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CNN International: Rebels Launch Major Attack On Regime Forces In Aleppo; Macron Tours Notre Dame Ahead Of Official Reopening; Trump Taps Sean Duffy To Lead Transportation Department; 132 Million Americans Expected To Shop On Black Friday; Musk Shares Thanksgiving Dinner With Trump And His Family. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired November 29, 2024 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:36]

RICHARD QUEST, CNN HOST: A very good day to you, wherever you're joining me. I'm Richard Quest in New York in for Jim Sciutto.

Delighted to have you in the CNN NEWSROOM. So let's get to the news.

For the first time since the government recaptured Aleppo in 2016, the Syrian opposition forces are now inside this major city.

Look at these pictures, stunning. Rebel fighters taking down Syrian flags at the statue of the Syrian President Assad's brother who died in a car accident in 1994. The opposition forces have launched a major attack earlier this week against Assad's regime.

The significance here is it's the first major fighting between the rebels and the regime in four years. They claim to have taken control of dozens of villages on the western side of Aleppo. The regime and Russia are fighting back according to the White Helmets. It's a Syrian humanitarian organization.

Russian Syrian airstrikes targeting the rebel held city of Idlib have killed at least four people and left six injured.

Ben Wedeman's spent a considerable time on the ground over the years, covering the civil war.

All right. Ben, simple. Why now? What happened? What changed?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly what we've seen now is that the Syrian regime is perhaps at its weakest point in years. Keep in mind that Hezbollah intervened in the Syrian civil war and really provided some of the best shock troops, a disciplined well-trained soldiers to fight on the behalf of the Syrian regime against the opposition. But as a result of the war between Hezbollah and Israel that began in October 8th of 2023, Hezbollah essentially pulled almost all of its forces out of Syria sent them to the south of Lebanon and so the Syrian regime has been left exposed and weakened.

Now they still do have a presence of Russian forces, ground and air forces in Syria. And of course, there are Iranian advisors. But the Iranians have also been struck multiple times by the Israelis this year in particular. And we understand from the Iranian media that a brigadier general with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was killed in Aleppo earlier.

So basically, the main backers of the Syrian regime are in a weak position and, of course, Russia is busy with the war in Ukraine. So certainly it hasn't been this exposed, the regime in years -- Richard.

QUEST: So is it your thinking that while this is a sort of an opportunistic go at a time when the going looks good, and if that is the case, what is the likelihood of longer lasting success for the rebels here?

WEDEMAN: Well, it's hard to say because unlike the Russians or the regime, the rebels don't have air cover. They don't have an air force. They certainly are outgunned by the Syrian regime. And we can certainly say by the Russians.

But if you leave the defense of the government in Damascus up to the Syrian army you have a very dubious form of protection. The Syrian army has very bad morale. Certainly the rank and file are not very well-treated. It's rife with corruption and therefore the question is how if this rebel offensive continues.

And keep in mind, it only began on Wednesday and here we are on Friday evening. They've taken, according to the rebels, 66 villages in the western part of Aleppo province and have entered the western part of the city, if not deeper today, but if they can keep this up and that's up to debate, they could provide a serious threat to the regime in Damascus.

And keep in mind that as for, for instance, for Hezbollah, Syria is part of its strategic depth, Syria, Iraq to Iran all friendly countries when it comes to Hezbollah.

[15:05:01]

But if you take Syria out of the equation, Hezbollah is high and dry and in danger of further threats against it. After it's not very successful military operations against Israel in the southern part of Lebanon -- Richard.

QUEST: Good to talk to you, Ben. Ben Wedeman in Rome.

For us tonight with me, Behnam Ben Taleblu, who is giving us some perspective on this senior fellow of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

And an interesting title of your organization when you look at the motley crew that we're talking about here in a sense and because you're talking about this axis of, you know, Iran through to Hezbollah, through to Russia and all of whom are in some shape or form involved in warfare elsewhere, and now we have, I guess, the last thing anybody really wanted was another tinder tinderbox, which is Syria and Aleppo. BEHNAM BEN TALEBLU, SENIOR FELLOW OF THE FOUNDATION FOR DEFENSE OF DEMOCRACIES: Indeed. And it's a pleasure to be with you. As you mentioned that axis which the Islamic Republic of Iran actually styles itself as such, they call themselves, the axis of resistance with them at the helm and a constellation of proxies that they've either created or co-opted, and the sole state partner in that axis is the Assad regime in Syria, which the -- which the Islamic Republic has bailed out, a spending considerable money, national reputation and treasure, as well as the deep in partnership with Russia.

But on the other side of the ledger, as you know of course, are Islamist insurgents, some of which were backed by turkey, that have adhered to this four year, not ceasefire but strategic pause in their campaign against Assad and against the Russians and against the Islamic republics proxy forces in the region.

So it really is akin to this statement right now that some are saying, which is a repetition of a line ascribed to either Kissinger or Beijing about the Iran-Iraq war, which is in some way, it's a shame that both can't lose.

QUEST: You mentioned Turkey and where does Turkey stand in all of this because the turkey is the powerful regional power in a sense, it can't be a determinative, but it certainly can set a tone and direction.

BEN TALEBLU: Indeed and when you look at the capabilities of the Turkish army, for example, its for example, the second biggest army in NATO. It poses threats to Russian interests in Syria, even though it's changed its views on the Assad regime in Syria. And in fact, it was instrumental in creating military facts on the ground to later on diplomatically push for that pause in fighting four years ago, particularly in the northern part of the country, Turkey itself has had its proxy or partner forces in Syria actually fire on the Islamic Republics proxies. Hezbollah so it is a major military weight in the region, and not just against the Assad regime and its proxies, but against some of the Kurdish groups in the north, where turkey has tried to get them to disconnect cantons for quite some time now.

QUEST: Can I -- can I just ask you, you know, as I'm sitting here you and I, discussing this, I know this might sound a little naive, and I apologize if that's so. But how does the other side view, if you like, the West and the Western Alliance?

If you think about it as this, you know, you've got -- you've got Syria, Russia, Hezbollah, Iran all of these countries, they would arguably be against. If you want to say an E.U., U.S., U.K.-led, Western style democracy view of the world and how did we end up with such diametrically opposed views and how do they view us?

BEN TALEBLU: Well, that axis that you mentioned, the Islamic republic and many of these proxy forces and even the Russian Federation and their partners in Syria like the Assad regime, they really are this axis. They really do share a least common denominator of a militant anti-Americanism. And some would even say a militant antisemitism, which is growing in their ranks. And this has helped them to compartmentalize some of the rivalries and ideological discrepancies that exist within each actor.

So these are forces that believe they have history on their side. They're applying continuous military muscle, and they will find themselves in a boom and bust cycle of violence in the Middle East, like that which we've been seeing for the past two days in the country's northwest.

QUEST: I'm grateful to you, sir. Thank you very much going into the weekend, and I wish you well.

BEN TALEBLU: Thank you.

QUEST: Thank you.

The sound, the bells, the majesty of it all.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

QUEST: Five years ago, if you'd said this would have been the situation, no one would have believed you. The magnificent renovation of Notre Dame in Paris. After the fire that I was going to say destroyed, but it didn't. It wreaked chaos, havoc and damage. President Macron today visiting it.

Our senior Paris correspondent Melissa Bell is with me.

And what a -- what a glorious, glorious day.

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR PARIS CORRESPONDENT: It is, Richard. And as you say, no one thought it could be done. And when President Macron had announced that it would be done on the very night of the fire, as we watched it burn, Richard, from this very bridge, the flames coming up above that tower, everyone wondering whether the entire thing would collapse. He'd stood in front of it and said, look, we will rebuild Notre Dame and we'll do it in the next five years. It's taken a little bit more than that. A few extra months, but honestly, it was worth the wait.

The splendor inside, beyond words.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BELL (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.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

QUEST: Melissa, do me a favor, take your journalists hat off. Put your Parisian resident's hat on and lover of France on. How do you feel about watching it and seeing it? Because you were there at the time and you've seen the restoration.

BELL: That's right. We were right here on this bridge, watching it burn down those years ago. I got to walk into it today. Others will get to walk into it from next week. It is extraordinary, Richard.

I can't recommend enough a quick trip to Paris to come and have a look. It was pretty awe inspiring before the fire. If you cast your mind back to what it felt like to get inside the cathedral before it is extraordinary. More than 900 years old, the engineering feat of it is beyond reckoning.

What they've managed to do as part of its refurbishment is clean it. The walls, the structure is gleaming, the colors are vibrant, the gold is perfect. The structures have been refurbished, the sculptures have been refurbished.

And so, you stand even more awestruck than you did five years ago. It takes you back to the splendor of several centuries ago before the soot and the candles and the crowds and the dirt had accumulated and tarnished some of it. It is extraordinary what they've managed to achieve in such a short amount of time. And the structure itself even more awesome than it was, Richard.

QUEST: Thank you, Melissa. Well, I'm grateful for you tonight in Paris. Have a good weekend. I think I think it might be worth having a glass of wine to toast the return of. Put it on my bill, put it on my account as usual.

Right, talking of accounts --

(CROSSTALK)

QUEST: She came along with that one pretty quickly.

[15:15:01]

Talking of accounts, Black Friday shopping frenzy is well underway. We'll check on how it is going in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: Welcome back.

And right now, many Americans are heading to the airports and highways to return home from Thanksgiving. According to the TSA, a million and a half passengers were screened on Thanksgiving Day and Sunday is anticipated to be one of the busiest travel days, with more than 3 million passengers, likely to take to the skies.

The new head of aviation and transportation, rail and all that sort of stuff is Sean Duffy is the president-elect's pick to be -- to lead the Department of Transportation, and nearly 55,000 employees.

Will Guisbond is with me, reporter for "Air Current".

So, Sean Duffy -- now, look, he's a former congressman and he has done work on the Transportation Committee, et cetera, et cetera, but he doesn't have anything like the experience that, say, Pete Buttigieg had of the industry, and yet I suppose there was a bit of just glad handing. The industry seems to be reasonably okay with him.

WILL GUISBOND, STAFF REPORTER, THE AIR CURRENT: Yeah. Richard, thanks for having me. It's good to be here.

I think the one word we'd use to describe this in the industry so far is just surprise. Most notably in picking Sean Duffy, President-elect Trump passed over folks like current House Transportation Infrastructure Committee Chair Sam Graves and House Aviation Subcommittee Chair Garret Graves, who have a lot of experience in the job, but obviously, I think its worth noting that if you look back historically, not all transportation secretaries have had really specific industry experience. So that's just something to think about as well.

QUEST: Right. But is there a specific thing about Duffy? Do we know where he stands on core issues?

[15:20:02]

For example, FAA reauthorization, which, of course, has been done but is the FAA is always a hot potato. And the single skies of the regeneration of American skies, all these sort of the infrastructure costs of bridges and roads, the railway high speed rail in America. Do we know where Duffy stands on any of those issues? GUISBOND: Sure. So some reporting that we did at "The Air Current" based on his previous appearances on Fox News where he was working most recently, kind of analyzed some of the comments that he's made about infrastructure, and I think I think generally he's aligned with President-elect Trump on those issues, particularly around, around cost cutting.

I would say that that comes down to a couple of different challenges. So as we know, generally, the administration is really focused on making government more efficient. We're seeing initiatives like the Department of Government Efficiency headed by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy.

And so, Sean Duffy the day before he was nominated to this post, referenced those types of programs on his Fox News program. So I think we can expect him to be aligned there.

QUEST: There's a difference here, though, isn't there? As you well know, for "The Air Current," you screw around with cost cutting in aviation, A, obviously at the safety level, and that's disastrous. But also if you start tying Americans up in large lines, queues, backlogs, delays, you're going to feel hot political potatoes very fast.

GUISBOND: Sure. Yeah, I think the one thing to note when we, when we look at this is that the FAA, which oversees all aviation regulation in the United States represents the biggest chunk of the Department of Transportations budget.

So, regardless, of what happens here, that's obviously a huge piece of what may be on Sean Duffy's mind when he resumes that role, or rather, steps into that role in January. And I think also, it's interesting to note that there's always been a physical link between government and industry here, especially around aviation. This goes back to the early days of the industry.

So it'll -- I agree with you. It'll be very interesting to see how he approaches this as we also step into the budgeting process expected to occur at the beginning of next year.

QUEST: Right. Well, let's just go off reservation and start just like you're an expert. You can take it.

Spirit I'm wondering whether the judge in that case, if you read the judgment I mean, he was very clear. Well we everything will be fine. Competition will be good. Merging with JetBlue will be bad.

I wonder if he's eating those words now since Spirit will find it very hard, even if it reorganizes under chapter 11 to make itself a competitive long term going concern without another partner.

GUISBOND: Sure. Yeah. So I think we really don't have too much information right now to tell about how that process is going to conclude based on the regulatory findings in that case. A couple of things to note, they're looking at a relatively expeditious departure from the Chapter 11 process expected to conclude sometime early next year. I believe, in the first quarter. So that's kind of interesting to think about here as they may be -- I

don't know if they necessarily expected this to happen, but they seem to be prepared for that rather quick process. Also worth noting is I think that if you look at the industry coverage here, there was a lot of signs that showed that that this was relatively imminent. After that case, as you mentioned. So I think a lot of folks are doing work to make sure this happens. But time will see. Time will tell rather how that turns out, for sure. It'll be interesting to watch. I'll be right there with you -- yeah, absolutely.

QUEST: Yeah, absolutely.

All right. Good to see you, Will. I'm grateful for your time. Thank you for joining us. Thank you, sir. Thank you.

GUISBOND: Awesome.

QUEST: Now, Black Friday is sort of the busiest shopping day of the holiday season, one of them. Who knows? Bargain shoppers galore out in full force and the interesting thing, by the way, we talk about Black Friday, but it's one of those things that's really taking off across the world. It seems like the rest of the world also enjoys joining in with the American shopping after Thanksgiving. There are serious concerns though around inflation and now tariffs, with the plan to slap onto Mexico, China, Canada. And who cannot doubt that Europe's far behind.

CNN's Meena Duerson is with me out with the shoppers in New Jersey.

That's a very fine sweater, if I may say so, ma'am. I hope it was a bargain in the sales.

MEENA DUERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. I mean, we're lucky we're warm and dry indoors, and it is very crowded here in the mall. Lots of people have come, you know, to shop in person. We've heard a lot about how much shopping has shifted online these days, but its a very, very busy Black Friday here. And that is one of the trends. You know, we were hearing about this year was that 65 percent of shoppers were projected to actually come and do their shopping in person.

[15:25:03]

So that's, you know people have been pretty cautious with their money the past few years. They've been dealing with inflation, you know, here in America. But this year people seem to be returning to a more healthy holiday season with spending. And they are out here getting deals on a number of different types of consumer items from electronics to clothes to beauty items. So, so we're seeing, you know, quite a bit of appetite for deal shopping today.

QUEST: Is there any feeling of bringing forward purchases? Probably large. I'm sorry. I know you're having difficulty hearing me. Probably with all the noise of that money being spent, but is there --

DUERSON: So loud. QUEST: Is there any feeling that people are bringing forward

purchases because there have been lists published showing exactly the things that could be tariffed, that you could buy now?

DUERSON: Yeah. You know, we stopped by a big electronics store, a little bit ago, and we did hear that from -- from shoppers that there is an awareness that some of these big ticket consumer electronics items may go up significantly in price, you know, in the new year when the new administration takes -- takes over and that people are conscious of that and they are pulling the trigger on if there's items that they already need, they are looking out for those deals and buying those things.

You know things like tablets you know, big monitors gaming systems, things like that. And even people who maybe weren't aware they are, you know, conscious of the conversation around it and they're taking advantage of the deals because, you know they're hearing the word tariffs and even if they don't know exactly how its going to impact them, they are, you know, conscious that its made may take effect.

QUEST: And the other interesting thing, looking at what you've got there and I'm sure all around you, it's heaving with people. What is interesting as well is that the shopping mall at these key days is still very busy. The death of shopping in person in bricks and mortar, to paraphrase is greatly exaggerated.

DUERSON: Yeah, I think that's true. I think, you know, we've seen that since in the past couple of years, the since the pandemic, you know, has kind of waned. People are returning to shop in person, in full force a lot of shoppers told us they really like coming to the mall. They really like touching products, trying them on.

They trust the deals in person. Maybe more than they do online. So yeah, I think the idea that online shopping is the is the way of the future is perhaps a little bit exaggerated, though online shopping has said a bunch of records this year already.

QUEST: Last question, personal one to you. If I was to let you go shopping in one shop in that shopping mall, all right, you can have one shop in one shop, which -- what would you be buying?

DUERSON: Well you know, there's -- there's one of the last two Toys R Us stores in the country in this mall, and I have two little kids. So that is definitely a big attraction here. I would go wild in the Toys R Us.

QUEST: There speaketh the mom, there speaketh the true mom, putting the kids before herself.

Thank you very much. Off you go. I'll let you go and get some more shopping done. Very grateful to you.

Now when we come back, you know that famous line, guess who's coming for dinner? Well, there was the movie, of course, guess who's coming to dinner? Guess who Donald Trump was sitting next to at dinner? Elon Musk. So how do you feel about the world's richest man spending Thanksgiving

with the next president of the United States? And both of them doing some very strange moves to YMCA? Maybe that's the most distressing part of all. Anyway, one question.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:32:05]

QUEST: Well, what a night. Guess who's coming for dinner at Mar-a- Lago, Thanksgiving.

President-elect Donald Trump was with his family and, well, sort of never to be far away. Elon Musk, richest man in the world and the -- and the most powerful next president. The pair are carving out time for a new holiday traditions, and there was a bit of YMCA dancing as well, which I wont put you off your dinner with, showing you that.

Alayna Treene is covering Donald Trump is in West Palm near Mar-a- Lago.

It's very -- there's nothing really -- well, I cant even phrase this question because I'm not sure how to phrase it, but it does seem a bit weird that Elon Musk has really nothing else to do running all his companies than sit next to Donald Trump day after day, hour after hour.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: I mean, that's right, Richard, Elon Musk has really been tethered to Donald Trump's side ever since the election he's been at Mar-a-Lago nearly every day. I'm told he's been golfing with him.

One of Donald Trump's grandkids referred to him as his their uncle on social media. They are very close, and it is when you say weird, it's an interesting word because Donald Trump, I would note doesn't normally like having anyone have the spotlight around him like that we saw him last night at Thanksgiving, at Thanksgiving dinner at Mar-a- Lago he was eating with Melania Trump, the former first lady, soon to be next first lady, as well as his son Barron. And there at the table as well was Elon Musk.

Now I am in West Palm Beach, I wasn't at Mar-a-Lago last night, but we do have this from one person in the room. I'm going to read it for you. They said, quote, Trump and Elon walked around the room, stopped at each table and spoke to all of the guests again, just another example of how close they have been.

The other thing to I would note -- oh, go on, Richard.

QUEST: Well, no, we'll come back to you and say everybody is, everybody is anxiously pretending when are the two of them going to fall out? When will Trump feel that his star is being eclipsed and he's going to boot musk out?

But I ask you, I put it another way is it not possible that each one of them realizes that the other has something that they will never have, and that that is the accommodation of power? In other words, Musk will never have nuclear power, Trump will never be as rich as Musk, and provided the two of them can accept that, you've got a bromance forever?

TREENE: Yeah, I do think there's some truth to that, Richard.

I know when I talked to those close to the former president, the president elect, they tell me that part of the reason Donald Trump likes Elon Musk so much is one he loves having a billionaire, the richest man in the world by his side. He loves that he has that who he thinks is the smart man who sends rockets into space working for and with him. And for Musk's part, I don't know Elon Musk as closely and the people around him as closely. I do those to Donald Trump.

[15:35:05]

But it does seem that, you know, there's this power through government that Donald Trump is offering him. He's already given him a massive role leading up this new department, the Department of the Office of Government and Ethics. He's going to be running that with Vivek Ramaswamy.

I'll tell you this, too: we've really seen Elon Musk's influence over the Republican Party overall rocket as well. I mean, he's calling up allies of Donald Trump's. He has people on the hill calling him up, trying to seek influence with him if they can, you know, they know that Elon Musk has Donald Trump's ear. He's been in the room when foreign leaders have called the president elect, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

So we've seen his influence, not just as you know, this, this stardom, but also real power and influence that he's been able to gain through this close relationship with Donald Trump.

QUEST: I'm going to get murdered for asking you this brief last question. Is it -- is anybody asking whether it's healthy? Because the lack of transparency in what arrangements agreements, friendships? Is anybody saying, is this good for democracy?

TREENE: No, it's a good question. Not from the conversations I'm having with Trump's team around him. I can say some people are irked by his constant presence and also by his very quick ascent in Donald Trump's orbit and to Donald Trump's side.

I mean, he is one of these people that when I say when I talk to Trump's transition members and they say I say, who is in the room for all of these different meetings? It's always Donald Trump, his son Donald Trump Jr., J.D. Vance, his president-elect, and now, Elon Musk. And so there is some tension for sure within Donald Trump's inner circle about the influence that Musk has.

Is it helping? I haven't heard that question. I think that will be a question to look for on whether both him and Vivek Ramaswamy can do a good job at the department of DOGE, the Department of Government Ethics -- or Government Efficiency, excuse me, because that is going to be a good test of whether or not they can actually do what they keep promising.

I think they keep saying, you know, they believe they're going to be very easily able to cut all this waste to trim the fat of government funding. Other experts are saying it's not going to be as easy as you believe it is. It's not as easy as saying it. So I think that will be a key test for Musk.

QUEST: Good to see you. You've got the beautiful sun in West Palm Beach. We've got cold and rain in the Northeast. Thank you very much.

Right now, the reporters in the White House briefing room may look very different in Donald Trump's second term. His son, Donald Trump Jr., previewed possible changes in his forthcoming podcast.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP JR., HOST, "TRIGGERED" PODCAST: So we're going to break some news here because I literally had this conversation. I was flying back, I was on the plane I guess, with my father, either I think it was coming back from the SpaceX launch with Elon last week and I was sitting there and we were talking about like the podcast world and some of our friends and Rogan and guys like you.

But we had the conversation about opening up the press room to a lot of these independent journalists. We've had that conversation like, that's a great idea, Don. I was like, I think we should do this and so that may be in the works. Let's see. That's going to blow up some heads. So, you know, we'll see.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: Well, the move would be a shift away from mainstream media being front and center. It might be welcomed by many, according to Twitch streamer Hassan Piker.

CNN's Donie O'Sullivan spoke with the progressive influencer about the recent election and which candidate was best at reaching out to young voters.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HASAN PIKER, SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCER: Donie O'Sullivan!

DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN SENIOIR CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is Hasan Piker.

PIKER: This is my dog Kaya. I thought you legitimately were going to work out.

O'SULLIVAN: I could do some weights.

He's a social media superstar with almost 3 million followers on the video streaming platform Twitch.

TRUMP: They're eating. They're eating the pets. O'SULLIVAN: So this is that whole masculinity thing people are

talking about, huh? And he's part of a growing group of streamers and podcasters reaching young men online, a space Trump tapped into to reach young male voters.

PIKER: You punch in, then you won't be able to see that he's not doing any weights.

O'SULLIVAN: But Hasan is not a Trump supporter. He's a progressive, a fan of Bernie and AOC. The Democratic Party even invited him to the DNC in August.

One thing we've been hearing for weeks now is that the left needs a Joe Rogan.

PIKER: Yeah. I don't think that the Democratic Party can podcast itself out of this issue. Joe Rogan endorsed Bernie Sanders in 2020. Maybe they should do an autopsy on why he left the party.

O'SULLIVAN: I've heard you say when it comes to stuff that guys like, you seek that stuff out online, whether it's watching a streamer, whether its watching guys talking about working out and fitness. You say that the right wing just dominates that space.

PIKER: Yeah.

O'SULLIVAN: Why?

PIKER: Well, I think that's why I started on Twitch right? I know for a fact that the video game space is like people who consume this, this culture people who are a part of this culture are not all right wing. I wanted to showcase the people that are like, no, you can be a progressive person. You can be a leftist and like, have fun at the same time.

O'SULLIVAN: How many people are watching your live stream on election night?

[15:40:08]

PIKER: The total unique number was 7.5 million.

O'SULLIVAN: There's a general sense that when it comes to the world of podcasts, alternative media, I don't even know what you want to call it. That Trump did a much better job with that than Democrats, and Harris.

PIKER: Absolutely. I think that's true. When I saw the Aidan Ross collab, I thought, this is not -- this doesn't have motion. It was awkward. It was weird.

But then I saw Trump on Theo Von, and he started talking about cocaine and I was like, uh, oh, this -- this humanizes him.

TRUMP: So you're way up with cocaine more than anything else you can think of. THEO VON, HOST: Cocaine will turn you into a damn owl, homie. You

know what I'm saying?

O'SULLIVAN: Harris did consider going on Joe Rogan.

PIKER: Yeah, but she didn't.

O'SULLIVAN: What is this that the Democrat Party has to do differently?

PIKER: Well, I think that they need to change their policies.

O'SULLIVAN: It's a policy thing.

PIKER: Yes, it's 100 percent a policy thing.

O'SULLIVAN: Because I'll say boring.

PIKER: Which is the boring answer, although it would be very self- serving for me to say I'm the left's Joe Rogan. The Democratic Party should give me millions of dollars. That's not going to solve this problem.

What will solve this problem is if the Democratic Party actually adopts real left wing economic populist messaging instead of purposefully avoiding that stuff because they're terrified of upsetting their corporate donors.

I think Trump speaks to male insecurities better, and I think Trump speaks to the anger that people have. Whereas the other side of the political spectrum does not speak to that anger at all.

O'SULLIVAN: There's been a lot of controversy around you.

PIKER: Yes.

O'SULLIVAN: The way you talk about Israel is viewed by some as antisemitic.

PIKER: Yeah.

O'SULLIVAN: Are you antisemitic?

PIKER: Of course not. The real problem here is that I'm an anti- Zionist. The real problem here is that I'm extremely critical of Israel and all of the information that's readily available especially on social media, for so many people that don't necessarily rely on mainstream media any longer to get their information.

And that's why you see this generational gap. If you're over the age of 35, you're still operating on the old boundaries. You're like, no, Israel is the most moral democracy in the Middle East, maybe in the world, right? Like -- and I think that the major generational divide that is, I think in a very damaging way, feeding into the mistrust overall that people have with mainstream news in general is coming from that. O'SULLIVAN: Donie O'Sullivan, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

QUEST: And I will be back with you in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:45:50]

QUEST: The United States is starting to reintroduce nuclear power as an alternative to fossil fuels.

Misconceptions about the dangers of nuclear waste and potential meltdowns have stalled any type of progress in recent years, but now it's back on the agenda.

CNN's Bill Weir reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With humanity thirsty for clean energy. Nuclear is having a green renaissance.

JENNIFER GRANHOLM, ENERGY SECRETARY: Get the Palisades nuclear plant back up and running.

WEIR: Even among Democrats. In Michigan, Governor Gretchen Whitmer is using a billion and a half in IRA funds to reopen the Palisades nuclear plant, saying its the only way to meet state climate goals.

REPORTER: Chaos and confusion reigned as monitors tried to determine exactly how much radiation was released.

WEIR: And 50 years after America's most notorious nuclear accident, Microsoft is planning to reopen Three Mile Island, to power the demand for A.I. computing.

There is no conclusive proof that accident made anyone sick or have a serious condition but films like "The China Syndrome" and "Silkwood" helped make a Cold War culture even more wary of meltdowns that never came. But spent nuclear fuel has been piling up at dozens of sites around the country radioactive waste with no clear destination.

What do you think are the biggest misconceptions about nuclear energy in the general public? In the United States, especially?

BRIAN VANGOR, DRY CAST SUPERVISOR AT INDIAN POINT, HOLTEC INTERNATIONAL: That it can blow up. It can't blow up when the plant was running, it couldn't blow up.

WEIR: Brian Vangor spent his career at Indian Point before New York Democrats like Andrew Cuomo and RFK, Jr. helped shut it down. Safety, he insists, was never an issue. VANGOR: So, 25 millirems is a typical maybe 1 or 2 chest x-rays.

You'd have to stand at the plant fence 24/7 for an entire year to receive that radiation. Each one of these canisters weighs 360,000 pounds. They're designed for floods, earthquakes, fires explosion, aircraft impact -- you name it, they can withstand it.

WEIR: Data shows that when measuring deaths from accidents and pollution, coal, oil and gas are the most dangerous power sources by far, while nuclear ranks with wind and solar among the safest. But uranium mining can still have a steep environmental cost, and the waste remains radioactive for centuries.

One pellet of enriched uranium holds as much power as one ton of coal so these 127 canisters hold all the pellets that produced 50 years worth of electricity for a big chunk of New York City. Hell of a legacy, but now they've got to figure out what to do with this.

In 2010, Harry Reid and Nevada Democrats killed a plan to bury the nation's nuclear waste under Yucca Mountain. And with no new plan, it has been piling up at dozens of sites around the country ever since.

PAUL MURRAY, DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL & HIGH LEVEL WASTE DISPOSITION, DEPT. OF ENERGY: If we move it at 3,000 tons a year, which is a lot of fuel to be moving. It would take us approximately 50 years to move the interim storage.

WEIR: And that's just interim storage. A permanent site could take 250 years to fill and close first, they have to build the worlds safest train car to move it. And then they have to find a community to take it, likely in exchange for a fortune in taxpayer dollars. Nominations could start next year and could indicate whether the politics of nuclear energy is any less radioactive.

Bill Weir, Westchester County, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

QUEST: Fascinating story from Bill Weir.

When we come back, the big women's football match this weekend, Olympic gold medalist USA takes on European champions England at Wembley. Amanda Davies is one on one with USA's coach Emma Hayes, as she gets ready to take on her home country.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:52:17]

QUEST: The top two ranked football teams in the world coming face to face is always going to be something else. When it's Olympic champions USA against the European champions, England, and it's taking place at all. Hail Wembley, and it's the first game back in England for the coach, Emma Hayes, since she took charge of the U.S. women's national team. The stakes are even higher.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) AMANDA DAVIES, CNN WORLD SPORT ANCHOR & CORRESPONDENT: Richard, Emma Hayes has always been a seriously proud north Londoner, but for all her success here with Chelsea, she made no secret of the fact that being coach of the U.S. women's national team is the job she always dreamed of.

As much as she's embracing the us traditions, having hosted a Thanksgiving dinner for her new team here in London this week, she's also been proudly introducing them to her home town and I got the chance to speak to her at a pub she used to frequent in Camden. The worlds end, ahead of a game that will see two parts of her world collide on a day set to be full of mixed emotions.

It's billed as a friendly --

EMMA HAYES, HEAD COACH, UNITED STATES WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAM: Yeah.

DAVIES: -- but it's England against USA. I mean, what's the overriding emotion? Can it really be a friendly this weekend?

HAYES: Listen, we're talking about women's sport, women's football. We're talking about a great match up between two great teams two coaches who know each other really well and get on and uh, hopefully a sellout stadium at Wembley. I'm sure a lot of people around the world watching it, that's what -- that's what I want. Ive always wanted to create these situations and I'm thoroughly looking forward to it. Going back to Wembley and seeing Serena and seeing the girls.

And when we come kick off, it will be business and ill be aiming to win as much as Serena will. But one that, you know, these are days that you look forward to and you work, work towards over your life.

DAVIES: Will you sing the anthem? Which anthem?

HAYES: Ah, listen, I won't lie. That's -- that's a tricky. That's a tricky one to answer.

I think it will be tricky when the, the national anthem plays, but no -- I, I, I'm English, but I respect that. I am, you know, I work for USA and, I think I would say that I will joyfully hum along to both of them and respect that both national anthems -- national anthems mean a lot to me.

DAVIES: And Millie Bright has said she knows all your tips and tricks of the trade. I mean, have you got any surprises that you're going to throw England's way?

HAYES: Well, if Millie knows me that well, she'll know that I will have. But being predictable is not who I am. But, no, I think, we're both in different stages. Our teams, they're preparing for Euro's. I'm building for a Euro, a World Cup, to qualify for that, so a bit of experimentation on both ends, and I think, just be a good match up.

DAVIES: How much of a -- of a kind of laying a marker down? Because it is it's world number one against world number two. HAYES: Yeah, I think it probably is in the eyes of, of everyone. But

for, for me it's -- it's another step in our process towards building towards something. This is not a tournament for us.

And I want to be able to develop the team and the way we're playing first, and hopefully with those things, we can win the game. But that but we need to do both of them side by side.

DAVIES: England won the last time these two sides met at Wembley, but there's no doubt the USA now have a not so secret weapon in their corner in Emma Hayes, England's most successful women's coach of all time, is now leading the charge for the next chapter of the game in the United States, looking to build on that Olympic gold in Paris. Richard.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

QUEST: Oh, Amanda. Thank you.

Finally, a round of applause, quite literally. Oh gosh. 92nd Annual National Dog show. And the winner was Vito, two and a half year old tiny but mighty Vito beat out around 2,000 other dogs for best in show, the first pug to win the coveted title in at least two decades.

Just look at that posture. Magnificent. Vito's won 25 best in shows during his short career. Best in breed at Westminster back in May.

There are dog treats galore of that, I am certain, for Vito.

Thank you for joining me. In a moment or two, I'll have "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS". Have a good weekend, wherever you are.