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The Story Is with Elex Michaelson
Glove Does Not Match DNA in FBI Database or Guthrie's Home; Late-Night Host Stephen Colbert Says CBS Scrapped Talarico's Interview Amid FCC Threats; Talks Between Ukraine, U.S. and Russia to Resume in Coming Day; U.S. Moves More Military Assets to Middle East Amid Talks; Remembering the Life and Legacy of Rev. Jesse Jackson; Zuckerberg to Face Jury in Landmark Case. Aired 12-1a ET
Aired February 18, 2026 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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LAURA COATES, CNN ANCHOR: Elex Michaelson is next.
ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Elex Michaelson live in Los Angeles. Here's what's ahead on THE STORY IS.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: THE STORY IS no DNA match. Setback for investigators in the Nancy Guthrie case.
THE STORY IS Mark Zuckerberg takes the stand. The Meta CEO hours away from testifying in what could be the biggest social media trial of all time.
And THE STORY IS remembering Jesse Jackson. Congresswoman Maxine Waters chaired both of his presidential campaigns. She's with us here in studio.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: Live from Los Angeles, THE STORY IS with Elex Michaelson.
MICHAELSON: And the top story is a potential setback in the investigation into 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie's disappearance. DNA test results from a glove found around two miles from her home does not have any matches in the FBI's national database. The Pima County sheriff also confirms it does not match any DNA found in Guthrie's home.
The FBI claims the glove looks like those worn by the person seen on doorbell footage approaching Guthrie's front door, just hours before Nancy was reported missing on February 1st. It will now be subject to genetic genealogy analysis to see if the DNA matches publicly available family trees.
Law enforcement is conducting follow-up investigations in Guthrie's neighborhood and several local businesses in search of more clues. On Tuesday, Sheriff Chris Nanos insisted authorities are dealing with an abduction case.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: You believe it's a kidnapping.
SHERIFF CHRIS NANOS, PIMA COUNTY, ARIZONA: I believe it was a kidnapping.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Targeted kidnapping.
NANOS: Yes, I believe whoever did that knew what they were up to.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Joining us now live is retired LAPD detective supervisor Moses Castillo.
Moses, welcome to THE STORY IS. What do you make of the DNA?
MOSES CASTILLO, RETIRED DETECTION SUPERVISOR, LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT: Well, it's unfortunate that we don't have a match as of yet. But then the next phase is going to be trying to do a familial DNA search analysis, which means that they'll look for partial matches to see who is related to this suspect that has this profile.
MICHAELSON: But does it tell them much? I mean if the DNA doesn't match anything in the house, this could to be any random person's glove that fell off, right?
CASTILLO: That's true. We don't -- we're not sure if that glove is connected to the scene. And from what I'm hearing, the DNA evidence that is at the scene doesn't match the glove.
MICHAELSON: Yes. And so that seems to be a potential problem, but they're looking to do anything. Meanwhile, there was this report, CNN has spoken to a gun shop owner who told us that investigators actually showed up and showed them pictures of various people that they say they were interested in talking with. Why is that significant?
CASTILLO: Well, I think they're trying to figure out what type of gun this was. And maybe did somebody at this gun store purchase a gun that resembles this and then work it from there. And so hopefully by looking at those gun owners' video footage, very sophisticated, better video, hopefully we'll get a better idea of who this is.
MICHAELSON: OK, so when we look at this video, which I know you're looking -- you've looked at yourself, and maybe we can show it again. This -- you look at that person with the gun and you raise questions about that gun. Right?
CASTILLO: Yes. It almost looks like it's a replica handgun just the way it's positioned in the holster. It's not all the way in. It doesn't appear to fit that holster. Maybe it was just to use to gain compliance of a victim that might be resisting. Show them a gun. And they're not going to know if it's real or not. So I'm not sure if it's real gun. MICHAELSON: So it could be a fake gun that was used in all this.
Because the holster, it's not even the right holster for that kind of gun. Right?
CASTILLO: Absolutely. So again, I think it's more of a weapon to simulate you have a real gun and to gain compliance. But with Miss Guthrie, 84 years old, you're not going to get any resistance.
MICHAELSON: Yes. And you're in the middle of the night and she's sleeping and she's woken up. I mean, how scary this whole thing is as a scenario. Meanwhile, the sheriff is working with Walmart to identify who purchased the backpack. How did they go about doing that?
CASTILLO: Well, it's like looking for a needle in the haystack because they're just trying to find that one individual that matches the height, the weight and that backpack in question. And if they could find images in that store, video footage, we're getting closer and closer so I think we're closing in.
MICHAELSON: I mean, we don't know exactly what's happening behind the scenes obviously. If this was your case and you were working this right now, and you've worked so many different cases, what would you be doing right now?
CASTILLO: I would ask the sheriff to stand down, let us do our work, because giving information to the public like the DNA results and all that good stuff, it only hurts the case. I would really just focus on appealing to that suspect, or that person has intimate knowledge about this case. With Savannah, do the right thing, it's never too late to do the right thing, I'm urging you to pick up the phone. I know -- or better yet, take Miss Guthrie to a local hospital, take her to the emergency room.
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Let her get the medical attention she needs and worry about the legal consequences later.
MICHAELSON: And that's the video of Savannah speaking directly to the people as well. The lapel pin, tell me about that, that you're wearing right now.
CASTILLO: This represents a crime survivors' group that I'm part of and we advocate for victims that are impacted by violent crime. And I'm hoping that Miss Guthrie will be a survivor of this particular crime and my thoughts and prayers go with the family. But again, that individual that knows something, please do the right thing. Take her to the hospital, get her the help she needs, and let's worry about the legal consequences later.
MICHAELSON: Well said. Moses, thank you for all your work and making us safe here in Southern California over the years.
CASTILLO: Thanks, Elex. Appreciate it.
MICHAELSON: And thanks for coming in tonight as well. CASTILLO: Thanks, Elex. Appreciate.
MICHAELSON: Politics now, early voting is underway for primary elections in Texas. Candidates trying to win their party's nomination ahead of November's midterm elections in the newly redrawn 33rd Congressional District. That could be Democrat Colin Allred, who cast his vote on Tuesday. All Texas House seats are on the ballot after the congressional map was redrawn last year.
A Senate seat is also up for grabs, and it is an important one. The Republican candidates, incumbent John Cornyn, Texas attorney general Ken Paxton and Congressman Wesley Hunt. President Trump has not yet endorsed anyone, including Cornyn, who's in the Senate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I just haven't made a decision on that race yet. He's got a ways to go, and I have it. He's a good man. John is a good -- I like all three of them actually. I like all three. Those are the toughest races. They've all supported me. They're all good. And you're supposed to pick one. So we'll see what happens. But I support all three.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: So that race appears to be wide open. Polling shows Paxton in the lead but not by much. As for the Democrats, it is a close race with U.S. Representative Jasmine Crockett slightly ahead of State Representative James Talarico.
Talarico recently sat for an interview with "Late Show" host Stephen Colbert but that interview never made it to air on the show's televised broadcast. Colbert says lawyers from CBS intervened under pressure from FCC regulators and the Trump administration.
CNN's Brian Stelter has the backstory.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST (voice-over): Stephen Colbert saw this coming.
STEPHEN COLBERT, HOST, "THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT": I got to watch what I say about Trump because Johnny Law is once again coming after yours truly here.
STELTER: Last month, Colbert warned fans about a looming crackdown by President Donald Trump's Federal Communications Commission.
COLBERT: So let's talk about these new crackdown rules that my lawyer warned me not to talk about. The --
STELTER: It was funny until it wasn't. This week, Colbert says CBS lawyers intervened when he interviewed James Ttalarico, who's running in the Democratic Senate primary in Texas.
COLBERT: Then I was told in some uncertain terms that not only could I not have him on, I could not mention me not having him on.
STELTER: Colbert told viewers everything. Casting it as part of Trump's crusade to chill critical speech.
COLBERT: You might have heard of this thing called the equal time rule, OK? It's an old FCC rule that applies only to radio and broadcast television, not cable or streaming, that says if a show has a candidate on during an election, they have to have all that candidates' opponents on as well. It's the FCC's most time honored rule right after no nipples at the Super Bowl.
STELTER: And last month, the Trump aligned FCC chair Brendan Carr issued new guidance about that old equal time rule, saying stations should not assume that shows like Colbert's are exempt from it anymore.
BRENDAN CARR, FCC CHAIR: If you're fake news, you're not going to qualify as the bona fide news exception.
STELTER: The FCC's actual enforcement powers are limited, so as a source of the agency told CNN, quote, "The threat is the point. The point is to force shows and networks to second guess their decisions."
CBS seems to be taking the threat seriously. The network said today that Colbert was not prohibited from airing the interview, but he was given, quote, "legal guidance" about the equal time rule. Since FCC rules don't apply online, Colbert shared the interview on YouTube showing that Talarico talked about this very topic, the government threatening free speech.
JAMES TALARICO, CANDIDATE, TEXAS DEMOCRATIC U.S. SENATE PRIMARY: This is the party that ran against cancel culture, and now they're trying to control what we watch, what we say, what we read.
STELTER: Talarico also mentioned a report that the FCC is, quote, "investigating" "The View" for an equal time violation, for booking him on that show.
TALARICO: They went after "The View" because I went on there. They went after Jimmy Kimmel for telling a joke they didn't like. They went after you for telling the truth about Paramount's bribe to Donald Trump.
STELTER: Now Talarico getting a big campaign boost thanks to all this attention, reminding everyone how the FCC's pressure against Jimmy Kimmel backfired last fall.
JIMMY KIMMEL, HOST, "JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE": This one was a bacon double dementia burger with cheese. This is -- even for him this one was nuts.
STELTER: And Colbert last month predicting that his fellow comics will be feeling Trump's pressure after he signs off in May.
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COLBERT: Good luck, Jimmy. So -- see you. See you, suckers.
STELTER: Brian Stelter, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: Big ratings, by the way, for Talarico online, higher than would have gotten on TV. Live picture right now from the Capitol. A White House official says President Trump has rejected the Democrats' latest offer to end the partial government shutdown. The official says the two sides remain, quote, "pretty far apart" from a potential agreement. Democrats Senate counter offer to the White House Monday night with their demands for reforms within the Department of Homeland Security. Partial shutdown has been going on for days, with no immediate end in sight.
Police in Washington have arrested an 18-year-old who was seen carrying a loaded shotgun towards the U.S. Capitol. They say the man from Georgia was running towards the building when police intercepted him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF MICHAEL SULLIVAN, U.S. CAPITOL POLICE: This individual had a tactical vest on. He was -- also had tactical gloves and when we looked in the vehicle, he had a Kevlar helmet and a gas mask in the vehicle. He was also the -- like I mentioned earlier, the shotgun was loaded. He had additional rounds on his person.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: That man has been charged with carrying a rifle without a license, having an unregistered firearm and ammunition as well as unlawful activities. Investigators have not determined a motive for the would be attack. Lawmakers are currently on recess and were not in the building at the time.
Round three of peace talks between Ukraine, Russia and the U.S. set to resume and then wrap up in the hours ahead. And there's no sign of any tangible progress. Ukraine's lead negotiator said the first day of discussions focused on, quote, "practical issues." Not long ago, U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff posted, quote, "President Trump's success in bringing both sides of this war together has brought about meaningful progress. We are proud to work under his leadership to stop the killing in this terrible conflict."
Both parties agreed to update their respective leaders and continue working towards a deal. Earlier, Ukraine's president told Axios the best way to achieve a breakthrough is for him to meet face-to-face with his Russian counterpart. Volodymyr Zelenskyy also told Axios that it is unfair for the U.S. president to call on Ukraine to make concessions, but not Russia. He says the Ukrainian people would reject any plan to hand over the entire Donbas region.
CNN's Fred Pleitgen has the latest on the negotiations.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it certainly doesn't seem as though very much in the way of progress was achieved during the talks. I mean, there was no press conference. There was actually supposed to be a press conference by both the Russians and the Ukrainians separately. Obviously both of those were canceled and the negotiations ended at some point in the I wouldn't say even too late evening hours.
So it does appear as though the talks' progress appears to have been quite difficult. It's unclear what exactly the Russian strategy is. Of course, we have heard in the past from the negotiators especially from Steve Witkoff that he believes that progress was being achieved. But of course, a lot of that progress is also very hard to come by, especially if you look at some of the most difficult issues that are on the table.
I would say one of them being security guarantees for the Ukrainians, what the Russians would be willing to accept as far as Western security guarantees for the Ukrainians. And then of course that huge topic of territories which and if territories the Ukrainians would cede to the Russians as part of any peace agreement. And so today it seems as though the negotiations went on for a very long time.
One of the things that I thought was quite interesting is that as they were wrapping up today, the political part of the talks apparently wrapped up earlier than the military part of the talks so they went on for a little bit longer. Still, though, it seems as though progress not sure how much was actually achieved today.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: Fred Pleitgen for us in Geneva. Thank you, Fred.
Comedian Dave Chappelle is paying his respects to one of the two U.S. citizens killed by federal immigration agents in Minnesota last month. On Monday, he laid flowers at a memorial for Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, where he's on tour this week.
Officers say Pretti was armed and they fired in self-defense after he, quote, "violently resisted." CNN analysis of video of the incident shows an agent removing the gun from Pretti before other officers shot him. Minneapolis police also say that Pretti was a lawful gun owner.
Another critic of the Trump administration just announced a new tour.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, MUSICIAN: We are living through dark, disturbing and dangerous times, but do not despair. The cavalry is coming.
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band will be taking the stage this spring. We will be rocking your town in celebration and in defense of America, American democracy, American freedom, our American Constitution and our sacred American dream. All of which are under attack by a wannabe king and his rogue government in Washington, D.C.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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MICHAELSON: Springsteen has been outspoken against the recent ICE raids in Minneapolis. He wrote and released a protest song titled "Streets of Minneapolis" honoring Alex Pretti and Renee Good. The new tour begins in Minneapolis on March 31st. By the way, he'll be here in Southern California April 7th and 9th.
Just ahead, 10 skiers are missing after an avalanche in Northern California. We'll bring you the latest on the search and rescue efforts there. Plus Mark Zuckerberg is set to take the stand in a landmark social media addiction trial. All that and more after the break.
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MICHAELSON: Authorities say 10 backcountry skiers are still missing after getting caught up in an avalanche in Northern California. Another six skiers who were part of the group have been found alive after someone called 911 to report Tuesday's avalanche. Search and rescue crews have been dispatched to Castle Park area, just outside of Lake Tahoe. Nevada County Sheriff's Office says the extreme conditions are interfering with their efforts.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAPT. RUSSELL GREENE, NEVADA COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE: Slow going. We have brought in snowcats. We have snowmobilers on standby. We have individuals on skis. So we have several different ways that people are attempting to get in there. It's just going to be a slow, tedious process because they also have to be very careful accessing the area due to the fact that the avalanche danger is still very high.
They're doing their best they can. They have taken refuge in an area they have made up a makeshift, you know, shelter with a tarp and are doing everything they can to survive and wait for rescue.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: California is being hit by a powerful winter storm carrying thunderstorms, high winds and heavy snow, and mountain areas. Several ski resorts around Lake Tahoe are fully or partially closed due to that extreme weather.
The U.S. military has struck three more alleged drug trafficking vessels in the Eastern Pacific and Caribbean. U.S. Command reports all 11 people on board were killed. That brings the total death toll from the U.S. campaign against international drug trafficking to 135. Democrats and legal experts say the strikes amount to murdering civilians since the U.S. has not declared and Congress has not authorized a war on drug cartels.
Mexico is considering attending U.S. President Donald Trump's first Board of Peace meeting as an observer. Mexico's president says they will likely send their ambassador, but they will not directly participate.
The White House is hosting the first gathering of the so-called Board of Peace on Thursday. The president had pitched the group as a limited body to oversee the reconstruction of Gaza as part of a ceasefire deal but the charter draft has expanded its mission, raising concerns that it may seek to supplant the United Nations.
Iran and the U.S. walked away from Tuesday's nuclear negotiations with guiding principles for future talks. Basically they agreed to keep talking. That's according to Iran's foreign minister. He says this round of indirect negotiations with the U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner in Geneva were more serious than the first set of talks last month. And although they made, quote, "progress," there still remains a lot of details to hash out.
U.S. officials agree, they're saying that they expect to receive detailed proposals from Tehran to address, quote, "open gaps in our position." Vice President J.D. Vance spoke more about what the Trump administration wants to see.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The United States has certain red lines. Our primary interest here is we don't want Iran to get a nuclear weapon. We don't want nuclear proliferation. If Iran gets a nuclear weapon there are a lot of other regimes, some friendly, some not so friendly, who would get nuclear weapons after them. That would be a disaster for the American people because then you have these crazy regimes all over the world with the most dangerous weapons in the world and that's one of the things the president has said he's going to prevent.
The president has set some red lines that the Iranians are not yet willing to actually acknowledge and work through.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: There are no further talks scheduled yet. The U.S. has beefed up its military presence in the Middle East, and Tehran is temporarily closing the Strait of Hormuz for new naval exercises and says they will not be intimidated.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AYATOLLAH ALI KHAMENEI, SUPREME LEADER OF IRAN (through translator): They keep saying we've sent an aircraft carrier towards Iran. Very well. An aircraft carrier is certainly a dangerous piece of equipment, but more dangerous than the carrier is the weapon that can send that carrier towards the bottom of the sea.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: CNN's Jeremy Diamond brings us the latest on the United States military buildup in the Middle East.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: A massive U.S. military buildup is underway right here in the Middle East. Even as the U.S. and Iran are back at the negotiating table, it's clear the United States is preparing for possible military action.
Over the course of the last month, more than 250 U.S. military cargo planes have landed in theater based on a CNN review of flight data. That's a significant uptick in activity which suggests some of these flights are tied to preparations for potential operations against Iran.
That number also includes flights to U.S. bases in Europe, which have traditionally supported U.S. military operations in the Middle East. Those flights involve cargo planes that can carry everything from personnel to vehicles to heavy equipment like air defense systems that we know the United States is deploying in the Middle East.
Satellite imagery is also giving us a look at the U.S.'s more muscular posture in the Middle East. This is Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, the U.S.'s largest in the Middle East. A month ago you can see 16 planes on the tarmac.
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A few weeks later there are 29 planes including seven C-17 cargo planes and 17 KC-135 tankers. Those tankers are used to refuel jets mid-flight. A critical component of any air assault on Iran.
At this air base in Jordan, 12 F-15 fighter jets recently appeared in satellite imagery. We've also identified the deployment of Patriot Air Defense Systems at that large U.S. air base in Qatar. These would be critical to protecting U.S. assets in the region in the event of Iranian strikes.
The U.S. also has plenty of naval assets in the region. A U.S. aircraft carrier and three warships arrived in the Middle East. Last month a second aircraft carrier strike group is also now on its way.
But this is just what we can see from publicly available information. The last time the U.S. struck Iran in June, we also saw a big buildup of military force in Europe and the Middle East. But it was seven B-2 stealth bombers that delivered the biggest blow in Iran according to the Pentagon. Those flew in undetected from the United States.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: Our thanks to Jeremy Diamond.
Peru's interim president has been removed from office following a political scandal just four months after he was sworn in. Congress there voted to censure Jose Jeri following accusations that he held off-the-record meetings with Chinese business people. He apologized for the meetings but denies any wrongdoing. His ouster marks Peru's eighth change of a leader in nearly a decade.
Meantime, lawmakers are set to vote on the next interim president. A general election expected to take place in April.
Coming up, the Reverend Jesse Jackson is being remembered as a tireless, pioneering civil rights activist. Just ahead, I'll speak with Congresswoman Maxine Waters, who chaired two of Jackson's presidential campaigns and was close friends with him for more than four decades.
Stay with us
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REV. JESSE JACKSON, CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER: Our flag is red, white, and blue, but our nation is rainbow: red, yellow, brown, black, and white. We're all precious in God's sight.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: Civil rights leader, the Reverend Jesse Jackson, speaking at the Democratic National Convention in San Francisco back in July 1984. He died Tuesday at the age of 84.
In a moment, his longtime friend Maxine Waters joins me. But first, CNN's Karin Caifa with a look back at a remarkable life.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JACKSON: Keep hope alive, keep hope alive.
KARIN CAIFA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Reverend Jesse Jackson, a protege of the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., who became a towering civil rights leader himself, has died at age 84.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Make no mistake about it, Jesse Jackson was unique in American history, and I hope that his legacy lives on a new generation of Americans who might draw from that energy.
CAIFA (voice-over): Jackson died peacefully and surrounded by his family, according to a statement from the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, the nonprofit social justice organization he founded.
He had been hospitalized in recent months as he dealt with a degenerative brain disease, progressive supranuclear palsy. Jackson's passing mourned Tuesday by those who worked closely with him.
REV. AL SHARPTON, CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST: He never stopped. I once said to him, you're already in history. You've gotten all the honors. Why do you keep going? He said, I never learned how to retire.
CAIFA (voice-over): And by those inspired by him. ZIFF SISTRUNK, CHICAGO RESIDENT: He taught us to get involved, to --
to be involved with helping the next person, being an example for the next person.
CAIFA (voice-over): More than two decades before Barack Obama was elected the first black president of the United States, Jackson made White House bids in 1984 and 1988.
JACKSON: We must come together.
CAIFA (voice-over): And challenged Democrats to expand and reshape the party.
BISHOP WILLIAM J. BARBER II, LONGTIME FRIEND OF REV. JESSE JACKSON: He shifted the party and shifted the rules of the party to bring more people in. How many people owe their political lives to what Jesse Jackson did? He never just ran for himself.
CAIFA (voice-over): In a statement, the NAACP called Jackson, quote, "a lifelong soldier for justice."
In Washington, I'm Karin Caifa.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: With me now, California Congresswoman Maxine Waters, a longtime friend and colleague of the Reverend Jesse Jackson.
Congressmember, welcome to THE STORY IS. Good to see you.
Not only were you a friend, you were the co-chair of his presidential campaigns in 1984 and 1988.
REP. MAXINE WATERS (D-CA): That's right.
MICHAELSON: What inspired you to sign up and be a part of that?
WATERS: Well, by the time Jesse decided to run, I was absolutely convinced that he was an unusual, talented man who really understood a lot about how things work and a lot about politics, even. And I was just taken with him, and I wanted very much to be in the campaigns.
I had known him since, you know, I first met him when he was with Breadbasket sometime early on, and I was anxious to do it. And so, he wanted me to be there, and I was there.
MICHAELSON: And you were there on the road with him --
WATERS: That's right.
MICHAELSON: -- traveling across the country --
WATERS: That's right.
MICHAELSON: -- as he organized people --
WATERS: That's right.
MICHAELSON: -- registered them to vote --
WATERS: That's right.
MICHAELSON: -- changed the Democratic party --
WATERS: That's right.
MICHAELSON: -- and the process.
WATERS: That's right.
MICHAELSON: Talk to us about what that was like and the way people reacted to him out on the road.
WATERS: Well, you know, when he first started, I think there were so many people who didn't believe that it was really going to be a serious campaign. And of course, he organized a serious campaign with a lot of talented people who came to be a part of it.
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And so, when he went out on the road, people organized events. They gathered in large numbers. And, boy, when he walked into the rooms, when he walked into these atmospheres and he started to talk to people, they listened to him. They believed him. He inspired them.
And so, it grew. It just -- he happened to just captivate so many people who had not believed that a black man could seriously run for the president of the United States of America.
MICHAELSON: And then, of course, in 2008, a black man becomes the president of the United States. Barack Obama.
WATERS: And not but for Jesse Jackson, Obama never could have been president.
MICHAELSON: There's no -- there's no President Obama without Jesse Jackson.
WATERS: That's right.
MICHAELSON: And -- and there might not have been a Congresswoman Maxine Waters. So, you did in 1984 and '88. You worked for him. In 1990, you said --
WATERS: That's right.
MICHAELSON: -- I'm going to run on my own.
WATERS: That's right.
MICHAELSON: And you're still there, all these years later.
WATERS: I'm still there. And I was inspired -- MICHAELSON: Yes.
WATERS: -- by the experience. I learned a lot from Jesse Jackson. I learned a lot about strategy. I learned a lot about how to deal with people: people who believe, people who didn't believe, and how you interacted with them, and how you talk to them. And I learned how to do that and feel good about it.
And Jesse was excellent at helping people to understand things that they didn't really know about. And it worked. And you're right. I'm still there.
MICHAELSON: And there's a whole generation of black women, not only black men, that were inspired by Jesse Jackson.
WATERS: Oh, well, listen, as a matter of fact, I just talked to Donna Brazile.
MICHAELSON: Former DNC chair.
WATERS: That's right. And Mignon Moore. And they were all young, young, young women who Jesse gave them responsibilities and brought them into the campaign.
And look what happened to them. They kept going to the point where they were running the DNC.
MICHAELSON: Right.
WATERS: Et cetera, et cetera.
MICHAELSON: And changed it.
WATERS: But they all started with Jesse.
MICHAELSON: And Jesse helped change the rules of the Democratic Party --
WATERS: He absolutely did.
MICHAELSON: -- which also allowed for Obama years later, when it comes to representation.
WATERS: That's right.
MICHAELSON: So, there were so many great lines --
WATERS: Yes.
MICHAELSON: -- that he was known for. What's your favorite Jesse Jackson line?
WATERS: I think my favorite one is, even though there are a lot more, when he said to young people, down with dope and up with hope, you know what I'm saying? They listened to him. And I think at that time, there was a lot of drugs, you know, floating
all over the country, et cetera. And he took on the issue, but he took on the issue in his own way.
It was not, like, I'm important. And I come to tell you what you should not be doing. They joined in with him in saying "Down with dope and up with hope."
MICHAELSON: Up with hope.
WATERS: That's right.
MICHAELSON: And of course, "keep hope alive."
WATERS: Well, that's everybody. Keep hope alive.
MICHAELSON: Which is -- which is known. Keep hope alive. And this -- and this concept of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, this idea that America is a quilt. And that everybody --
WATERS: I was with him --
MICHAELSON: Yes.
WATERS: -- when he went into the small farms in America and got farmers whose properties were being foreclosed on, who didn't know how they were going to plant the next crop, et cetera. And they came into the campaign. It was a wonderful thing to see.
MICHAELSON: And bringing together --
WATERS: That's right.
MICHAELSON: -- blacks and whites and Hispanics and Asians and Jews. And --
WATERS: That's right. The rainbow had a real meaning and a real meaning.
MICHAELSON: Yes. If you had to sort of very succinctly describe Jesse Jackson's legacy, how would you describe it?
WATERS: I would describe Jesse Jackson as helping to save the work of the civil rights movement.
He'd been involved with Dr. Martin Luther King and some giants: Rosa Parks, all of these people. And, you know, we're always in danger of losing something that we have gained.
But Jesse was always there in the way that he worked and reminded people not only about the struggle but again, about hope and making sure that you believe that we have a right to justice and equality.
He preached it. He taught it. And I think I would say his legacy is that he maintained the work of the civil rights movement for years.
MICHAELSON: Sixty -- 60 years.
WATERS: And he expanded it, not only registering people to vote, but got into the business community and opened up opportunities for contracts and involvement in ways that black businesspeople had never had an opportunity to be a part of, you know, receiving procurement opportunities from government, et cetera.
So, it was not only the civil rights work, it was the financial services work also.
MICHAELSON: Which, of course, is the work that you do now --
WATERS: That's what I do now. That's right.
MICHAELSON: -- in Congress, focused on financial services, as well.
WATERS: That's right.
[00:40:00]
MICHAELSON: Congresswoman --
WATERS: Yes.
MICHAELSON: -- always great to see you. Sorry to see you under these circumstances. Our condolences to you --
WATERS: Yes.
MICHAELSON: -- on the loss of a friend.
WATERS: Yes.
MICHAELSON: But what a life and what a legacy. And you helping to describe it here really paints a lot of --
WATERS: Well, thank you for having me. And don't forget, he's got two sons that's going to carry it on.
MICHAELSON: Yes.
WATERS: OK.
MICHAELSON: Great to see you.
WATERS: Thank you.
MICHAELSON: Thank you very much.
WATERS: All right.
MICHAELSON: We'll be right back as we honor Jesse Jackson's legacy.
WATERS: Thank you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [00:45:07]
MICHAELSON: Welcome back to THE STORY IS. I'm Elex Michaelson. Let's take a look at some of today's top stories.
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.
New Mexico state lawmakers have approved a bipartisan special committee to investigate Jeffrey Epstein's Zorro Ranch. The so-called truth commission will look into allegations of criminal activity on the property owned by the convicted sex offender.
The committee will decide whether other legislative action is required. The measure passed on Monday without any opposition.
Communities around the world are preparing for Lent and Ramadan. Ramadan is the Islamic holy month of fasting, which begins with the first sighting of the crescent moon. The starting date can vary based on when the moon appears in different countries.
It marks when Muslims believe that the Prophet Muhammad received the first of the revelations that make up the Koran.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is preparing to face grieving families in a few hours when he takes the stand in a landmark social media addiction trial happening right here in Los Angeles.
CNN's Clare Duffy joins us now with a preview -- Clare.
CLARE DUFFY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Elex. This is without a doubt going to be one of the biggest moments in this trial. Mark Zuckerberg taking the stand to testify for the first time before a jury about these claims that his platforms have harmed young users.
And also in the audience are going to be parents, families who say their children were harmed or died as a result of social media.
And one of the things that I think is really remarkable is that among the parents that are flying from around the country into L.A. in hopes of securing a seat in this courtroom, are parents who were also in the audience back in 2024 on Capitol Hill.
In that moment when you'll remember, Mark Zuckerberg actually turned around and apologized to the parents who say their children were harmed as a result of social media.
Now, in terms of what the questions are going to focus on tomorrow, we expect that Mark Zuckerberg is going to get asked questions that try to get at the reasonableness of the steps that the company has taken to protect young users on the platform.
What did Meta know about the risks to young people? And did it do enough to try to mitigate those risks?
And we know that there are internal documents that have come out in the course of this litigation and discovery that suggest, for example, that only a small fraction of teen users as of this time last year were actually enrolled in the parental oversight tools that Meta has talked about being so central to its safety efforts.
So, those are the kinds of things that we expect that Mark Zuckerberg will get asked about.
I'm also told by legal experts that it's going to be very important how he presents on the stand. Does the jury find him likable? Do they find him trustworthy?
So, that is what we will be watching during his testimony tomorrow.
And just a reminder of the stakes here for Meta and YouTube, the defendants in this case. If the jury sides with the plaintiff, that could set a precedent for hundreds of similar cases to be resolved in a similar way, potentially putting these companies on the hook for up to billions of dollars in damages, and also requiring them to make changes to their platforms.
This is an especially critical moment for Meta, because at the same time that this L.A. trial is going on, the company is also standing trial in a separate case in New Mexico, accusing the company of being complicit in child sexual exploitation on its platform.
So, two critical cases occurring at the same time. The company has denied the claims in both of them. And regarding this L.A. trial, the company says it strongly disagrees with the claims in this case, and it believes that its record of protecting young users on its platform will speak for itself.
Of course, it's going to be up to the jury to decide how they feel about all of this, and we'll be watching closely -- Elex.
MICHAELSON: We certainly will be, Clare.
Somebody who will be in the courtroom is our next guest. Matthew Bergman, founding attorney of the Social Media Victims Law Center. He is representing the plaintiff in this case and is part of the legal team in court every day.
Thanks for joining us live. Matthew Bergman, welcome to THE STORY IS.
MATTHEW BERGMAN, FOUNDING ATTORNEY, MEDIA VICTIMS LAW CENTER: Thank you for having me.
MICHAELSON: Mark Zuckerberg on the stand is a big moment, not only for this case, but sort of for the history of social media. What's the strategy?
BERGMAN: Well, the strategy is simply to confront him with his own documents and his own words. Not the words that he pontificated to Congress or to the media, but the -- the own documents and the things that Meta has said internally regarding what they know their -- their platforms are doing to young people.
MICHAELSON: Like what?
BERGMAN: Like knowing that it's addictive. That they have intentionally designed a product to addict young people, showing them not what they want to see, but what they can't look away from.
And their own documents show that, showing that one-third of kids who use Instagram feel bad or worse about themselves for doing that.
Time and time again, the documents show that Meta and its personnel were provided with an opportunity to take a choice between protecting kids or protecting its profits, and each time, they protected their profits.
[00:50:11]
MICHAELSON: Tell us about your client, the plaintiff in this case. Tell us her story.
BERGMAN: Her name is KGM, and she's 20 years old. She got on social media when she was 6 years old. That was originally YouTube.
And, through the dangerous algorithms and through the addictive design, became highly addicted to social media; developed body dysmorphia, depression, anxiety; and to this day continues to suffer from mental health harms as a result of the deliberate design decisions that these companies have made.
MICHAELSON: You know, the social media companies have sort of suggested it's kind of her fault, her parents' fault. They bear some personal responsibility in using this. What do you say to that?
BERGMAN: Well, you know, it's like the barking dog. It's not my dog. If it is my dog, he didn't bite you. If he did bite you, he didn't bite you hard.
Look, we're all for parental responsibility. The fact is that these platforms are designed to evade parental responsibility.
They're designed to, first of all, be addictive to kids, but also make it easy for kids to evade parental responsibility.
Most parents are doing their level best to try to control and monitor what their kids are doing online. These platforms are designed to make it impossible.
Parents are paddling upstream. And blaming -- blaming parents for failure to control their kids' social media is kind of like, you know, blaming a heroin addict for being addicted by a drug pusher; blaming -- blaming -- blaming the addict.
MICHAELSON: Take us inside the courtroom. What's it like in there every day? Obviously, we get sketches, but we're not actually inside there. What's it feel like in that courtroom? BERGMAN: It feels very solemn. It feels very dignified. We fought for
four years simply to have the right to present our case to a fair and impartial jury.
For 20 years, social media had been able to keep these cases from even going forward. And when we filed our first case four years ago, everyone thought it wouldn't go anywhere.
And now, we have a situation where the richest, most powerful man in the world is going to stand face-to-face with a 20-year-old young woman, and all, and stand equal before the law.
MICHAELSON: And there will also be a bunch of other, you know, young people that have been impacted in the courtroom, as well, which is going to be quite a moment.
So, say you all win this case. What does that mean going forward? Could the social media companies potentially go bankrupt with all the cases that are out there?
BERGMAN: No, I don't think that's a problem. These are the most wealthy companies in the world.
But what we do intend to do is utilize the one tool that seems available to change their behavior, to make safer products.
Look, if they were going to be appealed to by moral persuasion, that would have happened years ago. That doesn't work.
If bad publicity would have made a difference, when Mr. Zuckerberg turned around and was forced to kind of apologize to parents, that would have made a difference.
MICHAELSON: In Congress.
BERGMAN: It didn't.
MICHAELSON: Yes.
BERGMAN: What makes a difference is when it is more expensive for them to design dangerous platforms than safe ones. That's what will change their platform. That's what will change their behavior. And that's what we're trying to do.
MICHAELSON: And so, what does that actually look like for you and me and everybody watching that goes on social media every day? How will social media potentially change?
BERGMAN: Well, it will change, hopefully, by turning off the algorithms and showing kids what they want to see, not what they can't look away from.
By limiting the amount of time that kids spend on social media to a couple hours a day. There's no earthly reason why a kid should spend seven, eight hours a day on social media. In and of itself, that is harmful. And it is addictive by design. It is -- it is not a coincidence. They use operant conditioning. They use psychological manipulation. They use A.I. algorithms. And to do -- to addict our kids to their platforms. Only because they want to show them more ads.
You know, when you're on social media, you're not the customer. You're the product. They are showing your eyes and your -- your availability.
And what they have learned, through their algorithmic reasoning, is that what keeps kids online is not material that's uplifting or beneficial. It's material that's disturbing; that's psychologically disruptive.
So, a young girl who's looking for diet and exercise is, in short order, sent down a rabbit hole promoting unhealthy eating and anorexia and hating the way she looks. That's not an accident or coincidence. That's what it's designed to do, because that's how they can sell the most ads.
So, what we're hoping to do through this lawsuit is change their economic priorities. Hit them in the pocketbook. That's the only thing that they'll listen to.
MICHAELSON: Matthew Bergman, thank you for coming in and sharing your views. Best of luck in court tomorrow.
We should point out that we have invited the representatives for the social media companies, their attorneys to come on, as well. We hope that they will join us and share their views, so you can hear their side of the story, as well.
[00:55:03]
Thank you again for coming in.
Canadian tourists and classic cars used to be the staples of the streets of Havana, but times are changing in Cuba. We'll see what the Trump administration is doing to cripple the country's economy. This is part of their strategy. It has to do with oil.
Patrick Oppmann is there. We'll go to Cuba in the next hour of THE STORY IS.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MICHAELSON: And they're off running, through the streets of London, flipping pancakes. It's a tradition known as Shrove Tuesday or Pancake Day, that marks the last day before the start of Lent in the United Kingdom.
