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South Korean Parliament to Vote on Yoon Impeachment; CNN Crew Arrives in Syria as Rebels Seize Third City; President of Israel Called Musk to Discuss Gaza Hostages Deal; NYPD Thinks CEO Shooting Suspect No Longer in New York; The Renaissance of Notre-Dame Cathedral; Huge Butterfly Collection Racing to Find New Home; Milan Lights Its Christmas Tree. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired December 07, 2024 - 03:00   ET

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

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ANNA COREN, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Hello and welcome to all our viewers watching around the world. I'm Anna Coren.

Ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, ready to impeach: South Korean opposition lawmakers are urging members of the president's own party to join them in a vote to end his term.

The FBI is now offering a $50,000 reward for information on the suspect in the murder of the UnitedHealthcare CEO. This as investigators find a new clue.

And a grand reopening following a devastating fire back in 2019. Notre-Dame shines again in Paris.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from Hong Kong, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Anna Coren.

COREN: South Korean lawmakers are expected to vote soon as a measure to impeach the country's president.

The leader of Yoon Suk-yeol's own political party says his early resignation is now unavoidable. A few hours ago, Yoon addressed the nation. He apologized for this week's short-lived attempt at martial law and vowed to accept the consequences.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YOON SUK YEOL, PRESIDENT OF SOUTH KOREA (through translator): I am very sorry and would like to sincerely apologize to the people who were shocked. Regarding the declaration of martial law, I will not avoid any legal or political responsibility.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COREN: South Korean opposition lawmakers are urging members of Yoon's party to join them in the impeachment vote. The opposition controls 192 seats in the assembly but the impeachment measure needs 200 votes to pass.

Well, thousands of South Koreans have taken part in protests since the president tried to impose martial law. Meanwhile, police are investigating Yoon and other officials on possible charges of insurrection and abuse of power. Our Ivan Watson is live for us in Seoul following all the action.

Ivan, as we say and heard Yoon apologizing but refusing to resign, which is quite extraordinary, considering the overwhelming opposition against him. And now this vote. What can we expect?

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right.

Well, we're in the national assembly right now, Anna. And as you can see, there's a big crowd in here. And moments ago, seconds ago, they were chanting, "impeach, impeach" as lawmakers -- as lawmakers have been walking through into the chambers of the national assembly.

Let's get closer to see what's going on here. So the lawmakers are being seated through those doors right now.

And there are crowds here, holding up signs that are accusing President Yoon of insurrection Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, when he deployed police and soldiers to this very building, to try to stop lawmakers from holding a vote, which ultimately overruled his very short-lived martial law declaration.

As you mentioned, President Yoon has apologized today for the measure he took and he's basically submitted the future of his government to his own ruling party, the leader of which has declared that Yoon cannot complete his term in office, which is still due to continue for another two years.

Now moments ago I spoke with an opposition lawmaker from the Democratic Party and asked him what he thought the chances were that Yoon would be impeached in a vote in these chambers. Take a listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PARK SUN-WON, DEMOCRATIC PARTY LAWMAKER: Less than 50.

WATSON: Less than 50 percent chance.

PARK: Because president issued an apologetic message this morning and, thereby, the ruling party, I believe, made up their minds to oppose this bill to be passed. However the people got angry and angry a bit more and more. So the frustration is mounting in this entire Korean -- Korea.

Therefore, it's a matter of time to pass this bill. So we are trying. We will try again, again.

(END VIDEO CLIP) WATSON: So what you heard from Mr. Park there -- and he went on to say that it would be a secret ballot. Don't know if that will in fact be the case. But it would make it easier to peel off some votes from the president's ruling party, if that is in fact the case.

And he and other lawmakers from the Democratic Party have already predicted that, if the impeachment vote fails in the chambers today, that they'll likely hold more impeachment votes.

[03:05:08]

Possibly as early as next Wednesday, when the national assembly is set to reconvene. There's some other important details that we've been learning in the aftermath of what may have been the shortest martial law the world has ever seen, which was about six hours here in Seoul on Tuesday night.

In the pre-dawn hours on Wednesday, a top official in the national intelligence service has confirmed to CNN that he received a phone call from President Yoon himself moments after Yoon went on television and announced he was imposing martial law.

And that Yoon told him instructed him to go around and arrest a number of top political officials here in Seoul, including Lee Jae-myung, the head of the opposition Democratic Party, and Han Dong-hoon, the leader of Yoon's own People Power Party, who's held two meetings now this week with Yoon after the failed martial law attempt.

Long story short, even if Yoon survives an impeachment vote in the coming hour here, he is still in real hot water, even with his own party, which is calling for his resignation -- Anna.

COREN: But Ivan -- your shot is breaking up. But we want to stay with you and continue to discuss what is unfolding there in Seoul. I mean, you would have to assume that President Yoon is -- his position is untenable.

Approval ratings are at an all time low, 13 percent; 70 percent of South Koreans recently polled believe that Yoon should be impeached. I mean the Democratic Party, the opposition, they hold the majority. They only need eight votes.

So is the feeling that the ruling party, the PDRP, is going to side with Yoon rather than with the people?

WATSON: The curious position that the ruling party has taken here is to call for Yoon's resignation but to oppose impeachment.

OK?

So they're trying to thread a needle here. And part of that is because of the experience they had eight years ago, when a previous conservative president, Park Geun-hye, she was impeached and ultimately ended up going on trial and serving time in jail. And that was a big disaster for the Conservative Party. So they don't want a repeat of that. But they clearly also see that President Yoon's position is untenable

politically. As you pointed out, he has very low poll ratings and there's been a poll conducted this week that showed more than 70 percent of Koreans surveyed supported his impeachment.

You have the opposition party that has filed charges with law enforcement against not only Yoon but against his defense minister, who has since resigned; against the army chief of staff, the commissioner of the national police and other top officials.

What may be at stake here is whether or not Yoon might have to end up behind bars or facing prosecution. As members of the opposition Democratic Party have made it clear, they think that that Yoon and his supporters are now trying to fight to stay out of jail at this point. So that might be what's at stake right now.

And while this is going on, this is going on against the backdrop of large protests taking place right outside the national assembly, with critics of Yoon calling for his impeachment, accusing him of insurrection. And I might add, some supporters of Yoon and his People Power Party as well showing their force here.

South Korea has a very rich culture and tradition of protests and it was ultimately protests that helped bring down President Park back in 2017. So we'll just have to see what will happen in the days or weeks ahead, again, if Yoon survives this impeachment vote, which we expect to begin in minutes here.

It does not mean that he is out of political hot water. It may be a case of just the heat will continue to increase and it will be a heck of a political drama to watch as it continues to unfold here.

COREN: Yes, dragging it out, I would say. Ivan Watson, joining us from Seoul, good to see you, my friend. We will be crossing back to you when you learn of that vote.

Well, Daniel Pinkston is a visiting professor at Yonsei University and a lecturer in international relations at Troy University.

[03:10:00]

He joins us live from Seoul.

Daniel, do you think the president will be impeached this afternoon?

DANIEL PINKSTON, VISITING PROFESSOR, YONSEI UNIVERSITY: It's difficult to say.

It's going to be close. He could survive the impeachment vote. But as reported earlier, a few minutes ago, I think his rule is untenable. If he does survive the vote, I think he'll be a zombie president.

The Democratic Party has promised it will continue to introduce motions for impeachment, which will require continuous votes within 72 hours of every submission of a motion for impeachment. So I think the protests that will build and the pressure that will

build will make it impossible for him to carry out the duties of his office and may be forced to resign. So whether he goes out through impeachment or resignation has different pathways for dealing with his replacement.

So we'll see what the PDP's strategy is in this and why they might be favoring resignation rather than impeachment.

COREN: But the president had the opportunity today to resign when he got up and addressed the media. He apologized for that declaration of martial law that lived for all of six hours.

Why didn't he resign then?

PINKSTON: I'm not sure. I can't get into his head. He seems to have made a number of miscalculations recently.

But if he survives the impeachment vote, I think there will be increasing pressure. Already there's a special prosecutor that has been established. They're starting their investigation. More and more news is coming out, some of it rumors.

Also some of this information is verified as far as the depth and the extent of this action to impose martial law becomes known. I think the public anger will increase. The demonstrations will increase. This will have an impact on governance, on the economy.

It increases the risk to national security in a number of other problems. And I think he will be forced to step down or, you know, they will move forward with the impeachment process as the public opinion turns against him.

COREN: Daniel, only two previous presidents in South Korea have faced impeachment proceedings since South Korea ended military rule back in the 1980s.

I mean what could be the consequences for Yoon, if he is impeached?

We know that there is a police investigation now underway.

PINKSTON: Right. If a president is impeached in South Korea, the constitutional court rules whether or not the president is guilty or -- of the charges and removed from office. Or if he's exonerated, then would remain in office.

So about 20 years ago, President Roh Moo-hyun was impeached but he was exonerated and returned to office.

Park Geun-hye was impeached and removed from office back in 2017.

So in case the president is impeached, if this impeachment vote passes, then the president is immediately removed from his duties and the prime minister steps in to serve as acting president until the constitutional court adjudicates the case.

COREN: And, of course, what are the legal repercussions for Yoon after this martial law declaration on Tuesday night?

PINKSTON: Well, I'll leave that up to the legal scholars, the constitutional scholars and, of course, the prosecutor's office. But some people are talking about treason, you know, violating the constitution and statutes. That will become more clear as the investigation unfolds and comes out in the coming weeks and months.

So we'll just have to see how this breaks. A lot of information is coming out. I think he will either be impeached or will be forced into resignation. And as far as impeachment goes, if it goes to constitutional court, that could take up to six months.

And then once the president can no longer serve, whether through resignation or impeachment and removal from office, a new presidential election has to be held within 60 days.

So we could see, in case of resignation, a very quick presidential election and a new president coming in or it dragging on for up to six months or so, going to the constitutional court.

COREN: Well, Daniel Pinkston, we will leave it there but we are looking at live pictures from inside the national assembly there in Seoul. This is a story we'll be following throughout the hour as we wait for the outcome of that impeachment vote of President Yoon.

Daniel Pinkston, thank you for your time.

Stay with CNN. We'll be right back.

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COREN: Syrian rebels now claim they've captured a third city as Bashar al-Assad's regime struggles to maintain control.

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COREN (voice-over): A new video shows people pulling down the statue of former Syrian president, Hafez al-Assad in Daraa, where the rebellion was born back in 2011.

Rebel forces say they've taken over the city while opening a new southern front, adding that Daraa is, quote, "liberated from the grip of the criminal regime and its militias."

Syria's defense ministry has not confirmed if they've lost control of the city.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COREN: CNN's Jomana Karadsheh is the first Western journalist on the ground in Aleppo since the rebel takeover. She has this exclusive report, including an interview with the main rebel leader.

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JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Swift advances that have stunned the world and took the regime of Syrian President Bashar al Assad by surprise, reigniting a civil war many thought was over.

[03:00:00]

We've come to Syria to see for ourselves what's happening here on our drive across towns left battle scarred by a decade long war, signs of the regime's hasty retreat.

ABU MOHAMMAD AL-JOLANI, HAYAT TAHRIR AL-SHAM (through translator): The seeds of the regime's defeat have always been within it.

KARADSHEH: In an undisclosed location in Syria, we sat down for a CNN worldwide exclusive with the man leading the offensive Abu Mohammad al-Jolani and his group broke away from Al Qaeda years ago. Now, he leads the armed rebels who appear closer than ever to toppling the Assad regime.

AL-JOLANI: The Iranians attempted to revive the regime, buying it time and later the Russians also try to prop it up, but the truth remains, this regime is dead. It was Iranian proxies on the ground and in the skies, Russia, that saved Assad.

But Russia is bogged down with its war in Ukraine and Iran is scrambling its most powerful proxy, Hezbollah was decimated by Israel. It appears Assad's patrons have abandoned him.

In Syria's second city, Aleppo, they're erasing every sign of the 50 years of the Assad dynasty's ruthless rule. We're the first Western journalist here since the city fell.

One of the first things that people did when rebel forces took over the city of Aleppo was toppled the statue of Bassel, a symbol of the Assad regime.

This is an area where there were fierce battles with regime forces and since then, in the past few days, there's been an airstrike that killed many people. You can still see the aftermath of that. The blood on the floor here.

Some forced out of their homes years ago, are beginning to return.

Did you ever imagine this moment possible?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We had a lot of dreams about getting back to Aleppo, but we didn't actually believe that this moment is going to be true.

KARADSHEH: Euphoria of victory lingers in the air, but the apprehension is also palpable in this ancient city, home to minorities who have endured persecution at the hands of jihadists. Since the takeover of the city by the Islamist dominated rebel forces, they've been really keen to send this message to the Christian minority of Aleppo that they will be safe and that they have nothing to fear. The pope appointed Catholic bishop of Aleppo, knows the threats all too well. Extremists have tried to kill him in the past.

Father Hanna Jallouf says many terrified Christians have already fled as the rebels advanced, but he and other priests will not leave.

We reassured our faithful that, God willing, everything will be okay, he tells us. Overall, the security situation has been under control. It allowed us to assure people no one will come near our churches and properties.

Rebel leader al-Jolani, who once vowed to bring strict Sharia rule to Syria, says those days are behind him.

AL-JOLANI: There must be a legal framework that protects and ensures the rights of all, not a system that serves only one sect, as Assad's regime has done.

KARADSHEH: People listening to this are going to wonder why they should believe you. You are still a specially designated global terrorist by the United States with a $10 million bounty on your head your group is a proscribed terrorist organization by the United States, by the U.N., by the E.U., and others.

AL-JOLANI: I say to people, don't judge by words, but by actions. I believe the reality speaks for itself. These classifications are primarily political, and at the same time wrong. I define a terrorist as someone who intentionally kills civilians, harms innocents or displaces people.

KARADSHEH: But the U.S. and others would say is that you were parts of groups that did exactly that.

AL-JOLANI: Personally, I have not done these things. The situation must be understood in its historical context. I didn't go to Iraq with those intentions. I went to defend the Iraqi people.

When I returned to Syria, I didn't want to bring what happened in Iraq into Syria. That's why there were disagreements between us and ISIS.

KARADSHEH: Al-Jolani is already preparing for a post-regime Syria, the revolution rises from the ashes and this time it seems its flames are consuming the House of Assad -- Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, Aleppo, Syria.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COREN: Israeli president Isaac Herzog called tech billionaire Elon Musk in the last few days to discuss a revival of talks to secure the release of hostages held in Gaza.

Well, that's according to a source close to the president. The source told CNN President Herzog had made the call at the request of family members of hostages. They are reportedly hoping Musk will be able to apply pressure on all parties to secure a deal.

[03:25:04]

Another source familiar with the conversation tells CNN, quote, "There was a chat between the president and a few hostage families, where one of the subjects discussed was influence on Donald Trump and Elon Musk's name came up as someone of influence on Trump. Therefore keeping an open channel with him is important."

The FBI is offering a $50,000 reward as they join the effort to solve the killing of health insurance CEO Brian Thompson, who was gunned down on a New York sidewalk.

Well, two people briefed on the investigation say investigators appear to be getting closer to identifying the suspect. New York police say there are no indications that the gunman and Thompson ever had any interactions or that the killing was related to Thompson's personal life.

Police say facial recognition and fingerprints have not been helpful so far but they have found a backpack they believe belonged to the suspect. It's now at a forensic lab where it's being analyzed for more evidence.

Well, meanwhile, police are looking at the possibility that a so- called veterinary gun was used to kill Thompson. That's a weapon that's used on farms and ranches to put down livestock. And it creates less noise than many other firearms.

The suspect apparently went a long way to cover his tracks but investigators still have a huge amount of evidence to work with. Well, that's from New York's police commissioner, who spoke with CNN on Friday. As Omar Jimenez reports, the manhunt is now expanding outside of the city.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JESSICA TISCH, NEW YORK CITY POLICE COMMISSIONER: We have a pretty good sense of where he has been in New York City and we also now have reason to believe that he is outside of New York City.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tonight, the top brass of the largest police department in the country are telling CNN the person they've been hunting for around the clock for days could be anywhere.

CHIEF DETECTIVE JOSEPH KENNY, NEW YORK POLICE DEPARTMENT: We have numerous assets from numerous, numerous different units from within the detective bureau and the department itself that are working on this. So it's all hands on deck right now. Could it lead us out of state?

Absolutely.

JIMENEZ: The NYPD says they believe the gunman who shot and killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, outside of his midtown hotel Wednesday morning, may have left the city on a bus, miles north of the shooting site.

KENNY: We have video of him entering the Port Authority bus terminal. We don't have any video of him exiting.

JIMENEZ: And they don't know which bus or where it was heading or when. They still don't even have his name.

MARY ELLEN O'TOOLE, FORMER SENIOR FBI PROFILER: I think the bus is important because there's less scrutiny when one takes a bus.

And I think he felt at least felt or believed that he could blend in better and would not be necessarily somebody that would come to the attention of authorities like he would if he took a plane or even Amtrak. So I think it was a strategic decision.

JIMENEZ: And while how he escaped the city remains a mystery. His journey into it is coming slightly more into focus. Officials believe he arrived by bus on November 24th, around 9:00 pm The bus initially departed from Atlanta and may have made as many as 13 stops along the way but it's unclear where he actually boarded.

TISCH: We're getting leads into our tip line and we chase every lead that we get.

KENNY: We could have detectives sit in front of a -- you know, a monitor looking at video for eight hours to come up with an eight second clip.

JIMENEZ: Police also today sent a water bottle and a cell phone found at the scene to the chief medical examiners office, hoping for a DNA hit.

One crucial detail authorities do have these pictures of the suspect unmasked in the hostel he had checked in two days before the shooting using a fake ID and cash.

TISCH: He's been traveling and walking around the streets of New York City, largely in a mask with his face covered. We had to go through lots of video evidence to get that one money shot of him with the mask down.

JIMENEZ: And we learned part of why they wanted to release that mask down photo is because they wanted that photo to be seen outside of New York City, meaning they probably had some sort of suspicion that this person might not be in the area anymore.

And then, of course, throughout all of this, one of the big targets for investigators was where this backpack was, a backpack seen worn by the shooter at the time of the shooting.

Well, it's part of why they launched a pretty big canvas throughout Central Park to try and find it. And now law enforcement believe they have found the backpack that belonged to the shooter, which, of course, could be critical because of potential clues inside this bag.

Also potential opportunities for DNA and fingerprinting as well. They've been taking the bag for testing just to make sure it's what they're looking for.

But even with all of these new details about where this person has been and items this person may have left behind, the two central questions remain.

Where is this person now?

And who is this person?

[03:30:00]

-- Omar Jimenez, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

Well, Paris is ready to host heads of state and thousands of others as Notre-Dame Cathedral rises from the ashes of that devastating fire. Stay with CNN.

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COREN: The grand reopening of the historic Notre-Dame Cathedral is just hours away and Paris is ready to celebrate after that devastating fire back in 2019. About 50 world leaders and high-profile guests are set to attend, including U.S. first lady Jill Biden and president- elect Donald Trump.

Notre-Dame's interior is now gleaming, almost like new. Workers, using medieval techniques, rebuilt the church at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars, largely through donations. About 2,000 people are expected at the ceremony, with 40,000 others watching on big screens outside.

Notre-Dame's reopening comes some five years after raging flames gutted it. CNN's Saskya Vandoorne has more on the fire that almost destroyed the iconic church.

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SASKYA VANDOORNE, CNN PRODUCER (voice-over): Notre-Dame de Paris, meaning Our Lady of Paris, known simply as Notre-Dame, is a medieval cathedral built in honor of the Virgin Mary.

It stood for over 860 years, through revolutions, the fall of empires and world wars at the physical and spiritual heart of France's capital.

When a fire tore through Notre-Dame in 2019, French president Emmanuel Macron's words spoke for a nation.

EMMANUEL MACRON, PRESIDENT OF FRANCE (through translator): Notre-Dame de Paris is our history, our literature, our imagination.

[03:35:00]

The place where we have lived all our great moments.

VANDOORNE (voice-over): Around 30 (ph) million people visited each year before the blaze, drawn by its exquisite works of art and priceless religious artifacts.

A masterful example of Gothic architecture, the project began under King Louis VII and took around 200 years to complete. A site for religion, state occasion and, at one point, monarchy, Henry VI of England was crowned king of France there in 1431.

It was plundered and partly destroyed during the French Revolution, renamed briefly as the Temple of Reason.

It even set the stage for the coronation of Napoleon as emperor in 1804, a scene recorded in one of The Louvre's most celebrated paintings.

One of countless works it has inspired, including literature like "The Hunchback of Notre-Dame," which helped motivate extensive renovations that added everything from the chimeras seen today to the spire that fell in 2019.

Luckily, many of Notre-Dame's treasures survived the fire. Its bells were restored and recently rang again. A crown of thorns, said to have been worn by Jesus, was saved. Even the rooster, a French national symbol which sat atop the spire containing sacred relics, was rescued.

Although now a reimagined bird inspired by a phoenix rising from the ashes sits fittingly in its place.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COREN: Ariel Weil, the mayor of Central Paris, joins us now.

Ariel, great to see you. I think the last time we spoke, the world was getting a sneak peek as president Emmanuel Macron was given a televised tour. And I think you were heading to the cathedral. Now the public will be able to see it for themselves. Tell us what they can expect.

MAYOR ARIEL WEIL, CENTRAL PARIS: Well, they're going to be a magnificent inside of the cathedral.

I don't think I said that last time. But I don't think anyone alive today has ever seen a cathedral. But you know, I said that to somebody and they said, well, probably no one did, either.

It was probably never in such a state, even presumably after the 19th century rehaul (ph) under Violette Leduc, which is the state to which we've restored it.

So it's going to be amazing. It's, you know, it's white blond. Some have said inside it's -- it was very dark. Notre-Dame was always very dark as I knew it.

COREN: Tell us about this transformation that it has undergone and how it differs from before the fire.

WEIL: Yes, you're right, because it's not just a reconstruction.

Obviously, the spire is now up in the sky again and the roof has been restored and its, you know, 800 years ago status. But its also the continuation of a process that had started after the -- before the fire. And in fact, some people have said that the work on the cathedral was probably the cause for the fire.

I don't know about that but what I do know is that they've not just restored the building, they've also cleaned it and cured it and changed stones on the floor inside a way that, you know, wasn't even thinkable before the fire.

And in fact -- and now is a time for thanking people all over the world, including on your channel. I think that's largely thanks to donations by the entire world under the emotion of the fire. I think it was close to a billion now, up to 1 billion euros in donations that have allowed the cathedral to be to be restored in such a way.

COREN: So you put it down to donations for restoring this cathedral?

WEIL: Well, it's the large part of the funding. The funding has been done by private donations. I think about half of them coming from France itself and then the rest from the world.

Other things you're going to see today is the outside of the church. We've already started something that's going to take us the next few years, which is the restoration. In fact, it's the requalification of the outside of Notre-Dame.

All around it, we're going to plant trees. We're going to join it to the Seine River. There're going to be facilities created, stuff that has the church had been waiting for 20, maybe 30 years, if not forever.

COREN: Ariel, you have been many times throughout this reconstruction process.

Obviously, you were in there a week ago with the president.

What do you love most?

What impresses you the most?

WEIL: Well, it's a good question, right?

Because I'm a little shaken. I think people are going to find that a little strange at first. When you -- when I enter, it is so clean. It's almost too clean. Right. We don't have that memory of Notre-Dame, whether it's from movies and from Notre-Dame, the sort of dark, medieval image that we have from movies or even the Disney -- the Disney movie. [03:40:00]

But also from experience. So that is a little unsettling at first. I do love the -- this floor. I don't know, this is maybe strange. But the pavement is now going to be -- is now going to be sort of duplicated outside, of course, in different stone.

And I think the sort of the inside-outside experience is completely different. I feel that the cathedral's a lot more open, not just because CNN and other channels are going to be inside today.

But I feel like, you know, everyone is going to be able to enter the cathedral in a much -- in a much easier way. And I think that's -- opening of that building, which is both religious and also just heritage for non-religious people, is something amazing.

COREN: Yes. CNN's Melissa Bell will be heading in there very soon. But Notre-Dame has always been one of Paris' most popular tourist attractions.

But is the city, do you feel that the city is prepared for the onslaught?

What are you expecting in the weeks and months ahead?

WEIL: You know, it's strange, because, this reopening today, grand reopening today and in the next eight days, is to be a sort of a moveable feast, is very reminiscent of what we experienced just a few months ago with the Olympics. We welcomed the world and we had pretty much the same question.

Is, you know, are we ready?

Are we ready for this historical opening ceremony?

Which you may recall, was on the Seine River, never been done before, always in a closed stadium before. And then we had a three-mile stretch of opening ceremony, which is a nightmare from a security perspective.

And today, the security measures around Ile de la Cite are very much, very much reminiscent of what we experienced. It's just a little shorter and a shorter area as well. So yes, I think I'm pretty confident in saying that we're completely ready, as we were, as it turned out that we were for the Summer Olympics.

COREN: A piece of cake in comparison. Well, wishing you the best of luck with what's ahead. Ariel Weil, Paris' center mayor, thank you for joining us.

WEIL: Thank you very much.

COREN: Well, CNN's special coverage of the Notre-Dame reopening begins at 1 pm Eastern. That's 7 pm in Paris. Stay with CNN. We'll be right back.

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COREN: Welcome back.

A sanctuary in Kenya has a butterfly collection to rival all of them. It contains millions of beautiful specimens from all over Africa. But now the owner is on a desperate search for someone to take it off his hands, as CNN's Larry Madowo tells us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEVE COLLINS, BIOLOGIST: There is a leaf and here are the caterpillars living underneath the leaf. We haven't brought them in, they've come in of their own accord.

LARRY MADOWO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Steve Collins has devoted his life to butterflies. His garden in Nairobi is a sanctuary for the insects.

COLLINS: Every day we empty these and they come in and we see, we record who's there.

MADOWO (voice-over): He traps, documents and then releases butterflies here every day.

COLLINS: Oh puppy, I'm going to bring this one out because it's beautiful.

MADOWO: OK. Oh, my goodness.

COLLINS: This is the white-banded emperor. There she is with her tongue feeding on my finger.

MADOWO (voice-over): But it is Collins' collection of preserved butterflies which is most remarkable.

MADOWO: This is massive.

COLLINS: Yes. It's the biggest collection of African butterflies in the world.

MADOWO (voice-over): In total, Collins has over 4 million specimens from across Africa, including 1.2 million penned in cases like these.

MADOWO: This is a very expensive hobby.

MADOWO (voice-over): Now in his 70s and running out of space and money to maintain the collection, he is trying to find it a new home.

MADOWO: What do you want to do with this entire collection?

COLLINS: Ultimately it needs to be available for scientists.

MADOWO: This is probably the world's largest private collection of butterflies. It's several decades worth of work across Africa. So who would pay for something like this?

And how much would it even cost?

It's not that simple.

MADOWO (voice-over): Collins is hoping a wealthy philanthropist might step in. But he has so far struggled to find a buyer, in part because he wants to keep it as a whole.

COLLINS: It would be a pity to break this up when it's such an entity and it's 30 or 40 people's life's work. And it needs to be tied to a university rather than a museum.

MADOWO (voice-over): Back outside, I get a glimpse into how much work has gone into each and every one of these specimens.

Yes. Nailed it.

COLLINS: Well, done.

MADOWO: I'm becoming good at this.

This is a - this is a beautiful one.

EDGAR EMOJONG, STEVE COLLINS' ASSISTANT: Yes, it's beautiful.

MADOWO: How do I hold it?

Do I just?

EMOJONG: You can just hold it like this or (INAUDIBLE).

MADOWO (voice-over): Collins' assistant, Edgar Emojong, walks me through the penning process.

MADOWO: So you're killing the butterfly right now?

EMOJONG: Yes, now. (INAUDIBLE).

MADOWO: Oh, that was fast. It's clearly painstaking work. So you have to be gentle not to break the wing.

EMOJONG: Yes.

MADOWO (voice-over): Collins thinks his most valuable butterfly is worth $8,000.

MADOWO: Where is it?

COLLINS: I won't show you because, you know what? , of course, if somebody says, oh, that's worth $8,000, it disappears. MADOWO (voice-over): He still maintains he's just an enthusiastic hobbyist, despite the fact he's written eight books and publishes scientific papers once a month.

MADOWO: This looks like a full-time gig.

COLLINS: Well, it's -- it's got out of hand.

You could say it's an obsession.

MADOWO (voice-over): The future of this vast trove for scientific research hangs in the balance. Without a buyer, it could all go to waste -- Larry Madowo, CNN, Nairobi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COREN: That is quite a collection.

Stay with CNN. More after the break.

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[03:50:00]

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COREN: TikTok is one step closer to facing a ban in the U.S. Now the social media giant appears to be looking to the Supreme Court for help. On Friday, a U.S. appeals court upheld the law that states the app's Chinese owner, ByteDance, must sell or shut down TikTok by next month.

There are concerns on Capitol Hill that ByteDance poses a national security risk. However, TikTok is calling the law unconstitutional and a spokesperson says the company expects the Supreme Court will protect the right to free speech.

Well, there's a big storm heading through the U.K. for France.

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COREN: A record breaking era for Taylor Swift is coming to an end. The last three shows of her Eras Tour began last night in Vancouver, Canada. High-ranking politicians and celebrities joined fans as Swift performed a three-hour show.

It included the greatest hits of her 18-year career. The superstar will have performed more than 150 times during the two-year long extravaganza. It made an estimated $2 billion, the highest grossing tour in history. Taylor Swift will call the tour a wrap with her final show on Sunday.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking Italian).

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COREN (voice-over): Milan is merging the holiday season with its Olympic plans. The Italian city is hosting the 2026 Winter Games with Cortina. So it lit up an Olympic themed Christmas tree in one of its piazzas as thousands attended.

More than 100,000 LED lights are on the Christmas tree. The spruce has also been decorated with Olympic and Paralympic branding on the Christmas ornaments decorating it.

The Princess of Wales hosted her fourth "Together at Christmas" carol service at Westminster Abbey on Friday evening. She celebrated with her husband, Prince William, and their three children.

The theme of the service was love and empathy. Catherine has only recently returned to public life after undergoing treatment for cancer.

She shared a message about vulnerability and empathy, writing, "In times of joy and sadness, we are all each others' light," and adding that the story of Christmas encourages us to turn to love, not fear.

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COREN: Well, thank you so much for your company. I'm Anna Coren, live in Hong Kong. I'll be back with more of CNN NEWSROOM after this short break. Stay with us.