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Quest Means Business
U.S. Supreme Court Hears Birthright Citizenship Case; Countdown to Artemis II Mission to Orbit the Moon; 50 Years of Apple. NASA's Artemis II Moon Mission Set to Launch; Combined Value of SpaceX and ] Estimated to Exceed $1 Trillion; Iranian President Releases Letter to American People. Aired 4:00p-5p ET
Aired April 01, 2026 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:19]
PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: You can see the Dow up there. I mean, it had been higher throughout the day, but all three indices in the green
anticipating that we are close to the end of the conflict in the Middle East. Those are the markets, and these are the main events.
A two-part space spectacular. NASA's moon mission, Artemis II is set to launch less than three hours from now, and Elon Musk's SpaceX reportedly
files for a massive IPO.
Plus, President Trump prepares to address the U.S. public on the war in Iran.
Live from New York, it is Wednesday, April 1st. I am Paula Newton, in for Richard Quest and this is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.
And good evening. Tonight, the countdown is on. And no, I do not mean the final preparations for NASA's first manned moon mission in decades, though
of course, we will have plenty more on Artemis II launch in a moment. You see it there. Those are live pictures from the Kennedy Space Center.
But Wall Street is counting down to a very different kind of launch here of what could be the largest IPO in history.
SpaceX has reportedly filed for its long awaited initial public offering. The aerospace company, owned, of course, by Elon Musk, is expected to begin
selling shares in June or July. Sources tell "The Wall Street Journal" it hopes to raise up to $80 billion. SpaceX merged with Elon Musk's artificial
intelligence company, xAI this year. The combined firm has an estimated value of more than $1 trillion, a lot of zeros there.
Clare Duffy is better at counting them than I am, and Clare, before we get to the economics of this or what the value is, I mean, coincidence? I know
we can never prove it, but on the day when NASA and Elon Musk has had a very problematic relationship with the space agency, I mean, it is odd, no?
Leak this out today?
CLARE DUFFY, CNN BUSINESS WRITER: Yes, Paula. It is very funny timing. Of course, we have known that this SpaceX IPO was coming at some point. And
Elon Musk has also talked about hoping that SpaceX could enable him to create a colony on the moon, and if we know one thing about Elon Musk, it
is that he loves attention.
So it is kind of funny to see this happen today. Maybe he is trying to take some attention away from this Artemis II mission, in which SpaceX is not
really involved, although, of course, the company has developed a close relationship with NASA at times, as you mentioned, kind of contentious, but
SpaceX is expected to be very involved in NASA's future plans around sending missions to the moon.
So no way to prove it, but it is funny timing today, I think, Paula.
NEWTON: Yes, and as you said though, now we have a SpaceX spectacular on our hands. How significant though is this IPO, especially given all the
zeros we just had up there and also how much money it will raise.
DUFFY: Yes, Paula, as you said this could be one of the biggest IPOs, if not the biggest IPO in history. This was a confidential filing which
typically happens to give regulators and investors an early look at the details on the plans for this IPO before we get the public filings. So we
don't yet know for sure how much SpaceX is hoping to raise. Although, as you said, there are reports that it could be up to $80 billion, that would
be massive.
Also, when we get that public filing, we will get more details on SpaceX's financial performance, which is going to be really interesting. These are
details that have been very closely held and I think, look, this is going to give investors potentially an opportunity to invest in one of the most
important space companies, but also a major player in the A.I. space.
As you mentioned, in February, SpaceX acquired Elon Musk's A.I. company xAI and this is all in part because Elon Musk is hoping to launch one million
satellites into space that will host data centers for A.I. infrastructure.
This is something that a lot of people in Silicon Valley see as a potentially promising way to address some of the energy needs and just
space restrictions when we talk about the data center buildout that has to happen in order to support all of the A.I. advancements that we are going
to see in the coming years.
So, really interesting in the way both that investors could get in on this. But of course, also SpaceX needing to raise money for those very expensive
ambitions.
NEWTON: Yes, and as you said, they are lofty ambitions. Elon Musk really still heading this and still Tesla, so we will see what this IPO propels
him into this next phase. Certainly, for both the A.I. company and for SpaceX.
Clare Duffy, great to be with you.
DUFFY: And Paula --
NEWTON: Oh yes, go ahead.
DUFFY: I was just going to jump in to say too, because I think this is important to mention, this could also dramatically increase Elon Musk's
wealth. Of course, already the richest man on earth. But it is important to note that this could make him even richer.
[16:05:08]
NEWTON: It is a good point, given the fact that they had this contentious court case regarding his compensation. It seems to be clear sailing now for
him to really be able to capitalize on all of that.
Clare Duffy, thank you again.
Now, NASA as we were just saying, is about 2.5 hours away from sending a crew to the moon for the first time in more than half a century.
You are looking at live pictures from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where the Artemis II rocket and Orion spacecraft is on the launch pad.
The four-member crew, three Americans and one Canadian earlier suited up and made their way to the launch pad to be strapped inside the space
capsule for their journey.
Now, if it all goes well, and we certainly hope it does, the ten-day mission will take them around the moon and farther from Earth than humans
have ever gone.
Scott Pace is the director of the Space Policy Institute, and he joins us now.
Scott, fill me in, please, because I am nothing but ignorant about these things.
The far side of the moon is where they're going. I mean, it sounds like a piece of fiction. And to point out what NASA has always said, right? This
is a test run of an ambitious goal to put a permanent base on the moon and then mars. So explain it to me. The far side of the moon.
SCOTT PACE, DIRECTOR, SPACE POLICY INSTITUTE: Well, the far side of the moon is simply that part of the moon that is always facing away from us.
Its sometimes called the dark side of the moon, and its actually not dark. It is just that we don't see it from Earth. The part of the moon we see is
the one always facing us.
So the far side is also not something that the astronauts will hover over or will stay there. They will be going around the moon. They won't be going
into orbit. They will be doing a kind of a slingshot around the moon, using its gravity to bring it back to Earth.
So unlike, say, the Apollo missions, where the astronauts would orbit the moon and then go down and come back up, this is an out and back kind of
mission.
And as part of the out and back, they will swing around the backside of the moon, the far side of the moon, to bring them back home.
NEWTON: And, and I am glad you explained that to us. I believe that NASA says they will be out of communication for about 45 minutes when they are
on that back side of -- the far side of the moon.
In terms of this being a test flight, how significant is it in terms of where space exploration will go? Let's take it a decade from now by 2036.
PACE: Sure. This is a very important flight because what sometimes people don't realize is it is not just astronauts or technology that do these
things, it is entire organization, its entire teams.
So what we have is a team of people, NASA and contractors coming together to do something that hasn't been done in more than 50 years.
And so its training that team and something that NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman has talked about is the need to improve the cadence. That is the
number of times and frequencies you do it.
If you think about it, if you go to a doctor for a surgery, you want the doctor who is really busy, who has done hundreds and hundreds of surgeries,
you don't want the doctor who has maybe done one surgery every year.
So this is an attempt to pick up the cadence, not only start flying back to the moon again, but then in the future, fly more often so that the teams of
people we have on the ground and the teams we are putting into space have much more frequent experience.
So this is a critical step to moving beyond the Earth again. There is a number of technical things that need to be done on this mission, they need
to prove out the life support system. They want to test the fixes and adjustments that have been made to the heat shield that were problems that
were noted on the first Artemis mission.
But ultimately, this is about a group of people learning to fly again after many, many decades.
NEWTON: And many people are excited about this. I mean, many people are absolutely riveted to what is going on. Those are live shots, again from
Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and yet others are asking, haven't we already been to the moon? And that's why I want to bring up the business
side of this.
I mean, Americans may ask, is this money well spent? Now, you point out that so far Artemis has cost about $93 billion. It is set to top $105
billion by 2028.
But you say, look, that's -- you know, Apollo cost three times as much, $320 billion you say if its today's dollars. Do you think that argument
holds up that this is money well spent, that this must be done?
PACE: Sure. I think you have to look at the differences in the environment. In the case of the Apollo program, there was a larger geopolitical contest.
There was a competition between ourselves and the Soviet Union, and so the idea of a race to the moon was part of this symbolic competition, which was
also, the audience was the rest of the world who were looking at these two superpowers and wondering which to follow and which ones would have greater
influence and be more powerful in the future.
[16:10:17]
The environment today is much different. We don't have a cold war space race, we have a long term enduring competition with China, but we also have
many more countries involved. Europe, Japan; actually, Latin America, Africa, Middle East, many, many more countries are now involved in space.
So in this environment, what we are doing is not trying to do a one-time event and say, that's it. It is rather a sustained push, out into space
because we are reliant on space for all kinds of reasons -- military, economic, as well as symbolic.
And the rules for that environment are made by the people who show up there. So, if we want to have a say in the future of space and its rules,
then we need to be there and we need to be there with our friends and allies.
NEWTON: Well, Scott Pace as we are two hours and 13 minutes, I am told from liftoff here we note your insights with interest and we will wait to see
what the next ten days looks like. Scott Pace for us, thanks so much.
PACE: Thank you.
NEWTON: And as we say, we are a little more than two hours and we will continue to check in in Florida.
Meantime, The White House says President Trump will give an important update tonight on the war in Iran, his primetime address was preceded by an
open letter from Iran's president directly to the American people. We will get into their dueling messages after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NEWTON: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is urging the American public to look beyond political rhetoric and reconsider their view of his country.
In an open letter, he says the relationship between the U.S. and Iran is misunderstood. Pezeshkian says Iran has never initiated any war in its
modern history, and that its people bear no ill will toward other nations, including the United States.
Now, that letter makes no mention of wanting a ceasefire, something U.S. President Donald Trump claims Iran's President is now asking for.
Mr. Trump made the claim on Truth Social earlier. He says he will consider a ceasefire once the Strait of Hormuz is open, free and clear. However,
Iran's Foreign Ministry says Tehran has not asked for a truce.
President Trump is scheduled to address this nation tonight. The White House says he will reaffirm his intention to end the war within three
weeks.
Kevin Liptak is at The White House. Good to see you, Kevin.
[16:15:10]
And I am wondering here beyond what we are getting or what you are getting from White House officials. You know, this is a national address. It is
supposed to have some import, and it is obviously supposed to disclose something new.
Are we getting a sense that he will tell Americans something they haven't heard before?
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, I mean, just the fact of an address to the nation is something that we haven't seen from the
President, at least when it comes to the war in Iran. You know, he didn't deliver one before it began, but when he was very obviously considering
launching it and he didn't deliver one in the four weeks since then, that did lead a lot of people to wonder why the President wasn't kind of
reckoning in this high profile way with the American people about what exactly he was trying to accomplish.
And so I think as a set piece, it is new, but at least what we are hearing from officials, it doesn't seem as if the President is going to lay out any
new details about the actual conflict.
You know, they say he will reiterate that timeline that he offered yesterday, this two to three-week timeline for ending the war. He will lay
out those four objectives that The White House has said that are his primary reasons for being in Iran in the first place.
You know, I asked The White House squarely if the President was going to address the question of ground troops. You know, it is something we know he
is considering. He is deploying all of these resources with the 82nd Airborne or these Marine Expeditionary Units to the Middle East and they
wouldn't say whether the President would address that potential in the speech tonight.
And so in a lot of ways, I think this is the President's attempt to really kind of lay out in a much clearer way than he has done to date about what
he is trying to accomplish and how he is planning to end this war with the recognition that it is extremely unpopular.
You know, we just had a CNN poll out in the last couple of minutes or so that shows the approval rating among Americans for this particular conflict
is going down. You know, it is at 34 percent now. That's seven points lower than it was at the onset of the conflict.
And so there is a recognition here at The White House that the American people are not at all on board with that the President is doing here, and a
concern that part of the reason for that is that the President has not been consistent in his messaging, and that the President's officials seem to be
scrambling to catch up with him every time he opens his mouth and talks about the war.
And so the speech tonight, I think, is meant to button that up somewhat. But we will see if the President is actually successful in that once this
speech is over.
NEWTON: And indeed, we will, especially given, as you said, Americans continue to sour on this, especially given mortgage rates, gas prices,
inflation.
Kevin Liptak for us at The White House. Appreciate it.
Now, Trump says he plans to call out NATO during his televised address. He called the Alliance a one-way street in an interview with Reuters. Trump
went on to say that he has never much asked -- pardon me, has never asked NATO for much and complained they haven't been friends when we needed them.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was asked about the President's criticism. He defended the Alliance and his response to Trump's call for
help. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEIR STARMER, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: NATO is the single most effective military alliance the world has ever seen. Whatever the pressure on me and
others, whatever the noise, I am going to act in the British national interest in all the decisions that I make, and that's why I've been
absolutely clear that this is not our war, and we are not going to get dragged into it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Jim Sciutto is in Tel Aviv for us.
Jim, really good to have you on the ground there. When we talk about an end date for this, two or three weeks, you're in Israel. Does it sound like
Israel is going to be wrapped up in two to three weeks?
JIM SCIUTTO CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Israel hasn't met its stated goals, principal of which is debilitating,
really destroying Iran's nuclear program and you've heard some Israeli officials make the case for more concerted efforts, in particular, to
secure the 400 kilograms of enriched uranium that remain in Iran buried underground.
But in Iran, the President, at least publicly, doesn't seem to have the same commitment to that goal and has even claimed at times that, well, it
is underground, therefore it is not a problem.
So on that key objective, the U.S. and Israel are at loggerheads. Now, if the President chooses to leave the war and Israel has said it is the
President's choice, what does Israel do at that point? Does it attempt to control that nuclear material on its own? We don't know.
I mean, Israel has certainly, if you look at Lebanon, struck on its own at times when it feels threatened or feels it has the capability to strike a
greater blow against Hezbollah, do they take a similar approach to Iran going forward? We don't know.
I will also say that Israeli officials and many leaders in the region are uncomfortable with the idea of the U.S. President walking away with the
Strait of Hormuz still effectively closed or controlled by this Iranian regime, but the President, in his public comments, seems to be laying the
rhetorical groundwork for that as well --
[16:20:10]
In effect saying to America's allies in this region and Europe, it is your problem, not our problem.
And, you know, that is an issue Israeli officials will not get on the wrong side of the President publicly, but privately, they will say that on those
issues, they certainly differ.
NEWTON: Okay, Jim, good to have you, as we continue to watch what the President will say just a few hours from now. Appreciate it.
Now, as we were just discussing, President Trump's approval rating on the economy has fallen to a career low. A new CNN poll shows that only 31
percent of Americans believe trump is handling the economy well, while 65 percent say his policies have worsened conditions.
Gas prices have soared over the past month. Bank of America now expects four percent inflation this quarter, four. And it warns, a longer war could
tip the economy into recession.
Ken Rogoff is a prominent economics professor at Harvard University. He formerly served as the IMF chief economist, and he joins us now from
Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Ken, really good to have you on the program.
KENNETH ROGOFF, FORMER CHIEF ECONOMIST AT THE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND: Thank you.
NEWTON: How much do you believe the economy is factoring into the war's -- into the President's war calculations? And should it?
We talked inflation. We talked gas prices. But I also think it is worth looking at the 30-year mortgage rates as well. I've been watching these
quite closely. It has pretty much shattered any recovery, those rates in the housing market.
So how much do you believe this is really about propping up the American's impression of the economy?
ROGOFF: Well, I think that's a factor. I mean, I think it is also Trump not figuring out how to actually win in the Middle East war and deciding he is
going to pull out and hope for the best in what remains. I don't know how that is going to work.
I don't really see how we can go win such a massive air victory and then walk away and have the Strait of Hormuz closed and without a clear plan for
changing it.
And if we don't, I think these problems, the higher inflation, interest rates staying high, global economy weakening hitting the U.S. are just
going to get worse.
So it is not -- it is a very difficult situation. I think this is really the biggest shock on the downside that's hit the U.S. economy of this type
in maybe five decades, and I don't think just you can snap your fingers and make it go away. So we will see.
I have to say, if you look at where the markets think oil is going to be in a year, they seem to think it will normalize. But good luck with that. I
think there is a very good chance it won't.
NEWTON: And in fact, when you said, you actually argued at the very start of this that we could be in a very precarious position for the global
economy and I am wondering how much that stands, because when you wrote that, Ken, we didn't even know that the Strait of Hormuz would be you know,
basically blocked for an entire month.
ROGOFF: Yes, I mean, I was of the view this thing wasn't going to be so quick. And even if it ends, it won't necessarily be over. I mean, we all
remember when Russia invaded Ukraine. Everybody thought that would be over in six months at most, one way or the other. We are four years plus in, and
it is still going strong.
I mean, I think we may see a temporary peace here, but the underlying fundamentals are still bad. The Iranian regime can fight on just the way
Afghan did, Iraq did. But I mean, what trump will tell us is that they've been so degraded they can't cause problems.
But look, the Houthis, which are tiny nothing have been causing problems in the Red Sea and Iran is vastly bigger and more powerful.
So I think it takes -- it may only take one country to start a war, but it takes two countries to end it.
NEWTON: Or more at this point. I am wondering what you believe could be the lasting implications for the global economy in the way that the oil shock
of the 70s transformed the energy architecture around the world and I ask, because it seems that were in a much more precarious place.
I mean, if you look at any G7 government or beyond, they just do not have the physical firepower that they once did. So what are you looking at in
terms of what the lasting effects may be of this?
ROGOFF: Well, that's a very good point. I think, the big thing is that interest rates are going to be higher at the other end of this. Now, I am
talking about what the Federal Reserve does.
It sets a very short term interest rate. I am talking about the longer term rates. You mentioned mortgage rates earlier, the 10-year U.S. Treasury
rates.
[16:25:10]
Those are really set in the market, and I think they are going to stay higher and it is painful. Why? Because there is more uncertainty, because
everybody sees that a lot of money has to go into military spending. That's certainly going to be a lasting effect of this.
The world economy is likely to remain more fragmented. The Straits of Hormuz being partially shut is symbolic of that, but there is this larger
picture, starting with the tariff war. U.S. allies now see they need to diversify. Europe even is looking to China. Asia is looking to China.
So we end up in a world where we are more split up and interest rates are going to be higher.
NEWTON: Yes, and it definitely ignores all the progress that globalization has given many countries and has contributed to growth over the last few
decades.
Ken Rogoff we will continue to check in with you. Appreciate your time.
ROGOFF: Thank you.
NEWTON: Now, countdown to launch. NASA's historic moon mission is nearing the window for liftoff. The Artemis II crew, ready and waiting, and so are
space fans all around the world.
We are live back in Florida after a quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NEWTON: Hello, I am Paula Newton and there is more QUEST MEANS BUSINESS in a moment when we will be in Washington, where President Trump was in
attendance for a Supreme Court hearing on birthright citizenship.
And Apple is half a century old. A look back at the highs and lows and what comes next.
Before that, though, the headlines this hour. NASA's Artemis II mission is scheduled to lift off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida in about two
hours from now. The four-person crew is set to embark on a ten-day journey right around the moon. It is NASA's first crewed moon mission in more than
50 years. The astronauts could break the human record for traveling the furthest distance from earth.
U.S. President Donald Trump says Tehran has asked for a ceasefire. In a social media post, he wrote that he will only consider that request once
oil tankers are able to move safely through the Strait of Hormuz. Until then, the President said, we are blasting Iran into oblivion and back to
the Stone Ages. Iran denies that it has asked for a ceasefire.
Donald Trump today became the first sitting president to attend arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court. Justices are considering whether his
executive order limiting birthright citizenship is constitutional, a White House lawyer told the court, "We are in a new world now." The Chief Justice
John Roberts fired back, it is the same Constitution. A decision is expected by the end of June.
[16:30:52]
And we want to pick up now on that story about birthright citizenship. The Supreme Court heard oral arguments today.
Paula Reid is CNN's chief legal correspondent and was listening in to all of it.
Paula, I'm wondering if anything surprised you. I was listening in here and there, but given I'm out of my element legally, I found that they were
actually quite blunt about their skepticism.
PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that surprised me, too. Just the overt skepticism, not from one or two justices, but really
from the majority, including the three that President Trump appointed. And it's unclear exactly what he wanted to achieve by making history, by being
there during the arguments. But it's clear his presence did not make them more sympathetic to his lawyer, John Sauer's arguments.
We heard those three justices that he appointed all grilling his lawyer, John Sauer, even Justice Kavanaugh, who President Trump recently described
in a Truth Social post as his, quote, "hero" for the tariffs decision. I mean, he also pressed the Trump lawyer saying, look, it's not just this
court that has interpreted the 14th Amendment this way for over a century. Also, Congress has twice passed laws that support this idea that if you're
born in the U.S., you are a U.S. citizen.
Now, Trump left after his lawyer wrapped his argument, but the ACLU got up. They made their case. They got some tough questions, but nothing like what
Trump's lawyer had to face. And it was difficult for him to square a lot of those questions. So even though Trump has been the architect of this
supermajority at the court, six-three conservative supermajority, they handed him a lot of big victories. This time it does not appear that he's
likely to get a win on this executive order, but we won't know what they decide likely until the last week of June.
NEWTON: Yes. And Paula, they seem to really get into the nitty gritty of this. I mean, I noticed that Ketanji Brown talked about what are we going
to do, give depositions to pregnant women? So can you take us a little bit through that and what the justices were getting at there?
REID: Yes. Well, it's the question of logistics, feasibility, right? There's the legal question that doesn't appear to be going the government's
way. But if it did, there are logistical implications. The opposition in this case, they argue that actually millions of people would be impacted by
this, not just the groups, illegal immigrants, people on short-term visas, tourists, that the government says would be impacted.
They said it would be a broader group and it would be a logistical nightmare because, yes, how do you then go and verify all of this? How does
it work with birth certificates? They've issued some guidance, but logistically it would be a mess. I will also note that the Supreme Court is
fine with just issuing rulings and not figuring out the logistics, so that's certainly not a bar. They did that with the tariffs ruling, right?
They made a legal ruling and then they said go back down to the lower court to figure out the details. But that was definitely interesting today that
some of the justices were honing in on that.
NEWTON: Yes. You don't have to say that, Paula, to this business show. It is exhibit A in terms of the Supreme Court making a decision saying, yes,
you guys go ahead and deal with it.
REID: Figure all out.
NEWTON: Exactly. Paula Reid, grateful to you. Thanks so much.
Now, as you were just saying, birthright citizenship has been a law in the United States for more than 100 years. The 14th Amendment, we just saw it
there on the screen, declares that all persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the
United States.
Now, like all of the amendments to the U.S. Constitution, it was not part of the founding fathers' original document. In fact, it was ratified 80
years later, in 1868, as part of the country's reconstruction after the Civil War. The amendment ensured that formerly enslaved people were granted
full citizenship.
Jeff Swartz is a former judge in Miami-Dade County, Florida. He's also a professor at the Cooley Law School.
I want to thank you for joining us. I mean, we just went through kind of what happened in court. But I want to ask you, why do you believe then that
the court even agreed to hear this in the first place? Many have suggested, especially when we go through what happened in court today, that given it's
part of the Constitution, it has no place coming before the Supreme Court, that it is settled law.
[16:35:10]
JEFF SWARTZ, FORMER MIAMI-DADE COUNTY COURT JUDGE: I would agree. I think that I didn't understand why they took it in the first place. Clearly there
were five justices who had concerns about birthright citizenship or for whatever the reasons are, just wanted to give Mr. Trump the opportunity to
have his lawyers have their piece towards the court.
I just don't understand. I was listening to -- I did not have a chance to listen to it at the time because I was teaching a class, but I did listen
to the whole thing as it was recorded, and it was clear that other than possibly Justice Thomas, who was centering more on the idea of the slavery
side of all of this and giving slaves citizenship as part of all of this, he was the only one that I saw had any qualms about this. In fact, most of
them had some sarcastic comment or another going after Mr. Sauer when he was speaking.
NEWTON: You know, I wonder, though, if there could be a reasonable adjustment made. It is not the right venue for it. But if we go back to
what the 14th Amendment actually says, all persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof. Is there wiggle
room there to say, look, it shouldn't be that someone on a tourist visa gives birth in the United States and that their child is then given full
rights as an American citizen?
SWARTZ: There was something that came through in the questioning and the comments that were made that said that this doesn't -- the amendment does
not dispossess Congress the right of passing statutes that would relate to, although not overrule this particular part of the 14th Amendment. For
example, saying that people cannot, who are, who have children while they're here on visitor's visas or whether they are tourists or whatever
reason they're here, other than legal residency, would not, their children would not become American citizens.
Addressing that one issue is something that they talked about, and I don't think they have a problem with statutes. That's why Kavanaugh asked the
question, do we really have to overrule the existing case law, or can we just rely on the 1950 statute regarding citizenship and say, that seems to
control what's going on here? And we like statutes more than making constitutional decisions. So they actually could decide it on two or three
statutes that have been passed in the 20th century regarding immigration and citizenship.
NEWTON: So if I understand you correctly, though, this would still be over to you, Congress, like so many of these issues?
SWARTZ: That is correct. If they decide they could come back and say, yes, we are affirming the prior decisions on birthright citizenship. But the
idea that Congress cannot limit those who are eligible for it, they may say some of the statutes that have been passed clearly talk about it, and they
would have the right to limit birthright citizenship to the idea of people who are not either domiciled here, are not legally here, those type of
things, they could pass statutes saying, I'm not so sure about this.
NEWTON: Jeff, grateful to you. I think we just got some insight as to what a decision might look like, even if it is a dissenting position or
something else that they put in this decision. We'll have to wait until June, though. Thanks again for being with us. I appreciate it.
SWARTZ: My pleasure for being here. Thank you.
NEWTON: And we will be right back with more live from Florida.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:41:31]
NEWTON: And we do want to take you back to the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The final checks are being done ahead of Artemis
II's mission to the moon. NASA making sure the communication systems are working and there's no foreign object debris in the spacecraft. The Artemis
II crew is strapped in and ready for go time on its journey to the far side of the moon and back.
Before heading to the launch pad, the four astronauts apparently played cards. It was poker, I was told. A way to ease nerves at such a big moment.
Space fans from all over the world, not an exaggeration, have gathered in Florida, and that is where we find David Culver.
David, I'm hoping you can hear me there amongst the crowd. I've got to imagine there's excitement, but also a bit of butterflies.
DAVID CULVER, CNN SENIOR U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I think there is a mixed emotion. You're right, Paula. And you mentioned the communication
system being tested at the launch pad, which is about eight miles away from where we are, and I'll say, bear with us, because the signal could go in
and out here. You've got a lot of folks who are on their phone, a lot of folks who are streaming the NASA control room, and basically you've got a
bunch of mini-mission controls around us.
You can hear people on their radios listening to the live streams, and then getting ready for what could be in the next couple of hours or so the
opening of the launch window, and potentially Artemis II going up above me.
Now, I will point out it's raining here a bit, but if you look out, it's actually clear skies where the launch pad is. So it's looking pretty good
from that vantage point. And you've got folks who have been here, some of them from late last night. Some people have been here a few days, even
camping out in RVs. And now you've got the rush of folks.
I'm going to slowly try to move because I want to show you the bridge. And if you look up, it continues for about a mile past me. People who at this
point (INAUDIBLE) and are now bridge itself. They have just shut down this bridge so as to give folks (INAUDIBLE) stand and watch. It will be a full
launch in just a couple of hours from now. And you're right, people from around the world, I mean, of course, you've got people from around the
country.
I met folks who drove in over the past 24 hours from Texas, the Carolinas, all the way up the East Coast into the Midwest, but also from the U.K.
People who specifically tried to get here for this date. And so they're hoping that it happens tonight, but they're also prepared to say, hey, if
it doesn't happen, they'll linger for a few more days, make the most of it. And hopefully during their visit here, they'll be able to see something
live from Pad 39-B, just beyond my shoulder here.
And you can see people have set up pretty sophisticated camps in some places. They've got full tents, they've got grills. You mentioned the
astronauts playing cards. People here are playing games. They're trying to pass the time, but they're also really in a positive mood. I mean, it was
pointed out to me by one woman, Paula, that it's rare in the U.S. these days when you have crowds this big and you have so many people together
with all the tensions and uneasiness that you have folks who are just smiling, acknowledging each other and unified.
NEWTON: Yes, it is such an important piece of this whole mission that it has unified the country and perhaps people beyond.
David, grateful to you, a little envious as well. I'd love to be able to see this in person. Fingers crossed for liftoff there. Appreciate it.
And we want to go back to our Scott Pace, who's with us again talking about this mission. I mean, look, we are less than two hours now from this
mission. You'd assume at this point they're pretty much locked in and ready to go, right? I mean this is that two-hour launch period that everyone
talks about.
[16:45:03]
SCOTT PACE, DIRECTOR, SPACE POLICY INSTITUTE: Well, there's always changes that can happen up until the time the solid rocket motors ignite. I mean,
lots of things are going to be checked and verified all the way down to the end. It's looking good. Weather is looking good. Crew obviously is looking
good. Vehicles looking good. But it's really not until you get to the very last moment as it was in the case of the shuttle, until the solid motors
ignite.
When those ignite, you're going to go and hopefully along the way that's been planned. So there's still opportunities for this to be stopped up
until that point.
NEWTON: And Scott, as we are watching this in the next couple of hours, when it does take off, would you tell us that, look, look, for the first
few minutes into this and then after, you know, after that, we're off to the races or off to space.
PACE: Well, I mean, the sequence of things probably to look for, that I'll be looking for is a nice clean separation and clearing the tower. And then
the solids will do that fairly quickly. Watching them burn, until they separate and break off. You know, from the vehicle. That's probably most
initial important thing to watch. Then the crew will disappear. It'll go into earth orbit, and then the next thing will be checkout on orbit.
And one of the most important parts of the checkout is the life support system. Make sure it's all operating as it should be. Before they do what
is called translunar injection, which is where they fire their engines to send them on that slingshot path around the moon. So ignition, solids and
then check out in the next day or two, and then translunar injection, they'll be committed to heading for the moon.
NEWTON: Now, Scott, stand by with us for a moment. Apparently NASA is troubleshooting a so-called range issue. It's related to the SLS rockets
flight termination system, and that apparently is hardware that helps keep the rocket from veering off path. Obviously important. NASA's countdown
clock is still ticking away down to launch. That's at 6:24. As I've said, about an hour and a half from now.
What does that tell you? Does this sound like it might be a huge problem?
PACE: These are -- no, these are the kinds of things you look for. A range issue can be many things. It can be a boat that's wandered into the area,
which is unsafe. It can mean aircraft maybe wandering into the zone. It can mean that, and looking at the flight termination system, which is set to be
able to destroy the rocket to make sure it doesn't go into populated areas. Of course, after you've also separated the crew from the vehicle.
If you look at the top of the Orion capsule there on the top of the vehicle, you see that smaller rocket motor system up there, narrow white
object, that's intended to pull the crew away from the vehicle. If there should be an emergency and flight termination system would be something
that would destroy the vehicle to keep it from going, you know, off course into a populated area. So obviously very, very important safety features
for the vehicle, all have to be working, all have to be ready before committing to launch. So like I said, there's lots of things to make sure
are right before you go.
NEWTON: And, you know, we have this reporting from on the ground there because this is what NASA has said. It's full disclosure on their part. And
yet the countdown clock continues to tick down. So there's still a chance this could go as planned. Right?
PACE: Sure. Well, there's a number of different mission rules for when you want to do a pause. If there's lots of other activities that are going on
and being checked out. So, if the countdown really isn't being slowed, any of the guys can check out the flight termination systems, if you will, in
parallel offline. That's fine. If something, if there's something more serious there are built in holes.
There are times where you say, OK, the vehicle is stable at this point in time. We're going to call a hold here and go work a number of issues. You
can think of it like ascending Mount Everest. There's a series of base camps that you'll stop in at various points. You don't want to just stop
anywhere. But there are pre-designated stopping points where you can hold the clock. So simply because they're checking something out doesn't
necessarily mean the hold will need to occur.
They may get to a hold point. Some which occur fairly short before takeoff. And that can extend for some time or even call a scrub for the vehicle,
depending on what is going on. So it's hard to really tell right now. Don't have enough information, but we'll be looking for other holes as we get
closer. Say the final nine, 10 minutes, even two minutes.
NEWTON: Sure. Yes.
PACE: You'll be looking for things. So this sounds normal so far.
[16:50:00]
NEWTON: Good. Scott, grateful to you for explaining that for us. We will continue to keep an eye on this and get back to you again in the next few
minutes as we continue to wait for this liftoff.
Scott, appreciate it.
Now, 50 years ago, Apple started off as a tiny tech operation. Yes, in the garage. Today, it's one of the most influential companies around. Bill
Weir's "50 Years of Apple" reports on its transformation into a tech behemoth. He joins us next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NEWTON: Fifty years after its founding in a California garage, Apple has grown into one of the most influential companies ever. After all, more than
2.5 billion people, yes, 2.5 billion with a B people use Apple products worldwide.
CNN's Bill Weir is marking the golden anniversary with his report, "50 Years of Apple," an inside look at the company's history. Now, of course,
many of us remember when the iPod was first released, how it revolutionized the way we listen to music. You can also use it as a paperweight. It's so
heavy. Eventually, the iPod would evolve into the iPhone.
Bill Weir looked back on the game-changing moment as it was announced.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE JOBS, CO-FOUNDER, APPLE: Every once in a while, a revolutionary product comes along that changes everything.
DAVID POGUE, JOURNALIST, AUTHOR OF "APPLE: THE 50 YEARS": He said today we're unveiling three new products.
JOBS: An iPod, a phone, and an internet communicator.
POGUE: And then he goes. An iPod.
JOBS: An iPod. A phone. Are you getting it?
POGUE: And suddenly people realized it's all the same thing.
JOBS: This is one device.
POGUE: And people just lost their minds.
JOBS: And we are calling it iPhone.
BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: Is this number one here?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's the original iPhone.
WEIR: Oh, I remember this baby. It's so adorable.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It feels, it feels small by today's standards, but it --
WEIR: Doesn't it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I remember holding it when it first came out and pulling the camera up and having the viewfinder. I felt like I was looking through
my hand. I was like, this is such a big screen.
WEIR: Mind blowing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: And Bill Weir joins us now. I mean, I was well into adulthood when this happened, and yet I can't imagine my life without an iPhone right now.
How revolutionary have these products been?
[16:55:05]
WEIR: It's really game-changing when you think about it. This is sort of the pinnacle of consumer electronics. Oh, you take a full ad, a full page
ad of a Radio Shack in the '90s. Every item on that is in here. It created, you know, billion dollar attention, economies, gig economies. It changed
the way we order food, where we stay, how we work, how we communicate, how we isolate, how we entertain, how we broadcast ourselves.
It is really stunning to think about this one device. But over the years, Apple had plenty of clunkers. Their story is a bunch of misfires, a bunch
of savior moments. Steve Jobs getting fired, coming back, those sorts of things. But I also wanted to look at sort of the good and the bad, what
these things have done to our brains and our kids as well.
NEWTON: And that's such an important part of this, Bill. And I hear that you actually went cold turkey. And, you know, inquiring minds want to know
what was it like and what were your revelations at the end of the cold turkey period?
WEIR: Well, there's a huge backlash going on. I went to this phone-free bar in Washington, D.C., met the members of this Month Offline Club, and they
inspired me to try at least two weeks. I couldn't do a full month, but I went with a dumb phone. I went with the old school flip phone where you
have, you know, to punch 27 keys to type I love you, and it has Uber and a camera and some things, but it really, it's sort of intentionally adding
that friction back into my life.
And it was excruciating at first, but by the end of the first week, my, you know, desire to swipe open the world and check social media began to fade.
My attention span, reading books got better. My little boy stopped pestering me to look into my phone. Of course, I'm not giving it up
entirely, but I think it really reset my relationship with this. But what's most stunning is I took brain tests before and after.
There's a laboratory actually up in Ontario that studies the effect of screen time on brains, and the results of my dumb phone, two-week fast off
the iPhone were really surprising, even to the researchers. So I hope folks will tune in and see that.
NEWTON: And of course, we will, Bill. And as I said, no shame in it, right? We should all be able to do it for two weeks. I mean, it was two weeks,
right? Perhaps we'll give it a try.
Bill Weir for us.
WEIR: Right.
NEWTON: Now Bill Weir's "50 Years of Apple" airs this Sunday, April 5th on CNN. The remarkable look at Apple's history airs at 9:00 p.m. in New York
for "THE WHOLE STORY WITH ANDERSON COOPER." That's 2:00 a.m. in London and 9 a.m. in Hong Kong.
Now, we want to go back to our live coverage of Artemis II, the launch, where the hatch door is about to close. You can see the engineers working
there after finding an issue with the flight termination system that is apparently a range related issue. That was during their preparations. Now,
NASA's countdown clock is still ticking down to a 6:24 p.m. launch. We will see if that holds.
That is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. Stay with us. We'll continue to have that live coverage. I'm Paula Newton. "THE LEAD WITH JAKE TAPPER" starts now.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
