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Jobless Rates Falls to 7.7 Percent; Bin Laden Son-in-Law in Court Today; Bin Laden Son-in-Law in Court Next Hour; Vatican to Announce Conclave Date; 236,000 Jobs Added in February

Aired March 8, 2013 - 09:00   ET

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


DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Next right here in the NEWSROOM, your paycheck, your nest egg, your neighborhood, this morning, new numbers giving us a better picture of the economy and where it is heading.

Picking the next Pope. It's a long and specific process and in just a few hours the Vatican will make a major announcement revealing the date of the conclave.

During the spring break crush many south Florida beaches closed because of sharks.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Good morning, everyone. I'm Don Lemon. Carol is off today.

We're going to begin this hour with big news on the economy. Just minutes ago we learned that U.S. employers added many more jobs than expected last month, 236,000 in all. Experts had predicted about 170,000. That drops the unemployment rate to 7.7 percent.

We're covering all the angles for you and how they impact your wallet. Christine Romans breaks down the numbers, Dan Lothian is at the White House with the political implications, Alison Kosik looks ahead at the ripples on Wall Street.

Christine, first to you. What's the big takeaway from these new numbers?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: The takeaway here is the private sector is hiring again. I mean, the private sector is hiring and the government sector is laying off. There were 10,000 government sector jobs laid off in the month, most likely those were school jobs, school related jobs, but the private sector has been hiring now for more than 30 some months, and so you're seeing despite worries about gas prices, despite worries about the higher payroll tax holiday hurting consumers, that there's -- for some reasons, you've got companies that are feeling a little bit more confident.

There were some tax season jobs in there, I can tell you. There were some healthcare jobs and construction jobs. Very interesting, the construction jobs, it's been several months in a row of that. Economists are telling us this morning that's because of a recovering housing market. At first they thought maybe it was Hurricane Sandy and some storm rebuilding that was behind a lot of those construction jobs and now they're saying they do think it was indeed because of the housing market.

A couple of things to add here. You have the unemployment rate drops in part because 130,000 people just simply left the labor market. They weren't finding something for them, they stopped looking and left the labor market. You still have eight million people, Don, who are employed part time but want to be employed full time. They would like to be working more, they'd like to be working a better job but they're working part-time because there isn't anything for them there. We need to see some improvements in that.

But over all, with the downward revision last month and then this month, 236,000 jobs created this shows -- this shows forward momentum in the jobs market -- Don.

LEMON: All right, Christine Romans, thank you very much.

Now let's head to Wall Street.

By the time the Closing Bell rang yesterday the Dow set a record high, 14329. It was a third day in a row for a record finish, so where is it headed this hour?

Alison Kosik at the New York Stock Exchange.

So, Alison, will today's jobless numbers impact trading, you think?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: You can definitely count on that especially with this upside surprise. This report was certainly a big beat, at least that's the way Wall Street sees it. We certainly saw the reaction in market futures, they went from 40 points for the Dow, all the way up to 100. Expect about a 70-point higher open for the Dow when the bell rings in about a half hour, Don.

And you know what, we can look at how this trend has been for the jobs report as the jobs reports have kind of held their own. The markets also reacted in tandem, you know, having a pretty good reaction to those better than expected numbers. There was even a triple-digit rally when that January jobs number came out.

You know, it really does seem to be the path of least resistance lately, meaning that upward trend especially with the Dow breaking new record every single day this week. You know, one analyst puts it this way, he says, as we get further and further from the crisis, confidence continues to build. And everybody has this thought where they want to kind of get on this train before it leaves the station.

It's kind of hard to find the bears out there but they are out there because, Don, I did talk with one trader who says he expects to see the market pull back around 10 to 15 percent by the summer, but that's by the summer, so we'll just enjoy today, at least today's gains -- Don.

LEMON: All right. Alison, we'll be watching, you will for sure. We'll get back to you.

These job numbers will no doubt have political implications. White House correspondent Dan Lothian, he joins us now.

Dan, these numbers have to help the president's approval rating and his fight over forced spending cuts.

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: They certainly might. I mean, I think the White House will see these numbers as encouraging. Now typically every month when these numbers come out they will release a statement. We expect that to happen within the hour. But, you know, the president has been talking now for quite some time that the economy is moving in the right direction, that it's pointed in that right trajectory that will see these numbers as supporting that, that some of their policies that they've put in place helping to turn the economy around, help for small businesses, help for housing, changing the overall climate giving some of these business owners the incentive to start hiring, and so they'll point to those numbers as well.

And the other thing that you've heard from this administration over the last few weeks is that this concern of these cuts and what that could mean to the economic recovery, that was something that the president played up quite a bit and was part of sort of that dark rhetoric that they did tone down saying that if these cuts went forward, that it could really stall the economic recovery, so we expect the president and the statement of the White House and the statement today to talk about encouraging news but at the same time point out that there's still a long way to go.

And then up on Capitol Hill we expect Republicans to say what they've been saying, every time these numbers come out, but yes, if the unemployment drops, that's good news but it's still at 7.7 percent and it's been at that level or above for way too long -- Don.

LEMON: All right. Just at the bottom of the hour we're expecting of course the market will open. We're going to check back and see how it affects the job numbers and how it affects the market these new job numbers. So make sure you join us then. Bottom of the hour when the bell rings.

In the meantime, Bill Clinton, taking a very public stand against the Defense of Marriage Act which he signed into law in 1996. The legislation defines marriage as between a man and a woman. Now Clinton wants the Supreme Court to declare it unconstitutional.

In an opinion piece to "The Washington Post," Clinton questions if the act goes against the principles of freedom, equality and justice. He writes, "As a president who signed the act into law, I have come to believe that the Defense of Marriage Act is contrary to those principles and in fact incompatible with our Constitution."

Residents along the northeast still battling the latest blast of winter weather. You could see it in Dan Lothian's live shot there. Lots of wind. From New York to New England, snow expected to turn to rain as temperatures rise before clearing out tomorrow. Wind gusts of up to 40 miles per hour also likely.

Meteorologist Samantha Mohr joins us now. Samantha, parts of Connecticut and Massachusetts, as well, have had more than a foot of snow. Have had more than a foot of snow. Any relief in sight?

SAMANTHA MOHR, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, it's going to be a while. It's going to be a long day in Boston, Don, because snow is coming down. It's being reported as heavy snow at this hour with those north winds close to 20. So it's blowing that snow around and it is accumulating all across New England. Not so much in New York City. I think that will be the scenario as it turns to rain and things taper off.

But here's the scenario with that low out to sea and all those moisture. This is the water vapor satellite imagery. It's a great tool to show us where all that moisture is entrenched in these bands and that is still moving into New England right now. So we're still going to see snow in some of these spots that will get some heavy snow including the Boston area throughout the day.

It looks like it'll probably be around dinnertime, 6:00, 7:00, before this tapers off and we'll continue to see the snowfall amounts really accumulating here as well. You can see in Long Island the snow is coming down, too.

So we still have winter storm warnings in pink, winter weather advisories in the purple, blowing snow, and the heavily accumulations where you see the winter storm warnings in place here in Worcester, where they've really seen it pile up well over a foot across those neighborhoods there.

And we're concerned about the high surf with that counterclockwise flow around the low that pushes the water right into the shore, so still a coastal flood warning here for parts of Long Island and the Boston, Massachusetts, coast. So we're going to have to keep it on that. It's likely to be worse today than it was yesterday and it's peaking right now.

LEMON: Samantha, thank you very much. We appreciate it.

Just ahead here in the NEWSROOM, he is Osama bin Laden's son-in-law and now he is in custody -- in the custody of the United States and in less than an hour this man will make his first court appearance.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: I want to check our top stories right now. And I want you to look at your television. Look at these pictures. This is coming in from Plum Island, Massachusetts. Yes, that is a home. Yes, it -- it's teetering on the edge, it is falling into the ocean, it's because of that big winter storm that's hitting the northeast right now. This home teetering on the edge about to fall into the Atlantic. These pictures courtesy of our affiliate WCVB.

You heard our meteorologist Samantha Mohr say just how bad it's going to be in the northeast today, and those pictures prove it.

More on the story coming up right here in the NEWSROOM.

Also, an asteroid the size of a city block will cruise past earth Saturday afternoon. But don't worry, it's not likely to hit us. The space rock won't get any closer than 604,000 miles. That's more than twice the distance from the earth to the moon.

There are new details in the lion attack that killed a 24-year-old intern in California. The coroner says Dianna Hanson died of a broken neck and did not suffer. The young woman had been cleaning a main enclosure -- excuse me -- when the lion opened a gate and attacked her. The victim's brother spoke about her love for big cats last night on CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL HANSON JR., BROTHER: I think there was just this sense of awe and a sense of absolute power and beauty and mystery that are associated with them, and how her passion for that continued to evolve as she got older and really dedicated herself, you know, her passion for these animals then transcending into work that could be done to save them and make sure we can still have wildlife in wild areas.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: The investigation into Hanson's death continues.

North Korea delivers a new round of threats and also shows its leader visiting military facilities. No word when the video was taken. The rogue nation warns it will end all nonaggression pacts with South Korea. This comes after the U.N. placed new sanctions on the North after it threatened a possible preemptive nuclear attack on the U.S.

Wal-Mart throws its weight behind women launching. The mega retail launching a line of products ranging from iPad cases and jewelry to home decorations, all made by women-owned businesses. The products come from countries like Cambodia and Haiti and are exclusively sold on the company's Web site.

At the top of the hour the son-in-law of Osama bin Laden will make his first court appearance in a U.S. court. Suleiman Abu Ghaith was captured last week in Jordan on federal charges of conspiring to kill Americans. That's him on the right. Next to his father-in-law.

And CNN's Susan Candiotti joins us now from outside the courtroom in New York.

This man made some very strong threats, Susan.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Don. Good morning to you.

He's been called the mouthpiece of Osama bin Laden, and over the years he's made all kinds of video messages and all kinds of threats against Americans, including one in particular right after the 9/11 attacks.

Listen to this and watch this. These are his words, quote, "The storms will not stop, especially the airplane storms." And he warned Americans, "not to board any aircraft and not to live in high-rises."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CANDIOTTI (voice-over): This photo put Sulaiman Abu Ghaith squarely in al Qaeda's inner circle. He is sitting to the left of his father in law Osama bin Laden, along with top lieutenants Ayman al-Zawahiri and Mohammed Atef.

Following the 9/11 attacks, Abu Ghaith was out front as a spokesman for the terror organization, appearing in videos and making ominous statements.

Quote, "We have the right to kill 4 million Americans with chemical and biological weapons."

Abu Ghaith is also believed to have been in Osama bin Laden's final stand at Tora Bora in December 2001 before escaping into Pakistan. He had lived in Iran since 2002, mostly under house arrest and is said to have arrived in the Turkish capital Ankara, early last month, traveling on a forged Saudi passport. He checked into a luxury hotel and was detained.

Iran refused to take him back, according to Turkish sources. After several weeks in limbo, Turkey decided to deport to the country of his birth, Kuwait. But Kuwait didn't want him back either.

Eventually, Abu Ghaith was transferred to U.S. custody and secretly flown to New York to face trial. Some Republicans argue that makes him an enemy combatant who should be tried by a military commission at Guantanamo.

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: We're putting the administration on notice. We think that sneaking this guy into the country clearly going around the intent of Congress when it comes to enemy combatants will be challenged.

CANDIOTTI: But the Obama administration says it's trying to close Gitmo, not add to its prisoners, and that trying Abu Ghaith in New York won't jeopardize national security.

PETER BERGEN, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: It's a sort of case that would be relatively easy to try in New York. I mean, New York federal court has a 100 percent conviction rate for people who are accused of al Qaeda crimes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CANDIOTTI: Now, one FBI official, Don, compares Abu Ghaith to a consigliore in the mob. Now, some 9/11 families tell us they are overjoyed to know that finally, someone with a direct alleged tied to the 9/11 attacks will be actually tried in a U.S. courtroom and they'll now the opportunity to watch -- Don.

LEMON: Susan Candiotti -- Susan, thank you very much.

Still ahead, thousands of sharks swarming off the coast of Florida. Look at that video -- are they after fish? Or are they people? That's the question.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: We're going to head now to Italy where in just a few hours, the Vatican will announce the date for the conclave, beginning the secretive process of electing a new pope.

CNN senior Vatican analyst John Allen live in Rome.

John, hello to you. When will that announcement take place?

JOHN ALLEN, CNN SENIOR VATICAN ANALYST: Hey, Don.

We're expecting the announcement about 1:00 in the East Coast, which is 7:00 in the evening in Rome, immediately after the cardinals finish the afternoon session of what are called their general congregation meetings, which are all these all-important sessions in the run-up to the conclave when they hash out the issues facing the church and, of course, the $64,000 question, who is the next pope going to be.

LEMON: So, John, listen, in this age of instant gratification, you know, some are wondering what's taking so long? It's not taking that long, is it?

ALLEN: Well, Don, bear in mind this is the Vatican where they think in centuries. I mean, the normal working motto around here is talk to me on Tuesday and I'll get back to you in 300 years. You know, by that standard, getting their act together in a week to elect a pope is, well that qualifies as rapid response.

LEMON: The Sistine Chapel chimney could be raised today. Tell us the significance of that, John.

ALLEN: Well, of course, the chimney on the Sistine Chapel is hugely symbolically important and it also has an important functional role, which is, it's the first way we're going to know whether the cardinals have or have not elected a pope. What they do is, they put two stoves in the Sistine Chapel, one to burn the ballots, the other to burn whatever notes the cardinals keep. They're connected by a pipe that feeds into the chimney.

And, of course, Don, you know the color coding if we see black smoke that means no pope but in that magic moment when we see the white smoke belching out of the chimney, we know the Catholic Church has someone new sitting on the throne of Peter.

LEMON: John Allen in Rome -- John, thank you very much.

Back here in the United States the opening bell happens in just a little bit and we're going to check on it and see how the new jobless numbers, if it affects the opening bell, and the Dow. We'll have that.

And also we want to tell you about a first ever documentary from CNN Films. It looks at the American health care system through the gripping personal stories and insights of patients, providers and policymakers. Here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. STEVE NISSEN, CLEVELAND CLINIC: If you look at health care in America, you're twice as likely to get your knee replaced as you are in Western countries with the same standard of living, you're two or three times likely to get a heart catheterization or have a stent in your coronaries. We've set up a system that often pushes physicians and hospitals in the entire health care system into doing more. Driven by these perverse economic incentives, we are doing a lot of procedures to people that they don't need.

To a man with a hammer, everything looks like a nail.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Good morning everyone. I'm Don Lemon, in for Carol Costello today.

The opening bell preparing to ring on Wall Street. Trading today will begin at an all-time high. Markets expected to move even higher after today's jobs report which showed 236,000 Americans got jobs last month and the unemployment rate dropped to 7.7 percent.

Team coverage for you: Alison Kosik live at the New York Stock Exchange. Christine Romans is in New York. Paul Vercammen in Los Angeles. Dan Lothian is at the White House getting the president's reaction to the good news. Paul in Vercammen is ion Los Angeles as we said.

Let's talk about the rebound of construction jobs, very important facet to the economy.

Alison, I want to start with you and what this is doing to the markets today as we wait for the opening bell.

KOSIK: Well, you know, you look at how the Dow has been performing all week, Don, it sort of already hit that trifecta of records and it looks like the Dow is going to go for a fourth day for that record, especially after this better-than-expected jobs report that came in for the month of February, showing that 236,000 jobs were added.

You know, this was a surprise to the upside because the expectation was that only 170,000 jobs were added. There's not much stopping the bulls lately. We've been saying all week the jobs report was actually a miss. You would have seen a pullback so expect to see just the opposite today.

And, you know, the disconnect between the market and what we're feeling in the economy, it still is there. But what we're seeing with this jobs report is that it's sort of building more confidence in this rally that we're seeing and these records that the Dow is hitting every day.

The bell is going to be ringing in about two minutes. We will see how the Dow does.

LEMON: All right. That's the news from Wall Street.

Let's go to Christine Romans.

What does this mean for the average American people looking for work? What's the takeaway from this, Christine Romans?

ROMANS: It means the private sector is hiring more robustly than we have seen in recent months. We look at the trend, Don, more than 200,000 jobs created on average. We've been seeing 195,000 jobs created month after month. You want to see it more robust than that, no question but that is moving in the right direction.

Can I show you something that's interesting here, too, about where we're seeing jobs created? Retail jobs almost 24,000 there, wholesale trade, professional business services. Look at construction, 48,000 jobs. Economists like to see that because those are better paying jobs typically. Manufacturing, 14,000 jobs there. And health care, Don, we saw jobs created in health care as well, we've seen that month after month after month.

So I would say that you're seeing the private sector jobs, you're seeing the government sector pull back. We lost 10,000 government jobs most likely education, related to schools, Don.

LEMON: You love your charts and you got to use them.

ROMANS: I love them.

LEMON: Stand by, Christine. We're going to go back now to Wall Street and to Alison Kosik.

Alison, the bell is to about ring in a little bit. Take it away. Tell us what we're going to expect here.

KOSIK: Well, I mean, just to let you know. Although this number is great as Christine was saying, 236,000 it's a great number. But you want to se this consistently month after month. You have to remember, millions of people are still out of work.

(BELL RINGING)

KOSIK: They can't find jobs. They see the number they don't feel it for them in their own house they don't feel like the economy is improving. So the economy still has a long way to go. This is the start as we see the Dow begin the day, yes, at a new record high, at 14,335.