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First Move with Julia Chatterley
Ukraine Says it Controls 74 Settlements in Russia; Russia Expands Evacuations; U.S. State Department Approves $20 Billion of Weaponry Sales to Israel; Gaza Ceasefire Talks Resumes Thursday; Greece Firefighters Make Progress on Containing Blaze; Brian Niccol as New Starbucks CEO; Suntory Facing Economic Challenges in Japan; UAW Files Federal Labor Charges Against Trump and Musk; Musk Turns X into a Pro-Trump Machine; Scientists Found Reservoir of Water on Mars; Uncovering the Secrets of the Red Planet. Aired 6-7p ET
Aired August 13, 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]
JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNN ANCHOR, "FIRST MOVE": It's 1:00 a.m. in Kyiv, 7:00 a.m. in Tokyo, 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."
And a warm welcome to "First Move," as always. And here's today's need to know. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says his troops control more than 70
settlements in Russia as their incursion advances.
Arming Israel. The U.S. State Department approves a further $20 billion of weaponry sales.
Starbucks successor. The giant coffee chain poachers, Chipotle CEO Brian Niccol in a bid to boost lackluster sales.
And a red planet revelation. Scientists say they found signs of an underground water reservoir on Mars. That conversation and plenty more
coming up.
But first, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Kyiv's troops are continuing to advance into Russian territory. President Zelenskyy says they
now control more than 70 settlements in the Kursk region after days of intense fighting. He also referenced the capture of Russian prisoners of
war.
Ukrainian military officials say Russia has relocated some of its troops in occupied Southern Ukraine to the Kursk region. The commando in chief of
Ukraine's armed forces gave an operational update to President Zelenskyy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COL. GEN. OLEKSANDR SYRSKYL, COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF, ARMED FORCES OF UKRAINE (through translator): The armed forces of Ukraine continue the operation
in the territory of the Kursk region. Today, our troops advance in separate directions from one to three kilometers. Control over 40 square kilometers
of territory was taken. As of today, 74 settlements are under our control. Battles are being fought along the entire front line. The situation,
despite the high intensity of hostility, is under control.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHATTERLEY: Fred Pleitgen is on the story for us. And we must warn you, his report does contain graphic images.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): A Russian attack gunship firing at Ukrainian forces from the air in the Kursk
region inside Russia. While on the ground, a Russian soldier's body cam records what appear to be several killed Ukrainians near their destroyed
armored vehicle.
The Kremlin trying to show its forces are halting Ukraine's advances. But the reality is this, more Russian civilians having to evacuate their towns
and villages as Kyiv's troops press ahead.
We left the chickens at home, this woman says. We gave them two bags of grain, some water, and left. Maybe there will be nothing to return to.
What seemed to be Russian prisoners of war transported in a Ukrainian pickup, as a Ukrainian soldier spray paints the Ukrainian spelling of a
town's name inside Russia. Kyiv's lightning offensive caught not just its allies off guard, but Moscow as well.
Russian President Vladimir Putin trying to publicly brush off Ukraine's incursion, meeting with the head of the Palestinian Authority in Moscow,
after earlier berating his generals to oust Kyiv's troops from Russian soil.
VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): The main task for the Ministry of Defense is, of course, to drive and squeeze the enemy out
of our territories.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): Russia has vowed a massive retaliation in Kyiv fears Moscow could launch even larger missile strikes at Ukrainian cities,
but Ukraine's president vowing not to back down.
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Russia needs to be forced into peace, especially if Putin is so set on fighting.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): And Vladimir Putin's grip on power may not be as strong as some believe. Russian opposition activist Vladimir Kara-Murza,
who was recently released from a Russian jail in a prisoner's swap, said on CNN's OutFront.
VLADIMIR KARA-MURZ, RUSSIAN OPPOSITION POLITICIAN: I don't only think, I don't only believe, I know that Russia will change and I will be back in my
homeland. And as I told him, it's going to be much quicker than you ever think.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): But for now, Moscow says it will bring more reinforcements to its southwestern regions to try and oust Ukraine's
invasion force before it can dig in.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Berlin.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHATTERLEY: The U.S. State Department has approved a number of major potential weapons sales to Israel worth roughly $20 billion. The sales
could include up to 50 F-15 fighter jets.
[18:05:00]
The announcement comes as the region braces for possible Iranian retaliation against Israel for the killing of Hamas political leader Ismail
Haniyeh in Tehran last month. It also comes as ceasefire negotiations are set to resume on Thursday. U.S. President Joe Biden earlier said he's
concerned about the prospects for those talks.
Nic Robertson is in Tel Aviv for us tonight. This weapons approval is going to raise certain eyebrows and political angst three months ahead of an
election. It comes in a week where this sort of juggling going on of what happens for in terms of Iran's retaliation on Israel and potential
ceasefire talks on Thursday. Can't help wonder whether something has to give, Nic.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENT: A lot of pressure on all sides. And this weapons approval, a proposal for approval
of this $20 billion worth of weapons for Israel certainly can potentially be seen in that context because of the timing, because this been -- this
approval process has been in the running for a long period of time.
And when it times just before these talks and just when other diplomats and leaders in the region are expecting and hoping the United States to put a
lot of pressure on Prime Minister Netanyahu to take him a more moderate course at these talks on Thursday so that there is a chance of success that
they can produce some progress for -- on peace in Gaza. Then certainly it looks like a way of encouraging Israel in that direction. And certainly,
the defense minister here, Yoav Gallant, tweeted that this was a positive signal of U.S. support for Israel, a message perhaps not just for
politicians in Israel, but also for the Iranians.
The Iranians believe to be watching the talks or the potential for the talks hugely closely because therein lies whether or not or how hard they
will retaliate for the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran two weeks ago, how hard how much they would strike back at Israel. The idea is
if the talks are a success, then that will mitigate a larger Iranian strike.
But as President Biden says, it is anyone's guess, if you will, at the moment if this is going to be successful. A huge amount of pressure being
put on Hamas as well at the moment who are insisting that any participation that they may have in this process on Thursday will be conditional that it
is President Biden's framework proposal for peace in Gaza that emerged in July that is implemented, not negotiated. They're very afraid that Prime
Minister Netanyahu will come and make add-ons.
His office has said that they haven't made add-ons, but that's the big perception in the region here. So, the pressure is on hugely, but the fact
that diplomatic process is still working and that talks are still expected to happen Thursday is indicative that there is a possibility here, at least
to get the talks restarted after the killing of Ismail Haniyeh, who was, you know, the principal Hamas negotiator in and around those talks.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, we'll continue to watch this week, certainly, Nic. Great to have you with us. Thank you. Nic Robertson there.
Right now, to Greece, where emergency crews are trying to tame a deadly wildfire near its capital city, Athens. Firefighters are still working to
put out the last of the blaze as residents return to what remains of their homes.
Greece has seen more wildfires in recent years, this one getting the closest yet to Athens, a city of 3 million people. And the problem is only
expected to get worse. Eleni Giokos has more from outside Athens.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELENI GIOKOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As morning breaks in Greece, a moment of reckoning. Residents returned to their homes, not knowing what
they'd find.
Seventy-year-old Sakis Morfis (ph) ran away, taking only his beloved dogs. Everything else is now gone.
SAKIS MORFIS (PH) (through translator): My house, it was utterly destroyed. Even the walls fell down.
GIOKOS (voice-over): But Morfis (ph) lost more than his home. He also lost a colleague. A 65-year-old woman who went missing after the evacuation
orders.
GIOKOS: Her friends and colleagues say that they were looking for her. She went missing and eventually her body was found here at a place of work. She
spent over 20 years of her life at this business and her co-workers were saying how she was talking about going back to her home country, back to
her daughters at the end of this year. And sadly, they say she just didn't make it. And today, we find a rose left here by someone that says, we'll
remember her dearly.
GIOKOS (voice-over): More than 700 firefighters, almost 200 vehicles and 35 water bombing aircraft have now managed to control the blaze. But
100,000 acres of land were lost. The extent of the damage so great it can be seen from space.
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A scenario of destruction just a few miles from Athens. Experts say the last few years of fires are drastically changing the city's climate. The
loss of trees making winds and temperatures rise along with the risk of fire. A tough challenge ahead, local officials are well aware of.
VASILIS XYPOLITAS, MAYOR OF KIFISIA: At some point, the fire was faster than the cars and the trucks, and we are trying to catch the fire. We must
find solutions in the way of evacuating. And being first at the time of the start of the fire.
GIOKOS (voice-over): Miles of beautiful green virgin forests reduced to charred barren hills. For residents like Sofia, the feeling of loss is
beyond words.
SOFIA, LOCAL RESIDENT: I feel terrible. I can't explain how I feel this morning. We had such a green oasis here. Now, I don't know after how many
years it's going to be again. And if it'd be like before.
GIOKOS (voice-over): Many like her now point the finger at the government, blaming the lack of prevention and care as part of the fuel feeding the
fire that spared nothing in its path.
Eleni Giokos, CNN, Penteli, Greece.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHATTERLEY: Now, while Greece grapples with fire, other regions are experiencing heavy rain. Tropical Storm Ernesto is set to reach the Virgin
Islands and Puerto Rico in the coming hours. And the Pacific Ocean, Japan is bracing for a possible typhoon. For more on this, we're joined by
meteorologist Chad Myers. Chad, great to have you with us. Just walk us through what we're expecting.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: That time of year, Julia, things begin to heat up in the tropics, don't they? The water's as hot as it's going to
get, and now, all of a sudden, these storms are popping up. Tropical Storm Ernesto, likely to become a hurricane overnight.
Hurricane watches are posted, not warnings, because as storm becomes a hurricane, it should be moving away from the islands. So, hopefully, they
never get any hurricane conditions. But about 50 miles from St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands, likely to go pretty much right over the British
Virgin Islands.
Here's the latest radar here. Now, it's moved to the east there just now of San Juan Puerto Rico and will likely only maybe give 40-mile per hour, 60-
kilometer per hour winds to San Juan and for most of Puerto Rico as it's a brushing on by just off toward the east.
An awful lot of rainfall. Still going to see it, though, move up as we talked about yesterday toward Bermuda. And Bermuda, you are still right in
the middle of the cone. Hope that this would go left or right, really to the right into the middle of the Atlantic. But so far, it has not. The
water temperatures are 1 to 3 degrees above normal Celsius, 3 to 5 Fahrenheit. And the models still bring it very close to Bermuda Friday
night into Saturday.
The European model slightly to the east of Bermuda, the American model slightly to the left, to the west. I don't like that because when you add
them together and divide by two, you're just too close there to Bermuda. And there's the radar and the satellite. So, there it goes. There are the
models. And Bermuda, that word right there in the middle of all those lines.
Now, we shift our attention back out toward the west, taking a look at what's going to happen toward Japan, toward Tokyo. Tokyo, you are in the
cone of a typhoon. Yes, and possibly about 170 to 180 kilometer per hour typhoon as it works its way toward Japan. And that's -- finally, that would
be 72 hours from now. So, kind of in the window of the weekend as we get closer and closer.
But here comes the rainfall one way or the other. Does the wind actually get on land? Yes, some. Does it get to Tokyo? A little jog to the left. And
this is way too close. You can see Tokyo right there. Here's Sendai up there where the -- obviously, the earthquake took place years ago. But you
are certainly smack dab in the middle of it. Time to keep a good eye out and get ready before this even gets close. Julia.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, get ready for some rain. Fingers crossed. That's all they get. Chad Myers, thank you for that.
All right. Straight ahead, a Grande change of direction at Starbucks. The coffee chain giant replacing its CEO. Why Starbucks badly needed a caffeine
jolt coming up.
Plus, a beverage brand with a little more kick. The CEO of whiskey giants Suntory will discuss Japan's challenging business environment and where
he's looking for growth, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:15:00]
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back in today's "Money Move." A Tuesday triumph for U.S. stocks as new data on pricing proves enticing. The major U.S. averages
rising Tuesday, boosted by a market friendly read on U.S. prices at the factory gate. The NASDAQ rising almost 2.5 percent. After all the recent
market turbulence, the S&P and NASDAQ now Just about 4 percent below all- time highs. Wowzers. The Nasdaq still off 8 percent from records, but exiting 10 percent correction territory once again.
And nice gains for Asia as well. The Nikkei rising almost 3.5 percent as Japanese stocks continue to rebound after last week's tumultuous trading.
Volatility there, though, driven by a sharp rise in the value of the yen that forced the Bank of Japan to forego new rate hikes, at least for now.
And turning around, struggling Asian sales will be one of the top priorities for incoming Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol. Starbucks announcing
Tuesday that it had hired Niccol, the current CEO at Chipotle Mexican Grill, to help turn things around at the coffee chain. Call it a case of
trading burritos for beverages.
He's a well-respected industry figure, known as fast food's Mr. Fix It, who also led Taco Bell. He will be the fourth Starbucks CEO in just two years,
its stock rallied around 25 percent on the news, its largest one-day gain on record. Chipotle shares fell 20 -- sorry, fell 7.5 percent. I'm getting
carried away.
Paul La Monica joins me now. His senior markets analyst writer at Barron's. Paul, welcome. I'm getting carried away because he really is actually the
$27 billion dollar man today. Starbucks adding $21 billion dollars of market cap and Chipotle losing, what, around 6. Wow. I hope you've got a
good contract to take that job on.
PAUL R. LA MONICA, SENIOR MARKETS ANALYST WRITER, BARRON'S: Yes, you would have to think to leave Chipotle where he did an amazing job. You may
remember that back when I was at CNN, we named Brian Niccol the CEO of the year at CNN Business in 2018 because of the miraculous turnaround that he
engineered when Chipotle was suffering in the depths of that E. coli outbreak that really hurt sales. They brought him in to turn things around
from Taco Bell, and he did an amazing job.
I think, Julia, now what's going to be interesting is one of the things that Niccol did a great job at Chipotle was really amping up their mobile
business, mobile delivery I think, mobile ordering and delivery is now ubiquitous. But when you go to Starbucks, they've already got that. So, I
don't think he is heading to Starbucks to try and turn them into a mobile leader. He's got to spice up, if you will, the menu that maybe has grown
stale.
[18:20:00]
And that's going to be, I think, a tough challenge in a time where consumers are still grappling with inflation and Starbucks has a reputation
for having extremely expensive pricey beverages.
CHATTERLEY: I was going to say, it's a well wake up and smell the really expensive coffee moment relative to others out there. And particularly
given the economic conditions now, Paul, it doesn't surprise me actually that people are looking for alternatives and whether it's the food that
they serve there or the drinks, I guess that's the way he has to go. Because I couldn't agree more with you on the digitization front. He was
way ahead of the crowd in his previous situation, and I just -- I don't feel like there's the opportunity there at Starbucks.
LA MONICA: Yes, I think one issue that's going to be also a challenge for Niccol at Starbucks, a lot of people are using, you know, not just mobile,
but the drive-thru services as well. Starbucks used to have this reputation where you go in, you order a coffee, you use the Wi-Fi, you take out your
laptop, you do some work. And then, maybe you order another expensive coffee and a muffin or an egg sandwich or something like that.
So, you had higher tickets, if you will. That's less the case now that a lot of people are just going to Starbucks in the same way that they are
with McDonald's and Dunkin Donuts and other fast food type chains. So, I think Niccol is going to have to really try and find a way to make
Starbucks an experiential sort of dining establishment again. And, you know, that I think is going to be difficult in a world where a lot of
people are working from home and maybe just want to drink on the go and not sitting in the Starbucks for, you know, two hours wasting time.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, not wasting time. Obviously, working distance. You use the word spice, though, and I did pick it up. It's the question of what's
the next pumpkin spice latte, I guess. And you sort of pose the question. And I think it's a good one, too. I mean, I hate the thing. But what's the
innovative version of that I guess today is something else he has to ask?
LA MONICA: Yes, exactly. I mean, I think Starbucks needs another hit. The restaurant business is clearly a hit driven business in the same way that
entertainment is. You think of Popeye's and the chicken sandwich and how that really turned that chain around. You know, Taco Bell and they added
quesadillas. That was a huge -- excuse me, Chipotle, when they added quesadillas under Niccol, that was a huge boost to their menu.
So, Starbucks need to figure out what sort of drink can be the new pumpkin spice latte. And, you know, that's going to be, I think, one of Niccol's
biggest challenges.
CHATTERLEY: Yes. Well, Starbucks investors are saying if anyone can do it, he can, judging by the share price today. So, watch this space.
LA MONICA: Stunning rally.
CHATTERLEY: Wowzers. Yes. Enthusiasm. And then some. Paul La Monica, thank you.
Now, a new survey of large Japanese companies finds executives less optimistic about the economy as the country's consumers remain cautious.
The head of Suntory warned us back in April that he was worried about the exuberance level he saw in the Japanese stock market, given the economic
reality for businesses and consumers, particularly in a rising interest rate environment.
And I think, as we saw last week, his warning proved highly prescient. In his latest earnings, Suntory reported sales in line with estimates, but
earnings were softer. Suntory also navigating a challenging U.S. market to expanding its portfolio of ready-to-drink brands and catering to those
around the world who are drinking less.
Suntory CEO Takeshi Niinami joins us now. Tak, welcome to the show, sir. It's always a pleasure to have you on. I do want to talk about your
earnings, but I do want to mention also what we saw in the past week or so. Can I ask what you make of some of the volatility that we saw and whether
you think the Bank of Japan is still committed to raising interest rates and should it still be committed?
TAKESHI NIINAMI, SUNTORY CEO: The Bank of Japan has the strict policy to order the normalization of its monetary policy, which means that they have
still intention to keep raising interest rates, very gradually, just like, 0.25 or toward the 1 percent with spending perhaps one year at most. So, I
expect that the Japanese yen will be stronger than now, but not too much. So, I expect that the current policy will be maintained by the Bank of
Japan.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, you have to keep going once you've decided that you have to do something. Go on.
NIINAMI: Yes, still the inflation is above 3 percent.
CHATTERLEY: You got it.
[18:25:00]
NIINAMI: And the target is a 2 percent, which is set by the Bank of Japan. So -- and wage increase is still going on because of the huge lack of
labor. That is a headache to our industry and business. So, I don't expect that we'll come -- go back to the old days of deflation anymore in Japan.
CHATTERLEY: Yes. But your point is very important, I think, on the difference between where inflation lies today and where interest rates are,
it argues that there is room to move and significant amounts of room to move.
Quick question on the currency, too, because the weakness in the end has been a problem for consumers. It makes everything far more expensive to
import, particularly energy prices, even if it's better for exporters. Where do you see that settling after some of the volatility? Can you give
us a sense, even just in your mind what you're planning for?
NIINAMI: I think the current situation of the weekend created the offset of -- with the wage increases, which happened, you know, over the two or
three years in a row. But I think the silver lining is from June, the real -- positive real wage increase is happening. That will influence the
consumer confidence sooner or later. I expect that within this month, or perhaps in September. And plus, the further stronger yen, which is
appreciation depending on Fed in the United States. But I guess the consumption will be passing back sooner or later.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, the importance of that boost in wages for both confidence and for spending as well. Let's talk about your business and what you're
seeing. You talked about, particularly for the U.S. market, a more cautious consumer that's looking for value, which obviously you cater to with the
products that you have.
Does it feel like economic slowdown to you? Does it feel like what you've seen in the past in terms of recessionary behavior, or is that being too
concerned?
NIINAMI: I don't see a recession, but there are two messages, which is confusing. As a matter of fact, the people are trading down to the -- from
the premium products to standard. In the meantime, there's still a big need to the premium plus, which is between premium and the super-premium. So,
there's a polarization between the two categories.
So, I'm now working on how to digest these messages for the market. But overall, the consumer has been losing their confidence because their
pockets are going to be depleted. The pocket used to be very full because of the support from the government to COVID time. So, I think the -- we
have to be careful.
And another factor is younger generation started not to drink a lot, small amount. So, we have to address this huge change of the landscape. Such as
addressing more non-alcohol drinks and less alcohol drinks like RTD, which is our strength.
CHATTERLEY: Oh, you said the magic word. You and I have talked in the past about millennials drinking less and Gen Zs definitely drinking less. Talk
to me about the RTDs or the ready-to-drink brand rollout that I know you've been embarking on this year. You said you're going to be number one in the
world by 2030. How is progress, my friend?
NIINAMI: Yes. Well, it's been expanding by a lot, covering in 21 states, and it will go into the 50 states sooner or later bringing the technology.
From now on, I would like to say it's not a simple market for a consumer to appreciate one technology innovation. And the value for consumer. Two, a
purpose of the sense of the company. Third, health consciousness.
So, I think we have to appeal more about our technology, which carries far less sugar content using the technology, but natural. And we are very much
making efforts to sustainability, such as water sanctuary, water conservation. So, we are addressing the needs of the Gen Z, not only the
product quality.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, but sending the message that you're trying to be sustainable and to protect the planet as well. I do remember during the
pandemic, certainly in the United States, and I don't want to make people remember that ever more than they have to, but a lot of people were
Googling liquor store near me, one of their coping mechanisms. I just wondered if you were expecting any politically driven demand acceleration
into the presidential election, Tak. You could be careful how you respond to that.
[18:30:00]
NIINAMI: Oh, well, hard question. Whether, you know, either, you know, candidate to become president. I think we just have followed the trend of
the consumers. And we just developed the products based on the consumer needs. We are flexible. Because we have the huge -- you know, a strong
product category portfolio. So, we are very flexible. So, we can change the formula anytime. So, we are now putting more resources to HR -- I mean,
R&D. So, anything could happen and we can manage it.
CHATTERLEY: You're a CEO, sir, and a diplomat, I think.
NIINAMI: That's right. I should be a diplomat.
CHATTERLEY: I know you. Tak, great to see you, sir. The CEO of Suntory there. We'll speak again soon.
All right. A powerful union going head-to-head with Donald Trump and Elon Musk saying their recent conversation broke federal law. More on that and
why after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to "First Move" for the look at more international headlines this hour. Thousands of doctors across India are on
strike after the rape and murder of a trainee medic. They're demanding better protection for healthcare workers. The woman killed was a doctor
doing her residency at a hospital in Kolkata. Police have arrested one suspect. Protesters are calling for a swift prosecution.
To Australia, where we're learning more about a helicopter crash at a luxury hotel. The company that owns the aircraft say that while the person
piloting was one of their employees, they weren't authorized to fly, and that they had been partying the night before, celebrating a promotion as a
member of their ground crew staff. The crash killed the pilot and injured two guests at the hotel.
[18:35:00]
U.S. cities are facing extreme temperatures this summer. Data analysis from the International Institute for Environment and Development shows that all
of America's most populated cities are getting longer and hotter summers. Texas, Arizona, and California are some of the worst hit, seeing more days
of blistering temperatures. Scientists say a process called the urban heat island effect is behind the change.
A major auto workers union has filed federal labor charges against Donald Trump and Elon Musk. The former president spoke virtually with the Tesla
CEO on Monday. During the interview, Trump praised Musk for his anti-union stance. Just take a listen to their exchange.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You're the greatest cutter. I mean, I look at what you do. You walk in and
you just say, you want to quit? They go on strike. I won't mention the name of the company, but they go on strike and you say, that's OK, you're all
gone. You're all gone. So, every one of you is gone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHATTERLEY: The UAW says the comments constituted illegal interference or an attempt to restrain or coerce employees exercising their right to
organize. The union's president calling the comments, quote, disgusting. The UAW has endorsed Trump's rival in the 2024 race, Vice President Kamala
Harris.
For more on all of this, we're joined by Clare Duffy. Clare, I want to talk to you about the technology. We had a forewarning in this conversation
between the former president and Elon Musk, when we saw the Ron DeSantis interview discussion on X that had all the problems, I think it was back in
May, May 25th. Was this a hack? Was this just technology not up to the case again with so many people trying to listen? Whatever it was an
embarrassment, I think, once again.
CLARE DUFFY, CNN BUSINESS WRITER: Yes, Julia, look, I mean, I think this did make the discussion look overall pretty amateurish, you know, it took
away from the content of this conversation. Whatever you thought of that. This was a distraction. Users we're not able to log on to the livestream.
It took about 40 minutes for them to get this thing working.
Musk initially blamed what's called a distributed denial of service attack, a type of cyber-attack where bots flood a site with traffic. They try to
overwhelm the servers to knock it off line. But pretty immediately, tech experts called that reasoning into question, and they said it may have just
been a matter of too many real people trying to listen to this conversation and X's server is not being able to handle it because Musk has pulled back
on engineering and server resources.
But whatever happened here, it was not a good look for the company. Musk circled back this morning and did acknowledge that it was due at least in
part to what he called unforced errors on the part of this company. But he said, all's well that ends well, but I don't know if all is well because
this is the guy who wants to make self-driving taxis. He wants to convince people to transact -- to do financial transactions on X and yet, the
company can't seem to figure out how to host a livestream, Julia.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, there were all sorts of memes and questions being asked, of course, on social media today in light of that fact. I want to stick
with the former president though. He weaponized, as was Twitter then now, obviously, X back in 2016 when he won that election, he used it throughout
his presidency as you and I remember very well and we were controlled and watching it minute by minute.
Now, he's got the support of the owner of X, the controller of the algorithm. It makes it a pretty powerful tool at a time when I think we're
actually seeing less of him because of so much of the focus is now on Kamala Harris. Did this help him? Does this help him?
DUFFY: Yes, it's interesting. I mean, it's not surprising to see him try to leverage the power of this platform, which was, as you said, for a long
time, his favorite method of communicating with the public, with his supporters. And so, perhaps he's trying to use this platform that he's
really familiar with in this moment when he's trying to regain momentum.
I think it did help in some small ways. Trump's campaign team said he raised $1 million off the back of this discussion, which isn't very much.
But when you consider that there were only about a million and a half. people ever listening to this conversation at one time. It's not a tiny
amount either.
You know, did anybody learn anything new from this conversation? Not necessarily, but it was a friendly conversation for Trump. Musk has
endorsed Former President Donald Trump and he's really started to transition X into being this sort of political messaging tool for Elon
Musk's personal political views. He allowed Trump to make 20 false claims during this conversation last night without challenging him.
And I think it will be really interesting to see in the long run here whether this ends up making a significant difference for Trump because
while we've seen social media platforms play a role in elections in the past, they've been used by campaigns, they've been used by bad actors.
We've never really seen the head of one of these platforms make such a direct effort to try to campaign for a single presidential candidate,
Julia.
[18:40:00]
CHATTERLEY: Yes. And of course, one could argue it's not essential for Elon Musk to be fact-checking him. We've seen debates where candidates are
not fact-checked in real-time, certainly as well. But it did give you a sense of the relationship, I think, between these two people. And whatever
you think of Elon Musk, he is incredibly powerful and certainly a visionary in many spheres. Clare Duffy, we'll talk about it more, I'm sure. Thank you
for now.
All right. Up next, does the red planet contain a sea of blue? Scientists make a remarkable discovery about Mars. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to "First Move." From the ancient Babylonians to the astronomers of today, few parts of the cosmos have captivated
stargazers quite like Mars. Now, here on Earth, scientists are sharing remarkable new information about the red planet, saying there could be a
reservoir of water deep underneath its surface.
This is based on data collected by NASA's InSight Lander over the last few years. They say it's possible, and we stress the word possible, that the
water on Mars could potentially sustain microbial life. Getting a closer look, however, is another story.
For more on the findings of this research, let's bring in Michael Manga. He's Professor of Earth and Planetary Science at the University of
California, Berkeley. Professor, welcome to the show. We haven't found any evidence of life yet, but we've now found a place where we could possibly
sustain it. Is that correct?
MICHAEL MANGA, PROFESSOR OF EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY: Yes, life, as we know, it requires liquid water and
we think we've identified large amounts of liquid water underground. Liquid water alone though, of course, is not all it -- all life needs. Life also
needs an energy source. So, it's a potentially habitable environment, but nothing we've seen has identified life.
CHATTERLEY: Yes. So, that would take us a step further. Can we just talk about the technology first and foremost with InSight? Because when I was
reading about this earlier today, it did blow my mind. It was using a seismometer that detects quakes. So, marsquakes rather than earthquakes.
And there were tens of hundreds of them.
You study the speed, I think, which those marsquakes travel, and that gives you a sense of the composition of what is happening beneath the surface. Am
I sort of on the right track? I'm trying to simplify it.
[18:45:00]
MANGA: Yes, absolutely. The Mars InSight mission is an absolutely remarkable accomplishment to deliver such a sensitive piece of equipment to
the surface of another planet that can detect the minute marsquakes equivalent to earthquakes. And when a seismometer records vibrations of the
ground and this is what marsquakes do.
And the speed at which these waves move through the crust of Mars tells you something about the properties of those rocks, what they're made of, are
they filled with cracks, and what's inside those cracks. Is it water, is it ice, or is it gas? And the speed at which seismic waves travel on Mars is
best explained by having a crust full of cracks and cracks full of liquid water.
CHATTERLEY: How much water are we talking about, Professor? Can we gauge it?
MANGA: Yes. So, the water we think we're seeing is equivalent to what we call ground water on Earth. Water filling up cracks inside rocks
underground. If we take all this water and put it on the surface of Mars, it would be a layer of water about one mile deep. So, that's in proportion
to the size of Mars, similar to how much water we have in the oceans on the Earth.
CHATTERLEY: OK. So, that's significant amounts of water. How easy is it to access, however, if it's located, I was just looking at that chart, between
what, seven and 12 miles beneath the surface?
MANGA: That's very deep, isn't it? You can imagine trying to drill a hole even on the Earth that that's deep. Very difficult. And it takes a lot of
technology and infrastructure. So, at least below the inside land or the water's that deep. And actually, it has to be that deep because more
shallow depths, it's cold and that water would be frozen as ice.
CHATTERLEY: Why isn't there frozen groundwater at shallower depths? Can we pull that chart up again?
MANGA: That's an excellent question. Yes, it's an excellent question and one of the great puzzles that I'm hope -- we're hoping to work on next is
as we go more shallow in the crust, it's colder and the water should freeze. And when we began the study, we first looked to see, can we see
this layer of frozen ice? And we were not able to find it. It could be further north and south, closer to the poles. The groundwater is frozen.
But unfortunately, we don't have seismometers there to do a more detailed analysis.
CHATTERLEY: Wow. How long is it going to take to continue to work on this and what next, Professor?
MANGA: Unfortunately, the seismometer is no longer collecting data. Although, I think over the next decade, we're still going back to that data
and extract more InSights. Probably the next big hope for better understanding life on Mars or the evolution of Mars, more generally, is
returning samples collected by the Perseverance Rover.
Perseverance is collecting and caching samples now and a couple other missions later we're going to be bringing those samples back to the Earth
where we can deploy all this super sophisticated technology we have in labs on Earth.
CHATTERLEY: So, to connect this story to our last story, and I know you were listening. You know, Musk often talks about populating Mars, even the
possibility, and I'll keep repeating the possibility because some of this is speculative that we're discussing now, how far out are we from that even
being a prospect simply just based on the research that we have today? If ever.
MANGA: Getting to Mars is very difficult. It's a long journey, but we also need resources. Of course, one of the resources we rely on and all our
listeners know is water. And there is a large amount of water on Mars frozen at the surface, maybe liquid underground. Accessing it is difficult.
We need an energy source and all the other support technology that we rely on. So, I'd love to see it happen in our lifetime that we -- does it other
planets. We'll see if it happens.
CHATTERLEY: Yes. Fingers crossed. There'll be a lot of people listening to us now saying there's plenty of problems to fix on this planet before you
start wandering over to Mars. But it's fascinating to talk to you, sir. Thank you so much for your wisdom. Professor Michael Manga, we'll speak
again soon, I'm sure. Thank you.
All right. Next, back here on Earth, I just said that, joining us on a trip to New York's Coney Island as Richard Quest gets a firsthand look at one of
its most famous attractions.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:50:00]
CHATTERLEY: And you're watching "First Move" live from New York, a city famous for its bustling streets and world class nightlife. But over in
Brooklyn, there's an oasis of its own in the form of Coney Island, home to one of the most best-known broad walks in the United States, along with
games, rides, and wacky sideshows. It's also known for the Wonder Wheel, which was built more than a century ago.
The Vourderis family has owned the park for generations, and Deno Vourderis is the latest to carry on that legacy. Our Richard Quest joined him for a
ride on his Wonder Wheel.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DENO VOURDERIS, CO-OWNER, DENO'S WONDER WHEEL AMUSEMENT PARK: This is the jewel of Coney Island right here.
RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS EDITOR-AT-LARGE: Right.
VOURDERIS: That's the Wonder Wheel. It's 104 years old, but it's not a Ferris wheel. It's an eccentric Ferris wheel because it's part Ferris
wheel, part roller coaster. It's part of the whole Coney Island, United States ingenuity.
QUEST: What is the attraction to it, do you think?
VOURDERIS: I mean, it's full of history. It means -- what makes the Wonder Wheel so special is it means different things to different people. It could
be a first date. It could be a proposal. It could be an anniversary. It's the most romantic ride in the world, and in 1920 it was the most thrilling
ride in the world.
QUEST: Are you looking to a good summer this year? What's your gut telling you, D.J.?
VOURDERIS: My gut is telling me that people need, not want, people need a place to unwind. I mean, we're always looking down on our devices. We're
not actually living anymore. So, I think places like Coney Island are essential businesses.
QUEST: People meet here?
VOURDERIS: People meet here. My grandparents used to date right on the beach out here in 1948.
QUEST: And you, sir. You, sir. Come -- follow me around. Tell me what's your history? Come in. What's your history?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My parents met here on the beach.
QUEST: Your parents met here on the beach?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They lived here in Brooklyn and they would take the train in. They came as two groups of friends and they met right here on
this beach.
VOURDERIS: 1920, we have the Coney Island's oldest attraction. When COVID came by, everybody was cutting and running. We doubled down. We opened
Coney Island's newest attraction. Because you either believe in what you're doing or you don't. And we believe in this place, we believe in its future.
QUEST: Right. Should we go on this?
VOURDERIS: I mean, I'm ready. You ready?
QUEST: Well, I mean, it's rather quiet.
VOURDERIS: We haven't killed anybody all day, let's go.
QUEST: Fine, let's go then.
VOURDERIS: You know about saltwater corrosion? Yes, so we're constantly repainting, we're constantly resurfacing, we're constantly x-raying all
these pieces of metal to make sure there's no cracks. That's some new stuff that's been around now, but The Wonder Wheels definitely stood the test of
time. I'm not going to tell you when it's going to swing. We're just going to keep talking and we'll see what happens. You don't have to hold on.
Hands up.
QUEST: No, no, no.
VOURDERIS: Hands up.
QUEST: No.
VOURDERIS: You're not supposed to make that sound.
QUEST: Looks like we're swinging.
VOURDERIS: There you go. But here it is. This is Coney Island, guys.
QUEST: Right.
VOURDERIS: You have --
QUEST: What do you need?
VOURDERIS: What do we need here?
QUEST: Yes. What do you need? As you look around at it, what is it that you actually now need in Coney Island?
VOURDERIS: I think we could use a little more investment. I think people are still a little afraid. I think we need more people to not be afraid.
When COVID hit, we knew the future of this place. And that's what always kept Coney Island coming back, is there was always somebody who knew this
place's potential. There was always somebody who believed in its future. And honestly, I believe if we remember who we are, then our best days are
ahead of us. There's so much potential.
Coney Island's always had that reputation of being a little, you know, old New York, right? Let's say old New York.
QUEST: Joey in your face.
[18:55:00]
VOURDERIS: Joey in your face. And you know what? Some of it still is like that. And we don't want to lose everything that we are, but we want to kind
of find that middle ground. And I think we're slowly getting there.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHATTERLEY: And finally, on "First Move," how do you fancy owning a piece of motoring history? Well, you can do just that if you have a cool $70
million to spare. These are just two of the legendary racing cars set to be sold by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum later this year. The car on
the top was driven by F1 legend Stirling Moss and El Mitro himself, Juan Manuel Fangio. Got it right. So, no pressure.
The bottom car is the Ferrari that won the 1965's 24 Hours of Le Mans Endurance Grand Prix. A total of 11 cars are being put up for sale with the
proceeds going back into the museum. Yes, they're quite unusually shaped. Not sure how I feel about those.
That's just about wrapping up the show. Some people like them. Thank you for joining us. I'll see you tomorrow.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:00:00]
END
