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Quest Means Business
Officials: 16 U.S. Cruise Passengers In Nebraska, Two In Georgia; White House: Cook, Musk Among CEOs To Visit China With Trump; Ruling Party Accuses Opposition Of Taking Orders From Beijing; Number Of Lawmakers Calling For Starmer's Ouster Grows; Scientists Working To Develop Vaccine Against Hantavirus; Kentucky City Uses A.I. To Set Governing Priorities. Aired 4-5p ET
Aired May 11, 2026 - 16:00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:17]
RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST, "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS": Closing bell has started ringing on Wall Street, and we have records -- not huge, but
the Dow is not a record, but the S&P and the NASDAQ are. Trading is coming to an end. And a one and a two and a one, two, three, four.
They were, I would say interesting gavels, not great, not -- well, there we go. That's where the markets are and the events that you and I are talking
about tonight: Dozens of cruise ship passengers now quarantining at their home as more cases of hantavirus are confirmed.
The White House says Elon Musk and Tim Cook are going to China, along with President Trump.
And Nike in a lawsuit over its decision not to pass on the tariff refund it has received. The customers aren't getting it.
Live from New York, new week, Monday, May 11th, I am Richard Quest and I mean business.
Good evening.
All the passengers aboard a cruise ship that was struck by the hantavirus outbreak have now disembarked and are on their way home. Sixteen of the
cases were sent to a quarantine unit in the United States at the state of Nebraska. None of those are symptomatic, although one has tested positive.
Two other passengers were sent to Atlanta's Emory University, where they are now under assessment. One of them is symptomatic and being kept in a
biocontainment unit.
As for Spain, well, there, the Health Ministry says a passenger has been isolated in Madrid after testing positive, and to France, where the Health
Minister says one woman there has also tested positive. She was on board the ship and started showing symptoms on her way back from the Canary
Islands, and that's where we find Melissa Bell, who has sent us this dispatch.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The last of the passengers may have left the M/V Hondius ahead of its onward journey
to The Netherlands, but amongst those 17 Americans evacuated on Sunday, at least one new case of hantavirus now confirmed, with another passenger
showing symptoms which can include fatigue and a fever.
The two had been kept in isolation away from the others as they traveled to Nebraska.
BELL (on camera): The American case is interesting because that passenger had been identified as having had close contact with some of the deceased
passengers on board the M/V Hondius, which is why, when he was brought ashore on Sunday, he was brought ashore separately from the other
passengers.
It is also a reminder of the length of this virus' incubation period.
BELL (voice over): The other confirmed case from those disembarked on Sunday, a French woman who began feeling unwell on the flight home to
Paris. That's according to France's Health Ministry. She is now in quarantine at this hospital to the north of the French capital.
TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS, DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: The French passenger is deteriorating now. Imagine if that
happened in the ship, and her fate would have been more dangerous, actually.
So, she is in good hands and she is protected now.
BELL (on camera): And even as you have sought to contain this virus, the World Health Organization, with this operation, your understanding how it
functions better and better.
Are you confident now that we know enough about it? That this is it? This is an outbreak that will have been confined to this and thanks to the work
that you've done here.
GHEBREYESUS: We learned our lessons from COVID as well. As we said, this is not another COVID. It will not be a pandemic.
BELL (voice over): What started as a voyage of adventure to some of the world's most remote islands turned into a nightmare for dozens of
passengers after three people died and several others fell ill with the virus.
The evolution of the infection has been closely tracked by the World Health Organization, even as it has sought to contain its spread.
DR. BORIS PAVLIN, MEDICAL EPIDEMIOLOGIST, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: The most important aspect from now, because all the symptomatic people were
offloaded last in Cabo Verde, the issue now has turned to the remaining passengers and crew, who had, to varying degrees, contact with those sick
individuals before they were offloaded.
BELL (voice over): As the military-style operation wrapped up in Tenerife, the ship's captain put out this message thanking everyone for their
solidarity.
JAN DOBROGOWSKI, CAPTAIN, M/V HONDIUS: The past few weeks have been extremely challenging to us all, as I am sure you know.
What touched me the most, what moved me the most was your patience, your discipline, and also kindness.
[16:05:00]
BELL (voice over): The flurry of evacuations and repatriation flights seems to have gone smoothly. But even as the last passengers are offloaded, it is
those in contact with anyone who is both positive and symptomatic that are now at greatest risk.
Melissa Bell, CNN, Tenerife.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: Now CDC, which is the American organization says an official, says he cannot guarantee hantavirus wont spread even with the passengers under
close supervision. The Nebraska governor, Jim Pillen said the facility in Omaha is following the strictest protocols.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. JIM PILLEN (R-NE): We have walked hand in hand with our federal partners from The White House to Secretary Kennedy, to the CDC and all of
their great teams, I am satisfied and Nebraskans can be -- that the rest of America can be satisfied that there is a strong plan in place to ensure the
folks are secure for their initial assessment and we are working diligently to ensure no one leaves this security in an unsecured way at an
inappropriate time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: And that seems to be the key phrase to Dianne and Rafael. Rafael is at Emory in Atlanta. Dianne is in Nebraska at the facility there. Nobody
leaves at an inappropriate time in an inappropriate way.
Dianne Gallagher, if everybody stays there as they are supposed to and everything remains into this very strict protocol, there really is no
reason to suspect that anybody else gets this.
DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Look, in a perfect world, sure, Richard, but we don't necessarily know. They said that they can't
guarantee anything because doctors don't like to speak in absolutes, obviously.
They are, though, saying that they are putting the best effort they have into making sure that nobody is exposed from these particular passengers
who are here.
Now, look, behind me, this building right here, this is the University of Nebraska Medical Center, and in the basement of that building is the
National Quarantine Unit. That's where 15 of those American passengers who were brought here in the wee hours of the morning to Nebraska are currently
staying, are kind of like hotel rooms with negative pressure and an elite ventilation system.
They've got exercise equipment. They can talk to their families on FaceTime or anything like that, but they cannot have visitors and they are going to
have consistent monitoring from the medical staff here.
Now, as of this morning, they had not done a full, complete assessment of each of those passengers. They said that they wanted to allow them to get
some rest, but that nobody, including the individual who has had a "mildly positive test" for hantavirus, is showing any kind of symptoms at this
point, and they say that is what is especially important.
Everybody right now here in Nebraska is asymptomatic. They, though, say that could, of course, quickly change and depending on those assessments,
Richard and monitoring, talking about fever and other factors like how close of contact they had with someone who may have tested positive, some
of these people could leave before that 42-day quarantine period is over.
They could go back to their home area as long as there is an adequate medical facility that could help them with the daily monitoring and that
they can sort of quarantine away from someone else in their household so they don't have to stay here.
QUEST: Rafael, what is the situation with those that are in Atlanta?
RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Richard, Emory Healthcare has confirmed that this medical institution, Emory University Hospital, has
received two passengers from the M/V Hondius cruise ship following a hantavirus outbreak on board.
In a statement, Emory Healthcare said that "One symptomatic individual is receiving care in Emory's biocontainment unit and one asymptomatic
individual identified as a close contact is undergoing evaluation and monitoring."
Richard, what we know is that a total of 18 Americans were flown to Omaha, Nebraska, where Dianne is overnight on a chartered flight, according to
Health officials, 16 are there at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, which houses the National Quarantine Unit. One of them was placed
in the biocontainment unit there after testing positive for hantavirus.
The other 15 are now in quarantine unit and all have received initial medical assessments. Initially, officials said that two people were being
transferred here to Atlanta's Emory University Hospital for what they called further assessment and care. Now, we know that at least one has
symptoms.
A top Health official in Nebraska explained earlier the reasons why it became necessary to place one of the two people transported to Georgia in a
biocontainment unit. This is what he had to say. Let's take a listen.
[15:10:08]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATTHEW FERREIRA, DVM AND HHS COUNSELOR: One passenger was symptomatic, so that is the reason they went to the biocontainment unit at Emory. I mean,
this is a system that exists for exactly this kind of scenario.
And what you are seeing is the system working, the system kind of will absorb passengers as needed, and this is a very well-rehearsed system that
exists and what you are seeing is that system worked exactly as intended.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMO: And Richard, earlier today, a top official with the U.S. Health and Human Services Department said that the risk of hantavirus to the general
public remains very, very low.
Admiral Brian Christine, Assistant Secretary for Health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, also said that the Andes variant
of this virus does not spread easily and it requires, he said, prolonged close contact with someone who is already symptomatic -- Richard.
QUEST: Thank you. I will let you continue, Rafael. One last question to you, Dianne, the whole point of this place in Nebraska, the whole point of
this thing is exactly for these sort of cases, isn't it? I mean, this is a facility that is designed for the treatment and investigation of people
with highly infectious or rather nasty things.
GALLAGHER: That's right. Richard, and you know something about where Rafael is, why they chose that contingency plan is specifically something that
they had in effect before they even knew someone was coming, who was symptomatic. They have a plan, in effect, to where if some of these other
individuals begin showing symptoms, they have three available biocontainment units here. They are very well-versed in this.
They dealt with Ebola outbreaks in the past here in the United States, and many people likely remember the same, and them handling the COVID-19
pandemic at the very beginning, and so this is what they do.
But they said, once they learned that there was a symptomatic passenger also coming, they activated that contingency plan to ensure that there were
still biocontainment units available here, as they expect others may show symptoms.
QUEST: I am grateful. Thank you very much. Thank you very much.
Now, the U.S. president says the ceasefire with Iran is on "massive life support" after rejecting Tehran's latest counter proposal to end the
conflict.
The plan included recognition of Iran's sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, according to Iranian state media. Mr. Trump has said that's simply
unacceptable.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Right now, after reading that piece of garbage they sent us, I didn't even finish
reading it. I said, I am not going to waste my time reading it.
I would say it is one of the weakest right now. It is on life support. I would say the ceasefire is on massive life support, where the doctor walks
in and says, sir, your loved one has approximately a one percent chance of living.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: And a source is telling us that progress in talks between the two sides may depend on the outcome of President Trump's visit to China.
Apparently, Beijing could become a key player in those negotiations when Mr. Trump meets Xi Jinping in the Chinese capital later this week.
The White House says more than a dozen business leaders will accompany the President, including Tim Cook from Apple and Elon Musk from Tesla.
Alayna Treene is with me at The White House.
Now, this, Alayna, looks -- it looks like you've got an event behind you about to get underway. It is all rather interesting.
But Alayna, this idea of China playing a role, what do they believe China can do?
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, look, I think they recognize, Richard, that the Chinese have an ongoing relationship with the
Iranians. I would remind you that the Iranian Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, was just in China recently, meeting with top officials there,
including regarding the war.
And I'd also remind you, we did hear from the President today, one of the things that I think is a core frustration of his, particularly with this
new response that Tehran had sent to the Trump administration in response to the U.S. proposal to end the war, is their rejection of having the U.S.
go in to retrieve their highly enriched uranium.
The President mentioned that another country, perhaps, that the Iranians have floated previously that could go and do that and retrieve that
enriched uranium would be the Chinese. So there is a number of things that they can discuss and I would remind people as well that, of course, the
Chinese rely so heavily on oil that goes through the Strait of Hormuz. It is very much in their interest to get the Strait back open.
So all of that likely, of course, to take place when the President be part of the conversations that take place when the President is in China, he
leaves tomorrow, just later this week.
[16:15:10]
But I do think as well, Richard, a key thing to keep in mind is that and I do apologize, we are about to hear the President and this football team
come out behind us, but the President is really hoping that the Chinese can be the ones to, at least in somewhat, convince the Iranians to negotiate.
He said things like that before, you know, that we need the Chinese to help remind them that they are the bad guys here. And so we will have to see how
much that does really dominate what was supposed to be a trip, all about trade and talking about tariffs. Now, I think so much of it is really going
to come down to what is happening in the Middle East.
QUEST: Now, if you can battle on regardless, one last question on this trip, what is the mood of The White House for this trip on trade? Because
we've been backwards and forwards, we know that the administration is absolutely determined to grind the Chinese back on chips, on technology and
all of these issues.
So what would you say is their sort of general feeling about it?
Oh, sorry, it sounds noisy.
TREENE: Yes. Look, no, it is all right, the event is about to kick off, but we can quickly get to your question, Richard. Look, I think one of the key
things that they are looking for, they are going to -- they are hoping to establish this new Board of Trade. That's part of why you're seeing a
number of these CEOs, as you mentioned, from Apple's Tim Cook to Meta to Goldman Sachs, many of them, are expected to travel to China and, you know,
be a part of something that we know -- the Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, has been working very closely on.
I think another big thing, of course, is tariffs. That was always a big goal of this trip in the first place of going and meeting, having President
Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping sit down and meet face-to-face to see what they can have, you know, what kind of compromise they can reach to
avoid another tariff war in the future, so that's part of it and of course, A.I.
But I don't think unlike many other trips and actually what I think they were actually planning, Richard, which is to have very specific proposals
and initiatives to sign off on, there isn't much of that. We haven't heard of much of that talk because, again, of what is happening with the war.
So it should be interesting to see what they can actually accomplish.
QUEST: And to our viewers who are wondering behind you, I assume since we are hearing "Hail to the Chief," the President is arriving for the event.
Thank you so much. Alayna Treene at The White House. Thank you.
We really do make you feel that you are there. You are right in the middle of it all. And just as well, because President Trump says he doubts
tensions between Taiwan and Beijing will erupt during his watch.
One of the island's most outspoken lawmakers wants more discussions with the Mainland. Taiwan's opposition leader has told us that dialogue with
Beijing is the only way to avoid the war and she was speaking to our own, Will Ripley.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): As President Donald Trump heads to Beijing for a high-stakes meeting with
Chinese leader Xi Jinping, with Taiwan expected to be high on the agenda, the island democracy that China claims as its own seems to be sending a
divided message on defense
After months of political fighting and with Chinese fighter jets and warships routinely circling around Taiwan, the opposition controlled
legislature approved a dramatically smaller military package.
Many blamed the gridlock on the leader of Taiwan's largest opposition party, KMT, Cheng Li-wun, who has called for less military spending.
RIPLEY (on camera): What's your response to calls from U.S. lawmakers that Taiwan needs to spend this money on its defense to send the message to the
global community that Taiwan is serious about its defense?
CHENG LI-WUN, TAIWAN'S KMT OPPOSITION PARTY CHAIRWOMAN: Actually, we are very serious. We have been serious all the time, and that's why we keep
explaining.
(CHENG LI-WUN speaking in foreign language.)
TRANSLATION: Most of it [USD 40 billion budget] is too vague and lacks details, so we can't give a blank check authorization.
CHENG LI-WUN: We are trying our best.
RIPLEY (voice over): Some fear her best may not be enough to deter China's mounting military pressure campaign.
The opposition plan funds U.S. weapons, but trims domestic programs like drones. Taiwan's ruling party, the DPP has accused Cheng's KMT of taking
orders from China.
Just weeks ago, she went to Beijing for a rare meeting with Xi Jinping, who refuses to engage with Taiwan's elected leader, seen by China as a die-hard
separatist.
RIPLEY (on camera): You obviously have your critics that accused you of being a pawn while you were in Beijing saying that you and Xi Jinping had
almost the same language.
(CHENG LI-WUN speaking in foreign language.)
TRANSLATION: Although it may seem I have a common language with Xi Jinping, but it is precisely because there are so many differences between the two
sides of the strait. It is critical that we find a common foundation of peaceful dialogue, otherwise war is unavoidable.
RIPLEY (voice over): Next month, Cheng heads to the U.S. hoping to convince lawmakers and Trump allies, Taiwan does not have to choose between
Washington and Beijing.
[16:20:09]
RIPLEY (on camera): You've said publicly you're worried about Taiwan being treated like a pawn. Are you talking about the United States treating
Taiwan like a pawn?
(CHENG LI-WUN speaking in foreign language.)
TRANSLATION: I believe it is the DPP government's wrong policies that have reduced Taiwan to a pawn. Being friendly with the U.S. does not mean there
is hostility towards China.
RIPLEY (voice over): Cheng dodges questions about her presidential ambitions, but does make a bold promise if her party wins in the 2028
elections.
(CHENG LI-WUN speaking in foreign language.)
TRANSLATION: A KMT administration would make the possibility of war totally preventable.
RIPLEY (on camera): How can you guarantee it won't happen if Taiwan does have what your military leaders say are enough weapons to deter military
action by China?
(CHENG LI-WUN speaking in foreign language.)
TRANSLATION: When the KMT is in power, Taiwan's defense capabilities, its deterrence will still exist.
RIPLEY (voice over): But China's military pressure around Taiwan continues, even during Cheng's recent trip to Beijing.
And now, as Trump prepares to meet Xi Jinping face-to-face, Taiwan confronts two radically different visions for avoiding war.
Will Ripley, CNN, Taipei.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: In a moment, look at them, Nike -- now, the executives were looking forward to receiving the company's tariff refund. Now, instead, they've
received some lawsuits. Why? Because the consumers who paid the tariff via Nike say that the refunds should be passed along. It was arguably
inevitable that this was going to happen. So the arguments for and against, in a moment.
QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Nike is facing a lawsuit over its decision not to pass along tariff refunds to customers. The lawsuit says Nike stands to recover the same
tariff payments twice, once from consumers to higher prices, and then again from, of course, the federal government through refunds.
The company said it paid about a billion dollars in tariffs. Consumers say the company raised prices on its footwear and apparel to offset the costs.
David Goldman is with me now.
I don't -- look logically, logically, David, tariff gets paid, tariff gets refunded. You would have thought they would have paid it back.
What is their justification for not paying it back to the consumers other than, A) they don't have to; and B) it would be very complicated.
[16:25:05]
DAVID GOLDMAN, CNN BUSINESS SENIOR REPORTER: B is the more important thing, I think, in this case, because Nike isn't necessarily going to be the
company that actually paid the tariff, right? I mean, the tariffs are paid by importers. And if Nike did some importing itself, then certainly it paid
some of the tariffs. But how does it do the math to figure out how much of a sneaker it actually owes in tariffs to a consumer? I couldn't do that
math. I am not sure that Nike could do that math.
And the reason is that importers pay the tariffs and then they pass along some of that cost to retailers who pass along some of that cost to
consumers.
But we know that most businesses didn't do that, they held on to the cost and so Nike raising sneaker prices by $5.00 to $10.00 as they said that
they did, I am not sure that that was necessarily a tariff cost. There were other things going on. So, this is very complicated indeed.
QUEST: Right. I am just trying to think. So the tariff is paid by the importer.
GOLDMAN: Right.
QUEST: In some cases, that might have been Nike itself.
GOLDMAN: That's right.
QUEST: In other cases, it would have been a third party because the thing would have been sold overseas and then shipped in.
GOLDMAN: Yes.
QUEST: In which case, the importer should be paying back the tariff to the retailer who should be paying it back to the consumer. But we don't -- as
you say, we don't know what part of the tariff was actually eventually paid, except, David, you and I have spent a lot of months bleating on,
well, me more than you, perhaps doing the bleating that, you know, it is consumers that pay it -- it is ordinary Americans that pay it. It is the
end user that pays it.
GOLDMAN: Well, I am not sure that the end user was paying all that much. Now, it does add up. So, certainly the Tax Foundation said that about
$1,000.00 per American household was the tax increase from tariffs. That is real money for sure. But we also know JPMorgan said that about 80 percent
of the tariff money was held onto by businesses, okay.
And so, the complication and this is why Amy Coney Barrett, when she was making her ruling in the Supreme Court case that overturned ultimately much
of Trump's tariffs, said that this is a complicated mess and that is certainly proving out to be true because it seems fair as a consumer that I
should be -- I was paying some of this, I should get my money back.
But what do you think that that's going to be -- is that a cost? Is that a check that Nike hands over to you? Is that lower prices in the future? What
does that look like?
I think that this is the problem here is that it is not even clear how they would go about doing that.
QUEST: Guess which group will make money out of it. The lawyers! The lawyers!
GOLDMAN: Always, always.
QUEST: All right, thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. We will watch it closely. Thank you very much, David.
Now, as QUEST MEANS BUSINESS continues, why shares in the vaccine makers have surged with hantavirus on the M/V Hondius.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:31:29]
QUEST: I'm Richard Quest. QUEST MEANS BUSINESS continues, and we will discuss why shares in the vaccine makers have surged from the hantavirus
outbreak.
I'll also talk to a Kentucky city official -- Kentucky, the state, who is using A.I. to help set public policy and getting widespread bipartisan
agreement, which is fascinating. Only after the headlines, because this is CNN, and on this network, the news comes first always.
President Trump says the current ceasefire with Iran is on massive life support, in his words. The president told reporters today that he has, "the
best plan" ever to end the war, but he didn't elaborate. He also called on the Iranian counter proposal as garbage. And Tehran has described it as
generous and reasonable.
The virus hit M.V. Hondius cruise ship has now left the Canary Islands, heading to the Netherlands, where it will be thoroughly disinfected.
All the passengers on the ship, which was infected, the passengers not the ship and by hantavirus have now been taken off and are distributed to
medical facilities around the world, where they are being quarantined for more than a month.
The British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, is facing renewed pressure to step down after last week's disastrous local reelection results.
His Labour Party lost nearly 1500 council seats. Now, three ministerial aides have stepped down, and more than 60 Labour lawmakers have called on
Sir Keir to resign. The prime minister told a Labour gathering that he has plans to prove doubters wrong.
The British prime minister's position looking shakier by the moment as we've just been talking. Patrick Baker is the -- is the host of POLITICO's
"Westminster Insider" podcast. He is with me now. Sir, good to talk to you.
Now, very difficult for him to recover from this 69 or 70, depending on what numbers you're seeing at any given moment. It's not enough, but it's a
strong message. It's a stalking -- I mean, it's -- what do you make?
PATRICK BAKER, PODCAST HOST, WESTMINSTER INSIDER, POLITICO: Well, I think apparently, the mood in Downing Street tonight is pretty dire, as you might
imagine. People outside have seen takeaways, curries, pizzas going in, which is this late hour, never really a good sign, as you say, 70 or so
M.P.s publicly now calling for the prime minister to go.
For any one leadership contender to actually launch a formal challenge, you need 80 names, plus them, so that's 81. So, we are getting a sense that the
end could be nigh for the prime minister now, it's been building for a few days. But we are hearing reports that there are Cabinet ministers now
privately urging the prime minister to consider a timetable for his position.
And well, at 9:00 a.m. tomorrow morning, there is a Cabinet meeting. So, they will get the chance to say hi and check in with him then, I'm sure.
QUEST: To viewers watching from around the world, they might argue to our dear viewer, they might arguably say, well, the results last week were
disastrous, and he is not had a very good run throughout. It's pretty hard to justify him staying.
BAKER: Yes, I mean, I think that those local election results were about as bad as everyone was expecting, which was -- which was pretty dire.
[16:35:02]
I mean, I think the only thing that seems to sort of be in Keir Starmer's favor is that actually, when you look around and think who might take over,
it's not immediately obvious that there is a candidate to coalesce around. But certainly, I think, support in the party really starting to drain away
from the prime minister now, and I think, he probably hoped that, that speech earlier was going to be a bit of a turning point in many ways,
maybe, he put too much expectation on it, because it's we've not even reached the end of the day.
(CROSSTALK)
QUEST: Right.
BAKER: And there are a lot of people now calling for him to go.
QUEST: So, I don't want to put you too much on a spot, but I guess that's what our jobs are. Is it? When? Not if?
BAKER: Yes, I think so. I mean, I just think the -- well, from history, it shows that Labour are not particularly good at getting rid of their prime
ministers. They are not as bloodthirsty as the Tory Party, but it is really difficult to see now how Keir Starmer charts a course back.
I think it basically is looking like it's just going to take the Cabinet now to finally force the issue. I mean, we know in Keir Starmer is a very
stubborn politician. He is a very stubborn person, in many ways, very determined. And so, he is probably not going to go easily, but I think once
you lose the support for big beasts in the Cabinet, then, it is really hard to see how you can carry on.
And I think, with Labour, where they are in the polls, and that in the eyes of many M.P.s, the threat of a reform government looming two to three years
away, I think they want to make a change sooner rather than later, unfortunately for the prime minister.
QUEST: Hero to zero in two years. I mean, it is the most extraordinary political fall that really it's difficult to appreciate and understand
exactly. I mean, was it just that he hasn't delivered?
I think back to the winter fuel allowance as being one of the first catastrophic mistakes that they made as soon as they came into office,
getting rid of that. And they never really recovered thereafter.
BAKER: Yes, I think multiple unforced errors like that. I mean, that was the first set piece was something as controversial as the winter fuel
allowance, which ruffled a lot of feathers that wasn't seen by many as sort of typically labor policy, and we haven't really seen the kind of economic
growth at all that was promised by the Labour government when they came in.
But I mean, my one word of, perhaps, sort of sympathy for Keir Starmer is that we don't seem to hang onto too many prime ministers for too long
nowadays. I think, the current environment, with 24/7 social media and M.P.s constantly tweeting their dissatisfaction and also an economic
picture, which is probably slightly outside of the control of any one government, all just conspires to make it incredibly difficult to govern
Britain and many other countries around the world.
So, I think part of the instability and the volatility that we are seeing is probably bigger than Keir Starmer's failings, although, he has -- he has
clearly failed to communicate a positive message for Britain when you look at those local election results the other day, in which were, which were
pretty catastrophic for the party two years in.
QUEST: Patrick, I'm grateful. Thank you very much.
As we continue tonight on QUEST MEANS BUSINESS, the British scientist who is working on a antivirus vaccine the latest outbreak. Oh, there you are,
ma'am. We will be with you after the break to hear about the work you have been doing, and I think, crucially, just how likely or difficult it is.
QUEST MEANS BUSINESS on a Monday.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:41:21]
QUEST: To the hantavirus outbreak now, and scientists in the U.S. and Korea have been working with Moderna to develop a virus. The company's shares
gained 14 percent since the status outbreak began. Moderna says the vaccine research is early. The question is whether a vaccine would be profitable.
Health authorities say the risk is low, and some analysts say there' is no money to be made from it all.
Now, Asel Sartbaeva is a chemistry professor at the University of Bath, part of a team of scientists working to create the virus, or hantavirus,
joins me now from Bath.
Professor, good to see you. ma'am. Thank you for joining us.
I think the question first, of all is, why haven't we had a virus -- a vaccine before? Is it simply too difficult? Is it not likely to be
unprofitable? But what's the reason, do you think?
ASEL SARTBAEVA, CHEMISTRY PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF BATH: Good evening. Thank you for inviting me. So, what's the reason why we haven't had a
vaccine before, this specific one? Well, the simple answer is, it's a neglected disease. It's a very rare disease. So, it's probably will -- has
been seen by companies as a non-profitable vaccine to develop.
QUEST: And the work that you all doing towards a vaccine or towards treatment, how is it coming along?
SARTBAEVA: So, my team at a company called EnsiliTech here in the U.K., together with the two other teams, one in Texas, at UTMB, and the other one
at Afrigen in South Africa, are working in partnership, and we have developed a new vaccine, a new antigen against Hantaan diseases. So,
Hantaan is one of the hantaviruses. It's slightly different to Andes, which we are seeing at the moment, but it's still within the same group of
viruses. So, they are very similar.
(CROSSTALK)
QUEST: Right, right. So, this thing --
SARTBAEVA: So, the reason why --
(CROSSTALK)
QUEST: So, this thing go -- this thing already exists, and arguably, you know, if it's -- if it had been given in advance, might it have prevented.
I'm not saying that there would have been any reason to give it in advance, but if it had been, might it have prevented this.
SARTBAEVA: Very good question. So, we have only developed an antigen. So, there isn't really a vaccine yet. It's efficacious, at the moment. What we
have developed has been tested in the lab and in animal models. It hasn't been rolled out to general public yet, because we haven't done the clinical
trials yet.
So, we are still developed -- in development. But what we are hoping for in the future is that once we have done all the clinical trials and it has
been approved, that we are hoping that it will be rolled out to general public, and then, people hopefully will be prevented from contracting it.
QUEST: So, who would take it? I mean, I guess, if you were living in an area known to be endemic with it, you might take it. But let's just for
argument's sake, if you were going on this cruise, and you were going on a Latin, Central American trip, or where -- would you suggest taking that
sort of virus? I don't -- vaccine? I don't know.
SARTBAEVA: That's a really good question. Richard. Absolutely, there are a lot of vaccines already out there, which people take just before they were
to travel somewhere, and this could be one of the vaccines in the future.
What's really great about this vaccine is that, you see, the technology which we have been developing at EnsiliTech is a thermally stabilizing
technology, which means that what we are trying to create is a completely new vaccine, plus, a thermally stable vaccine.
So, it's a vaccine which will not require refrigeration or freezers in the future.
[16:45:00]
So, we are hoping that people all around the world will be able to receive that vaccine easier, and then, we will have more people vaccinated.
QUEST: Your best guess scenario for when you might think your vaccine or antigen would go into the first arm, roughly? I won't hold you to it. I
promise, I won't hold you to it. But give me a rough idea of when, realistically it might happen.
SARTBAEVA: Thank you, Richard. Yeah. So, we are -- we are hoping that the first vaccine will go in the arms during the clinical trials, and that can
be very, very quick, within next year. But for general public, we are thinking three to four years approximately from now.
QUEST: (INAUDIBLE). Just got to make sure you don't catch it. In the meantime. I'm very grateful to you, Professor. Thank you for joining us
tonight at QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.
As our program continues and our conversation, we asked you answered. But the interesting thing about this particular survey, it was a chapel-based
A.I. generated, and it helped a Kentucky city to develop policies for the next 25 years. And what's more, the city head will be with us to tell us
this political divide the two sides managed to come to some sort of understanding.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: A.I. is now powering tech stocks to new highs, and one city in Kentucky is using that very technology to power its policy making. Its
Bowling Green, Kentucky, and it used an A.I. bot to conduct in-depth interviews with its residents. How would they run the city? What's their
priorities? What, et cetera -- et cetera.
And then, it compiled the results, and it showed that 80 percent support for about half of the ideas, including things like more healthcare,
preserving historic buildings, prioritizing education, and more.
Doug Gorman is the chief -- is a judge executive of Warren County, Kentucky, and is with me now. Sir, what a -- what an interesting idea.
Whose was it, and how difficult was it to persuade everybody to go along with it?
DOUG GORMAN, JUDGE EXECUTIVE, WARREN COUNTY, KENTUCKY: Well, thank you for having me. It was actually my idea, and it started from we have rapid
growth. We are the fastest growing city and county in Kentucky. About 140,000 people, roughly, in our city and county right now, projected to be
at 240,000 by 2050.
[16:50:03]
So, while I'm an elected position, when I got in office, the first thing that we ran up against was the pressures involved with that much growth,
and what to do with it. And so, we created this project to kind of get together, but to might as well find out what the community wants to have as
well.
QUEST: The difficulty with all of this is getting over the -- over the split. The country is split. The states are split. Everybody is split. Now,
even if in your district or your area, there is a lean one way or the other.
The other side can always object. How did you make sure both sides -- and I'm not going to give party names, let's just say liberal and conservative
went along with this and agreed it.
GORMAN: Well, great question. There is kind of a divide all around the world, maybe right now, or at least we think there is. But what happens is,
it's an interesting concept. We wanted to find out what community thought, and so, we asked them to if we were going to have this much growth, what
would you like to see our community be in 2050.
And so, people put their quest -- their answers in there. Hey, we would like to have better health care. We would like to have these things. But
the most important thing was we didn't say who was saying that.
And so, it's an interesting concept when people want to judge what they want the community but have no idea who said it, I think you get a better
idea of whether it's a good idea or not. And as I've said before, I think we have to get back, especially, in this country, to judging ideas on their
merit, not on who said them. And this project was a great example of that, where we had a lot of agreement, because there were great, great ideas
about what people wanted for their community to be about.
QUEST: One of the reasons this was successful, so successful, as I understand it, is the way it was implemented. Obviously, there would have
been a lot of -- there would have been a lot of public local public comment, newspapers, television, et cetera. So, people knew this was
happening, and therefore, the thousands of people who took involved, they wanted to be involved.
GORMAN: Correct. We made it as easy as possible. Did a five-week presentation rollout, but we spent an awful lot of time, six, seven weeks
before that, advertising, this marketing, and everywhere. We took it to the community. One thing about Bowling Green and Warren County is we have 110
different languages spoken in our elementary and high schools.
And so, we have a pretty diverse population. But we took this out, translated into 12 different languages, 12 primary ones. We took it out on
mobile busses. We went to the community, and we took this, but what we found out was, really what makes a difference is people want to be heard,
and so, we love to get that input. And from a from elected position who has to make financial decisions on the future, it's great. It was great, great
data and great input that we received.
QUEST: I find it just to stay curious. Now, you've done -- I got, arguably, would say you've done the easy bit. Now, you have actually got to do it and
implement it, and put those priorities into play.
GORMAN: Correct. We just had, last week, as a matter of fact, we just had our final presentation on this project reported to fiscal court, which is
what I'm over, which is the financial reporting and the financial maintenance of the entire county.
And that report kind of gave the executive summary, the 10 or 12 ideas in health care. 10 or 12 ideas in infrastructure, quality of life, and so, you
are right now, it takes the budgeting things to start doing these projects.
QUEST: Right.
GORMAN: What we didn't want to do was say, here is the things we want, and then, wait until 2050 and open the floor back up and see if we were
successful.
QUEST: Right. Finally, sir, since it's an A.I. survey, I asked A.I. while we were talking, I said, tell me one interesting thing about Warren County,
Bowling Green? And it came back. One genuinely interesting thing about Bowling Green, Warren County is that it's the only place in the world where
every Chevrolet Corvette has been built since 1981.
Sir, is that true or false?
GORMAN: That is 1 billion percent true. We are the home of the Corvette, the best American and best international sports car on the market.
QUEST: I'm looking forward to my visit, and we'll take a ride in a Corvette.
Good to see you, sir. Thank you for joining us on QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.
GORMAN: Thank you so much for having me.
QUEST: Finally, before I love you and leave you. President Macron, in France seems to channel the energy of a school teacher at an event in
Kenya. It was the Africa Forward Summit, and it's aimed at strengthening France's business to Africa.
As Mr. Macron -- President Macron interrupted a presentation when he felt the audience had gotten out of hand.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EMMANUEL MACRON, PRESIDENT OF FRANCE: Excuse me, everybody. Hey, hey, hey. I'm sorry guys, but it's impossible to speak about culture.
[16:55:00]
Hey, hey, hey. I'm sorry guys, but it's impossible to speak about culture, to have people like that, super inspired, coming here, making a speech with
such a noise.
So, this is a total lack of respect. So, I suggest, if you want to have bilaterals or speak about somebody else -- some -- I mean, something else,
you have bilateral rooms, or you go outside. If you want to stay here, we listen to the people and we are playing the same game. OK? Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: You got to love it. Number of events that we've all been to where people just won't stop talking. Well, that's how you do it, President
Macron.
Let's take a look at the markets, because we do have records. At S&P and the NASDAQ added to their record highs. The Dow is up 95. If you look at
the 30, Nike closed nearly four percent lower.
Remember, we were talking about the lawsuits over tariffs. I guess that's part of it. Disney down three percent. It's because of the federal
investment. Look at ABC being under federal scrutiny.
Caterpillar and Honeywell leading the gains. I mean, Caterpillar is just on a tear. It's extraordinary the gains of Caterpillar and it just continues
to do so.
An interesting market over the course of the day. True business news, not just knee jerk tech driving the market today. We will take a "PROFITABLE
MOMENT" after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: It's a "PROFITABLE MOMENT". I've got a story for you of two politicians, and I'm going to try and bring them both together. You've got
Keir Starmer, who seems to be just about -- he is on borrowed time. You know, I cannot guarantee that, you know, he will fall, but everything would
suggest that it's just a matter of when, not if.
And that's largely because he's had two years to do something in Britain and seemingly hasn't done much about anything, certainly not after having
such a thumping majority.
And then, you have the you have Doug in Kentucky with his A.I. bot survey to find out what the people wanted. So, you have an elected official
finding out what the people want. Everybody joins in, and they have now got a policy plan that seems to bridge the gap.
Now look, Doug is a long way from actually coming to fruition. And actually, doing something, and it's all 2050, it's a long way.
[17:00:02]
But at least he's taken the temperature.
Meanwhile, back in Britain, in London, in Westminster, Sir Keir Starmer is just going on about how. Give me another chance. Give me another chance.
Well, it seems like he's run out of road and he's not going to get that opportunity. Politics is a brutal, nasty game. It's not for the faint
hearted. And when you fail, you fail spectacularly and you are out.
END
