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What We Know with Max Foster
U.S. Nato Allies Gather In Munich Amid Global Tensions; Independent Journalist Don Lemon Pleads Not Guilty To Federal Charges Stemming From Church Protest; U.S. Partial Government Shut Down Looms Amid Funding Lapse; Sheriff Denies Reports He Blocked FBI Access To Key Evidence; Business World Grapples With Epstein Revelations. Aired 3-4p ET
Aired February 13, 2026 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:00:24]
MAX FOSTER, CNN HOST: The old world order is gone, says Marco Rubio.
This is WHAT WE KNOW.
Beginning in Munich where dozens of world leaders have converged for the closely watched annual security conference, all as the world order or the
new world order takes shape. The gathering comes amid a deepening rift between the U.S. and its NATO allies, and as President Donald Trump
continues to test global norms.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz of Germany met with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The chancellor is calling for transatlantic trust to be repaired and
revived, and he warns even the U.S. isn't powerful enough to go it alone despite the growing tensions both Rubio and Merz seem to agree things will
be different from here on out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARCO RUBIO, SECRETARY OF STATE: The world is changing very fast, right in front of us. The old world is gone. Frankly, the world I grew up in, and we
live in a new era in geopolitics, and it's going to require all of us to sort of reexamine what that looks like and what our role is going to be.
FRIEDRICH MERZ, GERMAN CHANCELLOR: I'm afraid we have to put it in even harsher terms. This order, as flawed as it has been even in its heyday, no
longer exists.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: What we don't know tonight is, does the old world order no longer exist? Our chief international security correspondent, Nick Paton Walsh, is
in Munich for us tonight because there's a lot of pushback here, isn't there, on the Americans from what it sounds like, suggesting that they
can't go it alone. So, you know, you can't completely reinvent the system.
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: To some degree, but I think it's important to remember where this declaration of
the end of the old world order is coming from. And that is U.S. President Donald Trump, who is not here, who is sending possibly one of the calmer,
more establishment voices of his cabinet.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, to make a speech tomorrow morning that is, frankly awaited here, not with eagerness but great anxiety, a hope I
think, amongst American officials I speak to that this will be a more muted kind of presentation of the mauling, frankly, of Western liberal
democracies, European liberal democracies and freedom of speech and democracy here that we heard last year from U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance.
And in fact, when we listened today to Chancellor Merz of Germany and in fact just now, French President Emmanuel Macron, a lot of pushback on some
of the concepts that Vance rose, the Europeans keen to remind Macron, especially he kind of equated territorial freedoms and sovereignty for
France with its ability to have its own say in its democracy construct its own online speech rules.
So, a real pushback here already from the European leaders as to the concept of the old ward older dying not necessarily, I think, because they
don't imagine a world where the United States is role is no longer a given. You know, that is something Europe has really quickly had to adjust to
since the debacle when President Trump said he might use military force to invade Greenland, but to essentially I think, still try and gather from the
remnants here, an old NATO European alliance that can find a way to move forwards.
But Merz's words himself today, he said in the era of big powers, our freedom is no longer a given. It is at stake. And so, a lot of this
reconfiguring of the world order, taking some of the spotlight away from what's been the focus, frankly, of many of the years I've been coming here,
and that's the war in Ukraine.
I've just come out of a talk that Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, just gave in, which I think he put the issues at stake here quite
succinctly when he said, today only Ukraine is defending Europe. He said, today, only Europe helps and gives money to Ukraine. Today, only the United
States can stop Putin. And only Putin wants the war in Ukraine.
So, I think a bid in the hours ahead will see to drag the focus back to exactly how Europe can tackle the most complex conflict since World War Two
on its landmass. And I think also hopes as well that what we hear from Rubio will probably reiterate the stark position we heard from Vance last
year. Remember, that's now enshrined in White House and Pentagon policy documents, but possibly also to a softer take from a U.S. cabinet member
that may allow some here to feel there's more to salvage.
But you cannot really understate the sense of trauma, discombobulation and frankly shock here. They talk about the end of the old world order. Well,
by calling it old ultimately you already declare it done.
[15:05:03]
I think what's confusing to so many European leaders here is exactly what policy they could adopt, that President Trump might stick with. You know,
one moment. It's one topic. The next, it's Iran. The next, it's Venezuela.
It's been so hard for the Europeans to assess exactly what position they can take to please this White House. Yes, they can spend more on defense
certainly. And they're promising to do that.
But the changing nature of this administration I think, is leaving many here feeling they're running the clock down on President Trump. And a
weekend like this, hoping they get through it without some horrifically traumatic upset yet again.
FOSTER: We'll see. Nick Paton Walsh, thank you very much.
Independent journalist Don Lemon has just pleaded not guilty to federal charges related to his coverage of a church protest in Minnesota. Lemon
appeared in court behind closed doors today. The former CNN anchor was arrested last month, accused of a takeover style attack of a church after
he livestreamed anti-ICE protesters disrupting the service. Lemon has vowed to fight the charges saying there's no more important time than right now
for a free and independent media.
We're joined by CNN chief media analyst Brian Stelter.
I'm wondering if this set some sort of precedent for you, Brian, or whether you're just interested in this specific case?
BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: No, I think this is a very relevant case for many journalists across the U.S. not just for Lemon, not just for
others who are now YouTube and Instagram stars like Lemon. This is a case that could have First Amendment consequences much more broadly. And that's
why press freedom groups like Reporters Without Borders are tracking this very carefully.
There were two independent journalists, both arrested, Don Lemon and Georgia Fort, both accused by the government of violating a law that
protects religious freedom. However, both those individuals, Lemon and Fort say they were there exercising their journalistic freedom to report on a
protest. And the notion that covering a protest could be criminalized is something that could have very dire consequences.
However, I've spoken with many legal experts who have said the prosecutions case seems very weak. When you read through the indictment in this case
against Lemon, some of the facts stated in the indictment do not line up with what his actual videos showed from that day at that protest, and there
are a number of reasons to believe that prosecutors will have a very hard time proving the intent that is required in order to win this case.
That's why many who are watching this case wonder if it's really actually a politically motivated exercise to punish one of Trump's perceived foes. Don
Lemon has been outspoken against President Trump. He is known to be a thorn in Trump's side. We've heard the president complain about Lemon repeatedly.
So, many people looking at this, viewing this as a politically motivated prosecution and believing Lemon will eventually prevail, but not without a
lengthy court battle. In fact, just this afternoon, Lemon's lawyer, Abbe Lowell was in court in Minneapolis arguing to get Lemon's phone back. He
says Lemon's phone was seized when Lemon was arrested, and it has not been returned to him yet.
That raises questions about whether prosecutors are trying to get into his phone, trying to gain access to his contacts, trying to read his messages.
There's now a court fight going on about that phone and about that device. You'll recall that last month, "The Washington Post" reporter's home was
raided and her phone and her devices were seized. And there's now a court battle going on about that phone.
So, all together, you have several different examples here of the Trump administration pressuring media companies pressuring journalists, putting
pressure on the media. And you have many examples also of news outlets and independent journalists pushing back. In this case, Lemon vigorously
fighting this, pleading not guilty. And frankly, he is welcoming, I think this opportunity to raise awareness about First Amendment freedoms being at
risk in the U.S. -- Max.
FOSTER: Yeah, he really is emerging as a standard bearer, isn't he, in a way. But in terms of the specific case is the argument essentially that he
was part of the protest group? Because these charges sound like the ones you would sort of put against protesters in this situation where he's
arguing he wasn't part of the protest. He was just watching the protest.
STELTER: That's right, that's right. The Trump administration is viewing this as a battle about religious freedom. They're trying to defend the
rights of the churchgoers, the worshippers who were in the church that Sunday when anti-ICE protesters walked into the church and held a protest,
so you have a First Amendment battle about religious freedom versus press freedom.
But the administration, the prosecutors, are using the FACE Act, which is an unusual law that's usually designed to protect people who are walking
into medical clinics, perhaps seeking an abortion. That law has never been used or applied in this way against a journalist. So that is a very unusual
application of the law. And many legal experts have said it's unlikely to actually succeed if the administration moves through and follows through
with this case.
FOSTER: Okay, Brian. Appreciate it. Thank you.
We may hear from Don Lemon when he comes out of the courthouse there.
Now, the U.S. Congress has failed to pass a funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security. This means a partial government shutdown is just
hours away now. Lawmakers are now on an 11-day recess and nowhere near a resolution.
Democrats are delaying funds for DHS amid the immigration chaos of recent months they're demanding changes to ICE operations following the deadly
shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.
Now, this shutdown could affect a wide range of critical departments. Overall, more than 90 percent of DHS employees would remain on the job.
This includes more than 93 percent of ICE and Border Patrol agents, but Americans may start to notice longer lines when flying. TSA staff, for
example, will continue working though without pay, and much of the DHS is considered essential, which means will not be seeing a pause in law
enforcement operations.
Let's discuss with Lauren Fox, live from Washington.
The Democrats clearly feel there's an opportunity they can make some change here by pushing as hard as they can.
LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, certainly, Democrats are using this moment as leverage after the death of Alex Pretti, and there was
a moment a few weeks ago where it appeared that Republicans, too, were softening on their belief that Trump's immigration enforcement policies
were popular with their voters back home. Now, what you are seeing is that after really a slow back and forth between the White House and Senate
Democrats, there is no deal in the works at this moment.
Now, lawmakers say that they are trading proposals back and forth. But I will tell you from sources I'm talking to that that process has been
extremely slow. So slow, in fact, that Senate Democrats elected not even to support a short term spending measure that would keep DHS funded while the
negotiations continued, because they believe that the White House and Senate Republicans were not serious in the talks or not serious enough to
warrant giving more time.
In reality, we expect that this shutdown is going to begin in just a couple of hours, and it's really not clear how it will end to give you a sense of
just how little work is being done right now to avert the shutdown, lawmakers are no longer in Washington. They are expected to be on their
week-long recess next week.
And while talks can obviously continue behind the scenes, it just gives you a sense that they're nowhere close to a deal because their members don't
even need to be in Washington to vote to reopen this agency.
Now, the long term implications, like you noted, of a DHS shutdown, are going to be minimal for a lot of people and for Democrats who are hoping to
rein in ICE and CBP and their immigration enforcement around the country, because the president's signature policy bill that was passed this summer,
it injected tens of billions of dollars for immigration enforcement.
So that just gives you a sense that the agencies that are going to be hit hardest here in the United States are going to be programs like the Coast
Guard, TSA and FEMA which handles disaster relief just as you get into a very busy spring storm season.
FOSTER: Okay. Lauren Fox in Washington, thank you.
Now, different sides of law enforcement appear to be at odds over handling of the handling of evidence in the search for Nancy Guthrie. There are
conflicting claims that the Pima County sheriff has blocked evidence being shared with the FBI.
However, the sheriff denies this to CNN. A bit earlier today, sheriff Chris Nanos says the decision on processing evidence has been a joint decision.
Now the FBI has increased its reward for information on locating Nancy Guthrie. The amount now is $100,000, up from 50,000. The FBI has also
identified a suspect as male, five foot nine to five foot ten, of average build. He was seen carrying a 25-liter Ozark trail hiker pack, backpack
that is.
And Nick Watt is in Tucson, Arizona, and joins us now.
I mean, just knowing his height is helpful, isn't it?
NICK WATT, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Max. I mean just in terms of just narrowing it down like, you know if you remember a couple of
days ago, a man was detained because somebody who watched that video said that they thought that his eyes and eyelashes resembled the suspect.
You know, if we've got a five, nine, five, ten which were told is a pretty accurate measurement, that does narrow it down. They've had thousands and
thousands of tips maybe this narrows that down, increases the quality of those tips.
The backpack also crucial. The FBI posting pictures of that backpack that is sold only one place, Walmart. That should also help appeals, broader
appeals now for video from anybody within a couple of miles of here who saw anything suspicious in a month long period from the beginning of January to
a couple of days after Nancy Guthrie disappeared.
You know the FBI also warning people who might want to interfere with this investigation that they will be held to account. Theres a guy who's just
been charged with sending two text messages to fake ransom demands to family members, and even speaking to one of those family members on the
phone.
You mentioned, Max, the sheriff so he says we have good leads. We don't necessarily know what they are right now, but that is normal in an
investigation. Listen, investigators will only release to the media and to the public what is going to be helpful, they think, for the investigation,
things like the descriptor.
[15:15:05]
So my colleague Ed Lavandera is actually going to be interviewing that sheriff within the hour. So maybe we'll get some more information from him.
But meantime a little bit of rain here in Arizona, which has caused some concern about maybe that will cause problems with any evidence that might
still be outdoors. But the investigation continues with hundreds of officers. And also, you know, the outpouring. I've just seen another car
pull up somebody get out. Leave another bunch of yellow flowers outside Nancy Guthrie's home.
The community here is really rocked by this, and we're now into day 13. And you know, no proof of life as far as we know. Day 13 concern is rising.
Frustration is rising. Sorrow is rising -- Max.
FOSTER: Yeah. Thoughts with everyone that's going on and on, isn't it?
Nick, thank you.
Now, the French counter-terror police are investigating after a man tried to attack police with a knife beneath the Arc De Triomphe in Paris.
Officials say the attacker was shot and injured by police. No officers or bystanders were hurt. The attempted attack took place during a ceremony to
honor unknown soldiers.
Coming up, the resignations continue. Senior business leaders quit after the latest Epstein files revealed their ties to the convicted sex offender.
We'll have details, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: Now the global fallout from the latest release of Epstein files continues with the resignations of two senior business leaders. Sultan
Ahmed bin Sulayem has been replaced as CEO of Dubai based DP World, one of the world's largest port operators. He's facing intense scrutiny after the
files revealed lewd exchanges between him and the convicted sex offender. Bin Sulayem has not been charged. He hasn't been accused of any wrongdoing
and CNN hasn't been able to reach him for comment either.
Kathy Ruemmler is the -- is also announcing that she will leave her role as chief legal officer at the U.S. investment bank Goldman Sachs in June.
[15:20:04]
Emails between her and Epstein appear to show the two had a close relationship. She told CNN in December she knew Epstein in a professional
capacity and had no knowledge of Epstein's unlawful activities. So, what we want to know is how big will the Epstein files fallout be in the corporate
world?
Joining me now is Robert Weissman. He's co-president of the nonprofit group Public Citizen.
Thank you for joining us, Robert.
I mean, we are at least seeing some consequences, at least in the private sector, more so than we're seeing in the public sector.
ROBERT WEISSMAN, CO-PRESIDENT, PUBLIC CITIZEN: Yeah, I think people who are being held accountable by their colleagues are finding that they're needing
to step aside. And as people delve into this evidence more and is more of it becomes public, which there's still a lot that's being held back. I
think we're going to see a lot more dominoes falling.
FOSTER: And presumably, you know, as any sort of association with Epstein becomes more and more toxic over time, it's really about protecting your
brand, isn't it? For a lot of these companies, they just don't want any sort of association. So even if they mention in these documents is going to
have an impact.
WEISSMAN: Yeah, well, that's possible. But I mean, I think what we're seeing so far is that people who were pretty intimately involved with him
either as complicit in his crimes and wrongdoing or made public statements that distanced themselves prior to the publication of these files. And then
it now being disclosed that they were much closer to him, at least socially, and likely with a lot more knowledge than they had previously
indicated.
FOSTER: They all say similar things, don't they, saying, you know, either just had a professional relationship or I knew him a bit, but that was
before we knew that -- you know, he had these -- you know, he was accused of what he was accused of, but actually were learning that, you know, these
relationships continued for a, you know, a worryingly long time.
WEISSMAN: Yeah, it's quite stunning. It's a weird fact that he seemed to send small emails constantly throughout the day to a huge swath of people
sort of memorializing all these relationships that they had indicated didn't exist. But now the evidence is showing did. And as you say, in much
closer and intimate form than they had indicated.
And I think that difference between what people said when the information was secret, between what the data and the information is now showing, is
what's taking them down. And as I said, I think there's a lot more to come
FOSTER: Are you saying that based on the fact that he was clearly, you know, at the nexus of this, you know, one part of the global elite, at
least he seemed to connect so many different people.
WEISSMAN: It's astounding. But we have three million documents. And, you know, there's no way for people to have gone through carefully three
million documents but there's probably millions more that are still not being released. And I think eventually the pressure on the U.S. Justice
Department is going to be to release more to remove the improper redactions.
And we're going to learn more. I think there's going to be many more people who are going to be held to account as a result.
FOSTER: Okay. Robert Weissman, appreciate your time tonight. Thank you.
WEISSMAN: Thank you.
FOSTER: Now, Don Lemon has just been speaking to reporters outside the arraignment hearing in Minnesota. This is what he had to say after pleading
not guilty.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(CROSSTALK)
DON LEMON, JOURNALIST: Thank you. And are there microphones somewhere, or should I just --
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: Do you want to come to the podium?
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: All right. So listen, I will just can you guys hear me without microphone?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah. Yeah.
LEMON: Okay. So --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please be loud.
LEMON: Thank you. Thank you for doing this. I appreciate it. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.
I wanted to say this isn't just about me this is about all journalists, especially here in the United States. First off, I'd like to thank everyone
for their support to my colleagues, countless journalists around the world, Lemon nation (ph), my family and my friends, you all have showed up for me
in a real way, and I am extremely grateful for that. I feel it, I feel it, I feel it.
For more than 30 years, I've been a journalist, and the power and protection of the First Amendment has been the underpinning of my work. The
First Amendment, the freedom of the press, the bedrock of our democracy.
The events before my arrest and what's happened since, show that people are finally realizing what this administration is all about, the process is the
punishment with them. And like all of you here in Minnesota, the great people of Minnesota, I will not be intimidated. I will not back down. I
will fight these baseless charges, and I will not be silenced. Thank you very much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[15:25:02]
FOSTER: Don Lemon there, speaking a few moments ago outside court after his arraignment.
Now, still to come, Donald Trump is meeting with the soldiers who captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. We'll bring you his message after the
break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: The U.S. is turning up the pressure on Iran as tensions soar. President Trump said he's sending a second aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald
Ford, to the region in case he's unable to reach a diplomatic agreement with Tehran. The world's largest warship, and its strike group, will join
the USS Abraham Lincoln already in the Middle East. The U.S. president says he hopes to strike a nuclear deal with Iran in the next month.
Meanwhile, the exiled son of Iran's former shah says he's accepted the challenge from the Iranian people to lead them through a democratic
transition. This follows the country's brutal crackdown on anti-government protests, in which thousands of Iranians were killed.
Our Christiane Amanpour spoke with Reza Pahlavi today at the Munich Security Conference and asked him for details on his vision for Iran's
future.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Why do you think a Pahlavi should be the leader again? And how can you do it? What kind of a
plan do you have -- what kind of a political ground game inside the country do you have? I mean, it's necessary, right? Youve got to also be able to
convince people there and to have an organization.
REZA PAHLAVI, SON OF IRAN'S FORMER SHAH: Well, when it comes to the name, that's the name that people chanted on the streets of Iran by the millions,
in 31 provinces of Iran, in the four corners of Iran. They called my name. They asked me to come to their support.
[15:30:01]
And I have and I accepted the challenge of leading the transition.
As far as the plan that we have, we have a plan before the regime's collapse, and particularly for the transition after this regime, which is
very well-documented and presented. It's an open document. You can see it on the website of the Iran Prosperity Project.
It talks about the initial 100 days, how do we manage that process? How do we avoid what happened in Iraq post-Saddam Hussein, because we don't want
to have the same experience of de-Baathification.
And one of the key components of this strategy is how much defection can exist, not just because we need them on the side of the people, but because
-- and that has been my principle position, that anyone who doesn't have their hands soiled with the blood of the Iranian people should survive
regime change and have a place in the future. They can be part of the solution as opposed to remain part of the problem.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Well, London's high court has ruled that a British government ban on the activist group Palestine Action was unlawful. The ban will remain in
place for now, though that is pending an appeal. Today's judgment marks a significant win for campaigners, who argued the ban was an overreach of
government power.
CNN's Isobel Yeung has more from outside that court.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ISOBEL YEUNG, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The U.K's chief justice today ruled that the designation of Palestine Action has been
disproportionate but the ban does still stand pending the appeals process. This is an organization that, for the last few years has been targeting
arms manufacturers that are supplying Israel. And, you know, the U.K. government has said that this has caused millions of dollars in criminal
damage and that this is a case of national security but there's a huge amount of joy and jubilation here today. People have been waiting for this
verdict for months, saying that -- this is a case of government overreach and that they have the right to protest and that they have the right to
express themselves.
For the last few months, anyone connected to this organization could stand terrorism charges. So that puts them in the same category as groups like
ISIS like al Qaeda, like Hamas. And that means anyone showing support for this group, including people who have shown up here today holding these
signs saying, I support Palestine action could stand terrorism charges and in fact, over 2700 people over the last few months have been arrested in
connection to this group.
So, this is a huge win today for Palestine Action as well as for protesters rights in general here in the U.K.
Isobel Yeung, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Now, it's the final moments of trade on Wall Street and stocks are relatively flat after a pretty wild week, the Dow Jones trimming some of
yesterday's losses but still sitting below that 50,000 point mark, reached this time last week, in fact.
This is our Business Breakout.
Now, good news for the U.S. economy. Annual inflation cooled to just under 2.5 percent in January. That's eight -- that's an eight-month low. The main
reason for the drop was tumbling gas prices and a more moderate increase in food prices.
The White House has filed another lawsuit against Harvard University. The Department of Justice says Harvard refused to provide documents concerning
a previous investigation. Donald Trump's dispute with the university goes back 12 months when he accused Harvard of failing to protect Jewish
students. Harvard tells CNN it has been responding to the government in good faith.
And fast food chain Wendy's will continue shutting some of its U.S. restaurants this year. The company says it plans to shut around 5 percent
of its stores as part of a turnaround plan, due to a slump in sales. Wendy's has almost 6,000 American restaurants.
Let's take a closer look now at that inflation data coming out from the United States. Then some economists say whilst the trend is positive, it's
too early to declare victory over inflation with some price pressures continuing.
CNN's Matt Egan has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Yeah, well, hey, Max, it's nice to be here with some good news on the cost of living. Consumer prices, they increased
by just 2.4 percent year over year in January. That beat expectations. That was a big step in the right direction. After 2.7 percent in December. In
fact, this is the lowest annual inflation rate in the United States since May. And when you look at core inflation, which strips out food and energy,
also some big signs of improvement there. Core inflation, the annual rate falling to the lowest level since March of 2021 before the inflation
crisis.
Now, while we can't exclude food and energy from our budgets, this is looked at as an important indicator by economists, by federal reserve
officials who say that it's a better sign of underlying inflation.
Just a reminder, even though the rate of inflation has come down that does not mean that prices are falling across the board right? It just means that
they're going up at a slower pace. And when you look at the trend for annual inflation in the U.S., it's been bumpy.
[15:35:01]
But when you zoom out, you can see there has been some improvement.
Starting last spring, inflation started to heat back up right after the president's left those massive tariffs on imports. Inflation started to go
back up to three percent. But now you can see on the right side of that -- of that chart, you can see how it started to come back down.
Now, digging into some of the categories, some things are clearly still getting way too expensive. For example, ground beef. Those prices spiked by
17 percent year over year in January. That's the most -- that's the biggest annual increase since mid-2020 during COVID.
Piped gas, that's natural gas up by 10 percent. That's a problem for home heating for millions of Americans this winter. Electricity also up by 6
percent.
Some things, however, are getting cheaper. Thankfully, gasoline is a big driver of this inflation report gasoline prices down by 8 percent year over
year. And look at eggs. Egg prices, such a problem a few years ago they crashed by 34 percent, the most since 2016, back when Barack Obama was in
the White House.
Bottom line, this does look like another sign of progress on the cost of living, the number one economic issue in the U.S. and in many countries
around the world and it comes just days after a much better than expected jobs report that suggested that the labor market, after a terrible 2025,
has started to stabilize and the unemployment rate has come back down.
Now, hopefully both of these trends continue, allowing Americans to start feeling better about this economy.
Back to you, Max.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Still to come, an Olympics controversy. One result was so close a judge flipped gold to silver. Now there's new questions about whether that
was fair. Details, when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: The Ukrainian skeleton racer who was kicked out of the Olympics has lost his appeal.
[15:40:02]
Vladislav Heraskevych had asked the court of arbitration for sport to reinstate him after he was barred from wearing a helmet that showed the
faces of fellow athletes who were killed in the war with Russia. The court denied his appeal and said his helmet violated the ban on political
statements at the games.
CNN's Amanda Davies spoke to him on Thursday, shortly after he learned he would not be allowed to compete.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VLADYSLAV HERASKEVYCH, UKRAINIAN SKELETON ATHLETE: I think it's not right approach, like if you want to treat athletes equally, then you should treat
athletes equally. And that's my position.
AMANDA DAVIES, CNN WORLD SPORT: We saw your dad was incredibly emotional. The pictures of him in Cortina this morning. How much did you talk to him
about the decision?
HERASKEVYCH: A lot. So, we share a long drive here. So, I had some time to talk with him. And yeah, for us, it's a -- it's a hard moment. And we share
a big struggle to develop the sport in Ukraine, of course.
It would be amazing point of the story if I'm able to compete and earn the medal and, of course, it will be. It will be very historical for Ukrainian
skeleton in sport -- in a sport perspective but suddenly this moment was taken away from us. So, I understand my dad and yeah. So, I was also very
emotional. And for me, it was hard to understand this decision.
DAVIES: Do you see it as the end of your Olympic dream?
HERASKEVYCH: It's a good question. So now, I'm -- it's really early to say. Now I'm too tired. And definitely after Olympics finished, I need to have
some rest from the sport.
And with this scandal, with this huge pressure from IOC, with this formal meetings and formal different kind of meetings, it's really hard to talk
about Olympic dream and about Olympic values because, I should be representative and be people who defend Olympic values. But for some
reasons, we changed these rules and now we are trying to defend Olympic values, and they try to discriminate us.
DAVIES: Is there anyone you can take from it given the attention that your story has garnered over the last few days?
HERASKEVYCH: So, first and the biggest win. It's a memory of this athlete, so people are now super united about this story and I'm really grateful
that it's -- I think it's also a very good story when how sport can unite people. And now they're united around these athletes and they united around
their dignity.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: So, the Olympics, was it performance or politics? Amid controversy, skating officials have defended the judging of the Olympic ice dance final
after suggestions that the French couple who won gold may have benefited from unfair scoring. The pair got remarkably high scores from French judge,
who also marked down the performance of the American favorites. Without the French judge's scores, the Americans would have won gold.
CNN's WORLD SPORT's Coy Wire is tracking this story for us.
What do you make of it, Coy?
COY WIRE, CNN WORLD SPORT: Yeah, Max. The French team, they won gold over the three time defending world champs Americans Madison Chock and Evan
Bates by fewer than one and a half points. Five of the nine judges favored the Americans to win. Three of the judges that gave top marks to the French
did so by a slim margin. But one judge, a French judge, favored the French skaters by nearly eight points in the free dance. Hence the controversy.
Both teams, Max, actually have the same coach, and even the coach said that they thought Chock and Bates deserved the win. The International Skating
Union said it stands by the judging. They were unwilling to investigate the scoring and now the window to appeal has closed. The most Chock and Bates
could do at this point is file a complaint.
Chock said that she thinks the judges need to be reviewed, need to be held accountable moving forward.
Now after that win is really sweet moment, Max, when Evan Bates said, were married, we're going to be fine. We're going to go home and were going to
have a life with three Olympic medals to their name, they are tied for the winning winningest U.S. Olympic figure skaters of all time.
Now just moments ago, Max, we had incredible moment in the men's half pipe competition. We have a new king of the halfpipe, and that is Mr. Totsuka
from Japan. He took out Scott James, who was back to back silvers in the event out of Australia.
Japan finishing with four three of the top four final scores there absolutely dominating that competition. Also coming up within an hour, we
should know if the Quad God Ilia Malinin can indeed pull off the unthinkable and do a gold medal. Yes, but also perhaps a quadruple axel.
He's the only person ever to do it in international competition.
He has seven quads planned in his routine. One of them will be that quadruple axel. We'll see if he can pull it off and set that ice on fire.
FOSTER: I reckon he can. Coy, thanks for joining us from the Winter Olympics in Italy.
Modern dating getting an old school facelift. Still to come, the new push to get singles off their phones in order to meet a match.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: U.S. President Donald Trump says the relationship with Venezuela is now a ten, praising Acting President Delcy Rodriguez. This comes as he
meets with military members involved in last month's capture of Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro.
Earlier, he commended them on the work they did on Operation Absolute Resolve.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: What we did recently in Venezuela nobody ever saw anything like that happened. Venezuelan general
who was on the site but he moved out fast enough that he lived because most of them didn't but he was on the site. He said we were totally prepared. We
saw the planes coming. We saw everything coming.
You know, they are good, strong force and he said, we got hit like nobody's -- they were hit from 17 different directions. They said, there's never
been anything like that. It was over like literally a minute everybody was running for the hills.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Well, Maduro's capture was the dramatic culmination of a months- long campaign to oust him from power. According to the Pentagon, seven U.S. troops were injured during the raid, and Venezuela's interior minister says
more than 100 people were killed.
For more on this, let's bring in CNN's Betsy Klein, who is following the latest from Fort Bragg in North Carolina.
I guess, you know whatever your view on what happened in Colombia, that operation was pretty incredible -- Venezuela rather.
BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Certainly and president and President Trump feels very emboldened and feels like it is one of his
most signature foreign policy accomplishments of his second term. But historically, when American presidents travel to U.S. military bases and
speak to troops in uniform, those speeches, those remarks are typically very apolitical. That was just not the case here today at Fort Bragg. The
president, going after his predecessor, Joe Biden, as a terrible president. He talked about the 2016 election results.
And he also brought to the stage Michael Whatley, who's the former co-chair of the RNC, who is now engaged in a very competitive race for the U.S.
Senate here in North Carolina. But the president then turning his attention to that very historic raid in Caracas, he met with some of the special
forces and their family members who were involved in that Maduro capture.
[15:50:12]
He called them very brave.
But as you mentioned, there was a months-long campaign by the Trump administration to pressure Maduro to voluntarily leave power. President
Trump was very concerned about the potential unintended consequences of U.S. military involvement in Venezuela. But ultimately, a couple days
before Christmas, the president gave the green light for that operation, and it was one of the riskiest U.S. military operations in many years
compared to maybe potentially the bin Laden raid, but Trump believes that it was a huge success.
And while, of course there is a lot of uncertainty about the future of U.S.-Venezuela relations, the Trump administration right now is very keen
to leverage what it believes is a good working relationship with acting Venezuela President Delcy Rodriguez, particularly as it pertains to oil.
We saw that earlier this week as Energy Secretary Chris Wright traveled to Venezuela and met with Rodriguez to talk about potential U.S. companies
investment in oil infrastructure in Venezuela. And president Trump, for his part saying that Rodriguez has done a very good job he described, as you
mentioned, that relationship as a 10 currently. He said the two countries are working together very closely.
The president also suggested that he would be making a visit to Venezuela in the near future he declined to put a timeline on that visit. But this
trip here to North Carolina is part of an effort by President Trump's team to get the president out into the country, on the road, in the lead up to
those midterm elections coming up in November, a few months from now to talk about the economy and some of his other accomplishments doing just
that here today -- Max.
FOSTER: Okay, Betsy. Appreciate it, thank you.
Now, the Norwegian Olympian who made headlines after admitting to an affair during an interview at the games as won another medal. Biathlete Sturla
Holm Laegreid won his second bronze in the 10-kilometer sprint on Friday, but in post-race interviews this time he only talked about his athletic
accomplishments and not his troubled relationship with his girlfriend.
That biathlete's girlfriend may be in the market for a new partner. And she's not alone. The pitfalls of modern dating have plagued millions of
singles, but one company is getting them to ditch the apps and try to meet a matchmaker in person.
Anna Cooban reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right, all right, all right. Firstly, thank you guys so much for coming tonight.
ANNA COOBAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's after hours at a comedy club in central London. Except tonight, this audience is engaged in a far
more serious pursuit -- finding love.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Best case, my husband's here and the love of my life and it's great. Worst case, I've met, made some new friends.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Really chill. I'm just hoping to have a couple of drinks, talk to a couple of people.
COOBAN (voice-over): Weary and worn down by dating apps, these singles are banking on some real life connection.
ELIN SIAN, LOOKING FOR LOVE: I'm a romantic. I want to be with a pirate. I want to be with someone who's like, big and bold. And I feel like people in
London are very nonchalant and very cool, and they want to, like, lay their heart on the line.
COOBAN (voice-over): Assisting tonight is an algorithm.
COOBAN: Do you fall in love quickly?
SIAN: Yes, I'm love at first sight.
COOBAN (voice-over): Elin fills out a questionnaire by Matchbox, a software that claims to pair people based on their values.
SIAN: It's better to have loved and lost than to never have loved. Yeah. Submit.
COOBAN (voice-over): With answers submitted, it's now time to mingle before the singles meet their match.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My worst nightmare is saying like yeah, I met my husband on here.
COOBAN (voice-over): Hosting tonight is Thursday, a dating company that used to match people via, you guessed it, an app, until they dumped it last
year.
JAMES ORMEROD, HEAD OF LONDON EVENTS, THURSDAY: Everyone's sick of the swiping endlessly, only to get maybe a couple responses. The dating of
events is basically taking it back to basics. You have to make those in- real-life connections, and people are literally -- I can't produce enough events to -- for the demand that's out there.
COOBAN (voice-over): Thursday says it's made more than 20,000 matches using this algorithm.
SIAN: My match. We'll find out who it is.
I think it's him.
COOBAN: I should get out of the way.
COOBAN (voice-over): And the verdict?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah. He's got me this time. It's possibly.
SIAN: Well, it's not non-negotiable. It could be. We could work on it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can work on it.
COOBAN (voice-over): For many in this room, the search continues, with or without an app.
Anna Cooban, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Well, for those who are lucky enough to have found love, Peru's capital city is celebrating Valentine's Day slightly early with one big
wedding ceremony. Lima held its first collective civil wedding of the year on Thursday.
[15:55:04]
Look at that. More than 100 couples tying the knot the magic circuit of water, a popular tourist attraction if you've been there.
Finally, a story about what not to wear, at least on a bus. A decades old debate about public decency is resurfacing in Australia, where a city
council in Sydney is banning beachgoers from boarding a bus while shirtless or wearing bikinis. The change follows complaints from passengers who call
them off putting and confronting. Signs on the bus now read "clothing must be worn over swimwear", be warned.
I'm Max Foster. That's WHAT WE KNOW. Stay with CNN.
END
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