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UN Passes Sanctions Against North Korea; Cardinals Meet In Vatican To Discuss Conclave; Hugo Chavez's Body Will Lie In State Forever; U.S. Gain 236,000 Jobs In February; John Brennan Confirmed As CIA Director

Aired March 8, 2013 - 08:00:00   ET

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


KRISTIE LU STOUT, HOST: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. And welcome to News Stream where news and technology meet.

Now provocation and threats: North Korea vows to scrap nonaggression packs with the south after being slapped with more UN sanctions.

Plus, a permanent presence: Venezuela now says the body of Hugo Chavez will remain on display after his funeral forever.

And they are half the world's population, we look at the achievements and challenges facing women on this international women's day.

North Korea is once again breathing fire after the UN security council voted unanimously to impose tougher sanctions on the country. And releasing more heated rhetoric, Pyongyang says it will no longer observe any nonaggression agreements with South Korea. Now state TV has been showing what it says are new images of leader Kim Jong un inspecting troops, although the date of this video is unclear.

Now on Thursday, North Korea threatens a preemptive nuclear attack on its enemies. And South Korea's new president Park Hyun-hye says Seoul will respond strongly to any provocation.

Now this new round of sanctions on North Korea aims to tighten restriction in several key areas. Now one focus is on finance to make it more difficult for North Korea to move money around electronically or as cash stuffed in suitcases. They'll make it harder to fund its nuclear weapons program.

Another target of the tighter sanctions is sea and air cargo now to prevent Pyongyang from acquire or exporting weapons related materials.

And the sanctions also block the sale of luxury goods to North Korea such as yachts or certain high end jewelry.

Now the new sanctions are the result of weeks of negotiations primarily between diplomats from the U.S. and China. Now implementing the sanctions will require cooperation from China, North Korea's neighbor and closest ally.

And for more on China's reaction, we are joined by CNN's David McKenzie in Beijing. And David, will China follow through and enforce these new sanctions on North Korea?

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kristie, China has been very clear saying that sanctions have no point unless they are enforced. They said it at the UN. They're reiterating it through state media today. So certainly the word back in China is very strong. They say that this is an important step towards ending the nuclear program in North Korea.

As you describe, those tough measures which are trying to stop both the financing and the supplying of the nuclear program as well as keeping the high life away from the high officials of North Korea.

In the midst of this, it's very alarming rhetoric, as you describe, coming from North Korea threatening to have their finger on the trigger to preemptively strike the United States, South Korea and others. China has always been an interlocutor in this discussion between these sides. And they today try to calm down this rhetoric.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HUA CHUNYING, CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESWOMAN (through translator): China calls upon all relative parties to stay calm and refrain from taking actions that may escalate the tension. We encourage peaceful talks, negotiation and resolutions that can thoroughly resolve the issues in Korean peninsula and northeastern Asia. China will unswervingly pursue this goal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCKENZIE: Well, China is in a tough spot, Kristie, because it's a long time ally of North Korea and often communications to North Korea run through China, or come from China, by being seen as the forefront of these sanctions they might be perceived by North Korea to turning their back on the regime. So very delicate diplomatic times between China and North Korea. And certainly the real push right now is to calm the tensions and figure out what to do next, Kristie.

LU STOUT: That's right, China calling for calm, but also promising to enforce these new sanctions.

David McKenzie joining us live from CNN Beijing, thank you.

Now the White House says that Pyongyang's threats will only increase its isolation. And the U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland says the U.S. has heard much of this harsh rhetoric before from Pyongyang.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VICTORIA NULAND, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESWOMAN: This kind of bellicose rhetoric from the DPRK is not surprising, it's not new. This regime has regularly missed the opportunity to improve its relationship with the outside world. Let me just take this opportunity to say that the United States is fully capable of defending against a DPRK ballistic missile attack. Furthermore, we are continuing to upgrade our ballistic missile defense capabilities. We remain firmly committed to the defense of the Republic of Korea and Japan and the maintenance of regional peace and security.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Victoria Nuland there.

Now there is a major question when it comes to warnings like this from Pyongyang. What is North Korea's nuclear capability. Now the country does have long range missiles. After several failed attempts, North Korea achieved a successful launch this past December which you see right here.

Now Pyongyang has also carried out three underground nuclear tests, one occurred just last month, the first under Kim Jong un, the others were carried out in 2009 and 2006. But here's the catch, the two capabilities have yet to come together. Many experts say North Korea does not have the technology needed to mount a nuclear warhead on a missile or to target a missile effectively.

Now to Venezuela, a nation in mourning. Now Vice President Nicolas Maduro will be sworn in as interim president later today. And hours before he is sworn in, a state funeral will be held for his mentor President Hugo Chavez. The government says that more than 2 million people have filed past Mr. Chavez's casket to pay last respects. Maduro also says that President Chavez will be embalmed and put on display at a military museum for eternity.

Now Shasta Darlington joins us now live from the Venezuelan capital where world leaders have been gathering for the state funeral. And Shasta, again, leaders around the world are there for the funeral. What can you tell us?

SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well Kristie, it's incredible, they expect 30 heads of state from five different continents. The Iranian president Ahmadinejad is already here. But the vast majority will be coming from Latin America and that's because this is really a time to reflect on a man who is obviously very charismatic, but also controversial leader and who -- had one of his main dreams was to try and unite Latin America in a new revolutionary left that would sideline the United States, what he called the imperialist powers.

And so a lot of the leaders who are ideologically aligned with him -- Eduador, Bolivia, Argentina, they're here. But we really expect to have virtually every president in the region.

Remember, this was a dream that was paid for, in large part, by Venezuela's vast oil reserves. So a lot of countries benefited from that, especially Cuba, Nicaragua, so those leaders will be here. But even then, beyond that -- even the United States is sending a small delegation (inaudible).

LU STOUT: You know, and it is such a curious development, the news that Hugo Chavez will be embalmed and then placed on permanent display. Shasta, what was the thinking behind that?

DARLINGTON: Well, you know, it's very straightforward in what sounds like a bizarre way, he wants -- the Vice President Nicolas Maduro announced that he wanted to immortalize Hugo Chavez. He wanted to put him on a pedestal the same way other leftist revolutionary leaders had been -- Ho Chi Minh, Lenin, Mao. So the solution obviously is to embalm him, put him in a glass case in the revolutionary museum in Caracas so that Venezuelans and the world will have him with them forever and always.

I should point out that there are some -- many people who support Hugo Chavez who think this is a great idea. They do want the leader of the Bolivarian revolution with them always, others think that it's actually inappropriate, that he should be buried in a traditional way. But no doubt this is part of Maduro's attempt to keep the Bolivarian revolution alive and show that he is the man to inherit it and to carry on that tradition, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Interesting, the political dimension to that decision there.

Shasta Darlington joining us live from Caracs. Thank you very much indeed.

And much like Venezuela, Cuba is facing uncertainty in the wake of the death of Hugo Chavez. Mourners, they've waited in long lines to attend a memorial for the Venezuelan president. And there are also questions about what will happen to the oil subsidies that flow from Caracas to Havana. Patrick Oppmann has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: In a crowd of thousands in the hot Cuba son, Elvira Varela fights back tears as she remembers Hugo Chavez.

ELVIRA VARELA, MOURNING HUGO CHAVEZ (through translator): He helped Cuba so much. He was like a brother to Fidel, that's why I carry his picture.

OPPMANN: It was not long ago that Cubans felt abandoned by the world. The Soviet Union had fallen, the Cuban economy was in tatters. Then, newly elected Hugo Chavez offered a political alliance and generous oil subsidies. For 12 hours Thursday, a line of mourners in Havana that stretched seemingly forever, paid Chavez their respects.

Raoul Castro saluted Chavez before heading to Caracas to attend his state funeral. Absent from view, Fidel Castro sent these flowers to the man who once kept vigil next the Cuban leader's hospital bed.

There's an overwhelming sense of sadness in Cuba right now, not just over the loss of a key ally, but also with the realization that all of Cuba's efforts to keep Hugo Chavez alive were not enough. For months, Chavez was treated at Cuba's top hospitals far from public view. Even worshipers of the Santaria religion made offerings to the spirits who seemed to stalk Chavez.

And when Chavez finally succumbed, a government newscaster broke down in error announcing his death.

"Chavez is Cuban," he said. "Chavez is in our hearts."

Also on Cubans minds is Chavez's oil that powers much of Cuban industry. The future of those 100,000 barrels a day is unclear.

JORGE PINON, ENERGY EXPERT: The impact of Cuba losing that contract or that arrangement, either due to a change of government or a change of policy in Venezuela, will be disastrous not only from an economic point of view, but also from the social and political point of view.

OPPMANN: Back at the memorial for Hugo Chavez in Havana, mourners, at least those who would talk to us on camera, say the oil will keep flowing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We hope the Chazista stay in power. I am not worried in the slightest.

OPPMANN: But as Cuba concludes a three day period of national mourning for Chavez, the pain may only be just beginning.

Patrick Oppmann, CNN, Havana.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Coming up on News Stream, the cardinals are at the Vatican. And find out if they are about to set a date for their conclave to elect a new pope.

And taking out terrorists, the U.S. could be making some key changes to its controversial drone program.

And today is International Women's Day. We'll look at the strides that women have made and the hurdles that remain.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back. You're looking at a video rundown of all the stories in the show. And so far we've told you about North Korea's response to new international sanctions. And later, the U.S. unemployment figures for February are due, but now let's turn to the vacancy in the Vatican. The Vatican now says cardinals will vote later today on a date for the conclave.

Now Catholic church officials from around the world are present. And workers are installing stoves inside the Sistine Chapel, that's where the conclave will be held. One stove is designed for burning ballots, and the other will provide the smoke that will reflect a decision on the future of the papacy.

Now on Thursday, it sounded like the cardinals were close to making a decision. Now Cardinal Roger Mahoney, the retired archbishop of Los Angeles, he tweeted this, "days of general congregrations reaching a conclusion. Setting of day for conclave nearing. Mood of excitement prevails among cardinals."

But some 15 hours later, he sounded a little bit less certain, writing this, "all 115 of the eligible electors for the next pope are now in Rome, hope day for conclave is set soon. Your prayers are really needed."

Now with Easter just around the corner, many inside the Catholic church would like to see a new pontiff in place to lead the ceremonies.

Our senior international correspondent Ben Wedeman is standing by in Rome. And Ben, all the electors are there, they are finally in place, so why is it taking so long to just announce a date?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, what we understand is that they have a lot to discuss. The general congregation of cardinals, which includes those cardinals who will participate in the conclave, but also those over the age of 80 has been going on all week. They've been discussing questions like governance, basically how the Vatican is managed. And we understand there are those who believe it needs to be revamped, it needs to be modernized, it needs to be more transparent organization.

Now regarding the date of the conclave, we heard from Father Federico Lombardi who is the chief spokesman for the Vatican. He said that this evening at 7:00 pm local time, that's just five hours away, they would probably be making an announcement regarding the date of the conclave.

Now there's still some things that need to be done, for instance the cardinals will be staying in the Santa Marta -- basically a hostile inside the Vatican, but they need to pick straws to see -- or draw lots -- to decide who gets the best rooms during the conclave for those 115 cardinals who will be participating in that election -- Kristie.

LU STOUT: And Ben, what is the latest thinking about who will be the new leader for the Catholic Church? I mean, what are Vatican watchers telling you? Are they expecting a traditionalist or a reformer?

WEDEMAN: Well, really, that's the main sort of struggle, so to speak, if you can use such a word regarding the cardinals. There are those who -- the traditionalist, largely the Italian contingent within the Vatican, and North -- rather an American bloc, a bloc of cardinals from North America and South America who represent a somewhat more progressive group within the Vatican. So really that's the struggle.

As far as who the favorite candidate is, it's really hard to say. The traditionalists seem to be tending in the direction of Angelo Scola, who is the cardinal from Milan in Italy. As far as the Americans go, you hear a variety of names. Marc Ouellet of Canada. There are others from South America. But at this point, you're talking about around a dozen potential candidates.

But the cardinals are keeping their cards very close to their chests - - Kristie.

LU STOUT: Indeed. Ben Wedeman joining us live in Rome. Thank you very much indeed for that.

Now you're watching News Stream. And coming up next, it is International Women's Day. And on this day, we are looking at the lives of women around the world. How far we've come in terms of earning potential, political power, and more, and how far we have yet to go.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Coming to you live from Hong Kong. You are back watching News Stream.

And if you have logged onto Google today, this was the image that greeted you, the faces of 27 women representing different races and ages. It is a celebration of International Women's Day. Now Women's Day has been observed since the early 1900s. And today, there is some 3.5 billion women and girls in the world, about half the world's population. And if you think about the last year, we have seen some incredible achievements.

Marissa Mayer, she took the reigns at Yahoo. There are only 21 female CEOs in the Fortune 500.

In sport, Danica Patrick is the first woman to take pole position at the Daytona 500.

But there have also been reminders of how far women have to go. Malala Yousufzai became a household name after the Taliban shot her in the head. Now she was targeted for supporting education for girls in Pakistan.

Now in India, activists say that they're country has long turned a blind eye to an epidemic of violence against women. After a recent deadly rape case, women there are on a campaign for change. Sumnima Udas has that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUMNIMA UDAS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: For weeks, thousands of Indian women braved a harsh New Delhi cold to protest the deadly gang rape of a 23-year-old student. They camped out in front of police stations blocking traffic. They marched in silence. And sometimes the protests turned violent.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When this incident happened, and the protests came out, for the first time I felt very empowered on the streets.

UDAS: The protests may have dwindled, and rape is no longer dominating the headlines, but Sonya (inaudible) says finally her voice is being heard. Like most girls their age, they enjoy hanging out after class, going to the movies, and just being themselves. But they've had to grow up being cautious.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can't laugh as loud as boys on the bus. You can't, you know, be uncouth like boys on the bus.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And as girls, we've always been told that this is something you have to do, you have to, you know, obey certain rules and travel in a certain way.

UDAS: And activities which would feel safe in many countries, are still anything but.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm actually feeling unsafe in the -- late at night and going to watch a film somewhere. I would never do that. I can't dream of doing that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everyone is scared, are really scared.

UDAS: It's now 7:00 pm. (inaudible) parents have called several times worried. As the bus approaches, she takes steps to avoid unwanted attention. There are designated sections for women, but the rules are rarely followed.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One has to deal with not trying to get any attention. You have to try your best to be invisible.

UDAS: Delhi has always been known as the crime capital of India. According to government data, the city accounted for almost 20 percent of all rape cases. And more cases of rape are reported here than any other major Indian city.

But 21-year-old Kushi (ph) is breaking with tradition. She is one of Delhi's few female cab drivers.

"All girls can sew and cook," she says, "but I choose to drive a cab, because it's unique, because men are told only they can drive."

Kushi (ph) has taken self defense classes and carries pepper spray. Still, she's proud to be able to do what many women in Delhi won't.

Others up for careers traditionally dominated by men, like Ruppa (ph) who is a traffic police officer. Her job requires her to stand in the middle of one of Delhi's busiest intersections. She says she'd rather be doing something else, but in her uniform she feels empowered.

Sumnima Udas, CNN, New Delhi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Some inspiring women and girls in that report.

And we want to know who moves you. You can find a collection of quotes on our Leading Women website. Or tweet us your favorite words with the hashtag #wisdomofwomen.

Now Manchester United faces a big FA Cup match this weekend against Chelsea, but all the talk beforehand is centered on Wayne Rooney's future with the club. Amanda Davies joins us now with more -- Amanda.

AMANDA DAVIES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kristie, yeah, there's been plenty of controversy this week surrounding his future, hasn't there? And Sir Alex Ferguson has promised that Rooney will be staying at Manchester United next season . The Old Trafford boss gave his word that the striker won't be going anywhere after speculation that the 28-year-old was on his way out having been left out -- left on the bench for United's Champion's League match against Real Madrid on Tuesday.

But speaking ahead of Sunday's FA Cup quarterfinal against Chelsea, Ferguson denied that that was the case. He said "he will be here next year, you have my word on that. There is no issue between myself and Wayne Rooney to suggest we don't talk is nonsense. There are no issues with the player and he will be involved on Sunday."

Well, Chelsea will have to pick themselves up for that clash against United this weekend having lost their Europea League last 16 first leg match against Steaua Bucharest on Thursday. Interim Manager Rafa Benitez believes his side will still make the quarterfinals, though, despite being 1-0 down heading into the second leg.

Raul Rusescu scored from the penalty spot midway through the first half to give the Romanians the advantage.

Well, Gareth Bale was on target again for Spurs as they thumped Inter Milan 3-0 at White Hart Lane. That was his 11th goal in nine games. But he is set to miss the second leg, having picked up another yellow card which earns him a suspension. Gylfi Sigurdsson and Jan Vertonghen completed the scoring for Spurs to give Andres Villas-Boas's side a comprehensive advantage.

On to golf. And the world number one Rory McIlroy has been back on the course for the first time since walking off last week at the Honda Classic. He's in action in Doral and admitted it was a struggle after shooting a 1 over par 73.

McIlroy played in a group with Tiger Woods and England's Luke Donald for his opening round at the WGC Cadillac Championship. And Tiger really found his form. He made nine birdies on the Blue Monster course for a six under par 66. That put him in a five way share of the lead with Master's Champion Bubba Watson, former U.S. Open Champ Graham McDowell, Sergio Garcia and Fredrik Jacobson.

But it was another rough day for McIlroy. He only hit three fairways and made six boogies as well despite making a 15 foot eagle putt on the first, the best he could manage was that 73. So the Northern Irishman still looking for his first below par score of the year.

On to the NBA. And Kevin Durant says Oklahoma City Thunder has everything it needs to win the title after the Thunder beat the New York Knicks 95-94. Carmelo Anthony was missing for Knicks through injury, but JR Smith stepped up with 36 points. Durant got 34 of his own for Thunder. Here, driving around Jason Kidd to knock down the fadeaway jumper to give Thunder a 91-90 lead.

And they stayed ahead. With five second to go, Smith missed the chance to steal for the Knicks. It gave the Thunder their third straight win.

That's it. Full roundup in World Sport in a couple hours time, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Oh, the Thunder have the edge. And big props to Kevin Durant. Amanda Davies there joining us live from CNN London, thank you.

Now you're watching News Stream. Coming to you live from Hong Kong. And up next, we have the latest and highly anticipated U.S. Jobs Report. It is due out in any minute. And we will bring you the numbers and what they mean live from New York. That's coming up after the break.

Also ahead, Facebook's new look, the new newsfeed has been revealed, but is the revamp better for you or better for the advertisers? We'll tell you the story, I'll show you what it looks like, and we'll let you decide.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. You're watching News Stream. And these are your world headlines.

Now North Korea is threatening to scrap all nonaggression pacts with South Korea. It is a direct response to tough new sanctions backed by the UN security council. Now South Korea's new president has been vowing a strong response to any provocation from the north. Beijing says it is very concerned by North Korea's new threat and is also calling for calm.

Now Venezuelans, meanwhile, will bid a final farewell for former President Hugo Chavez at a state funeral today. Leaders from across the world have arrived in Caracas for the service. And later today, President Chavez's successor, Nicolas Maduro, will be sworn in as the country's interim leader.

Now nine South African police officers appeared in court today to face charges in the death of a man who was dragged behind a police van. Now the man was handcuffed to the back of a van and yanked down the street. He later died in police custody.

Osama bin Laden's son-in-law will appear in a U.S. court today to face charges of conspiring to kill Americans. Now Suleiman Abu Ghaith was captured in Jordan just a few days ago. And he will appear in a New York courthouse in just a few hours. And if convicted, he could face life in prison.

Now the U.S. Senate has confirmed John Brennan as the new CIA director. Now Brennan is a former White House counterterrorism adviser and a top architect of the Obama administration's drone program. And he replaces retired General David Petraeus who resigned in November amid revelations of an extramarital affair.

And Brennan's confirmation, it followed a marathon 13 hour attempt to prevent the vote by U.S. Senator Rand Paul. Now Paul said that he wanted more answers from the Obama administration over whether the U.S. president has the authority to use drones against Americans on U.S. soil.

Now CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr has more now on U.S. efforts to target terrorists oversees.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just outside Damascus, a military convoy is blown up by 50 roadside bombs. The Syrian- based al Qaeda affiliate, the al Nusra front, took responsibility for this attack. Now, the growing strength of extremist groups across the Middle East and Africa has led the Obama administration to begin a classified review of just who it can go after under its targeted killing program.

The issue, the current Congressional authorization to use military force allows the president to use all necessary and appropriate force against any persons or organizations involved in planning or carrying out the September 11th attacks. It's been interpreted to include al Qaeda affiliates.

ROBERT CHESNEY, UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS: The problem that's emerging today is you're beginning to encounter groups that don't even have that sort of first direct linkage to the core al Qaeda network.

STARR: The head of the U.S. special operations command says it's got much more complicated.

ADM. WILLIAM MCRAVEN, COMMANDER, SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND: You certainly cannot isolate a single organization, whether it's al Qaeda and Islamic (INAUDIBLE) Maghreb or (INAUDIBLE) and expect to be able to solve the problem either, you know, locally by going after that problem in a particular country or by individual entity.

STARR: Under the current law, using a drone to take out al Qaeda operatives in Yemen is allowed because that group is closely associated with al Qaeda element responsible for 9/11. But the main group (ph) for the attack against the U.S. compound in India, it isn't so clear. They have members associated with al Qaeda, but it's not the core mission of that group. Could the U.S. fire a drone over Libya under the current law?

CHESNEY: At a certain point, we must ask, why don't we have a fresh legislative look at this to talk about just where we think force should be and shouldn't be used.

STARR (on-camera): The bottom line, officials say, is they want to make sure the legal framework is solid if they want to go after extremist not be directly associated with the al Qaeda of 9/11.

Barbara Starr, CNN, The Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: And some very encouraging news for the U.S. economy as stocks, they have been hitting record highs earlier this week, and now news of very positive signs on the employment front. Felicia Taylor joins us live from New York with the just released monthly jobless figures for February, a surprise number here. Walk us through the numbers Felicia.

FELICIA TAYLOR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kristie Lu, this is a really strong report. And it was a huge surprise, especially for the marketplace. We were expecting about 160,000, instead we got a gain of 236,000. That is a huge number. In terms of what Wall Street is expecting, traders tell me that anything above 200,000 you're going to see an enormous rally. So we're clearly back in record territory in terms of where the market is going to go today.

Interestingly enough, the unemployment rate dropped to 7.7 percent. However, the January number was revised downward to 119,000. So that's a little bit of a concern, but truly this is an incredibly strong report.

We had a gain in construction jobs, which is not such a big surprise, because obviously we're still recovering from Sandy and other, you know, winter storms and things like that which we've got another one going on right now. But nevertheless, this is a very, very strong report.

The other thing that is a little bit concerning is that the labor force participation rate is only at about 63.5 percent, that's -- you know, not that great, because that's -- you know, before the recession started, that's the second lowest rate since we've seen that. So that's -- you know, there's a couple of little concerns, but I'm -- I'm euphoric, a 236,000 creation of jobs is a number we haven't seen in a very long time.

Hopefully, this is a beginning of an economy that really is beginning to recover -- Kristie Lu.

LU STOUT: Yeah, fingers crossed on that front. And this is a surprising report, a very strong report. Many people on the markets probably feeling the euphoria that you described just then.

What's going to happen next? Is there going to be enough positive momentum going forward, or still we're not out of the woods yet, more volatility ahead?

TAYLOR: Well, I think there's more volatility ahead, but certainly I've been wrong all week long, because we've been hitting record highs every single day this week. And, you know, presumably that's going to happen again today as we end the trading week.

But, yeah, there's plenty of concern out there. I mean, don't forget we've still got this whole issue of sequestration. There's still problems in the EuroZone. There's plenty of reasons to be concerned that this, you know -- this recovery isn't -- really have legs yet. So, yes, there's many reasons to be concerned out there.

But, nevertheless, this is a very, very strong report. And unless it gets revised in the month of March, you can feel really good about this.

LU STOUT: Yeah, the unemployment rate is the lowest since, what, December of 2008. This is a record report. Can you give us the mood on the corporate front? I mean, what is the mood among companies in America, are they willing to hire more and hire more full-time workers?

TAYLOR: That is a real problem. And you can actually take a look at what's going out there on the corporate front and see that things are not really on footing yet, because corporations are not willing to hire the way they were before the recession began. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TAYLOR: They were partying like it was 1999, back when the Dow first hit 10,000. This week, with the Dow hitting record highs for the first time in five years, there was far less celebration.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People don't feel the euphoria that they felt when we were making new highs back in '06, '07, right, when the economy was better.

TAYLOR: There is a big reason why few are cheering, companies are prospering while their workers are falling further behind. As a percentage of GDP, after tax corporate profits are at record highs, but worker pay is close to its lowest ever share of GDP.

According to the Economic Policy Institute, a liberal think-tank, many workers have seen little improvement in wages an benefits for about 10 years, even as their increased productivity has helped fuel profits.

And the wealth gap in the U.S. continues to resonate.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 1 percent of America has 40 percent of all the nation's wealth.

TAYLOR: A YouTube video that purports to have crunched the numbers has gone viral. To be sure, the U.S. continues to add jobs, but the majority of positions are lower wage jobs. And even if you have steady employment, you may not be sleeping easy. A recent study from Rutgers says almost half of U.S. workers remain terrified of losing their job in these uncertain economic times.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TAYLOR: So you can see job security isn't exactly that great in terms of the United States. And also, you know, a lot of traders that I speak to on Wall Street say that we are going to be facing a little bit of a pullback in the next few months, more than likely whether you can call that a correction, I don't think that's going to happen until more toward the end of the year, which is a pullback of about 10 to 15 percent.

So, you know, there's tender footing out there. So it's not exactly all great news, but nevertheless, this is a terrific report just to end the week on.

LU STOUT: Yeah, a terrific report for this Friday. Felicia thank you very much for your context behind that report. Still a lot of uncertainty there in the U.S. market. Felicia Taylor joining us live from New York.

And Felicia will be back with the World Business Today team, that starts in about 20 minutes from now. And find out how the market responds to these news jobs numbers. WBT will bring you Wall Street's opening bell. Stick around for that.

Now here in Asia, the weather has turned colder. And there may be a sand storm heading to Beijing.

Our Mari Ramos joins us now from the World Weather Center with more -- Mari.

MARI RAMOS, CNN WEATHER CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kristie, I think people across East Asia had a little bit of a taste of spring, even feeling a lot like summer. Temperatures some 10, even 15 degrees above the average for this time of year. So it had been feeling pretty good for many, but we're starting to see a little bit of a change in that.

I wanted to show you this picture because first of all the masks, but also look at the background over here. This is the air -- picture from yesterday in Beijing. They, again, got to off the chart levels when it came -- when it comes to pollution.

They did get a little bit of an improvement in the last 24 hours or so and went from off the charts way -- down here above 500 -- to -- into the mid 160s here. So they're back to the unhealthy level. Still nothing in the good range, or the moderate range, which is where we would like to see it, but we may start to see some problems here with the air quality again, because of an approaching sand storm.

I want to show you a couple of things. First of all, let's -- let me show you over here -- here we go. This is what it looks like just in the last few hours. You can already see, here's the Korean peninsula, there's Seoul right there. And you see these swaths right here of a darker color. There's the ocean. You can see the difference.

All of this is actually blowing sand and dust that's moving even across parts of western Japan, through the Korean peninsula, and is much more marked over here across this western portion -- this eastern portion, I should say, of China.

So this is just kind of the leading edge, the beginning of it. And let me show you why. As we continue to move on here, we're still going to be dealing with one weather system that has moved on and has caused -- so that's blowing sand and dust, which is what you saw on that weather map over here.

But there's another weather system that's coming along. And this one is going to bring us those colder temperatures that you're talking about. Already today Beijing a lot colder than it was yesterday. But the coldest air probably won't get here until the later part of the week here. Again, another image of what that cold front looks like.

And the temperatures, you see it reflected here as well -- 13, 13 and then 14 on Monday. Go from 25 on Saturday in Shanghai to only about 10 on Sunday. Big different also in Seoul from 18 to 7. And then also back over here in Tokyo from 19 to 23 and then all the way down to 12.

So those temperatures moderate, the colder air comes in. And along this front, the other thing that happens is, yeah, the dust. And I want to show you that. I'm going to go ahead and move out of the way over here so I can show you precisely what I'm talking about.

I'm going to bring up the website from the JMA. And this is something you're familiar with, but again you're looking at Japan over here, here's the Korean peninsula. These darker colors are the concentration of dust. And I want to go ahead and show you over here as we put this in motion how it does get a little bit more separated, so to speak, as we get over toward Japan, but the higher concentrations are expected to remain right over China.

So that's definitely going to be something we'll continue to monitor over the next couple of days.

And last but not least, my favorite story of the day today is this -- can we put the asteroid video, if we could? There it is. It's that little faint dot at the bottom left of that square that you saw there. Yes, Kristie, there is another asteroid that will be making a flyby by Earth, relatively farther away than the other one, about two-and-a-half times the distance from the Earth to the moon, this one measures about 80 meters. So it's -- we won't feel a thing. It's not going to affect Earth in any way.

The interesting thing is that they only found it last week, because they're so small, they can't see these small asteroids until they're fairly close to Earth.

And asteroid like this would cause some damage to Earth if it were to hit. This one is not going to. But the good thing is this one will not, but this will not be a species ending kind of event, either. That's important to point out.

LU STOUT: Yeah, Mari, that's good to hear. But still, they only found out about this last week. What's going on here?

RAMOS: They're looking at the sky and they're just too small to be able to be picked up even with the best kinds of telescopes that we have so far. So that's why. They're watching the sky.

LU STOUT: All right. And I bet you're bringing out your telescope. Your watching the skies as always for us. Mari Ramos, thank you.

Now you're watching News Stream. And still to come, we head South by Southwest to Austin, Texas. We'll get the latest from a tech titan taking part in the festival. That story straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back.

Now let's return to our visual rundown of today's big stories. Earlier, we explained why it is taking so long for the cardinals gathered at the Vatican to pick a date for the conclave to pick the next pope. Now, an update on a story we brought to you on Thursday's News Stream, Facebook is getting a facelift.

Now, were our predictions correct? Well, let's take a look. Now on the left, is the feed we are familiar with. And on the right is the new newsfeed. It is less cluttered with bigger, brighter photos and less empty white space. Now the social network says the stream is designed to be like a personalized newspaper, so it has a bold front page and then a variety of different sections for status updates, photos, music and games.

And the new look is intended to work the same way across a range of devices from computers to tablets and mobile phones, but it'll be rolled out slowly to give Facebook time to watch and to tweak the design. Now there is a wait list for users who want to be among the first to try it out.

Now, tech, film, and music buffs are flocking to Austin, Texas for the mixed media festival South by Southwest. Now past events have helped launch the apps many of us use every day -- big name brands like Twitter and Foursquare. So, it is no surprise that South by Southwest attracts to tech titans as well. And CNN Money's Laurie Segall is there and caught up with one of them.

And Laurie, just what did you learn from Bill Gates?

LAURIE SEGALL, CNN MONEY CORRESPONDENT: Sure. I sat down -- we had an exclusive interview with Bill Gates and he's here because he's talking about tech and education. You know, the Gates Foundation, they've helped so much in developing countries, but they're really focusing right now on the United States and trying to fix the education problem here.

I sat down with him and I asked him, tell me about computer programming, is this going to be very important in high schools? Are we going to see it? Listen to what he had to say, Kristie.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL GATES, FOUNDER, MICROSOFT: Well, I think more kids should learn to program. I wouldn't say that we should impose that on everyone. You know, the fact of understanding how the computer works gives you a real sense of what it can do and what it can't do. There's a lot of great jobs out there, you know, and so we don't have programming enough on the curriculum. But I certainly wouldn't put it at, you know, like math or literacy, but you know it -- there is a lot of innovative stuff that make it more interesting. It's not just for nerds like it was when I did it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: It's a -- you know, maybe you don't have to be a nerd to code, that's definitely the message Gates is trying to get out. He recently appeared in a video with Mark Zuckerberg really trying to make coding and that kind of thing cool. So -- because he says that's where the jobs are, knowing how to computer program is really going to be important in the future -- Kristie.

LU STOUT: If you sit down with Bill Gates, you have to ask him what's next. I mean, what's next in tech and especially computer. What did he tell you?

SEGALL: I did. You can't sit across from a giant like Bill Gates and not ask him that question. And I said, you know, we've got the computer, we've got the smartphone, what is next? And he said robotics. He gave me a great line. He basically said the next magic of software is going to be robotics. So we're going to see the computer move from the home and now to the phone and all around. We're going to see different types of robotics that are going to help us in all different kinds of ways, just another extension of the computer, Kristie.

LU STOUT: All right. Laurie Segall joining us live from Austin. Enjoy South by Southwest. Take care.

Now, to fans of the SimCity building simulation video game, news of a reboot for the Electronic Arts series. It was a dream come true, but that dream has rapidly become a nightmare. First, if you don't play, let me tell you about the game. Now it gives players the task of founding and developing a city with a balanced budget and happy citizens. And in the new SimCity game, players must be online and connected to Electronic Arts servers at all times.

Now it was launched three days ago, but some EA servers apparently crashed right after that. That means many people who bought the game have been unable to play it. As you can imagine they are not too happy about that.

NFL player and noted video game fan Chris Kluwe wrote this on Twitter, quote, "as a publisher or developer, if you're going to push always on onto the consumer then it is your responsibility to make sure it always works." And that's one of his more polite tweets.

Now the comedian Mike Drucker tweeted this, "Hey EA, you're going to be super embarrassed to hear this, but I think you forgot to turn on your SimCity servers."

Now as it tries to fix the problem, Electronic Arts has been forced to disable some of the game's features to get it to work. A statement on SimCity's official Facebook page says, quote, we are aggressively undergoing maintenance on the servers and adding capacity to meet demand. Performance will fluctuate during this process.

Now it sounds like it could be a frustrating weekend for SimCity gamers and EA bosses. Amazon has already posted a warning about EA's server problems.

Now you're watching News Stream coming to you live from Hong Kong. And coming up next, a couple's relationship takes a very public nosedive, but who is really to blame? Our investigator Jeanne Moos is on the case. This is a story you don't want to miss.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Now the original Star Wars movies may have been set a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, but a new trilogy in the sci-fi franchise featuring the original cast is looking closer every day. A new media interview with the Star Wars creator George Lucas seems to confirm speculation that Harrison Ford, Kerry Fisher, and Mark Hamel will reprise their roles. And that is thrilling fans.

We point out that Lucas sold his production company LucasFilm to Disney last October. And that deal included the rights to Star Wars. The filmmaker has continued to be involved with the new films, though, so time will tell if his hints become reality.

Now it is often hard to know what makes two people click. Sometimes, it's opposites that attract, but that didn't prove to be true for one U.S. couple with differing views about a mountain adventure jump. As Jeanne Moos reports, the disagreement sent their relationship right off the cliff.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When push came to shove, was it just a love nudge?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know I love you, right?

JESSICA POWELL, RELUCTANT JUMPER: Please don't push me off. Please don't.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am not.

MOOS: Or did her then-boyfriend not take no for an answer?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not going to push you. I'm not going to push you.

POWELL: Honey, honey! Ahhh!

(via phone): I felt like all of my insides had moved up into my chest.

MOOS: By now, millions have seen the infamous push, but this is the first time you'll hear her side of it. Jessica Powell and Creighton Baird, part of an extreme rope swing video, being put together by Devin Graham, but when it was Jessica's turn to jump...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three, two, one, zero!

MOOS: ... even a countdown couldn't jump-start her.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two, one, zero!

POWELL (on camera): I don't want to do it.

MOOS: For 45 minutes, she tried, and then kiss turned to shove.

POWELL: Ahhh! I'm breaking up with you!

BAIRD: I just got dumped!

MOOS: But before you say, "You jerk," consider what Jessica told Creighton 45 minutes earlier.

POWELL (via phone): You know, I'm really nervous about this. I don't know if I'll be able to jump. If I can't jump, you need to push me.

MOOS: But when he did, his reputation took a dive, as he told "Inside Edition."

BAIRD: I feel I have taken Chris Brown's spot as the worst boyfriend in America.

MOOS: Make that worst ex-boyfriend. Her at-the-end-of-her-rope line...

POWELL (on camera): I'm breaking up with you!

MOOS: -- had them in stitches on "Kimmel." But it turns out...

POWELL (via phone): I've since broken up, not anything to do with the video. I have zero hard feelings for Creighton.

MOOS (on camera): The breakup happened about a month after the show for reasons Jessica prefers to keep private.

(voice-over): But when she climbed a rope back up the cliff to Creighton, right after he pushed her...

POWELL: I think I punched him first, but then I -- I gave him a big hug and told him thanks for -- for making it easy for me.

MOOS: She says the reason for giving this interview, her first, was to clear his name. And though her one liner is already being parodied by Boy Scouts...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm breaking up with you!

MOOS: ... Creighton is no cretin.

POWELL: He's not a monster, he's not mean, he's nothing like Chris Brown. No offense, Chris Brown.

MOOS (on camera): At least it was the relationship that ended up on the rocks...

(voice-over): ... and not Jessica.

POWELL (on camera): Ahhh!

MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN...

POWELL: I'm breaking up with you!

MOOS: ... New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: I'm laughing, but I'm so don't approve of that shove.

That is News Stream, but the news continues at CNN. World Business Today is next.

END