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Extremely Cold Weather Grips Much of U.S.; Travel Experts Provides Tips for Travel During Holiday Season This Year; Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Visits U.S. President-Elect Trump at Mar-a-Lago after Trump Issues Tariff Threat to Canada and Other Countries; Syrian Rebels Take Control of Country's Second Largest City of Aleppo in Surprise Attack; Three People Killed While Trying to Buy Bread at Gaza Bakery as Famine Threatens Gazan People; Woman Gets Past Multiple Security Checkpoints at New York Airport to Become Stowaway on Flight to Paris; French President Emmanuel Macron Tours Recently Restored Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris; College Football Game between Georgia and Georgia Tech Goes into Eight Overtimes; Private Collector in Kenya Attempting to Sell Possibly World's Largest Collection of African Butterflies. Aired 10-11a ET.

Aired November 30, 2024 - 10:00   ET

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

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[10:00:00]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right, this breaking news. Bone chilling arctic air grips much of the U.S. as millions of Americans are traveling home from the Thanksgiving holiday.

Plus, shocking stowaway, how a woman evaded multiple airport screening checkpoints and made it on board a Paris bound Delta flight.

And just a day after an organic egg recall, the FDA is investigating yet another salmonella outbreak. We'll tell you what to check for in your refrigerator.

Hello, everyone, and thank you so much for joining me this weekend after Thanksgiving holiday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. We begin this holiday weekend with ferocious winter weather trapping residents and travelers in parts of the Great Lakes region and leaving more than 6 million people under winter weather alerts. Just a look at this highway in Pennsylvania. Cars already getting stranded in near whiteout conditions there. The National Weather Service is advising people to delay their travel, if possible, as up to five feet of lake effect snow will paralyze some areas.

And on top of all of that, a bone chilling blast of arctic air is bringing below freezing temperatures to nearly 70 percent of the U.S. population over the next few days. That deep freeze is being felt from North Dakota to the Gulf Coast. Meteorologist Allison Chinchar is here with the latest forecast. I mean, this is dangerous weather, if not very uncomfortable.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Especially when you're talking about that amount of snow. When you're talking four to six feet in a short period of time, there are stretches of Interstate 90 that are shut down right now between Buffalo and Cleveland, and for good reason, because it's simply whiteout conditions. And it's not the only area. Even portions -- look at this. This is Blue Mountain Lake, New York. Now, I looked at the same camera yesterday, and I want you to know there is a lake in the background. You could see it yesterday. You can't see it today. And it's because of how thick the snow is coming down, but also the fog that's in some of these areas. So imagine driving through similar conditions. It makes it extremely difficult. You've got all of these lake effect bands coming down across portions of Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York. The heaviest snow at the time is coming down now across portions of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. And that's where we're likely going to see some of the highest accumulations when this is all said and done, could be four to even six feet -- again, not inches, feet of snow total.

You also have an entirely separate system down here that's causing some winter weather advisories in place across the Ohio and mid- Mississippi Valley. That includes St. Louis and also Louisville, Kentucky. Those areas could see two to five inches. So again, not necessarily as high as the other areas we're seeing, but still impactful if you have to drive through those areas today to maybe either get home or drive to or from wherever you need to go.

Overall, most of the areas up along the Great Lakes, that's where you're going to see those higher totals. Keep in mind for some of these areas, we've already had two feet of snow come down. Now we could be adding another several feet on top of that. And some of these snow shower bands are coming down at two to four inches an hour. So even if you have plows out there trying to clear it, it makes it very difficult for them to get back to these same spots so quickly.

The reason you have this lake effect snow is you have those warm lakes and the cold air, at least you know by comparison speaking. I'm not saying the lakes themselves are warm, but you have that very cold air over top of it that creates the lake effect snow. But even in other areas where you don't have the snow, you still have that bone-chilling cold. Look at Minneapolis, for example. The actual temperature right now is seven degrees. It feels like minus eight with the wind chill. The Minneapolis National Weather Service office telling folks, get ready. This is about as warm as it's going to be all day, OK. Chicago, currently 17, but it feels like only three degrees.

But this isn't just a northern problem. All of these areas you see here in blue are expected to have those temperatures at or below freezing as we go through the next several days, and that does include, Fred, even some areas as far south as the gulf coast.

WHITFIELD: That's incredible, looking at that map, nearly the entire country is very, very chilly and cold, even if they're not usually used to it this time of year. All right, Allison Chinchar, we'll check back with you. Thank you so much.

So, what does this forecast mean for the millions of holiday travelers? Let's discuss now with travel expert and The Points Guy founder Brian Kelly. Brian, good to see you. So a record number of people are hitting the road. Let's start with that, just if you're driving this holiday weekend. And when you look at what Allison just showed us, the northeast and the Great Lakes region, this is treacherous weather.

[10:05:05]

So what's your recommendation to people who feel like they've got to hit the road, or at least they've got to get to their destination via road at some point?

BRIAN KELLY, FOUNDER, THEPOINTSGUY.COM: My recommendation is safety first. Your job will be there when you get back. People will understand. Do not put your safety just to get home. You know the roads can be terrible. So luckily the airlines will let you change your flights. The only problem is, tomorrow's suspected to be the busiest air travel day ever in the United States, so even if the airlines let you change, there's a very good chance flights are sold out for several days. So --

WHITFIELD: Oh my gosh.

KELLY: -- call the airlines or chatbot the airlines. That's my favorite tip, go into the airline app. Many have chatbot features that will get you through way quicker than waiting on the phone --

WHITFIELD: OK, so --

KELLY: -- and see what the next available flight.

WHITFIELD: So say you are flying and, whether it's the chatbot or whether you've checked in some other way that your flight is on time, you get to the airport, and the weather has changed everything. And so now you are hearing about delays and cancellations. What's your recommendation to people about, what do they need to perhaps bring to the airport or be prepared to do if they get to the airport and suddenly they've got a canceled or delayed flight?

KELLY: Well, the first thing you need to do is before you leave for the airport is make sure your airline has your contact information. If you bought a flight through an online travel agency, sometimes your information isn't given to the airline. So the airline can't contact you to let you know that it's delayed. So go in and make sure that your flights are still on time and that the airline has your information.

And just know the Department of Transportation has new rules that went into effect in October. If your domestic flight is delayed by three hours or more, you can cancel for a full refund. You don't have to take a voucher. You can just try travel again, and that's six hours for internationally. So for some families who might say, you know what, we're going to put our travel on hold this week. At least knowing that you can get a full refund is peace of mind.

But otherwise, I use an app called Flighty. Flighty, actually, will alert you usually before your airline does if there's a delay. I will say one thing, though, even if your flight is delayed, you still have to go to the airport and go to the gate, because I had an experience recently where the airline un-delayed my flight and it went out without me because I thought it was still delayed. So still go to the airport if you intend to fly.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness. And it seems that everybody these days, you know, wants to carry on their luggage, and they feel like there's going to be enough room in the overhead. But aren't we all finding out that somehow there seems to be a shortage of overhead space? I'm not sure what's going on with that one, but say that's you traveling with a carry on, but you're in zone seven or eight. I mean, what do you tell people about how to prepare for the inevitability of having to check your bag?

KELLY: Well, I know exactly what's going on. The airlines are jacking up the price of checked bags. So more and more people are saying, I'm not paying that $75. So they're bringing their luggage on the plane. Now, American Airlines this holiday season is rolling out a program where they will -- they will buzz you in line if you try to board too early, because the airlines also want you to get their credit cards and to pay for that priority boarding. My best tip is just try to get to the gate early, get in line wherever you're boarding is, and honestly, even if you fly once or twice a year, getting that airline co-brand credit card, you might get -- you're going to get more miles than it is the annual fee for several years, and you'll get priority boarding. So don't try to steal it just get it by getting one of those low fee annual credit cards from the airline you fly the most.

WHITFIELD: It's kind of a paying forward in a whole other way.

OK, so then now let's look ahead to the, you know, Christmas, Hanukkah, you know, traveling New Year's season. If you haven't purchased your ticket now, what's your best recommendation on if you are going to be flying, how to plan now for December deals?

KELLY: Yes, so there are deals out there. We saw some deals come through for Black Friday. But even if you want to get away for Christmas or New Year's, you've got to be flexible. So one of my favorite tools is Google Flights -- Google.com/flights. It's a free way to search for flights. They have a little tab called "explore" where you can put in your home airport and then say you're open to going anywhere in the Caribbean. You just want to get away for these certain dates. It will show you a map, or Europe, say. Europe's a great time over New Year's. Its off peak. Hotels are cheap. You can actually just put in your home airport or just put in anywhere, and it will show you a map of all the cheapest flights. So be flexible, that's how you find the deals these days.

And also, I'd be remiss to say use your frequent flier miles. There are still a lot of ways to use your points, even going to great places like Mexico or Paris for Christmas and New Year's.

WHITFIELD: Oh, cool. What's that app again.

KELLY: So Point.me is a site you can use that will allow you to use your points. It'll tell you how to use your points and what airlines are available.

[10:10:01]

And the other one is Google Flights is how you search for flights. But they have a little tab called "Explore", and that's where you want to put in your home airport, and you can just say Caribbean. It'll show you a map, and you can sniff out the cheapest fares.

WHITFIELD: Jotting that one down. I like that. All right, Brian Kelly willing to go anywhere on a moment's notice, that sounds fun. Thank you so much.

KELLY: That's not in an arctic freeze.

WHITFIELD: No, that's right, for some warmth.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: Have a great rest of your holiday weekend. Thank you so much.

All right, still ahead, a crucial meeting at Mar-a-Lago. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau breaking bread with Donald Trump just days after he promised massive tariffs on Canadian goods. What Trudeau said about that conversation.

Plus, Aleppo, Syria, under siege, rebel forces claiming control of the country's second largest city in a deadly offensive. What the sudden revival of civil war there means for the region.

And eight overtimes and a crazy comeback win. The wild rivalry showdown that is now the second longest game in college football history.

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[10:15:50]

WHITFIELD: All right, just days after President-elect Donald Trump warned Americas two biggest trading partners of new across the board tariffs, he met face to face with the leader of one of those countries. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida last night. The two had dinner, flanked by some of Trump's senior allies and cabinet picks.

CNN's Alayna Treene is in West Palm Beach near Mar-a-Lago. Alayna, good morning to you. So Trudeau is the first G7 leader to meet with Trump since the election. What more are you learning about their discussion?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: That's right. And we did get a glimpse of who was at that dinner and meeting with them. We saw Dave McCormick, the incoming Pennsylvania senator, recently elected. He was there at the table with his wife, Dina Powell. But we also saw some of other Donald Trump's picks for top administrative posts. We saw Howard Lutnick, one of his co-transition chairs, as well as Donald Trump's selection for to lead the Commerce Department. We also saw Mike Waltz, his selection for NSA director, and also some members of Trudeau's cabinet. Oh, and I left out Doug Burgum, Donald Trump's selection to lead the Interior Department.

But look, as you mentioned, Fred, this is a very important moment in their relationship. And it does come just days after Donald Trump had issued that threat to both Mexico and Canada, saying that on his first day in office, one of the first executive orders that he wants to sign would be a massive hike on tariffs -- in tariffs on goods coming from both Canada and Mexico. He threatened a 25 percent tariff and said that that was mainly if the countries did not do more to crack down on drugs and crime, and also more migrants coming over both the northern and southern borders.

Now, this is actually something that we heard the prime minister address yesterday in an unrelated press conference before he flew to Florida to meet with Donald Trump. Take a listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUSTIN TRUDEAU, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: One of the things that is really important to understand is that Donald Trump, when he makes statements like that, he plans on carrying them out. There is no question about it. Our responsibility is to point out that in this way, he would be actually not just harming Canadians who work so well with the United States. He would actually be raising prices for American citizens as well and hurting American industry and businesses.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

TREENE: Now, Fred, it's very clear that, you know, Donald Trump likes to have these meetings face to face. He always says that he is the best negotiator, that he can have any sort of deal be made in person. And I think part of this is, clearly, what's going to happen moving forward is whether or not -- a big question is whether or not Donald Trump will actually carry out on that threat. We know that Justin Trudeau, though, is taking it very seriously. Right after Donald Trump had issued that tariff threat, Trudeau and Donald Trump spoke, we reported. A source familiar with the call said that it was a productive conversation. And then this morning as well, we saw Trudeau leaving his hotel in West Palm Beach. Reporters, including our own CNN's Kit Maher, asked him how the meeting went. He said it was an excellent conversation but refused to say more than that. So we're staying tuned to learn more details on this. Fred?

WHITFIELD: All right, we look forward to that, too. Thank you so much, Alayna Treene.

All right, for more, let's bring in CNN political analyst and Princeton University History Professor Julian Zelizer. Julian, great to see you. So in his first term, Trump pushed through the U.S.- Mexico-Canada agreement to replace the NAFTA trade agreement. But now, as he's promising 25 percent tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods, also China, what is Trump attempting to gain right now by making these tariff threats, which most economists say will only raise prices for a lot of Americans?

JULIAN ZELIZER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, I think right now he's trying to use them as a threat before he's even taken office. He's trying to force negotiations, essentially, and extract promises from the prime minister, and I assume more discussions will be underway. Part of it is him asserting power. He, again, isn't president yet. So you have a two-presidents-at once phenomenon.

[10:20:00]

And simply by having the negotiations, by declaring the threat about day one, everyone is reminded of his looming presidency, but also right now he's taking up negotiation space when Biden is still in office.

WHITFIELD: And this makes it rather unique. It is one sitting president at a time, but you know Donald Trump is getting a lot of attention. He's making sure he's getting a lot of attention about what it is he plans to do, not just with his cabinet picks, but in terms of policy. Can you recall another president who has taken this kind of step? He did do so during his first term, ahead of his first term as well. But he hasn't even been sworn in, and you've got the Canadian prime minister, who is having face time with him. We know that he's been on the phone with the Mexican president and Ukraine's president. How unique is this?

ZELIZER: Well, this is an issue that happens before. There were tensions, for example, between Herbert Hoover as he was leaving office in his final months and FDR as the depression was taking place. FDR would not cooperate with Hoover in trying to essentially save what he could for the administration. Dwight Eisenhower in 1953, as president- elect, meets with Winston Churchill.

And traditionally the State Department guides conversations, short conversations between president-elects and foreign leaders. And one other example is Jimmy Carter in 1980 was very critical of Reagan before Reagan took office.

But like everything else, it's scale and scope. The president-elect Donald Trump does it louder. He does it more aggressively, and he does it more visibly without restraint or guardrails compared to some of those other examples.

WHITFIELD: President Biden also weighing in, you know, as he finishes out his term in the White House. This is what he had to say about Trump's tariff plans this week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I hope he rethinks them. I think it's a counterproductive thing to do. You know, look, one of the things you've heard me say before is that we have an unusual situation in America. We're surrounded by the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, and two allies, Mexico and Canada. And the last thing we need to do is begin to screw up those relationships.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And reportedly, Biden has said he plans to have at least one more meeting with the president-elect, having made that statement, also seeing them at the White House not so long ago. Does this make for an even more awkward, I guess, transition?

ZELIZER: Yes, it will be awkward, but at least it's happening smoothly. And I think the president is trying to provide whatever guidance he can for what he knows will be a very different kind of presidency, and any advice, any words of wisdom he is hoping somehow reach him. And I think at the same time, the president-elect has this moment, he's using the threat to not have to implement the tariffs, so he's making a big bet. And these conversations are all going to happen in the next few weeks, all at the same time. And history is unpredictable, so we'll see how this unfolds.

WHITFIELD: All right, and you'll let us know as history unfolds. Julian Zelizer, great to see you. Thank you so much, and have a great rest of your holiday weekend.

All right, still ahead, we're following breaking news out of the Middle East where Syrian rebels have taken control of most of the country's second largest city.

Plus, a dire new warning from the World Health Organization on the worsening crisis in Gaza.

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[10:28:12]

WHITFIELD: We have breaking news out of the Middle East. Syrian rebels have taken control of most of the country's second largest city of Aleppo in a surprise attack. Video shows rebel fighters celebrating in the city's streets. Government forces now appear to be retaliating with an airstrike today. The rebel assault is reigniting a conflict that has largely been dormant for years.

CNN's Ben Wedeman is following the developments. Ben, do we know what may have triggered this offensive?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, this offensive only began on Wednesday, Fredricka, and what we do know is that over the last year-and-a-half or so, the situation on the ground in northern Syria has changed. For one thing, preceding that, of course, the Russians intervened in this Syrian civil war in September of 2015, providing sort of critical air support and ground support to the Syrian regime.

However, as a result of the Ukraine war, they did reduce their presence in Syria. At the same time, starting, going back to October of last year, Hezbollah, which also intervened to help the regime in Damascus during the civil war, it had provided thousands of crack, sort of elite, well-trained, well-disciplined fighters to help the regime. They went back to Lebanon, for the most part, as a result of the war with Israel.

And of course, Iran, which also provided weaponry and advisors to the Syrian government, Iranian forces in Syria have been repeatedly struck by the Israelis as well.

[10:30:00]

Therefore, the three main backers for the Syrian government have either simply gone or are much diminished in terms of their presence in the country. And in the meantime, these rebel factions, which in the past had been quite divided, oftentimes fighting among themselves, seem to have settled their differences, at least temporarily.

And one of those, the major faction of this rebel coalition, is a group that used to be affiliated with Al-Qaeda, although it has distanced itself in recent years from that ideology. Nonetheless, they clearly prepared for this. They saw that perhaps now the moment is right, and made this move on Aleppo, a move that really can -- the only description really is a lightning offensive. They very quickly have taken dozens and dozens of villages to the west of Aleppo. And yesterday morning we were reporting about them approaching the western outskirts. Now what we're seeing in terms, with sometimes live video from there, is that they've gotten all the way to the center of the city. In the last few hours, it appears they've taken over Aleppo's international airport as well. So this has been a shock for the Syrian government, definitely, but many observers of the situation in Syria who simply did not see this coming, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Ben Wedeman, thank you so much.

Three employees of the aid group World Central Kitchen were killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza earlier today, according to Palestinian health officials. The IDF says the vehicle they struck was unmarked and carried a terrorist who took part in the October 7th massacre. This is not the first time the nonprofit aid group, led by chef Jose Andres, has been attacked by the Israeli military. In April, seven aid workers, including foreign nationals from the World Central Kitchen were killed in an Israeli strike as they were delivering food to starving civilians in Gaza.

And as hunger continues to mount during Israel's ongoing intense military operation in the north of the enclave, aid agencies have warned that people there are on the brink of famine. Three Palestinians were crushed to death on Friday while in line outside a bakery in central Gaza, according to Palestinian hospital officials. CNN's Jeremy Diamond has details.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: In this ocean of desperation, a crush of bodies pressed against one another, heaved towards the same goal, a loaf of bread to survive. Wave after wave of distraught Palestinians at this bakery in central Gaza fighting to feed themselves and their families before the day's bread runs out. Amid the shrieks and shoves, one girl clutches her precious cargo, struggling to keep her head above water.

Inside the bakery, a vignette into the chaos outside. "My hand, my hand!" This woman shouts as her hijab is ripped from her head. "Uncle, please!" another girl shouts, struggling for air. "Take the money, please. I beg you!" But she is slowly being crushed by the crowd.

(SCREAMING)

DIAMOND: Outside the bakery, the scale of the desperation becomes apparent. And this is just one bakery. "The suffering here is unimaginable," Karam (ph) Afana (ph) says, "I've been standing for four hours trying to get a single loaf of bread. Four hours, and I still can't bring bread home." For those who left emptyhanded, there is nothing but uncertainty ahead. The World Food Program says all its bakeries in central Gaza have now temporarily shut down due to a lack of humanitarian aid entering the strip.

For this woman's niece, it is already too late. "What is the crime of this child? She is only 13 years old. Why did she have to go to a bakery and stand in this crowd?" Zina (ph) was one of three people killed while trying to buy bread at that same Gaza bakery, crushed by the desperate crowd. "Our bread is soaked in blood," the father of another victim says. "Where did she go? How did she get in? How did she leave? I don't know. I only found her when they brought her out dead," he says.

[10:35:00]

He simply cannot comprehend how his daughter could die while trying to buy bread.

Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Tel Aviv.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

WHITFIELD: Cucumbers distributed to more than two dozen states and Canada are being recalled after nearly 70 cases of reported salmonella infections.

[10:40:00]

Health agencies are warning that the contaminated cucumbers may still be in people's refrigerators and should not be eaten. Sunfed Produce announced this week that it's recalling whole fresh cucumbers sent to food service and retail outlets. And they were sold from October 12th through November 26th in 26 U.S. states and Canada. The recalled cucumbers should be thrown out or destroyed and should not be eaten.

Investigators are trying to figure out, meantime, how a stowaway passenger managed to board a plane and fly from New York to Paris this week. The woman somehow got past multiple security checkpoints with no boarding pass, and apparently hid in the aircraft's restrooms during the flight.

CNN's Polo Sandoval has details.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this case is both puzzling, as it is alarming, given the potential security failure here, as authorities try to find out exactly what went wrong. Federal officials, specifically the TSA, confirming that this stowaway passenger was in her mid to late 50s. She had no boarding pass for this flight this past Tuesday that originated at JFK headed to Paris, had cleared one security checkpoint, but then bypassed two subsequent I.D. verification stations. The TSA saying that she was a Russian passport holder and also held a U.S. green card.

And she also failed to secure asylum in France after she applied for that several years ago, which may potentially speak to a possible motive in terms of why she wanted to head to Paris in the first place. The TSA conducting its own investigation right now along with Delta Airlines. In a statement to CNN, a spokesperson said, "Nothing is of greater importance than matters of safety and security. That's why Delta is conducting an exhaustive investigation of what may have occurred and will work collaboratively with other aviation stakeholders and law enforcement to that end."

Rob Jackson, who was a passenger aboard that flight telling CNN that there were no empty seats aboard that flight, that he overheard the crew discussing how the stowaway was able to hide in one lavatory board and then moved to others during the flight before. She was ultimately caught by the crew. CNN has reached out to the FBI and Customs and Border Protection for further comment.

Polo Sandoval, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

WHITFIELD: And voila, Notre Dame is back. Coming up, an incredible glimpse at the newly restored cathedral five years after it was consumed by a devastating fire.

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[10:47:13]

WHITFIELD: We're getting a stunning look at the restored Notre Dame Cathedral. The work is finally complete more than five years after a devastating fire almost destroyed the Parisian icon. CNN's Melissa Bell takes us inside.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: 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 rebaptized," 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 it's 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 Chapel, one of 29 chapels that have been lovingly restored.

Viewing the 12-meterwide 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 it's 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.

The scaffolding on the outside speaks to the work that's yet to be done. 2030 will be the actual date of completion for the full restoration of the cathedral, but what we will see is from December 8th, it will once again be open to the public and the many millions who watched it with such a heavy heart burn that dreadful night of April 2019 will once again be able to get inside.

[10:50:04]

Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

WHITFIELD: Coming up, one of the world's biggest collections of African butterflies needs a new home, more than 4 million of them. The catch? You have to take them all.

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[14:55:00]

WHITFIELD: One of the biggest rivalry games in college football exceeded expectations in a late-night thriller on Friday night. In the end, it took more than four-and-a-half hours and eight overtimes before a winner was finally declared between Georgia and Georgia Tech.

CNN's Carolyn Manno joins us now with more on this instant classic.

CAROLYN MANNO, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, you could not ask for a better way to kick off rivalry week on college football's final regular season weekend. Perhaps the game of the entire year, the seventh ranked Georgia Bulldogs playing their in-state rival Georgia Tech, and Haynes King and the Yellow Jackets came to play. The junior quarterback had five touchdowns, two through the air, three more on the ground, and his last one put tech up by 14 with around five minutes to go, sending Bulldogs fans to the exits.

They should have stuck around. After a Georgia touchdown cuts it in half, King gets lit up by Dan Jackson, forcing the fumble. And it is Bulldogs' ball, and UGA would capitalize on that. Carson Beck finding Dominic Lovett for the score with a minute to go, their second down the stretch, tying it up, forcing overtime.

And it didn't just go to overtime or two overtimes or even five overtimes. This game went to eight overtimes, the second longest game in college football history. But there would be no upset in Athens last night. Running back Nate Frazier finally punching home the winning score as Georgia survives 44 to 42. The schools and the fans may refer to this game's rivalry as quote, clean, old-fashioned hate. But Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart offered nothing but respect afterwards.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KIRBY SMART, GEORGIA BULLDOGS HEAD COACH: No matter what anybody says, you know, publicly there's a mutual respect from me for the way, the physicality with which they play the game with. But our seniors, our team, our leadership, they don't flinch, and they find a way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MANNO: Hopefully for college football fans, that is just a taste of what is to come on this final Saturday of the regular season. Plenty of rivalry games today, all sorts of playoff implications. And Fred, who knows? Maybe there will be even more chaos than what we've seen already by the time the committee decides who, in fact, will make it into this year's playoffs next Sunday. Back to you.

WHITFIELD: It's going to be a nailbiter. All right Carolyn Manno, thank you so much.

All right, he's built a remarkable collection of preserved butterflies from across Africa. But now that private collector in Kenya is hoping that could possibly be the world's largest private collection can take flight and continue to grow with the help of another lepidopterist, a lover of butterflies. Here's CNN's Larry Madowo.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

STEVE COLLINS, BUTTERFLY COLLECTOR: 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 CORRESPONDENT: 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 is there.

MADOWO: He traps, documents, and then releases butterflies here every day.

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

MADOWO: Oh, my goodness.

COLLINS: This is the white banded emperor. There she is with her tongue feeding on my finger. MADOWO: But it is Collins's collection of preserved butterflies which

is most remarkable.

This is massive.

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

MADOWO: In total, Collins has over 4 million specimens from across Africa, including 1.2 million pinned in cases like these.

This is a very expensive hobby.

Now, in his 70s and running out of space and money to maintain the collection, he is trying to find it a new home.

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.

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: 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.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, a beautiful one.

MADOWO: How do I hold it? Do I just --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can just hold it like this or --

MADOWO: Collins's assistant, Edgar Emajon, walks me through the pinning process.

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

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. No, no, this one is dead already.

MADOWO: Oh, that was fast. It's clearly painstaking work.

So you have to be gentle not to break the wing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

MADOWO: Collins thinks his most valuable butterfly is worth $8,000.

Where is it?

COLLINS: I won't show you because, you know what?

(LAUGHTER)

COLLINS: Of course, if somebody says that oh, well, that's worth $8,000. So it disappears.

MADOWO: He still maintains he is just an enthusiastic hobbyist, despite the fact he's written eight books and publishes --