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Stolen Plane That Circled Over MS After Threat To Crash Is "Down"; NASA Once Again Calls Off Artemis 1 Launch Due To Technical Issues; Serena Williams' Remarkable Career Likely Comes To A Close; Some U.S. Retailers Unveil Surprising Strategy For Overstock; Bed, Bath & Beyond Closes Stores, Plans Layoffs To Avoid Bankruptcy; The Cost Of Busing Migrants Out Of Texas. Aired 1-2p ET

Aired September 03, 2022 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SARA SIDNER, CNN HOST: Hello, and thank you again for joining me. I'm Sara Sidner in for Fredricka Whitfield.

We begin this hour with a new video just into the CNN Newsroom showing that the plane that threatened to crash into a Walmart, it is down in a field. You see it there, in Mississippi. The dangerous situation ended just about an hour ago. CNN's Pete Muntean has been on top of this situation and story. Pete, what do we know?

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Well, we know this plane, Sara, came down in a field in Gravestown, Mississippi around 10 a.m. local time not all that far from where it took off in Tupelo, Mississippi around 5 a.m. this morning. You could see it there, the plane, a Beechcraft King Air, a twin-engine turboprop commuter-type plane, seats between about six and eight people.

And we know from local authorities in Tupelo that this plane was stolen by what appears to be an airport employee. Police received a call around 5 a.m. Central Daylight Time where the pilot of that plane -- actually we don't know if it was a pilot, but we know that the person flying in that airplane called 911 and said they were going to steal the airplane and crash it into one of the local Walmart's in Tupelo. The plane circled for about five hours above the area, not only above that Walmart, but also above nearby neighborhoods, and also over a nearby National Forest.

What is going to be the big question here is what ultimately brought the plane down. I've spoken to folks who have flown this type of airplane. They say it holds between four and six hours of fuel when it is fully loaded. So that would match up with the times that we are seeing if it ran out of fuel, and came down in that field would have essentially been rendered into a glider, both of the engines not operating or maybe one of the engines operating. That would have turned into a pretty tricky situation for a non-pilot.

We do not know the identity of the person on board, although we do know from local eyewitnesses who have spoken to CNN affiliates and to CNN that the pilot came out of the plane with his hands up and was detained. So this is possibly the best possible situation, the best possible outcome of all of this, Sara, this stolen airplane from the Tupelo Regional Airport, ending up in a farmer's field and apparently nobody else hurt as well.

SIDNER: That is, like you said, the best possible outcome of how this started with the threat to crash the plane into a place where a lot of people go shopping. Pete, stay with us in just a moment. We'll be coming back to you at some point. I also want to bring in CNN aviation analyst, Peter Goelz. Peter, thank you so much for joining us.

The FAA is investigating in coordination with law enforcement there on the ground. What all will they be looking at? And I suspect that the most interesting and most important part of this, in some parts, is what the suspect tells them about all of this.

PETER GOELZ, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: Yes. I think that there'll be a couple of things they'll look at. One is they will review the security at Tupelo airport. I mean, this is not the first time that you know, a badged worker has stolen a plane and taken off with it. There was an incident at SeaTac four years ago with a much larger plane, which, unfortunately, ended in tragedy where the person controlling the plane crashed it and it was fatal.

But they will look at the security. How did this individual, you know get into the plane? How do they -- was he skilled enough to take off? And what can they do to try and prevent this kind of thing from happening again?

I mean that Tupelo is a relatively small airport. They probably have modest security on a Saturday morning at 5 a.m. So I think people will take a look at that.

SIDNER: You know, Pete, I'd like to go back to you because you said the pilot is in custody. It's pretty incredible to see the plane is intact for the most part. Have we learned anything more about this person whether or not they are indeed a pilot or just someone who is perhaps learning to fly and took this plane?

MUNTEAN: We're digging in on the identity of the person who was on board this airplane.

[13:05:03]

We know it was only one person on board. We're still trying to confirm though exactly who this person is, what their motives were, and whether or not they had any previous flying experience. Based on what I can tell you, as a pilot and a flight instructor, this person may have had some previous flying experience based on the fact that they essentially knew where to go, they knew how to get into a King Air like this, they knew how to start the engines, or at least have the presence of mind or the intent to look at a checklist or an operating manual or pull up a video on YouTube to figure out how to start an airplane like this.

King Airs like this, it typically do not have keys, at least not for the ignition, essentially a press the ignition button, you add in a little bit of fuel, and then it's off to the races. So somebody with some decent flying ability, decent previous flying knowledge, could probably figure this out. The real question is how they responded if this airplane did in fact run out of fuel. What is telling to me right now is that in that image of the airplane in the field, there is no apparent signature -- there is no apparent sign of a fire.

If the plane was full of fuel, that could be a possible outcome as well. The fuel is flammable. So if this airplane did ultimately run out of fuel and signs point to yes, and the engines failed, you can't run engines like this without fuel, obviously, then how they would have been able to fly this airplane if it was turned into a glider?

It seems, in a way, they lucked out to a degree that in Gravestown, Mississippi, this came down in the field and there's really not all that much around there. It's a pretty rural area. So in essence, they turned this farmer's field into a runway, and the pilot now in custody lives to tell the tale, although likely in a courtroom.

SIDNER: Peter Goelz, I just want to ask you quickly what you think this will mean to airports across the country because as you mentioned, this has happened before in a different scenario, and it seems like this is a real security risk.

GOELZ: Yes. I think you'll see the FAA and law enforcement put out, you know, some notices that will remind, particularly smaller airports because that's always been a vulnerability that they have to tighten up their security. Aircraft owners have to tighten up the security of their plane because this -- you know, either this guy was extraordinarily lucky or he had some skill, but he got this plane off the ground and landed it in a farmer's field as pizza. That's not an easy task with a twin engine. So I -- but I think there's going to be a review of security at that local airports and it will be a pretty strenuous one.

SIDNER: Peter Goelz and Pete Muntean, I thank you both for joining us.

GOELZ: Thank you.

SIDNER: New today, disappointment in Florida met across the country as NASA scrubs its second scheduled launch of the Artemis 1 rocket. Technical issues, once again, have kept the rocket grounded. This is the second time this week. CNN's Kristin Fisher is live at the Kennedy Space Center. Kristin, what happened here?

KRISTIN FISHER, CNN SPACE AND DEFENSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Sara, we always knew that this was a strong possibility, given the fact that this is the first test flight of the most powerful rocket ever built. With that said, though, this is a huge disappointment for NASA and certainly for all the folks that came here to see it today. In terms of what is going to happen now to the Artemis rocket on the launch pad behind me, we just don't know exactly when they are going to try again. That is going to be officially announced most likely at a 4 p.m. press conference today.

But behind the scenes, we know that NASA's leadership is already telling some of the VIPs in attendance that this problem likely cannot be fixed on the launch pad and that they likely have to roll this entire rocket about four miles back to the VAB where they can -- it's essentially the hangar where they can make some more repairs and really look into what exactly went wrong today and also on Monday.

This was a different hydrogen leak, a different -- in different places and they occurred at different points in the countdown, but, Sara, the hydrogen leak on Monday was a big part of the reason that they ate into too much of the countdown clock on Monday and had to scrub. Now they're dealing with it again on the second launch attempt. So now they're having to do what they really did not want to do which is a full rollback.

[13:10:03]

And I'm going to let John Honeycutt who is the SLS, Space Launch System, Program Manager explains why they did not want to do that. Here he is speaking at a press conference on Thursday night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN HONEYCUTT, SLS PROGRAM MANAGER: The big thing we want to avoid is rollbacks to the -- to the VAB. Those are the -- those are the things that Dr. Blevins has told me will put more stress on the vehicle than any -- than anything else. Now, that said, we've still got rolls left in in the vehicle, but we want to watch that and manage it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FISHER: So, Sara, a rollback is always a likely scenario or a possible scenario but you know as John Honeycutt just said right there, this is just not what they wanted to do because you know, yes, they're going to try to roll this back very slowly at about one mile per hour on this kind of ancient machine called the crawler, absolutely massive, something that can transport a rocket that's taller than the Statue of Liberty.

But you know, you just think about all these little parts, all these different connectors, the seals, the connections where the fuelling lines go, all those little nuts and bolts, every little piece, there's a chance that they can get jiggled loose or just things not moved in quite the right place that can lead to potentially more issues with the rocket.

So, Sara, certainly a disappointment today, but it's looking increasingly likely that you know, NASA is going to have to roll this back to the pad and that would mean the next launch attempt would likely not be until October. So we likely have a little while here, Sara.

SIDNER: Oh, man. All right, so I just have to end with saying you know --

FISHER: I know. It's just happening.

SIDNER: -- If you have another one of those cool models, I've got room in my office, so just consider that as you -- as you hang on out there.

FISHER: I -- hey, I've got a space shuttle right here if you need it. I'm ready -- I'm ready for anything.

SIDNER: Yes, I'll take it. All right, Kristin Fisher, thank you so much for keeping us updated on what's happening with Artemis 1. Coming up, CNN has uncovered the high cost of Texas Governor Greg Abbott's plan to bus migrants out of his state. How much is it costing Texans? That's coming up next. Plus, emotional moments as Serena Williams walks off the court last night, possibly for the final match of her incredible career.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:16:36]

SIDNER: Welcome back. We want to take you now to Mississippi where officials are giving an update on the stolen plane that crashed down in Tupelo, Mississippi. Let's listen in.

TODD JORDAN, MAYOR OF TUPELO, MISSISSIPPI: This morning, I believe that you know after the initial threat, he did not want to hurt himself or anyone else. And I believe that we had what you would think would be the best-case scenario. A lot of people I'd like to thank. First of all, the Tupelo police and fire department, Lee County Sheriff's Office, Union County sheriff's office, Benton County Sheriff's Office, Tippah County Sheriff's Office, the Albany Police Department, Tupelo Airport Authority, Belden Fire Department, Lee County Volunteer Fire Department, the FBI, the United States Attorney's Office, the FAA, Missing Homeland Security, and FEMA.

And first of all, I want to say that in a situation like this communication is key. When we first learned about this this morning, we started funneling out what we knew to the citizens and the media where they could keep everybody updated. And I think that all of these organizations and departments' emergency services did a great job this morning. No one was injured. The suspect is now in custody. He will get the help he needs as far as whatever he's dealing with. And I can't thank all these organizations enough to bring in him safely. This time, I'd like to bring fire Chief Kelly Elliot in to give a few details.

JOHN KELLY ELLIOT, FIRE CHIEF, TUPELO, MISSISSIPPI: Thank you. Good afternoon. Hey, I just like to again, reiterate what the mayor was saying as far as thanking all the agencies in this multi-coordination of agencies that took place around our regional area. Without all the help and assistance and being prepared. The main concern for us was the citizens of this community, the citizens of this city.

And the actions that our guys took early this morning in emergency services divisions were just to make sure that we were prepared for what might actually occur and just to be ready. When you're not dealing with an incident scene that's in a defined location, it makes it a little bit more interesting. So we kind of went in a little bit of a resource standby mode, just making sure we were prepared and ready to kind of take action when it occurred -- if it occurred. So with that said, I'm going to turn it over to Chief Quaka. I know he has a good bit more details as far as the law enforcement perspective. But thank you very much.

JOHN QUAKA, POLICE CHIEF, TUPELO, MISSISSIPPI: Hey, good afternoon. I'm John Quaka with the Tupelo Police Department. I have for you today a short bullet point chronological list of events of what we know to this point. It is an ongoing investigation and we will learn more later on another day.

At 5:08 a.m. this morning, Cory Wayne Patterson stole a Beechcraft King Air C90 twin-engine aircraft and took off from the Tupelo airport today. We do know Patterson has some flight instructions. We do not believe he is a licensed pilot. That is still ongoing to discover that. He is an employee of Tupelo aviation and has been for 10 years, so he has access to these aircraft. He is a lineman for Tupelo aviation, which means he fuels the aircraft. We do know that that aircraft was fully fueled the night before.

[13:20:04]

At approximately 5:23 a.m., Patterson from the aircraft calls Lee County 911 to tell them that he is going to crash this aircraft into the West Main Walmart in Tupelo, Mississippi. Soon thereafter, the Tupelo police department and fire department evacuated West Main Walmart in Tupelo and all the surrounding areas. We were assisted by Lee County S.O. Numerous major streets in Tupelo were shut down to help save lives during this critical incident.

Negotiators from Tupelo Police Department made contact with the pilot and were able to convince him to not carry out this deed and to land the aircraft at Tupelo Airport. The pilot did not have the experience to land an aircraft. A private pilot assisted us in helping this pilot complete this, however it was not completed. Upon final approach, the pilot aborted the landing and traveling to North West direction away from Tupelo toward union Tippah in Benton County. At this time, we contacted all of those counties and their sheriff to notify them of this incident going on.

At approximately 9:32, the pilot posted on Facebook a message and in essence, it said goodbye. At this time we know he was getting close to running out of fuel. At 10:08 a.m., FAA lost radar contact with the aircraft. At 10:12 a.m., our negotiator reestablished contact with the pilot. The pilot confirmed he had landed in a field and he was uninjured. We have since learned they landed near the Gravestown Fire Department on Highway four West in between Ashland and Ripley. Soon thereafter, the pilot was taken into custody and is in custody currently. He has been charged with grand larceny and making terroristic threats.

We do anticipate that the federal government will proceed with federal charges in the very near future. That is the end of our bullet point outline. Does anyone have any questions? Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So my big question is how much flight experience he's had? QUAKA: That is undetermined at this time. We do know he has had flight instructions. We do know that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And during the -- or during the incident, did he have contact with family?

QUAKA: Yes, he did have contact with family.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How much contact and how much do you know?

QUAKA: I don't know how much contact at this time but we do know he was in contact at some point with family members.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So my biggest question is, what was his motive?

QUAKA: That is going to take some time to determine. Those are always the last thing we learn in an investigation so that will take several days. We will run down the motivation. We will pursue any angle and avenue that there is. And we will work in conjunction with the FBI to do so.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you been in contact with the family of this guy?

QUAKA: Yes, I have.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What are they saying?

QUAKA: Well, they're very concerned about the well-being of their -- of their family member like any of us would be. Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And will he be brought back here?

QUAKA: He is currently in route here as we speak, yes, to face our charges.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How close did he get to -- I know he said he was -- a plan was in place to try and get him on the ground and then he had more than that. Just how close did he actually get to landing qt the Tupelo Airport?

QUAKA: So he made an approach coming out of the North. He had lined up his aircraft and we guesstimate he was probably 100 feet off the runway before he pulled up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you have any idea of why he abandoned that plan?

QUAKA: Not at this time. Hopefully, we will learn those in the coming days of this investigation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When was the damage to the aircraft?

QUAKA: Oh, absolutely. There's damage. But believe it or not, the aircraft is intact.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did he run out of fuel or getting close to that when he's heading to the airport?

QUAKA: We have reason to believe that he was very close to running out of fuel. And that's according to expert pilots.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Was there anyone in the tower when he took off this morning?

QUAKA: So that tower is manned from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. so, no. There was no -- there was no one in the tower. Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How did he gain access to the plane?

QUAKA: So he is an employee of Tupelo aviation. That is located at the airport. So he has access to aircraft. That's his job.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So you wouldn't describe this as a major security breach but just somebody took advantage of the privileges of that?

QUAKA: That's right.

[13:25:02]

SIDNER: Press conference right now. We have just gotten a ton of new information -- we have just gotten a ton of new information from police and the mayor there in Tupelo, Mississippi, where a -- we now know someone who has been trained to fly but doesn't necessarily have his pilot license but he did have some flight instruction, was able to steal this plane threatened to crash it into a Walmart. He was able to abort that mission with the help of police talking him down out of it, and ended up crash landing his plane into a field.

Let's bring in Pete Muntean. Pete, a lot of the details that you gave us early on are true. We have now heard that directly from police. What is your take on some of the really interesting details here on how they got this plane out of the sky safely?

MUNTEAN: What is so interesting to me, Sara, is that this person on board this plane came so close to his successful landing according to Tupelo police. They were on the phone with this person on board and they were able to connect him with negotiators over the phone -- police negotiators. And then the police brought in, according to their most recent accounting, another pilot to try and talk this person flying this stolen Beechcraft King Air back to the Tupelo Regional Airport. And he came within 100 feet, police say, of making a successful landing but then added the power back in and went back around. That is one the pilot of the stolen plane flew to the northwest and continued on.

Police had a gap there where they were not able to remain in touch. According to what federal authorities tell me -- a government source tells me they lost touch via phone with the person on board this plane. And then that is when the plane they think around that same time it was running out of fuel, around 10 a.m. Central Time crash landed into a soybean field. We have heard that the plane is mostly intact, witnesses in Gravestown, Mississippi describe that the person on board this plane came out with his hands up and then was immediately detained.

It's so interesting, Sara, possibly the best possible scenario, the best possible outcome of all of this, nobody on board seriously hurt. Nobody on the ground seriously hurt. This person who stole this airplane was a lineman at the Tupelo aviation facilities. He's a fueler, meaning he fuels airplanes. And police also said the plane was fueled the night before. So they knew eventually, they would come close to running out of fuel but they were able to make contact with this person again via phone in which he informed police he was on the ground, and the incident was essentially over.

SIDNER: It is pretty incredible, the outcome of this, that he was just 100 feet off the runway, he is now being charged with grand larceny and making terroristic threats. The federal government and investigators will also probably lob on to that as well. But everyone is OK. And that is good news. Thank you so much, Pete Muntean, I appreciate you.

MUNTEAN: Anytime, Sara.

SIDNER: And joining us now, a reporter on the ground at the landing site in Mississippi from CNN affiliate WTVA, Bronson Woodruff. Bronson, thank you so much for joining us. What are you hearing and seeing there?

BRONSON WOODRUFF, WTVA REPORTER (voiceover): Thank you so much for having me at my side and I appreciate it. Right now, I'm actually sitting in Gravestown looking at the plane as it sits here in this field and has a GPS build-up. I'll tell you exactly where I am. If you're looking at Ripley, Mississippi on the map, I am approximately eight minutes to the west down M.S. 4. And it's just a field out here on the side of a highway and the plane is just sitting out here.

Right now, still some cop cars out here with their lights on just at the scene. I'm sitting out here. There are some other news stations out here. And I think I speak for everybody here. When I say everybody is just breathing a sigh of relief because I tell you about a little before seven o'clock this morning when I first saw this story from the Tupelo police department.

It was an immediate panic like holy moly, this does not happen in Tupelo, Mississippi. And everybody was like oh my goodness, I put out a social media announcement on Facebook saying hey, watch out, there's a guy with a plane threatening to crash and people were just blowing up the post like holy moly.

Then when I did those Facebook Lives this morning following the plane, you can actually see it a couple of times I had over 10,000 people actually watching our Facebook Live WTVA on -- our Facebook Live. And it was -- it was very real and very scary for so many people. Now, people texting me throughout the morning as I was following this guy like hey, I'm in New Albany, do I need to take shelter? What do I need to do? I'll just I don't know what to tell you. Just keep an eye on the news and keep an eye on the sky so.

[13:30:00] But, yes, right now, everybody is just breathing a sigh of relief.

SIDNER: Yes, Bronson, you really provided a public service there by putting that out so that people knew exactly where the plane was.

And you've got a lot of people -- sometimes you could see that there were house and things, and he was flying very, very low at some point. So I'm sure people could hear it, if they were to come outside or even inside of their homes.

Can I ask you about whether or not you were able to hear the press conference that just occurred?

WOODRUFF: Yes, ma'am. I heard a bit of it on the phone as I was waiting to speak with you.

And as the chief said, Mr. Patterson now in custody. And everybody that I've spoken with so far, I mean, like I said, just a sigh of relief. We're just so happy that this has turned out the way it has. And there were no injuries that we are aware of.

I think he said the plane is intact. I'm sitting here looking at it. It is intact and sitting here. It looks as though he set the plane down. This could have been a fiery crash. There's no telling what would have happened.

We're just grateful to the good lord above that this has turned out the way it has.

SIDNER: Bronson Woodruff, you can just call me Sara. You don't have to call me as Ms. Sidner.

And I really appreciate you joining us. You are from our affiliate, WTVA. Thank you very much.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:35:42]

SIDNER: She is the GOAT of women's tennis and, to many, she's the greatest tennis player of all time. Now Serena Williams has played what is likely the final professional match of her career.

Last night, the 23-time - 23-time grand slam singles champ -- say that again -- she was defeated in the third round of the U.S. Open. Nearly 30,000 people packed the stands to see her play in what is likely her last game set match.

She thanked her family in an emotional speech after that match.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SERENA WILLIAMS, PRO TENNIS PLAYER: It all started with my parents and they deserve everything. So I'm really grateful for them. (CHEERING)

WILLIAMS: Oh, my god. These are happy tears, I guess. I don't know.

And I wouldn't be -- I wouldn't be Serena if it wasn't for Venus, so thank you, Venus.

(CHEERING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Talking to her mother and her sister. That was so touching.

Jon Wertheim is a senior writer and executive editor for "Sports Illustrated."

Jon, it is really good to see you.

I got to see her play in that first round where I think she surprised people and certainly she did when she played number two in the world.

A lot of people talk about Serena in terms of her GOAT-ness, greatest of all time. Can we say that now?

JON WERTHEIM, SENIOR WRITER & EXECUTIVE EDITOR, "SPORTS ILLUSTRATED": Oh, I think so. This is purposely vague and your definition of GOAT might not be mine.

But if we're talking in tennis or just impact, it imprints, there was tennis that preceded her and tennis tomorrow. But I can't think of an athlete, let a loan a tennis player, who has done so much to change the sport.

SIDNER: She's done it on so many levels. You know, one of the biggest ones that folks in the black community and around the world see is that this wasn't a sport that was all that diverse when Serena and Venus came on the scene.

They were criticized for the beads in the hair and some of the outfits that they wore and they just persevered.

How important have they been to diversifying the sport?

WERTHEIM: Yes, I mean, you could look around the crowds that you talked about, there are so many ways that you could see this materially, how that's changed the sport.

And one thing that came out this week, there have never been more women of color that have been pro tennis players in the U.S.

But what has come out, how many people they've inspired by showing there's another way to do it. You could confront conventional wisdom. You don't need to be wealthy. And they're players from all over the world that were inspired by this message.

I would say tennis looks so radically different than it did 25 years ago and Venus and Serena Williams both are a big reason why.

SIDNER: Serena's remained a little bit vague and it may be because it is hard for her to come out and say it that she is for sure retiring. I think she used the word I'm evolving beyond tennis.

Is this really the end? We have seen a lot of athletes say they're done and then, boom, here they come again.

WERTHEIM: Yes, I think it is so hard for individual sport athletes. And if you plays for a team, they could sign your contract or not.

In this case, if you're Serena, you think I just beat the number two player in the world and with very little match preparation, I had a really competitive match in the middle week of the U.S. Open, why am I walking away from this?

That is the sentimental, that is such a great sendoff. She's fighting. She's almost 41 years old and the ride has to end sometime.

But it is very easy to see why. And you're absolutely right, that is no regrets, that is it. See at the beach.

She's been really vague and kind of sort of left that open a little bit. And I don't blame her at all.

SIDNER: What really resonated with a lot of folks who listened to her talking after the first game that she won, the first match, she said, you know, always do your best and she -- and you watched her go down fighting.

[13:40:03]

I mean, the way that she played was not somebody who had just said, OK, I'm done. I'm just going to dial it in. She was fierce on that court.

Can you tell me a little bit about how you see her legacy as a whole?

WERTHEIM: I think you said it. Beyond the records of the Wikipedia- style stats, just the passion she brought to the sport, the persistence. You saw it last night in the last game. It was sort of the encapsulation of her whole career.

And again, I think the story is going to age brilliantly. I think we'll be telling our grandkids and their grandkids about getting to see Serena Williams as you did.

The fact as when she retired, the next active player is her sister. It is an extraordinary story. And I think that this is one of these sports stories that for the legend that is only going to grow. This is going to age well.

SIDNER: As she said, do your best always and, boy, did she.

Jon Wertheim, thank you so much for joining us.

WERTHEIM: Any time.

SIDNER: Still ahead, the measures that Bed, Bath & Beyond stores are taking to try to keep the doors open.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:45:23]

SIDNER: Sign of the times. Some U.S. retail stores have a surprising plan for this season's unsold clothing. They're going to do what is called Pack and Hold, which means storing the extra merchandise in warehouses and then bringing it back next year.

CNN's business reporter, Nathaniel Meyersohn, joins us now.

What is the strategy? What stores are going to try this?

NATHANIEL MEYERSOHN, CNN BUSINESS REPORTER: Right. So instead of discounting products to try to move them out of their stores really quickly, stores are going to rely on this Pack and Hold strategy.

So some of the top retailers that we're seeing doing this include Gap. Gap said recently that it was going to hold onto its inventory, including the clothing. Try to sell some of it next season.

Kohl's is attempting this as well. Carters, which sells baby goods. So we see a bunch of retailers trying this.

And these companies are not the only ones that are dealing with overstock inventory. Walmart, Kohl's, Target and others say their inventory levels are up 20, 30, even 40 percent from where they were a year ago.

SIDNER: That is so interesting that they're going to bring it back. So it won't be like, oh, OK, I thought that was last season. You will see it again in 2023.

I want to ask you about Bed, Bath & Beyond, which is closing stores as it tries to keep itself out of bankruptcy. What is their strategy?

MEYERSOHN: So Bed, Bath & Beyond was a beloved retailer for many years. We all remember the 20 percent coupons that you could use for just about everything in the store.

But the company has fallen on hard times. It is in deep trouble. The stock is trading under $10 a share and competition has eaten away at its business.

So the company is trying to shrink. They're going to close 150 stores. They're laying off 20 percent of their corporate employees. They are getting some last-minute financing to try to stay out of bankruptcy.

But it is an open question whether they could avoid it. One analyst told me that it was like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.

SIDNER: Oh, that is tough. I do have to admit I did use one of those 20 percent off things. It

was four years old and they still take them. So maybe some of that will change. I hope not.

Nathaniel Meyersohn, thank you so much for joining us.

Still to come, a month after Governor Abbott sent the first busload of migrants to New York City, CNN has uncovered what the move is costing the state of Texas.

Stay with us.

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[13:52:29]

SIDNER: Texas officials have bused nearly 10,000 migrants to New York City, Washington, D.C., and Chicago in recent months. And those cities say it's creating a strain on their systems.

Texas' governor says he's trying to highlight the Biden administration's failure to secure the southern border. But he's also facing criticism from some city leaders for his political motives.

CNN's Polo Sandoval joins us now.

Polo, can you give us a sense of what the costs are here and the financial burden on Texas itself?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Millions of dollars here, Sara. Of course, one of the very important and fair questions has been, what would be the financial burden if these migrants were to remain in Texas, use hospitals and the education system?

But the answer there is probably not $12.7 million, which is exactly what these state documents I obtained this week lay out.

Keep in mind, this is from April to August 9th, Sara. But that's still about three weeks' worth of busses that are not included in this total of $12.7 million. That would roughly add up to $1,400 a migrant from Texas to cities like D.C., New York, most recently, Chicago.

Keep in mind, these are migrants that, according to Governor Abbott's comments last month, never planned on saying in Texas.

So had they not been put on these busses, then it's likely, according to the governor, they would have found their own way northeast. And in that case, they would have paid their own way versus using taxpayer money.

That's one of the reasons why we asked the governor's office for a statement or a response and they did respond with a statement, a political one, basically touting their border seizure numbers.

But a portion of it takes a direct jab at President Joe Biden, with his office writing, "Until President Biden and Congress do their jobs and secure our southern border, Texas will continue utilizing every strategy to address this border crisis and protect Texans."

We should mention, not long after this statement was released, two buses pulled up to Chicago with just under 100 migrants. The governor made very clear he does not plan on stopping anytime soon, that he has other blue cities in his sights -- Sara?

SIDNER: It's interesting because Texas has said for a long time that they have an undue burden just because of where it's located in the country that's sharing that border.

I'm curious, from your great reporting, how many asylum seekers have been sent, for example, to here in New York by Abbott.

SANDOVAL: So 1,900 migrants so far, Sara.

What's interesting is, if you compare that number to the roughly 8,800 that, according to city officials here in New York, say have relied on the shelter system, that's well under a quarter percent of the total number that's essentially putting a strain on the shelter system.

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Which means a majority of the migrants that are testing New York City's shelter capacity, they are not coming on these Abbott buses. They're coming on their own -- Sara?

SIDNER: That is fascinating.

Polo, that's really great reporting and very interesting to see those numbers there. I appreciate you coming on.

Coming up, it's an amazing breakthrough that could not only save a precious ocean coral but help mitigate the effects of dangerous hurricanes. A CNN exclusive, still ahead.

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