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January Jobs Report; Leon Panetta: Israel May Soon Attack Iran; Susan G. Komen Foundation to Restore Planned Parenthood Funds; Obama Delivers Speech on Economy, Veterans; Is Obama's Jobs Plan Realistic; Unemployment Rate Dips to 8.3 Percent; Americans Kidnapped in Egypt Released but Protests After Soccer Match

Aired February 03, 2012 - 11:00   ET

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

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Live from Studio 7, I'm Suzanne Malveaux.

Want to get you up to speed for this Friday, February 3rd.

Encouraging news about the job market today. Hiring ramped up in January, while the unemployment rate went down for the fifth straight month. The Labor Department says employers added 243,000 jobs last month. That's more than economists actually predicted. The unemployment rate dipped to 8.3 percent.

We're going to have more on the numbers, including a look at what kinds of jobs were added.

President Obama has a plan to put veterans back to work as police officers and firefighters. He is going to outline his plan in a speech this hour. It's 11:25 Eastern.

It would give grants to communities that hire veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan. Fire departments would get grants to hire and train these veterans. The plan would also put veterans to work in the nation's parks. We expect that there is going to be strong opposition from Congress over the plan because a $5 billion price tag.

Just one day away from Nevada caucuses. Most of the presidential candidates, they are campaigning there today. Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, all on the trail in Nevada, trying to pick up any last-minute support. Rick Santorum, he is campaigning in Missouri. Its primary is on Tuesday.

We have just learned two American tourists have been released now in Egypt. Authorities say that the gunmen snatched these two women, along with their Egyptian tour guide. That happened in the Sinai Peninsula.

Meanwhile, in Cairo, violence now is raging. Thousands of protesters are on the streets for a second straight day. They are outraged over the lack of response from police during a soccer riot in which 79 people were killed. Now, this latest violence has left three people dead, more than 1,600 injured.

New violence and protests also now in Syria. (CHANTING)

MALVEAUX: This online video is said to show an anti-government rally in the city of Hama. An opposition group says at least a dozen people were killed today, including two children. A new report from Human Rights Watch says that Syrian security forces have tortured and detained children, as well as adults.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta believes that Israel has a reason to attack Iran and might actually do it soon. He told reporters in Brussels he thinks that Israel wants to destroy Iran's nuclear capabilities before a so-called immunity period this spring.

Now, a former CIA officer told CNN why Israel might be inclined to go it alone.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOB BAER, FMR. CIA OFFICER: Right now they are saying, you know, you have left us in the lurch, we have got a dangerous Iran, we can't predict it. And even getting the knowledge is enough to scare the Israelis, and they have a completely different mentality from ours.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Iranian officials, they are responding strongly to Israel's threat. We're going to have a lot more on that in just a few minutes.

More now on the big jobs report. January just released today, the news better than expected.

The Labor Department says that employers added 243,000 jobs. The unemployment rate dipped to 8.3 percent.

Want to bring in Christine Romans. She has been crunching the numbers.

And Christine, put it in context for us, because from what I understand, this is pretty good news.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this is good news. I mean, and the jobs growth was pretty widespread across most sectors, except for financial services and information technology. Most sectors saw job creation. And last year, 1.82 million jobs created overall.

So what about the unemployment rate? It fell down 8.3 percent. And I'm going to show you what that unemployment rate has looked like.

Remember when it got as high as 10 percent? Real concern for the economy. We are now back to where it was a month after President Obama took office -- 8.3 percent is the lowest since February, 2009.

And that chart there shows you how late 2008, all the way into 2009, into 2010, really the beginning of 2010, we saw the unemployment rate just skyrocket. And now it has been slowly drifting back lower.

8.3 percent still feels pretty rough if you're the long-term unemployed or you've recently lost your job, but 8.3 percent is definitely an improvement here -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: And do we know what kind of jobs, which kind of sectors actually grew?

ROMANS: Yes. You saw manufacturing, you saw health care, you saw business and professional services again. That was about 70,000 jobs there -- leisure and hospitality, transportation, warehousing. Again, it was pretty widespread, those job gains, and that's what economists like to see.

The White House likes to point out that there's been 23 months in a row of private sector job creation, because we know there's going to be government cuts, right, over the next months and probably years? So the private sector creating jobs is something that clearly Wall Street likes to see, too, because you have got stocks up pretty sharply on this.

MALVEAUX: Let's talk a little bit about the president's jobs plan for veterans. He is going to outline some specifics, particular sectors that he believes veterans would be able to apply and actually get some of these jobs.

What do we think in terms of whether or not it's going to be very help and very realistic here, what he is proposing?

ROMANS: Well, it's interesting, because this comes at a time when you have got people who are going to be coming home from the military, they're looking around, trying to decide -- a lot of active duty people still trying to figure out what they are going to do next as they are coming home. And we've got a jobless rate for veterans, quite frankly, that has been improving a little bit. It's still higher than the national average, but it's been improving.

The unemployment rate in this January report for veterans is 9.1 percent. For recent veterans. A year ago, it was 15 percent. So it's getting a little bit better.

But the president tapping into something, trying -- he's going to be at a fire house, you know -- tapping into -- getting funding for veterans to be hired as first responders, because don't forget, those budgets are getting cut, so that fills a hole there, too.

MALVEAUX: All right. Christine Romans, have a great weekend.

ROMANS: You, too.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

MALVEAUX: Here's your chance to "Talk Back" on one of the big stories of the day. The question: Should politics have a place in women's health care?

The Susan G. Komen Foundation has decided not to renew funding for breast cancer screenings provided by Planned Parenthood.

Carol Costello, she's joining us from Washington.

Carol, so many people are talking about this story. It's got all of us in the newsroom wondering what is taking place here when you have got politics and women's health care colliding.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I know, Suzanne. Whoever thought the fight against breast cancer would become so darned political? But it has.

Ever since the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation pulled its funding from Planned Parenthood, the nation's political players are either declaring victory or expressing indignation. Evangelicals like Tony Perkins are tweeting, "How long will it take for Congress to follow the lead of the private sector and stop funding dubious business?"

That could happen soon, depending on the outcome of a congressional investigation led by Republican Cliff Stearns. Lawmakers are trying to determine, among other things, whether Planned Parenthood uses public money to fund abortions.

What's that got to do with the thousands of breast cancer screenings and mammogram referrals Planned Parenthood provides? In a huge online campaign, tens of thousands of women say not much.

As Dark Lady tweets, "One thing we are learning thanks to Komen is how many people hate women and think all we do is get pregnant and gleefully abort."

Komen finds that unfair, saying it decided to pull its money because of improved grant making procedures.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We will never bow to political pressure. We will always stand firm in our goal to end breast cancer forever. We will never turn our backs on the women who need us the most.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: But there's no denying Komen's decision is political now. Independent New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg will donate $250,000 to Planned Parenthood, and Senate Democrats are now leaning on Komen to reverse its decision. And, of course, there is that Republican-led congressional investigation into Planned Parenthood.

So, the "Talk Back" question for you today, should politics have a place in women's health care?

Facebook.com/CarolCNN. I'll read your responses later this hour.

MALVEAUX: Carol, I'd be very curious to see if there are other people like Bloomberg who actually get involved and start putting their money behind this battle. It's really -- I mean, he has got the money to do it. There are a lot of people, there are some other folks around there who might decide they will do the same.

COSTELLO: Well, I know that as part of that online push, it's part of a push for online donations. And Planned Parenthood has certainly benefited from that. And Planned Parenthood is out there taking a political angle because, frankly, it's, good for fund- raising. At least that's the cynical view point.

MALVEAUX: All right, Carol. Appreciate it.

(NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is raising the possibility of a war between Israel and Iran. Panetta says he's worried that Israel will target Iran's nuclear facilities within the next few weeks. And there is a reason for the timeline.

Republicans on the campaign trail, they're reacting to this already. I'm going to talk to Mark Preston in Washington about that, but first let's bring in Jamie Rubin, former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State.

So, Jamie, first of all, let's talk about what Leon Panetta is actually saying. He is openly talking about Israel's ambitions.

Why would he be doing such a thing? Is this a strategy to warn Iran to back down or face consequences?

JAMIE RUBIN, FMR. U.S. ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE: Well, I think it's certainly true that the U.S. administration, over the last several years, both Obama and Bush, have wanted to keep the option of using force on the table. And since the Israeli government has been engaged in, I think it's fair to say, a degree of psychological warfare through its statements to journalists, its statements to American officials, essentially what's happening here is the American government is using the Israeli psychological warfare to keep this option on the table even though the United States appears not to favor such an option in the hopes that it will convince Iran to do what it has not done, which is give up its nuclear program. And unfortunately, I don't think it's working.

MALVEAUX: Jamie, is there a downside to this? I mean, all of this talk here, as this escalates, could it actually push Iran to behave in an opposite way they want to, and to actually move forward faster in their nuclear program?

RUBIN: Well, that's certainly one risk. Iran is doing and pursuing psychological warfare of its own, threatening, for example, to shut down the oil flow of the word through the so-called Straits of Hormuz, through which much of the oil comes. And it's possible, as you say, that Iran will conclude that, as in the case of Pakistan, in the case of India, and particularly the case of North Korea, the best defense against a possible attack is to accelerate its program, brandish its nuclear weapons, and say we have already arrived and an attack would yield a nuclear response, and nobody would dare do that. So, there are some serious risks of ratcheting up the threat.

MALVEAUX: And Jamie, we have been down this path before. It was back in 1981, Israel destroyed a nuclear reactor in Iraq because they thought that was a threat. Iran is a lot more powerful than Iraq was back then.

Could we actually see an all-out war from this scenario?

RUBIN: Well, the example that's most in the minds of the -- particularly the Israeli defense minister, Ehud Barak, who would be crucial to such a decision, is his decision in 2007 or '06, a few years ago, to destroy Syria's nuclear reactor. And they sent in a combination of aircraft and I believe ground troops, destroyed the reactor.

And what they have been telling the outside world, journalists and the United States, is, look, Syria didn't respond. So we shouldn't assume that Iran would respond.

Unfortunately, Syrian and Iran are very, very different cases. Iran is a country that showed how brutal and difficult it can be when it cracked down on its own people, killing hundreds of people and suppressing thousands. So I don't think this will be a cakewalk anything like Iraq or Syria. I think this is a major step, if it happens, and could be a major confrontation.

MALVEAUX: OK. All right. Jamie Rubin, thank you very much.

The Republicans running for president, they're bringing up Iran as well, especially discussing the president's handling of the nuclear tension.

I want to bring back in Mark Preston from Washington.

So, Mark, already, we've heard from some of the Republican wannabe candidates here, Rick Santorum. He was on "PIERS MORGAN TONIGHT" last night.

Let's listen to what he has to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What we need to do is stop pandering, stop playing games with them, stop appeasing them, and confront them, and rallying their own people just as Ronald Reagan did with the folks in the Soviet Union. We have an absolute, hard-core, dedicated people in Iran who actually like the United States, who actually oppose their regime, and we have done nothing to encourage them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: So, Mark, do we think because Leon Panetta has weighed in here, we're going to hear more from the GOP candidates about Iran? MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes. And we have been, Suzanne, for the past couple of months. The candidates on the campaign trail have been talking about Iran. We saw it back in November. We have also seen it in Iowa, in the beginning of January, where Iran was a big issue.

Listen, this is a very difficult situation, as Jamie just laid out here, and politically, here in the United States, the candidates who are running for president have to be very careful, because you don't want to talk about putting ground troops into Iran. That is not what people here in the United States want to hear right now.

The big question is, what about bombing Iran? Would you do a strategic bombing of these sites? Or, Suzanne, would you back Israel in doing so?

Bottom line is, you have to back Israel, because they are our key ally in that area. But they will be critical of President Obama. Specifically, the candidates are going to say that President Obama did not seize upon the Arab Spring to try to cause regime change in Iran.

MALVEAUX: And Mark, you bring up such a good point, because whether or not the voters really want us to talk about or discuss or deal with Iran is a whole other matter, because people are talking about jobs. I mean, you have got some good jobs numbers that are out today. The president is going to be giving this speech.

Do we think that people are going to be paying attention to Iran, or are they going to be focusing on the economy in the general election?

PRESTON: Well, the number one thing is the economy and jobs. Are people going be to employed this time in November?

And again, good numbers for President Obama today, or good enough numbers, because they see the expectations. But come November, it's all about the trend line. Will we continue to see the trend ticking down? That will be beneficial to President Obama.

However, Suzanne, as we head into November, if we see the trend going the other way, if it starts to increase, even just by a little bit, that is bad for President Obama. As far as Iran, still a very big issue. And I've got to tell you what. If there are bombs dropped in Iran, and the United States has to get involved in it, that's going to be a big issue here in the U.S.

MALVEAUX: All right.

Mark, thank you.

(NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: All right. We're helping you kick off Super Bowl weekend with a special guest. Joining me live in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM, Tim Tebow. He is the Denver Broncos quarterback who took the NFL by storm this year.

We're going to ask him everything from football, faith, also his Super Bowl prediction, who is going to win.

Plus, we are also asking you, what do you want us -- what do you want to ask him, rather? Tell me, Facebook.com/SuzanneCNN. Or on my Twitter page, @SuzanneCNN. We're going to ask some of your questions.

I want to go live -- we have got some breaking news -- to Deb Feyerick.

This is the story about the Susan G. Komen Foundation and the Planned Parenthood controversy.

I understand that there is a development.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There is.

As a matter of fact, Suzanne, just moments ago we received notice that the Susan G. Komen Foundation is, in fact, going to restore funding to Planned Parenthood. This came after a letter signed by some 26 senators to the foundation which basically criticized them for stopping its funding of Planned Parenthood, which does mammographies on women who -- low-and-medium-income women.

Now, in making this decision, Senator Lautenberg praised the Susan G. Komen Foundation, saying, "They are now de-politicizing the grant making process and refocusing itself back on its core mission, which is saving women's lives."

The Susan G. Komen Foundation, the founder, was under intense pressure following their announcement. They were called political, that that was a decision that they were making because of pressure that was being brought to bear on them.

So, after great pressure -- in fact, now they are restoring that, saying that they are only going to withhold funding not if an organization is under investigation, but if an organization has been found guilty of criminal investigation. So they're basically adapting their policy to reflect that change -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: Deb, that happened very quickly. Do we know why or how -- the back story -- that they actually reversed themselves on this?

FEYERICK: Well, part of the back story is that a number of senators were going to sign this letter to the Susan G. Komen Foundation basically saying, look, you have got to do the right thing, you have got to restore the funding. They thought they were going to get a handful of senators, five, 10. They ended up getting 26, and that is a lot of pressure on a foundation.

And so it appears that there were some intense negotiations over the last couple of hours to reword the policy so that, in fact, it would be able to move forward and give money to Planned Parenthood, because so many women rely on Planned Parenthood for basic health care services -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: All right. Deb Feyerick, thank you very much, bringing that breaking news on that story.

Well, a new year bring us to a new group of CNN Heroes. Starting next week, we're going to be introducing to you the class of 2012.

But first, we want to take a look back at Robin Lim. Her dedication, the safety of women and her babies, earned her the nickname "Mother Robin."

Well, she was your choice for 2011 CNN Hero of the Year.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON COOPER, HOST, "AC 360": Congratulations. How do you feel?

ROBIN LIM, CNN HERO OF THE YEAR: Full of gratitude.

COOPER: Did you think you might have a chance of winning?

LIM: Of course not. We have helped so many people since 2005. Almost 113,000 people got free medical care and medicine.

COOPER: What does that feel like to start with one person and then slowly start to build the organization?

LIM: I found that if you have a good idea, and you do it with love, a lot of people want to help you.

COOPER: It was a very personal loss that got you involved in this.

LIM: My sister died. She was pregnant. This was 21 years ago.

COOPER: What was your sister's name?

LIM: Her name is Christine (ph). I feel like she really helps me.

COOPER: You carry her with you still?

LIM: Yes. And I think I carry her baby, too.

COOPER: What kind of an impact do you think this will have?

LIM: The clinic we have in Aceh, in the tsunami zone, that one is really safe, but the clinic in Bali, it's falling apart. It's too small for our patient care.

COOPER: You are hoping to maybe rebuild the clinic?

LIM: We have been saving money for years, and we did get a piece of land right in our village. So we are ready to build, and now we have the money to begin. COOPER: You have $250,000, plus $50,000, so $300,000.

LIM: Yes. That goes a long way in Indonesia.

COOPER: What keeps you going? I mean, in those dark days when, you know, you don't have money and when you don't have support.

LIM: Some days, I don't have money, but I always have support. Just when you think, well, how are we going to pay the electric bill, there's always an e-mail that says, "We are sending money." It's just a miracle every day, just like birth.

COOPER: Congratulations. I'm so happy for you and for the work you're going to do and the lives you are going to save.

Thank you. Thank you.

LIM: Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: Well, one way you can do more to help the world is by telling us about someone who is making a difference in your community. It's easy. Just go to CNNHeroes.com. We could end up honoring your nominee. And as you've just seen, that can have some pretty big results.

Go to CNNHeroes.com. Nominate the 2012 CNN Hero today.

Hiring veterans as firefighters and police officers, well, that's part of the president's plans to put veterans back to work. It does have a hefty price tag.

We're going to hear from the president up live, up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: I want to go straight to President Obama who is delivering speech on the state of the economy and also a new proposal to provide jobs to veterans. Let's listen in.

(BEGIN LIVE SPEECH)

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: -- the firefighters present. Harold Shaffberger (ph) is here.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: Now, this is a fire station that holds some special significance for our country. On September 11th, the firefighters of this house were among the first to respond to the attack on the Pentagon. You guys answered this nation's call during its hour of need. And as the years followed, as Americans went to war, some of you answered that call as well. And today's 9/11 generation of veterans has already earned a special place in our history.

Our veterans and all the brave men and women who serve our country are the reason why America's military is the greatest in the history of the world. In the face of great odds and grave danger, they get the job done. They work as a team. They personify the very best that America has to offer. That's true on the battlefront, but we are here today because it's also true on the home front. After a decade of war, our nation needs to do some building right here in the United States of America.

Now, this morning, we received more good news about our economy. In January, American businesses added another 257,000 jobs. The unemployment rate came down because more people found work. And all together, we have added, 3.7 million new jobs over the last 23 months. Now, these numbers will go up and down in the coming months and there are still far too many Americans who need a job or need a job that pays better that the one they have now, but the economy is growing stronger. The recovery is speeding up. And we have got to do everything in our power to keep it going. We can't go back to the policies that led to the recession and we can't let Washington stand in the way of our recovery. We want Washington to be helping with the recovery, not making it tougher.

Now, the most important thing Congress needs to do now is to stop taxes from going up on 160 million Americans at the end of this month. They have got to renew the payroll tax cut that they extended for only a couple of months. They need to pass an extension of the payroll tax cut and unemployment insurance and do it without delay, without linking it to some ideological side issues. They just need to get it done, shouldn't be that complicated. Now is not the time for self- inflicted wounds to our economy. Now is the time for action. So I want to send a clear message to Congress, do not slow down the recovery that we're on. Don't muck it up.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: Keep it moving in the right direction.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: Beyond a tax hike, we need to do a lot more to create an economy that's built to last, to restore American manufacturing. We need to stop giving tax breaks to companies that ship jobs overseas. Give those tax breaks to companies that are investing in plants and equipment and hiring workers right here in the United States of America.

That makes a lot of sense. To reduce our dependency on foreign oil, we need to stop subsidizing oil companies that are already making record profits and double down on clean energy that creates jobs and creates opportunities and new industries but also improves our security, because we are not as dependent on foreign oil. To make sure our businesses don't have to move overseas to find skilled workers, we have got to invest in education and make sure college is affordable for every hard-working American. And there's the reason we are here today, we need to make sure that as our troops return from battle, they can find a job when they get home. That's what I want to talk about today.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: The war in Iraq is over. The war in Afghanistan is moving to a new phase, transition to Afghan lead. Over the past decade, nearly three million servicemembers have transitioned back to civilian life and more are joining them every day. When these men and women come home, they bring unparalleled skills and experience.

Folks like Jacob. They have saved lives in some of the toughest conditions imaginable. They have managed convoys and moved tons of equipment over dangerous terrain. They have tracked millions of dollars of military assets. They have handled pieces of equipment that are worth tens of millions of dollars. They do incredible work. Nobody's more skilled, more precise, more diligent, more disciplined. Our veterans are some of the most highly trained, highly educated, highly skimmed workers that we've got.

These are Americans that every business should be competing to attract. These are Americans that we want to keep serving here at home, as we rebuild this country. So, we are going to do everything we can to make sure that when our troops come home, they come home to new jobs and new opportunities and new ways to serve their country.

Now, this has been a top priority of mine since I came into office. Already, we have helped 600,000 veterans and their family members go back to school on the post-9/11 G.I. bill. We have hired over 120,000 veterans to serve in the federal government. We have made it easier for veterans to access all sorts of employment services. We set up online tools to connect veterans with job openings that match their skills.

Michelle and Jill Biden have worked with the private sector, with businesses, to secure a pledge of 135,000 jobs for veterans and their families. And with the support of Democrats and Republicans, we put in place two new tax credits for companies that hire veterans. So these are all important steps. We have made progress. But we have got do more. There's more we can do.

In my State of the Union address, I proposed a new initiative called the Veterans Jobs Corps, to put veterans back to work, protecting and rebuilding America. And today, we are laying out the details of this proposal. First, we want to help communities hire more veterans as cops and firefighters. You guys have seen what a great job Jacob's doing? Well, there are a whole bunch of folks like that who could be doing that same outstanding work all across the country. But it's not that easy to get a job at a fire house. Over the past few years, tight budgets have forced a lot of states, a lot of local communities to lay off first responders.

Now, my administration, when I first came in office, one of the first things we did was through the recovery act, was make sure that states and local governments helped or got the help that they needed to prevent some of these layoffs and thousands of jobs were saved all across the country.

Harold and I were talking as we came over here, thousands of firefighter jobs were saved because of the actions we took, but budgets are still tight and that's problem we need to fix. You know, jobs that protect our families and our communities shouldn't be the first on the chopping block. They should be one of our highest priorities as a nation. Over the past three years, my administration's made it possible for states to keep thousands of first responders on the job, but today, we are announcing that communities who make it a priority to recruit veterans will be among the first in line when it comes to getting help from the federal government.

And I know that's one thing, Chief, that you have been doing here in Arlington.

So we want to prioritize veterans and we want to help states and local communities hire veterans to fire houses and police stations all across the country.

The second thing we want to do is to connect up to 20,000 is veterans with jobs that involve rebuilding local communities or national parks. That's why Ken Salazar is here as the interior secretary. He needs some help. And our veterans are highly qualified to help him. They have already risked their lives defending America. They should have the opportunity to rebuild America. We have got roads and bridges in and around our national parks in need of repair? Let's fix them.

Of course, Congress needs to fund these projects. Congress should take the money that we are no longer spending on war, use half of it to pay down our debt, and use the rest to do some nation building here at home, to improve the quality of life right here in the United States of America --

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: -- and put our veterans to work. So, let's get more cops on the beat. Let get more rangers in the parks. Let's get more firefighters on call. And in the process, we will put more veterans back to work. It is good for our economy, it is good for our country and good for our communities. For veterans who want to do something else, maybe put their leadership skills to use starting a small business, we are going to start offering entrepreneurial training to our veterans.

We want servicemembers prepared for battle and for professional success when they come home. So we should do all that we can to support our troops and our veterans, in helping them start a business, in helping them get a foothold in a fire station, like this one, and start moving up the ranks, doing outstanding work, the way Jacob's been doing.

But we also need to follow their lead. We want to help them but we should also learn from them, and we should remember from our veterans that, no matter what the circumstances, those men and women in uniform, a lot like the firefighters in this fire station, work together. Act as a team. Finish the job. That's what we've got to do when it comes to our nation's recovery.

Now, these are challenging times for America, but we have faced challenging times before. On the grounds here, you have got a stone from the Pentagon and a beam from the World Trade Center. And that reminds us of our resolve, as a people.

They remind us that when we come together as one people and as one community, one nation, that we prevail. That's who we are. This is a nation that exists because generations of Americans worked together to build it. This is a nation where, out of many, we come together as one. Those are the values that every veteran understands. Those are values that this fire station understands. We have got to make sure that we return to those values and, if we do, then I guarantee you that we will remind everybody around the world just why it is the United States is the greatest country on earth.

Thank you very much, everybody. God bless you. God bless America.

(APPLAUSE)

MALVEAUX: Want to bring in Christine Romans to talk a little bit about what the president is announcing here.

So, Christine, first of all, do we think that this is a plan with a $5 billion price tag? Do we think it is realistic that this will actually help those veterans who are returning actually get work?

ROMANS: Well, the idea here is to get money to a part of the economy that needs money and that is the fire houses and the police forces that have been hit by budget cuts, as the president pointed out. To the veterans who are coming back, an economy that is not exactly robust quite yet. That is the match the president in this plan is trying to make. I want to point out that the unemployment rate for veterans right now is 9.1 percent. That's what we saw from this jobless number today. These are the recent veterans, the Iraq War veterans, most recently. You look at the very young veterans, that number is even worse, 20 percent. But these numbers have been slowly getting better overall for veterans. I mean, last year, the Iraq war veteran also a 15 percent up employment rate. So, this is -- this is -- I guess what the White House is hoping for is a stimulus on a trend moving in a better direction for veterans.

Politically, it is pretty smart, right? You are talking about police officers, firefighters and veterans. Who's against any of those people? And trying to find ways to get those people more money and jobs? So, this is clearly a part of the economy that's really been hurt. And a funneling $5 billion, how to pay for it, that is the question. Every kind of program we will be talking about for years to come, I'm sure, how will we pay for it -- Suzanne?

MALVEAUX: The political side, you bring up a good point. Even if Congress says no, we are not going go for this program, we are not going to pay or find the $5 billion to support this, the president can come back and say, look, I tried. I tried to put these guys back to work and Congress was getting in the way. So we will see how it plays out politically.

I also want to talk a little bit about the unemployment report that was released today. The Labor Department says employers added 243,000 jobs last month. The unemployment rate dipped to 8.3 percent.

I want to talk about the unemployment numbers with Georgia Tech economics professor, Danny Boston.

So, first of all, let's talk a little bit about what the president just announced.

THOMAS "DANNY" BOSTON, PROFESSOR OF ECONOMICS, GEORGIA TECH: Right.

MALVEAUX: That -- does that sound like a sound program?

BOSTON: It is a sound program and it is really, really needed because what Christine just said is correct. But even when you break the numbers down more, if you look at the gulf era two veterans, those veterans now being pared back and brought home, their unemployment rate is 17.3 percent. That's very high. Last year, 13 percent. The unemployment rate has actually increased. So there is really an urgent need to address those veterans, particularly with respect to jobs.

MALVEAUX: You know that you are a veteran yourself. A Purple Heart, as a matter of fact. Tell us about the numbers today. You and I were talking about this. In all -- in most of the groups, unemployment has gone down, even when you break it down by race and by gender?

BOSTON: Yes. It is a really a stellar report. A really nice report, because unemployment rate has gone down and more significantly, the fact that there were some 508,000 people who came back into the labor market because things were getting better. Normally, you would expect to see the unemployment rate tick up a little bit because so many people are coming back in, but it was going so strongly, it absorbed all those people and added jobs on top.

MALVEAUX: Where were the jobs created, where were they added?

BOSTON: In the most significant sectors, right? The economy has been most hit in manufacturing and in construction. 44,000 of those jobs were added -- 50,000, I'm sorry -- in manufacturing, 21,000 in construction. You also had jobs in hospitality, 44,000, in health and other areas. But manufacturing, construction, 60 percent of the jobs that were lost were in those two industries. So the fact that we are growing there is important.

MALVEAUX: You and I mentioned he might be able to recover all the jobs lost in his administration, President Obama if this trend tops, correct?

BOSTON: Absolutely. If this trend continues, he will be able to recover those jobs and more, of all of the jobs that were lost, because are now, at this clip, we are on a path to add about 250,000 a month.

MALVEAUX: Danny Boston. As the president said, he said don't muck it up.

(LAUGHTER)

Muck it up.

Have great weekend.

BOSTON: OK, thank you.

MALVEAUX: Two Americans have just been released by the kidnappers in Egypt. And this --

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MALVEAUX: Another day of violence between police and protesters. Going to take you live to Cairo forth latest on both developing stories.

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MALVEAUX: Two American tourists kidnapped today in Egypt have now been freed but developments on the street of Cairo not so good. More protests today sparked by the deaths of 79 people during a soccer riot.

CNN's Ivan Watson is joining us by phone in Cairo.

Let's talk about the kidnappings. Didn't take long for authorities to find these guys who snatched these American women, these tourists. What do we know? How did it go down?

IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Well, according to the chief of security, the two American women have been released. We haven't been able to confirm that with the U.S. embassy in Cairo. If this is in fact true, this happened hours after the women were grabbed, we're told, off of a bus along with their tour guide.

They were near an ancient Greek orthodox monastery, the St. Catherine's Monastery. There has been a spat of kidnapping. 25 Chinese cement workers who were held for less than a day, also by Bedouins inside Sinai. They appear to want their family members, tribe members released from prison. They accuse the government here of framing them and they are using this as a way to get leverage against the government.

MALVEAUX: Let's talk about the violence on the street. It's unbelievable, since the soccer riot. We have seen so many people hurt there in protests. What is taking place there in Cairo now?

WATSON: Well, these are running street battles around the ministry of interior where the riot police are firing bird shot and tear gas and occasionally picking up stones as they clash with demonstrators. More than 1400 people have been wounded. At least two people killed in Cairo. Two others killed in another restive city around the state headquarters in the city of Suez (ph).

We saw very similar clashes around the Ministry of Interior last November. The difference now, Suzanne, is that many of the demonstrators are carrying the flags and colors of the two main Cairo soccer teams. The aftermath of this deadly soccer stadium riot on Wednesday when at least 79 people were killed seems to have mobilized fans of the two biggest Cairo soccer teams in the country against the government. They're blaming them for the loss of live. It's as if fans of the Mets and Yankees were joining in anti-government protests.

MALVEAUX: Ivan Watson out of Cairo. Thank you, Ivan.

The big game just days away. One player is celebrating more than just a trip to the Super Bowl. How this NFL rookie faced the biggest battle of his life and won.

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MALVEAUX: There's a super-size rematch in Indy this weekend. We're talking about the New York Giants battling the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI. But for one player, the struggle on the field may pale in comparison to the battle that he fought with cancer.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta has more on this week's "Human Factor."

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SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mark Herzlich has come a long way in a very short time.

MARK HERZLICH, NEW YORK GIANTS LINEBACKER: We need to win. And that's what we're excited about. We're excited to be here as a team, and, you know, playing in the Super Bowl is unbelievable.

GUPTA: The rookie linebacker for the New York Giants is focused on beating the New England Patriots. But his story has been a focus of the media leading up to the NFL championship. That's because some say his being here is somewhat of a miracle.

Herzlich was expected to go far. As a junior at Boston College, he was named his conference's 2008 Defensive Player of the Year and was projected to be a first-round draft pick. But all of that came to a crashing halt in May of 2009 when he was told he had a rare form of bone cancer called Ewing sarcoma.

HERZLICH: When the cancer came, I wasn't just -- my Super Bowl dreams are dead. Well, it was all my football dreams are dead.

GUPTA: Herzlich was determined to fight the cancer but after two months of chemotherapy, doctors wanted to remove part of his thigh bone. Then he found a doctor who was willing to try a rare treatment for this type of cancer, radiation therapy.

HERZLICH: My dream was to play football again. I knew that radiation and keeping my leg was going to be the only chance I would have of playing again.

GUPTA: The treatment worked and a little more than four months after diagnosis, Herzlich was declared cancer-free.

HERZLICH: Football drove me every second of every day.

GUPTA (voice-over): Herzlich returned to Boston College the next year. And even though he wasn't drafted, he was still picked up by the New York Giants. And now he'll be playing in the biggest game of all.

HERZLICH: I think the biggest thing coming back from cancer, coming back to play football, you know, all of that kind of sits in the rearview mirror now as we're getting ready for the Super Bowl. There are such things as dreams coming true, and miracles, and I believe that this is one of them.

GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.

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MALVEAUX: And in the next hour, special guest Tim Tebow. You know who he is.