Oil Drops Ahead of UN Meetings; Networks Sue Over White House Press Ban

20:18Carol Massar:So yay, but yet we're still paying higher energy prices. Well, that could be solved very simply. You want to lower energy bills in New England? People are pointing to the 30 gigawatts of offshore wind that was supposed to be built that's getting blocked, I would point to the fact that we've had 30 gigawatts of reliable power generation that would have been fed by low-cost natural gas is the reason why energy bills are up. We had diesel up on the screen just now. I mean, the problem is you're not filling up diesel trucks with natural gas. That's the problem. And the only alternative we have towards natural gas with low-cost solutions is propane.

20:49And EQT actually just purchased a propane facility in New England. We're making every effort we can to get as much energy to places that are obviously energy starved. Americans need to understand your energy bills being high, completely unacceptable. It's completely self-inflicted. We are a superpower when it comes to producing energy. Our kryptonite, though, is getting infrastructure built. That's why we need to get perm reform and let us get back to doing what we do, which is lowering energy bills, cleaning up the environment, putting more decarbonizing solutions in place and providing energy security, not just for Americans, but for our allies around the world.

21:27Stay with us. More from Bloomberg Businessweek Daily coming up after this.

21:36Carol Massar:This is the Bloomberg Tech Minute brought to you by ChatGPT. Now with ChatGPT work. I'm Carol Masser. AI is creating a new path for musical stardom. As Bloomberg's Lucas Shaw and Ashley Carman report, Suno, an AI-generated music company, lets users generate a song in any style based on a text prompt. People can upload their own lyrics or start from scratch, record their own voices, or rely on ones provided by Suno. While most of the songs generated on the service go unheard of by the masses, a few have taken off, including a recent TikTok trend that involves users uploading text messages to Suno and turning them into musical performances, like taking the text from a crazy night out and making it a gospel song.

22:20Carol Massar:Suno's pitch to investors is that it'll democratize music creation, leading to a more than$5 billion valuation for the company. The music industry, it's watching, as its biggest concern about AI is whether record labels, rights holders, and artists will be compensated for the work they claim built the training models for companies like Suno. Another question? Will these AI bangers have any staying power or just be one-hit wonders? That's the Bloomberg Tech Minute brought to you by ChatGPT. Put ChatGPT to work on your most ambitious ideas and projects. Get started at chatgpt.com today by selecting work mode, available on Plus and Pro plans.

23:00You already know how AI is changing how everyday work gets done, how much ground you can cover, and how fast a team can scale. To stay ahead, you need the tools that give you a competitive advantage built for this new era. Welcome to Agentic Revenue. Adio is the CRM for this world. It meets you where you work, compounds every customer signal into context, then acts on it across your pipeline to let you move in on match speed and scale. With agents and automations for every job in revenue, Adio orchestrates your work around the clock. Built to handle the scale of your workloads, extensible with API and MCP, and with the infrastructure to keep up with your most ambitious agents.

23:37Loved by high-growth startups like Granola, Modal, and Etched, Adio runs the work behind every win. That's Adio, the agentic CRM, the intelligent system that never sleeps. Picks up leads at 2 a.m., catches renewals before they slip, hands you the answer before you ask. Try Adio free at adio.com slash iHeart. That's adio.com slash iHeart.

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24:36Carol Massar:CNN, MSNOW, Politico filing a lawsuit seeking to allow their journalists to enter the White House grounds days after President Trump revoked their access, turning to the courts in their fight over constitutional protections for the press. We should point out this latest ban marking a significant escalation in the administration's efforts to really curb press access to events and spaces that are in the public interest. Yeah, federal courts have previously overturned similar moves against reporters who work at the White House campus, the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution does prohibit the government from making laws that abridge freedom of speech and the press.

25:09Carol Massar:We welcome once again back to Bloomberg Business Week Daily Katie Fallow. She's Deputy Litigation Director of the Knight First Amendment Institute over at Columbia University. She focuses on threats to free speech and a free press in the digital age. She joins us once again in New York City. Katie, this story popped up. We're like, we need to talk to Katie. So thank you for finding time for us. I think it's accurate to say this is just the latest move by the White House administration and President Trump to limit free speech in the United States. You all at the Knight First Amendment Institute have been putting out releases.

25:40Carol Massar:How big a threat is this to free speech? I think it is an extreme threat. And as you say, it's just the latest effort in a sustained attack on the press and on free speech rights by Trump and the Trump administration. And, you know, this is pretty dramatic. On Friday, you have the president saying, I'm kicking out three major news outlets from the White House press facilities, which means having a press pass and being able to go onto White House grounds and go into areas of the White House that the White House has intentionally opened up and dedicated to allow the press to report on the comings and goings of the presidency and his policies.

26:26And what's really important about this, it's not just the right of the press, but it's the right of the American people to have the press from a variety of different perspectives and to independently report on the White House so that the public can understand what the president is doing and hold their elected representatives to account. But you have on Friday Trump saying, I'm going to ban these outlets from the White House because I don't like what they're saying about me. And they're reporting negatively about me. And there is this bedrock First Amendment principle that says that government officials cannot punish speakers, including journalists, based on their viewpoints.

27:09And that is explicitly and by his own admission what President Trump is doing. So then does it set up what kind of legal showdown does it set up? Is this something that's pretty cut and dry and easy for a judge to rule on that gets the press back in there, that gets these outlets back in there very soon? I think it is pretty cut and dry. Of course, you never know how an individual judge is going to react. But first of all, these outlets have already filed a complaint and asked for a temporary restraining order, which I believe the court has ordered a hearing on this on their motion for this Wednesday.

27:47And the complaint makes three claims. First of all, it says that by revoking the press pass, pass passes of these news outlets, the White House has violated due process. And the reason why they're talking about due process is because the courts in Washington, D.C. have for decades held that the White House press passes must be subject to due process. You can't just take away anyone's any reporter's press pass without giving them a reason, without giving them an opportunity to appeal. And part of the reason why they've held that is because the courts have recognized that it would violate the First Amendment rights of reporters to just revoke the press pass without giving any explanation.

28:31The complaint also talks about, you know, a separate kind of legal theory of retaliation under the First Amendment, which again says that the government cannot punish speakers based on their viewpoint. And then the last claim is this public forum argument. And that, again, is a very longstanding free speech doctrine that holds that when the government opens up some of its spaces, meaning government buildings or meeting meeting rooms, et cetera, it has and it allows either members of the public or members of the press to come into those spaces and engage in expression by news gathering and asking questions and reporting to the public.

29:13It has created a public forum and the government may not exclude people from that forum based on viewpoint or the content of their expression. And that's exactly what the government and President Trump have done here. Although safe to say I'm playing devil's advocate a little bit here that not everyone can get a White House pass to cover the president or the administration.

29:37Carol Massar:And, you know, again, I'm playing devil's advocate a little bit like that. Right. So. You know, I try to think in a different universe, different president, different member of the press where somebody might say something controversial and there might be some cheering from the press saying, good thing that you blocked him. So, like, I'm trying to understand in a world where we must embrace free speech, that sometimes free speech is uncomfortable. Well, certainly it is. And I mean, I think one could argue that President Trump's own speech sometimes is uncomfortable. But we want to protect his own personal speech rights as well as the right of the government leader to engage in speech.

30:19But I think one of the things you said is actually important, which is not everybody can go and get a press pass. And by obvious reasons, we can't all go into the White House to hear the president speak. And that's why it's so important to allow members of the press and news outlets that aren't just, you know, handpicked by the government because they are serving as a proxy for the public and they are informing the public and they get the access, but not just for their own rights, but the right of the public to learn about what the president is doing. And I think the other thing is the way this has been set up again by the White House for decades is they say we're going to make these press passes available.

31:00You have to get credentials. You have to pass security review. But the rule is they're not supposed to pick and choose among the reporters or news outlets who can get these press passes based on viewpoint, because otherwise they're just going to choose people that support whatever administration is in power. And I also think it's I mean, I was heartened to see Fox News taking a stand and supporting these other outlets and other, you know, more conservative news outlets supporting the right, the First Amendment rights of these news organizations to not be discriminated against based on their viewpoint, because the importance of this principle is it applies across the aisle.

31:46Stay with us. More from Bloomberg Businessweek Daily coming up after this.

32:12Carol Massar:any style based on a text prompt. People can upload their own lyrics or start from scratch, record their own voices, or rely on ones provided by Suno. While most of the songs generated on the service go unheard of by the masses, a few have taken off, including a recent TikTok trend that involves users uploading text messages to Suno and turning them into musical performances, like taking the text from A Crazy Night Out and making it a gospel song. Suno's pitch to investors is that it'll democratize music creation, leading to a more than$5 billion valuation for the company. The music industry, it's watching, as its biggest concern about AI is whether record labels, rights holders, and artists will be compensated for the work they claim built the training models for companies like Suno.

32:59Carol Massar:Another question, will these AI bangers have any staying power or just be one-hit wonders? That's the Bloomberg Tech Minute, brought to you by ChatGPT. Put ChatGPT to work on your most ambitious ideas and projects. Get started at ChatGPT.com today by selecting Work Mode. Available on Plus and Pro plans. You already know how AI is changing how everyday work gets done, how much ground you can cover, and how fast a team can scale. To stay ahead, you need the tools that give you a competitive advantage, built for this new era. Welcome to Agentic Revenue. Adio is the CRM for this world. It meets you where you work, compounds every customer signal into context, then acts on it across your pipeline to let you move it on match speed and scale.

33:43With agents and automations for every job in revenue, Adio orchestrates your work around the clock. Built to handle the scale of your workloads, extensible with API and MCP, and with the infrastructure to keep up with your most ambitious agents. Loved by high-growth startups like Granola, Modal, and Etched, Adio runs the work behind every win. That's Adio, the agentic CRM, the intelligent system that never sleeps. Picks up leads at 2 a.m., catches renewals before they slip, hands you the answer before you ask. Try Adio free at adio.com slash iHeart. That's adio.com slash iHeart.

34:22Aging is real, and so are the benefits of new Vital Proteins Collagen Sparkling Water. Because around the age of 30, your body needs backup to keep your collagen up. So get your daily glow up now in three fresh flavors, strawberry blossom, lemon lime and blood orange. Improved skin health in as little as 30 days thanks to collagen peptides. Cheers to that. So you can stay vital, stay you. Visit vitalproteins.com to learn more and where to buy. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

34:55Oh, this is a fun one. We're ready. Yeah, we're talking diamonds. There's some news here, though. So the industry is incredibly important to some countries. Take Botswana, for example. We spoke last year to Jen Zabasaja all about this. The country intent on increasing its share of De Beers, the world's biggest diamond company, when Anglo-American divests, but it hasn't settled on a, quote, magic number for its preferred stake. This is according to the nation's vice president, Ndaba Golath. He said this in an interview with Bloomberg TV in London just on Friday.

35:23Carol Massar:Now, keep in mind, this is against a backdrop of the price of diamonds plummeting over recent years due to pressure from cheaper lab-grown stones and weakening Chinese demand. Diamonds have underpinned Botswana's economy since they were first discovered there back in 1967. It's been very important to that economy. The industry downturn, though, has tipped the country as a result of the changes into recession. Nicole Wegman understands the industry. She understands diamonds. She's founder and CEO of Ring Concierge that sells fine jewelry and custom engagement rings. She joins us here in the Bloomberg Interactive Brokers Studio.

35:55Welcome.

35:56Carol Massar:Thank you for having me. I want to start with the lab versus natural debate and where things are right now. I was trying to figure out timing for this because when I got engaged a decade ago, nobody was talking about lab-grown engagement rings. But now I'm talking to people who are getting engaged right now and it's like all lab-grown. Yeah. Last year, lab-grown made up 60 % of our engagement ring sales, which is a huge increase. Cut to five years ago, it, I don't know, maybe made up 20 % and people weren't really talking about it. It was very quiet. And now it's just a part of the decision you make when you're buying an engagement ring.

36:29Carol Massar:You know, it's interesting. I think when I first started covering it here and people would start talking about it in interviews, and I want to say over the last few years or so, my understanding initially they were limited in size. Is that true in the beginning? And then it's changed? And quality. They really hadn't figured out how to make them in a jewelry quality. They used them in different kind of industries, but now they can make them colorless, nearly flawless, any carat weight, any shape. Any color? They, not any color, many colors though. Many colors, the ones you'd want. Can you tell a difference between a lab grown and a natural diamond?

37:07Carol Massar:No, and anyone that says they can, they're just, you know, pushing their own, I think, agenda towards natural. We have a$10 ,000 scanner. We put them in to determine if it's lab versus natural. Could a gemologist with an instrument? No, not even looking at it. Wow. No. Under that little eyepiece thing? No, the loop. No, it requires much more than that. You basically have to look for a growing pattern to determine if it's from the earth or from a lab. So how, in the words of Gen Z, right? How cooked is the natural diamond industry? There is still a market for it. So even though 60 % of our engagement rings were lab last year, 40 % of our, well, I should say 60 % of our revenue from engagement rings was still natural.

37:51Carol Massar:So 40 % of our consumers still bought a natural ring. It's downtrending. It's going to continue, but there's still demand there. It's just a big shakeup and prices are going down. And I think it's very unknown what it's going to land at. Why does somebody choose the natural over the lab grown? I think it's the idea of it being truly rare, truly special, hopefully worth something. They're not that rare. No offense, but there's tons of diamonds. Who are you going to have that? The diamonds? I'm just saying, like, it's really amazing. Like, I just remember watching documentaries, like, years ago, right?

38:26Carol Massar:And it's, like, fewer chosen and given out. But there's, like, have you ever gone to stores? There's lots of natural diamonds. Completely. Big ones, little ones, all kinds of sizes. No, there really are. But the bigger ones, the higher quality, like the auction-worthy pieces, those are actually rare. They truly are. The smaller goods, like the studs, what you're putting in a tennis bracelet, but there's a lot to choose from. Like Lauren Sanchez's ring, is that what you're thinking of? Probably, right? Oh, there's just thousands of those. 30 carat vivid pink cushion cut diamond ring set on a platinum band.

38:59That's not lab grown, I would imagine. I would hope not.

39:01Carol Massar:That's a baseball. Having said that, what's the price differential? Talk to us a little bit about that. Because you go into a jewelry store, there's a jewelry store that my mom used to go to and we grew up going to and stuff. And I go in now and there's natural diamonds, there's lab, there's CZs, There's like something else that like, there's all these different grades, if you will, or levels that you can spend. So tell us though about lab versus natural. Remind us about the cost differential. It's going to be about 70 % less for a lab grown. And the other thing to really consider is you can get a way higher color and clarity.

39:36Carol Massar:So usually the decision consumers are making, it's budget driven. If you have$10 ,000, but you really want a two and a half carat, it's not going to be a natural diamond. You're going to select a lab. But it's the consumers that have bigger budgets that really have the option of choice that are debating what's more important to them, what do they want to wear every day. Don't people, though, that are buying lab diamonds, don't they just go for the better quality? They do, for sure, but it still doesn't add much to cost. Almost all lab-growns are really high color and clarity. Really? They don't grow them in the low colors.

40:09Carol Massar:That's what I was going to say, right? Why would they, right? It makes no sense. It's fascinating. Yeah. What? No, I love this topic. Yeah. Because it's something that I think for so long, people said, we're never going to be able to replicate what Mother Earth does over what, how many years? Oh, millions. Yeah. Millions. There were people, I mean, I remember people telling me not that long ago, like, we're never going to be able to replicate that at scale. Right. And look, here we are. From a technological perspective, what was it that allowed this to be recreated on a wide scale in a lab? I think there was the increase in demand that encouraged people to figure out the technology.

40:52Carol Massar:The technology always existed, but they used it in drills. And again, back to more industrial usage. It's energy intensive, right? Very energy intensive. It's not great for the environment, if we're being honest. Like there are pros and cons to both mining, lab grown. You really want to educate yourself because there's a lot of CO2 emissions. And the cost though of the energy though, I guess it's not that terrible if these diamonds. You mean the actual like monetary cost? Yeah, monetary cost. It's high, but they're producing, you can make a diamond in a week or two. So they're, you know, you're really able to produce a lot.

41:29Can you order a custom diamond? Like that's not made yet?

41:32Carol Massar:You can. It's not perfect. They cannot grow exactly what you ask for. You can't say, I want it to end up being this 10-carat cushion. Like, that's difficult. So it's not really happening. Usually there's enough selection. But the most beautiful thing about what Labrone has done is it's just provided choice. You have way more options for your budget, or you still can choose a natural. And that's really what we try to stand behind as a company. It's just increased the amount of choices consumers have. And it didn't used to exist. It used to be very price prohibitive. Nicole, talk about your company because you do have retail, right?

42:07Carol Massar:You have brick and mortar and you're obviously online. Tell us a little bit about, because you've been around since I think 2013. Correct. Just talk about the evolution and how you're selling, where you're selling the most. Because brick and mortar is expensive. Yeah. I mean, we're primarily an online business. So we do have four stores who are in New York City. But the vast majority of our business is done online. And the premise was 13 years ago and still is today, creating transparency and choice for women in an industry that is really male dominated. And you guys didn't love that, right? The whole idea that it was very male dominated, yet it's women doing, you know, the gifts are for, or doing most of the buying.

42:46Carol Massar:Correct. I came from the world of fashion where it really is women behind the scenes and typically a woman consumer. And then I was introduced to the diamond industry when I got engaged and I looked around and I said, this is really odd. It's all men telling me what to buy and what I should wear on my hand for the rest of my life. And I thought, wow, there's a white space here. What's the plan for, you know, you started this company more than a decade ago. The plan for the next step of it. You took on funding for the first time recently. Is it an IPO? Is it a sale? What is it? Nothing in the immediate.

43:23Carol Massar:We are still, There's still so much opportunity and so much growth. We definitely will be opening more retail doors, but really massive opportunity in e-com still. And that's something we're really focused on. Is there something about the benefit of retail where people walk in and they see or can look side by side and have them make a purchase? Yes, it's a very antiquated industry. And it's also the consumer mindset is still a little bit behind other categories. The majority of the jewelry industry is still purchased in brick and mortar. unlike fashion and unlike other industries. I mean, I think from an engagement ring perspective, like if we're thinking about that, it's something you don't do a lot.

44:01Right. So there's like a lot to learn about it when you're getting started. I don't know.

44:05Carol Massar:I think there's an inherent distrust to jewelry. I think we've all heard these stories about like someone swapping out the diamond when you get your ring cleaned and are you getting ripped off? So I think when you can look somebody in the eyes, you feel like maybe you're not being taken advantage of. And that's why people really like going into a store. What's the status here in New York of the Diamond District right now? It's definitely having a hard time. I mean, there's definitely a huge shift to lab grown, but basically you have to be able to increase your volume enough to make up for the decrease in the price point.

44:35Carol Massar:And that's really difficult because the same amount of people are getting engaged, but now they're spending 70 % less. So it's tough. So the diamond industry in the Diamond District here in New York City is shifting also to lab grown in a big way? Yes. At first, people took a side. Yeah. We never did. we really believed in it's the consumer's choice, but most people were really either full-blown lab-grown and they were opening up these growing factories or they didn't even offer it. They were just diehard natural diamonds or real diamonds. I don't think you can survive that way unless you're a heritage brand at this point.

45:08Carol Massar:And most people have had to lean into lab-grown to survive. And I will say that it's a younger generation. They like it. They like the choice. And I think it's important to have that choice. I went to the Diamond District to get my ring And you picked out a stone And like you picked out a stone And then you like I had to go to get, even though mine was like a family heirloom I had to go to get it appraised for insurance Yeah And did you find it overwhelming? I loved it You did? Okay so that's a rare take on the Diamond District Is that weird? Yes, most people find it very overwhelming And it was like a reference to like somebody Fortunately, I knew a guy I knew a guy, well I had a friend who knew a guy Yeah, my friend's dad is the guy.

45:51Carol Massar:Nicole Wegman, thank you so much. Founder and CEO of Ring Concierge joining us right here. This is the Bloomberg Business Week Daily Podcast. Available on Apple, Spotify, and anywhere else you get your podcasts. Listen live weekday afternoons from 2 to 5 p.m. Eastern on Bloomberg.com, the iHeartRadio app, TuneIn, and the Bloomberg Business app. You can also watch us live every weekday on YouTube. and always on the Bloomberg Terminal.

46:27Carol Massar: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, pharmacy, and everything else. So healthcare is connected, not complicated. What's that look like? cheaper prescriptions that are easier to get, and care that looks at the whole person how you need it. Optum is helping make healthcare work as one for everyone. Learn more at business.optum.com. Aging is real, and so are the benefits of adding vital proteins, collagen, peptides to your daily routine.

47:03New vital proteins, collagen, sparkling water. Your daily glow up now in three fresh flavors. Strawberry blossom, lemon, lime, and blood orange. Improved skin health in as little as 30 days thanks to collagen peptides. Cheers to that. Or go with our classic collagen peptides. So you can stay vital, stay you. Visit VitalProteins.com to learn more and where to buy. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. You already know how AI is changing how everyday work gets done, how much ground you can cover, and how fast a team can scale.

47:35To stay ahead, you need the tools that give you a competitive advantage, built for this new era. Welcome to Agentic Revenue. Adio is the CRM for this world. It meets you where you work, compounds every customer signal into context, then acts on it across your pipeline to let you move it on match speed and scale. With agents and automations for every job in revenue, Adio orchestrates your work around the clock. Built to handle the scale of your workloads, extensible with API and MCP, and with the infrastructure to keep up with your most ambitious agents. Loved by high-growth startups like Granola, Modal, and Etched, Adio runs the work behind every win.

48:10That's Adio, the agentic CRM, the intelligent system that never sleeps. Picks up leads at 2 a.m., catches renewals before they slip, hands you the answer before you ask. Try Adio free at adio.com slash iHeart. That's adio.com slash iHeart.