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American Morning
The Underemployment Problem; Edwards Expected to be Indicted Today; Yemen's Presidential Palace Under Attack; Disappointing May Jobs Report Raises Unemployment Level; Dr. Jack Kevorkian Dies; John Edwards Expected to be Indicted Today
Aired June 03, 2011 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
VELSHI: Job jitters. I'm Ali Velshi, half an hour away from getting the May jobs report. It could reveal whether or not the air is being sucked out of this economy.
ROMANS: Expected to be indicted today.
I'm Christine Romans.
The former senator and would-be president is accused of giving campaign money to his mistress Rielle Hunter. We could get the official word at any moment about a potential indictment on this AMERICAN MORNING.
VELSHI: Good morning. It's Friday, June 3rd. Kiran Chetry is off today. I'm Ali Velshi.
ROMANS: I am Christine Romans.
Republican or Democrat, every American has a stake in what's happening right now in the economy. First Moody's Investors Service puts America on notice that its AAA credit rating, the best in the world, is at risk.
Moody's says it will put the rating under review if lawmakers do not make significant progress on raising the debt ceiling.
VELSHI: They're following what S&P said more recently.
ROMANS: Right.
VELSHI: Second, the jobs market. Today's jobs report. This isn't about whether you're employed or not because people who don't have a job need one so they can spend money and pay taxes and keep the recovery going.
But concerns that there has been a slowdown in the job market. And that has been weighing on markets. The Dow was down yesterday nearly 42 points. The Nasdaq was up, however, and the S&P 500 down just a smidge.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: That was a really ugly today before that. And it's been four weeks in a row of losses for stocks. So, not pretty. Not only are their millions of Americans without work, but there are also millions who fall into the category called underemployed. It means they are working part-time, because they can't full-time -- find full-time jobs. Millions of people are working below their potential.
VELSHI: That's right. Poppy Harlow has been following this from Money.com's angle.
Let's talk about this. Who are these people? How many of them are there?
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: You're going to hear from some of them in just a second. But these are people that you wouldn't expect -- folks, these are people with degrees, with college degrees, master's degrees that have worked for, you know, decades in the job market and they just don't have enough work right now. They're technically people that work 34 (ph) hours or less a week. Many of them much less than that.
But I want to look at the numbers because this really starts to tell the story that is not included in the unemployment report which we'll get in about half an hour -- 8.4 million Americans underemployed. They want to work more, make more money for their families. They can.
If you add that to the unemployed Americans they come out with the unemployment report, you get about, 22.1 million. That's 14.5 percent nearly of the labor force. We talked to some of these folks here in New York.
And just listen to these people, but Debra and Henry.
Debra worked in retail for 30 years. She was a president of a retail company. Now, she's got a hard time finding work. She's literally out of work for weeks or months at a time. She's in consulting now.
And also to Henry, he has a degree from one of the best film schools in the country. And he cannot find enough work. He worked just two days last week, not enough to pay the bills. Here's part of their story.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I always try to find other work, even if it is work that is not at the rate that I would normally work at.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The one thing that comforts me when I'm worried or upset about where my next meal is coming from, there's a lot of us in the same boat. A lot of us.
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
HARLOW: And what you hear there from Henry is so true. There are millions of Americans going through this. When we get that unemployment report today at 8:30, we'll look below the headline number. Look at this number and we'll see if there's even more than 8.5 million Americans going through this right now. Bottom line, what economists tell me, if we see this slowdown, that we're seeing signs of right now, it's going to be even worse for these folks that are underemployed.
ROMANS: And they are the people who drop out of the labor market altogether. They are not even underemployed. They are dropped out.
And one part of the story that really concerns me are the stay-at-home moms who thought that they were able to come back after their kids got into kindergarten. Now, they've come in at a terrible time. A lot of those women are trying to start their own business. They're trying to --
VELSHI: Or work from home.
ROMANS: -- work at home.
VELSHI: Yes.
ROMANS: So, there are so many different -- you're right -- a different -- the texture of this story is different for everybody.
HARLOW: Well, I think that just -- your entire world has changed. And that it's costing us more to live now. It's costing more to fill our cars with gas, more to buy our food, more to buy our clothes. And if you're lucky to have a job, those companies are paying less than they were before. We're taking in less.
VELSHI: I just -- I think it's really important that you underscore because we're going to get this unemployment number and people really hang their hat on it. It becomes part of the political machine. And they are talking about --
HARLOW: So political.
VELSHI: -- whether it is 8 percent or 9 percent. It is the least relevant part of this discussion. The job creation is relevant. And all of these people who are not working to their potential is relevant.
And it's relevant to you even if you have a job because these are people who are not paying taxes, not buying things, not creating new jobs. It's better for us when there are more employed.
HARLOW: Especially state by state, right? If you look at a state like North Dakota, they are doing exceedingly well because of the oil industry. Three percent unemployment.
But look at a state like Michigan. OK, they are doing better than they were but still, as Treasury Secretary Anthony Geithner put it, unacceptably high unemployment in a state like Michigan.
ROMANS: All right. Poppy Harlow, well, we're going to have more on the report in exactly 26.5 minutes. We'll be able to tell you what those numbers say.
VELSHI: We'll do that and then you can go to the all-new CNNMoney.com. There were full an extensive coverage right there.
ROMANS: OK. Another big story we are watching this morning. We are waiting to hear the official word any moment that former senator and presidential candidate, John Edwards, has been indicted. It's expected to happen today.
VELSHI: Sources are telling CNN that Edwards and his attorney are scheduled to be in North Carolina where the Justice Department could hand up an indictment at any time. Our Joe Johns is live from Raleigh, North Carolina, this morning.
Joe, there seems to have been some movement on this, even this morning.
JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, to some degree, I think you are right, Ali. I mean, what our sources are telling us is that John Edwards is expected to be indicted today, barring any last minute development. There had been plea discussions but we've been told there has been no agreement. So, that's where we stand on that.
We also know that his attorney, Greg Craig, a very well-known attorney in Washington, D.C., is in the Raleigh area and presumably would be here because there is what you might call an inflection point approaching in the case. All of this relating to the 2008 presidential run of John Edwards. Around that time, shortly before, shortly after, he was involved in a relationship outside of his marriage with a woman named Rielle Hunter, had a child by Rielle Hunter and hundreds of thousands of dollars changed hands to keep that relationship secret.
Of course, the question, whether it was a gift, whether it was a campaign contribution -- federal prosecutors looking into the question of whether campaign contributions may have been used improperly in this case.
So, we're watching and waiting for the developments here outside the federal courthouse in Raleigh, North Carolina. And that's the sum of all of it.
Back to you in New York.
ROMANS: All right. Joe Johns -- thank you, Joe.
VELSHI: All right. Closer to home where we are. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, reaching into his own pocket to quiet his copter-gate critics. But he is not apologizing for using state police helicopters -- you see here -- to fly to his son's high school baseball games. Critics have called the fiscally conservative Republican a hypocrite and elitist for not practicing what he preaches.
So, Christie has decided to write two checks totaling more than $3,000 to pay for the flights that he took.
ROMANS: Mitt Romney is running for president, as we've told you. The former Massachusetts governor chose a New Hampshire farm as a backdrop for his big announcement yesterday. He says he is the candidate to turn America around.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We have not lost our way. The principles that made this nation a great and powerful leader of the world have not lost their meaning. They never will. We know we can bring this country back.
I'm Mitt Romney. I believe in America and I'm running for president of the United States.
(CHEERS)
ROMNEY: Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: Now, the field is set for the first Republican presidential debate brought to you exclusively on CNN. It's going to feature Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Tim Pawlenty, Ron Paul, Michele Bachmann, Rick Santorum, Herman Cain -- and Christine Romans.
ROMANS: I'm going to be there to help you guide through, only on CNN. You can see it live on Monday night, June 13th, 8:00 p.m. Eastern, hosted by John King. It will be right here on CNN.
And here on AMERICAN MORNING, we will give you exclusive behind the scenes access.
VELSHI: Reynolds Wolf for us in the extreme weather center right now in Atlanta -- where it is going to be very, very hot for you, Reynolds. That jacket is not going to last you long. I hope you have a nice cool linen vest underneath.
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: We have options. We are going to be using all of them.
It's going to be scorching here and has been scorching over the last couple of days. If you want proof, take a look at these numbers behind me. New Iberia, Louisiana, went up to 103 just yesterday. Hattiesburg, Mississippi, 102; 101 in Jackson, Mississippi; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Lafayette, Louisiana, into the 100s. A few other places, you take a look at these numbers from Montgomery, Alabama, to Mobile, to Monticello, Arkansas, even to Little Rock and Rapid City, South Dakota, you had highs in the 90s. But with the high humidity, it felt even warmer.
So, we expect that trend to continue again for today. Nationwide, going to 93 in Kansas City, 96 in St. Louis, 94 in Atlanta. Yes, Ali, it is going to be roasting here. You, my friend, though, will be high of only 76 in New York. Boston with 72; 57 in San Francisco.
Now, there will be a chance of a cool down. Some scattered showers develop possibly some thunderstorms in the western Great Lakes and into Minnesota and Wisconsin.
That is a snapshot of your forecast, guys. Back to you in New York.
ROMANS: In my view, sunny and 76 is perfect.
VELSHI: I was going to say, I'm Canadian. It doesn't need to get hotter than that for me.
You know, you are from the South. You are used to this hotter weather, Reynolds.
WOLF: You never get used to it, Ali. You never, ever get used to it. It just doesn't happen.
VELSHI: We'll check in with you in a bit, Reynolds. Thank you.
WOLF: All right, buddy.
ROMANS: All right. Ratko Mladic, the former Serbian general accused of genocide of the deaths of thousands of people during the Balkan conflict. He is going off in court this morning basically calling charges against him obnoxious. I'll tell you what else he had to say.
VELSHI: Also, the rare deadly E. coli outbreak in Europe is sparking worldwide alarm. It is now in the United States. We're going to show you where and how it's getting here.
ROMANS: And a little bit later, you -- wow -- you might have seen this hit movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio.
VELSHI: You wouldn't know it's him.
ROMANS: Leonardo DiCaprio has changed a lot.
VELSHI: Yes. Leonardo DiCaprio starred at Frank Abagnale in "Catch Me If You Can." This is about the life of the former jet-setting con man, Frank Abagnale, Jr. Now, it's a Broadway play. He's joining us live coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Accused war criminal Ratko Mladic making his first appearance at the international war crimes court in the Netherlands. He told the court he was gravely ill. He shook his head when some of the charges were read against him, saying he had never heard such obnoxious and monstrous words. It's been about a week since the Serbian general was finally apprehended after avoiding arrest for more than a decade.
Mladic is accused of the ordering the massacre of nearly 8,000 Bosnian Muslims in the 1990 civil war.
VELSHI: New developments in the story of the woman who grabbed the world's attention back in March when she burst into a hotel in Tripoli, Libya, and told reporters, including our own, that she had been raped by Moammar Gadhafi's security forces.
Remember this?
(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)
VELSHI: She was then taken by security forces. She finally escaped Libya, but this morning, Eman al-Obeidy is back in Libya against her will, reportedly deported by authorities in Qatar. She is said to have been taken to the rebel held city of Benghazi. A human rights group says such deportations are illegal under international law.
ROMANS: And we're going to show a live picture of Capitol Hill where many lawmakers want to know what's going on in Libya right now. House Republicans will vote on a resolution today to give President Obama 14 days to lay out the goals of the mission and policies towards Libya.
Libya Democrat Dennis Kucinich will also introduce a resolution calling for the U.S. to pull out of Libya.
VELSHI: And new developments this morning in Syria. The government reportedly cutting off Internet service in the capital of Damascus and the coastal city of Latakia. As the country braces for Friday protests, which have typically in many of these countries, taken place after Friday prayers. The Syrian army is also reportedly shelling towns.
Protesters today now rallying around the image of a young boy -- this boy, who was tortured and killed at the hands of the regime after protesting his cousin's death at the hands of authorities.
ROMANS: New this hour in Yemen, the president palace in Sanaa is under attack, we're told.
VELSHI: Witnesses are saying tribesmen fired missiles at the palace and that the government is firing back. Now, our guy who knows a lot about it, Mohammed Jamjoom, he is live for us in our Abu Dhabi newsroom.
Mohammed, give us some context on this. What's going on? What does this mean when they say tribesmen are firing on the presidential palace?
MOHAMMED JAMJOOM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Ali, this is one of the most worrying developments in the last 12 days between tribesmen that belong to the most powerful and the largest tribe in all of Yemen and government security forces. There have been these street battles that have been going on for over a week now. They have been intensifying by the day.
This, as I said, a very worrying development. You've got the tribesmen that are launching RPG attacks, according to eyewitnesses, against the presidential palace. The fact they have been able to get this close to the presidential palace and attack it, very worrying for the government of Yemen.
What does that mean? A lot of questions still to be answered. In retaliation for those attacks, we are told by residents and eyewitnesses in the capital city of Yemen that government security forces are shelling properties in another part of the capital that are owned by the leaders of that tribe. They are trying to retaliate. They are trying to take out those tribesmen.
But these battles have been getting more and more intense. They have been increasing by the day and really, really frightening the residents of Sanaa, who are just worried that this country is on the verge of all-out civil war at this point -- Ali.
VELSHI: Mohammed Jamjoom, you are on top of the story for us from Abu Dhabi. We'll check in with you as things develop.
ROMANS: Meantime, a shooting rampage in Arizona leaves six dead, including the gunman. It happened in Yuma yesterday. Police say 73- year-old Carey Dyess traveled through town, bringing his reign of terror with him, killing his ex-wife, her lawyer and three others. One other was injured but is expected to be OK. A few hours later, Dyess turned the gun on himself. Officials believe he was upset over his divorce.
VELSHI: And some more riveting testimony in the Casey Anthony murder trial. That's her. Jurors got to hear audio tapes of investigators interrogating the defendant in the summer of 2008, Casey Anthony, sometimes giggling. Other times, she was crying as detectives grill her about the death of her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee.
More tapes are expected to be played today. It's day nine of the trial.
ROMANS: OK. The auction selling personal items from Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber, raised $190,000. Kaczynski's personal journals went for more than 40 grand. And the hooded sweatshirt and sunglasses depicted in that famous police sketch, that went for about $20,000.
Proceeds will go to compensate some of his victims who are owed $15 million in court-ordered restitution.
VELSHI: What a story.
Hey, small cars -- all the rage these days, started when gas prices started going up, then they came down, now they are going up again. Ford is thinking small about this.
ROMANS: But can they have a powerful engine with such a small car?
VELSHI: We're going to talk about it. Brand new smallest engine they have ever made. We're minding your business after the break.
ROMANS: And catch this if you can. Watch out, America. Conman Frank Abagnale, Jr. is headed to a city near you. He's live in our studios in just a few minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: It's 20 minutes after the hour. Minding your business this morning:
Markets are opening in a little more than an hour. Right now, the Dow, the NASDAQ and S&P 500 futures are down as investors wait for this morning's jobs report which comes out in about 10 minutes.
America's AAA credit rating could be at risk. Moody's investor service is threatening to put the rating under review as lawmakers do not make significant progress on raising the debt ceiling.
Hackers claimed to have again broken into Sony's network. And this time, they have accessed names, birthdays, phone numbers, passwords. The hackers say they even posted personal information online. Sony says it's looking into these claims.
For one month, anyway, Detroit knocked Japan's four best selling cars off the top 10 bestsellers list in the U.S., though not because of fading popularity, but rather shortages from the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
Ford is planning to built is smallest engine ever, a three-cylinder. The automaker says the engine is designed to get better fuel economy but it will not sacrifice power and performance.
And for the first time in the history of "The New York Times," a woman will be running the paper. Jill Abramson has been named "The Times" executive editor. She replaces Bill Keller.
Don't go anywhere. Coming up at 8:30, on the nose. We'll give you the latest jobs report.
AMERICAN MORNING back right after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: All right. Lady Liberty can put her bathing suit on today. It is going to be 59 and sunny now in New York City. It's going to go up to what I think is a perfect 76. Many of you are going to wish you were in New York City today because it is going to be hot across the country.
Leonardo DiCaprio played him on the big screen in the movie, "Catch Me If You Can." Now, Frank Abagnale's incredible story of how he fooled the world is on Broadway.
(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)
VELSHI: The nominated musical is going ton a national tour this fall.
Frank Abagnale, Jr., who is now in the business of catching conmen, is our guest this morning.
Frank, good to see you again. Thank you for being here.
VELSHI: Boy, your story is a gift that just keeps on giving. This book, "Catch If You Can," you wrote when you were a kid.
FRANK ABAGNALE, JR., AUTHOR, "CATCH ME IF YOU CAN": I wrote it when I was about 26, 27 years old. I'm 63 now. So, it's quite a while.
VELSHI: Yes. And you sold it and you told that story. The movie, you are saying, isn't an inaccurate portrayal of you, but you felt it might have been more dramatic than your entire life. You passed yourself off as a pilot, a doctor, a lawyer, a jet pilot. It's all true, right?
ABAGNALE: Yes. And I thought Steven Spielberg did a wonderful job. To him, it was all about the redemption side of my life, what I did with my life after that. That's what encouraged him to make the movie. He did a great job.
I think the Broadway people, the same way. They were caught up with the redemption side of it. But they tell a lot more of the emotional side of the kid, the loneliness of running away, the father relationship, the FBI agent who chased me and that relationship.
So, in a way, I kind of like the play better. It's told to music. And it's just great songs and great music to tell the story.
VELSHI: How old were you when this whole thing started?
ABAGNALE: Sixteen years old when I ran away, caught when I was 21.
VELSHI: One of the best con men around, are you still -- is there any of that in you? Is there conman running through your blood?
ABAGNALE: I think there's always that personality, that winning smile or whatever it might be. But I try to use that in a positive way. And, you know, I have worked with the FBI now for 36 years, been married for 34 years, raised three great sons, one who is an FBI agent.
VELSHI: Wow.
ABAGNALE: So when I look back on my life, I am more amazed about what has happened in my life after the age of 21 than I am before 21.
VELSHI: My wife always thinks I'm not entirely telling the whole story. How does someone manage being actually married to someone who is clearly an expert at it?
ABAGNALE: I think that, you know, I basically just -- you know, I have -- my wife met me many years ago after all that occurred. I think she saw something in me. I credit my wife a great deal with turning my life around, fatherhood, having children. That's really what made me the man I am today.
And I've just been very fortunate. The Broadway play and the motion picture have just been an incredible thing in my life.
VELSHI: And kids always think they are smarter than their parents and try and outsmart them. Did that happen with your kids?
ABAGNALE: I think my kids realized from the very beginning they weren't going to con dad. So, I never had those issues. They all turned out to be great kids. I'm been very blessed.
VELSHI: Had you really -- we know you have been associated with the FBI helping to catch other con men. Is that really true? I mean, do you actually do stuff that helps them catch other people?
ABAGNALE: Yes. I've been -- I've worked now with the FBI for 36 years. I teach at the FBI Academy. I spend most of my -- 80 percent of my time out in the field, at FBI offices with the agents out in the field. That's something I love doing. I've enjoyed doing. It's a way of paying back to my country that's given me a second chance.
So, yes. And I hope that in all the years I have been doing this, they see me as a tremendous asset. And that's why I'm still doing it.
VELSHI: Back then, though, you were cutting checks, you had disguises. You are a charmer, sweet talker.
In 2011, where everything is about hacking and electronic espionage, are your -- would today's con man be a modern version of you? Or is that a different game altogether?
ABAGNALE: It's a totally different game. There are no more con men because you don't have to see anybody. You don have to see your victim. Your victim doesn't have to see you. The crime is done from thousands of miles away.
And, certainly, 4,000 times easier than when I did it. Everything from printing checks, which required big printing presses, now, color copiers and scanners, digital thing, make it so much easier to do.
So, there isn't that personality of a con man needed anymore. It's more about what can I do on a computer to get into somebody else's account.
VELSHI: But the person who perpetrates a con of some sort still has the same driving forces. What are they? What are the things that you had coursing through your blood at 16, 18, 20, 22?
ABAGNALE: Well, for me, it started out running away from home and it started out as more of a survival. Then, it became an adventure. Then, it became a chase. So you do get caught up in a way of getting away with it, and what else can I get away with? I think a lot of that is the same way with these people. They try it online and get away with it and they see how much they can do again. What's very bad is that a lot of it is so harmful to other people, innocent victims.
VELSHI: We are covering a number of stories this week alone which involve potentially people doing things that maybe they did because they could get away with it. How do you deal with that as a grown person? I am asking you to comment on others, not on you. How does a grown person deal with the fact that I am so used to getting away with it that I can't stop myself?
ABAGNALE: You can stop yourself. We live in a great country where if you really want to change your life, you can. All you have to do is do it. I got up, brushed myself off, started my life over again. So can anybody else. You have to want to do the right thing and change your life. We live in a great country that lets you do that if you really want to do that.
VELSHI: Both the movie and the play glamourized those days. I said, I wish I was as smart as Frank Abagnale. Are you proud of that?
ABAGNALE: It was a very, very lonely life. I didn't have anybody to put me to bed or take care of me when I was sick, never got to go to a senior prom or a high school football game. Everyone I dealt with was ten years older. If I had to do it over, I wouldn't want to do it again.
VELSHI: Thanks for being with us. Frank Abagnale, you can see the play on Broadway right now.
It's 31 minutes after the hour. Former presidential hopeful John Edwards is expected to be indicted in North Carolina, accused of giving campaign funds to his mistress, Rielle Hunter. Sources tell CNN Edwards lawyers have been trying to cut a plea deal with prosecutors.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie says he is cutting two personal checks totaling more than $3,000 to quiet his critics and cover the cost for two flights he took on that state police helicopter to see his son play baseball. Christie says he is not apologizing. Police assured him taxpayers would not incur an expense for the trips because the pilots were required to log the flight hours.
It began in Europe. New cases of the rare deadly strain of e. Coli confirmed here in the United States. The CDC says three people in the U.S. are suffering from bacteria. They have recently traveled to Germany. They believe the patients ate contaminated salad. It has not been found in U.S. food but as a precaution, American airlines will not serve salad on flights departing from Europe. And 16 people have died across Europe, 1,600 more people are sick.
Just in to CNN, the May jobs report, and it is disappointing.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: That's right. The unemployment going up slightly to 9.1 percent. What's really disappointing is that after three months of gains on average of 220,000 jobs a month, we only saw 54,000 jobs added in the month of May. After three months of averaging 220,000 new jobs, we only created 54,000.
The private sector created 83,000. That means the government lost jobs. In fact it was almost all local government jobs that were lost. Manufacturing lost jobs. Retail lost jobs. Temps lost jobs. We have been seeing temp jobs increased. March and April, both of those numbers for job creation were revised down, which is disappointing. Long-term unemployment also a little bit worse after some improvement. Again, a little disappointment in that part of the number.
VELSHI: It's been a disappointing week in general in the economy. For the last six months, for the last six months we have created more than 100,000 jobs a month. Now, this is well below that average. For the last three months, we had created more than 200,000 jobs a month. To come in with a number like this is substantially lower than we expected.
ROMANS: They told us yesterday that the pace couldn't be continued. It was natural to think that the pace of job creation we had seen was likely not to have continued.
VELSHI: The expectation was in 150,000 range, and now to come in at 54,000. This was the one thing we were looking to say the economy is real. We are going to look at the glass a quarter full for a moment. We are creating jobs and creating them in the private sector as opposed to the public sector, but this is not enough.
ROMANS: To your point, it is not enough. You need ruffle 150,000 new jobs created every month just to keep up with population growth and new people in the population. So you are not going to eat into your unemployment rate unless you are looking at twice as high. At this stage of a recovery, we should be doing better.
The other side of that, if you want to look at the bright side, is that the economy has added more than two million private sector jobs over the past 14 months. So there has been private sector jobs creation. People are starting to get jobs again. It is loosening up. The White House likes to say it is healing. It is just not healing fast enough.
VELSHI: Let's talk about two companies that are hiring. Angela Selden is the CEO of Arise Virtual Solutions. David Martin is the president of Home Style Foods. Good morning to both of you. Angela, let's start with you. You are looking to hire 11,000 people. I thought it was an error when I first heard about you.
ANGELA SELDEN, CEO, ARISE VIRTUAL SOLUTIONS: Between now and the end of the year, we have 11,000 work opportunities for people in the U.S. and Canada. We are very excited about that opportunity for folks. It is a work-from-home opportunity. It is flexible. People can work around a full-time job or a part-time job that may not be giving them the hours that we heard about in the last topic. It gives them the flexibility to choose how often and when they work.
ROMANS: So this is part of the whole push toward contract work, toward doing work where you are not necessarily attached to a big company but you are doing work from home. You might not have the big company benefits package, but you are getting some work.
SELDEN: What we are seeing is a real change in the way American workers think about the social contract with their employers. They want flexibility. They want the ability to choose when they work and how often they work. And they want to have the flexibility to choose which clients they serve or what they do.
VELSHI: These are call centers. You are taking calls. It's about $14 an hour.
SELDEN: It could change anywhere from $12 to $30 an hour, depending on the type of work.
ROMANS: If I called to Carnival Cruise Lines, I could be talking with somebody who is working for you.
SELDEN: Yes. VELSHI: David is the CEO, the president of Home Style Foods. If any of you eat home style sausage. You are running a business. It is doing well but you are not expanding right now, are you?
DAVID MARTIN, PRESIDENT, HOME STYLE FOODS, LLC: Right now, we are not. The economy is rough. Fuel costs are hampering our ability to expand and to go into a lot of new markets. With the fool cost being up, that is creating a real cash flow crunch for us. So we are not in the position to hire.
ROMANS: David, let me ask you something. A lot of people talk about Republicans and Democrats and who can create jobs and can government create jobs. But you guys are the ones creating jobs. Is the government in your way? Is the government out of your way? Is it helping you create jobs or is it just demand that is the reason why you are going to add jobs?
MARTIN: I think demand. One of the things we are looking to do is exporting. One of the things we realized was the American dollar is down in a lot of countries. And as a result of that, a lot of foreign countries realize this is a great opportunity for them to acquire American goods. We are in the process now of trying to consummate a deal to sell sausage in Brazil. As a result of that transaction we should be able to increase our cash flow, our business, as well as provide new jobs.
VELSHI: So if you can get this deal with Brazil, you are not worrying about what's going on here. You hope business picks up but you know business is hot there. You are going to try and do that.
Angela, you are almost the opposite of all this outsourcing trend. We just assume call sources go to India and the Philippines.
SELDEN: That's right. We think what the government can do create an incentive to repatriate tree eight that job. If we can create a one- year benefit to bring those jobs back onshore, it is tremendous infusion for people to work.
We also find that the cost is very neutral for companies in the U.S. We did a study and found that on average, it takes about two or three calls to get your question answered if you are speaking with someone who is not familiar with what you are asking because they don't have the cultural connection with the product or service. You do that call onshore with someone around the block rather than around the world and that will be answered in one call and the cost is about the same.
ROMANS: You are both globalization stories. The message to me is if you are in business and you are creating jobs in this, you have to be looking at the global picture.
MARTIN: We are at a point where we are dealing with the global economy. Right now a lot of jobs were sent overseas. What we are trying to do now is to create these jobs here by sending product overseas. We had opportunity to talk a few weeks ago at a black enterprise entrepreneurs' conference. We talked about a program you were asking me about earlier, whether the federal government is involved. There is a program that the federal government is programming called SUSTA, Southern U.S. Trade Association, where they will assist small businesses, get funding to create export opportunities because that, in turn, will generate more jobs domestically.
VELSHI: David, good to see you. Maybe you guys can pair up and Angela can run a call center for people who want to order your sausage.
(LAUGHTER)
MARTIN: We will be glad to. I look forward to that opportunity.
VELSHI: David Martin is the president of Home Style Foods and Angela Selden is chief executive officer at Arise Virtual Solutions with 11,000 jobs available.
ROMANS: It is 40 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Breaking news out of Yemen. We were telling you earlier about a tribal assault on the presidential palace in Yemen.
VELSHI: Now we are hearing that senior government officials in Yemen have been wounded in that attack. Let's go straight to Mohammed Jamjoom who is covering this story from Abu Dhabi. Mohammed, what do you know?
MOHAMMED JAMJOOM, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Ali, major developments in the past few minutes. We have heard from a government spokesman that at least seven officials were injured when the mosque inside the presidential compound was shelled, was hit by RPGs coming from tribal fighters that have been warring with president Saleh's security forces in the past week.
We knew the attack had taken place. We are hearing a mosque within the compound was hit while prayers were going on. Seven top officials were injured, some quite seriously.
We don't know what's going on with President Ali Sbdullah Saleh. We have not been able to pin that down, although there are reports that he is fine and he will give some sort of press conference later in the day to address what happened.
A lot of chaos, a lot of confusion from the ground in Sana'a right now. Many people wondering how this could have happened. The presidential palace in Sana'a is practically a fortress, so much security all around it. The fact that tribal fighters have been able to reach security, launch missile attacks, RPG attacks and shell the presidential palace, a worrying development as to how vulnerable they might be in these battles with these tribesmen.
ROMANS: Tell me very quickly about this president. He has been holding on to power as these protests and this chaos has mounted. What is the status of his hold on power of this country? He has refused to step down.
JAMJOOM: That's right, Christine. I mean he has been as defiant and entrenched in his position to cling to power as ever; so much international pressure being applied on President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down. Not just from the U.S, from the U.K, from the U.N., from other countries, from Gulf Cooperation Council countries. These are neighboring countries here on the region like Saudi Arabia, trying to get President Saleh to agree to a peaceful transfer of power.
He is not. He is clinging to power. He is defiant. He's -- every time they've gotten close to having sign some sort of power transfer deal, he's found a way to not sign it and to refuse before it could happen.
Now, in the last few days we've heard that John Brennan, the top counter terror aide for President Barack Obama, he came to the region and went to Saudi Arabia, discussed with leaders of this region how they could try to end the crisis in Yemen. How they could try to convince President Saleh to step down. Nothing has come of it. And President Saleh once again just seems as defiant as ever to cling to power by whatever way he can -- Christine.
ROMANS: Mohammed Jamjoom, thank you so much for that. From our Abu Dhabi newsroom and again, we'll continue covering the unfolding chaos out of Yemen.
Again, seven officials wounded, because of a -- of an RPG, missile attack on the presidential mosque in the presidential palace there.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: All right, and it remains unclear as to what is supposed to happen here. Because this is a place where al Qaeda is well-entrenched, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
We'll continue to cover this and get more details.
We have more breaking news, however, right now. According to the "Detroit Free Press", we are getting word that Dr. Jack Kevorkian, has died. The 82-year-old pathologist, known as "Dr. Death" for assisting 130 people in committing suicide; he has reportedly died. He spent eight years in prison for second-degree murder. He was patrolled -- he was paroled, I'm sorry, in 2007.
Now, this is word that is coming from the "Detroit Free Press" who is getting it from his attorney who says that the 83-year-old Kevorkian died at the Beaumont hospital in Royal Oaks.
ROMANS: He had been hospitalized there for about two weeks with kidney and heart problems. It appears through the "Detroit Free Press" and his attorney that Kevorkian suffered a pulmonary thrombosis and a blood clot from his leg when it broke free and lodged in his heart. We're told that with him were his niece and his attorney at the time of his death.
VELSHI: We'll continue to work on this story. But we are getting news from the "Detroit Free Press" that Jack Kevorkian has died at the age of 83.
We're covering a lot of breaking news for you this morning. Stay with us we'll be right back. It is 47 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: A lot going on this morning. Breaking news, here are your headlines. The markets open -- markets open in 45 minutes. Right now Dow futures are down by more than 100 points, the NASDAQ and S&P futures also down after the government's latest important jobs report shows only 54,000 jobs were added in the last month.
The presidential palace in Yemen is under attack. Witnesses say tribesmen fired missiles at the palace. And the government is firing back at their land, growing fear now that Yemen's chaos is good for al Qaeda. At least seven top government officials have been injured in that shelling.
The Syrian government reportedly cutting off Internet service in the capital of Damascus and the coastal city of (INAUDIBLE) as the country braces for Friday protests. The Syrian army also reportedly shelling towns.
The Detroit Free Press, reporting this morning that Dr. Jack Kevorkian has died, the 82-year-old pathologist, known as "Dr. Death" for assisting 130 people in committing suicide. He spent eight years in prison for second-degree murder. He was paroled in 2007.
Former Senator and presidential hopeful John Edwards expected to be indicted today in North Carolina. Prosecutors say he illegally gave campaign funds to his mistress, Rielle Hunter. Sources telling CNN Edwards lawyers have been trying to cut a plea deal with prosecutors that would allow him to continue practicing law.
You're caught up on the day's headlines. AMERICAN MORNING back right after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: You know we did Dallas for the last hour so we're going to show you a picture of Miami.
ROMANS: It's cool up in Dallas.
VELSHI: And they're at the NBA finals. 83 degrees in Miami; the high is going to be 88. You know that the -- Miami has a nice consistent temperature unless they're getting bad weather.
ROMANS: Yes.
VELSHI: Reynolds Wolf is in Atlanta.
ROMANS: When I say that Miami is cooler than Dallas, I mean Miami is literally --
VELSHI: Lower temperature today. ROMANS: -- cooler than Dallas.
VELSHI: Yes.
ROMANS: That's what I mean.
VELSHI: Dallas is --
(CROSSTALK)
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I agree where you were going with that. I know exactly where you're going. Well, the great thing about Miami, though, is you have nature's air-conditioning. You do have -- you do have the converging sea breeze, the day time heat and it will give you those showers in the afternoon.
However, in a place like Dallas, you're not going to have that kind of good fortune. Going up to 99 degrees, you're going to feel every bit of it. With the high humidity, it's going to feel even warmer. Kansas City, 93; St. Louis, four degrees shy of the 100 degree mark; Atlanta with 95; New Orleans with 94.
And then, when you get on the other side of that frontal boundary, things are going to be a little bit cooler. Boston, with 77 degrees, Denver with 76, Billings with 63, San Francisco with 57 degrees by Pier 39.
Meanwhile, look for a chance of severe weather in the western Great Lakes also into the arrowhead of Minnesota and parts of Wisconsin too. Late in the afternoon will be your best chance of dealing with some strong storms at that point but still very warm in the center of the U.S.
Back on the east, sunny and dry for much of the northeast. And back up to west from San Francisco northward to Redding, California, a decent chance of scattered showers. And also big sky country may have some rainfall in the highest mountains of the Rockies and possibly some snow.
Enjoy that Dallas. Let's get back to you guys in New York.
VELSHI: We appreciate you giving us some weather right at Pier 39 in San Francisco.
WOLF: You know, we had to be specific. We really do. We aim for that.
VELSHI: It's going to be a hot one today. Thank you my friend. It's good to see you.
WOLF: You bet.
ROMANS: Speak of a hot one, the National Spelling Bee Champ; she was hot on these numbers.
VELSHI: Unbelievable. ROMANS: Let numbers, oh my gosh, can you tell them. It's 14-year-old Sukanya Roy of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The third time for her was the charm.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SUKANYA ROY, NATIONAL SPELLING BEE CHAMP: C-y-m-o-t-r-i-c-h-o-u-s.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: The winning word was cymotrichous.
VELSHI: It means to have wavy hair which is why I've never used it. That was Sukanya Roy's third appearance in the Scripps' National Spelling Bee final she finished 12th in 2009, 20th in 2010, she gets $40,000 in cash and prizes.
ROMANS: That's nice. That's very nice.
Afterwards she told people she knew how to spell the word right away. She was very careful, very careful about spelling it out.
VELSHI: You can say it to me nine times. I wouldn't know how to spell that word.
But it's our question of the day.
ROMANS: It is. What word can't you spell? Here are some of your answers.
"Spaghetti" was from heatherpenia on Twitter.
"Maintenance is another one. That's a good one.
VELSHI: Yes. Well, the "e" in the in the middle confuses people sometimes.
This one is great, from Diana, "hors d'oeuvres", which by the way, she didn't spell right when she sent it in. But we said that's ok. What you are looking at on the screen is the way it's actually supposed to be spelled. I couldn't spell that in Spelling Bee, either.
ROMANS: Efren Omar (ph) says "Potato". I cannot spell "potato" he says and he put an "e" on the end of it.
VELSHI: And "tchotchke" from Jeng Yau (ph). "Why do we need a kooky word like this to describe something that's supposed to be insignificant. He can never get it right.
ROMANS: That's a very smart one.
VELSHI: It is 56 minutes after the hour -- 55 minutes after the hour. We have a lot of breaking news. We had a disappointing jobs report that's going to challenge markets right now. We have senior government officials injured, wounded in severe fighting in the capital of Yemen right now. ROMANS: And also, the "Detroit Free Press" reporting that Jack Kevorkian has passed away at the age of 83. We will have all of that for you right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Whole lot of breaking news for you happening right now.
The presidential palace in Yemen is under attack. Witnesses say tribesmen have fired missiles at the palace and the government is firing back at their land. What we hear now is that senior government officials including the prime minister and the deputy prime minister have been injured. They've been in a mosque inside the presidential palace. We are unclear on what the status of the president, Ali Abdullah Saleh is right now but we have our people trying to get to the bottom of it right now. But that is the developing story right now for some sever fighting in Yemen.
ROMANS: Seven government officials over all injured there.
Also the "Detroit Free Press" is reporting this morning that Dr. Jack Kevorkian has died. The 83-year-old pathologist known as Dr. Death for assisting 130 people in committing suicide, he spent eight years in prison for second-degree murder. He was paroled in 2007. He has been in the hospital according to the "Detroit Free Press" for the past two weeks now.
VELSHI: He would have been 83 years old.
We are 30 minutes away from the opening of markets. And right now, it looks like it is going to be a rough opening. Futures are much lower right now after the unemployment report for May came in. The unemployment rate is a little higher but most importantly, only 54,000 jobs were created. That is much lower than what we were expecting. Much lower than the average of more than 200,000 we have created for the last three months or 100,000 for the last six months. 54,000, that's not enough to keep this economy chugging along.
ROMANS: And finally former senator and presidential hopeful, Jonathan Edwards is expected to be indicted today in North Carolina. Prosecutors say he illegally gave campaign funds to his mistress, Rielle Hunter. Sources telling CNN Edwards lawyers have been trying to cut a plea deal with prosecutors that would allow him to continue practicing law. Again, an indictment expected today.
VELSHI: And that's what Carol Costello is going to pick up with "CNN NEWSROOM". She'll be covering all those stories and I'll be with you in just a few minutes Carol to talk about the economy and jobs -- Carol.
