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Tech Firms Sound Alarm on Ad Revenue Slowdown; VW Replaces Herbert Diess as CEO in Surprise Move; Wildfires Spread In Italy And Slovenia As Heat Moves East; White House Gives Update On Biden's COVID Condition. Aired 3-4p ET
Aired July 22, 2022 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:00:28]
BIANCA NOBILO, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: US markets are closing out a big earnings week on a sour note. The Dow is off more than 250 points, and the
losses are even worse on the NASDAQ. It's down more than two percent as tech shares take a beating.
Those are the markets, and these are the main events.
Social media stocks are shaken by dismal results from Twitter and Snap.
A breakthrough between Russia and Ukraine is set to ease concerns about a global food crisis.
And the CEO of Germany's biggest carmaker, Volkswagen is bidding Auf Wiedersehen in a surprise departure.
Live from London, it's Friday July the 22nd and I'm Bianca Nobilo in for the one and only, Richard Quest and this is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.
Good evening.
Tonight, Twitter is taking a hit from all sides and says that Elon Musk is partly to blame. Twitter says uncertainty over Elon Musk's takeover bid is
one of the reasons behind a one percent fall in sales last quarter. That bid is currently in limbo as Musk tries to cancel the deal.
Twitter shares opened lower on Wall Street before stabilizing. There's more to this than just Elon. The worry is that other companies are going to face
the same problems as Twitter, making it the proverbial canary in the coal mine, as well as the takeover disruption. It was falling ad revenue that
hit their bottom line and that is directly linked to worries about inflation.
If rising prices hit their company sales, then ad budgets are often one of the first things that we see go, and Twitter is not alone. The parent
company of Snapchat also said that they were having trouble with advertisers. They announced a loss in the last quarter and look at today's
share price, down almost 40 percent.
Well, Rahel Solomon is in New York for us to discuss all of this. Okay, Rahel, give us the top lines on these results. What are we looking at and
how bad is it for the companies?
RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think it depends on the company, but Bianca, certainly a lot of folks are questioning, "Is this a
sign of more to come?" I think what we're going to see a lot more moving forward is companies' focus on quality advertising, right?
I mean, when you think about Twitter's results, they reported before the bell this morning, they certainly lost on revenue, they certainly lost on
earnings, but their user base actually grew compared to last year, which is probably part of the reason why you're seeing shares in the green today and
they've sort of been hovering around the flatline all day.
So this was not nearly as bad as expected. Dan Ives, an analyst with Wedbush, who covers the company very closely saying that look Twitter's
results, proving that digital ad spending didn't fall off a cliff.
Snapchat, however, a very different story. I mean, they put out a profit warning and May and the stock really plummeted after that, and then after
earnings last night, after the bell, the stock plummeted once again.
So quality becomes a lot more important in this environment, as companies and businesses become a lot more discretionary about how they are using
their marketing budgets.
I think next week, we'll learn a lot more about sort of the advertising space. We're going to hear from Facebook, i.e. Meta. We are going to hear
from Microsoft, we're going to hear from a lot of the big sort of tech names and we'll learn especially for companies that are more reliant on
advertising how their business is doing.
That said, Dan Ives, again, that analyst I was mentioning, talking about Snap putting out in a statement saying that look, we view Snap as a paper
airplane in a windstorm, and really not a phenomenal barometer for the pace of the digital ad slowdown.
So I think Bianca, look, a lot of people are wondering, are these sort of the first signs of a cracking in advertising? I think Snap perhaps is maybe
not the best example. But you have Snap, you have Twitter, and next week, we're going to learn a lot more, and maybe that will give us a sense of
what's to come.
NOBILO: Okay, Rahel, so it's a little bit of a nuanced picture. Do you think these signals are a sign of a broader struggling economy at this
time? Or do you think it might be more of an indication that social media companies have peaked? You mentioned that users are still going up, but the
other signs that we see?
SOLOMON: Yes, I mean, I think as long as we are all using social media, social media companies will still be relevant, and companies will still
spend that digital ad spend on these companies.
But I think what you're getting at is a really important point, which is that companies are dealing with uncertainty, right? I mean, they much like
us, consumers don't have a crystal ball and so we're all sort of trying to figure out, you know, what, the next three months, what the next six months
is going to look like as globally, we sort of are all dealing with inflation. We're all dealing with much more aggressive Central Banks.
[15:05:00]
SOLOMON: And so companies, I think are dealing with the uncertainty. We have certainly heard it from business leaders already in earning's season
this year in this quarter that they're sort of -- it is a challenging macro environment right now. There are sort of some things that are perhaps more
optimistic, certainly in the US, in terms of the health of the consumer and the jobs market.
But then there are also sort of concerns, right, in terms of inflation, in terms of central bankers becoming more aggressive, and how we sort of get
out of this. And so I think the name of the game right now is uncertainty, and we know if there was one thing that Wall Street does not like, it's
that -- it's that uncertainty.
NOBILO: Well, Rahel Solomon, it's always great to hear from you. Thanks so much.
Now, one of Elon Musk's biggest rivals is suddenly out of a job. Volkswagen second only to Tesla in electric car sales has moved to replace its CEO,
Herbert Diess.
Now, the company board says that Diess has agreed to step down, September 1st, and he'll be replaced by the Porsche boss, Oliver Blum. The
announcement came as something of a surprise.
Hours earlier, Diess had wished his staff a happy summer break, and he sounded rather confident about the future when he spoke to our Rahel
Solomon on Tuesday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HERBERT DIESS, OUTGOING VOLKSWAGEN CEO: We can expect that probably sales and some of the reasons are pulling down a little bit, but we have a strong
product portfolio, we have been investing early in electrification, in EVs.
We have strong brands. So I'm -- I'm relatively positive about our perspectives, at least for the next nine to 12 months.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NOBILO: Paul La Monica is here.
Paul, talk to us about the significance of this and the fact that it seems to have come out of the blue. We just heard from him three days ago,
speaking sounding fairly positive about the future. What happened here?
PAUL LA MONICA, CNN BUSINESS REPORTER: Yes, it is pretty stunning, Bianca, when you consider that he was talking to Rahel Solomon just a few days ago
about the outlook for VW and the hopes that they can gain some ground in the electric vehicle race against Tesla.
And then again, just hours before this announcement, he had this post on LinkedIn wishing everyone a great summer, and congratulations about the
progress the company has made, and then boom, next thing we know, we you see these headlines that Volkswagen and Diess had decided to part ways.
So I think there are a lot of questions about why this might be the case. Part of it could be the fact that he has made comments in the past about
the need to step up even more in electric vehicles, and that that could lead to potential job cuts if the company was not more aggressive, that
might have rankled the ire of some of the people in the unions at the company, that certainly could have been one thing at play.
There's also been this weird dynamic where he actually was pretty complimentary in a series of tweets a few months ago about Elon Musk after
he appeared on "60 Minutes" and talked about the big lead that Tesla had globally in the electric vehicle market and how Volkswagen had to really do
more to catch up.
So I think maybe that some of those comments might have made him not exactly the most popular person at Volkswagen.
NOBILO: And do you think, Paul that his successor, Blum is likely to take quite a different stance on all those issues? What's his leadership likely
to do?
LA MONICA: Yes, I think that Blum, being more of a longtime insider at Porsche is probably going to look to accelerate some of the electric
vehicle moves that this company needs to make, because, you know, obviously, it is a world where we are increasingly going electric.
But what's really interesting, too, is that Volkswagen has hopes to also have an IPO of the Porsche unit, and that is something that a lot of people
are wondering, will that be able to happen given the market conditions right now, you know, clearly, a lot of auto stocks have stumbled this year
because of concerns about the broader economy; Tesla is no exception, and also Volkswagen has struggled as well.
So there are a lot more questions than answers right now and I think people are wondering, what is the future of Volkswagen going to be under this new
leader who does have more of an inside track at the company. Remember, when they brought in Diess, he had a storied tenure at BMW, another big rival of
Volkswagen. So, he was always an outsider at the company and I think that finally came back to haunt him.
NOBILO: Paul La Monica, thank you so much.
Now Russia and Ukraine have struck a deal intended to restart grain exports in the Black Sea. The terms of the agreement and what it means for
Ukraine's overwhelmed silos when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:12:38]
NOBILO: Russia and Ukraine have reached a deal to allow grain shipments to move through the Black Sea. The UN and Turkey brokered the deal and also
signed it. They will help ensure safe corridors out of Ukraine's major ports. Some 20 million tons of grain have been held up in the country.
Russia's war in Ukraine has touched up the global food crisis threatening millions of people with acute hunger.
The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres went to Istanbul to sign the deal. He calls it his most important day in office, and he told Becky
Anderson that grain shipments could soon restart.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTONIO GUTERRES, UN SECRETARY-GENERAL: We will be ready -- two of the harbors will be ready in a few days and we hope that if ships can go in, we
will be able maximum two weeks to start exporting.
But these things are always relatively complex. Let us not forget that there will not be a demining. So there will be safe corridors managed by
the Ukrainian authorities conducting the ships to the harbors, and when they enter or when they leave, they will then enter into a corridor whose
safety and security is guaranteed by all the parties.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NOBILO: The ability to export grain comes at a critical time for Ukraine's farmers. They've started this year's harvest while their silos are already
full from the last one.
The USDA estimates that Ukraine's wheat stocks have quadrupled from this time last year and storage options are now growing more limited.
Ukraine says that one-fifth of its grain elevators have been damaged or lost to Russian forces. Because of the surplus, grain prices in Ukraine
have plunged. One variety is down nearly 60 percent from April.
Now, Nic Robertson is in Kyiv for us. Nic, were you surprised that the parties were able to strike this deal and Russia at least in this very
limited respect being more conciliatory?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: I think when you look at the sort of the body language and the chemistry of what happened in
Istanbul is quite instructful there. There really is underlying this, a big lack of trust between Russia and Ukraine and the UN has done everything it
can to bridge that gap and Turkey has facilitated in the way that it can.
But interestingly, there was never a moment where the Russian Defense Minister and Ukraine's infrastructure Minister where actually at the table
together signing. They switched out chairs.
[15:15:05]
ROBERTSON: And again, a big part of the symbolism here was the handshake that everyone saw and that handshake was actually between Russia's Defense
Chief who went to sign the deal, Sergei Shoigu, and Turkey's Defense Chief, not the Ukrainians.
It was a day of opportunity and benefit for the world, but not one that really signifies a big growth and trust between Russia and Ukraine.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTSON (voice over): In Istanbul, the biggest diplomatic breakthrough in Russia's war against Ukraine, a deal to ease Russia's stranglehold on
Ukraine and get its grain, one-fifth of the world's supply to market.
GUTERRES: It will bring relief for developing countries on the edge of bankruptcy, and the most vulnerable people on the edge of famine.
ROBERTSON (voice over): Since the war began, Russia has attacked and blockaded Ukraine's ports, burnt wheat fields, stolen harvest from farmers.
Until now, Russia has been holding the world's grain hostage.
The New Deal aims to end that by creating safe shipping channels, using Ukrainian pilots to navigate through sea mines. Implementation overseen by
Turkey includes inspecting cargoes.
Russia's Defense Chief and Ukraine's Infrastructure Minister signed the deal, but not with each other, separately with the UN. Tensions remain and
the deal fragile with no hard ceasefire at ports.
An adviser to President Zelenskyy's Chief of Staff tweeting in case of provocations and immediate military response.
DMYTRO KULEBA, UKRAINIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: Ukraine does not trust Russia. I don't think anyone has reasons to trust Russia. We invest our trust in
the United Nations as the driving force of this agreement.
ROBERTSON (voice over): Speaking in Istanbul, Russia's Defense Chief indicating what they got from the deal. The UN lifting restrictions on
their food and fertilizer exports, despite their responsibility, triggering the current calamity.
Ukrainian officials say 20 million tons of grain are stuck in port and exports could begin in days, likely using ships stuck in port since the war
began.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTSON (on camera): So agricultural experts here are saying, look, the real success is going to be if this deal can be made to work, if ships can
get in and out, if there is no sort of trigger that sparks the conflict again, at least at sea, then that will at least encourage global shippers
and their insurers to be -- to know that they can get vessels safely into Ukraine to continue with the exports.
Initial exports are expected to be those ships that are stuck there, but of course, new ships will need to come into the Black Sea to continue the
exports and they're not going to do that unless they've got insurance, and they're not going to get insurance unless the war remains on land and
doesn't get back into the sea again.
NOBILO: And Nic, in your piece, you called the deal, both a diplomatic breakthrough, but also fragile, which we can see that it is. Obviously,
people want to have hope of any glimmer of possibility that there could be renewed diplomacy or peace talks in this war in Ukraine. Would it be naive
or inaccurate to think that the deal that we've seen today might indicate that there is reason for hope?
ROBERTSON: You know, I think it indicates that there is possibility, and that hope gets results, because that's what the UN Secretary-General went
into this with, and then President Erdogan certainly pinned his hopes that he was going to be able to sort of be the effective middleman and bring
people together.
But I think really strategically on the ground with so much of the offensive still underway, Russia continues to attack, you know, dozens upon
dozens upon dozens of Ukrainian villages and towns, by the day. The frontlines are still hundreds and hundreds of kilometers long. And that you
do get the sense, despite what we heard from the head of MI6 saying that he thinks Russia is going to run out of steam and will have to hit some kind
of pause soon.
The strategic goals of Moscow, one of which didn't appear until very recently, at least, that may still be to take Odessa, the port that will be
one of the principal places of origin for getting this grain out of Ukraine, that these strategic goals have not gone away and Ukraine wants to
reclaim its territory, and Russia seems intent to take more.
So this really is something that gives a glimmer of what can be achieved, but I don't think in the near term this is going to bring an end to the
fighting on the land, it might give us an idea of what could be achieved maybe next year or the year after.
NOBILO: Nic Robertson in Kyiv, Thank you.
[15:20:10]
NOBILO: Food shortages are presenting new challenges for the Italian food brand, Colavita. The company's CEO came on the show during the darkest days
of the pandemic, when shutdowns ground his business to a halt.
Richard Quest recently paid Giovanni Colavita a visit to find out how his business is faring now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS ANCHOR, QUEST MEANS BUSINESS (voice over): For Giovanni Colavita, olive oil runs in the veins. He is the third generation
of his family to run the Italian food company, Colavita.
GIOVANNI COLAVITA, CEO, COLAVITA: We celebrate every birthday of every single employee. So, it's a family environment.
QUEST (voice over): In the early days of the pandemic, when he was a voice of the crisis, being the CEO was something of a kitchen nightmare.
COLAVITA: Forty percent of the food service side just went dead the last week, the previous week was 50 percent, and now, it is completely dead, of
course, because of the restaurant shutdown in the country.
QUEST (on camera): Once the normal times come, we'll get you over into the studio and we can have some pasta together. That's what it's all about,
meeting face-to-face.
QUEST (voice over): Two years on, and we are together at the Culinary Institute of America, where Colavita trains the next generation on Italian
cooking, and I get a lesson of my own with their Corporate Chef.
KEN ARNONE, CORPORATE CHEF, COLAVITA: Today, we are going to be making a spaghetti with zucchini.
QUEST: So bring four to six quarts of slightly salted water to a rapid boil cooked to desired tenderness.
ARNONE: Correct, al dente.
QUEST: You don't throw it against the wall.
ARNONE: No, I do not.
QUEST (voice over): When COVID-19 hit, Colavita's restaurant customers were shutdown. So, its business shifted to e-commerce, meal kits, retail
sales, a trend that's now reversing as restaurants have reopened.
COLAVITA: People are back in the restaurants. They love to go out.
QUEST: So the business has come back.
COLAVITA: The business has come back.
QUEST (voice over): The business may be back, but people aren't returning to the cookbooks of old. The regular balsamic vinegar doesn't pique
people's appetites the way it used to. Now, it's a more premium product they want.
COLAVITA: It's not about just olive oil. What kind of olive oil? Where it comes from? What's the grade? What's the variety?
So they're more interested to learn more.
ARNONE: You know what's great to practice with, Richard? Fantastic.
QUEST (voice over): As Colavita's customers are honing skills in the kitchen, ingredients from all over the world are becoming more expensive.
COLAVITA: So, it's affecting just to give an example, the difference just in shipping cost from Italy to US, from 2019 to today, quadruple. That's
just an example.
But there is not one single component of their bottle starting from the product that didn't go up.
QUEST: Chef, you were telling me -- I mean, he's at the production side, you're actually at the sort of the business end, how is food inflation
hitting?
ARNONE: So unfortunately, at this time, food inflation has hit in a way that we've only seen a few times through history. In this case, we've seen
a spike in nearly every single commodity and that certainly hurts the consumer. It hurts them when they're going shopping to cook at home and it
hurts them when they're dining out in restaurants because everybody is being squeezed.
QUEST: How often do you have to innovate? Or you don't have the right tool or whatever.
ARNONE: To be a great chef and to continue to be relevant, you must constantly innovate.
COLAVITA: And actually, innovation has been something we've not seen in our industry in the recent year because of the pandemic and the supply
chain, because eventually the finished product, to innovate during this period was impossible.
QUEST: Do you see any easing up the supply chain at the moment?
COLAVITA: Not really soon. I mean, maybe next year.
ARNONE: Yes. You can see how that sauce is getting very creamy.
QUEST: It is getting thicker and richer. And I can feel my arteries --
ARNONE: Now and --
QUEST: For the olive oil.
ARNONE: Olive oil bath.
QUEST: Olive oil -- that's what I was --
ARNONE: You've got to be really healthy.
QUEST: Just about to say exactly that.
COLAVITA: You want to see it.
ARNONE: Heart healthy. I said it, Giovanni, it's okay.
QUEST (voice over): Despite new challenges, it is more than 80 years of heritage that's given Colavita the old school standards that's helped the
company survive all sorts of crises.
ARNONE: We are going to pour some of that sauce on there.
QUEST (voice over): So whether it's pandemics supply chains or inflation, there is no problem that won't look better with a good plate of pasta.
QUEST (on camera): That is excellent.
QUEST (voice over): Richard Quest, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NOBILO: Well, that's made Ronan who produces the show and I extremely hungry. Lucky Richard.
As temperatures soar across the world, attention is turning to heat-related illnesses, especially for those working outdoors.
In Dubai, one of the hottest places on Earth, a new technology that could help save lives is being put to the test.
Claire Sebastian has the details for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It's another day's work at this aluminum smelter in Dubai. Shirts, boots, helmet -- it's
not your regular office job.
Here, temperatures can reach up to 58 degrees Celsius, a challenging and potentially dangerous environment.
SALMAN ABDULLA, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, HEALTH AND SAFETY, EMIRATES GLOBAL ALUMINUM: The Gulf is one of the more warmer parts of the world,
and in addition to that, the equipment and operation itself generates heat.
SEBASTIAN (voice over): A new technology is here to help prevent overheating. Emirates Global Aluminum says that 50 volunteers are trialing
a device that aims to detect symptoms before they even realize it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It can measure and calculate if you're entering in any kind of a heat stress situation.
SEBASTIAN (voice over): Developed by American company Kenzen, this tech can actually monitor critical health indicators like body temperature,
heart rate, and sweat output.
KYLE HUBREGTSE, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, KENZEN: The device is a wearable device it's worn on the upper arm. It is used to help predict and prevent
adverse health events on site.
On the backside, you actually have your heart rate sensors, skin temperature, and looks at sweat as well. They'll know through vibration
first that their core temperature has raised to a level where they need to stop working. They can also see those values on an app on their phone.
The dashboard you're seeing on the screen is a dashboard that is designed for safety managers to be able to monitor their team and to see if anybody
is at risk.
You can see the team member's name. You can see if they're at risk or not. That allows you to really understand who to triage, who to help.
SEBASTIAN (voice over): The device functions by alerting its users of symptoms, having the right equipment and knowledge is still key to actually
remediating the impact of heat.
ABDULLA: Technology on its own is never going to be enough you have to have the infrastructure, and you have to have the facilities in which it
can operate successfully.
SEBASTIAN (voice over): In one of the hottest climates on Earth, learning how to deal with high temperatures goes far beyond heat of the moment. So
making sure the right technology is in place now could have an impact on workers safety the years ahead.
Clare Sebastian, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NOBILO: Up next, as Europe swelters, the Chief Heat Officer of Athens talks to us about how that city is preparing for an era of extremes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:31:18]
NOBILO: The World Health Organization says more than 1700 people have died in the current heatwave in Spain and Portugal. Now Europe's extreme
temperatures are moving east. Italy, Poland and Slovakia are among the country's at the highest heat alert levels. Ukraine warns that over half
its regions are at extreme risk of fire.
And joining me now from Poland is Wojciech Bojanowski. Wojciech, I believe that around half of Poland's regions are at risk of drought. What are the
forecasts like at the moment and what measures are in place to protect people and the ground?
WOJCIECH BOJANOWSKI, TVN FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT: Bianca, the forecast isn't very optimistic I would say. Actually, we we're expecting even higher
temperatures than now. Actually the state of emergency, the state of hydrological drought was announced in several regions of Poland. And
thinking about the measurements, what we see behind me is an artificial river and water curtains that were announced in many Polish cities.
The temperature is now -- the highest temperature in Poland was about 38 degrees Celsius. The record of all-time is 40 degrees. It was recorded in
1921. So we are really close to the record of the old -- record of all-time regarding the temperature. It is also very dangerous for the Polish
agriculture. As you said, the heatwave is also going to Ukraine. I've been in Ukraine for several weeks now. And I know how difficult it is with --
for the Ukrainian agricultures.
It's also difficult to get the grains out of Ukraine because the ports at the south of Ukraine are still blocked which can cause the feminine in the
north of Africa where this -- where the food was being transported from Ukraine. So, this is a real state of emergency and people aren't really
coping really well. Several cases of the sunstroke sunburns are being reported in the -- in the recent days.
NOBILO: And Wojciech, I'm coming to you from London. And we've been remarking this week that this city and this country simply isn't built for
the extreme heat because of the Victorian buildings. It's built for temperature ranges that are much lower than what we're currently
experiencing. I presume Poland being known for being quite cold. It's the same situation there.
BOJANOWSKI: It's totally the same situation like most of the offices aren't air-conditioned. And also like the citizens is like here. Now, the city
mayors are trying to deal with it somehow. But you know, a few years ago, like top fashion in urban architecture was just concrete everywhere. Now,
people start planting trees and just to give people some shadow where they can hide from the high temperature.
But Poland isn't ready for the temperatures of that height. These palms that you see behind me, these palms are being -- are being brought here
only for summer of course in winter. This is -- this is impossible because we have snow, we have temperatures below zero.
BOJANOWSKI: Wojciech Bojanowski, thanks so much for the update and try and keep cool.
And wildfires still raging in Spain, Portugal and Greece. New blazes is spreading in Italy and Slovenia. The fires have come at a high economic
cost. The European Central Bank says that climate change could shrink the economy by four percent by 2030.
[15:35:02]
NOBILO: And it says that wildfires are the most significant physical risk. Greece may be one step ahead as Europe adapts to the new extremely hot
reality. Its capital is one of a handful of cities with a dedicated heat officer. She has a three-point plan to beat extreme temperatures. First
raise awareness. She wants to name heatwaves as we do storms to highlight the dangers. Two, prepare.
Athens developed an app that highlights hot areas and cooling centers. And three, redesign. She says that cities need to create green corridors and
landscapes to provide shade and help cool down the Earth.
Joining me now is Eleni Myrivili. The chief heat officer for Athens and for U.N. Habitat. It's great to have you on the program, Eleni. It couldn't be
more pertinent time for this discussion. How confident are you in the preparations that you have in Athens for this heatwave?
ELENI MYRIVILI, ATHENS CHIEF HEAT OFFICER: Thanks for inviting me, Bianca. I think we're better prepared than before. And I'm hoping that we're going
to be better prepared next year. The naming and categorizing of heatwaves is the first -- it's the first year that we're trying it out. And we
believe it's going to be a game changer because it really will raise awareness as to how dangerous heatwaves are, which is something that a lot
of people do not understand.
That heatwaves are really the most dangerous of all extreme weather phenomena. Rising heat claims more lives all around the world. So, I mean,
in relation to other -- to other extreme weather that's linked to climate change. So, we have this categorization of heat waves which is a very
interesting methodology because it does -- it takes me through your logical data and links it to mortality data.
And so, each category shows us the percentage of excess mortality that we might have. And this is really important for people but also for
policymakers. So they know what kind of policies to take in each category.
NOBILO: And the prepare and raise awareness elements of your plan are obviously strong short-term solutions. In the longer term, obviously,
that's going to require that redesign and adaptations of cities. What kinds of things are you looking at there? And could they be applicable to cities
all across the European continent?
MYRIVILI: That's absolutely true. I mean, as we know -- change is here to stay. So, even if we really stop producing any greenhouse gas emissions
tomorrow, we will be continue heating up the planet for several years before it really starts cooling down. So we have to prepare and preparing
means, especially in cities, which are environments that really tend to heat up much more than the outskirts of cities or the other areas where we
see more nature.
Cities with their very densely built fabrics of asphalt and of cement and glass and steel (INAUDIBLE) to absorb heat and to radiate heat in the
night, which is really, really terrible. They're kind of heat traps for the human bodies. So we have to bring in to cities nature much more radically
plant -- trees that have thick canopies and bring water to the surface of the cities and really reclaim -- basically, we have to reclaim public space
and start bringing much, much more nature into cities, reclaim public space from cars and from the streets the way that we have made them up to now.
And this is happening all around Europe already. I mean, cities are waking up to it. But still, we're not doing it fast enough.
NOBILO: And the role that you have is pretty forward thinking and quite unusual at the moment in terms of other cities and other countries. Have
other countries been in touch with you and your colleagues to try and learn from the work that you're doing?
MYRIVILI: So yes, we have -- we're working with several other cities with - - supported by Arsht-Rock Resilience Center of the Atlantic Council. So we're working together with Miami and Freetown in Sierra Leone and -- and a
couple of other cities around the world. But also we're provided by technical assistance from the Asht-Rock Resilience Center for several
things like for example for naming and categorizing of heatwaves that we were talking about.
But we also have -- we see these belong in networks like Resilience Cities Network where there's a community of practice around heat, we're recreating
it now as things are becoming much more intense all around the globe about heating.
[15:40:11]
MYRIVILI: There's a Cool Cities Network and C40. So there are these networks where cities are learning from each other and figuring out what
works and what doesn't work.
NOBILO: Eleni Myrivili, thanks so much for joining us and for sharing your insights. Hopefully, there'll be implemented more widely.
MYRIVILI: Thank you.
MYRIVILI: And that was QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. And I'll be back at the top of the hour as we make a dash of the closing bell. Up next, Living Golf.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[15:51:30]
NOBILO: Hello, we're getting an update on the health of U.S. President Joe Biden who tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday. He's been working in
isolation with what the White House c coronavirus coordinator says are very mild symptoms. So let's go to the White House. Well, the press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and COVID
response coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha are giving an update on the president's condition.
KARINE JEAN-PIERRE, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: -- alter the initial expectation. Early use of Paxlovid provides additional protection against
severe disease. He will isolate in accordance with CDC recommendations, and he will continue to monitor him closely during this very common outpatient
treatment regimen. As promised, I will keep your office updated with any changes in his condition or treatment plan, respectively Kevin O'Connor.
So I also wanted to update you on what the president has been up to and how he's continuing to work hard on behalf of the American people. Last night,
the president signed the baby formula bill, Congress passed. He also spoke with Senator Carper to see how he was feeling and to the hosts of
yesterday's DNC event to thank them for their flexibility. This morning, the president received the president's daily briefing virtually as you all
know.
He also met virtually with his economic team on the progress being made to lower gas prices for American families. As you all saw yourselves. Dr. Jha
and I spoke to the president over FaceTime this afternoon. I asked him if he had a message for the American people. The president said he is still --
he's still putting in eight-plus hours a work day and that he wants to remind Americans to get vaccinated because in his own words, it matters.
Look, the president hopes the country will see that while we should continue to take COVID very seriously. We have the tools we need to deal
with this. President Biden is benefiting from two vaccines, two boosters, and he's at advocating for every American to take advantage of these
vaccines and boosters, which we have made available for free at 90,000 convenient places nationwide.
And he's benefiting from Paxlovid, a powerful antiviral. We've made available at 42,000 locations including local pharmacies across the
country. All Americans have access to the same vaccines, boosters, treatment that President Biden is receiving right here at the White House.
And the president hopes that all Americans who are over 50 get boosted. Now, if they haven't already and get Paxlovid a little bit if they test
positive.
Now I'm glad to return to the briefing room. Dr. Jha the White House coronavirus response coordinator who is joining me today and we're happy to
take some questions. Go ahead, Dr. Jha. I know you have a few things that you wanted to share.
ASHISH JHA, WHITE HOUSE COVID RESPONSE COORDINATOR: Right. Good afternoon, everybody. I'm going to make a few remarks, some things similar to Karine. First of all, good to be with all of you today. Just -- you just heard
Karine give a an update on the president. And I'm happy to answer questions about his health in a second. We -- as you heard we FaceTime with the
president earlier today.
I also spoke at length multiple times today with Dr. O'Connor. And as you all saw just a few minutes ago, the president is doing better. He slept
well last night. He ate his breakfast and lunch. I fully -- he actually showed me his plate.
[15:55:05]
JHA: Didn't ask about the menu but I did see an empty plate with crumbs and I have some guesses about what was there but didn't ask. Didn't ask. I ask
-- I did ask him about his appetite. He joked that his one regret was that his appetite had not changed. Look, he is -- he was -- he is in a very good
mood. I want to take a step back and emphasize the message that you heard from Karine.
As the White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator, what I think every American needs to hear, what the president laid out is that while we have a
very contagious variant out there, thanks to this president's leadership. We have the ability to manage this. We are now at a point I believe, where
we can prevent nearly every COVID death in America. That is a remarkable fact. So, if you are vaccinated but have not gotten a booster, this is a
really good time to go and get a booster.
If you're over 50 and haven't gotten a vaccine shot in the year 2022, this is a really good time to go and get a shot. They are free, they are widely
available. And as you heard, if you are over the age of 50, or have any kind of chronic condition that meets CDC criteria, please consider getting
treated if you have a breakthrough infection. And if you don't have a regular doctor, you can go to covid.gov and find a test to treat site near
you.
So I want to share some data about the progress we are making both on vaccines and treatments just over the last couple of weeks. Over the last
seven days, we've gotten 2.2 million more shots into people's arms. That's the highest we've seen in a month. More than 900,000 Americans have gotten
their second booster shot in the last week. That's the highest number in six weeks.
So, as Americans go about their daily lives this summer, they're heeding the public health message. And not just on vaccinations by the way on
treatments as well. You know, when I started in this role by three and a half months ago, we were seeing less than 4000 prescriptions a day of packs
of it. Now packs of it, prescriptions are at their highest level. Last week, about 40,000 courses of Paxlovid that were prescribed every single
day across America.
It's a remarkable fact. And if you think about the fact that we have about 120,000 identified infections, even if you assume that some infections are
not getting identified because of home tests, it's a large proportion of people getting packs of it. I think that's really good. It's preventing
hospitalizations, it's preventing deaths every day. Overall, just so far, in the month of July, 920,000 Americans have benefited from Paxlovid.
We have secured 20 million courses of Paxlovid. That's the most in the world, by a lot. And again, we've made it widely available, and of course
free. All right. Let me finish by providing what I think is really the bottom line. It's great to see the president doing better. He's doing
better because he is vaccinated, he has boosted, he's getting treatments. He is getting world class treatment, exactly what you would expect for the
president of the United States.
And the president has made clear to us that it's incredibly important to him. And therefore it's incredibly important to all of us that all
Americans have easy, free access to the same world class treatment that he's getting. Vaccinations, therapeutics. So my message to my fellow
Americans really is this, please avail yourself of this vaccine to build up your immunity. Please avail yourselves of treatments if you qualify, if you
get infected.
And let's continue to do everything we can to prevent serious illness and death from this pandemic. All right. Thank you very much for listening. And
I'm happy to take questions as I know KJP is as well.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know the White House released his elevated temperature level of 99.4 degrees. Can the White House providing specific
numbers on his oxygen levels, blood pressure levels beyond just saying that they are normal? Would you be willing to release that information?
JHA: You know (INAUDIBLE) gets his vital signs check several times a day. So, of course, there are multiple numbers in there. All of his vitals
including his temperature, I would argue, but all of his vitals have always been in the normal range. His heart rate, its blood pressure, his oxygen
level and his temperature. The 99.4 was the highest temperature he's had in the last -- well, 24 hours, but I would say since his diagnosis. But he's
had normal, vital signs throughout the entire course of the disease.
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: OK. You've been listening there to Dr. Ashish Jha who is the COVID coordinator at the White House talking about President
Biden's condition and basically he has improved today. He seems to be getting better. He had a slight temperature last night but that was treated
easily with Tylenol and most importantly, no change to his appetite as we learned.
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. Excellent treatment, Dr. Jha says. And he finished the breakfast and lunch apparently.
[16:00:04]
So that's an important --
(CROSSTALK)
CAMEROTA: That was an important detail. But more importantly what is available to him for treatment is available to all Americans. That was the
message that they wanted to get across that everyone should get vaccinated. That's why he's doing so well.
OK. Have a wonderful weekend, everyone. And "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper starts right now.
END
