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Quest Means Business
FBI Director To Step Down Before Trump Takes Office; US Inflation Heats Up to 2.7 Percent Year-over-Year In November; Israel And Turkey Strike Military Targets In Syria; Online Reaction To Shooting May Signal Elevated Threat To Executives; California Students Run A Food Recycling Program; Norwegians Use Ancient Grazing Method To Protect Heathlands; Judge Blocks The Onion's Purchase Of Alex Jones's Infowars. Aired 4-5p ET
Aired December 11, 2024 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:09]
JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: California Resources Corporation ringing the closing bell and bringing sunshine to tech investors. The
NASDAQ rising above 20,000 for the very first time. US inflation meeting forecast leaving that door open for the Federal Reserve next week. Those
are the markets and these are the main events.
The FBI director says he will resign before Trump takes office. The president-elect has pledged to replace him.
And as I mentioned, US inflation rising slightly, cementing expectations for a Fed rate cut next week.
And it is Call to Earth Day, we will hear from elementary school children taking the waste out of school lunches.
Live from New York, it is Wednesday, December 11th. I am Julia Chatterley, in for Richard Quest and this is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.
And good evening once more, FBI Director Christopher Wray has announced his resignation. The bureau says Wray will leave before Donald Trump takes
office next month. His term as FBI Director expires in 2027. President- elect Trump already indicated that he wants to replace Wray with Kash Patel, a vocal critic of the bureau.
Trump is speaking out on Truth Social, calling Wray's resignation, "a great day for America."
Katelyn Polantz is in Washington, DC for us.
Katelyn, this feels like a case of bowing out gracefully versus being asked to leave, because that's what everyone expected.
KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE SENIOR REPORTER: Avoiding being fired even. I mean, this was a situation where Wray has three years left on
a ten-year term that he was appointed to, and he was indeed appointed by Donald Trump in 2017 to come into that position of FBI Director, but he and
Trump have clashed over the years.
Trump has been quite unhappy with him, even during Trump's own administration and then more recently, especially because of the FBI's work
on the classified documents case that was brought against Donald Trump as a criminal defendant and the FBI's work on those sweeping January 6th
prosecutions. They had an enormous amount of law enforcement evidence gathering to do to bring to justice those defendants that Trump now wants
to pardon.
And so, at this moment, Donald Trump wants to take the FBI in a different direction. He already had said he was going to put Kash Patel, someone who
has railed against the FBI's practices of law enforcement publicly in the place of the FBI Director, but because it is a ten-year position, either
Wray would have had to be fired once Trump becomes the president or he would have to step down.
What happened today was that Wray announced his resignation to come at the end of the Biden administration, January 20th, that transfer of power.
He also noted to the staff of the FBI: "My goal is to keep the focus on our mission, the indispensable work you're doing on behalf of the American
people every day." He also said, "In my view, this is the best way to avoid dragging the Bureau deeper into the fray while reinforcing the values and
principles that are so important to how we do our work."
So clearly, Wray, acknowledging the political climate that there is a situation where the FBI is under attack, trying to instill confidence in
the people that work in that Bureau at a moment where Trump himself is attacking the Bureau over and over again.
In Trump's statement, he pointed out what he felt were personal grievances, saying "Under the leadership of Christopher Wray, the FBI illegally raided
my home without cause, worked diligently on illegally impeaching and indicting me, and has done everything else to interfere with the success
and future of America. We want our FBI back and that will now happen."
I should point out that those searches that the FBI did or the search the FBI did in August of 2022 at Mar-a-Lago to pick up the classified documents
Donald Trump kept after his presidency that was signed off by a court. It was never deemed to be illegal. Trump just didn't go to trial because a
judge said the prosecutors didn't have authority to charge him in court.
CHATTERLEY: Certainly, Katelyn Polantz, thank you so much for that.
And David Sanger is with us now to discuss this further.
David, as we were saying there, no surprises the president, despite the fact that he initially picked Christopher Wray to lead the FBI, he has made
it very clear he is unhappy with him and it now opens the door for Kash Patel to take over, assuming he can get confirmed.
DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: That is absolutely right, Julia.
Kash Patel is a much more pliant, a true believer for Donald Trump. And you know, when you think about it, in many ways, the FBI Director was the last
of this group of Trump appointees who he later concluded was disloyal. You know, this started, of course, with Rex Tillerson, the Secretary of State.
[16:05:07]
President Trump went through four National Security advisers, fired each of them. President Biden has had the same one through the entire term. Mike
Pompeo was Secretary of State, the second Secretary of State. Trump announced shortly after his election, would not be considered for a
position, nor would Nikki Haley. Why? Because they both ran against him.
But the crime here was something different. Christopher Wray's crime was that he sent that FBI team in to look for the classified documents that
President Trump had failed to turn over when he was ordered to turn them over. And, of course, they found them in Mar-a-Lago.
CHATTERLEY: The director also insisting that the FBI cannot change its, "commitment to doing the right thing the right way every time." Perhaps I
am reading too much into this, but is that Christopher Wray, perhaps digging regarding what comes next? The fear, of course, is in certain
quarters, to your point that Trump could use the agency to go after enemies.
SANGER: Oh, absolutely. And I think that that is going to be the battle inside the FBI if they are ordered to go after enemies. The president has
already said in that NBC interview on "Meet the Press" over the weekend that he believes that all the members of the January 6th Select Committee
in Congress should be in jail.
These, whether you like their conclusions or you didn't like their conclusions, they were duly put together by Congress. They were acting
under congressional investigative authority. They came to the conclusions they came to and to Donald Trump, that's a jailing offense.
CHATTERLEY: But we are talking about a body that employs, what -- 35,000 individuals, including thousands of field agents. They look at terrorism,
they look at espionage, they look at child exploitation.
David, what do you imagine the mood inside the FBI is like, not just with this change, but imagining, I think, what comes next and how it will be
reformed and changed, for better or worse.
SANGER: You know, I think you see this and hear similar stories across the bureaucracy -- at the CIA, at the FBI, at each one of the agencies that
President Trump or his team have designated to have been part of the Deep State, to use their phrase. You see it even in non-investigatory places
like the State Department.
I think the question is, how low down through the bureaucracy does the president plan to go? Does he -- is he just trying to change the
leadership? And thus, the message is sent from the top, or does he plan to clean house through even civil servants who believe that they are doing
their job the way they are supposed to? We have some evidence that he wants to reclassify, as he attempted at the end of his first term, a number of
these civil servants to a category that would enable him to fire them.
CHATTERLEY: We shall see what comes. David Sanger, thank you so much. We've got a long way to go in the process yet, including seeing a confirmation or
not of Kash Patel.
SANGER: That's right. It is going to be a long month.
CHATTERLEY: David, good to have you. It is.
SANGER: Thank you.
CHATTERLEY: Thank you so much, sir.
All right, let's move on.
US inflation picking up in November, a sign that the final stretch of the Fed's inflation battle will be the toughest. Consumer prices rising 2.7
percent year-over-year, a slight increase from October, and the highest reading since July.
Grocery prices have a lot to do with it. Prices for food at home rose 0.5 percent on the month, the biggest increase in nearly two years. Core
inflation, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, held steady at 3.3 percent, and that's helped give investors confidence that the Fed will
cut rates next week.
Shelter prices also featured into this as well.
Michelle Meyer is the chief economist at Mastercard Economics Institute and joins us now.
Michelle, fantastic to have you with us.
Your sense on these numbers, the consensus seems to be that this doesn't change the ability of the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates next week.
MICHELLE MEYER, CHIEF ECONOMIST, MASTERCARD ECONOMICS INSTITUTE: I think that's right. I mean, as you noted, Julia, it is a little bit of a mixed
picture when it comes to the inflation data.
On the one hand, you did see a little bit of an increase in categories that had been showing some real disinflation, including food, some other goods
categories did tick up a bit, but the encouraging part of the report was that easing in rental or housing related inflation, which has been the
stickiest part of the inflation basket, and really the part that the Fed was waiting on to feel very confident that they can continue to see a path
lower for inflation.
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So it does seem like it is setting up for the Fed to be able to deliver, as the market is expecting next week for an additional 25 basis points of
cuts.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, I mean, 40 percent of the overall gain for shelter prices or housing costs and we have seen that as high as 90 percent of the gain
just for context.
So we've seen interest rates from the Federal Reserve come down a little bit. Wages on average at least have more than caught up, though of course
it has been very painful for people.
The jobs market remains strong. It sort of ties to your spending survey, which shows a resilience in consumers, even as consumers seem to be more
strategic in their purchases, more sort of mass products rather than luxury, for example.
Just talk us through what you're seeing from the consumer.
MEYER: Absolutely. I think it very much ties to what you had mentioned, Julia, in terms of the labor market, which is strong. We are still seeing
an economy that is net adding jobs; an unemployment rate that is close to, you know, record low levels and wage growth as a result that is running at
a mid-four percent pace, which is above underlying inflation for goods and services.
So there is real purchasing power out there, which is important for driving consumer spending, particularly at this critical time in the holiday
season.
And we have the ability to see that in real time. So we are able to track and look at spending trends on a high frequency basis on a hyperlocal
basis, and we are seeing consumers engaging during this season, particularly during periods of promotion.
So this Black Friday weekend was really critical, and we did see a lot of particularly e-commerce spending during this period of time.
CHATTERLEY: Yes. So we are seeing strategic spending, as you said, promotional spending and people looking for bargains, which makes sense.
Do you think, if we take a step back, we are still underestimating the underlying strength of the US economy? Because I have seen a lot of debate
since the inflation number and since the Black Friday spending that I know you are mentioning, too, that perhaps this could be sort of a final cut, at
least for now, from the Federal Reserve. Is that people getting too excited, or is that a risk based on, you know, the underlying picture of
the economy?
MEYER: Look, I think that many folks have underestimated this business cycle this whole time for the past several years, looking for the cycle to
turn, looking for that weakness to show up, and being surprised when the economy not only grows at trend, but above trend.
If you think about how we are tracking for this year, real GDP growth looks like it is coming in at 2.8 percent. Last year, we had 2.9 percent GDP
growth.
So it is an economy that is running still in a robust pace, and I think a lot of that owes to the fact that the US consumer has really been able to
engage in this cycle.
So as we look ahead, you know, we are paying a lot of attention to trends in the labor market, trends in consumer spending, how we are seeing the
momentum play out and what that means for inflation. I do think that were in an environment where inflation should continue to cool, particularly for
goods, where consumers are looking for those promotions or looking for those deals, and I think that is helping to generate a demand side push
towards lower prices.
But at the same time, with the labor market continuing to expand, wages running above underlying inflation, there is a limit to how much inflation
will come off of these levels, and I think that's exactly what the Federal Reserve is trying to balance right now.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, and I guess the biggest wildcard from now is perhaps at least in the next six to 12 months, what happens with tariffs/ Do you think
some part of the underlying strength that we are seeing is brought forward consumption, as people perhaps anticipate prices being more expensive or is
that too fanciful because we simply don't have enough information yet on what the next administration will mean and bring in terms of tariffs,
despite the threats?
MEYER: I think there are a lot of uncertainties and a lot of questions on exactly how policy will play out next year, whether you're talking about
trade policy or other types of fiscal policy. So the timing is unknown, the degree of tariffs is unknown.
So I think it is really hard for consumers in particular to plan properly, knowing what the future price might be. That said, a lot of companies are
looking to be proactive and if you look at the import data from the Census Bureau, it has shown an increase in imports over the last few months, and
that trend could continue as companies look to build some inventories and stockpiles given the uncertainty around the path forward for trade.
But I think what we are seeing today in terms of consumer spending is really based off the fundamentals in the economy, which has been continued
job creation, continued wage growth.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, that was a perfect tease for my next segment, by the way, Michelle, great to chat with you. Thank you so much for your insights.
Michelle Meyer there.
Experts are warning that the steep tariffs proposed by President-elect Trump could push inflation higher. Well, I spoke last night to the
executive director of the Port of Los Angeles, Gene Seroka who says rule- based trade will protect US interests and jobs.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GENE SEROKA, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR PORT OF LOS ANGELES: We've heard 10 percent tariffs on all $3 trillion worth of US imports, maybe targeting China with
60 percent tariffs. Now, Mexico and Canada have been in the discussions. But realistically speaking, as we've said, tariffs will lead to higher
prices at the retail and manufacturing input levels, and that's directly from associations representing those memberships across the country.
Now, what we saw at the end of 2022 was that 57 percent of our business portfolio was traded with China. That's now down to 43 percent. If
additional tariffs go in, I continue to see that share of China's business dropping.
But at the same time, we've seen growth at the Port of Los Angeles. We've been out there chasing the cargo, working with our shipping lines to put
nonstop services in, because that speed component has been our hallmark at the port of Los Angeles for decades. We need to continue down that path.
CHATTERLEY: You see, that's fascinating.
So actually, a decline in volumes with China, you seem to have seen an offset with trade with other nations, which I guess you would expect and is
what the president-elect has perhaps pushed for and talked about.
Just to be clear, what is your message to the president-elect and the next administration about the potential impact? And can we put it in terms of
sort of jobs tied to each container that you move and perhaps indirectly tied to the port in terms of jobs as well?
SEROKA: That's right, Julia. For every four containers we move through the Port of Los Angeles, it creates one job and in Southern California's
region, one in nine jobs, more than a million people go to work every day relying on what we do at the Port of Los Angeles.
My message to the transition teams and the new folks as they step into office is that we believe in rules-based trade. We want to protect American
interests and jobs. But with 90 percent of world trade moving on water, this is an important part of the US economy and our livelihood has to take
into consideration how we are going to manage these trading partners and the flow of the products that all of us buy here in America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHATTERLEY: Our thanks to Gene Seroka there.
All right, coming up for us, Israel continuing to strike military sites inside Syria. The details on that, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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CHATTERLEY: Welcome back.
Israel and Turkey are both continuing to strike Syria days after the fall of President Assad. Israel says it struck Syria nearly 500 times and has
destroyed its Navy fleet and weapons stockpiles.
Meanwhile, Turkish state media is reporting that a drone strike has destroyed military equipment in Northern Syria after it was seized by a
Kurdish group.
Jeremy Diamond has the very latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): In the dead of night, Syrian Naval Ships going up in flames. At daybreak, this is all that
remains of the Syrian fleet at Latakia after Israel launched a wave of strikes intended to destroy the strategic arsenal of the newly deposed
regime of Bashar al-Assad.
Israeli missile ships fired the fatal blow at Latakia. Many more were carried out by Israeli jets. Altogether, nearly 500 strikes since the fall
of Assad's regime.
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): We have no intention to intervene in Syria's internal affairs, but we certainly intend
to do everything necessary to take care of our own security.
DIAMOND (voice over): The Israeli prime minister says the strikes are aimed at preventing the Assad regime's strategic and long range weapons from
falling into the hands of radical Islamists. Syria's rebel leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, better known by his moniker, Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, previously
led Syria's al-Qaeda affiliate and while he has struck a more moderate tone, there is still considerable uncertainty about what this new Syria
will look like.
Israel Ziv, a retired Israeli general, says Israel has long prepared for this scenario.
ISRAEL ZIV, RETIRED ISRAELI GENERAL: To be honest, we have those plans for over a decade. It took like, I think three days to refresh those plans and
refresh the intelligence, to make the decision and to go for, for a very big operation.
DIAMOND (voice over): The Israeli military estimates that the operation has destroyed 70 to 80 percent of Syria's strategic weapons, including jets and
attack helicopters, cruise and ballistic missiles, as well as air defense systems. It also struck Syria's chemical weapons depots.
ZIV: The strategy now behind the strikes is about taking off any future potential threats that can be shot back at us.
DIAMOND (voice over): Israel has also sent ground troops into Syria, capturing 155 square mile buffer zone that has separated Israeli and Syrian
troops for half a century after Syrian troops abandoned their posts.
But Israel is also capturing strategic points beyond that buffer zone, a move it insists is temporary. Israel's actions drawing criticism from its
neighbors.
AYMAN SAFADI, JORDANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): The aggression that Israel conducted against Syria and occupying this land is a
violation and a breach of international law, and an unacceptable escalation.
DIAMOND (voice over): And the United Nations --
GEIR PEDERSEN, UN SPECIAL ENVOY FOR SYRIA: We are continuing to see Israeli movements and bombardments into Syrian territory. This needs to stop.
DIAMOND (voice over): Israel very well may, having already accomplished what it set out to do.
Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHATTERLEY: Across Syria, people are still adjusting to life free from the brutal Assad regime, though deep uncertainty, of course, remains about what
comes next and the signs of recent conflict are still very clear to see.
Jomana Karadsheh reports from Damascus.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Across Syria, we are seeing scenes like this, military vehicles left abandoned on the sides of
roads and highways. And if you look around here, you see these troops shed their military uniforms, you see combat boots, you see their belongings
everywhere. And perhaps giving us an indication of how this collapse happened is it appears these soldiers fled fast.
In this location, at least, we are not seeing any signs of them putting up a fight.
Seventy-two-year-old Bashir Saman (ph) is here with his son and his grandchildren.
Did you ever imagine that this day would come?
BASHIR SAMAN, 72 YEARS OLD: Really, no. No, at least in my few years left in my life. But I am afraid of one thing.
KARADSHEH: What?
SAMAN: That someone will come up and say "This is candid camera."
KARADSHEH: You still can't believe it happened, can you?
SAMAN: No.
UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: I still feel like I have -- like I am still watched or something like, is there a camera anywhere or something?
KARADSHEH: We are seeing a lot of people stopping here for photos, climbing on the tanks, people bringing their children, telling us that this is
history and they want their children to witness that.
[16:25:06]
(UNIDENTIFIED MALE speaking in foreign language.)
TRANSLATION: Today, we Syrian people are free. Thank God we will always be free.
We got rid of the criminal dog, Assad and his tyranny. Say "Bashar is a dog."
(UNIDENTIFIED BOY speaking in foreign language.)
TRANSLATION: Bashar is a dog.
KARADSHEH: Syrians still can't believe what they are seeing. The long feared security apparatus and military just melted away.
You can see people are so happy. But at the same time, this is a reminder that their country is awash with weapons. There are so many different rebel
factions armed to the teeth, and it just exacerbates the fears of people about what might be coming next.
Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, Damascus.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHATTERLEY: Thanks to Jomana there.
Now, coming up for us, the shocking killing of the UnitedHealthcare CEO has captivated the world and left other executives shaken. We will tell you how
CEOs and their firms are reacting, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHATTERLEY: Hello. I'm Julia Chatterley, and there is more QUEST MEANS BUSINESS in a moment when police are uncovering more evidence in the
killing of the UnitedHealthcare CEO.
A judge has blocked "The Onion's" attempt to buy "Infowars." He says the satirical publication's winning bid left money on the table.
But before that, this is CNN and on this network, the news always comes first.
Police in South Korea have raided the country's presidential office. That's according to a presidential security official. It is part of the
investigation into Yoon Suk Yeol's brief declaration of martial law.
Meanwhile, a prison official says the former Defense minister tried to take his own life while in custody. He was detained Sunday and has now been
moved into an isolation room.
Donald Trump is expected to ring the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday, that's according to sources familiar with his plans.
It would be a first for the former president, who campaigned on a business friendly agenda. His wife, Melania, rang the opening bell while serving as
First Lady.
FIFA has officially picked Saudi Arabia to host the World Cup in 2034. It was the only nation in the running. Human Rights groups are criticizing the
decision. They're particularly concerned about the migrant workers who will be needed to build the stadiums and hotels.
FIFA says the world cup is a unique catalyst for positive social change.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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CHATTERLEY: First for the former president who campaigned on a business- friendly agenda. His wife Melania rang the Opening Bell while serving as first lady.
FIFA has officially picked Saudi Arabia to host the World Cup in 2034. It was the only nation in the running. Human rights groups are criticizing the
decision. They're particularly concerned about the migrant workers who will be needed to build the stadiums and hotels. FIFA says the World Cup is a
unique catalyst for positive social change.
Police are building their case against the suspect in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO. Authorities saying the gun found on Luigi Mangione
matches the shell casings found at the scene of the crime. Meanwhile, a police intelligence report obtained by CNN giving a warning about online
posts cheering on the killing, quote, "This rhetoric may signal an elevated threat facing executives in the near term, with the shooting itself having
the capability to inspire a variety of extremists and grievance-driven malicious actors to violence."
Keith Wojcieszek is global head of threat intelligence at Kroll, and he joins us now.
Keith, we'll come to that point and perhaps the risk of copycats, but I just want to ask you, what kind of increase in activity and requests have
you seen from companies since the killing took place?
KEITH WOJCIESZEK, GLOBAL HEALTH OF THREAT INTELLIGENCE, KROLL: Julia, thank you very much for having me today. So, you know, in the past week or so,
we've seen approximately about 200 percent increase in requests of physical protection and looking towards different types of intelligence to see if
there's a threat out there for some of these executives.
CHATTERLEY: And is it specifically in the healthcare industry, or is it all industries? And I guess to that point, is your advice for all industries
that they need to be analyzing the threats posed to their executives at this moment.
WOJCIESZEK: You know, that's a wonderful question because it is not just healthcare. It is every industry. Every industry that is out there has been
contacted us to see, you know, where do we sit? What are we doing to mitigate some of these potential threats? You know, I think when you talked
earlier, and talked about online chatter, social media and different types of intelligence we can collect to order -- to assess what that risk is. And
that's what they're looking for because when it comes down to it, the intelligence that you derive before really predicts how the threat is going
to accumulate and then what you need to do to mitigate.
CHATTERLEY: You're saying that a digital footprint for a company and then personal digital footprints for individuals makes this problem that much
more difficult because it's not just arguably a physical threat that we're talking about here. It's also cyber threat, surely, too. I mean,
understanding what your vulnerabilities are is crucial to providing better protection.
WOJCIESZEK: No, you're exactly right. Understanding your vulnerabilities, where those gaps are, and your exposure, right. And looking at this, it may
not be the CEO. It may not be the executives, it could be their children. It could be their family members that are posting information that could be
harm to them. So understanding where those gaps are and mitigating them the best you can is extremely important.
We're seeing a rise in all of this. You know, even you had said historically talking about even something as little as swatting where there
used to be, you know, they call the emergency services to come to a house and saying that, you know, faking is -- it's a terrible thing that they do.
But these criminals are doing that just to see the response. So we're seeing all types of different attacks. It doesn't always have to be
physical. So it derives and starts with cybersecurity for sure.
CHATTERLEY: I mean, companies are at the epicenter of all sorts of risks. Activism, geopolitics, personal grievances, as appears to be in this case
as well.
Keith, how do you analyze all the threats that are potentially posed and decide which ones are relevant and which ones you don't need to worry about
so much? It's incredibly difficult for companies at this moment, I'm sure, to pore through all the threats that they face and decide what is pertinent
and what isn't. And there's a risk that you miss the ones that are.
WOJCIESZEK: Yes, it is difficult. That's why, you know, with the help of technology today and Kroll having that access to different automated
intelligence is very helpful. But when it comes down to a specific threat, there's really three criteria you need to look at. One, you know, is there
a threat. Two, is that threat viable. And can the person that carried out there actually carry out the threat? And then thirdly is, can they can they
travel? Can they move to this location.
So as we're looking at that different types of characteristics of these threats, it helps us determine, you know, what are viable threats and what
is noise because we do want to filter out noise. You don't want to, you know, heighten an alert when it's not necessary. So, you know, evaluating
this and verifying it is extremely important and valuable in order for us to protect the individuals.
[16:35:05]
CHATTERLEY: Do you have a sense of what proportion of companies, and maybe we narrow it down to big companies, have enough protection for their
executives and their families, and what kind of money they're spending on this? Because I'm pretty conscious of the fact that it doesn't impact the
bottom line and the financials. So if anybody is looking to save costs, perhaps this is somewhere where you strip costs from and you pull back on
this rather than perhaps leaving this as an essential part of a business.
WOJCIESZEK: Yes. You know, you're spot on there because when having to do an assessment and looking at cost to it, you have to weigh in exactly, OK,
how much do we want to spend the protection. What is the real threat? And the cost really associated with the level of protection. You know, are you
going to protect the individual? Are you going to protect the family members? You know what is the true risks?
And then you look at the back end. How long has these threats been going on? And you had talked earlier about geopolitical. It isn't always about
financial. So looking at that geopolitical potential, there's so many variables that predict this and understand where those gaps exist so you
can mitigate it. But again it's a case by case basis. But ultimately it's determining, you know, are those threats real and does that executive or
individual feel safe?
CHATTERLEY: Keith, very quickly, and it's very difficult to predict and to say and to go back in time, but would some kind of personal protection in
this instance that we saw, what, just over a week ago, might that have saved Brian Thomson's life?
WOJCIESZEK: You know, that's tough, right? And I can't really say either or I don't have all the facts. But looking at the assessments, I think once
you're going to see, once they come out with more information, maybe what if there was a solution, what that solution could have been. Now again, we
don't know the specific threats that have happened, but looking back, you could see, OK, was there a telltale sign on this? The little thing, like
was his movements posted prior, and if so, why were they?
CHATTERLEY: Yes.
WOJCIESZEK: So there's more information that needs to be collected before to make that decision.
CHATTERLEY: Keith, good to chat to you. Keith Wojcieszek there. Good to chat.
WOJCIESZEK: Thank you.
CHATTERLEY: All right. Coming up, it's Call to Earth Day. We've sent one of our reporters to see how the next generation is doing their part.
JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Julia Vargas Jones in Cerritos, California, where this school has taken zero waste to new heights. Tell you
more after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:40:36]
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back. And we're returning to our Call to Earth Day coverage. Thousands of students across the globe engaged in a day of action
to help save the planet they're inheriting.
We have correspondents filing reports from all around the world, including Beijing, Nairobi, London and Miami. Our theme this year is "Connected
Generations." We'll be looking to the wisdom of our ancestors for sustainable living practices and how we can use them in our daily lives.
And we're going to start in Cerritos, California, near Los Angeles.
Julia Vargas Jones is at Bragg Elementary School.
Julia, fantastic to have you with us. Tell us what you've been up to with the schoolchildren I can see behind you.
VARGAS JONES: Well, this is such an incredible team, Julia. This is the Green Team at Bragg Elementary. They showed me earlier today they work in a
pollinator garden where they have butterflies and hummingbirds and all sorts of flowers and plants that they take care of on a daily basis. And
they also showed to us their lunch, their zero waste lunch.
Here they have recycling, they have compost that goes to pigs that they have actually a little picture of the pig that gets to eat the leftovers of
their lunch. Some of that compost then goes back into the garden, like talk about a sustainable practice.
I want you to just hear a little bit of what they had to say about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have a company that we donate all this food to called Food Finders. And Food Finders takes the food and they give it to
the homeless.
VARGAS JONES: OK. What's next?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They dump all their milk and juices in here, and then they take their cartons and they put them in here. And these go in a
different recycling bin than our cans and bottles do. And Nivae (PH) will tell you all about that.
VARGAS JONES: Hi, Nivae.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi. Our cans, bottles and aluminum or our aluminum cans go in here. We usually take off all the tabs, and those tabs go to
Ronald McDonald House to help sick kids. And then we'll all take them to the recycling unit so they can recycle them. Then over here, we have our
compost. This is where we put our open foods. And we give this to our pigs Abby and Larry, and our parrot Max. So that way we don't waste this food.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VARGAS JONES: And so this is some of the over 100 kids who participate in these activities. They have been so great in showing us around their school
today, but we also have here Kerry Flores, who is -- actually who runs the Green Team.
This is an initiative that you started over six years ago, I believe you said? What has it been like? What have you seen the kids take away from
taking the matter of saving the environment into their own hands?
KERRY FLORES, TEACHER AT BRAGG ELEMENTARY: Well, I'm so lucky because these kids are amazing. And if you believe in them, and then kids believe in
themselves that they can change the world, they do. And they are with our trash free lunch. We've eliminated single use plastics on our campus, and
then they take those lessons home. And many, many parents tell me they can't buy plastic anymore and we're starting gardens and composting. So it
really is growing. And these kids are changing the world.
VARGAS JONES: It's so inspiring and it's been so inspiring to see, Julia, just how excited they are about sharing their practices. You know, here in
California, I'll say a lot of schools as of January 1st will have to start implementing food waste practices that are similar to what you have been
doing. How does it feel to be a role model for the rest of the state?
FLORES: We're very proud of our trash free lunch, going from 35 bags to two a day, and we're hoping to be a role model for other schools.
VARGAS JONES: And these kids, because of their excitement, they had this beautiful setup for us for a Call to Earth Day where we had a drone flying
over. They spelled out Call to Earth Day for us, and it's just been truly inspiring. I'm so happy and lucky to be here.
Thank you all of you guys for having us here today -- Julia.
CHATTERLEY: Julia, that is just amazing. And I love the idea that these kids are going home and sort of teaching their families and teaching their
parents how to recycle properly as well. But can I just check because you were talking with them, are those pigs. and I believe they said a parrot,
are they actually on the school grounds? Do they have animals that they're feeding on the school grounds, or am I being too fanciful?
VARGAS JONES: I would love to be -- but believe me, if that pig was here, he would be right next to me. OK?
CHATTERLEY: OK.
[16:45:04]
VARGAS JONES: No, they're not. They're not on campus unlike the butterflies and the hummingbirds which are here. But the kids clearly have a connection
to them. You know, you have a little picture of them. They know there's one of these pigs that actually has a low sodium diet. And so if you have chips
or crackers that cannot go on that pig's bucket. So honestly, I think it's a better diet than I have at home -- Julia.
CHATTERLEY: I was about to say, why wasn't my school like that when I was growing up? I'm coming for the animals and the learning about recycling.
It's incredible. The school is doing incredible work and I love that you're there and showing them that the work that they're doing. So congratulations
to all of them. And I loved the drone shot.
Julia Vargas Jones, thank you so much for being there. Fantastic work, those young people are doing.
All right. To Norway now, and coastal heathlands are home to many rare and endangered species. And while many heathlands are threatened, locals in one
community are passing down ancient land management techniques to their children, and their children are teaching them to some new things, too.
Same again.
Our Max Foster reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GUNN AMDAL MONGSTAD, MAYOR, HARDBAKKE: Solund is one of the smallest municipalities in Norway. At the moment we are about 750 people living
here.
MAX FOSTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The coastal heathland which characterizes this breathtaking landscape was formed around 5,000 years
ago, when early Norwegian settlers cleared the forests in order to graze their sheep. Ancient techniques for managing the land have been passed down
from old to young through the generations ever since.
KJELL MONGSTAD, CHAIRMAN, HARDBAKKE OLD NORWEGIAN SHEEP SOCIETY: My name is Kjell Mongstad. I'm the head of the board for this association of wild
sheep. The sheep are the original sheep. Old Norwegian wild sheep.
FOSTER: While the sheep clearly rely on the heathland, it seems that the reverse is also true. Grazers prevent taller shrubs from growing, allowing
heathlands' plants to thrive.
K. MONGSTAD: That's what they eat in the winter time. They need it. That's the way they survive.
FOSTER: Many rare and endangered species call this habitat home. By protecting and restoring them the community here is safeguarding
biodiversity that's vital for maintaining a healthy planet. But the community here isn't just living in the past. With old also learning from
young, they're pioneering a new technology to improve the ancient art of sheep herding.
TRULS EINEN OSLAND, STUDENT: We're changing battery on the necklace so we can track them where they are. Instead of using fence we have an app that's
called No Fence so we can set up a fake fence and stop them from going places where they shouldn't go.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So I want them to go to and pick up some seaweed. Now they need seaweed.
OSLAND: I can move the fence wherever I want, so if I want them to go a long distance away, I can just open the fence where I want.
G. MONGSTAD: It's important to meet between generations, between different cultures, as you also can see here, to build a strong relationship.
FOSTER: Community and inclusion are at the heart of the sheep association with multiple generations working together.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm his grandfather. He's my grandson.
K. MONGSTAD: It's a lot of things the animal will do in the future for me and for us in the society. I hope we also can be an example for other to do
the same way that involved children, youths and the different generations. I hope so.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHATTERLEY: And to learn more about our Call to Earth Day theme, "Connected Generations," you can head to CNN.com/LostVoices.
For thousands of years, indigenous people have protected the planet. In the "Lost Voices" interactive, we hear from communities on the front lines of
climate change and why their ways of life are worth preserving.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:52:18]
CHATTERLEY: A bankruptcy judge has blocked "The Onion" from taking over Alex Jones's Infowars. The satire Web site made what seemed to be the
winning bid when Infowars was auctioned off as part of a defamation settlement. The judge cited concerns with the auction process, saying money
was left on the table.
Hadas Gold has more.
HADAS GOLD, CNN MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Julia, the judge in this case said he didn't have an issue with who won the auction, but he had an issue with how
the auction was conducted, and that's why he decided to block this sale as it stands.
Now, what happened was a court appointed trustee was put in charge with wide discretion to conduct this auction of the Free Speech Systems. It's
the parent company of Alex Jones's Infowars. Initially this was going to be a live auction, and you could bid on anything from the entire company to
domain names to microphones and studio equipment, to even an armored truck and a Winnebago.
But then the court appointed trustee changed the auction to be a sealed auction with best and final bids. And the result of the auction was that
"The Onion" won in a very unique arrangement with some of the families of the Sandy Hook victims, and what they said was that "The Onion" was going
to put up $1.7 million in cash, and that these families were willing to forego whatever proceeds they would get from the sale because it was being
used to help pay off Jones's nearly $1.5 billion defamation fee that he had to pay the families, that they would forego whatever they would earn from
this sale to the tune of $7 million total bid for "The Onion."
Another company called First United American Companies, they are affiliated with Jones. They would have kept it going as it is, and they put up $3.5
million in cash. Now, Jones and his allies sued to stop "The Onion" from winning the auction, saying that it was a Frankenstein bid accusing them of
colluding with the court appointed trustee. So then a hearing took place. It took place over two days.
And then late last night is when the judge came forward and made this ruling. And he said that he had an issue with the fact that the auction was
conducted in a secret way, and that he believes the court appointed trustee could have gotten a higher price for these properties had the auction been
held in a different way, and that his job as a court appointed trustee was to try to literally claw back as much money as he can for the creditors.
Now, "The Onion," in a statement said that they are very disappointed with this outcome. But they said that we will also continue to seek a path
towards purchasing Infowars in the coming weeks. It is part of our larger mission to make a better, funnier internet regardless of the outcome of
this case. Jones, of course, is celebrating, saying that it is justice for what he said was an absurd auction process.
But Jones will be able to continue broadcasting no matter what happens in the outcome of this case because he still has First Amendment rights and
he's already started to move everything over to different handles, to different domain names.
[16:55:09]
But no matter what happens, the judge has told the court appointed trustee, you now have 30 days to figure something else out. Alex Jones will still
owe the more than $1 billion to the families of the Sandy Hook victims after he was found guilty for defamation for calling the massacre a hoax --
Julia.
CHATTERLEY: Our thanks to Hadas Gold there. And we'll look at the market close after this. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to what was a big day for tech investors. The Nasdaq closing above the 20,000 figure for the first time ever on what
looked to be an otherwise mixed day on Wall Street. As you can see, the Dow losing nearly 100 points, down two-tenths of 1 percent. The S&P snapping a
two-day losing streak, gaining some eighth-tenths of 1 percent, in part due to the latest U.S. inflation report that we got earlier.
It did show a slight increase in pricing pressures, but nothing to worry investors with regard to what the Federal Reserve can do next week. We are
just about fully priced for a further quarter of a percentage point rate cut next week, and that's what investors are expecting. But we did see the
big seven or the magnificent seven stocks playing a big part in the Nasdaq rally. The big gainer this week once again in Alphabet gaining another 5.5
percent on the announcement this week of a super powered chip beating anything that we've got for quantum computers so far.
And investors clearly loving that news, most of them finishing at or around record highs. In fact, only Apple bucking the trend there. As you can see,
closing by around half a percentage point lower.
And that is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. I'm Julia Chatterley. "THE LEAD WITH JAKE TAPPER" starts right now.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper.
This hour, a new disturbing case of sexual misconduct this time involving prominent real estate brokers who are brothers. Prosecutors say they worked
together with other men to, quote, "repeatedly and violently drug, sexually assault and rape dozens of victims," unquote.
END
