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Quest Means Business

U.S. Stocks Fall As Trump Begins Revealing Tariff Rates; At Least 95 Dead In Texas Floods, Dozens Still Missing; Netanyahu To Meet Trump And Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Talks; Police Fire Water Cannon And Tear Gas At Kenyan Protesters; Economists Warn About Impact Of Government Data. Aired 4-4:45p ET

Aired July 07, 2025 - 16:00   ET

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

PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: So the markets, the Dow, at least off its lows of the day, reacting to more trade news from Donald Trump. We will

see if the market is taking the White House seriously as more tariffs are announced. Those are the markets, and we do get to the main events.

As I was saying, President Trump targets U.S. trading partners announcing new tariff rates up to 40 percent.

At least 95 people have now died in severe flooding in Texas.

And Tesla shareholders are displeased with Elon Musk's decision to start his own political party.

Live from New York, it is Monday, July 7th. I am Paula Newton, in for Richard Quest and this is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.

And a very good evening to you tonight. Wall Street's summer rally comes to an abrupt halt as President Trump begins to reveal the tariffs he will

place on U.S. trading partners.

Now the Dow, as you can see there, dropped more than 400 points, while the S&P and NASDAQ both closed nearly one percent lower. I do want to remind

everyone they were at or near record highs.

Now, Japan and South Korea were among the first to receive those letters from the White House. They were told that they would be hit with a 25

percent tariff starting August 1st.

The White House says around 12 countries will receive letters today. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt says there is still time to strike more deals.

Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: So, the reciprocal tariff rate or these new rates that will be provided in this correspondence to

these foreign leaders will be going out the door within the next month, or deals will be made, and those countries continue to negotiate with the

United States. We've seen a lot of positive developments in the right direction.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: Anna Stewart is in London for us, but we begin with Kevin Liptak in Washington.

Kevin, the deadlines have changed, right? The tariffs not as dramatic as on Liberation Day. But I guess what I am asking you is what does the White

House hope to achieve? Is this time for more negotiation? We just heard Karoline Leavitt talk about it that way, but it does seem like a tougher

stance on negotiations here as well.

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, I think that's exactly right, Paula. And clearly the White House and President Trump had grown

frustrated at the pace of these trade talks that they claimed when they initially put these reciprocal tariffs in place would occur very quickly.

Remember we heard from the Commerce Secretary that they would reach 90 trade deals in 90 days, but so far they've only been able to reach two

framework deals with Great Britain and Vietnam, leaving all of these other countries in various states of discussion with the United States and there

had been some frustration on the part of the administration that those trade talks were not going as quickly as they hoped, and at least in the

case of some of these countries, that the terms were not as favorable as they had hoped for.

At least with Japan, there was this sticking point over the number of autos that were coming in from Japan to the U.S. The U.S. was frustrated that the

Japanese rice market wasn't being open to the United States. So, you know, obviously, each of these countries is going to have their own various

sticking points based on their own industries, based on their own sort of product of goods that they are putting into the United States.

And I think for President Trump, there was a frustration that this all wasn't happening quickly enough. Now, the question going forward is whether

extending this by, you know, 21 days is going to have the effect of prompting these trade deals to occur in a way that they weren't able to

occur over the last several months.

You know, this doesn't really extend it all that much further. It is now August 1st is the day that the higher rates will go into effect. The gamble

that the White House seems to be making is that this additional pressure will cause these countries to come to the negotiating table, cause them to

sort of ease up on the terms that they're demanding. But that's a real risk, I think, for the President to take, and clearly the markets are being

affected.

In a way, you know, it had been a period of calm, really, on the tariff front over the last, you know, at least couple of months, as they talked

about these trade deals being negotiated. Now, President Trump throwing a whole amount of uncertainty back into the markets as he wages and ramps up

this trade war again.

NEWTON: Yes, and while the markets may be able to sit on the sidelines, businesses can't, right? So it is at least another few weeks of uncertainty

for businesses.

Anna, to you now, how are countries newly tariffed handling this? I know how closely you've been watching the E.U. negotiations. Nothing new on that

so far today. But for some, the U.S. market, right, is the coveted export market. Their economies rely on it.

ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: They do, and I have to say, though, it is not far different, all of these letters from where a lot of these countries

were back in April, when we had so-called Liberation Day. The tariff levels are quite similar. They've risen by a few percent. They've been lower by a

few percent. They're just slightly rounder numbers.

[16:05:10]

And the deadline has been extended to the 1st of August. So for many of these countries, they at least have more time to reach some sort of deal.

The question is, of course, is more time what is really needed here?

For instance, Japan is a country that has been trying very hard to negotiate a deal. It was actually at the beginning of negotiations, looking

like it might be one of the very first countries to be able to do so. But as Kevin was saying there, it has been, you know, stuck with issues around

the cars, around issues around Japanese rice, and it is unclear whether more time will actually help them find some sort of middle ground.

Clearly, this is bad for all of the countries who have received letters, many of whom, as you say, rely very heavily on the U.S. economy. For Japan

and South Korea, cars are their biggest export to that market. My light has switched off. I wonder if I can switch it on myself. I don't even know if I

can.

NEWTON: We can hear you, Anna. Go for it. Just finish what you're saying.

STEWART: You can still hear me.

NEWTON: Yes. Go for it.

STEWART: There we go. I am back.

So for some of these countries, you know, this is a very important market. They have already been trying to negotiate, not much is changing as a

result other than the deadline here.

Interestingly, the U.S. market is actually faring a little bit worse today. I know they've pulled back from their lows, but the Dow was down around 600

points at one point. We've also seen a bit of a sell off when it comes to U.S. Treasuries.

Now if that were to worsen or escalate, if markets got, Paula, a little bit yippy, to use President Trump's words, that would actually add pressure,

not just from the countries who want to reach a deal with the U.S., but also pressure on the White House, because you could see potentially the

increased cost of borrowing.

NEWTON: Anna, we are going to give you a second. But I do want to come back to you in a minute.

Both Kevin and Anna, I have a quick question for both of you. Kevin, to you, first, there was the issue of the TACO trade right? Trump Always

Chickens Out. So Kevin, what do you think? Is this the ultimate response? The reply to that? Because the markets, as we all know, have been pretty

calm about any tariffing whatsoever. They just don't believe the White House and Donald Trump will go through with it.

LIPTAK: Yes, I think that could be part of it. I think the President was clearly affected by that. And we had reporting around the time that aides

actually had to explain to him what TACO meant when he was questioned by a reporter around it. And he was not pleased when he heard exactly what they

were talking about.

I do think that these letters that are going out are interesting, because they do provide the White House some degree of flexibility. On the one

hand, they say that they could raise these rates at will based on what they are calling these countries' relationships with the United States. But in

theory, that could also prompt the President to decide on a lower rate. And I think that language does give you a sense of how the President sort of

views all of these alliances around the world in a way that previous Presidents saw foreign policy as one of allies, one of alliances, trying to

come up with some common ground.

The President clearly views it through sort of a mercantile lens. He sees these countries as trading partners and sort of the end all be all of the

relationship is whether or not you have a trade deficit with the United States. Clearly, trying to put that down into actual policy has been

something of a difficulty for him going forward. But these letters, I think, do provide a little bit of -- a little glimpse into how the

President is approaching all of this.

NEWTON: Yes, and once again, so many around the world on the edge of their seats over the next few weeks. We will have to leave it there. Kevin Liptak

for us in Washington and Anna Stewart in London. Thank you to you both.

And we turn to Texas now, where rescuers are facing renewed weather. At this point in time, we do have more rain and severe weather in the

forecast. Authorities now confirming that at least 95 people have died. That's including 27 campers and counselors at an all-girls' camp along the

Guadalupe River. People remembered the victims at a vigil on Sunday.

The weather prediction center is upgrading the risk of flooding for parts of Central Texas. It says the vulnerability of hard hit areas is leading to

the heightened risk. Recovery efforts are already facing treacherous conditions. Volunteers say enormous trees, you can see some of the photos

there, they are incredible, as well as wreckage and structures are getting in the way of their efforts. I mean, you just see there in the pictures,

you see what they are dealing with.

Now as the search continues for the missing, more truly heartbreaking stories are emerging, but also heroic ones from those who have survived

this disaster, with residents sharing the horrors that they've witnessed. Take a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The disaster was horrible. I've been through a lot, but I haven't seen anything like that in my life. It's pretty bad. Just

demolished.

Yes, the whole town is demolished.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I grabbed my wife and we literally jumped in the water and it swept us down to about 200 feet down that way and there is a crape

myrtle tree that we grabbed hold of, and we waited for rescue.

[16:10:04]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, no, Granny. I can't get any more. Oh my God.

TONIA FUCCI, FLOOD SURVIVOR: No warnings at all. They came hours later, which was the most devastating part. We got the warnings on our phones

hours later. Hours later.

The destruction had already been done before the warnings came out. It was just something so serious happening and the swiftness of the water, it

wasn't slow. It wasn't slow and debris and furniture and R.V.s were coming down the river.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm devastated by what's happened to these families, to this town, but I am also joyful to see the efforts that the community is

all pitching in.

MACON WARE, RESIDENT: A week ago, I had five granddaughters in Camp Mystic and they finished their first session and they are home now. But some of

their friends were there for the second session. And I just -- my heart goes out to all of those little girls.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Isabel Rosales is on the ground for us in Texas.

Isabel, I don't even -- it just takes your breath away, especially when they continue to speak about those little girls. So many of them have not

survived, unfortunately. And yet, this is still very much a search and rescue effort, right?

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right and it is the images of those little girls, Paula, that I've talked to so many volunteers here who say

inspired them to come out here from all over Central Texas and beyond to help look for the missing.

There was a rancher on horseback because he has a higher ground. He can see a lot more than people just walking around. He broke down into tears. He is

a father, he said, man, looking at their faces, I knew I had to get out here. What we are seeing in Center Point, which is just southeast of Hunt,

where Camp Mystic is located, is really a partnership between the local fire department here and volunteers.

We are seeing them using heavy machinery to move all of these just incredibly large cypress trees that were felled by those powerful flood

waters, it is just an incredible sight, move it out of the way. A volunteer told me here that the first time they searched in this area, they found a

victim. The second time, another; the third time, another. So they are being so careful to comb through this area to make sure that underneath

those limbs or in a pocket, a hole of mud somewhere, they are not missing anyone.

I want you to listen to a volunteer who is a Marine, what he experienced. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL GUYER, VOLUNTEER: What inspired me is the fact that I figured I could be prioritizing myself in an important way, even though I am not

actively involved as a first responder and everything, I figured I can at least come and help relieve them of some stress and exhaustion.

It is really just the effort to try to just find closure for the families and the victims, even if it means like just finding the remains. That's

more than enough for me to kind of just give satisfaction that I did a job well done.

It is very humbling just because all we are finding right now is just belongings and just debris after debris. It is just exhausting.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSALES: Yes, so this is rural Texas. So the barbed wire, the same barbed wire that you would see everywhere to mark the end and start of properties.

Well, all of these tree limbs and the flood waters drew all of that barbed wire all over the place.

Paula, I've stepped on it. I've seen first responders and volunteers stepping on it. There are all sorts of dangers. Fire ants and I've seen

people bitten up and then there is this hot Texan sun, just unbearable beating down. So it just goes to show you the labor that these people are

going through, the hours that they're putting in to help find the missing.

We also have video of Texas A&M Task Force with a cadaver dog named Finn searching underneath a bridge, because that's kind of a catch basin, I was

told, unfortunately, so sadly for these victims. So they're carefully searching underneath the bridges, clearing it, making sure there is no body

there left behind before they give the thumbs up to volunteers to remove the debris from under there -- Paula.

NEWTON: Such heartbreaking work, but so necessary. You know, you have reminded us what a strong community this is and they will need to muster

all that strength in the days and weeks to come.

Isabel Rosales, for us on the ground, really appreciate it.

Now, authorities in Texas are also facing scrutiny over what many say was an inefficient warning about last week's deadly flooding.

Now, the first warning for life-threatening flash flooding was issued for Kerrville, Texas, at 1:14 in the morning on Friday. That would have sounded

an alarm on cell phones if the phones had service. Remember, many didn't have service. The users had not turned -- if they have not turned their

weather alerts off, and many do now.

[16:15:10]

A few hours later, flash flood emergency warnings were issued for much of Kerr County and at around 5:00 A.M., the river -- this is crucial here --

the river actually burst its banks.

Chris Warren is with me now from the CNN Weather Center. And Chris, we just gave a little bit of the timeline there. But can you do two things? Take us

back, but then also take us forward because the severe weather is not over yet, right? There are still many dangers to come given what's just happened

in the last few days.

CHRIS WARREN, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, there still is a threat, Paula, and we are monitoring that threat through the rest of this afternoon and into

the evening. In fact, a level three out of four for the threat of more flash flooding and there are a few showers out there and there are watches.

So we talk about the watches and the warnings that were issued for the event on the Fourth of July. But here, this is active. This is right now.

Watches, you can think of it this way. watches in green. We are watching for warnings, so conditions are favorable for flash flooding or river

flooding. Warnings mean that is happening or it is about to happen.

Here are the showers right now. Some of the areas that are in warnings, you are seeing the rain leave. So now it is a matter of just the water draining

out of the rivers and streams. Future Radar shows it would go quiet and then pick back up tomorrow and into Wednesday, but much more scattered and

getting out of the Hill Country.

So the big question is, how can all of this happen? First, there are several factors that go into seeing a catastrophe like this. Number one,

too much rain. So how much rain? Getting a summer's worth of rain in a matter of hours over several counties, that's one thing. How does the rain

come down? Over several hours? Over a short period? Several days or several hours? You get this kind of rain in hours, you get serious life-threatening

flooding.

Now, Isabel mentioned how warm and hot it is in Texas. A warm atmosphere can have more moisture in it, and then you add a couple of former systems,

tropical systems bringing even more moisture into what is already a humid Texas. That's just that much more juice.

And then the placement of this, right over the drainage basin here, the North Fork and South Fork of the Guadalupe River, which goes right through

here. The fact that this set up and was just one of the most intense kind of thunderstorms, the heaviest kind of rain you can imagine over several

hours, led to this.

A river, the Guadalupe River, that was less than a foot deep for several days. Then the rain happened, and in a few hours, jumping up to two stories

at one point on the river, Paula, and this really, you don't have much time. Warnings -- Flash Flood Warnings, in particular Paula, are going to

happen after the rain starts because you don't know exactly where to warn until the rain starts and where the worst of it is and you see rainfall

rates.

So it is really an unfortunate and sad situation.

NEWTON: Yes, that is so stark, Chris, what you just pointed out to us there and again gives chilling meaning to the word "perfect storm." Again, much

strength is needed in that community.

Chris Warren, I know you'll continue to keep an eye on the weather there for us. Appreciate it.

Now, President Trump says Elon Musk has gone off the rails as Musk decides to form a new political party. You can see how Tesla shareholders are

taking it all in. I will discuss with the CEO of the investment firm, Azoria. That's after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:21:03]

NEWTON: In just about two hours, U.S. President Donald Trump will welcome Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu back to the White House. It is a

meeting that could be extremely consequential for a long sought ceasefire in the war in Gaza and the release of Israeli hostages still being held

there by Hamas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I think there is a good chance we have a deal with Hamas during the week, during the

coming week, pertaining to quite a few of the hostages. Yes, you know, we've gotten a lot of the hostages out, but pertaining to the remaining

hostages, quite a few of them will be coming out.

We think we will have that done this week.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: Mr. Netanyahu's first visit to the White House since last month's U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities and it comes as indirect talks

between Israel and Hamas have now resumed in Doha.

Jeremy Diamond is with us from Tel Aviv, and you've been following all of this so closely for so long now.

We know the President is trying to press to get that 60-day ceasefire in the coming days. And we know that the envoy, Steve Witkoff will also travel

to Qatar. You know, given how closely you follow this, it is still too early to say that this is a done deal, right? I mean, what kind of pitfalls

do you see ahead?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Yes, without a doubt. I mean, on the one hand, this is the closest that Israel and Hamas have been to a

ceasefire agreement since the last one collapsed. But that being said, it is still possible that this whole thing could fall apart without a deal,

and that is because of the -- you know, we are in the kind of final, delicate stages of negotiations, but it is also quite clear that there are

still some significant issues to resolve.

There are discussions as far as we understand, on everything from the entry of humanitarian aid to the movement of Israeli troops, the withdrawal of

Israeli troops and the timetable for that during this 60-day ceasefire, as well as the overall big question of whether or not this 60-day ceasefire is

ultimately going to result in a permanent ceasefire and an end to the war in Gaza altogether.

And so, with all of that in mind, the fact that Steve Witkoff, President Trump's special envoy to the region, is now going to be headed to Doha,

suggests that on the one hand, the Americans really do want to seal the deal here and get this over the finish line. But it also could suggest that

there are some real serious sticking points here that require the attention of Steve Witkoff and that can't simply be resolved through the proximity

talks that are already ongoing between Israel and Hamas.

Beyond the talks that are happening in Doha, though, Paula, it is also quite clear that these negotiations are happening in Washington, and they

will be happening at the White House more specifically tonight as President Trump sits down for dinner with Prime Minister Netanyahu to discuss this

Gaza ceasefire deal that is on the table, and we will see ultimately, you know, to what extent President Trump is willing to push Prime Minister

Netanyahu on some of these outstanding talking points and also how it all fits into the broader regional picture, as we know that they are also set

to discuss potential normalization agreements with Syria or with Lebanon, with Saudi Arabia. All of those have been on the table and are being

discussed in recent days.

So really, it is going to be about how all of these different items fit together and whether or not President Trump can get Prime Minister

Netanyahu to the place where he is, which is wanting to end the war, get all of the hostages home. Prime Minister Netanyahu has not expressed that

publicly so far -- Paula.

NEWTON: And we await to see what happens at the White House in about two hours from now. Jeremy Diamond for us in Tel Aviv, thank you.

Now, Tesla stock plunged today after Elon Musk announced that he was starting his own political party. Shares closed nearly seven percent lower.

President Trump wrote a lengthy social media post in response to Musk's decision.

He called the Tesla CEO a train wreck and accused him of going off the rails, in his words. Musk launched the America Party over the weekend,

writing on X that it would, "Give you back your freedom."

Musk had previously vowed to start a party if President Trump's domestic policy bill became law.

[16:25:10]

Musk has criticized it for being too expensive.

James Fishback is the CEO of investment firm, Azoria, and he calls the America Party a ridiculous stunt.

No, but tell us how you really feel, James? Why -- why is getting involved in politics right now that ridiculous, especially given the fact that Elon

Musk had success, right? MAGA might have been a masterstroke for him until he decided he wanted to break away from it. And the President, you know, a

political party for the coming midterms, it might bank a more political currency, right, and help his companies.

JAMES FISHBACK, CEO, AZORIA: Well, I do not see it that way, Paula. Good afternoon.

Look, the truth is that Elon Musk has not had much success in politics. Six months ago, he told the entire country he was going to deliver $1 trillion

in DOGE cuts. He came nowhere near that. The most recent number was about $150 billion. And meanwhile, President Trump just signed into law The Big

Beautiful Bill on Saturday. What did that do? It actually delivered $1.2 trillion in spending cuts, not to mention record tax relief, no tax on

tips, no tax on overtime, as well as a sizable investment in border security that can stop the human trafficking, drug smuggling and all sorts

of shenanigans that are happening at the southern border.

And so I encourage my friend, Elon to focus on Tesla, on a company that he has been an extraordinary leader at, whether its robotaxis, the Optimus

robotics system, or FSD. That's where his time and energy ought to be spent. Not trying to sabotage the president of the United States with a

political party that does run the risk, Paula, of giving the Democrats the power again after the '26 midterms.

NEWTON: Now, in terms of stepping away from the politics, though for a moment, if you're an investor, if you are in Tesla, what's worse here right

now? The fact that Musk is clearly still steeped in politics and distracted by it, or that the friction with President Trump could really mean that the

policy decisions will handicap Tesla in the months to come? They probably are already handicapping Tesla, and even his other companies.

FISHBACK: Yes, that is a great question. This really ultimately comes down to something called opportunity cost. What is he giving up as Tesla's CEO

by now, being the full time leader of a third party that serves the entire nation -- the candidate recruiting, the training, the media, the travel,

the logistics that come with all of that, that would come at the expense of Tesla's employees and shareholders.

He is a full time CEO. The CEO of NVIDIA is not running a political party. The CEO of OpenAI is not running a political party. Whatever you think

about their own political views, they are not dedicating their precious time, energy and resources into a national political movement. They are

focused on their companies, their employees and their shareholders.

If Elon was -- if Elon Musk wants to burn his own money starting the so- called America Party, he is free to do that. He is not free to drag shareholders like us down with him. You brought up Tesla's stock earlier,

as we speak, it is down $70 billion in value. Only about $9 billion of that is down for Musk.

The other $61 billion is -- those are losses being incurred by shareholders all across the country. We did not sign up for this.

I wrote to the board this weekend so they could have a meeting with Musk immediately and clarify what his political intentions are.

NEWTON: So I want to get to that point, though. As an investor, what can you do about it? The board hasn't necessarily done anything so far.

FISHBACK: Well, not yet they haven't. The board is just getting back from a long holiday weekend. Robyn Denholm, the Chair of that board, needs to have

very seriously have a conversation with Elon Musk about what his responsibilities to Tesla are going forward in light of this ridiculous

political stunt known as the America Party.

My advice to her and to the rest of the board is convince Elon to return his time, energy, and focus to Tesla. That is where he can have the most

positive change on the country, whether its robotics or autonomous driving, and not to try to sabotage the President of the United States, who is doing

extraordinary work at this time.

NEWTON: So what are your predictions if he does go ahead with the political party? I am very curious to what you believe will happen to his businesses,

including Tesla, if he decides he is going to devote all of this time and attention to this leading up to the midterms?

FISHBACK: Yes, sadly, the stock price is going to be capped in the near term. It is not going to be able to achieve its full potential when Elon is

distracted by other matters. He obviously has time at SpaceX and at X, these other companies. But remember, Paula, those complement his work at

Tesla because they overlap in the fields of A.I. engineering. Nothing about a political party overlaps with the extraordinary work that Tesla is doing

in autonomous driving or in robotics.

And so right here, right now, Tesla stock cannot go up meaningfully if Elon is going to dedicate his time and attention to a new political party.

NEWTON: James Fishback from Missouri. We will have you back, because it will be interesting to see when push comes to shove, if the board or

shareholders indeed have any say over this whatsoever. Appreciate your time.

FISHBACK: My pleasure.

NEWTON: Coming up, the federal government is facing severe funding cuts and observers are concerned about the loss of quality data. We will speak with

a group trying to preserve those data sets.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NEWTON: At least 10 people have been killed and dozens wounded in anti- government protests right across Kenya, that's according to the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights. Police clashed with protesters who

turned out on a heavily symbolic day for the country. Many young Kenyans are furious over the high cost of living, as well as alleged corruption and

police brutality. More now from Victoria Rubadiri in Nairobi.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VICTORIA RUBADIRI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Video shows police using tear gas and water cannons on demonstrators in Kenya, where protests turned

violent.

The demonstrations marked the 35th anniversary of a pro-democracy rally known as Saba Saba. They come amid an ever growing anti-government

resentment among young people in Kenya following an unpopular finance bill resented and later withdrawn by the government last year.

Protesters are outraged over corruption allegations, alleged police brutality and the recent death of a teacher in police custody.

RAILA ODINGA, FORMER KENYAN PRIME MINISTER: We have a rogue police force that shoots people with impunity. And this is a force that we inherited

from the colonialists.

[16:35:00]

RUBADIRI (voice over): When asked about reports of police opening fire on demonstrators, Kenyan police told CNN they are unaware of any deaths

related to the protests on Monday.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: As federal agencies face severe funding cuts, observers are sounding the alarm over the impact to government data. More than 90 percent

of economists who responded to a recent FT-Chicago Booth survey say they are worried about reliability going forward.

The cuts are already starting to have an effect. The Bureau of Labor Statistics posted a notice last month saying it is reducing its sample

collection for inflation data. Volunteers with the Data Rescue Project are rushing to preserve as much data as they can. They say information about

health, weather, education, just to name a few, is no longer being published.

Sebastian Majstorovic is the co-founder of the Data Rescue Project and he joins us now. I want to thank you for being here, and we'd really love for

you to explain this mission, because it is called a mission, and the so called army of nerves is what the Financial Times called you guys, you're

the Data Rescue Project. Can you explain what needs rescuing here?

SEBASTIAN MAJSTOROVIC, CO-FOUNDER, DATA RESCUE PROJECT: Absolutely. So, I think what most people don't know is that the federal government in the

U.S. produces an enormous amount of public data and that is really a public good that is not just used by scientists, journalists, NGOs, but also

businesses across the country and across the globe, actually.

And so, what the Data Rescue Project is it's a volunteer initiative mainly run by librarians and data professionals who try to save the data that are

now being deleted by due to cuts at federal agencies. And so far, we have backed up over 1,000 data sets and several petabytes of public data.

NEWTON: Now, in saving these data, these records, explain what difference you hope to make. And I want to say you come by this in a north -- or

unorthodox way. I mean, normally we're talking about trying to save records in war torn areas. This is the United States that you're talking about now.

I mean, what would happen? Why do you believe that data is evaporating from the United States? And again, why do you think the United States needs this

mission right now compared to the other things that you have done?

MAJSTOROVIC: Well, the thing is that really this deletion and manipulation and censorship of data really goes across the board, as you mentioned, it

goes into weather data, climate data, education data, but also economic data.

And so, when the Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, or, for example, the Office of Financial Reporting can no longer be trusted to

uphold the gold standard in data production that they have had so far, that really calls into question whether it is possible to assess the state of

the U.S. economy, for example, and that is relevant for economists, bankers, investors, or rating agencies, for example, to have trust in the

data that the government produces.

NEWTON: How ironic is it, though, that at one point in time you'd be doing this for Ukraine, and now you're doing it for the United States?

MAJSTOROVIC: Well, it's ironic, but also, in a sense, it's, I think, a testament to what volunteers can do. Because when several years ago, in

2022, we started rescuing data, cultural heritage data that was digitized due to the invasion in Ukraine, by Russia, most of our volunteers back then

were Americans.

And so, I really feel an obligation as a European that when public data is in danger in the U.S. now, to really, you know, give back.

NEWTON: And in giving back, I do want to try and get to a concrete a concrete example. Let's take the climate data for instance, if that data is

not collected, preserved, collated, analyzed, how does it diminish the capacity to prepare and mitigate for climate threats or shocks?

MAJSTOROVIC: Well, a few months ago, the New York Times headlined that meteorologists are warning that lives are being put in danger because that

data is no longer produced or maintained at the same level that it was before. The things that are being cut at, for example, NOAA or the National

Weather Service satellite data that are not longer made public at the end of the month, actually. Weather balloons are not started anymore, and more

than 500 staff at the National Weather Service have been fired or retired. So you can't take care of essential data anymore, and that many

meteorologists say that very quickly this is a danger now incoming hurricane season, for example.

[16:40:17]

NEWTON: You know, we do live in this Information Age. You would remember during wars of decades ago, people would take, you know, their prized art

sculpture, and really try and preserve it until the war was over. Do you believe this is really in a country's national endowment now, this kind of

data -- these kind of data sets?

MAJSTOROVIC: I believe so because I'm a historian by training, so I'm also very concerned about culture. Open Data also means historical data at the

Smithsonian institutions, for example, at the African American Museum there, which has been targeted by executive order in order to get rid of so

called DEI content. The same thing we are concerned about the contents of the Library of Congress.

So, in this day and age, data really is the memory and the public record of a country. And that's why I also think that attacks on public data and the

knowledge can be compared to digital book burnings. I want to be as fast as that my assessment.

NEWTON: You certainly paint a stark picture there just with that phrase. Thank you so much, Sebastian, really appreciate your time.

MAJSTOROVIC: Thank you for having me.

NEWTON: Now before we go, we will take one last look at those U.S. markets. The DOW closed more than 400 points lower, again, off its lows, though.

President Trump began revealing new tariffs on U.S. trading partners in the early afternoon, and we might still hear more in the coming hours that, in

fact, deepened the Dow's losses before that late comeback. The S&P closed about one point part -- pardon me, 0.8 percent lower, and the NASDAQ

dropped about one percent.

As we discussed earlier, some of that was tied to Tesla. It fell nearly seven percent today after Elon Musk formed the America party, escalating

that very public feud with the president.

And that is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. Up next, "CONNECTING AFRICA."

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(CONNECTING AFRICA)

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