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Indictments and Arrests; FBI Focuses on Adnan Shukrijumah; Nation's Anemic Job Market; Republicans Take Kansas City; Ensuring Seafood is Safe; Choosing the Right Diet; Steele Addresses RNC; July Jobs Report; Adios, Arizona
Aired August 06, 2010 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN ANCHOR: Live from Studio 7 at CNN world headquarters, the big stories for Friday, August the 6th.
He lived in the U.S. for 15 years. Now the FBI says this man has gone from al Qaeda dishwasher to operations boss. His mother says it's a lie.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My son is not violent person.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: The government insists Gulf seafood is safe to eat, even after all of that oil. Diners remain skeptical.
And meet our CNN Hero of the Week. She says get off the couch. Linda Fondren is fighting obesity in America's fattest state.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LINDA FONDREN, CNN HERO: Walking is cheap. Your life is priceless.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Good morning, everyone. I'm Jim Acosta, in for Tony Harris.
Those stories and your comments right now, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
There is a lot happening in the next two hours right here on the CNN NEWSROOM. We're glad you're with us.
In just moments, we expect to hear the latest on the busted oil well in the Gulf. BP's Doug Suttles is briefing the media and announcing he's going back to his previous job with the company.
A summer meeting at the Republican National Committee is getting under way in Kansas City. Michael Steele, the chairman of the RNC, is speaking right now. We will take you there live.
And President Obama is focusing on small businesses with new numbers on jobs out this morning.
But let's get started talking about your security.
From a jihadist rock star using rap videos to recruit terrorists, to a rising star within the ranks of al Qaeda, we begin with the latest in the fight to root out terror suspects overseas and here at home.
We are learning new details about the indictments and arrests we first told you about yesterday. They took place in Minnesota, California, and Alabama. Fourteen people accused of providing terrorist support.
Our coverage begins with Homeland Security Correspondent Jeanne Meserve.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Al-Shabaab, a U.S. designated terror group, on the battlefield in Somalia. Among its commanders, U.S. officials say, two of the indicted men, Jehad Serwan Mostafa and Omar Hammami, both U.S. citizens.
Hammami has allegedly become a propagandist as well, appearing in jihadi videos.
OMAR HAMMAMI, INDICTED: So, the only reason we're staying here, away from our families, away from our cities, away from ice, candy bars, all these other things, is because we're waiting to meet with the enemy.
MESERVE: An expert on radicalization calls Hammami a jihadi rock star.
HAMMAMI (singing): Mortar by mortar, shell by shell, only going to stop when I send them to hell.
FRANK CILLUFFO, HOMELAND SECURITY POLICY INST.: Someone who has feet in both worlds, fuses his jihadi narrative with American culture and rap music. This isn't just someone reciting dusty, old texts. This is someone Americans see glimmers of themselves in.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA: Another indictment in Minnesota charges 10 men with leaving the country to join Al-Shabaab. Authorities are concerned about young men disappearing from Minnesota and winding up in Somalia.
CNN's Brian Todd has more on that in the story of Jamal Bana.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Family and friends believe Jamal was recruited to fight with Al-Shabaab, but that wasn't the worst of it. Omar Bolay, a close family friend, says then came another contact in July of last year and the shock they never dreamed possible.
(on camera): So his father wakes up Saturday morning and someone has told him there's a picture of his son.
What happened?
OMAR BOLAY, BANA FAMILY FRIEND: Yes, through the Internet. And he was really upset. And when he saw --
TODD: Jamal Bana?
BOLAY: That's Jamal Bana, yes.
TODD (voice-over): Pictures posted on the Internet show a man with a fatal bullet wound to the head, the same man being carried through the streets of Mogadishu. The parents believe this is Jamal. The circumstances of his death are unclear.
His mother was barely able to talk about it.
OMAR JAMAL, TRANSLATOR FOR BANA'S MOTHER: "Somebody must have put something in his mind. He must have been somewhat disillusioned and indoctrinated, because he didn't have any clue about Somalia at all."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA: Al-Shabaab has pledged allegiance to al Qaeda, and National Security Correspondent Susan Candiotti profiles one of al Qaeda's new leaders, a man authorities say is linked to the New York subway terror plot.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Investigators have revealed to CNN they believe Adnan Shukrijumah is now directing al Qaeda's overseas operations.
(on camera): How dangerous is he?
BRIAN LABLANC, FBI SPECIAL AGENT: He may not be somebody that's going to come into the United States to conduct the attack, but what makes him more dangerous is that he's out there plotting the attacks and recruiting people to actively do that.
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): The breakthrough came when FBI counterterrorism agent Brian LaBlanc linked Shukrijumah to the thwarted New York subway suicide mission last fall, the biggest post- 9/11 terror investigation.
Najibullah Zazi and Zarein Ahmedzay admit they plan to blow themselves up using homemade bombs. Prosecutors say it was Shukrijumah who called the shots, probably from somewhere along the Afghan-Pakistan border.
(on camera): What did Zazi that he, Shukrijumah, told him to do? LABLANC: Adnan was the one that convinced the three of them to come back to the United States and conduct the attack here.
CANDIOTTI: He told them you go there and you blow up the subways.
LABLANC: Yes.
CANDIOTTI: There are a lot of people that are saying now that he's involved in evil things, planning attacks on the United States. Can you imagine this?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No. That is not my son. My son is not a violent person. He is very kind, generous.
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): In her only televised interview since her son was indicted in the New York plot, his mother insists he's incapable of doing harm.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The way you call it -- the scapegoat.
CANDIOTTI: The eldest son of a Saudi imam, Shukrijumah came to America as a young child. His mother shared exclusively this beloved photo of the two of them. They settled in Brooklyn, New York.
CNN has learned that his Shukrijumah's father preached at this mosque. They lived at this house nearby before moving to Florida in the mid-'90s. His father, who is now dead, opened a small mosque near Fort Lauderdale.
(on camera): In the late '90s, Shukrijumah worked several odd jobs, including selling used cars. His family says that's how he paid for courses, including chemistry and computers, at this small college in south Florida. He even took classes to speak better English.
Well, a few years later, when the FBI began looking for him, his English professor remembered videotaping him at one of those classes and turned over the tape to the FBI. The FBI says that professor's actions proved crucial to their investigation some six years later.
(voice-over): On a hunch, LaBlanc asked agents in New York to show that video of Shukrijumah to would-be bomber Zazi.
LABLANC: From that video, he was able to make an identification.
CANDIOTTI: The FBI says it now has a more detail profile of Shukrijumah in part from 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. Just before 9/11, Shukrijumah crossed the U.S. by train. Later, he scoped out the Panama Canal as a target. He went to Trinidad, London and by June 2001, Afghanistan. On 9/11, his mother, who doesn't want to be named, says he called home for the last time.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He called me and he said, "Do you hear what happened?" so on and so on and so on. They say they put it on the Muslims. I say, "Yes." I tell him, "Do not come. Do not come because they're hauling (ph) all the Muslim people." And he was arguing with me. He said, "No, I didn't do nothing. I will come. Do whatever (ph)." .
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Shukrijumah's mother adamantly denies her son is directing al Qaeda attacks. But when I asked about the admitted Times Square car bomber, she said this --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sometimes you have to do something very alarming for the people to wake up. It's not because you hate them or you want to destroy them or you want to hurt them.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA: That was our Susan Candiotti.
And one other security note. The Senate has confirmed retired Air Force lieutenant general James Clapper is the new director of National Intelligence. He is the fourth DNI since the job was created five years ago. General Clapper will oversee 16 intelligence agencies.
(NEWSBREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ACOSTA: The nation's unemployment rate held steady at 9.5 percent in July. The numbers out today point to a still anemic job market.
The private sector added just 71,000 jobs, and that was offset by a loss of temporary Census positions. The result, a net loss of 131,000 jobs.
Joining us to talk about the story behind the numbers, Professor Thomas "Danny" Boston from the Georgia Tech Department of Economics.
And thank you very much for joining us. Appreciate it. Thank you, Danny.
PROF. THOMAS "DANNY" BOSTON, GEORGIA TECH DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS: My pleasure. Sure.
ACOSTA: So, disappointing but not unexpected?
BOSTON: Not unexpected. The economy has actually been growing, really, as you mentioned, ,kind of anemically over the last quarter, 2.4 percent. So that's not generating a lot of jobs.
And when we look at the numbers, although the unemployment rate remained the same, there were these other factors that were more troubling. That is, we're not creating as many private sector jobs as we thought. We want it to be at least 30 percent above what we actually created. And so there are some challenges there.
ACOSTA: And what are the challenges? I mean, how do we turn this thing around? Because this has been pretty flat for a few months now.
BOSTON: It has been. It has been. Well, there are a lot of challenges.
You know, we just can't move the economy forward. Part of the problem, I think, is we're caught in what John Maynard Keynes, who was one of the most famous economists of all time, called a liquidity trap. And we can think of that really as a cash trap.
ACOSTA: Right.
BOSTON: And so the healthiest sector in the economy is the corporate sector. Their profits are going great. But right now they're sitting on $1.8 trillion in cash, not hiring anymore, not spending a lot of money in investment. That hurts. That doesn't create jobs.
ACOSTA: Yes. And we know corporations are not going to just hire people out of the goodness of their heart. They're going to hire people who make good business sense.
So what's it going to take for those big Fortune 500 companies out there to start hiring people in droves, get people back to work?
BOSTON: Well, right now they're being driven by expectations, the uncertainty of what's going to happen in the future.
ACOSTA: They just took a big haircut.
BOSTON: Right. Right.
ACOSTA: When the markets crashed.
BOSTON: Right. And they are not going to go back there again.
When they went through the last recession and ran out of cash, almost went into bankruptcy -- and they're making sure that they have as much cash as possible. So we have to do something to reassure them, but the other part of that is that the low interest rate, this interest rate now -- short-term rates are like a quarter of a percent, almost zero.
ACOSTA: Exactly.
BOSTON: Those rates are conducive to corporations borrowing as much as they can and holding it for as long as they can, and that's what that whole liquidity trap is about.
ACOSTA: So do you think if the Fed started raising interest rates slowly but surely, that that might prompt a little spending, a little spending of that cash --
BOSTON: Well, you know --
ACOSTA: -- while it's still cheap? BOSTON: Yes, it's interesting. I'm thinking that, but if I say it, it will sound like heresy and I will be drummed out of the economics profession.
ACOSTA: Exactly.
BOSTON: But it's not helping. It's conducive to doing exactly what it's doing, and we're not getting money to individuals who need it -- for example, small businesses and consumers -- because their credit profile is so bad.
And so it creates a lot of problems. And the other problem is that while the Fed is trying to convince all of us in the corporate sector that the economy is performing well, how can you be convinced when you're sitting back looking at an interest rate of near zero. That's like a used car salesman trying to sell you a car deeply discounted.
ACOSTA: Well, and that is what I have been and a lot of folks have been talking about with this economy with the last several months, is that we've almost run out of tricks in terms of getting this thing going again.
But appreciate your time, Danny. Thanks for talking to us.
BOSTON: Great.
ACOSTA: Danny Boston breaking it down for us and helping us make some sense out of it.
I wish we could make more sense out of it.
BOSTON: Yes, I do, too. Hopefully things will look better next month.
ACOSTA: All right. Thanks for your time. Appreciate it.
BOSTON: Thank you.
ACOSTA: Well, later this hour, expecting President Obama to react to the new jobless numbers. He's touring a small business in Washington right now, and we will bring you his remarks live.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ACOSTA: Sixty-five years ago today, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, leading to the end of World War II. Every year Japan remembers and reflects.
This year, for the first time, the U.S. sent an envoy to the Hiroshima Memorial, U.S. Ambassador John Roos. And Ban Ki-moon became the first U.N. secretary-general to speak at the ceremony, calling for a world free of nuclear weapons.
Now a look back at the bombing of Hiroshima through the eyes of a survivor. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SHOSO KAWAMOTO, HIROSHIMA SURVIVOR (through translator): I was 50 kilometers away from Hiroshima when the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. There was a confusion of information. Nobody knew what was really going on, what really happened in Hiroshima.
The families of my classmates who were evacuated with me, they came to pick us up, and they told us what really happened. And there's a panic and a confusion amongst us because Hiroshima we knew didn't exist anymore.
There was nothing there left, just burned ruins. There's no words to describe it. There was nothing left there. And I could just see far away because there's nothing standing.
I lost six members of my family. Actually, my oldest sister, Estelle (ph), who survived, came back to the house to find our mother died holding our younger brother and younger sister. My father and another sister who's 2 years older than I were missing. We didn't know where they are.
We didn't expect this kind of attack to be unleashed upon us. And older children -- actually, older people in Japan truly believed Japan was strong and Japan was going to win the war. But when I saw this ruined -- burnt ruins, I just felt we are going to lose. And actually, we have lost.
Another atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, so we were ready to die. Thirty thousand people came to do the rescue operation right after the warning (ph), but they were exposed to radiation, and 6,000 of those relief workers actually died because of cancer or leukemia.
So I went to see my girlfriend's parents to get their consent from them to our marriage, but I was rejected because they said, you know, I was contaminated by radiation. And my life completely changed after that.
I feel painful every year I go there to attend the joint memorial service because I think that's the day I lost my family. So I go there, but still I feel a mixed emotion. I feel pain, lots of sharp pain in my heart.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(NEWSBREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
ACOSTA: Well, with her weight loss challenge, Shape Up Vicksburg, Linda Fondren is helping her Mississippi hometown battle the bulge. So far, residents have lost almost 15,000 pounds thanks to this week's CNN's Hero.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FONDREN: Mississippi has held the title of being the most obese state for six consecutive years. My sister passed away at the age of 54. Cancer took her life, but obesity restricted her from living it.
You have made a commitment for a healthy community. Let's walk!
I knew that I wanted to do something to help people like her who wished they could live a better life.
My name is Linda Fondren, and I challenged my community to the 17,000 pound weight loss challenge.
Go girl! Go! Good job!
For seventeen weeks, I asked the 50,000 people in Vicksburg to only lose a half a pound. They beat the challenge.
So you made it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
FONDREN: You're there.
I decided to make the challenge permanent because we did not reach enough people.
Yes!
We have a walking club and a nutrition program. On Saturday, the gym is open for free.
Change stations, everybody.
You have to give them the tools and the opportunities to want to do better, and they will jump at that chance to do better.
MAYOR PAUL WINFIELD, VICKSBURG, MISSISSIPPI: She takes to prisoners. She's committed to community involvement as we wrap our arms around this obesity issue.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's to benefit my life. Besides, it gets me off the couch.
FONDREN: Here you go. Hey, I like that.
Obesity affects us all. And the only way that you combat it is to stand together and help each other. We need to make a commitment to change.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA: Nominations for CNN's Hero of the Year are closed, but you can learn more about community crusader Linda Fondren and all the other CNN Heroes nominated this year at CNN.com/heroes.
And we'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ACOSTA: Well, Kansas City is a Republican town this week. The Republican National Committee is holding its summer meeting there with an eye on the fall, and CNN political editor Mark Preston is watching all of this live. He joins us by phone.
And, Mark, Michael Steele, the RNC chairman, will be there. What's on his to do list today?
MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: Well, (INAUDIBLE) the last couple of days Michael Steele has been trying to calm any fears of the Republican National Committee members. These are these grassroots activists from across the country. They've gathered here this -- this past couple days to try to talk about (INAUDIBLE) and talk about how they can take back Congress in November.
What Michael Steele has had to do, though, Jim, is he had to talk about the fact that there's questions about his fund-raising ability, there's questions about how he's actually run the committee. But Republicans, Jim, don't want to be dealing with any questions about Michael Steele or how he's running the committee. They want to talk about winning in November.
Michael Steele spent the last couple days, Jim, talking with these members behind closed doors, trying to calm those fears.
ACOSTA: And Mark, do you think we'll get any mention of Andrew Breitbart and Shirley Sherrod, that whole saga that played out, you know? Breitbart was supposed to appear this coming weekend at an RNC fund-raiser out in Los Angeles, and that has, of course, changed. Breitbart is no longer going to be a part of that.
Do you think we'll hear anything about that today?
PRESTON: No, I don't think so at all. I mean, that's an episode I think that Republicans would like just to put behind them. I will tell you that the folks here that are at this meeting probably strongly support Breitbart, but they're not talking about Breitbart.
What they want to talk about, Jim, is they want to talk about trying to take back the House, trying to take back the Senate. In fact, they're rolling their eyes at us when we're asking them about all of these missteps that we've seen at the RNC. They don't want to talk about that anymore. They're frustrated. They're tired. Three months until Election Day.
What we're hearing here, let's get through Election Day. Let's try to beat Democrats. Let's just forget about everything else. (INAUDIBLE) now.
ACOSTA: But they've got to be pretty confident right -- right now, right, Mark? I mean, despite all that -- the missteps that have gone on inside the RNC over the last year or so, the several gaffes that we've heard from Michael Steele, you know, the Republican Party is -- is looking like they're poised to make some big gains this fall, so they must be a little confident, I would imagine.
PRESTON: Yes. There's certainly an air of confidence here, and it's really building upon three big wins over the past 18 months under Michael Steele's stewardship of the committee. Republicans took back the Massachusetts Senate seat held by the late Ted Kennedy. They also won the governorships of Virginia. They won the governorship in New Jersey.
What we're looking at right now, Jim, is at least 25 seats, Democratically-held seats, are expected to flip to Republican seats, for Republicans to take back the House of Representatives. They're probably going to have to have a net gain in the low 40s. So they think that they can do that.
There is some optimistic hope they can take back the Senate, although that's a bit of a long shot, and they feel they can win a bunch of governor's seats in November. So, yes, they're very confident. There's an air of frustration, of course, about the gaffes that you talked about, but the fact is Republicans are well- positioned, which is fairly amazing considering that President Obama, Jim, came in with such a high approval rating back in 2009, January of 2009.
ACOSTA: Yes. Boy, how political fortunes can change quickly in this business.
Mark Preston, our political editor, joining us live from Kansas City right now. Appreciate it. And, of course, Mark will be keeping an eye on the chairman and his comments coming up shortly. Thanks, Mark.
Well, the oil has stopped. A lot of what leaked into the gulf is gone. But the question remains, how safe is the seafood? That's a good question.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ACOSTA: There's a change at the top for BP's Gulf Coast restoration efforts. Mike Ulster will replace BP COO Doug Suttles as the new man in charge. Crews working on BP's top kill project in the -- or that should be static kill project in the gulf are waiting for the cement to harden, and the broken well has been declared virtually plugged.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DOUG SUTTLES, BP CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER: The cementing following the static kill operation occurred, just like the static kill, that operation went very well. And it appears to be performing as expected. We'll be doing more testing of that cement operation later today and between Admiral Allen and Kent Wells, they'll provide more update.
But that's -- that has gone well.
(END VIDEO CLIP) ACOSTA: By almost all accounts, the biggest oil spill in history is winding down with most of the oil either collected, dissolved, or dispersed, but there are lingering concerns about the impact the oil and dispersants have had on seafood. The government says the level of testing is unprecedented.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN STEIN, DEPUTY SCIENCE DIRECTOR, NOAA: We're constantly out there testing. We're working with people. We're trying to get the message out, and I think a real key part is that we wouldn't go in to open an area until the oil is gone.
The oil has to be gone. It cannot be present. There cannot be any risk that it could get re-oiled. And if that did happen, we have to go back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Taking a look at top stories. Grammy-winning musician Wyclef Jean is officially a candidate for Haiti's presidency. Last night, he told CNN's Larry King why he's running.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WYCLEF JEAN, HAITI PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Now that our country has problems, it's a chance to rebuild from the bottom on up, and I -- I don't even say (ph) I'm trying to be president. I'm being drafted by the youth of Haiti.
Right now is a chance for us to bring real education into the schools, for infrastructure, the security, and proper jobs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: And power failure leaves dozens of people dangling above the Wisconsin State Fair. They were stuck for about an hour last night on a ride called the Sky Glider. Firefighters used cherry pickers to get them back on the ground, and thank goodness they did.
And a man who went to prison for a deadly car crash involving a speeding Toyota Camry is now free. Prosecutors in Minnesota dropped charges against Koua Fong Lee after a judge ordered a new trial. The case was the first to bring Toyota's sudden acceleration problems to light.
Well, which diet would help you lose more weight, more -- low carbs or low fat? Dr. Sanjay Gupta has answers.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ACOSTA: If you're a serial dieter, you've probably taken both of these routes to lose weight -- low carb and low fat. Which is more effective? Well, our CNN chief correspondent -- chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, looks at a study comparing the two.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, tell you what, it is the million dollar question that people always ask. Are you going to lose more weight cutting carbs or cutting fat?
Well, there's a new study out there that's trying to address this very -- this very question. And I'll tell you, in terms of long-term weight loss, the question everyone wants the answer, it does seem to be a tie, specifically.
Take a look here. Either the low fat or the low carb diet. After a year, on average, if you stuck with it, people lost about 24 pounds. Fast forward about two years, and about 15 of those pounds actually stayed off.
Something else that people and often their doctors really want to pay attention to, what is this doing overall to some of the numbers in your body? With either diet, again, the low fat or low carb, your triglyceride levels drop and also your systolic blood pressure, one of the numbers in your overall blood pressure reading.
Now, here's something I really found interesting. The low carb diet actually had a slight edge in terms of your heart health because it did something, including raising your good cholesterol. That's your HDL, and that simple fact has got a lot of scientists and doctors really paying attention.
Now, you may notice that a low carb diet is going to look something like this. You got a cheeseburger patty over here, you have mayonnaise, you got some leafy greens and some tomatoes. The low fat diet, a turkey sandwich and also a pasta salad.
Again, either of these choices seem to yield the same results in weight loss, but for the heart, the heart conscious person, person eating this lunch with the low carb, a little bit of an advantage there.
With the low fat diet, you're doing several things. You're getting a lot more flour, you're getting more sugar, you're getting more foods with what's known as a glycemic index. These types of foods raise your blood sugar level when you eat them and then raise your insulin level, and the whole thing, that whole process drives more fat into the body.
So if you're focused on shedding pounds, pick whatever option you can possibly stick with, but for heart health specifically, the low carb diet may be your best bet.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA: You can learn more about healthy living by going to CNN.com/fitnation and be sure to tune in weekend mornings at 7:30 Eastern for "SANJAY GUPTA, MD."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) ACOSTA: Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele is addressing delegates at his party's summer meeting in Kansas City, Missouri.
Let's take a listen to that live right now.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
MICHAEL STEELE, CHAIRMAN, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE: -- it was in those incredible ten (ph) days of our founding that one of the heroes of that era, Thomas Jefferson, said the issue today is the same as it has been throughout all history, whether man shall be allowed to govern himself or be ruled by a small elite.
Ultimately, this question still moves us today. Will we be allowed to pursue our lives, our dreams, to create wealth and a legacy for our children without government interference?
Will our children have the same opportunity tomorrow given the massive debts being piled on their backs today by a government coloring way outside of its constitutional lines, or will a small club of radical elites, drunk with the power of the purse and the arrogance of single party rule, radically transform America and deny the American dream to future generations?
Now if you're like most Americans, you've come to see the radical agenda pushed by Obama, Reid, and Pelosi for what it really is -- bad for business, bad for families, bad for America.
Remember, it was about this time year when democrats went home for August to find that the honeymoon with the voters was -- how shall we say? -- over. The first summer of recovery failed to recover anything except the inconvenient truth that the Constitution still mattered, and that unemployment was pushing double digits.
And then Democrats --
ACOSTA: There you have RNC Chairman Michael Steele.
You may have noticed there while he was speaking that he has a little red baseball cap on that says "Fire Pelosi." Obviously speaking about the House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi. It's not likely she would lose her House seat in San Francisco, but if Republicans get enough House seats, they could boot her out of the position of speaker.
And here's Michael Steele talking about that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEELE: This is not complicated. Fire Nancy Pelosi. Retire Harry Reid. Give us our country back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: And so there you have RNC Chairman Michael Steele making the case out in Kansas City to the delegates of the Republican Party.
Well let's take a look at the numbers right now. CNNMoney.com, you can see the headline here, "Dollar Near Bear Market Territory." Well, it is taking a bit of a dive so far today -- 121 points down.
Let's take a look over here. Yep, about 122 points. So we're heading in negative territory today.
That's not exactly what we would like to see as the week is wrapping up, but maybe Felicia Taylor can make some sense for us, she is down on the New York Stock Exchanges this morning.
Felicia, I guess those job numbers that came out this morning may have sent the bears loose down there on Wall Street today. Is that what happened?
FELICIA TAYLOR, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Pretty much. Though to be perfectly honest, when we first heard the number at 8:30 this morning, the expectations were that the market would fall even further.
The reaction to that number, which was worse than expected, was pretty muted early on. There was some buying early on in the morning due to the weaker dollar, which is something we have been seeing for quite a while. But the number, as we said, was weaker than expected.
June was also revised, down 220,000, that was quite a surprise. The employment picture, frankly, remains dismal. However, it did hold steady at 9.5 percent.
The selling really began about 90 minutes ago. We see weakness in both the energy and the retail sectors, but pretty much across the board, as you mentioned. The Dow is off now more than 1 percent, as is the Nasdaq and the S&P.
But, you know, the jobs number was worse than expected. That's what analysts had been looking for, but not quite as bad as what we had seen.
The biggest problem here is not that many jobs were added. Just in the private sector we saw 71,000 jobs. That alone is not enough to keep up with population growth.
So -- but the truth is, it's a Friday in August. It's the summer. It's pretty quiet overall down here at the exchange.
ACOSTA: Well, President Obama is going to break some of that quiet here in just a few minutes. We're expecting him -- to hear some of his remarks on the economy, on the jobs picture. What do you expect him to say?
TAYLOR: Well, he's going to be talking at a small business. And that is a small business that is hiring. It's also investing in had technology and new equipment, thanks to a small business loan. One of those things that a lot of people would like to see. But the truth is, the numbers show that small businesses aren't really hiring across the board. That -- one small business that he is talking to is an exception. The national federation of independent business says, 10 add the jobs in July -- only 10 percent -- 15 percent actually cut jobs, 75 percent -- that's well over the majority, actually did nothing at all. So that's a very dim glimmer of hope. Firms that did add jobs barely outpaced those that were cutting jobs.
So small business, you've got to remember, accounts for about 60 percent of the overall employment factor in the United States, which is obviously well over half of what we're talking about.
So if you take a look at it also from the Small Business Administration, they say that small business has faced the most difficult business climate they have seen in three years, and also, they are facing the most difficult climate when it comes to actually getting credit that they have seen in 17 years. Those things haven't eased up.
Basically, to sum it up, small businesses can't get financing, they're not going to be hiring. That means that unemployment is going to stay very high.
ACOSTA: Yes, and, Felicia, in going back to what you were saying earlier, it's bad out there, but it's not as bad as it could be. And in some sense, that's what we have to take away in terms of the flip side of this, as to what -- you know, what positive, you know, sort of silver ling we can take in all this is that it could just be much, much worse.
And thank you, Felicia Taylor, for joining us live, breaking it down for us down on the New York Stock Exchange.
Thanks, Felicia. Have a good weekend. Appreciate it.
TAYLOR: You too.
ACOSTA: Well, you're looking at live pictures from Washington where President Obama will make remarks on the economy and the latest job numbers.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ACOSTA: The fight over a tough new immigration law is leading some illegal immigrants to say, adios, Arizona. They're finding a friendlier welcome next door in New Mexico.
CNN's Gary Tuchman now from Santa Fe.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hector is new here in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He's 34, looking for wore work and like many other illegal immigrants, you could say he's here because he felt he had to get out of Arizona. (on camera): How long have you lived in New Mexico?
HECTOR: New Mexico, two weeks.
TUCHMAN: Two weeks. And you lived in Arizona before that.
HECTOR: Yes, for 12 years.
TUCHMAN: Twelve years.
(voice-over): In Arizona, Hector had a full-time job as a car mechanic, but with the state's new immigration law, he realized something. He did not want to be arrested.
(on camera): You were afraid.
HECTOR: Yes.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): This man is also an illegal immigrant, Pedro, also just arriving here in New Mexico from Arizona. So now he too is looking for steady work like he used to have.
In fact, by comparison to Arizona, New Mexico is welcoming to illegal immigrants. We met Pedro at a free lunch supplied by a church in Santa Fe.
(on camera): Were you scared to stay in Arizona?
PEDRO: Oh, yes. I was really scared.
TUCHMAN: How do you feel now in New Mexico?
PEDRO: Oh, very comfortable.
TUCHMAN: It's easy to see why New Mexico could be a more comfortable atmosphere for an illegal immigrant. Here illegal immigrants can get driver's licenses; in Arizona, they can't. They can also get in-state tuition at colleges; in Arizona, they can't.
But here is something else they're also finding out -- there are far fewer jobs than in Arizona.
(voice-over): Advocates who help immigrants in New Mexico say that while they're welcomed here, they also warn them, there is not a lot of work for them.
MARICELA DIAZ, SOMON UN PUEBLO UNIDO: We don't have a large percentage of immigrants, in part because we're a very poor state.
TUCHMAN: We don't know how many illegal immigrants are heading to New Mexico, but Paul Morrison (ph), chairman of the Santa Fe County Republican Committee, says the state needs to draw a line.
(on camera): Do you feel illegal immigrants who can't get legal status should go back to New Mexico? PAUL MORRISON, CHAIRMAN, SANTA FE COUNTY REPUBLICAN COMMITTEE: Probably yes, on balance. Although I'd rather they got a legal way in.
TUCHMAN: But most of them said they can't get it. So what do you advise them to do?
MORRISON: I don't know. I don't have an answer.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): We've heard the same story from many illegal immigrants, becoming legal is not easy.
Pedro says he paid an immigration lawyer to help them.
(on camera): So you gave this lawyer $5,000 to see if he could make you a citizen. He told you --
PEDRO: No, no chance.
TUCHMAN: No chance.
PEDRO: Right.
TUCHMAN: And what happened to the money you gave him, the $5,000?
PEDRO: He gave me 2,500.
TUCHMAN: He gave you half back?
PEDRO: Yes.
TUCHMAN: But he kept 2,500.
PEDRO: Yes.
TUCHMAN: Other illegal immigrants we have talked with who have been here for years say they haven't taken steps to become legal citizens because they don't want to be sent back to Mexico to wait out the process. Often their entire families are in the U.S.
(voice-over): Meanwhile, Hector left his wife and four children behind in Arizona until he finds steady work. But if he doesn't, he has come to a conclusion, a conclusion he never imagined.
HECTOR: Might wait for a couple more weeks, and no work, maybe I'll go to Mexico.
TUCHMAN (on camera): To Mexico?
HECTOR: Mexico.
TUCHMAN: Back home.
HECTOR: My state, yes.
TUCHMAN: Your country.
(voice-over): For people like Hector, fleeing Arizona may ultimately lead to a return to Mexico, which is precisely what many want from the new immigration law.
Gary Tuchman, CNN, Santa Fe, New Mexico.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
