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Quest Means Business
U.S. House to Vote on Trump's DOGE Cut Bill; Russia Strikes Ukraine as U.S. Weighs Sanctions on Moscow; Brazilian President: We Can Find Other Trading Partners; Ceasefire Between Syrian Government and Druze Appears to be Holding; U.K. Doctor in Gaza Describes Battle to Keep Patients Alive; Trump DOJ Fires Epstein Prosecutor Maurene Comey; Uber, Lucid Team Up with Nuro for 20,000 Robotaxis. Aired 4-5p ET
Aired July 17, 2025 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:12]
ERICA HILL, CNN HOST: And there you have the closing bell on Wall Street. As you can see, U.S. markets ending the day up slightly, but always good to
finish there in the green. That's a quick look at the markets. These are the main events.
The U.S. Congress moving one step closer to codifying the DOGE spending cuts, including pulling $8 billion from foreign aid programs.
The U.K. with a new plan to lower the voting age to 16.
And more robo-taxis could be heading your way, Uber announcing it is investing in the E.V. maker, Lucid.
Coming to you live from New York on this Thursday, July 17th. I am Erica Hill in for Richard Quest. This is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.
Good to have you with us. We begin this hour in Washington, where President Trump's DOGE bill will soon be back on the House floor. Overnight,
Republican senators approved the administration's spending cuts bill, which seeks to cancel $9 billion in federal funding. It is important to note,
those are funds that had already been approved by Congress. $8 billion of the nine are cuts to foreign aid. The remaining $1 billion, it cuts public
broadcasting. The White House, meantime, says it is already working on a second package of cuts, which could come soon.
Annie Grayer joins me now live.
So, Annie, walk us through this vote and these cuts.
ANNIE GRAYER, CNN CAPITOL HILL REPORTER: Well, this bill has actually hit a bit of a snag in the House, Erica, for unexpected reasons. A group of
Republicans are holding up this bill until leadership -- Republican Leadership can put something on the floor that will allow members to take a
vote for their position on the Epstein files.
This has been a topic we've been covering all week, how it has divided Republicans on where they stand on this issue, and Democrats have been
using this issue to drive a wedge between Republicans. Republicans want their leadership to put up something that will help them be able to show
their real positions on this.
So it is unrelated to the spending cuts bill, but it is now being linked because Republicans are not letting the spending cuts bill proceed through
the House. So we are in a bit of a holding pattern here, but once -- and House Speaker Mike Johnson and key Republican leaders are actually meeting
down the hallway from me to discuss this further.
But once the leadership is able to clear up this issue and get support for it, the House is going to be voting on whether to cut $9 billion, as you
mentioned, $1 billion for programs like NPR and PBS and $8 billion for foreign aid. This barely passed the Senate.
Republican Senators Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins voted against it because they view Congress as the ones holding the power of the purse and
do not like it -- do not like this precedent of the White House determining what Congress can and can't appropriate.
So similar issues exist in the House here, very narrow margins, but Republican leadership is determined to get this on President Trump's desk
by tomorrow night, midnight, which is when the deadline for this legislation runs out.
HILL: So as we wait to see what plays out there between the bill and of course, as you noted Epstein, which sort of no one can get away from at
this point. There is also this crypto bill, right, that we've been following very closely.
We do have a development on that.
That has just passed the House after a painstaking process. Now, what we saw play out yesterday in the House has really just shown the divisions
within the Republican Conference, where you had a group of conservatives from the group known as the House Freedom Caucus, holding up this bill
until they could get certain assurances from leadership about the legislation. They even met with President Trump at the White House, and
just showing how involved the President is in getting any bill across Congress right now.
And, you know, I did a whole story about this, about how so many other Republicans are frustrated with this strategy from House Freedom Caucus
members, where they draw these red lines, say that they are not going to vote for a piece of legislation, only to fold hours later.
So the House held open a procedural vote yesterday for the longest record in modern history, but now have now with a lot of behind the scenes
negotiations and agreements all came together to pass it today. So it was a painstaking process to get it over the finish line. But that bill, which is
going to be regulating cryptocurrency and stablecoins, is going to be headed to President Trump's desk.
HILL: Annie, really appreciate the reporting. Thank you.
For a closer look at these cuts that we are talking about, that $9 billion in funding cuts, $8 billion of that impacting U.S. aid. We are joined now
by Lisa Bos. She is the Vice President for Policy and Government Relations at Interaction which is a U.S. based alliance of international NGOs and
partners.
[16:05:06]
Lisa, it is good to have you with us. So when we look at -- I know in a statement that Interaction put out, you said these cuts create a less
stable and prosperous world.
Have you begun to see, even since the dismantling began, of course, what have you begun to see in terms of the impact of this funding and these
programs going away?
LISA BOS, VICE PRESIDENT FOR POLICY AND GOVERNMENT RELATIONS, INTERACTION: Thanks for that question.
The impacts certainly have been felt and have been immediate, and I think have been wide ranging. We've seen programs terminated that have been
serving thousands, if not tens of thousands of mothers and children with nutrition services, health services.
So, you know, when you look on the ground in some of the countries where the U.S. government previously was present, it is being felt by the people
there and it is having some really devastating repercussions. But I would say not only from the perspective of the loss of these services and
programs, but the real loss of trust as the U.S. as a partner, someone who can't be relied on to fulfill commitments and promises and that is
something that's quite catastrophic.
HILL: So catastrophic, how? Can you walk us through how you're seeing that impact in particular?
BOS: Absolutely. You know, for our members that are the ones on the ground implementing this work and have been doing this work for decades. You know,
they are getting questions from, you know, mothers, children, families who were relying on U.S. government support. And suddenly, overnight, those
programs were halted without explanation of why, without a plan for how those programs could continue through another mechanism, through maybe
private sector funding or through other mechanisms.
So, you know, it was like the rug was really pulled out from under folks and our members have been on the front lines of trying to answer questions
and they don't have the answers, unfortunately.
So again, that view of the U.S., you know, so quickly and abruptly just stopping life-saving work, it really raises questions on can the U.S. be
counted on?
HILL: When we look at the impact and it is broad, as I know, is there a specific region or specific set of programs that you think have been
impacted most dramatically?
BOS: I think a lot of work has been impacted. You know, I can give you a few examples. You know, one area of work that's been so important, not just
to the countries that are being served by this work, but even to U.S. farmers is what we call ready to use therapeutic food. It is food grown by
U.S. farmers, a lot of it is made into peanut paste, about 40 percent of that life-saving therapeutic food was supported by USAID.
Some of that work is continuing, but a lot of it has been stopped, or, you know, the peanut paste is being produced, but it is not being delivered to
where it needs to go because you don't have shipping contracts.
There have been malaria and polio projects stopped. You know, we have countries where we have eliminated malaria and polio globally. That work is
going to be lost. You're going to see a lot of countries fall backwards where we've seen success.
HILL: I should point out, too. You know, CNN has reporting about 500 tons of emergency food, which is now going to have to be destroyed because it
was sitting too long in a warehouse, I believe, in Dubai that that was supposed to go to feed hungry children who were at risk of starvation. The
big question, I think, for a lot of folks is and these organizations, as they're trying to figure out how to meet the need, is who fills the gap and
the gap I am talking about is both financial, but also to your point, your earlier point about the U.S. role in what it has been in terms of
leadership, who fills that gap as well as a leader in this space?
BOS: That's another area where I think we are seeing implications of these decisions. You know, Russia recently announced an intention to start an
agency like USAID after the U.S. government terminated some of these projects, particularly in Asia. China very quickly stepped in and said, we
will do that work.
So I think that vacuum of leadership that the U.S. has left, it is being filled and I think unfortunately, by people who don't care about the life-
saving work that's being done and might have other motivations.
HILL: Lisa, I really appreciate you taking the time to join us today. Thank you.
BOS: Thank you.
HILL: Well, Russia, for its part, is continuing its strikes in Ukraine. At least six people killed overnight. These latest attacks targeting at least
four different regions, including Donetsk, where a bomb landed on a shopping mall.
The Trump administration, meantime still weighing the possibility of new sanctions on Moscow in response to the fighting. That possibility, and, of
course, the ongoing war, a major focus this week at the Aspen Security Forum.
Jim Sciutto discussed the idea with Wally Adeyemo, the former U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary, who said Russia should pay for its aggression.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WALLY ADEYEMO, THE FORMER U.S. DEPUTY TREASURY SECRETARY, The only reason we have been able to freeze Russia's sovereign assets around the world is
because the G7 collectively acted to do it at the beginning of the war, and what we've done so far is that we've asked our citizens in the United
States and Europe, around the world to fund Ukraine's efforts to defend itself, and it only makes sense to your point to now ask that Russia's
assets be used to do that.
[16:10:14]
And part of the reason it has taken so long is because we hope that this war would end far sooner.
But given that Russia is interested in prolonging the war, we need to not only use Russia's assets to rebuild Ukraine's economy because there may not
be an economy left to rebuild unless we are willing to use those assets for Ukraine's defense as well.
JIM SCIUTTO CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Is there some worry about those who have, if not resisted, at least dragged their
feet that this would set some sort of precedent that might impact them down the line?
ADEYEMO: Yes, and the point that countries have made is that doing this is a novel thing to do, and the reality is that what Russia has done has been
a novel thing invading another country, going past its borders is a violation of treaties and norms that have been established for hundreds of
years, and we are calling on Russia to do is to compensate Ukraine, which is something that has happened in wars for decades, including what we asked
the Iraqis to do when they invaded Kuwait.
And now the question is, how quickly can we do this? Because ultimately, Europeans should not be forced to pay for Russia's war of aggression.
Americans shouldn't -- Russia should pay for its war of aggression.
SCIUTTO: In a different war, a trade war currently underway. The U.S. is violating some of its own trade agreements. The Trump administration is
violating some of its own trade agreements negotiated in the last administration, for instance, with Canada and Mexico, but also commitments
to the WTO, et cetera.
What does that do to America's standing in the world? And is it in U.S. interest?
ADEYEMO: My view is that what has happened here has not been in the U.S.' interest, not because of the violation of these trade agreements, because
truthfully, the Chinese have been violating these trade agreements for decades. The challenge has been that instead of working with our allies and
partners to confront China, we've put tariffs on countries like Canada.
Ultimately, China is at the core of both, many of our National Security and economic security challenges. You look at Russia-Ukraine, the only reason
Russia is able to continue to build the weapons they want for the war, they want to fight in Ukraine is because they're getting the goods from China.
China is buying their oil.
We have to confront the Chinese and make clear to them that the United States and our allies and partners are going to hold them accountable for
doing that. In the same way, on the trade front. America would be far more successful at both preserving our economic interests, but confronting China
if we work together with our allies and partners, not going after them.
SCIUTTO: Can trading partners rebuffed by the U.S., attacked by the U.S. now? Can they actually replace some of that trade with other partners?
ADEYEMO: So in the short term, the U.S. economy is the strongest economy in the world, and while lots of countries have talked about the idea of doing
more with other countries, they're going to have to continue to rely on the United States of America.
But these trends over time should be disturbing to us that China is becoming the leading trading partner for more countries, that fewer people
are wanting to trade in the dollar, that fewer people want to buy our debt.
Over time, that's going to degrade our ability to be the type of economy that is flexible and resilient and grows.
SCIUTTO: Do you think it is just a matter of time before the effects of the trade war are demonstrated in the economic numbers?
ADEYEMO: The truth is, the U.S. economy has been stronger for longer than anyone could have expected, and that's on the back of both a strong
workforce and really strong companies that have been able to try and manage their supply chains to deal with this.
But over time, that is going to change, because if there is a great deal of uncertainty, companies can't plan, that includes planning to hire. So over
time, we are going to continue to see the impact of the trade war on both earnings for companies, but also their willingness to hire Americans to do
jobs and fundamentally, that's the short term.
The longer term is that our allies and partners are going to start planning for a world where they are less reliant on the United States because we are
less predictable and sustainable as a partner, and that is in our interest.
We are a country that represents five percent of the world, but we represent 25 percent of the global economy. The question is, over time, can
we devise a strategy that means that America continues to be the leading economy in the world by working with our allies and partners, or do we
become a more closed economy where the world works with other countries more?
Today, China is the leading trading partner with 130 countries. We don't want that trend to continue.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HILL: And our thanks again to Jim for that interview.
Just ahead here, the Brazilian President says he wants to work with the United States, but if Donald Trump moves ahead with those 50 percent
tariffs, President Lula Inacio da Silva says he can and will find other trading partners. What else he told Christiane Amanpour in an exclusive
interview, that's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:17:30]
HILL: Brazil's President says he is looking for new trading partners as the U.S. threatens his country with massive tariffs.
Lula Inacio da Silva spoke with Christiane Amanpour in an exclusive interview, addressing those tariffs and also his dealings with President
Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LULA INACIO DA SILVA, BRAZILIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): It is important to remember that the super tariff will also create problems for
the American consumer, for the American people, not only for the Brazilians.
I am going to try to solve the problems here in Brazil. We are talking with the business sectors, with the agricultural producers, with the fishermen,
with the trade unions. We are going to find a solution, and we will give a response, not by sight. We will send an official letter, a diplomatic
message from the President of the Republic of Brazil to President Trump to know that respect is something very good, and I like to show respect, and I
like to receive respect.
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: As you know, President Trump has threatened big tariffs at 50 percent at one point on China, then they
walked that back, 50 percent on one point on Colombia and Colombia then agreed to Trump's demands on deportees.
People and countries do not want to provoke President Trump because they think that it will be even worse for themselves and their economies. What
is your economic Plan B if you don't agree to what President Trump is demanding, and if you get hit with a 50 percent? Who is your market? How do
you survive?
DA SILVA (through translator): Well, Christiane, well, first of all, if I resent to respond to what is my strategy? No, it is not going to work. So I
can't tell you my strategy.
What we are discussing, I just wanted to tell you something, Christiane. In two-and-a-half years of my term, I created 379 new markets for Brazilian
goods and service. I've been traveling a lot abroad, and we will reach an agreement with the European Union. We will have an agreement with the
countries from ASEAN and an agreement with a Latin American country. We will talk with Mexico, and we are going to try to seek for new trade
partners, but we will still take into account the importance that the U.S. has for us.
I would never imagine to pick up a fight with the U.S. -- never. You know very well I had an extraordinary relationship with all the former
presidents since Clinton to Bush, Obama and to Biden, and I hope to have a good relation with President Trump, too.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: Well, speaking of tariffs and the President's policies here in the U.S., one Fed governor says Trump's policies are creating inflationary
pressure.
[16:20:10]
Adriana Kugler says the Fed should hold rates steady for some time as tariffs work their way through the economy.
Our next guest is facing the uncertainty of those tariffs. She is the creative director and designer at a bridal shop in St. Petersburg, Florida.
She is seeing those higher costs already. Should President Trump slap 30 percent tariffs on the E.U., those costs could continue to rise.
Vicky Anglo joins me now. Vicky, it is great to have you with us. It is so important, I think, to get a sense of how these tariffs and the threats of
tariffs even are impacting small businesses. So you've noted that your cost on the material goods have already gone up significantly.
Are you at the point where you're passing those costs on to your customers?
VICKY ANGLO, CREATIVE DIRECTOR, THALIA PAUL BRIDAL: Thank you so much for having me, first off.
At this point we are not passing on the costs. We are assuming the cost just because we have a lot of clients that have placed orders, retailers
and brides prior to the tariffs being in effect. So we don't want to stress them and add those costs to them because we already quoted them specific
price prior to all the tariffs being applied.
HILL: So which is understandable I think for many businesses and appreciated by your customers obviously. But when you say they've gone up
significantly, A: How much are we talking about? And B: How long can you continue to absorb those costs?
ANGLO: Honestly, that's a great question. It has been uncertain at this point because they've been changing every 90 days or they've been paused
and so on.
But, you know, as things get solidified and we know more of how much the European tariffs are and how much the Asian tax tariff is, we will have to
start applying them to our cost of goods.
HILL: And so when it comes to the taxes for both E.U. countries and different countries in Asia, the reason those are so important in your
designs is because a number of the materials that you use also come from those regions. Are those materials that you could actually source in the
U.S., or would they just be more expensive?
ANGLO: I mean, honestly, we have to be realistic. We have a lot of hand beading and a lot of craftsmanship and talent that makes, you know, these
embellishments and even puts the dresses together. So it would be very, very difficult to source and find that craftsmanship here in the U.S.
If we do, it is very, very limited and it would be very, very expensive and it would be very, very expensive for the consumer at the end of the day.
HILL: We are looking at, we can see -- we have video up on the screen of some of your designs and they are beautiful, but I can see the intricacy
there in both what we are seeing in terms of I think it is the train of the dress there, but even we are seeing the bodice before the beading, the
lace, all of this delicate work, as you point out, and you talk about how difficult it would be to find that skilled labor in the United States.
Ultimately, what we've heard from the President, though, is part of the reason he is, you know, bringing these tariffs on board is because he wants
to bring manufacturing -- he wants to bring business back to the United States.
What I am hearing from you is, in this case, it is not clear that that's an option and certainly not it would seem from what you're telling us, that
the tariffs are going to spur that business here in the United States.
ANGLO: Honestly, it would be very, very difficult to do bridal or formal wear manufacturing in the U.S. It would be very expensive. But again, as I
said before, the most important thing is we don't have the artisans that hold that craftsmanship. That is generations ago and we just don't have
that anymore.
So essentially, if we continue with these tariffs, unfortunately, it will just make the product more expensive for the bride to be, which, you know,
they're saving. Some of the girls are saving lifetimes of savings to purchase that wedding dress for their special day. So --
HILL: I mean, I remember how -- you know, its 20 years since I got married, but I remember, you know, I remember that moment with the dress and how
much you do pay for that beautiful craftsmanship, obviously.
Are you concerned about -- I hate to ask you, but I would be remiss if I didn't. Are you concerned that this could ultimately put you out of
business?
ANGLO: Honestly, I am very confident and I definitely will try my best. I don't think that I will be, you know, going out of business anytime soon.
We definitely are dedicated to quality and good service for our clients, and definitely we want to bring them innovative designs. And we will find,
one way or another.
I just -- it is just not realistic, honestly, the tariffs for 50 percent, it is just -- it just makes no sense when you can't have the actual product
made in the U.S.
[16:25:04]
HILL: Yes, well, we will see if perhaps the President is listening, if he hears what you're going through.
Vicky, really appreciate you joining us with your perspective today. Thank you.
ANGLO: Thank you so much.
HILL: The British government has plans now to lower the voting age from 18 to 16 in all U.K. elections. That move would make the U.K. one of the first
European countries to lower the voting age to 16. It would also be a big win for the Labour Party and Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who made it part
of his campaign last year.
Max Foster joining me now from London.
I have to say I saw this headline this morning and I thought, I mean, this would really be something. Talk to me more about the push for this and when
we could actually see it in place.
MAX FOSTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it is not actually -- it was part of the Labour manifesto when they came into power and they are going ahead
with it towards the next election, but it wasn't a very popular part of the manifesto. There aren't that many people engaged with it.
I think that it is an interesting debate: Are you mature enough at 16 to make this vote? So that's what a lot of the debate has been. But already in
Wales and Scotland, you're able to vote at the age of 16 in the local elections and national elections there, and what we have seen there is that
younger people vote left.
The Labour Party is sort of mainstream left, but actually in Scotland, they are voting for the SNP, which is much further left. So will it benefit the
Labour Party? Possibly not, because they may vote green, for example, which is harder left. So it depends on that and parties associated with Gaza, for
example, and campaigning for Gazans, very popular amongst younger people. There is also the question of Nigel Farage's party. He has got a lot of
support from young White male voters, so it could balance out as well.
What we do know, Erica, is that it is a very low turnout in that age group. So whether or not it makes a huge difference will be interesting to see.
But it is a very fractious political scene right now.
So even if it is just a marginal move to the left, actually that could have quite a big impact in the next election.
HILL: Is there much, much pushback?
FOSTER: Not a huge amount of pushback because the conservatives say it is a bit ridiculous, and they would be the ones who could possibly lose out to
this. I think there has been some interesting academic research that I've been reading about today, about the impact it has on democracy effectively
and one part of that is that being able to vote at the age of 16 instead of 18 actually gets, you know, children involved in politics at a formative
age, and they are actually much more likely to vote later on in life if they start at 16, as opposed to 18, so it is seen as a positive for
democracy.
And interestingly, as well, when 16-year-olds or under 18-year-olds vote, their parents are much more likely to vote because they want to be seen to
be setting a good example and maybe, perhaps influencing what sort of party their kids are voting for.
So I think generally, it is seen as quite a good thing and kids that, you know, really don't understand the politics won't vote, and those that
really do understand the politics will go out and vote.
HILL: Yes, I mean, let's be honest, there are plenty of adults who vote without understanding the politics. I mean, so --
FOSTER: Absolutely, it is pretty hard to understand, Erica, even though sometimes --
HILL: They can be -- they can be at times. Max, always a pleasure to see you. Thank you.
A surgeon's video diary of the toll of the war in Gaza and his daily battle to try to keep Gaza's starving children alive. That is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:31:47]
HILL: Hello, I'm Erica Hill. We have more QUEST MEANS BUSINESS in just a moment when a ceasefire in Syria appears to be holding, although it is not
clear just how long that will last. Plus, Uber investing $300 million in the electric vehicle maker Lucid, as Uber makes a push for more robotaxis.
Before that, though, the headlines this hour.
U.S. President Donald Trump's controversial DOGE bill now facing a Friday deadline in the House after the Senate passed the package overnight. The
bill aims to take away roughly $8 billion from congressionally approved foreign aid programs and more than $1 billion from funds that were approved
for the corporation that helps fund NPR and PBS public broadcasting.
President Trump claims to have made a sweet deal with Coca-Cola, saying the company has agreed to use cane sugar in its drinks rather than high
fructose corn syrup. Coke has not confirmed the change, but says it does appreciate Trump's enthusiasm. It also said more details will be shared
soon. Corn syrup is generally less expensive than sugar in the United States.
Greek police have now charged five people in the murder of a UC Berkeley professor who was shot dead earlier this month in Athens. Among those
charged are the professor's ex-wife and her current boyfriend. A Greek police source tells CNN the boyfriend and three other male suspects have
confessed to roles in the killing. The ex-wife is denying any involvement.
A fragile ceasefire appears to be holding in southern Syria after days of sectarian violence. State media showed government forces leaving the
southern city of Suwayda on Wednesday night. The fighting drew in Israel, of course, which says that it struck government buildings in Damascus to
protect the Druze minority.
Joining us now with more is CNN's Jeremy Diamond.
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, a ceasefire has taken effect in Syria as the Israeli military has stopped bombarding the Syrian
capital. And we've also seen Syrian military forces withdrawing from the southern city of Suwayda. That city of Suwayda, which is a stronghold of
this Druze minority that lives in Syria, Israel and Lebanon, was the source of violence in recent days as clashes broke out between the Druze minority
and Bedouin tribes in the area, with Syrian government forces also getting involved.
The United States then intervened to try and broker this ceasefire, and seems to be at least partly responsible for it taking hold. The Syrian
president, for his part, said that his government is not afraid of war, but that it is putting Syria's people, quote, "above chaos and destruction." He
accused Israel of trying to destabilize Syria and sow division, and he vowed that his government will protect the rights of the Druze.
Now the Israeli prime minister, for his part, took credit for the withdrawal of Syrian forces from Suwayda, which came just hours really
after the Israeli military began striking the Syrian capital of Damascus, including hitting the Syrian Defense Ministry itself in Central Damascus.
The prime minister saying that this ceasefire was achieved through Israel's intensified military operations, touting Israel's strength, which he said
was aimed in two parts.
[16:35:04]
First of all, at Israel's own domestic security interests, meaning protecting Israeli national security by preventing Syrian troops from being
in that area of southern Syria, and secondly, aimed at protecting that Druze minority in Suwayda.
This is a very tenuous ceasefire, however. We've already seen previous ceasefires break down very quickly, and already we are seeing reports of
attacks on Bedouins in Suwayda, as well as reports of Bedouins being forced to flee the city. A very, very tenuous situation. And of course, in the
background of all of this are these nascent talks between Israel and Syria aimed at establishing some kind of a security arrangement.
The United States, that seems to have been their primary objective here in brokering the ceasefire, to try and get those talks back on track.
Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Tel Aviv.
HILL: Israel says it deeply regrets a strike on the only Catholic Church in Gaza. Three people were killed and several others injured, including the
parish priest. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says stray ammunition hit the church and says an investigation is underway. Pope Leo
said he was deeply saddened by the events.
The church in Gaza City had very close ties, of course, with the late Pope Francis, who called the parish almost every day after the war between
Israel and Hamas began.
Well, for the young and old in Gaza, extreme hunger is a constant presence. A British surgeon working in Gaza is keeping a video diary for CNN.
Nada Bashir has more on that but I do want to warn you before we show it to you, these images are disturbing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK MAYNARD, SURGEON, MEDICAL AID FOR PALESTINIANS: I am just over halfway through my full spell in Nasser Hospital, Khan Younis, and this is my third
trip out here since October 7th to Gaza, and it is much worse than previous visits.
NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Doctor Nick Maynard has been traveling in and out of Gaza for around 15 years. He's been recording diary
entries exclusively for CNN. Together with our own footage from inside the hospital we have pieced together a firsthand look at the humanitarian
crisis unfolding inside Gaza's hospitals.
MAYNARD: There's a massive aerial bombardment just to the east of Khan Younis, the whole operating theater was shaking.
BASHIR: Doctors here are not just treating wounds from bombs and bullets. They are fighting to keep their weakest patients alive as hunger spreads.
MAYNARD (through text translation): Mahshahr, does it hurt? Where does it hurt?
He's very sleepy, isn't he?
BASHIR: A blockade imposed by Israel on the Gaza Strip has thrown the enclaves' two million people into the midst of a catastrophic hunger
crisis. As a result, doctors warn Gaza's most vulnerable, including children, are starving to death.
MAYNARD: Made me cry seeing them. My tears, my eyes, literally the expression skin and bones doesn't do it justice there. They had no muscle
mass at all. Every single rib visible.
BASHIR: What we are about to show you is distressing.
Baby Zainab is just five months old. Her sunken cheeks and wrinkled skin, a painful indicator of just how malnourished she is. Her helpless cries
almost too weak to hear.
MAYNARD: What is her weight?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now just Two-one half. Before at two months she was five kilos and half. She's losing weight.
BASHIR: Zainab is just one of so many babies now at risk of death in Gaza.
MAYNARD: I've been informed newborn babies in the last couple of weeks who've died as a direct result of malnutrition, their mothers were too
malnourished to produce milk. There are inadequate amounts of formula feed. Healthcare workers who've tried to bring in formula feed have had it
specifically confiscated by the Israeli border guards.
BASHIR: In response to CNN, the Israeli government said it is working to allow and facilitate the transfer of humanitarian aid to the residents of
the Gaza Strip and is actively assisting these efforts, including the entry of food.
But almost all the aid coming through is being distributed by the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which is backed by both the
U.S. and Israel. It's at these sites that hundreds of Palestinians have been killed as they desperately attempt to secure what little aid is being
made available. Many of them suffering from injuries that Dr. Nick Maynard says indicate a pattern.
[16:40:02]
MAYNARD: One day they come in with gunshot wounds to the head. Another day, they come in with gunshot wounds to the neck. The other day, we had four
children admitted, all of whom had been shot in the genitals.
BASHIR: CNN has reached out to the Israeli military, but has not yet received a response.
MAYNARD: All the families of these victims, they all tell exactly the same story, that is Israeli soldiers shooting them and the quadcopters shooting
them.
BASHIR: But after more than 21 months of constant bombardment and with at least 1,400 medical workers killed during that time, according to the
group, Medical Aid for Palestinians, fatigue and the fear of being targeted pervades.
MAYNARD: Some colleagues have lost 20 or 30 kilograms in weight, so they are exhausted mentally. They're exhausted physically, they're hungry all
the time, but they cope.
BASHIR: And while doctors here work around the clock to save their patients from both bombs and bullets, their patients, they say, are often then lost
to hunger.
Nada Bashir, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HILL: And we'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HILL: In the southeastern corner of Brazil lies the Atlantic Forest, a landscape that does not get the attention of the Amazon, even though it
suffers from a much higher rate of deforestation. Today, on "Call to Earth," we head to the edge of the threatened ecosystem, where a growing
numbers of people are fighting to restore what's been lost and to protect the region's biodiversity.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Stretching along Brazil's east coast and inland to parts of Paraguay and Argentina, the
Atlantic Forest is one of the oldest in South America. In Brazil alone, the once vast carpet of green covered an area almost twice the size of France.
[16:45:01]
But today more than 85 percent has been cleared, according to the Nature Conservancy, and what remains is a fragmented patchwork split apart by
coffee, cattle and dairy farms.
ROBIN LE BRETON, FOUNDER, IRACAMBI: OK.
JONES: For near three decades, Robin and Binka Le Breton have been working to restore this threatened paradise in passing along their knowledge to
future generations.
R. LE BRETON: If you had come here when the time when your grandfathers were your age, this was all forest. There was then at that time, a sudden
increase in coffee prices. And everybody went crazy and cut down all the forests and planted coffee. As the years go by, the same thing happens with
milk production as happened with coffee. So what do they do? They cut down the forest in order to make more cow pasture. That doesn't produce the
results either. So they cut down more forest, more forest until there's no forest left.
JONES: In 1999, they launched Iracambi, an organization that strategically plants native flora back into the surrounding hillsides.
BINKA LE BRETON, INTERNATIONAL COORDINATOR, IRACAMBI: So what we're doing here with the whole business of collecting the seeds, making the seedlings,
planting the trees. By restoring and connecting the forests we're creating wildlife corridors and corridors for plants.
JONES: Key to their success is an education program that brings in people from all over the world, and also from nearby communities. Five years ago,
Juliana Vital was one of them, learning about planting and cultivation techniques.
JULIANA VITAL, AGROFOREST FARMER (through translator): Here we have a jatoba tree, my favorite, but we plant a lot of jussara to. Jussara is a
plant that's endangered. Over here we've got a yellow araza, a Jakari wood.
JONES: Now she's in charge of nursing all these seedlings until they're ready to go in the ground.
B. LE BRETON: She came and was part of the group and mixed with the foreign students. And it must have been then that she got this dream.
JONES: That dream to run her own agroforestry is now a reality.
VITAL (through translator): My grandparents were some of the remaining indigenous farmers here. My mother is (INAUDIBLE) indigenous and I grew up
in this environment, so I had a really strong connection with some plants I saw my grandfather grow. Unfortunately I didn't, and he didn't save any of
his seeds so now I'm trying to connect with local farmers, especially indigenous ones, to try to recover those seeds and start from scratch.
This is cotton, a type that's been grown here a long time. I feel grateful to have this opportunity. We come to understand that we're really taking
care of ourselves to plant something, and then wait for the seed to grow, for it to bear a new seed that we can save. I don't think I fully grasp yet
how much this is shaping me as a person.
JONES: As they like to say at Iracambi, every forest starts with a seed.
B. LE BRETON: Just a few years ago, we started working with agroforestry and that's an easier sell because people can get some kind of economic
benefit out of it. So we're still experimenting and working with the community to see what they want and how we can make it work for them.
JONES: To date, the NGO has helped establish 5,000 hectares of protected forest and raised and planted 250,000 native species of trees.
B. LE BRETON: It's good for the land and it's good for the people, but you can just see the land is looking so much happier.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HILL: Let us know what you're doing to answer the call with the hashtag "Call to Earth."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:51:25]
HILL: Well, the Trump administration has fired a DOJ prosecutor who's notable for several reasons. Maurene Comey is the attorney who took the
lead on Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking case and also prosecuted Sean "Diddy" Combs. The timing of her dismissal comes as President Trump's MAGA
base is demanding answers, which the president promised of course during his campaign that he would provide. They're demanding those answers about
the Epstein investigation.
Comey is also the daughter of former FBI director James Comey, who Trump fired as FBI director during his first term.
CNN's chief legal affairs correspondent Paula Reid has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: A source familiar with Miss Comey's firing says that the Justice Department believed it had become
untenable to keep her on staff because her father repeatedly has gone after the administration. Most recently, he's been under investigation for a
social media post where he spelled out in seashells 8647, which he insists was not a threat against the current president, but did result in at least
one interview with law enforcement.
But the timing of this ouster is questionable, especially because of Miss Comey's involvement with the Epstein case and the fact that the
administration is under enormous pressure to release additional materials from that investigation. It's unclear, they're also trying to set up the
Comeys as some sort of scapegoat. The president has laid the groundwork for that in some Truth Social posts where he's tried to pin the blame on -- for
all of this on Hillary Clinton, James Comey, former President Obama, when in fact this controversy has really been driven by his own supporters, who
have for years amplified the Epstein issue.
Everything from legitimate questions about that case to full blown conspiracy theories. Epstein died while Trump was in office. His then
attorney general, Bill Barr, was overseeing the Bureau of Prisons, and then it was his newest attorney general, Pam Bondi, who vowed to release
additional documents and then did not do so. So it's unclear if they can hand this whole mess and responsibility for it off to anyone else if that's
what they're trying to do.
But I will also note, there has been a long line of people who have been fired because the administration does not believe that they are loyal to
this president, either people who have been involved in investigations into President Trump or people they believe are not ideologically aligned. This
has been the reason for firing a lot of people at the Justice Department.
Back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HILL: All right, Paula, thanks for that. Well, shares in the EV maker Lucid soaring today on a new partnership with Uber. The companies announcing that
Uber will deploy some 20,000 Lucid vehicles as robotaxis. They're aiming to launch as well in a major U.S. city later this year. You can see how the
markets reacted there. The cars will use autonomous driving technology from the startup Nuro.
Google's Waymo also announced today it's expanding in Austin, Texas, which of course is home to Tesla and its robotaxi.
Clare Duffy is in New York.
All of this heating up, and I can't help but wonder, we're here in New York, things expanding to a major city. Are they coming to New York?
CLARE DUFFY, CNN BUSINESS WRITER: Waymo is testing in New York, doing some early testing here. But look, the competition really is heating up in this
space, although robotaxi technology has had sort of a bumpy history. Waymo is at this point far and away the leader in this space. Tesla is really
getting into the competition. And now Lucid is also getting in the race with this partnership with Uber, which has already been partnering with
Waymo.
But I think they really want to have choice for users about what kinds of cars and make these cars available in more cities. So this partnership
between Lucid and Uber will mean an investment from Uber into the company of $300 million.
[16:55:06]
As we saw there in the intro, that sent Lucid shares soaring today, up 36 percent just about. And the company has planned to create 20,000 cars over
the next six years. They're hoping to get cars into a major city in the next year. The cars, of course, will be made by Lucid, this electric
vehicle carmaker. The technology, as you said, built by the EV technology maker Nuro. And then Uber of course will be making these cars available on
its app.
I do think that this is potentially sort of an ambitious proposal. Lucid made a total of 9,000 cars approximately last year, and now they're going
to be hoping to make 20,000 cars with this new self-driving technology over the next six years. So I think we'll wait and see just how quickly this
happens. I imagine that next year's rollout will be fairly limited, and we don't yet know when -- what city that will be taking place, although there
are some cities where these companies have really turned to for testing of this self-driving technology, cities like San Francisco, Phoenix, Arizona.
Austin, Texas.
As you said there, that's where Tesla is rolling out its robotaxis. So it's going to be really interesting to see. I can imagine in a city like New
York City, it's going to be challenging to account for all of the cars and the bikes and the people that cross the street, no matter whether the light
is green or red, I think that's going to be the question as we continue to see this technology roll out -- Erica.
HILL: It's such an interesting point. It's far different. I remember years ago when I moved 20 plus, almost 30 years ago when I moved to San
Francisco, that people would actually stop and wait at a crosswalk and they would wait for the light. And that is not how you grow up crossing the
street in New York City. But it's such an excellent point in terms of safety and can the car stop in time, and that is a major concern.
DUFFY: Yes, it is a really big question. And I think the other question with this technology is a lot of times it's rolling out in these places
like Phoenix or San Francisco, where the weather is relatively mild. You don't get a ton of rain, you don't really get snow, you don't get these
extreme weather patterns. And these cars aren't necessarily quite ready to handle those extreme weather situations. And the safety questions that come
with people crossing the street, dogs running in front of cars.
So I think that's going to be the thing that these companies need to really work on when they are doing the safety testing and convince people that
they should be getting into a car that doesn't have a driver, although I will say it is an impressive experience. I've taken Waymos in San Francisco
and it's really weird getting in. You get into a car, you feel like you should say hello, there's no one there, but then you kind of relax into it.
You don't have to talk to the driver. You can choose your own music. So in a lot of ways it is kind of nice.
HILL: I still haven't tried it yet. You're braver than me.
Claire, appreciate it. Thank you.
That's going to do it for QUEST MEANS BUSINESS on this Thursday in New York. I'm Erica Hill. Richard is back with you tomorrow. Up next here, "THE
LEAD WITH JAKE TAPPER."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
