what may have caused this shocking end to a life seemingly spinning out of control? and great white shark spottings heightened. fears along the cape cod area. our own brian todd is on a boat with experts trying to track them down. i'm wolf blitzer, you're in "the situation room." right now a disappointing jobs report kicks off day two of president obama's bus tour into overdrive and arms his opponent, mitt romney, with new political ammunition to use against him. look at this. unemployment is stuck at 8.2%. and only 80,000 jobs added in june. the numbers are even worse when you look at minorities. we're covering all sides of this dramatic political story. our own dan lothian and dana bash, they are both standing by live. but first cnn's poppy harlow breaks down the numbers. >> hi there, wolf. i think the headline for this jobs report is disappointing. only 80,000 jobs created in the month of june. unemployment stays at 8.2%. we need to be creating somewhere between 300,000 and 400,000 jobs a month pretty consistently to bring that rate down. issues here 12.7 million americans still unemployed in this country. 5.4 million of them have been out of work for six months or longer. the longer you're out of work, the longer it takes you to find a job. that is a problem. also very key here. 2.5 million people are not counted in this unemployment rate at all. they can work, but they have stopped looking for work. so they're not counted in the unemployment rate. so it's actually higher than 8.2%. also very key here is minorities. we have to look at what has happened to african-americans. their unemployment rate has gone up for the month of may. it's now nearly 14.5%. it is pretty much double unemployment for whites, hispanics, 11% unemployment. that's problematic. and this is all very political. looking at the big picture here, we were bleeding jobs at the end of the bush administration and the beginning of the obama administration. this is where you'll hear the president talk about jobs recovery. but the issue here is the last three months. april, may and june. we have seen just anemic jobs growth. this jobs report is key because we only have four more jobs reports before the election. so you're going to here back and forth from both the obama administration and the romney camp about which policies are going to get us back on track because we need to be creating many more jobs than we are right now to get this unemployment rate down. wolf. >> you're absolutely right, poppy. thanks very much. cnn senior congressional correspondent, dana bash, has been following mitt romney this week. he may be on vacation in new hampshire, but he didn't miss the chance to pounce. he spoke out reacting to these latest jobs numbers even before the president, dana. >> reporter: that's right. he sure did. he has been in new hampshire all week long. he's been jet skiing and boating and getting ice cream with his kids and grand kids. but meanwhile his campaign headquarters here in boston they have been waiting for today, the first friday of the month, to try to refocus the narrative for mitt romney on what they want to talk about, which is joblessness on president obama's watch. 90 minutes after news broke of disappointing jobs in your opinions, a vacationing mitt romney appeared before cams ra. >> it's another kick in the gut for middle class families. >> reporter: responding fast is a way for team romney to begin its own political recovery after a rough holiday week. an aide veering off gop message about whether the health insurance mandate is a tax, which the candidate himself cleaned up on july 4th. >> the supreme court has the final word, right? isn't it the highest court in the land? they said it was a tax, didn't they? it's a tax. that's what they say it is. >> reporter: and there was an unusual amount of friendly fire. a pair of corporate heavyweights calling romney's advisors amateur and harsh editorials in the influential "the wall street journal" and weekly standard which slammed the gop candidate for focusing too much on what the president hasn't done and not enough on what romney would do. editor william crystal writing "adopting a prevent defense when it's only the second quarter and you're not even ahead is dubious enough as a strategy." a day later this got special emphasis. >> i have a plan. my plan calls for action to get america working again and create good jobs both near-term and long-term. it includes finally taking advantage of our energy resources, building the keystone pipeline. making sure we create energy jobs and convince manufacturers that energy will be available and low cost in america. >> reporter: despite trying to quiet criticism by reiterating his economic plan, romney advisors believe this election will be a special twist on ronald reagan's famous question. >> are you better off than you were four years ago? >> reporter: romney aides argue with president obama it's not so much a question of are you better off, it's did he meet those high expectations he set four years ago for a different america with soaring rhetoric like this. >> everybody has a chance to succeed. from the ceo to the secretary. from the factory owner to the men and women on the factory floor. >> reporter: it was no accident that romney used an emotional term, kick in the gut, not once but twice. >> america can do better. and this kick in the gut has got to end. >> reporter: now, mitt romney still has work to do to reassure those conservatives, especially those like on the editorial page of "the wall street journal" who say he's "squandering an historic opportunity to win the white house." wolf, let me give you a statistic to show you why conservatives are so worried and frankly frustrated. and that is since franklin roosevelt 70 years ago, no president has won re-election with the unemployment rate where it is right now. >> yeah. i think ronald reagan did it 7.2%, 7.3%. >> reporter: yeah. not as high as now, exactly. >> right. the president obviously has a lot of work over these next four months. i did notice and i'm sure you did as well, dana, that romney on this day he not only blasted the president, but he also went out and specifically noted what he would do differently. >> reporter: that's exactly right. as i noted in the piece, that did not seem to be an accident at all. he went out and he really trashed the president, but he was very specific and very clear. he said the word plan two or three times. i have a plan. and then he went onto list the plan. as you know, wolf, part of the problem that conservatives have and their concern isn't just that he's not talking about his plan, is that it is 59 points which is a lot to talk about. they want to narrow the focus. much like john sununu said to you yesterday. >> yes. thanks very much for that, dana. president obama did his best to put a relatively positive spin on the jobs numbers out on the campaign trail in ohio. here's cnn's dan lothian. >> reporter: president obama's battleground bus tour drove over a big speed bump when disappointing job numbers overshadowed his campaign message. >> it's still tough out there. >> reporter: at a rally in poland, ohio, the president didn't dwell on negative news. instead played up private sector gains. >> business has created 84,000 new jobs last month. and that overall means businesses have created 4.4 million new jobs over the past 28 months including 500,000 new manufacturing jobs. [ applause ] that's a step in the right direction. >> reporter: but unemployment remains at 8.2%. and voters are divided over who best can handle the economy. a recent cnn orc poll shows 48% of registered voters think mitt romney. 47%, president obama. looking to keep a tight grip on the battleground states of ohio and pennsylvania that voted for him in 2008, the president pushed his message of manufacturing gains especially in the auto industry to working class voters. he began the final day of his betting on america bus tour with breakfast in akron, ohio, where the president was joined by three union workers from a nearby goodyear tire plant. >> you've been there 20 years. you still there? >> reporter: then he toured this manufacturing plant near youngstown. a business the campaign said was expanding and creating jobs. at carnegie-mellon, there was one final appeal for a second term. >> and if you still believe in me like i believe in you, i hope you will stand with me in 2012. >> reporter: now, wolf, a sad note, the owner of ann's place, the restaurant where the president stopped in akron, ohio, to eat breakfast, passed away shortly after meeting the president. her name is 70-year-old josephine ann harris. no official cause of death, but the news we get is she had a number of medical problems. and she was feeling a little tingly, was rushed to the hospital also suffering from fatigue and passed away a short time afterward. you're taking a look at some pictures there of the president at that restaurant this morning. again, 70-year-old josephine ann harris, who met the president, died a short time later. >> that's a sad story. that's a very, very sad story. our condolences to her family. dan lothian out with the president in ohio. thanks, dan, very much. wall street feeling the ripple effects of today's bad jobs number. the dow ended down 124 points. the nasdaq and s&p also posted losses. by the way, we're expecting to see president obama in a few minutes from now. he's about to sign a major bipartisan piece of legislation. when it happens, we'll bring it to you live. you're looking at live pictures from the east room of the white house. plus, a war veteran's heroism is questioned by her opponent in a rather nasty congressional race. ahead, tammy duckworth joins us live to respond. and brian todd is in massachusetts. brian. >> reporter: the ominous "jaws" music, one of the most legendary apex predators of the sea is back in these waters. we're going to show you the pictures. this is new york state. we built the first railway, the first trade route to the west, the greatest empires. then, some said, we lost our edge. well today, there's a new new york state. one that's working to attract businesses and create jobs. a place where innovation meets determination... and businesses lead the world. the new new york works for business. find out how it can work for yours at thenewny.com. how did the nba become the hottest league on the planet? 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>> reporter: well, wolf, we got a very good firsthand look at some of the natural wildlife here. it's just incredible to look at. take a look at this beach behind me. our photo journalist is going to zoom in and show you some of this. this is just a gorgeous beach. it's one of the most popular best-known spots on the east coast in the summertime. but you'll notice there's no one in the water. and that's for good reason. gorgeous weather. and it's the height of summer. but they're only going in waist deep. it's not because the water's cold. >> i grew up watching "jaws" back in the '70s, vivid memories. i don't want to relive that. >> reporter: this is what they're worried about on cape cod. not far from where kwtd jaws" was filmed, great white sharks are back each measuring 14 feet. authorities have identified 20 of these predators right off the cape over the past three years and believe there are many more lurking. >> tuesday our most recent sightings by one of our spotter pilots, two white sharks. >> reporter: a group called cape cod shark hunters works with the massachusetts's division of marine fisheries to track, photograph and tag the great whites. we're out off the cape looking for the sharks with john of the marine fisheries division. we spot abundant marine life here including hump back whales. it looks like a harpoon, but it's a listening station. these buoys carry acoustic receivers that track the migration and behavior of great whites that have been tagged. what's drawing them here? >> we know they're here looking for seals. that's why we placed these in strategic locations where we know they're hunting seals, where we have documented seal kre nations. >> reporter: the population of gray and harbor seals on cape cod have made a huge comeback in recent years. every expert we speak to points to that as the magnet for great whites. here's a pod of seals. this is an area where they've tagged a lot of sharks. we're told that the sharks are very stealth-like. look on the bottom and come up and grab the seals even close to shore. this dead seal washed up on shore, expert says things to look for in a seal that's been attacked, teeth marks and possible tearing that you could be seeing right here. an expert later looks at our video and says this is very likely a shark attack victim. they're not scaring folks off. they're a top attraction this summer and good for business. >> some quality great white shark t-shirts being sold. it's awesome. >> i think folks in general love to see sharks. they love the idea of sharks. >> reporter: now, one marine biologist points out there hasn't been a shark attack on a human in these waters since about 1936. but with the seals making such a comeback and with the seals' proximity to the swimmers, authorities here are getting increasingly concerned, wolf. >> how close to the shoreline have these sharks that were spotted -- how close have they been? >> reporter: well, one expert who was tagging and tracking these said one shark was spotted about 100 yards from shore. but another one said that there was one spotted about 30 feet from the shoreline. so these sharks aren't too shy but coming very close to these beaches. >> brian todd on the beach there. thanks very much. brian will have a lot more coming up in our brand new 6:00 p.m. eastern hour later today. we'll head back to this story. meanwhile, a u.s. war veteran who lost both her legs in combat in iraq now is a candidate for congress. she's here in "the situation room" today to answer her opponent's charge -- at least the charge he made earlier here in "the situation room." and she's talking only about her military service and not the issues. and later, we have the incredible story of a man who literally climbed mt. everest and then died in a courtroom probably by his own hand once he was caught. i was born with scoliosis. without shriners hospitals, my life would be completely different. they gave me my future back. send your love to the rescue. donate to shriners hospitals, today. and how much the people in your life count on you. that's why we offer accident forgiveness... man: great job. where your price won't increase due to your first accident. we also offer a hassle-free lifetime repair guarantee, where the repairs made on your car are guaranteed for life or they're on us. these are just two of the valuable features you can expect from liberty mutual. plus, when you insure both your home and car with us, it could save you time and money. at liberty mutual, we help you move on with your life. so get the insurance responsible drivers like you deserve. looks really good. call... or visit your local liberty mutual office, where an agent can help you find the policy that's right for you. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy? finally, relief is on the way for the record-breaking heat wave in the eastern part of the united states. lisa sylvester's monitoring that and some other top stories in "the situation room" right now. lisa, what do we have? >> hi, wolf. first we have to get through saturday. that's when temperatures will be 10 to 20 degrees above normal in the mideast and mid-atlantic states. washington, d.c. broke a record today with its ninth straight day over 95 degrees. but a cold front begins moving through the midwest late saturday. and by early next week temperatures in the east will be back to normal. very good news. we were hoping to hear. and doctors around the world are trying to solve a new and deadly medical mystery. an unknown disease that targets children. they come down with a high fever then brain swelling and lung failure. so far the mystery illness is only showing up in cambodia. a doctor there says of the 64 cases he knows of, only two children survived. doctors throughout southeast asia are being alerted. and sunday's wimbledon finals will be one for the history books and the record books. on the final win, roger federer will be playing in his record eighth final going for a record-tying seventh men singles championship. and he will face andy murray, the first british man to make the wimbledon finals since 1938. a lot of folks are going to be watching that matchup, wolf. >> including me. what about you? >> i will. i will. i'll probably watch a little bit. i don't know the whole thing, but a little bit. >> i'll watch it. thanks, lisa. a candidate in one of the nastiest congressional races in the country is about to join us here in "the situation room" live. i'll ask tammy duckworth about her war record, her opponent's accusations she's avoiding the issues and suggesting she's not a "true hero." and we'll also take you live to president obama's upcoming signing ceremony for a bill that will affect highway projects across the country and keep student loan rates low. our abundant natural gas is already saving us money, producing cleaner electricity, putting us to work here in america and supporting wind and solar. though all energy development comes with some risk, we're committed to safely and responsibly producing natural gas. it's not a dream. america's natural gas... putting us in control of our energy future, now. i've got a nice long life ahead. big plans. so when i found out medicare doesn't pay all my medical expenses, i looked at my options. then i got a medicare supplement insurance plan. 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