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Quest Means Business
Paramount And States Reach Settlement On WBD Merger; CNN, MS NOW, POLITICO Sue Trump Administration Over White House Ban; U.S. And China Discusses A.I. Safety Notification System; President Trump Meets With Mayor Mamdani In New York; Fiber Cut By Construction Crew Leads To Ground Stop At Several United States Airports; Merz Calls Results A "Disaster" As Far- Right Surges. Aired 4-5p ET
Aired September 21, 2026 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:24]
MAX FOSTER, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: A strong start to the week for the U.S. Markets. The NASDAQ closing at a record for the first time since June.
Those are the markets. These are the main events. Paramount settling an antitrust lawsuit with 12 U.S. states clearing the way for one of the
biggest mergers in corporate history.
Major U.S. networks suspend their coverage of President Donald Trump as The White House bar CNN and other news outlets in relation to the pool.
And German Chancellor Friedrich Merz vows to fight on after a crushing defeat in regional elections.
Live from London, it is Monday, September the 21st. I am Max Foster, in for Richard Quest. This is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.
Good evening.
Tonight, one of the largest mergers in U.S. history has just overcome its last major hurdle. Paramount has settled an antitrust lawsuit with 12
states over its plan to buy Warner Bros Discovery, the parent company of CNN. It also reached a settlement with the Writers Guild of America. Their
lawsuits claim that the new company would control too much of the film and cable T.V. markets, and Paramount argued that the merger was actually
necessary to compete with streaming and tech companies.
Now, shares of Warner Bros Discovery soared on news of the settlement. Paramount offered to buy the company at $31.00 a share. The $110 billion
deal will make Paramount a massive company holding a huge amount of debt as well. Its shares ticked lower.
Now, to overcome antitrust concerns, Paramount committed to do the following: Release at least 30 films in theaters next year; increase its
production of films in the U.S.; and establish an Independent Film Fund. Paramount must preserve competition between its basic cable channels and
those now owned by WBD; and it agreed to create an editorial independence board for CNN and CBS News.
Now, California's attorney general, Rob Bonta, led the state's fight against this merger, and he said that the settlement protects the
livelihoods of Hollywood workers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROB BONTA, CALIFORNIA ATTORNEY GENERAL: This settlement is not a vote of support for this merger. It is not a blessing of the broader merger.
Broadly speaking, we believe further consolidation in markets that are central to American economic life doesn't serve the American economy,
consumers or competition well.
Our record addressing mergers and consolidations, market concentrations that we are currently engaged in and we have been engaged in the past , is
proof positive of that and that work will continue.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Sara Fischer is with me.
I mean, as I understand it, this deal could now go through in October. Is that realistic?
SARA FISCHER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA ANALYST: Yes. I mean, once you got -- this is the last key approval. So now that you've got it, there is no reason
that you shouldn't be able to close relatively quickly. But it is just a remarkable end to this very long and drawn-out journey, Max.
I mean, if you think about it, Paramount first indicated that they wanted to do a takeover bid for Warner Bros Discovery last September. That initial
interest is what sparked a bidding war between Paramount and Netflix. Comcast is involved for a little bit as well.
And then finally, after a brutal fight, Paramount agreed to up its price all the way to $31.00 a bid. That's so, so, so high. But in order to do it,
they've got to raise all of this debt. They've got to get equity commitments, which they've gotten billions of billions of dollars from
foreign governments.
Then they had to get foreign approvals from governments all around the world. They got dozens of those. This was the very last thing they needed
to do. Now that it is done, I do see this deal closing.
FOSTER: You talk about, you know, a huge amount of debt. You talk about the foreign investment. Where is that from? And how much of a concern is that?
Does that still need to be looked at?
FISCHER: Nope. No concern here. They got the FCC's waiver of approval which means that it can own its broadcaster CBS, with having those foreign
investors involved.
Now, there is a body within the United States called the Committee for Foreign Investment in the U.S. that is supposed to look at these types of
investments, whether or not they might be National Security concerns, but that body is run by President Trump and his allies. And so there was never
any question that this was going to get CFIUS approval.
You asked, who are those giving this money? It comes from three nations' Sovereign Wealth Funds, the Qataris, the Emiratis and the Saudis.
[16:05:10]
They collectively are pouring in tens of billions of dollars of equity into this deal, and what is amazing about it, Max, is in order to ensure that
they weren't going to get so much pushback from folks, all three of those Sovereign Wealth Funds have agreed to waive governing rights, voting
rights, and any sort of say into the company.
You might ask yourself, like, why would you do that? Why would you put up so much money if you have no control over what is going to be done? And I
think the obvious answer is soft power. But as it stands now, they are going to be able to back this deal, a large part of this deal and the deal
is going to go through.
FOSTER: We heard from Bonta saying he didn't approve of this deal. They have just got the best deal that they possibly could. What are -- you know,
the theme here, I guess, is that these content companies feel they need to be big to compete with the tech companies, but presumably a lot of the
smaller players are very concerned about so much power being contained within just a handful of companies, really now.
FISCHER: So the concern was that when you bring together two big movie studios, two big streamers, T.V. studios, cable networks, that it was going
to result in a ton of lost jobs. That's why Rob Bonta, the California A.G. cared so deeply about this lawsuit, because a lot of these production jobs
for Paramount are in the state of California.
The challenge, though, Max, was that if they were to present that as an antitrust argument in front of a court, it is not the most clear win, in my
opinion. You need to be able to prove that you're going to leverage your dominance to harm competitors and consumers, and that's just a tough
argument to make when A, we approved a big merger between Disney and Fox Movie Studios several years ago, and B, amongst cable and cable is an
industry that's in terminal decline.
So, I think what happened here was, Ellison said, I feel very confident on the merits of litigating this. Let's go to court. Bonta, I think, on the
other hand, said, well, if I were to go to court and lose, there would be a massive egg on my face and I want to be able to at least bring some sort of
a win home to my constituents, and then for the other state A.G.s, their constituents.
So for them, they had incentive to settle. Understanding that they had leverage over the states. I think Paramount then started to do a P.R.
campaign saying, we are going to leave California to really reinforce that they better come to the table with a settlement and a settlement that
favored Paramount's terms.
Remember, Paramount did not want any structural remedies to a settlement, meaning they didn't want to be forced to divest anything, and that's
exactly what didn't happen here.
Paramount is not going to have to divest anything to get this deal done. They have to agree to make a few short-term promises as you said, you know,
over the next five years, agree every year to put certain amount of movies and films, theatrical distribution.
But ultimately, I think this is a massive, massive win for Paramount. You know, Rob Bonta is going to be able to walk away and said that he got
something out of it, but he honestly did not get that much out of it.
FOSTER: Very interesting. Thank you so much, Sara Fischer, for your take on that huge deal.
Now world leaders are starting to arrive for diplomacy's biggest event of the year, the United Nations General Assembly. News organizations around
the world cover the event every year, of course, but this time there will be far less media coverage of the President of the United States,
potentially.
Now, President Donald Trump has barred CNN from fulfilling its television pool duties. On Monday, CNN was previously scheduled to travel with Mr.
Trump and provide a group of other networks with live footage of him as part of a long-standing arrangement.
The change in plans stems from President Trump's move last week to ban CNN, MS NOW and POLITICO from The White House over their coverage of him. All
three networks filed a lawsuit on Monday that is said to allege that the President's ban violates the First Amendment and due process protections.
The news organization said in a joint statement, we are filing a lawsuit today to protect our First Amendment rights and defend the principle that
the government does not decide what the press reports or publishes.
Brian Stelter is with me. I mean, there is a lot here, isn't there, Brian? And there are two separate issues here. There is, you know, banning the
likes of CNN from The White House for what they write. And then separately, this pool issue where CNN isn't acting in its own right, it is acting in
pool.
But just take us through the two, but explain how the -- you know, international media will be impacted by this, particularly the pool move.
BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: I am thinking about it today. President Trump hates accountability, but he loves attention. He wants the
cameras. He wants the videographers and photographers to be there to give him all that attention. He just doesn't want any of the pesky questions or
any of the reporters who point out that he is dodging or lying or misleading.
So he wants attention, he doesn't want accountability. But today, what is so interesting, Max, is the American news media is saying you can't have
one without the other. We are not going to give you the pictures you want if you don t engage and allow the press in and respect these news outlets
and reverse the ban and let our reporters ask questions.
[16:10:15]
So let me tell you what I mean by that. There has been this show of solidarity that has been building as the day has gone on, where CNN's rival
T.V. networks have said, we are not going to fill in for CNN today. Today is CNN's responsibility. They are the ones that are supposed to be with the
president in New York right now. If you don t let CNN in, we are not going to come either. So that's happened with the T.V. networks.
And in the past hour, we've learned that "The Washington Post" and other still photographers are also going to hold back. "The Washington Post" is
not going to publish any images from Trump's trip until midnight.
So basically, we are not going to be seeing still photography of Trump and I am told a number of other photographers and news outlets are a part of
that. So we are seeing these shows of solidarity, and it is very much, look, it is very obvious there is some self-interest going on, right, Max,
these other news outlets, they know they might be banned next.
So these American news media outlets are trying to state that they are not going to tolerate this ban and so that is what is happening today while on
the legal front, there will be a court fight in the next couple of days, because CNN's lawsuit is being processed by a judge and that judge says he
is going to hold a hearing on Wednesday afternoon, a little less than 48 hours from now.
FOSTER: So in terms of the pool issue, how much impact will that have? I mean, you and I know how many pictures come through the pool, but it feeds
the whole global Trump story, doesn't it to quite large extent.
STELTER: Yes, and we noticed that earlier today when the President held a ribbon cutting at The White House before he flew to New York City, he
wanted to celebrate this new helipad that he has had built for his Marine One helicopter on the South Lawn of The White House.
So he had a fancy ribbon cutting, and there were a couple of videographers who were showing what was happening. But Trump was talking, and nobody had
a microphone on him because the pool, the T.V. pool was not there. And honestly, there is a bunch of other news outlets that could have gone with
their own cameras and decided not to, to show solidarity.
So you have the President of the United States out there talking. Who knows what he said. We couldn't hear him because there was no microphone and he
was drowned out.
So that's the kind of practical reality. That's what the President is going to be coming up against and that's probably why this is going to backfire.
The T.V. pool, it is the kind of thing you take for granted, usually, that there is someone with a microphone, someone with a camera, someone with a
notepad who is there at all times, so the President is seen and heard.
We know he wants to be seen and heard, so that's the tension here. The pool, by the way, it continues tomorrow. CNN is supposed to be the T.V.
pool in New York tomorrow as well. The President has a jam-packed day of meetings. I was just talking to our colleague, Alayna Treene about this.
The President has a bunch of bilateral meetings with world leaders. It is an incredibly important foreign policy moment for the President, she says.
But there is not going to be a designated T.V. pool camera in the room. So, we all do lose out as a result of this. But this is entirely of Trump's own
making.
And as you know, Max, most First Amendment experts and legal experts have said that a court will almost certainly reverse this ban and try to get
those reporters back to The White House and back to normal.
FOSTER: Yes, thanks for explaining it, Brian. Appreciate it.
STELTER: Thanks.
FOSTER: President Trump's ban is keeping reporters from CNN, MS NOW and POLITICO from entering The White House grounds, and that includes our own
Betsy Klein, who described how the ban played out this weekend.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER AND WRITER: So I walk in, I tapped my badge, and it beeps a couple of different times. It turns red,
blue and green and it didn't accept my PIN number.
The Secret Service agent in the guard house with whom I have been friendly in the past, asked to see my badge and I handed it over to him. He told me
that it had been deactivated.
I asked him if he could provide an explanation as to why it had been deactivated. He said he had no further information. I asked him once more
if he had any more details he could share with me, and he said that I should be referred to the White House Press Office, to the wranglers for
more information.
I asked if I could have the badge back. He said he would be keeping it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: There you are. We had Betsy there outside The White House. As you can see Betsy filing a report from sidewalk. CNN and MS NOW are also
blocked from broadcasting on the actual White House grounds.
So when we return, artificial intelligence and diplomacy, the U.S. and China meet amid dire warnings on A.I. We ask if they can put aside their
rivalry to cooperate.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:17:26]
FOSTER: The U.S. and China have revived talks on artificial intelligence ahead of President Donald Trump's meeting with Xi Jinping later this week.
It comes about a week after A.I. leaders in the U.S. warned that humans risked losing control of the technology.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says Washington and Beijing discussed setting up a notification mechanism for A.I. incidents, especially those
involving National Security.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCOTT BESSENT, U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY: We think that just like when any cross border activity moving from opaque to more transparency between the
number one and the number two A.I. powers in the world, very important.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Let's speak to Anna Stewart on this. Obviously, it is true, isn't it? Those two superpowers in A.I. need to talk if anything is going to be
fixed around A.I., but this is just a simple notification system, I guess it is a start.
ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: Yes, not much detail to it, but it is a start, and as was made very clear in that soundbite, yes, the U.S. and China are
absolutely leading the way when it comes to this A.I. race. They are developing the most advanced frontier models, the models that people are
extremely worried about, particularly if we start looking at sort of self- improving artificial intelligence or AGI, Artificial General Intelligence.
So frankly, just the idea that the U.S. and China are willing to come up with any shared goals or common ground is good news. However, anything that
is decided, of course, at the Summit will have to have the blessing of both us President Donald Trump and President Xi of China and we had a post from
Donald Trump just in the last few hours on truth social saying, "Whoever wins A.I. wins. We are now leading over China and everyone else, and I am
going to keep it that way. I am not going to stifle growth for something that will be bigger than the Industrial Revolution or the internet itself."
And the post goes on to say he will be careful, and they have existing law enforcement in the Justice Department, and they can deal with any issues.
But of course, this will concern people that he doesn't seem keen, certainly on any kind of pause or slow or potentially any regulation of
these companies. He did speak earlier on Truth Social about potentially creating an A.I. Force, which would be some sort of body with an A.I. czar
leading it that could perhaps, it wasn't a regulatory body in the Truth Social post we saw, but could perhaps look to some sort of regulation, but
really no detail there.
And frankly, at the end of the day, unless the U.S. and China agree to anything in terms of A.I. regulation, it is probably not worth the paper it
is written on.
FOSTER: So as Europe got a say in this, I know it is making moves of its own, but it is not a player on the same scale as the other two.
[16:20:10]
STEWART: No, I mean, the E.U. does have some big A.I. companies. It is a big voice. It wants to lead the way in regulation, and actually there is a
letter signed today, not just by some E.U. member states and the E.U. Commission, but also Canada, Australia, South Africa, Turkey -- countries
around the world. They all want to share some principles, some common goals, particularly for frontier technologies.
In this letter they've signed, they say they want companies to develop transparent safety protocols to have independent testing before new models
are released. They want governments to have common standards and shared reporting of safety incidents, and they even want U.N. member states to
explore creating an international institution, i.e. All the things people would like to see, but again, it comes down to the fact that without U.S.
and China on board with the biggest leading frontier models developed by the biggest companies, really, that won't go far enough in keeping the
whole world safe when it comes to the big A.I. risks -- Max.
FOSTER: Anna, thank you so much.
Well, OpenAI actually called upon the U.S. to lead a global effort to set technical standards for A.I. President Trump says the Justice Department
and other law enforcement agencies will rein in A.I. if needed. Trump has also so far dismissed warnings about A.I.'s possible dangers as a hoax,
even though some of those warnings have come from people developing the technology.
Robert Armstrong is U.S. finance editor at "The Financial Times." He joins us now from New York. Thank you for joining us. I mean, this is -- I mean,
a lot of this is, frankly, about money, isn't it, in competition? Because you've got Trump talking about how the U.S. has got to stay ahead of China.
You've got all the A.I. companies competing against each other.
So where is, you know, there ever going to be any agreement about regulation or pauses when everyone is, you know, is moving so quickly and
everyone wants to get ahead.
ROBERT ARMSTRONG, U.S. FINANCE EDITOR, "THE FINANCIAL TIMES": I think it is worthwhile to remember were that we often think of this on the model of
like an arms race or a space race, the A.I. race which -- but we are dealing with something fundamentally different here.
In the case of the arms race or the space race, there were governments developing technologies cooperatively in competition with other countries.
At least in the case of the United States, we are talking about companies right now, and I think the place to start is what -- how are we going to
make these companies accountable and transparent to the public?
And, you know, there are a lot of ways to go about that, but I think the metaphor of war or arms race or space race is simply a little bit deceptive
here.
FOSTER: When you speak to these companies, are they genuinely interested in addressing this issue?
ARMSTRONG: Well, I think the public communications of both OpenAI and Anthropic have been very clear in emphasizing the risks and the need for
some kind of public involvement. But I think we have to be a little cautious when we listen to them talk. Are they genuinely interested in
making the technology safe, or do they want to spread accountability for whatever damage the technology might do into the public domain?
In other words, if there is an incident with this technology developed at one of these countries, who is on the hook? And I think OpenAI and
Anthropic have a very good reason to say, let's have public involvement and regulation and third party observers, because then they can say when their
technology that they are profiting off of does some damage, it is a social problem, not a corporate problem.
And I think we have to be very clear that actually, if a technology developed by one of the big frontier labs does harm, the party that's
responsible for that is the lab.
FOSTER: And what about the idea that it might be a bit of marketing as well? All of these companies saying out saying, you know, our technology is
getting so advanced and ahead of us. I mean, of course they all have to jump on that message, don t they? Because people like you would not be
giving them great coverage. Who said, oh, you know, we don t have a problem. It is all -- you know, it is all ticking along very slowly.
ARMSTRONG: I think it is a little bit of both. I think that people in the industry are genuinely concerned about being able to control this
technology. But at the same time, companies are companies and they are interested in driving their valuation up and telling the world that you
have a technology so powerful and so mysterious that we don t know what it might be able to do, makes people -- I mean, do you want to be sitting on
the outside or you do you want to be involved as an investor?
[16:25:21]
And of course, the answer is you want to be involved. So, I think there is a mixture of real fear and some bragging in these in these comments we hear
from the big A.I. labs.
FOSTER: and how much do the governments think about the fact that they can't go in too hard because these companies have been underpinning all
this stock market growth? And if you hit them too hard, it is going to be a collapse in wealth across the board.
ARMSTRONG: I think that's correct. And I think it is on everyone's mind, and there is a danger with overregulating a technology in its early stages.
There certainly have been incidents in history where there is a safety issue with a technology that is going from nuclear energy to -- the
pharmaceutical industry -- there is a safety issue that people overreact to, which leads to, you know, technological progress that is less than it
might otherwise have been and some benefits are foregone.
So I think it is both legitimate to worry about overregulating this industry, and there is also this motivation from Wall Street, which is like
the A.I. story, is keeping the whole stock market up.
And without it, where are we?
FOSTER: Yes, exactly. Okay.
Thank you so much for that.
Still to come this hour, a New York state of mind. President Trump is in the Big Apple. He is meeting with Mayor Zohran Mamdani today and it is only
the start of what will be an extremely busy week.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:30:08]
FOSTER: In the past few minutes, U.S. President Donald Trump has been meeting with New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani in the city, the first time the
U.S. President is meeting with Mamdani on his home turf.
President Trump is in New York ahead of an appearance at the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday. He is also set to meet with France's President later
this evening.
Alayna Treene is in New York. I mean, it is going to be fascinating seeing the pictures, isn't it, Alyna? We are used to Mamdani standing next to the
president, sitting down at the Oval Office, but this is, as we say, Mamdani's home turf, and how that will sort play out on camera, as it were.
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right. We are told now, according to aides to Mayor Mamdani, that the two are currently
meeting at Gracie Mansion. We did also hear from the president on his way in, essentially saying that Gracie Mansion is one of his favorite places on
earth. He wrote on social media, "It will be interesting to see how it looks now, invited by Mayor Mamdani, looking forward to it. Make New York
City great again."
Now, I will say, from the conversations we have had, and you can see some of these images there of Mamdani at Gracie Mansion.
From the conversations we've had, though, this meeting is expected to talk about New York. Of course, the president is a native New Yorker. He still
cares deeply about the city. But also, he is on a completely opposite end of the political spectrum from Mamdani.
Despite that, though, from all the conversations, Max, I've had with Trump officials, allies of the president, he does kind of like Mamdani. He
enjoyed his personality. He actually enjoyed the meetings that they have had in the past, including the one you mentioned when they were in the Oval
Office together. He even said as much, kind of acknowledging, you know, I wasn't expecting to like this man standing next to me, but I do.
I'll say, of course, he doesn't really agree with a lot of his policies, but they tend to get along. So, interesting to see what will happen here. I
will note as well that following this meeting, the mayor is supposed to do a press conference just outside of the mansion.
Could do the president come out and speak and talk there? He could. We haven't gotten any indication that he will. But, you know, the president
never wants to miss a moment when the cameras are in front of him. So, we'll see.
Notably, though, this event is closed press, and any typical -- any typical moment when you would have an event of the president covered by a pool
camera, there won't be that today because CNN was supposed to be the pool - - or I was actually supposed to be the one pooling with the president, but they banned us from those duties, and there will no longer be a pool
camera.
So, a lot of interesting things to keep an eye on. But if there -- if the president does join this press conference, there will be other cameras
there for the mayor, so, we could potentially see him.
And then, Max, I just want to get into some of the other things that the president is doing while here in New York City, because he is here for the
U.N. General Assembly, but he has a lot of meetings around it. Tonight, he is going to take some meetings at Trump Tower. We are told he'll have some
political events.
He is also going to be meeting with the French President Emmanuel Macron. And then, tomorrow is really when we are going to see a lot of the foreign
policy issues take place front and center. The president is going to be giving his address to the U.N. General Assembly in the morning. I'm told
it's going to touch on Iran. This idea that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon.
That will be interesting. Just any discussion of the war, because I should note, the Iranians are sending a delegation to the U.N. It's slimmed down,
but there will be a delegation there, including the president of Iran. So, keep that in mind.
I think, more interesting, though, even than his address will be what happens in the bilateral meetings that come afterward. We know the
president, one of the ones I'm most keenly interested in, is in the meetings that he is going to have with Gulf nations, including leaders of
Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar. The list goes on.
We know that the president has listened to them in the past when it has come to decisions around the war. So, that could be a very telling moment
for where they are more than six months into the U.S.-Iran conflict.
He has other meetings as well, but two days of packed events. Max.
FOSTER: OK. Alayna, thank you.
Now, some flights in New York and Philadelphia starting to resume after an equipment outage caused delays at five major U.S. airports in the
Northeast.
The Federal Aviation Administration says the construction workers cut a Verizon cable.
Omar Jimenez is in New York. I mean, one mistake, and it causes all this impact. Omar.
OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Apparently so. To know that this part of the United States is so intricately connected when it comes to air travel.
We are seeing this play out in real time.
So, let's talk through some of the disruptions here, because we have got a combination of delays and full ground stops at some of these major hubs
across the northeastern U.S. So, we are looking at Newark, New Jersey is in a full ground stop right now.
Also, Philadelphia is in a full ground stop as well, and then a smaller New Jersey airport, Teterboro, also under a full ground stop. All of them
citing equipment outages as a result.
But what's interesting is when you look at Philly, they are also saying that the ground delays right now are averaging 212 minutes.
[16:35:05]
You know, no math whiz, but that's more than three hours.
And so, if you are sitting there trying to figure out when your plane is going to take off, you are going to be sitting there for a while.
As you mentioned, we are starting to hear a little bit from officials on what actually happened here. So, the Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy,
said it was a trained construction crew that accidentally cut a fiber line in New Jersey, which caused a telecom outage and forced the Federal
Aviation Administration to pause flights in the Northeast.
And then, we also heard from Verizon, who said that construction contractors were working in the area and dug up and cut their cable,
specifying that they were not responsible for the damage. But this was a fiber line running alongside the railroad.
We were also listening to some of the air traffic control. Because, as you might imagine, this was something that happened pretty suddenly over the
course of the day, and folks in air traffic control towers, pilots were left to try and figure out what was actually happening in real time as some
of their communications were being disrupted.
Take a listen to some of what we heard, an exchange between a pilot and an air traffic controller out of Philadelphia.
I'll just tell you because we are working on some of the audio, but it essentially says that the pilot is asking what is going on here, and the
air traffic controller just says nothing works.
And so, that was essentially the idea of how this information began to spread. And I mentioned the ones with ground stops. You are also looking at
places like LaGuardia, which is also in New York City, seeing ground delays, and then, the effects are cascading to other airports that are not
affected by the equipment outage.
For example, DCA out of Washington, D.C. seeing delays as well because of increased volume, likely as some of these flights begin to try and reroute.
But a bit of a mess at the start of U.N. General Assembly week here in New York City, as a lot of folks trying to get into town from all over the
world in these major international airport hubs are, at the very least, facing major delays, but also seeing major ground stops over this equipment
outage, Max.
FOSTER: Yes, we'll see if the VIPs get through. Omar, thank you so much.
Now, Germany's chancellor is calling the results from Sunday's state elections a disaster. Fred Pleitgen has more on the election and what the
results mean for the chancellor Merz and his political survival.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It's become almost a sad routine these days for German Chancellor Friedrich
Merz. His opponents cheering after beating Merz's party in a state election.
In this case, the right-wing Alternative for Germany, whose leader tells me flat out, Merz needs to resign. He is strongly damaged, she says. I believe
the CDU cannot continue with Friedrich Merz with a weak chancellor.
PLEITGEN: While Friedrich Merz is trying hard to dispel any notion that he might have to resign, there is no doubt that the German Chancellor is on
the ropes and currently fighting for his very political survival.
PLEITGEN (voice over): Nobody has asked any questions about personal consequences or launched the debate about personnel, neither last night nor
this morning, Merz said after meeting with his party's leadership.
But Merz's conservative Christian Democratic Union has now lost three state elections in a row. The winners in each case parties on the political
fringes.
After getting beat by a landslide two weeks ago by the right-wing AfD in Saxony-Anhalt, this weekend in the northeastern state Mecklenburg-West
Pomerania, the CDU didn't even get enough votes to make it into local parliament. The winners again: the far-right AfD, which calls for mass
deportation of undocumented immigrants and an end to all military aid for Ukraine.
Meanwhile, in the German capital Berlin, Nazis' party lost to the far-left Die Linke, which wants to expropriate large real estate companies and faces
allegations of anti-Semitism in its ranks, allegations the party's leadership strongly denies.
We have been witnessing for several months growing radical and openly expressed anti-Semitism that is even welcomed with applause.
Merz has vowed to fight on and continue what he calls his reform agenda, but Germany's economy remains sluggish. His popularity ratings are in
freefall, and even he acknowledges he is become a liability for those in his party fighting for re-election.
I know that national politics played a major role both in the state election two weeks ago in Saxony-Anhalt and in yesterday's election, as did
my own role.
And Merz claims he still believes he can fix his government's issues and bring Germany back on track, but the chancellor might be running out of
time.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Berlin.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[16:40:02]
FOSTER: Russia's ruling party is on track to keep its hold on power following tightly controlled parliamentary elections with no real
opposition the Putin-supporting United Russia party is leading with 58 percent of votes. Final tallies unexpected until Friday.
Clare Sebastian has more.
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There was no surprises in these results. It looks -- in these results, it looks like Putin's party, United
Russia, has perhaps even increased its vote share compared to five years ago, when they last held parliamentary elections at almost 58 percent,
which should, according to the latest data, translate into a supermajority in parliament. Not that it really matters if they have a supermajority or
not, because the other parties that have made it into the parliament all pretty much agree with them on the key issues, and in particular the war.
But they will be using this result as a way to portray a strengthened mandate to show that the country is behind the war, behind the army, and to
do with that what you know they have already signaled, perhaps, that they are going to do, which is escalate the war.
So, concerning from that regard, but I don't think it's going to change the policy direction within Russia. Look, there were certainly warning signs
around this election, not least of which is the fact that all opposition parties were barred from taking part.
The last of which, Yabloko, which opposes the war, was taken off the ballot in August. There is that Yabloko had a -- an election observer who
apparently fell unconscious while being detained by police at a polling station in St. Petersburg. They said others were barred from entering
polling stations. There were no OSCE observers, independent observers, which has drawn rebuke from overseas exit polls. I should say, run by
independent organizations outside of Russia, have noted that another party, the New People Party, actually won in most countries, with United Russia,
Putin's party, trailing far behind. So, clearly, there are warning signs.
The E.U. has come out this morning saying that this election underscored, and I quote, the continued and deepening erosion of democracy in Russia
taking place in an increasingly authoritarian political environment. It also criticized the fact, as Ukraine has done, that Russia held these
elections in the occupied areas of Ukraine, which it has claimed to annex. The Russian-installed head of the Donetsk region said that turnout there
was over 80 percent, with preliminary results. Not perhaps surprising, given that we have seen images emerging from there of people in military
fatigues handing around polling boxes with sort of mobile polling stations. So, clearly that's happening under a state of high military tension.
But look, it's about what happens next. How much do they escalate? What do they do with this claim of a new mandate? And clearly, all of that is of
great concern to Ukraine.
FOSTER: That was Clare Sebastian.
That is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. I'm Max Foster. Thank you for watching. Do stay with CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:46:09]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: All right. Here we go. Let's go.
QUEST (voice over): An ancient car.
QUEST: All right, sir. All aboard!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ready?
QUEST (voice over): A daredevil driver.
QUEST: What are you doing?
QUEST (voice over): And a city full of startling slopes.
QUEST: Gosh, this is magnificent!
QUEST (voice over): What could possibly go wrong?
QUEST: Right. You be careful down there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Richard, I think you should sit down.
QUEST (voice over): Upon reflection, there were probably less perilous ways to start my Portuguese adventure, but I wouldn't have had it any other way.
QUEST: My word, that was exhilarating.
QUEST (voice over): This month I'm in Porto, Portugal's second biggest city. We are around 300 kilometers north of the capital, Lisbon.
Porto is a city of quiet charm that in recent years, has grown in popularity. On this trip, I'm joined by my cameraman, Nifty Neil, and he is
full of bright ideas.
NIFTY NEIL, CAMERAMAN: And it's quite nice looking back with all the people behind, really, isn't it?
QUEST (voice over): Nifty's positioned me next to my trusty guide Ricardo, who, along with my paper map, is going to show me the delights of this
city.
RICARDO BROCHADO, CO-FOUNDER, TASTE PORTO: We are the best city in Portugal. Starts with the river.
QUEST (voice over): Before we set off, a pastel de nata.
BROCHADO: It makes the sound. The crispy part.
QUEST: Do that again.
QUEST (voice over): Now, it's time to focus.
BROCHADO: OK. We are going to take a look at the train station, obviously.
QUEST: Why are you obsessed by the train station?
BROCHADO: Every time I travel, there is three things I'm going to visit. One is the train station. The second one is a cemetery, and the third one
is a flea market.
QUEST (voice over): A train station, perhaps not the first thing I think of on my list of beauty spots, but Porto's train station is no ordinary
railway terminus.
QUEST: Oh, my word! Now that is different.
QUEST (voice over): The main hallway is covered in hand-painted blue and white tiles, which reflect the history of Portugal.
QUEST: Why did they do this? I mean, it's railway station. Why would you put all this in the first place?
BROCHADO: At that time, in the 1870s, there was everybody was saying that we looked like a Rebelis City, mostly because the main station is two
kilometers out, and you had to walk there. So, there's a movement of intellectuals of the city that are saying, come on, we need the train
station here. So, there was this big project. They had to destroy a convent that existed here, so, we could have a train station for a city with a lot
of money. Because industrial revolution at this time was bringing a lot of money to the city, so we needed to show off.
QUEST: All right.
QUEST (voice over): The magnificent train station was only the start, because Porto is the city that just keeps giving. From its world-famous
port wines, the charming churches and cathedrals. And throughout the whole city, the views of the Doura River.
Here, not all bridges are created equal; some are very important.
So, this is the Luis Bridge. There is a lot of people saying that is was designed by Eiffel, but it's not. It's actually Eiffel's ex-partner,
Seyrig. But let's face it, everybody will always say it's an Eiffel-style bridge, mostly because Seyrig doesn't have a tower in Paris.
QUEST (voice over): Porto is a seriously stylish city.
[16:50:01]
One stands out if you are wearing a tatty old hat. This place is packed with shops and stalls selling potential alternatives. I wasn't going to buy
a new hat until local traders left me in no doubt about what they thought of mine.
QUEST: What? What's wrong with it?
BROCHADO: She is saying you are a bum. She said a lot of bad words in between.
QUEST: Yes, I know. I'm looking, madam. I'm looking. I like this one. That's too big.
Can you thank her? But they are too small or too big. They are not right.
She didn't like my hat, did she?
BROCHADO: She said, you look like a bum. It was very dirty, and you should replace it.
QUEST (voice over): I'm after a Panama with a nice brim, stylish, elegant, and not too expensive.
QUEST: Oh, now, we are talking tea cakes. Hello, sir. I need a new hat. What's my size?
QUEST (voice over): I tried on several until bingo. It is stylish. Perfect.
The brim is right and elegant.
BROCHADO: That's a very good hat.
QUEST: That's a lovely hat.
QUEST (voice over): Now, a confession. I didn't ask the price until after I said I would buy it. So, let us agree to say it was a simple case of new
replacing old-a metaphor, if you will, for what is happening in Porto.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: Oh, I was not sure what sort of boat they were going out on. But when I saw it, it was a lot smaller than I thought it was getting.
NEIL: They always are, isn't they?
QUEST: Yes. It's going to be smelly, fishy, and bumpy.
Which of those is going to do you in?
NEIL: Bumpy.
QUEST (voice over): The word bumpy doesn't begin to describe this boat ride. But first, let's rewind by a few moments. How did we get to where we
are?
We struggled over the side of the boat. I was worried about protecting my new hat. The captain couldn't care less about my style. He insisted I don a
bright orange life jacket.
QUEST: Oh, life on the ocean wave.
I love the way the boat's rolling with the waves because it doesn't hit it. Like a speedboat. It just rolls magisterially with the waves. It's great.
You are not feeling it, are you?
The people who live their lives out at sea, a few large waves and nothing to worry about.
Here, the Portuguese authorities clearly thought that us landlubbers might be in need of assistance, and they were going to stay pretty close to make
sure nothing went wrong.
QUEST: I don't think they do trust us going out. No.
I think that they are there to make sure that we are perfectly safe.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
QUEST: In fact, one thing I've discovered here in Portugal is they're very keen that their guests are looked after properly, and those people are not
going to leave us until we are safe.
QUEST (voice over): Under the watchful eye of the fire department, who seemed more amused than anything else, I tried to get my head around this
whole fishing setup.
[16:55:01]
QUEST: Tell me the process.
RICARDO LEITE, TOUR GUIDE AND COMEDIAN: So, the process is that they will bring the first table to the net.
QUEST: Yes.
LEITE: They will stretch it out all the way out of here.
QUEST: Yes.
LEITE: And then, they will take the boat back to the other side of the rope.
QUEST: Right.
LEITE: Now, they have two machines with winches that are starting to pull the neck back.
QUEST: So, the boat doesn't bring the fish back.
LEITE: No. The boat casts Janess (PH).
QUEST: And then it rip more to be -- the fish don't stand the chance.
LEITE: The fish do not stand the smallest of chance.
QUEST (voice over): Thankfully, our outcome was more positive than that of the fish.
Fishing is a way of life for many of the people of Espinho. 20 minutes' drive from Porto, every day starts early. And to some extent, the
fishermen, no matter how skillful, are reliant on uncontrollable elements.
This man works at a museum celebrating the rich fishing heritage. Today, he's joined me with a salutary tale of economics.
QUEST: So, do they catch a lot of fish?
ABEL CASAL RIBIERO, MUSEUM GUIDE, CAMARA MUNICIPAL DE ESPRINTO: It depends. They don't -- they never know if they catch a lot of fuel. It's called
blind technique, because they never know the species and how much fish they catch.
They can catch two boxes or 20 boxes. They never know.
QUEST: And what are they -- what are they hoping to catch?
RIBIERO: The sardines. But --
(CROSSTALK)
QUEST: Sardines, sardines.
RIBIERO: Yes, I do.
QUEST: That's all you love is sardines.
RIBIERO: Yes.
QUEST (voice over): The fishing process is physically demanding. Heavy nets are dragged across the beach before the sorting process begins, under the
glare of the scorching sun.
There is a wonderful sense of theater that accompanies everything here.
Part of the catch is to be sold off at a makeshift streetside auction.
So, we have fish now for the rest of the meal.
QUEST: All those cherries look nice.
QUEST (voice over): And that means a visit to the local market, which is an experience of its own.
RIBIERO: A tradition. We have to taste every -- everything.
QUEST: Exactly. How do you know if it's any good?
QUEST (voice over): It is chaos and great fun, and suddenly --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE).
QUEST (voice over): Back to the beach, where the locals have been preparing our lunch. Fires are being lit, tables are laid, and more singing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)
QUEST (voice over): The fish fried on coals, the conversation convivial. These are new acquaintances that are fast becoming firm friends.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
