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January Jobs Numbers; Arctic Blast Hits Northeast; Chinese Spy Balloon over U.S.; Balloon over U.S. appears days ahead of Blinken's Visit to Beijing; Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL) and Rep. Darin LaHood (R- IL) are Interviewed about Classified Documents. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired February 03, 2023 - 09:00   ET

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

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[09:00:39]

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone, and thanks for joining us on this Friday morning. I'm Bianna Golodryga.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Jim Sciutto.

This morning, just in, a blockbuster January jobs report. The U.S. economy added an astonishing 517,000 jobs in January. That almost three times what economists had forecast. Really good news on the economy. Let's get right to those numbers with CNN chief business correspondent Christine Romans.

Wow, that's a big number. It's a - it's good news, I think, economically.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: It is.

SCIUTTO: What happened here?

ROMANS: I mean it's surging hiring. And it's widespread hiring, Jim, and that's what the government points out.

Let's look at the chart that shows you that 517,000 and how it fits in. Those are upward revisions. In December it was stronger than expected, 260,000. Look all the way back into the summer. In the summer, hiring was much stronger than the government initially thought. When we get these January reports, there's always revisions for the last year as they fine-tune all of these numbers. So it tells you 4.8 million jobs were added last year in a red hot job market.

And this. Now the lowest unemployment rate since before the moon landing. The lowest unemployment rate since before the moon landing at 3.4 percent. That shows you that hiring is still strong no matter what you hear about concerns from the corporate suit about a recession. These are companies in all kinds of industries. Mainstreet jobs where hiring is still happening, happening briskly, and layoffs are very low.

SCIUTTO: Yes. ROMANS: And 128,000 leisure and hospitality. Professional and business services, some 82,000 there. Government, healthcare, also in construction, just across the board you saw hiring here. You saw wage gains of about 4.4 percent. Annual wage gains. I mean that's something that a typical person likes to see in their paycheck.

But this is where it's been a problem for the Fed. The Federal Reserve looks at these numbers. This is not what the Fed has wanted to see. The Fed wants to see this part of the economy cooling so it can get inflation under control.

SCIUTTO: Yes, so we -

GOLODRYGA: So, what do you think this means for the Fed?

SCIUTTO: Yes, what does it mean? I mean they just trimmed their increase from three quarters of a point to a quarter a point in their most recent decision here.

ROMANS: I mean in the most perfect scenario it would be a Fed that thinks this feeds into the soft landing narrative, that you can have an economy slowing, and inflation that starts to slow, but you don't have meaningful damage to the job market, because what is a recession? A recession is pain on main street, where factories close, people lose millions of jobs and it really hurts, you know, the family budget.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

ROMANS: What if you have some sort of scenario where the economy cools slightly but you don't really have a lot of damage in the job market? It shows whatever happens in the future here, it's coming from a very strong base. CEO's don't want to get rid of their workers because they're more afraid of not being able to hire them in the future.

SCIUTTO: Yes. Just a remarkable figure.

Christine Romans, we'll, of course, keep following. Thanks very much.

ROMANS: You're welcome.

SCIUTTO: All right, a little bit of tough weather news. This morning, millions across the northeast and New England bracing for subzero temperatures. Record-breaking subzero temperatures. Experts say this is once in a generation bitter cold. And that it's so dangerous, it could lead to frostbite in as little as 10 minutes in some areas. The intensity of the wind has prompted officials to close school and activate emergency plans with more than 15 million people now under windchill alerts.

GOLODRYGA: Yes, it's going to be a tough few days for parts of the country. Snow squalls in upstate New York brought thunder snow and dropped visibility to near zero overnight just to give you a sense of what people are experiencing.

Meanwhile, hurricane force winds are expected to blast New Hampshire's Mount Washington, bringing the windchills to as low as negative 100 degrees.

SCIUTTO: Whoa.

GOLODRYGA: Now, Mount Washington is famous for having some of the toughest and harshest weather in the world, but those temperatures are unheard of.

Our CNN team is braving the cold for us. Polo Sandoval is in New York, Athena Jones is in Boston.

Polo, let's begin with you.

What are New Yorkers expected to see this weekend?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Bianna, I can tell you what we're seeing right now. Looking at the thermometer, about 24 degrees, though it certainly feels much colder than that. But here's the thing, we're already reached our high for the day. It is all downhill from here according to the forecast, which means once those winds begin to kick up, the thermometer begins to drop, then those conditions are really going to get just freezing tonight.

[09:05:01]

That's why officials, not just here in New York City, but throughout the entire state are warning folks to limit their time outside. Obviously here on the streets of New York, you are seeing some folks getting to where they have to be. A couple of people braving the weather and even going out for a morning run.

But come tonight, it's certainly going to be quite dangerous to do that if you're out for an extended period of time. And that's why that warning being issued, not just here again, but throughout the region. And now, when it comes to what we expect tonight, again, those winds really kick up. That will be the worst of it. Tonight, tomorrow morning, then a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel here come Saturday late in the day and then, of course, on Sunday, when temperatures should be OK.

But for now, Bianna and Jim, that sunshine, it is all for show right now. Purely decorative.

GOLODRYGA: Oh, and, Athena, only colder up north in Boston.

ATHENA JONES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi. Hi, Bianna. That's exactly right. You know, we're talking about a cold snap that's going to affect the northeast corner of the country. So everything from northeastern Pennsylvania, New York state, on up to where I am, and into Canada, this cold weather coming from Canada. Fifteen million people under some sort of windchill alert because of these extremely cold temperatures.

We spoke with a National Weather Service meteorologist about the records that could be broken as these temperatures reach low levels. His name is Glenn Field. Listen to what he had to say about the temperatures, which are going to get very low overnight, and those kind of records it could set.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GLENN FIELD, NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE: Those temperatures are expected to get down to a low of six below zero in the city of Boston and 12 below zero out in Worcester. So, that's the coldest we've seen since 2016, which isn't that long ago, in Boston. But if it manages to get down to minus 10, that would go all the way back to 1957.

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JONES: So, some of the coldest temperatures this area has seen in decades. And that's not talking about the windchills, which, as you mentioned, could be, here in Boston, around 20 degrees - negative 20 tonight, a negative 27 or 30 in the morning. And these are temperatures that are extremely dangerous in terms of frostbite.

The city - the mayor of Boston, Michelle Wu, has declared a cold weather emergency, urging everyone to stay inside as much as possible. Boston Public Schools are closed so that students don't have to commute in the weather. They're keeping a train station open all night so that the homeless can stay there and rather than being kicked out as usual. And there are warming centers open all across the city. Of course, people are being urged to take all kinds of precautions if you do come outside. Dress in layers. Wrap your skin. Make sure it's not exposed because as it gets colder over the course of the day, it's already dropping, the temperature, by about six degrees an hour. As it gets colder and the wind picks up, it's just going to get more and more dangerous. So you've got to check on your family, check on your neighbors, keep your pets indoors and try to stay safe.

Bianna. Jim.

SCIUTTO: And you've got to start thinking about freezing pipes at home too.

GOLODRYGA: Yes.

SCIUTTO: I mean all these things to look out for.

Athena Jones, in Boston, thanks so much.

JONES: Dripping water through the pipes, right.

SCIUTTO: Yes. Turn it on a little bit and that's enough.

Meteorologist Chad Myers joins us now.

All right, Chad, we're already feeling it here. How long is it going to last?

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Thirty-six to 48 hours. Forty-eight for Maine, 36 for New York, probably into the Poconos, 36 as well, and then on up toward the Hudson Valley, 36 hours. And that seems like a short duration compared to sometimes you see them in the upper Midwest where they can last for a week or more, but still the dangerousness of the numbers, I think, really translate to where we are.

At 14 degrees below zero in Albany right now. That's 110 degrees below your skin temperature, 110 degrees below where your body core temperature should be. It will not take very long with temperatures like this and winds blowing that heat away from your body for you to get dangerously cold. I know we always talk about frostbite, but I'm telling you what, this is life-threatening. Not frostbite threatening.

Big old Mt. Washington, you were nine below degrees at 4:00 a.m. Now we're 29 below. The windchill there is 83 degrees below zero. It - now, hopefully, everybody's inside. There's a little weather service station there.

But the wind is part of the problem and will continue to exasperate what's going on here. This is the areas that are here that are going to see 30 to 40 mile per hour winds, in some spots gusting to 50. Even in New York City. So, we see the temperatures and we see them still going down. We're not even started yet.

Burlington (ph), 36 degrees below zero. Again, down to 39.

Jim, Bianna, t here's a lot of things going on here, even besides the population of the people. If you drive around Vermont and New Hampshire, upstate New York, there are horses, there are farms, there are cattle.

GOLODRYGA: Yes.

MYERS: There are orchards. There are so many things that are going to be affected that some people are afraid they're not going to get a fruit crop at all with temperatures like this.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

GOLODRYGA: Wow.

SCIUTTO: It's a great point. The potential damage, enormous.

Meteorologist Chad Myers, in the Weather Center, thanks so much.

MYERS: You're welcome.

SCIUTTO: Well, this story we're following closely this morning. Something spotted hovering over the western U.S. prompting hard questions and some alarm this morning.

[09:10:08]

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, that's the moon. It's a little fuzzy out here and it's a - kind of a cruddy phone but it's slightly overcast. But what the heck is that?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Well, that, according to a senior defense official and others, is a massive Chinese surveillance balloon, said to be the size of three buses. Still hard to see from the ground but visible with the naked eye and it is causing some - some real reactions and hard questions from U.S. officials this morning.

GOLODRYGA: Yes, that's right. And China says that it is a research balloon that drifted off course. And sources say China cannot manually control it. And while a Pentagon spokesperson says it is not a military or physical threat to people on the ground, it still isn't clear why it's there in the first place.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

GOLODRYGA: And here with more on what U.S. officials plan to do about the balloon is CNN Pentagon correspondent Oren Liebermann.

Oren, so, we know that the Pentagon, for now at least, and the president has approved this decision, not to shoot the balloon down. Explain what happens next.

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, now they're going to keep monitoring this to see which way it goes and whether it floats over other sensitive sites. The Pentagon has already acknowledged that on the path that it has taken over the last several days as they have tracked this, it has gone over several sites. And although they haven't named those sites, we know it was spotting in Montana, where the U.S. has ballistic missile fields. So perhaps that is the sensitive site that the U.S. was concerned about.

Interestingly, as you point out, the Chinese foreign minister just put out a statement, a rare Friday night statement, acknowledging that this is, in fact, Chinese equipment.

Here is part of that statement. I'll read this to you. The foreign ministry says, it is a civilian airship used for research, mainly meteorological, purposes. Affected by the Westerlies and with limited self-steering capability, the airship deviated from its - far from its planned course. The Chinese side regrets the unintended entry of the airship into U.S. airspace due to force majeure. The foreign ministry then says, they'll be in touch with the U.S. to figure out how to handle this.

The question, of course, does the U.S. buy that explanation? The Pentagon was pretty adamant when they came out with information about this balloon, that it was a surveillance balloon. And even if it didn't have capabilities above and beyond Chinese spy satellites circling in low earth orbit, it was clearly still something to worry about. The Pentagon says they've seen this sort of capability in the past. A U.S. official tells CNN, these sorts of balloons have been spotted over Hawaii and Guam in previous years, including during the previous administration. Now, of course, the key question, how to handle this. The military

said they're not going to shoot this down, for now. But if they decide that there is a greater risk, that remains an option for them. And then, of course, there is handling this with the diplomatic channels.

Bianna, Jim, it is clear the U.S. is angry about this.

GOLODRYGA: Yes. And it's also clear that that's about as close to as an apology that you'll get from China on that note as well.

LIEBERMANN: Absolutely.

GOLODRYGA: Really interesting wording there from them.

Oren Liebermann, thank you.

Well, news of the balloon comes just as Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to begin critical talks with China in Beijing in the coming days.

CNN White House correspondent Natasha Bertrand is here now with more.

Does this balloon put that trip in jeopardy now? Is the U.S. reconsidering?

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, Jim, it really could not come at a worse time for the United States as they planned this kind of landmark trip by the secretary of state to China. What the U.S. is saying, according to my colleague Kylie Atwood, is that the State Department is considering now how to move forward with that trip and that it's going to be, quote, a very interesting day as the U.S. develops more information about this balloon, whether or not, of course, it was steered there on purpose by the Chinese government, and whether, of course, this poses a very, you know, significant intelligence threat to the United States.

Now, for now, all signs point to it not being that big of a counterintelligence risk for the U.S. What we're told is that while China does have some ability to turn on and off the systems within this balloon, it does not necessarily have the ability to steer it and actually get it to a particular location within the United States. It's not like a drone, for example.

So, it is plausible, of course, that while this is not simply a weather balloon, as the Chinese government said, and that it is for intelligence gathering purposes, as all of our sources are indicating, that the Chinese did not necessarily put it directly over Montana on purpose.

Now, it remains to be seen, of course, whether this is going to actually impact the secretary of state's plans to travel to China, but ultimately the U.S. has been looking for a way to responsibly manage the conflict with China. And right now, of course, with this major kind of incursion into American air space, which is how Republicans are framing it on The Hill. Of course, the Biden administration is going to be under pressure to take some kind of decisive action against this balloon that satisfies the hawks on The Hill who have already been saying that the Biden administration has not been harsh enough on China.

So, it will be interesting to see how this plays out throughout the day, guys.

SCIUTTO: And do they ultimately buy that Chinese explanation here.

[09:15:02]

China has enormous capabilities.

Natasha Bertrand, thanks so much.

We should note, the Pentagon will hold a press briefing at noon today. We're going to bring you that live.

Anytime now the FBI could search the home of former Vice President Mike Pence for any additional classified documents. Up next, I'm going to speak to a bipartisan pair of congressmen who have drafted a bill to make the penalties tougher for mishandling classified material.

GOLODRYGA: Also ahead, a killing without a known motive. A New Jersey city councilwoman gunned down inside her own car. I'll speak to a friend of hers about what they've learned about the investigation so far.

And later, an Italian mafia boss on the run for 16 years is finally captured. Turns out he was hiding in plain sight, get this, as a pizza maker. We'll have more details for you on that up next too.

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[09:20:00]

SCIUTTO: CNN has learned the FBI is expected to search former Vice President Mike Pence's Indiana home and his Washington office for the possibility of more classified materials. And that will take place soon. Sources say representatives for Pence have been in talks with the Justice Department and that they want to completely cooperate.

Comes just weeks after a lawyer for the former vice president found about a dozen classified documents in Pence's home in Indiana.

With me now are two congressmen, a Republican and a Democrat, who have introduced legislation to increase the penalties for retaining classified material. They are Democratic Representative Mike Quigley and Republican Representative Darin LaHood.

Gentlemen, thanks so much for joining this morning.

REP. MIKE QUIGLEY (D-IL): Good morning.

REP. DARIN LAHOOD (R-IL): Thank you, Jim.

SCIUTTO: First, let me begin on your proposed legislation. Congressman LaHood, can you describe which specific penalties you are

recommending in this legislation to be imposed for former officials who retain classified materials.

LAHOOD: Well, sure. As you look at the current statute right now, the criminal statute, it really turns on intent and knowledge. I'm a former federal prosecutor, Jim. And so when we look at this statute, what Congressman Quigley and I looked at is, how we can enhance the statute. If there's not intentional or knowing, you know -- if that's not met here, what else can we do to add to the criminal penalties?

So, we've looked at fines. We've looked at stripping security clearances. We've looked at future banning of members of Congress or people in the administration from viewing classified documents. Really looking at negligence, sloppiness, if this was an accident in some way, so that we can help deter this because I think we're all disturbed and concerned about that, and that's what we're looking at in the legislation.

SCIUTTO: Well, what's been remarkable, Congressman Quigley, about event --

QUIGLEY: And clearly this is --

SCIUTTO: Events of recent weeks is that it goes right up to former presidents, sitting presidents, former vice presidents. Would your legislation impose such penalties on officials at that level?

QUIGLEY: Well, look, I don't think anyone's above the law. The problem here is it's - well, first of all, this is a bipartisan problem, so it requires a bipartisan solution. So, I think that's why it's important that we start working on this together, especially from the experience on the intelligence community.

The problem is the criminal threshold is apparently too high. So there has to be -- this is serious and there has to be some accountability. If that's civil in nature, so be it. At least it will work to disincentivize those who are being sloppy with absolutely critical documents. There's no excuse for this kind of behavior.

SCIUTTO: Congressman LaHood, would the penalties be greater for folks -- I mean you mention intent -- who don't, it appear, inadvertently held on to these documents, but refuse to cooperate with law enforcement in terms of handing them back?

LAHOOD: Well, listen, facts and evidence matter and so that's going to be up to the Department of Justice, it's going to be up to the prosecutor to make that decision. As you know, there's been a special counsel appointed on the Biden incidents there and so it will depend on what occurred there.

But we need to give more tools to the prosecutor, to Department of Justice, to determine whether there was intent. If there was intent, and there was knowledge, there ought to be criminal prosecution. If there wasn't, it shouldn't be nothing. We ought to be able to fine somebody, maybe up to $5 million, strip them from future ability to look at classified documents.

SCIUTTO: Wow.

LAHOOD: We are enhancing this so that the prosecutors have more tools so we deter this type of behavior.

SCIUTTO: And, Congressman Quigley, we have a Republican and Democrat on the air right now who are introducing this legislation. Are you confident you're going to get bipartisan support for this?

QUIGLEY: I think -- I think if you want bipartisan support, that's how you should start it. And for me who better than someone who's family has a history of bipartisan cooperation. As you know, his father was in the Obama cabinet.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

QUIGLEY: But, you know, a former prosecutor who's a serious member of the committee. Who better to show the rest of Congress that when it comes to matters of national security, we have to work together. The issues are just too important not to.

SCIUTTO: OK, another topic that very much in the news and that is knowledge of a Chinese surveillance balloon floating over the continental U.S. You both have been briefed multiple times on China in your duties as members of the Intelligence Committee. How serious, Congressman LaHood, a threat is this and do you buy China's explanation this morning that this was just a weather balloon that went off course?

LAHOOD: Well, I have real concerns, Jim. The fact that China can have on demand access to our air space, and particularly over sensitive areas around Montana, as has been publicly reported, we have lots of nuclear assets there, we have an air base there.

[09:25:04]

You look at China's track record of being deceitful, not being honest, playing by a different set of rules. I have real concerns. I'm glad Speaker McCarthy has asked for a meeting with the gang of eight. I think that's important. And as this comes on the cusp of Secretary Blinken going to Beijing, this isn't the type of thing that China should be doing.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

Do you agree, Congressman Quigley, that Blinken should cancel his planned trip to Beijing to meet with Chinese officials in response to this?

QUIGLEY: No, I think there's always room for diplomacy. And look, if you're angry about something, don't talk about it through the press, talk about it nose to nose and the ramifications. Let them know we're serious about matters like this.

And I'm serious about any surveillance over the United States. Let's put this in perspective. The low orbit Chinese satellites have been there for years.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

QUIGLEY: They're there all the time. I don't want the American people to think this is something new and that all of a sudden we have a concern that we didn't have before.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

QUIGLEY: Those concerns are there. They have to be mitigated. They have to be addressed. We have to confront the Chinese government. And canceling a trip, I think, would be counterproductive in an effort to at least let them know how serious this is and what the potential ramifications might be for this and other matters that they do, like cyber-attacks.

SCIUTTO: Congressman LaHood, a quick final thought?

LAHOOD: Jim, I would - yes, I would just add - yes, you know, this is part of the reason why the second bill we put on the floor in the new House majority is the new select committee on China. If you look at that bill, it got 100 Democrats to support it. I'm proud to serve on that committee.

But let's make no mistake about it, China has a plan to replace us. And they are working at it every day, technologically, militarily, from a trade perspective, diplomatically. And so we have to wake up to that. And as you look at the bipartisan committee, we will be focused on these malign activities that China has engaged in. And then also on the economic side, on how we use our trade in the Indo-Pacific region to isolate China, that all has to be on the table. I really look at this as not a Republican or Democrat issue, it's an American issue. I'm glad we have this select committee set up.

SCIUTTO: No question. Well, it's certainly a topic the three of us and others are going to be talking about a lot more in the coming weeks and months. Democratic Congressman Mike Quigley, Republican Congressman Darin LaHood, we appreciate you both joining this morning.

LAHOOD: Thank you.

QUIGLEY: Thank you.

GOLODRYGA: Fascinating conversation. A rare glimpse of bipartisanship there as well.

Well, up next, a community in shock after a New Jersey councilwoman is gunned down inside her car. Up next, what we're learning about this case as we speak to a friend of the victim.

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