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The Situation Room

Interview With Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ); Hunt For Escaped Inmates Continues; Security Guard Testifies in Sean 'Diddy' Combs Trial; Job Openings Increase. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired June 03, 2025 - 11:00   ET

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

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PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: Happening now, unexpected good news on jobs. A new report is providing some optimism on the economy.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: We want to welcome our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer with Pamela Brown, and you're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

And we begin this hour with a fresh snapshot of the U.S. economy, framed through the all-important jobs market, and the federal government releasing what economists are calling JOLTS, which stands for Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey.

The big takeaway today...

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BLITZER: Go ahead, Pamela.

BROWN: The number of available jobs increased in April. That was not expected, and signals a potential undercurrent of strength in the labor market, despite nagging concerns about tariffs and the broader economy.

So let's go straight to CNN business and politics correspondent Vanessa Yurkevich in New York.

Vanessa, walk us through this morning's report.

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: This is just another piece of data that signals a resilient job market in the face of economic and trade uncertainty.

The number of job openings in the U.S. has increased by 200,000 from March to April. Economists were expecting the number to actually fall, but there's an increase that we have seen. So there's 7.4 million jobs open. So it's really showing that the job market is adapting in some way to all of this economic and trade uncertainty. Where we saw job increases were in places like arts, entertainment,

and recreation, also mining and lodging, 10,000 jobs opened there, also in information and professional business services, fewer jobs, though, in accommodation and food services. That could be potentially some seasonal change, kind of changing of the times in terms of hiring there, state and local government and education, also fewer openings in that sector.

We did see hiring, though, increase in this report to its highest level in seven months, so companies still bringing people on board. Layoffs, though, we did see jump higher by about 200,000, layoffs coming in sectors like retail trade, transportation, and government. We have been watching the federal government very closely in terms of what's been happening there with jobs because of those DOGE cuts.

We have seen in the month of April a loss of about 4,000 federal government jobs. Also worth noting, Pamela, we watched quit rates, the level at which people are quitting their jobs, because it's a good economic indicator and a gauge of sort of employee confidence. Not a lot of quits, so we're seeing that people are holding on to their jobs, staying where they are, not doing any job changes as they are trying to get further clarity about what this economy looks like.

But this is sort of the first piece of data in a series of data that we're going to be getting this week, culminating with the jobs report on Friday. But what it's painting is a really solid picture of the labor market in the face of just a lot of uncertainty, Pamela.

BROWN: Well, that is very good news, and we will take that.

Vanessa Yurkevich, thank you -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, let's continue this discussion with CNN global economic affairs analyst Rana Foroohar. She's the global business columnist and associate editor for "The Financial Times."

Rana, thanks so much for joining us.

Are you surprised to see job openings growing in April?

RANA FOROOHAR, CNN GLOBAL ECONOMIC ANALYST: I'm a little surprised, but I'm not shocked. I mean, I think there's a few factors in play here.

One, we have to remember that coming out of the pandemic over the last few years, the U.S. had a disproportionately good recovery, and we have had a really, really strong period of growth. So there's a kind of a cushion there that I think takes a while to spin down, even when you have things like the tariff turmoil, the legal issues around that, that are causing a lot of investors to worry.

I'm also interested to hear about the specific sectors that you're seeing gains in. So areas like mining, this is something the Trump administration really wants to promote, domestic energy, domestic natural resources. Media, entertainment, these are areas that are actually seeing upticks in productivity, thanks to a lot of technology investments.

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So that could be a benefit that we're seeing, that even though there's some, say, A.I.-related job destruction, there's also a lot of productivity increases, which could be fueling the labor market in those areas.

But, overall, I think you have to look at this and say U.S. business is still pretty strong. It's adapting. And if we see a really great jobs report on Friday, if we continue to see some good news, that will be interesting, particularly amidst all the rest of the turmoil.

BROWN: Yes, you mentioned the turmoil with all the uncertainty over the president's tariffs, frequently announcing dramatic action, only to later walk it back.

Is that uncertainty fully factored into the job market right now, or are employers still trying to assess?

FOROOHAR: I think it's absolutely day by day.

I mean, I talk to a lot of employers who are waiting longer to do hiring. They might do it, but they're not going to plan three months in advance. They're planning a month in advance, days in advance. I mean, I think everyone is sort of waiting on a knife's edge.

And for every piece of good information, good data, like what we have just seen, you also have some negative information coming out. The OECD, which is the economic body that looks at rich countries, just downgraded the world as a whole, but particularly the U.S., for 2025 and 2026 off the back of tariff worries and also the idea that inflation isn't coming down any time soon, which could make it hard for the Fed to cut rates.

So it's a real push-pull right now. And it's just -- it is almost impossible to say where we're going to be in the next month, let alone this year.

BLITZER: Rana, while we have you, I also want to ask you about the discount retailer here in the U.S. Dollar General. This morning, it raised its annual sales outlook, saying it gained market share from competitors during the latest quarter, both among its core low-income and middle-income consumers.

What is that -- why is that so significant?

FOROOHAR: Well, Dollar General is a real bellwether. Certainly, it's a bellwether that economists often look to for trouble. If sales are falling, that's a real indicator because the working people that shop there tend to be more vulnerable in terms of prices.

But when you see it going up, when you see good news at Dollar General, that's interesting because what that says to me is that more people are looking for bargains. More people are looking to really try and mitigate inflation that is hitting them in their in their pocketbook on food, on consumer goods.

And so, to me, that's interesting. And it's also interesting that it's not just the sort of lowest 25 percent of the income spectrum, but folks a little bit higher up the food chain that are now shopping there.

BROWN: And let's share what Dollar General leaders are saying about raising their earnings outlook.

Quote: "This updated guidance assumes the company will be able to mitigate a significant portion of the potential impact to its cost of goods from tariffs at currently implemented rates, but that consumer spending could be pressured by tariff-related price increases."

So, in other words, if consumers have to bear the cost of these tariffs, all bets are off. Do you agree?

FOROOHAR: Well, 100 percent.

I mean, again, Dollar General is an interesting case study in this, because on the one hand, you're going to see more people going to low- cost shopping to try and buffer. But, at the same time, even companies like this, the Dollar General, the Walmart, they can't completely eat all the costs of the kind of tariffs that we're looking at.

And so that is going to mean inflation, even at the lower end of the consumer spectrum. That is going to be very interesting to watch over the summer, because, if you start seeing dollar stores raising prices, that's an indication that inflation is coming right through into the economy, and that's going to have a big knock-on effect.

It's going to mean that the Fed will have a hard time doing its job.

BROWN: Rana Foroohar, thank you.

FOROOHAR: Thank you.

BROWN: And still ahead: the Sean "Diddy" Combs sex trafficking trial, details on a key witness who is expected on the stand today.

And a new twist in the hunt for two New Orleans escapees, a man claiming to be one of them posting on social media with a plea to President Trump and Lil Wayne.

You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

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BROWN: And happening now, a former hotel security guard is on the stand in Sean "Diddy" Combs' sex trafficking trial.

Eddy Garcia's testimony could provide a backstory to the infamous video that shows Combs assaulting Cassie Ventura at the Intercontinental Hotel in 2016. Combs has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

CNN's Kara Scannell is right outside court.

So what has Garcia testified about so far, Kara?

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Pamela, Eddy Garcia is still on the witness stand and he's testified about how he came to sell this video from the Intercontinental Hotel capturing Combs on tape dragging Cassie Ventura and kicking her to Combs.

And he describes this in great detail. He says that Combs' assistant had called him about an hour into his shift later that day, the same day of the incident in the hotel, and he said that she said she wanted to see the video. He said he told her she couldn't see it. Later, she showed up at the hotel and he met with her and she again asked to see the video.

He told her off the record, it's bad. He said later that day, the same assistant, Kristina Khorram, calls him and passes the phone to Sean Combs. He testified that Combs seemed nervous. He said he was speaking very quickly and Combs said to him that he had too much to drink. "You know how things go with women." He said: "If this got out, it could ruin me."

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The security guard told him he had to contact the general manager and go through the proper channels. But then the security guard testified that he was then reached at home by cell phone by Combs' assistant again, saying that they wanted to see this video and Combs had told him on the phone this time that he would take care of him.

So Garcia said when he went to work, he went to his boss. His boss told him he would do it for $50,000. So Garcia said he called that number back, talked again to Combs, who said: "Eddy, my angel, I knew you could help. I knew you could do it."

Combs gave him an address to go to, and Garcia said he drove over there, went up to this room, met with Combs, who was beaming, was happy to see him, and that they began to get down to business. He said that he handed over this USB drive with the video on it that his boss had given him, and that Combs had then put Cassie Ventura on FaceTime, because Garcia said he was concerned that Ventura might eventually want to report this to the police, and he didn't want to get into any issues.

So Ventura was on FaceTime. According to Garcia, Ventura told him she wanted this to go away too. And then he said that Combs asked for his I.D., as well as the I.D. of the other security guards involved in this. The boss texts those over. He said he gave them to Combs. Combs then left the room and returned with a nondisclosure agreement and an attestation that this was the only copy of the video that existed.

And so Garcia said that he signed both of those documents. Combs left the room, came back again with a brown paper bag and a cash counter. And he said that Combs had stacks of $10,000, ran them through the machine. He said it was a total of $100,000. Even though his boss had agreed to do it for $50,000, he said his understanding was that Combs had said he would take care of him and he did.

So Garcia testified that he left with that $100,000 in his bag, in the brown bag, gave the $50,000 to his boss, and then split the rest with his colleague. He said that Combs then called him about a month or so later at Easter and had said to him: "Eddy, my angel, God is good. God put you in my life for a reason." And he told him to reach out if he ever needed anything -- Pam.

BROWN: So tell us a little bit more about Garcia's testimony and the importance of it to the prosecution's case here, Kara.

SCANNELL: So, what Garcia's testimony is, is showing that the prosecution will argue that Combs had this consciousness of guilt, that he knew that what he had done to Cassie Ventura, kicking her, dragging her, that was caught on tape, was bad and that could ruin him.

This is what the prosecution hopes to use to show this kind of guilty mind-set that Combs had, knowing that this was done illegally, and this all fits into the prosecution's theory that this was about coercion, forcing Ventura into sex trafficking, because, according to them, this occurred right after one of those freak-offs -- Pam.

BROWN: All right, Kara, thank you so much -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, happening now, U.S. Marshals are looking into this video. It shows a man who says he was -- he's one of the escaped New Orleans inmates, Antoine Massey, who's one of the two inmates still on the run right now, more than two weeks after breaking out of jail.

Let's go to CNN senior national correspondent, Ryan Young.

Ryan, what more does this video show and how are officials responding?

RYAN YOUNG, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Wolf, this is quite astonishing, the fact that he goes directly to the camera to plead his case.

This is day 18 in this massive manhunt. You see Antoine Massey. And, of course, Derrick Groves is still on the run as well. But, finally, we get to hear from one of the folks himself as he's talking directly to camera to say, A, he's innocent and, B, he needs help. Take a listen.

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ANTOINE MASSEY, ESCAPED INMATE: If I get back in custody, I'm asking you all please to come help. You feel what I'm saying? I'm asking the world. I'm letting you all know I'm not a raping man. I'm not none of that. None of that. I'm a good person.

I am a father that want to be in my children's life. You know what I'm saying? I want to let the younger youth that going down the route of trying to be a street person is not the route. That's what type of person I am.

My name is Antoine Massey. I'm asking for help. I was one of the ones that was let out of New Orleans Parish jail on May the 16th of May the 15th, 2025. So, please, Meek Mill, Donald Trump, Lil Wayne, please help me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YOUNG: Wolf, something I want to call attention to is there is he said let out. He didn't say escape. And we know for a fact that in several other cases, he's escaped from other facilities, but he did use the word let out.

So that goes back to the conversation about the investigation into that jail and who was behind the scenes maybe helping these inmates as they planned that escape, so many questions still here.

We know that the reward has been raised to $50,000 in terms of any sort of tips that lead to an arrest, two people still on the run. Of course, now that you see him talking directly to camera, police will be able to go through and use the forensics to try to see exactly where that was posted from, what kind of phone was used, maybe a location for what state it was in.

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All this could help them. But we have been calling authorities in four different states, and, as of right now, there have been no credible sightings of them, but at the same time tips still coming in to not only the Marshals Service, but Crime Stoppers in New Orleans -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, Ryan Young reporting for us.

Ryan, thank you very, very much -- Pamela.

BROWN: All right, Wolf, still to come, the growing number of antisemitic attacks across the country, and now some lawmakers worry they could be the next targets of violence.

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BLITZER: We're learning very chilling new details about the suspect in the Boulder, Colorado, attack on a group marching for the release of Israeli hostages.

Authorities say he planned the attack for a year. He's now charged with a hate crime and attempted murder. The Anti-Defamation League, the ADL, says antisemitic incidents are on the rise here in the United States. They're up more than 300 percent over the last five years.

Joining us now is Democratic Congressman Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey.

Congressman, thanks so much for joining us. REP. JOSH GOTTHEIMER (D-NJ): Thanks, Wolf.

BLITZER: Why do you think we're seeing such a dramatic rise in these antisemitic, anti-Jewish incidents?

GOTTHEIMER: Well, Wolf, thanks for having me.

As you pointed out, 2024 was actually the worst year of antisemitic incidents since the ADL began collecting that data. And whether -- it's a combination of factors, Wolf, right? Between social media and extremist groups, we have seen more, not just antisemitic attacks, but more hate in general against communities.

And, Wolf, it's unacceptable to target anyone, target any religion and anyone of any background. But the reality is, what we saw this week in Colorado was just one incident of many, especially antisemitic attacks, in the last weeks, right? In Washington, D.C., two were killed. We saw an attack on the governor's mansion in Pennsylvania.

So these are, unfortunately, all too common.

BLITZER: How do we reverse this trend? What do you think?

GOTTHEIMER: Well, I believe deeply in education, and especially with young people, right? I mean, I think it's very, very important that we teach our kids at an early age about -- in terms of the Jewish faith about the Holocaust, about what happened on October 7, that we understand the facts and history, but also the fact that every community should -- about their history and their background, because that's what makes our country so great, that we're from all over the world and from so many different backgrounds.

And we should celebrate those differences and make sure that we appreciate them. And too often now, because of social media and cable news and other things, we're seeing actually more people attacking others, attacking those differences, instead of celebrating them. And I -- we have got a lot of work to do, Wolf, obviously, not just because of what happened this week, but because of what happens, unfortunately, every day in communities across our country and here in New Jersey.

BLITZER: There were protests when you visited Rutgers University in New Jersey last month, leading to several arrests. As a high-profile Jewish politician, are you concerned for your own safety?

GOTTHEIMER: Well, I definitely think that every elected official has to be careful. I think that's critically important.

But what I'm more concerned about, Wolf, is the safety of the community. And I was at a temple this morning. And what's so unfortunate is that, just to go pray now, you need to have a lot of police outside a temple, right? Or for kids to go to a religious school, you need a lot of law enforcement, because people don't feel safe.

And that's unacceptable in our great country for people to not be able to go to just have religious freedom and feel safe about that. And what we saw at Rutgers and a lot of our colleges is lot of -- a huge surge of these incidents, especially antisemitic incidents.

When I was at Rutgers, as you mentioned, a couple weeks ago, four people were arrested outside where I was speaking. One person assaulted a law enforcement officer with a flagpole with a Palestinian flag on it. That's not who we are as a country. And we obviously should stand up very clearly and make it very clear to everyone there's no place for hate in New Jersey or around our country.

BLITZER: Yes, that's a good point.

I want to give you a reaction to something Rabbi Fred Greene -- he leads a congregation, a synagogue in Boulder, Colorado -- what he told me about what he thinks led to the awful attack in Boulder. Listen to this, Congressman. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RABBI FRED GREENE, CONGREGATION HAR HASHEM: I think the rhetoric that we hear for months and months has been something of concern for all of us, hearing people talk about a globalized intifada, and to think that bringing violence to America's Jewish community is going to help the dignity and save lives of Palestinians is ridiculous and harmful.

And these are the results.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Congressman, do you share the rabbis' concerns?

GOTTHEIMER: Of course I do.

And -- but I also share -- listen, we have seen in extremist pockets, we saw out of -- comments that have come out of the Trump White House and people they have met with and who've had a long history of antisemitism. We have seen it, unfortunately, in all corners of America, this extremist rhetoric.