Time. Despite this miss, unemployment fell to 4. 2 . President biden set to speak about all of this in about an hour from now. It begs the question where are we on the covid economic recovery . Ill ask marty walsh later this hour. Do not forget we are still dealing with Supply Chain Issues. Even though theyre improving and americans right now are paying up, a lot of them say big time, with nearly half of u. S. Households saying the higher prices are causing serious hardship at home. The new Omicron Covid variant could throw a curveball at us with five states reporting casing and that number is certain to go up. Well add that. The perfect team to break it down starting with mike memoli at the white house. Steve liesman. Karen kimbrough is the linked in chief economy. And Douglas Holtz akin. Dr. Liesman i have to go to you first. September jobs report was 194,000 huge miss and then it was revised to 379,000 almost double that number. Do you think thats what could be happening here . Yeah. Thank you for conferring the doctorate on me on television, send the plaque, ill give you an address. Yeah, the story is that this Payroll Number has been revised consistently upward. Im not sure whats going on at the bls. Its an important issue. If there are two separate surveys one is reported the Payroll Number reported by businesses. The other is a survey of workers. That showed more than a Million People were employed additional Million People were employed in the month. So thats a big, big difference between the two. I usually side with the payroll report, but this time around, i think the evidence, stephanie is that theres a lot of people being hired right now. A lot of employers looking for workers. Theres a lot of other data that suggests the job market is strong. So im not a believer this number is quite this weak. It may be weak, but not as weak as 210. I expect it to be revised higher. Karen you give it to us. How does it track from the workers perspective. Theres no better time to be looking for and finding a job. At on our platform at linked in were seeing hiring rates above covid levels. Weve had the strongest month on record since the pandemic began of people getting hired and getting hired in a shorter amount of time looking at fewer jobs. Its a rosy outlook despite the headline number. Doug, can you explain that . Say this number appears to be off and will be revised later. Why is it off . Why does it keep happening . I would think the bls would get this right as steve said, the conventional wisdom is the Payroll Survey is the more reliable. If you look at the numbers thats where you should side. We have seen the pattern over the course of the past six months. I think theres a lot to be concerned about in the seasonal adjustment as we go through the pandemic. Things just arent happening on the regular schedule. And i think part of it comes from that. There may be something else, im not sure. This is is a puzzling report in a lot of ways. A difference in the household survey, strong, and the Payroll Survey. But even inside the Payroll Survey. If you look at the index of aggregate payroll, thats rising at over 9 annual rate. Thats very strong labor demand. But we need hours. Thats rising by almost 6 . So they just didnt hire anyone. Why . I dont know. But clearly this isnt evidence that employers arent looking for labor, theyre looking and willing to pay for it. If you start your own business, this isnt factored in. We are seeing the Great Resignation and we are seeing a huge amount of business started. Do you think thats factoring in here. Those people who start their own businesses shows up in the other Household Report and we see that happening quite a bit here. Im looking for the number, cant find it on the fly here, stephanie, but that is a big factor. The other thing out there, theres been a lot of surveys of the American Public and they show that the Afternoon American thinks jobs are easy to find now, jobs are plentiful right now. Theres a lot of other data that suggests this is a strong jobs market. One of the issues out there, two things real quick. Everybody has had a lousy time for anything going on in the u. S. Economy in the pandemic, jobs inflation, growth, theyve been way off and terrible on it. The other thing thats happened, its difficult for the Bean Counters to get out and do their Bean Counting in a way thats made difficult by the pandemic. So i think thats one of the reasons why you have some of the revisions. I want to make all of you economists feel a little bit better, youre not alone. Pollsters have clearly been getting elections wrong the last few years as well. The white house, this number is less than we thought. But this is a very strong labor market, this is a good time for workers and the president just saw the bipartisan Infrastructure Bill be signed into law, yet his poll numbers are still under water. Is this all about inflation . Reporter yeah. Were going to hear a number of things from the president when he speaks to the country in over an hour. The first is what youre talking about in terms of the top line number. The white house certainly agrees with the questions that are being raised about it. This is a president that likes to get into the weeds more than president s do when talking about economic data. So i think hell highlight some of the other data points that do show a Strong Jobs Recovery going on. Well see the president continuing to hit the road to talk about the big accomplishment of the bipartisan infrastructure law. We saw him in minnesota this week, the Vice President and Transportation Secretary yesterday in charlotte. This is part of what the white house insists its continuing to be a nationwide campaign to tout the law. I asked the White House Press secretary yesterday would the tour continue with the Omicron Variant . She said yes. Well see the president on the road again next week. Youre seeing an effort on the part of the white house and the president specifically to sharpen the contrast with republicans. You saw it with the supply chain a few days ago, he talked about it in his build back better agenda saying its easy to complain about a problem but takes more to do something about it and pointed to republican opposition, tying it to questions about inflation. He said the biggest thing you can do for the American People is vote for the big back better agenda. We cant separate whats happening from what the president discussed yesterday, because of his plan to deal with the omicron and the winter surge were expecting in coronavirus cases. The tools at our disposal we didnt have a year ago when we were still talking about potential lockdowns that are going to keep the economy open and thats something the president is going to stress today also as well. Take us inside linked in, data, karen. Do you have any information to show whether or not this new Covid Variant is going to be Impacting Jobs . Its too early to tell. Were not seeing it. In the past every time we have seen a new variant come on, its had an impact in terms of slowing down hiring, dampening interest by job seekers and employers. But each time that a variant has come up or weve had a subsequent wave, the impact has been a little bit less. Its almost as if were learning to be a little bit more resilient to every shock. So im not optimistic. But im hopeful that were still learning and this wont be a game changer. But its too early to tell. Doug, Fed Chair Powell said he may be raising Interest Rates to cool inflation. He said it could put some risk to the labor market. Whats your take . I think the fed is correctly focussing more on inflation. But that doesnt mean theyre eager to raise rates. Especially early in 2022. Youre going to see them first, you know, taper the purchases down to zero. Those purchases are stimulus to the economy. So theyre really just taking away some stimulus. Thats appropriate at this point. The economy doesnt need it. And then theyll find out of the inflation turned out to be short lived and then make rates. Buying bonds. The only people that helps are bond funds. Steve, take out the crystal ball, given everything we talked about, jobs, the variant, fed, inflation, how do you think the end of the year is going to look . Steve . I think its going to be okay. Can you hear me there, stephanie . The i think that inflation is going to work itself out over the next six months or so. The fed is going to raise Interest Rates. Its not going to be the end of the world to have higher Interest Rates. And i think well be learning to live with this covid as an endemic disease not a pandemic anymore. I think thats what i hope is going to happen with omicron here. And then it becomes part of the process of learning to live with it. People come back to work because theyre less scared over time. A reminder 1 , 2 Interest Rates, thats okay. Thank you all so much. Well leave it there. Coming up next, five states reporting cases of the new Covid Variant. That could be expanded as athome testing is going to be the key to keeping this new variant Under Control. Later, alec baldwin speaks out saying hes not responsible for the deadly shooting on the set of his film rust. Do you feel guilt . No. No. Someone is responsible for what happened, and i cant say who that is, but i know its not me. vo tmobile for business helps Small Business owners prosper during their most important time of year. 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Announcer no matter why you ride, progressive has you covered with protection starting at 79 a year. Voiceover cause shes a biker. Please dont follow me in. Were following new covid developments this morning, cases of the Omicron Variant confirmed in five states. The news comes after President Biden revealed his winter covid strategy appealing to americans to get their boosters and or vaccine shots and require private insurers to cover the cost of athome covid tests. Starting december 6th all International Travelers will be required to test negative within a day of their departure to the united states. The president stressing no new lockdowns or shutdowns at the current time. Joining us to discuss this new information that you need to know, Alisyn Barber in illinois, lindsey risener, and dr. Celine gounder. Doctor, is this the covid that gives you the sniffles or sends you to the hospital . We dont have the answer to that. I think people are hopeful, based on a handful of cases most of them in Young Healthy people with mild symptoms they are extrapolaing that omicron may not be so serious, so virulent but we dont know we need more data to assess whether or not that is the case. Lindsey, five cases have been identified here in new york. What are State Officials doing in response and how did they identify them . Reporter stephanie, we know theres a lot of Contact Tracing going on and a lot of sequencing going on right now. But still that sample of sequencing is pretty small when you consider that new york just hit about more than 11,000 positive coronavirus cases. Thats the most since weve seen since the second wave in january, still not close to the 19,000 single day cases we saw in april of 2020. I want to talk about some of the positive cases. The first one is a 67yearold woman out of suffolk county, long island, she travelled to south africa, became symptomatic when she came back. Had mild symptoms, a headache and a cough. We know there was a vaccination system, dont know how many shots and if she was boosted. Two cases in brooklyn and one in one of the five boroughs. One known vaccination status, believed to have travelled recently. The governor and mayor saying this isnt cause for alarm, similar to what an epidemiologist i spoke with said. Lets listen to what she said. New york city is a hub for people coming from all over the world, so it was a matter of time before its identified in someone whos had contact with someone else who has omicron. Its a matter of time because, you know, until somebody gets symptoms and they get tested and the specimens get tested in the lab and then and only then we can identify if its an Omicron Variant or not. Reporter im at Javits Center this is where a convention was held from November 19th to the 21st. We know a minnesota man travelled here for the convention, went back to minnesota experienced mild symptoms he was fully vaccinated, has since recovered, theres a lot of Contact Tracing going on for the thousands at this event and everybody here is urged to get tested, stephanie. You got access to the lab of one of the largest athome covid test manufacturers. What did you learn . Reporter yeah, im actually in one of abbotts labs right now, hence my slightly goofy get up here. This lab, these machines theyre Running Covid samples looking for information on antibodies. Other labs are Running Letters to try to compare variants and make sure their tests will detect them. As families prepare to head home for the holidays theyre looking for options for test kits like this to get a test before they head to grandmas house to make sure theyre okay. And with all the variations of this Omicron Variant you have to wonder will these at home over the counter test kits still work. The answer today seems to be yes. So how does a company like abbott know . We came here because we wanted to see how they got to yes. The main way they did it is they used omicron sequence, its literally a code with crazy amounts of letters. Commuters run that code, compare it to other variants and make sure their test will still detect it. Listen. Was there a moment where you were nervous and unsure if your test would work for this new variant . We always have a sense of urgency any time were looking at a sequence to understand whether it could impact our test. So as i looked through the data, it was kind of like i was holding my breath as i was looking through it. And then when i got to the end and saw through all of the sections of our targets that we have conservation, it was a breath of fresh air to be like this is okay. We can be confident in results of our tests. Reporter so the fda has approved rapid over the counter at home test kits from ten different companies. We reached out to all of those companies to ask whether or not theyve been able to run a sequence and if theyre confident their kits will still work with the new variant. We heard back from six of the companies. Ill read you their names and also the names of their test kit. Abbott now. Access care start. Acon flow flex. Quitle quick view, e human and bd vary ter. All of those Companies Say they have run the sequence and their tests do not miss it. Abbott and access bio said theyve run their kits with a physical sample of this variant. If we can quickly look at a covid virus particular with me. The red spikes you see on the outside, that is where most of omicrons mutations occurred. My brain works by pretending everything is food. Pretend you see chocolate and theres a peanut inside of that. The peanut is what most of the rapid tests use to detect whether or not covid is in it. The peanut did not have a lot of mutations, the mutations are in the chocolate. For now everyone is confident their tests can pick up this variant as well as the other ones before. The most Important News flash, Allison Barber identifies everything as food. These athome tests, biden is expanding them as part of the winter strategy, but i have to be honest what has taken so long . Those tests that allison showed i have some of them at my house, i spent 200 to buy them. Thats a lot of money, when you need them chances are your pharmacy may not have them. Why are we so far behind in access to testing in this country . Part of that relates to the demand being inconsistent. Abbott disposed of a number of tests over the summer because there wasnt the Consumer Demand. So theyre not going to ramp up manufacturing unless they think there is stable demand. I think its important here to reference something your guest said in the last hour. The very last comment, which is we need to learn to live with covid. I find that comment to be really problematic. This idea that we need to adapt to death, to a thousand americans dying to covid every day, those are not acceptable losses. We means all of us, not just the individual, including vulnerable populations, live means stay alive, not die. And that means layering all of these interventions, including vaccination, masking while indoors in public places. Optimizing the use of ventilation, and also making use of the rapid tests. I think the biden administrations move to make rapid tests more available is a laudable one but asking people to file for insurance reimbursement is a hassle for most people. Some of the tests will be made available for free through Community Health centers and food banks. I think this should have been mailed or a made available to every family without the logistical complications of filing for insurance. Dr. Gounder, last question to you, this is about dropping the hammer on restrictions. Other countries are inincreasing their restrictions. In germany unvaccinated people did not go to nonessential stores, cant go to recreational events, should the u. S. Be doing the same . I think we learned a lot since march of 2020. I dont think we need to go back to strict lockdowns but i think we need to be close to it wouldnt be lockdowns for everyone. It would be exclusions for the unvaccinated. Im going to the movies. You know, again, so with respect to imposing something specifically on unvaccinated people, you would need a Vaccine Verification system. Americans have been very resis tent to that kind of system. You had the republicans who painted that as the idea of vaccine passports, which they should not be. Because passports are a form of identification. But absent a system like that youre asking the ticket seller, waitress at a restaurant to do that kind of Vaccine Verification. Here in New York City youve seen that lead to confrontations with guests. You know, im not sure that thats a fair ask of people who are working on the front lines. That is a great point. Alisyn, lindsey, dr. Gounder, thank you for joining us this morning. Al zip, be sure not to eat anything in the lab. Coming up, a Government Shutdown is averted for now but thats the first of a several crucial deadlines coming up in the next few weeks. Well take you to capitol hill for the latest. Weeks well take you to capitol hill for the latest with clean, fresh ingredients, paneras new Chicken Sausage and pepperoni flatbread is a mouthwatering explosion of yes. Craft . Yes heartiness . Yes living life to the flavorfullest . Heck yes. Panera. Live your yes. Now 1 delivery. My nunormal . Fewer Asthma Attacks with nucala. A oncemonthly addon injection for severe eosinophilic asthma. Nucala reduces eosinophils, a key cause of severe asthma. Nucala is not for sudden breathing problems. Allergic reactions can occur. 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The funding was able to get past even as some republicans threatened to shutdown the government over President Bidens Vaccine Mandate for workers. Crazy but true. Joining me to discuss capital hill correspondent Garrett Haake and axios reporter hans nichols. How did we get to the result last night. Reporter it was held up by a group of Senate Republicans who wanted to deforce the Vaccine Mandates. Theyre not even in place right now. They were pushing for this all day. And when it came about time for the house to pass it and sent it to the senate last night. Democrats looked and realized they were short on republicans. Republicans went home for the weekend. They said have your vote, knowing it would be defeated and we moved on. The government funded. But another show down vote ahead next week on that same issue about defunding Vaccine Mandates. This is clearly an issue the republicans want to talk about. But i think the Broader Group was talked into not talking about it through a Government Shutdown that neither set of Party Leaders wanted anything to do with. But its not over. Reporter no. Lets talk about the busy december democrats are looking at. Trying to avoid the u. S. Hitting the borrowing limit. They want to pass the build back better bill. And dis31st is the deadline to pass defense spending. How are we getting this done . Any, some . Some i think is probably the most likely outcome here. Lifting the debt ceiling is mandatory. The government has never defaulted. All the party officials, even the rank and file say they will not allow it to happen. The how remains a mystery but unlike the last time we were in talks about this, the temperature is lower, but thats the most critical deadline. The build back better vote, which you see the congressional leadership wants to have done by christmas and the ndaa arent hard deadlines, although the National Defense bill, ndaa, has been passed on a bipartisan basis for decades it would be embarrassing for this crop of congressional leaders to fail to do so. But the build back better in particular is a matter of getting all the ducks in the a row and whether it slips into the new year, which i think is entirely possible. Itll be a task that falls to chuck schumer, who is going to have an unpleasant december ahead of him. Hold on a second, build back better is a big priority for democrats. But when biden looks at his poll numbers dropping are any dropping because build back better hasnt passed . Not if you ask the white house, right. The white house sees the poll numbers working in tandem with covid, a little bit on the inflation front. But garretts broader point that schumer is going to have a tough december still stands. The white house can punt on all these things with the exception of the debt celling. Thats a hard, firm, fast deadline. And the jet fumes point garrett made is going to hold. So my advice is take the next 11 days off, come back the 14th. Reporter can you endorse that up the chain, stephanie . Yes. Garrett haake, the next 14 days. Can you tell us hans what is that behind you, whats the animals on your man tell . It is a mural. If i had a long time to explain it to you, i would, but im not sure you would explain the symbolism. Back to you. Wow. Everyone on my family is there. Im seeing a skunk, owl, fox, bunny, which one are you . For viewers to decide. Youre in my living room, youre in my family home. You can guess, we can lets throw it to garrett, if garrett gets it right, ill give you the next two weeks off. Is there an owl. I dont know. No. I think youre the fox. What does the fox say, hans . Im more of a hedge hog ill take the point. Were going to leave it there. Owls, my High School Mascot and my favorite animal. Garrett haake, hans nichols were going to leave it there because we have a lot more to cover. Some very serious news. Up next, 60 michigan schools have been closed after a wave of Copycat Threats following tuesdays deadly shooting in oxford. We just found out that prosecutors have announced a Press Conference at noon eastern today. Well tell you what thats all about. Today. Well tell you what thats all about. Ight to me. With service i could trust. Right, girl . Singers safelite repair, safelite replace. Limu emu. Doug superpowers from a spider bite . I could use some help showing the world how Liberty Mutual customizes their Car Insurance so they only pay for what they need. gasps did it work . Only pay for what you need liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. 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Learn how abbvie could help you save on humira. Now to the latest on the aftermath of the School Shooting in oxford, michigan that left four students dead. Today authorities are expecting to make a decision on whether or not they will charge the parents of the shooter. On thursday, a prosecutor criticized the parents saying their actions were, quote, far beyond negligence. Megan fitzgerald is on the ground in michigan. What more do we know about the parents and the gun, megan . Reporter steph, i can tell you that the Oakland County prosecutor has been very candid about the importance of what she called responsible Gun Ownership and keeping guns out of the hands of those who could do potential harm. Shes been hinting the past several days that its possible the parents of this 15yearold suspect could be charged. Just been within the last hour were learning her decision will likely be announced at noon. This morning Authorities Say they are weighing potential charges of 15yearold ethan crumbly. In an abstract hypothetical if they gave the weapon to this person, its illegal for someone his age to possess or carry a handgun. So if they participated in that, thats clearly a crime. Reporter Authorities Say the weapon used in the attack was purchased legally by the suspects father four days before the shooting. Investigators are trying to figure out how the 15yearold got the gun. The Prosecutor Set to make an announcement about charges friday. You have a right to possess a gun, but with it comes responsibility. Allowing it in the hands of somebody that shows signs that they may hurt somebody is not okay and those people should be held accountable. The parents have not made any public statements. And nbc news has not been able to contact them. Two different teachers raised concerns about the suspects behavior. The school spoke with the teen the day before the shooting and alerted the parents via voice mail and email, they had a facetoface meeting at the school the next day, hours before the incident. The sheriff saying authorities were not informed. We were not informed before the shooting. The School Superintendent releasing a recorded statement thursday. Theres been a lot of talk about the student who was apprehended, that he was, you know, called up to the office and all of that kind of stuff. No discipline was warranted. Reporter but shard saying Journal Entries and videos made by the suspect and found by investigators indicate his alleged actions appear to be premeditated. Without question it was something that was planned and anticipated and chilling in the way it was articulated to happen. Megan, after all of that, while most of us are here just devastated for these families, more than 60 schools in michigan had to close, not because they were in mourning, they had to close because now there is a wave of Copycat Threats. What can you tell us about this . Reporter yes, steph. You know, that long list continues to grow this morning. Even more School Districts across the state of michigan saying theyve closed their doors until monday after hundreds of threats have been pouring in throughout the week in light of the attack we saw at oxford high school. Now the County Sheriff here, the Oakland County sheriff, saying that so far none of those threats have been credible. But its putting a lot of people on edge here, especially in light of what we saw just days ago, steph. This is such a devastating story. Megan, thank you. And for all of us, it is a moment to think of those families and also think about our own lives. I have had a really hard parenting week that involved a lot of teenage shouting and then i think about those parents whose four kids put their backpacks on and went to school and their kids are never going to come home, and those parents arent going to get to yell at their kids, fight with them, or hug them. Our hearts go out to them. If you have your kids at home, give them a hug today, tell them you love them, and everybody Take A Deep Breath together because we have to find a way to get through this. Have to find o get through this cough cough sn. [ sneezing ] needs, plop plop fizz fizz. Alka seltzer plus cold relief. Dissolves quickly. Instantly ready to start working. So you can bounce back fast with alkaseltzer plus. Now available for fast sinus relief. Once upon a time, at the magical everly estate, Landscaper Larry and his trusty crew. Were delayed when the new kid totaled his truck. Timber. Fortunately, they were covered by progressive, so it was a happy ending. 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Miguel almaguer has more. Reporter alec baldwin says hes speaking out because he wants to clear up some misconceptions about what happened on the day at rust. He also said he did not pull the trigger and he doesnt think hell face criminal charges. I used to love to make movies. I did. Reporter emotional and at times defiant. I feel that someone is responsible for what happened, and i cant say who that is, but i know its not me. Reporter alec baldwin telling abc news his version of how cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was shot and killed with a colt 45 revolver he was holding while rehearsing a scene like this. The actor said he pulled back the hammer but didnt fully dock the weapon. I go how about that, does that work . Do you see that . Yeah, thats good. I let go of the hammer, bang the gun goes off. Reporter baldwin insisting he never pulled the trigger. Everyone is horrified, theyre shocked. Its loud. The gun was supposed to be empty. Reporter baldwin says hes grieving for Halyna Hutchins and her family. This boy doesnt have a mother anymore. And theres nothing we can do to bring her back. She was someone who was loved by everyone who worked with and liked by everyone who worked with and admired. Reporter attorneys for the films armorer, Hannah Gutierrez reed recently telling savannah they believe someone deliberately sabotaged the set by mixing live ammunition into a box labeled dummy rounds. The person who put the live rounds in the box of dummy rounds had to have the purpose of sabotaging this set. Theres no other reason you would do that. That you would mix that live round in with a dummy round. Reporter its a Claim Baldwin says he doesnt believe. Thats an enormous charge to make that someone came in and did something. For what purpose . What was their motive doing that if somebody did that . Its overwhelmingly likely it was an accident. Reporter just hours before the deadly shooting members of the films camera crew had walked off the set citing poor working conditions and safety concerns. But baldwin telling abc news he had no knowledge of any serious issues on the set and believed the filming on rust was going well. And so help me god. I sat on that pew right before they called lunch and i said this movie has made me love making movies again. Baldwin also pushing back against criticism he should have checked the gun even after told director dave halls. The actors responsibility is to do what the prop armorer tells them to do. Reporter and when asked if he feels guilt, as well as grief, baldwin said no. Honest to god, if i felt that i was responsible, i might have killed myself if i thought i was responsible. And i dont say that lightly. Alec baldwin says he does have plans to shoot a movie in january. Still, he fears because of what happened here, he worries his career may be over. Stephanie, back to you. Reporter miguel, thank you. Complicated story. Up next, in a few minutes, President Bidens scheduled to respond to todays jobs numbers. But first, well be speaking to labor secretary, marty walsh, with what the report means for both americans and the administration. Stay with us. Americans and the Administration Stay with us he oregon coast. My husband, sam, weve been married 53 years. We love to walk on the beach. I have two daughters and then two granddaughters. I noticed that memories were not there like they were when i was much younger. Since taking prevagen, my memory has gotten better and its like the Puzzle Pieces have all been [click] put together. Prevagen. Healthier brain. Better life. There are beautiful ideas that remain in the dark. But with our new multicloud experience, you have the flexibility you need to unveil them to the world. O man, thats a whole lot of wrinkly at least my shoes look good to unveil them to the world. 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By the end of this year, subaru will have donated over two hundred and twenty five Million Dollars to charity. This is what it means to be more than a car company. This is what it means to be subaru. Happening now, the Ghislaine Maxwell sex abuse trial resuming just moments ago in a New York City courtroom. A day after former employee of Jeffrey Epstein testified that he saw young women at epsteins palm beach estate, hundreds and hundreds of times. And among them were two women who have Accused Epstein of sexually abusing them as teenagers. Tom winter has the latest outside the courthouse. Tom, whats going on . Reporter steph, good morning. Juan alesssi, the man who managed Jeffrey Epsteins mansion with the pools and boats will be back on the stand today. Hell be up for crossexamination. One thing that could come up was something he talked about yesterday, which is an incident that happened after he left working for Jeffrey Epstein, when he went back to the house, broke in, and took several hundred thousand dollars in cash from his office. Epstein confronted him about it, went to the police, but no charges were filed and he agreed to pay epstein back for what happened. He called it a very difficult mistake in a very difficult time of his life. We should expect to hear more about that today. But what we heard yesterday was a lot of detail, new documents, including a 60page manual about what alessi and his wife, who he eventually had to hire because he was so busy working for epstein, to set up his house for Wherever Epstein would come to visit. Specific types of sheets, specific types of food, how he was to address epstein, not to have eye contact with him, only respond to questions that he raised. A lot of incredible detail, including detail that we heard that seemed to match some of the testimony we heard earlier this week about the first victim called in this case, the first alleged victim, thats jane. What age she was, her description, her looks, and he went into details about the types of thing he would find after Jeffrey Epstein would find after he had one of his quote, massages, that could include sex toys, and the things found in the massage room, and the Phone Message System that he would have, as well as, but it hasnt been admitted into evidence yet, the Jeffrey Epstein black book. He said in court yesterday that he believed that this first victim, jane, her Contact Information was included in there under massages. So the judge hasnt allowed that evidence to come in yet and to be made available to the jury, but theyre talking about it. That might happen today. Its one of the things were going to look forward to watching in court. Steph . Yet is the key word. Now lets turn back to our key story. The u. S. Economy adding only 210,000 jobs in november. Joining me now to discuss, u. S. Labor secretary marty walsh. All the data shows that our economy is doing well, but this new number is clearly a miss. What happened . I dont know if its a miss. I mean, every month that ive been standing here, the forecast has been either higher or lower. And there have been different i think at the end of the day, when you look at the story here during President Bidens administration, were seeing a lot of success. Were seeing a recovery thats working, nearly 6 million jobs added to the economy, were seeing nearly two points dropped off the unemployment number. Were seeing people in manufacturing, construction, in those areas that quite honestly have been underperforming even prepandemic or doing well. We certainly have work to do. Theres no question about it. But i would say, we have to look at the whole picture and not just monthtomonth snapshots. Given all of that and add in the biggest ceos in this country are saying the Supply Chain Issues are improving, the price of gas is dropping, Consumer Demand is up, those are all big positives, in addition to what you just laid out. Put all of that together and explain to us, why then are the president s poll numbers dropping . I cant talk about the poll numbers. I think people President Biden, if you look at what hes already accomplished in a short period of time, its really remarkable. I mean, hes working hard, hes passed two major pieces of legislation. Hes working on a third. Hes focused on the initial recovery that were seeing, some lowwage workers, earners are actually making more money. Theyre seeing his plan, when he ran for president was to help people get into the middle class. And if you look at the job gain in our country, a lot of it is in areas, even the folks that were making less money in the past and making more money, theyre actually outpacing inflation, as far as earners. But you know, we have to continue to move forward. This is a cycle. A lot of concern in this country with the pandemic. People have gone through a lot in the last 20 months, concerned about their health, concerned about their family, concerned about their job. And i think were living in a time right now that we have to take it a day at a time and be patient with one another. There are still many, many open jobs. A lot of Small Business owners are saying, theyve given up on trying to fill jobs. We know that immigration has been going down and the number of Immigrant Workers with h1b visas just saw the worst drop in a decade. Is that a contributing factor to the Labor Shortage . No, i think whats contributing to the labor short age is people are still concerned about the virus. We still dont have a strong system when it comes to child care in our system, thats a concern. We dont have a strong system about making sure whos taking care of our elderly and sick parents and grandparents. There are people worried about that. There are people worried about their health. Thats why went we did the standard, it was about making sure people felt safe going back into the workforce. Really, weve heard from a lot of people who are part of this Great Resignation that they have left some of their lower wage jobs and theyve found better jobs, higherpaying jobs, leaving some of the lower ones. You dont think addressing immigration would do anything . Oh, no, sorry, i misinterpreted your question. I absolutely agree with you 100 . I think we should address immigration questions, theres no question about it. I misinterpreted what you were saying, im sorry. I think thats an issue that we should be dealing with, and when i go around the country and talk to ceos of company and ask them their opinion of immigration reform, and every Single Person ive spoken to agrees that this country needs to do comprehensive immigration reform. The president filed a bill on it and its a bill that would help our economy and help our workplaces across america. No question about it. All right, then. Secretary walsh, thank you for joining us this morning. I appreciate it. That wraps up this hour. I am stephanie ruhle. I owe my friend jose diazbalart at least a minute. I am sorry for going over