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Investigators Return To Nancy's Guthrie's Property; Breezy Johnson Wins Team USA's First Gold On Day 2 Of The Games; Lindsey Vonn Crashes Out of Women's Downhill Final; Proposed ICE Facility In Georgia Could Hold Up To 10,000 People; "He's Gone Too Far": GOP Lawmaker Blasts Trump's Rhetoric After Racist Post; Soon: Seahawks & Patriots Face Off On the NFL's Biggest Stage; Trove Of Epstein Documents Shows Ties To European Officials. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired February 08, 2026 - 14:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:00:36]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

We begin this hour with new developments in the exhaustive search for Nancy Guthrie. New video just in to CNN just moments ago, showing investigators back on the 84-year-old's property.

CNN affiliate KGUN is now reporting the purported kidnaper or kidnapers, have demanded $6 million and have threatened Guthrie life if tomorrow's 5:00 p.m. deadline is not met. The report says that demand came in a ransom note sent to the station -- the television station.

Meantime, her family posted a new emotional plea for their mother's return last night with her daughter, "Today Show" host Savannah Guthrie delivering this message.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAVANNAH GUTHRIE, DAUGHTER OF NANCY GUTHRIE: We received your message and we understand. We beg you now to return our mother to us so that we can celebrate with her.

This is the only way we will have peace. This is very valuable to us, and we will pay.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN's senior national correspondent Ed Lavandera is live for us in Tucson, Arizona. Ed, give us the latest on why, you know, the complements of law enforcement have returned.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we are now a full week since Nancy Guthrie was abducted from her home here in Tucson. And investigators are back once again onto the property. A small group of investigators that we've been able to see searching

the property, grounds and the areas behind her home here in this neighborhood in Tucson. We don't know exactly what they're looking for or what prompted them to come back here.

Investigators are simply saying that they're continuing to go back to areas and continue investigating. That's the extent of the details we're getting at this moment.

It also comes after late last night we saw at the home of Nancy Guthrie's daughter, who lives probably about 15 minutes away from where we are here in this neighborhood, we saw a small group of Pima sheriff's deputies out at that home and collecting evidence, what it appears.

We saw at one point, an officer getting into a car had latex gloves on. We saw one of the agents also carrying a bag and putting it in the back in one of the vehicles that the law enforcement officers were in.

And those officers were inside that home for nearly -- roughly three hours or so last night. So a great deal of activity and all of that has happened since. Savannah Guthrie put out that latest message with her brother and sister, saying that they will pay this ransom. Trying to communicate once again with the alleged author of these notes.

And we should also, you know, continue to emphasize that so far, investigators still have not said whether or not they believe these letters and these notes and these demands to be authentic or legitimate at this point.

So here we are, a week out. The devastating wait for -- to discover and find Nancy Guthrie continues here in Tucson, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: It's heartbreaking. All right. Thank you so much, Ed Lavandera.

All right. I want to talk about this more with former SWAT and Police Captain Josh Schirard. Captain, great to see you.

What do you interpret that to mean when there still is no authentication coming from law enforcement about the ransom, the notes? What does that mean to you?

JOSH SCHIRARD, FORMER POLICE CAPTAIN, GALVESTON, TEXAS: You know, I think that's really why we've seen a lot of this communication from the family. I think we still have no valid two-way communication with this possible hostage taker and the author of these ransom notes. It's been all one way.

The family putting out these messages has been the only way that they've tried to communicate back in order to establish some form of authenticity that -- so that they can get a proof of life and know that Nancy is still ok.

Obviously, we've had one deadline passed and another coming up on Monday, and I think that both sides are probably getting a little desperate as to start that communication before that deadline comes up.

[14:04:48]

WHITFIELD: Are you any more or less hopeful about this kind of contact with these possible kidnapers at all, and that it will ultimately lead to Nancy Guthrie's release?

SCHIRARD: You know, when we look historically -- we generally don't see deadlines that are this far out. When we're talking about dealing with hostage takers, even ransom in this case, most of the time, those deadlines are within hours, not days and not four days apart.

I can imagine that if this is authentic, that that hostage taker, that author of that ransom note is getting fairly anxious after one deadline having passed without payment. It's likely to believe that they would try to reach out and establish that communication.

Now, the video we saw last night from the family was very cryptic, but very directed to that ransom note author. So there may be some things in that note that obviously law enforcement isn't releasing that maybe lending to its credibility and authenticity. And this was the response for that.

WHITFIELD: So let's zero in on that because, you know, what are you reading into the language from daughter, Savannah Guthrie, saying we beg you now to return our mother to us so that we can celebrate with her. This is the only way we will have peace. This is very valuable to us, and we will pay.

SCHIRARD: The language used last night in the video that we saw was very different from the language that was used in the previous two videos. Obviously the first two were very generalized broadcasts to anybody that may know the whereabouts, that may have taken her hostage.

Last night's video was very direct. It was in response -- it was not a general broadcast -- in response to one of those ransom notes. And really followed up very precisely with some things that I think were in the note that we haven't been made aware of.

So I think this is really just a plea for the family now to a person which may lend to its authenticity and its credibility, but to that person that may know where Nancy is and may be able to get her home safely still.

WHITFIELD: All right. This Monday deadline tomorrow, you know, how are these next 24 hours going to be managed, in your view?

SCHIRARD: I think that you've really seen a ramp up in the law enforcement side. That's why they went back out to both houses yesterday. They may have learned a few other details that might help direct that search and evidence.

Crime scenes when searching and processing evidence there -- it's very based off of the information that you have. You can't just look at everything. It's like finding a needle in a stack of needles. You have to have some kind of direction on where to look. And I think

that these little pieces that they're getting are giving them a little bit more direction, and they're going out and trying to process whatever they can.

They know they're on the clock. If this is real, they're on the clock and that clock is ticking short. So anything that they can do has to be done. It has to be done now.

WHITFIELD: And it's all simultaneous, right? Because it's an issue of trying to identify who the kidnaper/kidnapers are, where they are, where Nancy Guthrie is, and at the same time, you're saying authenticate these kinds of demands or the kind of communication that's happening. There's a lot happening all at once.

All right, Captain Josh Schirard, thank you so much.

SCHIRARD: Hey, thanks for having me.

WHITFIELD: All right. Let's talk about Olympics now and U.S. star Breezy Johnson has taken home the first gold for the U.S. Olympic team in women's downhill skiing. Her victory coming in the same event as fellow American Lindsey Vonn's Olympic comeback story came to a heartbreaking end.

The 41-year-old racing with a recently ruptured ACL, crashed 13 seconds into her women's downhill final run and had to be airlifted off the slopes.

CNN's Amanda Davies is at the Winter Games in Milan.

I mean, this is heartbreaking for Lindsey Vonn. Do we know anything about, you know, what her condition is, how she's doing, where she is?

AMANDA DAVIES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes. Hi, Fredricka. I wish I was here with better news. There's such an incredible sense of kind of sadness, really, across the alpine Olympic skiing community if that is the last time we see Lindsey Vonn on the biggest stage being helicoptered off, as you mentioned, off the mountain in Cortina, 13 seconds into what we already knew was going to be her final Olympic downhill crash (ph).

She was wearing bib number 13, some people reading into that. She clipped the gate with her shoulder. She lost control and landed with a real crunch in an incredibly awkward, very painful looking and sounding position.

The Cortina crowd, her fellow athletes, the rest of us watching and willing her on, very much stunned into a concerned silence.

What we know is that she was taken straight to hospital. U.S. Ski and Snowboard provided an update that simply said she had sustained an injury. That, of course, was very apparent.

[14:09:43]

DAVIES: But agency AP are now reporting that she has undergone surgery on her left leg fracture at a hospital in Treviso here in Italy.

Her sister spoke to the media at the course, admitting it was really, really scary when you see the stretchers being put out. But as she put it, Vonn dared greatly and put it all out there.

And that she really, really did. It had all the makings, didn't it, of one of the most incredible comeback stories. We and she knew she was taking a huge risk giving it this one last shot at an Olympic medal. Competing just nine days after fully rupturing her ACL on her left knee.

But for all of those who questioned her, this was the race that she had had as her ultimate focus since she made her decision to return to skiing after that retirement in 2019 and subsequent knee replacement surgery.

I spoke to her about it last year. She spoke so passionately about one final shot at an Olympic medal on this course, specifically because it's been so good to her throughout her career. It's where she's been the most successful female alpine skier of all time.

And it feels, frankly, really unfair, a really brutal end to a trailblazing career, as you have to suspect it will be at this point. And the well wishes and the tributes have been pouring in from across the skiing community, including from, as you mentioned, her teammate, the athlete who ultimately went on to take gold, Breezy Johnson.

You actually have to really feel for her. The massively contrasting emotions that we saw from her as she claimed the biggest prize of her career, becoming Olympic champion for the first time at the age of 30.

She missed out on Beijing 2022 through an injury actually suffered on this very same course. She served a 14-month ban for missing three out of competition drug tests, and then she came back to win world championship downhill gold this time last year.

This is the icing on the cake, but with a real side of sadness, given how it ended for Lindsey. But everybody -- Team USA, I think really pleased to have their first gold medal on the board, but with thoughts in the direction of Lindsey Vonn.

WHITFIELD: Right. Congratulations to Breezy at the same time. I mean, no one's going to forget all these incredible -- I mean a multitude of apex moments for Lindsey Vonn. But of course, you know, our hearts bleed for her and are wishing her the best kind of recovery.

Amanda, thank you so much. We'll check back with you. Appreciate it.

All right. Still ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not a done deal as far as the city goes. We are still 100 percent motivated to try to stop this any way we can.

(END VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: Outrage in a rural Georgia community as the Department of Homeland Security moves forward with plans to open a new, massive ICE detention facility in their town.

Plus, the Epstein scandal rocking the highest levels of U.K. and European societies as U.S. Congress members prepare to gain access to unredacted files.

And this is not only hard to watch, but it's hard to believe. A woman in California impaled by a steel pole while driving her car, and she lives to talk about it. It's an incredible survival story that you don't want to miss.

[14:13:10]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back.

A planned ICE detention facility in Georgia is closer to being a reality. The Department of Homeland Security confirms that it purchased an enormous warehouse in a small town near Atlanta called Social Circle. Leaders there are pushing back against the plan, saying it's not feasible.

CNN's Rafael Romo is here with more on this. You last went to Social Circle just last month and already things have progressed.

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. They have progressed. They have purchased the building. We were able to confirm that last night. And there's a lot of uncertainty from the people there.

And this is an issue that officials tell me has united people in Social Circle like never before. Progressives are against the detention center out of concern for human rights violations. And conservatives say their town does not have the resources necessary to support such a massive project.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROMO: This sprawling warehouse in rural Georgia may be about to become a crucial tool for President Donald Trump's crackdown on immigration.

The million-square foot facility, located about 45 miles east of Atlanta in the town of Social Circle, has been acquired by the Department of Homeland Security, according to DHS and town officials, to be converted into a migrant detention center for as many as 10,000 people, possibly as early as April.

ERIC TAYLOR, SOCIAL CIRCLE CITY MANAGER: We hope it's not a done deal. As far as the city goes, we are still 100 percent motivated to try to stop this any way we can.

ROMO: Eric Taylor is the manager of the picturesque town of 5,000, which calls itself "Georgia's Greatest Little Town". Taylor says Social Circle cannot afford to triple its population overnight.

TAYLOR: Our position hasn't changed at all. We're still very concerned about infrastructure. We only have a limited amount of water to draw from to begin with in a -- in a capacity infrastructure system that has already stretched to its capacity.

[14:19:48]

ROMO: City officials say at any given time, there are two police officers on duty here in Social Circle. The number for the fire department is four, so they're very concerned about what a project of this magnitude would do to their public safety requirements.

In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security acknowledged that ICE purchased a facility in Social Circle, Georgia. The department added that "This will be a very well-structured detention facility, meeting our regular detention standards as ICE is actively working to expand detention space."

As CNN reported in October DHS is funneling $10 billion through the Navy to help facilitate the construction of a sprawling network of migrant detention centers across the U.S. DHS did not specify whether the proposed facility in Social Circle is part of this plan.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Maybe we can use a little bit of a softer touch.

ROMO: In an NBC interview, Trump said his administration could tone down immigration tactics following the two people shot and killed by immigration agents in Minneapolis. But his critics say the president's policies have already harmed citizens and non-citizens alike.

SEN. JON OSSOFF (D-GA): You see masked federal agents kicking down doors without so much as a warrant from a judge, dragging Americans out of their homes without cause, demanding papers at police checkpoints, assaulting and even killing Americans with impunity from the very top.

ROMO: At a Saturday rally in Atlanta, Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff, who is seeking reelection this year, also denounced migrant detention centers.

OSSOFF: You see prison camps growing and full of children.

ROMO: Social Circle officials say throughout the entire process, they haven't heard a single word from the federal government.

Is there a message that you would like to send the federal government on behalf of Social Circle?

TAYLOR: Call us. Call us. We've been trying to get somebody on the phone since the day after Christmas.

ROMO: Mississippi Senator Roger Wicker claimed on Friday that he had convinced Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to find an alternative location for a detention center that would have been built in his state.

Social Circle officials say now they can only hope to do the same, even if the process to build a detention center in their town seems well advanced.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMO: And City Manager Taylor also told me that their zoning code doesn't allow for detention facility of any type. But clarify that in this case, it wouldn't matter at all because governments are not subject to zoning regulations and the supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution would also override any objections to the project.

So not to get technical here, but essentially there's very little at this point that the town can do.

WHITFIELD: So even when the city manager says he would love it if he would hear from the federal government, who knows what that conversation would be like, or if there were any -- be any real results that would come from it after he's discussing and expressing that his town doesn't want this.

ROMO: And that's what -- that's the thing that gets him. They say that there hasn't been a single phone call or any other means of communication to let them know, hey, this is what's happening. This is the plan. Nothing at all.

WHITFIELD: Well, keep us posted as you have been. Thank you so much, Rafael Romo. Appreciate it.

All right. Still ahead -- FEMA, the Coast Guard and TSA could all shut down in days as Congress heads toward a partial government shutdown with no deal in sight. What House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told CNN about where things stand.

[14:23:17]

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WHITFIELD: All right. With just days to go, Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill are far apart on a deal to fund the Department of Homeland Security. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries telling CNN this morning that Republicans have not responded to Democrats demands and blamed them for stalled negotiations.

Democrats are insisting on new restrictions on DHS agents before signing off on new money, including obtaining judicial warrants for some actions, avoiding certain areas such as schools and churches, and requiring all agents to wear body cams.

CNN's Camila DeChalus is joining me right now from Washington. So what exactly are we hearing from Hakeem Jeffries?

CAMILA DECHALUS, CNN REPORTER: Well, Fred, right now there is a real big sense of urgency on Capitol Hill with lawmakers now racing just days away from potentially having funding for the Department of Homeland Security. That funding lapsed if they do not come up with a deal.

And so what we're seeing right now is that House Democrats are moving forward, putting out their list of demands of what they want to see in order to sign on to passing a spending bill in order to fund this department.

And so we're hearing that Democrats are still saying that, you know, what? We want to see a number of reforms being made to immigration enforcement. That includes ICE agents removing their -- removing their masks, displaying more visible signs of what agency they're with, and even wearing body cameras.

But as you just heard from Jeffries, he's just really been saying that the White House has not really adhered or made -- responded to some of these demands. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY), HOUSE MINORITY LEADER: In our view, the ball is in the court right now of the Republicans. Either they're going to agree to dramatically reform the way in which ICE and other immigration enforcement agencies are conducting themselves so that they're behaving like every other law enforcement agency in the country, or they're making the explicit decision to shut down the Coast Guard, shut down FEMA, and shut down TSA. And that will be very unfortunate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[14:29:47]

DECHALUS: So Fred, you heard there Democrats clearly outlining what their deal breakers are. And this is what we're just hearing time and time again on Capitol Hill.

Now, Republicans on their end, they say, hey, even if the lapse does -- the lapse in funding does happen to the Department of Homeland Security, that won't impact ICE.

[14:30:03]

And so they don't really see the point that Democrats are making. But Democrats have told me when I've talked to them on Capitol Hill that it's really about holding this administration and these federal agencies under the Department of Homeland Security accountable.

But a really important thing to note here is that if funding does last for federal agencies like the Coast Guard and FEMA, that play a very pivotal role in this country.

WHITFIELD: Indeed.

All right, Camila DeChalus, keep us posted on developments there in Washington.

All right. Today, President Trump is still refusing to apologize after posting a racist video to social media portraying former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama as apes. But one of Trump's least favorite Republicans is breaking with his party, saying that needs to change.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. THOMAS MASSIE (R-KY): He should absolutely apologize. He's gone too far. Once you pass certain -- certain guardrails, like attacking a man's spouse or getting into racist tropes, I think it's somebody at the White House, maybe Susie Wiles needs to go to the president and just ask him for his phone, and maybe ask him just to show him the tweet before he sends it out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. Let's discuss more now with "Politico" White House reporter Sophia Cai.

Sophia, great to see you.

So, the White House was defiant on the post until members of the president's own party began to condemn it. I mean, Trump has said and posted things before that are also considered offensive and racist, drawing little if any criticism from Republicans.

So, what changed?

SOPHIA CAI, WHITE HOUSE REPORTER, POLITICO: Look, this was just a step too far. Even the president's staunchest ally, somebody like Tim Scott -- remember, Tim Scott was a VP contender back in the 2024 election, and he came out and said, this is not okay. I hope it was an accident, although it was not. And he said it should be taken down.

I think it's very rare to see Republicans more than a day after something has already been taken down to continue to talk about it, and people who are loyal to the president, they think through, you know, they really calculate which issues should I really address the president and denounce him, and apart from him? And I think it's really telling, you know, for Democratic for -- I'm sorry for Republican Party that since 2012, since the autopsy that said that the Republican Party really needed to work harder to be more inclusive to nonwhite voters. Since then, the Republican Party has tried, has tried and tried and tried.

But President Trump has so far refused to apologize. And I think it's a bit telling.

WHITFIELD: Uh-huh. And then, you know, the White House in part of the response coming from the White House is that it was a staffer that was responsible for this. You know, he's essentially saying he wasn't completely aware, but, a lot of folks within the White House and outside of the White House, of course, you know, are claiming that many of the people in his administration were caught off guard.

I mean, what are you hearing from people in the White House? You just laid out a lot of people are very loyal and seem to be in agreement with just about everything he does. But in this case, are there people who are expressing feeling uncomfortable, wondering what's going on and why this was done? And do they believe that it was a staffer?

CAI: So, I think the president has come out and said, look, I looked at this and then I gave it to a staffer. The staffer didn't look at it. What's very clear is that if it was a staffer, the White House is unwilling to discipline the staffer or identify who it is.

You know, if you look at the White House response throughout the day, you know, we went from Karoline Leavitt, the press secretary, saying that essentially this video is real. It came from a longer video that was clipped to, you know, the president taking it down. And I think it took many hours for them to realize that this is not okay.

Look, I think this White House brought in a lot of younger staff were responsible for digital, who are responsible on the comms team. And I've heard from Black allies saying that this is a result of a comms team and messaging that is not inclusive of Black voices. So, it just -- it begs the question, if you had a Black person on the comms team, if you had a Black person in the senior ranks of the White House, would this happen? And we don't know. But we know that this video was posted and the president still has not apologized.

WHITFIELD: Okay, so take a listen to what two of the Democratic Party's rising stars, Maryland Governor Wes Moore and Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff, have said about all of this within the last 24 hours.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. WES MOORE (D), MARYLAND: An apology is only meaningful if you have no intention of it happening again. And I think that there is no one who truthfully believes that Donald Trump has no intention of making these kind of statements, or, frankly, these kind of actions again.

SEN. JON OSSOFF (D-GA): You're seeing what I'm seeing, right?

CROWD: Yes.

OSSOFF: The president posting about the Obamas like a Klansman at 1:00 a.m.

(BOOS)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[14:35:06]

WHITFIELD: All right. We all know between now and November's midterms -- I mean, a lifetime in politics. So how do you expect this might impact Trump Republicans? Any and all before midterms?

CAI: Yeah. Look, I think one big reason why the president was successful in his 2024 campaign is that he was able to make those gains with younger, nonwhite voters. The question really is if that post and the White House's response and lack of apology will resonate with those Black voters who they've managed to bring to the fold, is this the breaking point? Will Black allies not attend the White House Black History Month event later this month?

You know, those are remaining questions. And, you know, as you mentioned, the election is still months and months away. And a lot could still happen between now and then. I think the White House is hoping for this to just disappear. But voters also have memories, especially for issues that affect them very personally.

WHITFIELD: Yeah, kind of hard to forget, that's for sure.

All right. Sophia Cai, thanks so much.

All right, coming up. We're just hours away from kickoff, Super Bowl LX. The Seahawks and the Patriots going head-to-head for the NFL title. We're live at the stadium next.

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[14:41:17]

WHITFIELD: All right. Finally, the time has come. And now, we're just a few hours away from kickoff for the biggest NFL game of the year, the Seattle Seahawks, and the New England Patriots facing off today in Super Bowl LX in the Bay Area.

And CNN's Andy Scholes once again getting the lucky ticket, one of many lucky tickets. There you are outside Levi's Stadium.

All right. Set the scene for us. So exciting. We're not even there where you are, but we're feeling the excitement, the reverberations.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Oh, yeah. I mean, there's nothing quite like a Super Bowl Sunday, right, Fredricka? You can just feel the energy in the air around the stadium.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

SCHOLES: Really everywhere is everyone's excited, you know, for the game. It is 65 and sunny here in Santa Clara, California. Just beautiful weather for Super Bowl LX. You know, this is a Super Bowl that really nobody saw coming, right? The Patriots, they were 4-13 last season. But it just goes to show what a difference a new coach and quarterback can make.

Mike Vrabel has got the Patriots in the Super Bowl in his very first year coaching the team. And then quarterback Drake Maye in just his second season, was the runner up for this season's MVP award. He had just an incredible year and just 23 years old.

I asked Maye this week what would it mean to him to become the youngest quarterback ever to win the Super Bowl?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DRAKE MAYE, NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS QB: I mean, I think it would mean the most just for this team. I think, you know, the stat of the youngest or if I was the oldest, just being a chance to win the Super Bowl in general is what I'm most worried about. And knowing that this team, how far we've come and just not to come this far, just to come this far and make it worthwhile.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Yeah. Now, Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold, meanwhile, he could complete one of the greatest comebacks in NFL history today. So Darnold, he was drafted third overall by the Jets back in 2018. Didn't work out there with fans considering him a bust when he left, but Darnold just kept on grinding and now, in his first season in Seattle, has them a win away from a Super Bowl title.

You know, it's really a story that's so good. It could easily be a movie. And Saturday on the fanatics red carpet, I asked legendary actors Kevin Costner and Jamie Foxx what they thought of Darnold's journey.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEVIN COSTNER, ACTOR, DIRECTOR, AND PRODUCER: It's a pretty good story for sports because athletes don't care what you think. And they -- and you know, people were, you know, when he played at SC, you know, you know, Heisman type player. Right. You know? And so, what we're dealing with is sports. You write your story.

JAMIE FOXX, ACTOR, COMEDIAN, SINGER, AND PRODUCER: As a quarterback, it's high anxiety. And there are certain people that will tell you there's certain tiers of quarterback. Then there's the middle. Then there's the bottom.

Sam sort of fluctuated in the downturn. So, to see him be stick to it. And now to have his day to silence the critics, you know, that's what it's really about. And if you know football, you understand how hard that is because once you get pegged as like or you can't do it, it's hard to fight out of that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Yeah. And, Fredericka, when talking to people here in the Bay Area this week, I mean, so many of them are pulling for Sam Darnold to complete this comeback story. And Darnold Seahawks they are four and a half point favorites in Super Bowl LX.

But I tell you what, Fredericka, the last the underdogs actually won the last three Super Bowls. So, we'll see what happens if the Patriots are able to win today. They get their seventh Super Bowl title. That would break their tie with the Steelers for the most all time.

WHITFIELD: Yeah. either way great, great story. But yeah, one leans a little bit more. Wow. Big story than the other. All right, we'll see.

Andy Scholes, thanks so much. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [14:49:31]

WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back.

A fallout from the latest release of documents from the Epstein files is spreading across Europe.

CNN's Melissa Bell walks us through the convicted sex offender's ties to high ranking European officials that have so far prompted several resignations and inquiries.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Further fallout here in Europe as a result of the latest revelations from the Epstein files in the shape of the resignation of Morgan McSweeney. He was, until Sunday, the special adviser to the British prime minister, Keir Starmer.

[14:50:03]

Keir Starmer, who's been under a great deal of pressure over what British authorities may or may not have known at the time when Peter Mandelson was appointed to be Britain's ambassador to Washington. Now he's now caught up in a criminal investigation by London's metropolitan police trying to figure out what Peter Mandelson may or may not have passed on to Jeffrey Epstein back when he was business secretary in 2009.

Mandelson himself has apologized for his relationship with Epstein, but a lot more, no doubt to come, as a result of that criminal inquiry and Keir Starmer remaining under a great deal of pressure from his own labor backbenches.

Here in France, it is Jack Lang, a former culture minister who had to resign over the course of the weekend after a great deal of pressure had been building over the course of last week about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. He had been since 2013 at the helm of the Arab world institute. Over the course of the weekend. He resigned after facing not just pressure from France's foreign ministry and the Elysee Palace, but also a judicial inquiry looking into allegations of potential tax evasion.

Elsewhere in Norway, there's been further fallout, not just for the royal family in the shape of the Crown Princess Mette-Marit, who's had to apologize several times over the course of the week about her relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, but also for Norway's political classes. It is a former prime minister now who is at the heart of an investigation into allegations of aggravated corruption. Thorbjorn Jagland, has said, through the shape of his lawyer that he will help with that investigation as much as he can. Essentially, his ties with Jeffrey Epstein are being investigated.

What we understand from the latest documents is that in the wake of the death of Vitaly Churkin, who had been Russia's ambassador to the United Nations, Jeffrey Epstein then went through Jagland to try and connect with Russian leadership in the shape of Vladimir Putin or the foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov. Now that probe continuing, but it is perhaps the one that's been launched in Poland that is of most interest worldwide.

We understand from Donald Tusk, the prime minister, who announced this week that the Polish government would now be launching an investigation to consider what links, if any, there may have been between Jeffrey Epstein and Russian secret services.

That probe, looking into those allegations of exactly why Jeffrey Epstein was collecting all of the information that he did.

Still, the fallout continuing across the European continent because of the sheer quantity of the documents and the depths of the relationships that they appear to show.

Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.

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WHITFIELD: All right. Thank you so much, Melissa.

All right. Take a look at this. I mean, it's hard to envision this one, but you see that massive metal pole laying on the side of the road, kind of connecting to that car, right? Well, it actually went through the front of that blue car and impaled this woman. It went straight through her stomach here. Her incredible story and how she recovered from that next.

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WHITFIELD: All right. This one is really hard to believe. A nursing student survived overwhelming odds after a pole flew into her car while she was driving on a California highway, and she was impaled in the stomach and has faced a long road to recovery.

Joy Benedict from our affiliate KCBS in Los Angeles, has her story. And a warning, you may find some of these images very disturbing.

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JOY BENEDICT, KCBS REPORTER (voice-over): It's a fear on the freeway. Something falling off a truck causing an accident, injury or worse. But for one young woman, it was truly a near-death experience.

JANINA AKPORAVBARE, SURVIVED BEING IMPALED BY POLE ON HIGHWAY: I remember all of a sudden, just seeing, like, this huge pole coming at my car, and I couldn't, like, swerve to the other lane because it was like during rush hour traffic.

BENEDICT (voice-over): The pole flew under her car and impaled her in the stomach.

AKPORAVBARE: I could hear like this grinding sound and I woke up and like, I could feel something dripping on me. And I looked down and it was like my blood. Like I was bleeding through my stomach.

BENEDICT (voice-over): It happened on August 25th in the westbound lanes of the 10 Freeway near the Tippecanoe Exit.

Janina Akporavbare had her younger brother in the back seat, so she forced herself off the road with the pole still dragging from the car.

AKPORAVBARE: The pole was really long, so it was like other cars running over the pole while I was in my stomach.

BENEDICT (voice-over): She called 911. The paramedics, with the help of firefighters, had to cut the pole and take her to the hospital with it still inside her.

AKPORAVBARE: I remember thinking like, I'm going to die. Like right now. I'm like, that's it for me. And I asked the paramedic, like the -- if he could pinky promise that if I make it out of this, if I would make it out of this, and then I remember him picking, promising me that, like, if I made it out, he would come visit me in the hospital.

BENEDICT (voice-over): She did survive. And they did visit. But her recovery hasn't been easy. She underwent three surgeries and spent almost two months at Loma Linda University Medical Center.

AKPORAVBARE: They took out part of my colon, part of my liver, part of my kidney. They were all, like, injured.

BENEDICT (voice-over): Thankfully, she had health insurance to help with $1 million worth of medical bills. Her car is totaled. Studying to be a nurse, she lost a semester of school and work.