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CNN This Morning

New U.S. Package to Include Cluster Bombs; U.S. Economy Adds 209,000 Jobs In June Unemployment Rate Fell To 3.6 Percent; Earth's Hot Streak Breaks Records; Panel Recommends Rudy Giuliani Be Disbarred. Aired 7-8a ET

Aired July 08, 2023 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: To over $310 million. So, how did we get here? Well, nobody matched all six numbers, of course, plus the red Powerball on Wednesday. But that doesn't mean there weren't some winners. Lottery officials say three lucky players in Florida, Ohio, and New York each one a million dollars. Not too bad.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: I'll take that. Yes. A million dollars and you still didn't like "win," I'll take it.

HILL: It's still a win. It's still a win. Did you buy a ticket?

BLACKWELL: No, I didn't, but I will.

HILL: Oh, I did. OK. OK, good.

BLACKWELL: The next hour of CNN THIS MORNING starts right now.

HILL: Good Saturday morning, and welcome to CNN THIS MORNING. It's Saturday, July 8. I'm Erica Hill in today for Amara Walker.

BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell. It is good to be with you. Thank you for spending part of your morning with us. Here's what we're watching for you.

HILL: (INAUDIBLE) what we are watching.

BLACKWELL: Sorry. This is the problem when we're in different cities and we got a bit of a delay.

HOLMES: Two different cities.

BLACKWELL: But we are working it out.

HILL: It isn't easy.

BLACKWELL: We're working it out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It was a very difficult decision on my part. And by the way, I discuss this with our allies.

HILL (voice-over): In an exclusive interview with CNN, President Biden defends his decision to send controversial weapons to Ukraine as part of a new aid package. What do these cluster bombs do and the reason why some Democratic Senators and Congress folks are also calling this a terrible mistake?

BLACKWELL (voice-over): A job market is seeing a cool down as job numbers come in below expectations. How that's actually a good thing for the economy and the encouraging news for women in the workforce?

HILL (voice-over): Federal regulators stepping in after a string of close calls at the nation's airports. We'll tell you the steps the FAA is taking to keep planes from getting too close.

BLACKWELL (voice-over): Plus, what does one do with a half-million- dollars-worth of wine? How a burglar made off with hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of wine and rare alcohol? It's coming up this morning on CNN THIS MORNING.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HILL: So this morning, the Biden administration is defending this highly controversial decision to include cluster munitions in the latest military package to Ukraine. Cluster munitions shower small but lethal bomblets over a wide area.

BLACKWELL: The issue is that some of those don't explode, and they remain deadly for years. Potentially, later. They're banned by more than one hundred countries, but not by the U.S., Ukraine, or Russia. President Biden rejected Ukraine's previous request for the munitions but told CNN's Fareed Zakaria that he reconsidered given recent changes on the battlefield.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BIDEN: Two things, Fareed. And it was a very difficult decision on my part. And by the way, I discussed this with our allies. I discuss this with our friends up on the Hill. And we're in a situation where Ukraine continues to be brutally attacked across the board by munitions -- by these cluster munitions that are -- had dud rates that are very, very low -- I mean very high, that are endangered to civilians. Number one.

Number two, the Ukrainians are running out of ammunition. The ammunition they used to call them 155-millimeter weapons. This is a -- this is a war relating to munitions. And the running out of those -- that ammunition and we're low on it.

And so, what I finally did took the recommendation of the Defense Department to not permanently but to allow for in this transition period where we have more 155 weapons -- the shells for Ukrainians to provide them with a something as a very low dud rate. It's about one -- I think it's 150, which is the least likely to be blind. And it's not used in civilian areas. They're trying to get through those trenches, and those -- then stop those tanks from rolling. And so -- but it was not an easy decision. And it's not -- we're not signatories to that agreement, but I -- it took me a while to be convinced to do it.

But the main thing is they either have the weapons to stop the Russians now from the -- keeping them from stopping the Ukrainian offensive through these areas, or they don't. And I think they needed them.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HILL: CNN White House reporter Jasmine Wright joining us now. So, Jasmine, the White House, the president, Jake Sullivan, really doing their best to lay out this case for why they not only made the decision but why they really want to show that the way they believe yes, Ukraine will use these weapons is far different from what Russia has been doing.

JASMINE WRIGHT, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: That's exactly right. Look, they're offering a full-throated defense for President Biden's controversial decision to send clustered munitions to Ukraine. We just heard President Biden there very carefully talk about how it was a hard decision for him to make after months of internal debate, we know with officials but also with allies.

[07:05:06]

But eventually, it was the national security team who recommended that President Biden take the step that they frame as necessary because they do believe that Ukraine is running low on ammunition, as we heard President Biden just say. Now, it was U.S. national security second -- national security adviser Jake Sullivan yesterday, who talked about the fact that the U.S. was worried that Ukraine would not be able to successfully carry out their counter-offensive against Russia if they did not have these cluster munitions because they were running so low on other ammunition.

But it was also Jake Sullivan yesterday from the podium at the White House making the moral case for sending these controversial weapons to Ukraine, basically saying that it is Ukraine that is defending their homeland, unlike Russia, which is already using these types of weapons to attack another sovereign country. An important distinction for the U.S.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE SULLIVAN, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: We recognize that cluster munitions create a risk of civilian harm from unexploded ordnance. This is why we defer the decision for as long as we could. But there is also a massive risk of civilian harm if Russian troops and tanks roll over Ukrainian positions, take more Ukrainian territory and subjugate more Ukrainian civilians because Ukraine does not have enough artillery. That is intolerable to us.

(END VIDEO CLIP) WRIGHT: So, there we just heard from Sullivan at the podium. The reality -- but the reality is -- here is that despite his defense, it could cause some consternation with allies as President Biden is set to head to Europe for a NATO Summit next week. As it's banned -- these cluster munitions are banned in more than one hundred countries. And even on the books here in the U.S., there are laws against transferring it to other nations.

But one thing that we heard President Biden talk about, we heard Sullivan talk about from the podium is that dud, right, which is basically the percent to which these bombs do not explode. Now, Sullivan made the case that the cluster munitions that the U.S. would send to Ukraine have about a 2.4 percent dud rate, whereas the ones that Russia's are currently are using that are currently on the ground in Ukraine have about a 30 to 40 percent dud rate. Making the case that what Russia already has in the ground provides way more of an impact on civilians than what Ukraine would use.

But ultimately, Sullivan made the case that they received written assurances from Ukraine that they would really try to make the most of not having a major civilian impact when using these types of munitions. Basically, saying that they're motivated not to because these are in their homeland with their own citizens. But, of course, this continues to be a controversial decision and we may hear more about it as the week goes on. Victor.

BLACKWELL: Jasmine Wright for us there from Washington, thank you so much. And be sure to watch Fareed Zakaria GPS tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. to see more from that exclusive one-on-one interview with President Biden.

The latest jobs report has Wall Street on a bit of an edge. U.S. stocks slid Friday and fell for the week over news that the U.S. economy cooled down a bit in June, adding just 209,000 jobs.

HILL: That's stronger than expected wage growth last month that has investors worried that the Federal Reserve will begin raising interest rates again. CNN's Matt Egan has a closer look for us this morning. Matt?

MATT EGAN, CNN BUSINESS REPORTER: Victor and Erica, we're still in this weird place in the economy where cooling job growth is actually good news. The jobs market has been simply on fire. It's been so hot this year, that Wall Street, the Federal Reserve, and even the White House want it to chill out. Because if it doesn't, it's going to overheat the economy.

At the same time, no one wants to see hiring fall off the cliff because that would signal a potential recession. So, you want something in between. And that really is pretty much what we got in June. 209,000. jobs added last month. April and May, they were revised lower.

The trend shows that hiring is slowing but it is still solid. The unemployment rate ticking down to 3.6 percent. That is historically very low. And it is miles away from that spike to nearly 15 percent back in 2020.

Another encouraging development is Americans continue to come off the sidelines, re-entering the workforce, including women, many of whom were forced out during COVID. The participation rate for women aged 25 to 54 hit a record high in June for the third month in a row. There are right now, more women in the workforce than ever before.

So, if you put all this together, it does feel very much like the Goldilocks jobs report that we were hoping for. Moody's Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi. He declared on Twitter. "The June employment report was close to perfect. Not too hot, not too cold." So, where does this leave the Federal Reserve in its quest to tame inflation? Well, investors are now increasingly confident the Fed will resume rate hikes very soon.

[07:10:04]

Markets are pricing in a roughly 92 percent chance of another quarter- point hike later this month. So, yes. That does mean higher borrowing costs, mortgages, credit cards, car loans. But the good news is that this jobs market has been able to absorb all of this inflation- fighting medicine from the Fed, so much better than almost anyone thought was even possible.

For the longest time, the fear was that the Fed was going to overdo it. Crash the economy right into a hard-landing recession. But now, the jobs market is signaling that maybe the Fed can avoid a recession and pull off a soft landing after all, Victor and Erica.

BLACKWELL: Matt Egan, thanks so much. The White House is touting the June jobs report as Biden-nomics in action, and it's announced new actions aimed at lowering healthcare costs. The Biden administration is proposing limits to short-term health insurance plans, new guidelines against surprise medical billing, and new steps to protect consumers from unfair medical debt. The administration says all of this is to help middle and working-class Americans.

Joining me now is CNN political commentator Errol Lewis, and Federal Reserve and economy reporter for the New York Times, Jeanna Smialek. Welcome to you both.

Jeanna, let me start with you. And just explain for people who are listening to Matt's report there where they say -- you know he's quoting Mark Zandi of Moody's, Goldilocks June report. Not too hot, not too cold. Strong, but not as strong, which means that all that's happening is working. So, why then another increase potentially in the interest rate?

JEANNA SMIALEK, FEDERAL RESERVE AND ECONOMY REPORTER, THE NEW YORK TIMES: Yes. You know, I think Mark Zandi was right. This was a dream report for a lot of policymakers in Washington. But at the end of the day, the Federal Reserve is still looking at what is a pretty hot job market with four percent -- 4.4 percent annual wage growth.

And that wage growth is making Fed officials a little bit nervous. They're not sure that inflation can get the whole way back down to normal at a time when people are earning a lot more because that inspires companies to charge more, it means that we can all afford slightly higher prices, and that can keep inflation rising.

And so, I think we are likely to see another rate move in July. Investors basically see it as a done deal at this point. And that's really a response to sort of the continued momentum in this economy.

BLACKWELL: The progress though, Errol, for the Fed, and for Jerome Powell kind of runs counter to the goals in the rhetoric of the White House, whereas the Fed is expecting kind of factoring in job losses and wage growth as it relates to trying to cool the economy is a bad thing. The president saying, look at the millions of jobs we've created, and wages are growing. It is that contradiction, not a conflict that is politically difficult.

ERROL LEWIS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, that's right. There's a push and pull here. And there are a lot of people who don't think wage growth is a bad idea.

They think it's a good thing. And regardless of what Wall Street analysts or the Federal Reserve think about it, they want more wage growth. That's why you have thousands of striking workers in Southern California right now. That's why the teamsters who staff United Parcel Service -- UPS workers are threatening to go on strike in a couple of weeks. They want better work conditions.

Low unemployment means just in a very basic supply and demand way that you've got to pay people more to get them off the sidelines. And that's -- a good thing is what the White House is banking on that people will feel better about their chances. They'll feel better about the fact that prices are in fact coming down. And that even if things are not perfect, they're trending in the right direction. That's what he is hoping to create as the atmosphere in which he runs for re- election next year.

BLACKWELL: Can you convince people though, of their personal economics? Because as we're covering the economy going in the right direction, recent polls show that the majority of Americans still are sour on the economy. They're sour on their personal economy. Can you convince him by having these big speeches?

LEWIS: Well, that -- I mean look, it's not the speech that's going to do it. It's the fact that you know, at the -- at the gas pump, it was 4.97 a year ago, and now it's down to around like 3.65 -- 3.64. So, people will feel it.

As long as people feel it, that they see the help wanted signs, that they can get work if -- when they're looking for it, that they can afford the things that they want, even if the prices are a little bit more than they'd like to pay, there'll be some dissatisfaction but they liked the idea. The polls really do sort of support this, that the economy is trending in the right direction.

So, there was 75 percent dissatisfaction with Biden's handling of the economy a couple of months ago. It's down now to 70 percent. So, most people are upset, but they're recognizing it seems that things are moving in the right direction. And again, that's all you can hope for if you're a presidential candidate.

BLACKWELL: Yes. Jeanna we heard from Matt, and he's right that earlier this year and even at the end of last year, there were concerns about a hard recession coming. Are there fears now of a recession at all, even a short and shallow one?

[07:15:13]

SMIALEK: You know, if you talk to a lot of economists, they will still tell you that they are predicting a short and shallow recession at the end of the year or early next. But I think that increasingly people are doubting whether even that is going to happen. You know, we have seen just so much resilience in this economy.

It's really surprised everybody how strong things are. This is basically, at this point, one of the strongest labor markets I think we've ever seen here in the United States. And so, given all of that momentum, it seems possible that we might be able to engineer a situation where inflation does come down, but we don't plunge into a downturn. And so, I think increasingly, we're in a really hopeful moment for the economy.

BLACKWELL: Errol, the counter this from Republicans, they continue to say -- point out grocery prices, although the price of eggs has come down dramatically, other grocery prices have come down as well. Is there a counter plan? You'll remember that in 2022, the economy and inflation was part of the trinity of what they were running on that they were going to change. What's their focus in the House?

LEWIS: You know, in anticipation of talking with you this morning, Victor, I went and looked at the House Republicans' economic plan. And I was really startled because there was almost nothing there. They're talking about more and more tax cuts. They're talking about changing depreciation schedules for small businesses. Really kind of marginal stuff that might move the needle a little bit, but it's not designed to really strike at the core of the economy and reach millions and millions of Americans and improve their life chances in the -- in the short term.

So, I'm not sure that's going to necessarily work for them. In fact, I think the reason that you see the Democrats resorting to what they're calling Biden-nomics is that they're trying to sort of capture that ground and leave the Republicans not much. And that's why I think we, unfortunately, are going to expect to see them move to the so-called cultural issues.

And they're going to talk about immigration. And they're going to talk about, you know, Hunter Biden's laptop. And they're going to talk about things like -- you know what school books are being assigned in high schools around the country because they don't have much of an argument on the economy.

Again, when the numbers are trending in the right direction, record low unemployment and inflation, while still too high, is it six percent now down from nine percent, it doesn't leave them a lot of room to come in unless they've got something new and innovative. And it's frankly, it's just not there right now.

BLACKWELL: Jeanna, we're seeing some of the efforts of these interest rate increases taking effect. Of course, we talked about the job market. What's the threshold to go in the opposite direction, to not just a pause as we saw, but to drop maybe a quarter point?

SMIALEK: High. The threshold is very high, to use a single word here. You know, think the Fed is very determined to get inflation the whole way back down to its two percent goal. By several measures now, inflation is kind of trending closer to four percent. And so we're still roughly double that goal.

And I think we're likely to see a report this week on the consumer price index that's going to show us that inflation is coming down a little bit more. Hopefully, a little bit more quickly. But we're still not close to sort of complete total victory here.

And so, I think it's going to be a while before the Fed is going to lower interest rates. They're going to have to see a pretty you know substantial cool down in the economy before that happens. So, I think we're looking at a situation where interest rates are likely to be quite a bit higher for quite a bit longer in this economy.

BLACKWELL: All right. People are still spending, even as the interest rates are going up. Jeanna Smialek, Errol Lewis, thank you both.

HILL: Was been a week of scorching hot temperatures and setting new records. Some states though could start to see a break but not everywhere we're in. Take a closer look at what you can expect this weekend.

Plus, an Oval Office meeting that took place in the final days of Donald Trump's presidency, we're learning is one of the areas on which the special counsel is now focusing its investigation. We've got those exclusive details.

BLACKWELL: Uber Eats, GrubHub, and DoorDash are suing New York City over a new minimum wage law that could impact your favorite food delivery services.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:23:33]

HILL: Across the country this week, there have been some major record sets some of the hottest temperatures on record. Thursday marking the fourth straight day of those record highs for the planet. According to the University of Maine's climate re-analyzer, the global average daily temperature reached 63.1 degrees.

July is usually the hottest month on planet Earth. But a combination of natural phenomena and old human-caused climate crisis is really pushing these temperatures ever higher. One scientist telling CNN the records are likely the highest and at least, get this, a hundred thousand years. Joining me now for a closer look at what's going on is Dr. Kim Cobb. She's a professor of Earth Environmental and Planetary Sciences at Brown University, and also the director of the Institute of Brown for Environment and Society. Great to have you with us this morning.

We look at all these numbers in that 63, that average of 63 degrees as our you know chief climate correspondent Bill Weir pointed out this week. We have to keep in mind that that means that in some of the places, it's not only hotter, where we expect it to be hot, but it's so much hotter in places that should be cold, essentially, right now. How concerned are you as we watch this trend, even in just the last few days?

DR. KIM COBB, DIRECTOR FOR THE INSTITUTE AT BROWN FOR ENVIRONMENT AND SOCIETY: Well, it is very concerning. Thanks for having me, Erica. But unfortunately, it's not surprising at this point in our inexorable march towards higher global average temperatures with the last eight years being the eighth warmest on record. And that's really the trend that concerns climate scientists like myself.

[07:25:03]

We expect these highs and extremes to increase dramatically going forward as we reach towards ever-higher warming levels. What was once a once-in-50-year event is now a once-in-10-year event. And as we warm further towards two degrees Celsius, a one-in-50-year heat extreme will be a one-in-three-year event.

And so, this kind of heat is extremely worrying from a public health perspective. Obviously, people need to keep safe during these coming heat waves here in the United States. But also, of course, a massive indirect threat to our way of life and health and safety.

HILL: There are a lot of questions about why now. I mean, you point out how much the planet has been heating up over the last several years. But there's also a lot of discussion about El Nino, which as I understand it, basically came a little early. How is that impacting things?

COBB: Well, definitely, it's important to remember that we have many different natural climate cycles on our planet. The El Nino is one of the larger ones. And we've been moving through a recent spate of years that have been parked in a cool phase of this natural cycle, La Nina phase.

And so, as we take the lid off that cooling phase, we're letting in all of that heat that's been mixed away, so to speak, in a cooler ocean temperature, pervasive over the last couple of years. So, we expect that rebound to be accelerating global average temperatures this year. A pylon event El Nino event is certainly going to make it more likely than not that 2023 becomes the new warmest year on record for Earth's temperatures.

HILL: Not the record that we want to be setting. You've said that heat is only one of the ways that the planet is telling us something is really wrong here. What are the other signs that we could look out for?

COBB: Yes. Well, it's important to remember that heat is itself a direct threat to human health. And again, just stressing how folks need to be acutely aware of this warmest month on record right now. And warmer temperatures breaking records all over America. Projected to increase that threat over the next two weeks, so watch out.

But it's also an indirect threat to public health and safety in our economy. We know that every increment of warming brings with it, any host of threats on freshwater resources that we rely on for drinking in, agriculture, of course, food production itself. We can talk about the links of heat to extremes like droughts, extreme rainfall, tropical storms, and of course, the wildfires that wafted that horrific multi-day period of horrific air pollution across the eastern seaboard just sort of last couple of weeks.

We know this from the science. We know that the warming is going to get worse. And so we need to look out for the direct threats as well as these indirect threats to our health and livelihoods.

HILL: Kim Cobb, appreciate it. Thanks for joining us this morning.

BLACKWELL: Well, you're not getting a break from the heat anytime soon, especially in the Southwest. In Phoenix, this week as temperatures will once again reach triple digits. But in other places around the country, we're seeing a bit of a cooldown maybe. CNN meteorologist Britley Ritz joins us now with the forecast. All right, walk us through the temperatures.

BRITLEY RITZ, CNN METEOROLOGIST: All right. Temperatures, like you mentioned well over one hundred degrees across the Southwest. We're hoping for that monsoon to kick in. Typically, it starts in June. We've really not seen much of it.

We've got quite a bit of rain early on in May which helped the situation. But now, the heat just soars. Excessive heat warnings are in place for places like Phoenix up into the Grand Canyon much of southern Arizona where it will push up toward 115 degrees.

Heat advisories for southern parts of New Mexico back now into parts of Texas, in El Paso under that excessive heat warning. So, please make sure you're staying hydrated with water. That's your best bet Gatorade something like that with electrolytes to help it based on your sodium levels.

But look at the temperatures over the next three days. I mean Salt Lake City, pushing into the triple digits. Phoenix, 112 degrees by Monday. Albuquerque, a hundred degrees on Sunday. El Paso, well into the triple digits as well.

Didn't just put things into perspective. This line is average for where we should be. That's around 107 degrees. We're well up to 115 by midweek, coming into your Phoenix area.

So, please again, make sure you're heeding that warning and taking care of yourself. Limit your time outdoors. Blacktop -- two by the way, not only you but pay attention to your pets as you're walking them maybe in the early on into the morning and then again later on into the evening. That blacktop absorbs the heat.

So at 90 degrees at a surface temperature, it's 150 degrees on that blacktop. So that can burn your paws. It also can burn you. Keep that in mind.

Thankfully, some cooling across the plains as we've had each cold front roll on through. But notice the southwest, the deep south back down into Florida, and even right on up into New England, well above normal by at least five degrees. Erica. Victor.

[07:29:59]

BLACKWELL: All right. Britley, thank you.

He was once considered America's mayor. Well, now, some are calling for Rudy Giuliani to be disbarred for his role in trying to overturned the 2020 election. More on that, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: Police say they have arrested two suspects in the Fort Worth, Texas mass shooting that ended with three deaths and eight injuries on July 3rd.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NEIL NOAKES, CHIEF, FORTH WORTH POLICE DEPARTMENT: Our homicide detectives arrested 20-year-old Christopher Redic, Jr. and 19-year-old Brandon Williams. Both are in custody at this time for murder.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Well, the shooting started just before midnight during the communities' July 4th celebrations. Police think there was an altercation before the shooting.

That shooting in Fort Worth is just one of 361 mass shootings in the U.S. this year, according to the gun violence archive.

HILL: The massive cargo ship docked at New Jersey's Port of Newark that's been on fire since Wednesday night is likely to continue burning for days.

[07:35:02]

The ship's operator says the top decks there are still burning. Authorities at this point are monitoring the air quality, the stability of the ship. They are also sampling the water for safety.

Of course, two firefighters were killed, six others injured in responding to that blaze. New Jersey fire officials say, Augusto Acabou and Wayne Brooks became trapped by that intense heat.

BLACKWELL: From America's mayor to disgraced attorney, a panel recommends that former Trump advisor and New York mayor be disbarred in Washington.

HILL: The disciplinary committee citing Rudy Giuliani's efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. In that recommendation, CNN political correspondent Sara Murray has those details for us.

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Victor, Erica, more troubles for former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani.

An attorney disciplinary committee, recommending Giuliani be disbarred here in Washington, D.C. for his efforts on Trump's behalf to overturn the 2020 election results.

"He claimed a massive fraud, but had no evidence of it," the committee wrote. By prosecuting that destructive case, Mr. Giuliani, a sworn officer of the court forfeited his right to practice law. He should be disbarred.

The three-person panel was unanimous in its recommendation. Giuliani's attorneys previously argued to the committee that he had reason to believe the claims and litigation were true, adding that he was relying on what others working with the Trump campaign had told him about the fraud allegations.

Now, this recommendation from the disciplinary committee isn't the final word. D.C.'s board on professional responsibility will still need to consider the case against Giuliani, as well, the D.C. Court of Appeals.

A political adviser to Giuliani called the report a "great injustice." Adding, the decision makers at the D.C. bar association are nothing more than an arm of the permanent regime in Washington.

Back to you guys.

BLACKWELL: Still ahead, the White House confirmed prisoner swap talks with Russia. What it could mean for Wall Street Journal reporter, Evan Gershkovich?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:41:27]

HILL: The White House is in talks with Russia about a prisoner swap for Wall Street Journal reporter, Evan Gershkovich. That confirmation coming on Friday, which also marks 100 days since Gershkovich was wrongfully detained in Russia.

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan was asked specifically about those efforts on Friday. And he did say a path of communication has been open, cautioning though that no clear resolution has been agreed to.

He also added the release of Gershkovich and other wrongfully detained Americans remains a high priority for President Biden.

BLACKWELL: The U.S. and China are holding high stakes talks meetings this morning as the two countries work to repair their fractured relations.

Earlier this morning, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, met with Chinese officials, climate experts and economists in Beijing.

HILL: They discussed a number of topics, including a complicated global economic outlook and trade. CNN's Anna Coren, brings us the latest now from Beijing.

ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Erica and Victor, the U.S. Treasury Secretary met with Vice Premier He Lifeng at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse today in what is her last official meeting, on what has been described by U.S. officials as a very productive trip.

In Janet Yellen is opening remarks, she said, the complicated global economic outlook means there is a pressing need for the two largest economies to closely communicate and work together.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JANET YELLEN, UNITED STATES TREASURY SECRETARY: It's my belief that a wide swath of our economies can interact in ways that are uncontroversial to both governments.

The fact that despite recent tensions, we set a record for bilateral trade in 2022 suggests there is ample room for our firms to engage in trade and investment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COREN: Almost 700 billion in annual trade, these economies are deeply entwined. Yellen, said the relationship should have healthy competition, but benefit both economies not winner take all.

Vice Premier He Lifeng, said he had a message to convey from Chinese leader Xi Jinping. He said the U.S. and China should have a stable relationship.

The vice premier also mentioned the Chinese spy balloon incident and said it was "a pity it had occurred" and cause difficulty to bilateral relations.

As you may recall, that spy balloon was shut down over the U.S. back in March and sent U.S.-China relations to an all-time low.

Earlier, Janet Yellen took part in a roundtable with climate finance leaders, where she said the threat of climate change was a top global challenge in both countries, as the largest emitters of greenhouse gases must work together.

But Yellen's most important meeting was yesterday with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, where he described Yellen as a builder, working to improve economic ties between the U.S. and China. Beijing sees Yellen as a voice of reason within the Biden administration. She's argued against tariffs and warned that decoupling would be disastrous.

Yellen's meetings wrap up this evening. Tomorrow morning, she'll hold a press conference before flying back to Washington.

Erica, Victor, back to you.

HILL: All right. Anna, thank you.

Well, a jet taxiing from an air plane in New York. Two jets narrowly avoiding a collision.

[07:44:46]

Those close calls on the runway, now the focus of a government watchdog.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: A new minimum wage law that would have increased the pay for food delivery workers in New York City to just under $18 an hour is now on hold. The law was supposed to go into effect on July 12th.

HILL: Delivery app services like DoorDash, Grubhub, and Uber Eats though took to the Court and then sued the city.

CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich now has the latest developments in this case.

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN DIGITAL CORRESPONDENT: New York City's minimum wage law for food delivery workers has been put on hold after a judge agreed to hear legal arguments from the city and the delivery companies challenging this law.

Earlier this week, Uber Eats, GrubHub, and DoorDash sued New York City, saying that a new minimum wage law for delivery workers would raise expenses for restaurants, consumers would have to pay more, and companies wouldn't be able to pay as many of their delivery workers.

This law was set to take effect next week, and will require workers to be paid a minimum wage of $17.96 an hour before tips.

[07:50:04]

And by 2025, that will be $20 an hour. Or, companies could pay workers an additional $0.50 for every minute of their delivery trip before any tips.

Now, the city of New York says that there are 60,000 delivery workers in the city, who make an average of $7 an hour with no health benefits.

Delivery workers have been around for many years, but exploded in popularity during the pandemic, as many of us did not go out to eat, but still wanted to order from restaurants. Delivery orders represented nine percent of restaurant sales in 2021, higher than it was pre-pandemic.

Now, the city says they are disappointed in this lawsuit and ultimately believe this law will go into effect, saying it is designed to support delivery workers.

Vanessa Yurkevich, CNN, New York.

HILL: Well, more oversight in the works for the FAA after numerous safety issues at major airports across the country. The Department of Transportation's watchdog, announcing review of the federal agency this week.

BLACKWELL: It's looking at several specific incidents like those close calls, they call them near misses between planes on runways.

CNN's Pete Muntean has more.

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Victor, Erica, this is the newest level of watchdog scrutiny after these repeat close calls involving commercial flights at major airports.

Six incidents this year have triggered investigations by the National Transportation Safety Board. But this audit calls out three of the most egregious cases, like the January incident at New York's JFK, where quick action of an air traffic controller stopped the departing Delta flight from running into an American Airlines flight that was taxiing across the runway in front of it.

The Federal Aviation Administration has really been trying to tackle this problem and held a safety summit, convened to review boards. Also called for new training for its air traffic controllers.

But now, the Department of Transportation's independent inspector general wants to know if all of that is enough? The inspectors review will also look at how the FAA tracks and analyses data about the so- called runway incursions.

The FAA tells us it welcomes this review, which is set to start this month. Victor Erica?

BLACKWELL: Pete, thanks so much. The new CNN original series, "SEE IT LOUD: THE HISTORY OF BLACK TELEVISION" is coming. Executive produced by LeBron James and Maverick Carter. This five-part docuseries explores the impact of black television on all cultures. Here is a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When I think about the history of black television, I really think about progress.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For the longest time. We were footnotes in history.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is so important for us to have African American representation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll go fifth.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've talked about things that nobody in this country was willing to have a discussion about.

SHERRI SHEPARD, AMERICAN ACTRESS: I was like, (INAUDIBLE) do you believe they call us icons?

AMANDA SEALES, AMERICAN ACTRESS: That was one of the first times I saw myself in the sci-fi drama.

VIVICA A. FOX, AMERICAN ACTRESS: That show was so successful. It launched rival network.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have Tyler Perry, who owns a studio. In 1950, You could have never have imagined it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This was an era to be as loud as possible and as black as possible.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are the story.

ANNOUNCER: "SEE IT LOUD: THE HISTORY OF BLACK TELEVISION" premieres tomorrow at 9:00 on CNN.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I still get those residual checks. Thank you. You're welcome.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Don't miss the premiere tomorrow night at 9:00 Eastern, right here on CNN.

So, an alleged thief storms into a nail salon, demands the money from the customers, it doesn't go according to plan. We'll show you how it played out.

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BLACKWELL: So, this nail salon robbery, it did not work out as the alleged thief plans. OK. So, what happened here in Atlanta, where I am, the customers, the workers, they didn't pay this man any attention.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody get down. Give me all your money inside your pocket.

Give me all your money. Get down!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where is the money?

HILL (voice over): So, you hear the repeated demands there: give me all your money. But for the most part, everyone ignored this guy. You see that one woman, she's like, you know what? I'm just going to go ahead to leave.

So, after all that, the suspect got away with one woman cell phone before fleeing, which detectives later recovered.

They're looking for information, but -- yes, it didn't really -- it didn't really go as planned for him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Literally, didn't raise an eyebrow for some of these people. They just kind of looked and said --

(CROSSTALK)

HILL: Fight?

BLACKWELL: What? Man, get out here.

HILL: Good luck with that. I'm busy.

Meantime, from that failed robbery, to this ocean's 11-style heist.

A thief in Southern California stole more than half a million dollars' worth of wine and liquor from a high-end wine shop.

BLACKWELL: All right. So, here is the video. This burglar drilled a hole into the ceiling, then, descended into the cellar with a rope.

The robber was in the store for about four hours.

HILL: Wow.

BLACKWELL: And then, he stole about 600 bottles from the store and included some of the rarest and most expensive wines and liquors, including a rare 1971 Scotch whiskey, which was worth about $6,000. And another bottle from 2016, which sells for about $4,500 a bottle.

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HILL: That is wild to me. It's also amazing that he was there for four hours.

BLACKWELL: Yes, if you have stuff that expensive, is there no alarm? Was there no one who should have been alerted that someone has broken into the seller with the good stuff.