AP News in Brief at 12:04 a.m. EST

Trump says one of the two West Virginia National Guard members shot by Afghan national has died

WEST PALM BEACH, Florida (AP) — President Donald Trump said that one of the two West Virginia National Guard members shot by an Afghan national near the White House had died, calling the suspect, who had worked with the CIA in his native country, a “savage monster.”

As part of a Thanksgiving call with U.S. troops, Trump announced that he had just learned that Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, had died, while Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, was “fighting for his life.”

“She’s just passed away,” Trump said. “She’s no longer with us. She’s looking down at us right now. Her parents are with her.”

The president called Beckstrom an “incredible person, outstanding in every single way.” The White House said he spoke to her parents after his remarks.

Trump used the announcement to say the shooting was a “terrorist attack” and criticized the Biden administration for enabling Afghans who worked with U.S. forces during the Afghanistan War to enter the U.S. The president has deployed National Guard members in part to assist in his administration’s mass deportation efforts.

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Trump criticizes the program that brought Afghan refugees to the US who fought the Taliban

The man accused of shooting two National Guard members in Washington is one of about 76,000 Afghans brought to the United States after the chaotic withdrawal of the U.S. from their country as the Taliban took over, authorities said.

The program, called Operation Allies Welcome, was created after the 2021 decision to leave Afghanistan following 20 years of American intervention and billions of dollars of aid.

Democratic President Joe Biden, who oversaw the withdrawal started by his predecessor — Republican President Donald Trump — said the U.S. owed it to the interpreters and translators, the fighters and drivers and others who opposed the Taliban to give them a safe place outside of Afghanistan.

But others — including Trump and many Republicans — said the refugees were not properly vetted in a resettlement process they said was as chaotic and poorly planned as leaving the country to the Taliban.

“This individual — and so many others — should have never been allowed to come here. Our citizens and servicemembers deserve far better than to endure the ongoing fallout from the Biden Administration’s catastrophic failures,” CIA Director John Ratcliffe said.

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At least 94 dead as Hong Kong firefighters battle burning towers for a second day

HONG KONG (AP) — Firefighters battled for a second day to extinguish a blaze at a high-rise apartment complex in Hong Kong on Thursday, as the death toll rose to 94 in one of the deadliest blazes in the city’s modern history.

Rescuers holding flashlights were going from apartment to apartment at the charred towers as thick smoke poured out from some windows at the Wang Fuk Court complex, a dense cluster of buildings housing thousands of people in Tai Po district, a northern suburb near Hong Kong’s border with the mainland.

Officials said firefighters were still working on a handful of apartments and trying to enter all of the units in the seven towers to ensure there were no further casualties.

“Our firefighting operation is almost complete,” said Derek Armstrong Chan, deputy director of Fire Services Operations. Firefighters were working hard “to prevent the debris and embers from flaring up. What’s next is the search and rescue operation,” he added.

It was unclear how many people remained missing or trapped. Hong Kong leader John Lee said contact had been lost with 279 people early Thursday. Authorities did not provide updates on the missing people or how many were still inside the ravaged buildings Thursday during a press conference.

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Fleet of UPS planes grounded after deadly crash expected to miss peak delivery season

A fleet of planes that UPS grounded after a deadly crash isn’t expected to be back in service during the peak holiday season due to inspections and possible repairs, the company said Wednesday in an internal memo.

The airline expects it will be several months before its McDonnell Douglas MD-11 fleet returns to service as it works to meet Federal Aviation Administration guidelines, said the memo from UPS Airlines president Bill Moore to employees. The process was originally estimated to take weeks but is now expected to take several months.

A fiery MD-11 plane crash on Nov. 4 in Louisville, Kentucky, killed 14 people and injured at least 23 when the left engine detached during takeoff. Cargo carriers grounded their McDonnell Douglas MD-11 fleets shortly after, ahead of a directive from the FAA.

“Regarding the MD-11 fleet, Boeing’s ongoing evaluation shows that inspections and potential repairs will be more extensive than initially expected,” Moore wrote in the memo.

A UPS spokesperson said in a statement that the company will rely on contingency plans to deliver for customers throughout the peak season, and it “will take the time needed to ensure that every aircraft is safe.”

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Black Friday arrives with solid momentum despite tariffs and economic uncertainty

NEW YORK (AP) — Black Friday may no longer be the retail bacchanalia of years past, when the promise of one-time bargains caused people to leave Thanksgiving tables for malls where some customers got into fistfights over toys or TVs. But the event still has enough enthusiasts to make it the biggest shopping day in the U.S.

For that reason, the day retains its crown as the official start of the holiday shopping season. This year’s kickoff comes as companies navigate an uncertain economic environment and wrestle with the volatility of President Donald Trump ‘s wide-ranging tariffs on imported goods.

Many have absorbed some of the costs and pulled back on hiring instead of raising prices for customers. Consumer confidence in the U.S. economy fell this month to the lowest since April — when Trump announced his tariffs — in the aftermath of the government shutdown, weak hiring and stubborn inflation, according to a report The Conference Board issued Tuesday.

Shoppers nonetheless have remained resilient and willing to spend, at least judging by the solid quarterly sales reports from Walmart, Best Buy and other retailers. But many retail executives also say customers are focusing on deals and have been selective in what they’re buying.

Aron Boxer, 50, from Greenwich, Connecticut, said he delayed buying a car this year amid worries about tariffs. He said he’ll be looking for deals on toys on Cyber Monday but is also willing to wait to the end for the best discount.

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Lake effect snow piles up in Great Lakes region, impacting Thanksgiving travel

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Residents of the Great Lakes region are in for a snowy Thanksgiving, as a weather system continues to drop precipitation across the area, particularly in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

Snowfall that began Wednesday persisted Thursday with winds and snow bands out of the north and northwest. A blizzard warning is in effect in Alger County, east of Marquette, Michigan, until 7 p.m. Thursday night.

The heaviest snowfall is expected to hit west of the town of Munising, according to the National Weather Service, with up to 13 inches (33 centimeters) of additional of snow accumulation possible. The snow bands will likely taper off starting in the western counties of the Upper Peninsula as the day progresses.

Lily Chapman, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Marquette, said 15 inches (38 centimeters) of snow were measured at her office Thursday morning. Near Bessemer, Michigan, about 113 miles (182 kilometers) east of Duluth, Minnesota, Chapman said the National Weather service received reports of over 18 to 28 inches (46 to 71 centimeters) of snow.

“It varies pretty quickly depending on things like elevation or where any of our stronger bands have been able to line up,” Chapman said.

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Putin sees US peace plan as a starting point as he warns Ukraine’s army to withdraw

U.S. proposals to end the war between Russia and Ukraine offer a starting point for talks, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday, as he told Ukrainian forces to pull back or be overrun by Russia’s bigger army.

“We need to sit down and discuss this seriously,” Putin told reporters at the end of a three-day visit to Kyrgyzstan. “Every word matters.”

He described U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan as “a set of issues put forward for discussion” rather than a draft agreement.

“If Ukrainian troops withdraw from the territories they occupy, hostilities will cease. If they don’t withdraw, we will achieve this by force,” the Russian leader said.

Kremlin officials have had little to say so far about the peace plan put forward last week by Trump. Since Russia’s invasion of its neighbor, Putin has shown no willingness to budge from his goals in Ukraine despite Trump’s push for a settlement.

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Deposed Guinea-Bissau President Embaló arrives in neighboring Senegal as soldiers name junta leader

BISSAU, Guinea-Bissau (AP) — Soldiers in Guinea-Bissau on Thursday announced a new junta leader, cementing a forceful takeover of power that began after this week’s disputed presidential election and led to deposed President Umaro Sissoco Embaló departing for neighboring Senegal.

The military high command in the West African nation inaugurated Gen. Horta Inta-a as the head of the military government, which will oversee a one-year transition period, according to a declaration broadcast on state television.

Embaló, meanwhile, arrived in Senegal with a flight chartered by the Senegalese government which has been “in direct communication with all concerned Guinea-Bissau actors,” Senegal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement, as the country promised to work with partners to restore democracy in Guinea-Bissau.

Guinea-Bissau, one of the world’s poorest countries, has been dogged by coups and attempted coups since its independence from Portugal more than 50 years ago, including a coup attempt in October. The country of 2.2 million people is known as a hub for drug trafficking between Latin America and Europe, a trend that experts say has fueled its political crises.

Hours after the opposition called for protests against the coup and to demand the publication of election results earlier scheduled for Thursday, the military authorities issued a statement banning public protests and “all disturbing actions of peace and stability in the country.”

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Scientists capture the crackling sounds of what they believe is lightning on Mars

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Scientists have detected what they believe to be lightning on Mars by eavesdropping on the whirling wind recorded by NASA’s Perseverance rover.

The crackling of electrical discharges was captured by a microphone on the rover, a French-led team reported Wednesday.

The researchers documented 55 instances of what they call “mini lightning” over two Martian years, primarily during dust storms and dust devils. Almost all occurred on the windiest Martian sols, or days, during dust storms and dust devils.

Just inches (centimeters) in size, the electrical arcs occurred within 6 feet (2 meters) of the microphone perched atop the rover’s tall mast, part of a system for examining Martian rocks via camera and lasers. Sparks from the electrical discharges — akin to static electricity here on Earth — are clearly audible amid the noisy wind gusts and dust particles smacking the microphone.

Scientists have been looking for electrical activity and lightning at Mars for half a century, said the study’s lead author Baptiste Chide, of the Institute for Research in Astrophysics and Planetology in Toulouse.

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Fuzzy Zoeller, two-time major champion haunted by racist joke about Tiger Woods, dies at 74

Fuzzy Zoeller, a two-time major champion and one of golf’s most gregarious characters whose career was tainted by a racially insensitive joke about Tiger Woods, has died, according to a longtime colleague. He was 74.

A cause of death was not immediately available. Brian Naugle, the tournament director of the Insperity Invitational in Houston, said Zoeller’s daughter called him Thursday with the news.

Zoeller was the last player to win the Masters on his first attempt, a three-man playoff in 1979. He famously waved a white towel at Winged Foot in 1984 when he thought Greg Norman had beat him, only to defeat Norman in an 18-hole playoff the next day.

But it was the 1997 Masters that changed his popularity.

Woods was on his way to a watershed moment in golf with the most dominant victory in Augusta National history. Zoeller had finished his round and had a drink in hand under the oak tree by the clubhouse when he was stopped by CNN and asked for his thoughts on the 21-year-old Woods on his way to the most dominant win ever at Augusta National.