January Jobs Report Puts Unemployment at 8.3 percent; Susan G. Komen Foundation Stop Funding for Planned Parenthood
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.</s>O'BRIEN: Welcome back. As we've been promising all morning we've got some breaking news. We're talking about of course the January jobs report that is now out. It gives us a look at the recovery of the economy, how the labor market is doing. Christine Romans has been watching that for us. Good news, the number was 8.5, down to 8.3 percent and lots of jobs have been created, right?</s>CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, 243,000 jobs created in January. That's a surprise. People had expected it to be more like 130. You come in more like up here, Soledad. So it was 243,000 jobs created. We had positive revisions to December and November. More jobs created in December, November than we thought. Also, widespread jobs growth except for the information sector. So along a lot of categories. Professional business services up 70,000, leisure and hospitality were higher. Health care, no surprise, we've been growing jobs in health care for a couple of years. Trade, retail, manufacturing -- manufacturing up 50,000 jobs, which is interesting. You've been hearing a lot of people talking about how manufacturing is slowly trickling back. So 8.3 percent is the unemployment rate, 243,000 jobs created overall. I want to show you how that factors out because these numbers for this year are going to be so political. Now you've got this. You've even got a couple of months back here that are better than we thought, too. So some strong jobs growth here. There are also new population assumptions in here. Later on today, Soledad, I'm sure you're going to be hearing a lot of people trying to tear these numbers apart and look at how they're different. There are a bunch of revision this time of year always. But headline figure here is very strong. It shows the economy was growing and creating jobs in January, Soledad.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's a big number.</s>O'BRIEN: Yes, that's a really big number, Christine. That's a lot higher than everyone was expecting. Do we know yet how many jobs -- how many government jobs were lost? How much private sector growth there was?</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Versus government?</s>ROMANS: Versus jobs that are lost by government? Yes. I can't see yet how the government jobs faired from last year, but we do see the White House is going to spin this. This is like the 22nd or 23rd month of private sector jobs growth. There will be government jobs closed for months and months. The government will continue losing jobs, but the private sector seems to be holding in here.</s>O'BRIEN: But in a way when you look at it that way, the private sector growth is probably stronger even than those numbers show. Christine, we'll thank you and continue to crunch those numbers. Christine also doing double duty because she has the rest of the headlines. She won't crunch those numbers until she's done updating you on the headlines. What do you have?</s>ROMANS: Following this breaking news out of Egypt, group of armed gunmen kidnapped two American female tourists and their Egyptian tour guide in the Sinai Peninsula. And protests this morning across Cairo following that deadly soccer riot that killed 79 people, thousands gathering in Tahrir Square. They're blaming inadequate security and calling for an end of military rule. Meantime U.S. officials fear Iran is helping Al Qaeda. Officials say Iran has freed a group of high level Al Qaeda terrorists who have been under house arrest since 2003. Officials also fear Iran is giving material aid to Al Qaeda. President Obama unveils a new jobs plan for veterans today. He says the veterans' job corps initiative will put vets to work. The plan will cost at least $5 billion. The administration will award $166 million in grant money to communities who hire post 9/11 vets. They'll give another $320 million grants to fire departments who hire grants. The president plans to ask for more, an additional $4 billion to expand the program. And talking about the other big contest happening this weekend. GOP candidates getting ready for Saturday's kickoff of the Nevada caucuses. Will it be a blowout? Right now Mitt Romney enjoys a double digit lead in the polls. Rick Santorum has already left that state for Missouri. But recent gaffs could cut Romney's edge. And both Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich are campaigning across Nevada today. And to recap that jobs report, 243,000 jobs created, 8.3 percent the unemployment rate, stronger jobs creation in January than expected. Soledad?</s>O'BRIEN: I'm going to go out on a limb and say we're going to be hearing about that on the campaign trail this morning.</s>ROMANS: I think you're right.</s>O'BRIEN: I think I'm right, too. Christine, thank you. The controversy is intensifying over the Susan G. Komen foundation pulling its funding for Planned Parenthood. There is an explanation. They say they have a new policy that doesn't allow financing for a company that is under investigation, and Congress is investigating whether Planned Parenthood used federal money to fund abortions. The critics say Komen is playing politics. The founder disagrees. This is Nancy Brinker.</s>NANCY BRINKER, FOUNDER AND CEO, SUSAN G. KOMEN FOR THE CURE: We will never bow to political pressure. We will always stand firm in our goal to end breast cancer forever. We will never turn our backs on the women who need us the most.</s>O'BRIEN: Cecile Richards is the president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Nice to see you. Thanks for talking to us. Nancy Brinker has said several times in a couple of different interviews that this is not political. Do you think she's lying?</s>CECILE RICHARDS, PRESIDENT, PLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA: Well, I know that the Komen foundation, unfortunately, has been under a lot of political pressure from the far right to distance themselves and end the relationship with Planned Parenthood. Look, the important thing is the Komen foundation and Planned Parenthood, we share the same goal. We want women to have access to breast cancer screening and care. It's my sincere hope that we can put this behind us and that we can work with them and they'll reconsider their decision to end grants to Planned Parenthood clinics.</s>O'BRIEN: I see that you made that really sharp turn to say I hope we can work this out. Let's go back to the political part. Do you think this is political? If so, is there any way to bring both sides together if in fact you think there's political motivation going on in the blocking of the grants?</s>RICHARDS: I think that's up to the Komen foundation. I feel like what's important to me and what we're focused on at Planned Parenthood is the women we serve. We see more than 700,000 women each year for breast exams. That's what we're focused on is making sure that regardless of the decisions of the Komen foundation that there's not a woman in America who misses her breast cancer screening. And I really feel like we've had an outpouring of support from folks all across the country.</s>O'BRIEN: Like Mayor Bloomberg. He sent out a tweet and it said, we must continue to help women access lifesaving breast cancer screenings. Have you been able to recoup some of that money that you've lost?</s>RICHARDS: Yes. We were very thankful for his support. He hit it on the head. He said we can't put politics ahead of women's health care access. We've had -- we see one in five women in America have been to Planned Parenthood. I feel like in the last 28, 48 hours I've seen many of them.</s>O'BRIEN: Nothing like a crisis to feel like everyone's reaching out to you. Part of the rationale is that Planned Parenthood is under investigation by lawmakers, and the policy they say, this is Komen foundation, says, listen we don't give money if someone is under investigation. Doesn't she have a point there?</s>RICHARDS: Well, I mean, there is a political investigation on the hill that's really has been politically motivated. And I don't think that's what this is about. I think others have reported there are many, many things under investigation that Komen funds. I think the important thing, again, is we've had a great long standing relationship with the Komen Foundation. As of very recently they praised our work. I think unfortunately what you've seen happen to the Komen Foundation is the same far right groups that have been attacking Komen have been attacking Planned Parenthood, have been attacking now birth control access in America. And I think it's time we can't let bullies prevent women from getting health care access in America, whether it's breast cancer screening, family planning services, and the like.</s>O'BRIEN: It's kind of sad that you have two women's groups that are the best known and very powerful and they're fighting. It's like cat fighting.</s>RICHARDS: We're not fighting. Soledad, I think your point is exactly right.</s>O'BRIEN: You're not fighting?</s>RICHARDS: No. I think, look --</s>O'BRIEN: Really? Come on.</s>RICHARDS: The Komen Foundation has been attacked by the right wing for working with Planned Parenthood. I think what we're seeing and what we've seen across the country is Komen employees, Planned Parenthood supporters standing up and saying, you know, we can't let politics get in the way of women's cancer screening. And I really do hope, seeing what's happening, that the Komen foundation will rethink its position and work again with us to do what we've got to do. We know early detection saves lives. That's what we should be focused on.</s>O'BRIEN: Richards is the president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Thanks for talking with us this morning.</s>RICHARDS: Nice to see you, Soledad.</s>O'BRIEN: Thank you. We'll be following how this goes because I think they actually are fighting with each other. We've got to take a short break. Ahead on STARTING POINT, have you heard this story, a woman sues Honda. She takes them to small claims court.</s>WILL CAIN, CNN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR: No.</s>O'BRIEN: No class action lawsuit for this lady. She goes to small claims court and she wins $10,000 because she says they are lying about the gas mileage for the Honda. We're going to tell you what happened straight ahead on STARTING POINT.