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Christine Raffini
Thanks for joining us for today's selection of conversations from the show.
David Gura
You can listen to our favorite discussions right here on the podcast, but also make sure to join us live every Saturday and Sunday morning starting at 7am Eastern.
Lisa Mateo
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Christine Raffini
This morning, Tehran has a new list of demands for the US to meet before Iran says it would open the Strait of Hormuz. Even as Iran and Oman signal they're closer to a deal with Now, Iran says America needs to, quote, correct its behavior. As Vice President JD Vance says there's progress, but it isn't over.
David Gura
I try to remind people that we're really in the middle of the game here. This thing is not over. It's obviously not at the beginning where we're in the middle of the game and we're applying a whole host of tools, diplomatic, economic, military tools to ensure that we get the best outcome for the American people. I feel quite confident we will get there, but we're still a bit in the middle of the game. Vice president on Fox News. We are joined now by Bloomberg News White House correspondent Skyler Woodhouse and by Bloomberg News Middle east correspondent Abir Abu Omar Beer. Let me start with you and pick up on the metaphor there used by the vice president that we're in the middle of this game. Get us up to speed on what's happened here recently. We have an attack in Saudi Arabia on Saudi Aramco's Jazz, an oil refinery, Abu Dhabi's national oil company, saying missiles target one of its vessels while transiting Hormuz on Saturday. It has been another busy weekend, providing the backdrop to this conversation about a potential conversation here between the US And Iran.
Abir Abu Omar
Yeah, good morning, guys. Busy week. As a matter of fact, we've been reporting on this deal between Oman and Iran that was taking place or the discussions about this deal to essentially reopen the Strait of Hormuz. But a few caveats to bear in mind here from the Iranian side. They say that this reopening is temporary. They also added their own caveat, saying that in this temporary agreement, they're not going to allow US And Israeli flagships to be pass through the Strait of Hormuz and they will start charging tolls to countries that they deem hostile. And so a lot of traders had viewed that term hostile as referring to countries from the gcc. And then over the weekend, as you mentioned, David, we saw an ADNOC flagged carrier, that is the national oil company in Abu Dhabi being hit. ADNOC reported that one fatality had happened and over a dozen injuries there. And then we also saw that the Houthis in Saudi Arabia earlier had claimed that they attacked an Aramco facility in Jaz. Aramco did not respond to Bloomberg requests for comment, but they did confirm that there was a fire at an Aramco facility. So you're seeing this escalation in the region over and over, really, and then no resolution in sight. And this deal that we've been talking about, about the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz or the interim reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. That really is all what it's about right now. We're not talking about a return to the mou. We're not talking about a return to those major concessions that were reached in Switzerland. Some hardliners in Iran, to be sure, are saying that the US Needs to compensate Iran. And then we saw a return to those concessions, including the blocked assets, the frozen, the oil sanctions as well being lifted. But that is not the official line that we're getting from the diplomats or the officials in Iran that we've been hearing from since the beginning of this war. That includes the foreign minister, that includes the spokesperson for the foreign ministry. And so it looks like it calms down a little bit and then escalates again. But one thing is for sure here I was listening to Vice President J.D. vance speaking. Iran maintains that Washington is not a part of those discussions, despite what we've heard from President Trump and the vice president about them being part of those discussions. Iran maintains that mediators, assumingly Qatar at this point are the ones that are delivering messages. We also understand that Qatar is doing its own draft to start mediating to have those wider discussions. But for the time being, Hormuz stays paralyzed, pretty much attacks continue to happen and we don't have a formalized draft between Iran and Oman about that deal.
Christine Raffini
Skyler, I want to ask you about exactly that. It seems like the US Is saying they're monitoring talks and you're getting that messaging from the White House. But folks I've talked to and the reporting says they don't seem to be in the room. Is the US Involved? It seems at this point it's pretty much a bipartisan, a bilateral discussion, excuse me, between Iran and Oman. And also some of these lists of demands that you heard Abir going through, a list of the US Naval blockade, withdraw the US Military reparations, release of frozen Iranian assets. Those seem like nonstarters for the US what does the White House do with all this?
Skyler Woodhouse
Yeah, good morning, guys. I mean, look, these talks are extremely fragile. And since this war started, that is exactly what we've seen. There's just been a continuing of being up and down. Obviously, the president wants to make it appear that things are going well, that talks are going well, or that things are potentially moving along as there are a lot of rough patches happening right now. You know, what we've been, what we've seen in reporting, and Bloomberg's own reporting as well, is that, you know, the president feels a bit boxed in right now and is really sort of trying to navigate what his next step is. And as he listens to his advisors, whether that's Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Vice President J.D. vance or Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, you know, it's really raising questions as to what is the goal right now, especially as it seems that these conversations are really not going well, especially as we learn and as Iran says, that the US Is sort of not really involved right now, and it's raising questions on, well, who is the US really talking to right now in this war? Yeah, yeah.
David Gura
Want to play a bit more sound here. The vice president in conversation with Kayleigh McEnany, the former press secretary, now on Fox News talking about the White House's expectations. Let's take a listen.
Christine Raffini
The Iranians, through different methods, have broadcasted
Haley Stevens
that they look to tighten their grip on the Strait of Hormuz. So in a theoretical deal, what would an acceptable status quo be for the strait?
David Gura
Well, our expectation is you're going to see the same amount of oil and gas come out of the Gulf that you saw before the conflict started. That is what the Iranians have told us that they are going to do. That's what the entire Gulf coalition wants to do as well. But, you know, we don't trust. We verify. We actually look not at people's words but at people's deeds. You see some people within the Iranian system, of course, talk about tolling. The Iranians have told us they have no plans to toll the Strait of Hormuz. But again, we're going to see what actions actually happen. Abir, on that notion of looking at people's words and trusting but verifying, you mentioned the Iranian foreign minister, and Bloomberg has reported that he said that were there to be some sort of agreement, we would not see kind of an instantaneous return to the level of energy passing through that strait that we saw before this war began. Could you talk a bit more about that kind of the White House's expectations for normality, which seem increasingly kind of pie in the sky in light of what we've been through here over the last five or six months.
Abir Abu Omar
Yeah, you're right, David. And I mean, you don't have to go by the words of and I know this will probably sound surprising, but you don't have to go by the words of either part of the warring parties. Essentially, traders don't even assume that this is going to be happening or that this is even a realistic situation purely due to the physicality of getting those stuck oil barrels that are in the Strait of Hormuz. So there's a reality situation here to be confronted once this happens. And then we're not even talking about a full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz from the Iranian side. The US Side seems more and more and more optimistic about once a deal is finalized or once a deal is here, that we're going to See the Strait of Hormuz immediately all of a sudden open and all these oil barrels start making their way through the globe. You're talking about countries in the who've had their infrastructure damaged. You're talking about attacks on energy infrastructure that is still happening up until the early hours of the morning. And so there is the physical aspect of actually getting those oil barrels across. I was talking to a lot of ship owners and a lot of traders over the past week, and they confirmed that even if there was an immediate reopening of Hormuz, let's say tomorrow, theoretically, of course, it'll take weeks in a best case scenario, if not months, to actually start seeing a normal trickle of oil barrels through the Strait of Hormuz. And that is not a base case scenario. David Right. Because we expect that this conflict will be back and forth for a while to come, especially with Iran's waking up to this fact at the start of this war that it can assert dominance over the Strait of Hormuz and it doesn't have to hit hard. Right. The mere threat of Iran sending a drone to a ship or a vessel that is passing through the Strait of Hormuz is already causing enough jitters in the market and causing ships to really stay still until they're sure they can move across the waterway. And so we're not even expecting the immediate reopening of the Strait of Hormuz because this is according to the Iranian side, not what is going to happen.
Christine Raffini
Skyler in that vein, it's been interesting to watch the messaging from the White House from the beginning of the war, which is we're going to win, we're going to do this, we're going to do this to trying to almost redefine what a win looks like it. In that vein, the treasury secretary, Scott Bessant, talked to a local Arizona journalist and was saying, among other things, well, the Strait of Hormuz is going to become irrelevant in two years because we'll have other ways to transport this energy overall. Is that what you're seeing from the White House is more of a recognition as they can't move the needle as much as they want to, so they're moving the messaging. And do you think that's going to be successful, especially ahead of the midterms where things like gas prices are really going to matter and they're really going to matter to this president?
Skyler Woodhouse
Yeah. Well, look, they want to paint a pretty picture and they want it to seem like they are in control of everything and that things are going well in their favor as they launch this war, especially as the November midterms creep up and American voters polls have shown that they are not highly supportive of what the President decided to do in regards to the war with Iran. So look, what we've seen throughout the messaging from the Trump administration, really since the President came, returned back to office, is that they are seeking other ways. So when trade deals were being disrupted left and right, the messaging was that, you know, we're, we're starting new trade deals with other countries or we're going to have trade deals coming in other ways to offset those longstanding trade deals that were disrupted. So we've seen that sort of messaging before that they pivot to something else to really amplify and to cover, you know, what is currently going on. And really only time will tell to see how that really resonates with voters, especially as these midterms near.
Christine Raffini
When we talk about opening the Strait, there were some reports this week that Iran might be speaking to or might be willing to speak to the EU to come up with some sort of mine clearing capacity. If you remember, we've talked about before, the US kind of outsourced that capacity to Naito about 10 years ago. So most of those minesweepers are within the NATO realm, within the Europeans. Have you heard anything more? Does that seem realistic? And what is the status of those mines? Is that something that's really front of mind for all these shippers and people you were just talking to?
Abir Abu Omar
100%. I mean, that is one of their biggest concerns, right? Because there is the aspect of trying to move their way through the Strait of Hormuz without having the risk of being hit. But then there's also the risk of mining. And we've recently reported that Iran might be softening its stance when it comes to involving EU nations. If you remember, Christine, about a month or so ago, there was this little back and forth between Iranian officials and President Macron, specifically in France, who said that France would be one of the countries that is willing to come and de mine. And the response from the Iranian side was vehement refusal to this. But we've reported, citing our own sources recently about a week or so ago, that Iran might be holding discussions with EU nations to help the demining processes in the Strait of Hormuz. And while that is a positive signal, of course, the fact that Iran might be softening its stands, we're still talking about a deal between itself and Oman without Washington involved having with Washington or the United States still having its naval blockade in place. So a third party that is important in all of this is not included in the discussions, again, according to the Iranian side. So we have to get over the hurdle of getting through these negotiations with Oman and what exactly the mechanism will look like before we get into any kind of discussion about removing those mines. Iran is keeping a really hard line about its this dominance over the Strait of Hormuz. And the mechanism sounds really complicated, but everything around it just suggests that Iran wants to maintain its dominance. And it looks like for the people who have skin in the game, for the ship owners who have to make their way through the Strait of Hormuz, they are seemingly tilting more to listening to the Iranian side. They've been seeking permission from the Iranian side to be able to make their way through the very crucial waterway, which, yes, according to the U.S. you know, U.S. officials is not going to be crucial in the next couple of years. That argument, according to many people, is not the base case scenario. Again, it might lose significance, but it will not be insignificant.
David Gura
Vera, always good to talk to you. Thank you very much. Veer Abu Omar joining us from our Middle east correspondent joining us this morning. Scott Woodhouse, our White House correspondent, joins us from Bedminster where the President is over the course of this weekend.
Christine Raffini
All right, thank you both.
David Gura
Stay with us for more on Bloomberg this weekend, right after this.
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David Gura
Congressman Haley Stevens of Michigan joins us now fresh off that Democratic primary. She ran for Senate, of course, finished second in that primary with fewer than 20,000 votes separating her from the winner. Abdul Al said, thank you very much for being here. Great to have you with us. And the message very much is was certainly on the heels of that campaign unity among the Democratic Party and I wonder sort of what your life looks like in terms of politicking here in the weeks ahead. Will we see you campaigning with the Democratic nominee here in the days ahead?
Haley Stevens
Well, I can tell you I'm still in my House position, right. So I'm a Democrat who flipped a long held Republican seat in 2018. I held the seat in 2020 with Trump on the ballot. It was a district that had voted for him actually back in the 16 election. And I'm really focused on the House. You know, I've talked to Democratic House leadership, Hakeem Jeff, Pete Aguilar, and I am very eager to, to just flip some of these congressional seats like Christina Hines in Michigan's 10th district, you know, Congresswoman Hillary Skolton out in Grand Rapids. You know, it's amazing that we've got her leadership out there and we've got another seat in Michigan's fourth district. You know, Sean McCann, these are good just middle of the road, common sense Dems, really excited to be sleeves rolled up alongside them. And the knows, you know, all the nominees, the whole ticket knows, you know, here in Michigan, I'm going to do whatever they want as I finish out the remainder of my congressional term. And I know that, you know, Abdul, right. We campaigned against one another for a good year and a half. So I don't, you know, he maybe he's sick of hearing my voice.
Astronomer Imran Bell
I don't know.
Haley Stevens
I'm just kidding around. But, but you know, he hasn't asked you.
David Gura
He hasn't Asked you to join him. He hasn't made that overture yet.
Haley Stevens
Look, I'm not trying to drum up drama. I don't, you know, I'm, look, we were, we did a big unity breakfast. There was, you know, my friend Keith Williams was there. He's the chair of the Michigan Democratic Party Black Caucus. You know, I'm really proud to, you know, have had his support in my race. But we all know, you know, we're team Dem. So, you know, they're going to be figuring it out. They've got a, you know, a quick Runway and I'm, I'm not, I think America, truthfully, if I can just speak candidly, I think people here in Michigan and across this country, they are just so sick of this negative, nasty, constant campaigning, but hurt if you don't win. I mean, I've had a great ride. I mean, I Honestly, I was 18 years old and knocked doors for the Democratic Party. You know, I was motivated to run because I saw Trump win in 16. I was working in an R and D lab and I'm thinking, oh my gosh, there goes the scientific research budget. And so I put up my hand for a long shot run for Congress. I won, you know, I won a six way primary, 7,000 votes similar to this one. Who are those, you know, 15,000, 7,000 people in these, you know, in these primaries? I don't, I don't know if I'll ever know. But you know, I'm proud that my name and my message was out there. I'm proud to be a Democrat. And certainly some of the differences between my former Democratic opponent and I, they're, they're out there, they're on full display. Everyone knows that. What was said in the primary was said, you know, I am a passionate, you know, industrial policy geek Democrat. I'm a Zionist. You know, I'm certainly going to continue to say that loudly and proudly, particularly as I'm leaving the halls of power. And I think that many fellow Zionists in both parties and maybe in that independent column, you know, they've got to know that they're protected and that their security is important as well.
Christine Raffini
But do you think that will be an issue for your former opponent, as you refer to him in the general? I mean, this is from the New York Times, some demonstration Democrats who supported you are clearly reluctant to rally behind Al Said because many Jewish Democrats in particular were dismayed about the way he criticized the Israeli government and AIPAC committees whose super PAC spent a lot of money to support you when it comes to the general. Are you confident that not just your former opponent but several of these, either self identified Democratic socialists or more left leaning opponents can, can swing to the middle and get those middle of the road independent voters which are really the only votes up for grabs in so many places that are so close.
Haley Stevens
Well, I hope you don't mind, I'm drinking my cola, please. You know, it's the good stuff, right? But it's a good question. You know, I think the nominee is going to be able to, you know, he, he knows what he was doing, just as I knew what I was doing. I mean I can only speak to, you know, my campaign, right. Because I was living and breathing it. I mean, I don't want to get in it all. I'm not a big speculator of somebody else's internal thinking. I think we get into a lot of that and it gets negative. But you know, I, I was, my beliefs were fully on display. I was not hiding from them. You know, I want a two state solution. I, you know, want a Palestinian state. I want dignity for Lebanon and Syria and I also, you know, want to see a Jewish state that deeply persecuted continue to be supported. I'm really honestly proud of my record in the Congress, you know, on these Middle east issues. I'm co chair of the Congressional Task force on hostages alongside French Hill, who's a Republican from Arkansas. We coordinated regularly with the hostages held in the families of the hostages held in the Hamas tunnels. That was a brutal situation. You know, look, all Americans want long term peace. I don't think that's, you know, hard to come by. And you know, again, I don't know who these handful of thousands of voters are, you know, in this primary, the way I look at the primary, I think Abdul1, he got more votes and Democrats, like Democrats, you know. And then in terms of this general election, you know, he's got all his, you know, back the office, you know, political wizards and people who are going to give him advice and he's going to have advice and you know, the Gary Peters, Alyssa Slotkin, you know, Alyssa Slotkin, our senator, soon to be senior senator, she's going to be campaigning alongside Abdul, you know, she's, you know, now going to be our senior senator. And that's just, you know, I'm on my way out and you know, of the office for that I love to hold, but I'm okay with that. And I'm going to help the congressional tickets and do whatever anyone else wants me to do. You know, I'm just happy to Be on the team. Honestly, I love this country. I love American democracy. I love fighting for people to make government work for them. You know, it's unbelievable how many people need access to Social Security disability and Medicaid and these programs that, you know, everyone wants to be fair and accessible. Full funding for special education. Right. Sorry to go on, but.
Christine Raffini
That's okay. We're colleague, Abby.
David Gura
Yeah. I'm going to have a swig of my beverage of choice, and then I'm going to bring in Abby here as a question. Abby, let me send a question.
Christine Raffini
All right, Abby, it's on you. So, Congresswoman, the race had barely been called, and you were out of the gate endorsing Dr. El Sayed. And you're on television having your morning Coke, making the case for him and the Democrats. But this is one of the roughest Senate primaries I've ever seen among Democrats. It was personally rough. It obviously, Israel and Gaza is a tough issue. I sometimes find supporters have a harder time coming into the fold than the actual candidates. Candidate who lost. Are you confident the entire Democratic coalition can show up after such a rough primary?
Haley Stevens
You know, I just am setting the tone for myself, okay. And the people around me. I mean, I will say that there's a lot of energy for Democrats right now. You know, we've got Jocelyn Benson as our gubernatorial candidate, and she's doing a great job. And, you know, folks are excited about her. I mean, there's some just, you know, general, you know, enthusiasm from Detroit to Muskegon and on. But I will tell you, Abby, we call it pop in Michigan, okay? Excuse me.
David Gura
Yes. Not soda.
Christine Raffini
I'm a good Texan. It's a couch, even if it's Dr. Pepper.
Haley Stevens
And look, I don't want to be all Pollyanna. I mean, politics is a blood sport, okay? I knew what I was signing up for when I put up my hand to run for in this primary. I knew it was going to be a primary. Congresswoman Hillary Skolton and I, you know, spent a lot of time chewing on it. She was a very close ally of mine in this race. She was with me on election night, and, you know, we knew it was. And then she said, haley, the reason you do these primaries, this. I've had a few of them, okay? I had one with andy Levin in 2022, and that one was major. I mean. Oh, my gosh. The scion of Michigan Democratic politics. Now, that one I won by 20 points. I mean, it's. This is just American democracy. But Hillary did say to me, she said, look, you know, how do these primaries, you know, how to bring people together when it's over. So I'm just doing it in the. In the Haley way, I guess, in my way, not to talk about myself in third person. But that, though, that's good, you know, I mean, I'm just.
Christine Raffini
David does it all the time. It's fine. I come in and, you know, it's.
David Gura
It's.
Christine Raffini
David Gura wants this. David Gurr wants that. Thank you, guys.
David Gura
Let me look behind.
Christine Raffini
David Gurr has a question.
David Gura
Let me look ahead to the challenge that Dr. Science gonna say he's gonna face here. And that's from Mike Rogers, the former congressman, and he talked about sort of how he sees this campaign playing out. Let's play a little sound for him and I'll ask you about sort of the path forward here vis a vis that coming up to the vast majority of people across Michigan who do not
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want to throw their support behind a
David Gura
campaign filled with anger, divisiveness, calls for
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violence, and the views that are out
David Gura
of touch with your values. Well, you have a home with us. The fight is far greater than just left versus right. The fight is for, for the very soul of our nation. There's a congressman, former congressman, sitting on a couch with his wife making that case. How do you respond to that? The way the Republicans are painting this is an example of there being an extremist candidate versus the more traditional American candidate. I mean, there's a lot of invective and insinuation here in the comments we've heard from, yes, Congressman Rogers, but from the president as well. What is your counsel for how Democrats in Michigan should respond to that?
Haley Stevens
You know, look, the parties exist and Mike is in the MAGA Republican wing, and he's got a, you know, answer for how he's going to lower costs for people, how he's going to deal with their rising healthcare costs. I'm going to tell you right now, everywhere I turn, I'm meeting, you know, amazing Michiganders. I still am because they just saw me all over their tv, you know, for the last handful of months. And there's joy here, for sure. You know, Detroit's on the rise, Motor City's on the rise, but folk are, you know, they're getting less money. You know, I really mean that. I talk to people who've been unemployed on occasion. Actually, there was a gal who just brought me doordash and we had a whole big confab last night about her situation. She was all happy. She was. She's resilient but she's like, you know, I've been out of work for a year and she had a stroke, you know, a couple years ago in 2021. And just trying to kind of connect in. And that's not, I know that's her individual, but that individual story matters so very much. Right. I mean, I mean, and that's always what I tried to do as a rep is just, you know, help that one person, you know, and do it in ones and twos and, and that works. So I think when you ask me that question about Rogers, he's got to figure out what case he's making to people on what he's going to do for, for them. I'm not out here trying to give him advice. I, you know, that's not my industry or my profession really, but, you know, want to answer. And, you know, Abdul has come out of a major rough primary and, you know, and look, he's going to be out there making, you know, his case to voters, too. It seems like he know, knew how to do it because he just came out of this big one. So I don't, you know, and, you know, there's certainly some questions and voters will start voting in about a month's time. We get early vote here. We'll see. And, you know, pay attention to the vote that get cast. You know, we just have so much prognosticating in American politics. I mean, people were calling this one, I voted on my, my polling location on primary day and they were, they were calling my race as I was coming out now, there was a swarm of press. You know, Congresswoman, you're down 15 points.
Lisa Mateo
What are you going to do?
Haley Stevens
I said, well, you know, let's just get, you know, I'm, I'm in this mode. You know, Abdul says he's not a socialist. I condemn socialism, you know, this and that. Again, not trying to, I don't really know Rogers, ok. He went to Florida. I never served with him. Seems like he made a bunch of money. He's like you said, he's sitting on the couch. So, you know, maybe he's trying to go to the Senate now.
Christine Raffini
All right, well, let me ask you about what you just referenced where you're saying, you know, I'm not a socialist. You said Mike Rogers needs to decide what he's for. But there's a little bit of that within the Democratic Party right now.
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Right.
Christine Raffini
We've got this next phase in the progressive versus moderate fight. It's coming up particularly in Wisconsin. You've been talking to us about how long you've been in Democratic politics, all your successes. You flipped the seat, you served your constituents, but you lost. Do you think that the Democratic Party is really taking these lessons to heart, or do you think they're continually making the same mistakes, especially in these primaries?
Haley Stevens
I don't. I wouldn't go into any of that. I mean, honestly, I think that we've just got this incredible, you know, race that was just had. I think my coalition is awesome. I'm really proud of it. You know, I won Detroit by 67% of the vote. But I wouldn't be getting into mistakes. I mean, people just want health care. Okay? I mean, I want to fix government. I want to make government services work better for people. I was chief of staff on the U.S. auto Rescue. It was an emergency situation. My goodness gracious, that worked really well. You know, an $80 billion managed bankruptcy of General Motors and Chrysler, saving 200,000 Michigan jobs, of which we were repaid on interest as the, you know, government, as the American taxpayer was repaid on interest. I'm looking at our debt and our deficit, and I'm thinking, okay, well, why is our debt growing faster than our gross domestic product? Why is it growing faster than our economy? You know, I want to lessen our dependence on China to create job jobs and lower costs. We gotta focus on critical minerals. I did that with the CHIPS Act. You know, I'm a voice in the Democratic Party saying those things. And I think sometimes I get why you're asking the question, but one person doesn't define the Democratic Party. We are a big group. Just. I mean, the Republicans are a big group. And then there's this independent chunk just kind of swings and we gotta. I mean, honestly, at the end of my primary, I was saying, no American is my enemy. I mean, truly. I just. Look, I'm there in the Congress. I mean, I used to talk. I talked to everybody, you know, except for the one from Georgia. Okay? But I don't want to poke her because she gets. She's tempestuous and she resigned, okay? But everyone else was. By and large, you could talk to them. Duly elected member of Congress. I mean, I came in. I don't. I know I'd never served in Congress. And I got my first bill signed for early childhood education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Christmas Eve 2019, signed by Trump, a week after the first impeachment. He still signed it. Hey, that's America, baby.
Christine Raffini
Congressman, we're going to have to leave it there.
David Gura
That's America, baby. I think is a good way to leave. Really great.
Christine Raffini
Thank you for coming on. Please enjoy some pop for us. I think we've just got coffee and water here this morning. Cheers to you and good luck with everything. Thank you so much to speak with you. Stay with us for more on Bloomberg this weekend, right after this.
Jacob Goldstein
This is Jacob Goldstein from what's yous Problem? Running a business is hard enough. Don't make it harder. With a dozen apps that don't talk to each other. One for sales, another for inventory, a separate one for accounting. That's software overload. Odoo is the all in one platform that replaces them all. CRM, accounting, inventory, E Commerce, hr. Fully integrated, easy to use and built to grow with your business. Thousands have already made the switch. Why not you try Odoo for free at o d o o.com that's odoo.com
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David Gura
Welcome back to Bloomberg this weekend. I'm David Gura with Christina Raffini and this week, parts of Europe will be treated to a rare selection event that has not happened in nearly three decades.
Christine Raffini
Should I sing? Jonathan, sing it.
David Gura
Total Eclipse of the Heart.
Christine Raffini
I'm not going to do it. I value our audience more than that. All right, a total.
David Gura
We don't have the rights. That's the main issue.
Jacob Goldstein
Totally fair.
Christine Raffini
I'm not sure I'd be on pitch enough for it to matter, but a total solar eclipse will darken the afternoon sky across Spain, Iceland and Greenland, with many other cities witnessing the event. Joining us now, I'm a Bell. She's an astronomer with the Royal Observatory of Greenwich right now on the Spanish island of Mallorca, which should be right in the path of this eclipse. Are you as excited as our producer Patrick Becker, who was so excited about this? We're doing a whole segment on it, but we're very happy to talk to you. Why do people get excited about.
Astronomer Imran Bell
Well, I don't know how excited Patrick is, but I would probably argue I'm more excited.
Wasabi Advertiser
Right.
Astronomer Imran Bell
If it's a competition.
Christine Raffini
Oh, I just heard. Take that in my ear from the control room. So what are you expecting to see? How big is this going to be? I mean, when we had one of these over the US a couple of years ago, people kind of lost their minds. Are you expecting. Are Europeans more chill about this? Are you expecting a similar reaction?
Astronomer Imran Bell
I don't know if Europeans are more chill. I feel like the. The reaction in the US was huge because that was a really important event. So many people, I think 44 million people saw the total solar eclipse of the 8th of April, what was it, 20, 24, two years ago? And because that was such an event, that built up so much excitement that spread across the whole entire world, that definitely over here in Europe, we caught it. And now two years on, it's our turn and you've sort of sowed the seeds for all the excitement as well. And so we're even more excited, I think, especially because us in Europe, we've not seen a total solar eclipse since 1999. This is a huge event. We are so excited. And we are not going to see a total solar eclipse again in, in the UK for sure, until 2090. So this is a massive deal. Where I am in Palmer, all the shops are selling solar eclipse glasses. There's information about it everywhere. Yes. So we are very, very excited.
David Gura
Talk to us a bit about totality. And what's that? That's like, I mean, talking to friends and family who experienced it the last time around here in The States. It sounded like a pretty magical couple of minutes.
Astronomer Imran Bell
Yeah, no, for sure, it's totally magical over a couple of hours. It depends on each eclipse. The moon moves across the surf, the disk of the sun in the sky, until if you're lucky, if you're in the path of totality, it will completely cover the sun, which is such a special moment because as well on the planet Earth, we are unique in being able to experience these total solar eclipses. For example, Mars has got two moons, Phobos and Deimos, and if they go in front of the sun, they don't completely cover the surface of the sun. They do these little transits of the sun. We are just so lucky that our moon and our sun appear to be the same size in the sky because the moon is 400 times smaller and also 400 times closer. They almost perfectly match up. So it's extremely special. And some people describe it as quite eerie. The animals can react because the sky will get darker. Even though it's the daytime, it's not the right time. And so it can sort of confuse the animals a little bit as well. And I mean, it is just so exciting because we go about our day to day lives forgetting because it's so easy to forget. We're also busy, we're also stressed forgetting that we are just on a ball of rock in space, nearly 13,000 kilometers wide, going around a star that's 150 million kilometers away. And when you know, the moon, the Earth and the sun all line up like this and you see it during totality, it can remind us what we are a part of.
Christine Raffini
I feel like it's been kind of a good year for the cosmos, it's been a good year for space. We've had some pop culture moments, we've had some new technology here in the us We've had this, you know, private sector space race, getting excitement. You've studied this for a while. Wild. I'm sure it's ebbed and flowed. Do you feel like this? These kind of events kind of renew interest in this field of study and make people excited to look outside our atmosphere.
Astronomer Imran Bell
I absolutely agree. I mean, solar eclipses are a opportunity for everyone to appreciate the scale of the universe, the scale of space, to make us, you know, stop and have a, have a little look. And that's what makes it so exciting. Everyone can appreciate the eclipse. You don't need that many tools to see it. I mean, you can use it. You can view an eclipse using a colander, using a pinhole projector. To eclipse, to see the eclipse. So it means everyone can see it, which is why it's just so exciting. But as well, in terms of science, eclipses offer a extremely unique opportunity to study the sun that you wouldn't usually get. And a lot of our understanding of science comes off the back of solar eclipses. For example, one of the first bits of evidence we had to back up part of Einstein's theory of general relativity was during a total solar eclipse in 1919, where we were able to see that actually the light from the stars that were grazing the disk of the sun were in fact bent around the mass of the sun. And we wouldn't be able to see that during the day until in 1919, when the total solar eclipse blocked out the the massive light of the sun. And they were they allowed astronomers to see these points of light, these stars, and see how they had slightly been moved because of the mass of the sun. A total solar eclipse allowed us to discover the element helium, which gets its name from the sun from the ancient Greek God Helios. And today, not today, sorry. Next week, Wednesday, 12th of August, a NASA mission will be they're flying a jet to chase the shadow, the moon's shadow across the Earth so that they can study totality for longer. And they will be studying the corona of the sun because the outer atmosphere of the sun, which is a very mysterious part of the sun, will be because it's heated, superheated to over a million degrees, which is we're not entirely sure how that happens when the surface of the sun is just very cool, 5.5 thousand degrees.
David Gura
Thank you very much for joining us. Good luck. Enjoy totality. Appreciate your time on this Sunday.
Lisa Mateo
Stay with us for more on Bloomberg this weekend, right after this.
Jacob Goldstein
This is Jacob Goldstein from what's yous Problem? Running a business is hard enough. Don't make it harder with a dozen apps that don't talk to each other. One for sales, another for inventory, a separate one for accounting. That's software overload. Odoo is the all in one platform that replaces them all. CRM, accounting, inventory, E Commerce, hr. Fully integrated, easy to use and built to grow with your business. Thousands have already made the switch, which why not you try Odoo for free at o d o o.com that's odoo.com
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HSBC/PayPal Advertiser
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Christine Raffini
Welcome back to Bloomberg this weekend or BT Dubs. I'm Christine Raffini with David Gura and Lisa Mateo has some stories we might have missed this week. And Lisa, try it again. No hot dogs. No hot dogs. Hot dogs.
Lisa Mateo
Okay, how about concerts? You guys been to a number of concerts? You pay a lot for tickets, right?
Christine Raffini
I don't which is why I don't go to a lot of them. They're so expensive.
Lisa Mateo
Yeah, they're expensive. Okay, so that's, that's the kind of the crux of this story. So this is in the Wall Street Journal, it says artists crowd pleaser, $20 tickets for shows. So it turns out artists like Coldplay, Olivia Rodrigo, they're offering these tickets that are like 20 bucks.
Christine Raffini
That's great.
Lisa Mateo
So Coldplay did it. They're called infinity tickets. Olivia Rodrigo called it Silver Star tickets. Even Charlie xcx, she's got going to do something like that to keep the resellers away though there's certain rules you have to apply by. Okay, the tickets have to be picked up at the box office.
David Gura
Got to go.
Lisa Mateo
You got to go there and you don't know where you're going to sit until the day you go there.
David Gura
Interesting.
Lisa Mateo
So those are things, but they sell out fast. And that's, that's something. But it's not new. I mean, Kid Rock has been doing this. Garth Brooks, the Rolling Stones have this program called Lucky Dip that they've been doing. Kind of help people like they want them to enjoy their music, but they need to make it a little bit affordable too.
David Gura
At the same time, in my household, eager to see Livia Rodrigo playing at the Barclays center in a few months, look at the ticket prices. 739 each. 786, 854. It's been a hard conversation to have for one ticket. And these are not great seats. There are seats within the arena, but good to know about this.
Christine Raffini
But this is the same thing with like World cup prices where you get these crazy fans that just can never see these games. And that's not fair. You know, kids should get to go see their favorite artist.
Lisa Mateo
I know I paid. Well, that's a deal because I paid 250 a pop for Garth Brooks from Garth Brooks?
Astronomer Imran Bell
No, not Garth Brooks.
David Gura
It was Friends in Low Place, his
Christine Raffini
alter ego Brian at Life.
David Gura
That's who it was a generation away.
Lisa Mateo
I'm telling you, it's expensive out there. Okay, so you mentioned going to these things. You concerts with your kids. When you go to the concerts, you buy them like hoodies.
David Gura
There's always a push for that
Lisa Mateo
associated with everything. This is in the Washington Post. Teen hoodies are testing their closets limits and their parents patience. Okay? So if you've ever seen I know my daughter's closet lined up, stacked hoodies right across. And the problem is that they're worrying about how they're going to store these things. Okay? Because the closets are running around space. They're bulky, they're big. You know, how are you going to fold the. How are you going to fit them? And now these young teens are going to college and so parents are like, how are you going to fit all these in the dorm room?
David Gura
There's some agitation on Lisa Mateo's part here. She's really
Lisa Mateo
selected for reasons we don't really know. And what do you do? So they have like all these solutions. There's Facebook groups out there for this to show people how to do it. My daughter says she's taken half. She's taken half the hoodies. And then she comes back from break, brings those back.
Jacob Goldstein
That'd be the fall.
David Gura
Get a new set.
Lisa Mateo
See you get a new set.
Haley Stevens
Fresh, brand new.
Christine Raffini
For, like, such a Bat Mitzvahs.
David Gura
It's like the gift you got.
Haley Stevens
Yes.
Christine Raffini
Oh, really?
Lisa Mateo
Oh, yes, yes, yes.
David Gura
Is it a Bat Mitzvah if you don't get a hoodie? I don't know.
Christine Raffini
Oh, honestly, I know this.
Lisa Mateo
It's a thing. You go down the Jersey shore, you get a hoodie.
David Gura
There you go. And I saw in your video there, the Old Goat usa.
Lisa Mateo
You know that brand?
David Gura
Boy, do I see.
Lisa Mateo
This was a conversation.
David Gura
You probably know the name Goat usa.
Christine Raffini
I have no idea what you're talking about.
David Gura
Add that to your wardrobe. I don't own it either.
Lisa Mateo
I don't know.
Christine Raffini
I have so many hoodies in my teens. It's not something I have as an adult, but my parents, who moved from Colorado still have, like, two full drawers of hoodies that I just left there when I went to college and never.
Lisa Mateo
They haven't given them.
Christine Raffini
Be warned, Lisa Mateo. The promises of hoodie. You know, carriage may not. May not happen.
David Gura
This followed her Hot Topic Goth stage. That we still need proof of.
Lisa Mateo
Yes, we do need proof of that.
David Gura
Drawing it all together, mom and dad, Saturday and Sunday. It's a show across two days. If you're just tuning into today, you've missed a lot of the inside jokes, but tune in on Saturday.
Lisa Mateo
It's a wonderful time. It's a wonderful time.
Abir Abu Omar
It is.
Lisa Mateo
All right, let me take you from hoodies to clothing you can wear to keep you incognito. Okay, let me explain. All right, this is from the Guardian. Adversarial clothing are garments designed to confuse facial recognition systems about to go mainstream. So let me explain. These are carefully designed arrangement of shapes, colors, repeated patterns. And what they do is they throw off computer vision systems. So if you're listening on radio, it's kind of hard to describe these patterns. I don't know. How would you guys describe, like, you're
David Gura
having a visual migraine, almost like you've got, like, a visual aura.
Lisa Mateo
That's what it does to these visual systems that are out there kind of tracking people. So that's why they're wearing this. It's a little odd, but it's kind of with fashion. I mean, it's. It's how you speak. It's a form of expression. So they're kind of voicing out their concerns against.
David Gura
We're talking about concert halls. I think now when you go to a lot of concert venues, you're being kind of photographed, especially one in New
Christine Raffini
York had some controversial moments for allegedly using facial recognition. And people don't want to be on these lists. I mean, I think it's really interesting. And I think it's interesting how they're trying to make them wearable too. Right? As you've put these up here, they're all different and some are, some are colorful and some are digitized. And that in itself seems like a bit of a fashion statement. Especially the story we did earlier this week about camo becoming big is a different kind of camo.
Lisa Mateo
See, it's a different camo. I love that.
David Gura
Tying it all together.
Lisa Mateo
It's vacation time.
David Gura
Vacation time.
Lisa Mateo
Oh, geez. Here it is. Martha's Vineyard.
David Gura
Good morning, 92. 9 Boston to our listeners in the greater Boston area to the top of Mount Katahdin.
Christine Raffini
As Tom Keene would say, you roll
Lisa Mateo
that out very smoothly.
Christine Raffini
No comment.
Lisa Mateo
Lisa. One of David Gura's favorite hotspots. Also, the Obamas have a house there. So it is a popular place. This is from Bloomberg. Martha's Vineyard Ticks drive tourists scrap tour thousand dollar rentals. Ticks a big problem.
Skyler Woodhouse
They are.
David Gura
And deer ticks had been an issue there for a very long time. There were a lot of deer. It's something immediately noticeable. But now there are these other smaller, yes, the Lone Star ticks which transmit this Alpha gal syndrome which gives you a meat allergy. You can't eat dairy products. And it's been really wild to watch a how that spread. You hear about it anecdotally and then if you go to shops or restaurants, they sell food items that don't have those items in there and they call
Lisa Mateo
it the Al gal like they call it that on the menu. It's crazy.
Christine Raffini
But can you not, I mean, can you not go to your fancy beach without like trudging through the tick laden bushes? They're just everywhere.
David Gura
Very quickly.
Lisa Mateo
This specific one is everywhere.
David Gura
And the Lone Star. And ticks come after you, unlike deer ticks. Like they are, they're aggressive. Sad that our radio listeners can't watch
Christine Raffini
me doing my thank you for yes, radio listeners really miss but people are showing their vacation.
Lisa Mateo
So not J. V Guru though. Not David Gur.
David Gura
Lisa, thank you.
Christine Raffini
Thanks for joining us on today's Bloomberg this Weekend podcast. Don't forget to tune in live for the show every Saturday and Sunday morning starting at 7am Eastern.
David Gura
We're on Bloomberg Television Radio and the Bloomberg Business app bringing you unique takes and in depth interviews on news, politics, lifestyle and culture.
Christine Raffini
Healthcare doesn't always work great. If you've ever waited on a refill or couldn't schedule an appointment, you get it. That's the kind of stuff Optum is changing. They're using data and technology to integrate patient care, pharmacies and everything else. So healthcare is connected, not complicated. What's that look like?
Abir Abu Omar
Cheaper prescriptions that are easier to get
Christine Raffini
and care that looks at the whole
Abir Abu Omar
person how you need it.
Christine Raffini
Optum is helping make healthcare work as one for everyone.
Jacob Goldstein
Learn more@business.optum.com this is Jacob Goldstein from what's yous Problem? Running a business is hard enough. Don't make it harder with a dozen apps that don't talk to each other. One for sales, another for inventory, a separate one for accounting. That's software overload. Odoo is the all in one platform that replaces them all. CRM, accounting, inventory, E Commerce, hr. Fully integrated, easy to use, and built to grow with your business. Thousands have already made the switch. Why not you try Odoo for free at o d o o.com that's odoo.com
David Gura
Some people use chatgpt to answer questions. Others use it to get real working done. With ChatGPT work, you bring the goal
Jacob Goldstein
plus real inputs like briefs, notes, files,
David Gura
feedback, data, and project plans. It can help turn them into an
Jacob Goldstein
analysis, tracker, deck, outline, prototype, or workflow
David Gura
you can review and keep shaping.
Haley Stevens
You stay in control, giving direction and
Jacob Goldstein
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Haley Stevens
Put ChatGPT to work on your most
David Gura
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Hosts: David Gura, Christina Raffini, Lisa Mateo
Episode Theme: In-depth conversations on news, politics, science, lifestyle, and culture, with a focus on U.S.-Iran tensions over the Strait of Hormuz, Michigan’s contentious Democratic primary, Europe’s solar eclipse, and cultural trends.
This episode of Bloomberg This Weekend dives into several significant conversations:
[02:17–15:38]
“I try to remind people that we're really in the middle of the game here… applying a whole host of tools, diplomatic, economic, military tools… We are still a bit in the middle of the game.”
— David Gura quoting Vice President JD Vance ([02:34])
“Iran maintains that Washington is not a part of those discussions, despite what we've heard from President Trump and the vice president… Qatar is doing its own draft to start mediating to have those wider discussions.”
— Abir Abu Omar ([03:26–06:05])
“These talks are extremely fragile...the president feels a bit boxed in right now… raising questions as to what is the goal right now, especially as it seems these conversations are not going well.”
— Skyler Woodhouse ([06:38])
“You don't have to go by the words of either part of the warring parties. Traders don't even assume [the Strait will reopen quickly]… even if there was an immediate reopening… it’ll take weeks, best case, if not months, to start seeing a normal trickle of oil barrels.”
— Abir Abu Omar ([09:08])
“The White House wants to paint a pretty picture... as the November midterms creep up, polls have shown that [voters] are not highly supportive of what the president decided to do in regards to the war with Iran.”
— Skyler Woodhouse ([11:48])
[18:04–34:13]
“I think America, truthfully… are just so sick of this negative, nasty, constant campaigning, but hurt if you don't win. I've had a great ride… I'm a passionate, industrial policy geek Democrat. I'm a Zionist. And I’m certainly going to continue to say that loudly and proudly, particularly as I’m leaving the halls of power.”
— Haley Stevens ([19:52–21:49])
On Democratic unity:
“I'm just happy to be on the team. Honestly, I love this country. I love American democracy. I love fighting for people to make government work for them.”
— Haley Stevens ([23:46])
On advice after a tough primary:
“I knew what I was signing up for… Politics is a blood sport, okay?... The reason you do these primaries is you bring people together when it's over. So I’m just doing it in the Haley way.”
— Haley Stevens ([26:31])
Progressive vs. Moderate Fight:
“One person doesn't define the Democratic Party. We are a big group. I mean, the Republicans are a big group. Then there's this independent chunk that just kind of swings…”
— Haley Stevens ([31:56])
Memorable sign-off:
“Hey, that's America, baby.”
— Haley Stevens ([34:13])
[37:21–43:52]
Eclipse Anticipation:
“We’re even more excited, especially because in Europe we've not seen a total solar eclipse since 1999… We are not going to see another in the UK until 2090.”
— Astronomer Imran Bell ([38:27])
On the magical feeling of totality:
“It's totally magical... The animals can react because the sky will get darker, even though it's the daytime, it's not the right time. It can confuse animals a little bit.”
— Imran Bell ([39:40])
Science Impact:
“One of the first bits of evidence for Einstein’s theory of general relativity was during a total solar eclipse in 1919... A total solar eclipse allowed us to discover the element helium.”
— Imran Bell ([41:38])
[46:52–54:14]
Coldplay, Olivia Rodrigo, Charlie XCX among artists offering $20 tickets (Infinity Tickets, Silver Star), with box office pick-up and seat assignment on the day to deter scalpers.
“It's not new... Garth Brooks, the Rolling Stones have this program called Lucky Dip... But they sell out fast.”
— Lisa Mateo ([47:06–47:59])
Discussion on high ticket prices, equitable access for fans, and family dynamics around expensive events.
Original Tone & Language:
The discussion is dynamic yet accessible, marked by candid political analysis, expert science communication, and the hosts' informal, quick-witted banter. Political guests are frank and direct, scientists passionate, and lifestyle segments are lively and relatable.
Listen for:
Candid quotes, nuanced geopolitical analysis, a celebration of democratic process—plus, where to get $20 concert tickets and how to survive tick season on your summer vacation.