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Ukrainian Skeleton Athlete Appeals for IOC Disqualification Over Images of Fallen Athletes in His Helmet; Hong Kong to Celebrate the Lunar New Year, But Not for the Tai Po High-Rise Fire Victims and Survivors. Aired 3-3:45a ET

Aired February 13, 2026 - 03:00   ET

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

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BEN HUNTE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, wherever you are in the world, you are now in the "CNN Newsroom" with me, Ben Hunt in Atlanta, and it is so good to have you with me. Coming up on the show.

World leaders gather in Munich for the start of the annual security conference. All eyes are on the U.S. Secretary of State, who says he may meet Ukraine's president.

A Ukrainian athlete is appealing his disqualification from the Winter Olympics for wearing a helmet showing images of athletes killed in the war with Russia.

And new details in the search for Nancy Guthrie. The FBI is releasing information they hope will help identify the suspect.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Ben Hunte.

HUNTE: Welcome.

World leaders are gathering in Munich, where an annual security conference gets underway in the hours ahead. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio landed there just a short time ago. The Munich security conference is a major gathering where world leaders debate security policies.

But this time, it's happening as transatlantic relations and global norms are being tested by U.S. President Donald Trump. Vice President J.D. Vance castigated European allies at the last conference, claiming they're falling on immigration and backsliding on democracy.

Matthew Karnitschnig is the editor-in-chief of the European news outlet Euractiv. He joins me live from Brussels. Thank you so much for being with me.

How are you doing?

MATTHEW KARNTISCHNIG, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, EURACTIV: Thank you for having me. I'm doing well.

HUNTE: It's good to see you.

We are expecting big things from the Munich security conference. In your opinion, what is the current state of the U.S.-Europe relationship? And if it needs repairing, is it repairable?

KARNITSCHNIG: Well, first of all, I think it is repairable, and we've seen that over the course of the transatlantic relationship. There have been a lot of ups and downs.

This is certainly a crisis at the moment. Certainly from a European perspective, this is the biggest crisis the alliance has faced since World War II, since it was founded after World War II.

And at the moment, I think everybody in Europe is still reeling from what happened over Greenland and Donald Trump's threats to move in and annex Greenland. That hasn't happened, obviously, but there's still a lot of shock, I would say, in European capitals over the way that that whole episode transpired.

And there's been a move that was already underway, of course, for the Europeans to try and do more for their own security, to rely less on the United States. And I think that is going to be the dominant theme of this weekend.

What are the Europeans doing? Are they making progress? Is it enough? And what does the United States have to say about this?

HUNTE: The U.S. delegation this year includes Secretary of State Marco Rubio, but not some of the more hardline MAGA figures. What signal is Washington trying to send to Europe? And how will European leaders be reading that so far?

KARNITSCHNIG: Well, I think this is a key point, because last year, as we heard before, we had J.D. Vance come to Munich, and he really read the Europeans, the Riot Act. And again, people were somewhat shocked, also on a political level, because he appeared to embrace all of these far-right parties in Europe and seemed to signal that this was the direction that Europe should go.

But this year, they haven't sent Vance, and they haven't sent Pete Hegseth. They sent one of his deputies. Marco Rubio, as we heard, is going to be there.

And he is sort of, I think, generally seen in Europe as the softer, gentler face of the Trump administration. So it could be that in the wake of the blow-up over Greenland, that Washington is trying to signal that they want to put things on a more even keel here, that they're trying to settle things down a little bit with the Europeans. And one of Hegseth's deputies, in fact, was in Brussels yesterday and seemed to be sending those kinds of signals.

So I think there's a little bit of cautious optimism, I would say, about this meeting, also because the Europeans have made substantial progress in terms of their willingness to spend more on defense. They've already committed $35 billion, for example, to helping out Ukraine this year, to funding the war effort there.

[03:05:01]

So these are all the kinds of things that the United States has been demanding of the Europeans for many years, going back to really the Obama administration and even before that. So this clearly, for Trump, has been, since he came into office the first time, a top priority to get the NATO countries to pay more of the bill, as it were, for funding this alliance and for protecting Europe, because at the end of the day, what this really is about is about how Trump has made clear that he doesn't want to continue to pay for that. At the same time, Europe's security is very important for the United States, of course, and for its interests around the world.

HUNTE: Can you talk to me about what success would look like from this conference? Because we have seen tensions go up and down on so many of these issues. What could we expect? What's the best-case scenario?

KARNITSCHNIG: I think the best-case scenario would be that we see more positive signals coming from the Trump administration, from Rubio, some kind of overtures towards the Europeans, that they acknowledge that they have made progress, that things are moving in the right direction, that they've found areas of common ground. Again, the Europeans are taking over senior NATO posts that traditionally have been held by Americans. I think this is something that Washington has been pushing, so for the Europeans to really show that they're taking on more responsibility and for the U.S. to signal at a very high level.

There's also a very large congressional delegation that's going to be in Munich, so if we were to hear from the congressional delegation and administration figures that they recognize the progress that the Europeans have made, instead of kind of pulling out the whip again and criticizing them and telling them that it's not enough. I think this is what the Europeans are looking for, a little bit of recognition that they have made some gains here in terms of taking responsibility for their own security.

HUNTE: Okay, we'll leave it there for now. But Matthew Karnitschnig, thank you so much for that in Brussels. I appreciate it.

KARNITSCHNIG: Thank you.

HUNTE: Let's talk about the Olympics.

A court hearing is expected to convene this hour in the case of a Ukrainian athlete who is appealing his disqualification for wearing a helmet with images of athletes killed in the war with Russia. The International Olympic Committee says the skeleton racer refused to adhere to their rules that prevent athletes from making political statements. The Court of Arbitration for Sport will decide on his possible reinstatement.

The skeleton racer told CNN on Thursday he is hoping for another miracle on ice.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMANDA DAVIES, WORLD SPORT: You have decided to appear in the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Do you still have hope that you can compete?

VLADYSLAV HERASKEVYCH, UKRAINIAN SKELETON RACER: I think if we have desire and if us have desire, we can figure something out. I believe still that I'm right and it's not my job to decide how to do it. I believe that the IOC was wrong with this decision and it's the work of the IOC to decide how to make the situation fair to me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: Tracey Holmes is the host of the "Sports Ambassador" podcast and Substack and she's joining us live from Sydney, Australia. Thank you so much for being with me, Tracey. How are you doing?

TRACEY HOLMES, "SPORTS AMBASSADOR" PODCAST AND SUBSTACK: I'm very good. Thanks, Ben.

HUNTE: Amazing. For viewers who haven't followed this closely, can you just break down for us what did this athlete actually do and why did the IOC decide that it crossed the line?

HOLMES: It's a really interesting case and a bit of a test case. As you said, it's going to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Milan today. In fact, just a few moments ago, Vladyslav Heraskevych, the Ukrainian skeleton athlete, posted a photo of him on the way to that hearing saying he believes he will win.

It all revolves around a helmet that he's been wearing in training which has about 20 images on there, almost two dozen images of athletes from Ukraine who have been killed in the war after Russia's invasion in 2022.

Now, he says it's his way of paying tribute and honoring those fallen athletes. The IOC says it's in breach of some very strict rules that they have around where athletes can actually protest, where they can have their freedom of expression.

And the field of play is one of those sacrosanct areas where none of this sort of thing can be displayed, according to the IOC. And that's what is being challenged today in the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

HUNTE: So as you just said there, the IOC says the field of play must remain politically neutral. But give me your view. In your view, was this simply enforcing a rule or did it misjudge the moral weight of this massive moment?

HOLMES: It's a very difficult scenario if you consider being in the shoes of the IOC. You've got a new President in Kirsty Coventry, an Olympian herself.

[03:09:57]

After three or four days of trying to negotiate with Vladyslav Heraskevych and trying to get him or persuade him that he could wear the helmet in training runs, he could take it with him in mixed zones or in press conferences to do interviews. He was free to do that. But just for the one-minute run in competition down that skeleton track, that he not wear that, they were unable to convince him after four days of negotiating. He was adamant that he was going to stick with it.

Now, you can tell already by the reaction on social media, by the comments of many people around the world, that support and the P.R. campaign, I suppose, is very much on the side of Vladyslav Heraskevych. People saying he should be able to honor the war-dead fellow athletes in this way, some of them former teammates of his.

The IOC, on the other hand, says, OK, so if we open the door for him and we actually have no problem with his message, it's just that he can't deliver it here. He can deliver it here, here and there, but not here in competition.

And if they open the door to him being able to do that, then they open the door for upwards of 120 other wars or civil disputes that are taking place around the world, and athletes who may want to express their freedoms in the same sort of way. And they do not want this to happen to the clean environment of Olympic competition.

HUNTE: This moment has been compared to Mexico in 1968. Do you think that that's a fair parallel, or is this actually just very different?

HOLMES: Well, look, I think it's a very fair comparison because we know that that is one of the most powerful images in Olympic history.

Tommy Smith and John Carlos being presented with their medals on the dais in 1968 after finishing first and third in the 200 meters, and that incredible image that was captured that we see brought out frequently in all sorts of discussions on human rights and civil rights and black rights and many other discussions that we have around sport now.

Now, I think it's one of the reasons why the IOC basically made a bit of an exemption. When they first announced yesterday that Vladyslav Heraskevych was going to be disqualified, it also made the point that he would be having to leave the Olympic village and depart from the team.

Now, that is what happened with Tommy Smith and John Carlos, and it has kept them basically in a news cycle every time these sorts of discussions come around, which is many decades ago now. I think in considering this comparison, it's one of the reasons why the IOC President Kirstie Coventry interjected on behalf of Vladyslav Heraskevych and said, can we not let him compete, but can he stay in the Olympic village?

Because can you imagine that image of Vladyslav Heraskevych with his sled and with his helmet under one arm being escorted or at least leaving the Olympic precinct? It would be headlines that I think would be just too much for the IOC to be able to recover from.

HUNTE: It is a bit of a yikes indeed. This does come so early in Kirstie Coventry's presidency, and I was just speaking to my team before about the fact that she was crying while speaking to the news, which I thought was quite refreshing to see that emotion from a leader. What does her handling of this tell us about how she intends to leave the organization?

HOLMES: I think it tells us that she's in a very difficult place, and most of us who consider what that place is could probably appreciate that.

That is, you're running the most powerful sporting organization in the world. You've got many different dynamics at play, and you are there essentially to give the best opening, the best extravaganza for Olympians around the world. You want people from everywhere to compete equally, and you are there to protect what the IOC has always said is one of their founding positions, and that is political neutrality.

Now all of this, of course, is playing out in a world where Kirstie Coventry has to protect that, but we know that the planet is swimming in this rising tide of global political division, and you just kind of wonder whether those founding principles of the Olympic movement can actually sit in the environment that we now live in with social media being so prolific and this political division being rampant.

HUNTE: Oh, yes. Love that chat, thank you so much. Tracey Holmes in Sydney, I really appreciate that.

HOLMES: Thank you, Ben.

HUNTE: Okay, the FBI is sharing new details about the apparent abduction of Nancy Guthrie. Still ahead, what we know about the suspect seen outside the home and how the public, that's you, can help investigators to find him. See you in a moment.

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HUNTE: Welcome back.

There are new developments in the apparent abduction of Nancy Guthrie. The FBI is sharing new details about the suspect. The person seen in images and video from Guthrie's doorbell camera is described as 5'9 to 5'10 with an average build, he was seen in the video wearing a black backpack.

Authorities are asking neighbors to submit any footage they may have from the days and weeks leading up to Guthrie's disappearance. CNN's Ed Lavandera is in Tucson, Arizona with the latest on the investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SR. U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: To reach Nancy Guthrie's home in this neighborhood, the suspect had to take a series of windy roads to get there. It's not super easy. The culprit would have to study or be familiar with the area to navigate the spider web of roads to get to her home, especially in the pitch dark.

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We've learned that investigators are expanding their call for video evidence in hopes of finding any suspicious vehicles or people that were in the area that night.

One of the alerts is asking residents who live along this specific road, which we're not going to name for the safety of the residents who live here, to look for videos on January 11th between 9:00 p.m. and midnight. That's almost three weeks before Nancy Guthrie was abducted. And video on January 31st between 9:30 and 11:00 a.m. That's about 16 hours before Guthrie was taken against her will, as authorities have said.

This roadway is one of the main entryways to reach Nancy Guthrie's home in this neighborhood, so it's significant that investigators are asking neighbors, and specifically neighbors along this street, whether or not they could have captured video of a suspicious vehicle in these new time frames. Pima County sheriffs acknowledge the dates and times are accurate, but FBI authorities aren't commenting.

In the last day, we've witnessed FBI agents walking this road, looking through the desert brush and spotting cameras on homes along the route. But this isn't the only area that investigators are trying to crowdsource video from.

Authorities have also put out a call for video from anyone who lives within a two-mile radius of Nancy Guthrie from January 1st to February 2nd. That is a massive amount of video to process hunting for a clue.

FBI authorities say they have received more than 13,000 tips since Nancy Guthrie went missing, and that one of the tips includes information about a white van seen in the neighborhood, and that is one of the things that investigators are asking the public to be aware of as they look through all of this video that they're calling for.

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HUNTE: It's been a day of mourning across British Columbia after Canada's worst school shooting in decades. We are learning more about the six people fatally shot in the tiny mountain town of Tumbler Ridge.

Five were students, including 12-year-old Kylie Smith, who is pictured on the bottom row, second from the left. Police say the shooter killed their mother and stepbrother at home before going to the secondary school. They identified the shooter as an 18-year-old woman who dropped out of school around four years ago, and there's still no word on the motive.

Dozens of others were injured in the shooting, including a 12-year-old girl who remains in critical condition. Many in Hong Kong are preparing to celebrate the Lunar New Year in a

few days, but for those who lost everything in a Tai Po high-rise fire just months ago, grief is likely to overshadow the celebrations. CNN's Kristie Lu Stout spoke with some families attempting to rebuild their lives.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The fire ravaged everything. Leaving behind these charred high-rises, all shrouded in grief. 68-year-old Yip Ka-kui lost his wife in the Tai Po fire.

Nearly three months on, as Hong Kong marks a new Lunar New Year, sorrow overshadows celebration.

YIP KA-KUI, WANG FUK COURT RESIDENT: I lost my wife, I lost my property, I lost my house. We would not celebrate anything for this Lunar New Year.

LU STOUT (voice-over): His sons are by his side every day. Including his youngest, who also lost his home in the fire? And each day, the father leaves a voice note for his beloved.

K. K. YIP: I just think she may listen.

LU STOUT (voice-over): Their families live together in the older son's home, a temporary arrangement in a cramped apartment. Three bedrooms for seven people.

YIP SHUEN-YIN, LOST MOTHER IN HONG KONG FIRE: We still live in my house. My house has not too big enough to for them to stay. We need to stay together in this moment.

LU STOUT: Family first, family must be together, right?

S.Y. YIP: Yes.

LU STOUT (voice-over): The fire has taken at least 168 lives and left more than 4000 people homeless.

The disaster united Hong Kong residents who gathered near the complex to honor the victims. Today, the memorial site is no more, and grieving families are struggling to move on.

LU STOUT: After watching their home burn to the ground, thousands of survivors moved in with relatives or were placed in government- allocated temporary accommodation. In a city with a notorious housing shortage, many are worrying where they will live next.

LU STOUT (voice-over): Local authorities say it will be challenging to rebuild the complex and are considering a buyback option. The brothers won't accept that.

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YIP SHUEN-TING, WANG FUK COURT RESIDENT: This problem is not just cash can solve it. This area is our childhood, our whole life. The money is not our concern.

S.Y. YIP: Our concern is we want a home. Even though you give me a lot, a huge money, you never give my mom back.

LU STOUT (voice-over): A few weeks ago, Mr. Yip held a funeral for his wife.

A DNA test provided a sample match. Only after that was he able to bury her. A final resting place for his beloved as he awaits what's next.

K.K. YIP: I strongly hope I can go back to my home.

LU STOUT (voice-over): A home in ashes. One that this family may never return to.

Kristie Lu Stout, CNN, Hong Kong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: The Bangladesh Nationalist Party is celebrating a landslide victory in national elections, securing an overwhelming majority of parliamentary seats, that is according to Reuters. The outcome is expected to bring political stability back to Bangladesh after a long period of turmoil.

The country's next likely Prime Minister, Tarique Rahman, hails from a political dynasty. His mother served as Prime Minister and his father as President. Rahman's party ran on providing aid to poor families, term limits for Prime Ministers, boosting the economy and cracking down on corruption.

This is the first election since 2024, when an uprising led by Gen Z protesters toppled Bangladesh's leader Sheikh Hasina, causing her to flee to India.

Okay, still ahead, the Trump administration ends the EPA's ability to regulate climate pollution. We'll tell you what scientists say could be the long-term effects for the U.S. See you in a moment.

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[03:30:00]

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HUNTE: Welcome back to "CNN Newsroom," I'm Ben Hunt. Let's check some of today's top stories.

World leaders are gathering in Munich, where an annual security conference gets underway in the coming hours. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived just a short time ago to lead the U.S. delegation at the gathering. Rubio says he may meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy while he's there.

A court will decide whether to reinstate a Ukrainian athlete who is not being allowed to compete in the Winter Olympics. The skeleton racer was disqualified for wearing a helmet with images of athletes who were killed in the Russian war in Ukraine. The International Olympic Committee says he refused to comply with rules against athletes making political statements.

The FBI is sharing new details about the suspect in the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie. Investigators say the man is about 5'9 to 5'10, has an average build and was seen in doorbell camera footage of a black backpack. Authorities have also increased the reward from $50,000 to $100,000 for information in the case.

President Trump has stripped the Environmental Protection Agency of its most powerful tool to regulate air pollution and greenhouse gases.

The President announced on Thursday that he's rolling back what is known as the endangerment finding. The Obama-era ruling determined that six specific greenhouse gases could be categorized as dangerous to public health. It's been the basis of the EPA's authority to create climate policy.

President Trump also announced the end of regulations on greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles. Critics do say the changes threaten public health and accuse the President of pandering to polluters.

Research on climate change and snow sports indicates that the future of Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games could be at risk. A 2024 study found that many past and potential host sites would no longer be suitable for Winter Games by the 2050s, even if they do live up to their climate policies and pledges too. Snowfall is declining and snowpacks are shrinking as winter temperatures rise in many traditional host cities.

Winter sports are increasingly relying on snow machines. Ahead of the 2026 Milan-Cortina Games, organizers said they would make nearly 2.4 million cubic meters of snow. Earlier I talked with the lead author of that study, Daniel Scott of the University of Waterloo, and he says one possible solution to the problem would be to shift the Winter Olympics and the Paralympic Games to earlier in the year.

Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANIEL SCOTT, PROF. AND RESEARCH CHAIRMAN, UNIVERSITY OF WATERLOO: It makes a huge difference. When we shifted, even just by three weeks, we moved the Olympics up so it would start mid-January, finish up the first week of February. That would allow the Paralympics to shift up and go the last week of February, first week of March, and it nearly doubled the number of climate-reliable locations for the Paralympics.

So that was a huge difference with not a big shift. And we've heard reporting from others, and we had a short conversation with the IOC last week, that was something they were actually looking at, sort of shifting the scheduling. And so we put some numbers to that idea for them, and their reaction was really positive.

So that might be something we see, maybe even in time for the Salt Lake Games in 2034, or maybe the Games after that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: And we will be right back.

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[03:35:00]

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HUNTE: Welcome back to CNN. This is your Business Breakout, and these are the business headlines.

A new report confirms what economists predicted. U.S. businesses and consumers are paying about 90 percent of the price for President Trump's tariffs, that is according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

[03:40:05]

The nonpartisan Tax Foundation says, in real dollar terms, the average American household paid about $1,000 more last year because of tariffs.

Persistent fears about artificial intelligence are rattling U.S. financial markets. The Dow lost more than 600 points on Thursday, with technology stocks leading the slide. Gold, silver and bitcoin are also down. Investors have been turning to bonds and dollars, which are seen as safer options.

The U.S. Energy Secretary says investments in Venezuela's oil industry need to happen before elections. Chris Wright says that's the best way to improve the lives of ordinary Venezuelans, he visited a Venezuelan oil facility with acting President Delcy Rodriguez. She told NBC that former leader Nicolas Maduro is not guilty of charges that he's facing in the U.S.

Cuba is implementing strict rationing measures as the U.S. steps up efforts to cut off oil supplies. CNN's Patrick Oppmann has all the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Mexican Navy ships have just entered the port of Havana carrying humanitarian aid, hundreds of tons of it. But it's what they're not carrying that's perhaps more important, which is oil.

The flow of oil from traditional allies of Cuba's, Venezuela, Mexico, that over the years have sent billions of dollars of oil, that has all been cut off under a pressure campaign from the Trump administration. So we are seeing the impacts of that every day: less cars on the road, government-run hospitals cutting services, blackouts lasting longer and longer. Both Canada and the United Kingdom have issued travel advisories, among other countries, warning their citizens not to come to Cuba unless it's absolutely necessary, because they will face harsher conditions here on this island. The U.S. is calling on the Cuban government to open up politically and economically, saying there needs to be a change in the communist-run government if the flow of oil will start up again. But there's no sign that the Cuban government at this point is buckling under that pressure.

Patrick Oppmann, CNN, Havana.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: NASA and SpaceX are set to launch a group of astronauts to the International Space Station in the coming hours and bring the orbiting laboratory back to full staff. The mission is called Crew-12 and is scheduled to lift off no earlier than 5:15 a.m. Eastern Time from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

The ISS has been operating with a bare-bones crew since mid-January, when a previous team was forced to make an early return to Earth due to an undisclosed medical issue. That left only three people on board the space station. The replacements include two NASA astronauts, a European Space Agency astronaut, and a Russian cosmonaut.

That's all I've got for you, thanks for joining me this hour and the last hour, too. I'm Ben Hunte, in Atlanta.

Let's do it again. Oh, we're not doing it again. In 15 minutes, you're going to be with somebody else.

"World Sport" is next, and you are watching CNN. See you tomorrow.

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