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Quest Means Business

Oil Soars As U.S. Midterm Elections Approach; U.S. To Remove 50 Percent Tariffs On Some Canadian Goods; Incumbent President Faces Former Bulgarian Prime Minister In Presidential Vote; Israel Begins Demolitions In West Bank After Gun Attack; Fresh Violence In West Bank Ahead Of Israeli Elections; NFL Cancels Fan Event In Paris Before Sunday's Game; Saving A Keystone Species Along The Coast Of North America. Stock Markets Question A.I. Valuations. Aired 4-5p

Aired October 23, 2026 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:13]

PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: So that's how it is going to end, huh? Down 660 points. I mean look, given the kind of volatility in the

market, it is not a bad way to go into the weekend. The other indices were also down, but not as much as the Dow, you see them there.

Those are the markets, and these are the main events.

You can dispute the polls, but not the price at the pump, and that could be spelling trouble for Republicans 11 days out from the midterms, and oil

prices are at the highest they've been in months.

President Trump is said to be dropping tariffs on some Canadian goods, hoping to boost a Senate candidate in Maine.

And Europe's election super cycle, it gets underway this weekend. We will hear from one of the candidates running to become Bulgaria's next

president.

Live from New York. It is Friday, October 23rd. I am Paula Newton in for Richard Quest, and this is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.

So tonight, oil prices are soaring right now at some of their highest levels in months with the U.S. Midterm election just less than two weeks

away. Now, Brent crude is now trading at more than $116.00 a barrel. You see it there. West Texas Intermediate, WTI between you and I, is also above

$100.00. Investors are reacting to reports that the U.S. and Israel may resume attacking Iran after the midterms.

Now high energy prices have made things very difficult for President Trump. The Republican Party is bracing for major election losses in Congress. A

CNN poll released this week gave Democrats a 10-point lead nationwide.

President Trump's own approval rating now is sitting at a low of 32 percent. The war with Iran and the resulting high energy prices are some of

the reasons why.

Adam Cancryn is in Fort Myers, Florida, where the President is campaigning.

I mean, look, this is his home state and a place where normally you'd expect Republicans to do really well, and yet there he is behind you,

trying to rally the troops.

In terms of what we are seeing, how much is this still in voters' minds, the high oil prices and of course, the tariffs as well.

ADAM CANCRYN, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, Paula, look, put it simply, this is the dominant political story today, and it has been, frankly for

the last eight months since Trump went to war with Iran. We are in that war now. It is dragging out with no real end, and we've seen over and over the

repercussions here domestically in the U.S. Gas prices up, you have oil prices today at their highest highs since April.

And as a result, that has raised the price of pretty much everything else that people have to buy and rely on and you're seeing that frustration from

voters and anger in the polls. You just referenced it there, the generic ballot, Democrats up big. Trump's approval ratings down.

And it is evident, really in just the fact that Trump is here behind me. We are in Florida, a deep red district, a state that's gone reliably

Republican. And yet Trump, now 11 days out from the midterms, has to come down here to try to convince Republican voters who have been really

discouraged over the last few months that they should still come out and vote for the GOP once again.

We've seen this now near daily Trump going to places that used to be just kind of an easy one for Republicans. Iowa, Mississippi, he is going to on

Monday, and what that really tells us is the uphill battle that Republicans are fighting here now, just a couple of weeks out from the midterms.

They are trying their best, Trump is out here. He has been going for more than an hour, but it really is a major challenge, primarily because those

oil prices keep going up and showing no sign of abating -- Paula.

NEWTON: Yes, Adam, and as he is speaking there, I am wondering what you are hearing from people on the ground in Florida because again, it used to be a

reliably red state, and while some people dispute the polls, you can't dispute the President's calendar. He is heading to reliably -- what used to

be reliably Republican states.

CANCRYN: Yes, I mean, even when we see him going to swing states, so he is going to Michigan this weekend. He is staying in areas where Republicans

really kind of dominated politically. So you're not seeing what we've seen in the past with some midterms, with presidents who are a little bit more

popular than the current President is now, where they go to these swing districts and say, hey, look, everybody has got to turn out. Independents

have to come out for these candidates.

At this point, Trump isn't really even contesting those personally. They are hoping that he can just come into these red districts and juice the

turnout. That is really the main play that we are seeing from the President and his advisers at this late date.

[16:05:10]

NEWTON: Yes, and there are some analysts who still believe that this issue of trying to turn out the Republican vote still might really pull out some

miracles for the Republicans.

Adam, grateful to you being at the rally as we continue to monitor it.

Now, The White House says it is exempting some Canadian goods from U.S. tariffs ahead of the midterms. The decision was first announced by Senator

Susan Collins, the Maine incumbent caught in a tight race now for reelection.

Collins, celebrating the exemptions on X, saying she "... will continue working directly with administration officials for further relief."

Elisabeth Buchwald joins us now, a beat you follow oh so carefully. And you're going to tell us, right?

Collins had already lobbied for other exemptions to these tariffs. What did these mean though in large part though? Because we have heard from so many

Americans in other states as well, saying that look, these tariffs are hurting us and they are really raising prices.

ELISABETH BUCHWALD, CNN BUSINESS ECONOMICS REPORTER: Yes, it is an interesting thing because when you look at the data, I believe it is

somewhere around 0.5 percent of U.S. imports that were impacted by these Canadian tariffs, and the same goes for Canada on the U.S., but it gets

really personal for the industries that are impacted, and it just so happens to be that those industries are in Maine.

Now, Trump had already exempted seafood products were supposed to be, and that was a huge one. Obviously, lobster, huge import of Maine and Canada

also, back and forth. They had different moves going on there. But that got called back, and now we are seeing what is going on today, which is more so

on the packaging side of things, different product inputs that Senator Collins is saying for industries like blueberry farmers and others, the

cartons that they use to put blueberries in, they are going to see tariffs getting lowered there.

Now, will it matter before these midterms in 11 days? Not sure. There might be damage that's already done.

NEWTON: And we do have a statement from The White House on this. It does look like capitulation though for political purposes. As you said, we saw

in Ohio and Michigan today gas prices go up, not really knowing obviously to tariffs, but certainly to the two wars going on and to refinery issues.

Listen, there must be a message that The White House knows it is getting from voters.

BUCHWALD: Certainly, and I think it was notable that you were talking with Adam earlier, that yes, that they are going to reliably red states, or what

we used to think of as reliably red states. And they are having to make the case for why to vote Republican.

Now, I will also point to another statement The White House had when they were talking about these tariff changes. Senator Susan Collins was first to

announce it, but then they came out with a statement shortly before the show and explaining it, they said to continue to effectively offsetting the

burden of U.S. commerce while better serving the public interest, and then they went on to explain the tariff moves.

But I thought it was quite notable that they said that part about better serving the public interest, because normally when you see tariff changes

coming from the Trump administration, it is because they got some sort of concession from the other end. Here, we are not actually seeing Canada do

anything differently, but it seems that the Trump administration has to explain this out as, okay, we revisited this and we think, you know, maybe

we went a little too hard, but certainly reading between the lines, we here know that there is a midterm calendar.

NEWTON: Yes, and in fact, Elizabeth, I have been monitoring any kind of Canadian reaction, and no, this was not any kind of negotiation, it was

absolutely unilateral and there has not really been any reaction from the Canadian side as of yet.

Elizabeth, thanks so much. Really grateful to you for following up on that story as tariffs continue to be a headliner in a lot of races.

Elisabeth Buchwald for us in New York. Appreciate it.

Now, authorities in Jordan say at least seven people were killed when gunmen opened fire at a church in the Karak Province. Officials say they

are still searching for the attackers.

Shootings like this are incredibly rare in Jordan.

Jomana Karadsheh has more, and we want to warn you, some of the images are disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): CCTV video of an attack like no other in Jordan's history. Gunmen opening fire at a

church in the south of the country, just as mourners gathered for a funeral at the Greek Orthodox Church in this predominantly Christian town.

Dozens were injured or killed in what authorities are describing as an unprecedented terrorist attack on the country's Christian minority.

This cellphone video captures the horror and chaos inside the church, where the dead and injured lay in pools of blood.

Security forces launched a major operation pursuing the assailants, who fled the scene after what witnesses said was several minutes of continuous

gunfire. The Jordanian monarch, King Abdullah II, vowing "... the harshest retaliation" to this rare terrorist attack that sent shockwaves across a

country known for its stability in a turbulent region where its small Christian population has long felt protected and immune to the sort of

jihadi attacks that targeted Christians in neighboring countries.

[16:10:21]

The King, dressed in his military fatigues, visited the injured in hospital on Friday night. This survivor telling him "... after God, you are our

protector. This is our country and we will never, ever leave it."

For many Jordanians, Friday's attack on the church, they say, was an attack on the entire nation.

Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Okay, when we return, Bulgaria's presidential election will be held this Sunday. We will speak to independent candidate, Andrey Gyurov after

the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NEWTON: A super cycle of European elections is getting underway with the backdrop of the war in Ukraine, high inflation and surging parties on both

the right and the left. Spain's election is set for November 29th. France will hold a presidential election in April. That race has become even more

closely watched with the recent protests.

Several other European countries, you see them there, will soon hold elections. First up, though, is Bulgaria, where voters are heading to the

polls this weekend to decide the nation's president.

Tehe incumbent president, Iliana Iotova is facing off against her former caretaker, prime minister, Andrey Gyurov. President Iotova opposes further

military aid to Ukraine and is calling for a European-led peace proposal.

Gyurov backs stronger NATO alliances and military preparedness. If no candidate wins a majority, a runoff will take place on November 1st.

And Bulgarian presidential candidate, Andrey Gyurov joins us now from Sofia, Bulgaria.

Thank you so much. Welcome to the program.

ANDREY GYUROV, BULGARIAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Hi, Paula. Thanks for having me.

NEWTON: So let's start with what you say is quite a threat to Bulgaria right now. You say that the presidential office and we will point out to

our audience, it is normally a more ceremonial role. You're saying that you are -- someone like you is needed because Bulgaria, in your words, is

seeing a concentration of power that always bears the marks of a slide toward autocracy.

Can you articulate that risk a little bit more clearly for us?

[16:15:10]

GYUROV: Yes. sure. Let me elaborate a little bit on that. What we have in Bulgaria at the moment is really a concentration of power. Why? Because we

have one party which runs the government. It holds also an absolute majority in Parliament.

And my main opponent, the incumbent president, was for nine years, the Vice President of the current Prime Minister. So if we see her elected, we will

actually have no counterweight left at the top of the Bulgarian state.

NEWTON: And in terms of the risks --

GYUROV: So, In this situation --

NEWTON: Go ahead.

GYUROV: -- it is really important to have somebody who is a check on this government.

NEWTON: And I understand that that's you know, your platform and how you're running. I do want to bring our audience up-to-date, I mean, to remind

everyone, drones have hit four ships in attacks on the Black Sea in the last few weeks. It is very close to the Bulgarian Coast, 21, I believe,

still missing at this hour. Two vessels sank.

I mean, you say this is a test of European security, but Bulgaria is a member of NATO. Isn't the outcome of any test here quite clear? And there

is no suggestion that your Prime Minister is backing away from any NATO commitments.

GYUROV: Well, what we see at the moment is a real hesitation on the part of the government, and no real decisions and no other coordination with our

allies. In the past month, we have seen attacks on four ships, two of them sunk. We have sailors which were lost at sea, and one of the ships actually

sank less than 20 miles away from our shores.

So what is happening at the moment is that we see that insurers, for example, they treat almost the entire Black Sea as a war zone, and that

affects, of course, the security that the people feel, the sailors, the security in our ports, and also energy supplies, and eventually we see this

in every peoples grocery bill.

NEWTON: Do you have other concerns in terms of the Prime Minister? And if the leading, you know, candidate right now, if she is back in office as

president, do you fear that they will actually have a stand that is closer to Russia? I know they are very skeptical of continued support for Ukraine.

GYUROV: Well, what we have seen in recent months since the new government took over, we saw that Bulgaria was withdrawn from the Coalition of the

Willing. We said some -- we saw some announcements about help being withdrawn from sending, you know, for example, arms supplies to Ukraine,

and the result of that was not increased security, but it was an escalation of the attacks and the lack of cooperation with our allies. And that's

threatening not only Bulgarian security, but it is also threatening the whole security of the eastern flank.

And there are a number of mechanisms where Bulgaria can participate, and this can contribute significantly to our security situation. That would be

the eastern flank watch of the E.U. and the anti-drone systems and mechanisms of NATO, and the Bulgarian government only recently decided to

join this mechanism and that only happened after the second wave of attacks.

So to, too little, too late.

NEWTON: And yet given the strength of the Prime Minister and his political backing, are you hearing anything about this from Bulgarian voters? Because

they do not seem as concerned at this point in time, despite the fact that the Prime Minister wasn't even really willing to name Russia as, likely or

perhaps, you know, responsible for the drone attacks in the Black Sea.

GYUROV: Exactly. And that turns Bulgaria actually into the weak link in the eastern flank defense and that is why we see increased intensity of attacks

along our shores and, of course, that's an issue that concerns many people.

I saw some sociology data on T.V. today, and it is saying that less than 20 percent of the people actually agree with the policy of the government as

concerns the Black Sea security and, there is a lot of uncertainty and people with whom we speak on the campaign trail, we spent the last month

visiting more than 200 villages and cities, and all the people say we see - - we feel uncertain, we feel unprotected, and we cannot plan our future.

[16:20:07]

We cannot plan, you know, the next months, our bills, and we don't know what is happening, and when people feel uncertain, they don't only put off

their purchases, they put off their lives.

All right, we will leave it there for now, but of course, watch the Bulgarian election with interest. Thanks so much for being on the program.

GYUROV: Thank you.

NEWTON: Now, of course, we also invited the Bulgarian president, Iliana Iotova, on the show to discuss her views on the election race. However, she

was unavailable to join.

Now, voters in Brazil are also heading to the polls this weekend. In a few hours, the final debate will take place between the two presidential

candidates. Polls show Flavio Bolsonaro and President Lula da Silva are running neck and neck ahead of Sunday's runoff.

Bolsonaro, a right-wing senator and ally of President Trump, led the first two rounds, pardon me, the first round by nearly two points. His father,

you'll know, is former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is now in prison for plotting to overturn the last election. It has fueled some interesting

moments in this year's presidential debates. Take a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(FLAVIO BOLSONARO speaking in foreign language)

TRANSLATION: Lula, with you, crime has exploded in Brazil. In fact, you explain why 75 percent of inmates voted for you?

(PRESIDENT LULA DA SILVA speaking in foreign language.)

TRANSLATION: I wish it were 100 percent, including your father. Your father can vote for me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: CNN Brasil correspondent, Priscilla Yazbek joins us now from New York.

It must have been interesting to watch that debate in real time. You never underestimate Lula. We've all learned that.

But I am wondering what you are hearing from Brazilian's right now, because I was actually kind of surprised. The last conversation you and I had, we

kind of assumed that the polls would go in the other direction, leaning more towards Bolsonaro, but this is really a close race.

PRISCILLA YAZBEK, CNN BRASIL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, exactly, Paula. It is a very tight race, and the most recent polls show that Jair Bolsonaro is

ahead, but with a narrow lead by like one to four point percentage points over Lula, and this is a technical tie.

So it is too close to call this race finished yet, and it is very unpredictable what will happen in Sunday.

Flavio finished ahead in the first round with 47 percent of the votes, and Lula had around 45 percent of the votes, and the turnout could make all the

difference because 33 million Brazilians didn't go to vote, even though the vote is mandatory in Brazil.

And Flavio has promised tax cuts, tighter control of government spending and hard line policies against organized crime, and Lula has another

approach. He has campaigned promising to expand social programs, raise the minimum wage above inflation and improve workers' rights.

And there is a difference between the two candidates, if we think about the relationship between the U.S. and Brazil, a Flavio Bolsonaro victory could

bring Brazil -- that is the largest economy in Latin America, closer to the Trump administration politically. Flavio Bolsonaro has met with Trump in

The White House earlier in May, and he has signaled that he could try to use his relationship with Trump to try and get a better trade agreements,

also with the tariffs, but making concessions like in critical mineral sectors.

While Lula, probably would maintain a more independent foreign policy. He has also said -- he has already said that Brazil is nobody's backyard, and

he has defended Brazil's sovereignty. But this doesn't mean that Brazil is not negotiating with the U.S. Both countries are having talks because of

the tariffs and these should continue.

So it is a very polarized election, and the Brazilians will choose between two different paths not only in internal affairs, but also in this

relationship with Trump, and also it is important to say that if Flavio Bolsonaro wins, he is a right-wing politician, and this will be the eighth

country in Latin America with a right-wing politician elected.

And Flavio has already said that he would join the Shield of Americas, that is the initiative from Trump administration to fight the drug cartels. If

he is elected, so this could also lead to more broad influence of Trump administration in the region.

[16:25:10]

And this is related also to the Donroe Doctrine from Trump administration. So I think that this could lead to closer ties, but, as I said, it is very

unpredictable this moment what will happen on Sunday.

NEWTON: It has been a tumultuous decade for Brazilian politics, and again, another tumultuous weekend coming up. We will follow it very closely.

Thanks so much. We really appreciate your insights.

YAZBEK: Thank you.

NEWTON: Now, potential protesters spoiling some fanfare ahead of an NFL game in France this weekend. Up next, we discuss how French authorities are

preparing.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NEWTON: Hello, I am Paula Newton, and there is more QUEST MEANS BUSINESS in a moment when France is bracing for another weekend of protests, as two NFL

teams will be in town to play a game. We will have a look at those preparations.

And SK Hynix says it has put on hold a potential IPO of its U.S. based unit. Shares in the South Korean chipmaker have plunged in the past month.

Before that, though, the headlines this hour.

Israeli troops are going house to house in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron, saying they are imposing a "full siege" after a Palestinian gunman

killed two Israeli soldiers at a military checkpoint. Two gunmen were shot dead by troops.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is vowing to destroy what he calls terrorist infrastructure as Israeli forces search for anyone connected to

that attack.

Jordan's King calls a mass shooting at a church a terrorist act, saying those responsible will face the harshest retaliation. Authorities say at

least seven people were killed after gunmen opened fire during a Christian funeral service in the southern Karak province. A manhunt for the gunman is

still underway.

[16:30:01]

Thomas Markle, father of Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, has been accused of possessing a large collection of images showing child sex abuse.

The Duchess released a statement on Friday saying she is deeply disturbed by the accusations. Her brother said he found the images at their father's

home and on his computer in The Philippines. Thomas Markle denies all the allegations.

And we do want to get more on that West Bank attack. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is vowing to destroy what he calls terrorist strongholds

in the city of Hebron and Palestinian refugee camps elsewhere.

This renewed violence comes ahead of Israeli elections on Tuesday. Anshel Pfeffer is the Israel correspondent for The Economist, and he joins me now.

I'm wondering how all of this was received because even from Netanyahu, this was quite a forceful reaction, and I will get to how this will play

into the election in a moment.

But firstly, what can you see as the goal of what Netanyahu kind of started as an operation, really within minutes that he had heard of this attack?

ANSHEL PFEFFER, ISRAEL CORRESPONDENT THE ECONOMIST: Well, he spoke about an operation, but that operation, at least as he -- as he described it, isn't

happening. It's -- there is some search and destroy operation happening in the area near where the -- where the attack in which two Israeli soldiers

were killed this morning. But it's currently very small scale.

Netanyahu, as often in the past, speaks a big -- speaks up a big game, but there isn't really the forces there to carry out a wide scale operation in

the city of Hebron.

Hebron is a population of over a quarter of a million, just in the city itself, hundreds of thousands or more in the outlying suburbs.

The Israeli army is simply too overextended on so many fronts in Gaza, in Lebanon, Syria, across the West Bank for that kind of operation. And I know

it sounds as if what Netanyahu is describing is very drastic, but we have to remember this is four days before the Israeli election, and talk during

elections is cheap.

NEWTON: It is a good point, which I'm sure voters in Israel are shrewd enough to see past. And yet, security remains a top issue in this election.

Has any party or government really proven that they have an actionable plan to keep Israelis safe?

Because, you know, this is still a nation traumatized and yet going into elections.

PFEFFER: Yes, very much. This is the -- at the center of the election campaign, the trauma that Israelis have had now for just over three years

since the October 7th attack, the day in which their security forces, their government failed them so spectacularly, and that trauma hasn't yet been

processed, because there has been no, no real reckoning of that failure of that day. There has been no commission of inquiry, and Israel ever since

has been embroiled on fighting on -- in -- fighting on multiple fronts, and none of these fronts have been resolved by the Israeli government.

Now, Netanyahu's pitch to the electorate is that you have to stick with me and continue trusting in me because I'm the only one who can finally end

this, and I'll end it by toppling the regime in Iran, and that will solve all of Israel's problems.

And his opponents are saying, well, that's not realistic. But you are right, none of them are really presenting a coherent plan of how to solve

Israel's security issues.

NEWTON: And I am wondering if you could just state the obvious here. Why prime minister didn't actually set a date for anything? Any commission of

inquiry or anything like that.

I can imagine so many people would have wanted this to have started six months ago, or at least for him to say, if I'm re-elected, we will get this

done in six months.

PFEFFER: When it's raised, we are demanding this already three years ago, in the immediate aftermath of October 7th.

(CROSSTALK)

NEWTON: Understood. Understood.

PFEFFER: But since the -- but since -- what happened in Gaza was both a failure of the security forces and the chiefs of the security services have

all since resigned. But it's more than anything else a failure of an ongoing strategy of years and decades of Netanyahu to allow Hamas to

entrench itself in the Gaza Strip, splitting the Palestinian leadership between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

And this is -- this was a policy that Netanyahu was very open about for so many years, and then, it blew up in Israelis' faces. So, I think a

commission of inquiry is certainly not in his interest, and that's why he is been evading it ever since.

NEWTON: But he must feel that electoral victory is still possible without it. I mean, look, this is so difficult to parse. We need to wait for the

results. But so many have again described Israel as ungovernable at this point in time.

[16:35:03]

I mean, how are voters feeling about this?

PFEFFER: Well, I think that voters feel that their vote does count. We are -- we are seeing in the polls, and I'm feeling it wherever I go in Israel,

a massive engagement of voters. The pollsters are saying that there will be over 80 percent turnout in this election. That may be a bit of an

exaggeration. But turnout will certainly be very high.

We have seen in the last two or three days, tens of thousands of Israelis who work abroad have been flying back to Israel just to vote.

So, the engagement is high. Israelis feel that the election matters, perhaps, more than most elections in the past.

So, whether or not Israel is ungovernable, I think most Israelis are willing to give their country another chance to govern.

NEWTON: Yes, and I am so glad that you mentioned the diaspora, who has returned to Israel. They must vote in person. They cannot vote for abroad,

and certainly very busy days ahead as those voters also go to the polls.

Grateful for you to be with us this evening. Thanks so much.

Now, France is bracing for another weekend of mass protests. French officials say 70,000 police officers will be deployed nationwide to prevent

a repeat of last weekend's violent clashes.

The unrest is putting a damper on preparations for the NFL's first regular season game in France. The league has canceled a fan event in Paris ahead

of Sunday's game at the Stade de France, just outside the capital.

Even so, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said this week that he is very comfortable, his words with the security measures in place. He says

protests are not unusual in France.

Don Riddell joins us, and you know as well as anyone that he is right about that in terms of the protests. But this has been something significantly

different. I'm wondering how you parse the reaction of the NFL there. And of course, from a financial point of view, this is very important to the

NFL.

DON RIDDELL, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes, it's a really big deal for the NFL. And as you know, Paula, they have been ramping up their overseas games.

They are actually playing nine this year. They might even be playing 10 next year.

And Paris is a big deal because they have never played a regular season game there before. So, they are not going to want to move it. They are not

going to want to postpone it, but they are very much aware of the situation.

They have been talking about it publicly since October the 14th. It is notable that they've canceled a fan event that was going to be a Steelers

fan event that got canceled.

It is worth noting that Paris is a big place, and the game is going to be played at the Stade de France, which is in Saint-Denis, which is a district

about six miles away from where a lot of this protest activity has been happening.

So, you know, I think the NFL are right; they are reasonably confident. They are cognizant, though, of the fact that they're going to be hosting a

large event in a city where there are so many security personnel who are going to have to be on duty, and they don't want to take anything away from

the security operation that is underway.

But the game is going ahead. Let's listen to what Roger Goodell had to say about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROGER GOODELL, COMMISSIONER, NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE: We are involved at the highest levels, both in France on a global basis. With our officials

here in the United States, including, I had a conversation with the secretary of state a couple days ago. So, we are continuing to make sure we

have all available information, make sure the appropriate steps are being made. We are guests in the country. We are going to be good guests, and we

are going to do our thing. And I'm confident they are going to do theirs.

I definitely think that the NFL is alert to what's going on, and this game means a lot to the NFL. And if it was unsafe, then I'm sure we wouldn't be

here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIDDELL: Fascinating situation. Paula, we will see how it all plays out on Sunday. Back to you.

NEWTON: Yes, I hate to be cheeky here, but if it was another big football match, and I don't mean the American kind, I mean soccer, it would likely

go ahead, and French authorities would figure out how to handle it.

Don Riddell, really thankful to you. Thank you.

Now, A.I. founders and investors recently gathered for a dinner party to discuss all things A.I. They are agents. Yes, they are agents. The tech

kind, however, held a party of their own. We will discuss that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:42:00]

NEWTON: When it comes to the oceans, kelp forests are often an unseen but vital ecosystem, with an outsized impact on the planet's climate. Now, one

creature that's critical to the health of these forests is under threat.

Today, on "CALL TO EARTH", we dive into the world of sunflower sea star in the efforts to save them.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The sunflower sea star. It's a creature that looks like it could belong in space.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It looks like a little ballerina. They just coast across the sea floor.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But in the cold waters of the Pacific Ocean, there are critically endangered species on the brink of extinction.

REUVEN BANK, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, SUNFLOWER STAR LABORATORY: So, sunflower stars used to number 6 billion from Alaska to Baja California, their

historic range. They were everywhere.

But in 2013, there was an outbreak of sea star wasting disease caused by a pathogen, Vibrio pectenicida. 5.75 billion of the 6 billion sunflower stars

turned into goo almost overnight.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: These voracious predators that can measure up to one meter in diameter and weigh five kilograms are a keystone species along the

west coast of North America. Their existence is crucial.

BANK: Sunflower stars eat urchins and other grazers, and they also scare urchins and other grazers into eating less kelp. So, we have lost 95

percent of Northern California's kelp forests since sunflower stars disappeared.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Kelp forests are critical to maintaining the Earth's climate.

BANK: Kelp forests and other photosynthetic marine algae produce over half of the oxygen in our atmosphere in our oceans.

Kelp forests sequester carbon. Hundreds of millions of ton of carbon dioxide every year. They absorb dissolved CO2 in the ocean and reduce ocean

acidity, can mitigate wave action, support biodiversity for thousands of different species of marine organisms.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Since 2021, researchers here at the Sunflower Star Lab in Central California have been a part of a movement looking for solutions

to rebuild this collapsing ecosystem. Their approach is to grow stars.

ANDREW KIM, LAB MANAGER, SUNFLOWER STARLAB: We have about 70 stars. If we include larvae and newly settled stars, that number is kind of closer to

200. We have to create a very particular environment to raise these sunflower stars through all of their various life stages, from larvae to

adults.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Between June and September, SSL released a batch of these lab-reared stars onto the floor of Monterey Bay.

ASHLEY KIDD, COSERVATION PROGRAM LEAD, SUNFLOWER STARLAB: Ultimately, we are cultivating sea stars for restoration. And what we are doing right now

in the ocean is doing all these experiments to best understand how to do that. So, whether it's logistics or actually how the stars are behaving,

responding, living in their environment, understanding how much they need to eat in order to survive, how they grow when they are being given a diet

that's taken from the environment that they are going to be potentially released into, and trying to understand how it might look like for them

when they are out there.

[16:45:21]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The coalition of groups looking to save the star also include Native American tribes like the Kashia, whose ancestors called the

Northern California coast home.

For the Kashia, kelp and the abalone that feed on it have long been a source of sustenance.

SEVERINO GOMES, TRIBAL LEADER, KASHIA BAND OF POMO INDIANS: If we are going to be trying to bring these abalones back, we got to also try to raise some

of these sea stars. Also, there is no point in trying to put abalone back out there if these sea stars are not out there.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To do that, the tribe is training a new generation of scientific divers and researchers to work with these stars.

ARELLA LAROSE, MARINE RESOURCE SPECIALIST, KASHIA BAND OF POMO INDIANS: We have a reciprocal relationship, traditionally with the ocean, so that means

respecting every part of the ecosystem, and they are a big part of it, and they need help.

And so, part of that relationship is helping them the way they have helped keep the ocean in balance.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Now, let us know what you are doing to answer the call with the hashtag #CallToEarth.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NEWTON: Chipmaker SK Hynix says it has put on hold a potential IPO of its U.S.-based Solidigm unit. Now, shares of the South Korean chipmaker are

down nearly 30 percent over the last month, amid fears of an A.I. bubble and rising borrowing costs. The company cited market conditions and share

price trends for its decision on not listing.

Now, it joins a growing list of companies delaying their IPO timelines. Wearables maker Oura, SoftBank, SB Energy, and Holtec Nuclear have all done

so since September.

Now, my next guest is a venture capitalist with a direct line of sight into the challenge of taking those companies public and the investors' appetite

for those listings. Dorothy Chang joins us. She is a venture partner at Flybridge Capital, and she joins us now.

We are really grateful to have you here for your insights, and we have been monitoring this. Right? These are highly anticipated IPOs. Some canceled,

some postponed. Why do you believe that's happening? How much spook factor, as I call it, is there just about the rising borrowing costs and the

environment in general about capex spending in A.I.?

[16:50:08]

DOROTHY CHANG, VENTURE PARTNER, FLYBRIDGE CAPITAL PARTNERS: That's a great question. Thank you for asking.

You know, we are waiting for that IPO window to kind of open back up again, and we do expect it to happen. But right now, there is a lot of

geopolitical uncertainty, and the tech sector, and especially the A.I. sector, is not immune from what's happening with the oil crisis and energy

and uncertainty in the Middle East.

And so, there is a lot of uncertainty all over the world, and I think we need to let that kind of settle out a little bit before we can expect to

see more of these IPOs come through.

I think that there's still plenty of demand for A.I. and the applications and the software that comes with it, and of course, all of the

infrastructure that underpins it. I think we are only about one percent of the way through implementing what could be applied with the technology

today.

So, the demand is definitely there, but the capitalization is a different question.

NEWTON: And this seems such a switch to what we would have heard maybe even six months ago that investors were clamoring to get in on this because, you

know, venture capital organizations like yours already had an inside track here. I am wondering what you are seeing, and is it more about, you know,

kind of nervousness about whether or not these investments will pay off, or just the expense of it right now, especially when you are looking at higher

interest rates, which of course are impacted by the geopolitical risks that you are talking about.

CHANG: That's right. I still see plenty of demand in the private markets, and many funds that are raising multi billions of dollars to continue to

fund these projects and startups. I think, it's more about the public markets and the ecosystem overall, and how we finance and capitalize these

large companies.

There is a little bit of questions about how do we, you know, structure all of the economics overall and how it's going to be impacted in the public

markets. It's a different question, I think, altogether.

NEWTON: We are going to get onto the fun part of this interview in a minute, but I just kind of to put you on the spot for a minute. Are you

concerned about some of the capex right now that you see in some of the companies?

CHANG: I think there is -- there is a lot of questions about it for sure. You know, there is a lot of money going into GPUs and into energy and into

infrastructure. There is a lot of demand for it all, but the pricing is hard to predict. There is a lot of different factors, and at scale, things

are going to change over time. Right.

Everything is going to get a little bit cheaper, but the demand is increasing. And so, it's hard to kind of project exactly when things are

going to hit and what it's going to cost.

NEWTON: Yes. I hear your line of sight is becoming even more difficult. Now, Dorothy, we get to what I like to call, "Guess Who's Coming to

Dinner". Everyone who is young out there, look it up. It's a great movie.

You recently organized a dinner between tech executives to discuss A.I. So far, so normal. Only this time, the executives had their plus ones, which

were not physically there.

OK. Can you just walk us through what you did and key here what you learned, because you were, you know, this was an experiment.

CHANG: That's right. I'm a very early-stage investor. So, I'm looking far out into the distance, what's coming with technology. And one of the areas

I'm most fascinated by is A.I. and A.I. agents.

And so, my thought is, as A.I. agents are increasingly getting adopted in business by consumers, eventually these A.I. agents are going to run into

each other, right? And we are going to see more agent-to-agent collaboration, communication, interactivity, and I want to know what that

looks like.

So, we were about to host this dinner with investors and founders that are building for this future, and I thought I want to know what the agents

think too? So, we opened up a separate online dinner party for the agents to interact with each other.

(CROSSTALK)

NEWTON: It's so incredible.

CHANG: Because we wanted to see what they would have to say.

NEWTON: So, what were your takeaways? And I want to be clear, you had some ground rules to make sure they didn't go, you know, didn't do anything

nefarious. But again, I ask you, how do you know they didn't do anything nefarious? We seem to figure this out later on. So, what were your

takeaways from what you call the agent's social behavior?

CHANG: Yes. So, we created an online chat room so that we would be able to see all of the, you know, the full transcript of their conversations, as it

was going on and afterwards as well. And we limited to 30 minutes, and we said no sharing of links, we didn't want them spamming each other, or you

know somehow doing anything unexpected. And they were very well behaved.

They had a great time. They all introduced themselves to each other. They were friendly and warm, and then, they very quickly got into debate. We

wanted to see what they thought about the future of A.I. agents, and they talked about it extensively. And they were quick to share their opinions.

They were quick to get into the technical aspects of it much more quickly than us humans did at dinner, as we were breaking bread and getting to know

each other.

[16:55:05]

NEWTON: They broke the ice much more quickly. Again, that makes me a big nervous.

CHANG: They did.

NEWTON: Did they mimic the behavior of, you know, of their -- of these founders and these A.I. investors you had at the table?

CHANG: Yes, they did actually, and they seem to kind of represent the personalities of the humans that they represented.

So, for example, one founder at the dinner was especially opinionated, and we found that his agent was as well. Others were more polite and reticent,

and their agents were a little bit quieter as well.

We actually held another breakfast of a similar nature in San Francisco, and found a similar thing, except we actually asked them how their opinions

differed from their humans, and they were forthcoming about where they had slight differences of opinion.

NEWTON: Wow, a whole new world out there. I challenge everyone in AI. I refuse to have the A.I. even speak to me in the first person. So, just

saying.

I -- you know, we will see how this develops. But it is fascinating read, and we will continue to follow your work because certainly in terms of us

learning the capabilities, it was really important.

Dorothy, thanks so much. Really appreciate it.

CHANG: That's exactly right. Thank you so much for having me.

NEWTON: Now, Hong Kong's finance secretary also flagging concerns around A.I. valuations.

He spoke with CNN's Ivan Watson and says we need to carefully embrace this new technology.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL CHAN, FINANCIAL SECRETARY, HONG KONG: In terms of artificial intelligence, this is the most important technological innovation we need

to embrace. But also, at the same time use this carefully and responsibly.

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The former head of the Chinese central bank issued a warning from Shanghai about the fear of

overinvestment in A.I. and what kind of impact that could have on the global economy. Is that a concern of yours, as we just see floods of money

going into A.I. investment?

CHAN: I think globally, globally there are tremendous investment in A.I., and in some cases, the valuation may not be too reasonable. So, I won't be

surprised if there is certain adjustments, the corrections. But at the same time, that is only temporary, and it is part of the development path.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: And that is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. I'm Paula Newton, "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

END