Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

U.S. Job Market Cooled Off In June, Adding 209K Jobs; Twitter Threatens To Sue Meta After Huge "Threads" Launch; Door Dash, Grubhub, Uber Eats Sue NYC Over Wage Law; Interview With Scott Mann, Playwriter Of "Last Out, Eulogy Of A Green Beret". Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired July 07, 2023 - 13:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:31:13]

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN HOST: All right. The U.S. job market cooling, but certainly not going ice cold. The U.S. economy added 209,000 jobs in June. Not red hot, still pretty warm. A bit below expectation.

The question now to the Fed is, is that cool enough for it to recalculate its thinking on rate hikes?

The Biden White House chalks it up as another step in the right direction.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JULIE SU, ACTING LABOR SECRETARY: It's stable, it's strong. Combined with a 3.6 unemployment rate, which you've already noted, this is an unemployment rate, 3.6 rate unemployment.

The predictions were, it would not fall below 4 percent for years, and it has fallen below that, not just this time, but we've had 17 straight months of an unemployment rate that is under 4 percent. We haven't seen that since the 1960s.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: CNN's Matt Egan joins us now here.

Matt, that's a good point. When you look at the unemployment rate as a whole, the lowest since the 1960s, the string of figures we've had since then.

This is a bit below expectations. It's a lot lower than the other measure we saw earlier this week that showed super-hot job growth. Can you tell us where the job market stands right now?

MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Jim, it's so interesting because normally politicians are rooting for spectacular job growth.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

EGAN: These days, as we heard, the White House is looking for sustainable job growth. And that makes sense because if the numbers are too strong, that suggests that the economy is overheating. You don't want that. Too weak, it signals a recession.

You want something between. It seems like that's what we got, 209,000 jobs added in June. Almost 100,000 fewer than in May. And we also saw April and May revised lower.

But if you look at the trend on that chart, you can see job growth is solid but it is slowing down and that's what economists want to see.

Look at the unemployment rate. On the left side of that chart, it spiked during Covid to almost 15 percent. Now, 3.6 percent. That's historically very low.

And another encouraging development from today's report is that more Americans are coming off the sidelines and re-entering the jobs market.

Including women. We know that Covid forced millions of women out of the workforce. But now we see that the participation rate for women 25 to 54 is at a record high for the third month in a row. And that is good news.

So if you put all of this together, it does speak to Goldilocks. Mark Zandi said on Twitter that this June employment report was close to perfect, not too hot, not too cold.

The thinking, Jim, is that the Fed will continue to raise interest rates, including later this month, but hopefully, it's closer to the end.

SCIUTTO: It's such an important point. As Christine Romans always says, the trend is your friend. There are a lot of folks who will always spin these numbers. Look at the trend. Doesn't seem that bad.

Matt Egan, always good to have you break it down. Thanks so much.

Boris?

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Still to come, high anxiety. Rescuers rushing to free dozens of people trapped on one of the world's highest cable car systems. Some impactful rescue video when we come back.

[13:34:22]

And the battle of the billionaires. Elon Musk dressing down Mark Zuckerberg over his Threads and now threatening to sue as Meta's new Twitter rival hits another major milestone. That's next on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Meta's launch of its new social media platform "Threads" has now surpassed 70 million signups in two days. That's according to Meta's CEO Mark Zuckerberg. That makes the potential Twitter killer the fastest downloaded app ever. The meteoric rise also appears to have caught the attention of Twitter

owner, Elon Musk, who is now threatening to sue. Lawyers for Twitter are accusing Mark Zuckerberg's company of stealing trade secrets and intellectual property, saying that Meta hired former Twitter employees.

Musk, in response, sent out a tweet saying, "Competition is fine, cheating is not."

Let's get details from CNN's tech reporter, Brian Fung.

So, Brian, what do we know about the potential lawsuit and how is Meta responding to this?

BRIAN FUNG, CNN TECH REPORTER: Yes, Boris, Twitter is saying former employees of the company, who took devices and documents with them when they left, ended up being hired by Meta to help develop the new app Threads.

[13:40:02]

Now, Meta is saying there's no merit to the allegations. But let's take a quick look at the letter that Twitter sent to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

In this letter they say, Meta has, quote, "engaged in systematic, willful and unlawful appropriation of Twitter's trade secrets and other intellectual property."

Immediately after the letter came out, Meta fired back, saying, quote, "No one on the Threads engineering team is a former Twitter employee. That's just not a thing."

At this point, we don't know who is telling the truth here. We'll just have to wait to see if this goes to court, to an actual lawsuit, then we may find out more.

So it's a little too early to say whether or not this litigation threat has legs. But I think when I talk to legal experts, they say, if this goes to court, it's going to be really nasty and really drawn out.

And that may be what Twitter wants to happen, is to create a distraction for Meta here.

SANCHEZ: Yes, all of this happening as we anticipate a potential draw between these two in the Roman Colosseum. We'll wait and see.

Brian Fung, thanks so much for your reporting.

Brianna?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Popular eating apps Door Dash, Grubhub and Uber Eats are suing New York City over its new minimum wage law for delivery workers. The law takes effect next week and all three claim it does more harm than good. CNN business and politics correspondent, Vanessa Yurkevich, is here.

Vanessa, why are they against this and how does more money hurt the workers? What are they arguing here?

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS & POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, the three companies filed a lawsuit against New York City over this new minimum wage law that's set to take effect next week.

Essentially, the companies are saying, by having to pay their employees more, restaurants would have to incur more expenses, consumers would have to pay more.

And these companies won't be able to have as many delivery workers who are working for them because they wouldn't be able to afford to pay them at these new levels.

Let's take a look at what we're actually talking about when we're talking these numbers.

On July 12th, set to go into effect, delivery food workers would have to be paid $17.96 an hour, at a minimum, and that's not including tips. And then by 2025, that jumps to $20.

These companies would also have the option of paying 50 cents per minute for the amount of time that these delivery workers spend on a food delivery trip.

New York City says there are 60,000 delivery workers in the city. They get paid on average, though, $7 an hour. And many of these workers do not have health benefits.

Delivery workers have been around for many years, decades. But over the pandemic, we've seen an explosion in people ordering takeout. That's because many of us during the pandemic didn't want to go to restaurants so we did takeout.

Right now, delivery accounts for about 9 percent for all restaurant sales. That sounds low but that grew over the pandemic. And we're still seeing higher levels of delivery and takeout from pre-pandemic levels.

Brianna, the city is saying they're disappointed by this lawsuit. They believe ultimately that this law will go into effect.

Because, in their eyes, they believe that raising wages and setting a minimum wage for these workers is ultimately in the best interest of these workers that we rely on every single day for our food delivery -- Brianna?

KEILAR: Right now, they're very reliant on tips then, right?

YURKEVICH: Yes. Yes. Absolutely. Tips are a big part of the deal to make up the difference. That's why they want to put this law into effect to set a minimum. Not everyone is a gracious tipper -- Brianna?

KEILAR: Yes, you never know what you're going to get.

Vanessa Yurkevich, live from New York, thank you.

Jim?

SCIUTTO: Remember to tip your drivers.

Now to some of the other headlines we're watching this hour.

A federal judge says former President Donald Trump has been deposed in a lawsuit against the DOJ brought by former FBI agent, Peter Strzok. The lawsuit accuses the Justice Department of wrongful termination, alleging that Trump's political vendetta against him led to his firing.

Strzok helped oversee the probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election. He was let go in 2018 after the DOJ revealed his texts to another official criticizing Trump.

Also, today marks 100 days since the arrest of "Wall Street Journal" journalist, Evan Gershkovich, in Russia. His family and colleagues at the "Wall Street Journal" continue to call for his release.

Today, his family delivered an emotional statement to mark that anniversary saying they're grateful for all of the support, and, quote, "We miss our son and will not stop until he is free." Feel for that family.

Well, in Ecuador, a successful rescue after a cable car malfunctioned and left more than two dozen people stranded in midair. Officials say all 27 people are now safely back on the ground. They did not suffer any injuries.

[13:45:09]

Wow, look at that. And 47 others who were stranded waiting at the top of the mountain were also transported back to safety. Glad they got back.

Boris?

SANCHEZ: Lucky they're all OK.

Police in the nation's capital are asking for your help after a Lyft driver was shot and killed. Making it all the more tragic, the victim was a former Afghan interpreter who helped the United States in Afghanistan and ultimately escaped the Taliban. New details on that incident when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:50:19]

SANCHEZ: Right now, D.C. police are searching for these four suspects. They were seen running away from the site of a shooting that killed a Lyft driver. Nasrat Ahmad Yar was found shot inside his vehicle Monday night as he finished working an extra shift.

He's a 31-year-old former Afghan interpreter who escaped the Taliban and immigrated with his family to the United States in 2021. A GoFundMe site says he was the sole provider for his wife and four children.

Police are now offering a reward of up to $25,000 for any information leading to an arrest in his case.

Jim?

SCIUTTO: It is hard to believe it is nearly two years since the Taliban took over Afghanistan. U.S. troops withdrew.

For many American troops, it feels like time has stood still in terms of the trauma and horrors of the nearly two decade-long war and all the pain from that withdrawal.

My next guest knows it extremely well himself. He's a combat veteran who also wrote and now stars in the play "Last Out, Elegy of A Green Beret," which helps veterans and their families not just deal with the fallout of the war but to try to leave it behind.

And they also know him for setting up Task Force Pineapple. It's a volunteer group of U.S. veterans who helped evacuate so many Americans and Afghan allies in the chaotic days after the U.S. withdrawal.

He is joining me now, Lieutenant Colonel Scott Mann.

Always good to have you on, Scott.

LT. COL. SCOTT MANN, AUTHOR: Hey, Jim. Thanks for having me. And I just want to say our condolences to Nasrat's family and his wife. All of us in the Special Operations community are busted up over this.

SCIUTTO: Understood. I wonder how -- you're busted up, the loss of life and, particularly, the special heartache, right, of having escaped the danger there to only to find more danger here.

MANN: Yes, it really is something that is plaguing our Afghan brothers and sisters. And it is one of the reasons we're doing the play, Jim. It's not just to honor the service of our veterans and our military families, but also our Afghan partners.

SCIUTTO: Tell me how it stands in your view, the effort to get those Afghan partners out. You know as well as I how many thousands are still waiting the chance to leave Afghanistan despite their service and despite being under genuine threat from the Taliban.

MANN: Yes, it's slowed to a trickle, Jim. There's still some effort to get folks out, and some are meeting success. For the most part, there is a huge backlog.

SCIUTTO: Let's talk about the play here. I watched some of the scenes from it. It's a powerful message here, which I know you take to heart for soldiers suffering. And it seems you're encouraging them to leave it behind if they can.

MANN: Yes, this story is about letting go of the pain. You know, there's so many of us, whether we served or not, are holding onto the pain.

My service, the things with it, Jim, it nearly took me out, I nearly took my own life. And it was storytelling that saved my life.

And six years ago, I decided to use storytelling as a way to help Americans understand the impact of war while simultaneously validating the service of those who lived it.

So I wrote this play, "Last Out: Elegy of a Green Beret." It's an all- veteran military member cast. And we've traveled to something like 28 cities now performing it.

And it is a very, very healing program of storytelling and shared experience.

SCIUTTO: You've done a good job in telling your own experience and letting so many people you know who have suffered with mental health following their service. You've done such a good job of speaking openly about it and without stigma, right, to get folks to seek the help they need.

How important is that?

MANN: Oh, it's so important. That's why my wife and I founded the Hero's Journey, where we focus on helping warriors and their families find their voice and tell their story.

Because Jim, we had 80,000-plus calls to the V.A. hotline in March alone.

SCIUTTO: Wow.

MANN: I mean, we're sitting on a tsunami. Mental health is this moral injury as the Afghanistan, post-9/11 war comes to a conclusion.

And you know what we found? A lot of these veterans, they don't need therapy. What they need are connections with their neighbors, to have their stories heard without judgment, and then walk the path of healing with their neighbors.

That's what this play does, what storytelling does at a community level. It's a way, frankly, for civilians to get beyond "thank you for your service" and really get involved with bringing our wounded home.

SCIUTTO: There's a threat here that goes back to the wake of Vietnam as well and the play, "Tracers." Of course, Gary Sinise sponsored your play. He had involvement with it then.

[13:55:00]

And the shared experience, right, to those decades ago, soldiers who came home after a difficult war to uncertain receptions here and a whole host of issues. What is the importance of that tie?

MANN: It's hauntingly similar, Jim. You know, Gary Sinise, I can't say enough about him and his foundation. He watched the film version of our play on Amazon Prime after the Afghanistan collapse, and he was so moved by it that he called me out of the blue, and we spoke.

He said, "You know, this is what we did with 'Tracers' in post- Vietnam." I said, "Yes, this is the modern-day evolution to 'Tracers.'" He agreed and he helped us put this thing on tour. He sponsored it. And we are taking it on tour across the country in October with him.

And we are going to keep going. We're going to keep pushing this show into every community that will have us.

SCIUTTO: More power to you. I'm going to do my best to help you spread the word. And I know it's a great service to veterans like yourself and others.

Lieutenant Colonel Scott Mann, thanks so much for joining us.

MANN: Thank you, Jim. And thank you for standing up for our veterans. It means a lot.

SCIUTTO: Happy to help.

Boris?

SANCHEZ: A major, controversial decision as the United States gets ready to send weapons banned by many countries to Ukraine. We're set to hear from the White House in just moments. We're going to see what they have to say about this when CNN NEWS CENTRAL comes back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)