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Canadian Authorities Reveal New Details On Mass Shooting; Donald Trump To Benjamin Netanyahu: U.S. To Keep Pursuing Talks With Iran; Gisele Pelicot Shares Details About Abuse In New Interview; FBI Agents Search Area Near Nancy Guthrie's Home; Investigators Search for Evidence in Nancy Guthrie Case; More Than 4,000 Tips Received in Guthrie Case in 24 Hours; Bangladesh Votes in First Election Since Deadly Uprising; Buddhist Monks End 2,300-mile Spiritual Journey; France Wins Figure Skating Gold, USA Takes the Silver; Speed Skater Jordan Stolz Wins Gold, Sets Olympic Record; Winter Sports Booming After Beijing's 2022 Winter Olympics. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired February 12, 2026 - 02:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:00:41]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church.

Just ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, Canada grapples with one of its worst school shootings in decades, leaving a remote mountain town in mourning as police search for a motive.

A possible new clue in the abduction of Nancy Guthrie. The New York Post says investigators found a glove not far from her home.

And later, one mindful step at a time, a group of monks make an incredible journey by foot in hopes of spreading peace across the U.S. and beyond.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN NEWSROOM with Rosemary Church.

CHURCH: Appreciate you joining us, and we are getting new information on Canada's deadly mass shooting. Authorities say an 18-year-old female allegedly killed eight people on Tuesday. Police say suspect Jesse Van Rootselaar was born as a biological male, who approximately six years ago, began to transition to female and identified as female, both socially and publicly.

The suspect's mother and stepbrother were found dead at the family home in tumbler Ridge, British Columbia. Six people, mostly children, were killed at the school where the alleged shooter once studied.

Authorities say it's too soon to speculate on a motive. More than two dozen people were injured in that shooting, among them a 12-year-old girl who is fighting for her life in hospital. Her mother says she was shot in the head and neck. Canada's Prime Minister sent out condolences to the victims and their families.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK CARNEY, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: To those families who have lost loved ones, this house mourns with you. To those who are recovering from injuries, this house prays for you. To the students, the teachers, the parents, every residents of Tumbler Ridge, all of Canada stands with you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Meantime, flags across Canada are at half-staff. CNN's Paula Newton has our report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEPUTY COMMISSIONER DWAYNE MCDONALD, ROYAL CANADIAN MOUNTED POLICE: Upon arrival, there was active gunfire, and as officers approached the school, rounds were fired in their direction.

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tonight, new details about a deadly mass shooting in a small, tight-knit community in Tumbler Ridge, Canada. Mobile phone messages warned of an active shooter describing the suspect as a woman wearing a dress with brown hair.

DARIAN QUIST, STUDENT, TUMBLER RIDGE SECONDARY SCHOOL: The alarm went off that I've never heard before, and our principal goes throughout the halls and she's saying, people, close your doors, lockdown, stuff like that. I didn't -- I think, I thought it was a secure and hold and something like that at first. So -- but once things started circulating, we realized how serious it really was.

NEWTON (voice-over): The town's high school was in lockdown, students barricading themselves in classrooms, local journalists conveying the terror now rippling through the small town.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I talked to a concerned parent who's here waiting. He got a call from his son who is sheltering in place in the gym, and he's just waiting to hear from his other kid and is quite rightly nervous.

NEWTON (voice-over): Authorities say police arrived within minutes but found six victims already dead at the school, at least 27 injured. The suspect, identified as 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar, was also found dead in the school of a self-inflicted injury. Two other victims, Rootselaar's mother and a sibling, were found dead at a nearby home. Police say a long gun and a modified handgun were used, and disclosed that authorities were called to the suspect's home several times for mental health emergencies and firearms offenses, and they are no closer to settling on a motive.

MCDONALD: There's been much speculation within the community regarding the relationship between the shooter and some of the victims. All of that remains part of the active and ongoing investigation. NEWTON (voice-over): Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, visibly shaken and teary-eyed, expressing the profound grief now felt right across the country.

MARK CARNEY, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: It's obviously a very difficult day for the nation. This morning, parents, grandparents, sisters, brothers in Tumbler Ridge will wake up without someone they love. The nation mourns with you. Canada stands by you.

[02:05:21]

NEWTON (voice-over): Authorities are now surging resources to the area, including investigative support. Local leaders describe the community as stricken as Canada enters a full week of official mourning.

Paula Newton, CNN, Ottawa.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: U.S. President Donald Trump says he is making it clear to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he will keep pursuing diplomacy with Iran. The two leaders met in the White House on Wednesday to discuss the issue, as Israel remains skeptical the talks will work.

President Trump said the U.S. had very good talks with Iran after delegations from both countries participated in indirect discussions in Oman last week, but he posted Wednesday that nothing definitive had been reached, and the two countries had agreed to keep talking.

Well, for more, we're joined by H.A. Hellyer, a Senior Associate Fellow at the United Services Institute for Defense and Security Studies. He is in Cairo, Egypt right now. Appreciate you joining us.

H.A. HELLYER, SENIOR ASSOCIATE FELLOW, UNITED SERVICES INSTITUTE FOR DEFENSE AND SECURITY STUDIES: My pleasure. Thank you so much.

CHURCH: So, President Trump's message to Israel's Prime Minister Netanyahu, was very clear on Wednesday when the two leaders met at the White House. Trump says he plans to keep talking to Iran, but Netanyahu thinks that's a mistake. What was your assessment of their meeting?

HELLYER: So, two things, really, I think it was very clear by the timing of the meeting that this was always going to be primarily about Iran. Gaza was discussed, according to reporting, and I suspect wider with regards to the West Bank as well, where Israel has all but annexed the West Bank, and all by name, and there's been very little progress on Gaza. The Israelis have allowed for two-way traffic now through Rafah, but with a ratio of one to three, so allowing for one Palestinian to enter for every three Palestinians that leaves.

So, there's a clear direction of travel there, there's a clear intention to diminish the Palestinian population of Gaza, another type of ethnic cleansing method that's been employed. But of course, the most serious impetus at the moment is about Iraq,

and the public messaging from the White House has been very clear that they want to get a deal. I think this has been made very clear by the American president. When it comes to even the vice president, there's been other suggestions that he's also really on board with the deal. The question is, is, what sort of deal could they actually hope to get from the Iranians at this juncture?

Because the minimum level that the Trump administration is seeking to get out of the Iranians is a way above the maximum that the Iranian regime has made clear over recent weeks and months. So, I think that it's going to be very difficult.

When it comes to the Israelis, they don't even want the deal to simply be about nuclear energy or the nuclear program, or nuclear weapons, they wanted to be about also ballistic missiles, which I think would be very difficult for this regime to accept.

And until we get some sort of clarity about how far the Trump administration is willing to go, we're going to be stuck at this limbo.

I will say, I fully expect it to be a strike of some sort. I don't see much likelihood in terms of getting to a deal, because the Iranians will resist going beyond this the minimum that they have. And I think the Trump administration has really boxed itself in on this, you can't send an armada to the region and not get something out of it. I do hope, however, the deal will be found.

CHURCH: Interesting you say that because I was going to ask you what you thought Donald Trump plans to do when it comes to Iran, given Axios is now reporting that he is considering deploying a second aircraft carrier to the region, in addition to the USS Abraham Lincoln that's already there. You mentioned that you think ultimately he'll get frustrated and strike at Iran.

So, how will that end up? Because Iran has said, if that happens, we will come back even harder, and there will be war in the region.

HELLYER: So, the issue here is that we simply have a regime in Iran that predicates its existence on having certain capacities and capabilities in order to protect itself, but also to uphold, "Its revolution."

[02:10:05]

So, I think that there's got to be a very clear recognition here that if we're expecting the regime to give up on its nuclear program entirely, that's a really, really tall order. But in terms of ballistic missiles and those sorts of capabilities, I find very unlikely.

Moreover, when it comes to the Trump administration, I think that the sending of all of these extra forces to the region is meant to send a message of seriousness to Tehran, but it also encourages the Iran to think that, OK, this isn't going to go anywhere anyway, so we might as well prepare for full scale reprisals.

And within the region itself, the overwhelming majority of political leaders, with the exception, of course, of the Israelis, but everybody else is very, very keen to avoid any strike on Iran and this doesn't mean that the region is full of political leaders that supports the Iranian regime on the country, I think that they're incredibly skeptical of the Iranian regime. They oppose the Iranian regime. They've been very clear in their rejection of how the regime has engaged in places like Syria, Yemen and Lebanon in Iraq.

But even the most skeptical of these governments is very -- is very keen to avoid a strike, because they know that the fallout will first come upon them, first and foremost, it won't come on the United States as much as it will come on them. They're the ones that are in the immediate line of fire.

They also don't know what's going to replace that regime, the idea that it will simply sort of fade away and there'll be some sort of clean, clear transition to some sort of post raging government, I don't think anybody takes seriously, and they would prefer to have a controlled, restrained local power, rather than have some sort of high propensity to regional war.

So, I think that there is -- there's a route out of this, but it would -- it would mean that the Iranians would have to compromise quite significantly, and it would mean the Trump administration have to accept a deal that perhaps isn't quite what they wanted, but I do think that otherwise, we're headed into a very, very dangerous place for regional conflict.

CHURCH: H.A. Hellyer, many thanks for joining us. We appreciate it.

HELLYER: Thank you.

CHURCH: Well, now to a rare apology from Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian is expressing his shame and great sorrow over the recent deadly crackdown on protesters. A U.S. based human rights group reports nearly 6,500 people were killed, although CNN cannot independently verify those numbers. The president stopped short of directly acknowledging the role of Iranian security forces in the bloodshed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MASOUD PEZESHKIAN, IRANIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): As the head of the government, I apologize to the noble people for the shortcomings that exist. Despite these shortcomings and deficiencies, we in the government are making every effort with all our strength to resolve all these problems firmly and resolutely and by God's power and under the wise leadership of the supreme leader, we will do so.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: His comments came as Iranians gathered in cities across the country to mark the 47th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution that ousted the Shah. The Norwegian Nobel Committee is accusing Iran of life threatening

mistreatment of imprisoned Peace laureate Narges Mohammadi. The committee says Iranian security forces beat Mohammadi during her arrest in December. The prominent human rights activist was honored with the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize. She has spent much of the last two decades behind bars for her activism. Here's the chair of the Nobel Committee, describing the alleged abuse.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JORGEN FRYDNES, CHAIR, NORWEGIAN NOBEL COMMITTEE: The credible reports is about being beaten repeatedly with wooden sticks and batons, being dragged across the ground, parts of her scalp being teared out of her head, causing open wounds, repeatedly kicked in the pelvis, in the genitals, leaving her unable to sit, unable to live normally, with severe pain.

And at the same time, the heavy interrogations have continued, the intimidation have continued, and she continues to be denied adequate sustained medical assistance.

So, this is consequently cruel and inhumane treatment, a blatant violation of international human rights law.

And we definitely worry that she will not be able to live any longer. She has heart disease. She has medical needs, which is not being taken care of.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: CNN has reached out to the Iranian foreign ministry and its U.N. Mission in New York for comment.

Still to come, Gisele Pelicot is taking her life back. Hear what she has to say about moving on from years of sexual abuse, that's after the break.

And later, a potential new clue in the urgent search for evidence in the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie. Back with that and more in just a moment.

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[02:20:18]

CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Survivors of Jeffrey Epstein say they have yet to meet with the U.S. Justice Department to tell their stories. Some of those women attended a house judiciary hearing on Wednesday where Attorney General Pam Bondi gave testimony. She apologized in her opening statement for the abuse the women suffered, but Democrats on the panel quickly challenged that sentiment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. PRAMILA JAYAPAL (D-WA): To the survivors in the room. If you are willing, please stand. And if you are willing, please raise your hands if you have still not been able to meet with this Department of Justice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: The hearing later went off the rails as lawmakers asked questions about redactions in the Epstein files, the Trump administration's political prosecutions and accountability for ICE agents. Bondi responded with deflections and insults.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAPAYAL: What a massive cover up --

PAM BONDI, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: No, I'm answering a question.

REP. JAMIE RASKIN (D-MD): Chairman, will you restore her time? The witness is interrupting.

BONDI: I'm not going to get into the gutter with this woman.

REP. TED LIEU (D-CA): I believe you just lied under oath. There is ample evidence in the Epstein files.

BONDI: Don't you ever accuse me of a crime.

LIEU: I believe you --

BONDI: This guy has Trump derangement syndrome. He needs to get -- you're a failed politician.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chairman, she's embarrassing you. This is your committee and she is embarrassing you.

BONDI: Shame on you.

RASKIN: You can let her filibuster all day long, but not on our watch, not on our time. No way. And I told you about that, Attorney General, before you started.

BONDI: You don't tell me.

RASKIN: No, I did tell you because we saw what you did in the Senate.

BONDI: You're not even a lawyer.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Bondi praised Donald Trump as the greatest president in American history, and she suggested Democrats should focus on gains in the stock market.

Gisele Pelicot is moving on with her life after being forced to come to terms with years of sexual assault by dozens of men, she's written a new book and gave her first televised interview since the very public rape trial that rocked France. CNN's Saskya Vandoorne has more details from Paris.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GISELE PELICOT, RAPE VICTIM (through translator): This book is a message of hope.

SASKYA VANDOORNE, PARIS BUREAU CHIEF: Gisele Pelicot is speaking on camera for the first time since the landmark criminal trial that shocked France and turned her into a feminist global icon

With a new memoir out next week, Pelicot describes the moment the police delivered the bombshell that her former husband had been orchestrating her mass rape for almost 10 years.

PELICOT (through translator): I don't recognize myself in those photos. I said, that's not me. Then I put on my glasses, and there I discovered this lifeless woman on her bed, unconscious with the man she doesn't know. I think my brain disassociated.

VANDOORNE: Despite the ordeal her ex-husband put her through, Gisele says she still plans to see him again.

PELICOT (through translator): I wasn't able to address Mr. Pelicot directly during the trial, and we haven't spoken in over five years. That's part of my healing journey to go and have a conversation with him, look him directly in the eye and ask him, why, why did you do that?

VANDOORNE: She says she's been trying to rebuild her life, including finding love again.

PELICOT (through translator): This encounter I've had is incredible, because I never imagined for a second that I would fall in love again or even want to but I believe there are connections in the universe where, well, I met this man who's also been through hard times, and it's changed our lives.

VANDOORNE: While her relationship to her son and daughter has been strained because of the revelations. Gisele Pelicot hopes the book will provide some answers that may help them.

Saskya Vandoorne, CNN, Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: The U.S. House has dealt a blow to President Trump by blocking his tariffs on Canada for now. Six Republican lawmakers broke ranks to vote with Democrats and that's not going over well with the President. He warned on Truth Social, "Any Republican in the House or Senate that votes against tariffs will seriously suffer the consequences come election time, and that includes primaries."

Keep in mind, of course, even if the Senate agrees to the same house measure to block the tariffs, President Trump still has the power to veto it. The House did not secure enough votes to override a likely veto. Venezuela has been taking political flack from the U.S. for many

years, but now the message from Washington is this.

[02:25:11]

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright praised both nations as he became the highest ranking U.S. official to go to Venezuela in almost 30 years. He said major changes are coming to the country. After meeting with acting President Delcy Rodriguez on Wednesday, the U.S. does not formally recognize her government since capturing former leader Nicolas Maduro, but Wright still held talks on oil, natural resources and improving the power grid. Rodriguez declined to say if new elections will be held soon.

Well, there's heavy anticipation in Bangladesh as voters pick their next leaders, but this election, months in the making, is a far cry from what many young people expected. We'll have a live report when we come back.

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[02:30:25]

CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Investigators in Arizona are scouring rugged terrain and sweeping the area around the home of Nancy Guthrie in their search for any new evidence in her disappearance.

On Wednesday, a New York Post reporter told CNN of a potential clue, a black glove found about a mile and a half from Guthrie's home. It's unclear if authorities believe it's the same glove worn by the person in the doorbell camera video released by the FBI captured the night Guthrie disappeared.

Now, that person was also seen wearing this backpack. We're told investigators are trying to figure out what type of bag it is. Meanwhile, TMZ says it received what it called a bizarre letter from someone claiming to know who Guthrie's kidnapper is and demanding a single Bitcoin, which is currently worth about $66,000, and that in exchange for the information.

CNN's Nick Watt is following all the developments from Tucson.

NICK WATT, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Agents have been searching again the area around Nancy Guthrie's house, which is where I'm standing now. They have been walking along roads, looking in the undergrowth, looking in the arroyos, trying to find, basically, anything that was discarded by that suspect.

Now, the New York Post reports that investigators did find a black glove lying by the side of a road. That will, of course, be analyzed to find any trace of a person on that, any DNA, anything that would help investigators.

Investigators have also been back at Annie Guthrie's house near there. Annie Guthrie is, of course, Nancy's daughter. We spoke to one neighbor who said that the FBI came around about a week ago just canvassing. They came back and asked to look on the back of this guy's property, right where it butts up against Annie Guthrie.

So basically, since that video came out, they have redoubled their efforts, trying to find anything that might have been discarded by that suspect as the suspect was leaving. They have had many, many calls, about 4,000 calls just in a day to the tip line.

One of those calls led to a man being detained and then later released. But they are still appealing for more help. This video and the public could end up being the key to cracking this case.

Nick Watt, CNN, Tucson, Arizona.

CHURCH: Joining me now from Washington is Homeland Security Analyst, Donell Harvin. Appreciate you joining us.

DONELL HARVIN, HOMELAND SECURITY ANALYST: Thank you.

CHURCH: So, how far along do you think this investigation is right now? Nearly Day 12 with the new discovery of a black glove on the side of the road about a mile and a half away from Nancy Guthrie's home. And of course, the clues left in the doorbell camera video released on Tuesday, including the backpack, the gun, the clothing and the individual's mannerisms.

HARVIN: Well, how far along the investigation is, is a little more complicated than that. It's not a linear process, right? So, people think that every clue adds to the kind of overwhelming picture. Sometimes it actually starts you from the beginning. We saw that law enforcement had to go back to the home over the weekend, tow a vehicle, get another camera device off of the home and start analyzing that.

And so, it creates more and more leads. But it also starts you from the beginning for that particular lead.

CHURCH: And what questions are you asking right now? And what more would you like to see investigators do nearly two weeks after Nancy Guthrie's abduction?

HARVIN: Yeah, this is difficult. From everything I've seen, they're doing as much as they can. This is really an unfortunate circumstance. I think that getting the ring camera system, the video door system out to the public is important.

The backpack, the jacket, those things are going to be unique and really key to helping the public. Understand that many, many crimes across the U.S. and across the world are often solved by the public. And so, getting millions of eyes on that evidence, as we've seen and we showed, is so important because law enforcement can't do it on their own. Unfortunately, that can lead you astray.

[02:35:00]

As Nick mentioned in the lead-in, someone was called in that had no part in this. And he was detained and questioned and everyone kind of glommed onto that as maybe we have the person, and then he had to do a big exhale and sigh because it wasn't anybody that was related and they had to start back from square one.

CHURCH: Right. You mentioned the role of the public. And of course, the FBI tip line has attracted about 18,000 calls since Nancy Guthrie was abducted on February 1st. And that includes more than 4,000 tips since the doorbell video was made public on Tuesday.

How do law enforcement sort through what's false and what might potentially lead to a breakthrough in the case?

HARVIN: Yeah, because that's the big part. I mean, once you start going out there and asking the public for their help, you better be prepared to process that. And that is a monumental task.

But you can't not listen to any one call. I mean, think back at some of the really important cases that were solved. And it was just someone saying, hey, I thought I saw that person or I think that I see someone suspicious who I sold that jacket to.

And so, we can look at case after case of individuals that notice a small thing that investigators ran down that led to a perpetrator. I think my biggest concern, and I don't like to kind of theorize on this, is that this is a frail, elderly woman. And we're coming up on Day 11 or Day 12, if my numbers add up.

I am not particularly convinced that this is a trained individual, that this person really thought this through enough to take care of this woman for the amount of time that's necessary so that she doesn't fall ill or we know that she's injured as well. And so, every day that goes by, every minute that goes by is so critical because this person does not seem to have thought this crime out particularly well.

CHURCH: I mean, that is indeed the big concern here, isn't it? And when you look at what we do know so far, how likely is it, do you think, that Nancy Guthrie will be brought home safely?

HARVIN: I'm confident and hopeful that authorities can bring her home. But once again, time is really not on our side here. I mean, you have a perpetrator, a potential perpetrator that showed up to a home, didn't even realize that there was a ring camera. When he realized, or she realized, we're assuming it's a male, that there was a ring camera, went to get some foliage to cover it up.

I mean, that's not someone who planned this out particularly well. I, you know, you can walk down to my street, and I can look and see everyone in my street has -- my neighborhood has a ring camera system. And so that's what concerns me.

It really takes a lot to sustain a human being in captivity for a day, let alone 10 or 11 days. And so, I really hope that she's well and she's alive, but really time is running out.

CHURCH: Yeah, it is a real concern. Of course, we will see how significant that glove is that was found. We don't know if it was linked necessarily, but hopefully, we'll find out more in the coming hours. Donell Harvin, thank you so much for joining us. Appreciate it.

HARVIN: Thank you.

CHURCH: Well, the 2,300-mile spiritual journey for a group of Buddhist monks is nearing its end. Coming up next, we will hear from supporters who braved the cold in Washington, D.C., to witness their walk for peace.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:43:20]

CHURCH: Welcome back. Well, the people of Bangladesh are choosing their new leadership. This is the country's first election since the deadly uprising of 2024, when a Gen Z backlash brought down the previous autocratic regime. But many of the young people behind the rebellion are not fans of the two candidates most likely to lead the country.

CNN's Rhea Mogul is following this live from Mumbai. She joins us now. So Rhea, how significant is this moment and what does it mean for Bangladesh?

RHEA MOGUL, CNN SOUTH ASIA REPORTER: There really is no overestimating just how consequential this election is for millions of Bangladeshis. It comes about a year and a half after this massive Gen Z uprising toppled the previous government, Sheikh Hasina. Now, Hasina has since fled here to India, where she's been living in self-exile ever since.

Now, Hasina was someone that was considered an autocrat. She really ruled Bangladesh with an iron fist for over 15 years. And she was sentenced last year in Bangladesh for her violent crackdown on those protests and sentenced to death for that crackdown. The U.N. estimates around 1,400 people were killed in that crackdown.

So, for many in the country, this election really is the first free and fair vote in over a decade. Now, a lot of young people feel that this election could bring them a new hope, a new hope for the country, one that isn't marked by that suppression, that chaos and that crackdown that really came to define the previous regime.

CHURCH: Right. Of course, you mentioned those students. And this revolution was led by Gen Z, wasn't it, who made it clear they didn't just want former Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina gone.

[02:45:00]

They wanted a complete change in political culture. That's not what they're getting. So, what can you tell us about the candidates?

MOGUL: Well, that's the great irony here. While the students might have led the revolution, what we're seeing with the ballot is that the old guard is dominating the vote. Now, the frontrunners aren't the students. One of them is a 60-year-old son of a former leader, Khaleda Zia. He's just returned to Bangladesh after about 17 years in exile. But it's the trajectory of the students that's been the most surprising. Now the students, after those protests, partnered with the country's largest Islamist party. And that party is considered quite regressive in their outlook. They haven't fielded a single female candidate in this vote. So, many of them have told us that they feel disillusioned. You know, they said they took to the streets to really usher in a new political culture. But what they're potentially seeing instead is just the return of the old guard and compromises that feel all too familiar for the country.

CHURCH: And Rhea, how is this election being viewed there in India where, as you say, Hasina is currently living in exile?

MOGUL: Well, India and Sheikh Hasina have been very close allies for decades. Hasina was actually considered India's closest regional ally and, by default, Bangladesh. Now, since she fled here to India, there's been growing calls in Bangladesh for India to extradite her back and face justice for her crimes.

There's a lot of anti-India sentiment on the ground in Dhaka. So, India will definitely be watching this election very closely. They'll want to know who wins this election, and they'll want to know how that new government chooses to engage with India, and how that relationship will evolve diplomatically and politically.

CHURCH: Rhea Mogul, thank you so much, joining us there from a very busy Mumbai. Appreciate it.

Well, a group of Buddhist monks will end their 2,300-mile walk for peace Thursday in Maryland. Earlier, thousands gathered along icy roads in Washington, D.C. to witness the final leg of their self- described spiritual journey across nine states. CNN Correspondent, Michael Yoshida was there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL YOSHIDA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A message of peace in our nation's capital.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is what the country needs and country wants, and we wanted to be here to support that.

YOSHIDA (voice-over): A procession of 19 Buddhist monks taking over the streets of Washington, D.C.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need peace, and we need people to stand up.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's just nice to be close with a lot of friendly strangers and just bask in their message.

YOSHIDA (voice-over): The monks completing a 15-week, 2,300-mile walk for peace that started in Texas, facing winter weather and other challenges during the journey. On Tuesday, attending and speaking at an interfaith gathering at the National Cathedral.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Peace is something that we are seeking for.

YOSHIDA (voice-over): Their demeanor and message capturing the attention of many along the way.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just felt hopeful and that hopefully the country, you know, appreciates what's going on.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Total chills. Just really, everybody's been so beautiful.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So kind.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's not one nasty word. Everybody's helping each other.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And it was just beautiful to see them.

YOSHIDA: While marching through D.C., the monks were again greeted by a large crowd of supporters. While here in our nation's capital, the monks were going to submit a request to Congress to make Buddha's birthday a national holiday. But again, they stress that's not the goal of this walk for peace.

They're encouraging people to promote peace through their daily actions and their open hearts.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was emotional because, to me, peace is an emotional thing. It's personal, and I'm all for peace.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I found it very spiritual, and even though there were a ton of people around us, I felt like I could just feel their walk and silence. I will take that with me for the rest of my life.

YOSHIDA (voice-over): In Washington, Michael Yoshida reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: A dramatic upset in Olympic ice dancing as France takes home the gold. We will have that, plus other Olympic highlights, after the break.

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[02:51:43]

CHURCH: Another jam-packed day is set for the Winter Olympics in Milan, Cortina, Italy. On the agenda, America's Chloe Kim stars in the Snowboard Halfpipe Finals, and Team USA plays Latvia in Men's Ice Hockey. Now, here's a look at where things stand in the medal count.

Norway leads the way with seven golds and 13 total medals. USA, Italy, and Switzerland each have four golds. Well, France clinched the gold in the Ice Dancing event on Wednesday.

Guillaume Cizeron became the first ice dancer to win back-to-back Olympic titles with different partners. The French pair pushed out Americans Madison Chock and Evan Bates, who had been undefeated all season. USA settled for silver, while the Canadian pair, who broke down in tears after completing their emotional routine, took the bronze.

Well, for a look at some of Wednesday's other Olympic highlights, here's CNN's Coy Wire.

COY WIRE, CNN WORLD SPORT: These mountains here in northern Italy are beautiful and they are fast, and we already have a new king of speed. Over in Bormio, one of the breakout stars at these Winter Games, young Swiss skier, Franjo von Allmen, taking gold in Men's Alpine Super-G. It's a historic third gold after the 24-year-old clinched gold in the Men's Downhill and team combined events.

He's the first male alpine skier to win three golds at the same game since 1968. This is his Olympic debut. Franjo has an inspiring story as well. When he was a teenager, his dad passed away, and it looked like Franjo wouldn't be able to continue the sport he loved for financial reasons until a crowdfunding project was set up to help him, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Chloe Kim, stepping into the Halfpipe like Maximus in the arena, her first appearance at these Games, and the 25-year-old dominated, making it look easy, finishing as the top qualifier. But as wise man once said, it's not easy to make it look easy. Chloe has had to overcome a nasty dislocated shoulder injury to get here and deal with all the pressures that come with being the best, but she did. And now, she's one shred closer to a three-peat. No Olympian has ever won three straight Snowboard Halfpipes. She's the Simone Biles of the Halfpipe, a long time coming.

She says she has learned a lot on this journey, especially since winning her first gold at just 17-years-old in Pyeongchang. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHLOE KIM, AMERICAN SNOWBOARDER: As I've gotten older, I've started to learn more about myself and kind of what my boundaries are and what I'm capable of doing. Maybe like sometimes I need to learn when to back off, and I think taking a lot of time off has been really important for me and my mental well-being.

It's been a really beautiful journey to learn more about myself and kind of discover who I am as a 25-year-old now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: American superstar speed skater, Jordan Stolz stole the show, taking the ice for the first time here at these Winter Olympics, setting a new Olympic record in the Men's 1,000 Meter. He was just 17 the last Winter Games. He'd won two world titles in this event, and now gold, his first Olympic medal. Jordan is built for speed. He told us ahead of these games, he wished people knew how brutally tiring this event is.

[02:55:00]

Crouched down, zip it around those blades, in that rink about 35 miles per hour, about the same speed as the horses at the Kentucky Derby. Hard work paid off, his first Olympic medal for Team USA.

CHURCH: In Beijing, it's winter sports fever since the last Winter Olympics there four years ago. China has been working hard to shape winter sports into an economic success story.

CNN's Mike Valeria reports from Beijing.

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MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Winter sports in China, absolutely booming, whether you're an Olympian or a beginner like me. Why? Well, it's the success of the 2022 Winter Olympics here in Beijing and also a deliberate effort by Chinese leader, Xi Jinping to get millions more people out on the slopes.

VALERIO (voice-over): In a remarkable shift, shredding on China's halfpipes went from niche to nationwide in just a few years. Even in the subtropical megacity of Shenzhen, China now boasts the world's largest indoor ski resort. In Beijing, coaches are seeing more first- timers on the chairlifts.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Yes, there have been more, gradually increasing because skiing is now quite supported as a sport.

VALERIO (voice-over): Supported by Xi himself, who said, quote, "Ice and snow are as valuable as gold and silver."

VALERIO: So Beijing isn't pushing winter sports just for fun. It's turning this into an economic driver, trying to boost domestic spending in an otherwise slowing economy. All right, let's go.

VALERIO (voice-over): According to a government report, in 2016, consumers spent about $55 billion on winter tourism and sports across China. The number has now more than doubled in about a decade to $140 billion.

CHRISTINE BRENNAN, CNN SPORTS ANALYST: It is crystal clear that when you give an Olympics to a certain country, especially a country that has not been known for winter sports, that over the next several decades, its interest is going to explode.

VALERIO (voice-over): Universities are now adding trips to the slopes for newcomers to get into the swing of winter sports, too.

MINGZE SUN, SKIER (through translator): During the ski season, they usually organize trips every week -- two nights, two days of skiing every weekend.

VALERIO (voice-over): There's also the fashion.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Both of us are bright snow leopards. Our combination is called 'tomato scrambled eggs.'

(LAUGH)

VALERIO (voice-over): Even cute butt pads for those who know they're going to fall. But beneath all the enthusiasm, some of the facilities built for the 2022 Olympics have already seemed to fall into disuse, even amid China's winter sports fever.

An Olympic legacy and economic policy, now, an increasingly popular habit carved across China.

VALERIO: Mike Valerio, CNN, Beijing.

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CHURCH: I want to thank you so much for joining us this hour. I'm Rosemary Church. I will be back with more "CNN Newsroom" after a short break. Do stay with us.

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