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Release of New Job Data Suggests Inflation May Be Slowing Slightly; Interview with Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su; Plan to Ensure Overtime Pay for 3.6M Workers Unveiled by White House; Hong Kong Braces for Typhoon Saola; Idalia-Related Damage Estimated to Cost $20B; Updated List of Missing Persons From Maui Fires to be Released Today; White Man Accused of Shooting Black Teen will Proceed to Trial. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired September 01, 2023 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:30:00]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN NEWS CENTRAL CO-ANCHOR: Is this report that we're seeing from August, good, bad, mixed, neither, how do you see it?

JULIE SU, ACTING LABOR SECRETARY: This is a good jobs report. This is what you'd want to see if you are looking for a soft landing. It is continued job growth. It is no longer that break-neck speed that we saw at the beginning of the recovery, but this is what the president has been talking about when you are reaching a point where you got slow, steady growth. We continue to have an unemployment rate that is less than four percent for the longest stretch since the 1960s. And as you mentioned, more people are coming into the labor market. This is a good jobs report.

BOLDUAN: Secretary, I know everyone in the administration is careful to not give advice to the Federal Reserve. But do you see in this data, do you think that it suggests that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates one more time?

SU: So, you are right. We don't comment on their policies. But this continues to be -- you know, when you combine, we have the largest labor force participation rate since the pandemic. We especially see that when it comes to women, right? The percentage of women in jobs is at a record rate for the fifth month in a row. So, people are in jobs. We've also seen some real wage growth year over year. So, people have more money in their pockets, a little bit more breathing room. I think that this is a sign that Bidenomics is doing what we hoped it would do, and that people are starting to feel it in their pocketbooks, too.

BOLDUAN: I want to ask you about that feeling, because it is one thing to talk about the data, you know, as a sign of the labor market and the overall health of the economy and the picture is being seen as improving. It's another thing -- another question if Americans are feeling that way and believe it.

The latest CNN polling from last month shows that the president's approval rating on the economy is worse than his overall approval rating. The last look at it was sitting at 37 percent approving of his handling of the economy. Why do you think that is? If things are better, why do you think Americans aren't believing it?

SU: Yes. I mean, I do think actions speak louder than words. So, I think workers, you know, coming back into the labor market, workers leaving the jobs for better jobs. These are all other signs of what's been going on. When I travel the country and talk to working people, when I talk to employers, when we talk to, you know, community leaders, we are seeing, not just people in the labor market but people who have not been in it before. People who have felt maybe left out from opportunity in the past.

And so, we're really focused on making sure that all communities, when the president says, we have to build an economy from the middle-out, the bottom-up, and leave no one behind, that's the kind of thing that we're trying to do in every community across America so that families feel like when talk about a good economy, we mean them, too.

BOLDUAN: Yes. That message clearly needed to be sent further and longer. You unveiled -- I wanted to ask you separately but very much related to the labor market. You unveiled a new rule this week that would expand guaranteed overtime pay to far more people. About this -- what I have seen is about an additional 3.6 million salaried workers.

The move is being applauded, but also facing criticism from a range of industries, from retail to manufacturing, construction. The National Restaurant Association put it this way, adding this kind of cost to already high -- the already high price of food and years of increasing years of labor costs will leave many of these operators in the untenable position of raising prices, cutting costs, or closing their doors. Could this move backfire?

SU: Well, a basic promise of America has always been a just day's pay for a hard day's work. And part of that has always been overtime. Meaning, if you work a long week, over 40 hours, you should be paid for it. This is a measured proposal that would increase eligibility for overtime to people, you know, who are working hard and still really struggling to get by.

It does start a comment period. We expect to get comments about the impact, and we really want to, you know, adopt a rule that is going to benefit working people, but also benefit employers who have been working to increase their labor force at a -- in a tight labor market.

BOLDUAN: If the result of this -- I know there -- it's a proposed rule right now, but if the result is that small businesses feel that they are forced to, I don't know, demote people to being more hourly wage earners in order to -- I don't want to say get around, but if they are dealing with the high cost, and they -- having less salaried workers, does that seem like that's a rule that's benefiting the worker?

[10:35:00]

SU: Right. I mean, you are raising important question, right, which is whether the response will be to really comply with the requirement, or to find other ways around it? Our hope is that employers have seen that in this tight labor market, improving job quality is a really key way of attracting more workers. It's also important for worker retention. And so, the -- you know, we're hoping that what we will see are employers who understand that making sure that workers get paid for the work that they do is not just good for their workforce, but good for business, too.

BOLDUAN: Let's see where it goes. Secretary, thank you so much for your time.

Rahel.

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Kate.

And still ahead for us. Millions of people in Hong Kong and along China's southern course are hunkering down as powerful Typhoon Saola, equivalent to a category 4 hurricane approaches. We'll take you there, coming up next.

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[10:40:00]

SOLOMON: Welcome back. And right now, Hong Kong is bracing for powerful Typhoon Saola. Officials there had declared the storm a T-10, that's the highest level possible. And it's about as strong, right now, as a category 4 hurricane, with winds reaching 140 miles an hour.

Let's go to CNN's Ivan Watson. He joins us now from Hong Kong. Ivan, tell us a bit more about what conditions are like now.

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. Well, the eye wall of the storm is currently passing over Hong Kong. So, there's a bit of a lull in some of the winds in just the last 20 minutes. We're -- as you mentioned, this has been the equivalent of a category 4 hurricane force. And there are only four times in 23 years that Hong Kong's authorities have declared a T-10 super typhoon, this is one of them. And they have been taking it very seriously.

They shut down the schools today, the stock exchange, hundreds of flights canceled. And that goes for Southern China, Mainland China neighboring us, the City of Shenzhen with more than 13 million people, they closed their airport midway through the day. Today, closed schools as well.

The city has been almost deserted the streets on a Friday night with the exception of emergency workers, police, and fire trucks moving around right now. People staying indoors. The Hong Kong authorities are telling people to stay away from their windows right now.

This is actually a typhoon shelter that I am in right now. So, this is supposed to be protecting boats here in this marina, but we haven't seen high tide yet, that's in about another hour. And the authorities are predicting that the storm surge could potentially break records in some parts of the city, a city that is accustomed, that is prepared and built to withstand very powerful tropical storms, treating this one very, very seriously. Rahel. SOLOMON: Yes, and it sounds like they have good reason to. Ivan Watson live for us in Hong Kong, be safe. We appreciate your being with us.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: Tomorrow, President Biden will be heading to Florida to survey the damage left behind from this week's hurricane there. The storm made landfall Wednesday morning as a category 3 hurricane, which meant 125 mile an hour winds and a nine-foot storm surge.

Thousands of homes along the coast were destroyed. One firm estimates now that the price tag for the storm could reach $20 billion. And as you well know, this is the latest in the string of major weather events that has forced FEMA's disaster fund to the brink.

We have now learned just this morning that President Biden is asking Congress for more help on this very thing. Requesting an additional $4 billion to replenish the FEMA disaster fund, that's on top of the $12 billion that the Biden administration asked for last week. FEMA's disaster fund was expected to run out at the end of August and major natural disaster surely show no signs of letting up.

Boris.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN NEW DAY WEEKEND ANCHOR: As Kate just alluded, there have been a string of recent natural disasters. We want to focus on Maui now where later today, we're going to get a better picture of just how many people are still missing after those catastrophic wildfires. Officials in Hawaii are expected to release an updated list this afternoon. The governor telling CNN last night, he hopes the number will be fewer than 50. Remember, there were some hundreds and hundreds of people missing at one point. Right now, the death toll stands at 115.

We're joined now by CNN's Natasha Chen. So, Natasha, Maui's mayor posted a video statement online last night, laying out what his team did before and after the fires were sparked. There has been a lot of criticism of the way that officials handled the response.

NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Boris, it seems that he did that after a Tuesday press conference when he was pressed on why he or anyone with the county did not communicate with the state about deaths from the fire until the following day. And so, now we know from these videos that he posted last night, that he, himself, did not know that there were deaths until August 9th. Here is part of what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR RICHARD BISSEN, MAUI: The severe gravity of the impact was not clear in the initial hours as our firefighters and police on the ground placed all of their efforts and actions towards helping people in the affected areas.

[10:45:00] I became aware of fatalities on the morning of August 9th, which I shared with the lieutenant governor's team. The realization that we had lost lives was devastating.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHEN: And during the earlier press conference this week, the adjutant general of the State of Hawaii, Major General Kenneth Hara, clarified that even had they known of deaths sooner than August 9th, there may not have been a lot more that they could have done. Even though resources and equipment and staff were available to launch, he says, the conditions were so difficult that it may not have helped too much.

In fact, he said, by the time there was situational awareness, it was unfortunately too late, because this fire was moving a mile a minute. And speaking of those fatalities, as you mention, the death toll is at 115 at the moment. You mentioned that missing or unaccounted list, that will be updated today. Last week it stood at 388, and they have been able to bring the number down by quickly determining some people on the list who are incarcerated or incorrectly reported.

The actual number of missing person reports filed with the police department was also cut in half, the governor said yesterday, because they immediately found some of them unfortunately had died or were in a hospital. That is why the governor is hoping that number maybe below 50 today. Boris.

SANCHEZ: Natasha Chen, thank you so much for the reporting.

Rahel.

SOLOMON: All right. Coming up for us, very few people get married and make baseball history on the same day. But Ronald Acuna of the Atlanta Braves did just that. That is coming up next.

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[10:50:00]

SANCHEZ: "On Our Radar" this morning, the trial for a man accused of shooting a teen who rang the wrong doorbell is moving forward. A judge in Missouri ruling yesterday that Andrew Lester's trial will proceed after evidence and testimony was heard. Lester is accused of shooting Ralph Yarl in the head and arm in April. Remember, Yarl showed up at the wrong address to pick up a sibling when he was shot. Lester is due back in court on September 20th.

Also, for the first time in three years, interest on student loans has started back up. Both interest and payments were frozen in March of 2020 because of the COVID pandemic. Interest rates will return to the same rate they were on each loan before the freeze back in 2020, and payments are set to resume next month.

And the U.S. government is hoping to stop an expedition to the Titanic. U.S. attorney's office has filed a motion in Virginia to block a trip to recover items from the sunken ship next year. The trip is being organized by RMS Titanic who owns the salvage rights to the shipwreck. But the U.S. government is hoping to stop that, signing a law that protects and preserves the shipwreck as a gravesite. You remember the tourist's submersible vessel, Titan, went missing and suffered a catastrophic implosion earlier this year.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: So, when you are known for holding the record for the longest singles match of all time, a four-hour marathon match be the most fitting way for tennis to bid farewell to one of its greats.

CNN's Carolyn Manno joins us now for more on this. I mean, I guess a four-hour match is actually nothing when you're famous for -- what? An 11-hour marathon match. But how did it all go down?

CAROLYN MANNO, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Oh, yes. Oh, yes. It's a five-setter, that's a walk in the park, Kate. No, it is very fitting that it would end this way for John Isner. I mean, he is best known for that Wimbledon match that went multiple days and 11 hours, announcing before this year's U.S. Open that this will, in fact, his last tournament.

He did not go quietly. Yesterday, we would expect nothing less from Isner. He fought all the way to the end. The 38-year-old lost Michael Mmoh in the second round of the U.S. Open, ending with a final set tiebreaker after those four hours. And after a stellar 17-year career, really, he held back tears and thanked the fans for their support after the match.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN ISNER, 16-TIME ATP WINNER: This is, you know, this is why I've worked as hard as I have my whole life to, you know, play in atmospheres like this. And of course, I may not win them all, as we know, just like today. But to play in this crowd -- in front of this crowd and have the support I had is pretty special. So, thank you. And --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MANNO: A big congratulations to him after an incredible career.

Elsewhere in sports, just when you thought conference realignment was over in college football, think again. The ACC board of directors just voting today to approve the additions of Stanford, Cal, and SMU starting next season. When the additions are approved, the league will have 18 teams, with Stanford and Cal departing (ph) the Pac-12. The 108-year-old conference is now left with just two members whose future are unclear. Oregon State and Washington State has been a month-long saga for the Pac-12.

And saying that Ronald Acuna Jr. had a day to remember yesterday would be a complete understatement. The 25-year-old Braves' outfielder is one of the favorites to win the national league MVP. And with one swing of the bat, made history in a game with post-season implications no less. This is the second inning against the Dodgers. He breaks a one-one tie with a Grand Slam home run, but this was not any home run. It was his 30th of the season, which makes him the first player in Major League history to go yard 30 times and also steal 60 bases in a single season.

[10:55:00]

That loomed large in an eight-seven Braves' win, and he would finish the game with three hits and a stolen base. However, that might not be the most memorable part of his day. Earlier, he married his long-time girlfriend, Maria, in a small ceremony at a house in the mountains, about 45 minutes from the team's hotel. The couple have two young sons together. He's actually hoping to postpone the honeymoon, Kate, until November after the world series. Some of his teammates were joking that they didn't get the wedding invite. It was a small ceremony.

But to follow that up, by making history in Major League Baseball, it kind of depends on what side of the aisle you're on for what's most important. I'm going to say marriage. I'm just going to say marriage. What a huge day.

BOLDUAN: I'm going to say, no matter what you and I are both going to stay on T.V. marriage. But I -- I'm forgetting all of it. They have the cutest children.

MANNO: Oh, I know.

BOLDUAN: These are fantastic images of them. That's really adorable.

MANNO: Yes.

BOLDUAN: Congrats to all. Great to see you, Carolyn. Thank you.

MANNO: And you.

BOLDUAN: Rahel.

SOLOMON: All right. Still ahead for us in the next hour, Donald Trump's co-defendants in the Georgia election interference case say, they are drowning in legal bills. The creative ways they're now using to pay for their defense, when we come back.

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