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Quest Means Business

Paramount Agrees To Delay Warner Bros Discovery Takeover; Trump Threatens New Tariffs On E.U. Under Section 301; Construction Underway On $16 Billion Rail Tunnel Under The River; United, Lufthansa Offering New Seating Options; IATA Board Appoints Saadia Zahidi As Director General; Hudson Community Sailing Teaches 250 NYC School Kids Weekly. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired July 24, 2026 - 16:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST, "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS": Closing bell ringing on Wall Street. The Dow Jones Industrials, well, you'll see how the

markets have been trading. It has been a busy day on Wall Street as an enormous amount of news of one side or another.

Trading comes to an end and a one and a two and a one, two, three, four. We are up on the Dow, 237 points, a strong session for the Dow and as you can

see those are the markets and the main events that we are talking about today: President Trump rebuilds his tariff wall after the Supreme Court

struck it down, announcing new levies on dozens of countries.

Wildfires in Europe are forcing thousands of people from their homes and causing billions of dollars/euros in damages for farmers.

And behind me, what is that barge in the middle of the Hudson River? We visit the center of one of the biggest infrastructure projects in modern

U.S. history. Indeed, it is live from Pier 66 on New York's Hudson River. It is Friday, July the 24th. It is a Summer Friday. I am Richard Quest and

oh yes, on the Hudson with helicopters and barges, I mean business.

Good evening, and what a glorious afternoon.

Summers day here on the banks of New York's most famous waterway. The boats are bobbing and I promise you, the helicopters are buzzing. You'll

certainly hear them as they head overhead. The tourists and the like. And the crowds are strolling past us here on Pier 66 along the Hudson River.

We are here because it is a Summer Friday, and here where we were decades ago, this waterfront along the West Side of Manhattan was noisy, certainly,

cut off from public life, polluted and a most unpleasant, dangerous place to be.

So today, we celebrate the comeback story of the Hudson River and a very Special Summer Friday.

We will even take you on board the barge that is behind me for one of the largest infrastructure projects in modern American history, the Gateway

Program, as they burrow under the Hudson and beyond. There is the view from - I promise you, if I sort of lean out and give a wave, as we will before

the end of the program, you'll see us.

Let's start with our main story tonight.

Breaking news: In the last 20 minutes regarding the Paramount takeover of WBD -- Warner Brothers Discovery, Paramount says it has agreed to delay its

takeover of our parent company, Warner Bros Discovery. The massive merger will not happen now until antitrust trial takes place, or June of 2027,

whichever is first.

Shares in both companies have slumped on the news. You're seeing the share price as much as I am, because as I just looked down at the screen, there

you are. Paramount is -- bearing in mind, their offer price is 31 down at 25. So the market is now saying an arbitrage is definitely being built in.

Brian Stelter is with me now.

Once the judge, I think it was yesterday or the day before, increased the delay by two weeks and then put in an evidentiary trial, not just the real

trial, but just a trial on the evidence to be heard, then it was likely that something had to happen. Something had to break.

Are you surprised that this is what has happened?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: Yeah. The lawyers in this case had to get together and work out a plan and this is the plan that has been come

up with.

Now, a judge will have to approve it and most importantly, a timeline for a trial will have to be set.

But this is a severe setback for Paramount. The company was hoping to take control of Warner Brothers Discovery today. Today, if not yesterday or the

day before. Paramount was waiting for the E.U. regulators to sign off. That happened on Wednesday. So there was a world where Paramount was going to

roll out the new name of the company and celebrate the merger this afternoon, but instead, because of the state attorneys general suing in

those 12 U.S. states, this thing is on hold. It is on ice now. It is really in a deep freeze.

And it is actually not just the states, Richard. It is also the Writers Guild of America filing a separate antitrust lawsuit in California.

So you have two serious legal actions, both on parallel tracks and they've basically been consolidated.

[16:05:09]

So, all the lawyers have agreed to skip the preliminary injunction stage. Frankly, Paramount believed it was going to lose at that stage anyway and

get straight to a trial.

QUEST: So does Paramount have to pay the ticking time bomb fee, which I think was about $650 million for every quarter that they delay beyond, I

think, September-October.

STELTER: I believe the answer is yes. I don't know a hundred percent because the company has not specified either way in the past few minutes.

Paramount has put out a statement that is positive, saying they want this outcome because they want to get in front of a jury as soon as possible.

They say, we look forward to proving our case at trial, but my understanding from the original merger agreement is that, yes, that ticking

fee will take effect in October and that this deal will get more expensive starting October.

And so thinking about the timeline here, there is another one of these antitrust cases involving T.V. stations that has been held up by state

attorney general and that trial is not slated until July of 2027. We don't know when this Paramount trial will be, but Paramount has agreed to delay

until June of 2027, or whenever a jury reached a verdict, whatever comes first.

There are two other possibilities, though, here, Richard. There is the possibility of a settlement. At any point, there could be a settlement.

There is no indication that is imminent. It seems Paramount wants a trial. And there is one more detail I think we should note about the political

environment here, Richard, some staffers at CNN have said to me privately they were hoping this deal will be delayed through the U.S. midterm

elections. That's because of Paramount's close relationship with the Trump administration and the perception that maybe Paramount will try to put its

thumb on the scale.

Of course, Paramount denies and disputes all of that, but the concern about the midterm election was real. I think from a practical standpoint, there

is no way Paramount will take control of Warner Brothers Discovery now before the end of the year, unless there is some sort of surprise

settlement.

QUEST: Brian Stelter, thank you, sir.

You've got work to be getting on with. Shame you're not joining me here down on the river.

Now, let's stay with the news in Washington. A new tariff regime and strategy for the Trump administration. The President is now using Section

301 of the Trade Act to put in place new tariffs and threaten even more.

In the last few hours, Mr. Trump posted on Truth Social railing against E.U. fines of U.S. tech companies, saying his administration would

investigate the decision and the practice.

And late on Thursday, he placed 10 to 12.5 percent tariffs on 60 trading partners. The new duties cover -- support of 100 percent -- 99 percent of

U.S. imports. It is the latest part of the tariff strategy. Just remember what had happened so far.

The Supreme Court struck down the initial duties, then he was using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, imposing 10 percent tariffs.

After that, in the response, he went to Section 122 of the Trade Act for the Balance of Payments. He had 150-day limit, which expired today. So now

we've gone to Section 301.

The response to what the Trump administration says are forced labor issues. Jake Tapper asked the trade rep why this justification wasn't used sooner.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMIESON GREER, U.S. TRADE REPRESENTATIVE: So for over a hundred years, the United States has had a law on the books prohibiting the import of goods

made with forced labor. This is common sense, and we've enforced this law to prohibit it.

What seems like common sense, I think, to you and me, others haven't done in other countries. No one really has these types of laws and even in that

small handful of countries that have them, they don't really enforce it.

And so we have gone to the world over, frankly, over years and across administrations to try to get other countries to act on this. Finally, we

have put our foot down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: Elizabeth Buchwald is with me to discuss this. They say that this is all about human rights and trafficking. But as I've just proven, you start

off with emergency, then you go to trade deficit. Now, we are on this. it is just a smokescreen for tariffs.

ELISABETH BUCHWALD, CNN BUSINESS ECONOMICS REPORTER: Yes, and it is a big question. What's next? And what I am thinking is this is only the start of

something. When Trump starts on this tariff spree, he doesn't seem to end. And earlier today, we also had him on Truth Social talking about doing new

tariffs on the E.U. from the investigation that they had or the fine that they had on Google earlier this week.

QUEST: That was a large fine. It is all about the digital single market and privacy and those issues, but what is the -- why is it -- I mean, is it to

raise money from these tariffs? Is it as a matter of philosophy? We know he loves tariffs. Why is he doing it this way now?

BUCHWALD: I wish I could answer that. I do think it is all the above. But why now? It seems like a really, really bad time to do it frankly because

you have midterms coming up and then you also have higher energy costs.

[16:10:09]

So stacking that with tariffs, that's not a pretty picture.

QUEST: Will these tariffs, bearing in mind that we've had 10 to 12 percent, 15 percent in some cases, we've had this for the last six months anyway in

the last year. There is no new inflationary effect of this announcement, is there?

BUCHWALD: That's correct. It is basically a carryover from what we had before. But there is, again, these slew of new tariffs. We saw the Canada

announcement earlier this week. When you put that into the picture and that is really only about five percent of U.S. imports. But the bigger question

is where does it stop with that one? Because that's calling into effect the ability to do things immediately again and we haven't had that since about

a year ago.

QUEST: And when we take the economic situation, you know, there used to be -- I am old enough to remember in the old days when it was in the summer,

selling may go away, but a relaxed summer's afternoon that just doesn't exist anymore.

BUCHWALD: I sure wish it did, but it is lovely here. I am seeing people at the bars over there, they are having a nice Friday afternoon.

QUEST: Well, I am sorry, I haven't got an ice cream for you, but go and have a drink. Tell them Richard sent you.

BUCHWALD: I will.

QUEST: Put it on my tab. Thank you very much. Thank you for joining us.

Now, the Yale Budget Lab crunched the numbers on these latest tariffs. It says the average tariff rate now stands at over 11 percent and the cost of

U.S. households is $1,100.00 a year. Over the next 10 years, the tariffs are expected to raise nearly $2 trillion in revenue for the U.S.

government.

John Ricco is the associate director of policy at Yale Budget Labs with me now.

John, do you think this is about raising money? Is it merely philosophical? Is it redressing? What is the perceived, aggrieved wrongs of the past?

JOHN RICCO, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF POLICY, YALE BUDGET LABS: Well, I don't know that there is any one justification for these tariffs. I don't think

there is any one goal. We've heard many different explanations over the last 18 months now. And so, you know, at the Budget Lab, we don't really

try to dig into that, we just try to look at the numbers.

And when you look at where the tariff situation was yesterday under one legal regime and under one justification and where it is today, 24 hours

later, under a different legal regime and a different justification, it is very similar. We are looking at average tariff rates of about 11 percent.

QUEST: So we are, in a sense, even stevens, as they say, between the regime that has just expired and what has been introduced. I mean, there is always

the potential for more tariffs to come down the road. But if you just compare pari passu, it is pretty much equal.

RICCO: Yes, that's right, but that's just looking at the most recent history. I think it is important to also contextualize this by going back

to the beginning of the year, right before the Supreme Court acted, that rate was up from 11 percent, near 14 percent. So what that means is that

the post SCOTUS ruling actions have not fully filled the gap in terms of the overall burden of tariffs on the economy.

Now, that said, as you alluded to, there are additional scheduled tariffs coming down the pike on pharmaceuticals, on Canada, an additional

investigations ongoing and so, it is very possible we end up at the end of 2026 at a similar position to where we were at the beginning of 2026.

QUEST: Are we essentially now all imports to the United States are in some shape or form being tariffed? And as I understood from the announcement

with Canada, even some goods that should be exempt by USMCA are tariffed.

RICCO: Yes, so the base is relatively broad, especially now that we have permanency on this broader blanket tariff on top of the sort of industry or

product specific, so-called national security tariffs these days.

Now, you're right to point out that the Canada tariffs earlier this week did break with the precedent from earlier parts of this regime, which have

generally exempted Canadian imports under this free trade agreement and that's not in this new tariff, so that remains to be seen.

QUEST: Right now, I just want to just put this in perspective for the dear viewer, compare the tariff regime today with, if you will, the old days

before any of this liberation day started.

[16:15:07]

I see numbers suggesting tariffs are the highest they've been since X, Y, Z. But you're the expert. How much higher are tariffs than what they were?

RICCO: I mean, they are as high as they've been in close to a century. I mean this is the, I think we can get bogged down in these details about oh,

the rate was this yesterday and it was this back in March and it has gone up or down.

But, you know, going into 2025, the overall tariff rate was a couple of percent, maybe two or three percent and now, we are in constant double

digit figures. And so regardless of what happens at the margins for some of these tweaks, some of these authorities, we are looking it structurally

different.

QUEST: Good. Thank you, sir. We will talk many more times and I am always grateful for the Boston Lab.

Thank you, sir.

Now, as we continue tonight, just look over my shoulder. If I look this way, you can see this has been the most massive development in the middle

of the Hudson River. Why are they doing it? Well, if you look from the roof, you can see the size and scale of this $16 billion project. That roof

shot, by the way, is coming from Hudson Yards, where our studios are. They can actually see me if I was to stand outside and we were to zoom in, you'd

be able to see me giving you a wave somewhere over there. You'd have to look pretty sharply, though.

QUEST MEANS BUSINESS, tonight, we are live from Hudson River.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: So there you have rush hour in the Hudson River. Those are the boats this morning. Ships of all sizes crisscrossing New York's famous waterway.

You've got the East River on the one side and the Hudson over here and underneath the water, even more activity.

One of the largest infrastructure projects is currently underway. It is part of a $16 billion construction project. They are building a rail

tunnel, revamping one of the most congested rail corridors in the United States.

Part of the existing infrastructure, 110 years old. There are delays left, right and center and so behind me, what they are doing is the preliminary

work to build the tunnel that in the future will make the whole business of getting from one side to the other.

[16:20:17]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

QUEST (voice over): Drilling, boring and beeping right in the middle of the Hudson River. These cranes and giant machines are literally laying the

groundwork in the Hudson riverbed, under which a new tunnel will run. When completed, it will carry the busiest passenger rail line in the country.

The Northeast Corridor runs all the way from the capital, Washington, D.C., up to Boston. Sure, there is already a tunnel. The problem? It is 116 years

old and the North River Tunnel has deteriorated over the years, especially after floodwaters from Superstorm Sandy in 2012 caused widespread damage.

The North River Tunnel has become a source of major delays for the roughly 200,000 Amtrak and New Jersey Transit Rail passengers taking the journey

each day. So the answer, rehabilitate the old and build anew.

The Hudson Tunnel will have two additional train tubes through the riverbed. They will run along the nine miles of new rails by 2035. This $16

billion project is not without controversy.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: The project in New York, it is billions and billions of dollars that Schumer has worked 20

years to get. It is terminated.

QUEST (voice over): The Trump administration indefinitely froze federal funding back in October. The feud finally ended when a federal judge

stopped The White House effort.

So rest assured, this major relief for northeast commuters, along with helping the U.S. economy, is well on its way and will be ready in less than

a decade.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

QUEST (on camera): Now, I have been absolutely fascinated by this barge ever since it first propped up and showed up in the Hudson River. So for

the last two years from my office and from the QUEST MEANS BUSINESS office, I have been able to look down from Hudson Yards and I have seen this

massive thing move from the middle of the river, over, over, closer and closer to shore while they are digging a tunnel just over yonder down

below.

And I wondered what on earth are they doing?

The group overseeing the project told me they are stabilizing the river so they can build the new train tunnel. We just heard about. It is the gateway

development commissions chief engineer and the chief of program, and they explained it. It was wonderful.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM STARACE, CHIEF OF PROGRAM DELIVERY, GATEWAY DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE: There is a machine, an auger. Basically, it is a drill. It is a big eight-

foot diameter drill that drills into the riverbed.

As it withdraws from the riverbed, it injects a grout, a light concrete. And when you're done, you have circles. You have columns of strength and

soil. So the grout mixes with the soil into a lightweight concrete bed.

QUEST: Where is this thing?

HAMED NEJAD, CHIEF ENGINEER, GATEWAY DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE: You can't see it. So as you see, you have those silos that are with cement. as Jim

explained, you have these primary columns which are round. They go down all the way about 70 to 80 feet down to actually 10 to 12 feet bottom of the

tunnel invert that I showed you.

So they mix cement with the ground as they go down. In between and we are going to show them that we have these diamonds in between that are

basically secondaries that are the grout columns.

QUEST: See what is going on over there?

NEJAD: Yes. Well we've got -- so there, as I said, when we leave this, you have to leave about a 45 foot navigational channel for the river. As you're

doing this, the ground swells with the mix. So what they are doing is they are making sure they are cleaning that swell to make sure that they always

have a 35-foot for the eventually, because this is a ship channel and the ships go down. You have to have the 45 foot channels.

QUEST: What would happen if you didn't strengthen the riverbed like this?

STARACE: So, this is a shallower area because the tunnels are beginning to come up towards the shoreline and when the tunnel boring operation goes on,

it is based on pressure. The boring machine balances the pressure from inside the TBM, the Tunnel Boring Machine is a TBM to outside the soil.

[16:25:07]

If you hit soft spots and you're too shallow, you could have what is called blowout, which means the pressure is unbalanced and the pressure could blow

up essentially a void into the soil.

NEJAD: And it makes the tunnel operation much less riskier and easier to do due to the tunneling operation.

QUEST: Wow! That has to last at least a hundred years.

STARACE: Well, we are going to drill through it. So -- but that's temporary. This is temporary.

NEJAD: This is just making sure when we do the tunnel operation, everything goes smoothly.

QUEST: So you're drilling through this, it is not underneath it.

NEJAD: Through it. And then they are going to install the final lining, which will last a hundred years.

QUEST: So you're strengthening the entire area where the tunnel is going to go through, not just above it, the whole -- so you strengthen this massive

area and then you're going to tunnel right the way through, leaving it all nice and strengthened.

STARACE: Correct.

NEJAD: Correct.

QUEST: Do you get frustrated at how long these things take to do?

NEJAD: This is this is my sixth tunnel around the world. I usually get -- I always say that by the time I was at Middle East, Australia, Singapore and

everyone, yes, it is challenging, but that's what we are built for. We, engineers are built for challenges.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

QUEST: It was fascinating and as you can tell, the weather was truly awful on that particular day. There was lightning nearby. We only had about 25

minutes to film all of that, and we are very grateful with those who helped us to do it. It was an amazing day out on the barge.

QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. It is a Summer Friday. You're well aware we celebrate our summers.

Over there by the way, is the west side heliport. That's where the rich, the famous and the sightseers, they will all land their helicopters. One is

about to depart. I think I can hear one about to arrive.

QUEST MEANS BUSINESS live tonight from the Hudson River and there she is.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:30:23]

QUEST: Hello, I am Richard Quest. You have a lot more QUEST MEANS BUSINESS in a moment.

We are going to be talking about one of the most remarkable moments in aviation history, right here. It's the Miracle on the Hudson.

And I'll be joined by the river keepers, those who keep the water clean, fresh as we can be, but only after we have had the news headlines, because

this is CNN, and on this network, the news always comes first.

European Union officials are expressing surprise at the new tariffs announced by Donald Trump. The U.S. president said the duties are to punish

nations that use forced labor to make cheap products.

However, European officials say those claims are utterly unfounded, and Mr. Trump says he is considering even more tariffs on the E.U. as punishment

for fines recently imposed on U.S. high-tech companies.

The International Criminal Court member states have reportedly voted to dismiss the court's chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, according to Reuters and

the Associated Press, and they cite diplomatic sources.

Mr. Khan has been facing allegations of sexual misconduct. He has repeatedly denied the accusations against him.

U.S. aviation official authorities are investigating an emergency landing off the coast of Washington State. A seaplane carrying 11 people went down

in the water on Thursday, erupting into flames. Everyone on board was rescued and taken to hospital. One person is said to be in a critical

condition.

Now, that seaplane landing we just showed you invokes one of the most remarkable sights ever seen right here on the Hudson. It was the miracle on

the Hudson.

2009 January, Captain Sully Sullenberger was flying a U.S. Airways jet with 155 people on board. As you can see, the plane had hit a flock of geese,

and both engines were lost. Sullenberger said he had no choice but to land on the Hudson River. It's a maneuver that saved the lives of everyone on

board, and Sullenberger was hailed as a hero.

And looking at our other camera shot, it was just around over there where it all took place on the Hudson River.

Now, in the world of aviation, let's stay with that. The days of choosing between business and economy on airlines have gone. Now, two more carriers

are subdividing the fare tiers. United says it will start selling the economy plus seats with extra elbow room later this year. Essentially, they

are the window aisle seats in a row, and they are going to block the middle seats. Very similar to way European -- euro business class is done.

And Lufthansa in Europe is making the first-row seat in business class to any traveler at a premium economy -- in premium.

Economy, travelers can reserve a seat all the way at the back of the plane. You can have the front or the back. The back one comes at a lower price.

Brian Sumers is the founder and editor of the Airline Observer is with me now.

What's the game here? We have already subdivided the cabin between business, premium, economy, plus economy. You have even got these now

studios at the front row of business class. How much more can you divide the whole cabin?

BRIAN SUMERS, EDITOR, THE AIRLINE OBSERVER: Well, first of all, Richard, thanks for having me.

But the game here is to make money. We know that people love to hate airlines, but in the best years, it's like seven, eight, nine percent

operating margins, and this is not the best year.

So, you have a lot of airlines: Lufthansa and United, among them, that are looking under the couch cushions for as much money as they can find, and

they know that people value certain seats on the airplane more than others.

So, they are just slicing and dicing the cabin to get you and me and everybody else to pay more for what we were getting for free or very

cheaply in the past.

QUEST: The United, in one is interesting, because essentially, they have already got their economy plus with six extra -- or three extra inches of

legroom or whatever it is.

[16:35:03]

And they are basically creating a European business class at the front of economy. And Lufthansa's charging less for the back row.

SUMERS: Yes, the Lufthansa or the United one is a little bit interesting, because you know, Richard, the FAA in the United States requires airlines

to have a certain number of flight attendants per passenger. The magic number being 50. So, 150 seats.

United is taking an airplane that probably should have 152 seats, blocking a middle seat in one row, taking it down to 150.

For Lufthansa, this is just a money grab. Different airline, somebody that we know very well, Ben Smith, the CEO of Air France-KLM, once told me when

I --

I complained about this. Right? Because just like you, I want my seat for free. He said, Brian, if somebody values something, they will pay for it.

And a lot of people like getting off the airplane first, and Lufthansa says if you're going to be cheap, Richard, you got to sit in the back.

QUEST: I want to quickly turn direction. Saadia Zahidi, the new has been announced. The lady from the -- from the World Economic Forum. I just

suddenly thought about this question, so, forgive we were just springing it upon you. But you saw the announcement. I'm sure.

So, they go -- IATA is no longer going to have an airline CEO as its director general after Willie Walsh. They have gone for somebody, the

managing director of the World Economic Forum.

This is a very -- I mean, an extremely competent lady who is very, very, very experienced in policy, issues, knows nothing I believe about in terms

of the detail on aviation, but is going to be running IATA. A very interesting move.

SUMERS: Yes. This is an interesting move, Richard.

As long as I've been doing this, and probably as long as you have been doing this, which is longer, IATA has gone for shall we say a former, which

is to say a former airline CEO, usually a white man in his 60s or 70s that can backslap the other CEOs, tell everybody they are doing a great job. I

really like this decision to move outside the industry.

I've been covering this a very long time. I get it. Airlines are very technical. A lot of us have been working in the industry for a long time.

But let's be honest here, Richard. It's not rocket science. If people have a good education, if they want to learn, they can figure it out, and I hope

that's what happens here.

QUEST: And the interesting thing is, of course, the IATA members and the IATA board, they love to turn on the person that they have just appointed.

It didn't really happen to Willie Walsh in the early days, but they love to go after the person.

It's going to be interesting because we -- Saadia is been on this program, and she is not going to be -- she's going to give them a run for their

money because she does, under -- she may not understand and may not have run a vast enterprise, but she does understand policy at the very highest

levels.

SUMERS: Yes, she does, and I joke about this, but I think it's true. I always liken IATA because it's a worldwide trade group with almost every

airline in the world to the United Nations.

So, you have what? About 200 countries at the U.N., for various reasons they don't agree on anything. Why would airline CEOs, somebody from Asia,

somebody from Europe, somebody from South America, different size airlines, government-run airlines, public airlines, why would they agree on anything?

So, they all sit in these rooms, and you have probably been in them just like I have. And they just kind of argue and make fun of each other,

because they really don't agree on that much.

(CROSSTALK)

QUEST: Right.

Thank you, Brian. Lovely. Wish you were here with me, here on the pier, but you are not. So, I'll have an ice cream without you. Thank you, sir, for

joining us.

Now, and when we come back after the break, bobbing around on the water just over there that you can see, going for a sail on the beautiful waters

of the Hudson, it seems like an ideal that's out of the reach for many people.

I'll be talking to the head of the group working to make all of this accessible to anybody here in New York. QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:42:22]

QUEST: Yes, but you come with the camera.

Greetings! It is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS on a summer Friday from New York's Hudson River waterfront.

The explorer Henry Hudson first sailed past this spot in 1609. I would give -- I give a week salary to know what he would say if he could see it all

now. I'm safe saying that.

Searching -- Henry Hudson was searching in vain for a passage to the Pacific. I hate to tell you, sir, but you are on the wrong side of the

country.

What he found instead was this magnificent harbor and a vast trade route to the North American continent.

So, now, you have the shipping piers that once lined Hudson, used mainly for recreation, and the only sailboats left navigate the river for fun.

So, you have the Hudson River Community Sailing. It's a non-profit works with New York City public schools to teach students how to sail, and it's

all here at Pier 66.

Robert Burke is with me, the executive director of the -- of the community Sailing. Good to see you,

sir.

ROBERT BURKE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, HUDSON RIVER COMMUNITY SAILING: Thanks for coming. Thanks for having us.

QUEST: These are your boats.

BURKE: These are our boats. Yes.

QUEST: How many did you have?

BURKE: We have 25 of those boats -- those J-boats. Yes.

QUEST: Right. Right. And who is using them mainly?

BURKE: Well, we -- as you said, we work with public schools. We have 14 public schools that we partner with. We also have a program for veterans.

We have a program for the general public. There can be membership. We try to bring it all together in one community. That's our goal.

QUEST: What is the -- What is the goal here with them?

BURKE: The goal is that there are wonderful learning tools. You learn about this beautiful river, they learn about the science, the ecology, all those

things. They learn how to be a team. You know, you make these boats move with three or four people. They learn a lot about the sciences that go

into, the physical sciences, the weather. Yes, they are great, great learning tools.

And that's part of what we do is create a learning community for all these different people to get together.

QUEST: I have to say, I have had a couple of sailing lessons, most unsuccessfully.

BURKE: OK.

QUEST: I have to say. Most unsuccessfully.

BURKE: We can fix that.

QUEST: Most unsuccessfully. I'm not a very good sailor. But it is a phenomenon that's really quite beautiful, isn't it?

Because you do have -- to not only work as a team, but the counterintuitive how to get -- how to get from there to the other side when the wind's

blowing in the wrong direction.

BURKE: Correct. Yes, you do. And we understand things that Henry Hudson didn't understand. So, we can go up into the wind. And these boats are

pretty sleek, and they move pretty well, and that helps a lot. So --

QUEST: How many people do you -- do you put through this?

BURKE: Well, we have like 3,000 or 4,000 people who go out with us sailing on the Hudson every year.

[16:45:05]

BURKE: But that youth program, that's all year round, really deep, lots of trips, lots of curriculum. We have 250 students a year, you know, with

that, and they stay with it for four years, go on to college, and then, they come back and they teach people like you how to sail.

QUEST: Good luck.

BURKE: Yes.

QUEST: Good luck with that.

It is a magnificent day. Do you -- and obviously, when there is ice, you don't. But do you do this in winter?

BURKE: We do very, very little of this in winter. It's not a good idea to be --

(CROSSTALK)

QUEST: Oh, you are fair weather sailors.

BURKE: We are -- we are -- we are. Yes.

QUEST: Fair weather!

BURKE: We have to come over to the other side of the pond to really experience that winter, even in the summertime. Right?

QUEST: Don't worry, I won't -- I won't be here in winter.

BURKE: And the idea, I guess, what would you say in terms of personal development of those who are involved? And I'm guessing, of course, because

it's the public schools, it's a range of socio-economic classes. It's a range of intelligence. It's a range of people.

BURKE: That's -- our goal is to get to a range where they are not going to be sailing, they are not going to go on boats unless we are there to help.

And so, that that's our goal. And what -- the confidence that you build to be able to navigate these waters, to be able to deal with, you know, a

project like this, to be able to talk to other things. That's what we look for.

We build -- we build leaders through the boats, and then, we build a real inquiry into how this -- how the science of this river and this place

works.

So, that's our goal, for sure. But they can teach you how to sail. I'm quite sure of it.

QUEST: Well, so, next time we go out on one of these.

BURKE: Yes, come on back. I think we can do the whole show right from one of our boats.

QUEST: Oh, don't challenge us on that.

We -- the producers are going no, but I am saying what a good idea, sir.

BURKE: All right.

QUEST: Thank you for joining.

BURKE: Come back again.

QUEST: Thank you very much indeed, sir.

Now, this is the most extraordinary place. What was now a beautiful place to sail is -- was once a working waterfront. Full of factories, full of

pollution.

We are going to look at the ongoing effort to restore the Hudson River's natural splendor. We are going to find out how dirty is that water after

the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: They are about five minutes too late in terms of the big boss talking to us. But they are now waving, and the boat is coming in.

[16:50:00]

That is one of the boats from the river crossings -- from the river.

Now, welcome back to Pier 66 on New York's Hudson River waterfront.

For decades, the river was an industrial sewer. Yes, factories along its banks routinely dumped industrial waste and dangerous chemicals into the

water. A push to clean up the Hudson began in the 1960s. It wasn't until 84 when the EPA designated 200 miles of its length a superfund site that

kicked into high gear.

The years-long effort would take the Hudson from a state of neglect to one of the most carefully monitored rivers in the United States.

And Riverkeeper is an advocacy group started by a fisherman, been at the forefront of it ever since. Its President Tracy Brown is with me.

Tracy, how wonderful to have you!

TRACY BROWN, PRESIDENT, RIVERKEEPER: Thank you for having me.

QUEST: Thank you very much. Let's just get brass knottle stuff. How clean is it?

BROWN: It's cleaner than it's been in over a century. The water quality varies depending on if the tide's coming in from the Atlantic Ocean or

coming down from the rest of the system, and whether or not it's raining.

QUEST: Can I swim in it?

BROWN: You can swim in it so long as it hasn't rained for 24 hours.

QUEST: Oh, So, the rain doesn't sort of dilute the sewage; the rain will bring more of it down.

BROWN: Yes. So, we have a very old combined sewer system at 60 percent of the city. So, every time it rains, some part of that system is discharging

untreated sewage and the rain into the waterways. Yes.

QUEST: And what about toxins from factories and things and the old -- you know, chemicals? Has that all been cleared out?

BROWN: For the most part, in terms of the active dumping of industrial waste, that has stopped. We do still have some serious legacy contaminants

from the bad old days, like the PCBs that you referenced.

We also have a couple superfund sites on the East River that we are still working to clean up.

QUEST: So, how would you describe the quality of the water?

BROWN: I swim in the Hudson River.

(CROSSTALK)

QUEST: You do.

BROWN: Every chance I get north of here in Westchester. I would swim here on a dry day, given the chance. But you just have to be smart. You have to

know. And the nice thing about getting in the river, if you are paddling or sailing or swimming, is it starts that virtuous feedback cycle that you

fall in love with it, and then you want to protect it more.

QUEST: Right. So, when we are talking about swimming in the river or getting into the water, to the extent -- I mean, it's not an open sewer

like it was 40 years ago, hundred years ago.

BROWN: No, no. I mean, but New York City, not to let them off the hook. New York City needs to do better, and there is no reason to have a modern city

like New York that doesn't have enough wastewater treatment capacity to take care of the sewage we are producing, and that is still the state of

affairs in New York City.

So, we need to do better. To give you a sense of scale, every year the equivalent of 72 Empire State Buildings full of sewage is dumped into the

Hudson through our combined sewer system. It's a profound problem.

QUEST: You just took me off my lunch or my dinner -- or my dinner. But that -- but the ability to enjoy it with recreational craft is very important,

isn't it?

BROWN: Yes, and this -- you know, I know, you are here talking about infrastructure. We had a plan years ago in the 80s to build a highway along

the side of the Hudson, right here where we now have this beautiful Hudson River Park that is so popular with bikes and kayaking and data gathering.

So, it's really important in these critical moments that we build the right infrastructure and projects that are less disruptive to the river to

continue that recreation trajectory.

QUEST: Ultimately, what more do you need?

BROWN: Well, we need people to prioritize wastewater, to think about sewage infrastructure, to vote for investments in that when we have a chance to

set priorities, and just to continue to get to know this river and build the relationship and take pride as we progress in its recovery.

QUEST: It's a phenomenal -- and you know, the thing I was thinking: the Hudson River Park --

(CROSSTALK)

BROWN: Yes.

QUEST: It took a lifetime to get done.

BROWN: Yes.

QUEST: And we can arguably say it should have been done a lot sooner. But it was done, and it is one of the greatest attractions, I think, in New

York City. Whether it's winter, summer, or fall. What do you think?

BROWN: Yes. I think it's been transformational to have this. And to -- you know, people live in New York City, it's an archipelago. 40 islands. And a

lot of them don't have any relationship with the water. So, unless we can create parks and access points for people to get out and see the water, we

are not going to really make them stewards of it. So, this type of project is critical.

QUEST: I'm very grateful for you coming in. Thank you very much.

BROWN: Thank you.

QUEST: I tell you what. One day, I'll go for a swim with you.

BROWN: OK. deal. Let's do it. Let's do it. I would love that.

QUEST: What have I just agreed? What have I just agreed to?

BROWN: We will make sure its dry weather. We will take care of you.

QUEST: Thank you very much, indeed.

BROWN: OK.

QUEST: Thank you, much.

I want to leave you with a look at the markets before --

Thank you very much for joining us. Thank you.

[16:55:02]

Now, it was a mixed day on the markets to end the week. The Dow closed up 200 points. The S&P was pretty much flat.

Looking at the Dow component stocks, the chip stocks fared relatively poorly on Friday. Nvidia fell around one percent. Put it all together, and

we will take a profitable moment after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: Just look at that. I mean, it really doesn't get much better. A perfect day here in New York. Not too hot, not too cold. The weather is

spectacular for a summer Friday. And we are doing a summer Friday. It is our profitable -- tonight's "PROFITABLE MOMENT", which tonight comes from

the Hudson River.

Behind me, you can see the big barges that are one of the parts of the project for the Hudson River development. The idea is that this tunnel that

will build two tracks -- two train tracks for New Jersey Transit and Amtrak, $16 billion worth of infrastructure.

It is the largest project of its kind at the moment. The complexity, as we hope to have shown you tonight of what they are doing is phenomenal. They

have got to strengthen the river base, they have got to deal with all sorts of technical issues, and the political machinations for the tri-state area:

New Jersey, New York, Connecticut. Not helped by an administration that pulled the plug on the funding.

When we went to the barge, it was an awful day, truly awful. But do you know something? One was so impressed by the magnificence of the engineering

feat that you just had to be in wonderment at what they were doing.

So often we spend time talking about the failures of projects, and yes, I can wax lyrical about how long it's taken?

[17:00:01]

This should have been built a hundred years ago. They are still arguing about who is paying for it, and it's not going to open until I have

retired, and -- well, who knows if I will even still be here. That doesn't matter.

The fact is, it's being done and we can celebrate infrastructure in the good old-fashioned way.

And that's our summer Friday. QUEST MEANS BUSINESS for tonight.

I am Richard Quest, along the Hudson River.

Whatever you are up to in the hours ahead, I hope it's profitable.

I am in Portugal next week, I will see you when I get back.

END