Investigators will be looking into exactly what started this fire. Were hearing from the paris prosecutors of this. Theyre actually speaking, questioning construction workers because there were construction work being done in the area of the fire. The flames spread extremely quickly through the cathedrals wooden infrastructure, that famous wooden roof, the spire of the center of the cathedral collapsed on monday. And the roof was largely destroyed as part of that as well. Authorities say the twin bell towers though that make up the building facade are safe. Thats the iconic image so many of us are used to. One firefighters was injured which is remarkable there wasnt more. The mayor of paris has tweeted major art ret cots and religious pieces have been saved including the crown of thorns believed to have been worn by gees during his crucifixion. Translator as you can see a monument that you love, that you live in, where you celebrate. A monument that represents so much of our history, its a profound sadness, and i said, oh, god, why . Why . Because its holy monday and for us its an important week and to ask ourselves, lord, why. I think ill get the answer when i get to heaven. I think. Reporter Jim Bitterman is up as well, and theyre managing to take stock today, but the extent of the damage, what are you hearing from the authorities . Reporter well, max, one thing thats going to happen and happening right now, beginning right now is that according to the Mayors Office there are a number of exports going through the building and see what can be saved from the infrastructure of the building. Whether the wallerize safe enough and theres any danger to workers going in to help cleanup things. And what can be used to rebuild notre dame as the president of france said last night, were going to rebuild notre dame. Itll take decades no doubt. Theres been architectural experts talking this morning saying it would be at least decades before notre dame resembles the notre dame we know. You mention the crown of thorns, thats one of the relics meant be the be the crown of thorns that christ wore just before his crucifixion. And theres been a number of things that werent saved, rather large paintings, huge paintings inside that were not able to be transported away from the fire. Theres a lot of fear this morning there may not be anything left of a magnificent 8,000 pipe organ. It was a monument historic in itself. The five keyboard organ which for many of us who had the privilege of living here had in fact heard regular sunday afternoon organ concerts at notre dame. No more. And in fact the organ if itself which has been restored only in 2014 was probably destroyed by this. Some things will be recovered and put back into place, but its going to be a long, long reconstruction project, max. Yeah, and lots of people looked on in horror as this tragedy unfolded last night. At a cafe nearby. What did you first learn about this . I was in the cafe about this time so i didnt really see anything because the cafe is more hidden on the other side of notre dame, but you could clearly smell something is burning. At first we thought something in the kitchen was burning and the other bartender came to the pub and he said actually notre dames on fire. So its something you dont really believe. What sort of feeling wept through you when you heard that . I was sure it wasnt true. The other thing you think when Something Like this is happening is probably the first thing is maybe its a tourist attack since we know what happened back in 2015 and what paris is going through. So we left, me and my friend, and the back was actually on fire. So the first thing that dawned and i took the video and then we are standing there and staring at notre dame surrounded by thousands of people. Yeah. What the atmosphere like when you arrived . I think silence. At the beginning i think people werent talking because people were recording, talking with families, and everybody was telling everything is fine. But after the sun went down i think that all the people were singing songs. I mean, praying. And they were very calm, and it was very sad of course. What does it mean to the city, this building . Its one of the three or four most important Buildings Architectural wise in france. The eiffel tower and notre dame. Im still glad we can still see the facade at the front of the church even though this morning ive seen the first photos from inside the building. The roof is basically not there. Its horrible. Theres been, you know, politically very unsettled in paris recently and then you have this which is unsettling again, this sort of symbol of continuity. I think its such an unfortunate i really think to mean things are happening in paris right now, too many things are happening to france. And i think this is just like the top thing that shouldnt have happened. And ive heard there were work happening since the last day. And i think the construction workers have been questioned today but that might be formality but thats where were looking in the investigation. Probably. I dont want to say its someones fault so but as you say relief, in this current environment they automatically think of terror because this is the sort of target terrorists would go for to get attention. So huge relief initially when you heard it wasnt that. Its a church. Its not like if you had a building burning and we actually had notre dame on fire. And ive seen and its been more than 850 years. And it survived everything. And now in 2019, why did it happen right now, why did it happen at the time we can do everything. Technology is so developed and now were having a simple problem. Emmanuel macron he was here yesterday, will probably be here today. Do you look to your president in times of leadership . Im trying not to go into the politics. Someone needs to speak on behalf of the nation presumably. Im sure hes going to like he already said already yesterday that we are going to rebuild notre dame. But i dont know if its possible to really rebuild something that is that old. But anyway im sure Emmanuel Macron is going to do everything he can to calm the atmosphere. Now its very hard in paris and its raining as well. I would definitely prefer to hear what is safe than what is destroyed. Ive heard it the most important accessories i can say inside they were safe. The relic, yeah. But you cannot really save the room, the paintings, the windows. The stained glass windows in front. Two huge on the sides, on the left and right side. I dont know if its good or bad condition. I think the one heartening thing at least which is the facade so famous, the front, the two bell towers that looks pretty safe so thats reassuring. I when we were watching the fire last night from there, at one point when the other tower which is behind notre dame and collapsed for hours it looked like an explosion inside. So there people were thinking we were not sure if there was an explosion inside. This collapsing and all the outer part started collapsing and collapsing and burning and burning. So the fire was horrible and heated. Horrible thing to see but thankfully in control now. The investigation continues. Well also look at how this is affecting, you know, the whole religious community not just about catholicism or christianity here, but religious groupings from all over the world came in together on this because each religion has their own buildings which are sacred, and they can all relate to what happened here in paris. Well be back in just a moment. O deal with shave irritation. So, we reimagined the razor with the new gillette skinguard. It has a unique guard between the blades. Thats designed to reduce irritation during the shave. Because we believe all men deserve a razor just for them. The best a man can get. Gillette. When you rent from national. Its kind of like playing your own version of best ball. Because here, you can choose any car in the aisle, even if its a better car class than the one you reserved. So no matter what, youre guaranteed to have a perfect drive. [laughter] vo go national. Go like a pro. See what i did there . Welcome back, everyone. Lets just recap our top story. A massive fire has ripped through Notre Dame Cathedral in paris. It is a dark moment for the city of light. For hours centuries of history were reduced to ash. And you can see the inferno from above here. The buildings iconic spire is destroyed and the roof is gutted but not all is lost. Firefighters were able to save the facade and bell towers. Just days before easter, officials also recovered priceless relics. Tweeted this photo earlier, it shows some of the items from the flames. The collection includes a crown of thorns purportedly placed on jesus before his crucifixion. Nicholas paul leads the center for medieval studies and joins me now. Thank you for having he. So people in france and across the world are shocked and saddened by this news notre dame was ablaze for so many hours. Those flames are now contain asked the good news is it was saved from total destruction, but so much has been lost. How difficult do you think it will be to rebuild as the french president has vowed to do . I think it could be very, very challenging. I dont actually know since we dont know exactly what has happened inside the building its tough to tell what kind of structural work will need to be done to reinforce what remains, but i think it will be a very, very significant challenge. But one i think a lot of us hope will be undertaken. Absolutely. And of course notre dame took centuries to build. It stands as a remarkable architectural symbol as well as one for religion and culture in france. Talk to us ability its significance for people in france and indeed throughout the world. Well, as Cathedral Church over the city of paris it witnessed the rise of first is city and then the medieval kingdom of france. It witnessed so much in terms of paris history. And i think thats one of the reasons why this fire has been felt so keen lee and why theres such a feeling of trauma for so many people watching. And thats the thing isnt it, its centuries old and there it stands as this incredible symbol. And yet in this era so difficult and isolate today get to so that fire trucks can actually get in there and put out the flames. And they did some great work doing that, but it was a challenge getting into that hour at peak hour as well. So talk to us about that and how difficult it is to save symbols like this. First of all just to say the obvious its so important and symbolling, i mean its right at the center of the Medieval City of paris. And those medieval town centers are notoriously difficult places to reach. And what we think as being modern convenient transportation and available utilities. So those were two edges of the same sword i would say. On the other hand, in terms of what has been lost in the building i mean from what ive heard and obviously we dont exactly know, the parts that i think the medieval the community of medieval historians and medievalists more generally are most concerned about are the windows which may have been lost, the great rose windows which are really monuments of medieval gothic art. And if those has been lost that will be a great tragedy. And of course theyll try to remake them but it will never be the same. The spire around the stand that was built in the 19th century and thats a completely different project. Thats right. And lot of parts of the building even the ones we think as being the most ancient and medieval, a lot of them were actually the work of Restoration Projects primarily in the 19th century. The great architect leduke was involved in the restoration of notre dame. And there was an attempt to complete the building and add on details which emphasized its medieval nature. So many of those details actually date to the 19th century. But of course the structure of the building so much of its stu sculpture and art were generations of craft people putting it together. So really the product of a community through time. And notre dame attracts more than 13,000 visitors a year. Clearly that wont be happening for some time. But no doubt once it is rebuilt many more people will which foosfoto see this incredible symbol. And thankfully the facade was save. And lot of what youre studying, the medieval part has been able to withstand this fire, hasnt it . Thats right. And we heard today that also some of the treasures of the treasury were also saved. Ive heard reports that some of them were saved. That was one of the great fears as well. Not just for the fabric of the building itself but for some of the artworks it contained, which is also part of the reason why people come to visit the church. Its really remarkable how iconic it is and how it is such a destination for visitor tuesday paris and visitors to france. Even though paris does not want for fabulous monuments, but this is one thats really architectural in paris. This is still a very devastating week for the french and the holy week as well. Thank you so much Nicholas Paul for joining us. We do appreciate it. Thank you. And we turn to u. S. Politics now. And the attorney general is set to release a redacted version of the Mueller Report thursday, and that appears to have the white house on edge. Jim acosta reports. President donald trump is lashing out at the special counsel. Reporter traveling to minnesota to tout his tax cut President Trump appeared to have the 2020 campaign on his mind. We may have the best economy wave ever had. Everything weve done can be undone and bad bad things can happen. But the president seem tuesday have more immediate concerns, mainly the trump administrations plan to redact muellers findings to the public on thursday. Even before all of the facts are in, mr. Trump is alleging hes the victim, tweeting they spied on my campaign, we will never forget. The president s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani whos expected to release a rebuttal of the Mueller Report piled it on. I think it was the product of you want to call it a political dirty trick or you want to call it a crime, i dont know. Criminal conspiracy. But in any event i think that collusion will leave that question open. How did this come about. The president also tweeted mueller and attorney general william barr based on mueller findings and intelligence have already ruled no collusion, no obstruction, investigate the investigators. But thats not true. Mueller did not reach a conclusion on obstruction. Barr did. Mr. Trumps attacks on muellers team run counter to his comment last month when he said the special counsel had acted honorably. The president is continuing to talk up the idea of sending undocumented immigrants to sanctuary cities. Tweeting those Illegal Immigrants who can no longer be held, Congress Must fix the laws and loopholes will be subject to Homeland Security given to sanctuary states. Anyone who illegally crosses the border will be detained until they are moved out of the country and back into the country which they came. Reporter the president also coming under intense criticism for slamming congresswoman ilhan omar. In a statement omar says sense the president s tweet friday evening ive experienced an increase in direct threats on my life when replying to the president s video. Certainly the president is wishing no ill will and certainly not violence towards anyone. Reporter democrats say the president has gone too far. Nothing she said is deserving of whats happening to her and what the president is doing to her. This is reprehensible attack on her. Its trying to incite antiislamic feelings. Reporter the president is also standing against democratic attempts to obtain his tax returns as his legal team has told the Treasury Department in a letter that those documents should not be handed over. Lawmakers says they wouldnt understand mr. Trumps returns anyway. This is dangerous, dangerous road, and frankly chris i dont think congress particularly this group of congressman and women are smart enough to look through the thousands of pages that i would assume President Trumps taxes will be. Reporter that issue aside its the release of the Mueller Report findings that has much of washington on the edge of its seat. An Administration Official insists the white house is not concerned about what would be in those findings but acknowledges there is a curiosity about the unknown. Jim acosta, cnn, the white house. And when we come back, we will have much more on the fire at notre dame including a look at the cathedrals rich history and its importance to the french people. But first a poignant view of the paris skyline last night showing smoke and flames rising from the cathedral with light from the siltys other major icon, the eiffel tower, shining bright. Directly to petmeds. Com. Because its the easiest way to save 30 on all the medications we carry. So skip the search and go directly to petmeds. Com now. Were finally back out in our yard, but so are they. Scotts turf builder triple action. It kills weeds, prevents crabgrass and feeds so grass can thrive, guaranteed. Our backyard is back. This is a scotts yard. Welcome back to paris. Investigation under way into what caused that huge blaze which destroyed most of the roof. High up there in the bell towers the firefighters are moving around trying to assess the damage and also trying to work out, you know, what caused this fire. There are investigations under way. The Paris Prosecutors Office is involved, and we understand theyre speaking to some construction workers that we assume were working on the building. Officials say the fire is under control now, though. Not before it did that major damage, toppling the distinctive spire and destroying the buildings roof, a wooden infrastructure. That roof was famously this big wooden structure, ancient and historic and now lost. One of the firefighters was seriously injured but amazingly there werent more injuries. The initial fire reported from the cathedrals attic. And looking above you can see just how it grew. The french president Emmanuel Macron calling for International Fund raising efforts to rebuild. Translator the notre dame of paris is our history, our literature, our imagination, the place we have lived all our great moments, our academics, our wars, our liberation. It is the epicenter of our lives. It is the bench mark from which distances start and from which we measure ourselves from paris. It appears i