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U.S. Employers Added 253,000 Jobs Despite Economic Worries; Final Preps Underway For King Charles' Coronation Tomorrow; NYT: DOJ Secures Cooperation From Mar-a-Lago Insider In Docs Case; Ed Sheeran Wins Copyright Lawsuit Over Song; WAPO: GOP Activist Arranged Hidden Payments To Ginni Thomas; Feinstein Denies Her Absence Has Delayed Judicial Confirmations. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired May 05, 2023 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

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MICHELE NEFF HERNANDEZ, CEO, SOARING SPIRITS INTERNATIONAL: It feels so lonely when you're struggling by yourself. Know that you're not alone in this. I promise.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Such an important message from Michelle Neff Hernandez there.

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: It really is. And a reminder, too, you can nominate your CNN hero. Log on cnn.heroes.com to do that.

COLLINS: Absolutely. Such a good story there. To hear more of her story, you can also see it there.

Thank you for joining us today.

HILL: Nice to meet with you. Happy Friday. Happy Cinco de Mayo.

COLLINS: Happy Cinco de Mayo. There may or may not be a margarita in our future.

Thanks, Erica. Thank you for joining us, everyone. Have a good weekend.

CNN News Central starts right now.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: An insider at Mar-a-Lago. A major new development as the New York Times reports on a potentially crucial cooperator in the classified documents probe. What this could mean for the special counsel's investigation.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Just in this morning, a surprising April jobs report. The labor market is heating back up. What does this mean now for the economy? We'll break it down.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Plus, the countdown to the coronation is on. We're live at Buckingham Palace, darling, as the official crowning of King Charles III happens tomorrow. Those major stories and more all coming in right here to CNN News Central.

BOLDUAN: All right, we have to start with those April jobs numbers showing surprising growth in the labor market when other indicators have very clearly recently been pointing to possibly a cooling off. The new data was just released in the last 30 minutes, and it shows employers added 253,000 jobs last month. That's far more than the 180,000 that was expected.

In terms of the unemployment rate, that has also dropped slightly now at 3.4 percent, down from 3.5 percent the month before, which is another sign of strong hiring. This report comes also just two days after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the 10th consecutive time, all in an effort to rein in inflation.

Do you have more questions today than yesterday? Me as well. CNN's Chief Business Correspondent Christine Romans is here. I don't know what to make of this now. Please help.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Resilient, durable. The job market just keeps chugging here. Hiring picking up in April, 253,000 jobs added. I went back to 2019, there's only one month in 2019 that was greater than that. I mean, so you think of that pre- pandemic.

BOLDUAN: Wow.

ROMANS: This would have been considered a very, very strong job number. And we've been looking for jobs growth to start to slow and have seen some evidence of that elsewhere, but not in this report. A 3.4 percent unemployment rate, quite frankly, is near generational lows. 3.4 percent is quite low here.

So that's a really important one to watch. And I've been digging in these numbers. It looks like 4.7 percent unemployment rate for black Americans, that's a record low. So that means the job market is strong and it's starting to permeate through all different kinds of sectors and demographics.

And so, we'd square that with all you've been hearing about --

BOLDUAN: Yes.

ROMANS: -- tech layoffs and financial services layoffs and, you know, strains in the banking system. And what I see is hiring in business and professional services, in leisure and hospitality. You know, across the board you're seeing hiring here.

So, there's a split screen where we have been talking about a recession and recession watch for more than a year and a half. But what's happening in the job market? It is still quite strong.

BOLDUAN: OK, maybe it's a split screen, maybe it's a yin-yang, meaning, like it's actually all kind of working together. How about this? You've got -- the jobs market is strong and inflation is showing signs of cooling off. Is that possibly exactly what we're looking for?

ROMANS: Wouldn't that be the best possible outcome if you have inflation cooling and the job market remain robust, where you can try to get inflation under control with these higher borrowing costs and Fed rate hikes without throwing a wrench into the labor market. That would be the perfect outcome.

What we don't know is a year of Fed rate hikes, how long it will take for all of that medicine to really work.

BOLDUAN: That's what I was going to ask you.

ROMANS: And there are some economists who are saying, by the end of the year, they expect to see negative months in the labor market.

BOLDUAN: OK.

ROMANS: That there's just all of this tightening that's going to be coming in like a brick wall at some point. But it didn't -- that we did not hit a brick wall in April. That was a strong month.

BOLDUAN: So we've -- I mean, another -- look, another important piece of data, but still we've got like I'm going to call it, the long tail of the rate hikes that we still need to --

ROMANS: That's exactly right.

BOLDUAN: -- figure out?

ROMANS: That's exactly right.

BOLDUAN: All right. Thank you, Christine.

ROMANS: You're welcome.

BOLDUAN: All right, so there's the jobs picture today and there's also the broader picture of where the jobs market is heading. The World Economic Forum put out a super interesting report this week all about how economic trends and technology are reshaping the workplace. The fastest growing and fastest declining jobs, and they were looking at over the next five years.

One key takeaway is that they estimate 14 million jobs worldwide will go away completely over that time period. That's based on the expectation the global economy will weaken and companies will continue moving toward embrace thing in a bigger way, tech like Artificial Intelligence.

[09:05:03]

Let's start with the positive coming from this report. The job types that they expect to grow the most relative to their existing positions in the labor force include AI, machine learning specialists, robotics engineers, and IT security analysts. I am sure you are catching the trend where the growth is going. On the flip side, the top five jobs expected to decline the most over the next five years. Number one, bank tellers and related clerks. This is coming, of course, as more people continue to move to online banking. Number two, postal service clerks. As email and electronic communications replace snail mail.

Number three, cashiers and ticket office clerks. For largely the same reasons, these occupations are expected to decline by more than a third in the next five years. Number four, data entry clerks, as these roles become increasingly automated. And number five, other administrative roles like executive secretaries. Again, due to automation and advanced technologies.

The best advice coming from this report, if you are going into the workforce, are the top most valued skills, analytical thinking, creative thinking, resilience, flexibility and agility. So start stretching. Sara?

SIDNER: All right. It's coronation eve, just under 20 hours from now. A ceremony not seen in the United Kingdom in 70 years will begin, the official crowning of King Charles III. The monarch then will formally become the royal leader of the U.K. His wife, Camilla, will also officially be crowned Queen.

You're looking at a live picture of the -- yes, there it is -- Buckingham Palace right now and the parade route as well. And thousands will soon descend upon the mall outside of Buckingham Palace.

We initially, I am told in my ear from our executive producer Chris, that we had the King, but he is a little busy now, so -- oh, there he is, there he is. There he is. He is talking to folks, shaking hands and just enjoying himself.

Max Foster there right now, joining us. Final preparations obviously being made. The King is out and about. Tell us what we should expect.

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR & ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, he's meeting a governors general and commonwealth representatives really just down at Marlborough House. He just left here at Buckingham Palace where he had lunch. He'll be back here at Buckingham Palace a bit later on where there'll be a gathering of heads of state who've all come in for the coronation.

And I think, Sara, it could possibly be the biggest gathering of heads of state ever because the only comparable event that we can think of is the funeral last year. And that was obviously at short notice and it was also during the United Nations General Assembly. So we think this is a bigger gathering of heads of state.

But we're not being given a specific list by the palace. We're just going to have to wait to see who actually turns up at the coronation tomorrow.

Lots of preparations. They've been preparing for months for this. There have been military preparations at two airfields which are all about getting ready for that massive coronation procession which will leave the Abbey and come back to Buckingham Palace after the coronation.

4,000 members of the military. We haven't seen anything like that since the last coronation. Arguably, one of the biggest events that we've seen in this country since then. It will be a lot of theater, but at the very heart of it will be effectively a divine moment where he's anointed by holy oil and is effectively made the God's representative on earth.

There's nothing less than that. That's how they actually view this occasion. And that particular moment, in the middle of the service, we won't actually see it's going to be hidden because it's this very divine moment, but that's at the core of it.

And around that, Sara, a huge amount of pomp and pageantry, processions, music, a lot of military and also some family dynamics as well. They're trying to modernize it as much as they can, considering this is a ceremony going back 1,000 years. They're trying to have a lot of inclusivity. So there'll be a more diverse congregation there, there'll be other religions involved in the service.

So, a lot of history trying to make it current. We'll see afterwards whether they achieve that. But there's a lot of excitement really about the pomp and pageantry, which we do do pretty well if it goes to plan.

SIDNER: There is nowhere else in the world, I think you would agree, that pomp and pageantry is done better than the royals in the U.K.

Max Foster, thank you so much. John?

BERMAN: All right. This morning, major new signs that the special counsel's investigation into the classified documents found at Mar-a- Lago is focusing on possible obstruction of justice. The New York Times reports prosecutors now have the cooperation of an insider witness who worked for Trump at the Florida resort.

Now, we don't know who this witness is, but The Times reports prosecutors are hoping he or she will help fill in some of the gaps about how the documents Trump took from the White House were handled once they got to Mar-a-Lago.

[09:10:11]

CNN's Paula Reid has been reporting on this for months and months. And credit where credit is due. You and the CNN team had a huge story yesterday that the special prosecutor was talking to the Calamaris, father and son, about security issues around Mar-a-Lago. This is very much part and parcel of that, focusing in on potential gaps with the documents.

PAULA REID, CNN SENIOR LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: You're right. And this is a big headline from the New York Times, a potentially cooperating witness. But if you read the story, even they acknowledge this could be significant. But they don't have much reporting about who this is and what they've shared beyond a single photo of a storage room.

Now, that storage room is significant because classified documents were contained in some boxes that moved in and out of storage. But right now, what we're really looking at is who this person could potentially be. But we know from our reporting that pretty much everyone who's worked at Mar-a-Lago, from the gardeners, the waiters, all the way to operations, and even the head of security, they've all been subpoenaed.

Investigators have been talking to all of them. So it's not clear when they say cooperation, if they mean someone who has provided potentially significant evidence in this case, or if there's someone who has just complied with them and given them photos or other knowledge that they should have as part of their job at the property.

But right now, again, we broke the story that investigators are really curious about whether they have all the surveillance footage from Mar- a-Lago. They need that to understand what happened to those classified documents once they went down to Florida and they did a new round of subpoenas.

Just yesterday, Matthew Calamari Sr., and his son, Matthew Calamari Jr. went before the grand jury to talk about what exactly happened to that security footage after they received a subpoena. So at this point, a lot of significant developments. But what all of this tells us, John, is that this investigation is far from over.

Yesterday, we saw several new witnesses going before the grand jury, and they are unlikely to be the last.

BERMAN: Yes, far from over. And also that obstruction is a component of it. Whether or not they'll prove it or not, we don't know, but they're clearly focused on that. To that end, there is an individual who, from the beginning here, has been a key figure. And we know that investigators question, that's Walt Nauta, this personal aide to Donald Trump. Where is he in all of these now?

REID: It's a great question because even as someone who's covered former President Trump for quite some time, you're like, wait, Walt Nauta? He's pretty junior here, but he's become a significant player, and he is significant for many reasons. One, is that on the security footage they did receive, investigators saw Walt and at least one other employee moving boxes from a storage facility.

Now, we've learned those boxes contain some classified materials. Now, we know investigators have spoken with Walt several times, but he does not appear to have been completely cooperative. There are also concerns that he may have given inconsistent statements.

Now, I'm getting a rap cue, but I want to include this also really important piece of our reporting. We know that investigators called in Trump's chief operating officer and executive vice president of the Trump Organization Matthew Calamari Jr., because he received a text message from who? From Walt Nauta, asking him to talk. And they want to know what they talked about and if they discussed anything related to that security footage. BERMAN: Paula Reid, you are our key cooperator. Thank you so much for your reporting this morning. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Coming up on CNN News Central, a new report says the top judicial activist paid thousands of dollars to the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and tried to keep it from public view. A live report on that coming up.

Plus, California Senator Dianne Feinstein insists that she is returning to Congress. But what does that mean -- but does that mean that questions are going to go away now about her ability to serve?

And later, they are on the same side. But now, the private military group fighting for Russia in Ukraine says that it's leaving the battlefield and blaming Moscow. What's causing the rift? That's ahead.

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[09:18:02]

BERMAN: On the radar this morning, Florida lawmakers have thrown a new punch in the state's heated fight with Disney. The Florida Senate passed a bill that effectively gives a board appointed by Governor Ron DeSantis the power to void previous land agreements in the state. That would include the 1967 deal that gave Disney control over the land where it built its theme parks. Governor DeSantis is expected to sign that bill into law and it would take effect July 1st.

President Biden is expected to name the current lead general of the Air Force to be the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. A source tells CNN that General Charles Q. Brown Jr. is Biden's choice to replace General Mark Milley. Milley's four-year term expires in September. If approved by the Senate, this would be the first time in U.S. history that the Defense Secretary and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs would both be African American.

A big legal victory for singer Ed Sheeran. He won a copyright infringement lawsuit against him. The jury found he did not rip off Marvin Gaye's, "Let's Get It On" when Sheeran wrote the 2014 hit, "Thinking Out Loud."

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ED SHEERAN, MUSICIAN: I'm obviously very happy with the outcome of the case and it looks like I'm not having to retire from my day job after all. But at the same time, I'm unbelievably frustrated that baseless claims like this are allowed to go to court at all.

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BERMAN: So Sheeran and one of the plaintiffs who had sued him, they hugged and spoke at length in the court after the verdict. She said she respected the jury's decision. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Also new this morning, The Washington Post is reporting that Ginni Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, was paid tens of thousands of dollars for consulting work at the direction of conservative judicial activist Leonard Leo.

Now, in reviewing the documents and reviewing documents, The Post says that Leo specified that there should be, quote, "No mention of Ginni, of course," in any paperwork with -- associated with this payment. This is how it went according to The Washington Post.

Leonard Leo advises a network of conservative nonprofits, including the Judicial Education Project. He then -- he told then-Republican pollster Kellyanne Conway to give Ginni Thomas, quote, another 25k, and that is where the line of "No mention of Ginni, of course" came in.

[09:20:11]

That same day, Conway's firm billed the Judicial Education Project for $25,000. It's unclear what exactly Ginni Thomas did, though, for Conway's polling firm or the Judicial Education Project.

CNN's Senior Supreme Court Analyst Joan Biskupic, she's looking into this. So, Joan, this is some of the latest reporting. What's the bigger issue here?

JOAN BISKUPIC, CNN SENIOR SUPREME COURT ANALYST: Good morning, Kate. Yes, this is all part of what we're learning of -- what we've known has been a very secretive world of money and influence around the Supreme Court and why so many people are pushing the justices to adopt a formal code of ethics.

But I want to say that all these instances that have come out recently in news reports are not all the same and not of the same weight. But let's start by saying what Leonard Leo told The Washington Post in response to that report. "The work Ginni did here did not involve anything connected with either the court's business or other legal issues. Knowing how disrespectful, malicious and gossipy people can be, I have always tried to protect the privacy of Justice Thomas and Ginni."

So let me get to this, Kate, about what's the same here and why these kinds of reports keep raising concerns and what's different. We saw just recently reports from ProPublica about Republican billionaire Harlan Crow giving all sorts of gifts to Clarence Thomas, gifts of travel and lodging, most recently, a gift that involved the -- a grandnephew that Clarence Thomas and his wife were raising, money that would allow that child to go to a private boarding school.

Now, those instances were supposed to be reported as money that came to Clarence Thomas. This instance arguably did not have to be reported in any way because right now, the spouses don't have to detail their income on these forms. But that aside, let me just say that, once again, it's another issue that points up how much we don't know about wealthy interests trying to influence justices, or maybe not even trying to influence justices, but raising that kind of specter.

And that's why there's so much pressure for the justices to adopt some sort of formal code of ethics rather than, as the justices hope, this all fades away. I don't think this time, Kate, this is going to fade away.

BOLDUAN: That's a great point. And you have so much experience with all -- with the court that it's great to have your perspective on it. Joan, thank you. Sara?

SIDNER: All right. Thanks, Kate.

This morning, Senator Dianne Feinstein is insisting her month long absence from the Senate is not holding up judicial confirmations. The 89-year-old California Democrat is facing scrutiny for her extended leave from Capitol Hill as she recovers from shingles.

She has not voted in the Senate since February 16, missing dozens of votes. She has also been absent from her seat on the Senate Judiciary Committee. But Feinstein insists it's not her fault some judicial confirmations have stalled and instead is laying blame on Republicans for blocking them.

CNN's Lauren Fox is at Capitol Hill for us on this. Lauren, the New York Times editorial board this morning had a very strong op ed, urging Feinstein to make the, what they called, responsible decision. How big of a deal is that? Does it matter to her and her people?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Sara, obviously pressure is really ratcheting upon the 89-year-old Senator Dianne Feinstein. She served more than three decades in the U.S. Senate, but she is facing more and more pressure to step aside because of her prolonged absence, both from the U.S. Senate and her seat on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

That editorial board writes, in part, quote, "If members can't effectively represent their constituents, they should not hesitate to turn their job over to someone who can. Mrs. Feinstein owes California a responsible decision."

We still don't know when Senator Feinstein may return to the Senate. Her office has said that she continues to consult with medical advice to try to understand when it would be safe for her to return. But she did push back yesterday on growing arguments that her absence has had a real impact on the Biden administration's ability to fill judicial seats, arguing, quote, "There has been no slowdown. When I return to the Senate, we will be able to move on the remaining qualified nominees."

Now, Sara, what's been happening is there have been a number of judicial nominees that were in the pipeline ready to go to the Senate floor. That means they'd already been approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee either before Senator Feinstein's absence or because their votes were bipartisan in the committee.

The issue becomes, once you work through about a dozen nominees that were left in that pipeline, you run into a situation perhaps in a matter of weeks, where you just don't have as many judicial nominees to put on the Senate floor. That is where the slowdown really could unfold. Sara?

[09:25:15]

SIDNER: All right, Lauren Fox, thank you for all that from Capitol Hill. Kate?

BOLDUAN: We could soon see a huge shift in the battlefield in Ukraine. The private mercenary group leading Russia's fight in Bakhmut is now threatening to leave.

Plus, a Florida man punches an umpire at his son's baseball game. And it was all caught on tape, of course. What he's saying about it this morning?

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