Return to Transcripts main page
Quest Means Business
Leavitt: Government Still Plans To Release Monthly Jobs Reports; U.S. Inflation Remains Steady, Core Prices Accelerate; Russian Troops Pierce Ukraine's Patchy Defenses In Donetsk; Immigration Crackdown Causes Labor Shortages For Farmers; Wildfires Alter Vacation Plans For European Tourists; Perplexity Makes Surprise Bid For Google Chrome; Elon Musk Threatens To Sue Apple Over App Store Ranking; Chinese Ships Collide While Chasing Philippine Boats; "K-Pop Demon Hunters" Song Tops Billboard Hot 100 Chart. Aired 4-5p ET
Aired August 12, 2025 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:07]
ERICA HILL, CNN HOST: And there is the bell. A strong day for U.S. markets. The Dow closing out more than 400 points higher, as we take a look there at
the markets. These are the main events.
Trump's nominee to oversee the monthly U.S. Jobs Report suggesting suspending that report.
The White House categorizes President Trump's meeting with President Putin as a "listening exercise."
And it is definitely golden. The hit song from "KPop Demon Hunters" hitting the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100.
Live from New York. It is Tuesday, August 12th. I am Erica Hill, in for Richard Quest. This is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.
Good evening.
Tonight, President Trump's pick to run the bureau of labor Statistics, suggesting he may actually suspend that monthly U.S. Jobs Report.
Conservative economist, E.J. Antoni says the agency needs to fix the way it collects data, telling Fox Business it should stop releasing the monthly
reports until it does so.
Antoni says the BLS can still publish quarterly data in the meantime. The White House Press Secretary, however, when asked about it, says the
government does still plan to release those monthly numbers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: Will the Bureau of Labor Statistics continue to put out monthly Jobs Reports?
KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Well, look what I will tell you about the Bureau of Labor Statistics, I believe that is the plan and
that is the hope. And that these monthly reports will be data that the American people can trust.
We need to look at the means and the methods of how the United States is acquiring this very important data, and all of that is going to be done and
the goal of course, is to provide honest and good data for the American people to make very important economic decisions on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: Antoni himself has a history of criticizing the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In 2022, he said the BLS Consumer Price Index used, in his
words, Orwellian methods to mask the scale of inflation. And earlier this month, he called previous BLS Chief Erika McEntarfer incompetent, saying
Trump should replace her with, in his words, a MAGA Republican.
In a post on X last week, Antoni said the BLS Commissioner, the next one would need to fix its data collection, as he, of course, had just suggested
in that Fox Business interview and also rebuild lost trust.
Kevin Liptak joins us now from the White House.
Not exactly the same sentiment there from Karoline Leavitt when she was asked about it in the briefing. What more do we know about where things
stand today?
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, and we should note, just on the top about this question of whether or not the BLS would
continue to release those monthly Jobs Reports, which are an essential piece of government data, relied on a whole spectrum of people to make
decisions about policy.
We just heard in the last hour from Stephen Moore who is also an economist at the Heritage Foundation which is where E.J. Antoni works, and he says
that he has spoken to Antoni and he still does plan to release those monthly jobs reports.
He acknowledged that this was an idea that he had put out previously, but that he was not going to do that if he is confirmed to this role, that he
would stick with those monthly reports as they stand. But that's one piece of information. So that's something that had been out there and speculated
upon.
There are still a lot of other questions about how exactly Antoni would run what has so far and historically been an independent agency that puts out
these numbers, sort of absent from any political interference.
His background is somewhat atypical for a person in this job. Normally, they are sort of plucked out of other government agencies. They have long
backgrounds as economists inside the government. Antoni has spent his entire career mostly at conservative think tanks. He is also relatively
young. He is only 37 for someone to take on this kind of position.
He has been a major critic of the agency, including on the day last week when those jobs numbers came out, showing a weakening labor market. He was
on Steve Bannon's podcast that day, of course, the former Trump strategist criticizing the head of that agency, saying that there was not a MAGA
Republican in charge of it and only a matter of hours later, President Trump came out and said that he was terminating the head of the BLS.
And so you can see his connections in all of this. It remains to be seen how exactly he plans to reform how the Bureau of Labor Statistics comes up
with these numbers. You know, the Commissioner of that agency doesn't actually compile the monthly Jobs Reports themselves. That's a task that's
left to civil servants and previous occupants of that role have said that the Commissioner doesn't actually see those jobs numbers until the day that
they are released.
And so how he plans to go about making the reforms that President Trump and he himself have said are necessary remains somewhat unclear. And, of
course, the big fear that you hear from economists is that now that a loyalist has been put in this job, now that President Trump has made clear
that he wants to see a change in how those numbers are compiled, that there will be lost faith in what those numbers are actually showing. That's what
you hear from a number of economists that because there will now be someone who is a self-described MAGA Republican in that job, that a whole host of
people will no longer trust what the agency is putting out.
[16:05:37]
And so certainly that will be a line of questioning at Antoni's Senate confirmation hearings, which will be necessary for him to take on this job.
You know, Erika McEntarfer who is the person that was fired, was confirmed on a relatively bipartisan basis. I think it was like 86 to 8 or something.
So a number of Republicans voted in support of her, including the current Vice President, J.D. Vance. Given sort of the politicized nature of all of
this, I think it is almost certain that the confirmation this time around will be on a much narrower margin.
HILL: Yes, certainly a good chance of that, Kevin. Appreciate it. Thank you.
Antoni's nomination comes as the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported steady inflation in July. Overall, prices rose 2.7 percent annually. Core
inflation though accelerated to 3.1 percent.
Some of the items exposed to tariffs saw the sharpest increase. Furniture and tire prices both up 0.9 percent or more as you see there. Pet products
rose half a percent.
Vanessa Yurkevich joining me now with a closer look at the numbers. So we look at the overall number, but it is really when you dig into the details,
Vanessa, that we are starting to get a more fulsome picture here.
VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and another critical report that business owners that investors, that companies
really rely on is what does inflation look like in America right now and what it shows sort of at a top line level is that inflation held pretty
steady, rising 2.7 percent on an annual basis and then rising 0.2 percent in the month of July.
And the key categories that we start to look at here is energy, food and shelter. What did those prices do in the month of July? And what we saw is
that energy fell by 1.1 percent, really being dragged down by gas prices, which fell 2.2 percent, and then food prices. I mean, a big cheer for
people who are going to the grocery store now. Food prices were relatively flat there. You can see that zero percent, and even grocery store prices
falling by 0.1 percent, and then shelter, that is what we all pay for rent, if you're a renter every single month, that makes up the biggest share of
this report, 0.2 percent really is in line with what we've seen in the past six months or so.
But when you look at core inflation, that is stripping away the volatile categories like food, like energy on an annual basis, it rose by 3.1
percent. That's the highest level we have seen in five months. And from June to July, it rose by 0.3 percent. That's hotter than what economists
were expecting and that's when you can really see some of these other categories, and what price levels are doing there. Things like shoes,
apparel, furniture, things that Americans are buying that are heavily imported, those are the price pressures that we are seeing from tariffs.
And you can see appliances there down 0.9 percent, but that is largely because a lot of consumers, Americans bought those big ticket items before
the tariffs took effect. So you're seeing less demand there. So prices falling on the appliance level. I know, I just said that prices fell at the
grocery store, Erica. But if you're shopping for ground beef, steak or coffee, you're thinking, wait a minute, prices have only been going up and
that is true.
Ground beef up 2.4 percent in the last month, up more than 11 percent in the last year. Coffee prices up over 14 percent in the last year and that's
really because of weather conditions that we have seen in countries that are big coffee growing countries. And on the beef level, smaller herd size
here in the United States. But the tariffs come into play when you're talking about a 50 percent tariff on Brazilian coffee and when you're
talking about tariffs on foreign imports of beef, that only just adds to some of the price pressures because of all those weather conditions.
So really at face value, this report signaling, Erica, that businesses have been able to absorb a lot of the costs of tariffs. But Erica, remember this
is backwards looking into July, economists are still very much pricing in price increases because of tariffs. And you can see the Dow there finishing
up almost 500 points. We saw markets rally. The S&P and NASDAQ hitting fresh highs today because this report was not as bad as it could have been.
It did not show inflation heating up, but remember it also didn't show inflation coming back down closer to that two percent target level that the
Federal Reserve likes to see. However, investors right now, pricing in a rate cut coming in September from the Federal Reserve because of this
steady inflation data, and of course, the Jobs Report, which really showed a weakening in the market, Erica.
HILL: Yes, absolutely. Vanessa, I appreciate you walking us through all of that. Thank you.
[16:10:10]
Also with us this hour, Alan Blinder, he is the former Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve, now a Professor at Princeton University.
Alan, it is good to have you with us.
You know, just picking up, really on where Vanessa left off there, pointing out that, yes, inflation maybe didn't heat up as much, but it is certainly
not closer back down to that magic two percent number. When you look at this, what do you anticipate we will see in September at that Fed meeting?
ALAN BLINDER, FORMER VICE CHAIR OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE: Well, I think what we know is that the effects of tariffs are mostly in the future, some are
in the past, and it is true when people say, well, they don't look so bad so far and that is true, but a lot of it is in the future and we can expect
the core inflation rate to keep trickling up. And you know, I don't want to exaggerate. It has gone up the last couple of months, very little though.
And it has especially gone up in places that seem most vulnerable to tariffs. So I think the basic story that tariffs were going to push
inflation up is intact, although the more hysterical versions of it that we are speaking about, very large increases in inflation. Fortunately, I was
not one of those -- they don't look so good right now.
HILL: They don't, and it has raised questions certainly over the last few weeks,. I would say maybe months. Is this the boy who cried wolf situation
that there is so much talk about how devastating the tariffs are going to be. Of course, it took a long time to get those numbers set in terms of
tariffs. But to your point about, this will be trickling out.
How long does that last?
BLINDER: Well, it is not one number. It is going to, you know, it is sort of month by month. And as you may have noticed, President Trump tends to
change his mind now and again. So for example, the huge tariff on China was on the verge of coming in, he just postponed it for 90 days. So on that
one, we know it is going to be more than 90 days until we have an effect. There are others that are coming in effect at various and sundry times.
So it is dribble in effect of the tariffs on inflation, no one number. But if you want to get a handle on it, I would say you need to think, go three
to four months ahead or something like that. Again no magic number but something like that.
HILL: Sure. But certainly a little bit further away.
As we watch all of that, I do want to get your take on President Trump's nominee to head the Bureau of Labor Statistics, E.J. Antoni, so putting out
an interview, right, these details released this week in an interview from last week, he was saying that until the BLS can change the way that it
pulls this data collection together, that the monthly Jobs Report should be suspended.
There has now been some backtracking on that, Stephen Moore telling CNN that Antoni actually told him that he would no longer push to suspend
putting out those monthly reports in favor of only the quarterly reports. Can you just put into context for me what that would mean should those
monthly reports go away?
BLINDER: I think as soon as those monthly reports go away, if they do, there is going to be tremendous suspicion about cooking the books. A lot of
us would like to know -- first of all, I never heard of this gentleman before he was named to head the BLS. That doesn't mean that he should never
be named, but this is not one of the names that one might think of. He doesn't have any experience in this domain.
And in your last segment, I heard someone quoting him as saying, we don't have a MAGA person running the BLS. We should not have a MAGA or an anti-
MAGA person running the BLS. That's a nonpolitical position and almost all the holders of that position up to this point in time have been
nonpolitical people. It is a technical job, not a political job.
And if you start suspending numbers, there is going to be suspicions all over the place, not just from politicians of the other party, but from
market people and foreign investors and you name it.
HILL: You know, we've talked about the importance of independent institutions in the context of the Federal Reserve, obviously, when we are
talking about President Trump. And of course, you know that world quite well.
But I think you're referring to some reporting from my colleague, Kevin Liptak at the top of the hour here, who was talking about the fact that the
Bureau of Labor Statistics as well has historically been an independent agency.
BLINDER: Yes.
HILL: Do you believe we are approaching a point in this country where these historically independent agencies, whether we are talking about the BLS,
whether we are talking about the Federal Reserve, are those days waning, or can there still be these independent bodies under President Trump who, as
we know, does appreciate and in many cases demand loyalty?
[16:15:19]
BLINDER: I Am very worried. I wish I could answer a confident yes -- I guess I should say yes, if he changes his stripes and you can decide how
likely you think that is, we can go back quickly to independent statistical agencies. The personnel is all there. The traditions are there. The
software is there, and so on.
But as long as President Trump insists that loyalty to him is the most important qualification for office, including the head of the statistical
agency, not to mention the head of the Fed, that's a whole different story.
But as long as he is insisting on that, I think the independence of all of these statistical agencies, the BLS is only the most obvious one is in
question and in danger.
HILL: You know, there is also talk and I think you started to touch on this about concerns over what this could mean for the data, how trustworthy it
was. There are questions about losing faith, not just in the data, but frankly, in the United States. What does this mean for the United States on
a broader global scale?
BLINDER: I think foreign investors have been looking at the United States for decades as a source of trustworthy data, as the gold standard is often
put, the BLS is often named as the world gold standard in data quality, for example. And if you start casting doubt on that, you're going to have
domestic and foreign investors spooked and wondering whether they can trust the numbers that are coming out of the United States economy.
One concrete example of that having to do with the CPI, rather than the Jobs Report, the CPI that came out today, is that the TIPS, the Treasury
Inflation Protection Securities, which are bought by investors all over the world, are linked to the CPI. And if people start thinking the government
is monkeying around with the CPI, that's a good way to kill that market.
HILL: Alan Blinder, really appreciate your expertise and your insight today. Thank you.
BLINDER: Thank you.
HILL: Still ahead here, new details about the much anticipated summit between President Trump and Putin, including the view from inside Russia.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:20:26 ]
HILL: U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin set to meet in Anchorage, Alaska on Friday. Just days ahead of that Summit,
Moscow's troops appear to have breached parts of Ukraine's defenses in the Eastern Donetsk region. Local officials and monitoring groups report small
bands of Russian soldiers have made gains. Ukrainian officials, however, are stressing Russia has not taken control of that territory.
Nick Paton Walsh has the latest from Kyiv.
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Erica, two days really of The White House lowering expectations for this Friday
Alaska Summit. I have just been hearing the Press Secretary refer to this as a listening exercise on behalf of President Donald Trump, hearing really
what President Putin might be interested in agreeing to as a deal.
Trump himself said that he would be feeling out a little bit where Putin was in all of this, but just cast your mind back to less than a week ago,
where we were talking about last Friday being the deadline for peace to break out in Ukraine, or else Russia and its major energy consumers, India
and China, would face punitive secondary sanctions. Instead, now, the meeting has gone from a make or break summit in Alaska that might define a
peace to just President Trump and Putin essentially trying to work out where each other stands on this. Trump, even himself, has suggested that he
thinks Putin wants all of Ukraine.
And so I think expectations are very low, certainly here in Ukraine, there are concerns that not even there really. And Trump said he is going to call
European allies and Zelenskyy afterwards.
For their part, those European allies and Zelenskyy will have a virtual meeting on Wednesday hosted by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. President
Trump will attend that virtually, too. That will be another opportunity for European allies to lay down their position of a ceasefire first before
negotiations, and that the current line of contact must be the starting point for negotiations and that Ukraine should decide its own future.
We've been hearing that again and again, and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in the last hours talking to journalists, saying how he doesn't
view President Trump necessarily as a middle man. He does view him as a middle man, that he is neither on Russia or Ukraine's side, constantly
voicing his gratitude for the U.S. role, trying to make diplomacy work and indeed saying that they would buy $1 billion a month's worth of American
weapons with Ukrainian money.
But Ukraine also too, clear their minds that they view Russia as not interested in peace and indeed, Zelenskyy saying recent Intelligence
suggests that Russia is trying to push forward again on the front lines and preparing for future offensives, not peace.
We've had a sniff in the past two or three days of Russian progress in these areas indeed, that may be part of a suggested deal over territory
swaps. If you listen to some reports emerging from Witkoff's meeting in the Kremlin. North of Dobropillya, reports saying that small groups of Russian
troops may have broken through the Ukrainian frontlines. There have been some Ukrainian sources saying its worse than that.
Ukrainian officials say it is an infiltration, not an advance, but it has caused alarm bells to ring, that maybe the incremental progress of Moscow
is turning into something more real, and that indeed their summer offensive, maybe making serious progress.
Look, Kyiv played that down, but what they are not playing down is how limited I think their hopes are for a real breakthrough in Alaska. And
indeed, President Trump has been playing it down himself recently -- Erica.
HILL: Nick, appreciate it. Thank you.
Well, news of Russian advances in Ukraine are fueling sentiment in Moscow that President Putin will have the upper hand during those talks with the
U.S.
CNN's Fred Pleitgen has more now from the Russian capital.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Kremlin controlled T.V. feasting on U.S. President Donald Trump's comments,
calling Russia a, "warring nation" ahead of his landmark summit with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Alaska.
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: They beat Hitler, they beat Napoleon.
(UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE speaking in foreign language.)
PLEITGEN (voice over): "The U.S. President is heating up interest with loud statements," the host says. "Trump said that it is impossible to defeat
Russia." State T.V. with a countdown to the summit sending a clear message.
Russia is winning in the trenches, showcasing recent accelerating Russian advances in Eastern Ukraine, Moscow saying its forces are close to taking
several strategic towns there.
And the Defense Ministry releasing this video of evermore new recruits signing contracts with the military, undergoing medical checks prepared to
go into battle for Russia's President while Ukraine deals with serious manpower shortages.
(UNIDENTIFIED MALE speaking in foreign language.)
PLEITGEN (voice over): "Putin will go to the summit in Alaska as a winner who holds the strategic initiative," this analyst says. "The Russian Armed
Forces are moving forward. Ukraine is retreating and leaving its territories. This is the most important factor that will influence the
general background and the results of the negotiations."
[16:25:30]
Just days ahead of the Trump-Putin Summit, the Kremlin uncharacteristically silent. The last official comment coming last Friday when Moscow vowed it
hasn't changed its position on Ukraine, meaning no quick ceasefire, but demands for major territorial concessions as part of any long term peace
deal.
On Moscow's streets, folks optimistic Vladimir Putin will get results.
(UNIDENTIFIED MALE speaking in foreign language.)
PLEITGEN: "We support our President," this man says. "We are for Putin because he is our President. President of the Russian Federation. We are
defending our position."
(UNIDENTIFIED MALE speaking in foreign language.)
PLEITGEN: "I think they will both have an equal position at this meeting," he says. "But President Putin won't make concessions if they will harm his
interests. Therefore, I think his position is quite firm."
A firm position bolstered by recent battlefield successes, Russia's leader recently showing little appetite for an immediate end to the fighting in
Ukraine.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HILL: Just ahead here, U.S. food prices holding steady in July as farmers face mounting pressures. I will speak with the head of the Texas
International Produce Association, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HILL: Hello, I am Erica Hill. There is much more QUEST MEANS BUSINESS in a moment when we will be discussing how record wildfires across Europe are
forcing tourists to change their travel plans, and an A.I. upstart, Perplexity, putting in a surprise bid to purchase Google Chrome for $34
billion.
Before that, though, the headlines this hour.
The U.S. inflation rate holding steady for the month of July, data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows annual inflation stayed at 2.7 percent,
core inflation, though, ticking up again, bringing that rate to 3.1 percent, the highest in five months.
Russian troops breaching part of Ukraine's Donetsk region. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he believes Russia is now preparing for a new
offensive operation in Ukraine. The buildup comes ahead of Friday's summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.
Twenty-three people arrested after Trump deployed federal officers in Washington, D.C. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt says some 850
officers and agents took to the streets in an effort to reduce what Trump called a crime emergency. The charges include homicide, driving under the
influence and fare evasion, among others.
[16:30:59]
As we stay with one of our top stories this hour, food and energy prices really managing to offset the increases for some other items, keeping
overall U.S. inflation steady. Those food prices basically flat, as you can see there, in July. Still, labor shortages are threatening to push costs
higher for farmers, and of course, ultimately consumers, as Donald Trump cracks down on illegal immigration.
A number of farms in the United States are now in the midst of their harvest season. And as my colleague David Culver reported last week, some
of those farms are struggling right now just to pick all their crops.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID CULVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Are any of them still salvageable or not?
IAN CHANDLER, FARMER FACING WORKER SHORTAGE: No. There's not really anything you can do with them at this point.
CULVER: You've got more than 30 acres of this farm with rotting fruit. I mean, these are cherries that at one point were pretty appetizing but right
now were more than two weeks past their prime.
CHANDLER: It's also lost revenue for the workers that would have been able to pick them had they been here.
CULVER (voice-over): Oregon farmer Ian Chandler says about half his usual crew didn't show up this season.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: In Texas, lawmakers are actually considering legislation to increase the number of temporary farm workers.
Dante Galeazzi is the president and CEO of the Texas International Produce Association. Easy for me to say. Dante joins us now.
Thanks for being here. So, you know, as we've noted and we've been talking about over the last several months, there are very real concerns, and we're
seeing it play out in action about having enough workers to pick the produce, to process the produce that is in such high demand across this
country. What are you seeing?
DANTE GALEAZZI, PRESIDENT AND CEO, TEXAS INTERNATIONAL PRODUCE ASSOCIATION: Yes. So our folks are seeing very much the same thing. I mean, you know,
people sometimes don't understand the scope of it. In Texas alone, we grow 60 different fruit and vegetable crops, and only five of those can be
harvested by machine. So that means the other 55 crops have to be harvested by hand.
Our folks have long been challenged to find enough workers. And, you know, even though we use the program h-2a, which is the government guest worker
program, there's still a lot of difficulties and challenge and costs. And our folks just often do not have enough workers. It is our -- it is one of
our largest challenges as fruit and vegetable industry.
HILL: You know, another one of my colleagues was reporting just a couple of weeks ago, I believe she was in the Central Valley in California and was
reporting and even spoke with workers. There's a lot of talk about, you know, migrant workers, potentially some who are on visas, others who may
not be here legally, people being afraid to show up to work if they're not here legally.
She was speaking with farm workers who said they are here fully legally, right? They are legally allowed to work. They're in the country legally,
and they're afraid to go to their jobs because there is a concern they told her directly they would be profiled and could be, you know, ultimately
deported, wrongfully deported or wrongfully detained.
Are you seeing similar issues in Texas?
GALEAZZI: So in Texas, we're not really seeing that, but it's largely because we're in our off season. I mean, how many crops are we going to
grow when it's 100 degrees every single day for three months in a row? But that said, that's a very real concern for our folks. I mean, we have heard
it from others in the industry that, you know, the workers are concerned. to your point, they'll be profiled and they could be asked to leave or even
worse, they could just be in a situation where they don't understand. I mean, these guest workers are from foreign countries and they're not always
familiar with our laws or rules or how to do things. And worse, if there's not someone there to translate for them, they're going to be even further
lost.
HILL: Yes, I mentioned there are efforts in Texas, obviously, to increase the number of workers who can be brought in. There has been I know some
back and forth when it comes to the federal government and crackdowns and whether or not farms were going to be targeted. Has it been your experience
that there's a clear line of communication with the government when it comes to, you know, what you're seeing and what you're expecting?
GALEAZZI: So what -- yes, there -- it does feel like there is now. In the early days of June and July where we saw these ICE immigration actions
really ramp up, there was a lot of concern because there weren't clear answers.
[16:35:07]
I mean, here in Texas, we had some ICE folks visiting our farmers, and they weren't even sure what the h-2a program was or what to look for.
Thankfully, they have quickly adjusted that. We are seeing that the enforcement actions are no longer targeting farms. Obviously, we still have
some concern in warehouses, but again, it does look like the government has been in communication. They've heard our concerns.
The enforcement actions have been targeted now. So that's to say they're not just randomly knocking on doors. They have warrants and they know who
they're looking for.
HILL: So this is, you know, I'm struck by the number that you gave there, 60 some odd, you know, crops that are grown in the state of Texas. Only
five of those can be harvested by machine. Correct me if I'm not remembering that correctly from what you said. In terms of -- in terms of
always being able, right, to fill the need for workers, I would imagine this is a constant issue, not just in this moment.
GALEAZZI: Yes.
HILL: Why is it so hard to get enough people out there for these jobs?
GALEAZZI: Well, unfortunately, I don't have the three hours it would take to talk about the root cause of this issue. But let me just say this. Our
country has long had an issue with never having enough workers for agriculture. The first braceros program was from 1913, and I mean it dates
even before that. We just have never had enough workers for our industry. And, you know, even though the government has stepped up and created
programs like the h-2a and h-2b, there's so many challenges with that program that small farmers often can't access it or they can't afford to
access it.
So, you know, we really, as a country, have got to sit down and make some decisions and decide, do we want to even keep growing fruits and
vegetables? Because if we do, we've got to get a functioning guest worker and immigration system in place.
HILL: Dante, really appreciate you joining us and appreciate your perspective today. Thank you.
GALEAZZI: Of course. You got it. Thank you, ma'am.
HILL: Wildfires fueled by heat waves across Europe are forcing tourists to change their travel plans. These fast-moving fire sweeping across a number
of residential areas near Madrid on Monday. Emergency teams working around the clock. Look at those flames there.
CNN's Barbie Nadeau has more now on how these fires are impacting both residents and tourists across Europe this summer.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBIE LATZA NADEAU, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tourists forced to flee one of southern Spain's most popular beaches after a wildfire, driven
by strong winds, swept through the resort town of Tarifa, forcing local authorities to evacuate nearly 2,000 tourists and residents.
Just one part of what's becoming an apocalyptic European summer. Official data shows that Europe has seen more than twice as many fires as it saw on
average by mid-August in recent decades.
Many are set on purpose, some sparked accidentally and others fueled by extreme heat caused by manmade climate change.
There were similar scenes on the Italian island of Sardinia last month, where beachgoers had to be evacuated by boat after wildfires blocked other
escape routes.
Disaster also struck the Italian tourist hotspot of Pompeii after forest fires quickly burned up the flanks of the Mount Vesuvius volcano, where
authorities had to close trails to keep hikers safe.
Even in Scotland, not typically known for its hot summers, a brush fire spread across a popular tourist attraction in dormant volcano, Arthur's
Seat.
In Spain, where fires led to the death of one man near Madrid, the costs are almost impossible to measure.
JOSE ANGEL RODRIGUEZ, PRESIDENT, ORELLAN LOCAL COUNCIL (through translator): The damage is incalculable at this point, whether it's to the
chestnut trees or the loss of tourism.
NADEAU (voice-over): And as wildfires continue to threaten European tourism, more travelers are being forced to rethink plans, cancel flights,
and take extra precautions. Like this tourist in Tarifa who wore a face mask to protect herself from the thick smoke.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): It's a genuine shame. Everything that's happened as they had to evacuate practically everything. I was so
afraid as so many chalets, houses, shops were burnt. It's such a shame.
NADEAU (voice-over): A sunburn used to be one of the biggest concerns most holidaymakers had. Now they face a far more burning threat.
Barbie Latza Nadeau, CNN, Rome.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HILL: Just ahead, the latest in A.I., including Perplexity's surprise bid to buy Google Chrome and Elon Musk's threat to sue Apple over its App Store
rankings.
Stay with CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:42:27]
HILL: Perplexity with a surprise bid to purchase Google Chrome. The A.I. search firm is offering $34.5 billion for the browser.
A federal judge ruled last year Google had violated antitrust law, and the Justice Department is trying to force it to sell Chrome. Google is
appealing that ruling. Perplexity's offer meantime, it's more than double its own valuation. The company has been looking for a high-profile
acquisition, saying earlier this year it was making a bid to buy TikTok.
Clare Duffy joining me now from here in New York.
A lot of money and double its own valuation? This is really something, Clare.
CLARE DUFFY, CNN TECH CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this is a really eye-popping number and kind of an interesting move from a company that is a challenger
to Google in the search business. Perplexity has already been trying to shake up the way that people find information on the internet. It has its
own search engine in just -- just in July, it launched its own A.I. Chrome -- or A.I. browser, I should say. So it is already a challenger to Google
in many ways and interesting that they're now making this $34.5 billion offer to purchase Chrome.
Now, Google has not yet responded to this offer, at least publicly, but I do think that this is a long shot. Despite this court decision that we are
waiting on to see if a court will side with the DOJ in its request to force Google to spin off Chrome, Google, of course, has said it will appeal that
ruling and it also called the idea of spinning off Chrome an unprecedented proposal that would harm consumers and security. So it doesn't necessarily
look like Google is open to finding a buyer for Chrome at this point. Even if a court attempts to force it to spin off the browser.
But it is interesting the way that we are starting to see A.I. firms, A.I. startups try to shake up some of these foundations of the internet that
we've come to know for the A.I. era -- Erica.
HILL: Yes, absolutely, Claire, really appreciate it. Thank you.
Well, speaking of all things tech, Elon Musk now threatening to sue Apple after accusing the company of showing favoritism toward OpenAI on its App
Store. So Musk says that Apple is making it impossible for other A.I. platforms to reach the top spot in the rankings, and that his X A.I.
platform will take immediate legal action. Musk says Apple's actions are an unequivocal antitrust violation.
Anna Cooban is following this story for us from London.
So where do things stand at this point, Anna?
ANNA COOBAN, CNN BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS CORRESPONDENT: Well, as you've mentioned, this really has -- was initiated by Musk last night in a flurry
of tweets in classic Musk style. He is alleging that really Apple has rigged the App Store to essentially favor OpenAI's ChatGPT, the famous A.I.
chatbot, over and above his Grok model, which is the A.I. chatbot that his X A.I. company has made.
[16:45:08]
When you go onto an iPhone, you go on the App Store, it says top free apps. And then there's this ranking of apps. At the moment for U.S. iPhone users,
it is ChatGPT. And then Grok last time I checked was around number six. Now what Musk is alleging without evidence is that this has been -- this is the
result of an unfair manipulation. And he says that he's prepared to sue immediately.
HILL: Prepared to sue immediately. I mean, could it really happen that quickly?
COOBAN: Well, Musk seems to have a lot of confidence in his ability to do so. So we'll have to -- have to see how this all plays out. But I think
what's interesting is that this really is yet the latest example of a long running feud between Musk and OpenAI. So he helped found that company about
a decade ago.
Now Sam Altman, which is the CEO of that company, there's no love lost between him and Musk, he came out on X, which, ironically, is a platform
owned by Musk today to lob his own accusation at Musk, saying that he believes that Musk has rigged the algorithm of X to favor his own tweets,
and he denies the accusation that Musk made against him.
So really, Erica, this is just all incredibly messy.
HILL: Yes, it is certainly messy. And now playing out for all the world to see.
Anna, I appreciate it. Thank you.
Billboard's Hot 100 chart has a new number one song. And get this, the artist behind it is a fictional girl group. Those details next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HILL: A pair of Chinese ships collided while chasing Philippine boats, and it was all caught on camera. The collision happened in the fiercely
contested South China Sea on Monday.
Marc Stewart has a closer look now at what sparked the confrontation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The South China Sea is a volatile piece of real estate, and what happened here had the potential to turn into
something much worse.
Let's watch the video together. You can see a Chinese warship collided with a Chinese Coast Guard ship while chasing some boats from the Philippines.
The Chinese Coast Guard ship was damaged, in fact, taking off part of its bow. At the time you can see the waters appeared to be choppy, and at the
time, three Chinese Coast Guard members were on the bow when the impact occurred, as we see in the video.
This is video captured by the Philippine Coast Guard. An official from the Philippine Coast Guard said they were being chased at a high rate of speed
when this was taking place.
[16:50:03]
In addition, you can see one of the boats from the Philippines was targeted with a water cannon but avoided getting hit. At the time, the Philippine
Coast Guard claimed it was trying to get some aid to some fishermen. So important context here. This happened near the Scarborough Shoal. It falls
within the Philippines' economic zone, but China's had a constant presence here for years. That's according to the Asia Maritime Transparency
Initiative.
Things could have been worse because both nations feel they have rights to this waterway, and this could have escalated into something bigger. As for
China, it's blaming the Philippines, saying it's trying to disguise this as an aid mission but instead going into its territory. And the Chinese Coast
Guard maintains it operated within the law. China also not calling this a collision, not even mentioning it in its statements.
Marc Stewart, CNN, Beijing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HILL: Taylor Swift officially entering a new era.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JASON KELCE, FORMER NFL PLAYER, PODCASTER: A briefcase.
TAYLOR SWIFT, MUSICIAN: Yes.
J. KELCE: Mint green with TS on it?
SWIFT: Yes. Yes.
J. KELCE: What's in it?
SWIFT: This is my brand new album, "The Life of a Showgirl."
TRAVIS KELCE, NFL PLAYER: TS 12.
SWIFT: Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: The big reveal there shared of course as part of a teaser for Swift's appearance on her boyfriend Travis Kelce's podcast "New Heights," which he
hosts with his brother Jason. "The Life of a Showgirl" will be Swift's 12th original studio album, and oh, the countdown is on.
Meantime, there's also a new generation taking over Billboard's Hot 100 chart.
(MUSIC)
HILL: That is the song "Golden" by Huntress. It's featured in the popular - - popular may be an understatement -- Netflix film "K-Pop Demon Hunters." "Golden" is actually the first song by a fictional artist to claim
Billboard's number one spot in three years.
Jem Aswad is with me now. He's the executive music editor at "Variety."
Great to have you here to walk me through this because I feel really old, too, because I was not that familiar with "Golden," which is, you know,
setting some records at this point. So let's start there. Right? This next generation really coming in and also just the fact that we're seeing this
in this moment. Can you put that in context for me?
JEM ASWAD, EXECUTIVE MUSIC EDITOR, VARIETY: Sure. What it really is, is, I mean, it took a lot of people in the industry by surprise. K-pop has been
kind of evolving in this direction for a while. And you could argue that this is sort of an ultimate conclusion of it. An actual animated series.
And when I listen to that album, I'll confess I still haven't seen the show. When I listen to the album I was sort of struck by the autotune on
it, but then I was sort of like, well, how can you get mad at autotune if it's an animated character? So there are all these sort of like extremes
hitherto unreached extremes in it.
HILL: It is really something, and I love that you point that out about the autotune. And yet, given who is technically behind it, I guess it does sort
of make sense. I mean, is this -- is it also laying the groundwork? K-pop is one thing, right? But to your point about this almost coming full
circle, is this laying the groundwork for more of this in the future in terms of music?
ASWAD: I mean, sure, there will be -- there are already A.I. characters that are actual kind of artists. And I'm sure the Grammys right now are
grappling with how to deal with that. A year or two ago, they had to deal with that song that had fake Drake and Weekend vocals on it. And, you know,
they eventually, like, they removed the fake vocals and then it qualified. Nobody cared about the song anymore. So there are all sorts of weird issues
we're grappling with.
This isn't even A.I. but it's sort of in a similar category. But you could also argue it's kind of the same thing as "The Archies," who were a late
'60s cartoon with music made by actual humans. Very good pop music a lot of the time. Or the Partridge family, who were a fictional character, I'm
afraid I'm dating myself with those examples.
HILL: It's all right. I enjoyed the Partridge family myself.
ASWAD: "Jem and the Holograms." There we go.
HILL: I loved the "Jem and the Holograms." You're really speaking my language here. This I'm here for. When we look at Taylor Swift, though,
she's certainly in the sort of more traditional category, right, based on what we were just discussing. So the fact that she announces the album drop
is coming seated next to Travis Kelce, there's a whole lot going on here on the internet. My 15-year-old niece is really here for it.
What are we going to get out of this album? Because it's my understanding there's a fair amount of Easter eggs that may have been released as well.
ASWAD: Well, there's tons of them. Yes. And as she always does, Taylor is, I wouldn't consider her music necessarily innovative. Her real innovation
and her real breakthroughs have come in fan engagement and how she maintains her popularity for as long as she has because she's really been
the biggest pop star in the world for the last 10 years.
[16:55:10]
Those Easter eggs are a big part of that. That helps build and maintain the community. It's a little bit of a semisecret society, and I'm always
astonished at how many Swifties are on our staff because we're, you know, we're professional media organization. And last night at 12:15 East Coast,
there were like 10 Swifties along with the music staff in our Slack Channel, like, what does it mean?
You know, so what we can take away from this is, you know, there are some things that seem fairly obvious. Number one, "Life of a Showgirl." OK, that
probably means she's going big showbiz with this record after several relatively calm, kind of sedate, more sedate, ballad based records, and
also the only other tangible clue we have is red glitter. OK. That's big. So what can you extrapolate from that? It's going to be a bigger record.
According to something that leaked, a document that leaked that we're not sure whether or not it's legit, the album was produced by Max Martin and
Shellback. Max Martin is the biggest hitmaker of the last 35 years. Everything from Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears to Coldplay, Taylor's
"1989" album and Ariana Grande's record. So it's probably going to be big, you know, glitter, showgirl, Max Martin, that means a big pop record. Does
it mean she's going to tour? Maybe.
HILL: We will be watching.
Jem, great to have you. Thank you.
Stocks closing higher despite that rise in inflation. The Dow ending the day up just over 1 percent as you see there adding nearly 500 points. The
S&P and the Nasdaq reaching new highs.
Let's take a closer look there at some of the Dow components. Goldman Sachs closing up at 3 percent despite a direct attack in many ways from President
Trump claiming the bank and its CEO, quote, "refused to give credit where credit is due." Goldman has voiced worries in the past about the impact of
tariffs on the economy.
Aviation companies also taking flight today. Data showing airfares increased by 4 percent in July. Boeing closing up nearly 3 percent.
That is going to do it for QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. I'm Erica Hill. Stay tuned, "THE LEAD WITH JAKE TAPPER" is up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
