Return to Transcripts main page
New Day
April Unemployment Rate; Broadway Reopens in September; Musk to Host "SNL". Aired 8:30-9a ET
Aired May 07, 2021 - 08:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:32:40]
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, breaking news just in to CNN.
A snapshot of the employment situation in the United States. The new jobs report.
CNN chief business correspondent Christine Roman here's with me at the desk. We're going to bring you the numbers right now so you can see it here.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, let's look at these numbers because --
BERMAN: And the answer is a giant miss, right?
ROMANS: It is. It's only 266,000 jobs added in the period, which is a real disappointment for April. You had economists looking for more like a million. So we did not see the big hiring frenzy that we had expected. And the unemployment rate was essentially little changed at 6.1 percent.
John, this is a disappointment because we thought that the economy, as it was reopening, was going to have just this surge of hiring. This is good to see 266,000. These are jobs added back. We are still down than -- more than 8 million jobs in the pandemic. And we've heard from employers that a big problem is, they can't find the workers to hire, especially in manufacturing and also in the restaurant industry.
And restaurants in particular, you've got a lot of people who are retraining for something else. They're afraid of the virus. They can't -- the kids aren't in school. They're getting unemployment benefits until September. So that's what we're looking at here.
We'll watch to see how the markets respond today. But, again, this is not what economists have been expecting. We are still in a big hole for the jobs market. Gaining some of these jobs back but not as briskly as many economists had expected.
BERMAN: No, 266,000 in a month. That's not the pace that they want to see to get us to the place, you know, where we meet the full recovery later this year or next year at all.
ROMANS: No.
BERMAN: And we're still trying to figure out, and these numbers are just in and it's hard to dig through them is, is why the miss?
ROMANS: Well, there's such a big distortion in the labor market. I mean, remember when we lost those million -- 20 million jobs in one month. One year ago this month we lost 20 million jobs. We're just trying to kind of find our footing.
The job loss so dramatic, the hole so big, it distorts all the charts. It's hard to see kind of where we're coming from.
We shut the economy off and now we're changing the dial, opening it back up again. All these distortions there, problems finding products, problems finding workers, just trying to get back to normal. So 266,000 jobs, a 6.1 percent unemployment rate. Not what economists had expected. At least it's going in the right direction.
BERMAN: One of the things we're going to be looking for, as you say, is, are there enough workers, are there enough workers to fill the jobs here? And what it does to wages and, again, we're just trying to figure this out now, but is it that some of these companies are trying to fill jobs and can't find people to do them quickly enough?
[08:35:08]
We just don't know.
ROMANS: We just don't know yet.
And we'll look at these sectors and try to figure out where we saw most of this hiring. It was widespread last month. We know it was widespread hiring. You like to see that. You like to see the widespread nature of that hiring. Restaurant jobs starting to come back.
But, again, anecdotally, what you're hearing, and even on these conference calls with -- for earnings this week, we've been hearing a lot of CEOs talk about, they're worried about labor shortages down the line. That's their biggest concern is getting people fully engaged, back in the labor market, especially women. A generation of gains for women in the labor market wiped out by the coronavirus pandemic. A lot of that has to do with education, health, wages. We need -- we have a lot of work to do.
BERMAN: We just looked at the markets, which don't seem to be moving very much, because they probably can't figure out what the heck's going on.
ROMANS: They can't. You're right. You're right.
BERMAN: All right. All right, Christine Romans, thanks for being here.
ROMANS: You're welcome. BERMAN: We'll try to find out more over the next few minutes. Appreciate it.
Brianna.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: John, Broadway is back after going dark for more than a year. Broadway set to reopen this September. And ticket sales, as you can imagine, are already underway.
CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich is live in Times Square with more.
I think I know how this city is reacting to this news, Vanessa.
VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Well, they are loving it, obviously. They want to come back to a show like "Hamilton." But, you know, 100,000 people lost their jobs because Broadway went dark. So their jobs are going to come back slowly over the next couple of months as production ramps up.
But the goal is, when the show's open, hopefully the tourists will come back and they'll eat in the restaurants here, they'll shop in the souvenir shops again.
We spoke to the lead actor of "Jersey Boys" who plays Frankie Valli, who says he's cautiously optimistic that his show will open on that September 14th date. And we also spoke to a restaurant owner here in the area who says she's excited for the first time in a long time.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AARON DE JESUS, ACTOR, FRANKIE VALLI IN "JERSEY BOYS": Being on a show like "Jersey Boys" that -- that touches the lives of so many people on so many levels.
To not be able to do what we love and share that with the world has been very difficult. And I am -- I, for one, am looking forward to the day that we can come back and start that all up again.
JASMINE GERALD, OWNER, JASMINE CARIBBEAN CUISINE: Wednesday nights was like Broadway night. So people would come on Wednesday night and then they would eat and then they would go to Broadway. Now Wednesday nights are like one of the slowest nights. So I know when Broadway opens, definitely tourists is going to come. Definitely people are going to come out more. They're going to eat.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YURKEVICH: Tourism is the economic driver for this area. One way to monitor that is ticket sales. Some shows just open their seats yesterday, but, Brianna, the goal is "Hamilton" is planning to open their doors, turn back on their lights September 14th at 100 percent capacity.
Brianna.
KEILAR: I have no doubt that those tickets will sell out very quickly. Vanessa Yurkevich live for us from the Times Square area.
And, up next, the biggest wildcard on TV this weekend. What will Elon Musk do on "Saturday Night Live"?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:41:37]
BERMAN: Tech billionaire Elon Musk set to host "Saturday Night Live" this weekend. And no one's really sure exactly how it's going to go.
Joining us now, Bill Carter, CNN media analyst and executive producer of CNN's new original series "The Story of Late Night."
Look, the Elon Musk pick is controversial. There are cast members who are unhappy.
BILL CARTER, CNN MEDIA ANALYST: Right.
BERMAN: No one quite knows why. But that's exactly the point.
CARTER: Exactly.
BERMAN: Lorne Michaels has us talking about it.
CARTER: He does. This show's been on almost 50 years. Lorne Michaels knows how to stay in the zeitgeist and to draw attention. Elon Musk is going to get people to say, well, I've got to see this, what's this guy going to do, if they even know who he is. I mean he's not gigantically famous. He's famous in the business world, of course.
I mentioned, you know, I mentioned this to my wife and she's like, oh, he's that car guy? Like, there's not a lot of -- a lot known about him, but he's controversial in that he's made statements about the coronavirus which obviously have gotten some of the cast members upset, and he's crazy wealthy. I mean like he's insanely wealthy. So, you know, there are things, if he makes fun of himself, it will be perfect. That's what they want.
BERMAN: So you put together a list of sort of the strangest picks as host of all time.
CARTER: Yes. Yes.
BERMAN: We'll put it up so people can see what it is.
CARTER: Yes.
BERMAN: Go ahead. I mean, you know, who's on this list that jumps out?
CARTER: Well, you know, Ron Nessen was the press secretary for Gerald Ford. I mean nobody knew why he was there except they loved to make fun of Ford falling down. Chevy Chase could do a whole rift on that. So they did that. Steve Forbes. I mean Steve Forbes was running for office. He didn't
have much of a personality. But they found a way to make fun of that, and he went with it and actually that kind of worked.
I think, you know, Ralph Nader.
BERMAN: Right.
CARTER: Ralph Nader, you know, when he first did it was just, you know, against (INAUDIBLE) cars, you know, and all that and they loved that he was a real lefty and they could have fun with that. But he also wasn't that bad actually.
BERMAN: All right. So you are the executive producer, the driving force behind a terrific CNN series, "The Story of Late Night."
CARTER: Thanks.
BERMAN: My boys are glued to it. I want to play a clip here.
CARTER: Great.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE LOPEZ, COMEDIAN: I'm back behind the curtain. My hands literally like seized up. What is this? I can't move my hands. They're so paralyzed with fear.
RAY ROMANO, COMEDIAN: It's almost like skydiving. You don't want to go, but once you're out of that plane, you can't not go.
LOPEZ: You know, I've been incarcerated. I don't think anything's been as frightening as walking through that curtain of "The Tonight Show."
JOHNNY CARSON, HOST, "THE TONIGHT SHOW": This is his first time. Would you welcome Ray Romano?
Ray.
ROMANO: And then you're walking and it looks like you -- it's as casual as hell and in your head you're screaming like you're jumping out of a plane.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: So they're talking about something very specific, which is --
CARTER: Exactly, which is their first shot on with Johnny Carson for a stand-up comic, which was make or break for a career. And the stories they tell are fantastic. We have an entire section in the episode about comics' first time with Carson and how terrifying it was. More scary than being incarcerated by (ph) George Lopez.
BERMAN: Yes.
CARTER: Yes. BERMAN: But it really -- I mean a generation of comics you talked to and the -- the most important moment in their entire career.
CARTER: Absolutely. One guy says, except for the birth of my kids, and I'm only saying that because I have to, this was, by far, the biggest moment of my life when he had the shot to be on with Johnny Carson.
BERMAN: Look, the series is terrific. Thanks so much for coming in and talking with us.
CARTER: Love talking about it. Thanks, John.
BERMAN: Really appreciate it.
The special airs Sunday at 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
Next, bands, breakups and booze. What a year this week has been.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:49:10]
BERMAN: From bands and breakups to booze, what a year this week has been.
Here it is. All of it.
KEILAR: A war erupts inside the Republican Party as Liz Cheney is targeted just for telling the truth.
BERMAN: More sycophants kiss the ring at Mar-a-Lago.
KEILAR: While the 2012 GOP nominee gets booed and narrowly misses a censure in his home state.
BERMAN: More American cities announce their full reopenings.
KEILAR: As the COVID outbreak improves in the U.S. but worsens globally.
BERMAN: President Biden supports loosening vaccine patent rules to help other countries.
KEILAR: Driven by the health disaster in India where CNN showed you nightmare images of their fight.
BERMAN: Vaccination rates slow in the United States.
KEILAR: And a new study confirms that right-wing media spreads BS conspiracy theories and it had an impact.
BERMAN: The FDA signals it will soon greenlight vaccines for adolescents.
KEILAR: And some towns keep their outdoor mask mandates in place despite loosened CDC guidance on vaccinated Americans. [08:50:07]
BERMAN: Washington, D.C., bans dancing at weddings, which causes Kevin Bacon's ears to burn.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEVIN BACON, ACTOR, "FOOTLOOSE": Let's dance!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: Such a good movie.
President Biden hitting the road to sell his $4 trillion agenda.
BERMAN: And reverses himself on refugee caps after backlash from liberals.
KEILAR: Mitch McConnell says he is 100 percent committed to stopping Biden's agenda as Republicans claim Biden's not bipartisan enough.
BERMAN: The Taliban overruns a base in Afghanistan as the U.S. officially begins its withdrawal.
KEILAR: And the full drawdown is criticized by Biden allies, like Hillary Clinton.
BERMAN: Fireworks erupt at a CIA briefing with lawmakers about the possible energy attacks on U.S. soil.
KEILAR: And some of the first families separated at the border under Trump are reunited.
BERMAN: FaceBook upholds its ban on Donald Trump, so he goes all 2006 and starts a blog.
KEILAR: A judge rips Bill Barr, accusing him of misleading everyone about his decision not to charge Trump for obstruction.
BERMAN: Prosecutors demand a special master to look at evidence seized in the Rudy Giuliani raid.
KEILAR: In the insurrection investigation, a capitol rioter, seen working the bogus Arizona vote audit.
BERMAN: A grandmother's gossip leads to the arrest of one suspect.
KEILAR: And a member of the National Guard becomes the fourth service member to face charges.
BERMAN: A Capitol officer writes a letter to Congress slamming conservatives who are downplaying what happened.
KEILAR: Gas prices on the rise.
BERMAN: The FAA reports that more people are being jerks on airplanes. KEILAR: And Peloton recalls its treadmills because kids are getting
hurt.
BERMAN: The funeral is held for Andrew Brown, the black man killed by police in North Carolina.
KEILAR: Derek Chauvin's lawyers demand a new trial as we see a picture of a juror surface from being at a George Floyd protest.
BERMAN: Republicans in Texas and Florida push more restrictions on voting.
KEILAR: And Democrats lose runoffs in the lone star state, shrinking their margin in the house.
BERMAN: Bill and Melinda Gates call it quits, leaving billions and a global philanthropy at stake.
KEILAR: The world waits for Chinese space debris to come crashing to earth, which, of course, makes us think of --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AEROSMITH (singing): Don't want to close my eyes, I don't want to fall asleep, cause I'd miss you, baby.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: It almost makes me cry now. I mean I cry every time I hear it. The end of that movie is so poignant.
KEILAR: I didn't know -- I didn't know they were taking the shot of me. I was like rocking out.
BERMAN: It's so sad.
All right, so sad, so under rated.
Also, a woman gives birth to nine babies.
KEILAR: As the birth rate in the U.S. hits a new low during the pandemic.
BERMAN: Condom sales in the U.S. are rising.
KEILAR: I saw that in prompter. I can't believe you did that to me.
And The Village People testify technically at a hearing in Congress.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hydro power incentive programs within the U.S. Department of Energy's water power technology office and establish through the energy policy act of 2005. Section 242 --
(END VIDEO CLIP) BERMAN: You can sail the seven seas during the year this week has been.
KEILAR: Good soundtrack for the week, though, right?
BERMAN: Yes. Yes, thank you, Village People.
KEILAR: Thank you. Thank you, Aerosmith.
BERMAN: Thank you Aerosmith.
KEILAR: Jinx.
When 22-year-old Amanda Gorman recited her inaugural poem at the Biden/Harris inauguration, the world took note. Also watching was a proud CNN Hero who first met Amanda as a young girl of 14. Karen Taylor's organization, Write Girl, offers thousands of teens support, guidance and the tools to have their voices be heard.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAREN TAYLOR, CNN HERO: Many of our girls come from environments where they're really struggling with unstable family situations, violence in their communities. Our goal is to really try and reach the most teens we can that are in the greatest need.
Nice.
Since receiving the hero award, we've expanded to include programs for boys and co-ed groups to clarify our definition of girls by including non-binary girls, trans youth, developed more programming for youth who are incarcerated or are systems impacted on probation.
We are always encouraging our girls to share their own story, what is going on in their world, because they are the only one that can write that poem, tell that story, write that song.
AMANDA GORMAN: In the time where a skinny black girl descended from slaves and raised by a single mother.
TAYLOR: Amanda Gorman joined Write Girl when she was 14.
GORMAN: Dragonflies hum in vibrant fields green (ph).
TAYLOR: When we saw her perform at the inauguration, we could see the same things that we really embody at Write Girl represented in her, confidence, being willing to really be present.
What was really exciting to know was that she represents not only every girl that's ever been in Write Girl, but she also represents every young woman in this country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: A very cool story. And to learn more about Karen Taylor and her work helping young people like Amanda Gorman blaze all kinds of trails and to nominate your own CNN Hero, go to cnnheroes.com.
[08:55:11]
And President Biden will be speaking in just a short time from now about America's pandemic recovery after a disappointing jobs report.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:00:00]
