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NFL Warns Players Organized Crime is Targeting Them; Second Wind Storm to Pummel Pacific Northwest; Jussie Smollett's Conviction Over Hate-Crime Hoax Overturned; MLB to Test Robot Umpires at Spring Training Next Year. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired November 21, 2024 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:30:00]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: This just in to CNN. The NFL is issuing a security threat to all of its teams and the players union. A new memo highlighting that a group of organized criminals are targeting the homes of athletes.

This comes after burglaries at the homes of NFL superstars Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes. CNN's Coy Wire joins us now. Coy, take us through what this alert says.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Boris. Yes, in the memo obtained by CNN today, the NFL listed a series of precautionary measures that players should take to protect their homes and their possessions. It further states in part that homes of professional athletes across multiple sports leagues have become increasingly targeted for burglaries by organized and skilled groups.

Law enforcement officials have noted these groups appear to exploit team schedules to target athletes' homes on game days. It is important for players to maintain situational awareness, practice social media safety, and implement home security measures to reduce the risk of becoming a target.

Now, the memo said that the burglary groups appear to be gathering information on potential victims through public records, media reports, and social media. Some groups also conduct extensive surveillance on targets, their residences, their neighborhoods, and their security measures. Surveillance tactics have included attempted home deliveries and posing as grounds maintenance or joggers in a neighborhood. There are reports of burglars entering through side doors via balconies, second floor windows.

The memo says they have used patio furniture, ladders, even scaled walls to gain access. In several cases, the memo says a glass has been broken to obtain entry.

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So, targeted residents are often in secluded areas, according to the memo, next to open spaces, wooded areas, golf courses, hiking trails. And these thieves have focused on master bedrooms and closet areas. They're looking for high-end jewelry, handbags, cash, watches. They've also targeted safes, Boris, and office areas, looking for small valuables and cash.

Now, one of the suggestions given to players regarding social media, Boris, don't post your pictures of your fancy things. Don't post pictures of the inside of your house, anything that might give an indication of where you live.

And as I read this memo, Boris, it all sounded very familiar. This was guidance that I had been given. When I played in the NFL, our head of security would have a team meeting at the start of every year, sometimes in the middle of the year, if an incident pops up, and we're reminded, you know, we were told things like, hey, don't post about being away on vacation. And if you do, do it after you return. Don't ever give any indication that your home is open, empty, available for potential burglars to come and take what you love.

SANCHEZ: Yes, it is good advice, though, knowing you, Coy. You can't help but flex. I know you, Coy.

WIRE: Hey, I'm just trying to be like you, my bald brother.

SANCHEZ: Get out of here, man. Coy Wire, thank you so much -- Brianna.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: So right now, the Pacific Northwest is dealing with that aftermath of this historic deadly bomb cyclone. More than 300,000 people do not have power in Washington state alone. Some are not going to have this for days. And there's another storm that is closing in.

CNN's Chad Myers is in the Weather Center for us. Chad, what's the latest here?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I don't think you're going to be able to tell when one storm ends and the other storm starts, because the rain will not stop, and the snow is still piling up here. This is the atmospheric river. It goes almost all the way back to Hawaii.

So this is going to take days to finally clear California, especially northern California, from North Bay northward. And then maybe a little bit of a sneak down toward central and southern California. They'll take the rain, if you can spread it out.

But today, it's not spread out. There is a high risk of flooding. Only 4 percent of all of these events here are high risk.

But yet, 80 percent of all flood-related damage is occurring in those just 4 percent of days. Look at the rainfall. Over a foot of rain in parts of California already, and the snow is piling up.

This isn't an impressive number, 20 inches here. Impressive for some. But not impressive when it comes to how much moisture is in the snow. This is heavy, wet snow. And if you're from Chicago, like I am, Buffalo, New York, and you forget what it's like to shovel snow, don't forget, because it's on its way as well. Some lake effect coming in, coming after, likely, Thanksgiving. But the colder air is coming to the east coast. Here's the rainfall across parts of northern California. You can see

it from Santa Clara, Santa Rosa, all the way up even toward Medford. Some of the heaviest rain will be right here in this flood watch. This is where the rain will pile up. And also, now with that new second system coming through, we'll make more wind again.

Well, now the problem is the ground is all saturated. And so if you put wind on top of saturated ground, you're going to have more trees falling. And I think that's the big event for the next event when the winds pick up again to 50 or 60. Trees are going to be coming down again -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Yes, that's bad news. Let's wish them luck. Chad Myers, thank you for the latest there.

For years, actor Jussie Smollett has denied staging a racist and homophobic attack on himself. And now his conviction has been overturned. We'll have the reason why next.

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SANCHEZ: New today, actor Jussie Smollett's conviction for staging a racist and homophobic attack against himself has been overturned by the Illinois Supreme Court. The court ruled that a special prosecutor should not have been allowed to pursue the case after the initial charges were dropped.

CNN law enforcement correspondent Whitney Wild joins us now live from Chicago. Whitney, help us understand what happened today in the context of the broader case.

WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, this case has been going on for five years, and the Illinois Supreme Court has basically cleared Jussie Smollett. And what was at issue here was this agreement that he had entered into with the Cook County State's Attorney's Office. And the question was if that agreement constituted a disposition of the case.

So let me take you back to 2019 when it was alleged, Jussie Smollett alleged, that he had been the victim of a racist and homophobic hate crime. The Chicago police investigated. The Cook County State's Attorney's Office argued that that story, which was a huge story at the time, Boris, it was making international headlines.

The Cook County prosecutors argued that story was not true. They secured a 16-count indictment against Smollett, but they dropped those charges when they came to an agreement. And what they said was that they would drop the charges if Smollett forfeited his $10,000 bond and agreed to community service. He did that.

But a retired Illinois judge petitioned the court and she said that a special prosecutor has to get to the whole truth of this. That court agreed. A special prosecutor was appointed to this case. His name was Dan Webb. He secured a five-count indictment. He actually secured a conviction against Smollett. But Smollett had always argued that the case was supposed to be over once he held up his end of the deal with the Cook County State's Attorney's Office.

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He has he filed numerous motions. They took it to the Illinois Court of Appeals. The Illinois Court of Appeals ruled against Smollett. But then obviously this case went to the Illinois Supreme Court, which in the end sided with Smollett.

And again, what was at issue here, Boris, was that the Illinois Supreme Court argued and determined that he had given something of value in exchange for these charges to be dropped. That should have ended the case.

So Smollett's attorneys are very, very pleased with the outcome of this case. They said that this was not a prosecution based on facts, rather it was a vindictive prosecution. And such a proceeding has no place in our criminal justice system. Ultimately, we are pleased that the rule of law was the big winner today. We are thankful to the Illinois Supreme Court for restoring order to Illinois criminal jurisprudence.

The special prosecutor in this case, Dan Webb, not as happy, Boris, saying this. Make no mistake, today's ruling has nothing to do with Mr. Smollett's innocence. The Illinois Supreme Court did not find any error with the overwhelming evidence presented at trial that Mr. Smollett orchestrated a fake hate crime and reported it to the Chicago Police Department as a real hate crime. Or the jury's unanimous verdict that Mr. Smollett was guilty of five counts of felony disorderly conduct.

Boris, this is the end. This is the end of a five-year long case. It was a huge story at the time, remains a big story. But this is how the story of Jussie Smollett's case here in Chicago ends after five years -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: Whitney Wild with the update from Chicago for us. Thank you so much, Whitney.

Still ahead, Major League Baseball says it will test robot umpires and an automated ball strike system. We'll tell you when it might debut in the regular season when we come back.

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SANCHEZ: Traditional baseball fans who like things the way they are, are getting a big curveball. Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred says the league will test robot umpires during next year's spring training games. This new system is set to be tested at 13 ballparks where 19 teams play.

KEILAR: And here's the thing. What they want to do is eventually use this technology in the regular season in 2026. But Manfred says it's not set in stone. They will consider the players' experience when they're making the final call whether to use it. That's what they're saying.

Joining us now is baseball columnist for USA Today Bob Nightengale. All right, Bob, what do we know about how the clubs and how the players are feeling about this new system?

BOB NIGHTENGALE, BASEBALL COLUMNIST, USA TODAY: Well, they've been using this in the major leagues for years. And this is always the plan to bring in the spring training in 2025, see how it works. And they will like it in 2026.

And this isn't, you know, against the umpires or thinking the umpires are making bad calls, but for gambling. I mean, they want the fans able to gamble on every single pitch. And they take it out of the umpires' hands.

So they'll have electronic strike zone. And that way, you know, fans can sit in their seats if they want to or certainly watch TV and gamble with the next pitch to be a ball, strike, what part of the strike zone. And by having electronic strike zone as well, they'll be able to change that strike zone year after year. Because what they like to do is get more offense in the game.

SANCHEZ: I don't want to name any names, but there are some umpires that have really bad reputations, as you all know, Bob. I do wonder how accurate these robot umps have been, have proven to be. Have there been any moments of controversy calling balls and strikes?

NIGHTENGALE: Yes, I mean, some minor league guys say it works. Some aren't crazy about it at all. So what they'll have with this, Boris, is a challenge system.

So a team will be able to challenge so many times a game. If you think the ball or strike was wrong, you can argue on that. And, you know, same with the hitters, with the managers, that sort of thing.

A little bit like we've seen in instant replay. But they'll certainly be allowed for challenges, particularly for the best hitters. You know, if it's a close pitch and he thinks it was, you know, absolutely wrong, he can go ahead and challenge that thing.

KEILAR: Well, the ones who don't like it, the players who don't like it, why?

NIGHTENGALE: I think some think it's accurate, Brianna. It's like they're used to a different way. And they'll say, wait a minute now, these pitches are down below the knees. They should be called strikes.

But I think, you know, by doing this, remember Theo Epstein, when he worked in the commissioner's office, said the beauty of this is you can change that strike zone year after year. If you want to go, you know, higher and lower. If you want to go, you know, more horizontal. And change, you know, change the game a little bit to provide more offense. They can shrink that strike zone. They can expand it. And that way

it'll be uniform for everybody else.

SANCHEZ: Bob, how do home plate umpires feel about this move by Major League Baseball? They may eventually be out of a job.

NIGHTENGALE: Well, look, you still need an umpire behind the plate because someone's got to hear someone say he put the ball over the strike. So he can lift up his hand, you know, either way. You still have plays at home plate.

So as long as there's no, you know, reduction umpires, they'll be all for it. You know, let's be honest, with the gambling as big as it is now in all sports and becoming very big in baseball, they don't want that burden. They don't want a guy missing some calls in eighth or ninth inning. Said, oh, you did that deliberately. Is this guy in the take or something like that? So they're free of that responsibility. That part they like.

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KEILAR: Free of responsibility. Free of power, too, though, I will say. Bob Nightengale, thank you so much. It's really fascinating. We appreciate you being with us.

NIGHTENGALE: My pleasure. Thank you.

KEILAR: How much would you pay for a banana duct taped to a wall? Well, you're not going to believe how much this fancy work of art just sold for. What is it?

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SANCHEZ: This next story is simply B-A-N-A-N-A-S. Bananas. This provocative artwork just sold for $6 million, and you may recognize it because it was unveiled five years ago, provoking heated debate over the question, what is art?

And also, can I get away with selling a banana duct tape to a wall for $6 million?

KEILAR: That's right. This is called Comedian. It's one of three editions by artist Maurizio Cattelan, and the banana is frequently replaced, so it stays fresh.

Thank goodness. A 2019 version sold for $120,000. It's been displayed around the world. It's even been eaten.

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SANCHEZ: Yes, in Miami at Art Basel. Some guy ripped it off the wall and took a bite. The auction house says the buyer is Chinese cryptocurrency investor Justin Sun, and he says he plans to eat the art as well. Quite an expensive snack.

KEILAR: 22 cents, and that's like a cent worth of duct tape. SANCHEZ: I guess my question is --

KEILAR: I'm going to do that at home and see what my kids think.

SANCHEZ: Why? It's such a weird flex.

KEILAR: Why? And that's art.

KEILAR: $6 million for that?

KEILAR: Why?

"THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper --

SANCHEZ: It's provocative.

KEILAR: -- starts now.

SANCHEZ: It is. Jake Tapper --

END