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Quest Means Business

Photos from FBI Show Person of Interest in Kirk Murder; FBI Offers $100K Reward in Search for Kirk's Shooter; Trump: Kirk to be Honored with Presidential Medal of Freedom; FBI Offers $100,000 Reward in Search for Charlie Kirk's Killer; U.K. Ambassador to the U.S. Fired Over Epstein Ties; Paramount Skydance to Bid for Warner Brothers Discovery; Rising Inflation Comes Amid Concerns of U.S. Labor Market; Georgia Plant Raid Impacting U.S.-South Korea Business Ties. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired September 11, 2025 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:13]

RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST, "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS": Closing bell is ringing on Wall Street. It is a Thursday, and the markets are all at

record highs. Take a look at the numbers and you'll see what I mean.

Strong gains, 600 points. I mean, the Dow was up and never looked back. That's a pretty -- it is not often you see a day like that, solid across

the board. The bell has been -- well, the bell was rung. The gavel has been hit. Record markets. Those are the markets, and these are the main events

of the day.

The FBI has released a photo of a person of interest in the shooting of the conservative activist, Charlie Kirk.

A majority of Brazil's Supreme Court has convicted former President Jair Bolsonaro of attempting a coup.

And Lord Peter Mandelson, the U.K. Ambassador to the United States, is fired over his links to Jeffrey Epstein.

We are live in New York. What a busy day it is going to be, and of course, it is September the 11th. I am Richard Quest and I mean business.

Good evening.

Authorities continuing the hunt for the man who killed the conservative political activist, Charlie Kirk. The FBI has released these images showing

who the -- what they are calling a person of interest. And $100,000.00 reward for information leading to the arrest of a suspect.

Video from the area shows law enforcement searching a nearby neighborhood. Officials had been scheduled to hold a news conference an hour or so ago,

but they delayed it over what they described as rapid developments.

Charles Ramsey is with me, our senior law enforcement analyst. Help me understand what all of these twists and turns mean. Let's first of all,

deal with the photographs being released and the $100,000.00 reward. Do you get that as an indication they've got a pretty good idea?

CHARLES RAMSEY, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, actually, it gives me an indication that maybe just by themselves, they may not have a

very good idea that's why they released it to the public. Much like in the Boston bombing, when they released the photograph, it wasn't long after

that that they were able to zero in on the actual suspects in that particular case, and hopefully the same thing happens here.

You look at those photographs, if you know this person, you'd be able to identify him either because either by their face or even the, sweater that

that particular person is wearing. So I am sure that they've gotten more tips, and that's probably why they've delayed this press conference. That

is the good news to me, it sounds like they're zeroing in on this individual.

QUEST: When they do this, it is obviously people walking up the stairs of a building, probably -- arguably the building where the shooting took place.

How do they determine that that is -- I mean, there must have been hundreds of people in those videos on those pictures. How do they narrow it down to

the point where they say, no, that's person we want to put out the picture about.

RAMSEY: Well, I mean, there are a lot of people maybe in the stairwell, but there weren't a lot of people going up to the roof, and so you have cameras

in different locations, and they try to identify first who is going up that high and who is trying to access the roof.

Then they start to work backwards and they start tracking this person going backwards to try to find out when did they enter the building? Where were

they before then? Were they in a car -- and all of those kinds of things. So there is a lot of video, that they take a look at. They also had video

from people who were at the scene that actually captured an individual dressed in black on the roof, and so they had a pretty good idea of who to

look for when as they were going through it, in terms of the number of people, they were looking for a male dressed in black and I don't know if

he was the only one or not, but probably so.

QUEST: Right. Now, we have the gun, or we believe to have the gun which has got inscriptions on it and on the bullet casings. We don't know what they

are. They haven't been revealed and we are not disclosing because we haven't got them.

So, you know, the when I saw all of this, I think of Luigi Mangione and the UnitedHealthcare, the murder, alleged murder, I should say. Of course, he

has not been tried, and this is similar in a sense of, if you remember how he was caught, it was somebody in a fast food restaurant who thought, I

recognize that smile.

[16:05:02]

RAMSEY: Exactly, and that's why you released that information to the public. You give yourself enough time to try to locate the individual if

you think you have a chance of getting them, you know, bad guys watch television, too, so you don't put too much stuff out too quickly.

But you hit a point in an investigation where you actually do need the help of the public, and that's when you start releasing information like the

photograph and other key information.

QUEST: How much will A.I. or technology be being used in all of this at the moment do you suspect?

RAMSEY: I suspect quite a bit. I suspect when they first got that photograph, they were able to use A.I. to really search to see through

facial recognition. Whether or not one, had the person ever been arrested? So they can search a pretty wide database. It is my understanding that they

also have the capability through social media to actually be able to do a facial recognition scan to see whether or not they come up with any people

that potentially could be the shooter.

So, yes, A.I. makes a huge difference.

QUEST: Charles, you know, last question just briefly, I remember years, many, many, many years ago in Britain, there was a murder investigation for

the Yorkshire Ripper, you might remember the case yourself, very famous mass murderer.

But in that case, they were overwhelmed, and what we learned from that, there was so much material coming in that they failed to see the murderer

who was in front of their face, and who they actually interviewed several times. On an investigation like this, which is politically, I mean, way up

there, how difficult is it to sift when you have so much pressure and so much information coming at you?

RAMSEY: Well, there is pressure and there is a lot of information.

I was the police chief in Washington, D.C. during the D.C. sniper back in 2002, and we had a similar situation, but you divide up the workload, you

have people who they do nothing but follow leads. That's all they do.

You have other people that are looking from a technology standpoint, scanning video, using A.I. in this case; others that are processing the

scene. So you divide up the workload and you have access to a lot of different resources.

And that's how you manage to keep from being overwhelmed.

QUEST: I am grateful for you, sir. Thank you. At every stage of the way, we are always grateful that you help us understand the inside aspects of law

enforcement.

Now, the President says he will award Charlie Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom. It is the United States' highest civilian honor that can be

given by the U.S. President.

Mr. Trump says the killing is a dark moment for the country, and that he is speaking to Mr. Kirk's family this afternoon.

Charlie Kirk had a direct line to the President, and the President spoke about his legacy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I have no doubt that Charlie's voice and the courage he put into the hearts of

countless people, especially young people, will live on.

I am pleased to announce that I will soon be awarding Charlie Kirk posthumously the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The date of the ceremony

will be announced, and I can only guarantee you one thing, that we will have a very big crowd, very, very big.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: Kevin is with me at The White House.

This is a political assassination, to be sure, but for the people at The White House, they lost a colleague and a friend and somebody who was -- I

mean, I was reading that "New York Times" article about just how far Charlie Kirk had access and was at The White House, both in administration

one and two.

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, and especially in the second administration. You know, he was a pretty frequent presence in the

West Wing here, and you know, Richard, one of the things about White Houses, is they are staffed overwhelmingly by pretty young people.

Certainly there are those in the senior levels, but mostly, it is a lot of people in their late 20s, early 30s, people who are Charlie Kirk's age and

who had gotten to know him on the campaign trail.

Campaigns are obviously pretty intense work environments, and these are relationships that are more or less forged in fire. And so they did, lose

in this assassination, someone that they were very personally close with. And including, you know, some pretty senior people, people like Donald

Trump, Jr., the President's son, who said in a podcast earlier today that he spoke with Charlie Kirk, basically every day; and the Vice President,

J.D. Vance, who has credited Charlie Kirk with kind of introducing him to the Trump sphere, advocating for his assignment as the presidential running

mate and really kind of someone who could help bring him into the President's sort of inner circle, and now, J.D. Vance is on his way to Salt

Lake City to console some members of Kirk's family.

[16:10:07]

And then from there, he will escort Kirk's casket aboard Air Force Two back to Arizona, where Kirk lives with his young family.

So this is a moment that has created an enormous amount of sadness at The White House. But I will also say it has also created a degree of unease.

You know, this assassin is still on the loose, as you were just talking about with Charles Ramsey. President Trump is someone who has been subject

to assassination attempts in the last couple of years, and you already see some efforts to boost security around the President.

You know, this morning he was at The Pentagon talking at that 9/11 Memorial. Usually, that occurs outside the building, but today, they moved

it into the inner courtyard as a direct result of these enhanced security precautions. The president will be heading up to New York shortly, Yankee

Stadium also very tight security around there -- Richard.

QUEST: Everybody is watching their words carefully now for good reason. The use of language has become incredibly relevant and important. The tone of

how people speak is going to be crucial. How far is that being reflected at the seat and center of power?

LIPTAK: You know, I think for the President, tone is always a big question. You know, this was an assassination attempt by someone on someone in his

own side of things, on the right part of politics in the conservative movement. And you hear already allies of the President in some instances

lashing out at tone that they think is disrespectful of the gravity of the moment here. But I don't think you can kind of ignore the role that

President Trump plays in the tone of politics in the country today. He is the overwhelming force in politics, whether it is on the right or the left,

everything kind of revolves around President Trump.

So you're right, that tone is now going to be taken into consideration. People want to be mindful of what they are saying, mindful of being

respectful of the moment and trying to help move the country to a place where this is no longer a normal part of political life, but in the era of

Donald Trump, that can be difficult.

You know, these are tense times. They are fraught times. People have been at each other's throat for quite a long time. And so to me, I don't know

how you can suddenly reverse all of that after one event like this, but I think it is in everyone's interest to attempt it, at least.

QUEST: Kevin, you always manage to sum up the situation so elegantly. I am grateful. Thank you.

Kevin Liptak at The White House.

Coming up, authorities are looking for the killer and public figures are considering how to secure future events, because at the end of the day, how

do we continue with to practice democracy when you have to watch over your shoulder? In a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:15:46]

QUEST: The shooting has now, of course, raised concern over the safety of large public events.

The Utah Valley University Police Chief says there were six officers at Wednesday's event. Charlie Kirk also had a security team that traveled with

him, his own personal security.

The House Speaker, Mike Johnson has told us he spoke to the Democratic leader, Hakeem Jeffries about lowering the political temperature and

discussed what options Congress has to give members more security.

Kirk Burkhalter is a former detective with the NYPD, now professor at New York Law School. He is with me now.

Just about impossible, sir, to keep these people 100 percent safe. You know that, I know that, the terrorists know that, the shooters know that. It is

about mitigation, isn't it?

KIRK BURKHALTER, FORMER DETECTIVE WITH NYPD, NOW PROFESSOR AT NEW YORK LAW SCHOOL: That is absolutely correct. So no security measures are 100

percent, right? You can't just put a bubble around a speaker or anyone. However, job number one, you can certainly make it difficult for someone to

do so. Limit access to areas where someone might have a clear shot or an opportunity to harm someone. You can discourage someone from bringing

weapons into a particular area.

We see this in New York all the time in the large transit hubs, for instance. The police do random bag searches. There are folks walking around

with long guns. That may not necessarily be to catch someone, that is to discourage someone. So that's really job number one, having a presence, a

visible presence to discourage people that will do harm.

To your point, yes, incredibly expensive to go much further.

QUEST: But it is also a question of a widening of the circle. So yes, obviously the President, Vice President, Cabinet leaders of Congress are

going to have the tightest drum, but as you start to extrapolate out and then you start to get to House members and activists and people who have

made inflammatory speeches or not, as the case may be, then it really becomes much more difficult. Where do you -- you know what I am saying

here.

BURKHALTER: Absolutely, it becomes much more difficult. So then that shifts the conversation, and let me say this up front, this is not a political

conversation. This shifts the conversation to access to weapons. You cannot have this conversation without having that conversation, access to weapons.

Now, it sounds like the rifle that was recovered here was the type of rifle that's usually not part of this conversation, a bolt action hunting rifle.

That being said, that is still part of the conversation, access to weapons.

QUEST: You see, the only reason I made a groan when you said that is because it is a futile discussion in this -- in the United States. I know

you might disagree with me, but if you couldn't get meaningful gun control with people being shot in prayer and shot in schools and shot in movie

theaters and shot in clubs, this this is an issue, you know, when you've got more guns than people, how do you keep people like Charlie Kirk safe?

BURKHALTER: You're absolutely correct, and I agree with you on one hand that the conversation is somewhat futile, however, in the other hand, that

doesn't mean I am willing to give up. I will ring that bell until the bell is broken and many others feel the same way. Eventually, hopefully, there

will be some change.

Now to your point, how do you keep someone like this victim safe? The other is to kind of focus on what some of your former guests were saying, your

prior guest rather.

We have got to focus on ourselves and our language and identifying individuals who are upset or in mental distress over this language. I am

almost positive that when we identify this perpetrator, we will find out, number one, that this was someone in mental distress. Number two, there

will be a litany of individuals that will be all over the news testifying how they knew him and knew of certain writings that he did, and there was

all types of writing on the wall, and sometimes you'll see the elementary school teacher say, yes, I knew this person had an issue, but none of these

people necessarily either had the avenue or the will to come forward. So that's something else. We have to take ownership, all of us.

[16:20:37]

QUEST: Kirk, you've opened a can of worms that I'd love to explore, but we will have to do that on another occasion. I am very grateful. Thank you,

sir.

Now --

BURKHALTER: You're quite welcome.

QUEST: I promised you it was a busy day, so to Brazil now, where the Supreme Court has voted to convict the former president, Jair Bolsonaro, of

plotting to overturn the 2022 election. Prosecutors say the plot involved considering whether to assassinate the president-elect, aimed to cling to

power.

Julia Vargas Jones is with me. So they've done -- the Supreme Court has voted. What happens now?

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, now we still have two more justices to go, Richard, not all of them have voted, but they have formed a

majority at this point. With the first vote from Alexandre de Moraes, a justice that has been actually part of one of the charges against

Bolsonaro, and that has in itself raised a lot of questions and that is in part why yesterday, Richard, one of the justices, voted to acquit

Bolsonaro. He said the court had no jurisdiction over this case, in part because the court was itself a target of one of the plots here, but in part

because this is a former president, he should not be tried by the Supreme Court.

But today we heard from different people. We heard from Justice Carmen Lucia. She and other justices, Richard, have brought back the memory of

Brazil's military rule, the memory of the last time Brazil suffered a coup that was successful, and that was on for 20 years.

So she said, you know, we are protecting democracy today by going --

QUEST: But what happens? So we've got a majority of three, what is the penalty that is likely -- that could be paid, or is this more symbolic in a

sense of he has actually been convicted by this Supreme Court? Is there anything that follows on from this?

JONES: There is very much a next step here, which is that he could face 40 years in prison. Now, Bolsonaro is already under house arrest, Richard, for

a different investigation that he is undergoing. He has an ankle monitor because of meddling that his son has done in the United States on other

matters. He is already suffering for some of the decisions that he has made after -- during and after his time as president, now, he could be going to

a prison for 40 years.

And if you remember, he is also not allowed to run again in next year's elections, in 2026. He is still barred from running for office until 2030.

So this is very much part of the Brazilian Supreme Court trying to make an extra effort to show that what happened on January 8th could not be

repeated in Brazil.

QUEST: This would be fine. Well, not fine, you know what I mean? You'll understand what I mean. If it was just related to the Supreme Court, the

domestic politics of Brazil, the legal system, but now throw in President Trump and his tariffs and his threats and his sanctions against Brazil,

because of the way they've treated Bolsonaro, and it leaves us with a very different equation now, the Supreme Court has spoken.

JONES: Oh, it sure does. Before this trial really began, before the decisions began, before the justices began reading their opinions, that's

when we heard back in June, the letter from President Trump spelling out exactly why he was slapping those 50 percent tariffs on Brazil. It was

because he called this a witch hunt, a political persecution of a very close ally of his who, by the way, over the past few years, over the past

decade, I will say since 2016, 2017, 2018, when Bolsonaros and I say that also includes his son, Eduardo Bolsonaro, now in what he calls exile in the

United States, have lobbied and have gotten very, very close to President Donald Trump's circle, to the MAGA world and have lobbied successfully for

this very moment, for the tariffs to be a retaliation against Brazil carrying out what it believes its justice.

But I will say, Richard, there are many people still in Brazil who believe that this is not a carrying out of justice. They believe that the court has

no jurisdiction over this matter, and they think that Bolsonaro did not have a fair chance to make his case, that is why we saw thousands of people

on the streets of Sao Paulo last weekend, and that is what we are looking for in the days to come as these decision percolates, as we start hearing

about a potential sentencing.

QUEST: Right.

[16:25:09]

JONES: That's when we are going to start hearing that reaction from the population, still very much divided, and now waiting on potential

retaliation from the United States.

QUEST: And we will watch and -- well, you'll watch and you'll tell us as and when it happens. I am grateful. Thank you so much.

JONES: I sure will.

QUEST: QUEST MEANS BUSINESS tonight will be in Utah, where the manhunt is underway for the killer of Charlie Kirk.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: Hello, I am Richard Quest, together we will have a lot more QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.

The British Prime Minister has fired his Ambassador to the United States over his links to Jeffrey Epstein.

Inflation in the U.S. has risen in August, and will the Fed still cut next week?

We will get to it all after the headlines, because this is CNN and on this network, the news always comes first.

Investigators say there are rapid developments in the search for Charlie Kirk's killer. Authorities have said they've made several breakthroughs,

including the recovery of the rifle that they believe was used in the attack. President Trump says he will honor Kirk with the Presidential Medal

of Freedom.

The majority of the five member panel of Brazil's Supreme Court has voted to convict the former president, Jair Bolsonaro, of plotting to overturn

the 2022 election. The prosecutors say the plot involved considering whether to assassinate the president-elect to cling on to power. The guilty

verdict means Bolsonaro could face decades in prison.

Israel's Prime Minister is vowing that there will be no Palestinian state, as he signed a ceremonial West Bank settlement expansion plan. Multiple

European countries are committing to recognizing a Palestinian state ahead of the UNGA, the United Nations General Assembly later this month. Prime

minister Netanyahu is also planning to meet with his top security officials on Friday. It is believed they will discuss what they're calling the

conquest of Gaza City.

[16:30:13]

Our top story, the manhunt, the huge manhunt underway for Charlie Kirk's killer. The FBI released these images. They're calling him a person of

interest. A $100,000 reward has been given for the arrest of the suspect. Authorities say a high powered rifle has also been recovered. Video taken

at the time of the assassination at the university it appears to show a black figure moving across a nearby rooftop. The $100,000, as I say, leads

to the killer's arrest.

Nick Watt is in Orem in Utah.

Nick, good to see you, sir. Thank you. Been difficult to gauge exactly where the authorities are in all of this. Particularly since they told us

they were going to postpone or delay, I should say, a press conference.

NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Richard. Listen, yesterday, it seemed like they didn't have much. They said they had some security camera

video that was of poor quality. First thing this morning, we were told of key developments overnight. That rifle, high powered bolt action that you

mentioned, that was found to the north of the campus, where authorities say the gunman fled.

On that rifle and on some ammunition, we are told that there were some phrases etched that relate to some of the culture wars perhaps going on in

the U.S. right now. Maybe that is some indication towards a motive. Also, there were initials and officials thinking maybe that some indication

towards an identity. FBI analysts are right now working on that.

Now this morning they also told us they had this great video of the suspect, but they weren't going to release it to the public because they

were confident that the technology they were using on that video would give them an identification. A couple of hours later, they said, you know, if we

fail, then we'll release it. A couple of hours later they released those images showing a young college aged man who officials say could easily have

blended into the crowd of 3,000 or so people who were here on this campus to listen to Charlie Kirk and to argue with Charlie Kirk.

So then that press conference and that was delayed they told us because of rapid developments. So we'll see what's going on. I mean, what I can tell

you, Richard, is that they've now put a timeline together of when the gunman arrived, 11:52 a.m. local time. Then the gunshot, 12:20. Then after

he flees through this neighborhood, right now, it appears that they've kind of lost track of him. We know that there are officers still right now going

through that residential neighborhood, asking people for their ring door camera video. They're trying to track him down.

One the FBI guy in charge said this morning, you know, we don't know how far he's gone. And it is, of course, now, Richard, more than 24 hours since

Charlie Kirk was shot.

QUEST: Nick, I'm grateful. You will come back and report the moment there is more to tell us. Thank you, sir.

The British prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer, has fired the U.K.'s ambassador to the United States because of his links to the late convicted

sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein. It follows newly released e-mails that show Peter Mandelson offered Epstein support in his 2008 case involving teenage

girls. Yesterday, the prime minister strongly defended the ambassador after lawmakers released a birthday book in which Mandelson described him --

Epstein as his best pal.

Matthew Chance joins me now with more.

This is classic lack of judgment by Lord Mandelson who several times has managed to lose jobs through scandal of one sort or another. But, you know,

the interesting thing here is in any other world Starmer would have desperately wanted to keep Mandelson because of Mandelson's good graces

with the U.S. administration.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: And I think that, to be fair, the British prime minister, Keir Starmer, did go to some

lengths to try and keep Peter Mandelson, even defending him, as you mentioned, after that extraordinary, you know, birthday book was released a

while ago, a few days ago, in which there was this incredibly kind of fawning message from Peter Mandelson to Jeffrey Epstein about how he was

his best pal, how he enjoyed meeting those interesting friends. And, you know, sort of things like that.

And even then, you know, after that sort of, kind of creepy message, Keir Starmer, the British prime minister, defended his ambassador to the United

States, saying he stood by him. It was only after the release of a trove of e-mails, which were sent between Peter Mandelson and Jeffrey Epstein after

the billionaire had been convicted of child sex abuses in which Mandelson still showed his support and his affection for Jeffrey Epstein, saying, I

think the world of you and I feel furious at what has happened to you.

[16:35:13]

That, you know, the pressure finally became so much that Keir Starmer had to let him go. But, you know, so questions about the judgment of Mandelson,

but also the judgment of Keir Starmer. You know, how much he knew and when he knew about this relationship.

QUEST: Right.

CHANCE: Is something that is being asked now of him.

QUEST: You know, the interesting thing, I'm just quickly looking at the times of Mandelson's resignation. 1998 over a loan from a minister, 2001

over a passport that he allegedly was procured, 2008 over links to Russian oligarchs.

You've been around British politics as long as I have. I mean, the -- it's littered with Peter Mandelson scandals of where usually where money in some

shape or form is involved.

CHANCE: Yes. And when he was appointed as British ambassador there were all sorts of questions being asked of Keir Starmer about that -- about that

judgment, about the wisdom of it, because he was known as the prince of darkness because of his sort of Machiavellian skills in diplomatic sort of

dealings, because of his, you know, kind of prior experience and being tainted by various, you know, essentially corruption scandals.

What we're left with now, though, Richard, is a very embarrassing incident, not just for Starmer domestically in British politics, but remember, this

sacking comes just days before President Trump comes on his state visit to Britain. And Trump himself is embroiled in allegations about the nature of

his relationship with Epstein as well. So if Trump thinks he's going to come to Britain to escape that controversy in any way, he can be very

sorely disappointed.

QUEST: Good lord, what a business. Matthew, grateful for you as always. Thank you.

Matthew chance is in London.

QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. A double blow for the U.S. economy. Consumer prices are rising at the fastest pace since January, and the labor market appears

to be faltering. Stagflation is what we used to call it the old days. Both sides of the Fed's mandate appear to be in trouble. And the markets are

shrugging it off. This is a rum world indeed.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:40:29]

QUEST: It is always a career limiting move when we start doing stories about your own company. But here we go.

Shares in the CNN's parent company Warner Brothers Discovery are up about 20 percent and plus. Its report that the newly formed Paramount Skydance is

preparing a bid. Remember Warner Brothers Discovery was hoping to split itself apart next year. Well, now, speaking to "The Journal," sources are

saying the mostly cash offer would be backed by the family of Larry Ellison, Oracle's founder and the newly minted world's richest man after

Oracle was up 30 percent yesterday. Now, Skydance, run by Larry Ellison's son David, well, it's only just swallowed Paramount.

Brian is with me.

Brian Stelter, whether this is true or not seems to be not necessarily the point. The reality is, WBD, our company, is now in play.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: Yes. And WBD's stock is at its highest point in three years. That takes you all the way back to the point

when this merger happened. When Discovery and Time Warner came together, the stock was at $17, $18. It dropped dramatically. It was down 70 percent,

80 percent. It has now rebounded. The stock has had its best day ever on this "Journal" report, confirmed by other outlets that there is this

potential bid in the works from Paramount.

The shares of Paramount also up 15 percent today, so there is a lot of investor or shareholder excitement, enthusiasm about this because both

stocks, both media companies' stocks have struggled in recent years against the likes of Netflix. This could be, and I think what this is, Richard,

what this looks like to me, having worked the phones for a couple of hours, this is a sign that the bidding war is underway.

That, yes, Warner Brothers Discovery is up for sale in one way or another. We kind of knew that was going to happen because David Zaslav, the CEO,

announced a split, right? CNN and some of the other channels splitting off from the other half of the company. That was going to take effect in April

of next year or by April of next year. And that split, that progress is still underway. However, Paramount might be trying to bid for the entire

company.

The big question now, will there be other bidders?

QUEST: OK, so let's just, for the purposes of the question, assume it's all valid and it is, you know, it is -- that a bid is taking place, why would

Paramount, why would Ellison want this when he's not even begun to integrate the others into the -- into the big company? Take on WBD and --

STELTER: Well, you're absolutely right.

QUEST: But also the logic of the split that Zaslav is doing, does that still hold true?

STELTER: We are seeing companies like WBD and also Comcast going through splits and spinoffs right now.

QUEST: Right.

STELTER: But I refer back to what David Zaslav, the CEO of WBD, said basically the day after Trump was reelected. He said there has to be

consolidation in this industry, and the Trump administration is going to create a friendly environment for that consolidation. Some of this talk of

spinoffs and splits, it might also be looked at as a precursor for the inevitable actual roll ups that might now be underway.

Now, David Ellison, he has a lot of swagger right now. He is making big moves. He's making big investments. He wants to grow his media company.

He's not going to be finished just by merging Paramount and Skydance.

QUEST: Sure.

STELTER: I refer you back to what we learned over the summer. Ellison met with John Malone, the key WBD shareholder, Zaslav's mentor. They met on the

sidelines of the Sun Valley Conference, and they talked about consolidation in the industry. That's what I'm thinking about today.

QUEST: Right. And one person I spoke today basically said, this has almost got the blessing of the president, which of course, you know, tames CNN or

whatever. However, we want to put it. You know, put CNN into it, get us all the president would like this arrangement because he already has Ellison,

et al, where he wants them.

STELTER: That is the angle that may be most important here, but is the hardest to get at. It's the big mystery at the heart of the story. What we

know for sure is that Ellison has worked hard to ingratiate himself with President Trump. He's attended UFC matches, for example. He reportedly made

deals to provide public service announcements on CBS and other channels. We know, of course, Larry Ellison, his father, is a close confidant and

supporter of President Trump.

So that is the key part of the story but the hardest to get at when we go forward with this, Richard.

QUEST: I think the only thing we can promise our viewers, Brian, you and me, is that even though we're talking about our own company, we will talk

about it in exactly the way we would talk about any company.

[16:45:02]

STELTER: Hey, I reached out to the spokespeople for Paramount and WBD, and our parent company is declining to comment, Richard.

QUEST: Tell us, please. Brian Stelter, grateful. Thank you.

U.S. markets are soaring to all-time highs as investors bet rising inflation won't be enough to deter the Fed from cutting interest rates. But

it's tricky. It's more than obvious because prices rose 2.9 percent in August. Highest annual jump since January and a marked acceleration from

July.

Behind the increase, rising grocery and fuel prices, the cost of gas nearly 2 percent in August. Coffee up 21 percent, and eggs, which of course has

been such a political, pardon the phrase, hot potato up 10 percent. Investors are still betting that Jerome Powell will press ahead and cut

rates next week. That's because, of course, the dismal jobs data.

Nathan Sheets is the global chief economist at Citigroup.

Nathan, at the end of the day, how -- I mean, should they cut with inflation at 2.9 percent, what this level, and the weakness for -- take

politics out of it. I know you can't. But take politics out of it. Economics alone, should they cut it?

NATHAN SHEETS, GLOBAL CHIEF ECONOMIST, CITIGROUP: This is a really tough situation for Jay Powell and his colleagues. I think Powell cares about

only two things in the world. One of them is low inflation. Inflation in the neighborhood of 2 percent. And the other is having a strong labor

market and solid U.S. GDP growth. And he's now at a place where he's got to choose between them.

And this is the most unpalatable choice he has to make. But I think on balance, there is a case that over time that the easing, the softening of

the labor market looks more threatening than the inflation. And we can convince ourselves, if we talk long enough that this inflation is

temporary. And so, I guess on balance, but I wish I could be more categorical. On balance, I would lean in the direction of the cut. But the

Fed has got to be really, really careful here and proceed with a lot of caution. This is a tough situation for them.

QUEST: You see he talked about this, didn't he, at Jackson Hole? And the last, I mean, again and again in several speeches in his testimony to

Congress, Powell has said where the two sides of the mandate are in conflict, it's whichever is most pressing at that given moment. I think

you're probably right. It will be the -- because the BLS numbers last week on job creation were truly devastating.

SHEETS: Yes, yes. That was a very weak jobs report. Over the last four months, average job gains in the U.S. economy have been less than 30,000 a

month. We also saw the unemployment rate start to creep up. This is a softening labor market. And you know, the reality is and this also factors

into the Fed decision, is the Fed believes that the stance of monetary policy is still restrictive.

QUEST: Yes.

SHEETS: So when you see that softening of the labor market, that rise in the unemployment rate, albeit early and gradual, and you're still

restrictive, it makes sense to start moving back toward neutral.

QUEST: Do you see anything from your conversations with fellow top economists and ministers? Do you see anything where people are now

seriously beginning to question the independence and integrity of the Fed? Because that relates to inflationary expectations. But I -- you know, the

big worry is that people think the Fed is no longer independent. Are people starting to whisper that in quiet corridors?

SHEETS: I think that that is an issue that is now being discussed and debated in various places that six, 12 months ago was just taken as an

absolute foregone conclusion. And I do think to the extent that the independence of the Fed is further called into question, it is an issue

that financial markets are going to struggle with. And over time, it could also contribute to a less stable macro environment. I think we should

continue, and I hope that that's over time where the administration lands to hold central bank, Fed independence, as a given in the economic

universe.

[16:50:01]

QUEST: Nathan, always good to talk to you. We'll talk more obviously as we head after the next meeting. Thank you, sir.

It is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. Hundreds of South Korean workers detained by U.S. immigration. They're in the air at the moment heading home. What it

means for the bilateral relations.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: Hundreds of South Korean workers who were detained by U.S. immigration authorities are now on a plane heading home. The raid, of

course, was last week at the battery plant that's co-owned by Hyundai. The Hyundai chief executive said the plant's opening will now be delayed at

least two to three months.

As Gustavo Valdez now reports, the detentions are having a notable impact on relations between the two countries and the economic ties.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GUSTAVO VALDEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: About 300 South Korean workers are heading home after spending a week in an immigration detention center in

South Georgia, accused of violating immigration and labor laws in the United States.

The flight carrying them back to their country took off around noon from Atlanta after the South Korean government negotiated with the Trump

administration, their return and the conditions of how they're going back home. The South Korean government wanted this to be a voluntarily return to

their nation, not a deportation.

And also, they didn't want them to be taken shackled the same way we've seen other migrants being returned when immigration authorities send them

back to their country. In this case, we saw earlier this morning how about seven busses carrying the workers from the detention center arrived to the

airport. Some of their -- they waved at our cameras as they drove by and the plane was placed in a location where our cameras could not see how they

boarded.

This is an incident that created some controversy in South Korea, especially from businesses that are investing billions of dollars in the

United States. And they say that they simply don't have enough work visas for their workers to come and complete the construction in a timely manner.

The Trump administration at some point said that they wanted at least some of these workers to stay in the country to train local workers to do their

job. But the South Korean government wanted the whole group to go back. And then those who are going to be in charge of the training could return.

[16:55:05]

Now, while the South Koreans are allowed to go home, there are still tens of other migrants who were detained during this raid in the construction

site from other countries. I've spoken with a few of them who told me that they felt that they were OK working because they had an asylum claim and a

work permit for this kind of jobs in the United States.

Now they're being told that they can continue this asylum claim, but they're going to have to do it while detained. An immigration attorney I

spoke with said that it seemed like the Trump administration policy right now is that they will continue with the asylum claims, but those people who

enter illegally into the United States are going to have to do so while in detention.

Gustavo Valdes, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

QUEST: We'll have a "Profitable Moment" after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: Tonight's "Profitable Moment," the South Korean workers are on their way home. And what a mess has left behind. We just don't know how many of

those workers, 300 or so of them, were -- had overstayed, were here illegally, were breaking the terms of their esters or business visas. We do

know from last week on QUEST MEANS BUSINESS that some of those workers were here perfectly legally, that they were doing jobs that they were entitled

to be doing, and they got caught up in it. And now they're on their way back.

All of which begs the question, if you were a worker, I mean, according to what we're hearing today, president, the president said some of them can

stay and train U.S. workers. Who on earth would want to stay after the way they've just been treated?

Now, I am sure that within the 300 and something, there are some who are here doing work that they weren't authorized to, that they weren't supposed

to, and that there was something rum and awry. But from everything we know so far, the majority of them were here legitimately, had not overstayed

their visas, we're doing work that was authorized, and as I say, it is not clear that they've done anything wrong. And yet they're on their way back

home on a plane chartered by the South Korean government.

If you were a worker invited to come to the United States to do a job, and arguably told, here's your ester, there's your visa, off you go, would you

go? Would you risk it? I'm afraid to say, I think in the long run, this is going to backfire very badly on the United States as more people simply say

it's simply not worth the trouble.

What is worth the trouble is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS because that's our report for tonight. I'm Richard Quest in New York. Whatever you're up to in the

hours ahead, I hope it's profitable. We'll be together tomorrow.

END