NPR News Now - NPR News: 11-27-2025 10AM EST

Episode Date: November 27, 2025

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Live from NPR News, I'm Janine Herbst. The U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, Janine Piro, says the two West Virginia National Guard members shot yesterday, blocks from the White House, are both in critical condition after undergoing surgery. The two National Guards men that were talking about are Sarah Bextram, who's 20 years old, and Andrew Wolfe, who is 24 years old. They were uniformed members of the West Virginia National Guard, and they were in D.C. to keep D.C. safe. She says the suspect drove to D.C. from Washington State was armed with a 357 revolver and is charged with three counts of intent to kill. He's also hospitalized. President Trump calls it an ambush and says he's ordering another 500 guard members to D.C. Meanwhile, CIA Director John Rackcliffe says the suspect previously worked with the CIA in Afghanistan. As NPR's Greg Myrie reports, he came to the U.S. shortly after the U.S. military withdrawal from that country.

CIA Director Ratcliffe said the suspect came to the U.S. in September 2021. This was the month after the American military completed its pullout from Afghanistan and the Taliban took control of the country. The suspect identified as Ramanula Lockenwal, age 29, worked with the U.S. government, including the CIA in the southern city of Kandahar. This is according to the statement by Ratcliffe. Roughly 200,000 Afghan immigrants and refugees have come to the U.S. in the past four years. President Trump has called for the examination of every Afghan who entered the country when President Biden was in office. Greg Myrie, NPR News, Washington. More than 60 people are dead. Hundreds remain missing after a fire broke out at a housing complex in Hong Kong yesterday.

Cherie's fam has more. This is one of the deadliest fires in Hong Kong's history. It broke out at a public housing complex that's home to about 4,600 people. More than 24 hours later, the fire was under control, but firefighters were still battling fires in several buildings, and residents are still trapped. The Hong Kong fire services said an elderly man had been rescued from the 31st floor of one of the buildings. The high-rise apartment towers had been under renovation and covered in bamboo scaffolding.

Three people who work for the construction company responsible for the renovations have been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter. Hong Kong police said that construction material found around the buildings did not meet safety standards were highly flammable and may have been the reason the fire spread so quickly. For NPR News, I'm Sheree Fam in Hong Kong. U.S. markets on Wall Street are closed today for Thanksgiving, and tomorrow they'll reopen for a shortened trading session.

You're listening to NPR News from Washington. It's Thanksgiving, which means tomorrow is Black Friday, when holiday shoppers spent a lot of money on stores and online. And here's Alina Seljuk reports, retailers are forecasting a record winter shopping season. Adobe Analytics, which tracks online transactions, says steepest online sales on electronics, clothes, and computers are expected on Cyber Monday, while Black Friday may have the better deals on to,

televisions, toys, and appliances. The National Retail Federation forecasts that sales this holiday season will top $1 trillion for the first time. Much of the spending comes from wealthier shoppers while others are trying to tighten budgets. In fact, lower-cost stores like Walmart and T.G. Max say they're seeing more higher-income visitors. But people are also choosing to trade up, deciding that a better deal on something costly is to get the fancier version. Both Home Depot and Best Buy say that when they do sell big-ticket items, a growing share of them are the most expensive option. Alina Seluk, NPR News.

A U.S.-Russia crew has arrived at the International Space Station after launching from the Russian Space Facility in Kazakhstan this morning. The Soyuz rocket is carrying NASA astronaut Chris Williams, along with two Russian crewmates, Sergei Mikhail and Sergei Kudkswerkov. They're expected to spend about eight months at the orbiting outpost, where they will join seven others, all will be conducting scientific research and doing exploration. NASA says this is the first space flight for both Williams and McAv. I'm Janine Herbst, and you're listening to NPR News from Washington.