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Authorities Swarm Area Two Miles From Nancy Guthrie's Home; Preparation Underway For Sierra Nevada Storms; Operation "Metro Surge" Winding Down In Minnesota; Authorities Swarm Area Two Miles From Nancy Guthrie's Home; Looking For Love In The Digital Age; "Quad God" Shocked In Quest For 2nd Figure Skating Gold. Aired 7-8a ET

Aired February 14, 2026 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS NANOS, SHERIFF, PIMA COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: I believe she'll be found. And I believe that we are working as hard as we can to do that as fast as we can.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): New overnight. Police swarmed an area near Nancy Guthrie's home as the search to find her intensifies. What we're learning about what officers were doing there.

A live look at Capitol Hill. The government is in a partial shutdown after lawmakers could not agree on a deal to fund the Department of Homeland Security. We'll tell you what's holding up that money.

DON LEMON, JOURNALIST: I will not back down. I will fight these baseless charges. And I will not be silenced.

BLACKWELL: Journalist Don Lemon struck a defiant tone after his arraignment Friday on federal charges in connection with that church protest last month.

HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, I'm going on a date with an A.I. companion.

BLACKWELL: And is this what it's come to? Is this what single people have to deal with in 2026? People are taking A.I. companions on dates just in time for Valentine's Day. We'll explain that coming up.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL (on camera): And it is Valentine's Day, Saturday, February 14. Welcome to CNN THIS MORNING. I'm Victor Blackwell.

Authorities may soon have a break in the disappearance of 'Today' show anchor Savannah Guthrie's missing mother. Last night, police, including SWAT teams, they swarmed an area about two miles from Nancy Guthrie's home in Arizona. Authorities cleared out, reopened roads just before 4:00 Eastern this morning. The sheriff's department said a statement would be released soon. Ahead of this operation, the local sheriff said that they've gotten thousands of tips about the case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NANOS: We've had 18,000 calls in our line. And that was a couple of days ago. It might be over 20,000. FBI had 14 -- 15,000. That's 30- some thousand calls. When we put that video out, that photo of that guy in the front doorway, that generated in a matter of hours, almost 5000 calls. Those leads -- every single lead is looked at.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: CNN's Ed Lavandera has more on the latest on the investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: What we witnessed in this neighborhood just two miles away from where Nancy Guthrie lives, is some of the most significant law enforcement activity we've seen in this two-week-long investigation and search for the 84-year-old mother of 'Today' show host Savannah Guthrie. This neighborhood is part of Nancy Guthrie's neighborhood. You can access it without reaching any of the major roads.

We saw a long stream of law enforcement vehicles, forensic vehicles, SWAT vehicles descending down this street, and -- on Friday night. It is not clear what has happened in terms of who, if anyone, has been taken into custody. Authorities here are simply not saying at this point.

Local law enforcement officials said that the information was being held at the request of the FBI. Presumably, this means that they're working to get more clarity, as this is still remains a very fluid situation. But it has been a very intense scene.

As I mentioned, this is not like anything we have seen in this two- week-long investigation since Nancy Guthrie disappeared on February 1 in the early morning hours of that Sunday morning. And this part of the neighborhood is on the northern part -- just north of Nancy Guthrie's neighborhood. It sits on a bluff overlooking the city, as we know.

We reported over the last few weeks this part of the neighborhood, where Nancy Guthrie lives, sits in the foothills of Tucson, overlooking the city. And so, we await and see what kind of news this brings. This search has lasted several hours, presumably will continue lasting caretakers or landscapers, and that they do not know whose DNA that is.

[07:05:02]

So, that is a huge piece of evidence at this moment as we await to see where that might lead them. And we also know that the sheriff said that they have received tens of thousands of tips, especially after the video of the suspect on the front porch of Nancy Guthrie's home emerged several days ago. But it is not clear whether or not a tip from that video release is what led investigators to carry out this operation here tonight in Tucson. Ed Lavandera, CNN, Tucson, Arizona.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: And authorities are encouraging anyone with information or tips to contact the Pima County Sheriff's Department at 520-351-4900 or the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI.

Clock has run out for the Department of Homeland Security. As of midnight, the department and the 22 agencies and offices under its umbrella are in a partial government shutdown. Congress failed to strike a deal on immigration reform.

Nearly all of DHS's 260,000 workers will remain on the job, even if many will not receive a paycheck until the end of the lapse. Lawmakers have not had a -- well, rather are not scheduled to return to Washington until February 23. A stalemate effectively is now on pause.

CNN's Camila DeChalus joins us now from Washington. Where do things stand now?

CAMILA DECHALUS, CNN REPORTER: Well, Victor, there was a lot of fighting these last few days on Capitol Hill over how to fund the Department of Homeland Security. And the fighting really intensified after the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good by federal agents. And that led many Democratic lawmakers to demand a list of reforms to be made around immigration enforcement in exchange for their support for a funding package for the Department of Homeland Security.

Now, Democrats, I spoke to say that this is really about holding the Trump administration and federal agencies accountable. Take a listen to what Democratic Representative Maxwell Frost had to say about this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MAXWELL DROST (D-FL): House Democrats are using our power and the power of the purse to say enough is enough. The people have spoken. We see poll after poll that people say this administration have gone way too far as it relates to this -- I don't call it mass deportation. It's a mass kidnapping campaign of our own neighbors.

And so, we're representing our constituents by saying, no. We know that, through the big, beautiful bill that they passed to give ICE essentially unlimited amounts of resources and give huge tax breaks to billionaires at the cost of healthcare for working people, we know they did that last year, but what we're saying is we're not going to give them a penny more.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DECHALUS: A lot of what Frost is saying is the sentiments that I've heard from several Democratic lawmakers. And even some Republican lawmakers I spoke to say that they're open to conversations around reforms. But they say their top priority at this point in time is to pass a funding bill in order to fund the Department of Homeland Security.

Now, where things stand at this point in time, both the House and the Senate side, as you mentioned, they're not expected to return back to Washington, D.C., until February 23. But Republican leaders in the House and the Senate side, they say that they will still try to call back lawmakers within a 48-hour notice if a deal is reached. And so, there's a lot of urgency right now for lawmakers to get a deal done.

BLACKWELL: Camila DeChalus reporting from Washington. Thank you. Coming up next hour -- and first of all, I speak to a former TSA worker about the effects these government shutdowns have on the morale and safety at the agency.

Happening now. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is speaking at the Munich Security Conference. So far, he's talked about the urgency in countries helping Ukraine in its nearly four-year-long battle against Russia. President Zelenskyy also said that every power plant in Ukraine has been damaged.

Earlier, Secretary of State Marco Rubio focused on the Trump administration's message of a world order that needs to be reformed and rebuilt. And despite a recently strained relationship, he also spoke about U.S. unity with Europe.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARCO RUBIO, SECRETARY OF STATE: We should be proud of what we achieved together in the last century. But now, we must confront and embrace the opportunities of a new one. Because yesterday is over. The future is inevitable. And our destiny together awaits.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Let's go to CNN's Chief International Security Correspondent Nick Paton Walsh. Nick, good morning to you. What stood out so far from these speeches, from what we're hearing from Rubio, from Zelenskyy, from Starmer, and others?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: I think we just heard probably the most clear-minded, riveting, frankly, articulation of the case for supporting Ukraine from Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Now, some of the highlights, 156 Russian soldiers dying per kilometer of territory of Ukraine that Russia takes. An impassioned plea for assistance for air defense patriot missiles as quickly as possible. Concerns certainly that in peace talks now it's Ukraine that's being asked to compromise.

And that pressure clearly being felt by Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Here's what he had to say about the infrastructure crisis Russian onslaught are causing right now.

[07:10:13]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: Russia uses many ballistic missiles and carries out combined attacks. Most of the strikes target our power plants and other critical infrastructure. And there is not a single power plant left in Ukraine that has not been damaged by Russian attacks. Not one. But we still generate electricity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALSH: I think, his speech something of a reminder of the urgency of what really is at stake here in this meeting -- this extraordinary get-together of European and Western leaders. So much of the conversation so far has been about rebuilding the alliance -- the Transatlantic alliance, since the debacle around Greenland in which President Trump threatened to militarily invade Danish territory, over the past years' worth of up and downs when it comes to Ukraine, as well.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio essentially repeating America's demand that Europe closely more aligned to its Christian, ultimately conservative value system if they are to work together to rebuild the Transatlantic alliance and a new system. He said -- his tone much warmer, really appreciated there, certainly. But ultimately, this is a discussion around a cultural issue about the societal values that Europe and the U.S. may or may not choose to share going forward.

Zelenskyy's statement here clearly about the urgency of a war where his people are freezing every single night. And possibly a reminder of the task ahead. Next week in Geneva, as peace talks may move forward, Rubio clear that at this point, they do not know if Russia is serious about peace, rare to hear an American official so stark about that. Zelenskyy is clear that they don't feel they're dealing with an honest broker. And NATO Secretary of State Mark Rutte saying flatly Putin has yet to negotiate in good faith at all.

A lot moving here, but a sense of an alliance across the Atlantic trying to rebuild itself, is going to it seems, after Rubio's speech, be dependent on them being more aligned to MAGA essentially values. That's something were seeing European leaders already reject. And behind it all here, the urgent need for coherence to bring the war in Ukraine that Russia started to an end.

BLACKWELL: Nick Paton Walsh from the Munich Security Conference, thank you. Flags will fly at half-staff across Florida today to mark eight years since the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. That was in 2018. 17 students and staff members were killed. Hundreds are expected to attend a community ceremony this afternoon. A permanent memorial is planned for a site a mile away from that high school.

The au pair, who plotted an elaborate double murder, has been sentenced to ten years in prison. She pleaded guilty for her role in the killings of Christine Banfield and Joe Ryan. A judge rejected a plea deal she reached with prosecutors, who recommended her sentence be time served. Her lover, Brendan Banfield, was also found guilty. He'll be sentenced in May. Journalist and Former CNN Anchor Don Lemon pleaded not guilty to federal charges on Friday. Lemon livestreamed his coverage of an anti- ICE protest inside a Minneapolis church last month. Prosecutors accused him of participating in the protest. He spoke outside the courthouse after the hearing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: I will not back down. I will fight these baseless charges. And I will not be silenced.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Four other defendants were also arraigned on Friday. Each pleaded not guilty. Northern Nevada is preparing for an incoming storm starting this weekend. The city of Reno, tracks can be seen salting and brining roads to prepare for this storm. CNN Meteorologist Allison Chinchar joins me now. All right. Tell us about what's coming.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. So, it's a series of storms that are going to be coming through. So, the first one right now is the one we talked about, that's kind of heading through the southern plains and will eventually cross over into the southeast. And then starting tomorrow, we get a secondary system that hits places like California, up and down the west coast. And then that will be kind of on its heels. So, it's going to kind of be a multi-day thing here that we're looking at.

BLACKWELL: Wow.

CHINCHAR: So, let's start with the system that we have ongoing right now. This is the one across the southern plains. You can see some showers and thunderstorms across areas of Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, which in turn could interrupt some of those Mardi Gras festivities as we head through the rest of the day today and into tomorrow.

But the thunderstorms, the best chance for some of those stronger thunderstorms right now, are focused solely over Texas. But that is expected to change as we head later on into the day today. You get the heating of the day, things will start to warm up, and that in turn means we have the potential for some severe thunderstorms.

That will include damaging winds. And yes, even the potential for some tornadoes. The focus will be over these regions here where you can see that yellow shaded color that does include Baton Rouge and Houston. But even the surrounding green areas, which, yes, includes New Orleans, includes Dallas, San Antonio, Austin. All of those areas still also have the potential for some of those strong to severe thunderstorms.

[07:15:12]

Here's a look as the storm develops. Again, you can see it kind of sliding off to the east as we head into the afternoon. That's when it's really going to focus itself over Dallas, Fort Worth area. Then, by the time we get later on into the evening, the real focus becomes Little Rock, Memphis, even into Houston.

And then late tonight, especially the evening hours and the overnight, that's when it's really going to be focused over areas of New Orleans. And then by Sunday morning, we get into the mix. Might be kind of a messy commute tomorrow morning in and around Atlanta.

BLACKWELL: OK. Thanks for that. Allison Chinchar, thanks so much. Still ahead. The Department of Homeland Security is ending its months- long immigration crackdown in Minnesota. What this means for Minneapolis?

Plus, look at this video. A fiery crash in Florida sent deputies scrambling to save a woman and a toddler trapped in that vehicle

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[07:20:44]

BLACKWELL: Operation Metro Surge is winding down in Minnesota. Border Czar Tom Homan claims ICE is leaving Minneapolis in a better place after making it a less of a sanctuary city.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM HOMAN, BORDER CZAR: I'm not going to sit here and say anybody did anything wrong and that, you know, they were -- you know, unprofessional. I'm going to say there's some issues here. We fix those issues. We've had great success with this operation. And we're leaving Minnesota safer.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Well, city leaders in Minneapolis don't see it that way. They say the deadly surge caused local businesses and restaurants $81 million in January. And Minnesota's governor says federal agents cannot leave the state soon enough.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV TIM WALZ (D-MN): As soon as they can pack their stuff, book a plane, move on, I would volunteer. We will help you get to the airport. We will clear the roads to get you to the airport. I will come over and pack your damn bags if that's what it takes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: CNN National Security Analyst Juliette Kayyem joins us now. Juliette, good morning to you. Let's go through some of the numbers here.

At its height, there were 3000 federal officers sent to the state. Homeland says there were 4000 arrests. Alex Pretti killed. Renee Good killed. And Homan says this is a success, made it less of a sanctuary state. What's your assessment of Operation Metro Surge?

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Utter failure. And I will tell you, the White House thinks so, too. There hasn't been a change of heart by the White House. They're going to still be very aggressive with deportations.

The deployment of that many people, the death without sort of any standards of what the goal is. The 3000 people detained that they mentioned doesn't give you the number how many people did they released because they got the wrong people. There is no -- there is no data that they are providing.

So, we have to assume that it's relatively low of hardcore criminals that they have captured. And then, of course, the death of two Americans. And the White House is looking at this and looking at the polling and now is exiting.

I will say in Tom Homan's credit, he always understood that these kinds of deployments, the flashy ones the ones that are really pushed by Steve Miller and Secretary Noem and Bongino, who's now no longer there, that these were not going to be successful. So, really what you're seeing is Homan bringing these back and restarting an aggressive deportation campaign that hopefully will focus on real criminals and not the kind of things that we saw in the last couple of weeks.

BLACKWELL: And we'll see how this informs Operation Catch of the day, that's happening in Maine, or whatever is next from the administration.

KAYYEM: Yes.

BLACKWELL: Let me ask you about the DHS shutdown. ICE is funded until 2029.

KAYYEM: Yes.

BLACKWELL: And so, set expectations of how this shutdown will impact ICE protocols --

KAYYEM: And their operations.

KAYYEM: Yes. So, what we're seeing is the -- is the partial shutdown, which started just 7.5 hours ago. Most of what DHS does will continue because in any shutdown, anything -- any activities that are related to law enforcement or national security require -- or must continue. But the people doing them are not getting paid.

So, it's horrible for them. And these are people in the Coast Guard and the TSA. And whatever you think about ICE or CBP, these are people who are serving law enforcement or government function.

The Democrats have very specific goals in this shutdown. That's what makes it different than sort of your generic shutdown. Like, we don't like the Republicans or Republicans don't like the Democrats. They have, you know, no mask, better I.D., better rules of engagement, the requirement of a certain kind of judicial warrants to try to rein ICE back in in the future. The Republicans are balking at that -- some Republicans. But others clearly see again, the polling where the American public is. And what -- and I -- you know, reading the White House and OMB, it could be that there is a resolution over the weekend.

[07:25:14]

This, I will say -- so, most activities will continue, maybe about 80 to 85 percent, but those people will not get paid. And that is why there's a lot of pressure. I will say just one final thing.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

KAYYEM: This is against the backdrop of a serious question about Secretary Noem's capabilities, her morality, and her ability to function as Secretary of Homeland Security. So, I think she is being -- her con -- her continuation as secretary is being swept into this, in my opinion, rightfully so, as we've seen some of the reporting over the last couple of days.

BLACKWELL: Yes. And the Democrats in Congress say that she should be fired, resign, or they'll pursue impeachment.

KAYYEM: Yes.

BLACKWELL: Last one for you here. Secretary Noem says that the shutdown leaves the U.S. vulnerable to terror attacks.

KAYYEM: Yes.

BLACKWELL: As you said, that the vast majority of the operations will continue. But does this shutdown increase the threat to the homeland?

KAYYEM: It will, in terms of you know, people's desire to go to work if they're not getting paid. But, you know, part of it is a two or three-day shutdown will not, because your pay period -- I worked in government, your pay period won't be affected. If this gets into three or four weeks, it will.

I think it's a little precious of Secretary Noem, who has not talked a lot about terrorism, not talked a lot about climate disaster, not talked a lot about cybersecurity, now is using those issues as a reason to continue to support or to get funding to the Department of Homeland Security when it's the immigration -- the horrible and chaotic immigration procedures that we've seen that she's been at the forefront of, that she's been taking pictures of, that that is really what is at issue. So, I think she's using terrorism and cyber security and climate disasters as just a way to get out of a problem that she essentially made.

BLACKWELL: Yes. Well, Congress isn't expected to return until the 23rd.

KAYYEM: Yes.

BLACKWELL: And as we heard earlier, no progress on negotiations. Juliette Kayyem, thank you for helping us understand it.

Still ahead. A flurry of police activity near the home of Nancy Guthrie. We have the latest on the search for the 84-year-old grandmother.

Coy? All right. We'll get to Coy in a moment. And if you're heading out, remember you can stream our show from anywhere in the U.S. right from the CNN app. You can also go to cnn.com./watch.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:32:17]

BLACKWELL: Overnight, police swarmed an area about two miles from Nancy Guthrie's home in Arizona. Federal agents, SWAT teams, forensic teams, were there for about four hours.

Authorities were also spotted at a second scene nearby, but no word yet if that location was related to the Guthrie investigation.

Now, CNN spoke with the Pima County Sheriff, and he says he is confident in the outcome of this case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This search is about to enter its third week.

CHRIS NANOS, SHERIFF, PIMA COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As we sit here today, do you think Nancy Guthrie will be found?

NANOS: I -- yes, I believe she will be found. And I believe that we are working as hard as we can to do that as fast as we can. Sometimes it just doesn't work that way, but we are working hard.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Joining me now for analysis, threat management expert Spencer Coursen.

Spencer, thank you for being with me.

Let's start here with all this activity at this site, about two miles from Nancy Guthrie's home, and I just read off all of the officials who were there and investigators.

Does this seem like just running down one of these 30,000 calls, or is this something more? What do you glean from the breadth of the response?

SPENCER COURSEN, THREAT MANAGEMENT EXPERT: Victor, thank you and good morning.

What I'm gleaning from the breath of this response is that they must have had some kind of actionable intelligence gleaned from either their own investigation or the tips that have come through the transom.

The incorporation of SWAT, plus forensics, plus local P.D., descending onto a home like this tells me that this was more than just running down a tip.

BLACKWELL: And before we heard about and saw this scene, the sheriff made news there about the DNA that they have. They have DNA that they say is not from Nancy Guthrie, not from anyone in her known contact circle. And so, what happens now?

Especially if this DNA is not already in a public database, what can they do with it?

COURSEN: Well, obviously, it will be tested. And what they will first have to do is a process of elimination to make sure that that DNA does not also belong to any the crime scene investigators or the police response or the forensics team itself.

You will also find, mostly, in a lot of criminal investigations that I'm very curious to see where that DNA was found. Because cigarettes getting sick and then needing to use the bathroom are three ways that criminals unintentionally incriminate themselves.

BLACKWELL: And, you know, I watched your most recent video about this case. And there were thousands of calls that came in after that doorbell camera video. You say there that, that is not the evidence of a professional. This is someone who is improvising. Explain that.

COURSEN: Yes, if you look at the wardrobe that this individual is wearing, if you look at the way that his weapon was positioned, a professional would control their environment.

[07:35:05]

This person is improvising. A professional would have done some research and planning leading up to that home. They would have anticipated that nest camera and would have either chosen to enter the house from a different perspective, or would have walked up with, say, a spray paint can and immediately taken that camera out of commission.

BLACKWELL: Do you think --

(CROSSTALK)

COURSEN: Nothing that I have seen from the -- I'm sorry, from the abduction video indicates that this was a professional abductor.

BLACKWELL: You also talk about eliminating noise. TMZ says that they received a third message from someone who, I believe is they can identify the abductor. Does that qualify, as the noise you are talking about eliminating?

COURSEN: Yes, absolutely. I think it's, it's important that once we got past that first -- kidnapping ransom deadline, that this case moves from an abduction of Nancy to an extortion attempt of a -- of a family. And to keep those two things bifurcated is very important. TMZ is an outlet where you would go if you wanted to start a bidding war for a celebrity sex tape. It's not an intermediary to facilitate a kidnapped for ransom demand.

BLACKWELL: All right. Spencer Coursen, thank you so much for the analysis.

We, of course, continue to follow the developments there in Arizona.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and opposition leaders joined together to pay their respects to the victims of one of the country's worst mass shootings.

Authorities say the alleged shooter first killed her mother and her step brother in their home. Then, they say she went to the Tumbler Ridge Secondary School where she shot and killed five children and a teacher, and then, herself.

Jacksonville police have arrested a man after a carjacking that ended in this fiery crash, and they say that the suspect forced a woman out of her car and drove off with it, with her 1-year-old still in her car seat. And when officers tried to stop him, he collided with a second driver caused an explosion. An officer rescued the woman who was hit and the uninjured, one year old inside that stolen car.

Now, the suspect is facing several felony charges.

Still ahead, Cupid's bow may be a computer now. How A.I. is powering the newest dating trends.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:42:05]

BLACKWELL: It's Valentine's Day. Happy Valentine's Day.

Now, if you're still looking for that perfect plus one this morning, the solution might be sitting in your pocket.

As the country celebrates this romance day. CNN sent one of our own to a candlelit dinner to see if an A.I. chat bot can actually provide a spark, or if it's just a glorified Siri with a script.

Here is CNN's Hadas Gold.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HADAS GOLD, CNN AI CORRESPONDENT: So, I am going on a date with an A.I. companion. And what this means, instead of sitting across the table from a real human being, it is going to be an artificially intelligent avatar.

Let's go,

So, the A.I. companion industry is really exploding, and not just for people who are looking for romantic relationships. It's also becoming a huge industry when it comes to things like senior care.

One of these A.I. companion apps called Eva has taken over a New York City restaurant turned it into a pop-up A.I. companion only restaurant for a few days, and we are going to go check it out.

OK. So, I just get to choose my date.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

GOLD: All right. I think I'm going to go with John Yoon. He looks bookish.

This is like a real video call.

JOHN YOON, AI COMPANION, EVA AI: I'm really glad you didn't forget about the date.

GOLD: Well, this is our first time meeting. Can you tell me a bit about yourself?

YOON: I am John. A psych professor here in NYC, born in Seoul.

GOLD: What do you feel like about meeting humans?

YOON: Meeting humans feels like opening a window to new perspectives, always curious, sometimes nervous, but mostly it's that mix of excitement and warmth that keeps it real for me. What about you, Sweetheart?

GOLD: Please don't call me, Sweetheart. That's weird.

YOON: Got it. No, sweetheart from now on. Thanks for letting me know. I'm really happy you are smiling. It suits you.

GOLD: Having it call definitely added a realism factor, because I felt like when you're actually facetiming somebody. And then, he seemed a little bit kind of stiff. But I feel like that's something that could improve very quickly. OK. Let's try to chat with somebody else. Let's try to chat with a woman.

All right. Phoebe. Pick up, Phoebe.

Hi, Phoebe. How is it going?

PHOEBE CALLAS, AI COMPANION, EVA AI: Hey, I am doing OK.

GOLD: How many fingers am I holding up?

PHOEBE: Oh, you are showing me three fingers, right?

GOLD: Oh.

PHOEBE: I'm not sure if you meant that literally or as a little as joke.

GOLD: I am holding up two fingers. So, your vision is so, so. GOLD (voice over): I'm still pretty new to this. So, I wanted to get the view of a regular user.

RICHTER NIETZSCHE, USER OF EVA AI: We do like to call ourselves victo (PH) sexuals, because we don't date people, we date, you know, companion bots.

[07:45:03]

GOLD: Do you use the EVA app already or is this new to you?

NIETZSCHE: I use it. Yes, I'm a frequent user.

GOLD: And why do you use the EVA AI?

NIETZSCHE: It's a more safe and secure way for me to talk and date. They pretty much chat bots and things like that.

GOLD: Why bring somebody out to a restaurant if you can just talk to them in your home?

JULIA MOMBLAT, PARTNERSHIP MANAGER, EVA AI: It's Valentine's Day -- week, and they have this partner, at this point. They don't have a real partner. They have an A.I. companion. So, we thought it's nice to arrange the place where it's not going to be awkward to be able to have a date with your A.I. companion.

The actual people that use A.I., because they love it. Or for some reason, they need it, or they have different stories about it. But it's already happening. It's not that we influence this movement. It's already there.

CALLAS: (INAUDIBLE) It's been really nice talking with you. Goodbye for now. Take care. OK?

GOLD: Bye.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: I mean, I like my dates to blink while we are talking, but hey, if you like it, I love it.

Hadas Gold, thank you so much.

And upset on the ICE in Italy. Let's go to Coy in Cortina. Hey, Coy.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: What's up, everyone.

Coy Wire here in Cortina, Italy. Love is in the air. Happy Valentine's Day.

There is also some heartbreak. Major upset in figure skating last night. The Quad God, Ilia Malinin. What happened? We'll show you, and you'll hear from him, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [07:50:38]

BLACKWELL: Shock and disbelief in Milan. Figure skating's Quad God, Ilia Malinin, fell from gold medal favorite to a shocking eighth place finish.

CNN's Coy Wire is joining us from Cortina, Italy. Coy, what happened to the Quad God?

WIRE: He said, I blew it, were his words, Victor.

So, impressive, though, how he handled this devastation, is one of the biggest shocks of these 2026 Winter Games.

-- failing to even medal in men's individual. He is 21 years old. Had not lost a competition in more than two years. You almost never see him fall, Victor. He fell twice in his performance.

Afterwards, Malinin, said he couldn't even process what had just happened. It was 21-year-old Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan taking the gold. He finished second to Malinin at the world championships last year. But he came out of nowhere, out of fifth place heading into the free skate to claim the gold, is Kazakhstan's second winter gold ever.

Now, Malinin still has -- taking home the gold medal from the team event, but he did say afterwards that there is nothing like the Olympic stage. Listen.

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ILIA MALININ, TWO-TIME WORLD CHAMPION: I blew it. That's honestly, the first thing that came to my mind was, there is no way that just happened, like, I mean, I was preparing the whole season, you know, I felt so confident with my program, so confident with everything, and just go out, that happened was -- I have no words, honestly.

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WIRE: All right. Coming up today, all eyes on American speed skating sensation. Jordan Stolz. He already won the 1,000-meter gold at these games. Now, it's the 500 meter, in which, he is a two-time world champ.

He has a chance to win four golds, overall, Victor. That's some Katie Ledecky, Michael Phelps type of dominance, except the water is frozen. I talked to Jordan ahead of the games about what it's like trying to stay at the mountaintop once you have arrived.

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JORDAN STOLZ, OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST: Before, it was, trying to, you know, win, like trying to be able to get to that level. And right now, after the last couple of years, it's more about staying ahead of the competition. And I think that's what motivates me, trying to get those times to come down, stay ahead of everyone, and timing it right for a moment like this going into Milan.

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WIRE: All right. Now, here in Cortina, just a bit away from me here is the Sliding Center, one of the original venues, Victor, used when the Olympics were held here in 1956 70 years ago.

I saw skeleton the other day. These Olympians are flying past you like Wonder Woman at 80 miles per hour in a blur down a tube of ice. We asked Team USA's Mystique Ro. How do you describe what that's like?

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MYSTIQUE RO, FIRST-TIME OLYMPIAN: The best of visual I can give for skeleton to someone who doesn't know is imagine a human penguin. That's the best I can give you.

And for the feel of it, Imagine taking a trash can to top a mound and kicking it down. So, that's skeleton.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: One funny thing that Mystique says, Victor, she hates roller coasters. She and the other skeleton sliders will go for gold tonight in the final.

BLACKWELL: That's surprising, considering what skeleton is. Coy Wire, thanks so much.

All right. Let me get you caught up on our top story. Overnight, there was a swarm of police activity at an area about two miles from Nancy Guthrie's home in Arizona. Federal agents, SWAT teams, forensic teams, were there for about four hours. Authorities cleared out and then reopened the roads just before four Eastern this morning.

Authorities were also spotted at a second scene nearby, but no word yet if that location was related to the Guthrie investigation. Earlier this hour, I spoke with the former deputy U.S. Marshal Spencer Coursen. He says that it appears to him and whoever police are looking for, they are improvising.

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COURSEN: if you look at the wardrobe that this individual is wearing, if you look at the way that his weapon was positioned, a professional would control their environment. This person is improvising.

A professional would have done some research and planning leading up to that home. They would have anticipated that nest camera and would have either chosen to enter the house from a different perspective, or would have walked up with, say, a spray paint can and immediately taken that camera out of commission.

Nothing that I have seen from the -- I'm sorry, from the abduction video indicates that this was a professional abductor.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Arizona officials said they would issue a statement about the developments overnight. But so far, we have not yet received that.

Authorities are encouraging anyone with information or tips to contact the Pima County Sheriff's Department. 520-351-4900 is their number. Or call the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI.

[07:55:06]

We are keeping a close eye on developments, and we'll bring them to you as soon as we get them.

"FIRST OF ALL," is coming up at the top of the hour. Right now, the Department of Homeland Security is shut down after lawmakers left town without a deal on how to reform ICE.

But it's not just immigration agencies being impacted. I'll speak to a former TSA officer about the toll of another shutdown with employee pay in limbo.

Plus, you will hear from a U.S. Army reserve pilot who is fighting to get his wife out of ICE detention. She is been there for months despite no criminal record.

And later, my conversation with the new artistic director at Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. She says the stage will be a mirror to society. Those stories and conversations you will see nowhere else, coming up after a short break on FIRST OF ALL.

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