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U.S. Adds 206K Jobs In June, Unemployment Ticks Up To 4.1 Percent; U.K. Has New Prime Minister After Labour Party's Landslide Win; At Least 3 People Shark Bitten In Texas & Florida On July 4; No Relief For Days As West Coast Heatwave Intensifies, Fires Burn. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired July 05, 2024 - 13:30   ET

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

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[13:34:17]

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: Happening now, we are waiting for President Biden to arrive at a campaign rally in the battleground state of Wisconsin. The economy is a top issue for voters.

And jobs numbers out today showed that American bosses kept up hiring in June, creating 206,000 jobs in the latest month. But the unemployment rate ticked up slightly, rising above the 4 percent mark.

I'd like to bring in CNN's Paula Newton to learn more on this.

So we've got the jobs report. Even more than expected. Tell us more about what we learned.

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I mean, look, this is a very strong jobs report. It's, in fact, historic jobs growth. And this has been on a run really for three-and-a-half years now,

It's a little bit hotter than expected, but not by much. And this really means that the labor market is really coming into balance. It means that Americans can expect that if they need a job, they can usually get a job.

[13:35:05]

And yet, it doesn't give the employees too much strength on wages, which tends to tamper down inflation.

I do want to talk about that 4.1 percent though. Let's look at that. And if you look at how, since January 2020 now, the unemployment rate, it has been steadily been going down.

And yet, when we look at that 4.1 percent number, you can see it there now, it's just slightly ticking -- ticking up. In fact, Pamela, that's the highest since October 2021.

What does it mean? It means that, in fact, we are seeing some kind of weakness in the jobs market. That's good though. It's good because it helps keep a cap on inflation. The next number is, though, that I'm going to show you is really interesting. I wanted to show you how high, how strong government hiring is. It added 70,000 jobs last month. That's much more in terms of balance than private payrolls.

And people wonder if the government stops hiring, what does it mean, in fact, for the private sector? Can it really pick up the slack there?

Listen, overall, Pamela, this is a really good jobs report. It's good news for Americans. And good news crucially for Fed Chair Jerome Powell.

We're all watching in terms of what interest rates are going to do. This does point to a little bit of weakness in the economy and will hopefully give him enough room to cut those interest rates in September.

Which, Pamela, as you know, bring so much relief to consumers, whether it's mortgages, car loans, credit card debt. People are looking for that edge.

And, I mean, Jerome Powell, earlier this week in Europe, in fact, said that he sees, and I'll quote him, "The labor market is cooling off appropriately."

This is the kind of thing he's talking about and why the unemployment rate inching up ever so slightly right now isn't really concerning anyone.

BROWN: Yes. It's always a balancing act.

Paula Newton, thanks so much for us.

Boris?

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: We are witnessing history. A seismic shift today in British politics. Voters delivering a landslide victory to the center-left Labour Party, ending 14 years of Conservative rule.

The U.K.'s new leader, Keir Starmer, already on the job, meeting with King Charles at Buckingham Palace to officially accept his new position as prime minister.

He also entered 10 Downing Street for the first time as its newest resident and started naming his cabinet.

CNN's Max Foster is outside parliament in London.

So, Max, again, this is history.

MAX FOSTER, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: It's a big deal here, certainly.

You've got to remember that British voters a bit more fickle than they are in America. They will switch between parties if they're unhappy with the status quo and what they're really feeling about cost-of- living crisis, which we're seeing across Europe.

The way they expressed it was by booting out Rishi Sunak's Conservative party after 14 years, as you say, a crushing defeat for him. And a resounding victory for the Labour Party.

So what we still have here is a centrist government. But we have one slightly to the left. Undertones, though here, you've got to remember, there have been benefits to the extremes here.

So on the left, the Green Party gaining a few seats, which they haven't done before. And also the Reform Party on the hard right, led by Nigel Farage. He's also a quite well-known figure in Trumpian circles.

But quite an extraordinary turnaround. And we were predicting something like this. But I think even Keir Starmer, when he met the king, was pretty shocked by it.

If we show that video again, you can't really hear it, but we've had a close listen. And you hear the king saying, "You must be utterly exhausted and nearly on your knees, a very grueling campaign."

And then you hear Starmer saying, "It's a very sort of quick changeover, isn't it?" And the king says, "The very least -- at the very least," that is, "to get to grips with everything straight straightaway. Must be quite exhausting." Starmer says yes.

And his big challenge is really unity, bringing together all those disparate groups that actually emerged through this campaign.

Let's hear from him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEIR STARMER, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: Whether you voted Labour or not, in fast, especially if you did not, I say to you directly my government will serve. Politics can be a force for good. We will show that. We've changed the Labour Party, returned it to service. And that is how we will govern.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Historically -- well a more historic low of turnout, but actually, a lot of people didn't come out and vote. That number is falling all the time. A lot of disillusionment, Boris, I think, in politics, frankly, as well as the Conservatives.

SANCHEZ: And, Max, we've learned that President Biden reached out to the new prime minister, obviously offering congratulations.

I'm wondering how you think this decision across the pond affects foreign policy, specifically with the United States.

[13:40:02]

FOSTER: I don't think you'll see a lot of difference as long as President Biden is in power. But if you see President Trump coming to power later in the year, I think there will be a difference.

Because he would traditionally get on better with a Conservative prime minister. He's now got to Labour prime minister, who's firmly in support of Ukraine. He wants that campaign to continue.

A lot of attention will emerge with Donald Trump, if he's saying that war has to end sooner rather than later. And Ukraine sometimes -- somehow loses out as a result of that.

They're very different people. We'll see how that relationship evolves.

But I think what you've got here in Europe, a set of key allies to America. A firm move to the right of politics here. But in the U.K., the center ground is held up.

And I think that's made it a bit of an outlier here. So a bit more stability, perhaps, in one key ally, which is the United Kingdom.

SANCHEZ: Max Foster, live from outside parliament. Thanks so much, Max.

Stay with CNN NEWS CENTRAL. We're back in just a moment.

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[13:45:08]

BROWN: Several people were bitten in separate shark attacks in Texas and in Florida. A man was actually bitten on his foot while playing football in knee-deep water on a Florida beach.

And then, in Texas, wildlife officials say there were several attacks, likely by the same shark.

CNN's Rosa Flores reports.

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ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're learning more about the moments when beachgoers on South Padre Island are afraid of a shark that's lurking in the water. And first responders and law enforcement are trying to do their best to save lives.

But I want to start with the response by U.S. Border Patrol because, according to a CBP official, they're just happened to be two off-duty officers from an elite unit, called Bohr Star, that happened to be on the beach.

They were probably vacationing there at the right place at the right time. And they jumped into action.

According to this official, these two agents ran into the water, pulled a victim out of the water and immediately started rendering aid. But the response was not just by land. It was also by air, according

to Texas Department of Public Safety, Lieutenant Chris Olivares. He shared this video with us. Take a look.

He says that this is the shark that was lurking in the water, that people we're afraid of, that attacked multiple people. How do they know that? Because their response was to try to maneuver that helicopter to keep that shark away from the shore.

And so Olivares says that the helicopter pilot was flying very low, trying to keep that shark way until the threat was gone, until the shark swam away to deeper waters.

Now, imagine being those beachgoers, imagine being a mother, and senior daughters in the water while the shark is in on the beaches of South Padre Island? Well, that's exactly what happened.

Take a look at these photos. This mother posted photos on social media. The 18-year-old is the gal with the gauze around her leg. This mother says that her two daughters were in the water. They, all of a sudden, started screaming, running towards her.

One of her daughters had blood running down her leg. She's says -- she said that the good thing is that both of her daughters are OK, but that it was a very scary and intense moment for this family and for the other beachgoers.

Now, according to officials from South Padre Island, they say they're counting their blessings today because there were no fatalities.

Back to you in the studio.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: That is terrifying.

Rosa Flores, thank you so much for us.

Boris?

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

Hurricane Beryl has made landfall on Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. The category two hurricane is bearing down on the popular tourist areas of Tulum, Playa del Carmen, and Cozumel, bringing 110-miles-an-hour winds.

The storm is expected to weaken and emerge in the Gulf of Mexico later today. But Beryl could strengthen again ahead of its final landfall near the Mexico-Texas border this weekend.

Also a Fourth of July shooting to tell you about. This one in Yellowstone National Park. It's left one park ranger injured and the shooter dead. Authorities say an armed man was making threats at a hotel lodge in the park. When rangers arrived on the scene, the suspect opened fire. Park

rangers then returned fire, shooting and killing the gunman. The suspect's name has not yet been released.

And the U.S. government is now investigating nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers who tested positive for a banned substance months before the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

That's been confirmed by swimming's international governing body. Eleven of those swimmers are now scheduled to compete in the Paris Olympics just three weeks from now. Several of those who tested positive won medals in Tokyo.

The criminal investigation comes after mounting pressure from lawmakers and this testimony before Congress by Michael Phelps, the legendary Olympic swimming icon. He testified about the inconsistent application of anti-doping testing.

[13:49:08]

Still to come on NEWS CENTRAL, California firefighters battling through intense record heat as they work to stop a raging wildfire. We'll take you there in just a moment.

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BROWN: Happening now, an extreme heatwave is blanketing the U.S., putting nearly 140 million people at risk. Temperatures are soaring 20 degrees above average in some areas, with multiple cities on track to shatter records.

Out west, the triple-digit temps are fueling massive wildfires as firefighters race to contain them.

CNN's Stephanie Elam live in Sacramento.

Stephanie, so tell us just how bad is it?

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's going to be a hot week. And I know we've had some hot days here already, Pam, but you take that heat and you look at the fires that we have here, and it's just some different conditions out here.

And let's start off by taking a look at the Thompson Fire, which we do have updated numbers. It is now 46 percent contained. This is a fire burning out in Butte County up by Lake Oroville.

There are still some 4,000 structures that are being threatened by this fire. It's burned through more than 3,700 acres.

We do know, at this point, that there's been about 26 structures there were lost. And I can tell you because we were up there. Some of those are homes that had been lost in the fire.

A new development, though. Officials are saying that they have arrested a man who said he started a fire with a propane -- fuel, just trying to do a back-fire.

And the winds that we've been seeing out here, that's part of the danger of what can happen when those winds pick up a little bit of fire. So he was arrested. We do know that.

[13:55:00]

But what we're also dealing with are these temperatures 10 to 20 degrees above normal. So you're looking at places are looking at 110 degrees today. And 112 expected up here by that Thompson Fire.

And then think about these firefighters that are out there are battling that with all of their gear on, on top of it. It makes it very difficult.

Yesterday, we did hear that eight firefighters had been treated for heat-related illness. So this is very, very dangerous stuff that we're talking about here.

And that's not just the only fire. There's also another fire, the Fringe Fire, that's burning down in Mariposa County. That one has forced evacuations near Yosemite.

And we've also seen that two hotels were told to shelter in place last night because of this blaze. Now, it's a smaller blaze. It's about 900 acres. And it is about 5 percent contained.

But when you look at the combination of the heat that we're seeing here, as well as these winds, it does not take a lot for a fire to be sparked.

And on top of it, the National Weather Service saying that this is a lethal heatwave. So this is why officials are asking people to stay inside.

We're seeing these hotter temperatures as climate change is really taking effect out here -- Pam?

BROWN: All right, Stephanie Elam, thanks for that.

And coming up, as President Biden prepares for a primetime interview tonight, his campaign is acknowledging the stakes are high. We're expecting to hear from him next hour at a campaign rally in Wisconsin.

CNN NEWS CENTRAL is back after a quick break.

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