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One World with Zain Asher

Syrian Rebels Launch Attack On regime Forces In Aleppo; New Accusations Of Violations By Israel And Hezbollah; Putin Threatens To Use New Ballistic Missile In Ukraine Again; Macron Tours Notre Dame Ahead Of Official Reopening; Ghana Scientists Studying Possible Impact Of Illegal Mining; Five Democratic Lawmakers In U.S. Targeted With Bomb Threats; Trump And Mexican President Speak By Phone After Tariff Threats; Aired 12:00- 1:00p ET

Aired November 29, 2024 - 12:00   ET

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

[12:00:34]

ZAIN ASHER, CNN ANCHOR: All Right. Coming to you live from New York, I am Zain Asher. Bianna is off today. You are watching ONE WORLD.

We begin with major developments in Syria, where a largely dormant conflict is in fact, reigniting. Armed Syrian rebels entered the country's second

largest city for the first time in years, just days after launching a surprise attack.

A video geolocated by CNN shows a rebel fighter recording as he drives through Aleppo. A newly formed rebel umbrella coalition launched a major

attack this week.

Analysts say that Syria's opposition forces appear to be exploiting a power vacuum left by a weakened Hezbollah. The rebels in Bashar al-Assad's regime

had agreed to a ceasefire mediated by Russia and Turkey back in March 2020.

Now, the Kremlin is calling on Syria to restore order. CNN's Ben Wedeman has spent a considerable amount of time on the ground in Syria, covering

the civil war. He joins us live now.

So, Ben, Aleppo's, of course, serious second largest city. It is a major industrial hub. This would be a major win for the opposition forces, if

indeed they were able to retake it. What more can you tell us?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. It would be a major win for the rebels and a serious blow to the regime of Bashar al-

Assad. The regime was able to retake Aleppo from the rebels completely back at the end of 2016.

And since then, their control was pretty firm of the city. There has been some reconstruction. But now, basically, since Wednesday, this rebel

coalition, which includes the once al-Qaeda affiliated Hay'at Tahrir al- Sham, as well as Turkish-backed remnants of the Free Syrian Army, has since Wednesday managed to take, according to their count, at least 66 villages

in the western part of Aleppo Province and have now entered western suburbs of the city itself.

Some of those areas in the city that have never fallen to the rebels are now under rebel control.

Now, the army put out a statement saying that it's dealing with a major offensive and that it is, and I'll read the statement here, that they're

reinforcing all locations along various battlefronts.

But keep in mind that until the last 24 to 48 hours, there were no battle fronts in Aleppo itself. And we're hearing from residents of Aleppo that

they are seeing regime forces retreating from some western parts of the city.

Now, this comes at a time when the regime of Bashar al-Assad is seriously weakened and exposed. Hezbollah had sent thousands of fighters to Syria

during the civil war to bolster the regime, as well as Iran, which send advisors and others to help the regime.

And of course, in September 2015, Russia provided ground and air forces to help the regime fight the rebels and fight them to a standstill in 2020.

There was that agreement worked out between Russia and Turkey for essentially a ceasefire in the north. But since then, of course, Hezbollah

has been severely battered by Israel, essentially decapitated. It pulled almost all of its forces out of Syria.

Iran has also suffered a series of blows from Israel. And, of course, over the last few days, we've heard -- we've seen in Iranian media that a

brigadier general for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was killed in Aleppo.

And finally, Russia, which was such an important backer for the regime, of course, is distracted by its war in Ukraine.

So basically, the main fighting force at this point in Syria is the Syrian army itself, which having, you know, talked to people with Hezbollah, who

had seen action in Syria. They didn't have a very high opinion of the Syrian army, which is considered, has very low morale, poor leadership. And

under the pressure of this rebel onslaught does seem to be slowly falling apart.

[12:05:04]

So this is a definitely significant development in the Syrian civil war. That, of course, it's been going on since the beginning of 2011.

ASHER: Yes. So, Ben, with a weakened Hezbollah, with Iran now focused on domestic issues, with Russia, of course, focused on the war in Ukraine, you

know, the Syrian armed forces just walk us through what they do. How do they -- where do they go from here? Do they have the power and the ability

to actually curtail this kind of breach?

WEDEMAN: Well, that has yet to be seen now. There are still Russian forces in Syria, in Northern Syria. And we understand from rebels -- the rebels

claim that, for instance, there was an air raid on the city of Idlib, which is adjacent as to the east of, rather, the west of Aleppo, that they do

have, for instance, air power that the rebels don't have. And they have significant artillery resources, which they've been using as well.

But it does appear that the Syrian government forces are struggling to try to deal with this surprise attack, which really just came out of the blue.

It took the Syrian government forces completely by surprise.

And until now, we're not seeing any significant counter-offensive by the Syrian government forces or by the Russians or anyone else.

So we'll have to see how this plays out, whether the entirety of the city of Aleppo is going to fall to the rebels. That would be a serious blow to a

Syrian regime that already is struggling to try to maintain control over parts of Syria.

Keeping in mind, of course, that you have Turkish forces, American forces. You have remnants of ISIS in Syria. You have the Kurdish autonomous region

in the northeast. So this is a government that, even in the best of times in recent years, has been fragile. And, of course, now it's facing pressure

it hasn't seen in quite some time. Zain.

ASHER: All right. Ben-Wedeman, live for us there. Thank you so much.

All right. A fragile Israeli-Hezbollah ceasefire appears to be largely holding, although both sides are accusing the other of violations. Those

displaced Lebanese try to head home. The IDF is warning residents in some 70 southern villages against returning for now.

But the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza who have been displaced multiple times, the arrival of winter weather is bringing yet

more misery.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LOUISE WATERIDGE, SENIOR EMERGENCY OFFICER, UNRWA: One of the biggest risks right now is the weather. Another component to kill people here. The wind

and the rain is picking up. And people are living in these very, very dangerous structures. A lot of the ceilings are collapsing. A lot of the

walls don't exist. And because people have nowhere else to shelter, they are in these structures trying to find some kind of relief from the cold

and the rain.

But, of course, this bad weather could bring these buildings down on top of people. So the misery certainly continues across the Gaza Strip. And that's

all we keep seeing here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: And there's no end in sight to their suffering, the Israeli Prime Minister says.

He's not ready to end the war in Gaza until Hamas is eliminated.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond joins us live now from Tel Aviv's Israel.

So, Jeremy, let's start by talking about the ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel. Both sides obviously accusing each other of violations. I mean,

we knew that the ceasefire was going to be quite fragile. I guess the question is, will it hold?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, it is so far, despite the fact that violations are being claimed on both sides. And the Israeli

military is stating very clearly that it is carrying out military actions to, in its words, enforce this ceasefire. And that is indeed one of the

risks inherent in the way in which Israel is approaching this ceasefire is that they have maintained and they have insisted that they would not have

agreed to this ceasefire if they did not maintain their freedom of action inside of Lebanon to thwart any imminent threats from Hezbollah or to go

after Hezbollah for violating the ceasefire itself.

Just in the last hour or so, the Israeli military has confirmed that it carried out yet another airstrike in Southern Lebanon. This is the third

known Israeli airstrike since the ceasefire started inside of Lebanon.

This time, they say that they targeted a portable rocket launcher, a vehicle that was moving that could also fire rockets, and they destroyed

that truck. The Lebanese army is describing these Israeli attacks as violations of this ceasefire. And so we are in quite a tenuous position.

[12:10:00]

There is no indication, for now, that Hezbollah wants to call off this ceasefire. We heard from the Hezbollah leader, Naim Qassem, who was talking

about a divine victory, you know, kind of trying to frame this ceasefire in victorious terms.

And part of that is because Hezbollah is so weakened that it much prefers a ceasefire at the moment to all-out war with Israel.

So it may very well be that they turn the cheek when it comes to these Israeli attacks that have happened quite sporadically over the course of

the last few days.

But make no mistake, the Israeli government, the Israeli military, will continue to take these actions. I spoke with a senior Israeli official just

yesterday who made that very clear. And it's partly because they want to send a message to Hezbollah that they will not be able to rebuild their

military infrastructure in Southern Lebanon in the way that they did after the 2006 ceasefire.

And the other part of it is political messaging here in Israel to those in Northern Israel who have been incredibly skeptical of the ceasefire

agreement. Israel wants to prove to them that they can and will enforce the steal.

ASHER: All right. Jeremy Diamond, live for us there. Thank you so much.

Russia has reigned another wave of intense attacks across Ukraine. The Ukrainian Air Force says it shot down most of the 130 drones Russia

launched overnight, which injured several people.

This week, Russian drones have been targeting critical Ukrainian energy sites. Thursday's assault knocked out power to more than a million homes.

Fred Pleitgen has details from Moscow.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The Kremlin continuing to criticize the Biden administration after the White House came

out with a statement calling that big aerial attack by the Russians using drones and missiles from Thursday outrageous.

The Kremlin saying that that big attack was a direct response to the Biden administration, allowing the Ukrainians to use those U.S. supplied ATACMS,

surface-to-surface missiles, to strike targets deep inside Russia.

Of course, both the Russians and the Ukrainians have confirmed that targets were struck in the western regions of Russia using attack ATACMS surface-

to-surface missiles. At the same time, the Russians definitely ramping up their aerial campaign against targets within Ukraine.

The Ukrainian saying that in the early morning hours of Friday, the Russians launched about 130 strike drones towards Ukrainian territory.

The Ukrainians are saying they managed to take a lot of those drones down. At the same time, they do acknowledge that there was damage caused,

especially in the town of Odessa, but also in Kyiv as well.

However, the big thing that the Russians are talking about, that Russian state media is talking about, that the Kremlin is talking about is Russia's

new gigantic intermediate range multiple warhead ballistic missile called Oreshnik.

In fact, Vladimir Putin came out and said that that missile could have a devastating effect on any sort of positions that the Ukrainians would have

on the ground.

And he said several of those weapons paired together could actually cause an explosion that is almost the size of a nuclear weapon.

So the Russians definitely very much threatening. The Ukrainians, of course, trying to dissuade them from continuing to use those U.S. and U.K.

supplied weapons to strike deep into Russia.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ASHER: All right. Still to come on ONE WORLD. A burst of color and emotion is one of the world's most fabulous, or famous as well, cultural icons

comes back to life. Why the French president got emotional as he toured the newly restored Notre Dame Cathedral.

Plus, in his first term, Donald Trump once claimed a phone call he made to Ukraine's president was a quote, perfect call. Now, Mexico's president is

refuting what Trump claims she agreed to during their phone competition this week. We're trying to sort it out in a live report, straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:15:25]

ASHER: Today, the world is getting its first glimpse of the newly resurrected Gothic Marvel, that is the Notre Dame Cathedral. It officially

reopens on December 7th. The nearly 900-year-old icon, not only sits in the heart of Paris, but also in the heart and soul of France itself. And today,

it is literally back from the ashes after a catastrophic fire that engulfed it in 2019.

Earlier a crowd outside burst into spontaneous applause for the more than 1,300 restoration workers as they streamed into the cathedral. That's where

an emotional French president told them, quote, you have transformed ashes into art.

CNN's Melissa Bell is live for us in Paris where she's been watching what President Macron calls the unveiling.

I mean, Melissa, we all remember those horrific images from five years ago seeing such a beautiful Parisian icon literally engulfed in flames. I mean

just walking through what it's like inside now. I understand the interior is breathtaking.

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Breathtaking is exactly the word. You are really talking as you mentioned a moment ago,

Zain, about one of the great medieval architectural wonders of the world. In fact, probably the world's most famous cathedral.

And so we stood right here in horror five years ago watching those flames engulfed. There had been so many questions that night and in the days that

followed about -- followed about whether the cathedral itself would continue to stand.

It took two years just to ensure that it's stabilized and to keep it standing. The rest was devoted to the intricate refurbishment of the

inside. Today, we got a sneak peek.

(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 horrors, Notre Dame's 96-meter spire tumbled into the church during the 2019 blaze.

Now, its renaissance is complete. During 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.

[12:20:12]

EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT (through translator): 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.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BELL: It has been rebuilt. It is now pristine inside and really worth the visit, Zain. You'll remember if you've had a chance to go inside the

cathedral before the blaze and before it was closed off that sense that you had of its size, but also of its darkness.

These were walls that had been marked by centuries of worship and crowds and candles and smoke.

Going in there today, you really had a sense of wonder at the fact that 900 years ago, this cathedral should have been built, that it should have stood

all these years and that it should now have been restored to what it must have been a few centuries ago, gleaming, clean. Its woodwork and its paint

restored once again.

It is an extraordinary feast and one that -- many people have said simply couldn't be achieved within five years, Zain.

ASHER: I mean, absolutely magical, breathtaking. I mean, the fact that Emmanuel Macron did say that we are going to build this thing better than

it was before and he achieved exactly that, is remarkable.

Melissa Bell, live for us there. Thank you so much.

Time now for the exchange where we do a deep dive into a major story that we are covering. And today, I'm joined by Will Wallace-Gusakov. He's a

Vermont-based carpenter who worked on the restoration of the Notre Dame Cathedral and is a member of Carpenters without Borders. He joins us live

now from Lincoln, Vermont.

Will, thank you so much for being with us. I'm so excited to talk to you because, yes, you're American, but because you work with Charpentiers sans

Frontieres, Carpenters without Borders, you got to actually work on restoring the famous, iconic, Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.

Just explain to us what that process was like for you as a carpenter and what sort of woodworking techniques you actually employed to help rebuild

parts of the cathedral.

WILL WALLACE-GUSAKOV, CARPENTER WHO WORKED ON NOTRE DAME RESTORATION: Sure. Thank you, Zain. It's a pleasure to be here.

And, yes, it was surreal and kind of something I would never have dared to dream to be part of the team that was rebuilding such an iconic building,

iconic around the world, iconic among carpenters and all who are involved in the restoration trades.

And thanks to being part of Charpentiers sans Frontieres, Carpenters without Borders, for some years, a kind of group of folks in France and

around the world who are very passionate about these heritage kind of ancient techniques for carpentry, really got involved in the years

following the fire with some of the architects and decision-makers in France and doing demonstration projects to help prove to the public as well

as the French government and other decision-makers that these techniques and tools and skills were still alive and still available and could be re-

employed to rebuild the cathedral much as it had been built in the -- in the 12th and 13th centuries.

ASHER: I mean, this was obviously a huge undertaking, right? And that there were a lot of carpenters involved in this. All of you guys had to work

together.

I understand that you worked on the nave roof frame along with 20 other carpenters. Just explain to us what that was like and what processes were

involved in that.

WALLACE-GUSAKOV: Yes, absolutely. Yes. I was very lucky to be working with my friends in Normandy and their company at Ateliers Desmonts. And we were

tasked with recreating, rebuilding the nave frame, which is a very large piece of carpentry, although in the context of the entire cathedral, it

just looks like part of the roof system.

But, yes, we had hundreds upon hundreds of very large oak logs arriving at our workshop. And we were actually tasked with hand-hewing the beams, which

is as they would have been converted from logs into square timbers in centuries past and including when the cathedral was built.

So we're using axes, various types of axes that were actually custom designed and made just for this project to match tool marks that were found

contemporary architecture around Paris, including finishing with broad axes.

So we accrue of about 20 to 25 of us, spent months and months doing nothing but hewing logs into beams with axes and then -- and then started the kind

of joinery process where we presented the beams one to the other and marked out where the cuts would be made and fitted them all together with a

joinery called mortise and tenon.

And recreated this incredibly complex frame, complex, not just as it was originally designed, but we were also recreating any historically attested

idiosyncrasies of the frame of which there were many, many, many. So basically every piece was different from every other piece.

[12:25:03]

ASHER: I mean, it sounds like an enormous undertaking.

Just in terms of how the cathedral looks now compared to how it looked before April 2019. I mean, President Emmanuel Macron did say when the --

when the cathedral wasn't got inflamed, he did say, listen, we are going to build this back better. It's going to be even more beautiful than it was

before. And just speaking to our reporter, Melissa Bell in Paris, she says that he absolutely achieved that.

Just explain to us the differences between what the cathedral looks like now and what it did look like five years ago.

WALLACE-GUSAKOV: Sure. Yes. I mean, I think mostly everything has been -- has been restored. Everything has been cleaned. Everything has been -- you

know, the last major restoration had taken place in the middle of the 19th century around 1850.

And so it had been quite some time before a major restoration was undertaken. So, you know, much less rebuilding from ashes, everything from

the roof line up as well as major smoke damage.

But even before that, things had somewhat fallen into a little disrepair or were dirty, et cetera. So all the painting, all the stained glass, all of

the stonework has been completely restored and cleaned and is -- and is gleaming brilliantly. And then, of course, the carpentry and the roofing,

et cetera, was completely rebuilt, recreated.

ASHER: I mean, utterly remarkable. Congratulations on a -- on a job well done, as they say.

Will Wallace-Gusakov, thank you so much for being with us. We appreciate it.

WALLACE-GUSAKOV: Thank you. It's a pleasure.

ASHER: All right. Gold prices have broken record after record this year. 2024 has seen a 30 percent increase in price. The West African nation of

Ghana has the largest -- is the largest gold producer in Africa.

A boom in a legal small scale mining has local's fearing its impact on their health. As part of CNN's As Equals series, Larry Madowo explores the

potentially devastating impact of Ghana's gold rush.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The sound of the gold rush in Ghana, where a multi-billion-dollar industry gets around 40 percent of its

gold production from small scale mining. But people here are raising the alarm over potentially devastating consequences.

MADOWO: This is the reality of the environmental catastrophe that is galamsey, illegal gold mining. So much of the land is dug up and destroyed

hoping to strike gold. And this water makes its way right back into communities that have no alternative.

MADOWO (voice-over): Locals, including female miners, here in Western Ghana, fear the brown, murky water that now flows in these rivers, is

contaminated by the mining process. They believe it is poisoning them and their unborn children.

MADOWO: Do you drink that water?

DIANA AGYEIWAA, SAMREBOI RESIDENT: No, seriously, no, because I fear for my life. I fear that if I give that water to her, she may die.

MADOWO (voice-over): Diana Agyeiwaa says, other mothers and babies in the community have been affected.

AGYEIWAA: I met one woman when she delivered the baby, the nose was somehow half. I've seen a lot of deformities on babies.

MADOWO (voice-over): Scientists in Ghana have begun studying the potential impact of illegal small-scale mining on maternal health. No definitive

links have been found.

But across the world, the impact of heavy metals, such as mercury used in mining, on maternal health, have been documented by scientists.

MADOWO: When you measured the concentration of heavy metals within these fetuses, what did you find?

LAWRENCE AGYEMANG, MEDICAL OFFICER, KOMFO ANOKYE TEACHING HOSPITAL: We found enormous numbers of these heavy metals, including mercury, lead,

arsenic, cadmium.

MADOWO: And what is the effect of the heavy metals on the actual fetuses?

AGYEMANG: Bad. We saw very bad presentations with babies with gross abnormalities like shrunken head.

MADOWO (voice-over): The World Health Organization says exposure to mercury, even small amounts, may cause serious health problems and is a

threat to development of the child.

But in Ghana, miners like Sarah Akosua (ph), who wears plastic in an attempt to protect herself, say there's no other option to earn a living.

I know very well that the chemicals can be very harmful, but we don't have a choice, she says. We have to force and keep up with what we're doing.

When you get sick, you go to the hospital, get medication, and then you come back and continue with the work. Because when you stop, there's

nothing for you to do.

And thanks to an increase in the price of gold, the economic benefits are clear.

[12:30:01]

MADOWO: How much was this gold you just bought?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three thousand three hundred.

MADOWO (voice-over): That's about 200 U.S. dollars.

MADOWO: And it's very tiny.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

MADOWO: Where did you get it from?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I get it from galamsey.

MADOWO (voice-over): Protests over the illegal mining have called out the harmful impact on the water supplies' millions dependent. The government

says, it is working on solutions, including teaching safer mining practices, providing mercury free processing machines and alternative

livelihoods.

MARTIN KWAKU AYISI, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, MINERALS COMMISSION OF GHANA: These are things that will not be, you know, achieved overnight.

MADOWO (voice-over): The CEO of Ghana's Minerals Commission agrees there is a problem.

AYISI: A lot of work has been done by our scientists. They've taken samples from some of these water bodies, and there's that report that, yes, heavy

metals are all over the place.

MADOWO (voice-over): Ghana's military was deployed recently to shut down illegal mines, but the task is immense. Mining used to legally take place

in about five regions. It's now in about 13, he says.

AYISI: So, it's part of our deal. It's like coffee or tea in Kenya. We've been mining over these years.

MADOWO (voice-over): But the scientists leading the research into the impact on women and children told CNN, Ghana faces an existential threat if

illegal mining, at this scale, continues.

MADOWO: The extent of illegal gold mining in Ghana or galamsey, as it's called, is so great that security services can't stop it. They are digging

up almost everywhere hoping to strike gold.

The environmental devastation speaks for itself. It's chilling. But the impact on maternal health on women, that is only starting to be studied

now. But the early results are concerning to researchers, to scientists, and they say something has to be done urgently.

Larry Madowo, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ASHER: That was Larry Madowo reporting from Ghana for CNN As Equals.

We'll be right back with more.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:35:08]

ASHER: Welcome back to ONE WORLD, I'm Zain Asher.

Herein the U.S., at least five democratic lawmakers say they were targeted with bomb threats on Thursday's Thanksgiving holiday.

The threats were made against these lawmakers, specifically from Connecticut, including Senator Chris Murphy and Congressman Jim Himes. The

top ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee.

Law enforcement says there is no evidence of actual bombs and all of those who are threatened are safe.

These comes after several of Donald Trump's administration picks were targeted with similar threats earlier this week.

CNN's Zachary Cohen joins us live now from Washington. Zachary, what more can you tell us?

ZACHARY COHEN, NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yes, Zain. At least five Democrats from Connecticut now say that they were threatened with a bomb

threat on Thanksgiving.

And the latest is Senator Chris Murphy, who you mentioned, whose -- and whose spokesperson tells me that it appears that he was targeted as what --

in part of what appears to be a coordinated, quote, coordinated effort involving several members of Congress and public figures of a variety of

kinds.

Now, we don't know exactly what that coordination, that part of that statement, the coordination part really refers to, but we know Murphy has

described a similar encounter to the -- his four House colleagues from Connecticut who similarly received a bomb threat on Thanksgiving morning.

All four members of the House, Joe Courtney, Jim Himes, John Larson, and Jahana Hayes, all saying that they were notified by law enforcement of a

bomb threat.

Law enforcement ultimately did investigate those threats and determine that there wasn't any evidence of a bomb, but still this does underscore what is

a growing concern for law enforcement officials about various threatening activities, including bomb threats, including these swatting incidents that

we've seen where law enforcement is essentially -- the goal is to get law enforcement to show up to a particular location.

But all of these are an effort to try to intimidate government officials, but also try to inhibit government operations, including Election Day

voting. We saw several bomb threats at polling locations on election day here in the U.S. just earlier this month, and that raised similar concerns.

Now, these threats against lawmakers in Connecticut, specifically, are coming as the federal law enforcement are also dealing with similar threats

that were sent to several members of Trump's would-be cabinet, cabinet- level nominees, people like at very high-ranking national security jobs even who received similar bomb threats just one day prior to this latest

batch.

It remains to be seen if there is any connection to the two, but Senator Murphy is suggesting that there could be some coordination between the five

that we know about that were sent on Thanksgiving Day.

ASHER: All right. Zachary Cohen, live for us there. Thank you.

All right. Mexico's president is denying that she agreed to shut down the U.S.-Mexico border. Claudia Sheinbaum spoke with Mr. Trump by phone on

Wednesday. On his Truth Social site, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said that Sheinbaum did propose stopping migration, which he calls effectively

closing the border.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLAUDIA SHEINBAUM, 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)

ASHER: Trump has vowed to impose a 25 percent tariff on goods from Mexico until it combats the crime and drugs that he contends are flowing into the

U.S.

Joining me live now is CNN's Alayna Treene.

So Donald Trump is insisting that Mexico's president essentially said that she would stop all migration from Mexico into the United States, which

would actually be quite some promise, Alayna. But she's saying that she never said that.

What is she saying instead? What is she saying that she did say?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: Right. And I do want to just say, I mean, it's remarkable to see the different chasm between these two and the distance

between these two. Both sides have described that phone call as being relatively positive, as being cordial.

But then, of course, we're now seeing they walked away with very different impressions of what was said. I'm going to read for you more. I know you

played some of what President Sheinbaum had said, but I'm going to read for you more of her statement.

She said, quote, in our conversation with President Trump, I explained to him the comprehensive strategy that Mexico has followed to address the

migration phenomenon, respecting human rights.

Her statement went on to say, we reiterate that Mexico's position is not to close borders, but to build bridges between governments and between people.

So again, this is a very important flashpoint, I think, in these two relationships, particularly with what we know Donald Trump has vowed to do

throughout his time on the campaign trail, which is to really crack down on crime and immigration on the southern border.

Now, we also know that Donald Trump and his team have been floating, bringing back a policy informally known as the Remain in Mexico policy that

would require migrants in Mexico to stay in Mexico while they go through the asylum process and try to seek immigration status in this country.

[12:40:09]

So there's going to be a lot of talks, I think, between Sheinbaum and Donald Trump moving forward. But it's fascinating, again, to see just how

different their views of this call were. And Donald Trump saying that she - - he believes that she was going to agree to close the borders and her saying that is not something that she is even capable or the country is

capable of doing.

Now, I also want to bring up, Zain, because you pointed this out. On Wednesday, we also saw Donald Trump say that he wants to pose -- impose a

25 percent tariff on all goods coming in from Mexico, as well as Canada. Something, of course, that we've heard many foreign leaders say is very

concerning, including economists here in the States who worry about how that could impact pricing for U.S. citizens.

Now, we also heard Sheinbaum respond to that immediately after on social media, saying that if Donald Trump were to raise such tariffs to impose a

25 percent massive hike on all goods coming in from Mexico, that Mexico would respond with their own retaliatory tariffs as well.

So we're starting to kind of see the contours of what this relationship could look like. Again, this is going to be one that I think is very

important just given how much Donald Trump wants to do on the Southern border to really deliver on what he has promised Americans. Zain?

ASHER: Yes. I mean, given the back and forth, it doesn't necessarily bode well for their relationship. It's certainly not starting on the right foot,

given the sort of, he said, she said --

TREENE: Right.

ASHER: -- element of this.

Alayna Treene, live for us there, thank you so much.

All right. Those tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China are likely to take a bite out of next year's Black Friday profit. That's because the 25 percent

tariffs will likely get passed on to the consumer.

But for today's Black Friday shopper, these are some of the things that could see a price hike when the tariffs are put in place.

Major household appliances like laptops and tablets as well, video game consoles, smartphones, e-bikes. And so it could well be worth checking

prices before January.

And someone who's not likely to be paying attention to trade tariffs is the new best in show at the 92nd National Dog Show, Vito the Pug described as

having sympathetic eyes and a muscly stature.

At only two and a half years old, Vito has racked up 25 best in shows over his very short career.

His co-owner, Carolyn Koch, said that she was very proud of her pug. This is the first time in two decades that a pug has won the national title.

All right. That does it for this hour of ONE WORLD. I'm Zain Asher. I appreciate you watching. Marketplace Africa is up next. You're watching

CNN.

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