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Quest Means Business
Labor Market Adds 130,000 Jobs in January, Beating Expectations; Trump: I Told Netanyahu U.S. Will Continue Talks with Iran; El Paso Airspace Reopens; At Least Eight Killed and Dozens Wounded in Canada Shootings; Instagram Chief Testifies in Landmark Trial; SAO Investments to Help Nobu Open Its First Ever Cultural District in Poland; Winter Olympics Games Drama and Triumph. Aired 4p-5p ET
Aired February 11, 2026 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:23]
RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST, "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS": The closing bell is ringing on Wall Street. As you can see, Miracle Gro ringing the
closing bell. Were they able to pour some fertilizer on the market today? No is the short answer. One, two and three and the market is close. Down
and up. Down and up. Small loss, still over 50,000.
Those are the markets and the main events, economic, that we are talking about: A job market, a faltering market that then comes roaring back in
January.
The former U.S. Labor Secretary, Robert Reich will be with me to analyze exactly what it all means.
At The White House, the visitor was the Israeli Prime Minister. President Trump is deciding what he wants to do about Iran.
El Paso, the airspace has now reopened in Texas. There was an unprecedented ground stop, and apparently it was all because of Pentagon plans to use a
counter-drone laser. I promise you, I will explain.
We are together live in New York, it is Wednesday, February the 11th. I am Richard Quest, in New York. Of course, I mean business.
A bumper number to start the year. Good evening.
The U.S. Jobs market has blown past expectations in its first month. The economy added 130,000 jobs in January, well, more than the 75,000 that
economists were expecting. It is the strongest pace of hiring since December of 2024. It has given the optimism that the labor market, which
was a concern both the Fed and economists has turned a corner.
Last year, the weakest since the recession outside of 2003. So, are we justified in our cheer? Robert Reich served as the U.S. Labor Secretary
under President Clinton. The author of the book, "The System: Who Rigged It, How We Fix It," and the former Secretary is with me.
Sir, the number is good. It sort of takes interest rate cuts off the table, some would say. How do you read this number?
ROBERT REICH, FORMER U.S. LABOR SECRETARY UNDER PRESIDENT CLINTON: Well, I do think it is good. It is surprising, Richard. It is better than most
people had anticipated, and I do think it does take interest rate cuts off the table, because I think that the Fed is now under no obligation and
certainly in no hurry to speed the economy up to make -- to invite inflation some would say, so it is a good record. It is a good report.
QUEST: I saw your comments online though of course that you wrote where you point out that if you go underneath and as you're always reminding me, sir
you've got to go underneath the numbers. The headline only tells you one thing.
Go underneath the numbers and it is not quite as rosy.
REICH: That's right. Half of the new jobs were created in one sector of the economy, and that's health care and the health care sector is not always
the most productive. Many relatively low-paying jobs are there. The other big sector where you saw job growth is construction, but taking away health
care and construction, basically all the other sectors of the economy were flat in terms of job creation in January.
QUEST: So, are we seeing, in a sense, the renaissance? And I think the answer is no, of manufacturing. Are we seeing any suggestion that the trade
policies of the administration are -- accepting that it takes years to build a factory, but are having any impact on job numbers?
REICH: Not much, Richard. And again, I am keeping my Labor Secretary hat on, and I am trying to be as dispassionate as I possibly can.
There is almost no growth in manufacturing jobs. In fact, the Bureau of Labor Statistics looked back, revised its job numbers for the past year,
2025, and found that there was an average of only 15,000 new jobs per month last year. Zero manufacturing, almost zero manufacturing jobs. This is not
a terribly good number. This is nothing to crow about.
QUEST: Now, if, as you say, the majority of the gains was in construction and health care, not manufacturing or wider parts of the economy, could
that be used as a reason to cut interest rates on the basis of look, we can cut rates because it is not like it is a generally inflationary job market.
[16:05:10]
REICH: Well, here is the problem. Health care is quite inflationary. Health care costs have been going up faster than most of the other costs in the
economy and construction work, that is buildings, houses, again costs have been going up faster than the rest of the economy. So, it is not going to
be credible for the Fed to say we don't really have to worry about inflation.
QUEST: On this question of jobs and A.I. I know you've been very concerned that this shift in the U.S. labor force. We've heard earlier on, we heard
on this program, you know, one person saying, look, a lot of the job losses that have been taking place are economic. They're not because of A.I. A.I.
is being used as an excuse.
But we are going to see serious dislocation of the labor market because of A.I.
REICH: I think that is fair. A dislocation, though, is a very broad term, obviously. Many people are going to lose their jobs because the A.I. is
simply going to take them jobs over. And this is particularly, ironically, true of white collar jobs.
You know, the old you know, over the last 50 years, the jobs that have been lost due to technology have been primarily blue collar. Now, we are going
to see a lot of white collar displacement.
QUEST: Can I ask you because you were a Labor Secretary during the start of the internet and during the dot-com era of the Clinton administration. At
that time, was there genuine realization of the necessity to retrain and that the policies had to be -- and the reason I say this is because we were
always told that we didn't retrain after the internet nor did we properly retrain after the fourth industrial revolution of digitization.
Now, we have A.I. Are we about to make the same mistake?
REICH: I believe we are, Richard and I will tell you why, because retraining or look more broadly, all of the adaptive mechanisms that you
could impose in the economy helping people go from job to job, helping people get assistance in moving from city to city, all the things that you
would want to do. There is no political support because a lot of people don't want to lose their jobs and, and certainly if you are an owner, if
you are a major shareholder, you don't see why you have to bear the cost of doing all of that adaptation.
QUEST: Finally, Kevin Warsh at the Fed. Now, he says he hasn't, you know, given a litmus test, the President has suggested that he wouldn't have got
the job if he wasn't about to cut rates. I guess, we will have to wait and see.
But are you -- I was going to say, are you encouraged? But how do you view that appointment?
REICH: I think he is a very responsible economist, he has been so far. And most of the people I talk with on Wall Street, but also in the academy are
relatively positive or very positive about the appointment, and that is good news.
Now he comes in -- nobody knows quite frankly, how much of a hawk he is going to be.
QUEST: I am grateful sir. Thank you for joining us tonight.
REICH: Thank you. Thank you, Richard. Nice to see you.
QUEST: Thank you.
At The White House, Donald Trump said he told the Israeli Prime Minister the U.S. will try to reach a deal with Iran. He met Benjamin Netanyahu, the
Israeli Prime Minister, their seventh meeting since Mr. Trump came back into office.
The two leaders spoke for roughly three hours and then President Trump posted that the meeting was very good, and he insisted that negotiations
with Iran will continue.
Stephen Collinson is in Washington.
Stephen, who got what from this meeting?
STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN POLITICS SENIOR REPORTER: Good question, because it was very interesting that we didn't get the normal Oval Office sit down in
front of the cameras and extended talk that we often see with foreign leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Whether that hints at
some kind of disagreement, we don't know, but the President came out of it saying he is still looking for a deal with Iran.
Of course, Prime Minister Netanyahu has come across the Atlantic to visit American presidents many times over the last 20 years, to be told that they
are looking for a deal with Iran. And as we know, he is deeply skeptical of that.
So, if we take the President at his word and there are reasons perhaps why we might not do so since the last time he bombed Iran, he didn't exactly
give us advance notice. The U.S. and the Israelis may not clearly be on the same page here.
QUEST: Right. But even if they are not at edam on an individual matter or policy, the two men do get along, and to that extent, they can do business.
[16:10:20]
COLLINSON: Yes, and let's remember, the President has huge political credibility among Israelis and that is very important. He has -- he is much
more popular in Israel because of his policies than previous U.S. presidents.
He also, in the eyes of many Israelis, has credibility because he did take that step that previous American presidents hadn't taken and that was
sending U.S. bombers around the world to bomb Iran's nuclear programs.
The problem is, can the President get a deal with Iran, the kind of deal that he would want is exactly the kind of deal that Iran would not like to
give him because ceding on nuclear programs and ballistic missiles and proxies throughout the region, that takes away all of their bargaining
chips and it takes away the security of the regime.
So, it is quite clear that while he might want a diplomatic outcome right now, that could be a dead end for the President, and then he will have to
take this decision about does he take military action with uncertain consequences.
QUEST: Stephen, I am grateful, in Washington, Stephen Collinson.
Mr. Trump said he spoke to the Prime Minister about what he called tremendous progress in Gaza and the region and then he said he pushed to
move the Gaza ceasefire to the second phase of his 20-point plan. It involves demilitarization and reconstruction.
The prime minister, Prime Minister Netanyahu said Hamas must disarm before reconstruction can begin.
Aaron David Miller is a former State Department Middle East negotiator, now senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, with me.
Okay, so we've got a ceasefire. It is in place. Weve got of sorts -- we have got the prospect of a Board of Peace. Who knows? Now, though, the
demilitarization of Hamas has to take place if the part two is to take place.
AARON DAVID MILLER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: It does, and so does Israeli withdrawal. Look, it ain't going to happen. At least not anytime
soon.
It took the Brits in Northern Ireland following the Good Friday Agreement from 1998 to 2005 to implement a decommissioning process with the IRA,
protestant paramilitaries and both of them, Richard, were offered a role in governance, in post-conflict governance. It took eight years to
decommission and they were exceedingly sensitive to do it quietly, discreetly. It broke down, it had to restart.
The notion that Hamas is going to give up its guns before the Israelis withdraw, or frankly, before Hamas gets an opportunity to take over the
Palestinian National Movement, which is what they want, slim to none and I am sorry to say, for the sake of the two million Palestinians in Gaza and
Israeli civilians, slim -- slim already left town.
They could do performative demilitarization and decommissioning, but they are not going to give up their guns.
QUEST: Can I ask you about the Board of Peace? What role is this going to have? Because the Board of Peace was set up specifically with Gaza in mind,
never mind whether it is going to be U.N. light. It is raison detre was Gaza.
MILLER: Yes. Well, Boards of Peace don't mediate conflicts. Mediators mediate conflicts. The President knows this.
He mediated, unlike all of his predecessors brought extraordinarily a degree of pressure on Benjamin Netanyahu to do phase one, and he has got
his son-in-law and one of his best friends, Steven Witkoff, mediating or trying to mediate, deconfliction with Iran and Russia-Ukraine.
You know, this was -- this is an operation tin cup exercise, it seems to me, to raise money and the countries that have signed up fall into three
categories. One, friends of Donald Trump; two, those like Benjamin Netanyahu, who want to remain friends of Donald Trump; and three, a lot --
a lot of countries -- sorry about that -- a lot of countries don't have the legal, constitutional and political obstacles that need to be overcome to
sign up with a board where the President of the United States has a veto according to the charter over all the proposals.
This isn't serious. As a fundraising arm, tin cup, it could probably raise some money. I am sitting here in Washington waiting until next week and see
who actually shows up to the meeting.
[16:15:03]
QUEST: As this idea -- I can't help feeling that some -- you know, he may have been joking at one level when he talked about Gaza and the new Middle
East Riviera, but I can't help feeling that there is an underlying wish, desire, truth in what the President actually thinks will happen there.
MILLER: In other words, that he actually believes that Gaza can be a real estate deal and turned into a place where there is security and prosperity
and development? I mean, I would like to believe it, too. That means ending the conflict. It means providing humanitarian assistance and it means
dealing with reconstruction, Hamas' demilitarization, Israeli withdrawal. That's what needs to be done.
The real estate reconstruction, pieces of this are fine, but the security and the politics are going to have to take first order of resolution before
you can even get to that point.
QUEST: How very inconvenient of you to put those facts on the table, Mr. Miller, and to have spoiled the picture.
MILLER: Well, that's my role, Richard and always happy to do it with you.
QUEST: I am grateful to you, sir. Thank you for joining us, Aaron David Miller.
The FAA, the Federal Aviation Administration has reopened the airspace around El Paso Airport. Now, why was it closed in the first place? Well, it
has all to do with a Pentagon counter-drone laser, which was going to be tested, but tested on what and how? And why? I promise you, after the
break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: The FAA has reopened the airspace around El Paso Airport in Texas after it announced an unprecedented shutdown. It was on late Tuesday that
the administration abruptly grounded all flights for 10 days, and then lifted the restrictions hours later.
The Trump administration at the time claimed a Mexican cartel drone had crossed into U.S. airspace. Now, we are hearing the shutdown was driven by
the Pentagon's plan to use a counter-drone laser and they never coordinated with the aviation authority.
Pete Muntean joins me from Washington.
I mean, I don't think anybody would deny or doubt the wisdom of stopping the aviation, but 10 days, not knowing what is happening and then finding
it was the Pentagon all along. That's a rum business!
[16:20:10]
PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you know, and it was a lot of mystery and suddenness here that really caused a lot of confusion, not
only for reporters trying to get to the bottom of this, but also in the aviation space. You just have to remember, Richard, color this against so
much that has been happening in aviation in the United States. The Federal Aviation Administration has really been trying to ramp up its ability to
insulate civilian air traffic from military air traffic especially since the midair collision not far from here at Reagan National Airport outside
Washington, D.C. only a year ago.
We now know why the Federal Aviation Administration shut down this airspace over El Paso, because these multiple sources are telling me and our team
covering national security here that this was all because the Pentagon planned to use this high energy laser that could have essentially melted
drones flying over the U.S.-Mexico border. This really sort of became this international incident for a moment. Thankfully, though this all ended in
about eight hours' time. Now, we just really need to know what exactly precipitated this.
We know from some sources that the use of this weapon took place on some mylar party balloons not far from El Paso International Airport and
neighboring Fort Bliss and so that really calls into question whether or not those using this weapon, the military using this weapon, had really any
idea of what they were doing.
QUEST: A fascinating weapon though, isn't it, if you think about it.
MUNTEAN: Yes.
QUEST: You fire this thing at -- I mean, I agree, it would be -- it is regretful if you fired the drone and you hit a plane. So, I understand why
they did the safety thing.
But if we just talk about the weapon, to have this thing where you could fire it and I assume it would find the thing automatically and then melt
it. That's rather tasty.
MUNTEAN: Well, to melt something, you know I mean, lasers also cause a huge problem in aviation. We know from -- you know, you can buy a laser off
amazon.com and point it at an airplane. Pranksters do this all the time and also ultimately face criminal charges that can blind the pilots in an
airplane, the most important instrument on any airplane is a pilot's eyes.
And so lasers really pose a unique risk, and then this weapon, which is able to essentially heat elements of a drone up, cause them to literally
melt down is something the military loves this idea because it is not very expensive, it is not kinetic, meaning they don't have to expend shells or
something to with do that, and it causes very little danger to those on the ground.
So, this is a really interesting emerging technology, and the military here in the United States has been sort of rallying around this idea. And it is
especially useful in a place like El Paso, Texas, where there is not much humidity, the air is relatively clear. You can point it at something
relatively easily, although you have to point it at the right thing and that, apparently was the concern that the Federal Aviation Administration
had here.
QUEST: I am grateful to you. Thank you, sir. Pete Muntean.
MUNTEAN: Good to be with you.
QUEST: Thank you, in Washington.
The U.S. Attorney General, Pam Bondi, has testified at a fiery hearing on Capitol Hill. The A.G. repeatedly clashed with lawmakers over the Justice
Department's handling of the Epstein file.
In one heated moment, the Democratic Congressman Jamie Raskin accused the Department of a massive cover-up.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JAMIE RASKIN (D-MD): You redacted the names of abusers, enablers accomplices and co-conspirators, apparently to spare them embarrassment and
disgrace, which is the exact opposite of what the law ordered you to do.
You're running a massive Epstein cover-up right out of the Department of Justice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Now Kara Scannell is with me.
That was sort of them giving it to her, but when you listen to the full lot, she absolutely -- she called one a loser, a second rater. She left no
stone unturned. This was ugly, disrespectful, arguably on both sides and I am not sure we learned anything more.
KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Richard, I don't think anyone would disagree with you compared to the combativeness in that hearing where both
sides were slinging insults at each other. There was really little new information that came out. Democrats were focusing a lot of their questions
on the Epstein victims, on the Justice Department's redaction failures, bringing this attention to Bondi, actually pointing out to her that there
were victims in the room standing behind her, giving her an opportunity to express some empathy toward them.
And while Bondi said that she was deeply sorry about what they went through, she would not even acknowledge them in the room. Instead, she was
shifting the attention to the prior administration and also a number -- a theme that developed throughout this, Bondi was trying to push her message
of combating violent crime and going after immigration enforcement, but she would have to routinely ask Republicans to give her 20 seconds back in
order to flip to a page in the binder to attack the Democrat in his local district for some crime that was not attended to.
[16:25:17]
So one of the Democratic lawmakers actually said he was giving her more time and he said, flip to the page in your burn book. I want to hear what
you have to say about me.
QUEST: Right. Have a listen to this. This is another of the exchanges because I -- you know, when you hear it, you start to wonder, why did they
bother having these hearings? Whatever the Democratic process requires. Have a listen. And we will talk more.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RASKIN: You can let her filibuster all day long, but not on our watch, not on our time. No way and i told you about that Attorney General before you
started.
PAM BONDI, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: You don't tell me anything you washed out loser lawyer.
RASKIN: Yes, I did tell you because we saw what you did in the Senate.
BONDI: You're not even a lawyer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: The look on her face as she said, "You don't tell me anything, you washed up lawyer. You're not even a lawyer." It is very difficult to have
discourse on either side when you've got that sort of exchange.
SCANNELL: Yes and that's why there really was not a lot of new information that came out here because she would be asked questions and it was just
this pattern that kept playing out where she would deflect when it came to the Democrats, and then sometimes when it was the Republican, it was more
of a self-serving opportunity for her to praise President Trump and to further some of the points of their agenda.
But there really was not new information that came out, no answers for the victims about some of these redaction failures. No questions really even
asked about Minnesota and what the Justice Department would do there, where law enforcement officials have shot and killed U.S. citizens.
There are no lawmakers from Minnesota on that committee, and none of their colleagues kind of took that up as an issue. So, really we did not learn a
whole lot about some of these hot issues at the Justice Department and how that is going to be handled going forward.
QUEST: I'm grateful to you. Thank you. Kara Scannell, who was listening to the argy-bargy. More than an argy-bargy, it was downright arguing taking
place in Congress. Thank you.
Canada tonight in shock. Two deadly shootings, messages of support coming in from around the world and the police have now identified a suspect.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:30:28]
QUEST: Hello, I'm Richard Quest. Together we've got more QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.
The head of Instagram arrives in court to testify in a landmark social media trial. And the Polish economy is one of the hottest in Europe. I'll
be talking to two of the country's most prominent investors, only after the headlines because this is CNN and here the news comes first.
President Trump hosted the Israeli prime minister at the White House with ongoing tensions in Iran at the top of the agenda. Mr. Trump says he will
continue seeking a diplomatic arrangement to start despite skepticism within the Israeli government.
TMZ said it's received a new note related to the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie. The site says the notice from someone who claims to know who took
her. It demands one Bitcoin in exchange for the information. CNN reached out to the FBI about the note, but they had no comment. It follows an
Arizona man being detained for questioning and then subsequently released.
The American actor James Van Der Beek has died at the age of 48. Best known for his leading role in the '90s teen drama "Dawson's Creek." Van Der Beek
revealed in 2024 that he had stage three colorectal cancer. He leaves behind a wife and six children.
Police in Canada have identified the person they say is the suspect in the killing of at least eight people in Tumbler Ridge in Canada. They say that
the gunman opened fire at a secondary school in the remote mountain town and then shot himself or herself. Two people were found dead in a home
nearby. Authorities had previously believed an additional person had died from significant injuries.
The Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney addressed the people of Tumbler Ridge earlier.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK CARNEY, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: This morning, families in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, woke to a different world. Parents, grandparents,
brothers, sisters began this day as their first day on earth without someone they love dearly. What happened has left our nation in shock, and
all of us in mourning.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Paula is with me.
The prime minister sort of doing the father of the nation as they unfortunately end up having to do with these things. But the awfulness of
the attack, what do we know?
PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, we learned so much more in the last few hours. We finally received an update from police. So feature it,
Richard, you're in this small town, very close knit, about 2500 people. Yesterday afternoon, early afternoon, an active shooter alert goes out.
Police are there, Richard, within two minutes. And yet six people described already as very young are already dead, 27 others injured, two dead at
another home. And the suspect apparently injured, a self-inflicted injury police are calling it now. At that other home as well, we have learned that
the suspect, now identified as 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar, had killed her mother and a sibling.
Police still have no idea what the motive was here, Richard, but incredibly disturbing to learn that they said they are familiar with the suspect, that
they had been called to the suspect's residence several times over the last few years for mental health issues.
And also disturbing, Richard, the fact that there are issues here with firearms and firearms had been taken away from the household at least once,
and then whoever owned them had petitioned to get them back and indeed did get them back.
I mean, look, so much shock, anger now as well, and grief striking not just this community but coast to coast in Canada.
QUEST: Right.
NEWTON: And, Richard, I do want you to listen to the prime minister again.
QUEST: Sure.
NEWTON: Because he was as emotional as I have ever seen him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CARNEY: A very difficult day for the nation this morning. Parents, grandparents, sisters, brothers in Tumbler Ridge will wake up without
someone they love. The nation mourns with you.
[16:35:01]
Canada stands by you. We will get through this. We will learn from this. But right now, it's a time to come together as Canadians always do in these
situations, these terrible situations to support each other to mourn together and to grow together.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Notice Richard, he did say, we will learn from this and I think as this investigation continues, that's what Canadians want to know, right?
How do we avoid this another time?
QUEST: Yes, but they've had mass shootings before. The laws have been changed. Along with, you know, other nations. It's not unique. So the
question here is going to be what more needs to be done. And it sounds like from the early facts that we are gauging, we're talking about a more
rigorous approach with firearm protection, but also mental health and behavioral health issues.
NEWTON: Yes, absolutely, and police, the investigative course here already taking that route. Now, Richard, police say they have no idea what the
motive would have been here. But they do understand that they knew there were firearms in that house and they knew that there were firearms back
into that home. Given the fact that you had what was clearly an ongoing mental health crisis in the home, what more could have been done?
QUEST: Right.
NEWTON: And people in this small community have already indicated, Richard, that they did not feel that they had the mental health supports in the
community, the kind of support that they really need.
QUEST: Paula, I'm grateful. Thank you. Paula joining us from Ottawa.
Gisele Pelicot is the French woman, of course, whose horrifying story of mass rape caught all our attention has now been speaking to France Five,
the network. Gisele Pelicot had taken the unusual approach. You remember she waived her right to anonymity to make the trial against her abusers
public. This is her first televised interview since that historic trial ended. There were 51 guilty verdicts.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GISELE PELICOT, SEXUAL ABUSER SURVIVOR (through translator): It was brutal hearing that I wasn't trustworthy, that I must have given my consent, that
I was an accomplice, that this woman could not have possibly been unaware of what was happening. If you watched the videos, you see that this woman
is anesthetized. There's no life left in her.
I wasn't able to address Mr. Pelicot directly during the trial, and we haven't spoken in over five years. And that's part of my healing journey to
go and have a conversation with him, look him directly in the eye, and ask him, why? Why did you do that?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: She has written a memoir, "A Hymn to Life: Shame Has to Change Sides."
The head of Instagram has testified in a landmark social media trial. The plaintiff is accusing several platforms of creating addictive apps.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:40:31]
QUEST: The head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, has testified in a landmark social media trial today. Instagram's owner Meta and YouTube, are being
accused of designing addictive apps that damaged the plaintiff's mental health. Mosseri said he doesn't think users can be clinically addicted to
Instagram. The chief executive of Meta, Mark Zuckerberg, is finally expected to testify next week. Both Meta and YouTube are denying any
wrongdoing.
Our business tech editor Lisa Eadiciccio joins us now.
Look, the problem I've got with this, in a sense, is the arguments are very well-known, very well-rehearsed. The evidence has been known for some time.
They're going -- there's a performative nature of going through it. But at the end of the day, a judge or jury is going to have to come to a decision.
LISA EADICICCO, CNN BUSINESS TECH EDITOR: Yes, and I think that's what we're seeing in this trial so far in this testimony today. We're really
seeing a lot of, you know, pressure from the plaintiff's lawyer trying to peel back the curtain on how Instagram makes those decisions around how it
runs its platform. And, for example, you know, to kind of show the jury and make its case.
And one thing that came up today in the proceedings that didn't really come up in the opening remarks yesterday was how Instagram makes decisions
around allowing beauty filters on the platform. That was a big topic today. The plaintiff's lawyer cited some internal Meta documents that indicated
that Meta executives, when making decisions about those features, acknowledged that they could be harmful.
And Adam Mosseri did say at first that Instagram decided to ban those kinds of filters outright, but then eventually decided to allow some but ban
others that were more harmful, that seemed to promote cosmetic surgery. So I think that's kind of the point of this testimony that we're seeing here
is to really peel back the curtain on how a lot of those decisions were made. And Meta's argument has been that Instagram has not played a big role
in the mental health challenges that the plaintiff has faced. So we expect them to also kind of reiterate that point moving forward as well.
QUEST: You know, on this program, we did, we interviewed the author of a book some years ago called "How to Break Up with Your Phone." And when I
read that, that sort of goes into a lot of the evidence that shows about the dopamine hit, the reward, limbic part of the brain, all that sort of
stuff, that they play on these apps in that. I'm imagining that as this trial continues, there'll be a lot of that sort of evidence.
EADICICCO: Yes, that's the main argument of the plaintiff, and again, I think that's a really important point because of a lot of the concerns that
have been brought up about social media over the last several years. The one that's really at the center of this trial is how these platforms are
engineered, and whether or not they're addictive. Not so much the content that's on the platform. That is not what we're expecting to hear about in
this trial because of a law called Section 230 that shields tech platforms from having liability for the content that users post.
But really, this is about whether these platforms are engineered to hook in young users, to keep them addicted to these platforms.
QUEST: Right.
EADICICCO: And so the plaintiff's lawyer, in his opening remarks, called them digital casinos of dopamine hits for young users.
QUEST: Now, before I let you go, a Meta spokesman has told CNN, "The question for the jury in Los Angeles is whether Instagram was a substantial
factor in the plaintiff's mental health struggles. The evidence will show she faced many significant, difficult challenges well before she ever used
social media."
This is, I mean, you -- well, you take it from there.
EADICICCO: Yes. And I think that's the argument that Meta has been making here, that it was her difficult upbringing, her childhood that has
contributed to her mental distress, not Instagram. The plaintiff's lawyers said that she started using Instagram at age 9, which is below the age of
allowance, which is 13. You're supposed to be 13 and older to use Instagram, but yes, that is Meta's argument here as they're going to make
the case and try to prove to the jury that Instagram did not play a substantial role in what she was dealing with.
QUEST: I'm grateful. Thank you very much indeed.
SAO Investments, SAO Investments, is partnering with Nobu to open a cultural district in Krakow in Poland.
[16:45:02]
In a moment, you'll hear more.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Last year the Polish economy topped $1 trillion, making it one of Europe's fastest growing and now in the top 20, according to the IMF. Not
surprisingly, with all of that growth, real estate is booming and developers are looking to build. And SAO Investments has hotels residences
and offices across Poland. It partnered with Nobu to open a cultural district in Krakow next year. You'll remember I spoke to the co-founders of
Nobu Hospitality, Matt Tepper, Chef Nobu and Robert de Niro. We spoke in November.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT DE NIRO, COFOUNDER, NOBU HOSPITALITY: It's more of a cultural center that is not just a restaurant and a hotel. There's a museum, too. They're
also putting one of my father's artworks in there, actually, that they just showed it to me, to us before, so it's a whole other thing. It makes a lot
of sense.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Now Filip Adamczak and Grzegorz Skawinski are the founders of SAO Investments joining me from Krakow.
Good evening to you both.
Let's start with you, Filip. This investment, this project, besides the Nobu aspect to it, the de Niro, what makes it particularly special, in your
view?
FILIP ADAMCZAK, FOUNDER, SAO INVESTMENTS: It's amazing because it's a combination of well-being culture, hospitality and community. So we are
trying to bring something what is very tricky and difficult but on the other hand, people need it now. So Nobu is the lifestyle brand and the best
restaurant in the world. So our combination with this brand in this project and in the cultural capital of Poland is something natural, challenging.
But our experience and the Nobu experience will give us the -- for sure something completely different and for sure will be an extraordinary
project.
(CROSSTALK)
GRZEGORZ SKAWINSKI, FOUNDER, SAO INVESTMENTS: I think it's not a building, it's the destination. So this is what we want to create. And as you said
from the very beginning, Polish economy is growing and of course the cities like Krakow and Warsaw, they follow. So there's a lot of space for luxury
products and of course brands like Nobu are in the scope of our operational activity in Poland.
[16:50:04]
QUEST: The growth in the Polish real estate market, I've always sort of, whenever I hear about it, you always wonder whether it's a bit Wild West-
ish because it has boomed so fast, growing. Whether or not its sustainable, what do you think?
SKAWINSKI: Yes, of course the economy is moving fast, so we see it all over the world and Poland is not different beside that Poland is, you can see
that the stabilization of the market is going along with the trend. So right now what we see with the real estate is that it's stabilized on a
certain level but we see it growing in the future.
ADAMCZAK: And on the same time, I will add to that, we are still hungry, we are still hungry, hard-working, well-educated. So Polish people are also
pushing the things forward.
QUEST: OK. But there's also a war on your borders. And I now realize that's not your personal in a sense. That's not your personal problem. But if the
economy goes down because of these geopolitical risks, real estate gets affected and can be quite badly affected in a short-term way.
SKAWINSKI: It might be. It might be affected. Of course, the war is terrible thing and it's going on our border so we see it, but at the same
time we see that this segment of luxury investments, luxury products is going to be affected the less. And we saw it in the past, we probably see
it in the future.
QUEST: Right. Right, that's true. Yes. Now let's talk about who's buying. Who's buying all this property, who's buying, Filip, these apartments?
Who's investing in it? Where is the money coming from?
ADAMCZAK: I think it's a mixture of different clients and different needs, but for sure, the first option is the someone who is looking for something
completely different and especially the services are the key. So high quality services is the main factor why they are choosing the branded
residences as a place to be or invest. And the other thing is the clients who want to protect their money so because the product, like the
residences, if you look at all the numbers all over the world, I always keep the price and grow stability.
SKAWINSKI: And of course we have to be honest that at a certain level the domestic demand is huge because we have a lot of affluent class growing. So
we see that people want to spend money here because we see it also on the national level, that a lot of capital inflows into Poland. Of course, to
the architectural and infrastructure products. But in the cities like Warsaw, Krakow and other regional cities, there's a lot of domestic demand
on that.
ADAMCZAK: And Krakow is amazing city. And -- yes.
QUEST: Yes. It is, but I'll tell you.
ADAMCZAK: Krakow is an amazing city so that's why also the reason why because of the history and architecture, that's why also people wants to be
here in this city. It's number one city during the many, many rankings. (INAUDIBLE) is also amazing so everyone is focused on how to improve the
life and I think it's also the key here.
QUEST: And we look forward to bringing QUEST MEANS BUSINESS to Krakow at some point. I'm grateful to you, sir. Thank you very much to both of you.
Thank you.
Now to the Olympics, drama on the ice in the Olympic figure skating. The ice dance favorites, the Americans Madison Chock and Evan Bates are taking
to the ice for their attempt. Their main competitor, a pair of skaters from France, will follow that. We'll find out who won gold in the first
individual competition in just a moment.
There's been a lot of gold. In fact, here's CNN's Coy Wire.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COY WIRE, CNN WORLD SPORT: These mountains here in Northern Italy are beautiful and they are fast. And we already have a new king of speed. Over
in Bormio one of the breakout stars at these winter games, young Swiss skier, Franjo von Allmen, taking gold in men's Alpine super-G. It's an
historic third gold after the 24-year-old clinched gold in the men's downhill and team combined events.
He's the first male Alpine skier to win three golds at the same games since 1968. This is his Olympic debut. Franjo has an inspiring story as well.
When he was a teenager, his dad passed away and it looked like Franjo wouldn't be able to continue the sport he loved for financial reasons until
a crowdfunding project was set up to help him. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Chloe Kim stepping into the halfpipe like Maximus in the arena. Her first appearance at these games and the 25-year-old dominated, making it look
easy, finishing as the top qualifier.
[16:55:07]
But as a wise man once said, it's not easy to make it look easy. Chloe has had to overcome a nasty dislocated shoulder injury to get here and deal
with all the pressures that come with being the best. But she did and now she's one shred closer to a three-peat. No Olympian has ever won three
straight snowboard halfpipe. She's the Simone Biles of the halfpipe. A long time coming, she says she's learned a lot on this journey, especially since
winning her first gold at just 17 years old in Pyeongchang. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHLOE KIM, U.S. HALFPIPE SNOWBOARDER: As I've gotten older, I've started to learn more about myself and kind of what my boundaries are and what I'm
capable of doing. Maybe like, sometimes I need to learn when to back off. And I think taking a lot of time off has been really important for me and
my mental well-being. It's been a really beautiful journey to learn more about myself and kind of discover who I am as a 25-year-old now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WIRE: American superstar speed skater Jordan Stolz stole the show, taking the ice for the first time here at these Winter Olympics setting a new
Olympic record in the men's 1,000 meter. He was just 17 the last winter games. He won two world titles in this event, and now gold. His first
Olympic medal, Jordan is built for speed. He told us ahead of these games, he wished people knew how brutally tiring this event is. Crouched down,
zipping around those blades in that rink about 35 miles per hour, about the same speed as the horses at the Kentucky Derby. Hard work paid off. His
first Olympic medal for Team USA.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: Excellent stuff. You and I will have a "Profitable Moment" after the break. QUEST MEANS BUSINESS midweek edition.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Tonight's "Profitable Moment." Let me preface this by this is not a political comment I'm about to make, but I found that the Bondi hearings in
Congress were simply depressing. On both sides it was, how many points could you score and how abusive could you be?
There used to be a rubric in the game where at least the person before the committee would at least pay lip service of respect. Maybe in the McCarthy
hearings of the 1950s it was different, but, and there was some nastiness, but today it's a blood sport of brutality, and I do wonder whether they
couldn't all learn something from the Olympics, the way in which people go and compete as hard as you possibly can.
You give no quarter, you give no rest. But when it's over you recognize who won, who lost, and you move forward. The problem here in Congress is it's a
never ending game and a never ending process. A bit like QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.
That's QUEST MEANS BUSINESS for tonight, I am Richard Quest in New York. Never ending. Whatever you're up to in the hours ahead, lots of dongs, hope
it's profitable. We'll be back here together, you and me, tomorrow.
END
