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Quest Means Business
Stocks Rebound As Anthropic Announces New Partnerships; Pentagon Threatens Anthropic Over A.I. Restrictions; Tariffs Loom Large As Trump Prepares To Address Nation; Many Tourists Anxious To Leave Mexico Amid Unrest; Warner Brothers Discovery Considers Latest Paramount Bid. Aired 4- 5p ET
Aired February 24, 2026 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:16]
PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: So a decent day for the markets after yesterday's decline. But hey, we won't be looking for much direction one
way or the other from these very volatile markets.
These now are the main events: Anthropic releases another update. Investors are trying to figure out which companies stand to win and lose.
President Trump's new global tariff takes effect as he prepares to deliver his State of the Union speech.
And as Ukraine's war with Russia enters its fifth year, ordinary Ukrainians are struggling just to keep the lights on. We will hear from the CEO of the
country's largest energy company.
Live from New York. It is Tuesday, February 24th. I am Paula Newton in for Richard Quest and this is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.
And good evening, tonight U.S. markets clawed back a good part of Monday's losses. The Dow gained, as you can see there, about 370 points. The other
indices though, up a healthy amount as well. Tech stocks got a boost from Anthropic which says it is building A.I. to work with existing software
tools.
Now, its latest update to Claude, Helper are geared towards tasks like design, H.R. and wealth management. Meantime, AMD shares posted enormous
gains after Meta agreed to buy $60 billion worth of its chips.
Today's move marks a reversal from what some on Wall Street are calling the "HALO trade," and it stands for Heavy Asset Low Obsolescence, and it
highlights the recent shift towards companies that actually own hard assets, right? Things you can feel and touch, those tangible goods.
Businesses like McDonald's, ExxonMobil, John Deere, Walmart are really gaining their software, and services on the other hand are vulnerable to
this A.I. disruption, and that includes a wide variety of industries.
Shares in Salesforce LegalZoom, Expedia and Thomson Reuters have all fallen heavily so far this year.
Clare Duffy is with us now to kind of take us through this market. Now, Clare, where would we be, right, without those pithy slogans? This one is
the HALO market. Can you explain what is happening though, and what's at stake as the A.I. trade shakes out and continues to humble, you know, even
the most experienced market analysts?
CLARE DUFFY, CNN BUSINESS WRITER: Yes, Paula, I mean, the strategy here really is in this moment of serious uncertainty about the disruption that
A.I. could cause for a number of different types of businesses. Let's find the companies that are least likely to be disrupted by A.I.
So McDonald's, people, even in the A.I. era, are probably going to want to still buy affordable cheeseburgers. Walmart, people still need groceries.
John Deere, we still need people who can harvest our food in the A.I. era compare that to a company like LegalZoom, where there is so much
uncertainty about how A.I. could potentially disrupt that business.
The other element of this HALO trade that analysts are talking about is companies that could potentially benefit from the A.I. build out, like
energy companies, for example, ExxonMobil, which you mentioned, those are companies that could benefit from the huge demand for electricity from A.I.
data centers.
So, this isn't a wholesale sort of move away from the belief that A.I. is going to disrupt our economy, but really is investors trying to figure out
what are the safest bets, as we still don't have a really clear idea who the winners and losers in the specific A.I. trade are going to be.
NEWTON: Yes, and then it is companies like Anthropic just galloping away here. Now, they announced some plug-ins today that allows Claud, its A.I.
model you were talking about, to embed into software that many of us use every day.
How will that work?
DUFFY: Well, Paula, the idea here is that for many of us, the way that people use A.I. chatbots at work right now is they take information from
the software services that they normally use, say information from a spreadsheet in Excel. They take that information, copy it, paste it into a
chatbot like Claude, ask Claude a question about it, have to move the information back into Excel. What they want to do with this new Anthropic
tool is make it so that you can just communicate with Claude in Excel. You're not having to go back and forth. It makes it a bit more natural and
easier to get the benefits of A.I. in the software tools that you're already using at work.
You know, as I talked to the head of Anthropic's Enterprise Team, Scott White, he told me this is going to make Claude more like a really capable
virtual collaborator. They also announced a number of plug-ins, as you mentioned, for specific industries like private equity, human resources,
design. These are areas where, again we might start to see more disruption because of A.I., but they want to make sure workers in those industries can
get the benefit of using these A.I. tools at work -- Paula.
[16:05:08]
NEWTON: Yes, and we have heard from CEOs saying that at this point in time, even the training really is something that still is a challenge.
Clare Duffy for us. Thanks for spelling it out. Appreciate it.
Now, several of Anthropic's new partnerships are with companies that have seen their stocks suffer due to concerns over A.I. You just heard Clare
about that.
Now LegalZoom is, as she explained, one of them. Its shares are down sharply this year. LegalZoom CEO says A.I. concerns over his company are
way overblown. He told Richard Quest A.I. will be a net benefit to his business. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEFF SEIBEL, CEO, LEGALZOOM: It is not about our death, it is about our rebirth. I mean, in effect what's happening in A.I. is it is making legal
work easier to start.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Alicia Pittman is Global People Chair at Boston Consulting Group, and she joins us now. Glad to have you with us, especially on a day like
today where so many people are grasping for what all of this means.
You know, in reading ahead in terms of what you guys are advising clients, you're saying, look, scale up on A.I. or die, and I am quoting some of your
literature now, artificial intelligence is not replacing leaders, but leaders who understand A.I. technology, strategy and enterprise.
Will A.I. replace those who don't understand it? What are you getting at there and what are you advising?
ALICIA PITTMAN, GLOBAL PEOPLE CHAIR, BOSTON CONSULTING GROUP: Well, thanks, Paula, it is really a pleasure to be with you. I mean, I think here is the
thing that I think about. When we talk about A.I., a lot of people jump right away to productivity, right? That e-mail you didn't need to write,
the notes you didn't have to take and that's not surprising because the A.I. productivity is really tremendous, but that's not really the point.
I mean, the point and what we really see in future built companies that are using A.I. to grab a lead is that it changes what work is possible, right?
So I like to think about it as A.I. changes how we work, but it also changes what work we do and it moves us up the value chain.
So, a lot of companies are using A.I. for rather basic tasks, right? Things like those e-mail synthesis, but actually, it is when you delegate entire
workflows that you see the magic happen and that's a real step change and the numbers are big right?
So those five percent of future build companies, they have revenue growth, it is 1.7 times, their EBIT growth is 1.6 times. And you start to think
about what that does to your cash flow, to your market share, to your volume, we really are starting to see and expect to see more those future
build companies really pull away from the competition.
NEWTON: And listen, many do believe this will be a virtuous cycle, but you know that the anxiety that exists there with workers, and I've also heard
from people using A.I. technology at a very high level, say a couple of things, not only has their entire workflow changed, but not for the better,
they still seem a little bit bored and they have not moved up the value chain, as I would call it right now for lack of a better term.
I mean, what do you see there? And do you believe some of their anxieties are real?
PITTMAN: Well, I think there are two types of anxieties that are out there. One is actually that sometimes, as much as we really love to see some of
those mundane tasks go away and we all do, actually, sometimes people need mental breaks and they actually like that task that they're actually very
good at, and it is a little repetitive.
So, there is a real thing around sort of burnout and mental energy that's real. But I think the bigger question you ask is, wait a minute, wasn't
this supposed to change the art of the possible? And to really change the art of the possible, you have to totally redesign the workflows, not just
think about what the person was doing and what you can automate out of it, but actually think about what the team is doing and how you can actually
change that workflow.
I think one of my favorite examples from one of our clients is they really took end-to-end design of marketing and innovation and redesigned the whole
thing.
So, you can think about this one is -- it really takes a lot of time to bring, for example, to bring a product to market, right? Youve got to do
research. You got to do concept development, you've got to do concept testing, you've got to do the financials and all of that and that takes
months and months.
But actually, if you bring that data together, if you bring those workflows together, we found we were able to deliver twice the speed to market, twice
the quality of the concepts coming out, and took 90 percent of the workout in the meantime. So that's where you see the real light bulbs go off.
NEWTON: And Alicia, look, the big question that people want to know is, am I working towards making myself redundant? I mean, and I know that you
continually tell CEOs, look, this is going to transform the way your companies are run everything from strategy to culture to risk to talent,
and yet are they using A.I. -- and I just mean everyday employees to a point where it won't make them more productive, it will actually just make
them redundant?
PITTMAN: Look, I mean, there is the adage, right, you have to get on the boat, you've got to learn because you will be replaced by someone who is
using A.I. if you don't learn to use it yourself. So, what we really do ourselves, but also recommend to our clients and our CEOs is that while you
do those big redesigns of the workflows that you're also just encouraging your people to innovate and do the bottoms up work so that they get
comfortable and they can be A.I. upskilled and so that it is less scary.
[16:10:23]
I mean, it is a real shift we are going to see in work, but we actually think a lot of people will actually find it quite energizing when they jump
in and I don't think there is too much choice.
NEWTON: Right, and then hopefully, we are working towards a point where employees will actually be A.I. native, as it were, and it will become
second nature.
Alicia Pittman, we will have to leave it there. Thanks so much. Appreciate it.
PITTMAN: Thanks, Paula.
NEWTON: Now, meantime, Anthropic again is facing a Friday deadline to lower some of its guardrails on its A.I. model or risk losing a large Pentagon
contract.
Now, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued that ultimatum during a meeting today with the company's CEO. According to a source familiar with the
discussions, Anthropic is unwilling to let its services be used for A.I. controlled weapons and mass domestic surveillance.
The Pentagon, we are told, wants to be able to use the model in all of its lawful ways.
Hadas Gold is with us to try and explain this for us.
I mean, this seems in some ways so unprecedented, and it is one of those things that A.I. is bringing to the fore. What is it about this
disagreement that is perhaps different from any other we've seen before?
HADAS GOLD, CNN A.I. CORRESPONDENT: Yes, so Anthropic's Claude model was the first A.I. model that was allowed to be used for classified military
use, and so that stands apart by itself. And Anthropic has a huge $200 million contract with the Pentagon.
But in the last few months, there has been this renegotiation where the Pentagon, as you noted, wants Anthropic to drop some of its guardrails so
that they can use their tools that Claude A.I. model for any lawful use. But Anthropic has very specific concerns and red lines about that.
You noted one, which was the A.I. having power over autonomous weapons. They believe that A.I. is not yet reliable enough to be able to do that.
And they're also worried about A.I. being used in mass surveillance of American citizens, and Anthropic is concerned, according to a source
familiar, that there is just not really laws and regulations that can safeguard yet on how A.I. might be used in this mass surveillance.
But the Pentagon is off, and we are told that they have threatened now that if Anthropic does not concede to their demands by Friday, not only will
they potentially risk losing that $200 million contract, but more importantly, one of two things might also happen.
One is that the Pentagon might use the Defense Procurement Act on them, that could potentially compel them to work with the Pentagon. The Defense
Procurement Act is a law from the 1950s that is -- that was last used, I think during the COVID era that helps the President and the administration
compel businesses to work on things that are meant for National Defense.
But more risky for Anthropic is the threat of deeming them a supply chain risk. Now, that is something that's normally given to companies that have
connections to foreign adversaries like Russia and China, and if Anthropic gets that sort of blacklist mark, which as far as I understand, I am not
sure any other American company has been given this in the past that would mean that any company that works with the military would have to separate
their work from any of Anthropic's tools, and that could pose a major risk to Anthropic, because so much of their business, as we heard earlier from
Clare, is about these enterprise uses.
So, if you're a company that has a contract with the Pentagon and you use Anthropic's tools anywhere in your system, if the Pentagon says that
Anthropic is the supply chain risk, you have to either go through and meticulously separate everything out in your contracts with the government,
or which is what the fear is, that they just say goodbye, Anthropic, we are going to use somebody else that's safer.
But a source familiar is telling me that the meeting today was cordial. Voices were not raised, but it doesn't seem as though Anthropic is going to
budge on this and they do have these red lines.
You know, Anthropic is well known as being as one of these A.I. companies that is putting safety first and foremost. They are very open about these
guardrails and how they want their backing. Big regulations and laws saying there needs to be more laws and regulations on A.I. and it doesn't seem as
though they're going to be backing down on this. So, we will have to see what happens on Friday if the Pentagon moves forward with these threats.
NEWTON: Yes, and Anthropic does seem to have singular innovation here and what is the Pentagon going to do without that? We will wait to hear more as
that Friday deadline approaches. Hadas Gold for us, thanks so much.
Now Russia's war in Ukraine has caused massive damage to Ukraine's energy infrastructure. Ukraine's largest private energy provider has reported 220
attacks on its facilities just since the war began.
I will speak with the CEO of DTEK right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:17:18 ]
NEWTON: So tariffs are in fact looming large as President Trump prepares to give the first State of the Union Address of his second term tonight.
Mr. Trump will address the American people just days after the Supreme Court ruled that his sweeping emergency tariffs are, in fact illegal. In
response, the President has imposed a global tariff of 10 percent, with plans to increase it to 15 percent. President Trump is in a delicate
position going into tonight's address.
A new CNN poll puts his approval rating at just 36 percent. The President's approval among political Independents, meanwhile this is a crucial group,
as you know has dipped to an all-time low of 26 percent.
Kevin Liptak is at The White House as we await this speech in the coming hours.
Kevin you know, beyond the approval rating, our poll also showed that the economy far outweighs every other issue and yet the President still seems
devoted to these tariffs.
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, absolutely. And I think that's sort of the conundrum that he faces in this speech, is that so many
Americans do want to hear more about how he is bringing down prices, of addressing these cost of living concerns, but the centerpiece of his not
only economic agenda, but foreign policy agenda as well, are these tariffs, which could be making prices higher. That's something he has been sort of
wrestling with over the last year, but it is clearly something he is going to continue to wrestle with in the speech tonight.
You know, so many Americans say that they don't feel like the economy is doing well. They don't necessarily feel it when the President comes out and
says that we've entered a Golden Age of economics, that the markets are doing well, that growth is high. And I think that's the challenge you'll
have in this speech tonight, is how to kind of bridge that gap.
Yes, he will want to boast about all of the indicators that show the economy sort of surging, but he is going to have to acknowledge in some way
some of these concerns that so many people have, and his advisors certainly have been trying to drill that into him over the last several months, this
question of affordability, his response so often has been to kind of shrug it off and actually mock the entire concept altogether.
But I think in the speech tonight, you will hear the President sort of lay out more of what he is trying to do. So for example, he will talk about new
tax cuts that he is planning to try and push through next year. He is going to talk about what they are calling a Ratepayer Protection Plan, which
would sort of force some of these A.I. companies to pay for the higher cost of electricity that the data centers that they are building are passing on
to American consumers.
So there will be some proposals in here that I think are meant to tacitly acknowledge on the part of the President that there is still work to be
done on the economy. But certainly its true, what was once a really a winning issue for the President, which was talking about the economy,
that's part of what drove him to The White House in the first place in 2024 has become a major political vulnerability.
[16:20:21]
And I think the goal for The White House is to try to reset that heading into this critical midterm election year.
NEWTON: And, we will see if he can do that this evening.
Kevin Liptak for us, thank you.
Now, the E.U. is defying Vladimir Putin's warning that the West will regret helping Ukraine defend itself against Russian attacks.
European leaders gathered in Kyiv today to mark four years since Moscow's full scale invasion. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen
says Europe will loan Ukraine more than $100 billion one way or the other.
She held a joint news conference with the European Council President and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Mr. Zelenskyy says Ukraine needs
more than just money from the E.U.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: It is vital that we have started working on the details of a key geopolitical security guarantee for Ukraine
and for all of Europe, amply and indeed for Ukraine's accession to the E.U. The year 2027 is very important for us, and I hope, doable. I hope. So that
Putin cannot block our membership for decades.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Now Russia has been attacking Ukraine's energy infrastructure for years now. As a result, many Ukrainians live without power.
Clarissa Ward spoke to a mother who has been raising a young family on her own.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): For Veronika Burminova, breaking down is not an option. She is raising her
three -year-old daughter, Masha on her own.
Tonight, they will climb 10 flights of stairs to reach their apartment.
(VERONIKA BURMINOVA speaking in foreign language.)
TRANSLATION: Masha is a star, Masha is a good girl?
WARD (voice over): There is no power and they do not trust the elevator, even with the emergency generator.
After two months of outages, it has become a familiar routine.
(VERONIKA BURMINOVA speaking in foreign language.
TRANSLATION: Woo, we got to our floor.
WARD (voice over): Inside the apartment, Masha shows us how they keep the lights on.
WARD (on camera): That's so pretty, so pretty, and now you have light from a power bank. You have two power banks.
WARD (voice over): In the kitchen, they make tea by candlelight using a portable gas stove. Dinner is usually instant soup or noodles. But they are
lucky that they still have heat.
WARD: How long can you go on like this?
(VERONIKA BURMINOVA speaking in foreign language.)
TRANSLATION: Honestly, I don't know. I live in the moment but sometimes it's tough. There are days when I run out of steam and I tell her, Masha, I
am not angry at you and I don't want to shout at you, I just have no more strength. Mama is tired. And she understands.
WARD (voice over): As night falls, the city goes dark. In the end, Ukraine's greatest strength may have become its heaviest burden, a nation
expected to endure without end.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: Now, as Clarissa just has shown us, those Russian attacks on the infrastructure have a very human cost.
Green Deal Ukraine estimates that Ukraine's generation capacity is less than a third of what it was before the war. Four years ago, just as this
conflict was beginning, we spoke to the chief executive of the Ukrainian energy company, DTEK, Maxim Timchenko. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAXIM TIMCHENKO, CEO, DTEK: We have enough capacity in nuclear and also in renewables, what we developed rapidly for the last several years, then we
are quite ready for synchronization with our European partners and European electricity grid.
It means, we increase by more than four times our cross-border capacity.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: So, since that conversation, Russia has launched unrelenting attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure. When we spoke to Timchenko
again in 2024, the DTEK CEO described a dire situation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TIMCHENKO: One of the most difficult times since full-scale invasion in terms of energy supply in the country and level of destruction.
The main issue for us, and the main problem for us that we feel ourselves unprotected because of lack of air defense, lack of ammunition, lack of air
defense systems and that's the main problem for us at the moment.
So, we can restore our power plants, we can bring more equipment but we don't know what will happen next day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[16:25:08]
NEWTON: DTEK CEO, Maxim Timchenko joins us now.
Maxim, I am sure sometimes you just feel like taking a big, deep breath. I mean, we went through your interviews from past years. I am not sure you
could imagine being in this position now, four years on. Tell us what your feelings are as you continue to try and really hold this energy
infrastructure together, even though you're suffering attacks, maybe even now at this hour.
TIMCHENKO: Thank you, Paula, thank you that you invited us to your show and so first time, it was for four years ago when this full scale invasion just
started and nobody believed that Ukraine can be in the current position after four years of this brutal war.
So it was said that Putin takeover Kyiv or Ukraine in three days. Four years passed and four winters in war passed, and we are here in Kyiv, we
survived, but the last winter was the worst. So, the level of destruction, enormous and giving interviews one two, three years ago, I couldn't imagine
that the worst is coming. When people are staying without electricity for 20 hours a day, when we have complete destruction of our power stations,
when everything is frozen and we didn't know how to relaunch power units, even in operational condition.
So we are passing this war, the worst -- the passing of this winter, the worst winter since independence of our country and now what is important is
to start thinking about next winter and get prepared for this, starting from air defense, going through equipment, financing, and being even
stronger than we were before.
NEWTON: And Maxim, we hear your resolve and we know what it will take to do that given the fact that you can't assume that you won't be back at this
next winter. I do want to point out, though, that the World Bank estimates it will cost up to $70 billion to rebuild the energy structure and you've
made it clear, right, there is no fixing this system, it has to be rebuilt from the ground up.
How much do you fear this? And I know you've been incredibly positive. You've gone through all of this adversity, but how much do you fear that
without a ceasefire in the next year, that this will really be a debilitating feature of Ukraine for years to come?
You need this energy infrastructure to get past a ceasefire, even; to grow the economy.
TIMCHENKO: Absolutely. You know, we realize more than anybody else in the world that power, electricity is life, for us, for people, for economy. And
we do everything possible to recover what was destroyed. But its temporary solution.
We see that we need to fix what was destroyed just to go through the next winter and we invest enormous amount of money. You know we are a private
company owned by Rinat Akhmetov and he spent $700 million investments to recover what was destroyed. But what is more important for us is to think
about the long term, build more resilient type of power generation, battery storage. And I am very glad that we built the largest battery storage
system in 2025 with equipment supply from American company, Fluence, which bring a lot of resistance to our power grid. And we are developing more
projects and build more.
So basically this is our strategic, strategic task to build absolutely new energy system, more digital, more modern, so that we do not repeat the
winter we are just passing.
NEWTON: Maxim, I don't have a lot of time left, but how important is it that the military really can defend this infrastructure in the months to
come? What will happen if they can't?
TIMCHENKO: Absolutely. We spent months and millions of dollars to recover power unit, which can be destroyed by one missile, and Russians this
winter, every single power station were attacked, an average 150 drones and 30 missiles. And, you know, it is difficult to build such air defense
system that can protect us, but still, we need to get more support from our partners.
I am very grateful to all our partners bringing these systems to Ukraine, but we need more.
NEWTON: Maxim Timchenko, we will leave it there. Really appreciate you being with us throughout this entire conflict, giving us so much insight
into what is going on. And as we saw from Clarissa Ward's piece there, it means a lot to so many Ukrainian families.
Thanks so much, Maxim.
TIMCHENKO: Thank you very much.
NEWTON: Now authorities are working to restore the status quo in Mexico after a powerful cartel retaliated for the death of a major drug lord. A
report from Guadalajara, next.
[16:30:45]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:33:48]
NEWTON: Mexico's president says her country is slowly returning to normal after the wave of violence sparked by the killing of cartel boss El Mencho.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLAUDIA SHEINBAUM, MEXICAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Yesterday I spoke personally with the governor of Jalisco and with the governor of
Michoacan. Today, there are still no classes, but tomorrow they are hoping that activities will return to normal at the Guadalajara Airport. Almost
all flights have already resumed and things are also gradually returning to normal in Puerto Vallarta.
And the most important thing about this is that our objective, as I said yesterday, is security and peace. And that is what we are working on in the
strategy we have set for ourselves.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Now, although some flights in Mexico have resumed, many tourists remain stuck. While airlines try to resume normal operations., multiple air
carriers say flights from Puerto Vallarta and Guadalajara could be disrupted until Thursday. It's just one problem people in the region are
facing.
David Culver is on the ground for us in Guadalajara.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID CULVER, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We've got people who are just on edge. And you notice it with any little sudden movement. In fact,
we were on the base behind me. It's a military base here in Guadalajara, and we were there because the governor of Jalisco was holding a press
conference. He was echoing basically the same message that you heard from the president there. And that is code red has been lifted.
[16:35:01]
Things are safe. Traffic coming back to normal. They're going to be opening public transportation today. Schools tomorrow will reopen. There's a school
just on the corner over here. And so they're trying to certainly project an image of security and safety.
Now does that resonate? Not necessarily. In fact, as that press conference ended and as we wrapped up our interview with the governor, we were being
told quickly to get off the base and we weren't quite sure what that was all about until we got off the base and realized there was a lot of police
activity and a lot of movement, and there was a belief that there was an attack or an impending attack on the other side of the base.
And so it shows, even as they're saying things are safe and secure, it may be the case, but there's still such an uneasiness that any suggestion to
the contrary makes people want to react a certain way.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: Now, Mexico's embassy in the U.S. says the country's security situation has now stabilized, with travel returning to normal.
You just heard from David there, that was his latest update, but he was on the ground for us and speaking to tourists as they describe their desperate
search to try and find a way home.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CULVER: We're about to touch down. This is one of the few commercial flights that's actually able to land in Guadalajara today. This plane will
be fully booked with a very long standby list of people eager to get out.
I mean, this is what you see as soon as you walk out of baggage claim. You've got crowds of folks who are sitting with all their luggage. You've
got people who have turned their luggage into furniture, propping their legs up. Some of them essentially camping out under blankets. And many of
them seem to be here without even anywhere to go. They don't have flights. They don't have a confirmed ticket. They don't even know if they have a
ticket, if the plane will take off.
And how confident are you you'll be flying out tonight?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hopefully.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sixty percent.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Like it's a 50-50 for me.
CULVER: You don't feel internally at ease.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No. It feels like eerily quiet right now and then like you read online, that, OK, maybe the cartels are regrouping and maybe it's
going to get worse now. And --
CULVER: You just want out of here at this point.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. 100 percent. Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Just want to go home.
CULVER: You just want to go home.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
ANITA EGSDAL LUTTA, STRANDED TOURIST: Yes, yes. I'm five months pregnant.
CULVER: You're five months.
A. LUTTA, STRANDED TOURIST: Yes.
MARTIN EGSDAL LUTTA, STRANDED TOURIST: We cannot run if anything actually happens.
A. LUTTA: No.
M. LUTTA: And then also, like, just to keep the baby healthy, how are we going to get food? Are we going to be able to have clean water?
CULVER: So where will you sleep?
A. LUTTA: We don't know yet. We'll just take it --
M. LUTTA: (INAUDIBLE).
A. LUTTA: Yes. Take it by the minute and see what happens.
CULVER: Is it possible you'll end up sleeping here tonight?
A. LUTTA: Possibly. Yes.
CULVER: You've got army national guard, and then let's see, they're searching some of the vehicles it looks like there. I mean, in the middle
of the highway the car burnt out. I mean, another very obvious sign of narcoterrorism targeting a popular convenience store. This Oxxo, look at
it, torched.
(Voice-over): The chaos erupted Sunday after Mexican authorities launched an operation against the Jalisco New Generation Cartel. The main target,
the cartel boss himself, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, better known as El Mencho. Mexican special forces raided his compound in the town of Tapalpa,
led there, officials say, through a romantic connection of El Mencho.
Video recorded by locals and geolocated by CNN showed the Mexican military swarming the area after confirming his location. The cartel leader captured
and injured during the operation. Officials say he died en route to Mexico City for treatment.
El Mencho was wanted on drug trafficking charges by both Mexico and the United States. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called him a
top target for both countries, and said the U.S. provided Mexico with intelligence support ahead of the operation. His death sparking a wave of
retaliatory violence across at least 20 Mexican states, but nowhere worse than in the cartel's stronghold of Jalisco and especially in the coastal
city and American tourist hotspot, Puerto Vallarta.
Large plumes of smoke seen covering the city. As tourists hunkered down inside one of the many hotels, the cartel set barricades on fire across the
city. Many stranded after airlines suspended flights amidst the violence.
Here in the state capital, Guadalajara, set to host World Cup games in just a few months, fierce clashes between gangs and the police. One video
showing a man seemingly trying to set a truck on fire.
And what you see over my shoulder is not normal. That's the Mexican army posted here at a gas station right next to the airport, and the reason
they're here is because gas stations like you saw there, convenience stores, and even just vehicles in the highway have become targets. And so
they're hoping to at least show some force so as to deter any of that further violence. As far as when things will get back to, quote-unquote,
"normal" here, as of now, there's no indication that that will be anytime soon.
[16:40:06]
David Culver, CNN, Guadalajara, Mexico.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: And this just in to CNN, CNN's parent company, Warner Brothers Discovery, said it has received a revised proposal from Paramount. It says
it could reasonably be expected to lead to a company superior proposal.
Brian Stelter is with us now, and that means game on, right? This bidding war just continues.
BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: Yes, now Netflix will be challenged to match this offer and Netflix likely will do so. But this announcement
coming after the closing bell this afternoon is a preview of coming attractions. Because the WBD board, which up until now have been saying
every offer from Paramount was inferior, is now saying, OK, yes, this new offer, it could reasonably be expected to be a superior bid.
This is legal language, and if you want to translate it, you would say they're now stepping closer to one another, moving closer to Paramount,
although staying in the relationship with Netflix, keeping the merger agreement with Netflix in effect. But last week, Netflix had agreed to let
WBD have this seven-day negotiating window with Paramount. WBD is saying the negotiating window will now extend and will now continue longer, the
company will continue to engage with Paramount, to figure out all the details here.
So the next step is as follows. If WBD comes out and takes one more step closer to Paramount and says, yes, this is a superior bid, then Netflix
will have four days to counter. And Wall Street analysts believe Netflix will counter, although CEO, co-CEO Ted Sarandos said the other day that
Netflix has a long history of letting other companies be willing to overpay. So the big news this afternoon is that Paramount is officially
offering $31 per share.
We don't know if Paramount considers that to be their best and final offer, or if this is just, you know, one more step in a long negotiating process.
We know this has been pretty long already. We just don't know how many more steps there are until there's a finish line -- Paula.
NEWTON: Brian, I only have about 30 seconds left. And look, the Warner Brothers Discovery shareholders are going to do well by this deal. The
shareholders of Netflix and Paramount so far not so sure. What about viewers and audiences here? These are two very different bids in terms of
what it will look like for audiences later on. Right?
STELTER: Yes. And Netflix is the streaming king. It wants to bulk up to compete with YouTube and TikTok. But it is in some ways, you know, like the
diamond of the media industry right now, highly coveted, highly valued. Paramount, on the other end of the spectrum, brings a lot of baggage,
brings a lot of debt, but you could say is a lot more motivated to transform itself, to transform the industry at the same time.
So Paramount, a much smaller company trying to gobble up all of WBD. So far it's been unsuccessful. This is the first day, though, the WBD is signaling
that it might consider Paramount to be superior.
NEWTON: Brian Stelter, we are in your debt now, as you jumped on quickly for us to bring us that breaking news. Really appreciate it as we continue
to watch this bidding war.
And that is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. Up next, "QUEST'S WORLD OF WONDER."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:45:46]
RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR (voice-over): It's time to embrace new adventures.
This is magnificent.
(Voice-over): Seize the moment in this world of wonder.
The title Royal Palace doesn't do justice to the size, scale and beauty of these magnificent gardens.
Now, you really wouldn't have thought that this was tucked away in the middle of Seville. It's massive.
(Voice-over): It is these moments that make me want to travel in the first place.
Beautiful. Absolutely spectacular gardens.
(Voice-over): Pockets of joy and fun waiting to be discovered.
Oh, this year, I'm off to sunny Spain. Viva Espana. Look at that.
(Voice-over): I'm not sure why I thought these would be any sweeter.
Have you tried an orange?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I heard it's very bitter.
QUEST: It is.
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're trying to suck me in, weren't you?
QUEST: Oh, my goodness, more oranges. It's orange everything. There's a word that's vastly overused and I don't really like. And it's the vibe, but
it's perfect for describing what I'm thinking and feeling at the moment here. There's a life and energy, a relaxed nature.
(Voice-over): But just a moment. There's something else that I'm noticing. A whole lot of flamenco dresses in shop windows. My first thought, well,
it's Spain, so obviously. Then I realize in Seville, flamenco isn't a cliche. It is part of everyday life.
Oh, that's nice, isn't it? Take a look at that, James.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The colors, right?
QUEST: It is. It's the colors.
(Voice-over): It seems half of Seville has turned out for flamenco fashion week along with Spanish royalty. That's Infanta Elena, the king's sister.
Oh, nice scarves.
(Voice-over): People are here to find their April fair outfits. The fair is the social event of the year, when Seville dons its best flamenco to wear
and attend.
How does it stay on?
(Voice-over): The designer Antonio Gutierrez has his latest collection hitting the runway at this year's show.
We look at this, I look at this, and I see a dress for a fiesta, for a show, for whatever. But do people wear it every day?
ANTONIO GUTIERREZ, DESIGNER: This dress is the best dress for a dancer.
QUEST (voice-over): Apparently, every woman in Seville has at least one flamenco dress. It's part of the identity living here.
GUTIERREZ: Some women, four or five dresses. Others only one.
QUEST: Have you worn one of these things to see just what it's like?
GUTIERREZ (through text translation): Yes. I've tried it.
(LAUGHTER)
QUEST: OK, so it goes --
MILENA TEJADA, FLAMENCO DANCER: Right foot in the back, left foot in the front. We tap, tap, and tap. And then again with the right.
QUEST (voice-over): Flamenco dresses, Spanish music. I guess it's time for dancing.
TEJADA: Each side. We will do that five times.
QUEST: Five times?
TEJADA: Five times. And then we go back and step.
QUEST: Stomp.
[16:50:03]
TEJADA: And one, two, three, four.
QUEST: One, two, three, four.
(Voice-over): This is not flamenco that Milena is showing me. This is Seville's dance. It's called the Sevillanas.
TEJADA: Sevillanas is about enjoying one's self. It's a folkloric popular dance. Right? So it's more accessible to all kinds of people.
QUEST: Right. So unlike flamenco, where everyone seems to look like they're in pain, this is not quite so dramatic.
TEJADA: And it's something that's done in parties, in fairs, right? So there's the party element of it and the having fun.
QUEST (voice-over): Once again, what could possibly go wrong?
TEJADA: Right foot in the front. We tap.
QUEST: I seem to be drifting.
TEJADA: Forward. Tap. Tap, tap. Perfect. Back, forward.
QUEST: Sorry, I've ended up in the shrubbery.
TEJADA: No worries.
QUEST (voice-over): It's time to put all of this together.
TEJADA: We wait. We wait. We wait. We wait and we go, one, two, three, four.
QUEST (voice-over): The setting, gorgeous. My instructor, charming and impeccable. My steps, well, not bad. With two left feet, it's an
achievement I'm still standing.
TEJADA: Switch places and then right, two, three, four, five.
QUEST: Perfect.
(Voice-over): But remember, it's all about discovering those moments of joy.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Here in Seville, there are numerous convents, and one of the ways that the nuns raise money is by selling confectionery, cakes, biscuits and
the like. But there's a difference. There is a very quaint way the transaction takes place.
(Voice-over): The nuns here are cloistered, so the sweets are sold using a turnstile in the wall of the convent.
The system is known as El Torno. Turning. On the other side of the nuns, but let's see what we're going to buy.
(Voice-over): This particular convent is known for yemas, a confection made with egg yolks and sugar.
James, what do you know about any of this?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know anything.
QUEST: Right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is all very new to me.
QUEST: OK, but I don't know how to tell them what I want. We'll find out.
Hello.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello.
QUEST: Hello. Can I -- six yemas and 10, sorry, and 12 madalenas. Change? How can I say keep the change? I pay 20 euros. She understood. That's
fascinating.
(Voice-over): don't come here in a hurry.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What did you order? Because they've gone to cook it.
QUEST: Oh, here we go, here we go. Gracias. Interesting. This is not what I was expecting. I thought they -- should we try it anyway? It is very, very
sweet.
[16:55:01]
It's a nice corn muffin. A cup of tea.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is an unexpected little surprise, Richard.
QUEST: Absolutely. And I've no idea what it's all about.
(Voice-over): In Seville, they enjoy late evenings, but we've quite literally walked into a night procession in the streets.
Look at this thing. They'll never get this down the street.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you asking A.I.?
QUEST (voice-over): A.I. Come on, Gemini, a perfect chance to prove what you can do.
OK, so we've come across this procession here in Sevilla.
(Voice-over): I've sent some photos to Gemini.
You've walked straight into a Sevilla Cofradia, a brotherhood procession.
(Voice-over): Interesting. A good start. But as with all A.I., it's about the prompts.
Young people carrying staffs, a lot of teenagers and young adults. This is very likely a Cofradia Juventud.
(Voice-over): Now we're getting somewhere. It's using details to give me more.
You've stumbled into Seville's annual January youth brotherhood procession honoring San Francisco de Sales.
(Voice-over): This is exactly what I was after. Facts with context that are enhancing my visit.
You remember at the beginning, Gemini gave me a mission. To look for the hidden city Motto around Seville. NO8DO. But what does it mean?
Well, the eighth symbol in the middle, a part of this rebus, it's meant to be the wool of this, the yarn.
(Voice-over): A rebus. It's a puzzle of symbols and letters that make up a phrase. In NO8DO, the eight represents the skin of wool, pronounce Madeja.
Put it together and say it fast and it sounds like, "No Me Ha Dejado. She has not abandoned me."
It's the motto of Seville and it goes back to Alfonso the 10th, when the people of Seville were the only ones who stayed with him against the
rebellion by his son. No madeja do. And it's just stamped on anything they can.
Whether I call it Seville or Sevilla, it doesn't really matter. The city's motto is true. No madeja do. Seville never abandons you, and you'll want to
come here and enjoy all of this especially these outstanding oranges for yourself. After all, outstanding Seville, part of our WORLD OF WONDER.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
