there.

Mairav Zonszein in Tel Aviv. Thank you so much.

ZONSZEIN: Thank you.

BRUNHUBER: The flames are extinguished in the deadly Hong Kong residential fire that claimed the lives of at least 128 people. The focus now turns to the search for the missing and answers about the causes of the tragedy. CNN's Hanako Montgomery reports from Hong Kong.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hong Kong's worst fire disaster in decades left seven high rise residential towers standing only as burnt-out shells. Well, over 100 people are dead.

MONTGOMERY (on camera): The Hong Kong authorities said that by Friday morning local time, the fire was completely extinguished at the housing complex behind me. But they say that around 200 people still remain missing, and they fear the death toll could go up in the coming hours, if not days.

MONTGOMERY (voice-over): Over 48 hours after the disaster, some new detail as to how the fire at the Wang Fuk Court complex spread so quickly and so severely.

With an investigation set to take up to a month, early questions have focused on construction cladding that had covered the buildings for up to a year.

CHRIS TANG, HONG KONG SECURITY CHIEF: It ignited the mesh nets and quickly spread to the polystyrene boards around the windows, resulting in the fire in other floors and buildings.

MONTGOMERY: Authorities have also said they are investigating whether the fire alarms were functioning properly on the day of the blaze. Several residents who spoke to CNN said that the alarms in their buildings never rang, and some only discovered there was a fire when they looked outside.

[04:25:14]

Authorities believe the blaze began close to ground level on Building 6 around 2:30 on Wednesday afternoon. Images have surfaced on social media of the early embers of what would become a raging inferno, creeping up the cladding and spreading to the other buildings.

MONTGOMERY (on camera): Have you seen a disaster like this in your careers?

WALLACE, AUXILIARY MEDICAL SERVICE VOLUNTEER: I have served in the Auxiliary Medical Service for about 10 years. I joined a team at 16 and now I'm 26. I have never seen such a shocking scene appear in front of me.

MONTGOMERY (voice-over): Survivors have described their panic, many unsure of how to escape the burning buildings.

MISS YU, WANG FUK COURT RESIDENT: This is my home. Look over there, the 10th floor. That's where my home was by the hills. That's where it used to be. I really want to go back, but my home is probably gone now. They won't let us go back. So, when I look in that direction, my heart feels so heavy.

MONTGOMERY: This domestic worker watched for her employer's high-rise apartment as the fire took hold. FITA, INDONESIAN DOMESTIC WORKER: At first, so panic. I was so scared because the fire burned so big. At first, yeah, so scared and panicked.

MONTGOMERY: And now how are you?

FITA: Now, when I think about it, I'm grateful because I'm still alive.

MONTGOMERY (voice-over): Hong Kongers will band together to help the victims of a disaster which is not yet over.

Hanako Montgomery, CNN, Hong Kong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: And police now tell us they've revised down the number missing to 150, but the number of dead remains at 128.

I'm Kim Brunhuber. Thanks for watching "CNN Newsroom." For those of you in the United States and Canada, I'll have more of today's top stories coming up after the break. The rest of you watching overseas, "CNN Creators" is next.

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[04:30:36]

BRUNHUBER: Welcome back to all of you watching us here in the United States and Canada. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is "CNN Newsroom."

The gunman accused of killing a National Guard member and critically wounding another will face a murder charge, that's according to U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro. The suspect is an Afghan national who worked with the CIA in Afghanistan and came to the U.S. in 2021. Law enforcement officials tell CNN authorities now interviewed those close to the suspect, including his spouse and five children. They say he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, which they say stemmed from the fighting he did in Afghanistan while working with the CIA.

CNN's Chief Law Enforcement and Intelligence Analyst John Miller says because of that work, the suspect was well vetted.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: In this case, you have an individual who had worked for the U.S. in a CIA-supported special military team in the Afghan military special forces. This was a team operating in Kandahar, where Rahmanullah Lakanwal had been one of the soldiers that was used to target members, according to my sources, of the Taliban, of al-Qaida in Kandahar, the Haqqani network, a number of the places there. So, we had an awful lot of information about him. Vetting was not going to be the problem.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BRUNHUBER: There are new developments in the Trump administration's campaign to stop alleged drug trafficking in the Caribbean. CNN's Betsy Klein reports on disturbing details just now coming to light about a deadly strike on a boat two months ago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE PRODUCER: Well, we are learning that the U.S. military carried out a second follow-up strike on a suspected drug vessel operating in the Caribbean on September 2nd after the first strike did not kill everyone on board. Sources familiar with the matter telling our colleague Natasha Bertrand that when the initial strike appeared to disable that boat and cause deaths, the military assessed that there were survivors. The second attack killed the remaining crew, 11 people died, and the ship sunk.

Now, one of the sources says that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had ordered the military before this operation to ensure the strike killed everyone aboard the boat. It is not clear at this time if he knew there were survivors before that second strike. But President Trump announced the strike and the death toll on the day of the attacks, again, September 2nd.

But the Trump administration has never publicly acknowledged killing survivors. This was the first strike on an alleged drug vessel in the Caribbean. There have since been about 20 known strikes in the Caribbean and one in the Eastern Pacific.

We should note these details were first reported by The Intercept and "The Washington Post." All of this comes as the president continues to weigh his options in Venezuela, suggesting yesterday that action on land could start very soon after weeks of threats. And there has been a major show of force in the region, as the U.S. has amassed significant resources. That includes the world's largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, roughly 15,000 military personnel, more than a dozen warships and 10 F-35 fighter jets.

Trump has been briefed by his team on a really wide range of options, including airstrikes on military or government facilities and drug trafficking routes, or a more direct attempt to oust the country's president, Nicolas Maduro.

Betsy Klein, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: President Trump says he will pardon the former president of Honduras, who's currently serving a sentence for drug trafficking. Juan Orlando Hernandez was accused of conspiring with drug cartels as they moved more than 400 tons of cocaine toward the U.S. Prosecutors say in exchange he received millions of dollars in bribes. Here's what some Hondurans are saying about Trump's decision.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Let him go free. Yes, because he has been away from his family, from his relatives. They have not been allowed a visit to the prison where he is. His relatives have not seen him. So, he does deserve to return here to his homeland, where he is from, from Honduras.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Actually, he will know why he was tried in the United States, and it is the United States that has to make a decision in that regard.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Trump's announcement for a pardon came in the same social media post where he endorsed the country's conservative presidential candidate, Tito Asfura.

In his endorsement, Trump said he's confident in Asfura's policies and what he can do for Honduras.

[04:35:05]

Northwestern University will pay $75 million to the federal government to restore almost $800 million of frozen funding. The freeze came during the Trump administration's push against elite U.S. universities over allegations of unlawful discrimination. Under the settlement, the university in Evison, Illinois, must overhaul campus policies and require antisemitism training. Northwestern now joins Columbia, Brown and Cornell in making multi-million-dollar payments as part of federal agreements.

President Trump says he's canceling all executive orders and anything else that former President Joe Biden signed using an auto pen. That's the commonly used mechanical instrument that duplicates a signature. It's just the latest move to reverse actions taken by his predecessor.

CNN's Kristen Holmes has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: President Trump going after his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, yet again and his use of the auto pen. But this time, taking it a step further. In this post, he says he's going to overturn any executive order that was signed by the auto pen.

Now, I do want to read you part of this, but before we do, I want to make one thing clear. There are a lot of caveats here. We don't know what exactly the president is referring to in terms of what he would want to turn over or what he's going to turn over.

And on top of that, we have no idea on the legalities. We have reached out to various legal experts to try to figure out what, if anything, President Trump can do when it comes to overturning some of the executive orders that Biden put in place.

So, here's what this says. It says, "any document signed by sleepy Joe Biden with the auto pen, which is approximately 92 percent of them, is hereby terminated and of no further force or effect. The auto pen is not allowed to be used if approval is not specifically given by the president of the United States."

I'm going to skip down to the bottom part, because I think this is critical. "Joe Biden was not involved in the auto pen process. And if he says he was, he will be brought up on charges of perjury."

So, a couple of things to note. The 92 percent, we don't know where he got that number. He's saying that 92 percent of everything Biden signed was signed by the auto pen. Two, we don't know if this is legal. But three, this last idea of bringing the current former president up for charges of perjury, one, we should note that Biden has talked about this. He has said there was no scandal, that he was aware of everything that was signed, that there was no, you know, kind of going behind his back and signing anything.

So, he's already saying that. So, in the president's own words, they're now looking at perjury charges there. You have to remember that Biden will be under the same kind of immunities as the former president that President Trump himself was under. So, another thing to keep in mind.

But in all of this, there are still a lot of questions as to why now and what it is that has set him off on this auto pen currently. And, of course, we're trying to get to the bottom of all that to figure out what dynamics are at play here.

Kristen Holmes, CNN, traveling with the president in West Palm Beach, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Well, if you're traveling this weekend, you might want to plan for some delays. We're tracking a major winter storm system as it makes its way across the U.S., bringing rain, snow and sharply dropping temperatures. More than 20 million people are currently under winter storm warnings and hazardous conditions may impact the post- Thanksgiving travel rush.

CNN Meteorologist Allison Chinchar has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Tens of millions of people are in the path for this next system, and the target point is really going to be across areas of the Midwest for some of the bigger impacts, especially areas of Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, even stretching down into Missouri.

Now, when we start off Saturday morning, here you can see around 9, 10 a.m., the heaviest snow is over many of those same states. Down to the south, where we've got slightly warmer air, you're going to be looking at the potential for strong to even severe thunderstorms.

By late Saturday, now you're talking about the focus for all of that snow to be places like Chicago, Detroit, even into Cleveland. And then by early Sunday, we start to see the bulk of the winter weather begin to spread into areas of the Northeast and even into the Mid-Atlantic, causing potential travel problems there as we finish out the latter half of the weekend.

Winds are also going to be gusting pretty high, 30, 40, even 50 miles per hour in some spots. This is going to take all of that snow that fell and blow it all over the place, unfortunately reducing visibility, making it even more difficult out there on many of the roads.

Overall, the target point for the heaviest snow is going to be this pink area you see here, where we could pick up as much as eight to 12 inches of snow before this system moves out.

Keep in mind, though, that many of these same areas had snow just earlier this week, so this is going to be on top of what they've already had. On the southern side, where we've got the warmer temperatures, this is actually going to turn into the potential for strong to severe thunderstorms, especially for states like Texas and Louisiana. Cities like Houston and Shreveport could be looking at strong damaging wind gusts, some large hail, and we also can't rule out the potential for an isolated tornado.

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BRUNHUBER: Hope Leo is spreading his message of peace in the Middle East as he tours a mosque and holds meetings with local religious leaders. We'll have a live report from Istanbul after the break. Please stay with us.

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[04:43:16]

BRUNHUBER: Pope Leo XIV is on day three of his trip to the Middle East. The pope toured Istanbul's historic Blue Mosque on his first visit as pontiff to a Muslim place of worship. He also held a private meeting with leaders of local churches and Christian communities.

On Friday, he celebrated the 1700th anniversary of a historic church council. The pope also condemned the misuse of religion to justify war, violence, or fanaticism. He urged Catholics to mobilize their faith and unify others.

CNN's Salma Abdelaziz has been covering the pope's trip. She joins us live now from Istanbul, Turkey. Salma, so take us through the pope's message as well as the symbolism in this visit.

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN REPORTER: Yes, and his schedule has been absolutely packed, Kim. This morning he was at the Blue Mosque making his first visit to a Muslim place of worship since he was elected to the papacy. I mean, there's really beautiful images of him walking around this historical mosque.

And it is a moment that we've seen a departure, a difference that is setting him aside from his predecessors. And that is that Pope Leo chose not to pray at the Blue Mosque. Now, Pope Francis, when he did visit the Blue Mosque, did pray at the mosque. Reporters also spoke to the muezzin, the leader at the Blue Mosque, who said that he even offered for Pope Leo to pray at the mosque, but he chose not to. The Vatican later released a statement saying that Pope Leo chose to reflect in silence in the mosque and to reflect on those worshiping in it. So it, again, gives you a sense of who he is and how he perceives his papacy in comparison to his predecessors.

There's another thing I do want to note here, which is that he did not visit the Hagia Sophia. This is the other key site, of course, that is just across from the Blue Mosque here in Istanbul. It's a 17th-century Byzantine-era structure. It was used as a mosque for 500 years, and then it was converted into a museum. But in 2020, the government of President Erdogan reverted it back to a mosque.

[04:45:21]

Now, at that time, Pope Francis said that that was a move that pained him deeply. And he had visited -- Pope Francis had visited the Hagia Sophia in 2014. Pope Leo chose not to visit it.

So, again, you're just getting a sense of who he is as he spreads his wings, as he spreads his wings, as he spreads his message, as he pushes and puts force behind his mission in his papacy, choosing to go to the Blue Mosque, to visit that place of worship, but not make a prayer that is significant. And it does tell us something about him, Kim.

BRUNHUBER: Absolutely. Salma Abdelaziz in Istanbul. Thanks so much. Appreciate it.

Three Austrian nuns who escaped their nursing home and broke back into their former convent may be allowed to stay there, but there are conditions. Church officials say the women, all in their 80s, would have to shut down the Instagram account that made them famous and return to a more secluded, monastic life. They'll also have to agree to eventually go back to the nursing home when the convent can no longer care for them.

In the meantime, the women would receive 24-hour medical care and spiritual guidance. The nuns haven't yet accepted the church's conditional offer.

A historic gift for royalty will soon have a new owner. Coming up, just what experts estimate this rare Faberge egg will go for when it hits the auction block in a few days. We'll find out next. Stay with us.

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[04:50:32]

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What stores are we hitting today?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All of them. We love the bargains. They're great. They get great. They're not as good as they used to be, but they're still really, really good. They're so much better than the U.K.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: It was a big day of online shopping across the U.S. for Black Friday. Adobe Analytics says consumers spent $8.6 billion by 6:30 p.m. Eastern, and that amount is up 9.4 percent from last year. But those numbers don't factor in inflation. Adobe attributes the growth to steeper discounts than initially forecast. The final Black Friday online spending amount could hit a new record of nearly $12 billion in sales.

U.S. stocks ended higher in Friday's post-Thanksgiving trading session. All three major indices advanced thanks to optimism that the Federal Reserve may cut interest rates again in December.

Now, the holiday shopping season kicked off in the green. Benchmark Treasury yields also strengthened and gold prices rose. For the month of November, the Dow and S&P 500 posted marginal gains, but the tech- heavy Nasdaq ends the month down 1.5 percent. Now, analysts blame that on worries over inflated tech stock valuations.

Christie's in London will auction off a precious Faberge egg on Tuesday, and experts believe the so-called winter egg, a delicate diamond-covered treasure, will fetch a record price. CNN's Fiona Sinclair Scott reports on what makes this legendary relic of old Russian royalty so special.

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FIONA SINCLAIR SCOTT, CNN STYLE GLOBAL EDITOR: Auction houses love nothing more than a record-breaking sale, and there's a huge amount of hype in this industry. But every so often, you do come across an object that feels genuinely special. I'm at Christie's in London, where we're about to see a Faberge egg that could sell for upwards of $26 million.

We're going to meet an expert who's going to explain why. Let's go find that egg.

Hi.

MARGO OGANESIAN, CHRISTIE'S HEAD OF DEPARTMENT, FABERGE AND RUSSIAN WORKS OF ART: Hi, welcome to Christie's.

SCOTT: There it is. OK, tell me what we're looking at here.

OGANESIAN: So, we're looking at a very rare imperial Easter egg created by Faberge for the Romanov family. So, the tradition was every year on Easter Day, Tsar of Russia would give one to his mother and his wife. And the winter egg was given to mother of Nicholas II in 1913.

SCOTT: And when's the last time that this one was sold?

OGANESIAN: The winter egg was sold at Christie's in 2002.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At $8.700 --

OGANESIAN: And before that, in 1994, each time setting a world record for work by Faberge.

SCOTT: And each of the 50 eggs that were created, they're all completely bespoke, handcrafted designs.

OGANESIAN: Exactly. None of them repeat. They have different themes behind them. And the winter egg, I think, is one of the best that Faberge created.

SCOTT: Why is it so special?

OGANESIAN: The winter egg was actually designed by a woman, Alma Pihl, and she only designed two eggs, the mosaic egg in the Royal Collection and the winter egg. So, it really stands out among other eggs.

SCOTT: And one of the hallmarks about the Faberge egg is there's often a sort of reveal.

OGANESIAN: Yes, so the winter egg has a surprise inside. It opens like this.

SCOTT: Mm-hmm.

OGANESIAN: And you can place this basket with hands on a hook inside.

SCOTT: Wow.

OGANESIAN: And she wouldn't know what's inside there, so it's almost like a kinder surprise.

SCOTT: That's incredible.

OGANESIAN: And you can see the engraving on the inside, which is fantastic, and that's what creates that frosted pattern. The materials Faberge used are not necessarily the most precious ones, but we have the original invoice, and it says the number of diamonds, which is 4,500. So, you can imagine how delicate this work was.

SCOTT: Who is the customer for something like this?

OGANESIAN: So, first of all, it's important to say that Faberge is appreciated all over the world, and it's been like that throughout the history of Faberge. But with items like this, the winter egg, I think it's also appreciated as a masterpiece of its own.

SCOTT: The price estimation is upwards of $26 million, you know, for the naysayers. How do you explain what people are buying here?

OGANESIAN: It's a true masterpiece.

SCOTT: It's a bargain, you're saying.

OGANESIAN: It's a bargain. It is.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Thousands of Airbus passenger planes have been essentially grounded for an urgent software update. Airbus says pilots could lose control of the A320 series of planes during intense solar storms. This warning comes after an October JetBlue flight suddenly plunged in altitude, sending 15 people to hospital. Most of the planes can be repaired in about two hours. Airlines, including American Airlines, Delta, and JetBlue have already started the fix.

[04:55:02]

Well, a trip to the Louvre Museum in Paris will soon cost more for some visitors. Travelers from outside of Europe will see entrance fees rise by 45 percent starting next year. Museum officials say the price hike could bring up to $23 million a year and that extra money will go toward upgrades to address structural issues. Large crowds have put considerable strain on the centuries-old building and its staff. The plan to raise fees was made months before the brazen robbery of priceless jewelry in October.

The new Miss England says it feels incredibly empowering to become the pageant's first openly lesbian winner. 20-year-old Grace Richardson was crowned last week in central England. The 20-year-old says she decided to mention her sexuality during interviews with judges. She says it's empowering to use her platform to make a difference and she hopes she can inspire women to use their voice to create a positive impact and live without fear.

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PAUL MESCAL, "HAMNET" ACTOR: It's surreal for sure but the feeling that jumps out to my mind is this feeling of epic. It felt like, it just felt huge. That space felt, it's a replica but that set felt sacred. It felt very special to be saying those words in that place and kind of placing ourselves in that theater and that company of actors.

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BRUNHUBER: Actor Paul Mescal there discussing his new film "Hamnet." It reimagines the romance and grief of a fictionalized William Shakespeare and his wife Anne Hathaway. In the film they lose their son "Hamnet" to the plague but the playwright is inspired to write the classic tragedy "Hamnet."

"Hamnet" also stars Jessie Buckley and was directed by Chloe Zhao. "Hamnet is now out in U.S. theaters and is scheduled for a global release next year.

All right, that wraps this hour of "CNN Newsroom." I'm Kim Brunhuber. I'll be back with more news in just a moment.

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