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First Move with Julia Chatterley
Bolivia's President Asks Nation to Defend Democracy; Attempted Coup in Bolivia; Kenyan President Withdraws Finance Bill; Julian Assange a Free Man in Australia; Evan Gershkovich's Espionage Trial Begins in Russia; Biden and Trump CNN Presidential Debate; REGENT Seaglider Celebrates Major Investment; Georgia Stun Portugal at Euro 2024. Aired 6-7p ET
Aired June 26, 2024 - 18:00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[18:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNN HOST, FIRST MOVE: It's 7:00 a.m. in Tokyo, 8:00 a.m. in Sydney, and 6:00 p.m. here in New York. I'm Julia Chatterley. And
wherever you are in the world, this is your "First Move."
A warm welcome to "First Move" as always. And here's today's need to know. Coup claims. Bolivia's president asks the nation to defend democracy as
soldiers and military vehicles appear in the capital, La Paz.
Tax rise revoked. President Ruto says he'll withdraw a controversial finance bill after deadly protests in Kenya.
Setting the stage, President Joe Biden and Former President Donald Trump counting down to Thursday's CNN Presidential Debate.
And float, foil, and fly. The company looking to take its electric seagliders global and change travel on water. That conversation and plenty
more coming up.
But first, we begin in Bolivia, where the country's president is urging citizens to mobilize against a coup d'etat and defend democracy. He
addressed the nation after soldiers and armored military vehicles positioned themselves around government buildings. Buildings in the
capital, La Paz. They were seen in the main square where the national executive and legislative offices are located. Reports are now since
they've pulled back from outside the presidential palace, though a little earlier, the president released this message on social media.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LUIS ARCE, BOLIVIAN PRESIDENT: The Bolivian people are called today. We need the Bolivian people to organize and mobilize against the coup d'etat
in favor of democracy. We cannot allow coup attempts to take Bolivian lives once again. We want to urge everyone to defend democracy. And here we are,
firm in the presidential palace, with the entire cabinet, with social organizations.
We salute the social organizations and cordially invite them to once again show the path of democracy to the Bolivian people. Long live the Bolivian
people. Long live democracy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHATTERLEY: And Patrick Oppmann joins us with more. Patrick, the Bolivian president there, unequivocal that he believed some kind of coup d'etat was
taking place. What is exactly happening at this moment? Are we seeing a sense that the military pulling back has now been reported?
PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, as quickly as this coup seemed to come together, it has now appears that it is falling apart. You know,
just stunning images over the last several hours as an attempted coup was underway, there's really no other way to explain it, as soldiers, some of
them with their faces covered, armed to the teeth with machine guns, with armored vehicles trying to smash into the presidential palace, trying to
take over essentially the center of government in La Paz, Bolivia.
But meeting very firm resistance from President Luis Arce who not only has now fired the head of the Bolivian military, but appointed another general
in his place who's called on troops to go back to their barracks and to essentially try to instill some peace into this situation that certainly
could have turned very, very bloody here.
But there has been a conflict brewing over the last several days between military leadership and the president of Bolivia. Appears to have to do
with the election next year in Bolivia, the presidential election next year in Bolivia, and who is eligible to run for president, whether Former
President Evo Morales can run again. And that led to these extraordinary scenes today where the military, parts of the military, we should say,
essentially took to the streets and appear to be trying to carry out a coup.
About -- throughout the day that we were seeing -- throughout the afternoon, we were seeing these images of soldiers trying to carry
essentially take the government at the point of a gun. That appears to have failed. That appears that some order has been restored, that the leaders of
this attempted coup, as it has been called by Bolivia's leaders and leaders around the region, have returned to their barracks.
And now, president of Bolivia, Arce, is saying that he wants those leaders of this attempted coup under arrest.
[18:05:00]
CHATTERLEY: The army commander general that you mentioned there had said himself in the run up to this that Bolivia can't continue in this manner,
that the former president himself should not be allowed to run in the presidential elections in 2025. But today, he was reported as saying, look,
for now at least he recognized President Arce as commander in chief.
Do we think this is now over or could this sort of rise up again and the tensions that we know exist in this moment? And let's be clear have existed
between the military and the government in Bolivia now for years cannot spill over once more.
OPPMANN: Yes, these are long simmering tensions. You remember in 2019 when Evo Morales not only ran for a second term, but essentially faced
accusation that he had stolen that election, that there was corruption. And you saw, really led by the police then how police essentially forced him
from power. Police who were protesting in the army, letting -- essentially letting them do that, letting them and the furious public push Evo Morales.
from power. He eventually fled into exile. There was a transitional government that was put into power.
But when the time -- came time to vote, once again, a leftist was elected president in this country. The -- while it is very rich in minerals has
just crushing poverty. And so, Luis Arce, you know, whether you talk to the United States or any of the other countries in the region, he -- he's
widely regarded -- universally regarded as being democratically elected.
And so, even though this attempted coup is certainly a hallmark of, you know, of times past in Latin America where generals just decided on a whim
who was president and often received the U.S. backing. Well, times have apparently changed.
Does this mean the danger is over? No. The coup leaders, the attempted coup leaders, alleged coup leaders, are not under arrest. Certainly, there is a
discontent among many who do not want to see the return of Evo Morales, who feel that the government is taking them on a path that they simply don't
agree with, a more radical path than they agree with. But of course, that is democracy, and you have a democratically elected leader of a country who
today stood firm and was not intimidated by this show of force, that at one point, it seemed like was going to turn quite, quite violent.
And so, for the moment, it seems, there is a pause in this conflict, in this attempted uprising. But of course, that could resurface at any point.
CHATTERLEY: Patrick Opperman, for now, thank you so much for that. Let's talk more about this. Eric Farnsworth joins us now. He's vice president of
the America Society and Council of the Americas in Washington. Eric, good to have you with us. Are you surprised by what we think we saw today?
ERIC FARNSWORTH, VICE PRESIDENT, COUNCIL OF THE AMERICAS: Hi, Julia. It's good to be back with you. You know, Bolivia has a history of coups, and
this is certainly not the first time it's happened either Bolivia or surrounding countries.
But it is a bit of a surprise because most of Latin America really has moved on from this type of behavior. And as was reported by Patrick just
now, Luis Arce was democratically elected. So, this wasn't an effort to overthrow, for example, a dictatorship or some sort of authoritarian
government.
There's been political chaos in the country, a rivalry between the current president and the former president, Evo Morales, which has led to some
economic paralysis and some real challenges there. But most of Latin America has moved on from this type of response. And so, yes, from that
perspective, it's a surprise. It's not really a surprise, though, that it's collapsed. And I think that will probably be the final chapter of the
story.
CHATTERLEY: Oh, that's interesting. So, I'll just point out to our viewers, these images were taken just moments ago, the president out on the
balcony there at the presidential palace, perhaps suggesting, and this is me saying this, that the immediate danger now has passed. We'll bring you
any further images that we get them.
Eric, that's interesting because Patrick said, look, as far as he's concerned, in his view, he doesn't believe the danger is over, at least in
the interim, but you're saying you think this perhaps does draw a line under it.
FARNSWORTH: Well, I don't think the danger is over completely. I mean, look, the military is still there. The population is still restless. The
politics really haven't changed in the country, but one thing that I thought was particularly encouraging was the International Community came
out immediately opposed to this.
The secretary general of the OAS, the Organization of American States, leaders from the president of Brazil, president of Mexico, neighboring
countries like Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay resoundingly rejecting this effort. And the political environment in Bolivia seems not to be on board either.
And so, you really didn't have any particular uptake in support of the military or the move. And so, it didn't gain this type of steam or momentum
that one might think that it otherwise would have.
[18:10:00]
Having said that. Sure. I mean, there could be some repercussions. There could be some after effects. We'll have to see what happens. In fact,
General Zuniga, who led the coup, but has already now been removed from his position and the new replacement has been named by President Arce. So, we
have to see how that plays out. But I think in terms of the success of a coup, my sense is that water has probably run.
CHATTERLEY: What about for the Bolivian people, Eric, where do they stand at this moment? Because the sitting president came out today and said,
look, defend democracy in essence. But as you've sort of pointed out, we've got a political divide between the current president now and the former
president who'd like to run in the presidential elections next year. And the courts have said simply, no, you can't. You've got political paralysis
that's feeding into all -- well, it's pretty devastating, I think, in terms of economic paralysis and deterioration in the country.
Where do the people stand in terms of who they support and what they want today?
FARNSWORTH: Yes, that's absolutely right. And the elections are scheduled for 2025 next year. The two leading candidates would be, as I mentioned,
Luis Arce, the current president, the former president, Evo Morales, who still has quite a level of support among particularly Bolivia's indigenous
community, where Evo Morales comes out of originally. And in fact, Bolivia has a very large percentage of its population are the indigenous community.
There has been a court decision as recently as 2023 that forbids Evo Morales for running for re-election. He, of course, rejects that decision,
just like he rejected the Supreme Court decision in 2019 that said he wasn't able to run. He ran anyway. He tried to steal that election.
So, here's somebody who really doesn't pay much attention to the court decisions unless they, you know, actually favor him. So, that's something
that's going to have to work itself out. And that has not been addressed by the issues today in the streets by the military. It still has to certainly
play out.
Where the Bolivian people will come out? Look, they get a chance to vote in 2025, presumably. So, they'll be able to let their voices be heard. But in
the meantime, Bolivia's economy is really struggling. The debt level is high, inflation is high, investment is down, natural gas, which has driven
the economy in terms of the production of natural gas is really beginning to run out. People are questioning what is the engine of growth for Bolivia
going forward, and the people are starting to get frustrated.
So, you know, if you can't put food on the table for your family, it doesn't really matter who's in the presidential palace, you're going to
start to get anxious, and you're going to go to the streets, and you're going to protest for a better scenario. And that's indeed what we're
starting to see happen. There have been marches already as recently just a couple days ago.
So, I think that the situation from a political perspective remains unsettled. From a military perspective, I think that's a different story,
and that's what we've seen today.
CHATTERLEY: Yes. Eric, good to get your insights. Thank you so much. Eric Farnsworth there.
All right. Turning now from instability in Bolivia to protests in Kenya. I concede. That's the message from President William Ruto. He says he'll no
longer sign the highly controversial finance bill that would have raised taxes during a cost-of-living crisis. Just take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIAM RUTO, KENYAN PRESIDENT: Having reflected on the continuing conversation around the content of the finance bill 2024. And listening
keenly to the people of Kenya who have said loudly, that they want nothing to do with this finance bill 2024. I concede. And therefore, I will not
sign.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHATTERLEY: His decision follows days of protests that erupted into violence on Tuesday. Police fired live rounds at demonstrators and at least
six people were killed. According to President Ruto himself, a civil society group says the real number is much higher. The end of the bill
doesn't mean the end of the protests. However, many Kenyans are still dissatisfied and plan to go ahead with the march set for Thursday this
week.
Larry Madowo has more from Nairobi.
LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Julia, we talked about this yesterday, the defiant tone that President William Ruto had said in his national
address after that chaotic day of protests, calling these young people treasonous protesters and promising the full force of the law. And then,
just a few hours later, this dramatic U-turn where he says he concedes. That the people of Kenya want more concessions and abandoning his entire
finance bill.
This bill that he desperately needed to raise an extra $2.6 billion in revenue, but which the people of Kenya have gone out to the streets to say
it was too expensive. We cannot afford it. And now, the Law Society of Kenya blaming the police for targeting protesters and calling for the
resignation of the chair of the police.
At the same time, the Law Society of Kenya saying life is too expensive for so many Kenyans.
[18:15:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FAITH ODHIAMBO, PRESIDENT, LAW SOCIETY OF KENYA: The people are tired, the cost-of-living is impossible. We used to say that people live a dollar a
day. People are living in $1 in two to three days. People don't have meals set on the table. We say education is free. What education is free if you
cannot afford uniforms, you cannot afford books. The structures are collapsing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MADOWO: Now, the Kenya police are under a microscope if people do go back to the streets on Thursday. And Julia, we talked about this too as well,
yesterday, you were asking if the people intended to go back to the streets on Thursday. That was before the finance bill was abandoned. Even though
it's been abandoned, they are still calling for a 1-million-man march across the nation. And some of the protesters are even threatening to try
and occupy state house.
So, even though what they wanted has been demanded -- has been given by President Ruto, there is still a wider national anger in the country,
according to the Kenyan National Commission of Human Rights, that people just feel they need to go out and express that and some of them will be
back on the streets on Thursday, Julia.
CHATTERLEY: And our thanks to Larry Madowo there. Now, Julian Assange will not give up the fight for human rights, according to his wife.
The WikiLeaks founder back in his home nation of Australia as a free man for the first time in 12 years. He had been charged for his alleged role in
one of the largest security breaches of U.S. classified materials. As part of a deal, Assange pleaded guilty at a federal court on remote U.S.
territory in the Pacific to avoid further prison time, as Nic Robertson reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Really emotional moments there as Julian Assange touches down back in Australia, met by his
wife and according to his lawyers, the first phone call that he received was from the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, congratulating him. But his
wife really explaining just how much trauma has been through and how much it's going to take for Julian Assange to actually recover from what he's
been through.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STELLA ASSANGE, WIFE OF JULIAN ASSANGE: Julian wanted me to sincerely thank everyone. He wanted to be here. But you have to understand what he's
been through. He needs time. He needs to recuperate. And this is a process. I ask you please to give us space. To give us privacy. To find our place.
To let our family be a family before he can speak again at a time of his choosing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: Assange's lawyers as well were keen to make their points. One of them in particular saying that the judge had said that no harm had come
to anyone from Assange's leaks. That was an important point for them. And also pointing, out that the Espionage Act that he was charged under as part
of this plea deal, that's the first time they say it's been used against journalists or lawyers. And they say that is a terrible precedent for
journalists going forward.
But they also gave some understanding of what led to this plea deal and the limitations or lack of them of it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARRY POLLACK, U.S. LAWYER: The negotiations were a protracted process that went on for several months, sort of in fits and starts. We were not
close to any sort of a resolution until a few weeks ago when the Department of Justice re-engaged. And there have been very intense negotiations over
the last few weeks.
One thing we were very clear about was that any resolution would have to end this matter and that Julian would be free. That he was not going to do
additional time in prison. He was not going to do time under supervision. He was not going to do time under a gag order. So, that was one absolute
requirement.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: So, not clear yet when Julian Assange himself will speak, but his wife saying that he, despite being tired, despite everything he's been
through, he's undimmed in his desire to stand up for the small guy, to speak out for human rights, that indeed he's not afraid. She also indicated
that he may be in the future asking for a pardon.
Nic Robertson, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHATTERLEY: Our thanks to Nic there. Stay with "First Move." We'll be right back. Plenty more to come.
[18:20:00]
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to "First Move." Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich imprisoned in Russia for well over a year, appeared in
court on Wednesday for the start of his trial. Gershkovich is the first American journalist to be arrested on spying charges in Russia since the
Cold War. Charges the White House calls fiction.
His trial will be held in secret. Moscow still has not released any evidence to the public backing up its claims that he is an American spy.
Matthew Chance has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the first glimpse of Evan Gershkovich for months. Cameras briefly
allowed into the courthouse about a thousand miles from Moscow, where his trial for espionage is finally underway.
His head shaved, the 32-year-old Wall Street Journal reporter looked calm, but he faces a sentence of up to 20 years if or likely when he's found
guilty. In a statement, the editor-in-chief of "The Journal" wrote, this bogus accusation of espionage will inevitably lead to a bogus conviction
for an innocent man.
CHANCE: Hi. Matthew from CNN. You holding up all right? No questions.
CHANCE (voice-over): For nearly 15 months, Gershkovich has been held under tight security in Moscow's notorious Lefortovo Prison.
He, his employer, and the U.S. government all vigorously deny the spying allegations against him. But Russia appears determined to press ahead
despite official U.S. objections. A new statement from the U.S. embassy in Moscow says Evan did not commit any illegal acts and should not have been
arrested at all. This trial isn't about the presentation of evidence, due process, or the rule of law, we're talking about the Kremlin using American
citizens to achieve its political goals, the statement adds.
With the conflict raging in Ukraine, Russia began a crackdown at home on free speech, silencing dissidents or forcing them into exile. It's against
this backdrop that Gershkovich was arrested on a reporting assignment in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg.
This is video from the website of the tank factory there, where Russian prosecutors allege Gershkovich acted "on the instructions of the CIA to
collect secret information." Although, no evidence has been made public. The trial will take place in the city, which is about a thousand miles from
Moscow amid an outcry.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LESTER HOLT, NBC NIGHTLY NEWS ANCHOR: Journalism is not a crime.
LAURA COATES, CNN ANCHOR: Journalism is not a crime.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHANCE (voice-over): Some of the most prominent journalists in the United States are calling for his release. And Tucker Carlson even appealed
directly to Putin in his recent sit down.
[18:25:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TUCKER CARLSON, HOST: And I just want to ask you directly, without getting into the details of it or your version of what happened, if, as a sign of
your decency, you would be willing to release him to us and we'll bring him back to the United States?
VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): We have done so many gestures of goodwill out of decency that I think we have run out of
them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHANCE (voice-over): But they're not running out of Americans in Russian prisons. Far from it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL WHELAN, AMERICAN DETAINED IN RUSSIA: I'm in innocent of any charge from a political kidnapping.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHANCE (voice-over): Former Marine Paul Whelan is serving 16 years in what U.S. officials say were trumped up spying charges.
Dual citizen Ksenia Karelina, an amateur ballerina from L.A. and journalist Alsu Kurmasheva are also in custody. As are Gordon Black, a staff sergeant
in the U.S. Army and U.S. school teacher Mark Fogle. Critics suspect the Kremlin is collecting U.S. citizens as bargaining chips for a future deal.
And with his trial for espionage now underway, Evan Gershkovich is one of the most valuable in the Kremlin's hand.
Matthew Chance, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHATTERLEY: OK. And a large part of the United States bracing for heavy rain, fortunately, some cooler temperatures lie ahead though, too, after
days of excessive heat. For more, we're joined by Chad Myers. Chad, nothing rains on our parade. Chad, however, the elements do try. Tell us more.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Sometimes there's too much rain some places, whether there's a parade or not.
CHATTERLEY: Yes.
MYERS: Take a look at the pictures here out of Minnesota. I want you to notice this that home right there, right along what was the dam, even
though the water is now going around the dam, the dam is still standing. It's just not holding back the water anymore.
Now, the tragic picture here from yesterday, what happened to that home as the surrounding dirt and the earth underneath it gave way. Really a tragic
scene there for the dam store there as well, making their pies and their hamburgers there along that dam.
So many rivers are out of their banks here across parts of the Upper Midwest. Still over 20 places where the water is well above major flood
stage, even for St. Paul, Minneapolis. St. Paul, as the river goes through, the Minneapolis area here for the Mississippi River well above flood and
still going up.
Now, there will be some storms tonight across parts of the northeast, the I-95 corridor all the way from Connecticut back on down to about West
Virginia. Tomorrow, though, because of these storms and the cold front that is causing these storms that cold front pushes all of that humidity away
and temperatures drop by 15 to 20 degrees Fahrenheit or about seven to 10 degrees Celsius. So, we will certainly take that.
Temperatures dropping in New York City and Philadelphia, also even toward Buffalo and Chicago. And even across the deep south, there are still some
heat advisories, but not that many where Atlanta broke 100 degrees today, and tomorrow only 87. Now, 100 somewhere around 38. And so, as you drop
down tomorrow, somewhere around 32, 31 degrees Celsius, it's going to feel like quite a refreshing change, maybe back to spring where we're supposed
to be, or at least early summer, not the middle of August. Like we've had the past couple of weeks, Julia.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, but just a dramatic shift in the space of 24 hours too.
MYERS: Yes.
CHATTERLEY: Chad Myers. Thank you as always.
MYERS: You're welcome.
CHATTERLEY: Stay with us. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:30:00]
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to "First Move" for the look at more international headlines this hour. Only one day left until a historic
rematch happens right here on CNN. U.S. President Joe Biden and Former President Donald Trump are preparing to face each other at our headquarters
in Atlanta, Georgia. Sources say Biden is expected to go on the offensive, focusing on the danger he says Trump presents to the nation and to
democracy. Trump's advisers, meanwhile, are urging him to focus on policy. Some of Trump's talking points could include inflation, immigration, and
crime.
And a reminder, you can see the CNN Presidential Debate right here on CNN on Thursday at 9:00 p.m. Eastern. And we'll also replay the debate in full,
just in case you can't join us live. You can watch it Friday at 7:00 a.m. London time, that's 2:00 p.m. in Hong Kong, or 12 hours later at 7:00 p.m.
in London or 10:00 p.m. in Abu Dhabi.
The U.S. Supreme Court mistakenly published what appears to be a draft ruling on abortion on its website. That's according to Bloomberg News. The
now removed document shows the court is poised to rule the State of Idaho cannot enforce its abortion ban in the event of "serious harms to a woman's
health."
People aboard a roller coaster in California had to be escorted to safety after the ride was shut down because of a passenger's medical emergency.
Video of the evacuation shows people being led to safety from the 100-year- old giant dipper attraction in Santa Cruz. One person was taken to hospital.
And returning once again to our top story today, Bolivia, where an apparent coup attempt happened just a short while ago. Armored vehicles were seen
ramming into the government palace. President Luis Arce accusing civilians -- urging civilians, excuse me, to take action to defend democracy.
You're looking at video of some Bolivians facing off with soldiers earlier. We're following reports that the armored vehicles have now withdrawn from
the area near the presidential palace. Gustavo Valdes joins us now. Gustavo, the reports are that the new head of the army has ordered the
troops back to their units and they are following those orders. Is that correct?
GUSTAVO VALDES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That is what I'm hearing, Julia, from people on the ground who tell me that whatever this was, was thankfully
short-lived. We saw quickly how President Arce returned to the palace, gave -- posted on social media, used the local TV to tell people that he was
still in control. And then, there's video of him confronting General Zuniga at the entrance of the government palace, asking him to withdraw the
troops.
Zuniga seems to refuse the removal of the troop. Arce fires him on the spot. And that's when the troops begin to remove. Later on, he had a public
event in which he shows support from all his cabinet. He's sworn new leadership in the army and then held improv rally from one of the palace's
balcony to the people who had come to try to tell the army to leave this plaza, this square in the middle of the city and things seems to have been
normal.
It is very remarkable that very quickly, not only members of the cabinet members of the government, but also the opposition and members of the
civilian societies, the workers, the indigenous community came out and condemned this attempt of takeover by the military. That thankfully was
short-lived.
[18:35:00]
And now, Luis Arce is trying to show that he is in control. However, the political troubles that he's had in the past remain.
CHATTERLEY: And that's the key question, Gustavo. We were talking earlier on in the show about the political challenges, the economic challenges,
particularly painful for the people in Bolivia at this moment.
And what is quite astonishing is how quickly this erupted and, to your first point, how quickly this appears to have died down. Does this now draw
a line under it, in your view, or could we see similar activity erupt once more?
VALDES: So, what this shows is that same unity that Bolivia showcased in 2019, you might remember that, then-President Evo Morales was running for a
third period and he could not secure a victory on the first round. Then there was a challenge to those results and eventually, he left the country.
One of the opposition members took over and was the president interim for a few a few months until new elections were held.
And the party, Evo's party, MAS, won those elections clear and square and they took over, that's Luis Arce, and they have since governed with the
support of the majority of the people in Bolivia. There have been some attempts by Evo Morales to come back to be the party nominee for the next
elections. And this is where the frictions internal between the MAS party are, but they also have had economical problems. They had issues with
supplies, with agricultural supplies, with lack of gasoline and other basic needs for the country.
We have to remember also that Bolivia, it's a little bit isolated. It's very difficult to get things into Bolivia. Expensive. They produce a lot of
their produce. They do have a strong agricultural industry, but many of them for, what we see, they're choosing to export their products because
they can get better money outside Bolivia than what they can get internally.
So, these are the problems that President Arce is having to navigate in addition to the challenge or the intents of Former President Morales to
come back and take over the party.
CHATTERLEY: Yes. Gustavo Valdez, great to have you on. Sir, thank you so much for your insight.
All right. Coming up, is it a boat or is it a plane? Well, it's kind of both. A new way to travel just meters above the surface of the ocean or a
river. The REGENT Seaglider is celebrating a major investment to help it get off the ground. Well, the sea. You know what I mean. We'll discuss,
next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:40:00]
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to "First Move." And coming up, we're talking about new ways to move around the world. We all rely on planes, trains, and
automobiles to get around, but what if our waterways and oceans could open up as the next frontier for transport innovation?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Five, four, three, two, one.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHATTERLEY: Transforming coastlines into corridors for travel and resembling futuristic business jets. Rhode Island-based startup REGENT is
testing a quarter scale prototype of its Seaglider. They take off from ordinary waterfront docks, float like a boat, until the electric engines
propel them about five to 10 meters above the water, as you saw there.
The flagship model, called the Viceroy, seats 12 passengers and travels at speeds of up to 180 miles an hour with a range of 180 miles on a single
charge. There are also variants with military capabilities too. Now, REGENT's development can pick up the pace with investment from MOL Switch,
a venture capital firm that is part of the Japanese shipping giant Mitsui O.S.K. Lines. The investment will help bring REGENT Seagliders to market in
Japan and coastal destinations around the world. The pair will also investigate scaling up the technology to drive large ocean-going vessels.
And Billy Talheimer is next. The CEO and co-founder of REGENT, and he joins us now. Welcome to the show, Billy. That was a lot of information. So,
hopefully, we can get into more details. But I want to start by discussing the seaglider itself and so the concept and the vision behind that.
BILLY THALHEIMER, CEO AND CO-FOUNDER, REGENT: Absolutely. Well, Julia, thanks so much for having me on the show. So, as you said, there's a lot of
technical jargon there with what's going on with the seaglider.
Really simply, a seaglider is a fundamentally new mode of vehicle. So, seagliders are different from, as you said, the boats, planes, trains,
helicopters, even for the first time in a long time, we have a new technology that can get people between coastal locations for lower cost,
higher comfort, easier convenience and lower carbon.
You know, specifically, seagliders are hybrids of boats and planes, are 100 percent battery powered. And so, we get sort of the great convenience of
being able to go down to a dock and hop right on the seaglider, plus the high speed of actually flying low over the water on a cushion of air. Like
you see birds flying over the water. And it's that cushion of air and that efficiency that gives these vehicles their comfort and their long range.
CHATTERLEY: I think that's one of the things, at least, that will have grabbed viewers or listeners is the fact that this can be go up to speeds
of, what, 180 miles an hour. I'm assuming it could probably go faster too. And obviously, you've got a charge range of 180 miles. So, to your point,
it has the benefit of a speed of a plane, but also is, you know, transport on water. And I assume you go dock to dock as well.
THALHEIMER: Well, that's exactly right. You know, seagliders are for maritime mobility. They're sort of leveraging underutilized waterways. When
you look around the world, 40 percent of the world's population lives in coastal communities. When you look at places like Japan's or through the
Pacific Islands, it's actually closer to 80 percent, 100 percent in places like Singapore. And so, we're leveraging that sort of innate population by
the coast to actually leverage the waterways for transportation.
And so, we have 180 miles with existing battery technology. That's 300 kilometers. And then, as battery technology grows, we can expand that to
closer to 500 miles or 800 kilometers over time. Again, all with zero emissions because it is battery powered and also very affordable. You know,
using these all electric seagliders to the passengers, the cost will actually be about half that of an airplane ticket.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, it's interesting, isn't it? It's sort of a replacement for perhaps aircraft, but also ferry journeys as well. I think your point
about the use here and it makes sense why you've got Japanese investors certainly looking at this. Singapore, Indonesia is another obvious one.
I believe you've secured more than 600 orders valued at $9 billion. So, you could correct me if I'm wrong there, but that gives me a sense of perhaps
the cost of producing one of these things. Can you give us more information about cost and how quickly you can be up and running with a prototype,
potentially? I believe next year was on the plan. Yes.
THALHEIMER: Absolutely. Well, again, sort of rotating back to Japan there, as you said, in that Japanese market, you know, we have been very fortunate
to get some incredible stakeholders in the Japanese market. We already had Japan Airlines and Yamato Transport, which is the largest logistics
company. HIS, which is one of the largest travel operations and tour agencies.
[18:45:00]
And now, we're adding MOL Group, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, one of the largest ferry and shipping companies in the world. They've been in business doing
maritime transportation since the 1800s. So, we built this incredible infrastructure now cast of supporters through their strategic investment in
region for that Japanese market.
But when we look around the world, and to your point on our order book, we have seen overwhelming support. You know, we project that about 4 billion
passengers per year can use these seagliders because, again, we are having the costs of airplane travel while keeping that high accessibility of ferry
travel.
And so, to the customer, you know, REGENT here is basically the airbus of seagliders. So, we sell them to our customers, the airlines, the ferry
companies to operate these. So, they are the ones placing orders. It'll be a familiar transportation company that people are riding along seagliders
with. And to the customer, you know, the tickets are going to be half the cost, again, of airplane travel.
So, you look at a route in Japan, for example, going from Fukuoka to Busan over in Korea, we can do that for about an hour under 8,000 yen today and
on a ferry that takes four hours today. So, just to give you a sense of how much time saving and how much cost saving we can get with these seagliders.
CHATTERLEY: Wow. There was a lot of information there. Four billion passengers a year. Has anyone done a calculation on what a carbon footprint
saving that would be if that's -- people not taking flights? That would be an interesting calculation to do.
THALHEIMER: Well, that's a very important part of our mission because, you know, in addition to sort of the cost and comfort and convenience of
seagliders, you know, we also care very much about that carbon reduction. They're 100 percent battery electric vehicles. That means zero operational
emissions from seagliders.
And so, in that full case, where 4 billion passengers a year are taking seagliders, that's over 100 megatons of CO2 a year. So, to put that in
perspective, that is 26 million cars off the road every year because people are taking faster and sort of easier travel on seagliders.
CHATTERLEY: So, what's your immediate limitation? Is it producing these things? Is it money? What kind of regulation and safety considerations kick
in here, Billy? What's the most immediate limitation for the company?
THALHEIMER: Well, the focus right now of the company, after last year, we proved that Seaglider technology is possible, that we can do our full
mission floating, foiling, to get that sort of wave tolerance in harbor and then flying, transitioning to the wing for that high speed. Now, we are
ready to implement safety to put human crew on board.
So, we'll be putting our 15,000-pound or 7,000-kilogram prototype on the water later this year with humans on board expecting flight early next
year. The whole company is focused on that proof point of implementing human safety. And then, from there, we'll transition and build up our
manufacturing capabilities to deliver seagliders to our customers worldwide.
And so, with our commitment to safety, that means not only the REGENT engineering team committed to safety, but working with our regulators hands
in hand. So, we'll be working with maritime regulators around the world, the Coast Guard in the U.S., the international flags. Also, the
International Maritime Organization will be working with these stakeholders to ensure from this third-party perspective that seagliders are safe.
CHATTERLEY: Fascinating. I take one or two sea planes during the summer. So, I'm just raising my hand here to tell you that when you're ready to let
passengers try these things, I'm very up for it, please. Billy, great to chat to you. Stay in touch, please. Billy Thalheimer there, the CEO and co-
founder of REGENT.
THALHEIMER: Thanks. You too.
CHATTERLEY: Great to chat. All right. Still to come, Georgia stuns Portugal at the Euros to book their place in the round of 16. We'll have
the latest on the state of Euro 2024 play.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:50:00]
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to "First Move." Stress tests for banks and NVIDIA investors closing ranks. All that and more topping today's "Money
Move." A sluggish summer day of trade on Wall Street Wednesday. But the major averages were all able to chalk up gains, as you can see there. The
NASDAQ rising with little help from superstar performer NVIDIA who shares finished the day relatively unchanged.
NVIDIA held its annual shareholders meeting during the session. Approving CEO Jensen Huang's $34 million pay package. That's a 60 percent increase
from last year. Still, a substantial amount less than Elon Musk's pay over at Tesla. Just saying.
The Fed also announcing, after the closing bell, that all 31 big U.S. banks have passed the latest stress tests. The Fed, however, warning balance
sheets are riskier and expenses are higher compared to last year due in part to growing credit card debt.
Meanwhile, green arrows across Asia, the Nikkei rallying to two-month highs, but Australia pulling back on word that inflation there has risen to
4 percent, putting a right hike firmly on the table later this summer.
And in currency markets, another sizable drop in the value of the yen, its lowest levels against the dollar in 38 years, and its weakest level against
the euro ever. All this raising the odds of yet more government intervention.
And to the Euros now, and Georgia with the biggest upset of the tournament so far with a 2-nil win over Portugal to book their place in the Final 16.
Turkey also advancing to the knockout stages after their 2-1 win against Czech Republic. And earlier, it was a heartbreaking end for Ukraine. The
war-torn nation exiting the Euros following a nil-nil draw with Belgium.
Let's get to Patrick Snell. Patrick, we do know the Final 16, but a moment to talk about Ukraine, I think, too, because their hearts were truly in
this. Sad not to see them go through.
PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Yes, absolutely. And you know, they got four points as well, Julia, and to go out the tournament on goal
difference, very tough indeed. And it's really with that in mind that I say that you always get this whole range of emotions when it comes to major
football tournaments. You get the heartbreak for the countries who go home early. Then you get the utter delight and elation for those making history.
Let's get to group F. Let's start there. Where already qualified Portugal took on Georgia. Now, on paper, not many giving Georgia hope in this one,
but matches aren't played on paper, are they? Cristiano Ronaldo and his Portuguese teammates. In fact, they were already group winners ahead of
this one, but three teams could advance. It would be Geogia. Look at this, ahead after just two minutes, the Napoli superstar, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia,
producing a sublime finish for the opening goal of the match. He is a quality player.
And at this point, Georgia were through. And then, just before the hour mark, it gets even better for the Georgians. They double their lead. George
Mikautadze converting confidently from the penalty spot after a foul on Luka Lochoshvili. A famous win. And Georgia do see the game out. What an
achievement for them.
Cristiano Ronaldo left far from happy. He wants to win every game he plays, doesn't he? Georgia, 74th in the world, through to their first ever major
tournament knockout stage after a victory. Those players will cherish for a long time to come.
Well, let's get to Ukraine now, because this is the other side of the coin. They carried the hoax of a war-torn nation going into these Euros. Ahead of
the game with Belgium and Stuttgart. All four teams in Group E were level. Ukraine gave it everything. They had a really good chance. Deep into
stoppage time. At the end of the match Georgiy Sudakov, a terrific run, but he ends up hitting it straight at the keeper, that just had to go in for
Ukraine. It didn't though.
And seconds after that, look at this, the final whistle goes. Heartbreak for those Ukrainian players. They fall to the ground amid huge
disappointment. They now become the first team ever, Julia, in the history of this competition to not advance from a group after getting to four
points, they go out on difference. Really tough for them to take.
[18:55:00]
Now, in the last 16, the host Germany will take on Denmark on Saturday. Some other great matchups to look forward to. Georgia plays Spain next. And
England -- I know you want to know this, Julia. England taking on Slovakia. And if England do win that one, then they could be facing Switzerland or
defending champs Italy in the quarterfinals. It is all to play for. Back to you.
CHATTERLEY: It certainly is. I'm holding on to the desk.
SNELL: Yes, but the three lines have to up their game. I would suggest a little bit.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, they need about 30 more lines, I think, to help them out. Patrick Snell, you're so naughty, thank you very much for that.
And finally, on "First Move," we've all heard of famous directors Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, and Alfred Hitchcock. Now, perhaps, add one
more illustrious name to the list. Sora.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did you ever wonder how Toys 'R' Us and Jeffrey the giraffe came to be? The son of a bike shop owner --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHATTERLEY: This promo film for Toys 'R' Us may not seem out of the ordinary, but it's thought to be the first corporate ad made almost
entirely by A.I. It was put together with OpenAI's text to video tool named Sora, which is not yet available to the public. Wowzers. Another reason to
hold on to the desk.
And that just about wraps up the show. Thank you for joining us. We'll see you on Friday.
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[19:00:00]
END
