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Jan. 6 Rioter Scoffs As He's Led From Court To Prison, Saying, "Trump's Going To Pardon Me Anyways"; Judge Tells Daniel Penny Jury To Keep Deliberating Despite Deadlock; U.S. Job Growth Bounces Back In November After Rough October; "LA Times" Owner Set To Introduce AI "Bias Meter" For Stories. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired December 06, 2024 - 13:30   ET

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

[13:30:00]

TARA SETMAYER, FORMER GOP CONGRESSIONAL COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: Our troops deserve better.

KAYLA TAUSCHE, CNN HOST: We will see what the optics look like at that game next weekend. And of course, there are several weeks still to play out during this confirmation process ahead of inauguration.

For now, Erin Perrine, Tara Setmayer, our thanks to you.

The jury in the Daniel Penny trial tells the judge they're deadlocked on the more serious charge he is facing for the death of a New York subway performer. What the judge is now saying, up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:35:00]

TAUSCHE: This just in. A January 6th defendant taunted a federal judge after he sent him to prison for one year for his role in the capitol riot. He shouted as he was being handcuffed, quote, "Trump's going to pardon me anyways."

CNN's Katelyn Polantz joins us now with more.

What more did the defendant say, and how did the judge respond?

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN CRIME & JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Kayla, this was an extraordinary scene in the D.C. district court where hundreds of these rioter cases have been handled.

This was a man, Phil Grillo, from New York City. He was being sentenced for nonviolent, but felonies today in federal court.

And the judge, Judge Royce Lamberth, the judge who sat on that bench the longest and is nearing the end of an extraordinary judicial career, puts him in prison immediately. That rarely happens in a situation like this.

And then, as the judge exits the courtroom, the defendant, Phil Grillo, is standing there with the U.S. marshal taking off his tie, taking off his belt, being put in handcuffs, and he yells out, "Trump's going to pardon me anyways."

And his two friends who are sitting there in the front row of the courtroom telling people that they're members or leaders in the Republican Party in New York.

They're shouting at him, "Don't worry, Phil, Donald is going to take care of you."

So just this encapsulation of the political and judicial moment we are in right now with these January 6th rioters being convicted, being sentenced, being brought to justice. But knowing that the moment that Donald Trump takes office, they will be freed.

And in this circumstance, this man, he's going to be in prison at least until that pardon comes on January 20th.

TAUSCHE: Yes. I'm wondering what message you think this sends to the other January 6th defendants. Because, on one hand, you have Judge Lamberth saying that these people invaded the very nerve center of our republic during the performance of one of its most important functions.

But then you have the president-elect himself and his most senior aides saying they will, in fact, be pardoned.

POLANTZ: Yes, I mean, it's clear to people like Phil Grillo that they are going through this process and they have to in a way that respects it, respects the federal judges there before him.

He did say at his sentencing hearing today that he wished he hadn't been there on January 6th when he joined that mob.

But judge Lamberth says that he needs to do his job as well. And he noted he was bound by his oath of office. And the president will do his job. It's as simple as that.

TAUSCHE: Katelyn Polantz, thank you. I know you'll be following that as we get closer to January 20th and beyond.

Brianna?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Day four and more than 16 hours of deliberations in the Daniel Penny trial and the jury appears deadlocked on one of the counts.

The 26-year-old ex-Marine faces manslaughter and negligent homicide charges in the death of Jordan Neely, a homeless man he's accused of choking to death inside of a New York subway car.

Neely's family is now speaking out, saying Penny had a choice not to commit this alleged crime.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTOPHER NEELY, JORDAN NEELY'S UNCLE: Jordan Neely didn't have to die that day. He didn't have to be murdered that day. He didn't have to be the subject of anyone's top topic today in the news.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on.

NELLY: He didn't have to be the example in the example. Daniel Penny had an option, New York City. I want you all to know that. Daniel Penny could have went to another cop.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sir.

NEELY: Even -- even he has the legal right to do so --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sir.

NEELY: -- when he feels afraid.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: CNN's Gloria Pazmino was outside of court with more on this.

Gloria, the jury just broke for lunch. Bring us up to speed.

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brianna, they deliberate right through lunch. And this morning, we heard from them for the first time for today and they sent a note to this judge telling him, we are deadlocked on the first charge, the manslaughter in the first -- in the second-degree charge.

That is very significant because this jury has been instructed that they cannot move to the second charge unless they come up with a verdict on that first charge.

Now, Daniel Penny cannot be convicted on both charges. But before they even start to consider the second charge, the lesser charge, they have to get to an agreement on the first charge.

Now they got sent right back into deliberation by Judge Wiley. He issued what is known as an Allen charge, essentially instructing them to go back and do their jobs.

And this is part of what he told them. He said, quote, "I'm not asking anyone to violate your conscience. Be willing to change your position if the reevaluation of the evidence allows you to do that. I urge each of you to make every possible effort to arrive at a just verdict."

Now there is a possibility here, Brianna, that there's one -- one or two people in that room who are just not agreeing with the rest. And they're working through those differences.

But shortly after they we're sent back to deliberate, they sent a second note. This time, asking for the definition of what is a "reasonable person" as defined by the law.

[13:40:02]

So one thing is clear, they are taking a look at this very closely. Now it is Friday and there is the possibility that there may be jurors

in there who want to go home for the weekend and not have to come back on Monday.

Another significant development, while the parties were discussing the Allen charge without the jury in the room, the district attorney's office said that they were willing to consider dismissing the top charge if the jury hangs on the first charge, the more serious charge.

That is a significant turn of events for this prosecution. They are essentially saying, we'll let the first one go, as long as they can get to the second one. They might be thinking it's their only shot at getting a conviction.

The defense, in the meantime, has asked for a mistrial that has been dismissed. The judge telling the defense attorney in this case that it is not time for that just yet -- Brianna?

KEILAR: All right. Gloria Pazmino, thank you for the very latest. We'll continue to watch today, especially.

When we come back, the November jobs report just revealed losses in the retail sector as we're heading into the holidays.

Also ahead, why Tokyo is testing out a four-day workweek.

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[13:45:36]

TAUSCHE: A new jobs numbers out today for November offering some welcome news after the dismal October employment report.

The newly released numbers show surging jobs growth, with the U.S. economy adding 227,000 jobs in November. The unemployment rate ticking up just slightly.

CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich is here to help us break down the numbers.

Vanessa, what stands out to you in the report?

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS & POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this is a rebound and a surge. This is 227,000 jobs added in November. A very strong number.

And this is the 47th consecutive month of job growth. That's the third longest stretch on record.

The unemployment rate ticked up slightly to 4.2 percent from 4.1 percent. And that is because you have more folks looking for a job. And folks are also looking for jobs longer, on average, about five months being unemployed before they can find a new job.

But I want to draw your attention to the month of October, which you mentioned. A really dismal report, only 12,000 jobs added. Because of two major hurricanes and the strike at Boeing. We got revisions this month for October, but the total that month,

with the revisions still only 36,000 jobs added in the month of October. That is pretty dismal.

And the Biden administration is really calling that more of a blip. Not reflective of the overall jobs market.

But where jobs were added in the month of November, you have health care, leisure and hospitality, government. Those are where the major jobs were added.

Also retail, though, this year -- or this month, excuse me, in November, retail lost 28,000 jobs, which is unusual during the holiday season. But we haven't seen so much of robust hiring this time around, so maybe that tracks a little bit.

Wages also are up 4 percent year over year. That's outpacing inflation, which is at about 2.6 percent.

And, Kayla, as you know, the Federal Reserve looks at these jobs reports to try to figure out the strength of the labor force.

But they also look at other things like how Americans, everyday Americans are doing. And they're looking at borrowing costs and they're seeing that borrowing costs are still very high for average Americans.

So that is one reason we could see a rate cut later this month by the Fed. And just to point out that the odds that the Fed would cut rates was 71 percent before the jobs report. When this jobs report dropped earlier this morning, those odds went all the way up to 91 percent.

So folks are thinking, we're going to see that cut in just a couple of weeks -- Kayla?

TAUSCHE: That meeting kicks off December 17th.

Vanessa Yurkevich, thank you.

Brianna?

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

Workers in Tokyo are about to get a four-day workweek. The Japanese capital is introducing this shortened workweek to help working mothers and to help boost record low fertility rates.

Those rates have actually been falling for years, but they reached a new low in June. And they keep falling even as Japan's government tries boosting efforts to encourage young people to get married and start families.

Also, Paris readies for the reopening of Notre Dame, or as I called it earlier this hour, Noter Dame. But whatever you call it, we know what you're talking about, the gothic gem that has been closed since going up in flames in 2019.

It's going to officially reopen tomorrow with a ceremony that is expected to draw some 50 heads of state and government. You are looking at beautiful live pictures of Notre Dame, right here.

And in Syria, video shows rebels rejoicing as they push further south in their fight against the government of President Bashar al Assad. Rebel forces are claiming to have captured a major government military base in southern Syria.

And an analyst told CNN that it's highly doubtful Assad's regime can survive without some major Russian intervention.

[13:49:27]

Still to come on CNN NEWS CENTRAL, the owner of the "L.A. Times" says he plans to add an artificial intelligence-backed bias monitor to their stories. We'll have details ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: "The Los Angeles Times" is preparing to roll out a new A.I.- powered bias meter on its news stories. The owner says it's about giving readers both sides of an issue.

But it is sparking backlash inside the newsroom, with some staffers calling it an attack on their integrity.

CNN media correspondent, Hadas Gold, is following this for us.

OK, first off, I mean, how -- how would this work, Hadas?

HADAS GOLD, CNN MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Yes, lots of questions. We don't have a ton of detail.

Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, who is the owner of the "L.A. Times," made this announcement about this A.I. bias meter while -- during on an appearance with Scott Jennings on his podcast. He's invited Scott Jennings to join the "L.A. Times" opinion section.

So this is all part of his effort, he says, to what he says is to regain trust in the mainstream news that he believes has become biased.

[13:55:04]

Take a listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN AUDIO FEED)

DR. PATRICK SOON-SHIONG, OWNER, "LOS ANGELES TIMES": So somebody could understand, as they read it, that the source of the article has some level of bias.

And what we need to do is not have what we call confirmation bias.

SCOTT JENNINGS, PODCAST HOST: Right.

SOON-SHIONG: And then that story, automatically, the reader can press a button and get both sides of that exact same story based on that story and then give comments.

(END AUDIO FEED)

GOLD: So first of all, one of the major issues in this is that he's assuming that his own journalist will not be showing all sides of the story in their reporting, which is one of the most basic tenets of basic journalism, that you will get comments and opinions from all sides.

Also, a lot of questions about this A.I. model. What model will it be based off of? Because, keep in mind, that even A.I. models themselves can actually have some biases built in.

We don't have a lot of details on -- on any of this. But this is all part of these mounting changes that the "L.A. Times" owner has been instituting.

It started with some of that backlash to his decision to block the planned endorsement by his own editorial board of Vice President Kamala Harris. That morphed into him wanting to revamp the opinion pages, bring on more conservative voices like Scott Jennings.

We are also hearing that, now, a new rule instituted at the "L.A. Times" that, prior to publishing opinion pieces, those headlines must be personally approved by the "L.A. Times" owner.

I don't know of another newspaper where this happens, although it is well within his right, as the owner of a newspaper, to run it as he sees fit.

But we are getting some backlash from the reporters there. The "L.A. Times" union saying that this A.I. leader publicly suggests that his staff harbors bias without offering evidence or examples.

We also have seen several resignations from the paper as well -- Brianna?

KEILAR: All right. Hadas Gold, thank you so much. Obviously, that's going to get a lot of scrutiny when it goes into effect.

Could facial recognition technology hold the key to finding the gunman in the shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson? New York police certainly hope so. We'll have more on that ahead.

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