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Hostages Rescued From the Colombian Jungle; Ingrid Betancourt Reuinted with Her Family; June Jobs Report; Salute to Patient Advocates

Aired July 03, 2008 - 11:00   ET

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

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Wow.
Good morning, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Tony Harris. Welcome to the CNN NEWSROOM.

Let us just sort of start with the amazing pictures from, what, about 20 minutes ago. This, on board the plane that brought Ingrid Betancourt to Bogota, Colombia, for this terrific reunion with her family. Her daughter, her son -- her daughter, Melanie, and her son, Lorenzo.

COLLINS: I don't know how there was a dry eye anywhere watching that.

HARRIS: Yes.

COLLINS: It is truly, truly remarkable, as you said. Former Colombia presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt with her children there, and she had mentioned in the press conference that we heard after these moments that they had grown so much.

HARRIS: Yes. Well, six years and they were babies, right?

COLLINS: Yes. I mean, you go away for a week with kids and they change so much. Five and a half years.

HARRIS: Yes. And they're adults now.

I should suppose I should mention, you know, a bit of information here. We've been sort of telling you throughout the morning that Betancourt holds dual French/Colombian citizenship, and now we're learning that she will actually be traveling -- you would think she would want a couple of days on the ground there with family, but we're learning that she will be traveling to Paris tomorrow night. That's according to Colombia's defense minister.

COLLINS: Yes.

HARRIS: And we should mention that also on the plane, as part of the entourage there, the French foreign minister, as well. So...

COLLINS: I bet her children will go with her on that trip.

HARRIS: I would hope so.

COLLINS: Yes.

HARRIS: I would hope so. But tremendous pictures from just about 20 minutes or so. Wanted to share those with you again right here in the NEWSROOM.

Back on U.S. soil, three Americans held hostage in the jungles of Colombia for more than five years, being reunited with their families today. Can't wait to see those pictures. They were freed in that daring military operation.

Susan Candiotti is in Bogota, Ed Lavandera is live from San Antonio, where the former hostages arrived late last night.

And Ed, let's start with you. Just an amazing, what, 10, 11, 12 hours or so.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It has been. It's hard to imagine. They haven't been here that long.

It's funny that, you know, as you're talking about those reunions and those pictures you're seeing from Colombia, I can only imagine that the anticipation for the similar images and reunions to be seen her in San Antonio are anxiously being awaited. As we know, many family members have begun the process of coming here to reunite with these three former hostages now who are waking up for the first time in more than five years here on U.S. soil.

The Brooke Army Medical facility, a facility that really has become so well-known in recent years for being a place where those wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan have come for extended treatment, and now at the center of this other massive story here today. And, you know, the focus right now is on their well-being, physically and mentally, as well.

And they were on this plane ride home, and we were away to hear from an airman who talked about their good spirits. But we also heard this morning from the father of one of the former hostages who talked about how hard it was to not be able to hear or talk or communicate in any way with their loved one for so long.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE GONSALVES, FATHER OF RESCUED HOSTAGE: We have a lot to talk about is right. There's been a lot of things that have happened. And I'm sure there's a lot of things that's happened with him that we'd certainly like to exchange a little conversation for about two, three hours, anyway.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAVANDERA: You know, so, Tony, of course these gentlemen waking up here this morning. Doctors will be checking them out extensively.

We understand that there's a lot of concern over -- one of the reasons they were brought here was because here at this hospital, they can treat tropical diseases so well. It's one of the specialties that they have. Clearly, these three men, having been in the jungle for so long, exposed to many different types of possible viruses or infections, you can imagine all the wide variety of things they might be looking for. But we also understand a couple of the men -- or all through of them, actually -- are still suffering from the plane crash that they experienced more than five years ago in February of 2003.

It was the plane crash that led to their capture by the rebels in the Colombian jungle, so they haven't fully recovered from that, as well, either. But then again, they haven't been exposed to modern medicine in more than five years, so they're getting their first taste of it now -- Tony.

HARRIS: And I can't help but ask what might be unknowable at this point. Any idea, Ed, on when we might see the guys, hear from them, or at the very least get an update on their conditions from hospital officials?

LAVANDERA: Well, we anticipate an update on their conditions later on this afternoon around 4:00 Eastern Time, a briefing from the commanders here in San Antonio. As to when we will be able to hear from them, from the former hostages, that we still haven't been able to get any indication on.

HARRIS: Yes.

LAVANDERA: So, you know...

HARRIS: We're just anxious.

LAVANDERA: Yes, we're just anxious.

HARRIS: I know. I know.

All right. Ed Lavandera.

LAVANDERA: We'll give you that. We fully admit it.

HARRIS: I appreciate it.

All right. Ed Lavandera for us from San Antonio, Texas.

Thanks, Ed.

COLLINS: And you think about the date, too, July 3rd.

HARRIS: Yes.

COLLINS: I mean, tomorrow is the 4th, Independence Day.

HARRIS: Freedom, independence, yes.

COLLINS: It's just unbelievable.

HARRIS: Yes. COLLINS: I would love to know what their plans are. You know?

More now from former Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt about her time as a hostage and the dramatic raid that set her and the others free.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BETANCOURT (through translator): The helicopter took off. I was in my unhappiness, looking at my peers, and this discomfort of everybody in a bad mood, everybody so humiliated. And suddenly I look, and I look at and I look at Gaffes (ph) on the floor, and I thought, did he faint, what happened?

No, I don't know how they did it, Mr. President, but I think it was in less than five minutes, they took off his clothes. I saw him with some -- with a bandana around his eyes, and he was tied. And the next thing was hearing the major who was operating the operation, who said, "We are the national military, you're free."

This morning when I woke up, the first -- the last thing that I imagined was that I was going to be here with you tonight. This is a miracle. I don't know how you can call it by any other name. To me, this is a miracle.

I want to say that for us as hostages, every proof of life was a pain because we felt absolutely humiliated that they would use the pain of families to pressure the entire world and to pretend that something was OK, when in reality, the hostages, we were the hostages, and for us, it was very difficult.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Wow, incredible words.

We want to go directly now to CNN's Susan Candiotti, who is joining us leave via broadband from Bogota with the very latest information.

Thanks so much, Susan. Tell us what you have.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you.

Well, the latest we know is that we had a reunion that everyone has been able to see on television. Ingrid Betancourt, the former presidential candidate, finally, her nightmare ordeal is over. A nightmare she has waited to end that took her six years, four months and nine days, finally reunited with her two children, her teenaged son and daughter, as well as her ex-husband, some French officials with whom she met.

Remember, she holds dual citizenship with France, as well as with Colombia. Yesterday, she was reunited, of course, with her mother and with her current husband here in Colombia after that remarkable rescue operation when members of Colombia's military somehow infiltrated the revolutionary army, the rebels, the FARC, and were able to convince them to take 15 hostages. And this took a number of days to carry out, take them to an area via helicopter in order to meet, they thought, FARC thought, a new military commander.

Well, as it turns out, it was all part of a big fake operation, a fake ruse, rather, to trick the FARC into getting these hostages out of where they were. And, in fact, after that helicopter took off, the handcuffs came off and someone announced, "We are the Colombian Army. You are now free."

Now it is time for Ingrid Betancourt -- she's gone through various examinations. I'm sure there will probably be more debriefing, as well as for the other hostages, mainly made up of other members of the Colombian military, as well as police officers who were held for 10 years. And they will soon be getting together again with their families there.

After that, eventually there is a plan to hold some rallies here in Colombia. President Uribe has asked for the Colombian people to pull together to once again call for peace, to call for an end to FARC, and this is a rally that will be organized one of these days in the near future by the Colombian people to come here to a square like this one in front of the presidential palace, in front of the congress, to ask that FARC be disbanded.

However, we have to remember that there are hundreds and hundreds of hostages that are still being held not only by FARC, but by another rebel group. And those people do not want to be forgotten.

Back to you, Heidi.

COLLINS: Absolutely. We're talking about something like 700 to 800 people. So it's a very, very good point. Very happy on this day for the folks who have been freed, but still need to remember the others, certainly.

CNN's Susan Candiotti, live, via broadband for us out of Bogota.

Thanks, Susan.

HARRIS: A background now on the rebels who took the hostages.

FARC is the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. The Marxist- inspired insurgents have waged war against Colombia for 40 years.

FARC was established in the 1960s as a peasant army fighting for land reform. The U.S. and the European Union has branded FARC a terrorist organization.

Words of congratulations to Colombia's president. U.S. presidential candidates offering praise for the rescue in Colombia. John McCain was in the country when the hostages were freed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I congratulate President Uribe, the military of the nation of Colombia. This was great news. And now we will renew our efforts to free all of the others, innocent people who were unlawfully being held hostage.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Barack Obama issued this statement: "I join with the families and the American people in celebrating the wonderful news that these three American citizens have been released from the terrorist organization that held them hostage for so many years."

COLLINS: We have an important new report today on the state of the labor market, and it shows the economy has lost jobs every month this year.

Susan Lisovicz is on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange with the numbers.

Good morning, Susan.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi.

And the number is 62,000 jobs that were lost in June. But the unemployment rate held steady at 5.5 percent after rising sharply in May. Analysts had actually expected the unemployment rate to tick down a little bit.

It's, as you mentioned, the sixth straight month of job losses. Big losses in construction, manufacturing, offsetting gains in the government sector, health care and education.

As for the reaction on Wall Street on this shortened trading day, well, check out the Big Board. Right now the Dow is up nearly 100 points. The Nasdaq is up nearly seven.

We saw stocks open higher, then give it all up, and then rally back. We expected it to be a volatile day.

Lots of folks aren't here. Trading is light. It exaggerates moves.

Trading, in fact, ends in less than two hours to observe the Fourth of July holiday. And, of course, the markets closed tomorrow.

As for oil, let's mention that. Right now oil is up just slightly after hitting a record high in electronic trading of nearly $146 a barrel. Right now it's trading just around $144 a barrel. It's getting ever closer to $150 a barrel -- Heidi.

COLLINS: I'm not going there. No way. Not yet.

All right, Susan. Thanks so much.

LISOVICZ: Take the weekend off.

COLLINS: That's right. Thanks so much. Appreciate it. Early July and an early tropical storm to watch, just developing now. Rob Marciano is tracking its path. He'll bring it to you in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: We are learning more this morning about the death of a Vermont girl. Twelve-year-old Brooke Bennett's body has been found in a shallow grave near her uncle's home. She had been missing for a week.

The girl's uncle, Michael Jacques, has been charged with kidnapping. Jacques was already in custody on a sexual assault count against another girl. The FBI says Jacques tried to involve his niece in a sex ring with adults.

A short time ago, Vermont's attorney general sought to calm public fears about the sex ring.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM SORRELL, VERMONT ATTORNEY GENERAL: There's nothing from this investigation that's been turned up, nor otherwise are federal or state authorities aware of any on going efforts to recruit young girls or boys here in Vermont to have sex with adults. And you can rest assured that if evidence is uncovered that we feel poses a risk to the public, we will be the first to raise alarm bells publicly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: More charges against Jacques could come after the girl's autopsy later today.

HARRIS: His three-week run from the law now over. A swindler appeared in a New York federal courtroom this morning. Samuel Israel telling a judge he actually did try to commit suicide before turning himself in.

Israel surrendered to police in Massachusetts yesterday. He had staged a suicide last month by abandoning his SUV on a bridge. The words -- do you remember this? -- "Suicide is painless" scrawled in dust. Authorities say Israel had been living at an RV campground. The hedge fund manager was convicted of defrauding clients of more than $450 million.

COLLINS: Everyday heroes looking beyond their own medical crisis for ways to improve your health care. Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen drops by to solute patient advocates.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Medical heroes empower patients facing a health crisis and on a mission to help you.

Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is back now to talk more about this.

Patient advocates. What are we talking about here?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. We're talking about patients who said, you know what, things aren't going as well as I would like. I'm going to try to take matters in to my own hands and make things better. So in honor of the Fourth of July holiday, we decided to honor these heroes of patient empowerment.

For example, Armando and Victoria Nahoom (ph), these two sadly lost his son when he was in the hospital and he got an infection in the hospital and died. And the Nahooms (ph) came out of their grief to start the Safe Care Campaign, and now they are trying to get hospitals to do the right thing and to stop infecting patients since tens of thousands of people die each year from infections that they get in the hospital.

Or, for example, Trisha Torrey. She is another one of our heroes.

She was diagnosed with a rare and deadly form of cancer. She was told that she had six months to live. And she said, you know what? I want a second opinion. This doesn't sound right.

She was discouraged from doing it, but she did it anyhow. And you know what? She did not have cancer.

And so she then took it upon herself to encourage other people to get the right diagnosis. And she actually started a Web site where you can go and research your disease. She makes it easy to find out if you've received the right diagnosis.

COLLINS: Yes. And you know, when did it ever hurt to get a second opinion?

COHEN: Right, exactly.

COLLINS: I just never heard of a time when it doesn't.

COHEN: Right.

COLLINS: So one thing that these advocates all have in common, it seems to be, that they've had a personal experience.

COHEN: They've had a personal experience and they decided not just to make the best of it, but to help others. And these people are tenacious and they decided, you know what? Something bad happened to me, but I'm just for the going to accept that. I'm going to see what I can do to change it.

COLLINS: Yes.

COHEN: And these are just extraordinary people. I mean, these are not, for the most part, doctors or elected officials.

COLLINS: Right. COHEN: These are just ordinary people who had bad experiences.

COLLINS: Yes. When you become sick, or a family member becomes sick, though, it's unbelievable how much you learn about the medical profession.

COHEN: Right. And as one expert said to me, when it happens to you or your kid, you're going to make sure that things are right. Nobody else is going to do it like you're going to do it.

COLLINS: Yes, exactly. How many heroes do you have?

COHEN: We have six of them.

COLLINS: OK.

COHEN: For example, we have a pharmacist who was working in a hospital and he said, I'm tired of seeing all the mistakes that happen here. And he started a campaign back in the '70s before anyone was thinking much about medical errors. And he started a campaign to make sure that they don't happen.

Now, to meet all of our heroes, you can go to cnn.com/health. It is up there now.

COLLINS: All right. Very good. Great information. Thank you, Elizabeth.

COHEN: Thanks.

COLLINS: Appreciate it.

And to get your "Daily Dose" of health news online, you can always log on to our Web site. You'll find the latest medical news, a health library and information on diet and fitness. That address, CNN.com/health.

HARRIS: Stunned families get some amazing news.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My step dad calls me and tells me my dad's home. I didn't even know what to do. I just started freaking out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Americans free after five years as hostages. The cunning, stunning, daring, amazing rescue -- I think that covers it -- in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Well, bottom of the hour. Welcome back, everyone, to the CNN NEWSROOM.

What a news morning. COLLINS: Yes, I know.

HARRIS: What a morning.

I'm Tony Harris.

COLLINS: I'm Heidi Collins.

The main story that we've been talking about all morning long, and certainly it began last night, is these hostages that have now been freed. Three of them Americans coming to the country.

They are now here, they are currently in San Antonio, Texas, at Brooke Army Medical Center. They have been held for five and a half years by FARC in Colombia, known as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. Quite the ordeal for Mark Gonsalves, Thomas Howes and Keith Stansell. Once again, want to give you a little bit more information now about these hostage takers because very few people know much about FARC.

CNN's Randi Kaye with some of the history leading to the dramatic rescue.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After more than five years in captivity, they are free.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm just waiting to come home.

KAYE: This proof of life video was taken just months after Mark Gonsalves, Thomas Howes and Keith Stansell were kidnapped by the revolutionary armed forces of Colombia or FARC. A guerrilla group that survives in the jungles and has been at war with the Colombian government for decades. It's blamed for hundreds of kidnappings including police, politicians and U.S. civilians.

The FARC was established in the 1960s as the wing of the Colombian communist party. It later became involved in the cocaine trade during the 1980's for the purposes of fund-raising. The American hostages were private contractors from Northrop Grumman, working for the U.S. government. In February of 2003, their surveillance plane went down in FARC territory while surveying fields of coca, a key ingredient for cocaine.

The plane's pilot, an American, and a Colombian intelligence officer were shot to death execution style. The three surviving American contractors became hostages, joining an estimated 750 others, including Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt, now free after six years in captivity. Please join me to thank God to the Virgin Mary, I prayed a lot, I imagined this moment very often with my mom. Don't cry anymore. You don't have to cry anymore. Betancourt, a rising political star in Colombia, was kidnapped while campaigns for president in a FARC stronghold in 2002. This video was taken just hours before she disappeared. Last year, a video surfaced showing the three Americans and the presidential candidate sickly but alive. JUAN CARLOS LECOMPTE, INGRID BETANCOURT'S HUSBAND: We are right now in emergency, we cannot wait any longer, more months or more years. We can wait only weeks or days.

KAYE: Prayers of the hostages' families were answered. But it's been an excruciating wait with little movement. Mark Gonsalves mother recent told me she had visited Colombia three times to urge the government to find her son.

JO ROSANO, MOTHER OF FARC HOSTAGE: I look around and see all these mountains and I say my son is somewhere up there. And I'm getting no help at all from this government no help at all.

KAYE (on camera): The U.S. considers FARC a terrorist group and has discouraged everyone from negotiating with them, including the contractors' employer and the Colombian government. But the families of the missing kept pressing and hoping.

(Voice-over): Keith Stansell's daughter talked to CNN last year about her dream that she would some day be reunited with her father.

LAUREN STANSELL, DAUGHTER OF KEITH STANSELL: It's going to be hard. He's missed a lot and there's so much to catch up on. But initially I just want to see him. I just want to hug him, I just want to hold him, I don't want to worry about catching up anything or telling him anything. I just want to hold my dad, I just want to be with him. I just want to be with him.

KAYE: A bait and switch before FARC ever knew what hit them, not even the hostages' families could have dreamed up that.

(END OF VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Randi Kaye joining us now to talk more about this and boy Randi. It's just stunning, isn't it, when you look back and you see these interviews that were done and now we fast forward and we know that those reunions are actually going to happen. It just doesn't always go that way.

KAYE: It certainly doesn't.

COLLINS: Talk for a moment if you would about the health of the former hostages at this point. What exactly do we know?

KAYE: Well, we should know more later today. Right now they're at the Brooke Army Medical Center in Texas getting some treatment. We know that at least one of the hostages, Mark Gonsalves had hepatitis. We learned that from this policeman, Pinchao, who had escaped from the FARC rebel group last year and he did say that. But he also is the first one to talk about them being alive. So that was very good news just last year.

We also know from the Colombian ambassador that two of them, we're not sure which two, have leishmanaiasis, which is this parasitic disease spread by the bite of infected sand flies. Several different forms, the most common though is cutaneous which causes these skin sores. But the good news is that where they are specializes in tropical diseases at the Brooke Army Medical Center, so they should be able to get to the bottom of that and also take a very good look at how they are doing mentally, as well. Heidi?

COLLINS: A really terrific facility down there. Any word on when the families will be reunited? It's been so great watching either the former presidential candidate, Ingrid Betancourt, reunite with her family. We're just dying for some pictures of the American hostages.

KAYE: So many tears. They have been waiting for this for so long. We know the difficulties in trying to reach these families that many are either already in Texas or on their way to Texas. We do expect that they're going to be able to hug and hold the former hostages for the first time later this afternoon. This will be the first time that they've been able to see them up close, make sure that they're OK, the first time in more than five years.

COLLINS: Unbelievable. And the Fourth of July, we keep talking about this happening on the 3rd, Independence Day and freedom and all that good stuff.

KAYE: Gives it a whole new meaning.

COLLINS: It does, doesn't it? All right CNN's Randi Kaye, thank you Randi.

KAYE: Thank you.

HARRIS: Former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt reuniting with her family. Boy, Heidi was just talking about it just a moment ago with Randi Kaye and this emotional scene on the airplane in Bogota, Colombia. Betancourt was among 15 people rescued. Three of them as we've been mentioning Americans in that raid by the Colombian military. She had been held for more than six years.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

INGRID BETANCOURT, FORMER COLOMBIAN HOSTAGE: The last time I saw my children, Lorenzo was very small, he looked like my nephews right here. And I could lift him up and I could hug him in bed. But today, I've just told Lorenzo that I'm going to hug him again in bed and I hope his girlfriend doesn't get jealous because I want to have that touch with my children again.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Oh boy that's good. Betancourt was kidnapped by rebels in February of 2002 while she was running for president of Colombia.

COLLINS: A Bush administration official said the White House was aware of the Colombia rescue operation in its planning stages. President Bush telephoned Colombian President Uribe to congratulate him on the operation. The National Security Council's spokesman said the president is very pleased the hostages were rescued and are safe.

Also, want to share this with you, I had a chance to trade some e-mails a little bit earlier this morning with Admiral James (INAUDIBLE) of the United States Navy, he's the commander of U.S. Southern Command, and he wrote this to me, he said, "It is indeed a wonderful morning. We are all very happy here at U.S. Southern Command. We've worked very hard over the past five and a half years for this, 20,000 flight hours, 4,000 surveillance sorties, lots of fleeting leads and operations, many of our team working full-time on this for years. Most of whom were in tears yesterday when the heli lifted off with our guys on board."

HARRIS: It will be the new Walter Reed National Medical Center. Less than an hour ago the digging began, President Bush on hand for the groundbreaking. He had high praise for military doctors.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: In many fields, you are far ahead of civilian medicine. When Bethesda and Walter Reed merge into one campus across from the National Institutes of Health, this will be the site of many more promising breakthroughs that will benefit not only our troops, but all mankind.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: The new construction means the nearby Walter Reed Army Medical Center in D.C. will be closed. Deteriorating conditions there sparked a scandal and the resignation of the secretary of the army.

John McCain, looking for an edge and making changes. Campaign shakeup in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: What is that?

COLLINS: It's Abba.

HARRIS: Oh, ok.

COLLINS: In fact, we are talking a little bit about money and how much you have to spend for fuel and for airline ticket prices because it all translates down to your wallet. Air Tran taking money out of its employees' pockets to pay for gas, the company announcing pay cuts ranging from 5 to 15 percent beginning next month. And American Airlines says it now plans to cut 6,800 jobs, but 8 percent of its workforce as it eliminates flights and gets rid of planes.

HARRIS: The already weak labor market takes another hit as the economy loses even more jobs. Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange with details on the government's monthly jobs report. Susan, come on now, 5 months now, 6 months. We need to turn this thing around.

SUSAN LISOVICZ: Oh yeah, we do, but the trend is there, it's unmistakable Tony. The biggest economy in the world has lost jobs every month this year. A total of 62,000 jobs to be exact were lost in June, most of the cuts in manufacturing and construction. The unemployment rate held steady at 5.5 percent, roughly in line with estimates. Losses for the year, 438,000, an average of 73,000 jobs lost per month.

But since March, losses have gotten smaller or stayed the same, however the length and overall number of losses are raising new concerns about recession. Stocks, meanwhile, they're rising. They've been all over the map today. Higher at the open, then retreated, now higher. It was a surprised contraction in the service sector and that is the biggest part of the economy.

Right now, the Dow is up about 91 points, boosted by GM The best gainer. GM yesterday fell below $10 a share for the first time in more than 50 years. A little buying on the dip for GM. The NASDAQ meanwhile is up five points about a quarter of a percent. Tony?

HARRIS: So let me see if I understand this. You take a look at the Dow right now and perhaps Wall Street is looking at the jobs lost as a bit of good news. Does that mean that maybe there is some hope for the economy here in the third quarter?

LISOVICZ: You know, it's kind of like what we saw out of GM earlier this week. Remember, its sales slumped 18 percent, but Wall Street was expecting 25 percent. And GM rallied on that. Basically it's not as bad as many had feared. Many analysts say the economy should be creating 100,000 jobs a months to keep pace with the population. Some analysts expect more job losses in coming months and the unemployment rate to hit 6 percent.

The June report shows 8.5 million people out of work up from 7 million a year ago go. Don't forget about inflation. Employers are pressured by record high energy prices. Not likely to start hiring, nervous about prices and economy. So can't quite say it's good news. We have a trend.

HARRIS: We have a trend. All right Susan, appreciate it. Good to see you. Thank you.

LISOVICZ: Have a great 4th.

HARRIS: Yeah, you too, you too, Thanks.

COLLINS: On the candidates, John McCain's Latin America trade tour takes him to Mexico City today. He will visit a Catholic basilica and meet with the president. Barack Obama heads to Fargo, North Dakota. He will speak with veterans and military family there.

HARRIS: Staff changes in the John McCain camp, what's behind them? CNN's Dana Bash has a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just the fact that John McCain traveled to Colombia in South America, not a battleground or any U.S. state, is exhibit A of growing concern his campaign is off course. Now an urgent shakeup to correct it. Campaign manager Rick Davis relieved of his day to day duties. Senior adviser Steve Schmidt, a Bush 04 veteran, will now take operational control to as one adviser told CNN, stop the unforced errors of this campaign. McCain insiders admit sincere problems at headquarters have caused a series of missteps. Here are some big ones. The company McCain keeps. The candidate tarnished by some associates. The campaign hired, then fired, lobbyists who worked for the military Junta in Myanmar.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We will vet everyone very seriously and make sure that it's not a repetition.

BASH: McCain then enacted a new strict anti-lobbyist policy which in turn triggered a staff purge of yet more lobbyists and kept the story going.

PASTOR JOHN HAGEE: The next president of the United States, John McCain.

BASH: More poor vetting led to endorsements by controversial figures like Pastors John Hagee and Rod Parsley, which McCain didn't reject until months of bad press. Another problem, mixed messages. The straight talk candidate seemed scattered like last month when McCain ran a TV commercial distancing himself from President Bush.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: John McCain stood up to the president and sounded the alarm on global warming five years ago.

BASH: Then he went to Houston, oil country, and sided with the president on the controversial issue of oil drilling offshore, reversing his own position.

MCCAIN: A broad federal moratorium stands in the way of energy exploration and production.

BASH: Not to be left out, the problem with stage craft. While we saw soaring imagery from the Obama campaign, team McCain seemed visually challenged. Take that now infamous green screen behind McCain's prime time speech the night Obama clinched the democratic nomination. Not to mention an erratic schedule of news making policy speeches delivered too late to make newscasts.

CARLY FIORINA, MCCAIN ECOMOMIC ADVISER: What I see, frankly, are pretty understandable growing pains of an organization that skinnied way down to fight a primary and now is building itself back up to fight a general.

MCCAIN: I will be the republican nominee for president of the United States.

BASH: But it's been four months since McCain began his general election campaign. He has the luxury of time to beef up this democrat battle as many republican strategists have told CNN for some time they wondered what were they waiting for.

(On camera): We're told what many republicans consider a scatter shot political operation will now be centralized and several veterans of President Bush's reelection team are on board to help fix everything from staging to message. Also, look for McCain to re- launch next week with the tour of battleground states talking about the economy. So many changes were already under way and McCain sources admit a big reason they formally announced the shakeup was to send a signal to worried republicans to hear you. Dana Bash, CNN, Washington.

(END OF VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Fire dangers in California, some of the state's worst scenic vistas tarnished.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Here's a story we're following, The Justice Department reportedly is considering changing some rules to allow terrorism probes of Americans based strictly on a set of profiles. According to the Associated Press, such probes could commence even in the absence of the faintest suspicion of wrongdoing. Triggers could include religion, ethnicity, and travel to certain areas.

Now the Associated Press reports the policy could be in place this summer even though President Bush has been opposed to targeting people based on their race or ethnicity. "NEWSROOM PM" will tackle this later today and we'd like to know your thoughts. Should the FBI engage in ethnic profiling in the hunt for terrorists? We will also be speaking with Caroline Fredrickson of the American Civil Liberties Union.

COLLINS: Wildfires creating problems this morning in California. This is Malibu where a fire has reportedly destroyed a beach-front house and damaged two others. The fire has also forced the closing of the pacific coast highway. No injuries reported.

In Big Sur, a mandatory evacuation now in place, 850 residents told to get out. An evacuation also ordered for Shasta in northern California. Firefighters have been battling wildfires that have burned more than 770 square miles. 64 buildings have been destroyed by fires since June 20th. Officials in Big Sur say fires there could burn through the end of July. And that is an awful long time.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: Can't a guy just watch his kids play soccer in peace? Not if he's running for president of the United States.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: When you are running for president, you can't really run from the camera.

HARRIS: No, no, Barack Obama is finding that out. Even during family time, oh, boy. CNN's Jeanne Moos has the play by play.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's hard to seem presidential when you're wandering around looking for a spot to set up your portable seat so you can watch your kid's soccer game. On a warm night in Chicago full of summer sound. And bugs that don't care if it's Barack Obama they're buzzing. Occasionally someone tapped his shoulder looking to shake his hand, but for the most part daddy Obama was just a guy with his wife rooting for their daughter. Even the thrill of the game couldn't overcome the sleep deficit. Someone who's been going, going, going for months.

(On camera): Watching a candidate's every move almost has a whiff of spying to it. But there's a name for this, it's called the protective pool report, also known as body watch.

(Voice-over): A single reporter acts as the eyes and ears for the rest of the press, following the candidate everywhere to the barber shop for a haircut, to an upscale restaurant. They file a written pool report with a decidedly informal tone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Michelle looks slamming in a black cocktail dress with a severe slit down the back.

MOOS: Actually a woman wrote that pool report. Once in a while a pool reporter gets it wrong. The other day it was reported that a kid put out his hand for a fist pound and Obama refused. Turns out the kid asked him to sign his hand not fist pound it.

SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Of course mom might not be happy when she comes home. What's the dirt on your hand?

MOOS: Much of what's in a pool report is useless, but fun trivia. For instance, back at the soccer game when husband and wife had a mock fight. Pool report used Michelle and Barack Obama's initials to say --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 8:32 p.m., M.O. and B.O. flirt, M.O. hits B.O. playfully multiple times in a row.

MOOS: During a break in the game, the parents high five their daughter.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: M. Obama stood up and demonstrated proper kicking form.

MOOS: When it was time for the candidate to go back to work, he gave his youngest daughter a kiss as she hung on his leg. One of our favorite moments the pool report missed is when dad started reading his blackberry and mom gave him in a sharp nudge. Back the blackberry went into its holster. Bury that blackberry. Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END OF VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: So there you have it.

We have to take a moment before we go today to share something with you and that is it's true sadness here at CNN for a lot of us who have worked with this gal. Jennifer Marnowski, otherwise known as Jen, 10 years here at CNN. I don't know if you can hear it Jen, but the whole news room is applauding. Jen is leaving us and headed to Colorado.

HARRIS: Joe, get out of the shot, it's not about you Joe.