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CNN Live Today

As New Numbers Come Out, President Bush Talking Up Economy; Thankful Iraqis

Aired July 02, 2004 - 10:30   ET

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

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


BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, the economy, of course, is a big issue in the campaign. And as new numbers come out, President Bush is talking up the economy.
Our White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux is here with a preview of the president's remarks.

Good morning, Suzanne.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Betty.

President Bush is meeting with small business leaders, as well as those who were recently hired, inside the White House today, and then he'll come out in the East Room and he'll go ahead and make those remarks on the economy.

All of this of course part of highlighting the strength of the economy to outline his economic policy, to convince the American people that it is definitely on the upswing. This, of course, coming on the same day that the Labor Department released its latest statistics on unemployment and job numbers from June. The numbers, released this morning, show that 112,000 new jobs were created. That, however, is about half of the 240,000 that many economic analysts had predicted.

Also a 5.6 percent unemployment rate. That is essentially about the same as last month.

Also some figures from the treasury department show that 1.5 million new jobs were created over the last 10 months since last August. That this is an $11 trillion economy. And that the federal deficit as of December 2003 still stands at $521 billion.

Now, of course, the president will be highlighting the positive aspects of this. President Bush's critics, as well as most notably Democratic opponent John Kerry, will be talking today about some of the downfalls of this, about some of the difficulties. They argue that under the administration, there's been a job loss of some two million jobs in President Bush's watch. Also, they will talk about the fact that many Americans aren't necessarily feeling this job growth, or this recovery.

This is something, as you know, Betty, is critical for the election season, a lot of people looking to see where those economic numbers go. But more importantly, how it is that they're feeling, how this impacts their lives in terms of who it is that they're going to vote for come November -- Betty.

NGUYEN: Of course, there will be a positive spin put on this. But the numbers really are below less than half what they were expecting.

MALVEAUX: Well, that's right. Economic analysts thought that perhaps you would see something closer to 240,000 new jobs created. And as you know, 112,000, considerably less than the month prior to June. But the administration officials who I spoke with this morning say, look at the big picture, don't take it month by month, this is a spiraling recovery. That what you're going to see in the months to come, they believe, is continual growth.

But the president in his speech will outline a couple of things. He'll make the argument that things are not as good as of course they had hoped, that they want for all Americans to have jobs. But they'll point to things like tort reform, that they need an energy policy, that you have to continue to keep those tax cuts permanent, that all of those things working together will make the economy even stronger. And that is some of the reasons why they believe it's not doing as well as it could be, but they do believe that these are some good numbers today.

NGUYEN: All right, CNN's Suzanne Malveaux at the White House. Thank you.

And of course we will have live coverage of the president's remarks on the economy. It happens in about 20 minutes from now.

Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry may be close to deciding who his runningmate will be. Sources familiar with his deliberations tell CNN the list has at least five choices. As Kerry campaigned in Pittsburgh yesterday, speculation centered around North Carolina Senator John Edwards. Missouri congressman, Dick Gephardt, Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack and Illinois Senator Dick Durbin. A fifth person, new Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, says he has taken himself out of the running.

Many Iraqis were jubilant yesterday as they watched their former leader facing charges of war crimes and human rights abuses. To some, Saddam Hussein's appearance in court was a signal that a new chapter in Iraq has begun.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL WILLIAMS, AMERICAN UNIV. LAW SCHOOL: They're coming into their own sovereignty, post-Saddam. And it's going to be very, very important for the interim government, for the people of Iraq to demonstrate that they have control over the former regime.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: For many Iraqi Americans, Saddam Hussein's first court appearance is reason for celebration. And this week, they thanked the U.S. for his regime's demise in a full-page ad that appeared in U.S. today. Tanya Gilly is a Kurd from northern Iraq who's organization, the Iraq-American Freedom Alliance, joined 14 other groups to place that add. She is here with us now from Washington.

Thanks for being with us.

TANYA GILLY, IRAQI-AMERICAN FREEDOM ALLIANCE: Thanks for having me.

NGUYEN: First of all, why was it so important to put this letter in the number thanking Americans?

GILLY: Well, if it was not for the American people and the sacrifices their sons and daughters have made, we would not see this day, a day where Saddam is in court and he's on the other side of the table, where he is the one who is being tried for his crimes.

NGUYEN: What kind of reaction have you been getting to that ad?

GILLY: People actually have come up to me and said that they do like it, and they believe that it was time that we had said it loud and clear, say thank you to the American people. And for us -- and we must ask them to help us to build a democracy in Iraq and not to give up on us so soon.

NGUYEN: Now you of course watched the hearing yesterday with Saddam Hussein, who says he is still the president of Iraq. Is this man delusional, or is this part of his strategy, in your eyes?

GILLY: Of course, it's part of his strategy. When I was watching the arraignment yesterday, I mean, I was just sitting there and I was hoping that all Iraqis can watch this, and realize that nobody is above the law, and there will be a day where everybody will be tried for their crimes.

NGUYEN: There are a number of things discussed, including the crimes that he's being charged with, the gassing of the Kurds. And to that, he replied, I saw that on television. What do you think about that?

GILLY: It hurt me very much when I actually heard him say that comment. As a matter of fact, a friend of mine just sent me an e-mail yesterday, she was telling me that she was in Halabja, the town that was gassed by Saddam Hussein, where 5,000 Kurds died. And she said to me, she said, the people were jubilant, the people were very happy, and everybody was in tears. The day has come that he was tried for this. And of course, he's going to try to dodge all the crimes that have been listed against him, and he's going to try to blame it on other people or say that they did not happen, which is of course his strategy.

NGUYEN: Despite your feelings about Saddam, he did not have an attorney present yesterday. Is this a sign that he can or cannot get a fair trial in Iraq?

GILLY: I think his crimes really speak for themselves. And they have been very good, the investigative judge and so on, by giving him a chance to speak and say his opinion. I do believe that he will get a fair trial, something that, of course, he never gave any Iraqis. And I've been hearing it from many Iraqis, what they have said. It is the first time, it's something that is new to Iraq, basically, when an accused is given a chance to explain his situation.

NGUYEN: Exactly. And with the world watching, is the Iraq system ready for such a trial?

GILLY: Well, it has to be. There is no option. Failure is not an option, and we have to make sure that it works. And like I said, there is a lot of evidence on basically speaking of his crimes and so on. In this case, we do need the help of the world community to help us to make sure this trial goes well. And it goes according to international law.

NGUYEN: What do you think this is the first order of business for this new government, when clearly, there are other issues, pressing issues such as security?

GILLY: Well, of course, security is the main concern of all Iraqis. And it has been very good on part of the government, especially the prime minister Iyad Allawi, where he said he will definitely make sure that Iraq is secure before anything else. And this will definitely give people a chance to try and rebuild their lives. And also, to give them a chance to kind of, I guess, to move on, and to have closure with everything and all the pain and suffering that they have been through.

NGUYEN: Though with that said, you still don't want people to forget the sufferings that the people of Iraq have gone through. You want to tell that story. What do you want Americans and the rest of the world to know?

GILLY: Again, I just want to say thank you for helping us, and there is a lot that has not been told on American television, and even in the news media, that talks about the suffering of the Iraqi people, the tortures, the killings, the gassings. And even the ethnic cleansing that happened, especially in Kurdistan, that we are not hearing much of. All this is definitely reason for us to have removed Saddam Hussein.

Tonya Gilly with the Iraq-American Freedom Alliance. We thank you for your time.

NGUYEN: Thank you for having me.

GILLY: Was he giving a speech, or a lecture? Bill Cosby's blunt criticism of black American culture. And trying to cool off in the summer heat, well, be careful not to go too far.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(STOCK MARKET UPDATE)

NGUYEN: Time now to take a look at other stories making news coast to coast.

Three people have died from rabies after receiving infected organs from the same donor. The CDC says these are the first documented cases of the disease being spread through transplants. Officials are now looking into whether transplant organs should be screened for rabies.

A cell phone exploded in the back pocket of a California teenager's jeans giving her second-degree burns. Witnesses said they heard a whooshing sound, saw the pocket explode and then saw smoke and fire. Friends threw water on the fire to put it out.

And another fire broke out in an unusual place -- on a birthday cake. A New Hampshire water park was celebrating its 20th birthday by trying to set a record for the number of candles on a lit cake. Talk about lit cake. Fifteen thousand were being lit when a fire ball erupted. Being at a water park, the fire of course was quickly put out.

And from Hawaii, a new meaning to car pool. A woman was taking a driving lesson from her husband when she swerved to avoid a car, crashing through a fence and into -- yes -- a swimming pool. The home owner, a woman celebrating her 80th birthday watched it all happen. Thank goodness no one was injured in that.

Well, comedian Bill Cosby has more stern words for African- Americans. He says some wrongly blame white America for their problems. In a speech yesterday at a Rainbow/PUSH Coalition conference, Cosby also made it very clear that he stands by earlier statements criticizing some blacks for squandering opportunities.

Byron Harlan of CNN affiliate WFLD has more on what Cosby had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL COSBY, COMEDIAN: We cannot protect ourselves if the picture of ourselves is in a trough.

BYRON HARLAN, WFLD CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was Bill Cosby the educator who spoke with force and conviction to a crowd of mostly black people who wanted to hear more about his views on race.

The message was electric, direct and clear: Stop blaming others for the problems with black America.

COSBY: It is almost analgesic to talk about what the white man is doing against us and it keeps a person frozen in their seat.

HARLAN: Bill Cosby has been in the hot seat for his remarks at Howard University last May. That event marked the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision to desegregate American public schools.

He said too many low-income African-Americans are not doing their part to improve their situation. He also says parents are failing children. COSBY: Please, stop it. Stop your cursing. We want to ask the parent, stop yanking that child.

HARLAN: He also criticized entertainers, producers and black comedians for reinforcing stereotypes.

COSBY: We're going to call each other names of ugliness. Comedians coming on TV, my mom is so ugly, you're ugly, yuck, yuck -- that's all minstrel show stuff. I'm tired of this.

HARLAN (on camera): Bill Cosby says he's especially tired of music that glorifies bad behavior. Young people hear it, they emulate it, and he says it's up to parents to take control and stop it.

Byron Harlan, Chicago.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

"Fill her up." "Paper or plastic." These are phrases you're hearing less and less of these days. See how we're becoming an automation nation.

And this is what we're working on for our next hour.

ANNOUNCER: The story CNN is following today, July 2nd: Economic pulse, interest rates raised, unemployment numbers released this morning. The president's take live at 11:00.

Plus, the best hospitals in the country. Is one located near you?

And at noon, as the holiday weekend approaches, what measures are being taken to keep you safe?

Stay with CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Well, you might have noticed, full service can be a scarce commodity these days. In fact, it seems if you want to get something done, you better plan on doing it yourself.

CNN financial news correspondent Ali Velshi takes a look at what he calls the self-serve nation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's the beginning of something beautiful -- the exchange of notes; picking the right card; dinner at 8:00; the hotel room by 10:00 -- all without whispering a single word, even when you call to say good night.

This self-serve thing has its hang ups. Need a pick-me-up? You can do it yourself at the do-it-yourself store.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I like it. It gets me in and out quick, fast, easy.

VELSHI: Well, not always.

Some people really miss people.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just finished paying for these items and now, you know, that system has gone haywire somehow.

VELSHI: It's enough to make you want a vacation.

(on camera): You know, compared to about 10 years ago, air travel has become a lot more automated and self-serve. You can compare fares online, you can book your ticket. You can even print out your boarding pass before you leave for the airport. When you finally do get to the airport, you don't have to see a ticket agent.

(voice-over): Maybe a road trip is more your style.

(on camera): Toll booth transponders use a technology called RFID, that's radio frequency identification. It's not a new technology, it's being used a lot more these days.

(voice-over): In tags to pay for your gas and to reunite you with your lost bags, and it's coming to a store near you.

RICHARD SAMSON, AUTHOR, "MIND OVER TECHNOLOGY": Wal-Mart has mandated all their suppliers add RFID technology to their products.

VELSHI: This can really get under your skin, literally. Chips injected into dogs to identify them.

Could this become the next trendy implant for humans? Think about it, tags on products, tags in people.

SAMSON: Pick up six items, it knows what the items are. Just walk all over the store. You're billed. Nobody to check you. Nothing required.

VELSHI: The ultimate in self-serve.

But if you can get through your day without anyone else, maybe your boss can get through the day without you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VELSHI: Now, Betty, you know we were looking at those dogs. I think a lot of our viewers know that there are little microchips that are like the size of the grain of rice and they're usually injected into the dog's shoulder, shoulder blades.

Well, there are about 800 people walking around with these microchips inside of them. Now, think of the implications of that. It can carry financial information, it can carry medical history. The company that makes it argues that if you collapse at the side of the road and an ambulance attendant might be able to scan you and see what's wrong with you, or in the emergency room. It can be very helpful. It can make life a lot easier. But it goes without saying, the dangers are incredible.

NGUYEN: Implanted in humans? Where do they put them?

VELSHI: The CEO of the company who actually makes these things has had one implanted in his arm for the last couple of years. Whenever I interview him, he shows it to me, he takes the little scanner, he runs it over and it shows all the data.

You can imagine that there are a lot of people who are going to have some problems with this kind of thing. You saw Tom Cruise in "Minority Report," you know, with the retinal scan and he used somebody else's eye to identify him in a retinal scan machine.

There are all sorts of complications with this technology. But we're heading down this road one way or the other. So it's useful for people to at least think about whether they like it or hate it.

NGUYEN: Well, I don't think I like it. That's way too high tech for me. You can forget it, Ali.

VELSHI: Good to see you, Betty.

NGUYEN: Good to see you too. Thank you for that report.

Well, the new jobs report is out today and President Bush will talk about the economy any minute now. We will bring those remarks to you live right here on CNN when they happen. So we invite you to stick around. That should be happening very shortly.

Keeping the capital safe on the 4th of July -- we will go live to Washington to see what steps are being taken to keep D.C. secure.

You are watching CNN LIVE TODAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Of course, many people are still talking about that hearing aired yesterday in Iraq, dealing with Saddam Hussein. We have some new pictures just in today. These are photos of Saddam Hussein entering that courtroom for yesterday's hearing. And just under this banner, hopefully we can get a better shot of it, you can see Saddam in handcuffs. Of course, during all the video that you saw yesterday, there were mainly just closeup shots of him, but we're getting a better look at how he entered the courtroom. And of course, we will have much more on this throughout the day.

We're also following another event today as well. We understand from many reports that Pakistani hostage in Iraq has been released. The hostage, Amizad Yussef Havez (ph), was a man working for a subcontracter of the U.S. firm Kellogg, Brown and Root, which is a subsidiary of Halliburton. We understand that he, in fact, called his family in Pakistan today, saying that he had been released. They received that phone call, and we understand that also today, two other Turkish hostages were released as well. That comes on the heels of three Turkish hostages being released on Tuesday, so some good news there.

Also here in the U.S., we are waiting for President Bush to speak about the economy. That will be taking place in the East Room of the White House any minute now, and of course he'll be talking, no doubt, about the new Labor Department numbers that are out today, showing that only 112,000 jobs were created last month, which was less than half of what experts had anticipated. And once the president begins speaking, we, of course, will bring that to you live.

(WEATHER REPORT)

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Aired July 2, 2004 - 10:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, the economy, of course, is a big issue in the campaign. And as new numbers come out, President Bush is talking up the economy.
Our White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux is here with a preview of the president's remarks.

Good morning, Suzanne.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Betty.

President Bush is meeting with small business leaders, as well as those who were recently hired, inside the White House today, and then he'll come out in the East Room and he'll go ahead and make those remarks on the economy.

All of this of course part of highlighting the strength of the economy to outline his economic policy, to convince the American people that it is definitely on the upswing. This, of course, coming on the same day that the Labor Department released its latest statistics on unemployment and job numbers from June. The numbers, released this morning, show that 112,000 new jobs were created. That, however, is about half of the 240,000 that many economic analysts had predicted.

Also a 5.6 percent unemployment rate. That is essentially about the same as last month.

Also some figures from the treasury department show that 1.5 million new jobs were created over the last 10 months since last August. That this is an $11 trillion economy. And that the federal deficit as of December 2003 still stands at $521 billion.

Now, of course, the president will be highlighting the positive aspects of this. President Bush's critics, as well as most notably Democratic opponent John Kerry, will be talking today about some of the downfalls of this, about some of the difficulties. They argue that under the administration, there's been a job loss of some two million jobs in President Bush's watch. Also, they will talk about the fact that many Americans aren't necessarily feeling this job growth, or this recovery.

This is something, as you know, Betty, is critical for the election season, a lot of people looking to see where those economic numbers go. But more importantly, how it is that they're feeling, how this impacts their lives in terms of who it is that they're going to vote for come November -- Betty.

NGUYEN: Of course, there will be a positive spin put on this. But the numbers really are below less than half what they were expecting.

MALVEAUX: Well, that's right. Economic analysts thought that perhaps you would see something closer to 240,000 new jobs created. And as you know, 112,000, considerably less than the month prior to June. But the administration officials who I spoke with this morning say, look at the big picture, don't take it month by month, this is a spiraling recovery. That what you're going to see in the months to come, they believe, is continual growth.

But the president in his speech will outline a couple of things. He'll make the argument that things are not as good as of course they had hoped, that they want for all Americans to have jobs. But they'll point to things like tort reform, that they need an energy policy, that you have to continue to keep those tax cuts permanent, that all of those things working together will make the economy even stronger. And that is some of the reasons why they believe it's not doing as well as it could be, but they do believe that these are some good numbers today.

NGUYEN: All right, CNN's Suzanne Malveaux at the White House. Thank you.

And of course we will have live coverage of the president's remarks on the economy. It happens in about 20 minutes from now.

Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry may be close to deciding who his runningmate will be. Sources familiar with his deliberations tell CNN the list has at least five choices. As Kerry campaigned in Pittsburgh yesterday, speculation centered around North Carolina Senator John Edwards. Missouri congressman, Dick Gephardt, Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack and Illinois Senator Dick Durbin. A fifth person, new Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, says he has taken himself out of the running.

Many Iraqis were jubilant yesterday as they watched their former leader facing charges of war crimes and human rights abuses. To some, Saddam Hussein's appearance in court was a signal that a new chapter in Iraq has begun.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL WILLIAMS, AMERICAN UNIV. LAW SCHOOL: They're coming into their own sovereignty, post-Saddam. And it's going to be very, very important for the interim government, for the people of Iraq to demonstrate that they have control over the former regime.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: For many Iraqi Americans, Saddam Hussein's first court appearance is reason for celebration. And this week, they thanked the U.S. for his regime's demise in a full-page ad that appeared in U.S. today. Tanya Gilly is a Kurd from northern Iraq who's organization, the Iraq-American Freedom Alliance, joined 14 other groups to place that add. She is here with us now from Washington.

Thanks for being with us.

TANYA GILLY, IRAQI-AMERICAN FREEDOM ALLIANCE: Thanks for having me.

NGUYEN: First of all, why was it so important to put this letter in the number thanking Americans?

GILLY: Well, if it was not for the American people and the sacrifices their sons and daughters have made, we would not see this day, a day where Saddam is in court and he's on the other side of the table, where he is the one who is being tried for his crimes.

NGUYEN: What kind of reaction have you been getting to that ad?

GILLY: People actually have come up to me and said that they do like it, and they believe that it was time that we had said it loud and clear, say thank you to the American people. And for us -- and we must ask them to help us to build a democracy in Iraq and not to give up on us so soon.

NGUYEN: Now you of course watched the hearing yesterday with Saddam Hussein, who says he is still the president of Iraq. Is this man delusional, or is this part of his strategy, in your eyes?

GILLY: Of course, it's part of his strategy. When I was watching the arraignment yesterday, I mean, I was just sitting there and I was hoping that all Iraqis can watch this, and realize that nobody is above the law, and there will be a day where everybody will be tried for their crimes.

NGUYEN: There are a number of things discussed, including the crimes that he's being charged with, the gassing of the Kurds. And to that, he replied, I saw that on television. What do you think about that?

GILLY: It hurt me very much when I actually heard him say that comment. As a matter of fact, a friend of mine just sent me an e-mail yesterday, she was telling me that she was in Halabja, the town that was gassed by Saddam Hussein, where 5,000 Kurds died. And she said to me, she said, the people were jubilant, the people were very happy, and everybody was in tears. The day has come that he was tried for this. And of course, he's going to try to dodge all the crimes that have been listed against him, and he's going to try to blame it on other people or say that they did not happen, which is of course his strategy.

NGUYEN: Despite your feelings about Saddam, he did not have an attorney present yesterday. Is this a sign that he can or cannot get a fair trial in Iraq?

GILLY: I think his crimes really speak for themselves. And they have been very good, the investigative judge and so on, by giving him a chance to speak and say his opinion. I do believe that he will get a fair trial, something that, of course, he never gave any Iraqis. And I've been hearing it from many Iraqis, what they have said. It is the first time, it's something that is new to Iraq, basically, when an accused is given a chance to explain his situation.

NGUYEN: Exactly. And with the world watching, is the Iraq system ready for such a trial?

GILLY: Well, it has to be. There is no option. Failure is not an option, and we have to make sure that it works. And like I said, there is a lot of evidence on basically speaking of his crimes and so on. In this case, we do need the help of the world community to help us to make sure this trial goes well. And it goes according to international law.

NGUYEN: What do you think this is the first order of business for this new government, when clearly, there are other issues, pressing issues such as security?

GILLY: Well, of course, security is the main concern of all Iraqis. And it has been very good on part of the government, especially the prime minister Iyad Allawi, where he said he will definitely make sure that Iraq is secure before anything else. And this will definitely give people a chance to try and rebuild their lives. And also, to give them a chance to kind of, I guess, to move on, and to have closure with everything and all the pain and suffering that they have been through.

NGUYEN: Though with that said, you still don't want people to forget the sufferings that the people of Iraq have gone through. You want to tell that story. What do you want Americans and the rest of the world to know?

GILLY: Again, I just want to say thank you for helping us, and there is a lot that has not been told on American television, and even in the news media, that talks about the suffering of the Iraqi people, the tortures, the killings, the gassings. And even the ethnic cleansing that happened, especially in Kurdistan, that we are not hearing much of. All this is definitely reason for us to have removed Saddam Hussein.

Tonya Gilly with the Iraq-American Freedom Alliance. We thank you for your time.

NGUYEN: Thank you for having me.

GILLY: Was he giving a speech, or a lecture? Bill Cosby's blunt criticism of black American culture. And trying to cool off in the summer heat, well, be careful not to go too far.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(STOCK MARKET UPDATE)

NGUYEN: Time now to take a look at other stories making news coast to coast.

Three people have died from rabies after receiving infected organs from the same donor. The CDC says these are the first documented cases of the disease being spread through transplants. Officials are now looking into whether transplant organs should be screened for rabies.

A cell phone exploded in the back pocket of a California teenager's jeans giving her second-degree burns. Witnesses said they heard a whooshing sound, saw the pocket explode and then saw smoke and fire. Friends threw water on the fire to put it out.

And another fire broke out in an unusual place -- on a birthday cake. A New Hampshire water park was celebrating its 20th birthday by trying to set a record for the number of candles on a lit cake. Talk about lit cake. Fifteen thousand were being lit when a fire ball erupted. Being at a water park, the fire of course was quickly put out.

And from Hawaii, a new meaning to car pool. A woman was taking a driving lesson from her husband when she swerved to avoid a car, crashing through a fence and into -- yes -- a swimming pool. The home owner, a woman celebrating her 80th birthday watched it all happen. Thank goodness no one was injured in that.

Well, comedian Bill Cosby has more stern words for African- Americans. He says some wrongly blame white America for their problems. In a speech yesterday at a Rainbow/PUSH Coalition conference, Cosby also made it very clear that he stands by earlier statements criticizing some blacks for squandering opportunities.

Byron Harlan of CNN affiliate WFLD has more on what Cosby had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL COSBY, COMEDIAN: We cannot protect ourselves if the picture of ourselves is in a trough.

BYRON HARLAN, WFLD CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was Bill Cosby the educator who spoke with force and conviction to a crowd of mostly black people who wanted to hear more about his views on race.

The message was electric, direct and clear: Stop blaming others for the problems with black America.

COSBY: It is almost analgesic to talk about what the white man is doing against us and it keeps a person frozen in their seat.

HARLAN: Bill Cosby has been in the hot seat for his remarks at Howard University last May. That event marked the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision to desegregate American public schools.

He said too many low-income African-Americans are not doing their part to improve their situation. He also says parents are failing children. COSBY: Please, stop it. Stop your cursing. We want to ask the parent, stop yanking that child.

HARLAN: He also criticized entertainers, producers and black comedians for reinforcing stereotypes.

COSBY: We're going to call each other names of ugliness. Comedians coming on TV, my mom is so ugly, you're ugly, yuck, yuck -- that's all minstrel show stuff. I'm tired of this.

HARLAN (on camera): Bill Cosby says he's especially tired of music that glorifies bad behavior. Young people hear it, they emulate it, and he says it's up to parents to take control and stop it.

Byron Harlan, Chicago.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

"Fill her up." "Paper or plastic." These are phrases you're hearing less and less of these days. See how we're becoming an automation nation.

And this is what we're working on for our next hour.

ANNOUNCER: The story CNN is following today, July 2nd: Economic pulse, interest rates raised, unemployment numbers released this morning. The president's take live at 11:00.

Plus, the best hospitals in the country. Is one located near you?

And at noon, as the holiday weekend approaches, what measures are being taken to keep you safe?

Stay with CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Well, you might have noticed, full service can be a scarce commodity these days. In fact, it seems if you want to get something done, you better plan on doing it yourself.

CNN financial news correspondent Ali Velshi takes a look at what he calls the self-serve nation.

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ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's the beginning of something beautiful -- the exchange of notes; picking the right card; dinner at 8:00; the hotel room by 10:00 -- all without whispering a single word, even when you call to say good night.

This self-serve thing has its hang ups. Need a pick-me-up? You can do it yourself at the do-it-yourself store.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I like it. It gets me in and out quick, fast, easy.

VELSHI: Well, not always.

Some people really miss people.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just finished paying for these items and now, you know, that system has gone haywire somehow.

VELSHI: It's enough to make you want a vacation.

(on camera): You know, compared to about 10 years ago, air travel has become a lot more automated and self-serve. You can compare fares online, you can book your ticket. You can even print out your boarding pass before you leave for the airport. When you finally do get to the airport, you don't have to see a ticket agent.

(voice-over): Maybe a road trip is more your style.

(on camera): Toll booth transponders use a technology called RFID, that's radio frequency identification. It's not a new technology, it's being used a lot more these days.

(voice-over): In tags to pay for your gas and to reunite you with your lost bags, and it's coming to a store near you.

RICHARD SAMSON, AUTHOR, "MIND OVER TECHNOLOGY": Wal-Mart has mandated all their suppliers add RFID technology to their products.

VELSHI: This can really get under your skin, literally. Chips injected into dogs to identify them.

Could this become the next trendy implant for humans? Think about it, tags on products, tags in people.

SAMSON: Pick up six items, it knows what the items are. Just walk all over the store. You're billed. Nobody to check you. Nothing required.

VELSHI: The ultimate in self-serve.

But if you can get through your day without anyone else, maybe your boss can get through the day without you.

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VELSHI: Now, Betty, you know we were looking at those dogs. I think a lot of our viewers know that there are little microchips that are like the size of the grain of rice and they're usually injected into the dog's shoulder, shoulder blades.

Well, there are about 800 people walking around with these microchips inside of them. Now, think of the implications of that. It can carry financial information, it can carry medical history. The company that makes it argues that if you collapse at the side of the road and an ambulance attendant might be able to scan you and see what's wrong with you, or in the emergency room. It can be very helpful. It can make life a lot easier. But it goes without saying, the dangers are incredible.

NGUYEN: Implanted in humans? Where do they put them?

VELSHI: The CEO of the company who actually makes these things has had one implanted in his arm for the last couple of years. Whenever I interview him, he shows it to me, he takes the little scanner, he runs it over and it shows all the data.

You can imagine that there are a lot of people who are going to have some problems with this kind of thing. You saw Tom Cruise in "Minority Report," you know, with the retinal scan and he used somebody else's eye to identify him in a retinal scan machine.

There are all sorts of complications with this technology. But we're heading down this road one way or the other. So it's useful for people to at least think about whether they like it or hate it.

NGUYEN: Well, I don't think I like it. That's way too high tech for me. You can forget it, Ali.

VELSHI: Good to see you, Betty.

NGUYEN: Good to see you too. Thank you for that report.

Well, the new jobs report is out today and President Bush will talk about the economy any minute now. We will bring those remarks to you live right here on CNN when they happen. So we invite you to stick around. That should be happening very shortly.

Keeping the capital safe on the 4th of July -- we will go live to Washington to see what steps are being taken to keep D.C. secure.

You are watching CNN LIVE TODAY.

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NGUYEN: Of course, many people are still talking about that hearing aired yesterday in Iraq, dealing with Saddam Hussein. We have some new pictures just in today. These are photos of Saddam Hussein entering that courtroom for yesterday's hearing. And just under this banner, hopefully we can get a better shot of it, you can see Saddam in handcuffs. Of course, during all the video that you saw yesterday, there were mainly just closeup shots of him, but we're getting a better look at how he entered the courtroom. And of course, we will have much more on this throughout the day.

We're also following another event today as well. We understand from many reports that Pakistani hostage in Iraq has been released. The hostage, Amizad Yussef Havez (ph), was a man working for a subcontracter of the U.S. firm Kellogg, Brown and Root, which is a subsidiary of Halliburton. We understand that he, in fact, called his family in Pakistan today, saying that he had been released. They received that phone call, and we understand that also today, two other Turkish hostages were released as well. That comes on the heels of three Turkish hostages being released on Tuesday, so some good news there.

Also here in the U.S., we are waiting for President Bush to speak about the economy. That will be taking place in the East Room of the White House any minute now, and of course he'll be talking, no doubt, about the new Labor Department numbers that are out today, showing that only 112,000 jobs were created last month, which was less than half of what experts had anticipated. And once the president begins speaking, we, of course, will bring that to you live.

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