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Quest Means Business
Flurry Of Final Decisions On Final Day Of The Court's Term; Miraculous Rescues Offer Hope Days After Critical Window Opens; Manhunt Underway After Bomb Attack Wounds Ukrainian Tycoon; Rocket CMO Says LLMs Cannot Be Gamified; U.K. To Challenge Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery Merger; Testing Out Nike's "Mind-Altering" Shoes; HYROX Race Blind Date Using App; No-Bid Contract For Reflecting Pool Fix Under Scrutiny. Aired 4- 5p ET
Aired June 30, 2026 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:20]
PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: And in the first half of the year, folks and the bulls, they are a running. We have another record on the Dow.
Not to be left out of this bull run, the S&P and the NASDAQ, a positive day for all stocks as they continue their run. Those are the markets and these
are the main events.
The U.S. Supreme Court deals a blow to the President's efforts to end birthright citizenship. The British government says it may challenge
Paramount's takeover of CNN parent company, Warner Bros-Discovery.
And Nike's new mind shoes, I kid you not, are rapidly selling out. We will take a look to see if they are really altering your mind.
Live from New York, it is Tuesday, June 30th. I am Paula Newton, in for Richard Quest and this is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.
Tonight, the U.S. Supreme Court has ended its term with a flurry of crucial rulings. In a six-three decision, the court struck down President Trump's
effort to end automatic birthright citizenship. Those born on U.S. soil will continue to be U.S. citizens, regardless of their parents' citizenship
status.
However, President Trump and his Republican allies did score a couple of wins here. The Supreme Court ruled that states are allowed to ban
transgender athletes from playing on girls' sports teams. It also lifted a Watergate-era campaign finance limit, something President Trump called a
big win.
Again, a front row seat for all of it was Joan Biskupic, who is in Washington for us. Again, you were in the courtroom. I mean, the President,
you know, may not choose to highlight the fact that he lost on birthright citizenship. He took it quite personally. He even attended oral arguments
at the Supreme Court, but he lost.
And so is this now, once and for all, settled law. It was six to three, though not unanimous.
JOAN BISKUPIC, CNN SENIOR SUPREME COURT ANALYST: That's right. Paula, it is great to see you.
And there are some things you should think about when it comes to whether this whole debate is over or not. I hate to tell you, it is actually not
completely over. The court did rule definitively on the constitutional question of whether, you know, for centuries, literally centuries in the
United States, and then also tracing back to the common law in Britain, Chief Justice John Roberts said from the bench today, it ensures that
anyone born on U.S. soil automatically becomes a U.S. citizen, irrespective of his or her parents' immigration status.
You know, Donald Trump had wanted to exclude anyone who didn't have citizenship or a permanent residence here, that their children would not be
citizens, but John Roberts very definitively said the nation's history is such that that should endure, but not only did three justices break off
from that completely, Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch, but Justice Brett Kavanaugh, someone who joined the Chief in part,
he broke off to say that if Congress were to change the law, that could be a path toward a restricting birthright citizenship.
Now, right now, as our Constitution stands and as this Supreme Court currently has interpreted it, with a five-justice majority, Congress
wouldn't be able to do anything. But you know, Paula, the only reason I mentioned this fourth kind of partial dissenter here is how just to be one
vote away from a possible change in the law down the road and that certainly heartened Donald Trump today, who, as you rightly pointed out,
has taken this one super personally.
He called on Congress to try to change the law. Now, Congress, whatever it does, it will not make any kind of headway unless there is suddenly more of
a change at the Supreme Court and you find that there aren't even five justices who say that this is part of our constitutional tradition.
So this was a major deal, yes.
NEWTON: And I am glad that you reminded us of that. Again, President Trump has two-and-a-half years still to serve in case he is appointing another
Supreme Court Justice.
I want to go back to that case about campaign finance, because the ruling was quite significant and will affect candidates really immediately. And it
is really, I have to say, from what I look at it, free spending, right? And that's why Justice Elena Kagan called this a recipe for corruption. She is
obviously against this, but the majority said this was about the First Amendment, right, involving freedom of speech. How so? How did this all
come together this ruling?
[16:05:10]
BISKUPIC: For a long time, Paula, this court has interpreted First Amendment rights, free speech to put your money where your mouth is, that
speech rights include spending money, how you want to spend it and today they ruled -- by the way, I want to stress that they reversed a precedent
from 2001 where the court had gone the opposite way on this and said that Congress can indeed put restrictions on parties -- political parties
coordinating with candidates, but today, they lifted those restrictions, saying there should not be any kind of fear of quid pro quo, any fear of
corruption that, money is speech, money is speech.
And Elena Kagan, speaking for the three liberal dissenters, really pointed out, as you say, the damage that a lot of money does, obviously in
elections and you're right to mention that this was a Watergate era law that was at issue here, passed after the 1972 election and everything that
had gone wrong with Richard Nixon's presidency.
So we are seeing the whole era being rolled back here with today's ruling, which was six-three along the familiar ideological lines -- Paula.
NEWTON: Yes, and once again, truly historic.
Joan Biskupic, I am going to announce it right here, right now, you need a summer vacation. You brought us so much color from the Supreme Court at the
end of its term. Thank you so much and we know you'll be busy again in the fall.
BISKUPIC: Yes.
NEWTON: Thank you.
BISKUPIC: Well, I will miss you during the summer, Paula, okay.
NEWTON: Enjoy. Because you'll be busy in the fall again. Thanks so much.
BISKUPIC: All right. Thanks.
NEWTON: Now, today's ruling on birthright citizenship is a win for U.S.- born children of immigrants, some who came to the country by other means aren't so lucky.
Last week, the court ruled that the Trump administration was allowed to end a form of humanitarian relief known as Temporary Protected Status. That
means deportation protections for thousands of Syrians and Haitians in the United States are set to expire.
Charles Kuck is a founding partner at Kuck-Baxter Immigration LLC, and he joins us now from Atlanta.
Good to see you. I do want to get first to that ruling on birthright. It was not necessarily a surprise, but why is it significant anyway?
CHARLES KUCK, FOUNDING PARTNER, KUCK-BAXTER IMMIGRATION LLC: Well, it puts to rest, finally, the argument that's been slithering around the right side
of our political spectrum that somehow people that are born in the United States are not citizens if their parents are undocumented and it has caused
a lot of consternation in the communities that its addressed to. It has also caused a lot of consternation in the communities of legal immigrants.
People here on work visas, people on TPS, for example, whose children are born here, legally here and this Executive Order tried to exclude them from
citizenship as well.
So it allows those individuals to rest easy. I even had conversations from when Trump initially announced this in January of 2025, with an effective
date 30 days later from a woman who wondered if she should have a C-section before her due date to make sure her child was a U.S. citizen.
So those kind of decisions now don't have to be made, and we can move forward and hopefully fix other parts of our broken immigration system.
NEWTON: Oh my goodness! What a searing example. And again, it shows how desperate people are to make sure that their children have those rights
when they are born here.
I want to go back to this issue, though that is obviously top of mind for so many under protected status -- Temporary Protected Status in the United
States.
Last week, as we said, the Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration could essentially send them all home.
Now, you will remember during the campaign in 2024, Donald Trump claimed Haitians in Springfield, Ohio were actually eating their pets. He was
trying to make the point that they should not be in the United States.
It caused a lot of fear throughout the entire state of Ohio, as a matter of fact. Now, CNN's Omar Jimenez went back there a few days ago to see how
they felt about the protective status being lifted. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Are you scared right now?
DANIEL AULA, HAITIAN RESIDENT OF SPRINGFIELD, ASYLUM SEEKER: Very. I am afraid all day. They take me in and go back in Haiti with me by force.
JIMENEZ: What are you telling people who are calling in?
VILES DORSAINVIL, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, HAITIAN SUPPORT CENTER: We told them that if they have children, choose a trustworthy person and give that
person power of attorney in case something happens to them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: I mean, the fear through some of these communities right now is palpable.
Charles, what does all this mean, though, that they can no longer work legally in the United States? And are they expecting to be deported very
soon?
KUCK: Well, I think we have to understand how the system actually works and I think the Trump administration would love people just to leave without
going through the regular process.
But right now, TPS still exists for these communities until the Trump administration goes through the formal process to end it.
[16:10:10]
Now, when they do that, they generally give a 30-day period for people to change status or to leave the United States. If they don't leave, ICE does
not come and pick them up.
If the administration wants them to leave, they will have to go through the formal immigration system, issue them a notice to go to immigration court,
at which time they can say, I am afraid to go back. I would like to apply for asylum.
So, a lot of these individuals are not going to be leaving immediately. Weve seen that in the endings of other TPS countries. So I suspect that a
year from now, the vast majority of Haitians and Syrians will still be here either having applied for asylum or finding other ways to seek temporary
status in the United States.
NEWTON: What does that do, though, to their rights in this country in terms of being able to work, for instance?
KUCK: Well, that, I think, is the key, because once TPS is over, that ends their work authorization. But if, for example, they are afraid to go back
to Haiti because they will be persecuted for some aspect of their life, they can apply for asylum and apply for a work authorization through that
process.
Many Haitians have already done that in anticipation of this type of decision, and so while they are still here in fear, the reality is there is
not going to be a mass roundup of Haitians in the United States or Syrians or others, for that matter.
Keep in mind, our colleagues from -- our friends from Ukraine have an expiration coming up as well. So, this is not just for this TPS, it is for
all the countries that are currently on TPS.
NEWTON: Yes, certainly very dramatic changes to immigration in this country in the last year-and-a-half and from listening to you, there will be more.
Charles Kuck, we will continue to check in with you. Thanks so much. Appreciate it.
KUCK: Thanks so much.
NEWTON: Still to come for us, a manhunt is underway after an apparent assassination attempt on a Ukrainian tycoon in Monaco. We will have more on
that ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NEWTON: The World Health Organization has warned that Venezuela's health system is under significant strain following the two powerful earthquakes
which struck there last week. Now, aid workers say hospitals are overcrowded and understaffed, unable to cope with the number of survivors
now seeking treatment.
There are growing concerns over the deteriorating conditions in the disaster zone and potential for infectious diseases to spread. Amid the
gloom, though, there are rare moments of hope.
[16:15:08]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(PEOPLE speaking in foreign language.)
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Good for them. A Jordanian rescue team pulled a three-year-old boy alive from the rubble after six days.
The death toll from the earthquake currently stands at more than 1,900. At least 10,000 have been injured, with thousands more displaced.
Isa Soares reports from Caracas on the agonizing search as families look desperately for their loved ones.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ISA SOARES, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: So this is roughly the plan of this eight-story building here in Caracas. They have broken it down into
floors to get a sense of who lived in what floor. It tells you how many people have died, 12 people; how many people have been rescued, three so
far, twenty approximately families, people still missing here from this eight-story building in Caracas.
SOARES (voice over): But over the last two days, no one has been found alive. Still, the rescue operations continue and families wait for however
long it takes.
(MIRELLA HERRERA speaking in foreign language.)
TRANSLATION: It's maddening because in the same way that I feel desperate, I walk, I stay hydrated, wonder how they must be if they're still alive.
They must be desperate to get out of there.
SOARES: It has been an agonizing wait for Mirella Herrera, who has been here every day longing for signs of life, waiting for her son, her
daughter-in-law and her granddaughters, both in their 20s.
(MIRELLA HERRERA speaking in foreign language.)
TRANSLATION: I feel that my son is strong and I feel that he is waiting for me that he knows that I am here waiting for him. For that reason, I don't
want to give up.
SOARES: Theres also fury from those who say that Venezuela was not prepared for a tragedy of this magnitude. It is certainly the case at the main
pediatric hospital in Caracas.
Right now, they are treating a 12-year-old girl for multiple and life threatening injuries.
(ISA SOARES speaking in foreign language.)
SOARES (voice over): Her little body in excruciating pain as she was crushed by the weight of the collapsed floors.
DR. HUNIADES URBINA-MEDINA, INTENSIVE CARE PHYSICIAN: We could receive at least 10 patients here in this area, but since at least 10 years ago, we
don't have enough personnel, we don't have enough medicines. We don't have enough mechanical ventilators, so we only can work with four patients here
in this area.
SOARES (voice over): More than a hundred children have ended up here following last Wednesday's back-to-back earthquake tell me, Dr. Huniades
Urbina-Medina, who has been a pediatrician for 20 years.
SOARES (on camera): You're not prepared. Venezuela's hospitals are not prepared.
URBINA-MEDINA: We are not prepared.
SOARES: Never --
URBINA-MEDINA: Any hospital. No one -- no hospital in Venezuela is prepared for the day by day, but with this catastrophe, it is worse because we don't
have enough in the medicines, equipment, personnel.
SOARES (voice over): The tragic consequence of years of crisis and mismanagement now coming to the fore.
Isa Soares, CNN, Caracas, Venezuela.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: Now, a huge manhunt is underway following an apparent assassination attempt on a Ukrainian-born tycoon. Three people were injured when a parcel
bomb went off in a residential building in Monaco.
Melissa Bell picks up the story from there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A manhunt is underway here in France and in Monaco after a bomb went off on Monday night in the
city state, not known for its violent crime and normally a haven of peace.
What we understand, even as that manhunt continues, is that Vadym Yermolaiev has been named by Ukrainian authorities as being one of the
victims of this bomb blast. He is a 58-year-old Ukrainian who renounced his Ukrainian citizenship back in 2019. He explained himself for tax reasons.
He is now a citizen of Cyprus and was living with his family in Monaco.
Nothing for now from authorities on why he may have been the target of this assassination attempt. What we do know is that he was sanctioned by Kyiv
back in 2023 over allegations that he had done business in Russian-occupied Crimea, an allegation that he denied.
We also know that he has a son who was convicted of fraud in Estonia, but left the country after doing a few months of jail time there.
So some elements emerging about this particular family, that of 58-year-old Vadym Yermolaiev, but very little more from authorities who are staying
very tight lipped for now about what the motive may have been.
Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: Ukraine says it has hit one of Russia's largest satellite communication centers. For the second time in just over a week, Kyiv is
ramping up its drone attacks, adding pressure on the Kremlin to end the war.
Nick Paton Walsh reports.
[20:20:07]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Hell is still nightly for Ukrainians, here are drones slamming into
Zaporizhzhia, where strikes killed one, injured five.
But again Monday night, while Ukraine was dragging its injured from the rubble, they fired about 250 more drones back at Russia than were fired at
them. Four hundred and nineteen, 60 of them at Moscow.
This video, apparently showing the moment a drone impacted near where Russian officials said a six-month-old baby was among the two Russian dead
that night.
Very few images of the damage to Moscow emerged were a space communications center was struck in Dubna. A lot of video actually came from Ukraine's
president, flaunting the damage the Kremlin has instructed its law enforcement to hide. Russian city skies blighted more and more like
Ukrainian cities, and scenes like this devastating attack on a Moscow oil refinery two weeks ago, shattering the sense in the capital of Putin's war
of choice being something far away that others fought.
Now forced to admit more times than he would ever like in the last month to the problems Russians already know about, like gas shortages.
VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): You are well aware that problems persist for both drivers and businesses. It is not always
possible to find the required grade of fuel at present.
WALSH (voice over): Ukraine released footage Tuesday of drone units who said they had targeted Moscow's specific anti-drone defenses, making the
route to the capital easier. But it is not just Moscow under pressure, the Peninsula of Crimea battered hard, its isolation a key Ukrainian goal,
achieved through blowing bridges, trains, roads, blackouts and more gas queues.
The front line brutal battles remain, but the story has changed. Ukraine less a victim, more the disruptor hoping to keep Moscow off balance long
enough that it falls.
Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: So a media merger, a mega merger hits a very small snag. The U.K. says it is likely to challenge Paramount's takeover of Warner Bros
Discovery. Well find out why next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:25:31]
NEWTON: Hello, I am Paula Newton, and there is more QUEST MEANS BUSINESS in a moment when Nike says its new shoes can be mind-altering. Our Anna
Stewart gives them a try and I speak with the CEO of the dating app that helps people meet at athletic events.
Before that, though, the headlines this hour: The U.S. Supreme Court concluded its term with a flurry of blockbuster decisions and perhaps the
most eagerly anticipated ruling of the term, the justices upheld the idea of birthright citizenship for almost anyone born on U.S. soil. They
overturned Donald Trump's executive order, which had sought to end it.
More than 1,900 people are confirmed dead following the earthquakes in Venezuela, with the crisis deepening, the United Nations Refugee Agency has
warned of a dramatic surge in relief efforts. An agency spokesperson says basic services have collapsed as food and water remain limited.
The agency is seeking nearly $15 million to scale up their support for the thousands injured, displaced and grieving.
Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have arrived in Doha for indirect negotiations with Iran. Qatar says technical talks are underway, though
there are still no plans for a high level direct meeting.
Iran is expected to hold separate talks with Qatar, Wednesday, focusing on the implementation of the MOU, including the release of their frozen
assets.
Now, the average mortgage rate has increased half a percent -- ouch -- since the start of the war on Iran. The federal housing finance agency said
that housing prices dipped 0.1 percent. Still, prices remain supported by the lack of supply in the housing market.
Richard as Rocket, chief marketing officer, Jonathan Mildenhall about selling customers on a mortgage amid an affordability crisis on top of
competing with generative A.I.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JONATHAN MILDENHALL, CHIEF MARKING OFFICER, ROCKET COMPANIES: This is by far the most essential, complicated and creatively ambitious position that
I've ever had, because it is complicated. The whole process of searching for a home and buying a home, I mean, in marketing, historically, we've
talked about this really neat thing called the marketing funnel.
Well, when you're buying a home, you could be balanced around that marketing funnel for three, four, five years before you even feel confident
enough to take that first step. And so as Rocket is the United States biggest mortgage brand, one in six American mortgages are serviced by
Rocket. So, it is a huge, huge company and we've got a responsibility to help Americans understand the process, develop financial literacy,
understand what it is that they are actually getting into.
Because we place 30-year bets on people that make 30-year bets on themselves. So this is a really, really serious category. But unlike
selling soda, which I did at Coca-Cola or selling travel, which I did at Airbnb, you know, the macroeconomic forces, the geopolitical forces that
shift the confidence in the American people as to whether or not they should even engage with a mortgage company are so volatile.
You know, January, we thought that things were going to be very, very good for the category this year. Inflation was low, interest rates were low and
then the war in Iran broke out. Inflation spiked, interest rates are going north again. And so all of a sudden, the confidence that the American
people have that now is a good time to refi, a good time to buy a second home, a good time to buy a first home, you know, all of that is being
fundamentally challenged.
RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST, "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS": For you, is this -- you said, it is the biggest challenge. Did you find it fascinating?
MILDENHALL: Love it. I love it. It is a really, really hard problem, trying to get people to have an intimate and trusted relationship with a brand
that sells mortgages, one of the least sexy financial instruments that somebody could get that in and of itself is fascinating to a marketer like
me. But then you put layer on top of that all the macros and, you know, it is really, really hard, but I love it.
QUEST: A.I. is going to help you sort of create a process, but the mortgage process requires such human intervention and human participation and I am
just wondering how you square that.
[16:30:10]
JONATHAN MILDENHALL, CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER, ROCKET COMPANIES: Most people now start their search using a large language model, and large language
models, you can't really gamify them. You know, large language models will recommend your brand based on community sentiment, industry recognition,
the credentials of the leadership team, the places that the large language models are citing are very, very different to the old search engine
optimization.
QUEST: At the end of the day, if you're running a decent company that people like and are using and they've got good reviews, et cetera, et
cetera, et cetera, the LLMs will pick them first.
MILDENHALL: That's exactly right.
QUEST: But not because they're being -- not because it's being gamified, but that's because they're actually the better companies.
MILDENHALL: That's exactly right. But the traditional SEO model, you can gamify it because you could buy the different words and terms.
QUEST: Right. In this industry, are people trying to gamify the LLMs?
MILDENHALL: People are trying to work out if they can gamify them. But I really believe that the LLMs are now so sophisticated they're actually to
win LLM recommendation. You've got to do everything that you just said.
QUEST: Which is -- which is run a better company.
MILDENHALL: Run a better company, a more transparent company, get consumers to advocate on your behalf. You know, pioneer thought leadership in the
category, win industry awards, and then you'll get preference with LLMs.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: Now the creation of the world's biggest ever media company could be thrown off course a bit. The British government says it could intervene in
Paramount's $110 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery. Now Culture Minister Lisa Nandy says she is concerned about the, quote, "plurality of
views in the news media."
She said while the acquisition is global in nature, the government's review would focus on the media giants services in the U.K.. They include, of
course, this network, CNN International, Channel Five News, TNT Sports, as well as streaming services Paramount Plus and HBO Max.
And I am joined by CNN's chief media analyst Brian Stelter.
Still big days and big news in the media. You've been following this deal and so many others so closely. What is the U.K., pardon me, getting at here
and what could they be looking for in terms of remedy?
BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: This is one of the biggest hurdles that Paramount has faced trying to complete the deal to take over CNN and
the rest of Warner Bros. Discovery. In other markets all around the world, Paramount has secured the necessary regulatory approvals from the U.S. to
China and in many smaller markets. So really, now it comes down to the U.K. as well as the E.U. but the indications out of the European Commission have
been that Paramount will get the green light there as well.
So it really now comes down to the U.K. and also possibly to some state level officials in the United States. I'll come back to that in a minute.
But this development of the U.K. is really interesting because critics of this deal around the world are basically pinning their hopes on Lisa Nandy
and her colleagues in Britain to try to slow or stop this deal. And slow is probably the more accurate word here because this is a process that will
take weeks.
It could maybe drag on for months, but it will at least take weeks. And Paramount has said it wants to close this deal by the end of September, by
the end of the third quarter. There is a deal sweetener attached, which makes the deal more expensive for Paramount starting in October. So that's
why this is a hurdle for the company.
Now, we heard from Paramount earlier today. Here's what a spokesperson told me. They said, "We're grateful for the continued constructive engagement
with all interested government bodies and relevant authorities, including in the U.K., and we are confident that our proposed transaction does not
pose any media plurality issues in the U.K. and remain confident in our stated transaction timeline."
So Paramount still exuding confidence in that September deadline that it has set up for itself. But the phrase media plurality is key there. That's
what these British regulators are going to be looking at. Will the Paramount WBD combination result in a loss of diversity of views? Will
there be fewer voices on the airwaves as a result? That's one of the areas they'll be looking at. But by the way, it's not official yet.
Lisa Nandy said today she is inclined to go forward. She's given the companies one week to respond, so a week or so from now, we may hear
officially that this deal has moved into the intervention phase in the U.K..
NEWTON: Yes. Again, interesting as these dates keep piling up and as you said, we are still waiting four states in particular the state of
California, which has a lot of jobs at stake to pronounce on this.
STELTER: That's right.
NEWTON: Brian Stelter, always good to see you. Thanks so much.
STELTER: Thanks.
NEWTON: Now up next for us, we take a look at Nike's quarterly results and test out, you'll want to see this, their mind-altering footwear.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:37:33]
NEWTON: All right. In the last few minutes, Nike announced their quarterly results. We can have a look at the shares here. And just to mention they're
down almost 3 percent. Now revenue just past analyst estimates coming in at $11 billion. Revenue dipped in China, though. That was largely offset by
growth in North America.
One bright spot for Nike, its mind-altering shoes. Yes, I kid you not. Nike Mind has those orange soles -- nodes, pardon me and soles, you see there.
They're supposed to cause a pressure sensation on the foot when walking? OK. A Nike researcher says in theory, the feeling will trigger relaxed
alertness for the user.
Anna Stewart is in London.
Do you have the shoes? Have you tried them? Do they work? Now, listen, between me, you and everyone listening and watching to this, we know you're
brainy, but you already have the heart and the soul. We know that as well. But, Anna, do these shoes enhance all of this?
ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, I love it. Who wrote this segment? I deserve some sort of lovely message to them. Here they are, Paula. They
have been on my feet all day. These are the Nike Mind shoes. Did they alter my mind? Not necessarily. They're supposed to with these sensory things
sort of help focus your mind. Really I think they just drew a lot of attention to colleagues.
Will they, though -- this is the big question. Will they help Nike's earnings going forward? Because looking the earnings we just had, yes, they
have actually beaten expectations on earnings and revenue. But there's some pretty miserable numbers in there. Really poor sales in China. They're
struggling with competition really across the board from the big legacy brands like Adidas, but also the newcomers, particularly with performance
ON Running, Hoka, they're also biting at its heels in terms of market share.
And one of the big issues for this brand, Nike, is that they rely on some of the classics. You know, the Air Force Ones, the Jordans. So this is them
moving into a new segment. This is them trying to get into sort of more innovative shoes.
Let's see what you think. Here is my day out with Nike Minds.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEWART: Don't mind me. I'm just trying to stimulate my brain's sensory motor network with my feet.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hanging off the backstretch for the final time.
STEWART (voice-over): Nike used to be all about making you run faster, jump higher, just do it.
[16:40:01]
Now it's entered the neuro-wearable segment. These shoes, the Nike Mind, are designed to improve mental focus and reduce stress. Nike says they tune
down the part of the brain responsible for mind wandering. These foam nodes 22 in total per shoe are supposed to stimulate sensory nerves on the feet.
They also stimulate conversation.
Would you wear them?
MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: No.
LAUREN MOOREHOUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What are they?
STEWART: They are mind-altering shoes.
MOOREHOUSE: It looks like an indoor slipper. Or like maybe something you'd wear to the beach?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's just weird -- weird-looking, but I will say that because it's you, you pull it off.
STEWART: That's why we're friends.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nike is the first company to create a team like the Mind Science Department.
STEWART (voice-over): Nike is struggling in the competitive space of sportswear and athleisure. Shares are down 74 percent over the last five
years. It may be losing its footing on our feet, but now it's trying to get inside our heads with wearable tech, or should that be wearable wellness?
ISHARA DHARMASENA, PROFESSOR OF SMART TEXTILES, LOUGHBOROUGH UNIVERSITY: The wearable technology at present, most of them, what they're trying to do
is that they're trying to use more batteries, more electronics inside the wearables. But this technology is different in a sense that this is a
passive neuro-wearable technology in my view.
STEWART: Well, I can tell you that these shoes are comfortable, a little bit hot, but are they mind-altering? I don't even know how you could
quantify that, but I can tell you that my mind has been almost 100 percent focused on the fact that I am wearing these.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, those are really ugly shoes.
STEWART: Oh, wow. Straight out there.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sorry, Nike. Won't be wearing them anytime soon.
STEWART (voice-over): Well, today they've been attention stealers rather than attention focuses. And so far I feel no change in stress levels.
You know, I think feet up rather than shoes on probably works best for me.
Anna Stewart, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STEWART (on-camera): Isn't it good that I do this sort of investigative journalism for CNN and for you, Paula? Would you wear them? I mean, I can
report that maybe not mind-altering, but they're kind of comfortable.
NEWTON: Perhaps the slippers around the house. I mean, give it a try. I mean, and to be fair here, there is that whole issue of reflexology and all
those other things. I'm glad that you gave them a test run. I'm not surprised that Max Foster wouldn't go anywhere near him. But never mind.
He's set in his ways.
Anna, I will say, though, that did -- you know, some people feel that if there's something on the foot like that, that it does relax you, that it's
just different. It makes your whole day different. What do you think?
STEWART: But maybe it also sort of focuses you into thinking about your mind, whether you are focused, whether your attention is set on something.
I have to say, my whole day has been about the shoes for obvious reasons, so it's hard for me to really quantify whether it's made any kind of good
differences here. But yes, I'd say 95 percent of all the chats I've had today since coming into the office have been about the things on my feet
and pretty mixed opinions. I feel like I might be the only person to leave here, maybe still wearing them. They are comfy.
NEWTON: Popular for Nike, though, right? I mean, they're selling.
STEWART: They are selling out. It says coming soon on the Web site. There are --
NEWTON: Wow.
STEWART: There are all sorts of models. You can see plenty of colors. Paula, I could see you maybe in those nice orange ones with the big sort of
nodes, whatever we call.
NEWTON: Sure. Hey, I mean, one hundred percent.
STEWART: At home. This is an interesting segment to get into. It's not wearable tech, it's wearable wellness.
NEWTON: OK, I'm not going to remember that, Anna. I do remember that you were the most brilliant intern that CNN has ever seen, which is why you do
your job now. So I will take your word for it. But I am kind of upset that it didn't really -- I know you need to relax a little bit. I have a little
bit of relax. I'm kind of disappointed the shoes didn't quite do it for you, but we'll try other things.
Anna Stewart, for us. Fantastic. Appreciate it.
And now we're going on to more things that seem a bit off piece here. Now in my day, you know, you met a partner at school, at a bar, through family
and friends. Now singles are apparently using a dating app to look for their match at athletic events? You'll want to see this, too.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:47:06]
NEWTON: So you are looking at live cam pictures of Sydney, Australia, just gorgeous, where it's nearly 7:00 a.m. and five days of HYROX racing kicks
off in about an hour from now. The event combines running and workout stations including rowing, sled pulling, and burpee broad jumps. I'm
already tired reading that.
For some HYROX isn't just a fitness competition, it's also a chance, apparently, to find love. HYROX has partnered with the dating app Surf to
offer a blind date program where single athletes can run a HYROX race together, meeting just minutes before the event.
Rob Long is the CEO of Surf Dating.
All right, here you go. Explain this concept and how it could potentially sidestep the dating app fatigue that I hear about from so many people just
looking for a nice evening with a nice person.
ROB LONG, CEO, SURF DATING: Yes, absolutely. You know, dating app fatigue is real and people want to find someone with a shared lifestyle. So what
better way than to have your first date at a HYROX event? A lifestyle choice that many singles are making where you train at specific hours, you
travel to cities to compete, and you really want a partner that understands those choices.
NEWTON: You seek to claim here, and it is true, as we just said, that dating apps have been optimized for volume and engagement. That's why
you've got the fatigue. Your company Surf claims to optimize compatibility and meaningful connection, and you make the point that in HYROX, you know,
you already have highly motivated people. They're dating, they're into fitness. These are two, you point out, vulnerable experiences.
So what I want to know is, does it deliver? Like, what have you seen?
LONG: Yes. So, we have had 10 couples run their first date with us in Miami and in New York, and happy to say that seven out of 10 were a success and
are continuing to stay connected, is the easiest way to put it here with you today. So I would say that's a pretty good ratio of success.
NEWTON: Seventy percent, I'll take those odds. That's great.
LONG: Absolutely.
NEWTON: What about broadening out? What about broadening out? So, you know, fitness, OK, these are motivated people here. What about, I don't, book
club, chess?
LONG: Yes, absolutely. So HYROX -- the HYROX blind dates are getting all the attention now. But Surf was built for everyone to find someone with a
shared lifestyle. Like we're putting you in full control of your dating journey. There's no A.I., there's no algorithms, there's no endless
swiping. Like you said, the fatigue is real because people are still using technology from 2012 to swipe based technology that's built to keep you on
the app. We're based on a grid, so you can be extremely intentional.
[16:50:03]
And if pickleball, rose, and cinema are your three interests, you can filter your grid to see others that are interested in those things and say,
let's go play pickleball, have some rose, and watch a movie.
NEWTON: You're apparently, you know, hitting my age bracket, but I see what you're doing there, Rob. I see what you're doing there. How -- I do want to
know, though, how are you incorporating experiences as well? Because sometimes maybe not necessarily you're looking for a partner. You just want
to get together with people who share the same interests.
LONG: Yes, absolutely. So around HYROX specifically, you know, we have multiple different events. We have singles shakeout runs. We have after
parties, which we call Station 9 since there are eight stations in the race, where we're just bringing people together that want social
connection. Not always does it need to be romantic per se, but we're putting like-minded people together and we want to be known as an app that
uses efficient tech to facilitate real-world connection.
We don't want you to stay on Surf. Our best marketing could be people meeting and getting off the app really quickly. So we believe we've built a
platform that lets people do that.
NEWTON: Rob, where did this idea come from? And is anybody in the company partaking of any of this? You guys had success.
LONG: Yes. So, the -- we have a co-founder who is on the app and is matching over lifestyle choices successfully, or has, but really it was a
handful of us were talking about the swipe fatigue and the inefficiencies of the tech where the average person is swiping 600, 700, 800 times to find
a match. You have no reason why you're seeing who you're seeing and that's like, that stinks for single people.
And when you're trying to find your person, time, especially, and you want to be intentional in your dating journey. And we wanted to give people a
better product to find, you know, what we think is a really important life choice.
NEWTON: So I see your cap, it says, "Meet me on the grid, Surf." We will continue to check in with you, Rob, and see where this idea goes because as
we said, I hear from so many, especially young adults, the dating app fatigue is real.
Rob Long, for us. Thanks so much. Appreciate it.
LONG: Yes. Thank you.
NEWTON: And we'll be right back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NEWTON: So Wall Street ended the first half of the year higher.
[16:55:02]
The S&P and Nasdaq had their best quarter since 2020, with the S&P closing up almost a 0.8 percent and the Nasdaq up 1.5 percent. The Dow was up 135
points today, closing out again at record highs.
We will have a look at those Dow movers. Honeywell is down after its aerospace spinoff debuted on the Nasdaq yesterday. Caterpillar is the
winner today up about 3 percent. But tech has had a rebound with Apple, Nvidia, Microsoft, IBM and Alphabet all posting gains, although modest.
Now we do want to hit some breaking celebrity news. Sources tell CNN that Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce will indeed get married at Madison Square
Garden this week. The New York venue had been rumored to be the site of their highly anticipated wedding. The sources describe two events. First
will be a rehearsal for about 100 guests on Thursday at 6:00 p.m. A larger wedding celebration is planned for Friday, with about 1,000 guests expected
to attend. And we will wait for that celebration.
We are just days away from the Fourth of July celebrations in Washington, D.C., but the drama surrounding damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting
Pool isn't going away.
CNN's Sunlen Serfaty has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the middle of the political tidal wave, this man is in charge of keeping water in the
Reflecting Pool crystal clear.
CHAS ANTINONE JUNIOR, PRESIDENT AND COO, GREENWATER SERVICES: We've never done a pool, but the water is relatively the same as the water that you
would see out in a regular lake somewhere. Right? You're treating it for algae and bacteria.
SERFATY: How clean does President Trump want to get this project?
ANTINONE: I don't know the answer to that question yet, but since it was a really blue last week, I think he liked that.
SERFATY (voice-over): In his first TV interview, Chas Antinone, the CEO of Greenwater Services, defended its patented ozone nanobubbler, a new
technology that's costing $1.7 million, and that the Trump administration is building as the state of the art fix for the algae-ridden pool.
ANTINONE: Ozone is 3,000 times faster and 50 times more powerful than chlorine, and it's able to stay in the water, travel through the water,
find the toxins that it needs. That's why we're able to treat it from both ends and treat the whole pool.
SERFATY (voice-over): But the project has been plagued with other problems, too. From the new blue bottom peeling up to Trump blaming, without
evidence, left-wing vandals.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The Reflecting Pool is so beautiful they tried to destroy it.
SERFATY (voice-over): Prompting Trump to announce they'll need to drain the pool again.
TRUMP: We'll fix it right after the Fourth of July.
SERFATY (voice-over): Meanwhile, the small Ohio company has been thrust into the national spotlight for their role.
What's your understanding of why the original bloom happened?
ANTINONE: How it happened? I don't know. It could be -- some of it could have come from the pipes. Could somebody have dumped some stuff in there?
Anything is possible in the middle of the night.
SERFATY (voice-over): In April, the company was given a no-bid contract from the Trump administration, bypassing a competitive bidding process. The
company's co-owner is J.J. Cafaro, a longtime supporter and donor to President Trump and neighbor living near his Mar-a-Lago club.
TRUMP: J.J. Cafaro from Florida and from Cleveland. He's a man who made a lot of money in Cleveland, does a good job and a fantastic man.
SERFATY (voice-over): In 2001, Cafaro pleaded guilty to conspiracy to bribe Representative James Traficant, and separately pleaded guilty in 2010 for
campaign finance violation. The Interior Department says, "The White House was not involved in the selection process for any contract and did not
weigh in on the company selected, full stop."
And the company has also tried to distance itself from Cafaro, saying, "He is an Ohio-based businessman who invested in the Ohio-based company after
the owner showed him research done on local Ohio bodies of water." A spokesperson for the company said, "He has no involvement in the day-to-day
operations."
Earlier this month, Cafaro defended his company's technology, saying he believes the public scrutiny over the Reflecting Pool is from people who
don't seem to like Trump.
And there has been some speculation that the Trump administration potentially compounded some of the problems down here at the Reflecting
Pool. There was a 24-hour period of time where the temporary nano-ozone bubblers were removed from the Reflecting Pool. That was at the request of
the National Park Service. At the same time, the president was hosting a large photo-op down here at the National Mall for the UFC championship.
Now, the company confirms that the permanent ozone nano-bubbler technology has been installed and actually is off of the Reflecting Pool just over my
shoulder in a pump house off the Reflecting Pool.
Sunlen Serfaty, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: And finally, for us, the best kind of news. The newest member of the QUEST MEANS BUSINESS family, Juno Rose arrived happy and healthy this
past Wednesday, joining our producer Ronan and his wife Sophie, big sis Clementine and of course, Poppy, the dog. Congratulations to the entire
family.
I want to say welcome, Juno. And as Richard would say to you, we know you already mean business. I'm sure your parents have a handful there.
That was QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. I'm Paula Newton. "THE LEAD WITH JAKE TAPPER" starts next.
END
