In a surprise to Wall Street, the Labor Department reported a loss of 23,000 nonfarm jobs in July. CNBC’s Rick Santelli and Steve Liesman break down the report and what it means for the broader health of the economy. Representative Greg Casar (D-TX) is focused on AI’s impact on the labor force in his latest legislation to tax hyperscalers, while MIT Associate Professor Kevin Esvelt is closely watching AI’s achievements in science. He considers the implications of a new study from the Arc Institute that showed AI-created viruses are viable in the real world. Plus, in a child harms case in New Mexico, Meta was ordered to pay $567 million into an abatement fund, and OpenAI plans to release a home device to consumers.

Rep. Greg Casar - 14:23

Rick Santelli & Steve Liesman - 25:24

Kevin Esvelt - 32:13

In this episode:

Greg Casar, @RepCasar

Joe Kernen, @JoeSquawk

Melissa Lee, @MelissaLeeCNBC

Steve Liesman, @steveliesman

Rick Santelli, @RickSantelli

Katie Kramer, @Kramer_Katie

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AI-Made Viruses, A July Jobs Report, & Meta’s Child Harms Case 8/7/26

Squawk Pod

AI-Made Viruses, A July Jobs Report, & Meta’s Child Harms Case 8/7/26