Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

November Jobs Report; Suspected Arrived in NYC 10 Days Before Shooting; New Cluse in Search for Gunman; Trump Comments on Hegseth; Trump and Santis to Attend Army-Navy Game; Movement in the Democratic Party. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired December 06, 2024 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

LISA RESPERS FRANCE, CNN ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER: Her fandom has increased because people recognize how very much she has given to the world. I mean a three-and-a-half-hour concert, as you point out, is nothing to sneeze at. And what we are seeing right now is literally the end of an era. This is an artist who has shifted local economies just by bringing her concert into town. She is a woman who has changed the way that we even buy tickets at - to concerts. And so she - I don't think we can overstate how important she has been to pop culture. And I think that's just going to continue. I think that with Taylor Swift you just never know.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: You just never know and never know what's coming next.

FRANCE: That's right.

BOLDUAN: But first, that woman deserves a long vacation.

FRANCE: Yes, she does.

BOLDUAN: And to enjoy and to reflect on everything that she's accomplished in this amount of time.

Lisa, thank you. It's great to see you.

FRANCE: Great to see you, Kate. Thank you.

BOLDUAN: A new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts now.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: So, where is the backpack? The key question this morning in the manhunt for the man who killed a healthcare CEO in New York. This as we are seeing his face for the first time.

So, a brand-new statement of support from Donald Trump for his defense pick, Pete Hegseth. But also new reporting that the guy Trump insiders have floated to replace Hegseth, Ron DeSantis, will be at the Army- Navy game at the same time as Trump. So, what does that mean?

And then, you love it. You know you love it. So, admit you love it. I'm talking about "yacht rock," the music that makes you feel smooth and tingly. The stunning new documentary that reveals things that honestly will blow your mind.

Sara is out today. She's going to regret that. I'm John Berman, with Kate Bolduan. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

We do have breaking news, though. Just out moments ago, the brand-new jobs report. And it's a good one.

Let's get right to CNN's Vanessa Yurkovich with that.

Good morning.

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

This is the rebound that economists were looking for, 227,000 jobs added in the month of November after a very dismal October jobs report.

The unemployment rate ticking up slightly to 4.1 percent. The unemployment rate hasn't been above 4 percent for six months now. And so the Fed may look at that and say, that is a signal that we can cut rates a little bit. See that unemployment rate trending above 4 percent for some months now.

I want to zero in on October though, because October we saw 12,000 jobs added. That was because of the Boeing strike, because of the two hurricanes that we had. We did get revisions, but only up by 24,000. So, it is really a dismal number for October, about 36,000 jobs added total. That is because maybe there just wasn't a lot of hiring because of these hurricanes and maybe employers just didn't report that they were hiring. But all in all, today's numbers signals a very strong jobs market.

The one thing we do want to look at is the sectors. Where are we adding jobs, so people know potentially where to look. It's the usual suspects, healthcare adding, leisure/hospitality adding, government adding jobs.

Also, you had transportation and manufacturing adding jobs. That signals the end of the strike. So, more jobs coming online there.

Retail, though, John, did lose a little bit. So, that was interesting ahead of the holidays.

What does this mean for the Federal Reserve and whether or not they're going to cut rates? Well, there are odds that are out there about whether or not they're going to cut rates. Before this jobs report, odds were at 71 percent for a rate cut. Now, after this jobs report, 91 percent. So, economists feeling like in December we could see another rate cut.

BERMAN: Well, that's interesting.

YURKEVICH: Yes.

BERMAN: Picking up full 20 percent there. YURKEVICH: Yes.

BERMAN: I just have to say, the last year, when you looked at those months and months of growth, I mean, that is a positive year. That is a year of jobs growth every month. Although last month was, frankly, lousy.

YURKEVICH: We're going to call that a blip for now. For now.

BERMAN: All right, Vanessa Yurkevich, thank you very much.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: So this morning, investigators are chasing new clues in the manhunt for the gunman who killed the CEO of United Healthcare. We are now learning that authorities are focused on finding the suspect's backpack. Something he appeared to have abandoned, possibly in Central Park, after the murder. That is according to CNN's John Miller.

And we have learned - also learned the suspect arrived in New York ten days before the murder, arrived on a greyhound bus. And the route for that bus, it started in Atlanta, though it is not clear when or where he specifically got on.

Once here in New York, the suspect reportedly used a fake New Jersey driver's license to check into a hostel on the upper west side and he - where he paid in cash. And it was at that hostel where he is captured smiling for security cameras. Not really for the cameras, though caught on camera as he was in the middle of a flirtatious moment with a female employee. She - asking him to lower his mask in order to see his face.

[09:05:03]

Maybe a break in this investigation.

CNN's Omar Jimenez is tracking the latest developments here.

Omar, what is the latest?

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, so a part of this right now is the focus, of course, for a few different things. One, where this person is, but also who this person is. Both big things that loom over this investigation at this point.

Now, some of the key things we learned, of course, is when this person actually got into the city, according to law enforcement. As you mentioned, some of it arrived about ten days beforehand. He was moving at points around the city. But then finally checked into the hostel for what appeared to be the duration leading up to the shooting on November 30th.

As you mentioned, he checked in with a fake New Jersey ID. And among the investigations or among the interviews law enforcement has done, according to a law enforcement source, this clerk was having a conversation with this person of interest as has been described by police as he was checking in and was asked to lower his mask because they were flirting back and forth, and that smile that showing of the face could end up being the most significant clue in this as we move forward, at least what we've seen so far to this point.

But that, of course, goes to who this person is. The other question is where? So, when you look at the route of sort of how this unfolded, obviously the shooting happened early in the morning. It happened in midtown Manhattan outside the Hilton Hotel there. From there law enforcement, as we bring up some of the route, saw him or essentially tracked him heading north on a bike towards Central Park, which is where you see that yellow line hitting the south portion of Central Park there.

And then new video that we've seen shows a person leaving Central Park around 85th Street or so. So about 30 blocks north of where the shooting actually happened. And law enforcement has seen this video, and they do believe it is likely that is the gunman.

So again, it gives you a little bit of a trace of where this person was moving in the immediate aftermath of the shooting. This video is about 15 minutes or so after the shooting would have taken place.

But, of course, now the question becomes, all right, what do you do with this information? They have a water bottle that was left around the scene with a fingerprint. But as we understand from law enforcement, that fingerprint was smudged as well. Also, a cell phone left at the scene. Likely trying to get into that phone as well. You see some of the timeline there. But, of course, the main question, as we're waiting on this third day now of trying to find out again who this person is and where this person is, trying to see if any of these clues and pieces create anything substantial for law enforcement or even substantial to the point where the public can know about it.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

Omar, thank you so much for putting that all together and bringing everyone up to speed on that. I really appreciate it.

JIMENEZ: Of course.

BOLDUAN: And joining us now to talk about all of that is retired FBI supervisory special agent Daniel Brunner. And also back with us is the former U.S. Marshal, John Muffler.

It's good to see you guys. Thank you for coming back in.

Daniel, 48 hours now that he's been on the run. Where should the most energy be placed right now in this investigation?

DANIEL BRUNNER, RETIRED FBI SUPERVISORY SPECIAL AGENT: I think that the NYPD, in focusing on what evidence is available, but it's also looking at the mistakes he's made.

Clearly, the shooter has made some mistakes. He's wanting to be - appear to be professional. But the lack of professionalism is evident everywhere. The pulling down of the mask. The shooting style. He is not trained. He prepared this attack. He prepared his escape. But I think he's making mistakes along the way.

And those are the things that, which, you know, in my experience, when I was looking for fugitives or members of the gangs, I would look for the mistakes. And those mistakes will lead you to where he is.

I do not believe he's in New York City probably. Most likely he's returned to maybe where home is. And that's where expanding the reach of this investigation into other parts of this country is really going to provide more clues.

BOLDUAN: Yes. And, John, I think you're back with us. And that's where, you know, the Marshal service definitely comes in. John Miller was just speaking to me and he thinks that is something we could be hearing more of from New York authorities today, is kind of expanding the outreach to the public outside of New York to help try to identify this man.

What does that look like? What does that look like now? How wide does the net need to be cast?

JOHN MUFFLER, FORMER U.S. MARSHAL: Yes, obviously, I'm in agreement with - with Mr. Brunner there. And I would say that very likely this individual is out of the city. This individual, though, did leave a lot of clues behind. I'm understanding that was a burner phone. But there is numbers to take off of that. And in that research with that digital footprint that he has left behind, to include his face, his image, investigators can - can put that together, look at those - those cell phone numbers, those - that digital footprint and - and look at that along, say that pathway that he took to - back to the hotel and elsewhere, right?

[09:10:14]

So, now that they know that that bus originated from Atlanta, made stops, who knew - who knows if he got on the bus at Atlanta, what numbers in that area at that time of departure were being used.

This is a lot of research for investigators and analysis to get through. But there - there is information out there that can be collected, looked at, to pinpoint perhaps where he may have originated and where he may be now.

BOLDUAN: In terms of the public outreach, Daniel, one thing that - that we've kind of noticed over the last, you know, since this occurred is, I don't think I have really heard the words we often do when someone's on the run, the armed and dangerous. Is that because of the view of - is that something specific, do you think, to this suspect because, obviously, authorities need the public's help.

BRUNNER: Well, I think it's a combination of two things. It's - clearly we see that this individual is very cold, very calculated in the way he assassinated the CEO. So, we have to advise the - the public that he is armed. He is dangerous. He's a dangerous individual. We haven't recovered the - the shooting - the weapon hasn't been recovered. So, it has to be assumed that it's either possibly in the backpack, which is in Central Park, or he has it on his person. This individual could be very much dangerous if cornered. So, it's out of precaution, you know, to be careful, to advise the public, don't approach this. Leave it to law enforcement. They're trained. They know how to deal with this individual. So, using the proper authorities to provide the clues, asking the public for clues, and then letting the law enforcement entities to close in on him and affect the arrest, having him captured alive is obviously what we want.

BOLDUAN: Yes. And, John, one of the things that, you know, the Marshal service has huge capabilities in its own right and trying to, obviously, in tracking down fugitives. And just seeing how they have - and Omar put it together, how they have been able to track through various avenues and surveillance video and such his - not only his escape route and where and when he - where and when he entered Central Park and left Central Park and seeing him then on the upper west side, but also the fact that they have tracked him and traced him to the moment that he arrived in New York City ten days before the murder. I mean, it just makes me wonder, like, what other capabilities, especially the Marshals service, can now harness to try to even get a - get a better pinpoint around this guy?

MUFFLER: Yes, like I said, I had - I had, you know, again, assassinations don't happen out of thin air. There was definitely pre- attack surveillance occurring days before, it sounds like ten days before. So, in the ten days leading up to it, did he wear his mask every day, right? He had to go back to that place. He knew of the location where the meeting was going to be. So, he, obviously, canvased that at a certain point in those ten days. So, did he have his mask on all those times?

So, I believe there's probably images out there that they have and they're looking at those images and looking at that - and tracing that and seeing where he may have been, not just at the youth hostel and not just outside the hotel, but in between.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

MUFFLER: So, there are going to be clues there, right? And then looking at that - those locations and those cell phone - those calls that were made, we, the Marshal service, can pinpoint sort of, out of all of the thousands of numbers that were called from this Starbucks, that, you know, this particular number seems to go back to Atlanta as an example. So, I think they're going to have those leads to follow up on.

BOLDUAN: So interesting.

Daniel, John, thanks for helping us through this a little bit today as we continue to wait and see what we - what we hear and learn from the NYPD and from other authorities today.

Thanks, guys.

John.

BERMAN: All right, just in, quote, "Pete is a winner." A new show of support for Pete Hegseth by President-elect Donald Trump, who had been quiet over the last few days as the Hegseth nomination had been teetering on the brink.

One of the nation's largest newspapers is introducing an AI powered bias meter for its reporting. Why this is causing an uproar in the newsroom.

And has - and this is a quote from the documentary. It has been said it is like porn, you know it when you hear it. We dive into the music of "yacht rock" as this wonderful new documentary hits Max.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTOPHER CROSS, MUSICIAN (singing): Sailing takes me away to where I've always heard it could be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:19:21]

BERMAN: All right, this morning, President-elect Donald Trump released a new declaration of support for his embattled secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth. On Truth Social he wrote that Hegseth "is a winner, and there is nothing that can be done to change that," he wrote.

Now, this comes amid separate new reporting that both Ron DeSantis and Donald Trump will be at the Army-Navy football game next weekend. You'll remember that DeSantis, his name has been floated by Trump insiders as a possible alternative to Hegseth. So, DeSantis and Trump going to the same place at the same time, interesting.

With us now, CNN political commentator Bakari Sellers, former White House spokesman for President George W. Bush, Pete Seat.

[09:20:01]

First, this Trump statement, Pete, because it comes after a full night of reporting that noted that Donald Trump wasn't going to call senators to lobby for Pete Hegseth. Now, that was what "The Washington Post" flat out said, Hegseth has been told not to expect Trump to apply pressure on Republican senators. Now we see this social media post. Is that pressure on senators, or is that kind of a middle ground?

PETE SEAT, FORMER WHITE HOUSE SPOKESMAN FOR PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: It's a bit more of a middle ground I think at this moment, although Pete Hegseth is walking a tightrope with little net. He's doing quite a good job of balancing. He has former Fox News colleagues who are coming to his defense on the record. His mother, of course, went live on the air to extoll his virtues and talk about him as well. And Hegseth himself is not shying away from the accusations from the reports. He's talking to senators one on one and answering these uncomfortable questions. It's helpful, without a doubt, to have Donald Trump out there talking about him as well, but it's still to be seen if he's going to pick up the phone, if he needs to pick up the phone and start doing some of that arm twisting that he's known for.

BERMAN: In this knowledge, Bakari, I'm sorry, I don't believe in coincidences in politics, that DeSantis and Trump are going to both be at the Army-Navy game in a week, is that - why is that out there, to hang over Hegseth's head over the next week as he tries to win support in the Senate?

BAKARI SELLERS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I don't know, John, have you ever realized or just thought about the fact that both Army and Navy are having a hell of a football season and it may just be a really, really good football game going on out there on the field?

BERMAN: You're saying it could be a coincidence? And, yes, they are - they're -- by the way, they are having fantastic seasons. It's one of the best - one of their best seasons for both teams.

SELLERS: They're both - they've both having a really good season.

BERMAN: Yes.

SELLERS: So, I think that everything that Donald Trump does is chess. And I think that he wants Pete Hegseth to get his act together.

I think that the leaks about Ron DeSantis are the same thing.

I think that most people, Republicans and Democrats alike, who are watching this kind of circus play out will tell you that Pete Hegseth isn't qualified to run the Department of Defense. And Ron DeSantis is probably has more experience running a budget that big. You know that the state of Florida's budget is a huge, huge $100 billion budget compared to the Department of Defense. And he's probably someone who has this leadership capability to run a department like this.

But Donald Trump doesn't want another loss on his record either. Having Matt Gaetz pull out and then Pete Hegseth and then we haven't even got to Tulsi Gabbard and the concerns that senators have over her I just think our embarrassments. And so I think everything that we see today is just telling Pete to get his act together.

BERMAN: And Pete Seat, different Pete albeit, you said that Hegseth is on a tight rope. What could push him off that tight rope?

SEAT: I think what could push him off that, if someone like Joni Ernst, who he met with yesterday, comes out and says she is an emphatic no. She's neither a yes nor is she a no right now but a lot of senators are going to look to her and take signals from her. And I think she knows that, which is probably why she's not saying one way or the other where she's leaning right now. But as a combat veteran, as a victim of sexual assault and abuse, they're going to look to her for a signal and a path forward on this nomination.

BERMAN: Bakari, I want to talk to you about a subject that's close to your heart, the Democratic Party, which has been doing a lot of internal review over the last -

SELLERS: I don't - I don't - I don't know them. I don't know them. Who - who are they?

BERMAN: So, in the House of Representatives, there's actually been a lot of movement in these committees where Jerry Raskin's going to take over the Democratic leadership of the Judiciary Committee. There's been movement in other committees.

And we just learned this morning that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez would like to be the ranking member, the lead Democrat on the Oversight Committee. That's open because Raskin is going over to chair - not chair, to be the ranking member on Judiciary.

But - so if she's going to get it, it means she would have to basically top Gerry Connolly, who's been around for a long time and is seen as a fighter. But this is a generational thing. You know, Gerry Connolly, in the 70s, Ocasio-Cortez, and I think we have pictures of these fine two individuals, Ocasio-Cortez in her 30s. What do you just make of this, I think, generational tension, in a way, inside the Democratic Party.

SELLERS: I mean, you've seen it. I - you saw Jasmine Crockett challenge Debbie Dingell. Debbie Dingell ended up winning that race. AOC is one of the more exciting. I don't agree with her politics on everything. But she definitely is not the future of the Democratic Party. She's the right now of the Democratic Party. So, I don't have any problem with these challenges.

What people have to turn the page and see is the reason that you're seeing that is that there is a real belief that in 2026 Democrats are going to take the House back. And so these individuals who get these ranking leadership positions will be in line to be chair of these respective committees and have that platform and have that perch.

[09:25:04]

But for a long period of time, the Democratic Party was old and stale. Our leadership was old. And we remember a Republican Party that was Marco Rubio, that was Bobby Jindal, that was Ted Cruz, that was Nikki Haley, that was Eric Cantor, et cetera. But they gave this breath of fresh air, and new vision, and new ideas. And we're going through that moment right now instead of having the Jim Clyburns and Nancy Pelosis, and Steny Hoyers, Hillary Clintons, et cetera, we are now turning the page and we have the AOCs, we have the Hakeem Jeffries. And so this is just natural. It's good for the party. It's good to have these fights and debates. And may the best person win.

BERMAN: Youngster Bakari Sellers, thank you for being with us. Pete Seat, nice to see you as well.

All right, we are standing by for the opening bell to ring on Wall Street just minutes after a strong new jobs report came out this morning. So, what does this mean going forward?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)