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Quest Means Business

U.S. Justice Department: Alleged Letter From "J. Epstein" Is Fake; Trump Warns Maduro Against Playing Tough As Tensions Escalate; U.S. Economy Grew At The Fastest Pace In Two Years In Q3; Weight-Loss Drugs; Call To Earth; Extreme Weather. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired December 23, 2025 - 16:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[16:00:13]

RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST, "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS": Closing bell ringing on Wall Street, Christmas Eve, of course, is the next session for

trade, all about the markets today, well ticked up and solid is the way to look at it and there are all sorts of good economic reasons why, that we

will get to over the course of the program.

Time to hit the gavel, sir. One, two, three. There you go. Trading is over. Those are the markets and the main events, and it all ties into the

markets. GDP data from Q3 shows the U.S. economy growing at the fastest pace in years.

The newly released latest set of Epstein files, there are a number of unverified claims, we will get into all of it.

And Novo Nordisk, the shares are soaring now the FDA said the greenlight to a pill version of its blockbuster weight loss drug.

We are in London on Tuesday. It is December the 23rd. I am Richard Quest and I mean business.

Good evening.

We begin tonight with a few moments ago, the U.S. Justice Department says a letter that was released in its latest Epstein file is a fake. Now, this is

the document. It is a disturbing handwritten letter signed "J. Epstein." It was sent to another convicted sex offender in the same month that Jeffrey

Epstein died. It was actually delivered, I believe, or postmarked three days after his suicide.

It appears to refer to President Trump without directly mentioning him by name. And of course, President Trump has not been accused in any shape,

form or description of any wrongdoing.

Marshall Cohen joins me now.

This particular letter, which I've read, it looked a bit weird to begin with, (A) that he was even sent and the two people, it was sent between;

(B) the addresses; (C) this idea of I've taken the short route home. You know, there were lots of questions about its veracity. And now the DOJ is

saying it is a fake.

MARSHALL COHEN, CNN REPORTER: Yes, it has been a whirlwind today, Richard, starting with the release of the letter. Everyone on the internet freaking

out about the letter. The Justice Department saying that it was investigating the letter, and then in the last half hour, the Justice

Department announcing that their position is that it is a fake.

So what does it say? I don't really want to get into it that much if it is now deemed a fake, but it essentially talked about the shared love of young

girls that Epstein and Nassar and maybe also Donald Trump all had in common. Whoever wrote it is clearly a pretty sick person.

But let me move forward to what the Justice Department said just in the last --

QUEST: Can I just -- can I just interrupt you. Sorry, just on that. Because before we get to the Justice Department, why didn't they do all of this

before they released it? Or at least even -- I mean, I understand they had to put it out, otherwise they would have been accused of hiding it, but

they could have caveated it when they put it out rather than waiting for everyone to jump on it.

COHEN: Richard, there is a lot that they could have done and maybe should have done. There are a lot of documents about this document. It has been in

the FBI's possession for years. There was some Freedom of Information Act that requests -- that unearthed the existence of this note two years ago.

So we've known that this note has existed. They could have packaged it all together, you're exactly right. And said, here is the document, but it is

fake because of X, Y, Z and here is our analysis.

It was a mess today and they didn't do it that way. Do you want to see what the DOJ said now?

QUEST: Yes, please.

COHEN: Okay. Here we go. From the Justice Department. It is on your screen: The FBI has confirmed that this alleged letter from Jeffrey Epstein to

Larry Nassar is fake. The fake letter was received by the jail and flagged for the FBI at the time," and they said that it has made that -- the FBI

made that conclusion based off of a few facts. I don't need to get in into all of them, but the first bullet point there is that they believe that the

handwriting doesn't even match.

And also it was postmarked out of Virginia when, of course, Richard, Jeffrey Epstein was behind bars in New York.

QUEST: Let's talk about, the former Prince Andrew. This letter that he or series of e-mails -- exchanges he has with Ghislaine Maxwell. Andrew is at

Andrew Mountbatten Windsor is at Balmoral.

[16:05:10]

He asks about have you got any more inappropriate friends for me? She says, I've only got appropriate friends for me. And he then sort of -- but

knowing what was going on in Andrew's life at the time, this was more of a sad plea. I mean, the whole thing is just rather pathetic.

COHEN: I've got to agree with you there. I mean, I can't think of a context where that would be a normal thing to say. Do you have any inappropriate

friends for me? It is mind boggling to me, Richard, but that was one of the e-mails that came out that was Ghislaine Maxwell, the co-conspirator of

Jeffrey Epstein, the former girlfriend of Jeffrey Epstein.

And another e-mail was sent in exchange in early 2002 before Prince Andrew went to Lima, Peru for an official visit. And in those e-mails with Maxwell

and somebody who went by (A), it is not clear exactly who it was. They were using an alias, but they did appear to be connected to Andrew.

They were talking about some local contact, a handler in Peru that was going to set up some stuff for the trip. Normal stuff, like sightseeing and

hiking, but then the conversation took a very lewd turn and talked about girls and, "two legged sightseeing," looking for girls who were

intelligent, pretty fun, and from good families. So clearly it wasn't just official state business potentially on the agenda there.

QUEST: Marshall, can I just sort of cut to the chase on all of this? We know that Epstein was a convicted pedophile, and we know that he was deeply

unsavory. We know that there were a lot of unsavory people around him and dealing with him, and the whole thing is a horrible mess. But have we

actually learned anything new yet?

COHEN: Yes, we have learned a lot of new material in terms of further deepening those connections. For the last 20 years, right, Richard, when

was Epstein first convicted? 2006 or 2007 in Florida. So that's 20 years ago, right?

And we've got -- we've known about the web of connections -- Larry Summers, Prince Andrew, Bill Clinton, Donald Trump who all deny wrongdoing for the

record, but we've all known that they've had relationships and friendships with Jeffrey Epstein. And this latest batch today and the hundreds of

thousands of files that were released on Friday by the Justice Department, they are just coloring in the details. Where were they hanging out? What

were they talking about when they thought no one was looking in those e- mails that they assumed probably would never see the light of day?

And it is just getting worse and worse. You know, we all knew that they had these associations, but the photographs, the e-mails, the flight manifests

-- those are new and they are tough to see.

QUEST: Thank you very much. You know, you summed it up beautifully when you sort of say it is the correspondence between people when they think they're

not being watched or read by others.

Good to see you. Thank you, sir. Busy days ahead.

COHEN: Good to see you, Richard.

QUEST: Now, Venezuela now. In the U.N. Security Council's meeting for a briefing on Venezuela. The Latin American countries requested the meeting

to discuss ongoing U.S. aggression.

In recent days, the U.S. has targeted oil tankers heading to and from Venezuelan ports. The U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. said his country is just

enforcing international law.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL WALTZ, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: Why have sanctions either bilaterally or unilaterally or backed by the international

community, if they're not enforced? Well, the United States under President Trump is enforcing them in international waters, otherwise, they are just

empty words.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: Now, President Trump has said it would be smart for President Maduro to step down.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: He could do whatever he wants. I mean, we have a massive Armada formed, the biggest

we've ever had. Whatever he wants to do, if he wants to do something, if he plays tough, it will be the last time he is ever able to play tough.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: Kevin is with me. Kevin at West Palm Beach. No rest for the wicked at Christmas.

All right, what do you make of this? I mean, we know that the boats and the ships are all there with their continued -- what's the next move as The

White House sees it?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, according to President Trump, and if you take him at his word, he is preparing To order strikes on

land in Venezuela. He has been saying that for the last three weeks that these are coming soon, and certainly when you look at this massive military

buildup, you have to think that the U.S. is preparing for something.

[16:10:10]

But at the same time, the fact that he hasn't given the final order, I do think speaks to some of the reservations that the President has here.

You know, he doesn't want to become mired in a foreign conflict. He doesn't want to get involved in a prolonged war. I also think, you know, President

Trump is of the era who remembers a mixed history of U.S. intervention in Latin America, whether it is in Cuba or Nicaragua or Panama, I think, he is

someone who is watching this with a wary eye, even if he ups the rhetoric and gives this fiery warning to Maduro to not be tough, and he won't be

tough any longer.

It was interesting listening to him at Mar-a-Lago yesterday. You know, I think when they hauled in reporters over there to listen to an announcement

from the President with the Defense Secretary and the Secretary of Navy, the expectation at least, was that maybe we would get a little more detail

from the President about what the objective is in Venezuela, or at least what the end game is here.

But when you listen to him there, he was pretty equivocal. He says maybe his objective is to oust Maduro from power. He thinks it would be smart if

Maduro left, but you didn't really get a clear sense from him what he is actually trying to do here, and when you look at the rationale that The

White House has given, it has spanned the range from trying to intercede these illicit drugs to try and enforce sanctions when it comes to these

tankers.

President Trump just mentioned yesterday trying to crack down on illegal migration from Venezuela. So the messaging, I think, is convoluted,

particularly for an American public that has shown no appetite to get involved in a foreign war, but that hasn't stopped this pressure campaign

in this massive buildup in the Caribbean Sea.

QUEST: Kevin, I am grateful. Thank you, sir. Thank you very much.

Economics now and there was some holiday cheer, definitely, for The White House, with new numbers showing the U.S. economy expanding 4.3 percent.

That's much more than trend would normally be. It is the fastest pace in two years, strong exports and consumer spending.

The President hailed the numbers on Truth Social. He said it was good government and tariffs were the reason and the stocks like it. The S&P

finished at a record high, strong -- but here is where it all gets a bit messy because the President did also in his message on Truth Social, he

criticized the markets for not being more ebullient over the good news.

Now, a more recent snapshot of the U.S. economy shows consumers are still upbeat. Visa says holiday spending is up a healthy 4.2 percent and sales of

electronics are particularly good because of A.I.

Consumers outside the U.S. are spending as well. There are gains in Australia, Canada, South Africa and the U.K. Michael Brown is with me,

principal U.S. economist for Visa joins me now.

Good to have you, sir. I am grateful.

This number was a lot better than expected, and it is unusually strong for the economic circumstances that exist.

MICHAEL BROWN, PRINCIPAL U.S. ECONOMIST, VISA: You're absolutely right, Richard.

I mean, if you take a look at the consumer confidence measures this year relative to last holiday season, just as an example, certainly consumers

were mentally more pessimistic about the economy. General malaise, yet, we still saw them show up in a big way. Now, it is not a gangbuster holiday

season, but we are describing it as average.

If you look at holiday sales over the last three years, it was about 4.3 percent. As you mentioned, we are seeing about 4.2 percent, so roughly

consistent steady growth from the consumer side of the economy.

QUEST: Except many economists, and I suspect I am not an economist, but just as a business journalist, I would say we had expected things to get

much worse because of the tariffs, because of the shutdown, because of the general malaise, dislocation, uncertainty and the job losses that is

paralyzing the U.S. economy, and so to see this growth does give great credit to the administration that says you are all wrong.

BROWN: Well, maybe. If we take a look at the inflation data, you're right. I mean, inflation hasn't accelerated rapidly, but it certainly hasn't come

back down to say around two percent, where us, consumers generally are sort of okay with a more modest pace of inflation.

We are getting there. We are not there yet, but I think what the story this holiday season tells us is consumers are very price conscious. They were

very savvy. You look at the categories that were up, you mentioned electronics. The other was clothing. Those two areas, we saw the least

amount of inflation over the last 12 months. And in fact, that is where the spending was occurring.

[16:15:04]

So there are some signs consumers are internalizing prices and they are being quite savvy about it.

QUEST: The President in that Truth Social post that I mentioned, he says the markets are strange. He says in the old days, when there was good news,

the market went up. Nowadays, when there is good news, the market goes down because everyone thinks that interest rates will be immediately lifted to

take care of potential inflation. We can never have great markets again. Strong markets, even phenomenal markets. I want my new Fed Chair -- that's

me banging the fist -- to lower interest rates.

And then right at the end, he says, anybody that disagrees with me will never be the Fed Chairman.

But he is ignoring, isn't he that inflation at three percent, growth at 4.3 percent, you can't have lower interest rates.

BROWN: Well, let's just say it gets a lot tougher to get rates lower. Now remember, the Federal Reserve is not just looking at inflation, they also

have a mandate to keep employment as full as they possibly can. What does that mean? That means they're going to support the labor market when they

need to. And as you've seen from the data, last three months, only 22,000 jobs on average added over the last three months.

So there is a healthy debate right now within the Federal Reserve that between the employment side of what the Federal Reserve is asking or has

been asked to manage, and of course, the inflation dynamics that you mentioned. So who will win next year? We think we still get three rate cuts

next year and the reality is we think that inflation continues to trend just a little bit lower. It is not going to get where the federal reserve

wants it to be, and certainly not where us, consumers want it to be.

But we think that we will get some improvement as the year goes on next year.

QUEST: Right. The fascinating part is that the Fed Chair, I mean, not that he will be around much longer in the New Year, but he has made it clear

that when the two sides of the mandate are in conflict, the way -- you deal with the one that is most pressing, and that's the one that gets the

priority.

So you think it is going to be the job side rather than the other side, even though there are some members of the committee that are still -- two

of them particularly didn't want to move at all.

BROWN: Well, you're right. I mean, so there is a healthy debate, as I mentioned, and I think we all saw how close the vote was in December, in

the end, they decided to lower by another 25 basis points. I think these healthy debates continue, and what is so challenging about monetary policy

and the Fed right now is trying to strike this gentle balance between keeping inflation in check and full employment.

Right now, the employment side is looking a little concerning. Wages are holding up, but the employment side is not. And when you sort of zoom out

and you look at the inflation dynamics --

QUEST: Oh! Well, we paid the bill. It was sort of -- give me five in the meter -- Michael, we've lost your line, but we are grateful that you were

with us and it was interesting and we will certainly have you back to talk more about this in the future. Thank you, sir.

Now, Russia's war on Ukraine is grinding on. Some men are risking their lives to avoid the front lines by making a deadly journey. The draft

evaders. Our report on that in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:21:14]

QUEST: Breaking news to CNN. Libya's Army Chief-of-Staff has been killed in a plane crash. The Libyan Prime Minister says Mohamed Al-Haddad and four

others died when their jet went down shortly after leaving the Turkish capital, Ankara. It was a Falcon 50 aircraft and apparently it had reported

an emergency before losing contact. We don't know the nature of the emergency.

The Libyan government said Al-Haddad and his colleagues died in a tragic accident, and there is no word yet on the cause.

Russia has launched one of its largest drone and missile attacks this month on Ukraine. President Zelenskyy said at least three people have been killed

after talks to end the war wrapped up over the weekend in Miami.

Mr. Zelenskyy suggests a real outcome could be on the horizon. As those efforts to broker a ceasefire go back and forth, some Ukrainians are going

to dangerous lengths to avoid fighting against Russian forces.

CNN's Clarissa Ward with this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN BENGA, DIRECTOR, SALVAMONT MARAMURES MOUNTAIN RESCUE: So what you see on the right hand side there is Ukraine.

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Dan Benga knows how dangerous these mountains can be. He and his team have

rescued hundreds of Ukrainians who tried to cross them.

BENGA: They don't have the knowledge, they don't have experience, and they don't have professional equipment, because on these mountains, you need

professional equipment to be alive.

WARD (on camera): To survive.

BENGA: The Carpathian Mountains that cut along Romania's 400-mile border with Ukraine have become a deadly magnet for Ukrainian men fleeing

conscription at home and seeking freedom in the E.U.

WARD (on camera): You can see how steep these mountains are. It is frankly astonishing that up to 100 Ukrainians are making this crossing still every

single week.

WARD (voice over): The risks are huge. Since Russia's invasion in 2022, the Salvamont Mountain Rescue Service has carried out countless perilous

missions that have saved 377 Ukrainian lives.

The longest operation lasted nearly six days, not everyone makes it. The Romanian Border police say 29 Ukrainians have died crossing the mountains

in the Tisza River that separates the two countries.

BENGA: This is the job we were prepared. We are training every day and this is a job we are doing. It is not about being Ukrainian or Russian or

American. This is about being human.

WARD (on camera): A human being.

BENGA: Yes.

WARD: So if you could deliver a message to the men of Ukraine, would you tell them, stop trying to cross through these mountains. It is too

dangerous.

BENGA: I really can't say don't cross the mountains. I can say, take care of you.

WARD (voice over): It is a lesson that Dima, who asked us not to reveal his identity, learned the hard way. He made the crossing shortly after

receiving his draft papers early on in the war. Things quickly went wrong when his group got lost.

(DIMA speaking in foreign language)

TRANSLATION: -20 degrees (Celsius) without food, without water.

(CLARISSA WARD speaking in foreign language.)

WARD: No water.

DIMA, UKRAINIAN: No.

WARD: No food.

(DIMA speaking in foreign language.)

TRANSLATION: Only snow.

WARD: Just the snow.

(DIMA speaking in foreign language.)

TRANSLATION: I walked 20 kilometers barefoot. I realized that I had problems with my feet. But at that time, I didn't feel it. I only felt it

when I was already in the hospital.

WARD: And then did they have to remove all the toes?

(DIMA speaking in foreign language.)

TRANSLATION: If the rescuers hadn't found me within two hours, I wouldn't be talking to you now.

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE speaking in foreign language.)

TRANSLATION: Freedom!

[16:25:10]

WARD (voice over): Stories like Dima's have done little to stop the flow. According to the Romanian Border Police, more than 30,000 Ukrainians have

entered the country illegally since the war began.

Martial law prohibits eligible men between the ages of 23 and 60 from leaving Ukraine. Many see crossing these mountains as their only option.

Numbers are down from their peak in 2024, when the mobilization age was lowered to 25. But even now, as winter sets in, the crossings continue.

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE speaking in foreign language.)

TRANSLATION: Friends, this is the place for a proven, safe, reliable and fast way out of the abroad for men.

WARD (voice over): For those who can afford it, some smugglers openly sell their services on TikTok and Telegram, 9,000 euros to get to Moldova,

12,000 euros or around $14,000.00 to Romania.

Artem, as he calls himself, says he helps facilitate these escapes.

"ARTEM," BORDER CROSSING FACILITATOR: We rescued, I think, more than in this moment, more than 600 people.

WARD: I find it really interesting that you use the word rescue.

ARTEM: Of course, because I see this situation like that, and I think we rescue people who just want to leave to build their future.

WARD: And what do you say to people who view you and who view those who are trying to leave as traitors?

ARTEM: I don't care about them, to be honest. I help people, I save people.

WARD (voice over): Ukrainian authorities see it differently, faced with a manpower crisis as the war heads towards its fifth year, men caught trying

to leave the country illegally are rounded up. Some have reported being mobilized shortly afterwards.

WARD (on camera): Hi, Viktor. How are you?

WARD (voice over): Thirty-four-year-old Kyiv taxi driver Viktor Pinkhassov (ph) has just crossed into Romania.

WARD (on camera): I'm glad you're okay. You survived.

VIKTOR PINKHASSOV, HAS JUST CROSSED INTO ROMANIA: Yes. Thank you.

WARD: How long did it take you?

PINKHASSOV: Five days, four nights.

WARD: Five days, four nights, walking through the mountains.

PINKHASSOV: Yes. Yes. Three big mountains.

WARD (voice over): He says the journey was tough, but the decision to leave was easy. His five-month-old daughter, Ava, is in Switzerland, and he has

little faith in ongoing negotiations to end the war.

WARD (on camera): Do you believe that there is going to be peace?

PINKHASSOV: No.

WARD: No.

PINKHASSOV: I want to believe. But I see nobody wants peace.

WARD: What's the most important reason you left?

PINKHASSOV: My daughter. Freedom. I want to live and understand that I am free. I can go, I can live in prison. I am free man.

WARD (voice over): It is a bleak outlook shared by many Ukrainian men willing to leave their homeland behind to take their futures into their own

hands.

Clarissa Ward, CNN, Maramures, Romania.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

QUEST: As you and I continue, Novo Nordisk, the company behind the incredibly popular weight loss drug, Wegovy. The FDA now says you can have

it with a pill instead of a jab. In a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:30:30]

QUEST: -- Quest, there is a lot more "Quest Means Business." We're going to pay Norway's famous ballet a visit for a festive performance of "The

Nutcracker." And for those dreaming of a white Christmas, the CEO of a company using AI for more accurate weather predictions. I'm sure it's got

more important uses than that, but it'll do for us tonight. But this is CNN and here the news it always comes first.

The US Justice Department says a letter that it released earlier as part of the Epstein files it now says is a fake. The note was signed by J. Epstein

and it was addressed to a fellow convict sex offender Larry Nassar. It included crude references to President Trump without mentioning him by

name. The note was released among other records related to Epstein.

United Nations Security Council is holding an emergency meeting to discuss what Venezuela is calling US Aggressions. The US ambassador has defended

the President's -- Trump's pressure campaign on Venezuela. And that of course includes the seizure of oil tankers. The ambassador said oil

revenues are funding narco-terrorist activities.

Economically, the US economy grew faster than expected in Q3. It was at 4.3 percent, the fastest rate in two years. President Trump claims his tariffs

were behind those numbers. Some economists are warning wealthy Americans actually driving much of the growth.

A sharp rise in the price of shares for Novo Nordisk after the US -- look at that, 9 percent. The Food and Drug Administration, the FDA in the United

States approved a new pill form of the extremely popular weight loss drug Wegovy. Jacqueline Howard now reporting on the new medication and how much

these pills could cost.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN REPORTER: This is a major development that the US Food and Drug Administration has approved a pill version of the Novo

Nordisk Wegovy GLP-1 medication. Now, how does the pill form compare with the injections which we know have been widely used and widely available?

While they're very similar, both versions of this medication include the active ingredient semaglutide. They're also very similar in their safety

and efficacy. When you look at clinical trial data, patients who took the Wegovy pill, they saw an average weight loss of 14 percent over the course

of 64 weeks. We do know that the side effects are also very similar, mostly gastrointestinal.

So really, a key difference here is how the medications are administered. With the Wegovy injections, they're given weekly. But with the Wegovy pill,

it's taken daily. It's taken daily on an empty stomach after patients take the pill, they should avoid food, drinks and other medications for at least

30 minutes.

And there have been questions about how much the Wegovy pill will cost. Well, for the starter dose, that will cost about $149 for patients paying

out of pocket. But with GLP-1 medications, over time, you do go up in dosage, and we don't know yet how much those additional doses will cost.

We're being told that those price tags will be announced next month in January.

[16:35:10]

QUEST: Wegovy. Now, nothing says Christmas quite like "The Nutcracker." I'll take you behind the scenes of the famous ballet, we go to Oslo and see

a performance.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: From volcanic activity to greenhouse gas concentrations, when you look at an ice core, you learn a lot about the history of our planet and

indeed the impact that you and I are having. Today on Call to Earth, we head to the top of the world where a team of scientists are braving extreme

cold and 24 hours of light. And it's all so we can understand what's coming our way in the future.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL WEIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As an ice core scientist and high altitude mountaineer, Alison Criscitiello is comfortable working in harsh

conditions.

ALISON CRISCITIELLO, ICE CORE SCIENTIST: Right now it's a super nice day, probably only minus 10 with a little bit of wind, but when we got here at

the beginning of April. It was in the low minus 30s, quite cold but it's warmed up to kind of Arctic spring.

WEIR: For nearly two months she's been camped out on Axel Heiberg --

CRISCITIELLO: And here's all our sleeping tents.

WEIR: -- an uninhabited island in the Canadian High Arctic. I am on Mueller Ice Cap, which is almost exactly at 80 degrees north. And

I'm here with a big international team because we're drilling an ice core and actually we're drilling a few ice cores.

WEIR: But they aren't doing it all by hand. That's only done to extract the first couple of meters, which are lost in preparing for the bigger

equipment to operate.

CRISCITIELLO: I'm going to give you a view inside of the drill trench. Inside the main deep drill trench, currently around 268 meters down.

WEIR: Led by teams from Canada and Denmark, and accompanied by scientists from as far away as Brazil and Australia, they've set up two separate drill

sites on this expedition.

[16:40:10]

Led by teams from Canada and Denmark, and accompanied by scientists from as far away as Brazil and Australia, they've set up two separate drill sites

on this expedition.

CRISCITIELLO: That is actually quite unique. The reason we have two drills is because we're collecting a lot of material to be able to do a lot of

different analyses. So the Danish drill that we spent the last two months drilling from the surface all the way down to 613 meters, to bedrock.

We are either at or very close to the bottom. There's a lot of rocks.

And that core will be used for what we hope will be 10,000 to 20,000 years worth of climate reconstructions. The other drill, the Canadian Eclipse

drill, is drilling a series of 70 meter cores to look at the transport of environmental contaminants to the far north.

Sending out 4,000 pounds of ice today.

WEIR: Alison says that planning for this 51 day expedition took about five years.

CRISCITIELLO: Here comes the Twin Otter.

WEIR: From here, the cores are sent back to the Canadian Ice Core lab at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, where Alison is director. It's been

about five months since she has returned and the team has reassembled to begin processing and imaging the ice for analysis. Each 1 meter section

will be cut into five pieces and shared with various scientific labs around the world.

CRISCITIELLO: I think we're all really hoping that it's going to allow us to reconstruct Arctic Sea ice in the past over a long time period, the full

Holocene, and hopefully can let us look at Arctic Ocean variability in the past.

WEIR: The first step will be to learn the age of the ice by analyzing the layers with various methods like ice flow modeling, using volcanic

eruptions as time markers.

CRISCITIELLO: At the end is the electrical conductivity, which is really just these two electrodes that get dragged on the surface of the ice and

extremely useful in locating particle layers. So where there are volcanic tephras.

WEIR: Because of the complex analysis process, it could take a year or more until they confirm the age scale of this ice and then many more years for

additional scientific data to be revealed.

CRISCITIELLO: It's hard to put a value amount on this ice, but I would say it's invaluable.

WEIR: It's a process that's a true test of one's patience. But for Alison, it's well worth the time, energy and effort, if for anything else, the sake

of the planet.

CRISCITIELLO: Why should people care about this? Well, I think understanding our past climate in a way that helps us better predict and

understand future climate and what's to come is something that impacts every single person and living thing on this planet.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

QUEST: Let us know what you're doing to help to answer the call #calltoearth.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:46:27]

QUEST: Now, here in London, The Met Office, weather forecast has said the chance of a white Christmas is low. Those hoping for snow in New York are

also likely to be disappointed. In the Scottish capital, this could be a treat this December.

Weather prediction overall is a tricky business and it could become more accurate, as indeed could most things. With AI weather tech firm

Tomorrow.io uses data from its own satellites to feed AI models. It's partnered with government bodies as well as publicly traded companies.

Palantir, for example, you can see a range of countries. The firm's main goal is to provide greater climate resilience.

Shimon Elkabetz is the CEO of Tomorrow.io. Thank you, sir. Kind of you to join us. There are, I mean, there's loads of very reputable now the UK Met

Office, all countries have very, very reputable meteorological departments. So what do you offer that's better or different?

SHIMON ELKABETZ, CEO, TOMORROW.IO: Of course, first of all, good to be here. So look, all of these great organizations traditionally created the

science and the foundations that we all rely on, I would say. But just like NASA and SpaceX are complementary to each other know and Tomorrow.io can be

complementary because while organizations like NOAA's job is really to protect the public, provide advisories ahead of hurricanes and tropical

storms in general, Tomorrow is here mostly in one orientation to help agencies become better and more modernized and, of course, to help

businesses. How are we different?

QUEST: Yes.

ELKABETZ: I can go there. So look, eventually the value in order to help any company from Ford to Uber, to Delta, to JetBlue, to Fox Sports or

Siemens, you need three components. Weather forecast is not enough even if you do an AI model.

The other two components that are important for the AI model to be actionable and to help an organization are, one, the data. Because any AI

model without data is not very helpful. Think of ChatGPT without access to the Internet, right? What kind of answers you would get out of it.

So for the forecast to be accurate, you need to have data. And what we do we have a global coverage of proprietary satellites that give us close to

real time data everywhere in the world.

QUEST: OK.

ELKABETZ: The second thing that on top of the AI model is to translate it to business decisions and actions.

QUEST: Right. OK. So look, we haven't got a huge amount of time, so I get the idea that you've got the data and the decisions. So what sort of

decisions does it help you make or businesses make?

ELKABETZ: Yes. So, you know, the challenge when you think of weather resiliency, OK, how can an organization become safer, more efficient, et

cetera. It is really different from one industry to another. And that's part of the challenge of building a company in this domain. Because the way

weather impacts Uber is not like it impacts Delta.

So think about how can you avoid diversion last minute and plan for it? How can you make sure that you stop the train and avoid the derailment? How can

you make sure that you have enough drivers in the road so you can meet the demand? So every industry has a different set of decisions that are

relevant for its efficiency and safety and we support all of it.

QUEST: Right. But the decision of the business may be different, but it's the core information, you know. It's going to piss it down with rain next

Tuesday. It is going to be boiling hot in two weeks time. I mean, what a company does with that information is up to them. Am I gathering that

you'll get -- You're sort of saying you're more accurate about that?

ELKABETZ: So our expertise and value proposition is coming in two ways. First of all, thanks to our satellites, thanks to our AI models, of course,

we guarantee that we improve the accuracy and provide accuracy that is best in class, no matter where you are in the world. But more importantly, we go

the extra step to the decision making because it's not just -- it's an easy example, it's going to be very hot. No.

[16:50:03]

A lot of businesses are impacted by a combination of parameters. And not only that, it's a combination of weather parameters, but also with specific

business patterns that you need to match. And what we do, also thanks to AI capabilities, is the ability to forecast the business outcome and to

provide a specific recommendations for action so the business can make the right decision at the right time, even if it has many assets like give many

trucks.

QUEST: Give me an example, give me a concrete example of how one might use it.

ELKABETZ: Of course. So look, think of a railroad business, all right? When you think of a rail company across, wind that is too strong can literally

derail the train. And if you think about freight rail, it can be quite expensive beyond the safety issues, et cetera. It can be an accident in the

millions of dollars per one event.

So with our solution, a company is literally receiving an alert that is pinpoint to a specific mileage on the railroad three, four, five days out

and say, hey, you guys need to monitor this specific location up until the event happens. When you do that, not only you prevent the accident, you're

getting a lot of uptime that you can operate that you know, if you just had an hazard that said, oh, I need to stop trains in New Mexico for the entire

day, that's a pretty big cost as well.

It's not just the damage of the accident itself. So the uptime is also important.

QUEST: Thank you sir for joining us. I'm looking forward to being in touch with you to know which weekend need to go on holiday and wear the best

because I find it's hyper local. So you can even tell me which is the best part of the beach to sit on (inaudible). Sir, thank you for joining us. I

appreciate your time tonight.

ELKABETZ: Thank you.

QUEST: For many people, it's not Christmas without a trip to see the Nutcracker. Could you believe it? Until I did this story, I'd never seen

"The Nutcracker." Well, the Norwegian National Ballet's performance is a sellout. During my recent trip to Oslo for World of Wonder, which you'll

see in January, I went to see "The Nutcracker," finally.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

QUEST: In the world of ballet, it doesn't get more Christmas than "The Nutcracker." The ballet tells the story of a magical world in where toys

come to life, fall in love, all while engaging in battles and daring adventures. The Norwegian National Ballet's interpretation of this famous

story is an essential part of Christmas in Oslo.

Before watching the performance, I was invited backstage to meet the company's artistic director. A former dancer, she made sure I stretched

properly before the show started. And I'm only in the audience.

This is the big one, "The Nutcracker" of Christmas, how important it is?

INGRID LORENTZEN, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, NORWEGIAN NATIONAL BALLET: It is important in so many ways because it gathers people, kids, adults, even

older ones. And really, it's the moment for everyone to come together. It is more than a ballet, it's a Christmas tradition.

Because You have the frame, you have Tchaikovsky, you have everything that people want to see, and then you give them something, that which is our

little way of Christmas offering.

QUEST: What do you think is a particularly Norwegian way of interpreting?

LORENTZEN: First of all, we are in a national ballet, but we are an international ballet. And I'm so proud of that because we carry history,

each one of us. And we are 75 dancers, full orchestra, and then what is our identity? What is our DNA? And I think that is to give the not suspected,

it's to say, some hints back to our own history, but also maybe also daring to reflect history in our very special way that can't be told, but has to

be danced.

QUEST: "The Nutcracker" is, in so many ways, the perfect Christmas ballet. And if I hadn't injured myself stretching, I probably could have danced all

night.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[16:55:10]

QUEST: Thoroughly enjoyed it. Oh, it's so wonderful. Have a look at the markets. Tomorrow, it is a shortened trading day. The market close when you

saw the S&P close at a record high. Tomorrow, the markets close at 1:00pm and the traders sing wait till the sunshine Nelly.

This is a tradition going back to the Depression. Twice a year the traders all gather on the floor of the stock exchange. Wait till the sun shines.

Nelly, you'll hear it tomorrow at the stock exchange and indeed on New Year's Eve.

That's where the markets are looking. We will take a profitable moment after the break. "QUEST MEAN BUSINESS" the day before, if you see what I

mean.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: Tonight, Profitable Moment in a sense. This is our last, if you will, formal "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS" at least, certainly before Christmas

and probably before we get to the end of the year. Certainly the last chance I'll have a chance to just review and have a chin wag with you. What

a year it has been how lucky and grateful we are that you've chosen to join us for our nightly conversation on business and economics.

And as we try and put the world to write, and it's nice tonight. We're able to bring you a bit of Nutcracker good GDP numbers in the United States and

an S&P at a record high. There are many economic problems in the world at the moment, not least of which inflation in some parts, unemployment in

other.

But these are the meat and veg, if you will, that you and I talk about on a nightly basis as we put the world to rights. And as I said on so many

occasions, it's a real honor and a privilege for us to be able to do this and to be able to do "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS."

We can pontificate all we like, we can go on and on ad nauseam, but if you're not there to watch it, then we're just wasting our time. And so, I

do take the opportunity now to wish you all obviously, an extremely good, restful, peaceful holiday season. Whether you're celebrating Christmas or

you've just celebrated Hanukkah or Diwali's in the rear view mirror, or maybe you don't celebrate anything except getting together with family and

friends for a glass of something and a bit of good cheer. And that's just fine for us all.

Thank you for always making time to join us on "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS." And that is "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS" for this eve before the eve before the day.

I'm Richard Quest in London. Whatever you're up to in the holidays ahead, I hope it's peaceful.

END