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Early Start with Rahel Solomon
Tech Startup Teaches AI How To Perform Human Jobs; Student Survivors Testify In Trial Of Shooter's Father; Six Companies Tied To Sarah Ferguson To Shut Down. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired February 18, 2026 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN HAVANA BUREAU CHIEF (voiceover): Until then the best many Cubans can hope for is to stay afloat as their country goes under.
Patrick Oppmann, CNN, Havana.
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RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN ANCHOR: CNN's interim -- Peru's interim president has been removed from office following a political scandal just four months after he was sworn in. Congress voted to censor Jose Jeri following accusations that he held off-the-record meetings with Chinese businesspeople. Now he apologized for the meetings but denies any wrongdoing. His ouster marks Peru's eighth change of leaders in nearly a decade.
Meantime, lawmakers are set to vote on the next interim president. A general election is expected to take place in April.
Still ahead, doctors, lawyers, and bankers are becoming teachers to AI. Coming up, the company that pays them up to hundreds of dollars per hour for their know-how.
We'll be right back.
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SOLOMON: Welcome back to EARLY START. The time now is 5:34 and this is your business breakout.
Let's keep on eye on U.S. stock futures ahead of the opening bell on Wall Street. Let's start there. And futures at this point look set for a positive open.
A few things for investors to sink their teeth into this week -- well, later today we'll get the Fed minutes from the January meeting. And then later this week, on Friday, we'll get the PCE report -- the Fed's preferred inflation report. So lots to watch there.
All right. Checking some of today's other business headlines.
Warner Bros. Discovery is briefly reopening takeover talks with Paramount Skydance. The media giant and parent company of this network says that it's moving forward with its deal struck with Netflix, but the streamer granted Warner a seven-day waiver to negotiate a possible deal with Paramount. Shareholders are scheduled to vote on the Netflix bid on March 20.
At least one Fed governor says that advances in artificial intelligence are unlikely to push down interest rates in the short term, but new Fed chair nominee Kevin Warsh says that he believes that AI could be the reason for lowering interest rates soon. Some Fed officials, including current chair Jerome Powell, have said that it remains to be seen how and when AI technology will impact the U.S. economy.
Officials in Europe have launched an investigation into Elon Musk's social media site X. The EU's data privacy watchdog says that it's looking into the spate of unwanted sexualized images that have been generated by X's AI chatbot Grok. X also faces probes in France and the U.K. over the image scandal.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is preparing to face grieving families in a few hours when he takes the stand in the landmark social media addiction trial in Los Angeles. The Facebook co-founder has repeatedly been called before Congress to address concerns about his platforms but today marks the first time that he will have to testify about youth safety claims before a jury.
The plaintiffs argue that Meta and YouTube intentionally design their platforms with addictive features that can seriously harm the mental health of young people. Meta says that it strongly disagrees with those allegations.
And if you think AI is coming for your job, a new tech startup sees it differently. Mercor AI says that it hires experts to train the technology to catch things that humans might miss, emphasizing that it can benefit society.
CNN's Hadas Gold has our report.
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HADAS GOLD, CNN AI CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): Meet the people training AI to replace your doctor, lawyer, banker, and even your sommelier.
GOLD: What is the most surprising role that you have hired for to train in AI?
BRENDAN FOODY, CEO, MERCOR: Lots of fun ones. We've hired wine experts who are able to recommend what pairing you should have with your dinner. GOLD (voiceover): Brendan Foody is the 22-year-old co-founder and CEO of Mercor, one of the hottest startups in Silicon Valley valued at $10 billion. They manage a network of some tens of thousands of professional experts who help train the major AI models to think, act, and talk like them.
GOLD: Most people I think believe that AI just learns off the internet and what's out there. Why do you need humans involved in the process?
FOODY: The largest driver of AI progress right now is how do we effectively identify model mistakes, measure those mistakes, and allow models to learn from them. And so the AI labs are hiring large armies of people to help create these datasets and teaching models how to learn from them.
GOLD (voiceover): The average expert is paid $95 an hour, although some specialized roles can earn up to $250 per hour. The most popular subject is software engineering, followed by finance, then medicine and law.
GOLD: Are these people not kind of training their future replacements?
FOODY: The way I think about it is that we're not going to run out of things to do. As a society we have so many problems that we need to solve. We need to cure cancer. We need to solve climate change. And making everyone 10 times more productive so that they're able to better work on those key problems is going to be a huge, huge benefit to how we make progress as a society.
GOLD (voiceover): Mercor experts present the AI they are training with a prompt, then grade the response using a rubric they've created in consultation with other experts in their field.
Dr. Alice Chiao is one of these experts. She used to teach at Stanford University's medical school. Now her student is an AI model.
GOLD: So tell me what it's like when you sit down in front of the computer. What are you doing?
DR. ALICE CHIAO, AI EXPERT: I am looking at the AI model that I'm working with, and I am posing real life questions or challenges that I have faced, or I have seen patients face. And I ask the model, provide me with the potential diagnoses, suggest several treatments, and list the evidence that you used to support these diagnoses.
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GOLD: I've heard from doctors that sometimes medicine is a lot about a gut feeling. Can you train AI on that?
CHIAO: So this is where it's really important to note that the AI is not a doctor. It's not a human being. It does not have the 20 years of clinical experience that I or another one of my colleagues might have. This is where you need to be really careful.
GOLD: Do you ever feel like you're training your replacement? CHIAO: No, I do not. I don't want to see it as AI taking over our jobs. I want to see it as AI taking over the aspects of our jobs that prevent us from being good doctors, good healers, and good listeners.
GOLD: While Mercor is paying millions of dollars per day, they say, to these professional experts, there are some things that can't be taught. They told me that they tried to make one of the leading AI models funnier. They brought in experts from the Harvard Lampoon. And they just found that humor is something that is so subjective and that's at least one area where humans have the upper hand.
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SOLOMON: Still ahead, dramatic testimony from students in the trial of the father of a suspected school shooter.
Plus, more fallout for a former British royal with ties to Jeffrey Epstein. Coming up next, why the former Duchess of York is shutting down several companies.
We'll be right back.
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SOLOMON: Welcome back. I'm Rahel Solomon. And here are some of the stories we are watching for you today.
DNA from the glove found about two miles away from Nancy Guthrie's home will now be sent for genetic genealogy analysis. On Tuesday, the Pima County sheriff announced that it did not find a match in the FBI's national database or any links to DNA evidence from the missing 84-year-old's home.
The third round of talks between Ukraine, Russia, and the U.S. is now over. The head of the Ukrainian delegation said that there was some progress, and a number of issues were clarified. It's unclear which of the sticking points he's referencing. Earlier, Russia called the negotiations "difficult, but businesslike."
And "THE LATE SHOW" host Stephen Colbert says that broadcaster CBS intervened over his interview with Texas Democrat James Talarico before it could air on TV. Colbert claims that the network was responding to pressure from FCC regulators and the Trump administration. CBS says that "THE LATE SHOW" was provided legal guidance but was not prohibited from broadcasting the interview.
Well, it was a dramatic day of testimony inside a Georgia courthouse on Tuesday at the trial of Colin Gray. He is the father of Colt Gray who authorities say confessed to shooting and killing four people and injuring nine others at Apalachee High School in 2024.
Prosecutors say that Colin bought his son the AR-15-style rifle used in the shooting despite previous warnings that his son was a danger to others. Now, legally, the case centers on what Colin Gray knew about his son's
dangerousness leading up to the shooting. But on Tuesday, the testimony from wounded students put the focus on the moments of the attack and its aftermath.
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NATALIE GRIFFITH, SHOOTING SURVIVOR: I think I was subconsciously trying to not -- once I registered that it was blood and what exactly it was, my brain kind of blocked it out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
GRIFFITH: And I just knew what it was. It was a hole. And I was also worried that I was going to die and how that would affect my parents --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
GRIFFITH: -- because my dad has a heart problem.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What were people yelling?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Um, help me! I've been shot. I'm going to die.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Were you able to call anybody?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, ma'am.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And who did you call?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I called my mom.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And what did you tell her?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I told her that I was going to die.
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SOLOMON: Colin Gray has pleaded not guilty to nearly 30 charges, including two counts each of murder and involuntary manslaughter.
The fallout over the Epstein files continues to impact the British royal family and some former royals. The latest controversy involves companies connected to Sarah Ferguson, the former Duchess of York.
Max Foster reports from London.
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MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): Six companies listing Britain's Sarah Ferguson as sole director are set to shut down as the Epstein firestorm rolls on.
The former duchess and her ex-husband Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor are under renewed scrutiny over their ties to the late financier after Epstein pleaded guilty to prostitution charges involving an underage minor.
Last year, Ferguson's spokesperson said she'd cut off relations with Epstein "as soon as she was aware of the extent of the allegations against him." DOJ files suggest otherwise.
Epstein's crimes were publicly reported in 2006, the year he was also first arrested.
The latest tranche of files released by the Department of Justice revealed the depth of Ferguson's friendship with the late financier, with one email thread discussing a lunch date in Palm Beach. This was 2009, just five days after Epstein was released from jail after serving 13 months.
"It'll be myself, Beatrice, and Eugenie" Ferguson tells him, referring to her daughters, at the time age 20 and 19 years old. "Cannot wait to see you," she tells Epstein in a subsequent email.
Another exchange between Epstein and his assistant shows that he paid more than $14,000 to fly the duchess and the two princesses to the U.S. on that trip. Just days later Ferguson thanks him for being "the brother I've always wished for."
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And the following year she goes as far as saying, "You're a legend. I'm at your service. Just marry me."
Then in March 2011, Ferguson publicly apologizes for being associated with Epstein, saying in an interview, "I abhor pedophilia and any sexual abuse of children and know that this was a gigantic error of judgment on my behalf." Except that in private she appears to apologize to Epstein for publicly denouncing him, calling him "a supreme friend."
Ferguson's spokesman told British media "This email was sent in the context of advice the duchess was given to try to assuage Epstein and his threats."
Now, publicly available documents show that in the past few days six companies which list Ferguson as the sole director all filed an application to strike the company off the U.K.'s official company's house register. It's not clear exactly what services those companies provided or whether they were active at all.
We reached out to Ferguson's representatives multiple times for comment on the exchanges seen in the Epstein documents. CNN has also requested comment from Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie.
Max Foster, CNN, London.
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SOLOMON: After the break, we'll check in on all the Olympic action. How the women's figure skaters performed and a look ahead at today's most anticipated medal events. We'll be right back. (COMMERCIAL)
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SOLOMON: Welcome back.
Now to Oklahoma where authorities warn a fast-moving wildfire has crossed state lines into Kansas. The 15,000-acre inferno is being fueled by wind gusts over 65 miles per hour.
The powerful winds are also wreaking havoc across the region. In Colorado, at least four people are dead in a multi-vehicle pileup on a major interstate. Law enforcement says that the pileup happened after a wind gust blew dust and dirt around reducing visibility.
And the danger is far from over because another storm today could kick up winds and increase fire danger to critical conditions -- that is the second-highest level -- and that could affect the southern High Plains.
All right, turning to today's Olympic action.
American star skier Mikaela Shiffrin will hit the slopes for the slalom. It marks her final competition of the Milan Cortina Games and she is the favorite. The U.S. men's hockey team will face off against Sweden later today in the quarterfinals. And this all follows an action-packed Tuesday.
World Sport's Coy Wire has our report from Italy.
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COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: One of the crown jewels of the Winter Olympics women's figure skating kicking off with the short program tonight and American Alysa Liu put herself in prime position for medal contention.
After the last Winter Games she took time away from the sport, traveled a bit, and enrolled in college at UCLA, but decided to make a comeback. She told me ahead of these games that she loves fashion, she loves dancing -- therefore, she missed figure skating.
She put up her season-best routine. Her whole family was there to see it. Clearly, she needed that time away. She said ahead of these games that she didn't feel like her life was on the line anymore.
She's currently in third place after the short program. It's Japan's 17-year-old Ami Nakai in the lead. She said she didn't even expect to be at the Olympics when she made her senior debut this season. She's been absolutely crushing it. Kaori Sakamoto, the three-time world champ also of Japan, is currently in second. Only one Japanese woman has ever won Olympic figure skating gold. That was 20 years ago in Italy.
Speaking of Italy, the Italian team has made the most of the home advantage here at these Winter Olympics, smashing their previous best performances in terms of gold medals and total medals won. They claimed another gold -- a surprising one -- in speed skating on Tuesday in men's team pursuit, beating world recordholders and world champion Americans nicknamed "The Pain Train." The Italians responding to the roar of the home crowd with just laps to go, storming back to deliver an unforgettable gold.
Now just a bit ago I caught up with one of the fastest, fiercest athletes on the planet, Team USA's Breezy Johnson, Olympic downhill gold medalist. But that's not the only bling she'll be taking away from these Italian games. Her boyfriend proposed at the bottom of the slopes. I asked about that moment.
BREEZY JOHNSON, OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST: I did have an inkling that he was going to do that. I had suggested that it was always kind of my dream to get engaged at the Olympics. And so, yeah, he planned the whole thing out and it was a very awesome moment with all of my teammates and friends and family around. So, yeah, it was pretty special.
WIRE: All right. There will be nine more gold medals up for grabs on Wednesday. Norway still topping the medal table. And Mikaela Shiffrin -- she will be back on the slopes for her last shot at a medal at these games.
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SOLOMON: Thank you, Coy Wire.
Now a heartwarming end to the show. A 7-month-old baby monkey has found a new family in a plushy toy after being abandoned by his mom at a Japanese zoo. Here's his story that's become a viral sensation as we hear from CNN's Bryan Dent Wood.
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BRYAN DENT WOOD, CNN DIGITAL (voiceover): Meet Punch. The 6-month-old Japanese monkey was abandoned by his mother at birth, but zookeepers stepped in caring for him day and night by hand. And his surrogate mom, a plushy orangutan that is now his safe place and a stand-in for mother's fur. Punch's story went viral with many both on and offline cheering him on. Now he is slowly joining the troop but still clings to his stuffed friend.
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SOLOMON: All right, that'll do it for us here on EARLY START. I'm Rahel Solomon in New York. "CNN THIS MORNING" starts right now.
