Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Local Station KOLD Receives Second "Message" in Guthrie Case; Trump Won't Apologize for Racist Video; Trump Says Nuclear Talks with Iran to Resume Next Week; Manhunt Underway for Shooter of Top Russian General; Dow Crosses 50,000 for the First Time; Winter Olympics Begin with Opening Ceremony Fanfare; Companies Spend Big to Win Super Bowl Viewers with Ads; AI Is Prompting Teens to Adjust Plans for College, Careers. Aired 5-6a ET

Aired February 07, 2026 - 05:00   ET

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

[05:00:00]

(MUSIC PLAYING)

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Welcome to all of you watching here in the United States, Canada and around the world, I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN NEWSROOM.

The search for Nancy Guthrie takes another turn. What a new letter could reveal about the suspect.

Donald Trump refusing to apologize for resharing a post people are calling racist. How people on both sides of the aisle are responding.

And the Super Bowl is tomorrow, which means a whole new slate of Super Bowl commercials. We'll look at why some companies are releasing their spots ahead of the big game.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from Atlanta this is CNN NEWSROOM with Kim Brunhuber.

BRUNHUBER: Nancy Guthrie, mother of "Today" show anchor Savannah Guthrie, was last seen alive one week ago today. And now investigators are working new development, a new message connected to the case. Authorities headed back to Guthrie's Arizona home Friday after a second message was sent to local news station KOLD.

Officials are checking its authenticity. A KOLD anchor, who saw it, said it contained sensitive information but no deadlines, adding she doesn't believe officials are treating it as a ransom note. She shared more crucial details with CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARY COLEMAN, KOLD ANCHOR: We did get some information from them. I'm going to read some of my notes here so I don't speak incorrectly. But they say that this is not the same IP address. But it appears the sender used the same type of secure server to hide their IP address. So that's all that we know about the sender at this point, which,

unfortunately, really isn't much. And this new note does contain something that the senders seem to think will prove to investigators that they're the same people or person who sent the first note.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Law enforcement returned to Guthrie's home within an hour of receiving the message. Late Friday, they towed a blue Subaru from a spot near the residence. Neighbors who have been watching the search expressed their horror over the 84-year old's disappearance.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm just -- don't want to imagine what happened that night and what she might have felt at that moment. She's a very sweet woman. Very nice. Welcomed me right into her home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Joining us now is former Washington, D.C., Police Chief Charles Ramsey. He's a CNN senior law enforcement analyst and partner at 21CP Solutions.

Thanks so much for sharing your expertise with us here on this. So investigators got some new communication within an hour. They're back at the house. They towed this blue Subaru.

What does that quick turnaround tell you about where this investigation might be headed?

CHARLES RAMSEY, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, there are a couple things.

One, they obviously have to check the authenticity of the second letter, to make sure it's legitimate and it's written by the same person that wrote the first letter. We don't know what was contained in that letter. But there could be information that really kind of prove that they did, in fact, have Nancy Guthrie.

As far as the crime scene itself goes, when I saw that, it kind of looked to me like it may not necessarily be associated with the letter. I think sometimes in an investigation, especially when you get a lot of dead ends, you go back to square one. You start all over again.

You know, originally the scene was searched by the local authorities and the FBI then came into the case. Now they have far more sophisticated equipment and experience in dealing with crime scenes like this.

So it could be something where they just went back to make sure nothing was missed. You saw him on the roof this time. That came from a neighbor who said she believed that she may have had some work done on her roof recently. So they're just trying to make sure they didn't miss anything. BRUNHUBER: It's interesting to hear you say that, because another CNN

security analyst also said, you know, that investigators are basically going back to square one, starting the crime scene work all over again. I mean, is that a bit dispiriting, should we say, since it has been a full week now.

RAMSEY: Not really. I mean, it shows just the thoroughness of the investigation. They don't want to -- they don't want to miss the slightest thing that could lead them to a suspect, to lead them to the location where Nancy is being held. And so it doesn't -- it doesn't hurt to sometimes go over the same thing twice.

[05:05:00]

Unfortunately, they did release the scene for a period of time, the local authorities, which allowed others, media and others, to get close to the crime scene.

But even with that, you know, sometimes it just pays to have a fresh set of eyes. So it's not just going back to the crime scene with the same people. Oftentimes, maybe you bring in some different people to see things a little bit differently. So they're looking at it through a different set of eyes.

BRUNHUBER: Now these ransom notes that went to the media instead of directly to the family, I mean, that's a bit unusual.

What does all of this tell you about who might be behind this?

Do you get any sense whether they might be, you know, more amateurs because of the way this has unfolded so far?

RAMSEY: Well, I mean, they're trying not to get caught, number one. So these are emails. They're using a server that apparently can randomly select different IP addresses every time you use it, so you can't trace it back to the -- to the individual.

But at the same time, it's difficult to determine just how sophisticated they are, because there's one bottom line thing with any kidnapping case. Before any ransom is paid, you have to show proof of life.

So you can send all the letters you want to send. But until the family sees that that person is alive and they can actually get them back once they, you know, pay the ransom, they're not going to get too far with this.

And if she's not alive, then the only thing you'll gain is not money. They'll gain a first degree murder charge, is what they'll wind up gaining. So they're in a position as well where they have to make a decision. They've got to show proof of life.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. You've handled high profile cases like the Chandra Levy investigation, the Beltway Sniper.

I mean, what makes this kind of case so challenging when you've got, you know, basically the whole -- the whole nation watching every move that investigators are making?

RAMSEY: Well, leads that come in, I mean, evidence that you can find at the scene, you know, it's not the notoriety of the individual that's involved; it's just how much information you have available to you at the time so that you can solve the case.

Now some are obviously more complex than others. You mentioned Chandra Levy; the Beltway Sniper, for an example, those are cases that obviously it took some time before we were able to get to the bottom of exactly what occurred.

This case is going to be the same way. There are very little tips and clues. There's no video evidence. As far as forensic evidence goes, apparently, there's none that directly connects an individual to her disappearance.

And so it's going to be a while and things don't work like they do on television. People feel like, you know, you're supposed to go in and just solve something within the next hour or two. And obviously, the media coverage for a case like this certainly puts added pressure on everyone that's involved.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, I can imagine a good reminder to everyone. It will take some time.

Charles Ramsey, thank you so much for joining us. Really appreciate it.

RAMSEY: No, my pleasure. Thank you.

BRUNHUBER: Well, Donald Trump is breaking his silence as he faces bipartisan backlash for posting a racist video. It depicts former president Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as apes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I looked at the first part and it was really about voter fraud. And the machines, how crooked it is, how disgusting it is. Then I gave it to the people. Generally, they look at the whole thing but I guess somebody didn't. And they posted it and we took it down.

QUESTION: A number of Republicans are calling on you to apologize for that post.

Is that something you're going to do?

TRUMP: No, I didn't make a mistake.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: As president Trump said, he eventually removed the post after it was up for nearly 12 hours. Now just before we show it to you, I just want to warn you, it is obviously disturbing and offensive but we feel that it is important to show what was posted on the account of the president of the United States. So we'll show it here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER (voice-over): You can see the faces of the Obamas put onto the bodies of apes. His decision to delete the post came after the White House initially doubled down. Listen, this.

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: It was a meme that was posted by a staffer on the president's Truth Social account. It was from a "Lion King" video depicting, as you pointed out, different Democrats as different animals.

I think Kamala Harris was depicted as a turtle in this video meme. The president did take it down. He spoke with lawmakers today out of respect for them, including Senator Tim Scott. The post was removed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: CNN's Kevin Liptak has more now from the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE QUESTION: President Trump is refusing to apologize for a racist video that appeared on his Truth Social feed and depicted former President Barack Obama and the former First Lady Michelle Obama as apes.

This video sent the White House into damage control mode for most of the day on Friday after it appeared on the president's feed around midnight.

[05:10:00]

Initially, the White House tried to downplay it, the Press Secretary calling it fake outrage before the video was taken down and the White House blamed a staffer. Now late Friday, the president offered more of an explanation of how all of this happened.

He said that he had viewed only the beginning of the video, which included debunked claims about voter fraud and voting machines before the racist image of the Obamas suddenly appeared at the very end.

The president said he had passed along the video to a staffer who also did not watch the video to the end and then posted it online.

The president said, "Somebody slipped and missed a very small part," but the president again declining to apologize, even though a number of Republicans had been calling on him to do so.

The president had created something of an uproar, including from members of his own party. The senator, Tim Scott, who is the only Black Republican in the Senate, said it was the most racist thing he had ever seen come out of the White House.

The president said, "I looked at the beginning of it. It was fine."

He said it was a strong post in terms of voter fraud. And he said, "Nobody knew that that was in the end. If they would have

looked, they would have seen it and probably they would have had the sense to take it down."

The president claimed that they took the video down, quote, "as soon as we found out about it," although it had remained on his page for nearly 12 hours -- Kevin Liptak, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: And the former president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People called Trump's post degrading. Here's what Cornell William Brooks told CNN's Anderson Cooper.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CORNELL WILLIAM BROOKS, FORMER PRESIDENT AND CEO, NAACP: It's a sign of weakness in two respects. There's a weakness with respect to admitting a wrong and taking responsibility.

But there's also weakness with respect to his inability to resist this racist impulse to demean, to degrade, to belittle Black people generally and the country specifically.

And what I mean by that is this President seems to think that he is merely insulting the Obamas and Black people when he, in fact, is also insulting his supporters.

What do we mean by that?

He seems to believe that his base and White Americans can be so rage- baited and race-baited that they will forget high grocery prices or unaffordable homes or a White House that is in absolute chaos.

So in other words, he calls into question the humanity, the intelligence and character of Black people. But he also calls into question the intelligence and conscience of White people. And so he is so small on so many levels.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: President Trump is taking a carrot-and-stick approach following Friday's indirect nuclear talks with Iran. He's praising the negotiations in Oman as very good and says they'll resume next week.

But hours after the talks, he slammed new sanctions on Iran's oil and some tankers that carry it. And he reminded Tehran that the U.S. is continuing its military buildup in the region for possible strikes. As a caveat, he warned Iran there would be consequences if there's no nuclear deal.

For more, Nic Robertson is standing by in Jerusalem.

So Nic, give us a sense of where things stand right now.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, those new sanctions, the State Department says they've been put in place because Iran uses the money that it gets from its oil and oil products to spend on supporting terrorists in the region here and for oppressing its people.

So the State Department has announced this decision to put sanctions on a number of entities, about 15 or 16 or so different entities and vessels, and individuals involved in exporting Iranian oil and oil products.

This does come immediately off the back of those talks, which both sides described as in positive terms. The U.S. delegation didn't meet directly with the Iranian delegation. Steve Witkoff had his separate talks with the Omani foreign minister, who was interlocutor, who then spoke with the Iranian foreign minister.

And there was a couple of rounds of that. Both sides do seem to agree that another round of talks is coming fairly soon.

The difference is, as far as we can tell at the moment, the United States had gone into these talks wanting to discuss a range of issues -- Iran's enrichment of uranium, Iran's stockpiles of highly enriched uranium, Iran's ballistic missiles, Iran's support of proxies in the region, Iran's oppression of its population.

The Iranian foreign minister came out of the talks saying only the nuclear issue was discussed.

[05:15:00]

Nevertheless, president Trump is looking semi-positively, it appears, at this. But still, as you say, wielding that big stick. This is what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: The results today were with Iran. It was a meeting we're going to meet again early next week.

And they want to make a deal. Iran, as they should, want to make a deal. They know the consequences. If they don't, they don't make a deal. The consequences are very steep. So we'll see what happens.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: Yes. So one of the things that's happened while we wait for the next round of talks, Iranian foreign ministers have meeting with the Qatari foreign minister and in an interview following that meeting, the Iranian foreign minister saying it's an unalienable right for Iran to enrich uranium.

That really does seem to run counter to what the United States wants, which is to stop Iran enriching uranium. And as far as Iran's ballistic missile production, which develops missiles that can easily reach Israel and way beyond on that front, this is something that the Iranian foreign minister said. It's not negotiable, quite simply because the missiles, he said, are

part of Iran's defenses. So there's some very, very big issues, huge gaps, huge differences. But the first hurdle, those talks on Friday, that's been surmounted. But it seems like a very, very long road to go from here.

BRUNHUBER: And Nic, you just mentioned Israel there. I mean, you're in Jerusalem.

What's the Israeli governments perspective on all this?

ROBERTSON: Yes. They don't trust the Iranian leadership and that was their guidance to Steve Witkoff when he passed through Jerusalem -- well, passed through Tel Aviv and Israel on Tuesday this week. The prime minister met him along with his head of intelligence, head of the Mossad, David Barnea, and the chief of staff of the IDF.

The message given to Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who was in the meeting as well, was very simply, you know, we want a more broad set of issues discussed and controlled with Iran.

The nuclear file, all the files that the United States is talking about, not just the nuclear, it's about the missiles. It's about it's about the support of proxies in the region, like Hezbollah to the north in Lebanon, Hamas here, the Houthis in Yemen, all of that.

But the underlying big caveat -- and this is what the prime minister reminded Steve Witkoff of -- was this issue that they don't believe Iran can be trusted.

Look, Iran is very adept and skilled at getting into huge, long negotiations. The Obama administration had those years-long negotiations to get to the nuclear deal, the JCPOA, back in 2015. President Trump did pull out of that.

But Iran has abrogated the terms of that deal many, many, many times, not allowing the inspectors that were supposed to be part of the deal to get to the sites that they were supposed to get to; by enriching, highly enriching and using more sophisticated centrifuges than the deal allowed them to do.

So there's a huge amount of mistrust on both sides and that was what was communicated, I think, in the meeting here earlier this week with Steve Witkoff.

BRUNHUBER: Appreciate that context. Nic Robertson, thanks so much.

All right. Still to come here on CNN NEWSROOM, a suicide bombing in Pakistan. We'll look at who's taking responsibility. That's ahead.

Plus, a top Russian general is shot and wounded far from the front lines in Ukraine. A look at what the Kremlin has to say about the safety of other military leaders. Stay with us.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:20:00]

(MUSIC PLAYING)

A suicide bomber killed at least 32 people and injured 169 at a Shia mosque in Pakistan's capital, Islamabad. I just want to warn you, the video you're about to see is disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER (voice-over): Well, this was the aftermath, bodies covered in blood, surrounded by shards of glass and debris. One worshiper said Friday prayers had just started when they heard gunfire. That was followed by a loud explosion.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack on its Telegram channel and warned that more was to come. Here's what the country's interior minister said about the suspect.

TALAL CHAUDHRY, PAKISTANI INTERIOR MINISTER (through translator): We have collected information about the terrorist who carried out the attack. He is not an Afghan national but he has traveled to Afghanistan several times. And we have gathered all information from the forensics of his body parts that we found on the spot.

BRUNHUBER (voice-over): At least 400 worshipers were inside the mosque at the time. This was the deadliest attack in Pakistan since 2023.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: The suspect in the deadly rampage 13 years ago of a U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, will face charges in the U.S.

Zubayar al-Bakoush was brought to Virginia on Friday after he was arrested in Libya. He's described as a key participant of the terror attack in 2012, which left four Americans dead. Officials say he will face several charges, including the murder of U.S. ambassador Chris Stevens and a State Department employee.

Court documents say the suspect was a member of an Islamist group that claimed credit for the attack. Two other men, including one of the operation's leaders, have already been arrested and sentenced in the U.S.

A manhunt is underway in Russia for a second day following the shooting of a top general in Moscow on Friday. Officials say the deputy head of Russia's military intelligence was seriously wounded. It's the latest attack on military figures since Russia launched its operations in Ukraine. CNN's Fred Pleitgen has more from Moscow.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Another one of Vladimir Putin's top generals targeted right here in Moscow. This time, it was the deputy head of Russia's military intelligence service, the GRU, Lieutenant General Vladimir Alexeyev.

Now the investigative committee here in Russia says, in the early morning hours of this morning, he was gunned down inside a residential building in the northwest of Moscow. The investigative committee says so far they have not apprehended any suspects.

However, they are saying that there is forensic work going on, that they are going through surveillance camera, video, CCTV video and have also talked to eyewitnesses as well.

[05:25:00]

The lieutenant general himself, the Russians say, is in a hospital now and, as they put it, in serious condition. Now this is not the first time top Russian military officials were targeted here in the Russian capital. In fact, about a month ago, a top military commander was killed in a car bomb incident here in the Russian capital.

And at the end of 2024, there was a major car bombing also here in Moscow that killed another top military official. So far, the Russians say they do not have a suspect, they don't know who is behind this.

However, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has come out and blamed the Ukrainians and accused the Ukrainians of trying to derail a negotiations process that, of course, is going on at the moment.

The Ukrainians themselves have not commented on the matter but the Kremlin has, the Kremlin saying they understand that their top military brass is at risk, of course, with the military operation in Ukraine ongoing. At the same time, they also say that they wish the general a recovery and a speedy one, at that -- Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Emergency blackouts are in effect across Ukraine at this hour following a new barrage of Russian strikes overnight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER (voice-over): Emergency officials released this video showing firefighters battling a blaze southeast of Kyiv. They say the fire broke out after a Russian drone struck a warehouse there.

Ukraine's energy minister called the attack massive, saying Moscow went after energy facilities again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Meanwhile, president Zelenskyy says earlier strikes are taking a toll on Kyiv, where more than 1,100 buildings are still without heat. He says there's no time to waste when it comes to the repairs. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Every day matters. All decisions must be implemented as quickly as possible. The same approach applies to the energy sector. There are no weeks or months available for repairs or equipment supply. Many, many things are being actively accelerated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Investigators are working a fresh, potential lead in Nancy Guthrie's disappearance. We'll have details on a new message connected to the case and hear from someone who saw the message herself.

And Wall Street was down earlier this week. Then Friday happened. Just ahead, we'll take a deep dive into why the Dow Jones reached a new all-time high. Those stories and more coming up. Stay with us.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:30:00]

(MUSIC PLAYING)

BRUNHUBER (voice-over): Welcome back. I'm Kim Brunhuber. Let's check some of today's top stories.

President Trump says the nuclear talks with Iran will resume next week. He spoke after Friday's indirect negotiations in Oman, which he praised as very good. But he still slapped new sanctions on Iran's oil and threatened consequences if there's no nuclear deal.

President Trump is blaming a White House staffer for posting a racist video on his Truth Social account. The now deleted post depicts former president Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as apes in a jungle. The president insists he didn't see that part of the video and refuses to apologize, despite a bipartisan backlash.

Investigators returned Friday to the home of Nancy Guthrie after a new message connected to her disappearance was received. They're now checking the message's authenticity.

The 84-year old mother of "Today" show host Savannah Guthrie was last seen alive a week ago today.

BRUNHUBER: The message sent to KOLD on Friday was the second such communication received by the station since Guthrie disappeared. Mary Coleman is an anchor there and viewed the message herself. She spoke with CNN about what happened and what she saw.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARY COLEMAN, KOLD ANCHOR: This morning, around 11:45, that message came in to the same tip line that that original message came into. And we were, needless to say, pretty alarmed by seeing this. This new note does contain something that that the senders seem to think will prove to investigators that they're the same people or person who sent the first note.

I would say it's just as coherent as the first. That's what struck us as odd about the first one is that, like you said, it was well thought out, clear thoughts put together well. And I would say that this second one has a very, very similar -- the way that it was put together was very similar.

This one also has some sensitive information in it, that unfortunately I can't share at this moment. Again, we're relying on FBI and PCSD to take that information and figure out the legitimacy of this one as well. But yes, again, some of that information is just -- it's very sensitive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Starting Monday, members of Congress will be allowed to view unredacted versions of the Jeffrey Epstein files at the Department of Justice. That's according to a new letter from the DOJ obtained by CNN.

Lawmakers are asked to give 24 hours' notice of when they'd like to view the materials. They won't be allowed to bring in outside electronic devices but can take handwritten notes.

A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to unfreeze billions of dollars in funding to New York. The administration withheld more than $16 billion earmarked for a new rail tunnel to connect New York and New Jersey.

New York officials warned a funding delay would force them to shut down work on the project and lay off roughly 1,000 workers. The judge found that the public interest would be harmed.

And president Donald Trump reportedly told Senator Chuck Schumer that he would reinstate the funding if Schumer supported changing the names of New York's Penn Station and Washington's Dulles International Airport to Trump. Trump claimed it was all Schumer's idea. But Schumer denied the claim.

The Dow hit a new all-time high on Friday. The index soared over 1,200 points, hitting 50,000 points for the first time ever. And this was a sharp rebound after tech stocks dragged Wall Street down earlier this week. CNN's Richard Quest has more on what was behind the extraordinary rally.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS EDITOR-AT-LARGE: Was there a particular reason why on this Friday, the market came out of the gate, rose sharply and stayed up and even gained toward the end to close this record at over 50,000?

Not particular, any single reason. And if you look at the other indices, you see a similar response. Dow Jones, S&P 500, NASDAQ. The NASDAQ up over 2 percent.

The reality is that the markets have been worried all week about the amount of money companies like alphabet and Amazon were spending on AI, $100 billion with seemingly no great return in the near future.

[05:35:03]

And then on this Friday, the sentiment turned round. The selling had been overdone. There is still a great prospect for huge AI gains and those who are prepared to invest and that's the reason we saw this phenomenal rally in the market.

Out of nowhere, a complete surprise in a week where things had been dour and depressed. And once again, the market proved it can rally -- Richard Quest, CNN London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: More than 90 million people from Virginia to Maine are under extreme cold alerts in the northeast U.S. This weekend. For some, it will be the coldest stretch of a winter that's already kept many shivering for weeks.

The cold snap already caused issues in Western Pennsylvania on Friday. Authorities say an 18-year-old college student was killed in a 25- vehicle crash amid snowy and icy road conditions and nine others were injured.

The Winter Olympics are officially underway in Italy and the first medals of the competition will be awarded over the coming hours. We'll have our report from Milan. That's next. Stay with us.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

BRUNHUBER: The 2026 Winter Olympics are officially underway in Italy. The opening ceremony kicked things off on Friday night with a 3.5-hour celebration, paying tribute to the country's history, art, fashion and culture.

Italy's president formally declared the games open at the main event in Milan. Now for the first time, two Olympic cauldrons, a symbol of the games, were lit simultaneously and will burn throughout the competition; 2,900 athletes from more than 90 nations will compete in these games.

The full competition heats up over the coming hours, with five events awarding medals today. CNN's Amanda Davies is in Milan with the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AMANDA DAVIES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Friday night may have been the official start of the 25th Winter Olympic Games here in Milan, Cortina.

[05:40:03]

Dancing coffee pots, catwalk models Mariah Carey and all but for so many of the athletes, their main job is well underway already and that, of course, is the competition.

Whilst we were enjoying that always iconic moments of the lighting of the Olympic flame here in Milan, up in Cortina, Lindsey Vonn and her team were working on creating magic of their own.

After the 41-year old made her much anticipated first appearance on the snow for her first downhill training run in Cortina on Friday, just a week after that crash in Switzerland that saw her rupture her ACL.

Her coach, Aksel Lund Svindal described it as smart skiing as she posted the 11th fastest time from a group of 43 athletes. It wasn't perfect but she made it down much to the relief of those of us watching on, holding our breaths and wincing with every landing.

And the decision now is whether or not she takes part in Saturday's second training run or goes full steam ahead to Sunday's race and her quest for a fourth Olympic medal, 16 years after her first.

You wonder what will be running through the mind of U.S. figure skater Ilia Malinin, too. He is finally set to make his Olympic debut on Saturday.

The superstar known as the Quad God, the reigning world and U.S. national champion taking to the eyes for his short program as part of the team competition. His teammates have given themselves a two point lead over Japan after the first day of competition.

And also on Saturday, the fastest male skiers on the planet will get their moments on the mountain to shine their downhill race set to take place in Borneo. The man known as the Alpine's version of Shohei Ohtani, Marco Odermatt, because he excels in all forms of the game of skiing, as is the case here.

He's many people's favorite but the USA is Ryan Cochran-Siegle won his only World Cup victory on this course and home favorite Giovanni Franzoni would love to follow up the best season of his career so far.

Winning Kitzbuhel just a few weeks ago, he is hoping to bring home Italy's first gold of the games -- Amanda Davies, CNN, Milan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Well, here in the U.S. people are gearing up for the biggest pro football matchup of the year. And while many will be tuning in for the game on the field, some will be watching the NFL Super Bowl for the commercials. Have a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BRUNHUBER (voice-over): Well, Pepsi brought its famous Pepsi Challenge taste test out of hibernation for a new Super Bowl ad. Now this time it features a polar bear -- you see there -- long associated with rival Coca-COLA, now discovering its love for Pepsi.

Companies are increasingly paying top dollar to advertise during the Super Bowl, which dominates ratings every year, with roughly one-third of the country tuning in. Brands reportedly shelled out as much as $8 million to $10 million for 30 seconds of airtime this year.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: I want to bring in Jason Lee, professor of sport management at the University of North Florida and he joins me live from Jacksonville.

Thanks for being with us early this morning. Appreciate it. So as I mentioned there, were seeing spots going up for, for, you know, up to $10 million. And then you factor in, you know, production costs and celebrity talent. You know, you're spending you know, $20 million or so for about 30 seconds.

I mean, what makes this still a smart investment for, for companies in 2026?

JASON LEE, PROFESSOR OF SPORT MANAGEMENT, UNIVERSITY OF NORTH FLORIDA: Well, you know, the Super Bowl, in a lot of ways, is a commercial holiday, if you want to call it that. It's iconic moments. It's things that really stand out.

It can resonate with society. It gets a lot of buzz and it's things a lot of people really look forward to. It's a chance to show creativity, I guess, in its highest form.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. Right.

But I mean, with everybody sort of, you know, streaming and scrolling through social media these days. I mean, do traditional TV spots like this really even matter anymore?

LEE: I definitely feel they matter. Obviously the, you know, the world and our media consumption has changed. You know, I remember when I was a kid, it was really something to be anticipated to, you know, all the spectacle of the Super Bowl.

But certainly the commercials and going to school and talking about what your, you know, your favorites were and those kind of things.

Well, in today's world, you know, we consume sports so much differently. We watch the commercials before -- well before the game's even been played. So there is a lot of difference. It's obviously a huge investment. And a big part of that is to make a splash and to be seen on that high platform there.

BRUNHUBER: You talked about the anticipation but I mean, part of that is kind of being spoiled, right? I mean, so many of these ads are already out there.

[05:45:02]

We have the Budweiser Clydesdales, Spot the Bud Lite, wedding keg thing with Peyton Manning.

I mean, does releasing them early take away some of that magic that we used to have, where everyone was discovering these ads together as a communal experience during the game?

LEE: There's obviously there's pros and cons but you definitely do lose some of the magic, not being able to see it upon its initial release and not really knowing what to expect. And if you're watching the game with others, kind of seeing how they all interact and react together.

BRUNHUBER: All right, so I mentioned a couple of the ads there that are already out.

You know, when we look at the ads that are kind of getting the most attention so far, I mean, what are these successful ads doing from a branding standpoint that makes them kind of cut through all the noise, do you think?

LEE: Well, obviously you want to be able to position the opportunity and the message that you've got there.

So how do -- how do you kind of activate things beyond that is really key, what are you doing digitally?

What's going to be the follow-through as the, you know, whatever buzz is being generated?

And that can also be a costly endeavor on top of all the, you know, those type of expenses you already mentioned. It's really something that that needs to be, you know, handled strategically and really thought through to really hopefully maximize what, you know, the bang for your buck really.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. We were just showing there a ad that was featuring, you know, "Jurassic Park," recreating some of that '90s nostalgia that seems to be one of the themes, I guess, of this year.

I mean, what other themes are you noticing from the from the ads this year that we're showing it again?

LEE: Well, you know, obviously integrating stars, people that have, you know, different popular culture resonance. So I think that's big. Clearly, you know, anything evoking like the '90s, like you said, that that's a big deal right now, harkening back to nostalgia there.

You know and there's just some other things that will just, you know, there's a lot of different tools that can be done to kind of tap into what, you know, people's feelings, you know, that sentient branding kind of thing. BRUNHUBER: And just before we go, I mean, one of the trends I noticed

as well, some of the newer trends, I guess, huge AI companies and sports betting as well.

I mean, what does it say that these companies are willing to shell out this kind of money to reach a Super Bowl audience?

LEE: Well, they're huge. They're, you know, it's a big deal within our world, within the sport industry, certainly tied to media content.

So it's a sign of the time, really.

BRUNHUBER: Yes.

All right. We'll leave it there. Appreciate getting your perspective, Professor Jason Lee from the University of North Florida, thanks so much for being here with us.

LEE: You're very welcome. Thank you.

BRUNHUBER: And you can join Elex Michaelson and CNN sports anchor Andy Scholes for a live postgame show from the field at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, right after the Super Bowl at 8 pm on the West Coast, 11 pm Eastern, 4 am in London.

Artificial intelligence is upending some entry level jobs. Ahead, we hear from some students who are rethinking their choices for college and careers. Stay with us.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:50:00]

(MUSIC PLAYING)

BRUNHUBER: Some experts estimate artificial intelligence could wipe out as many as half of all entry-level, white-collar jobs in the next few years. That's causing young people to adjust their plans for college and their careers. CNN's Clare Duffy spoke with some high school students about how AI is impacting their decisions.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARE DUFFY, CNN TECH CORRESPONDENT: We have heard repeated warnings that AI is set to disrupt entry level jobs first. And so I was really curious how high school students are responding to this. And what I found is that this is absolutely top of mind for many young people.

I heard from students who are thinking about switching into the health care field, because they think that's more AI proof; some who are trying to learn how to use AI and apply that in their future career.

And I want to talk to you about three high school students who I spoke to, who had differing perspectives on this. I spoke with Savilla Ruby Brodhead. She's a junior from California.

She's hoping to be either a dancer or a theater performer. And she said, right now, she doesn't really use AI very often because she's worried that it will harm her critical thinking abilities.

But she does worry about how it could impact that future career. She told me, "My concern is for acting because there was an issue with using actors' faces and voices for AI, especially seeing how much AI visual art has been used and that it's putting actual artists out of work who are already struggling enough."

She says, "I hate it."

That's one end of the spectrum. I also spoke with Lincoln Vonk. He's a sophomore from Georgia. He is hoping to be a politician or a business owner and he said he's already trying to experiment with how to use AI for those future jobs.

He said, for example, in a mock legislative activity, he used AI to help draft his bill. He said, "I use AI to better understand different facets of an issue. I've used it for religious questions before to understand different denominations of my faith.

"If you want to be competitive in a space, you have to be on top of AI."

But he also told me that he does worry about misinformation created by AI, saying he and his peers, as they're scrolling social media, it's become harder to tell what's real and what's AI generated.

And then finally, I spoke with Karissa Tang. She's a senior from California. She's hoping to be a product manager or entrepreneur. And she told me, "Whether we see the good or bad in it, we know it's going to impact the way we live.

"I think many teens are concerned about AI's impact on employment."

And Karissa told me that, what she looks toward college next year, she's planning to study business but also double major or minor in philosophy or religious studies.

And that's actually something I heard from experts, that there are students who are looking at studying in college, something that's more technical, paired with something in the humanities as a way of hedging their bets, as they don't yet know which of those areas will be most impacted by AI.

[05:55:00]

But certainly something that all of us will be watching as these young people become the next generation to enter the workforce. Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: We're getting our first look at one of the French crown jewels that was damaged during the heist at the Louvre museum last October. In this case, it's an actual crown, the battered headpiece of a French empress.

The thieves dropped it on the pavement during their hasty getaway, leaving it crumpled, missing a golden eagle and short 10 diamonds. Top jewelers are now in a bidding war to restore it. Eight other stolen treasures are still missing.

How much would you shell out for a five-inch, 500-year-old drawing of a foot?

Look, if it's this sketch, believed to be produced by Michelangelo himself, the answer is more than $27 million. That's what it fetched at auction at Christie's in New York. It's believed to be one of the Italian master's long lost works, a study for one of his large frescoes at the Sistine Chapel.

Christie's says only 50 sketches for those magnificent murals are believed to exist. And after a bidding war, it went for 20 times the estimate. It's now the most expensive Michelangelo work sold at auction.

And Taylor Swift has dropped the music video for "Opalite," the newest single from her new album, "The Life of a Showgirl." The pop star wrote and directed the video, which borrows lines from the 1990s.

The music video includes cameos from Cillian Murphy, Domhnall Gleeson, Greta Lee, Jodie Turner-Smith and Lewis Capaldi. They were all guests together on the Graham Norton show back in October, when Swift was promoting the album.

All right, that wraps this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Kim Brunhuber. For our viewers in North America, "CNN THIS MORNING" is next. For the rest of the world, it's "AFRICAN VOICES."