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CNN Saturday Morning News
WEEKEND EARLY START: Unemployment Rate Falls; New 'Friendly Fire' Theory in Borden Patrol Death; 300 Infected, 5 Dead in Fungal Meningitis Outbreak; Are You Getting the Best Sleep Possible?
Aired October 06, 2012 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: From CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta, this is EARLY START WEEKEND. Glad you're with us.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We found out that the unemployment rate has fallen to its lowest level since I took office.
KAYE (voice-over): A breath of fresh air for the Obama campaign with Friday's jobs report. Jobs are up, unemployment down, but is it too little too late? With 50 million in the U.S. and nearly 24 million eligible to vote, some analysts are saying they might decide the next president. All morning we put the Latino vote in focus.
COMMANDER JEFFREY SELF, CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION: -- investigators have made progress into the investigation into Agent Ivy's death and are looking into the possibility --
KAYE (voice-over): A new theory behind the brutal death of a U.S. Border agent. Why investigators he may have died at the hands of one of his own.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
KAYE: It is Saturday, October 6th, good morning, everyone. I'm Randi Kaye. Victor Blackwell is off.
We begin this morning talking about the new jobs report. The better than expected report has become contentious in a highly charged political atmosphere. First the numbers, then the controversy.
The Labor Department says the unemployment rate fell to 7.8 percent in September, a drop of 0.3 percent from August. The current rate is the lowest level since President Obama took office.
But timing, we all know, is everything. The report comes a month before the election and some Obama administration critics are suggesting the books were cooked.
Jack Welch, a former CEO of General Electric, tweeted this. "Unbelievable jobs numbers...these Chicago guys will do anything. Can't debate, so change numbers."
Welch later came on CNN's "ANDERSON COOPER 360" and said if he had that tweet to do over, again, he would have added one thing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: So many politicians these days are saying like, Michele Bachmann will say something that factually is not correct or is not provable and they will say, well, look, I'm just asking the question.
Is it responsible to say I'm just asking the question, but to say these Chicago guys will do anything -- oh, I'm just asking a question.
JACK WELCH, FORMER CEO, GENERAL ELECTRIC: I should have put a question mark at the end like I did last night.
COOPER: OK.
WELCH: A question mark would have been better at the back of that.
COOPER: OK. So, you are kind of backing away from the Chicago guys part?
(CROSSTALK)
WELCH: I'm not backing away. I'm not backing away from anything.
COOPER: Do you wish you could amend your tweet?
WELCH: I wish I'd made a question mark at the back of it.
The same implications.
ALI VELSHI, CNN HOST: But to say something like this is like Donald Trump saying that President Obama is not an American citizen without any proof.
You are Jack Welch. Jack, you got to take this opportunity while everybody is listening to you to actually say, yes, Anderson, I'm taking that tweet back. I'm going to send a new tweet to say I was exaggerating. There are problems at BLS; maybe you should look into it.
But to actually throw out an accusation, that is like asking the government, how often do you beat your wife?
WELCH: I should have had a question mark, Ali, at the back of it. Let's face it. OK? But the facts are, Ali, no matter how you want to look at this, we had 25 economists polled before this number came out. The average number they expected was about 115,000.
VELSHI: Yes.
WELCH: Not one had a number below 8.1.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Labor Secretary Hilda Solis shot back at the conspiracy theorists in an interview with CNN's Richard Quest.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILDA SOLIS, SECRETARY OF LABOR: I have the highest regard for our professional staff at the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Highly trained, highly skilled Ph.D.s, economists, statisticians, folks that have been working in this area for many years.
And this is methodology that has been used for decades and it is insulting when you hear people just cavalierly say that somehow we are manipulating numbers. I find that very insulting.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Some may feel the latest jobs report gives a boost to the Obama campaign.
Not Mitt Romney; he scanned the numbers and said this is not what a real recovery looks like.
Now our national political correspondent, Jim Acosta, is traveling with the Romney campaign.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT Randi, this news came just as the Romney campaign felt that this race was shifting in its direction. I talked to a senior Romney adviser, who said the new numbers don't change their game plan for winning the election; it's still the economy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA (voice-over): Campaigning in Virginia coal country, Mitt Romney tried to dig through the latest jobs numbers to make the case President Obama has not hit paydirt just yet.
FORMER GOV. MITT ROMNEY, R-MASS., PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There were fewer new jobs created this month than last month, and the unemployment rate, as you know to this year, has come down very, very slowly. But it's come down nonetheless. The reason it's come down this year is primarily due to the fact that more and more people have just stopped looking for work.
ACOSTA (voice-over): Still, one of Romney's key metrics on the president's handling of the economy went up in smoke when the nation's unemployment rate dipped below 8 percent.
ROMNEY: Eight percent unemployment for over, how many, 43 months?
We still have unemployment above 8 percent.
He told us to get us back to work and hold unemployment below 8 percent.
Our unemployment above 8 percent month after month after month.
ACOSTA (voice-over): It's a political bar Romney has repeatedly accused the president of failing to clear for months, a threshold the GOP nominee repeated in his closing statement at the first presidential debate.
ROMNEY: We've had 43 straight months with unemployment above 8 percent. If I'm president, I will create -- help create 12 million new jobs in this country with rising incomes.
ACOSTA (voice-over): But Romney notes the president has fallen short of estimates set by the administration's own economic advisors, who once predicted the stimulus would lower the jobless rate to below 6 percent.
ROMNEY: What's happened is this has been the slowest recovery since the Great Depression. As a matter of fact, he said right now we would be at 5.4 percent unemployment.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: President Obama says he's creating jobs, but he's really creating debt.
ACOSTA (voice-over): And Romney has a new ad out, arguing that the president's job creation efforts have only added to the deficit.
ROMNEY: A couple nights ago we had a debate. You may have had the chance to see that.
ACOSTA (voice-over): Before the new jobs number, Romney had been riding a wave of momentum after this week's debate. He even got a pass from the president, who never mentioned Romney's comments on the 47 percent of Americans who don't pay federal income taxes.
ROMNEY: There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what.
ACOSTA (voice-over): With an Obama campaign ad still repeating those remarks, Romney tried to put an end to the controversy once and for all on FOX.
ROMNEY: Clearly in a campaign with hundreds, if not thousands of speeches and question-and-answer sessions, now and then you're going to say something that doesn't come out right. In this case, (inaudible) it's just completely wrong.
ACOSTA (voice-over): Democrats maintain that tone deafness extends from Main Street to Sesame Street. So, Obama aides sent a protester in a Big Bird outfit to Romney's event in Virginia to mock his call to end funding for PBS.
Romney will spend part of the weekend in debate prep, the other part hitting the president on the economy, as a senior Romney adviser put it, "Weak job growth should not be the new normal -- Randi.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Jim Acosta, thank you very much.
And now to that shooting that killed a U.S. Border Patrol agent. The FBI now thinks he may have died by friendly fire. KAYE: Thirty-year-old Nicholas Ivy was shot and killed this week in Arizona. Officials say shell casings found at the scene were fired by Ivy and another agent, who was wounded.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SELF: As you know, investigators have made progress into the investigation into Agent Ivy's death and are looking into the possibility that it was a tragic accident, the result of friendly fire.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Ivy is the third Border Patrol agent killed in the line of duty this year.
And in Colorado, an Amber Alert has been issued after a 10-year-old girl disappeared on her way to school. This is a picture of her. Take a look here. The search was delayed because the girl's mother didn't immediately know she was missing.
The mother, who works the night shift, slept through calls from school officials saying that she had not arrived. Police have searched the surrounding area but, so far, nothing.
The number of cases of fungal meningitis is growing. The CDC reports 47 people have been infected, 12 more than its last update.
But as many as 300 people were injected with the tainted steroid that is spreading the disease. It was distributed in 23 states, but now has been recalled; five people have died.
Our chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, has much more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Randi, it's worth pointing out again that we're talking about fungal meningitis as opposed to bacterial meningitis or the most common form of meningitis, which is viral meningitis. That's the type that you typically hear about being spread, for example, on college campuses.
Fungal meningitis can be very serious. If there's any good news about it, it's that it's not very contagious typically. In this case, they now know that it was actually people got this because they were -- they -- it was injected into them through a contaminated steroid injection.
(voice-over): What happened was that the manufacturer of the medication sends these drugs to a compounding facility to divvy up the doses or to concentrate the doses. And then contamination occurred and the medication was sent to several different clinics and hospitals around the country.
Obviously, the numbers are pretty significant, and they're probably going to go up, in part, because it takes a while for people to get sick. Take a look there.
Up to 28 days before someone actually develops symptoms, and then they can develop all sorts of things that are consistent with the pretty -- with the really bad meningitis.
They could have stroke-like symptoms -- weakness or numbness on one side of the body or the other -- swelling near the injection site and then, ultimately, everything that is consistent with an inflammation around the brain and spinal cord -- headaches, back pain, neck pain.
And as you know, they can eventually lapse into unconsciousness, Randi, and even die.
The goal is now, identify all those patients who have received injections; make sure no more injections are given and, if people are having any symptoms, to make sure they get treated and get treated quickly.
Randi, back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: Sanjay, thank you very much.
And you can see more of Dr. Sanjay Gupta on his show today at 4:30 Eastern time on "SANJAY GUPTA, M.D."
The battle for the Latino vote is on. We'll look at why the presidential campaigns covet this voting bloc in one key state where Latino voters could decide the election.
Plus, we'll tell you about a photo that has turned into a full-blown cause. Military wives have found a way to draw attention to an issue they say is destroying the men they love.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Welcome back.
We are exactly one month from Election Day now. So, we want to take a closer look at one group of voters that could be the key to the outcome: Latino voters. With growing numbers, Latinos have become a major target for both campaigns and here's why.
There are around 23 million eligible Latino voters, up 22 percent from 2008. In Florida alone, there are more than a million. That's a state where the winning margin was just a fraction of that in 2008.
And here's one other important fact: Latino voters are younger -- 32 percent of eligible Latino voters are between the ages of 18 and 29. That's compared to 25 percent of African-Americans and 19 percent of white voters.
So, now, you can understand why courting Latinos has been such a high priority for both candidates.
CNN's Ed Lavandera has more on the growing diversity among Latino voters and how both candidates are tailoring their messages.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Roll out the mariachi band, a few dancers and sprinkle in some politicians and you got yourself a little old political rally courting Latino voters, right?
Well, that kind of image doesn't work like it used to. In fact, political strategists have a name for it: mariachi politics.
LEONARD RODRIGUEZ, POLITICAL STRATEGIST: You do a big event and you have got the Hispanics behind you and you have got the mariachis and, you know, the canastas and it just seems like they're reaching for something and trying to portray an image that's really not there. Photo with the president on my last day.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): Leonard Rodriguez coordinated Latino voter outreach strategy for George W. Bush's presidential campaigns.
We met in his San Antonio home.
LAVANDERA: How do candidates fall into this pitfall of appearing like they're pandering to this voting bloc?
RODRIGUEZ: Talking one way to one group of individuals, a predominantly white group of individuals, and then going into the next event and talking predominantly to a group of Hispanic individuals.
It forces the candidate to look out there and know that he is now talking and delivering a message that has to bring these two groups of people together.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): Television ads offer a snapshot to President Obama and Mitt Romney's strategy in courting Latino voters.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking Spanish.)
LAVANDERA (voice-over): The Obama campaign is using Latino celebrities targeting specific issues like education, immigration and even the appointment of Sonya Sotomayor as the first Hispanic justice on the Supreme Court.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking Spanish.)
LAVANDERA (voice-over): The Romney campaign is using family.
Mitt Romney's son, Craig, who speaks fluent Spanish, talks about American values and bipartisanship.
Juan Tornoe is the chief marketing officer of cultural strategies. He's analyzed the candidates' Latino marketing strategies and sees Obama and Romney targeting specific groups in the Latino community, Romney chasing the more conservative Cuban-American vote, Obama focusing on Puerto Rican and Mexican-American votes.
But Tornoe says to get these votes, the message doesn't have to be delivered in Spanish.
JUAN TORNOE, CULTURAL STRATEGIST: We have to keep in mind that the Latino community is not monolithic and there's Latinos who are bilingual and prefer to assess (ph) information in English. So you have to reach Latinos not only in language, but also in culture.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): Recent polls show President Obama has a commanding lead among Latinos nationwide, but it's the Latinos in battleground states like Nevada, Colorado and Florida that Mitt Romney needs to win over.
The fight is on -- Ed Lavandera, CNN, San Antonio, Texas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: And we'll be looking at the impact of Latino voters throughout the morning.
Next hour, the economy, not immigration, is issue number one among Latinos. So how does that play into the campaign? We'll get some perspective from the Democratic National Committee's press secretary.
And remember, be sure to tune in for a special CNN documentary, "Latino in America: Courting Their Vote." It's hosted by Soledad O'Brien tomorrow night, 8:00 pm Eastern time.
A man who once called Osama bin Laden a hero and has a hook for a hand has just arrived in the U.S. Hear what's next for the suspected terrorist.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: This just in to CNN: just hours ago suspected terrorist Abu Hamza al-Masri arrived in the U.S. after he was extradited from London. Take a look here. You see him right there. He has a hook for a hand. You saw it there.
He and four others are wanted for several crimes committed against the U.S. in the 1990s, like allegedly kidnapping tourists and conspiring to build a jihadist training camp in Oregon. Some of them are expected to appear in court tomorrow.
In Turkey, two Tunisians are being questioned in connection with that deadly consulate attack in Libya last month.
An officials says the Tunisians were on a watch list given to Turkey by the U.S. They are being questioned at the request of the U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta says there is a connection between the two and the attack, but no specifics just yet. That attack killed four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens.
Thousands gathering in the streets of Amman, Jordan, making a plea for reforms to the constitution after King Abdullah II dissolved parliament and called for new elections. Protesters say the king has too much power, but an analyst says any change to the current system could weaken support among his base. Now, to Syria where two major stories are developing.
First, Turkish soldiers responded with counterfire today when a shell from Syria landed near a village in Turkey's Hatay (ph) province. Remember earlier this week five people were killed in Turkey when a shell crossed the border from Syria.
This is the fourth day the two countries have exchanged fire.
The other story that we're following: a YouTube video shows rebel officers holding 48 people hostage, their lives clearly in danger.
Joining us now is Nick Paton Walsh, who is following this story from Beirut, Lebanon.
Nick, good morning. Let's start with the story in Turkey. What is being done to stop the conflict and prevent more shelling?
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is actually what is so worrying here. This appears to now -- as you say, it's in its fourth consecutive day of exchanges of fire between Turkish and Syrian forces.
This most recent one, according to local Turkish officials, they believe the Syrian army was trying to hit rebels on the border, overreached and then landed near a village on the Turkish side.
Despite the fact the primacy here has tried to calm this down, despite the fact Turkey said it's not looking for war and Syria's offered condolences but actually stopped short of a public apology on the ground, that thought of war seems to be causing this to go on now for four days.
Perhaps it's a little out of control; you might begin to fear and certainly Turkish residents on their side terrified, seeing their forests on fire and hearing the rattle of gunfire, this war certainly spreading over that border, Randi.
KAYE: And, Nick, what are the Syrian officials saying about the shelling? I mean, because obviously, there is a great concern this could turn into a much bigger problem.
WALSH: Certainly. I mean, the Syrian officials have been holding out the possibility that they -- what they refer to as terrorist groups -- that's rebels in everybody else's vocabulary -- may have been behind this, although it's been pretty clear from the statement from the Turkish and even the Russians that it may well have been the Syrian army that fired the shell that started all this off four days ago.
But the Syrians are holding out the possibility that there's (inaudible) war there may have caused these shells to be fired by the rebels. And, of course, there are great concerns now.
I'm sure that rebel commander is thinking, well, if we fire shells into Turkey, we initiate a Turkish response and I'm -- cynical me suggests that, but I'm sure there will be fears that this is risk is increasingly out of control as the days go by, Randi.
KAYE: And let's talk about that video with the hostages that we showed a moment ago.
What are the rebels' demands and is there a timetable?
WALSH: There's a very clear timetable and it seems to be expiring 'round about now, certainly this evening. The video was released -- it would have been about 40, 38 hours ago from now, and the demands were very clear, but almost, I think, impossible for the Syrian regime to meet. T
Those rebels wanted to see release of their prisoners held by the Syrian regime and also wanted to see the cessation of civilian casualties as a result of Syrian army shelling. Now those two things are very hard to achieve in 48 hours, if at all. That deadline nearing and I think many concerned that this evening may hear some bad news.
KAYE: Has Iran spoken out about the video at all?
WALSH: Iran has just released a statement, its foreign ministry urging international bodies to do everything they can to ensure the quick release of these 48 men. But to be honest, it's -- that itself is not really going to change conditions.
Nobody knows where they are being held. And certainly the group who released this video very adamant in their goal and wanting to kill one Iranian hostage for every Syrian civilian death, which these 48 men now, given hundreds die every day in this war, may well not see the end of the weekend, Randi.
KAYE: That is a very, very difficult situation.
Nick, thank you very much, appreciate that.
And back here in the U.S., Mitt Romney campaigns in Florida today, fresh off the momentum of his debate win.
But did Americans really learn anything new from that debate? And did the new job numbers slow his momentum?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: It is half past the hour, welcome back, everyone. I'm Randi Kaye; Victor is off today. Thanks for starting your day with us. Here are five stories that we're watching this morning.
First up, the meningitis outbreak in the U.S. is spreading. Forty- seven people have been infected in seven states; five people have now died. The cause of the outbreak is believed to be contaminated steroids that were injected into the spine at medical clinics. Clinics in 23 states received the contaminated drugs. Doctors are trying to determine which patients received injections.
In Massachusetts, a scandal taking shape at a state drug lab. Chemist Annie Dookhan is accused of faking drug results, forging paperwork and mishandling thousands of drug samples over almost a decade. The fallout could be enormous with potentially thousands of cases called into question. We'll have much more on this story in our next hour.
Cleanup crews work deep into the night Friday after a massive afternoon pileup injured 52 on I-75 in Florida. Some 2 dozen of those involved in the crash were hospitalized, three of them critically. None of the injuries was considered to be life-threatening. Police say an afternoon thunderstorm was a contributing factor in that pileup.
In sports, well, there was plenty of wild in the Braves-Cardinals wild card playoff game Friday in Atlanta. The game was delayed 18 minutes in the bottom of the 8th inning when fans flooded the field with debris. They were incensed after a controversial infield fly rule call. St. Louis beat Atlanta, 6-3, eliminating the Braves in Chipper Jones' last game.
And it started with one photo on a Facebook page. Now, hundreds of military wives around the world have joined the effort called Battle Bare. Their goal is to draw more attention to posttraumatic stress disorder and break the silence on a condition they say is crippling their husbands returning from war.
Mitt Romney campaigns in the battleground state of Florida this weekend, a must-win swing state. He is fresh off a strong performance in this week's debate against the president, but could the good news on the latest job numbers released Friday overshadow his momentum?
Joining me now is Republican strategist and CNN contributor, Ana Navarro.
Ana, good morning. Unemployment drops to 7.8 percent last month, the lowest since the president took office. Employers add 114,000 jobs, a pretty big boost for the president.
So what do you think? Will this hurt Romney's momentum?
ANA NAVARRO, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: You know, Randi, I just don't see it that way. I think that jobless rate and the unemployment numbers should not have a party label. You know, I don't root for the red team or the blue team when it comes to that, I root for the home team.
And I think the best thing anybody in politics can do, anybody in America can do, is be happy that the unemployment numbers went down.
Is it what President Obama promised when he was Candidate Obama four years ago? No.
But is it better than where we've been for the last 40 months? Yes.
But, you know, I also think that we're going to see how this momentum thing plays out, because we have got so very many events coming one right after the other. We have a vice presidential debate in a few days, followed by another presidential debate. So we've got a lot to see yet. KAYE: It is widely agreed, speaking of debates, that Mitt Romney won the first debate, but did Americans, particularly undecided voters, really get the whole story? Because CNN did some fact checking on comments made at the debate this week. And I want you to listen to this on the topic of the deficit, first.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN BERMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Mitt Romney claims that even with his tax cuts, he will not add to the deficit.
ROMNEY: My number one principle is there will be no tax cut that adds to the deficit. I won't put in place a tax cut that adds to the deficit. That's part one.
So there's no economist can say Mitt Romney's tax plan adds $5 trillion if I say I will not add to the deficit with my tax plan.
My plan is not to put in place any tax cut that will add to the deficit.
BERMAN: We want to look at the facts here, again. Mitt Romney has not laid out specifics for how he would pay for his tax cut. He says it's by reducing deductions and closing loopholes, but he hasn't said which or how many. So, the verdict here is simply incomplete. We just don't know.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: That was John Berman reporting there for us.
One way, though, is that -- Romney has said that he would actually pay for this reduced revenue is by capping itemized deductions, but there are still so few specifics. I mean, he floated the idea of capping deductions at 17,000 and on debate night he floated the idea of capping them at 25,000 or 50,000. Don't voters need to know and deserve to know what it is going to be at this point?
NAVARRO: I think he's going to have to give more specifics, certainly. A debate may not be the best platform to give such specifics because the answers are supposed to be short and, frankly, Randi, he was able to get away with not giving as many specifics and still win the debate because President Obama didn't press him on it.
I think the new thing that voters saw in that debate was his temperament and just the fact that he was able to go out there, toe- to-toe with the President of the United States, and not only hold his own, but frankly dominate that debate. That was the new thing and unexpected thing for voters, who all expected before this debate for President Obama to win.
KAYE: Let's talk about the 47 percent. We all know before the debate Romney was caught on tape, writing off nearly half of Americans as Obama supporters, saying that they rely on the government for handouts.
But after the debate, he made this about-face. Listen to what he told Sean Hannity on FOX.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROMNEY: Clearly in a campaign with hundreds, if not thousands of speeches and question-and-answer sessions, now and then you're going to say something that doesn't come out right. In this case, I said something that is just completely wrong.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Completely wrong. Now, why wait 17 days? I mean, is this an attempt to reconnect with voters, maybe, after that damage had been done?
NAVARRO: I hope it is. And I also think it means that he's feeling very comfortable about the Republican base.
You know, we saw him do things in the debate, Randi, like, for example, talk about his health care plan in Massachusetts, own it. It's one of the first times we have seen him do that. And I think it means he's now going towards independents.
I can't tell you how happy I am to see him say that he misspoke, that it was completely wrong, that statement about the 47 percent, because I know there are Republicans like me, who do feel it was wrong. And there's also a lot of Romney-voting Republicans within that 47 percent.
And, you know what, this happens. It happens in a long campaign. It happens in life. We have all said things at some point that come out wrong and that we regret, and the right thing to do is to admit it and own up to it and move on.
KAYE: Ana Navarro, thank you -- and thanks for waking up early with us, we appreciate it.
NAVARRO: Thank you, very fun to be with you, Randi.
KAYE: Thank you.
Well, last month the unemployment rate dropped, and more than 100,000 jobs were added to the economy. But what do these numbers actually mean for Americans? And which companies are hiring? More after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Welcome back, 40 minutes past the hour now.
In what might be some good news for those of you looking for a job, the unemployment rate is at its lowest level in more than three years. It's down to 7.8 percent. Employers also added 114,000 jobs last month.
So what do these numbers mean for the economy? I asked CNN's business correspondent Alison Kosik if this is good news.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Just OK news. You know, if you want it to be positive, take a look at this. We were losing 800,000 jobs a month during the depths of the recession and for the past two years we have been adding jobs. That is good news right there.
So you flip over the coin, though, and the fact of the matter is, we're not -- the job creation that is going on isn't strong enough. We have yet to gain back what we lost during the recession. Also the biggest gains -- job gains in September were actually in part-time jobs.
What we really need to see are more full-time jobs being added. But you know what, there are good things going on in the economy. Housing is recovering. Consumer confidence is picking up. Spending is rebounding. So you know what, there are a lot of positive signs in the economy, but it's certainly not full steam ahead, especially when you talk about the job market.
KAYE: Right. And as you mentioned, housing is up, which is great, and consumer confidence. But let's talk about the jobs a little more.
Where are the jobs?
KOSIK: And many areas, Randi, are hiring. You look at the health care fields, 44,000 jobs were added there. Not such a huge surprise because the health care field is really more recession proof than many others. Health care added more than 300,000 jobs over the past year, not just in hospitals, though; ambulance services, too.
OK. Also transportation and warehousing seeing job gains there of 17,000; financial industry, which has really been hit hard lately, added another 13,000 jobs.
But a real big area is retail. Now what is interesting is that it didn't make the top five list of sectors hiring in September, but it will certainly make the top five list in the coming months because of the holidays.
A bunch of these big box stores are hiring by the thousands, like Target, Macy's and Kohl's, you know, they're hiring sales associates, at distribution centers, you know, many of these places are hiring more than they did last holiday season because the hope is that, as consumer confidence picks up, so would spending. At least that's the hope.
KAYE: And those jobs for the holidays, those aren't reflected in what we're seeing today.
KOSIK: Well, those holiday positions, I mean, some places actually have begun hiring, so maybe some of it may be reflected. But you're really going to see the bulk of that hiring done, you know, toward the end of the year and then next year when you sort of look at the labor report in the (inaudible).
(CROSSTALK)
KAYE: Right. And in terms of the unemployment rate, I mean, it was expected to stay at 8.1 percent but it ended up falling to 7.8 percent.
Does that really show, Alison, more people at work or just more people that have given up and just completely stopped looking for a job?
KOSIK: Well, what it shows is that more people said -- during this survey, by the way, it's a phone survey where the Department of Labor calls people. So, what people said was that they were back in the labor force and more people said they were employed.
But it's important not to confuse that 7.8 percent unemployment rate and 114,000 jobs. These are two different surveys that the government takes.
And that's why you look at the unemployment rate, it fell so much, even though job growth was OK, it kind of doesn't jive, right? Because that's because they're two different surveys. So you look at the unemployment rate, it fell because, once again, when asked, almost 900,000 more people said they had jobs in September compared to August.
But most economists say, you know what, Randi, the more important number is that 114,000 number because that shows job creation. And it's really not enough right now. You need to see a lot more hiring going on as far as, maybe, you know, 200,000 to 300,000 every month to really, you know, to really gain momentum in the jobs area.
Want to learn more about the new job numbers and who is hiring? Make sure to check out CNNMoney.com.
If you're waking up this morning, but not quite feeling 100 percent, we may have some tips that can get you back to your best.
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KAYE: Welcome back. If you're not feeling rested this morning, we might be able to help you.
If you are getting plenty of sleep and you're not feeling recharged, well, you may not be getting that quality sleep.
Fitness and nutrition expert Mark MacDonald is here with some simple steps that could help all of us. He's also the author of "Body Confidence."
All right, so, you write in your book, know the hours of sleep that you need. Right? So is eight still the standard?
MARK MACDONALD, NUTRITIONIST AND AUTHOR: That's the starting point. Reality is, sleep is genetic. So, like I need about six to seven hours to feel great, where my wife, Abbi (ph), needs about eight to nine. So you have to go back to a point where you felt like, OK, when I slept this amount of hours, I felt fantastic. That's where you start from, because it all depends on your quality of sleep, how deep you get.
KAYE: Now in this business, certainly -- and a lot of other people, I'm sure -- our schedules are so erratic. So how important is a set sleep schedule and consistency?
MACDONALD: You know, we were just talking about this, how big it is, because your body craves balance and consistency. So the best thing with the sleep schedule is great. Like think of a kid, when a kid has a set sleep schedule, they're going to be much better.
And that's when they're cranky, when they're tired. So ideally what you want to do is wake up around the same time each day and then go to sleep around the same time each night.
Now, when you can't do that and you actually stay up too late, still wake up at the same time; you can make your sleep up. Just go to bed a little bit earlier the next night and eventually you'll make up that deficit.
KAYE: Oh, you can make it up?
MACDONALD: It's huge.
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MACDONALD: Yes, that's the biggest thing.
KAYE: How about napping? does that help you make it up?
MACDONALD: Napping helps, if it's consistent. But if you nap during the day and then it's going to make you go to bed later, so if you're not napping at the same time each day, it's not as good. So ideally, you can make up sleep. Just go to bed a little bit earlier and still wake up at the same time, roughly, each day.
KAYE: OK. So, you brought some props with you. These look very familiar to me, I will admit.
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KAYE: These are things that can help you sleep better. Walk me through some of them.
MACDONALD: Yes, it's all about quality. So we talk about your sleep is cycles. So you have light sleep, then deep sleep, then dream, like your REM sleep. So ideally what you want to do is with your light sleep aspect or your deep sleep, you want to have a dark environment -- so dark environment releases a hormone, melatonin, which is your sleep hormone -- and a quiet environment.
KAYE: And that, you put it on, over your eyes and it really blocks it. MACDONALD: Yes, when it's light out, your body inhibits the release of melatonin. In a dark environment, yes, your sleep hormone, you release it. In a quiet environment, you want to make sure that you have a quiet environment because that interrupts your sleep cycles, too.
KAYE: OK. So maybe some ear plugs --
MACDONALD: Ear plugs --
KAYE: -- or white noise maybe?
MACDONALD: Ear plugs, or like white noise, but when you sleep with the TV on, set the alarm so 20 minutes later, it turns off automatically.
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KAYE: (Inaudible) it's a constant battle at my house.
All right, just very quickly, an alarm clock, you say?
MACDONALD: Alarm clock, so ideally you wake up without an alarm clock. If you need it, use it initially. But ideally you want to wake up without it and you want a good pillow, right here, so that you have the proper biomechanics.
KAYE: OK. That is a great looking pillow. Pretty comfortable?
MACDONALD: Tempur-Pedic, it's fantastic. It keeps your body lying correctly -- optimum sleep.
KAYE: All right. So the thing is just try and get as much as you can, napping is OK, but don't throw off your sleep schedule. That's the bottom line.
MACDONALD: Get a schedule, get a schedule. High quality -- it's not about doing more; it's about having the highest quality sleep possible.
KAYE: Take some vacation time. Sleep a lot.
All right, Mark, thank you. Nice to see you.
MACDONALD: Thanks, Randi.
KAYE: Just before the election -- two days, to be exact -- a new movie about the raid that killed Osama bin Laden will air on the National Geographic Channel and it's being distributed by producer Harvey Weinstein, a major backer of President Obama.
So I asked our entertainment correspondent Nischelle Turner about the timing of this movie and the criticism.
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NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That is what people are talking about right now and this certainly has a lot of people asking questions, the timing of this.
Now, this movie is called "Seal Team Six: The Raid on Osama Bin Laden." It's what the Nat Geo Network calls the first fact-based film it has ever aired.
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TURNER (voice-over): Now, like you alluded to, what has everyone paying attention to this is that it's a movie distributed by The Weinstein Company and Harvey Weinstein is a well-known President Obama fundraiser and supporter here in Hollywood.
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TURNER: Now this is only airing on television on Sunday, November 4th. But that's just 48 hours before Election Day.
Now, there is a similar movie, Randi --
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TURNER (voice-over): -- that dramatizes the bin Laden raid, and that movie is "Zero Dark Thirty." This has been in production for several months. This movie has been criticized in some circles as being what people are calling propaganda for the Obama administration.
So, the filmmakers of that movie decided, here's what we're going to do. We're going to move the release of this movie until after the election.
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TURNER: But, Randi, you know, this movie on the Nat Geo Network seems to have come out of nowhere and landed a TV slot. And you know with the Weinstein backing, they had to figure that this was going to raise a lot of questions, especially right before the election.
KAYE: So, you know, a lot of people look at this, though, and they think, well, this could be just one really long campaign ad.
TURNER: Yes, you know, and that's what I'm sure the Romney campaign and the Republicans are saying, we don't like this, because it could. It very well could.
But, here's the thing. It is on the Nat Geo Network. So it's not like it's a theatrical release; it's not like it's on a major network. It is on a cable channel, a little cable channel, but with Harvey Weinstein's backing, you can bet it that it is going to get a lot of publicity.
KAYE: Could Nat Geo face any long-term repercussions as a result of this?
TURNER: You know, I doubt it only because Nat Geo is seen to kind of be the vehicle. So s sometimes, you know, if you buy ad space or you buy time on a network and they put out a product, then that's kind of what happens.
And it's not -- we haven't seen it, and they do call it a fact-based film. So, it's almost like we have to wait to pass judgment, to see what it is all about. So, you know, I don't think they're going to get hammered for airing this, but, the timing, well, you can certainly ask questions.
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KAYE: And for the latest entertainment news, check out CNN.com/entertainment.
It's a group precious to the presidential candidates in this election.
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KAYE (voice-over): Next hour, our focus on Latino voters and the power of their vote.
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KAYE: But first, the best of "Late Night Laughs" coming your way, next.
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KAYE: We have all the news you missed overnight in just two minutes. But first we end this hour with some "Late Night Laughs."
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JAY LENO, NBC HOST: Well, the consensus is Mitt Romney won the presidential debate last night.
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LENO: Yes, he did. The only people that thought Obama won, the replacement refs. Those are the only ones.
JIMMY FALLON, NBC HOST: After months of build-up, last night was the first presidential debate at the University of Denver. Of course, a lot of big names didn't show up to the event -- Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, President Obama. No, he just didn't --
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BILL MAHER, HBO HOST: Get on the reality page. I'm sorry, he sucked. He looked tired. He had trouble getting his answers out. Looks like he took my million and spent it all on weed.
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JIMMY KIMMEL, ABC HOST: Mitt Romney, on the other hand, seemed downright human. He really did. He was relaxed before the debate.
This is Mitt and his wife, Ann, watching their son playing a rousing game of Jenga.
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KIMMEL: This is real. We didn't make this up. They're playing -- and look how much fun they are having. Have you ever seen a person enjoy watching another person play Jenga as much as the Romneys are here? He's having a dynamite time.
I guess when you don't drink or smoke, Jenga kicks ass.
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MAHER: No, 7.8 percent -- lowest numbers in three years. Naturally Republicans today said it was a lie, a fake and a conspiracy. They did. The conservative "Washington Examiner" said unemployed people are claiming they have jobs to make Obama look good -- I swear -- so he can stay in power and give them more unemployment checks that they will never get because they say they have jobs.
Poor people, you are good. You are good. You are, oh, I can't even follow that.
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KAYE: Thanks for starting your morning with us. We have got much more ahead on "CNN SATURDAY MORNING," which starts right now.
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