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Worrying about Wall Street; George Zimmerman Back in Jail; Prince Philip Taken to Hospital; Two Dictators, Different Outcomes; Grads Face Ugly Job Market; War For Wisconsin Divides State; FaceBook For Kids
Aired June 04, 2012 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ZORAIDA SAMBOLIN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Zoraida Sambolin, in for Suzanne Malveaux. Let's get right to it.
An arrest in a gruesome international murder mystery, German police believe they have captured Luka Rocca Magnotta, a self- described porn star, accused of killing and dismembering students in Canada. Body parts were mailed to Canadian police and politicians. Police are awaiting a fingerprint match for official confirmation.
Nigerians officials say an American was piloting the plane that crashed yesterday in Lagos. We're told the pilot radioed that the plane was having troubles just minutes before it slammed into a densely populated neighborhood, killing all 153 people on board and at least ten on the ground. Officials say the death toll could rise as searchers continue sifting through all of the wreckage.
And now to Wall Street where a lot of people are wondering what is going on now. It's another day of shaky trading, and we all know what happened on Friday, that huge sell-off.
Alison Kosik is at the New York Stock Exchange.
Alison, is this still reaction to the jobs report on Friday?
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: So it is. We are still seeing more selling, more carry-through from that jobs report that literally stunned Wall Street because it did come in much weaker than expected, just 69,000 jobs were added to the workforce in May. So, it's got investors all around the globe feeling uneasy about the recovery.
In fact, we saw how Asian markets reacted. They plunged overnight. That was their first chance to react to the report.
This morning here in the U.S., we got another disappointment, though. This time on manufacturing which came in weak. So after a stellar January, February, and March, the Dow has now erased all of its gains for the year. We are right back to where we started in January.
The NASDAQ and S&P 500, they're down 10 percent from their recent highs. So, yes, they are officially in correction territory. So now what you have are experts nervous about what June is going to bring for the market, especially with so many problems going on in Europe -- Zoraida.
SAMBOLIN: So, Alison, can the Federal Reserve step back in to stem late the economy like it did in the recession? And maybe the bigger question is, should it?
KOSIK: Those are really two main questions, and, first of all, yes, the Fed can step in, especially since we've got several other weak reports on the economy. But, you know, the loudest cries for the Fed to do something came right after this lousy jobs report.
So then what you do is combine that with a weak reading on economic growth in the first three months of the year and those cries get even louder. Now, Wall Street could get more clues on Thursday when Fed Chief Ben Bernanke speaks before a Senate committee. The market is hoping the Fed chief says where the Fed stands now on another round of monetary stimulus. That would be where the central bank actually buys up bonds and pours more money into the economy.
You know what? Many are wondering, Zoraida, what other red flags the Fed really needs to see that the economy needs some help, but then critics say, hey, wait a minute, they believe that the economy needs to find a way to rebound on its own without, you know, having its hand held by the fed. So, that's a real controversial move and the Fed definitely doesn't react spontaneously. They think about it quite a bit -- Zoraida.
SAMBOLIN: We appreciate you watching it all for us. Alison Kosik live at the New York Stock Exchange -- thank you for that.
And now to Sanford, Florida. That's where George Zimmerman starts his week back in jail. His bail was revoked by the judge in the Trayvon Martin murder case. He says Zimmerman lied about his finances to get a low bond on his second-degree murder charge. The lawyer for Trayvon Martin's family says this brings up the key issue in this case.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN CRUMP, TRAYVON MARTIN FAMILY ATTORNEY: And the reason Judge Lester's ruling was so important because it focuses everybody's attention to George Zimmerman's credibility, and, remember, his credibility is the main thing here because it is only his version of the facts that say Trayvon Martin attacked him. All the objective evidence suggests that he pursued and shot Trayvon Martin in the heart. And that is going to be a crucial, crucial issue, credibility, credibility, credibility.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAMBOLIN: So Martin Savidge is in Sanford, Florida. Martin, we had talked earlier and I mentioned this whole Facebook page, right? Everybody knew and was following how much money he was raising on this Facebook page.
How is it that all of a sudden they didn't know what that dollar amount was?
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, and that's exactly what the judge wants to know. How is it possible, despite the family being under oath, despite George Zimmerman being in the courtroom and being directly asked how much money have they raised on the Web site, nobody seemed to have any answers to that.
And the family maintained they were basically broke. They really couldn't afford a high bond. You will remember bond was set at $150,000. Then it was revealed they had $135,000 sitting in an account the family had access to.
So, that's why the judge is definitely going to bring in George. That's why he's recalled him essentially, put him back inside this jail and wants him to stand in front of him during some sort of court hearing and explain how that all happened.
What's interesting is that we know through conversations that were apparently recorded when the last time George was here six weeks ago, he was talking to his wife, and it appears in code they were talking about the money.
So why was it in a courtroom a few days later they said they didn't know anything about money? The judge clearly is very angry. He wants an explanation, Zoraida.
SAMBOLIN: And his lawyer -- is he filing for a new bond hearing soon?
SAVIDGE: He says he plans to file that motion today. The question is: when will the judge respond, and that's the part we don't know. It's possible that the judge could decide that he would like George Zimmerman to wait a little while. There could also be scheduling matters as well, but it doesn't appear that it's certainly going to happen today.
Will it happen this week? That's the real question. It could be that George Zimmerman will have to spend some time behind bars and there's no guarantee that he will get bond. Most assuredly many believe if he does, it's going to be a lot higher than $150,000.
SAMBOLIN: And what is the family of Trayvon Martin saying?
SAVIDGE: Well, what they're basically saying is that they have never felt it was right that George Zimmerman get out of jail. He is charged with second-degree murder. They clearly are upset over the loss of their son. It took a long time, they felt, for charges to be brought against him.
They have always maintained they felt that George Zimmerman should remain behind bars until his trial. Now he's back behind bars and I'm sure there is some satisfaction, a small bit, but it doesn't mean he's going to stay there -- Zoraida.
SAMBOLIN: All right. Martin Savidge live in Sanford, Florida, for us. Thank you very much for that.
We have some breaking news. Prince Philip was taken to the hospital with a bladder infection.
Max Foster is standing by for us. What can you tell us?
MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): I'm in Buckingham. I've just been told that he was taken to the King Edward Hospital in London. He's been staying at Windsor Castle before the concert tonight here in the Buckingham. He's been taken away as a precautionary measure before developing a bladder infection.
He's being assessed and treated and Prince Philip will remain in hospital under observation for few days and we got news he's understandably disappointed about missing the concert and tomorrow's engagement. I'm outside the spectacular stage built outside Buckingham Palace, a key event in Queen's (INAUDIBLE) as much as anything else. And she's going to be absolutely gutted that he won't be here. But, obviously, he needs to be in hospital right now.
SAMBOLIN: Has he been participating in all of the events so far?
FOSTER: He has and I was with him yesterday and he looked incredibly fit and healthy. I was at a garden party with him last week. He was wandering around very sprightly.
He's 90 years old. He had a health scare just before Christmas when he was taken to hospital. He had a heart operation but he came out just a couple days later, did pretty well from that.
But he is an old man. He's a 90-year-old man but he's deceptively healthy when you see him. Yesterday he was with the queen standing on the barge on the top deck for several hours. It was very windy, very cold on the top there, but he insisted on staying there. It didn't sound like that's related to a bladder infection. But certainly it would (INAUDIBLE) yesterday.
SAMBOLIN: We were just looking at some pictures there and he actually looked like he was in quite a good mood. Now, you do say he's in the hospital this hour but there's a possibility he could be released and he could rejoin the festivities.
FOSTER: No, they're saying he will be under observation for a few days. The festivities are today and tomorrow.
SAMBOLIN: Too bad. Too bad. Max Foster live for us in London, thank you very much.
And here is what we're working on for this hour.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SAMBOLIN (voice-over): It's a tale of two dictators. One fallen facing life in prison, the other refusing to take responsibility for a massacre.
Then, a drug cocktail with potentially violent side effects. We'll get a look at the science behind bath salts.
And how young is too young for Facebook? The social media giant wants to lower its age restrictions. What it means for your kids.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SAMBOLIN: So it sounds like something out of a zombie movie, but it is real life. Miami police say one homeless man attacked another on a busy highway in broad daylight and chewed the guy's face off. He didn't stop until officers shot him.
Police think the guy was high on bath salts. It's a dangerous kind of new synthetic drug.
Now, take a look at 27-year-old Freddy Sharp, overdosing on bath salts. He says he was basically out of his mind and that the experience was pure evil. Listen to what he told our Don Lemon.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FREDDY SHARP, FORMER "BAT SALTS" USER: I never experienced anything like that doing the bath salt or anything like that before, and it really actually scared me pretty bad because I was hallucinating about being in a mental institution, an insane asylum basically, and something about Jason Voorhees and getting possessed by him. I felt all kinds of crazy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAMBOLIN: Oh my goodness.
Our senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins me live now from Atlanta.
Elizabeth, what exactly are bath salts?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, bath salts are chemicals like amphetamines, Zoraida, and what that is that these are drugs that are kind of like meth or ecstasy, and they can make people act in the ways that we've been talking about. They have absolutely nothing to do with bath salts. They're just called that because it looks sort of similar and it allows people who make them to talk about them without talking about an illegal product.
SAMBOLIN: So, he was talking about hallucinations. What other types of effects does this have on people?
COHEN: Right. There are several different types of effects it has. For example, it can make people psychotic when they take these. It can make them paranoid, combative, violent. They get confused. There are all sorts of different kinds of effects.
And what's really important here is not everybody has the same effect. It depends how much you took. It depends what type you took. They come in different variations.
It also depends what you were like sort of before you took them. I mean, some people who used this have underlying mental disease and then these drugs have an even worse effect.
SAMBOLIN: And it almost seems like, in some cases, the people who take these drugs have super powers. It can take several officers to subdue someone who is on this drug.
And that's right. And it seems that way. I mean, I even heard someone saying five or ten or more officers have been required to subdue these folks.
But, they don't actually have superhuman strength. They feel invincible and also they don't feel pain. Again, not true of everyone who takes these, but of some people.
So, if you feel invincible and if you don't feel pain, then you're not going to act normally. You're going to keep fighting because you think you're stronger than these guys and when they beat you, you're not going to feel it.
SAMBOLIN: And Elizabeth, how common are these drugs? Are we seeing an increase in this?
COHEN: You know what's interesting is there has been an increase, but then there actually was a bit of a decrease which is good recently. That's because, Zoraida, believe it or not, these used to be legal. It's a brand new chemical. So, the government hadn't, you know, made any kind of laws against them.
They were sold in gas stations legally which, of course, is you know completely terrible. Then law enforcement stepped in and made them illegal. So, in fact, poison control centers report fewer cases than there used to be, but still high enough to be a concern.
SAMBOLIN: And, Elizabeth, I have to ask kind of a knuckle head question here because we're looking at all of this video. When you say bath salts, are these the regular bath salts that we use in the daily basis?
COHEN: No, nothing to do with bath salts whatsoever. It was a name given to them by the people who make them, one, because it looks like bath salts. It's a similar kind of a powder. And, number two, it allows them to talk about the products without having to use the word amphetamine and they can just say bath salts. They're using a legal term for an illegal substance.
SAMBOLIN: Elizabeth Cohen, live for us in Atlanta. Thank you very much.
And I need to tell you Elizabeth has a special report that you're going to want to see. Thousands of people die every year because of blunders that their doctors make. Find out how you can protect yourself, 25 shocking medical mistakes. This Saturday night at 8:00 Eastern, only on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SAMBOLIN: Dangerous wildfires are burning in seven (AUDIO GAP) Mexico is getting hit the hardest. It's being called the biggest fire in the state's history. The fire has scorched more than 241,000 acres, an area more than 1.5 times the size of Chicago. Authorities fear extreme drought could help the fires burn through July they believe.
A South Carolina grandmother says she's happy to be alive today. Louise Thompson is recovering after being infected with flesh eating bacteria. She's the fifth person to be infected with this rare type of bacteria in seven weeks. Thompson says she noticed a sore on her leg about two months ago and that it felt like needles sticking in here skin. It turns out they had that potentially deadly infection. Doctors had to cut out a piece of her leg.
Former presidential candidate Herman Cain is getting a brand new gig. He'll replace radio talk show most Neal Boortz. Boortz announced today that he's retiring from his nationally syndicated program.
The flagship station for the show says Cain will take over starting January 21st of next year. That's inauguration day. Cain hosted an evening program on the station before his presidential run.
What happens in Wisconsin could be a sign of things to come in November. Voters head to the polls tomorrow in a bitter recall election. They'll decide whether to remove Governor Scott Walker from office. It's the end of a two-year fight over Walker's move to limit the negotiating power of public employee unions. Walker also came under fire for cutting spending, including education.
Political editor Paul Steinhauser joins us to talk about the Wisconsin recall.
People on both sides say this is not just about Wisconsin. We're talking about broader implications for the general election in November.
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: No doubt about it, national implications here. We are just a little over five months away from the presidential election and the battle for Congress. A lot of people on both sides, and especially Republicans, are saying this could be a dry run for the general election.
That's why you're seeing a lot of top name surrogates flooding Wisconsin, including former President Bill Clinton who campaigned there on Friday with the Democratic candidate. You're seeing some top Republican surrogates also flooding the state. Both parties and a lot of independent groups, Tea Party groups and fiscal conservative groups, unions, progressive groups, flooding the zone, putting out money, putting up ads.
This is really a test case for get out the vote efforts and for ad buys because you're seeing a lot of ads in Wisconsin. And Zoraida, whoever wins, let's say Scott Walker, the Republican governor, wins, that gives a lot of momentum to the Republicans going into November. And the same for the Democrats if the Democrats win this election, Zoraida.
SAMBOLIN: Yes, that would be Tom Barrett there. And how are they looking? Are they neck and neck?
STEINHAUSER: The most recent polls all out in the last couple days, all the most recent nonpartisan polls give Walker single digit advantage over Barrett. It's a rematch of the 2010 gubernatorial election. So, very tight contest. We'll find out tomorrow night.
SAMBOLIN: All right. Also on our radar today, some new poll numbers show Mitt Romney's favorability ratings are increasing but he still trails President Obama. How big is the gap there and where is Romney having the most trouble?
STEINHAUSER: Take a look right there. You can see Mitt Romney's numbers have definitely improved. This is favorable rating, back at 34 percent in February during the heat of that divisive GOP primary battle. Now the primaries are over and you can se Romney's numbers rising.
Go to the next screen and compare him to the president and he still trails the president with a 56 percent favorable raiding. Where is the biggest problem for Romney? Young voters. They have a favorable impression of Barack Obama, not so much of Mitt Romney. Seniors have a more favorable impression of Romney, but it's not a big disparity with young voters, Zoraida.
SAMBOLIN: It's still kind of good news for Mitt Romney though, right?
STEINHAUSER: Very good news. Good to see the numbers jump, no doubt about it.
SAMBOLIN: Yes. So, the Obama campaign has a new ad out attacking Romney's record as governor of Massachusetts. Let's listen to part of what it says and then we'll talk.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm Barack Obama and I approve this message.
NARRATOR: It started like this --
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I speak the language of business. I know how jobs are created.
NARRATOR: But it ended like this, one of the worst economic records in the country. When Mitt Romney was governor, Massachusetts lost 40,000 manufacturing jobs, a rate twice the national average and fell to 47th in job creation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAMBOLIN: So, of course, the question is, is the Obama campaign's main strategy this, to keep the focus on Romney's record as governor, as well as perhaps his time at Bain Capital? Although people like Cory Booker and even Bill Clinton, they kind of supporting him a little bit, right?
STEINHAUSER: Yes. It seems like the Obama campaign has ended the attacks on Romney over his time at Bain Capital. That's the private equity firm he cofounded. And, yes, now they're focusing for a second straight week on going after Mitt's Massachusetts record and saying he promised a lot of things in 2002 when he was running for governor and didn't follow through and he's promising a lot of things now as he runs for president.
That's the point they're trying to make. They did it last week with surrogates and web videos. Now, they're actually putting some money behind this. That ad you just showed, the Obama campaign, they say they're going to run it in nine important battleground states and they call it a substantial buy. We'll keep an eye on that.
The Romney campaign responds by saying, listen, the president doesn't have an economic record to stand on. That's why he is going negative. You're going to see a lot of this back and forth between now and November 6th, Zoraida. So, stay tuned, five more months of this.
SAMBOLIN: A lot of fun, a lot of fun headed our way.
Paul Steinhauser live for us in Wisconsin. Thanks for watching that critical election for us. We appreciate it.
STEINHAUSER: Thank you.
SAMBOLIN: So, do you want to know what life is really like on the campaign trail? Tomorrow, join the CNN election round table with Wolf Blitzer and CNN's political team. Submit your questions and get answers in real time in this live virtual chat.
Don't miss the CNN election round table, that is tomorrow at 12:00 noon Eastern. Logon to CNN.com/roundtable.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SAMBOLIN: It's just a couple bucks for a ride on New York's subway, but putting in a whole new train line under Manhattan, that's when things get expensive. Here is Ali Velshi.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Backhoe excavators that can cost $700,000 apiece, manlifts that sell for up to half a million bucks.
See that hydraulic drill jumbo? They can go for 800 grand a pop.
These are the machines of modern day civil engineering. New York City has them working full speed ahead on its new Second Avenue subway line.
(on camera): Subways are expensive. Just to give you a sense of perspective, way back when the first subway in Manhattan was 21 miles, and it cost $35 million. This one, about a mile and a half, for about $4.5 billion. That's more than a billion dollars a stop.
(voice-over): And that's just for phase one. We went digging 10 stories below Manhattan to find out what goes into the bottom line on a new subway line.
MICHAEL HORODNLCEANU, PRESIDENT, MTA CAPITAL CONSTRUCTION: It's a bargain. Like a bargain, $800,000 a pop.
VELSHI: The most massive piece of equipment used is the tunnel boring machine. The last time New York built a subway, it used the cut-and-cover method, digging from street level. Boring is much more efficient and it disrupts life above ground a lot less.
TOM PEYTON, PARSONS BRINCKERHOFF: The one that did this is 22- foot in diameter, a little over two stories tall. It can go on average about 50 foot a day.
VELSHI: One of these things costs $12 million and requires 20 people to operate it. At 50 feet a day, boring two mile-and-a-half tunnels takes a long time.
HORODNLCEANU: But this is a linear project.
VELSHI (on camera): Right.
HORODNLCEANU: You must do the tunnels before you do this.
VELSHI (voice-over): And highly specialized laborers are the ones doing that. Sandhogs or urban miners work alongside operating engineers who drive and maintain the machinery.
PEYTON: On average, we pay a guy about $1,000 a day, and that's base salary plus benefits.
VELSHI: It's putting people to work in a tough economy. The Metropolitan Transit Authority expects phase one of the subway, that's 3-1/2 stops and a new tunnel at a fourth stop, to create 130,000 jobs with an economic impact of almost $18 billion over the nine years of construction.
(on camera): New Yorkers keep asking why does it take so long?
PEYTON: It is normal.
VELSHI: This is what it takes.
PEYTON: This is what it takes. VELSHI (voice-over): All the while Americans are footing the bill. No matter where they live.
PEYTON: Second Avenue right now $1.3 billion comes from the federal government and the rest of $3.15 billion comes from New York.
VELSHI: The portion from New York comes largely from New York state bonds and MTA bonds.
PEYTON: In 2016 when we swipe our card and ride the first train, it's going to feel real good.
VELSHI: Ali Velshi, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZORAIDA SAMBOLIN, CNN ANCHOR: Our thanks to Ali.
In Egypt, we watch the people bring a dictator to his knees, so why can't anything be done to stop the bloodshed in Syria? We'll look at the differences.
And don't forget, you can watch CNN live on your computer while you're at work. Just head to cnn.com/tv.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SAMBOLIN: The dust has yet to settle on the Arab spring uprisings that began almost a year and a half ago. On the one hand, we're seeing Egypt's lone-time dictator Hosni Mubarak sentenced to spend the rest of his life behind bars for not stopping his military from killing hundreds of protesters.
On the other hand, we're seeing Syria's long-time dictator Bashar Al-Assad repeatedly deny that his forces are slaughtering thousands of his own people.
I'm joined by Fouad Ajami, he is a senior fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution as an expert on Arab and Islamic politics. He's written a book titled "The Syrian Rebellion."
So let's start with the crisis in Syria. You say point blank Assad is a liar, but is he a murderer?
FOUAD AJAMI, SENIOR FELLOW, STANFORD UNIVERSITY'S HOOVER INSTITUTE: Well, I think lying is the least of Bashar Al-Assad's sins. Bashar Al-Assad is a terrible monster and the hope was invested in him when he came to power 10 years ago.
Everyone thought, well, you know, he's an educated man, he spent time in London, and then he married this London-born very, very trendy young lady.
And everyone welcomed this incredible couple, and it turned out he's a barbarous man, and lying is the least of his sins. His regime has murdered thousands of civilians. SAMBOLIN: You know, we are talking here during the break about the differences between Hosni Mubarak and Bashar Al-Assad. Hosni Mubarak is serving life in prison now. Can the same fate await a Bashar Al-Assad? What has to happen for something like that?
AJAMI: Well, Egypt is really in many ways a law-abiding country. When you look at Egypt, it has well over 80 million people and something like 800 people were killed in the rebellions, in the protests of Tahrir Square a year and a half ago.
When you look at Syria, it's some 20-odd million people, thousands have been killed, people say 10,000. I think this is a low estimate because thousands have disappeared and are presumed killed I think. It's not the same.
And, you know, you have Hosni Mubarak is being treated reasonably well. He was in a very upscale medical facility. He had a swimming pool. He could have the cuisine he wanted.
It would be very different in Syria. It will come to a very different outcome. Syria will resemble Libya and Bashar's fate could end up exactly like Moammar Gadhafi. He could be flushed out of a spider hole, flushed out of a drainage pipe exactly like Gadhafi was.
SAMBOLIN: But what will it take for him to get into that spider hole? We were talking about the numbers, the opposition numbers. They're strong. Are they powerful enough?
AJAMI: Well, this is the tragedy of Syria. It's a stalemate, if you will, between I actually describe it in this book I wrote about Syria, between an irresistible force, the opposition of the people, the fury of the people, the rebellion of a proud people and an immovable object, which is this regime of Bashar Al Assad.
It's basically a stalemate. Unless the international community intervenes and does the right thing, I think we will see more of the same. When we say the international community we really have to talk about the United States, the Obama administration. Thus far the Obama administration has refused to tilt the balance.
SAMBOLIN: So if the Obama administration does nothing, then we continue to see these mass killings? We continue to endure them?
AJAMI: We watched that, we saw that in Bosnia and Kosovo. In fact, sometimes you have a fight, an ethnic fight, you have a sectarian fight, and there is a draw, and the outcome is in the balance, and nothing happens until finally an outside force intervenes as we did in Bosnia in 1995, as we did in Kosovo in 1999.
Thus far in Syria nothing and the Obama administration is really focused on the re-election of Barack Obama, nothing else is engaging this man and engaging his administration. We have to be honest about this.
SAMBOLIN: And I know you were there recently and you talked to the people there. You know, how they're holding up is really a nonsensical question, I suppose, but what did you see?
AJAMI: It's stunning. I went several times to Turkey because I can't go to Syria. We went to the Syrian refugee camps in Turkey. The last time I went, I went a fortnight ago, I went with your colleague, Anderson Cooper, and we saw the people in these tents.
We saw proud families who have now been in these tents for 12 months. We saw children running in the lanes without any schooling. We saw people reduced to such abject need and poverty.
And I think that from these trips you return really broken hearted and you really return cynical about the will of the so-called international community and the will of the powers.
SAMBOLIN: What do you think is going to happen?
AJAMI: Well, I think in Egypt it's OK. In the sense, look, the man is in prison, Hosni Mubarak. You have a pharaoh who is now in prison. He has no get used to wearing prison uniform.
It's minor inconvenience in the scale of things. In Syria, I think it's more of the same. I think we are seeing a sectarian war, and we are seeing whether we call it a civil war or not, it really is a civil war.
SAMBOLIN: It will spread out? Do you think it will spread out?
AJAMI: It doesn't have any potential of spreading out to Turkey because Turkey is a big and strong country or to Jordan or to Israel or to Iraq even.
It does have the potential of spreading out, which already it has to neighboring Lebanon only because Lebanon is really subject to the will and the whim of the Syrian regime.
SAMBOLIN: And before -- we don't have a lot of time left, but what do you think will happen in the elections in Egypt?
AJAMI: I wish I knew. You have two candidates. The Muslim Brotherhood and a man who was Mubarak's last prime minister. So the choice is very stark and very clear.
SAMBOLIN: All right, Fouad Ajami, thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate your perspective.
AJAMI: Thank you.
SAMBOLIN: All right, all you job hunters, let's switch gears here. Don't let the latest numbers fool you. The gig you are looking for is out there, you just have to find it. We're going to show you how.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SAMBOLIN: The May jobs report was a little ugly and disappointed many in Washington and on Wall Street. But at a career fair, we found some recent and future college graduates who say they are not discouraged at all. Christine Romans has that story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Job growth slowed in May and job seekers at this career fair are more focused than ever.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Today, I see all the things I need to work on and tweak for my next career fair.
NIKKY NWAMOKOBIA, JOB SEEKER: Approaching someone and have to spiel about yourself for one minute is kind of nerve-racking.
ROMANS: For Mark Hedley and Nikky Nwamokobia, their plan is simple, meet people and start a conversation.
CAROLINE CENIZA-LEVINE, CAREER COACH, SIXFIGURESTART: When it's competitive like this and there are a lot of job seekers out there, the best moves are the most basic ones.
ROMANS: No question they're coming into a labor market that's not very forgiving, only 69,000 jobs created in the month of May. That means for anyone looking for a job at 8.2 percent unemployment, every edge counts.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have been trying to work on job serve strategies every day.
ROMANS: Maria Sarvanski recently added an MBA to her resume. She's been looking for a marketing job in the battered travel and leisure sector for about three months. She hired career coach Caroline Ceniza-Levine to help.
MARIA SARVANSKI, JOB SEEKER: It's a process that you have to keep at the top of the list. Meaning that you have to work and do something for your search almost every day.
ROMANS: Her job coach says it's important to keep evolving with the job market, build contacts, use social media, and don't just pursue one type of position. Keep your options open.
LEVINE: I think people looking for that magic bullet, that one thing to do, will spend a lot of time on something like a resume where they really should be doing multiple things.
ROMANS: For Mark Hedley and Nikky Nwomokobia, they hope to meet enough employers to get their search going. Christine Romans, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SAMBOLIN: It's a state race with massive implications for the rest of the country. We'll have the latest on the Wisconsin recall.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) SAMBOLIN: In Wisconsin, Republican Governor Scott Walker finds out tomorrow whether he will keep his job or be replaced by Democratic challenger Tom Barrett. The recall election in Wisconsin is seen by many as a larger referendum on the role of government. But within this state, it has been a bitter and divisive race. In our in depth report, Ted Rowlands talk was teachers on opposing sides of the war in Wisconsin.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Michelle Ritt and John Radamacher are teachers in Madison. Craig Klumb is a teacher in Milwaukee. They are on opposite sides of the political showdown in Wisconsin.
CROWD: Kill the bill!
ROWLANDS: We met Michelle and John 16 months ago protesting at the state capitol. They were furious with then new Governor Scott Walker and his new bill to cut education funding and unions' collective bargaining rights.
MICHELLE RITT, SUPPORTS RECALL: Our lives were turned completely upside down. Emotions were raw. It was shocking.
ROWLANDS: Craig saw it from the other side. He thought Walker's plan had merit.
CRAIG KLUMB, SUPPORTS GOVERNOR WALKER: I think in the long term it will be good for the state and for education.
CROWD: Shame, shame, shame.
ROWLANDS: Despite weeks of protests, Walker's budget bill, known now as Act 10, passed. Craig says he's one of only a handful of teachers that supported it.
KLUMB: I'm scared, OK. But I think fundamentally what Scott Walker is doing is going to improve the state of Wisconsin in the long term and improve education in the long term.
JOHN RADAMACHER, SUPPORTS RECALL: I don't know of any teachers in Madison or anywhere who would want larger class sizes, who would want less resources being poured into the classroom.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE, POLITICAL AD: The difference is jobs.
ROWLANDS: Governor Walker is in a recall election against Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett. People in Wisconsin have been bombarded with political ads, largely funded by out of state interests, both pro and anti-union.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Newsradio 620 WTMJ. So glad to have you with us.
ROWLANDS: Milwaukee talk radio host Jeff Wagner says the last 16 months have divided the state like never before. He says there doesn't seem to be any middle ground.
JEFF WAGNER, NEWSRADIO 620: People are down to their last nerve. Everybody is just so intense about this. I mean you hear it from the callers. You hear this anger. And it's out there on both sides.
ROWLANDS: Wagner says at times the rhetoric has been ugly. Listen to how our teachers both blame the other side for getting out of control.
KLUMB: I've heard him referred to as a Nazi.
RITT: It's the other side, Governor Walker's side, who comes in and does taunting and poking and trying to incite fights.
KLUMB: Colleagues of mine make reference to Republicans and Tea Party types as the barbarians at the gates.
RITT: Using like the word Nazi. You know, yelling at my children, you know, you're Nazi's, your communists, you're socialists.
ROWLANDS: The recall election is Tuesday. But whether Scott Walker keeps his job or not, the political battle over unions is far from over. And other states are keeping a close eye on what happens in Wisconsin.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SAMBOLIN: Wow. That is quite a fight going on. Ted Rowlands joins us live from Madison, Wisconsin.
And, Ted, what are the latest polls showing there?
ROWLANDS: Well, there have been different polls, but all of them seem to have Walker in the lead. He's got a few percentage points ahead of Barrett going into tomorrow. Turnout obviously is going to be the key. Both candidates are canvassing the state today. Both sides are trying to get as many people out to the polls tomorrow as possible.
SAMBOLIN: And what is the mood like there? Because clearly this state, along with many other states, are in a fiscal crisis.
ROWLANDS: Yes. And how do you deal with it. But there are two things going on. There's the fiscal crisis and then there is this move toward trying to limit the power of unions. And that's really what's at the core here. $60 million spent, Zoraida, in this campaign. Most of it from out of state. People contributing from out of state don't care about the lives of people in Wisconsin, they care about the momentum that could be built here in Wisconsin one way or another, pro or anti-union. That's why the nation is watching this. Wisconsin really is just the host to this battle and the overall war.
SAMBOLIN: So this argument over the collective bargaining rights of union members is what's going to spill over, they're suggesting, to the November elections? ROWLANDS: Well, one thing that we should keep in mind here, if Walker loses his job, he's already created the law here. He's changed the game. And changing that law will be very difficult. A new governor can't do it. They don't have a majority, do Democrats and union labor, in the House or the Senate here. So just changing the governor is more of a message that they want to send to other states and basically that message would be, don't try to do what you did in Wisconsin or you could lose your job if you're the governor.
SAMBOLIN: And they've had some big political powerhouses come through in support of both, right?
ROWLANDS: Absolutely. Bill Clinton was here over the weekend. Bobby Jindal. Governor Christie was here last week. We talked with Scott Walker just after an event with Bobby Jindal from Louisiana. And that comes back to the point, Zoraida, that this really isn't all about Wisconsin. It is for the folks in Wisconsin and, believe me, they've had to endure 16 months of political ads, but this is about the greater national conversation of where are we going with political unions and the battle between the political parties. And that's why you're seeing all of this money come into this state for this recall election from out of state because of what it could do down the line in other states moving forward.
SAMBOLIN: All right, Ted Rowlands, live for us in Madison, Wisconsin. Thank you very much.
So, just how young is too young to be on FaceBook? The social media giant plans to drop its age restrictions. We'll tell you what it means for your kids.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SAMBOLIN: A fifth grader misses class. He needs an excuse note to give to his teacher. And he gets the best one ever. Tyler Sullivan went to see President Obama give a speech last Friday and the president offered to make sure Tyler didn't get an unexcused absence. Ashleigh Banfield and I talked to Tyler this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TYLER SULLIVAN, RECEIVED NOTE FROM PRESIDENT OBAMA: He came up and he asked me if he wanted an excuse note since I was missing school Friday.
SAMBOLIN: And what did you say?
SULLIVAN: I was like, I was so shocked, I didn't say anything.
SAMBOLIN: And what did he write to you?
SULLIVAN: Mr. Ackerman, please excuse Tyler. He was with me. Barack Obama, the president.
SAMBOLIN: How did you feel when he handed you that note?
SULLIVAN: I felt really shocked, and I just had a huge grin on my face.
SAMBOLIN: We're watching that video right now, Tyler, of you with the president. What were you thinking as he's writing this note? Are you thinking you're actually going to give this to your teacher?
SULLIVAN: No. I was like, really, he's writing me an excuse note? That's really crazy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAMBOLIN: Boy, the look on his face is priceless. Tyler says when he grows up, he wants to be an NFL player. Go figure.
So, FaceBook is considering letting younger children onto its website. That's right, kids younger than 13 may soon be allowed to log on to the social media site with the rest of us. Alison Kosik is at the New York Stock Exchange.
Alison, what is going on here? We've got kids this age.
ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, yes, we do. And, you know what, this opens endless possibilities for FaceBook. Just think about it. They could open up a whole new user base. "The Wall Street Journal" is reporting that the company is looking into ways to let kids use the site with parental consent. Currently the under 13 crowd is banned from joining. Now, FaceBook reportedly is looking at tying kids' accounts to their parents and, you know, letting the parents decide who the kids can friend, what apps they can use. It is important to note here that FaceBook often develops these new kinds of technologies but never actually releases them to the public. FaceBook does say it has nothing to announce at the moment and has not made any decisions about the issue.
Zoraida.
SAMBOLIN: What's the thought behind this? Are they just trying to get the kids younger and grow them with the company?
KOSIK: You know what, I would agree with you with that. You know, FaceBook's not saying, but I'm going to take a big leap here and say it has a lot to do with money, with revenue. You know what, kids have purchasing power. You know this. You're a mom too. "The Wall Street Journal" says, you know, FaceBook could charge kids for games and other apps. In fact, right now, as you remember, it is free to be on FaceBook. It says it right there on the home page, that it will always be. So, sure, you know, for FaceBook it's hard generating revenue, especially when it comes to a mobile platform. Also, remember how FaceBook is growing. It isn't adding users as fast as it once was. And that's part of the reason why you're seeing investors run from these shares today. Shares are losing another 3.5 percent, trading at $26.72. Look, these shares are down 27 percent, Zoraida, since it began trading on May 18th.
Zoraida.
SAMBOLIN: Let's go back to that kiddies on FaceBook. What are the critics saying with this?
KOSIK: Oh, yes, you can expect it to get a lot of attention from regulators, especially given that the worries that are already out there about how FaceBook protects its current users. Other criticisms are, you know what, there shouldn't be ads on the kids' version. That there is no social or educational value with this. And they actually -- these critics come out and compare it to big tobacco. They say that FaceBook would be taking advantage of kids. But here's the thing with this. Many children, they lie about their age. I know it's shocking. They all --
SAMBOLIN: Yes, they do.
KOSIK: They already have accounts, right? So, in fact, there's one research sites that breaks this down. It shows that 19 percent of 10-year-olds, 32 percent of 11-year-olds, and 55 percent of 12-year- olds, I know shocking, they are already on FaceBook. Shocking. So about 7.5 million kids under 13 are on to FaceBook. So, you know, maybe this is their way of kind of linking parents for sure. Who knows. We'll see if it even comes to pass, Zoraida.
SAMBOLIN: Go check.
