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International Energy Agency Holds Emergency Meeting; Biden Announces Gas Prices Reduction; Ukrainians Seek Refuge in Poland; More than 4 Million Ukrainians Fled Ukraine; Interview with Chef Volunteering with World Central Kitchen In Poland, Chef And Owner, Bayou Bakery David Guas; U.S. Economy Adds 431K Job in March. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired April 01, 2022 - 10:30   ET

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

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[10:30:00]

HILL: The International Energy Agency is holding an emergency meeting today to discuss soaring oil prices. Now this, of course, follows President Biden's decision to release 180 million barrels of oil from the U.S. emergency reserves in the coming months. CNN's Matt Egan joining me now. So, Matt, the international community meeting on this today. Is there a sense that we will be hearing about similar steps to what President Biden announced yesterday?

MATT EGAN, CNN BUSINESS REPORTER: That is the expectation. President Biden clearly went big here. Now, the IEA is meeting on to decide whether or not they're going to do the same thing. The United States releasing 180 million barrels of oil, that's three times bigger than anything we've ever seen before. The issue here is that, while that is a big step, the size of the hole they're trying to fill is even bigger.

HILL: OK.

EGAN: Because this U.S. release amounts to about a million barrels per day for six months. The problem though, is the loss of Russian supply is estimated to be about three million barrels per day. So, that's why this is such a big deal. The question is, whether or not other countries like Japan, the UK, South Korea can help narrow that gap. President Biden said yesterday that other countries could release between 30 million and 50 million barrels on top of that U.S. release. And he said, the bigger the release, the more pressure on prices, which is true.

I think, we should temper some expectations though. I mean, oil prices, they have come down about seven percent since before the U.S. release was rumored. But there are still around $100 of barrel. So, they're not cheap. Experts I'm talking to, do you think that maybe gas prices could come down by 10 to 15 cents a gallon nationally? Of course, they would still be high. I think that the other concern here though is that prices could actually go back up.

HILL: OK. EGAN: Gas prices as people start driving more in the spring and summer.

HILL: Right. I mean, gas is more expensive in the summer because it's that different gas as well.

EGAN: Exactly.

HILL: All right. Matt, appreciate it. Thank you,

EGAN: Thanks.

HILL: Jim?

SCIUTTO: While countless Americans have now put travel plans on hold for the past two years because of the pandemic. Families ready to get away but getting hit right in the wallet as we've been discussing on gas prices. CNN's Natasha Chen has more on the high cost now of vacations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We were just going to come and blow it out.

CROWD: Woo.

NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): For families who haven't traveled much in the last two to three years --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's given me time to save up and to get organized and budgeted.

CHEN (voiceover): -- they're determined to take a trip, in spite of the sticker shock.

CHEN (on camera): From here in California, where tourists are paying some of the highest gas prices in the nation.

To higher airfares due to unprecedented demand.

To higher hotel rates like here in Miami Beach where the average price is more than $500 a night.

CHEN (voiceover): On the travel website KAYAK, recent surges show the average price of domestic flights to Panama City, Florida, for example, is $494. In March of 2019, that would have averaged just over $300. The Kabar family flew from Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Los Angeles.

KABAR, LOS ANGELES TOURIST: Once we got out here, we realized things that things are very expensive right now.

CHEN (voiceover): They decided against a rental car. The average rental car in the U.S., according to KAYAK, averages $76 a day.

[10:35:00]

More than $20 higher than two years ago. But even without a rental car --

KABAR: We're actually spending more money in Uber than we are in flying out here.

CHEN (voiceover): That's likely because regular gas is on average more than $4 a gallon this month, the highest of any month in history. Up from $251 in March of 2019. That's affecting the owner of StarLine Tours, who says the company typically spends $100 a day on fuel for these buses. And now, they're spending $220 every day.

KAMI FARHADI, CHAIRMAN, STARLINE TOURS: We still maintained our prices at the moment. But we're going to have to look at going to full summer pricing right now rather than waiting until the summer.

CHEN (voiceover): KAYAK shows hotel rates averaging about $300 per night up nearly $70 since march of 2019. Even theme parks will cost you more from paid express lines to pricier food.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is a little bit expensive. So just eat. Because these boys don't -- they play around. They don't play around. They're hungry all the time.

ELAINE EDWARDS, TRAVEL AGENT: People are accepting it. And they're going. Now, maybe they're making adjustments along the way.

CHEN (voiceover): While the cheapest single day Disney tickets stayed the same price since 2019, there are now fewer days priced at value season. Meanwhile, a discount tracking website now savers showed the most expensive types of tickets at Disneyland and Disney World during the busiest season, jumped 11 or 12 percent from two years ago. Wherever they go, however much it costs, some families say, they just need to get out of the house now and they'll scale back later.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think we will probably make a smaller summer vacation because they made a big spring break vacation.

CHEN (voiceover): Natasha Chen, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Thanks to Natasha for that report.

HILL: Well, just minutes from now, President Biden is set to speak from the White House as the jobless rate drops to a new pandemic low. We're going to bring those remarks to you live.

Also, we're going to speak with an American chef now in Poland cooking for refugees as they cross the border. Stay with us.

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[10:40:00]

Amidst this massive humanitarian crisis, we know refugees are still crossing the border into Poland and other neighboring countries every day. We're now more than five weeks into Russia's invasion of Ukraine. And in that time, the humanitarian infrastructure to help the refugees has improved. But there are still serious challenges here.

SCIUTTO: No question. It's a massive exodus of people. CNN's Salma Abdelaziz is at the border with the scene that greets refugees today.

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN REPORTER: Jim and Erica, we're on the Poland/Ukraine border. And just behind me here is the pedestrian crossing. So, you're going to see families, people just with the bags they can carry of course, coming across, just walking across. They've been dropped off by buses. They've gone through registration and control. And what they come into is essentially a little tent community packed with volunteers.

And I want to show you around here. You see all of these people with high vis jackets, they're here to help. They're here to offer a warm smile, a warm meal, a warm cup of tea. Whatever you need. And you're going to constantly see them trying to offer these families that have fled violence, that have fled war. They don't know if they're ever going to go back to their homes. What they really want to give them is dignity. They want to give them a moment of respite They want to give them the chance to figure out what's going to happens next because many of these families don't know where they're going to go next. And that's what these volunteers are trying to do.

So, if you come here and you don't have the baby food you need, you don't have the diapers you need. You need extra medicine. You need to have a doctor look at you. All of that is available in this little tight community here. I'm just going to keep walking you through because it is extraordinary to see this global effort. I mean, we've seen a charity -- a Sikh charity from India. I've seen Egyptian Red Crescent volunteers. I've seen German doctors.

And everywhere you go, all they're trying to do here is give you the basics you need. So, you can see over here, you got toothbrushes, toothpaste, shaving cream, whatever you might need, just the basic supplies so that people can get that help if that's what they're looking for. I'm going to walk you a little bit further here. You can see this little tent they have a little picture of a baby and pacifier here. If you need medical attention, they're going to help you with that.

And that's just what you see. And they're going to walk through this little tent city right here. And over there there's going to be buses to take them to the next place, whether that's the train station or a registration point. It's just extraordinary to see how truly global this welcome effort is. Jim and Erica.

HILL: Yes, it is really impressive and to see so many people coming from around the globe to help. Our thanks to Salma for that report. You know, as Salma noted, organizations and volunteers from around the world have made their way to different areas. A lot of them there in Poland to offer their aid and their assistance to Ukrainian refugees.

SCIUTTO: The level of charity is just remarkable. Among them is Chef David Guas. He -- he's joining us now from Poland, The owner of the Bayou Bakery here in Washington, D.C. One of eight chefs now volunteering with Poland for the World Central Kitchen. It's great to have you, Chef Guas. I think, you know, we saw some of these when we were over there. I mean, it's just an enormous logistical challenge, right? To get the food in. To make it healthy. To make it taste good. Tell us what your day is like. How do you manage to feed so many people?

[10:45:00]

DAVID GUAS, CHEF VOLUNTEERING WITH WORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN IN POLAND, CHEF AND OWNER, BAYOU BAKERY: Well, Jim, you know, it's a team effort, obviously. This is not a one man show or one woman show by any means. And, you know, when I got here, things were starting to be organized in the kitchen. They built this kitchen from the ground up. There was nothing here. Now, there's walk-in coolers, refrigeration, booster heaters are actually going up as we speak. And we've still been operating for over three or four weeks in this location.

So, every day comes like an upgrade or, you know, we need this and it happens. So, we have amazing partners throughout this region in Przemysl. And, you know, we're doing volume, obviously, like I've never seen before. Our day starts between 7:00 and 7:30, for me personally. And, you know, usually we're leaving around 8:00 p.m. or 8:30. So, you know, and we've done that every day since I've been in town. So, there's not really any end in sight because like, you know, everybody keeps coming over and we want to make sure that they have a hot meal or something. So, whether it's banana bread or apple cake or a good warm soup. A lot of hot chocolate is being produced.

What we're seeing also, like in Medyka, is as it was mentioned just now, it's a pedestrian crossing. So, you have a lot of people kind of coming through very quickly. So, we start to tweak the things that we're giving them based on convenience. We don't want to just keep making things blindly and not having it make sense for --

HILL: Right.

GUAS: -- the locations that they're going to. So, it's a constant communication battle. But we've got great energy here. There's over 75 people that are volunteering. We've kind of divided it up amongst professional chefs and then other volunteers that are helping prep and make sure things get sanitized and clean. And it's just constant. There are four clips in here. You know, there's just action all day long. It's very similar to a restaurant, you know?

HILL: Yes.

GUAS: In the sense of, you know, kind of controlled chaos, so.

HILL: Just --

SCIUTTO: Yes.

HILL: But on a massive, massive scale, right?

SCIUTTO: Yes.

HILL: One of the things I was --

GUAS: Massive scale.

HILL: -- I was really struck by, Nate Mook was speaking with Jim actually a couple of weeks ago when Jim was still in Lviv. And he was noting that it's not just about feeding people, but it's about having food for convenience, as you pointed out, people who are coming through on foot. But also, foods that bring comfort to them, right? And working with local vendors.

GUAS: That's right.

HILL: And, you know, making local recipes and Ukrainian comfort foods. How important has that been and do you see that impact on people?

GUAS: 100 percent. I mean, Chef Andres has, obviously, a vision and he was very specific to his team, the leadership team here about supporting local vendors regardless if they can handle the volume or the orders of the request. It's about supporting, you know, where we are. And the amazing community that we're in in Przemysl. And I will say too, you know, as chefs, we try to go out at night and be social and go to dinner. So, we're, actually, targeting the WCK chef partners that are already producing meals in their own kitchens, in their own restaurants. So, we're trying to, you know, give -- give -- support them at the same time.

So, it's -- I can't even explain how amazing it is, the network of people. And we all have the same thing in common. We're here to provide meals, as you said, and nourishment. And, you know, we're attempting to cook, you know, the local cuisine as best we can. I'm sure there's plenty of people that would think otherwise in the sense of, you know, getting it exact, right? But we're doing a lot of borscht and a lot of, you know, beets, and amazing vegetables. A lot of vegetables. A lot of beef, just heavy stews with a lot of nourishment.

HILL: Yes.

GUAS: So, rice, potatoes, bulgur wheat. You name it and we're doing it, so.

SCIUTTO: Great work.

HILL: You're doing it all with a lot of love and heart. And I know this is something that is near and dear to you. You know, you launched efforts to help Afghan refugees last year, as well. Chef David Guas, appreciate everything you're doing there. And thanks for taking the time to join us today.

GUAS: Appreciate it, Erica. Thank you.

HILL: As we've mentioned, we are waiting for President Biden set to speak any moment on these latest jobs report, unemployment down to 3.6 percent. The jobs rate hitting a pandemic low this morning. We'll take you live to the White House, next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:50:00]

Any moment now, President Biden is set to arrive at that microphone to talk about the March jobs report. 431,000 new jobs added last month. That number a bit shy of expectations. The unemployment rate, however, slightly better than expectations, hitting a pandemic or a low of 3.6 percent.

SCIUTTO: And some revisions upwards of previous months. CNN John Harwood is at the White House. John, you know, one persistent phenomenon with these strong drop ghost numbers (INAUDIBLE) have not helped Biden's approval rating, including on the economy specifically. So, what's the White House reaction to these numbers and that phenomenon?

JOHN HARWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, they're going to celebrate, of course, Jim, the jobs numbers. The 431,000 new jobs and the declining unemployment rate. But they're aware, and have been for some time, that the public mood has been clouded by multiple factors, including the pandemic and including inflation which is a continued problem.

[10:55:00]

And one of the paradoxes that President Biden faces, is that the strong demand for labor that's reflected in declining unemployment in this rising job growth is bringing more people to bring back into the labor force. That's good. But the economy, very much needs that in order to keep output at -- from allowing inflation to rise. Inflation, the longer it persists at these elevated levels, the more it eats into wage gains and poses the risk that it becomes entrenched in the economy going forward. That is not a good thing.

For a significant amount of the Biden Administration, people at the lower end of the income spectrum were seeing their wages rise and they were coming out ahead of inflation. But the longer this goes on, the more difficult it is for people at the lower end to deal with gas prices and other household goods inflation, and people across the spectrum. There is still somewhat of a cushion that exists from the pandemic relief that the government handed out in 19 -- 2020 and 2021 through the American Rescue Plan. But that is beginning to phase out or wind down. And so, it's going to require the economy to continue expanding output --

SCIUTTO: John, hold that thought.

HARWOOD: -- in order to temper inflation --

SCIUTTO: Here's the President.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: Today, we learned that in March, our economy created 431,000 jobs, nice sound to it. We also learned that in January and February, our economy created 100,000 more jobs than had -- we previously thought. That means that over the last three months, the economy has created more than half a million -- more than 500,000 jobs a month. Over the course of the presidency, our recovery has now created 7.9 million jobs. More jobs created over the first 14 months of any presidency in any term ever. And that is striking.

But what's even more striking is this, in March, the unemployment rate fell to 3.6 percent, down from 6.4 percent when I took office 15 months ago. The fastest decline on unemployment to start a president's term ever recorded. In fact, there had only been three months in the last 50 years where the unemployment rate in America is lower than it is now. And that means -- what it means is clear what -- is very clear. America are back to work. And that's good news for millions of families who have little more breathing room and the dignity that comes from earning a paycheck. Just the dignity of having a job.

And more and more Americans get jobs, as they do, is going to help ease the supply pressures we've seen. And that's good news for fighting inflation. It's good news for our economy. And it means that our economy is gone from being on the mend to being on the move. You know, the American people, I think they -- they're beginning to understand that this American Rescue Plan, there's no reason why they should know the names of all of these pieces of legislation that got passed. But the American Rescue Plan with it, we were able to get Americans vaccinated, schools opened, and businesses humming.

A leading financial firm, Moody's, estimated that because of the rescue plan, four million more American jobs were created and unemployment is two percent lower than it would have been had we failed to move that legislation. Thanks to our infrastructure law, we have more than 4,000 projects getting started this year, 4,000, in every single State in America. A total of 4,000. And all 50 States rebuilding in America.

We're building in recovery, worthy of American workers, strong and resilient. And so, we're going to be able to overcome the headwinds that it has of Delta, Omicron and even war in Europe. Our policies are working and we're getting results for the American people, which is what it's all about, to state the obvious. Record job creation. Record unemployment declines. Record wage gains.

And, by the way, jobs and unemployment are not just another statistic. They go directly to the core of what the economy represents. The ability for hardworking Americans to live with dignity. Support their families and build a better life for their children. People are making more money. They're finding better jobs. And after decades of being mistreated and paid too little, more and more American workers have real power now to get --

Some people see that as a problem, we've had this discussion in the past. I don't. I see it as long overdue. So, when you hear these numbers, they're not statistics. It's a statement of a type of economy we're fighting for. An economy, as I've been saying from the beginning, built from the bottom up and the middle out. Not from the top down. When we do it that way, everybody does well. Everybody wins. Even though we created record number of jobs, we know, I know, that this job is not finished.

[11:00:00]