BJP stands firm on Congress-Soros links, rejects calls for apology
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — The Miami Dolphins were ready to deal veteran defensive tackle Calais Campbell to the Baltimore Ravens ahead of the Nov. 5 trade deadline until Mike McDaniel stepped in. “I may or may not have thrown an adult temper tantrum,” Miami's coach said, confirming the news first reported by NFL Network Sunday morning. The Dolphins were 2-6 and had lost three straight at that point. They'd played four uninspired games without their starting quarterback, going 1-3 after Tua Tagovailoa went on injured reserve on Sept. 17 with a concussion. Campbell would have had a chance to rejoin the contending Ravens, and Miami would have received a 2026 fifth-round pick in return, NFL Network reported. McDaniel argued that Campbell was too valuable to lose. “I was happy that they brought me into the conversations," Campbell said after Miami's 34-15 win over the New England Patriots . “They didn't have to say anything to me at all. We had a really good conversation about what we think about this team, where we are. We felt like we had a good shot to get back into the fight.” Added McDaniel: “I think it wasn’t like it was (GM) Chris (Grier) versus me. ... That’s the tricky thing about Chris’ job is he has to look long-term and short-term at the same time, what’s the best for the organization.” Campbell, a 17-year veteran, signed with the Dolphins after playing for Atlanta last season. Players and coaches have praised the 38-year-old's contributions on the field and in the locker room. “There’s no one’s game I’ve come to respect more than Calais up front on the D-line,” defensive tackle Zach Sieler said, “being with him this year and just the energy, the attitude and the mindset he brings every week. It can’t be matched, and that’s the reason why he is who he is today and doing what he’s doing at 17 years.” Campbell leads the team with four sacks. With back-to-back sacks in Weeks 10 and 11, he became the eighth player 38 or older to record sacks in consecutive games since the 1970 merger. He also has nine tackles for loss, giving him at least five tackles for loss in 15 of his 17 seasons. He played for Baltimore from 2020-2022, totaling 11 sacks and 113 tackles. “I think he means a great deal to not only the defensive line room, but the entire defense as well as the entire team,” McDaniel said earlier this week. “It’s rare for a guy to get here when he did, and then be voted, with such conviction, captain. I think the way that he operates to be a pro, I think has had a substantial impact on a lot of players that hadn’t been fortunate enough to be around someone with sustained success like he’s had.” The Dolphins have won three straight games since the deadline. Miami's defense held the Patriots scoreless until the fourth quarter on Sunday. Campbell broke down the team's pregame huddle as he has done before most games this season. He was also seen coaching up rookie linebacker Chop Robinson, who is always seeking pointers from the six-time Pro Bowler. “My job is to speak on behalf of what’s the best thing for the 2024 Dolphins,” McDaniel said. “I’m just fortunate to work in an organization where myself and the GM can be transparent and work together. “And he didn’t want to see any more adult temper tantrums.” AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFLThe emergency call comes in just before midnight. In the driver's seat of a battered Toyota Hilux pickup truck, 29-year-old Chamunolwa Jimayi chats briefly with the caller. He hangs up the phone and shouts to his two colleagues in the back to hold on tight, then shoots off at high speed through the city center, careening around the traffic. Jimayi's job is not your regular 9-to-5. He's a member of a three-man Elephant Response Team fighting to keep the peace amid a worsening and at times deadly conflict between humans and the world's largest land animal. His hometown of Livingstone, Zambia, lies on the edge of the Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park and has long witnessed incidents of human-wildlife conflict. But the combination of recent urban expansion and successive poor rainy seasons has led to a dramatic escalation. "Sometimes we get more than 30 calls in a day," says Jimayi, who receives only a stipend of around $140 a month. "The game park is almost completely dry. So the elephants are just coming into the community to feed. We've been receiving a huge number." As he drives, signs of elephant incursions are visible all around: cinderblock walls with gaping holes, splintered mango, acacia and mopane trees, freshly deposited piles of dung. Strings of old beer cans and potato chip packets, designed to scare away elephants, adorn the walls of roadside homes. With his favorite reggae playlist straining the vehicle's dust-choked sound system, Jimayi heads for the suburb of Linda, where he's learned that a pair of elephants are wreaking havoc in a residential area. Tensions there are high after a string of deaths caused by elephants. If the community responds with aggression, the situation could become volatile, putting both people and elephants in danger. "They're friendly animals. They don't come to harm anyone," says Jimayi, who has a deep appreciation and respect for elephants. "But not everyone understands what I see in them. The community is really scared of these animals. And some are angry. People have lost their loved ones. Our goal is to keep the community and the elephants safe." By the time Jimayi and his colleagues arrive at the scene, one of the elephants has disappeared back into the bush. He finds the other walking along a residential street and maneuvers the truck to try and cut it off. A brief standoff ensues as Jimayi and the elephant size each other up, neither willing to back down. "Easy boy, back you go," he shouts through the open window. A few moments later, the elephant starts to run. Revving his engine, Jimayi pursues it through the streets of Linda, turning this way and that to channel it away from the settlement until eventually it ducks beneath a footbridge and disappears into the darkness in the direction of the national park. The Elephant Response Team gets going This has been Jimayi's life since 2019 when the Elephant Response Team was launched by a small Livingstone-based nonprofit, the Conservation and Tourism Society, in response to what was already, long before the drought began, a growing problem of human-wildlife conflict. With a total budget of barely $40,000 per year, CATS also helps search the national park for snares set by bushmeat poachers and carries out an extensive conservation education program designed primarily to teach people how to stay safe around elephants. The advice includes tips such as: always stay at least 300 feet from an elephant, never confront them and don't expect to outrun them: elephants can hit 28 mph. They also teach residents about the different forms of elephant deterrents available to protect their homes and gardens, like reflector fences and "chili bricks" — a potent mix of elephant dung, used engine oil and fresh chili peppers that produces a noxious smoke when burned. The Elephant Response Team is based in Dambwa South, a neighborhood of single-story brick homes set in a maze of dusty streets on the edge of the National Park and one of the areas worst affected by human-wildlife conflict. Every evening through the long months of the dry season – typically between May and October -- children gather along the park perimeter to watch the daily exodus of wildlife crossing into town in search of food. Crocodiles hunt for prey in sewage ponds, hippos lumber past industrial buildings, and zebras and buffalo graze contentedly by the roadside, seemingly oblivious to their human audience. From about 7 p.m. onward, elephants take over the streets. The park was once ringed by a fence but maintaining it has proved a challenge. Either it succumbs to elephant damage or is looted by residents looking to make a few dollars from the scrap metal. What remains are lines of empty fence poles and, here and there, a section of mangled wire flattened by the passage of animals. Park authorities say they are currently building a new one, with additional electric fencing in some areas, but Dominic Chiinda, director of the Department of National Parks and Wildlife, admits that a fence is unlikely to prove a lasting solution. Since 1990, Zambia's population has nearly tripled from 7.68 million to over 21 million. In that time, Dambwa South has sprawled outward to the point where, today, the outermost houses lie no more than 16 feet from the boundary of the national park. "When we were growing up, there were no houses here," says Jimayi, as he warms his hands over a campfire at the team's base in Dambwa South. "This whole place was just full of trees. The elephants know this used to be their land." Tough life for the locals For the residents of the homes nearest the park perimeter, life has become a daily struggle. "This was the only house we could find," says Janet Sikabonga, 36, who recently moved to the area with her husband and four children. "We didn't know there would be elephants here. We thought they would be inside the national park." The previous night, Sikabonga had watched through her window as four elephants entered her front yard, destroying her water tap and her clothes line. Over the past few weeks, elephants had also destroyed her guava tree and her vegetable patch, prompting the family to abandon efforts to grow their own food. They no longer venture outside after dark. "I don't know what to do," says Sikabonga, whose family relies on the money her husband earns doing odd-jobs for a Livingstone hotel, and who lacks the means to move again. "They destroy everything. Last night I was so scared I didn't even sleep". Most incidents of human-wildlife conflict don't result in physical injury, but deaths still occur on a regular basis. So far this year, the DNPW has reported 10 people killed by elephants in the town. One evening in August, 91-year-old tobacco trader Luka Chiyesu was on his way back from the market, following the same route he'd taken every day for years, when he encountered a herd of elephants. "I found my father's body just lying there in the bush," recalls his son, also called Luka, as he sits on a plastic chair in the yard of his home in the Nakatindi neighborhood. "He died on the spot." Luka Jr, who grew up around elephants, always held them in great esteem, seeing them as "the mother of all animals." Now, he feels conflicted. "We used to live peacefully. Nobody was ever attacked by elephants," he says. "Things have changed a lot. When they see us, they see an enemy. When we see them, we see an enemy. That day, if I had a gun, I'd have shot two or three." The death of Luka Chiyesu triggered anger in the community not only toward elephants but also toward the Department of National Parks and Wildlife over their perceived failure to protect communities living near the national park. After the old man's death, it took hours for a DNPW vehicle to arrive on the scene. When one eventually turned up, an angry mob stoned it. None of those spoken to by NPR said they were aware of the Department carrying out elephant patrols in the area. "They don't care about the people anymore -- they only care about the animals," said Luka Jr, echoing a widely held perception in the town. "They say this is a corridor of elephants. They say it's a wildlife area." Dominic Chiinda said the department does have a vehicle assigned to elephant patrols in Livingstone but that more are needed to effectively cover such a large area. He also said many of the "unfortunate incidents" of deaths and injuries caused by elephants were "self-inflicted," alleging that some of the victims may have been drunk, and that villagers were planting their crops too close to elephant corridors. Chiinda said the department was trying to teach people about elephant safety, as well as distributing fireworks to affected communities to help them scare off elephants. They're also providing supplementary food for wildlife in the National park. Livingstone sits within the Kavango Zambezi Conservation Area (KAZA), the world's largest terrestrial conservation area, which is home to more than half of Africa's savannah elephants and more than 2 million people. Spanning five countries, it contains a kaleidoscope of protected areas connected by so-called wildlife corridors that allow animals to move between one national park or reserve and another along traditional migration routes. The pachyderm puzzle The approach has helped to sustain elephant numbers in the KAZA at a time when, elsewhere on the continent, they are in decline. Yet for people living in the corridors, the regular passage of elephants poses numerous challenges. "This is a village, not a national park," complained David Mweetwa, a 35-year-old schoolteacher in the village of Simoonga, a few miles from Livingstone, whose sister was killed by an elephant in April. "The authorities should put up a wire to prevent animals coming in. If they did that, it would save lives." Another fraught issue is that of compensation. There's currently no government policy in place to provide assistance for the victims of elephant attacks or damage, yet such events can be ruinous for those involved. Many rely heavily on their vegetable patches or fruit trees. And in the case of a death, funeral costs are a heavy burden. Namukolo Kabuki was a successful market trader until her son was killed by an elephant in Linda last year. To pay for the funeral, she had to sell her entire stock of plastic kitchenware, charcoal and goats. A year later, she still hasn't been able to raise the capital to restart her business. Dominic Chiinda of the DNPW said the department is currently reviewing legislation to introduce a system of compensation by the start of the next dry season, yet he acknowledged that implementing it will be complicated. "Every night, families are losing their fruit trees, their gardens, their fences," said Brighton Manongo, a farmer and community leader in Dambwa South, who once lost 1,000 heads of cabbage to elephants in a single incident. "Who would you even compensate? There'd be a claim every day. And you can't buy back a life." In human-wildlife conflict hotspots across Southern Africa, several organizations have put in place measures to try to protect people from elephant raids. These include building "beehive fences", planting fields of chilli as a "buffer crop" and the practice of "cluster fencing" -- when groups of farmers with adjacent fields cooperate to build a fence around their properties. "There's a lot of optimism that humans and elephants will be able to co-exist in close proximity," said Chris Thouless, director of the Kenya-based conservation organisation, the Elephant Crisis Fund. "But there hasn't been enough discussion about precisely what we mean when we talk about coexistence. The mitigation measures are good up to a certain point, but none of them is a silver bullet if the underlying issues are still there." Burning chili bricks With the human population increasing across the region, Thouless believes we must adopt a "triaged approach" to addressing human-elephant conflict: accepting that in some areas, where the population density of people and elephants has reached a certain threshold, efforts toward mitigation may be unsustainable. In these instances, he says, separation may be the only solution. Thouless believes we should focus instead on areas where some form of long-term coexistence may be achievable. In Livingstone, Manongo does his best to mitigate the danger. After the loss of his cabbage harvest, he abandoned growing vegetables in favor of keeping fish and goats. And every night he burns chilli bricks in the four corners of his yard. Yet the bricks only last a few hours; new ones must be lit throughout the night. Three days earlier, Manongo had failed to get out of bed to light the next round of chilli bricks. In the morning he woke to find a section of his fence destroyed. "If you make a mistake, you're going to suffer damage," he said. "We're on the frontline here". Part of the hostility toward elephants stems from the fact that few people in communities like Dambwa South see any tangible benefit from the wildlife tourism they bring. To address this, Manongo runs a series of urban elephant safari tours to bring in tourist dollars – the fee is $50 per person -- and to demonstrate the advantages of living with elephants. The tour guides preach "co-existence," but it's an uneasy balance. As soon as the tourists have wrapped up their elephant viewing, the Elephant Response Team is sent in to herd the animals back to the park before they can cause any damage. "Here, coexistence would mean keeping the elephants on one side of a fence and the humans on the other," Manongo acknowledges. As the night wears on, the members of the Elephant Response Team continue with a mix of patrols and callouts. From time to time they come across people walking alone in the darkness and stop to give them a ride. They spot one man, who appears to be inebriated, staggering along a road directly toward a herd of buffalo grazing near a conference center. Elephants are also nearby. "Life is precious," admonishes Jimayi, as the team drop the man safely at his destination. "If you want to get drunk, do it at home." At one point, the team are confronted with a breeding herd of over 40 elephants. They attempt to corral them back toward the park. Jimayi skillfully maneuvers the vehicle back and forth through dense bush, clattering over shrubs and tree stumps, issuing a stream of orders and pleas to the herd through the open window. They say they think the strategy works. But no sooner do some of the elephants start to head back toward the park than others break off in the opposite direction. At the same time, other groups of elephants are being reported elsewhere in the town. "As soon as we try to park the car we get a call --Come to Linda, then come to Nakatindi, then come somewhere else," says Gift Ngandu, at 21, the youngest member of the team. "It goes on like that all night." The work is exhausting, and by the end of the dry season, when food in the park is scarcest and human-wildlife conflict peaks, the volunteers are getting by on barely two or three hours of sleep a night. CATS has repeatedly attempted to hire a second driver to give Jimayi a break, but none of the candidates have returned after their trial shift. "They feel the job is risky," says Jimayi. "And that you could be killed by an animal at any time. But if I thought like that I don't think I'd be able to work. The key is to understand the elephants." A Toyota serves as sheepdog Elephants are not inherently aggressive animals, says Chris Thouless, who first began studying human-elephant conflict in the early 1990s. Yet certain factors can make them more so. The team members know to look out for secretions on the sides of the faces of bull elephants, a sign that they may be in musth -- a testosterone-fueled state that can make them more likely to act aggressively. They are wary of getting between a mother and her calf -- and keep a close eye on any elephants that appear to be sick or wounded. "Elephants are like people," said Thouless. "They can be aggressive when threatened, but they're peaceful when they feel comfortable." "You need to be able to see what mood they're in and be able to tell a real charge from a mock charge," says Gift Ngandu. "You need to understand their behavior. If you talk to them politely they're very friendly. You need to show them that you're not here to harm them." When the team members approach an elephant, they start gently, doing their best to coax and nudge the animal out of harm's way. They talk to the elephants, gently revving their engine and using their spotlight to convey the message that it's time to leave. Some of the elephants now recognize the team and depart of their own accord, knowing that if they don't, they're likely to be chased away with more forceful measures, Ngandu says. When the elephants stand their ground, the team up the ante, bringing their vehicle in close, often within feet of the herd, shouting instructions and revving hard on the engine. Turning this way and that to round up stragglers and keep the animals moving in the right direction, they deploy their ageing Toyota as a farmer might a sheepdog. Shortly before dawn, the team conduct their last routine patrol of the night, rounding up the few elephants left in the town and ushering them back toward the national park, while the residents of Dambwa South emerge to assess the night's damage. Once a safe distance from the nearest houses, Jimayi switches off the engine. For a while, the team sits together in the truck, watching in companionable silence as the lumbering giants disappear, one by one, into the trees. "I feel so privileged to be able to do this job," says Jimayi. "When I see an elephant, I see an animal that's gentle, peaceful and intelligent. I hope that one day we can learn to live together." Tommy Trenchard is an independent photojournalist based in Cape Town, South Africa. He has previously contributed photos and stories to NPR on the Mozambique cyclone of 2019, Indonesian death rituals and illegal miners in abandoned South African diamond mines.None
Actress Laura Benanti Shrieks 'F**k You Forever' at Former Co-Star Zachary LeviBROADVIEW HEIGHTS, Ohio – The city may have to shut down all operations for 15 days starting Jan. 1 because City Council – although it passed the 2025 municipal budget last week – did not muster enough votes to make the budget ordinance go into effect immediately. Council needed a supermajority of five votes to make the budget ordinance go into effect by Jan. 1. Instead, council approved the ordinance 4-3, which means the budget won’t become effective for 30 days after passage or until Jan. 16. “All services will have to stop,” city Finance Director David Pfaff said. “Without money being lawfully appropriated, I cannot pay any bills, nor can I retroactively pay bills if the money was not lawfully appropriated at the time the liability was incurred,” Pfaff said. That also means that the city would not have money to pay police, firefighters or service workers for 15 days. “Under the (federal) Fair Labor Standards Act, an employees must be paid for time worked,” Pfaff said. “However, without money being lawfully appropriated, I have no authority to pay them, therefore they cannot work.” The city has called a special meeting for 7:30 p.m. today (Dec. 23) to see if council can pass a stopgap measure that would fund municipal government for the first 15 days of 2025, until the previously passed budget ordinance kicks in. Voting against the budget ordinance Dec. 16 were council members Brian Dunlap, Glenn Goodwin and Joe Price. “Three people hijacked the way we do our budget process,” Mayor Sam Alai told cleveland.com . “It’s a shame that they’re going to use life safety for our residents and paychecks for our employees to play some sort of childish political game. “This is no joke,” Alai said. “This is a very serious situation that we cannot have. We need to avoid this at all costs. I gave them (council) the way to get out of it, and if they don’t, we will be shutting the city down.” Dunlap called Alai’s comments “absurd.” He said the city administration and some members of council tried to rush the budget through and didn’t provide enough time to resolve disagreements. “The mayor is the one being childish and selfish,” Dunlap said. “It’s ridiculous to say that I don’t want police and fire service in this city. I have kids and grandkids living here.” Goodwin and Price did not return emails seeking comment. Pretzel logic At the Nov. 25 council meeting, Dunlap raised concerns about a salary increase for Alai in the 2025 budget. Under city code that council approved years ago, the mayor must earn 5 percent more than the city’s police and fire chiefs. The idea was to ensure that the mayor is the highest-paid official in the city. In turn, under code, the police and fire chiefs must make 14 percent more than lieutenants in the Police and Fire departments. That’s because, according to Police Chief Steven Raiff and Fire Chief Jeffrey Hajek, lieutenants and even lower-ranking officers at one time were earning more than they were, due to overtime and other benefits that the chiefs do not receive. Earlier this year, police and fire lieutenants received 5 percent raises under a new collective bargaining agreement and will receive raises of 4 percent and 3 percent in 2025 and 2026, respectively. That means the chiefs and Alai also received raises of 5 percent this year and are scheduled to receive another 4 percent and 3 percent over the next two years. This year, Alai’s salary was $141,648 and both chiefs earned $134,903. “I won’t vote for anything that triggers a pay raise for an elected official, and I believe that’s what our budget does,” Dunlap said Nov. 25. Dunlap said “the tether” that connects the salaries of police and fire lieutenants, the police and fire chiefs and the mayor “is a problem.” Councilwoman Jennifer Mahnic asked Dunlap if there was a reason he didn’t bring up the issue during previous Finance Committee meetings where the budget was discussed. “No,” Dunlap said. “No reason.” At the Dec. 16 council meeting, Goodwin wanted to amend the 2025 budget and remove raises that Alai and the two chiefs are scheduled to receive. Goodwin, agreeing with Dunlap, said he was “having a tough time” with how the mayor’s salary is connected to the chiefs’ salaries, even though he was on council when that body approved that arrangement years ago. Goodwin said Alai’s and the two chiefs’ salaries might be higher than their counterparts in other communities, due to the ordinance connecting their salaries. “It was a great idea the way it was set up originally,” Goodwin said. “It just got a little bit out of hand. And like anything, you have to go back and revisit it at some point and now is the time to revisit it.” Price agreed, saying that tying the mayor’s and chiefs’ salaries together might have been a “comfortable decision” years ago “but it may not have been the best (decision.)” However, Law Director Vince Ruffa said the city cannot legally eliminate raises for Alai and the two chiefs without changing the code. Goodwin countered that the city should ask the Ohio Ethics Commission if council can amend the budget and give Alai and the two chiefs zero raises in 2025. Boldt suggested that council pass the 2025 budget and take up with issue of the mayor’s salary connection to the police and fire chiefs’ salaries later in January. Emergency but no emergency Boldt explained that the 2025 budget ordinance won’t take effect until 30 days after passage because it was an emergency ordinance. For emergency ordinances to go into effect faster – in five days – at least five council members would have had to vote in favor. The temporary appropriations ordinance that council will vote on tonight is not an emergency ordinance. Therefore, even with a slim four-vote majority, it would take effect in no more than five days. That’s because under the city charter, ordinances involving the appropriation of money take effect when a simple majority of council approves it and the mayor signs it.
PARIS — Notre Dame is reopening its doors for the first time since a fire in 2019 nearly destroyed Paris’ beloved 12th-century cathedral. World leaders — including President-elect Donald Trump, America’s first lady Jill Biden, Britain’s Prince William and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy — gathered Saturday among some 1,500 guests to celebrate the restoration of the landmark widely considered to be a pinnacle of French architectural heritage. Saturday’s events started with Archbishop Laurent Ulrich symbolically reopening Notre Dame’s grand wooden doors with three resounding knocks. Following the 2019 fire, nearly $1 billion in donations poured in from around the world, a tribute to its worldwide appeal. Here’s the latest: Notre Dame’s largest bell, the 13-ton Emmanuel, rings out The congregation inside the huge cathedral was ghostly quiet as its largest bell, the 13-ton Emmanuel, rang out into the Paris night, signaling the start of the ceremony. Inside, Elon Musk gazed up at the renovated vaulted ceilings. Jill Biden was the last VIP welcomed outside by President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte, before Archbishop Laurent Ulrich then took over. “Brothers and sisters, let us enter now into Notre Dame,” he said as he stood outside, before its closed doors. “It is she who accompanies us on our path to peace.” He then banged on the door three times with the base of his crosier, or bishop’s cross. Inside, the choir erupted into song, the crystalline voices filing what — until recently — had been a building site. Three times, Ulrich appealed to the cathedral to open its doors. Three times, the choir responded in song. He then pushed open the heavy door: Notre Dame’s rebirth was underway. Archibishop Laurent Ulrich knocks three times on Notre Dame’s doors, officially marking cathedral’s reopening With three resounding knocks on its doors by Paris Archbishop Laurent Ulrich, wielding a staff carved from fire-scorched beams, the cathedral roared back to life Saturday evening. For the first time since a devastating 2019 blaze, the towering Gothic masterpiece reopened for worship, its rebirth marked by song, prayer, and awe beneath its soaring arches. While the ceremony was initially planned to begin on the forecourt, unusually fierce December winds whipping across the central Paris island, flanked by the River Seine, forced all events inside. Yet the occasion lost none of its splendor. Inside the luminous nave, choirs are singing psalms, and the cathedral’s mighty organ, silent for nearly five years, is thundering to life in a triumphant interplay of melodies. The evening’s celebration, being attended by 1,500 dignitaries, including President-elect Donald Trump, U.S. First Lady Jill Biden, Britain’s Prince William, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, underscores Notre Dame’s enduring role as both a spiritual and cultural beacon. Groups gather in Paris to protest Trump A small group of American expats gathered near Notre Dame Cathedral on Saturday to protest the presence of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump at the reopening ceremony. Organized under the banner “Paris Against Trump,” the group criticized French President Emmanuel Macron for inviting Trump but chose not to organize a large demonstration to avoid disrupting the event. “We find this a bit shameful and sad that Trump is invited here, especially since he has gone against everything the Church stands for,” said Ehlyr O’Rourke, 34, a spokesperson for the association. “We don’t understand why a criminal, a sex offender, a felon can actually be invited in here.” Later in the day, thousands marched through Paris, denouncing Trump’s visit and expressing support for Palestine. Organized by left-wing parties, unions, and pro-Palestinian groups, the demonstration featured Palestinian flags, keffiyehs, and chants calling for Palestinian resistance, President Macron’s impeachment, and criticizing Trump’s alleged complicity in Middle East conflicts. “We are protesting every week to support Palestine, but what’s special today is the arrival of Donald Trump,” said Nadia Messai, one of the protesters in the crowd. “Trump has been supporting Israel, much like the United States has been since the beginning of the creation of this rogue state that is occupying Palestine illegally.” Cathedral’s renovation chief hopes the reopening is a moment of unity Philippe Jost, Notre Dame cathedral renovation chief, said the reopening is an opportunity for unity as so many divisions remain in the world. “We hope it will be a great moment of unity for the French people, for guests from all over the world and for spectators from all over the world,” he said. “Notre Dame de Paris unites. There are so many divisive factors. An event like this must unite, must help concord and peace to grow throughout the world.” Notre Dame’s rector emphasizes the importance of the separation of church and state Olivier Ribadeau Dumas, the Notre Dame rector called the reopening an important moment that has been awaited a long time. “Notre Dame de Paris is the very sign of the presence of a soul in the heart of our city. It’s important for Parisians, it’s important for Catholics, it’s important for the French and for the whole world,” he said. “In general, the sphere of politics doesn’t enter the sphere of the religious, and shouldn’t. In the same way, the religious sphere doesn’t enter politics,” he added. “The Archbishop of Paris invited the President of the Republic to speak inside the cathedral as a sign of the unity that could be seen in the reconstruction. The archbishop allowed him to speak inside because the weather conditions did not allow him to speak outside.” Guests file into Notre Dame Cathedral for the ceremonies Guests gradually filing the cathedral for the evening reopening ceremonies are reveling at the renovated interiors, with many whipping out cell phones to take souvenir photos. “It’s a sense of perfection,” said François Le Page, who works for the Notre Dame foundation that raised nearly half of the nearly 900 million euros of donations. He last set foot in the cathedral in 2021, on a visit “It’s night and day,” said Rev. Andriy Morkvas, a Ukrainian pastor who leads the The Cathedral of Saint Volodymyr the Great church in Paris’ St. Germain des Pres said it had been 10 years since he last stepped foot inside Notre Dame. “God is very powerful, he can change things.” He expressed hope that the cathedral could help bring peace to his country and he drew heart from the expected attendance of Ukraine’s president. “I hope Notre Dame and Mary will help us resolve this conflict,” he said. French government security agents are helping to ensure Trump’s safety alongside the Secret Service Outside the Elysee Palace, the official residence of the French president, dozens of members of the French Republican Guard stood by awaiting Donald Trump’s arrival. Trump was in Paris on Saturday for his first international trip as president-elect, ready to join world leaders celebrating the renovation of Notre Dame Cathedral and meet with French President Emmanuel Macron and Britain’s Prince William. More than 20 French government security agents have been helping ensure Trump’s safety alongside the Secret Service, according to French national police. A special French police van was providing anti-drone protection for Trump’s convoy. Security was tighter than usual outside the U.S. Embassy and other sites around Paris for the Notre Dame reopening, where dozens of international VIPs were expected. Macron, who has had an up-and-down relationship with Trump, has made a point of cultivating a relationship since the Republican defeated Democrat Kamala Harris last month. But Macron’s office nonetheless played down the significance of the invitation, saying other politicians not now in office had been invited as well. Trump was invited as president-elect of a “friendly nation,” Macron’s office said, adding, “This is in no way exceptional, we’ve done it before.” Notre Dame in numbers Perhaps not surprisingly for such a big cathedral, some of the numbers that help tell the story of Notre Dame’s reopening are on the very big side, too. The bell that will sound to signal the start of the service weighs 13 tons, making it the cathedral’s largest. It has a name - Emmanuel — given to it by King Louis XIV after it was cast in 1683. It rings in F sharp. Inside, 42,000 square meters of stonework were cleaned during the renovation — an area equivalent to roughly six soccer pitches. The first stone of Notre Dame was laid in 1163. The thunderous great organ of Notre Dame that will be heard in public at Saturday’s service for the first time since April 15, 2019, has 7,952 pipes — the largest as broad as a human torso; the smallest no larger than a pen. The renovated giant console that controls the instrument has five keyboards of 56 notes each, foot pedals for 30 notes, and 115 stops. Unseen, above the congregation and the repaired vaulted ceilings, is a framework of beams holding up the roof and spire — so dense and intricate that it’s nicknamed “the forest.” Some 2,000 oak trees were felled to rebuild it. Trump to meet with Macron ahead of the reopening ceremonies President-elect Donald Trump is to meet Saturday with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee presidential palace ahead of the reopening ceremony for Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. This is Trump’s first foreign trip since the election. Macron’s office said both leaders will discuss global crisis, including wars in the Middle East and in Ukraine as well as French-American bilateral relations. Macron is scheduled to have a meeting with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy right after his meeting with Trump. Notre Dame celebrations comes as Macron’s presidency now faces its gravest crisis after the government’s collapse this week in a historic no-confidence vote that toppled Prime Minister Michel Barnier. Devout Catholics say the Notre Dame Cathedral reopening will ‘nourish us’ For devout Catholics Patricia and Cyrille Brenner, waiting in the cold outside Notre Dame for its reopening service that they weren’t invited to was the place to be. The couple traveled by night train from Cannes on the French Riviera — famous for its movie festival — to be among the onlookers Saturday hoping for some of the 40,000 spots set aside for the public on the banks of the River Seine facing the cathedral. They bought their train tickets six months ago. “I’m from Cannes. It’s a bit like the festival. You have to be there to experience it,” said Patricia, 65. “It’s a pilgrimage for us.” Cyrille, 66, said they were the only members of their parish to make the long trip. “We like to be at the heart of things and, as Christians, it will nourish us,” he said. While Cyrille said they’d felt “distress, sadness” when Notre Dame burned, they both also noted how sacred relics, statues and the golden cross on the altar — almost miraculously — survived the inferno. They both marveled at the renovation works that have not only eradicated nearly all traces of the fire inside but made it more resplendent than ever. Some visitors hope talks on the sidelines will be good for Ukraine Andrey Alexeev, a Ukrainian among onlookers gathering for the reopening of Notre Dame, hopes U.S. president-elect Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy can meet and talk on the ceremony’s sidelines. Their host, French President Emmanuel Macron, was meeting with both leaders before they attend the reopening service for the cathedral. Alexeev was hoping Trump and Zelenskyy would meet, too. “I hope that meeting can change something in a good way for Ukraine,” he said. “It’s good that Zelenskyy has a chance to speak with Trump and Macron. At least it’s an opportunity for Ukraine.” Alexeev, who lives in Poland, was visiting Paris with his mother, Olha, who travelled from Ukraine. They were hoping for two of the 40,000 places that were set aside for the public in fenced-off areas on the banks of the River Seine, facing the cathedral. Alexeev said he’s agnostic but that it felt important for him to be as close to the ceremonies as possible. By coincidence, his sister was visiting Paris when Notre Dame burned on April 15, 2019. “It’s one of the greatest places not only in Europe but also the whole world,” he said. Such an occasion “happens once in 1,000 years, I think. So we are part of history.” What to expect Saturday’s events will blend solemn religious tradition with an official presidential speech and cultural grandeur. French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte will welcome the dozens of heads of state and government. Archbishop Laurent Ulrich will then take over — with a rite to symbolically reopen Notre Dame’s doors, kicking off the ceremonies at 7 p.m. The ceremony that was to have been held outside will then unfold inside, with a film retracing the renovations, music and a speech by Macron. Ulrich will then take over again, with a rite to reawaken Notre Dame’s organ and the rest of the religious service scheduled to last about 55 minutes.