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Russian Strikes Leave More than 1M Homes in the Dark; New Accusations of Violations Against Israel and Hezbollah; UNWRA: Heavy Rains Worsen Living Conditions in Gaza; Biden Criticizes Trump's Planned Tariffs for Canada & Mexico; Australia Bans Social Media for Kids Under 16; Notre Dame to Reopen Soon; Prepping for Christmas at London's Santa School. Aired 12-12:45a ET
Aired November 29, 2024 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Michael Holmes, coming to you live from Atlanta. Appreciate your company.
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Coming up here on CNN NEWSROOM --
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HOLMES: Ukraine hit with another missile assault from Russia, knocking out power to more than a million homes and ratcheting up fears about what might come next.
More Israeli attacks in Gaza. Benjamin Netanyahu dismissing hope that a ceasefire with Hezbollah might lead to the end of Israel's war with Hamas.
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ANTHONY ALBANESE, AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER: We've got your back, is our message to Australian parents.
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HOLMES: And Australia's prime minister hails the passing of a world- first social media ban for children under 16. But critics say it's a job that should be left to parents.
ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Michael Holmes.
HOLMES: Ukraine trying to get back on its feet after seeing scenes like these across the country on Thursday morning. Ukraine says Russian missiles and drones rained down on its energy system the night before, including on this facility near Odessa.
The strikes wounded at least five people, left more than a million homes in the dark. Moscow claims it targeted only military and defense industry facilities, but Ukraine's president paints a very different picture.
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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Over 90 missiles and nearly 100 strike drones were launched. The targets were energy infrastructure and ordinary civilian objects. Many were shot down, and our electronic warfare systems performed well.
But unfortunately, there were also hits. Some of the strikes involved Kalibr missiles with cluster warheads, a particularly dangerous type of Russian weaponry used against civilians.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: In Kyiv, the air raid alert lasted for nine hours, forcing people to take shelter in metro stations, as you see there.
U.S. President Joe Biden condemning the attack as horrific.
Ukraine says it was the 11th time this year that its energy sector took major hits, which does not bode well as winter begins.
But the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, says there was a reason why Moscow launched the attack, and he's making it clear there could be more to come, including with a powerful new weapon.
Fred Pleitgen with that.
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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): In the early morning hours, Russia launching yet more massive aerial strikes against Ukraine.
The sheer size of the attack -- more than 90 missiles and about 100 drones -- laid out clearly by the Russian president himself.
"On our part, these strikes took place in response to the continuous strikes on Russian territory by American ATACMs missiles," Putin said. "As I have said many times, there will always be a response from our side."
The Russians irate as the Ukrainians continue to use U.S.-supplied ATACMs surface to surface missiles to hit targets deep inside Russia after getting the go-ahead from the Biden administration.
Top Russian politicians now accusing the U.S. president of playing with fire.
PLEITGEN: How big do you see the danger of an escalation right now?
KONSTANTIN KOSACHEV, DEPUTY SPEAKER, RUSSIAN FEDERATION COUNCIL: I believe we are right now in the most dangerous stage for the simple reason we have a lame duck in the United States of America, with all my respect to Mr. Biden.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): And the Kremlin threatening further use of their massive experimental multiple-warhead ballistic missile, Oreshnik, which they fired on the Ukrainian city of Dnipro last week.
"Everything that is in the epicenter of the explosion will be decimated," Putin said. "Turned into elementary particles, essentially into dust. The missile hits even well-protected objects located at great depth."
This, as Moscow is trying to maintain support at home for what it still calls its special military operation in Ukraine. The defense ministry publishing the slickly produced video, urging Russians to join the army.
"We are with our warriors until victory. This is our land," the narration says.
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The Kremlin has said Vladimir Putin is willing to talk to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, both about ending the Ukraine war and improving U.S.-Russia relations. But they want Washington to make the first move, the spokeswoman for Russia's foreign ministry tells me.
MARIA ZAKHAROVA, SPOKESPERSON, RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY: We are open to normal relationship, which are based on mutual respect and international law. If the country -- I don't know, United States or other countries -- would like to, on this base -- on this base to improve, to promote, to develop, to reconstruct, rebuild relationship with us, we can do this.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): Scores of Ukrainians spent Thursday morning sheltering from Moscow's latest missile blitz. And despite Kyiv saying they were able to shoot down many drones and rockets, more than a million people had to deal with blackouts after the raids.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow.
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HOLMES: And protesters took to the streets in the Republic of Georgia after its government put on hold its bid to join the European Union.
Thousands of demonstrators clashing with police in the capital of Tbilisi on Thursday. Earlier in the day, the ruling party suspended its accession talks with the E.U. for four years.
That decision coming hours after the European Parliament condemned last month's parliamentary elections as neither free nor fair.
Georgia's ruling party claimed victory, even though the opposition said Moscow pulled the strings to rig the vote. The protesters, furious at their government.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DAVIT ARCHVADZE, PROTESTOR: We are angry. This anger was -- I don't know, it was gathering between the people, and now it's the day. Today they decided to end our history.
MARIAM BOBOKHIDZE, PROTESTOR: Of course we are upset. We are so angry. It's literally beyond embarrassing. What this government is doing to us, it's literally like.
TUSIKA KVIZHINADZE, PROTESTOR: This is really, really unbelievable. We are teenagers. This is the new generation. I cannot -- I cannot believe. The words cannot describe what is happening today.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Georgia's decision came after the E.U. had already suspended the accession talks, saying Georgia is backsliding on Democratic reforms.
Now, the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon is now in its third day. It appears to be holding, by and large, despite new accusations against both parties.
The people of Lebanon, meanwhile, desperate to rebuild. Thousands displaced by the 13 months of war have started returning to their homes and businesses, many of them destroyed amid Israeli warnings that it's not safe to go back yet.
But a fragile and complicated process must still play out over the coming days, and it remains to be seen how permanent the pause will be, long-term.
CNN's Jeremy Diamond reports from Tel Aviv.
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JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, the second day of this tenuous ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah was marked by claims of violations on both sides of this agreement.
Nonetheless, despite that, this ceasefire --
DIAMOND (voice-over): -- is indeed still holding up, at least for now. Now, here's what both sides are claiming.
The Lebanese military, for its part, says that Israel --
DIAMOND: -- violated this agreement through the, quote, "targeting of Lebanese territory with various weapons."
The Israeli military actually admits that it did open fire on Lebanese territory, but it says that it did so in order to enforce this ceasefire, claiming that Hezbollah was violating the terms of this agreement.
The Israeli military says it carried out two airstrikes in Southern Lebanon. In one case, they say they identified, quote, "terrorist activity" at a Hezbollah rocket storage facility.
In the second case, they say they struck, quote, "two terrorists" that they say were arriving at a known terrorist infrastructure site that had been used to fire on Israel.
In another incident, they say they opened fire on people they described as suspects who were arriving in areas of Southern Lebanon.
Now, the Israeli prime minister is actually touting these actions by the Israeli military in a new interview with Israel's Channel 14.
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): We enforced it already, on the first day. You saw. Yesterday, we killed five Hezbollah operatives. We captured four. Today we striked more. There is no trickery with us. We enforce it forcefully.
But, if necessary, I have given directive to the IDF. If this framework, this ceasefire is violated, it will lead to an intense war.
DIAMOND: And you hear the threat of a, quote, "intense war" there with Hezbollah by the Israeli prime minister.
One thing that's so tricky with this new ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah is, first --
DIAMOND (voice-over): -- the fact that the Israeli military is gradually going to withdraw from this territory.
That means for up to 60 days, Israeli troops could actually still be inside Southern Lebanon.
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In addition to that, you actually have a party to this ceasefire agreement -- Israel, in this case --
DIAMOND: -- saying that it is going to unilaterally enforce this deal and strike at Hezbollah whenever it feels like it needs to for its self-defense purposes.
And that, of course, could ultimately lead to questions about whether or not Israel is violating the ceasefire by carrying out those actions.
Israeli officials say that they have an understanding with U.S. officials about the actions that they can and cannot take in Southern Lebanon.
But of course, all of this is potentially a complicating additional layer on top of this agreement.
The other question is whether or not this agreement between Israel and Hezbollah, the ceasefire in the North, could ultimately lead to a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
The Israeli prime minister also saying that he believes that is increasingly possible now. At least a deal that would free the hostages, because he believes that Hamas is feeling increasingly isolated by this deal.
U.S. officials are of the same view, and President Biden said last week that he is now going to push for a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza.
Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Tel Aviv.
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HOLMES: And as Jeremy reported there, the Israeli prime minister sounding more optimistic about a ceasefire in Gaza. But he insists on achieving one of his major goals. Here's what he told Israel's Channel 14.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NETANYAHU (through translator): I'm ready for a ceasefire at any moment. But ending the war, I'm not ready for that, because we also need to achieve the elimination of Hamas.
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HOLMES: Meanwhile, as you see there, Israel's attacks continue.
Gaza's Health Ministry says Israeli bombs killed at least 20 people on Thursday. Several homes in Nuseirat were hit, sending dozens of victims to al-Adwa Hospital with injuries.
The hospital director claims Israeli forces are blocking delivery of medical supplies, food, and fuel to the hospital.
CNN's reached out to the IDF for comment on that.
It all comes as Gaza's civil defense warns it has run out of fuel in the North.
For more on the situation in Gaza, let's bring in Louise Wateridge, a senior emergency officer for the U.N. Relief and Works Agency, or UNWRA. She's joining me now from Gaza City. You can see just some of the damage behind her.
You made a powerful video post on X this month. It was a few weeks ago, but it still applies. And I wanted to quote quickly from it.
You said, "Across Northern Gaza there is no way of telling where the destruction starts or ends. No matter what direction you enter Gaza City, homes, hospitals, schools, health clinics, mosques, apartments, restaurants all completely flattened. An entire society now a graveyard."
You're there right now. You've been experiencing it. What -- what -- how would you describe Gaza right now?
LOUISE WATERIDGE, SENIOR EMERGENCY OFFICER, UNWRA: I mean, referencing that video, social media allows you to upload just a few minutes of clip. But the videos are ten, 15, 20 minutes long, and it's destruction everywhere you look.
Each day that we're working in Gaza City, each direction you look in, as far as you can see, there's damage and destruction.
Uh, one of the biggest risks right now is the weather. Um, another component to kill people here. The wind and the rain is picking up, and people are living in these very, very dangerous structures. A lot of the ceilings are collapsing. A lot of the walls don't exist.
And because people have nowhere else to shelter, they are in these structures, trying to find some kind of relief from the cold and the rain.
But of course, this bad weather could, could bring these buildings down on top of people.
So, the misery certainly continues across the Gaza Strip. And that's all we keep seeing here.
HOLMES: Yes, horrendous pictures earlier, a day or two ago, of the rains washing away tents and people's belongings. And winter's only just beginning.
There -- there are so many reports of aid not just not being able to get in logistically, but access, distribution being actively denied by Israel. Is that your experience?
WATERIDGE: This week alone, I've been in Gaza City. We've been trying to access the besieged North area. Every request has been denied. In fact, every request in the month of November has been denied or impeded.
What can we say? We're doing our best. We're here. We're on the ground. We have few supplies. We're trying to get them to the people in need.
But we're hearing absolute horror reports from this besieged area, which we don't have access to. We're hearing from the hospitals. They're asking for aid. They're having tanks arrive instead.
When we are able to get supplies to people in Gaza City, it's not enough.
I'm speaking to people around me here. They fled the besieged areas. They're asking for very, very basic things. They want food. They want water. They want to be warm.
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A woman was crying to me a few days ago. She -- she just wants her baby and her children to have some warm clothing, because it's raining and it's freezing.
It's not -- it's not a lot. When you ask what people need, that's what they tell you.
When you ask what people want, immediately, everybody says they want to go home. They want the war to end. Everyone I've spoken to in the entire Gaza Strip, when you ask what they want, it's for the war to end.
HOLMES: Yes. We've seen Israel ordering people from the North. We've seen Israel create the so-called Netzarim corridor that basically splits the North from the rest of the strip.
Do you fear, as many do, and do those you speak to fear that Israel is going to stop Gazans from going back to the North, either permanently or long term, at the very best?
WATERIDGE: The people I've spoken to fled for their lives. They -- they really fled with just the clothes on their back. There wasn't time to organize anything. There wasn't time to think about any kind of long-term prospect. They know they can't get back there.
They're sitting in Gaza City now. They're telling me they left relatives under the rubble. They left children under the rubble dying. They had to run for their lives. Really, the clothes on their back was all that they had.
And now they're in Gaza City. They don't know what to think. They really don't know what to think. People are exhausted. It's very hard to -- to kind of have any response from people after 14 months. They're physically and mentally exhausted. You can see the pain in their eyes and their face.
I was with a 12-year-old boy yesterday. His parents were killed in a strike as they were walking back to the shelter. What can you say to a 12-year-old? He's now living in a shelter, a school, with his grandfather. The school has been bombed and hit in a strike. What can you say to these people? There is no hope.
HOLMES: And yes, yes. And a lot of people feel that Israel is not going to let them go back to the North, even when this was over.
You know, I was listening to an Instagram post by Jonathan Whittle (ph) from the U.N.'s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. You probably know him.
He said, basically, he was saying he was there in the Gaza Strip, and he was saying there was nowhere to go if you're in the South. And then the North, he said, people were literally starving. He said, quote, "There is no limit to the cruelty being inflicted on civilians in Gaza."
It was a very powerful emotional account. Does that resonate with your own observations?
WATERIDGE: Absolutely. There's not a humanitarian here that doesn't see the cruelty day in and day out.
As you referenced, you know, in the South, we've had people who were forced to live on the beach, nowhere else to go. There's nowhere else to have a shelter. And the sea has now come in and washed their shelters away and washed their belongings away.
People are starving. People are fighting over flour, bags of flour. That's the desperation. I'm seeing children going through rubbish, huge piles of trash, trying to pick out any kind of tin can that might have some scraps in the bottom of it. They're going through the trash with the dogs, children.
It's just cruel. It's just suffering.
Yesterday, I had 10, 15 people come up to me and ask me if I could help find their children. Some of them hadn't seen their children for a year. They wanted to know if there's anything we can do to try and find their children.
HOLMES: Yes.
WATERIDGE: It's -- the desperation is everywhere you look, and everybody has a horrific story.
You can't speak to one person without the room -- you know, it goes silent. Everybody listens. Everybody cries. Everybody weeps. And then the next person tells their story, which is just as horrific, just as awful. Everybody's lost something. Everybody has lost everything.
They really want the war to end. You know?
HOLMES: Yes.
WATERIDGE: They -- they need food. They need water, but they want the war to end.
HOLMES: Just horrendous levels of suffering and endless.
Louise Wateridge there in Gaza City. Stay safe. Thanks for the work that you're doing there.
WATERIDGE: Thank you.
HOLMES: Well, for the first time in more than four years, Syrian rebels launched a surprise offensive in the government-controlled city of Aleppo on Thursday.
A Turkish security source tells CNN various rebel factions launched what they called a limited operation against the Bashar al-Assad regime.
It came after government forces and allied militias struck a rebel- held city and killed more than 30 civilians. CNN cannot independently verify that claim.
The rebels say the offensive was aimed at deterring Syrian government and Iranian militias, as they put it, from striking areas with displaced people.
Analysts say the rebels were exploiting weaknesses in Iran's proxy, Hezbollah, to advance in Syria.
It's the most significant hostility between Syrian rebels and the Assad regime since they agreed to a ceasefire mediated by Russia and Turkey in March 2020.
[00:20:02]
Still to come on the program, Joe Biden's last Thanksgiving in office and his warning about Donald Trump's planned tariffs.
Plus, a world first as Australia passes a ban on social media for kids under 16. Those stories and more, when we come back.
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HOLMES: For the first time since Donald Trump won reelection, the current U.S. president has issued a warning about his policy plans.
Joe Biden says Trump's threat to impose steep tariffs on America's neighbors would be a mistake. CNN's Arlette Saenz with that story.
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ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Joe Biden weighed in on President-elect Trump's tariff threats for the first time, saying he hopes he will rethink some of the tariffs he wants to impose on Canada and Mexico, warning that it could jeopardize U.S. relations with some of the country's closest allies.
President Biden was speaking to reporters as he visited a firehouse here in Nantucket, Massachusetts. Really offering his first criticism of President-elect Donald Trump and his policy proposals since the November 5th election. Take a listen.
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I hope he rethinks it. I think it's a counterproductive thing to do. You know, look, one of the things you've heard me say before that we -- we have an unusual situation in America.
We're surrounded by the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, and two allies, Mexico and Canada. And the last thing we need to do is begin to screw up both relationships.
SAENZ: These comments from President Biden are significant and really serve as a reminder that he has very different views from President- elect Donald Trump about how to approach issues like the economy, trade, and also relations with U.S. allies.
The president and Democrats during the campaign had warned that some of Trump's tariff threats would have inflationary impacts back at home, could potentially raise prices on goods across the board for Americans.
But President Biden made these comments as he's spending the Thanksgiving holiday here in Nantucket, Massachusetts. This is a bit of a family tradition for the Biden clan, as they have been traveling to this island for decades now to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday.
But it is a poignant one as President Biden is preparing to leave office in January. He placed a round of calls to troops who were serving overseas this Thanksgiving holiday, away from their families, calling into bases across the world, including in Guam, Bahrain, and also Saudi Arabia. Trying to thank those U.S. service members for their time.
President Biden told reporters that he is most thankful this holiday season for a peaceful transfer of power, for diplomatic efforts, and also a hope that they could try to achieve more progress when it comes to the conflicts in the Middle East, as Biden is trying to work towards a hostage and ceasefire deal in Gaza.
Arlette Saenz, CNN, traveling with the president in Nantucket, Massachusetts.
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HOLMES: Four Democratic members of Congress from Connecticut were targeted with bomb threats while celebrating Thanksgiving at home with their families on Thursday.
Law enforcement responded. They found no evidence of any devices. But all of this coming just a day after several of Donald Trump's appointees were targeted with bomb threats and swatting, which is when a false crime is reported to draw an armed response by police to the location of the target.
Well, five years ago, a raging fire destroyed much of Notre Dame. Now the legendary cathedral is close to reopening. We'll have a look at the historic restoration project after the break.
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HOLMES: Welcome back. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM with me, Michael Holmes.
Now, in what's regarded as a world-first law, Australia has approved a social media ban for children under 16. An intense debate over the proposal gripped the nation for months. Parliament fast-tracking the legislation in its last sitting week of the year.
Now tech giants from Meta to TikTok will be required to stop minors from logging on or face fines of up to about 32 million U.S. dollars.
A trial run begins in January. The government has faced criticism over the speed of passing the laws, but Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the country is on the right track.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALBANESE: Social media is doing harm to our children. And today, as a direct result of our legislation passed through the Parliament yesterday, through the Senate and confirmed in the House today, parents can have a different discussion with their young ones. A different discussion that will result in better outcomes and less harm for young Australians.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: For more, let's go now to CNN's Hanako Montgomery in Tokyo. Good to see you, Hanako. So -- so tell us more about how it's going to work. I mean, what does it do? And how?
HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Michael. It's good to see you.
So, of course, this issue really affects millions of parents worldwide, right? It's not just Australia.
But the country says that it finally has a solution. And that solution is to enforce this blanket ban on all users under the age of 16 from accessing social media.
So, as you just described, tech companies must show that they're taking reasonable steps to ensure that there's no one under the age of, again, 16 on their social media platforms or else they could face fines of up to 32 million U.S. dollars.
[00:35:05]
We know that some of the platforms affected would include Snapchat, Instagram, TikTok, platforms that are really popular among young people. And that list could continue to grow.
And Michael, we know that this debate has been ongoing in Australia and, really, around the entire world. This question of how young people should interact with these platforms, how we can protect them from online harm.
But in Australia, specifically, there's been a series of high-profile cases where, tragically, young people ended their own lives because, their parents say, they were bullied online.
So, at a press conference held earlier on Friday, the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said that it was time for the government to act. This is what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALBANESE: Look, the consequences -- I've met with parents have lost and buried their child. It's devastating.
We can't, as a government, hear those messages from parents and say, it's too hard.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MONTGOMERY: So now, after this very fierce debate, Michael, Australia now has a law that is really a world first. HOLMES: Give us a sense of how it's been received in terms of public
sentiment. Those opposed, but also those in favor.
MONTGOMERY: Yes, Michael. Actually, according to a recent poll released earlier this week by YouGov, as many as 77 percent of Australians supported a ban on social media use for those under the age of 16.
That's a pretty significant number.
But of course, there's also been criticism, especially about how rushed this legislation felt, as you described just earlier. Really, within the span of one week, this bill was introduced, debated and passed in order to meet the final parliamentary session of this year.
So, tech companies like Meta, which owns Instagram and Facebook, have urged the government to really slow down and deliberate the details before pushing this new bill through.
Also, critics point to just how can we really enforce this very significant ban? Australia is currently testing and trialing a new age verification system.
But critics say that there's no assurance that it would actually even work. And also, there are some concerns about privacy, especially if you're asking people to hand over very sensitive information or data.
And the prime minister himself acknowledged that the rollout might not be perfect, but still, he said, it's better than nothing if it's to protect young people -- Michael.
HOLMES: All right. Great to have your reporting there. Hanako Montgomery, appreciate it there in Tokyo.
Well, the French president, Emmanuel Macron, is to tour Notre Dame cathedral in a few hours. His visit coming one week before the historic building officially reopens. Rising from the ashes after the devastating fire five years ago, which shook Parisians and the world.
CNN's Richard Quest visited Notre Dame in March to take a look at its $700 million restoration.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT/ANCHOR: My God, look at the scaffolding. (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
Zut alors, as they say.
Did they have to put the roof back?
PHILIPPE JOST, PRESIDENT, REBUILDING NOTRE DAME DE PARIS: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
QUEST: How much technical skill had to go into it?
JOST: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE) We didn't build such spires since 160 years.
QUEST (voice-over): More people come to Notre Dame than the Eiffel Tower.
JOST: Notre Dame has a spirit that you don't find in -- doesn't find in a monument as the Eiffel Tower.
QUEST: All aboard!
JOST: Logistics is very important here. We have --
QUEST: Too (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
JOST: -- 2,250 companies and artists, and 140 contracts.
QUEST: I've always been fascinated by logistics. People think it's boring, but it's logistics that make the whole thing work.
I think what really gets you when you see it is the size and scale and the fact that it's been done in, what, four years? It is an achievement to have done this. And it'll be the best part of a billion dollars.
[00:35:10]
As I understand it, none of the glass was actually broken. Is that correct?
JOST: Well, none of the glass. It's correct, it's correct. We have had a lot of luck, because all big artistic works here were not damaged by the fire. Here we are --
QUEST: That's the fire.
JOST: -- just -- just under the spire, you see. And to rebuild the spire, we had to build the scaffold, which goes through the vault.
QUEST: What percentage of completion do you think you are at now?
JOST: I think we are at 85 or 90.
QUEST: Wow.
JOST: We have finished the -- the -- the roofs, the spire. We are all -- (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
QUEST: Cleaning.
JOST: We are cleaning. We have cleaned all the inside. All these woods. We have cleaned the paintings in the chapels. You see that vault there? That vault, it was crushed.
QUEST: That vault?
JOST: That vault there.
QUEST: Yes, yes, yes.
JOST: It was crushed.
QUEST: So, it comes down.
JOST: It's important that we cannot identify what has been rebuilt because it's the same stones and the same type of work, which is the respect we owe to the monument.
QUEST: You and I in our lifetime have seen projects like this taking 20 years.
JOST: After the fire, a lot of people said --
QUEST: Me.
JOST: -- you will need 20 years for --
QUEST: Me.
JOST: -- for rebuilding this cathedral.
QUEST: Me.
JOST: President Macron said he spoke with General Georgelin, and they said we will do it in five years for 2024. And we are doing it, and we do it perfectly, perfectly.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Coming up next on CNN NEWSROOM --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMES LOVELL, CHIEF TRAINER OF SANTAS: One, two, three.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ho, ho, ho!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ho, ho, ho!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ho, ho, ho!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: So where do all the Santa Clauses go to practice their best "Ho, ho, hos" in time for the holidays? We'll take you to Santa School when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Nothing quite signals it's Thanksgiving like a giant turkey in the middle of New York.
It was one of the many floats, balloons, marching bands, and musical acts in this year's 98th Macy's Thanksgiving day parade. Quite a tradition in this country. [00:40:04]
Minnie Mouse even made her debut as a Macy's parade balloon.
Despite persistent rain in the Big Apple, thousands of New Yorkers and others from around the world braved the weather to attend the annual holiday tradition.
And the Thanksgiving holiday means Christmas is just around the corner, of course, and that means Santas are preparing for a jolly holiday season at Santa School.
CNN's Anna Stewart shows us what it's like.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LOVELL: One, two, three.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ho, ho, ho!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ho, ho, ho!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ho, ho, ho!
ANNA STEWART, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Some people prepare for the holidays with Christmas lights and decorations, but these Santas have a more detailed preparation ahead.
LOVELL: Welcome to the 2024 Fiji Mermaid Santa training.
STEWART (voice-over): As you can imagine, being Father Christmas is a big feat. But at Santa School in London, they start their training months in advance.
These jolly fellows are given the tools needed to be the most authentic Santa Claus.
LOVELL: This year, there are a lot of not very nice things going on in the world, and I think people are looking for Father Christmas to bring them a little bit of joy. People just need more jollity this year. They need more magic in their lives. That's what Santa brings.
LOVELL: He started life as --
STEWART (voice-over): James Lovell has been a chief Santa trainer for over 25 years and says his bookings this year are up a merry 20 percent.
From learning all the reindeers' names --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donner, Dasher, Cupid, Vixen, Dancer, Prancer, Comet and Blitzen. And Rudolph!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donner, Dasher, Cupid, Vixen, Dancer, Prancer, Comet and Blitzen. And Rudolph!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donner, Dasher, Cupid, Vixen, Dancer, Prancer, Comet and Blitzen. And Rudolph!
STEWART: -- to the history of Christmas and even how to interact with your elves.
These Santa students are taking notes, making sure kids and adults have the best Christmas experience.
Lovell even has a surprising rule: don't ask kids what they want for Christmas.
LOVELL: You shouldn't actually ask them what they want for Christmas, because most children have written you a letter.
And if you're asking them what they want for Christmas, you're basically saying you haven't read their letter, which is rude. You read the letter, and you know.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ho, ho, ho, ho!
STEWART: And you can't be an authentic Santa without the perfect "Ho, ho, ho!"
LOVELL: Give them a "Ho, ho, ho!"
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ho, ho, ho!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ho, ho, ho!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ho, ho, ho!
LOVELL: Give them a bigger "Ho, ho, ho!"
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ho, ho, ho!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ho, ho, ho!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ho, ho, ho!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can go "Ho, ho, ho," and some people can go, "Ho, ho, ho." But it's when you go, "Ho, ho, ho!" that you find that it sounds a bit more authentic.
Because that's what people hear on Christmas eve when they're looking up at the sky.
STEWART (voice-over): Anna Stewart, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: I'm Michael Holmes. Thanks for spending part of your day with me.
I'll be back at the top of the hour with more CNN NEWSROOM. But first, WORLD SPORT after the break.
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(WORLD SPORT)
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