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CNN News Central

Opening Statements Begin in Trial Against Meta, YouTube; U.K.'s Prime Minister Called to Resign Amid Epstein Fallout; Pope Leo Not Planning to Visit the U.S. In 2026; San Francisco Public School Teachers Go on Strike; Kremlin Says Situation in Cuba Critical Due to U.S. Oil Chokehold; Bad Bunny Brings the Heat in Super Bowl Halftime Show. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired February 09, 2026 - 13:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:33:47]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": Opening statements have begun in a landmark trial against YouTube and Instagram's parent company, Meta. A 20-year-old woman and her mother are suing the social media giants, alleging their platforms were intentionally designed to be addictive and caused the daughter to develop anxiety, body dysmorphia, and suicidal thoughts.

Lawyers for the tech companies are expected to argue that her mental health struggles were caused by family issues, not social media. The case marks the first time social media companies will face a jury over claims that their platforms harm young users.

We're joined now by Frances Haugen, who is a former Facebook product manager and a whistleblower who leaked internal documents detailing how executives allegedly knew their products were potentially harmful. Frances, thank you for being with us.

And in the particular case of this woman, we're talking about social media use going back more than a decade, right? She's 20 now, but she began using YouTube at six, Instagram at nine. In your experience, what would Meta, the Instagram parent company, have known at that time about potential risks to youth mental health?

[13:35:00]

FRANCES HAUGEN, FACEBOOK WHISTLEBLOWER: Psychologists have said consistently for decades that the younger a child is, the more vulnerable they are to any stressor. That's why we give kids more freedom as they get older. It's why we are more OK with putting kids in more challenging circumstances when they get to be in high school, when they get to be in college.

In the case of the defendant, you know, Meta knew there were nine- year-olds on their platforms. They knew those nine-year-olds were being exposed to extreme content. They knew that people, often adults, were contacting kids under even the age of 13. And they didn't even enforce their own rules. Because remember, Meta has said for years, there is no one under the age of 13 on our platforms.

KEILAR: Yeah, and lawyers, as I mentioned, for Meta and YouTube, have indicated that their defense may be, or the defense will be that a difficult family life, not social media, is responsible for the plaintiff's mental health challenges. If this plaintiff and her family are essentially under investigation on the stand --

(CROSSTALK)

HAUGEN: The most common response we've had from these companies for years --

KEILAR: Yeah, what do you think?

HAUGEN: -- is one where they refuse to take responsibility for any kind. For years, these companies have refused to take responsibility for any kind of harm. You know, it makes perfect sense that the playbook would be to blame the victim.

KEILAR: And so another Facebook whistleblower, Sarah Wynn-Williams, has alleged, for instance, the company would actually track when a teen girl would delete a selfie, and then a potential indication from that might be she's not happy with how she looks. They would monetize that, she said, allowing advertisers to target her with maybe a beauty ad, it could be, say, a weight-loss ad as well.

These allegations that the company tracked teenage girls for indications they might actually be in a vulnerable state, did you see that when you were at the company? And how was that kind of discussed as potentially an opportunity?

HAUGEN: The part of the company that I worked in was focused on what is known as threat investigations. So I was, during the second half of my time there, within the counterespionage team. But I worked on other software across threat intelligence, which also included looking for, for example, people who preyed on children, people who traded with other adults explicit photos of children.

The company knew at every point that the people meant to be keeping children safe were understaffed. One of the things I wrote in my report, when I was working on detection software was even one or two engineers, this is for a company that makes tens of billions of dollars in profit, would have sped up the speed that these critical teams would have operated for keeping the worst of the worst away from kids.

KEILAR: Tech giants are stressing these take-a-break reminders, content restrictions, these parental control tools. How do you see those?

HAUGEN: It's fascinating. If you look at when the big platforms launched these features, it's not like, you know, they started in 2012. It's not like they started in 2017 when people started really talking about mental health and kids which is, remember, almost a decade ago now. They started really rolling out these features first in 2021, like the big push, when the U.K. passed the age-appropriate design code, the first kind of digital rights for children on the internet, other than a little bit that Australia had done earlier. Or more recently, when Australia threatened to ban under-16s from the platform, they launched more private accounts, way more control for kids, by default, putting kids in safe circumstances.

Why should you have to wait for a threat from a government to, you know, say, like, you have to do the right thing? Why would you have to wait to protect children? And so what we've seen time and time again is, unless the incentives are in place that incentivize making safe products for kids, these companies choose to wait until the last moment to put these safety protections in place.

KEILAR: Well, this is a big moment, this case. We know you're watching very carefully, and so are we. And we appreciate you being with us right now. Frances Haugen, thank you.

Coming up, files fallout, how officials an ocean away from the U.S. are facing very different consequences for having ties to Jeffrey Epstein.

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[13:43:38]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": As Jeffrey Epstein victims in the U.S. plead for more accountability, the fallout in the United Kingdom deepens. This hour, British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer is expected to speak and potentially respond to the resignation of his chief of staff. In announcing his decision to step down, Morgan McSweeney said that he took full responsibility for Starmer appointing Peter Mandelson as U.K. Ambassador to the U.S., despite his years-long ties to Epstein.

Mandelson has been accused of leaking market sensitive government information to Epstein that was of clear financial interest to the convicted pedophile. We're now learning that U.K. police are also assessing a claim that former Prince Andrew may have also shared information improperly with Epstein. Joining us now is CNN Anchor and Royal Correspondent, Max Foster.

Max, help us understand. Keir Starmer himself is not being accused of any wrongdoing in the Epstein documents, so why are there calls for him to resign?

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR AND ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: So, really questions about his judgment. And if it was the first question about his judgment, he'd probably be in a safer position. But there have been so many government U-turns in policy in recent months. His position was already undermined.

Now, we have a situation where he admits taking Peter Mandelson's word for his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, saying it wasn't that deep, and then Starmer basically gave him the job trusting Mandelson's word. [13:45:00]

We now know, after this latest drop of Epstein files, that Mandelson had a much deeper relationship with Epstein than anyone knew, including a suggestion that he was effectively selling trade secrets or at least sharing trade secrets to Epstein. So, questions now about why didn't he question Mandelson more at the time? Why did he hire him? What was the advice he's getting?

So his chief of staff, as you say, has just walked out. He's also lost his head of communications, and now, he's facing a backbench revolt, members of his own party. He's currently locked in a meeting with them. He's going to have to convince them he can be trusted to stay on as leader ahead of some crucial local elections in May. If he can't, then his position looks increasingly untenable.

SANCHEZ: Max, also tell us about this assessment by British police, this claim that former Prince Andrew fed some financial information over to Epstein. The allegation so far has been unproven, but nevertheless officials are looking into it.

FOSTER: So very similar, really, to the claims against Mandelson. In his role, when he was Prince Andrew, he was also a trade envoy. During visits to Asia, representing the British government, he was involved in quite sensitive trade talks about investments into the region. And in this latest drop of Epstein files, there's a suggestion that he shared those reports with Jeffrey Epstein. So that would be against the law.

Thames Valley Police that are overseeing that part of it haven't launched a formal investigation, but they are inquiring into the evidence at this point. And then we had this extraordinary statement tonight, just in the last hour, from Buckingham Palace, where a spokesman said the king has made it clear in words and through unprecedented actions his profound concern about all allegations which continue to come to light in respect to Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor's conduct, his brother of course.

Whilst the specific claims in question are for Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor to address, if we are approached by Thames Valley Police, we stand ready to support as you would expect. So, all support for Prince Andrew as he was now dripping away and the focus in the monarchy, as it is with the government right now, is survival and damage limitation. They're both in crisis.

SANCHEZ: Max Foster, thank you so much for that update. Brianna?

KEILAR: Now to some of the other headlines that we're watching this hour. Pope Leo will not be visiting the U.S. in 2026. There had been speculation the Catholic leader could return to his home country later this year, but the Vatican press office says there are no plans for a homecoming. Vice President, J.D. Vance gave the Chicago-born pontiff an open invite to visit the U.S. back in May.

Pope Leo has made one foreign trip since his election, visiting Turkey and Lebanon at the end of last year. He has said that his next visit will be to Africa.

Also, thousands of public school teachers in San Francisco just went on strike, marking the first such walkout in nearly 50 years. The district closed all of its 120 schools today and says, it will offer independent study to some of the district's 50,000 students. The teachers are asking for fully-funded family health care and a nine percent raise over two years. Officials countered with a six percent wage increase over three years.

And the Kremlin says the situation in Cuba is critical. Due to the U.S. chokehold on oil shipments, Cubans have been facing constant blackouts and long lines at gas stations from a dwindling supply of fuel since President Trump's threatened tariffs on any country that sends oil to the island nation. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, said last month, the U.S. would love to see regime change in Cuba.

Cuba's foreign minister says his country is ready for meaningful dialog with the U.S., but is not willing to discuss changing its government. Ahead on "CNN News Central," an unabashed celebration of both Puerto Rico and America at the Super Bowl, how the halftime show landed with fans across the country.

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[13:53:43]

KEILAR: So he took the grand prize at the Grammys, and now Bad Bunny has made history at the Super Bowl with a really unforgettable star- studded show.

SANCHEZ: Yeah, his halftime performance paid homage to Puerto Rico with a celebration of American multiculturalism and Latin American and Caribbean culture.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BAD BUNNY, PUERTO RICAN RAPPER AND SINGER: God bless America! Doesn't matter if it's Chile, Argentina Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia Peru, Ecuador, Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico Cuba, Dominican Republic Jamaica, Haiti, the Antilles United States, Canada And my motherland, my homeland, Puerto Rico.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: A roll call of all the countries of North and South America. Joining us now to discuss, Adrian Carrasquillo, National Immigration Correspondent at "The Bulwark," and Dominic Patten, Executive Editor for Deadline.com.

Adrian, I read that you weren't made emotive or emotional by it, but that you had a cheesy, grinny smile from ear to ear. How did you feel watching that?

ADRIAN CARRASQUILLO, NATIONAL IMMIGRATION CORRESPONDENT, THE BULWARK: Yeah, sometimes he gets me with just being Puerto Rican and just seeing how far he's come. I like to joke that I've been a fan since 2017 when people were like, Adrian, enough with Bad Bunny already.

[13:55:00]

But now, everybody else caught up, and every Instagram story was about him yesterday, so my time has finally come, Boris. It was just so exciting. It was obviously powerful, but it was like happy, right? I mean, one thing that I've been thinking about is he would prefer, I think, not to be talking about ICE and not to be making veiled references or explicit references at the administration.

He wants to do his art, and yesterday, that to me was like, his show, his way about Puerto Rico, and just like very positive. And like he said, he wanted everybody to dance, so I just had a great time, obviously.

KEILAR: I mean, it was great to dance, too. And he was there, Dominic, very much as Benito and he got by with a little help from his friends, a lot of his friends, right? Ricky Martin, Lady Gaga, the list goes on and on. What did you think?

DOMINIC PATTEN, EXECUTIVE EDITOR, DEADLINE.COM: Well, I mean, this was the Benito Bowl. Out here in California, it literally was Bad Bunny Day on Super Bowl Sunday. It was a fantastic show. I mean, as I said in the review on Deadline, "Bueno, Bueno." I mean, it was amazing.

What was particularly interesting, though, and I think this is a very good point, is we talk so much about the cultural significance, so much about the political context. I felt sometimes that Bad Bunny is amazing, Grammy-winning, as you guys pointed out, music got overlooked. Not yesterday.

It was one banger hit after another, which showed all the haters, to be honest, the people who said to the NFL, oh, why do you have this guy, et cetera, et cetera? Because he's one of the best-selling, most- streamed, most popular artist in the world. Because the NFL likes capitalism, and that's why this succeeded on all levels.

SANCHEZ: Adrian, I think it's pretty safe to say that you consider it a success. I wonder what aspect of it, what cultural references stood out most to you.

CARRASQUILLO: You know, look, obviously all cultures have weddings, but I thought, like, the wedding was really powerful and beautiful because it reminded me of the Latino parties growing up. There's the kid that's falling asleep, even though the music is impossibly loud, so how is he even sleeping?

But then everybody's dancing, and then there's older people and younger people, and even Lady Gaga being in there, right, into the salsa portion, is the welcomingness and inclusion of the parties that we've been at throughout our lives, where it's like, maybe you don't speak Spanish, but you're dancing to this song, right? So I thought that that was particularly beautiful, just from, like, a cultural sense.

KEILAR: Yeah, the joy and the energy and the family, and that really came across, and this became such, I mean, it became so divisive and yet you watch the show, and that's not at all the message of this show. But there was also another show, Dominic, which was the Turning Point USA counter-programming event. I saw you roll your eyes, as that's what I would say to my children if I saw them do that. Dominic, how did it go? Because there was a lot of promotion around that too.

PATTEN: Well, look, it's my job to watch both, and obviously I did. I have to tell you, that Kid Rock-led show, maybe it was recorded in the 21st century, maybe it had something to do with this, maybe Turning Point couldn't get it to work properly on their feed. It was a 35- minute kind of yawn, and I'll tell you why I know that, because Donald Trump, who it was basically created as an alternative in his homage, who said he was not going to watch Bad Bunny, watched Bad Bunny, even though he dissed him, but that was the show to watch.

The alternative show was, well, put it this way, the history of the Super Bowl halftime show really started in 1993 when Michael Jackson showed up. Michael Jackson showed up in 1993, because in 1992, Fox counter-programmed ice skating, which was the halftime show on the Super Bowl, with a live special of "In Living Color," which drew 22 million viewers. That's counter-programming.

What was on yesterday with the All-American show, I mean, didn't I see that on CMT 25 years ago?

SANCHEZ: Oof, burn.

KEILAR: Not a fan.

SANCHEZ: Adrian, what did you think of Kid Rock, bro?

(LAUGH)

PATTEN: Adrian?

CARRASQUILLO: I'm going to run through this quick, OK?

(LAUGH)

CARRASQUILLO: Bad Bunny has 87.5 million Spotify listeners a month. Kid Rock only has five million, right? And so it's just -- it's not -- it was embarrassing that people were trying to compare it, it's not in the same space. Look, I mean, if I could, I would just say that towards the end of the show, right, when he says America, and we're so used to the U.S.-centric, like, oh, he means us, and then he goes through all the countries in Latin America and all the islands, and then he ends with the United States, right?

So to me, he was -- that show yesterday was affirming our humanity at a time when this administration and people in charge have been denying humanity to so many people, including U.S. citizens. So, I mean, just again, right, the party, the dancing, it was very much in opposition --