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Quest Means Business
Facebook CEO Lays Out New Mission to CNN; Donald Tusk Quotes John Lennon on Brexit; Qatar Airways Wants 10 Percent Stake in American Airlines;
Aired June 22, 2017 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:00] ZAIN ASHER, CNN ANCHOR: That sound, that round of applause, marks the end of another trading day on Wall Street. It's interesting
because we alternated between gains and losses. At the beginning, we held on to most of those gains throughout much of the day, as Senate Republicans
unveiled their new health care bill. But alas, we ended the day pretty much flat, down 11 points. It is Thursday, June 22nd.
Connecting the world is not enough. Facebook's CEO Mark Zuckerberg lays out his company's new mission. He's extend an exclusive interview, first
on this program.
In Brussels, the European Council President channels John Lennon. And Donald Tusk dreams of Britain actually staying in the EU. And "Can't Buy
Me Love." Qatar airways takes a stake in American Airlines. American says its fight is with the Gulf three isn't over. I'm Zain Asher and this is
QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.
Tonight, in a CNN exclusive interview, Mark Zuckerberg explains his plan to overhaul the core mission of Facebook. The website's CEO says it's time
for Facebook to not only connect people online, but to bring them together and find common ground, too. It's a major reinvention of the company's
mission and Zuckerberg says it shows the site's potential to make the world a better place. Facebook is approaching a major milestone, two billion
users worldwide. Two billion. Now Zuckerberg wants half of those users to become members of quote-unquote meaningful Facebook groups. Close
communities that become the most important part of the site. Facebook has been criticized for adding to a toxic political climate whether it's via
fake news or online echo chambers where users struggle to break out of their bubbles.
Today Facebook announced new features to bring people closer together. Giving people who run Facebook groups more control over their members. At
a Facebook event in Chicago, Zuckerberg said, these moves had the power to make a real difference in society. Zuckerberg spoke exclusively to CNN's
tech's Laurie Segall in his first television interview four several years. Great interview, really interesting, can't wait for you to guys to watch.
And before he took the stage in Chicago, Laurie asked him to explain the new mission at the company's core. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARK ZUCKERBERG, CEO, FACEBOOK: Our new mission is to bring the world closer together. For the last decade, our mission has been to make the
world more open and connected. We've been focused on these ideas, giving everyone a voice and helping to connect people. Especially with friends
and family. And I know those are really good things and working to keep doing them. Were definitely not done with that mission yet. But now I
just feel like we have a responsibility to do more in the world. When you look at the world today, giving people a voice and helping people connect
are good and they've made the world better in a lot of ways. But our society is still very divided. And that means that people need to work
proactively to help bring people closer together. It's not just enough to help us simply connect. We need to work to bring the world closer
together.
LAURIE SEGALL, CNN SENIOR TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: You've always had such an interesting utopian view of things and it seems like this mission now
looking forward is something a little bit like Facebook's grown up.
ZUCKERBERG: When I look at the greatest opportunities and challenges for our generation, things like ending poverty or curing diseases or stopping
climate change, those are things that no one group or country can do by themselves. We have to build a world where people can come together to
take on these big, meaningful efforts. And that change isn't going to happen top-down. There's one in the world who can snap their fingers and
make that happen. What we need to do is empower people all around the world to build communities. Things like church groups and sports teams and
neighborhood groups and groups for people who love dogs and new moms and dads, those are the groups that bring people together. And once people are
coming together in these smaller groups, that actually grows and it ends up with much bigger changes in the world.
SEGALL: How exactly do you do that?
ZUCKERBERG: If we are trying to do something like run a group with thousands of people, you need tools to help manage that. That's a lot of
what we're announcing today we have 300 of the people here who have built the strongest communities on Facebook. One of the women here, her name is
Lola. She started secret group on Facebook called Female In. I don't know if you've heard of this. She describes it as, a no judgment support group
for women to talk about whatever issues matter the most to them. So, whether it's issues in their marriage or their job or health or anything.
[16:05:00] What she's found is that people come and start talking about basic issues, but then it actually has given people an outlet for some
important things, too. Now sometimes women come and talk about domestic violence and within minutes, she says that people get thousands of messages
of support. Offers of places to stay and help with child care and she didn't start off trying to build a community that was going to the culture
around domestic violence. But when you start bringing people together and giving people a way to connect that's the kind of thing this can lead to.
That's what we want to try to unlock in the world. Our view is if we can help build those tools and give more people like Lola in the world the
power to build more of those communities, the world is going to be a much better place.
SEGALL: Take me inside Mark Zuckerberg's head, the moment that you decided you needed to change Facebook's core mission. Was there an event that
happened or was there just a moment when you said we've got to change something.
ZUCKERBERG: Well for most of the last ten years, this idea that the world should be more connected, was not very controversial. Now I think there's
starting to be some people who question whether that is good. So just in this evolution where for me and a lot of the people I work with at
Facebook, we feel like giving people a voice is a really important thing to do. But it's not enough to just give people a voice, you also have to help
build common ground, right? So that way people can move forward together and aren't just sharing a lot of different opinions, but you have to help
reconcile that. So, that way people can come together as well. And that's a lot of the responsibility that we feel now. And the mission that we want
to take on for the next ten years of the company.
SEGALL: We keep hearing we've never been more divided. We've never been more polarized. Was it the political climate that led to this awakening?
ZUCKERBERG: I think it's really this feeling that simply connecting the world is not enough by itself. That you also have to work and do proactive
work to help bring people closer together. You need to give people a voice so we can get a diversity of opinions out there. But you also need to do
work to help build enough common ground so that way we can make progress as a society together. Where you want to help people stay connected with the
people they know and care about. But you also want to make it so people get access to new perspectives, too.
So, we're going to keep on doing everything we were doing before. To connect friends and family and to help people share. But now we also want
to help people build communities. And other ways that they can connect and help people bond and come together and spread tolerance and a lot of the
values that I think we all want to see in the world.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: Fascinating interview with Mark Zuckerberg there. And Laurie Siegel joins me now live from the Facebook event in Chicago. So, Laurie,
what struck me when I was listening to that interview is that you were right, Mark Zuckerberg does seem to have this very sort of utopian view of
the world. Does Facebook from your perspective, does Facebook really have the power to mend and repair how divided this world is right now?
SEGALL: I think technology is a double-edged sword, it can go both ways. So, I think, yes, I think Facebook does have an incredible power and an
incredible responsibility. The reason you're hearing Mark come out and talked about this, is because he also looked at the down side. You hear me
talk about the utopian view. We've kind of looked at a bit of a dystopian view. We looked at social media and wondered if we're more insular. We
have looked at the spread of false news and misinformation online. There's been almost this moment of awakening. And I think you've seen it with
Mark.
He's really interesting. Because over the last months you had his new year's resolution to visit a different state. To visit all 50 states and
talk with people, get outside Silicon Valley. You've seen him write this big manifesto on the future of Facebook and what it can do to technology.
It probably took a lot of this criticism and a lot of folks wondering, look at down side, to say what is the upside. Because now he's talking a lot --
they just put out a post on Facebook called hard questions, where they're talking to the community about social media good for democracy? How do we
insure that it is? How do we use our official intelligence to curb terrorism and stop propaganda from spreading? And also, what are the
nuances there? What are the dialogues that we need to have around that.
So, yes, today has a bit of a rah, rah feel. We are surrounded by some administrators from some of the largest groups on Facebook. But you get
the idea that the changing mission is truly about community and trying to build empathy online. As opposed to the opposite. Because we all know
we've seen the opposite especially over the last year with the political climate, Zain.
ASHER: So, Lauri, why has Mark Zuckerberg suddenly -- I wouldn't say suddenly -- but over the past few years I guess, become so thoughtful,
grown up, introspective, altruistic.
SEGALL: I mean, you know it's interesting. Think about the power that this one entrepreneur has. His platform is about to reach 2 billion users.
You can go either way. I think he's forced to grow up and he really wants to think about these things.
[16:10:00] I tell you this, having covered Silicon Valley for so many years and looking at the difference in some founders and how they view their role
and other founders and how they don't, I think you really want him -- and it's not just about money. It really isn't. You begin to see that he's
trying to take on this role and be more than a tech CEO, but be a leader in a world that's rapidly changing
He's talked a lot about automation and the future and people who are going to be out of jobs. And what conversations we need to have because
technology is going to displace people. So, that the acknowledgement, even that nearly 6,000-word manifesto that these are issues is pretty unique.
But also, we have to look at the issues that Facebook has seen. There have been quite a few with the things we've seen over the last year. So, I do
think he's certainly, maturing and growing into a very well-respected tech leader. So much so that they really do want to change the mission. They
really do think that they have a responsibility. Of course, there are those hard questions that come along with that responsibility. Zain?
ASHER: I'm sure as a result he's a huge inspiration to other young tech CEOs as well. Laurie Segall, live for us there. Thank you so much.
What you just heard there was the first half of Laurie Segall's interview with Mark Zuckerberg. Later on, in program you're going to get to hear
from Mark Zuckerberg again. He's going to tell Laurie what he learned from his travels all across the United States. Here's a snippet.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEGALL: Are we as divided as it seems?
ZUCKERBERG: On some political issues, I think we are. But on more things, than are usually covered, we are not.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: On to another story that we are also following. Jack Ma wants to bring small businesses from the U.S. and China closer together. The
executive chairman of Alibaba says he can create one million jobs in the Midwest. He took a spectacular road show to Detroit to make it happen.
Here's our Claire Sebastian with more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLAIRE SEBASTIAN, CNNMONEY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Alibaba's first major U.S. business event was a bit like the company itself. Big, bold,
visionary. Alibaba's founder Jack Ma bringing one simple message to the American Midwest.
JACK MA, CEO, ALIBABA: Please trade, do business with China.
SEBASTIAN (on camera): Alibaba isn't just putting on a trade fair it's really something of a fun fair. There's interactive shopping exhibits.
There's even over here a robot. So, let's find out if all of this is paying off.
Hi.
ROBOT: Hello, it's Clair everybody. How are you doing.
SEBASTIAN: What can you tell me about the event? How many people have turned out?
ROBOT: Look at today, it's fantastic there was only supposed to be 1,000 people. There's over 3,000 people that have turned up here. It's amazing.
SEBASTIAN (voice-over): They came from Detroit and across America. Lured by the promise of China's vast and growing middle class and a pledge made
by Jack Ma back in January to create a million U.S. jobs over the next five years.
MICHAEL EVANS, PRESIDENT, ALIBABA: It's not actually that complicated. When Jack started Alibaba 18 years ago the whole focus was on SMEs, and we
went from almost no SMEs on the platform to almost 11 million SMEs today. Over that 18-year period, by collecting the SMEs to consumers in China, we
created about 33 million jobs.
SEBASTIAN: While some economists are skeptical, it's an opportunity candied nut producer, Bruce Niezgocki, can't stop thinking about. After
joining a Michigan trade mission to China last year, he's already started getting ready.
BRUCE NIEZGOCKI, OLD WORLD STYLE ALMONDS: We do vacuum sealing packaging, which extends our shelf life up to about three years.
SEBASTIAN: Says he wants to work with Alibaba.
NIEZGOCKI: I like their philosophy. I mean, Jack wants small businesses to succeed. And that speaks to my heart.
SEBASTIAN: He's not the only Jack Ma fan across the conference. There are people lined up to take their photo in virtual reality version. Ric
Kostick, CEO of California cosmetics brand, 100%Pure, there's no time for that. After ten years using Alibaba to source his packaging, he's finally
using it to sell. Launching today on Alibaba's template sites.
RIC KOSTICK, CEO, 100% PURE: There's going to be more manufacturing in the U.S. I'm going to open another manufacturing facility in the next 12
months.
SEBASTIAN: And in a city baring the scars of its own manufacturing bust, these success stories matter.
MIKE DUGGAN, MAYOR OF DETROIT: They have Jack Ma decide this is where he wants to hold his American conference. I think it's a message to the
world. Detroit's coming back.
MA: Thank you, very, very much.
SEBASTIAN: And Alibaba is just getting started. Claire Sebastian.
ROBOT: CNN, Detroit.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: A fine little piece there by our Claire Sebastian. Still to come on QUEST MEANS BUSINESS after six weeks of speculation, President Trump
opens up about whether or not he recorded conversations with former FBI director James Comey.
[16:15:00] And the British Prime Minister is back in Brussels for talks on how to reduce the EU from 28 to 27. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: You may have heard there are no tapes on James Comey. Got that? That is what the president says after six weeks of teasing and speculation
and hinting the president tweeted this earlier today. Let me read for you here.
"With all of the recently reported electronic surveillance, intercepts, unmasking and illegal leaking of information, I have no idea whether that
are tapes or recordings of my conversations with Jim Comey, but I did not make, and do not have, any such recordings."
So much to unpack here, Athena Jones joins us live now from Washington. So, Athena, I guess the surprise is not the fact that there are no tapes.
Obviously, a lot of people had been speculating there were no tapes for quite some time. The surprise is he made the claim in the first place and
then ended up switching his story. Walk us through that.
ATHENA JONES, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Exactly. Zain, it has been a rather bizarre month and a half or so since the president sent out that
original suggested and threatening tweet. He seemed to be threatening the by then former director FBI director. You'll remember he sent out the
tweet May 12th, three days after firing James Comey as FBI director, making this suggestion that there are tapes. There could be recordings of those
conversations.
And ever since then, there has just been dodging by officials at the White House, by the president himself, none of them able to answer what should be
a ye yes-or-no question. Are there recordings. It's just unclear why it took 41 days for the president to finally give us this answer. Even his
answer, if you look at it is a little muddled. He's suggesting that maybe he's concerned that someone else could be recording his conversations in
the oval office.
Now White House deputy press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, says she's not aware of the president being concerned about that. So, it could be
that he worded the tweet in that way to try to give himself a little bit of cover. But remember Zain, this is something, this could be perhaps the
most consequential tweet of his young presidency. Because it was this tweet that Comey testified caused him to share memos he had written, notes
he had taken, extensive detailed notes about all of his important conversations with the president.
Well, seeing that tweet made him decide to ask a friend to share a memo about a dinner he had with the president with the press. It was the at the
dinner that Comey says the president said to him that he hoped he could let the investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn go.
So Comey saw this tweet, had the friend share the memos, that memo ended up in "The New York Times". And that is what ultimately led to the
appointment of special counsel Robert Mule another is now looking into all of this. Not just the Russia investigation, but is gathering evidence to
determine whether to open a full-scale investigation into the obstruction of justice. This is something the president brought on himself, Zain.
[16:20:09] ASHER: I'm sure even the president would admit that this, obviously, based on what you just said was a huge mistake. The fact that
he said to James Comey, or about James Comey on Twitter, James Comey better hope there are no tapes of our conversations. Will that be looked into as
possibly witness intimidation? What are your thoughts?
JONES: There are lot of folks who are saying that is certainly possible. That is one of the things that special counsel, Bob Mueller, will be
looking at -- among a number of things. Because many people saw that tweet as a threat. And so, we'll have to find out whether they review that. But
you said, does the president or should the president regret it? An associate of his says the president should regret having sent that tweet.
Even if he doesn't. He should. Sarah Huckabee Sanders was asked if the president regrets it and said she didn't think so. But again, if not,
perhaps if not for that tweet we might not have seen a special counsel appointed. Certainly not at this point in time, Zain.
ASHER: Athena jones, live for us there at the White House, thank you so much.
Tonight, the British Prime Minister is in Brussels for a date with the European Union, which of course Britain has voted to ditch. It's Theresa
May's first meeting with all EU leaders since the general election -- that same election by the way that she hope would strengthen her hand in the
negotiation. It didn't work out quite the way she was expecting.
The British Prime Minister has laid out what she calls a fair and serious offer to protect the rights of EU citizens living in the U.K. Those with
five years of residence will be granted U.K. settled status. Back home, the finance minister, Phillip Hammond, warns that businesses are putting
off investments until the effects of Brexit become clear. And earlier in Brussels the European Council President said, maybe the U.K. doesn't need
to go after all. He channeled the late great John Lennon. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TUSK, EUROPEAN COUNCIL PRESIDENT: Some of my British friends have even asked me whether Brexit could be reversed. And whether I could
imagine an outcome where the U.K. stays part of the EU. I told them that in fact, the European Union was built on dreams that seemed impossible to
achieve. So, who knows? You may say I am a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: What an incredibly optimistic man. Other European leaders though are singing a different tune. Our Erin McLaughlin has been tracking the
story and joins us live from Brussels. So, Erin, of course, big question hanging over these talks, the rights of EU citizens living in the U.K.
Theresa May has put out her first offer, what is it?
ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Zain, and we understand that Theresa May has left that working dinner. She has gone back to
London. During the dinner, she did talk about the U.K.'s proposal for citizens, some 4.5 million citizens living both in the EU and the U.K.
Status of which is now been called into question because of Brexit. Journalists were briefed by a senior British government official here at
the council. He let us know what she had to say at this dinner. She said, "The U.K.'s position represents a fair and serious offer. One aimed at
giving us as much certainty as possible to citizens who have settled in the U.K. building careers and lives and contributing so much to our society."
Now according to the proposal that she outlined this evening, EU citizens who legally arrived before and as yet to be determined cut-off date will
have the option to either be granted or eventually apply for settled status within the U.K. And settled status according to the government official
essentially means they'll enjoy the similar rights to U.K. citizens in areas such as pension, health care, and education.
Now there are some sticking points already apparent in this outlined proposal. One sticking point, well, the cut-off date. According to this
proposal, the cut-off date according to the U.K. has yet to be determined. It will either be the date the Article 50 was invoked. Or the date the
U.K. actually leaves the EU. The EU wants the cutoff date to be the date that Brexit actually happens, which is scheduled currently for March 2019.
[16:25:00] Another potential sticking point, who arbitrates this agreement? Who arbitrates this proposal? The U.K. wants U.K. courts to be in charge
of that. And when it comes to EU citizens living inside the U.K., the EU wants the European Court of Justice to arbitrate any sort of agreement on
this issue. Now we are expecting a more detailed proposal from Downing Street on Monday.
And in terms of what's happening now in Brussels, now that Theresa May has left the chief Brexit negotiator for the EU, Michel Barnier, is currently
going over with the remaining EU 27 leaders, what happened earlier in the week during the first round of negotiations. We have not had any reaction
to what Theresa May had to say tonight, as yet. Zain.
ASHER: All right, Erin McLaughlin, live for us there, thank you.
The snap general election in Britain backfired spectacularly on Theresa May. She, of course, lost her majority in Westminster and actually she
could have lost her job. Earlier on I spoke with David McAlister chair of the European Parliament's committee on foreign affairs. I asked him if
Mrs. May political gamble back home will come back to haunt her on the continent.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MCALLISTER, GERMAN MEP: I still deeply regret what happened on the 23rd of June and I still deeply regret what's happening. But we have to
face reality. And I think it's important that we start to get the negotiations going. Because we didn't ask for this divorce. But we have
to get it done.
ASHER: So, what sort of assurances, I mean your priorities, of course, the rights of the EU citizens, what sort of assurances are you looking for in
these talks in terms of what happens to EU citizens living in London.
MCALLISTER: As a European Parliament, we have three top priorities. The first one is the rights of EU citizens living in the U.K. and U.K. citizens
living in the EU 27. We want these rights to be guaranteed. We want these rights to be protected when it comes to the right of residents, the right
to work. Or also to have the right to have access to social welfare, for instance, public health care. This is important for these nearly four
million people. I think these people need clarity about their own personal future.
The second priority is financial obligations. We believe that the U.K. has to fulfill all its financial obligations, it has committed as a member of
the European Union and the third priority is the very sensitive question of the Irish, northern Irish border regime.
ASHER: The Irish border is just as much of a priority for the EU as it is for the U.K.
MCALLISTER: The EU 27, the European Parliament and the commission have made very clear that the Irish and Northern Irish border question is a
matter of all 27 member states. This is not only a question of Dublin in London or Dublin and Belfast. Because we know what is at stake. And we
have to avoid anything which could violate the Good Friday agreement.
ASHER: In terms of sequencing, in terms of the order of what's being negotiated. The fact that EU priorities are essentially coming first in
terms of the Brexit bill and the also the rights of EU nationals living in the U.K. The fact that those are coming first and trade deal later, isn't
that a win for the EU already?
MCALLISTER: Well, I'm very glad that both sides obviously agreed that we first deal with the major questions of the withdrawal agreement. And once
we've made substantial progress on these questions, then we can start negotiating our future relationship. This is what the European Union had
proposed in the beginning and I'm happy to see that the U.K. has agreed. And this sequencing actually makes sense because you can't start to
negotiate the future relationship if you don't know about the details of the British withdrawal.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: All right still to come on QUEST MEANS BUSINESS, if you can't beat them, buy them. Qatar airways, wants a stake in one of its top American
rivals.
And more of our exclusive interview with Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg who admits that Americans have become divided by politics in 2017. That story,
next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:31:32] ASHER: Hello everyone, I'm Zain Asher. There more QUEST MEANS BUSINESS in just a moment. Qatar Airways takes a stake in American
Airlines. American says their feud will go on. And uniting a divided America on Facebook. We'll have more of our exclusive interview with Mark
Zuckerberg. Before that though these are your headlines we're following for you at this hour.
North Korea has conducted a rocket engine test according to two U.S. defense officials, by North Korea. Rocket engine tests are fairly routine
and it's not known if it's a new type of engine but the U.S. says it could potentially be used for a new type of missile or space launch. The British
government is carrying out tests on 600 high-rise buildings following the Grenfell fire last week. Investigators are trying to determine exactly
what role cladding played in the rapid spread of that fire that killed at least 79 people so far combustible cladding has been found on seven power
blocks.
Prince Harry says no one in the royal family wants to sit on the throne. And that they simply share a sense of duty. In an interview with
"Newsweek" magazine, the prince suggested that he and his older brother, Prince William are working towards a more modernized British monarchy.
Mourners carried the casket of Otto Warmbier from the school as thousands of people turned out in his home town to say good-bye. Warmbier passed
away after North Korea freed him from prison and sent him home in a coma. One young woman befriended in school told CNN it feels like we are missing
a family member.
Qatar airways wants to buy 10 percent of American airlines, worth $800 million U.S. despite an ongoing feud between American and the three big
gulf carriers, Qatar airways would start with a smaller stake, 4.75 percent. That's the maximum it can own without U.S. approval. There's
still no sign of the airlines becoming friends, though, let me tell you what American airlines said. It does not alter American airlines'
conviction on the need to enforce the open skies agreement with United Arab Emirates and the nation of Qatar. Let's discuss this with our Paul La
Monica who joins us now. It's interesting, given how economically isolated Qatar is right now. What does the move say about their long-term
ambitions? And why now?
PAUL LA MONICA, CNN MONEY CORRESPONDENT: I think clearly the ambitions are to have even a bigger global presence, this is an airline that already has
a stake in the parent company of British airways, so bringing in the United States as well, would clearly be something that I think al baker, a
frequent guest on this show would see as furthering their global ambitions, but will this actually happen? As you pointed out, Zain --
ASHER: American airlines said they're unexcited about it.
LA MONICA: Their CEO was scathing with regards to his thoughts as to why Qatar airways want to do this. Given some of the comments that parker has
made about several of the big gulf air carriers.
ASHER: It's interesting because American Airlines are not rooting nor at all. When you look at the share price reaction. Shareholders reacted
positively.
[16:35:00] LA MONICA: And the whole sector went up. I think this is seen as a further validation of the industry. The U.S. airline industry, which
has gone from being the dogs of Wall Street. It used to be something you wouldn't want to say people would be they're the airlines of this, the
airlines of that. It meant an irrational industry that cut prices. Now because of consolidation, you have four financially strong, healthy
airlines in American, united, delta and southwest it makes sense why another carrier outside of the U.S. would find at least one of them
attractive. And even Warren Buffett has invested in the airlines now.
ASHER: And what are the terms of the justice department what are the rules about foreign ownership of domestic airlines in this country?
LA MONICA: We're below the threshold that would trigger a regulatory review. It's well below the relatively small stake that Qatar Airways is
proposing to buy right now. This probably isn't something that would have a big regulatory review. Given the tensions in that region, and the way
that things are going politically in the United States right now, one would think that if a deal is struck and something were to actually happen I
would be stunned if there weren't some hearings in congress about the possibility of more gulf airlines investing in the U.S. and what
ramifications that might have for U.S. companies and national security.
ASHER: Paul, we have to leave it there.
And Qatar Airways regional rival Etihad has its own challenges to deal with first Etihad has halted flights to Qatar, along with emirates, fly Dubai
and gulf air as part of a major diplomatic crisis in the region. Etihad is under pressure from the U.S. affected by the electronics ban and the
reignited fight between the three gulf and American carriers. The gulf carriers are all searching for new revenue streams as oil prices hurt
demand for business travel. Speaking exclusively with CNN, Etihad's CEO said the fiercely competitive market could lead to a regional price war.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PETER BAUMGARTNER, CEO ETIHAD: The situational fact is that quarter for 2015 would be the first time had a tangible overcapacity situation on
competitive overlapping regional traffic flows. With the compounded effect, then of depressed local oil based economies and that made the
situation across the middle eastern airlines, even more competitive. Now the question is, is that just a cycle or what is kind of the new reality,
the new normal in there. And you know, my true belief is that a lot of those effects, a lot of that change of the most recent time will lead into
a new era of a new normal.
JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN MONEY EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: Many see the gulf carriers as lavish carriers, but there is a new reality and that's $50 oil
or even less. Is that what's driving this in a sense? So, you have to adapt to the new reality?
BAUMGARTNER: The next area of innovation is in space of digital. The law is in the background and how we create products and able to distribute that
moving away from legacy distribution technology, is the very, very diverse content to serve and make happy. We have three products on the shelf. It
gives us much more flexibility to be more relevant to specific individual customers.
DEFTERIOS: It's not easy being a chief executive of a carrier right now.
BAUMGARTNER: Commercially, we lose some traffic we gain some other flows. And of course, there is a demand out there in an environment where we used
to see since long now over capacity of very fiercely competitive overlapping traffic routes, gives us an opportunity of course to take some
commercial measures to make sure that we serve you know demand that wasn't there before. Asset had airways there are potential downsides if that
results in a price war where one of the competitors or most impacted by the situation would start to very aggressively compete on price and fare level
was spiral down then probably we will see losers here in the regions in terms of aviation and probably to the benefit of a consumer but certainly
not create any saleable situation for the regional airlines to move forward.
[16:40:00] DEFTERIOS: The Trump effect, if you will, the laptop ban and the potential move to try to ban some Muslin travelers, yet at the end of
the day how much has it really affected traffic on your carrier going to the United States.
BAUMGARTNER: We do see some impact on certain traffic flows. Especially out of Indian subcontinent to the west coast, USA for example, the closer
to the Silicon Valley you are. The more in terms of travelers saying we go out of the U.S., easily come back in. It is, something that you wish to go
away quickly. And with our preclearance facility in Abu Dhabi, we hope we are in a great situation to overcome that for Etihad and for Abu Dhabi.
Fairly quickly. We have some positive signals there. So, we remain hopeful that this is something that goes away.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: In a moment, the second part of our exclusive interview with Mark Zuckerberg's CEO tells us what makes him most excited about the next
decade. Including his plan to bring internet access to the unconnected world.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: At the start of this year, Mark Zuckerberg set a goal to visit every state to try to better understand Facebook. In March, he visited the
African Methodist church in South Carolina where you'll remember nine people were shot dead by a white supremacist. The talk continued across
swing states where he met Muslin students in Michigan. Forward factory workers outside Detroit and Donald Trump voters in Ohio and more recently,
it reached his old University Harvard where his commencement speech centered on following your purpose.
Zuckerberg says his purpose is to make sure Facebook is a place where all people can unite and come together. Laurie Segall asked him how he can
make that happen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARK ZUCKERBERG, CEO, FACEBOOK: People are connecting over something they have in common and there's a lot of research that shows that if you want to
engage on issues that you disagree on, so things that society is divided on, the first thing you need to do is connect over your common humanity.
So that can be something as simple as we both have families or we both like tv show together, we both like the Chicago cubs or whatever it is. So,
bringing people together and creating these communities, is I think a lot of what we can do to help create more civil and productive debate on some
of the bigger issues as well.
[16:45:00] LAURIE SEGALL, SENIOR TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: What have you had to kind of learn from the spread of misinformation, what have you
learned to make sure that people can really connect?
ZUCKERBERG: The biggest thing that I've learned as I've traveled around is that great communities have great leaders. Who are engaged. And just feel
an ownership of tend to carry the people in their groups. One of the things that I think we can do is just to power leaders and all the folks
who want to start communities around the world to do this you've spent a good amount of time traveling around the country. Sitting at the dinner
table with folks at Ohio, Indiana, going to factories, are we as divided as it seems?
ZUCKERBERG: On some political issues, I think we are. But on more things, than are usually covered, we are not. I right? I mean people have
although of the same interests, a lot of the people like the same sports teams. And bond over the same things in their neighborhoods or we all kind
of want the same things for families and the people that we care about. And one of the things that has been really inspiring to me as I've gone
around. I've seen people who I might disagree with on different things, but you really come away with a feeling that people genuinely do care about
helping and caring for other people. And you know that just gives me a lot of faith.
SEGALL: Facebook is nearing two billion users. How do you insure for the next billion users that Facebook is a good place for democracy?
ZUCKERBERG: We want to give everyone in the world a voice to express what matters to them. And help bring people together to be able to solve
important challenges. One of the things I think we need to do is just help connect the half of the world that's not on the internet to the internet.
That sounds like a basic thing and you and I probably take that for granted because we've had the internet for a while. But for a lot of people in a
lot of parts of the world just having access to share your opinion or send a message to your partner or your friend or learn what the prices are for
products at the Market, look up basic jobs, those are important things that a lot of people don't have an equal opportunity and access to do. So,
there are a lot of things that we can do to solve this at Facebook we're building technology like solar-powered planes to beam down internet access
to places that might be in a rain forest. Work on new business models with operators to do this this remains one of the things I'm most excited about
in the next decked a and beyond is unlocking access to the internet for the next three or four billion people if we can do that all the folks who today
don't have the tools to start businesses or create new tiles, they'll now be able to make our lives better. Too, and that's going to be a very
powerful thing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: And for Zuckerberg this is pretty much the only outfit he needs. A hooded sweatshirt, gray t shirt, this is basically his uniform, I am sure
you recognize it from his closet right away. But happens if he needs to go to a fancy party, of course, he can't where this he will need something
else. The question is why buy if you are only going to wear it once?
Two young entrepreneurs have found a solution to that problem. It is the latest in our series "India 20 Under 40." Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SHREYA MISHRA, PARTNER, FLYROBE: India a country has a lot more occasions and festivities, the smallest one would have 300 guests in general we
celebrate a lot more, we have a lot more special occasions.
I'm 28 years old.
PRANAY SURANA, PARTNER, FLYROBE: I'm 26 years old.
MISHRA: We are the co-founders of Flyrobe.
SURANA: So, Flyrobe is India's largest fashion lender service, can you rent premium fashion for all of your special occasions like family wedding
or a friend's wedding or a cocktail party. But there's a we'll send it to your home. Send the custom outfit to you on the date of delivery.
MISHRA: Internationally, the concept of sharing economy has really disrupted the category of fashion. However, that concept is still
happening in a very small scale in India. We thought why don't we allow people to rent clothes from this national shared wardrobe that women could
access and men could access at any point this time.
But we think that rent something pretty much, it's like the fast fashion occasion wear. You get much more variety. You don't have to afford the
price tag that was the reason why we felt India would be a large market for renting occasion wear.
[16:50:00] SURANA: It was choice between whether should I buy this expensive outfit or rent this from fly robe? So essentially the universe
of competition is very big for Flyrobe.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: Welcome back. The U.S. Senate has unveiled the health care bill that they hope will replace Obamacare. The bill is expected to head to a
vote next week. I want to give you some context to let you know what's in this bill. Federal funding for Medicaid, that's health care for low income
individuals would essentially be slashed. Insurers would be allowed to offer less comprehensive policies. Individuals will no longer have to have
health insurance. We still don't know how much this bill will cost. The congressional budget office is expected to release an estimate next week.
President Trump expressed his support. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: We're putting in a plan today that's going to be negotiated. We'd love to have some Democrat support, but they're
obstructionists, they'll never support, we won't get one, no matter how good it is. But we will hopefully get something done and it will be
something with heart. And very meaningful.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: The Senate certainly has very little room for error with this bill and it currently, currently lacks the votes to pass. Joining me now is
CNN's Mark Preston. Joining us live now from Washington. So, Mark, just walk us through how exactly the bill is going to go about pleasing both the
moderates and the conservatives.
MARK PRESTON, CNN EXECUTIVE EDITOR POLITICS: Well, Zain, I wish I had that magic pixie dust to spread out and let you know everybody will be happy
with it but the fact of the matter is that's not going to happen. What's happening right now is important to watch because it could eventually lead
to some kind of final bill but the bottom line is with the what the senate is doing right now is not going to match up with the U.S. house of
representatives has already done. So, the fight over health care is not going to be resolved win the next week or so. A couple of things to point
out. In the United States Senate, you would think that the big obstacles right now for health care reform would be Democrats.
But as you said, they don't have enough votes, you've seen four Republican senators come out and say they be a slightly will not vote for the bill as
it is written. Two of those senators ran for the United States president, our viewers around the world will remember. The first was Ted Cruz and the
other Rand Paul. They don't have enough votes to get the senate bill passed. They're hoping to find out how much this bill costs by Monday or
Tuesday. But the bottom line is right now all of Washington is consumed by health care and whatever President Trump does next.
ASHER: Those four Republicans, A, can they be persuaded. And B, what are the sticking points for them?
[16:55:00] PRESTON: Anybody can be persuaded in Washington, it's all carrot-and-stick approach. How do you get somebody to come to your side?
Specifically, for these four senators while there are many little things they want to see fixed. The overarching theme is not enough is being done
to get rid of what was once known as Obamacare. And that is their biggest problem with it right now. That there are too many pieces of Obamacare
left in the Senate bill that Republicans are now going to introduce. So, without those four votes then the Senate doesn't pass any kind of
legislation and quite frankly that could potentially be the end of health care reform here in the U.S.
ASHER: Let me ask you a broader question Mark. Is President Trump trying to repeal and replace Obamacare or trying to repeal and replace Obama?
PRESTON: Let me grab that pixie dust if I can and throw it out here as well. You know that's a great question. What happened here in the U.S. l
that there was a, a Rose Garden ceremony, these are ceremonies held at the White House for very special occasions, but it was held for the house
passage of their side of the health care bill. Which seemed to be a little presumptuous on president Trump's part. Because of that, though, President
Trump actually didn't even like that bill and he was quoted saying by many news organizations, including CNN, that he thought the house bill was mean.
So, you know, we never really know where President Trump is on a specific issue. Let alone a specific time when he's talking about an issue. But he
is trying to replace president Barack Obama. I don't know if he cares about Obamacare necessarily. But that is the biggest legacy item that's
left behind by the previous administration.
ASHER: Mark quickly. No questions on camera. White House press briefing. Why don't they want to answer questions directly to the American people?
PRESTON: It's very difficult to be a spokesperson right now and standing behind the podium and having to defend the indefensible. Today for
instance, President Trump came out and said he made no recordings of his conversations in the oval office, after allowing it to go for 40 days.
That's reckless, irresponsible. If you're a spokesperson, how do you address that. That's why I don't think we're seeing on-camera briefings.
ASHER: Mark Preston. Thank you so much.
That is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS for this evening. It's been a pleasure being your host. I'm Zain Asher in New York. The news continues here in New
York.
END
