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Quest Means Business
Iran: Talks with U.S. Have Moved into Elements of Any Agreement; World Economic Forum CEO Steps Down After Epstein Probe; Hillary Clinton Testifies in Congressional Epstein Probe; Flexport Launches Tariff Refund Calculator Business Tool; Cuba Vows to Defend Itself After Deadly Shootout at Sea; Confrontational U.S. Diplomacy Flusters European Allies; Lime Sees Surge in E-Bike Use During Winter Olympics; Nvidia Stock Falls Despite Strong Earnings. Aired 4-5p ET
Aired February 26, 2026 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:19]
PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: The Dow was up, it was down and pretty much ends flat. Not the same can be said though, for the NASDAQ and
tech stocks, those are the markets and these are the main events.
Iran's Foreign Minister says elements of an agreement are under discussion with the United States.
The President and CEO of the World Economic Forum steps down after an independent investigation into his links with Jeffrey Epstein.
And could e-bikes help solve congestion during large events like the Olympics? The Lime CEO believes he can stop congestion. He joins us live.
And live from New York. It is Thursday, February 26th. I am Paula Newton, in for Richard Quest and this is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.
And good evening.
Tonight the U.S. and Iran are said to be making significant progress in high-stakes nuclear discussions. Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi,
says the two sides have begun discussing elements of an agreement. Now, that's according to Iranian media.
Technical discussions will take place next week in Vienna. A source tells CNN, U.S. Envoy Steve Witkoff spoke directly with the Iranian Foreign
Minister in Geneva. Normally, these discussions are held through mediators rather than those face-to-face talks. Now, it comes as President Trump
weighs military action against Iran. The U.S. has deployed a large number of ships and aircraft to the Middle East, the largest military buildup in
the region since the Iraq War.
Kristen Holmes has been watching all of this from The White House for us and Kristen, there were a few hot takes, right, in the last few hours on
how negotiations were going, some good, some bad.
I am curious to see what American officials are telling you this hour.
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well, look here at The White House, I just spoke to them, I checked in, and they said that
President Trump had not been briefed just yet on exactly what had happened in those talks because he has been in back-to-back meetings since they
concluded.
But talking to U.S. officials, they did indicate that there was some progress made. Now, the U.S. officials that I have spoken to have been
pretty careful because they've been down this path before. Of course, back in June, there were several rounds of these talks. They said that they were
closer than ever to a deal, and then everything completely collapsed.
So, everyone is being somewhat hesitant as they are moving forward. But we do know that they are arranging for this discussions on the technical side
of things to happen, likely in the next week, which also indicates some sort of progress here.
One source saying that Iran has affirmed that it will never have a nuclear weapon, and when I talk to sources that are close to The White House and
close to President Trump, they really underline or underscore that President Trump doesn't really want to strike Iran, that he -- when he says
that he wants diplomacy to be his first choice, he really is leaning heavily into that.
So, that means that his officials on the ground, like Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, are really, really trying to come out of this with some sort
of deal because they understand how high the stakes are. I mean, I'll remind you that according to many of the people inside and around The White
House and inside and around these talks, this was really seen as the last chance for diplomacy and it does look as though they are extending this
into the next week or so, as they kind of continue to have these talks, which is a sign of progress, but nothing is ever done until, of course as
you know, is done.
NEWTON: And I hear you on the fact that the President would prefer the diplomatic option, and yet he also says that Iran cannot continue with any
kind of nuclear program.
Are you getting a sense that that is kind of his first stand and not his last stand, that there is some negotiation there?
HOLMES: I think that there is going to be some sort of wiggle room in the final product. Now of course, President Trump has drawn these red lines
before, but I do think, again, that ultimately, and this is from these people who are close to the president, they want to figure this out
diplomatically, that they understand and there is a lot of concerns with actually striking in Iran. We've been reporting that some of his top
deputies, his top officials have warned him that there is no real easy way in and out, and this is likely to be something that's prolonged.
And I do just want to note, one thing we have not heard from The White House or the President is really a detailed reason as to what exactly he is
looking for here and why now, why are these strikes even on the table at this time? And should Americans be preparing for a prolonged war?
If you ask The White House, they point to his speech during the State of the Union and what he said -- the thing that detailed out why he believes
that this is important.
[16:05:10]
I went back and read through that, it really does not give you a detailed outlook as to what his plan is there or how we got here, or what he is
expecting next. It just says what we already knew, which is that Iran has been bad actors and they can't have a nuclear weapon. That's not anything
new.
So what now has triggered this in this moment, and how are they going to sell it to the American people, that we still don't have as at the same
time, I am hearing from these officials that President Trump is not anxious to go in immediately, and neither are his top advisers.
NEWTON: Yes, and so many of those positions are likely to inform negotiations, as those negotiators are at the table in Geneva.
Kristen Holmes for us, grateful to you.
Now, some Middle East analysts have been saying that Iran is likely offering the U.S. an economic and commercial bonanza as part of any deal.
The Iranian economy could use some investment.
Over the last year, Iran's currency lost 97 percent of its value versus the dollar. That's a collapse, by the way, and food prices continue to soar, up
72 percent in 2025.
The situation sparked widespread protests last month.
Adnan Mazarei was the Deputy Director of the IMF's Middle East and Central Asia Department. He is now a senior fellow with the Peterson Institute, and
glad to have you here as we try and parse any kind of an outcome from these negotiations.
You know, the fact that the Iranian economy is being strangled by sanctions not new, but Iran is now at the negotiating table. Do you believe they must
and that they will capitulate to U.S. demands on their nuclear program, maybe even their missile program, in exchange for those sanctions and some
sanctions relief?
ADNAN MAZAREI, FORMER DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF THE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND'S MIDDLE EAST AND CENTRAL ASIA DEPARTMENT: Good to be with you.
Look these negotiations, as you said, are happening against the background of sanctions which have been tightened since President Trump came in in the
early 2025. These sanctions have been strengthened in two ways. One is to reduce Iran's ability to sell oil and other products, and to repatriate the
funds of anything it does sell.
A few days ago, the U.S. had tightened its sanctions on Iran's Shadow Fleet, and in the background is also the President's threat to impose
tariffs on any country that deals with -- trade with Iran.
Now, Secretary Bessent is confident that these sanctions that have been intensified last year are a major reason that was the public uprising --
there has been a public uprising in the past couple of months, okay. These uprisings have been a major challenge to the government, but they've been
brutally suppressed thus far.
The Iranians are interested in a deal, but on their own terms. They will not, for example, try to make any -- make any concessions on the missile
front. Theres also a problem that there is major credibility gap between the two parties. The U.S. doesn't think the Iranians will adhere to what
they agree, and the Iranians similarly think that if they agree to something, the U.S. will turn around and ask for something else, not remove
sanctions or even attack Iran.
These economic offerings that Iran is making may be a substitute for a commitment device on the part of the U.S. to Iran that it will not attack,
and it will also be seen by the Iranians as an incentive.
NEWTON: The point, though about the economy, it is an existential threat to Iran now. You mentioned the protests. The economy is really strangling
people there. The inflation is at unsustainable levels.
I know everyone says that Iran will not give up missiles. They will not give up some of their nuclear program because its existential, but at this
point, isn't there economic problem existential as well?
MAZAREI: The economic problem is existential, but one has to remember the first priority of this regime is survival and compromising on the missile
front, they may see as an attack on their survival, and at the same time, they have a high tolerance for pain on the part of the population, so they
may just endure the sanctions further and not make any concessions beyond what they want to, which is perhaps suspension or enrichment and maybe
something on the transfer of the already enriched stockpile.
[16:10:14]
NEWTON: You know we are used to hearing that sanctions don't work in the short term, and they may not even work in the long term, do you believe
that these recent developments in Iran can challenge that theory?
MAZAREI: The sanctions and the resulting public anger, which is not just because of sanctions, but is also against the -- it is about the
suppression of women, it is about the suppression of political freedoms is having a major impact.
As I said, the final decision on the part of Iranian authorities is based on regime survival. They are under considerable pressure to do something
that's why they want to reach some agreement, but not if the agreement will undermine their continuation as a regime.
NEWTON: But I am just hearing you in the last few minutes, we get an idea of just how difficult these negotiations -- these negotiations will still
be in the coming days and weeks.
Grateful to you for your insights. Thanks so much.
Now, CNN is learning new details on Iran's efforts to deflect blame for the crackdown on protesters last month. Human rights groups say the regime's
response left thousands dead, and as Jomana Karadsheh reports, the families of those killed say they are facing pressure to lie about their loved ones
deaths in order to cover up the scale of the violence.
A warning now, her report contains graphic images.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): In grief, they dance, celebrating the life of those they've lost. This is how
Iranians are defying their ruthless clerical regime.
It has not only killed thousands in its bloodiest crackdown ever, but one that has also been trying to bury the truth.
Over the past few weeks, we've collected testimony pointing to a widespread effort by Iranian authorities to pressure families of its victims into
silence and falsifying the circumstances of how those protesters were killed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The family were visited by Basij Paramilitary Forces and Revolutionary Guards. They told the father he was
talking too much because he had been saying that his son was shot in front of his eyes.
KARADSHEH (voice over): This man we are not identifying for his safety is in Iran. He spoke to us about his relatives, the Saadi family, whose
member, Amir Hussain was shot and killed by regime forces.
He says security officials tried pressuring the family to label Amir Hussain a "martyr" supporting the regime's narrative that so-called rioters
backed by the U.S. and Israel, not state forces killed protesters.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The Forces were present at their ceremonies. Basij members and others stayed nearby. They even went to their
house and threatened them, saying we have to announce your child as a martyr and you cannot speak anywhere.
You must not say anything unless you want your other child's fate to be the same as this one.
KARADSHEH (voice over): Amir Hussain had never protested before the January uprising, but on that night, not even a medical condition he was struggling
with could stop him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): He suddenly jumped up and down, saying adrenaline has risen in my blood, I am flying. Tonight, I want to
fly.
KARADSHEH (voice over): Amir Hussain bled to death after being shot in the face by Security Forces according to his relative.
The 19-year-old and his Dad were inseparable, on that night he died in his father's arms.
The Iranian regime has long been accused of harassing and intimidating families of protesters to silence them and coerce statements that align
with the official account. This time, human rights groups tell us it is a systematic campaign that appears aimed at controlling the narrative and
concealing the scale of state violence.
KARADSHEH (on camera): Memorials like this one outside Iran allow the world to see the faces of some of the victims. Getting firsthand testimony from
people inside the country is very hard. It is extremely dangerous to speak out against the regime.
KARADSHEH (voice over): With the help of Iranian human rights groups and activists, we reviewed voice and text messages from more than a dozen
families they describe coercive tactics by the regime, including withholding protesters bodies or burial permits.
[16:15:03]
In some cases relatives were pressured to attribute deaths to accidents, many were harassed to accept the martyr designation, and we found that most
were pushed to claim their loved ones were affiliated with State Forces, bolstering state propaganda.
FATHER OF SAM AFSHARI (through translator): They said Sam's body would not be handed over until he was declared a Basiji and a martyr killed by
terrorists.
RELATIVE OF ABOLFAZL VAHID GEZELJE-MEYDAN (through translator): They said his father either had to declare Abolfazl as a Basiji or pay six billion
riyals.
RELATIVE OF PEYMAN MOGHANI (through translator): They openly threatened that if we said or did anything, other members of the family would suffer
the same fate that Peyman did.
RELATIVE OF ABOLFAZL JAHANI OSHTOLOGH (through translator): They arrested his father and told him he had to say his son was martyred by the MEK
opposition group or Israelis.
FRIEND OF FATEMAH ALI-MOHAMMADI (through translator): Authorities were forcing the family to call her a martyr, or to say that she had been shot
by terrorists.
KARADSHEH (voice over): Also declared a martyr was three-year-old Melina Asadi. Her death weaponized by the regime, which falsely accused agents of
Israel and the U.S. of killing the toddler.
(UNIDENTIFIED MALE speaking in foreign language.)
KARADSHEH (voice over): They even deployed new tools, this time to reinforce their version of events airing this disturbing A.I. generated
video of the moment she was shot. The rights group, Hengaw says Melina was killed by the Security Forces, and her family was made to appear on state
media.
Amir Hussein's family was also forced to sit in front of the cameras for this segment, eulogizing so-called martyrs. Like other families, they
gather at their boy's grave, defying the theocratic regime, an act of protest against an oppressor trying to rewrite a blood-soaked history.
Jomana Karadsheh, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: The head of the World Economic Forum is the latest major figure to resign over their ties to the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.
The man is now accused of -- not accused, pardon me -- of any wrongdoing, but says he did not want to be a distraction.
We will have that next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NEWTON: The President and CEO of the World Economic Forum is stepping down after an independent investigation into his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
Recently released documents showed that Borge Brende had attended three business dinners with Epstein in 2018 and 2019, and exchanged e-mails and
texts with him.
[16:20:01]
Brende denies that he knew of Epstein's criminal activity at the time. There is no indication of wrongdoing and the investigation concluded there
were, "no additional concerns" beyond what was previously disclosed.
Now in a statement, Brende said, "I believe now is the right moment for the forum to continue its important work without distractions."
The world economic forum also says that Alois Zwinggi will serve as an Interim President and CEO.
Anna Cooban is with us from London.
You know, there have been several prominent Norwegians now really suffered the fallout from this, having been named, what do we make of this latest
World Economic statement, especially since he made it clear he just wanted to avoid any distraction, even though he is not accused of any wrongdoing
per se.
ANNA COOBAN, CNN BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS REPORTER: Yes, well, Paula, we have to remind ourselves, it was just a few weeks ago that Brende was
interviewing U.S. President Donald Trump at that very high profile World Economic Forum, and now he is stepping down because he doesn't want to, as
we've just said, be a distraction.
And it bears note that one of these dinners that he held with Epstein was taking place inside Epstein's residence in New York and this was happening
years after.
It was public knowledge that Epstein had pleaded guilty to soliciting sex from a minor, that was back in 2008, and so his judgment here is really
being called into question.
And in a statement from earlier this month, Brende said that he recognizes that he could have conducted a more thorough investigation into Epstein's
history and that he regrets not doing so.
Now, you've mentioned other people in Norway, high-profile people who have also had to step back from their positions. We've had the former Prime
Minister, Thorbjorn Jagland who was the former P.M. who was charged with gross corruption. There is now an investigation going into whether or not
he received gifts or travel or loans because of his status, and also the Norwegian Royal family, Paula.
We have the Crown Princess Mette-Marit, who is not accused of anything -- any legal wrongdoing, but has had a long correspondence with Epstein,
again, long after this 2008 conviction of Epstein, and so many of her charities are now distancing themselves from her.
So even when, Paula, a legal wrongdoing hasn't been accused or investigated, the mere association of this, you know, lack of judgment has
caused many peoples' careers to take a step back from their jobs.
NEWTON: Anna, can you remind us? Because of course, the fallout is in the U.K., where investigations continue?
COOBAN: Yes. Well, we've had two very high profile arrests in the United Kingdom. We've had the former Prince Andrew and the former U.K. Ambassador
to the U.S., Peter Mandelson, both arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office, sharing confidential information -- government information
with Epstein while they were holding public positions.
Now these investigations are ongoing. We don't know if there will be any charges, but this is part of a gathering steam of accountability, Paula in
recent weeks.
We see the hearing with Hillary Clinton today and also in the business world, a number of people have stepped down, executives -- an executive at
Hyatt Hotels, DP World Logistics Group. It seems that even in those instances, when people again have not been convicted of anything, any legal
wrongdoing, any accusations there, just having that association is a cause for at least in the business world, for clients, for customers, for their
own workforces to lose faith in their judgment, and that is the reason, fundamentally of what we are seeing, all of these people particularly in
business, really stepping back from their positions -- Paula.
NEWTON: Yes. We don't have to be reminded. We have news on this virtually every day. Anna Cooban for us in London, appreciate it.
Now, as you just heard Anna say, Hillary Clinton told members of the House Oversight Committee that she has no recollection of meeting Jeffrey
Epstein. Clinton also testified that she knew nothing about criminal behavior by him and his convicted accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell.
The hearing was briefly paused after a photo of Clinton was posted online, and that was in violation of House rules. A source watching the deposition
says a Republican lawmaker asked questions related to Bill Clinton, who is set to testify tomorrow.
The couple only agreed to cooperate with the panel after lawmakers moved to hold them in contempt of Congress. Now the deposition is taking place near
Clinton' home in Chappaqua, New York.
M.J. Lee has been there for us all day. And, M.J., I am wondering, what have we learned so far from Hillary Clinton's testimony?
M.J. LEE, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL ENTERPRISE CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, this deposition is behind closed doors. We are not in the room we know that
it is being taped. It will be transcribed. So, until the committee releases that full information, we are not going to get a full picture of the hours
of questioning that Hillary Clinton has sat in for so far.
However, the Democratic members on the House Oversight Committee have already come out to essentially tell reporters here that Hillary Clinton
has been cooperating, that she has not so far invoked her Fifth Amendment rights, but that essentially, at the end of the day, they have yet to learn
anything new about Jeffrey Epstein or Ghislaine Maxwell and their purported crimes.
She, of course, has said all along that she has never even met Jeffrey Epstein, that she never flew on his plane certainly never traveled to his
island or visited his home. So, they are trying to use this opportunity, the Democratic lawmakers, I should say to press the case that there are
many, many other individuals who should be deposed that isn't Hillary Clinton including the current President Donald Trump, who did have a years'
long relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.
Now, in terms of the kinds of questions that the former Secretary of State has been asked so far today, we have a little bit of an idea. We know that
she has been asked about whether she has had conversations about Epstein with certain people in Epstein's orbit, like Darren Indyke or Richard Kahn.
They are the two co-executors of his estate.
She was also asked, I am told by a source by Congresswoman Mace, who said to Hillary Clinton, what are your feelings about your husband, former
President Bill Clinton receiving massages from young women? And I am told that the former First Lady said, I am not going to speculate on things I
don't know anything about, and I am not here to talk about my feelings.
So we are -- I am losing count now -- some five hours in the deposition so far today, and it is very, very clear, Paula that the partizan politics are
very much in play.
NEWTON: M.J., grateful to you for the update. I know you'll continue to be there. And as you said we await Bill Clinton's testimony tomorrow.
M.J. Lee for us in Chappaqua. Appreciate it.
Now, many businesses are wondering if the U.S. tariff ruling means they will get that refund. My next guest says the answer should be yes. We speak
to Flexport CEO, Ryan Peterson. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NEWTON: Hello, I'm Paula Newton and there is more QUEST MEANS BUSINESS in a moment when companies are lining up for potential tariff refunds after the
Supreme Court's decision. We speak with the CEO of a company who says it can help.
And we will discuss why strong NVIDIA earnings weren't enough to please investors.
Before that, though, the headlines this hour.
[16:30:21]
Iran's state media says U.S. and Iranian negotiators have begun discussing elements of an agreement following a third round of nuclear talks. Oman's
foreign minister says significant progress was made during sessions in Geneva Thursday. The two sides plan to resume talks next week in Vienna.
Hillary Clinton has been testifying today in a congressional probe tied to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. In her opening statement, Clinton
said she has no information on the crimes of Epstein and his convicted accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell. Clinton's husband, former president Bill
Clinton, is set to testify Friday.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he held a productive meeting today with President Trump on housing. Mamdani posted afterwards that he was
looking forward to building more housing in the city. Trump called Mamdani a communist in his State of the Union address, then referred to him as a
nice guy.
So the Supreme Court's ruling against President Trump's emergency tariffs is posing many questions for businesses, including whether they will
recover the duties they've already paid. My next guest is confident those refunds will come. So his supply chain
management company, Flexport, built a tariff refund calculator. Talk about being optimistic.
We tested it out with sample data and it shows the duties paid over a period of time $32 million, there is the potential refund $18 million. It
also breaks down the reimbursement by tariff types and shows which categories do not qualify for that refund.
Ryan Petersen is the CEO of Flexport, and he joins us now.
Good to see you. I want to get first to the refund itself. What makes you so confident that's coming? Who will get them. And there are businesses but
also American individuals who paid this tariff. Do you foresee them being able to get this refund?
RYAN PETERSEN, CEO, FLEXPORT: Yes. So I get a pretty high degree of confidence here because the government themselves, the Department of
Justice submitted a motion in the appellate court. So that's the court just below the Supreme Court that kicked it, then where the administration lost.
And the motion said, if we lose this case, there will be refunds. I mean, it's like black and white. They said it themselves.
It's going to go back to the court and they're going to read and say well, you told us there would be refunds, so now you got to do refunds. So I
think it's just a matter of time. And the exact process, those are quite uncertain whether it takes two months or 24 months is anybody's guess, I
think here. But I feel quite confident just because of the nature of it and it's not just me. I'm not a lawyer but I've talked to three different
international trade attorneys this week who all told me 100 percent certainty, and I've never heard a lawyer tell me 100 percent certainty
about anything before. So I feel pretty confident.
Who gets the refund? Well, there's $160 billion of tariffs that have been paid mostly by American businesses. About 20 percent of the companies,
however, paying tariffs are foreign companies. U.S. is one of the only countries in the world that allows foreign companies to import goods. So
that's going to be the really interesting thing is to watch the government actually wire money overseas, including back to China, to send the money
back. So that will be painful for the administration.
As for individuals, your third question, TBD, depends on the terms. If they were the importer of record, they'll get the money back. If they weren't as
in many small parcel cases like where FedEx imports the goods, FedEx would get the refund. FedEx, I understand earlier today, said that they would in
fact refund those back to individuals, too. So, yes, a lot of money flowing back to American businesses and individuals.
NEWTON: Ryan, I have to tell you in a few minutes you've clarified so much for me. Good going. Our viewers will like this, and I will say that, you
know, some people have argued that, in fact, the refund process is straightforward. When we looked into your calculator, it seems
straightforward enough because many people have said, look, we have the receipts like figuratively and literally. Is that what your calculator is
based on and why you hope it helps?
PETERSEN: Yes. So the tariff calculator, which is a free tool, you can just use it at tariffs.flexport.com, it's designed to make this really easy but
it's not normally easy. You download the data from the government and you got to have an account with the government if you want refunds. So go set
that up. It's a system called ACE. Our system will guide you through it.
[16:35:02]
You download that. It's just a giant CSV file. It's not very easy to read, so we just make it really easy to upload the CSV file. And we do all the
calculations for you. It's not as straightforward as it should be but software makes it easy so on our -- on our tool, it's quite easy to use.
And then what's uncertain at this moment is from there, where do we go? How does the government, what's going to be required?
I think we won't know that until it goes back to the Court of International Trade, where this all started. And they're going to determine what the
government needs to do on what timeline, and then CBP, the border protection -- Customs and Border Protection will have to issue some
guidelines for exactly how to do that. Flexport intends to make this really easy for people where we'll just file the paperwork on your behalf.
But it's a little bit uncertain exactly how that will play out and how much it's going to cost, et cetera. So we'll -- there's a lot of questions still
out there.
NEWTON: And I am curious, can you give us some insight into what the last year has been like in terms of how often these tariff policies have
changed? The calculations have changed. I mean, I've been calling it trading friction for months because it adds so many administrative costs
and a burden, quite frankly, for businesses and individuals.
I mean, do you bear me out here that so many businesses have been flying blind on these costs for so many months.
PETERSEN: Yes, I mean, and, you know, of course, the main thing on tariffs is that you have to pay money to the government. But the second thing, as
you say, it's administrative burden. It's compliance overhead to go figure out what, how much do you actually owe. It's not simple. There were 53
changes to the tariff code done by executive order last year in 52 weeks.
NEWTON: Wow.
PETERSEN: So it's sort of a constant whirlwind of changes and more since Friday. Right? I mean, we got now new Section 122 tariffs. Those are
temporary until July. And then there will be likely other tariffs to replace those in the months to come. The president still has many other
levers to impose new tariffs. And so I would expect it to get more complex and not less. And again, a place where technology can help, where you need
to be able to figure out what is changing in these rules and what timelines.
And so that's one of the things that Flexport has done, is build some great tools at tariffs.flexport.com. They're all free. You can go check it out
and understand exactly what this impact is, to help you at least lighten the burden a little bit.
NEWTON: Yes, they are fun to look at, too, especially when you bring up the category of the tariffs.
Ryan Petersen, as I said, we've learned a lot. Now we're coming to see you, though, if we don't get those refunds 100 percent. So we'll continue to
stay in touch.
PETERSEN: I know. I'm putting my reputation on the line here. So let's see how it goes. But it's so much money, and I hope to put it on my tombstone
someday. We got 50 -- I want to do at least $50 billion of refunds for the American business out there.
NEWTON: I hear you, especially those small businesses that were dealing with so much.
Ryan Petersen, for us, thanks so much. Appreciate it.
Now Cuba's president is vowing to defend his country against, quote, "terrorists and mercenary aggression." It comes one day after Havana says
its forces killed four armed people trying to infiltrate its territory on a U.S. registered speedboat. The U.S. says it's looking into the incident.
Stefano Pozzebon has our details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Still so many questions surrounding Wednesday's incident off the coast of Cuba. What the government in Havana
is saying is that an armed group, 10 people in total, tried to, quote, "infiltrate" the island nation with a speedboat here.
This area is called Falcones Cay, and it's just over 100 miles from the coast of Florida. Cuban authorities say when they approached the U.S.
registered speedboat, one of the passengers fired at them, and Cuban forces retaliated. Four of the speedboat passengers were killed and the remaining
six were wounded. Cuba says they're currently in custody and receiving treatment. An investigation is ongoing, but the country's Interior Ministry
has been quick to brand the group as terrorists.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER (through translator): According to preliminary statements from those detained, they intended to carry out an infiltration
for terrorist purposes.
POZZEBON: Cuba says it arrested an 11th man. They said he flew in from the U.S. to, quote, "guarantee the reception of the armed infiltration."
Now Washington says whatever this was, it was not a U.S. operation. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also seemingly skeptical of Havana's version
of events.
MARCO RUBIO, SECRETARY OF STATE: It's not something that happens every day. It's something, frankly, that hasn't happened with Cuba in a very long
time. And -- but we're going to find out. We're not going to base our conclusions on what they've told us. And I'm very, very confident that we
will know the full story of what happened here.
POZZEBON (voice-over): The shootout happens as the U.S. is ramping up pressure on Cuba. The island nation facing severe shortages of basic food
items but also fuel. And that's because Washington has blocked virtually all oil shipments to the country since it captured Venezuelan leader and
Cuban ally Nicolas Maduro in January. The U.S.'s stricter stance part of a more ambitious goal for the country.
RUBIO: Cuba status quo is unacceptable. Cuba needs to change.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: Our thanks to Stefano Pozzebon there.
[16:40:01]
Now, U.S. diplomats are drawing ire in Europe by weighing in on domestic politics. Melissa Bell reports after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NEWTON: U.S. diplomats in Paris, Brussels and Warsaw are ruffling feathers by attempting to meddle in European politics. Now their comments are
putting new strains on transatlantic ties, as our Melissa Bell reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The most undiplomatic of diplomacies. American ambassadors in France, Belgium and
Poland at odds with their host countries. In Paris, Charles Kushner, Jared Kushner's father, briefly banned from access to the French government after
failing to turn up when summoned.
PASCAL CONFAVREUX, FRENCH FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESPERSON: To summon an ambassador is completely part and parcel of diplomatic grammar. It's -- and
so sometimes when you have ambassadors who are not career diplomats, it can lead some incomprehension.
BELL: In Poland, it was the U.S. ambassador himself who cut ties with the speaker of the Lower House of Parliament after he's spoken out against
giving President Trump the Nobel Peace Prize. And in Belgium, U.S. Ambassador Bill White keeps weighing in to an investigation into
circumcision practices in Antwerp's Jewish community. Most recently tweeting, "The case should be immediately dropped," although he did at
least turn up to the Foreign Ministry when summoned.
PIERRE VIMONT, FORMER FRENCH AMBASSADOR TO THE U.S.: The American foreign policy has a very strong ideological content nowadays and one should not be
surprised that it is there. But on the question of interference in domestic politics, I think it has to be put very strongly to the American side that
this is not what diplomacy is all about.
BELL: Ambassador Kushner entered the fray of a political domestic controversy after official U.S. comments suggesting that far-left violence
was on the rise here in France. In a furious response, the French foreign minister replied that France had no lessons to learn from the reactionary
international.
(Voice-over): The killing of a young, far-right activist in clashes with the far-left a few weeks before local elections had deepened political
divisions in France even before the United States weighed in.
CONFAVREUX: We are allies. We are not aligned, which is always also something that helps us to tell the truth or what we think is our truth to
our -- to our allies.
[16:45:02]
BELL: Something the foreign minister is expected to tell Ambassador Kushner face to face when the two men meet again. It is expected in the next few
days.
Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: Now, depending on where you're watching this from, you may have seen a Lime e-bike or two today. Up next we'll discuss the company's growth
and how its rides played a role at the Winter Olympics.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NEWTON: So cycling is usually associated with the Summer Olympics, but during this month's Winter Games in Italy, bikes played a prominent role.
Lime says the number of rides and distance traveled doubled in Milan compared to the same time last year. That includes both its e-bikes and
scooters. The company also saw more people choosing to travel by bike during the Paris Games in 2024.
Wayne Ting is the CEO of Lime, and it certainly is impressive growth.
I mean, you expect more on this. Can you just tell me about what this is built on? Both the foundation, right, the fact that you have new physical
bikes, a new generation of bike, but also the things that software might enabled you to do. Apparently a more convenient and cheaper subscription
model.
WAYNE TING, CEO, LIME: For sure, Paula. Thank you for having me. I would say we had a very successful Milan Olympics and whenever there's big
sporting events, especially when alternative transportation is at its worst. And think about the congestion, the traffic, the expensiveness of
alternatives, inability to find parking. This is when the magic of Lime and shared micromobility comes into play.
We are oftentimes the fastest, the cheapest way to move around. And certainly during the Milan Olympics using a bike to get to sporting events
was a great way to see and access Olympic venues. That is why we saw our trips more than double, and the amount of distance travel more than double,
and we think there's going to be so many other examples in the future where shared micromobility, whether it's in big congested cities or big sporting
events where Lime can be a solution and a good partner to cities.
NEWTON: And in terms of the bike itself and the model itself, how much easier will that make things? Because I know sometimes you might, you know,
be in a city and think, OK, how do I work this thing? How do -- how am I allowed to work this thing?
TING: Yes, I think one of the advantages of Lime is that every scooter and e-bike you see on our platform, we have designed, engineered in-house,
which means that we can constantly innovate on new form factors and find new ways to solve the problems that our riders face.
[16:50:18]
And we recently launched a new Lime bike and Lime gliders, and these are lighter, lower center of gravity. And our intention is that it will help us
reach even more users. And certainly, as we scale to more cities, you're going to see us bring different form factors and continue to innovate on
different ways that riders can access shared micromobility so that they don't feel that initial fear or worry that this may not be something that's
right for them.
NEWTON: OK, now full disclosure. I am not a fan of dockless bikes or scooters. They are really littered all over cities. And never mind me,
right? I'm not sure how someone who's disabled kind of gets along when you have these piles of scooters or bikes in cities. Now you have a so-called
parking patrol. Explain what this is and how this can definitively solve this problem. Or can it?
TING: Yes. Paula, we take parking very seriously and we take the feedback like the one you just shared very seriously. And we use both our software
hardware, our operations team to ensure that Lime shows up in a way that feels tidy and we're parked in a way that's not blocking the accessible
sidewalks. It's not blocking pedestrian sidewalks.
In cities we're in, we have local teams. When we are -- when we see too many bikes and scooters in a single sidewalk, we have local teams that can
come by and they can move these bikes and scooters out of the way to a different part of the city that may actually don't have sufficient number
of bikes and scooters,
We also ask our riders to take a picture after the end of every single trip, and we've actually recently introduced an A.I. technology. It's
really a video, and when we see the bike and scooter, it's parked in the wrong place, where if it's blocking an accessible sidewalk, we're not going
to let you end the trip. We're going to give you instructions to move that bike and scooter so that we can use technology to solve the issue, Paula,
that you just described of like overcrowded parking.
The last thing we want to do is to block somebody in a wheelchair to access where they need to go.
NEWTON: Understood. That makes sense to me. Now, look, to have a little fun here, I actually witnessed a celebrity trying to park an e-bike once. I'm
not going to say who it was, but it was somebody who was very famous. And as it turns out, it's not uncommon that celebrities are using these things.
I mean, do you guys have those stories yourselves about these things that go viral? Celebrities online?
TING: I think we certainly see lots of celebrities who use Lime because Lime is core transportation in many cities all over the world. It's the
oftentimes the fastest, most affordable and the most sustainable way to move around. And recently, we launched a new subscription product called
Lime Prime. For a low monthly fee every rider gets a flat, predictable rate, just a couple dollars for any trip under 20 minutes, and hopefully
that's going to even get allow more users to use us as part of everyday transportation.
And celebrities are people, too. If the fastest, cheapest, most sustainable way to move around the city is via a Lime bike and scooter for the same
reasons that other riders are adopting Lime, there are many celebrities are using Lime for the exact same reasons.
NEWTON: Yes, it was kind of funny because this celebrity was clearly trying to do it incognito and think, why would I be on an e-bike? But there he
was.
Wayne Ting, we'll leave it there for now. Thanks so much. Appreciate it.
TING: Thank you.
NEWTON: Now strong earnings failed to lift Nvidia stock today. The company shares closed down more than 5 percent. It comes amid questions over how
long the company can keep its growth, as well as growing competition from companies like AMD, which recently signed a massive chip deal with Meta.
Clare Duffy is here to break it down.
I mean, we had the results quickly in the show yesterday and it just seemed they blew apart expectations on revenue and earnings came in. So good.
Guidance was good. So what gives?
CLARE DUFFY, CNN TECH CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Paula, I think there's sort of two things going on here. As you said, these were really strong results.
Most companies would love to have results like this. Both sales and profits up more than 70 percent year on year. But I think this is sort of a unique
Nvidia problem where they have just posted such insane results for so many quarters in a row that investors are kind of asking like, what's next? What
else is there here? And how long can the company keep this up?
At the same time, I think there is increasingly genuine concern around the health and sort of the stability of this A.I. market going forward. We've
talked a lot about this in the last few weeks. Questions about how long these big tech players can continue to spend at the levels they're spending
at.
[16:55:02]
Now for this year, the predictions are looking good. The big tech companies are looking at spending around $650 billion in total in CapEx. Most of that
is going to go to A.I. chips and data centers. But Jensen Huang, the CEO of Nvidia was asked last night about how long this is going to continue and
how much his customers can keep up their cash flow. I thought it was interesting, his comment in response was, look, compute equals revenues.
He's saying essentially as long as our customers keep buying from us, they'll keep making money. I don't know that investors are going to
continue buying that response and, you know, continue to buy the hype around this company, although the fundamentals at this point continue to
look good, Paula. Of course Nvidia is going to have an opportunity in the next few weeks to get investors excited again.
The company is hosting its GTC A.I. conference in Silicon Valley. Jensen Huang often announces new product updates, new partnerships. Certainly
investors I think will be looking forward to that as the next sign of where things are going for the company.
NEWTON: And to discuss where things are going, we don't have a lot of time left, Clare, but look, Block laying off 40 percent, 4,000 employees here. I
just want to quote Jack Dorsey, who runs that company. "I don't think we're early to this realization. I think most companies are late within the next
year. I believe the majority of companies will reach the same conclusion and make similar structural changes."
A.I. is coming for those jobs, right, Clare?
DUFFY: Yes, Paula. It's so funny, I just wrote down that exact quote from Jack's letter because I think that is really what is at the core of all of
this. This is a stunning announcement. They are going from 10,000 employees to 6,000 employees, cutting 4,000 workers because the company says
artificial intelligence can do more of that work better than the people that are working there. Certainly a huge blow to those 4,000 people who are
working at this company.
But a stark warning there from Jack Dorsey that we are likely to see many other companies making similar moves this year. Something to watch really
closely, Paula.
NEWTON: Yes. Claire, and we're, you know, we have the stock price up but you can see where shareholders think this is good. I'm not sure when those
shareholders are employees, though, if they think this economy can really handle that, especially the level of unemployment that we may be seeing
here.
Clare Duffy, thank you so much. Appreciate you bringing us that late- breaking news.
Now, Wall Street finished mostly lower. The Dow finished right about where it started. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq pulled back after a two-day rally. The
S&P 500 shed half of a percent. The Nasdaq closed more than 1 percent lower. And we will be watching to see if it heads lower again on the back
of news like this.
That is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. I'm Paula Newton. "THE LEAD WITH JAKE TAPPER" is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
