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Search For Nancy Guthrie Continues; Republicans and Democrats Battle Over Redistricting Maps; U.S. And Iran Gear Up For Second Round Of Talks; Trump Administration Announces End To Immigration Operation In MN; GA Father Faces Murder Trial In School Shooting; Disappointment At Winter Olympics. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired February 15, 2026 - 17:00   ET

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

[17:00:00]

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PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: You are in the "CNN Newsroom." I'm Paula Reid in Washington. Jessica Dean has the night off.

Tonight, the FBI is awaiting DNA analysis from a glove found near Nancy Guthrie's home. She is, of course, the mother of "Today" show host Savannah Guthrie. The FBI says the glove appears to match those worn by the suspect in this video recorded by Guthrie's doorbell camera the morning she disappeared.

The 84-year-old has now been missing for two weeks and there have been no arrests. Investigators are also analyzing DNA that was found at her property, which officials say does not match Guthrie or anyone close to her. The Tucson community is rallying around the Guthrie family, setting up a makeshift tribute site for Guthrie. She was last seen on January 31st when she was dropped off by her son-in-law at her home.

CNN correspondent Ivan Rodriguez is on the ground in Tucson. He joins us now. Ivan, what are the latest developments tonight?

IVAN RODRIGUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Paula, the FBI says DNA from that recovered glove is currently being analyzed to help identify a potential suspect, and that process could typically take 24 to 48 hours.

A first step for investigators once they do obtain that DNA evidence would be to run it through criminal databases to see if anyone matches with a criminal background. Investigators could also submit that DNA evidence to third-party DNA mapping services. That could help people like in the general public to help learn more about their health, their ancestry, for example. And even though this suspect might not have used any of those services, it's possible that a family member might have, and that could help when it comes to DNA family profiling.

Now, aside from any sort of DNA evidence in terms of where the glove was found, if this glove does end up being directly connected to that man who we see on Nancy Guthrie's front doorbell camera, the location of that glove could also help investigators know more about his movement after suspectedly kidnapping Nancy Guthrie.

Now, hear what a former police captain has to say about the DNA testing process itself.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSH SCHIRARD, FORMER POLICE CAPTAIN, GALVESTON, TEXAS: It's great that we have this DNA sample that's in the house, but we have nothing to match it against at this point. Now, it could be the, you know -- quote, unquote -- "smoking gun" down the road when we do identify someone we think is a suspect and can match that DNA. But if it's not in CODIS, which is the law enforcement database, then they're going to have issues matching that to somebody now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RODRIGUEZ: The sheriff's department has also asked people within a two-mile radius here of Nancy Guthrie's home residence to search for any sort of surveillance footage, doorbell camera that might have people, cars driving by specifically between the dates of January 1st and February 1st.

Now, Paula, a big really roadblock into this investigation the last couple of weeks has been the fact that a lot of these homes in the neighborhood are far off the road. There's a lot of trees, a lot of bushes in front of those homes as well, which makes it difficult for a doorbell camera, for example, to catch someone or something on a road.

REID: And Ivan, remind us again, what information has law enforcement released about the suspect?

RODRIGUEZ: So, the FBI says that we're currently looking at a male between 5'9" to 5'10". You can see that he's of an average build, the FBI says, and that he's wearing dark clothing, black gloves, sneakers, and a black 25-liter Ozark Trail Hiker Pack backpack. In those videos and images, you can also see him with a holster around his waistband right around the front which would indicate the position of that waistband that he's also right-handed.

REID: Ivan Rodriguez, thank you. And now, retired FBI supervisory special agent and hostage negotiator Jason Pack joins us now. Jason, you are, of course, also one of the first officials I met when I moved to Washington a decade ago. You are the best of the best. So, I want to start by getting your reaction to this glove that the FBI says contains DNA. How significant is this?

JASON PACK, RETIRED FBI SUPERVISORY SPECIAL AGENT, HOSTAGE NEGOTIATOR: Good to see you, Paula. Hey, this glove could be a very promising, but we have to caveat that a little bit. Oftentimes, these things will wash out. Yes, it has male DNA apparently on it, but we don't know if it's the same DNA that's inside that house as Ivan was mentioning earlier.

[17:05:04]

So, just a wait and see kind of posture to take here. They're doing everything they can to get a profile in CODIS, and they'll run it and see if it does match to somebody. Paula, I think a lot of people think the FBI can just put in a piece of DNA and spit out a name. We know that that's not really how it works. So, we're hopeful that, you know, this is going to be a clue that will lead them to the suspect.

REID: Yes, that's right. I want to talk a little bit more, though, about that process that you were just talking about because people think like DNA databases, like it's like a fingerprint database. Walk us through the different databases and how law enforcement can use them.

PACK: Well, CODIS is the main database and that's what's housed at the FBI. When someone is arrested, when someone is convicted, they'll submit their samples and those will be placed in there. There are also profiles from different other types of things that the FBI can collect, but only with lawful process.

So, it's not like a privacy violation or anything like that. These are all lawful pieces of information that they've collected, and they're able to compare those against them. So, if you have a known suspect or a known sample, you can compare them. So, hopefully, and we think that they're definitely doing that with what has been submitted from the inside of Nancy Guthrie's home.

REID: Now, in addition to the DNA found on this glove, I mean, is there anything else that this glove could offer investigators potentially?

PACK: Well, the DNA is probably the best thing. But I think, really, Paula, the best piece of information and the best lead they have right now is that backpack and that video that they've released. They've got people at the Walmart all throughout Arizona there and Tucson area. They are going back, they are seeing who has purchased these over the past few months. And I guarantee you, they're knocking at people's doors (INAUDIBLE) backpacks and just trying to run down each of those sales.

Now, what would be more interesting is if they could find a sale that also had another piece of article that was in that video, whether that was the backpack and the ski mask or the backpack and the holster. Something like that would really narrow down that field and, hopefully, they're looking for that.

The cast team, which is that cellular analysis team, and the cart team, which are the computer people and the phone people that kind of dive into the bytes and data bytes of these devices are really the ones that are building this mound of information through search warrants and returns.

They're going to pair that with all these tips that are coming in, something like 15,000 tips. And I've been told that a lot of these tips are good, but they also get like the tips from the psychics. So, they have to wait through all these things and prioritize the tips that have the information that they know is prudent and place those together. That's why we've seen these search warrants take effect over the weekend. We've seen the SWAT teams roll out to clear or to secure a residence beforehand. It seems like most in the past, too, that they've done. The people have been cooperative. We usually see that, but you have to take those resources that you need when you're going so you don't have to wait on them if you do need them.

REID: Now, I want to get you to weigh in on these comments from an Arizona state representative who had a strong message for so-called citizen journalists attempting to cover this case. She posted this message on social media saying she's so sick of watching the reporting, grifting, insane speculation, lies, and B.S. by random wannabe journalists and YouTubers who have now caused more harm than good. Please go home. That's pretty harsh.

Jason, I want to get your perspective as a professional, as someone who has dealt with, you know, traditional reporters. How can this kind of so-called reporting impact an investigation, positively or negatively?

PACK: Well, I think it could be both. But you have to respect their First Amendment rights, for sure. And I think most of them come from a place of wanting to help.

But at the same time, there's not as many journalistic standards as some of them -- some folks may have where you're able to verify things instead of talk about just rumor and innuendo. And that's fine. That's within your First Amendment right. But what that does is when people call in tips that they've heard, they may reference these social media posts. And FBI and Pima County will act on those, but it may skew things that may not be right.

So, it's a double-edged sword. It keeps the case out there. It keeps the publicity going. But at the same time, some of the conjecture and speculation kind of match up with the sidekicks and the people who think they've seen them at random places. So, I think it's helpful to have these cases in the public, but at the same time, you want to make sure that the tips that are coming in are the ones that are going to make it to the top.

So, I think people will make their own decisions about whether that's good or bad. I can see how it can be frustrating. I know the neighbors are probably tired of having everybody in their neighborhoods. The whole world just kind of descended on this quiet neighborhood. But it's important to know that the police are going to take all these tips seriously, and you want to not cloud it up if you don't have to there.

REID: Jason Pak, thank you.

PACK: Good to see you, Paula. Thanks so much.

[17:09:58]

REID: Tonight on "The Whole Story," Ed Lavandera is in Tucson with the latest on the unanswered questions in the search for Nancy Guthrie. "The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper" airs tonight at 8 Eastern and tomorrow on the CNN app.

Still ahead, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries amps up the pushback on redistricting his message to Republicans. Plus, what to expect as the U.S. and Iran gear up for a second round of nuclear talks this week. And later, another big disappointment for Team USA at the Winter Olympics. You're in the "CNN Newsroom."

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[17:15:00]

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REID: The top House Democrat is vowing to fight back. With control of the House on the line, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is promising to spend tens of millions of dollars to back an April ballot initiative in Virginia, potentially giving Democrats four more seats. Jeffries spoke to CNN's Manu Raju, saying he's willing to do whatever it takes to ensure Democrats end up on top in this year's midterm elections.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY): Republicans started this redistricting war and Democrats have made clear we're going to finish it. We're going to make sure that there is a fair national map. So, at the end of the day, it's the voters who get to decide who's in the majority after the November midterm elections and not Donald Trump. When they go low, we strike back.

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REID: CNN senior political analyst and Bloomberg Opinion columnist Ron Brownstein joins us now. Ron, I read your article earlier, your new cnn.com piece out today, where you lay out that control of the House will be decided in what you describe as Trump country. Lay out your analysis for us.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST, BLOOMBERG OPINION COLUMNIST: Yes, I mean, look, Democrats only need three seats to win back the House. And historically, the party out of the White House has won more than that in the midterm. So, they are still the favorites to regain House control.

But to get a -- you know, how far they go, really, Paula, is going to be a classic collision between irresistible force and an immovable object. Irresistible force is the rising disapproval level of President Trump in polls, which has now reached a level that typically foreshadows a tough midterm for his party. The immovable object, though, which is, as you note, is that Republicans have fewer obviously vulnerable seats than is typical for the party in control heading into a midterm.

If you look across the Republican conference today, 85 percent of them are in districts where Donald Trump in 2024 ran at least five points better than he did nationally. And if you look back at the history, the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia data that they shared with me and that I analyzed, even in the best midterms, 2006 for Democrats, 2010 for Republicans, 2018 for Democrats, the party out of power doesn't win many of those seats.

So, there's clearly a pathway for Democrats to win a majority in the seats that Trump only narrowly won. But to get the kind of big, big gains that many in the party are anticipating, they're going to have to go deeper into Trump country than is common for the opposition party in a midterm.

REID: We know, of course, Republicans and Democrats are both working to change the playing field when it comes to redistricting. So, will that ultimately make it easier for Democrats to win the House? And what about the Senate?

BROWNSTEIN: Yes. Well, first of all, in the House, after all of these, it's going to be something close to a partisan wash. But one with real consequences for the country, as I'll explain, you know, Trump set this off and thought that Republicans could get a substantial advantage by causing states -- pressuring states to do this very unusual mid-decade redistricting.

And, you know, they may still net a seat or two out of it, depending on what happens in Texas with Trump's decline among Latino voters, that Texas redistricting may not pan out the way they hope, but, at best, it's going to be a very small advantage, not enough to materially change the odds of either side winning the House.

The cost for the country, though, is substantial because I look at this as sniffing one of the threads that are holding together our fraying country because a clear result of this is that there are going to be fewer Democratic House members in red states and fewer Republican House members in blue states at a point when there are already very few senators from the other side in either party's kind of strongest area.

And what that means is that each -- you know, these blocks, the red block and the blue block, are going to be more consistently aligned for or against the president. Even Donald Trump has to worry a little bit about what his policies in New York mean for the handful of Republican representatives there or in California for the handful of Republican representatives there. That kind of constraint is going to be systematically eliminated really for no good reason in the end because the partisan advantage is pretty much split.

How this affects the Senate? Same dynamic. Twenty-five states have voted three times for Trump. Republicans have all 50 of their Senate seats. Democrats have to break back into those, North Carolina, Ohio, Alaska, Iowa and Texas, in order to have a real chance to win back the Senate even if they get the last Republican in a state that voted three times against Trump, and that's Susan Collins.

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REID: Well, you made an interesting point about Republicans and non- traditionally Republican states. At this point, are the president's policies helping or hurting Republicans overall? BROWNSTEIN: You'd have to say hurting, right? I mean, look, his approval rating now is somewhere -- I think the CNN poll says it is down as low as 39, which if it stayed all the way to election day would be catastrophic, probably somewhere in the low 40s. It was better than that in 2018, it was 45 percent in 2018, and Republicans still lost 41 seats. Now, as I said, they don't have as many vulnerable seats as they did then. But what we saw in Virginia and New Jersey last year in the governor's races was a very clear, I think, indication of what's going to happen in the midterms.

You know, in 2018 and 2020, both of those elections when Donald Trump was in the White House, roughly 90 percent of people who said they disapproved of Trump voted Democratic for the House. We saw the same kind of pattern in 2025 where over 90 percent of the people who disapproved of Trump voted for Sherrill in New Jersey and Spanberger in Virginia. Even 89 percent of people who disapproved of Trump voted for the flawed Democratic attorney general candidate in Virginia. And what that says is whether we're talking about the Senate, the House or the governorship, any place where Trump's net approval is negative, Democrats are going to be competitive.

Can Susan Collins really hold on again in a state where over 55 percent of voters disapprove of Trump? Will Trump's approval rating be slightly above or slightly below 50 in Ohio and Alaska? That will probably be the difference, I think, between a Democratic and a Republican Senate.

So, in many ways, congressional Republicans are a dependent variable in their own equation. I mean, the real driver is going to be whether Trump can improve his standing between now and November.

REID: It will be fascinating to watch. Ron Brownstein, thank you.

BROWNSTEIN: Thanks for having me, Paula.

REID: And still ahead, what's on the table for Iran and the U.S. as the two nations get ready for a second round of talks, hoping to reach a nuclear deal.

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[17:25:00]

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REID: Tonight, Secretary of State Marco Rubio is emphasizing President Trump's focus on diplomacy with Iran even as a second aircraft carrier heads to the Middle East. Nuclear talks between the U.S. and Iran are set to resume Tuesday with top envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in- law Jared Kushner headed to Geneva. But the president is keeping his options open with a buildup of military assets in the region in case a deal is not reached.

CNN's Julia Benbrook is in West Palm Beach where President Trump is spending the holiday weekend. Julia, what is the message from the White House tonight? JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we know, according to two sources familiar with the matter, that these upcoming talks between the United States and Iran are expected to take place on Tuesday in Geneva, Switzerland and that U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff as well as President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner are expected to attend.

We did hear from Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier today, and he said that Trump has made it clear that he prefers diplomacy when dealing with Iran. He spoke about these upcoming talks and said that the goal here is to come to a successful deal, to see a successful deal come together. But he also highlighted the complexities of the situation. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARCO RUBIO, UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF STATE: We're dealing with people who make geopolitical decisions on the basis of pure theology. And it's a complicated thing. I mean, no one has ever been able to do a successful deal with Iran. But we're going to try. Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will be traveling. I think they're traveling right now to have important meetings, and we'll see how that turns out. We'll always comply with the applicable laws of the United States in terms of involving Congress in any decisions. But right now, we're not talking about any of that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BENBROOK: So, let's take a step back at some of the recent comments that we have heard from Trump on this subject. As he left the White House on Friday, he was pressed by reporters on the ongoing negotiations. He said that, ultimately, he did believe that they were going to be successful and that if they were not successful, that it would be a bad day for Iran. Just a few hours later, though, he struck a more pessimistic tone when it comes to talks. He said that the Iranians do not have a good track record when it comes to this.

Now, as you mentioned, the United States recently deployed a second aircraft carrier group to the Middle East, which Trump says will be there if a diplomatic solution does not play out.

REID: And Julia, President Trump is set to hold the first Board of Peace meeting this week in D.C. with the talks focused on Gaza reconstruction. What more are you learning about this?

BENBROOK: Yes. That's expected to take place on Thursday. It is the first formal meeting of this newly created group, the Board of Peace. And Trump made an announcement today. He said that there was going to be multi-millions of dollars given to this.

I want to pull up his social media post for more details. He said, on February 19th, 2026, I will again be joined by Board of Peace members at the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace in Washington, D.C., where we will announce the member states have pledged more than $5 billion toward the Gaza humanitarian and reconstruction efforts and have committed thousands of personnel to the International Stabilization Force and local police to maintain security and peace for Gazans.

[17:30:07]

Now, that's expected to take place at the U.S. Institute of Peace. The building was recently renamed to include Trump's name on it.

REID: Julia Benbrook, thank you. And after what we saw in Minnesota, it's not going to be easy for immigrant-owned businesses to survive even as the federal immigration enforcement operation draws down. So, what can they do? That's next. You're in the "CNN Newsroom."

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[17:35:00]

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REID: Former President Barack Obama is calling out ICE agents' conduct in Minnesota. Here's what he said in an interview with podcaster Brian Tyler Cohen on Saturday.

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BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The rogue behavior of agents of the federal government is deeply concerning and dangerous, the sort of behavior that, in the past, we've seen in authoritarian countries and we've seen in dictatorships, but we have not seen in America.

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REID: The Trump administration's immigration crackdown in Minnesota deployed roughly 3,000 federal agents. Cameras captured numerous aggressive clashes between federal officers and protesters, including the shooting deaths of two U.S. citizens. As a result, many across the country joined the public outrage. Last week, border czar Tom Homan announced the immigration operation is ending.

One of the realities, though, left behind is how the last 10 weeks have affected Minnesota's economy, especially immigrant-owned businesses. According to Minneapolis's Community Planning and Economic Development, city businesses have lost more than $100 million since the federal operation began in December, and those owned by immigrants that have not shut down completely have lost more than 80 percent of their revenues.

Matt Varilek joins us now. He is the commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development. Commissioner, tell us about how the federal operation has impacted the economy of the twin cities and the state as a whole.

MATT VARILEK, COMMISSIONER, MINNESOTA DEPARTMENT OF EMPLOYMENT AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: That has been massive and negative, obviously, as you can imagine. I mean, there has been so much focus rightly on the humanitarian impact, the loss of life, and the fear that has been sewn through the actions of those federal agents. And then that fear translates into economic harm when you have lots of workers that, without respect for their legal status, are not comfortable coming to work. And so, businesses can't operate.

And then you have customers also who are fearful to come out and spend their money like they normally would. So, we get those figures like you saw in the city of Minneapolis, and then you multiply that by St. Paul, by the suburbs, and by the rest of the state, and you can see why we have a massive problem on our hands, even as we now, hopefully, are entering this transition with the operation concluded.

REID: And specifically, when it comes to immigrant-owned businesses, it appears that they have faced a disproportionate impact. Can you talk a little bit about what you've learned?

VARILEK: Yes, that's right. That's a lot of the listening that we've done in recent times at my department, which is the Department of Employment and Economic Development, because of the nature of this action and the kind of fear that has been sown by those agents. It's the immigrant-owned businesses that have borne the largest brunt, but it just goes much wider in addition to that. And so, we have a big job ahead of ourselves.

But, for example, just a couple of days ago, I was at a supermarket that has a restaurant in the back. It primarily serves Latino customers, but really it serves the whole community. And, you know, they've had to have their doors locked, which is not how you want to run a business when you want to be welcoming the whole community in, as many customers as you can get. Instead, they needed to check every person to make sure that they're not a federal agent there ready to take somebody away because of the color of their skin.

REID: How has the community responded to this operation and its economic impact?

VARILEK: Well, right now, you are probably sensing a ton of Minnesota pride. We feel so good about the resolve that we've shown, just regular folks being out there and helping to care for their neighbors.

In a lot of cases, when you have whole families -- I was in church this morning and we talked about our food drive, bringing food to families that have been in hiding for fear of having somebody taken away. But, you know, that reaction that we've had, that resolve in the face of the federal action, I feel like we now need to translate that into the economic response because even if the agents are leaving, as we've been told, we're going to have a big problem on our hands when it comes to overcoming the harm that was done and getting out of survival mode and into recovery and advancement.

REID: It's interesting. The Cato Institute published a study recently showing the fiscal surplus from all immigration nationally since 1994 was $14.5 trillion compared to a deficit of more than $42 trillion without them. Now that means immigrants have cut deficits by nearly one-third over three decades.

[17:40:00]

How does that compare to what you're seeing in Minnesota?

VARILEK: Yes. I mean, we are so proud. I'm a member of the Walz and Flanagan administration. We are proud to have equity as a core value and celebrating the diversity of the people in our state. We know that our nation as a whole is aging. And if you want to get ahead economically, you need to have lots of talented folks.

And so, we're proud of Minnesota to be a welcoming place. Historically, we've been a net importer of talent from international sources. Now, I'm sorry to say that with the radical change in immigration policy and the unwillingness to do immigration reform, that talent pipeline is going to be harmed for us.

But, you know, the fact that we have so many of these great immigrant- led businesses has been a real source of strength for us. So, we're doing all we can to try to support those folks. Just two days ago, we did a press conference with Governor Walz and with Henry, who owns a supermarket in St. Paul as well, a different one from the one I just mentioned a moment ago. The governor announced a proposal for $10 million in partially forgivable loans targeting some of those small businesses, especially the immigrant-owned businesses. And we know that that's only a small part of the economic harm that has been felt that we can offset, but it helps, we believe.

And there are lots of great private sector efforts underway as well through the Minneapolis Foundation, the Constellation Fund, Latino Economic Development Center, and many others where, once again, we're trying to show this mutual support to get through this difficult time and back to recovery. And if anybody beyond Minnesota would like to help us and come here and spend their money or send donations to any of those places I mentioned or do your own research, of course, we'd be grateful for that, too.

REID: Matt Varilek, thank you.

VARILEK: My pleasure.

REID: And a Georgia father stands trial tomorrow for murder after prosecutors say he allowed his son access to a gun that killed four people at his high school. A preview of the case next here on the "CNN Newsroom."

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[17:45:00]

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REID: Opening statements begin tomorrow in the case of Colin Gray, a Georgia father charged in a 2024 school shooting authorities say was committed by his son. Police say Colt Gray, then 14 years old, opened fire at his Apalachee High School with an AR-15 style rifle, killing two students and two teachers and injuring nine others. The gun was given to Colt by his father more than a year after police questioned the pair about online threats Colt allegedly made about carrying out a school shooting. Colin Gray has pleaded not guilty to the nearly 30 charges filed against him in this case.

CNN legal analyst Joey Jackson joins me now. Joey, what prompted prosecutors to pursue these charges against Colin Gray?

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Yes, Paula, good to be with you. I mean, it's all about accountability. I think that prosecutors were horrified and law enforcement was horrified when they delved deep into what may have caused this and found out about the father, about the mental health maladies of the son, about the awareness of the father as to those mental health issues.

As to the initial investigation that was done because of the online threats, that was in May of 2023, Paula, followed by that Christmas his father purchasing a gun for him knowing that he certainly was having a problem, he being his son, and not securing the weapon.

And so, when prosecutors learned all of these, I think that they had an obligation to look at the facts and the law and circumstances and say, you know what, we want accountability, and we believe prosecutors do all of that based upon his negligence, as we see him sitting there, he's somewhat responsible, and that's what he's going on trial for.

REID: But this is not a slam dunk. I mean, how much of a challenge is this going to be for prosecutors?

JACKSON: You know, Paula, I think that the issue will lie around the fact that he was not at the school, he did not pull the trigger, and as a result of that, why are you charging him for second-degree murder?

I think the answer to that is prosecutors will say, we'll tell you why, because if you look at second-degree murder, we believe prosecutors will note that this is, first of all, child cruelty to some degree, right? You have a situation where you know and you're on notice as a parent that your child has some serious mental health issues which do occur. You know and, in fact, have reached, I think the evidence will show, reached out to counselors to get him help saying you don't know what to do. You've been consulted and confronted by authorities saying, hey, your child made threats here, right? There were things he said and did. Do you know anything about this? Yes, I do. I'm just trying to get really him involved in firearm safety. But then you go purchase a weapon for him, and he goes to the school and he does this.

And so, I think the issue will be that, from prosecutors' perspective, he may not have been the one that pulled the trigger, but he's the one that facilitated and allowed this to happen, and the jury's conclusion based on that will determine whether he's guilty or not guilty.

REID: In 2024, of course, James and Jennifer Crumbley were the first parents ever held criminally responsible for a school shooting committed by their child. How similar are these two cases and do you expect a similar outcome?

JACKSON: Yes. I tell you, Paula, it's really scary, looking at the similarities. What are they? If you look at, number one, the purchase of the weapon by the parent for the child as a Christmas gift, number two, both children having these mental health issues that were pretty significant, number three, the parents having knowledge as to those mental health issues, number four, both having prior contact, both being of the child in the Crumbley case and the child here, both being confronted, the parents, by law enforcement, saying, hey did you know what your children are up to and what threats they have made, and so that's really significant.

[17:50:17]

I think the big difference here in the Georgia case, in the event he's convicted, he's facing life in jail, right? They're charging him with second-degree murder, right? And that's Colin Gray, the case we're talking about here. With regard to Crumbley, they were charged under a negligence type of theory and they're doing upon a conviction 10 to 15 years.

In terms of a similar outcome, obviously, it depends upon how the evidence unfolds. But if it is as compelling, as what I'm looking at when I'm evaluating what's occurring, boy, do they have, certainly the defense, some work to do in suggesting that hey, the father is not responsible at all? I think there could be responsibility here and that could lead to a conviction.

REID: And lastly, quickly, do you expect to see more of these kinds of cases?

JACKSON: I really do. I think prosecutors across the country are looking for novel approaches to how to deal with this issue. We saw it as it relates to police officers. We saw the Parkland shooting in Florida. A police officer went on trial not for murder but relating to child neglect. We just saw the Uvalde issue. That case was very recently, where police also went on trial.

You mentioned the Crumbley case, which was in Michigan, where you saw the conviction of both his parents. I think prosecutors are saying, hey, (INAUDIBLE), we're not going to take it anymore, we have to protect children, we have to protect communities, let's put this evidence before the jury and let them decide whether or not there is responsibility.

Briefly stated, Paula, we all know that murder is not only predicated upon intent, at least the murder charge here, it's predicated upon where you're so careless as to get access to your child knowing what could happen. And as a result of that, the worst thing did happen.

And so, yes, I think it's going to become more common and more prevalent going forward in the event, and I hope not that we see -- that we do not see the shootings moving forward. But if we do, I think prosecutors are going to be looking for accountability in a big way, and it starts at home.

REID: Joey Jackson, thank you. And you can watch the entire Colin Gray trial live on CNN All Access. Coverage starts tomorrow morning at 8:45 Eastern. Joey Jackson will be there with his expert analysis. Go to cnn.com/watch. We'll be right back.

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[17:55:00]

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REID: Another disappointing day at the Winter Olympics for Team USA skier Mikaela Shiffrin. Shiffrin missed the podium in Saturday's giant slalom, finishing in 11th place. She'll be competing in the slalom later in the games as she hopes to bring her Olympic struggles to an end. CNN Sports anchor Coy Wire joins us now with more Olympics coverage.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Another incredible day here in the beautiful slopes of Cortina where Italy's Federica Brignone continued to put up one of the greatest comeback stories in Italian sports history. Just about 10 months after a horrific crash that left her with multiple displaced fractures in her leg, she's on the prowl at these games.

And I say she's on the prowl because there's a bunch of fans wearing tiger print costumes and shirts in Cortina, because there's an army of them who are embracing the growling Tiger painted on the top of Brignone's helmet. She was like their catnip today, sending them into a frenzy, putting up two stellar giant slalom runs. She finished with a gold. Add that to the gold she took earlier in the Super G at 35 years old. It's incredible. Here is what she had to say after the latest big win.

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FEDERICA BRIGNONE, GOLD MEDALIST, WOMEN'S GIANT SLALOM: The injury that I have, I think it's not healing. It's impossible to make it like it was before. For sure, I ruined completely, my leg and my knee. And I said, OK, I'm coming back. I always was more positive than he was. And for two months, I couldn't even almost bend, almost zero, my leg. It was -- it was crazy. I would exchange my two medals for -- to come back and not have this injury. This is -- this -- I'm sure.

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WIRE: Now, there were high hopes for team USA superstar Mikaela Shiffrin, the winningest alpine skier of all time. She finished 11th. She'd posted on her Instagram just hours before the event an old article that detailed the struggles she had mentally during previous competitions, maybe hinting that she was still having some of the same feelings. Now, she finished 11th, but that was less than one second away from goal, to put in perspective just how close these races are. She still has a chance to medal at these games. She will be competing in the slalom in the days to come. That is her best event.

One more thing before I go. Twenty-nine-year-old Norwegian Johannes Hosflot Klaebo became the most successful gold medal winning Winter Olympian of all time after picking up his fourth gold medal at these games. Klaebo added his latest gold in the men's cross country, four by seven and a half kilometer-relay, in a dominant performance to secure his ninth Olympic gold of his storied career.

[17:59:58]

It has been an incredible game so far for Norway. The nation with a population of just over five and a half million people continues to dominate the ice and snow, sitting at the top of the medal table. Back to you.

REID: Coy Wire, thank you. The next hour of "CNN Newsroom" starts right now.