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Quest Means Business
Iran And U.S. Widen Attacks As Conflict Escalates; Tech Stocks Dip As Chinese A.I. Model Stokes Competition Fears; Ontario Premier Calls For U.S. Support On Wildfires; Pizza Chain Grapples With Rising Ingredient Costs; Andy Burnham Embraces Social Media To Connect With Public; Richard Quest Explores Historic Highway Aboard "Big Bertha" R.V. Aired 4-5p ET
Aired July 17, 2026 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:13]
PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: So you see it there. The selloff really picked up. Not surprising given it is a Friday on a summer weekend.
The markets, though are on a losing week, especially when you look at the NASDAQ down again today more than one percent. The chip makers really
dragging down the index. Those are the markets and these are the main events.
The U.S. targets Iranian infrastructure and Iran responds with its largest strikes since the truce collapsed. The latest on a spiraling war in the
Middle East.
China's advancements in A.I. are giving U.S. investors second thoughts. We will look at the business and tech side of things.
And we are once again on the road with Richard Quest. He is headed towards Kingman, Arizona, as he travels along Route 66.
Live from New York. It is Friday, July 17th. I am Paula Newton in for Richard quest and this is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.
And we do begin with an increasingly unstable situation in the Middle East. The U.S. Military says it destroyed a surveillance tower used by Iran's
Revolutionary Guard to track ships in the Strait of Hormuz. According to Iranian state media, the U.S. also hit bridges close to the Strait.
Thursday marked the sixth straight night of strikes by U.S. forces.
Iran, in turn, has launched attacks on seven regional states. Tehran said that includes a U.S. base in Syria, which would be a first in this
conflict. The U.S. Military and a Syrian source deny being hit.
In Kuwait, Iran struck a power and desalinization plant as it threatens to target key ports. Now traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is, of course,
heavily impacted, but more so than in the last few weeks. According to ship tracking site, Marine Traffic, crossings fell to eight on July 16th, down
15 from a day earlier, and this marks a new three-week low.
To quote them: "Seven of the eight transits through the Iranian route with no crossings via the Omani route and no shadow fleet movements recorded.
Traffic was evenly split between commercial and noncommercial vessels, while half of all crossings were Iranian flagged." And that really does
tell you something in terms of Iran really trying to continue its control over that Strait.
Now, despite all of this disruption, President Donald Trump continues to claim the U.S. will benefit from the war in Iran. Listen.
We won in Venezuela, which is now working with us to produce millions and millions of barrels of oil. We are likewise winning big in Iran. And you
will see the fruits of that labor very, very shortly. America is back and doing really well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Now, the escalation sent oil prices higher yet again today. Brent crude is now trading close to $90.00 a barrel. WTI jumped nearly five
percent, now trading as you can see it there above $82.0.
U.S. Markets as we just said, closed lower to finish a losing week. The Dow shed some 400 -- more than 400 points there. The S&P fell as well, the
NASDAQ losing almost 1.5 percent.
Now, as if the war itself wasn't bad enough, the A.I. innovation out of China is also to blame for some of today's losses. Startup Moonshot A.I.
says its Kimi K3 model performed competitively with Anthropic's Fable and even outperformed OpenAI's latest model. It is stoking fears that China is
pulling closer to the U.S. in its own A.I. development.
Daniel Remler is a senior fellow with the Technology and National Security Program at the Center for a New American Security, and he joins us now.
Good to have you. Thanks so much for being on the program.
DANIEL REMLER, SENIOR FELLOW, TECHNOLOGY AND NATIONAL SECURITY PROGRAM AT THE CENTER FOR A NEW AMERICAN SECURITY: Thank you for having me, Paula.
NEWTON: Now, I do want to get first to the business side of this. Now for China, this A.I. build out, it seems to be Belt and Road Initiative 2.0.
This one for generation A.I. I mean, China clearly wants to dominate, but they claim to also be promoting a cheaper open source model, unlike how
things have been developing in the United States.
How do you see this shaking out in terms of who dominates here?
REMLER: It is a good analogy to the Belt and Road, Paula, so China's strategy overall has been to push open source models, which means they can
be downloaded and run locally, whether it is on your laptop or local infrastructure, and they have done this consistently.
Moonshot A.I., their model, Kimi K3 right now it is not released open source.
[16:05:10 ]
It's just available through the cloud, but they say that they will open source the weights by the end of this month and they have had some success,
China overall, I should say, promoting these models around the world. They are relatively much cheaper than the U.S. models, even if they are
consistently less capable across the board, but that kind of cost advantage has led to a lot of businesses around the world that want to use these
capabilities, but are cost sensitive to experimenting with these Chinese models alongside U.S. models in general.
So the Chinese strategy of scaling, pushing out lower cost alternatives is certainly at play here with A.I.
NEWTON: And we will get to the National Security implications here. But do you believe this is something that the A.I. companies at the forefront of
things right now in the United States should be concerned about?
REMLER: They should certainly be concerned about the Chinese A.I. models continuing to kind of improve. Now, I will say the gap between the U.S. and
China has been fairly consistent. The company, Moonshot A.I., claims their model is kind of as good or competitive with Fable 5 from Anthropic and
other leading models for the United States, but initial user feedback should suggest Moonshot is probably closer to where OpenAI and Anthropic
were five to nine months ago. That's a kind of consistent gap.
So the capability gap is consistent. They are still improving, but they still have this kind of cost advantage and the Chinese are using a number
of methods to kind of skirt around the relative lack of compute because of U.S. export controls. So they are doing this thing called distillation
where they are able to extract the capabilities of leading U.S. A.I. models. They are smuggling chips. They are remotely accessing chips abroad,
so it is a real concern.
I will say that this Kimi K3 three model is very large, so you can't actually run it from a laptop and it is actually more expensive to run
compared to some of the other Chinese models that we've seen recently.
So it doesn't have quite as many of those distinct advantages that the Chinese have had with their other models recently, but it is certainly a
kind of competitive concern overall.
NEWTON: But you do wonder how much longer it would take them to get there, given the fact that, again, we are told all A.I. models right now are at an
exponential level. But I do want to turn now to, you know, to your expertise.
Could the Chinese advance these A.I. systems to a point where they pose a serious threat to U.S. National Security and beyond, I should say. Now,
look, I am old enough to remember nuclear deterrence theory, and you have written that, in fact, you know, the U.S. government should, at least in
the military sphere, begin speaking to China about this.
Do you think this is on the radar of the Trump administration at all? And should it be?
REMLER: It is certainly on the radar of the Trump administration and the administration does seem interested in talking to China about A.I. broadly.
Now, I have a particular view about how that should be done that would be consistent with U.S. interests. But look, Paula, I would argue that the
Chinese A.I. models already pose a serious threat to U.S. National Security.
This model from Moonshot Kimi K3, as well as a previous model from the Chinese A.I. company, Goku, the model GLM 5.2 are as good as some of the
models from U.S. A.I. companies that the U.S. A.I. companies say could be used to launch fully automated cyberattacks.
And I strongly suspect that these Chinese models are being used by the Chinese People's Liberation Army and China's security services to
turbocharge cyberattacks, to conduct cyber espionage against U.S. critical infrastructure, other critical infrastructure across the West.
These models also have serious security vulnerabilities that, if they are adopted by businesses in the United States or elsewhere, could then be
exploited by cyber criminals or by Chinese Intelligence and these models are very consistently and very rigidly aligned to the CCP's ideological
vision and are heavily censored.
So kind of across the board I see -- I see these National Security threats.
NEWTON: Yes, this is certainly a warning shot and we will see how the Trump administration and Xi handle it going forward, given the two, I mean,
President Xi is supposed to come to the United States in the next few months. So we will see if that becomes one of the top agenda items.
Daniel Remler for us. Thanks so much. Really appreciate your insights.
REMLER: Thank you so much.
NEWTON: Now, we want to talk a little bit more about the President's National Security challenges. Our Kevin Liptak joins us now.
Kevin, I think -- I believe you heard some of that conversation, but it is something that you're used to hearing around The White House. I mean, look,
the President talked about China last night, but not about A.I. and he didn't give Americans a fulsome update on Iran, either.
Where do you believe the Trump administration is headed with all of this now, given Trump -- you know, President Trump and his address showed us
that his preoccupation right now is perhaps midterms, but also the 2020 election.
[16:10:07]
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes. And I think, you know, for a lot of people listening, if they were listening, it is not clear how
many people exactly tuned in, they would have seen a President who was not really on the same page as they are. You know, so many Americans say that
their top issue is the economy and the affordability, and they are concerned about what's going on in Iran and I think he spent maybe five
words of the speech giving an update on that particular conflict before moving in to sort of these baroque theories about election security and
election fraud, a lot of which I think will have sounded familiar to Americans, because he talks about it so often, despite the fact that he was
trying to claim that this was all based on newly declassified information.
You know, the China part of it is interesting because I've been trying to sort of figure out today whether this would come with any repercussions for
Beijing. You know, the President made a very serious allegation here. He says that they made the biggest breach of election data in history. And
when you hear him talking about it, it doesn't sound as if he is thinking of any punishment.
You know, in the speech, he was much more fixated on trying to punish some of those Intelligence officials, for example, that he claimed had withheld
the China information from him during his first term in office. And it seems at this point like he does not necessarily want to upend what has
become a relatively calm relationship with President Xi Jinping.
And I have been talking to officials, and they do say that planning for that state visit in the end of September is still continuing a pace,
despite what the President said last night. Obviously, Chinese hacking is nothing new. They've done it to the American government. They do it to
American businesses. And it is, I think, an aspect of the bilateral relationship.
But President Trump seems pretty intent on keeping ties with Xi Jinping very chummy, despite all of these irritants.
NEWTON: I am curious, since so many of these tech leaders have the ear of the President, how many of them will bring it up to him in the days and
weeks to come.
Kevin, we can't help but notice that Donald Trump was truthing again, this time about Canada and the wildfires. He basically said that Canada was to
blame and that he would be holding Canada responsible for all of this.
There is the -- now, to be clear, the fires are in Northern Minnesota and in Canada. The smoke is also in Canada. Toronto had one of its worst weeks
on record for air quality.
I want you to listen now to Doug Ford, the Premier of Ontario, where most of these fires are raging right now, and what he says about political
criticism, although I will say the President hadn't even truthed about this yet. It was about general Republican complaints about Canada. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DOUG FORD, PREMIER OF ONTARIO, CANADA: You know, a good neighbor and I truly believe the Americans are good neighbors, if there is some
politicians out there chirping away, well, maybe what you should do, rather than complain is send support, send help, because we have done the exact
same thing for our American friends. And that's what you're supposed to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Now. Kevin, Canadian, you know, control of this can obviously use improvement. But in the United States, the trend has been the same with
forest fires and I am wondering what you're going to -- and wildfires -- and I am wondering you're going to tell me about cuts to some of those
services in the United States with the DOGE cuts, how serious do you think the President is about this?
LIPTAK: I mean, the cut that comes to mind is that the EPA, which had a whole unit that was trying to study the effects on the environment and on
American's health of wildfire smoke that has been completely gutted, which a lot of people have in mind in Washington today now that we are completely
blanketed in wildfire smoke.
But, you know, it is interesting you talk about the chummy relationship with Xi Jinping. It is the exact opposite with Mark Carney. The President
really doesn't need much excuse at all to start complaining about him. And in that Truth Social post, he suggested that he was going to be calling him
up today to try and figure out what's going on, but it is not happening in a vacuum.
There are a lot of actual other Republicans in Washington who have been talking about this, including Bernie Moreno from Ohio, who is suggesting
that he is going to put a bill up in Congress sanctioning Canada for some of this smoke. It is not clear what the sanctions would actually amount to.
You also have Michigan Republicans who wrote to Canada this week saying that they were done accepting apologies in place of action and responding
to that, Carney said this week that climate change is everyone's responsibility. Truly, everyone's including the United States, which I
think was a very not particularly veiled jab at how the President has cut back on some of the climate change support and resources in Washington.
But all of this, I will say there was one American who was a lot more conciliatory, and I thought that was interesting. It was Pete Hoekstra, who
is the American Ambassador to Canada who made no mention of blaming Canada for the smoke or trying to punish them, who said that the challenge knows
no borders and that it was a shared challenge and demands a shared response.
[16:15:11]
I just think it is interesting, the person who has actually in Canada trying to represent the United States there, despite the difficulties
sometimes imposed by President Trump, has a much more friendlier approach to how this is all unfolding.
NEWTON: Right. Yes, and an appointee from Michigan, no less. And I can assure you, Kevin, that that Ambassador has no problem speaking his mind.
So if he thought Canada wasn't doing a good job, he would say so.
Kevin, thank you so much. There is nothing we can't throw at you that you don't have all the context for us. Really appreciate it and I am sorry to
hear that you guys are now socked in. Hopefully it will end soon.
LIPTAK: Yes, hopefully.
NEWTON: Okay. Okay. Still to come for us, a court hearing over a Temporary Restraining Order aimed at blocking the Paramount-Warner Bros Discovery
deal. What we are learning next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NEWTON: A judge heard arguments today for and against a Temporary Restraining Order on Paramount's planned merger with Warner Bros Discovery,
and that is the parent company of CNN.
Now, the judge says she will issue a ruling on July 22nd. A coalition of 12 states is trying to block the deal, saying it would stifle competition in
Hollywood and lead to fewer choices for consumers.
Paramount says the deal is not anti-competitive. A Temporary Restraining Order would effectively pause the merger for at least a couple of weeks,
while the legal process plays out.
Our chief media analyst, Brian Stelter has more on this now.
BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: Hey, Paula. Yes, as this legal battle plays out in the Paramount-WBD merger case, California Attorney
General Rob Bonta tells me he is not trying to get CNN spun off from Paramount-WBD, he says that is not his goal. It is not what he is focused
on.
He is responding to days of speculation and commentary in the press about this case. Ever since that lawsuit was filed by the 12 states on Monday,
there has been a lot of commentary from people wondering if this is really all about CNN, but the text of the lawsuit is all about Hollywood, and
that's what was focused on during a court hearing earlier on Friday in Northern California.
This was the first time that attorneys for both sides were in court arguing the case. This was in response to the 12-state coalition asking for a
Temporary Restraining Order, arguing that a TRO is necessary in order to stop the companies from completing the merger. That's because Paramount has
secured almost all the approvals it needs all around the world, including from the Trump administration in the U.S.
There have been some indications that Paramount might try to close the deal next Wednesday, July 22nd.
[16:20:07 ]
So that's why these state attorneys general are trying to get the court to press the pause button. So a judge heard arguments today. She said she will
respond to that request for a restraining order in the coming days. The quote was, "You will get a ruling by the 22nd."
Now, executives at Paramount and Warner have told me they do expect the judge will go ahead and press pause and slow things down and that could be
a problem for Paramount because it agreed to a ticking fee that makes the deal more expensive starting October 1st.
So in court today, Paramount attorneys pushed for an expedited process. They want to move to the next stage as quickly as possible. That's the
preliminary injunction stage, almost like a mini trial. It could take several days with both sides laying out the arguments and a judge deciding
whether this case is likely to prevail in an actual trial.
Oftentimes, when companies lose in a preliminary injunction phase, they give up and they abandon the merger altogether. So Paramount wants that
process to happen in August and September, hoping it will prevail in court, and they will be able to complete the deal by September 30th. So the
timeline is dramatic here.
Meanwhile, Bonta told me he is not currently in negotiations with Paramount about a settlement. I interviewed him overnight wanting to ask him about
the CNN of it all, among other topics. And here is what he said to me. "If Paramount-Warner Brothers want to come forward in good faith and sincerely
want to make a settlement offer, we will always consider a settlement offer. And it would have to include structural remedies." But note the word
remedies, plural.
He says he is not focused on CNN. There has been a lot of speculation prompted by a report on the website, Puck, that what Bonta really wants is
for Paramount to agree to divest CNN so that the Ellison family is not in control of CNN. But Bonta is very strongly refuting that, saying his
lawsuit is about Hollywood, about harms to Hollywood.
He says he would certainly entertain a spinoff of CNN as part of a broader settlement deal. But he says this current case is not about this news
network.
Paula, back to you.
NEWTON: Our thanks to Brian.
Now, speaking of those movies, it is opening night for one of the most anticipated blockbusters of the year. "The Odyssey" is projected to make
$100 million this weekend in North America. The latest release by director, Christopher Nolan adds to what has already been a strong year for
Hollywood, but the "Super Mario Galaxy" movie and the Michael Jackson biopic have made more than a billion dollars worldwide.
Now, young adults are a big part of the U.S. Box office rebound. Fandango says 87 percent of Gen Z saw at least one movie last year in a theater,
compared to 76 percent for all adults.
On average, Gen Z and millennials also went to more movies than their older counterparts.
"Variety" chief correspondent, Marlow Stern joins me now. We are going to start with that epic film. Is it epic, Marlow? You saw it. Does it have the
potential to be historic in both cultural and commercial impact? Because we know that's what Christopher Nolan was going for.
MARLOW STERN, CHIEF CORRESPONDENT, "VARIETY": Oh, yes, it is an epic film, all right. I mean, the scale of this thing is just massive. Christopher
Nolan, it is the first film to be shot entirely with IMAX 70 millimeter cameras. So really, the one way to see this film the proper way, at least,
is in IMAX cinema. The problem is that there are only 25 of those 70 millimeter IMAX cinemas in North America, and that's among the 3,800
theaters this film is opening in.
So you really have got to jockey for tickets to this thing.
NEWTON: You would say, though, you saw it in IMAX, you're saying it is worth it, but one of the reasons it is worth it, right, is the trouble that
Christopher Nolan goes to, to get some of these scenes done, right? And the movie cost a quarter billion dollars to make?
STERN: Yes, it cost $250 million. You know, the technology is just fascinating. I mean he built -- first off, he built a lot of these sets by
hand. So we haven't really seen something of this scale in quite some time particularly with a sword and sandals epic.
And again, he used these 70 millimeter IMAX cameras, which means that he fixed a blimp around these giant cameras because they're so noisy to the
point where actors couldn't even see each other.
So the interesting thing was he created this mirror system around the camera, where actors would act alongside a reflection of the other actor.
So just the filmmaking process was fascinating with this one.
NEWTON: And it translates onto the screen, obviously.
STERN: Oh big time! I mean, this is an epic entertainment, the likes of which we haven't seen in quite some time and I think fans are going to be
blown away like I was.
NEWTON: Okay, that is quite a recommendation. It does bring to mind though, the A.I. of it all. I mean, Christopher Nolan, will he continue to get
budgets like this? And maybe he will, but I am wondering if moviemaking will start to be different.
You know, we have these movies that are made for $50,000.00 on A.I. What do you think is going to happen here to these big blockbuster movies and their
budgets?
[16:25:09 ]
STERN: Right. It is fascinating. On the eve of the opening of Christopher Nolan's the odyssey, this A.I. studio, Fountain Zero, announced a version
of -- their own version of the Odyssey called "Odysseus: The Fall" that they made for only five figures. But I think, I don't know. I mean, I think
compared to Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey," that one is going to look like a piece of junk. And I abide by the mantra from "Field of Dreams," you
know, if you build it, they will come, at least in the case of Christopher Nolan.
NEWTON: So you believe Hollywood doesn't have anything to fear from A.I. though you don't think and I mean real actors, real directors making real
sets.
STERN: I think they have some something to fear from A.I. You know, I think particularly digital effects artists are going to feel it pretty hard, and
set builders too and production design. I think we are going to see, unfortunately, a lot of studios opting for digital, but when you look at
something like "The Odyssey," I think it makes the strongest case for practical effects. I mean, this thing just looks gorgeous and I encourage
everyone to check it out.
NEWTON: And to check it out. We have to go, but you say IMAX, you say, wait for that IMAX seat.
STERN: Listen, I mean, the thing was shot with IMAX 70 millimeter cameras. The aspect ratio, it is the only way you can kind of see the full version
of the film.
NEWTON: Right.
STERN: It fills the screen.
NEWTON: Gotcha!
STERN: It is basically cropped if you see it in any other version.
NEWTON: I will start looking now. Perhaps it will take until September.
Marlow Stern for us. Thanks so much. Really appreciate it.
STERN: Thank you.
NEWTON: Now, new data shows U.S. consumers have been feeling more optimistic about the economy recently, but many are still facing higher
prices even at the grocery store.
Up next, I speak to a pizza chain owner about how he is managing.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:30:03]
NEWTON: Hello, I am Paula Newton, and there is more QUEST MEANS BUSINESS in a moment when we will talk to the owner of a pizzeria about how his
restaurants are coping with rising food costs.
And Richard Quest on the road in Arizona. He will share with us his latest discoveries from historic Route 66. But before that, the headlines this
hour.
China says President Donald Trump's claims that it interfered in the 2020 U.S. election have no factual grounding. In a primetime address, Thursday,
the U.S. president accused Beijing of accessing hundreds of millions of U.S. voter files, but none of the newly declassified documents he pointed
to seem to back up those claims.
In southern Texas, at least two people have died because of catastrophic flash flooding. The governor says more than 230 people were rescued as
torrential rains hit the same region where flooding killed nearly 140 people last summer.
Thick smoke from Canadian wildfires is traveling south across the border. More than a hundred million people in the U.S. and Canada are now under air
quality alerts, stretching from the Great Lakes to the Atlantic.
Even in New Jersey, where the World Cup final between Spain and Argentina will take place on Sunday, they remain, some concerns about air quality.
So, we do have good news. I mean, people have been feeling more optimistic about the U.S. economy in recent weeks. That was thanks to lower gas
prices. We'll see what happens now. But the University of Michigan's Consumer Sentiment Index surged nearly 10 percent in early July. It's now
at its highest level in six months. Still, it's down nearly 12 percent from a year ago. So, that perspective is important.
Now, part of the reason for that is higher costs for everyday items like groceries. U.S. food prices rose 0.2 percent last month compared to May.
But a family-owned pizza chain in Alabama has been reluctant to charge its customers more.
We want to have a look at how the cost of pizza ingredients, everyone's favorite food, have changed over the last year. So, we will begin here with
our lovely QMB pizza, and we are going to talk about tomatoes, because those tomatoes for the sauce are up as you can see there, 19.5 percent.
Now, we do want to go to that lovely mozzarella cheese. OK. Now, look, the mozzarella cheese is down 3-1/2 percent. But that's month over month. I
mean, keep in mind that, that cheese has actually gone up substantially over the last year.
And then, we have beef. Beef in the pepperoni up about 12 percent. And what has happened with the pepperoni is that some of it is made with pork, some
of it is made with beef. Beef prices have really surged here in the United States.
Thomas Quijada is the owner of Mozza Pizza, and you are living it right now, my friend. I know that you have been putting up with some of these
higher costs. The percentages may not seem like a lot for some of us, but I bet it's costing you thousands of dollars. How have you been coping?
THOMAS QUIJADA, OWNER, MOZZA PIZZA: Well, it's definitely not easy for small businesses like us. You know, we are a family-owned business here in
Huntsville, Alabama. Prices on every item have been going up. Flour, which is our main ingredient; cheese, that's our main ingredient. Pizza boxes
even have been going up from $38 up to $50. We go through like 120 boxes a week.
So, yes, I mean we feel it a lot. We are very blessed because we have a very good support from our community here in Huntsville, and that's really
helped us a lot.
NEWTON: Right. You have loyal customers. And I understand, you are not passing on the cost to the customers. How long do you think you will be
able to afford that? Because we have been talking on the show here about how oil's up again, gas futures are up. That means diesel is up. Are you
afraid that at some point you are going to have to pass it along?
QUIJADA: We actually refuse to do that. We really believe in the community, and we talk to our customers, and customers support us. So, we are not
looking to get profit out of one plate or two plates. You know, we go through volume.
We don't want the increase on prices or, you know, inflation to win. We are going to win this together as a community. Especially, here in Huntsville,
Alabama, we have a very good, strong community, and they help us a lot.
NEWTON: Now, why do you believe that food inflation is really biting so many right now? Because, as you said, I understand you have loyal
customers. You are going to try and take it out of your profits, but it is a problem. Right?
I mean, at the end of the day, your -- you run a family business, you have a small business. This is really taking money out of your pocket. Why do
you think food inflation has gotten to this point?
QUIJADA: I really don't know. We don't -- we don't really -- there is nothing we can do about changing the prices on, you know, on everything
that we buy.
[16:35:03]
But what we can do is stay consistent on quality, stay consistent in, you know, standards, having high standards, and the community and customers
actually know when you change the quality of a product. So, if you stay consistent with the quality, customers will back you up.
NEWTON: But what do your suppliers say to you? Do they say it's a fuel issue?
QUIJADA: Suppliers like profit. So, they will come up with any excuse. What we have been doing a lot is comparing prices with different vendors. So,
that way you know we get the best deal that we can, so, we don't lose as much money.
But we Have been very, very lucky because, again, if customers back you up, you are in a good position.
NEWTON: I hope to get to your place in Huntsville, Alabama, one day. If I do, give me the pizza recommendation. What am I buying? Which one?
QUIJADA: Absolutely. Mozza Pizza here sin Huntsville, we have two locations. One new location coming, and we really appreciate the community
for supporting us -- this hard times.
(CROSSTALK)
NEWTON: But what kind -- what kind of pizza? Your classics. Your meat. What? Your three cheeses? What do you say?
QUIJADA: New York-style pizza. We are originally from New York. Originally from New York.
NEWTON: OK.
QUIJADA: So, you got to fold that pizza. We sell pizza by the slice, so, you know --
(CROSSTALK)
NEWTON: Got you.
QUIJADA: Like I told my wife and I told my partner, if you can't afford pizza, which is like the main thing, the main food here in America, we have
a problem. So, that's why we don't want to pass those increased prices to our customers.
(CROSSTALK)
NEWTON: Understood. Understood.
QUIJADA: And, you know, pizza is supposed to be something for everyone.
NEWTON: Got you, Thomas, understood, thanks so much for being with us. And like I said, I hope I'm at your doorstep one day. Appreciate your time.
Thanks so much.
QUIJADA: No, and thank you very much for your time. And thank you for, you know, choosing a small businesses like us. It really helps.
NEWTON: Got you. Thank you.
Now, the British Labor Party has elected Andy Burnham as its new leader. The former mayor of Greater Manchester is now on track to become, yes, the
U.K. prime minister on Monday.
Burnham will succeed Keir Starmer, who announced his resignation last month.
In Friday's acceptance speech, Burnham pledged to give people their hope back.
Now, Burnham is now one of the country's most popular politicians, thanks, in part, to his presence on social media.
Clare Sebastian will show you how he did it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDY BURNHAM, INCOMING BRITISH PRIME MINISTER (text): Better not put on the camera.
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Britain's incoming prime minister belongs to a new generation of politicians, one that understands
the power of social media.
BURNHAM: Good evening, everyone --
SEBASTIAN (voice over): From campaign trail highlights -- to football skills -- to a viral roasting of the British opposition leader who called
him --
KEMI BADENOCH, LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION, UNITED KINGDOM: A pair of eyelashes and a black T-shirt.
BURNHAM: It's dark blue, actually.
SEBASTIAN (voice over): That video racked up over 5 million views on X.
SEBASTIAN: The strategy, especially with these signature selfie-style videos, is really part of an effort by Burnham to present himself as an
outsider here in Westminster, a regular guy, despite, of course, his many years spent in Parliament previously. His style is true to Andy, and that
isn't going to change. A source close to his campaign, told me he is not trying to land a point with every post.
JAMES LYONS, FORMER COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR FOR KEIR STARMER: He feels comfortable. He feels relaxed. And to be honest with you, it reminds me of
that famous phrase that Margaret Thatcher had about Ronald Reagan. He is engaged in the great cause of cheering us all up.
BURNHAM: We are doing it to change Labour, to make it --
SEBASTIAN (voice over): And yet, optimism and hope don't always get the clicks.
EMMA CONNOLLY, FELLOW, UCL DIGITAL SPEECH LAB: He has got a harder job in terms of, you know, his content compared to someone like Trump or like
Farage.
BURNHAM: If you come to the U.K. illegally, you will be detained and deported.
CONNOLLY: We know that social media algorithms prioritize or amplify emotionally charged, polemic, kind of controversial content in any way.
But I would look to someone like Mamdani, for example, who has managed to navigate that.
ZOHRAN MAMDANI (D), MAYOR OF NEW YORK CITY: I'm freezing your rent.
SEBASTIAN (voice over): New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani is emerging as a template for progressive politicians on social media, and the parallels
with Burnham are not hard to find, using social to amplify grassroots campaigning, light-hearted ways to discuss major policies, even singing.
MAMDANI: Start spreading the news.
BURNHAM: I left the north again. I traveled south again.
ANDREW BARD EPSTEIN, FORMER COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR FOR MAMDANI CAMPAIGN: I like when people take risks and try things out and are not afraid of
cringe.
SEBASTIAN (voice over): But says Mamdani's former communications director, Burnham's desire to unify may have come at the expense of clarity.
EPSTEIN: The agenda and the message is a bit more muddled than Zohran's was. And the risk that Burnham runs in being, you know, sort of being all
things to all people or not being totally clear on where he falls on particular issues or ideological debates, I think, can risk reading to
people as just being another politician.
[16:40:05]
SEBASTIAN (voice over): And that's exactly what Burnham is trying to avoid.
BURNHAM: I am going to do things differently.
SEBASTIAN (voice over): He's used social media to make himself accessible to regular people, facing criticism on the way for neglecting traditional
media, something he denies. No questions allowed from journalists at this recent big policy speech. Instead, a few days later --
BURNHAM: Send your questions in.
SEBASTIAN (voice over): He took to Reddit for a public Ask Me Anything session that was so popular the site crashed midway through, the source
told CNN.
BURNHAM: Oh, thanks a lot. Cheers. Right, better hit the lad.
SEBASTIAN (voice over): The challenge now to strike a balance between running on TikTok and running a country. Clare Sebastian, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: OK, up next, we will check in with Richard Quest, who remains on Route 66. Richard.
RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hi, Paula. We have had to take a break on the road. The weather turned very nasty, but we, after the break,
will talk to you about just what it's like doing the Mother Road of America. Route 66, and all the trinkets, after the break. QUEST MEANS
BUSINESS, live from the road.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NEWTON: Richard Quest has been on his great American road trip across Route 66 for almost a week now. We have been along for the ride, thankfully, and
he is been trekking all the way from Chicago, Illinois, to Santa Monica, California.
Richard, you are at a pit stop there in Arizona. What's up today? You have been in an R.V., and I do -- I do want to know what it's like to sleep in
there and spend so much time in there.
(CROSSTALK)
QUEST: So, we come -- It's actually very good, fun. I've spent two nights now in in the R.V. We are actually in Kingman between Seligman and Kingman
in Arizona. We are about 200 miles to the border with California.
So, for the last five days, what's been interesting, Paula, as we have gone across the country, is the way in this anniversary year of Route 66, the
whole -- the whole infrastructure of heritage tourism has come alive. So, you've got trinkets galore, gadgets.
[16:45:01]
You have got centennial Route 66 passports that you have stamped.
And fascinating, we keep meeting the same people. So, you see people in the Great Big Texan. You say, oh, well, we are going this way. A day later, you
see them checking into the Blue Swallow. A day later, those same people are at the rest stop in Arizona.
There are thousands of people, Paula, at the moment doing this drive across America because it is the mother road and it is its anniversary.
NEWTON: Well, it looks spectacular and like great fun. I am not going to let you go though, before you let me know what is this, I hear about you
emptying out black water from Big Bertha?
QUEST: All right, so, Big Bertha, you use the toilet which is back here, both what you sort of stay where you are. But if I get up here, you can
sort of see. So, there you have the facilities in the toilet. And then, once this is full, you have to connect outside the sewage pipes and let the
whole thing go up. Now, if you get it right, it's all really good. If you get it wrong, you just don't want to know.
At the moment, as you can see from here, I can test it. I can tell you that blackwater is empty. So, we are OK.
Can I introduce you to the team who have done all the work? Mo (PH) is on the camera. Unfortunately, he is behind me. But there he is. This is
Jackie, who has been our producer, and Holly.
Between the two of them, they are the ones -- this -- what are we looking at here, Holly?
HOLLY (PH): This is just radar, so, I can see what kind of storms we are driving into.
QUEST: Because we have just gone through some rather, in fact, we have just gone through the worst storms, and what's the outlook like?
HOLLY: We got the --
QUEST: We got the some more storms there. So, there you are, Paula. I promise you, this bunk is yours next time we do it.
Meanwhile, if you are really nice to me -- if you are really nice to me, by the way, we do eat well on the road.
Cheese rolls and some of the stuff starts to smell after a while. But all in all --
(CROSSTALK)
NEWTON: You are giving -- you are giving me that school lunch --
QUEST: I would jump on the --
(CROSSTALK)
NEWTON: You are giving me that school lunch vibe, Richard. But, if you are offering me a seat next year, I will take it, and I'm going to hold you to
it. Especially, as I hear some of the views there have been spectacular, including the Grand Canyon.
You will have so much more for us on this.
QUEST: All right.
NEWTON: We need to go. Quest, you do mean business, and so do we. We got to get back to it.
(CROSSTALK)
QUEST: Whatever you are up to. Thank you, Paula.
NEWTON: Now, the International Energy Agency says Africa has 60 percent of the world's best solar resources. What's more, the solar industry lobby
group, the Global Solar Council, says the continent had record growth last year. A 54 percent increase in capacity compared to the year before.
CNN's Eleni Giokos, looks at how the African Rainbow Energy Company is building affordable clean energy solutions in South Africa and beyond.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELENI GIOKOS, CNN ANCHOR (voice over): Spread across this vast landscape, thousands of solar panels track the African sun. Here in the northern part
of South Africa, Selemela Solar Park is an example of a new approach to renewable energy generation.
BRIAN DAMES, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, AFRICAN RAINBOW ENERGY: Each one of them has about 191,000 solar panels. It's got trackers that gets used to
follow the sun, and that is to optimize the solar resource during the day.
GIOKOS (voice over): Using trackers to chase the sun's rays, this park is utilizing the latest technology. Once the maximum amount of energy is
generated from the sun, large-scale batteries store the electricity, so it can be used for whenever it is needed.
DAMES: We will not be building a solar plant without battery storage. Currently, doing work to add batteries to that. And why? It's because we
have quite a predictable solar resource, and battery technology has just seen a massive reduction in pricing. And now, you can have renewable energy
that's dispatchable, particularly at times that it's needed.
GIOKOS: What makes this park more innovative is its use of what is called electricity wheeling, where power is generated in one location and sent
over the national energy network and sold to customers hundreds of kilometers away.
DAMES: Big part for private sector clients, mining customers in particular. So, the projects are the first large-scale wheeling projects in South
Africa, where at one place we produce electricity, and we deliver it across the grid to five different locations for two mining companies, which are
the customers in that case.
GIOKOS (voice over): The park was developed by the Solar Group, of which African Rainbow Energy is a major shareholder.
[16:50:02]
GIOKOS: You have increased your stake in Solar Group from 40 percent to over 80 percent. How important do you think that is?
PATRICE MOTSEPE, FOUNDER, AFRICAN RAINBOW MINERALS: Renewables is part of an industry that we have looked at for many years, and we have invested a
huge amount of resources, finance. We have bought one of the best companies, not just in South Africa but in the continent. Solar with world-
class management.
So, as a family, we are in the mining industry, and in all of the industries we get involved, these are long-term investments, and sometimes
for many years, you don't make the sort of revenue that you would like to. But, you know, we take a five, seven, 10-year, perspective. So, the
renewables are doing very well, and we think we will realize the benefits of that industry in the medium to long term.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NEWTON: A new study commissioned by the healthcare firm Bupa, explores the economic cost of major life events like births, divorces, and the death of
loved ones.
Now, the study looked at more than 13,000 workers and how those major events affected their well-being, and key here, their productivity. It
estimated that these events contributed to 1.7 billion working days lost each year, and put the cost at about 636 billion dollars.
The study says that providing more mental health support could reduce that cost by $42 billion. Liam Daly is a senior economist at the Center for
Economics and Business Research, which did the economic modeling for this study.
I want to welcome you to the program, and I'm trying to quantify this, and it is insightful to just kind of learn what the numbers look like. What
were your findings, and did they surprise you, either qualitatively or quantitatively?
LIAM DALY, SENIOR ECONOMIST, CENTRE FOR ECONOMICS AND BUSINESS RESEARCH: Yes. So, as you mentioned, we conducted a survey of 13,000 workers across
four different markets, and we were really trying to understand how people's health was impacted by these major life moments: divorce,
marriage, losing a loved one, becoming a caregiver, returning to work after having a child.
And what we found was there were significant impacts, particularly on people's working lives, and as you mentioned, this comes with a sizeable
economic cost.
So, we found that in the U.S. alone, these costs amount to 167 billion, equivalent to 250 million lost working days. What was quite surprising with
that, while a lot of people recognize and see the signs of these mental health impacts very -- a large number of people don't act on them, and
where we start to see some of the mental health impacts really taking a toll on people's ability to maintain their work, their working lives, and
also maintain their daily routines.
[16:55:17]
NEWTON: And some people feel that they can't act on this. Now, the findings you say point to a key factor, given the cost, and that's preparation. I'm
wondering what that looks like for people who don't have, let's say, Bupa insurance in their daily lives.
DALY: Sure, and I mean, it's -- there is -- there is a variety of ways that people can act to try and mitigate these mental health impacts. It could be
informal actions like speaking to friends, looking online for support groups, or it can be more formal actions like joining a support group or
going to speak to a G.P.
But what we found is that people who take no action often suffer the larger consequences when it comes to their mental health and their ability to
maintain productivity in the workplace.
NEWTON: And again, maintaining that productivity in the workplace many times, you know, goes to keeping that job and job security. What would you
say to employees and employers about the responsibility of this? Because, you know, if I break my arm, you can see it. Paula's broken her arm; she
clearly is incapacitated. The other things people don't see. Do you believe disclosure is the best thing?
DALY: I think that's very true. Like people don't necessarily -- these mental health impacts are not apparent all the time. But what can be done
that employers can look at this as an opportunity and to invest in people's mental health support as a way to try and mitigate these impacts.
Of course, we estimated that roughly 15 percent of the workforce will encounter one of these five life -- big life moments over the course of a
year. So, that's a large group of the workforce. And so, I think building these support networks, and as Bupa are doing, opening up mental health
support centers can be a really important step to try and help alleviate some of these impacts.
NEWTON: Well, it's certainly important for those of us now on the job. We understand how much it can affect us, and post COVID, it really has been
interesting just to see the impacts on our everyday lives.
Liam Daly, grateful to you for your insights. Appreciate it.
Now, Wall Street ended lower than anticipated, as we talked about over semiconductor chips and concerns about A.I. data center costs.
The Dow, in fact, closed down more than 400 points. You see it there, and this was a losing week for the markets.
And that is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. I'm Paula Newton. "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper starts now.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
