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American Ilia Malinin Missed Podium After Stumbling in Free Skate on Friday; Dog Crashes Women's X-Country Team Sprint Event; Meta CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, Testifies in Court; Investigators May Turn to Genetic Genealogy in Guthrie Case; Eight Missing Skiers Found Dead After Avalanche. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired February 18, 2026 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ILIA MALININ, CLAIMED TEAM GOLD AT MILAN CORTINA: It might seem like I was doing very well, but of course, there's a side that not everyone gets to see, and it's really hard to deal with all of that. And, you know, at some point, you're going to have to release it because sometimes it's just too much to handle all at once. I'm definitely looking forward to what's next.

I mean, I'm ready to give it my all and I'm ready to just come back better than ever and, you know, see where my career takes me, honestly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Let's go. Finally, Boris, we had a local streaker during a live event on the cross-country course today. A fur baby, a dog busting out of his doghouse for a few moments, a chaos. Officials had to wrangle him and grab him. Nobody was harmed. They took him back to the Airbnb where he lives, but not before the OMEGA Scan'O'Vision captured an epic photo finish.

No medal for the pup, Boris, but surely one of the highlights of the day here in Cortina.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": Oh, give that good boy a medal or a piece of cheese. They love cheese.

Coy loves cheese. Right, Coy?

(LAUGH)

WIRE: Oh, yeah, baby. Always cheesing.

(LAUGH)

SANCHEZ: Coy Wire, thank you so much. Appreciate you, Coy.

A new hour of "CNN News Central" starts right now. BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": Mark Zuckerberg takes the stand. The Meta CEO testifying at the social media trial, defending his company against a lawsuit that claims his platforms were intentionally designed with addictive features.

And a billionaire tells lawmakers he was "conned by Jeffrey Epstein." Les Wexner deposed by the Oversight Committee, telling them he has done nothing wrong and he has nothing to hide.

And a desperate search to find nine missing skiers after an avalanche that left survivors scrambling to find the rest of their group. We're following these major developing stories and many more, all coming in right here to "CNN News Central."

The creator of Facebook is now in the same room as parents who blame his company and others for hurting their children. Meta CEO, Mark Zuckerberg is testifying in Los Angeles. Meta and Google's YouTube are being sued in a landmark case over features that the plaintiffs allege are purposely addictive and harm young people. Both companies have denied any wrongdoing, highlighting the safety features that they've implemented to protect users.

CNN's Veronica Miracle standing by outside of the courthouse. Veronica, Zuckerberg's testimony could be crucial to the outcome of this case.

VERONICA MIRACLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It really could, Brianna, and we know that he is taking the stand right now. One of our colleagues, Samantha Delouya, she is inside and they just had a little break, so we know a little bit about what's going on. There's been some back and forth questioning as he's taken the stand as a witness. And our colleague Samantha Delouya says so far some of the highlights include questioning Mark Zuckerberg over whether Meta knew or allowed underage users on the platform.

And apparently things got a little heated when questioning turned to whether Instagram sets goals to maximize time spent on the app. Of course, all of this part of a case brought by a 20-year-old woman and her mother. They're accusing Meta and other companies of creating essentially mental health issues for her because of the addictive features of the app.

Apparently, Kaylee started using Instagram when she was just nine- years-old. And by the time she was a teenager, her lawyer said she was spending more than 16 hours on the app, which eventually led to a series of mental health issues. Of course, this is a landmark case because if Kaylee and her mother, they end up winning this case, these companies, including Meta, could be on the line for billions of dollars in damages.

It could also make these companies essentially change the way that their apps are structured, the way that the algorithms are structured. So there's really a lot on the line here. And a lot of people are watching this, including many grieving parents who have flown in from around the country, who say that their children have been negatively impacted by social media apps. Some parents even saying that it led to the deaths of their children.

We spoke with Julianna Arnold earlier today who says that her 17-year- old daughter Coco met a man on Instagram who sold her a fentanyl-laced pill. Coco eventually died. And so, her mother has been fighting for protections for children. And this is what she had to say this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JULIANNA ARNOLD, FOUNDING MEMBER, PARENTS RISE!: I'm telling you this. She was a vulnerable kid with ADHD and had some anxiety and depression. And this product that she got addicted to put her in a downward spiral. And I'm sitting here with parents who have the same experiences. It's the same pattern.

They take a vulnerable child. All kids are vulnerable. Their self- esteem -- and what girls face, especially on these platforms, is horrifying to have to go through that. And it really has created such a huge mental health crisis in this country.

And so, if it doesn't create it directly, it totally exacerbates it and makes it so much worse.

[14:05:00]

And it's leaving it to parents. And we can't fight these multibillion- dollar companies.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MIRACLE: And I asked Mark Zuckerberg as he arrived to a crush of journalists on his way into the courthouse, if he had a message for any of the families. He didn't respond to my question or any others. But a Meta spokesperson sent us this statement saying, the question for the jury in Los Angeles is whether Instagram was a substantial factor in the plaintiff's mental health struggles.

The evidence will show she faced many significant, difficult challenges well before she ever used social media. The next break that we expect is going to be the lunch hour. It'll be a longer break. So we hope to get a little bit more context about what's happening inside as Mark Zuckerberg takes the stand. Brianna?

KEILAR: Yeah, what a case to follow. Veronica Miracle, thank you so much. We know you'll keep us up to date. Boris?

SANCHEZ: The search for Nancy Guthrie is now well into its third week. Today, investigators are chasing new leads after the sheriff, just over 24 hours ago, said none of the DNA samples tested so far have flagged any matches on the FBI's criminal database. That means the focus could now be shifting to genetic genealogy.

Joining us to discuss is Genetic Genealogist and DNA expert, CeCe Moore. She's helped law enforcement solve some 365 cases using that technology. CeCe, thank you so much for being with us. So, what options do investigators now have? CECE MOORE, GENETIC GENEALOGIST & DNA EXPERT: Well, now that they didn't get the match in the law enforcement databases, they can transition directly to the investigative genetic genealogy. That will allow them to broaden the search to distant relatives. In the law enforcement database, they're looking for that person, or in some cases, a very close family member.

But they don't use a lot of DNA genetic markers for that. And so, they really can only detect those very, very close matches. In genetic genealogy, we can use second, third, fourth, fifth cousins and beyond to reverse engineer the identity of this individual.

SANCHEZ: Wow. How long does that take?

MOORE: Well, it can take anywhere from about 20 minutes, which is the quickest I've been able to do it, to years. I have some cases I've been working on for multiple years.

I don't think in this case, it will take years, though, because of the tremendous resources being dedicated to it. They can start with the DNA Labs International that is doing the analysis, and they can bring in the FBI genetic genealogy team as well, if necessary.

I suspect it won't take more than weeks. That might be optimistic, but I really believe that. And it could be as quick as hours. It's really dependent on the population group that individual comes from.

SANCHEZ: And to that point, I wonder what it would mean if there are no matches there. Who is in these databases to compare the data to?

MOORE: There are always matches. They just might be very distant. Any person that uploads their DNA to one of these databases will have hundreds or even thousands of matches. If we get lucky, then they may have a close relative in there.

But that is unlikely, because despite the fact there are over 50 million people who have taken consumer DNA tests, law enforcement is barred from using the three largest databases, and they're limited to the three smallest databases.

So that means there are less than two million profiles they can compare against. So it's likely they will have to work with distant relatives.

SANCHEZ: That is fascinating. I guess my next question is about privacy. If folks are submitting these samples to try to get answers about who their ancestors were, I don't know that many of them know that this information is accessible by law enforcement. Should that be cause for concern?

MOORE: Well, there's a misconception that law enforcement can access AncestryDNA 23andMe and MyHeritage. They absolutely cannot because those companies have barred them from doing that. And the databases that we are using for investigative genetic genealogy have people that have been made aware of this and have been given the option to opt in or opt out. So, the people that they are comparing against now are aware of it and have had a choice in that matter.

SANCHEZ: Yeah, it's such a fascinating angle to this case. CeCe Moore, thank you so much for sharing your expertise. We look forward to talking with you again sometime soon.

MOORE: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Thanks so much. So if you perhaps saw anything suspicious or happen to know anything about the potential whereabouts of Nancy Guthrie, you're being asked to call either of the numbers on your screen and reach the Pima County Sheriff.

You can also call 1-800-CALL-FBI.

[14:10:00]

Still to come this afternoon, rescue crews in the Sierra Nevada facing worsening conditions as they try to find nine skiers still missing after an avalanche. Just ahead, we're going to speak with someone who actually survived one in the Himalayas.

Plus, testimony underway in the murder trial of the accused Georgia school shooter's father. We have new details for you from inside the courtroom.

And the billionaire former owner of Victoria's Secret, who was named in the Epstein files, today telling lawmakers that he was conned by Jeffrey Epstein, denying any knowledge of his sex trafficking crimes. We have more details about what he said on Capitol Hill when we come back.

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[14:15:20]

KEILAR: We do have some Breaking News into CNN. Authorities have confirmed that eight of nine missing skiers in California, because of that avalanche that we've been tracking, they have been found and they have been confirmed dead. One is still missing. Let's listen to a briefing that's underway right now at the Nevada City Sheriff's Office.

SHERIFF SHANNON MOON, NEVADA COUNTY, CA: -- 30 to 55 years of age. Eight of the additional -- nine additional skiers have been located deceased. We are still looking for one of the members at this time. Due to the ongoing challenges of the weather, the avalanche conditions, the effort remains ongoing, as well as our search for the remaining skier.

But the weather is a factor. It's not a resource issue as we speak. It is conditions, weather condition and safety condition for our response teams.

Of the two that were injured, one individual was stabilized last night and released. One is still being treated at the hospital. I've been told both subjects are non-life-threatening injuries. So that's good to know.

The guide company has been very cooperative, providing us the individual information from their trip. They also had members arrive at our location when we deployed into the field. And they responded with us. They wanted to do everything that they could to assist.

The cause of death, clearly, will not be able to be confirmed. One, we still have to get to the decedents. We still have to be able to identify those decedents. And then we will determine through contract with Placer County. We contract with them for all of our pathology. That should take some time to determine mechanism of injury and truly, the cause of death for these individuals.

The avalanche yesterday was about one mile away from a different avalanche that occurred at the beginning of January in that same Castle Peak area. Please understand that this incident remains ongoing. Our focus remains on recovering. But the snow and the unsure conditions are creating an issue to making sure that we can safely do that.

We did have conversation with the families of the folks that are still outstanding and let them know that our mission has -- went from a rescue to a recovery. It's a difficult conversation to have with loved ones, so I please ask for your patience with the family members. This is ongoing, and I can't even imagine the amount of questions and stress that those families are going through right now as we move forward through this.

Public safety reminders, Check avalanche forecasts and weather reports before traveling anywhere in the backcountry. Locally, Sierra Avalanche Center is a great resource. Avoid closed areas, posted areas. Avoid all of those high-risk areas. Always communicate your plans. Travel with a partner, share your route, and consider all of the avalanche dangers that are in our beautiful community, but definitely, a high danger for that.

So with that, I'll ask the Placer County Sheriff, Wayne Woo, to come up and talk about that mutual aid that his agency reported and responded with us.

SANCHEZ: We've been listening to Sheriff Shannon Moon in Nevada City, California, where eight missing skiers have been found dead after an avalanche.

There, the sheriff's saying that, unfortunately, investigators have been unable to recover the eight who have been confirmed deceased because of weather. The weather is still very intense in that area. Notably, one skier still remains missing in the Castle Peak area.

Let's discuss with world-class mountain climber, Conrad Anker, who survived an avalanche in 1999 that killed two others. Conrad, thank you so much for being with us. I wonder what your reaction is to hearing this news.

CONRAD ANKER, AVALANCHE SURVIVOR: Thank you, Boris, and thank you for Brianna and the CNN team for having me on. My condolences go out to the families of the eight deceased skiers and the one missing.

[14:20:00]

Yeah, news like this, it's hard within our community. We go out to seek adventure and solace in the mountains, yet at times, as we see here, things can take a turn for the worse.

KEILAR: Yeah, no, and certainly they have. There were six survivors. Can you talk, Conrad, I think this is one of those instances where people are learning a little bit about avalanches and just the tremendous force and the complicating factors, how far away these folks were from any help, the fact that there were these weather conditions that made it so difficult to get to them, and just how much the clock is really ticking from the moment that an avalanche begins to rescue anyone who's buried.

ANKER: Yeah, the majority of avalanches happen between 30 and 45 degrees angle on a slope. Steeper than that, it sloughs off. When it's less steep, the snow is a little more stable. Due to the conditions, a two- to three-foot snow event in a very short period of time, the slopes were loaded, and there could be a weak layer underneath, so snow that's changed due to temperature.

As we see here in the image, there was a lot of wind. Wind can transport the snow and increase the weight of it. All skiers and backcountry enthusiasts that travel in conditions like this carry an avalanche beacon, which sends out a ping of your location, and it can also be switched to receiving.

Along with that, we carry shovels and an avalanche probe. And overall, we probably, on average, there's 30 fatalities per year in North America due to avalanches. This year, there's been 72 in Europe.

And so when people go out to adventure in the mountains, they have to accept that risk that something like this could happen.

SANCHEZ: What is it like, just from your perspective, to be caught in one? What did you experience?

ANKER: I've had three close calls with avalanches, and I hope that I don't have any other ones. I try to be aware of it. But the avalanche that you referenced in 1999 was on Shishapangma, the world's 14th highest peak. We were in Tibet, and we didn't trigger the avalanche. So that is like we were on the slope, and the weight of our activities triggered the avalanche.

Rather, it released spontaneously probably 6,000 feet above us and increased in momentum as we came down. And when it strikes, you go from sort of rational thinking to survival. And so, that ancient part of our brain is like, how do we get out of this? And so, not necessarily kind of weighing the pros and cons there. You come immediately to survival.

And something like this is very immediate, where things are tranquil, you're having a good time, you're in the mountains, and all of a sudden, things are not safe. And there's a rush of emotions that go through, and you want to try to make sense of it.

But the power of snow combined with gravity on a slope like this is much stronger than what humans can endure.

KEILAR: I wonder, Conrad, how the community is going to be reflecting on this. You said you balance the risks when you go out there, but this is obviously hitting the community hard. How are they going to be thinking about this knowing that a number of them did not survive this event, and there are a lot of families out there crushed by this?

ANKER: It's a tough one to go through. We accept the value proposition of exploring in the mountains with the reward that we get, which is intrinsic. We have the joy of being out there, but we don't necessarily act with anything.

And for the families that are left behind and the close friends, they might not accept that value proposition. And so, there's a lot of questioning that goes on. There's grief that works through it.

But throughout North America, mountain fatalities are part and parcel. It's not if it's going to happen. It's when it's going to happen.

And people group together, and they work with professionals, counselors within that, and in ways that they can then understand it. But having been through it, it's not easy.

[14:25:00]

For the skiers that walked away from this, there's going to be the pangs of survivor guilt. Why them and not me? And it should have been me. Did I make a decision on that? And for the immediate families that are not part of it, loss of their family members and close friends is quite noticeable.

So you're there at home, and their desk is now empty, and the person that you cook coffee with in the morning is no longer there. And addressing those situations is never easy. But working together as a community, we work to make the pain more bearable.

SANCHEZ: And our thoughts are obviously with those family members and loved ones of the eight missing skiers that have been confirmed dead.

Conrad Anker, thank you so much for sharing your experience and your story.

ANKER: Boris and Brianna, thank you for having me on CNN. And again, my condolences to the families, and with respect for the search and rescue team that's out there working through these conditions.

SANCHEZ: No doubt. Thank you so much. Just ahead, we're watching powerful testimony from the trial that could set a new precedent in school shooting cases. What jurors just heard in the murder trial of Colin Gray.

KEILAR: Plus, peace talks between Russia, Ukraine, and the U.S. have ended in Geneva. And we have some new reaction from Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy coming up on "CNN News Central."

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