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CNN News Central
Civil Rights Icon Jesse Jackson Dead at Age 84; Stephen Colbert Blasts CBS for Pulling Interview With Democratic Senate Candidate; Hyatt Executive Chairman Steps Down Over Epstein Ties; Six Companies Directed by Former British Duchess to Shut Down Amid Epstein Storm; U.S. Surfer Found Dead After Apparent Robbery in Costa Rica; Second Powerful Storm to Hit Los Angeles After Streets Submerged. Aired 1:30- 2p ET
Aired February 17, 2026 - 13:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[13:32:08]
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REV. JESSE JACKSON, SESAME STREET: I may be small.
KIDS: I may be small.
JACKSON: But I am Somebody!
KIDS: But I am Somebody!
JACKSON: I may make a mistake.
KIDS: I may make a mistake.
JACKSON: But I am Somebody!
KIDS: But I am Somebody!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": I am somebody, the iconic phrase of a charismatic preacher and civil rights warrior. Today, we're remembering the Reverend Jesse Jackson who died this morning at the age of 84. Jackson was a trailblazer who became the leading voice for black America, carrying on the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. from the Jim Crow South to two historic runs for the White House.
He preached self-empowerment, championing the disenfranchised not only at the ballot box, but in all corners of social justice and economic and educational equality He'll be remembered not just for his work, but for the way he moved the masses with his reputation as a compelling order.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JACKSON: I was born in the slum, but the slum was not born in me and it wasn't born in you and you can make it. Wherever you are tonight, you can make it. Pull your head high, stick your chest out, you can make it. It gets dark sometimes, but the morning comes, don't you surrender. Suffering breeds character, character breeds faith. In the end, faith will not disappoint. You must not surrender, you may or may not get there, but just know that you are qualified and you hold all (ph) and hold out. We must never surrender. America will get better and better. Keep hope alive. Keep hope alive. Keep hope alive.
(CROWD CHEERING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Dr. King's daughter, Bernice, reacting to Jackson's death today, posting a vintage photo of her father and the reverend on Instagram with the caption "both now ancestors." Joining us now to remember Jackson's legacy and his impact is Howard University History Professor and Founding Director of the Howard Institute for Advanced Study, Ibram X. Kendi. He's the author of the forthcoming book, "Chain of Ideas: The Origins of Our Authoritarian Age."
Thank you so much for sharing part of your afternoon with us. I wonder what your reflections are on the news that Jesse Jackson has passed away.
IBRAM X. KENDI, HISTORY PROFESSOR, HOWARD UNIVERSITY: Well, as an historian, I feel as if a pretty important, a critically important chapter in American history has ended. This was -- Reverend Jackson was centrally involved in civil rights and human rights activism for the better part of six decades. He was a theological leader. He was a political leader and most of all, he was a moral leader.
[13:35:00]
And he looked in the faces of every single American and told them that they had dignity and told them that they should be respected. And I think many Americans admired him for that for decades.
SANCHEZ: To your point about a chapter closing, it's notable that Martin Luther King III and his wife, Arndrea Waters King, said today that Jackson was a living bridge between generations. He carried forward the unfinished work and sacred promise of the civil rights movement. Help us understand what you're describing as the closing of a chapter and the way that Jackson bridged generations.
KENDI: Well, to give an example, one of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s last campaign was a poor people's campaign, in which Dr. King sought to bring together the disinfected, the exploited peoples of all races together to demand economic justice and freedom. Of course, Reverend Jackson, one of his most important initiatives of his lifetime was, of course, building a rainbow coalition in which he sought to bring together people of all backgrounds into a coalition to create justice and equity for them all. And so, that really, you know, that bridge is obvious. And then now, in this moment, you have people who are trying to bring groups who have been misled into believing that they are political opponents, trying to get them to see that they're actually political allies in this very moment. And that's the legacy of Reverend Jackson. That's the legacy of Reverend King.
SANCHEZ: How do you see his two presidential campaigns in the 1980s as moments in history that altered the course of the Democratic Party specifically?
KENDI: Well, I think even President Obama, I believe, released a statement stating that Reverend Jackson paved the way for his election victory. And I think he, Reverend Jackson, really showed what was possible, that it was possible for a Black political figure to galvanize and organize people across racial groups of different classes from the North and to the South into seeing each other, you know, as comrades who should be fighting for a multiracial democracy. And that, to a certain extent, became one of the beating hearts of the Democratic Party.
SANCHEZ: I also wonder if you could speak to part of his legacy being tied to his work internationally and notably, with him assisting in the release of political prisoners in Cuba and Syria and other places.
KENDI: I think we too often forget that civil rights activists were cognizant of international and global issues, and really stood on a global stage. And so he continued that global presence of American civil and human rights activists through his global outreach, through his building solidarity with disaffected people, not just in the United States, but frankly, around the world using his moral force and his oratorical power to bring people together or to make changes, not only in the United States, but in other countries.
SANCHEZ: Ibram Kendi, thanks so much for joining us and sharing your view of this legacy.
KENDI: Of course, thank you for having me.
SANCHEZ: Thanks so much. So, CBS pulled an interview from Stephen Colbert's show and the late night host fired back on the air. The story, straight ahead.
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BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": "The Late Show" host, Stephen Colbert calling out his own network, CBS, after it pulled an interview from his show. Last night, Colbert was supposed to sit down with Texas State Representative and Trump critic, James Talarico, a Democrat who is running for Senate. Here's what Colbert says happened instead.
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STEPHEN COLBERT, HOST, THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT, CBS: You know who is not one of my guests tonight? That's Texas State Representative, James Talarico. He was supposed to be here, but we were told in no uncertain terms by our network's lawyers, who called us directly, that we could not have him on the broadcast.
(CROWD BOOING)
Then -- 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.
(CROWD CHEERING)
And because my network clearly doesn't want us to talk about this, let's talk about this.
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KEILAR: And talk about it, he did. And you may have noticed that photo that didn't really look like Talarico. Well, that's because it's not. Colbert says that he wasn't allowed to use a real photo of him. The talk show host says network lawyers pulled the interview, concerned that it could have violated an FCC provision known as the Equal Time Rule, which we'll have more on in a moment.
First, though, let's break this all down with CNN Chief Media Analyst, Brian Stelter. Brian, what a show open.
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(LAUGH)
BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: Yes, indeed. And CBS still hasn't said a word about it. I suspect the executives at CBS are trying to figure out how they're going to respond to Colbert's commentary.
I have asked, how are you interpreting these regulations? Why did you have these lawyers intervene? I have not heard back yet. But Colbert is following in a grand tradition of late-night talk show hosts calling out their parent companies. Sometimes it takes the form of pranks, mocking the network executives.
But this is much more serious, because this is about the Trump administration meddling with media companies. And we've heard from the lone Democrat at the FCC today, Anna Gomez. She says, "It's no secret that CBS parent company, Paramount, has regulatory matters before the government, but corporate interests cannot justify retreating from airing newsworthy content."
All this is coming on the same day that Paramount is continuing to press to take over Warner Bros. Discovery, CNN's parent company. And earlier today, WBD said, "It's sticking with that deal with Netflix, but it's going to hold negotiations with Paramount for the next week to see if Paramount will make a higher bid, offer more money for Warner Bros. Discovery." So that corporate drama still going on. Anna Gomez suggesting maybe that has something to do with CBS trying to appeal to the Trump administration.
KEILAR: And Brian, Colbert talked about a real concern here, which is this Equal Time Rule and that the FCC --
STELTER: Right.
KEILAR: -- may hold talk show hosts to it. Let's listen to him talking about this issue.
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COLBERT: Let's just call this what it is. Donald Trump's administration wants to silence anyone who says anything bad about Trump on TV because all Trump does is watch TV.
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KEILAR: How real is that potential enforcement of the Equal Time Rule?
STELTER: You know, Brianna, I don't want to call it toothless. That might be an overstatement, but this is pretty toothless. OK, the Equal Time Rule has been on the books for a long time, and it has rarely been enforced in a serious way. Basically, what the rule says is, if you own a local station and you put on one candidate for an office, you've got to put on all the other candidates as well. However, there are big exemptions for news programs so that journalists can decide which candidate is more newsworthy.
And for the past 20 years, those exemptions have also been thought to apply to late-night talk shows and daytime shows like "The View." Now, the Trump-aligned FCC Chairman, Brendan Carr, is saying don't assume that anymore. He's going after the programs he believes are progressive talk shows that are partisan political machines like Colbert's and saying that the FCC might try to enforce these rules.
But in practice, it might be very hard or even impossible to do so. So what we're watching for here are examples of broadcast stations self- censoring, not taking action because they're being required by the government to do so, but thinking twice because they're afraid of what the government might do in the future, a form of intimidation. Now, these FCC rules, they do not apply to cable here on CNN, and they do not apply to streaming, which is why Colbert posted the Talarico interview on YouTube so everybody can see it.
And you know what's so interesting, Brianna? Talarico is getting a big boost online today. This controversy is drawing more attention to his Senate primary bid against Jasmine Crockett, and more than a few Democrats have said they'd like to see Talarico run for president someday. So he's using this platform, this attempt at de-platforming by CBS, to actually draw more attention to his campaign, and it seems to be working today.
KEILAR: Yeah, of course it is, right? Brian Stelter, thank you so much for that. STELTER: Thanks.
KEILAR: Now to some of the other headlines that we're watching this hour. There is more fallout from the Epstein Files because there are so many of them. Reporters continue to go through them, and this latest news is that billionaire, Tom Pritzker says he is retiring as Executive Chairman of Hyatt Hotels after his association with the late sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein, came to light.
He released a statement that said in part that he deeply regrets his ties to Epstein and co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell, and that he exercised terrible judgment in maintaining contact with them. CNN has also learned that six companies linked to Sarah Ferguson, the ex-wife of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly Prince Andrew, are to be shut down. Ferguson is listed as the sole director of the companies. It's not clear exactly what services those companies provided, though.
And American surfer, Kurt Van Dyke, was found dead in Costa Rica, the apparent victim of an armed robbery, according to local police there. They say the 66-year-old was at home with a woman when two armed men stormed in and held them for several minutes while stealing valuables. The Associated Press says Van Dyke suffered numerous stab wounds, that he may have been strangled, while the woman sustained only minor injuries. Van Dyke is a longtime Costa Rica resident who comes from a prominent surfing family in California.
And drivers in Los Angeles had to navigate streets submerged by inches of water. A powerful winter storm hitting the area yesterday, triggering flash flood warnings. A second storm is going to bring more rain today, but with, thankfully, a lower risk of flooding than yesterday.
[13:50:00]
Today's system also could bring up to eight feet of snow to the state's mountain ranges by the end of the week. Boris?
SANCHEZ: Some fresh saber rattling today as the U.S. and Iran sit down for nuclear negotiations in Geneva. Iran partly closed the Strait of Hormuz to conduct naval drills as the U.S. increases its own military assets in the region.
President Trump's Special Envoy, Steve Witkoff, and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, had indirect talks with Iran's foreign minister. The two sides are trying to bring down tensions that have been rising since U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities last summer. CNN's Fred Pleitgen is in Geneva for those talks.
Fred, has either side given details on how this latest round of negotiations went?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Boris. Yeah, both sides have given a little bit of the details of how things went, and both sides are saying they believe that the talks were fairly constructive. Now, we've heard more from the Iranian side, and that really is no wonder because Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are really putting on a diplomatic marathon here in Geneva today.
They just had massive talks with the Russians and the Ukrainians, now have a working dinner with European officials, and before those, obviously those Iran talks, which are key as well. So the Iranians have now come out, and they said that there was some progress achieved as to mapping out how things can move forward. They said that a degree of principles has been put forward, by which an agreement will try to be drafted.
Now, both sides are saying that that process, obviously, is very difficult and will continue to get more difficult as things get more nuanced. What we understand is that the talks that we are seeing here and the talks as they go on are about Iran's nuclear program and, first and foremost, about nuclear enrichment. And of course, that's been one of the big points of dispute. The Trump administration has said that they don't want Iran to enrich any uranium, zero enrichment.
The Iranians have said, for them, that is not acceptable. The big question is going to be how are they going to find a way out of that impasse. It certainly seems as though both sides have put forward some proposals and now, the U.S. says they want the Iranians to go back and work on that proposal to see how both sides can become closer to one another.
As far as the Iranians are concerned, they say that, obviously, what they really want is sanctions relief. But the degree of sanctions relief and when that sanctions relief would come, obviously, is also something that is still very much a part of those discussions that are going to go forward. Now, the key thing that we got today out of this is that, first of all, there was that progress, apparently, and that, second of all, both sides say that they want to keep talking.
The Iranians are saying they want to do that as fast as possible. The U.S. side is also saying that when they get those proposals from the Iranians, they want to continue to talk as well. Obviously, that's very important, given that situation that you were just talking about in the Middle East with that posturing from the Iranians, those military drills happening today in the Strait of Hormuz, and of course, additional U.S. military assets, including the Jared Ford also on their way to the Middle East, a very, very dangerous situation in that part of the world right now, Boris.
SANCHEZ: And Fred Pleitgen, live for us in Switzerland as these talks are underway. We'll see what comes next, Fred. Thank you so much.
Up next, a major update in the search for Nancy Guthrie. Results from a DNA test that could prove to be a setback in the investigation. That Breaking News coming up in just a few minutes. Don't go anywhere.
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KEILAR: Happening now, Team USA is taking another step closer to its first Olympic gold medal in women's figure skating since 2006. Alysa Liu, Amber Glenn, and Isabeau Levito, known as the 'Blade Angels' are considered the strongest American contenders in decades.
This is happening as some pretty bad weather is upending several other competitions. CNN's Coy Wire is in Cortina for us. All right, Coy, what's the latest for Team USA?
COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Welcome to Cortina, Brianna. Team USA's Elana Meyers-Taylor, can we talk about how she is 41-years-old and she just won monobob by four one-hundredths of a second? Her fifth Olympic Games, her sixth career Olympic medal, but it was her first gold.
She is now the oldest American woman to ever medal at a Winter Games. She's also tied for most medals won by an American woman at a Winter Games, tying Bonnie Blair, all while balancing being a mom of two young kids with special needs. Elana says she has school drop off in five days, Brianna.
Her family, including her two young boys, were there to see it all. Here's what she had to say after the win.
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ELANA MEYERS-TAYLOR, WON HER FIRST GOLD MEDAL IN FIFTH OLYMPIC GAMES: I hope they remember this visually and I hope they were able to take it all in, that visual memory because obviously they couldn't hear everything that was going on, so I hope they were able to take it all in and really enjoy it. And one day, you know, when they're a little bit older, they'll see it and they'll know that their mom was an Olympic champion and they'll know what it means.
Right now, I don't think they can process it and know what it means, but one day, I think they'll understand and appreciate it.
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WIRE: All right. Brianna, just a bit ago, I caught up with one of the fastest, fiercest athletes on the planet, Team USA's Breezy Johnson, Olympic downhill gold medalist, but the gold medal is not the only bling that she's taken away from these games. Her boyfriend proposed her at the bottom of the slopes.
I asked her about it just a bit ago.
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BREEZY JOHNSON, WOMEN'S DOWNHILL GOLD MEDALIST: I did have an inkling that he was going to do that. I had suggested it. --
