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James Milliken is Interviewed about a Texas Free Tuition Program; Sheriff Michael Bouchard is Interviewed about Home Invasions in Michigan; Stew Leonard Jr. is Interviewed about the Thanksgiving Meal. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired November 22, 2024 - 09:30   ET

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

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[09:30:07]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Today, Sena "Diddy" Combs back in court for his third attempt at getting released on bail. And in a new court filing, his attorneys claim prosecutors altered that video of Combs attacking then girlfriend Cassie Ventura in 2016. A warning, of course, this video is really disturbing.

The surveillance footage, first obtained and reported by CNN, appears to show - well, it does show Combs grabbing Ventura, throwing her down, and then dragging her across the floor, kicking her there, of a Los Angeles hotel. But Combs' attorneys say this video omits footage and changes the order of events. They also say there's a lack of evidence to support the government's claim of sex trafficking in their case against him. Combs has denied all allegations against him.

All right, this morning, one food delivery company in India is under fire after a controversial hiring stunt. The company, Zomato, posted a job opening for a social media chief of staff with a couple major caveats. The position would not only be unpaid for the first year, but the successful applicant would have to pay the company over 20,000 U.S. dollars for the privilege of the role. After receiving more than 18,000 applications in just 24 hours, the CEO revealed that the fee was just a stunt to attract employees who would really appreciate the opportunity.

And, if all you wanted for Christmas was the return of the McRib, you're a lucky person. McDonald's fan favorite sandwich returns for a limited time starting December 3rd. To ring in the saucy favorite, the fast food giant also announced that for the first time ever fans will be able to buy the sauce themselves, releasing a whole lot of McRib sauce, a half-gallon jug of the iconic condiment. The jug will be available for just a limited time only.

Kate, I'm sure you're all over that.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: All about it. Emphasis on all. Thank you so much.

OK, this morning, the University of Texas System is moving to offer free tuition to students from families earning $100,000 or less a year. UT's board of regents approved the Promise Plus Program, as it's called, to make higher education more accessible and affordable. It's set to start next fall, and it would be huge for so many families. But how are they pulling it off? Why are they doing it? And why now?

Joining us right now is James Milliken. He's chancellor for the University of Texas System.

Thank you so much for being here.

This initiative is the largest no cost tuition program in the state of Texas. It's one of the largest in the country. How many students is this going to help and why are you guys taking this big step?

JAMES MILLIKEN, CHANCELLOR, UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SYSTEM: Thank you. Well, thanks for having me on and able to talk about this program, which we're very excited about. Our board unanimously passed this yesterday.

One of the greatest things I think we've done to provide affordable access for higher education for so many. We calculate that about 7 million Texas families could qualify for the free tuition program. And maybe about 60 plus thousand students would be able to enroll if it were in place right now. So, we expect that additional students will apply when they see that this is available.

BOLDUAN: And I would assume - I mean, I - I guess I shouldn't assume, but how do you all think that this is going to impact enrollment next year and beyond?

MILLIKEN: Well, we hope enrollment grows. We're at record enrollment now. You know, our - our mission is about educating as many Texans as we can. And so the more we can do to provide access to an affordable education for Texans, ensure that they can stay in college, because they can afford it, and then launch careers, that's success for us. So, if we can offer clarity in our messaging, higher education and the financing of it can be complicated for people, particularly if no one in your family's gone to college. So, the kind of clarity this offered, if you're at $100,000 family income or below, you will pay zero tuition and zero mandatory fees at the University of Texas System, at any of our nine undergraduate campuses. That kind of clarity, I think, we believe, will help people realize that college is possible.

BOLDUAN: People are going to hear this - people - people in Texas are going to hear - families are going to hear this and going to say, thank God, yes. But there is - there is pushback on this. A group of current and incoming Texas lawmakers sent a letter to the board of regents on Thursday questioning the constitutionality of the plan. And I have to say, one of the Republican state lawmakers who wants to fight this now had a doozy of a statement that he put out.

[09:35:06]

His name's Brian Harrison. Let me read this. He wrote, "nothing is free. This outrageous abuse of power by unelected, executive branch bureaucrats makes higher education in Texas more socialist than California. A decision this consequential should only be made by the legislature. If you liked Biden's unconstitutional loan forgiveness program, you'll love this." And he goes on to say, "there must be consequences. UT's budget must be cut, and bureaucrats should be fired."

How do you respond to that?

MILLIKEN: Well, we have - we'll have an opportunity to talk to the representatives and others about this program. This is funded - we'll make sure that everybody understands it completely. It's not funded with - with tax dollars. It's not a reallocation of funds within the university. It's not a waiver of - of tuition. So, we are not forgoing that - that revenue. This is funded with funds that the board of regents has available under the Texas constitution to invest in educational programs for the University of Texas System.

That's the funding source. There is no higher priority that our board has than making college affordable and expanding access to as many Texans as we can. That's our mission, and that's what this achieves. And we look forward to talking to people about it.

BOLDUAN: So, maybe there needs to be some more education for the lawmakers involved to understand really what this - what this big move makes.

What this - you know, the - sitting in - kind of the thing that is unsaid, and I have this conversation with - from the secretary of the Department of Education on down with people when we talk about how to pay for college, is, why is college so expensive, and how do - you know, some of the - this is an amazing - can be an amazing program for these families, but is it a band-aid across the bigger problem, which is, how do you bring the cost of tuition just down for everyone? How do you do it?

MILLIKEN: Well, to start with, let's just level set.

Most people attend public universities in this country. Seventy percent of the degrees awarded are from public universities. And there's a great difference between the level of tuition at public universities and some of the elite private universities that we may be more apt to read about.

BOLDUAN: That's true.

MILLIKEN: So, there's a - there's a significant difference there.

But one of the things we know from research is that people tend to overestimate the cost of public higher education, particularly if they're first generation students, their families haven't had experience with it, and they tend to underestimate the amount of financial aid available.

So, this is a generous financial aid program, but it's also one that's done with a very high level of clarity. People can completely get this, that if my adjusted gross income is below $100,000, their tuition is zero and mandatory fees are zero. It's that kind of clarity that we hope will encourage more people to think seriously about attending college, to do so and persist and graduate.

BOLDUAN: One big step that one big school system is making today.

Thank you so much, James Millikin. Thank you for joining us. Really appreciate your time.

Coming up for us, the FBI now investigating a series of burglaries at the homes of some NBA and NFL athletes. Why they think this all may be connected and part of a much bigger international crime ring.

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[09:43:07]

SIDNER: This morning, the NFL and NBA warning their players not to flash expensive items on social media after a string of home burglaries targeted professional athletes. The recent break-ins include the homes of Kansas City Chiefs stars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce.

There has also been a series of burglaries targeting high-end neighborhoods in Oakland County, Michigan.

Joining me now, Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard.

Sheriff, you're not linking these crimes, I don't think, but I do want to ask you, what have you been dealing with, and do you see some similarities in what is happening to these NFL players and what has been happening in your community?

SHERIFF MICHAEL BOUCHARD, OAKLAND COUNTY, MICHIGAN: Yes. So, they're not linked specifically, but they are kind of broadly. We see, you know, three different gangs operating with a lot of activity in America. The Chilean national gangs that we have seen in our county, and Colombian, have been hitting homes. The Chilean nationals are very, very professional. They are extremely well trained. They do pattern of life. They do movements. They do jamming of alarm systems. They have people that are assigned specific tasks, like breaching. They are very well executed. Almost move like a special ops team.

And I think that's the same teams that are hitting some of those homes. It's more a target of the homes than it is a person. So we've had, you know, very high profile automotive or corporate owners hit in our burglaries in this area. We've had probably north of 40 or 50 of those in Oakland County. So, it very much happens all over the country. They hammer an area typically and then move on to another area.

SIDNER: When you describe, just how quickly are they able to sort of get in and out of these homes? Because you said that they really seem to be doing this almost like a military operation.

[09:45:00] BOUCHARD: In seconds. We've actually posted videos of how fast it happens. They walk up. Their breacher has a punch device that shatters a window. They go through the window or the window of a door or a window itself, not opening it. And then you have a secondary person that's jamming wireless alarm systems and other communication capabilities. They have a third person monitoring probably their associate that may be in the area watching around. They quickly go in. Typically they target very high-end jewelry, watches, high-end purses, cash, credit cards, debit cards, et cetera, and then back out.

SIDNER: How difficult is it and how long have you been dealing with this sort of crime that is clearly targeted at people in neighborhoods that are very high end, fancy homes, looking for high-end items?

BOUCHARD: Well over a year here. And, yes, it's - it's a big challenge because they - they are so trangent (ph) and there are so many teams. At one point, one of the intelligence reports I read just on the Chilean gangs were over 100, 150 teams of four to six people. And they move about quickly. They quickly fence the items, transfer funds typically out of the country, and then move on. So, it's a big challenge.

I created a task force here and a tri county task force with state, local and federal agencies, and we're partnering together. In fact, just yesterday we had another meeting because we've had seven in Oakland County in the last two weeks.

SIDNER: Well, the NFL has been putting out this - this sort of warning to its players not to go on social media and show flashy jewelry or, you know, some of the fancy things in their home. And I suppose that could be good advice for all of us on social media because they can look your name up and then try to figure out where you live. And I know you guys have been dealing with this for a while.

BOUCHARD: Yes.

SIDNER: We'll check back in with you to see how it's going. Sheriff Michael Bouchard, thank you so much for walking us through that this morning. Appreciate you.

BOUCHARD: Sure thing.

SIDNER: All right, we've got a note here. We had a raucous conversation about politics in a previous segment. A guest made allegations against Pete Hegseth based on her time at Fox News and working with him. CNN has not independently verified her claims, nor do we have reporting that supports them.

All right, coming up, if you're hosting a dinner for Thanksgiving this year, there's a bit of good news. One grocery store CEO says it could be the cheapest meal that you have all year. And just think about all those leftovers.

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[09:52:03] SIDNER: All right, money is tight for a lot of folks. And, of course, the holidays coming up. But a regional grocer says this year's Thanksgiving dinner will be your cheapest meal of the year.

Stew Leonard Jr. joining us now, the CEO of Stew Leonard Grocery Stores.

All right, that is a very big claim, Mr. Leonard.

STEW LEONARD JR., CEO, STEW LEONARD'S GROCERY STORES: Good morning. Hi.

SIDNER: How can you say this will be the cheapest meal?

LEONARD: Well, you know what, if you look at the price of turkey, you know, you're looking at a price - by the way, it's about the same as last year, maybe even a little bit lower. But basically it's $1.99 a pound. And then if you want to put a rib roast out on the table, you're - what are you talking, north of, you know, in the teens right there. So, chicken breast is even more expensive than turkey, right, during the year. Ham is more expensive. So, it's basically a very cost effective protein unless you're buying it sliced off the deli counter, you know, boneless.

But, you know, we have a turkey here. And so you can - then the next thing is the sides. It's mashed potatoes. I mean that's like eating rice or something. It's very inexpensive.

SIDNER: Yes.

LEONARD: You got stuffing right here, which is bread. So, when you add all these ingredients up, it's really the most inexpensive meal that you can put on your table every year.

SIDNER: And to be fair, you know, most of us, when you have a big old turkey and you have all those sides, there's tons left over. So, you usually end up eating it for at least a few days after - right, after Thanksgiving. So, it gives you a few more meals in there.

LEONARD: Well -

SIDNER: I do want to ask you about prices, because so many people have been, you know, strapped and so concerned about prices, particularly at the grocery store. You got to eat.

What are you seeing in that vein? Are those prices really starting to come down, or are you still - are you still hearing from customers that are saying, I can't afford what I used to be able to afford, I'm going to have to cut back?

LEONARD: I know. Well, first of all, it's a great thing - you know, we can tell our customers are very sensitive to this, to prices right now, you know. And - and I would say overall that the price, if you look at your whole Thanksgiving this year, it's going to be the same, maybe a tad lower than last year, because turkey prices have come down. You see a couple spikes in things like, for instance, you're seeing the egg market right now is high because you have that avian flu that's affected a lot of the bird flocks. So the actual size of the - of the flocks is smaller this year.

So, there's a little bit of a spike in eggs, but then you're getting some relief in certain vegetables and turkey prices and so forth. It's going to be about the same as last year.

[09:55:00]

SIDNER: It's good news for a lot of people. And I do want to invite myself to your table because Kate and I, our mouths are watering looking at what you got over there.

BOLDUAN: Did you ask him the most important question?

LEONARD: Hey -

SIDNER: What's the most important question, Kate?

BOLDUAN: (INAUDIBLE) cranberry sauce.

LEONARD: And just a couple things.

SIDNER: She wants to know about cranberry sauce. Are you -

LEONARD: There you go. You like that.

SIDNER: Oh, you've got the - the fancy kind.

BOLDUAN: Wait, but, Stew, are you pro cranberry sauce or are you anti?

LEONARD: Right here, right now.

BOLDUAN: Because it is a major problem on this show team. I love cranberry sauce and Sara Sidner, she's a hater.

SIDNER: I don't like it.

LEONARD: Well, you know what, cranberry sauce can be a little bitter with just the cranberries. So, you know, we - we put a little bit of honey or brown sugar in it. And we also put some orange in there. We put some orange in there.

SIDNER: Oh.

LEONARD: So, it's not - it's not a bitter - I bet you, Sara, we could convert you over to loving cranberry sauce, OK.

SIDNER: I'm going to - I'm going to visit. I've been in your store before.

LEONARD: But that's one of the big -

SIDNER: I'm going to try it.

LEONARD: Yes. Well, you know, a couple of things. We're feeling the buzz already. I just - a couple tips for everybody watching today. One, buy your turkey now, OK. And the reason I say that is it's going to last perfectly fine till your Thanksgiving table. And you put it in your oven at home. But you want to get out early so you can get the right size.

The second trend we're seeing this year is, people are not only buying a turkey, but they're getting a side of sliced - a sliced turkey breast. So, that's also -

BOLDUAN: Uh-oh, Stew, they're running the music.

SIDNER: Stew, they're - they're wrapping us up.

BOLDUAN: We're getting in trouble.

SIDNER: But you know what, I'll be by so we can have more of a conversation.

LEONARD: OK.

SIDNER: Thank you so much for joining us, Stew. And thank you for joining us.

BOLDUAN: This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL. "CNN NEWSROOM" up next.

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