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Kraft Heinz CEO: More Price Hikes to Come; Gas Prices Continue Retreat, Down 10 Cents/Gallon In A Week; Supreme Court Temporarily Blocks Graham's Testimony In GA Probe In 2020 Election; St. Louis Teacher: I Heard Man Yell, "You Are All Going to F'ing Die"; Ukrainian Official: Russia Bringing Military Units Into Kherson; Western Leaders Dismiss Russia's "Dirty Bomb" Claim, Ukraine Invites IAEA To Disprove; Rishi Sunak To Become 3rd British Prime Minister This Year; NASA Launches Investigation into UFO Phenomenon. Aired 1:30-2p ET
Aired October 24, 2022 - 13:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[13:30:36]
ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: Welcome back. The company behind the biggest food brands on the planet, from Heinz ketchup to Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, is issuing a new warning on price hikes and supply chain problems. The bottom line here is your grocery bill probably isn't going down any time soon.
Let's get right to CNN's Matt Egan now.
Matt, I hate for us to be the bearers of bad news, it seems so often. What more are we hearing from the CEO of Kraft Heinz?
MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Ana, this is one of the biggest food companies on the planet. They make everything from Ritz crackers to Jell-O and they have a global footprint.
And like so many other companies, they're dealing with shortages right now. Tomatoes, potatoes, beans, you name it. Supply is not keeping up with demand. And extreme weather is making the situation worse.
Unfortunately, when you have low supply and high demand, prices go up. We've seen food at home prices go up sharply double digits over the past year. Prices for rice, pasta up 16 percent. That's most in more than a decade. Snack prices, all of them have gone higher.
Unfortunately, this trend may continue. Kraft Heinz CEO Miguel Patricio, he told my colleague, Christine Romans, we could see more of this.
Let's listen.
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MIGUEL PATRICIO, CEO, KRAFT HEINZ: As a food company, we have to try to do everything we can to keep the final costs of our products as low as possible. To do that, we have to be much more efficient in our factories. We
have to buy better. And so it's a constant fight to try to minimize price increases.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Will you be raising prices this fall?
PATRICIO: We already increase the prices we were expecting this year. But I'm predicting that, next year, the, you know, inflation will continue. And as a consequence, we'll have other rounds of price increases.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
EGAN: This is just one example. This battle between supply and demand is playing out across the economy. And, you know, consumers continue to pay the price here -- Ana?
CABRERA: Expect the worst, hope for the best. That's what we'll keep doing.
There's some good news. Gas prices are falling still. What needs to happen for that to keep going?
EGAN: Gas prices continue to go down. The national average $3.79 a gallon. Things are going in the right direction. That peak was in June at $5.02 a gallon. Major improvements. Much closer to the bottom than to the peak.
And we know the White House is laser focused on gas prices. They released record amounts of emergency oil. And that has helped. But presidents can't make gas cheap.
One thing that could is a recession. Nothing kills demand like a downturn. People would fly less, they drive less, they go out to eat less often. That would drive down prices but it would cause so much pain across the economy.
And, you know, it feels like every day we do hear another recession warning. Goldman Sachs was out today saying the risk of an accidental recession has gone up. That's where the Fed accidentally causes a downturn by going too far, raising interest rates too fast and too high.
The other big concern is that the Fed causes a recession because that is what is necessary to get inflation under control.
JP Morgan president, Daniel Pinto, he said today, "I think putting inflation back in a box is very important. If it causes a slightly deeper recession for a period of time, that is the price we have to pay."
Ana, the --
(CROSSTALK)
CABRERA: Quite literally.
EGAN: The Fed is signaling they're willing to stomach some economic pain if that's what it takes to get inflation back under control.
CABRERA: The Fed set to make another move next week, right?
EGAN: Exactly.
CABRERA: Matt, thank you so much.
EGAN: Thanks, Ana.
CABRERA: Some big news just in from the Supreme Court. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham has gotten out of testifying to a Georgia grand jury, for now at least.
The high court is temporarily freezing an order requiring Graham's testimony in the investigation into Donald Trump's 2020 election reversal scheme.
And CNN's Paula Reid is tracking this for us.
Paula, tell us about this order.
PAULA REID, CNN SENIOR LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, the keyword here, Ana, is "temporary." The Supreme Court has granted the Senator temporary relief in this matter.
Justice Clarence Thomas has temporarily halted a lower court order that would have allow a Georgia-area grand jury to seek Graham's testimony as part of the ongoing investigation into potential election interference in the 2020 elections.
The Senator had asked the Supreme Court to halt this subpoena while the larger legal questions in this case play out. The Senator has argued that his activities in the state in and around the election, that they were constitutional protected legislative activities.
[13:35:02]
But two lower courts have disagreed with that and said, yes, the grand jury can seek his testimony.
Now, here is what we can expect over the next few weeks. The Supreme Court has asked Georgia investigators to respond to this by Thursday.
And we should note that the original date on the subpoena to the Senator was November 17th. So we'll watch this, these developments over the next few weeks.
But again, this is not a final decision in this matter. Now, the full Supreme Court will consider these questions.
CABRERA: OK, Paula Reid, we'll be watching. Thank you.
To St. Louis now where three people, including a shooter, are dead after that person opened fire in a high school. CNN learning disturbing new details from a teacher who heard it all happen.
And CNN's Brynn Gingras joins us.
Brynn, what is this witness saying?
BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Ana, this is David Williams, a math teacher at the Central Visional and Performing Arts School, talking to our Paul Murphy.
Telling him that, soon after the alerts went throughout the school about a lockdown, he knew it was for real because they didn't get an advanced notice about a drill.
He closed the doors and got students in the classroom away from the door. And it was five minutes later, he said, that he actually heard a bang at the door to his classroom and it was rattling.
He said, soon after that, he heard several gunshots, presumably gunfire that was exchanged with a SWAT team that had arrived on scene. And he heard the shooter, he says, or heard someone yell, quote, "You are going to F'ing die."
What -- just so terrifying moments for this teacher and his students inside that classroom.
Now a little more details that we learned from law enforcement about what happened at this school just after 9:00 this morning, an active shooter situation.
Police arrived very quickly on the scene, were able to locate the gunman they say on the third floor. That's where they engaged with that gunman. And they shot that person, believed to be a 20-year-old man. It's still unclear his affiliation with the school.
But the shooter did die from his injuries with law enforcement. Also, though, two people were killed in this, Ana. We have a teacher who was shot and then died later at the hospital and also, a female student.
And we also know about six other students who were transported to the hospital.
But the investigation still ongoing. But again, this is another terrifying incident inside one of America's schools, a shooting situation that, again, two people were killed -- Ana?
CABRERA: Oh, my.
Brynn Gingras, thank you for that update.
A history making moment at a time of serious turmoil at 10 Downing Street. That's next. Stay with us.
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[13:42:27] CABRERA: Startling accusations and growing fear of what Russia could be planning next. U.S. officials are now batting down Moscow's claims that Ukraine is planning to use a so-called dirty bomb laced with nuclear material.
Western leaders call the allegations a false-flag operation. And Ukraine is even inviting nuclear experts to disprove the claim.
Meantime, in the south, Ukraine's intel chief says Moscow is moving people, money and administrative officials out of Kherson while moving military units in.
Russia says any men left in that city are being given, quote, "an opportunity" to join in the fight for Moscow.
Let's bring in CNN's Fred Pleitgen in Dnipro, Ukraine.
Fred, what are you hearing on the ground? What is going on?
FRED PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly a very fluid situation in what we're hearing on the ground in Kherson where a local resident there telling CNN that a lot of people are being moved out of that town and that the streets are basically deserted now in the town, as well.
It was interesting because, over the past couple days, the Russians said they've moved well over 20,000 people now out of the town of Kherson as they're trying to evacuate that place.
There are some who believe the Russian military might be planning a withdrawal from the area as well.
However, the head of Ukraine's military intelligence believes the opposite is true, saying they believe possibly what the Russians are doing is moving more personnel back in there, maybe to make a stand, maybe to launch a new counter offensive from that area.
One of the other interesting things we heard today, Ana, is that a Russian installed official there called on all the men who are still inside that city to join a territorial defense force, saying that was an offer out there for those people.
It's unclear how many people will take that offer up. But it certainly seems as though the Russians in a dire situation in that part of Ukraine but really unclear what the next move is going to be -- Ana?
CABRERA: Let's talk about the claims of a dirty bomb. How is Ukraine reacting? What are they saying?
PLEITGEN: The Ukrainians are absolutely irate about the claims. They actually rejected the claims and have for the past one and a half days since the Russians first came out and made the claim.
In fact, Ukrainians are saying that they're calling for the International Atomic Energy Agency to go to all of the civilian nuclear sites in Ukraine and to verify for themselves whether or not there's any elicit activity going on at those sites.
The Ukrainians are saying that they're obviously part of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. They have no nuclear weapons and haven't had nuclear weapons for a very long time. And they certainly said that they don't plan to use a dirty bomb.
[13:44:59]
In fact, the president of this country is saying that he believes that if the Russians are making these claims about the Ukrainians, it's they themselves who might be looking to escalate the conflict and maybe use such a device -- Ana?
CABRERA: Fred Pleitgen, thank you so much for staying on top of it there in Dnipro, Ukraine.
Another historic moment in the U.K. We now know who will become the country's third prime minister in less than three months. Rishi Sunak will now be the first person of color and first Hindu to ever lead Great Britain.
CNN correspondent, Bianca Nobilo, is outside 10 Downing Street for us.
It has been a revolving door behind you, Bianca. Tell us about Sunak.
BIANCA NOBILO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, so have a new occupant again tomorrow. And Rishi Sunak will be trailblazing in many ways. As you mentioned, the first person of color to become prime minister, the youngest prime minister in over two centuries.
But what do we know about him as a man and as a politician? Well, this country is most familiar with Sunak because of his performance as chancellor of the Exchequer during the pandemic.
He was considered to have performed in impressive ways, slick and responsible. He's served as the chief secretary to the treasury. So his big ministerial jobs are squarely focused the economy.
In terms of his path to politics and power, it's been fairly conventional. He went a prestigious in England. He then went onto Oxford University where half of this country's prime ministers has been educated.
And then on to Stamford for an MBA. Then he went to the finance industry.
And he's only been an elected lawmaker for the Conservative Party for just seven years. So it's been a very steep rise to power.
But his fortunes were taking a bit of a different turn earlier in the year after being embroiled in scandals to do with Party-gate, discussion about whether or not his wife was trying to evade paying taxes.
But he seems to have recovered from that. And his party hopes he'll be the man to unite the party and tackle the economic calamity that's befalling this country -- Ana?
CABRERA: Bianca Nobilo, thank you for that reporting.
The truth is out there and NASA is going to find it, or at least try to. A new mission is launching to figure out what is really behind all those UFO sightings.
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UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: You've got to see this, Scully.
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CABRERA: OK, this isn't the "X-Files," but the search for the truth behind UFOs is definitely on. Today, NASA is launching a nine-month investigation into these mysterious sightings.
A team of 16 will look into unclassified data, like this video captured by Navy pilots showing a flying object off the coast of San Diego.
And the research crews, made up of scientists, astronomers, aviators, even astronauts, they'll will release their findings next year.
Let's discuss with former NASA astronaut and retired Air Force Colonel Terry Virts.
Colonel, great to see you.
How do you think they might go about this investigation?
COL. TERRY VIRTS, U.S. AIR FORCE, RETIRED & FORMER NASA ASTRONAUT: I think the big thing for them is going to be to get data, which is something that's different than what we used to have back in the 1950s when there was a lot of, quote/unquote, "UFO sightings."
We have radar tracks from Navy ships. We have infrared cameras from Navy pilots. And I've had a few guys on my podcast now that have talked about the data. I think that's going to be their focus.
CABRERA: What are you hoping they might find?
VIRTS: Well, what I'm really hoping is that they get to the bottom of it, to the extent they can. Clearly, every sighting cannot be explained.
But I think we're going to get a little bit more color and detail on exactly what these things are. Many of them are probably just drones or atmospheric sightings.
But some of the cameras and radar tracks that the Navy fighter pilots have seen are really interesting. And they really seem like not normal aircraft type of things.
CABRERA: You're a former fighter pilot, former NASA astronaut. I've got to ask. Do you believe aliens exist?
VIRTS: That's a complicated question. I've never seen them myself. It seems, with all the billions of planets that are out there, you would think that there must be some life out there.
I think that life is very complicated and that somebody has to make it or get it started just from a scientific point of view. It's so complicated.
The problem is, those planets and stars are so far away, it would take thousands and tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands of years to get there. So I think there's life, but I can't be sure.
CABRERA: This past May, Pentagon officials testified before a House panel and they revealed there are now close to 400 reports from military personnel of impossible UFO encounters.
And they say they are reasonably confident one of the sightings was that of a drone.
But so far, investigators have not found evidence of either extraterrestrial life or major technological advancement by a foreign adversary like Russia or China.
I do wonder, though, if the intel community, if the Pentagon, with all of its resources couldn't get to the bottom of this, do you have confidence NASA will get to the bottom of this?
VIRTS: That's a good question. I think the intel and defense communities will take a certain angle. And I think that NASA -- these are astrophysicists and scientists and tech start-up kind of people. They'll take a different angle at it.
But the bottom line is, we have data now. There are radar tracks that exist. There are infrared tracks that exist.
The fighter pilots who are reporting it are not in the UFO society. These are not the kind of people who wake up in the morning wanting to see a UFO. They don't want to see a UFO.
[13:55:01]
So I think there's definitely some legitimate stuff here. I'm sure a lot of it is explainable by drones. But from what I've heard, as I've said, on my podcast, there are some things that are definitely questionable.
And these are reasonable people that are bringing up these questions.
CABRERA: So interesting. Really fascinating.
Colonel Terry Virts, thanks for the discussion today.
VIRTS: Thanks for having me.
CABRERA: President Biden is at the DNC, Democratic National Committee, headquarters this hour, rallying the troops two weeks out from the midterm elections.
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JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If we get people out to vote, we win. We get people out to vote, we win. And you're getting them out to vote.
(CHEERING)
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CABRERA: And that's going to do it for us today. Thank you for being here. I'll see you back here, same time, same place tomorrow.
The news continues right after this.
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