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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Multiple Democratic Lawmakers Targeted By Bomb Threats; Trump Celebrates Thanksgiving With His Family And Elon Musk; Half The Country Faces Below Freezing Temps This Weekend; Australia Bans Social Media For Children Under 16; Syrian Rebels Enter Aleppo For First Time Since 2016. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired November 29, 2024 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:08]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: They look adorable. Ruin Hui (ph) were born in July of last year and were kept inside last winter, so this is their first exposure to snow and they don't seem to be skipping a beat, looking right at home in winter wonderland.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: Beautiful.

SANCHEZ: Yeah, I would be inside enjoying leftovers right now.

Thank you so much for joining us today.

Jim, great to be with you.

ACOSTA: Good to be with you. Happy holidays.

SANCHEZ: "THE LEAD WITH JAKE TAPPER" starts right now.

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ERICA HILL, CNN HOST: An investigation into bomb threats just got bigger.

THE LEAD starts right now.

Just in, new details about the bomb threat sent to a number of lawmakers. Another Democrat targeted and a common signature on the messages coming one day after those threats to several Trump administration picks.

Plus, what really happened on the phone, the Mexican president disputing President-elect Donald Trump and his description of their conversation.

And a women's volleyball tournament rocked by claims about a transgender player on one of the teams. The controversy now impacting the championship game.

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HILL: Welcome to THE LEAD. I'm Erica Hill, in today for Jake Tapper. The number of lawmakers targeted with threats continues to grow. The

latest Democratic representative, Seth Magaziner of Rhode Island, who just posted I was recently notified of a bomb threat targeting me and my family at our home. We are safe, and there was no evidence of a bomb on our property.

Now this follows at least five such threats yesterday, targeting Democratic lawmakers from Connecticut and multiple bomb threats and swatting calls on Wednesday aimed at President-elect Trump's cabinet picks and other appointees.

CNN's Tom Foreman is tracking the very latest with these developments.

Tom, there's also, as I understand it, a new statement from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries offering a little bit, perhaps more -- more information and insight into these incidents.

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, a little more information.

Let's take a look at it right up front so we know what he's talking about here. He said these incidents range from detailed threats of a pipe bomb placed in mailboxes to swatting, that practice of calling the police and saying something's going on to a house gets stormed, all signed with MAGA, at the conclusion of the message. Thanks to the swift reaction from law enforcement, no devices were found, members of Congress and their families were kept safe on the holiday. That's what the minority leader is saying right now.

The authorities who are investigating this are not saying much at all. The FBI the U.S. capitol police, they're keeping it very close to the vest on this, in large part because one, they want to get all the information. They can also because they do not want to spur a lot of copycat efforts out there.

And I must say, there's really no indication where this is coming from at this point or if it is even a localized threat. There is some thought in law enforcement to say you have to look at whether or not these are international players who are just trying to stir the pot here around the holidays after this very contentious election. They have a lot of information to go through. It's something they are experienced at. I must say, though there are thousands of these threats that come into members of Congress every year and they have been growing in recent years.

So they're paying a lot of attention to this right now. But it's something they do know about -- Erica.

HILL: Yeah, absolutely. Tom, appreciate it. Thank you.

In our politics lead, last night at Mar-a-Lago, Trump and Elon Musk spending Thanksgiving dinner together. In one clip posted on X, you see Trump and Musk there clapping along to a Trump campaign rally staple, YMCA. In another TikTok, Musk is talking to actor Sylvester Stallone as Trump says hello to people at a table next to him.

CNN's Alayna Treene is in West Palm Beach, Florida. So, Elon Musk, I mean, really part of the family at this point.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: That's right, Erica. He's really been tethered to Donald Trump's side ever since the election he's been, what I'm told, been at Mar-a-Lago almost every day. You've seen him playing golf with the president-elect.

He's sitting in on meetings, including meetings where foreign leaders have called Donald Trump including the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. And he's also been advising Donald Trump on cabinet picks making his opinions known. When I talked to Trump's team, the transition team around him, there's a couple people they say are in most, if not all of those key transition meetings. They say the Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, Donald Trump Jr., his eldest son, and also Elon Musk.

So his power is really rising. And what he did last night, you know sitting at a table alongside Melania Trump and his son Barron Trump. Musk was there at the dinner table with him and the reason this is so interesting as well is because Trump normally does not like having someone like Elon Musk around him at all times. We know that he kind of tires of people, or he has his different uses. Elon Musk has been someone who has been very, very present.

And we've really seen his influence over the entire Republican grow in just a matter of weeks now. We weren't in the room. I'm here in Florida, but I wasn't at Mar-a-Lago last night, but I do. We do have a source who was in the room who said this about what musk and Trump were doing at this Thanksgiving dinner.

[16:05:04]

They say, quote, Trump and Elon walked around the room, stopped at each table, and spoke to all the guests. Now, one key thing, too, to remember is that Elon Musk, like I said, is serving as kind of an informal, de facto advisor to Donald Trump. But he's also been given a big role, and that is to lead a new department. The Department of Government Efficiency alongside Vivek Ramaswamy.

I think one very interesting thing is next week we're going to see both of them, Musk and Ramaswamy, go to Washington, D.C. to meet with Republican lawmakers. And really, I think that's going to be a key test of what were still to really learn, what they're planning to do. And some of the specific visions they have for operating that new department.

HILL: Absolutely. Before the dinner, Donald Trump had a call with Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum posted on Truth Social afterwards, saying she has agreed to stop migration through Mexico and into the United States, effectively closing our southern border. It was a very productive conversation.

Alayna, she also referenced the call, but told a little different story.

TREENE: She did, and it's honestly fascinating to see these two very different versions of events.

She denies what Donald Trump said. She said not only would she want to effectively close the southern border, but also that Mexico would be incapable of doing so. I want you to take a listen to how she put it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLAUDIA SHEINBAUM PARDO, MEXICAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Everyone has their own way of communicating, but I can assure you, I give you the certainty that we would never, and we would be incapable of it, propose that we would close the border. It has never been our approach and, of course, we don't agree with that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Now, clearly, Erica, very different versions of this story, and like I said, I think its fascinating to look at just the distance between them. Both of these leaders had described the call as relatively positive as being cordial, but then walked away with very different accounts of what was said.

Now, the reason this is so important is because we know that the relationship between Donald Trump and President Sheinbaum is going to be one of the most important, given what Donald Trump had vowed to do throughout his entire time on the trail, really trying to crack down on crime, as well as illegal immigration.

And one thing to keep in mind as well is we know that as I'm talking to Donald Trump's team, they have been floating, bringing back the policy informally known as the remain in Mexico policy. That would require migrants to stay in Mexico while they seek asylum and go through the immigration system.

Unclear how this is going to be handled moving forward, but of course, as well. Another very important thing is that this also came after Donald Trump threatened to impose 25 percent tariffs on all goods coming from Mexico, something we also saw Sheinbaum respond to. She said that they would Mexico would retaliate with their own tariffs in like if Donald Trump were to do that. So this could be a very tense relationship moving forward -- Erica.

HILL: Yes, animated at the very least, right. Alayna, appreciate it. Thank you.

Joining me now to discuss, we have our panel here.

So as we look at where things stand, the reality is it is not uncommon for leaders to maybe highlight different parts of a call. They want to bolster their own messaging.

But the fact, Tiffany, that there is such a clear disconnect here, specifically on the border and what was said there, does that surprise you?

TIFFANY SMILEY (R), FORMER WASHINGTON SENATE CANDIDATE: No. You look, you know, Trump's tariff threats are a clear negotiating tactic and it is how President Trump governs. That's why he was so successful in his first term.

Since he has been elected, I think we also need to look at the E.U., who is now considering switching their gas supply from Russia to the U.S. The president has had talks with Canada very productive talks. They're looking for ways to work together.

And as far as Mexico, 80 percent of Mexico's exports, 30 percent of Mexico's economy comes directly to the U.S. So President Trump clearly has the leverage in these negotiations, and Mexico's president, she knows that she has to work with President Trump. She really has no other option.

And when I think specifically also on the issues of immigration, securing our border, tampering down the cartel and stopping the flow of drugs from coming across our southern border.

HILL: So it's interesting, though, because specifically, what I'm talking about is the fact that it's clear, I think we have seen Donald Trump do this in the past. There's not a lot of pushback on whether or not this is a negotiation tactic.

But the reality is, he claims that the president of Mexico said she was going to shut the border and she says that never happened I never said it. It ain't going to happen. That -- the fact that there is so much daylight there, that doesn't surprise you?

SMILEY: Look, you know, this is exactly what the American people are sick and tired of this back and forth. President Trump is there to do a job. In fact, the American people sent a mandate out for him to go secure our border do use negotiating tactics and tactics to protect the American people.

[16:10:07]

You know, when -- when the American people start to hear this, they tune out the media because they're focused. President Trump is focused on delivering results. And that's that is exactly why the American people elected him.

HILL: It's an interesting take, Julie, when you look at this, the fact that Sheinbaum is pushing back on Donald Trump's narrative and what he says happened in that meeting, making very clear where she stands.

What do you think that says about the relationship between these two moving forward?

JULIE ROGINSKY, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: I think this is all just so much bluster and Donald Trump's part. Look, we've had 75 percent lower border crossings already this year for which Donald Trump will take full credit on January 20th, despite the fact that he ran on some crazy unsecured border. The reality is, the situation at the border has gotten better in the last year by leaps and bounds. That's one.

Two, if you want to talk about retaliatory tactics, most of our fruits and veggies come from Mexico. One out of every five cars is made in Mexico. If we want to have these kinds of crazy tariffs on Mexico, Mexico could easily retaliate. But we export more to Mexico than we import. And the problem is that it's going to be the American worker who's going to be harmed. And Donald Trump knows that. And the people around Donald Trump know that. So he's going to go ahead and bluster, which is what he does best he's going to go ahead and say that he threatened Mexico, that Mexico caved. But the reality is that there are already many, many, many fewer border crossings.

And so he's going to just say, I threatened them and that's why there are so many fewer border crossings on day one of my presidency. Of course, that's not the case. They've been going down all year this is typical Trump. None of this is going to happen.

As for and let me just fact check one thing -- Russia and the E.U. have not had the best of relationships in the last four years. So if you think that somehow Russia is supplying the E.U. with all of their energy after what's been happening the last couple of years, I think there's a lot of things that we have to go back and fact check about that fact.

But, of course, that's all going to change now that Trump and his best friend Elon Musk are back in power and Vladimir Putin is going to start getting his way. Watch those, watch those sanctions evaporate and look for Russia to start exporting much more of its energy back into the United States and all around the world because of the leadership failure of Donald Trump.

HILL: Tiffany Smiley, Julie Roginsky, appreciate you both joining us this afternoon. Thank you.

Mother Nature's wicked plunge in temperatures this holiday weekend, not to mention several feet of snow in some areas. You can see it already starting there. Find out what you can expect. We're live in the CNN Weather Center.

Plus, how a woman made it past multiple security checks onto a plane with no ticket and all the way to Paris, next.

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[16:16:43]

HILL: In the national lead, Thanksgiving out, winter in, arriving with a vengeance. More than half the country will see the mercury dip below freezing for the next few days. And in the Great Lakes region at Upstate New York, some could see more than five feet of snow.

Meteorologist Elisa Raffa is tracking all of it.

This looks like a full on winter.

ELISA RAFFA, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yeah, for communities off of the Great Lakes, the snow quite literally won't stop through the weekend. We already have snow covered roads in Erie, Pennsylvania problems on interstates. If you're doing traveling back home this weekend across the great lakes, you'll definitely run into problems with visibility and heavy snow. I mean, look at all the lake effect snow showers coming off of all of the Great Lakes.

Again problems on the roads around Grand Rapids, Interstate 196, a problem, I-90 from Cleveland up through Erie, over towards South Buffalo. That's where you have some heavy snow bands that will pump low visibility and gusty winds all coming off of the lakes. You can see all the winter alerts that we have were really focusing on some of these lake effect snow warnings that we have off of Lake Erie and Ontario.

What's happening is we have this very cold air coming in, and its picking up moisture on record, warm lake temperatures. That's going to just be a machine to dump snow all weekend off of these lakes. And that's where we get some of these snow totals that are three feet, four feet, five feet, nearing six feet. In some locations Watertown 70 inches is the official forecast, right now, 70 inches of snow.

And look this is all cold that's powering it. More than 70 percent of the lower 48 with temperatures at or below freezing. And that's getting as far south as places like Atlanta. 31 degrees Sunday morning. That's a little bit better than the 15 degrees in Chicago -- Erica.

HILL: Yeah, it is. Lisa, appreciate it. Thank you.

Reporter Caleb Yauger is on the ground in Erie, Pennsylvania with a closer look at the conditions there.

Caleb, it's a little rough.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CALEB YAUGER, REPORTER: Some might call it a winter wonderland, it is much more than that. We're here in Erie, Pennsylvania, right in front of our station here at Erie news now.

Let's just give you an idea of what's going on here. We've got cars that are trying to travel on this road here. This is State Street. But as you can see down here somebody was shoveling this van over here, a couple cars down the street. You can see the headlights. And now, let's turn this way real quick. Flashers are on. We got somebody who may be stuck. They're trying to get the shovel out, trying to get out with the car.

But I just want to take a look at this real quick back here. We're not using a ruler. We're using a yardstick today. And to give you an idea, I mean, we're past the one foot mark by a lot. We're getting close to two feet. You can see this car here also. It's not going anywhere anytime soon. That's what we've been hearing all day.

We're hearing closures especially on Interstate 90 from Erie, Pennsylvania all the way to the New York line. I-90 is closed. City officials are saying, please, if you don't have anywhere to go unless it's absolutely necessary, please do not leave your home. Don't drive on these roads. They are that dangerous.

Reporting from Erie, Pennsylvania, I'm Caleb Yauger. (END VIDEOTAPE)

HILL: Our thanks to Caleb for that report.

In the middle of holiday travel, investigators are now trying to determine just how a woman got through multiple security checkpoints at New York's JFK airport on Tuesday, and boarded a Delta flight to Paris.

[16:20:06]

CNN's Polo Sandoval is covering these developments for us.

So, Tuesday, Polo, of course, also one of the busiest travel days of the year. And yet this woman was able to slip through security. I mean, is that part of what helped her all the people?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, it's a really good point with roughly 2.7 million passengers having traveled on Tuesday, it probably was at least a little easier for this person to go unnoticed.

But make no mistake, and we can't say it enough, this story is as puzzling as it is alarming given the security breach nature of what this woman allegedly did. A New York real estate broker that was aboard that flight that left Tuesday from JFK headed to Paris. Rob Jackson telling CNN that that flight had just pulled into the gate in Paris when the crew then over the planes P.A. system, requested that all passengers remain in their seats so that police from Paris could actually board and address what was described as a security issue.

Want to get straight to what the TSA has confirmed for CNN that this passenger was from 55 to 60 years old, had no boarding pass, had cleared one security checkpoint. However, bypassed two ID verification stations, which certainly begs the question of who would be responsible for that. Holds a Russian passport and a U.S. green card and several years ago failed to secure U.S. asylum.

The airline Delta Airlines, for its part, saying that they are taking this very seriously. They are investigating this along with the transportation security administration and airport officials as well, to try to find out exactly how this could have happened.

HILL: Yeah, a lot of questions that still need to be answered, Paula. Appreciate it. Thank you.

SANDOVAL: You bet.

HILL: Australia is now the first major country in the world to ban social media for children, or at least try to. Just how will it be enforced? And is it something that we could see in other countries, even the U.S.?

We'll take a closer look.

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[16:26:28]

HILL: In our tech lead, Australia putting social media companies on notice with a new ban for access to those apps for kids under the age of 16. It comes after some intense debate. The measure would require tech giants like Meta and TikTok to stop minors from logging on or face millions in fines.

CNN's Hanako Montgomery has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): How kids use social media is a problem millions of parents face. And Australia says it's now found the solution.

ANTHONY ALBANESE, AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER: World-leading action to make sure social media companies meet their social responsibility. Social media is doing harm to our children.

MONTGOMERY: Under Australia's new law, kids under 16 are banned from accessing social media platforms. And tech companies breaking the rules could face fines in the tens of millions.

But the bill, rushed through in just a week, is drawing criticism from those not convinced it'll keep kids off the Internet.

SARAH HANSON-YOUNG, AUSTRALIAN SENATOR: I mean, it's almost embarrassing. I mean, this is boomers trying to tell young people how the Internet should work.

MONTGOMERY: Tech giants, including Meta and X's Elon Musk, argue more time and evidence are needed before enforcing the ban.

But for some parents, the law couldn't come fast enough.

KELLY O'BRIEN, MOTHER OF CHARLOTTE O'BRIEN: I will miss your hugs, your kisses, your love, your beautiful, beautiful smile.

MONTGOMERY: Twelve-year-old Charlotte O'Brien took her own life, her parents say, after years of being bullied online. Cases like hers and Allem Halkic, who ended his life at 17, have driven Australia's push to protect kids from online harm.

ALI HALKIC, FATHER OF ALLEM HALKIC: If that was in place today, I know he would be alive. And that's the guilt that I have to live with every day.

MONTGOMERY: Australia's new law is divisive. But for grieving families, it's a fight worth leading.

Hanako Montgomery, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HILL: James Steyer is the CEO and founder of Common Sense media, the organization rates and reviews media and technology for parents and educators.

Andrew Przybylski is a professor of human behavior and technology at the University of Oxford.

It's good to have both of you with us.

So as we look at this, this bill which has passed now in Australia, the onus is on the companies with the threat of fines. James, there's been a lot of pushback on how its going to be enforced. Do you believe this actually can and will be enforced?

JIM STEYER, FOUNDER & CEO, COMMON SENSE MEDIA: Well, first of all, its really good that the focus is on the companies because they're the problem. And by the way, who cares what Elon Musk thinks about this? What a parent is he? Seriously, who cares what Elon Musk thinks about this?

But more importantly this is the reflection of the mental health crisis that young people face today. Whether it's in Australia, the United States, England or wherever.

Now a ban like this probably would not pass muster in the United States, but the point of this is actually clear and in a good position, which is for years kids have been suffering mental health issues and other kinds of problems because of social media. So, Australia is going pretty far in taking this, but it's interesting.

HILL: Andrew, in terms of what we have seen repeatedly in terms of different studies and efforts in other countries as well, to curb access to social media, or at least the amount of time that kids spend on it and what they see. What have you found in terms of the impact on their overall mental health?

ANDREW PRZYBYLSKI, PROFESSOR OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR & TECHNOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD: Yeah, so I think this is again, what Jim was saying. This is a very well meant, but I have to disagree, it's a very ill-conceived plan.

[16:30:04]

While it won't pass muster here in the U.S., it won't also pass in the U.K. or probably in Australia. You know, two countries that are signatories to the U.N. charter on the rights of the child. The evidence is actually pretty clear here. We do have a lot of concerns about young people and their mental health all around the world.

But whether it's the National Academy of Sciences, the Lancet Commission on Self-Harm, the evidence suggests that there's a really mixed, nuanced perspective here. And so these types of kind of broad bands, which have been tried in other parts of the world, they do inevitably fail young people either get around them or they can't actually bolster wellbeing in the way that we want.

And so, you know absolutely, we need to -- we need to hold these companies to account like were trying to here in the U.K. But the way that it's happening in Australia, I just -- it takes 30 seconds to get around this stuff and I can't -- I can't see any way that this isn't going to backfire.

HILL: The prime minister addressed that, saying we know some kids will find workarounds. And frankly, as the parent of teenagers, I think I am -- I'm an expert on those workarounds. They definitely can find them pretty easily.

What's interesting to me is, you know, you both point out how difficult it could be here in the U.S. there are privacy concerns. Things have been tried in the state of Utah, for example, tried this not -- not working at this point in time, which makes me think about all of the states that are actually looking to ban cell phones, for example, in schools.

So just pulling the device out rather than going after the companies, James, is that a more effective way to limit the interaction that young people have with some of these apps?

STEYER: You probably need both, Erica, honestly. And by the way, the onus should be on the companies because they are the problem. They know it. We've passed and sponsored the major laws in California and New York and Europe that have actually restrained their activity.

I agree with our other guests that a pure ban is unlikely, and your kids and my kids and everybody else's kids can get around that. But the bottom line is this is an important piece of legislation, by the way. It's law in Australia. Its not just going to be -- it's already law in Australia. Whether it will be effective as a ban is a question, but should we be putting the onus on the tech companies and Facebook in particular on this? Absolutely, we should.

HILL: Andrew, how do you see this continuing to play out in a place like the United States, where there are some of the some of the issues that similar efforts have run into have to do with the Constitution, right? Freedom of speech.

That is one of the -- that's -- that's a huge hurdle.

STEYER: Right.

PRZYBYLSKI: Yeah, and young people have a right not just to freedom of speech, but for affiliation and for communication and for play and leisure, and you know, these rights are enshrined also in the U.N. Charter on the Rights of the Child. And so I think that like kind of approaching this by thinking in terms of what are all the ways we can limit kids and, and hold back their curiosity and their need for affiliation. I think this is really wrongheaded.

Nothing magical happens to a young person when they turn 14, 15, 16, or 17. They're going to see -- they're going to find that same cliff edge. They're going to be left to the wolves online.

And so we need to be thinking about this in terms of resilience. We need to be thinking about this in terms of education and building capacities, holding companies to account. Yes. Having them pay for things. Absolutely. Yes. But kind of pretending like something magical happens when adults can

use the internet online, the internet and social media in healthy ways. And something just stops young people from doing that, it's just very wrongheaded.

HILL: It will certainly -- it has certainly sparked a conversation. And hopefully that is a conversation that continues.

James Steyer, Professor Andrew Przybylski, great to have you both here. Thank you.

STEYER: Thanks.

HILL: Also in our world lead, British lawmakers in the house of commons approving legislation that would permit assisted dying in that country. It actually puts the U.K. one step closer to becoming one of the few nations in the world that does allow some terminally ill patients in this case those with less than six months to live to end their lives with a self-administered drug. That bill must now clear the House of Lords and parliamentary committees.

Today's vote, though, was seen as the biggest hurdle for it to become law. Canada. New Zealand, Spain, most of Australia, as well as Oregon, Washington state and California do allow assisted dying in some form.

Just ahead, the transgender athlete controversy taking over a women's college volleyball tournament and already impacting tomorrow's championship game.

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[16:38:54]

HILL: In our sports lead, a women's college volleyball tournament upended over claims of a transgender player on one of the teams.

San Jose State University is the number two seed for tomorrows championship match. The team got to that top spot in the bracket because other teams forfeited games with them.

CNN's Camila Bernal is following all of this now.

So, San Jose State, its important to note, has not confirmed that there's a transgender player on the team. That is not stopping, though, all of this chatter within the conference.

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's not, Erica. And look, Boise State and San Jose State, they were supposed to play that semifinal match today in just a few hours. And that is not happening. And that's because Boise State withdrew.

And it's not the first time that they do this. They withdrew from games in two separate occasions during the regular season. And they're not specifically saying why, but there's actually six victories that San Jose has because of teams that refused to play with them. Now, it is important to point out that this went from sports to

politics in April, when an online publication identified the player in question here and described her as a transgender player. All of this, of course, caused a huge controversy caused some of these teams to decide not to play against San Jose State, and also causing some of the teammates, including the co-captain here, to file legal action.

[16:40:15]

HILL: In terms of that legal action, what does it -- what does it looking for?

BERNAL: Yeah. So the co-captain here, Brooke Slusser, in the lawsuit, says that it is not fair for the girls, and also said that it puts them at a physical risk. But here's the thing, a judge in Denver, a federal judge, decided essentially that, yes, this player identifies as transgender but allowed her to play because she meets those standards. The appeals court upheld that decision, and the conference commissioner also put out a statement which I want to read to you, where she says the student athlete in question meets the eligibility standard.

And then she went on to say it breaks my heart because they're human beings, young people, student athletes on both sides of this issue that are getting a lot of national negative attention. And despite the negative attention, despite the lawsuit, the back and forth, a judge said that this player is going to be able to play. So what is going to happen is that they're likely going to be able to play that final match on Saturday, despite all of this controversy, Erica.

HILL: It is really something. Camila, appreciate it. Thank you.

Also with us this hour, Christine Brennan sports columnist for "USA Today".

So, Christine, when we look at this, as Camila points out, the Mountain West Conference, you've got a federal judge, a federal appeals court, all saying this player is eligible and as Camila also pointed out, this came up in April. This is a player who, as I understand it, has already played multiple seasons with no issue.

Is it your sense that this is maybe a sign of things to come in college sports?

CHRISTINE BRENNAN, CNN SPORTS ANALYST: It's certainly an issue, Erica, that that has been discussed in the past.

Lia Thomas, the transgender swimmer at Penn a couple of years ago, that was a very big controversy, a big deal, lots of headlines.

And here we are again. And I do think this is a -- an issue that has roiled the nation in many ways, our culture and sports. And it's certainly an issue that's not going away.

I think it is important to note that this one really does have that political genesis, so to speak, the conservative website in April that you were referring to that that did out this player and did mention this and got this, this whole story going, and it is set against the backdrop, of course, of the election year, and the Donald Trump campaign and his use, of course, of commercials and anti-trans language and policies.

So this is something that is as if we, as you mentioned this player has played for three seasons prior to this without any incident. As far as we know, with no injuries to other players, no problems at all. Two at San Jose state prior to this one, and then a year before that at another college.

So why now? Certainly politics has a lot to do with the answer.

HILL: Yeah, which is disappointing on a number of levels. As for the as for the Boise State team, which withdrew as part of that putting out in a statement noting: Our team overcame forfeitures to earn a spot in the tournament going on to say the players should not have to forgo this opportunity while waiting for a more thoughtful and better system that serves all athletes.

What is the discussion about what a better, more thoughtful system would be? I mean, are there is there a chance that things change within the NCAA?

BRENNAN: I think there's a chance that things could change, absolutely. And right now, if we look at sports governing bodies around the world, Erica, it's all over the map.

For example, at the Olympic level with the swimming and track and field, the two, two of the 3 or 4 biggest Olympic sports, World Aquatics which runs swimming, and World Athletics runs track and field. And they both have determined their rules over the last couple of years that if someone has gone through male puberty, they cannot compete in women's sports. That's at the highest levels, World Championships and Olympic Games. So there you have that.

The NCAA is deferring to the national governing bodies of the sport in the United States in this case, it's USA Volleyball, USA Volleyballs rules are, of course, that they can continue that -- this athlete can continue to compete as a transgender woman in this -- in the NCAA competition.

So those are diametrically opposed. And it is a patchwork in many ways. It's incredibly confusing. It is certainly hurtful. It is hurtful for everyone.

And the notion that these Boise state players have forfeited as others have over the years, we can guess there are probably many players who wanted to play and there are probably players who didn't want to play. And the political pressures here are extraordinary because you have the governors of western states, including Idaho, who are celebrating the forfeits.

[16:25:06]

So, you throw all this into the mix and it is truly, truly a story for our times. But it is also something that is just so difficult for the individuals involved.

HILL: Yeah, and it really and you look at all of the athletes involved to your point, how it impacts every single one of them. It is -- it is certainly not the last time well discuss it.

Christine, I appreciate it. Thank you.

BRENNAN: Thank you.

HILL: Yet another major new trouble spot in the Middle East. The new images from Syria as rebel forces stage a surprise offensive.

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[16:50:05]

HILL: In our world lead, rebel forces entering the Syrian city of Aleppo today for the first time since 2016. The government of Bashar al Assad had lost control of parts of the ancient historic city.

CNN's Ben Wedeman is monitoring these developments and the situation for us at this hour.

So what happened here and if you could just tell us how this fits into the bigger picture of what were seeing at this moment across the region?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Erica, this has really been a lightning offensive by this coalition of Syrian rebel groups which in the course of basically since Wednesday have taken almost 70 villages to the west of the city of Aleppo, Syria's second largest city, and now have entered the city itself after being expelled by government forces back in 2016.

Now, earlier today, we were reporting that they had entered the western edge of the city, but now we're getting reports that they've gotten to the center of the city to the ancient citadel of Aleppo, and that they're also rebels in the eastern part of the city. We are seeing videos of prisoners being liberated from regime jails. This is a massive development in a situation that had been fairly stalemated for the last 4 or 5 years, certainly since March of 2020, when Russia and Turkey, which both have military forces in northern Syria, had agreed to a ceasefire which by and large held there had been occasional skirmishes and the rebels had been fighting among themselves.

But now, they've united into this coalition which, as I said, has managed to really sweep aside regime forces.

Now, why is it possible that they've done this now? Well, for one thing, Erica, Hezbollah, which had provided ground troops for the Syrian regime because of its fight with Israel, had basically withdrawn all their troops from Syria leaving the Syrian regime largely exposed. They do have the backing of Russia Russian air and ground forces. But it appears that they have not intervened in a meaningful way to stop this dramatic rebel advance into Syria's second largest city -- Erica.

HILL: Ben Wedeman, for us, with the latest. Appreciate it. Thank you.

Just ahead here, a remarkable restoration, the world's first glimpse inside the repaired Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, damaged by fire more than five years ago.

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HILL: Stunning new images reveal the monumental restoration of the famed Notre Dame Cathedral. The Paris landmark, of course, was heavily damaged by fire in 2019 as workers in the French public applauded outside. French President Emmanuel Macron toured the inside of the cathedral ahead of its official reopening next weekend.

CNN's Melissa Bell was also there.

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MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR PARIS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A new dawn for Notre Dame Cathedral, more than five and a half years after a fire tore through parts of the gothic structure in the heart of Paris, sparkling stonework highlighting the stunning results of the estimated $737 million restoration as it was unveiled to France's President Emmanuel Macron on Friday.

After the 2019 blaze, the president had vowed to rebuild Notre Dame even more beautiful than it was. Entering the cathedral with his wife Brigitte on Friday, it was clear that France had achieved just that.

It was at the same time repaired, restored and re-baptized, Macron said.

Millions had watched in shock and horror as Notre Dame's 96-meter spire tumbled into the church during the 2019 blaze. Now its renaissance is complete. Touring the epicenter of the blaze, the medieval roof structure known as the forest, Macron saw the beams rebuilt by hand from 1,200 oak trees from across France.

Among the highlights of Macron's tour, a mural in the north enclosure of the choir that was badly damaged in the fire, and the Virgin of Paris, a 14th century statue that became a symbol of resistance when it was found standing resolute surrounded by burnt wood and collapsed stone.

And the beautiful Saint Marcel's Chapel, one of 29 chapels that have been lovingly restored. Viewing the 12-meter wide grand organ, Macron described it as sublime.

More than 1,300 people involved in the restoration were invited inside, as the French president wrapped up his final visit to the site before its formal reopening.

You have transformed ashes into art, he told them. The whole planet was upset that day in April, the shock of the reopening will be as big as that of the fire, he said, thanking the crowds.

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BELL: Erica, what was so surprising, getting in there today at the same time as the French president for this sneak preview of the whole world, will be able to discover for themselves from next week was just how light it is inside, how luminous and the sense you have inside of being able to see all of the original paintings restored.

The gold work, the colors the sculptures, everything so lovingly restored. But to new colors and in a way that no one had seen for many centuries. It is restored, in fact to better than it was five years ago. And to, as it might have been several centuries ago Erica.

HILL: It is absolutely stunning.

Melissa, thank you. Well, you can follow the show on X @TheLeadCNN. Stay tuned. The news continues here on CNN with Alex Marquardt in for Wolf Blitzer in THE SITUATION ROOM.

Have a great weekend.