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Quest Means Business
U.S. Economy Adds Fewer than Expected 57K Jobs in June; Federal Reserve Expeced to Hold Rates this Month; Nissan CEO: Close to Announcing Partnership with Honda; Miracle Rescue in Venezuela's Quake Zone; Russia Unleashes Fierce Assault on Kyiv; PlayStation Ending Physical Disc Production; Local Police Prepare for Taylor Swift-Travis Kelce MSG Wedding Celebration. Aired 4-5p ET
Aired July 02, 2026 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:30]
PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: Another record for the Dow, up more than one percent, you see it there. What a way to go into America's 250th
birthday weekend. Those are the markets and these are the main events.
Well, there they are. You hear them. They are cheering for USA. Now meantime, U.S. job growth slowed in June, lowering expectations for an
interest rate hike this summer.
Nissan CEO tells us that he is in talks to discuss further collaboration with Honda.
And another piece of physical media bites the dust, PlayStation is giving up on physical discs, and some gamers aren't happy about it.
Live from New York, it is Thursday, July 2nd. I am Paula Newton, in for Richard Quest and this is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.
And a good evening, everyone. Tonight, U.S. job growth slowed last month and that's raising questions about the Federal Reserve's next move. The
U.S. economy added 57,000 jobs in June. Most economists were expecting closer to 100,000.
Now, on top of that, the job numbers from April and May were revised significantly downward. The unemployment rate fell to 4.2 percent, and
that's because more people left the labor force.
All of this to say the labor market appears to be stable, but not robust. It is something the Fed will have to consider, along with stubbornly high
inflation.
David Goldman is with us in New York.
David, can you think of a better way to go into the July 4th weekend than the Dow at a record? I think some people would have rather seen some better
jobs numbers, but take it away for us because this was -- the revisions is what got my attention to be honest, not so much this month's number.
DAVID GOLDMAN, CNN BUSINESS SENIOR REPORTER: Yes, you got it. I think that it is important to take this in stride, right? Because, I mean, we are not
looking at particularly robust jobs numbers, as you mentioned, 57,000 is not what economists wanted. But it is one month, Paula. Right?
I mean, this is not a trend. This is something that we are going to have to watch. We don't want this to continue, but we are going to have to keep our
eyes on this to see if this is a fluke or if the past months were the fluke, 4.2 percent unemployment is really interesting because this came
down from the previous month, which was 4.3.
But remember, there are ways that the unemployment rate can go down and it is actually bad news. This is one of those because 700,000 Americans just
said, forget it, I am not even interested in looking for a job anymore, I am leaving the job force because I can't find what I am looking for that is
something that we are going to have to keep our eye on, too, as well as healthcare.
Healthcare has been the industry that is underpinning the recovery that we've had in jobs for many, many years. Because our -- you know, economy is
getting older, our people are getting older and there are people that need to take care of our aging population, 22,000 sounds like a lot, but we have
been averaging 38,000 over the past year. That's about half. That is not what we want. Again, a fluke or is this something to be concerned about? We
will keep our eyes on that.
This is the thing that really surprised me. You're talking about revisions, which we are going to get into a second. That surprised you. This surprised
me.
Losing 61,000 leisure and hospitality jobs in a single month. We thought that the World Cup was going to help, right? All of those temporary summer
jobs, supporting summer festivals, supporting the 100 Super Bowls that are taking place across our countries, Canada and the United States and of
course, Mexico. This might not actually be the number. I am wondering if the revisions go the other direction the next month, because this is just
not what my eyes are telling me is actually happening.
But this is what you're getting at, Paula, 74,000 fewer jobs created in April and in May. That isn't the direction that we wanted to go in and it
means that we were coming from a lower support level and that might mean that, well, you know, the jobs market isn't quite as strong as we thought
it was.
I will leave you with some good news, though, 3.5 percent wage growth. That is up from the 3.4 percent we had in the previous two months. That is a
direction that we want to go in because look at this, 4.2 percent inflation means that we were -- that inflation ate your pay raise over the past
month. The good news, this is coming down.
[16:05:09]
We expect this to be at around 3.9 percent in June, which means that we are getting a little bit closer, hopefully, this will start being higher than
this -- Paula.
NEWTON: Yes, and thanks for giving us that trend because they're looking for a two-handle, but if we get to a three-handle on inflation, that's at
least going to be good in terms of what is going on again in the conflict with Iran and energy prices.
David Goldman for us, thanks so much for breaking it down. Appreciate it.
Now, the Federal Reserve will make its next interest rate decision at the end of the month. The CME Fedwatch tracks where investors believe rates are
heading. It gives an 80 percent chance -- 80 percent that the Fed will leave them unchanged, and a 20 percent chance of a quarter point hike.
Fed Chair Kevin Warsh offered few clues when he spoke yesterday at a forum in Portugal. He noted instead that the economy has been hit by several
shocks, including the A.I. boom.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEVIN WARSH, U.S. FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIRMAN: The A.I. boom is showing itself first and very prominently in the United States. I'd certainly rather have
this problem where we have massive capital expenditures, instead of thinking years back where we had financial engineering, where we had
companies that weren't able to deliver profits. So they would do shareholder buybacks.
Well, right now they're investing in the future because their expectation is the supply side of the economy will expand and if it does, that has huge
implications for monetary policy.
Vanguard, senior U.S. economist, Josh Hirt joins me now from Pennsylvania.
Good to see you.
So at first blush, what do you make of not just the June numbers, but again, as I say, the eye popping revisions here?
JOSH HIRT, VANGUARD, SENIOR U.S. ECONOMIST: Ironically, we were expecting a number not so dissimilar actually, from what we ended up seeing today. We
were expecting just around 40,000 jobs today.
So in light of that, our surprise was a rather limited to, I think, whether what the market was expecting today. But I think as your point, if you step
back a little bit, I mean, we do see the labor market is actually being in a rather resilient place. It is certainly a different job creation numbers
that we are seeing from, you know, a year or two ago when we were very accustomed to seeing well into the hundreds, even 200-plus monthly gains
per month, but the reality is, is this is where we think the break-even job growth rate is it is much below 100 and we don't see it as being too far
away from actually a pretty equilibrium rate at the current moment.
NEWTON: Yes, so it doesn't sound so much to worry about at this point in time. And so the next move is Kevin Warsh is right. Do you think he will
still raise rates throughout the fall despite the lackluster job growth?
I mean, even in the Portugal Forum yesterday, he seemed to really be emphasizing price stability.
HIRT: Absolutely. I mean, I think we've certainly picked up on that as well as there is a lot more discussion and focus apparently, coming out of the
June meeting on the inflation mandate. I mean, I think that the statement in some of the communication from the meeting characterized the labor
market fairly consistently with what we saw today, which is that we think the labor market is growing consistently with the labor force.
It doesn't appear to be a major concern at the moment. While on the other hand, we do have inflation that has been creeping up and has certainly got
a lot more attention just from the data that we have received so far this year, as well as the trajectory.
Absolutely. We are expecting that we are in a holding pattern at the moment. I think the data that we've seen from inflation has certainly
started to skew some of the expectations for hikes. But our view is, is that we are in a hold, not a hike environment, at least at present.
NEWTON: At least at present, so we will wait to see what happens, especially as that issue has become so political.
In terms of the revisions themselves, I mean, Kevin Warsh himself has said not so subtly that he is not clear on the data he is getting. It is one of
the reforms that he has launched at the Fed.
Do you think that that's a good move here? That they need better data?
HIRT: Well, there is no question that the revision process can be something that creates a wedge between what is really happening in the economy today
and where were able to read that. So I think it is a very interesting initiative. I think we are also very eager to see what the task force will
come up with in terms of new data or suggestions, but there does appear to be a focus on really capturing in a more real time manner how the economy
is performing.
So I think we are just as interested as many others to see what kind of methods might they be introducing, whether that's data, whether that's new
methods of actually capturing the data to try to create some more real-time measures of a look at that.
At the same time, I would also say, we have a lot of data in the economy, very robust set of alternative indicators. So I think there are a lot of
ways that we can start to square how the economy is really doing, but very interested to see what the task force will come up with.
NEWTON: Yes, and maybe they will come up with more real-time insights, as you say, because sometimes we see things developing, especially you in
terms of going out there and actually speaking to businesses.
[16:10:10]
And yet it doesn't show up in the data, at least not in a timely fashion.
I mean, look, the Dow hit a record today. I am not sure how much stock you put in that, to use a term. This is quite an extraordinary bull market
going into the 250th anniversary of the country.
You think corporate profits really warrant this at this point?
HIRT: Well, there is no question we've seen a pretty tremendous effect, I think, from the wealth effect side, the asset price side, in our view, it
is absolutely having an effect as well on consumption, on the direction of the economy at the moment.
You know, the wealth effect has been something we've actually seen for probably the past 18 months or so. Very healthy asset price gains that
we've continued to see. We do have a view that that is being supported currently by earnings. You know, so it is very clear to us that we are
seeing some momentum in the economy and we do expect that to continue into 2027, in fact.
NEWTON: Into 2027, to the bull market continues even if there is that sector rotation there.
Josh Hirt, Happy Fourth to you and thanks for giving us some insight into these numbers. Appreciate it.
HIRT: Thank you.
NEWTON: Now, the chief executive of Nissan says the company is close to announcing a partnership with Honda. It comes after merger talks between
the two Japanese auto makers proved unsuccessful last year.
I asked Ivan Espinosa about how the new expected partnership fits into the wider consolidation of the industry.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
IVAN ESPINOSA, CEO, NISSA: So, there is particularly no discussion about integration at the moment, but we are talking a lot about individual
projects that we can collaborate on because we both - both companies have needs.
The industry is becoming very difficult and very challenging. So, we need to start finding friends to share investment, to share development costs
with, and so on.
So particularly, we are exploring what we can do here in North America in the form of probably some joint vehicle projects. Also exploring whether we
could share some battery capacity for future hybrid powertrains. We are also exploring electric architecture sharing.
There are a few things ongoing, and we've been discussing very actively with Honda.
NEWTON: How close do you think you are to announcing a deal?
ESPINOSA: Close. I cannot tell you if it will be closed in a few weeks or not, but the progress has been very solid. The discussions are very
constructive and the teams are really looking into a win-win relationship for the future.
NEWTON: You know, I've been looking at some of your quotes and you've been quite blunt and forthcoming about how difficult it is in the car industry
right now, because it is going through a lot of upheaval.
So again, if I go back to that partnership, is Nissan okay, if you don't get a partnership by the third quarter, let's say?
ESPINOSA: We are absolutely fine. So we -- the progress that we have done in the Nissan program is remarkable. So, we close the FY25 with positive
operating profit in the order of $58 billion, which is kind of $400 million, and this was after paying more than $1.6 billion in tariffs.
So we managed to, through the program to absorb a lot of the difficulties that the industry is going through and kept our O.P. almost flat versus the
previous year in 2024.
So we are absolutely fine. Liquidity is looking fine. Our sales performance is improving, and the -- you know, the work and the investment that we made
on resources for fixing the cost structure of the company is bearing fruits now.
So we are heading the right direction now.
NEWTON: In the right direction, but still very much a money losing car company right now.
ESPINOSA: No. We are not losing money. So, the operating margin was positive in FY25.
What you are talking probably about is the net profit. The net profit was indeed negative, but this was because of some of the write-offs and
impairments that we did and some of the payments that we did on the restructuring part.
But our outlook for 2026 is to be net profit positive, and the operating margin will go to $1.5 million, so 200 billion yen, so kind of $1.2
billion. This is what we are expecting to record in 2026.
NEWTON: What do you see as Nissan's vision? When we talk about A.I., there are a lot of concerns about jobs. We just had 100,000 layoffs at
Volkswagen.
How do you -- what will this look like, Ivan, when we sit down in another year from now, especially if the Honda partnership is on the table?
ESPINOSA: Yes, well, as I said before, we are not talking about integrating the companies at the moment. So, that is not on the table.
NEWTON: And it is off the table.
ESPINOSA: So, that is not on the table for the moment. I don't know if it will come later, but for the moment, it is not. We are focusing on
projects, projects that add value to both companies and to both partners in a win-win relationship, sharing technology, sharing investments, making
sure that we can be competitive together and this is what we are focusing our energy for the moment.
NEWTON: What is the difference, though? You have a partnership, but you're not actually a merger and both of you, both companies, Nissan and Honda are
saying you must do this in order to control costs.
ESPINOSA: Well, actually the -- a lot of people are expecting that by having some cross-shareholding, synergies come by, you know, automatically.
But the reality is, it is not. What is really the value creation comes from the two teams working together and this can be done with shareholding,
cross-shareholding or not and this is what we are focusing on.
[16:15:07]
NEWTON: So what do you tell the Trump administration about what I would say is a very unpredictable environment when it comes to tariffs. Because what
I hear is that, look, we can deal with tariffs if we know what they're going to be.
ESPINOSA: Right, of course, as a manufacturer, you would like to have more stability in the policies, but when this is difficult, what you do is you
focus on being more nimble and improving your speed and this is what we did.
So, we reduced our development cycle by 40 percent, so we used to spend 54 months creating a new car. We, can do that now in 30 months. So, we can
create new cars in 30 months versus 54 months.
And what this allows you to do is to cope with any regulatory changes, policy changes, anything that is making you take a different direction in
your industrial footprint, you can react much more quickly.
Rather than forecasting the future and spending endless resources trying to understand what the future might be, it is better to focus on being nimble
and fast company.
NEWTON: You mentioned the $1.6 billion on tariffs. Do you expect the rebates? Do you expect it to be much less in 2027?
ESPINOSA: It will be mechanically less in this year than it was in 2025, because the year started having 25 percent of tariffs for vehicles imported
from Japan, and that was adjusted mid-year to 15. So, mechanically, this year should be lower.
We are also seeing the rebates and the refunds, so we are working on that to try and get some of the -- all of those tariffs back with the fund or
what we will see what happens, and this is what we are expecting to see a bit later on this year.
NEWTON: But is there any doubt that we are looking at consolidation across the automotive industry?
ESPINOSA: No. I think eventually something might happen because the industry is getting more severe and there are too many car companies at the
moment. But where I have -- I don't see anything happening in the very short term.
NEWTON: Yes, you think eventually, though, that's where it is all headed? Consolidation.
ESPINOSA: There might be consolidation, yes.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: More World Cup action today.
All right, Ive got my jersey. Sorry Canada. I did pick Brazil to go all the way. So I am all set for my watch party, but other fans might not yet have
their merch.
Our next guest is working to make sure they can get a football shirt in as little as 25 minutes. We will have that next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NEWTON: Spain, leading Austria one-nil at the start of the second half. They're looking for their first win in a knockout match since the World Cup
Final in 2010. Now fans in Madrid are cheering on their team. They look a bit nervous.
The winner will either face Portugal or Croatia next week. That match up is kicking off in Toronto just a few hours from now.
[16:20:10]
Fans may, at this very hour, be making last minute plans to watch the game, of course, and some of them might be panicking about what to wear.
If you're in London or Manchester, you can get that football shirt delivered to your door in less than 25 minutes, thanks to a partnership
between ASOS and delivery platform, Deliveroo.
Vanessa Spence is the brand and creative executive vice president at ASOS, and she joins us now.
Good to see you because we are all thrilled with all things the World Cup at this hour. I mean, look, this is the team shirt delivery service we
didn't know we needed.
I mean, how did your marketing team decide to do this? And what kind of reaction have you had from the fans?
VANESSA SPENCE, BRAND AND CREATIVE EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, ASOS: Yes, so I mean, we have a fantastic marketing team and we are always thinking of
ways that we can really just connect with our customer, particularly thinking about those real strong cultural moments that we know our
customers are going to absolutely love.
So the World Cup felt like an absolutely natural partnership. You know, in terms of the reaction, it has been incredible. We actually sold out in the
first week of a number of shirts. So including England, the one I am wearing now, we sold out Spain, The Netherlands and Germany. So we are
actually in the process of restocking because it has been so successful.
NEWTON: Oh, so you're actually in the middle of the World Cup going to restock here, so you said the English kit, was there anything specific from
the English kit that everyone loved besides the shirt that you're wearing now?
SPENCE: So I think what was the beauty of like what we created was it was really kind of led by style and fashion. So I think if you think sometimes,
you know, traditional football tees is a lot of what everybody wears to like events around the World Cup and we have been selling those and they've
been incredible.
But actually, the pieces that we have with Deliveroo are more of those sort of fashion kind of styled moments. So we have baby tees, cropped tees,
oversize t-shirts and it is all inspired by kind of colorful, sort of retro football inspired World Cup countries.
NEWTON: But the way this came together is literally, I could be sitting, at home thinking, oh, I am going to a watch party right now. I need something
to wear. And TikTok and Deliveroo brings it to you.
SPENCE: Exactly! So you could just be thinking, like, maybe I wasn't going to go to a watch party tonight, but you get a last minute invite. You're
there and you think, actually, I want to be part of this. I want to be styled in the moment and you can just go on to Deliveroo and order a t-
shirt, and then you can really feel like you're part of the moment.
NEWTON: Anything associated with the World Cup can be ridiculously expensive to really be involved with in a strict way. We've had all kinds
of stories about FIFA really coming down on people. I am wondering if you guys have been able to use this as a real tailwind in your marketing, even
though you're not strictly associated with FIFA?
SPENCE: So we are kind of doing it from the point of like helping our customers be part of that moment. So, you know, we are not an official
partner, but, you know, it has about having a country tease. You know, for us, it is all about really accessible price points.
So they start at 12 pounds, they exit at 22 pounds. So it is just a way for our customers to really have like a part of that moment. And, you know,
actually it is quite similar to product that we do, sort of always on. So although we have these for the World Cup, we often sell t-shirts that have
country slogans. Our customers love them.
NEWTON: And the point of having it delivered to you just before you're about to go out or whatever, did the popularity surprise you at this point?
SPENCE: Well, we assume -- we know our customer really well. So we know they are busy. We know they live their lives on social. We know they're
very sociable. We knew they would love this moment. And, you know, the World Cup, like football really brings people together. We know it's a
really sociable moment. So that's why the idea of working with Deliveroo, it makes sense. Like food orders, drinks, orders, it is a social moment.
So, it just felt like the two would definitely work together.
Like we didn't know how successful it would be, but we've been pleasantly surprised and like to the point where, like I say, we are about to restock.
NEWTON: Pleasantly surprised and I am sure you will be doing it again.
Vanessa Spence for us. Thanks so much. Really appreciate it.
SPENCE: Thank you so much.
NEWTON: Now, OpenAI is reportedly in early discussions that could see it giving the U.S. government a five percent stake in the company. "The
Financial Times" reports the proposal from the creator of ChatGPT could involve other A.I. companies offering similar stakes.
[16:25:02]
The possibility comes amid growing scrutiny of A.I. firms sharing the wealth generated by A.I. but the public could help address some of the
pushback against the technology, which threatens jobs in many industries.
Anna Stewart joins us now. And I know you will share in my skepticism that unless you literally send people a check, never mind the mail, right, any
kind of e-transfer on the phone will do. I am not sure it will change their mind on this, but do explain how would this all work?
ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: It is an interesting concept and I will stress that this is very much a concept at this stage and actually, you know what,
Paula, this is something President Trump was discussing on Air Force One nearly a month ago with reporters. He was asked what he thought about A.I.
companies giving a stake to the American public and he said, it would be a beautiful thing.
I quote, "It would make him rich." So there's the plan and clearly, this would get the support of the U.S. president.
How would it work? Well with open A.I., the plan here is apparently to gift five percent -- a five percent stake of the company. That would be $42.6
billion at current valuations and that would be a gift. So, very different to what we saw with Intel, where the U.S. government bought a 10 percent
stake in the company for nearly $9 billion. This would be a gift.
Now, how it would work with other A.I. companies if they were to do similar things, it would be very different. For instance, for a massive listed
company like NVIDIA, would they really gift a five percent stake? That would be a lot of money.
And actually, I was doing some calculations. If this were to happen with, say, OpenAI, Microsoft, NVIDIA, Anthropic, Meta as well, if you took five
percent for each of these companies and put them all into a fund, it would be nearly half a trillion dollars.
This is the concept. Let's talk about, you know, what this would mean for the public and also for these companies, for the American public, yes, a
massive Sovereign Wealth Fund.
This money could, of course, be used to help soften the blow on job disruption and issues around that as A.I. progresses on this big technology
wave we are all riding.
The cynical point of view, of course, is also there is some benefit here potentially to these companies in terms of cozying up to the U.S.
government, maybe lighter touch regulation, perhaps they'll be able to push through some of those models quicker. And OpenAI is one of the companies
that currently has its next model being held up for release by the U.S. government. They want to review it before its released. That's the next
ChatGPT model.
So there's a cynical point of view here as well. Will it ever happen? That's what I want to know because clearly, there is no point, just one
company doing this. You'd need some sort of enmasse situation.
President Trump over a month ago did say he had spoken with, and I quote all of them when it came to A.I. companies, so perhaps it will happen,
Paula. Calls are happening. There is going to be a meeting and we know President Trump would quite like this to happen.
NEWTON: And we will wait for that, but then there is this issue of digital sovereignty right and data sovereignty, digital sovereignty is a big topic
of conversation in the E.U., in the U.K., I know in Canada, in Japan. So Donald Trump does have to deal with that as well, right? As these A.I.
Sovereign Wealth Funds develop.
In terms of models, we have Bernie Sanders, who was, you know, the senator who kind of came up with some of these ideas. You wonder if, you know,
there have been Sovereign Wealth Funds for decades now. You wonder if that is the model that they should go towards, because this will open up a can
of worms with other countries.
STEWART: And Bernie Sanders was talking about a potential sort of 50 percent windfall tax on big U.S. A.I. companies and using that to build a
big sovereign wealth fund. So a similar idea, though a different way of doing it.
It is interesting that this concept is getting support really across the political spectrum in the United States. It certainly doesn't feel like a
very capitalistic approach and a very different approach for this U.S. administration, given when President Trump arrived, they were really light
touch when it came to A.I. It was very much, we are going to back innovation, not regulation. We are going to hold back.
And we've seen such a different story in recent months, and in some ways, you have to wonder whether this idea from Sam Altman and you know, the
early concepts around this, is this more to do with them trying to get ahead of what is potentially tougher regulation down the line? Already, we
are seeing some of these models being held up. What comes next?
So perhaps, this is also a little bit of fear and trying to be a part of that conversation.
NEWTON: Yes, and it is a very salient point and we are taught, right, that governments are not supposed to be the ones picking winners and losers in
the capitalist system. We shall see.
Anna Stewart for us. Thanks so much. Appreciate it.
Now, an airline executive once said, we all fly the same metal tubes. It is what happens inside them that's different.
Our Richard Quest shared that quote with Maggie Schmerin. She is the chief advertising officer for United Airlines and asked her how they try to stand
out from the competition.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MAGGIE SCHMERIN, CHIEF ADVERTISING OFFICER, UNITED AIRLINES: I would say differentiation is the north star that my team and I utilize. People know
what we do as an airline.
You know, we don't have an awareness problem. People know that we can get you from Point A to Point B, you know, getting you from Point A to Point B
might be the least interesting thing for me as a marketer to talk about in our advertising.
So we've really been focused on pushing out of the category.
[16:30:21]
QUEST: The difficulty for all of you is expectation versus reality. And that's the challenge, which is very difficult because you know better than
anybody, you promise the world and all it takes is one social media post of somebody stuck at an airport for whatever reason.
SCHMERIN: You're obviously paying a considerable amount for the experience in some cases. And some of our customers might fly with us, you know, once
or twice a year. So the experience absolutely matters. And then as a marketer, though, that gives us the ability, you know, really to look at
something like social media. We've completely changed how we show up there with our tone of voice, how trend driven we are, how tapped into cultural
relevance, and what's going on in the zeitgeist, because we know that people might not be waking up thinking about United. So how can we utilize
something like social?
QUEST: What do you mean by how you integrate on social media?
SCHMERIN: Whatever is going on in the world, whether that's sports, music, pop culture, how can we take the United brand and show up in a way that's
authentic, relevant? We like to think of social media as a dinner party. So, you know, you wouldn't go to a dinner party and only talk about
yourself, or if everyone is talking about one topic, take the conversation over here.
Let's say people are talking about Paris. You know, you would chime in and say, I was just in Paris. I have a great restaurant recommendation. So
that's the approach that we show up with. You take whatever TV show might be popular that everyone is talking about. Well, what memes can we do that
are, you know, relatable to United and the travel experience, but also, you know, that television show.
QUEST: But why do you want to be involved in that discussion anyway?
SCHMERIN: Oh, you know, culture is king right now. We really want to show up as a culturally relevant brand, again, to be top of mind and to show
people that we're multifaceted. You know, we're not just that big metal tube that's flying through the air.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: OK. Amidst the heartache and grief in Venezuela, a rare moment of joy. International crews worked for more
than 70 hours to dig a man out of the earthquake rubble. It's the rescue some are describing as a miracle.
We'll have that ahead on QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:35:38]
NEWTON: Hello, I'm Paula Newton. And there's more QUEST MEANS BUSINESS in a moment when PlayStation announces an end to selling games on physical
disks. We'll discuss what it says about the video game industry's evolution. And we'll be outside Madison Square Garden as Taylor Swift's
wedding to Travis Kelce, let's not forget the groom. That should be underway in a matter of hours. The headlines, though, first.
Russia hit Kyiv with a massive overnight barrage, hitting many civilian sites. Ukrainian officials say the bombardment included nearly 500 drones
and more than 70 missiles lasted for 11 hours and killed at least 21 people. Moscow says the attack was in response to weeks of Ukrainian drone
strikes deep within Russian territory.
The U.S. labor market is cooling down a bit. 57,000 jobs were added in June. Most economists were expecting something closer to 100,000. The
unemployment rate fell to 4.2 percent as more people left the labor force.
A former Olympic canoeist has been indicted by a grand jury in Washington after being arrested last month after reaching into the Lincoln Memorial
Reflecting Pool. David Hearn is facing a felony charge of destruction of property that carries a maximum of 10 years in prison. His attorney says
he's innocent, calling the charges outrageous.
So any moment now, Venezuela's acting president, Delcy Rodriguez, is set to hold a news conference. It's now been eight days since two powerful
earthquakes devastated parts of that country. Venezuelan officials say the earthquake killed at least 2200 people. That number, though, is expected to
rise as crews find more bodies in the rubble.
It is, as you can imagine, grim work, but it has been punctuated by very rare moments of joy. Moments like this, when rescuers pulled a man out of a
collapsed building. They found him days ago and started working on what disaster officials call a miraculous rescue.
Isa Soares was at the scene and has this report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ISA SOARES, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: After so many days of loss and sadness, a moment of celebration here in Playa Grande in La Guaira, when
rescue workers from all over the world were able to rescue 44-year-old Hernan Gil. He was a security guard on the -- in the shopping center just
behind me. He was on level minus two.
For days they have been talking to him, keeping him alive. They have been passing him water. They have been giving him baby food, giving him
medicine, communicating with him. I spoke to one rescue worker who had that task of keeping his spirits up. Have a listen.
AMANDO MARIA, MEMBER, PORTUGUESE RESCUE TEAM FEPC (through translator): He was a very cooperative victim. There were times when we had to keep talking
to him continuously. At other moments, we had to stop talking in order to work, partially because of the noise we ourselves were making. Following
medical guidance, we constantly provided hydration, including isotonic drinks and water, as well as all the food he needed to maintain the minimum
conditions necessary to survive and endure the entire rescue operation.
SOARES: Football. That's how they connected and it was a miracle rescue, something this country so desperately needs after so many deaths here.
Rescue workers have been celebrating. They've been hugging. They've even been exchanging country patches because this was a huge global effort from
teams all over the world. His wife, meanwhile, had been waiting every day here, waiting to hug him.
We're told by the Red Cross, he's making his way to Caracas. And besides the bruise in his eye and maybe a lesion on his arms, he's doing incredibly
well.
Isa Soares, CNN, Playa Grande, Venezuela.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: In Ukraine's capital, search and rescue crews are combing through rubble there after Russia unleashed a massive drone and missile strike on
Kyiv overnight. At least 21 people were killed in those attacks, which officials say mostly struck residential buildings. Moscow says the assault
was retaliation for Ukrainian attacks on Russian civilian infrastructure.
Our Nada Bashir has more.
[16:40:00]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The moment of impact in yet another round of deadly Russian strikes. The night sky over Kyiv
illuminated as fires tear through the city into the early hours of the morning. Hundreds of Russian missiles and drones are said to have been
intercepted, but officials say at least 33 made impact, killing more than a dozen people and wounding at least 86 others.
IRYNA MOSKAEVA, KYIV RESIDENT (through translator): My kids and I wanted to get out of the room. We jumped out of the bed and started running, but
there was nowhere left to run. All the windows in the room were shattered and the door was jammed. I couldn't open it.
BASHIR (voice-over): This latest attack came with some warning. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy calling on civilians to heed the sirens and
take shelter in anticipation of an extensive Russian attack. More than 50,000 Kyiv residents are said to have packed into metro stations across
the city Wednesday evening, preparing for a long night.
Russia's Defense Ministry claims precision weapons were used to target Ukraine's military and energy infrastructure, but local officials in the
capital have condemned what they've described as significant direct hits on residential buildings across the city.
In this Kyiv neighborhood, families wait anxiously for news of their loved ones. As emergency services searched through the rubble of destroyed homes
for casualties.
IHOR KLYMENKO, UKRAINIAN MINISTER OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS (through translator): A miracle happened here today, thanks primarily to the work of the rescue
teams. This is the first time in Ukraine that seven people have been rescued from under the rubble.
BASHIR (voice-over): A miracle moment for some, but for others only grief.
Nada Bashir, CNN, in London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: And we'll be right back with more news in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NEWTON: Sony has announced that it will soon end the production of physical discs for PlayStation games. Now, the company says that starting in January
2028, new releases will be available only as digital downloads. Sony says it's a natural direction for the company since digital media has become far
more popular than buying a disc.
Now, a lot of gamers aren't happy with the move. Many believe that you can't truly own a digitally purchased game.
Gene Park is the culture critic for the "Washington Post." He's been following this. He joins us now from Washington, D.C..
[16:45:00]
And boy, do I ever need an education on this. So right up front, full disclosure, we've got a physical disc. You own a tangible copy. You can
keep it, you can lend it, you can resell it with a digital purpose. We know the obvious. Is this just the way it's going to go? Because if a publisher
removes the game from a storefront, that you loses the music licensing. You can think of a million different things that are going to happen. You know,
this could really mean that you don't own it anymore.
GENE PARK, CULTURE CRITIC, WASHINGTON POST: Paula, thank you so much for having me. And you're exactly right. This isn't really an issue about
discs. This is an issue about consumer ownership and consumer rights. It's a question of if buying isn't really owning, if you're only buying a
license, consumers should deserve to know what they're actually purchasing with their hard earned money.
And then, you know, Sony has already set a precedent. Just earlier this month or last month, they announced that 500 of movies will be completely
removed and won't be able to be watched through licensing deals that ran out of time and money. So, you know, the all-digital future is already
pretty much a flimsy promise. And that's what a lot of consumers are really worried about right now.
NEWTON: Yes. And I hear there is a lot of outrage about this because many people, as you point out, they simply enjoy owning it. But it's also a
question of ownership. They like, though, also having a shelf full of games and it's physical, right? It's something you can hold on to, but also some
people would trade them, right? Sell them. They could even become collector's items. I mean, all of that is out the window, right?
PARK: Absolutely. Right now Sony is -- you know, positioning it as something of convenience and something that a lot of people do. But
consumers are using a lot of different aspects of the economy. You're not able to lend your games anymore. There's no intergenerational sharing, you
know, like if I want to share my games with my kids, I want to be able to do that. I have to share my login account. And again, there's no real
promise that that's going to just exist in the future.
You know, like -- I have a lot of Apple apps, and I'm sure that many people out there have a lot of Apple apps that you just simply can't download
anymore because Apple doesn't allow that anymore. But mostly also, I think it also brings back, you know, this is a cost saving measure for Sony, but
those cost saving measures do not pass on to the consumer. They get to save on manufacturing. They get to save on packaging.
They get to save on shipping. But the game still costs the same. They're going to cost full charge on the store. And retailers don't even -- they
don't have a say in that. So consumers just get way, way less options as a result of this.
NEWTON: Yes. So that was the other thing I was going to ask you about. It should logically be cheaper because they're saving so much money. I mean, I
hear that this was a big deal on social in the last little while since they announced it. Do you think they would change their mind?
PARK: That's a good question. Sony has -- there has been backlash before where PlayStation was going to shut down their PlayStation 3 and
PlayStation Vita stores, which they just announced yesterday as well. They're finally doing that. But we got a good six years after there was
massive pushback of people saying, hey, we still like playing on the PlayStation 3. We still like the store here, but finally they're going to
close it down.
So who knows? It's still 2028, so there's still a lot of time for a lot of feedback to happen. But this was a real shock. I think a lot of people just
didn't expect this to happen, especially coming from PlayStation, which does produce Blu-Ray discs. And, you know, people still produce a lot of
physical media. You know, I'm with the "Washington Post." We still make a newspaper. You can still buy CDs, you can still buy books, you can still
buy movies. But for some reason, the largest console manufacturer in the market is just pulling that all out.
NEWTON: Yes. And we all have a boatload of pictures on our phones that have not been printed to prove that sometimes the physical media really does
mean a lot. Before I let you go, we have Grand Theft Auto Six is coming out in November. It costs about 80 bucks, I'm told. But some fans are
complaining about the price now, adjusted for inflation. It's actually one of the cheaper GTA games.
But this is really a watershed moment for you, do you believe, in the gaming world? And I'm asking you to kind of take the temperature of this
industry. I mean, sometimes whether it's Sony or Microsoft, you wouldn't even know they're in the gaming world. They tend to kind of hide it away.
PARK: Yes. Well, with Grand Theft Auto Six, it's reported that it might be the biggest budgeted entertainment product of all time. So that's the issue
right now. Video games cost hundreds of millions of dollars. The budgets for the production for these games can often dwarf Hollywood movies at this
time. So that's where a lot of companies are trying to look for cost savings right now. And that's what Sony is trying to do, trying to increase
their profit margins by cutting off the production of CDs.
Grand Theft Auto Six is also going to be digital only as well, and that's why Grand Theft Auto Six is going to cost more because they invested that
much. The question for consumers is, you know, we didn't really ask you to spend that much money in making the game. You know, like, like you didn't
have to do all that. And, you know, $70, $80 is still a lot of money for a lot of people.
NEWTON: Yes, I know. When you see these A.I. productions right now, you're thinking to yourself, shouldn't it be cheaper one way or the other?
Gene Park, I have to leave it there. I learned a lot. Thank you. Really appreciate it.
PARK: Thank you so much, Paula.
[16:50:03]
NEWTON: Now, Taylor Swift's love story is set to be on full display right here in New York City. Up next, a live report just a few blocks from here
outside her apparent wedding celebration venue, Madison Square Garden.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NEWTON: All right, brace yourselves. In about an hour, just a few blocks from here, Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are expected to hold a rehearsal
for their wedding celebration. Right there, you see it, Madison Square Garden. New York City Police have been setting up barricades outside and
workers have put up the tent and loaded in boxes of decor and food. I'm told there's lobster.
Sources told CNN earlier this week about 1,000 guests are expected to attend a wedding -- I'll put this in air quotes again, "celebration," at
the arena on Friday evening. One of them, Travis Kelce's mom, has already apparently arrived in New York.
Elizabeth Wagmeister is outside Madison Square Garden. We repeat, it is well over 100 degrees.
Elizabeth, let me know what to what -- how to dress. I'm just a few blocks away. What to bring? Don't worry, I got the memo. No disclosure, no
pictures, no gifts. I'm good to go. What about you?
ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Yes. You are ready for this wedding because, that's right, reportedly, the couple has asked
all wedding guests to sign an NDA. That is from the moment that they got their wedding invitations. And they have also enforced a strict cell phone
policy. No surprise, this is one of the biggest couples in the world. And of course, they don't want anything to leak. They have gone to great
lengths to keep this wedding -- or is it a wedding -- top secret.
Obviously right behind me is Madison Square Garden, and the reason why this venue actually does make sense is there are no windows so you can't see and
it keeps the paparazzi out. And it is a venue that you can secure. Of course, when you are the most famous pop star in the world, security
threats always have to be top of mind.
Now, you mentioned the tent that has been constructed. It's right over there. I was just walking by before we were chatting, and I spoke to one of
the construction guys who was helping set up the tent, and I walked by and I said, is this for the wedding? And he looked at me like he was so scared
that he would get in trouble. And he said, oh, I don't know.
Now what I will tell you is there are signs on the street that say no parking. They are -- we are anticipating that there will be street closures
as this gets underway.
[16:55:00]
But right now we're looking at about an hour for this rehearsal event. As you said, Travis Kelce's mother, Donna Kelce. We saw her arriving at the
airport. We've also seen some of Taylor Swift's friends, Suki Waterhouse and Sabrina Carpenter. They have been out and about in the city. Now could
they just be here to enjoy themselves? Sure. But could they be here for the wedding of the century? That's probably why they're here.
So I want to keep everything speculative because fans are really running wild with all of these fan theories. They're saying they already are
married. This is just going to be a fan event, that she's going to have an album release party or a special private concert. So really anything could
happen. But again, our sources at CNN are telling us a rehearsal about to get underway with about 100 people tonight. And tomorrow is the big event,
a party for about 1,000 people. Again, we don't know what that event is, but it is told to us that it will be some sort of wedding celebration.
NEWTON: Elizabeth Wagmeister, I know how good your entertainment sources are, so would you be willing to put money on it right now that they're
actually going to exchange vows tomorrow behind you?
WAGMEISTER: You know, if I were a betting woman, I would think that they are actually already married and that this is going to be a fun, huge
party, the party of the century. But there could be a ceremony, even if they have already officially gotten married on paper. And look, even though
my sources are very good, when it comes to Taylor Swift, I do not put anything past her.
For all we know, again, right behind me at Madison Square Garden, this could be a giant fan event. It could be something that's not even a
wedding. I think it is. But we'll see.
NEWTON: Elizabeth Wagmeister, your description there and what you just told me did not disappoint because that's what I was looking for because you and
I both know this is not the way you get married to a person you expect to be with, with the rest of your life. You need to do that with some
semblance of, I don't know, privacy or intimacy, let's say. OK.
WAGMEISTER: Especially, especially when you're the biggest romantic in the world, right? It's Taylor Swift were talking about.
NEWTON: Thank you. Thank you, Elizabeth. We've got 30 seconds left. Are you taking bets on a dress? Because I don't care if she's already been married.
There will be a spectacular dress at the celebration.
WAGMEISTER: Absolutely. You know that Taylor is not going to just have a spectacular dress. Let's be honest. She is going to have to have numerous
outfit changes. Now, there are a lot of designers that she has worked with throughout the years, so we will see who she decides to wear. But I would
bet you that it is going to be a custom not look, but looks plural. We have to wait to see the pictures.
NEWTON: Lovely. Can't wait. Elizabeth, glad to have you here. I'm just a few blocks away from you. Obviously it is incredibly hot in New York. We
appreciate you being out there. This is going to be a wild 24 hours to come, and we are so here for it.
Elizabeth Wagmeister for us outside Madison Square Garden. Appreciate it.
That was QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. I'm Paula Newton. "THE LEAD WITH JAKE TAPPER" is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
